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Friday Video: Questions and answers
There has really been a flood of videos for Hotel Dusk this week, and so we figured it was only fitting that we bust out another for this week's featured video. If we were any more rabid for this game, it would be called Phoenix Wright. Check out a little gameplay footage after the jump!For anyone who's having trouble checking the video out here (we know there are sometimes issues with nonYouTube vids), just hit it up directly.
Pointy sticks in Lost in Blue sequel
Er, we mean self defense, obviously, via the use of pointy sticks. Jeux France has all sorts of new goodies from the survival-centric Lost in Blue 2, including new screens that show off some of the in game actions, from building a fire to protecting your little lost lambs as they struggle to eke out a place in the wild.Check out the new screens after the jump.
Friday Video: getting ready for some Justice
Earlier we brought you the print edition metareview, and now it's time for the trailer for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, the second installment in what is probably the most-discussed franchise around here, and for good reason. This is one guy who needs no introduction. Are you counting down the days yet? We certainly are! And that's why this trailer is this week's featured video.
Touch Detective 2 on the way?
We can't decide if this is surprising or not, but from the new page at the Success site, it looks like Mackenzie will be back (with her funny-shaped pal) for another round of quirky mysteries. Considering the mixed reviews, we can't say we expected another Touch Detective game immediately, but hey! What fun would it be if the industry didn't offer up a few surprises here and there, amirite?For now, we'll hope that they focus on the things they got right with the first installment -- like the humor, art style, and characters -- and work a little on the opaque mysteries that were, at times, somewhat like pounding one's face with a sledgehammer. [Via 4cr]
Hotel Dusk in the twilight of the year
It's been a great week for videos -- and now we get a peek at one of our most hotly anticipated titles, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Unfortunately, it's not embedded here, so you'll have to go see it, but it's definitely worth a watch. Possibly even multiple watches. On the last Friday of the year, at Hotel Dusk, anything could happen ... but on this, the last Thursday of this year, we bring you the gift of video.
Okami and Godhand coming to 360? [update 1]
Update: 360 Fanboy reader, insane_cobra, uncovered the English version of the document. It looks like the Okami/Godhand dream is just that, a dream. It was nice while it lasted. A gaming blog by the name of Live Gamer reports that the PS2 exclusives, Okami and Godhand, are headed for a face-lift on the Xbox 360. The information comes from a document released by Capcom. Upstanding bloggers that we are, we checked over this document several times. Frankly, we couldn't make heads or tails of it. That's when we discovered our problem: the document is in Japanese. It is worth noting that "Godhand" and "Xbox 360" definitely appear in the same paragraph. If true, the move makes sense, as Capcom probably wants to squeeze a little more money from the two games. Savvy netizens will know that Capcom recently closed Clover Studios -- the devs behind Okami and Godhand, as well as Viewtiful Joe -- because of less than stellar sales of their titles. A cheap, quick, and dirty port of the games could make Capcom a little extra scratch. Still, until we can dig up a translation of the document, chalk this one up to a rumor for now. [Via Digg]
Less cool Hotel Dusk box
Reader KLind is looking forward to Hotel Dusk just as much as we are, and after we sighed over the Japanese boxart for the graphical adventure, KLind tipped us off to the box floating around various online retail outlets. We've used the image before ourselves, but hoped it was just a placeholder. Tragically, it looks like this is the real deal for the English language version. It may not be as slick and sinister as the Japanese version, but at least it shows off the look of the game. Still, we're sad.But we'll play it anyway.[Thanks, KLind!]
Possible Hotel Dusk boxart
We're not usually all about showing off the boxart. We're really not about showing off what could possibly-maybe be boxart from Korean sites we can't thoroughly translate. This one, however, is a little special. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (aka Wish Room) just has something, some nameless quality, that always seems to catch the eye, and the box is no exception. It looks more like a book or movie cover than a game -- which plays to the fact that the game's focus is the story. And that road trailing off in the distance is definitely a haunting image ... we're crossing our fingers that this is the actual box, and if so, we hope they keep it for release in other regions.
Hotel Dusk in stills
Famitsu featured a flood of screens from the mysterious Hotel Dusk: Room 215 yesterday, and all we can say is wow. If style was everything, this one would already be lining up for accolades. Let's just hope the unusual graphic adventure (set in 1979) is as good as it looks. We've seen a lot of these before, in video from the game, but it's nice to get to pore over some of the more interesting shots. Who knew a lone puzzle piece could look so sinister?
