Platinum Games Announces Four Game Deal

Platinum Games, previously Seeds and the masterminds behind Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Steel Battalion, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami have announced that they have a 4 game publishing deal with Sega, and have revealed 3 of them to us.

They are: Madworld, Bayonetta, Infinite Line, and one not-yet revealed game. Check em out with some screenshots after the jump.

Madworld on the Wii, full of "Irreverent humor and over-the-top violence."



Bayonetta on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 which the creator of Devil May Cry defines as "Magnificent over-the-top action taking place in stages that are a veritable theme park of exciting attractions.



The last one is Infinite Line on the DS "Gives players the ability to control, build, outfit and customize more than 150 spaceships. One of the most complex RPG titles developed for the DS to date."



All three of the games are scheduled for '09 releases, and the fourth will probably be announced soon(ish).

Is it just me or does the guy in the Madworld screen look like Hellboy?



-Undrallio

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Condemned 2: Bloodshot Demo on XBL

Today Sega announced it will be be releasing a playable demo of Condemned 2: Bloodshot on Xbox Live tomorrow at 2am. The demo is pretty much the same as the PSN version, dropping the player in the middle of the first level, where they must battle their way through the back alleys of a city that has gone insane.





-Ryizzel

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Iron Man Demo Tomorrow For 360, PS3? Soon...ish

A week or two ago I was watching some of the gameplay footage from the Iron Man game that's coming to the 360 and PS3 with ryizzel and we agreed on one thought. Looks 'effing fun, but how long would the initial awesome-factor last?

Well, tomorrow 360 users will be able to find out just how good (if at all) the game is, while hermits of the Playstation Network will have to wait an undetermined time, all we know is it's coming soon. Let's hope for the best, Iron Man deserves it.





-Undrallio

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Sega and Obsidian's RPG Love-Baby

A "modern day espionage RPG" is what it's being described as by Sega whom, together with Obsidian (parent of Neverwinter Nights) are bringing us Alpha Protocol for the 360, Ps3, and the PC.

Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian says “Alpha Protocol blends Obsidian’s knack for intricate stories, engrossing characters, and significant character advancement with fast-paced modern combat."

The press release tells us the following.

"Loyalty carries a price and no one knows this more than agent Michael Thorton. A talented young agent cast out by his government, Thorton is the only one with the information needed to stop an impending international catastrophe. To do so means he must cut himself off from the very people he is sworn to protect. As players determine how to accomplish different objectives, the decisions made and actions taken in each mission will ultimately transform the type of secret agent Michael Thorton will become. Every choice the player makes as Michael Thorton will carry consequences for his future and the fate of the world."

Alpha Protocol is said to have a third-person real time gameplay much like Mass Effect, and should be coming to us by Spring of '09. Hopefully with more information and screens as well.




-Undrallio

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New Condemned Screenshots

After what seemed like an eternity Condemned 2:bloodshot will finally be hitting store shelves next week, on Tuesday. The first game was pretty fun, beating hobos with lead pipes, taking blood samples and dusting for finger prints CSI style made the first Condemned an unique experience. I really hope it lives up to my expectations.

New Condemned screenshots after the break.










-Ryizzel

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Retro Review: Sub Terrania

Holy cow B&W'ers! Can you believe it? I've actually done another Retro Review! This time I sat down with my good old Sega Genesis and popped in Sub Terrania from Zyrinx.

How should I describe Sub Terrania? Well, the back of the game's box says this;

"Aliens have invaded a vital subterranean mining colony. Fly a prototype fighter through impossible caverns to rescue miners and blast the aliens into the darkest pits of space."

That pretty much covers the basics, but let's dig deeper and elaborate after the break.

Sub Terrania is chopped up into missions revolving around the basic idea that the aliens are mad at you and the humans wanna be rescued. At the beginning of each mission there's a mission briefing telling you about all of your objectives which usually involve you solving some puzzle that opens up an area for you to acquire a certain pick-up or to save a couple humans by landing your ship next to them and allowing them to board the ship.



The controls are pretty easy to pick up on, but touchy at times. You have a forward thrust by pressing the B button and you control your direction with the left, right, and up directional buttons. The down directional button uses a reverse thrust. The whole movement of the ship is very well done, yet something about it feels off, for instance the controls are perfect for zooming across the map, but far too sensitive for the battling part of the game.

The A button changes your weapons which there's a couple that I found, mainly missiles with a limited use and an infinite machine gun styled attack. After you have the weapon you want to use selected the C button will fire it and cause imminent destruction to those whom oppose you.

Everything in Sub Terrania looks great, smooth, crisp and clean. There's not much too bad to say about the graphics, except maybe a little nit pick about the humans. All they do is run around on the ground as itty bitty shadows that don't have any distinguishable features about them. That was about all that bothered me about the style of the game.



As for enemies go, during my playtime I saw that there were definitely enough enemies to keep the fighting interesting and varied, and plenty of hidden areas with extra lives and pick-ups to make sure the levels aren't just getting from point A to point B.

The music, which is done by Jesper Kyd the award winning composer for IO Interactive's Hitman series, fits the game well and sounds pretty good with an impressive range of sounds. However, the music gets boring and repetitive quickly and is easily blocked out and forgotten.

