Square Enix Looks to the Future

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Well, here’s a new one for you. When people talk about the death of gaming platforms the PC usually comes up, but Square Enix is turning that notion on its ear. In a recent interview with MCV, Square Enix grand poobah Yoichi Wada said that the company believes there’s going to be dramatic change in the industry that will shift attention away from physical media and onto download and sever based content.

Mr. Wada went on to elaborate that ā€œIn ten yearsā€™ time a lot of what we call ā€˜console gamesā€™ wonā€™t exist,ā€ and that Microsoft and Sony are already ramping up for the big change and third-parties should follow suit if they want to stay in the game.

The reasoning behind his statement is that the games market is changing from a hardware-based model to a network one, where “any kind of terminal becomes a potential platform on which games can be played”. Mr. Wada said that Square Enix is ready for the change, and they’re already stepping up production on their social and browser based games.

While we are seeing movement in this direction with things like OnLive and the success of browser-based MMOs, I don’t think that consoles in the traditional sense are going anywhere. Besides, I think that Square should finish up with their current disc-based project before they move on to figuring out how to exploit the digital market. Wouldn’t want them to get tuckered out. What do you guys think? Is there any truth to Square’s claims, or is this just going to be a dead end for the company?

Source: MCV

Mass Effect 2 Roster Expands With An Old Friend

Today is Thanksgiving down in the USA, a holiday where we all take the time to reflect on things we’re grateful for by shoving our faces full of flightless fowl and pumpkin pie. Of course, me being Canadian, today is just a regular day (besides the fact that I’m home sick), but that doesn’t mean I can’t be appreciative. One thing Iā€™m thankful for is that itā€™s only two short months until Mass Effect 2 comes out and officially kills my social life. Seriously, this game is still looking quite good, and the ā€œEmpire Strikes Backā€ feel BioWare is striving for has really gotten my motor running. In this new video for the upcoming sci-fi RPG, weā€™re re-introduced to Tali, the soft-spoken quarian crew member from the first game. It looks like thereā€™s some political unrest among the nomadic race, and Commander Shepardā€™s right in the middle of it.

So, what’s your opinion on Mass Effect 2 so far? Is it going to be a sure-fire purchase for 2010, or are there other games that are vying for your attention? Just for fun, what game-related stuff were you most thankful for in 2009? Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

thanksgivingThe holidays are coming up. The games are coming out. And here we are, with all these new toys to play with. What’s more important, though, is that some of us are going to have lots of time on our hands to play them next week, due to the wonderful thing known as Thanksgiving break.

Right now, I’ve been pouring my whole life into Dragon Age: Origins. It’s a very deep RPG with some great writing, a fascinating world, cool characters and a fun story. I have to say, I’m starting to hit the near obsessive point with it, wanting to play it all hours of the night and during the day. I don’t know if it’s that it’s such a wonderful game so much as I’ve been needing an RPG fix for a long time, and this has just what I’ve desired. We’ll see how I feel when I’m done.

I’m also playing Modern Warfare 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and I’m hoping to be knocking out some Assassin’s Creed II or Left 4 Dead 2 next week. What about you guys? What will you be playing during Thanksgiving week?

Final Fantasy XIII Drops in March

Has hell frozen over? Are pigs flying? Are Republicans and Democrats holding hands in the streets? The only reason I ask is because Final Fantasy XIII (and no the number on the end doesn’t represent the development cycle) finally has itself a good and proper release date. Imagine that! The game drops on March 9th, 2010 in the US and Europe.

Is anyone else pumped about this? Which console will you buy the game for? Playstation 3 here. Sticking to my roots. Also, check out the new trailer for the game, which rules.

Waiting for Dragons

dragon-ageTomorrow marks the release of Dragon Age: Origins and I honestly couldn’t be more excited. Through the recent release of the new Wheel of Time book, the Gathering Storm and Bioware’s new RPG tomorrow, I suddenly have a plethora of fantasy world experiencing to do.

I have to say that I’m a bit surprised by just how pumped I am for Dragon Age. It makes me realize just how long it’s been since I’ve played a really solid RPG. So far, the reviews are giving it great scores and my anticipation is at an all time high on the eve of release. I’m not sure what it is about a good RPG that gets my blood going, but whatever it is, Dragon Age has stoked that fire as well.

What about you guys? What game left on the holiday schedule are you jonesing for? And just for kicks, who else is in to fantasy? Got a favorite series?

Review: Borderlands

borderlandsShooter fans have been used to a very ridged structure in their games so far: you progress through levels, you shoot stuff, you move on. Sometimes you pick up different guns, but mostly itā€™s an aesthetic change than an actual improvement on your previous weapon, barring the rifle-bazooka trade-up.

