Cornering the market on hormonal male adolescents, Wet seems at its surface to employ the voluptuous female lead as a replacement for interesting gameplay. Since we haven't heard anything about the game past an old trailer, it's nice to update the game's progress by experiencing the game vicariously through someone else's hands-on. The verdict? Wet is apparently "shaping up to be one seriously thrilling all-out action killfest with brains as well as bust and enough imaginative features to have Ms. Croft and a certain Persian royal casting nervous glances over their slender shoulders."
Developers A2M generally make kids' games, so of course all this pent up violence and sex will explode somehow. Seems like Wet is going to deliver the same rush as a summer popcorn action flick. A big draw to this game is the intuitive split-aiming mechanic employed by the dual-gun-wielding heroine Rubi. All previous efforts to make this option work generally, well, suck. While holding the lock-on button, you can flick the analog stick to move the second weapon to whatever enemy you want, probably as another lock. Sounds easy enough. More on the gameplay itself after the jump -- trust us, it's good.
For game journalists, Devil May Cry 4 hasn't gotten a lot of real "preview" time since the same footage and levels have been on display for nearly a year. In an effort to correct this at Capcom's Gamer's Day, the game's producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, showed off a ton of new material on both Nero and Dante -- tickling gamers' fancies and implying that Dante might have a much larger role than we originally thought. We'll make a list of the new stuff that appeared, just for you!
The big brawl between Dante and Nero is showed off at last -- it serves sort of as a tutorial for getting used to Nero's controls. You use his Devil Bringer arm to smash Dante into the ground a few times, then you get to fight him like a full-fledged boss. Kobayashi admits there's still some tweaking to be done, as Dante continually kicked the crap out of Nero.
The Devil Bringer arm was only thought to move you from place to place or grab enemies, but when powered up, as Kobayashi displayed, it has much more functionality. The description IGN used doesn't make much sense, but we imagine it as something overly dramatic and stylish.
Kobayashi introduced the female fighter Gloria -- she's not playable, but her intro is "humorous" and has been labeled as Kobayashi's favorite female character yet. Probably due to her overtly sexual behavior.
Nero was also shown fighting a new boss: some weird floating snake demon with a lady in its mouth. Sounds cool and all, but without seeing it, some of the magic is lost.
Dante gets all his familiar fighting styles (Trickster, Swordmaster, Gun Slinger, etc) and he can switch between these styles and weapons on the fly. Kobayashi showed off Dante's Gilgamesh fists/boots, which veterans should be familiar with what to expect there. A new weapon, Lucifer, was shown off. These were like metallic wings that attached to Dante's back and seemed to serve a primarily defensive purpose.
Pandora's Box! Dante's last new weapon shown was a briefcase that could churn out any number of insane weaponry -- explosive arrows, a chaingun, a giant missile platform, you name it. Of course, these will be difficult to use, so keep in mind tweaking these powerful weapons will probably entail making their use extremely limited.
As for the Q&A session with Kobayashi, it's been determined that the game isn't two separate tales as originally thought (Nero and Dante going off and doing different things), but one long tale. You play through Nero's portion from start to finish, then swap over to Dante to complete the remainder of the game. Our hero still gets to take the glory, it seems. There are a large number of extras, which are still secret, and no word on downloadable content. We're excited. Let's just hope it remains about as difficult as the third entry into the series, so we'll have something else infuriating to play on the PS3.
Air Tight Games and Capcom bring you this first trailer for the newly-registered title Dark Void. Seriously, if Capcom announces anything else, they've better got a good hiring strategy in order because their staff must be spread out pretty thin across all these projects. Anyway, this trailer is pretty cool after the first minute. There are flying spaceship things that almost seem right out of the old Flash Gordon movie, jetpacks and zeppelins, shooting, and an overall feeling of warmth and excitement. Check it out, leave your thoughts. It seems like a fairly refreshing take on the third-person shooter.
Because we just can't get enough of Guerrilla Games' high-profile Killzone 2, we're crashing another interview party that talks about environmental hazards and new gameplay elements. Instead of beating around the bush, we're going to dive right in and pick out all the juicy berries growing on the branches.
