Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (that’s Advanced 2): Grimoire of the Rift is the upcoming strategy RPG sequel to the previous “Final Fantasy Tactics Advance” (FFTA) that was released on the Game Boy Advance in late 2003 (September 8th in the US, October 24th in Europe).

The sequel is the latest chapter in the “Ivalice Alliance”, a series of games connected by the world of Ivalice. The “Alliance” titles were first introduced with the follow-up to Final Fantasy XII (FFXII), a DS sequel called “Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings“. The other game is a remake of the original PS1 Final Fantasy Tactics, which is coming out soon on the PSP with the title “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.”

As for improvements on the original game, the sequel will be more robust and improved as you’d expect. Square Enix has increased the number of jobs in the game, they are further developing the grid-based battle system, some enemies will be larger in scale than what was seen in the first game, taking up multiple squares on the grid, the world map will be more in-depth and they have introduced “area maps”, maps that feature multiple battle locations and a town, which will work similar to the previous game. There will also be enemy clans that will travel the world map against your characters.

The setting, as in all the Ivalice Alliance games, will be similar to that of FFTA and FFXII. There are seven playable races in the game: Hume, Moogle, Viera, Bangaa, Seeq, Nu Mou and Gria and the game is set after FFXII. Vaan and Panelo will even make appearances in the game, as can be seen in the all-new Japanese trailer below.

Similarly to the first game, the storyline stars a mischievous boy named Luso who lived in the real world until he was punished for a prank he pulled just before summer break. Locked away in the library, Luso finds an old book and writes his name on it. The book then transports him into the world of Ivalice. Rather than wishing to return home, Luso decides to venture the world farther. However, unlike in the previous installment, the main character travels to the real Ivalice, instead of a creation of his imagination born of strong feelings, this fact is reinforced by the reappearances of familiar characters such as Vaan and Penelo.

Additionally, references to Final Fantasy Tactics are present through the existence of the Kamyuja criminal organization, which first appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics in relation to the characters Malak and Rafa Galthana.

Check out the new Japanese trailer for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift below, for an extensive look at the gameplay, boss characters, special attacks and more. FFT:A2 does not yet have a US release date, but you can be assured that it will hit Western shores eventually.

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Mega Man ZX: Advent is the sequel to the original Mega Man ZX on the Nintendo DS. Much like all Mega Man sequels the additions and improvements don’t dramatically alter the game in any way, it plays very similar to the original just with new abilities, characters, storyline and such, par for the course for any fan of Mega Man.

Mega Man ZX: Advent was developed as part of Mega Man’s 20th anniversary (20 years! Can you believe it?! Insanity . . .). The fast-paced sequel follows two all-new heroes, Grey & Ash (who apparently differ more in actual character and storyline than the previous set, who were more alike) and the game follows them on two separate but intertwining adventures. They must search for answers amidst a chaotic war between humans and robots (dun dun DUN!). They discover the power of the mysterious “Biometal Model A”, which offers several attacks of it’s own, but also has a special Megamerge ability which allows the characters to transform into one of eight “Pseudoroid” bosses that each have their own unique set of abilities. Once players have defeated a boss they can emulate that bosses powers to find hidden routes, discover rare items and aid their battles against more powerful enemies.

Using the DS touch-screen, players can switch back and forth between Biometals and a Map navigation screen easily. Bosses in the game can be fought in several different ways, as always testing players’ skills and rewarding gamers with nearly 24 different items depending on how they take down the boss. Further gameplay options are available as players explore and open up new areas of the map.

Fans will be happy with Mega Man ZX: Advent as it has a ton of new content, which I only briefly touched on above. Why? Because the Mega Man ZX: Advent Wikipedia page can do more explaining than I could ever hope to do, so check that out for much more information on the game and in-depth story details.

Check out an all-new extended trailer for the Japanese version below. Beautiful anime-style cut-scenes I must say. And it looks fun!

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The Simpsons Game is setting out to be the ultimate and best Simpsons game we’ve ever experienced. The 3rd-person action adventure game has a script penned by the creators (who have been more involved this time than ever before) and parodies all aspects of pop-culture from video games to movies with drastically changing gameplay from level to level.

The game will be quite massive as well. You will be able to control the entire Simpsons family (with Maggie being controllable only in certain instances) and each character will have their own level wherein they will gain unique abilities. There will be 16 “episodes” consisting of four chapters each, featuring well-known Simpsons locales from the show.

The Simpsons Game has a release date of October 30th in the US and November 1st in Europe and Australia. And it is actually the first game to feature different artwork for every version! It will be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable.

Check out an all-new trailer for the game that features a very Link-looking Homer (Link of The Legend of Zelda fame) in an Everquest parody called NeverQuest! And if you missed it, check out the previous The Simpsons Game Medal of Honor parody. Then read further below for an in-depth interview with the game’s developers.

The Simpsons Game Interview:
Read more…

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Rumble has returned to the Playstation 3! Hip-hip-hooray! For those that don’t know already, Haze is an exclusive Playstation 3 first-person shooter published by Ubisoft and developed by the guys at Free Radical Design, the company that graced the world with the TimeSplitter games. While those games were done in a kind of goofy, none-to-serious tone, their newest title goes in a more realistic (and yes, more serious) direction than anything they’ve done in the past.

And this Haze video reveals exactly how they got the new DualShock 3 PS3 controller to rumble . . . Nectar baby, Nectar!

