While the exact terms are a bit sketchy, some very interesting material has “leaked” in regards to the next Sonic game. A few weeks ago, Sega trademarked Sonic Unleashed, which brought with it the usual “Should the franchise be put to an end” talk. Many gamers view the 3D Sonic games as bad, and think that Sonic should go back to 2D gameplay.
Shortly after the trademark scene, a whole boatload of images appeared online claiming to be from a new Sonic game (presumably Unleashed). They were said to have been found on a Sega FTP, but it’s still unclear where they truly originate from. Gamers response from the screens were mixed. But that all came to a screeching halt when a video showed up, showing off potentially the answers to gamers prayers:
It appears that the game may be rooted in 2D game play in a 3D world, aside from some 3D sections.
I enjoyed Sonic Adventure, but Adventure 2 didn’t quite do it for me. Sonic the Hedgehog (360/PS3) was what I thought I wanted, but there were a few to many flaws to get me sucked in. Sonic and the Secret Rings was a fun diversion, but this really seems the best route for the Sonic games. I’ve been a huge fan of the franchise as a whole (going so far as to owning many a copy of the comic books), and really think the future is looking up with this game, and the Sonic DS RPG. I eagerly await the official announcement which is expected at an upcoming Sega Gamers Day in May.
It’s no secret that we here at Buttonbasher love Rock Band. Eventually after the 360/PS3/PS2 releases, EA confirmed the development of the Wii version of Rock Band. Just today, Harmonix issued has issued a press release confirming the release date and features of the game.
The Special Edition Rock Band Bundle for Wii will be landing in retail on June 22, with separate instruments available on the same day.
Having a solid release date is very nice, but what about the core game? That’s a concern for some people.
They add in another post that the Wii version will be almost identical to the PS2 version and will contain 5 extras songs.
If that’s the case, that means the Wii version will have:
- No Custom Characters
- No Band World Tour
- No Online
- No Downloadable Content
Which would be disappointing since I know many Wii owners who would love to purchase it. They love the idea of creating their own characters and progressing cooperatively in Band World Tour.
So what future can we expect with the Wii Version? My money is on expansion discs.
This week Epic shows up to the Steam party and it brought the Unreal collection which includes all the previous Unreal games leading up to the recent Unreal Tournament III. You’ll get 10% off everything until March 24 including the Unreal Deal (heh, rhymes) which is priced just a few bucks above UT3, and includes the other four games. I’d go for that if I were you.
Guitar Hero is making it’s way to the handheld market, with Guitar Hero On Tour. Instead of using a full on plastic guitar, a more DS friendly fret board attachment plugs into the GBA Expansion slot. You use a guitar pick stylus to strum on the touch screen.
The game is set to feature over 20 songs (80% of which will be master tracks). The game is set to come out this Summer, but no price was announced.
Life can sure be hard when your arm is infected by satanic powers. Sure, you’ll gain the ability to use it as a grappling arm, and be able to make it really big to punch large foes, but it can be a real put off to the ladies.
Thus is the story of Nero, A trench coat clad, white haired lad that has a blue demonic arm (affectionately called the “Devil Bringer”). Nero leads the story of Devil May Cry 4. Fan’s of the series will notice that there has been a change up. Normally players assume the role of Dante, a similar trench coat clad white haired lad, that also has ties to demonic power. Early on in the game (shortly after Nero runs to church, kicking creatures with swords for legs on the way), you’ll find that Dante isn’t missing from this installment. He makes his grand entrance by attacking the church leader, just as Nero makes his way in. With a new found rival, and a dead clergyman, the events of Devil May Cry 4 are set into motion.
The average player could play the game by furiously mashing the attack buttons, but the real fun of the combat comes by generating combos. It’s satisfying to launch your opponent into the air with your sword, juggle him mid-air with bullets, jump up in the air to join him with aerial sword attacks, and finish him off by using your demon arm to throw him to the ground. There are weapon and skill upgrades throughout the game, but if you don’t want to get into all of that you can set it to automatically upgrade you.
The first half of the game was very enjoyable. The enemies are fun to fight, and try combos on. The bosses are larger than life, and present interesting challenges. The problem is that once you make your way to the final area, something happens to Nero and you begin playing as Dante. While it’s interesting to see how the two differ in playstyles, what’s not as interesting is the environments you’ll find yourself traversing. Dante’s missions are basically everything Nero just did, but backwards. You go in reverse order through the same levels, fighting the same foes and bosses. Once this is done, you get back to controlling Nero. The next mission is fighting the bosses a third time, working your way up to the the final boss. Sure they’re much easier to take down at this point, but I really think Capcom could have expanded the variety a bit more. Despite repeating content, what’s available is fun.
