My hands-on impressions of Dead Space 3 are embargoed for a bit by EA, but they’re definitely not keeping quiet about this upcoming treat for fans who want even more lore. Liberation arrives on February 15, 2013 and yup, is a prequel to the events of the upcoming third installment in the series. The folks at Visceral certainly have a big story to tell and between the new game and this book, I can see a lot of you out there not sleeping much. For a few reasons…
Most of the games I saw and played yesterday are under embargo for a few days or up to next month, so I can’t spill all the beans yet, but let’s just say some of you naysayers are going to be eating a load of crow when it comes to certain titles in their lineup. I’ll start rolling out previews for each title as their embargoes lift, but while you’re waiting, I’ll keep you posted on stuff I can write about over the next few days on the mobile and console front. OK, I’m off to bed for two hours, as I have a LOT to do and need to hop up and get an earlier start than usual…
I was laughing when I saw this trailer because I have too many memories of the arcade original and I bet not a lot of gamers this one is targeted to even know where the theme song in the original game comes from. Oh well – if the game is as cool as the first one in terms of action and replay value, I’m all in and then some…
GungHo! Online Entertainment is embracing the PlayStation Vita full force with a pair of very promising game releases in 2012 – here’s the first of the company’s small but very cool lineup for Sony’s handheld. Dokuro is a hybrid platformer with a unique, gorgeous visual style and gameplay that should make fans of the genre sit up and take notice. In the game, players will take on the role of Dokuro, a lowly skeleton in service to a Dark Lord who decided to free a princess kidnapped by his master. As the princess can’t see him, Dokuro needs to help her in some way before her fate is sealed. Our bony would-be savior finds a potion that can change him into a handsome prince the princess can see, and the gameplay revolves around Dokuro switching back and forth between forms to aid the princess as she makes her way to freedom.
Platformer, puzzle and combat elements are all part of the game and with almost 150 levels to complete, GungHo estimates between 20-30 hours of play time, making the $19.99 price a bargain in my book. Check out the screens below and set your calendars for October 16, 2012 when Dokuro makes its debut exclusively on PSN. As for that other game… well, it’s a no-brainer Action/RPG purchase called Ragnarok Odyssey – more on that one in a bit…
It’s been a ton of fun playing this upcoming competition-based racer at press events and it’s equally fun watching people play, especially those new to the crazed competition Criterion has created. You’ll be fighting for every challenge, as the game’s non-stop pace, open world and constant need for, well, SPEED n the bulk of the events will keep your fingers on their toes constantly. This could be the perfect party game for many and it’s definitely going to get people obsessively checking their Autolog scores or fearing the updates with their former best times smashed by someone else (probably within seconds or minutes). Naturally, if you hate being beaten, you can always play the game offline against the AI, but this is exactly the sort of game that encourages you to dive in with as many other live players as possible.
Four games into the license and Activision has done this long-running franchise right by shaking and stirring things up with solid results. Eurocom’s new Bond game could very well be the best one to date this console cycle thanks to its story-based structure that puts today’s 007 (Daniel Craig) through his paces in re-imagined missions from five of the best Bond films (plus a DLC mission based on the upcoming SKYFALL). The dev team is clearly at the top of their game here, so expect all the action, gadgets and mayhem of a James Bod adventure, but a lot more interactive, as you’re not sitting on the couch rooting for James to not get bumped off by Goldfinger below or any of the other villains classic to current coming your way October 16 for PS3 and Xbox 360.
Now, someone tell me Eurocom has a PS Vita dev kit humming away somewhere in their offices, as I’d really LOVE to see what they can do with Mr. Bond on that HD handheld…
I was instantly intrigued by Silent Hill: Book of Memories when I first heard about coming exclusively to the Vita. The fact that veteran developer WayForward Technologies got the gig was cool enough, but as soon as I saw early screenshots showing the game was a top-down action RPG hybrid, it went on my radar as something to watch. Of course, me being so stupidly busy trying to get DAF more noticed and generate some income (hey, I like being a taxpayer!) meant I’d forgotten to check in on things until recently when a demo dropped on PSN. Not too surprisingly, the team has whipped up an extremely addictive action-heavy blast that’s sure to draw in those who crave tightly focused dungeon crawlers in all their knocking off of monsters and gathering of much loot glory.
