Just over two years ago, The King of Fighters XII released with a great fighting system, a hopelessly broken online experience, and an almost complete lack of single player modes. Today, the latest entry in the series releases with the intent to right the missteps of its predecessor.

The expanded roster of The King of Fighters XIII doesn’t have much new for the series, but it brings back a lot of the fighters missing from XII including Team Women Fighters members Mai, King, and my personal favorite, Yuri. With over 30 fighters available, the amount of choices are once again approaching the levels of its decade-old asset ripping, last generation entries.

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Have you been scared off by the complex nature of the fighting game genre, but intrigued by its resurgence in recent years? Atlus is planning on replacing that fear with knowledge by dishing out a new series of tutorial videos leading up to the release of The King of Fighters XIII.

This first video featuring Dream Cancel community member, Metaphysics, starts with the basics. And I mean the very basics. While the first half is more of an introductory course on fighting games in general, things get a little more interesting when character archetypes and play styles enter the discussion. (more…)

Sometimes a game comes along that seems like it’s hitting all the right marks. You like the concept, the aesthetics and the music. All the still images and preview videos get you really amped up for the game’s release. But alas, once you’ve played it, it just doesn’t click with you.

I am sad to say that was my experience with Rock of Ages. A game that, on the surface, had enough elements that seemed interesting and unique to me that I thought for sure I would like the game. I was wrong.

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"A psychological thriller about relationships... and block pushing."

In an industry saturated with shooters and sandbox games, the best word to describe my feelings on Catherine is “refreshing.” Part puzzle game, part choice-based story game, Catherine is almost two separate entities. Yet somehow this odd mixture ends up working wonderfully together as each side enhances the other.

One of the great things about Catherine is that its story isn’t one you would typically find in this medium. I was reminded more of movies like Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue than anything I’d experienced in a video game. Like all good psychological thrillers, Catherine is hard to put down. Combine that with the addictive nature of the puzzle stages and I can tell you I had some pretty long sessions each time I sat down to play.

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In a move that is sure to please Otakus across the country, Atlus announced a Summer 2011 release of  Catherine for PS3 and Xbox360. Produced by Katsura Hashino, the acclaimed director of Persona 3 and Persona 4, Catherine explores the nature of relationships and the impact of the choices we make.

The game stars Vincent, a young man in a relationship with the successful and pretty Katherine, who wakes up after a night of drinking with his friends to discover he is in bed with the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, the titular Catherine. (more…)

If Zombie Shakespeare were to sit down and compose a love letter to old school Legend of Zelda, he wouldn’t come close to capturing the nostalgia and joy that 3D Dot Game Heroes manages to convey.

3D Dot Game Heroes is an homage to classic Zelda. You and your fairy companion set off to save the kingdom of Dotnia by recovering six orbs and the power of the six sages. To do this, you’ll need to recover a legendary sword and then set off into various dungeons filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles. If it sounds like something you’ve been doing since 1987, well it probably is. However, 3D Dot feels more like a Zelda game than the last couple of actual Zelda games.

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"The next evolution of the Trauma Center series."

I’ve always really enjoyed the concept behind the Trauma Center series. Performing surgeries, whether it be with a stylus or a Wii remote (depending on which game), felt fresh and satisfying. Still, I never saw any of the games through to the end until Trauma Team came along.

While previous games attempted to keep things interesting with each surgery, I would inevitably lose interest after extended playing. This is where Trauma Team excels. Rather than have you perform surgery after surgery, Trauma Team‘s missions are divided between six different characters; only one of which is a general surgeon. Thanks to the great sense of variety this provides, I never found myself getting bored.

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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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Over a decade ago, Revelations: Persona was released for the original Playstation and, although it was never a huge success, it achieved a large cult following. Gamers who tried it were enthralled by the unique setting, characters, and story. The game quickly became a sought after collector’s item. E-bay prices quickly soared up into triple digits.

Atlus apparently got tired of seeing other people making hundreds of dollars selling their game on E-bay and made the wise choice of remaking it. Read on to see if this cult classic stands the test of time.

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Sometimes I am very surprised when certain games make it outside of Japan. Sure, we live in an age where what will get localized is on the rise and what must be imported is steadily decreasing in comparison to times past (thanks to companies like Atlus and XSEED), but sometimes the choice of which games make it over still surprises me. What I mean to say is, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier (or Sir Togsef as I like to call it) is VERY Japanese. In fact, there are even cross-over characters in it from the Japan-only Namco x Capcom.

Though a spin off of the Super Robot Wars series (most of which DID stay in Japan), the game makes several large departures from its predecessors. First off, rather than focusing on giant mechs like Gundams and Veritechs, the characters you control consist of people and people-sized androids. The second key difference is that the game is a JRPG rather than an SRPG.

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