Its official Sega has officially become a parody of itself and mascot culture in gaming. This announcement is not really a surprise more of a “oh they have finally gotten round to it then” sort of feeling. The biggest thing that shocks me is that no longer is Sega’s name big enough to encapsulate the inclusion of Sonic and his merry troop, he needs his own name to be in the title like the two entities are completely different.
Category Archives: Anticipated titles
New DS Game – Dragonball Z: Attack of the Saiyans
If there wasn’t enough Dragonball Z games already, Namco Bandai have announced today a new title heading to the Nintendo DS in Autumn 2009. Dragonball Z: Attack of the Saiyans will span the the Picollo and Saiyan saga’s following, as always, the intrepid hero Goku in his exploits to save the world.
Now we all may be hitting DBZ saturation point but the last RPG related to the Japanese Anime on a handheld was really quite good, namely the Legend of Goku series. The only thing that will bother most fans is why game makers keep retreading the old franchise in the same old areas, the Saiyan saga has been covered by as many as twenty games by now. Why can’t we try something Buu saga related or even the widely hated Dragonball GT, at least it would be different people! But by now anyone who has played at least two of these games will just be thinking – “I’ve played Goku at least five times in an RPG which follows the series, why not something different.” Why can’t you play as the villians, or any other supporting character?
The press release promises; “brand new gameplay, unique game modes, fun side quests and content never before seen in either the anime or manga series.” Honestly who knows what that means, but at least the publishers allude to something new in the press release, so surely the developers will try something new right?
Obviously this game has only been announced today so maybe it will herald some positive results or perhaps show us whats different at E3 in June. But if we are all honest with ourselves and on the track record of previous Dragonball Z games, I like many other gamers won’t be holding our breath.
Superman's appearance is not confirmed, only wished for.
Brand New Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Trailer
Today we have the first proper trailer for Modern Warfare 2, care of Destructoid. By the looks of it the sequel will continue the theme of counter terrorism and revenge, but with constant reference to the original game it looks like the player will once again be in the control of SAS agent Soap and some other unconfirmed supporting players. If anything the game looks like exactly the same but in this case that is no bad thing. Quite the opposite in fact with the original Modern Warfare still selling impressive amounts at a very expensive price point- £50 at some retailers- and still the most played game on XboxLive and PSN. It seems as though you are after the russians again, and we can see some already impressive set pieces shaping up in the trailer. I’m sure we shall see much more over the coming weeks, especially at E3.
Release date is also confirmed, 11/10/09. Santa will be working for Activision again this year.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about "Brand New Call of Duty: Modern Warfar…", posted with vodpod
Velvet Assassin and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Further expanding the reaches of gaming goodness to the masses, my recent review of Velvet Assassin has gone live at Ve3tro.com. Not wanting to steal any hits from our good friends at Ve3tro you will just have to read the review for yourself to see what this particular gamer thought of it, needless to say its more than just a review score. We may also have some new exciting announcements next week regarding editorial content, so keep checking.
In other news in preparation for new infomation at this years E3, Activision have released some character footage for sequel Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. So far only two have surfaced so far, Deadpool -minus the Ryan Reynolds treatment- and Iron Fist, no relation to Man. No word has surfaced whether these preview trailers are indictive of a trend before the Autumn 2009 release date but they certainly are entertaining. Below is by far the most impressive, Deadpool trailer. Enjoy!
Pre-E3 Mass Effect Report
In a rather unprecedented move Bioware has released a pre-e3 video on Mass Effect 2. What seems so strange about this is why nobody has done this before because the video below does an excellent job of building the excitement for the big June reveal. We have covered this before on Gaming Goodness but we are all over any development regarding ME and by the looks of it ME2 looks even better. Although the better looking, darker in tone sequel is perhaps over done at this point, you can trust Bioware and Corey Andruko to absolutely deliver.
