Otaku Review: Criminal Girls (PsP)

With the popularity of the post on the Vita remaster still propping up part of the Popular Posts section these days even though it was published back on November the 8th, I thought Id have a look at the original PsP release. The Vita remaster looks to be an improvement, but just how much of an improvement does it need to be? Lets find out!

EDIT: We now have a review for Criminal Girls Invitation [HERE]

NISA Press Event announced

NISa have announced the time & date for their annual press event: February 13th at 6pm PST. That would make it about 2am for GMT meaning a late night viewing for the rest of our EU readers. Theres no live stream but that doesn't mean we won't get up to the minute news from the event to relay! The event will be used to announce new localisations.

Fairy Fencer F? Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth 1& 2? Planet Destroyer Black Heart? Disgaea 4 Return? Danganronpa 2? Zillions of Enemy X? Battle Princess Arcadia? and the list goes on & on. These press events from niche publishers tend to carry more weight around here than the big expo's so there's much to look forward to on the 13th. What about you? What are you hoping for? What would surprise you?

Save Icons & Bug Fixes for Disgaea: D2

Been having any issues with Disgaea D2? Bored of the same save icons? Well NISa have come to the rescue with a recently released patch that will be squashing bugs and adding a little something. Patch Notes -

 Patch Notes
- 22 new save icons
- Summer Greetings (1): No requirement for obtaining.
- Ending Images (4): Obtainable from the toy vending machine after clearing each ending.
- Preview Images (17): Obtainable from the toy vending machine after watching each preview.

Bug Fixes
- Fixed a freeze that occurred during skill animations.
- Fixed the window size of a warning message that pops up when the install data is corrupted.
- Fixed the activation of certain conversation flags after creating the maximum number of characters.
- Fixed an issue where Laharl’s (Prinny’s, during Prinny Day) HP becomes 1 when a stage is cleared and there are no more characters to dispatch in the Base Panel.
- Fixed an issue of the wrong voice playing when Maronauses her Confine skill with the English voices selected.
- Fixed audio issues during the Dark Assembly and Item Assembly

Is the patch something that you've been hoping for?

English Danganronpa trailer released

The surprising localisation of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc has got itself an English trailer in light of its immanent release. An intriguing title that's one to keep an eye on. Set for release on PSVita in February on the 11th (US) & the 14th(EU) Will you be spending your time on Valentines day sleuthing instead of smooching?

New Re:Birth 2 Sisters Generation Trailer

A new trailer has made its way onto the internet for the soon to be released (in Japan) Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 remake, Re:Birth 2 Sisters Generation. While Mk2 itself seemed to play fairly well to me, its been handed a remaster as the original was using improvements & mechanics from Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. The trailer does a good job of detailing those new additions, but its unfortunately in entirely Japanese. Still, the game is looking good for the Vita. With a launch in Japan on 20th March, who else is holding out for a localisation?

FFXIII retrospective trailer

Ever wondered what a 16-bit FFXIII would be like? For those curious, Square Enix have launched a retrospective trailer in anticipation of Lightning Returns. The trailer takes on a 16-bit style and recaps the events from the previous 2 releases in the FFXIII saga up to the latest that's due for release next month. Its actually a really well done trailer which will no doubt delight long-time fans of the Final Fantasy series.

Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy Japanese trailer

Arc System Works are well known for their zany BlazBlue fighter series, what happens when they give the ARPG genre a go? Well Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy of course! An offbeat cast of a transforming hero, mecha piloting girl, gunslinger & a masked wrestler to play as will no doubt have some out there already intrigued. This latest trailer is entirely in Japanese, as the title itself has still not been announced for a localisation yet. Still its worth a look to see how things play out, plus the Vita could do with a few more ARPG's so it may be one to import if nothing on the localisation front pops up. Due for release at the tail end of 2013, a delay means Japan will now now see the title at some point in Spring 2014. Does it have your interest?

English Freedom wars trailer

Well guys, this is some good news. Sony released an English trailer of Freedom wars today. This means localization is closer than we think. I think that Sony will announce this game is coming this year to the Playstation vita in the west. Hopefully i'm right!

