Suzuki Yu
True Gamer
هذي البريفيوز :
ياكوزا :
فانتسي ستار يونيفيرس :
كروم هاوندس :
سونك ذا هيدجهوج (طبعا هذا ثاني بريفيو لسونك بعد حق ال IGN ):
ياكوزا :
with the announcement of the upcoming Soprano's title from THQ, as well as the Reservoir Dogs game, it would appear as though the mafia is getting some attention in the realm of gaming. Now, Sega is primed and ready to get in on the action with its PlayStation 2 title, Yakuza. The game has already been released in Japan and the fan reaction is very positive. From what we've seen of the game, the US should dig this one as well.
One of the first things to note about Yakuza is that it's extremely close to the true depiction of the Japanese mafia. This is one of the reasons why the game has been so well received in the Land of the Rising Sun. Yakuza takes place in the year 2005 in the underground of Tokyo. These are locations you can actually go to if you're ever in Tokyo, but they're a bit seedy so you may want to stick with the in-game versions.
Players will take control of a former rising star in the Yakuza, Kiryu Kazuma, who has just been released from prison for a crime that he did not commit. As you play through the 13 chapters featured in Yakuza, you'll unravel a story with plenty of compelling twists and turns. Sega got the help of an award-winning Japanese novelist and put heavy emphasis on the story to ensure that Yakuza will keep players coming back for more.
The basic setup for Yakuza consists of an in-game cut scene that will move the story along, mixed in with random encounters similar to an RPG. As you move around the seedy areas of Tokyo, a fight will randomly break out with a member of the Yakuza or some random person who happens to like the high priced clothes Kazuma is wearing. Sometimes you'll have specific characters to knock out, while other times you'll just be fighting people along the street.
Sega has built the combat engine for Yakuza from the ground up to give it a unique quality not seen in most 3D brawlers these days. The fighting centers around the basics of street brawling with the ability to use just about any object you see as a weapon. Kazuma can carry up to three objects at a time for weapons, along with nine items, such as Sake, that can be used to replenish health.
Each weapon will have a specific lifespan. After four of five successful attacks (the number varies depending on the weapon), the weapon will break and you'll have to resort to your fists or find another weapon. There are over 300 items within the game, including many officially licensed objects (think the Coke of Japan). Certain items will give Kazuma special techniques that can be used after your special meter has filled up. With each attack that Kazuma lands, his special meter will increase, but if you take a hit can get knocked to the ground, you'll start to lose your momentum and your special meter will drop.
As you fight your way through Yakuza, your character will level up three attributes: body, spirit and technique. Homeless people that you encounter throughout Tokyo will teach Kazuma new skills as he earns experience through the random encounters. Experience earned will also raise your level of skill in each attribute. You can get Kazuma up to level 10 in each of the three attributes, and it will take you a majority of the game to get them maxed out.
Beyond the story and the newly designed combat engine, Yakuza also features a number of mini-games and side missions. There are over 70 side missions and over 10 mini-games to keep players busy outside of the main story. Some of these mini-games include massage parlors (we'll let you figure out what goes on there), strip clubs, batting cages and things of that nature.
While we're a bit worried that Yakuza may get a bit repetitive, the numerous side missions and mini-games, in addition to the involving story should keep players glued to their TVs when the game ships this September. We'll have more on Yakuza when we take the game for a full test drive next week at E3.
فانتسي ستار يونيفيرس :
Phantasy Star has come a long way since its early days so many generations ago. Sega's upcoming Phantasy Star Universe is looking to expand greatly on the series and deliver some things that have never been done in a Phantasy Star game. We spent some time with Sega last week to take a closer look at Universe, and we've come away pleasantly surprised with the changes Sega has made to the series.
While the last few installments in the Phantasy Star series have been primarily multiplayer focused, Universe will feature a deep single player experience in addition to an expansive multiplayer focus. The single player game should clock in at around 35 to 40 hours, and will feature real characters this time around. Players will take control of Ethan Weber and his team as they progress through a massive space opera. As players journey from planet to planet they'll find unique monsters on each, making for a very deep RPG experience.
For the first time in the series, Universe will feature voice acting. While we're sure most of the hardcore gamers out there are hoping for a Japanese language track, it's not looking likely. However, the voice acting we heard in the demo was fairly solid and not at all as cheesy as some videogame voice acting can get.
