The next Yakuza game that North America will get is Yakuza: Dead Souls for PS3, a review of which can be read here.

The Japanese PlayStation Network store has recently been updated to include a rather detailed demo of Black Panther 2. Players can explore a decent-sized portion Osaka (a departure from the Tokyo setting Yakuza games have usually been set in), check out a hostess bar, sample the fighting system, see the story’s introductory moments, and even fight the first boss.

Incredibly few websites have a review of the first Black Panther game, but you just happen to be reading one of them right now, so here you go.

[Via]

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Extremely rare for a major retail release on a handheld is any sort of multiplayer that only requires one system and one copy of the game. In a two-player mode, two people will view the court from a top-down perspective and use the touch screen to direct their shots. If need be, they can each use their nearest analog stick to move. It’s not very deep or detailed, but when you’ve got two gamers and one Vita, it’s not a bad thing to have around. Definitely not the highlight of the game, but it’s a simple, accessible, fun addition. Already having a game that could be called “good enough” on its hands, Sega could have shipped this out the door without this mode and been fine, but going the extra mile with this little addition it indicative of a company really caring about its product and wanting to give its customers the best experience possible. Tennis.

In addition to the two-player touch matches, some new minigames have been added to the Vita version. These include one that allows players to rotate their Vitas one way or the other, which will rock a pirate ship the players are trying to smack the targets off of. In another mode, players can play matches from a first-person perspective and move their Vita for a full 360-degree view of the arena. It’s a great tech demo, if nothing else.

Multiple control methods — one using the Vita’s touch screen and the other using the analog sticks — allow the player to use whichever feels most natural. Within the button-mapped side of things, four varied schemes are available. You can even have your cake and eat it too by using a hybrid system that uses one stick and some touch controls. This fully serves the needs and preferences of virtually everyone that could possibly play the game; the amount of consideration that went into this is worthy of applause. Touch controls work decently for placing shots, but feel a little bit off when it comes to moving the athlete around the court. This becomes especially obvious in some mini games, particularly Egg Collector, the nature of which requires the player to frantically run around the court in rather unorthodox paths. No matter how much I tried to use the touch screen, I kept subconsciously drifting back to the buttons, except of course in the two-player mode. Of tennis.

Virtua Tennis 4 looks surprisingly good, especially considering the fact that it’s a launch title. Sports games have a way of looking better and better as a generation rolls on, and if that turns out to be the case with Vita, then look out. VT4 looks like a video game, don’t get me wrong, but the realism shown surpasses expectations, especially for a portable. Better yet, there’s no framerate drop when the action gets intense. Tennis action. Intense. (I know.)

What’s important to note is that, despite being more of an arcade game than a simulation, it might not make casual players care about tennis. There will be exceptions of course, but I expect more often than not, if you don’t already like tennis, this won’t be the game that converts you. People who don’t like traditional racing games can still tend to enjoy games like ModNation Racers, and I have personal experience deploring golf while loving the heck out of Hot Shots Golf for Vita, but Virtua Tennis 4 seems less likely to be a missionary for its genre, though it’s packed with undeniable positives. Of tennis.

World Tour Mode is for more serious players, and its previous linearity has been broken up a little bit on Vita. Going to incredible depth, players stick their own face on a character, then take him/her all over the world improving skills, training, and all around moving up the ladder of world domination. Of tennis. It’s rewarding to take someone from the lowly scraps of tennis hell, rise up and be like “I am going to tennis the shit out of someone today,” and then do it. Player creation begins with snapping a picture with the Vita’s front camera. I didn’t realize my backwards hat would end up looking like a black eye, but oh well.

The real fun of World Tour Mode goes beyond the tennis and into the careful management of time and resources. The learning curve stays steady, gradually introducing new types of training and branching pathways, leading to many critical moments of decision. Tennis decisions. Do a good enough job beating the scrubs and getting your character into top shape, and your virtual alter-ego can take on the world’s real champions, such as cover models Nadal and Federer.

Those looking for less of a commitment can get into the token Arcade Mode, jump online for some network battles, or get into some ad-hoc fun with up to three other local players. Of tennis.

While what’s here is all done well, there is something of a lack of depth. World Tour Mode is five seasons long, but I don’t see this as something I want to go through over and over again. The game includes all the minigames and Arcade Mode fun of its console counterpart, but those that own that version are seeing nothing new here. Even gamers coming in fresh might not find mountains of playtime with those modes; the minigames in particular could have benefited from multiplayer modes. Playing them against the CPU is fun, but the buzz dies down quickly, as it tends to do with most things “mini.” This isn’t to say anything is necessarily bad about the game, but just that it’s not going to set the world afire.

