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Deus Ex Trailer: Conspiracy, Revolution, Mind Control

Ben-Dutka 17 Comments

From what we can see now, there are two games in 2011 that will place a heavy emphasis on immersion via original, breathtaking atmosphere.

The first is Bioshock Infinite , which just continues to blow us away . The second is Deus Ex: Human Revolution , an Eidos/Square-Enix production that has looked great from the start. Another trailer dropped at the Tokyo Game Show last week and like Irrational Games' new production, it's deserving of its own headline to promote discussion. The following doesn't show us any gameplay but as mentioned above, it highlights that all-important environment and story angle. Check it out.

Some were worried it would be more of a departure from past installments in the esteemed series, but the developers have assured us that it isn't an action/FPS." No, it's one of those patented action/RPG hybrids we've always appreciated from the Deus Ex titles and to learn more, check out our full preview . The only downside? It's slated to arrive the week after Killzone 3 in late February so…uh…yeah, your wallets won't get much of a break after the holiday season.

Related Game(s): Deus Ex: Human Revolution

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Rumor: New Open-World Tomb Raider In The Works

John-Shepard 17 Comments

Tomb Raider isn't as big as it once was, which is evident with the release of the downloadable title, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light .

But might we see another full production soon? According to Eurogamer citing an advance copy of PC Gamer, a new Tomb Raider is indeed in the works, and it'll feature an open-world structure and a younger Lara Croft. The game is in development at Eidos and will be published by Square-Enix and is apparently destined to reboot the series once again. The story? A young, not-so-cocky and less experienced Lara finds herself on a mysterious Japanese island with plenty of jungles and dangers. Puzzles, enemies, and other obstacles should await her and if the information is correct, this new – hopefully promising – adventure is slated to arrive in late 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The competition keeps getting stiffer in the third-person adventure category, as the new king is undeniably Nathan Drake and Co.; Naughty Dog's Uncharted games are about the stiffest competition one can find anywhere.

But hey, everyone still loves Lara, right? Maybe it'll be a big ol' blockbuster and remind us of the '90s. By the way, Guardian of Light is out now on the Xbox Live Marketplace and will come to the PS3 and PC next week.

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TGS 2010: Versus XIII’s Realism Is Downright Stunning

Ben-Dutka 80 Comments

Sure, it'd be vastly preferable to have the actual trailer to watch, but that may not happen for a while.

Square-Enix showed off more of Final Fantasy Versus XIII at the Tokyo Game Show, but apparently, that presentation took place behind closed doors. Therefore, you can't find footage for whatever they showed, which is in stark contrast to most all other TGS 2010 media; that stuff has been flying for days. But some sources are at least able to describe what they saw: essentially, the footage showed main character Noctis running about a wasteland, after which he arrives at a city and fights a huge Behemoth. But that's not the part that is going to turn heads; this is the head-turning bit-

"Apparently, the quality of gameplay is so high that it’s hard to believe players can actually control what’s being done on screen."

Famitsu describes the footage as "very fantastic" and "very realistic," and this isn't the first time we've heard a mention of the game's stunning clarity and realism. Producer Tetsuya Nomura tweeted that Versus XIII looked like "a picture taken in real life," and just about everyone who sees it in motion comes away impressed. Now, if we could only have some official gameplay directly in front of our eyes…

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy Versus XIII

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Dissidia Sequel Revealed, Lightning, Kain Featured

Ben-Dutka 40 Comments

It's one of the very best portable games available and now, after a bit of a wait, it has been revealed that Square-Enix is working on a sequel.

According to Andriasang citing the Weekly Shonen Jump publication, fans of the first Dissidia: Final Fantasy for the PSP will get a follow-up entitled, Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy . It'll release next year and stick with the PSP and although we don't have a ton of details just yet, we do know that both Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Kain from Final Fantasy IV will be featured. Prior to this announcement, Square-Enix boss Tetsuya Nomura said there would be a "mystery game" playable at the Tokyo Game Show this month; Dissidia Duodecim is probably it. Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, it appears that FFXIII's protagonist will also show up in The 3rd Birthday …although we can't figure out any connection. Maybe in addition to a cute blonde, they need a cute strawberry blonde, or something. Anyway, PSP owners should be happy with this news, although it's difficult to say when the highly anticipated sequel will come to the US.

No, it's not exactly for hardcore role-playing aficionados but it definitely caters to long-time FF fans. All those characters bring back great memories…gotta love Kain.

Related Game(s): Dissidia: Final Fantasy

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Square-Enix: Versus XIII Development Only On PS3

Ben-Dutka 158 Comments

Like most big publishers, Square-Enix doesn't really believe in platform exclusivity anymore. This is why many have assumed any delays associated with Final Fantasy Versus XIII are due to the developer's new multiplatform aims.

However, while there's no knowing if Square-Enix will eventually port the game to the Xbox 360, game producer Testuya Nomura has confirmed that as of yet, they are not thinking about Microsoft's console. The following information comes from a recent Tweet (as cited by Andriasang ), where Nomura talks about the difference between "multiplatform" and "port:"

"Multiplatform is when you start development on a game with the assumption of optimizing for multiple platforms. Porting is something that's done after you've developed a game specifically for a particular platforms. The debate over porting is decided by the management based off the current market and the costs. All I can say right now as a developer is that Versus is being developed specifically for the PlayStation 3."

This makes the situation relatively clear: even if Square-Enix brings Final Fantasy Versus XIII to the Xbox 360, it will be a port, which will invariably mean the PS3 version will be superior. We all know about shoddy ports ; long-time PS3 owners are all too familiar. But in this case, they shouldn't be too peeved; the designers are only focusing on Sony's machine, which could mean good things…

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy Versus XIII

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FFXIII PS3 Sells Three Times More Than FFXIII 360

Ben-Dutka 123 Comments

We distinctly recall some guy at Microsoft claiming Final Fantasy XIII would sell more copies on the Xbox 360. We know Square-Enix thought going multiplatform with the series was the right thing to do.

Well, we hope the veteran role-playing publisher is happy with a million and a half sales of the 360 version worldwide. That's about 1/3 of the overall number, according to a recent VGChartz update , where it seems Microsoft's prediction (even analysts found it to be a little nutty) fell flat. With worldwide sales of about 5.75 million and 4.24 million copies of the PS3 version, it's clear that Sony's platform is still the console of choice for followers of the legendary franchise. We could bear in mind that the game didn't release for the 360 in Japan, but then again, what if it had ? There are about 12 360s in that region so it probably wouldn't have mattered much, and Square-Enix obviously knew that. Besides, the PS3 version still sold twice as many copies as the 360 version in Europe, and it even won in North America. Remember that the 360 has a much larger lead in terms of console sales in the US – the gap shrinks to about 4 million if you count all global sales – so this statistic is also very significant.

Will this dissuade Square-Enix in the future? Nah. We're certain they view those 1.5 million 360 copies as a stone-cold success. Now we'll just wait for Versus XIII to be announced for the 360…and sell 1/4 what the PS3 version does.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII

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