What first person shooters havenā€™t had is the in-depth levelling and obsessive-compulsive stat manipulation of traditional RPGs. Enter Borderlands, a first person role-playing shooter from Gearbox, best known for the PC port of Halo and the Brothers in Arms series. Set upon the dismal dust-ball of Pandora, Borderlands has the player choose one of four classes (Solider, Hunter, Tank or Siren) and starts them off on an adventure to find and open a mythical Vault full of alien weaponry.
Continue reading Review: Borderlands

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

dezorisHaving finished off the ice planet of Dezoris, I head back to Palma, buy some Diamond Armor and make sure everyone is ready to go. I buy lots of Burgers for healing, as well. Maybe I should have stopped at White Castle and gotten a suitcase. My party heads to the Gate of Baya Malay, which is the worst and least scary name of a dungeon ever. It actually sounds like one of those resorts that you always hear about but have no idea where it is. Like the Lesser Antilles or something. Sidenote: the Lesser Antilles makes me think of Wedge Antilles having a younger brother who parks spaceships for a living. But that isnā€™t possible, because Wedge only had a sister and she was older than him before his parents were killed in a tragic fuel depot accident. Yes, I am the biggest Star Wars nerd ever.

So I enter the Gate and all that build up for a long ass maze with no enemies. Which normally would be a relief but now just fills me with a great sense of foreboding. Then again, it might be that Burger King I had for dinner. Oh, there is a Robot Cop who stops me and demands to see my passport, which I show him, but he attacks me anyway. Robot Cop, dead or alive, you are coming with me! Actually, just dead and I left his smoking, sparking carcass behind. I exit and enter another cave and thenĀ a tower. Could this be it? Alas, no, at the top is a guy who asks me some questions and then gives me a Crystal which allows me to open any sealed doors without using my magic OPEN spell. This is a great thing, as it will save me MP in the end. I warp back to town, heal up and start again.

I use the Crystal to enter the tower, which is 25 stories! And from what I understand, itā€™s not a straight climb, but a maze of going up and then back down and all kinds of hell. Once again, thanks to my readers for picking this game. There is a special hell reserved for you. After many enemies (the random encounter rate is off the charts here. Once again: Special Hell.) and many false turns, I make it to the 24th floor when BAM! A trap sends me back to the very beginning. But whatā€™s that? I am a hardcore, dyed in the wool RPG veteran and this ainā€™t my first rodeo so I saved when I got to that floor? Instant reset and reload and we are back on track. I would like to thank me for being awesome. No power in the ā€˜verse can stop me!

myau3I make it to the top and I use the AERO Prism, which makes the sky change colors and a floating castle appear in the clouds. I picked a hell of day to quit sniffing glue! My party tells me to feed that Laerma Nut to Myua. So give my magic nut to the pussy cat. Thatā€™s hot. Myau becomes enveloped in flames and emits a blinding light. I wonder if Dr. Mad still wants a piece of this pussy cat now? Myau grows wings! Awesome, this better equal more damage or something in battle. Myau flies us to the floating castle thingy, but we are attacked in mid-air by a Gold Dragon. Thatā€™s a color I donā€™t have on my notched belt of dead dragons, so we quickly whip his gold ass into a stupor and land on the castle. We enter and itā€™s a new dungeon. Oh, joy. Wait, Lassic is waiting inside for me! We quickly killed him, but it was just a Fake Lassic, a Shadow. Boo! We continue on and there he is, the real deal.

Hello. My name is Alis Something-or-other. You killed my brother. Prepare to die. In a new twist, Lassic can use his magic to attack my entire party at one time, which causes all manner of havoc for me. One by one, the party falls, leaving only Alis left, which is poetic justice because she delivers the deathblow! Holy crap! I did it! A message appears telling me that Nero, Alisā€™ brother, is satisfied in heaven. Which is kind of interesting that we are getting telegrams from the afterlife, but whatever, I mean, the cat grew wings! The party says we should hurry to the Governor of Motavia. Soun—What?? Oh. Oooohhh. Oh. Hereā€™s a hint: when you beat what you think is the final boss, but the game tells you to travel somewhere else, that means it wasnā€™t the final boss. I can totally tell that Square Enix loved this game when they first played it.

