****
MadWorld (Wii)
Release Date: 2009
Clover are back! The studio behind the awesome Okami, the energetic Viewtiful Joe and the one of the most punishing modern beat-em-ups, God Hand, disbanded in March 2007, but have now reformed along with Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya to form PlatinumGames (these guys really don't like space bars), with Sega taking publishing duties from Capcom.
Anything from a triple-A bunch like that is going to warrant attention, and PlatinumGames have started off by announcing four projects: the PS3 and Xbox 360 "stylish action game" Bayonetta, the DS Arthur C. Clarke-inspired RPG full of "very high-level, philosophical science fiction stuff.", Infinite Line, an as-yet-unannounced mystery project, and finally MadWorld, which shows all the classics hallmarks of a Clover game: humour, action and an eye-catching visual style of black, white and red.
Early days yet, of course, but it looks like PlatinumGames is taking the opportunity to shine, if you'll pardon the pun.
****
Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Release Date: 2009
After initial controversy about the setting of the new entry in the Resident Evil universe, you can almost picture Capcom sticking two fingers up to anyone with a racial complaint when the newly revealed female character says "Welcome to Africa" after saving Chris Redfield from a chainsaw-wielding maniac.
Resident Evil 5 is looking very much like Resident Evil 4 with better graphics, physics and enemy numbers. Since Resident Evil 4 was such a blast, a bit more of the same doesn't look like it's going to offend too many players or sales.
There is at the time of writing, no confirmation on whether The Merchant will be returning.
****
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (DS)
Release Date: TBC
Good news, European Ace Attorney fans! After a brief scare where the release of the third and final Phoenix Wright game was called in to question, Capcom have confirmed that translation is around halfway complete, with the German ratings board listing it as on schedule for a multi-language release. Still no word on an actual date, but you take what you can get, especially when it's good news like this.
It's still a ridiculous delay, one that's seen the fourth game in the series released before the third, but at least non-English speaking, non-importing, non-ROMMING Ace Attorney fans can get their hands on this brilliant game at last.
****
Project Zero 4: The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Wii)
Release Date: TBC
The Project Zero (or Fatal Frame in the US) series started off strongly, with a story of a Japanese girl in an abandoned mansion with only an old camera to fight off the many tortured spirits that haunt its surroundings. After two sequels, it was clear that the series was stagnating, relying far too much on the same bloody-ancient-ritual-gone-wrong plotline, never coming anywhere close to fixing its clunky controls, with acting that only barely ranks higher than the original Resident Evil.
So far, very few details on the new Project Zero game have been confirmed, simply that the game's development is a joint effort between the game's original developers, Tecmo, publishers Nintendo, and, most interestingly, Grasshopper Manufacture.
Nintendo is taking an active interest in the development of the game, which is the first good sign about its development. And although the few screens shown so far don't stray too far from the established Project Zero template (young Japanese girl in elaborate, skimpy clothes, old camera, hideous spirits, flashlights in an abandoned mansion, etc, etc), the inclusion of Suda51, whose No More Heroes showed how action games can be done on the Wii, gives signs that this franchise might get the kick up the arse that it has sorely needed for two games.
****
Siren: Blood Curse / New Translation (PS3)
Release Date: TBC
Like Project Zero, the Siren series has existed in the niche periphery of the survival horror genre, never really coming out of the shadows of the big boys like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Unlike Project Zero, Siren's sequel learned from its mistakes to deliver a far more streamlined user-friendly experience. The latest installment in the franchise looks to continue the slightly more mainstream trend, aiming to bring its unique experience to a wider audience. The publishers are even letting players choose whether they wish to play it through downloadable episodic content or buying the full game in retail version.
The premise for the third game in the series sees an American film crew going to the scene of the first game, Hanuda village in rural Japan. Naturally, they find that the village is teeming with the bleeding-eyed undead (called 'shibito') and have to get the hell out of there.
Siren's main strength is its stressful gameplay. You control various characters in a horrific situation, with events unfolding through a splintered narrative, often having to navigate through enemy-infested areas with nothing more than a psychic ability to see through nearby enemy's eyes (a technique called 'sightjacking') and maybe an umbrella for a weapon if you're lucky. Even if you do knock out an enemy, they're back on their feet and on patrol in a matter of minutes, so most of the game is spent hiding and working out the best time to make a run for it.
With the experience of the the past two Siren games behind it, and a boost in graphical presentation, Blood Curse (its Japanese subtitle) / New Translation (the American, and possibly European name) should hopefully deliver another intriguing entry in to the survival-horror canon.
