The Shin Megami Tensei series is one that has done surprisingly well in the US marketplace considering it is hard for JRPGs to usually obtain a foot hold in the market. And it seems Atlus USA is going to be rewarding fans for their devotion to the series by bringing over the PlayStation Portable version of Persona 2 Innocent Sin. The title was released in Japan last month and now US residents will be getting the title in the Fall.
This news comes from the creation of the game’s official website by Atlus and with it also comes a whole slew of additional content such as the boxart you can see to the right, the screenshots released below as well as the opening movie for the game. The website itself says that you can also pre-order the title now but unfortunately you cannot at the moment. Amazon does however list a release date of September 20th which can only be taken as potential at the moment.
I hope that Atlus is prepared to sell a lot of these titles because the Shin Megami Tensei series is perhaps the second most popular JRPG franchise short of Final Fantasy in the United States and it would be a large disappointment to fans if they ended up selling out. Mostly due to the fact that the original Persona 2 on the PlayStation never was localized, meaning this will be the first time that players will get their hands on an official translation of the title.
Earlier we reported that the PlayStation Network was down for scheduled maintenance this time around and there had been some hope that the PlayStation Store would be returning when it went live. This hope was bolstered by the fact that a letter released last week to publishers said it would be online today. Instead however it will not be returning according to Sony’s James Gallagher.
Responding to fan criticism on the PlayStation Blog Gallagher stated Sony’s new potential release date as “by the end of May.” Meaning he was told to be as vague as possible. So unfortunately the PlayStation Store will still be down for the upcoming few days but at least everyone can still play online at the moment. Oh wait… well tomorrow you can.
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment today revealed that Middle-earth will be coming to E3 – or at least a Lord of the Rings-themed lounge will be.
There will be daily concerts and cocktail events in the South Hall Lobby Atrium each evening, featuring the music of their upcoming 2011 game, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
During the expo from June 7th to 9th, all show attendees will be invited to visit a Middle-earth themed lounge in the South Hall Lobby Atrium, where complimentary Wi-Fi access will be available to visitors. As show floor activity winds down in the evenings, the lounge will become the venue for a VIP cocktail party and concert, as the space transforms into a merry-making shindig, with music and drink. Award-winning composer Inon Zur will conduct vocalists and a 40-piece live orchestra performing selections from the original score of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
E3 attendees that visit the WBIE Booth (South Hall, #2401) and participate in a demo of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North will receive a wrist band, granting them entrance to these nightly concert and cocktail receptions.
The concert schedule is as follows, and for anyone lucky enough to go to E3, it should be worth checking out:
Daily from Tuesday, June 7th – Thursday, June 9th
Tuesday & Wednesday: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Thursday: 4:30pm – 6pm
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released a new Nintendo 3DS trailer for Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, the video game. It will be available 10 June, 2011 on Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS.
The trailer gives viewers a sneak peek at the action of Hal Jordan’s epic adventure in the world of Green Lantern with a handheld experience of the game on the Nintendo 3DS. Obviously, it is a 2D trailer of a 3D game, but it still works well at giving a feel for the game.
In Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, you play as Hal Jordan, a gifted pilot and the first human Green Lantern. Players create an arsenal of ring constructs and take flight in outer space and beyond to restore intergalactic order. Players will use the Power Ring to build an array of weapons from green energy to defeat the Manhunters – an evil android race bent on destroying the Green Lantern Corps.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus
Devloper:Konami Publisher:Konami System:Nintendo DS Price:$27.50 US(BUY)– Seriously, you don’t want to be paying local price for this. DS games are region free (though 3DS games aren’t 🙁 ). Genre: Card Games/ RPG
Overview
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus is a digital trading card game for the Nintendo DS handheld. The game follows a player created protagonist in a story that involves several recognisable main characters from the television show and takes place in related but fully recognisable areas. The title is strangely addictive, I kept finding myself putting off this review for a few minutes longer while I was dueling in the background. So let’s get into it, shall we (before I start another duel).
Story
The game takes place in what seems to be arc involving those white-robed dudes in the anime (the ~100 episode range, not quite sure where that arc ends though). Without being spoilery, the game does involve the animes arc into the games story, but changes it up a bit, just like how 2009 changed up the whole Signer thing… but not in exactly the same way.
The main character is an older-teen (from appearance) who lives in Crash Town, which is a Cowboy Western style town, and due to circumstance and player input, leaves to live in the city and becomes a great duelist. Of course, the story is a bit more than that, with kidnappings, threats, dangers, thievery and friendships all taking a large part of the adventure being told.
