A little later the site updated with the three petri dishes showing coloured and patterned bacteria floating around.
Now however the site has updated with a panicked scientist, smashed petri dishes and a countdown to accompany the chaos.
We know that the game in question will be released on the Nintendo 3DS, but little else is known about the project. It appears that in seven days time though, we will know something – or at least more than we already know from the cryptic clues.
Thanks to some searching by AGB a couple of images have appeared showcasing the strains of ‘bacterium’ and their respective publishers, as well as a chart showing who they could potentially be character wise. If these images are anything to go by, it could well suggest that a crossover fighting game is on the cards for the Nintendo 3DS.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 On Operation Raccoon City?
It seems that some wily hackers from Betagames.org (via NeoGAF) have discovered some Star Wars Battlefront 3 files on the disc of Capcom’s latest Resident Evil title, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
As Operation Raccoon City is developed by Slant Six Games, who previously were rumoured to be working on Battlefront 3, the files and images seem logical – except for the fact it seems very strange that the files would have made their way onto the disc at all.
Take a look at the images for yourself in the gallery below (images are courtesy of Betagames.org).
Following his hospitalisation late last week, Street Fighter developer Yoshinori Ono has said he is taking a break from the series.
Ono was rushed away to hospital after his condition “rapidly and heavily deteriorated” whilst promoting the Asian launch of Street Fighter X Tekken.
Ono took to twitter to thank fans for their support and to ensure that work will still be going ahead on franchise titles – just without him at the helm.
“I caused you so much worry for a while,” he writes. “I went back to work. [The Street Fighter] team are working wholeheartedly on patches for SF X TK. Please wait just a little longer.
“I apologise for that. And thanks for a lot of get-well messages! I’ll refrain from work [on my] current job for a while. Another person [is] in charge of the SF series for a while. Of course I’ll [give] constant support to it.
“I’ll be out of the limelight [of] fighting game series for a while. I’ll think about the new future of fighting games after this.”
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Launch Trailer
Today Capcom released the launch trailer for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City to celebrate its US release and EU launch at the end of the week.
A collaboration between Capcom and Slant Six Games, Operation Raccoon City takes the Resident Evil series in a completely new direction – it turns it into a team based first-person shooter.
Taking up the role of an Umbrella Security Service operative attempting to destroy all evidence of the t-Virus outbreak, this story is focused upon seeing the events and consequences of the Resident Evil series through the eyes of the enemy. It also features eight player team battles across four online modes – as well as a ‘Nemesis Mode’ for xbox 360 owners who wish to purchase it from day one on the marketplace (320MSP).
Unsurprisingly Capcom will also be supporting Operation Raccoon City with DLC post release. At launch you can grab some new costumes for each member of the Umbrella squad, and arriving just after will be a US Spec Ops Mission for download on 10th April for free. This mission will let you see the game through the eyes of the good guys as they attempt to gather evidence on Umbrella’s involvement.
Street Fighter X Tekken Review
The ultimate matchup that has been years in the making and many fans hoping for in the years prior to the announcement is officially available. Two powerhouse franchises in fighting games, Street Fighter and Tekken, each with their own unique style and approach to the genre have locked fists for the first time. Does this mixture bode well and leave a possible franchise open for the future or is this one fight that we wish was cancelled?
Street Fighter X Tekken is essentially a brand new franchise that melds both worlds into a hybrid game that primarily caters to the Street Fighter fans but also allows accessibility to Tekken fans. The title offers a bevy of characters from both Tekken and Street Fighter along with some Playstation 3 exclusive characters. Street Fighter X Tekken also has a wide array of new gameplay aspects along with an overlaying story arc for the arcade mode. The first character you pick will be the primary story character which you will view the opening movie for as well as the ending sequence. The main idea is that Pandora’s Box has appeared and caused the greatest fighters from all over to unite with one another in search of the box for ultimate power and glory. In the end, Pandora is guarded by ‘Ogre’, an immense figure that is an opposing force and can be quite a pain in the butt if you are playing with a Street Fighter character as the primary or Akuma as the final if you are playing with a Tekken character. The Arcade mode can be played with up to four-player co-op on the Playstation 3 essentially like a real arcade which is pretty awesome.
