The (fan) anticipated expansion for Resident Evil 5 has been released and I’ve gotten the chance to play it. (Spoilers)

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A new video promoting the upcoming game (or expansion rather) Super Street Fighter IV. Street Figher IV has had amazing promotional videos and this one certainly isn’t an exception. Chun Li and Cammy fight it out with newcomer Juri, who is one of the more interesting characters that are being added in the new game. I wonder if she’s going to be the one that will stop me from playing a shoto character such as Ryu. d:

I don’t like rap music at all, but I must say this Youtube video was quite entertaining.

I remember the days when I got my Gameboy and Super Mario Land was my second game (Tetris being the first). Boy, this game was fun…and frustrating. Death was around every corner and continues were so very limited. Gaming sure has become soft compared to the ol’ days…Which doesn’t necessarily have to be bad but some current games really need to check their definition of “normal” and “hard” first.

People kept praising how great this Xbox Live Arcade game was and that it played like the 2D Metroid series. The game was the deal of the week so I went ahead and bought it. I had no idea it looked THAT much like Metroid (which is a good thing). It reminded me of how good the Metroid games were and I miss them. It’s not that the Metroid Prime series are bad (in fact, they’re awesome) but it didn’t give the same vibe when I played Super Metroid for the first time.

The similarities are ALL over the place. The map layout, searching for ammo expansions, getting gear that unlocks other places, … I could go on like this forever.  A few notable ones were the speed booster, the fact that you have to get all key components in order to get the last upgrade (in Super Metroid, you had to kill all pre-bosses first before you could fight the final boss) and the achievement Jason Bailey (it’s a cheat for Metroid that gave you all equipment). Think about it, if an Xbox Live Arcade game can be this good, how awesome would another 2D Metroid game be? We can always hope…And don’t forget Metroid: Other M just yet.

My anticipation for this game has never been higher. Square-Enix’ latest anagram “A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto” gave us “Announcement Nov Thirteenth” and as promised, they gave us something alright. A release date, to be exact, through this (somewhat cheesy, yet epic) video. Especially the gameplay at 3:55 was really nice. I cannot wait for 9 March 2010!

Firstlook is the largest gaming convention in The Netherlands. I went over to Amsterdam with two friends and here are my impressions…

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Do you remember the good ol’ MS DOS days? I sure do. When I was little, my dad used to buy me these 25 in 1 game CDs that contained many shareware games.  One of those games was a demo version of One Must Fall 2097, a fighting game. Oh, how I wanted the full version of that game. The gameplay, graphics and especially the music were fantastic at the time. Even now, the music stays a classic.

Unfortunately, no other sequels have been released except for One Must Fall Battlegrounds which turned out to be disappointing. One Must Fall 2097 can be downloaded here. You’ll need the DOS emulator DOSbox as well.

A video after the cut shows you a gameplay video along with the nostalgic soundtrack.

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What a wonderful little game Frozenbyte has brought us: Trine. While a bit on the short side, it’s been a while since I enjoyed a side scroller this much. The graphics are great (the game surprisingly asks alot of your videocard), the gameplay is amazing and the music is just spot on.  In fact, I’m listening to the OST right now. Composed by Ari Pulkkinen, he’s certainly one to be followed for his future works.  The game was a bit too easy because the checkpoints resurrects your heroes and gives them a certain amount of health. That’s a good thing ofcourse, but not when quite a few battles take place NEAR the checkpoints, giving you the oppertunity to gain health each time you’re getting hit. The only time I died a lot was the last stage. Unfortunately, the game didn’t have any boss battles. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

I’ve taken the oppertunity to record my playthrough and uploaded the videos on Youtube in HD quality. Level 2 is shown after the cut, the rest can be found here (playlist).

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Capcom officially announced Resident Evil 5 for the PC today. Despite people saying they’re fearing the worst because the RE4 PC port was horrible according to many (I never played RE4 on the PC), I’m pretty sure Capcom’s going to make a fine port outta this one. Most recently, Street Fighter IV was ported to the PC and runs very smoothly (I own both PC and Xbox 360 versions). Also, Devil May Cry 4 ran very well too, even though the key mappings for the keyboard took quite some time getting used to.

