The Release List 12.23.08

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 12.23.2008

Dreamcast-era Sega returns to bring us the spiritual successor to Phantasy Star Online, the Wii gets its first major RTS in Pikmin, and Leon and Claire finally show up in a Resident Evil movie that fans might actually enjoy.



Contrary to popular belief, there are a few big releases this week, including Phantasy Star Zero, a game that might end up being next year's game-of-the-year for me, or at the very least DS GOTY. Of course, Sega can always screw things up...


This week's highlights

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Phantasy Star Zero (DS Import)
Phantasy Star Zero is the game that I was looking forward to playing the most at TGS this year. In fact, it is the only game at the show that I bothered playing more than once. Neither The King of Fighters XII nor Street Fighter IV were able to grab me in the same way. It's main appeal is that it reminded me about how fun it was to play Phantasy Star Online with three other people. Yes, there is Phantasy Star Universe, but there was always something off about that game.

So how is it? Well, here's what I wrote after playing the demo in October. Most of it should still hold -

The Old
During my first playthrough I was given a FOnewearl to mess around with. I used to play with this character-class a lot in PSO and as far as I can tell, she still plays the same. As expected, she had a fireball, an ice attack, and Resta (heal/recovery). PSO's combo system as well as the ability to access secondary attack buttons by holding the R button are back, so I was able to do a 3-hit combo, throw out a fireball behind me, and then heal myself all without having to access menus ala PSU. That alone convinced me that I was going to import the game as soon is it came out. The fact that Mags are back sweetens the deal. I can't wait to grow another green Sato.

The New
In addition to bringing back a lot of the features that were missing in PSU, Sega went the extra mile by adding more offensive and defensive options. One of the new additions is the ability to charge up for a spinning attack that damages surrounding enemies. This is done by simply holding the regular attack button for a few seconds and then releasing it. If attacking isn't an option, you could always use the new ground roll. Though I did not use it much, I can see how doing a roll can be useful against quick attacks like the dragon boss' spin-of-death. Characters can also side-step (strafe) by holding the L button and pressing left or right on the d-pad. That move was very helpful during my second playthrough as a Cast.

Controls
For starters, the L button provides a quick and easy way to see what's in front of you by straightening the camera. To change your camera view manually, you hold down X and then press L or R. I used the right analog stick a lot in PSO so I was worried about not being able to do the same on the DS. Thankfully, this implementation works pretty well as was evidenced by how easy it was for me to keep track of the dragon boss. It felt pretty natural once I got the hang of it.

Communication
To chat, you press a button on the touch screen to open a big window into which you can scribble whatever you want. Players can still move around when it's open, so getting attacked while trying to draw a happy face won't always result in instant death. If you're too lazy to draw, you can hold L and press one of the four directions in the meeting area to emote.

The Rest
It doesn't look like a Hunter's License is required to play online, but the trade-off is that you have to deal with friend codes. I think that I can live with that if it means free online play. It's unfortunate that there aren't any big lobbies like before though. However, according to what I've read, you can easily check to see which friends are online, find out what they are doing, and also join their in-progress games.

Overall, this is the game that Phantasy Star Universe should have been. It's worth the import if you're super-hardcore and can't wait for Sega to remember that Monster Hunter fans aren't the only ones who will snap this up.


If you understand what's happening halfway through this, you should already have PSZ on order

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Resident Evil: Degeneration
A video game movie made by people who wanted to respect the source material. Did they succeed in making the best video game based movie ever?

At the TGS premiere, the director stated that he wanted to make a movie that Resident Evil fans would not be disappointed with - one that, unlike the Milla Jovovich movies, was an extension of the video game world. At the same time, he wanted to get those who had never experienced the games to see what all the fuss was about and maybe spur their interest in the series.

