"Retro" Review: The Dark Spire

Platform: Nintendo DS

Developer: Success

Publisher: Atlus

# of Players: 1

Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A

(Note: while I'm cooling my heels and planning a new site relaunch soon, here's an old review to peruse. this previously lost review was written LONG before the PSN Wizardry games from XSEED and Wizardry Online were announced, but I decided not to alter anything mostly because I'm surprised this turned up in a folder packed with stuff I thought was gone for good - enjoy!)

Since no US publisher seems to even be thinking about reviving the classic Wizardry franchise anytime soon, Atlus has pretty much taken up the mantle of "publisher of Wizardry-like gameplay experiences" on the Nintendo DS. Some of you might be asking "Hey! what about that excellent 2001 PlayStation 2 game, Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land, huh?" However, that game (great as it was) wasn't at all related to the eight Sir-Tech PC games. Other than a few console remakes of the first seven games scattered over an assortment of Japanese consoles and a few handheld version the numerous Japanese-developed Wizardry games are their own bird (and yes, it would have been grand to see them localized in English), but that's another subject for another time. Anyway, thanks to titles such as the two Etrian Odyssey games (which can be seen as spiritual successors to Sir-Tech's original games) and now The Dark Spire, developed by Success, Atlus will absolutely make you do a happy dance if you love your RPGs old-school tough yet completely user-friendly.

Seven MORE KOF XIII Trailers (Atlus Keeps On Rolling...)

Yes, these are going up a bit later than planned, but I was busy playing a few games and got sidetracked. Such is the life of the one-man operation. Here you go - seven more characters from the upcoming fighter. These are pretty short, so like the first nine, you won't need that beer and chips or have to worry about falling asleep halfway through. Hell, one of these guys or gals will slap you silly if you did anyway...

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin Trailer

Sometimes, abbreviating a game name just doesn't work well. Case in point: SMTP2IS looks and sounds like a license plate number to me. Anyway, Atlus is set to knock it out of the park again with yet ANOTHER great RPG to devour all your free time. September 20, 2011 is the date and yes, it's yet another PSP exclusive. Color me giddy that publishers such as Atlus, Xseed Sony and others are making this the best year for the portable.

SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked '8th Day' Teaser

Here's a peek at Atlus's remastered RPG, headed to the 3Ds now with full voice acting, enhanced higher-definition art and an all new 8th Day section not found in the DS game. North American gamers will be dancing with joy, but UK and European 3DS owners are out of luck, as there are no plans to release this in those territories and as you know, the 3DS is region locked. Perhaps some third-party publisher can do the deed, but I'd gather it's not going to happen because of the localization issues required for each non-English speaking territory (not inexpensive to do, mind you).

Trine 2: Atlus' Download Only Blast Of Fresh Air From FrozenByte

FrozenByte's absolutely beautiful physics-based action/adventure is one of those great games that keeps classic gameplay alive and well. While this one is all is set to hit PSN and Xbox Live soon, it WOULD be nicer to also see a disc release with the first game as well as Atlus' other download-only hit, the offbeat brawler/shooter/action game, Zeno Clash. Not all core gamers have access to PSN or Xbox Live accounts, so making sure they have the same opportunities to play as many of the games everyone else does should be a priority for all publishers until we see as close to 100% of the user base with high speed connections as possible. More games for everyone at both retail and online means more money for game companies and developers, right?

SMT Devil Survivor: Overclocked Auction House/Fusion Video

Atlus sure knows how to make the end of the world highly enjoyable, that's for sure. Even though I sunk something like 160 hours into the DS version, I'm actually thinking about doing it all over again on the 3DS shortly. Check out some of the Demon Auction and Demon Fusion parts from Atlus' upcoming RPG. Yeah, the person doing the bidding in the video isn't exactly the best beast buyer, but I'd gather this clip is only showing off the features to those who haven't yet played the game or who want to see what it looks like in action on the 3DS.

Review: Catherine

Platform: PlayStation 3/Xbox 360

Developer: Atlus

Publisher: Atlus

# of Players: 1 (Online 1 - 2)

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A

Catherine is one of the best original games of 2011, hands-down and of this writing, Atlus' fastest and biggest selling title to date. The hype surrounding the Japanese release along with initial worries that it wouldn't be localized due to its subject matter were followed by quick disappointment from Atlus fans when they found out it was staying overseas. Surprisingly, not too long afterward, word started leaking out that an English localization was underway and shortly after that, Atlus USA announced that Catherine was indeed coming to North America not only uncensored, but with PS3 and Xbox 360 cover variants, a great art book/soundtrack CD pre-order bonus and even a fantastic Limited Edition package. Definitely not for kids, anime haters, hopeless romantics or those easily frustrated by trial and error gameplay, what's here is a remarkable, visually brilliant work that bridges the gap between uncomfortable arty project and instant conversation starter.

Catherine Is Coming!

Well, alright. Atlus came through and is indeed shooting over a copy of Catherine, which makes me happy beyond words. Well, I have words, but you'll need to wait and see what they are. Granted, I'm still buying the retail version (both of them) at some point because I'm crazy like that, but I'll be diving into the review copy as soon as it arrives and getting it done up as quickly as possible. Thanks much, guys!

Atlus Shows Off Its Girl Catherine, Some Still Sexually (and Otherwise) Confused

Last evening (or afternoon if you were on the West Coast), Atlus did an incredible (and lengthy) Ustream demo of its upcoming PS3/360 game Catherine and based on the number of press attendees plus a decent sized group of just over 20 non-press oglers, this was their most successful streaming event to date. It's no wonder, given the interest shown in the game ever since screens and videos of the Japanese version started popping up on the Internet and gamers started begging for a localization.