So we head back to the esteemed home of the Motavians, but first, I stop to restock and heal up. Like I said, this isnā€™t my first time doing this. After arriving, the Governor is not there and I fall through a trap! After traveling down a loooong tunnel, he is waiting for me. But he is not the Governor, he is Dark Falz. Seriously? Dark Falz? Who is Dark Falz, you ask? Well, he is the embodiment of all evil and also the very first Super Secret Bad Guy You Didnā€™t Know Existed But Was Really Behind The Whole Thing From The Start. Or, his shorter name, SSBGYDKEBWRBTHTFTS. His name is totally pronounceable, but it does require a lot of saliva.

darkf1In an evil turn of events, there is no HP counter for Dark Falz, which means I have no idea how my attacks are doing, so I just use the strongest stuff I have that has been working the whole game. And prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. Alis attacks and heals when needed, Myau does the same, Noah just attacks with his Wind spell and Odin just attacks. Oh, and Noah also dies. Not good. After several turns of this my team is getting weak, but BOOM! Odin kills Dark Falz! I BEAT IT! The real Governor appears, telling me I saved the Universe. All in a dayā€™s work, my friend. In a shocking bit exposition, we learn that Alisā€™ father was once king and Alis now becomes Queen! How utterly trite. The sky clears and peace is returned. Pictures of the cast are shown and I am told that though the evil has faded, our names will live forever.

So thatā€™s it. Itā€™s over. Honestly, I really liked this game. In 1988, it must have been amazing to play, but itā€™s still pretty awesome even today. To summarize it succinctly: Game beat. Asses kicked. Names taken. Time for a beer and a much deserved rest. If you guys liked this, I will do another one sometime, but only after a brief hiatus. Thanks for reading!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Borderlands

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OK, I’ll be the first to admit that we’re probably getting pretty close to the Borderlands saturation point around here, but this story was too good to pass up. Three weeks ago, Borderland’s Creative Director Mikey Neumann promised that he would play the post-apocalyptic Role-Playing-Shooter with you and drop some rare loot if you could provide a picture of yourself pre-ordering the game via Twitter. It turns out that this little boast kind of back-fired on him as over 200 people took him up on the offer.

Since Borderlands released last Tuesday, Mikey has been ploughing through his list trying to get through as many of the lucky players as he can. The game hasn’t even come out on PC yet (it lands on Monday), so I bet that he’s got a ways to go.

This strikes me as admirable, considering the few weeks after a major game launches is when most of the studio’s development team takes their vacations. Essentially, Mikey is giving up the beach to play some Borderlands with the fans, so kudos to you good sir.

Borderlands itself is doing quite well; it’s topping the Steam sales chart, beating even Left 4 Dead 2. Every retail store I’ve visited has been sold out, too, but this is due more to a shortage in shipped products (so the clerk at EB told me, anyways) than overwhelming demand.

Iā€™m waiting for the PC version personally, but are any of you playing it on the 360 or PS3, and what do you think?

Source: Kotaku

Mainstream’d! Bringing Borderlands to the Masses

God bless IGN, ya know? For all the flack that they take from the gaming enthusiasts, they can still surprise you sometimes, like with this excellent parody video of Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford explaining Borderlands to some casual game testers. Hilarity ensues.

Keep your pimp hand strong, Randy. Keep it strong. Oh, if you’re watching in a public place, wear some headphones. Just to be safe.

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VIII: Going, Going, Gorgon

town_drasgowI’m back! Let’s get to it! Using my newfound hovercraft, I can now traverse water. So I do. Millions of people flock to my, thinking me a new, high-tech version of Jesus. Ok, I made that part up. While roaming around, I come across an island, Drasgow. A guy there tells me a whole heap of stuff, like there was a giant rock floating through the sky and there is a magic sword on a forgotten island. Well, it canā€™t be THAT forgotten, can it?

In the town, I buy a GAS SHIELD, which should come in handy if Myau ever gets worms. Or to get pass that area covered by poison gas back on Motavia. Oh, I canā€™t wait to see the Motavians! Hey, this place kinda looks like that movie The Mist. You know, the one with the Punisher? In the middle of the mist there is a town, Sopia. The townsfolk are trapped there and they tell me Lassic is the cause of the gas. Maybe he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. For a small donation (bastard) the town elder tells me of the MIRROR SHIELD, hidden on a small island in the middle of a lake. With this shield, I should be able to beat Medusa! Sweet. Oh and some guy asked me if I enjoy Sega games. *Boom* Fourth wall shattered. Along with the English language.

The shield is found, just where the elder said it would be. Off to Gothic to kick some Gorgon ass! I enter Medusaā€™s cave and boy is it easy to get lost and dead, what with all the dragons, stalkers and marauders hanging out down here. How do they all survive? Do they live here or is this some sort of job for them? Does Daddy Dragon come home from a hard day of guarding Medusa, Baby Dragon greeting him at the door and Mommy Dragon putting some nice charred dwarf flesh on the table for dinner? Just wondering.

