Category Archives: Gaming News

Kat And Emmett Join Playstation All-Stars As Free DLC (For The First Two Weeks)

If there’s one thing I can say about Playstation All-Stars, it’s one big sausage fest. Even Fat Princess notices how many dudes are in this games. So the ladies’ side will get a newcomer in the form of Kat from Gravity Rush. Released on the PSVita, Gravity Rush saw Kat manipulate gravity to lift up objects, run up walls, and hurl herself at enemies with devastating kicks. She’ll be bringing her gravitational expertise to the ring in Playstation All-Stars.

Joining her is Emmett Graves from StarHawk, the sequel to PS3 version of WarHawk, In StarHawk, on top of taking down enemies on-foot, you were able to pilot mechs that could both walk and fly. In Playstation All-Stars, Emmett brings a mech with him for his level 3 super. The kicker is when it ends. It’s not quite over as the mech will fly by one more time to drop three bombs on the whole battlefield.

Both characters will be available on February 12 and will be free for two weeks ($3 afterwards). So remember that date if you want to avoid paying. Trailer for Emmett after the break.

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Pandora’s Tower Confirmed For U.S. Release, Courtesy of XSEED

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Just when you thought all hope was lost for Pandora’s Tower after the release of the Wii U, XSEED comes in to save the day. Previously, XSEED brought over The Last Story. Pandora’s Tower is an action RPG with heavy puzzle elements. The story follows a woman named Elena who, during a festival, succumbs to a curse that slowly starts turning her into a monster. Aeron, Elena’s love interest, takes her away to avoid being killed by the town guards. Mavda, a witch, takes them to a place called The Scar, with contains different towers attached by large chains. It’s here where they are toled that Elena must eat the hearts of the monsters Aeron kills to keep the transformation at bay. And yes, you see her eat the hearts, which rest assured look none too appetizing.

Pandora’s Tower is the third and final game left in the Operation Rainfall campaign to bring Nintendo’s JRPGs stateside. Of the three titles (the other two being Xenoblade and The Last Story), Pandora’s Tower was the black sheep of the bunch, receiving Average reviews and selling the least worldwide. Not having the acclaim of the the other two, begging for a U.S. release of this one looked hopeless. Even OpRainfall was caught by surprise. With the release of the Wii U, Nintendo had pretty much stopped support of the original Wii, making a U.S. release of this game even less likely. And now? Well what can I say? XSEED gained a whole boatload of respect from JRPG fans. And OpRainfall? Mission Accomplished.

Pandora’s Tower is set for a Spring 2013 release.

XSEED bringing Pandora’s Tower to North America in Spring [Destuctoid]

Nyu Media’s Second Game In Its Second Wave Gets A Release Date

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Doujin Publisher Nyu Media’s second wave of games got a bit of a head start last year with Eryi’s Action. But the meat of this second wave kicks in with the release of Croixleur, scheduled to be released on January 24th.

Developed by Souvenir Circ, the game pits you in an arena style fight against multiple enemies, climbing higher in the tower, and picking which portals to go through as you ascend. This gameplay style sounds reminiscent of Fairy Bloom Freesia, except the action is in full 3D and borrows a few traits from hack n’ slashers like Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors. While it seems to stress that it’s not an Action RPG, you still collect XP and level up, so I have no idea what’s going on there. Different weapons can be equipped for dispatching enemies, and each have their own special attacks. The game also has multiple endings depending on which portals you choose upon defeating enemies. Croixleur will also have three modes to choose from: Story Mode, Score Attack, and Survival Mode.

For now the game will be released on January 24th on the game’s homepage, with Desura and GamersGate getting it afterwards. The game is currently looking to get a release on Steam through Greenlight.

[Croixleur Home Page]

Cyberpunk 2077 Teaser Trailer Revealed

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On January 10, the official Cyberpunk 2077 trailer was revealed. Cyberpunk 2077 is a RPG based on Mike Pondsmith’s pen and paper role playing games Cyberpunk 2013/2020. Developed CD Projeckt Red, the same developer responsible for The Witcher and the sequel Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, the trailer showcases a CG cutscene set in a dystopian, futuristic city. The Police, outfitted by high-end assault rifles and vehicles are seen firing at a cybernetically enhanced women who has seemingly massacred a group of people. The rounds break due to high durability of her “skin.” All of this is done in slo-mo as an officer behind her pulls a pistol trigger aimed at the back of her head. After the title screen the scene then changes to the inside of a vehicle where the same officer looks on as the apprehended cyborg is seen putting on a device of unknown function.

Given that this is a teaser trailer, there’s little to go on until more content is revealed. We get the basic premise of the game dealing with futuristic technology and cybernetic enhancements. The game has an atmosphere similar to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and the Police’s attire reminded me of Judge Dredd. The concept of enhanced humans is similar to that of the Deus Ex series, particularly Human Revolution. CD Projeckt Red says that the title won’t be released until 2015 at the earliest but more information will be revealed on February 5. Below is the teaser trailer for the game.

