Studio Ghibli and Level 5 bless the PS3!!!

PlayStation 3 has been blessed. I should had updated this blog the day the news of the blessing was announced. If many of you are wondering what the hell I am talking about? Well heres the big news then: Studio Ghibli and Level 5 game Ni No Kuni: Another World which was being developed for the Nintendo DS has also been announced on the PS3.


I am totaly estatic about this news. A pure JRPG game with the visuals provided by Studio Ghilibi (makers of the greatest animated movies), withe RPG mechanics of Level 5 (makers of fun RPGs). THe game look amazing on the small screen of the DS but looks quite incredible in HD on the PS3. I mean the quality of the in-game engine needs to be seen to be believed. Its as if we are playing a Studio Ghibli movie. This is a match made in heaven.

Both games are set in the same world but the word on the street is Level 5 has confirmed that the game will be different from each other in terms of game play and story. Te new trailer of the PS3 version which has surfaced does indicate to that as the DS version is a turn based system while the PS3 has a real time hybrid in place. If that is the case then I am already in the camp of buying both the version. Follow the given link for the trailer: http://kotaku.com/5571557/see-the-trailer-for-ghiblis-ps3-game


Sony NEEDS to localize this game and bring it in English as it will be a shame if this game doesn't get the attention it so deperately deserves. THIS BIG BIG NEWS AND I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS GAME!!!

mini-updated: The Sly Collection

A small update. So I was hoping for an announcement of a new game in the Sly Cooper series, and although I did not get that wish (due to InFamous 2), I still got the second best thing. A HD remake of the 3 Sly Cooper games!!!. Like the God of War Collection, this remake will have slightly cleaned up graphics, trophy support, 3D levels for Sony's upcoming 3D HDTVs and Playstation Move mini-games. And man I am psyched about Sly Collection. Fall release can't come fast enough!!.



The trailer and the screenshots look awesome and much better than the PS2 version. Sly Cooper series is an underrated franchise, but hopefully this remake will pay way for Sly Cooper 4. AWESOME!!

The Big N owned!!!

Just finished watching Nintendo's press conference for the E3 and I have to say I was duly impressed. This year it seem that the Big N have gone the whole 9 yards in reigning in the hardcore gamer with a dazzling array of game titles announcements and game reveals. The last two E3 Nintendo has come in for a lot of flak by the game industry due to their over-reliance on catering to the casual gamers market so much so that they have some what forgotten about the legion of Nintendo fans who have grown up playing truly fantastic games. But this year? Boy have they gone to town. I was truly amazed how they have put in all of their big first party franchises and come out all guns blazing. I am guessing Sony and Microsoft may not have seen this coming. Anyways coming on the game now.

First off its the legend: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and after months of speculation Miyamoto-san have unveiled the exclusive Zelda game for the Wii. What impressed me the most right off the bat were the cartoony visuals. I mean to be honest I was blown away by Wind Waker's cel shaded looks so the cartoony look of the new Zelda feel right at home for me. Th colour saturated environs in the demo looked like they were pushing the Wii hardware to the limits. But when the initial euphoria died down I felt a little disappointment due to the nature of game play. Its FULL OF WAGGLE!!!. As a muscular dystrophy patient having to deal to THAT much arm waving and waggle is looking a little tiresome. The bevvy of movement were quite elaborate and it while it look quite fun to play alright, I need to think of it practically. Anyways here's to hoping that there some option of either toning down the waggle or the option of using the Classic Controller Pro.



Then there was Warren Specter. I have heard LOADS of Deus Ex and System Shock world and setting but never got to play them so the twisted nature of Warren Specter's new game Epic Mickey was the one to truly shine. Paying homage to Mickey's 80 year history with a twisted world of the Wasteland, meeting up with many of the Disney characters which have been cast aside, hence creating a disturbing atmosphere. What has got my interest piqued are the different game play styles involving RPG elements, platforming and adventure and is looking to provide loads of depth with its 'paint it or erase it' game mechanics. The graphics too looked quite dazzling esp for a Wii game. Since this game was unveiled a year ago I have kept tabs on it and am intrigued how the end product will play out. But I am sure this game will surprise ALOT of Wii naysayers and haters.


