Title: Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken
Price: $11.99
System(s): PlayStation Network
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Publisher (Developer): Ratloop Asia (Ratloop Asia)
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Language
Pros: Absolutely gorgeous art, good soundtrack, interesting take on oppressive regimes, couch co-op, easy puzzles to break things up
Cons: Fast-paced gunfights don’t fit control scheme, some battles become unfair, enemies get cheap shots before you can react
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 90, A-, **** out of 5.

When you hear the title Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, I wouldn’t blame you for assuming the game is a silly adventure populated by chickens and rockets. This is one of those cases where you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken isn’t humorous, lighthearted or a game for younger audiences. It’s also a good game with some very pretty visuals. Come with me as I try to explain why this game is worth your time.

A Grim, Yet Beautiful World

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken has a mature story attached to it. You play as Hardboiled Chicken, a character that is trying to make up for his dark past. You see, the game’s world of Albatropolis is oppressed by a tyrannical race of penguins. It sounds silly, but there are shades of communist Russia and Nazi Germany in this game. There is penguin propaganda displayed on the levels, and they don’t have any problem with killing or imprisoning anyone who opposes them. As Hardboiled Chicken, you are tasked with taking down the penguin leader Putzki. You’ll do that with a handful of weapons and little remorse.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is a 2D shooter. The single-player campaign moves across 15 levels that take place in jungles, military bases and aboard blimps. Each level has some great animations based on the way the characters move, the lighting and the hand-drawn graphics. Rocketbirds is one of the most visually pleasing games I’ve played on PSN this year. Ratloop Asia did a great job at accurately animating the atmosphere of the game. As you move along, you really do get a sense of oppression, loneliness and hopelessness from the art direction.

Rocketbirds isn’t a difficult game. It’s mostly comprised of walking to the right and shooting whatever you see. This job is simple enough, but sometimes the simplistic controls and the 2D direction of the game can work against you. For example, sometimes you’ll move into frame only to be instantly shot by an enemy before you have a chance to react. Other times, enemies will appear on your left and right, resulting in you taking pop shots at each of them without the ability to get out of dodge. Given the fact that enemies can shoot you while standing or crouching, you could find yourself at an unfair disadvantage. Fortunately, the checkpoints never send you back too far.

The multi-enemy firefights are designed to provide excitement to break up the otherwise, plodding and methodical movements Hardboiled uses. The problem is Rocketbirds is at its best when the pacing is deliberate. It gives you a chance to soak in the atmosphere, and it gives Hardboiled himself more credibility as a hardcore commando.

To Kill a Penguin

Hardboiled commits his acts of homicide with a few weapons. You’ll start with a handgun that can shoot more than its fair share of rounds without needing to reload. As you progress, you’ll come across machine guns and shotguns. Variants of those weapons are provided throughout the game. Each upgrade replaces the previous weapon, but you won’t miss them when they’re gone.

Shooting enemies in this game provides a mixture of bloody violence and slight humor. When an enemy is killed, blood will be splattered on the walls as a testament to Hardboiled’s vengeance. At the same time, Hardboiled can continuously juggle dead enemies in the air until he runs out of bullets. I found myself overkilling penguins on more than one occasion. It’s a waste of bullets, but it’s so darn fun .Hardboiled will also get access to grenades. Grenades are meant to be thrown with precision. You’ll get more use out of them as a preemptive attack than a firefight equalizer.

Rocketbirds does a good job of making sure you stay well supplied. Enemies drop ammunition, and there’s no shortage of health packs. Chances are if you die, it’ll be because you briefly got overwhelmed all at once.

Put the Gun Down and Think

The game isn’t all about shooting. Rocketbirds also has some interesting puzzle sequences. Throughout the game, you’ll come across doors that can’t be opened without keycards. Sometimes enemies will drop them after being killed, but there are other times when you’ll have to move boxes to reach the keycard locations. These situations sometimes depend on you using what I think is one of the most diabolical gadgets I’ve seen in a PSN game.

Early on, Hardboiled gains access to a tool that takes over the minds of penguins. When this happens, you’ll have full control of enemies. After you make them do your bidding, you can make them commit suicide via a bullet to the brain. It’s slightly disturbing, yet awesome at the same time.

With a Little Help From My Friends

If you’ve got a friend sitting next to you, you can engage in a local co-op mode that spans 10 missions. There are six parakeet commandos to choose from that have their own expertise. The co-op mode adds enough new features that make it noticeably different than the single-player games. Being able to stack one bird on top of the other is the most notable change. While doing this, one player controls movement while the other handles the shooting. Rocketbirds would have been just fine without co-op, but it’s a real treat Ratloop threw it in there anyway.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is a winner. It has its unfair moments, but it’s one of the best looking and original PSN games I’ve come across this year. You’ll never look at penguins the same way again.

NIS America is on a roll this month! Not only has Disgaea 4, the PS3 strategic RPG, been released, but Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, the direct sequel to the PS3 game Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is launching at the end of the month. Gamertell got the opportunity to test out Atelier Totori early, and see what’s new and improved in the latest entry in the relaxed RPG and life simulation series that focuses on creation, rather than destruction.