As someone who enjoyed RE2, Code Veronica, and RE4, I thought that this was an entertaining film. However, while it does a lot of things well, there wasn't anything about the movie that completely blew me away. This fact can be forgiven since Degeneration has one major advantage over most video game movie adaptations - those who were in charge of this movie clearly knew the source material. The world that we see here is the one that we experience in the games. Claire and Leon are in character, the undead act the way they are supposed to, no little girl holograms, and no Alice. There are also a few throwbacks to the games that'll bring a smile to any fan's face. In particular, that one scene with the umbrella and Leon's way with women.

Visually, things look good, but I have to say that the character models are somewhat creepy. They remind me of the egg girl in Metal Gear Solid 4. There also seems to be a problem with the characters' lips syncing with their voices. For all I know, it might have just been the equipment that was used at the convention, but keep that in mind just in case. Oh - since we're on the subject of voices, those who are familiar with Claire and Leon from the previous games should be happy to know that the producers opted to bring back Paul Mercier to voice Leon and Alyson Court to voice Claire. It's a nice touch that helps to further establish the movie's continuity with the games.

I'll go out on a limb and say that Resident Evil: Degeneration is worth at least a rent or a download if Microsoft and/or Sony were smart enough to make it available in their respective movie services. It's fun if you give it a chance, and it's definitely one of the few video game movies that stays true to its roots.


The first eight minutes


The next three minutes

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Pikmin (Wii Import)
When I first saw what the Wii remote could do I immediately thought about how perfect it would be for RTS play. At long last I'd be able to play a Command & Conquer game on my TV with controls that didn't make me want to chuck my controller at the TV. Well, years later, we still don't have any major RTS games on the Wii that take advantage of the system's point-and-click capabilities. Thankfully, that's all going to change this week when Nintendo finally ships this long overdue remake of the 2001 classic.


An unintentionally depressing commercial

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Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 (PS3)
These are the best stock sticks you will find for the PS3, at least as far as US retail releases go. If I remember correctly, the HRAP3 uses a real Sanwa stick and Hori buttons. Better options include the Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 SA that just came out and the Sega Virtua Stick High Grade, both of which use real Sanwa sticks AND buttons. Unfortunately, you can only get them by importing from Japan. I had a HRAP3 earlier this year and can vouch that it is an impressive stick - it's better than Hori's own Soul Calibur sticks (which are themselves far superior to anything else you can get at retail in the US). If the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition sticks weren't coming out at the end of February, I would recommend this wholeheartedly to those who don't want to import Hori's other sticks or the High Grade. While the Mad Catz stick could still stuck (it's Mad Catz!), there is a high probability that it won't seeing as how MarkMan over at SRK is working on it. If you really need a stick right now and can't import, I'd recommend getting Hori's Soul Calibur stick and upgrading to the Mad Catz or HRAP3 in February once the dust settles.


The other US releases

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There may be a few titles that were pushed back from a week or two ago. Other than that, no dice...


The Import Scene

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DoDonPachi Daioujou Black Label Extra (360)
White Knight Chronicles (PS3)
RIZ-ZOAWD (DS)
Biohazard (Wii)
DJ Max Portable Emotional Sense - Black Square (PSP)
Pachitte Chonmage Tatsujin 15: Pachinko Fuyu no Sonata 2 (PS2)
Akaiito DS
Asoberu Eigo: Word Magic DS
Happy My Sweets (DS)
Kokoro ga Uruou Birei Aquarium DS 2: Sekai no Uo to Ikura-Kujira Tachi (DS)
Magical Zunou Power!! DS
Team Batista no Eikou: Shinjitsu o Tsumugu 4-tsu no Karte (DS)
Uchi no 3 Kyoudai DS
Minna de Jibun no Setsumeisho: B-Kata, A-Kata, AB-Kata, O-Kata (DS)
Cherry Blossom Portable (PSP)
Oretachi no Survival Game Portable (PSP)
Zill O'll Infinite Plus (PSP)
DJ Max Trilogy (PC)