Prototype: My type of excitement
Looks rather intriguing doesn’t it, playing as a protaganist that seems to be causing the woe in cataclysmic New York. Radical Entertainment first came to the gaming worlds attention on the release of Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. For a title that should have all intents and purposes been absolute tosh, it was actually very good and has left a lasting impression on the good gaming landscape. Enough at least to wonder what their next title will aspire to, and its looking great.
Perhaps the easiest way to convince an eager fan base of their excitement for a franchise is to produce a pre-rendered cutscene, full of the action they want from an open world title. But regardless of that the themes the trailer alludes to are really exciting and makes even the least interested watcher wonder what its all about. Is it the future? Why are innocent people being killed? What has happened to good old NY? What are the motivations of the main protaginist? Does he want to survive or just punish those who have wronged him? What the hell is actually going on?
Take my girlfriend for example, she had never heard of the game before but it has already made a lasting impression, just after a two and a half minute trailer. Good job Activision, but lets try and drum up a little more anticipation before the June 12th release.
Fallout 3: Vegas – Ten essential additions
In true gaming goodness fashion and in response to reader requests, here is another top 10 list for what we all want in the next Fallout. Somewhat of a sequel to the successful Ten things Dead Rising 2 needs to have feature, lets see how succesful this one will be.
Bethesda have confirmed that even though Vegas won’t be a direct sequel to number 3 it will follow the exact same RPG/shooter action and will be developed by the talented people at Obsidian. A little word about Obsidian, they have become to go to guys for Dev companies which wish to flesh out their existing franchises yet don’t want to be involved in all that developing hub-up, its the gaming equivalent of getting someone else to do your work, yet you get to take all the credit. Its a formula Obsidian know extremely well after their work with sequels for both Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
A word of warning though, this list may include spoilers ranging from the subtle to the downright irresponsible so if you are still fumbling your war through Fallout 3’s campaign, you might want to give today’s feature a miss.
1. What happened to the rest of the world?: Amazing as post apocolyptia is, it would be entertaining to see how the West Coast faired against the onslaught of Nuclear annihilation. Perhaps gamers will also get to learn what happened to the rest of the world, were we all embroiled in Nuclear War a la 1939 or has the world simply forgotten America due to the Nuclear War? Throughout the 40 hour Fallout 3 campaign these questions kept swirling through my head so hopefully some answers will be provided.
2. Blood Sports: Vegas is the centre of the world when it comes to exhibition sports, none more so than blood sports. Boxing, UFC, Kick boxing, you name it Vegas can showcase it. So it makes sense to have a great death match arena to fill the gap which was surprisingly absent in Fallout 3. Competitive combat is central to all RPGs and Bethesda’s previous game had the best of them all, Arena. This was where you could bet on either red or blue team and also participate in 1vs1 or free for all and win cold hard cash. In a world full of death and violence perhaps there is no better way to cool off than to watch two participants squeeze the life out of one another.
3. Comedy: Some of the most memorable activities in the wasteland were when you were dealing with deeply troubled survivors and their inability to deal with their depressing reality. But as tragic this was it was also incredibly funny, for example taking part in the super hero war between Ant-agonizer and the Mechanist, visiting the Republic of Dave and tolerating the lovely little devils of Lamplight. But no matter how great these side quests were there wasn’t anywhere near enough of them, especially when compared with Oblivion. In a world where the majority of the population has been nuked to near non-existence, a little light comedic relief can go a long way.
4. Choice: There was one story which became synonymous with Fallout 3, the choice to nuke the settlement of Megaton or not. It was a great addition to the game which forced the player to make tough choices on whether they wanted to see some irradiated fireworks or save almost one hundred NPC’s. It sounds an easy choice to make on paper but in the game even usually sadistic players went for the more karma friendly option. Choices which genuinely impact gameplay are something most RPG’s allude but rarely deliver, Fallout 3 constantly delivered throughout the whole story and with Obsidian’s history, they will undoubtedly build on this dynamic.
