GC 2007: Killzone 2 Demo Confirmed

In an interview with a member of the Killzone 2 development team during the Leipzig Games Convention 2007, the interviewer asks:

Interviewer: "Will there be a demo?"
Dev: "I think that in this day and age, you HAVE to have a demo"

I agree 100%. I guess that means that a Killzone 2 demo or beta will be coming soon, no?

[Via GameReactor]

Metal Gear Online 'Sniper' Gameplay Video

Enjoy some new Metal Gear Online gameplay. This is from the Japan Closed Beta.

[Via GameTrailers]

onAXIS Review: Persona 3

Well, this is the first review that the onAXIS website is going to do, so this is a special moment. Today, we will be reviewing Persona 3, Atlus' latest RPG on the PlayStation 2.

Persona 3 is set in the modern day Japan. The main character is an un-named Character whom you name upon signing a contract in the very beginning of the game after the anime sequence. The story is about the boy who transfered to a new high school, where he is bunked in the wrong dorm, only to meet two girls. One girl is a girl his age in his grade, and another is in a higher grade. These two girls have the ability to use a Persona, and they believe he does too. They monitor him while he sleeps to see if he has the potential. When it hits the "Dark Hour" (12:00), then a shadow attacks, and the main character destroys it. The rest of the game, you go to school, do tests, exams, etc. and hang out with friends, date girls, etc. At night, the dark hour strikes and you go to Tatarus. The storyline is pretty good, as you get to have a normal life, then come out with your Persona at night.

The gameplay is fun, and the battles are great too. In the battle you only get to control your main character, while the other two in your party do their own functions. You have a normal attack, then you have your skills which uses your Persona in order to attack. You can get many different Personas through out the game, which makes it quite fun, and you can learn many skills.

Besides battling in Tatarus, you go through the day as a normal school kid. You can date other girls, join school clubs, and increase your social links, charm, etc. It's actually really fun. The game is very long and consists over a 365 day school year with over 70 hours, good for me.

The graphics in this game are very well for a PlayStation 2 game, along with some great anime cut scenes. The game really makes you feel as if your playing an anime.

The character artwork was also done very well. The game includes an artbook with it, so plus points for that.

The music in this game is not annoying like a lot of RPGs I played. When your in school, or it's day time, you hear normal everyday calm music, but when the dark hour hits, the music gets spooked and serious.

If you want to beat and replay this game, it's gonna take a heck of an amount of time. If you really want to replay it, just to relive it's greatness, you can, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you had the game put away for a couple of years.

All in all, Persona 3 is a great game and a must have for any RPG fan. Most of Atlus' games go un-noticed, but this game should not.

Story: 9.5
Gameplay: 9.0
Graphics: 8.5
Audio: 8.0
Replayability: 7.5
Final Verdict: 9.0/10.0

EGM October 2007 Silent Hill V Cover Story

Removed

Well, we have it, the cover story from the latest Electronic Gaming Monthly (October 2007) that everyone has been waiting for. And it's actually readable. To read the article, use the images above and below.

Enjoy the scans.

EGM October 07 Previews The Last Remnant

Removed

In the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the October 2007 issue, they preview Square Enix's upcoming title, The Last Remnant. It's a 3 page preview which you can read by clicking the images above. Enjoy the scans.

EGM October 07: Old vs. New Snake

In the latest Electronic Gaming Monthly (October 2007), they compare the old Snake (Metal Gear Solid 3: Substance) to the new Snake (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots). They compare the camouflage, shooting, frisking, and online play.

For the online play, the main difference is that Metal Gear Online is it's own title, not included with the game. The camouflage is different, as in Metal Gear 3 has face masks, and Snake's new suit lets him take the appearance of any wall or floor he's next to. Read the full article on the click of the scan.

