NewNews - Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade Announced for Japan

Official Site:
http://teamninja-studio.com/teamninja/doa5/ultimate/
Source: Youtube Channel KOEITECMOofficial

Namco Bandai has announced Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade, a version of the game specifically for arcades in Japan.  With that, they added one new character to the 29 character roster: Marie Rose.  She is absolutely adorable and is a practitioner or systema, a Russian martial art.  From what is shown, she might be a grappler (grabs and reversal throws) of sorts.  I don't like playing grapplers in fighting games, but she's so cute that I might not care!  The problem at the moment is that no confirmation for Marie Rose being brought to the West or even consoles has been made.  Team NINJA did leave a message on their Facebook page saying:

"Fighters! We see that you’ve discovered our newest character, Marie Rose for the upcoming Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade. Although this game is a JP exclusive title, we haven’t forgotten about our overseas fighters in the World."

So there's a chance Marie Rose will be released on consoles in the West as a DLC.  I really do not like DLCs, but I'll seriously consider it if it's for this one character.  Japan will be getting DoA5U Arcade sometime this Winter with the addition of Marie Rose.

Sources:

-Joystiq - Marie Rose enters the Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Arcade arena

-Shoryuken - Team NINJA Hints at Possible Console Release for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade’s Marie Rose

-Dead or Alive Wiki - Systema

GameLight Review - Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+

Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/236450/
Source: Youtube Channel Robert Cram

Developer: Mine Loader Software
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Platforms: [PC], PS3, Xbox 360
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Genre: Arcade

Pros:
+ Easy to pick up and play
+ Bright, colorful, and full of energy
+ Fast-paced and exciting arcade action
+ Comprehensive and competitive leaderboards to challenge players in the world
+ One of the very few games I was willing to pre-order digitally

Cons:
- No controller support other than Xbox 360 controllers
- Game is a buggy port to PC with Audio failure and crashes at stage select
- Sadly, still no multiplayer mode of any kind

Recommended: Absolutely!  If you're a Pac-Man fan, love arcade games, or looking for something fast-paced and isn't time consuming, this game is something you have to try if not buy.

I've been a long time Pac-Man fan growing up watching my father play it on arcade tables and playing it alongside him on our Sega Genesis.  After a while, it seemed like there wasn't anything new to create from Pac-Man and all the adventure games that came out under its name were kooky and silly, but they weren't Pac-Man games.  When Pac-Man Championship Edition had released and reached Playstation 3's PSN for demo, I got to try it out and was impressed by the dynamics of the game while still retaining a lot of the rules of the original.  Still, it was released digitally on console and I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to digitally sold games on console.  So I was pretty happy to hear that it was finally making its way to PC on Steam along with some new content.  With DX+, new maps, skins and music is added to the game.  Despite having some problems with the PC port, the game is still fun, challenging, and addictive.  It's a mixture of traditional Pac-Man with snake where you lure as many ghosts to chase you down as possible before grabbing and power-pellet and gobbling all of them up for massive points.  The bright and shiny aesthetics along with the energetic music creates a rather exciting experience for a Pac-Man game.  It's so fast!  The extra skins are kind of fun/silly if not nostalgic (Dig-Dug/Rally-X) and at least one of the songs is really good (Pac-Steps).  Even if you're not a fan of Pac-Man, it should be a fun experience for newcomers with its beautiful presentation and exciting gameplay.

Aesthetics
Art-Style: Various skins provide different styles of past looks of Pac-Man
+ Colors are bright, dynamic, and vibrant making for a clean look
+ Music has a balance between laid-back and exciting which works well
+ The sound of gobbling dozens of ghosts is rewarding
+ There are a lot of sounds and graphics that have a nostalgic factor to the original
+ Dig-Dug and Rally-X skins changes the whole feel and look of the game
+ Pac-Steps is perhaps the best song out of all that's played in the game

- The Re-entrance song isn't that great.  It's an extended version of the title theme
Aesthetics: 10/10

Buttons
Controller: Keyboard or Xbox 360 Controller
+ Tiny arrows around Pac-Man showing where he's going next is a great mechanic
+ Simple controls: Movement and bomb
+ The flow and movements in the game work hand in hand with the level designs
+ Controls makes it easy for anyone new to pick up and play the game

