More Guilty Gear 2 updates

A few new characters (with a couple more gameplay screenshots) have surfaced: Valentine, a chick with a tall hat and ridiculously large cuffs on her otherwise short dress (note that it says "nonsugar" on one...hmm); Dr. Paradigm, a lizard-bird thing with glasses holding a book (presumably containing magic spells?); and Izuna, an otherwise masculine guy if it weren't for the dress, the fancy posture and--I'll give you a moment to prepare--cat-ears. Uh..

See the images.

By the by, I've been told that the guy I mistakenly referred to as Ky in a previous post isn't Ky but a character named "Sin". Also, some people suggest that he's an older Bridget. If this is true...I'm kind of disappointed. And guess what his weapon is? A flag! Made of denim!

Good Disgaea 3, You Look Kind of Dated

When game company Nippon Ichi released the first Disgaea game for the PS2, I was a bit skeptical because I felt the graphics were lacking. Well, I played it anyway, and I was pleasantly entertained--the graphics for the most part were fitting, and were nicely animated too. Disgaea set a certain standard for SRPGs and sprite-based games, with its design, gameplay, humor, and sheer entertainment factor. As an added bonus, the North American voice acting wasn't half bad either! In fact, unlike most dual-audio games wherein I would always switch to the Japanese track, I actually preferred to use the English track for this game.

Then Disgaea 2 came out, again for PS2. Slight graphics update, slightly updated gameplay, but overall the same. Didn't grow old though, because the plot, story, and characters (and character design) is what makes this series enjoyable.

However, for some reason I can't wrap my head over the fact that Disgaea 3, which will be released for the PS3, is still sprite-based, in glorious 2D:

There's practically no difference between this and the older installments. The PS3 is a monster of hardware, capable of handling, oh, I don't know, why don't you watch a MGS4 trailer or something...I feel that a Disgaea game, with dated graphics, will look really odd on the Ps3, unless they compensate for it with tons of animated cutscenes or extra-extended gameplay. The original Disgaea, in Japan, could fit in one normal CD, and was in fact a game for Playstation One. The NA release only needed extra space because of the additional American vocal track. Now if Disgaea 3 will be the same size and is for the PS3...then I will be terribly, terribly disappointed.

When Nippon Ichi was asked why they stay with 2D in today's graphics-heavy age, they said that there's something 2D can portray that 3D cannot. True, 2D characters always look brighter and more vivid, and expressive. 3D characters can get really creepy-looking at times; if not, awkward. Still, maybe PS3 isn't the right system for this game.

Although, being the nutjob that I am I'm most likely picking it up anyway. Disgaea has a grasp on me, as well as on most of its fans, and it's hard to break from it.

New DMC4 Screens: Tittage

During the Games Convention at Leipzig Capcom treated people to a new trailer, after quite a long while. From what can be seen, it looks sweeter than ever.

Here's a still of the main character, who sort of looks like Dante but isn't quite him:

I heard Dante is actually going to be the enemy in this installment, and this is what the next screenshot seems to be showing:

Another of the protagonist, with a cool looking gun (sword? gunblade?) and a new character:

And finally, Capcom's way of saying "Forget about the Xbox and the Wii": A closeup of a fancy-looking stylish dress, with nice buttons and lining! And wow, look at the texturing in the background! Simply exquisite. I swear, this is an actual screenshot.

Guilty Gear 2: Overture

There isn't much that can be said about the game except for what is already mentioned in that magazine scan on the left, but I'll say it anyway. Guilty Gear 2: Overture is the first-ever direct sequel (gasp!) to the first Guilty Gear game. After so many Xs and XXs the game finally carries on with the story. The events of this game take place directly after where Guilty Gear left off. Sol is still a bum, while Ky is already king.

The first major, glaring difference this installment has with previous games is that, shock and horror, it isn't rendered the gorgeous 2D we all got so accustomed to. Secondly, and more importantly, it is not a fighting game per se like the previous games, but looks more like Dynasty Warriors. However. Mr Ishiwatari, who conceptualizes, directs, designs, produces, and composes music for the game (that's one hell of a resume), assures us that the one-on-0ne fighting is still there: like Warcraft, there will be "hero" characters (which will be the major game characters) and cannon fodder. The cannon fodder of opposing teams will be fighting each other, while the hero characters will primarily go one-on-one, in the traditional style. Which sounds okay by me, although I doubt it will be anywhere near as sickeningly fast-paced as the previous games. By the way, Ishiwatari also does the voice of Sol Badguy.

