tgs-2009
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Preview: Crackdown 2
A hands-on preview of Crackdown 2 at TGS last week came with a catch: deathmatch only. No matter how much potential for greatness a game might possess, it's hard to gauge its true character when limited to a boring multiplayer mode. That's not to say that my time with Crackdown 2 was entirely boring -- it wasn't -- but simply playing the most generic mode of all didn't raise my enthusiasm beyond a mild passing interest. While I wasn't able to play the game's single-player campaign, I was shown a rough portion of it in action. Ruffian lead designer Steve Iannetta and producer James Cope showcased the game's new weapons and enemies (the mutated citizens of Pacific City that were simply referred to as "The Freaks"). Unlike the deathmatch portion of the preview session, this part was interesting. %Gallery-74365%
TGS 2009: Interview: Little King's Story's Yoshiro Kimura
Yoshiro Kimura is the creator of Little King's Story, likely the only game in history to be the inspiration for a giveaway of one hundred hamburgers, one hundred bananas, and one hundred coupons for a visit to a spa -- all simultaneously. We spoke to Kimura during Tokyo Game Show about the secrets of the Wii game, about that rather strange contest, and about a can't-miss concept for a game about an old man drinking on a bench.
TGS 2009: Interview: Suda 51
When we came into Marvelous Entertainment's hotel room, we witnessed another outlet recording a video interview with Suda 51, producer of No More Heroes and its sequel. Marvelous brought this, well, marvelous beam katana prop, which lights up and makes appropriately lightsabery noises, and someone pretended to attack him in the conclusion of the video interview. Suda gamely displayed mock fright at the beam katana attack for multiple takes while someone waved the device around in front of him. All we did was ask him some questions about No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle and Grasshopper's other work.
Capcom summoning Ghouls 'n Ghosts/Ghosts 'n Goblins for iPhone
Capcom has revealed that its resident ghost and goblin slayer (and suspected never-nude) Arthur is coming to the iPhone. During a presentation at TGS (via GameWatch) the company revealed a new Ghosts 'n Goblins -- which uses a touch-based control scheme not all that different from the iPhone port of Resident Evil 4 and overlays 3D models on top of the series' 2D gameplay. GameWatch also reports the title will allow players to choose between two different heroes: Arthur and Lancelot.The game is highly reminiscent of Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, a PSP game that also employed 3D models while retaining the classic 2D gameplay of the originals. There's no word on price or launch date, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as it's announced.[Via Touch Arcade]
PlayStation & Xbox hardware gets the Body Worlds treatment at Japanese museum
For some people, the sight of a gaming console broken open, exposing its parts to the world, can be something of utter agony. Not for the Museum of Game Science in Tokyo, where you can find the entire line of PlayStation and Xbox consoles disassembled and dissected for all to see.Seen in Engadget's video above, one thin layer of glass is all that prevents the intrepid cameraman from reaching into the displays and pulling bits from here, bobs from there to assemble the world's first supermega-gen console: XStation 720. Knowing better, he chooses instead to give us a piece-by-piece visual rundown of what the museum offered for display at this year's Tokyo Game Show. We appreciate your self-control, kind sir.
TGS 2009: Game of the Show
Andrew: "I think I'll just call this our game of the show and make that the headline. No other text."Xav: "You can't use that headline! They'll use that on the box art!"Ross: "I hope they do. I hope they do."