Ever the more lighthearted tennis game than its competitors, the arcade feel of Virtua Tennis 4 is a welcome addition to the Vita lineup. It handles well, looks nice and has a style that lends itself very well to portability. Of tennis.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score + World Tour Mode and the bundle of minigames are better suited for a portable than consoles. +/- Vita additions may appear tacked-on, but they’re exactly the kind of teach demos fans would be wondering about if they’d not been included (just don’t expect to still be wowed by them come this time next year).

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Back in 2010, Sega released a Mario Kart clone called Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Some loved it, since it came really close in recreating the fun gameplay from the Nintendo take on kart racing, while others called it an unoriginal clone that only offered different character skins and nothing else. The criticism is apparently not stopping Sega to release a sequel for this holiday season though.

Kotaku reports that today at the New York Toy Fair, toys associated with the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing game were spotted at Sega’s booth. An attendant has reportedly confirmed plans to make another game in the series. Kotaku has no further information about the game other than new characters and vehicles will be added before its holiday 2012 release window.

With ModNation Racers out in the market and LittleBigPlanet Karting on the horizon, kart racing genre is starting to feel overcrowded. Do you feel the same way? Let us know in the comment below.

© magpie4life for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Sega also described the girl in the green and white outfit, whose name is Elumina. Her combat specialty is comparable to that of bards and support characters from other RPGs, as she sings “Force Songs” that affect all allies.

Shining Blade is a follow-up to Shining Hearts, a 2010 RPG, also for PSP, that never made it outside of Japan. While the game uses the engine from the Valkyria Chronicles trilogy, it’s not a tactical RPG. Screens and videos have shown the lead character exploring a town and visiting shops on foot, which were done via menu interfaces in all three Valkyria games.

It’s unlikely that this game will come stateside, but with the PSP being perfectly region-free, you might consider an import.

© Knifefight for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us

The 16-second clip below begins with Nagoshi making his declaration that “I want all men living in the now to play this game.”(In Japanese: このゲームを、生きる男達に、是非、遊んで欲しい。 Romanized: kono geemu-o, Ima-o ikiru otokotachi ni, zehi, asonde hoshii.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The game clips you saw were of the story sequences, which play out differently in the PSP spinoff Yakuza games than their PS3 counterparts due to the gap in hardware power. It worked well in the previous game and looks to do so in this sequel. From my demo experience at the Tokyo Game Show, Black Panther 2 also addresses the wonky camera issues that occasionally made navigation bothersome. Add in the fact that it’s in Osaka instead of yet another trip through Tokyo and I’m certainly looking forward to this one’s March 22 release.

Like the game before it, however, this has not been announced for localization in North America.

© Knifefight for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us

SEGA! Nothing beats hearing the muffled noise of a choir of people singing its name to you when you boot up a game. Despite the company’s withdrawal from the console market over a decade ago, their few years of excellence resonated into the hearts of many younger gamers, with some even wanting the company to jump back into the market. While that might not happen, SEGA still develop games, and now they’re planning what could be an epic revival.

Sega of America is currently hiring an executive producer for a special game in development. That might not sound exciting, but wait until you hear what it is. Below is the description of what the new executive producer will help manage:

a high quality product based on a reimagining of one of Sega’s most beloved IP’s

There were plenty of beloved games that spanned SEGA’s 10 or so years in the console market. A few games in particular come to mind, such as:

• Streets of Rage
• Echo the Dolphin
• Bonanza Bros.
• Shenmue
• Altered Beasts
• Jet Set Radio
• Shining Force

Whatever it is, they’re asking for a high level of experience from who they hire, and a few of the above games would make a huge splash in today’s market of powerful hardware and online capabilities. Shenmue is one of the most requested games of today, but with the losses suffered by SEGA from the series, it’s unlikely. Bonanza Bros. and Streets of Rage could be excellent co-op games, and the successful advent of Rayman: Origins could have inspired SEGA.

What would you like SEGA’s upcoming game to be? Share your response in the comments below.

