NeverDead – Review

The first time I saw the trailer for NeverDead – the latest third person action game from Konami and Rebellion Development – I just knew I had to get my hands on it. It had such a uniqueness to it that’s quite difficult to describe, but between the outlandish characters and the premise of immortality, there was something there. It looked strange, it looked fun, and it looked explosive. What was particularly strange was that I usually don’t go for these types of games – hack ‘n’ slash games with a bit of gunplay, like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. Will NeverDead reign immortal among these titles, or will it die before its time?

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Six Games That May Be Overlooked This Holiday Season (Yet Deserve Your Attention)

We are creeping up on November and have already seen the release of the first wave of big games released this holiday season with Rage, Dark Souls, and Batman Arkham City. As all gamers have been aware, the end of 2011 is going to be big. Really big. I have trouble remembering a year that had so many AAA titles being released all around the same time; it is going to be hell on our wallets. There are some other games creeping out during this time that deserve some attention, and attention I shall give them. Games that are going to be innocent bystanders in the FPS turf war between Call of Duty and Battlefield. Titles that may find themselves lost within the wilderness of Elder Scroll’s Tamriel and Zelda’s Hyrule. It’s interesting to me that there are so many smaller games that publishers are pushing out during a time when they are going to have to stand up against Batman’s rogues gallery and the witty action packed life of Nathan Drake. I feel that many of these titles would perform well on their own merit, but I fear that they will be overlooked standing aside these giants. It’s time to shed some light on these titles, and give them a small dose of the attention that they deserve.

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E3 2011 – Konami Booth – NeverDead Preview

So we got a chance to sit down with designer Shinta Nojiri (Metal Gear: Acid 1, 2) to talk about his new IP, NeverDead. NeverDead follows the story of Bryce, a demon hunter who is cursed to immortality by the Demon King. Now 500 years later he’s coerced back into the fight by a female investigator and her secret organization.  On the surface NeverDead comes off as the same flavor of many Japanese third-party action adventure games. However, it’s immortality gimmick offers an interesting look into player consequence.

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Review – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow tries really hard to break the conventions of the previous titles in the series. Called a reboot by Konami, the most recent title in the Castlevania series deviates from the side-scrolling 2D adventuring and opts for 3D overhead style gameplay. Some might consider this an attempt to freshen up a stale franchise, others would consider it an attempt to appeal to a younger gamer, maybe the ones who are currently playing or grew up playing games like God of War.

Whatever you want to call it, Castlevania is a cash-in of a very successful gameplay style of big monsters, bigger levels, 3D platforming, and button mashing combat with a level-up system set in the background where you can upgrade your weapons and skills. Did I forget to mention that you can earn back life by finding glowing health repositories and holding down the R2 (or whatever similarly located button it is) at these locations Continue reading…

TGS 2010: Metal Gear Solid: Rising Extended Tech Demo

You might remember a quick video snippit at the end of the initial MGS: Rising trailer that shows Raiden cutting a watermelon.  At TGS today, halfway through the Kojima special stage presentation, we finally got to see the rest of that tech demo.  Enjoy!

The Jams Are Def

Def Jam Rapstar is gearing up to drop this October.  As the newest title in the RockStarBandHero genre to hit the market, despite the karaoke-style stigma, it looks surprisingly fun.  I fully expect to be listening to my friends butcher some of THE DOPEST RHYMES in hip hop history come October 5th when it hits US shelves.  Produced by up and coming 4mm Games and published under the Konami umbrella, this rap karaoke title is a truly revolutionary step for gaming.

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