Thought the PSVita was dead and buried?

The Stuttgart-based publisher Strictly Limited Games, which specializes in the publication of highly limited, physical collector’s editions of digital games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch, today announced that the Japanese cult game Sayonara UmiharaKawase++ will be available in a limited standard edition and a limited collector’s edition.

Thrilling news for PlayStation Vita fans! The long-awaited new edition of the classic Japanese video game that has pleased fans for 24 years will be released in an English physical version on the PS Vita for the first time outside of Japan.

First released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo, the game was revised by creator Toshinobu Kondo exclusively for Strictly Limited Games, and the new edition will carry the addition ++. Sayonara UmiharaKawase++ is a classic jump ‘n’ run game and was single-handedly developed by Toshinobu Kondo, who actually wanted to be a manga artist. Players must move through lovingly designed levels in the bizarre fantasy world, using fishing gear resembling a grappling hook, and defeat enemies simply by fishing for them. But only those with perfect mastery of their fishing rod can discover shortcuts and secrets in the game, because the only way to find all the locations is by swinging and rappelling. The multi-talented Kondo was inspired by numerous everyday items which are incorporated into the game.

The limited collector’s edition will be restricted to 999 units and will be released for the PS Vita on November 18th 2018. The standard version (PS Vita) will be released a week later on November 25th 2018.

The post The Appearance of Sayonara UmiharaKawase++ appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

German publisher Strictly Limited Games, specialised in the production of limited, physical collector’s editions of digital download-only games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch, managed to rediscover a previously believed lost treasure: 25 years after its completion, the action-platformer HardCore, initially developed by Digital Illusions, is finally getting released.

Its console debut will be exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, available digitally on PlayStation Network and as a physical retail-version. Packed with elaborate art design and an attentive eye for details ‘Project HardCore’ (working title) is scheduled for release in the first half of 2019.

‘Project HardCore’ (working title) is a eurostyle MetroidVania-platformer appealing especially to classic 2D-action-game enthusiasts with its intricate level design and numerous mid- and end-bosses. Vertical-scrolling Shoot ‘Em Up-stages, originally planned to be exclusive to the Sega Mega CD version, will also be integrated into the final version, delivering the most complete experience possible and bringing back memories of games like SWIV for the Commodore Amiga.

DICE started development of HardCore for Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega CD and Commodore Amiga in the early 1990s, with a release planned around 1994 / 1995 by Psygnosis. Yet, this did not happen since development had been abandoned prior to completion in order to shift focus to the new generation of gaming consoles. The following twenty-three years ‘HardCore‘ was believed to be lost as even the Swedish developer did no longer have any data or documentation available.

In 2017, thanks to some fortunate circumstances and the help of some friends, Strictly Limited Games managed to locate a copy of the original build. Supported by some of the most talented minds and experts of the gaming industry, the two founding members Dennis Mendel and Benedict Braitsch have since then been working on the recovery of this retro-treasure for current-gen gaming platforms under the working title “Project HardCore”. Involved in this project are, among others, the long-time DICE-employee Mikael Kalms as well as members of the 1994 original development team, Fredrik Liljegren and Joakim Wejdemar. Additional support is provided by Matt Phillips from Big Evil Corporation, specialist in 68000-coding and all Mega Drive-related things, as well as by emulation expert Steve Snake, porting-ace Mathew Gambrell and level designer Gerhard Weihrauch.

Fredrik Liljegren, one of the 4 founders of DICE, commented on the project: “I know the care, love, sweat and hard work that went into creating Hardcore it in the first place by all involved parties. Thus, I think it is fantastic that this product finally gets to see the light of day and for people to be able to play it finally.”

During this year’s Gamescom Congress in Cologne, Dennis Mendel and Benedict Braitsch of Strictly Limited Games will be introducing the topic of game-archaeology and giving more details about ‘Project HardCore’.