© jleack for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us

This is a strong week for PlayStation 3 owners out there, as EA is bringing the Battlefield to you, Sega hopes to scare you to death with an on-rails shooter, Disney hopes you like all things cute, all while Atlus takes everyone on a Crusade. Go ahead and grab your DualShock 3, then break open your penny jar – here are the PS3 and PSP releases for this week.

PS3

• Battlefield 3
• Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
• Disney Universe
• House of the Dead: Overkill
• The Cursed Crusade

PSP

• Invizimals: Shadow Zone
  

Battlefield 3 may be the monster release of the week, but don’t brush off the rest of that list just yet. House of the Dead: Overkill should bring that arcade feeling into your home, and Disney Universe looks like something worth playing with the wife or kids.  Let us know in the comments below what you plan to pick up and why.

To keep watch on future releases, be sure to bookmark our Release Dates page and check back often.

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Sega is bringing The House of the Dead: Overkill to the PS3 just in time for Halloween, and they want to show you how fun the carnival can be with your newest, most morbid friends.

The House of the Dead: Overkill is getting a fresh coat of paint with an HD update and Move controls, and is getting ready to release at the end of the month. Overkill is the fifth game in the long running series that started as an arcade light gun game back in 1997, and continues the series tradition with on the rails shooting against hordes of undead zombies and monstrous creatures. In anticipation of the upcoming release next week Headstrong Games has released a new trailer, inviting us to join the fun at the Carnival of Fun… dead.

The formula hasn’t changed much for The House of the Dead since 1997, but somehow these on the rail shooters remain fun to play with motion controls, and so Overkill should make a nice addition to the PS3 line up of Move enabled games. Besides the new visuals, Overkill is supposed to come with new levels and other extra features as well. The House of the Dead: Overkill is currently slated to release on October 25th in North America, and October 28th in Europe. The zombies never seem to stop coming, in games or in real life, so I hope you’ve got that shotgun ready for carnage.

© BigWoopMagazine for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

Fans of the Valkyria Chronicles series–if there are any fans after Sega shafted the million or so buyers of the first game on PS3 by bringing out the two sequels on PSP–shouldn’t hold their breath for VC3 in North America and Europe, because you will die. You read that right, Sega has announced that it will not be releasing Valkyria Chronicles III to western audiences, making import the only option.

Speaking to Gamespot, Sega team manager of console sales, Hiroshi Seno confirmed that low sales of Valkyria Chronicles II and the PSPs lack of popularity out West are the reason for this decision. This is no surprise as the PSP has never fully hit its stride in America, but it does leave you to wonder just how good the 2nd game might have done on the PlayStation 3, especially after the reception the first title received.

Seno was also asked if the third game would be made downloadable for the Vita, to which he replied that the next time Sega met with Sony, they would make that decision.

Are you surprised by this move, and are you planning on importing?

[Source]

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Yakuza: Dead Souls (called Ryu Ga Gotoku: Of the End in Japan) will feature four playable characters, with Shun Akiyama up first. It’s not clear if this is going to work like Suikoden III where you could switch among the multiple characters at intervals, if you wanted to, or if their separate sagas must be played in a set order. Akiyama is keeping it real in Tokyo when he is suddenly required to accompany a fat chick named Flower. The subtle joke the game is trying to make is that fat people are constantly funny or annoying and need not be taken seriously. Oh, Japan! You so tolerant!

We later see this guy breaking into the HQ of some well-armed and well-dressed men. Non-spoiler: he’s a zombie. Non-spoiler: a lot of people are about to get killed. Upon arrival in the conference room, our unnamed villain is met with a barrage. I expected the bullets to kill the zombie and then see the end credits roll, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. Undead wrong. Ooohhh. Despite taking bullets all over his body and even one square in the forehead, the zombie doesn’t fall. Meanwhile, Akiyama and his chubby friend are going about their business when they notice a lot of flashes and hear the unmistakable sound of gunshots. A man gets hurled from the window of a building’s second or third floor and faceplants into the pavement not too far in front of them.

“Heh,” Akiyama jokes, trying to calm down his companion. “Looks like someone didn’t pay his bills. A graduate of the Kazuma Kiryu School of Ass Kicking, he’s seen this type of thing before. When the once-down man — a zombie now — gets up and starts eating people, everyone takes note that something is not normal. For whatever reason, a group of ten men emptying clips into zombies doesn’t phase them…but when Akiyama obtains one of their same guns and he fires it, they die. I suppose we just have to shrug and say, “It’s a video game.” We need to make a few allowances, I suppose.

