Tokyo Game Show 2013 - News so far..

Its time for some Tokyo Game's Show news!

• An Attack on Titan game for the 3DS is to be developed by Spike Chunsoft, the same studio that brought us Virtue’s Last Reward. Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind is scheduled for release on the 3DS in Japan this December. No word yet on a western release and with region locking on the 3DS, it could be one to worry about not coming here. Still, with how popular the anime is it could end up making its way here.

• Arcana Heart 3 has been announced for release on the consoles (presumably Ps3) as early as October this year! That came outta nowhere lol A 2D-fighter thats a little heavy on moe (Not really a bad thing, I find moe characters adorable at times) but also reputed to have an incredibly deep fighting system. Will it makes it way here? Probably. Previous entrys in the series have made there way west. Then again the Ps3 is region free so if it deosn't and you just gotta have it, you could always import.

• While I have no interest in the XboxOne, I do have some for Crimson Dragon. From Yukio Futatsugi, the same designer of Panzer Dragoon, it deos look to be a genuinly good title. No doubt will be released in the west too. For some new screens and a NEW trailer, head over to Rice Digital.

• Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky will be released in Europe early next year. Tecmo Koei haven't given a firm date as of yet, just an 'Early 2014' mention. The game allows you to play as both Escha and Logy, each one with their own story and personality so Id say its a must for any Atelier fan!

• Yakuza Ishin, slated for release with the Ps4 in Japan, will also include an entire side-story called 'Another Life'. In this you adopt a girl and allow her to live at your secondary home. Here you can do all kinds of activites, like grow crops! yeah Im bein serious. It sounds like an entirely different game within a game. PLUS! 'Another Life' is accessible on the Vita when you are away from your Ps4!! Come on SEGA, make the localistation happen.

• Toukiden will be getting a European release as Toukiden: The Age of Demons on the Playstation Vita only in early 2014. A release in the US has been penned for Q4 2013.

• Final Fantasy X HD has been given a release date of....WINTER! I swear SquareEnix are taking the piss on this one. Still no firm date!?

• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is making its way to the US sometime later this year. No word on a Euro release as of yet. With the game carrying a micro-transaction model, importing may be off the cards unfortunately.

• Monster Hunter: Frontier G is making its way to the Vita next year. The MMO was released back in 2007 on PC and will also feature a release on the Ps3 (Nov 20th), supporting cross-platform play between the Vita and itself, & the WiiU (Dec 11th). US and EU dates for the release on any console has yet to be announced.

• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z has been slated for a release in Early 2014 for the west. Its due on Ps3, Vita (download only) and Xbox360. There is also news of a Naruto costume for those that preorder the game or purchase day one. If your interested.....

• Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers is a 1v1 fighter packed with combo's and powers to use in battle. Apparently the game is accessible enough with some of its complexity owing to the fights happining with a 3D space, so positioning is key. It will launch Exclusive to the Ps3 in the US in November. Again no EU release date mentioned as of yet.

• A sequel to Gravity Rush has been teased by Sony for the Vita. Heres a Teaser.

• A new trailer has been released for the update to Soul Sacrifice - Soul Sacrifice: Delta showcasing its improved graphics and also some of its new character designs.

• Tales of Xillia 2 will be released on the Ps3 in both the US and EU at some point next year. Still no firm date but we do at least have a new Trailer.

• You enjoyed Bayonetta? Well you'll be pleased to know an anime movie is due out in Japanese cinema's on the 23rd November. Here's a Trailer.

• Sony have announced at TGS that voice & gesture control is possible for navigating the Ps4 and you will also be able to capture footage via its HDMI if you are so inclined. Still no date on the Gakai rollout in regions other than the US but Ps3 game streaming has been confirmed for 'Sony' devices. Deos this mean cloud streaming for Vita too? Possibly. Knack was also shown via remote play streamed to a VitaTV console. Sony also hopes to sell 5 million Ps4's by the end of March 2014! I think they could actually do it.