- No controller support, only Xbox 360 controllers
Buttons: 8/10

Concept & Content
Core Concept: Eat pellets and Ghosts to get the highest score
+ Game feels fresh despite staying true to the concepts of the original
+ Level constantly changes as the round progresses for dynamic gameplay
+ They made eating ghosts feel so good in this game, it's addicting
+ Level designs have a nice flow to them
+ Leaderboard are up-to-date and can tell you your standing in the world
+ Pre-order was worth it with all the DLCs that was included
+ Lots of levels, skins, music, and modes were in it for its price

- It'd be nice to have a 4-man multiplayer like the ones in arcades
- If striving for the highest score isn't your thing, there isn't much more else to give
- The audio often fails at start up and the game crashes on stage selection
- Hackers were already present on the first day of launch, ruining leaderboards
Concept and Content: 8/10

Duration

+ Just going through all the levels once will provide an hour of gameplay
+ There are a lot of challenges/trials to go through for gameplay time
+ Replay value is high if you're into getting the highest scores in games
+ The pacing of each round never lets down, they stay exciting the entire round

- There isn't much for those who want more than just "high score" leaderboards
- It can be repetitive and boring for those who don't like arcade games
Duration: 7/10

Fun
+ The vibrant atmosphere from the game makes me feel good
+ I have to play hard every time, I love the speed and excitement of it
+ Eating ghosts and the sound it makes is so satisfying
+ The easy-going music mixed with a bit of excitement is a nice compliment
+ I liked seeing some of my scores go over so many other players on leaderboard
+ The flow of each round is so fluid and the feeling I get from playing is bliss

- Having to restart the game 3-7 times because audio isn't there is annoying
- Game crashing at stage select isn't too big of a problem, but it still bugs me
- No controller support, getting sick of seeing "Xbox 360 controller only"
Fun: 8/10

Overall
It's a fun game that anyone can easily get into without going through long dialogues, getting lost, facing frustrating enemies, etc.  It's a nice distraction from the other gaming you might be playing and provides entertainment in a pure form.  It might not be a game players will play for long durations, but being able to play a round for 5 minutes for a break and still give a satisfying experience is a nice thing to have.  For the more hardcore players, the highly competitive leaderboards will keep them busy finding new strategies and refining their reflexes with the ability to watch replays of any player's score.  The game was worth pre-ordering with all the extra content that came with it, but eventually it will get a Steam sale and provide a nice price for the entire package.  With its beautiful presentation and fast-paced gameplay, it's a game I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys arcade games and more so if they're a Pac-Man fan.  Overall: 8.2/10

GameLight - PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/236450/
Source: Youtube Channel Robert Cram

I'm so ready for some PAC-MAN!  PAC-MAN Championship Edition first released 6 years ago on Xbox Live Arcade and I was able to finally try it out 2 years ago when a demo released on PS3's PSN store.  The concept of the pellet gobbling PAC-MAN remains the same, but some rules have been changed a little.  The game will speed up, slow down, have more pellets appear, have a bunch of ghosts swamp you, and other crazy new mechanics that really change the pace of the classic arcade game.  As far as I know, the game is still only single-player, but  perhaps that might change as the "plus" version allows "players to challenge their friends".  The problem is, it might just mean allowing the player to beat their friend's score on a friend's list leaderboard.  A multiplayer version does exist in places like Dave & Busters (Arcades) as I have played it earlier this year with 3 other friends and it was a lot of fun.  I don't think it'll provide online multiplayer (listed as single-player only), but it should be a fun arcade experience.  I already pre-ordered it a month ago to get the 8 DLCs that come along with the pre-order.  I just have to wait 2 more days before I start munching pellets and ghosts.

"The update provided improved leaderboard functionality, the ability to challenge friends, and medal support. In addition to this, paid downloadable content was also released. It added four new courses (Big Eater, Championship III, Highway II, and Mountain), three new skins (based on Dig Dug, Rally-X and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures) and two new background music tracks (Pac-Steps and Re-Entrance) to the game. This content was made available in the "All You Can Eat Add-on Pack" bundle." -Wikipedia

You can grab PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+ on Steam for $9.99 or if you want to save a little you can grab it at GreenManGaming and use their 25% off coupon (GMG25-J4B0D-FLH8M) and get it for $7.49 with all the DLCs.  The game unlocks on September 25th at 12PM PST.