With the game being made the way it is, it makes it difficult to accurately gauge the length of the story. What I mean by that is that each chapter seems to be made up of events that have a few forced duels in them and each duel can take anywhere from 5 mins to a really long time to complete, depending on how good your deck is. And of course, the strength of your deck is almost completely reliant on how lucky you are with the cards you receive from a booster whenever you buy a pack of cards (using in game money of course). My best estimate on story time is probably 4 or 5 hours which can be spaced further by potentially exceedingly long duels. This games story could easily be burned through by a lucky or incredibly skillful player, but someone unlucky or not quite as skilled will probably take a little bit longer to complete it.
As the story progresses, the areas that you can explore will increase in quantity, but you are only able to back track through the game after reaching a certain point. While it’s not really annoying, and not quite un-understandable, I found it a little odd. But it does make sense, especially when you consider the distance between locations.
Gameplay
This game plays similarly to any other 3rd person quasi-birdseye view RPG, in that the control pad moves you around and you use the buttons to do an action that corresponds with that button. Of course, this changed when you’re in a duel though, as you can use the touch screen to select options on the duel field as well as activate cards and the like. The touchscreen can also be used to move and select objects and options within the game.
During your adventure, you will come across many characters that you will need to interact with to further the story. It is quite easy to tell who these characters are as they stand out quite a bit from the rest of the characters in the game. They will usually require you to collect something from another character or location and usually also duel you at the end of the errand. You will find that this is almost the case for every chapter in the game.
As the game progresses, you will be able to access the card store within any zone of the game. I found it strange that they were not available immediately, considering you can just switch to the game menu and buy the cards from there at any point in the game. Personally though, I used the in-game shops for cards as an immersion thing. You can use any card that you’ve acquired during deck construction, which is also available in the game menu, and only if that card is not a part of the restricted card list.
The game includes an epic amount of cards, which I guess to be a large majority, if not all, of the cards that have been released in real life to date. These cards are assembled into a deck for you to use in duels and the decks must follow a certain format of 40+ cards with no more than 3 of each card.
Each duel in the game follows the format of the real life card game, which is similar, but slightly different, to the ruleset used by the characters in the show that this game is based on. At the beginning of a duel, each player begins with 8000 Life Points, which it is the goal of the player to decrease their opponents to 0 in order to win. This can be done in a few ways, but is always doe by using cards within a players turn. A lot of cards have effects that are only trigger-able in certain situations, and using these kinds of cards to your advantage is the best way to win in the game.
During a Duel you can select cards using the touch screen, or by using the control pad. It’s a little more realistic if you use the touch pad, but ultimately it’s more of a personal choice than anything.
The last aspect of dueling is a couple of variations on the rules, such as tag-duels and turbo duels. These duels follow the same basic premise as a regular duel, only a tag-duel lets you team up with an AI opponent, or another human in online play, and turbo duels replace spell cards with turbo spell cards, that require you to use speed-counters to activate. Both variants are quite fun to play, it’s only too bad that they aren’t available for every duel.
One thing that I found displeasing in this title is that while it includes duel runners, it only allows you to race on them, rather than race *and* duel. They get to do both in the show, so why not in the game? While the turbo duels do take place on the duel runner in a story sense, while actually dueling there is no indication that this is the case at all.
Visuals
Visually the game is quite simple, at least while in a menu or in a duel. While it’s possible to get lost in the menu sometimes, it’s hard to argue that it is designed simply. I think that the basic 2D display in a duel is also much easier to work with and easier on the graphics unit of the DS handheld.
This does not mean that there is no 3D in the game though. The entire adventuring aspect of the game is generated in 3D, so that includes characters, duel runners and backgrounds. The 3D is of course, basic modelling and textures as the DS system probably couldn’t handle too many of them at the same time. There is also some 3D in duels, mainly when a specific monster is summoned onto the field.
While the game is aesthetically simple, it is well done and easy to use, so it’s kind of difficult to complain about really. Even the character art is really well done, good job developers.
The one main problem however, is the reuse of assets from previous games. I think an entire town or two was lifted from World Championship 2009 or 2010, but it kind of makes sense continuity wise, considering the characters of the show aren’t just going to move out for some inexplicable reason. That’s my one complaint and it’s really quite minor.
Audio
First duel theme you will hear in the story portion of this game is western style theme with a technoey kind of beat. IT IS FREAKING AWESOME! I’m not sure if I should really write much else on the topic, because I really loved the background music of the game. Even the non-cowboy duel theme is great.
There isn’t really too much to say on the topic of audio, it’s all done really quite well and even the background music in towns and other areas are of an enjoyable quality. The sound effects are great, and aren’t too long or too short. Everything is just right.
Overall
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus is an amazing game. The art, the audio and the duels are all the real standouts in the game. With plenty of things to find and unlock, as well as some references to previous series, it is incredibly entertaining. This game is definitely for any fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise as well as anyone who likes trading card games and an online competitive environment in general. I can’t seem to put this game down!
