baroque
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Ten for under twenty at Gamefly's sale
In these belt-tightening, penny-pinching times, it literally pays to have a nose for the bargains. That's where we, or rather Gamefly, comes in. The game rental outfit has a broad selection of used Wii software for low, world banking crisis-friendly prices, and we chose ten of the best sub-$20 games to tempt you. Thar be bargains ahead! Baroque for $12.99 Battalion Wars 2 for $17.99 Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy for $9.99 Dewy's Adventure for $13.99 Geometry Wars: Galaxies for $16.99 Mercury: Meltdown Revolution for $15.99 NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for $12.99 No More Heroes for $17.99 Sega Superstars Tennis for $9.99 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for $17.99 There's actually a ton more we could have mentioned, including Super Mario Galaxy for $32.99, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $30.99, and Metroid Prime 3 for $26.99. Sadly, "One hundred and fifty-eight for under forty-two" just doesn't work as a headline. Hit up the "Source" link for the full set. %Gallery-3283% [Thanks, William!]
Go Baroque without spending a lot
Sales on Atlus games have become more common in this hardware generation, but it still feels special and a little bit transgressive to buy an Atlus-published game for less than it cost at release. Of course, novelty is hardly sufficient reason to buy Sting's Baroque, but there's also the fact that it's a pretty good game -- and some people may be starved for a Wii RPG experience by now.Amazon is featuring both the Wii and PS2 versions of the sorta-roguelike as their Deal of the Day, for a scant $16.98. At that price, you could buy both versions for comparison purposes and still pay less than regular price. Or you could save money!%Gallery-11716%
Fanswag: Baroque goes to ...
Well, our latest giveaway has come to a close and it's about time we crowned a winner. It was a tough decision (not really, we choose the winner via random drawing), but we managed to do it. Who won? It was none other than: comtar, who is a fan of Run Saber Congrats to our winner and thank you all for entering this giveaway. Better luck next time!
Fanswag: Get lost in Baroque
We've got another giveaway for you all, with the prize being one copy of Baroque. Folks who enjoy the roguelikes will likely want to bounce on this one. Or fans of Atlus overall. Either way, free stuff is good stuff.How do you enter? Simply leave a comment telling us what your favorite Atlus game is. If you've never played an Atlus title before, check out Wikipedia. You can leave one comment per day, between now and 11:59PM ET on Monday, September 1st, which is when the giveaway ends. As always, this latest giveaway is only open to current and legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec). Also, entrants need to be at least 18 years of age. Read up on the official rules right here.%Gallery-11716%
First Impressions: Requiem: Bloodymare
We've been talking about this game for months now, and Requiem: Bloodymare is finally available to play. Hailed as the first horror MMO, there are definitely aspects of R:B that are pretty gruesome. Whether or not they freak you out is between you and the game. I will say that, having played the beta, Gravity Interactive has made leaps and bounds in turning this title into something that I could spend a great deal of time playing.What you behold is our First Impressions for Requiem: Bloodymare, a feature meant to give you some idea of what gameplay will be like once you've signed up for an account. Keep in mind: this is not a guide, there is no insider knowledge here. This post merely details the experiences playing this title for the first few hours; your mileage may vary. Up, up, and away!%Gallery-26440%
Wario Land Shake gets dated for Europe, among others
We've been following Wario Land: The Shake Dimension for quite some time now. After the numerous scans and screens, we're about ready to hear something on a release date for the game. Well, as ready as we are in North America, it looks like Europe is the only region with a cemented release for the game. Wario Land: The Shake Dimension will release in Europe on September 26th. Aside from that game, Nintendo of Europe also dished out release dates for plenty of other Wii games, including Baroque (July 18) and Manhunt 2 (August). To check out the full list, head on past the break.