While the BoM demo isn’t as initially creepy or instantly unsettling as previous games in the franchise, it has enough going for it that promises plenty. In terms of gameplay, it rocks in the manner of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath and Hunter the Reckoning series. Naturally, some Silent Hill fanatics are raging over this intensely all over the internet, but let me put some sanity into place here by saying the game not only looks and plays well, it works as a Silent Hill game once you get over the fact that it’s the most combat-focused entry in the series history. The game deviates from the SH formula in a few key ways, but it also taps into what makes the series compelling. If you’re familiar with the above mentioned titles and love this type of game, I’ll bet you’re grinning already…
2K Games and Firaxis are about to make a ton of gamers happy campers indeed with this upcoming reboot of the turn-based strategy classic and this should be one of those games that becomes highly regarded among new and old genre fans. Sadly and not so amusingly enough, rumors have it that the highly stylized FPS origin story (which has vanished off the radar for far too long), has been whined and focus-grouped dined into a watered down (and probably DLC-only) version of the turn-based game above with squad-based third-person gameplay. Talk about a developer not being able to do the game they set out to do in the first place. Great. Score another “victory!” for those who want to piss on creativity because they think one genre is “inferior” to another or ONLY caters to ONE type of player. System Shock, Thief, Half-Life, Arx Fatalis, Anvil of Dawn and other excellent POV titles are more that solid examples of smart “shooters” that were classics of their times is all I’ll say…
Anyway, I hope we at LEAST get something like a demo pr something PLAYABLE made available of the old version of this game before it got sent to development hell. Granted, it probably would have been dead at launch only to be rediscovered as one more “Hey! This game isn’t bad at all!” bargain bin special, but I guess 2K doesn’t want to deal with that factor (even after so much has already been spent on development). Feh. Sometimes, fans aren’t the smartest sticks in the shed because they hate things that may actually work well in a certain context they can’t wrap their heads around until they actually PLAY it. Same old hamburger and fries again? Sure!
OK, a mere six early screenshots isn’t much, but the gorgeous teaser video above for Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons makes up for that, I’d say. After a long time away doing quality shooters set in gritty modern and futuristic locations, Uppsala, Sweden-based developer Starbreeze Studios is headed back into the more fantasy-themed worlds they started out making. Granted, their very first game, Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade (PC, Xbox, PS2 and Game Cube) took place in a gritty medieval setting, but their second game, Enclave (Xbox) was set in some a pretty interesting (and yes, gritty) locations. This new game, set to hit PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam in 2013 has a richer, more stylized look to it that recalls a tiny bit of the Fable series but with more of Starbreeze’s technical polish. Unreal-powered loveliness aside, I’ll need to get my grubby (or is that gritty?) paws on a build for some hands-on time. 505 Games has been good about letting me know when they’re in the city (playing a demo of Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise was a highlight of last month for me), so I’m expecting a little bird at my window when they’re ready to show off their new baby. I can’t wait…
Edit: I had a R.J. McReady monent there, heh (+5 points if you get that joke)- Starbreeze isn’t Finnish, but they’re based out of Sweden. Oops!
Now, I could make a couple of REALLY corny piracy jokes about the US version of this hit game NOT being available on a disc, meaning the poor digital pirates can’t even play the game they don’t want to buy or something like that, but I won’t. Anyway, One Piece Pirate Warriors, the latest anime franchise to go the Dynasty Warriors route id out NOW and quite spectacular stuff. As for why it’s not a CD in a case, well… among other things, mega-success in Japan doesn’t always translate to that same number of sales here and yes, anime games like One Piece are indeed a niche inside of a niche (or much smaller than than even the most rabid fan would want to know), so here we are. Granted, it’s another sad case of some people being able to play this instant classic, and some that can’t even if they wanted to.
It’s the current economy more than it is Namco Bandai wanting to piss you off, folks. That said, the move to digital is becoming a bigger problem as more games head that way without letting fans in on why, so I hope the powers that be in the industry in general finally quit it with the smoke and mirrors and “everyone is downloading!” crap and get into letting people with money but crappy online connections have the means to BUY their games instead of complaining that they can’t do so.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 