Atelier Totori follows Totooria Helmold during a crucial period in her young life. Everyone calls her Totori though, because it’s cuter and easier. She lives in the small fishing village of Alanya with her sister Cecilia (Ceci, oddly enough pronounced Setzy) and her father Guid. Totori and Ceci’s mother, Gisela, was a famous adventurer who disappeared years ago, and for the past few years Totori has been studying alchemy under her teacher Rorona, from Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland. Well, Rorona taught her the basics, then left, but Totori’s been learning on her own.

Totori’s real dream is to become an adventurer though. Even though her family and neighbors believe Gisela died, Totori still believes she’s out there somewhere. So she and her childhood friend Gino decide to become adventurers so they can travel the land and maybe find her.

Atelier Totori begins with an explosion in Totori’s workshop, attached to her family’s house. Which isn’t unexpected, given she’s a novice alchemist. The blast destroys Totori’s stores and angers Ceci, so she goes to the town square to find Gino to do some gathering.

The Atelier games are all about creation, though they do have other JRPG staples like battles and special events. When Totori and Gino first hit the world map, only three locations are initially available. Each has fairly week enemies, like punis and little barrel squirrel-bunny creatures. Traveling to a location takes a set amount of days, and gathering in each spot and fighting in battles take a set amount of time. During this tutorial and opening segment, it isn’t too much of an issue, especially during this initial gathering session. When highlighting a location on the map, you can see exactly what enemies and ingredients can be found in each area, so you don’t waste Totori’s time going somewhere that doesn’t have what she needs.

Once you enter an area, you see Totori in a wide, open space. There will be gathering spots, highlighted with a little picture of Totori grabbing items over it, and occasionally monsters roaming around. Players guide Totori who can run, jump to reach certain areas or avoid enemies, gather at gathering spots or swing her staff to stun enemies and get in an early hit in one of the turn-based battles. During the first session I played through, gathering was the main focus, and the forest I had entered had wood, grasses and little spikey balls called nuse. There were also a few of those barrel spinning squirrels to fight, if I desired. It’s quite different from Atelier Rorona, where gathering spots had Rorona pretty much running along a straight line, with no other areas to jump to and set gathering locations in each spot.

Battles are also a little different in Atelier Totori than they were in Atelier Rorona, as I soon discovered. They’re turn-based, just like in the previous game. Also Totori, like Rorona, is the only one who can use items and Totori’s party members can defend Totori or unleash a follow up attack. The differences are handy little improvements that make battling more efficient. Now, there’s a handy gauge on the bottom left corner of the screen so you can clearly see the attack order. Also, it’s much easier to see how much life each enemy has left and how much damage each character is doing, thanks to a handy gauge above their heads that appears when you’re deciding which to attack. Finally, characters skills now use SP instead of taking away from their HP, and characters other than Totori often learn skills by having Totori create an item for them. All characters also now have LP, which you can think of as a fatigue gauge. Taking part in battles tires them out and each action takes away points. If this falls too low, the character becomes less effective in battle.

Once Totori and Gino returned to town and Totori dumped off her accumulated items at her workshop, I decided to try synthesizing. It’s slightly different than it was in Atelier Rorona. The initial setup is the same – I first chose an item to synthesis (a supplement, in this case). Totori then commented on how difficult it would be, giving a hint as to whether it will be a successful project. I then picked how many to make, seeing if Totori had enough SP to complete the task without passing out. Then, I chose the ingredients and started the process. It went perfectly. Then, the new aspect showed up – trait picking. Depending on the quality of the item and the traits of the ingredients that went into it, players can now pick what qualities they want the created item to have. This can boost the quality, value and effect, so you have to be careful. I decided to make my supplement stinky, then went back to the town square.

There, a lot of things happened. I learned that Ceci’s best friend Melvia, an adventurer, had just come home for a visit. She’s the second party member Totori can recruit to help her when she leaves Alanya to gather, fight and explore. I also discovered that Gerhand, the local bartender, had decided to start offering requests for adventurers and alchemists to take to help the local citizens and draw in more business. Also, Gino told Totori that he was going to go get his adventurer’s license the next time Peter, local weirdo and carriage operator, was going to Arland. The two needed to raise an outrageous sum of money to buy a pass though, so it’s a good thing Mel showed up and Gerhard is offering requests!

Taking requests in Atelier Totori is practically identical to the process used in Atelier Rorona. You talk to Gerhard. He lists four or five requests that are available. The quests usually require Totori to gather a certain amount of an item, beat a certain number of enemies or synthesize a certain number of more advanced items. Once one is selected, players can choose contemplate to have Totori comment on the quest. She’ll say if it’s possible, impossible or something that can be immediately reported on and turned in. Once a quest is accepted, a note with the due date appears underneath the date in the upper left corner of the screen. Depending on how long it takes to complete the quest and the quality of the items turned in, a certain amount of money and perhaps a bonus item is received.

After a month of questing, gathering and synthesizing, the first major date arrived! Did Totori and Gino manage to make enough money to buy a round trip carriage trip to Arland and take their first steps towards becoming adventurers? You’ll have to play Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland on the PS3 after it’s released on September 27, 2011 to find out. Also, check back at Gamertell next week for a full review of Atelier Totori.

Site [Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland]

If you really want to get technical, Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, is all about the sardines.

