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UDON Entertainent makes really nice art books, so if you're a fan of Street Fighter, Tekken or Street Fighter X Tekken, you're probably going to want to pick up Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks, which is released Wednesday, August 29.
The book starts with a collection of artwork, including box covers, posters, iPhone cases and whatnot, all with commentary from the artist. The comments become even more interesting in the next section, which is a series of character portraits. Screen grabs from the various game trailers and ending cinematics are presented, with their own commentary. But in addition to the various concept art and character models and stage designs, there are also interviews. And they're quite fascinating. Reading how they merged the somewhat disparate Street Fighter and Tekken universes is genuinely interesting, especially when paired with the various images illustrating the development of the game.
Everyone's favorite transgender Street Fighter, Poison, gets a bit of play here and there, but I personally really enjoyed the rejected costumes for Abel where he was dressed as a sailor with a little hat and everything. Also, there's an image of Ryu and Kazuya in loincloths that was printed on towels and distributed at the Aomori Nebuta Festival. They're both facing away, and look like they're not wearing any pants... until you notice the loincloth uncomfortably riding up their cracks! I kind of want one!
Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks is a really solid bit of fan service, offering up some seriously stunning pieces of art alongside some revealing interviews with the people behind Street Fighter, Tekken and Street Fighter X Tekken. And it's all laid out in a clean, stylish design. And at the end, it has some teaser images of the still-in-development Tekken X Street Fighter, so I suppose we can expect an equally attractive book to accompany that game when it is released!
I do like a good pinball game, and I like Marvel Comics super heroes... and you all know what a sucker I am for anything in 3D. So I'm rather intrigued by the June 28 release of Zen Studios' Marvel Pinball 3D.
The game will feature online leaderboards, hot seat multiplayer, multiple viewpoints and rewards for playing and accomplishing specific table missions. There will be four tables: Iron Man, Blade, Captain America and The Fantastic Four.
Marvel Pinball 3D will be released for download June 28 in the Nintendo eShop for $7.99 in North America and €7.00 in Europe. I know Zen Studios has a bunch of Marvel pinball games, but I don't know if they're any good... I mean, they should be good. I liked Pinball FX on Xbox LIVE. Maybe they'll release a demo? I don't mind paying a couple dollars for something sight unseen, but $8? Hm...
I know there's a lot of Persona fans out there, so you're gonna love this one. UDON has announced that they are publishing Persona 3: Official Design Works, a 144-page softcover art book from the hit Atlus game!
Persona 3: Official Design Works naturally features the usual sketches, production artwork, early design work, CG models, storyboards, backgrounds and whatnot, but Shigenori Soejima has added additional commentary to more than half the book! From his creative process to his feelings on the work and the characters, it's all there, including an 8,000 word interview. So this is one art book you're actually going to want to read!
UDON went out of the way to make this one of their best art books ever, and included special paper, foil stamping on the cover, silver ink accenting on every page, and used a special printing process to make it their prettiest yet. Persona 3: Official Design Works will be in stores on June 26 for $39.99.
The Shin Megami Tensei series of RPGs is both phenomenally popular and critically-acclaimed, and Atlus has now announced that it is bringing a remastered version of Persona 4 to North American PlayStation Vitas this fall entitled Persona 4 Golden.
Persona 4 Golden will present an enhanced and expanded portable version of the original with remastered visuals that Atlus promise will take full advantage of the Vita's OLED display. They've also added voicework to offer one-and-a-half times the voiced dialogue of the original. There's a new online dungeon rescue feature that will let players call on other gamers to help them when they're about to die in the TV world. Other added content includes new Personas to collect, new story events, an all-new character, new anime cutscenes (including a new opening animation and song from Shiji Meguro) and a host of "fan suggested tweaks and changes."
Leave it to Atlus to not half-ass a portable port. They always go the extra mile to please the fans. That's why we love them so. Enjoy the first batch of screenshots below!
One of the more... interesting games I saw at this year's PAX East was at the SEGA booth: Arkedo's Hell Yeah! Basically, it's a Metroidvania-style platformer full of over-the-top violence and gore. You're Ash, a devil rabbit and the prince of hell, but some scandalous photos of you and your rubber ducky in the tub were leaked on the hell-ternet, so it's up to you to find the person responsible for your humiliation, and take out everyone else on the way just for fun. There are 100 monsters to kill in 35 different ways across 10 huge game worlds. When you kill a monster, you'll enter a brief button-mashing mini-game (there are 35 of them) that lets you perform a completely insane finishing move. Not to mention the various weapons and upgrades you can buy with the money you collect... you can even change your outfit if you want to get all fashion-forward about it! It's all a bit much. And it's all a bit awesome and hilarious. What I played was bright, colorful, gory, violent, and most importantly, fun.
