Monday, January 22, 2007

.hack//G.U. Vol. 1 Saitan [Reissue]

The year is A.D. 2017 and 12 million users have made the MMORPG known as "The World" their little slice of solace away from the real world. Instead of paradise however, the virtual reality of the World has taken a somber turn where Player Killers are wiping out other player-characters. To assuage the citizenry, a skilled hero named Haseo addresses the threat but is summarily schooled and reduced to newbie level. Reborn like a babe, Haseo has to traipse out into the World once more to find out what exactly is happening in the world.

.hack//G.U. Saitan (Rebirth) resumes the .hack MMORPG experience with a new storyline, new characters, and new systems to learn. Battles are fought directly on world maps where attacks and special attacks are bolted out in action-packed motion with dashes and slashes mixed together for exciting sequences. Later in the game, Haseo may motor around the world on a sort of motorbike that's designed to look like an animal of some sort and has a stubby tail on the back. When rolling, it makes a harsh grinding noise and leaves a wispy trail of debris as it putters around the wilds.

Double DVD: Two DVDs are included inside the Best re-release game package - a game disc and a Terminal Disc.

Meitantei Evangelion Regular Edition

Acceding to consumer demand, Broccoli and Gainax release a new Evangelion game which puts Shinji in the role of a detective. Players take on the role of Shinji Ikari who uses interrogation skills and a lackluster posture to ferret out the identity of a killer that's loose on the streets of Tokyo-3. By chaining together clues and hints culled from acquaintances and citizens, the unlikely sleuth pieces together a puzzling mystery.

At the outset of the game, Shinji emerges from an outdoor stall while sirens blare in the distance. Wandering over to investigate, he chances upon Rei Ayanami who's being held in the grips of a menacing tentacle-waving teenager. Horrified at first, Shinji musters up to courage to help his friend out. To free Rei, beat down on the attacker with punches and kicks to release an exhausted Rei from its grip. The game is mostly interactive where Shinji picks locations to visit and talks to friends and associates. The occasional action sequences and mini-games load up to break up the tedium of flick-screen game play.
To recreate the world of Evangelion on the PS2, the original voice actors from the animation series were hired to give each character speech.

Japanese Import Outlook

The three PSP shooters from Konami (Parodius, Salamander, Twinbee) lead preorders for the week followed by PS2 Taito Memories II Vol. 1. Once again, the strong sales of retro gaming compilations shows the value of back catalogs. Package ancient games in attractive collections and they'll usually find a ready audience.
NDS Picross DS Nintendo

Sangokushi Taisen DS Sega

Wish Room Tenshi no Kioku Nintendo
PS2 Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA Konami

King's Field: Dark Side Box FromSoft

Prince of Tennis DokiDoki Survival Konami

Routes PE Aqua Plus

Routes PE Limited Edition Aqua Plus

Taito Memories II Vol. 1 Taito

Tomoyo After: It's Wonderful Life CS Edition Prototype

Final Fantasy X International [BEST] Square

Final Fantasy X-2 International [BEST] Square

Hyper Street Fighter II Anniversary Ed. [BEST] Capcom

Naruto Narutimett Hero 3 [BEST] Bandai

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum [BEST] SNK

Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden [BEST] SNK
PS3 Enchant Arm From Soft
PSP Lost Regnum Makutsu no Koutei Ertain

Parodius Portable Konami

Routes Portable Aqua Plus

Salamander Portable Konami

Twinbee Portable Konami

Breath of Fire III [BEST] Capcom

Irregular Hunter X [BEST] Capcom
X360 Idolm@ster Namco

Idolm@ster Special Edition Namco

USA Release Outlook

NDS Hotel Dusk leads preorders for the week followed by PSP The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean.
NDS Hotel Dusk Room 215 Nintendo

Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel Namco
PSP Sid Meier's Pirates! Live the Life 2K Games

The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean Namco

Animal Crossing Pair Cups

Sippy cups are fine but when drinking a cold and refreshing beverage, there's nothing like quaffing it down from an Animal Crossing Cup. Measuring 10cm or 3.93" tall, each cup holds about 8 ounces of liquid, cereal, or ice cream. Banpresto supplies the Animal Crossing cups in pairs as follows:

(A) Girl character and Porter
(B) Tanukichi and Crazy Redd
(C) Mabel and Sable
(D) Blathers and Celeste