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GDC09: Virtual Console Arcade launches with 4 games, available now
Iwata has announced yet another platform expansion for Wii's Virtual Console. Virtual Console Arcade will offer classic -- meaning old -- arcade titles not available on other systems. Four launch games are available for download right now (directly to an SD card, if you prefer -- haven't you heard?), with two additional titles possibly available later day. Here's the starting lineup: Gaplus (Namco Bandai): 600 Wii Points -- available now Mappy (Namco Bandai): 500 Wii Points -- available now The Tower Of Druaga (Namco Bandai): 500 Wii Points -- available now Starforce (Tecmo): 500 Wii Points -- available now Space Harrier (Sega) -- coming soon Solvalou (Namco Bandai) -- coming soon
A mega load of screens for Star Force 2
In order to remind us that Mega Man Star Force 2 released today, Capcom offered up a plethora of screens for fans to check out. There are so many of them that you can probably just look at the screens in a slideshow and call it a day, saving yourself the $29.99. Of course, that just takes all the fun out of it.As you may recall, there are two different versions of the game: Zerker x Ninja and Zerker x Saurian. Although they're mostly the same, each one offers Mega Man different powers.So, which will it be, Star Force fans? Saurian, or Ninja?%Gallery-26022%[Via press release]
Third time's a charm with Mega Man Star Force 3
Fans of Mega Man's Star Force series of games, you'll be delighted to hear that the release date for the third title has been announced. Japanese gamers will be able to slide the DS cart into their favorite handheld come this winter.Sadly, nothing else has been revealed, other than the shot of the main man himself you see over on the right side of this post. So, stay tuned to DS Fanboy for more information on the game as it develops.[Via Go Nintendo]
Mega Man Star Force 2 forces details upon us
When we think of Mega Man Star Force, we tend to wonder, "Is this really what Mega Man has come to?" Since some of you may enjoy the Blue Bomber's battle RPG, though, you might be interested in hearing some details about the sequel.While the last Star Force game came in three different "flavors" (Dragon, Pegasus, and Leo), Mega Man Star Force 2 will only have two versions to choose from (Zerker x Ninja and Zerker x Saurian). Depending on which iteration you choose to buy, Mega Man will have different powers. The Zerker element (which is in both games) will give Mega Man a lightning-powered sword, the Ninja element will increase his speed and let him throw a big Shurikan, and the Saurian element will give him the power of "explosive fiery fists." As for the storyline, the game will take place two months after the ending of its predecessor, and involves a new trouble-making character named "Rogue."Other than that, the characters, graphics, and battle system appear to be the same or similar, meaning that if you enjoyed the first Star Force title, you'll probably like this one too (and vice versa). The online component sounds slightly deeper, though, allowing you to either battle, share cards, share upgrades, or aid in transformation upgrades.The game is scheduled to hit the DS in June, so those of you anticipating it won't have to wait all that long.%Gallery-18378%[Via GamesPress press release]
Mega Man said punch (card) you out
All of you Megamaniacs (we so totally just made that up) out there will likely enjoy the update Dengeki has presented for the sequel to Mega Man Star Force. Not only is Capcom including a fan-made character into the title, but they've also acted the part of the little league football coach, playing a bench-riding child in the last seconds of the big game in the form of including punch cards into the mix. You know, those same things that Spectrobes used.So, if you want to catch a glimpse at some of the punch cards, then head on over. There's also some concept art, if that's your kind of thing.
DS punch cards resurface in Mega Man Star Force 2
The DS "punch card" is such an elegant idea for a card input. Rather than requiring a card reader or a camera to take pictures of the cards, you just stick the card on the screen and touch the screen through holes in the card. Spectrobes and Monster Rancher both take advantage of this extremely inexpensive feature, and Capcom has picked up on the idea for their sequel to Mega Man Star Force. Two such cards will be given as a preorder bonus in Japan, each of which unlocks a suit (and corresponding weird animal-head arm). Capcom was smart enough not to include the positions of the holes on the preview images, so unscrupulous people like us can't print out the cards and do it ourselves. Not that it really matters with a free bonus item.
