As always, more trickling in later. Imas is slow this week, though.
REVIEWS
Kurukuru Princess 7777 (touch-pen figure-skating, Spike)
Ookiku Furikabutte 5446 (baseball comic licence, Marvelous)
Spectral Gene 6655 (SRPG, Idea Factory)
Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Wii, X360 both) 7777 (STG, Alfa System)
Petit Copter Wii 7766 (RC Helicopter sim, Aqua System)
We Love Golf 9878 (Capcom's answer to Hot Shots)
* Playtime: 16 hours to clear the main tournament, 40-50 to do everything
* Lower difficulties easy enough for anyone to get into.
* Remote controlls feel like swinging a golf club should.
* Good tempo, convenient point of view; near-stressless to play.
* Easy putting compared to most.
* Character design has a pleasant Showa feel.
* Forgiving swing mechanism makes play more fun and well-paced.
* Lots of modes, lots to do.
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 8898
* Balanced more like an RPG than a Roguelike
* Difficulty doesn't feel as much like you have to force your way deeper.
* Not as much of a "fixed puzzle" feel
* Item synth is simple
* One-shot dungeons with level limitations.
* Nicely-unraveling scenario.
* Unlike usual, it's a smooth and easy play all the way through.
* Training different jobs is fun.
* The music is arranges of classic FF tunes. If you're a fan of those, it makes a good motivation to go deeper.
Nights 8777
* Doesn't really take advantage of the Wii remote, though this kinda makes sense.
* Good replay value. Gardening mode makes for an enjoyable apres-jeux.
* Controls are unique. A little TOO unique.
* Bosses tend to have the enjoyable gimmick of calling out their mooks for battles
* You have to restart the stage if you die.
* Human missions are a change of pace, but kinda distracting.
* Heartlifting good-feeling stuff just like the previous game.
* Can't skip realtime cutscenes.
* As a fan of the previous game, some of the new mission types may as well have not been added
Soul Calibur Legends 7776
* Playtime: Quest Mode will take around 20 hours, Party Mode around 30.
* Dungeons make the series a bit more deeply interesting than before.
* Tough to waggle this hard this long in so many directions.
* You can take cover, but it's easy to accidentally attack and pop out.
* Bosses are tough; if you don't plan ahead, you won't even be able to touch them.
* Not enough weapons and gear.
* Hard to walk straight while waggling the nunchuck; otherwise, not that bad
* More fun if you focus on dodging and technical fighting.
* Camera and lock-on are so-so.
* There's only one one-player mode. This kinda sucks.
Stuntman: Ignition 9887
Smash Court Tennis 3 7877
Kingdom Under File 7787
* Playtime is above 10 hours.
* Kinda archaic as an action RPG.
* A loot grind, but an enjoyable loot grind.
* At its best when played online coop, but there's nothing to cooperate doing except the standard grind.
* Pretty big map.
* Can get monotonous, especially when grinding.
* Taking out a bunch of enemies gives you that nice badass feeling.
* Camera control is kind of worrying.
* Nice variety of customization.
* Item synth is a pain in the ass; you can't do it on items in storage.
* Sleeping? That right there is some MAJOR load time.
* Fun to just pick up and beat on some enemies for a while, regardless of plot point.
NEWS
Armored Core: for Answer (PS3&Xbox360 / From Software / 08-3) page 1 | page 2-3
* Online coop in mission play.
* Easy mode added.
The House of the Dead 2&3 Return (Wii/Sega/08-3-13)
* Port of 2+3 double-pack
* Coop play
Phantasy Star Portable (PSP/Sega/2008)
* They're self-impressed with it abbreviating to PSP.
* Based on PSU and its expansion, with added missions and story.
* Multi-mode, with up to 4 player coop.
* Development by Alpha System.
Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden (PS2/Banpresto/2007-12-27) Page 1 | Page 2
* New units' battle scenes are shown, including MP Gespenst MkII Kai, Jaldabaoth god-mode, Excellence Lightning, Excellence Eternal, ART-1 and R-1 combi
* Preorder bonus is a datafile, as usual
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3&360/Capcom/08-1-31)
* Details on the the hellish device that infinitely spawns exploding swords, "Unlimited Sword Lucifer".
"Its swords can be used as weapons or as traps that hang in the air."
* Details on a new one-winged demon swordsman enemy.
"A demon swordsman with a single beautiful wing. His left hand forged into a shield, he's effective at riposting attacks.
