Pre-TGS Microsoft Press Conferences Features Rez, Ninja Gaiden 2

In advance of the Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft threw a press conference today introducing their newest products to the people of Japan. Highlights from the event include the announcement that an updated version of Rez will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade, and that Ninja Gaiden 2 will be an Xbox exclusive when it releases next year. Other announcements include Lost Odyssey's delay to February 2008 for a US release, more titles for Xbox Live including Every Extend Extra Extreme, Ikaruga, Trigger Heart, Exit and Omega Five, two new Xbox controller colors (blue and pink), and the announcement of a new title developed by Tri-Ace and published by Square/Enix: Infinite Undiscovery.

Comments

An Updated REZ ?

[trdrstv]

Will this come with a "next gen" version of the ... ummmmm periferal ?

Re:An Updated REZ ?

[sam_paris]

To anyone who doesn't get this, the original Rez had a peripheral known as the Rez "Trance Vibrator" and yes it was basically a vibrator..

Re:An Updated REZ ?

[Telvin_3d]

If there was ever a game begging to be ported to the Wii...

Re:An Updated REZ ?

[provigilman]

Yeah, I kept trying to get my wife to play Rez with me...but she seemed afraid for some reason. :(

Re:An Updated REZ ?

[SuiteSisterMary]

At least give the good link.

Re:An Updated REZ ?

[sam_paris]

Amazing, thanks for that :)

YAY! Ninja Gaiden 2!!!

[xtracto]

I can not wait to kill the muthafucka Ashtar!

And all shall hail me Ashtar, as their new master!
HA HA HA HA

Ikaruga?

[Sarutobi]

Sweet... This game might finally get the recognition it deserves. Right now, nobody knows it, except for a few Dreamcast and Gamecube owners. On the other hand, I wonder if this is the kind of game that appeals to X-box players...

Re:Ikaruga?

[revlayle]

Yeah, I have the Dreamcast version laying around somewhere... while almost identically graphically to the GC version, somehow, the sound on the DC version is far superior (i think the music on the GC version was done differently that caused that... I hope the don't do that to the XBLA version).

While the game itself is actually fairly short, the replay comes into trying to find a way to beat it on one credit and to get the ultra high chain counts... and that part is HARD! As far as a shooter goes, I totally recommend it, it is very challenging, and the soundtrack is pretty awesome (in my opinion).

Re:Ikaruga?

[_PimpDaddy7_]

Where did it talk about Ikaruga????

I own this game on the GameCube. It's amazing! You bring up a good point, would it appeal to Xbox owners. If they added some multiplayer or co-op multi it would somewhat appeal to them. BUT, make a great game and it will appeal to gamers.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sarutobi]

For your information, there already is a coop multiplayer :-P

Some freaks out there manage to finish the game and get high scores playing with one controller in each hand while the average player can't even finish the game without infinite credits...

Re:Ikaruga?

[_PimpDaddy7_]

Tried to email you.

Look on Amazon.com and Ebay and small used videogame stores, sometimes you can find it.

Re:Ikaruga?

[kurokaze]

Dude, you willing to sell your Ikaruga copy? I'm still looking for one! :)

Re:Ikaruga?

[kurokaze]

Cool, I'll check it out thanks.. lol I just replied to a post of yours asking if you wanted to sell your copy!

Re:Ikaruga?

[trdrstv]

Some freaks out there manage to finish the game and get high scores playing with one controller in each hand

Holy shit, I never even considered this a possibility. Is there any video evidence of this? I'd love to see it if there is. Thanks!

Re:Ikaruga?

[kurokaze]

here you go! Its pretty kick-ass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToBdzV7w5Pc

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sciros]

Umm, Ikaruga deserves LESS recognition than it got. Any game that, if you want to play full-screen, re-orients itself left-to-right while the controls remain down-to-up, ... well heck Ikaruga is the only game I know of to have made this ridiculous design decision. The game is essentially unplayable full-screen.

Gradius V puts it to absolute and utter shame in every way. Treasure did a much better job with it than with Ikaruga.

I'm a big shmup fan, btw. Just a critical one, heh.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Saige]

You misunderstand the point. When selecting to play it full screen like that, it's assuming that you've rotated your display 90 degrees.