Sardines are a kind of fish used as food around the world. (They’re a great source of omega-3 fatty acids!) They’re also the breakfast of champion Prinnies, and happen to be former vampire-tyrant-turned-prinny-instructor Valvatorez’s primary source of food since he decided to stop drinking human blood due to a promise made years ago. That promise made him loose his power and position, resigning him to the position in Hades he currently occupies, with his former werewolf-vassel Fenrich as his only assistant. Though if you ask Valvatorez, he’d just say he’s there working in Hades because of a promise he made the warden and would deny any loss or fall from power.

Valvatorez had just finished training a batch of prinnies, ready to be shipped to the Netherworld, and had promised them each one sardine to celebrate their achievement. Before he can bestow the award, they’re sucked off to who knows where. Apparently, humans are getting too lax and aren’t afraid of the threat of life in the Netherworld, so more people than ever are sinning and turning into prinnies. Which has lead to prinny overpopulation. The corrupturnment’s (Netherworld government) solution? Exterminate all the excess prinnies. Which means the prinnies can’t atone for their sins by working them off.

One of Valvatorez’s greatest strengths (or weaknesses, as Fenrich insinuates), is the noble heart that drives him to keep all of his promises. So he sets out to reach the prinnies he trained before they’re destroyed. All so he can give them each one sardine. This humble beginning eventually sends Valvatorez, Fenrich and a number of eventual allies on a quest to clean up the Netherworld corrupternment.

The first chapter of Disgaea 4 primarily introduces players to Valvatorez, Fenrich and this version of the Netherworld they currently inhabit. It also acts as a bit of a tutorial to teach players new to the series and remind veterans how things work. (It has been three years since Disgaea 3 was released. Specifically, the game is set in Hades, which is a giant prison. It’s where all the Netherworld criminals are sent to be reformed, but it’s actually a pretty lax place. The first thing you notice are the totall revamped graphics. Everything is in HD, with all detailed characters that don’t like they belong in a PS2 or even PS1 game, and moving character portraits during cutscenes. Everything is crisp, clear and detailed.

While everything looked different, it was clear from sampling the first chapter that the spirit of all previous Disgaea games lives on in Disgaea 4. You get a few areas in each chapter to fight enemies in strategic battles to advance the story, and can return to these maps afterwards to level grind characters. Having characters cluster around a single enemy can trigger a massive beatdown, with chain combos or perhaps even an inactive character standing nearby just joining in as another character attacks. Geopanels and geoblocks are still around, to provide helpful and harmful status effects and contibute to building up a meter to unlock bonuses once a battle has ended. You can still take part in tower attacks and perform magichanges, for example. To learn abilities and Evilities, you still visit a shop in the hub. Not to mention the senate is still around to get things done by votes or by force.

For everything that remains the same though, there are things that have been added or tweaked. One noticeable change is that the magichange function has been upgraded this time. In Disgaea 3, you could fuse a monster and human to give the human a special weapon, allowing both characters to level up. In Disgaea 4, you can fuse two monsters to make one giant monster. You can then take that and fuse that uber-monster with a humanoid character to give that human a mega weapon, or fuse two ubermonsters with a humanoid character to have that humanoid dual-wield. This transformation lasts three turns, at which point all fused characters leave the field. Granted, the magichange system actually didn’t come up until the beginning of the second chapter, but I figured it’d be important enough to quickly cover here.

During the first chapter, I also had my first encounter with the Cam-pain Headquarters. That’s the base that Valvatorez gets in the hub area to prepare his troops for his each battle. Each map area you conquer during the chapters unlocks a space in the HQ. You can then create and place a new party member or base. Characters next to each other have a better chance of performing joint attacks when next to each other. Characters within a building’s sphere of influence can share buffs, skills, experience and such. You start out with a standard base, with no spheres or influence. You can later place buildings, like a pyramid to allow people to share skills, or a training area to allow all characters to share earned experience, even if they don’t participate in a battle. Here’s where you also go to interact with the senate.

By the end of the first chapter, Valvatorez had made yet another promise, acquired a legion of prinny vassels and was ready to begin his quest to clean up the corrupternment. Stop by Gamertell next week to learn more and read a full review of Disgaea 4. Then, on September 6, 2011, you can head to your local store and pick up a copy of your own for your PS3.

Site [Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten]

Players who want to experience the Indy racing circuit when it goes live can visit the site and register for up-to-date information about SimRaceway to include the release date of the beta access.

As an added bonus for those players monitoring the beta access date, when the site goes live Fall 2011, players may find themselves racing against a top Indy drivers such as the recent Indianapolis 500 champion racer, Dan Wheldon, who looks forward to meeting and racing players online.

“This is a fun project to be involved with, and not just another racing game,” he said. “Of course, the real excitement will come when I start racing users live online.”

The game will focus on live, person-to-person racing by utilizing highly accurate simulation grade driving physics as well as proprietary middleware, for player skill qualifications to matching racers by skill level. To create an online environment that all racing fans regardless of their skill level can enjoy according to CEO of Ignite Game Technologies, Jonathan Haswell.

“Simraceway’s goal is to provide a live, online racing experience that amateurs, pros, and everyone in between, will love,” Haswell said. “Gamers can compete with the likes of the Dan Wheldon, IndyCar’s top driver, on a laser-sharp replica of the race course. We are really looking forward to sharing the experience with Gamertell’s audience.”