While theres not a huge amount of news here so far, we do still have Saturday & Sunday to go yet. With these being public days though Im not too sure just how much more snippets of interest Im going to be able to gather up. I recommend a look at Gamespot's TGS section. For a mainstream site it has quite a lot of gameplay demo's and trailers for titles like Strider & Final Fantasy XV. At the moment their section on the show is standing at 8 pages, and its almost all footage. Give it a look if theres a game I may have missed you have interest in.

With it being Saturday tomorrow, and with my new timetable for posts going into effect, There probably wont be a post. Still, Ill be keeping up with TGS so if there's any news thats worthy of bringing to your attention I will. If not, Then it'll be a review on Sunday. Im hoping not to delay a review again like my Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll review as it kinda hampers the first news post of the week. Id rather bring a bumper news post with the weekends news than a late review. Although, This weekend it'll at least be understandable with it being TGS. Are there any game's so far that have been announced you'd like us to have a deeper look in to? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on my Twitter and as always, we'll see what we can dig up!

Retrospective: Shinobi (3DS)

While there is some notable news for today from the Tokyo Games Show, I though Id publish this post first seen as Id almost completed it yesterday but ended up leaving it at work. Ill have a bumper post for you in a few hours or so! So relax and have a read of a quick retrospective. So what am I looking at this morning? Its Shinobi for the 3DS! *The logo says Shinobi 3D which was the titles name in Japan. Here its just Shinobi.

Story
Well, I can't tell you anythin about the story. It deosn't seem to have much of one and a quick trip to Wikipedia, which usually yeilds a result for posting here, is blank. Not even Wikipedia has anything for Shinobi's story. So deos that mean there isn't one!? Of course not. Its just not that cohesive of a narrative to be of much note. From what Ive gathered so far you've been transported through time to the future and you fight things. Sure the game has anime cutscenes but literally nothing much is explained. Like its 8 & 16-bit brothers from yesteryear, its gameplay first. The speck of a story pretty much just exists to give some kind of purpose to the changing of the scenery for the levels. Its ridiculously old-school in this regard and it deosn't end there either....

The gamplay is just as old-school as the lack of story. At its heart its a 2D side-scroller. On that note I think I should also mention something else. Like its bretheren, Its insanely difficult. To the point where you will either end up crying in the corner or bald from tearing your hair out. This game cetrainly deosn't hold your hand or pull any punches. I had to drop down to beginner. Funnily enough Im not ashamed to admit that either because Im sure EVERYONE has done the same thing after trying the game for the first time. Once your used to the game after a level or 2, a jump back up to Normal is recommened. Beginner on Shinobi is like Medium/Hard on other games though as it still shows no mercy at times. So how deos it actually play? For anyone familiar with Shinobi III on the Mega Drive will feel right at home. It plays very similar with levels consisting of combat, platforming and boss segments. The game is punishing in regards to its platform segments. You really do have to get to grips with the new grappling hook and the double jump technique fast or you will become incredibly frustrated as the game gets hard fast, and excruciatingly so. Finely tuned ninja reflexes are a must. The combat can also be equally unforgiving at times. Mastering of the parry is key or you will flounder within moments of starting. Shurikens are also available and you have an infinite amount of them. Great? Sure, but only 5 can be thrown at once and then you have to wait for those to restock. Managing your Shuriken stock & getting to grips with the parry are key to survival. More than once in a level you may come across sub-boss or even full on boss characters. On higher difficulties, death here sends you all the way back to the beginning. You wouldn't want that to happen as levels can take 20+ minutes to complete so quickly learning the boss's attacks are key. In between levels or during them there are points where you will be riding various vehicles, obviously thrown in to mix things up a little. While by no means do these ruin the game in any way, They serve no prupose and the game could have been done without them just as easy.