Japanese hardware sales, 20 November - 26 November: Choose-your-own-edition edition
We feel as though we've done you a great disservice. We've been forcing the sales numbers on you in the format we see fit, giving you no say in the matter. Is this not the era of user-generated content and massively open-ended game worlds? Our horrible linear approach to the matter is, quite frankly, embarrassing.How to rectify our horrendous errors? Why, with a classic choose-your-own-edition post! Follow the links you so choose, giving way to an ending entirely your own (except not really). Such innovation is unheard of in the Japanese hardware sales circles, and we're proud to be the first to deliver! Enjoy! (Or, if you'd like to cheat your way to the end, just check after the break.)The Case of the Missing Hardware Sales ChartYou, a wide-eyed yet street-smart rookie on the force, have travelled to Japan in search of a mysterious killer. He's been sabotaging children's grades and decreasing productivity all across your homeland, and your chief has decided that it's gone too far. Armed with your Baretta 9 mm and a standard taser, you step foot into the legendary Akihabara district in Tokyo, Japan.Asking around (in your rather broken, stilted Japanese), you learn that a shady figure has been seen on the corner of Sephiroth and Deku. As you approach the intersection, a shady figure with a loose trenchcoat notices your presence. He turns and tries to discreetly retreat, but as you begin to pursue, he breaks out into a dead sprint! You see a car nearby with its keys still in. What do you do?If you decide to try to track down the villain by foot, click here.If you decide to try and track down the villain in the car, click here.
Scanning Professor Layton
We've seen a flood of scans and screenshots and other media from Level 5's upcoming Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village, but there's a common theme in what we see: it's all the same. We want more! The latest Famitsu and Nintendo Dream scans reveal a few more details (likely more for those lucky enough to be able to translate the Japanese); of particular note are the gameplay screens that give us a look at how it all fits together.As adventure games go, this seems to have a lot of potential, though much will depend on the story, since it seems so driven by the tale. It's nice to see a few more pictures of characters as well, though unfortunately, the two scans feature a lot of the same images.
DS fans unsurprised at French view of games as art
Earlier this month, the French minister of culture declared that video games should be included in the industries that are considered for tax breaks in that country -- something limited to artistic endeavors. Yes, that's right ... in France, someone is moving for games to be declared bastions of art. That's quite different from what we've more often heard over the years, but it's not too new for France, a nation that offered up Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (awards for cultural achievement) to game designers, including our own Shigeru Miyamoto. But are we surprised by the move? DS fans know all about the art of video games; after all, it's our handheld that's leading the rebirth of games that are only there to tell a story -- games like Phoenix Wright and Contact, games that aren't so much about the gameplay as they are about what happens during gameplay. Sure, Halo has an intriguing story (albeit one ripped from the dozens of sci-fi franchises that came before), but in the end, Halo isn't about the story. It's about shooting things with weapons. And that's all well and good, but a compelling story adds a lot to a game. People aren't hoping for Final Fantasy VI redux (ala the update on FFIII) because of the gameplay, though as an RPG, it is hailed at the forefront of the genre. Still, fans want it for the game itself -- the rich world and compelling characters. It's that quality that we crave in a game and that so many products of the industry lack.France's move will, we hope, spur that further. When it comes to the question of art, games are often spurned as not serious, as brain-rotting fluff. Hey, sometimes, that's what makes a game fun. Mario Kart isn't, after all, an epic quest for the golden cup. It's about watching your best good friends shake their fist in the wake of your exhaust fumes. But there have been great examples of storytelling in games, and what's more, there have been ideas, kernels of stories that have been lost because hey, who cares about the story?
New Virtual Console games on the horizon [update 1]
Yes, the U.S. Virtual Console launch line-up is a bit ... anemic. We know, it hurts. However, one has to consider why it doesn't really matter: 1) We'll all be too busy playing Twilight Princess to bother with the Virtual Console immediately, and 2) Nintendo has promised ten new Virtual Console releases per month. That's quite a bit, especially looking at how often Xbox Live Arcade is updated, but the question then becomes: what's on the horizon?Well, thanks to the ESRB, we've got a clue. The ESRB requires that games be rated before release, which obviously means that companies need to send in their product quite a bit in advance. Since they publish their ratings, we've managed to score a list of eight potentials, and quite an eight they are (all rated E for Everyone): Duck Hunt Hogan's Alley Kid Icarus Kirby's Adventure PilotWings Pro Wrestling Punch-Out Wild Gunman Kid Icarus, Duck Hunt, and Punch-Out? Holy hell. The Virtual Console is awesome.[via Joystiq][Thanks, Zeke!][Update 1: Legal issues?]
A deeper look at Professor Layton
Another video (complete with crowd noise) from Nintendo World, and this time it's for our latest obsession, Professor Layton and the Unknown and Sorta Mysterious Town-like Place That We've Seen Called Many Different Things*. Uh, pretty sure that's a working title.So, the truth -- this video is, frankly, a little long. And devoid of sound, part of it is a little repetitive. However, it seems worth a watch since it reveals an interesting cast of characters, as well as some hints of the gameplay. And that's worth sitting through a little of the back-and-forth, though for a minute there, it looked like the sequel: Professor Layton and This Really Angry Woman. It's also somewhat impressive to see such a long clip of storyline, though the whole foreign language thing makes sad pandas of us all. Oh well. This forthcoming adventure/puzzle hybrid has us intrigued. Check out the video after the cut.*No, really, it's Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village. Probably.