Mega Man gets Star Force-centric new website
Capcom announced that the new Mega Man series website has launched, and, well, it's a little bit small in scope. Mega Man Star Force's iteration of the Blue Bomber is front and center on every page, and almost all of the downloads and activities feature that guy, instead of a real Mega Man. Not that Star Force isn't great, but this is supposed to be a 20th Anniversary thing.That said, there are some cute features on here, like a character-art matching game, downloadable book covers and a wallpaper generator that lets you arrange characters and choose your own background image. Take advantage of the fact that you have a regular hand instead of some kind of robot head, which should greatly benefit your computer use![Via Capcom News]
DS releases for the week of August 6th
Want a little Mega Man in your life? We sure hope so if you're looking for a new game this week, because it seems that's what there is. And perhaps Pet Alien, which didn't seem to make it out last week. Mega Man Star Force Dragon Mega Man Star Force Leo Mega Man Star Force Pegasus Pet Alien To see what's coming out in the rest of the world this week, take a stroll past the break.
US gets equipped with Mega Man Star Force cartoon
Mega Man series fans have something else to look forward to in the near future, besides the never-ending stream of spinoffs and sequels. Viz Media has licensed the anime adaptation of the latest spinoff, Mega Man Star Force (Ryuusei no Rockman in Japan) for US audiences.The story is some baffling thing about a human kid merging with an alien entity called Omega-Xis to become Mega Man, which we're sure will make more sense after we play the game. It makes us a little nostalgic for the sparse robot vs. robot storyline of the original Mega Man series, but not the original Mega Man cartoon. Do you think the cartoon will be good enough to promote a game with three versions? We make fun of Capcom for all the Mega Man overload, but we're huge fans and will no doubt fill our TiVos with episodes of this series.
Mega Man Wave Scanner in action
The fine chaps at Siliconera have uploaded a video documenting the use of the Wave Scanner in Mega Man: Star Force (or Ryuusei No Rockman in Japanese). The Wave Scanner allows one to scan in specific cards for use with the game, allowing one to modify their game in various ways, including customizing stats such as HP and gain new items. Overall, it looks fairly cool from the demonstration and adds a lot of depth to the game.As always, video has been embedded past the post break.[Via Siliconera]
StarForce causes 0/10 review for game
Angry Gamer has given Trackmania United a 0/10 for simply having StarForce copy protection. They say the game has good physics, track making and online play; however, the StarForce copy protection trumps all of that and causes the game to get an automatic nil. Angry gamer says, "This is simply us doing our job: making the games-buying public aware of what they're being offered."Apparently the company that produced Trackmania United didn't get the memo about StarForce copy protection being considered by many as malware. This isn't the first instance that a Trackmania title was linked to StarForce, we reported on a similar title having the controversial copy protection earlier this year. Other publishers have treated StarForce like a leper and stated many moons ago they'll no longer use it. Looks like Trackmania's publisher just doesn't see the same problem everyone else does.
StarForce makes PC gaming hard... and it kills kittens
PC Gamer's Greg Vederman takes a look at some of the copy protection systems being employed for PC games, including the totally sketchy bane of legitimate PC game buyers everywhere: StarForce! He writes, "StarForce, is notorious for not only making it difficult for a small percentage of legitimate users to load up StarForce-protected games, but also for leaving potentially problem-causing StarForce software behind on your PC, even after you’ve deleted the game it was protecting."Most of the article is about StarForce--and a pitch to check out the more in depth coverage in this month's PC Gamer--though it's worth noting that not every game uses these methods of copy protection, despite Vederman's proclamation that "any PC game bought at retail is going to have it embedded on the game disc(s) in one form or another." Stardock's Galactic Civilizations II not only refuses to use the "draconian DRM schemes or CD copy protection" offered by companies like StarForce, but they've incurred StarForce's juvenile wrath for their abstention.On their official site, Stardock defends their customer-friendly decision to avoid the hassles that copy protection entails while linking to a forum post in which StarForce actually "provided a working URL to a list of pirated GalCiv II torrent" (image). It seems StarForce doesn't like when successful games (apparently the #1 PC game at Wal-Mart last week) don't buy their snake oil. [Thanks, Joseph]