GameLight - Ridge Racer Driftopia

Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/226410/
Source: Youtube Channel gametrailers

Namco Bandai Games are on fire with the Free-to-Play games with Tekken Revolution out and a Soul Calibur: Lost Swords on its way.  Ridge Racer Driftopia was announced earlier this year as a Free-to-Play racer and showed up on Steam Early Access yesterday.  I quickly downloaded it and tried it out last night to see what the game was all about.  I'm not a huge racing fan unless I have the wheel and pedal to play with, but I do still enjoy a racing when the controls and feel of the game are fast and tight (I generally like the more unrealistic racers).  I started up the game and it didn't require me to do a bunch of registrations, signing in and all that.  It just asked me to optionally give my e-mail to get a bonus in-game item.  Then it explains a lot of mechanics of the game with pop-up text blocks and arrows showing every little aspect of the game.  I guess I appreciate the help with finding my way around the game, but it did feel like it dragged on.

I finally picked my car and got through all the text and started up the game.  I drove straight forward and tried to turn but bumped into a wall and *BAM* "GAME OVER" you have to use some repair kits to fix your cars.  This was a bit of a concern for me that if you ever ran out of repair kits, you couldn't play anymore (or at least for the rest of the day).  But then I found out it was really easy earning more.  So after a few tries of crashing into walls, I got comfortable with the controls playing on keyboard and was able to get through without blowing up into a ball of fire.  As the name would suggest, there is a lot of drifting.  Drifting is one of my favorite things to do in racing games, and they generally feel too slippery or uncontrollable to be any fun in most racing games.  But it felt really good the very first time I drifted in-game and it looked really nice too.  The only mode beside Time attack is spirit race which is kind of like a single-player/multiplayer mode experience where you race against the ghosts of other players rather than live time.  This eliminates the problem when a player plays at a low player count time in the day and doesn't have anyone to play with/against.  On the other hand, the ghosts can't really react to the players actions and respond to them.

The graphics are beautiful and the music is amazing, but the mechanics of how the game works worries me.  The actual game during a race feels fine and I actually like how it feels despite not liking blowing up after one bump into the wall and starting over.  The real problem is everything in-between racing: having to use repair kits to repair cars you total, not being able to play the next level until you level up, you have to replay the same two levels several times over before you unlock the next level and you have to replay that a few more times before unlocking the one after, you can only own a certain number of cars unless you pay real money to unlock more slots, you must log-in/start-up the game every 24 hours to receive bonuses, etc.  The entire game just felt very "facebook", time orientated with a lot of repetition.  So in the end, I wasn't having that much fun and it felt like I was playing under a very limited restriction.  I did like that actual "in-game" play and that's when I looked up more about Ridge Racer Driftopia and realized that the levels, graphics, music, gameplay and such are all assets from Ridge Racer Unbounded.  Despite being disappointed with Ridge Racer Driftopia, my new found interest in Ridge Racer Unbounded made trying the game out worthwhile.  Keep in mind that Ridge Racer Driftopia is still in beta/early access and will continue to grow, so it might get better in the future.  For me, I want a full game with no restrictions due to micro-transactions or heavy time investment and I think Ridge Racer Unbounded might be the thing for me.

GameLight - J-Stars Victory Vs

JP Site: http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/jump45/pc/index2.html
Source: Youtube Channel nbgi

Another Jump Super Star game is about to release and the Western market is probably not going to get it again!  Yay.....Still, it's pretty cool to watch the teaser for it and see what they're doing for this game.  Instead of being released on a Nintendo portable (first two were released on NDS), the newest Jump Super Star game is going to be released on the Sony PS3 and PS Vita.  Rather than looking like Super Smash Bros. like they have in the past, the game is looking more like Street Fighter, or rather more of a traditional Fighter.  But the video doesn't accurately portray the actual gameplay, so I'm not exactly sure how exactly the game mechanics will be.  I was able to play the first two games because NDS didn't have region lock, but I don't think I'll get the chance to play the newest Jump Super Star anytime soon.  The game is set to release sometime this year.