 During the level points are awarded for most actions. At the end these points are tallied up and you recieve a grade. Ok, so whats so good about that? The better the grade, the more chance you have of unlocking achievements! Unlocking acievements bags you extra content like challenge stages & costumes. Other content can also be unlocked using the coins you earn on your 3DS. I doubt anyone will feel short changed at the amount of content the game is packing

Graphically there isn't much to say. At times, to me, it seems to look like a DS game. It seems to have probably started development as one before switching to the 3DS as I cant really explain why it deos any other way. Framerate is smooth though and some of the effects work is quite nice. The 3D is somewhat average. At times it looks good, at others its not even noticeable. For the most part there is noticeable depth between the background scenery and the foreground and the depth deos help at times with the platforming segments. Overall it looks ok as long as the camera deosn't zoom in too much as the PSone graphics could put you off. But who playes retro styled games in the hope of seeing stunning graphics anyway?

Personally, I quite like Shinobi on the 3DS. Its probably been my most played 3DS game since I picked up the handheld a few weeks ago. For £5 its a steal. Sure the game keeps kickin my arse, and yes Ive shed some tears of frustration (especially since going back up to Medium) but its a damn fine retro game. Griptonite have done a fine job of keeping the game close to its roots. While I enjoyed the Shinobi game on Ps2 for what it was, this game is far more of a Shinobi game. If your a fan of the ol' SEGA consoles and you loved the Shinobi series, this will make you weep with joy (& frustration)

I'm not dead! Plus PSA!

My blog post today is just to show that i am actually still alive & semi-active!. I know it just happens to be around this time a certain sandbox action game has release and i have indeed been playing it (Not a huge GTA fan but i do enjoy them!). I have not been neglecting this blog though, as Geoff is aware i have hit a fair work load this week as i have been requested to review an album i wasn't intending to. I have just finished this review (for anyone interested it should be up on Punx.co.uk by weekend) but along side that i started a new article for the blog.

I am currently working my way through a write up about the fantastic title Deadly Premonition, i can't give you an exact date of when i'll be finished with it as it seems to be dwarfing my Suda/Killer Is Dead article by a fair bit. Couple that with me currently playing Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX (highly recommend it for fans & newcomers alike!) as well as me being lucky enough to get Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Soul Hackers for 3DS a week early. 

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Soul Hackers releases for 3DS tomorrow 20/09/2013 in the Europe region. Anyone who enjoys RPG's or SMT should pick this title up, it's a fantastic old school trip back to 1997 with an amazing setting and brilliant dungeon crawling. They have added a few 3DS features including a way of adding "Hacks" to the game to change the experience make it easier or harder and spawn different demons using play coins!.

So now i'm going to back to fighting and negotiating with demons! currently using my in game name as my posting name so

Aigato out!

Uncertainty for Atlus & other tidbits of news.

So, Today the big news in Otaku gaming circles is that Sega bought out Atlus. I was notified at 6.45am by Rodwyn Hoffman on Twitter n then at about 9am by Andi. A few minutes later both my Hatsune Miku & Neptune alarms decided to go off so I gave up trying to snooze n got my butt outta bed n got ready for work. I watched some Kagamine Rin music videos on the Vita (dat OLED!) while supping green tea n continuing the Sega/Atlus discussion with a few people. One thing struck me the most. EVERYONE is worried for Atlus. Now its not that there's any kind of anti-Sega sentiment around these parts. Quite the opposite in fact. Both myself & Andi are die-hard Sega fans. Ive been with Sega myself since I was a nipper, jumping around on Alex the Kid and gunning down pesky planes on Bomber Raid with the good ol' Master System. I still have a Mega Drive, Saturn and a Dreamcast in perfect working order that I do occasionally use. So why are we worried? Its simple. Lately, Sega don't seem to give a damn about its fans in the west. I dont even need to go on about Yakuza5 because if your here reading this then no doubt you had some interest in the title too. But its also their other dealings. Is it just me or do we only get titles developed by western developers and published by Sega here? Where have the localised titles gone? When you look at previous deals done by Sega lately it deosn't look good. Remember Relic? I do. They made the awesome Warhammer 40000 Space Marine game that I had a hell of a lot of fun playing! Sega recently aquired them and....well Ive heard nothing from Relic since. Are they even working on anything? I may have to start sleuthing and find out. Its worrying. There are some good points to the deal though. Atlus aren't bankrupt, so we dont have to worry about them going under and selling their IP's. Imagine if SquareEnix ended up with Persona? *Shudders* Also Sega have a HQ in Europe. Yep, They really do! so that should help with getting Atlus games in the EU quicker but as Andi said this morning "Unfortunately Sega Europe spend more time trying to nail jelly to kittens so it worries me we may see less SMT titles than ever" I dont doubt for a second that Andi could be wrong there.