5. Gambling, Gangsters,Vice and Death Sports: If we all know anything about Vegas its the following; gambling is plentiful, gangsters love money and vice is plentiful. These attributes are key a to Vegas experience albeit in the future or in a wasteland and what better way to combine all these things than death sports arena style. Its incredible to think how central blood sports are to pretty much all RPG’s and Bethesda’s previous game had the best of them all Arena. This was where you could best on either red or blue and also participate in the sports yourself. In a world full of death and violence there is no better way to cool off than to watch two participants squeeze the life out of one another.
6. A dog that everyone can find: I don’t know about you but I have completed Fallout 3 twice now and still haven’t found the illusive ‘Dogmeat’. Obviously this kind of quest is what makes the ‘Bethesda’ technique so intriguing, one players experience will always be different to another and the fact that quests can sometimes seem to happen randomly is actually pretty impressive. But it can punish some players or prevent them from progressing if critical NPC’s wonder off or disappear from an area which you can usually find them. The dog quest is a great example of this and hopefully Obsidian will be a little kinder.
7. Enemies other than Super Mutants: The Super Mutant storyline in Fallout 3 was fantastic, and without spoiling to much they were much more than simply a product of their environment. But after killing a few hundred of these people catching mofo’s it would be great to be met with another set of enemies other than mutated or normal man. Perhaps a giant poker chip or maybe something special happens when the EMA strain mixes with a particular set of STD’s? Just a horrific idea which shows why I should never be in charge of a R&D initiative.
8. Vehicles: As Vegas is mostly desert once you get outside of the main city it would be nice to be able to be able to travel the post apocolyptic wasteland in style, a Harley perhaps or even a nice futuristic car. They wasn’t a shortage of cars being able to explode around you in last years game, surely there is a mechanic around to fix these dormant motors? Of course who needs fast travel when you can zoom around the map instantaneously with the insta-map, but there isn’t any style in that.
9. More Radio Stations: I’m not talking GTA here, it would just be a bit more varied if there more than just two jabbering disc jockeys in the post apocalypse. Lets mix it up with a female DJ as long as we can keep the atmospheric circa 1950’s soundtrack, and maybe even a Straydog sound-alike, c’mon you know you liked him.
10. A city less devastated: Washington is important, the world headquarters of gambling not so much. As the nuclear was a result of a Chinese invasion of American soil its a likely assertion that Vegas wouldn’t sit very highly on the list of’ ‘Places we must invade.’ Washington was completely toast in Fallout 3 and that’s fair game it is the nations capital and the centre of the nations military but perhaps Vegas has fair-ed slightly better in the post apocalypse than its esteemed cousin.
It's an easy choice.
Bioshock 2: A Sequel you don’t need to worry about
Sequels have become as common in gaming as they are in Hollywood and for some titles there is always a sense of unease and trepidation. But worry not readers there is one sequel on the horizon which is guarenteed to succeed, Bioshock 2.
Brilliant
Ken Levine seemed to be the driving force behind Bioshock, all the keynotes, demos and public appearances before it was released all included Mr Levine. He had a huge influence on the story of Bioshock and many attribute him to the be the driving force which made Bioshock so entertaining and important. So the fact that he won’t be involved in the sequel was deemed to be a big loss when the game was announced at the beginning of March. Step in creative director Thomas Jordan, credited with the perhaps the greatest level to ever grace gaming with Thiefs 2 Cradle and much more importantly he directed Fort Frolic from the original Bioshock.
Fort Frolic was brilliant, it had some of the most imaginitive set pieces and was one of the highlights of Bio-shocks excellent campaign. It was also the levels architecture, puzzle design and characters – who could forget demented Sander Cohen and his artistic temperament. It was also this level which gave the player the most opportunites to set up specific traps before an onslaught of Splicers, calm before the storm based gameplay.
