Miyamoto Hints at New Hardware, Pikmin Game and Zelda’s 25th Anniversary

1 Reply

It was only a matter of time with all the rumors of a new console that we would hear an official statement from the folks over at Nintendo. Fan favorite, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that there is indeed a new console on the way, though not all the rumors may be true. Not much more was given in details, but that’s what E3 is for, right?

In the meantime, he was sure to bring up the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series, which hopefully leads into another awesome party over at Nintendo World that I can actually make it to.

Thankfully, Miyamoto has made a few more confirmations : a new Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart and Pikmin along with new AR games for the 3DS. I love the AR games we got, and Face Raiders so hopefully they start making games that use that system and have a lot of substance too.

I haven't yet played the second Pikmin and already can't wait for the third!

Might have to play/review Pikmin 2 soon if the third one is coming out, stay tuned!

Via Destructoid

Video Game Music w/ the James Episode 5 : Jazz Jackrabbit

Piece By Piece: Dynasty Warriors 7

2 Replies

Someone just told Zhao Yun that McDonalds does not have a "McJustice Burger".

“Piece by Piece” will be a unique segment for me. It will be very rare, as it can only apply to long runners like the subject here, Dynasty Warriors. By virtue of either not lending itself to analysis, or just needing a more specialized breakdown, games in this article are not reviewed so much as they are observed. Judgement will still be rendered, but not in the definitive “score” format I use elsewhere. In this, we will look at what the newest installment did right, and what it did wrong. And when all is said and done, we will determine whether or not this was a step forward for the series, a step back, or a step in no direction (more of a hop, really).

Continue reading →

Undercover Survey Shows Video Game Retailers Are Good at Keeping Mature Games out of Children’s Hands

3 Replies

The Federal Trade Commission conducts a yearly undercover survey throughout the United States that monitors how often retailers prohibit the sale of mature products and tickets to minors. They sent 13-16 year old teenagers into stores and movie theaters across the country to see if they were able to purchase items for mature audiences, such as M-rated video games, R-rated movie tickets, Parental Advisory Labeled music CDs, R-rated DVDs, and even Unrated DVDs.

Now, I have some news for all those people who complain about mature video games easily falling into the hands of poor innocent children. Video game retailers proved to have the highest enforcement rate…by a long shot.

Continue reading →

Team Ico Just Delayed Everything

8 Replies

And I mean everything. The Team Ico Collection (which has Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) and The Last Guardian have all been delayed. *sigh* My Ps2 is aging pretty badly, and it won’t be long before it bites the dust and stops working (it’s a 2002 PS2). I’ve never owned Ico nor Shadow of the Colossus (I do have the demo of Ico though). How much more longer do I have to wait for these two game to get released on the PS3? Till my PS2 dies? *hardsigh*

Fumito Ueda, director of The Last Guardian, stated in a letter to fans, “All the members of my production team are working together at a fast pace to develop and release the game in First Party Studio quality.” He goes on to apologize and states that he’ll announce new dates soon.*hardersigh*

Team Ico Delay [via Kotaku]

Skullgirls Dev Nets Themselves One Hell Of A Composer

2 Replies

Michiru Yamane. Not many may know that name. But if you played any Castlevania game after Symphony of the Night, then you know her music. Reverge Labs, developer of the all-girl fighting game Skullgirls, has revealed that Yamane will be the composer for the game. In the announcement video, she was told to make the music jazzy. She also mentioned that this is her first time working for an American company, and that she “always wanted to write my own jazz.” She says that she will be making music that complements the hybrid anime/comic style and the mood of the game. You can see the video here. Skullgirls is set for release this Summer.

Gamestop, You Bastards Made Me Real Mad Today!

12 Replies

My day began in a sleepy stupor, being asked by my sister to accompany her to the Gateway Center Mall in The Bronx. At first I refused since I was tired. But when I became fully awake, I decided to go with her. So I’m thinking that maybe I should try to see if the Gamestop there would probably have Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. I’ve been searching quite a bit for that game. Yeah, I could get it online, but I still don’t have the means to buy stuff online (and by “means” I mean a method of instant payment via debit or PayPal). So I go to the Gamestop and look around. From the looks of things, the small Gamestop has an even smaller PS2 section, and nary an old used game in sight. While passing by the Wii section for the hell of it, I see the case for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor on the shelf. The price: $19.99! I’m like “Whuh! Shit, if they don’t have DDS, I’ll go ahead and get Sin & Punishment.” So, after waiting for some hood lookin’ chick to finally sell all her games, I as the clerk if they have Digital Devil Saga. Since it’s a pretty old PS2 game, I told her exactly that. She looks in the drawer of used PS2 games. “No, we don’t have it.”

