GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Catherine Exclusive Preview

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Catherine Exclusive Preview 12 May 2011, 8:36 pm We learn more about Vincent and his personal problems involving women, sheep, and bed-wetting.   When we first saw the trailer for Catherine at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, let's say we were more than just a little intrigued by Vincent and his troubles with women. This mature game is story-driven experience that explores infidelity in relationships, and Vincent is the star for the week. Catherine is like a game within a game, where you'll be introduced to Midnight Venus, the host of the show. During cutscenes, you'll notice the words "Golden Playhouse" in the upper left-hand corner, which is an homage to some '70s television shows in Japan, similar to Twilight Zone. Atlus came by to show us multiple cutscenes (including one where we learn that Vincent has a tendency to wet the bed) and the types of puzzles you'll encounter in the game. [ Watch Video ] Watch our demo of Catherine with a C! Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Vincent is 32 years old and has been with his girlfriend Katherine for five years now. He likes the way things are going and sees no need to change, especially when Katherine pushes him to commit. Things start to get even more complicated when he meets Catherine, a perky blond girl who somehow winds up naked in his bed the next morning. Due to some excessive drinking the night before, Vincent is not sure if he actually slept with her. The juicy story unfolds during gorgeous cel-shaded cutscenes that are fully voice acted. It might sound like a soap opera at this point, but there's more to throw into the already intriguing mix. A series of mysterious deaths have occurred and the news reports are calling them the "Women's Wrath" because they all involve young men who died in their sleep. The puzzles in Catherine takes place while Vincent sleeps, where he's beginning to have nightmares after meeting the seductive Catherine. In his dreams, he must climb a seemingly never-ending pile of blocks, which is meant to signify the "blocks that he must overcome in life." The goal is to push and pull blocks around to create a staircase for Vincent before the steps crumble beneath him. If you die in your dreams, you also die in real life. It's meant to be intense and mirror the terror that Vincent is feeling; throughout the level, there will also be checkpoints and pillows to collect for retries. In between stages, he'll encounter other men who appear as sheep. We're told the whole sheep thing is symbolic for a couple of things, but we'll let you play the game to figure out that part. As you make your way through the game, there's a morality meter that shifts, depending on your actions and responses to particular questions. For example, we were asked if we have ever cheated on someone, and our options were "I plead the 5th" and "I don't think so." What's interesting is that your answers are collected like a survey, and when you're online, you'll be able to see what other players have answered in pie-chart form. By the end of the game, your meter will dictate which ending you'll see, and there are seven in total. It takes roughly eight to 12 hours to complete the game, and you will need to restart to experience the other endings. This is Catherine. Not Vincent's girlfriend Katherine. There are leaderboards where players can see how they rank when it comes to the puzzles. There are boss fights as well, which are still represented in nightmare block-pushing form. Instead of just having the pressure of the blocks disappearing beneath you, in our demo, we encountered an enormous demonic baby that was trying to squish us. So you'll not only have to frantically push and pull your way to freedom, but you'll also have to stay out of giant ugly baby's way and dodge the lasers that come out of his eyes. As the puzzles get more complicated, you'll be introduced to new types of blocks, such as a spring block that propels you upward, and there are also hazardous ones to avoid. After you've completed the game once, you unlock a multiplayer mode (which we didn't see), but it involves competitive and cooperative offline play. There was a patch that went out for the Japanese version of Catherine that added a "Very Easy" mode, as well as some tweaks to the levels that were proven to be too difficult. In "Very Easy" mode, you have a higher chance of receiving an energy drink that allows you to jump several blocks at a time rather than just one. "Normal" mode has also been adjusted so that you have the ability to undo what you've done if you happen to pull out the wrong block. The easier difficulty settings will also allow the mystic pillows that you collect to grant more retries. All of these changes will make their way into the North American release. Because the game is designed and developed by the Atlus Persona team, you'll find similarities in the art style, and the music is also done by Persona series composer Shoji Meguro. Though it is rated M for mature and the content is definitely adult oriented, there is no nudity as all the cutscenes have been carefully cropped for your convenience (or displeasure). For those interested in the soundtrack, it will be included along with an art book if you preorder the game. It's up to you to decide which way the needle points in Vincent's morality meter. Catherine looks to be a twisted tale that explores themes that aren't often touched upon in video games (or in certain social circles). We look forward to seeing what becomes of Vincent when the game ships for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on July 26. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Catherine Exclusive Preview" was posted by Sophia Tong on Thu, 12 May 2011 12:36:23 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Shadows of the Damned Is Mental - Hands-On Preview

