It's not often that a game is worth buying twice, but Atlus
has made a second bite easier to swallow with Persona 3: FES.
A special edition of last year's hybrid RPG, Persona 3, FES
contains a dearth of new content and the entire original game with new elements
and all for an easy $30. While some of the new content doesn't quite live up to
the impact of the original release, FES represents a great value and is a
must-play for RPG fans who looked it over the first time.
Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.
The bulk of the content on the disc is the original 80+ hour
Persona 3 game, dubbed "The Journey" in FES.
You play as a transfer student who quickly discovers that his school is the
epicenter of a phenomenon known as the Dark Hour, a "25th
hour" during the day where time stops for the unaware and a huge tower
named Tartarus erupts from the school, the source of an evil plague of beings
known as Shadows. Only once you realize you harness the ability to wield the
titular entities called personas do you join a crew of your fellow
persona-wielding classmates to climb Tartarus and cleanse it of the Shadows
over the course of a school year.
So Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is almost ready to hit stores, but today Activision announced all the pre-ordering details. Pre-ordering will give you access to a special bundle which includes guitar, the exclusive Aerosmith faceplate, an Aerosmith tour book and of course, the game.
Pricing is as follows:
$99 for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii
$89 for PlayStation 2 wireless
$109 for the two-guitar (wired) PlayStation 2 bundle which includes both a black and silver guitar.
Amidst the circulating rumors, Sega has announced that Sonic Unleashed is in development for the PS2, Wii, Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The title will utilize a unique "Hedgehog Engine" and is set for release later this year.
"By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashed will provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love" says Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for Sega Europe.
Konami confirmed this morning that the company has shipped three new games nationwide, headlined by Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection for the PlayStation 2.
The collection retails for $29.99 and includes the original PlayStation's Metal Gear Solid (as a PS2 disc), MGS2, and MGS3 with package artwork by series artist Yoji Shinkawa. You can view order details here if you're interested.
Following The Essential Collection comes Diary Girl for the Nintendo DS--the game functions as a PDA-lite and "provides girls of all ages the ability to interact with friends through their own customizable avatars, as well as organize a calendar and address book in their own password-protected electronic journal." Sounds spiffy.
And remember, ladies: it's not a game, it's a "lifestyle accessory". I'm going to keep that in mind any time I buy anything. Diary Girl retails for the standard $29.99.
And finally, add Lost in Blue 3 for the Nintendo DS to the list.
In Lost in Blue 3, players guide one of two stranded characters, each with their own personal history, through exotic locales on a mysterious island while surviving the elements to stay alive. Players can work alone or cooperatively with other characters to gather food, explore the island and hunt dangerous wildlife. Completing one character's storyline will unlock the storylines of two additional characters, allowing players to explore the island in different ways, experience new storylines, and uncover different endings.
Here's some good news to start the afternoon off with if you're an Atlus fan, as the company has officially confirmed that its Persona 3 FES is indeed coming to North America and will include both the regular and bonus content for the very happy price of $29.99. For those of you only mildly familiar with the Persona games, they're the ones with demons.
Here's the email confirmation Atlus sent out to its "faithful" this morning:
Ok, we give up. The rumors were true.
Persona 3 FES is coming to North America!
Months of trying to keep FES a secret are now behind us (which means all of us here can reflect on just how futile an effort that was).
So what's the big deal about Persona 3 FES? "FES" is short for "Festival," and in Japan, FES was released as a reward for gamers who picked up the original. Not only does the new FES content enhance the original game, but the new FES component is actually a game in and of itself, accessible right from the get-go. We think of it as two games on one disc. It is the definitive Persona 3 experience.
We will be releasing the stand-alone version of FES. There was of course the option of just releasing the "Append" disc (which would have required ownership of the original game), but in the end, we didn't want you to have to own anything else to enjoy the experience.
We'll have a ton more updates going out for FES soon, telling you about the extra features, content, and modes for you to enjoy. Thanks for being patient. We're glad you stuck around.
Oh, and we decided to set the suggested retail for FES at $29.99, just for the heck of it. Thanks for continuing to support us, Atlus Faithful!
Look for the game on April 22 (take that, evil ebay prices!) You can check out the Persona 3 FES website here, if you're curious, and of course you can view the fresh teaser trailer below.
