Video Game News Digest #3

In this latest news digest, more updates about anime-based games, game collaborations, and Level-5's annual press conference among other news that happened in October.



The anime, Fate/Zero, will be working together with the MMORPG, Master of Epic ~The Resonance Age Universe~, this fall. No words on what the collaboration is.

The show also has another collaboration with Gamepot's MMORPG, Fantasy Earth Zero. Starting on October 21 and lasting to December 5, players can receive wigs based on two of the characters, Saber and Lancer. Female characters will receive Saber's wig while the male ones will get Lancer's. Other offers will allow newly registered players to dress up their characters as Saber and Lancer if you go to Gamepot website. Players can also get items from the other Servants by spending coins to spin a Fate roulette wheel.

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Heroes Phantasia, the anime crossover game, has new characters. Here are the anime characters:

1. Melissa (Rune Soldier)
   
2. Straight Cougar (S-cry-ed)
   
3. Zelgadis Greywords (Slayers Revolution)
   
4. Tamama (Sgt. Frog)
   
5. Mikoto Minagi (My-Hime)
   
6. Drake Anderson (R.O.D. Read or Die)

Besides these anime characters, there are also some original characters. Michie Sawada is a friend of the protagonist and has excellent memory while Princess Ceriche is the last remaining member of a royal family. The former is from the real world while the other lives in the world of Adroas.

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Kadokawa Games will develop a PSP game based on the anime, A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives. No gameplay information has been posted so far but the developer has revealed that the genre is an experience student council life adventure.

The game will be out on Dec. 22nd.

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Similar to Atlus's newest Persona series, Ao no Exorcist: The Phantom Labyrinth of Time will have social links. At the end of the day, Rin or Yukio can talk to one of their teammates. Based on your choice of dialogues, you can boost up your bond rank with that character. With each increase, you will have more commands to give to that character and perform powerful union attacks.

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Namco Bandai has released more information about the anime-based game, Madoka Magica Portable. The game will be a dungeon crawler and it is being told from the perspective of Homura Akemi.

The game will be out in Japan on March 15th.

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Konami is going to develop a third Fairy Tail game called Fairy Tail: Zeref Awakens, which will cover Nirvana, Edolas, and Tenrou Island. Zeref will be the central character in the game and there will be 35 playable characters (it is unknown is Zeref will be one of them). The combo system from the previous games has been altered for consecutive magic and physical attacks.

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Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida has provided more information about Vita Remote Play feature, which allows gamers to play PS3 games on the handheld. Currently Sony is customizing the memory and CPU use of the PS3 games that are played on this feature; they will also send a beta version to developers so they can test Remote Play on their current and old games. Even though this feature will not be available on launch day, Yoshida stated that players can try out one aspect of Remote Play to use Torne (a popular first party device that gives the PS3 digital video recorder capabilities), which will support Remote Play after a December update. Vita can also be used as a controller for the PS3; the screen can be used as a sub-monitor. Sony is looking for a way for developers to use Vita's touch screen for their PS3 games as well.

In another news, Sony is considering PSP save handovers for Vita. This would be useful especially if you have a huge save file on your PSP and want to play your PSP game on Vita without starting over. However, Game Archive and Flash support will be not be available at launch.

Speaking of save files, there are two options: you can use either the game card's internal save space or external memory card. While most use the former, a few games (e.g. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Disgaea 3 Return, etc.) need to have an external memory card to save. Unfortunately, the memory cards can be quite expensive.

After it was announced that AT&T will handle the 3G service for Vita, the phone company has revealed that there will be a 20 MB file size download restriction for this service, which means that you can only download files that are 20 MB or less at a time. You can check your 3G usage on the app, "Network Operator."

Last and not least, the release date has been announced for N. America and Europe. Both version of Vita will be out on February 22, 2012.

