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Korg adds '80s arcade game sounds to its iOS synth app
Korg's Gadget app for iOS has been providing access to and arsenal of synthesizer and drum machine sounds since 2014. With the latest update though, the company has added a new instrument that cranks up the nostalgia machine. Korg worked with Bandai Namco for the Kamata: an '80s-inspired synth that's based on those chiptune noises you remember from the likes of Pac-Man and Galaga. The Kamata virtual instrument even comes with an '80s look to the UI to complete the experience.
'Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2' goes Super Saiyan later this year
Dragon Ball Xenoverse, the brawler that launched a thousand Dragon Ball Z OCs (original characters), is getting a sequel, and it's being shown off at E3 this June. Unsurprisingly, it's called Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, and it looks a whole lot like the first game.
The first 'Dark Souls 3' add-on doesn't hit until this fall
Given that plenty of folks went to impressive lengths to play FromSoftware's latest game early, I'm betting the following Dark Souls 3 news isn't going to sit well with them. Why? Because you'll have to wait until this fall to play anything beyond what's in the base game. That's according to UK enthusiast site Videogamer. And even then, that's only the release window for the first of two post-launch add-ons. Any other details are as scant as an Estus Flask when you really need it, but you can expect new bosses and enemies in addition to gear for your undead warrior.
Downloading 'Dark Souls 3' early makes the game even harder
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn't the only thing hitting the internet ahead of its official release this week: The latest entry in FromSoftware's absolutely punishing Dark Souls series has as well. But rather than going to your torrent site of choice, all you need to do to access it is make a dummy account for your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One with Japan as its home region -- Dark Souls 3 launched there on the 24th. You'll still have to drop cash on the game, so if you were hoping for some nefariousness you're out of luck here.
'Dark Souls' publisher brings 'Necropolis' to PS4, Xbox One
Here's one to add to your video game watch list: Necropolis is a stylish, hardcore dungeon-diving game from Harebrained Schemes, the studio behind the magnificent cyberpunk title Shadowrun Returns. It was originally due to hit PC and Mac on March 17th, but now Dark Souls publisher Bandai Namco is involved and the times, they are a-changing. Necropolis is now due to hit PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the summer, with Bandai handling the console publishing duties. Harebrained Schemes is self-publishing the game on Steam.
'Pokkén Tournament' joins the Pokémon Championship series
Pokkén Tournament is the latest evolution of the Pokémon video game franchise, featuring your favorite pocket monsters battling one-on-one in a 3D arena. It sounds like an ideal competitive fighting game, which is one reason it's joining the official Pokémon Championship Series this year. Pokkén Tournament isn't even out yet -- it drops for the Wii U on March 18th -- but players around the United States can try out for a spot in the Championship Series on February 27th at a handful GameStop locations. See the full list of participating stores below.
Watch the cinematic opening for 'Dark Souls 3'
Dark Souls 3 is almost here, people of the internet. But while you patiently wait until April 12th, when the game's scheduled to launch, there's now a cinematic opening for it to keep your emotions at ease. In the video titled To the Kingdom of Lothric, you'll see cameos from Yhorn the Giant, Aldrich Saint of the Deep and Farron's Undead Legion -- characters you're set to encounter throughout Dark Souls 3. And if you haven't pre-ordered yet, From Software's new fantasy action title will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Bandai Namco sends its anime-inspired games west in 2016
Bandai Namco, the studio responsible for Dark Souls and Tekken, will expand some of its franchises in the western world with new installments in the Tales of, God Eater and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. Tales of Berseria is a Japanese role-playing game starring a young woman named Velvet, whose left hand has special, demonic powers; it's confirmed for PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam across the Americas and Europe. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven is a PS4-exclusive, two-on-two brawler starring characters from that franchise's anime and manga storylines.
PlayStation 3's free-to-play 'Soul Calibur' shuts down in November
There was a brief period when Bandai Namco was trying a free-to-play model for its bigger franchises like the venerable Soul Calibur fighting series and its arcadey Ridge Racer. The latter shut down in 2014, and the former will suffer a similar fate pretty soon. Come November 30th, the PlayStation 3 exclusive Soul Calibur Lost Swords closes its virtual doors while sales of in-game items stop about a month prior on October 27th, according to GamesIndustry.biz. From September 16th to September 30th though, Bandai Namco is hosting some commemorative "ranking quests" to mark the occasion. Are you among the game's over two million players and are already mourning its passing? Let us know in the comments. And hey, who knows, this could point toward a Soul Calibur hitting modern consoles sometime soon -- possible silver lining and all that.
