New Resistance 3 and Ratchet & Clank: All-4-One videos surface

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The good folks at Insomniac spent the day today in London showing off their two new PS3 games to the press, and were kind enough to let everyone in on the action with two new videos. The Resistance 3 trailer shows human forces battling Chimera in Haven, Oklahoma in all the glory of Insomniac’s new engine for the game, as a terraformer draws closer to the city. I assure you, this is absolutely nothing like terraforming on Dune. The effects are really off the charts this time; as the terraformer gets closer to annihilating the city, the winds really pick up, making it totally bad-ass when the Chimeran Brawler pictured left shows up.

The Ratchet & Clank: All-4-One trailer shows the co-op insanity that will ensue once the game launches this fall. The game looks like a lot of fun with all the wacky characters and guns the series is known for and at one point the players appear to be on jet skis evading a monstrous cross between a blow fish and a giant squid. It’s hard to believe Insomniac is releasing both its marquee franchises in the same year, but they appear to be handling both better than ever. You can find both trailers after the jump.

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Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection releasing April 19

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

In a big day for Square Enix PSP release dates, the company has also announced Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection will arrive at retail (again: no PlayStation Store) on April 19, 2011. The game combines Final Fantasy IV with updated graphics and sound in the style of the FFI & II PSP remakes, as well as the first retail packaging of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. It would’ve been nice to have the style and expanded story of the Nintendo DS remake of FFIV, but hopefully this version will be a little more true to the original experience.

2011 also marks the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy IV, first released in 1991 for the Super Nintendo (and under the confusing name Final Fantasy II in the United States). The game is widely recognized as a milestone for storytelling in RPG’s and video games.

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Celebrate The 3rd Birthday on March 29, 2011

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The long awaited third entry in the Parasite Eve franchise, The 3rd Birthday, will be coming to U.S. retailers on March 29, 2011 for the PlayStation Portable. Players will assume the role of series protagonists Aya Brea as she seeks to rid 2012 Manhattan of the hideous creatures known as the Twisted. Square Enix has also announced that Yvonne Strahovski of the NBC series “Chuck” will voice the heroine. And in other voice cast news, the mysterious Kyle Madigan will be played by Jensen Ackles of “Supernatural.”

“I was immediately interested when Square Enix approached me with the opportunity to play Aya Brea in The 3rd Birthday,” said Strahovski. “I love Aya – she’s strong, driven and ready to take on the world.”

Unfortunately, no mention of a downloadable version for the PlayStation Store has been announced, leaving PSP Go owners like myself out of luck. I have no idea why Square Enix, one of the biggest partners to PlayStation in the past, releases almost none of their PSP games digitally; I guess it’s just a sign of the times.

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Ico novel, Castle of the Mist, finally coming to America

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Ico fans rejoice: Miyuki Miyabe’s Ico novel, Castle of the Mist, is at last being translated into English and is coming to America July 19th, according to Anime News Network (although the publisher’s website actually says on or around August 16th). According to the blurb, “Based on the video game filmmaker Guillemo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) called a ‘masterpiece,’ Japan’s leading fantasist Miyuki Miyabe has crafted a tale of magic, loss, and love that will never be forgotten.” Miyabe is known in America for her novel Brave Story, which was made into an animated film, manga series, and several video games.

Wow. Just. Seriously. I am nearly speechless. Two years ago I read – and re-read – and re-read again – the first two chapters of this novel. I found a fanslation somewhere on the Internet and inhaled it over and over, eager for more Ico. Like the game, it’s charming and haunting, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the story. For those of you who haven’t played the game yet, you’re in luck – the game will be re-released in HD and full 3D with Shadow of the Colossus on March 31. I’ve been having sweet dreams of sitting with Yorda on the couch, with that delightful music playing in the background. In the meantime, I’m still playing LittleBigPlanet 2 as Ico, and I’ve been listening to the soundtrack. I’m trying to be patient. Really.

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Killzone 3 full Trophy list revealed

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

With Guerilla Games’ latest sci-fi adventure only three weeks away, and a multiplayer beta available for download tomorrow, you may be overwhelmed by the proximity of the launch of Killzone 3. Feel free to satiate your fix by checking out the full Trophy list, courtesy of the bold heroes at PS3Trophies. There’s no more crazy requirements for placing in the top x% of the weekly multiplayer leaderboards, but you do need to finish the game on Elite to get the Platinum. The rest are your run of the mill challenges for individual levels and multiplayer, but be careful of spoilers in the hidden trophies at the end of the list. I’m hoping this will be my second platinum trophy from the Killzone series.

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New details emerge for From Software’s Project Dark, officially titled Dark Souls

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

At the last Tokyo Game Show, From Software revealed their next game, tentatively titled Project Dark. As the spiritual successor to their last big hit Demon’s Souls (which was the spiritual successor to King’s Field), it should come as no surprise that the game is now officially titled as Dark Souls. The game will have familiar aspects from Demon’s Souls’ characteristic co-op and versus online play, as you can feel the “gentle presence” of others playing the game and leave behind messages. Instead of a set of classes to choose at the beginning, players will be able to develop their own characters, utilizing an even wider selection of equipment and magic. Also gone is the concept of a central hub connecting the various levels, as this time they will all be seamlessly connected; when you step out of a cave and see a castle in the distance, you’ll eventually be able to get inside the walls and see what’s hidden within. The one thing definitely carrying over from Demon’s Souls is the grueling difficulty and immensely satisfying sense of achievement through learning from your mistakes.

I burned lots of hours on an imported version of Demon’s Souls before it came out in the states, and I’m embarrassed to say I still haven’t finished the game. Looks like I’ll have some grinding to do. Dark Souls comes out later this year on PlayStation 3 in Japan, with Namco Bandai publishing the game in the west for both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Source: Siliconera

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Sega Rally Online Arcade to race onto PSN/XBLA this year

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Ryan Littlefield

Just yesterday, Sega announced that it would be revamping the classic Sega Rally series in the form of Sega Rally Online Arcade – which was inspired by Sega Rally 3 and Sega Rally Revo. Sega Rally Online Arcade will feature full-fledged HD visuals and the ability to compete in races online, a feat never-before tackled by the Sega Rally titles.

In addition to online competitive play, Sega Rally Online Arcade will also offer the famed Time Attack and Championship Battle modes, achievement/trophy support, online leaderboards, and the combination of five drivers and 13 rally cars to choose from.

And as you may have guessed from the “Arcade” attached to the end of the title, the game will be available only on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade when it’s released later this year.

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Daily Scoop: February 1, 2011 – When it rains, it pours

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Nicole Kline

So it’s been slim pickings lately, but today…TODAY!!…it’s really exploding. There’s a lot going on! Not to mention it’s finally February, which means it’s one step closer to saying goodbye to this bipolar winter. Woo!

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. It’s just $9.99 today from $19.99, so if you don’t have a copy, you don’t really have any excuse not to pick this up. My excuses are that I’m broke and already have a billion games I need to play. But really, are those such good excuses?

In the t-shirt world, we have a lot going on. Today’s Tee Fury t-shirt is one of those “Coexist” shirts, but each letter is from something famous in science fiction or fantasy. I don’t know if those two things will ever have equal footing, though. It reminds me of Thinkgeek’s Coexist shirt, which uses letters in fonts from several different major console brand names.

But the proverbial cake is taken by shirt.w00t.com today, because seriously, there’s so much awesome I might just be forced to buy this. It is pure brilliance.

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