Frank-ProvoNo sense in making individual topics for three tiny, yet major sequel announcements. That's what we do–we boil it down and bring you the important info.
1) Irem plans to release a sequel to Zettaizetsumei Toshi, known as Disaster Report in the US. The new game, Disaster Report 2: Frozen Memory, will put players in the middle of a major flooding incident, and then challenge them to escape various deadly situations. Like the first game, the viewpoint and gameplay will be reminiscent of Resident Evil, but instead of fleeing zombies, you'll have to use the controls to scale walls, leap across precarious ledges, and dodge oncoming debris. The food and water intake aspects from the first game will return. New play aspects will involve hypothermia and teamwork. If characters spend too much time submerged in cold water, they die. Also, at various points along the way, you'll need to control secondary characters or follow them in order to reach safety. Disaster Report 2 will ship in mid-2005 in Japan, and perhaps later on in the US.
2) Sega is working on a PS2 version of their hit zombie-typing game, Typing of the Dead. Tentatively titled Typing of the Dead: Zombie Panic, the game will include all of the modes and extras from the previous arcade, Dreamcast, and PC versions. That includes a wildly fun co-operative mode where two players must try to work together to input phrases. If you're unfamiliar, Typing of the Dead is basically House of the Dead, except instead of using a light-gun to shoot zombies, you "shoot" them by typing words into a keyboard.
And, finally…
3) Square-Enix is working on a sequel to Final Fantasy VII, the smash-hit RPG that basically gave the PlayStation the edge over Sega and Nintendo and helped Sony become the gaming monolith it is today. No word on when it'll be out, but the story is said to take place one year after the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children CG movie that came out in Japan recently, and the main character will apparently be Vincent instead of Cloud.