Dragon Ball Z On The Kinect: “Kamehameha” Means “Heart Attack” In What Language Again?

Posted on April 12, 2012 by geelw

Well, “Holy Hmm…,” Batman, the rumors are true. There’s actually a Dragon Ball Z game hitting the Kinect in October, so make some room in the living room and pad the walls for those screaming sessions you’ll be having in front of your TV. All I’ll say is this had better be fun as hell or else Namco Bandai’s formerly impenetrable HQ will be stormed by angry DBZ fans wearing bright gold wigs and costumes they made in their basements (some with the assistance of a parent or very understanding significant other!). This could get ugly and fast. I can see the newsflash now: Angry Dragon Ballers Raging At Game Publisher’s Offices! Details at 11…

What? Don’t get offended, now. They’re NOT going to show up in person or post those angry rants on the internet while sipping a snifter of brandy and thoughtfully stroking their beards, if that’s the other direction you want me to go here. Eh, whatever. With a franchise like this, there’s sort of no middle ground unless you don’t take the series seriously enough to be upset about the Kinect getting a DBZ game. For me, there are more urgent things to be pissed off about (like the fact that I need to get a Kinect at some point, but I’ll probably need to punch a hole in a wall so I have enough space to use the damn thing)…

There Are More Fighters In The New Naruto Game Than Letters In This Title.

Posted on April 6, 2012 by geelw

Between the massive roster, the all-new Studio Pierrot animation created for the game and the endless hours of fun that will have you and your Naruto-loving friends up (for endless hours, I say!) I think it’s about time to stock up on a few extra controllers. Just in case stuff happens. “WHAT stuff?” you ask? Well, you know… stuff. Now, you don’t HAVE to buy those extra gamepads because I said so, but don’t cell me up at 2AM when you bust your stick and want to borrow one of mine. Go poke around on Newegg.com or something, snap up a few inexpensive Nyko wired controllers and leave me alone, I’m trying to sleep. Good Night!

Ridge Racer Unbounded Launch & Environment Trailers: Bugbear’s Worked It Hard So You Can, Too!

Posted on March 31, 2012 by geelw

Looking super sharp and like a ton of fun in these videos, Namco Bandai’s not quite reboot but re-versioning of its classic arcade racing game should be in stores (and hopefully, in your hot little hands) as you read this. Will Bugbear’s expertise at racing games where stuff wrecks up quite well be accepted by the masses, or will even the awesome-looking City Editor fail to capture the attention of the jaded RR maniacs who ONLY want ONE type of game in their libraries? Suspense!

(But I’m guessing the former will win out amongst those with half a head full of common sense)…

Ridge Racer Unbounded’s City Editor Should Settle The Rumbles On The Street Down A Tad…

Posted on March 22, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. Here in the US, Namco Bandai seems to be tiptoeing on eggshells when it comes to hyping Bugbear’s upcoming game and that’s too bad. I’m gathering the jaded types that have been slamming them since the game was announced is flummoxing their PR team here as they try and get the good word out over the drone of haters who want nothing but the same old Ridge Racer with very few changes (or more of the same with a few modern tweaks). I see it like this: when you have a developer that’s already done some excellent racing games working on a spin-off of a world famous franchise, you should be more than confident that the game coming is going to be worthy of the name. That said, this City Editor trailer from the UK should go a long way in quelling the stream of leaky gas fumes coming from some out there who just seem to have nothing good to say about a game they haven’t even played yet. As I’ve said before, at the end of the day, it’s all about respect (and actually spending quality time with what you’re criticizing so much)…

Review: Street Fighter X Tekken (Special Edition)

Posted on March 20, 2012 by geelw

Platform: Xbox 360 (also on PS3)

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A-

Capcom’s Versus fighters have a definite appeal to gamers that crave taking their favorite characters from different media and pitting them against each other in some truly outrageous battles and in terms of reinventing that particular wheel, Street Fighter X Tekken may be their best game to date. Although the Xbox 360 version is sorely missing the offline tag-team mode found in the PS3 version, there’s absolutely no reason to miss out on this game if you’re a huge fan of either franchise. From the outstanding visuals and animation to the excellent tutorials that will get any new player into the game with ease, this one’s a no-brainer for fighting games fans. Sure, there are some quibbles with the total number of unlocked characters versus who’s available as paid DLC, but this is one of those games where if you’re hooked in, you probably won’t mind paying a bit extra for even more fun.