If you think about it that way, suddenly the controls make perfect sense.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sciros]

Dude seriously find me another GAMECUBE/DC game whose fullscreen mode assumes you've "rotated your display 90 degrees." It is HARD to rotate my 47" HDTV 90 degrees bro. PC games, ok, *some* flat panels can rotate like that. But not nearly all.

The controls are INSANELY stupid all things considered, there's really no defending it.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sarutobi]

I do not even see what the problem with playing top down is... Or not full screen. You are seeing issues where everybody else is happy :-P

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sciros]

You don't see the issue with not being able to play a game full-screen???? In that case I got some great beach-front property for sale in Nevada for you.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Scott Francis[Mecham]

For being a "big shmup fan", I'm mildly surprised you haven't heard of "TATE" mode. Here's a list for every major console.

It was probably a mistake on their part to call it "fullscreen", but people do use this feature. A lot of crappy US ports(like "Mobile Light Force 2") will omit it, probably out of fear for "idiot-protection" lawsuits.

Re:Ikaruga?

[Sciros]

You're missing the point... the fact is, this game is not playable full screen, and it's a *console* game. In other words, there ARE NO ROTATING MONITORS >_ With this in mind, the controls *should* have been oriented in such a way that you're not forced to lie on your right side as you play the game if you want it full-screen.

Arcade shmups that scroll vertically have a monitor that's appropriately shaped, anyway. (Or at least use the rest of the screen for something...)

Maybe I just have higher standards than the typical Team Shanghai Alice fan, but whatevs.

NG2

[_PimpDaddy7_]

Ninja Gaiden Black for the original Xbox was an amazing game. It was also one of the hardest games to master well. The bosses were very tough. New photos were leaked for NG 2:
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_1.png
http://xs119.xs.to/xs119/07372/NG2_2.png
http://xs119.xs.to/xs119/07372/NG2_3.png
http://xs119.xs.to/xs119/07372/NG2_4.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_5.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_6.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_7.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_8.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_9.png
http://xs219.xs.to/xs219/07372/NG2_10.png

Looks very bloody and graphic! Can't wait ;-)

Re:NG2

[Hubbell]

Ninja Gaiden Black on master ninja is like trying to kick Mr T's ass, when you're a 4year old paraplegic with downs syndrome.

Ah yes...

[Pojut]

While I loved the visual update in Sigma for PS3, it's about time they did this...the new iteration of Ninja Gaiden was becomming the next Street Fighter, what with so many different (3) versions of the first game.

Rez - finally a reason to buy 360

[sam_paris]

I loved Rez for the Dreamcast and it was by far one of the best games for the system. Pure genius.

This might be a reason for me to buy the 360. The game is even now a collectors item for the DC, I bought my copy for around £100 (sealed).

Re:Rez - finally a reason to buy 360

[Renraku]

I have Rez on my PS2. Got it at a country flea market type of thing for like $5 still sealed. One of the funnest games I've played..

Will the 360 version come with the pack-in device that came with the Japanese PS2 version? Then it might be worth it for you guys with girlfriends :D

Re:Rez - finally a reason to buy 360

[iainl]

I know you're just being funny, but the 360 version won't come with anything - as a Live Arcade title it won't even come with a DVD...

I've already got the game twice - Dreamcast and Gamecube. I'm not entirely sure I can justify getting a third one. Then some of my mates will buy it, post high scores, and I'll succumb in about 30 seconds, knowing me.

Re:Rez - finally a reason to buy 360

[the dark hero]

I don't recall Rez being on the GC. Ikaruga was. Both Rez and Ikaruga were on the DC. I was lucky enough to find a used copy f ikaruga on the GC for 15 bucks before it became uber rare. I also checked into gamestop one day to buy a game i can't even remember when i saw a copy of Rez "used" copy of Rez on the PS2. I say "used" because it looked like someone had just taken the seal off and sold it the day before. Which may very well had been the case.

Re:Rez - finally a reason to buy 360

[iainl]

Yeah, sorry about that. When I said I've got 'it' on both DC and GC I was talking about Ikaruga then, not Rez still. I've only got that one on the DC, as my friend has the PS2 release and I don't like it as much there. Or don't like the way the PS2 looks on my HDTV as much as the DC does when you run it over VGA, anyway.

