At E3 2012, Capcom offered a glimpse of the three different scenarios we’ll be playing in Resident Evil 6. Players could enjoy a co-op between Leon Kennedy and newcomer Helena Harper in classic survival-horror style in a Tall Oaks full of zombies, face a boss battle with Jake Muller (son of longtime series baddie Albert Wesker) and Sherry Birkin (aka the little girl from RE2), or battle across the rooftops of China with Chris Redfield and his partner Piers Nivans. But the company also revealed a new feature behind closed doors: the Crossover system, an evolution of the dual-threaded Scenario mechanic from Resident Evil 2, this time not only intersecting the story of different characters but also bringing their gameplay together in four-player co-op situations.
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This week, Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PS3 is hitting stores across Japan with critical praise, garnering perfect scores from respected gaming magazines Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation. Granted, the original FFXIII is the best-selling PS3 title in Japan by a wide margin, but this direct sequel isn’t resting on the laurels of its predecessor. For starters, it will offer a dynamic narrative, addressing one of the main complaints about FFXIII – linearity. The new game also has a darker and more serious tone, in line with the conclusion of the previous game, putting the glitter and glam of FFX-2.

When FFXIII-2 reaches stores in February, making it the fastest localization cycle among numbered episodes of the franchise – it will also deliver an improved combat system, an area full of mini games, branched dialogue trees with NPCs, and even multiple endings based on your time-travelling journey. To learn more about how Square Enix plans to “exceed Final Fantasy XIII in every aspect,” we reached out to Motomu Toriyama, who is reprising his role as director for Final Fantasy XIII-2. Read on for more details about Serah’s quest to find out what happened to her sister Lightning.
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We’re truly living a fighting games renaissance. Ever since Street Fighter IV reignited the genre back in 2009, we’ve been getting a number of interesting and diverse titles, from the lush visuals of BlazBlue to the air combo extravaganza of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Along the way, we had The King of Fighters XII from SNK Playmore, touted as a “re-birth” of the traditional 3-on-3 series. And although it really gave new life to the franchise with gorgeous hi-def 2D sprite art and sleek animation, the game delivered little in terms of contents.

Two years later, SNK Playmore is hard at work to regain the crown with The King of Fighters XIII for PlayStation 3, picked for publishing by Rising Star Games in Europe. And based on the prospects, thirteen seems to be the lucky number for KOF. The game was originally launched in Japanese arcades back in July 2010, being praised by fighting game connoisseurs for its vastly expanded roster (31 playable characters, including the return of fan favorite Mai Shiranui), revised fighting system (with faster gameplay and elements from previous titles in the series), and a multi-path Story Mode (with the conclusion of the Ash Crimson trilogy). For the home version, the team is adding even more fighters, stages and a variety of game modes – not to mention balance adjustments based on feedback from players of the arcade version.

Scheduled for November 25th in Europe, The King of Fighters XIII is aimed at long time fans and fighting games enthusiasts in general. To know more details about this return to form, we reached to Producer Kei Yamamoto from SNK Playmore in Japan, as he goes in depth about gameplay, story, netcode, and future plans – yes, we begged for asked about KOF on PS Vita; too. So read on to know what await you later in November and leave your favorite KOF memories in the comments!

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