While the games aren’t the greatest out there, both Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad and Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Slayers have some pretty sexy lead characters (well, provided you have a fetish for schoolgirl outfits, bloody lingerie, cowboy gear, leather and bikinis among other things). Along with the polygonal eye candy, you also get some pretty damned ugly monsters to balance things out. Here’s a few cool character renders from both games courtesy of the game’s press kit CD.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Deep Silver Vienna/Sproing
Publisher: Deep Silver
# of Players: 1
Score: A (95%)
sub·jec·tive (suhb-jěk’tĭv) adj.
1. a. Proceeding from or taking place in a person’s mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
b. Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience.
2. Moodily introspective.
3. Existing only in the mind; illusory.
4. Psychology: Existing only within an individual’s mind.
Most horror-themed video games are extremely subjective in that each person who plays them will generally have a different overall experience. Those that frighten easily will baby-step through their play sessions, saving frequently, checking maps and trying their very best not to to die horribly. The more fearless, bolder gamers accustomed to faster-paced play will blaze forward, taking on all comers in a quest for kill counts while often blissfully unaware of the developer’s intentions in attempting to set a particular mood. This type of player generally never flinches unless the game adds in “jump” scares like those found in hundreds of horror movies or live haunted house experiences in some amusement parks. A third type of gamer takes the middle road, going into every game “cold” in order to fully appreciate every nuance as they let themselves become completely immersed in the game world.
Welcome, dear reader to Deep Silver’s incredible Wii exclusive, Cursed Mountain…
… and I couldn’t be more pleased, although it seems that the kids who want exploding zombie heads every three seconds may be a bit annoyed by the intentionally languid pacing. And the fact that there are NO zombies in the game, only really annoyed ghosts and more pissed off demonic things (that can still kill as quickly, mind you). The game layers on the gloomy mood right away and the overall sense of dread combined with the brilliant score makes for some nicely creepy moments. The game’s general atmosphere has the feeling of the last depressing section of Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller crossed with a dash of Masaki Kobayashi’s classic K(w)aidan and the lonelier moments of Kubrick’s The Shining. Hopefully, that will help some of you reading this in terms of placing the game’s tone.
Never have friends over when you’re trying to work. As I was typing the original version of the above headline, I hear a loud voice from behind me “ASTRO BOY TAPS KRISTEN BELL…?!!” then a big hearty horse laugh. Let’s just say someone got a big boot to the ass and ended up on the other side of my front door. Besides, eleven games arrived between this morning and afternoon, so I’ve a LOT of work to do. *Ahem* – now where was I? Oh yeah: Astro Boy game news…
Disney Interactive Studios has shipped Spectrobes: Origins to retail while also announcing a September launch for exclusive Spectrobes-themed iPhone and iPod Touch apps that further the game experience via cool multimedia content.
From the screens and trailers I’ve seen, it sure looks like Genki (one of my favorite Japanese developers from way back, thanks to a bunch of mech and driving games) is still delivering the goods, so this one should be quite a bit of fun. While I go make a cup of tea (ginger/lemon, in case you’re curious), here’s the game’s official press release and a few screens for you to peruse below the jump…
MTV Games and Harmonix have revealed 19 more of the 45 on-disc tracks that will be featured in The Beatles: Rock Band – leaving all, but one song a mystery. A gameplay trailer featuring ten of the 19 newly announced songs can be viewed by visiting the game’s official web site. “To the press release, Robin!”: Continue reading
EA and Maxis are expanding the hugely popular and expansive Spore universe with two all-new games, one each for the Nintendo Wii and DS/DSi. Titled Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena, both games will ship this October. In addition, the official website has unique Spore-based content including mini-games, a Spore Hero widget and a newsletter users can sign up for to get more details on both titles. Speaking of more details, how about two screenshots and a little official press release action?
We do aim to please, y’know…
Konami swung into NYC with a nice selection of upcoming releases that showed off the company’s commitment to variety and pure fun with a number of family friendly console and handheld titles. Of course, scaring the crap out of a few folks with two impressive horror games was also on the agenda. I ended up playing most of what was shown and came away impressed with them all, as you’ll see below in this quick rundown. I’ll also post longer Hands-On previews of a few of these titles shortly. Continue reading
In this second character profile from Ignition’s upcoming Wii exclusive, Muramasa: the Demon Blade, it’s ladies night, as we get to meet the lovely yet deadly Momohime, complete with screenshots of her in action.
Additionally, the game’s official website is finally live, offering up some cool content that includes an art contest (I’d enter if I had time to sit down and do an illustration, but that’s kind of against the rules), media, some great wallpapers and lots more. Pop on over after you check out Momo’s profile and screens (below the jump, of course):
With the Wii in desperate need of some quality third-party titles geared toward “core” gamers, Deep Silver’s soon to be released Cursed Mountain comes at exactly the right time. I finally got some hands-on time with this survival horror gem at a the company’s New York City press event and can safely say this is a must-buy for genre fans who crave a great story with their gameplay. It’s not only one of the most innovative games on the console, it just might be one of the best genre games to date thanks to a huge development team dedicated to the project from day one. Martin Filipp, Deep Silver’s Developer Relations Manager proudly took a room packed full of editor-types through a few areas of the game’s early levels showing off the solid visuals, intuitive controls and innovative combat mechanics. Continue reading
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 