Info: Earth Defense Force 2025

Ive covered Earth Defense Force before (Link HERE) way back in September. As is always the case in the games industry, new information has cropped up. In this case its a new trailer showcasing the new Fencer unit. Yes the trailer is focused on that aspect, but it also features a sizable amount of new gameplay footage to get you itching for that bug spray. While the Fencer does have some similarities with the Battle Armour in Insect Armageddon, the trailer shows it to be a whole different beast. Wanna pummel bugs with a huge Thor-like hammer? you can. Wanna dual-wield Mini-guns or rain mortar shells from a Mortar on your back? Yep. You can do that too with the Fencer. This trailer does more than enough to get one suitably excited for the release of 2025 in February. Ive also got to say that the game is looking fantastic from this latest trailer. Looks to be a step up from previous releases with regards to graphics and all round fun. Now if you'll excuse me, Ive got to go and sharpen up for what lies ahead on 2025 with 2017 Portable on Vita...

Here's the (Fantastic) trailer -


And a few new screenshots -

Info: Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

With this game seeing a release on 27th june in Japan & then subsequently having a localisation confirmed for our shores on the 7th March next year (11th for the US) I thought Id gather some info together for a small update. As you no doubt know by now, Atelier Escha & Logy will allow players to choose between two protagonists. The main storyline though will remain the same regardless of who is chosen it seems, but certain events and endings will only be available with a particular character. Escha’s story focuses on the traditional alchemy RPG and everyday adventures of an alchemist whereas Logy’s story is said to be a more serious adventure focused on world exploration. The two protagonists Escha and Logix use different kinds of tools to synthesise which would no doubt mean different slightly mechanics regarding the alchemy system. I'm hoping to come across more information on this title a Little closer to release as there seems to be little available at the moment considering the game is already available in Japan. There is also an anime adaptation been announced and is planned to be released in 2014. Looks like 2014 may be good for the Atelier fans out there.

Here's some lengthy in-game footage (clocks in about 29 minutes, may contain SPOILERS) -


and a few screenshots -

Review: Zone Of The Enders HD Collection (Ps3)

After hearing of a patch to fix this HD collections problems was released back in August (And finding it for a measly £7) I decided to bite the bullet and finally give the HD collection a try. Ive cleared both games previously on Ps2, but the stories of a botched remaster, especially with how ZOE 2 was butchered, kept me away. SO has it improved?

Info: Persona 4 - Dancing All Night

Before I post up some tidbits on this game Ive come across theres something I gotta say, Im not like most poeple within the industry - I dont hold aloft Persona 4 as the pinnacle of JRPG's and no matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise, I still believe that Persona 3 was a better game in almost every way based upon the same template (Persona 4 Arena was an average 2D fighter at best, sorry) I guess the easing up of the difficulty & dropping the Shin Megami Tensei tag allowed the game to reach more of a mass market appeal than its superior predecessor in Persona 3 (That statement only doesn't apply if you speak to Remy here it seems) Ive been tasked with covering this simply because rythmn games are my forte so ill no doubt be purchasing it in the future, especially with it being noted that the Project Diva developer is working on the title. Just dont be expecting me to be gushing like the mainstream gaming press have been doing since this was announced....

Managed to bump into a story reveal that may interest -
The plot is set the summer after the Yasonaba case, and follows Rise, who has returned to the city to focus on her career as a dancing idol. It all gets a bit ‘The Ring’ however, as a strange website has been found circulating the public. It includes a video that, when watched, transports the viewer to “The Other Side.” Naturally it happens to Rise, and she finds herself in the other plane, which she realises is actually called the “Mayonaka Stage.” There, she finds that a junior idol team called “Kanamin Kitchen” are being held prisoner, so Yu Narukami and pals form a team to investigate and save the day. Yu Narukami is the protagonist assisting Rise, while a third character Kanami Mashita is one of the kidnapped junior idols.

