| PS2
Onimusha |
Scans |
The
evolution of the gaming style germinated by Bio-hazard marches
on, bulked up by the large strides made in the past couple of
years. The culmination of all that refinement shines in
Onimusha, the latest example of prevalent gaming technology
and technique. Visually opulent, the environments are
sumptuous to behold with walls, floors, and other settings
that seethe with inner glow and outer patina.
Onimusha is a 3-D hack 'n slash game and the
familiar Bio-hazard camera angles make their way here with
overhead views of your killings as well as 3/4 overviews of
the carnage. Upon slashing an adversary and driving it to the
ground, our hero may elect to perform a downward sword stroke
which dispatches the foe to dust and soul. This life energy
can then be drawn into your sword in a Soul Reaver-esque
manner. Cinemas and action meld perfectly and without
interruption so the game flows smoothly from story sequence to
gameplay.
The sophomore year of the Playstation 2 looks to
be a great one if Oni is any indication. Next up: Zone of
Enders in March. |
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| Gameboy
Advance Pre-order Detail ~ Deja vu |
Territory |
| NCS'
Gameboy Advance proposition for the upcoming handheld has been
finalized and the package that will be offered at the launch
of the GBA on March 21 is as follows: |
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Gameboy
Advance + 03 software titles at US$255. |
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The most popular GBA software titles on pre-order from
customers were, in order of preference: Super Mario
Advance, Dracula X, Fire Pro Wrestling A, and F-Zero Advance.
To accomodate the majority of our pre-order customers, we have
chosen these launch titles as the packaged software options.
As such, any three of these four games may be chosen as your
included software. NCS will also stock all of the other GBA
launch releases during the week of March 21 but due to the way
that we are required to buy the Gameboy Advance from overseas
vendors, you must choose three of the four games listed above
to be included in your purchase at US$255.
Everyone on our mailing list will receive this update today
but note that NCS will follow up with instructions within the
next couple of days on how we will handle the first shipment
of GBA units. If the current package offer is not suitable for
you, we would recommend waiting a week or two after the launch
for less restrictive Gameboy Advance deals but we'll update
everyone once the initial rush and hype routine has passed.
Thanks. |
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Given that Nintendo has never enforced any territory lockout
on the Gameboy, Gameboy Pocket, or the Gameboy Color, it is a
safe, historically unchallenged assumption that this pattern
will continue with the Gameboy Advance. This dictum held true
with the 8-bit Nintendo Famicom, the 16-bit Super Famicom, and
the 64-bit Nintendo 64, where territory "lockouts"
were limited to plastic tabs which were easily wrecked. Of
course, cartridge systems are also open to simple hacks if any
rom checksums are used to discourage territory spanning
gamers. The upcoming Gamecube will probably stray from the
open territory stance for once. The proprietary disc based GC
format will likely enjoy protection and territory schemes that
Sony and Sega would envy. |
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E-mail
NCS
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