Rail shooter for Wii.

So a day late, I joined Spencer and ClassicMoments at PAX 2009. Like Spencer, this was my first time at a gaming convention. Oh man was it rad. I had so much fun! (I beat Spencer at Monsterpocalypse!) I wanted to quickly share with you guys some new and other not-so new games coming out for the Wii.

• Muramasa: The Demon Blade

I started PAX 2009 with a game that ended up being one of my favorites there – Muramasa: The Demon Blade. I should preface this little blurb with the fact that I LOVE Japanese mythology, and I LOVE sidescroller action games. On my way to the Exhibitor’s hall, I walked by the Ignition booth, and what do I find? A game that has both! Developed by VanilaWare (creators of Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire), Muramasa is a 2-D sidescrolling action role-playing game, much like Odin Sphere.

For those of you who know Odin Sphere, I’m sure you know that the artwork is just stunning. Like its predecessor, Muramasa just looks breathtaking. Instead of a storybook fantasy setting based in Norse mythology, this time it takes place in Feudal, mythological Japan. The two main characters, Kisuke and Momohime, look great, with their kimono/scarves waving in the air as they swing their swords. Just the detailed hand-painted backdrops and characters are enough to keep you glued to the screen. They each have their own unique storyline to follow, and in their path lies an onslaught of ninjas and samurais, as well as ogres and demons from popular Japanese mythology. It’s quite simply awesome.

But this game isn’t just pretty. The gameplay definitely meets the look. The basic actions are move, jump, attack and switch blades. With the right combination of buttons, you can unleash killer ground combos and slicing air combos. But the coolest feature lies in the swords themselves. Each sword you collect in the game has its own unique special attack, and furthermore, they all have a health bar of their own. Everytime you block, use special attacks and basically use the sword, its health bar depletes. Once it reaches zero, the sword breaks. But fear not, you are able to carry multiple swords, and can quickly whip out a different one while the broken one rests and heals in its sheath. This sword health mechanic definitely keeps the game more interesting, and makes you think before you just button mash. It’s fun, fast-paced and you most definitely look and feel like a BAMF (bad-ass mother******).

This is definitely a title I’d like to feature in the future, and a title worth checking out. It’s set to come out September 8th, 2009!



• Resident Evil: The Darkside Cronicles

And here you have it, the confessions of an RE junkie. I just had to stop by the Capcom booth. I got a chance to check out some gameplay on the newest addition to THE survival horror series: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. This next reincarnation of the chronicles franchise allows the player to relive, with extra detail, the events of RE2, and Code Veronica as a rail shooter, as well as exprience a whole new story in an additional chapter. It supports multiplayer, and because of this, the story changes a little. For example, instead of Leon and Claire being separated, they move together. But they still encounter the same main plot twists and key events in the narrative. You come equipped with a standard handgun and combat knife, but can pick up shotguns, sub-machine guns, grenades and the like.

This game plays similar to most rail shooters, except for the Blair Witch effect on the camera which may or may not be to your liking. If you like rail shooters or are an RE junkie like myself, check this one out.  It’s set to release November 17th, 2009.



• Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

You know what else I love? Fighting games! For the past couple of months, I’d been addicted to SFIV, and fairly recently, MvsC2 that’s been re-released as an arcade game. And this badboy is definitely one I’m looking into next. This title was released in Japan for the Wii For those of you who may not be familiar with anime, Tatsunoko is a Japanese animation studio that began in 1962. They were responsible for some classic, defining animes like Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer), Hakushon Daimaou (The Genie Family), Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets/G-Force), and Tekkaman (Teknoman). I used to watch reruns of these when I was a little kid.

As the name suggests, this is another ”vs” cross-over fighting game, and as such, has all the elements you’d expect: partner assists, team attack super combos, partner changing, etc. But this time around, the familiar six button layout is not there. You have a light, medium and heavy attack buttons, and an assist button. It took a little getting used to. It was like a capcom fighting game, with a sprinkle of smash brothers. Another big shift from the “vs” series formula was the look. It looks great! All the characters and backgrounds are all rendered in 3-D. The cell-shaded look definitely works well in bringing capcom characters and anime characters from the 70s onward into one show.

If you’re a fighting fan, this will definitely be one to look out for!

Capcom released two new trailers for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, the latest Resident Evil series for Wii.

Many new information flows as many of them are preparing for PAX2009.