The game is set to include over 30 tracks of new music and arranged Persona 4 tunes. Confirmed songs so far are “Pursuing My True Self,” “Heaven,” “Reach Out to the Truth,” (Winner! Favourite Persona 4 track) “Time to Make Nistory,” and “True Story.” Japanese musicians Tetsuya Komuro and Daisuke Asakura have teamed with Atlus to pen the score. I wonder if anything from Persona 3 will make it over? Then again I doubt it due to 3 having a different 'vibe' but hopefully some will arrive via DLC at least. All will no doubt be revealed closer to the titles fall 2014 estimated release date for Japan.

In case you missed it, heres the launch trailer -

and a few screenshots -

Info: Project Diva F/f 2nd

 

The game is set to have a similar play style to its predecessor, as is always the case with this series as the gameplay continues to be refined as opposed to overhauled. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd, releasing on both the Ps3 & Vita in Japan on March 6th 2014 (Western release still TBC) features new songs, as well as returning songs from previous games (Two Faced Lovers is confirmed to rapturous applause from myself. One of my favourite Miku songs. Follow this link if You've yet to hear it - Two Faced Lovers) New modules will also be piped into the game for all the new songs while the HUD and UI will now be customisable by the player with at least 20 different skins for you to choose from. Even with the gameplay mechanics being the same as previous entries, there are still additions. Sliding touchscreen notes, and double scratch notes are added, although how these will work on the Ps3 without a touchscreen/touchpad is to be seen. No doubt a similar system will be employed as with Project Diva F on Ps3. In addition, you can now simultaneously equip up to 3 different challenge and help items during gameplay, although to be truthful Ive never used these when playing Project Diva F so I don't know what that's going to entail. Till more info is available, sit back and enjoy the promotional trailer -



And maybe a few of the latest screenshots floating around the Internet -

Screenshots: Hyper Goddess Faith Noire: Extreme God Black Heart

Hyperdimension Neptunia spin-off Hyper Goddess Faith Noire: Extreme God Black Heart (how awesomely Japanese is that title?) is due to bring a different take on Compile Heart's unusually popular franchise to the PlayStation Vita, expected to release on 29th May in Japan. Still no word on a western release as of yet but with PP making its way here Im going to go with this one more than likely recieving a localisation. Instead of the traditional turn-based combat the game is known for, with this being developed by Sting (the studio behind a number of Atlus-published SRPGs like Gungnir and Yggdra Union) we are looking at an SRPG along the lines of Disgaea or ZHP with regards to gameplay. Yes, the rumoured ChiBi style has become reality. To be honest I had doubts myself over the style, but it has grown on me (especially with the news of Persona Q using the same style) and I guess it helps with seperating the game from the main series due to it being a spin-off. Plus, how Kawaii! is ChiBi Neptune!? Till some more news comes our way, here's some screenshots to feast your eyes on (New characters also shown!) There is also a trailer but it features no gameplay so I havent included it on this article but its easily found if you paste the game's title into search on Youtube for those that are curious.

Now when are Compile Heart going to be doing Ultimate Goddess Fury Blanc: Extreme Hammer White Heart!??
 

Review: One Piece Romance Dawn

Ahoy! Welcome aboard my One Piece: Romance Dawn 3DS review my Nakama!.

First thing is that it's designed for fans of One Piece and not people looking to get into the series. Starring up and coming Pirate King Monkey D Luffy and his band of Strawhats. The game covers the manga series from the Romance Dawn arc all the way up to the Marineford arc. 

Promoted as the first RPG of One Piece this was first released as a PSP game and how now been re-released on the 3DS seeing it's first release in Europe!.

I have been eagerly awaiting this title being a huge fan of RPG games and a big fan of One Piece. After spending a weekend and putting close to 10 hours into this game here are my first impressions.

Graphics

The character models are average, they look like the anime counterparts and up to where I am, they are wearing the original costumes. 

There is no 3D in this game, it is disabled. As someone who rarely uses 3D (so far it's only been Mario and Zelda iv used it on) this doesn't bother me too much. It was released at a lower price but it is a little disappointing how it's not using the main feature of the 3DS.