Enjoy the trailer below

New EDF: 2025 Trailer

Namco Bandai Games EU have released a new trailer for EDF: 2025 entitled 'Call the EDF!'. An epic trailer, showing off the games expanded class system, weaponry, improved graphics & destruction while managing to look just as fun as 2017. If upon viewing this trailer you still aren't enticed into giving the series a try, you may never be. With the game already pre-ordered and awaiting launch for review by ourselves, who else will be joining us on the frontlines? Release is currently set for February 21st on Xbox360 & Ps3.

Noire spin-off & its Resident Evil parody

Planet Destroyer Black Heart just continues to pile on the amusing parody characters. With an article not too long ago from ourselves detailing some amusing additions to the roster, Dengeki have managed to reveal another. The latest is blatantly obvious. The Umbrella styled parachute & gas mask will instantly bring Resident Evil to the forefront of your thoughts. My interest for this spin-off continues to grow as the parody characters continue to be announced. Dengeki PlayStation will have an article on the Vita SRPG which will hopefully give us even more information! The game looks to be making steady progress towards its May 29th release in Japan. What parody characters are you hoping for?

The Witch & The Hundred Knight gameplay footage

The Witch and the Hundred Knight is still a little ways off from release so NISa have decided to shared a gameplay clip from the game. The clip only runs for just over 30 seconds but should serve as a nice teaser for those waiting for the release here. Considering the game has been out for a while in Japan now, not much information seems to have made its way to our shores of late. Lets hope that's not a bad sign. With the game due on March 21st (EU) & March 25th (US) theres still some time to go for new information. I'm wondering if any information will be shared on the supposed Vita version that was mentioned at the announcement of this game? Probably not. Is the game on your radar?

Otaku Review: Strike Witches Hakugin no Tsubasa (PsP)

Todays Otaku Review is for a game that started out on the Xbox360 before finding its way to Sony's PsP. Normally when people come across games for anime's, they tend to be along the lines of RPG's or Visual Novels. Today's game is Strike Witches: Hakugin no Tsubasa (Strike Witches: Silver Wing), a bullet-hell shmup based on the popular series. With it taking a different gameplay route than the usual fare, how well does it perform?

Monster Hunter 4 coming to the west!

 

Announced yesterday as part of a special Monster Hunter event. A western launch date of 2015 was announced for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.

Ultimate is the standard version of 4 with the added extras from the also recently announced Monster Hunter 4 G. The game will launch at some point in 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS. 

Adding more options than ever to hunt monsters and vastly improved land traversal it's shaping up to be the premier hunting game once again.  

Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z Review

Here we are! My latest review and for a new release title aswell!. I have been hard at "work" on this title trying my hardest to write a review and have it as honest and informative as possible in the limited time frame I have been given. This is just due to the fact we don't get sent review copies and thus we have to wait until release and buy the game out of our own pocket, with some titles this isn't possible.

As pretty much a raging Dragon Ball fan boy in my younger years I have always held a soft spot for the adventures of Goku & the mostly redundant (especially after the Frieza saga!) Z Warriors. I was in two minds to get this title even after playing the demo I had downloaded from the PSN store. Want to know how it turned out? read on!.

The first thing you'll notice when you launch the game is certain attention to detail around menus and the like. The game starts with Goku shouting "People of earth! Share your energy with me!" something fans of the series should well remember!. From then you have Options & Mission mode unlocked (you unlock a further two menus once you have finished the tutorial). 

Options is the usual menu it is in all games, sound & visual changes and the like, it also features dual audio for the people who like to play with the native language. Something I am usually a fan of but being born & raised on the dub makes it difficult to handle. There is also a meter showing how much World Energy has been shared with Goku, it's a mystery as to what happens when it is full but it's still a nice little touch. 

Mission mode is where you'll be spending most of your time, my issue with this first of was that it's a pain to navigate!. It'll take you a good 5 to 10 minutes to get a feel for it and figure out where everything is. It does have the Dragon Ball aesthetic so I do have to give it bonus points for that, it looks as if you were looking into a Scouter. This menu is where you launch the missions based off the manga/anime. Alongside the usual story mode you have missions where you play as the villains e.g Vegita & Nappa vs Z Warriors.
This doesn't affect the route at all and are all meant to be tackled, it's just a nice little addition for fans of the darker Dragon Ball characters. Alongside that is Another Age, this is basically a fun bunch of What If? challenges for example beat 100 Saibamen with a team of your choice. 

