A Rainy day in Dublin ushered in Namco Bandi’s first Irish showcase. We here at Comicbuzz got to sit down play some games and have a bucket load of news on Namco Bandi’s upcoming releases.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition - November 16, 2012
Many of you may have already play Fromsoftware’s brutal survival RPG when it released last year on consoles. The recent release of the Prepare to die edition on PC in August introduced a load of new content. Just in time for Christmas the console owners will be able to buy all of this new content in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC pack. There will also be a complete retail release of the new edition for everyone who is now feeling brave enough to enter the world of Dark Souls.
Dark Souls™: Prepare to Die™ Edition and Darks Souls: Artorias of the Abyss DLC pack will include an untold chapter in the world of Lordran. Sent back to the past, player will discover the past story when Knight Artorias still lives.
New Bosses – Including Black Dragon, Sanctuary Guardian, Artorias of the Abyss.
PVP Online Matchmaking System – Quick matching for players to play 1vs1, 2vs2 and 4 players battle royal.
New Areas – Including Oolacile Township, Oolacile Sancutuary, Royal Wood, Battle of Stoicism which is the training ground for online matching battles.
New Enemies – Including Wooden scarecrows, Chained Prisoner, Stone Knight.
New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough, Elizabeth (keeper of the sanctuary).
New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs
TANK! TANK! TANK! – November 30, 2012
Releasing day one with the Wii U, TANK! TANK! TANK! is an over-the-top battle party game where players will feel the thrill of driving and shooting with tanks. With support for up to 4 players, family and friends can battle giant monsters or compete in Free-for-All and Team Versus modes. An exciting campaign mode allows you to level up your tanks while battling a variety of giant enemies. Wii U specific features make TANK! TANK! TANK! the best battle party game for the whole family!
Featuring:
Co-Op and Versus Modes – Play with or against your family and friends in cooperative or competitive modes.
Over the Top Multiplayer – Battle giant monsters, shoot powerful weapons and destroy buildings with up to 4 players.
Campaign Mode – Not in a mood to play with others? Fight against giant enemies exclusive to the campaign mode and level up your tanks! You can also unlock new tanks by clearing specific missions.
Say Cheese! – Take a picture with the Wii U camera and dress up your avatar with helmets, masks, and more!
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition – November 30, 2012
While the recently released Tekken Tag Tournament 2 had a big presence at the show. Our own Nassir even taking the top prize in an impromptu tournament. We sadly didn’t get our hands-on with this Wii U launch title. Still it looks great with Nintendo exclusive content like
Mushroom Battle – Pick up different mushrooms to enable unique power-ups.
Exclusive costumes – Customize with Nintendo cross-over costumes.
Touch panel moves – Use the Gamepad touch panel to execute move sets and combos.
Along with all the standard features like
MULTIPLAYER MATCH – challenge your friends in a 2-on-2 tag-team battle, 1-on-1 or 1-on-2
PAIR PLAY – up to 4 players can each control a character in the ultimate team battle
FIGHT LAB – all new mode to customize Combot’s appearance & for the first time ever, his moves
LARGEST PLAYABLE ROSTER – more than 50 characters to choose from
NEW STAGES – fight in your favorite countries around the world
ENVIRONMENTAL FX – clothing condition alters in real-time with water & dirt effects
NEW MOVES – each character expands their fight arsenal with exclusive new Tag Throws & Tag-Combos
ONLINE FEATURES – all-new features bring the community together like never before
OFFLINE BATTLE MODES – re-live the classic arcade mode, train in a first-class practice mode, customize your team/character appearance & much more
Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch – January 25, 2012
Level 5 and Studio Ghibli team up to create this amazing looking story of a boy named Oliver, who embarks on a journey into a parallel world to become a wizard in an attempt to bring his mother back from the dead. Along the way, Oliver makes new friends and adopts many of the wonderful creatures that inhabit the world, raising them to battle other creatures on his behalf as he takes on formidable enemies.
Features
An RPG born from the talent of two legendary studios – Ni no Kuni combines the renowned LEVEL-5 video game studio with the animation of the world class team at Studio Ghibli, and the music of the equally legendary Joe Hisaishi, composer on many Ghibli movies. The result is a RPG which expertly fuses these formidable talents.
A visually stunning game – During their travels with Oliver, players will be able to immerse themselves in a series of incredible environments, landscapes and cities, as if they were entering an animated movie universe inside a video game.
All the ingredients of a RPG and much more – LEVEL-5’s mastery of the genre results in a game that offers the best of a RPG and more: a free roaming map, varied transportation systems, a tactical yet easy to handle combat system and a myriad of secondary quests, mini-games and bonuses.
A captivating story with anime-like cut-scenes – The player enters the magical universe of Ni no Kuni and begins the journey with Oliver, meeting all kinds of people on the way. Yoshiyuki Momose from Studio Ghibli supervised the storyboards for the in-game cut-scenes and provided stage directions for the motion capture sequences, bringing all his expertise from the animation world to bear on the game’s story.
