Soul Calibur V Welcomes You Back to the Stage of History

I'm quite excited for the announcement of SoulCalibur V, which keeps one of my favorite fighting franchises running. Set 17 years after the conclusion of SoulCalibur IV, the latest entry in the series follows the son of Sophitia, Patroklos, as he no doubt sets out on an adventure that revolves around the Soul swords in some way.

Aw yeah, I'm pumped. The Soul Calibur series not only managed to deliver a deep fighting experience with a whole assortment of interesting characters and exotic weapons, but what it offers outside of that is just as awesome. Unique game types and one of the most comprehensive character creation tools I've ever seen in a fighting game, in SoulCalibur IV. No word on if any of this will return in SoulCalibur V, but really, how could it not?

Here are some images and a teaser for you to fawn over. The series' first sword-and-shield male is kind of a big deal. And before you say anything, no, Lizardman does not count.

If enough people 'Like' Soul Calibur on Facebook, new artwork will be revealed at SoulCalibur's home on the web. Now, get busy!

L.A. Noire Launch Trailer is All About Dramaaaaa

Oh hell no, girlfriend. You did not just investigate a homicide case! Mmmmmm-hmmmm!

L.A. Noire is set for release in less than a week, next Tuesday May 17. What better way to get you to preorder than with this, a shiny new launch trailer! Said trailer is all about the drama, baby. Car accidents, guns, yelling, guns, dramatic camera angles, yelling, guns! I can't take it any more! 

Try not to be fooled by the trailer. If you go into L.A. Noire thinking you're going to get a weapon-heavy Grand Theft Auto fueled kill-spree, you will be disappointed. Me? I'm actually relieved that L.A. Noire goes more the route of drama and crime scene investigation than it does mindless violence and escort missions. 

Preorder while you still can!

Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Beta Impressions

Written by John Rios

Fans were naturally upset when Gears of War 3 was delayed for marketing purposes, but that anger quickly turned into excitement when Epic announced that it would run a public multiplayer beta. While Epic is using the beta to gather valuable technical data to tweak and refine the game, players are just happy for an advanced opportunity to chainsaw their buddies into bloody giblets.

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REVIEW: Outland

Every once in a while, an idea comes along that makes you ask "How has this never been done before?" Though the idea of bullet-hell combined with a 'polarity' system was very successfully implemented in the cult hit Ikaruga, the idea was hardly heard from again, until Outland.

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Brink Launches Tomorrow, Celebrate With a Trailer

Tomorrow is the release of Brink, one of my most coveted gets of Summer 2011, and maybe even the whole year itself. I've really been looking forward to this title for a while now, for multiple reasons. If you haven't, here's a launch trailer to change your mind. Protip: when a dude with a Jason mask is pressing a gun against your eyeball, you change your mind.

Brink is bright, colorful, fast-moving, stylish-looking, and challenging. It benefits players who stick together and operates as a team, and it allows you to react after being assaulted or engage in games of cat-and-mouse, due in part to the mobility of the SMART system, and the comparatively large amount of bullets it takes to drop someone (think Halo).

If you haven't preordered yet, there's still time. Amazon is selling Brink for $55, with a $10 credit  and the Psycho Pack, which comes with some pretty slick customization options. What are you waiting for? 

OMG! Guardian Heroes HD to Release for XBLA

Header image by Modus

I'm not a religious man by any means, but I think that may change. About once a month, I remember the incredible Sega Saturn - and acceptable Game Boy Advance - game, Guardian Heroes. I remember how it may have been the greatest beat 'em up I played as a youth, with awesome art, frantic action, a killer soundtrack, and 40-plus characters to mix it up with. Good old days. Whenever I fondly recall Guardian Heroes, I pray for a new take on the series, and for the past few years my prayers have gone unanswered. Until today!

I could not be any happier to write this. My fingers are harmoniously humming Valgar's snappy theme as they slide across my keyboard in glee. Guardian Heroes is getting the full HD treatment for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Re-mastered graphics, local and online co-op, 12-player online arena battle mode, and even completely new play modes like time attack and arranged mode. This is the second best day of my life. The best day will be Guardian Heroes' release date, sometime this summer.

In case you have never heard of or played this opus, here's a little backstory. Guardian Heroes is a 2D, side-scrolling beat 'em up with RPG elements (see: character progression) developed by Treasure, released in 1996 on the vastly underrated Sega Saturn. The ability to choose branching paths allowed Guardian Heroes multiple endings and a new way to play each time you tackled the engaging story mode. I can't event describe how much of a masterpiece this title is. Just know that your childhood suffered greatly if you never gave this game a spin, but all will be righted this summer. Excitement!