Also in this menu is your card collection, for the collectors of the world they have included a card system into this title. You unlock cards either by missions,battling online or buy buying them from the in game store with Dragon Points or the rarer cards with Prestige Points. This is where alot of people will spend a huge amount of time, tailoring their character to make them play exactly how they want them to. I would be lying if I said I had no interest in collecting the cards, as with any good system like that I have become almost fixated on getting the best cards and applying them to my favourite fighters. 

The mission layout is pretty simplistic but suits the general feel of the game. Following the basic plot set by Dragon Ball Z you proceed to battle various bad guys of the universe all shapes and sizes. The cutscenes and script are kept to a minimum so fans will know where they are up to but people new to the series will have no idea what is going on a majority of the time!. Before you set off into a mission you need to pick your Z Warriors. The drawback of this is due to it working within the Saga structure of the series only some characters are available some of the time. This is a massive blow should you want a mixed team of Good/Bad to take on various story challenges. 

Once you have picked your team you hit the field, they are brilliantly done in this game and generally feel like a joy to battle on. Destruction is apparent and few mountains or trees will be left standing after an all out war of Ki & Melee. This brings me to how it controls!.
Due to the team based structure of the game, every character has a certain role, for example Goku is a Melee character. This means he is a hand to hand combat expert and has various ways of breaking down people's guard. You also have Ki specialists, these guys are your projectile throwers, designed to keep the heat on a foe at a reasonable distance while your Melee character swoops in to follow up for huge damage outputs. Interference is good for stopping Ki & Melee attacks leaving the foe wide open for damage & Support are your back up helping to maintain your energy and health levels. 

Combos are simple to pull off as it's a matter of hitting the attack button, there is an art to guard cancelling but it's a far cry from Budokai & Tenkaichi's combo system. There is a bigger emphasis on strategy and teamwork. Some people will see this as boring, myself I learnt quickly how fun the game with this set up could be & how something like this hasn't really been done with the licence. It's a more strategic battle party game in a way, a pick up and play brawler with team work emphasis. 

Over 70 characters from Dragon Ball Z to unlock, though I do have to point out that due to no fusion or Transforming mid match it counts all the different fusions and transformations of characters. It also like most sources disregards GT all together but this is to be expected due to it only saying Z in the title. It features characters & the newly created Super Saiyan God transformation from the latest film "Battle Of The Gods". Die hards will be pleased to see these additions, the only issue is the film is yet to launch outside of Japan so some people will be a little confused as to why Goku has gone red & is fighting a Pudding obsessed purple cat. 

Online for this title is be pretty good with the multiplayer teamwork gameplay system, the only issue with this is that with the less popular titles even at launch there isn't too many people playing online & those I had tried it with had less than stable connections. Hopefully it'll take off in the coming weeks & I will try to add an update on here with how it has played out. 

A huge issue I have to point out with this title is that there is no exhibition mode!. I understand they have mission mode but not every angle is covered in there and thus there is no way to create an ultimate dream match up war. This unfortunately does damage the title as hole as it's a huge thing to overlook and cuts the re-playability down by a significant amount. My hope is that it'll be patched in or offered as free DLC at a hopefully not so later date. Should this happen I will re adjust my score appropriately.

I am having a huge amount of fun with this title & at the end of the day it's why I play games, it's sadly not the strongest Dragon Ball title and does have it's flaws. AI drastically needs improving for the next title if it follows this style, it just isn't responsive enough to cater to the battle madness & you are often left in the cold by your support. All in all as many issues as there are I can't help but continue to give the game more of my time, it has a fun addictive "One more go" quality about it that I can't help but feel it's justified my purchase. 

With this in mind I will be awarding Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z 

7/10

"Fun title with a few huge flaws knocking it far from god status. Fans only apply" 

  

Update: Freedom wars fight your way to freedom

Thanks to Gematsu translation some new information emerged. The goal of the game is to earn your freedom by fighting in the war against other Panopticon ( City nations). Why are you fighting for your freedom? because from the day you are born you are sentenced to 1000.000 years of service for the panopticon. The reason before this is that since the day you are born you are wasting resources. This is a sin. To repay this you have to fight for your freedom.

