Assassin’s Creed III Naval Battle Trailer: By George, How Big IS This Game, Anyway?

 

Between the open world exploration across a few choice (and massive, excellently detailed) locations and these spectacular-looking (and rather speedy) sea battles, it looks as if Assassin’s Creed III will be keeping a few million gamers quite occupied for a while before they even touch the multiplayer content on the disc. Me, I’m a story guy first and foremost, so I’m highly impressed by what I’ve seen so far and that includes the Vita game that’s an entirely different story altogether. That October 30 release date is rushing up fast and I’d bet this game will keep a lot of you gamers who normally head out on Halloween inside scarfing down that candy you’d intended to pass out to trick or treaters…

By the way, here’s a new Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation trailer in case you need another good reason to get a Vita. This just might be the best game on the handheld to date and for quite a while, the largest in terms of scope.

 

Konami On Air Gamescom 2012 Wrap-Up: Raiden The Wave (And How)

 

Konami revealed a nice selection of upcoming titles at Gamescom this year and even had their own web show to promote the goods. Here’s a look at the three post show videos for each day of the show as well as the pre-show peek behind the scenes video that kicked things off. Between Metal Gear Rising: RevengeanceCastlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 – Mirror of Fate, and a few other cool games, I’m going to be glued to my TV for a nice chunk of time, that’s for sure. I just hope I don’t go even more broke stocking up on extra controllers…

 

More video preview fun below the jump!

Continue reading

Okami HD (Almost) Leaves Me Speechless…

 

Lovely. There’s really not much to say here other than if you own a PS3 and haven’t played it, you SHOULD buy this game, period. Even if you’ve played it to death, that HD polish and newly added PS Move control scheme both make it worth owning again. Of course, it would have been even cooler to have this on a Blu-Ray disc with an HD version of the cult hit GOD HAND plus a nice “making of” documentary for both games along with soundtracks and an art book (and maybe an Okami plushie for extra Premium Edition measure), but hey – I’m not the one making these decisions. Ah, well,,, but I were running things, that’s how I’d roll (although I’d support both physical and digital releases with the latter at a lower price point, as it should be for not getting packing and a manual).

Sony’s Innovative rain: The Only Problem I See Is This Is DLC-Only, Grrrr…

Lovely, chilling and very promising looking adventure game from Sony’s Japan Studio, but so far, it’s only going to net a PSN release. Sony REALLY needs to get some of these innovative games such as this, Papo & Yo, Datura and others onto a disc and sell them at retail or direct to the segment of their user base that doesn’t use PSN for whatever reason. Stick a basic manual with some sort of PSN Plus voucher in there (that doesn’t expire) and maybe they’ll see a jump in users there as some of those without an account start moving forward to take the plunge.

Tearaway: Media Molecule’s New IP Means (LittleBig) Business

How do you follow up the huge success of the LittleBigPlanet franchise? No, not by making a go-karting game (though I hear it’s a ton of fun). You go and whip together a super-cool looking adventure game in a unique world worth visiting over and over, that’s how. Some online wags are making silly Paper Mario comparisons, but as they’ve not yet played the game, they’re to be taken as seriously as a slug fighting a tanker truck packed with salt. This one’s yet another very good reason to own a PlayStation 3, I say…

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Update: Faster And Furiouser

Based on this new Gamescom trailer, Sega is really pulling out all the stops with this sequel, but I’m still curious about that rather glaring lack of the word SEGA in the title. “Sonic & All-Stars” just sounds so… lazy or something. Hell, even if the game has guest stars NOT in any Sega games, keeping the name of the company IN the darn game is kind of important for old-ass Sega supporters such as myself. I’m just saying… Anyway, the game looks great and you certainly can’t go wrong with a good, fun racing game built for competition and pure fun. Just fix that name and it’ll be perfect, I say!

Until Dawn & Killzone: Mercenary – Two More Exclusives That Will Keep The PS3 & Vita Going Strong

 

Sure, the Move might not move as many gamers as SCEA would love to believe, but I like the peripheral and when it has games such as the just announced Until Dawn on the way, I’m happy I bought that Wand and Navigation Controller setup as an early adopter. I like the “B” movie vibe going on above, the SCREAM-like tone of the game and yeas, that it’s all about motion control gameplay, something that when done well, works wonderfully. Amusingly enough, I have an unfinished design document here I did a few years back for a remake of the Wii game JU-ON: The Grudge that added some cool features that would have made for a better overall experience. Perhaps I’ll dig it up and post it one of these days…

 

 

As for Killzone: Mercenary – another portable entry in the series is more than welcome, as Killzone: Liberation on the PSP was stellar stuff indeed. Mercenary is, like the console versions, a first-person shooter (a genre surprisingly lacking on the Vita even this early in its life cycle) and should draw in fans with its superb visuals and familiar gameplay. I’m a big fan of the Killzone series for it’s sharp looks, tight gameplay and overall story arc, so it’ll be fun to see how this new game fits into the canon Guerrilla Games kicked off back on the PS2. Annnnnnd, the waiting begins. Let’s hope both of these are out sooner than later, I say.

Borderlands 2 Update: Say Hello To Handsome Jack (He’ll Be A Big Pain Later On, I Bet)…

 

Looks like those of us who played the original Borderlands will get a nice treat with this DLC, er, provided we go the pre-order and Premiere Club route. Of course, as much as I love Gearbox’ great series, I’m a bit aginst this sort of buying into content, as sticking it on the disc (or the inevitable Game of the Year Edition) will serve the needs of those who dislike pre-ordering or buying digital content. We. Shall. See, I suppose. As it is, Borderlands 2 is going to be a pretty huge hit without the need for extra content, but this should do well among the most rabid fans who want everything before those of us who can wait a bit longer (because the main game will be so darn HUGE)…

Sega’s Hell Yeah!: This Rabbit Tale Is Getting Curiouser and Curiouser…

Fun and funky visuals aside, I’m still trying to figure this game out and I can’t quite put my finger on why I like it despite it trying to be too, er…. something. Well, it’s not a bad thing that quirky still tickles my fancy and Hell No!, I’m NOT one of those mildly angry internet folk clamoring for Sega to make a Sonic game that looks something like this. As usual, some hands-on time will clarify and crush any doubty rumblings I may have, but overall, I like what I see, pushing the crazy vibe overkill and all. Go, Sega!

Laugh of the Day (Sort Of): A Patch, Reviewed


While patching console games seems to be the new black these days, it’s rare that you see reviews of that patch being used in an ad. Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever seen this and I thought it was a joke until I poked around online a bit. Somehow, this is hilarious and terrifying and annoying all at the same time. Anyway, you can grab your own copy of Persona 4 Arena HERE. Of course, you need an Xbox Live account in order to grab that patch, but you already know that, correct?