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Tokyo Game Show 2010

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5313 km away an exciting party for gamers is ending today. It is the Tokyo Game Show 2010 which runs from 16 September to 19 September . Like a child left out of a party, I cannot get first hand news from the TGS 2010 and had to look through the net for any updates. Some interesting upcoming games were showcased at the show. I will now provide a run through of these titles:)

1. Ni no Kuni

This game is a team-up between Studio Ghibli producer and Level-5, a Japan based game developer. There is a PS3 as well as a Nintendo DS version for this game. Studio Ghibli is well known for creating wonderful animated films such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Ni No Kuni has a rather sad story line. It follows the adventure of a 13-year old boy who mother died suddenly. In order to revive her, he heeds the advice of a fairy and enter a parallel world called “Ninokuni”. For any who had watched Ghibli Studio’s production, the scene of the game has an uncanny resemblance to other Studio Ghibli’s film. As a matter of fact, the studio has been employing computer 3D graphic technology in some scenes of their animated film for some years. This may explain why some of the scenes of Ni no Kuni has flavours of Studio Ghibli’s animated film. The DS version is scheduled to be released this holiday season while the PS version will only be out next year.

2. The Last Guardian

This beautiful game about the friendship between a boy and a giant creature (that looks like a dog and eagle) named Trico is set to warm the heart of the player. Hmmm, but I do wonder what kind of game can the developer made that surround just these two characters. While it is announced that this game is going to be an action-adventure puzzle game, I hope that this game will not just be a level of puzzle after another. We will have to wait till late 2011 for this game to be released.

3. Metal Gear Solid Rising

Snake has retired but can Raiden bring new life to the MGS series? In MGS: Rising we get to slash enemies playing as ‘Ninja’ Raiden. The ‘free slicing’ mode allows the player to cut through space freely. The physics seen in the video above is really cool! For all you MGS fans out that, this game is due 2011 on Xbox 360 and PS3.

4. Deus ex:Human Revolution

For those who prefer the English version, here is the link.

This game is the third part of the action game series Deus Ex by British video game developer Eidos Interactive (it was later bought over by Square-Enix). Just watching the video makes me wonder whether this is a game or movie. This title is available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

5. Final Fantasy Versus XIII

This is a video leak from TGS 2010 for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. In this video, we can only have a very vague idea of what this Action-RPG game is going to be like. A scene of the player slashing a behemoth was shown in this trailer. It gives us a rough idea of the kind of slash and kill game play that FF versus XIII is going to be. Instead of the usual turn-based attack of FFXIII, now I really get to cut down a real behemoth! Cool!

6. God of War: Ghost of Sparta

GOW is now on PSP! We don’t have to wait long for this one, it is going to be released this coming year end holiday.

7. Gran Turismo 5

More video released for TGS 2010. Get ready to be blown off by the new stunning visual effects! GT5 is out end of this year.

8. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

A revive of the Castlevania franchise, this new title has Hideo Kojima’s input as an advisor. Looking to be a cross between Devil May Cry and God Of War, we will see soon whether this game can indeed revive the Castlevania series around October of this year when it is released.

Going 3D?

Sony who is pushing for 3D gaming in TGS 2010 even had a 3D panel at TGS 2010. Currently, Xbox 360 is unable to serve 3D content to players unlike PS3. But wearing a pair of glasses and the need to burn a hole in your pocket to get that 3D TV may put off players who are thinking of going into 3D gaming. Especially with the ‘glasses-less’ Nintendo 3Ds coming out probably before next April, players will be spoilt. Wearing glasses to play game? No way! Well, it might be still too early to see whether 3D gaming to kick off. But until the price of 3D TV drops, it is likely to be a barrier for most gamers to go 3D.

So that’s it. A round-up of the games featured in TGS 2010. Of course there are games that I have not covered. Among them we have, Asura’s Wrath, Yakuza: Of the End, Fable III, Killzone III, Monster Hunter Portable, Patapon 3, Tokyo Jungle, Dance Evolution and many more. Darn…they should have a Singapore Game Show too. I guess our gaming industry is just not matured enough.

