Gallery: Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment

SAO_keyvisual_w_LogoI’m only vaguely aware of the whole Sword Art Online phenomena in Japan, so I was certainly pleased to see that there’s a Vita game coming to North America this summer courtesy Namco Bandai Games. I guess it’ll be catch up time for me, as it’s turning out to be a very good year for Sony’s handheld in terms of new properties and publishers taking chances on niche IP.  Namco Bandai is going to be dropping more news about this soon (the press release says in about a week), but in the meantime, check out the character art and screens below the jump…

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PlayStation Plus Brings May Showers Of FREE Games!

 
Yeah, the pay for online multiplayer access thing is still here and silly, but PlayStation Plus is still the best deals in console gaming in terms of what you’re getting otherwise for that $50 a year. Next month’s pile of stuff you’ll need a working time machine to play is quite awesome (as you’ll see above) and overall, you make that cost back each month and then some if you also own a Vita in addition to your PS3 and/or PS4. I keep wondering what will happen when Sony runs out of stuff to give away, but given the large library of old first and third party titles people are clamoring for from the PS1 and PS2 era plus the amount of indie titles currently on PSN, I’m gathering this won’t be an issue they’ll need to deal with for quite some time…

Telltale’s The Walking Dead Is Nearly Everywhere You Look. Go Get Caught Up In This One, I Say…

 
Between the Complete First season being released on Google Play and Season Two dropping onto the Vita, Telltale Games’ stellar The Walking Dead series is taking over just about everything that can play this multiple award winning series and letting an even wider audience experience the horror. Telltale’s games are more accessible than your typical action-heavy PC or console games thanks to a simpler to use interface, story-focused dialog trees that require reasonably fast (but not insane) timing and choices that truly affect the outcome of each chapter. This also makes TWD highly replayable because of how your decisions stack up as the chapters flow onward.

So, your interest is piqued, no? Well, go whip out that favorite device and go get some Walkers into your now more entertaining life, I say.

Child of Light Making of Part 3: Same As It Ever Was, No Matter What You Play It On…

 
Ubisoft is really pushing these making of videos to show that Child of Light will be the same gorgeous visual experience across every platform. Given that all the consoles it runs on support HD resolution (and of course, PC as a given run at higher resolutions anyway), it’s clear that the game will be a feast for the eyes no matter what it’s played on. I’m now leaning towards the Wii U version as noted before just because it’s the easiest console for me to update from a wi-fi spot and get games for as well. Decision made! Now, it’s just less than a week of waiting to go…

Natsume Keeps The PSP Flame Alive With End of Serenity!

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The PSP has become the handheld that just won’t die even though I’d gather that the bulk of owners have moved onto the Vita. On the other hand, I have three PSP’s here and one Vita and some months, one of those older handhelds gets more usage than the newer, pricier one. Anyway, like last year’s sleeper hit, Mystic Chronicles, Natsume’s upcoming RPG End of Serenity started life as a mobile phone game in Japan and is making it overseas this summer as a digital release via PSN. Although the game will make an appearance at this year’s E3, I won’t be there, so I’ll be like the rest of you intrigued about this old-school JRPG and snapping it up when it drops as a download. If the latter game was any indication, gamers can expect a very long and highly challenging JRPG that looks and plays like it belongs on a 16-bit console (which is always a great thing in my book).

More news to come once Natsume rattles my inbox some more – stay tuned…

Lords of the Fallen Gameplay Trailer: Been Around The Block Much Lately?

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A-ha-ha, little joke there. I figure if you’re going to be playing Lords of the Fallen, you’ll probably want to consider learning where the “BLOCK” button is on that controller or keyboard and learn to USE it wisely so you don’t end up like our poor test subject above. That, and knowing when to dodge or roll away from blows will more likely than not keep your character healthy and breathing for as long as possible.

