Category: Previews

Publisher: Namco-Bandai Games Developer: Namco-Bandai Games Genre: Sports-Horse Racing Simulation Release Date: TBA Letâ┚¬â”žÂ¢s be honest. When was the last time you heard of a game dedicated to horse racing? Sure, horses and riding have become entwined with franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, but horses rarely take center stage in the gaming world.…

Publisher: DreamCatcher Interactive Developer: Metamorf Studios Genre: Real Time Strategy Release Date: March 2007 I have to admit some games, and some entire genres, have become largely color by numbers in this era. Countless games are produced that never give the gamer of today the innovations we often crave in our gaming. That is why…

Publisher: Atari Developer: Eden Studios Genre: Survival Horror Action Release Date: (Tentative) 3-1-2007 When people think about the survival horror genre inevitably what comes to mind are long running series such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill and assorted others. Whether this recognition is deserved or not is up to the individual gamer, but I am…

It’s been a strong two years for Capcom; besides some very solid re-released compilations of the Street Fighter Alpha and Power Stone franchises, they’re released a slew of Triple A titles, including Okami, God Hand, Dead Rising, Phoenix Wright (with a second on the way), and, of course, Resident Evil 4. Add to this a…

Ar Tonelico has built up quite a large fan base in Japan. The game has a very popular soundtrack and even an OVA back in Japan. It was originallysupposed to be released on Halloween 2006 by Nippon Ichi, but Nippon Ichi had to push it back to February 2007 because the localization of the game…

If you missed Perimeter back when it debuted in 2004, that’s hardly surprising; despite being one of the more innovative takes on the RTS genre in years, it was deemed confusing and convoluted by many and passed over, either deliberately or otherwise. While that’s a horrible thing, Codemasters, with the assistance of one KD Vision,…

To those of you out there who are appreciators of innovation in gaming, allow me to say this: If you missed out on Culdcept, I truly feel badly for you. A PS2 title of virtually non-existent sales, Culdcept built a small but loyal fan following purely on the sheer originality of its concept. For those…

Publisher: The Adventure Company Developer: Streko-Graphics Inc. Genre: PC Adventure Release Date: 1-1-2007 The Aura 2: Sacred Rings, soon to be released for PC systems, comes from a genre that while being lesser known compared to the mega-genres of today, still has a very loyal and large fan base, and also produces some of the…

Publisher: Taito Developer: Taito Genre: Misc. Release Date: 3-27-07 Nintendo has certainly evolved as a gaming company throughout the years. Their evolution has now led to an innovative style of gaming in both the handheld and console markets. One such example of this is the Cooking Mama series, which originated on the Nintendo DS. Using…

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure is a PSP RPG set to be released in early 2007. Published for the PSP by Mastiff, and developed by Nihon Falcom, Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure promises to be a unique RPG on a handheld system that could use more of what this game is offering. Why use the word unique?…

John Woo. John Woo. John Woo. I hate John Woo. Heâ┚¬â”žÂ¢s a terrible director who has no sense of storytelling. Iâ┚¬â”žÂ¢ve hated John Woo for years as he seems to be only concerned about visceral thrills and gun fights then telling a story. Itâ┚¬â”žÂ¢s almost all action with him. He never gives time for the…

Ah, my beloved Card Fighters Clash. You are one of three games (along vs MotM and Faseli!) that make the Neo Geo Pocket Colour my favorite handheld system of all time. I generally hate TCG games. Doesn’t matter what it is. Magic: The Gathering, Jihad, Rage, Phantasy Star Online III, and even Pokemon TCG =…

Note: This is more for American gamers; Europe has already seen this release. Ever since the death of the Championship Manager series in favour of Football Manager, America has had it’s own version of the game, named Worldwide Soccer Manager. This year’s copy of Football Manager is already out in Europe, and I’ve been able…

Publisher: THQ / Developer: Volition / Genre: Third Person Action/Shooter/Adventure / Release Date: 09/01/06 For those of you out there who have been actively awaiting a GTA-style game for the 360, your wait is over. Saints Row is that game, and you should be plunking down your hard-earned cash on a preorder with no reservations.…

Barrow Hill Developer: Shadow Tor Studios Publisher: Got Game Entertainment (USA)/Lighthouse Interactive (Europe) Genre: Adventure Systems Released On: PC Release Date 09/09/06 (US), 9/30/06 (DVD) I can’t pass up a spooky oriented adventure game. The non-English version of Barrow Hill has supposedly been out for months, but everything I’ve read, including commentary from Shadow Tor,…

Publisher: Sega / Developer: Sega / Genre: Action-Adventure, Beat ’em Up / Release Date: 09/01/06 As the lifestyle of the Mafioso is glorified in American cinema, so is the Yakuza lifestyle glorified in Japanese cinema. The wild and fast living, expensive suits and pretty girls mixed in with beating the holy hell out of anyone…

Please Note: This column was written by Christopher Bowen. Please send all feedback to superbus@superbusnet.com. We’re in the process of upgrading to V3 and thus our system is being kind of wacky. Apologies to those who even for a second thought I’d touch an Sports game. ;-) Madden ’07 Developer: EA Tiburon Publisher: EA Sports…

Steambot Chronicles Developer: Irem Publisher: Atlus Genre: Open Ended Action RPG Release Date: 5/23/2006 Atlus sent me Steambot Chronicles and Metal Saga late last week. Mark B is covering MS, so I thought I’d chime in with a quick preview of the game. Steambot Chronicles, known as Poncotsu Roman Daikatsugeki Bumpy Trot in Japan, touts…

Publisher: Square Enix / Developer: Square Enix / Genre: MMORPG / Release Date: 05/01/06 If you’re an avid online gamer, you’ve probably nmoticed the same thing I (a not so avid online gamer) did: console gamers have almost no MMORPG’s. Phantasy Star Online notwithstanding, only two MMO’s have graced the consoles in the past few…

Preview: Mega Man Mania, Developer: Hanhoe Asia, Publisher: Capcom, Release Date: February 15, 2006 Does anyone else remember the old US Mega Man cartoon that came somewhere in between Captain N and Mega Man: NT Warrior? I’ve had the jingle stuck in my head for some time now (Super fighting robot ba ba ba bum…