While the single player mode was the main draw of the event, there was a bit of multiplayer shown that made for a really nice surprise. I have the feeling THAT mode just might break up a friendship or two in the same way The Adventures of Cookie & Cream did when things got too out of hand. Then again, in Catherine's MP, it's every sheep-horned man for himself (and it's a damn good thing it's only two players onscreen, given the hilariously zippy pace and violent pillow swinging action going on with the frantic block climbing).

E3 2011: Check Out The Atlus Booth!

So, what's going on with one of my favorite publishers? Take a super-quick tour of their E3 booth and find out, that's what! Now, if only I could get them to fly to NYC one day with all their wonderful games...

Atlus Discovers Time Travel, Stuck in 1999!

All I'll say is I hope they get back safe and bring a couple of copies of Ogre Battle 64 back with them when they return. I sold mine off a while back and kind of wish I didn't. Atlus Faithful news from June '99 below the jump...

Catherine "Are You Committed" Trailer

A few weeks back, Atlus USA asked fans to submit video responses to a few age old relationship questions with selected bits being used to promote its upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 puzzle horror game hybrid, Catherine. Here you go, the results of that little experiment in terror...

Catherine Announcement Trailer (Late, But Still "Fun" to Watch)

Speaking of Atlus - I'd forgotten to run this nicely disturbing Catherine trailer from a few weeks back, so here you go - enjoy! I really can't wait for this one, but now that it's US-bound, I don't need to spend too much money on the import version and bugging a few folks to assist in translating things. Awesome.

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga Soundtrack BonusTrailer

Here's a peek at the latest trailer for Atlus' upcoming RPG Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga featuring some of that excellent music, which by the way, is going to be on the bonus CD included with the game (thanks Atlus!). There's a demo hitting Xbox LIVE on March 22, and the full game will be available in stores on April 12, 2011. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the changes and sinking way too much time into this expanded version of the original.

Atlus to Set Catherine Loose on Gamers This Summer!

EXCELLENT. Thank you, Atlus! After a ton of interest from gamers outside of Japan even as the game's developers said they had no plans to localize the PS3/360 game for Western audiences, the (no doubt going to be) Mature-rated horror/puzzle/strategy game hybrid is headed for a US release this summer. There was a HUGE teaser e-mail sent out last week that used the same pink background as well as a line from the game, so it was easy to figure out what was what. I ran a few movies on the other blog a few weeks back, but I'll be updating.both sites with image galleries once I get shots of the US version in action. Awesome - I guess I'll be getting both versions since they're doing the dual cover thing (yeah, I'm THAT crazy).

Gallery: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS)

Yeah, yeah, there are a ton of 3DS games I need to cover (and I'll get to them starting this weekend), but I'm actually really looking forward to this one the most. Atlus is bringing a souped-up version of one of the best RPG's of 2009 to the 3DS with a few cool new features. Overclocked includes full voice acting, an all-new epilogue, revamped visuals and more. The game's official site is going up soon, according to Atlus... just keep coming back and clicking on that link 'til you get a picture. Or I'll just post here again when it finally does go live. Press release & five screens below the jump

Atlus to Publish Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga In North America

While I liked the original Divinty II: Ego Draconis on both the 360 and PC, it DID have it's share of technical issues that definitely required some serious patching. Nevertheless, the game not only got those patches, but some nice DLC and an excellent PC expansion that, along with the original content added up to well over one hundred hours of gameplay. In today's "Well, THAT woke me up!" news, Atlus USA has very wisely teamed up with Focus Home Interactive to present Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga exclusively for the Xbox 360 in North America.

It seems as if Atlus is striving to become the 'Kings of All Things RPG' these days as they branch out and publish non-Japanese developed titles such as The Cursed Crusade and now Larian's sweeping epic. Hmmm... maybe they can convince Soldak to get its games onto a console or look into stuff like the Eschalon series in the future... my mind is full of ideas. Er, anyway...

Press release/screens below the jump (it's long like the game, so go read it and make that pre-order afterward) and the trailer is up and running on the other blog.

The Cursed Crusade Trailer #2: "Ambitions"

Atlus and developer Kylotonn Emtertainment have what's looking to be a guaranteed hit with this upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360-bound Action/RPG. Given that nearly everyone seems to be comparing it to Demon's Souls, there's going to be an immediate audience for the game that should propel sales no matter what the reviews say. Based on available info, the game is quite a bit different (and it should be) in terms of story, gameplay and a few other major elements, none of which should stop any fan of From Software's hit from checking this one out. Hell, here's nothing like being pleasantly surprised by a game you thought was going to be something entirely different (or all too familiar), right? More on The Cursed Crusade shortly...

Radiant Historia Time-Traveling Walkthrough Trailer Radiates Historically...

Yes, this walkthrough was released a few days back, but I'm just now getting to it (Hey! I've a LOT of stuff on my plate!). Atlus USA just keeps it coming with yet ANOTHER fine Nintendo DS/DSi RPG, Radiant Historia, set for release on February 22, 2011. I'm still playing Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey and SMT: Devil Survivor, but as I'm winding down the many, many hours spent on those, it looks as if I'll be getting a bit busy with this one. As usual, expect a nice deluxe package complete with a CD soundtrack and more gameplay than you can shake a stylus at... back with more in a bit.

Random Holiday Greetings Roundup

Here's a few more of the e-cards or holiday-themed images that have ended up in my inbox (I don't drive, but thanks, Maserati!). I need to poke around and see what's ended up in the spam folder, as on occasion, a card or three turns up there as well. Click on that amusingly rustic card from CDProjeckt Red's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for a trip to its pre-order page, as there's a rather spectacular bonus-packed deal on the upcoming title that's very hard to refuse. For some wonky reason, I can't even see the digital card Atlus USA sent out, but I'll try to upload and post it later.