The Helghasts have turned the environment of their home planet into weaponry, like the ARC weapon that harnesses lightning as firepower. While not directly an environmental hazard, there are other things planned to discuss. Like lightning?
You can't choose different characters to play as in Killzone 2, since you follow the journey of Sev. You will meet up with buddies who have varied abilities, but as far as personal choice goes, you've got Sev. Luckily, he can wield most weapons ... just two at a time.
Too early to confirm vehicles, but elements from Liberation, like boss battles and healing allies, will probably make appearances.
You can jump in Killzone 2, but you can't jump and fire your weapons at the same time. There will also be a lot of context-based actions like leaning and peeking against and around things.
No word on voice actors yet, but it almost sounds like the devs are hiding some bigger names than we'd expect.
Better AI is a must, what with all the destructible environments and explosive bits found in the battlefield. Enemies and squad allies need to be aware of all that and each other, crafting complex attack and defense strategies on the go.
On a final note, Guerrilla Games gave a nod to the Blu-ray camp, saying the graphics and level of detail found in the game could only be done with large storage space. "It is not a luxury to have Blu-ray, but rather a necessity, as compression only gets you so far. I mean, the level that we showed at E3 and Leipzig topped out around 2GB! Also having the CELL and SPUs means we can offload all of our physics processing to an SPU, or process AI using the SPU's." We're excited to hear more about the game, especially a solid release date. However, we don't expect it to come out anytime soon -- we want them to relax and craft an excellent gaming experience for us.
[Via Digg]
You might remember the muscular, grapplin' hook armed badass from the old NES game of the same name, but Bionic Commando is finally making a return to consoles with a new PS3 and 360 version, as part of Capcom's big series of explosive announcements. Instead of searching for "Super Joe" and destroying Hitler with a rocket launcher, you'll play a more recognizable role with a deceptively familiar premise. You are Nathan Spencer, framed for a number of crimes by your superiors after doggedly fighting for their cause in a conflict against the Imperials. On your day of execution, the city is obliterated and your superiors reluctantly turn to you for help, because as luck would have it, that bionic grappling hook arm of yours is exactly what they need.
The game will sport mechanics similar to those found in the critically panned Dawn of Mana, that is, you use your grappling hook like the whip in the aforementioned game, grabbing onto things, swinging them around, or whatever, in addition to propelling yourself across levels. The project itself is being touted as an international affair, sporting the minds of a Japanese creative advisor, American producer, and the Swedish studio GRIN will all be involved. We look forward to more information to the return of this classic franchise, but if this wasn't Capcom's big announcement, what will be?
Some of you may have heard rumblings about this obscure Killzone 2 title -- we're not sure, it hasn't really gotten much attention from the press, but apparently it's being touted as one step ahead of all other console games in terms of next-gen technology. From an excerpt in the Official PlayStation Magazine UK: " ... the fact that Helghan is such an inhospitable hole, should mean that the game looks drab. The fact it doesn't is down to an array of visual tricks, the most important of which is deferred rendering, which involves blending the effect of light sources on an object... it makes the city look incredibly dynamic with light and shadow changing constantly as a result of muzzle flashes, burning wreckage and jags of lighting."
In addition to those fancy bits of techno-babble, the firefights and ferocity of the situation the gamer is placed in seem to really draw a from a different well inside of our minds, causing the whole FPS experience to seem fresh and exciting. Those are our words, but they get the idea across rather well. In conclusion, OPM states that Killzone 2 "is genuinely a notch ahead of anything being done on consoles right now." We're glad to hear these glowing impressions, but we'd like to get our grubby mitts on it before every other game coming out on consoles catches up with this one in terms of technical prowess.
Free Radical have recently updated their blog over on IGN, deciding to enlighten us to some of the weapons available in the upcoming, hotly-anticipated shooter Haze. Since there's a lot to say about each weapon, we're going to give you the shorthand version here and leave it up to you to research further.
Diplomat pistol -- standard Mantel weaponry, seems most useful in short-range situations.