****
Prince of Persia (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Release Date: Q4 2008
The Prince of Persia franchise is getting a reboot after the conclusion of Ubisoft's original trilogy, a series of games that started with lush Arabian Nights designs, but ended on a disappointing death metal and emo-styled note.
Using the ultra-flexible Assassin's Creed engine for what promises to be a more traditional action-adventure romp, it's hard to tell at this stage whether this game is going to stick with the ultra-cartoony, cel-shaded look from the screenshot above, or go with the slightly more bland presentation of the trailer. Time will tell, but Ubisoft have proven they can do action-adventure with a great deal of panache, though hopefully they'll leave the navel-gazing in the back burner this time.
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( 2.9 / 774 )More Ace Attorney is always a good thing, except for Europe, where the final part of the Phoenix Wright trilogy, Trials and Tribulations, still hasn't received a release date. Even more worrying is that the company that handled the localisation of Apollo Justice doesn't have Trials and Tribulations on their project schedule.
This reminds me of the bad old days of the SNES, where Europe was frequently overlooked on the release schedule of some classic games. We didn't get a Final Fantasy until VII was released on the Playstation, and Dragon Quest finally came to us 20 years after the series began with VIII (or Journey of the Cursed King).
There are obviously many reasons why porting games for Europe can be time-consuming (translation into 5 languages or more being a huge one), but if companies like Capcom keep dragging their feet over the release of popular games, then why should they complain if people import or download fan-subbed ROMs? The internet provides what companies are too slow or unwilling to give to people who just want to play / watch something that takes their interest without having to wait for months or years for an official release in their region.
Sort it, Capcom!
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( 3 / 474 )
...but I doubt there's going to be much complaint about a new Ace Attorney game. Especially one starring Phoenix's occasional rival, Miles Edgeworth.
**On a side note, I have a personal objection with the fact the site was frozen and I was sitting on this update for over a week, sorry if this is old news to some people.**
Taking place after the events of Gyakuten Saiban 3 (or Trials and Tribulations in the the US and, eventually, Europe), Gyakuten Kenji (Turnabout Prosecutor) will see Edgeworth and Detective Dick Gumshoe investigating crime scenes, searching for clues and working to argue the case in court. Makes a nice change to see the prosecutors getting a few people put away for once.
The major difference gameplay-wise is a shift to a more point-and-click interface, with both Edgeowrth and Gumshoe on screen at the same time. Capcom are also promising new investigation techniques and ways to reach the final conclusion.
As yet, there has been no confirmation of a US or European release date, but it's pretty much a given that there will be one. Previous Japanese releases of Gyakuten Saiban have also included an English translation, so importers should keep an eye out for a similar feature with Gyakuten Kenji.
In the meantime, check out these scans from esteemed Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu showing how the game is looking so far (thanks to ace-attorney.net and whoever they got the scans from). Click on the pics for a bigger scan.
On a side note, aren't Japanese gaming magazines great? Not only do they have a load of screenshots, but there's space for concept art and sprite animation sheets as well! Take that, you po-faced gits at Edge.
Official Japanese website
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( 3 / 437 )
On the 20th of April in Tokyo's Shinjuku Culture Centre, the Tokyo Philharmonic (the orchestra behind the excellent early 90's Orchestral Game Concerts) will be playing tunes from the Gyakuten Saiban (or Ace Attorney) series.
The series' producer, Minae Matsukawa has a development blog here, and stated that there will be a 'special announcement' at the concert. Initial speculation was that it was the inevitable Gyakuten Saiban 5 that would be shown off, but rumours have been spreading that it may not be a game that is announced, but something else involving 'video products' instead.
Either way, more Gyakuten Saiban news is always good news.
Watch this space...
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( 3 / 270 )
All the way back in show 25, I tried to play a track from the Silent Hill soundtrack only to have it mysteriously come out garbled when it had been fine on pre-fade.
Anyway, many thanks to FUNGO of the awesome Silent Hill Media X who sent in an explanation:
"Internet radio compresses audio bitrate to that of 80kbps and below in order to have uninterrupted streaming. Silent Hill music uses a wide frequency range that, when compressed to a lower bitrate, can cause high pitches to turn into a strange digital jumble - and turn low pitches into silence."
Thanks, FUNGO!
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( 3.1 / 130 )Yeah, it's been a while...blame the festive period, the colds it brings, and (more recently) this...
While I was happy to find a US version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (aka Phoenix Wright 3), I was worried that the game would suffer from the same workaday translation that made Phoenix Wright 2 a bit of a chore to play. Fortunately, the translation on this final installment of the Phoenix Wright trilogy is absolutely top-notch. I forget just how many times I laughed out loud at some of the comments made throughout the game (which range from pop-culture references to breath-taking innuendo).