Interesting huh? The more i read about this game the more i want it. Good thing a demo is incoming and the game contains English subtitles.Furthermore, there are a ton of details ( Also thanks to gematsu) on the newly opened Hong Kong website. The details are below:

The Charter of Panopticon

This represents the people of Panopticon.

Experiments of men throughout history have led to the violence between nations which ultimately result in their destruction. This eventually led to the disintegration of countries and people show their sorrow of defeat. However, this does not mark the end of men as they are determined to find answers of their destiny. The city state of Panopticon is the symbol of men’s reconstruction of the pyramid, an example of how people’s government should evolve through the challenge of time.

The city state of Panopticon is an artificial nation which brings great efficiency and comfort to its people, providing a full system of security as well. This system forms the root of the society, in which all people of Panopticon are a part of and obligated to show their support. Under the leadership of the central headquarter, all men of Panopticon shall make contribution to their home state. In return, the state shall promise a fair distribution of rights and resources to its people. For the first time in human history, people have finally reached an ideal society of true equality and mark the beginning of prosperity.

To all people of Panopticon: Before us there is no nation, and no nation behind us. Let us proceed to our hopes and dreams under the noble ideas of Panopticon.

A Story for “Freedom”

In near future, the world will become an unlivable land for all living creatures. For this reason, people have built cities called “Panopticon” at various locations of the world for survival. However due to a severer lack of resources and an undesirable living environment, these cities start to conflict with each other. In order to effectively rule the people of Panopticon, most people are put into sentence.

The Sins for Living: “Sentence for One Million Years”

Those who are placed under sentence are called “Criminals” and they are forced into strict labor. This kind of labor is known as “volunteer” for war. For the sake of their freedom, these “Criminals” have to continue to “recapture” civilians from the war zone.

War

To steal from each other ≒ To save each other

Characters

Person of felony – The “Criminal” – The Criminals are those who belong to the city of Panopticon imprisoned for one million years upon birth. They are forced into “volunteer” in order to reduce their sentence and regain their freedom. Their sentence is indicated with the philosophy that people are wasting resources upon their birth, so their existence is a form of crime. Therefore, under the PT law those who are born in Panopticon are automatically labeled as “Criminal” and sentenced for one million years in prison. The lives of criminals are put under complete surveillance while having limited and unreasonable rights. However, they are granted with more guarantees for going into battles. This then becomes the only way to reduce jail time and the reason for them to “continue” to fight. In the long run, the inexperienced Criminals eventually develop into veterans. The player will become one of the Criminals and join into war for volunteering for freedom. The player can choose the gender and the appearance of their character.

Surveillance ≒“Accessory” of the Crime – Accessories – They are the androids that act as surveillance and partner for players as being Criminals. This android is given by Panopticon mainly for surveillance purposes, at the same time serving as a “Portable Unit” and a “Carrying Weapon”. Every act of the player is under surveillance in Panopticon, and the player has to obey the Panopticon’s orders conveyed by the android by all means. During the volunteer battles, the android serves as a trustworthy weapon and partner, as well as a communication window for contribution after the war is over. Every act of the player is under surveillance in Panopticon, and the player has to obey the Panopticon’s orders conveyed by the android by all means. During the volunteer battles, the android serves as a trustworthy weapon and partner, as well as a communication window for contribution after the war is over. The android can be customized in the game. Features including face, hair style, costume, AI, words of expression and voice can all be adjusted. This data can also be exchanged with other users.

The valiant veteran – Uwe “Sakamoto” Cabrera (CV: Nakata Jouji) – The brave warrior who constantly fights to contribute to the society of PT. He has guided many Criminals and the protagonist is one of them, helping them to realize their freedom.

The frienly shaz – Mattias “Leo” Bruno (CV: Akira Ishida) – He is a new criminal having the same perspective as the protagonist, being a friend and a rival at the same time. Since he is in the same situation as the protagonist, he looks out for the protagonist and counsel with him/her often. Although he does have a bad past record, he is a direct and trustworthy guy who won’t say no to requests.

