Been wondering what Namco's classic Sega Dreamcast fighter (and, as many would say, system seller) is going to look like when it hits Xbox Live Arcade this summer? So have we! Fortunately, before we had to storm down to Namco Bandai HQ, faux plastic swords in hand, they hit us up with these shiny first screens highlighting what to expect. We've laid down our arms, but our anticipation level has certainly picked up.
The screens show a port that looks decidedly crisper than the original, although featuring the same poly-count for the models and backgrounds. And what's with that "Insert Coin" stuff? Shouldn't it be "Insert Microsoft Points?" More on this odds-on, must-download (sure to take up a good chunk of your HDD or memory unit) as it breaks.
Little known fact: Bandai's NES "Power Pad" was known as "Family Trainer" in Japan. And so old is new again, as Atari has announced the European release of Namco Bandai's thoughtfully named Family Trainer for September (it's called Active Life in the US and hasn't been dated). These days, names like Family Trainer and Active Life certainly conjure a connection to Wii Fit, a "knockoff" if you will, though the new Family Trainer is more a resurrection of that mat from the 80s than another way to get weighed on your Wii.
This "new" Power Pad is bundled with zany feats, forgoing the track and field games that were packaged with the original peripheral for things like log jumping and mine karting in jungles and haunted mansions. Missing the mark? We think so. Price this pad at half the cost of Wii Fit, toss in a Pilates program, and Family Trainer will go platinum, like day one.
"Just one: Tell him it would rock if he would introduce Yoshi to Sue in the game."
"Alright, by 'legitimate,' I meant something that would actually make sense."
"TALIM it would ROCK if he could have YOSHI MEET SUE. In Soul Calibur IV."
"Who are Yoshi and Sue?"
"No no, Yoshimitsu. It's sort of a pun, you see. There's also --"
"Let me stop you there, sir. Was there something, perhaps an unexplained supernatural force or the imminent threat of death, that prevented you from asking the question like a normal human being?"
"Oh, come on! Humor is Taki that opens the door to a healthy relationship. Yoda last one I should have to explain this to and ... what was that clicking sound? Hello? Are you still there?"
Remember when we told you about all the goodies available in Soul Calibur IV's $79.99 "Premium Edition?" Surely you recall the self-explanatory collector's tin, the comic slash artbook and the "extra customization content." But what of the "tournament kit," that nebulous bonus which we, after several heartfelt attempts, simply could not explain to ourselves?
Clearly sensing the many sleepless nights prompted by this enigma, Siliconera has revealed just how the tournament kit will, according to Namco Bandai, "give fans the opportunity to document the battle amongst friends." It's ... it's ... (highlight to read) a tournament bracket card!
After watching the above, almost uncomfortably rad trailer for Soul Calibur IV, we're ready to make a proclamation. If you can watch Darth Vader and Yoda killing dudes and you don't melt, even just a little, then your heart is made of iron and we're revoking your geek badge. Please, just go. Leave your Cheeto-dust-stained Battlestar Galactica T-shirt with Beverly on your way out.
For those of your still with us, isn't it a little unnerving to see someone hit with a lightsaber and not be turned into person fractions? We hope the game includes a "Real World" mode where the fight begins, Yoda casually mentions that he's a Jedi and Mitsurugi puts his own sword in his belly just to save time.
...And yes, we just referred to a world including Yoda and Mitsurugi as the "real world." Please keep the snickers to a minimum.
"Hip hop infused action adventure" news now, with Namco Bandai announcing a Fall 2008 release window for Afro Samurai, a video game adaptation of the popular animated series starring Mr. Samuel L. Jackson. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game follows the acrobatic Afro as he seeks revenge for the murder of his father and "fights to become the number one warrior." The game will stick to the storyline established in the series, while adding material and background that's sure to be appreciated by fans.
Of course, Samuel L. Jackson returns to provide dialogue, as well as the myriad of grunts sure to emanate as he kills enemies who are "affected by the beat of the musical score produced by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame." Lucky them.
While Namco Bandai's big news yesterday came with weapons in hand, the company also let slip that its long-running arcade-style aerial combat series, Ace Combat, has surpassed more than 10 million units sold worldwide, with the franchise's fifth offspring, The Unsung War, contributing more than a million to that total in North America alone.
The series first took to the skies in 1995 with Air Combat for the original PlayStation, and has since enjoyed the company of eight additional sequels and spin-offs on multiple platforms, from the PS2 and PSP, to even 2005's Ace Combat Advance for the GBA, with the visually stunning Ace Combat 6 for the Xbox 360 reminding us all that we feel the need ... the need for speed.
Namco Bandai has promised "high-octane, shooting action" -- which we can all agree is the best kind of shooting action -- in this Summer's release of InfinitumPowerUp Forever for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The top-down shooter hopes to stand out in the bustling crowd thanks to its "endless spatial battlefield." As you destroy enemies and absorb their energy, your ship increases in size and power, slowly turning you into an interstellar Godzilla of sorts.
