The Ghoster, The Immortal & The Road Wolf Star In Ridge Racer Unbounded Update

Posted on March 3, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. That trio of names above sound like a bunch of Mad Max drivers (they must be personal friends of The Toecutter and Humongous). OK, I’m guilty of missing posting this trailer from about two weeks ago, but that’s because I was buried in Toy Fair stuff, so there (nyah!). Anyway, Bugbear’s hard work is paying off in my book, as the game is looking better each time I see it. Sure, it may not be the most original arcade-style racer out there. But if the parts that work as well as they’re supposed to all click into place, Namco Bandai is going to have quite a sleeper here…

Tales of Graces F Graces My Mailbox – Review Incoming…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by geelw

Well, once the embargo is lifted on 3/13, actually. There’s nothing like getting a good game to review on a rainy Friday evening, that’s for sure. I haven’t quite fired this one up just yet, as I’ve been busy with some other stuff today, but it’s absolutely on the agenda for this weekend. As with other Tales games, I expect to get pretty occupied in getting through the game once for the review, then heading back in to tackle stuff I missed out on and whatever other surprises I can find on a more exploratory play through. Alrighty, then – back in a bit with some impressions…

Touch My Katamari Trailer: Hey, Go Touch Your OWN (But Buy A Vita First)!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by geelw

Remember kids: There’s no sin in pleasure… er, at least when it comes to gaming. Namco Bandai’s double shot of Vita launch games (the Shinobido 2 trailer is here) gets off to a rolling start with what’s looking like some pretty decent titles. I’ll need to get my paws on a review copy to see if the latest in the junk-rolling up series has what it takes to be a touchy-feely funny classic or one for the dust bin. Given the Vita’s funky dual touchscreen that adds a lot to some games, I’m rolling toward some positive impressions…

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Coming In WInter 2012 (Video Blowout Proof Below)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by geelw

Namco Bandai really, REALLY wants to show off Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch so much that they released not one, not two, not three, but FOUR excellent gameplay trailers and a ton of screenshots for the upcoming Level-5/Studio Ghibli PS3 exclusive. Even better, we’re getting both English and Japanese voice-overs so there won’t be any Majin & The Forsaken Kingdom style ear-scorching voice work. OK, I actually liked most of the voices in that game, but not having the option to hear the Japanese dub was a bit of a pain to a lot of reviewers and gamers. While I’m doing the happy dance about this great looking game (that’s sure to be an instant classic, by the way), I do wish that the Nintendo DS was still seen (or more precisely, would still be seen by Nintendo) as a viable platform, as there’s also a Ni no Kuni DS game that NEEDS to be published by someone and promoted as one of the last (and best) games on the platform.Any news on that, NamBan?

Two more gameplay clips below the jump…

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Armored Core V “DOOMSDAY” Trailer (Plus A GameStop Exclusive… A Pretty Cool One, At That)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by geelw

Usually, I kind of roll my eyeballs around in my skull until they fall out of my head and get all linty from rolling under a dresser when I see these pre-order bonuses. This time, I managed to catch one eyeball and pop it back in just so I could do a proper double-take. Pre-ordering ACV from any GS in North America will get you the Heavy Armor Pack DLC, which features 168 parts you can use to give your Core a big honkin’ advantage over those who just grab the game at retail on day one and have to work harder to get the cool gear.

On the other hand, a GOOD AC player will probably figure out a way to rig up a mean mech without taking the pre-order plunge. Of course, 168 FREE parts are very hard to pass up, that’s for sure…

Final Four Street Fighter X Tekken Characters, Release Dates Revealed

Posted on February 15, 2012 by geelw

No huge surprises here, but the addition of Street Fighter’s M. Bison and Akuma plus Tekken’s Jin and Ogre brings the tally to 38 fighters… which to me, means we’ll probably see some more coming via DLC down the road from Capcom. Er, not that 38 fighters is anything to sneeze at, mind you. It’s just that between the two fighting franchises, methinks there are some other characters that are MIA for any number of reasons. Of course, Namco’s upcoming Tekken X Street Fighter may also bring in a few of these new challengers, so we’ll need to see what up with that still in development follow-up at some point…

More trailers below the jump!

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Tekken 3DS Prime Edition Trailer: This Week’s Fight of the Century…

Posted on February 14, 2012 by geelw

POW! Namco Bandai’s firstly familiar to Sony fans fighting franchise finally flies onto a new platform. 40+ characters and a lot of precise button crunching await those 3DS owners looking for another cool fighter for their favorite handheld. Of course, with the publisher also releasing Tales of the Abyss for the 3DS on the same day, it’s going to be a tough choice for some gamers on a budget. On the other hand, that’s what next week’s paycheck is for, right? Game on!

Namco Bandai & Paramount Team Up To Publish Star Trek In 2013

Posted on February 11, 2012 by geelw

And of course, the first thing I thought of when I read this news was “OK, when do we see Kirk and Spock show up in Soulcalibur VI in an “Amok Time” themed stage?” Yes, I’m THAT old (but it would be pretty funny, especially if it had that combat theme that played during the Kirk/Spock battle). Anyway, Digital Extremes (Bioshock 2, Unreal Tournament, Dark Sector, The Darkness II) is no stranger to making some pretty solid shooter and action games, so I’m sure they’ll have more than enough time to make this co-op focused game even more spectacular than it looks in these two not so new screenshots. Granted, we’ll need a LOT more images and some actual hands-on time in order to see how the game is turning out, so let’s keep those fingers crossed that the game warps into NYC on a press tour at some point. More to come as soon as we get new info and images…

Ridge Racer Unbounded Update: Behind the Game #1: “Deal With It!”

Posted on February 8, 2012 by geelw

Namco Bandai rolls out the first in a series of “making of” videos about their upcoming racer set for a March release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Hey, I didn’t name the trailer, although that’s exactly what I’d call it as there are still a bunch of overly vocal folks out there who’ve been ticked off about this one ever since it was announced. Anyway, It’s been pretty quiet on the RRU front since I played the very promising demo last year, so it’s great to see what’s been going on since. Check out what the hard-working team at Bugbear has been up to and if you’re one of those die-hard classic RR fans still frothing at the mouth over the new game, you’ll also see that it’s not replacing your nostalgically sideways sliding fantasies at all…

SoulCalibur V In Stores Now: Carl’s Jr. Wants Your Money, Too…

Posted on February 1, 2012 by geelw

That ten bucks off coupon you get for snapping up a SCV Collector’s Cup will no doubt move the game a bit more in some areas, but… Ha! There’s NO Carl’s Jr. ANYWHERE near me the last time I checked and (uh-oh) I don’t eat fast food burgers. Therefore, I’m completely immune to your charms, otherwise well-targeted TV ad! Oh well. I hear the game is pretty darn good despite some familiar characters being dropped in favor of newbies the newbies can relate to. Bad idea, Project Soul! he BEST thing to do would have been to add ALL the old fighters as well as a roster of new ones so everyone could be happy. Well, there’s always DLC and a reissue at some point if the game sells well enough. No Taki or Kilik (among others?) Yikes. Well, I guess I;ll be using that character creation to whip up facsimiles, then…