You could shoot guys in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, we guess. Or you could punch dudes to death with Adam Jensen's metal arms. This video walkthrough shows how you can play the game multiple ways but, honestly, what good are metal arms if you're not punching dudes dead with 'em? Kinda takes the choice out of the equation, if you ask us.
#chooseyourownadventure
Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Adam Jensen doesn't have to be a cold-blooded killer. Using a combination of stealth, technology, and social skills, Jensen can go through the entire game only killing bosses. Narrative game designer Mary DeMarle shows us how. More »
When IO Interactive kicked off an ARG earlier this month for its Hitman series, all signs pointed to an E3 reveal of the long-rumored Hitman 5. Now that the gumshoe AR game has concluded, it seems downright obvious that said game will make its debut at this year's big LA gaming convention. The image you see above was unearthed by a group of mystery hitmen -- which is to say, "folks who secretly assassinate mysteries" -- and was confirmed by IO Interactive to be the final clue of the ARG.
Outside of a few cursory words on the image, the IO Interactive rep didn't reveal much else, though he did say "an even more awesome follow-up" is being planned now that HitmanForum.com members have uncovered everything this ARG has to offer. As previously indicated, the ARG points to an E3 reveal of the next Hitman game.
#video
Tomorrow marks the release of the second game in Square Enix's Final Fantasy-flavored fighting series for the PSP. Check out the special EX Burst moves FF's finest will be pulling off when the game drops. More »
Can't be bothered to actually play a game, but want something a little more visual than novels? You're in luck. First up, Crysis 2 is getting its own comic, thanks to publisher IDW. The six-issue series, written by Richard K. Morgan (who also penned the story in the game) and drawn by Peter Bergting, connects the events of Crysis and Crysis 2. It arrives in June.
Next, Square Enix is working with Dark Horse Comics to release a digital Dungeon Siege 3 comic online. The book will appear on the official Dungeon Siege site, with writer Jeremy Barlow, along with artists Iban Coello and Sergio Abad, telling three tales of the kingdom of Ehb. Yet another comic will be packaged with the game itself at Walmart when it arrives on May 31.
Square Enix has shut the book on Gun Loco, halting development on the oddly-charming, urban vinyl-inspired multiplayer shooter completely. Rest in pieces, little vinyl guys. More »
We started to get suspicious after it missed its first listed release date, and now our fears have been confirmed: Square Enix's third-person arcade shooter, Gun Loco, has been canceled. The news came via the game's official site, though no more details were provided.
We're sorry for rubbing salt in the wound, but here's what Gun Loco would have been:
"Gun Loco is set on a prison planet (which, for some reason, has Earth-like ruins throughout) where the universe's worst criminals are left unsupervised. The prisoners have created different factions, and are locked in constant warfare."
Frankly, video games, if you can't make that premise work, it might be time to take a long look in that deep, dark and truthful mirror and wonder if you wouldn't be happier making add-ons for Quicken.
Perhaps looking around for some good news to mention in a not particularly good-newsy time, Square Enix announced that as of the end of December, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies has shipped 5.3 million copies worldwide since its Japanese release in July 2009. Most of those copies were shipped to Japan, of course -- 1.02 million copies have been accounted for outside of Japan in the last year.
According to the announcement, it's the first Dragon Quest game to pass 5 million copies shipped, and that makes it the best-selling (or best-shipping, we suppose) Dragon Quest game ever, obviously.
Square Enix is reportedly negotiating with several Canadian provincial governments to open a second studio in the country. Squeenix already has Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), which it acquired in the buyout of the publisher in 2009. According to La Presse, the new studio would employ "at least" 100 people, with Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal up for potential locations.
Square is expected to determine the location of the second studio by the end of May, with offices opening in 2012 to develop games for "the new consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo," which will require more attention and staff, according to Eidos Montreal Director Stéphane D'Astous.
