Now this news most likely won’t mean anything to you unless you know a little history about the Shin Megami Tensei series first. Every game in the series has always been released in Japan first, with a Western localization somewhere in the future (or never at all). But this time around things won’t be the same.
Famitsu released information saying that Devil Survivor: Overclocked will be released in September in Japan, while North America will be getting the release on August 23rd. The game itself is going to be widely welcomed by fans of RPGs in North America in the first place simply because it will be the first RPG on the 3DS. And North America will be getting it before the country of the game’s origin!
Today Nintendo has uploaded an epic 5 minute long Star Fox 64 3D trailer and needless to say it’s amazing. The trailer features some gameplay footage that is bound to excite fans and send older fans on a nostalgia trip like no other (excluding Ocarina of Time 3D nostalgia trip).
Fox and friends will be breaking through the fabric of space into the third dimension on the 14th of July in Japan. So if you can’t wait it to be brought over our way in September, prepare your importation device and warp it through hyper-space from Japan.
Things will be a little different this time around in the latest Legend of Zelda game. Eiji Aonuma, series producer of Zelda had a bit of a talk with 1UP and he had a bit of information to reveal about Link and Zelda. Apparently The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword may be a bit like a school drama because the two of them are classmates in a boarding school.
Eiji Aonuma said:
“This game’s plot is something like a school drama, you could say. The flying sequence at the E3 demo is Link competing against his classmates. One of them looks kind of a like a bad guy, as you saw, and he shows up in other ways in the game too, since he has a major thing for Zelda.
Like with Majora, there are a lot of game events involving the townspeople that get intertwined with the main story. Link, Zelda and their other friends all go to the same boarding school, and you’ve got teachers and a principal as well. It’s a bit of a different setting from previous Zeldas.”
This certainly sounds like a good idea. Sure it may be a major step up from the usual Legend of Zelda storyline but change is certainly a good thing. I can’t wait to see more of Skyward Sword’s storyline now, especially since before I wrote it off as simply another storyline clone.
Hot off the heels of their previous announcement of the first season of Bakuman, Media Blasters has announced they will also be dubbing the upcoming second season of the series.
The second season has yet to air in Japan and will be airing in autumn for Japan (around September for the rest of the world). Media Blasters already announced that the first collection of season 1 episodes would be hitting shelves this November.
This is big news to Bakuman fans, unfortunately no cast details have been announced as of writing. Other titles released by Media Blasters include Blade of the Immortal, Rurouni Kenshin, Ikki Tousen, Genshiken and even Invader Zim (funnily enough). If you enjoyed any of those releases then you will undoubtedly enjoy their dub of Bakuman.
We will be reporting on more details surrounding Bakuman as they come to light.
Despite a very good hands-on demonstration of the game at E3 not much has been released concerning FFXII-2 since it was announced that the title would be localized in the United States. Today Square Enix has released a number of new screenshots and this time around they introduce one of the new, and main, characters in the game, Noel Kreiss.
Noel Kreiss is a native of Gran Pulse and uses two swords as weapons, or rather one large sword and a smaller dagger-like weapon. The screenshots show off a bit of the combat as well as some strange new flaming metal demon creature which probably will end up being a boss battle when Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out next year in North America for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 370. Check out the screenshots below.
The critically acclaimed Steins;Gate series will be making it’s way to the iPhone/Touch and iPad this Summer in Japan. The iOS game will be a port of the brilliant Xbox 360 game of the same name from 5pb Games. The game has already been ported to PSP and was released on the 23rd of June. Steins;Gate has also been adapted into an equally critically acclaimed anime series this season, which is still currently airing.
Steins;Gate is a visual novel styled game set in Akihabara, Japan. The game follows Mad Scientist Okabe Rintaro and his lab assistants as they accidentally create a time machine and begin to discover that time isn’t something you can escape.
Famistu has uploaded gameplay footage to youtube, it can be found below.
One of the first pieces of DLC ever on the Xbox 360 was for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and it was seen as being absolutely terrible. I mean of course the horse armor that was offered for horses in the game for a price of around two or three dollars. Now Todd Howard knows that some people may have been too happy with the way DLC was handled in Oblivion and this time around it won’t be that way.
Talking with AusGamers Howard explained that DLC has “been really successful and we like making them.” He also went into detail about future DLC saying “Right now I can say that we’d like to do less DLC but bigger ones — you know, more substantial. The Fallout 3 pace that we did was very chaotic. We did a lot of them — we had two overlapping groups — and we don’t know what we’re going to make yet, but we’d like them to be closer to an expansion pack feel.”
Now Oblivion still had the Shivering Isles content pack which was a huge expansion to the source material. Hopefully Bethesda will do just as great of a job with Skyrim’s DLC, as everyone wants to have more to do in the game, even with countless of other options already at their fingertips.
