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SONY PSP PREVIEWS

1  GamesCom: The 3rd Birthday Hands-On Fri, Aug 27th, 2010, 8:43 am (EST) BY DARRYL The observant amongst us will notice that The 3rd Birthday, despite being part of the Parasite Eve franchise, doesn't mention Parasite Eve anywhere in the title. That's because Square Enix only want it loosely associated with the games that came in the past - they see The 3rd Birthday as a complete reboot for the franchise, a new chapter if you will. It's certainly not a spin-off though, so don't go thinking about it like that. What does this mean on face value? That the game is going away from its more traditional RPG roots and more towards that of a third-person shooter. That's not to say there won't be some RPG elements, there will, but in the grand scheme of the game they will be quite minimal. More »

4  The Force Unleashed 2: What We Know So Far Sat, Jul 31st, 2010, 6:30 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Just watching the Force Unleashed 2 trailer tells us a few things. Galen Marek (aka Starkiller) is supposedly back in clone form, and he's absolutely fantastic at killing stormtroopers. Darth Vader is still plotting to do something with his old apprentice, which may include making a clone army, and no doubt the fate of the universe will somehow hang in the balance. There's a lot going on in Force Unleashed 2, and between all the fancy CG movies and trailers it can be hard to keep track. Fortunately, we've made a handy little list of new features for everyone’s convenience. So lets take a look at what the Force Unleashed 2 actually has to offer us, and why it may be worth looking into regardless of your feelings on the original. Story-wise things are still a little convoluted since everything we've learned up until this point have been facts to hype up the crowd. As of this point, Darth Vader, still reeling from the betrayal of his former apprentice, has taken the body of Marek and cloned the young Jedi at the infamous Kamino. The current Starkiller seems to be the result of many failed clones, and exists with fractured memories of his past life. After being assaulted by the memories of his past, Starkiller heads out into the universe to discover the truth of his past. More »

3  E3 2010: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Hands-On Preview Mon, Jun 28th, 2010, 5:08 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN While Square Enix lacked any big surprises for Kingdom Hearts fans at E3 2010, they did at least bring a fully translated version of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep with them to the show floor. We checked up on the Square Enix booth to get some more hands-on time with Birth by Sleep, as the last time we had played it was Tokyo Game Show 2009, shortly before the game's Japanese release. While gameplay feels exactly the same, we were however presented with a choice to play through new segments of Ventus' story, Aqua's story, or Terra's story, and of course, it was all voiced in English. Kicking things off with Ventus' story segment, Ventus is in the middle of chasing down a huge squid-like Unverse (the "new heartless" for Birth by Sleep) through some sort of space worm hole. Ventus is clad head to toe in his knight suit, atop a space surf board of sorts, assumed on a mission to take down the Unverse. More »

0  E3 2010: WWE All Stars Hands-On Preview Wed, Jun 23rd, 2010, 9:00 am (EST) BY DARRYL WWE All Stars marks a new step for THQ as they look to expand their WWE offering. It's something that's really needed too, as WWE Smackdown vs Raw has become a game locked in to coming out every year, like most sports games, so there isn't really that much scope to try something much more radical. That's really where WWE All Stars comes in. It's a game that THQ are hoping will bridge the gap between the more serious WWE fans and those of a more casual nature. It's being developed by the newly formed THQ San Diego, and it looks great! The visuals are instantly striking - they really play on the stereotypical perception of wrestlers. Their bodies are extremely exaggerated and the ring actually looks quite small when both wrestlers are prancing around inside it. There's also a much less serious nature to the visuals as well; the wrestlers take damage which physically changes their appearance and moves are extremely exaggerated to give the maximum pain factor. More »

0  E3 2010: Ys SEVEN & Ys: The Oath in Felghana Preview Tue, Jun 15th, 2010, 6:42 pm (EST) BY SHAWN Gaming Union got a chance to take a peek at the new YS titles from XSEED Games's recent partnership with Nihon Falcom, and it appears that for the fans of old-school games, both YS titles will be just what the doctor ordered. More »

