Patch notes 2nd Korean PTS Goddess of Destruction – Lineage 2

The following are the patch notes of the 2nd Korean PTS which opened on June 1st.

1. Character

Some of the race specific skills have been changed as follows:

The Dark Elf racial skill Death Vision has been replaced with Acceleration.
The effect of the Orc racial skill Undying Will has been changed.
The effect of the Dwarf racial skill Earth Tremor has been changed.
Siege weapon skills have been added to the Dwarf racial skills.
Flying Body Reinforcement has been added to the Kamael racial skills.
Race

Skill Name

Skill Description
Dark Elf

Acceleration
Removes all debuffs on self and increases Spd. The caster also cannot be targeted for a certain time.
Kamael

Flying Body Reinforcement
Transforms into ultimate combat flying form.
Orc

Undying Will
When you take damage while your HP is below a certain amount, an Invulnerability effect is applied to your character. This effect cannot be re-used until a certain time.
Dwarf

Earth Tremor
Knocks down nearby enemies for 3 seconds.
Dwarf

Summon Siege Golem
Summons a Siege Golem.
Dwarf

Summons Wild Hog Cannon
Summons a Wild Hog Cannon.
Dwarf

Summon Swoop Cannon
Summons a Swoop Cannon.

2. Skills

The following changes have been made to skills:
Sigel Knight
Fixed an issue where some heals were not affected by Chain Galaxy skill’s healing reduction effects.
Strengthened the Spd. reduction effect of Last Judgment.
Added a Shield Reflect Magic effect to Spike Shield.
Added Shield Def. from all directions effect to Superior Shield Mastery.
Replaced the Shield Def. from all directions effect of Focus Shield with Increased Shield Def.


Tyrr Warrior
Replaced the Vampiric Rage effect of the Berserker Rage skill with an Increased P. Def. effect.
Combo damage on a knocked down enemy has increased.
Critical Damage Reduction effect has been added to Puma Cry.
Added an Ignore Shield Defense effect to Power Bomber and Mega Strike.
Increased chances of the Lightning Disarm skill.
Force of Nature reuse time has been decreased.


Othell Rogue
Bleeding Chance of Blood Stab has been increased.
Reuse time for the Scorpion Poison skill has been reduced.
Duration of the Illusion skill used by an Illusion has been decreased.
The chance of canceling a target’s target with Final Ultimate Evasion has been decreased.
Added 50% Shield Def. Reduction effect to Poison Zone.
Reuse time for Plunder skill has been decreased.
Added a Short Stealth effect when using Shadow Illusion.


Yul Archer
The increased P. Atk. effect of Quick Fire has been reduced.
Increase M. Def. by 20% effect has been added to Final Ultimate Evasion.


Feoh Wizard
Casting times of Elemental Spike, Elemental Crash, and Elemental Destruction have been increased.
The Fire Stance, Water Stance, Wind Stance, and Earth Stance skills are changed so that they are acquired automatically upon awakening.
Reuse time and duration of Arcane Barrier have been decreased.


Iss Enchanter
Removed weapon requirements from all skills.
Added sword, blunt, dual-sword, and dual-blunt requirement to some attack skills.
Removed Spd. Increase effect from Combat Sonata.
Removed Spd. Increase effect from Celerity Sonata.
Reuse time of Assault Rush has been decreased.
Buff effects of Elemental Protection, Divine Protection, and Mental Protection have been changed to be party buffs instead of single target buffs.
The reuse time reduction of physical/magical skills of Crazy Nocturne has changed from 100% to 50%.


Wynn Summoner
Items are no longer consumed to keep a servitor before awakening.
Spd Reduction effect and the duration of Cougar Jump Attack have increased.
Added P. Def. and M. Def. increase effect to Spirit of the Nabiarov.
The duration of ‘Blessing of Giant’ has been increased.
Reuse time and HP absorption rate of Mark of Void has been increased.
Resistance to Bow/Crossbow and M. Def. have been increased after awakening.
Fixed an issue where the master’s attack/defense was not being applied properly to the servitor.
Available summoning points have increased so that you can summon up to 3 servitors starting from level 85.


Aeore Healer
Reuse time and duration of Fatal Sleep along with Spd. reduction duration have been reduced.
Casting times of Radiant Heal, Brilliant Heal, Recharge Heal, Balance Heal, Dark Blast, Dark Circle, Dark Force, and Dark Rain have been increased.
The Reset skill effect is now also applied to debuffs.
Added the Mass Fatal Sleep skill.
Added Atk. Spd. reduction effect to the Dark Backfire skill.


Other Changes:
Fixed a problem where Rush Impact or Rush skills could be used while a dual-blunt is equipped.
Fixed a problem where Othell Rogue’s Illusion from Shadow Illusion should not force attack a target at certain occasions.
Fixed a problem where the player could still command after using a transformation skill.
Changed the skill name of the Mount skill of the awakened classes.
Fixed a problem where you couldn’t learn the transformation skills from Avant-garde.
Changed all base stats of all transformations.
Changed the acquisition method and requirements for Forgotten Scrolls:
Forgotten Scrolls may be acquired by hunting regular monsters.
Forgotten Scrolls may be used by players over level 85.


Changed the acquisition method for the Divine Inspiration spellbook. This book is required for learning the Divine Inspiration skill:
Ancient Book – Divine Inspiration (Modern Language Version): Can be purchased from Black Marketeer of Mammon (same as before)
Ancient Book – Divine Inspiration (Original Language Version): It can be obtained from regular monsters.
Ancient Book – Divine Inspiration (Manuscript): It can be obtained from regular monsters.
Ancient Book – Divine Inspiration (Original Version): It can be obtained from regular monsters.


Holy Pomander has been changed to be destroyable.
When the target’s level is higher than the skill level, success rate of the debuff skill is decreased depending on the level difference.

3. Items

Changed so that Dynasty Armor may be equipped by all awakened classes.
Awakened Kamael may now equip S-Grade Heavy Armor or Robe or above. However, the equipped texture is the same as that of light armor.
Changed so that you may not drop items while enchanting.
Removed the Drum Melody buff from the Potion of Blessing. Reuse time has been reduced to 30 minutes.
Changed the icon of the R-Grade talismans for debuff resistance.
Armor elemental attribute effect has been reduced.
New rare items that you can obtain from the Istina and Octavis Raids or Epic Raids have been added:
Item

Effect

Acquisition
Ring of Istina
Increases accuracy, critical chance, and water resistance.
Istina Raid
Earring of Istina
Increases Stun resistance, Stun attack chance, Vampiric Rage effect, and Wind resistance.
Istina Raid
Necklace of Istina
Resistance to Holy, skill reuse time decrease, reflect damage effect.
Istina Raid
Belt of Istina
Increases HP recovery and add 6 inventory slots.
Istina Epic Raid
Bracelet of Istina
Activates 5 talisman slots when equipped.
Istina Epic Raid
Shirt of Istina
Increases HP.
Istina Epic Raid
Ring of Octavis
Increases Critical damage and Fire resistance.
Octavis Raid
Earring of Octavis
Increases resistance to Hold/Sleep, Hold/Sleep attack rate and resistance to Earth.
Octavis Raid
Necklace of Octavis
Increases resistance to Dark and skill P. Atk.
Octavis Raid
Belt of Octavis
Increases MP regeneration and weight limit by 13000.
Octavis Epic Raid
Bracelet of Octavis
Activates 5 talisman slots when equipped.
Octavis Epic Raid
Shirt of Octavis
Increases MP.
Octavis Epic Raid


Changed some effects for R-Grade armor or above:
Armor

Type

Changes
Immortal/Twilight/Seraph/Eternal

Heavy armor Attack type
Removed the option of Atk. Spd. increase and additional Atk. Spd. increase.
Immortal/Twilight/Seraph/Eternal

Heavy Armor Defense Type
Removed the option of additional Atk. Spd. increase.
Immortal/Twilight/Seraph/Eternal

Light Armor Assassin Type
Removed the effect of Atk. Spd. increase and reduced the effect of additional Atk. Spd. increase.
Immortal/Seraph/Eternal

Light Armor Enhance Type
Removed the option of additional Atk. Spd. increase.
Twilight

Light Armor Enhance Type
Removed the option of additional Atk. Spd. increase.
Immortal/Twilight/Seraph/Eternal

Robe Magic Recovery Type
Removed the effects of Casting Spd. increase and additional Casting Spd. increase.