'Pac-Man' embraces mobile with an endless running game
Pac-Man is no stranger to the mobile world, but most of his games are just the classic maze runner scaled down to phone size. Wouldn't it be nice if the yellow chomper got a game that's actually meant for small screens? Bandai Namco agrees. It recently launched Pac-Man 256, an Android and iOS game that blends old-school gameplay with the endless runner format that you've seen in big-name smartphone titles like Temple Run. You still have to navigate twisty corridors and avoid ghosts, but this time you're also outracing Pac-Man's infamous level 256 glitch -- no power pellet will save you if you move too slowly. It's an intriguing concept, although you'll want to watch out for the ugly side of modernization... that is, in-app purchases. You can last quite a long time without paying a cent, but Bandai Namco is hoping that you'll shell out anything from 99 cents to $8 to get a credit boost and keep your run going. So long as you don't mind the occasional cash grab, though, this could be a good way to rekindle your nostalgia while you're waiting for the bus.
The Pokémon fighting game you've been waiting for hits Wii U in 2016
Hold on to your Poké Balls -- Pokkén Tournament, the Pokémon fighting game that debuted in Japanese arcades this year, is heading to Wii U in spring 2016, worldwide. Pokkén Tournament is in development at Tekken and Soulcalibur studio Bandai Namco, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. As reported back in August 2014, Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada and Soulcalibur producer Masaaki Hoshino are leading the project. Pokkén Tournament takes a realistic approach to Pokémon (as realistic as it can be, at least) in an attempt to turn the franchise into a serious fighting game. It looks positively buttery in the first trailer, though note that the footage is taken from the arcade version of the game, rather than the final Wii U build. Also note the new Pikachu Libre challenger. Also also note the second video we've included in this post. You're welcome.
'Project Cars' Wii U version canceled
Project Cars finally launched on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in May, after three delays and a few platform uncertainties dating back to January 2012. The game -- a realistic racing simulator from Need for Speed: Shift developer Slightly Mad Studios -- was supposed to launch on Wii U this year as well, but that's not going to happen, according to Gamespot and other outlets. Slightly Mad Studios Creative Director Andy Tudor confirmed the cancelation, noting that Project Cars "is simply too much for Wii U," according to the site. "Despite much perseverance on the Wii U version of Project Cars, we will no longer be actively pursuing development on it as the quality does not meet our own high standards nor our intended vision for the title on this platform," Tudor told Gamespot.
Leaked image suggests 'Dark Souls 3' is coming in 2016
Dark Souls 3 exists and it's due to launch in early 2016, an official image obtained by IGN suggests. Rumors of a third Dark Souls game have been swirling over the past few days, first (and most credibly) with a report on VG247 that the game would be revealed at E3 next week. Word has it that Dark Souls 3 will launch in early 2016 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 -- but it looks like we'll find out for sure during E3, which runs from June 16th - 18th in Los Angeles. We'll of course have all of the news from the show right here, so stay tuned. [Image credit: Dark Souls 2, Bandai Namco]
Using 'Dark Souls 2' mods on PC? That's a dealbreaker
The Dark Souls series' relationship with PC gamers has been contentious at best. The vanilla versions of the first two games weren't unplayable per se, but if it weren't for the enterprising community of modders around the franchise it'd look and run kind of, well, crappy. This apparently extends to the recently released Scholar of the First Sin as well. But there's a twist this time: Players installing the popular "DS2fix" softmod that addresses weapons durability glitches and save corruptions have found that they aren't able to easily summon other players into their game for help or adversarial combat. As Kotaku reports, the players aren't hacking in a nefarious way, they're just using a patch that makes the game work better on their platform of choice. Instead of pulling "undead" (how the series refers to its protagonists) from a general population, it's grabbing them from a comparatively smaller pool of other players that've been deemed cheaters for using DS2fix.
