Tag Archive

8-bit metroidvania style title Bloodstained hits all consoles May 24th


Posted on May 14, 2018 by Jason Nason

Battle with swords and whips in this retro-style action game brought to you by game creator Koji Igarashi and Inti Creates.

In the game you’ll play as Zangetsu, a demon slayer bearing a deep grudge, who must travel through perilous lands to defeat a powerful demon lurking in a dark castle. Zangetsu will meet fellow travelers along the way, who can join your journey as playable characters. Switching to these characters with their unique abilities will unlock new paths through the treacherous stages. Your choices in recruiting these adventurers will change the difficulty of the game, and may even affect the ending!

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is the 8-bit style game promised as a stretch goal of the 2015 Kickstarter campaign for “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.”

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon will be released on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Steam. The game will be released on May 24th for $9.99 USD.


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Energy Invasion comes to PS4, Vita, Switch this week


Posted on January 8, 2018 by Jason Nason

Evgeniy Kolpakov and Sometimes You’s Energy Invasion comes to digital game stores this week. The game will be released in the PlayStation Store on PS4 and PS Vita tomorrow and will be released in the Nintendo eShop on Thursday.

Energy Invasion is an arcade game inspired by the classic Breakout. Unlike the original game, your ball does not break blocks on its own, but can launch missiles in a chosen direction.

The game features a lot of bonuses (both useful and harmful), bright graphic effects, levels with dangerous enemies, and a soundtrack from Nick R 61. There are 25 levels in “Invasion” mode, 25 levels in “Linear” mode, ∞ levels in “Endless” mode.

The game will retail in the Nintendo eShop for $3.87 CAD.


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Meet The Cast of Idea Factory’s Mary Skelter: Nightmares


Posted on September 21, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Do you hear the sounds that go bump in the night? Did you sleep well last night? Idea Factory International scares up some early frights with the PlayStation Vita release of Mary Skelter: Nightmares this week in North America. If you can keep your eyes open long enough without following that creeping shadow in the corner of your vision, now is the best time to take a look at the playable characters featured in this dungeon crawling JRPG. 

Enter The Waking Nightmare of ‘Mary Skelter’

Enter a city unlike any other – one where the deepest despairs of the human mind have become manifest since the appearance of the mysterious ‘jail‘. The jail’s mere presence has turned this cities inhabitants into unwilling prisoners ruled over by mysterious monstrosities known as “machens“.  Players will join a boy named Jack, a girl named Ruby and their friends as they explore the dungeons of the city prison with the aim of escaping the daily torture & pain they endure – restore their hopes, dreams as well as peace to the city they call home. 

They’re The Life of the Party

Idea Factory International has provided us with the following character bios for 7 of the playable characters in Mary Skelter: Nightmares:


JACK
A timid, yet brave young boy who is the hero of the game. He was imprisoned in the Jail with Alice. With his MaryGun and his special blood, he’s able to control the Blood Maidens which makes him a vital member of the party.

ALICE
Jack’s childhood best friend who is also a prisoner of the Jail. She discovers she’s a Blood Maiden after meeting Red Riding Hood. She’s a straightforward girl with a calm demeanor but she loses her cool when Jack is in danger.

RED RIDING HOOD
A longtime prisoner of the Jail and Blood Maiden who rescues Jack and Alice. She teaches them all about the Blood Maidens and acts as like an older sister to her less experienced teammates.

THUMBELINA
The oldest of the three Blood Maiden sisters. She pushes Jack around and is so prideful that she can’t even compliment him.

SNOW WHITE
The second oldest of the three sisters. She has a gentle personality and is kind to Jack. Despite her best intentions, she ends up complicating things. She’s afraid of looking into mirrors.

SLEEPING BEAUTY
The youngest of the three sisters. She’s comforting to Jack when he feels down. She’s almost always sleepy, so she expresses most opinions with a simple nod or by shaking her head.
KAGUYA
A lazy Blood Maiden who spends most of her time in her room. She uses her special ride, Bamboo 1, to move around or to fight. It takes a while for her to open up to Jack.

See The Nightmare For Yourself

Mary Skelter: Nightmares is available today on the PlayStation Store for $54.99 CDN. Also available are two PlayStation OS themes – ‘original’ or ‘dengeki’ alongside various pieces of media. If you’d like to enter the waking nightmare of Mary Skelter’s world all you have to do is hit the play button on the video below.


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Farming Simulator 18 coming to 3DS/Vita in June


Posted on March 7, 2017 by Jason Nason

Farming Simulator 18, developed by Giants Software is heading to the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita this summer. After enticing millions of players on PC and consoles, Farming Simulator returns to the portables.

Giants Software has revealled some screenshots of the game, showing some of the new content landing on the handheld versions of Farming Simulator, including a new environment, a host of new vehicles and brands, new crops, and new animals.

