Today at Tokyo Game Show Konami released a new trailer for tri-Ace’s 3DS dungeon RPG named Beyond the Labyrinth. Attendees at the show actually have a chance to play it right now, but unfortunately we can’t all be at Tokyo Game Show thanks to the massive amount of traveling required for some people.
Still you can see in the below footage that Beyond the Labyrinth looks to be a very interesting title mostly involving the girl in the white hair. Besides some cutscene footage, gameplay footage was also shown near the end. You can follow the game’s twitter at @labyrinth573 but expect most updates to be in Japanese. Here is hoping that this interesting looking title is localized for Western release as it appears to make extensive use of the handheld’s 3D capabilities.
While it has been known for quite some time that Sega would be releasing PuyoPuyo 20th Anniversary, it was recently announced at TGS that the famous puzzler would be headed to the 3DS. This version is set to include some interesting features as well with each player having the ability to use their photo as a backdrop in-game and interact with eachother via the handheld’s wireless functionality.
The Nintendo Wii version will also get a star-treatment, with newly announced motion controls that will let players slide their googly-eyed pieces around the map by gently moving the Wii remote. PuyoPuyo 20th Anniversary is surprisingly also coming to the PSP and the DS, with the same avalanche stacking action packed in.
I really hope we get to see at least one of the versions of PuyoPuyo 20th Anniversary in the states, but for now those in Japan can expect the game to hit shelves on December 15th with an included soundtrack bundled in.
Tales of Innocence R has received its first trailer today at Tokyo Game Show which you can catch below. Namco Bandai says that Tales of Innocence R is a reimagining of the DS version of the game being brought to the PlayStation Vita. The game has seen an extensive upgrade in graphics, and most likely much more.
In the video we are treated to some very well animated cutscene footage and a decent dose of gameplay footage featuring four player combat against enemies much like past Tales titles have featured. No other information was given about what additions will be made, nor when to expect the title. Let us just hope that Namco sees fit to bring the game over to Western gamers when the PlayStation Vita releases in North America.
After the recent reveal for both Iron Fist and Vergil in UMvC23 at TGS, Capcom have now released two brand new trailer showing Danny Thomas and Dante’s half-demon kin in action.
In the first clip, we see Vergil using the Yamato to tear up the likes of Doctor Doom, She-Hulk, and Sentinel. Now from the looks of it, this new addition will use his speed techniques to conquer opponents, so he should come in handy for making quick work of the larger foes on the roster. At the end of the trailer, we also get a first look at Vergil’s Ultimate special, which has him summoning energy swords to deliver one devastating finish.
On the Marvel side, we see Iron Fist taking on his own trio of opponents with his blend powerful chi energy and martial arts skills. Iron Fist looks to focus on more close range combat compared to Vergil, but that isn’t a bad thing as this character can tie up the opponent in one incredible combo if utilized correctly.
Check out both trailers below and stay tuned to more TGS coverage as Capcom are sure to be throwing out more news for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and all of their upcoming titles.
Though there was a few screenshots leaked yesterday, Falcom has revealed a full trailer for Ys: Celceta Sea of Trees. The trailer was released during the opening of Tokyo Game Show and can be seen below. We saw yesterday that the combat had been vastly improved from previous titles and this new trailer only helps to emphasize that fact. The title will apparently make use of YS VII’s party system.
Also shown in the trailer is some touch based puzzle elements which makes Ys: Celceta Sea of Trees one of the first PlayStation Vita games to actually show off touch based game elements in its trailer during Tokyo Game Show. Expect more information about the game as time rolls on, and perhaps XSEED may even be interested in localizing this for the West when the game is released in the future.
Yesterday it was revealed that Square Enix is working on a sequel to Lord of Arcana and would be releasing the game on both the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Vita sometime in the future. The official name of the game is Lord of Apocalypse and today at the start of Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix revealed their first trailer for the title.
As you can see below the trailer is in Japanese and also features some rather nice background music. What is most important however is the graphics that can be seen in the video, which are extremely impressive. The gameplay footage shown in the latter half of the video shows the improvements that have been made to the game. Check out the video below and expect an English version of the trailer within the next few weeks.
Just shortly after announcing that FFXIII-2 will be released on December 15th in Japan, January 31st in North America and February 3rd in Europe, it has been confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will receive post launch downloadable content. What the DLC will entail was not announced yet besides that the content will let players enjoy more gameplay depth, but it is very interesting to see that this has been confirmed by Square Enix.