GameLight - Time and Eternity

Official Site: http://nisamerica.com/games/time_and_eternity/
Source: Youtube Channel IGN

Toki to Towa, what happened?  The hand drawn, animé-style RPG doesn't seem to please the masses as the game launched yesterday.  I didn't look too much into the game as I don't want anything spoiled when I finally decide to try the game out myself.  From what I've seen though, the gameplay mechanics don't really extend as far as its basic ideas of dodging and attacking.  I liked the idea of a more action-orientated turn-based RPG much like the system Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars used back in the Super Nintendo Days.  One of the problems I see right away is that you only play as Toki and Towa; you play as two characters throughout the entire game.  For JRPGs, a lot of the stories told are through character development and relationships between one another.  So could this perhaps be the problem: lack of depth in combat, story, and gameplay?  It's true that the combat doesn't seem to offer much in terms of variation and selection.  I was hoping that each character had a plethora of skills to learn seeing how it's only two playable characters in the entire game.  And I was hoping that it would have a fun, humorous, light-hearted story to go along with it.  I can't be sure of any of this unless I watch more gameplay videos, and there's a surprising amount uploaded already.  I'll eventually give this game a try as it doesn't seem worth it to get at $50 right now.

NewNews - Project X Zone NA launch will get extra stuff

Official Japanese Site: http://pxz.channel.or.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel NintendoWorldReport

3DS Tactics collaboration Project X Zone involving a collaboration between 3 major game companies has a surprise for gamers in North America.  Joystiq just shared that nice tidbit about the launch copies of Project X Zone in NA.  Along with the $40 game, those who purchase the game at launch will get a mini-artbook, a poster, and a music CD.  I'm hoping it's the full soundtrack, but I've bought 2 games with soundtracks with them in the past and they turned out to be special tracks.  It's great and all, but it'd also be nice to have the full soundtrack of a game to listen to.  With so many distinguishable characters and series in this one game, it's sure to be filled with lots of memorable themes from their respective games.

Also, Project X Zone has an official launch date now: June 25, 2013.  I think it's one of the few games I'm buying on day one this year.

Source:
-Joystiq - Project X Zone launch copies come with extra stuff

GameLight - Dark Souls 2 Gameplay footages and Interview

Official Site: http://www.darksoulsii.com/us/?lang=en
Source: Youtube Channel Plexirvones

I loved Demon's Souls but I've sadly haven't got to play much of Dark Souls despite buying it pretty much when it came out.  Still, it's needless to say that I was pretty excited to hear Dark Souls 2 was being developed.  Today, IGN has revealed an interview with the Director at FROM Software and Global Producer at NamcoBandai as they showed some gameplay footages from Dark Souls 2. From what they've shown in the interview and demo, the enemies and the environment will have a more dynamic response to the player's actions.  So far, the game looks absolutely beautiful.  They said they wanted to improve the graphic quality from Dark Souls to Dark Souls 2 and I can see the difference in the character model and textures in the environment.  The game looks great and so I guess I should get around to completing Dark Souls so I can be ready for #2.  Dark Souls 2 should be out sometime this fall for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

NewNews - PC Players Get SFxT DLC Characters

Official Site: http://www.streetfighter.com/us/sfxtk
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/7178/
Source: Youtube Channel CommunityGame

I bought Street Fighter x Tekken on Steam about 2 months ago thinking that I  would never get to see the 12 additional characters on it not to mention the PS3 exclusive characters.  To my surprise, I saw a special deal on Steam today that just happened to be just that.  The 12 DLC characters that has long since been out for consoles and PS Vita has finally made it out on PC without any warning from the media as far as I know.  To make this even better, the DLC pack is 75% off for only $5 from now until February 20th.  There probably aren't a lot of players for PC, but I had bought the game mainly to play single-player and to play locally with friends so the deal I got for the game and the DLC characters is still cheaper than paying for the original game on console.  I just have to deal with Games for Windows Live.  As for the additional Characters, here's the roster:

Street Fighter:
Sakura
Blanka
Guy
Cody
Elena
Dudley

Tekken:
Lars
Alisa
JACK-X
Bryan
Christie
Lei

I haven't touched Street Fighter x Tekken for a month now.  I think this is a good time to play it again.