How Sega treats the EU at times seems like a betrayal after the leg up we gave them with the Master System when they were starting out (sold 6.8 million here compared to 1 million in Japan n 2 Million in the US) Like everyone I worry about how Atlus are going to end up. But is it justified? I dunno. Id like to think we'll see more from Atlus on our shores but you just never know with Sega these days. Thats where the worry comes from. Atlus's future is now uncertain in the EU, buisness as usual for Atlus USA so they are good for now, and only time will tell how its buy-out is going to effect its output. I hope when the sale is finalised on the 1st November, Sega will put our fears to rest and announce whats in store for the future of Atlus.

What other tidbits of news do we have? Well apparently Sony had another conference of sorts today. Your right they had one last week too lol so what was it about today? Well apparently the Ps4 will be getting released in certain asian terrortories in December this year. Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea will each see the console before Japan. While it deos sound odd, it seems to make sense to me. Japan will see the release of the new Vita & the VitaTV this year before the Ps4 is released in February. With Sony waiting till then it gives consumers/retailers time to focus on the new Vita goodies and prevents the market from getting oversaturated. People would probably mistake the VitaTV as the new Playstation if they all launched together. Yes, people are that stupid. We still have people in the UK who think the WiiU is an add-on for the Wii.

 I also came across this article on Kokatu while looking for extra early snippets on TGS. Its a short article containing a excert from a book entitled 'Dreamcast Worlds'. Me & Andi are bothe extremely nostalgic when it concerns the Dreamcast so I implore you to have a read. Any new article concerning the Dreamcast is worthy of a read!

Any game news to speak of? Well theres a little. Anyone looking forward to TGS in the hope of seeing more of FFXV is going to be dissapointed as theres no plans for anythin new to be shown at TGS. Zip. Although there is talk of the director Tetsuya Nomura making an appearence in Sony's 'Conversations with creators' video. Will we get a tidbit of new info then? Probably not. Im not too fussed anyway. FFXIII still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and Kingdom Hearts 3 seems to be more intrigueing so Id rather see that (Although I am looking forward to FFX HD whenever it comes) FFXV probably wont release for another 3 years or so yet anyway so theres plenty of time for information lol Actually, on the subject of Final Fantasy...

Theres been news posted on Kotaku concerning a certain Final Fantasy Type-O. Heard of it? It was released back in 2011 for the PsP in Japan, but by then the PsP had started to wane here so its no wonder it wasn't localised for the west. The director recently spoke to USGamer concerning its sequel, which is to be localised, and the conversation obviously moved onto the PsP game. Here's a snippet -
With that caveat in mind, Tabata also stated that he sees Agito and Type 0 as companion titles, and that they're best enjoyed with one other. Therefore Tabata says he still hopes to bring Type 0 to the West via PlayStation Network, and while a complete localization hasn't been greenlit it's definitely in the final stages of planning. While quick to offer the same localization-is-not-a-guarantee-of-release caveats for Type 0 as for Agito, he made clear the fact that both fan enthusiasm for the game along with the changing portable market have caught the company's eye and renewed their interest in bringing it overseas.
So in reading that, its safe to assume that it may come eventually via digital means on PSN no doubt. Id snap up a copy if the price was right.