When I asked Arkedo's co-founder Camille Guermonprez what inspired this ridiculously insane platformer, he admitted that it emerged from their frustration at dealing with a publisher who refused to pay their studio for the work they'd done on a game. "So we had to start to work for hire for once," he said. "And we did not like it at all. We had to do exactly what other people wanted us to do and we hated every moment of that and we kept on promising each other every week... 'Okay, next game it's ours and we kill monsters... and there's gonna be blood, right? And we're gonna kill them real hard, yeah?' 'Yeah, I promise you. Let's finish this job and I promise you the next game we will kill monsters and do it in awful ways.' But that's the basic idea of the stuff, it was frustration."
The game is quite dark and violent, but infused with a lot of humor. "I was in charge of a bit of the writing of the game, and it's really hard," Guermonprez confessed. "Because we are trying to be irreverent, but not insulting. There are all the bad... the penis jokes, the boob jokes, the fart jokes... you've got them all in there. But we wanted also to make it the Pixar way. You know when you have parents and children and they are laughing at the same scene for two completely different reasons. And it's something that we are really trying to do and having quite a lot of difficulties translating stuff. Because it's a very fine balance, to be... that stupid!"
Hell Yeah! has been rated Pegi 12 in Europe, and was recently given a 17+ here in the US, but Guermonprez admitted that they would have to do quite a bit of tinkering to get some aspects of the game through censors in Japan. But he insists that while the game is dirty and violent, its "in a cute way. That's the thing. Being outrageous, but in a very cute way!"
Hell Yeah! is slated for download later this summer on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Hands On: Trine 2: Director’s Cut
28 SepReview: Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks
29 Aug
UDON Entertainent makes really nice art books, so if you're a fan of Street Fighter, Tekken or Street Fighter X Tekken, you're probably going to want to pick up Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks, which is released Wednesday, August 29.
The book starts with a collection of artwork, including box covers, posters, iPhone cases and whatnot, all with commentary from the artist. The comments become even more interesting in the next section, which is a series of character portraits. Screen grabs from the various game trailers and ending cinematics are presented, with their own commentary. But in addition to the various concept art and character models and stage designs, there are also interviews. And they're quite fascinating. Reading how they merged the somewhat disparate Street Fighter and Tekken universes is genuinely interesting, especially when paired with the various images illustrating the development of the game.
Everyone's favorite transgender Street Fighter, Poison, gets a bit of play here and there, but I personally really enjoyed the rejected costumes for Abel where he was dressed as a sailor with a little hat and everything. Also, there's an image of Ryu and Kazuya in loincloths that was printed on towels and distributed at the Aomori Nebuta Festival. They're both facing away, and look like they're not wearing any pants... until you notice the loincloth uncomfortably riding up their cracks! I kind of want one!
Street Fighter X Tekken: Artworks is a really solid bit of fan service, offering up some seriously stunning pieces of art alongside some revealing interviews with the people behind Street Fighter, Tekken and Street Fighter X Tekken. And it's all laid out in a clean, stylish design. And at the end, it has some teaser images of the still-in-development Tekken X Street Fighter, so I suppose we can expect an equally attractive book to accompany that game when it is released!
Gallery: Tomb Raider
16 Aug
Video/Gallery: Remember Me
15 Aug
The ’80s Make A Comeback With Double Dragon: Neon
19 Jul
Gallery: Silent Hill: Book Of Memories
14 Jul
Hands On: Project P-100
3 Jul
Marvel Pinball 3D Will Put The Balls Right In Your Face
26 Jun
I do like a good pinball game, and I like Marvel Comics super heroes... and you all know what a sucker I am for anything in 3D. So I'm rather intrigued by the June 28 release of Zen Studios' Marvel Pinball 3D.
The game will feature online leaderboards, hot seat multiplayer, multiple viewpoints and rewards for playing and accomplishing specific table missions. There will be four tables: Iron Man, Blade, Captain America and The Fantastic Four.
Marvel Pinball 3D will be released for download June 28 in the Nintendo eShop for $7.99 in North America and €7.00 in Europe. I know Zen Studios has a bunch of Marvel pinball games, but I don't know if they're any good... I mean, they should be good. I liked Pinball FX on Xbox LIVE. Maybe they'll release a demo? I don't mind paying a couple dollars for something sight unseen, but $8? Hm...
Persona 3 Gets Artsy
13 Jun
I know there's a lot of Persona fans out there, so you're gonna love this one. UDON has announced that they are publishing Persona 3: Official Design Works, a 144-page softcover art book from the hit Atlus game!
Persona 3: Official Design Works naturally features the usual sketches, production artwork, early design work, CG models, storyboards, backgrounds and whatnot, but Shigenori Soejima has added additional commentary to more than half the book! From his creative process to his feelings on the work and the characters, it's all there, including an 8,000 word interview. So this is one art book you're actually going to want to read!
