Posts with tag TGS07
Friday Video: Celebrating remakes
TGS07: Joystiq chronicles some crystals
Even though the game is already out in Japan, Square Enix was happy to show off Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates at this year's TGS. Joystiq's TGS contingent happened upon the game and engaged in a multiplayer session with Square Enix booth staff, for our edification, and found the experience "very shallow".The game hews closely to the Gamecube original, without the restrictive hardware requirements, of course, Your team picks character classes and explores a dungeon together, finding magic in the form of powerup items along the way. The magic is equippable from a menu on the touchscreen. Players have the ability to "boost" each other in order to make difficult jumps, which sounds fun, but could lead to split parties very easily (how does the last guy get up?)
What the Joystiq team saw as "shallow," we see as "intriguing." They decry the lack of anything to do other than defeat wave after wave of enemies, but that sounds quite like bliss to us, especially when the movement is "quite free" as described. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles sounds like it might be unexpectedly action-oriented.
Friday Video: Love is a sweaty field
Because, you know, we're all about touching around here.
TGS07: Gabu Gabu Planet: multiplayer NOM NOM NOM
Now that the major TGS stuff has been posted, the really interesting stuff starts. Spencer from Siliconera has begun writing up impressions of the lesser-known games he played at the show, like this under-the-radar title from Koei. Gabu Gabu Planet is a competitive eating game, but more in the vein of a Pac-Man/Katamari Damacy mashup than the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.The game stars four "alien dogs" whose goal is to eat everything in sight. You can try to eat as much as possible, or go for bonuses by eating multiples of the same item consecutively. As you eat, you get bigger, and can eat more.
The game is slated for release in Europe in January as Prey the Stars, and in the US in March (or a month in the past). Check out the video at Siliconera to see if it's worth waiting for. We like the way the simplistic gameplay looks, ourselves.
TGS07: Beach blasting with Metal Slug 7
If we were to tell you that we are interested in Metal Slug 7, that would be a lie. No, instead we want to get our hands on the game and lovingly caress it in a candle-lit room as we whisper sweet nothings into its plastic cartridge case. We want to slowly flip through its manual, analyzing every page as we memorize every bit of text and image within.
Of course, we also want to play it (even if some of the screens don't look that great). It's not like we're weird or anything.
TGS07: Beautiful new Tales of Innocence trailer
This latest Tales installment is due for release in December in Japan, and there's no word on localization, but after seeing this trailer, we can only hope Namco Bandai picks up the slack.
[Thanks, creamsugar!]
TGS07: The Ninja Gaiden stylus lets you murder your DS
Sure, poking at the touch screen with a plastic finger is okay, but the idea that we could advance through Elite Beat Agents by repeatedly stabbing and slicing at the title characters is disturbingly irresistible. Wait, that came out wrong. We can, and quite frequently do, resist the urge to stab fictional characters.
TGS07: New trailer for Dragon Quest IV
[Via NeoGAF]
TGS07: Siliconera cracks open Time Hollow
We know that the Tokyo Game Show has been "wrapped up", but there's still plenty of news being posted that we feel we'd be remiss if we didn't pass on. Like this hands-on preview of Konami's Time Hollow from Siliconera, which sounds like a much more serious, supernatural take on the kind of environment-investigation puzzles found in the Ace Attorney series.Basically, the game involves you, as high school student Horo Tokio (a pun on "Time Hollow"-- "Horo" is a Japanicized pronunciation of "hollow", and "Toki" is Japanese for "time"), using a magic pen to draw circles around things you want to go back in time and fix. Key events are saved as "flashbacks" which you can then revisit and mess with using your tiiiiime pen. In the example scenario, you circle and fix the gears on a girl's bike so she doesn't die in a wreck. Charming!
This game is set for a Japanese release in January of next year, which seems very soon for a newly-announced title. Hopefully Konami can use some of that same speed in producing a localized version.
