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Guns Won’t Rule New Yakuza, Melee Combat Returns

Ben-Dutka 11 Comments

When everyone learned that Yakuza: Of The End would feature gun play, long-time fans issued one cohesive, simultaneous groan. Would it completely replace the melee combat that is the staple of the franchise…?

The good news is that no, it most certainly will not. According to Andriasang , Sega has revealed that hand-to-hand fighting would still be a big part of the newest Yakuza installment; some of the screenshots you see through the link prove that. Furthermore, fans will be happy to know the use of environmental objects as weapons is another returning trait; you'll be able to use everything from trash cans to bikes when facing off against zombie enemies. Furthermore, based particularly on the one pic you see here, it appears we'll be able to execute melee attacks while holding our firearms. They've also simplified the shooting aspect as you just turn in the direction of the approaching hordes and fire; there is no aiming element…unless you want there to be. If you switch to "Aiming Mode," you can try for some head shots and attempt to nail a foe's weak spot. Oh, and handgun-type weapons have infinite ammo, too.

Those of you who are familiar with the series will remember the Heat moves; these will return in the form of Heat Snipe moves, which are basically gun-based versions of those super-cool skill maneuvers. But we're just happy to see that once again, Kazuma and Co. will be able to use their fists and feet to dole out pain. The combination of melee and shooting ought to be pretty freakin' fun, right?

Related Game(s): Yakuza: Of The End

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Japanese Vanquish Sales Aren’t Overwhelming

John-Shepard 53 Comments

You know, the Japanese just don't like guns. This one might fare a little better due to the name behind it and the style but even so…guns aren't their thing.

While Platinum Games' Bayonetta sold nearly 135k copies in its first day of availability of Japan, their follow-up title – the " Gears of War on crack" product, Vanquish – isn't doing half so well. Although these numbers can hardly be considered official, they're probably not far from the truth. A post in the SegaBits forum (we're into checking forums after the Arne Meyer comment ) says the hot new action game sold around 56,000 units upon its Japanese launch. Unsurprisingly, 47,000 of those copies were the PlayStation 3 version and perhaps just as unsurprisingly, it couldn't outsell the new Naruto Storm 2 by Namco, which came in at around 85,000.

It's just interesting to see. It'll be even more interesting when we compare these numbers to the North American sales, which we expect to be a good deal higher. Great reception by the critics and…well, the fact that we Westerners tend to like our shooters should guarantee that. We just hope you buy Vanquish because that game is oodles of fast-paced fun.

Related Game(s): Vanquish

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Vanquish Will Take 10 Hours, But It Doesn’t End There

John-Shepard 59 Comments

These days, most people are happy with a campaign that lasts 10-12 hours. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves falls into that category, as does the recently released Enslaved: Odyssey to the West .

What they don't want is something like the 5-hour campaign in Medal of Honor (regardless of how good that game really is, in our estimation). If they're not about to play online, the gamer wants his money's worth, yes? Well, you don't have to worry about Platinum Games dedicating extra resources to multiplayer in Vanuqish , because the game doesn't have a multiplayer option. So, are the single-player fans going to be happy? According to UGDB.com , Sega producer Keith Dwyer says the campaign in Vanquish will take around 10 hours to complete:

"The campaign for Vanquish can take 10 or so hours to complete, but you are no means done, said Keith, "There are additional unlocks to increase replay value, such as the Challenge modes that unlock after you complete chapters. These Challenge sections are quite hard, they require a lot of knowledge about general game mechanics, as well as enemy weaknesses, and weapon effectiveness."

Vanquish is doing quite well on the critical front thus far; reviews of 8s and high 8s are starting to fall everywhere (including the recent 8.5 at IGN), and we've been excited about this particular title for months. Here's hoping it turns out to be a must-play; our review is coming soon…

Related Game(s): Vanquish

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Of The End Update: Voice Actors, Guns, Added Info

Ben-Dutka 14 Comments

We've been keeping a close eye on Yakuza: Of The End , which features a few significant changes to the standard franchise formula.

