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Bangai-O HD Missile Fury preview: Co-overboard
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury feels a lot more like an Xbox 360 successor to Bangai-O Spirits than it did when I played it at TGS. The demo available in Tokyo seemed a lot more straightforward, more "here are a bunch of enemies for you to shoot" -- in other words, more original Bangai-O -- than the cleverly-designed, semi-puzzle stage design that the DS game brought. But that was just the TGS demo. Most of the elements that made Bangai-O Spirits what it was have carried over into the XBLA game, with a few important changes. Perhaps the most notable change is the addition of multiplayer. You might not think putting one more thing (another player) on the screen in a game about filling the screen with objects would be a big deal, but it doubles the unfathomable insanity.%Gallery-118474%
Dream Trigger 3D preview: Bullet hello
D3 Publisher's 3DS launch window title, Dream Trigger 3D, takes the basics of bullet-hell shooters and scrambles them into something unexpected and even more difficult. Well, perhaps I should say it takes a basic of bullet-hell shooters: bullets all over the damn place. The rest is pretty much all new, and crazy. How crazy? Dream Trigger is a shooter in which you can't see the enemy ships, and in which you fire into the screen. %Gallery-118412%
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury's first trailer is (naturally) explosive
You might have thought you had seen all of the explosion-themed XBLA media you were going to today. You were spectacularly, explosively wrong. D3 Publisher sent out the first gameplay footage of Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury for XBLA today, and it promises to test the limits of your tolerance for exploding projectiles. In a good way. If you're not totally weary of bullets by the time you watch that, you might be able to handle the new screens in our gallery. And if you're still not satisfied you've seen enough stuff blowing up, well, the game is out this spring!%Gallery-116339%
Your first look at 3DS's 'Dream Trigger'
D3 Publisher announced Dream Trigger, a musical 3DS shmup with an interesting "sonar" gimmick, back in December. Today, the publisher finally shared the first screenshots of the Art Co. Ltd.-developed shooter and, well ... it's almost as hard to make sense of these screens as it was of no screens. The images reveal abstract, colorful backgrounds, ranging from glowing circles of unknown composition to some kind of circular city, all covered in diamond-shaped bullets. What looks like the "sonar" effect issues out in two beams from the player ship to locate enemies. With backgrounds like these, it's good you have some kind of tool to highlight the enemies. To see more of D3 Publisher's first 3D publication, head into our gallery below.%Gallery-116261%
Japanese Gods Eater Burst DLC includes Taiko Drum Master, Tales & Soul Calibur items
For the Japanese release of Gods Eater Burst, Namco Bandai is planning DLC that brings in costumes and items based on other Namco properties that, frankly, have no business being in a game like this -- which is great! A free DLC pack headed to the Japanese PSN on February 10 adds costumes to make your characters look like Asbel and Cheria from Tales of Graces (the PS3 version of which was just announced for North America). The pack also comes with weapons based on the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge swords from the Soul Calibur series. Best of all, the DLC includes costumes based on Taiko Drum Master, which are way too bright and happy to be appropriate for the grotesque Gods Eater Burst. Burst arrives in North America this spring, but no announcements have been made about whether we'll be wielding the Soul Edge in our version.
Earth Defense Force 2 Portable being released as two-pack in Japan
D3 Publisher is including an unusual, but sensible bonus with a limited edition of Earth Defense Force 2 Portable: a second copy of Earth Defense Force 2 Portable. The first print run of the PSP remake will be available as the "Double Enlistment Pack," containing two UMD copies of the game -- in full retail packaging -- bundled together for ¥6,279 ($76), a significant discount over buying two ¥5,040 ($61) copies individually. It'll be out in Japan April 7. This is a great way to get a co-op game into the hands of a population that already has a bunch of PSPs and a taste for multiplayer on that system, thanks to Monster Hunter.