The post Lost platformer “HardCore” by PSYGNOSIS finally resurfaces appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Award-winning publisher Curve Digital, has partnered with Infinite State Games to publish Rogue Aces, an aerial combat, arcade rogue-lite in which players must outflank, barrel-roll and dogfight their way through a series of vibrant 2D procedurally generated World War 2 scenarios.

Rogue Aces asks players to turn the tide of the war as they battle for supremacy across the air, sea and ground over 100 increasingly challenging procedurally generated missions. Using one analogue stick to control the direction of the propeller plane while the other controls the throttle, combat is frantic but graceful, encouraging daring acrobatic manoeuvres. Each plane carries a finite amount of fuel to capture enemy bases and destroy enemy forces making strategic planning, replenishing and repairs a must across its colourful 1940s styled Levels.

“Rogue Aces’ gameplay is perfectly suited for pick up and play sessions,” said Mike Daw, Creative Director at Infinite State Games. “Its short, frenetic Levels are great if you’ve got a spare 5, 15 or even 50 minutes. And while Rogue Aces’ aerial combat might initially appear simple our controls and mechanics keep the proceedings super fun and deep.”

“Rogue Aces looks fantastic and we’re extremely excited to announce that Infinite State Games is becoming part of the Curve family,” said Jason Perkins, Managing Director of Curve Digital. “As a team of handheld devotees, we can’t wait for players around the world to experience Rogue Aces’ portable pick up and play fun.”

Players will face an array of challenges in Rogue Aces. Missions include freeing prisoners of war, halting enemy parachuters and protecting ally buildings from enemy bombers. The game’s in-depth arcade scoring system encourages multiple playthroughs while Barons, the toughest propeller plane enemies in the game are staunch in-air adversaries.

Rogue Aces also features multiple game modes in addition to its campaign. Veteran Campaign, Bomber Defence and Rogue Ace Mode all offer vary experiences while PlayStation 4 and PS Vita owners will be experience cross buy and cross play alongside online leaderboards.

Rogue Aces will launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on April 12th 2018.

The post Rogue Aces, Swoops Onto Nintendo Switch appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Horror is an interesting game genre.

For the most part, the genre is loaded with simple jump scares, heightened by the players senses which are built by proxy of playing the game, but every so often something truly creative comes out of the mix, and Yomawari: Midnight Shadows foots that bill.

Kicking in I was concerned having not played the first game, but fortunately it is its own self-contained title, telling the story of Yui and Haru in a spooky haunted town. The game kicks off telling the story of the loss of Yui’s dog, followed by the meeting up, and separation of Yui and Haru. Once they are separated, most of the game involves Haru as she tries to find Yui in the mysterious town, dotted with moments of Yui for the story.

This story is interesting, but that’s not what makes the game worth experiencing.

The game takes an isometric angle – not unlike a lot of NIS games – using hand drawn styles making the game look wonderful. The chibhi character designs look gorgeous, but it’s the spirits occupying the haunting town that stand out. They vary from the normal, like a ghost dog, to weird faces, giant plant looking beings to weird floating faces, and creepy children playing with balls.

The only way to see these beasts is using the light, and as the game is set at night, the majority of this is using your flashlight – when you have it – and streetlights. This is what makes the game tense, especially when you are running, not being able to see the thing you know could be right behind you.

Do you turn around to see how far away it is, and risk being caught if it is close, or keep running? You will make this call a lot.

There is no combat in the game, when you come across a spirit you either need to distract them by throwing something, or run until they give up, or hide.

This also builds the tension, but not as much as the sound. The game has next to no sound, making it uncomfortably quiet, and the few bits of sound is built up to let you know when spirits are near, or to make you feel uneasy, and it nails it. I still can’t believe how tense an isometric, stylistic, chibhi game can be.

Running in the game is limited using a stamina bar across the bottom of the screen.

The stamina bar only appears when you are running / post running, which can be frustrating when you are walking around because it also operates as an alert for when spirits are near.