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Shadows of the Damned Is Mental - Hands-On Preview 12 May 2011, 6:03 pm We received a playable build of Grasshopper Manufacture's new survival horror game, and even next to Suda 51's previous work, it's insane.   Shadows of the Damned is out to mess with your head. "The bullet train is here, hell monkey!" announces Garcia Hotspur, our topless, heavily tattooed hero as he presses a gun to a demon's head at the beginning of the game. After dispatching his monstrous foe, he returns home to witness his girlfriend Paula hanging from a ceiling fan, with demons crawling out of her body, before she gets dragged into the underworld to go die some more. In terms of introductions, it certainly grabs you, and as Hotspur jumps headlong into the underworld to save Paula, you're more than ready to join him for the ride. [ Watch Video ] Witness Shadows of the Damned's wanton depravity for yourself. Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Hotspur's sidekick through this supernatural adventure is Johnson, a floating skull that can transform into a motorcycle, a torch, and a variety of kick-ass weapons. Johnson's a former demon, so he's an indispensable tour guide, proffering invaluable knowledge such as "demons are buttholes." As you'll be able to tell if you watch our video preview, Johnson's a witty English gent, not a million miles away from Wheatley in Portal 2, making such lines as, "Well, I just lost my stiffy," all the more hilarious. Before Hotspur can succeed in the underworld, he needs to learn certain rules that apply only in the abyss. Light and dark are important elements, and as in Alan Wake, you need to remove the darkness from certain enemies before they become vulnerable to attack. Unlike Alan Wake, though, you do this by firing a "light shot" bullet at goat heads that hang on the wall, which provide light to the surrounding area and extinguish the darkness. There are other weird and wonderful rules of the underworld, such as doors that are unlocked by stuffing strawberries into a baby's mouth, doors that are chained by a demon's pubes, and health that is replenished by drinking tequila and hot sake. Hotspur and Johnson have to face off against an army of small demons that, like zombies, are best destroyed by aiming for the heads. They also meet larger boss characters, such as George, who charges straight at you, that have red weak points on the rear--human blood supplies, according to Johnson. There are also basic puzzles that play on the theme of light and dark; sometimes, you need to enter the darkness so you can shoot certain switches to open doors or shoot a goat's head to restore the light. Shadows of the Damned plays a lot like a survival horror game; you need to hold two buttons to perform a 180-degree turn, for example, but the level of action means it's closer to Resident Evil 4 and 5 than earlier games in the series. The extreme nature of the violence, language, and imagery means that it feels a lot like an exploitation movie similar to low-budget films from the 1970s or the recent Grindhouse flicks. Garcia faces off against George in minotaur form using the teether machine gun. Our preview code allowed us to play through the first couple of chapters of the game, which took approximately two hours in total. A chunk of this has been covered by our earlier preview, so for more detail, be sure to check out our earlier coverage. Whereas our last demo ended with a boss called George emerging out of Paula's lingerie-clad body, we got to carry on a little further. Beating George was a case of shooting exploding barrels (a gaming cliche that the game knowingly recognizes) of light to knock him over and then shooting his exposed red-blood supplies. The defeated enemy left us with an upgrade that unlocked Johnson's teether weapon, which was basically a machine gun that was good for keeping large swarms of demons at bay. One of the most demented sections of our hands-on occurred when we came across a large fairytale book called "The Man Who Never Had His Fill." Johnson read the tale of a man called George, a harmonica player who had the ability to eat food without getting fat. It detailed George's insatiable appetite, including an intimate sexual encounter, until poor George became so thin he died. It was an amusing diversion from all of the action that still admirably maintained the game's vulgar tone. Other incredibly bizarre moments included using fireworks launchers to temporarily illuminate dark areas and the character Christopher, who was a huge demon/human that barfed up ammunition, drinks, and other goodies