Here’s a snap shot of the course and car one can find in the game when it goes live:

Image Source: Ignite Game Technologies

Paradox Interactive is known for its PC simulations, and one of it’s latest goes in a whole new direction. For the first time, Paradox Interactive is taking players to the Warring States period in Japan in the aptly named Sengoku. Players will have to strategically unify the country. I recently got the opportunity to spend some hands-on time with a preview build of the forthcoming game.

The overall goal in Sengoku is a noble one. You are a clan leader, daimyo or kokujin with lofty ambitions. Where ever you are, you want to be someplace better. The only position that will do is shogun of Japan. In order to get there, you have to talk and fight your way to the top. That means gaining control of 50% of 15th and 16th century Japan. Well, not just gaining. Once you have have it, you also have to hold it for three years straight without any other ambitious leaders taking it from you. Keep the country under control, and you win.

First off, I’m not ashamed to say that, after I decided to take part in the Onin War (the Kanto War was also available) and randomly picked a character with a low difficulty rating (Katsumoto Hosokawa of the Hosokawa Clan in Amata), I had no idea what I should actually do. You’re basically left to stare at a map, with a box in the upper left providing information on your current status and allowing you to issue directives and a box at the lower right providing another map to keep an eye on. I figured everything would work itself out once I actually stepped into the game, since Katsumoto had high

Luckily, Sengoku was ready to tell me what needed to be done, especially after I decided to explore the menu of options and actions I could have take. Paradox Interactive has arranged for a hint system, which piped up immediately when I was playing to offer suggestions and information on what I was doing. Think of it as being reminiscent of that Clippit desktop assistant’s suggestions, except actually helpful! Also, when navigating the menus to determine how you’re going to interact with advisors, vassels and other characters in general, you could handily mouse over the action/role/position and a little box would pop up explaining terms or abilities. Once you no longer need the hints, you can disable them. The fact that I could speed up or pause the real-time simulation helped too, as I never felt rushed and was able to remain in control.

The first thing I had to do in Sengoku was form Katsumoto’s Court. Getting to be shogun is a team effort. The major positions were Master of Ceremonies, needing someone who could be diplomatic, Master of Arms, requiring someone with high martial ability and Master of Guard being given to someone with high levels of intrigue. The Master of Ceremonies required someone who could handle negotiations and ceremony planning, so I went with the incredibly diplomatic Akiyasu Hosokawa. He may have had deceitful and ruthless markers, but he was the only one who’s diplomatic skill level was in the double digits. Chikashige was named Master of Arms, as he had the highest martial skill. The fact that he also had a brilliant strategist marker made the decision even easier, since it meant it’d probably be easier for him to manage the army and the territory’s castles. Finally, Chikazane Hosokawa was named Master of Guard, which supposedly responsible for guarding the head of the clan but also dabbles in hiring ninjas, getting guilds in villages and sowing dissent. Chikazane also happened to be a talented musician, which somehow raised his intrigue skill.

Once I had everything settled and responsible people assigned to positions, I was able to start taking the first steps towards the shogunate. The first thing I decided to do was get my lands in order. I figured I had to be ready for battle, since the scenario suggested a war was going on. So I decided to have Chikashige start improving the castle in Ubara. I mean, people are always saying a good defense is the best offense. I also wanted to keep villagers happy, so I sent Akiyasu to Nishinari to improve a village there. Finally, I decided to have Chikazane expand guilds in Inagawa, so a new one could form. Preparing for every eventuality that could happen within a few months, or even a few years, is crucial.

Going to the Clan section even gets players planning. In Sengoku, you have to plan for the future. You need an heir, for one. Masamoto Hosokawa was already set as mine and he seemed stable enough, so I left him there. The clan screen, where you can check that, also had a number of options for the wealthy to earn Honor and get in good with the emperor by giving gifts, performing ceremonies, providing subsidies and petitioning for a court rank. I couldn’t afford any of those incentives yet, but made sure to make a mental note to return when Katsumoto actually had money.

You have to be careful even when beginning your initial planning and investigation. Each action influences peoples’ opinions, taxes, and other factors. This meant I had to be careful while getting everything set up. See, the biggest thing you have to worry about in Sengoku is Honor. Depending on your character’s actions, you’ll either gain or loose honor. If you want to keep your minions happy, be respected and have a successful reign, you need to earn and have Honor. If you are reckless, you can lose Honor, make everyone around you mad and then end up watching helplessly as your dishonored leader commits Seppuku. If he commits Seppuku, that’s game over, by the way. I didn’t have this happen while I was playing, thankfully, even though Katsumoto’s initial honor was only in the 20′s.

Speaking of Honor, joining and supporting a religion can be a huge help. Being a supporter of each religion benefits you, with Shintoism providing a boost to monthly honor, Buddhism making it easier to reinforce levies and retinues and Christianity providing a national tax boost. Unfortunately, I didn’t start with any relationships with any religions, which meant I couldn’t immediately take advantage of any boosts. Of course, that might not have been such a bad thing, as having a negative relationship with a relgious group can raise the risk of revolts.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) during my play time, I didn’t get into any major wars or fights. Most of my time was spent organizing things, keeping my vassels and citizens happy and performing actions that would boost up Katsumoto’s Honor from it’s rather low starting position of 26. I did, however, have Katsumoto launch a plot to attack the Kyogaku clan that could end up furthering my ambitions. And, to keep things safe in case Kyogaku decided to retaliate, I hired the Tomo ninjas to protect the Hosokawa against any ninja attacks. Only minor skirmishes, popped up, which looked quite neat on the map with the soldiers marching off to war, but that was it. Oh, and I also had to take action to halt conditions in Inagawa that could have caused a revolt among the citizens by sending an envoy there to improve the village. But other than that, my first hour with Sengoku was relatively peaceful and uneventful.