Blacksaw assault rifle -- depleted uranium are the bullets, pain is the result. Also available: silenced version.
Donkey Puncher shotgun -- " ... this high-end shotgun is more than enough to kick any ass presented to you." Enough said.
Hard Candy rocket launcher -- apparently makes Sloppy Joes out of the enemy.
Pinpointer sniper rifle -- it's a sniper rifle. Need we say more?
Heavy Gun -- uh, we're not sure, but it sounds extremely useful. Seems to be a stationary weapon of mass destruction.
Razor Tongue knife -- standard Promise Hand melee weapon. You can smear it with Nectar, which causes Mantel soldiers to overdose on Nectar if you slice 'em. Nice way to make a knife useful without being ridiculously overpowered (Warhawk).
Lobo -- the assault rifle of choice for Promise Hand soldiers.
Oso -- shotgun! Notice the trend of Spanish names for Promise Hand weaponry.
Mano del Dios -- the "Hand of God" is essentially a minigun you really don't want to see from the wrong end.
Dragon de la Gente -- take a guess! It's a flamethrower for the people, by the people.
There are more sniper rifles and grenades to be had, but we think you get the point. All of these weapons are, admittedly, standard FPS necessities, but we can't believe this is all there will be offered. Maybe it is. But if not, we're sure there will be quite a few interesting ways to lace Nectar into more weaponry. We're excited for this one to come out, so we'll wait for November with bated breath.
It's difficult to play games in a language you don't know. However, based on the nearly infinite well of RPG experience under our belts, we can make a few pretty obscure parallels to the recent demo of Agarest Senki that popped up on the Japanese PS Store this past week. If you're unaware of the title, it's a strategy RPG that harkens to the like of all those Nippon Ichi titles, except this one spans generations of characters that are born, fall in love, and breed according to your actions. It sounds fun on paper, but what happens in the demo is more confusing than biting into a donut to find it's filled with salad.
Namco Bandai has managed to sneak a little bit of story into all of its Soulcalibur fighting games. Ultimately, they provide little reason as to why these characters seem to enjoy beating the c**p out of each other -- but it's good fun for us, nonetheless. The story of the upcoming Soulcalibur IV ties in the fate of the Soul Edge and the Soul Calibur and is presented in its now-trademark melodramatic style.
A fun drinking game to play while reading the Prologue is to take a shot every time the word "soul" is used. Let's see if you can survive!
As the Prinnies would probably say, "Welcome back to the world of Disgaea, d00d." Then they'd probably explode or something. Anyhow, Nippon Ichi has opened up the official Disgaea 3 website, detailing bits of the story and pictures of characters ... you know, the usual website-related stuff. Our problem is, as usual, our inability to read kanji and most things Japanese. Despite that, we're sure the text is tantalizing and obscurely humorous and we can't wait to read more of it in English when the title hits the PS3 sometime next year.
If you don't get the subject line's incredibly clever pun, so clever we're going to take a typing break to eat a cookie ... then tell you the game is an interactive horror novel. Anyway. Chunsoft and Sega are bringing this horror novel to life and from the Tokyo Game Show floor, life is a bit of a stretch. While interesting in concept, it sounds like plodding through walls of text and then selecting a path intermittently isn't as scary as we'd hoped. The strange choice was to use all live-action and real scenery in the background. Nothing pre-rendered, nothing animated.
Still, the production values are hailed as top notch and the backgrounds do have a breath of life in them. Fires will twist and dance, the hair on a character's head will flutter momentarily, and voice-overs are not uncommon. Rumble is also featured, adding a fairly scary jolt to your hands whenever a character screams or, we assume, windows break and/or hell breaks loose. Chances are this is import only, unless you trust Sega to write up a smart script and hire voice talents who can actually scream appropriately.
White Knight Story is a game we've kept in our peripheral vision since we first saw its trailer at TGS last year. Today we got the chance to get a hands on with the game. The demo guides you through leading a giant ox creature, and its suspiciously Taru-Taru-like owner, down a road filled with dangers. The dangers come in the form of evil armoured humans and animated vegetation. Similar to Mandragoras. We're drawing a couple of parallels to Final Fantasy XI but, thankfully, the similarities stop there.
