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First Impressions: Mabinogi
Mabinogi is an engaging MMO by Nexon, the makers of Maple Story, Audition, and Kart Rider. The name is derived from the Mabinogion, a collection of old Welsh stories. In that sense, it's well-named; Mabinogi is billed as 'your fantasy life', and much of what happens in the game follows a gentle, pastoral atmosphere -- even the combat, to a certain degree. We had the chance to check this out, now that it's in open beta, and here's what we found. Keep in mind that this is not a guide -- we have no insider knowledge to report. This is merely a record of our opinions and experience playing this game for the first few hours. Excelsior!%Gallery-18335%
World of Kung Fu gives North America love on Valentine's Day
Fans of combat systems based on Eastern martial arts will be getting a valentine from VestGame Entertainment. World of Kung Fu is arriving in North America on the 14th as an open beta, and I couldn't be more excited. A kung fu devotee myself, I've been interested in this title, which bases combat styles on your preferred weapon, from standards like the spear and sword, to more esoteric types like the fan and hook. But even better than that is the game's stated intention:'Unlike other games in which the point of the experience is to defeat monsters and enemies, this game invites the martial artists to become deeply involved in the development and establishment of a society which interweaves economic and social systems. The game also enables the players to enjoy the emotions of a private life filled with romance and drama. Furthermore, as they increase their skills, the players can establish their own school and master their own style of Kung Fu which they will then be able to pass on to others, plus much more!'Expect a First Impressions to arrive shortly. I'll do my best to look at this critically, but come on, you can buy a 'Fortune Pig' to pick up your loot for you! How could this not be great? Stay tuned ...
Today's most political video and game: Kung-Fu Election
Atom Films hosts Kung-Fu Election, a Mortal Kombat knock-off fighting game starring Republican and Democratic primary front-runners. While the game is fairly deep -- boasting three attack buttons plus special moves -- the intro video snared us. Who knew Obama could shred like that?See the non-embeddable video, play the game, then tell us how far you fared in the democratic primary tournament. [Via AdRants]
Open beta for Zu Online starts tonight
If you're looking for a game with a Chinese-wuxia-esque twist, you'll be interested to know that Zu Online will enter its open beta testing phase this evening at 8:00 PM EST. Poke around the official website for the client download (which can even be acquired via BitTorrent, if that's your sort of thing!) and for instructions for the actual launch when it comes. All the old alpha accounts are getting wiped just prior to the beginning of the new phase, so the servers will be a level playing field for new players. If you're not familiar with the game: it's a Kung Fu MMO which features player flight and group-oriented story quests as major selling points. It also has a really neat, stylized cell-shaded look -- something that when you think about it seems like a really good match for the genre.Animated, story-driven Wire Fu -- how can you possibly go wrong with that?
This week on the Japanese Virtual Console: Golden Kung Fu Adventures
Hey, a Japanese Virtual Console update we don't have to be jealous of! Usually, Japan gets all kinds of great stuff, and we get, at best, Japan's great stuff from a month ago. This week: nothing to fret about, really. Front Line (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) Adventures of Lolo (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Golden Axe II (Mega Drive, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) The Kung Fu (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) We like Golden Axe II, but we feel confident it'll be here soon. We already know we're getting The Kung Fu this month (as China Warrior). We've never played Front Line, but it looks very ... proto-NES. That leaves Lolo, which, as a HAL Laboratory title and an okay game, is no doubt the subject of a lot of frothing demand. It'll come out here eventually!
Kanji Dragon blows through Akihabara
Sunday came and went, taking with it our hopes of ever meeting Kanji Dragon's martial artist. The kung-fu character posed for a few shots at Success Corp's Akihabara event over the weekend, hyping the kanji-training action title. Just looking at the photos and all the fun we missed out on feels like getting crane-kicked right in the heart.Though we didn't get to attend the soiree, it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. We stuffed our Pokemon backpacks with dozens of DS and GBA games, our favorite G.I. Joes, and a plastic baggie loaded with Pringles (these were crushed into little flaky bits before we even zipped our Squirtle bags shut) before heading out to hitchhike a ride to Japan, but we didn't even make it past two blocks before the police picked us up and drove us home. Our parents were pissed. Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon DVDs containing all of the game's promotional videos, including an unreleased action clip, were passed out to attendees. Peek past the post break for another exciting image from the event and a look at the multicolored shirts that were given to those who preordered the title. You might also see us hugging our knees in the corner, sniffling and trying to pretend like we just didn't spend all afternoon crying.
Kanji Dragon scheduled to kick Akihabara's ass
We're well aware that the gaming press couldn't care less about Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon; interest for a kanji-training beat 'em up is niche at best, and to be honest, this whole kung fu theatre advertising push is a bit silly. But are we going to let that stop us from inundating you with every single scrap of Kanji Dragon news that we come across? Of course not!Success Corp. will be celebrating the educational brawler's June 7th release with a special event this Sunday at Akihabara's Sofmap amusement complex. Attendees will be able to play the game and will even receive a limited edition T-shirt if they pre-order a copy. The title's fumbling mascot will also be making an appearance, handing out Kanji Dragon Director's Cut DVDs. Make sure to check past the post break for a larger version of the disc's explosive cover.To say we're disheartened by the fact that we won't be able to attend is an understatement. We wept bitter tears as we read the press release's jumbled Google translation, yelling out in grief when we learned that we'd miss out on free souvenirs. Rod Stewart poignantly sang "So Far Away" as a montage of us drowning our sorrows with too many drinks and loose women played right before fading to black.