TGS07: A look back
Another big show has come to an end, but we're left with tons of news and video to sift through in the wake of the Tokyo Game Show. There's so much planned for the DS that we can barely keep track of it all; some days, it seems like everyone wants a piece of the handheld, and this year's show certainly reflects that. Here's a recap of the coverage:News
An evident US release for Dungeon Explorer
Front Mission 2089 announced for DS
Time Hollow adds to the DS time-travel game genre
Kingdom Hearts confirmed for DS
EA Populating the DS
Konami moves beyond yoga
New DS game aims at the wine-loving crowd
Video
That's some Spirited gameplay
Apollo Justice trailer
Flip what ya mama gave ya: Ninja Gaiden TGS trailer
Impressions
Joystiq goes hands-on with Dragon Sword
Game Center CX, the new game about old games, previewed
Checking out Cooking Mama 2
Kohler validates our enthusiasm for Arkanoid and Space Invaders
Bangai-O Spirits dazzles IGN
Friday Video: That's some Spirited gameplay
TGS07: Checking out Cooking Mama 2
Over at the TGS booth for Cooking Mama 2, GameSpot got a sneak peek at the cook-em-up title. While engaged in the virtual kitchen, cooking up some dishes with the mama, they prepared a couple of select dishes, including ice cream and pizza.From their impressions, we gather that fans of the first title should be pleased at where the direction of the new game is headed. Also, with the addition of some new recipes, the title should be fresh and inviting to new chefs aspiring to make a name for themselves in the virtual kitchen.
Just don't cross mama. She's liable to grab a knife and cut you.
TGS07: Kohler validates our enthusiasm for Arkanoid and Space Invaders
Whereas we must be content to sit here and tell you how awesome we think Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme will be, people like Chris Kohler get to go walk up to the things and play them-- with the Arkanoid paddle controller.He played the demos of both games at TGS and came out with positive impressions of both. He described Space Invaders Extreme as "a light-and-sound-orgy, frenetic, what-is-going-on, super fun shooter that spans both screens of the DS." It's a mix of, say, Rez, Galaga, and Space Invaders, in which waves of invaders swoop in, all in different shapes and sizes, and you shoot them, which creates sound effects that play along to the beat of the music. There are weapon powerups and semi-random bonus stages. It all sounds a lot more involved than the original Space Invaders, or any of its extremely similar sequels, while maintaining the hypnotic rhythm. Could this be a good Space Invaders for 2008? If this is marketed correctly, a well-updated Space Invaders on the DS could generate bajillions in Japan.
Kohler's Arkanoid impressions weren't as detailed, focusing instead on the peripheral, about which he was more than effusive. He says that the paddle is "literally just like standing in front of a miniature arcade machine." The dial spins on "ball bearings or something," so you can spin it like the steering wheel on a Super Off-Road machine.
Read - Space Invaders Extreme
Read - Arkanoid DS
TGS07: An evident U.S. release for Dungeon Explorer
Siliconera's Spencer Yip noticed that some of the demo stations were running an English version of Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Arts, which led him to conclude that the game will be released in the U.S. at some point. Being Turbografx-16 nerds, we welcome any future Dungeon Explorer games-- especially if the villain is still named Natas, and if the ending is as satisfying as the original game's secret ending.
We don't actually expect the new game to fulfill either condition. Modern gaming can be so depressing. Gamespot has character art and even a trailer. The trailer mentions Wi-Fi multiplayer and voice chat. Could that be enough to make a big hit of a dungeon crawler?
TGS07: Bangai-O Spirits dazzles IGN
IGN's Craig Harris had never played a Bangai-O game when he stepped up to the TGS demo of Bangai-O Spirits. The game he described, which was new and mysterious to him, sounds comfortingly similar to classic Bangai-O to us: he describes enemies turning to fruit when destroyed, 100-plus bullets on screen at once, and even the slowdown that was found in the other versions during super attacks-- and that we honestly can't distinguish as being a feature or a technical problem.We sympathize with Harris. By virtue of being there, we played a lot of stuff at PAX that we didn't really know anything about. Not everyone can be intimately familiar with every game, you know? Even if he doesn't quite have the historical background right, he did a good job of describing a Bangai-O game in a way that's meaningful to Bangai-O fans. He says that "a brief hands-on is clearly not enough to get a solid grasp of the title's concept", but he pretty much nails it. There's a lot of stuff on the screen, and you shoot it, and the shooting makes your future shots bigger. Also there's fruit.
Not everyone is as big of a Treasure fan as this guy.