Big sisters are also new to the Rapture equation and has been revealed as the grown up little sister shown in the earliest Bioshock trailers. She is a tour de force in the sequel and constantly stalks the player throughout the experience, watching and waiting for her chance to attack. Its an interesting continuation of the originals premise that you are constantly being watched by the founder of Rapture Andrew Ryan. She is great example of arresting character design, faster and seemingly more human than the Big Brothers it certianly provokes anticipation on what her motivations could be.
But all these things are null and void because the latest video released from 2k Marin shows what we should expect come October, more of exactly the same which, funnily enough, is exactly what we want. More plasmids, more tortured survivors, more little sisters, more Rapture and definitely more hacking mini-games which have absolutely nothing to do with Pipemania. Bioshock was my game of the year in 2007, it providing gaming with the first mass market ‘Sixth Sense’ moment and changed expectations of what console gaming could be. Well at least the first half did, what happened afterwards was only an anti-climax after a steller beginning.
Moody
It all seems familiar yet different enough to provoke intrigue and anticipation to shoot right up the Most Wanted charts of 2009, I’m sure with a movie in the works and perhaps more sequels 2k will be hoping to pull out all the stops for this one.
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2- Let the Coverage Commence
The post easter gaming calender is always quiet, most companys have released what they want to already and are saving the good announcements and anticipated releases for the next business year. But when the gaming world awoke this morning there seemed to be a smattering of coverage devoted to a title which, lets face it, only appeals to the smallest of a niche audience. Gundam fans are strange creatures which lust over large ‘Mecha’ (pilotable robots to you westerners) and they seem to buy the games in their droves if the consistancy of game realeases dedicated to the long running Gundam series indicates anything.
Pretty much somes up 30 years of the series.
But I hasten to add that I am one such Gundam fan which frankly can’t wait for Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2. Even though it will inevitably be very similar to the original, the promise of more suits to use, unlock and upgrade will be exactly what the existing fans will be looking for when the game gets released at the end of this month. Fan service has almost become a dirty word in modern gaming but if a fan-base is big enough for your product to be profitable then whats the problem throwing them a bone or two, the likelihood is they probably deserve it and boy do Gundam gamers deserve it. Many of the previous Gundam games have resembled the proverbial dog turd, none more so than the absolutely dreadful Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Site which was a PS3 exclusive launch titles, perhaps because no other console would suffer that ugly stall-a-thon. But there have some excellent titles which have taken advantage of the excellent combat from the various series which lead to some excellent combat focused games including Gundam Seed: Battle Assault for the GBA and Gundam Wing: Endless Duel which were both excellent beat-em-ups for their generation.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Dynasty Warriors Gundam series is they amount of subject material they can draw from, over thirty years of anime action which draws from twenty five different movies and series. That number alone proves how big this series is the world over, particularly in Japan and Europe. Each series is different enough that you will never meet a fan who likes every single series, some like the grittier action of Victory Gundam, while others favour the meatier Zeta series and the ‘Johnny come latelys’ prefer the teeny boop recent series of Gundam Seed and Wing.
Okay so Dynasty Warriors games are button bash brawlers which rely more on your patience than skill, when dispatching hundreds after hundreds of enemies on screen but this formula suits the premise of the anime series and at times, make you feel like a mechanical god! A guilty pleasure of mine which I am more than happy to admit to the world, I cannot wait for DWG2 and if your interested please check out Koei’s dedicated website and when you get a chance, at the very least try the demo.
The reason why you should be excited
Mass Effect 2: Now we are all Confused
Preview trailers are released to the gaming public for one reason only, to get people talking about their franchise, and the Mass Effect 2 trailer has certainly done that.
Now the biggest question of all is how on earth you can play as the great Mr or Miss Sheppard if you have sadly deceased. Most of all it completely conflicts with Biowares early statement that you will be able to play Mass Effect 2 by continuing from your original character. The mind certainly does boggle but if anyone knows what they are doing its the amazingly talented people at Bioware, and since when did the Geth shoot from their eyes?
Gaming Goodness 