However, there will be a "First Edition" bundle available at launch in North America as well; this bundle will be available a week early. The US Bundle (Wi-Fi and 3G) and Canada Bundle (Wi-Fi only) will have a 4GB memory card, a limited edition case, and a Little Deviants game. The former will cost $350 while the latter will be $300.

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A Sony patent revealed that they're considering making biometric devices, which is similar to Wii Vitality Sensor. One of them can be used as a controller (Dualshock3 controller and a Move-style wand) for the PS3 while the other is a handheld which looks like Vita. By simply holding these devices, they will measure galvanic skin resistance (skin moisture), electrocardio data (heart rhythm), and electro-muscular data (muscle movement) to determine stress level.

Sony has these ideas on how to implement these devices:

• Weapons that change depending on how stressed you are. An increase in stress level could make a weapon more accurate or less steady, which will make it difficult to target an enemy. Sony specifically mentions a sniper situation where the weapon becomes more steady if you’re relaxed.
  
  
• Tensing up your muscles to withstand an attack or charge up a shield.
  
  
• A video game character whose facial expressions, movements, posture, and even voice changes depending on your biometric data. For example, this character will sweat when a player is nervous.
  
  
• An adrenaline style boost which will let you run faster, jump higher, and punch harder when stressed.
  
  
• A health bar that depletes more rapidly if you have a high stress level.
  
  
• An attack button that changes a character’s move depending if the player is stressed or relaxed.
  
  
• Background music and scenery that changes depending on your stress level. Matching music is one example, but Sony also proposes to change music to make a player more relaxed. Brightness of objects and the zoom level, representing a higher level of focus, are two ideas for scenery.
  
  
• A game that adapts difficulty levels depending on a players stress level.

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Nintendo has a new color for its latest handheld. The Ice White version will be available in Japan on November 3rd.



In other news, the 3DS will also have a new program called "Nintendo Letterbox, which allows users to notes, photos, and sounds to their friends. Hulu Plus will be coming to the Wii and 3DS at the end of the year as well. No words on whether this service will also be on the Wii U.

The 3DS will have more firmware updates. One of them will allow game publishers upload purchasable DLCs for the 3DS. Nintendo will also implement a micro payment system so players can pay for these downloads. This system would allow player to pay to get DLCs and add-on content directly within a game. Iwata also stated that demos will be on their way and that publishers can put a limit on the number of trials. Another update will allow users to download multiple files at once though it is unknown if he means parallel downloads or having the ability to queue up downloads. Finally, Nintendo is planning to make eShop usable on PC and smartphone browsers.

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Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed that they will show the final form of their newest console at E3 next year. Wii U will be launched in the next fiscal year. Iwata also stated that they have learned their lesson from the 3DS launch and planned to ensure that the Wii U's launch will be successful. No price has been set yet for the console.

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Sony isn't the only company with a patent. Nintendo has recently filed a patent application, which revealed an accessory that would make the Wii remote into a touchpad. Here is how it works: when you touch the pad, an infrared LED will be activated. The amplified beams from the LED will bounce off the mirror, which will be used by the controller to find the position of the finger. If you don't touch the pad, the Wii remote will act like a regular controller.

If Nintendo does decide to release this device in public, the company plans to use it as an in-game drawing pad or to add a mouse pointer interface to a video game.

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Marvelous has announced a new Harvest Moon game. Harvest Moon: The Land of Origin will be available on the 3DS and will offer customization for the first time. Players can now design the main character and the character's home.

The game will be out in Japan next year.

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky will have an OVA, which will be included in the game LE bundle. Besides the OVA, the LE will contain an event pamphlet, film pieces (selected by Falcom), and a 16 page booklet.

It will be available on Nov. 25th in Japan.

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Level 5's PS3 game, Ni no Kuni: The Queen of White Sacred Ash, will have a name change for N. America and Europe. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, which will be published by Namco Bandai, will include a digital copy of the tome, Magic Master, that was included in the DS version of the game. Unfortunately, some of the pages are missing so you will need to explore the world in order to find them. If you find them, you can use powerful magic spells. Downloadable contents will also be available for the game. One of the DLCs is a monster called Komo Dragon, which is only unlockable with a PSN code and if you buy the Magic Master.