As the game has gone on, it’s become clear that there is far less RPG and far more shooter in this game than previous entries. There’s usually been some way to go level grind if you really wanted to, but while this game still has experience points, levels, and customizable skills, I haven’t found a point where one can really go grind anything up. This is not a statement of opinion on the matter; it’s an observation. Another thing prospective players should be aware of is that so far, save points have been fairly uncommon. I did finally get a hideout though, so perhaps that ends after getting to this point.

Unlike previous Yakuza games which focused 90 per cent of their combat on the hand-to-hand aspect of things, fighting in this one is all about firearms. The cover has each character holding what will probably turn out to be a favorite gun of his. So far, Akiyama’s primary tool of death (“undeath?”) has been a 9mm handgun. Holding R2 brings up crosshairs, helping the player pull off head shots, which are one-hit kills despite the aforementioned inconsistency. When Akiyama’s heat gauge fills up, he can try “Heat Sniping,” which will trigger a Quick-Time Event zooming in on an item that, if shot, can cause some beautiful destruction. An early example of this is shooting the gas tank of a car, causing it to explode and take out the crew of zombies huddling around it probably talking about how they wish it had brains so that they could eat them and then listen to The Cure.

After meeting a comrade who runs a secret gun shop in what will surely become your weapon store of choice, then clearing a building with him in tow, Akiyama arrives in a relatively normal-looking part of the city, kept that way thanks to huge metal barriers that can be seen all over the place.

I’m about two hours in and have been having a good time with Yakuza: Dead Souls. It seems like, so far, this is a decently fun side story to the Yakuza series. You can find out my final verdict in the full review which will go up closer to, appropriately, Halloween.

© Knifefight for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | No comments | Add to del.icio.us

If you feel like you’ve been waiting forever to play a great Aliens game, you’re not alone, and the latest trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines shows how close we are to finally accomplishing that.

Over the years, more than 30 Aliens games have been released since the franchise’s conception, and yet I still struggle to name a single good and memorable one from the bunch. That’s not to say they’re all terrible, but the majority of the games have failed to capture the feeling of terror the movies are so well known for, which makes the following trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines that much sweeter. Gearbox Software has been hard at work for a long time (announced in 2008), and you can tell from Randy Pitchford’s narration during the demo that they’re treating the franchise with respect, and are excited to bring us this new chapter in the Aliens plotline.

If that didn’t get your blood pumping you’re probably already dead. That was the exact demo shown at E3 earlier this year, and if it looked that great, then it should be truly excellent when Aliens: Colonial Marines releases this upcoming Spring. The game will feature squad based play with local 2 player split-screen, an online 4 player cooperative mode, and a yet to be detailed competitive mode, so get some friends together for some alien hunting fun. Are you ready to fend off the impending doom of a xenomorph army?

© BigWoopMagazine for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | No comments | Add to del.icio.us

Sega has just announced that Yakuza: Of The End is going to travel to the west soon, and along the way change its name to Yakuza: Dead Souls.

No matter where you live in the world there’s no shortage of zombies to be seen in the media, and now the Yakuza series is going to inject some more walking dead into our already saturated veins. Sadly, we’re not so saturated in Yakuza games over here, so this should be extremely welcome news for fans of the franchise. Unfortunately, details are rather slim on exactly what content will make it into the North American version, but we do know there will be zombies in Tokyo, Yakuzas with guns and, of course, attractive hostess girls. There will also be mutants to fight in the mix, and a mini game called Pachislot. For those of you who would like to learn about the game visually, Sega has also provided this intense introductory video:

Besides the obvious action that lies within, Yakuza: Dead Souls will also include a deep and emotional storyline, keeping it within the trend set by predecessors. Unfortunately, this announcement is also well ahead of the release of the game, so you’ll have to wait until March 2012 when it comes out in both North America and Europe. Are you excited for more Yakuza, and a new angle on fighting the zombie apocalypse?

© BigWoopMagazine for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Growing up, one of my most favorite things to play with were my Hot Wheel cars. Those same cars would be lined up in military formation as my brother and I raced them into battle over and over again. Sega has now taken that same level of miniature excitement and put it into a PlayStation Network package, titled Renegade Ops. With the game being developed by Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, will the game pack the same level of punch as our imagination and pack of Hot Wheels?

