Dynasty Warriors is its own beast of a video game franchise; its infamy is well documented among reviewers who have likely played their fair share of Dynasty Warriors games and the subsequent spinoffs. As far as my experience goes, I have dabbled in a variety of the games from the proper Dynasty Warriors, to Strikeforce and Gundam 2. However, I will admit that those were mostly cursory efforts on my part due to friends introducing me to the franchise. I have said before that my initial responses to musou brawlers were a tepid, but it is important to understand the mindset of a faithful Dynasty Warriors/Orochi player. Scientists could study gamers for years, and they would never get close to scratching the surface to understanding the psyche of these players. However, that is only due to the fact that they could never accept the brevity of the simple, absolute answer: It is just fun.

Mean muggin’.

Newcomers should jump in

So, this puts me in a precarious position as a reviewer. It is very easy to pass off the Dynasty Warriors franchise, because Koei Tecmo and Omega Force have been milking that cash cow without blinking once. However, there always seems to be a demand for this particular kind of brawler. It is likely due to how a game like this can make the player feel powerful beyond measure. This is not a game that appeals to everyone, but fans will likely buy this game regardless, because Koei Tecmo has released a game that expands on the series in mission structure and selectable pilots. DW Gundam 3 is also a game that emphasizes quick-play skirmishes, which may irk some long-time players, but could actually serve as a way to bring new players into the fold. A new cell-shaded art style also serves to spruce up the visual aspect of the game to resemble the anime series. Even though there is a shorter mission structure, new art style and more pilots to select, does the series have enough life to hold the interests of fans and newcomers?

The answer to this question is purely dependent on what the fans think, and the response has so far been positive. Furthermore, this may be the best time for newcomers to jump in on the Dynasty Warriors series as a whole. DW Gundam 3 is really a game that displays the core concepts of the Dynasty Warriors series, but does not carry the baggage that the series has accumulated over time. The game serves as a good entry point since the decreased mission length promotes that rapid-fire delivery of battles. Area sizes have been greatly reduced, and the mobile suits are quite quick in traversing long distances. All of these factors added up to an experience that appealed to me, since past Dynasty Warriors games I have played have felt a little on the long side as far as missions go. This is a game that is much more a cross between the lines of traditional Dynasty Warriors and DW Strikeforce than other games in the series.

A slight change in the formula

Gameplay is traditional hack-n-slash fare typical of the series, but the combat is a little faster paced and ranged combat is greatly expanded. This is little new to fans of DW Gundam, but newcomers wary of jumping into the musou style games will appreciate the pace. Normal melee attacks can be chained together with charge attacks. Each press of the melee button initiates a new stage for a charge attack. So typically a melee will be followed by either a more powerful melee attack or mob clearing ranged attack. Every mobile suit has a different set of normals, charge attacks and musou attacks. It is standard fare, but the new partner strike feature adds more flair to the battle. A partner pilot can be chosen before a battle who sits as a reserve when the player’s partner strike gauge fills.  Another new feature for the battle is a really useful “emergency dash” button. This feature allows a player to dash out before an enemy’s attack lands, during an attack string, or if the mobile suit is knocked down. Timing is key with the emergency dash, and it really comes in handy in most situations. However, the sacrifice here is that the emergency dash depletes energy, and the meter will take longer to refill if the move is abused. There is also a ton of possibilities in terms of outfitting mobile suits with upgrades, special abilities and operators. This is pretty much Pokemon replaced by mechanized battle armor.

Slicing and dicing and lasers.

Unfortunately, it can tend to feel like Omega Force cut corners on this game. The mission brevity is fine in its own right, but the lack of effort in terms of presentation can make this game seem rushed. The new art style is great for the series, and the addition of an online mode is wonderful; although, it really is a bare-bones presentation. For whatever reason, be it budget or time constraints, the game lacks a presentational polish. For example, the static dialog scenes are inconsistent with the voice overs (VO). Surely, most if not all of the story-based dialog should be voice acted, but it is spotty. Some scenes have VO, while others do not. It is understandable if the non-story dialog does not contain VO, but the inconsistency is troubling. As a matter of fact, even the opening CG movie is a cut-copy-paste job of stringing together scenes from prior DW Gundam games with out-of-context dialog accompanying the flashy space battles. At times, I even felt as though I was battling more with the camera than any actual robots. The 3rd person angle is much too close, and it’s tough to get a proper angle on the action amidst battling against legions of mobile suits.

