• 1Aug 06

  Senko no Ronde

  
  Like Street fighter crossed with Ikaruga.
  
  Released last week on the 360, Senko no Ronde has the answer to a great question I never thought to ask: "What would a versus shoot 'em up be like?"
  
  The answer is pretty crazy but a great fun. The game pits two mech suited pilots against each other, and manages to capture the spirit of versus fighters like Street Fighter, along with the bullet dodging mayhem of shooters like Ikagruga. Staples of both genres make appearances in Senko no Ronde; health, charge bars and special moves from the fighting genre, sit along side the reflex based gameplay, and enormous bosses of the shooters.

  The bosses here are powered up states of the characters, which players can use a limited number of times a match. It's a pretty unique experience changing into a half the screen sized boss character and filling the screen with bullets, and probably something I've wanted to do since I met the first level R-Type boss.
  
  
  An player transforms into B.O.S.S. mode and cooks the little pink mech.
  
  I've only started to play Senko no Ronde, but it's already evident that there is both depth and skill in the combat system. I'm looking forward to playing some more.

  • Posted Aug 1, 2006 5:08 am GMT
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• 1Jul 06

  The England Match, Chromehounds, and a Flash Game.

  
  Come on England!...please
  England haven't really been on top form in this world cup, and shockingly my first game nerves have slowly turning to apathy. Near the end of the Ecuador match, England had seemingly nullified the Ecuador attack and where drifting home to 1-0 win and my interest was next to none. This team is made up of really good players, but I just couldn't find any pride in the play. Ashley cole made a good save, Beckham scored a nice free kick, and Rooney set up Lampard to sky another one over the bar. These are my memories of the match, I even missed Beckham puking - with beer seeming far more appealing than the on screen action- which might have brightened up the game for me. The heat must be partly to blame, with even Ecuador looking a bit knackered. I just really want to be excited by these great player's play, and hope they can put on a good show tonight, and of course win.

  Chromehounds
  After playing the demo of Chromehounds on Thursday and being distinctly unimpressed. I'm a bit surprised to have a copy of the game in my 360 this morning, and the blisters on my feet from trekking around Kawasaki and Tokyo trying to buy it. There's been a few of these underwhelming demos released on Xbox live. Need for Speed, Full Auto are good examples of demos that have had the opposite of the intended effect on me, and actually put me off buying the game. You do wonder sometimes why or how these demos get released when they make the game seem so poor. I did eventually buy NFS, and it's great, but I have no intention of trying Full Auto due to the damage done by it's demo.

  After the release of the Euro/Japanese Chromehounds demo, comments from myself and other downloaders were pretty unfavorable. However I'm a sucker for a nice sounding idea, and the persistent online war zone in Chrome hounds sounded like a great idea to me. Even better a friend had already ordered it from Amazon so I'd have someone to play it with.

  So I went to buy it, seems like all 360 owners in my area went to get it too, as the five shops in or near my town were sold out. It's good to see that a Japanese made 360 game is doing well, but a bit frustrating when it take me an afternoon of searching and a trip to Tokyo to pick up a copy.

  The demo is actually pretty representative of the game so far ( I've only played a few hours). But it feels like a bit of a slow burner as I'm enjoying it more as I get further in. The Mech customization looks like its going to be fun when I've collected enough parts to make the most of it. The online mode looks like its also got a lot going for it, so I'll be giving that a whirl later today.

  Flash Game
  When I'm not busy making banners and pop ups for people to block/ignore/hate, I also occasionally get to make flash games when a nice client comes along. If you fancy it, and particularly if you like Smash TV, Geometry Wars or Total Carnage, have a gander at this game me and a friend made for lego.

  • Posted Jul 1, 2006 2:11 am GMT
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• 28Jun 06

  The 360 in Japan

  Such is the popularity of the 360 in Japan, people buying 360 games in are being asked/warned that games they are buying are for the 360. I have yet to get this myself - though it may be me just not understanding due to my poor Japanese - but both Japanese and English freinds here have told me about their experiences.
  
  It's baffling to me how such a nice piece of gaming kit seems to leave the Japanese public so cold, but maybe they just don't know what it is. The choice of advertising both pre and post launch can not have helped. What use is a teaser campaign for an Xbox360 when no one knows what an Xbox is. A string of American "Urban" life style ads set to the Rolling Stones  did not inform anyone that the machine was for games let alone some of the most technically advanced games. The additional lifestyle features like being able to hook it up to PC's, digital cameras, and mp3 players also never mentioned. The hardcore fans who bought the Xbox have come out again in support of the 360, but most people don’t have any interest in a bigger better version of something they have no knowledge of.
  
  6 games at launch was an extremely poor turn out. This left me wondering whether I should import a 360 or go for the cheaper Japanese option. The delays to key games also don't do the machine any favors. Microsoft is touting their Japanese developed games as a major weapon to get the Japanese market going. DOA4 got a few more guys down the shops, and Ninety Nine Nights sold fairly well I believe. But both these games slipped a long way back, and even after these delays shipped with some polish missing. .

  After deciding on the cheaper option, I was initially cursing my Japanese 360 for lack of software available, and the thought that I'd never be able to play Oblivion. Since the launch of 360 in Hong Kong the NTSC-J 360 is now the version to have in my book. You can get English language Asia region versions of nearly all the European/American releases, at less than half the UK RRP. Plus you get to play the few Japanese games that come out. Some of these games are real gems if a little rough around the edges. LoveFOOTBALL for example is a pretty unique football game which cant really be experienced anywhere else (The time I spent with the spiritual predecessor of this game Libero Grande was pretty dire)

  Personally I don't think Microsoft should underestimate the potential of western games releases here. Especially Oblivion which several Japanese friends have imported and have hardly stopped playing. I'd be paying Bethesda to get this excellent RPG translated, and bulk up the RPG library here, as Enchant Arm, although fun isn’t setting the world on fire.
  
  I would like to see the 360 succeed here as I want to see continued support from Japanese developers, and also to continue to be able to buy games in the shops. The Xbox's shelves are now home to a couple of faded AV cable boxes, a handful of games and a dusty joy pad if your lucky

  • Posted Jun 28, 2006 11:51 pm GMT
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