Gallery: Ar tonelico Qoga - Knell of Ar Ciel

With its March 15, 2011 release approaching, let's take a look at some nice screens and character illustrations from the final installment of Gust's rather intriguing mix of RPG and romance simulation, finally making it's PS3 debut. The first two games were pure 2D bliss packed with lovely hand-drawn art, parallax scrolling and limited 3D elements that gave them a nicely old-school feel. Qoga's shift to 3D battles and an all-new combat system does allow for more dynamic angles as you'll see, but it looks as if the game also uses some interesting hand-painted art in certain non-battle sections. I liked the first two games quite a lot (although the real-time combat system in part 2 was a bit too gimmicky) - fingers crossed that Qoga doesn't disappoint in any department.

More info about the game and screens below the jump.

CONTEST: Attention Artists: Konami Wants Your Artwork In Silent Hill: Downpour!

More Silent Hill: Downpour news, this time, in the form of a great Facebook contest that should give you creative types a chance to stretch your wings. Click away below the jump for the full details.

Gallery: Silent Hill: Downpour

Konami has released the first batch of six Silent Hill: Downpour screens as well as a single, short and nicely creepy music track from Dexter composer Daniel Licht. According to the press release, this newest installment developed by Vatra (the awesomely fun Rush 'N Attack - Ex-Patriot)...

starts as Murphy Pendleton, the game's main character, finds himself lost and alone in the woods after his prison transport bus crashes near the town of Silent Hill. What happens after is up to the player as they traverse an all-new Silent Hill environment that is expansive, yet claustrophobic. And though this sleepy town may feel desolate, the player is never truly alone.

OK, I'm in. hell, I've been a Silent Hill nut since the first game, so I'm ALWAYS in. The game ships this fall for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Back with updates as they come in.

LBP2 "Endless Fun" TV Spot

Naturally, you WON'T be seeing this ad at ALL if you're too darn busy playing Little Big Planet 2, so in case you come up for air and happen to end up here (thanks for dropping by!), here's a look at the latest commercial for the game.

Knights Contract Goes Gold, Set To Hit Retail February 22

Namco Bandai has announced that Game Republic's M-rated action game (and one I happen to be looking forward to for its supremely bizarre monsters) has gone gold and has a release date of February 22, 2011. In case you're wondering "Just what the heck is Knight's Contract?", well, a few snippets from the press release below the jump should help...

Nippon Ichi America Online Store Offers Free Domestic Shipping

In a bit of really great news for the budget-conscious gamer (or those who are just always super cheap), the NISA Online Store has decided to offer US gamers FREE shipping on purchases. Say it with me, folks: A-w-e-s-o-m-e!!! Now you can boogie on over to the store, grab that copy of Disgaea 3 you've been longing for, jump on that Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium Pack or FINALLY snap up that slick Glicee for that special blank spot on your wall and get it shipped fast and (wait for it...) FREE!

Now go buy something so those hard working Prinnies can keep their jobs!

L.A. Noire Trailer # 2 (Yup, It's All In-Game)

So good it's on both blogs, here's the second L.A. Noire Trailer for your approval - this time in long and short versions. Team Bondi's upcoming crime drama is certainly going to set a few new standards in terms of character animation and possibly game design. As usual, Rockstar is going above and beyond the call in ensuring their dev teams make games that try and do something different within their respective genres. And that, folks, deserves a lot of respect.

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.

Duke Nukem Forever Gets May 3rd Release Date, Hell Freezes Over Again (Well, It IS Winter...)

So much for the few remaining skeptics out there, huh? 2K and Gearbox are finally getting the news out that The Man Himself will be landing in retail stores for PS3, PC and Xbox 360 on May 3, 2011 in North America and May 6 everywhere else those alien bastards are trying to take over (as in the rest of the world). Groovy, I say. Time to go stock up on bubble gum and dig out the old combat boots once more. What, the store's all out of bubble gum? Well, there's only one thing to do then, right?

Full press release below the jump because I'm too damn lazy to cut 'n paste excerpts (Well, I'm writing two reviews at the moment, too!)...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armgeddon Update: New Screens + Pesticide Gun!

Where previous EDF games have similar acid-spewing or other weapons based on alien technology (which meant you couldn't reload them once you ran out of ammo, grrrr!), I like the all-new Pesticide Gun variants as well as the BIG explosions seen in these latest EDFIA screens (they almost look like a mini Genocide Gun with that blinding light). Go, Vicious Cycle! Spring is just around the corner and I'm pretty psyched about the final version (and still hoping we see some more surprises in terms of bonus materials). If you've been following this one from the beginning, you can see that the game is really shaping up nicely and should be quite a blast to play online or offline.

Note to D3: You ARE planning to get EDF 2 Portable out here in the US as well (on UMD and PSN, of course!)? Say YES and I'll be sure to tell too many people to buy the game. Hell, I'll go buy a few extra copies, for that matter!