NewNews - Project x Zone coming to North America

Official Japanese Site: http://pxz.channel.or.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

After months of hearing "Japan exclusive" and "no plans of Western release" we finally get an announcement from Namco Bandai yesterday that they are, in fact, bringing Project x Zone to North America.  This made me so happy and excited I wanted to burst into tears but held it in so I could finish reading the rest of the details.  The estimated release date at the moment is summer of this year 2013.  I hope that means the first day of summer in June so we don't have to wait too long.  Seriously, there weren't that many games to really look forward to this year.  But then games like Pandora's Tower and now Project x Zone gets the okay to bring over to America suddenly changes my perspective on the games coming out this year!  For those unfamiliar with the game, Project x Zone is a Strategy-RPG with grid based movements like a Tactics game and 2D-combo based Action combat featuring over 200 characters across 29 different games from Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Sega.  This is one game I'm willing to pay full price on the first day to get.  This seems like a better year for Japanese developed games with titles like Phantasy Star Online 2, Bayonetta 2, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Dark Souls 2, Final Fantasy XIII - Lightning Returns, Pandora's Tower and this game coming out this year.

Source:
-Crunchroll - "Project X Zone" and More Announced for North America

VGCulture - Version Dilemma

Street Fighter X Tekken is on sale today at Steam (PC) for $12.49.  I have waited all year long, not only for a discount, but also for the 12 new characters that were semi-on the disc but not available.  They're available now, but only for PS3 and Xbox 360 for $20 or you can get the PS Vita version and have all the characters for the full price game of $40.
Source: Youtube Channel CapcomEuro

There are so many factors that change the same game on different systems nowadays, and the game industry just plays into it to find the best possible way to get more than the average price that fans/customers pay for.  I'm now having that dilemma at the moment with Street Fighter x Tekken.  It's not with just PC vs. Consoles, but with every other factor too.  For some games, if you pre-order from Amazon, maybe you'll get a free map.  But if you pre-order from GameStop, you'll receive a neat weapon exclusively from them.  Here are some of the factors for me in Street Fighter x Tekken:

Playstation 3
+ $20 for the game + $20 for the 12 extra characters completing the roster
+ Able to play on a big screen TV
+ Playing on a PS3, I assume it's more reliable with more patch support
+ Mega Man, Cole MacGrath, Pac-Man, Toro, and Kuro exclusively for PS3
+ Universal Fightstick controller compatibility
+ Playing comfortably with friends locally (4-players)

- A big insult to fans who supported the game buying at $60 with on-disc DLCs
- Rarely do the DLCs have any sales or discounts
- Making sure you have enough Hard Drive space, a problem for early PS3s
- DLCs cost nearly $70 altogether (About ~$67.56)

Xbox 360
+ $40 altogether like the PS3 excluding exclusive PS3 characters
+ Able to play on a big screen TV
+ Fightsticks work universal between PS3, Xbox 360 and PC
+ Able to play comfortably with friends locally (4-players)

- No exclusive characters
- Must pay Xbox Live in order to play online
- DLCs are still expensive
- Hard Drive space is still a problem if it's an early version Xbox 360
- Even with the 12 new characters, still not as much as the PS3s version

Playstation Vita
+ $40 for the definitive version of the game, no DLC purchases necessary
+ Portable, can be played anywhere you go
+ Can still play online through local, wi-fi, or 3G network
+ If you already own the PS3 version, the 12 extra characters is added to PS3
+ Cross-compatibility, what you do on PS Vita will save to your PS3

- Buying the game twice to get everything, sounds familiar...
- If you only bought this version, you can't play on a large screen
- Can't play with a friend locally unless they have a PS Vita with the game as well
- Cannot be played with a fight-stick, but has easy swipe controls?

PC
+ On steam right now, it's on sale with 75% for $12.49
+ Even the DLC packs are on sale
+ Steam's recently released Big Picture mode allows easier TV play
+ Can still be played with a fight stick
+ Easier to bring around if it's a laptop compared to a console/TV combo

- Must log into Games for Windows Live, which I hate
- Does not include the 12 extra characters, they can't be bought
- Not everyone has gamepads on PC to play 4-player local
- Higher chance of crashes, bugs, and incompatibility such as slow downs
- Unless you hook up to a large monitor or TV, local multiplayer will feel cramped
- Unlike all other versions, you must be online to play even single-player
- Probably little to no players online