Just in case you are wondering what you’ll be seeing on store shelves this October when Batman: Arkham City is released Warner Bros. has you covered. They released the final artwork for the box art of Batman: Arkham City and you can see it to the right. The game itself is being released on October 18th, and readers may remember that Best Buy currently is going to provide Robin challenge maps to those who purchase it form their store.
The box art itself is rather simple as colors go, going for a Sin City style approach with color only used to emphasize the blood. Namely the blood covering Batman’s fist and face. Guess punching all of those bad guys in the face would leave a stain after awhile.
Let me preface this by saying that this rebuild of Ocarina of Time is probably going to be the defining build of Ocarina of Time for a new generation of gamers, much like how the original build was my own. The game is identical to the original version in most regards (it even retains some of the old glitches), but has undergone a massive graphics and controller overhaul. Visually, I’d wager that this version of the game is the most superior out of all previous offerings (Twilight Princess included), simply because of the increased graphical output of the 3DS as well as the revamped models, textures and animations all being output in glorious 3D. As a Zelda game, nay, a video game, Ocarina of Time 3DS is one of the greats.
Graphics
Visually The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a treat to behold. The game integrates the existing Ocarina of Time framework into an updated visual feast that is still able to retain the charm of the originals style. Even though it’s easy to say the graphics are good when comparing it to the original title (which appeared on the now ancient Nintendo 64), the graphics are still very comparable to modern games even while retaining the Ocarina of Time style. This means that all the models, textures and other stuff have all had a visual overhaul. Players will not be disappointed visually by this game.
While on the topic of graphics, I feel as though I need to point out how well the 3D works with this game. Ultimately, whether you play it in 2D or 3D is up to you with this game. While there are definitely benefits to playing it in 3D, such as having a better perception of depth and a much sharper looking picture, there aren’t really any sections that are built specifically to be viewed in 3D. The existing game certainly benefits from the added dimension, but really, adding extra bits to the title to make extreme full use of the 3D is silly. The game just isn’t the type of game that would be welcoming to having unnecessary 3D added to it, everything is already awesome and players would be able to tell if these elements were tacked on.
So in the end, the graphics are awesome, the 3D enhances the awesomeness without compromising the games integrity and all is right with the game.
Sound
Does this really need a section? I mean, honestly, everyone knows that Ocarina of Time easily has one of the best soundtracks of any game. And with the addition of the 3DS’ surround sound output, the audio comes to life in an even greater way. Like really, the Nocturne of Shadow literally gave me goosebumps. The quality of every tune in this game is high. From the songs available for players to play via their in-game Ocarina to the background tracks in each zone, they’re all incredibly memorable and highly enjoyable. I mean, who hasn’t found themselves whistling the overworld theme or one of the Ocarina melodies at some point (I think this one applies more to players who grew up with Ocarina, but it will apply to newcomers shortly)?
All of the sound effects in the game have been nicely implemented in this game, with everything sounding similar to how they did back on the Nintendo 64. Now, this may sound kinda dodgy, but I assure you that nothing sounds out of place and it all works and fits very nicely.
Seriously, this is one of the only titles that I would suggest to people play based solely on the soundtrack. Pick up the game and enjoy it!
Story
The evil Gerudo King Ganondorf plans to obtain the Triforce to attain ultimate power and take over the land of Hyrule. But things go awry when he enters the sacred realm as the Triforce splits itself into three pieces and plants itself inside of other notable characters. The Triforce of Wisdom finds its way into Princess Zelda, Link find himself with the Triforce of Courage and Ganondorf obviously gets the Triforce of Power. Using the power of the Triforce, Ganon takes over the land of Hyrule and it takes the adventure of Link to find a way to end his evil plans.
The story itself is basic fantasy fare, with an evil bad dude, a princess and a selfless hero who must do battle at some point to determine the fate of the land. But, what really sets Ocarina of Time apart from the typical fantasy story is the way in which all the supporting characters are utilised throughout the game. I mean, sure some of them can feel a little shallow (especially if you didn’t bother exploring), but honestly, who didn’t fall in love with Malon (newcomers, you will)? Who didn’t think that Ruto was a spoiled brat? I certainly got the impression that Nabooru was a little cut-throat and was certainly upset by Ganondorf’s evilness. Sure the game tells a story of a hero who has to save a world, but at its core, it’s a story about the characters. And that is why I truly believe that Ocarina of Time has had the lasting appeal that it has.
Gameplay
Ocarina of Time retains the classic 3D gameplay of Zelda games previous. So that means, automatic jumping when running off a ledge, solving puzzles (which generally involve you doing stuff to get somewhere else), pushing and pulling blocks and of course combat.
