Half-Minute Hero Demo #2 Arrives On PSN


Xseed Games loves you, y’know – they just released the second of two demos for their upcoming PSP exclusive, Half-Minute Hero through the PlayStation Network Store and it’s a doooooozy. Fun and ridiculously funny, but it’s short and really cool to the point that you’ll break a nail or something after playing it so much. Xseed is of course, hugely unapologetic about your busted fingernail and has released the following statement:

We are excited to release the second of two downloadable demos for our upcoming hi-speed RPG, Half-Minute Hero. This demo will feature Evil Lord Mode, a real-time strategy game where players will take control of the powerful, and obnoxiously gorgeous, Evil Lord.

In this mode players must summon monsters to fight enemies.

 

Summon monsters are divided into three types: Brutes, Nimbles and Shooters. Enemies are also divided up into the same categories. Each type of monster or enemy has advantages/disadvantages towards another type of monster or enemy. Figuring out the best strategy to use against each type is the tricky part. When the time limit reaches zero, the reign of evil is over.

See? Totally unapologetic! Anyway, go download the demo and try the game out – keep the Band-Aids handy just in case your nails are weak (more calcium and natural gelatin in your diet helps, as well). Half-Minute Hero will be released in October 2009 at retailers across North America.

Gallery: Adventures to Go

OK, I’ll admit it: Natsume’s upcoming Adventures to Go really intrigues me (and a bunch of other folks out there). Sure, random dungeon generators are nothing new to an “old” guy like me. Hell, I remember playing games such as Dungeon Hack on the PC, A D & D Slayer on the 3DO and Dungeon Creator on the import PlayStation ’til the cows came home. Then… there’s that brutal Nethack intervention I went through some years back, but we won’t discuss that in public (“the horror… the horror…”)

Gallery: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tagforce 4

Had some quick hands-on time with this at Konami’s NYC press event a while back. Nice anime visuals, deep gameplay, plenty of battlin’ cards and creatures and a more “mature” feel than your Pokemon games, for sure. Fans will be completely enraptured, newbies will be baffled, very helpful tutorials aside. Interesting side note: Konami spells it Tagforce, but it seems to list at most retailers as Tag Force. “Potato, Poh-tah-toe, Tomato, Toh-mah-toe….” and all that…

November 17, 2009 is the release date, so mark your calendars accordingly.

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Obscure: The Aftermath Hands-On


Way back in 2004, a scary little survival horror/adventure game called Obscure crept onto the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, receiving mixed reviews before disappearing from the scene and becoming something of an eBay collectible. The game still sold in well enough numbers that a sequel, Obscure: The Aftermath (or Obscure II, depending on where you’re reading this) was released in 2007 for the PS2 and Wii. Thanks to Playlogic and developer Hydrovision, that sequel is headed for the PSP on September 29 and thanks to their PR department, I’m writing up this hands-on of a preview build. Featuring disturbingly detailed visuals, plenty of “teen slasher flick” ambiance and wireless drop-in/drop out co-op play, this is one game horror fans looking for a wild ride won’t want to miss.

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Atlus Announces Shin Megami Tensei Persona: Digital Devil Delays Download (Saga)!

Oh Noes! Well, in case you didn’t pre-order the retail version of SMT: Persona and were hoping to look all cool sliding open your PSP GO! on the subway to play the game you downloaded early the morning of September 22… you’re in for a bit of a shock. The digital download version of the game has been slightly delayed to an October 1, 2009 launch over the PlayStation Network.

Which sort of means if you DON’T have a PSP GO!, it might make a whole lot of sense to drop by your local game emporium and snag the cool pre-order bonuses that come with the boxed version (as the press release below kind of hints at…)

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Half-Minute Hero Demo ( #1) Arrives On PSN

The first of two demos for Xseed’s upcoming lighting-paced retro PSP Action/RPG is now available for download over the PlayStation Network, which leads me to ask why you’re still reading this when you should be playing this rather hilarious bit of gaming goodness. So, go download away onto your PSP (you DO own a PSP, right?) and play it to death in half-minute chunks, laughing crazily as you skip out the door a few minutes later to go preorder from wherever you normally get your games.

Or pre-order HMH online, if that’s your thing. Heck, it’s not like you’re getting much exercise these days, anyway. A little sunlight won’t kill you, y’know… Well, that’s what I’ve heard… *Ahem,* anyway, let’s see what the official press release says:.. Continue reading

Astro Boy Game Taps Kristen Bell For Voice Cast

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…

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Atlus Does a SMT: Persona Double Launch With A Twist…

Once again, Atlus is giving RPG fans the love with a super-cool premium item AND a nice way to kick off the launch of Sony’s upcoming PSP GO! handheld. The remake of the classic PSOne RPG, Shin Megami Tensei Persona will get a simultaneous release in UMD format on the PSP as well as a download version for the PSP GO! on September 22, 2009.

Atlus isn’t letting PSP GO! owners get the really cool stuff, however (although Persona IS a truly deep and mind-bending RPG any discerning genre fan should play). Gamers who pre-order the retail release of SMT:P through retailers such as Amazon or GameStop will get a nice bonus: a 2-disc soundtrack composed by Shoji Meguro. They’ll also get the cool Collector’s Edition box it all comes in, as Atlus doesn’t want gamers walking home holding those CD’s over your head if it happens to rain on launch day… Continue reading

Deep Silver Press Event Impressions

Deep Silver dropped into New York City for a day with playable versions of five upcoming games that included an innovative horror adventure for the Wii, an open-world RPG set on a gorgeous yet deadly island, a PSP strategy game mech fans will love and two Nintendo DS games that should appeal to brainy players of all stripes. I’ll be writing up longer hands-on previews for the two home console and PSP titles over the coming days, but in the meantime, here’s a super quick rundown on what was shown: Continue reading

Gallery: IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

505 Games has announced that its upcoming (and amazing looking) WWII flight combat gameIL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey will hit retail on September 15, 2009 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PSP and Nintendo DS. Here’s a quick rundown of the game from the press release, followed by some screens and box art: Continue reading