Don't worry, Atlus may be known for its propensity for importing Japanese cruelty (alonside Shin Megami Tensei games), but they promise that THIS time, with the February 10 release of Shiren the Wanderer for Wii, you won't be completely broken.

Atlus first official blog post reveals that despite being a self-professed roguelike (the sort of dungeon-crawler game that ganks all your items when you die), Shiren the Wanderer contains a lot goodness that fans of Shin Megami Tensei and more story-driven JRPGs crave.

The game boasts a huge monster list, massive customization system, three playable characters, and a plot spanning a thousand years. But fans of frustration shouldn't worry, for Project Lead Scott Strichard had this to say:

You veteran dungeon divers who prefer that games come just short of leaping out of the TV and stabbing you have gotta be wondering what Shiren has in store for you. Well, you haven’t been forgotten. How does a 1,000 floor dungeon crawl sound? No, that’s not an extra 0. One. Thousand. Floors.

A floor for every year in the story! It must be good!

Seriously? I mean, that game has little more than a skirmish mode as its solo component! For chrissakes, it's a Defense of the Ancients clone! Games like that don't roll well solo.

But hey, people can do what they like with their money. As for how we came across that info, Stardock released its regular public report, hyping the success of its Impulse digital platform, but the big shocker to folks not interested in knowing about how Stardock are cool folks (shame, since they really are cool) were the usage statistics for Gas Powered Games' Demigod. Only 23% of people who bought the game - even after accounting for piracy, since Demigod was released sans DRM - actually tried to play online.

And by "tried" we mean something as little as going to the multiplayer menu and logging in. Just 23%. And it's not as if the game is a flop either (despite what Heroes of Newerth players insist), since the report notes that thousands of copies still continue to sell weekly, enough to keep the game on shelves through the holidays. Stardock had this to say regarding the observation:

Our conclusion is that strategy games that we make and publish in the future will support multiplayer but will not sacrifice the single player experience to do so. Developer Gas Powered Games has continued to update and provide support to Demigod despite its work on Supreme Commander 2. At the time of writing, two new demigods are nearly completed along with a couple of significant updates.

That's a conclusion I can definitely get behind. I'm really not a multiplayer sort of person, and all the talk about singleplayer being a dead (or dying) thing frankly scares me at times. At the same time, someone could go and fling games like Starcraft in the face of this, since that's still going strong. Then again, even Starcraft had a pretty great campaign, and Blizzard promises Starcraft II  will as well.

Let's hear you strategy gamers sound off. Are you in the 23rd or 77th percentile? How important is the campaign to you?

Alright, you're sick of PC gamers whining about Modern Warfare 2 and how they're getting shafted by Activision and Infinity Ward. Dirty pirates and hackers deserve to get shafted, and that's all PC gamers are anyway, right?  

Well, among all the dirty hackers and pirates are more than a few legitimate players, and it seems that a bunch of them are getting banned for legitimately buying Modern Warfare 2. On the Steam forums, players have been reporting that their (legitimately bought) game CD keys being revoked. Valve representatives responded, saying that the players in question bought their keys from an "illegitimate seller" and would not be getting their games unlocked.

For console-only gamers and folks in the developed world, I cannot emphasize this enough: THIS IS NOT PIRACY. Digital CD key vendors exist and - in the majority of cases - are legitimate sellers. The vendors buy authorization codes at bulk prices, selling the keys to customers for profit. They're used as an alternative form of digital distribution designed to address lower-income markets, like Russia and Asia. Customers then redeem the codes for access. LAN cafe owners also use CD key vendors to buy and authorize multiple copies of the same game without having to buy a huge amount of boxes or discs.

It seems these legitimate vendors are no longer legitimate. At least not in Valve, Activision and Infinity Ward's eyes. In retrospect, one can see why this would happen. CD key vendors operate (legitimately) in a loophole that exists outside the usual channels, one uncomfortably close to piracy. Since Modern Warfare 2 incorporates Steam natively, it would be natural for Valve to want to channel all purchases of the game through Steam and at Steam's pricing. Savvy players (namely the people who just got revoked) would undoubtedly want to take advantage of the low bulk rates, eventually undermining region-based pricing schemes. Plus, Valve (and Blizzard) have their own Steam/Battle.net-based mass-authorization deals for LAN cafes that they would like to push.

The logic behind the move is solid and is a natural sign of the way the business is adapting but that doesn't really help the people who can't play Modern Warfare 2 anymore. Until they can cough up $60 dollars, anyway.

You'll need to angle your head about 45 degrees to the side to get a proper view of the leaked footage below, but it's worth getting a kink in your neck to see some of Geralt's new adventures. The video was taken at CD Projekt's latest and greatest - The Witcher 2.

Long story short, Geralt of Rivia walks through a town, speaks Polish, and then hacks up a creature that is clearly a variant of the Giant With Big Hands On A Ledge class of boss monster.