Continue reading →

Review: Tales of Graces f

Posted on March 19, 2012 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Namco Tales Studio LTD.

Publisher: Namco Bandai

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

While heavy on the JRPG 101 clichés (even borrowing from previous games in the popular series), Tales of Graces f manages to be a stellar, addictive chunk of gaming goodness thanks to a lightning fast combat system, a fairly engaging cast of characters and a healthy dose of old school charm that keeps the hours flying by. Right from the beginning, you can clearly see and feel Namco Tales Studios’ commitment to making this the best Tales game possible and for the most part, they’ve succeeded. As the game is an enhanced update of the Japan-only Wii game Tales of Graces (with even more content and a few notorious bugs fixed), it’s not shooting for the stars in terms of overly detailed HD visuals at all. What you get is a very pretty looking game with a whole lot of things to do that doesn’t set any new genre standards, but manages to have enough variety to keep you dialed in until the wee hours.

Continue reading →

Ridge Racer Rolls Onto The Vita: A Bit Of A Bumpy, But Budget Ride

Posted on March 14, 2012 by geelw

Another old standby from the original PlayStation days finally skids onto the Vita, and at first glance, it’s pretty much what you’d expect as a RR fan. However, even with the included DLC, there are only a handful of tracks (six) and cars (ten). Sure, you also get lots of speed and that familiar sideways skidding, but in the end, the lack of a focused single player offline mode plus the odd “leveling” system for cars hurt the game significantly.

Even as an arcade racer (this time aiming for the “connected” gamer), There’s just not enough meat on this one for those raised in the Gran Turismo or Forza eras. The $30 price tag, while inexpensive for a Vita game, still feels like five bucks too much. Granted, if you love nostalgia and aren’t too picky about the lack of innovation, you’ll like what’s here. On the other hand, you’d also hope that Namco would have spent a lot more time adding features and content to make the game a LOT more impressive as a launch window title and not hold back what made the first few Ridge Racer games on the PSOne great in the first place.

Ah well, if the game sells well because of the RR name, there’s always more DLC that can be whipped up, I guess…

Tales of Graces f Launch Trailer: Namco Bandai’s Got Quite A Story To Tell, That’s For Sure…

Posted on March 12, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been playing this on and off for the past few days (my review copy arrived last week) and it’s quite spectacular in an old-school meets modern JRPG way. Sure, it’s packed to the gills with familiar thematic elements (an enigmatic amnesiac, two brothers separated by differing opinions and life choices, the formerly sick girl now a powerful party member, et cetera), but the fast-paced battles, tons of titles to earn for each character and the usual Tales features keep the hours peeling away. If you’re a PS3 owner and JRPG fan looking for the next big game to dive into, this one’s for you. Oh yeah, the game also lets you play with up to four friends through much of the adventure (but expect them to be spectators for a bit in some areas where the party is thinned out for plot purposes).

My full review will go up later this week (probably Friday at this point)…

Armored Core V Gameplay: Steel Yourselves For Some Heavy Metal Hits…

Posted on March 8, 2012 by geelw

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, here’s a look at some more ACV gameplay. This one looks like it’ll be fun for those who love a ton of pre-battle preparations and tweaking (par for the course in the Armored Core franchise). It’ll be interesting to see how well this stacks up against the other titles in the long AC history, but I have the feeling that From Software will be pleased with the response from fans old and new once the game ships out on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Street Fighter X Tekken Hits Stores – Overly Obvious Header Puns Begin…

Posted on March 7, 2012 by geelw

It’s finally here and (from what a few friends say who’ve gotten it) well worth the wait. My review copy also showed up yesterday afternoon, but I’m not getting to it until later today/tomorrow, as I’m still playing the incredibly fun Tales of Graces F and tinkering away on another project or three. I did pore over the excellent guide that came with the game for a little while (it’s packed with great artwork), but I know those pretty pictures won’t keep me safe from a total beat down at the hands of some of you out there. Check back in a few days for a full review…