Renegade Ops is a game that right off the bat does not take itself too seriously, putting you in the shoes of a rogue team called Maverick who is out to stop the oh-so insane Inferno, who – just like his name would suggest – likes to blow stuff up. You will then have to fight through nine highly detailed levels to stop this madman who is intent on creating as much chaos as possible.

Renegade Ops is a top-down vehicular shooter that has you driving one of four cars, each with their own ability and style of driving. Each car is given an amazing feeling of weight to them, allowing for players to spin out the back tires and fly around corners or do quick 180′s in no time flat. The game uses dual-joystick controls, with the left stick controlling your car and the right stick letting loose a barrage of bullets. These controls can take a bit of getting used to, especially the driving, but once you master them, you will be able to dart around the map, shooting everything in your path at high speeds. Through the game you can upgrade your car’s machine gun and pick up add-on weapons like the rail-gun or flame thrower, to go along with your car’s special ability, like one that has an EMP or another that can call in an airstrike. The upgrade points can be used in a three-pronged skill tree, with each car having one tree that is unique to them. These upgrades improve defense, secondary fire, and your special ability.

In each mission of the game, you have primary objectives like taking out incoming tanks, and secondary goals, like supplying guns to the locals. Complete each objective to gain points toward your score, with enemies killed also adding on points. Each of these 9 levels can also be played online with 3 other people or in a two-player split screen, with your level on a given car transferring over from the single player to the online. The game is a lot of fun solo but gets even better when you go online to play, especially when you jack the game up to hardcore difficulty, which is the only way to play it with friends as the game does not scale the difficulty with more people playing. The frame rate drops a bit when multiple people are playing as the action gets pretty intense, but it is never anything that hinders your enjoyment or the action. At one point, you can also hop in helicopters to take the fight sky-high, with the copters controlling extremely well.

Avalanche Studios did a great job in making this world look good, with everything from the water to the towns looking incredibly detailed and crisp. Explosions really pop on the screen and, when the action gets heavy, it is like a burst of fireworks on the screen. You will even notice blur effects around the ground as your car races around dirt roads or as the sun beats down on a desert road. The story is told through comic style cut scenes which look pretty good – but be warned if you have kids in the room, make sure they put on their ear muffs, as the language can turn a bit nasty. The voice acting in the game is well done, with the terrorist Inferno sounding exactly like the maniac he is portrayed as. The biggest issue found in Renegade Ops is with replay-ability, as the campaign can be completed in a few hours and you can go online, but you are playing the same exact missions with almost no difficulty hike from the solo campaign.

Renegade Ops is a fast-paced, non-stop downloadable title, that makes sure to leave everything it has on the table. Fantastic environments, explosions, and weapons make for an experience that is fun to play solo but better with friends. However, the game is around 3-4 hours to complete and the online is the same maps from the single player that can become way too easy as the game doesn’t jack up the difficulty for the amount of players that are taking part. For $15, or $12 if you have a PlayStation Plus account, this is a fun game that should afford you a weekend of enjoyment, but for the price could have provided a bit more longevity.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score + Detail Crazy Environments Give Life to Levels + Fast Paced Action and High End Explosions Provide Tons of Fun - Lack of Difficulty Hike for Online Multiplayer Makes it Too Easy

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© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

Having had tremendous success in Japan and even a spot of praise and profit from across the sea, the Yakuza series went from consoles to handheld with Kurohyou: Ryu Ga Gotoku Shin Shou (Black Panther: Yakuza New Chapter) for PlayStation Portable.

Rather than focusing on Kazuma Kiryu, Black Panther: Yakuza New Chapter tells the story of Tatsuya Ukyou. It’s a stark contrast from what we’re used to; Kiryu is a Certified Public Badass (CPB) who refuses to take crap from anyone and has the connections, money, smarts, and fighting skills to threaten all challengers, whereas Tatsuya is only 18 and pretty much without an ally in the world. Our boy is a hothead, seemingly always looking for a fight. He didn’t come from the best upbringing and before the game gets into full swing, players will learn that his temper and violent antics got him expelled from his high school and subsequently sent to juvenile hall. These did little reform Tatsuya’s attitude, and he’s been getting a bit of a reputation in Kamurocho.

In the first minutes of the game, Tatsuya bites off more than he can chew by messing with the wrong people. I guess he didn’t learn anything from the film The Departed when it taught us something of organized crime: “there are guys you can hit, and there’s guys you can’t.”