Note also the new threads. It seems that the characters underwent a makeover. Gone is Sol's sleeveless muscle shirt, his myriad of belts, and even his sword--in favor of a flowy-looking dress. And by the gods, is that Ky with the Lulu outfit?

Now for the bad...it's for Xbox 360. Exclusively. The game is designed primarily for Xbox Live, for hot multiplayer action.

Well, uh, you can keep your Dynasty Warriors-type game Xbots, you still don't have MGS4 :(

Tekken 6: Moar Bob Screens, Shit Is Real

I found this scan somewhere in the Internets, but it's probably from Famitsu or something.

Those people who thought this might be a joke can eat their shorts now: Bob IS in Tekken 6, and he will be kicking ass. I can't wait to pwn players with a fat American trucker/gamer slob, it will be so much fun. Although, I think it will also be so much training. He looks like a grab/submission guy, and looks a lot slower than King or Marduk. But I imagine defeating people with him beats getting killed by Kuma dance or Hara-Kiri anyday.

Man, I can't wait. I hope he has equally slobby moves with massive damage.

Tekken 6: Shit Gets REAL

Finally, a character who isn't kidding: Bob, a fat American who looks like your average trucker. Or gamer. Not much else is known about him, but my what an interesting surprise! It can't get any realer than this! I can't wait to see what kind of white trash moves he's going to pull.

Joust...the Movie. Really.

It's really hard to begin writing about something like this. Okay, in the past we had movies like Double Dragon, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. SF had the potential to be done well, but in summary all the movies I mentioned are examples of why we shouldn't make movie adaptations of just about every damn video game out there.

In the recent past, some games that had potential to be good movies like Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, and Bloodrayne became really shitty movies because they fell into the wrong hands (Uwe Boll, who else).

There were also rumors of a Pac-Man movie (thanks, IMDB for your infallible accuracy) but thankfully it was just that, a rumor.

Now...we have Joust. A game by Midway for the Atari, Joust had flying, jousting ostriches. That's it. It was fun to play with friends, and was innovative at the time I guess, for you had to mash the button to make your ostrich flap its wings. It was much better when you yourself make the comical sound effects, especially when your (human) opponent is losing. Ahh, the memories...But I digress. A certain film studio called CP (heh) Productions recently announced that they are working on, among other things, a Joust movie. Gee, I wonder what the movie will be like. Oh, they have an answer! It will be like "Gladiator meets Mad Max". Uh...I can't really see how they will manage to make Joust look like that, let alone MAKE A JOUST MOVIE JESUS CHRIST. Christine Peters, the producer (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days):

"This film is the type of action-packed story that appeals to all four quadrants of the movie-going public and we are excited to be in the Midway Games business once again."

Four quadrants? What the fuck are those four quadrants? I'm no film buff, and the only quadrants I know are mathematical quadrants, but do I really need to know to wonder how they're going to apply this on a JOUST MOVIE?

But oh, it gets better. CP Productions apparently has plenty more in store for us in the way of video game adaptations. What's next? Road Fighter?

Dragon Quest IX Pushed Back to 2008, Blog Author Sorely Disappointed

Looks like Square Enix is either a) experiencing troubles in post-production or b) having doubts releasing the game at this point in time. The officially announced that Dragon Quest IX, the newest installment in former Enix Co.'s cult series, needs "further quality improvement". Unusual, since we never usually hear of delays for DS games.
Delays always causes impatience (for me anyways), but on the other hand this might be a good thing. So, Square Enix, since you're taking your sweet damn time with this game, I hope you come out with something so phenomenally epic that I will shit my pants just by touching the cartridge.
...
...Just hurry it up already. : (

Konami: Two Castlevania Games, One Brand-New

Good news from Konami, perpetrators of such atrocities as Metal Gear Solid, Dance Dance Revolution, and Castlevania. They are preparing to release yet another--nay, two--new games in the Castlevania franchise. Well technically only one new game, since one of them is just a port of Gameboy Advance's Aria of Sorrow. The other new one, called Castlevania: Order of Shadows, is fully, completely, and totally original, and even comes with an all-new whip-wielding member of the family, Desmond Belmont. Looks like they need to update the timeline--again. But it's Castlevania, so whatever the fuck they do to the official history and timeline, it's cool. (Just no more 3D games pls.)

Well...sounds cool, right? Excited? Can't wait to whip the shit out of Dracula once more? Here's the letdown: these games are exclusively for mobile phones. Yes, an all-new, original, Belmont-centered Castlevania story...exclusively for mobile phones. I could care less for Aria of Sorrow, I have that for my Gameboy, but Order of Shadows...How cruel can you be? Also, do you even think you can profit from this?