EGM October 07 Reviews Warhawk 8.5, 7, and 8.5/10

Removed

The October 2007 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly comes with a nice little Warhawk review. The final scores were 8.5, 7, and 8.5 out of 10. Thats not bad at all really. Here are their goods and bads:

The Good: Fluid, varied online gameplay.
The Bad: Fairly shallow, to expensive for what you get.
Don't Forget: Eucadians are blue; Chernovans are red.

If you would like to read their full review, just give the image above a click click.

EGM October 07 Review Heavenly Sword 8, 8, and 9/10

Removed

The latest Electronic Gaming Monthly features a Heaveny Sword review. Their final verdicts? 8, 8, and 9/10. Those are really good scores. Here is their goods and bads:

The Good: Gorgeous graphics, well used tilt controls.
The Bad: It's over pretty quickly.
Jumping: Some developers think it's a good idea.

I agree with that last statement, playing the demo and not being able to jump, not cool. But it seems the bad of all the reviews seem to say the game is short. Hopefully the sequel will be longer.

Electronic Gaming October 2007: Living at Home

Removed

Electronic Gaming Monthly had an article on PlayStation Home in their October 2007 issue. At the end of the article, they had a "Home Improvement" section where the compared it with Xbox Live. They had everything Live does except Live didn't have Media sharing. Enjoy the article.

Rumor: New Jak & Daxter PlayStation 3 Title on the Way? [Update 9/1/07]

According to user FamilyGuy1 on the PS3Forums, the latest issue of EGM (October 2007) contains some juicy information. On page 60, in a box titled "Q-Tips", it says:

"Bummed developer Naughty Dog's first PS3 title isn't a Jak and Daxter game? Well, you shouldn't be, my spies say they're making it next."

Could they know something that we don't know? I think so, we'll just have to wait and see if this could be "the lost frontier".

Also in the rumors, we have a section about a Kingdom Hearts compilation. The section states:

"The Kingdom Hearts series gets the chests of Disney and Final Fantasy nerds pumping. But the lack of news about the series is likely giving these superfans a stroke. No need to get a medic - my mousey mole has some info that may pump 'em up: Square Enix is apparently planning a compilation of Kingdom Hearts prequels (similar to what it's doing with Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIII) on various systems and handhelds."

That would actually be pretty good to hold off till Kingdom Hearts III just as the compilation of Final Fantasy VII is holding us off till a remake.

[Via PS3Forums]

Heather Newman: 'Lair' is Ambitious, Beautiful... and Fun

Flip those frowns upside down, because we have another reviewer telling you that Lair is a good game. Heather Newman's latest entry on her gaming blog states that:

I hate to see a gorgeous title like this marred by bugs and the occasional rough patch, but I expect that, like me, you'll be pleased to overlook them. "Lair" is a unique game, a true test of the PS3's next-generation power, and a successful experiment in motion control - all while being an entertaining game and a seductive story.

Give it a try when it debuts on Tuesday and let me know what you think; I bet you'll be glad you did.

What she doesn't know is you can go pick it up now. So if you want to give it a test run, stop by your local game store. She claims that the SIXAXIS controlling is smooth and fluid, while the storyline is fun. Read her full review at the link.

[Read Lair Review]

Game Revolution Reviews Heavenly Sword B+

Game Revolution has put it's thoughts in towards Heavenly Sword, and they gave it a B+. That's not bad, here are their good and bad points:

Good Points

• Great exposition
• Compelling Characters
• Kickass Action
• Cool SIXAXIS Control
  

Bad Points

• That's all over too soon

Anyway, read the full review at the link below.

[Read Heavenly Sword Review]

Haze Goes Gold

Haze, Ubisoft & Free Radical's upcoming PlayStation 3 shooter, has been completed, in other words, it's gone Gold. Ubisoft have been telling European media outlets that the game has been released to production and will be available on PlayStation 3 soon. No date has been confirmed. For now, enjoy the E3 2007 Trailer.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII TV Commercial

Straight from YouTube, here is the Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII commercial. Enjoy it.