if we fed him gems. There was also one great action set piece where we had to jump onto a huge swinging candelabra and then swing around to illuminate spots of darkness. Chapter Two ended with another demented boss battle against George, who this time ripped out his own heart, ate it, and then transformed into a minotaur riding a horse. Attacking him was a case of running into the darkness to attack his weak spot and then unloading bullets into the horse's stomach when he was on the ground. Once the horse was killed, George ripped out his heart, ate that, and then grew to become 10 times his original size. This time, we had to fire at his many red weak spots and avoid his excretions of darkness, which, of course, emanated from his behind. Once we'd dealt enough damage, giant minotaur George stopped, started to urinate darkness, and a scythe-wielding superdemon descended and lopped his head clean off, producing a blue gem that we could plug into Johnson's head to give him the skullcussioner shotgun weapon. All things considered, it was a fairly memorable boss battle. Our preview build also contained the third chapter of the game, but at this stage, we're sadly unable to talk about it. For a look at more reasons why Shadows of the Damned is so insane, be sure to watch our brand new video preview at the top of this article. We're keeping a close eye on the game, so come back to GameSpot for more info ahead of its release. And for those of you in the UK, be sure to check out the GameSpot UK booth at the MCM Expo in London to play the game for yourself. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Shadows of the Damned Is Mental - Hands-On Preview" was posted by Guy Cocker on Thu, 12 May 2011 10:03:52 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Catherine Preview

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Catherine Preview 12 May 2011, 8:36 pm We learn more about Vincent and his personal problems involving women, sheep, and bed-wetting.   When we first saw the trailer for Catherine at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, let's say we were more than just a little intrigued by Vincent and his troubles with women. This mature game is story-driven experience that explores infidelity in relationships, and Vincent is the star for the week. Catherine is like a game within a game, where you'll be introduced to Midnight Venus, the host of the show. During cutscenes, you'll notice the words "Golden Playhouse" in the upper left-hand corner, which is an homage to some '70s television shows in Japan, similar to Twilight Zone. Atlus came by to show us multiple cutscenes (including one where we learn that Vincent has a tendency to wet the bed) and the types of puzzles you'll encounter in the game. [ Watch Video ] Mmm…sushi. Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Vincent is 32 years old and has been with his girlfriend Katherine for five years now. He likes the way things are going and sees no need to change, especially when Katherine pushes him to commit. Things start to get even more complicated when he meets Catherine, a perky blond girl who somehow winds up naked in his bed the next morning. Due to some excessive drinking the night before, Vincent is not sure if he actually slept with her. The juicy story unfolds during gorgeous cel-shaded cutscenes that are fully voice acted. It might sound like a soap opera at this point, but there's more to throw into the already intriguing mix. A series of mysterious deaths have occurred and the news reports are calling them the "Women's Wrath" because they all involve young men who died in their sleep. The puzzles in Catherine takes place while Vincent sleeps, where he's beginning to have nightmares after meeting the seductive Catherine. In his dreams, he must climb a seemingly never-ending pile of blocks, which is meant to signify the "blocks that he must overcome in life." The goal is to push and pull blocks around to create a staircase for Vincent before the steps crumble beneath him. If you die in your dreams, you also die in real life. It's meant to be intense and mirror the terror that Vincent is feeling; throughout the level, there will also be checkpoints and pillows to collect for retries. In between stages, he'll encounter other men who appear as sheep. We're told the whole sheep thing is symbolic for a couple of things, but we'll let you play the game to figure out that part. As you make your way through the game, there's a morality meter that shifts, depending on your actions and responses to particular questions. For example, we were asked if we have ever cheated on someone, and our options were "I plead the 5th" and "I don't think so." What's interesting is that your answers are collected like a survey, and when you're online, you'll be able to see what other players have answered in pie-chart form. By the end of the game, your meter will dictate which ending you'll see, and there are seven in total. It takes roughly eight to 12 hours to complete the game, and you will need to restart to experience the other endings. This is Catherine. Not Vincent's girlfriend Katherine. There are leaderboards where players can see how they rank when it comes to the puzzles. There are boss fights as well, which are still represented in nightmare block-pushing form. Instead