Gameplay in Phantasy Star Universe will be more complex than what we've seen in the last few Phantasy Star titles. All of the combat will be real-time, but it will focus around Photon Arts. Special items can be attached to your weapons which will be dependant on the class of your character. These special items can greatly enhance your melee combat by perhaps allowing you to perform six hit combos instead of four hit combos, or possibly ending a four hit combo with a big finisher for extra damage.
During the single player game you'll control one character in your party, but you'll be able to switch out your support characters at any time. These support characters will be controlled by solid computer AI, so you shouldn't have to baby sit the rest of your party during big battles. The computer AI will heal you or give you a hand in combat when you begin to struggle, but it won't do anything randomly like some computer controlled characters we've seen in other RPGs.
Players will start off the single player game as a Hunter. However, you can change your class immediately, or even go for a hybrid of multiple classes. Sega is promising massive boss battles and more of them when compared to previous titles in the series. Phantasy Star Universe will feature nine boss battles, which is more than double the amount of boss battles found in Phantasy Star Online. The boss battle that was demoed for us was fairly encompassing and required a decent amount of strategy.
Online the game will feature individual rooms for players to store items and customize their characters. Customization is a very big part of the online component in Universe. The character customization will be extremely in-depth, allowing players to change virtually every aspect of their character from the body type down to the skin color. Mags have also been upgraded and will offer a crafting system for players. In addition, players will now be able to battle their Mags with other players.
Public squares in Universe will hold up to 200 players at a time, making it easier to party up. Parties of up to six players can be formed, and the Xbox 360 version will feature full voice chat. It's currently unknown how voice chat will work in the public squares, but it's assumed that a keyboard will be needed to communicate in these larger areas.
The game will be hitting the PlayStation 2, PC and Xbox 360 later this year. While it's not yet known whether or not the game will support cross-platform play, we do know that the PC and PS2 versions are scheduled to ship in October, while the Xbox 360 version will not hit store shelves until later in the year. From the looks of things, each version should be very similar aside from some minor graphical upgrades, but Sega didn't seem very positive when we asked about the possibility of cross-platform play. So while it has yet to be finalized, don't get your hopes up that the feature will be included.
Sega plans to have the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of Phantasy Star Universe playable on the E3 show floor. We'll have in-depth hands-on impressions of the title then, so stay tuned.
كروم هاوندس :
are you ready for some Chrome Hounds? Seriously... there are a lot of gamers out there who love mech combat titles, but they've come to expect that only the Mech Warrior series (and it's off shoots such as Mech Assault) and the Armored Core series will offer any kind of quality. Other than the occasional Gundam title that sticks out, it's true that most mech combat titles just don't stack up to the high profile Armored Core and Mech Warrior series of games. Even after a test drive of Chrome Hounds at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, I wasn't convinced that the game would be as solid as From Software's other mech offerings. Sega showed off Chrome Hounds with a full three on three online battle, and the game has come a long way since TGS.
If you haven't heard of Chrome Hounds before, it's an Xbox 360 mech combat game from the developers behind the Armored Core series, From Software. The game takes place in an alternate reality where a catastrophic war between the US, Asia and Russia has taken control of the planet. The game features 44 missions in the single player mode, and 6 types of Chrome Hounds (the mechs) to ensure an extremely customizable and RPG-like experience for mech fans.
Customization is one of the high points of Chrome Hounds, and something the developers at From Software hope will keep gamers playing for a long time after the game is released. Each Hound has access to three weapon groups that can be switched on the fly. The weapons all have varying reload time, so you'll need to focus on switching between them to ensure you don't have too much down time when you're open to attack.
There are two levels of customization in Chrome Hounds. For the players who just want to get out there and blast some metal heads, they can opt for the simple customization and preset weapon sets. However, the hardcore mech combat fans can get much deeper into the customization and mess around with each and every weapon, its placement on your mech, weight distribution, and all kinds of other options. Adding weapons and items to your Hound is hex-based, allowing players to move around their weapons and really get a unique feel to their mech. In addition, players will be able to create their own emblems to use on their Hounds, as well as customize the color of their Hound.
The six mech types are: Defender, Heavy Gunner, Sniper, Soldier, Scout and Tactics Commander. Each mech type has a specific role during combat. Think of each mech type as a job class in an RPG. The Defender will have a ton of armor and act as your protection for the Hounds will that have minimal weaponry. Heavy Gunners will roll up on the enemy with guns blazing, but they'll be slow with very little agility. Snipers are pretty straight forward with the ability to attack targets from great distances. Scouts are smaller, faster Hounds that will have limited armor and weaponry, but enhanced agility and to evade the heavier Hounds. Tactics Commander is the brain of the party, with enhanced maps that display where the enemy is and what type of Hound they're using.
