All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Prepare to build and rule an island paradise.

“When we made the Japanese one we wanted to make Ryu and Ken the Eagle the main ones, like they’re presenting this to the fans and the audience, ‘Here we are come look at us.’ But for Americans, we wanted to emphasize the fact that it was a Vs. series game, so we wanted to [...]

Speaking to Edge, Tecmo's Quantum Theory development team had a few things to say about the Japanese game market, expanding its audience and, of course, Quantum Theory. According to producer Yasuo Egawa, the Japanese game market is shrinking, though the global gaming audience is expanding. "We've been trying to target customers who haven't bought Tecmo games before," says Egawa, "specifically women." Given Tecmo's offerings over the last few years, it's hard not to find that just a little hilarious. Regarding Quantum Theory itself, the company sees the game as its "third pillar" alongside Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Character designer Hiroyuki Yazaki notes that Quantum Theory is a departure from other shooters thanks to its AI-controlled female sidekick, Filena. Yazaki states that most shooters are "full of men; big, sweaty men," which lead Tecmo to design a "softer character" for the game. Yazaki adds, "We're Tecmo - we're good at female characters!" Again, just a little hilarious.

Players must help villagers to save the town from destruction.

The Batarians are back for another go-round; Zaeed Massani's a human bounty hunter who's going to bring one in!

Become your own virtual pub landlord in SCEA PlayStation Home.

[Castlevania Dungeon] After years of waiting, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood has been officially confirmed for a Virtual Console release in North America. A Hudson representative told Siliconera that the game was indeed bound for release on the Wii Shop, over a year after it was released as a download in Japan. Hudson (and/or Konami) must have spent all that time implementing the English translation used in the PSP release, right? Nope! The Hudson rep said that "it will not be released in English, however." You'll just have to do your very best to understand how to whip a Medusa head in Japanese.

Rockstar has released the second in its Red Dead Redemption gameplay video series. The new video, titled "Weapons & Death," deals with the various weapons found in the game. The game includes pretty much everything one would expect in a Wild West shooter, ranging from rifles to revolvers to Gatling guns and even dynamite. Unsurprisingly, Red Dead Redemption takes advantage of Rockstar's RAGE engine as well as NaturalMotion's Euphoria physics engine. The end result is unique character reactions to in-game actions like, say, getting shot in the gut. The video also details the Dead Eye targeting system, which allows players to slow down gameplay and paint targets. It behaves similarly to the "mark and execute" system in Splinter Cell: Conviction, which lets players mark several targets and take them down in rapid succession. It all looks very nifty and, thanks to the same classy narrator from the first video, it still feels educational. Remember that when your significant other / mother / teacher chastises you for playing too much. You're not just shooting cowpokes, you're learning about the Wild West.

Care to take a step back into the past? Let’s jump out in January 1990, a time when the entire gaming world was still enjoying NES fever. Nintendo was the biggest name in gaming, and it seemed like nothing could take them down.

We’ve heard Capcom talk about the Phoenix Wright situation with Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, but this pamphlet page clearly shows some other goodies that we didn’t get to see in the final game. Thanks to Cyberlink for the heads up!

Downloadable content packs available exclusively for pre-orders from major retailers.

Check out more wallpapers, game music and a special animation here (thanks Evan!)

Wondering just how Tower of Shadow will play? Well wonder no more, because the official Japanese site has updated with a playable flash demo. You get the basic idea of how the game will work, and just what you’ll be doing while you play. Hit up the link and try it out [...]

Break the sound barrier in the world's fastest fighter planes.

If you've been playing Bayonetta on PS3, there's a chance you've been making sandwiches just as often as you've been vanquishing virtual angels. We admire your productivity during the loading screens, but perhaps it's time to accept the aid of Sega and Platinum Games. The developer has confirmed the worldwide availability of a title update that allows the game to be installed to the hard drive. All you have to do is boot up your game and you'll be prompted to download the update. Of course, you've also been known to make sandwiches during installations, so ... well, they must be really delicious at this point. That's a win, no matter what.

Natsume continues milking the Harvest Moon franchise, with a new game coming to the PSP later this year. Hero of New Leaf promises to be "the biggest PSP Harvest Moon adventure yet." This time around, players must farm their hearts out in order to save Leaf Valley from the evil Funland Corporation. Multiple endings are promised -- we hope one of them involves your vegetables combining to form a mech that destroys Funland Corp. (That might be unlikely, though.) Harvest Moon: Hero of New Leaf will be available in April for $29.99.

Break the sound barrier in the world's fastest fighter planes.

It's been several months since we've seen anything about Lost in Shadow, and we're quite pleased to be presented with a reminder of Hudson's atmospheric platformer in the form of a new trailer (after the break). Last time we posted about the game, we described the concept of living shadows as "unbelievably creepy." And now we have footage of a shadow being separated from a chained-up body by a sword! In other words, our previous assessment holds. Famitsu has also posted some new screenshots of Lost in Shadow, highlighting two new enemies, which are also creepy. Most exciting of all: Hudson has posted a demo! [Via GoNintendo]

MAG is one of the most ambitious, innovative games I've played over the course of the past year -- and considering the past year has seen the introduction of a disc-jockey simulator and a game you play exclusively with your feet, I think that's a braggable claim. If you're coming over to MAG straight from an extended tour of service in Modern Warfare 2, the transition is going to be a rough one. While the former rewards mad skillz and high K/D ratioz, Zipper Interactive's 256-player battles ultimately aren't affected by your personal performance. No one player can pull his team to victory -- and, alternatively, no one player can be blamed for his team's loss, which really takes the pressure off of mediocre soldiers like me. Instead, battles are won with communication, teamwork and leadership. When all three are present in your squad, MAG is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer shooters you'll ever play. When just one of them is absent, it's a total nightmare.