of just having the pressure of the blocks disappearing beneath you, in our demo, we encountered an enormous demonic baby that was trying to squish us. So you'll not only have to frantically push and pull your way to freedom, but you'll also have to stay out of giant ugly baby's way and dodge the lasers that come out of his eyes. As the puzzles get more complicated, you'll be introduced to new types of blocks, such as a spring block that propels you upward, and there are also hazardous ones to avoid. After you've completed the game once, you unlock a multiplayer mode (which we didn't see), but it involves competitive and cooperative offline play. There was a patch that went out for the Japanese version of Catherine that added a "Very Easy" mode, as well as some tweaks to the levels that were proven to be too difficult. In "Very Easy" mode, you have a higher chance of receiving an energy drink that allows you to jump several blocks at a time rather than just one. "Normal" mode has also been adjusted so that you have the ability to undo what you've done if you happen to pull out the wrong block. The easier difficulty settings will also allow the mystic pillows that you collect to grant more retries. All of these changes will make their way into the North American release. Because the game is designed and developed by the Atlus Persona team, you'll find similarities in the art style, and the music is also done by Persona series composer Shoji Meguro. Though it is rated M for mature and the content is definitely adult oriented, there is no nudity as all the cutscenes have been carefully cropped for your convenience (or displeasure). For those interested in the soundtrack, it will be included along with an art book if you preorder the game. It's up to you to decide which way the needle points in Vincent's morality meter. Catherine looks to be a twisted tale that explores themes that aren't often touched upon in video games (or in certain social circles). We look forward to seeing what becomes of Vincent when the game ships for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on July 26. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Catherine Preview" was posted by Sophia Tong on Thu, 12 May 2011 12:36:23 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Catherine Preview

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Catherine Preview 12 May 2011, 8:36 pm We learn more about Vincent and his personal problems involving women, sheep, and bed-wetting.   When we first saw the trailer for Catherine at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, let's say we were more than just a little intrigued by Vincent and his troubles with women. This mature game is story-driven experience that explores infidelity in relationships, and Vincent is the star for the week. Catherine is like a game within a game, where you'll be introduced to Midnight Venus, the host of the show. During cutscenes, you'll notice the words "Golden Playhouse" in the upper left-hand corner, which is an homage to some '70s television shows in Japan, similar to Twilight Zone. Atlus came by to show us multiple cutscenes (including one where we learn that Vincent has a tendency to wet the bed) and the types of puzzles you'll encounter in the game. [ Watch Video ] Mmm…sushi. Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Vincent is 32 years old and has been with his girlfriend Katherine for five years now. He likes the way things are going and sees no need to change, especially when Katherine pushes him to commit. Things start to get even more complicated when he meets Catherine, a perky blond girl who somehow winds up naked in his bed the next morning. Due to some excessive drinking the night before, Vincent is not sure if he actually slept with her. The juicy story unfolds during gorgeous cel-shaded cutscenes that are fully voice acted. It might sound like a soap opera at this point, but there's more to throw into the already intriguing mix. A series of mysterious deaths have occurred and the news reports are calling them the "Women's Wrath" because they all involve young men who died in their sleep. The puzzles in Catherine takes place while Vincent sleeps, where he's beginning to have nightmares after meeting the seductive Catherine. In his dreams, he must climb a seemingly never-ending pile of blocks, which is meant to signify the "blocks that he must overcome in life." The goal is to push and pull blocks around to create a staircase for Vincent before the steps crumble beneath him. If you die in your dreams, you also die in real life. It's meant to be intense and mirror the terror that Vincent is feeling; throughout the level, there will also be checkpoints and pillows to collect for retries. In between stages, he'll encounter other men who appear as sheep. We're told the whole sheep thing is symbolic for a couple of things, but we'll let you play the game to figure out that part. As you make your way through the game, there's a morality meter that shifts, depending on your actions and responses to particular questions. For example, we were asked if we have ever cheated on someone, and our options were "I plead the 5th" and "I don't think so." What's interesting is that your answers are collected like a survey, and when you're online, you'll be able to see