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Atelier Sophie Synthesized For Steam Release


Posted on February 8, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Atelier Sophie

The latest alchemically magical release in the long-running Atelier series has finally been concocted for Steam thanks to the wizards at Koei Tecmo. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is now available on Steam for $32.99 CDN or as a bundle with another recent Koei Tecmo release on windows, Nights of Azure for $52.78 CDN – both games were developed by Japanese devs GUST.

For this 17th entry in the Atelier franchise players are put into the boots of young alchemist Sophie Neuenmuller as she learns that she has come into the possession of a magical book that has its own soul. Players will guide Sophie through her adventure with the mysterious book as her mentor while she hones her craft of crafting and unravels the enigma that is her mysterious mentor.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist & The Mysterious Book was originally released in Japan in November 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Vita with a North American release following this past June.

Atelier Sophie

Wanna know if your rig will run Atelier Sophie? Here are the minimum specs from the game’s Steam Page:

RECOMMENDED:

OS: Windows® 7, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10
Processor: Core i7 3.4GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX960
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 5 GB available space

Here’s a trailer from the PlayStation version of the game:


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Exile’s End | REVIEW


Posted on December 18, 2016 by Jason Nason

The Metroidvania style of game is one that many people have fond memories of, especially if you grew up in the days of the original Metroid and Caslevania games (where the genre name comes from) on the original NES. They were notorious for their immersive gameplay, huge environments, and very little room for error. Healing items were sparse, you had to defeat enemies in order to get “drops” of items, and there was always the sense of fear for your life. That style of gameplay and experience is emulated well in Exile’s End which is a great homage to the genre.

Much like the games from which it is inspired, Exile’s End throws you right into the thick of things.

In the far future, a massive corporation called Ravenwood controls commerce on Earth and on numerous other worlds across the galaxy. They are not unlike a nation, with their own army, economy, and would-be government.

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When the son of Ravenwood’s president goes missing on a remote mining planet, and all contact with the miners’ colony is lost, a mercenary team is hastily assembled and sent out to determine just what happened. Among the members of this team is Jameson, an old soldier with a dark past he’s trying to forget.

Just as the ship carrying Jameson and his team arrives, however, it experiences a catastrophic electrical failure and crash-lands upon the planet’s surface, with Jameson the only apparent survivor. Trying to reopen communications with the Ravenwood corporation, he comes across what’s left of the mining operations upon this desolate planetscape, and learns a truth far more sinister than he ever could have imagined.

You start the game marooned on this planet with nothing to your name, not even a weapon. Thus begins your odyssey to try to escape the planet, and survive.

As you progress through the game you’ll get upgrades to your suit armour, find weapons, and other items to use. You’ll also have to solve puzzles by riding wind currents, draining waterways, weighing down switches, and more.

The environments is frought with dangers too, including armed soldiers, wild animals, and other creatures to do you harm. There are also spikes to contend with, both above and below. Word to the wise. Don’t land in the spikes. This game treats them just like they would were this a real survival experience. Falling into a pit of spikes equals instant death.

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While the game can be brutal with healing items and death, it is very forgiving in the way of saving. In the game (the Wii U version was played for this review) the game auto-saves at every load screen, so if things go horribly wrong you lose very little progress. So one wrong move, while resulting in death, won’t cost you much time.

Exile’s End looks great in a nice retro SNES pixelated style. You’d swear that you were playing a Virtual Console SNES title on your Wii U. The game even adds to that retro feel by having an option in the settings which makes the game’s visual presentation mimic the look of an old tube television.

Going along with the retro look is an amazing retro soundtrack. The game’s soundtrack was composed by Keiji Yamagishi, the legendary composer for Ninja Gaiden for the NES, Tecmo Super Bowl, and Dynasty Warriors. The music varries from intense to silently unsettling, which adds to the atmosphere of the game.

Exile’s End also supports off-tv play on the GamePad.

The game is massive, with hidden treasure chambers and more than 1,200 separate screens to explore through. These screens are spread between multiple different environments, which you’ll be treated to multiple times. In true Metroidvania-style progression, acquiring a new item or ability may open up new areas to explore in past areas.

And exploration is key in the game.

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Multiple times I became stuck in the game, wondering where I was supposed to go next. At times it isn’t clear what the next objective is, especially after finding a new item or skill. Since the game autosaves, playing around with items can help figure things out without worry of “wasting” items. Using the right item in the right place, or finding a wall that can be broken through can be key.

When I wasn’t getting stuck and lost this game was really fun. Exile’s End is one of those games where you sit down and play it for a long time before putting it down, and then think about it when you’re not playing it. Where you go back and forth between screens so that enemies respawn so you can kill them for their item drops, hoping for a little bit of health. Often ending up with less than you started out with.