There is also a review up on PushSquare (not by me lol) for Final Fantasy XIV if of interest to you: LINK

 Interested in Soul Sacrifice Delta? Well you'll be pleased to know that new enemies are being created based on fairy tale characters. Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, the Three Little Pigs, and Snow White are already penned in but they will no doubt not look anything like they did when we were kids. There are also new spells n the like to be included and also a new 'neutral' option to the save/slave mechanic in the original. How will that work then!? No idea yet as information is still pretty thin on the ground. Hopefully learn more at TGS

There may not be a post tomorrow due to other commitments I have, so apologies in advance. IF I can I may do a retrospective of sorts. With it being so close to TGS there will no doubt be more snippets tomorrow so If there is I will do a nice bumper post of news on Friday. With TGS kicking off its business days on the 19th & 20th before moving onto public shows for the 21st & 22nd, I may not be doing a review this week and just focus on Tokyo Game show news. I purchased EDF 2017 Portable on the Vita yesterday so I may be looking into that for a review next though. Any announcements your hoping for at TGS? Let us know!

Breathe a sigh of relief, todays post is not about GTAV!

So. Today is the 17th September and that Overhyped and not-quite-as good-as-all-the-10/10-reviews-are-gonna-make-it-out-to-be GTAV is finally out. Its been sheer bliss for me sitting back and amusing myself at all those silly people going crazy for what is basically a refined GTAIV. Rockstar games stick to the same template afterall. So if your trying to escape all that GTA palava, Your safe here. Even though Andi is getting the game, Id hazard a bet he's probably more interested in carrying on with his Soul Hackers on 3DS & Kingdom Hearts 1.5 on Ps3. Im not buying the game myself yet. I may not even buy it at all! That kind of thinking would get me put in front of a firing squad in other gaming circles, but here we're all intelligent enough to not believe the hype. So, No GTA blog posts! Why would an Otaku gamers blog cover a game like that anyway? This snippet here is the only mention that damn games gonna get.

So what am I posting today? Well I thought Id take it easy and have a look through some release schedule lists for the EU and cherry pick a few games of interest to put in a list. While its by no means a definitive list and yes, some of the release dates are a little vague, It deos show what games I may be convering in the near future on this blog. Personally I was hoping for Hyperdimension Neptunia: Rebirth to be there somewhere, but its not due for release on Vita till the 31st October in Japan so we wont know about a western date, if there is one, till after then. Ive still yet to play the original due to it coming across as a tad too 'clunky' when Andi described it to me, so a remaster based on the Victory engine is going to be sweet! Plus with it being on the Vita I can play it anywhere! To the annoyance of others no doubt (teh hunni's!) Still, there are some fine games on this list. Also while compiling the list it got me thinking of how the blog is structured. At the moment posts just get posted and it could be about anything. Ive decided to structure my posts from now on like this:

• Monday - Friday: News, Previews & Retrospectives
• Saturday: No Post! (Unless theres some big news!)
• Sunday: Game Review! or Retrospective.

With having it structured like this it then gives me 2 days at the weekend to write up a review when I have one to do. My reviews tend to be a little in-depth and can take quite a while (3 hours+) to write-up and edit before posting. It also gives me a small break as writing on this blog all week can leave you fatigued a little. I do enjoy writing on this blog so it will be continuing for a good while yet. Anyway, Onto the lists:

3DS:
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (19 September 13)
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (19 September 13)
Rune Factory 4 (1 October 2013)
Shin Megami Tensei IV (Q3 2013)
AeternoBlade (Q3 2013)
Eterian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl (Q4 2013)
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (Q4 2013)
Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi (TBA 2013)
Bravely Default: For the Sequel (2014)
Senran Kagura Burst (Q1 2014)

Vita:
Dragon's Crown (11 October 2013)
Tearaway (22 November 2013)
Proteus (Autumn 2013)
Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse (Q4 2013)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD (Q4 2013)
Liege (Q1 2014)
Murasaki Baby (2014)
Rainbow Moon (2014)