Andriasang reports that there will also be some pre-launch content for Japan only that is going to be called the “Final Fantasy XIII Lost Report.” The content will be free on FFXIII-2’s official Japanese website and offer a look back at the first game’s storyline from the perspective of Rygdea and Yaag Rosch.
Tokyo Game Show has just kicked off and Square Enix is the first to grab a piece of news tonight as they have revealed when Japanese gamers should be expecting the release of Final Fantasy XIII-2. The sequel to FFXIII will hit store shelves on December 15th on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and both versions of the game will cost ¥7,980 ($104 USD). Gamers in North America and Asia will receive the game on January 31st while Europe will get the title last on February 3rd.
Also announced was a very nice looking special edition PlayStation 3 for the title. The PlayStation 3 seen above will be bundled with the game and is going to be called “PlayStation 3 Final Fantasy XIII-2 Lightning Edition Ver.2” when it hits store shelves. Square Enix did not go into further detail about whether or not the Lightning Edition PS3 will be released overseas.
Rise of Nightmares Developer: Sega AM1 Publisher: Sega Platform: Xbox 360 Kinect (Reviewed) Release Date: September 6, 2011 Price: $49.99 – Buy Now!
Overview:
Ever since the Kinect was released almost a year ago, gamers have been wondering when a more mature game would be released for the peripheral. Sure there was Dance Central but that simply involved dancing, and nearly everything else has simply been titles aimed at children or simple mini-game collections of little to no value.
That is of course until Sega announced that they were developing a mature horror title for the Kinect. Developed internally by Sega AM1 Team, Rise of Nightmares is a mature title in a world of, at the worst, E10+. With nearly full body motion control, including the ability to walk and turn on your own, is Rise of Nightmares every Kinect owner’s dream?
Story:
You wake up in a cold dark cell in the middle of a dungeon. A young woman is standing by you and you know that you have to escape from this jail cell. Apparently you are both the survivors of a train derailment, and considering that neither of you have seen another living soul, you must be the only survivors.
After escaping from the jail cell, the young couple is accosted by strange and horrible automated zombie like creatures. Defeating these, the couple begins to leave the dungeon, but that is when the walls literally begin to close in. As you try to do anything to save yourself, the walls slowly crush the couple to death.
While that may sound like a game over, that is actually the prologue of the game which also serves as a bit of a tutorial. The actual story involves the players playing as a man named Josh a bit of a drunk that is on vacation with his wife named Kate in Romania. The couple is riding on a train and, after a short fight about his drinking; Kate leaves their compartment to clear her head.
While things may seem simple at first, this quickly changes as a giant creature with a metal mask over its face tears apart a whole train car full of people and detaches the rest of the train cars from the engine, all in the process of kidnapping your wife. The detached cars derail, leaving Josh and the rest of the survivors in a creepy forest with only a large mansion in the distance. Josh has only one thing on his mind, rescuing Kate at all costs, even if it means facing off against the twisted creatures created by a mad scientist.
Rise of Nightmares’ storyline may be a bit generic at first, what with a creature kidnapping a loved one and running to a spooky mansion and all. But there are moments of levity as well. There are a few moments where you will be left speechless by the way things unfold, usually because they are either funny or entirely expected. Unfortunately, while there is some comedy here and a bit of a creepy atmosphere the story isn’t very scary and only expands past the initial plot point near the end of the game.
Graphics:
Rise of Nightmares is a decent looking title, environments are spooky and designed very well. There are plenty of things to interact with and when you have to sift through a pile of skulls to find a key, you’ll be enjoying the way that they move around your virtual arms. The characters are a bit basic looking in appearance, but don’t suffer any real graphical problems.
There is also a very large variety of enemies that you will come across. However there are times that, despite the amount of creatures, you will be facing off against the same looking ones time after time. The enemies also dismember well to the extensive and unique collection of weapons you can use against them, which will provide a nice visceral experience. While there are things to interact with, there isn’t a whole lot of detail to the world and most of the environments consist of gray corridors or brown outside.
Audio:
The background music is perfect for a horror story and suits the game nicely. Unfortunately the voice acting can be a bit tacky and sounds like something you would find in a B-Horror flick rather than a full-fledged game. Despite this most players will not find anything to their annoyance, but nothing excels in the sound department except perhaps the tinny growls and screams of the female creatures.
