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New Rocket Slime title coming to the 3DS…

Dustin Spencer
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In the past five years we have seen quite a few Dragon Quest titles, but there was one that hit the DS near the start of it’s lifespan that stands out from the series genre-wise, that being Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. If you have never had a chance to try the oddball title before, it was a top-down adventure where players took control of Rocket, a slime from the town of Boingburg who has to rescue 100 slimes who have been locked away in chests.

The reason why I am bringing up Rocket Slime is due to Square-Enix of Japan putting up a new website that now confirms that a brand new sequel to Rocket Slime is on it’s way and to the 3DS at that. There isn’t any actual gameplay footage on the new website as of yet, but there is a shiny logo that boasts the game’s title, “Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest” as well as a list of features which include the “spot pass” function of the 3DS as well as full internet support. This new title is also looking to have a “pirate/sea” theme going on by the looks of it, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Rocket Slime to this day is impressive due to the crisp, colorful visuals and witty dialogue, and now that the sequel is making a comeback in full 3D, it will be exciting to see where this growing series is headed next.

Mortal Kombat demo available to all on PSN

Chris Cerami
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For anyone who has been waiting for the much anticipated 9th Mortal Kombat, the demo is now available on the Playstation network. Starting last week the demo was made available exclusively to those members who had subscribed to the PSN Plus service, and as of today it has been released for the masses (the masses of PS3 owners that is). The demo has yet to be dated for a release on Xbox Live, so Xbox players will need to wait until a bit closer to the mid-April release date.

This comes right after the news that Warner Bros appeals to the Australian ratings board had been overturned, meaning that the newest Mortal Kombat will be effectively banned down under. For those gamers in the rest of the world however, the demo offers a  single player tournament mode with characters Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Mileena, and Johnny Cage available. Once you reach Goro in the tournament ladder, unfortunately, you’re only teased with the phrase “The Kombat Kontinues” and sent back to the menu. I would recommend taking this opportunity to start learning these characters’ special moves and fatalities before taking on your friends in a month or so. I personally like Sub-Zero’s “Have an Ice Day” myself.

Blades of Grass and Dreadlocks get enhanced in NCAA Football 12…

Dustin Spencer
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I have never been a huge football fan, but that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally give the latest releases a whirl now and then just to see what has been enhanced every few years. The sad thing is not a lot has changed with the whole genre as a whole but that could be looking to change very soon. Today EA released the first bit of information and screens for this year’s NCAA Football 12 which will “touchdown” early this summer and I must say this first bit of news is actually quite intriguing. On a new blog post over at the official EA Sports website, Art director Jean Adams shared some info on the new visual touches the game will receive this year.

NCAA Football 12 has been built using “High Dynamic Range Rendering”, which as described from Adams is “a way of rendering bright and dark parts of the game while still maintaining a high level of detail”. You know when you play a game and the shadow and shading consists of just a muddy dark color? This method looks break into that dark spot and groom it full of the same detail that is in the lighted areas, creating a much crisper and more realistic appearance. Dreadlocks on players as well as uniforms and even the crowd are getting some graphical reboots with this technology as well as shown in the screenshot above.

Adams also mentioned that the generic grass in the franchise is now a thing of the past as it is now completely 3-dimensional to create a more photo realistic appearance for each field.

Here is a screenshot of a before and after for NCAA Football 12, comparing it directly to last year’s release:

I must say I am impressed by how everything is looking, and I might just have to check this title out. I am sure the hardcore fans of the genre will get it anyway as they do every year, but the past 10 years of releases to someone who is not a huge follower of the series like myself just seems to kind of mash together, both visually and gameplay wise. If the graphics are getting this much attention with this next incarnation, it leaves us to wonder just what will be done to the actual gameplay as EA seem to be ready breathe a fresh burst of air on this aging series. I am sure more will come in the following weeks/months leading up to NCAA Football’s release, so once more is announced we will be sure to bring the news to you. For now though, I highly recommend you check out Adams’ blog out yourself for a bit more insight on these new enhancements.

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel in stores now!

Travis Bruno
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Fans of JRPGs rejoice because Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is available at your local retailer now. Also if you happen to look at the shelves and are only able to find the Premium Edition then you shouldn’t be concerned because every version of Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel shipped for now is premium edition only.

This means that for the same price as a standard game you will be getting a over sized collector’s box containing a soundtrack CD with 60 minutes of in-game music as well as a hardcover art book that contains story information, character profiles and concept art. But don’t let all of the fancy trimmings fool you, Knell of Ar Ciel is the third game of the Ar tonelico series and brings a lot of changes to the standard gameplay.

All battles that you enter will take place in real time with the player having full control over their character at all times, allowing players to move around the battlefield at their leisure. Players can also utilize the song magic system which means that the better a player times their attacks to the rhythm of the music the stronger their attacks end up becoming. Check out the English trailer below which shows off plenty of in-game footage and anime-styled cutscenes.

Xbox Live Schedule for the rest of March

Dylan Radcliffe
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Xbox Live Schedule for the rest of March

Every day we have to think of something witty to say before actually getting to the juicy news on these articles. Each on of our articles is like a starburst, a witty saying to hold all of the juiciness in.

However, the Dance Central Demo came out, and now I’m too tired to think of anything good; so Ill just give you the juicy news and let it run down your arms and cause everything you touch to become all sticky!

Check out what is coming to Xbox Live during the second half of March.