Cutscenes have been few and far between, they did create a fresh one for the game and it was very pleasant to look at. The issue is with the lack of them it shows the game up and also you have little idea of what's going on. What you have instead is static scenes similar to the Tales of Skit sequences only less dynamic. 

Another issue to point out is that the text doesn't always properly fit the text bubble! This may be a font issue but in 2013 this shouldn't be happening with a release from the likes of Namco-Bandai 

The level art work is all consistent with the manga/anime, not so much the side islands where it is just a generic theme.

Gameplay

Being an RPG Romance Dawn employs the use of several common RPG conventions. A turn based battle system, equipment equipping, stats, item creation, exploring and dungeon crawling & last but not least party members.

Anime/Manga games in the past have translated well to the RPG format. For example Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans & Naruto: Path of The Ninja. Unfortunately this isn't one of those cases this seems like a lazy cash in and a waste of the One Piece licence. 

Firstly the exploration is hampered by the fact the levels are boring and lack any distractions apart from walking forward. Samey hallways would cause huge confusion if it wasn't for the mini map on the touch screen.

Combat is unfortunately also fairly average, featuring a weaker version of the battle system used in Final Fantasy X. Careful use of SP results in different combos depending on what button you press, after a few battles you'll pick it up quite fast, which is fortunate as the tutorial is just a few walls of text during load screens.

Little additions such as group attacks and bounce damage help to spur you on, but much like this game all over it's a minor distraction for much bigger things.

Customising the Strawhats is quite refreshing. Once you have hit the grind hard enough or been lucky enough to find for example a pirate wristband, you can equip a character with it and it becomes visible on them. This doesn't work for all items but is a nice little feature often overlooked. 

Item creation is pretty bog standard stuff, find a blueprint, find enough materials then create item, over and over again. 

No hub areas mean you'll be jumping from dungeon to dungeon with little downtime. Side missions appear as extra islands around Islands already established in the series, more often than not an area you have been to before with enemies you have beaten before. Worth a visit for a grind but nothing spectacular which is unfortunate when you'd even accept a fetch quest. 

Final Word

Overall I am very let down by this product. As a One Piece and RPG fan I wanted nothing more than for this to be at the very least a good game.

What lies before me is a lazy product with very few redeemable features which I'm playing purely based off the licence it's built around. It is an average One Piece game shown up by the recent Koei offerings and as an RPG it flounders. 

If you are a One Piece fan add a point to the score I give as you may find some enjoyment reliving the Strawhats adventures (not all of them Skypeia and Sabaody have been cut!). But over all this does nothing new for RPGs and certainly would be a terrible way for up and coming fans to experience the wonder of One Piece, if you are after an RPG fix there are a lot more places you should stop before here!

5/10

Review by Andi. Supplied by Andi. 

Published by Namco-Bandai, released 29/11/13 

Review: Awesomenauts (Ps3/Xbox360)

Another PSN game review comes to the fore! With talk of a Ps4 port in the works, this review could be of some relevance to my fellow Europeans who are lucky enough to be acquiring a Ps4 today. While I was going to wait it out for a bit with regards to the Ps4 Ive decided to get one ASAP as it will need covering and Im not sure if any of the other staff will be acquiring one soon. Enough about next-gen plans anyway, time to continue with today's review!

Review: Tear Away (Playstation Vita)

Tearaway is one of those games you will have to play to understand the hype. This is the first game that really made my girlfriend giggle. For the first time she enjoyed a game as much as I did. She enjoyed it that much that she wanted to borrow my vita. Just to play Tear Away. That ladies and gentlemen means this game is enjoyable for all people. Gamer or no gamer this game is something really special. In this review i choose to be Iota , but you can also choose to be Atio ( pronounced as ah-twa).

Story
The game starts with an introduction. The one who is being introduced is YOU! You are the godly being who is looking down on a world of paper. You are the one who is holding this magnificent paper world in the palm of your hands. From the paper world you will get an invitation to tell a new story. Before I even realised a hole ripped open before me, spewing shredded strips of paper, and then I fell in the wonderful papery world of tear away. 