If you’ve ever played a Metroid or a Castlevania game and you love the look and feel of retro SNES-styled games, then Exile’s End will fit right into your digital collection. The game is available for Wii U, PS4, PS Vita, and is also available on Steam.


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Deep Silver and Sega Team Up To Publish Valkyria Revolution In The West


Posted on December 14, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

SEGA and Deep Silver are joining forces to spearhead the revolution on Western shores, no the two publishers aren’t overthrowing the capitalist system but rather bringing the latest title in the Valkyria series to both North America, Europe and Australia in the second quarter of 2017. Not only is the news of the game’s western release a surprise but both companies will be bringing out physical versions for Xbox One & PS4 as well as a digital only release for the PlayStation Vita.

Valyria Revolution is a bit of a rebirth for the longtime strategy RPG / action hybrid series. Set in the same alternate timeline as the original Valkyria Chronicles titles, Revolution is set against the background of the much earlier Victorian era technological revolution that brought locomotives and telecommunications into the world.  The battle system in Valkyria Revolution does away with the strategy RPG emphasis for a more action orientated affair that mixes in strategy through the management of multiple fronts during the single-player campaign. Players will be able to charge into battle alongside other units and rack-up highly devastating combos using this brand new combat syste.

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Story wise Valkyria Revolution focuses on a group of five friends whose lifelong bonds are tested as their thirst for revenge plunges the entire continent into war. Using their limited influence and political connections this “Circle of Five” must build an army and manage multiple fronts to rise up against the oppressive enemy that currently occupies their country. While the narrative certainly draws on the themes of comradery and an underdog military against the oppressor that was present in the original Valkyria Chronicles, it also seems to introduce conflicting shades of grey – are “Circle of Five” true revolutionaries fighting for the freedom of their nation or are they simply using influence to fuel a personal vendetta?

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Set to be released as Aoki Kakumei no Varukyuria (lit. Valkyria of the Blue Revolution), SEGA has changed the name for the west since they found the literal translation to be difficult to work with from a translation and graphic design perspective. The game is currently under development at Media Vision and is scheduled for an earlier January 2017 release in Japan for PS4 & PS Vita. A special demo version of Valkyria of the Blue Revolution was released this past October for Japanese PS4 owners and carries special unlocks forward into the full game.

 


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Shantae Half Genie Hero Coming To Vita, PS4 and Wii U Next Week


Posted on December 11, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

WayForward’s long running Shantae series gets a brand new entry with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is coming to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Wii U on December 20th in both digital and physical flavors.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is WayForward’s fourth entry featuring their purple haired protagonist. For the first time in the series history Half-Genie Hero features HD graphics while maintaining the color art-style that helped previous games stand out. If you’ve come to love Shantae’s particular flavor of transformation enhanced action combat this latest title looks like it will be worth the wait.

Gameplay wise Half-Genie Hero retains the transformation enhanced combat seen in other titles with eight different forms available at our heroine’s disposal. Her basic attack, the hair-whip, is also still in-tact but this time with an HD coat of paint. WayForward gives the completionist in all of us a reason to explore levels that have already been completed – thanks to the 8 different forms that Shantae can use, levels hold a number of unlockable items, secrets and easter-eggs that can’t be found on the first play through. Levels finish off with large boss encounters that will hopefully test the reflexes and pattern recognition ability of players of all skill levels.

Want to see the game in action? Check out four PlayStation 4 launch screenshots below, an image of the physical Wii U version and launch trailer for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.

Launch Trailer

Wii U Pack Shot

shantaehalf-geniehero_riskybeatsedition_wiiu

New PlayStation 4 Screenshots


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Shantae: Half-Genie Hero launches Dec 20th for PlayStation, Dec 27th for Wii U


Posted on December 10, 2016 by Jason Nason

XSEED Games announced on Friday that the retail edition of the crowd-funded action game developed by WayForward, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, is nearly ready for release. The game will launch for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita on December 20th while the game will hit the Wii U one week later on December 27th.

To celebrate the series’ first full HD release, a limited “Risky Beats” retail edition will be packaged with a musical selections CD containing 30 songs from the game’s soundtrack for PS4, PS Vita, as well as for Wii U system in North America. for a suggested retail price of $34.99 CAD.

The retail release date for Wii U is scheduled to be one week later on December 27th, however the launch date listed by Canadian retailers is actually January 3rd, 2017. While the release of the physical games may be a bit later on Nintendo’s home console, WayForward will launch the PS4 and Wii U versions digitally on December 20th. for $19.99 USD.

Nintendo.com doesn’t currently list any release date or price.

XSEED Games will handle publishing duties for the digital PS Vita release from PS Store, also scheduled for December 20th, for $19.99 USD.

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Lara Croft GO now available for Steam/PlayStation


Posted on December 5, 2016 by Jason Nason

Lara Croft GO has been released today for PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and Steam.