Xbox Live Arcade

  • March 16: Full House Poker (Microsoft Game Studios) – 800 Microsoft Points
  • March 23: Ghostbusters (Atari) – 800 Microsoft Points
  • March 23: Swarm (UTV Ignition Entertainment) – 1200 Microsoft Points
  • March 30: Islands of Wakfu (Microsoft Game Studios) – 800 Microsoft Points
  • March 30: Seisou Kouki Strania (G.Rev Ltd.) – 800 Microsoft Points
  • March 30: Rush ‘N’ Attack Ex-Patriot (KONAMI) – 800 Microsoft Points

Deal of the Week

  • March 22-27: Sonic 4: Episode I  (SEGA) – 800 Microsoft Points
  • March 22-27: Risk Factions (Electronic Arts) – 400 Microsoft Points (Brazil only)

Arcade Four-Play

  • March 29-April 3: A World of Keflings (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points (50% off)
  • March 29-April 3: Worms 2: Armageddon (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points (50% off)
  • March 29-April 3: Worms 2: Battle Pack (Microsoft Game Studios) – 200 Microsoft Points (50% off)
  • March 29-April 3: Raskulls (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points (50% off)

Games on Demand

  • March 22: Call of Juarez® (Ubisoft)
  • March 22: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs™ (Ubisoft)
  • March 29: Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.® 2 (Ubisoft)
  • March 29: Split Second (Disney Interactive Studios)
  • March 15: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Square Enix) – price reduction

Avatar Marketplace

  • March 17: Aviation Collection
  • March 24: MLB 2K11 collection
  • March 31: Zombie Pets collection

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Reverie Trailer

Dylan Radcliffe
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Reverie Trailer

I have good news and bad news.

The good news: the trailer for the upcoming DLC for Castlevania Lords of shadow that is being released on March 30th. You can check it out below.

The bad news: the DLC tasks the player to help a vampire girl, Laura, across three stages through the castle within the game. I don’t know about you, but guiding an NPC anywhere is never fun no matter what the game is. Hopefully she doesn’t have a health bar or I am going to throw my hands in the air right now and give up before the DLC even comes out. We could also be lucky to simply have her hidden in the background and there are only cutscenes where she is following us.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U75-wKhWHpU[/pro-player]

The gaming industry isn’t all fun and games

Justin Mienkiewicz
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Ever wish you were a game developer?  Who wouldn’t?  You enjoy playing games, you’re a unique minded individual with cool and innovative ideas of your own, you’d make a great game designer.  One problem, that’s not how the industry works.  Many gamers, hardcore and casual alike, have wished at one point or another that they could make games for a living.  Conceptually, it’s a sound idea.  Your passion is video games and you want to turn that passion into a career (just like all of those terrible commercials that play on G4 tell you).

Find somebody who works in the industry and ask them how great it is.  I’ve had several friends in the industry over the years and can tell you that it is VERY stressful.  They will tell you that while they may love it (notice the may here), it certainly has it’s problems.  Long hours, low pay, constant threat of being laid off, very competitive, etc.  The list can go on and on.  What I’m saying is, this isn’t the worst job in the world, but much of what it entails is masked by notion of, “‘You’re going to be making games for money!”.  Check out this video to see what I mean.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGar7KC6Wiw[/pro-player]

This is not an exaggeration or a microcosm of what it’s like to work in the gaming industry, this is what it’s honestly like.  If you think you can handle it then more power to you.

Street Fighter IV 3D’s New Commercial will put you in the Fight…

Dustin Spencer
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The 3DS launches worldwide in just under two weeks and right along with it will be all the glory that is Street Fighter IV 3D. Capcom have now released the first television commercial for the game and it certainly makes the short wait seem like an eternity.

As well as boasting about the 35 characters, local and online multi-player and other features within the game, the commercial shows off the visuals players can expect which are definitely some of the most top notch graphics we have seen on a handheld to date. I will say I’m not too crazy about the rap song used for the commercial as it seems a tad unfitting, but other than that this clip does it’s job at selling the actual product well as I am now pining to get my hands on it. Street Fighter and fighting fans alike will be able to snag up a copy of Street Fighter IV 3D when it is released on March 27th in the US, March 25th in the U.K., and the 31st for Australia. Check out the full commercial for yourself below.

Australian Federal Government Wants R18+

Benjamin Webb
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In an interview with the ABC, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor talks about the classification system and how it is too broken to remain relevant. He tells us about how we are the only developed nation without a restricted category for adult gamers.

“We’re becoming the laughing stock of the developed world, where we’re the only country that doesn’t have an R18 classification level for video games.”

The article goes on to explain that the commonwealth is against the non-restricted category system currently implemented and may be planning  to oppose the system should the next meeting fail. He basically agrees with the argument that the current ratings system is bringing more harm to children, less choice to adults and is just overall archaic.

“I foreshadow that if there is not a consensus around this issue, the Commonwealth will certainly be considering other options because we cannot continue to have an outdated classification system that’s actually, in my view, causing harm to young people.”

Take a look at the original article for more info.

In the comment section below, let us know what you think of this news. And your personal opinion on the current system/ any concerns you may have about a system run by the government or etc.

Monster Tale Now Available in the U.S…

Dustin Spencer
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Dreamrift’s (Developers of Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure) brand new platformer for the DS in now available in the states and if you have been following our coverage for this title, it is looking to be a true gem on the handheld. Monster Tale puts players in control of the two heroes for the title, Ellie and her pet monster Chomp. The plot sees the duo out to save Monster World from the Kid Kings and their enslaved creature pets.

What truly sets this title apart from other platformers though is the bottom screen is used as a training ground for Chomp, where players will he will eat rewards Ellie finds so he can evolve and gain new abilities to assist in battles. Chomp has over 30 different forms as well so while Ellie explores the 5 worlds within, Chomp can grow stronger as players progress. You can now pick this title up today wherever games are sold and while your at it be sure to follow Monster Tale’s official twitter page for even more updates. Keep checking back here as well as our review will also be coming soon.

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