The colours and flashing on it are only available when the bar is up, which for the most part isn’t an issue as it complements the sound, but if for any reason sound isn’t an option at the time then this is your only alert outside of seeing them.

The game’s best detail is its use of hiding.

When you go into hiding the game zooms in on your characters and a thumping red circle shows where the spirits is, and your heart beat. The thumping with the visual styles makes these moments a tense assault on the senses, as you wait for the spirit to give you a chance to escape.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is a truly special game, using its wonderful art style, and sparing use of light to make an unnerving, and tense horror game. With the odd jump scare that startled me enough to drop my Vita, but with the separation gained from an isometric view meaning even wusses like me can get through it.

Any Vita owner is all the better for experiencing it.

The post Yomawari: Midnight Shadows (PS Vita) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

If you are looking for a crazy Japanese game unlike anything you’ve played, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony may have what you are after. The game mixes together crime solving and mini-games in a twisted competition for survival.

The premise of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is dark, twisted, unique and enthralling. 16 talented young people have been kidnapped and taken to a school where they must compete in a killing game for survival. The rules of the game are simple, following a murder, a class trial takes place where the class must try and deduce who the killer was. Successfully pick the culprit and the culprit dies, pick wrongly and culprit walks free and everyone else dies.

The game is run by a bunch of weird bear-like robots who provide some light-hearted entertainment value to contrast to the otherwise dark tones of the game. They do become irritating at times, especially when aren’t adding anything to the story. The talented young contestants in this sadistic game are known as Ultimates. You learn more about what that means as the game progresses but basically they are people with a particular gift, such as the Ultimate Detective and the Ultimate Maid.

The personalities of the characters are extreme which generally works well to make them interesting. The Ultimate Maid for instance lives only to serve so will do anything anyone asks of her. The Ultimate Anthropologist is a big brawny guy who is as dumb as a door nail and as naïve as they come.

The story has a lot of twists and turns and constantly had me wondering what is going to happen next. It does at times seem to drag on for too long however I wanted to keep progressing to find out what happens.

The game uses a unique graphic novel art style where people and many objects are 2D in a 3D world. For the most part, the 2D objects visually look great and work well. The 3D objects and environments lack in detail and occasionally just look ugly.

While the premise of the game has the hallmarks of an engrossing and unique hit, the game ultimately fall over with its execution. The biggest culprit is the class trials which from the beginning was what I was looking forward to the most. For a game about solving crime, I would expect that there would be a bit more crime solving.

The class trials take place through a plethora of tedious mini-games which go on for hours. The mini-games feel rather out of place with the rest of the game and requires more skill and luck rather than logic to complete.

The most common mini-game involves shooting a truth bullet, which is one of the pieces of evidence you gathered, at the correct statement to make or break it. The statements appear as a bunch of moving words on screen as characters in the class speak them. There are sometimes distracting statements on the screen which you must try and shoot away first. You are only given access to a few truth bullets at a time and the correct statement which you must shoot on screen is pretty damn obvious. The difficulty comes it trying to shoot a bullet at a moving target with a joystick on a controller.

While I enjoyed listening to the back and forth debate that happens and working through and shutting down various leads, the mini-games which you have to play to do so is painfully bad and drag on for so long. I would have enjoyed the game much more if they got rid of all the mini-games and instead made the class trials purely based on logic.

The class trials only take up a portion of the game though. Most the game takes place in first-person as you live out the daily activities of your character. Most of this involves just going from room to room and listening to conversations. Despite how boring this may sounds, the characters and events that occur are actually interesting.

Despite an enthralling premise and story, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is ultimately let down by its gameplay. Reducing the crime solving to a sea of endless mini-games that just aren’t fun takes away from the overall tone of the game. If you can make it past that though, the story is ultimately engaging and will keep you hooked until the end.

