Ys I & II Chronicles Gets Extra GameStop Pre-Order Extras (Thanks, Xseed!)


Xseed Games wants YOU to jump feet first onto the Ys I & II Chronicles bandwagon, so they've gone and done a great bit of pre-order coolness with GamrStop locations across the US. Slap down a deposit on the upcoming PSP game, follow the instructions below the jump and BOOM! Your choice of one of three excellent items will wing itself your way courtesy of Xseed! And yup, I get to post that hilarious Hair Metal trailer again, to boot!

Get that wallet out NOW and support Xseed!

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Ys I & II Chronicles "Hair Metal" Trailer + Soundtrack Bonus Prove A Point…


Ys I & II Chronicles is coming on February 15, 2011, but Xseed Games wants you to start the party NOW. Dig the rockin’ trailer above and pre-order the limited edition “Hair Metal Pack” and get your head-bangin’ on while those classic game tunes (you may or may not remember depending on your age) are wailing away. Awe-some! Yup, Xseed is adding a CD soundtrack packed full of classic Ys tunes to the RETAIL version of the game ONLY. Oh, SNAP. Take that, digital downloads! Go Xseed!! (and nope, I’m not being sarcastic… some things are just better in a big ol’ box and CD case).

Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Coming to PSP


I still have ringing in my ears and a mild headache from all that Hyperdimension Neptunia(aaa*cough!*) stuff yesterday, so I missed running this nice cover art and screens from NISA’s upcoming PSP strategy RPG. According to Amazon’s listing, the game will feature “new story chapters, characters, items, better graphics, and a revamped user interface”. In addition, the game is now “more user-friendly and packs more content for over 100 hours of game play”. March 18, 2011 is the release date (unless something changes). With UMD games looking as if they’re on the way out after next year, folks like me will be grabbing what great games we can, that’s for sure.

While the official website for the game is still in the works, the cover art and four screens are here for your approval. There are a bunch more shots from the game over at Amazon (in case you didn’t click that link above already), so go peek at those if this one’s up your alley… Back in a bit – the post office is calling me…

Etna Needs Your Help Getting In the Holiday Spirit!


Yup, that means yet another wacky yet cool Nippon Ichi Software America contest is afoot, folks. Click on that pic above and enter to win some cool prizes! Also, go reserve a copy of Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! while you’re at it. As I’ve said before, ANY game with a name like that can’t be passed up!

Sony Sure Knows How To Throw A Holiday Party…


There was a lot of stuff to cover at the event, but some of the nicer surprises are embargoed for a few days. Nope, there wasn't a PSP2 or PSPhone to be seen (or heard about) at the event, but throw a stone and you'd hit a great game surprise or someone playing something pretty damn cool. Media Molecule, Guerrilla Games and Evolution Studios folks are great to chat with and make me think of setting up forums on the site just to get their input. For now, my creatively constructive to creatively cranky comments on the industry show up on a few industry news sites where other developers and journalists post so as not to have too many rabid debates here.

Like the sweet Killzone 3 book? Sony was laser-burning whatever text attendees wanted into nice leather journals featuring some key 2011 titles and I chose Guerrilla's upcoming shooter as my pick for the DAF branding. Wish I had a dozen of each to give away on the site, but you'll have to do with ogling that photo for now.

Below the jump is a quick rundown* on what I can talk about images to come in a gallery update this weekend (*well, part one of a quick rundown, as I'm dead tired from a long day and am about to keel the hell over):

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Nippon Ichi’s Having a Little Holiday Sale…

HEY! Want some very, very cool Nippon Ichi, Gust, and other sweet NISA stuff from games to anime DVD’s, soundtracks and more? Well, just bust out that credit card or PayPal account and click that pic above. Plushies, Prinnies, Glicees and more wallet exploding goodness galore!

Some of the prices are flat out BARGAINS (Disgaea DS or My Lord, What Have I Done to Deserve This 2 PSP for $10? BOOM, I’m there!), which means you’ll go crazy with the deals here, dood! They’ve got my money already (What, you thought I get ALL my games for free?)!

Split/Second Skids Onto PSP

I didn’t even realize this was coming out until I got the trailer in my inbox, so here you go – now you’re as surprised as I am! I’ll see about snagging a review copy and get back to you with some impressions. It certainly looks amazing, though!

Commentary: PSP2 – Does it REALLY Need To Do EVERYTHING?

Love Letter From A Low-Tech Hard-Head

As much as I love Sony and the PlayStation lineup), the news cycling 'round about the company's upcoming PSP2 (and possible, on and off PSPhone device) irks me to no end. Well, maybe not that much (this isn't an “angry” rant at all, folks), but still… Not that's I'm complaining (but I'm complaining anyway), but SOME of us just want a pure GAMES PLATFORM, not another touchscreen tablet, laz-e-reader, movie playin', memory eatin' overheatin' shiny new tech toy. If the PSPgo has taught us (and hopefully, Sony) anything it's that getting away from the core consumer or adding too much functionality to a gadget only turns away those who just want to PLAY GAMES (pirates be damned).

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Nippon Ichi America Wants YOU To Replace Etna’s Panties…


Normally, I’d say that header would be a “No wait, that didn’t come out right…” statement, but yes indeedy-do, it’s true. Nippon Ichi Software America is holding a contest where you design a pair of panties for Etna, everyone’s favorite evil (but cute) demoness from the Disgaea and Prinny series.

The panties in question are part of a genius promotion for Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! (a game I absolutely WANT based on the title alone). I’d guess I’m ineligible, being a member of the gaming press and all, but I’d definitely love to be a fly on the wall with a pair of binoculars at NISA’s offices when those entries start rolling in. My spider-sense says that the rejection pile is going to be fairly large (but fun to judge, that’s for sure), given the imagination of certain types of anime/manga/game fans.

Anyway, go poke around on the official contest site, enter if you’ve got the skills and hope you win BIG. The main prizes for the three big winners are a copy of Prinny 2 and a pair of the winning panties. 50 other lucky entrants who can or can’t draw a lick (er, no pun intended!) can enter the contest and end up will their own pair of those panties (but no game). Yeah, this could be one of the more interesting game-related contests in recent memory, that’s for damn sure…

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Hands-On


If any developer has truly mastered crafting games for the PSP, it's Santa Ana-based Ready at Dawn. Their upcoming game for the handheld, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is not only one of the (if not the) best-looking game on the system, it's one with gameplay that more than equals the stunning visuals. I got the great opportunity to play through the introduction and part of a later level from the soon to be released game and can safely report that this could possibly be the best PSP action game of 2010, hands-down.

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