So essentially, Sengoku is a standard kingdom management simulation. You have to work towards gaining power, managing the needs and desires of your clan members, taking territory and holding territory until you’ve proven through might and management that you deserve to lead Japan as the shogun. You’ll be able to test it out for yourself on September 13, 2011. Just make sure to keep an eye on your honor, if you do!

Site [Sengoku]

NIS America is going to release Bleach: Soul Resurreccion, the first PS3Bleach game in North America and, while it isn’t a console version of the beloved Bleach: Heat the Soul series, it is an action packed adventure game. Players get to go around beating up Hollows and Arrancars. I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at some of the early Story Mode levels of the game and see how it’s shaping up.

Story-wise, Bleach: Soul Resurreccion takes place during the Arrancar Arc of the anime series. Orihime was taken to Hueco Mundo, the hollow’s world, by Aizen. Ichigo Kurasaki, his companions and a number of other Soul Reapers them attempt a rescue. The game actually begins immediately after Ichigo arrives in Hueco Mundo in episode 145 of the anime. In fact, the first “episode” of the game has players stepping into Ichigo’s shoes as he first heads across the deserted area towards Las Noches, Aizen’s fortress.

The first episode of the game is an actual level, but it’s also a tutorial and way for players to first get used to Bleach: Soul Resurreccion‘s controls. While the episode is loading, I was able to look at a move list that showed what kind of attacks and combos could be unleashed by pressing the square, circle, triangle and L2 buttons. Also, as I had Ichigo run around the first area fighting Hollows, tutorial messages would pop up stating how to trigger Ichigo’s stronger form when the ignition gauge was high enough. As I fought, I was also able to destroy pretty much everything in the environment, getting soul points for doing so, and occasionally booster items that would fill up Ichigo’s HP, Pressure and Ignition gauges.

Bleach: Soul Resurreccion also has an interesting way of injecting the story into each level. Before each “episode” begins, a narrator provides a quick summary of what’s happened before that level to set the stage. Then, when fighting and beating up anything that moves in each area, you’ll occasionally see subtitles and hear dialogue between Ichigo and the other (invisible) characters. For example, when battling through that first level Ichigo had conversations with Uryu, Chad and Nel. It had both English and Japanese voice acting, but I found it most helpful to stick with the English voice actors, since it’s easy to become preoccupied with the fighting and ignore the dialogue boxes that pop up.

Ichigo’s first episode is set outside Aizen’s fortress, so I found myself dashing through a few segregated areas. While there was a brief loading period to get the whole area set up, once I began playing there were no loading pauses. At the end of each area was typically a path to the next part, and I was given as much time as I wanted to proceed. You probably won’t want to drag your feet though, as there is an invisible timer that comes up during the scoring and Soul Points awarding part at the end. Occasionally, a level would have green blockades pop up and Ichigo would have to complete a task (defeat some specific Hollows) to proceed.

Each level ends with a boss fight of some kind. For this first level, Ichigo had to first face off against one Menos Grandes, then fight three Menos Grandes Hollows at once. Each one is about four times the size of Ichigo in the game, touring over him. The best way to get by was to lock onto one, hope the Ignition gauge was full and press L2 to trigger a mode where Ichigo would don his Hollow mask and use more powerful moves. He was much more capable like this, and pressing L2 a second time would unleash a special attack that was practically capable of killing a Menos Grandes in one hit.

The second level I was able to test was the second episode, where Uryu was the playable character. While the controls are the same, Uryu plays much differently than Ichigo. This is only to be expected, given that he’s an archer. If you begin a combo attack, the first two hits will be physical swipes with the bow, and the following attacks will have Uryu shooting energy arrows at his opponents. With Ichigo I was able to get away with not pressing L1 to target smaller enemies, but with Uryu it’s a necessity. It also felt like Uryu’s pressure gauge regenerated faster, making it easier to pull off special attacks.

Uryu was also actually inside Aizen’s fortress, so the surroundings completely changed. Everything looked very simple and sterile, which was fitting since it looks identical to the part of Las Noches he was exploring before reuniting with Renji in the anime. Since this level is indoors, there are now torches to smash for extra spirit points, and Uryu is fighting both Hollows and low level Arrancars. The basic gameplay remains the same though – I had to get through the level destroying as many enemies as fast as I possibly could.

After each level is completed, I received a grade (a A on Ichigo’s level and a B on Uryu’s) and was awarded Spirit Points. The SP could then be used to upgrade either Ichigo or Uryu to make them stronger and more effective in battles. SP is exclusive, so the points I earned in Ichigo’s level could only be used to upgrade him, and vice versa. Bleach: Soul Resurreccion also has an autosave feature, so I didn’t have to worry about saving after each attempt.

If you want to try it for yourself, you’ll have to wait until August 2, 2011. It’s a PS3 exclusive and will cost $59.99. Be sure to check back at Gamertell then too, for a full Bleach: Soul Resurreccion review!