Earth Defense Force 2 Portable swarms PSP, adds co-op
You don't want to battle all those giant alien bugs alone, do you? As with every other Japanese-developed PSP game released since Monster Hunter, D3 Publisher is porting the Earth Defense Force franchise onto Sony's handheld -- and adding co-op, of course. Earth Defense Force 2 Portable is, predictably, a port of the original Earth Defense Force 2 for PS2. In addition to the 71 missions included in the original, the PSP version will boast brand new missions. According to a translation by Andriasang, all missions can be played with at least one friend over local wi-fi, as seen in the picture above. However, D3 hasn't confirmed if co-op can support any additional players. (We all know four is the magic number, right?) EDF2P is currently scheduled for a Spring release next year. Considering Earth Defense Force will be making an appearance in the US on PS3 and Xbox 360, it seems possible that this handheld game will be localized as well.
D3 Publisher pings 3DS with 'Dream Trigger'
D3 Publisher's first 3DS game is the arcade shooter Dream Trigger, which uses the 3D capabilities of the device for really exciting explosions. Before blasting enemies in the Art Co. Ltd.-developed shooter, you must locate them using sonar. Then, when you do destroy them, they go away in "explosive 3D patterns." 3D also shows up in the "multi-layered environments." No screens have been released yet, so we'll all have to imagine that eye candy for now. And that's too bad, because we're intrigued by the idea of a sonar-based shmup and we'd like to see more. D3 also declined to offer any release date estimates for Dream Trigger.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon trailer attacks Earth
We're already getting tired of the voice clips in this Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon footage. That's kind of a bad sign. We're taking the preponderance of jetpack-based action in the trailer, however, as a good sign. You can mute a game, but TV remotes don't have "add jetpack" buttons. %Gallery-104220%
Bangai-O HD delayed until spring, Treasure adding multiplayer
Okay, we have some bad news and some awesome news. First, the bad news: you won't be blowing up robots, houses, mines, and everything around you with bajillions of projectiles in Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury this fall. D3 Publisher announced that the XBLA title has been delayed until spring. How can a delay be awesome? Developer Treasure is using the extra time to add multiplayer gameplay, including both cooperative and competitive modes. Despite Bangai-O Spirits on the DS having wireless local multiplayer capabilities, Missile Fury was originally announced without any. We suppose we can wait a few months if it means we can share Bangai-O with our friends. Find the statement from D3 after the break.%Gallery-102643%
Get a taste of God Eater Burst
The Tokyo Game Show trailer for God Eater Burst teaches us a lesson that everyone in the game's world should have learned from their mothers: don't mess with another guy's God Arc. It also also gives us a good idea of what content has been added for the "Burst" version of the game.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon video crawls out
D3 Publisher's least embarrassing budget game series, Earth Defense Force, is returning this spring on Xbox 360 and PS3 in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon. The tiny amount of media released by D3 so far, including a teaser trailer after the break, suggests that this new game has a lot in common with its predecessors: specifically, big insectoid monsters destroying a city, and a team of futuristic soldiers shooting them. However, we know it's not exactly like previous EDF games, in one important and troubling way. All the previous EDFs have been developed by Sandlot, but this one is in the hands of Eat Lead developer Vicious Cycle Software -- which adds an element of "waiting and seeing" to our anticipation for this sequel.%Gallery-102610%
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury preview: the tension is getting good
It was an amazing feat on Treasure's part to fit Bangai-O, a game about intentionally letting the screen fill with bajillions of bullets, onto the DS. I was then extremely interested in seeing how the developer would fare with Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, an updated sequel to the N64/Dreamcast/DS series on a system that is, for all intents and purposes, free of technical restrictions. As it turns out, despite having much more screen area to stuff with robots and missiles, Bangai-O HD is actually a bit less insane than its DS predecessor.%Gallery-102643%
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon teaser site opens
D3's Earth Defense Force 2017 wasn't a great game, but it holds a rather special place in our hearts. The campy action game had you running around, rocket launcher in hand, blasting apart swarms of giant alien invaders. Pretty much everything exploded on the screen, making it one of gaming's great guilty pleasures. It seems like someone's prepping another title in the Earth Defense Force franchise. A teaser site reveals the new subtitle, Insect Armageddon ... and absolutely nothing else about the project. But, considering how straightforward these games tend to be, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this new title: insects and explosions. Lots of insects and explosions.