After all this, Medusa turns out to be a pushover. I whipped her behind so hard that Baby Dragon felt it! Sweet! My prize is a Laconian Axe, which I gladly give to Odin. Oh, remember that island everyone forgot about? Turns out itā€™s about a 5 second trip via hovercraft from Scion, which is the second town you visit in this game! Does this whole universe suffer from Alzheimerā€™s or something or just really bad eyesight? Do they not have boats? Do they just stare at the water and sigh in a resigned fashion? Anyhoo, on that island is a tower. In that tower is a red dragon. In that red dragon is my foot, which I stuck deep in its fat red ass. My Dragon Hating Vendetta continues! And for my troubles (and lost shoe) I get a Laconian Sword, which Alis promptly equips. One more planet to explore, Dezoris, the ice planet!

dezorisDezeoris has tons of mountains and ice that block most of my attempts to travel around here, which frankly sucks. In the first town, Skure, I find another Laconian Pot! For such a rare thing, these sure are plentiful. Kind of like Beanie Babies. Ooh, this has potential: there is a morgue here where the dead have risen. Zombies! Clearly, Sega was ahead of the trend in gaming. After traversing a series of small caves, I arrive at the morgue where I find a ton of zombies. THIS IS MY BOOM STICK! For some reason that I totally canā€™t even answer, there is a set of Laconian Armor hidden in a treasure chest in the morgue. Maybe it was in the chest where they place the personal possessions of the dead, but if that were true, why I am not fighting naked zombies?

Exiting the morgue, I find a city where they sell something called the Ice Digger. I wonder if I can use that to dig through all this ice blocking my way? Answer: hells yes! Using this, I find a cave in the middle of all the ice and a Titan, waiting to do battle with someone stupid enough to wander inside. Well, I happen to be just the right amount of stupid. Defeating the Titan gives me an AERO PRISM KEY. Yay? What the hell is this thing for? Unlocking Rainbow Road or something?

Further exploring leads me to a tower, in which waits a Dezorian. He has a sacred fire and will give me some of it on a torch for the Amber Eye. That seems like a pretty specific request. Did he really just sit there hoping some fool would stumble across his tower and climb all the way to the top with an item that can only be gained from killing a FREAKING DRAGON??? What is wrong with this universe? Anyhoo, he gives me the Eclipse Torch and I use it on solitary tree nearby. Which gives me a Laerma Nut, which apparently can only be stored in a Laconian Pot. Thank Jebus I have one handy. The Laerma Nut, if you will recall, was mentioned earlier as something that can transform a cat. Using it now does nothing on Myau, but I am sure it will come in handy later.

Well, I am ready to finally tackle the last dungeon and beat this sucker. Tune in next time for Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

Dragon Age: Origins Sacred Ashes Trailer

If there was a technical term in the video game industry that was the equivalent of what it would be like to have mind boners, then this new trailer for Dragon Age: Origins comes dangerously close to producing this effect in me. It’s hard to necessarily quantify how badass this trailer is in words, so I’ll just let you guys do the watching. Needless to say, there are dragons in this fantasy game, and it’s something that’s been sorely missing from my favorite pastime.

Who else is getting this game on November 3rd? I’ll be first in line.

Review: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

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Mindless beat-em-up brawlers occupy a special place in my heart. First off, theyā€™re the easiest games to pick up and play: just grab a controller and mash the hit button until everything is dead. Second, brawlers are awesome for co-op, especially if they are vested in a universe that both you and your co-op partner are interested in.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 takes its cues from a lot of different games and smashes them together with the Marvel universe in hopes that youā€™ll like the offering. It does have a lot going for it: the Civil War storyline that Marvel published a couple years ago is the main background for the game even if it does make a left turn at the corner of Metal Gear Solid 4 and go all nano-bot on us, forgoing the actual conclusion of the comic series. It is a lot better than the ā€œcram everything in for fan serviceā€ campaign from the original Ultimate Alliance where you would be fighting Arcade one second then dusting up Mephisto the next. A more coherent story helps move the game along at a fairly brisk pace while keeping you engaged. The voice-acting is a little hit or miss, however, but the most painful gaffs are confined to the minor characters. Visual representation for the game is serviceable, as you always know what your looking at and your characters are easy to follow. It’s not the most beautiful game by any means, but it’s far from being the ugliest.
Continue reading Review: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

TGS: Final Fantasy XIV Trailer

Malboros! I know Final Fantasy XIII still isn’t out yet, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have trailers for Final Fantasy XIV, the new MMO (maybe) entry into the series. While Final Fantasy XI never really did it for me, something about the art and the presentation of what I’ve seen so far for FF XIV have been striking.