Site [Bleach: Soul Resurreccion]

This is because when I was at E3 2011, I had a chance to demo Majesco’s Nano Assault. And of all of the games I played there for Wii, 3DS and Apple’s iDevice’s, Nano Assault is the one that kicked my gaming glands into hyper mode (and I played Resident Evil: Revelations for crying out loud).

Nano Assault, developed by Shin’en (of Nanostray fame), is a 3D shooter in which you pilot a microscopic Nanite ship inside a “cellular system.” Think Fantastic Voyage or, if you’ve been gaming for as long as I have, Microsurgeon on the Intellivision.

This cellular system is basically a cave-like structure colored in creepy organic reds, yellows, greens, etc. Your mission is to zip through this system and rid it of the Nanostray virus, which manifests itself as diverse enemies and 10 bosses.

You pilot the Nanite ship basically by controlling the crosshairs with the analog stick. Move them onto the target, and the ship turns to fly in that direction. But of course, you’re not just blasting your way through levels to rid them of infection, you’re also avoiding numerous articles and destroying the projectiles your enemies are firing at you.

The action was already pretty intense in the early level I tried, with some larger “bugs” to battle along the way. These scorpion/centipede-like organisms would burrow into the membranic walls and jump out to attack, and only precise hits on certain areas of their shells would destroy them.

Nano Assault promises 32 levels. I played one. I didn’t face any bosses and I didn’t pick up any of the special weapons: various beams, bombs and maneuvers that will aid in your attack. But I certainly wanted to. I went to Majesco’s conference room looking for a demo of Jaws and a chance to meet Hulk Hogan, but it was Nano Assault that left the biggest impression.

Along with what I saw at the show, Nano Assault promises a “boss rush” mode in which you battle the bosses back-to-back; apparently, that’s becoming quite a popular feature these days. Additional options include mission mode and an unlockable stage in which you defeat as many enemies as possible in a set amount of time, and there will be a Hall of Fame to which you can publish your scores for bragging rights. What the game doesn’t appear to have is multiplayer.

Nano Assault is scheduled to ship in November, a couple months after the US release of Star Fox 64 3D. The two games will offer different experiences, of course, and are aiming at slightly different audiences. But if my E3 demo was any indication, Nano Assault looks to be the more intense and visually impressive flight shooter. We’ll find out this fall.

If the virus hasn’t destroyed humanity by then, of course.

Site [Nano Assault]

No Xenoblade? No Last Story? No Pandora’s Tower? What’s a Wii gamer to do between the The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and whenever the Wii U comes out (and whenever we can afford it)?

Well, don’t storm off in a huff. Dig around to see what Wii games are coming out this year. A decent place to begin your search is at Natsume’s Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny.

I know, I know: A Rune Factory game isn’t built to be quite as epic as, say Xenoblade, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to provide a satisfying experience. What do you want in your adventure games, after all? Dungeons to explore? Check. Treasures to find? Check. Epic boss battles? Check. Tides of Destiny will even include fishing, as would a Zelda game. And just as you’d expect from Rune Factory, you’ll also get farming, cooking, item crafting and festivals in which to compete.

In other words, it’s not just the adventure that’ll be occupying your time but there’ll be plenty of side activities to prolong the game and keep things fresh throughout.

But it’s the adventure that matters, right? Of course. From the description, this one sounds a bit unique among its “young soldier must become a warrior to face his destiny and save the universe” peers. The main characters, Aden and Sonja, wake one day to find both their souls trapped in the same body. And, what’s worse, they’ve been transported to an island they’ve never seen. A masked stranger threatens to destroy the island, and our young hero(s) have to save it, of course, but the two souls in one body angle brings a different sense of urgency and personality to the warrior against the universe mix.

At E3 2011, I was able to speak with Natsume about the game and play through a little bit of it. Fans of previous Rune Factory games may be a bit concerned by the fact that farming has been toned down a bit, while the action has been given extra focus. Yes, farming is still there and it’s still important, but the duties can be handed off to the animals/monsters. We’ll see how well the new balance works out, but I’ll personally be happy to focus more on the story and the action.

Of the new features, the biggest (literally) is the golem Ymir, upon whose back you’ll explore this world. The golem is a giant creature you can control to ride from island to island, and even fight with, it seems. The Natsume rep at E3 took a few swings with Ymir but there was nothing around yet to punch. Their press materials, however, promise to allow you to fight “gargantuan monsters.”

You can explore the ocean in third person point of view with the golem, or you can get there quicker by pulling up a map and just assigning the destination to your golem. There, you’ll jump off its back to handle whatever tasks await, be they battles, farming, exploration, etc.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t glean much more than that from my preview, and Natsume hasn’t yet released many more details on the game. In fact, the demo I received at E3 was on the PS3, but the Natsume rep assured me the only main difference between the Wii and PS3 versions would be the graphics.

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny is due for release on PS3 and Wii this fall. I’m not sure when it will land in relation to Skyward Sword, but whether you pick this up before or after, it’ll help keep you satiated until we learn what the Wii U will bring us. Especially now that… cripes, now Tales of Graces isn’t coming to the Wii, either, you say?

Thank you for caring, Natsume. It’s good know Wii gamers still have a friend out there.

On June 29, 2011, Gamertell was invited to attend a demonstration of Atlus’ first HD PS3 and Xbox 360 game, Catherine, led by Aram Jabbari, Atlus’ PR and Sales Manager. While most people are drawn in by and know of the game for some of the racy imagery used in it, it’s really more of a dramatic adventure with lots of supernatural elements and what seems to be an intense action game as players must keep climbing a tower to keep from dying.

