With a little over two weeks left before BandFuse: Rock Legends hits retail for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 19, here’s another slice of one of the many tracks you’ll be learning to play. My fingers have been tingling and there’s a nice loaner electric guitar warming up in the corner for this one is all I’ll say. This one’s a straight up guitar school in a game case with everything unlocked and a free-form play and learn as you go style that might shock some music game fans expecting something more “video game”-like. Me, I love the idea of dropping the faux-rock god veneer for something that’s going to teach you to play and will be a piece of software those who “get” will go back to over and over again. I’ll save the rest of my words for the actual review, so keep an eye peeled for that…
Tag Archives: Video Game Previews
BandFuse: Rock Legends Gets A Little Social D Kick…
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Nice. I haven’t listed to Social Distortion in ages, but it’s cool to see my soon to be favorite new music game getting a Ness little addition (ho ho, I’m one with the lousy puns today, aren’t I?), Anyway, this is just another cool layer that’s going to add legs to an already comprehensive game that’s sure to shake things up when it hits stores on November 19. Get ready to be rocked, i say – BandFuse should be a winner that gets people up and playing like they mean it.
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Oops. I Forgot Some Adventure Time 3DS Screens Last Month…
OK, this is a sort of filler post, but I did forget to add these to that Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! screenshots for the Nintendo 3DS in that preview I wrote up not too long ago. I’m still flipping a coin about whether to buy a new 2DS or a bigger and more expensive 3DS XL to play this on.
On one hand, cheap is always good and that 2DS and its kid-friendly design (it’s targeted to 5 and 6 year olds!) will make me the envy of the playground parent set (er, not that I hang out at playgrounds or with parents, mind you). On the other hand, that more expensive XL is MUCH better for my eyesight thanks to the nice and big screen. Decisions, decisions… well, it’s not exactly earth-shaking in importance at all, so worry not your pretty little heads about me this time. I think I’ll work it out just fine…
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Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! Hands-On: Knowing Is Half the Battle (But You Still Need To Fight!)
FACT: D3Publisher of America’s new publicist, Edith Yang is a total hoot, sitting there cheerily playing and promoting Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! clearly knowing it’s got “Sleeper Hit” stamped on it in big red invisible neon ink letters. I have special glasses, so I can see that on the big banner off to one side with the game logo on it. I say nothing about these glasses as I’m not wearing any and don’t want to sound completely insane by stating the opposite. But I digress…
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Earth Defense Force 2025 Hands-On: Bug Blasting 101, On a Few Cool Fronts…
D3Publisher of America rolled into NYC last week with its small but awesome holiday games lineup and of course, as Earth Defense Force 2025 was going to be there, I had to make sure I got some quality time with the in-progress US localization. I’ve been playing the Japanese PS3 version since mid-July and had some time with the Xbox 360 import thanks to a friend who owns a Japanese 360, so I was more than ready to hop into the US version with relish.
D3PoA had a 360 set up for split-screen co-op play complete with English menus and plenty of enthusiastic voice acting fans of the series will crack plenty of smiles over. The game also has wide appeal outside that dedicated niche thanks to its addictive pick up and play simplicity, five difficulty levels, some amazingly tough missions that range in length and plenty of visual upgrades from earlier games in the series.
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Dark Souls II “Aching Bones” Trailer: Yeah (*Ouch!*) That Collector’s Edition Weighs A Ton…
Innnnteresting. When Dark Souls came out last year, publisher Namco Bandai made the very cool decision to charge the same $60 price tag for the standard and collector’s edition of the game and yes, that steel-boxed version with the art book sold quite well while the standard edition seems to have done quite fine (not everyone likes that extra swag). This time out, Dark Souls II seems to be getting three different editions: a standard retail version (which will probably pop up as a digital release as well), a Black Armor Edition and a Collector’s Edition details of both are below, of course). Some may say Namco Bandai is being a bit overconfident here, but I think if they can get the fan base that LOVES this game to pay a little more while packing in some more swag (and cool swag, at that!), then more power to them.
Besides, you can always scream into that metal case or at that Warrior Knight perched atop your tee vee when the game keeps killing your avatar off when the going gets tough. Of course, since you hard-headed core PC gamers love your downloads, I believe you don’t get Jack other than the game (even if you find it on a disc at your favorite brick & mortar game emporium), so I guess that’s a win for us poor slobs who prefer our consoles for what they bring us (again!). Of course, PC-heads get fans who can fix stuff developer From Software doesn’t right away, so there’s that tradeoff…
EDIT: Oops. As you can see by those newly updated images, I was quite wrong! One crow pie out of the freezer and into the oven for me! PC gamers get the swag too. Nice. Now stop that online petition stuff!
*Black Armor Edition Pre-Order Bonus*
The Dark Souls II Pre-Order Bonus comes with a FREE Collectible Metal Case, Game & Original Game Soundtrack – while supplies last. The collectible case has the unique Warrior Knight box art that will only be found on the Black Armor Edition. The Original Game Soundtrack is composed by Motoi Sakuraba, who composed the full score for the 2011 hit Dark Souls as well.*Collector’s Edition*
The Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition comes with a gorgeous premium quality 12 inch tall Warrior Knight figurine, made from solid PVC weighing nearly 16 full ounces packed inside a custom printed display box with transparent window. Fans will also be treated to an exclusive hardbound artbook filled with never-seen-before images from the game developer, as well as a sizable full-color microfiber game map perfect for mounting onto your wall. The Black Armor Edition metal case will house both the game disc as well as the Original Game Soundtrack.
