Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Games: I just finished Denpa Men on 3DS, if you count rolling credits as finishing. (I do.)

@TheGayGamer has advised me that the true last boss is lurking at the end of a post-credits dungeon, and I enjoyed the game enough to want to keep pushing forward. I may not play as intensely as I have over the past week, but I'll definitely keep putting in some time here and there.

At this point, though, I need to actually drive around town and locate some new WiFi signals. In Denpa, characters are recruited by having the 3DS pick up ambient signals. The unit doesn't have to actually connect to a network, it just has to determine that signals are present. Once it finds some, it generates a series of characters that the player can catch and add to their team.

For whatever reason, I've found a large number of certain types, and none of some others... I'm at the point in the game where I really, really want to have a character who can heal everyone in the party at the same time, and I just haven't located one. Thankfully, I was gifted one via the game’s QR code function, but for characters earned in this way, if they die they’re erased from the 3DS.

The hunt continues for a legit found-it-myself all-healer.

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Other games occupying my time currently?

I'm still working on the review for Skulls of the Shogun. It's a quality production and I'm enjoying it quite a bit, but the difficulty is a little higher than I expected. I thought I'd be able to blow through it in a couple of days, but I've had to replay a few key battles. Love it, though.

Apart from that, I’m trying to make a serious effort towards trimming down my backlog this year, so I decided to give Bayonetta one more shot. I've started and quit the game twice before, but it comes up in conversation so often and in such positive terms that I'd feel like I wasn't doing my critical due diligence unless I gave it a least one more try.

I just barely started tonight, and I'm not too far... only made it to level five, and I’m still just going over the same areas I’ve already seen in the past. It's funny, but just a few minutes in, I quickly remembered why I disliked it -- I find the action hard to follow visually, and I'm not a big fan of the dial-a-combo structure at the heart of the combat. I much prefer chaining moves together based on how they relate to each other than trying to remember the difference between YYYYB, YYYY (pause) B and YYYYYB.

Apart from the combat, the cutscenes are still as garbage as I remember. A whole lot of talk with little significance, and some really irritating characters. And those pop-up QTEs that result in instant-death? Ugh.

Also, I realize I'm still at the very beginning of the game, but I'm (again) a little surprised that I didn't hear from critics about how much of the structure seems lifted straight out of DMC, and I'm also quite confused about how Bayonetta is generally seen as girl-positive in critical circles. I plan on doing a little reading up on this in the near future, but I'm having a tough time squaring what I heard and what I'm seeing.

In any event, I'm pushing forward and I'm going to try my best polish it off this time around. After all, they do say that the third time is the charm.

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I'll be the first to say that the whole Dead Island: Riptide statue fiasco in the UK was an error of colossal proportions, but that aside, I'm still looking forward to the game itself. I had a great time with the first title, and I'm not going to let a bone-headed PR stunt ruin the work of everybody at Techland before it's even done. (Speaking of which, I would love to hear comments from the studio themselves about how this whole thing played out.) 

Anyway, if you haven't seen it already, here's about ten minutes of pre-alpha gameplay footage.  

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Last but not least, Capcom listened to the fans and is now offering a special-order Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate case for the 3DS XL in addition to the standard 3DS.


Last I checked, they were still taking votes on which color was the most popular... head on over to cast your vote before 1Pm on 1/28 and then place an order once things are decided!

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Following the announcement of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen last year, we are now pleased to confirm concrete details about this expansion to the world of Dragon’s Dogma. Scheduled for release on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 from April 23 in North America and April 26 across Europe, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is the next exciting chapter in the Dragon’s Dogma franchise. Available as both a physical disc and a full game digital download, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen delivers a huge brand new area, missions, enemies and more, plus all of the content from the original game.

Just off the Gransys mainland is the cursed Bitterblack Isle where gamers will embark on an all-new quest to discover an underground realm, complete with new terrifying foes and incredible treasure. Owners of the original Dragon’s Dogma will be able to export their existing characters and all other saved data to continue their journey as the Arisen, and face a new threat that has emerged from the cavernous depths. Players will be able to take their characters to new heights with brand new high-level skills and augments as well as all new weapons and armor sets. Furthermore, owners of the original Dragon’s Dogmawill receive 100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferrystones and the Gransys Armour Pack consisting of six brand new costumes for free, upon purchasingDragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen.

For those that missed Dragon’s Dogma the first time around, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen provides the opportunity to start their journey from the very beginning before tackling the all-new content.

Based on player feedback, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen will make the Dragon’s Dogma gameplay experience even more satisfying with improvements such as easier travel and a more intuitive menu system. For those who already own Dragon’s Dogma and then purchase Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, these improvements will be automatically retrofitted to their original game save data.

So, what does Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen deliver?

All of the content from the original Dragon’s Dogma plus…

A massive new underground realm to explore featuring over 25 terrifying new enemies

More skills/equipment/augments:

Level 3 Skills

DD: DA provides each character class with a new tier of skills, giving players new devastating abilities and skills to master

Over 100 pieces of new equipment

All new high level weapons and armor sets for players venturing into the underground caverns

14 new character/Pawn augments

New tiers of equipment enhancement

And there’s more:

Increased character customization options

Item appraisal

Option to select Japanese voice over

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen will be available at retail stores across North America for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and as a download from PlayStation Network on April 23, 2013 for $39.99.

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Koch Media, a leading independent producer and marketer of digital entertainment products in Europe and North America, announced today that it has secured the intellectual property rights for two of the most popular and successful THQ franchises, Metro and Saints Row, as well as Chicago-based development studio, Volition, as THQ continues to liquidate its assets in closed auctions this week.

Deep Silver, Koch Media’s international publishing powerhouse, will lead all further development and marketing on the Saints Row and Metro franchises, each of which boast millions of units sold worldwide and vast, dedicated fan bases.

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SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that the critically acclaimed BAYONETTA will soon be available for download on the PlayStation®Network.  Experience the free flowing over-the-top action of BAYONETTA from the creators of Devil May Cry and Resident Evil. Play as a witch with powers beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, and face-off against countless enemies, evil forces and giant sized bosses in a game of 100% pure unadulterated all-out action.

Directed by Hideki Kamiya, this stylish and cinematic action game is known for outlandish finishing moves that are performed with balletic grace as Bayonetta flows fluidly from one fight to another. With magnificent over-the-top action taking place in stages that are a veritable theme park of exciting attractions, Bayonetta pushes the limits of the action genre, bringing to life its fast-paced, dynamic climax combat.

BAYONETTA™ is available for download in the U.S. on January 29th for $19.99 and in Europe on January 30th for £14.99 on PSN and is already available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system.

For more information and assets, please visit the SEGA Press FTP site at: www.sega-press.com. For more news, follow SEGA on Twitter @SEGA or “like” us on Facebook.

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NIS America is extremely excited to announce that Persona 4 Golden will  be released across  Europe on February 22, 2013 for thePlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system. The digital version of the gamewill be available  two days earlier via PlayStation®Network, on February 20. Persona 4 Golden

was developed by ATLUS, a brand of Index Digital Media, Inc., and is an enhanced and extended version of the highly acclaimed, award-winning RPG Shin Megami Tensei®: Persona®4. It offers beautifully remastered visuals, 1.5 times the amount of voiced dialogue of the original release, and a new online dungeon rescue feature. Persona 4 Golden also offers a massive amount of new content—new Personas, new story events with an all-new character, striking new anime cutscenes, and much more!

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