In the end Sub Terrania is fun, yet forgettable. If you find yourself in a situation where you either have a chance to try it out, or pick it up for a couple bucks at a flea market; I say go for it. It's definitely worth your time at least once.

Sound: 6/10
Graphics: 7/10
Controls: 7/10
Fun Factor: 7/10
Replay Ability: 5/10

Overall Score: 7/10




-Undrallio

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Valkyria Chronicles, Arr Pee Gee On the Pee Ess Three

Sega has announced a Ps3 exclusive RPG, Valkyria Chronicles, that will be invading your homes by the end of 2008. The project's head developer will be the devs from Skies of Arcadia, Shuntaro Tanaka.

The game will be set in a futuristic Europe based in the 1930's. Which will surely cause gleeful confusion from us RPG lovers.

For more information on what's known from the game read the article from Sega themselves below.

SEGA's Valkyria ChroniclesTM Journeys To The West

Visually Stunning Role-Playing Game Heads to the PLAYSTATION® 3

LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO (February 25, 2007) - SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that Valkyria Chronicles™ a fresh new take on the traditional role-playing genre, is coming exclusively to the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system. Soon to be released as Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles in Japan, where it has already gathered the interest of legions of gamers, Valkyria Chronicles combines strategy elements of tactical role-playing games with real-time action sequences. All of this is played out in an innovative and beautiful visual style.

Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s Europe - divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation's 7th Platoon as they engage in a series of epic battles.

Built upon the new "CANVAS" engine, developed internally by SEGA Game Studios Japan, Valkyria Chronicles' stunning 3D graphics resemble a watercolor painting in motion, taking full advantage of the processing capabilities of the PLAYSTATION® 3. The power of the PLAYSTATION® 3 also allows the development team to exploit the full potential of this new engine, giving players many different stunning environments to explore. A new type of tactical battle mechanic has been specifically designed for Valkyria Chronicles. Known as "BLiTZ," this gives players freedom to strategically move around the environment and attack enemies using real-time controls, something never before seen in the tactical role-playing game genre. The new "CANVAS" engine technology, the "BLiTZ" battle concept and an epic storyline offers players hours of exciting gameplay.

"Valkyria Chronicles has been enthusiastically requested by European fans" said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe ltd. "The unique graphics and compelling gameplay are just two reasons why we're delighted to bring it to them."

Valkyria Chronicles will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in Autumn 2008.

-Undrallio

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Sega Master System Coming To Virtual Console

Sega Master System (1986)

The Wii's Virtual Console will be getting a few new additions from a buried treasure of a console, the Sega Master System. The Sega Master System is scheduled to be arriving on the Virtual Console's listing sometime in February starting with Sega's Fantasy Zone and Fist of the North Star (Which is also known as Black Belt).

Sega's Fantasy Zone

From Wikipedia:

Fantasy Zone is a surreal arcade game created by Sega in 1986. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Sega Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights nonsensical enemies in settings atypical of the traditional scrolling-shooter, thus it is considered a cute-em up.

In the game, the player's ship is placed in a level with a number of bases to destroy. When all the bases are gone, the stage boss appears; when the boss is defeated, the player moves on to the next level. There are two buttons: shoot and bomb; the normal shot is generally useful though weak, while bombs are powerful though of narrow use. One major difference between this and many other shooters is that the player can turn around and fly the other way; the screen will scroll along with the player. There is also a shop that occasionally can be accessed. The player can buy items and weapons from it using coins from defeated enemies.

Fist of the North Star/Black Belt

From MobyGames:

In this game, you play Riki. Kyoko, your beautiful Japanese girlfriend, has been kidnapped, and in order to rescue her, you must get through a tireless army of enemies. These enemies come equipped with weapons that include whips, knives, swords, and flamethrowers, but Riki has to make do with his well-trained martial arts body.

Black Belt is a side-scrolling game that is split into seven chapters. During these chapters, you are fighting Chinese Kung Fu men, wrestlers, jujitsu men, eagles, ninjas, and black women. When you get halfway through the chapter, you will fight a different enemy than one that you encounter before. At the end of each chapter, you have to defeat several bosses before continuing on to the next round. Each type of these has their own personal strengths and weaknesses.

-Undrallio


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Hobo Killin Time

Today Sega announced that Condemned 2 is set to ship March 11. If beating Hobos with lead pipes, 2x4s and whatever else you could get your hands on didn't satisfy you the first time around, Sega has Announced several multiplayer modes.Besides the traditional Death match and Team Death match modes, Condemned 2 boasts two unique modes, Bum rush (a gameplay mode where players must Survive an onslaught of enemies) and Crime Scene (One team of players must use their analytical skills to gather clues while the opposing team stops them). Multiplayer will be available for PSN and XBL and support up to 8 player matches.

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...Lol whud?

The end of the world is coming and Sonic is the harbinger of doom!


Bioware, creator of RPGs such as Mass Effect and Jade Empire have teamed up with Sega to make a sonic RPG. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, is scheduled to be released on the DS sometime in 2008. The game will feature 11 playable characters and all the things you've come to expect from past Sonic games, such as chaos emeralds, golden rings, annoying flying sidekicks, and portly villains with a fetish for putting small animals into robots.



Does anyone remember the good old days? Y'know, when sonic games were about running really fast through 2-D levels, trying to get away from that loser tails.

...Yea...those were the days...

-ryizzel

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