I’ve got a hunch that some of you might be up for taking an early spin with The Nameless via the Japanese demo for Valkyria Chronicles 3. I’m hoping to find time to check it out tonight myself, but why should you wait for me to play and blab about it when you can grab it for yourself right now!
November 9, 2010
PSA – Valkyria Chronicles 3 Demo Get
November 8, 2010
Q&A – Konami Talks No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise
No More Heroes led a series of unique and alternative experiences offered by the Wii when it released in 2008. The story of Travis Touchdown’s quest to survive the streets of Santa Destroy in order to rise to the top of the United Assassins Association, if only to get the girl, represented a wave of punk sensibility rarely seen in the industry and also exclusive to Nintendo’s console.
Marvelous Entertainment broadened the chance for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners to share in the bloodletting with the Japanese release of Heroes’ Paradise this year, and many of us have patiently waited to learn which publisher might plan to bring that HD love our way.
Recently it was revealed that Konami would answer the call, announcing a Move supported PlayStation 3 version. Not unlike starving dogs, we hungered for more details.
Luckily for us, both Marvelous and Konami production team’s Tak Fuji have merged forces not only to bring Heroes’ Paradise to North America, but also to answer our most pressing questions – as well as leaving us all with one I know many of you will offer answers to.
Get your Heroes’ Paradise fix after the break.
November 6, 2010
Grow Up and Blow Away
As the year of gaming that is 2010 winds down, it’s inevitably time to add up the titles that shaped that time while questioning whether we moved forward, backward, or just spun our tires in the mud to see if we could wear down some tread.
For your reconsideration, the desperate struggle of Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes 2 begs not to be forgotten, despite its early release this year it is a title that lingers like the words spewing from the strip-club monologues that hang on the air like sweet cigarette smoke and still haunt me so many months later.
I recall some critical appraisals, which morphed from pre-release school girl excitement to post-release disappointment over an allegedly stripped down and simplified tale of revenge, which really took the jelly out of my donut at the time. Suda51’s original El Topo flavored inspirations searched for growth and development in returning to the streets of Santa Destroy. And if I could drag Sergio Leone into the mix, I’d suggest that the game shined with the challenging proposition of what happens when the man with no name returns to town – well known now to the inhabitants for previous actions and attitudes, an equal share of burden and pleasure found in the desperate struggle to realize everything arising from how that return challenges the narrative tradition it builds upon.
Travis Touchdown still returns with the hope of another poke and a smoke with Sylvia, but the climb up the ranks saw humor drip away as the game progressed, the absurdest and surrealist giving way to a new sensibility – dare I say the idea that Travis was becoming a man, burdened with the past and still left with more life ahead of him, full of doubts and sorrows and still sought desires that continue shaping him. From nostalgic economic diversions to the sorrowful encounters leading up to its loose fitting and fate unknown conclusions, and a final confrontation that defies offering the satisfaction a typical revenge story would, No More Heroes 2 reminded me that we’re all getting a little older this year, which was overdue for being said, or played out as it were.
Whether that notion caused some to revile is anyone’s guess, but as to whether the game is one of the more significant conversation pieces 2010 has to offer, there’s no question in my mind that it is.
Review – PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure
Caught between the release of HeartGold & SoulSilver this year and the waiting game for the new Black & White editions next year, Pikachu and the gang have opted to get away from rigorous training and stat grinding for some relaxation on the Wii via the PokéPark. It’s a vacation easily labeled and largely written-off as kid friendly, a description that earnestly sounds a bit ridiculous given the number of children I’ve watched swarm handheld stations at events for the more portable offerings the house that Pikachu built is known for.
Perhaps we could label this release more free-range, with players turning the WiiMote sideways to take direct control of Pikachu, exploring the zones that comprise the PokéPark and grasping at another opportunity to touch the franchise by different means.
The priority of the PokéPark isn’t to catch them all, rather to meet them all, and if possible to become friends with them all. Certainly that touchy-feely angle sounds more childlike, but the label is more properly grounded in the simplistic design and approach, from the controls to the specific objectives on Pikachu’s todo list.
November 5, 2010
Review – Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage
In many ways the Eighties were a simpler time, when a man could wander the post nuclear apocalyptic landscape secure in the knowledge that the good glowed with blue auras while the sinister shined red, and acupressure specific fist attacks created a reality where if someone screamed “WATTA!” after hitting you, well, you were probably already dead. At least that’s what Fist of the North Star taught me, my first taste coming via the anime that joined Akira and Fighting Seizure Robots in painting my earliest imaginings of what an incredibly cool place Japan must be.
While many years of studious effort to understand the culture that produced such offerings since then has yielded successful addictions, there are still many things about Japan I fail to understand.
Koei is one of those things, a company that I am aware makes videogames every year, but which I have never had much luck in grasping the sensibilities of. In many ways, Fist of the North Star strikes me as an attempt to rectify that situation, applying the Dynasty Warrior trope to a manga series rather than whatever a Dynasty Warriors game is typically about.
It all seems to revolve around the Japanese word “Musou,” which gets poorly translated here as something akin to “The Only One,” or “Without Equal.” My understanding of Koei’s use of the term is a series of games where waves upon waves of enemies come to kick your ass and in turn have their own kicked.
Given the subject matter of Fist of the North Star and Kenshiro’s lonely quest across the wasteland, this all seems like a workable arrangement. And the results are not entirely unsuccessful given the amount of fun I’ve gotten from the release, but there are limits and obligatory missteps, nagging bits of bad-habit design lingering from the past like phantoms in the code; stubborn, unbending, unchanging code.
November 4, 2010
Return of the Review – Vanquish
In my capacity as a Sugarperson, I really only serve two functions: sometimes I manufacture prettiness in an effort to make it appear that the site was not, in fact, designed in my basement, and other times I play games, and then I tell you about them. This is one of those times. As tasks go, it is not the worst one could hope for. In fact, the only way it could be better is if it caused the numbers on my bank account to increase, or perhaps if writing overly long sentences made me irresistible to nerd girls.
Vanquish is a game that, upon playing, I was compelled to fulfill this second duty; to write words and deliver them to you, so that you might understand their meaning. Accordingly, in addition to our regular review of Vanquish, I am here to provide a rare second opinion. Let’s begin: if anyone tells you that Vanquish is not worth playing, your duty is clear. Cut this person out of your life forever, as this person is a liar who wishes only misfortune upon you. If, after taking this action, you still doubt the value of Vanquish, I suggest the following: visit youtube, and search for “Casshern.” When you come to the inevitable realization that “There should be a videogame of this,” return here, and I will present to you, Vanquish.
November 2, 2010
Your Earth Defense Force Update
D3 offers a brief bite of local co-op video for Insect Armageddon, which you can catch after the break.
Local co-op comes in addition to the previously mentioned three-player online campaign mode and a six-player survival battle royale. D3 has also updated the weapon count, doubling the 150 count to 300+ at present, and the suggested retail pricing for the title is currently listed at $39.95 USD for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 when the game releases in the Spring of 2011.