Continue reading →

Review in Progress #7 – Legacy of Kain : Soul Reaver (PS1)

3 Replies

Status : Game complete, not 100% explored, but well above 90.

My first experience with the Legacy of Kain series took place about a year ago. I already had Blood Omen and both Soul Reaver 1 and 2, but never had the time to give the series a chance until a fateful replaying of Eternal Darkness : Sanity’s Requiem. In the mood to play something else developed by Silicon Knights, I gave Blood Omen a shot despite being put off by the horrendous load times. Somewhere down the line I fell in love as I realized that Blood Omen was essentially a western take on the Zelda formula, with a boatload of secrets, places to explore and overhead camera (Soul Reaver switches to the standard 3D view). Sure the combat was choppy at times, but there was a certain morbid charm to the whole experience. I felt let down when I discovered that only the first Blood Omen was developed by Silicon Knights and never felt the urge to continue the series.

If theres one thing I remember from oldschool Eidos, its pushing boxes around all day. Glad to say Soul Reaver keeps the tradition going!

That is until playing Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light with a friend having the Kain and Raziel character models turned on. I was pretty pissed off that I was stuck with Raziel, since he’s the character that corresponds to Lara who I happened to be controlling. Looking back, I’m still pissed I was stuck with Raziel… Here, my story comes full circle as that the puzzles in Guardian of Light were quite fun, and the game itself was developed by Crystal Dynamics, the same company who carried the Legacy of Kain torch post Silicon Knights. I just had to give the game a shot while waiting for my big April releases to start shipping. Continue reading →

Video Game Music w/ the James Episode 4 : Blood Omen : Legacy of Kain

3 Replies

When I travel outside of New York City (games typically sell at terrible rates over here), I often have a big event where me and whoever I’m out of state with raid video game stores that sell old games for cheap prices (NES carts for like 2 bucks for example). No joke, I usually come out with like 15 – 20 games and a bill of 100 bucks or less — not bad at all.

It was during one of these raids that I picked up Blood Omen : Legacy of Kain, first in a series that I’ve heard much about, but never had time to play. I decided to play through the entire game one day, a feat for those accustomed to the relatively short loading screens of today. You had to load for everything : screen changes, access to menus, loading the memory card window so you can save, fuck I hated it at first, but then I settled into the atmosphere and great music provided by the game.

Essentially a Zelda type adventure in a darker universe, Kain can learn attack spells, transformation abilities and even use a decent arsenal of weapons. There is a lot of blood flying around the screen because drinking blood functions as healing for Kain. Some of the themes and environments encountered are just plain creepy, and I always feel bad drinking the blood of those poor guys and girls chained up on the walls just so I might make survive a couple more rooms. But enough reminiscing about the game, I’m here to talk music.

I gotta admit, Kain can be an asshole, but not without reason. I would probably be a dick to everyone too if I got jumped and brutally murdered within minutes of starting my adventure too. This track playing in the wilderness outside Kain’s crypt uses a more exotic instrumentation for a medieval style forest. A staple in the fantasy game genre, here the forest seems a lot more distant and unwelcoming. It’s also pretty relaxing too, so this track works out on multiple levels. Continue reading →

Gamer Review: Gitaroo Man

The Breakdown – Okamiden

2 Replies

Hello Fellow Fishes. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s time I bring back The Breakdown. Before starting The Wired Fish, I used to do reviews of games on DeviantART. My last review was The Conduit, which I reviewed July 27, 2009. At the time it was my only platform to do any form of blogging. But now, things have changed, and I have more tools at my disposal for writing something with a bit more pizazz. One thing that I stand by still is my review format. I detailed at one point how it works on dA, so go ahead and read it to get an idea of how The Breakdown works. To put simply, there is no overall score, only individual ones. And it is impossible for a section to get a perfect 10.