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury blowing up XBLA this fall
In the mood for explosive news about explosions? Treasure's multi-scrolling, fruit-collecting shooter series Bangai-O is heading to XBLA this fall, published by D3 Publisher and priced at 800 Microsoft Points. Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury features over 100 levels of omnidirectional blasting. Like its DS predecessor Bangai-O Spirits, it also features a level editor, though presumably the XBLA version won't require levels to be traded as sound files. The game will be on display this weekend at PAX for attendees who feel like hitting giant soccer balls into ninja robots -- with a baseball bat, in exchange for giant fruit.
Solve Puzzle Quest 2 on Steam August 12
Though we usually elect to enjoy Puzzle Quest 2 during life's natural intermissions -- red lights, bathroom visits, literal intermissions between two acts of a lengthy musical -- we suppose having it on our home computer would be equally convenient. (We spend a lot of time on computers, you know.) We'll all get our chance to grab the game's PC iteration when it lands on Steam next Thursday, August 12. The puzzle-RPG will be available for the (relatively) bargain price of $19.99 -- but if you'd like to do a bit of damage to that cost, you can save 10 percent by pre-ordering the game on Steam.
Jillian Michaels gives her Fitness Ultimatum to D3 Publisher
If we keep ignoring the demands set forth by Jillian Michaels, she is going to get really mad. The trainer is giving us her third Fitness Ultimatum, Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2011, so we'd better all get fit or else. She's putting her foot down this time. And this time, the Ultimatum is being delivered only in the form of a Wii game (no DS game), so there's no option to kowtow to Ms. Michaels on the go. Ultimatum 2011 incorporates a more traditional game-like design than its predecessors, including a story mode that involves taking down "an evil food and drug corporation." Intriguingly, the license is now in the hands of D3 Publisher rather than Majesco. Majesco recently popped up in the news when it acquired the My Baby license from SouthPeak (though not with SouthPeak's cooperation), and now one of its former licenses has moved to another company. %Gallery-98907%
D3 putting Yogi Bear game in our pic-a-nic baskets
If you haven't heard about this, we hate to be the ones to have to tell you: there's a live-action/CG Yogi Bear movie on the way, starring Dan Aykroyd as Yogi and Justin Timberlake as Boo Boo. Why are we burdening you with this information? Because D3 Publisher announced a video game based on it, also starring Dan Aykroyd. Yogi Bear: The Video Game for Wii and DS, coinciding with the movie's holiday release, puts players in the collar and tie of Yogi Bear as he attempts to save Jellystone Park from being shut down. As you navigate through the park you'll be expected, of course, to steal pic-a-nic baskets without drawing the ranger's attention. D3, a company owned by Namco Bandai, secured an agreement with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the license to this game, which Monkey Bar Games is developing. A lot of companies are working together to make sure you have this Yogi Bear game.
Updated 'God Eater Burst' out in North America and Europe in 2011
D3 Publisher no longer plans to release God Eater in North America or Europe. But it's all right, because we're going to get the updated version of the action RPG, God Eater Burst, instead. Now scheduled for a first-quarter release in North America next year and for an unspecified date in 2011 in Europe (published by Namco Bandai), God Eater Burst includes "more than twice the number of missions in the original God Eater," along with a new "Burst Mode" that can be used to temporarily power up characters' "Devouring Attacks." "If you've ever wondered what a god tastes like," the press release teases, "you won't have to wait long to find out." And we thought it was just a clever name!
Review: Puzzle Quest 2 (DS)
When creating the follow-up to a critically beloved game, it's rare for a developer to lose sight of just about every aspect of what made the original so great. That was the unfortunate case with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix -- a title so disappointing, it led many fans to worry that the franchise's maiden voyage was merely a fluke. A really entertaining, addictive-as-all-get-out fluke, but a fluke nonetheless. Where Galactrix represented an attempt at innovation by first throwing out baby, bathwater and tub, Puzzle Quest 2 is a love letter to the jilted fans of Challenge of the Warlords. It not only recalls the prodigal formula of the series' first iteration -- it improves on that formula in countless clever ways.