OK so Kirby may be the most cutest characters around in the world of gaming, and although I have never played a Kirby game before, Kirby's Epic Yarn looks right down my alley with its unique visuals. Since the conception of LittleBigPlanet's different visual art style no game have been able to replicate it till now as Kirby's Epic Yarn looks quite wonderfully weird with its yarn based looks and how it translates into the game play as well. Its is if the whole game is made from a piece cloth and also retains its 2D platform tradition. Even as a gamer who is into mature games, I just help get sucked in the cutesy world of Kirby.

The last two games which caught me eye at the Nintendo's press conference are Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and the grand reentry of Donkey Kong Country. Golden Sun: Dark Sun once again targets the RPG gamers this time obviously on the DS and it sure looks quite good. The puzzle based game play returns along with turn based battle system makes its a JRPG I will be looking forward too. Donkey Kong Country Returns comes back to consoles after a long hiatus and this game also looks like it will turn a lot of heads and to be honest I am very pumped for this co-op platform.

So yeah this year Nintendo has totally owned Sony and Microsoft hands down. Sure the big games and the new hardware were on show at the press conferences to those two but the amount of fun games at Nintendo press conference is staggering and too think most of those games are coming this year. I CANNOT wait!!!

Zombie Dreamcast!!

I never owned the Dreamcast as I was bitten by the Sony 'bug' and my entire gaming existence was on the PS1, but I always admired Sega's Dreamcast from afar. First off the graphics were some of the greatest, I mean sure the PS1 did had some cool looking games, but Dreamcast was churning out loads of eye-candy. Gamspot and IGN would visited rather frequently where I would gaze at Dreamcast games screenshots and tried my level best to watch a few video clips (dial-up sucked!). Sure I was happy with my PS1 but when Sonic Adventure came out and got some really awesome reviews, I was stunned. I had a Sega Mega Drive whilst I was growing up, so a couple of Sonic games were always in my library, but the new 3D look of the hedgehog made me desperate to own one.

My attempts to make my dad get me a Dreamcast would usually be shot down as the whole concept of video games was still a little alien to him. Usually it was Crash Bandicoot who had become a marquee character for Sony that would get me through the rejection and soon the Dreamcast fever faded away. But in late 2000 another game made me go 'Sega crazy' all over again. Skies of Arcadia came out during the time when I had developed an acute liking for JRPGs, and before any of you guys start listing down the amazing JRPGs on the PS1, back then any good JRPG was the one I would want to play. And so my dad gave me a choice, either get a Dreamcast or wait for the PS2 (yeah I made it a point to make my dad aware of the impending release of the PS2), and hence I let go of my Dreamcast obsession (oh come on don't give me that look) and soon become embroiled with the PS2.

PS2 was an awesome system, but the thought of the Dreamcast would haunt me from time to time and Sonic Adventure become an elusive dream. So imagine my bewilderment when Sega came out to announce the revival of the Dreamcast which I dubbed (in my head) as Zombie Dreamcast through digital distribution on the PSN and XBOX Live, and Sonic Adventure was one of the first title to be released. I mean just when I though I was out (of playing the Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure), Sega pulled me back in!!!. Seriously... I almost jumped out of my wheelchair with glee and since then have started counting days to the Fall release of the game. To be honest I was never sure how of digital distribution of games would actually work but PSN and XBOX Live and the Wii Shop has proved that digital distribution may well be the future of games retail. Exciting time ahead.

As a footnote to this post just want to share my thoughts on Project Natal or rather the

"KINECT". I mean seriously?!?!. Making a new word just for a piece of hardware??. I understand how they may have reached the name: KIN taken from the word kin or kinship, and ECT derived from connect, hence KIN CONNECT...KINECT?!!?!? No I meas SERIOUSLY?!?!. Look the XBOX brand has carved a massive niche in the gaming market that once was dominated by the Big N and Sony, but making up a totally new word is kinda...boorish. Back in the day the word "Wii" sounded weird but it still made sense (Wii = We), but the KINECT??!. WOW! But what is certain that Kinect will need to have some proper games for the traditional gamer unlike Wii's many shovel ware titles if they want to compete with Playstation Move as Sony are still targeting the gamers market along with the casual with games like the new Ape Escape, anyways as I said, interesting time ahead indeed!!

of E3 and game announcements!