Baroque sale won't leave you broke
It's hard enough to convince gamers to buy a roguelike, but asking them to pay $39.99 for a dressed-up remake of a Sega Saturn dungeon crawl? Fuhgeddaboudit!If pricing has been that barrier keeping you from exploring Baroque's Neuro Tower dungeons, look to Amazon for a deal-of-the-day discount. The online retailer has slashed $14 off Baroque, bringing it down to $25.99. That makes this Sting-developed, Atlus-published title eligible for free shipping!Make sure to read our review for Baroque first to get an idea of what you're jumping into! It's not a game for everyone!%Gallery-11716%[Via CAG]
This Week in Review has a Nintendo overload
We had quite a bit of fun at Nintendo's Media Summit this year checking out the new DS, Wii and WiiWare titles. Enjoy our impressions from the event, including several WiiWare launch titles (Major League Eating!). While we keep re-reading the amazing "Cooking Mama 2" letter, check out all of our hands-on impressions and reviews from the Joystiq Network this week:Nintendo WiiWare Joystiq impressions: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare) Joystiq hands-on: LostWinds (WiiWare) Joystiq hands-on: Major League Eating: The Game (WiiWare) Joystiq hands-on: Pop (Wiiware) Joystiq impressions: Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (WiiWare) Joystiq hands-on: World of Goo (WiiWare)
Wii Fanboy Review: Baroque
I'll be frank -- when I first started Baroque, I hated it. Being thrown into such a strange and ugly world with the barest of backstories was completely disorienting. I had no idea where to go or what to do, and didn't have the luxury of taking my time to explore because my vitality meter was plummeting from the get-go. One character (known as the Coffin Man) kept yelling "goddamnit!" at me, and when I finally got to the place where I was supposed to be, it wasn't long before I died.If I hadn't been reviewing this game, I probably would have quit right there. But, since it's (clearly) considered bad form to write a review after only twenty minutes of playtime, I trekked on -- and I'm extremely glad that I did. Once I delved deeper into the world of Baroque, I realized that first impressions aren't always the best impressions.Now that you've kindly read through my personal aside, let's move on to the actual review, shall we?%Gallery-11716%
Europe gets Baroque
We're impressed with Rising Star, who have been bringing a lot of niche games to Europe. The most recent one on the publisher's list is Baroque, which will be hitting the continent on June 27th. We're sure that Rising Star is hoping that the game will sell decently, but after seeing how it was received in Japan, the company might be a little worried. Of course, it can't do any worse than that ... can it?In any case, we're sure that at least some of you folks in Europe will be glad to get the chance to play Sting's hardcore roguelike on your Wiis. Gallery: Baroque [Via press release]
WRUP: Playing the role edition
Many folks have had their eye on Baroque, taking note of its release this week. And if you aren't one of those people, then this isn't your week. There's, uh, Mini Copter Adventure Flight, if you're brave enough to try and tackle such a big adventure in such a small copter. But, other than that, nada.So are you going to check out Atlus' RPG? We suggest you wait for a certain gaming blog to weigh in first, as they're in the process of reviewing it as you read this. Until then, might we suggest seeing if there is a Virtual Console game you want to download or checking out one of the many Wii games that recently received a price slash? If not, what are you playing?%Gallery-11716%
Wii releases for the week of April 7th
It's Monday again, which means we check out what's on the radar for Wii. This week, a pair of new titles release, including Atlus's latest for the Wii. It may have been pushed back a few times, but RPG fans may finally rejoice. This week's releases are: Mini Copter Adventure Flight Baroque Anyone interested in either of these titles? Planning on picking up a new game this week?%Gallery-11716%
Additions to your Baroque flipbook
We've gotten a peek at so many screens from Baroque that we're ready to hijack someone's posh color printer and start making our own little flipbook. We hear that if you turn the pages at just the right speed, you can see Creepy Bastards and Emo Mummies in full motion. Sure, we could pick up the manga, but we're shooting for creativity here. Try not to stifle the process.In other news, we have seen a gushing floodwater of media from this title. Go ahead -- check it out in the updated gallery.%Gallery-11716%[Via press release]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/17-3/23
Goodbye, Family Ski and Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008 -- we hardly knew ye. While Family Ski enjoyed a seven-week run in the top thirty, Wining Eleven (aka Pro Evolution Soccer) only lasted for four. It's no coincidence that they fell off this week, though, as fifteen spots were taken up by new releases.The big Wii dog in town was not Brawl (which ended up 7th), and not even Wii Fit (which ended up 5th), but new release Deca Sports. We can't help but wonder if the appearance of Deca Sports will have an effect on that other sports game for the Wii. Is there room for both on the charts? (We think so.) And will Deca Sports have the same longevity as Wii Sports? (Probably not, but we're sure the game will do well for itself.) It's also worth noting that Deca Sports had the third highest third-party sales debut for the Wiil, following only Dragon Quest: Swords and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.
