It has been 20 years since a teenage girl began fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight. That’s right it is the 20th anniversary of seminal magical girls series Sailor Moon. As part of this 20th anniversary there was some major announcements made during the 20th anniversary event streamed live on Nico Nico.
The biggest announcement of the event is without a doubt that a new anime reboot of Sailor Moon is in the works and slated to begin airing in the Summer of 2013. It has been confirmed that this new series is a complete rebooted adaptation of the original manga created by Naoko Takeuchi and not a film or OVA series.
The other announcement made is that Momoiro Clover Z will be performing the infamous opening theme song ‘Moonlight Densetsu’. Besides that it was also confirmed that it is planned to have the series broadcast throughout the world (most likely through streaming services such as Crunchyroll). However no details have been set in stone on that.
This is certainly brilliant news for Sailor Moon fans and great news for anime fans in general. Now if only Yu Yu Hakusho could get the same treatment… Be sure to let us know what you think of this amazing news in the comments section below.
Spelunky Developer: Mossmouth Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Release Date: July 4, 2012 Price: 1200 Points ($14.99)
Overview
Spelunky first came onto the gaming scene back in 2008 as a free-to-play PC title, where players had the main objective of trying to survive throughout several worlds until reaching the end. This may sound basic, but in all honestly, Spelunky is far away from your standard platformer. Imagine a game that is ready to kill you at a moment’s notice. You only have one life, and you have to utilize your findings to simply stay alive until the end. Add in some HD visuals and multiplayer, and you have the new and improved version of Spelunky for the Xbox Live Arcade. Yes, this is quite a special title that is sure to capture the attention of the old-school crowd, but is there enough content in Spelunky to justify it’s asking price? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
Normally I would start out a review speaking of the story within a game before touching on gameplay. There is a slight narrative in place for Spelunky, but it really only exists to suit the purpose of progression. That said, not having a sufficient plot takes nothing away from this title, as there could be a story about talking ice cream cones and Spelunky would still be just as satisfying. Players start out by picking one of four different characters, and then get thrown into the first stage right off the bat. As I mentioned, Spelunky is a platformer, and all the standard fare for the genre are in tow from the get-go. Your main character can jump over pits and on a foes’ head, run right over narrow passageways, and climb up platforms that he (or she) has latched onto. For offense, our spelunker has a small little whip that can pop foes at close range, and can lift just about anything to throw at enemies. It’s a simple formula that feels solid, leaving no room for argument when you find out the game’s true #1 antagonist. Death.
You see, each stage has your standard lot of enemies and their main job is to prevent you from finding the exit. Spelunky relies heavily on exploration, meaning the player will have to find their way to the end by using the tools they discover throughout. Our little hero starts out with some rope and grenades though, which both play a large role in your safe travels. Ropes can be tossed to move up or down in the level – preventing a long fall, and grenades can blow up enemies and destroy the very floor underneath you to create a shortcut of sorts. These items come in limited quantity, but can be bought at shops with the hefty supply of gold and gems scattered about each stage. Other items such as spiked shoes, glue (for sticky grenades), and even an ice gun can also be purchased, adding to the wide array of gadgetry.
The core of this game’s mechanics are built around the fact that every stage is randomly generated. Those of you who have played the greatness that is Toejam & Earl will feel right at home with this, but Spelunky takes that one step further and only allows each player one life – with a hero that can only take a few minor scrapes before dying. The punishment for death is severe as well, as death means having to start all over. Personally, I am not a fan of overly challenging games. I never was big on Mega Man, and Contra is still a game I have never beaten to this day. Spelunky could easily make the player break a controller, but it doesn’t. In fact, I can’t think of one moment where I was truly frustrated. If you die, it’s your own fault and dying in itself feels like progression due to the randomly generating worlds, which means Level 1-1, 2-3, or whatever stage you may be on will be completely different each time you play. I was stuck in the first mine world for ages it felt like, but this title’s difficulty compliments the other mechanics so well that the player never feels stuck. There is no trial and error and everything is a surprise, which in my book makes Spelunky refreshing until the end and beyond.
You really can’t even begin to explain this title’s charm without mentioning the witty AI and little secrets that can be found buried in every nook and cranny of this lovely little world. For instance, there is a shopkeeper that has a good memory. Anger him in any way (such as stealing or popping him with your whip) and he will instantly go insane with rage, shooting everything in his path with a shotgun. If you manage to survive, be ready for this lunatic to stalk you, as I found him pacing at the exit, ready to put my little character in a grave. There are a lot of little moments like this in Spelunky, which makes actually progressing so damn rewarding. Each stage also offers more incentive for completionists, such as a princess to save on each stage as well as tikis that add a good amount of loot for picking up but come with a great risk (by risk I mean giant boulder). All these little quirks seem to play homage to the classics, while providing the player with plenty of fun memories from their own playthrough at the same time.