OK so this year E3 needs some game announcements. Not to say that there are no game announcements but I want new iteration of some of the classic which I grown up playing. No not from the SNES era but from the PS2.

Since last years E3, right down to the Tokyo Game Show I have been clamouring for new games of popular game series. But for some reason or the other have either been cast aside entirely or have landed up on portable system. Now for example I would sure love to play a new Jak and Daxter or a Sly Cooper game in glorious HD. Both Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch have shown the world that the can handle mature and less cartoon-y games in the form of Uncharted and InFamous, but would it kill them to go back to the series which made them household commodities (well gaming household)??. Take a look at Insomniac: Sure they have gone and made an entire new IP in Resistance (which I loathe by the way), but have still managed to churn out 3 Ratchet and Clank games in the meanwhile. Just imagine high definition cel-shaded graphics of a new Sly Cooper game or the expansively detailed worlds of the Jak series. Come on Sony, get the developers to make these games already!

Forgive me as I don my RPG lover mask and almost beg both Atlus and Konami to announce Persona 5 and Suikoden 6.!!! These games series deserves the HD treatment and with the install base of PS3 and 360 (and yes the Wii too), new games in these series will garner a lot of interest amongst JRPG junkies. There have been word of Persona 5 coming on the big consoles but till then the JRPG genre looks a little barren at the moment. Look I really don't mind the DS or PSP which have got new games in the Shin Megami Tensei series (Devil Survivor and the remake of Persona 1) or the Suikoden spinoff (Tierkris) but come on, bring them to the platform where such games belong.

Another JRPG series missing in action is Sony's own Wild Arms. This series is still cool with its wild west setting and innovative turn based and puzzle hybrid. Wit the success of the awesome Red Dead Redemption, the wild west is set for grand reentry and what better way to compliment the action game is with a Wild West RPG. Wild Arms 6 would do quite nicely indeed!

See this is what has been missing in this generation: A massive library of JRPGs. I mean by the time the PS2 has reached its third years, there were many cool JRPGs select from, but nowadays only a few. Final Fantasy 13 or Tales of Vesperia and even Star Ocean: The Last Hope have become bastions for the JRPG genre, but where are the quirky ones or the twisted one gone off to?!?!. So sure I do appreciate newer games and IP, but give me the games which we know will hit the big time easily.

In conclusion I will wait with baited breath as the E3 draws closer, and will be hoping that at least one new game is announcedt from the aforementioned game series. E3...Don't fail me now!!

My most anticipated games for E3

Just a few days to the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 which many of you know is held at the LA Convention Centre and like many of the more serious minded gamers, I too am chuffed about this mega event. Last year was indeed pretty awesome but I was a bit of a disappointed with a lack of the announcement of big games like new games in the Persona or Suikoden series and become a little annoyed at how much Project Natal hogged the limelight. Anyways this year the lineup of games looks quite amazing to say the least and it will be interesting to see what new games are announced.

On the hardware front I will be keeping a keen eye on the unveiling of the 3DS and how it attempts to take the portable market to the next level. I am still not sure about the whole 3D business but count on Nintendo to take a bold step in this regard. Another piece of hardware competing for my interest is the Playstation Move and while the new focus of the big two (Sony and Microsoft) for catering to a casual audience ala Nintendo is becoming a little unnerving, i still would like to see Sony bringing some thing palatable for the hardcore gamer for the Playstation Move. But for me E3 is always about the games and in this post I will talk about a few of the games which already has got me excited. Now these games aren't actually huge name games in the vein of Call of Duty or the like, but their premise and their promises is what excites me.