Tokyo Game Show 2009 attendance down slightly
The Tokyo Game Show maintained a relatively steady attendance this year, with the exception of the first public day of the show, which saw a 10,000 attendee decrease from the prior year. The business days maintained almost the exact same figures as 2008, which had seen a dramatic drop from 2007 -- but, with the global economy in shambles, that's not shocking. Thursday (Business): 27,435 ('08 - 27,305; '07 - 29,783) Friday (Business): 24,605 ('08 - 24,178; '07 - 32,390) Saturday (Public): 61,138 ('08 - 71,639; '07 - 64,795) Sunday (Public): 71,852 ('08 - 71,166; '07 - 66,072) In total, the show had 185,030 attendees, which is still nothing to sneeze at -- unlike [tasteless gaming conference Swine Flu joke goes here]. [Image]
TGS 2009: Kudo demoes Natal, invents dance craze
As you've probably guessed, the dearth of footage of actual Project Natal gameplay can be attributed to Microsoft's ban on filming the screen during demos of the technology. Hence, the gameplay-less video above, captured by Engadget during a Natal preview of Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. Watch as Project Natal creative director Kudo Tsunoda shows how one rolls giant sticky balls or pushes back extraterrestrial attackers using only one's limbs. Without seeing the screen, we can't be certain how well he's performing these activities, but we can certainly attest to his remarkable dancing prowess.
TGS 2009: Interview: Gran Turismo 5's Kazunori Yamauchi
During Tokyo Game Show last week we crashed Polyphony Digital's studio and chatted up Kazunori Yamauchi about ... Gran Turismo 6? Wait -- what? Just watch the interview.Selected excerpts below:Joystiq: Are there any plans to bring Gran Turismo PSP's "Party Mode" to GT5?Yamauchi: I'm glad you noticed that. What we really worked hard to make the PSP portable fun and interesting is in those types of details. Obviously, these are ideas we worked hard on and they will be carried over in some form into GT5.In Gran Turismo, with its ten years of history, the people that who good at playing the game are really, really good at playing the game. Of course, there are a lot of first-time players that want to get into the game, and it was a major theme for us to develop the game so it would be easier for them to get into it. With the party races and these game modes we've developed for the PSP, we've come to one solution for that aspect.
Video: Project Natal hands-on goes round two with Katamari Damacy, Space Invaders
Several months have passed since our last encounter with Project Natal, Microsoft's controller-free, gesture-based interface. Developer enthusiasm and rumored release dates aside, since that time there hasn't been much in the way of new, concrete details or any title announcements. That didn't stop Kudo Tsunoda and gang from coming to Tokyo Game Show to give the Japanese audience a taste of the title. We managed to get ourselves some more time with the system, which included previous demos Ricochet and Burnout Paradise, along with newcomers Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. This time around, things felt a bit more glitchy than before, with some weird graphical maladies around our virtual wrists and a few occasions where recalibration was required (which is simply accomplished by covering up the sensor with your hand for a couple seconds). Our Engadget Japan correspondent Ittousai couldn't get his hair to detect, but Tsunoda inferred that it was something they were working on as the project continued. Going through the menus, we spotted Lumines among the other games on the console -- Tsunoda wouldn't comment on it, but he did note that adding Natal support isn't something that's likely to be patched into existing titles. Care to take another peek at what you'll look like when Natal eventually comes to your living room? Video demonstration after the break.
Gran Turismo 5 international release likely early 2010
Sony announced a March release for Gran Turismo 5 at Tokyo Game Show last week, a release window that was specifically targeted for the Japanese market. However, don't expect a surprise 2009 release (sorry Amazon!). "I don't think it's going to be that different for US and Europe," Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi told journalists at a GT5 event last week. "Marketing is still discussing their issues," which is the reason why a specific date hasn't been pegged yet for those markets.Yamauchi then went on to list a befuddling list of features that should ship on the disc next year. GT Mode will return with all the features of classic GT games, like the garage, the car dealer, the tuning shop, and license tests. However, more exciting are the new features, such as a brand-new physics model that includes damage and deformation for all "normal" cars. Hybrid and electric cars are going to be added to the livery, too, with over 950 cars available on the disc. There will also be over 70 variations of over 20 locations to race through.The online features have been expanded to include both text and voice chat, with support for lobbies and private rooms. There will be online photo albums and online replay albums as well; with the ability to export replays to YouTube. Gran Turismo TV, the video service introduced in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will also be expanded with a brand new UI, progressive downloading (so you can watch the video content while it downloads), and the ability to export these videos to PSP. While this may seem like the kitchen sink of features, Yamauchi teased, "we have much more planned."Considering it's been five years since the release of Gran Turismo 4 on PS2, fans of the franchise are expecting only the best, if not more.%Gallery-71410%
TGS 2009: New Final Fantasy XIII trailer is heavy on story, light on English
Square Enix has finally released its TGS 2009 trailer for the hotly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII. In it, players can watch nearly seven full minutes of the game's story. Sadly, the entire trailer is in Square Enix's native tongue -- unsurprising since the trailer comes straight from the TGS 2009 show floor. Know what's going on? Sound off in the comments.