Vaporware no more! Gaming’s most legendary hero makes his triumphant return this June
2K Games and Gearbox Software have just announce that Duke Nukem Forever, one of the most anticipated entertainment properties of all time, has “GONE GOLD” and will be available at retailers on June 10, 2011 internationally and on June 14, 2011 in North America. The road to gold was paved over the course of 15 years and its legendary path climaxes on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Gamers who pre-order the title from select outlets will ensure that they are among the first to experience this legendary piece of gaming history when the demo launches on June 3, 2011 for all platforms, exclusively for Duke Nukem First Access Club Members. (Check out our first access code give away here)
Duke Nukem Forever WAS the game that everyone thought to be unshipppable, and now here we are only a few short weeks away before its finally released. Soon we can all sit on the couch chewing bubble gum and kicking some alien a$$. I hope you’ve pre-ordered your copy of Duke Nukem Forever. I’ve personally got “BALLS OF STEEL” errmm, I mean I’ve pre-ordered the Duke Nukem Forever “Balls Of Steel” Edition. If you want to do the same click on the links below and secure your limited edition copy of 12 years in the making for only $99USD (xbox & ps3) and $89 for PC
Konami has unveiled its ambitious plans for Pro Evoluton Soccer 2012, a title which is due to be released in Autumn 2011 on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, and PS2.
PES has always been known as the real football simulator, and PES2012 aims to provide a truly realistic, immersive, and playable take on football. The game’s AI engine has undergone a major overhaul, and will take an open approach: gamers will be able to dictate the pace of movement and make dummy runs, and zoning marking and positional defending have been enhanced to force players to work harder to split opposition defence. PES2012 draws on a team-based approach to the game, where players will need to use attacking play, freedom of movement, creation of space, and working together as a unit as key elements for a win.
And it’s Messi for Argentina…Oh wait, that’s not the real guy.
While PES2012 sounds absolutely exciting, it’s interesting Konami hasn’t added the Nintendo 3DS to their lineup announcement – especially considering Pro Evo 2011 was one of the launch titles for the 3DS. EA have already announced a 3D Fifa 12, and it’s going to be another big battle to see which football game can win over Nintendo 3DS fans.
We’ll have to wait until Autumn 2011 for the final verdict, but stay tuned for more updates on both PES2012 and Fifa 12!
Spitfish AG, creators of the controller/mouse hybrid the FRAGFX SHARK 360, have announced that their controller will be available at the end of August this year. It’s basically the first peripheral of its kind for Xbox 360, but will also work with PC and Mac to provide a control scheme built for First Person Shooters.
Spitfish worked closely with designers and gamers for the FRAGFX SHARK 360 during the device’s development. As well as it’s clearly alternate organisation of buttons, it will also feature programmable buttons for ease of access to gamers to make the controller suit their needs.
Key Features:
· 2 AA batteries (not included)
· NEW 50h + play time
· NEW 500h + power save standby
· Play with the mouse on the XBOX 360 as you would do on a PC
· Full XBOX 360 PC and MAC support, either as a gamepad or mouse/keyboard control
· Fast access to special features (eg macro, rapid-fire, button swap, stick swap, etc.)
· Brand new wireless technology to 2.4 GHz
· Plug and Play
· On the fly dead zone adjustment wheel
· SixAxis support
PlayStation Network will be going offline later today for scheduled maintenance. Account management series and log-in access to the PSN website will be unavailable from 4pm until 00.01am GMT tomorrow.
It has been suggested that players who wish to play online during this period are recommended to sign into PSN before the maintenance begins. In addition, all Trophies unlocked during this period will be reinstated on user profiles once the service is back online.
So what do we all think? Could the PSN Store be making a comeback? Is anyone bothered? With the string of downtime and stolen personal details of late, I imagine most people don’t really have a great deal of interest in less than a day’s downtime.
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike suggested he is at working on a film adaptation of Capcom’s Ace Attorney series on Nintendo DS
Speaking to the Huffington Post at the Cannes Film Festival, where he is currently promoting Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai, the director revealed that his next project would be something completely different
“It is a very light comedy that I am filming now,” he said, adding that it was “a court drama, based on a videogame, the Nintendo game DS.”
It’s a real change from his gory works in the past like Ichi The Killer, although Miike’s CV does contain a wide range of genres. Plus, he has previously worked with videogames, having adapted the Yakuza series for 2007’s Ryu Ga Gotuku Gekijoban.
The Shin Megami Tensei series is one that has done surprisingly well in the US marketplace considering it is hard for JRPGs to usually obtain a foot hold in the market. And it seems Atlus USA is going to be rewarding fans for their devotion to the series by bringing over the PlayStation Portable version of Persona 2 Innocent Sin. The title was released in Japan last month and now US residents will be getting the title in the Fall.
