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Dead or Alive 5 Plus tags Europe and Australia on March 22
The official Dead or Alive 5 website has outed the European and Australian release date for the upcoming Vita version, Dead or Alive 5 Plus. The portable fighter will arrive on March 22 in these regions, except for lucky France, which apparently gets it a day earlier. The US version of the Dead or Alive 5 site, however, has no release date listed.
Dead or Alive 5 Plus has a first-person mode
Dead or Alive 5 Plus for Vita includes a new first-person mode, in which you hold the Vita vertically and use the motion sensor for a "first-person, full-screen view of your opponent."The port also has new touch controls, which go beyond the expected touchscreen macros – "Simple taps, swipes, and pinches on your opponent trigger a variety of devastating moves," Tecmo says. In addition, DOA5+ offers detailed frame data for serious study. Uh, for tournament play.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus new modes detailed, new screens too
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus is the enhanced Vita port of the enhanced PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden 2. With that confusion in mind, it's good Tecmo Koei clarified some of the game's details such as its new modes, as well as releasing an assortment of screens.One of the new modes is 'Tag Mission,' which allows players to switch between two ninja heroes on the fly, swapping in and out as they see fit. On the ninja heroes front, the three ninja ladies of Ayane, Momiji, and Rachel all get newly designed costumes in Plus 2.The other new mode is 'Ninja Race,' which really is as it sounds. The twist is a sort of Ninja Gaiden take on Mario Kart, in that you can collect items and take down enemies to increase speed and attack power. Unlike Mario Kart, though, there's no indication it can be played outside of single-player.It also seems much of the Vita-specific functionality is returning from Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, with Tecmo describing touchscreen and Sixaxis controls that very much sound like the first game's gyroscopic first-person aiming. The easier 'Hero' difficulty also makes a comeback in Plus 2, which is scheduled to release in Q1 2013. %Gallery-172781%
Dead or Alive 5 Plus announced for Vita, coming early 2013
Dead or Alive 5 Plus, a PlayStation Vita port of September's Dead or Alive 5, has just been announced by Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi. Details are slim at the moment, although we do know that the port is expected to hit Sony's handheld sometime during the early part of 2013. An update to the console version of DOA5 is also expected sometime next year.The reveal, made on the official IGN Pro League YouTube channel, comes shortly after the announcement that Dead or Alive 5 will be added to IPL's official stable of e-sports titles. Starting in 2013, DOA5 tournaments will be held alongside IPL's other events, which currently include Starcraft 2 and League of Legends, among others.
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 unleashed Feb. 5
Good news (for everyone but Kenshiro): the Fist of the North Star protagonist failed to exhaust his supply of rage after his first Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage game, finding enough surplus rage for a second game. Ken will unleash some of that extra rage upon North America on February 5, on Xbox 360 and as a PSN download for PS3. There will be a Wii U version later, as well, dividing Kenshiro's endless fount of fury across two screens.Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, another recent announcement by Tecmo Koei, will also be PSN exclusive in North America. Tecmo Koei updated the North American release date today: it'll actually be out Feb. 26.