New Baroque screens blazing forth
Atlus doesn't want you to forget about Baroque, and we don't, either. Clichés like amnesia and world-saving aside, the dark RPG sounds -- and looks -- really fascinating, and we can only hope it delivers. For now, however, we're delivering up some new screenshots, courtesy of Atlus, showing off some battle footage, as well as the support character, the Baroquemonger. Despite his onscreen discussion about customers, he does not ask, "What are you buying?" We're sad.We've added a ton of character images for you to check out, too. The artistic design for Baroque is really setting a high standard -- we can't wait to see the final product!%Gallery-11716%[Via press release]
A few Baroque screens to darken your day
Baroque may have experienced a few delays, but it's still on the way, as evidenced by the screens in our spiffy new gallery. Or perhaps we should say new-ish, because we've seen a couple of them before in blurry, muddied forms, and now they're crisp, clean, and much more attractive. We're happy to be reminded of this title, and happier still that it was pushed back so as not to compete with Super Smash Bros. Brawl; after all, we want more RPGs on the Wii, not fewer, and if Baroque does well, it might help developers to realize that there are more than just casual gamers among the Wii's audience.%Gallery-11716%[Via press release]
Four new PSN games for Japan
It took forever to translate the names of these new Japanese PSN games, but we finally got them. Recently hitting the PlayStation Network over in the land of the rising sun are four PlayStation classics: Ide Yosuke no Mahjong Kyoshitsu, Baroque Syndrome, Wai Wai Bowling, and Um Jammer Lammy.Three out of the four games were not released outside Japan; the only one that was seen in the west was Um Jammer Lammy -- a rhythm game spin-off of PaRappa the Rapper. The Ide Yosuke game is yet another Mahjong game, while Wai Wai Bowling is, um, bowling. Lastly, Baroque Syndrome is a prequel to the PS1 RPG Baroque (which is also available on the PSN, at the same time ported to the PS2).While there's really only one or two titles that are worth getting on that list, it still is quite annoying that the Japanese PS1 game library is way better than ours. When will our library start flooding with more and more PS1 games?
Baroque gets delayed? [update]
Update: It's official. The game has been delayed. Thanks to LordGek for pointing this out to us!It looks like Baroque is getting pushed back yet again, as the release window of March is no more. Actually, it could still be on track for a March release, however word from gaming retail giant GameStop is that the game is releasing on the 8th of April. To add more credibility to this rumor, Gamefly is saying the game isn't releasing until the 10th of April.While this is far from official word via Atlus or something, odds are that those of us dying to get our hands on the RPG will have to wait an extra month. And, hey, if there's one thing us Wii gamers have learned, it's how to wait for games we want.%Gallery-11716%[Via Go Nintendo]
You don't need to be from the 17th century to appreciate Baroque
With Atlus's Baroque coming to the U.S. in March, we here at the Wii Fanboy offices have been getting prepared for the RPG. We've been checking every bestiary we have here at HQ, going over possible battles ahead and compiling strategies for each scenario. Like the sports team with a big match coming up, we're now carefully scrutinizing the above film, taking care to commit any and all things to memory.If the video has piqued your interest, check out some screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-11716%
Joystiq interview: Atlus goes for Baroque, talks future plans
'The road less traveled' seems the mantra for Irvine, California-based Atlus USA. With an impressive catalog of obscure titles to its credit, Atlus is looked to by many North American gamers as a beacon of originality, having localized such titles and franchises as Odin Sphere, Persona, and Growlanser, among many others. But why does this company remain dedicated to games of such niche appeal? Unable to come up with a consensus, we marched upon Atlus USA itself, and spoke with some of the employees who didn't duck out of sight when they saw us coming, including editor Clayton S. Chan, PR and sales assistant manager Aram Jabbari, production director Bill Alexander, and QA lead Victor Gonzalez.What did they have to say? Read the complete interview, including in-depth insight into the company's upcoming PS2 and Wii 'hardcore' dungeon crawler Baroque, after the jump.%Gallery-14477%