Screens and details on the Pesticide Gun series can be found below the jump. I'll post the new game footage once D3 posts it on YouTube (as I'm away from a high-speed connection for a few days)

Operation Flashpoint: Red River Cover Art/Screens Update

Cover art and four more screens from Codemasters' upcoming military-themed tactical FPS. Don't call it COD, MOH or anything similar until you've gven it a try. The series is known more for its realism than the usual online mayhem and non-stop single player shoot-festing. Granted, Dragon Rising wasn't as deep as the original Op Flash (the edit feature was sorely missed!), but it was still a more complete game in terms of pure immersion and actual challenge than many shooters this generation.

MotorStorm Apocalypse Festival Mode Developer Diary

Yet one more of the upcoming PS3 games that will make you want a shiny new 3DTV, but also looks spectacular and speedy on anything. Take a look at this dev diary and see how it's all coming together. Batteries not included, some assembly required. Warning: small parts - not for children under 3 years.

Homefront: Future History Trailer

One of the many games of 2011 I've also had on my radar has been THQ's Homefront, a story-driven FPS (with multiplayer modes, of course) developed here in NYC by Kaos Studios (Hi Irania!). While not a sequel to the excellent Frontlines: Fuel of War, Homefront uses topical and 'alternate history' events along with a John Milius (of Red Dawn fame) script to present a darker, more realistic tone to its North Korean-invaded US game world and how players get to stage a resistance. From what I've seen so far, the game looks to be a visceral experience on a few fronts and I truly hope that those in the FPS fan base "get" what's being done here and NOT simply snap this up because it's just another shooter where you can hop around like bunnies online or camp out with a favorite gun and chuckle away a few hours.

More videos to come shortly...

LBP2 Guinness World Record Event Videos ( A Whole Bunch of Them, At That)

Heck, I should get a Guinness record for running all these LBP2 videos! Enjoy them all (a whopping EIGHT more this time!), and go buy a copy of the game already. Of course, if you're already playing the game, you're too busy to be here, right? Oh, in case you ask, I refuse to post the Jersey Shore video interview, as I don't want your intelligence points to drop (sorry, Snooki, I need my readers smart!)...

New Killzone 3 Teaser

2.22.2011 is the release date and as I've been saying, this is truly the year the PS3 comes into play as a powerhouse console with first and third-party titles that will boost even the most jaded gamers off their couches. I can't wait...

LBP2 "Controlinator" Tutorial

The Guinness World Record event was pretty cool - I'll run a few pics later today. Here's a fun LBP2 tutorial video shot during the event. More videos to come!

Nintendo Reveals 3DS Launch Details

In short: so I was right on a few fronts: The US Nintendo 3DS will cost $249.99, come with a few built in games, an upgradable 2MB SD card and will get around 30 games within the launch window (March-June). The 3DS has three cameras, can auto-generate a pic of you into a Mii (nice) and will be able to play DS games (not in 3D) as well as downloadable GameBoy and GBA games. Street Pass" is an optional "social networking" function that allows for trading high scores and other data with nearby 3DS units.

3DS will be stores February 26 in Japan, March 27 in the US, March 25 in Europe and UK (which have a quirky "per retailer" price point structure that so far ranges from 219-249 Euros/Pounds - yikes!). The fine folks at engadget have a lot more clout than lil' ol Mii, so here's link to their deeper coverage. I'll have a list of confirmed titles shortly.

"Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2" TV Spot Is Just Plain Right And Wrong Simultaneously

Well.. it IS kind of funny and yes, I actually saw a non-gaming journalist have a similar reaction to the multiplayer mode while I was playing it at the last Sony event I attended (he's not into "scary stuff"). So, on THAT front, it's a brilliant ad.

On the other hand (Devil's Advocate cap on), I can see this ad being used by the anti-gaming crowd that thinks EA is clearly targeting children under 18 with Dead Space 2 and any other M-rated games they publish, which may force EA to deal with "news" outlets merely looking to rake them over the coals unfairly (and once again, if you remember the stupid controversy around Mass Effect two years ago). These folks have less of a sense of humor than a jar of pickles (and about eight times as much vinegar in their veins), so giving them this "gift" as more anti-game ammo might backfire a little too much. So, on THAT front, the ad is a giant "WTF were they thinking?"

Thoughts?

Either way, the game will sell, as there's not really such a thing as "bad" publicity these days...

Conduit 2 Weapons Trailer (Plus a Few Other Things)

Here's a look at some of the many different weapons from Conduit 2, High Voltage's followup to their groundbreaking Wii FPS. Sega of America has confirmed a new March 22, 2011 release date for the game, which is indeed a good thing. Since I'm in a really good mood (being the only person I know who's never played Angry Birds on a device I own is part of that), I may as well run the other two game trailers - enjoy!

Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium Package Pre-order Goodies Update - It's In the Cards...

So, you want MORE Hyperdimension Neptunia (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!) goodness? OK - NIS America has revealed an upcoming pre-order program for the PS3 exclusive that will net the first 1000 folks who sign up for a copy of the game through their online store a set of limited edition playing cards. This "Limited Edition Gamindustri Premium Pack" include the Premium Edition of Hyperdimension Neptunia and that fully customized deck of playing cards. Expect to see the game's super cute CPU Goddesses for all the face cards and with a customized Neptunia card back and perhaps a few special Jokers in the deck. This one keeps getting better and better...