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PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 28
Finally, after a long E3-related hiatus, PSP Fanboy Theatre is back with an all new edition. Every weekend, PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com. Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.) New for PSP: Get selected videos delivered automatically to your PSP via our new RSS feed. Resident Evil 5 [PS3, 360] Download MP4 (20.2MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: Bladestorm (PS3, 360), Call of Duty 4 (PS3, 360), Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3, 360), Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP), High Velocity Bowling (PSN)
Bladestorm demo coming July 30th to Japanese PS Store
You've wanted it, we know. In fact, compared to all the releases headed our way this fall, you've seriously been considering dropping all your other desires to focus on Koei's hack-n-slash, map-traveling, awkward guitar-riffing Bladestorm. Our sarcasm may be dripping, but our mouths are only a bit wet. Sure, we'll be glad to see a demo of Bladestorm hit the Japanese PlayStation Store next week, but it's really not our highest priority. These games truly are "love 'em or hate 'em" but we'll admit -- they are a guilty pleasure. Sometimes you don't want to face off against some twitch-gamer online, or think about a tactical move, or listen to some poorly executed dialogue in a cliched story about warring kingdoms. Sometimes you just want to plow the hell through several hundred troops. That's exactly what we'll be doing on July 30th. Bladestorm, we can't wait to shut our minds off and give you our attention. So long as we're done playing Heavenly Sword's demo.
Curious to see more Bladestorm screenshots?
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War is basically "Dynasty Warriors in Europe". We've got a few reasons why you should care, but they're not exactly the most logical. First, the game features a number of faintly recognizable Western heroes/legends which is a nice change from the poorly pronounced Cao Pi and others from the DW franchise. It's hard to mess up Joan of Arc. Second, it's a proven formula for mindless fun! Hacking through hundreds of warriors is tough to pass up, even for a few fleeting moments of feeling like the king of the universe. With the move onto the PS3, even if the gameplay formula doesn't get spiced up a whole lot, you can expect the fog of war to vanish completely and have the Cell handle a lot of separate enemy AI functions at the same time. Less mindless soldiers standing in front of you is a change we would welcome.With that in mind, check out the screenshots and give Bladestorm a chance. Maybe Koei won't get it perfect, but it's almost a guarantee we'll have a lot of characters to beef up through a plethora of battlefields in addition to some extra modes that have yet to be disclosed. We've got to admit, against our better judgment, that we are in fact excited for this game.
Koei's 2007 release lineup, UK style!
We'll cut to the chase here -- the following are the releases planned by Koei for the UK audience in 2007. They've got titles for pretty much every console, including their entry into the Wii market. List, sha-bam! Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Soulless Army (PS2, April 27) G1 Jockey Wii (Wii, June) Dynasty Warriors: Fighters Battle DS (DS, Q3) Orochi Warriors (PS2 and X360, October) Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War (PS3 and X360, Q3) Prey The Stars (DS, Q3) Fatal Inertia (PS3 and X360, Q3) Not only is SMT:DS-RKvTSA one of the craziest, longest, most aggravating titles to say (especially when someone asks "hey, what're you playing?"), it's coming out pretty late for you guys. If you're an Atlus fan, snatch it up because they only produced about seven copies here in the US. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Bladestorm and Fatal Inertia seem to be pushed back again, into the third quarter. Hmm. Perhaps they're perfecting the AI of the groups of people we'll undoubtedly slice through in the former?
Koei's chief executive resigns... maybe this is why.
Our reasoning behind Kiyoshi Komatsu's resignation is pretty simple: he was tired of doing the same thing over and over and over and over, but the rest of Koei disagreed. They alienated him at work, egged his car, stole his milk money and whatever else people can do to be good old-fashioned jerks. So, he decided he couldn't take it anymore and said he was resigning because of "personal reasons". Sound about right?Replacing Komatsu is Kenji Matsubara, a man who joined the company in 2001. While his expertise has mainly been concentrated in online content as well as mobile phone titles, he's excited enough to take over and lead Koei on the path to ultimate glory.What I found interesting was that Koei was established in 1978. That's a long time ago! Especially to sit around and work on the same period in Chinese history. But, we'll soon see how they handle the Hundred Years War.
Some Bladestorm screens to get you pumped
It's a guilty pleasure of many "intelligent" gamers -- those games that let you shut your mind down, mash your face against your controller and pull off a series of moves resulting in satisfying cries of death from less-than-responsive AI opponents. We've talked about Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War before and you should know the premise by now. You take the role of one of a number of European characters who may or may not have been in the war and... unleash havoc via Dynasty Warriors standards.What we hope has been improved in this next-gen iteration for the 360 and PS3 is an increased on-screen character count. Too often did officers just vanish in the PS2 Dynasty Warriors games because there were so many peons floating around doing nothing at all. Except dying. You know what? These new screens seem to indicate just that. Take a look and enjoy. Maybe online play would spark some life into this guilty pleasure. Imagine that!
Koei's Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm to miss Euro PS3 launch
Two of Koei's most notable PS3 games (particularly notable for not being Dynasty Warriors) have been delayed in Europe until Summer 2007. The developer has opted to miss out on the Euro PS3 launch, instead spending some more time on polishing futuristic racer, Fatal Inertia, and non-futuristic hack 'n slasher, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War.No indication was given whether the delay affects the Xbox 360 versions.
Release dates for Fatal Intertia and BLADESTORM (why all caps, Koei?)
This news is coming straight from Koei's mouth and into your eyes as you read this post (eww). Again, we're continuing our strand of European-centric news as these release dates relate to Europe, but can probably be understood to entail North America as well. Summer of 2007 will see the release of both BLADESTORM and Fatal Inertia. Not sure why Koei has the caps lock on for the first title.Just in case you were wondering, Fatal Inertia is a futuristic racing game (not unlike F-Zero), except with a multitude of weaponry to assist in taking out the competition (not unlike Mario Kart). It should be pretty fun and we've got to hand it to Koei for finally stepping out of the "giant historical war" genre. Speaking of giant historical wars, BLADESTORM steps away from the Warring States period in China and focuses more on the 14th century war concerning succession to the French throne. The war would come to be known as the Hundred Years War -- the subtitle to the game. Even though it's a familiar road for Koei, perhaps the next-gen systems can provide more options, characters, maybe some actual AI, as well as plenty of on-screen peons to annihilate. Look for these games in the Summer!
Koei speaks of Bladestorm for the PS3, we listen kindly
Koei actually took the hint! We don't care about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms anymore! The Chinese warring states no longer satisfy our button-mashing needs! Dynasty Warriors is old news (though... still fun... if you want to waste a bit o' time). We've got some news to dish out on Koei's next-gen game, Bladestorm which takes place during the Hundred Years War in the 14th century. Some basics on the game itself -- each stage (gigantic they shall be... probably) will have 20 different kinds of strongholds, including castles, churches, etc... and there will be quite a few historic faces making their appearance. You can expect Joan of Arc, Prince Edward, the Black Prince (my 14th century history is rusty... is Prince Edward the Black Prince? Something says yes), and many, many others.What of the game itself? What's the scoop? You take control of a mercenary army and choose whatever side you wish to assist (again, veterans of history, we challenge you -- what sides were there?). From there you have to manage your resources, recruit new members (possibly some of the "famous" folk as well) and kick some bum. There are a multitude of different units to check out and hire and each have their respective strengths and weaknesses -- imagine the Sword > Axe > Spear > Sword cycle from the Fire Emblem games, but not quite as obvious in execution. It's looking pretty cool, so we'll keep you up to date with this title as news becomes available.