Not exactly canonical

The story mode is also similar to the first DW Gundam game, but at least the development team took liberties to expand upon the generational cross-over tale. The story mode features many more pilots to control over the prior games, and all of these pilots exist in four different story arcs. Basically, all the different pilots and operators from the Gundam series have been transported to a mysterious world, and they must work together to discover what went wrong. This premise can, and will, seem really confusing to newcomers to the Gundam universe, and nothing is done to bring anyone up-to-speed. The story is simple, but the dearth of available characters makes the story very cluttered. This is really just a Gundam fanfic writer’s wet dream, but newcomers will be more-or-less left in the dark. However, the wide array of selectable pilots, partners and operators makes this mode a nice addition for fans of prior games.

This picture is weird for so many reasons.

Along with the story mode is the historic battles mode that takes the player through the course of Gundam history by setting up crucial scenarios that took place throughout the series. This mode locks the player into one specific pilot and partner pilot for each mission. This mode should be rudimentary for fans, but it does enough to give newcomers an idea for how the series plays out. It is certainly less weird than seeing classically designed characters like Amuro Ray (from the original Gundam series) interacting with more wildly contemporary characters like Setsuna Seiei from the recent Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series.

Along with these modes comes an expanded set of modes that allow for collecting rare Mobile Suit plans, advancing relationships with pilots and operators, collecting money and tackling challenges. Fans of the prior games will recognize how a lot of this works, but new and old players will appreciate how everything is broken down.

The online mode will likely hook experienced DW Gundam players since the missions will often require more than one Gundam to complete. However, I doubt this mode will provide enough longevity with a mere fifteen missions available. Although, there is an interesting lamp mechanic that replenishes the team’s armor or brings back lost support forces when these lamps are used. It will provide a few hours of fun, but it is obvious that the real meat of the game exists in the single player mode. And this game is likely best experienced with a buddy in local co-op play.

The Bottom Line

In closing, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 brings just enough to shake up the formula a little bit, but the presentational skimping hurts a little bit. The brief battles will help hook new players in, and new features will offer a few new wrinkles strategically. However, the game remains the same, capture territory, hack and slash, attack the enemy base and take down the boss. Gamers who did not enjoy past Dynasty Warriors games (proper or spinoff) should at the very least give this a try. If anything, it is a fun weekend brawler that even adds a little online co-op to team up with buddies. Fans will likely get hooked into this game once again, and they will recognize and appreciate the new features.

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About the Author

Daniel Wise Dedicated to delving deeper into games to find the diamonds in the rough, Daniel has been writing extensively about video games for nearly four years. He serves the sexy writers of VGW as the Reviews Editor, and enjoys squashing typos and cutting off those pesky dangling participles.
People often say that he has no idea what he is talking about. It is proof that he is the only real gamer alive — or he’s profoundly insane.

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The Date model is imprinted with the image of the character’s in-game weapon (the six-bladed “Claws of the Dragon”) on the right temple arm, which also has a metal version of Date’s trademark crescent moon symbol on its tip. The Sanada model has his dual cross spears imprinted on the right temple arm, along with a metal family crest on its tip.

Both pairs ship with non-prescription lenses, but Zoff stores can replace them with prescription lenses. Both also come with cases imprinted with the character’s name and lens-cleaning cloth imprinted with their respective symbols.

A European missionary named Francis Xavier did help introduce eyeglasses in Japan around 1551, 16 years before the births of Date and Sanada. However, neither Date nor Sanada was a known wearer of eyeglasses.

[Via Hachima Kik?]

Images © CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
© 2011 Intermestic Inc.

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Game on … the Bandai Model Kit World Cup sees modellers compete against the world’s best.

The Sydney Convention Centre is turning Japanese this Saturday as fans of pop culture derived from the land of the rising sun converge on SMASH!, the Sydney Manga and Anime Show.

Now in its fifth year, the show recently outgrew the Sydney Town Hall, with up to 6000 fans expected to attend. Make your own anime-themed music video, compete in a Street Fighter gaming competition or just line up for a turn at karaoke.

Special guests might not mean much to non-anime fans but those in the know are looking forward to an anime master class from the director of the Excel Saga series, Shinichi Watanabe, talks from composer Kenji Ito and hints from games whiz Hiroki Kikuta. There will also be screenings of new and upcoming anime that won’t be seen anywhere else.

The president of SMASH!, Thomas Munro, says, ”When people think of cartoons, they tend to think of simplistic children’s things. But the Japanese tend to make use of horror themes or romance themes – things you could probably do in live action – but it’s a much richer experience when they animate it.”