Street Fighter X Tekken is one of the more intricate fighting games that we have come across with a lot to piece together. Some may say that makes it more cluttered than fun however if you are a hardcore fighting game fan you will appreciate it, but newcomers may be a tad bit lost at first. Returning are the normal special moves and normal moves that we have grown accustomed to over the years as well as EX moves, which use one block out of the three on the new Cross Gauage at the bottom of each side’s screen. You can build ‘Cross Gauge’ by preforming attacks and blocking. Switching characters is as easy as hitting medium punch and medium kick at the same time. Boost Combos and boost combos into Cross Rush become a key part of gameplay as they do not require any of the cross gauge and can simply be pulled off by pressing any light, medium then hard attack buttons in that order but only one type so they all have to be kick or punch to work you can’t mix and match.
‘Super Charged’ attacks allow for characters who use such attacks, like Ryu’s Hadouken to charge them by holding down the attack button for up to three levels of power. Super Arts have become the new special moves which differ from character to character and use two Cross Gauge blocks. ‘Cross Arts’ is one of the three moves that utilizes the entire Cross Gauge and is performed by quarter circle forward and medium punch/kick buttons at the same time. If done correctly it goes into a massive combo that automatically switches characters and finishes the combo with the secondary character. Cross Assault is uniquely different but also requires a full Cross Gauge. Performed by quarter circle back and medium punch/kick buttons simultaneously, it brings the secondary character in and allows you to wade out the remaining Cross Gauge with both characters on screen at once pummeling the opponent. The final new move is the ultimate special move in the game but also is only to be used as a last ditch effort as it sacrifices the character that is currently in play as well as requires the player to have twenty-five percent (25%) life or less. ‘Pandora Mode’ can only be activated under these conditions as well as having full cross gauge and is performed by pressing down, down, medium kick and medium punch at the same time. Your partner will get all the benefits of Pandora mode once you sacrifice yourself such as increased strength, maxed out cross gauge, as well as receiving twice the original characters remaining health. Pandora mode adds an outlet for players who find themselves the underdog the entire time and some may see it as a cheap maneuver to make the game easily accessible, however, Pandora only lasts about 10 seconds. The fact that a lot of the moves in Street Fighter X Tekken take a note from the Tekken side and allow for juggling actually assures that an exceptional or great player will never allow their opponent a chance for Pandora mode.
New to both franchises that is special for this crossover is the ability to equip each character with up to three gems. Gem loadouts are customizable in a separate section of the menu’s and are on a per character basis, as in you will have to go into each character and customize them individually even if you plan on using the same gems with every character in each of the two available loadouts. Some gems that are higher power and less of a negative effect on the player require two slots out of the available three instead of one. Gems vary in type as well as well have different output levels of a selected type with maybe a decrease in a certain aspect but may also have different requirements. For example an immense power gem level 1 requires you to connect with five normal attacks for an added ten percent increased damage output for twenty seconds whereas an immense power gem level 2 has you connect with ten normal attacks and has twenty percent increased damage output for fifteen seconds while also lowering your movement speed by ten percent. There is a huge cause and effect with many of the gems and it is up to the player to decide if they are willing to sacrifice defense, speed or power to get the upper hand or create a loadout with all gems that have no negative effects but are hard to activate, like connecting with four special moves. There are many types of gems in the game and each are color coded for ease, blue effects your cross gauge, red effects your attack power, yellow is for defense, green is for speed, orange are vitality gems that restore health and pink are assist gems that allow for assists like easy input, auto-block or auto-throw escape. The depth of the gem system is quite interesting implementation into a fighting game and is actually something that you may forget about as you play because the default loadouts for each character are pretty good but on higher difficulties or when playing online is when the customization and specific loadouts will become necessary.
Customization in Street Fighter X Tekken is deeper than usual fighting games of this nature that are not built around customization like Soul Calibur. A separate menu is available to not only customize your battle profile with titles and comments but also individual character colors. A side note is that there seems to only be three pages of comments which feels low given the amount of characters in the game. Each player has the default costume colors and three custom slots to customize a characters skin, hair and different pieces of their cloth and parts (necklace, headband etc.). Sadly there is only four colors to choose from, there is no creation palette for the colors as what you see is what you get. On the other hand, the option is there and very welcomed for fans who want more personalization online. Another customization option is the ability to customize quick combos, which has you hit preset buttons (light kick and hard punch or light punch and hard kick simultaneously) to pull off combos that you can customize for each character. You can create two presets per character, it adds more depth which is really what Street Fighter X Tekken appears to offer the most of, choice.
