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.

Left 4 Dead 2 Ratings Update (UK, Australian and NZ Versions)

G’day to all my UK, Aussie and NZ readers! In case you’re wondering about the status of Left 4 Dead 2’s ratings, here you go – news directly from Valve. Let’s all hope cooler heads prevail thanks to a dose of simple common sense. Note to ratings boards around the world: It’s a GAME, folks – there are no real-life zombies and this isn’t going to inspire someone to run around looking for them with a squirrel gun.

Of course, if there’s someone out there that’s THAT far off the rails, well… there’s a pill for that, I hear. Or therapy… Anyway, off the soapbox and on with the news…

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Nintendo Drops Wii to $199, Introduces "World of Nintendo" Gaming Events

Of course this has NOTHING to do with all the other console price drops and oddball rebates, folks (*wink, wink*). It’s merely a recession fighting move by Nintendo to keep those Wiis rolling into homes across America (*wink, wink*).

Or something like that – press release below.

Hell, a price drop is a price drop and at $200, the Wii is a more attractive deal now to budget-minded gamers, especially now that more quality games are here or on the way. Personally, I do like those “World of Nintendo” events, which will be PACKED to the gills once word gets out.

Anyway, here you go…

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Natsume’s Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition Now In Stores


Natsume really wants to grab your photo safari gaming dollar, that’s for sure. First, Afrika gets announced as gold status for the PS3 and now, Wii owners get their own exclusive snapshot adventure with Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition, which should be in stores as you’re reading this. This is a pretty smart move by the publisher, as this type of niche game seems to find wider appeal among all types of gamers and by having two similar but different games on two different (and not necessarily competing) platforms, gamers with either console will have their simulated safari without having to fork out cash for a new system.

Of course, folks like me with every console will have to end up buying BOTH games, but hey, it’s good news for Natsume, right? A little press release action and screenshots are below the jump.

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Preview: Dead Space Extraction – Bringing Cinematic Sci-Fi/Horror to the Wii

Visceral Games in on a two-part mission with its upcoming Dead Space Extraction and it’s an important one. The first part is done: they’ve gone and created a great-looking, dynamically frightening console game designed to scare you right under the couch (while also laying the groundwork for future Dead Space titles). The second part is a bit tricky, meaning it’s all up to YOU to assist by buying the game and experiencing all that hard work put into the project for yourself.

I had the great opportunity to sit in on a live (and informative) Q & A session with a few members of the dev team, who all spoke passionately about the game while dropping a few interesting facts about developing it as a Wii exclusive.

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Interview: Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Q & A

Well, it took a little while, but given that Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is shipping next week, the timing is actually perfect. I initially thought this would be a simple Q & A session with an Xseed employee or two, but thanks to Xseed’s Jimmy (“New Daddy!“) Soga and busy-bee PR guy extreme Scott Fry, the Q’s got sent out to Japan where I’ve the pleasure of noting that they were answered by Kiyoji Tomita, Section Chief at KUROGANE (the Osaka-based team assisting K2 with the development and localization process). How’s that for service?

Anyway, here we go – enjoy!

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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…”)

Review: WET

Platform: PS3/Xbox 360

Developer: Artificial Mind & Movement (A2M)

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

# of Players: 1

Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: B

The best way to enjoy Bethesda’s new action game, WET is with tongue planted firmly in cheek, controller planted firmly in hand and butt planted firmly on couch. The game is a fun, funky mash-up of cinematic influences – Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, John Woo and more than a few others all get riffed on here and for the most part, it works perfectly. Despite the metric tonnage of “grindhouse” gimmickry, the game manages to click from the moment you press START and the fireworks begin. With its over-saturated color palette layered with an intentionally scratchy graphics filter, actual old movie intermission reel clips and outrageous, bloody arcade-style action throughout, the visual overkill outdoes itself over and again as the levels fly past.

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Release Calendar: 9/20 – 9/24

Short list (sort of) this week. ODST seems to be the go-to game for most folks. Me, I’m more of a Shin Megami Tensei: Persona or Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection guy. Katamari Forever and Wacky World of Sports both bring the funny to their respective consoles, if you’re interested.

9/21/2009
Aion (PC)
Fabulous Finds (DS/DSi)
Just in Time Translation (DS/DSi)
Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection (PS3/Xbox 360)

9/22/2009
Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition (Wii)
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 (PS3/Wii/Xbox 360)
Fallen Earth: Welcome to Apocalypse (PC)
Family Party: 30 Great Games Outdoor Fun
(Wii)
Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)
Hidden Mysteries Titanic (DS/DSi/Wii)
Katamari Forever (PS3)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (PSP)
Order of War (PC)
Rapala We Fish (Wii)
Scooby Doo: First Frights for (DS/DSi/PS2/Wii)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (Standard & Limited Editions, PSP)
Spyborgs (Wii)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up (DS/DSi/PS2/Wii)
The Price is Right 2010 Edition (DS/DSi/PC/Wii)
Wacky World of Sports for Wii.
Where’s Waldo? (DS/DSi/PC/Wii)
Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion (DS/DSi)

9/23/2009
Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft (Wii)
Squeeballs Party (DS/DSi)

Next week is a big one for a number of reasons. RPG and Horror game fans should be pleased, is all I’ll say…

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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