Marvel Versus Capcom 2 Demo impressions

I just got my hands on the demo of Marvel Versus Capcom 2 from the US PSN store, the demo weighs in at just under 200mb and allows gamers to sample the games versus mode. There is no online mode or single player mode in the demo. With it being 11pm here in the UK I had no one around to play against so I had to get out my second pad and pummel the second player who didn’t put up much of a fight (obviously).

There is a selection of six characters to use in the demo out of the fifty-six that are available in the full version, with six selectable stages also available. Three characters from the Capcom side Ryu, Chun-Li and Strider hiryu are joined by three from the Marvel Side Spiderman, Wolverine and Ironman.

The sprites although not re-drawn still look pretty good, with three sprite filters being available from the options. These filters are classic (pixelated), Smooth, and Crisp (which didn’t seem that different), the latter two are definitely an improvement over classic. The backgrounds however being totally 3d look incredibly crisp indeed.

The game is exactly how you remember it, three versus three character battles with players being able to summon their team mates for impressive combo moves.

Having owned the original version on Dreamcast I wasn’t that interested in purchasing the PSN version (especially after I heard it was £11.99) but after playing around with the demo I can say I’ll be buying this as soon as it hits the PSN store. Nothing beats playing as spiderman and beating the living day lights out of Capcom and Marvels finest, I just need someone to play the demo with me now.

The demo is available right now from the US PSN store.

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Killzone 2 only £27 from Game

Just saw this deal over at Game.co.uk its the cheapest price I have seen a new copy of Killzone 2.

http://www.game.co.uk/PS3/Action/FirstPersonShooter/~r333682/Killzone-2/

I use Game a lot they’re pretty reliable to.

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New Onimusha, Dino Crisis or Shadow of Rome coming?

Its seems Capcom are set to announce two new games at E3. Little is know but apparently one will come as quite a surprise to us with the other one being quite predictable. It was rumoured a while back that Capcom were developing a new Onimusha title, the rumour was posted by the infamous SurferGirl who has since stopped blogging although you can find a copy of the post that includes the Oni5 statement here. If you read through all the rumours in that article a lot of actually turned out to be true so who knows maybe a new Onimusha title is coming.

Another franchise that Capcom really needs to update is Dino Crisis, the last game was an Xbox exclusive and was pretty poor, however the two PS1 games were really quite good (especially number 2). Just make a the game like Resident Evil 5 with dinosaurs (of course) allow players to run and shoot at the same time and the game will be off to a great start. However I would like to see lots of blood and gore in this title as I feel Capcom didnt add enough of this to Resident Evil 5.

What about Capcom’s Gladiator inspired hack and slash game Shadow of Rome. The Ps2 version was amazing and saw players become a gladiator who battled his way through hordes of enemies (even giant elephant at one point). Its rumoured that Dead Rising actually started out as a sequel to this game so its quite possible Capcom could be making a new Shadow of Rome game based on the first Dead Rising game. I can only imagine the hours of fun to be had taking part in massive on-line gladiator battles, Co-op and competitive multiplayer would be great additions to this franchise.

Perhaps a new MegaMan game is on the cards, a sequel to the awesome MegaMan 9 or even a new MegaMan Legends game which fans have been wanting for quite some time.

Other possible titles are Devil May Cry 5, Street Fighter 3 for PSN/Xbox live,  or perhaps a new strider title. I guess we’re going to have to wait until E3 to find out.

Demons Soul needs to be brought to the PSP ASAP!

 

The PSP has had a bit of a games draught in the past but it seems like all of that is about to change in 2009, one game that I feel would really suit the system would be Demon’s Souls a recently release PS3 title by From software and published by Sony Japan.

In Demons Souls players venture into the heart of Boletaria, a kingdom of warriors that was destroyed by demons who recently appeared. The game is said to be a spiritual successor to the King’s Field series which had titles on PS1 and PS2. The game is a dark fantasy action RPG that many are comparing to one of the PSP’s very successful titles, Monster Hunter with both games featuring hack and slash game play, huge enemies, a heavy focus on equipment and weaponry and fun Co-op game-play. Monster Hunter for PSP is a very big title in Japan and with Demons Souls being likened to that game a port for PSP could end up being very well received by PSP gamers over there.