Other changes:
Fixed an issue where the M. Def. of Earring of Antharas and Necklace of Valakas were incorrect.
Fixed an issue where shots and potions recipes were incorrect in the recipe book.
Fixed an issue where R-Grade Bracelets or above could not be crafted.
Fixed an issue during the character creation where the character automatically equips dual weapons and arrows.
Fixed an issue where an elemental attribute is not removed from an item when its opposing attribute is added.
Fixed an issue where enchantment and smelting result in light colors.
Fixed an issue where R-Grade Sigils do not get crystallized.
Fixed an issue where the requirements are described incorrectly for the Potion of Blessing.
Fixed an issue where the effect of R-Grade dye is incorrect in the description.
Fixed an issue where P. critical chance is described incorrectly when enchanting a weapon to +4.
Fixed an issue where the magical power of certain talismans sold in the fortress were described incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where merchants in each town were not selling Maestro’s Key.
Fixed an issue where enchantment effects do not appear on no-grade items.
Fixed an issue where the tooltip information of unidentified items above B-Grade was incorrect.
Fixed an issue where the item drop texture was incorrect.
Fixed an issue where some armor items and their effects were incorrect on the tooltip.
Fixed an issue where Atk. Spd. information of some weapons was incorrect on the tooltip.
Fixed an issue where the effect of enchanting R-Grade armor up to +6 or above was described as that of S-Grade.
Fixed an issue where the hair style of female Dark Elf did not change when equipped with R-Grade armor.
Fixed the M. Def. value of Sealed Moirai Ring.
Fixed an issue where the following hair accessories do not appear properly:
Warrior’s Helmet
Ribbon Hairband


Fixed an issue where some of the Unidentified Items are missing or duplicated. These are sold by the following merchants:
Alexandria (Luxury Shop in Town of Giran)
Alexandria (Luxury Shop in Town of Giran)
Radia (Armor Merchant in Town of Giran)


Charm of Courage – Changed the level requirement of S-Grade. Level 76 – 84 players may use it.
Added Charm of Courage R-Grade that players at level 85-99 can use.
Fixed an issue where the skill casting bar displays an incorrect skill name when using a scroll of escape for each town.
Fixed an issue where description of PvP items and R-Grade items were incorrect in the dialogs with Reputation Managers in Town of Aden and Rune Township.
Fixed an issue of no sound when using a Potion of Blessing.
Fixed the incorrect description of the R-Grade items or above regarding Weapon Specs.
Fixed an issue where you could not crystallize items when the inventory weight was 67% or higher.

4. Clans

Fixed an issue where the character that graduated from the Clan Academy could not join the normal clan.
Fixed typos in the Clan NPC academy guide.
Fixed an issue with having no sound when using the Academy Precept skill.
Changed the effects of some clan skills:
Clan Friendly: Changed to consume 3,500 personal Fame. Widened the skill range.
Clan Boundary: Changed to consume 3,000 personal Fame. Widened the skill range.
Clan Defense: Widened the skill range.
Clan Guardian: This skill may now only be used in combat.

5. Grand Olympiad

Fixed an issue so that the Breath of Shilen effect is removed during an Olympiad match.
The Elixir of Blessing can no longer be used in the Olympiad arena.
Fixed an issue where M. Def. was set too low on the Olympiad Guardian Hero’s Accessory.
Fixed an issue where the effect of a weapon still remained while spectating a match.
When the awakened character is a noblesse, 40 extra Olympiad points are given out.
Fixed an issue where the description and the effects of the new hero weapons were incorrect.
Fixed the discrepancy problem on the newly created hero weapon icon and the passive skill icon.
Removed Ancient Book – Divine Inspiration (Original Version) from the sales list of Grand Olympiad Manager. This book may now be obtained from hunting regular monsters.

6. Auction House

The Sales fee needed to register an item has been changed from 0.7% to 0.5%.
Fixed an issue so that information about the registered item is specified correctly in the mail that is sent when a registered item has been sold.
Fixed typos in the dialogue of the Broker NPC.
Changed how item quantities and prices are displayed and how they are sorted.

7. Siege

The HP of the base/advanced Headquarters flag has been increased depending on the stats of the player.
The levels of the NPCs that appear in Castle Siege, Territory War, and Fortress War have been increased.
The HP of the Castle Gates and Fortress Gates have been increased.

8. PvP

Fixed some typos on duel system messages.
Fixed an issue where the starting location of party duels is not placed correctly.

9. Hunting Zones

Seal of Shilen (Forbidden Gate):
A giant structure at the end of the Cemetery in Aden. It’s known as the place where Shilen has been sealed.

Recommended character level: Level 95-99
Type: Solo hunting zone
You can now find the Raid bosses Flint and Half.

10. Pet/Servitor

Changed the system of buff transfer from the master to the pet or servitor:
When a pet and a servitor are newly summoned, they get the same buffs as the master.
After summoning, the servitor gets an additional buff whenever the master acquires a new buff.
The pet cannot get new buffs from the master.


Added information about the M. Def. on pet’s armor.
Added Pet Manager Ragraman.
Fixed an issue with the Pet Manager not being able to evolve a pet.
Fixed an issue where pets still gained Exp. while being dead.
Fixed an issue where pet’s Exp. information was incorrect in the pet management UI.
Fixed an issue where the information about Beast Soulshot and Beast Spiritshot consumption was incorrect in the pet management UI.
Fixed an issue where the master could not remove pet/servitor’s buffs.
Fixed an issue where the servitor is getting targetted when clicking “See Debuffs” in the servitor’s UI.
Fixed an issue where the target marker remained on the terrain when the character dismounts.
Fixed an issue where a pet with the hunger gauge below 55% was displaying an incorrect system message.
Fixed an issue where the hunger gauge does not recover when evolving a Wolf or a Great Black Wolf.
Fixed an issue where pet skills are not shown on the Action tab in the pet management UI.

11. Quests

The following quests have been removed from the game:
Illegitimate Child of the Goddess
Bird in a Cage
That’s Bloody Hot!
Linnaeus’ Special Bait
Chest Caught with a Bait of Fire
Request from the Farm Owner
Sweetest Venom

12. Interface

Added a function to link 24 Hz controller in the menu with 24 Hz player.

Review: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

Well, here we are at the third iteration in Capcom’s flagship fighting game, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (or AE). In addition to new character balances, four brand new characters are added to the rosters: Hong Kong Twins, Yun and Yang (who were previously introduced in Street Fighter III), make their next-gen debut in AE. The other two are Evil Ryu (Ryu who succumbs to the Satsui no Hadou) and Oni (a more sinister looking Akuma). The latter are brand new additions to the series with some pretty neat tricks. Because this is mainly rebalanced for competitive play, many characters received new changes to their move sets. A comprehensive of list of many of the changes to each character can be found on this helpful list compiled by Eventhubs.

Evil Ryu's health is pitiful, but his offense is much scarier than Regular Ryu.