Ps3:
Armored Core V: Verdict Day (27 September 2013)
Rain (2 October 2013)
Dragon's Crown (11 October 2013)
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (Autumn 2013)
Disgaea Dimensions 2: A Brighter Darkness (autumn 2013)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (Q3 2013)
Bound by Flame (Q4 2013)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD (Q4 2013)
The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki (TBA 2013)
BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (TBA 2013)
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (14 February 2014)
Dark Souls 2 (March 2014)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (Q1 2014)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Q1 2014)
The Witch and the Hundred Knights (Q1 2014)
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (Q1 2014)

A lot of vague release dates I know but hopefully with TGS just around the corner we'll have firmer dates plus more games to look in to. Its difficult trying to pull release dates from mainstream sites for games to be covered here due to the lack of coverage they get elsewhere. Theres also probably a few games Ive missed that are due within the next few months, apologies. I would also like to give Beyond: Two Souls a mention though. One of the games Ive been looking forward to the most this year! Not an Otaku game I know, but its still goin to be a great experience come launch next month. Any games here that tickle your fancy? Any you'd like us to have a more in-depth look at (like we did with Senran Kagura & EDF 2025)? Let us know in the comments or drop a tweet to either myself or Andi!

Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll Review

Indeed, this is not a new release. At the moment there isn't really anything in the pipeline for a review, although I may review some JRPG's that have seen a release this year and give them a fair crack of the whip. There's also SMT: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers for the 3DS that we are both going to be playing through. I think I'll leave reviewing duties for that to Andi if he is up to it seen as he's had a head start on me n Ive gotta wait till release day on Firday! The main problem is that IF the blog was to post a review for a newly released title, then it would be out of our pockets and so wouldn't come for at least a week or 2 after release. We are a small publication so we don't get royalties and free review copies early like the mainstream sites do from publishers. The upside to that is that you know we are going to be as honest as possible. Like you, We are also having to dig into our pockets for games. Otaku's reviewing Otaku games for Otaku gamers, thats what we are all about so no pandering from us or sucking up to the publishers. Just pure & honest opinions. While we await playability of new releases, is there anything you'd like us to have a look at that you feel recieved unfair treatment by mainstream websites? Let us know in the comments below OR hit us up on our Twitters n we'll see what we can do!

As with Project Diva F, Conclusion is posted here and the FULL review is posted to PushSquare. This time though both the review and blog post have gone live at the same time, so Enjoy!

Heres the Conclusion:
 So what can I say here? Well, I commend Omega Force for trying to create a JRPG for a western audience. The problem is that in doing so, the JRPG aspects of the title come across as being a little underdeveloped, especially the lack of a crafting system. At times the game comes across as unfocused and its structure suffers somewhat leaving it to feel a little repetitive. While I didn't like its art-style, the fantasy styling will appeal to those fond of Western RPG's without a doubt but its technical shortcomings should also be something to be cautious of. While it deos have its shortcomings, the combat system for Trinity is actaully really good, superb even. But alas, games are a complete package so even a few notable parts of greatness cannot stop the inevitible. While I can't say Id recommend this game, If you see it cheap (around £10/$10) you could do a lot worse. If your mindful of the shortcomings Ive pointed out then the combat system may be enough to keep you entertained and you could get some enjoyment from the game.

And heres the Link to the FULL review: Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll

Retrospective: Child of Eden

No blog post yesterday. I thought Id let the lyrical flow of Andi's Suda51 gospel sink in for everyone, plus I had spent the day having a chat with Andi at his place of work n by the time I got home I just wanted to relax. I ended up picking up a copy of Shadows of the Damned too so I could pick up on Suda's work seen as I hadn't played much of it since No More Heroes. So what am I posting today? Its another retrospective! I may do a few of these every now n again in between posts for upcoming games and reviews as its always good to take a look back at something. If reading one of these gets you interested in the game that's covered then hopefully you'll be able to grab a copy n try it yourself. Ill always try n cover a game that is fairly easy to find online at least. It would be unfair to cover something extremely rare on our shores. Today then I'll be looking at Child of Eden.