From software already have experience with the PSP platform having already released Armored Core: Formula Front and Tenchu: Time of the Assassins for the system so developing a PSP title isnt going to be too difficult for them.

Demons Souls for PS3 was well received by Japanese media and more importantly the gamers. With Dengeki scoring the game 95/85/85/85 and the game selling 39,966 copies first week in Japan and is currently sold out right now. The game is also said to have boosted PS3 sales in the region. Western press have only just started releasing reviews for the game but so far things look great with Eurogamer giving the game a very impressive 9/10.

The game is currently only available in the East and is available in three formats  Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong edition, with the Hong Kong version being in full English. Many western gamers are importing the game thanks to the full English language of the HK version, myself being one of those and having clocked up over 100hrs play time already I can whole heartedly say the game is very enjoyable and if a PSP port came out I would buy a PSP just for the game alone.

 

Why not name it Pixel Junk Sub-Terrania?

Q-games are leaving the naming of their fourth title up to gamers to decide. After viewing the first trailer for Q-games’ highly anticipated fourth Pixel Junk game I think the game reminds me quite a bit of an old classic from the Genesis/Megadrive line-up Sub-Terrania. While they do look similar, Sub Terrania seems to be more focused on shooting where as PJ1-4 does appear to have more puzzle based game-play, with both games allowing players to rescue stranded people. Why not name the game after the old Megadrive classic?

Check out the videos below to see what im talking about.

Wether you agree or not there is no denying PJ 1-4 looks pretty cool and I cant wait to get my hands on the game.

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Are Capcom being too greedy with Monster Hunter 3?

Monster Hunter the hit franchise from Capcom that was originally exclusive to Sony’s systems is seeing a sequel make its way to the  WII. Capcom originally intended for the third title in the monster hunter series to release on the PS3. However they announced last year that they were moving the game to the WII due to the expensive nature of developing for Sony’s platform and the large install base of the WII compared to the PS3 (at the time).  I find this hard to believe as Capcom have already developed a number of titles (successful ones too) for the PS3, I believe the move was due to Capcom being a little bit greedy.

Capcom knew that this was one of their most successful franchises and moved it over to the WII in order to maximise profit, while this is obviously a good business decision Capcom’s part they overlooked the fact that third party games on WII (especially those aimed at the mature audience) don’t really sell that well.

Now Capcom have announced pricing plans for on-line play of the game and I cant help but feel they are once again being a little bit greedy as a 30 day subscription costs‭ ‬800‭ ‬Wii Points‭ (‬around‭ ‬$8‭)‬,‭ ‬and 60‭ ‬and‭ ‬90 day subscriptions priced at‭ ‬1,500‭ ‬and‭ ‬2,000‭ ‬Wii Points. On-line gaming isn’t really that big on the WII compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360 so I doubt that many WII owners will want to have to pay to play on-line.

To be honest I think Capcom would have been better off bringing g the game to both PS3 and 360, while the game looks amazing on the WII just imagine what it would have looked like on Sony and Microsoft’s systems. Check out the video below of Capcom’s upcoming Xbox 360 title Lost Planet 2 which shows game play similar to what you would expect from a MH game (multiple players taking on huge enemies) and you’ll get an idea where I’m coming from.

I believe Capcom’s decisions could actually end up hurting the sales of this game rather than boosting them, I feel Capcom are really hoping that people will buy a WII just to play Monster Hunter and I’m not sure they will. The sales of the PS3 are really starting to pick up in Japan so now would be a great time to release a monster hunter game for the system both for Sony and Capcom, if only Capcom had stuck to their original plan. Hopefully Capcom’s intention is to make a little bit of money from a WII MH title whilst waiting for PS3 sales to pick up before they develop a title for that system. I’m hoping that in the not so distant future we will see a Monster Hunter game on PS3 and perhaps even Xbox 360.

Is Wet’s Rubi Devil May Cry’s Dante in drag?

Wet the upcoming video game for PS3 and Xbox360 from Artificial Mind and Movement which is now being published by Bethesda Softworks stars Rubi. The game follows the acrobatic heroine as she shoots and slashes her way through armies of bad guys.

Rubi being a strong female protagonist has led many to compare her to Lara Croft and even Bloodrayne, however after recently seeing some concept art of her I think she looks remarkably similar to Dante from Capcom’s Devil May Cry series of games.