As you can see, all versions have their perks and severe disadvantage.  The Playstation 3 doesn't get discounts for DLCs, Xbox 360 doesn't get any of the exclusive characters available on PS3, PS Vita can't do many of the things the other 3 versions can (play locally with friends on the same system, use a fightstick, play on a big-screen), and PC version doesn't get to even buy the DLC characters as well as having to stay logged into Games for Windows Live.  The version to get just depends on the player.  PS3 players could get the game and the 12 characters as DLCs for $40 or get the PS Vita version along with it for a total of $60 for cross compatibility.  If the Xbox 360 player doesn't mind not having the exclusive characters, they can just get the game and DLC characters for $40.  The PS Vita player could choose to only get their version as it is the definitive version if they plan to play solo and online exclusively for $40.  Then there's the PC version, which clearly has a ton of disadvantages, where it's really cheap for the core game with some of the features that a console has.  In any case, it seems no one wins other than Capcom themselves.  Despite all the uproar Capcom has stirred up in the past few years (if not from the beginning with having 3-5 different versions of Street Fighter 2), they have provided quite a bit of quality games.  I'm probably going to get the Steam/PC version.  I swear I'll go crazy if they suddenly announce "Super Street Fighter x Tekken definitive version" for PS3.  I think I've only bought the same game twice before: Dead Island because my friend wanted to play on PS3 while PC was moddable and had a crazy sale and BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend for PS3 with the original already at hand and BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 for 3DS just so I can play it on the go.  But I'd like that to happen rarely if not "never" as I don't like to re-purchase the same games.

GameLight - Dark Souls 2

Official Site: http://www.darksoulsii.com/
Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames

So the Videogame Awards Show ended up being boring anyways.  It was great seeing talents and studios being recognized for their hard work and efforts and to see some new footages of games we already know are in the making, but there were a lot of non-gaming material in-between and lots of commercials.  The most exciting and unheard announcement is the reveal of Dark Souls 2.  It was hinted right before the trailer was shown and I was thinking it might be another "Souls" game with a new name such as "Divinity Souls" or "Dragon Souls".  To my surprise it was Dark Souls 2, an actual sequel this time!  I've had Dark Souls since last year, but I have not put the time and effort into completing it yet because of all the games I've accumulated throughout the years.  Despite not completing Dark Souls, I'm very happy to hear about a sequel in the making.  Not much is known about the game yet, so any new game mechanics and such is not known at the moment.

GameLight - Project X Zone

Official Japanese Site: http://pxz.channel.or.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel nbgi

Seven years ago, a game called Namco x Capcom for the Playstation 2 was released that featured a bunch of characters from a lot of games; however, the game was never released in North America.  Looks like that game has a continuation on the Nintendo 3DS with one of the largest collaborations seen in the industry (other than Super Smash Bros. Brawl).  Project X Zone is a Action-Tactics game exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS that will feature over 200 characters across 29 different games.  Characters from fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Virtua Fighter to Action games like Devil May Cry, Mega Man, Resident Evil to RPGs such as the Tales series, .Hack Sign, and Resonance of Fate will be joining the large cast to do some crazy combo attacks.  I'm not exactly sure what the game's about, but just looking at the gameplay has me immensely excited for this game.  The game is set to launch in Japan on October 11, 2012 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.  I really hope North America will get to see this game sometime in the near future.

Source:
-Joystiq: New Project X Zone trailer is 16 minutes of crazy crossovers

GameLight - Armored Core V

Official Site: http://www.armoredcore.net/acv/

Source: Youtube Channel XboxViewTV

A lot of new games are releasing this week and next and one of them being Armored Core V.  I'm honestly not even sure if I've ever played any of the Armored Core games since I've played so many mecha-games.  Back in the late 90's, early 2000 mecha-games were huge!  And by huge I mean everyone wanted to play mecha-related games and developers kept throwing them out there (kind of how modern military shooters are now).  There were big robot games on Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, Nintendo 64, X-box, PC, Sega Dreamcast, it was everywhere!  Somewhere along the way mecha-games stopped being so popular and the ones that came out where largely ignored or loved by a niche group (as many genres of the past has).  Armored Core V's announcement was a surprise to me.  I didn't realize they still made games like these anymore, at least I didn't think they'd localize it as mecha-games have always been a popular genre in Japan.  There hasn't been a game like Armored Core V in a while as many of the other giant robot games tend to feel more like other genres (Transformers: War for Cybertron felt like a 3rd-Person Shooter and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 played like a hack 'n slash).  It's not bad that those games felt like other genres, but there hasn't been a true mecha-game that satisfies those who still like the traditional heavy guns with jet-packs and major collateral damage in a long time.  I think the last game I played that had a similar feel to it is Exteel, which no longer is available for play (it was a free online game).  One of the things I really hated about some of the mecha-games were how clunky the controls felt to simulate weight or how slow the gameplay went by.  Fast-paced mecha-games like Virtual-On and Zone of the Enders were some of my favorite as large armored robots were equipped with tons of weapons, glided around with incredible speed and flew around shooting dozens of missiles at their enemies.  Armored Core V seems to follow that old-school trend with tons of customizable parts, massive maps to fight on, and crazy battles with tons of enemies.  I'm so behind on a lot of games and am anticipating for even more that I don't even know if I'll ever get around to getting this  game.  Still, it seems to be one of the best looking mecha-games I've seen in a while so I may consider picking it up one day.  Armored Core releases tomorrow with special day-one packages when you pre-order at GameStop and will be available for both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

