The villains keep on coming in Arkham City and it looks like Batman is going to have his hands full.  I must say that Arkham City's rendition of Mr. Freeze is pretty cool, he seems like a chill kinda guy.  Freeze's suit seems to have some upgrades including scanners, a force shield, and who knows what else.


It definitely looks to be an interesting fight and game of cat and mouse going by the trailer.  Batman was on the defensive sneaking around trying to get the jump on Freeze much like the Vulcan Raven fight from Metal Gear Solid.  Arkham City is shaping up to be an impressive game.  Be sure to check back for more updates and pick up the game this October!

It seems like only yesterday that I played the demo for Bleach: Soul Ignition, and cringed at nearly every aspect of it. Now that it hit stateside,(and named Soul Resurreccion in the US,) I let my inner fanboy take over and decided to give the game a second chance. Fans have been waiting for a good Bleach game to come out on consoles, but is Soul Resurreccion the game we've all been asking for? Find out right here!

First of all, Soul Resurreccion isn't a fighting game like most people would expect. Instead, NIS brought us a hack n' slash action game very similar to Dynasty Warriors or Sengoku Basara, and in that genre, Bleach holds its own very well. A lot of gamers look down on those games and don't give them a second look. But there's also a large amount that absolutely love them, and if you're one of those gamers, then Soul Resurreccion just might be a gift from Soul Society.


The presentation and menus are very well designed in Bleach. They all look very good with nice animations, and easy to navigate. Another nice feature is the lack of a mandatory installation. There's also a TON of stuff to do and unlock in the game. There are 21 total playable characters, and a handful of different gameplay modes to use them in. They all add a bit of variety to the otherwise bland repetition of farming souls (experience points) to max out your favorite characters. If you plan on going for the Platinum in this game, be prepared to devote some hardcore hours. That being said, leveling up characters is extremely addictive with the level up system they've implemented. Very similar to Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, (almost to the point of copy and paste) aquiring souls to build up your characters' stats and learning new abilities will keep players interested for many, many hours. That's usually a good thing for a game to do.


The graphics in Bleach are a bit of a mixed bag. The main character models look good, and have fluid animations for all their super attacks. Some of the enemies look a somewhat uninspired, however. The environments look decent, and most of them are recognizable from episodes of the anime, but they tend to be recycled a little too much. They do get the job done, however, since the story from the anime doesn't exactly have a wide variety of backdrops to choose from. The maps are mostly straightforward corridors with very few branching paths. The music also leaves a little to be desired. It's a very easily forgotten soundtrack, with generic rock rhythms. It just ends up being background noise as you hack your way through the stages. A nice feature is the option to pick between english or japanese dialogue. I think it's safe to say most fans don't care for the english dub.



With this type of game, what really matters (aside from all the awesome Bleach characters and fan service) is the gameplay, and Soul Resurreccion delivers on that. You plow through each level trying to keep your Slash meter up as high as possible, then come to a boss fight at the end. The better you are at combos, the more Ignition you'll build up to unleash more devastating attacks, and better rankings for your missions. Simple concept, but mindless fun is still fun. Controls are responsive, and combos and movement feel as fast as you'd expect in the Bleach universe. Expect to get A LOT of use out of your Square button with this game. Along with your primary combo attacks, you have access to different variations of spirit pressure attacks, and ignition (super mode). As you level up, you'll learn combo cancels, triple jump, counter attacks, etc. NIS did a very good job adding depth to the combat, even if most players will tend to lean on spamming one button throughout the entire experience. Either way, the option to mix things up is there for you.



My only complaints with Bleach: Soul Resurreccion really go hand in hand. The story mode leaves quite a lot of details out. No real mention of the Vizards, or half of the fights that happened in the town before the major battles started. With the addition of a few more story missions, along with the characters that would need to be included in those missions, Soul Resurreccion could have had a very solid story mode experience. Instead, it ends up being the weakest part of the game. NIS is notorious for major support for their games when it comes to downloadable content, so time will tell on that. Overall, Bleach: Soul Resurreccion is an enjoyable game for something to pass the time and has the potential to keep gamers interested for endless hours. It may not be for everybody, but it's definitely worth a try, especially for fans of the series. BANKAI!