A few extra features (besides the gorgeous graphics, more on that soon) are implemented in this release, which is slated for September 18 here in the EU (Sept 15 for USA):

No confirmation of a potential Seperate Ways with Jill, Wesker and/or Josh yet.

Along with the date confirmation, Capcom has also released their benchmark tool (600 MB) for Resident Evil 5. This tool checks how well your PC can run Resident Evil 5. I’ve used it as well and posted some screenshots. The biggest graphical difference between the console version and the PC version is probably the FPS rate. But to me, the PC version looks a lot sharper as well. I guess that’s a matter of personal preference and taste.

I can’t wait!

E3 Expo is well over  now, but it definately left us some impressive previews of earlier announced AND new games.

The big companies (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) have held their conferences and here’s a list of games that stirred me:

(All trailers and gameplay videos from E3 can be viewed on http://www.gametrailers.com/e3/)

Final Fantasy XIII

It seems that the Xbox 360 version is (being) finalized. The latest trailer showed an English version of FF XIII along with English voice acting. It also featured the summons Odin and Shiva (yes, bring back the old summons please!). Damn, Shiva looks weird by the way. Twins that turn into a motorbicycle? Here’s hoping to Leviathan! I can’t wait to play this game!

Final Fantasy XIV Online

I’m not sure what to expect from this one. It definately was unexpected. I’m still a bit sceptic about it and hopefully, it won’t turn out as Final Fantaxy XI HD…

Alan Wake

Having heard from this game a few years ago, it was a pleasant surprise to see the first gameplay trailer. I’m glad they’re still planning to release this game next year. The game is probably going to be very Silent Hill-ish and I have no idea what to expect, but it did look impressive. Definately will be watching this one.

Metroid: Other M

A new Metroid! Who would’ve thought that? After Retro Studio’s announcement of Metroid Prime 3 being their last one, I wasn’t expecting a Metroid game any time soon. This time, Metroid: Other M (weird name) is being developed by Team Ninja, the same developer of Ninja Gaiden. Some say they’re going to screw up Metroid, but I for one am glad to even see another Metroid!

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy was fun but I’m not sure if I want to play a second one. Still, a nice surprise for people that absolutely adored Super Mario Galaxy. Good thing: Yoshi’s back!

Golden Sun 3

OH MY GOD *SQUEAL*. I didn’t foresee a new Metroid but I DEFINATELY did not see this one coming! Oh my god, Golden Sun 1 and 2 are one of my favorite games and I’ve been craving for a new sequel ever since I finished Golden Sun 2. That’s almost 7 years! I’d buy a Nintendo DS in a heartbeat for this beauty.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

A nice surprise, as I love Capcom’s Street Fighter IV. I’m mostly interested in Capcom’s characters though, as I don’t know most of the Tatsunoko ones. But good fighting games? Anytime!

Mario & Luigi 3

I started playing Mario & Luigi 2: Partners in Time and ended up finishing it within a few days. It was that much fun. The Mario RPG series has a nostalgic feel to it since it keeps it’s timing gameplay ever since it was introduced on the SNES game Super Mario RPG.

Dead Space: Extraction

I recently finished Dead Space on the Xbox 360 and man, it was awesome. A pleasant surprise really, as most people would say. Dead Space: Extraction will be an on rail shooter with co-op play and while it probably might not be as ’scary’ as the non rail shooting Dead Space, it’ll certainly still give you an exciting adventure with amazing graphics and gameplay.

Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles

Another on rail shooter from Capcom, revisiting Raccoon City with Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. It seems they’re also going to involve Code: Veronica. Let me shoot some zombies already!

Bayonetta

A game with DMC-esque battles and gameplay, Bayonetta might become one of the best hack ‘n slash games of this year. Who knows…

Lost Planet 2

Despite not having played Lost Planet, the co-op multiplayer in Lost Planet 2 with huge boss battles seems to be amazing! Let’s not forget the graphics either.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Remember the Metal Gear 5 post? Big Boss was shown because he’s going to star in a new PSP MGS game called Peace Walker while Raiden is going to star on the multiplatform game Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Not much is known other than that however…At least it’s coming for the Xbox!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

No particular interest in Castlevania itself, but the trailer did look impressive. Plus, it’s being produced by Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) and that can’t be a bad thing, right?

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Unique art direction and some good ol’ hack ‘n slash. What else do you want?