Tokyo Game Show

The Tokyo Game Show is just kicking off at the minute, so its the second half of the year's chance to fill us all to the brim with gaming news. I know most of you guys prefer Western games, which TGS isn't exactly the "hub" for, but has anything caught your eye? Anything you are particularly looking out for more news or media of?

So far not much has happened other than on the Microsoft front, as they had their main presentation yesterday. Nice to see that they have the Japanese RPG genre covered so nicely on the 360 after its, well, non-existence on the original Xbox. Blue Dragon releasing in Japan this side of Christmas is a suprise to me, and less surprising is the fact it looks pretty damn awesome (if you like that sort of thing). Great to see in-game action of Lost Odyssey - looking every bit as epic as the Final Fantasy series it is setup to challenge, and every bit as traditional (for better or worse!) in its gameplay. Perhaps more interesting though are the new ones getting laid on the table - Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream and Infinite Undiscovery. Never expected to be looking forward to so many JRPG's on the 360 of all things - that's meant to be the PS3's job.

One of the best pieces of news of recent days for me has been the announcement of a new Kingdom Under Fire game. Less good news - it appears to have dropped all the strategy/army commanding aspect of the Xbox games and gone down the solo-characer action RPG road :sad: I'll almost undoubtedly still buy it, but I was oh so looking forward to some massive scale strategy hack and slash after Ninety Nine Nights failed to fill that hole. Maybe Koei's Ni-Oh on the PS3 wll go down that road.

Something that might peak a few more people here's interest though - a 15 minute developer walkthrough video of BioShock (the spiritual successor to System Shock). I've not downloaded it yet, but I'm seriously looking forward to watching it. The screenshots I've seen look astounding and have a great style to them, and from the reactions I've heard about the video, it doesn't disappoint!

In other news, a leaked file from Ubisoft has confirmed several previously unannounced game titles, including Prince of Persia 4 (bit of a surprise given the first 3 were meant to be a closed trilogy, but hey, it made them lots of money so not TOO surprising!), Splinter Cell 5 (aren't we all shocked), Far Cry 2 (dear lord! REALLY?!), and some surfing game. Oh and Lost...which I really don't think should be made into a game.

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Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Someone said "Bioshock"? :heee:
I seriously think that Bioshock will be the next Big FPS game that will change the genre. Being from the people that have made both System Shock 2 and Thief it cannot be a failure and it looks plain awesome so far. I'll definitely check out the video.

Except for that the TGS must be a home game for Nintendo. Which is a good thing because I'm curious about every bit of information regarding the Wii controller. I kinda lost track of console gaming in the last years (never bought one since the N64) but I've always been a big supporter of Nintendo's innovation over pixel-shaders philosophy. The Wii controller will be copied by all the coming consoles and I'd love to try it out with a good sword fighting game.

I was relieved when I read in a recent interview that even Valve has an eye on the Wii, acknowledging it's innovative approach. Because of the hardware I doubt that we'll see any of their FPS' on the Wii soon but how cool would it be to have a Valve-made physics-based game on the Wii?

I doubt I'll get the console but I love it's original design.

I saw the Bioshock video this morning at IGN.

To put it simple, I don't think I will enjoy HL2:Episode 2 or Portal
that much after seeing the video. Even Dark Messiah of M&M will
seem weak in comparison. Prey doesn't seem that fresh either... :sad:

That game looks very inmersive. I think the main reason is that the
scenarios and general artwork are more original. They don't follow the
<ruined city>-<abandoned factory>-<mountain combat>
we have seen in countless games. The water shaders and dynamic lighting
are neat. Eye candy everywhere. Wow.

I don't want to spoil anything else. Go and check it out!

Resistance: Fall of Man looks pretty hawt. :kitty:

Watched the Bioshock demo - super impressive. Looks like the same design principles and mechanics as System Shock 2, which is a good thing.

Like I expected, the Bioshock vid is beautiful. Feels like SS2 with some very interactive gameplay possibilities. This will be my favourite game of 2007.

PS: That narrator has a really creepy voice.

Hmm, I'm in Tokyo right now... Conceivably, I could go. Should I? I didn't even know about TGS at all. What a coincidence. Some would say that I am thus fated to go. Funny, no?

And if I DO go... what games should I check out? Princess maker 5000? :wink:

Oooh I am envious CJ! I think you should definately go - its a public show so you shouldn't have any problem getting in, though I don't know if you need to get tickets or whatever.

Should be plenty there to check out - apparently there are 27 PS3 games playable on the show floor, and no doubt a whole load of Wii and 360 games too. I'd want to get some hands on time with the Wii to see what all the fuss is about personally.

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Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

I had thought the JRPG's coming to the 360 looked impressive, until I saw this little gem headed for the PS3...

White Knight Story

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Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net