Earlier this year, Eat Sleep Play's new Twisted Metal game was announced for an October 4, 2011 release date, but alas, that is no longer the case. David Jaffe announced today that the game has been delayed until early 2012. The reason given was to use the extra development time to ensure the quality of the new Twisted Metal, and make sure it's as good as it can possibly be.

Though it may be disappointing to some, I for one am a little glad for the delay. Not only does it mean the game will be higher quality than a rushed product, but it also makes it a little easier to budget all the other huge titles coming out around October. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available, and thank you, David Jaffe. I hope Twisted Metal turns out to be as good as you want it to be!

Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the biggest games of 2009, but the Collector's Edition of the game left much to be desired. The plastic batarang that was irremovable from the cheap stand was a bit of a low blow to Batman fans, and the rest of the contents were "meh" at best. Don't get me wrong, I still treasure it, along with the fancy box it came in. Even still, I can't help but hope they do a little better for the $99.99 price tag next try.

With Arkham City on the way, many people have been waiting to see if the Collector's Edition will indeed be worth the price of admission. Well folks, the wait is over and details have finally been released about what Batman lovers can get for a hundred bucks!

In this amazing box, you'll get:

• A Batman statue from Kotobukiya
• The Batman: Gotham Knights movie
• An Arkham City Artbook
• An album containing music from the game
• Exclusive early access to in-game content including The Iceberg Lounge challenge map, and an alternate skin for the Dark Knight himself.
• And of course, your very own copy of Batman: Arkham City

All in all, it seems like a big improvement over the last installments collector's edition. Whether people feel the need to spend an extra $40 for this extra stuff is up to the individual, but I for one know that I'll have a sweet Batman statue sitting on my game shelf on October 18.

Today Konami announced that Castlevania Harmony of Despair will be coming to the Playstation Network later this summer.  The Pyramid of Ruin level as well as the playable characters Julius Belmont and Yoko Belnades previously released on the Xbox 360 as DLC will be included on the PSN version with the purchase of the game.


 
In addition to the included DLC content the PSN version will also have a new 4 player local co-op mode.  You can also play online with up to six players.  Castlevania Harmony of Despair is a Castlevania fan's dream come true.  You are able to battle together with friends playing as some of the most memorable characters of the series including Alucard and Soma Cruz.  Be sure to look for this game coming out on the PSN later this summer.

 Batman Arkham Asylum was not only the best Batman game, it is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever". Batman Arkham City is setting out to top the first game. Check out 10 minutes of gameplay footage that shows Catwoman and Batman in action:



In Batman Arkham City You are able to traverse around an open world city that is five times larger than Arkham Asylum. The combat system more is dynamic with new attacks, counters, and gadgets at your disposal. There is also 15 hours worth of optional side missions that you can complete.  Batman Arkham City is one of the most anticipated games of this year.  It will be released on October 18th for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Dragon's Crown is a 2D action fantasy RPG developed by VANILLAWARE.  The game uses the same unique art style that you'll recognize from other VANILLAWARE titles like Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade.  This will be their first HD title and it looks spectacular.  The gameplay will be similar to the old Golden Axe games; which are side scrolling hack & slash beat 'em ups.


Of course Dragon's Crown is modernizing the genre with some exciting new features.  The game has you exploring a massive labyrinth which is comprised of all of the lands ruins and monster lairs in search of treasure.  You can play the main story or do quests together with up to 4 people from around the world with online multiplayer.



Dragon's Crown has lots of treasure, items, and weapons for you to collect to power up your character.  There is also a level up system for the weapons and ways for you to customize your character's features.  Not much is known yet about the level up system or what you can customize as the game is not yet fully developed.  Just knowing that you can level up and customize in this type of game is enough to peek interest.

One of the more innovated features announced was the ability to resurrect fallen characters of actual players and have them aid you in battle as an NPC.  As you play the game you may see the bones of other players who have died.  If you collect the bones and take them to the temple you can resurrect that player's character to fight with you as an NPC.