A mysterious girl guiding the protagonist – Aries M (CV: Yumi Hara) – The mysterious girl who appears before the protagonist at times. It is like a dream world whenever she appears. So what is her purpose? From where and how does she appear?

The fight of “Law and Order of Panopticon”- Natalia “9″ Woo (CV: Yuu Asakawa) – The executor for the PT law and order. The captain of the 35th Social Security Group of the Investigation Committee. She is a firm believer in the ideals of the PT top supreme and act according to the law by all means. Although she appears to be a cold female officer, deep inside she is an affectionate emotion hoping to protect those dear around her.

Propa-kun – The official PT mascot. It is designed in a way that the PT central can deliver their messages in a softer tone and manner. Most of the messages and orders will be delivered through this character in the form of “requests”. In order to show how important this character is, all other mascots are strictly forbidden at PT. So if people mention anything relating to a mascot, it refers to this character. The official description from PT: “He is a good boy wishing nothing but the best for all. Today he is guiding us with kind words as usual!”

Burn Your Life in the Dead Place

Volunteer takes place at various locations. The use of high speed thorn is restricted at desert containing few buildings and obstacles, so this leads to up front battles.

Break the Cage

The living weapon of “Artificial Abductor” is the result of advanced technology and it can serve multiple purposes. Some of such purposes include acting as a “Transportation Vehicle” for civilians. It is capable of riding up to 3 people.There are multiple cages for the Criminals to break in order to recapture the civilians.

Depending on the type of “volunteer” and Abductors, more than 2 civilians can be transported at the same time.

Full Monitoring Prison Cell

It is the only private space given to the Criminals. It will be under complete surveillance with no exceptions.

Since the Criminal is under constant surveillance, there is no privacy. The Accessory will be monitoring the Criminal at all times. Criminals with a higher level of information rights (code) are given a better room.

The city buildings are constructed with designs for effective management of resources in the time of deprivation. It is a form of city ecology and a system for a complete control of people. People scattered throughout the earth start to gather together in building the PT structures only to result in later conflicts with each other.

Law Street: The Banned Social Area

This place contains more space in order to connect individual rooms together in Panopticon. The stairs connect levels of the building containing the separate rooms. The rooms are also designed for easy surveillance. The inner walls of Panopticon are specially made with a large display broadcasting propaganda from the central PT. Surveillance can see through the walls and carry out a strict control.

The street is wide enough to allow large Abductors to pass through. It is also a resting spot for Criminals who are permitted to go outside but they are still under complete watch.

The Jail Metropolis of Panopticon

The city buildings which are constructed with designs for effective management of resources in the time of deprivation.The Panopticon laws have become absolute in order to implement a complete resource control.

This law system is formed in the history of men and the number laws are countless. This system also forms the root of the Panopticon society.People around the world have created various Panopticon states and imprisoned a large number of Criminals only for use of conflicts in war. The Criminals will continue to carry out their volunteer labor in order to recapture their freedom.

More than 1 Hundred Million Criminals

In modern days, there are currently more than 6 million people in jail; but there are more than 1 hundred million people now serving as “Criminal” in this world.

A Surveillance Society

There are countless surveillance cameras in this world. The men wearing goggles signifying having some kind of authority since they are feared by people on the streets.

“Abductor” for Recapture

These large living weapons are called “Abductors” by the Panopticon people. Various types of Abductors are developed as weapons.

Thorn

Thorns are equipped on the left arms of the Criminals. The Criminals have the ability to make thorns stretch out and draw back and move themselves to various places. There are various types of thorns and their functions will change with development and enhancement.

People who are “captured”, People who are “rescued”

Civilians – They are the technicians who are maintaining and developing the cities of Panopticon. Panopticon cities start to conflict with each other, capturing civilians from each other, due to having advanced technologies. The Criminals join the volunteer labor in order to rescue the civilians.

Accessory – Accessory is the achievement of high technology of Panopticon, so it also becomes a target for Abductors to capture. The Criminals have to rescue them immediately if they are captured during volunteer missions.