However, as previous enemies shrink, bigger threats "that were previously too large to see" will take their place. So ... Katamari Damacy with spaceships, then?
(Note: Another Namco Bandai press release we received described this same game, but labeled it "PowerUp Forever." We've asked the publisher to clear up the confusion -- and pleaded with it to stick with "Infinitum.") (Update: Well, that didn't work. PowerUp Forever it is.)
While July 29 will finally let us settle the age old question asking who would win in a fight, an undead pirate or a Sith lord, Namco Bandai's plans for fighting game enthusiasts do not end with Soul Calibur IV. The company confirmed plans this evening to re-release the original Dreamcast fighter over Xbox Live Arcade this summer as well.
Namco Bandai has shed little light on what we can expect from the port, revealing only that it will include all of the original cast, with Arcade, Training, and Survival modes on top of the obligatory local Versus mode. Additionally, the company has only confirmed leaderboards, leaving us to wonder if the release will let us take the Dreamcast classic online as we party like it's 1999.
A tale eternally retold (and resold), the Soul Calibur franchise will be making its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 debut on July 29th in North America. In case you haven't been staying abreast with the fighting franchise's ample development, Soul Calibur IV sees the character roster expanding in an inverse proportion to the size of Ivy's clothes. At last count, the cast included an undead demon pirate, a Sith lord, an asthmatic S&M fetishist and a little green friend. Oh well, at least Spawn's not in this one.
As excited as we are, purchasing the game won't be as easy as simply walking to the store shelf and stuffing it into our trench coats, like we normally do. It seems Namco Bandai has constructed a chicane of decisions for us all: Want to play as Darth Vader right away? Get the PlayStation 3 version. Perhaps you'd prefer Yoda instead? That's the Xbox 360 version. Would you like a comic book, a "tournament kit" and "extra customization content?" Oh, you want the $79.99 Premium Edition ... don't you?
We have to hand it to Mr. Driller. Though the decision to leave dentistry school and forsake the family practice probably mystified his loved ones at the the time, it appears to be paying off. Sure, there were some dark times (it's been four years since the last game in the series) but Dr. Driller's boy is finally making it big with a release this week on Xbox Live Arcade.
For 800 points ($10), you'll get the single-player campaign as well as the online multiplayer support for up to four players. It'll take a lot of downloads to equal the $100 per appointment he could have been pulling down, but he had to find his own corner of the sky. And for that, Mister Driller, we salute you.
While Soul Calibur IV's trio of Amy, Cervantes and Zasalamel were first revealed this week in the pages of Famitsu, we find that we're often far too busy to be bothered with flipping through a magazine looking at pictures, let alone one we can't even read. That's why we're thrilled that Namco Bandai has sent out some screens showing off the characters as they make the high-def leap from the PS2-exclusive Soul Calibur III to this summer's sequel. Still, as fearsome as Cervantes is (just look at that pirate scowl, you know he means business), we still wonder how even he will handle dealing with Jedi.
It's been four long years since Namco Bandai last graced us with its diminutive pink spelunker Mr. Driller in Mr. Driller Drill Spirits for the Nintendo DS. Thankfully, it's an oversight the company will soon remedy with the newly revealed Mr. Driller Online, a downloadable version of the casual puzzler currently in development for Xbox Live Arcade.
Details are currently light, though the game, which so far has only been confirmed for release in Japan this Spring, looks to stay true to the series' uber-cute roots of downward drilling and colors vibrant enough to make a box of Crayolas blush. The game will also include a handful of new modes and gameplay over Xbox Live, making the one thing that has been missing from the saccharine puzzler -- online trash talk -- a reality. Finally!
Just a couple of days after we learned of the mind-blowing Babysitting Maniacoming to the DS, Totally Awesome Video Game Idea week continues on Joystiq. Today's entry is an upcoming 800 point WiiWare title called Ouchi de Puti Puti, or, roughly translated, Thanks for the Cash, Stupid. Oh, and there are 40 levels of it, and there's vibration. As far as we know, those are all the bullet points.
The glorious part is that the game is based on " Puti Puti," a keychain toy that makes bubble wrap noises. So it's not just a game about popping bubble wrap. It's a licensed game about popping bubble wrap. Oh Namco Bandai, how can we ever thank you?
We Ski matches Nintendo's family-friendly aesthetic with cutesy customizable characters, and the option to import your Mii's and let them join in on all the snowy action. In addition to the standard ski modes, the game also includes free-style and photography modes, and allows up to four players to ski free on over a dozen courses.
With the title announced for a spring 2008 release, and the Wii Balance Board making its way to North America on May 19, We Ski will undoubtedly become the unofficial companion game to the Wii Fit package, as the first third-party software to support the peripheral.
