Capcom Delays Lost Planet 2, Monster Hunter Tri and Super Street Fighter IV

We've been trumpeting this for a while now and it seems a company is finally taking heed and making a wise choice by pushing some of its biggest 2010 releases later into the year, to prevent their titles from getting lost amongst the plethora of other big name games which will release in the first quarter of 2010.

Lost Planet, Monster Hunter Tri and Super Street Fighter IV were all scheduled to be released in the January to March time frame of 2010, but an inverstor document revealed that all three have been pushed later into the year. The documents states the reasons for the push back is to "Avoid competing with major titles that other companies plan to introduce in the fourth quarter, another reason according to the document is to "Preserve the value of Capcom's titles and maximize sales volume" and "to expand the lineup of titles in the next fiscal year and afterward."

The three aforementioned titles will join Dead Rising 2 and unannounced "other major titles" in the new fiscal year, with their releases "spread across all four quarters of the fiscal year to prevent an excessive contribution from new titles in the fourth quarter."

Although I was looking forward to Lost Planet 2, I must admit the decision was a wise one. Those games would only be ignored with big names like Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Final Fantasy XIII and God of War III. You don't want to your game to release anywhere near said titles; it'll most likely fail.

12/23/09 Ernice Gilbert

Reloaded Review: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)

Publisher: Capcom
Developer(s): Cavia, Capcom
Player(s): Offline 2
Genre: Rail Shooter
Release Date: (NA) November 13, 2007 (JP) November 15, 2007 (EU) November 30, 2007
Platform(s): Nintendo Wii
Rated: Mature

Capcom decides to take another chance in taking the Resident Evil franchise over to FPS territory like they did in the past with Resident Evil: Survivor and Resident Evil: Dead Aim.

Does it ultimately infect us with it's gameplay or is it something we should be vaccinated against?

Story:
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles' story takes place over a long timeline throughout the Resident Evil saga. Basically, the game is a re-telling of the stories from the main games such as Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and what each character was doing on the side of each story.

For example, how did Ada Wong get out of Raccoon City before it was destroyed in Resident Evil 2 and where was Wesker during all of this? The Umbrella Chronicles explains these scenarios.

It also tells the story of what happened when Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield attempt to take down Umbrella's stronghold in Russia.

Presentation:
Umbrella Chronicles isn't much of a powerhouse when it comes to it's graphics but that's because of the Wii's limit in graphical capability. The gamecube Resident Evil games looked better because of their pre-rendered backgrounds but what shocks me is that Resident Evil 4 actually looks better and that was a last generation game.

A lot of the textures have a tendency to look murky and bland, especially the explosion and fire effects. The cutscenes aren't really all that special either. They look alright but definitely seem rushed and not nearly on par with the cutscenes from the older games in the series.

The settings you explore are all recycled (with the exception of the final stage) from Resident Evil 0, Remake, and Outbreak which is okay because it's nice to see some of the areas close-up but for the chapter in the game that takes place during Resident Evil 3, they don't have any new environments since it's all taken from areas in Resident Evil: Outbreak. It would have been nice to have been able to explore areas like the clock tower or hospital.

Enemies are also taken directly from the previous games ranging from the zombies to the 'Hunters' and the way the enemies look directly relates to what chapter you are playing. Playing in Resident Evil 0's story will have all the zombies looking exactly like they did in that game and same goes for the rest of the chapters.

Gameplay:
The biggest difference between this game and the other games in the series including 'Survivor' and 'Dead Aim' is that it is an on-rails shooter, meaning you cannot freely move your character on your own; the game does it for you.

There are a total of 4 main chapters with around 3 or more sub-chapters within it, each based on one of the games in the main timeline of the series. Throughout each chapter, you collect points that can be used to upgrade the weapons that you collect in each stage.

Every time you find a weapon on a stage, it gets stored in a type of inventory for you to choose before each level but sadly, you can only choose one weapon to take with you and have to rely on finding more when you play a stage if you want ammo. You can also find items such as first-aid sprays which revive you one time when you time, herbs that heal your health and grenades which I think are self-explanatory.

Certain elements of the stages are destructible and when you destroy them, you get points which all leads up to your rank at the end of the level but files can also be found in the props which give you more back-story.

The cross-hair on screen has a tendency to get stuck on occasion due to remote movements being too fast for the game to handle but it doesn't affect gameplay much. The game also suffers from frame rate issues, even when not a lot is going on on-screen. There might also be an issue with people beating the game far too fast andre-playability is a little lacking.

Sound:
Voice acting is pretty cheesy and not very well done in my opinion. It would have been better if they had gotten the same voice actors from the previous games.

The script was also not very well written which is only made worse by the sometimes annoying voice acting. The music is also not well constructed and it would have been nice to see music from the original games make a comeback in either their original form or in a remixed fashion. Instead, we get a very generic soundtrack which is disappointing.