Interestingly, it was CD Projekt itself that pointed Eurogamer (and now you) to the video, with the intent of turning the damage into something positive and using it to gain some feedback from the fans.

As a fan, I indeed relish the opportunity to give some feedback, and I say it's looking good. The lighting looks quite nice compared to the original game, and from what little we saw of it, it seems to retain its gritty fantasy charm. I also hear that it's going multiplatform, which is great news for console gamers longing for the good ol' days of '90s style RPGs. I'd also like to formally log a request to include Polish language options (with English subtitles) for all versions of the game. After I got the Enhanced Edition patch, it just felt so right.

What about you other fans? What's your feedback?

Valve's Steam platform is pretty much the biggest player in digital distribution right now. They dominate the market in ways that get Randy Pitchford's underwear in knots. One of the reasons they stand on top of the pile is that they often sell to PC gamers in ways that makes piracy look like the less favorable option, as opposed to trying weird crackdowns that only inflame our wrath.

Another way they do it is by taking advantage of digital distribution's unique qualities, like with those ridiculous one-weekend Steam sales that offer kickass games for a song. Events like that get people really pumped up for a game, so much so that they often boost sales even after the product returns to full price. Jason Holtman, Valve's head of Steam (hee, that's a funny title) said as much speaking at the Montreal Game Summit.

"In a connected world with a connected game it's very different and it bucks some of the traditional trends on the way people think about pricing...prices can be moved up and down without penalty. You can have sales that are dramatically low and bring the price back up and people don't care. They don't care at all. You can do them instantaneously and you can experiment with them."

He also mentioned the famous Team Fortress 2 Halloween sale, when the game's price dropped from $19.99 to $2.50. The revenue from that weekend jumped dramatically, and more people came back the following weekend and still bought the game at full price. It flips traditional retail thinking on its head, where most any discount is often thought of as permanent and eventually poisonous to a game's perceived value.

Holtman's got it right on a lot of things, but boasting about being able to play the price game "without penalty" may be a tad much in my estimation. One of the other reasons Steam is on top is that it's usually quite hard to cancel a preorder or receive a refund, as many early Modern Warfare 2 pre-buyers probably found out.

In case you've been too busy clambering all over Italy and lounging around your villa in Assassin's Creed 2 to notice, there's a little internet-online-tube-thing-service called "Uplay" lurking about. Hey, what's that thing for?

Well, it's Ubisoft's latest attempt at providing a unified services platform for the games they make. Yes, another platform, separate from the PlayStation Network or Xbox LIVE, that they will give you content through. Stuff like this on the PC, I can understand since no one technically "owns" that platform (try as they might), but on the consoles? We'll see, I suppose. Also, depending on how you pronounce "Ubisoft," the service's name might sound funny.

Why should you care about this still-in-beta product? Well, the service can net you some neat in-game goodness to reward your in-game deeds. You can gather up "Upoints" to trade in for free DLC unlocks. In Assassin's Creed 2's case, you can grab five extra throwing knife slots, a costume to make Ezio look like Altair (in case you hate half-cloaks), and a trip to the Auditore family tomb. Why desecrate your glorious heritage? Why not?! There's money in it!

Oh, you can also get a PC wallpaper (haha, but no) an Xbox 360 Dashboard Theme (eh..) and a PS3 Premium Theme (not Demon's Souls, not interested). In case you don't like any of the above, you can save your points to spend on Splinter Cell: Conviction once it's out. Maybe Sam Fisher will get an Ezio costume. Classy!

And there you go. Just a little tidbit to get you (read: me) salivating while waiting for the game to come in the mail.

Five extra throwing knives! Five!

The first thing many hackers do once gaining access to a games innards is start screwing around. We saw that when folks shoved the developer console back into Modern Warfare 2, setting up servers and gametypes with wild gravity, infinite grenades and that sort of thing.

Once the elation dies down, the next thing they do is start exploring, and if these rumors are true, they've turned up a few gems that might have impact on console players in the future.

A post on the official Infinity Ward forums claims that the developer console can be used to activate a number of elements that aren't present in the game in its unaltered, console-less state, including several multiplayer modes.

By starting private matches and inputting a number of console commands, players are supposedly able to turn on a "Global Thermonuclear War" mode, an objective-based gametype that has players scrambling to capture - and detonate - a nuke placed somewhere on the map. Assassination/VIP-escort modes and variations on capture the flag were also allegedly unlocked and tested.

The post has since been removed from the IW forums, but the text (and associated commands) survive on ModernWarfail2. We've contacted Activision for comment and will update once we receive word.

What do you think of this? Are they scrapped gametypes or planned DLC? Is anyone using the developer console hack on their PC version?

Yup. You read that right. Modern Warfare 2 PC now has dedicated servers.

