What Is Techno Again?

Creating a 3D Dot Hero, One Pixel at a Time

Today Aram Jabbari, Manager of Public Relations and Sales at Atlus, loaded a 3D Dot Game Heroes customization breakdown onto the PlayStation.Blog website. Even the character editor shines with a warm, nostalgic feel. I mean … ye ol’ Final Fantasy, anyone?

Players wield the power to invent their own heroes and send them merrily into the kingdom. Apparently the North American launch will boast more custom characters than the original Japanese turf release, so those of us who cry over our “stick figure” drawings can compose ourselves a little at the news.

Allegedly the editor will be a breeze to operate; the copy, paste, and flip shortcuts facilitate the process. Textures won’t concern you according to Jabbari, who assures us of the wondrous and magical “real-time lighting engine” … whatever that means … that eliminates the issue. We’ll take his word for it.

If you like sharing the love, then a quick USB-to-hub transfer will upload your unique character to the 3DDGH community online.

3DDGH punches classics in the face on May 11th and comes generously priced. What kind of hero will you design?

Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Atlus, PlayStation 3
Posted in Video Games | 5 Comments »

That’s What She Said, Hero

Today Atlus spammed my inbox, advertising “Natural Sword Enhancement” without little blue pills or frustration. Yeah, promises are cheap, but in this case entertaining.

… That’s one big sword.

Apparently come March, Dotnian heroes everywhere should regularly visit their local Blacksmith. Oh, that guy. What a playboy.

Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Atlus, Natural Sword Enhancement
Posted in Video Games | No Comments »

Let the 2010 Games Begin

What upcoming games are you eagerly awaiting? Over at RadNerd Beau Ryan and I discuss some of our most wanted 2010 titles, including a few I’ve already covered here on the blog (like 3D Dot Game Heroes, for instance). Click the link or above image to access the feature!

If we missed something good, let us know which games should have made the list. Cheers!

Another year of gaming has rocketed through our memories, dropping new favorites at our feet. Batman: Arkham Asylum brought fans and wary newcomers together in an action-packed, stealthy tour; the smash hit Street Fighter IV echoed the sound of button mashing world-wide; the addictive RPG Demon’s Souls watched proudly, a tear glistening in its pixeled eye, as we coursed toward certain doom. Many games inspired us and woke our systems from the slumber induced by less promising titles, but what cards is 2010 playing close to the chest this winter/spring? Here are a few titles we can’t wait to test run.

Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Alan Wake, Bayonetta, BioShock, Dante's Inferno, Final Fantasy, Heavy Rain, Mass Effect, Prince of Persia, Silent Hill, Splinter Cell
Posted in RadNerd, Video Games, Writing | No Comments »

No More 3D Dot Japanese Textual Confusion

Glimpses of the upcoming import, 3D Dot Game Heroes, have already emerged in all their sprightly pixel block glory, but today an official English-translated batch showered the interwebz. The Atlus faithful can now feast their eyes on the game’s mock 3D wonder, which breaks down the notorious mechanics of The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest, for example. Mountain terraces, giant stone-spitting octopuses, and delightfully absurd statements (see below) should ring a bell.

Is anyone else completely psyched for this game? Wake me when it’s May, and together we’ll frolic in a field of pixel flowers.

More screenshot love here.

Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Atlus, PlayStation 3
Posted in Video Games | 1 Comment »

Bleepin’ Blips: Nostalgia Goes Next-Gen

More rage than you can shake a stick at! That’s usually the tone of the ongoing Bleepin’ Blips feature over at RadNerd, but this time the rage really was sculpted in a positive way. In fact, you can barely tell it’s there at all … but it is, trust me. I mean, it’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Have you played that game?! It’s brutal—war in the disguise of little Italian plumbers and cute, apple-gulping dinosaurs.

Here’s a preview, but you can catch the full article over at RadNerd.

Do you suffer from uncontrollable, bleepin’ rage at something in the gaming industry? Have you smashed TVs by flinging controllers, or made your thumbs bleed with all that unrewarded determination and mad skillz you’ve been dishing out? Here at RadNerd, we feel your pain. Literally. This new ongoing feature will channel our anger in a healthy way … we hope.

New Super Mario Bros. for the motion-sensitive Wii stomped into living rooms, basements, and dorms this past month, inciting enough fun and backstabbiness to make Bowser take a willing dip in steaming lava just to avoid the quips. The game ropes in players by offering them a slice of the co-op pie and then chucking it in a Goomba’s direction at the last moment. Friends can work together to overcome the latest of Bowser’s princess-capturing antics, but more often than not gamers find themselves kicking their allies in the ye ol’ plumbing. The gameplay physics actually encourage such vicious cartoon behavior by causing an instant bounce reaction when one character collides with another and by allowing players to toss their fellow adventurers into an unassuming Koopa.

Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, New Super Mario Bros., PlayStation 3, Wii
Posted in RadNerd, Video Games, Writing | No Comments »