Being physically tough doesn’t make one kid who barely started shaving into a match for the type of mob bosses he pisses off, and Tatsuya is therefore at their mercy (though you wouldn’t guess it by the rough tone he still uses when talking to them). The players’ adventure will be one of watching Tatsuya go about his days in Kamurocho while being made to cage fight in the underground MMA matches run by powerful yakuza.

Fighting in Kurohyou is a pleasure. The same basic system is in place that most Yakuza games have used, but the player gets to customize Tatsuya’s fighting style a lot more than they could in previous games. After every fight, Tatsuya earns general EXP and style points, which can be used to level up certain fighting styles such as boxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, muay thai, and so on. Some are much more useful than others against certain opponents, but the possibility exists for a player to make Tatsuya into a wrecking ball with one or two styles heavily preferred over others. Think like something of a Royce Gracie back in the 90′s, how he had virtually no kickboxing skills to threaten anyone, but if he got a hold of someone, the fight was basically over. Likewise, one can meld Tatsuya to be a well-rounded fighter or sacrifice a few points in one area to really excel in another — a grappling artist with mediocre striking, or a one-punch-KO striker who has trouble on the ground. Whatever path is chosen, it’s pretty darn fun to think about how to go about it, then develop Tatsuya accordingly. As always, the heat actions are fun to watch.

At first I was thrown by how much the street fights can vary in difficulty, but upon reconsideration, I have to give a nod to realism. I mean really, some punks on any given street might very well be weaklings that take 10 seconds to dismantle, whereas others can in reality be unexpectedly dangerous. The expected end of things, however, has the cage fights being considerably harder than the street thugs; think of them as boss battles. Makes sense for trained semi-pro fighters to be harder challenges that random troublemakers, right? So while games are by no means expected to be realistic in every single aspect, Kurohyou scores a nice point there.

Mario taught us that genius can come from having to modify a game to bring it down to the specs of its medium or hardware. Being a PSP installment of a series that had previously been on PS2 and PS3, definite cuts had to be made, and an area where Black Panther sees great success in this is the story segments. Unable to pack in CG segments to rival PS3, Sega went with some hand-drawn scenes. Largely still frames will see movement as if on strings, a lot of scenes looking like a comic book came to life. These are not to be confused with a fully animated sequence, but rather, we’ll see something like a still picture of a big dude, then a cut to Tatsuya, then a cut back to the big guy with a stunned expression and Tatsuya’s fist under his chin. Nothing about the drawings themselves will change, but we’ll see his head moving slowly upwards, obviously powered by our hero’s uppercut. Or perhaps in an alternate scene, we’ll see a madman laughing maniacally, his arms outstretched; nothing will change, but his arms will be kinda moving up and down like someone made a cardboard cutout with moveable arms. It’s clearly lower tech and not for everyone, but the type of art within the scenes is something the series hasn’t used before, and more importantly, it’s done well. It tells the story admirably and looks good doing so.

A more difficult challenge in hardware inferiority was posed by the camera, however. Kamurocho is not only much smaller this time around, the camera angles are entirely fixed. Unchanging camera angles are fine, but the problem arises in the inconsistency. First, we’ll see Tatsuya running, for example, from right to left. Then two seconds later, the camera changes to an overhead shot, meaning the player needs to be moving the analog stick up instead of left. A mere three or four seconds later, it happens again, as the camera moves to an isometric shot in which the player must move Tatsuya down and to the right. The areas are incredibly small, meaning camera changes are frequent; since they happen instantly and can require the player to move in the complete opposite direction, this can be quite jarring, especially during chase scenes. Running from the police can be tough, not because of a tricky obstacle course, but because the player is battling the on-screen enemies while the camera proves to be an extra opponent. Accidental backtracking will happen quite a bit, which proves frustrating enough during regular navigation, but especially so when the current story task requires Tatsuya to evade pursuers.

Black Panther is aptly named, because its visuals are quite dark. As a side story or “new chapter” with a focus shifted toward the underworld whose existence most people don’t like to acknowledge, the color palette isn’t just well chosen, it’s symbolic of the game’s theme.

When walking about it in Tokyo’s fictional district of Kamurocho, the popular focal point of this series, it’s constantly night time. Again, “Black” Panther symbolism keeps piling up. The city is lit by street lamps and neon lights which look OK from a distance, but from mid-to-close range, they look way too fuzzy. You have to make some cuts to work around technological limitations, and doing this craftily is one thing that made the first Mario games so great, but when the cuts start to have obvious drawbacks like this, it’s time to rethink a few things. At least in the areas that matter most — combat and storytelling — the visuals do the job.

