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Capcom and Nintendo have really been pushing Monster Hunter Tri in preparation for its late April release. The latest plan to spark interest for the series in the states comes in the form of a playable demo. While you do have to leave your house and visit a GameStop in order to pick the disc-based demo up, you won’t need a pre-order (though they might try to tell you it’s required, as they did on my visit).

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"Because there's always room for more Valkyria Chronicles."

It’s hard to believe it has been almost a full year since the last Valkyria Chronicles DLC was released. By this point, I had almost forgotten that more was on the way. But when it finally came, I was eager as ever to return to my “Game of the Year” of 2008.

The “Challenge of the Edy Detachment” DLC pack will cost five of your earth dollars and contains six new skirmish battles. Unlike the last DLC involving Edy, you will not be locked into using a specific set of characters. Instead, you’re free to select your own characters from your squad, complete with the levels and equipment set you left them at last time.

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"A licensed game from the developers of the Ace Combat series."

It’s very odd that I would seek out a licensed game based on a license I (at the time) had never heard of, but The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces had several things going for it. First off, the team behind the Wii exclusive flight game is Project Aces; developer of the highly regarded Ace Combat series.

Secondly, it boasted a unique and ambitious use of motion controls, which is something I’d like to support. And finally, the game retailed at the budget price of $30 on the day of release, though admittedly that could be taken as a strike against its predicted quality.

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"An over-the-top brawler powered by absurdity."

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is the newest game from the twisted mind of Suda 51. This time around, the zany brawler comes in a more streamlined package than the first, trimming the fat to bring you more ridiculous action.

Desperate Struggle stars Travis Touchdown, the anime/videogame loving assassin, as he battles his way up the ranks of the UAA once again. This time, Travis is trying to take down the number one assassin to avenge the death of his friend, Bishop. But even if you haven’t played the first game, jumping into the second shouldn’t have you too confused. In fact, the characters even playfully break the fourth wall in the beginning to mention that some players are skipping the first game and don’t care about the past events.

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"Will blaze lasers be enough?!"

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Console ports of arcade SHMUPs are far from a rarity. In times past, the market was flooded with them. But something about that tried and true formula always keeps me coming back, even today.

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"An improvement over Phantom Hourglass, but by how much?"

For the most part, I love the Zelda franchise. The portable titles in particular have a history of getting on my good side with Link’s Awakening being my second favorite title in the whole Game Boy catalog (next to Tetris). That being said, I was shocked when I didn’t fall in love with 2007’s Phantom Hourglass.

While Spirit Tracks looked disturbingly similar to the object of my disappointment, the Zelda fan in me was determined to give the game a fair shake from beginning to end.

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I know what you’re thinking. “Where’s the Friday Old Games review for this week?” Well, gentle reader, I’ll tell you. In an attempt to promote the new jetpack-infused third-person-shooter, Dark Void, Capcom forged an imaginary story of an abandoned NES game named Dark Rift. The game has now been “revived” and released as Dark Void Zero. While it’s not really an “old game”, let’s just pretend the story is true.

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"Capcom's Vs. series is finally back in action!"

It’s hard to believe it has been an entire decade since the last new entry in Capcom’s popular Vs. series. While Tatsunoko may be one of the biggest anime companies in Japan, very few people are familiar with the majority of their work here in the states. This, combined with the more complex licensing issues of the Tatsunoko properties overseas has made Tatsunoko vs. Capcom’s localization a delightful surprise.

And, thanks to a smart move by Capcom, this localization is not of the original version we missed out on, but the next iteration with a larger character roster, balance tweaks, and a near-simultaneous, international release.

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It’s been a crazy year. Now that we have our Games of the Year and 2009 in Review article series’ done, we’re finally ready to take on 2010 at full speed. That means the triumphant return of Friday Old Games, the series of reviews in which we write about the games of yesteryear.

I’ve been getting a few requests of games to review for the feature already via twitter, so I decided to make a list to keep track of them. Some of these games I’ve managed to find copies of and you should see reviews up soon. In the meantime, I’d like to encourage you readers to keep the suggestions coming. Feel free to suggest in the comments or send an email to one of the addresses found on our “Bios” page. Power to the readers!

"WingDamage thanks you in advance!"

As loyal readers and listeners of our podcast are all well aware, Mega Man Legends and Mega Man Legends 2 are both highly regarded here on WingDamage. The second game left on a cliff hanger. I mean, come on! We don’t just WANT a third game, we NEED a third game.

Fortunately, we have a new outlet for informing Capcom about our Mega Man Legends 3 demands. Capcom’s cleverly titled community site, Capcom Unity, has a new interactive feature currently in Beta appropriately named “The Suggestion Box“. Here Unity members can submit and vote on ideas for games and what not.

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