Anyways, onto the show at hand: Okamiden. This sequel to Okami’s been a long time coming. First appearing on the PS2, and then The Wii (complete with IGN’s Stamp of Approval), Okami was an amazing experience that I would never forget. Unfortunately, the game didn’t really sell well. It did garner a cult following though. What made matters worse for the possibility for a sequel to Okami is that 1) Clover Studios shut down, only to independently reopen as Platinum Studios. and 2) ReadyAtDawn, the guys that handled the conversion of the game from PS2 to Wii, went back to work to make another God of War game for the PSP. So things looked pretty grim for Okami fans. Then one day, Capcom revealed that Okamiden was being made, and it was for the DS. I, unlike many, welcomed the fact that it was a DS game, as now there is some tactile feedback with the celestial brush techniques (I’ll be getting to that later). So, Was all that worry for an Okami sequel worth it? Or did Chibiterasu piss on all of our hopes. Hit the jump to read the full review. Continue reading →

Angry Birds actually NOT the most downloaded game on PSN

2 Replies

Apparently Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian has had to correct a previous statement of his. The analyst now says that Angry Birds “was the most downloaded paid game through the PSN for January and February 2011”.

Phew, I know I’m probably not the only one who may be a little relieved hearing this. It was quite mind-boggling to think that in only three months Angry Birds sold better than every other paid game available on the service, especially since many have been out for years. I know it’s generally bad for analysts to provide incorrect information, but in this instance I’m really glad they were wrong.

Via: Destructoid, Develop

Review in Progress #6 : Pilotwings Resort (3DS)

1 Reply

Well, this one took a week longer than anticipated… Pilotwings Resort is one of those games that you can clear in 10 hours total playtime, but the kind you can only play in 20 minute to half hour bursts. Not because it’s a bad game, but it gets really taxing on the eyes, especially if you’re like me and play the whole time with 3D turned on.

The logo remains classy as ever!

In fact, let’s start by talking about the 3D effects since being the 3Ds and all, it’s the first feature that comes to mind. The extra visual depth makes Wuhu Island a marvel to look at the first time, and makes the various landmarks and locations you visit feel all the more tangible. The ruins, volcano, and caves here and there add personality to the island. Toward the end of my goal to get a 3 star ranking on each mission and unlock the Diamond Class, I had to turn off the 3D effects because it was getting distracting when it came down to just a few more points for the 3 star.

Continue reading →

Angry Birds is the most downloaded game on PSN

1 Reply

This is the face of evil.

According to Colin Sebastian, an analyst for Lazard Capital Markets, Angry Birds is the the most downloaded game on PSN. Let’s reflect on that for a second…think of your favorite PSN/PSOne game. Angry Birds has outsold it, and in only three months at that.

Update: The analyst made an incorrect claim, his statement is clarified here.

There are plenty of reasons that could explain why Angry Birds, which arrived on PSN in January, has been purchased so much in such a short amount of time. The low price of $3.99 in a digital service where the common price points are usually $9.99 and $14.99 definitely didn’t hurt. Add in the hype that’s been spreading like wildfire, along with a recent sale bringing the game down to half the price, and it’s not surprising that the game has sold plenty. But Angry Birds becoming best selling game on PSN, especially with all the quality PSN and PSOne titles out there, really irks me.

This isn’t to say that Angry Birds is a bad game. While it’s not a game that I’m extremely fond of, I do recognize what it has managed to accomplish and can see why so many people like it. However, the developer’s recent egotistical views and comments have made it very hard to respect them. I understand that Rovio made a hugely successful game, but that’s still only one big success. The studio definitely needs to stop letting it go to their heads.

Via: Destructoid, IndustryGamer

Persona 4 Anime in the Works

1 Reply

After the recent tease, it’s finally been confirmed…Persona 4: The Animation is happening. The official website is up with some information on the series, along with a trailer you can view further below.

Seiji Kishi, director of Angel Beats!, will be directing the anime with AIC ASTA behind the production. Shoji Meguro is credited for the anime’s music, but it’s unclear as to whether he’ll be providing new tracks or if the music from the game will be used. You can also see four of the main characters on the site if you’d like to familiarize yourself with the cast.

I can’t help but notice that the main character’s name is now listed as Yu Narukami on the website. I actually prefer the name he was given in the manga, Souji Seta, but maybe that’s just me. Nitpicking aside, I enjoyed Persona 4 very much and think it was a fantastic RPG for the PS2 era to end on. I’m just hoping the anime will do the game the justice it deserves.

Sources: Siliconera, Propelanime