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Watch Frank West chop his Tatsunoko vs. Capcom opponents 'til they drop

by David Hinkle { Sep 28th 2009 at 7:00PM }

There are some things we all know about Frank West. He's covered wars (y'know), enjoys the potent effects of a well-blended smoothie and, with a mean 5 o'clock shadow, looks a great deal like Niko Belic. But, what you may not know is that despite lacking an entire mall's worth of weaponry, the dude is still a pretty solid fighter.

Even though we've already put together some words detailing the man's moves in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, it's always nice to actually see that thing we talked about in motion. So, head past the break for a gameplay video of Capcom's Seth Killian demonstrating West's moves for GameSpot.

[Via Capcom-Unity]

Continued →

TGS 2009: Hands-on: Dead Rising 2's 'Terror is Reality'

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 25th 2009 at 9:30AM }

Terror. Is. Reality. Don't believe us? Check out the new trailer, which we just witnessed (and caught on camera) at Capcom's Dead Rising 2 event in Tokyo. You don't want to miss Keiji Inafune's posh yellow jacket as he introduces the clip.

The event is a junket unlike any other at Tokyo Game Show this year. Capcom (with the help of Microsoft) took over a restaurant/bar in Ebisu, promising free food and drinks to all attendees -- with the promise of a two-of-a-kind yellow jacket at stake for the person who wins tonight's Dead Rising 2 mutliplayer tournament.

Yeah, multiplayer. Long hinted at, we finally had a chance to play the game's competitive multiplayer mode. It certainly wasn't what we were expecting. You take control of one of four participants in a zombie-ridden game show called "Terror Is Reality." Players will compete in four different minigames, each of which takes a different spin on Dead Rising's zombie-smashing gameplay.

Gallery: Dead Rising 2

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TGS 2009: Frank West is rising to the occasion in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 24th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Everyone's favorite wartime photojournalist and Dead Rising protagonist Frank West was just confirmed to be a contender in Capcom's upcoming inter-franchise brawler, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. This news comes two weeks after a number of the game's assets, which indicated the appearance of West, Mega Man series regular Zero, and a bunch of anime characters we absolutely do not recognize, were leaked.

You can check out a video demo of West's brawling expertise after the jump. Know where he learned to fight that well? Probably from his recent encounter with the unyielding zombocalypse. (What did you think we were going to say? "Because he's covered wars?" That just doesn't make any sense. Think before you speak, silly goose.)

Gallery: Tatsunoko vs Capcom (TGS 2009)

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TGS 2009: Dead Rising 2 in one awesome screen

by David Hinkle { Sep 23rd 2009 at 2:20PM }

Click to embiggen

Excuse us if we dedicate this entire post to one, single screenshot. A picture -- of gigantic metal death spikes protruding from Chuck's helmet in Dead Rising 2 -- is worth a thousand words, after all. Also, that bodysuit is pretty snazzy. Go on, take it all in ...

See what we mean? Totally worth a post.

Rumor: Frank West, Zero to be in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

by David Hinkle { Sep 10th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Shoryuken forum user mumu recently went snooping around the Japanese site for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and uncovered some interesting items. Within the source code of the character section of the site, mumu found lines of code hinting towards the remaining secret characters:

'images/oncharactor_btn_zero.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_frank.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_yatter02.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_joe.jpg'
'images/oncharactor_btn_tekkabla.jpg'

So, aside from yesterday's Tekkaman Blade, mumu postulates that Dead Rising's Frank West and Zero from the Mega Man series are also going to be in the game and, on the Tatsunoko side, we'll get Yatterman #2 from Yatterman and Joe Asakura from Gatchaman. If you'll excuse us, we'll be crying in the corner, objecting once again to the lack of Phoenix Wright.

[Via Siliconera]

Capcom's triple-pack not coming to Europe

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 11th 2009 at 12:00PM }

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2009/08/capcom081009.jpg

Capcom's Triple Pack of awesomeness will not make it to the shores (nor stores) of Europe. Eurogamer was given the sad news by a Capcom representative, who said, "We're not doing it here." Although he could have been referring to the latest dance craze sweeping the continent, everyone's quite sure he was referring to the zombie-, demon- and bug-fighting bundle.

