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Final Fantasy XIV wireless router sure to make the next 14,000 hours of your life zip by
Our first impulse when we spotted this abstractly formed Final Fantasy XIV-branded 802.11n router on the TGS show floor was that Planex Communications was some sort of rogue IP-infringing KIRFufacturer. It turns out that's not the case. Planex Communications is a totally upstanding manufacturer of all things networking and Japanese-video-games-branded, and the fact that this ¥9,980 (about $116 US) router was located a few feet from Square Enix's own booth should quell any other misgivings. Now, as for misgivings about dedicating the majority of your life over the next couple years to another treadmill of XP, loot, and Moogles, those are in your hands. %Gallery-102486%
Mega Man Universe is based on Mega Man 2
Mega Man Universe, we surmised from the very beginning, is an amalgamation of familiar elements in a new presentation. According to producer Akiko Ito, it'll contain even more familiar elements than we've seen: the levels and bosses of Mega Man 2. Ito told Joystiq during an interview, "The base story and the base game is taken from Mega Man 2, so players can experience Mega Man 2 through this game." She explained that these "default" stages don't have to remain in their original form, as well: "Basically, we're going to create the stages from Mega Man 2 faithfully in this new style, and you can play them as is, or you can customize different sections of them, or you can customize all of it if you want to, so pretty much you can do whatever you'd like with the stages." We're calling it right now: the most popular player-created stage will be "Quick Man, but without those laser things."%Gallery-102517%
Knight's Contract TGS screens give us a heads-up
Behold: Pieces of media from Namco Bandai's upcoming over-the-top action game, Knight's Contract, which actually show what the game is going to look like while you're playing it. Check out some (awfully familiar-looking) gameplay screenshots included in the gallery posted below. %Gallery-102463%
Gran Turismo 5 TGS 2010 media update
In addition to all the crazy new features announced for Gran Turismo 5 at Sony's TGS press conference, Polyphony Digital has unleashed a flood of new assets. Detailed in pictures are some silly cars (like the Volkswagen Samba Bus!), some returning favorite courses and the truly detailed weather system.
Vanquish trailer reignites the Cold War
Alright, alright -- the newest trailer for Platinum Games' Vanquish probably isn't reigniting a near century-long history of hostility between two of our planet's biggest superpowers, but it does play out a bizarre future where just such a reality exists. Also, there are tons of explosions.
Latch onto some new Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 media
With TGS humming along, Capcom has released some brand new media for Fatshark's Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. We've got two new gameplay videos along with a handful of screenshots, all featuring the newly mustachioed Nathan Spencer at his swinging best. Check 'em out after the break.
Ni no Kuni (DS) preview: Turn the page
Ni no Kuni: The Jet-Black Mage on DS hasn't changed much since I saw it at last year's TGS, but a new demo allowed me a chance to (attempt to) use the game's spellbook accessory. It also offered me a shot at my first boss battle, which subsequently forced me to learn a bit more about the battle system. Read on for my impressions. %Gallery-102412%
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 lineup joined by X-23
Capcom's over-the-top comic book crossover has picked up another combatant at Tokyo Game Show. Ripped from the pages of X-Men, "X-23" enters Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as a nimble counterpart to Wolverine. As our exasperated comic expert points out, "She's a female clone of Wolverine and possesses all of his regenerative and feral abilities. She also has adamantium-coated blades protruding from her hands and feet -- so she probably doesn't spend a ton of money on gloves or galoshes." You can get a snikt peek at X-23 in action (along with Tron Bonne) in the video clips after the break. %Gallery-102431%
First Yakuza: Of the End trailer and screens shamble out of TGS
You'll never survive the zombocalypse unless you take the time to educate yourself. Thankfully, we've got this first Yakuza: Of the End trailer and accompanying screens for you to study. Take note: These gangster fellows may be bad guys, but they're all that stands between you and the biting.
Phantasy Star Online 2 announced at the Tokyo Game Show
Phantasy Star Online is dead -- long live Phantasy Star Online 2! Sega just announced the sequel to the hit MMO during a livestream event at the Tokyo Game Show. Slated for release in 2011, PSO2's unveiling was a surprise to just about everyone. Phantasy Star Online released for the Sega Dreamcast 10 years ago, and launched a series of updates, iterations and sequels (including Phantasy Star Universe). While Sega was reluctant to show any gameplay or release any other details, the mere existence of the above title screen should send fans into a happy frenzy. You can read the announcement at PSOWorld and watch the livestream video below.
New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer is positively nuts
What's in this Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer? The more appropriate question might be what isn't? Werewolves, faeries, vampires, angels, giant chess boards, giant eagles, giant giants -- even the grim visage of Death makes an appearance. It is absolutely the nuttiest and most awesome thing you'll see today. Well, maybe not, it is TGS week ...
Project Dark apparently headed to PS3 and Xbox 360
Demon's Souls fans, masochistic lot that they are, had cause for celebration when From Software revealed that the game's development team had started on a new PS3 title, Project Dark. Now, it looks like jealous Xbox 360 players might have their own excuse to party. On the English version of the Project Dark website, the Xbox 360 is listed as a platform alongside the PS3, and its logo is featured at the bottom of the page. The logo and listing are absent from the Japanese version of the site, though it's possible From is skipping a Japanese Xbox 360 release due to the console's relative unpopularity in the region. If Project Dark does hit Xbox 360, the denizens of Xbox Live are likely in for a devilishly difficult treat. [Thanks Copland!]