Game launches September 18, 2007.

Minor Update: No BioShock for PS3

It's confirmed: There will be no BioShock for PS3. Ken Levine, while discussing the problems with the PC release of Bioshock, also somehow was able to crush the hopes of PS3 owners everywhere: "There's no PS3 development going on that we're hiding."

Yeah right. Microsoft probably paid you a hefty amount of money. Money-greedy bastards with a defective PC game CD >:(

It Looks Like Manhunt 2 Will Come Out After All

Manhunt 2, the sequel to the deliciously violent exploitation-video game Manhunt, will finally see the light of day. The game will be released simultaneously on three platforms -- the PS2, Wii, and PSP -- on October 31, 2007. It was originally slated for release last July, but acclaimed lawyer and cockfag Jack Thompson had his panties up in a bunch, declaring the game too violent and PROMISING to prevent the sales of Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. To make the story short, Mr. Thompson ultimately failed, and MH2 was given an AO (Adults-only) rating by the ESRB. So eat shit, Thompson.

Good thing, too, for Manhunt 2 has a bunch of cool new features and an all-new story. We no longer follow the previous installment's protagonist, Johnny Cash, nor is it another tale of Death Row prisoners being sent out to kill people in the most glorious of ways to make a snuff film. Instead, it will be a tale of a controversial research that was shut down, but the scientists decide to continue on their own anyway. One of the scientists, Daniel Lamb, volunteers to be a guinea pig for the experiment, with adverse psychological effects. Along the way something goes wrong, and Daniel has to escape the facility, mental disorder and all. This is where the fun begins.

The game still employs the "Execution" feature, and still has three levels of gruesome. However, this time around firearms can also be used for executions, as well as some environmental objects like live wires and toilet bowls. There's also a new Simon Says-esque feature: when hiding in shadows, and an enemy comes near, the player must press the combination of buttons shown in the screen in order to keep Daniel's breathing calm and remain undetected. And last, but definitely not least, there are multiple endings, depending on how the game is played.

But wait, there's more. The game no longer has an AO rating; instead, it is now rated M - for mature gamers. This means a wider audience for the game (not like the kids at home won't be playing it themselves anyway), and more insult to Jack Thompson. Ha! However, this also means some parts that are deemed extra violent will be cut. :( But fear not, an uncut version is likely to be released.

Happy killing!

MGS4: Boss names, themes, and hot sexy ass

Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, Kojima reveals the underlying theme for his upcoming, ball-bustingly-sure-to-be-smash-hit PS3 game, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I'm personally still awaiting for news related to the Patriots themselves, but here's some interesting stuff: The theme of the game, according to Kojima, is sort of like Beauty and the Beast, except that the beauties are the beasts. Those spiffy-looking humanoid things in the picture to the left are the major bosses of the game: Screaming Mantis, Laughing Octopus, Crying Wolf, and Raging Raven. Sounds familiar? Hell, looks familiar to some extent even - Octopus obviously sort of looks like Solidus, while Raven looks like she came from Zone of the Enders.

Beastly as they appear, why do they look sort of hawt? Supposedly, they are a group of soldiers "transformed by battle", which probably means they experienced the trauma of fighting in wars Furthermore, they are all female. Why this is so remains unknown, but it provides further proof to my theory that the game is a metaphor for impotence that comes with old age. Anyway, these creatures are powered behind the scenes by some delicious-looking mocap actors (female, of course).

While the boss names sound like something straight out of Megaman X, it seems like Kojima is up to something psychological. Apart from the names being decidedly FoxHound, the first parts of the names are all -ing verbs...that pertain to an emotional state. More throwbacks (MGS3 this time)? Probably, but this also means that the characters are gonna live up to their names. So expect some creepy laughing from Laughing Octopus while fighting her, and so on. I personally don't think I can face Crying Wolf without getting creeped out.

I'm just hoping that when you defeat them, the women inside the exoskeleton battle suits are revealed...in underwear. Excuse my while I tend to my "raging raven".