The Platinum Hits Triple Pack releases September 8 in North America and features Dead Rising, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition - Colonies Edition and Devil May Cry 4.

Capcom offers up $40 Platinum Hits Triple Pack for Xbox 360

by David Hinkle { Aug 11th 2009 at 2:00AM }

If your gaming time has been sorely missing some Capcom TLC, then know the company is set to offer up a few of its older titles in one Xbox 360 package. Starting September 8, gamers can snatch up Capcom's Platinum Hits Triple Pack, which is pretty much just that: A package containing Dead Rising; Lost Planet: Extreme Condition - Colonies Edition; and Devil May Cry 4.

It's all well and good to try and introduce gamers to some of your almost-classics, but we think Capcom seriously missed a chance to get some Bionic Commandos out there into the world. Yes, we get it's a Platinum Hits bundle, but what could you possibly be doing with all those discs, Capcom? Building a fort in the break room?

Capcom's Inafune: Xbox was only way into overseas market

by Ben Gilbert { Mar 3rd 2009 at 12:57PM }

Capcom's Head of Research & Development Management Group and Online Business (breath) Keiji Inafune is all about the Western game market. In an internal interview on Capcom's website published earlier today, Inafune makes a variety of comments regarding Capcom's changing attitude with regards to the Western market. "I think I can only get away with saying this now, but I really thought that using the Xbox was the only way to break into overseas markets, and I took that hypothesis all the way," Inafune says in the piece, citing Lost Planet and Dead Rising as two prime examples of games targeted at Western audiences that were successful.

Speaking to the state of the video game industry and Capcom's relevance within it, he continues, "Up until now, we made games in Japan, and it was merely coincidental that those games sold overseas. But overseas game makers in regions like North America and Europe have gained strength, and it has become clear that this is the direction the game industry is going." We've heard statements like this before from MadWorld creator Atsushi Inaba, but never from such an influential and powerful figure~~head~~ within the Japanese development community. Considering the online multiplayer focus of the company's cadre of games both released and on the horizon, we think Capcom is putting its money where its mouth is.

Metareview: Dead Rising Chop 'Till You Drop [update]

by David Hinkle { Feb 26th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Update: The reviews haven't exactly been pouring in for Dead Rising: Chop 'Till You Drop. We've added one more, but this can't be a good sign for the game.

It's been a rocky road to release for Capcom's Wii port, Dead Rising: Chop 'Till You Drop, and now that it is finally out, has all of the hate been warranted? Well, we can't answer that question, but we can offer you the next best thing: some reviews. Find the few scores available so far below and for those of you who have spent some time with it, be sure to drop your own two cents into our commenting fountain. We'll update the post as new reviews roll in.

IGN (69/100): "A lot of corners have been cut to get this game on the Wii and the result is not the impressive next-gen experience it was on the 360. Rather, it's a breezy weekend diversion with some fun gameplay and subpar graphics."
GameTrailers (69/100): "A more flexible save system is also a step in the right direction. Yet, the repetitive mission objectives and moronic AI ensure that the enjoyment you glean from it will be directly proportional to how much you enjoy using new weapons to kill zombies."
Official Nintendo Magazine (68/100): "A real let-down. There are some great ideas in here but they're just not executed very well. Stick to Resident Evil 4."
CVG (50/100): "Another example of a game that greatly underperforms on a perfectly capable console."

Gallery: Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop

PSA: Capcom won't mix Resident Evil with Dead Rising

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 23rd 2009 at 6:00PM }

Seemingly aware of our penchant for writing headlines like this one, MTV's Stephen Totilo recently asked Resident Evil producer Jun Takeuchi whether or not Capcom would ever consider a Resident Evil / Dead Rising crossover project. Takeuchi's response: "No!" It makes sense, given that both series have rather disparate plotlines, different design philosophies and ... wait, what reason did he give?

"We can't have a Resident Evil character running around in just pants." Considering Chris Redfield is just barely able to squeeze his pythons through his shirt sleeves as it is, we're not sure how solid that reasoning is. Regardless, it looks like our dream of donning a Mega Man costume and then running over Albert Wesker with a lawnmower has been crushed.