NewNews - Ezio of Assassin's Creed in Soul Calibur 5

So yesterday, I saw this on Penny Arcade:

Source: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/10/19

I wondered "why would they make a comic like that?"  I looked up online and sure enough, Joystiq had received a screenshot of what looks like Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed 2 in the roster of Namco Bandai's upcoming Soul Calibur 5.

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/17/rumor-assassins-creeds-ezio-coming-to-soulcalibur-5/

So the rumor is that Ezio is going to be the cameo character for the game.  This isn't the first time a character from a totally different game (or universe since Darth Vader and Yoda didn't start from a game first) appear as a combatant in the Soul Calibur series, but it was still a nice surprise to see Ezio being the one to possibly make an appearance as a playable character.  I wasn't very sure about getting Soul Calibur 5 considering how little I played the 4th in the series, but Ezio's inclusion makes a nice incentive for me to get the game now.

UPDATE: Not a rumor anymore (took just one day to reveal, haha):

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Soul Calibur V - Exclusive Character Reveal Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

GameOn - Fighting Games - Street Fighter x Tekken

Official Site: http://www.streetfighter.com/us/sfxtk/

Source: Youtube Channel CapcomUnityVideos

I remember being excited and confused when Capcom announced Street Fighter x Tekken when both fighting games have a totally different battle system.  It seems that it falls more into the Street Fighter cross over style with games like SNK vs. Street Fighter and such.  The game features a 2-person tag team which means you can play along side a friend and even a full out 2 vs 2 with all 4 players on the screen.  The 2-player tag system allows a player or players to switch smoothly between the characters to chain a long string of attacks between them for the maximum damage output.  With a cast from both Street Fighter and Tekken, it's going to be very interesting with the mash-ups a player could do.  I'm not sure if they're going to be adding all the characters that people want since players already devising match-ups such as Fei Long versus Marshall Law and Akuma versus Heihachi.  Currently, there are 22 characters listed on the site.  There could be more, and I hope there will be without the need to buy them as a DLC.  But this is Capcom we're talking about, and they've been milking with DLCs like crazy lately.  I'm actually pretty hyped for this game since it's a different battle system and won't really replace a game that I'd be otherwise be playing (example: getting Soul Calibur 5 might mean playing Soul Calibur 4 a lot less).  Looks like this won't be out until March 2012, which is fine.  I hope this means more characters will be added.

GameOn - Fighting Games - Soul Calibur 5

Official Site: http://www.soulcalibur.com/

Source: Youtube Channel RajmanGamingHD

The first time I played Soul Calibur was at a nickel arcade.  It was like many other 3D games out around time of its release such as Virtua Fighter, Tekken, and such.  What really got me into Soul Calibur was when my father bought me Soul Calibur 2 and I didn't really know what it was (I didn't even know I had played Soul Calibur 1 at this time), but I liked the premise of a fighting game based on swords (I love swords).  My father had bought me the gamecube version with Link as the special character for the system.  From the different swords, to the quest like legend mode, Soul Calibur was a different fighting game for me and I really enjoyed it.  When 3 came out, it was only for PS2 and I ended up not getting it.  When my father had bought me the PS3 one Christmas, he got Soul Calibur 4 with it (among 11 other games).  To my dismay, I was disappointed that all the characters were created using the customizer they created.  I felt a lot of the personality of the characters were all watered down since they had similar features.  On the bright side, the level of customization was very high.  I didn't play Soul Calibur 4 as much (I don't play a lot of my fighting games all that much because I have so many games now) but I'm still excited for Soul Calibur 5 for some reason.  It seems that Ivy is more properly robed.  I assumed she was gonna go all out seeing the progression from SC2 to SC4.  It's mainly the new characters being introduced that has me interested in the game.  One of them is Natsu, but I won't be as interested if she's a direct copy of Taki (she's Taki's student).  I'm still so interested in fighting games even if I don't play them too often (anymore) mainly because of the amount of games I have now than I did before.  It's also mainly because fighting games, shoot-em-ups, and First-Person Shooters were the main genres I played throughout college because I didn't have enough time to sit down and play for a long duration.  With more time now, I'm getting back into RPGs like crazy.  Still, with the release of fighting games like Soul Calibur 5, I want to get back into Fighting games a least a little bit.