Square Enix has launched an official website for the next installment in the Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime series -- this time, the explosively-propelled blob will save the world on the Nintendo 3DS. Subtitled Daikaizoku to Shippodan, the game will see the cast of once-antagonistic heroes set out to the open seas, create their own ships and engage in hectic naval battles with pirates. We bet the series' staple "fire whatever you want" cannons make an appearance.
The game will also feature two-to-four player multiplayer, SpotPass and Wi-Fi support and, of course, 3D visuals. The site lists a Winter 2011 release window for Japan, but doesn't mention a North American localization. If Square Enix is waiting to find out if we'd be interested in three-dimensional cannon duels, allow us to give them a definitive answer: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
#japan
With all the games being delayed (or worse, canceled) and game developers not coming into their offices, it would be easy to assume the Japanese game industry is grinding to a halt. More »
Given the enormity of the events in Japan right now, it feels kind of ridiculous to be writing about the massive earthquake's effect on video game servers, but here we are. Both Final Fantasy XI and XIV have had their servers temporarily closed in an effort by Square Enix to help conserve energy in the ailing country. The publisher's web portal services will also be temporarily closed.
Square directly attributes the temporary closures to "continuous earthquakes occurring in the eastern regions of Japan," and says that servers will be down for "at least a week starting on Mar. 13, 2011 3:00 (PDT) [7:00 EST]." It is currently unknown when the servers will go back up, but Square promises regular updates as they come in. Neither game will charge subscription fees through April as a result.
If you'd like to help out, head over to the Red Cross site and donate what you can.
#japan
At 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST, servers for Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI will be taken offline for at least one week as Square-Enix cooperates with a Japanese power company's request to conserve power while it restores services severely damaged by Thursday's monster earthquake. [Update] Servers for Metal Gear Online also have been taken out of commission for the same reasons. More »
#japan
At 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST, servers for Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI will be taken offline for at least one week as Square-Enix cooperates with a Japanese power company's request to conserve power while it restores services severely damaged by Thursday's monster earthquake. More »
Square Enix just announced that when you buy the PSP Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection, you'll get to do a little extra collecting. Each retail copy will be packed with the five cards seen above, featuring original character art by illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. You'll also get an exclusive costume for Cecil in Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy.
If you're more interested in the stuff on the actual UMD, Square Enix also released some screenshots of the remade Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, which you can find in our gallery.
We see every news item related to the Dissidia sequel as another forced exposure to the game's name "Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy." The trauma is even worse when the news is about the demo, "Dissidia duodecim prologus Final Fantasy." We're considering filing a worker's comp claim for having to type that.
Square Enix has announced that said demo will arrive on the North American PlayStation Network on March 15, a week in advance of the retail release of the full game. Like in Japan, you have to pay for it ($2.99). At least you get an unlockable Aerith Assist Character in the full game for doing so, and you can carry items into the full game. The demo also contains a "unique" scenario starring Lightning.
Action game Deus-Ex has a release window for Japan. The game is slated to be out this Fall, which is later than the West's August release dates. [via Game Watch Impress] More »
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has yet to receive its latest official release date from Square Enix, but it appears retailers around the globe are doing it for the publisher. Major video game shops in North America, Australia and the UK have updated today to show August 23, 25, and 26 launch dates, respectively.
Eurogamer contacted GAME and was told the August listing is the "confirmed UK release date." We are currently following up with Square Enix and GameStop for official confirmation.
You might remember Moon Diver under its previous title Necromachina, or the title before that, Moon Diver. Or you might just remember it as "that game that looks like a four-player Strider." That's no coincidence, by the way -- it's actually designed by Koichi Yotsui, who was one of the leads on Strider.
According to a list of upcoming releases sneaked into Sony's Spring Fever promotion announcement, Moon Diver will plunge onto the PlayStation Network on March 29. No release date has been mentioned for XBLA yet -- not that we're surprised the PlayStation Blog would refrain from volunteering that.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has yet to receive its latest official release date from Square Enix, but it appears retailers around the globe are doing it for the publisher. Major video game shops in North America, Australia and the UK have updated today to show August 23, 25, and 26 launch dates, respectively.
