SEGA and Game Freak reveal Tembo The Badass Elephant for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC

SEGA just announced that the game by Game Freak they’ll be publishing is Tembo The Badass Elephant, a side scrolling action game with 17 levels in which you play as an elephant who is also a commando who has save Shell City from the evil PHANTOM Army. So really it’s what you could expect from the studio that made Pokémon. It’ll be a single player game, and while there’s no multiplayer there are leaderboards as there’s a lot of stuff you can do to get points in each level. This is the third game to come out of Game Freak doing smaller projects aside from their usual Pokémon games, with the first two being HarmoKnight and Solitiba.

The game is being directed by James Turner, who also directed HarmoKnight for the 3DS. Gamereactor had an interview with him about the game, which can be read here. It’ll be released this summer for Steam, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. As for why it’s not coming to Wii U, it’s because James only put the aforementioned platforms on the mock-up poster for the game and kinda stuck with them through development. Screenshots can be found below.

Yakuza Zero gets an hour demo walkthrough on PS4, running at 60fps

The new Yakuza Zero title is set to hit both Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 this upcoming March in Japan, that means its time to hype up the fans by releasing tons of press materiel. Not sold on the 60fps upgrade on the new Playstation 4? Don’t worry, someone has posted an hour long demo walkthrough in full quality for you to enjoy. This is the demo that is already on the PSN store, but if you don’t have a Playstation 4 yet, this is a nice video to watch.

As of today Yakuza Zero is a Japanese exclusive, but I guess if people buy Yakuza 5 that is coming out later this year, we might get a Yakuza Zero port (possibly a year+ late, like always). Tell us what you think! Young Kazuma or old Kazuma?

Persona 5 trailer shows an amazing new style

So Atlus just released this trailer for Persona 5, and it looks nothing like any Persona game before. Aside from plenty of new and returning gameplay elements, the game has a new style that barely any game has ever pulled off before. The closest thing that I could think of is Rhythm Thief combined with Catherine. It just looks fantastic.

Persona 5 will be released on Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 later this year and has already become my most anticipated game of this year.

New Wonder Boy/Monster World game: Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze announced

The original creator of the Wonder Boy/Monster World series, Ryuichi Nishizawa, is working together with Game Atelier and FDG Entertainment to make a new game in the series called Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze. Series composer Shinichi Sakamoto also returns for this new game. It doesn’t look like SEGA is involved, but it’s still very exciting news nonetheless.

This new sequel seems to have a lot in common with Game Atelier’s cancelled Kickstarter game Flying Hamster II, which was going to be a tribute to the Monster World series. It’s especially easy to compare the UI in the two games, and the silhouettes on the Monster Boy teaser site also look a lot like the transformations seen in Flying Hamster II. So it looks like that stuff from that game will be re-purposed for Monster Boy. You can expect the game later this year for PC, Playstation 4, and other unannounced platforms.

Yakuza 0 story trailer: The most action packed Yakuza yet?

Strange to say that considering this is suppose to be set in Kiryu’s younger days, but if this trailer is anything to go by than this might just be the most intense Yakuza game yet. Not only is this trailer filled to the brim with all out action but a lot of old faces show up like Nishiki and Shimano. If this was how Kazuma started his life as a Yakuza, then it’s little wonder why he’s hardly phased by fighting tigers and taking on black arm dealers in the future. Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku 0 is set to be released on 12th March for the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 in Japan, no Western release is yet announced.

But who knows, maybe if you guys all purchase a copy of Yakuza 5 later this year, we shall get to experience the next installment.

Alien: Isolation’s first add-on pack set to release on October 28th

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SEGA has announced the first Alien: Isolation add-on pack, titled “Corporate Lockdown”, is set to release October 28th. The first of five planned add-on packs, “Corporate Lockdown”, adds three new maps to the game’s Survivor Mode. Each add-on pack will feature new playable characters, offering a different perspective on the main campaign’s story. In “Corporate Lockdown”, players take control of Seegson Executive Ransome who takes on three new challenge maps: ‘Severance’, ‘Scorched Earth’ and ‘Loose Ends’. After the break, check out an additional screenshot from the add-on pack as well as SEGA’s full press release. Also, make sure to check out My Life with SEGA’s Alien: Isolation video review.

SEGA in the Charts: Alien: Isolation debuts in 2nd behind FIFA 15 in the UK

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How about some good news for a Monday? Via VGChartz and SEGAbits forum member Nirmugen comes news that Alien: Isolation launched in the second position on the UK charts, behind FIFA 15 which remains the best-selling game in the UK for three weeks running. Given soccer’s football’s appeal in the UK, it’s quite impressive that a SEGA title managed to chart so highly – especially after speculation that Aliens: Colonial Marines may have tainted the public’s interest in the Alien franchise. However, it should be noted that despite the quality of Aliens: Colonial Marines [watch and/or read our review], the game still managed to surge back into the charts as early as January 2014.