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (co-op)
Sharing a flimsy, cardboard box with another soldier is sure to be an inexhaustible supply of awkward discomfort. Aside from the clear violation of personal space, there are two major concerns for the occupants of Metal Gear Solid's iconic camouflage: (1) Who's driving this thing? And (2) that better be your gun poking me in the back, I swear.Thankfully, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker has an elegant solution for the former problem. Holding up on the PSP's d-pad will "sync" you with your sneaking partner(s) and, as long as the button remains held down, you'll stay in automatic lockstep with the leader. Remaining a cohesive group is an essential strategy for a silent approach, though splitting up offers its own advantages as well.%Gallery-73875%
TGS 2009: Feet-on: Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll
It's surprising to think Sega hasn't already made a Super Monkey Ball game for the Wii Balance Board. It seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? However, Sega made the playable debut of the very first Balance Board-enabled Monkey Ball game at TGS this year with Step & Roll.Conceptually, the game is rather easy to grasp. Once again, players are tasked with getting monkeys (that are mysteriously trapped in plastic balls) to a goal by tilting the game world. This time around, the game can be controlled through shifting your weight on the Balance Board -- the translation should be immediately apparent.Perhaps masters of Wii Fit (and subsequent fitness-related knockoffs) should find no problem with Step & Roll. However, a Balance Board novice like myself was a bit overwhelmed by the sensitivity demanded by the game: it takes subtle shifts in weight to carefully control the monkeys. Instead, my exaggerated movements caused the board to jerk around, tossing the trapped simian around haphazardly through the course.
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Valkyria Chronicles 2
Most fans of the original Valkyria Chronicles will want to know one thing: is the PSP-exclusive sequel a worthy follow-up successor to its predecessor? The answer, from our short time with the game at TGS, seems to be undeniably "yes."A costumed girl attempted to explain the game's controls to me, but I was immediately able to jump in. Veterans of the first game will find themselves at home here: the interface has remained largely unchanged from its transition from PS3 to PSP. Once again, VC2 employs the "BLITZ" battle system of the first game: a unique combination of both real-time movement and turn-based strategy. Players are given a number of Command Points (CP) which can be used to select various units: scouts, snipers, tanks, etc. Once selected, these units are manually controlled as in a third-person shooter, with players stopping to aim at enemies. Enemies can respond by firing back, but they cannot change position. Each unit is allowed only one barrage of gunfire before they must end their turn. Once players run out of CP, or manually end combat, the "enemy phase" begins, where the AI is allowed to do the same thing.The mixture of real-time and turn-based combat proves to be an ideal handheld gaming experience, mixing the casual pace of a turn-based game with the excitement of a shooter. Valkyria Chronicles is more about tactics, less about precision aiming -- a good thing to consider when adapting a title to Sony's handheld.
TGS 2009: Resonance of Fate trailer, now with 100% fewer bullets
The first TGS trailer for Resonance of Fate (End of Eternity in Japan) had us very excited due to its unique John Woo-inspired bullet-riddled action. However, the second (and presumably last) trailer for the game from the game show goes back to traditional JRPG form by focusing exclusively on the game's heavy-handed story.While there's chance for greatness in tri-Ace's upcoming story, we can't say that's what's keeping us interested in the game. For once, could it be that a JRPG is keeping our attention more for its gameplay than its pre-rendered cutscenes?