The best part of this games gameplay is how the touchscreen is utilised within the game. While the old control scheme of C-Down, C-Right and C-Left for items is removed, you can access the inventory via the touch screen and assign items to X and Y as well as two hotkeys on the touchscreen. Remember the Water Temple? Remember constantly hitting start to switch your shoes? Be frustrated no-longer! Assign the boots (that are now an item, as opposed to wardrobe option) to the hotkey and whip them out as needed. Honestly, this is the best addition to the game because of this example. While it’s a good implementation otherwise, with the Water Temple it becomes a thousand times better with it and therefore makes the entire game better because of it.
I also really liked how all of the start menu from the N64 version is now layered across the touchscreen, it makes doing things quite seamless and easy to manage. No more pressing start and flicking between screens to access the information or item you want, now its just tapping a tab and selecting what you want. It’s very intuitive and adds to the comfort of the game.
While the gameplay may sound really good up until now, I must also remind you that some of the glitches found within the original Ocarina of Time are still present in this game. For me, this was a nice bonus, as I loved having the nostalgia of running these glitches again (99 gold skulltullas anyone?), though sadly, some of them were fixed for this version. There’s one other thing in this game that is a maybe should have been changed is that when you start the game after saving, you don’t come out of the last building you entered (like some past Zelda games), you instead go back to the Kokiri Forest if you’re a Kid or the Temple of Time if you’re an adult. This isn’t too bad as it doesn’t take too long to adventure to where you last were and you still stay in a dungeon if you were in one. The original Ocarina of Time was like this, so I guess they were keeping the game as identical as possible.
What I really liked about this game is that it has some hidden stuff as well. I’m not too sure about how much there is, but I found a hidden picture of Link doing a spin attack behind some boxes in Gerudo Valley (which, in my opinion, has the best theme in the game). Keep a look out behind a few boxes there. Another thing I loved was the inclusion of a boss-fight mode. This mode allows you to go back and fight any boss in the game while also keeping a record of your time against that boss, it is incredibly fun to play through! Lastly, the last thing I enjoyed was the inclusion of the Master Quest. It’s the entire game with the world flipped and the dungeons layouts changed. It increases the play value of the game exponentially while adding an additional challenge to players.
The gameplay is a solid part of the Ocarina of Time experience and is definitely the second main player of it’s lasting appeal and overall greatness. Fans of 3D hack and slash style games (like Fable or The Witcher 2) will definitely feel at home with the combat here. Fans of puzzle games will love this game for some of it’s frustrating puzzles (especially in Master Quest mode). And lastly, people who love a bit of difficulty in their games will love this title. The bosses can be a pain, the Master Quest mode is certainly way more difficult than the original quest (and is unlocked after beating the game for the first time) and as any fan can attest, some of these dungeons can be a bit tricky.
Conclusion
The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is not only a great remake, but also a great game that has very obviously withstood the test of time. Gamers new and old will now have the opportunity to play through one of the most epic games of all time.
Not only will they be able to play one of the greatest games of all time, but they will also be able to play the superior version of that game. This 3DS title is a must have and if you are to buy a 3DS and only have one title on the system, let it be this one as it is easily the best game that will ever be released on the system ever (okay maybe not, we’ll let time test that one, but for the moment anyway). In terms of value for money this is essentially two games in one, with the second being a significantly harder version of the former, which is a huge plus in terms of value for money.
As many of you may know by now, PopCap have been carrying on with their month-long Charity Auction for SpecialEffect in the UK and Starlight Children’s Foundation in the US. The third wave is now underway and features a huge piece of art that any Plants vs Zombies fan would be sure to drool over.
Pictured above, this piece features a whopping six foot by six foot graffiti homage to PopCap’s BAFTA-nominated Plants vs. Zombies game. This large work of ark was created by London-based urban artist ArtJaz and is now live on ebay, ready for bidders to swoop this tribute up and give this zombie a loving home.
Other pieces featured in this week’s auction include:
Plants vs. Zombies Dr. Zomboss original concept sketch,
Plants vs. Zombies zombies concept sketch on canvas
Plants vs. Zombies zombie head costume
Peggle Splork concept sketch
Zuma Blitz ceramic tea cup and saucer set
Personalised sketch to be done post-auction with buyer input
Bejeweled neon blue diamond that you have to see to believe.
All bids will start at just $1.00 and can be viewed and bid on at www.ebay.com/popcap. If you want some excellent conversation pieces and to be the envy of all your gaming friends (as well as donate to an excellent cause), check out the auction for yourself and let the bidding wars begin! Act fast though, as this third wave of auctions ends July 5th at 2 p.m. PDT.