With that out of the way, Arcade Edition adds several changes to the game. All of the new characters are given their own little story in Arcade mode, and are selectable in just about everything else except Trial Mode. The addition of Yun and Yang may have upset players because of their strong performance in Japanese tournament play. In addition to the offline changes, AE adds new features to the online experience. The Replay Channel gets several new options, such as being able to send your friends your replays and search out specific players. For the hardcore types, there is a channel specifically for players who have a high Player Point ranking. While all these nice features are great, what about people who don’t want to throw down 15 dollars for the upgrade? Capcom’s got you covered. AE features the option to easily switch between Super and AE in the option menu. Disappointed by all the nerfs to your favorite characters? Just flip to Super and relive the days of charge characters domination. Those without AE can still enjoy online play with AE. An AE player will automatically switch to Super if there are non-AE players.

Yun's divekicks will make you very very angry.

Ultimately, the bottom line is: it worth the upgrade? With 4 new characters and a substantial rebalance to the cast, AE is catered to the hardcore crowd. The new characters are a blast to play with, but some may think they are very powerful in comparison to everyone else (In 10 of my online ranked matches, I’ve fought 4 Yuns, 3 Yangs, and 1 Oni). As prolific top Japanese players, Daigo and Mago show off why some characters are simply ridiculously strong (Yun & Fei Long), and a lot of people will flock to them. Some people will love some of AE’s character buffs (Makoto and Fei Long for example), while others will have to deal with nerfs (Guile and E.Honda players). If you are simply a casual player that doesn’t care for character rebalances and all those under the hood changes, AE won’t change your mind about the game. Regardless of which camp you’re in, Arcade Edition is modest update (possibly the last) to SSFIV that hopes to close the gap between characters and overall a more enjoyable experiences for street fighters everywhere.

Unless you sold your soul and switched your main to Yun, Yang, or Fei Long bandwagon.

PlayStation 3 Firmware Revision 3.66 Mandatory Update

Sony has recently released the PlayStation 3 Firmware update v3.66 so plan accordingly. It's a mandatory install if you plan on heading on to the PlayStation Network so make sure you've put some time aside to download and install the new firmware next time you're looking to spend some quality time with your PS3.

The update is said to increase system stability, but aside from keeping PS3 jailbreakers at bay, it's unclear what the new firmware actually does. The update is a rather large install, clocking in at 178 MB, lets hope its worth the trouble. Piracy, it's bad for everyone, and inconveniences everyone except the people that it should.

Final Fantasy XIII - 2 - Noel

At this past E3 Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII-2. If your're a RPG junkie like me then you'll definitely appreciate that announcement. Square Enix is going to release this multi platform game for PS3 and for X-box. I predict that this will also be released for the Playstation Vita also. While this has not even been rumored I feel that the Playstation Vita's ARM cortex A9 core (4 core) processor can handle the visuals for FFXIII-2 exceptionally well and would do the game justice.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is being worked on in Japan as we speak and is scheduled for a December 2011 release in Japan and with a North America release sometime in 2012. The story takes place several years after the saving of Cocoon city. One of the main characters Lightning has been missing for a while. Serah believes that her friend is out there somewhere still alive and does what she can to find her. Thus the quest begins to find Lightning.

There are some new factors that have been added to Final Fantasy XIII-2 since the first one, other then new mind blowing visuals that is. A new character has been revealed. His name is Noel and he carries dual swords. One of his swords has double flame like blades pictured on the left and the other sword is a yellow colored short sword. The combat system has also changed in the world of Final Fantasy XIII-2 as well.

First things first brand new cinematic cut scenes have been added that happen during the battle to add to the intensity of the fight. A mog clock has also been added that pops up at the beginning of the battle. This mog clock is comprised of three colored zones which are red, yellow and green. These colors represent the status or awareness of the enemy that you are encountering. Red represents that the enemy is fully aware of your presence and is ready to attack at any given moment meaning no pre-emptive strikes for you. Yellow represents that the enemy is mobile and ready to attack but will probably give you the first attack. Green represents that the enemy is suprised and cannot move which gives you the advantage for a pre-emptive strike. My guess is yellow would have to be the average encounter color, green would be the suprise encounter meaning sneaking up behind and enemy and red would be that the enemy has suprised you and has that look of murderous intent in its eye.
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Japan has also renamed the battle system in Japan from Optima Change to Paradigm Shift (the name for the battle system outside of Japan). Trigger decisions have also been added to make the storyline more interesting for the player. Trigger decisions allow the player certain times in the story to make decisions based on the current situation at hand. The player can either make a right decision that will highly benefit the player and progress the story or the player can make a bad decision that will highly compromise the player. Now keep in mind bad choices are not necessarily the end of the game. Some bad choices will also let you progress in the game as well and might even benefit you too. Depending on how the player chooses the storyline will change accordingly. So remember players be sure to choose wisely. I know I will when I buy this game. I'm definitely looking foward to Final Fantasy XIII-2's release since I'm a die hard Final Fantasy fan

Continue reading on Examiner.com Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Fayetteville Video Game | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/video-game-in-fayetteville/final-fantasy-xiii-2#ixzz1Pzptk400

E3 2011: Tomb Raider Preview

Considering that Tomb Raider: Underworld was meant to be a reboot of sorts for Lara Croft and her exotic adventures, it did come as a surprise when Crystal Dynamics announced that it was set to reboot the franchise once again… especially when Underworld was a pretty decent game. While Underworld fleshed out the Lara Croft experience and took her back to her tomb raiding roots – something the franchise had lost – the new Tomb Raider is officially a reboot. A new game. A reimagining where we see Lara as we’ve never seen her before: vulnerable, young, impressionable and fighting for her life.

Taking place off the coast of Japan, Lara and her group of intrepid explorers find themselves stranded and quickly thrust into an unimaginable nightmare. Instead of focusing too much on the part of the demo that Square Enix showed off in Microsoft’s press conference, the majority of this preview will focus on the aspects that were only available to the press behind closed doors. Of course, we’ll touch upon a few key tenements of that first though, as they’re hugely appropriate for the new Tomb Raider itself and it’ll allow others who missed the live feed to catch up.

Unlike Tomb Raider games in years gone by, the emphasis for Crystal Dynamics’ latest outing is very much survival, turning Lara from the predator into the prey. Tomb Raider is a game rooted in physics conundrums and huge multi-staged puzzles that captures the imagination of the player, posing the question, “If this was you and you had to survive with whatever’s at your disposal, what would you do?” With a context sensitive UI, a few Quick Time Events that can have some brutal outcomes if you don’t react in time, cinematic camera angles in some tense chase scenes and an emphasis on making use of the environment to solve puzzles – fire being a major one of those – Tomb Raider isn’t just your usual platformer with elements of aggression. It’s about surviving with what you have and taking advantage of a “smart resourceful Lara.”

The Microsoft press conference section aside, we picked up with Lara Croft a few days after the events there, in day 4 specifically, where Lara has traversed her way to a mountain village and catches up with another survivor: Conrad Roth, who’s in a bit of a bad way. With rain beating down all around her and a storm raging overhead, the young inexperienced explorer has no other choice than to advance further into the mountains to get Roth’s kit back to ensure his and her survival.

Using the new Survival Instinct, which highlights things that normal folks like us may not have noticed, Lara is able to follow a set of wolf tracks into a mountain village. The wolves, who had been the sneaky thieves of Roth’s kit, have made it further up into the mines and as Miss Croft enters a huge desolate village, her only way is up. Crystal Dynamics tells us that Lara’s way to the top is not linear, and that dynamic traversal – i.e. a multi-path freedom of control – has been made use of to allow the player to have a greater degree of control.

The platforming sections, although seemingly inspired by the classic Tomb Raider games, seem to draw more inspiration from Uncharted rather than any other game. With falling platforms, abandoned airplanes that tip on a pivot acting as a walkway and lightning hitting trees and affecting Lara’s path, it’s clear that this is not your traditional Tomb Raiding experience and it looks all the better for it. There’s now a certain level of flow and freedom of movement that allows the player to steer Lara in the air, meaning the 8-directional jump paths of Tomb Raiders of yesteryear is but a distant thought.

