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Izuna 2: The gallery returns
At least one guy involved with Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns has a steady job: the guy responsible for uploading screenshots. Just one day after the initial announcement and the first delightful bundle of screens, Atlus has already sent us more screens of the ninja roguelike sequel! This time, it's all awesome 2D gameplay.What is up with the DS and roguelikes? We've got Izuna, three Pokémon roguelikes (and the GBA one that also works on the DS), Shiren, Tao's Adventure, and now a second Izuna game. The DS completely wins at having games at which you're likely to lose repeatedly.%Gallery-15250%[Via press release]
Izuna 2: Jobless again in July
Back in February, when we wrote about our most anticipated titles of the year, we were hoping Izuna and her crew would return, and lo, Atlus has announced the sequel's localization. Rejoice and prepare to get your ass thoroughly kicked this summer, when Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns shows up for a second round of punishing-yet-hilarious roguelike action.While the first game was a solid offering, the second purportedly packs more action, more content, and more challenges -- but also offers up the buddy system to help you through the pain. Don't expect that to ratchet down the difficulty, however; import impressions indicate that Izuna's return is a much bigger experience, and very much worth the wait. Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns slides into an already-tight summer schedule July 22.%Gallery-15250%
Wii Warm Up: The spice of life
Not everyone likes everything, and you can't expect 'em to. Gamers have a wide variety of tastes and play styles, and sometimes that means a few raised eyebrows at the success of a particular game or franchise. Have any recent successes on the Wii surprised you? Is there anything big in the system's catalogue that everyone seems to love -- except you? There are always a few people who just aren't enthused by the generally accepted latest and greatest. So maybe you're mystified by the sales racked up by Carnival Games, or you're just not into Super Mario Galaxy. Tell us all about it.
We think Drone Tactics is still okay
At first, we were excited about Drone Tactics for obvious reasons: insect mecha. What's not to love about skinny, metallic antenna waving around in the middle of battle? But lately, the pithy one-liners we've seen in the screenshots are starting to win us over. On the face, these short lines of dialogue don't seem too important, but the "Booyas" and fools' deaths, we're finding the characters charming, if a little clichéd. Who knew we would look beyond the bugs? Check out the latest screens in our already-packed gallery and perhaps you'll agree.%Gallery-14982%[Via press release]
Why Mount Hyjal and Black Temple attunements still matter
The dust has settled on most of the servers, and the Fury of the Sunwell has been a success across the board. One of the lingering issues however is attunement. It has been noted before that Onyxia is now the hardest attunement in the game. This has occurred with the removal of the Karazhan, Black Temple, and Mount Hyjal attunements. However this creates a false impression that these instances are no longer worthy of attunements, and thus these quests are no longer worthy of the care and time that's necessary to push forward into them.You want to get your Vashj and Kael vials, you want to complete your Mount Hyjal attunement, and you want to complete your Black Temple attunement. If you're in a guild that isn't running those instances anymore and is focusing squarely on the Tier 6 content, then you still want to go back and get the attunements. Why?I'm glad you asked.
Rondo of Skippable Cutscenes
When, as this video displays, one of your characters in Rondo of Swords attacks an enemy, the view zooms in and the perspective switches into side view, as a fast-paced scene of the attack plays out. We happen to think the attack sequences look pretty dang cool, and at first we're sure we'd enjoy a bit of (simulated) action in our strategy game.But how long do you think it would take the average Rondo player to get so sick of the interruption (and so used to the attack animations) that he or she would begin skipping every single attack scene? Three, four minutes?%Gallery-14108%
Success reveals summer plans for Japan
Success Corp recently updated the company's summer schedule for Japan, which is full of DS games that will likely never see the light of day outside the Land of the Rising Sun. Two notable titles are based on anime licenses, specifically Yawaraka Sensha and Kuwagata Tsunami. The interesting thing about these animes is that they're Flash-based shows, which fans can watch online (here and here). According to Siliconera, these animes are rather popular in Japan, so we wouldn't be surprised to see these games pop up in the software charts come July.The rest of Success's summer line up consists of games we're not familiar with, which are called Windy Windom, Escape Johnny, and Tactical Guild (which is possibly Tactical Guide). While those of us outside Japan may not be getting any of these games, at least we have our own Success titles to look forward to.[Via Siliconera]
Find out why WoW conquered the world
Gamasutra has published an article titled "Why World of Warcraft Made It Big." The article was written by Michael Zenke, a member of the family here at Massively! Zenke argues that there's no one reason WoW was the game to explode into the mainstream in Western markets, instead of EverQuest II or City of Heroes. Accessibility, low system specs, polish, storytelling, fun factor, and yes, timing -- all of these had something to do with it. He also suggests that in the wake of The Burning Crusade, WoW is as strong today as it's ever been.So, this begs the question -- and this is not one that's addressed in the post -- is there a game coming that will leave WoW in the dust just as WoW surpassed EverQuest? Or will Blizzard reign as kings throughout the foreseeable future? Maybe we'll see an industry like the one Corey Bridges of Multiverse described -- a place where democratization of the MMO development process creates hundreds or thousands of successful, user-generated experiences? As curious as we are, we're smart enough not to make blind predictions. So let's see what happens this year with the big releases like Age of Conan and Warhammer Online, as well as the democratizing experiments like MetaPlace.
