yes, it's here, but no one is talking about it... so allow me.
the Yakuza 3 demo has arrived! well, at least it has if you've got yourself one of those nifty Japanese PSN accounts. i know a lot of you have recently taken the plunge and purchased a PS3 (yeah i read the blogs - i'm hip like that) and are no doubt hurting for things to do with it, so here you go!
the demo is split into 2 pieces. the first (which is around 850MB) has 3 portions of the game to choose from - Geisha entertaining, bow and arrow on horseback, and combat. the second (around 950MB) is just one thing - running around the world and interacting with people (the main gameplay of the actual game).
now, what makes the whole thing difficult (to navigate through AND to judge as a whole) is that it's all in Japanese of course. however, if you played the original Yakuza, you can fumble your way through most of it.
my thoughts?
- Geisha entertaining looks to be almost exactly the same as the entertaining aspect of the original (maybe a little more robust)
- the bow and arrow on horseback (which has you on a rail traveling forward as you aim at targets with your bow and arrow) was easy to learn but seems difficult to master
- the combat system again seems very similar to the original except 1) the addition of samurai swords is awesome, and 2) the animations seem to be more fluid
- running around the world and interacting with people looks to be almost exactly the same as the original, with the exception of a camera you control with the right stick (in the original there were static cameras as you ran around the world)
- the game looks rather beautiful, but i thought the original had a certain beauty to it as well, so it mostly looks like a polished version of that
overall, if you liked the original - which i did quite a lot - you'll probably like this, as it's more of the same but a bit more polished. let's just hope they do something about the horrendous load times from the original.
actually, let's hope that we get to see this game AT ALL in English. Sega still hasn't brought Yakuza 2 over here yet, and i'm starting to think it may never happen.
verdict? download it. give it a try.
what else do you have to play on your PS3?
let me guess, mommy left you and you're trying to find her? and your mommy and i have a history together? and you may or may not be my daughter? go away.
did i get completely lost and mind-fucked in Portal? no. did i beat Halo 3 and feel a sense of satisfaction at finishing the fight, yet cry my eyes out and long for more? no.
i downloaded and played Yaris, the free download on XBL Arcade this week.
WHY exactly is this the most confusing game experience of my life? because i'm not sure what i just played. was it a game? was it an advertisement? was it both???
and WHY exactly was this made? does Toyota really think people are going to get a Yaris based on an arcade racing shooter game starring a car with the same name? if they really wanted to market it, wouldn't they have had it perform realistically so people could get an idea of how the thing drove?
it's free, so people are going to play it. it's got achievement points, so more people are going to play it. it's got unlockables and multiplayer, so even more people are going to play it.
my questions are these:
- is it a game, an advertisement, or both?
- why was this made?
- how do you feel about this being released?
- did you like the game/advertisement?
i guess the line had already been crossed when Burger King released their games last Christmas, but hell, you had to PAY for those. if you don't want 'em, don't buy 'em. the intentions behind this Yaris "game" feels a lot more mischievous since it's a free download, has achievement points, unlockables, and multiplayer.
sure, you don't have to download it - just as you didn't have to buy the Burger King games - but it's FREE. who doesn't download something that's tagged as an XBL game for free???
now, if you'll excuse me, i've got to go buy me a Yaris.
To: Crecente's Hair Palace
From: Ash
RE: The last time I googled myself I thought of you
So I stop in to the local delicatessen tonight on the way home to grab a cut of ham for the Wii party we're throwing this weekend (goes well with the ginger ale). Well, as I was ordering the cut darned if I didn't get a bloodstain on my shirt from all the meat hanging around. I started to complain and the man behind the counter - straight off the graphic for Brawny paper towels - puts his finger to his lips and says "Shhh." Then he reaches behind the counter and produces this pen-shaped item. It was an instant stain remover. "Rub it on the stain" he said. I did. "Get in there deep." Did you know that they make these "Tide to Go" pens?
Oh, and my Xbox 360 died again after only being on for 5 minutes after 22 days of being "repaired."
in all seriousness, did you guys see this story on *that other video game site that shall not be named*? wicked crazy. since i got my refurbished 360 back about a month ago i've been treading on pins and needles around it. stories like this seem to indicate that i'm correct in doing so.
do any of you out there fear for your 360s, refurbished or not? i know Action Bastard posted a story earlier today saying he doesn't look at his the same anymore...
yeah yeah, i know it just started, but quite a bit of info has already come out of the Tokyo Game Show, and i feel like commenting on it and then inviting you to do the same! OK?!?
good, shall we continue?
Rez HD and Ikaruga coming to XBL next year now, while i'm all for big titles coming to XBL, i'm a little disappointed with this announcement... well, not the Ikaruga part, since i've never played the original (but i'm looking forward to trying this new one out since it's apparently all the rave). NO, i'm more upset about Rez. the original Rez looked great because it was sorta retro, like Tron lookin'. this new one looks too shiny, too polished, like all Lawnmower Man lookin'. too xboxy. anybody else with me here? or are you just excited that it's coming out at all?
Infinate Undiscovery is new Tri-Ace/Squenix/MS game i liked Star Ocean 3 and Rogue Galaxy enough (just didn't love 'em), so paint me "cautiously excited." oh, and if i understand correctly, exploration and battles all happen in real time, so there's no load screens. that's pretty pimp.
Yakuza 3 formally announced i swear, if this one doesn't head over to the states i'm learning Japanese just so i can play the damn thing. i liked Yakuza quite a bit and i was a sad panda when i learned 2 probably isn't coming over here... though there's always hope. and now, there's 3. yay!
Lost Odyssey coming out in the US early next year (maybe) been lookin' forward to this RPG and i'm glad it's finally got a sorta-release date. "sorta" because the designer himself said as he was showcasing it at the MS event that they *hoped* to get it done on time. i'm sure MS loved that.
Dynasty Warriors 6 due in November expect a post from Mr. Sterling later today.
green and pink controllers at least they're not as ugly as the Halo controllers.
[UPDATE] the green controller isn't green at all! it's some shade of light blue! how cute!
Ninja Gaiden 2 before playing a live demo a sunglassed Itagaki says: "Please enjoy the world's best action game, running on the world's best hardware." lol. nice.
so, anybody have any thoughts on TGS so far? anything you guys are looking forward to? any surprises you're hoping for? i'll tell you this now - if Squenix even MENTIONS the words "kingdom" and "hearts" together in the same sentence, i'll lose my shit.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