There are 6 classes that you can chose from:

Fighter:
Wearing full plate armor and a shield the Fighter has the strongest defense of all the classes. This is an easy class for beginners to pick up and play.

Amazon:
Wielding huge 2-handed weapons the Amazon deals heavy damage that attacks multiple foes.  This class has a berserker style of play; low defense, but dealing high offense that increases with each strike landed.

Wizard:
Able to cast elemental magic the Wizard is very powerful.  Their spells are the most damaging out of all the classes, but they take time to cast and take up a lot of power.

Sorceress:
As a jack-of-all-trades support class the Sorceress is useful to have for any party.  They are able to turn foes to frogs, create potions for healing, and control golems or skeletons to aid in battle.

Dwarf
The Dwarf is a dual wielding grappler that can grab foes and send them flying at each other.  His great strength and large body can be used as a weapon, but it also slows him down.

Elf
Using a bow to attack from a range the Elf is very agile.  She also has a variety of special skills and can react quickly to any given situation.



Dragon's Crown is being developed for the PS3 and PSV.  Both systems are able to connect and play with each other online.  The game also won't be scaled down in any way on the PSV.  If you have both versions of the game you are able to transfer your data seamlessly between them.  Dragon's Crown is scheduled for release spring 2012.

From the moment I saw the first trailer for Dragon's Dogma I was immediately excited.  I've been waiting for a Monster Hunter type of game to finally come to consoles.  Dragon's Dogma shares one core similarity to Monster Hunter; which is being able to battle huge creatures.  If you look deeper you will see that they are very different games.


Dragon's Dogma is a mixing of high fantasy elements with Capcom's action game style of gameplay.  The game will be story focused and more of a single player experience.  The developer did say that there will be no traditional multiplayer and online elements will be announced in the future.  I'm hoping what they mean by "no traditional multiplayer" is something akin to how Demon's Souls did it.  After all battling huge creatures is a lot of fun solo, but it's even more fun with friends. 

Burn Chicken! Burn!

Don't worry though, even as a single player experience you won't be alone.  You will have a party with you throughout the game to help you out.  You can select from different pawns or partners to come adventure with you.  They all have different styles and bonuses so you may want to swap them out depending on the situation.  If they die, they can be revived or you can just replace them.

Your party members are able to help fight along side of you and do combination attacks.  The smaller enemies they will sometimes grab and hold so you can strike them down.  The larger enemies they can help give you a boost up into the air so you can grab onto the creature and do massive damage.  Your party will also give you battle advice and tell you about enemy weaknesses.  The AI is supposed to be done fairly well so they don't just stand there like in most games and will be an active participant in battle. 

I don't trust the look in that Goat's eye!

The game has 3 classes that you can choose from: Fighter, Strider, and Mage.  The Fighter is a sword and shield brawler type that gets up close and personal with the creatures.  I imagine the Fighter to take on the role of tank distracting the monster for everyone.  The Strider uses dual daggers for close range, and a bow for long ranged attacks.  The Strider is also the best at grabbing onto the enemies which gives tactical advantage for doing massive damage.  The Mage uses elemental magic attacks to fight with.  The Mage can also give elemental buffs to the parties weapons, and can heal or revive fallen comrades.
 
Dragon's Dogma will be Capcom's first open world game which I'm really excited about.  Capcom has said that it will be a full open world action game.  They want you to experience a real sense of adventure when you quest.  You will be able to see creatures attacking villages in the distance and you can decide if you want to venture there to help or not.  Where you choose to go and who you want to help can impact the story later in the game.

Somebody get these mutha effen snakes outta this mutha effen castle!

Fighting against massive creatures and impossible odds gives you a sense of life or death anxiety that you can't get from anywhere else.  I'll be keeping an eye on this one and will keep you updated as more information becomes available.  Dragon's Dogma is slated for release early 2012 for PS3 and 360. 
 