The post Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Danganronpa is an interesting series, based around an event that caused the world to suddenly be brought into chaos, where the robot Monokuma is born. The creepy bear, half black and half white, with a creepy maniacal eye has haunted us for two graphic novels, but now thanks to Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, you finally get to start blowing them up.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls drops us in to Komaru Naegi, the younger sister of Makoto Naegi from the first Danganronpa, where she has been trapped in a small apartment for far too long. Not knowing what was going on, or why she had been there for so long, she had accepted her life had changed, when she hears a sound outside the door. Ecstatically she tries to call out and is confronted with claws that tear open the door to reveal, to her for the first time, Monokuma. Without his iconic personality, the bear goes for the attack, after an escape attempt Byakuya Togami comes to save the day and gives her a gun which sends a virus in bullet form, into the Monokumas, destroying them.

Armed with this gun Komaru leaves, making her way to the chaos outside Komaru must face the collapsing world, by the Monokuma’s everywhere, controlled by a gang of children who only want to kill all adults. Komaru finds herself confronted by the children who decide to put her into a game world of levels where she must get out, though the masses of Monokuma. Fortunately, she finds herself an ally in Toko Fukawa, who can at the drop of a hat, go into homicidal jack mode and slash away with her knives. So, standard insanity for a Danganronpa game. What makes it different is the games style.

The first Danganronpa games where graphic novels crossed with point and click adventure elements, which told its twisted story well, but for Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls they have gone a different route making a third person action style game. Armed with her hacking gun, which looks like a megaphone, Komaru needs to shoot her way through the main Monokuma’s in her way. The gun is also used to solve puzzles using different bullets that interact in different ways. For the bulk of the game you can also switch to controlling Genocide Jack who can carve up enemies with her murder knives, but time in this mode is limited, probably due to its devastation. The gunplay and action is unfortunately average at best. On the Vita where controls and precise shooting can be forgiven due to its power, however it does pale in comparison to other PS4 games.

The art style at times does look great on the big screen, especially cut scenes that use both beautiful anime scenes, and the weird silent, artistic cut scenes that fans of the series would remember from the execution scenes form the original game. The main gameplay on the other hand, looks very mediocre, with the smaller designed rooms being very apparent and feeling very restricted on a TV. This gives the feeling that if you have the option, the Vita would be better so these don’t feel like weaknesses if that’s available to you.

If you have only been introduced to Danganronpa through the recent PS4 re-releases and love its weird wackiness, then Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a must play as its weak gameplay doesn’t undo the awesome Danganronpa content in the game. If this is your first Danganronpa, its average gameplay may be a turn off.

The post Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PS4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

A strong affinity has been built for NIS as a publisher as they continue to bring, a significant number of JRPGs to the west, especially with their support of the Vita. From the bigger and well-known titles to the very niche that seem as if they could only appeal to a small fanbase, they bring so much over, more importantly so much to the Vita. One of the genres that have received some great love from this is the Tactical RPG, of which God Wars: Future Past belongs.

God Wars: Future Past kicks in with a dramatic scene of the Queen Tsukuyomi, sacrificing her daughter to the gods via Mt Fuji. Thirteen years later she has been missing, leaving her daughter, Kaguya, locked up in a tower, the young hero Kintaro with his partner Kuma, a creature liken to a bear, are to free Kaguya and find her missing mother.

The story itself is great, owing partially to its basis on Japanese mythology, but what is wonderful is the way the story is delivered. It uses three main ways to deliver the story. The first is via beautiful anime cutscenes which look fantastic, the second is using comic book style cells, and the third is the characters, with the in-game style. The three different styles are great, especially the anime and comic scenes, but the game does use all three back to back sometimes which is strange as it undoes its brilliance, whereas one or two would have given it more impact.

The gameplay aesthetic is interesting, with wonderfully designed sets, but the character design in game with exaggerated heads, but not to the extent of say a chibhi character, doesn’t work. Instead of looking stylised they look off which is unfortunate with everything else looking so great, especially the normal proportions in the cutscenes.

