Super Robot Taisen Prequel Announced
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsOver in Japan this week, Namco Bandai Games took the veils off Masou Kishin: The Lord of Elemental , the latest game in their sprawling Super Robot Taisen series of anime-inspired robot sims. The game is due out for the Nintendo DS May 27 in Japan for the retail price of 6090 yen. The Lord of Elemental is more than just another SRT Original Generation title — it’s the one that kicked off the whole series, sort of. Originally released in 1996 for the Super NES in Japan, the game marks the debut of hot-blooded robot pilot Masaki Ando and his elementally-powered craft Cybaster, popular enough that they starred in a 26-episode TV anime in 1999. Once a normal Japanese kid, Masaki gets his mecha career kick-started in this game when he’s summoned to La Gias, a world housed under the Earth’s crust, and asked to pilot one of the four elemental robots built by the kingdom of Languran to stave off a prophesied disaster. “We’ve never dug into the backbone of Masaki and Cybaster, even though they both appear regularly in the SRTOG series,” producer Takanobu Terada told Famitsu magazine this week. “The Lord of Elemental answers the question of where those characters came from.”
Final Fantasy XIII Ships 5 Million Copies Worldwide
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsSquare Enix has shipped over five million units of Final Fantasy XIII globally, according to a report from Adriasang. This includes three months of availability in Japan, during which the company apparently shipped about two million units. The other three million were sent out this week for the North American and European releases. Square also boasted that the Final Fantasy series as a whole has shipped over 96 million units. Of course, we should note that this is units shipped , not sold. We won’t really know the sales numbers until next month’s NPD data comes in. But it’s fair to assume Square will be putting at least a few million units into the U.S. retail chains during the month of March, and the Final Fantasy name should have no problem selling most of them. Check out our review and details from the launch party for the anticipated RPG.
NBC Announces Battlestar Galactica MMO
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsBattlestar Galactica is over, but that doesn’t mean NBC is done cashing in. They’re teaming up with Bigpoint to launching Battlestar Galactica Online , a browser-based massively multiplayer game set in the popular universe. “Battlestar Galactica is a supremely gameable intellectual property, with compelling character classes, a fantastic array of ships and weaponry, multiple worlds, and a dramatic storyline,” said vice president and general manager of digital platforms for Universal Partnerships & Licensing Bill Kispert. “We are excited to work with Bigpoint – and our partners at Universal Cable Productions and Syfy – to bring an epic, accessible, and ‘always on’ BSG experience to fans of the franchise and online gamers alike.”
Four Ways Civilization V Justifies Its Existence
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsYou don’t mess with Civilization . If you aren’t a Civ fanatic already, then you should know that Civilization is a veritable cornerstone of PC gaming; it’s a franchise that defines the turn-based strategic experience, that exemplifies the “intricate systems interacting with each other to produce addictive gameplay” motif, that invented the “just one more turn” phrase within PC gamers’ minds, and is often named the best game in PC history. Civilization titles are rare — the “okay, this is pretty much the best one, there’s no way to do but down after this” game that is Civilization IV came out way back in 2005. So it’s no small feat for Firaxis to be making Civilization V . Fact is, with a series this storied and iconic, the developers can’t simply get away with making it look prettier and making the number bigger. They have to make a game that makes the five year wait worth it, especially after its near-perfect predecessor. So what will Civ V do? From a recent, 20-minute demonstration, here are four major changes that V is making to justify its existence.
Final Fantasy XIII Launch Party Photo Gallery
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsFinal Fantasy XIII Launch Party Photo Gallery A celebration in San Francisco bringing the cast and creators of Final Fantasy XIII out for the game’s launch. The red carpet entrance to Regency Hall, and the start of the festivities.
