Capcom Reveal New UMC3 Vita Gameplay and Images

Capcom have just released a brand new trailer for the upcoming port of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 for the PS Vita.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 takes the epic battle to all new heights with 12 new characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes, a refined fighting system, eight new stages and new modes. The PS Vita edition of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 builds upon the console experience, complete with all modes from the console version including Heroes & Heralds mode, plus new features designed specifically for the PlayStation Vita.

The PS Vita version features online and local multiplayer, touch screen functionality, NEAR support and everything you would find in the PS3 version. In addition, the PS Vita version includes a Spectator Mode and Replay function that allows players to watch or share exciting matches over wi-fi. PS Vita exclusive Gold Herald color options are also available for the characters. As an integrated option, gamers can use the PS Vita as the “Ultimate Controller” to play the PS3 version of the game.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the PS Vita is scheduled for release as a launch title for the system when it goes on sale from February 22.

Rumour: Possible Lego Lord Of The Rings Title On The Way

Recently Lego has revealed a new upcoming Lego series at this years New York Toy Fair. As you can see that the series is a set of Lego Lord of the Rings minifigs. From what we have seen in the image we can clearly see Gollum, the Ringwraiths, the Uruk-hais, Moria Orcs and the Mordor Orcs. That is not all,  Frodo and Gandalf also make an appearance with a few others.

This reveal has got me so excited I am going to order them at Toy’s R Us as soon as they are available.

This has also caused some speculation on the internet that a possible Lego Lord of The Rings Title could be around the corner. With no official announcement however we are just speculating with the already hopeful speculation.  We also noticed that on the official LOTR: Lego website there is a nice big banner saying “Coming Summer 2012″ we can only assume that the banner is for the Lego products and not an actual Lego title. We will post any updates about any upcoming information regarding  a Lego Lord Of The Ring’s video game.

Dragon’s Dogma Gets May Release Date, Resident Evil 6 Demo Included

 Capcom today have confirmed that Dragon’s Dogma will release in  North America on May 22 and across Europe on May 25. Capcom is also pleased to announce that purchasers of Dragon’s Dogma will have the opportunity to be the first to experience a playable demo of Resident Evil 6, ahead of its release on November 20.

If you purchase a retail version of Dragon’s Dogma, then you will be happy to know it will contain a redeemable token that will allow you to download the Resident Evil 6 demo. Xbox 360 purchasers will also have more of an incentive as Resident Evil 6 will first come to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace 60 days earlier than any other platform beginning July 3.
The demo for owners of the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon’s Dogma will go live on the PlayStation Store on September 4 in North America and Japan and September 5 in Europe.

Press Release: 

An exciting new franchise which redefines the action genre, Dragon’s Dogma is from the team that produced some of Capcom’s greatest action games. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world.

Dragon’s Dogma introduces an innovative team system to the genre. Known as Pawns, these three AI partners fight independently, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from the player and their actions. By utilising the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network or PlayStation Network players will journey to the Rift where they can share their own Pawns with friends and be rewarded with treasure, knowledge of the world and strategies for taking down enemies. Conversely, players can borrow friends’ Pawns with the specific skills or experience required to tackle a particular quest.  In addition, Dragon’s Dogma will ship with thousands of ready-made Pawns for players to pick their allies offline.

For those wishing to reserve their day one copy of Dragon’s Dogma the following pre-order initiatives will be available:

The ‘Pawn Upgrade Pack’ will give players additional Rift Crystals allowing them to rent higher level experience Pawns from the outset. The ‘Armour Upgrade Pack’ and ‘Weapon Upgrade Pack’ deliver higher level armour and weapons respectively giving players a real advantage when tackling the toughest of enemies.  Please check local retailers for details.

Review: SoulCalibur V

SoulCalibur V is the latest installment to the popular fighting series, and it certainly has been a while since we’ve seen it last. The game is back though, and has taken a big leap into the future. Even though the story takes place 17 years after SoulCalibur IV, has the leap done the series any justice? Or has the battle of history come to an end? Find out in this review.