Seeing as Lara is now a survivor, as opposed to an aggressor, killing for Lara is no longer a sport and she only does so to survive. Into the mine at the top of the platforming section Lara goes, grabbing the goods from the backpack whilst inside, but moments later a couple of planks of wood nearby break and a couple of skulls roll down into path signalling that Lara’s in for a bit of trouble. A solitary wolf dashes out, grappling with Miss Croft and attempting to rip her a new one, but a short QTE scene later and a knife to the wolf’s throat and our fearless – or fearful! – intrepid is apologising to the wounded corpse of the wolf. You have to remember, killing anything is new and unique to this Miss Croft.

After that Lara escapes and falls through a dilapidated wooden bridge into the water at the base of a waterfall down below. Following a lengthy exchange with a newly healed Roth, Lara is given a climbing axe from the once-circling-the-drain Roth and the sequence ends.

It’s actually the final exchange between Roth and Lara – where we get to see the full body and facial capture in action with a ton of emotion throughout – that gives us a lot of hope that not only will Tomb Raider deliver from a game perspective, but from a story perspective as well. It’s a sombre and moody game, and even a little sadistic at times, but seeing the darker and more survival-orientated gameplay has actually got us excited about a Tomb Raider game again. That said we were equally as excited about Underworld when we first saw it, so let’s hope Crystal Dynamics can push forward with the reboot and put Lara Croft back on that throne of hers. She deserves it, she’s had a rollercoaster ride up until now!

Tomb Raider is scheduled for a 2012 release.

Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

This week on the PlayStation Store there's a nice dose of new content, with Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 getting the trial and unlock treatment, with a 20% discount for PS Plus subs of the non-'Welcome Back' variety.

Elsewhere, you'll find Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition for download, add-ons for Alice: Madness Returns, Black Ops, DiRT 3, Motorstorm Apocalypse, SOCOM: Special Forces, Yoostar 2 and more, as well as Tekken in the PSone Classics section, a new episode of Back to the Future to check out and a demo of Ape Escape.

All in all, it's not a bad little week on the European PSN. Check out the complete content right here:

[Via EU PlayStation Blog]

SEGA Pass Gets Hacked and Temporarily Suspended

Yet another hack has hit a high-profile publisher last week, as SEGA became the next victim in a long line of hacks that have also affected Bethesda, Epic and obviously, the most damaging hack of all aimed at Sony, which caused over a month of suspended PSN service.

The SEGA Pass service has been offline since Thursday, June 16th while a breach of consumers' data and personal information is isolated and investigated further. "We have identified that a subset of SEGA Pass members emails addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords were obtained," reads an email informing SEGA Pass members of the breach. "To stress, none of the passwords obtained were stored in plain text.?"

In response to the hack, SEGA has acted by resetting members' passwords and suspended the service until further notice. SEGA also recommends changing your login information for other websites and services if they're the same as your SEGA Pass info. No personal payment information was stored by SEGA as it uses external payment providers, so no payment details were compromised in the hack, fortunately.

"Please do not attempt to login to SEGA Pass at present, we will communicate when the service becomes available," concludes the email. The SEGA Pass service should hopefully be back online soon.

Rumour: Heavenly Sword 2 In Development

According to UK gaming magazine, PlayGamer, the a sequel to 2007 PlayStation 3 exclusive, Heavenly Sword, is apparently in the works over at Ninja Theory.

The article says, "The second game is expected to be an open world sandbox affair set 10 years after the events of the original game," the article concludes. "Currently no news has been announced regarding a release date, nor has any media been released. Expect to hear more at E3."

Ninja Theory are also currently working on a Devil May Cry game for Capcom. Following Heavenly Sword, they previously worked on Enslaved, with Namco Bandai and Andy Serkis.

Over Dante's New DmC Look

If there is one thing that kills any creative process over time, it's listening to whining fans that think they know more about developing a character than the people who created the character themselves. I'm reminded of this fact whenever I check in with Capcom related news and come across some new bits of information regarding DmC, the prequel to their reasonably popular Devil May Cry saga.

For those new to the franchise, the long-story-short is that Dante, the main character of the series, has black hair and looks a lot like a washed up scrub than his more masculine, red trench-coat wearing counterpart. That alone is apparently enough to mess up a series, whose roots began as a potential sequel to the Resident Evil franchise.



What is astonishing to me is that breaking down the most recent gameplay trailer, fans of the series maintain that the entire game would be improved if Dante's hair was just a different color and length. It's almost no wonder the Japanese game development industry is suffering so much if all they're trying to do is cater to a group of individuals who don't want any sort of change. Knowing full well that Capcom understood the changes to Dante will inevitably draw some negative reaction, you can imagine such dramatic changes are being made if only for good reason.

It's even more painful to consider when you realize that DmC is supposed to be a story about the origins of Dante. There's nothing wrong with asking questions regarding a character's development, but to say that the game as a whole suffers from a plot-line not even remotely yet explained? Dante's origin has never been explored before, so it's fair to say that a younger Dante may have some visual differences — hair color aside, but the most critical aspect of this new game would be the general shape that the world is taking. The world he seems to be living in, the weapons he uses, the shape everything around him seems to take when combat starts all focuses heavily on the most memorable underlying trait of Dante: his attitude.

Cocky, arrogant and with absolutely no doubt to his skills, Dante is a character defined, first and foremost, by his actions. The first thing you'll notice in the redesigned Dante is the absolutely staggering self-assurance he holds with himself. It spills out from the way he walks, in his facial expression and most definitely in the way he fights. Simply put, Dante is a massive asshole, but he's one that we love to watch fight.

Although we've only been given a glimpse of some work-in-progress gameplay this E3, everything I've seen beautifully personifies Dante as a character. His very presence gives colour to the world around him, which he effortlessly brings to life through his attacks and, just like the 'older' version of himself, Ninja Theory has taken care to make sure that Dante's attacks aren't strictly linear. Each weapon brings a different style to the gameplay, again brought to life by the way Dante wields his weapons. The cool part about his character isn't the fact that he uses a sword, it's how he uses it, and every single swing he threw down in the trailer looked just as fresh as the last.

It's quite clear that, despite all of his skill, the Dante that exists in this game is but a shadow of his future self as well. The black and white mode he enters that recolors his hair the 'appropriate' white I take as more of a hint of what the gentlemen is capable of, or at least what he can achieve under great focus. I don't really see how any of this gameplay can be improved by a character remodelling any more than the new Lara Croft redesign can be better if they made her breasts three times larger. If a company is going to take the time to imagine the roots of a character, it's logical to imagine that the end result will be something that leads to, in the case of a prequel, the 'first' game.

Perhaps it's just me, but I never really got why purists insisted that any kind of change made to a series is bad. Change is what fuels this industry and pushes new concepts and designs forward. In many cases, it's what causes developers to create new IPs in the first place; and while not all change is a good thing it's important to at least give it a chance before tearing it down from afar. In the case of this Devil May Cry, these so call 'fans' of the game need to relax and listen to themselves. Maybe if they take a moment to stop worrying about what sort of hairstyle Dante is sporting these days they would be relatively impressed with what Ninja theory has managed to accomplish so far.

Tales of Graces f Coming Next Year In North America And Europe

Fans have been waiting since the original announcment of Tales of Graces f's localization for the game's release date. Namco Bandai has just announced it at their Level Up 2011 event in Dubai alongside an official announcement of the game's fate in Europe.

Tales of Graces f (the f stands for "future") has an extra post-game story which takes place after the game's original ending. Without spoiling anything, there seems to be an increase in the monster population, which increases the amount of monster attacks around the world. This causes Asbel and his group to set off once again to determine the cause behind the recent disturbance.