Despite these niggles, a tactical RPG lives or dies by its gameplay and God Wars: Future Past has great gameplay, with its own niggles. The more common way for a Tactical RPG to play is each side has a turn and can move as many of their characters as they want in a turn, but this one goes the other route with each turn having all the characters on the field with a specific order of attack. This being reasonably uncommon makes the game feel fresh, even moving to it straight from another tactical RPG. A minor annoyance is that the game doesn’t default to your character moving on each turn. It’s standard fare for each turn of a character to begin with movement, but God Wars: Future Past goes a different route with requiring you to select it on each turn. This may seem a minor gripe, because you must do it for every character turn, in each phase, it annoys far too regularly.

What the game gets right is the battle grids positional bonuses. For instance, being at higher ground, if you attack an enemy on lower ground has a bonus, and attacking up cuts the damage. This is an element overlooked too often in Tactical RPGs, and makes a significant difference to battles. The other win is the wide selection of characters, which is normal for the genre, but then each character can have up to two jobs, which defines the way they develop, making a significant difference to character customisation.

God Wars: Future Past should appeal to most fans of the Tactical genre. It has some missteps which prevents the game from being as great as it could be, but it is certainly a worthwhile game for people looking for a different Tactical RPG to get their fix.

The post God Wars: Future Past (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It can always be tough, and overwhelming to enter a game series at a middle point. With the name Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku, it is clear it’s a sequel, and despite it implying a significant story arc, the name is more overwhelming than it needs to be. In fact, with a subtler nod, could have been none the wiser there were two Cladun games before this, which would have done it a service because as a standalone game, Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku is simple but wonderful.

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku tells the story of a character you create waking in a strange place. Approached by Yukimura you learn you have died and are in Arcanus Cella, a place where people who have died find themselves stranded if they have unfulfilled regret. They need to defeat that to carry on with the afterlife, and it is your job to help. Souls manifest as a blue flame in Arcanus Cella, and upon speaking to them they advise of where they need help. Each time a soul is presented you get another list of dungeons to beat and culminating in a boss to free the soul of their regret. But upon releasing some souls Yukimura notices an issue where the souls regain their human shape, but don’t leave, and so the plot thickens, a little.

Dungeon crawling is what makes Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku a worthwhile experience. Every dungeon’s Level feels unique enough, despite its very pixelated style of graphics, and thanks to their short lengths it can be a great game to pick up, jam for half an hour then put back down. For the most part, you run around the dungeons, unlocking chests, killing enemies, trying to avoid traps, or avoid being hurt by them, and getting to an end. The gameplay isn’t overly complex as you run around, block, and attack, it’s very simple, but fun. Every time you beat a Level you return to Arcanus Cella, which works as the games hub. Here you can buy new gear, upgrades and take on challenges. Most of this is boring however necessary busy work, but the games unique system kicks in with the Magic Circles.

Magic Circles are how you organise your party and make a significant difference to the game. You choose your Magic Circle which resembles a grid, where you have slots you can fill with allies. Doing this unlocks slots attached to them which can be store items to give bonuses, and occasionally activate slots with negative effects. The allies you place in these slots work as invisible human shields, taking damage before you do, so it’s important to fill them with the strongest allies. Magic circles come in different shapes, able to hold varying numbers of allies, with different bonus and negative slots.

Unlocking new Circles can result in a lot of time weighing up the best one for you. your allies, and the upgrade items you have at your disposal.

As its predecessors, the art style is very pixelated, which looks okay. The style is used well to provide a surprising variation in background, but on a big screen it didn’t look too great. It certainly looks as if it would look great on a Vita, but the PS4 version made it look too blocky. There are also two soundtracks to choose from, an old school style, or a newer style, both of which are very nice accompanying soundtracks.

Ultimately Cladun Returns isn’t the greatest game around, but what it is, is a solid dungeon crawler that can be as simple or difficult as you want it to be depending on how deep you want to get into its systems. Simple, repetitive with a lot of grinding, but easy to pick up and put down makes it perfect for a casual game, or a portable game.

