Archive for August, 2009

These scans show the actual names of 2 of the villains of FF XIII. One we had thought her name Jill is Jihl Nabaat. And the other is Yaag Rosch, Naabat’s subordinate. Also pics of Lightning with Odin in his Gestalt Mode. It will be nice to see how all of this finally comes together. And perhaps we’ll finally get to see what the other 2 characters, Sazh and Vanille have as their Summons. Ifrit, Carbuncle, and Siren have been pictured. But no one knows in what capacity they will be used. The Tokyo Game Show is September 24-27. And Square Enix is not showing anything Final Fantasy related except FF XIII. So we can look forward to lots of news.

This video is 21 minutes long. It premiered on Spike TV last night. It has  been some time since there have been a TV launch party. Arkham Asylum is looking to be one of the most entertaining pieces in video games this year. After watching the show I am even more sure that Batman is a must have. And for the fans. Paul Dini the writer of nearly all the Batman The Animated Series has written the game. Every villain, henchman, gadget and wing of Arkham have been handled perfectly. Kevin Conroy returns from Batman TAS to voice the Dark Knight as well as Mark Hamilton to voice the Joker. Arkham Asylum is no doubt the best Batman game to date. And may be a candidate for game of the year. Batman Arkham Asylum hits stores everywhere today.

Besides that fact that this has been big talk since the Dark Knight came out. And that Leonardo DiCaprio is the star. I have no clue what this movie is about. And the trailer doesn’t help too much either.

Over nine minutes. This review will have you running to Gamestop if you haven’t preordered it.

James Cameron proves that he is one of the few marvels left in Hollywood. This movie is a great achievement on all fronts. After the trailer was over I could have sworn I saw an Xbox achievement pop up. All Sci fi writers and movie directors just got punked. It’s time for Hollywood to step it up.

For this weeks GameCom Square Enix has brought news but no official pic or footage. Well not for those that weren’t present in Germany. Obviously the continued withholding of information is due only to the last game show of 2009. The Tokyo Game Show. I know I keep talking about this. This show besides E3 is very big for Japan. Because, hey it is in Japan. Kojima Productions, Square Enix, Namco, Sony, and Nintendo will bring out their big guns for this. Time is very essential in the world of video games. Five weeks of grinding will yield some pretty wild results. Any way here is the “news” from Games Com.

This news was delivered from director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Katase. Through a brief demo new fighting mechanics were revealed. As well as new characters and the games development status.

Game Mechanics: A new part of the battle system was shown. This is called the “Paradigm Shift” system. This enables players to change the “stance” or settings of the characters in your party to best suit the situation of battle. Three of the possible settings include Overwhelm, Aggression, and Peacemaker. This was added to bring more strategy and depth to the battle mechanics. Lightning showed off more of her abilities with the Odin summon. His “Gestalt mode”, which is an armored horse that can be ridden the same as Snow riding the Shiva motor cycle. Lightning wields Odin’s sword when he is in Gestalt mode. You input commands for direct actions. Making it feel more like and action game.

Game Status: The English voice over work is complete. Still though there is no word of dual language option planned for the US version. The PS3 version of FF XIII is 90% complete. Where as the Xbox 360 version is 70% complete.

New Characters: Two new characters were shown (no pics). First a girl with a silver blond ponytail, wearing what seems to be a school girl uniform. A white top, with a pink pleated skirt. The second is a very nice surprise. Sazh’s little son. It’s great to have another African American in FF XIII. Hopefully both these characters are playable.

Other News: One character seen in the latest trailer from E3 has been identified. Her name is Lieutenant Colonel Jill Nabato. And I would take it that she is a nemesis to the FF XIII crew. (I just can’t hep myself. Jill Nabato looks a bit similar to Agrias Oaks from Final Fantasy Tactics. Well, maybe it’s just me. They do look alike though.) Also we may be getting a demo of FF XIII. If we do it will be different from the Japanese demo. And downloadable. No Disc.  Final Fantasy XIII will definitely be making it’s release for Spring 2010.

Jill Nabato: Final Fantasy XIII

Agrias Oaks: Final Fantasy Tactics

The First Person Shooter genre is being overwhelmed. Borderlands brings a great 4 player co-op, and role playing elements to the genre. The cell shaded art gives the game a whole different feel to it. If they had stayed with the original style of the game, Borderlands would have most likely  ended up with Bioshock and many other games. These games are now competing for spots in the first quarter of 2010. Borderlands is going to rock. And I can’t wait for some crazy co-op fun.