The sound effects also have a tendency to get kind of scratchy when too much is happening on screen at once.

Overall:
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles was a game made for fans of the Resident Evil series and that is it. The game seems kind of rushed but for fans of the games it's nice to replay some of those memories giving it a bit of a nostalgic feel.

People looking for a first-person shooter are going to be highly disappointed because this game isn't that type of game, it's a rail shooter. Fans will enjoy it, casual gamers won't, that simple.

Pros:
- Great nostalgia factor for fans
- Nice to see what other characters were doing
- Satisfying gameplay if you're into rail shooters

Cons:
- Average graphics
- Not a lot of re-playability
- Cheesy voice acting
- Unresponsive controls on occasion

6/10

12/15/09 Colton West

Mega Man Submarine On Cellphones

Well, Mega Man 9 has come and left us, the game has went back to the slightly forgotten and wasted space of our Wii, but Mega Man will never die. I know this as fact, because Capcom has recently announced Mega Man: Rush Marine for all BREW and Java-enabled cell phones.

The side scrolling shooter will have you controlling Mega Man and Rush, (in submarine mode of course) trying to stop Wily from destroying the seabed. There are ten robot masters, and you can copy their weapons and use them, like usual. The game will be available in 2010, and will cost approx. $6.99.

12/08/09 Allen Stewart

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition announced

Here's some news that is no doubt going to anger fans of the Resident Evil franchise who already paid the full price for the original copy. Capcom has announced that they will be releasing Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition on March 9th for $49.99 on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

This 'Gold' edition will come with 2 new episodes, new costumes, and an all new Mercenaries mode called 'Mercenaries Reunion'. The first new episode will be titled "Lost in Nightmares," and will star Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they investigate Umbrella Corporation founder Ozwell E. Spencer's hideaway. There is no word on what the 2nd episode is going to be.

The PS3 version of the game will contain all the content on a single blu-ray disc while the Xbox version will come on a DVD with a token for the DLC.

For those waiting to purchase the content online, Lost in Nightmares and the first costume pack will be available online starting February 17 for the Xbox 360, and February 18 for the PS3. Another costume pack and the second DLC episode will be arriving March 3.

It's times like these that make me regret buying games on release day.

11/21/09 Colton West

Capcom announces nightmare inducing pillows

It would appear that somebody over at Capcom has some sort of fetish for nightmare inducing merchandise.

For fans of the popular hunting franchise 'Monster Hunter', Capcom has recently revealed that they will be releasing pillows that measure 105cm in length and 28cm in diameter based on one of the series' most annoying monsters, the Khezu. In the press release for this pillow, Capcom made mention of the fact that some people consider this monster to be 'cute' due to it's unique design.

It has no eyes, no fur, eats animals whole, electrocutes you, and has one of the most disturbing faces imaginable. How something like that could possibly be considered cute is beyond us, but could you imagine waking up to the dark abyss that is this thing's mouth right in front of your face?

These comfy nightmares will be available in late January for 9,240 yen each, no word on North American availability.

11/18/09 Colton West

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition will come in the form of DLC

A little while back, Capcom asked fans of the 'Resident Evil' franchise to speak their minds and tell the company how they wanted RE5's Alternative Edition to be distributed. Either in a disc or download form. Well, we spoke and Capcom has revealed the verdict.

The expansion pack will be released in North America in Spring 2010 on both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 marketplaces, but will require the original RE5 disc to run so hopefully you decided to hang on to your copy.

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition focuses on events that take place prior to the story of Resident Evil 5 and allows players to play as Jill Valentine. Additionally, the Alternative Edition adds support for Sony's upcoming motion wand controllers for the Playstation 3.

11/10/09 Colton West

Opinion: This is how Resident Evil Portable should be

At E3 2009 this year, Capcom announced that they were developing a Resident Evil title exclusively for Sony's Playstation Portable. I think that this could go very well or horribly bad and I know my opinion will not influence anything as I am just one voice among millions, but here's what I would like to see in the new game.

Bring the old static camera angles back because quite frankly, an over the shoulder view will look terrible in my eyes, especially on the PSP and it will control horribly awkward as well. Not being able to see most of your surroundings was what made the original games as scary as they were.

Pre-rendered backgrounds, though dated, can put a game's graphical look on the PSP on par with the Gamecube's Resident Evil titles. This can only be achieved if they decide to go with a fixed camera angle again but it would look very smooth and allow for much more realistic environments.

Leave the reboot of the franchise to the bigger consoles and bring all the characters from the series together for one last outing. Resident Evil 5 did have Chris, Wesker, and Jill but she was only in it for a few minutes. Are you kidding me? She is one of the series' most well known characters. How awesome would it be to have a story involving Jill, Chris, Claire, Leon, Carlos, Ada, Rebecca, Billy, and a grown up Sherry all working together and facing the situation as one?