Hmmmm… It’s coin tossing time, I guess…
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One Piece Pirates Warriors 2: Big to Small Changes Make Bringing the Pain Much Better…
It’s a great thing that One Piece Pirates Warriors 2 demo on display at Namco Bandai’s press event a few weeks back was timed or they’d have had to drag me away from the controller. I’m a big fan of the Dynasty Warriors/Sengoku Musou series and the games that use the same formula and/or game engine and while last year’s One Piece game was solid, it had a few flaws in the ointment that made some parts slightly annoying. OPPW2 completely nixes the quick time events from the original’s boss battles and has a more free form style in terms of how much there is to do and how you can get it all done. There’s a new leveling system where you can used earned gold to train characters and even the ability to temporarily switch characters during gameplay by building up a special meter.
Developer Omega Force is at the top of its game here, packing the huge battlefields with even more enemies, ridiculously stylized (and hilarious) special attacks and that trademark Musou gameplay that’s addictive and challenging on the higher difficulties. As with the first game, the wacky art style of the anime translates fantastically to 3D with the assorted cast members retaining their exact likenesses and expressions from the show and bringing more to the table thanks to a dev team clearly having a blast doing what they do so well. I keep wondering when Omega Force will finally do a Tekken game in this style or even better, a crazy Namco Bandai character mash-up that’s part Musou, part Super Smash Bros. (of course, some hard core Nintendo fans will want to beat me up for even suggesting this, but I can handle it).
Like the first game, North American gamers are only getting this as a download through PSN while Japan gets this as a disc game, download and as a separate Vita release. Granted, this is exactly the sort of niche title that won’t move as many units as it will in its home country, but I think Namco Bandai should bend a wee bit and reach out more directly to the fan base just to see if they’d indeed buy this as a disc if were to be made available. Even better would be both One Piece games on a single Blu-Ray if possible for a fair price, but as usual, that’s more wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, US gamers get this one soon (September 3, 2013), so keep your eyes peeled and your fingers limber. You don’t want to seize up from a bad case of “controller claw” or anything right as that boss battle gets underway…
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INTERVIEW: Half of Twenty Questions With Lost Planet 3’s William Watterson
With Capcom and Spark Unlimited’s PS3, Xbox 360 and PC sci-fi action game Lost Planet 3 finally headed into stores August 27 here in the US (August 30 in Europe and Australia), I had the great opportunity to shoot a few questions over to WIlliam “Bill” Watterson, voice and motion capture actor for lead character Jim Payton (who by the way isn’t related to THAT Bill Watterson, which is why he’s called William here). You can probably call him Bill if you run into him in person (just don’t ask him to draw you a picture of Calvin or Hobbes).
Anyway, below the jump he discusses voice acting (with a few tips for you thespians out there), music, LP3’s western influences, booze and how to get social with the man himself in a few places online…
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October’s Dark Souls II Live Beta Will Test the Best (and Kill the Rest)…
If you’re a big Dark Souls fan, you’d better pay very close attention to the game’s facebook page. Namco Bandai is going to be running an exclusive closed Beta for the PlayStation 3 version of the game over Sony’s PlayStation Network starting October 5, 2013 for players in North America and Europe. From the press release, it sure looks as if developer FromSoftware is going to be showing off an all-new area packed with death in every corner, but don’t take it from me – get a load of this snippet:
The depth of the DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta experience will truly test players’ skill, intestinal fortitude, and their sheer will to survive. The DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta will delve into one of the most treacherous areas of the DARK SOULS II world; players will not only get an opportunity to explore an entirely new area of the game, but also experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical challenges, and the unrelenting difficultly that only the developers at FromSoftware can deliver.
Yeah, that sounds like a double-dog dare with a side of fries and cheese (the cheese coming from the game’s notoriously vicious and crafty enemy AI – trust me, it’s BRUTAL on the unprepared player!), so you know what to do if you accept that challenge (and you’ve survived being slapped upside the head with that metal gauntlet you just got served up fresh and hot). “Prepare to Suffer” needs to be the slogan for that Beta, I say…
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Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst: The Return of TOO Much Content!
If there’s one thing eternally busy developer CyberConnect2 knows how to do, it’s pack their Naruto games so full of content that trying to pin the tail on how many hours it takes to complete is a futile proposition. Despite that timer showing how long you’ve been at it for the last few weeks or whatever, you really don’t want to know how many hours you’re sinking into a game with a ton of playable characters and customization options unless you’re going for some sort of bragging rights someone can easily match by firing up the same game and letting it sit on a status screen while they do the Rip Van Winkle for a month or so.
For those of you who’ve blown through, are still playing, or missed out on and plan to purchase Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, you may want to hold onto something or just have a seat. Namco Bandai and CC2 are about to drop an even better game on your heads in the form of Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst, set for a PS3 and Xbox 360 release on October 22 and followed later by a PC release through Steam. Full Burst packs in the original game with reworked cinemas, all the DLC content and some all-new and insanely tough challenges that will test the best players with some truly brutal battles. A build of the new game was up and running at Namco Bandai’s press event a few weeks back and just listening to the staggering number of changes was exhausting yet showed that CC2 really loves its fans and wants them to have the best game possible…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 