ANNOUNCEMENTS: PART ONE l PART TWO l PART THREE
It may have been a relatively subdued Tokyo Game Show for Sony, but it certainly wasn’t without it s highlights. Perhaps the most significant announcement to emerge from the platform holder was Q4 2011 release date of The Last Guardian. The promising fantasy adventure from Team ICO will have been in development for a good three years by the time it hits the shelves. Fortunately, the first party developer’s acclaimed back catalogue has earned it a measure of latitude from both its parent company and fans.
Speaking of Team ICO, Sony has finally confirmed one the industry’s most persistent rumours, announcing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus: The Collection. Both of the developer’s PlayStation 2 titles will receive the expected HD spit and polish before being introduced to PlayStation 3 players in Q2 2011. If seeing two of the more attractive games of the last generation in crystal clear widescreen isn’t enough for you, you’ll be happy to hear that the package also supports 3D viewing.
Demon’s Souls developer From Software is working on Project Dark. Though information on the game is currently hard to come by, it appears to be a fantasy themed action RPG in the vein of the developer’s 2009 hit, Demon’s Souls. We can only hope that the new game will be mite more forgiving than its hard as nails predecessor.
With Sony’s blessing, third parties have made a good fist of hogging the PlayStation spotlight at this year’s show. We’ll be covering most of these titles under the banners of their respective publishers, beginning with SEGA (below).
SEGA has unveiled the latest PlayStation 3 chapter in its Yakuza series of open world crime games. While previous instalments have made at least some pretence at reality, Yakuza Of The End takes place in a Japan overrun by (you guessed it) zombies. SEGA already has ample experience with the ubiquitous shamblers, having produced multiple instalments of The House of the Dead, including the seminal Typing of the Dead.
With the undead hordes having already corrupted our first person shooters (Call of Duty: World at War) and open world westerns (Red Dead Redemption), the Yakuza announcement shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Having said this, enough is enough. Expect a formal announcement soon on The Black Panel’s ‘Zombie Free December’.
Any hope that the superb Valkyria Chronicles series would return to its native PlayStation 3 have been dashed by the announcement of the third instalment. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and Valkyria Chronicles III will be welcomed with open arms by PSP owners, who are becoming increasingly well served in the turn based strategy department.
One of SEGA’s longest running franchises is set to continue on the PC with Phantasy Star Online 2, a direct sequel to the trailblazing Dreamcast MMO. In related news, IGN has revealed that Colonel Sanders will appear in the forthcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity for the PSP. This series is dead to me.
If we learned anything from SEGA’s TGS performance it is that it intends to capitalise on its existing brands rather than invest in new ideas, at least for the time being. Nowhere is this more apparent than its treatment of its famous mascot. The Japanese publisher is working on Sonic Colours, Sonic 4 and Sonic Free Riders, a Kinect compatible hover board racer for 360. What next? Sonic Zombies? Don’t put it past them.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: PART ONE l PART TWO l PART THREE