The History of Red Faction: Blowing Shit Up

The good people at Volition have created a dev diary of sorts, discussing some of Red Faction's history, it's legacy as a science fiction series, the enemies, and of course, blowing shit up. 

If you're not familiar with the Red Faction series, you can watch this to acquaint yourself a bit, but you really should play some of the past entries. If you're strapped for time, then maybe just give Red Faction: Armageddon a shot. It looks like Armageddon will continue the franchise's streak of quality gaming, and lovely destruction. Don't like the way that wall is looking at you? Blow it up! Guilty conscience, wall-killer? Rebuild it again with your Nano Forge. Destroy, build, destroy; Andrew W.K. would be proud. 

In other news, have a look at Red Faction: Armageddon's pre-order bonuses, by way of these silly ads. Best Buy gets the Recon Pack, featuring a nice looking set of Recon Armor, XNG-5000 rocket launcher, and the chain-lightning spitting Arc Welder. Gamestop pre-orders fetch you the Commando Pack, whose odd looking Commando Armor looks like a hybrid of Mass Effect's N7 and Final Fantasy XII's Judge armor. Also, fucking SWEET Laser Pistol and flame-throwing Plasma Launcher. Amazon pre-order is less flashy, but worth it in its own right. $10 worth of video game credit, and a free download of the addicting vehicular slaughter action of Red Faction: Battlegrounds. Where will you pre-order?

Get Your Red Faction: Armageddon On Sooner, Then Later

Show of hands, who here loves Red Faction? Sweet, so do I. Look at that, we have so much in common. Are you busy Friday night? Maybe we can enjoy a candle light dinner followed by some Guerrilla action. But I digress! This is a good news/bad news post. As usual, you'll get the bad news first.

The bad: the release of Red Faction: Armageddon will be delayed. I hear the collective groan, but wait, let me finish. The delay is only a week, which is completely bearable. The date has been bumped back to June 7, as opposed to the scheduled release of May 31. That gives you plenty of buffer time to finish up with L.A. Noire.

Now the good, so you can leave this post feeling positive about life. Mark May 3 on your calendar, because that will be the day that we all receive the Red Faction: Armageddon demo on Xbox Live and PSN. Though who knows if the latter will ever be back online, let alone by May 3.

When I spent some hands on time with Red Faction: Armageddon at PAX East last month, I walked away thoroughly impressed. And though I didn't get to try any of what we'll probably see in the demo -which I'm sure is a sliver of the campaign mode - messing around in Ruin Mode, putting all of the glorious instruments of destruction through their paces made my evil little heart flutter with sadistic glee. Really looking forward to this one.

Binary Domain is Half Way Between Gears of War and Vanquish

Sega has today released a proper trailer for their upcoming shooter, Binary Domain. Unlike the trailer released late last year, this one is full of gameplay that looks extremely decent. Unforunately, it is also filled with bland looking characters. I was hoping Toshihiro Nagoshi (producer of the Yakuza series, tanning bed activist) might have pulled some strings to get the bootleg Commander Shepard and token black guy tweaked for some originality, but alas, no. 

Regardless, Binary Domain is still a ways out - due to release some time in 2012 - but the early returns are somewhat convincing. Of course, you'll have to get over the fact that it's pretty much half Gears of War, and half Vanquish, which was already half Gears. So what does that make BD? I hate math.

After his work on the Yakuza series, Nagoshi knows what a compelling story in a game should be, so there's that. Also, there are some interesting action sequences in the trailer, like jet skiing and building sliding, to go along with your typical shoot 'em up fare. If the former outweighs the latter, and Binary Domain keeps on with the eye candy, we might have an acceptable Gears/Vanquish/Gears knockoff on our hands.

REVIEW: Mortal Kombat

To be frank, I haven't cared about Mortal Kombat in a long time. The last game in the series I had in heavy rotation was the very underrated Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy before that. There was a certain je ne sais quoi missing from most of the sequels that followed the original trilogy, which ultimately led to a decline of interest. So why does the latest entry in the series, titled simply Mortal Kombat, inspire more thoughts of combos and fatalities than the past 4 or 5 installments combined? Could be because not only does this title kick ass, it rips your head off and splits your torso into five easy pieces.

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