TGS ANNOUNCEMENTS: PART ONE l PART TWO l PART THREE

You have to respect the work-life balance that the modern working man faces, especially with the added stresses on your relationship because your girlfriend has been kidnapped by demons.  Luckily, in Shadows of the Damned, you are able to call on a friendly demon to transform into an array of weaponry in order to fight your way through a haunted city to get her back.

Pre-release trailers highlight over the top action, tacky one-liners and a cavalcade of monster enemies. Fan favourite creators Suda51 (Killer 7) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) have teamed to challenge gamers with huge boss battles and visceral horror design. The combat elements look to be rounded out by puzzle solving and ‘light versus darkness’ gameplay.

Shadows of the Damned has a lot of big names behind it but you can’t help but wonder why their game needs kidnapped girlfriends and a design that looks like a bad Ghost Rider movie knock-off (itself being a poor knock-off of horror genre staples).  From EA and Grasshopper Manufacture, Shadows of the Damned looks set to embarrass discriminating gamers on PS3 and Xbox360 in 2011.

The first of approximately one million colours.

Nintendo has revealed new details about its forthcoming 3DS system. As reported by 1UP, the device will allow players to access a Virtual Console. Though a similar service is already available on the Wii, the 3DS version will allow players to download titles from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color libraries for the first time.

We already knew that the 3DS would be backwards compatible with DS games. We now know that players will be able to transfer at least some of their DSiWare programs to the new system, which is great news for collectors of virtual clocks, notepads and calendars. Nintendo has also confirmed the unit will support Mii avatars. Carrying a minute and grossly distorted facsimile of yourself has never been easier!

The 3DS will storm Japan in February 2011, with a western release to follow a month later. A precise Australian release date is yet to be announced.

Correction: Game Boy Advance titles have not been confirmed for the 3DS Virtual Console. The article has been updated to reflect this.

More than 70 games have been announced for the 3DS.

Other M recaps the end of Super Metroid with a lovely CGI sequence showing the destruction of Mother Brain, the planet Zebes and the last Metroid (the baby). The introduction, like many of the (long) cut-scenes during the game, is narrated by returning protagonist Samus Arran, who has been given a voice for this adventure. A brief tutorial shows you the basics of her move set before the cinematics resume. You respond to a distress signal, called a “Baby’s Cry”, and meet up with a Galactic Federation platoon investigating a vast space ship. You have history with some of the platoon members which provides content for many flashbacks and emotional set pieces during the game. Read the rest of this entry »

TGS ANNOUNCEMENTS: PART ONE l PART TWO l PART THREE

As a roaming third person combat game with roots in ancient mythology, Asura’s Wrath was already likely to be measured against the God of War series. Throw in the fact that Asura has been betrayed by his fellow deities and stripped of his divine powers and the comparison becomes inevitable.

As the title suggests, he’s now working through some Kratos level anger management issues. The fact that his enemies are using him as a human pin cushion probably isn’t making matters any easier. In fact, if the punishment he endures in the announcement trailer is any guide, Asura’s titular rage may well be justified.

Though it is best known for enduing franchises such as Street Fighter and Resident Evil, Capcom has launched several new properties during this console generation. Asura’s Wrath will join the likes of Lost Planet, Dead Rising and Dark Void when it arrives on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on a date to be determined.