Tuesday 13 October 2009

PlayStation Home - PS3

Sony's social networking hub, Home has had its fair share of criticism. Some virtual clothing and items cost real cash, while the European experience lacks much of the content North America and Japan currently enjoys.

On the plus side, more companies seem to be getting on board, and the interactive EA Sports space is a great place to hang out, while the Buzz! space is attracting gamers thanks to its multiplayer quiz questions and colourful setting.

The latest patch brought with it a camera to take snaps, so I thought I'd take a few and share them. Oh yeah, the guy dancing is my avatar!

Monday 12 October 2009

Shiren the Wanderer 4 - DS

Sporting a new day/night system and a tropical island setting, forthcoming Shiren the Wanderer 4 is at least trying to add something new to the dungeon crawling formula.

As a huge fan of Shiren's previous outings, I can't wait to play Shiren 4. However, like Shiren 3 on Wii, there is no word of a European release.

Fingers crossed someone like Rising Star Games takes a punt on these two titles and brings them over here. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of Shiren and Koppa's latest adventure.

Friday 9 October 2009

3D Dot Game Heroes: Update - PS3

3D Dot Games Heroes is less than a month away from release and with every new screenshot, it's hard not to be excited.

The story is fantasy fluff with a curious twist. In the Kingdom of Dotnia, six wise sages kept watch over six orbs which contained the power of God. However, when a demonic overlord attempted to lay waste to the kingdom, a hero took up the challenge and defeated him.

After the epic battle between good and evil, Dotnia became a tourist attraction, but eventually people stopped visiting. The King then had a brainwave that would hopefully entice visitors back - transforming the flat, 2D gameworld into glorious blocky 3D.

However, with the land now full of monsters, this course of action didn't go according to plan, so it's up to your character to explore the kingdom and find out what went wrong.

There's obviously more than a passing nod to Zelda, with similar gameplay elements and weapons, including a boomerang - which is used to hit far off switches - and bows. Even the game's music has a Zelda flavour.

It's still not clear how long the game will last, but with four character classes to choose from - hero, prince, scholar and - unusually - the lead character from the classic underground adventure Spelunker, plenty of items to find and an optional hard difficulty level, hopes remain high that 3D Dot Game Heroes will be a lengthy quest.

There's even a character editor packed in so you can throw your own blocky character into the action.

3D Dot Heroes is released in Japan on November 5. Check out the official site - complete with wonderful music HERE



Images courtesy of FROM Software.

Thursday 8 October 2009

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing - 360/PS3/Wii/DS

While the wait for Shenmue 3 goes on - it's been eight years since Shenmue II hit Dreamcast - Ryo Hazuki is back, but not in a free-roaming, quicktime-driven adventure.

Instead, Ryo is the latest character to be added to the forthcoming Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

A strange fit alongside Sonic, Dr Robotnic and Amigo from Samba de Amigo, but who cares when it looks this much fun?

Check out the vid to see Ryo race the opposition on a motorbike and strapped in to his famous forklift truck.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Epic Mickey - Wii

With Warren Spector on board - the man behind Deus Ex - Disney Interactive are due to get something a little different in their next big-budget Mickey Mouse title.

Concept art for new game Epic Mickey has been released and it's jaw-dropping.

Fusing recognisable Disney characters and settings with a steampunk aesthetic could ruffle a few feathers at Disney, but Spector looks like he's bringing a fresh approach to the table.

Actual game details are extremely thin on the ground, but just look at these pics!