 

Story (Wikipedia)
The story of Child of Eden is revealed through the game's introduction. It focuses on a girl named Lumi who was the first human to be born in space, on 11th September 2019 aboard the International Space Station. Throughout her life, Lumi dreamt of visiting earth, conveying her feelings into song which she sent down to the people of the planet. When she died her body was preserved and her memories and data were recorded and archived. The story moves to humanity's advancement in space exploration, and the creation of a universal wide internet system called Eden. Eden is described as a fountain from which all knowledge flows, to those who have never set foot on earth, containing all of human history and knowledge. By the 23rd century scientists attempt to use Lumi's preserved data to create a living persona with eden itself, in an experiment called Project Lumi. As her recompiled persona emerges and awakens into Eden, she is attacked and trapped by an unknown computer virus. The objective of the player in Child of Eden is to save Project Lumi, which is near completion, from the virus attack. If finished, Project Lumi would reproduce a human personality in Eden, the artificial intelligence inside which Rez took place

With this game being the spiritual successor to a certain Rez, also acting as a prequal, on the Dreamcast (and a few consoles since) it also plays similar to its predecessar ie as an artistic on-rails shooter. Targets will come at you from all different directions and its your job to obliterate them. There are a couple of quirks to the gameplay though. Anyone coming from Rez will be instantly familiar with the prospect of painting up to eight targets before releasing the fire button and sending those lined up shots to the target. Doing this alonside the background music's 'beat' will unleash a Perfect shot that scores you more, a Good shot is also attainable should you almost hit that perfect timing. Some enemies will fire back at you and some are impervious to your normal attack. These require your secondary attack. Pretty much anything that is purple can be damaged by the secondary attack which consists of purple 'bullets'. This comes in handy during the boss battles especially as they tend to rain attacks down on you during their vulnerable moments. Boss battles are some of the best parts of the game with multiple layers of vulnerability that each need to be tactically dealt with while all manner of enemies vye for your attentions. When the levels end scores are tallied and stars are awarded which are needed to unlock other levels (5 in total: Matrix, Evolution, Beauty, Passion, and Journey) So, your typical on-rails shooter then. Where it differs is its superb artistic style that helps the game become more of a 'experience' in the best traditons of synthesia touched on by Tetsuya Mizuguchi with his work on Rez

 

Graphically the game is on another level to most due in no small part to its artistic vision. Its majestic, even awe-inspiring at times with some of the most superb designs for levels and characters on the Ps3. It really deos sell its synthesia experiance to you. The Genki Rockets soundtrack is also superb, then again I am a fan so I would say that but it fits the theme of the game (Rachel Rhodes as Lumi is quite delish too) Tetsuya Mizuguchi also works on Genki Rockets so its as close to a complete artistic vision as you'll see from a director. Its difficult to put into words how everything is arranged from a graphical standpoint as each module has its own visual theme. All I can suggets is a good long look at some screenshots. Also worthy of mention is in regards to the Ps3 version. While it was delayed, a 3D option was added. Playing Child of eden in 3D is one of the most definitive 3D experiences you can have. The added depth & dimensionality of the characters added by stereoscopic really brings the worlds to life. Theres also the odd moment where particles n the like look as though they are dancing before your eyes! Its quite surreal. A must for any owner of a 3D TV & a Ps3.

Personally I adore this game. Its been in & out of my collection for a while though due to its short play time (10-25 minutes to complete each of the 5 levels) I recently purchased it from CEX for £4. Yes, £4! While it is an incredibly cheap game, it deos seem to have got a tad more difficult of late to find so Id suggest if your interested to snap it up if you come across it. At less than £5 these days, Id be baffled as to why anyone could even end up being disappointed with this game. Considering the games we tend to have shoveled in our faces by the big publishers, artistic titles like these are few and far between and Child of Eden represents one of the best I have experienced. I hope you give it a go yourself someday.