Wait, PC gamers! Before you send Bobby Kotick a thank you letter, know that it wasn't they who did it, but rather the gamers who took Infinity Ward and Activition's attempts to lock down the game as a challenge. And bring it those gamers did, managing to hack in the developer console and enable the ability to set up dedicated servers. Keep in mind, the game hasn't even been out a week.

Perhaps some of the boycotters caught playing the game were not being hypocrites, but rather hard at work turning the highest-profile shafting of PC gamers right around, as the video below might demonstrate.

Of course, the darker side to all this newfound freedom is the ability to use it to cheat, and the servers that have been set up so far are all "ranked" and still considered "legal" by IWNet, Modern Warfare 2's console-esque matchmaking service.

Folks who like their games in "vanilla" flavor only shouldn't despair though. After all, MW2 uses anti-cheating tech from Valve, who, if nothing else, are very, very aware of what PC gamers can do, and how to deal with them.

That said, it's just a matter of time until they the first thing they did was mod it so that you can lean again.

[Thanks to Jetsetlemming for the tip!]

PC gamers, get ready to bust out your old joystick...y'know, the one you've secretly kept in good condition, waiting on the announcement of Freespace 3, that joystick. MekTek.net may be rereleasing MechWarrior 4 and all its expansion packs for the low low price of absolutely nothing, within the next couple of weeks.

Mektek had earlier been authorized by the current MechWarrior rights holder Smith & Tinker to redistribute the old game, perhaps to hype up the upcoming franchise reboot, and to remind people that yes, MechWarrior is still a thing that exists. Not that people who've been keeping the joystick around have forgotten, oh no.

In any case, an update on MekTek's forums noted that the final meetings with Smith & Tinker were set around the Thanksgiving holiday period, with the "big shiny green release button" waiting to be pressed.

I encourage anyone looking for some lumbering metal tank-with-legs action try the game out. It's old enough that almost any laptop can rock its settings, and it's playable even without a joystick. In the meantime, check out the teaser for that reboot game below.

Here's a trivia question: What is the name of the 'mech being piloted in the trailer, and what Japanese show was it ripped off licensed from?

[Thanks for the tip, Mikey!]

It might be telling that the first time I heard of tri-Ace's newest RPG was when it had its name changed from End of Eternity to Resonance of Fate for the international release. It was strange to me at the time since both names were in English and made about the same amount of sense, but I shrugged it off and went on with my life. With this new uber-trailer out in the wild though, I'm thinking that I might have to pay more attention, because the game looks goddamn nuts.

Though the opening premise and stereotypes aren't blindingly new, I'm digging the decision to skip the 16th century and move into a more industrial-age aesthetic. That opens the field for slightly less ridiculous character designs, and tri-Ace has recruited actual fashion artists to help tart up the cast with a wide variety of customizable clothing options. Better still, all the cutscenes are rendered in-engine, enhancing the drama with leopard-print jackets and t-shirts bearing incomprehensible Engrish slogans.

The gunplay-based battle system also looks intriguing, involving free movement in a quasi-real-time setup. Once selected, characters move and attack freely. However, players can opt to set up a waypointed path around enemies, which allows access to "invincible attacks," basically stunt jumps that send characters flying through the air, firing their guns in ways that even John Woo or Michael Bay would call "too crazy to work." From the video and details released so far it strikes me as a mixture of Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean, and the enemy-juggling mechanics from Super Robot Taisen OG Saga.

The game will also be introducing two very overdue features, namely the ability to retry any battle and save anywhere.

In any case, check out the trailer below. Feel free to skip to about 2:30, which is when stuff starts happening. What do you think? Am I being overoptimistic? I don't own a 360, and as such haven't played the majority of tri-Ace's JRPG releases this generation.

Alright. Now we know Final Fantasy XIII's coming out March 9th, 2010. Square Enix promised to blow a load of details onto gamer's faces on the 13th of every month, but that video with the smarmy dude in too-tight pants wasn't quite enough to constitute a properly informational spoodging. Thankfully, the game is coming out next month in Japan, and its premier gaming rags are keeping the details coming. Andriasang surfaced with some choice bits about FFXIII's character and battle systems.

As you know, character progression happens via the "Crystarium System," which superficially seems similar to Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. But instead of a single chain of stat and ability upgrades, characters in FFXIII upgrade according to their role in combat. Selecting (and switching) roles during a battle can change a character's style and available skills, allowing for some degree of specialization as characters move around their "Power Line" upgrades. All of this is done by spending Crystal Points acquired in battle. In a good move designed to minimize grinding and manage difficulty, the characters all have "Crystarium Levels" that act as level caps, only raised once past certain points in the story.