If you're interested in learning even more, head on over to Andriasang for a big behind-the-scenes update. They provide you with a horde of screenshots along with character information for most of the cast (including their corresponding voice actors). Kamurocho has been decimated by the living dead and with the Self Defense Wall set up around the city to protect the rest of Japan, it's up to Kazuma and Co. to deal with the flesh-eating swarms. Joining Kiryu in the battle will be Ryuji Goda, Goro Majima and Shun Akiyama, all of whom have been in previous installments and now will carry specific weaponry. We also learn more about how each character becomes involved in the mess, and a few extra screens showing the characters with their favorite firearms. Such updates make us hope Sega won't take so long in localizing what appears to be the last Yakuza ; historically, it has taken over a year for new games in the series to arrive in the US.

Yakuza: Of The End is supposed to hit Japan in April 2011 and we still haven't even seen the most recently released title, so… We probably have a bit of a wait before us. Still, looks interesting.

Related Game(s): Yakuza: Of The End

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Crazy Taxi Delivered To PSN/XBLA On November 24

Ben-Dutka 19 Comments

Who remembers Crazy Taxi ? It's one of the Dreamcast's most entertaining – and oddly addictive – titles and it's coming back…

As most of you know, Sega plans to release several of the DC's games in digital form; they'll be hitting the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade for those who wish to take a walk down memory lane. And now, the publisher has revealed that Crazy Taxi will be ready to go towards the end of November. The PS3 version of Hitmaker's game will drop on November 24 and it'll cost you $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points, depending on the service you wish to use. Overhauled to boast new high-definition visuals and Trophies/Achievements, gamers will be able to sample two modes: Arcade Mode and Original Mode. Can you make your precious deliveries in the time allotted? Can you handle all sorts of obstructions and obstacles in your path? This was one of those games that sort of hooked you from the get-go and kept you playing for a long, long time. There were a few DC games that managed to do that and we're hoping we'll see them on the PSN/XBLA as well.

We just hope it doesn't show its age as painfully as Sonic Adventure . That was sort of depressing.

Related Game(s): Crazy Taxi

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Sega De-Listing Poor Sonic Titles

Ben-Dutka 35 Comments

Update: This has been misinterpreted in several places.  As it turns out, Sega isn't de-listing reviews from Metacritic; they're "de-listing" in terms of retail.  They just won't make their low-scoring (i.e., the Metacritic reference) titles available to the public anymore.  Sorry for the confusion.

Original Story:

You know how little kids cover their eyes after doing something bad, as if to say, "it didn't happen! If I don't see it, it didn't happen; it's not my fault"?

To get a look at how critics receive a particular title, fans flock to sites like Metacritic and GameRankings. It's basically doing your homework before opting to drop the cash. …but what if the game you searched for wasn't there? In order to "increase the value of the brand," Sega has actually de-listed certain low-scoring Sonic games at Metacritic. You know, so they don't "confuse the consumer." This according to MCV citing Sega Senior Vice President, Jurgen Post.

"Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed. We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future.

We could make a lot of money on back-catalogue Sonic titles, but let’s keep the number of Sonic games available under control. Otherwise you can have cannibalisation. If there are ten Sonic games on the shelves, with people seeing Sonic Rush DS or Sonic Rush Adventure, this may not help our overall strategy."

Sega is preparing to launch a few new Sonic titles soon, including the more old-fashioned downloadable for the PSN/XBLA, Sonic 4 , as well as Sonic Colors and Sonic Free Riders . Basically, Sega says they want to cater to both old and new fans of the speedy blue icon, and they don't want past failures tainting the new projects.

But…you can't erase your past. You did it. It's there. They're really going to take crappy Sonic games off Metacritic just because they were crappy? What if that starts to be the vogue thing to do…?  Honestly, we didn't even know you could do this.

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