what other players have answered in pie-chart form. By the end of the game, your meter will dictate which ending you'll see, and there are seven in total. It takes roughly eight to 12 hours to complete the game, and you will need to restart to experience the other endings. This is Catherine. Not Vincent's girlfriend Katherine. There are leaderboards where players can see how they rank when it comes to the puzzles. There are boss fights as well, which are still represented in nightmare block-pushing form. Instead of just having the pressure of the blocks disappearing beneath you, in our demo, we encountered an enormous demonic baby that was trying to squish us. So you'll not only have to frantically push and pull your way to freedom, but you'll also have to stay out of giant ugly baby's way and dodge the lasers that come out of his eyes. As the puzzles get more complicated, you'll be introduced to new types of blocks, such as a spring block that propels you upward, and there are also hazardous ones to avoid. After you've completed the game once, you unlock a multiplayer mode (which we didn't see), but it involves competitive and cooperative offline play. There was a patch that went out for the Japanese version of Catherine that added a "Very Easy" mode, as well as some tweaks to the levels that were proven to be too difficult. In "Very Easy" mode, you have a higher chance of receiving an energy drink that allows you to jump several blocks at a time rather than just one. "Normal" mode has also been adjusted so that you have the ability to undo what you've done if you happen to pull out the wrong block. The easier difficulty settings will also allow the mystic pillows that you collect to grant more retries. All of these changes will make their way into the North American release. Because the game is designed and developed by the Atlus Persona team, you'll find similarities in the art style, and the music is also done by Persona series composer Shoji Meguro. Though it is rated M for mature and the content is definitely adult oriented, there is no nudity as all the cutscenes have been carefully cropped for your convenience (or displeasure). For those interested in the soundtrack, it will be included along with an art book if you preorder the game. It's up to you to decide which way the needle points in Vincent's morality meter. Catherine looks to be a twisted tale that explores themes that aren't often touched upon in video games (or in certain social circles). We look forward to seeing what becomes of Vincent when the game ships for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on July 26. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Catherine Preview" was posted by Sophia Tong on Thu, 12 May 2011 12:36:23 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Shadows of the Damned is MENTAL - Hands-On Preview

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Shadows of the Damned is MENTAL - Hands-On Preview 12 May 2011, 6:03 pm We received a playable build of Grasshopper Manufacture's new survival horror game, and even next to Suda 51's previous work, it's batsh*t insane.   Shadows of the Damned is out to mess with your head. "The bullet train is here, hell monkey!" announces Garcia Hotspur, our topless, heavily tattooed hero as he presses a gun to a demon's head at the beginning of the game. After dispatching his monstrous foe, he returns home to witness girlfriend Paula hanging from a ceiling fan, with demons crawling out of her body, before she gets dragged into the underworld to go die some more. In terms of introduction, it certainly grabs you by the balls, and as Hotspur jumps headlong into the underworld to save Paula, you're more than ready to join him for the ride. [ Watch Video ] Witness Shadows of the Damned's wanton depravity for yourself. Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Hotspur…s sidekick through this supernatural adventure is Johnson, a floating skull who can transform into a motorcycle, a torch, and a variety of kick-ass weapons. Johnson…s a former demon, so he's an indispensable tour guide, proffering invaluable knowledge such as …demon…s are buttholes…. As you'll be able to tell if you watch our video preview, Johnson's a witty English gent, not a million miles away from Wheatley in Portal 2, making lines such as, …Well, I just lost my stiffy,… all the more hilarious. Before Hotspur can succeed in the Underworld, he needs to learn certain rules that apply only in the abyss. Light and dark are important elements and, as in Alan Wake, you need to remove the darkness from certain enemies before they become vulnerable to attack. Unlike Alan Wake though, you do this by firing a …light shot… bullet at goat heads that hang on the wall, which provide light to the surrounding area and extinguish the darkness. There are other weird and wonderful rules of the underworld, such as doors that are unlocked by stuffing strawberries into babies… mouths, doors that are chained by demons… pubes, and health that is replenished by drinking tequila and hot sake. Hotspur and Johnson have to face off against an army of small demons, who, like zombies, are best destroyed by aiming for the head. They also meet larger boss characters such as George, who charge straight at you, but who have red weak points on the rear--human