Fans also like to dress up as their favourite manga characters but Munro says SMASH! fans are a bit more ”hardcore”. ”They tend to have to make the costumes themselves rather than buy them,” he says.

SMASH! also has a special evening concert: Memories of Fantasia by Eminence.

SMASH! – SYDNEY ANIME AND MANGA SHOW

Saturday, Sydney Convention Centre, smash.org.au, $25/$30 (concert, extra $35).

• Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

• Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

• Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

• Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

• Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

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news10gameguys / @thegameguys

There is an old saying that goes like this: “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”.  With that saying in mind, Tecmo-KOEI’s Dynasty Warriors franchise (and its spin-offs) is one of the most obvious flocks of ducks in the video gaming world.  The latest edition into the collective franchises might have feathers inspired by the storied anime ‘Gundam’, but at it’s core it is the familiar Dynasty Warriors game that’s been around for years.

Compared to some of the more recently-released DW games, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 is one of the better-paced and refined DW gaming experiences.  It brightly outshines the franchise’s more recent titles and is the best of the DW Gundam series.  The game, though, has its shortcomings and most of those can be blamed on the tired gameplay concepts of the franchise as a whole.

The game takes what it can from the anime’s long-standing storyline.  Jumping seemingly from timeline from timeline with little-to-no reason, players will find themselves getting the story in bits and pieces between each stage.  The stages themselves, though, are little more than Gundam-themed variations of the ones found in all of the other DW games out there.  While the DW series still has a number of fans, only true Gundam-heads will be able to fully appreciate Gundam 3 because of both the storyline presentation and the fact that the game has more than fifty playable characters and a great assortment of mechs from the anime.

Each stage in Gundam 3 is pretty similar to each other in the game (and, to that end, most DW games in general).  Stages are a mix of square-shaped zones interlocked together.  The typical goal is to claim zones (including the enemy base zone) away from enemy control.  Typically this is done by defeating a pre-set number of enemy units in a zone, then moving on to the next to do the exact same thing.  Enemy bases switch things up a little bit by requiring that the zone’s boss mech be destroyed, but the concept is still very much the same.

Amid the random battle cries of the named characters and frenzied button-mashing action is a game that features mostly impressive visuals.  While the storyline segments are presented as nothing more than a visual novel, actual in-game footage looks pretty good with CG sequences looking drop-dead gorgeous.  Cel-shaded games are often time a hit-or-miss thing when it comes to graphics, but Gundam 3 hits so hard might leave a mark.

Gundam 3 does expand beyond the storyline and quick battles on the local machine and includes online multiplayer.  Online players can join other pending battles or create their own and wait for players.  It is currently only taking a matter of minutes for players to join in to created games, but for those who would rather play than wait, game creators can play a single-player version of their game while waiting for additional players.  Once the room is full-up, the level re-starts with the online players.  The feeling of a rewarding experience when playing online varies from match to match depending on what that game’s specific win condition are, so don’t be amazed if some of the matches end up being no better than “blah”.

Pretty graphics and online options aside, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 is a game that fans of the show should like by defauly, but DW gamers might be turned off by its non-classical theming.  At its core, though, Gundam 3 follows the same worn-out path blazed by too many editions of Dynasty Warriors games and its all-too-similar spin-offs throughout the years.

Final Game Guys grade: C-

- Game Guy Barry White bcwhite@news10.net

News10/KXTV

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Main events will include Buffy vs. the Dating Game tonight from 9:30 – 11:30 p.m., the ConnectiCon Masquerade on Saturday from 7:30 – 10 p.m., Ganon’s Power Jeopardy on Saturday from 11 a.m. – 12:30 noon, Death Match on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Drake’s Wheel of Fortune (where participants are selected from the audience at random during main events), and CosPlay Chess on Sunday at 12 noon. The event will also feature informative panels, hands-on workshops, a Webcomic Charity Auction, guests of honor and more. 

Visit http://www.connecticon.org for all the details, including ticket and parking information.

2. Keeping with the pop-culture theme, every week hundreds of new comics are delivered to stores across the country, filling their shelves to the brim. This is great news for comic book collectors. If you’re new to the hobby, here’s a quick list of area comic book stores to get you started:

Matt’s Sportscards Comics, 169 Elm St., Enfield, 860-741-2522

Most Excellent Comics, 920 Enfield St., Enfield, 860-253-9277

Buried Under Collectibles, 188 West Middle Turnpike, Manchester, 860-643-7295

Newbury Comics, 194 Buckland Hills Dr., Manchester, 860-648-2411

Omni Comics and Cards, 681 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, 860-571-0138

Heroes Hitters, 1845 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, 860-529-8824

The largest comic book and collectibles store in Eastern Connecticut, Wonderland Comics, is located at 112 Main Street, Putnam, 860-963-1027 or 1-800-696-2510. 