The story starts with you and Iota. You as I mentioned before is the godly being who is looking down on a world of paper. Your task is to guide Iota through the papery world  and help him with the  dangers that are ahead. Iota is a messenger and he has a message for You. The message is inside his ( or her) envelope shaped head. This all has to be done in hope for you and Iota to be reunited and the message to be delivered to the you.

Graphics and feel 
The world of Tear Away is made all out of paper. Every plant, rock or animal is constructed in a magnificent way. The environments you encounter range from grassy woodlands areas to rain-battered harbours to scrubbed laboratories and far beyond. Each is made completely with papercraft: colourful paper that is folded like only you have seen in the art of Origami. Your presence in the world is directly noticeable because the sun is your face. When I saw this I giggled because it reminded me of my childhood memories watching the Telletubies ( the creepy baby sun god). This doesn't feel weird because your world and the world of Tear Away feel so connected.

Sound
The sound design is superb. Every area in the game has a different song. Furthermore, the sound effects are something you wouldn't expect on a handheld device. This game is in the same league as Killzone Mercenary. 

Gameplay
The gameplay is a simple 3D platformer. You move with the left stick and you can change the camera with the right stick and gradually you will learn new skills that can help you in your quest. These include the ability to jump, to roll and to play accordion that sucks in air and forces it out with tremendous power . Sometimes the camera feels a little bit floaty and this resulted in me dying a couple of times ( I'm also terrible at platformers but boy i love them). However, the checkpoints are forgiving so it never came to the point it felt cheap. Some people were concerned the controls had the floaty feel that is common to the Little Big Planet games. Let me tell you all, this time Media molecule did everything right. Iota is responsive in every way. If you press X Iota immediately jumps, if you push O Iota rolls himself up in a fluent animation.

Media molecule did something special with this one. It's not just a simple 3D platformer but one that is crafted with love and creativity. Every level is full of detail. Squirrels jumping on a trampoline to elks eating paper grass to inhabitants of the world sitting at a campsite. This game feels alive and you feel like you are visiting a vibrant living world. The moment the you interact with this world is the moment this game turns from great to a system seller. With the back touch something magical happens, your finger appears in the world of Iota. With your finger you can help Iota to defeat his enemies and clear the obstacles that are between Iota and his goal to deliver his message to the you. The camera is used is an innovative way. At some point in the game an elk told me his skin was stolen by scraps (Nasty little things and the main enemy of this world). He ask me if i would redecorate his skin. I took a picture of a flower in my living room and at that moment the red crimson colour covered the elk. He loved it, in fact , he started at trend. Other elk in the area started wearing it, too. This camera function is used far beyond this example. Everything you take a picture of in the world of tear way can be uploaded to the Tear away website. Some objects like squirrels, elks and wendigo's can be created in the real world. You do this by going to tearaway.me. My favourite godly action was to use the front touch which is used for simple and frivolous tasks like drawing a crown on a sheet of paper so that you can cut around it and place it on a creature. This can be a squirrel king who has lost his crown thanks to the scraps or a pig who is considered ugly by his owner. At some point at the base of the mountain you're asked to make a snowflake. I felt like a child because i envisioned something that you wouldn't see every day. I giggled and drew some magnificent breasts ( Yellow ones with pink spots on them). Rendered in the game, the alpine scene looked stunning and my special snowflakes looked like something you only see in cartoons (gigidy).

This game manages, even when you imagine things that aren't appropriate, to make things look cute. Media Molecule has achieved something that should have been delivered at launch of the PlayStation Vita though. This game is a system seller in every way. What elevates this game above any other game on the vita for me is the ending. The ending was heartbreaking. When Iota delivered it's message the game has ended. The ending  was so sad because the bond you and  Iota had was something special. The story I and Iota had is something I will always remember. Everyone has a different story and that people is something special. The only negative is that this game is too short. I wished there was more Tear Away. This reaction is normal because the game has delivered in every way.

Conclusion:
Tear Away is something you will have to play to believe the hype. Tear Away is about delivering the story of Iota and the you. It achieves its ambition to be something more than a 3D platformer. The moment that you interact with the papery world of Tear Away, this game becomes a system seller. This game is worth buying a PlayStation Vita for because you cannot experience this game on any platformer.