The slightly cel-shaded nature of the earlier trailer has been toned down a bit so that now the world looks more realistic, whilst still maintaining its obvious anime inspiration. The game dropped jaws with its incredible stylised JRPG graphics when it was revealed at TGS last year and is still graphically stunning.
The first thing we noticed when we started the first combat segment was what first appears to be an aiming circle. This is what we affectionately call the "Wait Circle", which has a loading bar elongate along its circumference. Once it finishes the circle you can perform your next action. The Wait Circle also helps you out with your combo timings.
Know of the old adage: save the best for last? Square Enix did just that with its incredible Final Fantasy Versus XIII presentation. In spite of being comprised of completely non-interactive and most likely pre-rendered footage, the Versus trailer absolutely stunned the audience due to its incredible sense of style. The trailer begins, telling viewers that "this is a fantasy based in reality." What could that mean?
The footage begins with a car driving by, segueing to a familiar scene of the mysterious male protagonist deflecting bullets from an opposing military force. Quickly, the trailer flashes to a girl in a school outfit that seems to be awaiting someone. Latin text is interspersed throughout, fitting to the beat of both the visuals and music. Already, there's a strong sense of style and intrigue.
A meticulously designed cathedral is the next scene in the trailer, and we see a mysterious hooded individual eerily similar to a character in Advent Children. All the while, snippets of the lead killing the opposing soldiers in a surprisingly gory way. We were shocked to see blood spurt out of the villains -- could this be the first M-rated Final Fantasy game?
After adamantly insisting that you do not videotape or record the screening in any way or else, the Square Enix private theater showcased numerous titles from the ever-expanding Final Fantasy universe. The first trailer on display was the lead game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, Final Fantasy XIII. In English, a narrator explains a corruption that seems to plaguing the land. "Those tainted by the outside were exiled," he explains.
Earlier trailers highlighted Lightning, but the trailer at TGS showed off a number of new characters, environments and creatures. A gunman that seems to have specific mastery over water shoots a crystal, creating a massive water summon. Paths of ice form in the sky, as he rides along on a motorcycle. Certainly, a spectacle to behold. Then a massive African-inspired scene provides a stark contrast to the futuristic environments we've seen of the game so far. Fantastic Mammoth-like beasts walk across a river in a scene that could've been ripped out of a Afrika gone slightly astray. Debuting in this new trailer was a brand new female character that stands, staring at a frozen planet orbiting in the sky. The trailer ends with a proud proclamation "PS3 Only," to silence any doubters.
Once again, we were stunned by the visuals of the trailer, which went beyond the quality of most Hollywood productions. The new dry landscape showcased provides reassurance that the game will not remain stagnant in its visual look. However, in spite of the incredible excitement generated by the trailer, we were surprised that a different game in the Square Enix theater stole the show.
It's known that Yakuza sold like rotten bread outside of Japan which is why the second title didn't even make it overseas. However, in Japan, the two Yakuza titles by Sega have sold well, so we're glad to see a third iteration see daylight and hopefully, outside of Japan also. The funky thing is, this game takes place 400 years prior to the first one (so, that's 1605) and covers the journey of Kazumanosuke Kiryu, a bodyguard who takes any job for the right price. Wouldn't you know it, but he's approached by a girl named Haruka who asks him to kill Musashi Miyamoto, who is actually Kiryu's other self outside of the city. His past! His even darker half!
Sega is employing an all-star voice-acting cast for the Japanese track (Japan has a lot more pride in their voice-acting). In addition to that, many upgrades are being made to the game. You'll have a huge, detailed city to explore and four different fighting styles to make use of (fist, blade, dual blade, broad sword). You no longer have to train with a master to gain moves -- you still can, but you'll also learn moves by observing events, like a dog jumping to catch a bone. There will be over 100 subquests and multiple minigames, also. It seems Sega is really pulling out the stops with this, so we'll keep you posted how it looks at the Tokyo Game Show!