Gameplay:
At its core, Rise of Nightmares is a title that makes complete use of the Kinect. Players must navigate through various hallways and paths, avoiding traps and fighting the undead along the way. The way that players will do this is entirely through body motions and swinging their arms. Rise of Nightmares’ controls in a very unique and interesting way.
To move forward, players must put one of their foot forward. The further they move their foot forward the faster the character will walk, though the fastest pace seems to be a brisk walking pace. To move backwards, simply put one foot behind the other. To turn around and navigate you will have to turn your shoulders whichever direction you want to turn, which creates the first fully navigable Kinect game on the market.
Of course, this is the Kinect and not everything is flawless. There are many times that I found myself simply walking into a wall because the game wouldn’t register my turning or would continue to walk despite moving my foot back to a normal standing position. This is remedied slightly by an “Auto” feature that players can activate by holding their right arm in an L shape to auto walk on the path they are supposed to take.
While this Auto Walk is a neat feature that removes a bit of the trouble of navigating as well as guiding you on the proper path in case you get lost, it also removes any side exploration that is possible. You can stop auto mode by any time by lowering your hand and it is extremely recommended as the Auto feature will have the player walking past all side routes, collectibles and even weapons. Plus there are certain parts of the game where Auto mode is disabled, usually places involving traps that can kill you. So mastery of the walking mechanics is necessary and not very difficult to master other than a few problems here and there.
There is more to walking around the environment however, there are also Kinect quick time events which will have the player performing a certain task to either advance or avoid death. This includes having to swim through a river, climb a ladder, and much more. There is even a certain enemy which will require you to cover your ears which provides an amazing sense of immersion. These quick time events are all picked up great by the Kinect and most of them are quite similar to their real life counterparts, making the quick time events a highlight of game interaction.
Walking around a creepy mansion and flipping strange switches on and off is going to attract some attention of those inside. Only problem is that the occupants of the mansion are all undead and out to make you become even deader than they are. To avoid this you must fight for your life using a relatively well designed combat system.
Players must raise their hands into a boxing stance, or at least up in front of their chests to focus on the nearest enemy. This is the game’s automatic lock on system which is very useful as it also transfers your focus directly to the next enemy as soon as one is defeated. To fight against the creatures you will have to punch, chop and bludgeon your way through them via any of the weapons you pick up on your path to find Kate. Though you can only take so much damage, which means you will have to block their attacks by crossing your arms into an X shape to help survive and recover lost health.
Players can only hold one weapon at a time and they do degrade over use, which means that your favorite golden knuckles will bust eventually. There are over forty different weapons that you can find in your venture through the mansion, including and not limited to, hatchets, brass knuckles, power drills, chainsaws, exploding glass vials, monster arms, hedge clippers, a vase and pretty much everything else you can imagine. Most chopping and bludgeoning weapons can be used by swinging your arm back and forth like you would if you were wielding a weapon such as that, while using knuckle type weapons will require the player to punch towards the screen. Each type of weapon has a different motion to use which will help mix things up.
Overall:
Rise of Nightmares is an innovative experience that makes use of the Kinect’s motion tracking ability in a way never seen before. The title may offer only a limited amount of exploration and is mostly linear, there is plenty of fun to be had while navigating the rather samy looking corridors. Combat is visceral, immersive and above all fun to play. While the storyline and acting may be something you’d find in a B-Horror, the experience you’ll leave with is one that shows exactly what the Kinect can be capable of.
With the release of their last two anime packages, Arakawa Under the Bridge and Katanagatari, NIS America began bundling their premium edition anime releases with both the Blu-ray discs and the DVD discs. This practice was quite popular with fans, and the Blu-ray versions of the anime were visually pleasing. At that time however, there was no news of NIS America continuing this practice.
Well there is no reason to worry, because NIS America has announced that their release of kimi ni todoke will be bundled into a Blu-ray/DVD combo package when it is released early 2012. kimi ni todoke -From Me to You- Volume 1 Premium Edition will contain the first twelve episodes of the series on both 2 Blu-Ray and 2 DVD discs as well as a hardcover art book, My Memories all wrapped up in a collectible over-sized slipcase as seen to the right.
