Hmm...

http://silenthill5.net/2007/08/27/silent-hill-v-egm-article.html

What really catches my eye is the introduction of new types of filters like 'broken glass'.

I like the gameplay element of being table to make things move and make noises. I imagine maybe you can disrupt something and cause the enemy to be lured away so you can stop them. With a military guy at the center, I hope such tactical methods come into play. Still, I hope the game doesn't go too far into a fighting form.

But I like how this is sounding so far :).

They'll make games for the 360. Which is good.

To me, the only way 360 is going to do anything in Japan is if these niche RPG-game makers start getting on-board. Mistwalker is nice but short of Dragon Warrior X appearing only on the 360...a single developer won't make a difference. They need all these little ones adding up with their small games of this and that.

On another note...



I truly hope N1 is aiming for PSN or something with Disgaea 3. Odin Sphere knocked 2D sprites quality into a completely other orbit.

I mean I knew Disgaea was never a pretty game but it feels like they're going backwards with 3 from Disgaea 2 and their similar works.



So many of those sprites are just copy-and-paste from their last couple of games.

They've restarted a bunch of times with Makai Wars on the PSP, then on the PS3, then lost to the ether...then to somewhere-in-between. I worry their next SRPG may get stuck in confusion for a while.

I am glad they're going to branch out but I really think the DS should be their console of choice, realistically-speaking. I still glad they're going to the 360 but with visual quality like that, they'll find the least embarrassment on one of the console arcades or handhelds.

Their games are great hour-eaters and a lot of fun but they really need to rethink things if they're going to try to sell a 2D-ish game for 59.99.

19.99 game, puzzler. Picture crossword. It's fun and easy to pick up. Some puzzles are challenging, especially when you get to a certain level. My skills peaked at the 10X10 level (easy). There are a ton of pictures to unlock (300+ fan-made ones up to another 100). Daily puzzles allow you to unlock a ton of stuff a la Brain Age. Only problems I've had: it locked up on my DS twice and touch sensing is a little spotty occasionally. Fortunately you can use the button pad too and when I blew on my DS card a bit, it stopped doing that. Ahh...nostalgia...

Don't let this game fall through the cracks!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1368-Zero-Punctuation-Psychonauts

Despite the fact I needed to update Flash and use an IE tab renderer to see it....this is so worth it. All about Psychonauts in the funniest way possible.

(Note, most should be able to run it on Firefox, I just have mine set a certain way that it's tougher for me)

He has some previous videos which are really nifty as well.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1350-Zero-Punctuation-Heavenly-Sword-and-Other-Stuff

And some Youtube ones too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4

Link, Cloud and Naruto are right out. Zelda is close enough with SSBM. They are far too overused in the gender-swapping fan-art fandom...

Here's a few off the top of my head (to change the gender of)

Derek Stiles (Trauma Center) - he's practically a magical girl already
Bowser - Nurse Bowsie for Dr. Mario! (Seriously, a friend has drawn that on my suggestion as fan-art)
King of All Cosmos - (Katamari Damacy) or maybe not *imagines* *shudder*
Lucca - (Chrono Trigger) - And for that matter Robo in a humanoid form would be cool!
Everyone in Earthbound - a straight swap of everyone's gender.
Shredder...
The Tales of Series always has some that need it - Zelos, the entire cast of Abyss (even Mieu).
Princess Daisy - or at the very least she needs her own brawler or something and the chance to really unleash hell like the boys. The sports versions have been a good start.
Aeris - quid pro quo. Cloud has been changed so many times that their pairing is nearly girl-girl X_X
Mother Brain - or at least turn into a humanoid.

Also, I know he's a sexist vampire, but Demitri's Midnight Bliss would rock if it went both ways (rather than just making girls or girlier girls).
On side note, I love how Plenair is sort of the transmigrated avatar of the main artist (Takehito Harada) for Nippon Ichi's games.


Edit - Examples of what I am talking about

http://fc03.deviantart.com/images3/i/2004/163/3/e/Lady_Link.png - Link
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs16/f/2007/182/6/7/FF7_Gender_Bender_Extravaganza_by_Shiankra.jpg - Final Fantasy 7

The film, The Taste of Tea came out recently from Viz Films.



On the whole, the film is a strange but effective creation. Imagine Little Miss Sunshine, only more of a slice of life...now imagine it takes heavy hallucinogens.



The little girl in the film imagines a giant her is watching her all the time and only way to get rid of her is to do a complete flip on a horizontal bar.



Cosplay people face off against Yakuza. There's a school love story somewhere in there too. The mother is an anime freelancer trying to make her first feature. Her model is her dad, the eccentric grandfather who sings and poses a lot and used to be an animator like his daughter. Her final product is...umm..well it's in keeping with the nature of the movie. I can't believe she's the one who made it @_@.



The dad is a hypnotist who not only hypnotizes his family, but also the movie's narrator!

The uncle has his own issues (and is played by the creator of Evangelion)...from taking a shit on a giant 'egg' when he was a kid and being haunted because of it...to messing with a married co-worker (think that was him involved...). There's a fight sequence which is easily the funniest fight I've ever seen. Imagine a dainty woman with a tiny voice providing a major butt-kicking.



There's a "mountain" song...I won't say more.

The movie runs a bit long but considering it is the only Japanese movie I've seen which absolutely NAILS the ending, compared with so many wonderful Japanese films which stumble in the last moments. I just gotta say this is easily the greatest Japanese comedy I have ever seen. See it.