Multiplayer
Another fine feature of Spelunky is multiplayer – and it’s not even online. In the co-op mode, up to four players can play at once, which leads to 4 times the chaos. Teamwork is needed at all times due to the fixed camera, and if a player dies, their ghost arises is able to blow on enemies and items, offering either a slight help or major nuisance to the surviving players. A Deathmatch mode can also be played from the start, and is pretty much awesome as you would expect. All characters can go head to head, utilizing the many weapons against eachother until a victor is named. Some may argue that local multiplayer is a bit of an odd choice, but I welcome this for the platform as couch co-op is just more satisfying for a game like Spelunky anyway.
Visuals and Audio
When it comes to the art style within Spelunky, expect to be taken back to the days of the SNES, but with more crisp artwork and heavily detailed environments. Yes, this game looks fantastic and is coated with a nice retro aesthetic, which is sure to please all audiences. The main characters are full of charm, right down to their round, pink noses all animate wonderfully while the chaos takes place in the main game. Little touches also do a lot for the visual appearance of Spelunkey, such as the blood that bursts out of foes and watching a pal slowly impale themselves in spikes.
The audio is also well done, and the top notch soundtrack is sure to please anyone who is a fan of when video game music was less about dubstep and more about beautiful chiptunes that bring out an atmosphere in the world you are exploring. These characters never talk, but the sound effects that are blaring around you give you an easy indication of where you are, and what you need to do next. Imagine hearing a princess in distress, but you also hear an angry shopkeeper shooting his gun down below you. It’s effects like that that work well in building Spelunky’s stages, and make diving down further even more exciting.
Overall
Spelunky is the first game in a long time that has reminded me of why I love surprises. Each stage is different due to the randomly generating stages, and even without much a story, the game’s characters are able to carry themselves in such a clever fashion that it really doesn’t matter. As I mentioned, I am not a fan of games that are hell-bent on punishing a player, but this is a good kind of punishment. The more you die, the more you get out of the game, and that concept alone is what makes the replay value of Spelunky endless, and also what makes it one of the Xbox Live Arcade’s finest releases to date. If you want a good arcade title that is well worth the investment for both solo and multiplayer purposes, do not pass up this charming and utterly addictive adventure.
Telltale’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Steve Allison, spoke in an interview with Polygon stating that, after the first five episodes of The Walking Dead are released and the game itself is released in a complete package at retail, they would focus on a second season. At the moment it is unknown as to whether or not this means that the story of Lee and Clementine will continue in this season or if it will follow a new group of survivors.
Namco Bandai revealed a number of new fighters today for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. These fighters include a number of fan favorites, including Tekken 3’s Forest Law and Tiger Jackson. Another returning character is Alex, which happens to be a dinosaur version of Roger the kangaroo and shares a number of his attacks.
P-Jack is also joining the game as prototype of Jack who was developed in Russia. He has a number of Jack’s abilities including flight and rotating limbs. To commemorate these fighters joining Tekken Tag Tournament 2’s roster Namco also released a trailer of them all in action which you can see in action below.
It appears that Atlus wasn’t quite expecting such an angry response when it was confirmed that Persona 4 Arena would be the first region locked title ever on the PlayStation 3. In fact, fans were almost universally outraged by the concept. Today Atlus sent out a rather long message, which can be read in its entirety below, but basically the message stated that the reason for the lock was due to reverse importation. Meaning that Japanese gamers will be unable to import the cheaper US version, similar to what happens sometimes with anime companies.
Friends of ATLUS,
The last week brought with it news that Persona 4 Arena would effectively become the first PlayStation 3 system game to be region-locked. We can today confirm that this is true; the game will be region-locked in all its respective territories of release.
As we’ve ascertained from your impassioned responses online, this is obviously a tremendous frustration for many fans. We understand the various perspectives on the matter. Those who fear this is a slippery slope, the beginning of a dangerous and unnecessary precedent. Those who import foreign hardware for a multitude of reasons and expect to be unlimited in their software selection. Those who aren’t necessarily affected by this issue, but who are principally opposed to it. We are not blind to these concerns and we pledge to grow ever more informed as to exactly what our fans want. It should be added that we were completely unprepared for the force with which the community communicated their disapproval.
There are, however, a few points to clarify. This is NOT the beginning of a new ATLUS policy, nor do we view it as a precedent or a slippery slope. If anything, your determination and dedication to what you believe in has certainly stood in the face of that. This is an isolated case, a situation precipitated by a number of factors, some of which are simply out of our North American hands. Moreover, and perhaps there is no way to convince our fans of this considering the magnitude of the betrayal many are feeling, but we are not doing this out of malice or a desire to control. Allow us to explain.
Persona 4 Arena achieves a number of triumphs for our North American publishing house. For years, our fans have asked us to include dual language audio in our games. Finally, with P4 Arena, we were able to deliver on that desire and include the exact same content as the Japanese release for our North American fans. Moreover, our North American community is often forced to wait months for a localized release (a plight our friends across the Atlantic can relate to). Again, with P4 Arena, we’re able to release within two weeks of Japan. We pushed hard for these things. We know our fans want them–well really, EXPECT them–and we did our best to get as much for our release as possible.
