If this pantheon of video game violence doesn't inspire you to incite a multitude of small explosives abuses over the course of this upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend, then I'm not sure what will.
I've got some gameplay video here from the upcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming that came all the way from Russia (hence the Russian voiceover and subtitles) just for your enjoyment. There's some footage of what would likely be the beginning of the game where the trucker drops Alex off in Silent Hill. Unfortunately, since it's Silent Hill, the hot army vet being picked up by a trucker bear doesn't lead to what you'd hope for... it just leads to fog and monsters and blood and death.
It's still just a beta version, so it doesn't look as fantastic as you might hope. On-screen prompts are PlayStation buttons, so it must be the PS3 version of the game. The outside fog looks great, but the indoor scenes are a little too brightly-lit for a Silent Hill game. Hopefully as the graphics are refined, they'll add some more detailed textures and some more dramatic lighting. The character animations are also kind of stiff, especially when running or fighting. I'm still hopeful they'll work out all the kinks and scare the pants off of me when it comes out!
As someone who has walked what I thought to be a "Rainbow Road", I can only wonder what other, strange rainbow thoroughfares await me. That's what this song is about, right?
Ah, racing the rainbow afterlife with hirsute, mustachioed men in overalls with an amazing ability to overcome gravitational forces. Wait a minute, why would I want to wait until I die for that?
With an expansive amount of downloadable song content, curious import gamers have been eager to browse through the 200 song catalog for Daigasso! Band Brothers DX for the Nintendo DS. Featuring tunes that run the full expanse of Nintendo's legacy, its shouldn't come as too big of a surprise for a song from the Mother/Earthbound to make an appearance, but, given the drought of anything Earthbound in the US (*grumble* *grumble*, Virtual Console launch), any news is good news!
Unfortunately, Pollyanna (I Believe In You) is not featured as part of the game's karaoke mode, but it always warms my heart to hear the song, and I'm not afraid to sing along.
With July 10 quickly approaching, and Japanese gamers finally getting their grubby, little hands on Atlus' Persona 4, the clock to Atlus confirming a US release, and the subsequent wait until the game arrives in stores, should be soon starting.
You know, E3 would be a brilliant time for the company to, at the very least, acknowledge its existence.
Please? I really need my Shoji Meguro fix. Oh, and unravelling the mysteries of Yasoinaba's fog-induced murders should also be worthwhile.
I have a confession to make. I had never played a Dragon Quest game before. I know, I know. But then I got Dragon Quest VIII for Christmas and I fell in love. The cell-shaded graphics were beautiful, and the story was involving, and the traditional RPG action was pitch-perfect. So it is with great pleasure I anticipate the upcoming remakes for the Nintendo DS of Dragon Quests IV, V and VI. Here, I present to you the trailer for Dragon Quest V, and though I don't understand a lick of Japanese, it seems to be presenting the various supporting cast members. Who cares, really. Just take a look at those impressive 3D environments, traditional RPG action and sprites. Sprites, I tell ya! (And boy, that lead character grows up real nice, eh?) Just FYI, Dragon Quest IV is due out in the US in September, and the other two to follow... at some point.
Even though Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 isn't out yet, apparently the "exclusive footage" from Gears of War 2 that is included on the disc has leaked to the internet, something a monkey could have predicted. Oh well, at least the clip is actually worth a look, even if you don't have to spend $60 for the privilege.
The video focuses once again on the multiplayer modes, showing things that have only really been described before, like the variety of execution moves and new gameplay modes. You also get a good look at design director Cliff Bleszinski's fauxhawk and senior producer Rod Fergusson's magnificent red beard.
It's seems like they've been sticking to the multiplayer element in all of the promotion for the game, and I guess I'm finding it a bit curious at this point. I understand the first Gears found it's stride online, but it also makes me wonder if there's some big reveal to the single player game, some new element they don't want leaking too early and giving us time to get sick of it before it comes out. While I keep that in the back of my head, you know what I am already sick of? "Bigger, Better, More Bad-ass." Seriously, Mr. Bleszinski, one time was already too much.
Nanashi no Game is looking better and better with every new glimpse. For that matter, it's also looking creepier and creepier!
Notice, within this new video feed, the frequent cartridge glitching of the game within the game. That alone says "Spooktacular," to me. These days, I usually have great difficulty in playing survival horror / unnerving games, but I am more than willing to invest a substantial amount of time with this beauty.
With the Japanese release less than a week away (July 3), I'm really, really hoping that Square Enix will have something to say about a domestic release for E3, or shortly thereafter.
When I saw that the adorable Angry Video Game Nerd was doing Superman, I got all excited. I was hoping to see the utter nightmare that is Superman 64 melt his brain and send him into apoplectic fits of rage. But no, unfortunately, that's a story for another day. Instead, he takes on Superman for the Atari 2600 and Superman on the NES. As expected, the 2600 game is only the vaguest representation of human figures, but that's to be expected. What I found fascinating was the quasi-anime style of the NES game. That one I've never played, so I thought it was hilarious to see a big-headed baby version of Superman talking to an anime Statue of Liberty. And why does Superman have to ride the subway? Huh? As usual, the Angry Video Game Nerd is absolutely hilarious, but the language is not safe for work or sensitive ears. And man, sometimes I worry about that boy's sanity... how much longer before he snaps?
I don't understand a word of this lengthy and gorgeous Japanese trailer for the forthcoming PSP juggernaut from Square Enix, Dissidia: Final Fantasy.
Set up as a 3D fighting game, Dissidia brings together characters from all veins of Final Fantasy games in a Smash Bros-style rumble overseen by the warring deities of Cosmos and Chaos.
Characters from FFI battle it out against FFIX's Zidane, while Tidus, Squall Leonheart, and (hopefully) Cloud Strife stand up to Judge Gabranth, Sephiroth, and of course a very-much-alive Aeris/Aerith. Check out the vid to see who else you can spot!
It's good to see the PSP getting love, hopefully Final Fantasy fans will find something here to grab onto when the game comes out - no release date has been set for North America, but the Japanese will have it on September 13.
Nearly everyone I know that owns a 360 has had to, at one point or another, replace their Xbox 360 with a new system. Mine stopped displaying video. Fruit Brute received a weird two red light message that no one knew what it meant. Tiny got the red ring of death. The list really just keeps going. I don't really hold it against Microsoft, I love the system despite it's stability issues. Unfortunately, when you replace a 360 all your downloaded content becomes restricted thanks to the DRM locking the content down to one machine.
Thankfully, Microsoft released a DRM relinking tool. This online page allows you to associate all your orphaned software and videos to your new machine free of charge. There are a couple of hangups however. First, you can only use this tool once every 12-months, presumably to stop people from bulk copying their software to their friends. Secondly, you have to re-download all your relinked software. If you've replaced your Xbox recently, just head over to their homepage and use the license migration tool. The entire process takes place on a platform unspecific web page, and takes less than 10 minutes to finish. You must have access to your Xbox to complete the process.
With many of you younger gamers becoming enchanted by the recent release of Arkanoid DS, it only seems fitting to celebrate one of the longest running game series by viewing some absolutely inane Japanese sketch comedy. Don't go thinking that it's inane simply because it's Japanese. No, this clip is just one of those odd moments you wander into, only to find yourself chortling and ushering it on to everyone else you know.
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