UDON went out of the way to make this one of their best art books ever, and included special paper, foil stamping on the cover, silver ink accenting on every page, and used a special printing process to make it their prettiest yet. Persona 3: Official Design Works will be in stores on June 26 for $39.99.
E3 ’12: The Unfninished Swan
9 Jun
E3 ’12: Scribblenauts Unlimited
7 Jun"Bringing Scribblenauts Unlimited to new consoles lets players become Maxwell and experience the game play in entirely different, inventive ways," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "On Wii U, for example, the game is further enhanced by the touch screen on the new controller giving players an innovative way to interact with the action and a simple way to type in the word of his or her desire."Both the Wii U and PC versions of the game will feature a brand new "Object Editor" that takes the creative gameplay to the next level by allowing you to make, name and share your creations online. You're no longer limited to what's in the in-game dictionary. Now you can create your own objects from scratch or customize any in-game object by tweaking it however your fevered brain desires. You can then store these creations in Maxwell's "magic backpack" for future use. Scribblenauts Unlimited can also be played cooperatively with your friends in local multiplayer on Wii U. That's all Warner Bros. and 5TH Cell are saying at this point, but don't worry, they'll surely have much more to say between now and the game's "holiday" release date, so we'll pass the info along when we get it!
Atlus Brings Persona 4 To The Vita
4 May
The Shin Megami Tensei series of RPGs is both phenomenally popular and critically-acclaimed, and Atlus has now announced that it is bringing a remastered version of Persona 4 to North American PlayStation Vitas this fall entitled Persona 4 Golden.
Persona 4 Golden will present an enhanced and expanded portable version of the original with remastered visuals that Atlus promise will take full advantage of the Vita's OLED display. They've also added voicework to offer one-and-a-half times the voiced dialogue of the original. There's a new online dungeon rescue feature that will let players call on other gamers to help them when they're about to die in the TV world. Other added content includes new Personas to collect, new story events, an all-new character, new anime cutscenes (including a new opening animation and song from Shiji Meguro) and a host of "fan suggested tweaks and changes."
Leave it to Atlus to not half-ass a portable port. They always go the extra mile to please the fans. That's why we love them so. Enjoy the first batch of screenshots below!
PAX East 2012: Cosplay Gallery
17 AprPAX East 2012: Hands On: Hell Yeah!
13 Apr
One of the more... interesting games I saw at this year's PAX East was at the SEGA booth: Arkedo's Hell Yeah! Basically, it's a Metroidvania-style platformer full of over-the-top violence and gore. You're Ash, a devil rabbit and the prince of hell, but some scandalous photos of you and your rubber ducky in the tub were leaked on the hell-ternet, so it's up to you to find the person responsible for your humiliation, and take out everyone else on the way just for fun. There are 100 monsters to kill in 35 different ways across 10 huge game worlds. When you kill a monster, you'll enter a brief button-mashing mini-game (there are 35 of them) that lets you perform a completely insane finishing move. Not to mention the various weapons and upgrades you can buy with the money you collect... you can even change your outfit if you want to get all fashion-forward about it! It's all a bit much. And it's all a bit awesome and hilarious. What I played was bright, colorful, gory, violent, and most importantly, fun.
When I asked Arkedo's co-founder Camille Guermonprez what inspired this ridiculously insane platformer, he admitted that it emerged from their frustration at dealing with a publisher who refused to pay their studio for the work they'd done on a game. "So we had to start to work for hire for once," he said. "And we did not like it at all. We had to do exactly what other people wanted us to do and we hated every moment of that and we kept on promising each other every week... 'Okay, next game it's ours and we kill monsters... and there's gonna be blood, right? And we're gonna kill them real hard, yeah?' 'Yeah, I promise you. Let's finish this job and I promise you the next game we will kill monsters and do it in awful ways.' But that's the basic idea of the stuff, it was frustration."
The game is quite dark and violent, but infused with a lot of humor. "I was in charge of a bit of the writing of the game, and it's really hard," Guermonprez confessed. "Because we are trying to be irreverent, but not insulting. There are all the bad... the penis jokes, the boob jokes, the fart jokes... you've got them all in there. But we wanted also to make it the Pixar way. You know when you have parents and children and they are laughing at the same scene for two completely different reasons. And it's something that we are really trying to do and having quite a lot of difficulties translating stuff. Because it's a very fine balance, to be... that stupid!"
Hell Yeah! has been rated Pegi 12 in Europe, and was recently given a 17+ here in the US, but Guermonprez admitted that they would have to do quite a bit of tinkering to get some aspects of the game through censors in Japan. But he insists that while the game is dirty and violent, its "in a cute way. That's the thing. Being outrageous, but in a very cute way!"
Hell Yeah! is slated for download later this summer on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
PAX East 2012: Hands On: Quantum Conundrum
10 Apr
