Set your calendars, fellow Monster Hunter junkies, because come December 1st you’ll be able to import a third (technically a fourth) epic hunt-a-thon for way too much money. But oh, will it ever be worth it.
There aren’t many specifics available at this time, but it’s been confirmed that the aptly-named Monster Hunter Portable 3rd will include new monsters and gear (obviously), as well as some new zones. Will it be a portable version of Monster Hunter Portable Tri (*pictured*)? It seems likely but we won’t know for certain until this year’s TGS, where Kotaku has stated there will be a playable version available for hogging. So, stay tuned for more info, I’ll be watching this game like a hawk and telling everyone who will listen all about it. Sure there’s no US release listed yet, but given the series’ history it’s practically a given.
Like Christmas coming on the 25th of December or Independence Day on the 4th of July, you can set your clock to the release of EA Sports’ latest Madden football title. Every 2nd Tuesday in August not only marks the beginning of the NFL season for many fans, it also signals the onslaught of autumn video game releases. Madden’s certainly a big deal; gamers buy new consoles for the next edition of Madden, for goodness’ sake.
There’s no question that EA Tiberon cares just as much about the game of football itself as they do their famous simulation based upon it, but the short development cycle usually allows for only a handful of small touches and refinements to be made over last year’s title. The question that arises every August is a simple one: is it better than the previous Madden, or should I skip this year?
It’s fairly common knowledge that the original Persona 3 was kind of a big deal. The idea of merging a “dating sim” with the typical grind-fest everyone associates with JRPGs was met with trepidation from virtually every angle. And yet, as more details came to light, people couldn’t help but wonder “What if…?” After all, the latest Mega Ten games at that time (Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga) were a huge hit with JRPG fans, and it had been far too long since anyone screamed “Persona!” Perhaps the time was right.
Then Persona 3 hit, and it punched a hole in the RPG world bigger than any Meteor ever could.
It was similar to and yet completely unlike any other RPG available; juggling your days between killing monsters for experience and items, studying for midterms and forging friendships that would stick with you long after the last of the credits scrolled on-screen. Persona 3 told a unique and engaging story with very mature themes, despite you playing the part of a high school student, and has received many (deserved) accolades because of it. It even had a “director’s cut” release in the form of Persona 3: FES, which included new Personas, new Social Links, new weapons and items as well as a second follow-up story, titled “The Answer.”
So what did they change in order to cram all of that into your hands, and how does that affect the game?
Quite simply, Persona 3 Portable is the version to own if you have a PSP.
Some people might argue that video games are comprised of only mindless violence; presenting gruff, masculine protagonists with muscles on top of their muscles and mowing down hordes of enemies with guns coming out of their ears and chainsaws on their elbows.
However, standing their ground in the opposing corner – often stereotypically armed with fabulous hair (darling!) and endearing sensitivity – we have the classic Role Playing Game. Hexyz Force, the newly released RPG published by Atlus, is one of these games which brings a welcome break from the grim and gritty and, despite featuring an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it narrative, attempts to maintain an upbeat feel with flourishing environments and cutesy characters.
Okay yes, Sony has added a few notable games to their Greatest Hits line of PSP games. LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo, Resistance: Retribution and Secret Agent Clank are all available for the low price of $20. Woo-freaking-hoo. But forget about that. Greatest Hits are out, PSP Favorites are in.
Look alive people, there’s one mother of a flying gunship headed our way! The town’s completely defenseless so it’s up to us to make sure that warship never reaches its destination! I know you’re scared, but we’re the only ones who can do this. We’ll have to board this monstrosity while it’s still in the air, and take it down fast. Don’t worry, the defenses are completely automated so as long as you step lively you won’t end up with a rocket in your keister. Just make sure you take down that gargantuan flying death machine before it gets to town and everything will be fine. What’s that? “How will we destroy it?” Simple! Just grab a hacksaw and start cutting!
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Patchwork Heroes.
Playing the original Persona 3 back on the PS2 was a joy, but one I was never able to finish. My inability to finish RPGs quickly coupled with the release of Persona 3 FES trapped me in a sort of Persona Purgatory. In short, it was a fantastic game that I never got the chance to complete. However, Atlus is looking to give me (and others like me) another chance with the upcoming release of Persona 3 Portable, a PSP port of the original game that spearheaded the Persona series’ path towards dungeon crawling, date simulating greatness.
So the question that I’m sure is at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts is this: “Is it worth buying a third time?”
If you happen to be the type of person whose brain shuts down at the very mention of “traditional RPG”, then chances are you’d scroll past a game like Hexyz Force without so much as a cursory glance. You could hardly be blamed for such an oversight; on the exterior, there doesn’t appear to be much distinguishing appeal that would lift it above any other handheld RPG.