According to Namco Bandai, the game will be hitting North America and Europe sometime in 2012 and was confirmed for release on the PS3. No exact date was given, however, along with no trailer as of yet. Tales of the Abyss was also confirmed for a 2011 release in North America in Europe.

UPDATE: According to these tweets, the 2012 release date was only for Europe. This might mean a 2011 release is in the cards for North America and could be announced next month at E3.

UPDATE 2: Recent press releases for Tales of Graces f and Tales of the Abyss 3DS from Namco Bandai have confirmed a 2012 release for Tales of Graces f in both North America and Europe and a 2011 release for Tales of the Abyss 3DS in both North American and Europe.

Tales of Graces f And Abyss 3DS To Be Featured At Japan Expo

Since Namco Bandai's announcement earlier this year concerning the tentative release dates for Tales of Graces f and Tales of the Abyss 3DS in North America and Europe we haven't heard much from the company except that more information was "coming soon". That drought appears to be at a end, as the company has just released a new press release concerning their showing at this year's Japan Expo.

Currently, Tales of the Abyss 3DS is set for a late 2011 release followed by a Spring 2012 release for Tales of Graces f. The former is a port of the original PS2 version of the game on the Nintendo 3DS while the latter is a localization of the enhanced PS3 port of the original Wii version which was only released in Japan.

The press release bit related to Tales can be found below:

Hideo Baba, Tales series producer, will deliver the latest news on the series with details on European activities for all the fans, in particular about TALES OF THE ABYSS for Nintendo 3DS™ and TALES OF GRACES F. for PlayStation®3.

Considering the importance of the producer of the series attending the expo, it's very likely we will get some more concrete information about the release date, along with possibly some new screenshots or a teaser trailer.

Namco Bandai will be presenting on June 30 and July 1, so be sure to check back next week for the latest updates from the event.

FFXIII-2: Simultaneous PS3 and 360 Release?

FFXIII was a strange case. Releasing on both PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 9 last year in North America and Europe, but solely on PS3 in Japan the previous December. It wasn't until a whole year later that FFXIII was finally released on the Xbox 360 in the land of the rising sun.

With it's sequel, Square Enix have established that it is still a multiplatform title, but will that be the case in Japan? Signs indicate so, according to a magazine scan showcasing the game for both Sony's and Microsoft's system.

Now the question is if Square Enix's Yoichi Wada will be on the receiving end of death threats again. Several fans were not entirely happy with the CEO's decision. Essentially, Wada went back on his word of keeping FFXIII a PS3 exclusive in Japan.

What say you? Will FFXIII's sequel release on both systems at the same time or will it be another strange case of a multiplat release in the West, timed-exclusive in Japan?

E3 2011: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Preview

In the past few years, we've seen a significant increase in the number of Resident Evil properties being released by Capcom and this doesn't look like its going to change. This year alone there are four Resident Evil properties planned for release, all of which will be slight departures from the main franchise. In this preview, we'll be talking about the only one to be releasing on an HD system, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.

The game takes place between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, but you won't get to play as any of the series' stereotypical heroes. Instead, you will control either someone from the Umbrella Security Service (USS) or the United States Special Operations task-force. And depending on which side you choose you will have different objectives, such as destroying evidence if you're on the side of the USS.

Gameplay is rather different from previous Resident Evil experiences, as it's primarily a third-person shooter. Capcom recruited Canadian developer Slant Six to work on the project; their previous titles were third-person shooters for the PlayStation Portable and PS3. It really shows too, as Operation Raccoon City controls in much the same way. But that's not necessarily a good thing. While some of Slant Six's games have received decent scores, none of them have ever been scored all that well.

There will be six playable characters to choose from in the game, and each will have their own unique abilities. You will need to choose a character that suits your play style in order to succeed. Interesting tactics can also be adopted, such as using zombies to your advantage. For example, you can let zombies bite you. This makes you invisible to zombies, as they won't eat their own kind and it makes you invulnerable to opposition fire. The catch, once you become a zombie, you can't respawn again until someone kills your zombified self.

You can also be rather cheeky and use one of the game's mechanics to your advantage. If you get severely hurt, it will cause a blood frenzy. What this means, is that all zombies will suddenly find you more alluring than normal. You can then purposely use this to lure zombies in a certain direction.

While you will be running through Raccoon City killing zombies, killing the opposition forces is your main objective. And its something that can get a little bit confusing. You see, zombies are unlimited in their supply - no matter how many you kill, they will keep on coming. You may be tempted to stick in an area to try and clear out some waves, but it won't really benefit you that much. Instead, you need to keep on driving forward to your objective and concern yourself primarily with killing other humans, preferably ones on the opposing team.

There are some nice concepts here, but it doesn't feel like it adds a whole lot to the Resident Evil franchise. Perhaps the story will make-up for it, but currently the gameplay looks like it needs a lot of patching up before its going to be of a good enough standard.

The game will also feature a full-on multiplayer component where you will be able to square off against some buddies and this could well be where the best experiences comes into play, but that remains to be seen. Either way, the game is due out later this year on PS3 and Xbox 360, so we will all be able to find out for ourselves.

Big Games of 2011: Square Enix Will Hold Art Exhibition to Bring the Art of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Life

Many people draw inspiration to draw from various things in life, whether that be a beautiful view of nature or key moments in their lives. A select few artists are, in fact, doing the same but it's video games they look to for inspiration on their latest works. Square Enix will be holding an art exhibition in New York where several well-known artists will create their own works based on Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

The exhibition will take place for 2 weeks at the Wooster Street Social Club in New York, starting July 11. Several artists from around the world have been commissioned to create brand new pieces of art inspired by the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, where humanity is making a pivotal turn as the technology for cybernetic augmentation advances.

Some of the artists to be featured during the exhibition will include Estevan Oriol, Eyeone, N8 Van Dyke, and Sam Flores.

"Creating the right visual look and feel for Deus Ex: Human Revolution was of critical importance to help set the tone of the incredibly rich storyline and enhance the game's universe," said Jonathan Jacques-Belletete, Art Director of the game. "It's excited to bring more focus to video game-inspired art and it will be really interesting to see how the theme of transhumanism in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is interpreted by the unique group of artists participating in this project."

What's great about this event is that it gives the chance for a video game such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution to be more than just a video game. Rather, it serves as a theme from which artists from around the world could use it as a template for future works. Perhaps that could help people to then take those same themes and discuss them at some length, such as how technology has been advancing and how it affects our daily lives.

Plus, Square Enix won't be the only ones to benefit from this exhibition with the publicity. All proceeds from the exhibition will be used to support the study of the arts.




With L.A. Noire being featured at the Tribeca Film Festival, it surely seems like the mainstream is seeing video games as art. If this event becomes a pretty big success, I wouldn't be surprised if more events like this come up and help give video games a bigger argument as to why they should be considered art. Of course, no matter whether or not the mainstream thinks video games are art, I still believe they are regardless. But, it would be awesome if more people can agree with that notion.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generation Has Two Stages Of Naruto

Namco Bandai’s next Naruto fighting game puts young Naruto and Shippuden Naruto in the same game. Players will be able to battle Zabuza and Haku in the very beginning of the Naruto saga and rumble with the Raikage with Shippuden Naruto.


Confirmed characters, according to this scan from Jump, include Naruto (Shippuden and Young), Haku, Zabuza, Raikage, C, and Darui. A release date for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generation has not been

Dragon’s Dogma – E3 Preview

Capcom didn’t hold back any arrows when they fired away on their latest RPG demo of Dragon’s Dogma. Although there are plenty of RPGs to choose from, this particular dungeon crawler puts up a good fight to stand out with their fast-paced action sequences and strong narrative dialog.

