PS3 Fanboy

The Japanese version of Demon's Souls is scheduled for release in early February of next year, but it looks it won't be the only one making it out that month. Siliconera suggests that the Asian version will also ship in February and most interestingly will be entirely in English. The site recently went hands-on with a new build at the Asia Game Show in Hong Kong and have discovered that the demo was, in fact, completely in English.

Now, it is possible that the final release in Asia may not be in that language; however, that is really moot. It's most important to note that there is some form of English language version and it is currently in the works. At the moment, there haven't been any mention from either SCEA or SCEE in regards to North American and European releases for Demon's Souls.

"Nothing but a playerʼs decision and a tactics of using various weapons are important than anything that you really need to think to play." This line, taken from the official Demon's Souls site blurb, should make you feel as scared and confused as I felt when I got my hands on the game. My first thought, "ouch," remains scrawled at the top of my notes and, sadly, it's all downhill from there.

Demon's Souls is one of the games for the PS3 that have been unveiled as playable at Tokyo Game Show. When we first reported on the game we included some Famitsu scans for your viewing pleasure, but now we have actual information on the game as well.

Demon's Souls will be released some time in 2009 and it is a spiritual successor to King's Field, a PS1 title that was never officially released in the US. The game takes place in the kingdom of Boletaria, where you play an unnamed protagonist who roams around in an "extremely open-ended" world -- you can choose to save the world from the king who will awaken "an ancient monster" in his sleep, or not. It's all up to you.

The game's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is attempting to "make the fun and charms of a classic RPG interesting all over again with the latest technology at hand." For example, instead of placing traditional restrictions on item usage, it uses the game's physics to place more realistic limits such as "long weapons bump into walls, lighting the area in real-time with the torch in your hand." Sadly, the director appears to have implied the game will be lacking multiplayer; instead, he will opt to "find a way to use the Internet to make the single-player mode more interesting." Arguably, there has yet to be a game that mixes mechanics of a good ol' RPG with gameplay elements only possible on this generation's hardware. Will Demon's Souls be the first? We'll find out when we check the game out at TGS. Also, be sure to check out the 11 screenshots in the gallery below.

Source -- Official website
Source -- 1UP

[Thanks, Ether02 and DeforMAKulizer!]

Remember yesterday and that pretty huge list of unannounced Sony games? Yeah, we're starting to learn what some of them are. This one -- seen in Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu -- is called Demon's Souls. It's an action-RPG made by From Software.

Those guys are the developers of the Armored Core series and also King's Field. While their new title for the PS3 looks strikingly a lot like Shadow of the Colossus (or at least it does in its most captivating picture), the game isn't going to be exclusive to giant slaying. The game will be at Tokyo Game Show -- which is less than two weeks away.

[Thanks Hanson Y.!]

Looks like Armored Core: for Answer will be arriving on our shores fairly soon; Ubisoft has announced that the game will be released on September 16th. GameSpot scored an interview with associate producer Kenan Alpay, who tells us a couple of facts about the game. Here are some highlights:

• Online co-op mode: "30 missions and eight-player online melees in 80 different arenas."
• Story mode: You play as a mercenary who can eventually choose which missions to take from different factions within the game. There are over 40 missions and the decisions you make can lead to multiple endings.
  
• Arms Forts, which are giant battle stations much larger than yourself, will be the featured enemies of the game.
• Control scheme: new control scheme for beginners, as well as an option for other players to join in via co-op mode to assist them with difficult missions.
• New customization options: 130 new mech parts, including "interesting" parts such as an "auxiliary boost jets that increase your mobility and are ideal for hit-and-run attacks."
• Voice chat will be supported, as well as cross-regional (North America, Japan, Europe) play.
  
• No trophy support for "the Western version."

Historically, the Armored Core franchise has seen little evolution from each installment, but Armored Core: for Answer looks as if it could change that trend. Not only sporting bigger play areas compared to Armored Core 4, the game will also support online co-op and transformable battle mechs. And oh yeah, this new Japanese trailer for the game is godly amazing.

Armored Core: for Answer is set to release in Japan on March 19, but it currently doesn't have a release date elsewhere as of yet.