The thought of the upcoming magnum opus The Last Guardian by Fumito Ueda and his uber-talented Team ICO always bring a smile on my face. Lets face it ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were fantastic games and heres to hoping that more of the same ethereal magic is found in the Last Guardian. The first screenshots and the trailer of the game made me skip a heart beat and although there are sparse details on the game play yet but I think it will most probably share a lot of designs similarities of ICO and SoTC.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has a lot going for it with around 20 years worth of game mechanics to bring forth and deep pockets of Konami and their ace Hideo Kojima who is the producer. The Spanish developer MercurySteam are handling the development so lets see how the game turn out as the game series is very Japanese in nature. I have always admired the Castlvania series but never have actually finished a traditionally 2D Castlevania game but when PS2 was grace with its first 3D Casltevania game: Lament of Innocence I was all over it and totally enjoyed the whip slinging action and the campy Gothic setting. So Lord of Shadows has got my interests piqued.


Gran Turismo 5 should had been out by now, now alas its still in development. I still remember back in the day me and my cousin played around 25 hours of Gran Turismo 3 in a week tweaking cars and winning events, and if GT5 can work the magic on PS3 then this game can easily become the showcase racing game of all time. But as the game has been delayed a million times no one know when the game will come out but I think the wait will be worth it. Personally I have not even gone close to the new racing games in the market like Forza 3 of Dirt 2 as the promise of racing goodness of GT5 has made me abstain!. The graphics are easily some of the most realistic around, and the car models look so damn real. Check out this slick trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfyonN7WC4M). I cannot wait to play this bad boy.



The Wii has slowly become a real gamers console. After 3 long years of almost shunning the hardcore gamer the Big N has done a lot to restore faith and since early last year many 'proper' games have made it to the Wii. The RPG genre has been quite barren on the Wii but that is about to change with release of Arc Rise Fantansia, Mistwalker's The Last Story and Ninteno's and Monolith's XenoBlade. As not a lot is know about the Last Story so instead I will talk about Xenoblade. Made by the same people who made the seminal XenoSaga sereis and Xenogears, the bizarre plot and setting is what caught my eye when the game was unveiled in the last year E3 and since then the trailers of the Japanese version have surfaced and to be honest my RPG senses have gone into overdrive. The game look awesome and I am sure the story and the battle mechanics will be heaven. I am really hoping Nintendo announcing s release date for the English audiences.

The last game in my most anticipated games in E3 list is de Blob: The Underground. 2 years ago the original games charmed my socks off with its fun game mechanics and wicked soundtrack; in fact its was one of the most fun games I had played in a long while. The sequel looks like it will up the ante with improved game mechanics and in the introduction of a 100 2D leaves in top of 12 massive 3D levels. If they manage to put in a few bosses and make the game a little longer and a little challenging it will then become perfect. de Blob: The Underground needs to be recognized by a larger audience as I think this franchise is here to stay.

This conclude my first post on the E3 Event of 2010. In the next I will talk a little about games which need to make an appearance.

Welcome to my game-centric blog Frame-rates and Pixels where I will try to put forward my opinions on matters related to games and the gaming industry. Hence this will give me a chance to express my love for both video games and writing. To be honest this is not my only blog, rather I rant quite regularly about anything and everything (fal82us.wordpress.com) but see that's the problem, I don't get to write about video games, and that is why making another blog which focuses on my beloved hobby was a no-brainer.

Anyways a little introduction is the order of the day at this juncture so let me tell you guys a little about myself. My gaming tastes runs the gamut of enjoying games of an genre, be it action or platform, but my real interests lies in the RPG genre. I am not embarrassed to say that I am what you call a RPG whore, with the emphasis on the Japanese kind. I usually end up collecting and hoarding on a huge variety of RPGs on a variety of consoles... and of course playing them too. But don't get me wrong, I do enjoy playing many a games. Enough about me for now.

This blog will require a lot of working on my part but I am willing to make myself heard about games and the like and in the process learn a bit more about writing skills as well . Well I would really like comments and feedback and discussions from all (or any) of my readers. Till my first real post on Frame-rates and Pixels, Viva la Video games!