Dead Rising's 'Sniper Mode' crosses the line

by JC Fletcher { Feb 18th 2009 at 10:00AM }

In addition to the 'Challenge Quests' revealed earlier this week, Capcom has shown the first screens of another new mode for Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop: "THE SNIPER" mode. On the face of it, a series of sniper-rifle-based challenges that task Frank with shooting certain targets within a strict time limit -- red birds flying among flocks of blue birds, and zombies attacking people whom you are trying to protect -- sounds like a fun arcade-style addition to the game.

But we cannot support the "Kobun Mask Boom" mission. This mission puts everyone in Servbot helmets, and you must determine which of the wandering Servbot-people are zombies by observing their clothing and behavior. It's not the possibility of shooting innocent people that offends us -- it's the fact that this is almost a minigame about shooting Servbots, and that is not cool. Servbots are wonderful!

Gallery: Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop

Keiji Inafune talks Dead Rising 2 in Capcom podcast

by Jem Alexander { Feb 17th 2009 at 8:50PM }

The latest edition of the Bionic Commando podcast includes a Q&A session with Dead Rising creator Keiji Inafune. Strangely, he seems unwilling to divulge many new details about Dead Rising 2, but talks in length about collaborating with a Western developer. The sequel has been farmed out to Canadian-based Blue Castle Games, but Inafune is eager to state that developers from the original game are working very closely with the DR2 team, with conference calls occurring every week.

"[Blue Castle Games] really understood the Japanese flavor that made Dead Rising so unique," says Inafune. "They showed me that they are serious about making a game that keeps that Capcom 'spice' intact, and so far it's going very well." He hopes to make Dead Rising 2 an improvement over the original, as the game will be developed from a global perspective. This level of collaboration between East and West, he says, is unprecedented for Capcom. Perhaps the Resident Evil team should look into trying something similar for its next title?

In terms of actual gameplay details, there's little to glean from the podcast. Inafune does mention that the new character will be much more interesting than Frank West, but doesn't want to give away too much right now. Blue Castle feels that keeping the time management aspect of the original game in the sequel is important, but is planning a much larger variety of mission objectives. Have a listen yourself for more Dead Rising 2 tidbits.

Kick a soccer ball till you drop in Dead Rising's new 'Challenge Quests'

by JC Fletcher { Feb 16th 2009 at 10:00AM }

We're happy to report on something fairly rare: an element added to Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, rather than removed. Sure, the new "Challenge Quests" seem to serve as replacements for the Achievements absent from the Wii game (or any Wii game), but they represent significant playable content not present in the Xbox 360 version. The fact that this is at all positive news makes it the best thing we've heard about Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop since the GaGaGa SP video.

Basically, the game features a selection of self-contained challenges. The few shown in these new screens include battling against giant zombies (not the most flattering way to show off your low-poly zombies), racing around the mall on a bike, and killing a group of zombies using only a soccer ball. No hands!

Gallery: Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop

Touch Ruminations: Serious business

by David Hinkle { Feb 13th 2009 at 4:59PM }

In the latest edition of Touch Ruminations, former DS and Wii Fanboy Lead David Hinkle talks about how lousy Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop looks and why the Wii needs to be taken more seriously. Basically, he just rants about stuff. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.

You've seen it, right? Horrible, I know. How does something like this even happen? I don't have all of the answers, but being an individual that has worked in the Wii trenches for years now, I can tell you one thing: this isn't helping the Wii to get the respect it deserves.

Continued →

They're back: Capcom announces Dead Rising 2 for PC, 360 and PS3

by JC Fletcher { Feb 9th 2009 at 11:33AM }

Click to embiggen.

That "Dead Rising 2" video from last week, that kinda looked like it could have been Dead Rising 2? It was totally Dead Rising 2. Capcom has officially announced the title not just for Xbox 360, but for PS3 and PC as well! The sequel occurs years after the events of the first game -- with the zombie virus now spread throughout the United States. The action will take place in the "gambling paradise of Fortune City". The main character is apparently no longer Frank West, but some guy in a jacket instead. Of course, Fortune City is filled with new junk with which to smash zombies, including, most importantly, that hamster ball/Atlasphere thing from the video!

As rumored, the game is being developed by Canada's Blue Castle Games. According to the press release, "A number of members from the original Dead Rising team will be working alongside Blue Castle Games throughout the development process," including producer Keiji Inafune.

Gallery: Dead Rising 2