TGS 2010

It’s that time of the year again...no not my annual bath (I’d be less happy were that the case) The Tokyo Game Show has come around again, with plenty of surprises in store. Shocking some, horrifying others, this year TGS has definately set tongues wagging!


Ninja Theory, developers of Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West must be a busy lot because this is a complete overhaul of the series by the looks of it - This hasn’t gone unnoticed by any means. The studio poised to take over Capcoms long serving franchise have left their mark on Dante. Specifically, with a redesign that has set tongue, mailboxes, forums and probably some houses alight with rage from hardcore DMC fans. Gone is the white haired, androgynous and clean Dante. Enter a Dante that looks more like a man, but also a lot more like a drug addict. The drastic change has led to rumours all over the internet about who this new “Dante” is. Perhaps Dante from the past? Someone ELSE called Dante? Other than that the game looks like it’ll carry the same tone of stylish shooting and swordplay in an apocalyptic wasteland, this trailer gave us little to go on.

People had been crying out for Marvel vs Capcom 3: FTW for 10 years and finally at E3 they got it! Now from TGS comes a brand new trailer, with included gameplay footage showing the gloriously maniacal beat downs that Capcom's VS series is famous for. Looking to be bigger, badder and even madder than it’s predecessors, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is set to please fighting fans everywhere! The trailer also shows a few new characters for the roster. Super Skrull, Doctor Doom, Felicia, Trish and Dormamu (More like Dorma-who amirite? -Ed) with more to come, including Tron Bonne (Megaman Legends) and X-23 (NYX, X-Men).

From the creators of Persona and Shim Megami Tensei, this game deserves mention, if only for it's incredibly strange trailers and appearance. From what I can tell the story is about a young man named Vincent, who has an affair with a girl called Catherine. After said one night stand he begins having vivid nightmares in which monsters (and giant hands) pursue him. The trailer itself seems to include human shaped sheep, or humans with sheeps wool and horns. None of it really makes any sort of sense to me, and the trailer is almost all in Japanese but that makes me want it more. Those crafty bitches at Atlus have reeled me in with complete strangeness. One to watch methinks.



Need for Speed:Hot Pursuit. Finally Hot Pursuit seems to be making its way back to us in its purest since the original playstation version. Fresh with new modes like Arms Race in which you take control of a cop car and knock your law breaking mates off the road. The trailer itself seems to suggest that you simply jump in to their race and take control of a cop, which I can imagine to be pretty annoying. A bit like Fight Req in a racing game, where it ruins your single player progress instead of halting it temporarily. Thankfully this also sounds like it could be a lot of fun, especially if you can choose whether or not people are allowed to join in to your game.


The Last Guardian is the story of a little boy and his giant flying cat-bird thing. They'll laugh, they'll cry, they'll probably die and we'll all never emotionally recover... Or will they? Team Ico have an amazing way of having incredibly simple games feel incredibly complex and there's no reason why this wont be amazing. In fact there's every reason to believe that it will be amazing. Games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are few and far between and Last Guardian will likely shape up to be one of those types of games. You don't want to risk passing one of these gems up.

What game can't be improved upon by adding zombies? Plenty, I'd imagine. Still, Yakuza seems like a game that could definately do with some flesh eating maniacs. This is also a spin-off and isn't connected to the story...so let's see Kazumi Kiryu eaten, taken and shambling for flesh! Who seriously doesn't want to see Kazumi brains? Yakuza: Of The End looks to have all the things that a Japanese action game should have; gun arms, piercings, silly haircuts, cocky good guys, eyepatches and the military being pummelled. Will this game bring a style of it's own to the tired zombie formula, or will it turn out to be a Dead Rising 2 pallette swap?


Scientists are developing cybernetics and (awesome) robotic limbs as we speak, making this game seem almost prophetic in a kind of Ghost in the Shell way. As the war rages between those who see augmentations as the way forward and those who believe that it is toying with nature, which side will you be on? Adam Jensen, the main character mutters "I never asked for this." Was he an anti-cybernetics man? Was he for it but not for himself? There are alot of references to Icarus in the trailers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and we all know how that tale ends up. Facing many a critical eye after Invisible War failed to live up to its predecessor, Human Revolution is definately shaping up to be one to watch.

The long fabled Gran Turismo 5 is finally looking like it will be coming out soon, November 5th 2010 that is. The original Gran Turismo is still remembered by many as one of the greatest driving sims of all time, with its in depth handling and tuning system and it's large database of drivable cars. Gran Turismo 5 looks set to out-do all of its predecessors in every way. HD graphics, a massive collection of cars, enhanced tweaking and tuning, and even structural damage to cars will make this the most complete Gran Turismo game so far.


The King of Iron Fist Tournament is back. Since 1994 this series has battled Street Fighter and built upon the 3D fighting that Virtua Fighter had pioneered. Originally the Tekken: Tag Tournament name appeared on the Playstation 2 and re-invigorated the series with it's 2 on 2 fighting style. Now it has returned to try and take the fighter crown, ten years after it's predecessor. Here's hoping they add 4 player on-line tag matches! The wing nut cometh!





Like your hackers and your slashers? Do you spend your games time as a sharpened whirlwind, liquidating everything in your path? Sounds like Knights Contract might be right up your alley, your bloodstained, spiked alley. Sure you love the spatterings of blood and cries of agony but surely it will get old eventually with that same tired old formula? Guess again, in Knights Contract there are subtle yet interesting changes to this formula. You are in charge of 2 characters. However the character you will play as, heinrich, is damn near immortal. It's the witch Gretchen who has the health bar between you, and when her health falls too low you'll need to pick her up and carry her to safety. It's an interesting mix up and it could do wonders for the pacing of the game and will surely force button mashers to consider their strategy more carefully. Kind of like Bayonetta meets Ico. But without Yorda being completely worthless in battle.