The presentation began by actually going ahead and starting the game. The events of Catherine are made even more surreal when you realize they aren’t just happening, but they’re part of a TV show called Golden Playhouse that’s following Vincent Brook’s life. Midnight Venus Tricia, the host, and her awe-inspiring afro set the scene. Vincent will also receive texts from her while at the Stray Sheep bar in the game, to congratulate him on completing the previous night’s nightmare. Anyways, she sets the scene of how Vincent is currently being pressured to make a more serious commitment to his girlfriend of five years, Katherine. Tricia also mentions the strange series of dreams that can claim peoples’ lives if they fall during it and don’t wake up before landing.

From there, we see Vincent and Katherine at dinner at a very fancy, very pink restaurant. Katherine wants to talk about their future, and Vincent’s zoning out. When she asks him how long they’ve been together, he can’t come up with an immediate answer. She, however, seems to know everything about him, even how much sugar he wants in his coffee. Vincent wants to know why things can’t just stay the way they area.

Things suddenly shift. Without any real warning, Vincent is suddenly in a nightmare. The first nightmare, to be exact, called Underground Cemetary. This is the tutorial segment, to teach the basics of tower climbing. Vincent has to keep climbing, or he’ll fall and die. The tower gradually deteriorates, with the lowest level of blocks dropping into the abyss. The only way to survive is to move the blocks to make a path to the top. Most lock at the edges, so as long as one edge is connected to another block, you can make a stable platform to safety. This initial level is fairly easy, and Vincent has no trouble reaching the top. Upon getting there, he gets a score and award based on how well he did, as well as a Safety Bonus.

Vincent wakes up in shock, but dismisses the entire event as a dream. The game shows us a news report about a mysterious death. The victim’s corpse looks shriveled and as though he was screaming in shock. Apparently, the man was found dead in his bed, with no explanation as to how he died.

Vincent’s then in Stray Sheep, later that night. It’s a pub, where pretty much everyone important in Catherine gathers. There’s also an arcade game that’s identical to Vincent’s situation, called Rapunzel, as well as plenty of people to walk around to talk to. Vincent also gets text messages from people he knows as he spends time there. This night, Vincent is sitting and talking with his friends Toby and Johnny. His friends reveal that the mystery victim is actually someone they know. It was Paul, a friend who had recently gotten divorced from his wife and was living with his parents. His mother found him dead in his room. After hearing the news, Vincent gets a text message from Katherine.

Katherine is having dinner with friends. They’re all married and have kids. So her biological clock is ticking. There seems to be something else to her message too. She asks if they should just take a chance and commit. Vincent can then send a response. Players can choose which lines to respond with, to craft an almost custom message. After choosing what to say, Vincent’s Law and Chaos meter will change.

Vincent has opportunities to make decisions about his life, his viewpoint and his relationships with other people. This causes his Law and Chaos meter to lean towards one extreme or the other. This determines what ending players get. So people may want to play multiple times to see all the different ending options, good and bad, for Vincent. Will he end up selfish or selfless? It’s up to you.

Vincent’s friends then disappear. Vincent’s been drinking a lot, and he’s obviously drunk. That’s when Catherine shows up. She’s obviously had a few as well. The two talk about relationships and marriage, and Vincent finds Catherine shares his views. There’s blantant flirting between the two, but we don’t get to see what happens. Vincent blacks out, and it’s nightmare time again!

The next nightmare is the Prison of Despair, and this isn’t any tutorial. Now things are real. There’s a very real chance Vincent will die at this point, at which point the game is over with a “Love is Over” shot. If you have replays left, you can retry. If you don’t, then you have to restart from your last save point.

Catherine‘s Prison of Despair levels also introduce some fundamentals that will be seen throughout the game. Vincent may see money on blocks, which he can collect and spend on items in dreams to make it easier to survive. We also saw disintigrating blocks and heavy blocks for the first time, both of which make climbing more challenging. Vincent was also able to start collecting items for the first time. We saw the block, which lets him drop one block, but there are others like a bell that makes all blocks normal. He can only hold one at a time, so you have to think ahead. Players may also want to make Vincent drink before dreaming, since inebriation makes him climb faster in the nightmare that night. Also, checkpoints are scattered around towers. Tagging one lets you restart from that point if Vincent falls.

So Vincent goes pushing and pulling blocks, trying to reach the top of this level. When he reaches the top, he finds lots of anthropomorphic sheep and sees himself as the only human. Apparently, each sheep also sees everyone else as sheep, and himself as the only human. One sheep comes up to Vincent and says that they’re all pretty much doomed. If they don’t climb, they die. If they fall while climbing, they die. If someone sees the dream once, then they’ll see it every night. There’s a slim chance though, if people keep climbing, they may actually reach the top and be saved. These sheep may look familiar, as some are actually people Vincent may meet in Stray Sheep. There sheep may sell Vincent items, or suggest helpful techniques to move blocks and survive.

Vincent then enters the Confessional at the center of the top platform. Inside he talks to… Teddy (Persona 4). Just kidding – it only sounded like Teddy. The person calls the people outside and Vincent lost lambs who are going to all die. It then asks Vincent a question. “Life begins or ends at marriage?” Players can choose an answer, at which point Vincent’s Law and Chaos meter adjusts, people can see how other Catherine players answered if they’re online and then the nightmare continues.

