Another TEAM NINJA Unmask trailer was unleashed this evening, this time we have a Worldwide First – Yosuke Hayashi, leader of Team Ninja announced a very early build of DEAD OR ALIVE 5 with an amazing gameplay trailer. Hayashi-san explained that the Team Ninja after the release of Dead or Alive 4 have been thinking about how they can improve this fantastic franchise.
Of course graphics and gameplay were the most obvious, but what Hayashi-san went on to explain is that Dead Or Alive 5 will not only be a fighting game, but a “Fighting Entertainment” game with environments coming to life with players now being able to interact with them and use them to their advantage to gain that upper hand in battles.
Hayashi-San also revealed a new image logo for Dead Or Alive 5 entitled “I’m a Fighter” What is it ? What is the hidden meaning behind it. There is one, can you figure it out. If you can share it with us, leave a comment below
Dead Or Alive will make its way to Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. Get ready for the ultimate battle.
TEAM NINJA Unmasked a new trailer at a Pre-Tokyo Game Show Event in Tokyo Shibuya today. The new Ninja Gaiden 3 trailer unleashed, entitled ”Consequence” what sort of repercussions would Ryu Hayabusa face if he decides to let go and allow the evil to consume his very soul?
One of the most well known ninjas, Ryu Hayabusa’s name conjures feelings in people the world over. And yet, there is so much that we don’t know about the man behind the mask. Hopefully this trailer below will shed a little more light.
Let us know what you think of the new trailer, leave a comment below.
Vanguard II Developer: SNK Publisher: SNK Platforms: Playstation 3/Playstation Portable (minis) Release Date: Out Now Price: $2.99
Over the past few days, I have been reviewing a couple of 1980’s arcade games developed and published by SNK (now known as SNK Playmore). Now, I have one more to conduct and I am not disappointed with this one. In fact I am quite pleased with this particular title. I am talking about Vanguard II, a space shooter with great gameplay, retro visuals and nostalgic music. Right now, it is available as a Playstation mini, meaning this can be played on the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable. If you want something to add to that growing retro collection, then this is a must own.
Gameplay
As explained before, this is a space shooter. However, it is not a vertical scrolling space shooter. It has horizontal scrolling and allows you to fly in eight directions. So basically it is quite free-roaming. The objective of the game is to destroy a certain amount of pods (circular structures with a red light in the middle) before going in for the kill. Yes, this is a game about destroying space stations. This is in complete contrast to another game I have reviewed called Alpha Mission, which was released as part of a trilogy of games alongside T.N.K III and this game. Back to the game, you do have a few obstacles in your path. Most of the time they are smaller ships trying to hone on you and move in for the kill.
Don’t expect difficult controls for a game with simple gameplay. Using the directional buttons or the analogue stick will move your spaceship around, but it will be a little awkward when you first play the game. The ship, to put it simply, does not suddenly change direction. Instead, you have to actually have to make a complete turn. Yeah, a little confusing and frustrated somewhat, but it is not a major problem, so I guess I could be doing a little nitpicking. As for the other controls, pressing X will shoot your laser, used for the flying enemies, while pressing O will launch two missiles to destroy the pods, turrets and the central point of the spaceship, similar to Alpha Mission.
Arcade games have a tendency to be a little tough and Vanguard II is no exception. It offers four difficulties: Easy, Normal, Hard and Hardest. Despite the chosen difficulty, there will be times where you will have to put up a tough fight. There will be too many enemies in some instances to outmanoeuvre and too much fire to avoid, especially when you try your hand into destroying the spaceship, as the central point will put up a fight. However, it is not a hindrance to the experience, rather it adds to it, really testing skill and sense of time. Overall, the gameplay, although simple, is rather fun and solid.
Visuals
What can I say about the visuals of the game? Well, they are those that were displayed when the game was released in 1984. Most of the time, you will encounter an abundance of grey (the space station) and brown (the planet below). Yes, there is no black background, common for space shooters, in this game. The spaceship you control is red, so you won’t lose it in the darker shades of the background. The enemies are usually a mid-tone grey. On occasion you will encounter enemies which alternate red and yellow. To be honest, they look like a flying atom. The layout of each level is different. The central point will be located at a different location in the level. Turrets and pods will also change their position somewhat. They are also quite detailed and take on a distinguished look. Overall, the graphics are quite good for a mid-1980’s game.
Music
I shall start off by telling you that, during gameplay, there is no background music. It is similar to the old Atari 2600 days where all one had was the joy of listening to 8-bit sound effects. Of course, these are a joy to listen to… if that is your liking. The sound effects are classic. The shot of a laser reminds me of when an 80’s sci-fi laser or plasma gun but toned down a little. The explosions after the missile hits its target reminds me of a brief period of heavy rain before clearing for a nice sunny day. Other than that, there is nothing else to talk about when it comes to music
Overall
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Vanguard II. The gameplay is simple to grasp but it is well designed and can be fun. The visuals retain the retro look, although it can be said that it does look outdated. The music is great to listen to and gives you a sense of nostalgia, especially the sound effects. If you are looking to get a trilogy of classics for your Playstation 3 or Playstation Portable (or both if you do have them), then you really can’t go past Vanguard II, Alpha Mission and T.N.K III. Kudos to SNK for re-releasing these games.
While those of you in Japan are enjoying Tokyo Game Show 2011, spare a thought for us here in Australia that have another month to go before our very own games expo.
Thankfully, EB Games have released the map for their upcoming EB Expo, which is due to be held on October 15th and 16th. The map showcases the layout of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre where the event is taking place, and we can say it sure does look great.