This new FFXIV trailer straight from TGS only solidifies this position for me. Unless I’m wrong, am I spotting a hint about air and sea battles? Sign me up.

All Points Bulletin Trailer Hits the Streets

Have you been wondering what Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds has been doing since 2007 when their game launched? Well, wonder no more as you absorb the awesome trailer for All Points Bulletin (APB), a free-to-play MMO. It looks a lot like GTA IV multi-player, and as long as they can get it to be a lot more stable than that I think we’ve got a hit on our hands.

In APB, you can join one of two sides, the Enforcers or the Criminals. Once you’ve chosen your side, you can fully customize your own gang and roam around the city with friends hitting fools with you car. The shooting looks pretty tight as well, and I’m very intrigued by the option to recreate the look of the Beastie Boys out of their “Sabotage” video and rip around the streets.

APB is set to debut on both the PC and the 360 in March 2010. Given that Crackdown was a huge sleeper hit, I think that there’s going to be a large player base when this game comes out. Who’s going to be giving APB a try, and on what platform?

3D Dot Game Heroes is 3 Degrees of Awesome

So what happens when you create a role-playing game in the vein of old school pixelated JRPG’s… only you build it in 3D out of blocks? Why, you get 3D Dot Gamer Heroes, a PS3 exclusive coming out later this year in Japan. I have no idea if/when this game is coming out in the US, but please, for the love of all things holy, I can has?

Tell me that this trailer doesn’t make you nostalgic for games long forgotten. I dare you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UvYWMSRAVo[/youtube]

Meet the Team: Borderlands

If there’s one game coming out this holiday that has style leaking out of its cel-shaded ears, it’s Borderlands. In this new trailer for the upcoming FPS-RPG, we’re introduced to the various characters that we’ll be controlling as we explore the wasteland looking for sweet guns. There’s plenty of gory game-play (censored to tantalize you) and awesome music packed into this video, so check it out.

Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, notable for being slightly outspoken about his games, has said that he thinks Borderlands has the moxie to stand up to the big dogs this Christmas, and based on this trailer, he might be right. We’ve looked at this game before at GamerSushi, but I just couldn’t pass up sharing this trailer with you guys. I’m picking this up on PC for sure.

PAX 2009 Report

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My brother, Evan, lives in the Seattle area, so of course he attended PAX. Nick, Eddy and I might have gone, except we were busily working on a Smooth Few Films mystery project. Maybe next year? Anyways, enjoy his extremely detailed report on the con! He only had to fight off a bit of the flu to bring it our way.

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I think I understand what a journalist must feel like at times: There was so much going on that I just want the chance to tell people about it all, because you could go through the entire show for all three days and still not run out of things to see.
Continue reading PAX 2009 Report

Mass Effect 2 Demo From PAX

Man, this seems like it was the year to go to PAX in Seattle. If you didn’t know, the huge gaming convention happened last weekend. I went last year, but was unable to attend this year, and I had to avoid the news because it was just going to make me depressed, hungry and angry. Yes, all three of those.

One of the big games that I wish I could have seen in person was Mass Effect 2. Bioware was rocking a nice demo from the game, and you can watch it in all its glory. Who else is getting ridiculously anxious for this game, due early next year? Just me? Ok then.

Final Fantasy XIII Combat Walkthrough

Are you eagerly awaiting Final Fantasy XIII but still aren’t too clear on its new combat system? Here’s a nice little video out of Gamescom that gives a short and sweet overview of the fighting mechanics of the next Final Fantasy. The English localization is still being worked on, but I’d imagine that this game is (finally) close to being done.

I’ve never actually played a Final Fantasy game, so I’m excited to give this a whirl. Who else is going to sink their time into some J-RPG goodness?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeD9RTALW1Q[/youtube]

StarCraft 2 Map Editor Can Raise the Dead

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Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do. Looks like Blizzard’s plan to charge for custom maps is starting to make a bit more sense. This beast of a map editor was unveiled at BlizzCon, and is probably the most powerful editing tool ever released alongside a game.

Besides being able to make your vanilla strategy maps, the map editor demo given at the Starcraft 2 panel displayed its robust abilities by showing off an Action-RPG and a Galaga-type shooter. StarCraft: Ghost was even brought back to haunt the audience thanks to the fact that the main character’s model is included in the editor.

This is really exciting news in my opinion, but what do you guys think? Are you willing to pay money for some LittleBig StarCraft action, or do you think that maps made by the community should be doled out for free?

Source: Destructoid