Mystifying new screens from Rondo of Swords
Sometimes, the expressions on character models just don't quite match up with the conversations they're having on screen, and this is clearly one of those times. Owl and Marie are way too cheerful for the dialogue we're seeing here, but it's cool. We'll go with it. Maybe this "rondo" isn't so much about swords as it is about maintaining an empty and mindless state of good cheer in the face of a crisis.Hmm, on second thought, probably not. That wouldn't make for a very interesting RPG of any sort, but perhaps it's a valid strategy for facing danger. Or maybe we're just reaching for some sort of explanation here. We should put all those extra Sword Dudes on the case. Check out other, less-mystifying new screens from Rondo of Swords in the gallery below.%Gallery-14108%[Via press release]
Check out more of the units in Drone Tactics
Atlus sent us some new media on their upcoming game Drone Tactics, focusing on some of the units that will be in the title. When this game hits store shelves come April, you can bet we'll be there to get our copy. Each time we see it, the game looks better and better.We've got some nice in-game screens, as well as some rendered art, all available in our gallery below. So dive in and get that notebook out. Knowing is half the battle, after all.%Gallery-14982%
Raiden Fighters Aces demo hits Japan
In actuality, the headline above should read "Raiden Fighter Aces demo hits any Xbox 360 with a Japanese Xbox Live account." Unfortunately, that headline lacks pizazz, and we're all about pizazz around here. At any rate, the point is that there's a Raiden Fighters Aces demo up on Xbox Live Marketplace for those keen on finding it. The demo gives players a crack at all three Raiden titles in the compilation (Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters II, and Raiden Fighters Jet). It also settles the question of whether the title is a retail title or an XBLA release (hint: it's retail). Now we have a new question: will gamers be willing to shell out retail price for a compilation of ten-year-old arcade games. Hopefully Raiden Fighters Aces will debut at a budget price.
DirecTV 11 phones home, HD clock starts ticking
Normally, we wouldn't go out of our way to pass along news that a recently launched satellite had phoned home, but given the nervousness felt by many after DISH Network's AMC-14 failed to reach its intended orbit, we figured we'd toss out some extra reassurance. As of early this morning, the D11 satellite made contact with a ground station in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa, signaling that it was "healthy and operating normally." Of course, there's no way to tell exactly what day the sat will begin dishing out more HD to more subscribers, but we reckon the conjecturing can officially begin. Psst... it took 81 days before DirecTV 10 began serving up HD.[Thanks, K Shoup and syphix]
The latest buzz on Drone Tactics
While the DS may be flush with strategy games lately, what it really needs is one that's all about bugs. Luckily, that need is set to be filled this May with Drone Tactics. Yes, that's right, May 13 -- pushed back from April, as rumored -- but from everything we've seen, it will be so worth the drudgery of waiting. Atlus isn't holding back on the media, either; they seem to want us to get an eyeful of the mecha insecta, and we're okay with that! Check out our updated gallery below for the latest.%Gallery-14982%[Via press release]
DirecTV 11 satellite launch deemed a success
Unlike the AMC-14 launch that went awry just days ago, the DirecTV 11 launch went off sans a hitch. According to a new release on Sea Launch's website, D11 was "successfully delivered into orbit" after lifting off right on schedule, and all systems were said to have "performed nominally throughout the flight." Currently, the crew is awaiting acquisition of the spacecraft's first signals from outer space, which should occur within the next few hours. So far, so good -- the countdown to more HD for more DTV subscribers starts now.
Rondo of Swords strategizes more screens
Time flies when you're having fun, so you may not have realized that Rondo of Swords, the upcoming Success SRPG (published by Atlus), is coming out next month. We've been keeping you up to date with a lot of the gameplay elements, but if you wanted to see more of how the game is looking, you can check out these fresh screens.While these screens aren't much different than the ones in our gallery, they do introduce some new characters and locales. Many of you may be tired of SRPGs on the DS, but we're actually looking forward to this title. It seems relatively innovative for the genre, even if the plot is based on a generic, epic feudal struggle.At any rate, the screens are posted after the break.