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I've been waiting for a Bleach game to be released on the PS3 pretty much since the PS3 has been out. With numerous releases of the franchise on the PSP, I knew it only had to be a matter of time before one would get thrown in the home console's direction. Well, that time has finally come. Bleach: Soul Ignition is on its way, with a demo available on the Japanese PSN, but is this game going to be the one we've been waiting for?

No Ichigo, it's not cool.

First off, I'd like to say that I am a fan of the Bleach anime and manga, so my opinion of some of the game releases may be slightly biased. I've found enjoyment in pretty much every Bleach game I have played, from the Heat the Soul and Soul Carnival series' on PSP, to the two games released on Wii. Blade Battlers 2 on PS2 was by far the most fun to me, and I could go back to it even now and have countless hours of fun playing it with friends. That being said, the Bleach: Soul Ignition demo is one of the worst things I have ever experienced. It almost made me physically ill to play through it.

To start with, the graphics are horrid. Everything looks washed out, and enemies have hardly any detail at all. Ichigo's character model and animations are passable at best, but that's the only positive thing I could find in this department. They honestly could have just ported the latest Heat the Soul game over, and it would have looked better than this. I realize that anime based games don't really have that high standards, but come on. This is almost 2011, the era of Hi-Definition for crying out loud. This wouldn't even be mediocre standards if it were on Wii. Even so, I can deal with bad graphics. It's Bleach, so I'm willing to overlook lackluster visuals if the gameplay is decent.

Saying the gameplay is "decent" would be a huge overstatement for this game, however. Hell, saying it plays like crap would be a compliment. Soul Ignition is a hack and slash action game, putting you against hordes of mindless enemies and slightly smarter bosses. Playing Soul Ignition consists of mashing the Square button frantically while Ichigo performs the same combo over and over, while fighting the clunky camera simultaneously. I tried mixing up the button presses, delaying attacks in hopes that I would see a different animation, but there were none. You can chain a ground combo into a jump, and continue with an air combo, though! Neat, right? Aside from standard square button attacks, you have ranged fireball type attacks on triangle which seem pretty worthless. There's also a guard, dash, and auto lock-on button, which for some reason auto unlocks when you get knocked down. You also have a special attack that consumes a blue meter at the bottom of the screen, which is decent for taking down multiple enemies at once. There's another meter around Ichigo's portrait that you can use to become more powerful and unleash a more devastating attack.



All of this is presented in a very sub-par package, and the enemy AI doesn't force you to use any of these extra attacks. The hordes of hollow monsters are dumb. Dumb and docile. Not only that, but none of these abilities are Ichigo's signature attacks. This is probably the biggest disappointment at all for me. This demo has failed in delivering any fan service at all, which is a huge problem. An anime based game that doesn't feel like the actual anime is like a filler episode, and a lot of people skip those for a reason.

Now I realize that this is just a demo. It's not fair to judge a game based purely on a demo, even though it's not very often that the final product is a vastly improved. There are also supposed to be multiple characters to play with, and I'm betting there will even be other versions of Ichigo to play as that will feature his traditional moves and Bankai. But from what the demo indicates, adding more playable characters is only a drop in the bucket of things this game will need to succeed. I'm sorry to say it, but the long wait for a Bleach game on PS3 looks like it may have been for nothing. This game would sooner extinguish your soul, rather than ignite it.

 Demon's Souls had some of the most innovative multiplayer concepts to come out in years.  Being able to join seamlessly into another player's game as friend or foe was brilliant.  It seems that Square Enix is taking that idea and building on it with their new game Mindjack.  I know what you might be thinking: "not another generic looking 3rd person shooter".



Mindjack at first glance does look very similar to other shooters.  You have your standard weapons like machine gun, sniper riffle, shotgun, and rocket launcher.  The gameplay mechanics look the same as other 3rd person shooters.  You're able to take cover, dash, hurdle, slide and melee.  That's where the similarities in gameplay end.

In Mindjack you're able to hack into a persons brain and take over their body.  Using the ability of mind hack you're able to take direct control over a NPC.  If you use the mind slave ability you recruit that person to help you fight.  It's not just people that you can hack, there are also various robots, and other creatures.  