Dead or Alive 5 grabs fifth round of costumes on XBLM, PSN today
The Dead or Alive 5 outfitters remain unrelentingly diligent, with the game's fifth round of costumes out today on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network. The China Pack, Formal Wear, and Special 3 sets are now available on XBLM for 400 MSP each, or bundled together for 1040 MSP. On the PS Store the individual sets are priced $4.99, and the all-in-one bundle $12.99.DOA5's male characters actually get a decent look-in this time. Three of the lads get their Chinese fighting gear on, meanwhile Eliot is dressed as a bartender, Bass as a mafia dude, and Zack as a cross between C-3PO and an alien clubber. Of course, it wouldn't be Dead or Alive without a few eyebrow-raisers. If you're planning to peruse the gallery below, brace your eyes for Christie in "black leather bondage gear." %Gallery-171930%
Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires marches into NA Feb. 19, Europe Feb. 22
Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires will arrive February 19 and 22 in North America and Europe, respectively. Tecmo Koei recently announced the dates on Facebook, Twitter and through an epic poem delivered by interpretive dance.Don't go looking for Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires in stores. Like this year's Warriors Orochi 3, the game will only be available through the PlayStation Network in North America, although it will make its way to retail in Europe.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge review: Sharpened
Keep track of all of Joystiq's Wii U launch coverage on our Wii U hub page! Team Ninja has always done better on the rebound, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is a testament to this fact. The technical excellence of the 2004's Ninja Gaiden was one-upped in Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Ninja Gaiden 2 was improved dramatically in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Razor's Edge carries that trend forward into the series' latest entry, with surprising results. It's one thing to turn a great game into an even better one, but to turn a once-terrible game into a launch lineup highlight? Impossible!Apparently not. Team Ninja cuts liberally from Ninja Gaiden 3 in Razor's Edge, stripping away everything from the obnoxious "steel on bone" QTE-style button mashery to the multitude of joy-killing sequences in which players guide a stumbling, curse-afflicted Ryu through neutered enemy encounters. Even the questionable presentation is erased, exemplified by an early moment that forces Ryu, and thus the player, to murder a man in cold blood as he pleads for his life. This insufferable moment has been excised from Razor's Edge, and for that we can all be thankful.%Gallery-165268%
Momiji strikes from the shadows in free Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge DLC in December
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge has a cameo from Ryu's apprentice Momiji. Nintendo announced the free character DLC will be available in the Wii U port sometime in December, unlocking the Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword heroine for use in Challenge and Ninja Trials modes.Momiji is the second playable character added to Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, joining Dead or Alive's pink-haired pugilist, Ayane. In addition to the extra characters, the Wii U port tosses in a new Challenge mode that lets you go through the campaign as any playable character, plus an online co-op mode for up to two players.
Those Dead or Alive 5 swimsuits are available for purchase now
We're sure there's a subset of the gaming population who didn't pre-order Dead or Alive 5 from GameStop or Amazon, only to burst into tears when they later realized that the swimsuit costumes were exclusive to those retailers. This one's for you.The following Dead or Alive 5 swimsuit packs are now available for $3 or 240 MS Points via PSN and XBLM: Angels (white suits for Kasumi, Hitomi and Leifang), Devils (black for Ayane, Christie and Tina) and DOATEC Divas (bunny ears for Kokoro, Lisa and Helena).For $5 (360 MS Points) grab the Player's Swimwear Pack 1 with bikini'd out Kasumi, Kokoro, Helena and Sarah; Pack 2 with Hitomi, Leifang, Mila and Pai charm; or Pack 3 for Ayane, Christie, Tina and Lisa. The Player's Swimwear Set includes all three Swimwear Packs for $13 (1040 MS Points).Dry those tears. It'd be a shame to get these swimsuits wet.
Massively Exclusive: Uncharted Waters Online sails to China
This past month, the captains and admirals at Uncharted Waters Online have made an incredible discovery: a brand-new continent called El Oriente. This update expands the game world to include China and Taiwan, additional trade goods and dungeons, and plenty of Oriental-themed ships. To uncover all of El Oriente's secrets, Tecmo Koei's Director of Production Takeda Tomakazu has a look at the update and the real-world history behind it. Hit the jump for this exclusive dev diary!
Dead or Alive 5 gets its third wave of downloadable outfits today
Right on cue, Dead or Alive 5's third round of costumes arrive today. The three new sets are already downloadable on Xbox Live Marketplace, and should be up on PSN today too. Each set is priced at 400 MSP/$4.99, with the full 3-in-1 pack going for 1040 MSP/$12.99.As you can see from the screenshots below, there's a 'Gym' set, a 'Uniform' set, and a second 'Special' set. Although it looks like someone's stolen Mila's bunny get-up and just left the ears.In more attired news, Tecmo Koei say DoA5 shipped 580,000 copies in its first month.%Gallery-169671%
Dead or Alive 5 ships 580,000 copies worldwide in first month
Tecmo Koei shipped out 580,000 copies of Dead or Alive 5 in the game's first month of release. The company revealed the figure yesterday in its second quarter financial report. While it reads a little unclear through Google Translate, given the timing and the nature of the report these are likely shipment rather than sales figures.While shipment figures aren't always great indicators of sales, 580,000 in one month compares reasonably to the 700,000 copies Dead or Alive 4 shipped worldwide in its first two months.Tecmo also revealed a year-on-year improvement of 26.0% for operating income in the first half of its fiscal year, up to ¥897 million ($11.3 million). The company's revenue improved by 0.7% up to ¥13,724 million ($172.7 million).Meanwhile, the game's third wave of downloadable outfits hits Japan today. Tecmo hasn't yet revealed when they'll be available here - revealed being very much the operating word.