Kanji Ken's boxart: the legend continues
Kanji Ken's packaging doesn't look like anything you would expect from other "training games," but you could say the same about its teaching methods. The educational title eschews traditional academic themes, opting instead for a style that drills students on Chinese characters through kung-fu battles that play out on the handheld's topscreen. The game's cover art shows its martial arts hero at the crest of his flying kick, clutching a Nintendo DS Lite. A collage of characters surround his dynamite pose, each one more enthralling than the last! There's a drunken kung-fu fighter, an inviting blonde with no visible end to her dress' plunging neckline, and a sinister robot looming in the background. The Great Wall of China is thrown in to sweeten the deal.Head past the post break for a better look at Kanji Ken's casing and a new screenshot of the menacing automaton.
Kanji Ken continues to confuse
The latest screenshots for Kanji Ken give us a better idea of what to expect from the game -- players translate hiragana characters, writing their kanji equivalent on the touchscreen. Scribbling out the correct Chinese symbols assists the kung-fu hero brawling on the top screen. That part of the mystery is solved!What has us befuddled, however, is the new trailer that Success Corp. is using to promote the game. The minute-long video plays out an epic, live-action duel between Kanji Ken's martial arts mascot and... a folding chair? The two opponents exchange a barrage of punches and high-flying kicks, neither of them revealing the motives behind their battle.Head past the post break for the movie clip and screenshots.
Thank you internet: Kung Fu (NES)
Browsing the internet (or "surfing," if you prefer) very often feels like partaking in a twisted treasure hunt, laced with non-sensical clues and unrelated rewards. You start out looking at a review of the latest Bond film, you follow a link here, do a search there and before you know it, you're downloading a hilarious video of a walrus being launched from a catapult. Just such a situation lead us to become briefly obsessed with Kung Fu, that classic face-kicking adventure on the NES. It would be completely inconsiderate if we didn't share some of our findings.Find four Youtube videos embedded after the break -- if you only watch one, make sure it's the last one.
Your daily fix of funny
The "great and esteemed Ludwig" (his words, not mine) stumbled across this video today, and of course felt the need to validate his existence by immediately sending it to me. Though quite old (2003), the hilariously dubbed montage of several Nintendo classics has awesome to spare. Watch! And be merry.(A small warning: this is perhaps NSFW, due to a bit of profanity in the first few seconds.)
Researcher slams games for "blatant racism"
An interesting article on Next Generation details the findings of one Robert Purangao, a researcher from the University of British Columbia, who just recently completed a report on racism in video games. The conclusion is that, unlike the gratuitous violence and sex, the "blatant racism" in games has gone largely unnoticed. Luckily, Mr. Purangao endeavored to locate it for us and subjected himself to a sweeping total of four games. After playing Kung Fu, Shadow Warrior, Warcraft III and Grand Theft Auto 3 for hours on end, Purangao ceased pushing buttons and instead relegated his fingers to decisive pointing.Surprisingly, he blames GTA for featuring non-white gangsters being blown up by a white protagonist, the former being "stock characters" serving only as "narrative obstacles to be overcome." He's certainly stumbled onto something here -- evil gangsters are definitely stock characters and stereotypical video game villains (see also: aliens, nazis, alien nazis), but it has nothing to do with their skin color. If that were the case, we'd be especially excited about the table-turning report on San Andreas.Despite being obviously driven by parody, Shadow Warrior doesn't escape reprimand either -- it features a Chinese villain hero who screams "just like Hiroshima!" when he fires off a rocket. Purangao accuses game designers of using "a mix and match grab bag of Asian stereotypes that are often nonsensical," though he fails to specify whether or not all game designers do that. Another discovery he must have made here is that designers often make terrible games.Sadly, the article is bereft of any details regarding the other two games under investigation. It seems likely that Purangao came across Warcraft III's shocking portrayal of orcs as slobbering and brutal beasts obsessed with burning, ransacking and smashing skulls.
Virtua Fighter 5 only for PS3 next spring
There was a time when Virtua Fighter 5 was considered a strong candidate for an arcade port to the Xbox 360, but that multiplatform hope's been dashed with the official announcement that VF5 will appear only on PS3 in the spring of 2007. Sega's technical fighter is a Sony exclusive once more.While home-console online play remains doubtful at this point, next-gen PlayStation owners can now securely look forward to facing off as El Blaze and Eileen (the new luchador and monkey kung-fu artist, respectively) along with the other 15 fighters, decked out in all sorts of items purchased in the in-game store with prize money earned through in-game matches.VF5 will support up to 720p HD resolution and will be featured in game footage in the SEGA booth at E3 (South Hall, Booth #946) later this week.[Thanks, Matt; also via Joystiq]
Virtua Fighter 5 a PS3 exclusive
Sega has announced Virtua Fighter 5 exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The newest installment in the franchise will feature 15 returning fighters, along with two newcomers, Eileen (monkey kung-fu) and El Blaze (lucha libre). Sega did not confirm online multiplayer support, but did reveal a new game concept where players earn virtual currency for winning matches. The money can then be used to purchase goodies at an in-game shop, which will include costumes and "attachable items."Virtua Fighter 5 is due out next spring.
Shaolin monks rock mobile phones and the Internet
Have no fear for the welfare of Shaolin kung fu monks, for beyond their general existence of being completely and utterly more badass than us, it turns out they have mobile phones, the Internets, and $25 bucks a month of spending money. No word on their choice of carrier or favored mobile device -- they are purportedly hip with QQ, China's most popular IM service -- but we're sure whatever device they pick they could totally beat us up with it on their path to enlightenment.[Via textually.org]
