Following its European announcement, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z has now been officially announced for North America, Latin America and Brazil as well.
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z is slated for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at retail, with a digital-only release planned for PlayStation Vita.
Nintendo debuted a new trailer for Shin Megami Tensei IV at E3, showing off more English-language footage from the upcoming Nintendo 3DS RPG, including more voice-work. Watch it below:
Shin Megami Tensei IV will be available in North America on July 16th.
At their PlayStation press conference on Monday, Sony debuted a new PlayStation 4 game being developed by Ready at Dawn, the developer of God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Titled The Order: 1886, the game takes place in London during the Victorian Era.
The Order: 1886 follows an alternate history where technological advances are at the centre of a battle for mankind’s survival. In this world, the Industrial Revolution, which took place 40 years prior to the events of the game, stemmed from mankind’s desire to prevail in a centuries-old war.
The Order: 1886 doesn’t have a release date yet. You can watch the trailer above.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf sold over 500,000 copies when it launched in North America last month, but Nintendo have provided updated sales figures for the game in their latest financial report.
As of June 30th, Animal Crossing: New Leaf has sold 1.19 million copies outside Japan, and a total of 5.4 million copies worldwide. This counts both retail and digital sales.
Meanwhile, worldwide sales of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon are at 2.65 million. This figure, too, includes both retail and download sales.
Hey! Remember River City Ransom? The classic 2.5D beat-em-up for the Nintendo Entertainment System game has garnered itself cult status over the years, and now, there’s an officially-approved Kickstarter underway for its sequel—River City Ransom: Underground.
River City Ransom Underground will take place some 25 years after the original title, with returning main characters Alex and Ryan against back-to-his-old-tricks Slick. Like the original, RCRU will allow players to have a semi-sandbox experience by being able to select levels to explore and fight through, rather than a fixed route through the game.
Canadian Developers Conatus Creative’s sequel is in development for the PC and will still be in 2.5D—which means 2D with the ability to move into the background and foreground—and the developers have promised to beef up every aspect of the game. So, more characters, more stores to shop at, updated AI and skills to fight with and against. The game will also feature both local and online multiplayer for up to four players.
As mentioned, this is an officially-licensed and officially-approved sequel. Conatus picked the license up in April from Million Co., a company of ex-Technos staff who acquired the rights to the series when Technos disappeared into the ether. This means that, yes, Underground will be fully canon. It’s so canon, they have creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto on board as a creative consultant to stay true to what makes a River City game a River City game.
There’s also other big name talent on the team, such as Dustin Crenna (Sound designer for Halo 4, Bioshock 2, The Darkness 2 etc) and Rich Vreeland aka Disasterpiece (Who you might remember is also doing Hyperlight Drifter, that other Kickstarter game we highlighted) working on the team, and Conatus Creative have promised extra cash for the game will go towards hiring more staff to ensure the game gets done properly and on time.
Kickstarter exclusive weapon skins sound like a pretty sweet deal and nice compromise to those who dismay at locked-away content exclusives. As of print, the game is about halfway to funded and can be found here.
Oh boy, I'm going to make some people mad, I suppose. 'Oh, look, Shawn Long is complaining about another game! What else is new?'
That sentiment is fine, because I'm not here to blindly bash something. However I can't sit here and let other gaming journalists (including one of our own) praise this game and go crazy over it, because once you peel away the outer shell, you are left with nothing but missed opportunities and monotony. Yes, I am talking about Naughty Dog's latest 'masterpiece,' The Last of Us.
Nothing says 'fresh' like rotting corpses.
In one of my 'Games That Could Have Been Great' articles, I talked about a little 'end of the world' title called I Am Alive. The Last of Us must have taken some inspiration from that game, because there are quite a few similarities: Both have a catastrophic event that leave the world a barren place, both are based on survival elements and both still manage to disappoint me because they were not done right.
While The Last of Us is a great leap from I Am Alive, it still manages to repeat one of the biggest mistakes that its spiritual predecessor suffered from. For starters, why the hell are we still stuck in a linear world? It is the apocalypse, the world has gone to crap and I'm still stuck on a damn predetermined path. Sure, The Last of Us manages to spread out a little more in certain areas, but for the most part you are wandering from point A to point B.
Imagine if you were in a vast world with tons of options to explore, places to hide and areas to search through. Instead of having just a small area to your advantage, you should have the freedom to really choose how to experience the game.
I understand that this is probably a pacing issue, but I don't think anyone can honestly sit there and say that the game wouldn't benefit more as an open world over a linear one. It's not like the linear world of The Last of Us is huge, because it's not. Yes, the environments are rich and visually appealing, but there is little to no interaction, which once again reminds me of I Am Alive. Beyond the game's world, let's talk about the monotony.
They should have included a mini-game in The Last of Us called 'Dumpster, Crate, Ladder, Plank.' Why is this? Because if you are ever stuck in a situation and need to get up to an area you can't reach or get across a body of water (of course your partner is a foul-mouthed little girl who can't swim, but good lord can she shoot a gun better than any enemy), one of these four objects will be provided to assist you in advancing. Can I please have some more variety than these four objects? Also, why are they conveniently right next to the spot where I need to travel? I should be exploring for alternative options, not having things handed right to me.
Speaking of games, I could create a game where players would have to guess if a screenshot is from The Last of Us or Uncharted.
My main beef with this game is that after two hours into it, you have seen everything gameplay wise that there is to experience. It just becomes boring to me. It rarely goes beyond the theme of 'find supplies, craft stuff, fight some humans, find supplies, fight some zombies, find supplies, fight some clickers,' rinse and repeat. The story is pretty damn good and the cutscenes are amazingly beautiful, so they help hide some of the monotony by breaking up the pace of the game, but it doesn't do enough.
Every area, while it may look different, feels the same: Somewhat exploratory, mostly cramped with limited interactivity. I can see how it helps with the atmosphere of the game, but it just feels way too restricted for an 'end of the world' type of game. I'm not a Fallout fanboy by any stretch of the imagination, but, seriously, this game with an open world setting would have been amazing.
For all the great graphics, sound and story, the game somehow manages to fall flat on its face in the gameplay department. The tacked-on multiplayer is perfect example of how I feel about this game. Compare it to a model with no brain ' beautiful, but shallow. The Last of Us is a good game no doubt, but great? Far from it.
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The team said the game is moving forward and shared a concept video with a picture of a crow perched on a skull. Today, Sony opened a teaser site for Over My Dead Body on Vita. While the game is a continuation of the series, the game's official name has not been announced. The site confirms the Vita game is a RPG and Tales of the Heroes / Over My Dead Body PSP developer Alfa System is working on the title. The site will open on September 10, so we might get some news about the game beforehand.
Teasing the silhouette of a mysterious creature along with the words, “That popular game that is played around the world, will be reborn in a surprising collaboration!” Pokémon developer Game Freak had the hearts of fans racing in anticipation. Then they announced the game as Soliti Horse, a 3DS eShop game that combines Solitaire and horse racing. Here’s a look at the game’s first trailer:
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The moment you start a race in Soliti Horse, you’ll see a game of Solitaire appear on the bottom screen. By performing well in the Solitaire Phase, it’ll grant a boost to your horse, allowing you to gallop your way around others. Should you perform poorly, it backfires and will result in problems in your horse’s performance.
The Control Phase will have you play the role of the jockey, where you’ll be prompted to guide the horse with lines, and using the riding crop to help out on the final spurt.
Soliti Horse also offers different parts aside from racing, such as the ranch area that allows you to take care and breed different horses.
Soliti Horse is currently available on the Japanese Nintendo eShop for 500 yen.