Do a little more research, though (like looking on the front of the game case), and you’ll discover that Hexyz Force has some fairly significant backing. Developed by Sting, makers of the quirky and complex Knights in the Nightmare, and published by Atlus, Hexyz Force strives to be the ideal handheld RPG. Atlus recently gave us a peek at the game in action, and explained what makes this game a notch above the competition.
Atlus released a new trailer for Persona 3 Portable. For those of you who are hatless and therefore not on par with everyone else, the (totally awesome) game of Persona 3 is being ported from the PS2 to the PSP. Now, instead of just playing as an emo boy, you can play as a girl! And the best part? As evident at the end of the video, if you pre-order the game, you get a FREE HAT!
Okay so it’s not really FREE since you have the buy the game but… FREE HAT!
Keep your eyes peeled for Rob Rich’s preview of Persona 3 Portable to be up next week. Or don’t wait – just go pre-order it now!
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a huge Kingdom Hearts fan. I’ve played them all and while I’d like to say that I’ve finished them all I can’t. Although the GBA and the DS titles captured the feel of the series, I didn’t like the gameplay, especially the combat, and as such I just couldn’t bring myself to finish them. The controls and camera were clunky and although Square Enix did an admirable job graphically, the games fell short of what I came to expect from Kingdom Hearts visually.
That being said I’ve been waiting for quite some time for some new KH news and Square Enix has finally announced release information for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep outside of Japan. I’ve always felt that the PSP was the perfect platform for Kingdom Hearts and coming this September it will finally get an installment.
If you haven’t already checked out the amazing PlayStation 2 RPG, Persona 3 (or maybe you meaning to after you sold off your PS2 in a fit of blind faith before finding out the PlayStation 3 wasn’t backwards compatible), you may be in luck. If you still own a PSP, you’ll be able to enjoy all the fun of busting evil beasties with your Gekkoukan High classmates this July when Persona 3 Portable releases.
Atlus released this walkthrough video last week, serving as a first primer for all things P3P. In it, they cover the basic premise of the game for all you newcomers and we get some first video of the game itself in action. The combat visuals seem to be slightly downgraded and movement around school and town now seems to be done via selecting points on a map rather than wandering around in real time (which actually should speed things up considerably), but otherwise it looks pretty spot-on to the original.
For those who’ve never played Persona 3 before (Sage, we’re looking at you) or for those who just may want to lose another 80 or so hours of their life while on the go, this looks like a must-have. Heck, I own both the original release of Persona 3 as well as the Persona 3 FES enhanced edition and even I’m considering it!
They’ve done the prequels, they’ve done the originals, they’ve done the entire saga as a single game, so what could possibly be left for LEGO Star Warsto cover?! Why The Clone Warsof course! Yesterday, LucasArts announced that Traveller’s Tales will once again be bringing the world of LEGO to the Star Wars universe in LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Or would that be bringing the Star Wars universe to the world of LEGO?
Early in the upcoming year gamers will have an unprecedented amount of solid titles on which to spend their Christmas cash. There hasn’t been a year in recent memory that has been so front-loaded with quality games. Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII are only a few examples of AAA releases that are coming out before April. To play them all will be next to impossible for most of us. Konami and Kojima Productions seem to understand our quandary, at least, and have announced that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker won’t be hitting shelves until late May.
What can someone do in 30 seconds? Well, they can melt butter in a microwave for starters. They can also wash the germs from their hands, preventing the spread of horrific diseases like The Flu, or the even more terrifying Flu With an Unnecessary Prefix That Makes it Sound Even More Scary. They can tell a joke, watch a commercial, delete the junkmail from their inbox, guzzle a carbonated beverage for a belching contest or come up with a better idea for a sitcom than anything that’s been featured on primetime TV for the last ten years. They can also save the world.
Nihon Falcom may not be a household name on this side of the Pacific, but according to a recently released financial report it looks like that may change in the near future. According to that report the Japanese company is hoping to boost sales by localizing a significant chunk of their PSP library for North America.
Falcom was once a leading Japanese PC developer whose library extends back to the early ’80s and many of their modern games still channel that old school vibe. Despite originally developing primarily for PC, most of their games were also ported to consoles; old-time RPG lovers may remember classics such as Faxanadu on NES and the SNES rougelike Brandish, although they are likely most fondly remembered for Ys: Book I & II for the TurboGrafx-CD. More recently Falcom has been fairly quiet, releasing only a small handful of titles outside of the first three entries in their The Legend of Heroes series.
We’ll have to wait until Falcom officially announces some titles to find out which of their current Japanese PSP library they will be bringing over, but with the possibility of playing games like Ys Seven and Brandish: Dark Revenant, JRPG fans should have a lot to look forward to in the near future.
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Nihon Falcom may not be a household name on this side of the Pacific, but according to a 
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