GameOn - Fighting Games - Tekken Hybrid

Did everyone have a good break yesterday for Columbus Day (assuming you got a break)?  This week's GameOn theme is upcoming fighting games (all of them being being spin-offs or sequels).  Today's topic is Tekken Hybrid; it's a 3D CG Movie packed with the original Tekken Tag in HD and I think Tekken Tag 2 Tournament.

Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames

I'm not a huge fan of Tekken (even though I own Tekken 1-6) but I do like the premise of the stories for each character and how they all tie together.  I dreaded the creation of the live action movie for Tekken, and so I was really happy to see a 3D CG movie in the works planned to be released as Tekken Hybrid as that's how a movie for Tekken should be presented.  I just hope the story and choreography lives up to its reputation within the games.  Lots of tournament and/or competitive players are excited about Tekken Tag 2, and it makes sense if you see some of the crazy combos pro players perform utilizing the tag system:

Source: Youtube Channel MitsuGTO885

That's scary!  After 1-2 rounds in, your character will miss the feeling of the ground.  Tekken Tag 2 will have a steeper learning curve compared to the main game as its use of the Tag system is necessary if a player wants to be remotely competent against someone who plays the game often.  I'm already god awful at the game controlling one character, I can only imagine how bad it would be like controlling two characters.  The arcade cabinet should be available internationally sometime this month, but the PS3 version won't be seen until sometime next year in 2012.

GameLight - Dark Souls (Out Tonight)

Official Site: http://www.preparetodie.com/

Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames


Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames

Dark Souls is getting its debut release tonight at 12am at GameStops (not sure about other stores) and many are excited about it.  Having already 17 critic reviews on Metacritic with an average of 89/100 points, Dark Souls is already making its way to be this year's winter seller game.  It will be available for PS3 AND Xbox 360 tonight for North America and Oct. 7th in other regions thanks to the efforts of NamcoBandai.  The game looks excruciatingly difficult and makes Demon's Souls look easy in comparison.  I'm definitely going to buy the game, but not tonight.  I'm willing to wait a bit longer until there's a price drop or sale as this winter I will be spending quite a bit on new and old games (around black friday/cyber monday).  I'm a patient man, and I have a ton of games still unfinished.  And I still have Demon's Souls to hold me down as I've started a new character last night.  If you're interested in Dark Souls, haven't played Demon's Souls, and want to wait for the price drop for Dark Souls like I am, then I suggest picking up Demon's Souls as it's $15-$20 (for new copy) at stores now.  Now that the game's finally coming out tonight, I'll just have to wait a little longer before getting the chance to play through it.

GameLight - Dark Souls (Release Date Announced)

Official US Site: http://preparetodie.com/en/
Official JP Site (English): http://www.fromsoftware.jp/darksouls/contents/index_en.html
New video!

Source: Youtube Channel realidad20

Release date for Dark Souls (Unofficial Sequel to Demon's Souls) in NA will be October 4th and in EU on October 7th.  From Software seems to have upped their game with boss monsters looking 10x harder than Demon's Souls.  I'm not sure whether I'm excited or scared, but I know I want it!  It still feels weird seeing NamcoBandai publishing it and not Atlus.  And from the sounds of it, I think Xbox 360 players will get a chance to grab this game for their system.  I'm so pumped up from the trailer that I think I'm gonna go play some more Demon's Souls!

But maybe not.  Just a heads up: Call of Duty: Black Ops is free for Steam players for the weekend and for console players, it's double experience points for the weekend.  I haven't played much Call of Duty as of late, this is possibly a good time to do so!