2  E3 2010 Preview: Sony Tue, Jun 15th, 2010, 1:20 am (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS After watching Microsoft's E3 press conference held earlier today, all eyes are on Sony's event tomorrow. Microsoft generally underwhelmed with their offering, which has given Sony a massive opportunity to steal the show. Will they seize on it? All signs point to yes. Based on Sony's string of pre-E3 major game announcements - LittleBigPlanet 2, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Killzone 3, InFamous 2, and Motorstorm: Apocalypse - there's good reason to believe the PlayStation maker has got something big in the works. Why else would they let so much slip? There's still the likes of Resistance 3, Gran Turismo 5, The Last Guardian, Jaffe's secret project, Pixeljunk Shooter 2, a new PSP, a premium PSN service, and more to talk about. While Sony has already announced many of their upcoming sequels, that doesn't mean they won't make an appearance at the press conference. A new trailer or demo for LittleBigPlanet 2, InFamous 2 and Motorstorm: Apocalypse seems very likely. My money is on Killzone 3 to show up in the form of a 3D demo, as Sony will be eager to promote 3D in many of their top tier first-party titles. More »

1  E3 2010 Preview: Electronic Arts Fri, Jun 11th, 2010, 1:49 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS As E3 draws closer, Gaming Union continues our feature series of publisher previews before the big show. This time around it's Electronic Arts under the spotlight. The publisher has released a fairly detailed list of the game lineup for this year's conference, but there will definitely be a handful of surprises as well. We already know blockbuster titles such as Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor, and the staples of EA Sports will all be there. The question remains, what is EA still hiding up its sleeve? Mirror's Edge 2? Battlefield 3? A new Burnout? Mass Effect 3? EA's lineup of non-sports certainly looks impressive this year. Personally, Dead Space 2 is one of my most anticipated E3 titles to see in some form next week. A playable demo would be spectacular - finally getting to hear Isaac talk, although, I'm not sure he needs to as the original did fine without it. Crysis 2 is another title that could have a very big showing. The original Crysis was the benchmark of PC graphical prowess, but now Crytek have decided to bring the sequel to consoles. Reports have been mixed as to the quality of the graphics on consoles, but ultimately it's the gameplay that will make or break this game. More »

0  E3 2010 Preview: Ubisoft Fri, Jun 11th, 2010, 1:32 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS While Ubisoft haven't been most popular publisher in the PC gaming arena recently, they have had a much better reception on consoles. Recent releases such as Assassin's Creed II, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands have given Ubisoft momentum heading into E3 next week. What can we expect from the French publisher? Well, we know Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, R.U.S.E., Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and HAWX 2 will all be at the show, but there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding Ubisoft's lineup, including a heavily rumored new Driver title. Several of Ubisoft's staple franchises are set to have big showing at E3. Assassin's Creed has risen from obscurity to become one of the biggest series in gaming in a few short years. The latest iteration in the series, Brotherhood, was announced earlier this year. New Additions include a continuation of Ezio's journey from Assassain's Creed II and online multiplayer. Expect a big presence from Brotherhood next week as Ubisoft unveils the major details about this hotly anticipated title. Ghost Recon will also likely make waves with Future Soldier on the horizon. Little is known about this title except that it will have a futuristic setting (shocking, I know), is slated for 2011, and will have a beta Splinter Cell: Conviction owners will get access to. Will there be a playable demo? It's possible, but considering the game was just delayed, I'd guess it's still got a long way to go. More »

0  E3 2010 Preview: Activision Fri, Jun 11th, 2010, 12:35 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Activision is a company that's been having a bit of a rough spot this past year, at least in the publicity department. A slew of Guitar Hero games, the Infinity Ward drama, and the occasional closing of a development studio never gives a good impression, but it appears this year the publisher has a pretty impressive lineup of things to show the world. E3 is a chance to turn things around, at least somewhat, and it looks like as though Activision have secured some pretty fantastic games. Fact, speculation, and alternate realities come together for this E3 Preview: Activision Edition. First and foremost comes Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions in which Activision hopes that a Spider-Man game without massive cities to swing around will sell well. All joking aside, gamers have already been given a taste of the two dimensions that will be featured (both based off of real comic book worlds) and E3 is the perfect time to unveil the last two. Or just one, who knows. On the other end of the comic book spectrum is their latest addition to the Transformers world, who's release date is just around the corner. Still it wouldn't be surprising if they announced some last minute additions to the game, gave reviews another shot at the demo and generally pushed some hype. Maybe that's just me wishing they would add Blackout to the Decepticon lineup. More »