Dead or Alive 5's new costume packs include fiend Hayabusa, cat ears, 'bartender britches'
The latest slew of DLC costume packs for Dead or Alive 5 includes one awesome thing (above), some normal-lookin' street clothes and then a whole bunch of stuff we'd be embarrassed to describe in public."Kitty Pack," as you might suspect, includes cat ears and corset-ish catsuits for Christie, Helena, Tina and Lisa. The "What a Character" pack adds two maid outfits for Hitomi and Mila that are more of the "Octoberfest Bar maid" variety than the "French House maid" type you might expect, a slinky gown and mask for Lisa, and "bartender britches" for Rig.Lastly, the "Special Set" gives Kasumi and Leifang access to their traditional overalls and panda-bear outfits, respectively, in addition to "fiend" Hayabusa and an even slinkier evening gown for Lisa. Each pack is available now for $4.99/400 MSP, and all three can be purchased together via the "Round 2 Costumes - Full Set" pack, which at the moment is only available on the 360 for 1040 MSP. PlayStation 3 owners looking for a sweet costume discount will have to wait until next week, when the Full Set becomes available for $12.99.%Gallery-168484%
Final Dead or Alive 5 dev diary says thanks
Putting the words "touchy-feely" and "Dead or Alive 5" together in the same sentence is generally something we try and avoid, but under the circumstances it seemed appropriate. Allow Team Ninja's final dev diary entry to thank you personally for supporting Dead or Alive, whether you did or not.
Dead or Alive 5 review: Begrudge match
Evaluating the plot in Dead or Alive 5 is ultimately a waste of words. Oh, you can make a qualitative judgment – observe that it somehow manages to be a train wreck, a plane wreck and a car crash all in one. It's like watching all combustible vehicles on Earth hurtle into each other at a singular point of stupidity, and then burning in the consequent fireball of awkward, unintentional comedy.But we survive, insulated by apathy. What matters is that Dead or Alive 5 is an excellent fighting game.%Gallery-166480%
Talking Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z with Keiji Inafune and Yosuke Hayashi
Walking around the Tokyo Game Show floor, we just happened to run into Keiji Inafune, famed (and infamous) Japanese developer and creator of notable franchises like Mega Man and Dead Rising, not to mention the upcoming Soul Sacrifice and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. We snagged a few minutes of his time to discuss the latter two, specifically how it's been working with Team Ninja on Yaiba, and whether he'd like to continue working with the studio going forward. An Inafune fighting game? It could happen.After the break, find part two of our interview with Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi, during which we discuss Yaiba and the studio's partnership with Inafune.
Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi on appealing to everyone with Dead or Alive 5
We caught up with Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi during the Tokyo Game Show for a quick chat about Dead or Alive 5 and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, the studio's upcoming collaboration with Keiji Inafune's Comcept.This interview is split into two parts. The first, dealing with Dead or Alive 5, can be seen above. The second part concerns Yaiba and Mr. Inafune. Keep an eye out for part two later today, because we just happened to run into someone very closely involved with Yaiba's development (and Soul Sacrifice ... and Mega Man).
Seen@ Tokyo Game Show 2012: The purrfect presentation
Despite being primarily dominated by the women of Dead or Alive 5, Tecmo Koei's booth was also host to a slew of other games, one of which must have involved whatever it is that's happening in the pictures above and after the break. Now, our Japanese is a little rusty, but we think this is what the cat said as we walked by: "As you can meow see, our new mew-ser interface (accessed via the paws menu) is kitten better every day."
Dead or Alive 5 downloadable on PSN day and date with retail release
After showing the launch trailer for Dead or Alive 5 at its Tokyo Game Show event, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi revealed that the game will be available as a download on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store. The downloadable version will be available day and date with the retail version on September 25. A downloadable version is also headed to the Xbox 360, and will be available three months after launch.