3. In other pop-culture news, beginning on Saturday, visit any local GameStop and try out NCAA Football 12 for the PS3. This first-to-play event will extend through the launch of the game on July 12. Also join the store beginning at 10 p.m. on Monday, July 11 to celebrate the release of NCAA Football 12. NCAA Football 12 will be available for purchase at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12. Visit GameStop online for upcoming events as well as a store locator.

If you’re an Anime fan, visit the Anime News Network’s link to their Summer 2011 Preview Guide. A list of Anime conventions is also on the site.

4. The National Weather Service says Friday will be cloudy with showers likely, and a high temperature near 77. Friday night will be cloudy with a chance of showers or thunderstorms, and a low around 65.

5. Sign up for the daily and weekly newsletter and breaking news alerts on the Enfield Patch home page, and check out the Enfield Patch Facebook page. The Facebook “like” button is conveniently located at the top of each story; give us your thumbs up.

San Bruno, CA (PRWEB) July 06, 2011

Redeem, a new unique created comic/anime/game style video series created by a game designer, features unique characters from other times and worlds (originally introduced in the creator’s RPG on his free server), each with their own powers and personalities, fighting against Satan’s forces in the year 2039. This web series will be free for all to view.

Redeem’s characters come from the designer’s own free RPG (role-playing video game) at http://psycrow.chatserve.com, but is also its own series which can be viewed seperately, with a prologue (episode 0) introducing the characters and describing the events that led up to the current story. These events take place in our distant future, long after the apocalypse, a time with many worlds that contain human life. The main eight heroes (which form a group called The Paladins) fight against Satan and his forces in this time, and each have a strong, distinctive personality–

– Nima, the zealous elf

– Fion, the confident human

– Ensi, the compassionate fairy

– Gallo, the pirate dwarf

– Vinx, the brilliant but tough-as-nails catgirl

– Surne, the psychic werewolf bounty hunter

– Aka, the angel and behind-the-scenes leader

– Rayze, the star of Redeem, a former villian who joined the Paladins only later into the RPG. She was killed 100 years by a group of Satan worshippers and forced under their control as an undead, being made to help them commit murders in their quest to gain enough power to summon Satan. (Satan is eventually summoned, but defeated by the Paladins at the end of the RPG).

Once Rayze is saved by the Paladins, however, she has to live with the memories of her deeds as an undead, and wishes to redeem herself from what she was controlled to do. This is where the story of Redeem begins. Rayze uses a time travel spell to go back in time to the pre-apocalyptic year of 2039 to do what the Paladins call “superhero work”, which in this case entails defeating seven powerful demons while also being pursued by Satan himself in this time for his own plots. Rayze’s powers include witchcraft, manipulating shadows, and more. Aka (being an angel who went undercover to help humans then) assists her in this episodes, with other Paladins coming back in time to help her in future episodes.

Redeem is a fun video original series project worked on by just one person (“Psycrow”) with the help of Angel, who voice acts the star. The sprite-based, comic-style visuals are new, unique, and enjoyed by all viewers who have given feedback thus far. The series will be free at http://www.youtube.com/user/Redeem and all are welcome to view. A Kickstarter campaign to fund the quick creation of future episodes has also been created at http://kck.st/m100P9 and will remain open until August 15th.

###

As their first announcement, Aksys Games confirmed that they will be bringing the Japanese only title Fate/Extra to America. At the Aksys Panel on the second day of Anime Expo, attendees were led to believe the game would feature full Japanese voice acting with English subtitles, but it was not confirmed.

Here is the trailer they used to introduce Fate/Extra:

During the QA session of the panel, they said that it was unlikely that the collectible figure will be bundled as it was on the Japanese version. However, this game will be also be available in a collector’s edition, with the contents to be revealed later this year.

The second game announced is an Otome game named Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom. Otome games are those that are targeted towards female audiences. It will be one of the first Aksys games released in America.

Here is a clip from Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom:

As you see from the clip, Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom is basically a visual novel for girls. The player controls a girl with multiple love interests and each choice you make will lead you to one of the game’s multiple endings.

This is the first game of the series which evolved from a manga and anime series.