SoulCalibur as a series overall always has had a special place in my heart and was one of the first fighting games I played back on my Dreamcast. Over the past few years the series has both grown and evolved, adding new bits and pieces to the formula. The story has changed a fair bit since SoulCalibur IV as it is no longer a linear set of stages and you aren’t able to choose which character to partake in the story. The story is based around the main protagonist Patroklos (the son of Sophitia), while Sophitia’s daughter Pyrrha is the deuteragonist. Throughout the short 20 episode story you will take part in different roles of about 3-4 characters, mainly sticking on the primary story path revolving around Patroklos saving his sister Pyrrha from Soul Edge. It’s very simplistic, though presented quite well. There are many moments where you are gifted the beauty of the CGI cut scenes, which I have to say are by far the best looking of the series. You will notice though, that during the story, it doesn’t rely fully on CGI, and is told in the form of a book/scroll. The voice overs are still present, but are shown in a photographic slide-show form. It’s a shame that they couldn’t present the whole story mode in CGI as I feel the effect of the characters emotions and situation would of been a much better experience to see visually instead of through the more conventional and static drawings and text.

It’s nice to see that Namco focused a lot more on the single player story mode than in previous series entries, and it definitely shows. The story took me roughly 2 hours to complete, and even though this may sound short, it is by far the most indepth single player story in the series, and there’s much more here than you’ll find in many other fighting games. The overall experience of the story mode was very impressive, it could have been a lot longer and could of branched out to more characters, however it does a really good job of introducing the game’s characters and fighting styles by switching player control between a small chunk of the roster. It’s just a shame that some of the new characters don’t even get a mention in the story line, which previously in SoulCalibur IV you could choose any character and follow a linear story path for that character. It wasn’t much, but it was interesting learning about how each character fit into the SoulCalibur universe.

You’ll also get to fight in 20 different vibrant locations, differing in detail and scope, though all featuring an amazing score setting the atmosphere for each battle. If that’s not incentive enough to jump into the story mode, then you will also be happy to know that you unlock loads of bonus content including new fighters, locations and items for you own character.SoulCalibur V’s action is as extravagant and over-the-top as fans would expect, but its fighting system has been reworked to offer quicker and smoother combat, removing the sluggish gaps found between moves in previous installments. I felt before that the gameplay was arguably a bit too heavy, especially online, where I would not feel an instant reaction to the characters moves.

The gameplay in SoulCalibur feels like it has had a huge upgrade compared to SoulCalibur IV. The most noticeable aspect is the speed of the action, by this I mean that the fights never have a dull moment and are much more fast paced than they were previously. This could be due to the new characters and balancing, or the fact that they have re-booted the mechanics. It’s brilliant and feels fresh, but still familiar to the classic SoulCallibur formula.

Enemies have weapons which vary their playstyle, along with the different move sets and timing which you’ll need for the critical blow. Side stepping and dodging enemy attacks still play a huge role in this title and feel much more functional than they did in the previous games. The defensive  side has also seen some upgrades, including a new quick side step move, while the basic guard button operates as it used to, with players needing to block incoming attacks at the correct height, and requiring precise timing to parry or counter moves.

For those familiar with the series, the Guard Impact feature will be familiar. This time though, it has been altered, as it now requires you to hold away from the opponent and the horizontal slash, vertical slash, and kick together (as opposed to forward and guard). This already has opened up a new defensive element into the fights, as the feature now allows the player to repel any attack regardless of height, of course ignoring the unblockable attacks.

Another defensive feature added to the game is the new Just Guard  technique, replacing the old style Guard Impact feature. This time around  if you use the Just Guard at the precise moment of an opponent’s attack, you’ll land a perfect guard. This means that the defensive move lessons the amount of delay that the character must wait before retaliating. Giving the great counter-attack option for a lot of players, this is something I took advantage of and will continue to do so.

They have also created a new character leveling system, working across the various game modes including Training and Arcade, allowing you to rank up your fighter while also unlocking customisation options and items. These can then be used in the character creation mode, giving you the chance to create your own SoulCalibur fighter. This feature has been present in previous entries, though this time it returns with many more options for you to adjust, not to mention the copious amount content, keeping the hardcore fans interested for some time. There’s a huge amount of varied content to unlock including a Devil Jin (Tekken) Fighting Style. You can also fiddle with the default characters as well as start from fresh. There’s quite a lot of options to mess around with and it goes to show how much customization they wanted to give to the player. SoulCalibur V wouldn’t be complete either if it didn’t feature a guest character from outside the franchise. Ezio from the Assassin’s Creed series makes his appearance to vary the playing field. He is actually a very interesting fighter to choose and has very good mid-air to long range attacks. Thankfully he doesn’t look out of place, so if you aren’t aware of the character’s background, he shouldn’t stand out too much.

Story mode isn’t the only mode available either, there’s the Legendary Souls, Arcade, Quick Battle, VS Battle, CPU vs CPU (Battle Theater), Training, PlayStation Network/Xbox Live modes and The Creation mode. The Legendary Souls mode is probably one of my favourite new modes, essentially boiling down to a boss rush, with the difficulty ramping up fast.  Arcade is the same as previous arcade modes, just fight you way through different foes until you lose. Quick battle is just for a quick match with a CPU. CPU Vs CPU is a strange mode to put in but if you feel like watching the CPU  fight, feel free. Training and online battles are pretty self explanatory as I’ll explain later on.