Devil May Cry and wet both allow players to fight their enemies with a combination of guns and swords the only difference is one game stars a man, the other a woman, or so we’re led to believe.

Look at the comparison image below, the pouty lips, cocky attitude, similar nose and hairstyle are enough to convince me tell. Let me know what you think.

Home should be more of an MMO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was a big fan of Home when I first got into the Beta, the idea of a virtual world where I could play virtual arcade games and earn items that could then be used in the virtual world was truly unique. The whole experience however seemed to get stale very quickly as Home isn’t updated that often and when it is there isn’t enough new content released to really warrant revisiting the app.

Hopefully Sony will add more and more content as time goes on. I really think Sony should do more with Home to appeal to the hardcore gamer not just the casual crowd they seem to be aiming it at. I imagine Home being more of an MMO style game than just a social networking device.

Home currently rewards player for playing games out side of Home with items that can be used in Home such as clothing to dress your avatar and ornaments to decorate your apartment with, I would like to see this taken to the next level. Imagine the Home we all know as being the central Hub of an MMO game, in a similar way to the cities in games like Final Fantasy. This central area is safe and revolves around the idea of social networking and everything else you can currently do in Home. Now imagine outside of this central area is an over world again similar to the Final Fantasy series of games, where players can go and explore and take on enemies and complete side quests. Gamers who were only interested in the social aspects of Home need never venture outside of the central area but gamers who wanted more could do so.

Leaving the central area would allow players to earn XP which can be used to level up their character (just like an every other RPG/MMO) but this level system would be tied into your PSN level. You can currently raise your PSN level by earning trophies in games that you play outside of Home. Imagine if this level system was linked to your Home character. You could level up your Home MMO character by playing games on your PS3 or by venturing out into the MMO over world of Home. This would make Home a game of its own but would also link in with all your other gaming activities on your PS3. Even when a gamer isn’t using Home they would still be earning XP to level up their character.

The over world could also be continuously updated with new areas and enemies as time went on, perhaps even allowing other gaming companies to have their own sections of the over wold. Companies such as Capcom or Konami who could populate their area with items enemies relevant to their own products which would allow the world to expand and also promote the companies other products at the same time. Players could be rewarded for playing in these company specific areas with rewards such as early access to demos and trailers or free content.

I believe this would take the MMO experience to a whole new level, anyone who has played the MMO style game knows that they’re really addictive but after a while you need a break and usually end up playing a completely different kind of game for a while. Allowing gamers to earn XP for the MMO whilst playing other games would allow gamers to have this break whilst effectively still playing the MMO.

Sony could actually implement this into Home as a virtual world within Home accessed from a gaming system in your apartment (which you have to purchase) or in the arcades (for free, but in the form of a demo) imagine an idea of the Matrix movie, with people accessing a vitual world from the world they a currently in and you get the idea of what I’m talking about.

The MMO doesn’t even need to be made by Sony or even be part of Home it could be a separate product made by an MMO creator that is distributed over PSN and tied into home and your PSN account/trophy level, with players being able to access it form within Home like you do with currently with arcade games or in Home game launching.

I believe doing this would attract a lot more people to Home and if the MMO part was released cheaply or even for  free it would be a massive selling point for PS3 and Home and would give Sony’s on-line network a big advantage over Microsoft and Nintendo. With a lot of MMO’s planned to hit the PS3 in the future releasing an MMO within Home could attract people who have never played an MMO into playing them and potential get them to buy other MMO’s that are coming out on PS3.

This idea could actually be used by Microsoft or Nintendo to allow them to come up with their own alternative to Home. Let me hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments sections, I approve all comments good or bad so let see them.

ShopTo.net great deals crappy security?

OK so I purchased the collectors edition tin of Killzone 2 from Shopto a while back and it was the first and only thing Ihave bought from them and its going to be the last. I have purchased on-line from Game, HMV and Play for a long time now with no problems, I have used Ebay and Paypal for years with no fraud at all.

Earlier today at 14.12pm I got an email from my bank telling me that my clicksafe password had been reset (used for on-line transactions), I never reset it. Trying to work out what the email was about I considered that maybe the email was some kind of scam to trick me into giving out my details so I ignored it. I went back and doubled checked the email not too long ago and boy am I pleased I did, as it was legit.