Yakuza Zero’s first trailer shows Kazuma being a bad ass

Toshihiro Nagoshi went on stage at Sony’s TGS press conference to present this trailer of Yakuza Zero, which shows a younger Kazuma Kiryu in the year of 1988 as a debt collector. This is during a time when the economy in Japan was in shambles, which will have an affect on the game’s plot. He also announced that the game will have two playable characters: Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima.

The reveal of this trailer at the conference can be seen here. The game will be coming to Playstation 3 and Playstations 4 during Spring 2015 in Japan.

Persona 5 coming to Playstation 4, has a pretty sweet logo

Sony’s TGS press conference had a big surprise for Persona fans: the upcoming sequel Persona 5 will be coming to Playstation 4 as well as Playstation 3. A new trailer showing the protagonist was also shown. The game will be released at the same time on both platforms in 2015.

PuyoPuyo Tetris to be ported on PS4 & Xbox One consoles this winter

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SEGA has recently announced that PuyoPuyo Tetris, the crossover action puzzle game that combines elements from PuyoPuyo and Tetris, will be released physically on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms. The game is set for release on December 4, 2014 for 5,480 yen ($54 in US).

If you’re a PlayStation 4 owner, you can import the title by making a Japanese PSN account. Here are some useful tutorials on how to make a Japanese PSN account here. There are more SEGA titles available to enjoy (take a look at our previous news article on the re-release of Phantasy Star I & II remake) on the Japanese PlayStation Store.

Arc System Works’ Limited Edition Guilty Gear Xrd Pad Looks…Familiar

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Arc System Works announced a limited edition bundle for the Playstation 4 version of Guilty Gear Xrd. Priced at ¥10,778, the bundle includes a Vocal Collection CD, the above pictured controller, and another surprise to be announced at a later date. The controller actually works with both the PS4 and PS3 versions of Guilty Gear Xrd, but will only be sold with the limited edition of the Playstation 4 game.

The controller is noticeably similar to the Sega Genesis controller. It is compact, and features no control sticks unlike the Dualshock 3 and 4 – only a D-Pad. There are six buttons on the right, which sort of fits since Guilty Gear traditionally features a five button system and having those five buttons adjacent to each other could be essential to some players. The overall shape of the Xrd Pad is strikingly similar to the Genesis controller as well.

You often hear of special arcade sticks for fighting games being designed and not pads, though some pads were made for the first iteration of Street Fighter 4. Nevertheless, it’s an unexpected move and the resemblance is uncanny. What do you think?

Credit goes to SegmentNext for the image and initial comparison.

SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Citizens of Earth (PlayStation 4, PSVita, Wii U, 3DS, & PC)

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Some games just have this irresistible charm about them. The moment you see it, you just know you want to play it and see if it lives up to just how awesome it looks. At E3, Atlus’s Citizens of Earth was one of those games. As a man who is interested in politics and is always open to some political satire, and the concept on display here is way too hilarious to ignore.

SEGA releases new screens and a trailer for Alien: Isolation

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The Alien: Isolation news continues to pour in, as SEGA has released five new screens and a trailer dubbed “Survive”, just in time for E3. The trailer, which can be seen here, highlights the game’s survival gameplay and creepy atmosphere. The fire effects are looking phenomenal, and the game itself is shaping up to be very true to the original film. Expect our hands-on impressions and a developer interview soon as we continue to report live from E3.

New Alien: Isolation trailer shows how the cast was created

The latest trailer for Alien: Isolation gives us another look behind the scenes of the game. This time they show how they cast real people for the characters in the game along with the methods they used to capture their likenesses. Mo-cap is used for the animation as well.

We’re also shown some new footage of the cutscenes along with some more info on the plot and world.

[Update: Debunked & False] Rumor: Valkyria Chronicles 1, 2 & 3 remakes coming to Playstation 4

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A rumor has sprung up on NeoGAF stating that this week’s Famitsu will reveal a Valkyria Chronicles Remake and a Valkyria Chronicles 2&3 Remake coming out for Playstation 4. The post goes on to state that the first game will be releasing in the summer of this year, followed by 2&3 in the fall. The sequels appear to be bundled into one game. The first game will have a visual upgrade while 2&3 will have graphics based on the first game’s visual style. The releases are also to include all the DLC and feature lots of balance adjustments.

The NeoGAF post says the “source is 2ch leak but its reliable source so its basically confirmed.” The mention of 2&3 being a bundled collection can be found here. As with all the rumors, take this with a grain of salt until officially confirmed.

Update: Dualshockers did some digging and came up empty handed, stating that the rumor was false.

To confirm the legitimacy of the post, I reached out to Masaru-san, one of our readers that regularly receives Famitsu the afternoon before release and that often sends us information about its content, and he indeed confirmed that Valkyria Chronicles is nowhere to be found on the latest issue.

Drat drat and double drat! Despite being false, let’s hope SEGA still has plans to rerelease Valkyria Chronicles on some platform… PC perhaps?