一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九/O

9/10
Scoring Policy

Otaku Mobile Games v3.0

So here we are again. Its become something of a monthly ritual looking at a few mobile games, but with how fast the mobile scene moves along its no wonder. I hadn't looked into any other games for a few weeks and then decided to do so last week only to be met by a barrage of new titles. I managed to get about another dozen last week so I'm able to do another post although Ive only managed to try out a handful of those dozen, which I'm going to look at today. With me having a Vita & 3DS (and a PsPgo recently purchased again), I don't tend to look to my phone as being my go-to handheld device so I don't have as much time to spend on these games as I do others. Still, I'm sure you'll be intrigued as to what Ive managed to dig up!

フェアリーディフェンス - Fairy Defense (Android) [FREE]
A FREE Tower defence game featuring a host of cute fairies battling Orcs n the like? Why not! The app stores these days seem to be filled to the brim with all manner of tower defence games, mainly military orientated so its refreshing to find one that goes all Kawaii with a moe style. In truth, Ive never really been a fan of these type of games as it always seems to be that theres only a couple of set patterns to deploy in so if you don't match one then you fail. This game sometimes falls into the same trapfall, but for the most part it seems to be a tad easier. A total of 15 levels await your completion and there are 12 unit types to collect altogether. While it won't take up too much of your time to finish off, it may surprise you how enjoyable it is compared to its peers (The game is in Japanese. The UI is intuitive enough and theres enough English used to be able to play the game perfectly well though so don't let that deter you)

Smack☆Holic (Android) [£0.79]
Now this is what I would refer to as a hardcore Otaku mobile game. It will only interest those that are an ardent Otaku. The entirety of the game is based on this one simple premise - spanking your moe styled maid girl. Its that simple. Theres nothing else to the game. Once it starts your maid is stood up against the wall and you tap your phones screen to give her a smack. Yeah. Even myself, the moe fan that I am, didn't really see the appeal with this one though. There are unlockables in the form of costumes, items & titles but they don't unlock often enough (1k hits only unlocked a few items & titles) Id say its only worth getting if you just have to spank some moe, otherwise its not worth your time. If you do decide to take a punt, Id also recommend turning the volume down. The cries and moans Meiko lets out will get you some funny looks indeed.

Save Toshi (Android / iPhone) [FREE]
Save Toshi is not what you would expect it to be from the screenshots you first see. The screenshots show a girl dancing on a disco dancefloor so I assumed it would be some kind of rhythm game but it instead turned out to be a 3D physics based puzzler. Your objective in the game is to ensure you get Toshi to the dancefloor with as little moves by yourself as possible to make sure you get the full 3 star rating. This is harder than it sounds at first when other materials aside from wood get thrown into the mix. 100+ levels and some surprisingly nice 3D graphics will keep you coming back to beat your ratings.

Destroy Gunners SPa (Android) [F2P]
What we have here is a 3rd Person Mech game. Levels consist of the usual destruction of enemies and objectives that you find in almost every other game of this type. Here though, RPG style loot drops have been added that allow you to customise and equip your Mech with all manner of gizmo's & weapons. The graphics and style the game has is impressive at times. Those fond of Anime mech series may enjoy this aspect of the game a lot. Unfortunately, the controls can be a tad iffy at times. Instead of using the standard 2 thumb approach, the camera rotation is given its own control aside from the aiming. It takes a little getting used to. Micro-transactions for more levels beyond a few also rears its head, but its till worth a try as the base game is free.

Theres a lack of iPhone links this time. I do indeed look on iTunes as well when doing these posts but for the most part these games just aren't available on that platform. I can only surmise that Apple have a stricter policy in play for their app store compared to Google. Still, Ill keep providing links for the games to each platform when available. As noted in the opening paragraph I still have even more titles to look at from the batch last week so I may do another post next week if there are any more games worth passing on. If there's any mobile games in particular you feel we should let the world know about, get in touch and let us know either here or on our Twitter