Metareview: Scurge: Hive
When it comes to Nintendo's bounty hunters, it's all about the ladies. But the long-awaited, oft-delayed Scurge: Hive is no Metroid knockoff, despite similarites in heroines (and in weapons of choice). In Scurge: Hive, you take on the role of Jenosa Arma as she investigates a distress signal from a lab. Unfortunately for the intrepid Jenosa, the lab and everything around it is infected with the Scurge, a dangerous alien plague that spreads parasitically, infecting a host and taking it over. Before she can escape, she is infected and must go through a rigorous decontamination process while battling the alien menace and a wide array of monsters. But Jenosa is up to the task, difficult as it may sound. When you're a bounty huntress, that's just all in a day's work.Overall, the game has seen solid reviews praising the pacing and story, but decrying the repetitive aspect of gameplay. No matter how interesting the story, in the end, it does come down to: kill enemies, get to sickbay. But then again, what game can't be boiled down to the sum of its parts?Interestingly, the DS version has seen more negative criticism than the GBA -- the touch screen is barely used (it serves as a map screen) and the graphics seem to have suffered in the transition to the updated system (it was originally designed as a GBA title).
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 trailer brings the noir
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 caught some attention at E3, but since the spring we haven't seen or heard much about this upcoming adventure title. A new trailer surfaced at Nintendo World, however -- a trailer that features some of the same footage as the E3 trailer, but with double the content as it's twice as long.Hotel Dusk is an adventure story, a mystery that follows ex-cop Kyle Hyde as he tries to track down a missing friend. The beautiful art style is what really pushes this one into the spotlight; the game looks like a graphic novel come to life, and the fact that the DS is held as a book during gameplay only emphasizes the unique style. If Hotel Dusk is as good as it looks, our beloved Phoenix Wright may have some competition at the top of the heap of DS adventure games.Check out the new trailer after the jump.
Tell Capcom the obvious: add Infrastructure support to Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter Freedom is based on the PlayStation 2 game, Monster Hunter. The two share a great deal of similarities, like fantasy environments and dungeon hacking. But the PSP version of this Capcom adventure game is missing one key feature of the PlayStation 2 version: online play.
Metareview: Touch Detective
Color us disappointed. Touch Detective looks so fascinating, from the unusual art style to the story to the eyebrow-raisingly strange sidekick Funghi. We were looking forward to it, and still are ... just with less fervor. It's interesting to note that while the game is often compared in reviews to Trace Memory (and, of course, our beloved Phoenix Wright), due to the gameplay and style, the way reviewers refer to Trace Memory is quite varied (it's terrible! it's great! it's so-so!), so it's probably not surprising that some love Touch Detective and others think the developers should probably be beaten. Most of the reviews have one thing in common, however -- the gameplay aspect of Touch Detective, well, it isn't so good. GameSpy - 40%: Touch Detective may have the weirdest, driest sense of humor I've ever encountered in a game. It's rarely if ever laugh-out-loud funny, but it did make me smile a bunch, particularly when reading Mackenzie's secret thoughts on the top screen. The localized script is very capably written. Despite all this, the storylines are just not very intriguing. Worse, the game isn't very engaging to play. The puzzles are a weird combination of simple yet obtuse; there's generally not a lot of items you can get at any one time, yet the way you use them is often weird enough that the solution's not very obvious. Sometimes I'd seem to run out of options, which led to much frustrated back-tracking through the game's decidedly small number of environments. The problem often turned out to be that I simply hadn't clicked in the right place on a certain screen; for example, in a store, it transpired that only one of the items was purchasable, and it took me several trips there (and a lucky tap) to figure out I could get the item I knew I wanted. That's the epitome of very annoying game design.
Happy Monkey Island music day
PS3 this, Wii that... whatever happened to the days when all you needed for a good time was a crappy computer and a copy of your favorite adventure game? Relive those days with a selection of music from LucasArts' brilliant Monkey Island series, performed on piano, mandolin, and live six-piece band (cool!) Previous game music days (please excuse the two week gap)
New adventure game coming for DS
Sinking Island, an adventure game coming to a PC near you come February, is to be available on a DS near you soon, as well. A mystery/adventure title from White Birds, Sinking Island is the first in what is to be a series of games starring a middle-aged PI named Jack Norm. The premise of Sinking Island actually has Jack traversing an island sinking from the massive weight of a hotel built upon it.Pre-production on the game has begun, however White Birds did not comment on a release date for the DS version of the game.[Via Go Nintendo]
