General gaming

General gaming

Why E.X. Troopers Turned Out to be My Favorite Game at TGS

Posted: 22 Sep 2012 12:17 AM PDT

I saw plenty of big-name games this year at Tokyo Game Show, and they looked as good as you'd expect. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Assassin's Creed III, Resident Evil 6, and so on and so forth -- all well and fine and a guaranteed good time when they arrive in the coming months. But amidst all these big-budget titles, the game that I enjoyed most was one I didn't even think I'd like: Capcom's E.X. Troopers.

Going into the show, all I knew about E.X. Troopers was that it was an anime-style Lost Planet spin-off and that it was rumored to have risen from the ashes of the doomed, too-good-for-this-world Mega Man Legends 3. Having played the TGS demo (the single-player demo for PlayStation 3, not the multiplayer demo for 3DS), all of these things seem to pan out. It's definitely a Lost Planet-inspired game, what with its icy environments that players navigate with grappling hooks. And I can definitely see some kind of connection to Mega Man Legends in how the combat plays out. But the results speak for themselves: E.X. Troopers is tremendous fun.

Amidst TGS Isolation, an RPG Americans Can Play, Too

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:46 PM PDT

For most member of the foreign press, the prevailing theme of Tokyo Game Show over the past few years has been the show's tendency to throw the shrinking Japanese games industry into stark relief. For myself, though, I often find myself more preoccupied by the fact that so many of the great-looking games that do appear at the event will never make their way west. For every Xenoblade Chronicles or The Last Story that does make its way to the U.S. despite growing publisher disinterest in bothering with games that will probably only sell 50,000-100,000 units in the West, TGS boasts dozens of excellent games we'll never see, like 7th Dragon 2020, Final Fantasy Type-0, or even the PlayStation Vita version of Phantasy Star Online 2 (which Sega has stated will only be coming to the U.S. for PC only despite the game being available on Vita in Japan). So, as I spent this year's show gazing longingly at the likes of Project X Zone and other perfectly enjoyable games outside the AAA mainstream, it was refreshing to stumble across a quaint little RPG that not only will make its way to America but had a localized version on display for the press to enjoy.

No, I'm not talking about Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (though that was nice to see, too). Rather, I'm referring to Denpa Men, a 3DS title developed by Genius Sonority and available to play in English on the show floor. The game is slated to hit the U.S. eShop next week at a price somewhere in the neighborhood of $10, and while it won't blow anyone's minds or sell anyone a 3DS, it does represent a nice, bite-sized portion of classic RPG comfort food.

America Through a Japanese Lens

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:35 PM PDT

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1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN

America Through a Japanese Lens

Cover Story: The many ways which games abroad portray our nation.

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ew things are as humbling as viewing yourself through the eyes of another. With a bit of perspective, our greatest strengths as well as our most pronounced flaws become glaringly apparent. But along with these truths come a different sort of insight that might normally go unnoticed in our everyday reactions. This thought can be applied not only to an individual, but a nation as a whole. Which is why it's interesting to take a look at some of our favorite franchises, many of which began development from an entirely Japanese team, and see how they portray this little country of ours. Hell, titles as far back as the original Ninja Gaiden for the NES presented strange, stunted, but somewhat accurate portraits of life in America. For the masses who live it everyday, it's far too easy to gloss over details that might completely fascinate a foreign eye. Likewise, that unknown lens may very well shine on some aspects of our culture that we'd much rather forget about. Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective to see through the staid of the everyday. This certainly isn't a comprehensive list, so by all means help flesh out the discussion below.

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Stuck in Japan

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:29 PM PDT

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1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN

Stuck in Japan

Cover Story: Four major Japanese series that never took root over here.

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he case is made time and time again: what sells in Japan doesn't necessarily sell in North America and Europe. There's no lack of curious titles that never escape the Japanese market, from trucking adventures to the many flavors of dating simulator. It's the way of the industry, after all.

Yet there are several standout series that become powerful forces within the Japanese game industry, all while staying largely unknown in overseas markets. Some of them trickle out into the West, and others never even get that much of an opportunity. And the following four examples aren't just overlooked games, they're long-running franchises that shaped the industry in some way, and they were seldom seen on these shores.

Halo 4 Presents the First Step to Evolved Combat

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:48 AM PDT

For die-hard fans, the wait for Halo 4 can only get shorter. Over 737 days have passed since the release of Halo Reach -- a prequel to the original series trilogy, but also the last Bungie-made Halo game before the studio moved on to other projects and publishers. For Master Chief fans, the wait for Halo 4 has lasted even longer: More than 1,822 days have come and gone since Halo 3 shipped in 2007, and Its legendary finale sets the mysterious circumstances for the remaining crew aboard the UNSC ship Forward onto Dawn in motion. Thankfully, Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary shipped over 310 days ago, but since it brought the first Halo game up to HD visual standards, it's not fair to consider it a new entry in series cannon.

In less than 47 days, the long wait for Halo 4 will finally come to an end, and its arrival signals the start of the next trilogy and an aggressive content delivery start for developer 343 Industries, with weekly content scheduled to ship via digital delivery for Halo 4's cooperative mode called Spartan Ops.

A Closer Look at the Next Ys

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 10:50 AM PDT

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1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN

A Closer Look at the Next Ys

Cover Story: We play a new demo of Ys: Celceta Sea of Trees and speak to Falcom president Masayuki Kondo about what's in store for fans.

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laying PlayStation Vita games was no easy task at last year's Tokyo Game Show, but I made a beeline straight for Ys: Celceta Sea of Trees, a remake (of sorts) of Ys IV. I was impressed by what I saw, even if it did more or less look and play like an up-rezzed Ys Seven. The final demo of the game (which launches next week in Japan) was one of my first stops at this year's TGS, and I found myself surprised by how much better the game looked than its debut a year ago. With refined action, greatly improved graphics, and entirely new play mechanics, Celceta represents a considerable improvement over its predecessors (at least, on the surface). After my demo, I met with developer Nihon Falcom's president Masayuki Kondo to discuss, among other things, the ins and outs of the latest Ys. Rather than simply share my impressions of the game, I asked Mr. Kondo to share the inside perspective on its direction and refinements.

1UP: I didn't have a chance to play much on the first day of the show, but I did check out Ys: Celceta Sea of Trees. The demo that I played this year was very different from the one last year. It seems like the game has come a long way since you first showed it. Can you talk about some of the changes you've made in the past year?
Posted by Shri Krishna

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