If you are getting tired of the arcade mode and feel that you are not quite ready for the online thing yet than Challenge Mode is right for you. Featuring three different modes including a straight tutorial mode that will help you get the basics as well as a few special moves pegged before you go into battle. The trial mode which has become a regular part of the newer Capcom fighting games returns with every character available to go through twenty trials. Trials exist so players can practice and get better with just about every character if they choose to do so with varying arrays of combos to pull off. Mission mode is sort of like the Tekken mission mode however with a Street Fighter twist, requiring set parameters, like using only normal attacks or only special attacks to finish the enemy. They vary in difficulty and can be pain to beat without the proper gem setups or training. There is a total of twenty mission modes to play through.
Online looks to be a heavy component of Street Fighter X Tekken allowing multiple modes and features. Since Street Fighter X Tekken is essentially a tag title from the main online battle menu you can invite random players or friends to chat in the menu while you decide. Briefing Room exists so players can enter into training or practice type of mode while they chat it up. Ranked Match is the only options for those looking to raise their battle rank. Scramble mode allows for four separate players online or offline. You can even create a large room with many people where winners stay and losers switch it up, however battle points will not be affected. Endless battle makes a return in which your battle points will not be here either affected. It is pretty cool that you can team up with friends online and locally then take the game online against other partnered teams. Replays have been implemented to showcase your cool moves, prowess or just to show off to friends. You can save these replays and view them in the Network menu as well as share them online or view your friends saved replays.
Street Fighter X Tekken is a very solid fighting title but the future and longevity is in question. New gems are set to be added throughout the future and can lead to balancing issues in the online mode but work very well offline. The focus on an arcade type of play with four player versus/arcade (Playstation 3) and ability to take a local player with you online is great. The individual story segments are welcome however most of the endings are written and not acted out which some may feel as lazy but can also be defended as it would require a lot of work for the massive amount of characters in the title. In the end the introduction of this new versus series is one long awaited by fans and very intricate and requires time to learn and master. A few missteps with maybe being too intricate and difficult as well as a sketchy balancing of online that may require patching or tweaking of the gem system, make this title a great buy for hardcore but a toss-up for casual players. Let us hope Tekken X Street Fighter learns from the mistakes to make the perfect crossover while keeping the awesome dubstep music.
Final Score: 4/5
DLC Mission Announced For Operation Raccoon City
The first DLC has been announced for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and it takes you back to between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. The Spec Ops mission looks to have fans anxious for its release this April.
The Spec Ops mission will have players deployed as a member of a team attempting to determine the source of the viral outbreak in Raccoon City. They will rush through the city fighting off hordes of zombies, U.S.S forces and B.O.W’s in their fight to find the source. The storyline takes place between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis allowing players to re-visit the first time Jill Valentine meets Nemesis.
The DLC will be available April 10th in North America completely free of charge. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20th in North America & March 23rd in Europe on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. PC version is set for May 18 globally.
Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection Announcement Trailer
Today Capcom announced that they would be bringing Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection to the PS3 in NA and EU territories as a digital download in June 2012.
The package will contain Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Both titles will be available individually on the PS Store at a later date.
Both games will boast remastered HD graphics and PS Move compatibility, as well as co-op play and trophy support. Move functionality allows players to gain extra interactivity by utilising it as their in game weapon.
Below is the announcement trailer, Capcom also released a host of screenshots.
Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Announced For West
Today Capcom announced that they would be bringing Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection to the PS3 in NA and EU territories as a digital download in June 2012.
The package will contain Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Both titles will be available individually on the PS Store at a later date.
Both games will boast remastered HD graphics and PS Move compatibility, as well as co-op play and trophy support. Move functionality allows players to gain extra interactivity by utilising it as their in game weapon.
For those who aren’t aware, The Umbrella Chronicles features eight playable characters – including Rebecca Chambers, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine – and was previously available on the Wii. The Darkside Chronicles puts you in the shoes of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield whilst they try to escape Raccoon City and reveal the truth behind Leon and Krauser’s fued.
Below are a smattering of screens showing off just how good the HD update has been.