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Feel the beat of Rhythm Game!

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  By now, most of you should know about Dance Central. This latest game belongs to the genre of rhythm games, also known as rhythm action, and is developed by Harmonix Music System (the same guys who brought you Rock Band and Guitar Hero). Dance Central is the perfect game that utilized the full-motion capture capability of the Kinect. Unlike previous dancing games like Para Para Paradise and the older Dance Dance Revolution, your full body movement is captured by the system and your moves will be evaluated by the game.

 I simply cannot hide my excitement for Dance Central. But alas, the uniqueness of the Kinect System makes the game possible only on Xbox 360. So PS3 owners like me can either get a Xbox 360, or wait for the PS3 version which could be coming out according to Kotaku.com. I do wonder how I am supposed to dance with the PS Move motion controller. I think the experience will still be better with Kinect controller-less system.

I remember the very first rhythm-action game I had played was PaRappa the Rapper. It was on Playstation One and I really enjoyed the music with its’ weird but funny lyrics. Oh I still remember the master of the Dojo, Chop Chop Master Onion! Hayatatatacha! Kick! Punch! 

Then came the time when Dance Dance Revolution started sprouting at arcades all over the place. I bought a PS Dance mat with the game and started dancing my way at home. It was so addictive that I played for many long hours straight sweating like a dog after each session. Who says gaming makes you fat? And I think Dance Central will be a perfect ‘slimming game’ that can easily beat the Wii Fit.

 

After the success of Dance Dance Revolution, we see the rise of another dance machine, Para Para Paradise. I am, however, no fan of this game. I have seen youngsters flaunting their dance skills in front of the machine but I simply couldn’t get the beat and mechanism right. I failed terribly during my first and last try on the Para Para machine. But I do really have to admit that some of the Para Para-ers were really great dancers. With Para Para Paradise, dancing in front of a machine is one step closer to the real dance.

 

More rhythm-action games soon followed such as Beat Mania, Drum Mania, Rock Band, Guitar Hero and my favourite Taiko Drum Master! I am now waiting eagerly for the release of Dance Central and hoping to see it soon on PS3. This would probably be a game that all gamers can play with their girlfriends or wifes. Perfect!:)

Game Preview

Exciting games coming up!

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Great games coming up!

1. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (16 November 2010)- Assassin’s Creed’s plot is captivating and the gameplay is simply awesome. Looking at the demo of the multiplayer for Brotherhood, this game looks promising! The previous installment brought us to the renaissance period in Europe. The non-linear, open-style gameplay makes it one of the highest rated game. But what is exciting about this upcoming Brotherhood could be the multiplayer mode. Check out the video below:)

2. Marvel VS Capcom 3 (Spring 2011): Fighting games have been given a new live since SF4 which introduced 3D characters (and background) with the nice retro two-dimensional fight. No more irritating strafing or rolling. Marvel VS Capcom 3 looks like it is going to be a hit with the gathering characters which we love in this game such as Dante from Devil May Cry 3. Too bad we may not get to play it by end of the year.Oh btw, wouldn’t it be great to have a Square-Enix VS Street Fighter? And throw in Solid Snake with his CQC. Surely that will be a game-of-the-year!

3. Little Big Planet 2 (16 November 2010): The cute little sack boy is back exclusively again for PS3! But LBP2 is trying to push beyond the boundary of a platform game. User can now create racing, shooting and even Real-Time-Strategy game! Wow! I just hope that the game developer will not focus too much on simply just expanding the breadth of the game but pay attention to the depth of the game such as improving the physics (which is already very good) and the gameplay. I would still like to jump around platforms dodging fireball and falling rocks like in LBP. But would definitely like to see improvement for the platform game in LBP2.

That’s it folks! Any upcoming games which you feel deserves GameTrader.SG to mention, please add in the comment! We are always looking out for nice games to buy!