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom will be released for PSP and PSN in the first quarter of 2012.

Foster City, CA – June 29, 2011 – Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a wholly
owned US subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. announced today its plans to
showcase Rusty Hearts, its upcoming anime, hack n’ slash fighting game at Anime
Expo, the largest anime and manga celebration held annually in Los Angeles, from
July 1 to July 3, 2011.

In partnership with Crunchyroll, a leading global video network and developer of
social media applications for Japanese anime and Asian media, Perfect World
Entertainment will treat audiences to exclusive interviews with Mark Hill, Game
Producer for Rusty Hearts, and game demos in a live streaming event. Rusty
Hearts’ fans that are unable to attend Anime Expo can tune in live to watch the
event and submit their questions.

Perfect World Entertainment will discuss its upcoming title and reveal new
information on the game’s development, including more details on a new
half-vampire character. Consumers in attendance will get to participate in
exciting activities including PvP battles, receive exclusive Rusty Hearts swag,
and enter to win tons of prizes.

“We strongly believe in giving gamers a truly free-to-play, online experience
through a high quality game like Rusty Hearts and we can’t wait to showcase all
that it has to offer to anime and manga enthusiasts,” said Mark Hill, Game
Producer for Rusty Hearts. “Our fans have blown us away with their continuous
support and we are excited to give them an opportunity to follow us at Anime
Expo through Crunchyroll’s live streaming event.”

To celebrate the emergence of Rusty Hearts at Anime Expo, Perfect World
Entertainment is kicking off an exclusive giveaway for players to win one of
three prize packs consisting of Logitech gaming gear and a limited edition Rusty
Hearts bear valued at $170 USD. The sweepstakes begins on July 1 and ends on
July 3 at 11:59 pm PST.

For more information on Rusty Hearts and how to enter the giveaway, visit
http://RH.perfectworld.com/. 

To watch Rusty Hearts at the live streaming event, tune in to
http://crunchyroll.com/live at these
times:

• July 1 at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm PST
• July 2 at 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm PST
• July 3 at 5:30 pm PST

To learn about other Perfect World Entertainment game titles, visit
http://perfectworld.com/. 

About Perfect World Entertainment Inc.
Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd.,
primarily publishes online games and provides online services in North America.
Aiming to provide the best game services to North American players with the
highest level of commitment in localization, quality assurance, and
user-friendly publishing infrastructure, Perfect World Entertainment has
achieved great success and published a number of MMORPGs, including “Perfect
World International”, “Forsaken World”, “Battle of the Immortals”, “Jade
Dynasty”, “Legend of Martial Arts” ,”Heroes of Three Kingdoms,” and “Ether Saga
Odyssey”, and a single-player action-RPG “Torchlight.”

Yamamoto co-founded Studio e.go!, another eroge game company, in 1998. She left e.go in 2009 and subsequently founded Debonosu. Her game credits include Farland Saga, Castle Fantasia, Izumo, Men at Work, and Angel’s Feather. She was also credited for the original character designs in the anime version of Angel’s Feather.

“Many fans are anxiously waiting to play Rusty Hearts and we are very excited
that we will soon be able to welcome players into the fast paced action game,”
said Mark Hill, Product Manager for Rusty Hearts . “We’ve been working hard to
ensure a smooth closed beta launch for Rusty Hearts and aim to continue raising
players’ expectations for free-to-play games.”

In closed beta, players can anticipate a thrilling gaming experience and epic
dungeon crawling fights led by the unique heroes of Rusty Hearts , each with
their own compelling backstory. Among the many features that the game has to
offer, players will get to challenge themselves with multiple difficulty modes,
complete quests, level up and customize their characters, gear up with wicked
weapons, and find a PvP experience that suits their taste.

For more information on Rusty Hearts or on how to obtain a closed beta key,
please visit the official website at
http://RH.perfectworld.com/.  To join the community of Rusty Hearts’
fans, visit
http://www.facebook.com/RustyHeartsGame/. 

About Perfect World Entertainment Inc.
Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd.,
primarily publishes online games and provides online services in North America.
Aiming to provide the best game services to North American players with the
highest level of commitment in localization, quality assurance, and
user-friendly publishing infrastructure, Perfect World Entertainment has
achieved great success and published a number of MMORPGs, including “Perfect
World International”, “Forsaken World”, “Battle of the Immortals”, “Jade
Dynasty”, “Legend of Martial Arts” ,”Heroes of Three Kingdoms,” and “Ether Saga
Odyssey”, and a single-player action-RPG “Torchlight.”