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Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2007
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC) Please, make the addiction stop! Civilization IV: Warlords, the first expansion for Civ IV, made my "Best of the Rest" last year and Beyond the Sword tops this year's list. The funny thing is I'm not a Civ fanboy, nor am I even that great of a player (Full Disclosure: I still play on Noble level), but Civ IV is a game I can come back to over and over again. Beyond the Sword added much-needed mechanics for culture-prone and passive-aggressive players, with enhancements in espionage and other concepts "beyond the sword." Oh, and just to keep last year's tradition going: Firaxis (2K, Take-Two), please get the rights to Alpha Centauri back from EA and give us a sequel!
Project Sylpheed DLC: Free, but pulled; Vampire Rain DLC: Free, but pointless
Project Sylpheed was a pretty decent free-roaming space shooter in a genre that's been fairly thin, and if you didn't get enough on your first play-through, there are six new missions and six new weapons to download for free on Xbox Live. ... OK, well, there will be. It got pulled because of technical issues and will be put back up an an undetermined time.In the meantime though, look what we have here! It's some more free downloadable content for Vampire Rain! That's working just fine! Have you already played this game to death and been left blood-thirsty for more? ... No? Oh well, let's see what we've got anyway. Ooh, it's a free gathering mission. That certainly sounds exciting, doesn't it? ... Hey! Where are you going?
Free Vampire Rain and Project Sylpheed content
Just put onto the XBLM this morning is some free in-game content for both Vampire Rain and Project Sylpheed. The free content includes a new bonus level for Vampire Rain and six new missions, six new weapons and Xbox Live leaderboard support for Project Sylpheed. But, as of this posting, the free Project Sylpheed content has been pulled from the Marketplace due to a "technical problem", but we expect it to be up rather soonish.In summary, if you're unlucky enough to own Vampire Rain then give the the free mission a download. If you're a Project Sylpheed owner, be patient because your free content will be back up someday.Read - Vampire Rain contentRead - Project Sylpheed content
Project Sylpheed: Space and inner conflict
GameTrailers has a meaty preview of Xbox 360's Project Sylpheed -- well, it's meaty for anyone who hasn't downloaded the demo yet. Reaction has certainly been mixed about the demo, which can either be the fault of the level choice demo or of the game itself (if it wasn't for the HUD telling you where to shoot would anybody know where the bad guys are?); however, at a next-gen budget price of $39.99, we're far more lenient in our judgment. Imagine if Katamari Damacy had been $49.99 or Shadowrun was $29.99, we think things may have ended quite differently -- price matters!For space shooter fans who are looking for the next Wing Commander (and, no, Wing Commander: Arena does not count), Project Sylpheed may just fit the bill at a budget price. We'll wait and see on July 10 how the game actually is (although we may be a little busy). We're a little upset that the GameTrailers video calls it a dying genre, we like to think of it as an extended leave. Would it really be so hard to make the Kilrathi cool again?
Project Sylpheed locks on July 10th; costs $39.99
If you've gotten your hands on the Project Sylpheed demo that dropped earlier today, you may be happy to hear that the release date is less than a month away. Mark your calendars, as it'll be heading towards store shelves on July 10th. Also, the MSRP is a nice $39.99, which is interesting. Hopefully that's not going to strike gamers as an indication of the quality or quantity of content in the game. If you played the demo, do you think a forty dollar price point fits the bill?
Project Sylpheed demo warps onto Live
"Okay, outer space shooting games for the Xbox 360, raise your hand. What ... no one? Not one outer space shooting game? Wait, you there, in the back, what's your name? Project Slip ... sliph ... Sylpheed? What does that even mean?"Yes, the space shooter is somewhat underrepresented on the Xbox 360 (along with platformers and RPGs). Thankfully, Microsoft has decided to rectify that situation by bringing the Game Arts developed title, Project Sylpheed to American shores (published by Square Enix in Japan). As such, Microsoft has deemed it worthy to release a demo on Xbox Live Marketplace. We don't know much about the game, other than the fact that it does indeed involve shooting things in space. The demo clocks in at just over 600MB and is available now. Has anyone managed to take it for a spin yet?
