I sorta want Tenkaichi back...
I wanted to be impressed by this game. After more than a few disappointing outings in the genre, I was ready for a Dragon Ball Z fighting game on the level of 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Unfortunately, aside from some nice visuals, Battle of Z seems to continue the recent tradition of bad fighting mechanics and gimmicks.
A Triumphant Tale, Indeed.
As a huge fan of the Tales series, I was obviously excited for Tales of Xillia, but I also came to the game with some skepticism. I was worried that some of the luster of the franchise was starting to wear off for me, as I didn’t get into last year’s Tales of Graces f as much as I thought I would. However, I was pleased to see that the series still has more than enough kick left in it. Tales of Xillia is one JRPG that shouldn’t be missed, despite some flaws.
Five Reasons Why You Should Be Excited for Tales of Xillia.
Whether you began with Tales of Phantasia or got into the series with later entries like Tales of Symphonia you should be pleased to know that the latest to hit western shores, Tales of Xillia, has a lot to offer. Here are five reasons why you should be looking forward to the latest in this series:
The party’s over.
Probably the worst part of playing alto sax in middle school band (besides having to play on braces-tightening days) was rhythm practice. If you’re not familiar, there are entire books of rhythms written out – no notes, just the rhythms – which kids have to sit and verbalize. “Ta ta tee tee tee tee rest ta-a-a-a-a tee tee tee tee ta ta” can be heard coming from the mouths of dreary band halls across the country as kids prepare for that next chair test or concert. This despised exercise is what is at the core of Rock Band Blitz, and somehow they almost made it fun.
Namco Bandai finally reveals U.S. And European Release.
Western Tales series fans have a lot to be happy about with this year's releases of Tales of the Abyss 3D and Tales of Graces f. Apparently, these releases were successful enough to warrant the release of the latest main series game, Tales of Xillia.
Team Sora acquires a huge partner.
Since its premature announcement last E3, fans have been curious about the fate of the next iteration in the extremely popular Super Smash Brothers series. During Thursday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Smash fans were spoon fed a little more information. Namco Bandai, the company behind a wealth of series like Tekken, SoulCalibur, and Tales will be partnering up with Team Sora to bring fans the latest in the series.
As the Armored Core V community dwindles away, one of the promised online features finally makes its debut.
Disheartened players of Armored Core V had some good news waiting for them when they logged into the game this morning: the long-awaited arrival of multiplayer bosses. According to the in-game announcement, the bosses will be available from 9:00 AM PDT on Friday, April 26, through 2 AM PDT on Monday, April 30. The multiplayer bosses have been present on Japan’s server for some time now, but have yet to be seen on European or US servers. This missing feature is one of many frustrations for fans of the game, who are still left to wonder when patches to catch up with the Japanese version will be released. PixlBit has contacted Namco Bandai for comment on these issues, but has yet to receive a response, and no official press releases have been issued about the online bosses or patches.
Forgoing the traditional peripheral-based input, the upcoming downloadable title channels Amplitude and Frequency.
Today, Harmonix officially announced Rock Band Blitz for both Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Rather than utilize the peripheral instruments that have made the series a hit, Blitz requires players only have a controller on the ready to play the beat-match title. Just like Amplitude and Frequency, Rock Band Blitz brings multi-track arcade gameplay that has players switching between instruments on-the-fly to replicate the song.
Tales of the Typical JRPG.
Japanese RPGs haven't had the easiest time this generation. The good ones are few and far between and Japan has taken notice to the downshift in popularity. Many games, such as Tales of Graces f have a hard time being localized for English speaking audiences. Thankfully, after much fan demand, the game has finally seen a release on U.S. shores and while it doesn't stray far from the formula, it provides an experience that will satisfy many starving JRPG fans.
A Japanese X-Files game perhaps?
Namco Bandai has just put up a new teaser countdown site yesterday. The attached article image shows a big X on a black background. Nothing more is known at this time.
