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Wish granted: New The 3rd Birthday media from Gamescom
And you thought nobody was paying attention when you blew out the candles on your birthday cake earlier today. We were watching, little Timmy! ... Okay, so we can't take all of the credit for the new screens and trailer from Square Enix's upcoming spin-off in the Parasite Eve universe, The 3rd Birthday. The new media comes direct from Gamescom 2010 in Germany, but, like, if you want to credit us with making your dreams come true, we're cool with that. In the end, isn't having your wishes fulfilled all that matters? %Gallery-99782%
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, The 3rd Birthday TGS trailers leaked
That gorgeous girl above is Aya Brea, the star of the Parasite Eve series of games, in a concept drawing for the latest game in the franchise, The 3rd Birthday . According to Siliconera, the upcoming PSP exclusive (mobile phone version has been scrapped) will be developed by Hexadrive, who was responsible for Rez HD. What's more, we've got the leaked TGS trailers for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and The 3rd Birthday. The Birth by Sleep one is quite the long one, and it begins at about the 2:00 mark -- it includes both cut scenes and gameplay -- most of us haven't seen the game in action, so this is quite a treat. The trailer for The 3rd Birthday, is considerably less exciting, with no gameplay, but keep in mind this is the first trailer. Check them out after the jump.Source -- SiliconeraSource -- Youtube[Thanks, dsvw56!]
Joystiq hands-on: Rez HD
As vector-like throwing-star enemies corkscrewed towards me, I defended myself with a gun that made electronic clapping sounds. I fired the gun. Clap. I fired two quick shots. Clap Clap. My applause aligned with the electronic beats spilling from the speakers. It was Korg-like synth-aesthesia, and almost immediately, I cared more about clapping in-time to the music than shooting back. Rez HD surrounded me in a coordinated, sensory bombardment. The controller in my hand shook and bobbed with the beats while controllers under my feet and on my back vibrated a counter-tempo pattern. 5.1 surround-sound flew from all directions, and the neon-sharp HD game-world pulled me into its reality. In my brief time with Rez HD, I decided that it wasn't a game as much as an experience. There's a game inside somewhere, but the title feels like a journey, rewarding meandering through levels instead of racing to the end. And even though it's a linear shooter, Rez HD hides a lot of exploration; I look forward to moving slowly through the game after its January 30 release. %Gallery-12973%
Rez HD arriving this month for 800 MSP
Good news for synaesthetes and fans of all things awesome: a friendly press release from Q Entertainment informs us that Testuya Mizuguchi's Rez HD will be landing on Xbox Live Arcade in "only a few weeks," for the very reasonable price of 800 Microsoft Points. Along with the highly-anticipated "trance vibration" support, the enhanced port of the Dreamcast/PS2 classic will include a high-definition upgrade to the visuals, and feature 5.1 surround sound. The game will also introduce new audio and visual effects, a new Replay Theater for re-watching play data, and the usual suite of XBLA leaderboards and achievements. Check out the gallery below for some gorgeous new shots of Rez in all its trippy, HD glory. %Gallery-12973%
Reminder: Rez HD is a trip
If you were one of the many shmucks who didn't pick up Rez when it came out on the Dreamcast and PS2, you can redeem yourself in our eyes when a visually souped-up version of the game drops on the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in the (hopefully) near future. Yes, it might be sans one unintentionally stimulating peripheral this time around, but it still feels like playing an absinthe-fueled round of Panzer Dragoon in the middle of a warehouse rave. Hopefully the surfacing of the above gameplay footage from the uncleverly titled Rez HD is a sign that we'll find what we really want under our tree this holiday season -- a good case of synesthesia.