It's not strange to mention translation above all other elements of Trials and Tribulations, since the whole game is simply about reading. You read witness statements, location descriptions, testimonies, profiles, case files and throwaway banter. Oh my. This means that if you're stupid enough to expect something other than point-and-click observation and concentration puzzles (and a ton of reading in between), you will be inevitably disappointed. If you want a DS game that you can enjoy like a good book then you're in a for a treat.
Not to say the graphics are bad, though. The artwork is expressive, fun, and well-animated to boot. Talking of boots...
This isn't so much a mini-review as a recommendation. If you're new to the Phoenix Wright games, for the love of all that's good, please leave this game alone until you've played the first two (though I started by criticising the second game's translation, it's still a good game that improves towards the end). This is the final part of a trilogy, and therefore comes with a multitude of returning characters, backstories and in-jokes galore. Phoenix Wright fans can expect more of the same, but with a level of polish that the series has always deserved.
The new chapter in the Ace Attorney series, Apollo Justice, won't be released in the UK until later this year, so I may actually get some updates done...
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( 3 / 103 )
There now follows a joint entry from Richie (thatguys.co.uk) and Kaiser Tia (diversionprojects.org), regarding a favourite gaming franchise...
As you may or may not know the Silent Hill series is getting a fifth instalment. Hurrah! However, this chapter in the series will NOT be developed by Konami Japan's Team Silent. Instead It will be developed in the US by The Collective, inc., the company responsible for such gaming classics as The Da Vinci Code and Star Wars: Episode III (ugh).
Konami made a similar decision when they outsourced the PSP's Silent Hill Origins to Climax US, who did such a bad job that most of the game's mechanics were scrapped and production handed over to Climax UK, who were deemed more capable of delivering a 'Silent Hill experience'. Now we don't claim to be a Japanimaniacs or USAphobes, but we have all seen what happens to good Japanese things when they get Westernised. Subtlety generally goes out of the window in favour of easy scares and plots that treat intelligence with contempt. Be it films (Ring, Grudge), Anime (One Piece), and of course, games (see the horrible things done to box art here).
The Silent Hill series is very dear to our hearts. We'd rather Team Silent give the franchise a break for a few years rather than churn out third-party sequels, which may lead to a dip in quality and vision. Climax UK altered its development for Origins when fans of the series voiced concerns. This little list is for The Collective, inc.
Things that we really don't want in Silent Hill 5
1. Thousands of Pyramid Heads
Richie says: Pyramid head is a unique character to Silent Hill 2 because he is an anthropomorphic representation of the main character, James' guilt. Fair enough you may get people's own anthropomorphic representation of guilt similar to Pyramid Heads, that's part of the charm of Silent Hill. But be careful guys, the last thing we want is Pyramid Head as a Mascot (a la Sonic) of the Silent Hill series.
Kaiser Tia says: Damn right, Pyramid Head is a fearsome character, and a lot of his mystique would fade with over-use. Since he's part of the Silent Hill mythology, I wouldn't mind learning a little more about him through books or paintings (the Silent Hill series has always been quietly self-referencing). It's also the sign of an unoriginal developer to simply recycle older, better ideas (see below).
The New International Track & Field cameo was genius, though.
****
2. Sexy Nurses
Richie says: Silent Hill is about normal and usually safe places and people gone very, very wrong. The most obvious example being the messed- up twitchy-head nurses, but this only works in context. Silent Hill 2's nurses were sexualised (as were all the other enemies in the game) to represent James' own problems (and boy, did he have a lot of them). Unfortunately, it's the sexy nurses of Silent Hill 2 that seem to have been adopted as standard (thanks for that, movie). For the love of god please don't give them massive boobies, lingerie, sextoy weapons and cheeky poses.
Kaiser Tia says: It's true that there's always nurses in Silent Hill games, but that's because there's always a hospital stage in the games. Silent Hills 4's nurses were anything but sexy - which was a representation of the villain's attitude to his own mother. The protagonist of Silent Hill 5 is meant to be a war veteran (how original), so why not use that as a theme for the nurses instead of simply raising the hemlines?
****
3. Combo system
Richie says: Keep the HUD to a minimum! Do not flash up "3x Bonus Multiplier" or "Kill Frenzy"
Kaiser Tia says: Combat has never been a focal point of the Silent Hill games. Sure, you have weapons and enemies, but this isn't Devil May Cry, people. The fact that you're controlling a character that isn't combat-ready makes things a lot more tense. I hope anyone on the development team who has mentioned 'Xbox Live' has been laughed out of the studio, and the games industry in general.
****
4. Film References
Richie says: For the love of Heather, just stay away from the film, don't make it a sequel the movie; do not tack on a "Real World" sub plot, and DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT make Silent Hill populated!