E3 2010 when Mindjack was announced, Square Enix also showed off a playable demo of the game.  At the end of the demo you face off with a huge cyber-gorilla.  That makes me wonder what other types of creatures the game has in store for us.  It was confirmed that bosses are able to be hacked as well, and that's where the unique multiplayer comes into play.


 The multiplayer in Mindjack is seamlessly integrated into the single player much like Demon's Souls.  You're either on the blue team or the red team and you can join or leave whenever you want.  If you're on the blue team you're helping out the person playing the single player.  You're able to take control of main characters or civilian NPCs.  If you're on the red team you take control of enemy soilders, robots, and bosses.

One of the most exciting moments in Demon's Souls is being able to take control of the Old Monk and actually become the boss.  Enemy AI following scripted actions get boring after a while.  Being able to play with or against other players in the single player is what makes these games unique and exciting.  It also adds lots of replay value to the game being a different experience each time.

Playing the multiplayer you're rewarded with experience points that you can take with you to your own single player game.  You can use the experience points to unlock arts which give you new abilities and make hacking easier.  When you die you're turned into a floating light called the wanderer, until you find another body to inhabit.  There is a timer how often you can hack, and I'm sure a penalty for repeated deaths. 


Mindjack was originally announced for an October 2010 release and was later pushed back to January 18, 2011 for the 360/PS3.  With it's unique multiplayer, Mindjack is turning out to be an interesting looking game.  I really like the concept of perpetual multiplayer within single player experiences.  I hope more games follow suit with this idea, I feel it is the future of multiplayer.
Tips N4G

Sometimes it seems that there aren't enough games about samurai.  Most games these days are all about giving you a gun and want you to shoot something.  While games with guns are great, and probably the most popular type of game, sometimes you crave something a little different.  There is nothing else like having a sword to cut down your foe.  Samurai games might not be nearly as popular as shooters, but that doesn't make them any less fun.  I've gathered for you today some of the best samurai games this generation has to offer.

Way of the Samurai 3 for the 360/PS3 is one of the best samurai based games ever made.  It's a shame that this game didn't get well received in the West having mediocre and lackluster reviews.  I'll admit it's not a game I can recommend to everyone, but if your looking for a great samurai game, this is it.  You have to be able to look past a few flaws, and maybe it lacks polish in some areas, but this game is truly a gem.


It's set in the Sengoku period you play as a samurai that was injured in battle and lost his memory.  If you're familiar with the previous Way of the Samurai games you'll have a good idea how this one plays.  You're able to directly influence the way the story is shaped with 22 different endings.  The game encourages you to play multiple times and try things differently.  You are rewarded with loads of different weapons, costumes, techniques, and things to unlock.  All of which will carry over on your next playthroughs.  This is a game that no samurai fan should miss out on.

Red Steel 2 for the Wii isn't your traditional samurai game, it's not set in feudal Japan.  The game has a fictional setting that is very much like the wild west with the exception of having some modern day technology, and samurai.  With gun and sword in hand, the game is played from a first person perspective.  Your required to use the Wii Motion Plus which helps a lot with the sword fighting.  When you compare it to the first Red Steel (that didn't use the Motion Plus) it's like night and day.  Red Steel 2 surpasses the first game in every aspect, except at being a bad game (the first one wins in that category).  This game has become one of my favorite games for the Wii, the swordplay is a lot of fun.


You're able to pull off a lot of different moves and combos based on how you swing the Wii remote.  One of my favorites is being able to hit the enemy up into the air, jump up, and air combo them.  The better you perform you're rewarded with more money that you can use to purchase upgrades such as: new sword techniques, powers, or purchase new guns.  If you own a Wii be sure to check this one out, you'll be glad you did.


Afro Samurai for the 360/PS3 is loosely based off the manga and anime series.  If your a fan of the manga or anime you probably already own this game, or you at least played it.  If you aren't familiar with Afro Samurai check it out, you might be surprised.  This game didn't score too well with reviews and critics, but that doesn't make it a bad game.  Sure it has it's problems, like: the story could have been explained better, fighting the camera is no fun, it could have used a little more polish, and the boss fights could have been better.  A couple of months after the games release, there was a patch that added some tweaks, and bug fixes that addressed some of those problems. 


