Piranha Bytes and Deep Silver have today released the first cinematic trailer for the upcoming pirate-fantasy RPG “Risen 2: Dark Waters”. The game will be set several years after the events of the first game, 2009’s Risen, with humanity pushed to the brink of existence with their one and only safe haven, Caldera, under threat by monstrous sea monsters. And of cause, it’s up to players to undertake an epic journey to save the day. The trailer hints towards a few new gameplay elements, specifically the inclusion and use of firearms which were left absent in the original Risen. Risen 2: Dark Waters is looking to be a darker and grittier sequel.
Risen 2: Dark Waters is set to be released on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
I could have simply added this content as a little footnote to the past article I wrote on the premium edition that was revealed for those who happen to purchase the game at any other retailers but that wouldn’t do this super premium edition enough justice.
Usually NIS America offers some sort of bonus for pre-ordering their anime or games that are released directly from their online store but this time around they have offered a very large bonus of goodies to its fans. The package will contain all of the extra content in the basic premium edition but will also contain a soundtrack CD and nine different Disgaea 4 figurines.
The obvious attraction here are those nine figurines that will be given as a bonus. Not all of the figurines are pictured in the image with three others left for fans to guess until the information is revealed sometime in the future. No price has been announced for the Disgaea 4 Super Premium Edition but with this content it practically screams take my money. Disgaea 4 pre-orders will begin in the summer and the game itself will be released in September of this year.
Whenever you hear of a game or an anime being published by NIS America you can almost always count on them releasing a premium edition version of that game. Disgaea 4 is not an exception and if anything has some of the most interesting content you can find already. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten will be getting the standard treatment previous NIS America games have gotten but with a new addition.
No price was announced for this premium edition, nor was it announced if it would be a separate edition from the standard edition. But I digress, the premium package of Disgaea 4 will contain a collectible game box and a soft cover art book full of character profiles, concept art and story information. The interesting addition to the premium package is the exclusive figurine of Fuka. The figurine hasn’t received any specific pictures of itself but below is a picture of the figurine that was released in the Japanese version of the game:
Update: NIS America has responded to our inquiry and it will not be the same figurine that was released in Japan and will actually be a completely unique figurine to what is seen above. On the other hand it will still be a Fuka figurine.
There may be a lot of bullet hell styled games out on the XBLA but not a whole lot of them draw upon the Japanese nature to include anime-stylings in most of their products. The most recent one that comes to memory is Deathsmiles from Aksys but that was released in full retail format over a year ago.
Now SNK Playmore had announced Trouble Witches Neo last year and had slated the title for a release at the end of 2010 but that time has come and gone. Little was said about the title until today when SNK announced that the side-scrolling shoot’em up would be getting a worldwide release on the XBLA on April 27th. The game will cost 800 MSP and you can watch the below trailer to catch every special feature that is available in the game, such as a fully voiced story mode and new characters.
We haven’t seen a whole lot of Konami’s NeverDead for quite a while now. The last time we saw a bunch of screenshots from the game was back on Halloween of last year. But now Konami has released a whole mess of screenshots from the game as well as a decent amount of concept art that gives us a better look at some of the enemies and main characters.
You can check out the gallery below. There are a multitude of enemies shown off as well as in-game action scenes. NeverDead still does not have a definitive release date other than some point in 2011 and the unique concept of a main character that never dies and can be dismembered and put back together at will is certainly the biggest highlight for the title.
Want to know how you can tell that a game is going to either have a whole ton of content or a whole bunch of questionable content? When the ESRB writes a small essay about the content that they think you should know about when you consider purchasing the game. Such is the case with L.A. Noire as The Entertainment Software Rating Board has given it an expected M rating.
Much of the rating is commonplace as the ESRB describes all of the violent content with blood spurting and realistic gunfights. There is also a lot of nudity involved including pubic hair so take that as you will. You can expect a good amount of racist content and foul language as well; read the entire ESRB description below:
This is an ‘open-world’ action-adventure game in which players assume the role of Cole Phelps, a rookie detective on a mission to stop a deranged serial killer. Set in late 1940s Los Angeles, the game allows players to advance through various ‘desks’ at a police department (i.e., Patrol, Traffic Squad, Homicide, Vice, Arson) by interviewing witnesses and suspects, searching crime scenes for clues, and apprehending criminals.
Players use pistols, rifles, machine guns, and flamethrowers to engage in firefights with various enemies — these shootouts are highlighted by realistic gunfire, cries of pain, and blood spurts that stain injured characters and the surrounding environment. Cutscenes also depict instances of violence, including a character being beaten with a crowbar (off screen)—large spurts of blood are depicted in the foreground.
During the course of the game, players may come across crime scenes in which badly beaten or mutilated corpses are subject to investigation; players are able to examine victims’ bodies close-up, surveying various bruises and bloody cuts for evidence — a few female corpses are depicted fully nude with fleeting images of pubic hair.
Investigations sometimes pertain to sexual assault crimes, and details are often conveyed in clinical terms through dialogue or on-screen text (e.g., ‘He’s some kind of sex fiend,’ ‘Woman’s briefs torn at seams, forcibly removed,’ and ‘Head trauma . . . external bruising to genitals.’). In one cutscene, there is an implication that a character is engaged in a sexual relationship with a teenager (e.g., ‘You take love where you can find it as you get older, Jack’/That has nothing to do with love . . .’). Some sequences allow players to collect/manipulate drug-related evidence such as marijuana packets, morphine syringes, or amphetamine pills; in one cutscene, a doctor can be seen injecting a character with morphine.