The design in SoulCalibur is by far the best in the series, the animation is very fluent and looks beautiful, not to mention how amazingly detailed the backdrops are during the fights. The classic Ring Outs are still present but now they can also add an extra layer of depth on certain stages, as knocking out an opponent from the ring will result in both characters falling down into a new arena to continue the fight ala Dead Of Alive/Tekken.
SoulCalibur has always had great graphics, even since the first title on the Dreamcast. There were many times where I have gone back to the story mode just to replay the parts featuring the cut scenes as I just can’t stop looking at how detailed each character is. Even during the fights, the characters look simply amazing.

The multiplayer mode is probably the best feature in the game. Throughout the whole time playing online while managing to fit a few hours of solid play, I can easily say that this is far better than SoulCalibur IV’s online offerings. You also have to put inconsideration the fact that I’m playing in the UK and the only available servers are currently the USA servers. I played many games and throughout playing online I experienced no lag and had an all-round great experience. Searching for a match is fairly quick, even though there’s hardly anyone online at this point. As soon as you find someone, it shows you their title and the rank information/location before you proceed.  Player matches are also present, similar to Super Street Fighter Arcade Edition. You can have 8 players in a lobby at one time with the winner staying on. You can also now watch other players battle it out whilst waiting, this also means you can save replays and upload them. There’s no editing functionality however so every upload you save consists of the entire match and not just your best bits. It’s not to much of an issue however, though I would hope future fighting games to allow expanded replay functionality.

Now besides your standard, ranked and player matches there is also a new mode called the Global Colosseo. This mode offers many functions, including a form of chat room, tournaments, normal matches and you can start lobbies and hold you own mini tournaments. It looks like it will be a great and popular mode, especially the tournament mode. You can also choose which country/ server you wish to fight in, so if you feel the need to take the challenge across the boarder the option is there.

Now lastly, the Soundtrack. I personally feel that over the past two SoulCalibur titles the soundtracks haven’t been outstanding, personally my favourite soundtrack of the whole series came from the second title. I wasn’t shocked however, as with the amount of work they have put in to making this one of the best SoulCalibur games, the soundtrack doesn’t fall short either, as the soundtrack is truly amazing. It feels like the team went back to their roots to re-master and reboot the music side in the franchise, adding many touches from the previous songs in the series. The musical score is just a masterpiece. Each stage has an amazing score and so do the characters. My personal favourite in the series, and it’s hard not to love all the songs but it has to be Sword of Resolution (Patroklos’ Theme) that does it for me. There are just so many amazing original pieces in this game it is just really outstanding. I would even recommend purchasing the soundtrack even if you’re not into the series.

Overall 9.5/10 – Editors Choice

SoulCalibur V is the best SoulCalibur title since SoulCalibur 2. The team has worked exceptionally hard by putting the series back on form. It has had a lot of work put into the balancing of the characters and the overall feel of the gameplay. The package feels more complete than ever before and fans of the series will be happy to know that it seems SoulCalibur is back on track. There are many added features that sold it for me. The new take on the story mode was a great touch, even though it’s short and not fully animated it still was interesting and very fun to play through, and I’m sure I will play certain episodes again in the near future. The overall disappointment is how the story doesn’t give room to introduce all the new characters, or even a separate story for the new characters. Hopefully with some upcoming updates/DLC we may be able to venture with the newer characters.  The design and soundtrack alone are the best in the series since SoulCalibur 2. The updated creation zone as well as new characters have added much more depth to the gameplay, especially on the defensive side. The multiplayer is near enough perfect, though there could be a few tweaks here and there but nothing too major that caused me to stop playing. It’s addictive, fun and the Global Colosseo mode will be very popular for hardcore fighters. I feel that with all the major changes, upgrades and new systems in-place that the game could deserve a 10/10. There are some minor flaws, mainly in the story section of the game but the overall experience of the title is one I will never forget and will continue playing for a very long time.

Capcom Officially Confirm Megaman and Pac-man For Street Fighter X Tekken PS Vita & PS3

Capcom have officially announced that Megaman and Pac-man will be joining the Street Fighter X Tekken fight. Last week we reported that Megman and Pac-Man were rumoured to be joining the fight. Now Capcom have confirmed the rumour.  For the first time, the version of Mega Man featured on the original Mega Man 1 box art will make the jump from the cover to be a playable character, with Pac-Man taking on all challengers as he rides atop Mokujin.