The PS3 game will be out in Japan on Nov. 17th and available worldwide next year.

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After some bloggers complained about the long loading time in Gravity Daze when they played it at E3, the game creator, Keiichiro Toyama, addressed the issue. He admitted that there was a long loading time for the E3 demo but it has been fixed. He also said that since the game is an open world, the loading time will be slow when you boot up the game but the developers are hoping to make the gameplay seamless after the start of play.

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Keiji Inafune has another game in development. This time, his company, Intercept, and Marvelous AQL are developing a 3DS action RPG, Kai-oh: King of Pirates (Sea King). Even though the game has a pirate theme and anthropomorphic animals, it was inspired by Romance of the Three Kingdoms stories. The official website has posted the story:



The game, which will be a trilogy, will have 300 characters; some will do well on their own while others will depend on groups to survive. The main character is a penguin, who is based off of Liu Bei and will have descendants. Inafune said that the game will touch upon the theme of friendship and betrayal. He also added that the characters in the game will be fighting for ambition, justice, and their lives. Besides making Kai-oh into a game trilogy, Inafune is interested in making other merchandise as well.

Kai-oh: King of Pirates will be out in Japan next year.

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Speaking of Marvelous, they're planning to create a second online handheld game (the first being Grand Knights History). DMFD (Dragon Marked for Death) will be on the Nintendo 3DS but the game is being developed by Inti Create (maker of Mega Man 9 and Mega Man Zero series) instead of Vanillaware. However, the game company stated that they are working on another project with the latter.

No date has been revealed so far.

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Square Enix will have a collaboration with Shueisha to develop a manga based on a robot-themed game. It will be published in the child-oriented Saikyou Jump, which will become a monthly magazine instead of a seasonal one. The manga will be illustrated by Teruaki Mizuno of Metallica Metalluca and Dinobout fame.

More information will be available when the issue comes out in December.

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Square Enix has another collaboration - this time it's Yahoo! Japan. They are working together to create a browser "MMO active time strategy" game called Monster x Dragon, which will be available to all users this winter. The players will play as mercenaries who control a variety of monsters in the aerial continent of Dragonia. The game's battle system will consist of the styles of trading card and realtime strategy games. In online battles, players will guide their monsters and collaborate with other players in order to win.

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While Kojima visited the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, he discussed about his development team's project, "Fox Engine". He hoped that the engine would allow designers to create stages without relying on programmers. He also added that Konami's US branch is interested in implementing the "Fox Engine" into USC's curriculum with hopes that the students will create future DLCs.

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At the Level-5 Vision 2011 press conference, the game company announced the latest updates on their upcoming games:



First, they will develop a PSP game for the anime, Gundam AGE. The game will span for three generations and you will be in control of different main characters (Flint and his descendants). There will be two components: field and battle. In Field mode, you can explore your surroundings and interact with other characters in order to progress through the mission-based story. The battle system has not been detailed but there will also be real-time battles. The game will be available next summer in Japan.



Level-5 has announced that the 3DS game, Time Travelers, will also be available for the PSP and Vita. The game, which will have full voice acting, takes place in the future. In 2013, a mysterious hole called "Lost Hole" appeared above Tokyo and an explosion occurred immediately afterward. 18 years later, Tokyo is a futuristic city and a building, "Space Elevator", is the power source for the city. Fushimi Hina, a rebellious television announcer, is investigating a terrorist known as Dokuro no Kaijin.

The game will be out next year.



Level 5 also announced their newest game, Guild 01. Instead of one game, 3DS game will have four; each will be developed by a different creator.

1. Kaiho Shojo is being developed by Suda51 (No More Heroes). It's a 3D shooting game where you control of a robot known as "Kaihoki" and battle demon beasts. Studio Bones will animate the scenes.
   