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Of course, the Dark Souls/Dark Souls II crowd KNOWS this, but this isn’t that game at all, just the same publisher getting out a game that will have some making the usual comparisons just to waste time before they actually play it (if they actually get around to playing it)…

GRID Autosport Trailer: Probably The ONLY Time You’ll See These Cars Moving Slowly…

 
Codemasters’ Racing Studio certainly hasn’t been sleeping at all, getting this new GRID game out in less than a year since the last one. While this PC footage looks incredible, I’m gathering the game will also look quite lovely on whichever consoles it appears on. Namco Bandai rolled this one out as one of many upcoming surprises and with a June 24 release date in the US (June 27 in Europe), it’s sure to be one of those games of summer that keeps a few folks indoors sweeping around turns and playing passing games with that pesky AI and/or peskier live players.

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GRID_Autosport PS3 2D rgb pack_ESRB RP EF GRID_Autosport XB 2D rgb pack_ESRB RP EFI initially noticed that no console news popped up in that video, but I can’t imagine this series skipping home systems at all. Aha- poking about on the press site I see it’s also coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, so no worries at all about the series leaving out a rather hefty chunk of its fans. Anyway, updates to come, of course. Color me grinning and imagining gliding around a bend at 100MPH or so…

Demon Gaze Out Now: My Vita Is Glaring At My Wallet (And It Has A Studded Club)…

Demon Gaze Out Now Hokay, let’s keep this SIMPLE. Got a Vita? GOOD. Go click on that picture and BUY THIS GAME. I’m keeping this short because you need as much time to play Demon Gaze as possible and less of me telly you why. Get it? Got it? GOOD. Now, go dive in for a spell and pop back in to thank me later…

Dragon Age: Inquisition Gameplay Trailer: October Will Be A Nice Month To Take Off, I’d Say…

DA_I_posterWell, now. BioWare and EA want you to know that you probably should take October off. Well, not ALL of October nor ALL of you reading this post, mind you. However, if you own a decent gaming PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 or Xbox One and happen to also be a fan of epic-length role-playing games… yeah, start making plans, people. Dragon Age Inquisition rolls out in North America on October 7 and in Europe on October 10, meaning you have a week during the beginning of the month to get your things in order and prepare yourself for whatever script you’re going to run on your boss to get out of that job for as long as possible (while still collecting a paycheck, of course). Or you could just move whatever vacation time to October in order to spend that time (and a lot less money) buried in all that wonderful hard work on your system of choice.

Naturally, there will be standard and collector’s editions of this one and of course, the inescapable pre-order bonuses and DLC that add to the experience (and help beef up the games sales figures early on for some guaranteed big numbers). I still prefer walking into a game shop to buy physical product, so I wish there were a way to get that DLC, as I happen to have a crappy online connection and other than the Wii U (which has a screen on its GamePad), no home console is built to lug around to a wi-fi hotspot to get games, game content and updates, which is too bad. Of course, this game isn’t appearing on Nintendo’s beleaguered console at all, which is also too bad. Anyway, if this gameplay trailer is any indication, DA:I will be a pretty spectacular experience (to put it mildly!)…

Child of Light On Wii U: Same Game, Different Console (Get It And/Or Get Over It!)…

 
*Sigh* Ah, the internet… home to fools with busted soapboxes and lousy opinions, all in the name of… something. Anyway, YES, the Wii U version of Child of Light is going to look exactly the same as the other versions, yeesh. That UbiArt Framework and the lovely hand-drawn art in the game will run on any modern console as well as anything next-gen and any decent PC. But try telling that to the trolls out there and all you get is under-bridge bile drippings from people who haven’t touched Nintendo’s console and don’t intend to.

 
Frankly speaking, screw those dolts, I say. As a multi-system owner and longtime gamer, I’m still trying to decide which system to get this one for, but I’ll play and review it on the Wii U if I have to just to have another game for that system that needs to get MORE of them this year. Anyway, April 30th is the big day and hopefully, this version won’t get slapped with a last-minute delay or anything else that will get the skeptics babbling from their stinky toll-haunts under every local bridge. I don’t normally wast my space on people like this, but after overhearing some inane anti-Wii U drivel today, I had to put my foot down before I put it up someone’s read end.

 
That and the last living thing I actually kicked was a REALLY slow pigeon a bunch of years ago. Hey, I was in a hurry, it was in front of me trundling along like an over-sized inchworm with wings and it wasn’t a “kick” at all… it was more of a foot-lift and bird shift to my right as I zipped past.