Mega Man and Pac-Man join the previously announced PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita exclusive characters, Cole from Infamous plus Toro and Kuro.

Street Fighter X Tekken will release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 6 in North America and March 9 across Europe with PlayStation Vita and PC versions to follow.

The Last of Us: Naughty Dog Announce Brand New Details; Environments And Believable Facial Expressions

• The Last of Us will share the core technology of last year’s super hit game: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception with a few changes.
• The Last of Us will focus more on non-verbal communication thereby putting more emphasis on facial expressions.
• The actor’s voices will be captured along with their physical movement, similar to what Naughty Dog have done in the Uncharted franchise.
• The VGA 2011 trailer was actually planned to be shown at E3 2011, showing an unarmed Ellie.
• With The Last of Us, Naughty Dog will try to explain ‘something’ about human beings and how they exist.
• The Last of Us will take place across several cities in America.
• The Last of Us will see Naughty Dog transitioning to awesome environments and minimalist story telling.

The Last of Us is due Q4 2012/Q1 2013 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

Here’s the trailer, just incase you managed not to see it.

I Am Alive Release Date Confirmed

Today, Ubisoft announced that I Am Alive, an upcoming post-apocalyptic action-adventure game, is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party for the Xbox 360 on March 7, 2012.

I Am Alive follows an everyman’s journey to find his wife and daughter, who were lost during the “Event.” A year later, he finds Haventon, his hometown, in shambles. Buildings are destroyed, toxic ash fills the streets and society has been torn, causing inhabitants to take all necessary actions to survive.

In I Am Alive, players will be challenged by both the environment and the enemies. Stamina and resource management are key when being exposed to deadly atmospheres and scaling enormous buildings in search of supplies. The unique combat system requires players to utilize intimidation – cowards are easily swayed with an empty gun, while other enemies will put players to the test.

Review: Lord Of The Rings: War In The North

It’s been a while since a decent Lord Of The Rings title hit our consoles. The recent release of Lord Of The Rings: War In The North ventures into a new area in the saga which has yet been touched upon before. Warner Bros. has taken the plunge with this title, so how does it shape up? Find out in this review.

LOTR: War In The North takes place during “The War Of the Ring” and is told through three characters: Eradan: Dunedain Ranger, Andriel: Loremaster of Rivendell, and Farin: Champion of Erebor. The narrative is not particularly in-depth, but it expands on the already big universe that encompasses the previous films and games. The story can at times have some very interesting dialogue, but most if falls short on achieving what the pervious entries in the LOTR franchise produced. This doesn’t mean it’s bad however, and will keep you interested throughout as you venture through Middle-Earth and discover what the three warriors did to stop Sauron from getting back the Ring of Power.
 Throughout the campaign you’ll stumble upon many different locations and environments which will feel familiar to any fan of the series. This includes places like Bree where the game opens up at The Prancing Pony to visit with Aragon who gives you your first mission. The opening cutscenes and gameplay does feature some dialogue which can drag on as the first incentive for me was seeing what the combat was like. This didn’t take long however, as the swords start swinging as you head to Fornost and save Beleram (one of the great eagles), along with the sons of Elrond: Elladan and Elrohir. As the game progresses, you’ll head to Rivendell and meet many of the main players of the Fellowship: Elrond, Arwen, Bilbo, and Gloin. During this you’ll get your next mission, a couple of side quests and some achievements for those who are interested. The story and missions are all set in beautiful locations, which is probably one of my highlights of the game along with the fact that you get to go to Rivendall and speak to the Fellowship characters. The game’s story may not interest everyone however, if you are not a fan of LOTR then this game won’t change your mind or make you want to watch the films. The story’s appeal is aimed squarely at fans of the films and many locations relate directly to those.

The art design for War in the North is pretty good overall. There are a few nice details added throughout the game, especially the effects on the armour depending on the weather condition. It’s the small details that just make the game look appealing to the eye. There are some locations however than just seem rushed, there are also many things that look really outdated and mashed together. A number of locations that involve water all add to variety, especially when they appear beautiful and crisp in contrast to the others looking terrible and unrealistic. The design does have many flaws which a lot of people will notice throughout playing and the textures do look a bit grainy, but it does have its fair share of polished locations, so overall a 50/50 balance between the two. Another good design feature is the combat system, since when you kill an enemy in a certain way you get to see their arms, heads and legs fling all over the place. It’s a nice added feature and is rewarding after you brutally take down the poor little orcs.