While the single player missions will help players to learn the various mech types and unlock weapons and items for use in online play, it's the Xbox Live multiplayer where this game truly shines. Chrome Hounds will feature all of the standard modes of play found in most online battle games. However, the stand out mode seems to be the Noramus World mode. Think of it as an MMORPG and you'll start to understand how this mode works
In the Noramus World, clans of up to 20 players can take part in a huge war over land. Six players will take part in missions to secure specific points as each clan battles to control the continent. From Software will be using their own servers to hold individual and squad stats. As your stats increase, new abilities and weapons will become available to your clan. However, to ensure balance a match making service will automatically find two clans fighting for the same territory who are on the same level in terms of Hound ability. If no other clans are available at the time, you'll battle against a team of computer controlled bots.
During clan battles the teams will need to have solid team work if they want to come out on top. The Tactics Commander will need to take to the high ground and relay information to his teammates through voice chat. The Defenders will need to ensure the Tactics Commander is safe from enemy fire, because if your team loses their Tactics Commander they'll be in trouble. Meanwhile, the Snipers, Heavy Gunners and Soldiers will need to listen to the Tactics Commander and engage the enemy accordingly, while switching over to enemy communication lines to offer up a few taunts. Strategy plays a big role in Chrome Hounds that will shine brightly during online play.
There will be over 80 maps included for online play, as well as paid downloadable content in the form of new Hounds, new artillery and new maps. Chrome Hounds has come a long way since we first took it for a spin last September, and it's looking to space up even further before it releases in July. We'll have more on Sega's upcoming mech title next week when we go head to head with five other players at E3 2006.
سونك ذا هيدجهوج (طبعا هذا ثاني بريفيو لسونك بعد حق ال IGN ):
Sonic has had his ups and downs over the last few years. He started out strong on the Sega Genesis, but then hit a small bump when he shifted to the Dreamcast and has been falling ever since. So when Sega unveiled a teaser for the next generation of Sonic at E3 2005, many looked at it a Sonic Adventure with better graphics. While we still have yet to get our hands on the next gen Sonic, Sega gave us a nice demo that has left us wanting more (which will come in the form of hands-on time at E3 2006).
To celebrate Sonic's 15th anniversary, Sega has opted to title the upcoming Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game a very fitting, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic Team's goal on next generation consoles is to redefine speed and bring Sonic back to his roots when he dominated the Genesis. Sega demoed the Kingdom Valley stage for us, and what we saw was definitely looking faster than anything we've seen in the last few Sonic titles. But Sega didn't stop there, we were told that the speed we were seeing was only about half as fast as the final product will be moving.
The new Sonic the Hedgehog adds something to the Sonic universe that has never been done before. Sonic will finally interact with the world of Humans. The story centers around the world of Soleanna where Princess Elise holds a powerful secret. As expected, Dr. Eggman has learned what this powerful secret is and has taken the necessary steps to acquire this power. It's up to Sonic to stop Eggman once again, but this time a new enemy has emerged. We'll learn about this new enemy at E3, but for now we know that it seems to be a grey-colored Hedgehog with supernatural powers who has an agenda of his own.
Throughout the Kingdom Valley stage and the rest of the game, Sonic will have multiple paths available to him. One area featured Sonic jumping from platform to platform, with another option that allowed him to run across the water. Other areas of the demo had Sonic taking the low road or the high road, and it seems clear that the fastest path to the goal will be elusive until players have played through the stages numerous times.
We didn't get to see much of the Human world, Sonic will be able to move around RPG-style and talk to various people within the cities of Soleanna. The city areas will open things up for submissions, but beyond that very little is currently known about how the city areas will be played. One thing is very clear, Sega has scaled Sonic the Hedgehog to make Sonic and his crew appear very small in the world of Humans. Cars, buildings and other various objects within each stage really give you a sense of size.
Sonic the Hedgehog is currently slated to release as a PlayStation 3 launch title with the Xbox 360 version hitting at the same time. The demo we were shown is promising, but we'll be sure to bring you more information on the new Sonic title when we finally get our hands on Kingdom Valley next week.