Dragonball Budokai HD Collection – November 2, 2012
This HD collection of the PS2 Dragon ball Z is surprisingly missing Budokai 2 and (or) 2V but offers much from the first and third games.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai 1 and Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 make their triumphant debut on next generation consoles in Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection. Remastered in high-definition with full trophy/achievement support, fans can relive these two great games or experience them for the first time in one special collection.
BUDOKAI 1 FEATURES:
Face off with up to 23 mighty DBZ warriors.
60 moves per character including Kamehameha
Fierce fighting modes including Story, Duel & World Match
Follow the DBZ animated series from Saiyan Saga to Android saga!
Includes the authentic Japanese voiceover cast
BUDOKAI 3 FEATURES:
More than 40 characters from DBZ, DBZ movies & Dragon Ball GT
Customize your DBZ warrior & build the ultimate fighter
Saiyan Overdrive Fighting System brings the speed, cinematic attacks & combos, airborne acrobatics & intensity of the DBZ anime
Share character profile passwords for other players to use
Includes the authentic Japanese voiceover cast
Sniper Ghost Warrior 2- January 15, 2013
A follow up to the underwhelming 2010 game Sniper Ghost Warrior. This sequel is being built in CryEngine3 and has a beautiful lush jungle setting to prove it. While the hands on playable demo provided some thrills it didn’t have much on the way of variety. The emphasis on sniping is cool until you mess up and need to fight off swarms of soldiers with only a pistol. More time will tell if this will be able to bring the series up onto a higher level.
Featuring:
Diverse Gameplay
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 takes all the breathless anticipation, precise controls and skillful fun of sniping and mixes it with stealth and silent elimination play, action scenes and a co-operative move playbook
Night vision and thermo vision goggles to use in limited visibility situations
Vehicle sections are a new addition to the Sniper series
Multiple and varied locations including urban, jungle and mountain
THE Authentic, Modern Sniper Experience
Realistic ballistics take into account the player’s location, wind speed and direction, breathing rate and distance from the target
Snipers do not fight alone in the real world and nor do they in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. Working with your spotter is key
All environments are based on real-world locations
An array of faithfully recreated weapons are at your disposal, including six sniper rifles, three assault rifles, heavy machine guns, and more
More Skill, More Rewards
Silent kills allow for quiet enemy elimination and successful execution sees the player rewarded with a brutal kill animation
Bullet cam shows particularly successful hits
Limb dismemberment from large calibre guns and explosions
Innovation & Technology
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is built on CryENGINE 3, the most advanced multi-platform development tool for current-generation consoles and for PC
New equipment for stealth gameplay
Multiplayer modes designed especially for sniper duels.
Epic story crafted by acclaimed writers
STAR TREK - TBC 2013
The game Namco Bandi were the most excited to show.
This Star Trek game casts players for the first time ever as Kirk and Spock in a totally original co-op experience. Set in the new canon of director and producer J.J. Abrams’Star Trek (2009) reboot, players will be immersed in the game’s rich story and action-packed combat.
Under development by acclaimed Ontario-based developers Digital Extremes (Bioshock 2, Dark Sector, The Darkness 2), Star Trek features an original story by BAFTA award winner and God of War writer, Marianne Krawczyk, in collaboration with the writer/producers of the new Star Trek films, Bob Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof.
Featuring
AUTHENTIC TREK UNIVERSE
MEET THE CREW - The 2009 Star Trek film cast will be contributing their voices for the game, including Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock.
ORIGINAL STANDALONE STORY - Set after the events of the Star Trek (2009) reboot, continue the sweeping journey through the new universe with a completely original story.
EXPLORE - Uncover new areas on the Enterprise and other ships, explore never-before-seen sectors throughout the galaxy including exotic planets, treacherous jungles, remote space stations and other locales.
KIRK / SPOCK ASYMMETRICAL CO-OP PLAY
ULTIMATE CO-OP – Built from the ground up as a co-op experience, Star Trek packs two vastly different gameplay styles and unique character abilities into one game. The result: the most fully realized and varied co-op experience of this console generation.
KIRK AND SPOCK REBORN – Play for the first time as two of the most well-known characters in science fiction, as only this new Star Trek game could allow. With the fate of the galaxy on the line, players must rely on each other to create a kick-ass team.
EPIC ACTION ADVENTURE
THE GORN RETURN - Determined to conquer the galaxy, the Gorn returns as re-imagined versions of the classic Trek villains, infecting their foes with venom that can poison, cause hallucinations, and even kill. Ranging in size and abilities, the Gorn seed mayhem and destruction as they destroy populations and deplete planets of their resources.
SCOPE AND VARIETY –Authentic set pieces and ever-changing gameplay underscore the adventure in Star Trek. Hijack enemy battleships, jump precariously through zero G onto moving spaceships and Swim through subterranean waterways.
23rd CENTURY WEAPONS – Star Trek employs a wide variety of weapons and gear, putting you in complete control of a huge load out of 23rd Century tech, including unique signature weapons for Kirk and Spock. Combined with your character’s special skills, every encounter, every no-win situation will turn out differently based on who, what and how you play.