The gameplay in War in the North follows the generic role of an action RPG, opening up more ways to take on the different parts of the game. This also helps with the fact that you can play with up to 3 people online at one time, levelling up and completing the game together. The RPG element is balanced quite well, especially given the focus on Co-Op. Levelling up is based on the amount of enemies you kill and how you kill them. For example if you take down and enemy with a Final Blow you will gain more XP than if you just used your basic sword attacks. The quests are all story related, other than the few side quests. This may put some people off as the length of the game isn’t very long and took me and two friends around 16 hours to complete the game, minus side quests. Even though there isn’t a large amount of side quests, they do help with the levelling system. What is interesting is how well balanced the RPG and combat elements are. I didn’t feel at all bored throughout out the game and the RPG parts were very simple to learn and use effectively. Every time you level up you gain 3 skill points to attribute, and an ability point, to which you can unlock more attacks, combos, spells to use whilst in combat. I also spent a ridiculous amount of time on making sure I got the best armour for my character, hunting down treasure chest and secret caves to gain more items. When in combat, you are able to choose three ways to attack. If you choose the Ranger and Champion you can have a bow equipped to take down enemies at long distances. The Loremaster is able to shoot at enemies with her staff, however it doesn’t have amazing range. In terms of their other specialisations, the Ranger is able to duel wield two primary weapons, the Champion prefers handling two handed weapons or a shield with a one handed weapon, and the Loremaster has ability to shield players from attacks. It’s well balanced between the three characters and gives a lot of replay incentive to try out the different characters. You can also achieve heavy strikes, as well as the standard strikes with your hand to hand combat weapons. Characters can combine that with special abilities that each character possesses. The game is very button mash friendly, but isn’t too repetitive to annoy you. I found it great mashing buttons and seeing enemies fall to my feet in slow-motion.

Overall 7.5/10 

The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North is very fun to play, both solo and in its great three player co-op system. It’s nice being able to see a different side of the story, as I did wonder what was going on whilst Frodo went to destroy the ring. The game does have its flaws however, mainly in the design side of things. The length of the game may put some people off, but I don’t think it should as if you’re looking for a fun RPG  then the length of the game will no longer be an issue. There is also the incentive to replay the game due to the different difficulty modes that unlock achievements. If you’re not of a fan of LOTR then this RPG may not suit you, but if you are interested in finding items and unlocking new abilities then this would be great for you.

First Resident Evil 6 Official Announcement Information Released

Capcom have just revealed a brand new trailer for Resident Evil 6. Along with the trailer Capcom also released a press release about the title.  We also have an official logo and artwork that hasn’t been revealed until now.

Press Release:  

It has been ten years since the Raccoon City incident and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place in the belief that it will curb the current resurgence in bioterrorist activity. Due to be by the President’s side is his personal friend and Raccoon City survivor, Leon S. Kennedy, but when the venue suffers a bioterrorist attack, Leon is forced to face a President transformed beyond recognition and make his hardest ever decision. At the same time, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member, Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack.  With no country safe from these attacks and the ensuing outbreaks, the entire world’s population is united by a common fear that there is no hope left.

In a first for the franchise, Resident Evil 6 sees series favourites Leon and Chris come together to face this unprecedented threat. They will be joined by new characters, each with their own unique perspective and involvement in this relentless dramatic horror experience enacted on a global scale.

“Resident Evil 6 represents a giant stride forward in the evolution of the series,” commented Katsuhiko Ichii, Head of R&D and Global Marketing. “The development team, led by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, is working tirelessly to deliver the most impressive Resident Evil™ title ever both in terms of scope and production values. We are all genuinely excited by the title and cannot wait to share it with the world.”

Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Resident Evil 6’s Executive Producer added: “From the outset the team’s intention was to create an experience that delivers a gripping storyline, tense single-player and co-op action all set against a constant theme of horror. We are calling this fusion dramatic horror and are confident it will resonate with both existing fans of the series as well as newcomers.”

First Resident Evil 6 Trailer is released

The first Resident Evil 6 trailer is upon us, the trailer reveals two main characters known as Leon and Chris. It also appears the location is China due to the writing on the signs. It also appears Ashley the presidents daughter from Resident Evil 4 also makes an appearance. It also seems that if it is Ashley she  is now apart of the B.S.A.A group which Chris was a part of in Resident Evil 5. It also appears the leaked posters were legit and the release date points 20.11.2012.

What we have seen in the trailer that it seems you can take control as Leon and Chris. There is not much to say about the trailer other than it looks graphically stunning, so let  us know what you think of this amazing trailer.