Player – The defeated Criminals will be captured by the Abductors. This will mean the fail of mission so players will need to cooperate with each other in order to clear the volunteer event.

Civilians Being Resources

The goal of the Abductors is to capture civilians. How will they capture them? How will the Criminals go against these Abductors?

Weapon

Weapons are sorted by the range of distance, in which further divided into various small and large swords, rifle and gatling, ect..

The Sins for Being Alive

The new born baby is shown with “1 million” on the forehead. This number shows that the baby is under the control of Panopticon and the years in sentence.

Cut and Destroy

The Abductors can be destroyed by using weapons for close range. The Criminals can get a close on to the Abductors by using the thorns and destroy them by using special attacks.

“Death” awaits for those who don’t fight

The destructive power of the Abductors can be tremendous and their goal is to capture civilians. The player can be killed in a single blow.

The Multi-Action of “Recapture”

The genre of “Freedom War” is “recapture” multi-play action. There can be a connection of up to 8 players using the Ad-Hoc or Infrastructure mode. The player can enjoy cross fights against large “Abductors” with multiple users. The focus of gameplay is the “recapture” goal of the missions. In other words, this is a game with the motive of “defeat the enemies to rescue the civilians and help each other out at the same time”. The player can enjoy the sensation of “cooperating with fellow comrades in cutting large enemies into pieces” too!

The War Began

Feel the adrenaline as the volunteer mission starts. What kind of power does the enemies have this time? For freedom, life and death of volunteer awaits. The mission starts with 4 Criminals along with each of their Accessories, making it a total member of 8. The Criminals head into the war zone as volunteer begins. This time the mission is on the city streets. The volunteer missions will take place at various locations.

Fly

The Criminals can fly with their thorns equipped on the left arms, even when having large heavy gatling along with them.The thorn has the ability for shooting attacks and for high speed transportation.

Various attacks will become available by making a good use of it.

Enemy Details

Get a grasp on the geography of the battle field by looking at the map display. It is important information for accomplishing the volunteer mission.

Impenetrable Shield

The bullets of rifle and gatling are somehow blocked by a kind of energy. This Abductor is equipped with a gear that blocks attacks from long distance.

Abductor

Encounter the Abductors in hiding by proceeding into the battle field. Other Criminals on stand by hidden at the top of rough abolished buildings have confirmed the locations of the Abductors. Another Abductor soon appears behind the target. For this mission, the Criminals must battle 2 Abductors to recapture the civilians. It is assumed that battling multiple Abductors during the volunteers ahead is inevitable.

Power to Lose Everything of the World The Abductors have the power to take the lives of the Criminals in a single blow. Pay close attention to the attacks from the Abductors!

Assault 

Close in the distance with the Abductors by using the thorn and attack them with a single blow.

By utilizing the ability of the thorn, high speed in closing up the distance with height difference is possible.

Attack

A close up weapon is more effective in attacking this Abductor. Attack it using various weapons.

Damage

It is “death” for those who are careless.

Arrest

Distract the Abductors by attacking them with the thorns. Movements from the Abductors can be blocked by using multiple thorn attacks from multiple Criminals at the same time. An upper attack of close up range is also possible by using the flying ability of the thorn.

Destroy

Distract the Abductors, making strong attacks to damage their parts. By focusing on separate parts, they can be brought down for a chance of a critical blow. In order to destory Abductor’s hard outer shields, the Criminals have to use weapons with cutting abilities in order to cut the parts off.

The War is Never Over, Even if You Capture Them

While the Abductors are temporarily brought down, it is the chance to rescue the civilians from the cage and run for an escape.However, once the Abductors are back in control it will start to attack again in order to capture the civilians back.The Criminals can successfully complete the volunteer mission only by carrying the civilians in their arms and make for a desperate escape.

Fight for Freedom

Besides the “Criminal” (Criminal = Player) and Surveillance ≒ “Accessory” of the Crime who are now open for public, characters including the valiant vetern, Uwe “Sakamoto” Cabrera and the mysterious girl Aries M who guides the protagonist are also introduced. “People are sentenced for a million years for their sins of living.” While the protagonist (player) fights in the continuous “volunteer” to seek freedom, he/she will encounter trustworthy comrades such as Uwe, and meets Aries M the character who appears at times to give hints.The story of “Freedom Wars” is about to begin with surveillance control, friends, happiness from the jail metropolis of Panopticon, and last but not least the sentence of 1 million years from the player character. Be prepared to seek freedom by encountering various characters, fight and overcome obstacles.