Project Sylpheed demo now on Xbox Live Marketplace
Depicting a galaxy filled with armed spaceships that simply cannot get along, last year's Project Sylpheed attempted to address the Xbox 360's lack of Eastern-developed titles, as well as its critical non-abundance of space shooters. Developed by Game Arts and published by Square Enix then, the game is finally nearing Planet America under the Microsoft Game Studios flagship. Be thankful we didn't add a woeful "impulse speed" joke to that line.If saucer-eyed pilots blasting each other to smithereens amidst the surprisingly colorful backdrop of space sounds like it'll float your cup of tea, be sure to check out the 613MB Project Sylpheed demo now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Update: The retail version is expected to arrive on July 10th at a pleasing $40 price.
Project Sylpheed, Vampire Rain bound for US
The rumors were partially true: Project Sylpheed is coming to the US this summer for the budget price (by new-gen standards) of $39.99. Unlike the GameStop page that propagated the rumors, Microsoft is not publishing the game (nor did it develop the game, as the listing stated); instead, Square Enix will publish the game as it did in Japan. [Correction: Microsoft is publishing both titles in the U.S.]Project Sylpheed is a 3-D makeover of the Sega CD shooter Silpheed, which already has a 2001 sequel, Silpheed: The Lost Planet; all three titles were developed by Game Arts. Also announced today was Vampire Rain, a shooter that pits you against vampires. It boasts all the best keywords in the shooting genre today: stealth, squad-based action and high-tech weaponry. No word on if it includes garlic launchers or the ability to become a bloodsucker yourself. The game will arrive with the standard $59.99 price tag.Vampire Rain and Project Sylpheed are both slated for a Summer 2007 release.
Shane Kim: Sylpheed to be MS published in US
After seeing our article speculating that Square-Enix's Project Sylpheed would be published by Microsoft in the U.S., Spencer from Siliconera dropped us a line. He informs us that he pulled Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim aside during the blogger's breakfast at GDC. Spencer then asked about Project Sylpheed. Kim informed him that Slypheed is coming to the U.S. and that it is being published by Microsoft as a second party title. The deal is similar to Microsoft's publishing arrangement for Tenchu Z. So there you have it, expect to see a Microsoft published Project Sylpheed sometime this year.
Rumor: Microsoft will publish bargain-priced US Project Sylpheed
Never trust retail listings as concrete evidence of future releases, but GameStop has an interesting page up on its website for Square Enix's Project Sylpheed, here spelled Silpheed. What makes the listing all the more bizarre is its bargain price of $39.99 and its publisher, Microsoft Game Studio (which, oddly enough, is also listed as the developer).Of course, the actual developer, Game Arts (Grandia, Lunar series), has used many publishers -- Grandia II, for example, saw Square Enix publishing the title in Japan and Ubisoft publishing in US and Europe. We don't feel this has anything to do with Microsoft trying to butter up Square Enix while Final Fantasy XIII's exclusivity is supposedly in discussion, but that Square Enix had no interest in distributing the title outside of Japan. But, if the $40 price is accurate, how much faith does Microsoft have that US audiences will embrace the game? There's so much about the listing that feels shaky.No announcements have been been made by Microsoft, Game Arts or Square Enix. According to the listing, Project Sylpheed will be released July 11.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
MS publishing Project Sylpheed in US?
A recent retail rumor roundup on GameSpot sees a listing for Square Enix's Project Sylpheed on GameStop. While that in itself isn't terribly shocking, the publisher and developer listed is intriguing. According to the GameStop listing, Microsoft Game Studios is the publisher and developer of the US version of Project Sylpheed (although the GameStop listing spells the title Silpheed). The game is listed for a July release with a bargain price of $39.99. Granted, product listings should never be taken as fact, but it would be significant if Microsoft reached a publishing deal with Square-Enix, especially in light of recent events.Could Square really be cozying up to Microsoft?
Today's TGS Marketplace content
The first batch of Marketplace content has (mostly) gone live. For your downloading pleasure, the following is now available.DOA X2 E3 Trailer (Japan)Project Sylpheed Trailer (Japan)Tenchu Senran TrailerHalf-Life 2 - Episode 2 TrailerTGS Picture PackTenchu Senran Demo (Japan)There are also map packs available for BFMEII, though one of them -- Aragorn's Journey -- is supposed to be free, it's not working correctly right now. Don't download it or you will be charged. The other pack -- Northern Badlands -- is not supposed to be free so, you can grab it for 350 MS Points if you want. Also, as of this writing, the Half-Life 2 - Episode 2 trailer doesn't seem to be up. We're not really sure if this counts as TGS content, but several XBLA games have been updated to take advantage of the Vision camera.360 at the Tokyo Game Show:HD-DVD for $170, $250 Core w/ Blue Dragon1080p for 360!