The production value of the game makes it feel like a summer action movie, with epic battles, a love story, and fairly good acting. The orchestrated music can really complement serious scenes, and when you’re locked in the heat of combat the music will reflect that situation with an offering of rock. The voice acting in the gorgeous cutscenes is equally good. Seeing the graphics that the game pulls off makes me extremely excited to see what future Capcom games will look like (Resident Evil 5, I’m talking about you).
Overall I’m pretty satisfied with what Devil May Cry 4 offers. Besides some backtracking complaints, I can’t really think of many other issues I had with the game. Having never played a Devil May Cry game before, I didn’t feel overwhelmed due to lack of knowledge of the universe. I played it on Human (Easy) mode, but I plan to replay it on a Harder difficulty to see what’s different. If you’re a fan of the series, or a newcomer, I really recommend checking this game out.
Sony Computer Entertainment and Evolution Studios have announced a follow up to Playstation 3 racer Motorstorm. This time you will be able to race monster trucks, ATVs, and bikes, around Pacific Island (known for it’s 16 “diverse multi-route tracks”). The environment will be able to be modified by the race, which could radically change the next lap.
In a financial results announcement, Take-Two officially announced a sequel to the award-winning Bioshock. It will be developed at the new 2K Marin studios, with help from Bioshock designer (and current 2K Marin Creative Director) Jordan Thomas. Ken Levine will also helping out with the project.
Series veteran Chun-Li takes on newcomer Crimson Viper in this new trailer for Capcom’s Street Fighter 4!
I really enjoy these cinematic trailers. They capture the epic fights from the games in a great way, in addition to showing off the new art-style. The water color look is a great way to transition from the 2D the series is known for to the 3D style of Street Fighter 4. The watercolor look would make for a cool game mode. I look forward to playing this when it releases stateside!
In an admittedly strange move, former President of Worldwide Studios at Sony Computer Entertainment has resigned from his position to become the President of Infogrames (Atari). Things haven’t been looking so good for Atari recently. Phil had become the public face of Sony in recent times, and had his hand in some big projects such as Home, and independent games on Playstation Network. During the week of the Game Developer’s conference he was quoted saying some interesting things about Sony of Japan. He went on record that Sony Japan did not expect social gaming to turn popular in Japan.
“Our Japanese colleagues said that there is no such thing as social gaming in Japan – people do not play games on the same sofa together in each other’s homes. It will never happen. And then out comes the Wii.” said Harrison with GamesIndustry.biz“It’s a very interesting and frustrating thing for me to experience because I have been banging the drum about social gaming for a long time, with SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz.”
Harrison resigned from Sony Computer Entertainment on February 25, and started at Infogrames on March 3.
“This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari - one of the industry’s legendary brands. As the game business moves rapidly online I believe we have an outstanding opportunity to create amazing network game and community experiences for players the world over.”
Hopefully he can help save Atari, and not end up letting the sinking ship get his spirit too wet.
Patapon is a rhythm game for the PSP with an awesome art style. It offers an extremely entertaining and original experience. The game is a steal at $20, and is quite possibly one of the best games out for the PSP right now.
You play the game as The Mighty One, who can lead the Patapons to victory and triumph. The Patapon’s army is exhausted and hopeless from searching for a magical, godly drum that you bring to them. The game starts out on a battlefield where you revive the Patapon’s flag carrier. This Patapon will stick with you to the end!
I understand that this type of gameplay may frighten people, but it’s really very simple. The beginning is slow and lets you learn how to use the command system. You start with only one command, “Pata Pata Pata Pon” (Square, Square, Square, Circle) which is ‘move forward’. Then you’ll learn another basic attack, “Pon Pon Pata Pon” (Circle, Circle, Square, Circle) which is ‘attack’. As you progress through the game you learn many new commands, but at a slow enough pace that you can master them. The rhythm and beats become second nature and soon you forget about the button combinations and just perform the actions. Once you learn a few commands the game becomes very strategic.
There are quite a few bosses, each of which is replayable with increasing difficulty. Some of the later bosses get very tough and you have to upgrade your Patapons. You can create new, more powerful Patapons using rocks and sticks you pick up from your enemies or win from the fun (rhythm based, of course) mini-games.
Don’t worry! It will all make sense once you start playing it! And if you don’t take this review to heart, then check out the Playstation.com demo!
Welcome toButtonbasher. I'm KLind, and I created Buttonbasher on June 1, 2005. We offer Standard Definition Views in a High Def world. Honest opinions on games based on what they are not just how they look. Feel free to email me with any suggestions, comments, hate-mail: at KLindblogger@gmail.com Thanks for visiting Buttonbasher!