Tecmo Koei Pull Out of GAME
In what comes as a completely unsurprising move, Tecmo Koei have announced today that both Ninja Gaiden 3 and Warriors Orochi 3 won’t be available at UK retailers GAME and Gamestation.
Tecmo Koei suggested that customers pre-order Ninja Gaiden 3 and Warriors Orochi 3 again through different retailers. Both titles can be picked up from HMV, Blockbuster, Play.com, Zavvi.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk, ShopTo.net and independent retailers, whilst Ninja Gaiden 3 can also be nabbed at ASDA if you fancied it with your food shop.
Those who deposited with GAME and Gamestation will receive full refunds.
Street Fighter X Tekken – The Devil Within Short Film
Back in November we shared a little announcement with you from action film creators, Thousand Pounds Action Company.
This little teaser short gave you but a glimpse into what you could expect from the finish product. Well that finish product has arrived in the form of a short film entitled ‘Street Fighter X Tekken: The Devil Within’ to coincide with the release of Street Fighter X Tekken from Capcom.
Whilst saying it’s above and beyond Tekken: Blood Vengeance (available on Tekken Hybrid)in every way isn’t the biggest of compliments – only because Tekken: Blood Vengeance was a steaming pile of something you’d rather not step in, in the street – The Devil Within is an incredible short based on a game. In fact, if a film with that production quality made it to the cinemas then perhaps for once we’d actually have a good film adapted from a game!
The story takes place inside the SFxT world and showcases Ryu and Jin facing off against one another. Whilst Ryu battles against his inner demons, Jin is there to encourage him to accept and embrace the brooding inner power. Oh and Ken makes an appearance too!
Gaming Gods: Shinji Mikami
Legendary game producer, Shinji Mikami, has been under the spotlight of our judgemental selves for many, many years. The man is most notable and well known for creating the Resident Evil series or video games, or Biohazard for you Japanese loyalists. Most will know the man solely for his hand in creating a pioneering game of the late 1990’s and won’t know of just how his ideas came to mind, how he created them, and just what he was doing before he became the ‘Gaming God’ we focus on today
Shinji Mikami was born and raised in the Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan in August of 1965. Despite his rather young looking face, Mikami is a 46-year old man who only began working in the gaming scene during the summer of 1990 at the age of 25. Despite growing up with a violent father and failing two years of college entrance exams, Mr. Mikami Graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at the Doshisha University, and was awarded a major in Merchandising.
At that point, a friend of his handed him a leaflet for a Capcom/Nintendo recruitment drive being held at a nearby hotel. Telling 1up that he only decided to go for the free food of a fancy resturaunt, Mikami got talking with the Capcom team and decided to chose their interview day over Nintendo’s which earned him a spot on a task force creating games based on the stories of famous animation company – Disney.
Mikami would become part of a force tasked with creating games based on the concepts of Disney. Using the skills in merchandising, Mikami would play a vital role in three games, Aladdin, Goof Troop and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with the first being his initial major hit. Aladdin went on to sell over 1.7 million copies worldwide for the Super Nintendo while his untitled F1 game was cancelled around 8 months into development.
Finishing up work on Goof Troop, Mikami was unaware that his big break was just around the corner. Just like any young person of the time, a big interest of his was horror movies. Mikami himself often states his reason behind the creation of Resident Evil came from his disappointment with the 1979 movie, ‘Zombie’. As a huge fan of George A. Romero’s gory flicks, Mikami began work on the title to fix the flaws of ‘Zombie’ giving birth to the famed series in 1996. It probably won’t surprise you to know he is a big fan of ‘The Walking Dead’ too.
With the release of Resident Evil, Mikami found his true break and perhaps found what he was meant to do – scare the living crap out of his players. The man found the perfect mix of tension, fear and combat while elevating the feeling of danger you get when you’re home alone. Shinja found his forté with his new series and took it as far as he possibly could. The ‘Survival Horror’ genre was created by his game and coined by Capcom during the promotion and launch of the original title. Not many developers can be credited for the creation of a whole new genre of video games.