More than 20 publishers and developers will be exhibiting upcoming content at EB Expo, including Ubisoft, Activision, and Bethesda. Here’s our pick of the games that will be exhibited:
Activision
– Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
– COD Elite
– Prototype 2
Bethesda
– The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
EA
– Battlefield 3
– Mass Effect 3
Konami
– Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
– Pro Evo Soccer 2012
Namco Bandai
– Soul Calibur 5
Playstation
– Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Square Enix
– Final Fantasy XIII-2
Warner Bros. Games
– Batman: Arkham City
– LOTR: War in the North
Xbox 360
– Forza 4
– Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary
For more information on EB Expo 2011, check out the official site here. Stay tuned for more news and comprehensive coverage of the event!
In a landslide victory, The Rock has beat John Cena via THQ’s Facebook poll to grace the cover of the collector’s editon for WWE ’12. Now this result comes as no surprise considering it’s The Rock, but I am sure somewhere a Cena fan is having trouble sleeping tonight.
Due to these results, this limited edition of the upcoming wrestling title will be deemed “The People’s Edition” and will feature themed goodies based on the legendary performer. THQ posted along with the result that more details about this edition will be revealed next week, so stay tuned and we will be sure to fill you in on the contents inside once they leak out.
More news from the Sony Pre-TGS conference that took place earlier today. Seems that the mighty little PlayStation Vita will have multi-tasking capabilities. For anyone out there that doesn’t know what Multi-tasking is all about let me give you a brief Multi-tasking-101 rundown on it.
Let’s use PS Vita for example shall we. You’re playing a game, doesn’t matter which one, and the music is annoying the crap out of you. You know you have the latest Britney Spears album downloaded to your VITA and your dying to listen to it – NO PROBLEM, hit the home button switch to the music folder menu select the music you want to listen to (in this case Britney Spear), hit play and it starts, switch back into the game and you’re now you have Britney singing you a love songs while playing your favourite game. Quite impressive isn’t it? But it doesn’t stop there, you’ll also be able to switch between a game and start up the web browser, check out a video on YouTube video on how pass that specific level you’re stuck on then switch back, or just post on facebook that your playing this awesome game on the PS VITA so your friends will be jealous, then switch back into the game and continue playing.
Pretty cool huh. You can also use your PlayStation network account on your PS Vita and it will allow you to view your Playstation 3 Trophies on the device. Something a lot of us hardcore gamers will really appreciate.
As I have mentioned before, one of the most bizarre titles coming out this year is without a doubt Nicktoons MLB. The game itself actually looks quite good, but the bizarre part comes in with the likes of Spongebob and other animated mascots going up against professional Major League Baseball players. Those who grew up watching Nickelodeon, or even kids of today for that matter will have plenty to hold over their appetite with as Ren & Stimpy, Invader Zim, and many of today’s Nicktoon characters will all be fully playable right alongside the 300 actual players from all 30 MLB clubs.
2KPlay released a new trailer for the game today, which shows the game in action. From the looks of it, each character will feature their own signature plays, meaning the toons will have comical and over-the-top techniques and the pros will be able to recreate famed maneuvers from the MLB circuit. I honestly am digging what I have seen so far from this mash-up, as it looks like parents with a love of baseball will finally be able to get their uninterested kids to pay closer attention.
Nicktoons MLB is now in stores for the Xbox 360 (with Kinect support), Nintendo Wii, and the DS. Now while your debating getting in on this action, you can also check out the new trailer below in all it’s toon-filled glory.
It’s rare to find a fan made film that’s not cringe worthy, let alone legitimately good and works by itself without the backstory of the property to prop it up. However, that’s exactly what we have here with Portal: No Escape, by Dan Trachtenberg. Admittedly, Dan is a working commercial director so while he’s in the industry and has the know-how and contacts, this is by no means produced by a studio. This is a self funded short film that took 1.5 years to make. Dan actually used his twitter following to find people to finish up on special effects. Before watching this I never really considered Portal a property that I might want to see as a film, but you can certainly count me in that camp now. Dan is also a co-host on the popular internet show The Totally Rad Show and runs onecoolthingaday.com.
Since being released, the short has had almost 6.5 Million views and has become the 3rd highest rated video in youtube history.
Ports Ahoy! Tecmo Koei are the latest developers to announce a title for the Vita, which is none other than Ninja Gaiden Sigma. If the name sounds familiar, you would be correct as Ninja Gaiden Sigma first appeared on the Playstation 3 in 2007.
As of now, information on any extra features this portable will include are minimal, but with the two sticks on the handheld, one would expect this version to be just as good as it’s console kin. Considering the Ninja Gaiden title that is slated for the Wii-U next year, we very well could also see a brand new game developed for the Vita on top of this port.
Time to dust off your leather and denim, slick back your hear with some bryll cream (really old hair care product more akin to car grease) and , as 505 games bring the classic stage-show and iconic film Grease into your living rooms via the PS3 Move and Xbox360 Kinect. Warm up this fall by dancing and singing your way through your favourite Grease tunes such as “You’re the one that I want”, “Greased Lightning” and “Summer Nights”, either by yourself or teamed up with friends.
Key features of Grease will include
Sing – Complete with 15 original songs from the film as well as 5 bonus tracks
Dance – Express your inner creative soul in the duet choreography and freestyle sections or enjoy the rock n roll routines and freestyle play
Game modes – Dance mode and Karaoke mode both with versus and co-op play
Co-op – Up to 8 players can compete in teams of 4 consisting of 2 dancers and 3 singers
Grease will launch onto the North American market on PS3 and XBOX360 on October 25th with a worldwide launch following shortly after on November 4th.
For more information regarding this title keep your eyes peeled on www.greasethegame.com