DATES
<Nintendo DS>
08/2/28 Kekkaishi <BanNam>
08/2/28 Sgt. Frog 3 <BanNam>
08/2 SuperLite2500 Tokyo Odaiba Casino <Success>
08/3 Roaring Decotora Legend BLACK <Spike>
08 Spring Ukkari Penelope DS (prov.) <Tecmo>
08 Spring Tottado~! Yoiko's Uninhabited Island (prov.) <BanNam> (**Licenced title for a comedian group.)
08 Summer Wolf and the Spices The Year Horo and I Spent Together <Media Works>
<PSP>
08/2/21 Musou OROCHI <Koei>
08 Phantasy Star Portable <Sega>
<Wii>
08/3/13 House of the Dead 2&3 Return <Sega>
08/3/27 Housekeeping Squadron CLEAN KEEPER <Idea Factory>
?? original action game <D3>
<PS3>
08/2/21 Lost Planet <Capcom>
08/3 Armored Core: For Answer <From Software>
<Xbox360>
08/3 Armored Core: For Answer <From Software>
OTHER
Article on Half-Life 2 Survivor v2.0 also appeared.
Next Issue:
Christmas Special
Wii Fit impressions
Final Fantasy Festa
monthly Nintendo column
Correction: Last week's mention of "no cuts" talking about MHP2G was pure speculation
Sinobi is reporting that PSP-2000 can, when used with the OneSeg tuner, record TV---around 6 hours on a 1GB Memory Stick. The Talkman microphones are also getting a standalone release at \2500 each or \4000 for a two-pack.
Bonus! Dengeki reviews
DS
Tales of Innocence 90/85/90 Good response, large volume
Power Pro Pocket 75/90/80 Difficulty ratcheted up
Card Heroes 85/90/80 Good tutorial
K-1 75/65 Can be successfully played using only one button
Ookiku Furikabutte 65/70 More of an ADV than a baseball game
Gintama 70/75 Good tempo and response, but unwieldy
Wii
Nights 90/90/75 Moved by its upliftingness, refreshingness, and nostalgic music.
No More Heroes 90/90/90 Buy it if you like sandbox.
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 80/90/85 Noob-difficulty-tested, music and job fanboy approved.
Returns 55/75 Enough games on it where each one doesn't have to last too long.
Shikigami 80/75 It's all there.
Namco 70/80 If you like retro.
Doraemon 75/80 Not difficult to get into.
We Love Golf 85/90 Tough to get used to, but great once you get it.
REVIEWS
Kurukuru Princess 7777 (touch-pen figure-skating, Spike)
Ookiku Furikabutte 5446 (baseball comic licence, Marvelous)
Spectral Gene 6655 (SRPG, Idea Factory)
Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Wii, X360 both) 7777 (STG, Alfa System)
Petit Copter Wii 7766 (RC Helicopter sim, Aqua System)
We Love Golf 9878 (Capcom's answer to Hot Shots)
* Playtime: 16 hours to clear the main tournament, 40-50 to do everything
* Lower difficulties easy enough for anyone to get into.
* Remote controlls feel like swinging a golf club should.
* Good tempo, convenient point of view; near-stressless to play.
* Easy putting compared to most.
* Character design has a pleasant Showa feel.
* Forgiving swing mechanism makes play more fun and well-paced.
* Lots of modes, lots to do.
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 8898
* Balanced more like an RPG than a Roguelike
* Difficulty doesn't feel as much like you have to force your way deeper.
* Not as much of a "fixed puzzle" feel
* Item synth is simple
* One-shot dungeons with level limitations.
* Nicely-unraveling scenario.
* Unlike usual, it's a smooth and easy play all the way through.
* Training different jobs is fun.
* The music is arranges of classic FF tunes. If you're a fan of those, it makes a good motivation to go deeper.
Nights 8777
* Doesn't really take advantage of the Wii remote, though this kinda makes sense.
* Good replay value. Gardening mode makes for an enjoyable apres-jeux.
* Controls are unique. A little TOO unique.
* Bosses tend to have the enjoyable gimmick of calling out their mooks for battles
* You have to restart the stage if you die.
* Human missions are a change of pace, but kinda distracting.
* Heartlifting good-feeling stuff just like the previous game.
* Can't skip realtime cutscenes.
* As a fan of the previous game, some of the new mission types may as well have not been added
Soul Calibur Legends 7776
* Playtime: Quest Mode will take around 20 hours, Party Mode around 30.
* Dungeons make the series a bit more deeply interesting than before.
* Tough to waggle this hard this long in so many directions.
* You can take cover, but it's easy to accidentally attack and pop out.
* Bosses are tough; if you don't plan ahead, you won't even be able to touch them.
* Not enough weapons and gear.
* Hard to walk straight while waggling the nunchuck; otherwise, not that bad
* More fun if you focus on dodging and technical fighting.
* Camera and lock-on are so-so.
* There's only one one-player mode. This kinda sucks.
Stuntman: Ignition 9887
Smash Court Tennis 3 7877
Kingdom Under File 7787
* Playtime is above 10 hours.