And then there's weapon evolution. Not unlike Final Fantasy VIII's ingredient-based weapon upgrades, character weapons can be evolved by combining items found around the world and off of enemies. Once evolved, weapon characteristics and appearances change. For example, Lightning's "Blaze Edge" can turn into a "Slash Carbine," which looks completely different. Even better, the beanie-wearing, Shiva-riding hero Snow's weapon is apparently his coat, which becomes more fabulous with every upgrade. This is the first second time fashion has been acknowledged as a gameplay element in Final Fantasy.

If this all sounds too complicated, that's OK. JRPGs rarely explain themselves very well outside of play. Just know that the game has two styles of Chocobo. One is the tubby spaniel-bird of Pulse, and the other an apparently sleeker, more traditional Chocobo of Cocoon. There. Complicated stuff, and two kinds of Chocobos. That's Final Fantasy XIII. Sold

It's a fact. The PSP is nowhere near as popular or widespread in the west as it is in Japan. As such, some of the PSP's best titles such as Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and various fighting games, are simply more difficult to play, since they rely on local "Ad Hoc connections" to use in multiplayer. It's just hard to get four (or more) PSP owners to hang out in the same place at the same time on a regular basis.

One of the solutions to that problem has been AdhocParty, a feature of the PS3 that allows players to connect to each other over the intertubes, using the Black Box o' Blu-ray and the PSN as a middleman. Unfortunately, it hasn't been available to western PS3 owners...until now.

Of course, there were third-party solutions available, among them simply downloading the Japanese version of AdhocParty, but it's nice to see some official support finally coming this way. Plus, the service also supports voice chat, both through headset and the PlayStation Eye. Now maybe we can get some decent hunting going on.

It's been a good season of late for western Xbox 360 owners who love weird Japanese games. Obscure titles like Way of the Samurai 3 and Final Fantasy XIII have all gone multiplatform, and some ports have even included extra content (and vice-versa for some PS3 ports). This was the case with Record of Agarest War's enhanced Xbox 360 port, Reappearance.

Aksys games has confirmed that that extra content has been added to the PS3 version of the game (explaining the spring 2010 delay), and that both games will be made available for North America. Great news for 360-owning moe maniacs, and even better news for the world, for Aksys' decision to go multiplatform averted a global catastrophe. However, the PS3 version will remain a PSN download, while the Xbox 360 version will be a full retail product. Wait, what was that about global catastrohe? Aksys Editor Ben Bateman explains:

“In truth, we had Record of Agarest War ready to go up on the PlayStation Network months ago,” [Ed.’s note: That’s a lie.] says Ben Bateman, Editor, Aksys Games, “But when a haggard man emerged from a ball of crackling energy that materialized outside our office with dire warnings from a dark future, we decided to reconsider. As it turns out, a PlayStation Network-exclusive release of Agarest was—or rather, would have been—the catalyst for World War III. The gaming community was torn apart—literally—by this apparent favoritism, and from that schism poured the infinite minions of Satan himself, the Lord of Lies. The man told us, his eyes blank with the 1000-yard stare, of the horrors of this future war. He had been sent back in time, the last hope of a desperate human resistance, to prevent what the people of this desolate future Earth called, simply, ‘The Breaking.’ As the last spark of life passed from his body, broken and battered by his journey through the time vortex, we swore to honor his final wish.”
“This is why Record of Agarest War has been delayed,” Ben continues, his eyes wet with tears, “So that we may release it on both consoles, and in doing so, save the world.”

No details yet on whether Ghostlight, the UK publisher for the game (renamed there to Agarest: Generations of War), will be doing the same. I hope no one falls prey to the "westerners only like manly space marines" misconception and change the box art.

Check below for the press release, and the gallery for saucy pictures (slightly NSFW).

Demon's Souls is a lonely game. Even though its multiplayer features are geared towards letting players know that their suffering is shared, a Demon's Souls player is alone in Boletaria.

From Software and Sony have chosen to remind players of this fact, releasing a Demon's Souls dynamic theme onto the Japanese PSN store. Since sensible PS3 owners have likely forgotten all about them, dynamic themes are basically animated 3D themes for the XMB. Most include custom sound sets, XMB icons, and alternating, active wallpapers. Most also cost money, and make your PS3 look like a big fat game ad.

However, the Demon's Souls theme looks quite different, and to me feels beautifully understated. Based on the Nexus hub area, the only signs of life in the theme are flickering torches, the animated floor design, and the Maiden in Black who hangs out on the stairs, eyes still occluded by wax. Waiting for the player to respawn after dying horribly for the umpteenth time, she remains ready to convert souls into stat points as always.

Hm. With her in mind, perhaps a Demon's Souls player isn't that alone after all. The theme costs 200 Yen, and I can't buy it because the Japanese PSN doesn't accept foreign credit cards (bastards!). I hereby call upon Atlus and Sony to bring this gem to English-speakers immediately.

Check below to see a video of the theme in er...action. Any Demon's Souls fanboys want it?