Give each character their own scenarios, openings, and cutscenes. Being able to play from the perspective of all the characters would basically mean that we had more then one game to play through.

Go back to a large city similar to Raccoon City. I loved Resident Evil 4 and 5 but I didn't like how they took place in such bland environments with almost every sight being some kind of warehouse, forest, or cave. Also, show us what is happening all around the city as everyone else struggles to survive just as we are. Fill the town with the screams of people being attacked, random explosions, car wrecks everywhere and just show us the chaos that is taking over the city in real time.

Bring back local or online multiplayer but make it better then Resident Evil: Outbreak's online functions which were terrible. Allow simple item swapping and if a player becomes infected and dies, allow us to control a zombie form of them until we are killed or better yet, mutate the dead player and give the living players something else to contend with.

Make sure to incorporate multiple endings, plenty of unlockables, and A.I. that acts at random to give the game a ton of replay value. Resident Evil 5 and the 'Outbreak' spin-offs did this and it was because of that added content that kept me playing past the credit scroll.

There is a lot more I'd like to see in this newest title and I could ramble on for days about it, but I figured I would just share my thoughts on the matter and hope that fellow fans of the old school series share the same opinion.

This is how I would create my dream Resident Evil title and I know fans of the series who only got into it because of Resident Evil 4 will not agree due to that game and the fifth one being so radically different, but consider that I was raised in the 90's so I grew up with the originals. As a matter of fact, I still go back to play the old ones more then I do the new ones just because they are much better in my eyes.

Video Thirst: Newest Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Trailer

With the anticipated release of 'Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles' next month readily approaching, Capcom has graced us with a brand new trailer.

Quench your thirst.

Resident Evil Zero on the Wii gets a release date

Just in time for Christmas it would seem...

For the very few people (possibly 2 or 3 of you) who haven't actually already played Resident Evil Zero on the Nintendo Gamecube, Capcom has announced the release date which will be available in the form of "Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero" on December 1st.

It's basically just a port of the original version, the only difference between this one and the Wii version is the use of motion controls. In my personal opinion, you would be able to find the original much cheaper, but I suppose for people who haven't managed to play this yet, there you go.

Source

10/31/09 Colton West

First Super Street Fighter IV gameplay videos

Capcom waisted no time with this one. The success of Street Fighter IV propelled them into doing what they've always done, give us like, (six?) different versions of the same game. But you are not complaining are you? Okay, maybe you are complaining. Well if you already purchased the recently released Street Fighter IV, then don't fret, you're not missing out of much, unless you're a SF freak and can't get enough, then I see no reason to pick this one up.

Although to compensate for its early arrival, Capcom said the game wouldn't retail at full price, still I hear gamers yelling, contending the release of yet another SF game. I'll stay out of this one, but you can jump right in the fray and share your thoughts. Video after the jump.

Source

09/30/09 Ernice Gilbert

Hideo Kojima to support Project Natal

Big things are happening at the annual Tokyo Game Show as we speak, and already Microsoft has breaking news. Major Nelson, (that's actually the guy's title), who has become the face of Xbox Live, tweeted big news from Microsoft. Apart from listing some new games which were added to Xbox Live Arcade today, he went on to relay, if true, what is the most interesting news coming out of Japan thus far, concerning the future of the Xbox 360, and the company's ambitious motion technology dubbed Project Natal.

According to Major Nelson, many of the industry's most creative minds have already signed up and pledged their support. They include Capcom's Keiji Inafune, Creator of Mega Man and Dead Rising, Toshihiro Nagoshi, creator of Super Monkey Ball. But the most notable of all is the San himself, Hideo Kojima, the creator of the venerable series Metal Gear Solid.

It's great news to know that so many of the leading industry developers and creators are on the Natal train, and with Kojima showing his support, I'm a bit more excited about Natal than I was an hour ago; How about you? Do you think Kojima could deliver something unique for Natal? share your thoughts.

09/23/09 Ernice Gilbert

Capcom Reports Record Setting First Quarter

Capcom, the Publisher behind mega-hits like, Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV, reported record results for its financial quarter which ended on June 30th 2009. This comes as no surprise as both of the aforementioned games sold well over five and four million copies respectively. The company will be releasing its highly anticipated sequel ’Lost Planet 2’ this fall for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Capcom’s net sales increased 19.2 percent to 19,497 million yen, that’s $204.5 million. Operating income jumped 23 percent to 3,664 million yen which equates to $38.43 million. Ordinary income also rose 2.3 percent to 4,117 yen ($43.18 million).

The company has joined a host of other publishers by pushing its upcoming IP Dark Void to the first quarter on 2010, sighting massive competition this fall by sure blockbuster hits like, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted Among Thieves, and many other successful titles.

08/03/09 Ernice Gilbert