Just 3 years after his big break, Mikami had already released the third major Resident Evil game capitalizing on his new-found piece of story-telling horror mastery. His series was the first of its kind in the genre and the first to use 3D characters on a 2D plain. For his efforts the man was awarded the place of producer for a new studio, Capcom Production Studio 4. The new found team was made up primarily of those who had worked around Mikami’s survival horror ideas for the past few years and, while experimenting on a dangerously different Resident Evil title, the team eventually created what we now know as Devil May Cry.
Allegedly taking his roots of merchandising to heart, Mikami signed a deal with Nintendo to license the Resident Evil franchise to their new Gamecube system. The deal would include remakes of the original title and its prequel along with the exclusive debut of game changing entry, Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 0 was finally released to the Gamecube as a new title. The game was long planned for release during the 64-bit days on Nintendo’s N64 system before the team realised a single cartridge was incapable of doing the game justice. Though RE0 was handled by the third Capcom Dev group after Mikami’s departure to his new head role.
Shinji Mikami and Shigeru Miyamoto shake on the Resident Evil Gamecube deal
Creation of Resident Evil 4 had been underway for some time during Mikami’s work on Devil May Cry. Wanting the company to prove they could work without him, Mikami entrusted Hideki Kamiya, the acting director of Resident Evil 2, with the 4th major sequel of the series – Resident Evil 4. Kamiya had been hard at work on the game with his own team with supervision of Mikami himself. During the 2001-2002 E3 shows, the team showcased a completely different version of the game then codenamed Biohazard 3.5 to reflect its transitioning development cycle. The initial ‘Fog’ version was shown during the first year with the ‘Hook Man’ version being displayed at the following show. Both were considered too paranormal for a standard Resident Evil title as they featured ‘Fog’ enemies and various ghostly hallucinations from the protagonist, Leon’s, infection of the Progenitor virus in the story rather than the viral outbreak of a biological virus. The somewhat historical clip below is Mikami himself playing the ‘Hook Man’ build of the game.
A third version of the game was created and included zombies to presumably quell Capcom’s ‘paranormal’ fears, though it was reportedly dropped for sticking too closely to the standard Resident Evil forumla. It seemed Kimiya couldn’t quite please Capcom and Mikami with his mix of traditional-yet-different gameplay causing Mikami to step into the role of Director once more to finish the version of Resident Evil 4 we know today.
Mikami claimed Capcom took him out of the main development role to quickly. Thinking a game developer creates their best work during their 30’s, Capcom promoted Mikami to the role of Producer just as he entered that age window. Often wanting to leave the company for the same reason, he eventually did in 2004 for Clover Studio. For three years, Mikami had a say in games like Viewtiful Joe and Okami. Clover stood by the ideals of Mikami himself; as a small branch group of Capcom, Clover Studio consisted mostly of their own workers who wanted more freedom over their products, an mission Mikami laid out when he created his own studio Tango Gameworks in 2010 following the closure of Clover and his departure from Platinum Games, a studio headed by three major players of Capcom’s best selling titles.
Mr. Mikami speaks after the acquisition of his studio by ZeniMax Media
Mikami isn’t sure just how many more major projects are left in him, but after the aquisation of his studio by media giant, ZeniMax, he knows he will no longer be bound by the practices of Japanese game development. Hoping to train the next generation of devleopers in the future, Mikami has founded a studio with the ideals of giving creative freedom to its workers – something Mikami never truely got when he started his career. The man knows what he wants and what it takes to create something new and revolutionary, and that is why he has earned a spot as this weeks Gaming God.
Sign Yourself Over to Umbrella For Some Secret Zombie Action
According to insiders, three major cities across the United Kingdom are slowly succumming to a surprise outbreak of the T-Virus. Umbrella have begun to request volunteers operatives to secretly contain the infection or risk looking the zones in a manner similar to the catastophic outbreak in Raccoon City 14 years ago. Of course, this isn’t happening in reality, but in virtual reality.
Capcom have released an App to both the iOS and Android App services allowing smartphone users to play a little game of hide-and-kill. Those wandering around London, Manchester or Bristol can utilize the app to uncover the shambling corpses of the infected throughout the cities and put an end to them before they’re able to spread the virus.
Details on the ‘service’ are a little hazy at the moment. The only thing available on the linked website is a sign-up form which, upon completion, will then sign you over to Umbrella with the words ‘We will confirm your place in due course’. No real details of the app or the live London event have really been explained. It’s easily part of the Operation Raccoon City marketing campaign but we’ll update once we hear back from the process.