Because nothing rings in a Tuesday quite like an official confirmation announcement, Konami has confirmed that Silent Hill Origins "is in fact currently in development for the PlayStation 2."
"Console gamers can now expect the same chilling, suspenseful and fear-filled experience that handheld gamers encountered when we released Silent Hill Origins on the PSP system," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "This is their chance to learn more of the mystery and mythos surrounding Silent Hill that's been hinted at in earlier games and made the series such a success."
Hit the jump for a juicy tidbits from Konami. The release date as listed on Gamefly and Amazon is now squeezed in between March 4-6, but Konami failed to mention a ship date in its announcement. We'll keep you updated, though.
News has recently hit the Web that Konami's Silent Hill Origins is definitely headed to the PlayStation 2.
The game is currently listed on Amazon and Gamefly with a March release, though the two sources disagree on a specific date - Gamefly lists it as March 31 while Amazon's is much sooner at March 4.
As usual, Konami has yet to give any official confirmation. The game is currently available on the PSP and has an average rating of 78% on metacritic, though it also carries an 89% from average users.
Sony has unveiled new screenshots and package details of Twisted Metal: Head On Extra Twisted Edition for the PlayStation 2. The game is a essentially a port of the PSP title Twisted Metal: Head On, only with several key improvements. The Extra Twisted Edition includes:
The Core Game Itself- Yep, the hit PSP game - Twisted Metal:Head On - is now on PS2. And now it’s running at 60 frames/second, has improved textures and art, and even has a new level created specifically for this version (Transylvania Castle).
The Lost Levels - Four brand new levels straight out of the dark, demented world of Twisted Metal: Black. These levels are designed with two player deathmatch in mind and I think they are some of the best Twisted levels we have ever made. My favorites are Suburban Terror and Stadium Slaughter.
The Twisted Metal Symphony- folks who purchase the game will get a free code to let them download a free copy of The Twisted Metal Symphony. TMS is a compilation soundtrack of the greatest musical tracks from TM1, TM2, TM:BLACK, and TM:HEAD ON. Yes, old school TM fans, Rooftops from TM1 WILL be on there!
A Continuous Suicide Of Reason: The Art Of Twisted Metal- a pack in art booklet filled with concept art dating back to the very first Twisted Metal game.
The Dark Past- A 30 minute documentary tracing the history of Twisted Metal, the struggles the team went through in making the games, the success, the failures, the fans,etc. Heck, we even touch on what went wrong with TM3 and Tm4 and what the original team REALLY feels about those games. It’s a nice little doc that- I feel- is much more honest than the usual ‘making of’ puff pieces you see [in] a lot of games these days.
Sweet Tour- This is where you get to take control of Sweet Tooth himself and run him around some levels built for Twisted Metal: Black 2. As you run around, you find icons you can collect. Each icon opens up concept art and behind the scenes information about the making of the series.
The Lost Ending Movies- Back in 1995, I wrote and directed some live action end movies for the very first Twisted Metal. Because they were deemed too sexist and too violent, they never saw the light of day. But it’s 2008 now and what was once offensive is now just- to most folks- cheesy and charming. So these flicks are on the disc for folks to finally judge for themselves if they are cinematic masterpieces or the final proof of my total lack of talent. I’m sure you’ll let me know which.
You can view the screenshots here or at the link below.
In more "I sold more units than you" news, Sony has confirmed that it has sold 1.2 million PlayStation 3 consoles in North America alone during the holidays; the company is quick to remind us that every PlayStation 3 sold also equates to a purchased Blu-ray player that helps consolidate Sony's base in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD format war.
Summarizes Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, "The PlayStation brand ended the year in a very strong position and clearly indicates more positive momentum going into 2008. The strong PS3 sales also further establish Blu-ray's dominant position as the high-definition medium of choice for games and movies."
Talking numbers, the PlayStation Portable has reached the 1.4 million mark in North America (receiving a nice sales boost over the holidays, no doubt) while the PlayStation 2 clocked in at 1.3 million units; all totaled, that's 3.9 million Sony machines discovered under trees this Christmas.
Sega has released a slew of new screenshots of Sega Superstars Tennis for the PS2, DS, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. The game is scheduled for a Spring 2008 release.