Language such as ‘f**k,’ ‘sh*t,’ ‘c*nt,’ ‘n**ger,’ and ‘sp*c’ can be heard in the dialogue.
Tecmo Koei announced today that they have set a release date for the next installment to their fighting franchise. Dead or Alive: Dimensions will be coming to North American shores on May 24th and Australian shores on May 26th and with it comes all 25 fighters that have ever been available in past Dead or Alive games; of course this includes staff favorite Kasumi.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions will make use of the Nintendo 3DS’ SpotPass feature which will download outfits automatically every day when the game is released. This was previously mentioned for Japan and will be implemented during the US release as well. A total of 34 alternate costumes will be available and will start being distributed from May 24th until June 26th when all of the costumes are gone.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions will add another fighting game to the 3DS’ game list and most certainly looks like one of the more anticipated titles that isn’t coming from Nintendo themselves. I know I’m certainly anticipating this release, how about you?
If you haven’t heard, Atari’s re-imagining for the classic Yar’s Revenge is now available on the Xbox Live Arcade and PC as of right now. This title completely changes up the classic game with a new anime art style and on-rails gameplay as players take control of a nameless Yar who is on a quest for revenge against her former master.
Of course with any launch, Atari have now released a launch trailer to coincide with release that shows off the intense gameplay and scenic levels that as well as the inclusion local co-op play. I have been playing Yar’s Revenge a bit today and it definitely lives up to it’s promise of intensity, so stay tuned as our review will be coming soon. For now though you can check out the launch trailer for yourself and you can pick up Yars revenge for 800 points via the Xbox Live Arcade or $9.99 (US) for PC download. For more information on obtaining either version, check out the Atari’s official site for the game at www.playyarsrevenge.com.
With the launch of the 3DS already finished, the next big thing that can happen for the title are more games being added to the release list. Nintendo has launched a website today that shows a little bit of footage from the game and of course a release date. Now the release date is only for Japan at the moment but it will most likely be receiving an international release either the same day or shortly after.
Now unfortunately besides the few clips that are shown on the website, not much is known about the title other than the fact that it will be an enhanced remake of the Nintendo 64 edition of Star Fox. The release date also places the title only two days away from the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Japan as well.
Today Bioware and Electronic Arts have released their latest patch for Dragon Age 2. They claim that there is over 100 fixes within the patch.
At launch, Dragon Age 2 was plagued with nonsense bugs and, well, the entire community complained. But now there are fixes! Juicy, Juicy fixes for everybody to enjoy. As you can probably tell, I’m quite excited by this latest patch! Woo-Hoo!!!!
Patch 1.02 includes over 100 major and minor fixes, including the following:
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Dragon Age II 1.02
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AMD and NVIDIA have recently released new graphics-card drivers. Using old
drivers may cause Dragon Age II to crash, run poorly, or display graphics
incorrectly. Please visit your hardware vendor’s website for further
information on obtaining new drivers:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us
http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/Catalyst114earlypreview.aspx
NOTE: Some plot fixes are retroactive, but not all. Players with plot-breaking
bugs may need to revert to an earlier save, particularly a save prior to
visiting the affected area during the current year in the game.
GAMEPLAY
– The effects of various follower talents and item properties are now being
properly removed and re-applied when loading and saving.
– Anders’s default set of tactics will now activate Haste when appropriate.
– Aveline’s final armor upgrade is now available during “Favor and Fault.”
– Aveline’s Retaliation talent no longer imposes a delay when activated.
– The warrior’s Rally talent now functions as described.
– The rogue’s Lacerate talent now functions as described.
– Party members who are resurrected during a fight now rejoin combat properly.
– Hawke no longer gains random spells or talents after using the Maker’s Sigh
potion, then saving and reloading.
– Potions, poisons, grenades, and runes can now still be ordered from the Hawke
estate after the main campaign is complete.
– Various minor gameplay issues no longer occur.
QUESTS (SPOILER WARNING)
– “Duty” will now appear on the Chanter’s Board even if the player accepted
all of the board’s quests before installing the Exiled Prince premium content.
– The journal for “Duty” will now update if the player left the Docks (Night)
area immediately after killing the Flint Company mercenaries.
– In “Finders Keepers,” the door to Woodrow’s Warehouse will now open if the
player steals the location to the warehouse from the harbormaster’s office.
– In “Finders Keepers,” if the player leaves Woodrow’s Warehouse before finding
the crate, it is now possible to return to the warehouse to complete the quest.
– In “Herbalist’s Tasks,” the varterral’s heart is now available even if
the player killed the varterral before receiving the quest.
– Merrill no longer refers to the aftermath of “A New Path” before the plot
has been completed.
– Varric is no longer confused about which character Hawke has been romancing.
– Various minor story-scripting issues no longer occur.
PC/MAC-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY
– Varric’s Embellishment talent no longer incorrectly refers to movement speed.
– It is now easier to select party members by clicking on their portraits when
the level-up arrow is displayed.
– The game now functions correctly if the Windows desktop is set to 150% size.
– The video options menu now allows a wider full-screen gamma range.
– Various issues specific to DirectX 11 no longer occur.
– Various technical changes should improve performance and limit crashes.
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Dragon Age II 1.01
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PC-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY
– Game progress now saves correctly on computers with single-core processors.
– The game no longer shows an error message about requiring a disc in drive A:\.
– The game no longer checks whether the release date has passed.
– Audio now plays correctly if the user changes languages through Steam.