In this demo of Dragon’s Dogma, I was given the option of choosing from two quests. With the quest that I selected, my male hero (I believe the other quest started you off as a female) was planted in a dark and dank cave, and I quickly made sure to let the enemy know who was their ruler of this territory.

Right off the bat, I noticed that the developers had done an impressive job with the amount of detail embedded in the environment as the cave had a great sense of age and wet decay. Adding to the immersion was the lighting effects of the soft glow from the lantern hanging off your worn leather belt, and the flickering torch lights that cast their orange hues along the damp and slick stones.

Character detail shined superbly down to the creases in the course fabric and the rusty chain-mail. However, I believe that level of sharpness among characters wasn’t exactly consistent when it came to NPCs or the enemy. Regardless, all the baddies still look satisfying when you’re placing them at the end of your sword.

Animations were fluid, and every combat ended with brutal satisfaction. You can change up your attack style by switching between quick swings or the slower heavy-handed haymakers if you can manage the timing. Grabs can also be performed which is then followed by a few options on how you want to manhandle your opponent. Amid the fast paced action, you will be able to see the health of your enemies with their health bar conveniently located above their heads.

After sending your foes to the earth from whence they came, you can replenish your character’s health and stamina by accessing the departmentalized inventory system and choose whatever healing snack is munchable.

However, there were a few things that were unsettling in regards to the combat. The idea of implementing a regenerative stamina bar could possibly cause you some unwanted headaches, especially if you’re putting up a fight against a major boss. As you’re desperately swinging at your giant nemesis, you’ll quickly discover that your ability to maintain stamina will likely be your undoing. When your stamina bar reaches zero, your character will be incapable of functioning – from running, walking, and even accessing your inventory to juice your thirst and refill your much needed endurance. While your character is “paralyzed,” the big and evil boss can turn you into his plaything in a matter of seconds, followed by consuming your limp and battered body as dessert.

At this point, Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma holds tons of potential for those looking for a good RPG with its satisfying combat and flowing narrative supported by a cast of your teammate AI.

Rumor: New PS3 revision coming, new copy protection along with BD-J for BD-3D

According to a well-placed industry source who wishes to remain anonymous, developers were recently notified that a new revision of the PlayStation 3 is in the testing process that will feature a new copy protection system not on the motherboard but inside the BD-ROM drive itself, similar to the Xbox 360.

Presumably this would at least prevent these newer consoles from running copied games with an additional layer of authentication. It’s likely that there will be some kind of watermark on genuine PlayStation 3 discs that the drive is looking for. All of these measures are in response to the acquisition of the PS3 root encryption key earlier this year (2011) by hacker GeoHot which allows unlicensed code to be run on the PlayStation without restriction.

This new hardware revision will be accompanied by a firmware upgrade that contains newly optimized Blu-ray playback drivers that can now handle BD-Java during Blu-ray 3D playback, at least on the 2D level.

This is a godsend for Blu-ray authors because they no longer have to author discs 3 times. Once for 2D, once for PS3 and once for full power BD3D.

There is no news whether or not this new firmware will also bring lossless audio to PS3 3D playback but our source indicates they doubt that this feature will be added any time soon due to the number of SPEs decoding the additional 1080p stream occupies.

This hardware revision is expected to accompany a price drop on the system hardware that could come as early as the Tokyo Game Show this September (2011)

E3 2011: Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike goes online this summer

LOS ANGELES--Last July, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono announced Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition, but cautioned fans that the downloadable Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 rerelease of the classic arcade fighter would not arrive anytime soon. After nearly a year of silence about the project, Capcom today confirmed a launch window for the game, saying it would be out this summer for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

3rd time's the charm?

More than just a port of the 1999 arcade game, 3rd Strike Online will feature a revamped user interface to take advantage of the systems' HD capabilities and a handful of visual filtering options. Beyond changing the way gamers see the game as they play, 3rd Strike Online will change the way others see them play with YouTube replay sharing. Capcom is incorporating YouTube functionality into the game that will let players upload their match replays to the video streaming service "with the click of a button."

Capcom is incorporating GGPO technology for the game's online functionality, the same netcode under the hood of the Final Fight: Double Impact package released last year. The publisher has also promised unlockable rewards, but did not specify exactly what form they would take.

Ps3 sales on the rise due to PSN hack

If PlayStation 3 owners were unhappy with Sony because of the PSN hack and the extended downtime surrounding it, or if you were thinking now would be a good time to pick up a used PS3 at a good price, you’d be wrong. Sony reported that PS3 sales actually went up while PSN was unavailable, and said at E3 that the platform was “stronger than ever.”

Sony started off their E3 press event with apologies to the users and customers who have been impacted by the hack and subsequent downtime, but went on to say after the event that they’re doing quite well. Sales of the PS3 are up 14% from this time last year. They also noted that PSN traffic had already gotten up to 90% of traffic prior to the breach, so clearly PS3 owners aren’t worried about going back online.

Sony hasn’t wasted time getting back in the game, either. Patrick Seybold, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Sony Computer Entertainment America, noted that the launch of Infamous 2 helped get gamers excited about coming back to the PS3 and PSN. He also praised Sony’s upcoming 3D titles, investment in 3D technology, and new PlayStation Move integration as more examples of how Sony is actively bringing gamers back into the fold.

At the same time, no one would expect Sony to have anything but good things to say about the strength and growth of their network after the PSN hack. It does seem clear that gamers are coming back to PSN in droves now that it’s back online, but whether or not that growth is sustainable is another matter.

Some people have said they’re just logging in to get their free games, and others point out that 90% of traffic prior to the hack is still a 10% drop. At the same time, others point out that if you have a quality service, you stand by it no matter what. Regardless of how the numbers pan out in the long run, its unlikely that Sony will suffer any serious long-term damage from the hack, even though it was the fourth largest data breach of all time.

Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Hands On

I am among the minority of people who thought Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII was a decent game. Flawed in its execution, it still had a lot of good ideas within that deserved fleshing out. I thought that the game could use a sequel, but at the same time felt it shouldn’t get one so as not to restrain any elements to the predecessor’s shortcomings. I decided to look forward to the next game they have been working on, Final Fantasy XIII-2 (13-2), Versus XIII, and wait for it to make up for the traditional numbered entry weak display.

Square Enix apparently thought there was enough of a cry to continue the XIII universe and is prepping a direct sequel to the first HD installment of the long running RPG series. The game is from day-one planned to be multiplatform, heading to Xbox 360 and PS3 once again. I got my hands on the Xbox 360 version demo and went through the entire bit to see if they were actually making improvements.

While teaser trailers had depicted FF13-2 lead Lightning to return, the demo put me in control a new guy named Noel (pronounced “Nole”). I was partnered with Lightning’s younger sister Serah and a Moogle. I stared at the graphic quality as it was a huge matter of debate with the previous edition of FF13. It didn’t seem like the engine had been improved for Xbox optimized fidelity. Finer points of hair were noticeably pixilated and textures appeared muddier. I later looked at the PS3 version and noticed that it did appear much smoother than the 360 version I had played. However, the build I played was in Alpha, so there is still plenty of time for SQEN to spruce up both versions. Regardless, I viewed it as an early warning sign.

I had direct control over Noel and quickly found I was now able to freely jump. There weren’t too many places that benefited from its use, with certain places marked where jumping would be necessary. Serah and Moogle followed me as I walked around and found some treasures. The town was not linear by any means. It seemed I had plenty more nooks and crannies to explore, and at times wasn’t sure which direction I should head. I took this to be a good shift from the overly-linear design of the predecessor.

The character customization menus weren’t active and I couldn’t look in my inventory, but I still thought I might gain some items useful in battle. And I did. A few potions were picked up along with a Phoenix Down. Since the demo didn’t have a difficulty level, I figured I may struggle in the first few battles. I had no idea what Paradigm combinations I would have or how character growth would be structured this time.