To me those were minor issues that don't take away from the enjoyment of the game, especially now that you can pick it up cheap.  Be sure to download the demo for Afro Samurai, and play it for a few minutes, you'll see that it's actually really fun.  If your looking for a hack and slash game where you can be a badass samurai with lots of blood, and body parts flying off, then this is your game.


Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes for the PS3/Wii is an action adventure samurai game similar to the Samurai Warriors or Dynasty Warriors type of game.  What makes this game different from similar games (and better in my opinion) is that it's made by Capcom.  Who else other than the great minds at Capcom would bring you a samurai that wields 6 swords at once?  You can also tell that the game has that Capcom polish, style, and knack for making something over the top all over it.


You're able to take on tons of enemies at a time, the combat is very flashy, and fun.  Sure the enemy AI may seem a bit slow or dumb, but that's how these types of games are.  It's about feeling powerful, destroying hundreds of enemies with flashy attacks, and trying to build your combo meter as high as you can. Oddly enough the game never really got repetitive for me even after putting over 20 hours in.

I really enjoyed the story of the game, each character has multiple paths to take, and endings to see.  I also had fun leveling up the characters, unlocking their special moves, and getting better weapons.  Sadly, it doesn't have online multiplayer, but it does offer local.  Playing split screen with friends was a blast.  I encourage you to check out the demo to see what you think, but don't solely base your opinion off of that.  I didn't really care for the demo too much, but I really enjoy this game, and I think you samurai fans will too.


Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! 2 - If your not going to translate the first Kenzan and bring it to the West, at least make a part 2 and translate it.  Really though, any open world samurai game with a great story, and nice combat will do.

New Samurai Showdown game - Preferably a 2D fighting one, those are my favorite.  I really liked part 4 a lot and I would like to see a new one with the quality of BlazBlue.  A 3D one would be fine too, just make sure it doesn't suck like the last one.

Genji 3 - The first one for PS2 was really good, and the second one for PS3 wasn't that great.  They have a lot of great ideas with the Genji games, I just hope they make a 3rd one to show everyone.

I hope you enjoyed reading, that's it for now, let me know what you guys think.  What are some of your favorite samurai games?  Also, what type of samurai game do you wish someone would make?  Be sure to post your comments below.  If your interested in seeing what last gen had to offer for samurai games check out: Best Samurai Games for PS2

Call of Duty: Black Ops is overrated.

In October, a little title by the name of Vanquish was released. Created by Shinji Mikami and Platinum Games (also known for Bayonetta on PS3 and 360, and Madworld on the Wii). Vanquish may not have been on everyone's radar this fall, especially with Call of Duty: Black Ops right around the corner, but it damn well should be.

Mixing anime inspired story and gameplay mechanics with the typical third person shooter formula has turned into a fast-paced, over the top action game that any gamer can enjoy. From start to finish, the action is intense, frantic, and full of insane firefights. You're equipped with an armored battle suit, which lets you propel yourself quickly from one place to another, along with giving you a slowdown ability ala "The Matrix". This gives you a chance to safely take down enemies, and get out of the way of any dangerous fire coming your way. You'll also find many unique weapons along the way, like the standard Assault Rifle, Lock-on Laser and the Disk Launcher to name a few. All of them have their uses in given situations, and greatly add to the sci-fi feel of the game.



The controls in Vanquish are also VERY responsive. You never feel like you don't have total control of what's going on on the battlefield. That being said, this game also offers a considerable challenge. Playing on the harder difficulties is, well... pretty hard. There are also challenge maps to unlock as you progress through the story, which will keep you busy for a while, especially if you're a completionist. One of the trophies/achievements requires you clear them all. All of this on top of the sheer fun factor of the game greatly add to the replay value.