* Kinda archaic as an action RPG.
* A loot grind, but an enjoyable loot grind.
* At its best when played online coop, but there's nothing to cooperate doing except the standard grind.
* Pretty big map.
* Can get monotonous, especially when grinding.
* Taking out a bunch of enemies gives you that nice badass feeling.
* Camera control is kind of worrying.
* Nice variety of customization.
* Item synth is a pain in the ass; you can't do it on items in storage.
* Sleeping? That right there is some MAJOR load time.
* Fun to just pick up and beat on some enemies for a while, regardless of plot point.
NEWS
Armored Core: for Answer (PS3&Xbox360 / From Software / 08-3) page 1 | page 2-3
* Giant weapon "Arms Fort" is introduced, with a size of around 7km. To attack it, you need to wipe out the parts on the edges before infiltrating and destroying the core. There's many different methods to do this and take one down.Imas said:for Answer"It's 4: Answer, not for answer, right?"
AC4 launched around the same time the consoles did, so it couldn't really have that deep of a single-player mode. Because of this, the new game's intended to have more of a plot, and eventual resolution; thus, the name became "for Answer".
* Online coop in mission play.
* Easy mode added.
The House of the Dead 2&3 Return (Wii/Sega/08-3-13)
* Port of 2+3 double-pack
* Coop play
Phantasy Star Portable (PSP/Sega/2008)
* They're self-impressed with it abbreviating to PSP.
* Based on PSU and its expansion, with added missions and story.
* Multi-mode, with up to 4 player coop.
* Development by Alpha System.
Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden (PS2/Banpresto/2007-12-27) Page 1 | Page 2
* New units' battle scenes are shown, including MP Gespenst MkII Kai, Jaldabaoth god-mode, Excellence Lightning, Excellence Eternal, ART-1 and R-1 combi
* Preorder bonus is a datafile, as usual
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3&360/Capcom/08-1-31)
* Details on the the hellish device that infinitely spawns exploding swords, "Unlimited Sword Lucifer".
"Its swords can be used as weapons or as traps that hang in the air."
* Details on a new one-winged demon swordsman enemy.
"A demon swordsman with a single beautiful wing. His left hand forged into a shield, he's effective at riposting attacks.
DATES
<Nintendo DS>
08/2/28 Kekkaishi <BanNam>
08/2/28 Sgt. Frog 3 <BanNam>
08/2 SuperLite2500 Tokyo Odaiba Casino <Success>
08/3 Roaring Decotora Legend BLACK <Spike>
08 Spring Ukkari Penelope DS (prov.) <Tecmo>
08 Spring Tottado~! Yoiko's Uninhabited Island (prov.) <BanNam> (**Licenced title for a comedian group.)
08 Summer Wolf and the Spices The Year Horo and I Spent Together <Media Works>
<PSP>
08/2/21 Musou OROCHI <Koei>
08 Phantasy Star Portable <Sega>
<Wii>
08/3/13 House of the Dead 2&3 Return <Sega>
08/3/27 Housekeeping Squadron CLEAN KEEPER <Idea Factory>
?? original action game <D3>
<PS3>
08/2/21 Lost Planet <Capcom>
08/3 Armored Core: For Answer <From Software>
<Xbox360>
08/3 Armored Core: For Answer <From Software>
OTHER
Article on Half-Life 2 Survivor v2.0 also appeared.
Next Issue:
Christmas Special
Wii Fit impressions
Final Fantasy Festa
monthly Nintendo column
Correction: Last week's mention of "no cuts" talking about MHP2G was pure speculation
Sinobi is reporting that PSP-2000 can, when used with the OneSeg tuner, record TV---around 6 hours on a 1GB Memory Stick. The Talkman microphones are also getting a standalone release at \2500 each or \4000 for a two-pack.
Bonus! Dengeki reviews
DS
Tales of Innocence 90/85/90 Good response, large volume
Power Pro Pocket 75/90/80 Difficulty ratcheted up
Card Heroes 85/90/80 Good tutorial
K-1 75/65 Can be successfully played using only one button
Ookiku Furikabutte 65/70 More of an ADV than a baseball game
Gintama 70/75 Good tempo and response, but unwieldy
Wii
Nights 90/90/75 Moved by its upliftingness, refreshingness, and nostalgic music.
No More Heroes 90/90/90 Buy it if you like sandbox.
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 80/90/85 Noob-difficulty-tested, music and job fanboy approved.
Returns 55/75 Enough games on it where each one doesn't have to last too long.
Shikigami 80/75 It's all there.
Namco 70/80 If you like retro.
Doraemon 75/80 Not difficult to get into.
We Love Golf 85/90 Tough to get used to, but great once you get it.