During exploration, I reached a check point from which I was quickly launched into a sub-boss fight I couldn’t “win”. Seeing that Noel was my character, I looked to see if I had any more advanced control over my partners; I did not. Paradigm shifting was in effect and some of the combination names weren’t familiar, but the classes were. Commando, Ravager, Medic, and Sentinel were present between my four preset arrangements. I found I didn’t actually need to switch my paradigm in the fight. The break gauge was also visible, and I was having a hard time filling it up.

After a few attacks were exchanged, my HP dipping into low levels, a cut-scene began. The first tweak to the battle system became apparent. A few quick-time events were mixed in to demonstrate enhanced battle scenes. I’m not sure if my accuracy in the QTE’s reflected in doing more damage or what effect it would have besides moving the scene forward. I wondered if I had triggered it myself or I was simply victim to circumstances.

A gunship came in and performed an air-raid on the invisible arm of beast called Atlas, ending the fight. A brief amount of dialogue explained that we have to find a way to weaken Atlas, directing me to traveling outside the town. As I walked towards a dungeon area, I had my first taste of random encounters. Unlike FF13, enemies are not always visible on the field. Instead, they now spring up in groups randomly and sit on the field for a few seconds. A new mechanic called the “Moogle Clock” begins ticking down once the enemies appear. There are three color zones on the clock as time ticks down. I am tasked with striking enemies to engage them in combat. If I strike early, the Moogle Clock will be in the green zone and my party receives a battle bonus (like starting with Haste effect). If I strike after a few seconds, the clock will be in the yellow zone, with no bonuses going to either side. Wait too long and the clock will be in the red zone, where I’m put at a disadvantage.

Once in battle, I experimented with my paradigms. When looking at the paradigm shift menu, I found that Noel and Serah were not accompanied by Moogle, but instead another monster. I had three different monsters each assigned to a class. I had a behemoth for commando, a flan for a ravager, and a tortoise for a sentinel. The monster battled along side me and built up a separate meter called “Feral Strike.” After that gauge filled, I could freely trigger the monster to begin a super powerful assault, in which I had to accomplish QTE button presses to continue the attack and deal more damage. Each monster had its own type of Feral Strike and QTE combination within.

At first, I thought the monsters were simply a placeholder for a character not yet available, but the Feral Strike meter convinced me I was dealing a legitimate mechanic (to my chagrin).

During the fights, it seemed more monsters could randomly jump in to perpetuate the battle. A few times this worried me, but I got back my paradigm shifting groove and found battles to be simple. I still had only two commands per class and relied on the auto-battle button mostly (also disappointing).

The battle ended and I would gain crystal points and few dropped items. I couldn’t use either. The battles were still rated by the 5-star system, meaning better spoils for better battle performance. While I couldn’t use any of the random items I won, they hinted at the previous style of weapon customization coming back in this game.

Continuing through the dungeon, I found a sprawling layout. When I didn’t reach my goal, I found treasure or an NPC to chat with to gain some insight to my events. I’d go into details about what they say, but my perspective on the game’s overarching premise is still vague at best. I just knew that Atlas was the main threat at this time and I had to find the secret to defeating/weakening him.

I eventually reached the next check point, coming across a glowing crystal-like object. The voice of a new character chimed in, saying that the device before me may be able to stop Atlas or at least hinder him. Before I could use it, I had to clear a “Paradox” that was preventing the device from operation.

Entering the Paradox took Noel to a new area. This area was strictly a zone for a puzzle. The puzzle required me to reach an end point while collecting all the crystals on various platforms. The catch was that each platform I stepped on would disappear after I stepped off it, meaning no backtracking. The zone had three of these puzzles for me to clear before I could exit the Paradox. I failed a few times on the last one and didn’t notice any penalty for repeated attempts. I was happy to see that FF13-2 was adding in some diversity in its gameplay that the predecessor was desperately lacking.

Once out of the Paradox, I was given the choice of how to proceed with the device. I was warned that we weren’t sure if the device would actually help. I could choose to go straight to the fight with Atlas, activate the object, or keep looking around. I could also ask my two partners (Moogle and Serah) for their opinions. I chose to activate the machine and take my chances. That was the right choice as the scene shifted to show Atlas becoming completely visible and slowing in his approach on innocent civilians. It was then up to me to go to his location and fight him.

The battle ensued, requiring clever paradigm shifting on my part to stay alive and build up the break gauge. Some time later, through a few more QTE’s, my demo ended. I was then left to ponder what I had played and how I felt about the changes.

Currently, I feel FF13-2 is a mixed bag. For what improvements are being made, the best feature of the previous game, the battle system, is receiving clichéd add-ons instead of new strategic options. Expanded exploration, actual puzzles, and player choices are good additions, if they pan out to more than just a few small areas of the game. The QTE’s and monster partners are sad sights.

The QTE’s seem like a shameless way to increase the cinematic elements of the game. The battles were already very dynamic, and more command choices would have allowed for enhanced strategy while keep players engaged having to constantly pick new moves and shift roles. Instead, I get locked into (admittedly cool looking) scripted events that do not reflect my skills as a player. It feels less interactive at this point. Perhaps if some sequences can be triggered by the player willingly, they could be a tactical element.

The Monsters seem to be locked to specific roles, although this may be different in the final game. Other preview information told me that 200 some monsters would be usable in the game. I immediately drew the comparison between this game and the Wii exclusive Tales of Symphony: Dawn of the New World. It seems that SQEN is simply adding monster hunting/collecting to the game in order to attract that crowd of gamers. The Feral Strike mechanic was interesting, like a limit break, but neither Noel or Serah had a similar mechanic in affect.

I wouldn’t mind the addition of QTE and Monster collecting if SQEN was demonstrating their application in a unique way. My play time made the game feel more like a rushed rehash aimed at getting a few more bullet points on box, rather than a thoughtful expansion of previous concepts.

Still, the preview build was in Alpha stage and the sequence being very early in the game’s progression. There is time for SQEN to add more features and refine the experience that was on offer. In comparison to the other spin-offs from main entries (Crisis Core, FF10-2), this seems like the least ambitious creation, being rushed to fill a void for games announced but not yet finished (Versus 13, Type-0). I hope more details in time will prove that the game was under-selling itself.

This Is Why Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition’s Budget Is So High

Capcom has made a big deal about how much time, effort, and cash they’ve been pouring into the development of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition, and after my hands-on with the game, I can tell why. Associate producer, Derek Neal, says that the game is "everything that the community wants," particularly stressing that that included implementation of the very popular GGPO netcode. However, even without being able to test the titular feature on the show floor, the changes and additions that have been made to 3rd Strike are impressive.

From the main menu screen alone, it’s apparent that Capcom went all out on this overhaul, commissioning new character art from >Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, which is randomly chosen to add a bit of flavor to the main menu whenever it is opened. Even cooler is that the game looks at your play history to give your most-used characters a higher chance of being in the background. It’s a totally unnecessary, but cool little addition indicative of the love that Capcom and Iron Galaxy have poured into this new edition.



If you’re at all worried that Artgerm’s new stuff would replace Daigo Ikeno’s artwork, don’t be. For the character select screen, Capcom has taken the original artwork and re-scanned it, so it looks incredibly crisp. Now that we’re on the subject of the character select screen, Capcom has taken one of my favorite features from BlazBlue: Continuum Shift and added it to 3rd Strike Online. You can now press Select (or Back, if the 360 is your preferred console) on the character select screen and map your buttons on the fly (which, from experience, is really helpful if you keep have two friends over and one prefers a pad and the other an arcade stick and they keep swapping with each other). They’ve also finally added a random select option to the game, mapped to the start button.