blood supplies, according to Johnson. There are also basic puzzles that play on the theme of light and dark--sometimes, you need to enter the darkness so you can shoot certain switches to open doors or shoot a goat's head to restore the light. Shadows of the Damned plays a lot like a survival horror game--you need to hold two buttons to perform a 180-degree turn, for example--but the level of action means it…s closer to Resident Evil 4 and 5 rather than earlier games in the series. The extreme nature of the violence, language and imagery means that it feels a lot like an exploitation movie similar to low-budget films from the 1970s, or the recent Grindhouse flicks. Garcia faces off against George in minotaur form using the Teether machine gun. Our preview code allowed us to play through the first couple of chapters of the game, which took approximately two hours in total. A chunk of this has been covered by our earlier preview, so for more detail, be sure to check out earlier coverage. Whereas our last demo ended with a boss called George emerging out of Paula…s lingerie-clad body, we got to carry on a little further. Beating George was a case of shooting exploding barrels (a gaming cliche that the game knowingly recognises) of light to knock him over, and then shooting his exposed red blood supplies. The defeated enemy left us with an upgrade that unlocked Johnson…s Teether weapon, which is basically a machine gun that…s good for keeping large swarms of demons at bay. One of the most demented sections of our hands-on was when we came across a large fairytale book called …The Man Who Never Had His Fill.… Johnson read the tale of a man called George, a harmonica player who had the ability to eat food without getting fat. It detailed George…s insatiable appetite, including an intimate sexual encounter, until poor George became so thin he died. It was an amusing diversion from all the action, while still admirably maintaining the game's vulgar tone. Other incredibly bizarre moments included using fireworks launchers to temporarily illuminate dark areas, and the character Christopher, who is a huge demon/human who'll barf up ammunition, drinks, and other goodies if you feed him gems. There was also one great action set-piece where you have to jump onto a huge swinging candelabra, and then swing around to illuminate spots of darkness. Chapter Two ended with another demented boss battle against George, who this time ripped out his own heart, ate it, and then transformed into a minotaur riding a horse. Attacking him was a case of running into the darkness in order to attack his weak spot, then unloading bullets into the horse…s stomach when he was on the ground. Once the horse was killed, George ripped out its heart, ate that, and then grew to become ten times his original size. This time, we had to fire at his many red weak spots and avoid his excretions of darkness, which, of course, emanated from his arse. Once we'd dealt enough damage, giant minotaur George stopped, started to urinate darkness, and a scythe-wielding super-demon descended and lopped his head clean off, producing a blue gem that we could plug into Johnson…s head to give him the Skullcussioner shotgun weapon. All things considered, it was a fairly memorable boss battle. Our preview build also contained the third chapter of the game, but at this stage we…re sadly unable to talk about it. For a look at more reasons why Shadows of the Damned is so insane, be sure to watch our brand new video preview at the top of this article. We…re keeping a close eye on the game, so come back to GameSpot for more info ahead of release. And for those of you in the UK, be sure to check out the GameSpot UK booth at the MCM Expo in London to play the game for yourself. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Shadows of the Damned is MENTAL - Hands-On Preview" was posted by Guy Cocker on Thu, 12 May 2011 10:03:52 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Guardian Heroes HD Preview - First Look

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Guardian Heroes HD Preview - First Look 6 May 2011, 1:30 am Guardian Heroes, Treasure's fan-favorite brawler for the Sega Saturn console, returns in HD.       If you owned a Saturn back in 1996, odds are you have fond memories of Guardian Heroes, the excellent side-scrolling brawler with role-playing-game elements from beloved developer Treasure. Besides the simple fact that it was an absolutely stellar example of how traditional 2D side-scrollers could be enhanced with some new gameplay wrinkles and technology, it was a great showcase for the Saturn's 2D muscle. Fast-forward to 2011 where, 15 years later, the game still has a place in the hearts and minds of gamers, many of whom consider it one of the greatest games for Sega's console. Guardian Heroes HD will bring back the hectic brawling action of the cult-classic Sega Saturn game. The game's enduring popularity led to a portable sequel, Advance Guardian Heroes, for the Game Boy Advance and aimed to capture the magic of its console predecessor on Nintendo's handheld. Fans of the original game, a demanding bunch, have continued to ask for a console sequel to the Saturn game. While Sega and Treasure aren't delivering on that particular wish just yet, fans hoping for the chance to the play