The post Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku (PlayStation 4 | PS Vita) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe has announced to us at StG that Accel World vs. Sword Art Online, a dream anime crossover between two celebrated franchises from the mind of Reki Kawahara. The crossover action RPG title will be releasing exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

The worlds of Sword Art Online and Accel World have begun to merge!

In the midst of the chaos, Yui has gone missing. Kirito must challenge the Seven Kings of pure color from the Accelerated World to gain access to her location. Players from both groups come together in a war of the worlds where the strongest Burst Linkers and ALO Players are on a mission to save Yui from the hands of Personna Babel. This all-new original story comes from Reki Kawahara, the creator of both Sword Art Online and Accel World, for an interdimensional adventure between two popular anime franchises.

Players will build out three-person teams with their favorite characters, all with unique special abilities, from both the Sword Art Online and Accel World series. Sword Art Online characters will be able to utilize the fairy flight mechanic from Alfheim Online as well as magic, while Accel World characters will have access to Acceleration and special techniques. By mixing and matching characters from both worlds, players will be able to create an unstoppable team as they take on an epic action role-playing game adventure. Players will also be able to team up with three other friends to battle rivals in fierce online multiplayer modes.

Accel World vs. Sword Art Online will be available physically and digitally for the PlayStation 4 and digitally for PlayStation Vita in 2017.

The post Worlds collide in ACCEL WORLD VS. SWORD ART ONLINE appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

In 2015 the world was introduced to Deer God, a beautifully pixelated platformer that has made its way to most platforms. Now in 2017 it has landed on PlayStation’s doorsteps, but how does it hold up, and was it worth the wait?

The Deer God tells the story of a hunter who dies and finds himself faced with a Deer God.  The God isn’t happy that the hunter has been killing his kind and gives him an opportunity to redeem himself.  Thanks to the Deer God, the hunter is put in the body of a deer to run around completing tasks for the greater good.

The gameplay revolves around side scrolling platforming, and it does so at pace.  The deer can run quite fast and with an almost endless runner vibe you can get some good momentum going.  The game feels good at pace, but doing so will also work to your detriment at times as its far too easy to be running and jumping then fall into some spikes.  Running to the right will happen indefinitely and if you miss a stage in the game, such as a witch’s hut you may need to enter, over time you will go past it again.  At first the game seems repetitive until you understand this feature, it works in the games favour as you don’t feel inclined to go back and forth looking for your next objective, if you missed it, you’ll see it again.

The game’s pixelated aesthetic is a blessing and a curse.  The backgrounds, the animals, and especially the deer, all look fantastic, but they aren’t that varied.  For the most part this isn’t an issue, until you get a couple of hours into the game when it does lose a bit of its charm and becomes boring.  There were also times innocent critters would be killed, which the game doesn’t like, and get hit by malicious ones due to being unsure of what they were until it was too late, which to be fair was only a minor annoyance.

The game being a touch long doesn’t affect the aesthetics impact either.  The game has strong, fantastic platforming that feels great to play at pace, but after a while the platforming as well as combat does get very repetitive and boredom sets in.  Throughout the game you get powers such as being able to make plants grow, shooting fireballs, or being able to jump and slam down on enemies, but these don’t quite give enough to make the game feel fresh.

On top of issues with repetitiveness, on a regular basis there was also screen tearing, not experienced on a Vita before.  It would only be split seconds when it happened, so not too disruptive, but a present flaw nonetheless, and certainly noticeable.  Then there are issues with Level design where you will find yourself regularly falling through the earth into nothingness.  It was possible to run back and forth behind the rock, sometimes escaping, but usually that meant a death.

Despite its numerous flaws in the game, one can still look back at their time with The Deer God with respect.  It’s beautiful pixelated graphics, its weird concept, its high paced platforming, so many deaths, and much more.  Despite its flaws it is worth playing, and enjoying, but expect a little frustration.

The post The Deer God (PlayStation 4 | PS Vita) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.