JXE Streams: We conquer our fear of 'Dark Souls 2' on PS4
It's been just under two weeks since Bloodborne brutalized me on JXE Streams. After years of building up the gumption to actually tackle one of From Software's vicious action role-playing games, I finally braved its rank, monster-filled hallways. Know what? I loved it; the tension, the terror and the challenge are intoxicating. Not content to only explore Bloodborne's Victorian nightmare, I've decided to finally try its swords-and-sorcery predecessor, Dark Souls 2. We streamed Dark Souls 2 when it came out on PC in 2014, but this is the brand new PlayStation 4 version. We'll play it for the first time live, for your pleasure.
JXE Streams: 'Splatterhouse' makes a mess of Friday the 13th
Jason Vorhees' hockey mask in Friday the 13th was an accident. Special effects man Martin Jay Sadoff just happened to really like hockey and have a bag of old-school gear with him when the third movie was in production. As pop culture serendipity goes, the mask is a brilliant success: when Friday the 13th rolls around, it's impossible not to think of that chipped face guard. In turn, it's impossible not to think of pulpy horror and that infamous date when you see something that even sort of looks like the mask. No doubt that was the logic at Namco when it conceived Splatterhouse -- one of gaming's earliest gore-fests -- and its masked star. That's also why we're playing a whole lot of Splatterhouse for you on JXE Streams!
Here's a better look at Soulcalibur IV's latest cast entries
Click for high-resolution image. It was only a few days ago that we posted about the latest trio returning to Soulcalibur IV: Talim, Rock, and Yoshimitsu. Today, we have all new high-resolution images of these characters and friends. So, check out both the new screenshots and concept art in the galleries below. %Gallery-4984%%Gallery-7829%
Take a sneak peek at Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm website
If you saw the trailer for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, then you may have seen the link to the official website at the very bottom of the screen. Those of you who were eager enough for more Naruto may have followed the link and noticed that there was nothing but a countdown timer greeting you (seriously, countdown timers are all the rage now). However, if you're reading this right now, that timer has already ran out and you can now access the website. When you arrive at the website, it'll ask you to input a password that comes in the form of a little puzzle. For those of you who are true Naruto fans, you should know the answer. Those who are not and just want to check it out, you can highlight this text if you're stumped: [Tiger Tiger Dragon]. At the site, there are some extra screenshots to gawk at and more information on the game to digest. Head on over there right now.[Thanks Bernardo G.!]
Eminence records Soulcalibur IV orchestral score
Eminence, a Sydney-based orchestra known mostly for their renditions of popular anime and videogame scores, has been tasked to record the orchestral set pieces for Soulcalibur IV. All in all, Eminence recorded seven music pieces at Trackdown Studios in Sydney, Australia. Eminence's director and concert master, Hiroaki Yura, told IGN that the music they recorded was "mostly the opening, the ending credit, player selection [screen] ... and a little bit of battle music."Junichi Nakatsuru, the composer for Soulcalibur IV, was also on hand to oversee the recording of his masterpieces. He stated that he was conscious about bringing out the game's story through music. Not just the new title's story but the series long tale: "This Soulcalibur IV project itself is basically the result of all the previous Soulcaliburs and I'm taking all the good bits [from those games]... and building on them."With a talented group of musicians working on a passionate composer's work, it's safe to assume we can expect to hear excellent music in the final game. To hear just how good Eminence sounds, have a listen to the clip after the break. The clip showcases music from a game unrelated to Soulcalibur; however, we think you'll be impressed from the mad skills nonetheless.
Tekken 5: DR gets modes, rumble support in new update
Namco will soon be re-energizing the PS3 version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection with a new update coming March 18. The update is set to bring on a few changes by adding gameplay modes, DualShock 3 rumble support, and doing a little patching up of things all around. The most notable addition to Tekken 5: DR is the Pickup Match Mode that let's players continuously fight new opponents without having to switch back to the matching room. This change will probably make the experience feel more arcade-like as there's a quicker transition from match to match. You can also change your match search settings after the brawl, just in case you want to face another type of opponent. Other tweaks call on the ability to create/display names for rooms, an added flag option for rooms which toggles certain search/fight conditions, an adjustment to the point allotment system, and match results are now unrecorded when Rank Match is set to off. After reading all that, we bet you can't wait to fire up your PS3 and grab that update. Hold on just a sec there, you might want to sit down for this: this update is currently only for the Japanese version. Yep. We feel your anger; however, we're positive this baby will be coming our way soon. Namco probably just needs to test the waters and make sure everything is all hunky-dory before unleashing this killer patch upon the rest of the world.