There were two more levels to this night’s nightmare. The first was similar to the one just played, only this time Vincent had other sheep on his tower. These sheep were fairly docile at the moment, just blocking the way. Vincent could knock them off by stepping on the same block as them. Jabbari assured us that in later levels, these sheep are more aggressive. Other sheep and towers could also be seen in the background. Getting to the top results in Confessional time again. Vincent is asked, “Does your job come first?” After the answer, it’s time to face the boss.

Catherine has boss races, rather than boss fights. Each boss is inspired by one of Vincent’s fears. This level features the Fist of Grudge. It chases him up the tower, occasionally transforming normal blocks to heavy blocks. It constantly lurks at the bottom of the tower, brandishing its bloodied fork. Vincent keeps running upwards. Here, we learned pressing select can take back one move, if you accidentally corner yourself. Vincent reaches the top, and it seems like the Fist of Grudge will get him anyway. It’s suddenly bathed in white light though, and he’s saved.

Vincent then wakes up in bed. He isn’t alone though. Catherine’s with him, and she’s very affectionate. He’s shocked, and tries to think back and remember how the two of them got there. Catherine then says she isn’t like this with everyone, and believes that this could be a “love at first sight” situation. She then realizes Vincent has work and panics for some reason. She claims she has a dentist appointment and quickly runs out, leaving Vincent to wonder what he’s going to do.

The Catherine presentation then closed with brief peeks at the two local multiplayer modes. Babel is a cooperative mode, where two players work together to scale a tower based on towers unlocked in the story mode. One player is Vincent and the other is Katherine, and the two team up to move blocks and create a path. Colisseum is a competitive multiplayer mode that is only unlocked after the game ends. Both players are sheep, trying to reach the top before the other sheep. Here, you can hit the other player with your pillow or set them up to fail and fall.

During the presentation, Jabbari made a comment that Catherine buyers will be glad to hear. The North American release already has the Japanese difficulty patch built in. Catherine is a notoriously hard game, so much so that it had to be patched in Japan to make it more managable. North American gamers won’t have to wait for that patch. The developers also went in and did a little rebalancing in a few areas that frustrated Japanese gamers. It’s important to note that the difficulty is rebalanced, not dumbed down, and there are multiple difficulty levels so all players should be happy.

Catherine will be released on July 26, 2011 in $59.99 standard and $79.99 “Love is Over” editions. The “Love is Over” editions will be very limited, and Jabbari stated that it was being built on pre-order demand only. So if you don’t pre-order that bundle, you probably won’t get it. Also, if you pre-order the standard edition, you’ll get a Catherine CD soundtrack featuring music from Shoji Meguro and an art book. If you have both a Xbox 360 and PS3, it doesn’t matter which version you buy. Both are identical. If you’d rather wait to try Catherine before you buy it, then keep an eye on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Store for a free demo.

Site [Catherine]

Kona’s Crate is an upcoming physics-based puzzle game from Zoo Entertainment’s indiePub label. It will be released tomorrow (June 23, 2011) for $4.99 (PC, Mac, iPad) and $2.99 (iPhone, iPod Touch, Android). Kona’s Crate‘s gameplay mechanics are downright simple, but it can be quite difficult. I know the phrase “easy to play, difficult to master” is thrown around a lot, but Kona’s Crate is a shining example of what that phrase really means.

In Kona’s Crate, your task is to deliver a wooden crate to Chief Kona. The crate contains what Zoo Entertainment calls “celestial supplies”, but you’d never know that from playing the game. The only thing that matters is getting that crate to Chief Kona without breaking it. This is done by skillfully balancing the crate on a rocket-powered platform.

The platform has two rockets attached to its underside. Tapping on the left side of the screen will activate the left rocket, and tapping on the right side activates the right rocket. Each level in Kona’s Crate has twists and turns, so it becomes mandatory to master the delicate intricacies of the rocket platform.

Kona’s Crate initially forces you to suspend your expectation of how to control the platform. For example, activating the right rocket will make the platform veer to the left and vice-versa. This makes sense from a physics perspective, but you will get tripped up a lot of times before this control scheme becomes second nature. Fortunately, you can invert the controls from the options menu.

Even when your sense of direction isn’t being challenged, keeping the crate on the platform can be maddening. If you thrust too much, you’ll hit the wall or ceiling and lose the crate. If you don’t thrust enough, you can hit the ground and lose the crate again. Every time you fail, you know that it’s not the game that’s to blame. Success can only be achieved through trial and error.

As you venture into later stages, you’ll be faced with even more obstacles in the form of TNT crates, floating blocks and steam vents that are more than happy to knock you off course.

Kona’s Crate has three worlds to choose from called Sunny Skies, Dusk and Starlight. Each world has 20 stages each. The last two worlds only let you play the first five levels. You have to unlock the rest by completing those levels. Zoo Entertainment says that 60 more levels will be added to the game via updates.

Kona’s Crate has support for both Game Center and OpenFeint. It also supports nine languages other than English.

Kona’s Crate is a hard game, plan and simple. It will frustrate you, mock you and tempt you to hate everything that has to do with physics. However if you’re up to the challenge, Kona’s Crate delivers in spades.

Site [indiePub Games]