Eurogamer contacted GAME and was told the August listing is the "confirmed UK release date." We are currently following up with Square Enix and GameStop for official confirmation.
EB Games Australia has gone very public with an official release date for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It'll be out Down Under on August 25, so other regions shouldn't be too far off that mark. More »
Holding to its vow of regularly arriving content, OnLive has announced that several Square Enix titles are being added to its flate-rate PlayPack plan. The cloud gaming service says that games in the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Hitman, Thief and Mini Ninja franchises will launch "in the next few weeks."
The PlayPack lineup already features a handful of Square Enix titles, including Tomb Raider: Underworld, while the main pay-per-game service has the likes of Kane & Lynch 2, Just Cause 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is slated to hit OnLive once it arrives in stores later this year.
Cecil, Tellah, Rosa and the gang will take up arms against the powers of nefarious crystal-hogs once again in Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, which Square Enix has now adorned with an April 22 European release date -- a few days after North America's April 19 due date.
The PSP-exclusive collection not only includes the original, SNES RPG (bolstered with some fancy-schmancy new graphics and CGI cutscenes), but also the After Years expansions, which players will be able jump right into if they don't feel like replaying the original, casualty-heavy saga.
The Complete Colelction will be available in both a standard and special edition, which includes a handful of lovely little Final Fantasy IV art cards, a PSP screen cloth and a DLC voucher for Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy. That cloth would actually be kind of handy -- you'll need something to mop up your tears following that one scene. You know. With those kids. And that hallway.
#psoneclassics
This week, PlayStation 3 owners in North America will be able to enjoy one of the greatest role-playing games of the PlayStation generation: Vagrant Story coming to the PlayStation Store as a "PSone Classic." More »
Xenogears last week ... Vagrant Story tomorrow ... and Parasite Eve soon. It seems the gears are finally in motion to bring all of Square's beloved "PSone Classics" to the PlayStation Network. (Still, North America has a long way to go before reaching Japan's lofty 600-game benchmark.)
Vagrant Story will be available for $6 on the PlayStation Store once the PSN Tuesday update goes live tomorrow.
#preview
When we last left Adam Jensen, the star of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, during our earlier preview of Eidos Montreal's game, he was beaten, bloody and on the verge of no longer being just a human. More »
Final Fantasy III on iPhone isn't based on the Famicom original, according to Famitsu magazine. Instead, it's a remake of the polygonal DS remake from 2006.
The magazine reports (via Andriasang) that the iPhone version will have undergone significant re-remaking when it's released in Japan next month. The graphics will be in high resolution, the sound will be updated, and the monster viewer will be reformatted for ease of use. No images of the new version are available yet; however, with the magazine issue out today, we can expect to see official screenshots on Famitsu.com within a couple of days.
This makes the iPhone, in our opinion, the weirdest place for Final Fantasy games, since it houses Final Fantasy I and II, which are based on the PSP versions, and soon the DS-originated Final Fantasy III. If you just downloaded them all from the App Store without knowing any of the history, you'd be baffled as to why they looked so different.
#inazumaeleven
Inazuma Eleven ("Lightning Eleven") is a soccer role-playing game from Level-5. Samurai Eleven is a soccer sim from Square Enix. You'd think if someone was going to make a clone, they'd at least change the sport. And the font. You'd think. More »
#nintendo
Nintendo's nebulous 3DS launch window includes months for the game company to fill their slate for the new portable. But what will gamers be able to pick up the day the 3D handheld goes on sale? More »
#levelingup
I played Final Fantasy X all the way up to the end boss and loved upgrading my characters by activating nodes in the game's massive, complicated sphere grid. Little did I know that the sphere grid was really a group of primarily straight lines masquerades as something more convoluted. More »