Pokemon Finally Goes 3D With Pokemon X And Y

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Probably since Pokemon Stadium back on the N64, Pokemon fans have wanted to see a full-fledged 3D Pokemon game. Time and again however, they’ve only been teased by the allure of 3D Pokemon with games like Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon Battle Revolution, both of which were largely about battling and not catching and exploration. XD: Gale of Darkness was the closest the series would get to a 3D RPG of Pokemon. But that’s all about to change as now Pokemon has finally entered the 3D realm. With the tech finally up to snuff with the 3DS, a 3D Pokemon game looked possible now. And now we have Pokemon X and Y.

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THQ Owes Millions To WWE, Might Get Acquired By Ubisoft

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THQ owes WWE money

Poor poor THQ. That little uDraw fiasco and banking on Darksiders II to save them just wasn’t going to cut it. THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, which means that while they will still operate and have current games still being developed, their primary focus right now is to pay off the debt they’ve incurred. In their bankruptcy filings, it’s revealed that THQ owes $45 million to World Wrestling Entertainment. THQ has partnered with WWE for a very long time, making wrestling games as far back as the original Smackdown! on the PS1 (and probably earlier). The WWE games got its loyal fans, but it looks like they weren’t enough as now THQ owes WWE. Chairman Vince McMahon is pretty peeved at this and is watching the bankruptcy proceedings closely. I think he should also consider starting up a videogame publishing branch and just self publish the games instead of having someone else do it.

In other THQ news, It looks like Ubisoft might want to buy out the company. Going back to how the bankruptcy works for the company, they’ve offloaded their assets to an investment firm and are trying to find a buyer. One of those potential buyers is Ubisoft, and they want to get THQ’s properties for cheap. According to MCV, “Ubisoft is after a bargain buy, and is prepared to hold-out until THQ is forced to sell off specific assets…” This means that if they’re successful, they will acquire Red Faction, Saints Row, Company of Heroes, Homefront, Darksiders, and any remaining deals left with the aforementioned WWE. Ubisoft’s been growing quite a lot as of late, and this acquisition will greatly expand their catalog of games.

THQ owes $45 million to WWE (unsecured creditor); Vince McMahon apparently “furious” [GameChup]

Ubisoft plots THQ bid [MCV, via GamePolitics]

As One Nintendo Mag Dies, Another One Is Born

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Nintendo Force

This year’s been somewhat of a sad year for traditional videogame outlets. G4 was on its way out (or was already long gone), and Nintendo Power, one of the longest running gaming magazines, were going to close its doors this December. But as Nintendo Power was closing its doors, a team of journalists were prepping something behind the scenes, to continue where Nintendo Power left off and introduce a new era for Nintendo magazines. The new mag will be called Nintendo Force. IGN’s Lucas M. Thomas, the man leading the charge, sent an email to well known Nintendo games journalists, proposing that they start a new magazine. Thomas stresses that Nintendo Force is not Nintendo Power reborn, but “a spiritual successor to the great publication we just lost.”

The team he assembled reads like a who’s who of journalists across many different online publications. Among this new team is resident Nintendo man Johnathan Holmes of Destructoid, Kevin Cassidy of GoNintendo, Evan Campbell from Nintendojo, Nintendaan, John Thomas of The Bit Block (previous called Wii Folder), and more. Looks like David was right when he said that Nintendo Power was simply too big to just let die and that someone would probably step in to take its place. It’s nice to see that Nintendo mags will continue to live. Hopefully they be alive for many year and not do the same mistakes Nintendo Power did during its time with Future. And I have a feeling the bias might be curbed a bit since these guys ain’t afraid to called Nintendo on their crap (at least in Holmes’ case). Godspeed guys, godspeed!

Announcing Nintendo Force Magazine [Nintendo Force website]

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Coming To America

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Devil Summoner Soul Hackers (2) Ah, I’ve been waiting for this to happen. Back in April, Sega Saturn game Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers was revealed to be remade for the 3DS. The game already came out in Japan the past summer with nary an announcement of a possible NA release. It’s now been confirmed by Atlus that the game will be coming to America some time around Spring.

The game came close to coming here beck when the PS1 version was made. Unfortunately SCEA denied its release, probably due to the Platastion maker’s stance on 2D games at the time.

[via Kotaku]

This Latest Round Of Scapegoating Is Just Desperate And Stupid

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Mass Effect Dynasty Warriors

How many times have we talked about this on The Wired Fish? Twice I believe, and both times were on our Podcasts. We won’t be starting another season for another few weeks, but this is something that simply has to be addressed now.