   
2. Rental Bukiya de Omasse is being made by the comedy group, America Zarigani's Yoshiyuki Hirai. You are a weapon shop owner and made weapons to sell to adventurers. Instead of the adventurers selecting what weapon to buy, you will be in charge of deciding for them. Your choices will affect how well they do in their adventures.
   
   
3. Air Porter is a simulation game created by Yoot Saito (Seaman). You're in charge at a airport and take care of the luggage. Do a great job and the airport will expand.
   
   
4. Crimson Shroud is a "darkness fantasy" action RPG developed by Yasumi Matsuno (Tactics Ogre). You play as a "Chaser", who is skilled at finding people. It will take 1,000 years in the past in a world without magic. The game will explain how magic appear in the world.

The game will be out next year.



The Little Battlers Boost is an expansion of the original game. It will have extra content such as additional ten characters including Troy, a LBX from the manga series. The developer also altered gameplay by adding a special attack function and an auto battle option.



Their crossover game, Professer Layton vs Ace Attorney, will have another feature. Phoenix Wright can cross examine witnesses to expose any inconsistencies in their testimonies.



Speaking of Professor Layton, their newest iOS game will feature his son, Alphendi! In Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, Alphendi is a a genius investigator who works in Scotland Yard, and rookie Lucy Creila is his partner. They worked in Scotland Yard's top investigation division known as the Mystery Room to solve mysteries.

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Hideo Kojima and Mages (formerly 5pb) are collaborating together to develop a game and an anime based off of said game. In his radio show, Hideradio, Kojima and Mages studio head, Chiyomaru Shikura, discussed more about their project. The anime and adventure game are being developed at the same time and Shikura hoped to release them worldwide. He will also produce the game's theme song. Kojima also mentioned that his partner has two requests but only revealed one of them - the main character has to be a second-year student.

The untitled game will be out next year.

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The rumor has been confirmed to be true - Ezio Auditore da Firenze (from Assassin's Creed II) will be the guest fighter for the latest Soul Caliber game. He will be available in both PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.



Namco Bandai also announced that the game will have a Collector's Edition. It will contain the game, the game’s soundtrack, a making of Soulcalibur V DVD, hardbound art book, artwork, a letter from the Project Soul staff, and special character creation items packed in a book. Dark Knight and Paladin armor will also be exclusive to the CE.

The game will arrive in N. America on Jan. 31st and on Feb. 3rd in Europe.

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Two new fighters have entered the Mayonaka Arena - Naoto Shirogane and Teddie (Kuma)! The former uses a gun and can perform melee attacks with the persona, Sukuna Hikona. Teddie, who is also hosting the fighting event, is described as a tricky fighter and his choice of weapon is his claws.



These two characters are not the only new ones to show up in the game. Rise Kujikawa will also be in the game; however, she won't be participating in the battles. Instead she will do the live commentary during the fights and interview the winner afterward. In "Navigator" mode, she can root for you and provide information about your opponent during PvP.

More information about the gameplay was also revealed. Players can do a rushing combo attack called Bokosuka Rush, in which they can perform a high damage finishing attack by pressing a button at a timely fashion. Bad status effects (e.g. poison, fear, etc.) will be in the game as well. Characters can cause status effects on their opponent. For example, Yosuke can cast Tentrafoo, which temporarily switches the left and right joystick inputs, while Naoto can use special bullets which prevent her opponents from summoning their Personas.

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In an interview with a Portuguese website, The Legend of Zelda series producer, Eiji Aonuma, revealed that a new Zelda game is being developed for the 3DS, and it won't be a sequel to the DS games. He also hinted that "having 3D will mean something" in the game.

Aonuma also added that he and Miyamoto discussed doing a remake of Majora's Mask, but they decided that the timing wasn't right since they just released Ocarina of Time remake. However, they're still considering it.

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Which upcoming games are you looking forward to?