the classic game again without hauling out their Saturn consoles and dealing with standard-definition visuals are finally having their pleas answered later this year. On a recent trip to Japan, we had the chance to visit Treasure's office for the first look at Guardian Heroes HD, an upgrade of the original game for Xbox Live due later this year, which adds online play. If you missed out on the original game, we'll offer you some essentials on the ambitious and surprisingly progressive action game of yesteryear. Guardian Heroes hit the Saturn in the US in January of 1996, eight months into the system's troubled life. At first blush, the game appeared to be just another side-scrolling brawler, but once you actually played it, you quickly found that there was a lot going on there that set it apart from other games. You played as one of five heroes--four that were initially selectable and one that you could unlock--who fought to save humanity from an evil wizard named Kanon. While this involved much mashing of buttons to fight off hordes of enemies, Guardian Heroes introduced some very cool RPG twists that put a fresh spin on the time-worn brawler formula. Defeating enemies yielded experience that players could allocate to six different attributes to improve their combat skills. Combat took place across three planes--foreground, middleground, and background--which gave depth to the 2D action. Players were also able to give basic orders to an undead warrior non-player character that would assist in combat. One of the most intriguing gameplay mechanics in Guardian Heroes was the branching path system in the Story mode. While the notion of changing the way a game unfolds based on player choice is old hat these days, back in 1996, the ability to make choices that affected the levels and bosses you played, as well as dictated which ending you got when finishing the game, was an exciting addition to the genre that no one was really doing at the time. In addition, the game featured a Versus mode for up to six players on the same console, thanks to the almighty Saturn multi-tap. The simple mode let you use the main characters, as well as unlockable characters you encountered in the game, which included bosses and assorted monsters for a total of 45. The game found a loyal and rabid following that, unfortunately, didn't number high enough to garner it big sales. Remember how crazy battle mode got with six players? Guardian Heroes HD will let you play with 12. Despite the game's unspectacular sales, there's something to be said for a loyal and vocal fan base. Developer Treasure has been keenly aware of fan interest in the game throughout the years, and given the success of its previous digital releases, it opted to revisit Guardian Heroes. The team, with many of the original staff members that made the original, rebuilt the game to include higher-resolution visuals, as well as online compatibility with the Story and Versus modes. The team is also including a difficulty setting to allow players to have the classic experience offered by the original game or to try out a new, arranged mode that features some refinements to the game's AI. We had the chance to visit Treasure to try a work-in-progress version of the game to see how it is coming together. The visuals were obviously our big point of interest, and we were mostly happy. Anyone who's played the original Saturn game knows that the game's massive, scaling sprites could become unattractively chunky at times. While Treasure hasn't done a total art overhaul on the visuals, the team has done some work to enhance the original graphics that's a mix of higher resolutions and an artsy, almost cel-shaded, layer. For purists who want their chunky classic graphics, it will be possible to toggle off the enhancements and use the original sprites. We tried out the totally insane battle mode that's been upgraded to support 12 players, human or AI. Even though the original battle mode often seemed like sheer madness, this is even crazier. The mix of small and massive characters, coupled with crazy visual effects is hectic. [ Watch Video ] Comment on this video Watch this video in High Def Guardian Heroes HD is looking like a fun trip down memory lane that we're anxious to take. The game may not be a full-on HD revamp of the original, but being able to play the game without hauling out the old Saturn and the added online functionality make it appealing. Guardian Heroes HD is currently slated to be released on Xbox Live this summer. Look for more on the game in the weeks to come. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Guardian Heroes HD Preview - First Look" was posted by Ricardo Torres on Thu, 05 May 2011 17:30:00 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews: Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta Questionarium

GameSpot's Xbox 360 Previews All of the Previews for Xbox 360 games. Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta Questionarium 3 May 2011, 6:44 am We fire up our chainsaw and stomp on some faces with your questions about Gears of War 3.   Get the full article at GameSpot "Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta Questionarium" was posted by Dan Chiappini on Mon, 02 May 2011 22:44:40 -0700 You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.