In case you don’t understand the joke, Nectar is the name of the performance-enhancing pharmaceutical drug in the game that gives the user better speed, accuracy and strength; the ability to see enemies through cover by highlighting them and a hazard warning sense . . . In the video, it is an injection of Nectar that gives the PS3 it’s new force feedback powers.

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The release date for Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360) is set for Halloween (October 31st) at which time you better be prepared to bring the fight to the world as, for the first time, the series comes online and allows you to bring your battle-hardened warrior to the stages of the world.

For more information on the game check out our previous Virtua Fighter 5 coverage to find out what updates are included in the online-enabled 360 version (which is based on the Version C arcade revision instead of Version B, which is what the PS3 version was based on) and check out a brand new trailer for the game.
“Now Online!”

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A final price and release date for Rock Band has been confirmed by developer Harmonix and publishers MTV Games and EA.

Final pricing and release dates for all the versions of Rock Band have been compiled in an easy-to-read bullet point list below.

By the way, Rock Band has not yet been confirmed for release on the Wii, but the developers have said that a Wii version is highly likely.

Rock Band Xbox 360
- Release Date: November 23rd, 2007
- Package: Wired Stratocaster guitar controller, Rock Band game, wired Drum Kit controller, wired Microphone controller and USB HUB.
- Price: $169.99

Rock Band PS3
- Release Date: November 23rd, 2007
- Package: Wireless Stratocaster Guitar controller, Rock Band game, wired Drum Kit controller, wired Microphone controller, no USB HUB. Instruments can be used with PS2 version.
- Price $169.99

Rock Band PS2
- Release Date: December 10th, 2007
- Package: Same as PS3
- Price: $159.99

Instruments will also be available for purchase separately, although release dates and pricing on the separate instruments have not been released yet and may not necessarily hit this year. You will also be able to get the game separately of course.

This new video shows the extensive character customization mode in the game.

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Naruto fans will be excited to know that they can finally perform their favorite ninja moves without getting beat-up for their geekiness in the Wii’s upcoming Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution which will hit stores on October 23rd (US).

Thanks to the motion sensing Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers, the game supports full gesture control which means that every special move in the game is performed using a unique motion that corresponds to your favorite character’s hand-motions in a fairly realistic manner.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution is a North American exclusive title and will feature over 20 characters, including some that were not included in Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 (both on GameCube). The storyline covers the events of the Chunin Exams arc to the end of the Search for Tsunade arc.

The game also supports four-player and will include nine different modes. You can even play the game with the GameCube or Classic Controllers if you are so inclined. But why would you be? Don’t you want to do what this guy is doing in the video below?

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What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Carnival Games (Global Star), 2. Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party (Konami), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo), 5. Mario Party 8 (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Boku to Sim no Machi (EA Games), 2. Mario Strikers Charged (Nintendo), 3. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 4. Mario Party 8 (Nintendo), 5. Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. FIFA 08 (EA Games), 2. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 3. MySims (EA Games), 4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (EA Sports), 5. Big Brain Academy for Wii (Nintendo).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 2. Halo 3: Limited Edition (Microsoft), 3. Halo 3: Legendary Edition (Microsoft), 4. BioShock (2K Games), 5. Gears of War (Microsoft).

Japan: 1. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 2. The IdolM@ster (Namco), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Spike), 4. Dead Rising — Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Capcom), 5. Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume (Namco).

Europe: 1. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 2. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 3. Halo 3: Limited Edition (Microsoft), 4. Halo 3: Legendary Edition (Microsoft), 5. BioShock (2K Games).

PlayStation 3 Read more…

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The below MScape (AKA Media Scapes) game demo video is titled “Roku’s Reward. Game on.” It aims to show HP’s (Hewlett-Packard) mobile media gaming platform in action, that works by bringing you context based media that’s delivered to your mobile device via GPS (AKA Global Positioning System).

Gamers are supposed to play games on mobile platforms based on real-world inputs called, such as GPS and video cameras, to create augmented reality titles. It doesn’t seem that safe walking/running around outside staring at your screen as cars and other traffic drive by fast, but at least the player manages rescues the princess. Is this concept the future you see for portable gaming?

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When God of War 3’s designer Cory Barlog is asked by fans about the upcoming PS3 game, he replies with “God of War 3? I have no idea what you are talking about? ” So here we are lining up the info known so far. God of War III has a tentative release date of 2010. It’s the fifth chapter in the series chronologically, after God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP), God of War (PS2), God of War: Betrayal (Mobile), and God of War II (PS2).

The game was confirmed to be in development by Cory Barlog at a God of War II launch event. He revealed that the game would run at full 1080p HD resolution, and the game would support SIXAXIS tilt and vibration functions. Barlog also expressed an interest in adding a cooperative mode “if we can do something unique with it”. Designer David Jaffe added that, “God of War explains, or ultimately will explain, why there are no more Greek myths.”

In related news, Sony is shipping UMDs for the God of War: Chains of Olympus – Special edition: Battle of Attica Demo Disc… otherwise know as GOW:COO–SE:BoADD. Quite a mouthful for a level demo.

The official PlayStation blog says: “That’s it for now, keeping this one quick. The game is looking absolutely amazing, btw, so I hope everyone enjoys this little taste of portable God of War goodness. As a matter of fact, I think it even got an award for the Best PSP Game, or something like that, at the Leipzig conference.”

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