Infinity Ward Teases Modern Warfare 2 DLC with "Mapathy" Site
Written by from on March 10th, 2010 | 0 CommentsWe wouldn’t fault you for getting a little sick of the default maps in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , and neither would Infinity Ward, apparently. The developer began teasing new multiplayer levels today by posting Twitter links to Mapathy.com — a clever little site dedicated to spreading awareness of the intense ennui that accompanies months and months of playing on the same maps. According to the site, a person suffering from Mapathy “no longer derives pleasure from blowing up people hiding in the cockpit or on top of the crane,” and it continues, “More than 20 million people may be at risk for Mapathy.” Assuming you haven’t already jumped ship to Bad Company 2 , those symptoms probably sound all too familiar. Like pretty much every other imaginary ailment with a marketing budget, however, there is a cure for Mapathy: new maps. And according to the teaser site, that cure is headed for Xbox Live on March 30. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling assures us that PlayStation 3 and PC users will eventually get their hands on the DLC as well, but that announcement is coming at a later date.
Capcom Reveals Final New Character for Super Street Fighter IV
Written by from on March 9th, 2010 | 0 CommentsCurious what tricks Capcom has up their sleeves for the final additional character in Super Street Fighter IV ? Wonder no longer, because IGN got the first glimpse at Hakan — a totally original brawler created specifically for the updated version of Street Fighter IV . From the looks of the footage, Hakan appears to be a grappler along the lines of Zangief or Abel. Don’t let that mislead you into believing he’s just another musclebound clod in impossibly tight shorts, however. What separates this new guy from the rest of the pack are his bright orange, Jersey Shore -esque tan and the almost supernatural amount of… uh… lubrication dripping from his chiseled body. Yeah, Hakan is one slippery fella. And he takes advantage of his trademark greasiness by sliding all over the ring at lightning speeds. The end result looks to be a fighting style that’s just as unique as it is vaguely unsettling.
Arc Projector Arrives on Mass Effect 2 Cerberus Network
Written by from on March 9th, 2010 | 0 CommentsFor those of you still tromping around the galaxy in Mass Effect 2 , BioWare is giving you a helping hand with a new toy. The Arc Projector has been released over the Cerberus Network, the latest piece of free DLC for those who purchased a new copy of the game. This new heavy weapon apparently “ionizes targets with a non-visible laser to ready them for a high-voltage electrical attack.” The description continues, “As the lightning-like bolt hits its first target, a sophisticated auto-targeting system paints succeeding targets with the ionization laser, allowing the electricity to take the path of least resistance and arc between them.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 Will Support PS3 Motion Controller, Launching June 8
Written by from on March 9th, 2010 | 0 CommentsMoving beyond the tabloid fodder of the past several months, Electronic Arts has a series to market. EA Sports has started spinning up the hype machine for Tiger Woods 11 , announcing that will feature support for the PS3 Motion Controller as well as the inclusion of the Ryder Cup. As was the case with the Wii MotionPlus-enabled Tigers Woods 10, this year’s PS3 edition is aiming for “an authentic interactive swing experience.” The Wii version will continue to support MotionPlus, and will also be adding an “Advanced Plus” swing difficulty that reads rotation and swing able. There’s also the “Tour Pro” swing mechanic, which focuses on rotation, swing plane and point of contact, and a new first-person view The Ryder Cup feature pits the best American and European golfers in the world against one another. To promote the feature, European captain Rory McIlroy will be appearing on the cover alongside Tiger Woods. It will allow for up to 24 players to compete head-to-head as members of either team.
FFXIII on PlayStation 3 Includes Bonus Items and Possible Beta Access for FFXIV
Written by from on March 9th, 2010 | 0 CommentsHere we are, at zero hour, and you still can’t decide whether to pick up Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? Well here’s one more piece of info to consider: PlayStation 3 copies of the game include a special card that will unlock bonus items (and possibly beta access) for Final Fantasy XIV . U.K. gaming site MCV first reported on the cards, which feature unique codes for entry on the Square Enix Members website. From there you’ll earn access to an unspecified in-game item for Square’s upcoming MMO, as well as a shot at getting into the beta. Which console did you go with for Final Fantasy XIII? Or are you skipping out on this one entirely?