Someone in America tried to spend £442 on my credit card earlier today 14.12pm to be exact, thankfully the bank stopped the transaction. They flag any transactions made after your clicksafe password has been changed. It took me a while work out what had happened as I forgot even having a  Clicksafe account. Then I remembered I made one to purchase from shopto in February this year.

It may not be Shopto’s fault butl I did some research and found they have been hacked before in 2006 , and apparently this year too.

If you have used Shopto or any of their family sites check your emails and bank accounts. Post your findings here and let me know if you have been affected.

UPDATE

Before this article was even approved over at N4G another gamer left a message describing a similar situation to mine, here is the message (dont complain about the editing of this message I never wrote it); 

I swear to god
my cc was hacked 6 days ago seriously its true
and i am a soptto customer too.

someone used it on a british ticket sales site…
WOAH ok thats though…..
im dead serious its true.

EDIT::

and shopto is the only nonmainstream site i used my cc on.
im speechless

EDIT2::
WTF was the same as the authors (killzone2 col ed.) “shoptoits getting even more obvious since my last purchase on”

I have contacted Shopto to see what they have to say but they seem to be denying the problem has anything to do with them. Will update post asap.

2nd UPDATE

After Reading through the NeoGaf post I came across this comment “The original article on this was from early marchthe cards included american express cards which shopto dont even accept”

This doesnt prove that it wasnt to do with Shopto, I have a duo account with LLoydstsb one card is Amex the other Mastercard, they are both part of the same account and share the same statement so any fraudulent transactions made on the mastercard (it was my MC that was comprimised) would show up on the Amex statement which is probably why some people are saying that its their Amex that has been comprimised.

3rd Update

After posting over at the Shopto forums I discovered Shopto are saying this has nothing to do with them, but why would they this could destroy their business, they are also locking any thread that mentions a similar scenario to mine and threatening to ban people (why would you treat potential customers like this, seems like damage control to me). In shopto’s defence I imagine they are getting sick of people blaming them if its not their fault. If it turns out not to be Shopto’s fault I will apologise.

4th Update

I have been contacted by Shopto’s customer service department who were a lot friendlier than the guys over at the forum. They have assured me that this isnt a problem caused by them so i have adjusted the story to show this is now just a rumour. I’m staying in contacted with Ghoul from the N4G boards who has had his credit card charged for 750 euros due similar sercustances to mine, I will keep you updated with more info as it comes.

MegaMan 2.9 concept from ConceptualGamer

Mega Man 2 was the second console game I ever owned and I loved the game so much when I first got my hands on it. After the saying goodbye to my NES I completely forgot about the Mega Man franchise until I purchased Mega Man 9 on PSN. The game itself is sosimilar to Mega Man 2 I felt right at home with it and all my fond memories of Mega Man 2 came flooding back to me.

The similarities between 2 and 9 make the latter feel like a direct sequel to Megaman’s second outing, the game is a pure old school classic with awesome 8 bit music and punishing difficulty just like the NES days. None of these things will deter the player though as the game has a “one more go” quality to it, no matter how often or badly you die you want to keep playing until you beat your next boss and attain the next power up.

OK so now for the concept, after playing Mega Man 9 I wanted more, I imagine Capcom would really like to give gamers more MegaMan also. I believe the game had decent sales and didn’t really cost a huge amount to develop. Rather than rush a sequel of MegaMan 9 to the market, I’m sure Capcom want to take their time and improve upon the game in order to keep the game fresh and not just simply milk MegaMan and his fans. why not give fans of Mega man 9 a chance to experience the greatness that is Mega Man 2 but with all the rather cool additions that 9 brought to the table?

The latest MegaMan game saw the inclusion of a currency system, item shop, saving (no more passwords), rankings and lead boards, achievements(in game for PSN and Wii with the xbox getting live ones also) and of course new items that make the game a little easier for those who maybe found the game a little brutal.

I believe a remake of MegaMan 2 with these additions woulda great way to keep gamers interested in the MegaMan 2d franchise. Let me know what you think would you like to see a MegaMan  2.9 from Capcom or a completley new title, let me here your thoughts on the matter in the commecnts section.