The unforeseen consequence in all of this was that we had a version of our biggest game of the year releasing within a couple weeks in two territories, both identical in content, but at radically different price points. Importing, as great as it is for gamers who otherwise can’t get access to a title, can also cannibalize the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of another. While we’re all one big ATLUS family, the reality is that the dramatic difference between the Yen and the Dollar makes for a dramatic difference in price. So the decision was made, perhaps at the expense of some of our fans, clearly at the frustration of many, to region-lock Persona 4 Arena.
For many of you, there is no explanation that resonates, no justification that atones for this fact. We can only endeavor to earn back your confidence and, to learn from your arguments. We absolutely recognize the fear that this is the beginning of a trend. We in no way view it as such. Please also keep in mind that the game’s excellent online multiplayer is global, a fact that is in no way affected by the region-lock. Players can compete against fighters from all territories.
A tremendous team of talented developers and artists poured their blood, sweat, and tears into Persona 4 Arena, and every reaction we’ve ever received to the game has shown that those efforts are readily apparent. The decision to region-lock P4 Arena was a business one, one that has very clearly affected how many perceive the project, but we ask you to please not overlook the exceptional efforts of the people behind the game and to work with us through constructive dialogue.
While Sony revealed two new characters earlier today in the form of Toro and Tekken’s Heihachi another piece of news was revealed today concerning the game’s release date. Sony revealed on their PlayStation Blog that the game will be released to North American gamers on October 23rd while Europeans will only have to wait one extra day to play it on October 24th.
Revealed alongside the release date were the above character costumes which will be awarded to anyone who happens to pre-order the title before its release. Now with a release date only three months away at this point, it seems we will be seeing quite a decent amount of character reveals over the next few weeks.
The time has finally come for Club Nintendo members in North America. Those of you who hit Platinum or Gold status in 2012 have quite a choice ahead, as that is what this year’s gift is. In a move that is more than likely due to the large quantity of Club Nintendo members hitting Platinum this year, Nintendo have listed 7 different rewards for members to choose from. Let’s take a look at the goods.
First up is what I selected and one of the nicer gifts available – a set of Platinum Mario Playing Cards which are nicely decorated with Mario characters and feature a Gold and Silver finish. Yeah, it’s no statue or pin set, but these cards are nice and are sure to be a collector’s item due to their limited print.
Next up is another reward for Platinum members in the form of a poster set. A poster for Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and The Legend of Zelda are included, and honestly look fantastic (especially that Luigi’s Mansion poster).
If you’re gold, or just don’t care for the above, you have a choice of the usual Club Nintendo Calender, or on of a good number of eShop titles. Those titles include Metroid II: Return of Samus, Mario vs DK: Mini’s March Again!, Super Mario Kart (Wii VC), and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Wii VC).
I understand why the quality in rewards are a little lower this year, but you have to give Nintendo a bit of credit when it comes to the sheer variety offered overall considering. It is indeed a nice balance of instant gratification with the digital load, and tempting swag with the physical merch.
You can now redeem your choice as of now, so get to it and make a decision!
So how do you take a franchise that has recently received two beloved adventure titles that explore a number of facets never before shown about surviving a zombie apocalypse and potentially ruin it? You put Activision in charge of a first-person shooter based on the The Walking Dead that’s what. Well, the title is being developed by Terminal Reality but I digress.
The title will be separate from Telltale’s titles as well as separate from the comics themselves, as it focus on two characters that were created originally for the AMC television drama. The story will follow Daryl Dixon and Merle on their journey to Atlanta. Along the way players can take on zombies or sneak around them, which may be a smart choice as players will have to manager meager supplies of food and ammo. The title is set to be released sometime in 2013 and will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
In an interview a panel at the indie game event Rezzed. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford said that he wants Borderlands 2 on the Playstation Vita. Pitchford said
“I want to be able to have the character I’m working on with my PS3, and then when I’m on the road with my Vita I can just keep developing that same character because it exists on the cloud somewhere.”
Pitchford then asked the crowd to bug Sony about making a Playstation Vita version of Borderlands 2 possible. Pitchford also said he wants an outside dev team to work on the vita version, because Gearbox is busy working on the console and PC versions of the game. Borderlands 2 on the PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 is set to release on September 18th in North America, and September 21st in the Pal regions. What do you think about a Playstation Vita version of Borderlands 2?
At EVO this weekend Sony revealed that Toro one of the Playstation cats, and Heihachi Mishima creator of the King of the Iron first tournament in Tekken would be joining the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale cast. The Tekken series made it’s debut on the Playstation back in 1994, and was a Sony exclusive until Tekken 6 in 2009. So Heihachi seems like a good fit for Battle Royale. Toro of course is one of the 2 Playstation cats which are the Japanese Mascots for the Playstation. Toro and Koro were both in the Playstation 3 version of Street Fighter X Tekken, and will be in the Vita version as well. With Toro announced in Battle Royale could Koro be far behind? Sony will be revealing 2 more characters next weekend at the San Diego Comic Con. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale will be releasing October 23rd in North America. What do you think of the 2 newest editions to the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale roster, and who do you think will be added next?