0  E3 2010 Preview: Square Enix Wed, Jun 9th, 2010, 12:01 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Square Enix is a company with a history entrenched in the world of RPGs. Between franchises like Final Fantasy and Star Ocean, it's hard to associate them with anything else, but Square Enix has been keeping themselves busy publishing some pretty fun and (considering my preconceived notion of them) different games. So what will fans be able to expect from the infamous Square Enix? Quite a bit actually, and all of it looks pretty darn good. In the RPG category Square Enix's two biggest games would have to be Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Though BBS is already released in Japan, it's doubtful Square Enix would pass up the opportunity to plug the franchise a bit more. More pressing however, is the new (offline) Final Fantasy, of which details have been very limited up to this point. A clip here and there, a few character backgrounds, and some flashy CG is all fans have had to chew on for quite a while now and knowing how much criticism hit their last Final Fantasy title I would expect Square Enix would want to show they've still got what it takes to make an incredible RPG. More »

0  Persona 3 Portable Hands-On Preview Thu, May 27th, 2010, 2:47 pm (EST) BY SHAWN Back in 2007, Atlus released Persona 3 on the PS2, the third entry in the spin-off Persona series which came from Atlus’s long-running Shin Megami Tensei franchise to critical acclaim, earning numerous awards for its unique gameplay which challenged many of the RPG archetypes common during that era. A year later in 2008, Atlus released Persona 3: FES on the PS2 yet again, an updated director’s cut of the original game that featured a number of beneficial changes and a brand-new extra story that took place after the original game’s ending. Now, in 2010, Atlus is releasing the third version of the game on the PSP, entitled Persona 3 Portable, which removes the extra story from the FES version and a few other aspects but adds a number of changes from the game’s successor, Persona 4. Atlus USA, the North American branch of the company who develops the titles in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, recently gave Gaming Union a hands-on preview of the game. With P3P being the third iteration of the same game, the question remains: are these changes enough to give players another reason to play through Persona 3 again? More »

3  Toy Story 3 Preview Tue, May 18th, 2010, 8:33 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS When a game is labeled as a ‘movie tie-in’, people’s immediate response is to assume it's complete garbage that's been rushed to market with minimal effort in order to make a quick buck. The vast majority of tie-in games have proven this belief to be accurate. However, Toy Story 3: The Video Game, made by Avalanche Studios, appears to be a rare exception - a movie tie-in that can stand on its own as a quality game. This is due to unique features that Avalanche have crafted to make the game embody Toy Story’s overarching theme of imaginative play, best illustrated by Toy Box mode. More »

0  Disgaea Infinite Preview Fri, May 14th, 2010, 2:52 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA The Disgaea series has always held my interest for its wacky humour, strategy RPG gameplay, and wild character design. So naturally it was a surprise to find out that Disgaea Infinite would be a little less RPG based, and a little more 'mystery detective' based. It describes itself as a text-based looping adventure game, which upon reflection sounds a lot less exciting (and a lot less fun) than the typical series. But fans of the series should find that this title might offer them quite a bit of entertainment, if they just give it a shot. More »

0  Hexyz Force Hands-On Preview Wed, May 12th, 2010, 3:06 pm (EST) BY SHAWN Hexyz Force is an interesting departure for developer Sting. In contrast to many of their recent games, which feature extremely technical gameplay mechanics, Hexyz Force is setup much more like some of their older games like the Evolution series, with a mix between traditional RPG gameplay mechanics with a unique and quirky Sting touch applied. Atlus USA, the publisher for the game in North America, recently gave Gaming Union a hands-on preview of the game, which is set to be released later this month. Should RPG fans take a closer look at the game, or is it simply a traditional, by-the-books RPG? More »