Mario and Sonic Olympics-type game

Well, it's nice that these previously-polar opposites have settled their differences, albeit Sega is ultimately the loser hohoho. Don't worry, Sega, Nintendo is right behind you (see: GameCube and in a few years, Wii. Hohoho.) In the Leipzig game convention, Sega revealed some screens of what seems to be an Olympics-type game, featuring characters from either companies' most famous franchises: Sonic and Mario. From what can be gathered from these screenshots, it looks like there will be many events and very many characters. Fans of both Sonic and Mario rejoice, but I wonder how fun the game will actually be. The game will probably be released just in time for Christmas, or maybe for the Olympics itself. 'Til then, just enjoy that picture of Cream being cute. And the screens below.

Silent Hill: Origins for the PSP

After the atrocious Silent Hill 4: The Room and the relatively recent Silent Hill movie, many have started to lose faith in the game franchise, myself included. Though SH4 is considered by many as more of an expansion than an actual sequel (Konami admits to calling it "Silent Hill" even though it was meant to be an entirely different, separate title, for marketing purposes), the movie didn't exactly please the more discriminating patrons. It was entertaining in its own right, sure, but just wasn't good enough.

Enter Silent Hill: Origins. The game is for the PlayStation Portable, so it probably will be, by itself, just another expansion of the franchise, but at least it will be more relevant to Silent Hill than the 4th game, and probably the movie too. That pic looks very promising, at least. (Sorry about the captioning. Blame one of those users from Kotaku who just had to mention something about captioning.)

But, somehow, the caption seems only appropriate--the demo of the game is supposed to be shown in the forthcoming game show in Leipzig, but already it has been leaked into the Internets. Who could have done it? Karl Jeffrey, CEO of Climax (the NA distributors of Silent Hill) practically said it wasn't them. So that leaves only one explanation--someone in Konami did it.

I'm willing to bet a few bucks it's just Kojima dicking around.

Ratchet & Clank! But...

When I first picked up Crash Bandicoot for PS1 way back when, I wasn't really expecting much. I heard a lot about it -- really wacky stuff, but back then I really had no faith in American game developers, especially Sony. But wow was I blown away when I actually tried playing it. I never thought 3d-platformers would be that fun (especially after the disaster known as Contra: Shattered Soldier).

I eagerly awaited for Ratchet & Clank for the PS2, expecting the same quality. It was more than I expected. The gameplay was smooth, the camera angles were largely not problematic, and the targeting was spot on. But what truly made the game shine is its humor. Kiddie humor, sure, but pretty good kiddie humor. And it got even better with the subsequent installments, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal (okay, I think they're getting less kiddie now. Going commando? All the time.). I enjoyed the little fake commercials in Going Commando, moreso that it was graced with Michael Bell's voice acting (Remember Raziel? Yeah, that guy). The gameplay is absolutely, addictively simple, yet provides enough of a challenge, and is just plain solid fun. Should I even talk about the wide arsenal?

The series sort of gained a cult following, but sequels have become less frequent. The last one for PS2, Ratchet: Deadlocked, wasn't even a proper sequel; it was more like one of those Crash Bandicoot party games. Missing were the huge levels and the platformer action, and the general feel of the game.

Suddenly, Sony answers fan prayers and announces a new sequel, called Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Hooray! Finally. But I've one major problem: It's for the PS3. Why? I don't have one...yet. As well, I fear that the developers will focus more on the presentation than the actual game itself. I certainly hope they don't; I really don't mind pretty graphics, but if you're gonna abuse the capabilities of the PS3 to the fullest, do it by creating insanely large levels, and an equally large inventory (guns mostly). Well the game is mostly in post-production status by now but...Let's just see. As much as I want it to look gorgeous, I definitely want it to be playable too.

The game is slated for a November 27, 2007 release.

Haruhi on PS2

Good news for you Haruhi worshippers (i.e. losers). A Haruhi game will be released for the PlayStation 2, called Suzumiya Haruhi no tomadoi ("The Confusion of Haruhi Suzumiya"). The objective seems to be to create a SOS-dan RPG under Haruhi's orders (as Kyon-kun, who else?). The game is developed by Banpresto (Super Robot Wars quality? Let's hope) and game art is, fortunately, handled by Kyoto Animation themselves.

I'm not sure what the gameplay will look like exactly, for all we have is this obscure magazine scan. But it looks like it will involve both oldschool-RPG mechanics (an Earthbound-esque battle system can be seen in that screen in the middle of the image) and swords and magic and shit, as well as your typical Japanese text adventure found usually in dating sims and hentai games.

I was really hoping for a dancing game though. Even if it's just Hare Hare Yukai over and over again I would play it for 70 hours. But this sounds ok too.

Oh, and there seems to be a freebie that comes with the game, a posable Haruhi figure (in battle outfit?)

Hallo world

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