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam launching only as DLC
There was some confusion surrounding Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, the first expansion to DICE's well-received shooter. Following the initial announcement at E3 2010, EA has resolved the question of distribution -- it'll only be available digitally as Bad Company 2 DLC -- and described more of the features included with the map pack (which has missed inclusion in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition). Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam will add four new multiplayer maps, as well as 15 new weapons and six vehicles, all congruous with the new 1960s locale and Bad Company 2's universal experience point system. Among other era-specific items, you'll gain access to the M79 grenade launcher, the Navy SEAL XM22 machine gun, the American Huey helicopter and the Russian T54 tank. The DLC, which requires the Bad Company 2 game disc, will retain the game's universal experience points and add ten new Achievements and Trophies. Oh, and there's a "rocking 60s soundtrack" composed of 49 tracks (including "Fortunate Son" by CCR and "Ride of the Valkyries") spread over eight in-game radio channels. Like, just dig into a foxhole and listen to the tunes, dude. Why you gotta be so violent? Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam is on track for a Winter 2010 release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. EA has yet to budge on the issue of price, though we expect it to remain competitive with less elaborate map packs. Update: The video that originally accompanied this post has been disabled at the request of EA, who only got limited-use rights to one of the songs featured in it. D'oh! %Gallery-102269%
Ni no Kuni (PS3) preview: Another Another World
My personal goal at TGS this year was to play Ni no Kuni on PS3, no matter how ridiculous a line I'd have to face at Level-5 to do so. As it turned out, the line wasn't ridiculous at all (yet), and I got an opportunity to discover if Level-5 has managed to transfer the look and feel of the legendary Studio Ghibli animation company into a PS3 game. Two demos were available, and I played a bit of both within my 15-minute window. One demo is town-based, and has Oliver and his weird lantern-nosed pal Shizuku talking to people in town (in Japanese, of course) to find their way into the "Colonel's" castle. After being rebuffed at the door, I realized that I wasn't going to figure out what I needed to do, and I'd spend my whole demo period trying to figure out enough Japanese to perform the task, so ... on to the next demo. %Gallery-96205%
Spare a moment to check out some Spare Parts media from TGS
Spare Parts has charmed us through cunning use of "cute robots." We were raised to fear metallic beings -- mostly thanks to Terminator -- but seeing them cute it up yet again in this TGS trailer, it gives us hope that we'll be allies in the future. It should come in handy once the zombies rise.
Ni no Kuni: take a look, it's in a book
When we went into Level-5's TGS booth to play the DS version of Ni no Kuni, we were greeted with an ornate surprise: the spellbook accessory that comes with the Studio Ghibli/Level-5 role-playing game. We took a moment out of our strict 15-minute demo session to snap some quick pictures of the book, so you can see the kind of information inside. Not only does it include information about the items and creatures found in The Another World, it interacts with the game in puzzles -- our demo tasked us with finding a certain hinted word in the text on a certain page. %Gallery-102412%
Microsoft announces five new exclusive Kinect games from Japanese developers
From what we're feeling, consumer sentiment on the Kinect seems rather divided, and frankly the opinions of those within the Engadget team is similarly split. Ultimately, though, it won't be the hardware itself that decides the fate of this peripheral, it'll be the games. At E3 this year Microsoft didn't really wow us with any Kinect titles that turned the thing into a must-buy, but the five games announced today are at least showing some creativity and a lot of potential. Read on for all the details. %Gallery-102413%
Gran Turismo Anywhere brings the web, more features to GT5
At some point, Kazunori Yamauchi and his team at Polyphony Digital are going to be forced to stop adding functionality to the eternally in-development Gran Turismo 5. Until then, they continue to announce new features at every major press event. At this year's TGS, it's "Gran Turismo Anywhere," a new web portal for the racing sim. Features of GTA – actually, let's just call it Gran Turismo Anywhere – include My Home, which includes message boards, photo sharing, and the like, as well as Remote Races, which isn't real-time racing over the web, but rather a racing team management simulation. Yamauchi also announced the X1, a virtual super car in Gran Turismo 5 that seeks to answer the following question: "What would a racing car, freed of all technical regulations look like?" Because F1 cars, rally cars, NASCAR cars, and go-karts just weren't enough, now GT5 also has make-believe cars in its virtual garage. Some more pics of Yamauchi's presentation after the break, but first a poll! %Poll-52886%
Five of XBLA's top six sellers are Japanese
Make all the snide jokes you like about the Xbox 360's less-than-stellar sales in Japan, it's hard to dispute that the country's development community is helping to fuel the console in a different way. As Microsoft just brought to attendees' collective attention at its TGS presser, five of the six top-selling games on Xbox Live Arcade originate in Japan. Great news for the Land of the Rising Fun, but it sort of casts the service in a less-than-flattering light considering that the games (Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 HD Turbo Remix, Bomberman Live and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) are all either ports or remakes of fairly old games. Oh, and before you ask: We're not sure what the lone US holdout is, but we're pulling for either Yaris or Soltrio Solitaire.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater slithers onto 3DS in 2011
Speaking during a Konami on-stage presentation at Tokyo Game Show 2010, Hideo Kojima announced a 2011 debut for the Nintendo 3DS version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. In a surprising move, the game's original title won't be spruced up to match its enhanced visuals and new platform. (We made a page for Metal Gear Solid Double 3 + D: Stereoscopic Synthesis Subsequence and everything!) Kojima Productions will reveal more details about the project at a later date. For now, it seems to be a faithful update and port of the PlayStation 2's snake-attack classic. %Gallery-95662%