There are a ton of options that can be fiddled with mid-round, too. You can adjust display options from the in-game menu for switching from a standard 4:3 aspect ratio, to a wide one, to one that’s even further stretched to fill the whole screen, and (my personal favorite), one that bows the screen to look like an arcade cabinet monitor. You can even add scanlines to it to further the arcade feel. Honestly, I’m partial to scanlines, but if you like your sprites looking smooth, there are also a two sprite filters in the game, Crisp and Smooth. I spent most of my time on Crisp, which gave the sprites kind of a painted look. Honestly, I’ll probably keep the sprites unfiltered, but the filters both seem pretty nice, if you’re into that sort of thing.



This Is Why Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Editions Budget Is So High

If you happen to be in a non-widescreen aspect ratio, you will see "Dynamic Challenges" in the sides of the screen. These challenges will start out simple, such as winning a short streak or getting a single perfect, but as they are completed, they level up, becoming more and more challenging the more the player completes. Each completed challenge yields "Vault Points," which (appropriately) allow players to buy unlockable stuff from "the Vault," that features over 200 pieces of unlockable artwork (some fanart, some official), and new remixed character themes by Super Sledge with vocals by Adam Tensta.



This Is Why Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Editions Budget Is So High

Then (there’s still more stuff!) there’s the Trials mode. While there are trials that teach you combos for each character a la Super Street Fighter IV, there are also trials to help players get to grips with universal game mechanics like parries. While these start simple (parry a one-hit hadouken), the challenges get pretty in-depth (such as recreating Evo moment #37). While I probably couldn’t ever do some of the later challenges, the fact that they’re even included in a downloadable game is pretty cool.



Bear in mind, this is just the offline stuff. From what Derek told me, the online modes will have matchmaking, tournament support, the ability to record matches and upload them directly to YouTube, and the ability to search for other peoples’ matches. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition will be out this summer for $15 on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 E3 2011 Preview

It's been quite a while since Square Enix has attempted a true sequel to a Final Fantasy title. While many will argue Final Fantasy X-2 was a dud, it looks as if SE is preparing to redeem themselves with Final Fantasy XIII-2. I sat through the E3 demo play through with the developer and got a first hand look at the sequel.

The story takes place a few years after our heroes save Cocoon, and finds Serah searching for Lightning who is misssing in action. The first thing you will notice is that Cocoon is being rebuilt, and looks quite different from the original game. The world is much more colorful this time around, with many of the ruins already rebuilt since we last laid eyes on them.

We're introduced to a new character, Noel, who is a melee fighter. He assists Serah in her search for Lightning, and immediately begins after Serah is confronted by a giant arm from the monster, Atlas. The battle system in FFXIII-2 is similar to FFXIII and includes the pardigm shifts. There is, however, a major difference in how you approach enemy encounters.

Engaging in battle consists of a meter appearing on the screen which ranges from green to red, and includes a battle circle -- a ring that surrounds the field of battle. If you attack the monster while the meter is in the green you will receive preemptive attack bonuses, whereas if you attack in the red you will be penalized. Attacking or being attacked while in the yellow apparently has no effect. In order to avoid battle altogether you simply avoid the battle circle until the gauge runs out.

Some enemies will drop crystals which allow you to use the monsters you defeat in the empty party slot. This was by far my favorite feature, as the monsters not only assist you, but they will also change depending on the Paradigm that you have selected. Therefore you can utilize various monsters in a single battle to play various roles depending on your needs. To top it off, a new "Feral Link" ability fills up a meter that allows your monster party member to perform unique attacks when full.

Also along for the ride is a moogle companion. He has the ability to show hidden treasures and other various items to the player. As for a larger role, this was not discussed in great detail. The potential is obvious, though, assuming the developers have plans to take this feature further.

Another new feature is the inclusion of the "Temporal Rift". This is a dimension that includes puzzles consisting of collecting crystals from platforms which disappear as you walk across them. The goal is to collect all of the crystals without getting yourself stuck on a floating platform. As interesting as it was, the full purpose isn't completely understood. I have a feeling that Square may be holding back, perhaps planning to release further information at a later date.

While we were promised there would be a less linear story and much larger maps then found in FFXIII, the demo was a bit too short to reflect any of these grander changes. The map was a bit larger, and there were two options to battle Atlas, but overall, what little we saw still felt pretty confined. Still, given that what I saw was an E3 demo, it isn't too late to hope for more in the final product.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 definitely is shaping up to be a gorgeous game, but I couldn't help but wonder what happened to Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy XIV Online for the PS3. Unfortunately, Square Enix was extremely quiet on the subject. Hopefully more will be revealed concerning their fate later this year. Look for FFXIII-2 in early 2012 for Xbox 360 and the PS3.

E3 2011: Dark Souls Hands-On Preview

E3 2011: Dark Souls Hands-On Preview

Demon's Souls is, without a doubt, one of the biggest surprise of this generation so far. It proved that a game can still be a success even with next to no marketing campaign and it proved that there is still a place in the market for hardcore, punishing games. Seeing this potential, Namco Bandai, the publisher of Demon's Souls in Europe, stepped in to sanction a second title, Dark Souls. Even though FromSoftware, the developer, claims it isn't a sequel, but more of a spiritual successor, it's hard to think of it any other way, as it shares many elements with its predecessor, including its punishing difficulty.

Upon firing up the E3 demo in the Namco Bandai booth, one thing was apparent almost instantly. The graphics have been given a huge overhaul – it's like night and day. Before, the graphics were good, but they lacked any real sheen. Now, everything is much more glossy, much more visceral. It might seem like a minor thing, but the animations have also been reworked and it makes the experience much more entertaining.

The demo offered the chance to play as numerous classes, two of which were new. Soldier, Knight, Witch and Pyromancer were joined by Solitaire of Astors and Black Knight. All for trying new things, Black Knight is where the action was clearly at. He wielded a rather hefty shield, while either using a great sword or spear. It also became apparent that herbs have been replaced. Now, to replenish health, you must consume Est.

The system of Est has been introduced to stop hoarders. Now, you can only carry a limited supply of Est, whereas in Demon's Souls, you could store up herbs like there was no tomorrow. The developers hope this move will encourage more cautious styles of play, stopping players from relying too heavily on curative items as they explore the perils the world presents. To counter this, you will be able replenish Est at the various bonfires scattered throughout the world – you will no longer have to rely on random drops from enemies.

Even though playtime was quite limited, especially for a game of Dark Souls' scope, it was clear that exploration is a key part of the experience. From the start of the demo level, there were numerous paths to take, and neither of my fellow editors, who also got to play the game, went about things the same way I did. There will, of course, be a more linear path through the world, but how you get there will vary significantly.

An interesting development though, is that there is no more Soul Form. When you die, and you will die, you still lose all of your souls (which can be regained), but in the previous game, dying made you go into Soul Form. In this form, you had less health, but did slightly more damage. However, when you die now, everything stays the same. It was nice to die have no real repercussions, but this was one of the things which made Demon's Souls unique – trying to stay alive as long as you could.

The game's online mode, something else which made Demon's Souls so unique, also returns. Other players will be able to leave messages and, more importantly, you can still become a Phantom and invade other players' worlds. However, at this time it's still unclear what rewards there will be from performing this action.

The developers will also be expanding the roster of enemies you will face. In the demo, we saw the generic little wretch, but there were also upgrades on some other enemies. Despite it being short, there were dragons, huge warthogs and enemies that don't just stand there to be smacked in the face. They flank, they chase and they drink potions. The level design has also been improved significantly, making tactics even more important this time around.

When Dark Souls arrives later in the year, it looks like we'll be in for one hell of a ride. The developers have stated that they expect the game to be even longer this time around and with new classes, a simplified upgrade system, plenty of new enemies and very polished graphics, this could be one of the experiences of the year.

What's even better is that Xbox 360 gamers can now enjoy this game too, as it's no longer a PS3 exclusive. It's coming out on PS3 and Xbox 360 on the 4th of October in North