0  Hexyz Force Preview Sat, Apr 24th, 2010, 10:25 am (EST) BY SHAWN Nowadays, developer Sting is most known for their complicated, but extremely immersive RPGs such as Riviera: The Promised Land, Yggdra Union, and Knights in the Nightmare. But long-time fans know that the developer has also worked on old-fashioned RPGs, such as their Evolution series of games. Hexyz Force, their latest PSP title, follows this pattern, replacing complex and intricate game mechanics with something that RPG fans are more used to, but still keeping the charm and secrets that Sting games are known for. Will new fans of the developer find Hexyz Force an enjoyable deviation from the developer's latest games, or should the company stick with what they've become known for? More »

0  ModNation Racers PSP Hands-On Preview Thu, Apr 22nd, 2010, 10:12 am (EST) BY MARY LYNN MCLACHLAN For those who enjoy Little Big Planet prepare to "play, create, share" once more in United Front Games' first official title "ModNation Racers"! For portable fans Sony's very own SCE San Diego Studios has been in charge of developing the PlayStation Portable version. ModNation Racers is what you would get if LittleBigPlanet and Mario Kart had a baby, with both the portable and PS3 version offering the same gameplay. This leads to the ultimate question; will the portable version stack up, and which one is worth buying? ModNation Racers is a new 'kart' game with a focus on user generated content, creation, and racing. Like many games with customization features, players will find themselves finessing their way through campaign mode to unlock all of the gizmos and swag to decorate their mods, karts, and tracks. That's right, a well played campaign will get players extra bragging rights with better features for their karts, and special decals. Players may create 'mods', a little person or creature to race karts (much like 'sackboys' from Little Big Planet). With oodles of patterns, objects, and colours to choose from creativity has been maximized for the player so they may express themselves however they like. Both versions of the game boast creation features with very little difference between them. There are slightly less options when creating 'mods' and karts on the portable version, but it's nothing to complain about. More »

0  What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord? 2 Preview Sat, Apr 10th, 2010, 8:42 pm (EST) BY SHAWN The original What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord? (also known as Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This? before NIS America was forced to change the title due to copyright issues) was a cult hit that revolved around a unique gameplay system which favored clever thinking over quick action, mixing real-time strategy with the god game genre. NIS America is set to release the sequel to the game, cleverly titled What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord? 2 early next month, and it's clear from what we can see thus far that the game expands on the original in more ways than one. More »

2  Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Preview Wed, Apr 7th, 2010, 12:44 pm (EST) BY COLIN Announced at E3 2009 by Hideo Kojima himself, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is the next canon entry into the Metal Gear timeline. The game is set to take place 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, further telling the tragic tale of Big Boss and the creation of his independent military organization, Outer Heaven. It's hardly been a year since the announcement, but Kojima Productions have obviously been hard at work, teasing the many watchful eyes with an abundance of trailers showing off bits of story and plenty of gameplay. Set after the events of Operation Snake Eater and Portable Ops, a substantially large armed military has taken residence in the defenceless nation of Costa Rica, bringing nukes into the country. In order to repel the invading army, Naked Snake is approached to deploy his own group of soldiers dubbed More »

0  Iron Man 2 Preview Mon, Mar 22nd, 2010, 10:41 am (EST) BY NELSON Iron Man 2 is being released theatrically on the 7th of May, 2010 and as expected, there will be a video game to accompany the release. Iron Man 2: The Video Game, which is being released around the same time, will see Sega attempting to move away from the video game movie stereotypes, a stereotype that the first game didn't help to steer clear of. High Voltage Software (The Conduit) have been brought on board to tackle the Wii version of the game, and there are to be other notable changes. More »

1  Dead or Alive: Paradise Preview Thu, Feb 25th, 2010, 5:14 pm (EST) BY NELSON Dead or Alive, an unusually "exotic" beat-em up series by Team Ninja, makes its way onto the PlayStation Portable for the first time in the form of Dead of Alive: Paradise. It's due to land in all regions on the 2nd of April, but the game is not going for its usual genre this time. Much like with the Dead or Alive Xtreme spin-off titles, this game is set to go against the grain. More »