History of a Hero: Alucard
The Castlevania series has been long in the making. Debuting in 1987, the Belmont clan began their crusade to rid the world of the evil, resurrecting demon king, Dracula. Our focus of the week didn’t come into the long lasting franchise until much later. At least not in a central “hero” role. Spell it backwards people. Today’s focus is the secretive Alucard.
Alucard's 1989 appearance conveyed him as a much older man than he appears in 1997
I just blew your mind, didn’t I? Yes, that’s right, the feminine looking son of Dracula took his father’s name and played a game of uncreative countdown to seem as different yet identical. While it isn’t his true name, Alucard chose the persona to reflect how he feels very different to his father’s views of humanity. The complete opposite actually. Born as a Dhampir – half vampire, half human – it took him a whole to finally turn against his Father’s plans. But when he did, his role really shone though. Alucard joined the Belmont clan in their quest against his father in the 1997 game, Symphony of the Night – even though he made a small appearance 7 years prior.
After the demise of his human mother, Lisa, at the hands of witchcraft accusing villagers, Alucard took his mother’s request not to hate the human race. A request his father chose not to honour. With both parties standing up for the woman in their own way – Alucard takes it strongly enough to kill his father for his attempted genocide with Lisa in mind.
Alucard’s original appearance flaunted a very different look to his more prominent role later on. His debut during Curse of Dracula in 1990 used a design by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata which were reportedly lost during the great Henshin earthquake. Transitioning into his next appearance in 1997, Ayami Kojima used her bishonen manga styles to give Alucard a more gothic feel to the game.
Surely you're all aware of the common traits of Bish?nen art styles
Alucard’s hailed role in Symphony of the Night was well received as a change for the character and the series as a whole. Adding more depth to the entire story. Oddly enough, his later roles would change to an advisor of kinds to another main protagonist, Soma Cruz, in the anime designed Nintendo DS games. Through the twisted tale of the two recent intertwined games, Alucard would serve as an agent by the name of Genya Arikado. In his new advisor type role, Alucard would serve as an instructor to Soma Cruz’s actions, telling him to seek out the chaotic power left in the castle after Dracula’s death and finally put an end to its flow. Staying behind the scenes, Alucard would later reprise his role in the follow-up sequel to Cruz’s crusade, helping the man against the demons who planned to bring his true form – A reincarnated Dracula – back into being.
Castlevania hasn’t really seen the light of day in recent years. Not in the same way it did before. But since his appearance, Alucard has become one of the most notable characters of the franchise, and it would be silly to think he won’t return in a prominent role again in the future. His history of being a boss character before his turning means he has a long tale and history still to explain.
His later appearances as an agent still looks somewhat effeminate
Soon enough, we’ll be moving this feature to focus on the big, mean antagonists of popular series. Or even those not so popular. In all honesty, the criteria we look for in a hero is heavier than what we look for in an evil mastermind. So expect a lot more of them this time around. Maybe we’ll cycle through the games we’ve covered since the start of History of a Hero – maybe we’ll mix it up a bit, who knows. But you know you love their attire, their devilish looks and even their motives half the time – sadly the aim of the game is to kill them and you have no choice but to comply. So we’ll do our best to honour their cynical ways for your reminiscent enjoyment.
Steel Battalion Heavy Armor Gameplay Trailer
Today Capcom revealed details and screens on the long awaited Kinect game Steel Battalion Heavy Armor for Xbox 360.
Set in 2082 in a war torn world, it seems that the only hope any army has of besting its opponent comes in the form of Vertical Tanks. These VT’s pack quite a punch, and you’ll be taking control of one.
After having been announced alongside the announcement of Microsofts Kinect peripheral now two years ago, Capcom’s successor to Xbox title Steel Battalion has finally arrived.
Today Capcom let out some details on Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor including some screenshots and a story trailer.
It seems that the game is set seventy years from now, in the year of 2082, in a world where war is waged with “rudimentary weapons as new superpowers struggle for dominance”. In this dystopian landscape of war the U.S. army has begun to land on what was previously its own territory, and in this era of low technology the Vertical Tank is the only way to tip the scales in their favour.
You take control of Lt. Powers who pilots a Vertical Tank on a mission that will see battles move from North America to war-torn streets all over the world.