[Via YouTube]

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Demo Announced for September

The trailer doesn't tell us the exact date, it just says "Game Demo Coming September". So there you have it, we can bust out some moves September. That is if Sony doesn't pull a "skate" and keep it but not put it up. Hopefully we will get the Tony Hawk's Proving Ground demo around the same time as the Xbox 360 does. Enjoy the video!

[Via QJ.NET]

Game Informer Metal Gear Solid 4 Preview

Here is the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots preview from the latest Game Informer. Basically the same screenshots with the same information. Still nice to look at though.

[Via GameTrailers]

Game Informer October 2007 Killzone 2 Preview

We have the latest Killzone 2 preview straight from the October 2007 issue of Game Informer. The scans are all above. It's basically full of news, old screens, but still looking good. They said the graphics were good, the gameplay was smooth, and the AI was aggressively good.

[Via GameTrailers]

GC 2007: Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway Trailer

It is from a German website, but it is still narrated in English. It shows some new gameplay scenes shown at the Leipzig Games Convention 2007.

[Via GameTrailers]

Game Informer October 2007 Loose Talk

We have the Loose Talk page from the latest Game Informer here. There are two main rumors on this page:

• Saints Row 2 in development (based on THQ's president wearing a Saints Row 2 t-shirt at the E3 press conference).
• Analysts think the PlayStation 3 80GB model will drop to $500 once the 60GB models are sold out.

Enjoy the scan.

[Via GameTrailers]

Borderlands: 4 Player Online Action-RPG

Thanks to the newest issue of Game Informer, we have details on the upcoming PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC title currently being developed by Gearbox Software, Borderlands:

• Game boasts of tons of weapons (tons of customizable parts - can make over 500,000 unique weapons).
  
• The game is an FPS RPG.
• There are vechs in it. The AI seems to be pretty advanced.
• "We're building the game from the start as a co-op game that you can play by yourself" (meaning that the AI is good enough to help you along if you don't have a friend to play with online)
• Graphics Look Spectacular (Unreal Tournament 3 for example -- It also looks a bit like Fallout 3)

Thanks thewster!

[View Scans]

Game Informer Scores Lair 7.25/10 & SO 8/10

Game Informer seems to be the only magazine so far that has given Lair a grade above 7. This time, it received a 7.25/10 with the second opinion giving it an 8/10. Not bad, not bad at all.

Concept: The creators of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron show us that dragons are not nearly as cool as X-Wings.

Graphics: The battle span as far as the eye can see, and the high level of detail (especially when viewed in native 1080p) never ceases to amaze.

Sound: The pulse pounding score oddly sounds like it belongs in Star Wars, but definitely gets the blood pumping. This is also one of the few games out there to support 7.1 sorround sound

Playability: This is where Lair plummets. The motion-bases controls just don't work as well as they need to for an intense aerial combat game

Entertainment: Lair's disappointing critical path comes to an end at approximately six to eight hours, but getting all the gold medals will take some time

Replay Value: Moderate

Good job Lair.

[Via GameTrailers]

GC 2007: SingStar Executive Talks Features

The karaoke game is all set for the PlayStation 3 and has some very nice features like downloadable tracks, streaming music, and of course, the game's core mechanic that allows players to belt out tunes using a USB microphone and sing to their hearts' desire.

You know what I've realized? Were getting Leipzig Games Convention videos like a week to two weeks after it ended. Weird. Enjoy the video!

[Via GameSpot]

PAX 2007: Video Interview with Rob Yescombe, Additional Details on Haze

A new video interview from the Penny Arcade Expo 2007 called The Dtoid Army interviews Rob Yescombe from Haze. Enjoy the interview.

[Via Destructoid]

Rock Band PlayStation 3 Packaging

This is straight from Kotaku who apparently received it in their e-mail. The big box set is below. The big box comes with the game, a wirless guitar, a set of drums, and a microphone.

[Buy: Rock Band]