Originally released as a mobile title last summer, Lara Croft GO is a turn based puzzle-adventure set in a long-forgotten world. You’ll explore the ruins of an ancient civilization, discover well-kept secrets and face deadly challenges as you uncover the myth of the Queen of Venom.

Following the award-winning Hitman GO, the game was devloped by Square Enix Montréal in collaboration with Montréal indie studio, KO_OP.

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XSeed bringing Exile’s End to Wii U eShop next week


Posted on November 16, 2016 by Jason Nason

XSeed Games is bringing their cool retro-looking side scrolling action game Exile’s End to the Wii U eShop next week, with the game landing on Nintendo’s digital service on November 22nd.

Exile’s End is a collaboration between Tokyo-based independent game developer Matt Fielding and several talented Japanese game industry veterans, backed by Japanese publisher Marvelous. The game is a remake of Fielding’s first independent release, Inescapable, building and expanding on the original idea by adding an atmospheric soundtrack, significantly more enemies, animated cutscenes, greater story depth, a greatly expanded world, and multiple endings.

The game plays out as an exploration-driven side-scrolling adventure through a massive, interconnected laboratory and mining complex on a moody, lonely alien world, and offers a variety of diverse locations to explore and puzzles to solve through skilled platforming and clever usage of the game’s myriad weapons.

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World of Final Fantasy Demo Skips PS Vita In North America


Posted on October 17, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix has released a limited demo version of their upcoming fan service filled spin-off World of Final Fantasy across all major PlayStation Store regions. Unfortunately for handheld owners in North America the PS Vita demo version is not a random encounter on the PlayStation Store despite an English localization of the handheld demo being available in European countries.

World of Final Fantasy is the latest spin-off for Square’s long running RPG franchise and could be considered a “best of” collection, as the game features allusions to prior entries as well as chibi versions of characters from previous titles.  In World of Final Fantasy the player guides a pair of siblings as they explore a fairy tale world where “giants” are able to transform from the chibi-style of character to full sized human beings at will. Featuring the classic Active Time Battle system combined with an intriguing “Mirage catching mechanic” not unlike the monster collecting in Nintendo’s Pokemon titles, World of Final Fantasy includes a heavy dose of nostalgia for the well informed and some new toys to play with that may intrigue newcomers.

The demo version is said to be light on plot, as it features the same combat tutorials and single explorable dungeons to the version that we sampled at the September Penny Arcade Expo.

PS_VIta_Blue

World of Final Fantasy releases next Tuesday October 25th with the “day one” edition including extra DLC – the Japanese voice add-on pack probably being the most noteworthy. It is a bit of bummer that Square Enix chose to forgo releasing the PS Vita demo version in North America considering that the handheld version will be launching here in just a week’s time. Perhaps the best move for players who want a taste now is to create a separate European PSN account in-order to play the localized demo.

You can grab it at the links below:

North American PS4 Demo 

European PS4 Demo 

European PS Vita Demo 


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Valkyrie Drive Debuts On PS Vita This September With Pre-Order Bonuses


Posted on July 15, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Valkyre Drive: Bhikkhuni is a brand new third person action game coming to the PlayStation Vita this September and some of the staff involved in the game may be familiar with our readership – the creators of the popular Senran Kagura series. The game’s publisher has revealed a special pre-order bonus for players who decide to pick up a physical copy of Valkyrie Drive.

With a focus on third-person real-time combat Valkyrie Drive is going to feel a niche that doesn’t get much attention in the portable space – anime action titles designed specifically for handhelds.  There is bound to be a large amount of variety in Drive with 7 playable characters spanning 28 single player missions. Of course, Hack and slash aerial combat isn’t just a solo affair – Valkyrie Drive will also offer owners the chance to duke it out online against their friends.

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Probably the most unique feature in Valkyrie Drive is the weapons system – players won’t be using the standard swords, guns  or shields. Instead members of the female cast will turn into powerful super weapons that players can use to wreck havoc on their enemies. If you are getting images from Soul Eater in your mind, you aren’t alone.

In terms of pre-order bonuses – 8 different art postcards will be offered, featuring characters from the game.

Valkyrie Drive will be out on PlayStation Vita on September 16th.


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Grand Kingdom (PS Vita) Review


Posted on July 3, 2016 by Erika

Grand Kingdom Logo

NIS America has released some of my more favorite strategy RPGs over the years with the Disgaea series, and now Grand Kingdom is one of those potential games. Instead of bogging down a player that wants to get into the game quickly with a long, sprawling story, it’s pretty straightforward. The player is the leader of a band of mercenaries and contracts out services to the highest bidder. When put like that, it doesn’t sound too intimidating of a game. The backstory consists of the land of Uldain being in turmoil due to four warring kingdoms, and mercenaries are trying to take advantage of it to get rich or die trying.Read More


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