Drag Down by Thorns

One of the key features of “Freedom Wars” is the use of “thorns”. Thorns are equipped on the Criminals as special weapons given by Panopticon. Each Criminal is equipped with a thorn and 2 weapons during their volunteer mission. When confronting giant living weapons of Abductors, bring them down by combining the force of thorn attacks from multiple Criminals. The thorn attacks can also be used to block the movements of the Abductors.

For more screenshots and information go to: 

http://asia.playstation.com/Minisite/hk/freedomwars/en/

Thanks Gematsu!

Demon Gaze Release date EU & NA

Demon Gaze is a Playstation Vita dungeon crawler which already been released in Japan. It sold very well for a niche game. The game will be released in North America on 22th of April and an European release on the 25th of April. There will be a physical release. The special edition is a thing of beauty !

The limit editions includes:
- Demon Gaze for the playstation vita
- Single disk orginal soundtrack with jewel box
- Collector's box

Freedom wars Gameplay & some information

Tapei Game show brings us some awesome gameplay of the Playstation vita exclusive Freedom wars. Freedom wars is a 8 player hunting game which can be called in the same breath as Soul sacrifice and Toukiden: Age of demons. As i mentioned in other articles this is a game which i look forward to. This isn't your typical Monster Hunter game because you have to save instead of killing the abductors. I think this mechanic can only work when you work together. If you are forced to play toghether the game becomes far more interesting in my opinion. Interesting about the video above is that the subtitels are in English. While there is no word of a localization this could mean the game can be released sooner than we thought. Furthermore, the game will be released in the summer in Japan and there will be a demo. So, please have an extra memory card and a Japanese account because we may play this game sooner than you think.

Gust releases opening movie Ar no Surge

Gust has just released the opening movie of Ar no Surge for Playstation 3. It's beautiful isn't it? Ar no Surge is releasing in Japan on March 6. No word ofcourse of a western release.

Lightning Returns Demo Impressions

When loading the demo you are greeted with a fantastic display of CG. Always a bit where SE provide a master class and this is no exception. 

I'm not going to go into story specifics to avoid spoilers for myself and you readers. After the intro you are given an in-depth tutorial on the new battle systems. Personally I'm really enjoying it, it's along the lines of the systems used in Tales of games. You have a meter which lowers when you perform a move & builds back up over time, you need to judge and anticipate to get the best out it.

Complimenting that the new costume system is fantastic. Works along the lines of the Dress Sphere system in FF X-2, this means that different costumes grant you a different set of abilities. It's a fantastic fusion of X-2 and the Paradigm system. 

This also changes your defence, some costumes guard, others dodge and some even have counterattack abilities, it's down to you to figure out what works best for you. Staggering also returns and largely works in the same way. Only major difference is rather than a bar it's shown as a Pulse of electric (or lightning!) through the enemies name. To help speed it along attack weaknesses and attack when it's vulnerable to help dispose of your foe and hit the 5 star mark.

The setting looks like a fantastic mix of fantasy and futuristic, a heavily populated city awaits you to explore every inch. Lightning' character model is very impressive and possibly her best looking yet! Snow also makes an appearance and also looks improved upon from XIII-2.

The demo & full game uses the internet through a feature called Outerworld. This basically allows you to upload pictures to Twitter/Facebook for bragging rights. You can also use it to leave people messages and items in games ala Dark Souls/Demon. These show up through various NPCs in the game. Honestly I didn't use this feature much as I was more focused on the battle system and general gameplay feel. As I'll be reviewing the full game at a later date I'll have a better grasp of that system then.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with Lightning Returns and will be returning to the demo a few more times before the release of the full game. As someone who didn't enjoy XIII but loves XIII-2 I'm quite excited to see just where this lands but I have a feeling from this demo it could be the best of the XIII Trilogy