On safari with Amazing Animals
Amazing Animals may sound like another slice of god-awful Wii shovelware, but the first screens hint at something more promising. Based on a Japanese TV show about animal tricks, Amazing Animals (or Doubutsu Kisou Tengai as it's known in its homeland) sees players don their best khaki and take to the plains of a freshly discovered, totally uncharted island near to Japan, accompanied by a robot as a guide (visible in the screens after the break).Things become a bit murky from this point onwards, though Siliconera recently speculated that photography could be involved, or that players become the animals in a series of minigames. That last one sounds a little too close to Wild Earth: African Safari for our liking, and there's only room for one totally ludicrous animal-themed minigame series in our collection! Follow the post-break trail for more shots.
Rumor: Drone Tactics' April release gets squished
We've been buzzing (har) with anticipation for bug-based strategy title Drone Tactics since we first discovered that Atlus was localizing the game, but recent developments have caused some confusion about when we'll getting our hands on it.Things seemed perfectly clear earlier this month, after Atlus themselves told us we could expect the title on April 8th. Now, however, both GameStop and GameFly have Drone Tactics listed for release on May 13th and May 15th respectively.Concerned and frightened, we contacted Atlus for clarification, though have yet to receive a definitive answer. As soon as we know more, dear reader, so will you!%Gallery-14982%
GDC08: Bigger is not always better
One good thing about being in such a net-savvy industry is that when you miss something, like the GDC presentation by NetDevil's Scott Brown and Hermann Peterscheck, somebody will inevitably put the powerpoint online for everybody to see. The NetDevil guys, currently working on Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe, are well-known for their honesty and candor. So when they lay out their model for the future of the MMO industry, we're inclined to listen to them. Their premise is that the exponential growth that has been observed by many parties within the MMO space may in fact be somewhat illusory. While revenues for the industry as a whole continue to sky-rocket, the money and subscription numbers continue to be concentrated in only a few, extremely successful games.Take one look at all the canceled titles and commercial failures that litter the landscape. They have a point. The advice that they lay out for burgeoning developers is to forgo huge teams, shiny graphics, fancy rec-rooms, and other accoutremonts for a lean team, lower minimum spec, sensible work conditions, and a realistic development timetable that won't lead to costly delays. Perhaps most importantly, they say that trying to take on the big boys with a $4 million budget is tantamount to suicide. Smaller development teams can actually make more money than big budget titles in the long-run if they find their niche and stick to it. Or as one slide says, "A little greatness is always better than a lot of mediocrity."%Gallery-16989%
Visual evidence of Success's detective games
When we heard that Success Corp. was creating a series of new detective adventure games, we expected noir-ish, gritty police procedural adventures, like Saburo Jinguuji or something. How wrong we were! Neither of the new games in the series fit that description. Not only that, the two games couldn't be more dissimilar from each other! If they weren't both part of the Deka series and weren't coming out on the same day, there'd be no reason to talk about them at the same time. We learned titles and vague genre descriptions yesterday, but the screens still manage to hold surprises.Otoshi Kenji: Keiji-san, Watashi ga Yarimashita (not sure, but something like Detective: I did it!) is a detective adventure game, but with a vintage anime style (think Lupin the Third-era) Yajuukeiji: Tokyo Doujitahatsu Terror Wo Chinatsuseyo (something like Beast Detective: Stop Mass Terrorism in Tokyo!) is not just an "action game" -- it's a side-scrolling brawler! You stop terrorism by kicking and shooting dudes! Read: Otoshi Kenji: Keiji-San, Watashi ga YarimashitaRead: Yajuukeiji: Tokyo Doujitahatsu Terror Wo Chinatsuseyo
Case solved! Success Corp.'s detective games revealed
Spencer at Siliconera recently donned his deerstalker and set about discovering the real identity of those mysterious detective games from Success Corp. that left us confounded last month. And no, they don't involve Scooby Doo (some would say that's a good thing).Instead, the two have been outed as Yajuukeiji: Tokyo Doujitahatsu Terror Wo Chinatsuseyo and Otoshi Kenji: Keiji-San, Watashi ga Yarimashita, both of which we are immensely looking forward to typing out again. Yajuukeiji: Tokyo Doujitah The former is about terrorism in Tokyo, and apparently focuses on action, while the latter is an adventure title.So there we go: two more detective games to add to this burgeoning genre. And to think they'd have got away with it, if it weren't for those pesky kids! Okay, that's probably quite enough Scooby Doo references for this week. Both of these hit Japan on May 15th, which is when we'll start to bleat for localized versions.