Kaiser Tia says: Did people actually like the movie?
****
5. Explanations
Richie says: The wonder of the series is how the themes of guilt, lust, and the other darker emotions are prevalent and the "plot" weaves around it. Stick to one protagonist so that the player can feel the story from his/her point of view.
Kaiser Tia says: The plot of the original Silent Hill needed an faq and now a prequel to explain it. Everyone loves a mystery - plus, it's easier to make interesting sequels when the rules of Silent Hill are vague (hence Silent Hill 4 taking place outside of the town itself).
****
Final comments
Richie says: All I can say Is that it better be fucked up and creepy. If I cringe, just once, due to any of the above points... I... I... I'll take a nose full of that White Claudia stuff, trip out into my own Silent Hill and use the lead pipe to beat-up any Silent Hill 5 references in there (Except maybe the army of Pyramid heads... Then I would just Run!)
Kaiser Tia says: I would be really disappointed to play Silent Hill 5 and get a generic blood and rust experience. I know it's early days yet, but the footage released so far shows little imagination (Wheelchair? Check. Main character searching for someone? Check. Child? Check, check, yawn). Silent Hill 4 pushed the series in a really interesting direction, and also felt like Team Silent had hit their design stride. It would be a real shame for the next generation of Silent Hill games to become a diluted version of the excellence served to us so far.
At least Akira Yamaoka is doing the music.
It had better be good, Akira, you hear?
Luv 'n' hugs,
Richie and Tia.
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( 3.1 / 121 )
All the way back in show 27, I mentioned this curiosity. About time I wrote about it...
Enemy Zero was developed by WARP, the company headed by Kenji Eno, a maverick designer who had originally worked as a music producer. The company is probably best known for the FMV adventure D, but the game that really laid the foundation for Enemy Zero's sound-based combat was Real Sound: Kaze no Regret (Wind of Regret), which was played from the perspective of a blind person, the player using only sound to navigate the game. Since the audio was all in Japanese, the game never saw a release outside the region.
Originally planned for the Sony Playstation, somewhere along the line WARP (or perhaps more specifically, Kenji Eno) made a surprise decision and moved development of the game to the Sega Saturn.
Enemy Zero was released in 1997, and though its blend of FMV adventure and first-person shooter was unique enough to warrant mention, the most noteworthy aspect of the game was the fact that the alien enemies were invisible and you could only hunt them through sound. This led to some unbearably tense encounters where you were stranded in dimly-lit spaceship corridors, charging up one of the worst handguns in video game history while sonar-like beeps became faster and faster as the enemy ran towards the protagonist, Laura.
Laura deserves special mention, as Enemy Zero was the second of three games to feature her. WARP created her as a 'virtual actress' to star in their games. Those wonderful Wikipedia writers have even created a page for her. Links below.
Enemy Zero is in no way a perfect game, though it plays well enough to be more than just a curiosity. Its downfalls are its generic storyline (ripped straight from the Alien movies), and the dated graphics. In it favour are the unique enemies and the tension created by the sparse encounters with them.
WARP disbanded in 2005, and Kenji Eno has recently announced that his new company, From Yellow to Orange will be developing games for an unspecified console. Hopefully their new output will be as creative as Enemy Zero showed they can be.
For anyone who wants to see what the game is like, but has trouble either getting hold of the game or finding time to play it, some lovely person has posted this video that compresses everything into 13 minutes of FMV and gameplay.
There are, of course, many, many spoilers.
More from the net
A short history of WARP
More on Real Sound: Kaze no Regret (including packaging shots)
A summary of Kenji Eno's odd projects
More on Kenji Eno's distinctive style
More from Wikipedia
Laura
Enemy Zero
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( 3 / 143 )Here's a video of Ulala's motion capture dancer, Nazu Nahoko (who in her time has been a backing dancer for Michael Jackson) doing her thing at what looks like either the Space Channel 5 Part 2 launch or the best SEGA party ever. So you CAN pull those moves off in reality!
If that video is a bit too daunting, try following these simple steps, first printed in Famitsu when the original Space Channel 5 was released. As long as you master the basic Up, Left, Right, Down, Chu, Chu, Chu, you'll be fine when dancing aliens invade.
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( 3 / 119 )
Created by Space Channel 5 CEO Chief Blank, Evila is modelled on Ulala and was created to be the perfect reporter. She appears in the final stage of the game in an awe-inspiring dance-off with Ulala. This boss battle isn't particuarly hard, but it's a lot of fun. when Ulala says "I can beat her, I feel it!", the player feels it too.
More from Wikipedia
Space Channel 5
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( 3.1 / 113 )
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