Last Friday, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut went through the second worst school shooting in U.S. history. While it is second, the weight of this shooting is far worse than what we’ve seen before since is was primarily kids as young as 5 that were killed by a grown man, Adam Lanza. We’ve all been wondering what hell was going on in the mind of this asshat since, unlike previous shootings, this was a man vs. little kids. What about little kids would make this guy freak out is something we may not get answers to anytime soon. But it looks like media outlets and the public already want to somehow inject videogames into this. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again:

VIDEOGAMES HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!

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Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight Confirmed For U.S. Release As Fire Emblem Awakening Release Date Narrows

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Harmoknight and FE Awakening

While we’re on the subject of releases, two bits of news came out of Nintendo following their Nintendo Direct a couple of nights back. First up, Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight was confirmed for release in the U.S. Made by Game Freak, the creators of the Pokemon franchise, the gamplay is one part Rhythm Heaven, one part Bit.Trip Runner, and one part Space Channel 5. The game also has music and stages inspired by the Pokemon series. Nintendo states that the game will be coming the Nintendo eShop for the 3DS soon.

The Pokémon Creator’s First Non-Pokémon Game In Ages Is Coming To America [Kotaku]

The next bit of good news is that the release date for Fire Emblem Awakening has narrowed even further to a specific date. It now has an expected release date of February 4th, 2013.

[via Nintendo Direct 12.05.2012, at the 24:45 mark]

Momiji and Kasumi Coming Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge… For Free!

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Momiji and Kasumi

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, for free. In the U.S. Nintendo Direct video a couple of days ago, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge producer Yosuke Hayashi revealed that female ninja Momiji would become playable via a patch for the game. He states in the video, “If you can connect to the internet, you will be able to download her for free as part of a patch.” Seeming to almost start wrapping up his segment, he continues on with, “And that’s not all! Kasumi from the Dead of Alive series will also be a playable character in NG3:RE. She will be also available as a free update if you can connect online…”

I like seeing stuff like this. No word yet if they’ll be free forever or for a limited time. Either way, all you need is internet and you’re good to go. No cash required!

via Nintendo Direct 12.05.2012, at the 15:55 mark]

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams Developer Strikes Distribution Deal For XBLA and Retail Release

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Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams (2)

Kickstarter success story Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams looks to be having much success on Steam. So much so, it looks like they’ll be going beyond Steam in the foreseeable future. Black Forest Games stated on their Facebook page, “We managed to make a distribution deal for retail and XBLA. Planned release somewhat around late Q1 2013.” So far not much is known as to who this distribution partner is, nor which systems the game will release on for retail (though we can assume the 360 probably one of them).

So far it’s good news all around! Happy to see Black Forest still living and not crumbling after release like other Indies out there. I did review their previous game, Giana Sisters DS (when they were called Spellbound), so go check that out.

[via Giana Sisters Facebook Page]

Microsoft’s Application For Killer Instinct Trademark Denied, Fox Currently Owns That Name

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Killer Instinct

Ahem, huh? Well this is… strange. Around September of this year, Microsoft submitted an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), setting off a flurry on speculation of whether a new Killer Instinct game was being made if a re-release of the previous two KI games on XBLA was possible. Unfortunately looks like those plans might be stifled a bit as, according to Eurogamer, the USPTO denied Microsoft’s application due to someone else having it. Fox currently owns the trademark, which they used for the shortlived slogfest of a crime drama called… Killer Instinct.

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Who’s Lab Zero? And What Happened To Reverge Labs? Well…

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…Reverge Labs is kinda gone. Fans of Skullgirls who applied the 1.01 patch were probably surprised to see Lab Zero Games splashed on the screen instead of Reverge Labs, whose name now appears in a smaller section of logos near the end of the sequence. So what happened?

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The Last Story Sells Well For XSEED, Sells Second Prints For $30

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Despite the somewhat shaky launch of The Last Story, XSEED sent out a press release celebrating the game as their most successful title ever. This prompted XSEED to go ahead to the production of a second printing of the game without the artbook in it and sell it for $30. Even better, the launch copies of the game (the ones with the artbook) that might still out there will now sell for $40. So if you haven’t bought the game yet, now’s a good time to get it, and you might even be lucky if you find those launch copies. Also, to all you Wii U owners out there. The game might like better if you have an HDMI cable. While the Wii U doesn’t upscale Wii games, its passing via HDMI might be somewhat beneficial and make things look less like an .mpeg on an HDTV.

Hopefully Nintendo’s seeing this. While a success for XSEED might not have the same definition for Nintendo, they don’t have to put their expectations so damn high to the point that it’ll be unattainable. And you don’t have to spend a crapton on marketing. So Nintendo, especially NoA, don’t be so damn stingy with the games in Japan.

The Last Story is XSEED’s Most Successful Title [Operation Rainfall]