Now some of you may be wondering "Why should I care?" and to those of you that are: You should probably go back to playing the same shooter you've been playing every day for the past year and forget everything you've read here. This game probably isn't for everyone. With all the demand for multiplayer in every game to come down the line, you'll be disappointed with this game. There is none. Zero multiplayer here. Cry more. But what this game does offer is an amazing gameplay experience that you'll want to play over and over again. There are leaderboards and rankings for each individual mission, you'll find yourself trying to beat your best time quite often. It's also pretty satisfying to beat out your friends scores.


A lot of critics have griped about the length of this game in reviews. It is a short game, there's no arguing it. My first play through was about 6 hours. Speeding through the game, I'm sure it's beatable in 3 hours or so. But how is that a bad thing? Many action titles lose their steam after the first couple hours and just drag things out too long. *Cough* God of War 3 *Cough* But that's not a problem with Vanquish. It never, ever drops its pace. There's not a single moment in the game that I look back on and think "Jesus Christ I never wanna do that again." How many recent games can you say that about? Yeah, not many.

So with all said and done, a large portion of the gaming community are desperately awaiting their chance to get the new Call of Duty, (which looks a lot like last years model. Just sayin') without ever thinking about branching out and trying something new. A sad thing, indeed. But some of you, who want something a little different, will be playing Vanquish. You guys are pro.

Wanted for crushing fans' dreams.

2010's Tokyo Game Show brought a lot of surprises. One of the biggest was the announcement of a new Devil May Cry. To fans of the series, this would normally be great news, but a dark cloud of worry and dissapointment loomed over the gaming community on that day.

Apparently, the new title is going to be a reboot of the series, handled by game developer Ninja Theory. They were the people behind the not-so-well-known hit Heavenly Sword on PS3, and recently released Enslaved (360, PS3).

Now a reboot isn't necessarily a bad thing, but with this fresh start, the developers also brought a new look for Dante. And by new look, I mean a drastically radical change to the hero we've grown to love over the years. This news sent many people into a violent rage of ranting and trolling on message boards. I'll admit, it is very upsetting to see what they're doing with one of my favorite video game characters. I mean honestly, Dante is an action game icon. Forget Kratos, Dante has always been the first character to come to mind when I think "Badass", but now, with the new look, I'm not so sure he will be able to maintain that awesome persona. And yes, he looks like a "Twilight" inspired, punk teenager, full of angst. He also looks like he should be checked into a rehab center for heroin addiction. These are dark times, indeed.



Little is actually known about the new game itself. The only information that's come to light is that it's indeed a restart on the series, and it will most likely cover some of Dante's origin. Not much is actually known about the hero's past, aside from being half-human, and half son of the legendary demon knight Sparda.

With the release of the trailer, it's still a bit unclear what's going on, or if the protagonist shown is actually Dante. You don't actually see him say he is, so you can hold on to that small shred of hope if you like, though you'll most likely end up being disappointed when more info is revealed. Just sayin'. The trailer also reveals some over-the-top combat, where our hero dispatches a couple wierdo looking enemies in badass fashion. At least this part of the game seems to be staying true to the series. However, even the combat seems to be straying from the original style, with Dante wielding an odd, sword-type weapon, which extends into somewhat of a polearm, and again changes into more of a whip-like form.

If you see this guy, tell him I miss him.

Now I'm not saying these changes are good or bad, (okay okay, Dante's new look IS bad, so very bad) seeing as how the game is still a long way from being released. And there is still a ton of information we don't yet know, like pretty much all of it. But we do know that there is a new Devil May Cry on the way, and that it will be different. Honestly the series does need a change in order to stay alive. With games like Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Castlevania being released, DMC has to do something big to stay ahead of the pack.

Many fans have already wrote this game off, just because of the changes revealed thus far. I was pretty close to being one of those people, but I've decided I need to give it a chance. What we can hope for from this game is an in-depth look at Dante's past, some amazing combat, and epic boss encounters. On top of that, we can hope that this new Dante will evolve as the story unfolds, and grow into the badass we've all come to know and love. It's also totally possible that it can turn into a pile of crap, too. But either way, time will tell and we should hope for the best.