The time to face your demons has arrived! DmC Devil May Cry for PlayStation 3 is in shops now, and downloadable from PSN as a day-and-date digital release.

We’re really delighted with the final project and I think Ninja Theory did an amazing job of combining existing elements of previous DmCs, while injecting their own flavor into the franchise. Players can definitely expect to see both radically new elements and returning staple elements from past Devil May Cry games.

New to the gameplay are the Demon and Angel powers, which allow (and demand) Dante to switch fluidly between separate sets of abilities and weapons. The Demon side delivers heavy-hitting but slower attacks, while the Angel side unleashes swift area attacks that are relatively low damage.

Dante can now also use grappling chains to propel himself, enemies, and other objects between two points, allowing for a new emphasis on positioning, crowd control, aerial combat, and some flashy traversal.
(more…)

Score:

• 24 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Yes, I know we’ve all only just got Gamescom out of our systems but the next major gaming event is bearing down fast. Next Thursday, TGS gets underway at the cavernous Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan. For the uninitiated, it’s generally a more low key affair than E3 or Gamescom - at least for Western gamers – but invariably throws up plenty of interesting news, especially for any would-be otakus out there.

The day before doors open, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan will be holding a press conference in downtown Tokyo from 5.00am BST (1.00pm Japan time). Unlike Gamescom, we won’t be hosting a livestream of the event, however, any earlybirds will be able to read about all the key announcements right here on the PlayStation Blog after the show finishes. What’s more, I’ll be on the ground live-Tweeting proceedings via @PlayStationEU.

(more…)

Score:

• 75 Comments 7 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

The 3rd Birthday is our upcoming PSP Action RPG title featuring the return of Aya Brea, heroine of the Parasite Eve series.

If you’ve not heard about it before, check out the latest trailer below which reveals more about the storyline and the Overdive system. This trailer was shown behind closed doors at Tokyo Game Show, but here it is newly released in English:

We’ll have more news on The 3rd Birthday to share soon with you, as well as a release date, but for now if you want to find out more info you can visit the game’s website at the3rdbirthdaygame.com, or follow it on Facebook.

Score:

• 24 Comments 3 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

While I wasn’t able to attend Tokyo Game Show this year, I was able to get some questions out to Fumito Ueda, creator of ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian, which is coming to PlayStation 3 in 2011.

Here’s the trailer shown at TGS, in case you missed it, and thanks to all the people that helped me come up with questions via Twitter and Facebook earlier in the week.

Since you announced The Last Guardian at E3 last year you have been fairly quiet. What have you been up to?

We’ve been working on the final concept for the game over the past year, and I’m pleased to say that we have now locked that down and we’ve moved into full production. We learned from our experiences on ICO and Shadow of the Colossus that doing Research & Development at the same time as making the game slows down the process, so we decided to spend more time on R&D up front, testing out technologies and mechanics, before moving into full production. I’m glad to say that, right now, we’re in crunch mode.

What are you able to reveal at TGS that our readers didn’t already know?

Two new pieces of information are that the beast is officially called Trico and that the game is coming out in time for Christmas 2011.

What are you trying to show us with this new trailer?

The last trailer we released sparked internet rumours of a sad ending, because of the arrows stuck in Trico’s back, and with people remembering the endings of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. We wanted to neutralise any assumption of the direction of the game. In addition, we wanted to show a bit more of the emotional attachment between the boy and Trico. The relationship between these two is core to the game experience.

What about the relationship between the hero and Trico – where does the balance of power lie?

The simple answer is it’s very similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors. There will be times when Trico is paper, the boy is rock and the enemy is scissors. It’s a triangular relationship where strength is relative to the situation. For example, as you’ll see in the video, Trico can’t squeeze into small places and the boy can’t climb to high places, so they help each other out.

How would you compare the boy’s relationship with Trico in the Last Guardian to Wander’s relationship with Agro in Shadow of the Colossus?

In Shadow of the Colossus, people really liked the relationship between the two. The difference lies in the fact that Agro and Wander already had an established bond, whereas the relationship between Trico and the boy is new, and it develops throughout the game.

Compared to Agro, who was a fully grown, tamed character, Trico is wilder, almost adolescent, and this comes through in his expressive personality which adds humour to the game.

How did it feel to revisit ICO and Shadow of the Colossus?

This is something I’ve always wanted to revisit on PS3 and I’m very happy to be able to accomplish this with even higher production values. I’m delighted with how it has turned out. Unfortunately, unlike the movie industry, videogames sometimes get forgotten when people move onto the next generation, so this is a great opportunity to makes these games accessible to both fans of the series and to a new audience.

What convinced you to support stereoscopic 3D with the new versions of ICO and SOTC and what does this add to the experience.

I’d first like to clarify that 3D is not essential to enjoy these experience – the HD element in itself brings a lot of life to the games. However, 3D will bring even more.

Both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were designed with a huge depth of field in mind, demonstrated through the vast landscapes. Although 3D technology wasn’t at the point that it is now, it was certainly something we considered. Now that the technology allows it, it gives the product even more ‘juice’ so to speak. I’ve already experienced this throughout the trial build and was overwhelmed with the results.

That’s how much the 3D element brings to the title.

And finally, what are your strongest influences?

There are so many things; it’s hard to pick just one. But most importantly, I’m always thinking about creating a game that I’d want to play but that doesn’t currently exist – I want to make that happen.

As a creator, I think that developing a truly immersive experience and creating a believable reality even within a fictional world is very important and unique to the interactive nature of gaming.

Score:

• 44 Comments 9 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

A busy day for Team Ico at Tokyo Game Show! In addition to confirming Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection for PS3, Team Ico also showed off a brand-new trailer for The Last Guardian depicting a variety of real-time gameplay footage.

Also, we’ve uploaded new screens of The Last Guardian; click on them to see more.

Score:

• 50 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook