Four Yakuza March On Your Face

These four dudes have been kicking ass on Japanese consoles for almost a year, and on March 17th, they'll bring the beatdown to North American consoles, and not a moment too soon.

Sega's crime drama series is finally all set for its continuation in the west, and I can't wait. Of course it's a PS3 exclusive, and if you own a PS3 you owe it to yourself to check this series, because it is raw, as you can undoubtedly tell from the above.

And while the action is good, to me the strongest point of the Yakuza series is it's compelling story. Or if you're the open world type, how does karaoke, batting cages, ping pong, fishing, and drinking with glamorous Japanese hostesses? Oh yeah, Yakuza 4 has something for everyone, including an alligator skin shoe to the face.

REVIEW: Vanquish

Space marines, cover-based battle, and quick-time events are some of the most cliched ideas in the action genre. Vanquish attempts to build on the mundane by allowing you to spring out of cover and slide a hundred meters forward on your knees, while skillfully picking off your opposition with sniper rifle headshots, and at the end of your jet-propelled dash, breakdancing into an evasive roll, before dashing up a 30 foot tall robot, to punch his head off, clean. Sure it sounds good in theory, but can Vanquish pull it off in practice?

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Listen to an Old White Man Narrate Yakuza 4

While the Yakuza: Of The End hype machine is in full swing for it's 2011 release date, Western gamers can look forward to a different chapter in the Yakuza series early next year. Yakuza 4 will finally have run its way through the localization steps, and according to Sega, will not have as much content cut out as Yakuza 3. It's been a long time to wait since Yakuza 4's early 2010 release in Japan, but hopefully it will be worth it.

And what better way to get excited about 4's delayed release than with an old white man giving you the skinny on the nightlife, hostesses, and all around gangsta of being a yakuza.

"These guys are so tough, they don't even use umbrellas. And that's saying something."

Urgh. 

Sega of America must have missed the memo that people play the Yakuza series because they enjoy the immersion into the Japanese culture and lifestyle. Why would they use an old, English speaking man as opposed to a Japanese narrator, I don't know. Maybe they're trying to expand the audience past the niche of gamers with a strong interest in Japan. This voice-over makes the game sound more like a spaghetti western than a Japanese crime drama. 

Fortunately, we all know Yakuza 4 will be heavy on the Japanese tip, as with previous entries, only giving you the option of subtitles and forgoing English dubs. Saving money or preserving the experience? I'd like to think the latter, but you never know.

REVIEW: Sonic 4 Episode I

Sega fan since grade school, yo. And that's a long, long time ago. So it's clear to see why the appeal of an attitude-laden hedgehog was a stronger call than the pipe-surfing escapades of a stocky Italian man. Don't get me wrong, I loved both, but Sonic had the charismatic edge. So why is it that Mario games continue to sell well while the Hedgehog series just can't seem to hit the mark? Can Sonic 4 change the series' fate of late? Can a return to 2D reinvigorate the franchise? Can I haz speed? 

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Eight HD Minutes Of The End

We previously showed you a nice chunk of Yakuza: Of The End in not so flattering standard def recorded straight from a presentation screen. Ghetto, but effective. Well, we can now replace that with a much nicer looking, slightly longer, still amazing cut of the latest entry in the Yakuza series.

Let's be real, this game looks like mindless, ridiculous fun. Yes, I'm sick of zombies and you probably should be too, but I do enjoy me some Yakuza, so this pairing can't be all bad. Who knows, maybe we're in for the surprise of a halfway decent story, since the previous Yakuza titles are driven by above average writing. Just because zombies have been added, doesn't necessarily mean the game will lose its brains, right?

Sign me up if only for the strip batting cages, Majima singing karaoke, and 50 Cent (at the 7:05 mark in the video, that's definitely him!)

NYCC10: In Depth With Captain America: Super Soldier

We got a chance to chat with Morgan Roberts, a producer at Sega of America, who was kind enough to demo Captain America: Super Solider and give us some insight into its development.

Morgan was playing a pre-alpha build of the game, which is a stage before in depth testing and finalizations. Even in this early point of its development, what we saw had tons of promise. Be forewarned, the video is lengthy, which speaks volumes for the product on the floor, complete or not. The pre-alpha demo had to have been a good 6 to 8 minutes, which is better than a lot of demos on PSN or XBLA marketplace. 

Good stuff. Captain America: Super Solider is definitely one to keep your eyes on. 

Sega Developing WWII Captain America Title

Sega and Marvel are good friends. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Iron Man 2 games have given good efforts, but generally don't live up to the dreams fanboys have of flawlessly controlling their favorite Marvel heroes in beautifully rendered environments with a compelling storyline. Thor is next in line to receive the Sega treatment in summer 2010, and after that? Mister Avenger himself, none other than Captain America.

Set during World War 2, Captain America: Super Soldier puts players in the flared boots of the ultimate soldier, using his shield, free flowing combat mechanics, and acrobatic platforming to overcome enemies and obstacles. Batman: Arkham Asylum meets Assassin's Creed? Oh Sega, stop it. 

The Cap will face off against Red Skull and his scientifically advanced Hydra army, with the ability to use the iconic shield to deflect incoming fire, incapacitate multiple enemies, climb walls and solve puzzles. Hm, not sure how a shield would be better than hands at climbing a wall, but okay, I'll roll with it for now. No confirmation yet on whether or not you'll be able to hit fools with the Final Justice.

The story will be penned by Marvel vet Christos Gage, who has written Avengers: The Initiative, Siege: Captain America, Iron Man, X-Men, Spiderman, and Civil War: House of M. So that means there's a high probability of the story actually being good, right?

Captain America: Super Soldier gallery

You're Tearing Me Apart, Shenmue!

Shenmue, at the time of it's release on Dreamcast in 1999, was an amazing game. It's been a while since I've played it but I bet it's still pretty good. The graphics were sleek, the story was deep, and the action was intense. Sure it had its what the fuck moments, but it also had its moments of absolute win, like the 70 man battle, which at the time was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnesses and been part of in a video game. 

Shenmue was supposed to be a multi-chapter story. Unfortunately it's life did not last beyond Shenmue II. So, one of the best and most influential series of it's time was left incomplete. No one knows exactly why Shenmue III never went into production, somewhere between poor sales forecasts, budget issues, and clashes between developer AM2 and Sega, it looked like the Shenmue series was dead. Until last night, when the latest installment of Shenmue has been announced.

Calm down, it's not Shenmue III. It's not even close. It's social game for Japanese exclusive service Yahoo! Mobage called Shenmue City. So, you follow up one of the deepest and most involving games of it's day with Shenmue Farmville? You gotta be kidding me. The fan outrage, the petitions, the letters to Sega, the crying into my pillow at night, all for naught.

It ain't all bad though. It's been 10 years since we've last seen a Shenmue game. It's good to know Sega hasn't forgotten about it. For all we know, this could be a test of the waters. If Shenmueville does well with Japanese PC social gamers, maybe it will outgrow Yahoo! Mobage. Maybe if sales are good and interest in high, development will begin on Shenmue III for this generation of consoles. Anything can happen, I mean Duke Nukem Forever is being released after 14 years in limbo, maybe we'll finally get closure on the Shenmue series after all!

Or maybe I'm tripping balls. I don't expect another Shenmue to be released. I had forgotten about it for a good long time and maybe I should continue to do so. As much as I'd love to get Shenmue III, it probably won't ever happen. So to the Japanese gamers out there, enjoy Shenmueville. 

Yakuza 4 Won't Cut Out Too Much Content

My associate and I have recently been playing a lot of Yakuza 3. Awesome game. Like the rest of the Yakuza series, the story and cinematography is killer, making it feel more like a big budget Japanese blockbuster than a game. Before the game was released, Sega announced that content was being cut from the Western release of Yakuza 3, because it would be a little over the head of us English speakers. Needless to say, people were pissed. We don't like watered down games, if you're gonna give it to us, we want it straight, no chaser. 

Well, I guess someone at Sega was listening to all the complaints. Yakuza 4, which has been out in Japan since March, will release stateside this spring with minimal cuts. Kotaku reports the hostess clubs will return, assuring that you will be able to pay for a virtual woman's company to make your in-game gangsta feel like a pimp, which ain't easy. Unfortunately, it looks like the game's quiz show, Answer X Answer, will not be making the cut, since translating the custom animated text would be too much of a chore for the localization team. It sucks, but some progress is better than none, right?

Now, entertain yourself with one of Yakuza 3's most amazing moments.

Prepare Yourself for the Sensory Barrage of Vanquish

About two weeks until Sega unleashes the craziness known as Vanquish onto the unsuspecting world. Throw ya' gunz in the air if you're excited! 

In an effort to train your senses to fully process Vanquish in the millisecond your reflexes will require for you to survive, here are two recent trailers for Platinum Games' latest; one showing you what you're up against, the other flossing the transforming weapons system you control. Now that is some beautiful fragging right there. I'd shed a tear if I weren't too busy disintegrating Russian death machines and smoking a cigarette. Damn, Sam Gideon is a bad ass.

An Amazon pre-order is supposed to net you three exclusive in-game weapons, but I don't see them advertising that deal anymore. I'll have to get to the bottom of this.  Stay tuned.