Kamurocho isn’t nearly as fun to explore in Black Panther as it has been in the past, but it largely makes up for that loss by featuring some of the most fun combat in the series and bringing a unique storytelling method to the table. The smaller medium may not allow for quite the depth PS3 gamers are used to, but as a portable not being unfairly yet inevitably compared to the most powerful console on the market today, it offers a fine amount of fun, and the classic Yakuza minigames are great for gaming on the go. Japanese comprehension is sadly a requirement for anyone wanting to know what’s going on in the story or how to do anything in the interface, so importers take note, as Sega has shown no interest in bringing this title outside of Japan.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score + The most fun to be had in Yakuza fighting systems + Pacing done just perfectly for a portable. - Jarring camera changes every three seconds when in the streets +/- Visuals so great in battle, story, and minigames yet so blurry during exploration

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© Knifefight for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Binary Domain has been a game on my radar ever since its announcement trailer, so at PAX this year I headed over to the Sega booth and got hands-on time with the upcoming robot shooter. The game takes place in 2080 Tokyo, where robots are everywhere and a group of them are now rebelling, causing all kinds of havoc between the top and bottom sections of Tokyo.

Immediately after picking up the controller, I was reminded of Vanquish in how it controlled and looked. That is not to say this is a fast paced game, because it’s not, but the way my character handled was somewhat like Vanquish. Before I started my mission, I was given the option to pick my two squad mates from a group, each member of which had their own skill sets and perks. For my mission I picked a girl with a sniper rifle and an in your face style guy. Who you select really makes a difference as you gain or lose trust with your comrades. The higher your trust with that character, the better they will fight, making it essential to work well with your teammates.

In fact, Binary Domain really pushes you to make nice with your squad and work together with them through their consequence system. In this system, for example, if you continue to die, your squad mates will get frustrated with you and at times will refuse to heal you. What this does is actually reward you for playing smart and not just running and gunning. The guy playing before me proved this when he died multiple times and was flat-out told by one of his squad mates “no” when he requested first aid. This system also affects your trust with characters through choices you make in the game. At one point in my demo, I acted with stealth and killed two guys, earning trust from one character but rubbing another the wrong way because he wanted me to go all out. During the game, you will also be given dialogue choices, where maybe a player says he will take lead and you can say “yes” or “no.” Your answer here will affect the trust with that character. With this system, I found myself really working hard to be a good leader, so that I could inspire confidence in my squad, which in turn made them bigger bad asses.

In Binary Domain, you’ll be fighting a ton of robots and just as you would expect, putting a few bullets into their bodies won’t kill them. Take out their legs and they will crawl after you, or take out an arm and they will just use the other. Most of these robots are fairly easy to dispatch as long as you use cover to your advantage, however if you stay out of cover too long, you will get smoked. I fought one boss in my demo, and this took some trial and error, but I was able to come out on top. The boss was a gigantic mech who I had to fire on from destroyed buildings and rooftops, while also fighting off smaller robots that flew down. At one point during the fight, I was able to shoot down an electric wire while the mech was standing in water, sending an electric shock his way and doing a lot of damage. The rest of the time I was taking aim at his various exposed wires and the top of his head from roofs, until I finally took him down with my very last pistol bullet.

Weapons in the game are pretty much your standard setup except that each one has a special alternate fire that uses power ups found on the ground. For instance, my assault rifle had the ability to charge up and send a shock wave at enemies, which threw them backwards and dealt a good bit of damage. Other than this, it was pretty much straight forward with assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers. Even then, all the guns felt good and packed a lot of punch, though the sniper rifle had a weird habit of targeting the closet enemy automatically when you first zoomed in, making it extremely frustrating when trying to pick off other snipers while ground troops were charging.

The game looked good with environments doing a good job of showing the destruction that comes with any war. The story from what I was told would have a few really good twists, including someone maybe being a robot and not knowing about it. Characters voices were solid and fit the character they were coming from, and in-game sounds like gunfire and heavy mechs moving around were well done.

Sega is doing things the right way to offer a unique shooter and squad experience to gamers everywhere. The way your team reacts to your decisions will add another layer of depth to the game, and bosses look like they will be a lot of fun to take down. Binary Domain is set to release February of next year, so until then make sure you check in with us for all the news on this game.

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | No comments | Add to del.icio.us