Joystiq vs. TGS '09: Day Four
That's a wrap, folks. Tokyo Game Show is over! Since day four was mainly a "sit down and get work done" day for Team 'Stiq, very little video was shot. Thankfully, our friend Ross Miller at Engadget had plenty of footage of some of the sights around the show to bring your another edition of Joystiq vs. TGS. But that doesn't end our TGS 2009 coverage. Stay tuned throughout the week for more impressions, interviews and special features related to Japan's big gaming event.
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Assassin's Creed 2
Given their line of work and generally suspicious behavior, deadly 15th-century assassins aren't likely to make many friends -- well, not unless the goal is to make them dead. Thankfully, Assassin's Creed 2 is cognizant of the power of influence and wealth. Should you encounter a group of mercenaries (usually loitering about in a dark alley or atop a beautifully tiled roof) while en route to an assassination target, you can hire them simply by stepping within range and pressing a button. It's an instant, intimidating posse that only a sophisticated hitman like Ezio could amass.Money buys a surprisingly strong sense of loyalty -- your hired goons will do what they can to battle pesky guards, or even attempt to take on your target if you're otherwise occupied. It's a useful advantage in the face of overwhelming odds and does much to prevent public battles from dragging on for too long. Aside from loyalty, your money also secures a level of patience usually reserved for a shopping spouse. Your assassination assistants have no qualms about idling while you stop mid-mission because you simply must have those shoes. %Gallery-74080%
Engadget Podcast 164 - 09.27.2009
It's been a crazy week in news, and after a couple cross-country flights the podcast crew is together and ready to break it all down. Join Josh, Paul and Nilay as they take on Microsoft's Courier tablet concept and rumored Pink smartphones, dish on the HTC Leo and Windows Mobile, debate the finer points of net neutrality, and talk over the highlights from the Intel Developer Forum and the Tokyo Game Show. Yeah, there's a ton here -- grab a snack and tune in! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent Wolbe Song: Today Hear the podcast 00:02:34 - Microsoft's dual-screen Courier booklet emerges, isn't near production00:06:18 - Codex and InkSeine -- the roots of Microsoft's Courier?00:33:30 - Microsoft's Pink phones revealed?00:43:00 - HTC Leo looking confirmed for O2 UK debut, will be free on the right plan00:46:20 - Steve Ballmer talks 'three screens and a cloud' and more with TechCrunch00:50:00 - Ballmer: Windows Mobile 7 should have been out, like, yesterday00:55:58 - FCC chairman formally proposes net neutrality rules00:58:45 - AT&T, Verizon poised to fight FCC's net neutrality stance on the wireless front01:10:00 - AT&T's 3G MicroCell tested and reviewed by Charlottean: yes, it works01:13:56 - Intel announces Moblin 2.1 for phones01:18:07 - Dell announces Moblin Mini 10v at IDF (updated with pricing)01:17:25 - Video: Moblin 2.1 for MIDs and phones, sort of in action01:21:15 - USB 3.0 has a SuperSpeed coming-out party at IDF01:22:44 - Video: Intel's Light Peak running an HD display while transferring files... on a hackintosh01:28:40 - 13 PS3 motion control games confirmed for next year, motion-enhanced Biohazard 5 coming Spring 201001:30:03 - Nintendo finally confirms new $199 Wii price Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Keiji Inafune says Japanese game industry is over, man
Giving Tokyo Game Show attendees a chance to get some hands-on time with Western-developed Dead Rising 2 at a party this week, Capcom's Keiji Inafune stated, "Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd translated the Mega Man creator's claims to the crowd (that Destructoid captured on video, found after the break), explaining the eulogy as Inafune's reaction to the show floor at this year's TGS.Unsurprisingly, his words were less harsh about his Japanese company's upcoming titles. "Just so that you all don't think that the game industry is finished, Capcom is doing our best," he said. Next year's Dark Void and Dead Rising 2 -- both Western developed games, mind you -- can't hurt Inafune's confidence, eh?