Using the Xbox 360 controller to move, aim and fire, whilst the Kinect takes over “combat-crucial” controls. These range from starting the engine, operating the scope and manning the turret; it also allows for interaction with team mates, including calming crew down and high-fives for successful missions.
Below are a smattering of screens and key artwork for the game, along with the story trailer.
GAME Wont Stock Street Fighter X Tekken or Asura’s Wrath
Reports from MCV today say that Capcom are the latest publisher to pull out from supplying the waining retailer GAME.
It seems that both Street Fighter X Tekken and Asura’s Wrath will not be stocked at GAME or Gamestation for their Friday March 9th launch.
The games will still be available at other retailers so fans who lost pre-orders can pick it up from other suppliers.
Capcom had this to say on the matter:
“Unfortunately Capcom must confirm that Street Fighter x Tekken for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and Asura’s Wrath, both scheduled for release on Friday March 9, will not be stocked by GAME or gamestation either in their retail outlets or on their online stores operating in the UK and Ireland,”
“Capcom wants to reassure its consumers that both these titles, including the Special Edition of Street Fighter X Tekken, will be available at a wide variety of retailers across the UK and Ireland. For those consumers who have already placed a deposit for a pre-order for any of these titles then a full refund will be available – please contact your local GAME or Gamestation shop or visit the online stores.”
It is not yet known if upcoming Resident Evil shooter Operation Raccoon City will be pulled from the shelves of GAME for its March 23rd launch, but there is still time for that announcement to be made.
Mysterious Capcom, Namco and Sega Project Get’s Update
It seems that the website for said project has updated once more, now allowing you to click on each petri dish and enjoy viewing the contents inside.
In each dish are three ‘x’ shaped strands, we’re assuming chromosomes or DNA structures – something like that – and each one is coloured differently. Upon closer inspection they vaguely look like some characters from each of the publishers.
Could this mysterious site be revealing the re-launch of some old franchises that had previously been locked away in storage? Could it be a huge crossover fighting game like Super Smash Bros. or the Namco/Capcom fighting crossover Street Fighter X Tekken? I guess only time will tell, but until then we’re speculating over on our Forums should you wish to join in.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Nemesis Video
Capcom released a trailer for Raccoon City Today, and in it we saw Nemesis. In the background we can hear a man speaking, He says that if you can take control of it you can use it against the enemy. I’m guessing this means Nemesis will be playable? that’s what the trailer must of been for, check it out below.
Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20th in North America, March 23rd in Europe, for 360, and PS3. A PC release will follow in May.
Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City Brutality Trailer
Capcom Today released a new trailer for the upcoming game, Resident Evil Raccoon City. The new video shows off some of some brutal takedowns and kill moves that will be available in the game.
The trailer, which can be viewed below, shows off some of the brutal moves you can pull off in the game against your enemies.
Resident Evil Raccoon City is set to release March 20th in North America, and March 23rd in Europe, for both PS3 and 360. The game will then release on PC, on May 18th.
Capcom, Namco Bandai and SEGA Crossover 3DS Game Coming
Thanks to the eagle eyes of AGB, a mysterious japanese site has arisen that suggests three big Japanese publishers could be working together on something.
Upon going to Pxz.channel.or.jp you’re greeted by a dim light, and a locked safe. A flash animation the plays out of a hand typing out a code ’032760′, which we are pretty sure has no significance but we’ll include it for anybody who wants to try and make it tie into something else.
After the vault opens a cold storage shelf slides out with three petri dishes on, with each petri dish containing the individual company logos, and on the drawer is a note written in Japanese.
Obviously this is entirely speculation as we can’t read Japanese, but having three big names in one place together does suggest something could be going on. With the context of a science lab and petri dishes, it instantly made us think of Resident Evil related gaming, but who knows what it could really be.
Asura’s Wrath Delayed in UK
Capcom have confirmed to Eurogamer that their god fuelled brawler Asura’s Wrath will be delayed until March 9 2012.
The title was originally penned for February 24th, but the title has been delayed because of “uncertainty about the UK retail market”, which can only be in reference to the shaky position of GAME and it’s EU stores.
It’s delay however still makes absolutely no sense as March 9th is the same day that Mass Effect 3 launches, so surely it’s bound for poor sales.
Join the forum discussion on this post
Comments