Wow.

[EveryNickIsTaken]

With the release of Ninja Gaiden Sigma on PS3, this is a major coup by MS to make NG2 an exclusive. And given that it's being published by Microsoft Studios, it's not a "timed exclusive" either.

Re:Wow.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's published by Tecmo according to Microsoft

Ikaruga?

[kurokaze]

Holy Shit.. this makes me want to get a 360 now! I've been dying to try to find this game for my Wii.. which is next to impossible.

About time for NG 2

[Devir]

Ninja Gaiden has had a touch too many makeovers. Ninja Gaiden, NG Black, NG Sigma... It's a proverbial cash cow.

I will admit I bought Sigma (PS3), even after playing through Black. It just looked so good. Taking away vibration on the PS3 has reduced some of the game's imersion though. Wit hthe Xbox you'd feel each hit and the feedback was very important to me.

While I have Digressed a bit... It's about time a "real" sequel came out. There is only so much replay a Great game like that can have. Adding in a "side story" to say playing as another character is ok. But the story is getting worn thin. If they offered an "upgrade discount" offer that would have been nice too. Black had alot of things that NG should have had, like a save point right before that last big boss encounter....

A true sequel at least will bring something new to the plate. Being on a 360 is a good/bad thing. The feedback in the controlers will be the biggest boon to game...

Market-speak.

[Aladrin]

"Ninja Gaiden 2 will be an Xbox exclusive when it releases next year."

That's market-speak for:

Ninja Gaiden 2 will be available only on the XBox for the first month. After that, we'll release it on all the other consoles.

Re:Market-speak.

[Anonymous Coward]

The last Ninja Gaiden was an X-box exclusive for 3 years, until it got re-made for the PS3. It never was released on any other consoles. Team Ninja also has several titles out(DOA, DOA:volleyball) that are X-box360 only . What makes you think Ninja Gaiden 2 will be any different?

Re:Market-speak.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not gonna happen. Microsoft is publishing this game, so it's pretty much as exclusive as it gets.

Rez and Ikaruga... Shenmue 1?

[certron]

If these two Dreamcast games make their way to Xbox Live (or maybe even as a physical purchase), is there any hope for Shenmue 1 to appear on another platform? I was kinda hoping for some Wii Dreamcast downloads, but I don't even know if it is technically possible to make an emulator that would work out OK instead of having to do a rewrite of the games.

I suppose it would help if I actually owned either of these systems. I never got very far in Shenmue, and my Dreamcast went kaput about a year ago. Ikaruga was great for parties.

Re:Rez and Ikaruga... Shenmue 1?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wii Dreamcast downloads are unlikely given the lack of a hard drive.

Re:Rez and Ikaruga... Shenmue 1?

[SuiteSisterMary]

Given that Shenmue 2 was already ported to the Xbox, and there wern't that many engine differences from Shenmue 1 to Shenmue 2, porting 1 wouldn't be starting from scratch, by any means.

Games and Colors

[HTH NE1]

more titles for Xbox Live including Every Extend Extra Extreme, Ikaruga, Trigger Heart, Exit and Omega Five, What, no Johnny's Xtreme Adventure ?

two new Xbox controller colors (blue and pink) It's not pink! It's lightish red!

Um.

[Scott Francis[Mecham]

Did you even read the first link? This option is meant for people who really do have a monitor they can turn. All of the games on that list including Ikaruga, were vertical arcade shmups, and their definition of "fullscreen" is a vertical monitor. Much like not getting a true widescreen on a SDTV, you aren't getting a true "fullscreen" on a vertical shmup without a vertical monitor.

If you're saying that there should have been an option to have the controls remapped so that "up" on the pad points to the top of the monitor regardless of the game orientation, that's only been done on one game that I know of(the Saturn port of Layer Section).

Re:Um.

[Sciros]

No I understand the option and where it came from originally. But, *on a console game,* that option simply can't just be "ported over" because it's retarded without remapped controls. Consoles hook up to TVs, which, well, don't rotate ^_^

And yes exactly as you said, we're not getting a true "fullscreen," but once again on Gamecube/Dreamcast! That, in my opinion, is ridiculous.

So basically

[Mordarion]

Everyone who never gave the Dreamcast a shot, gets to play its games now? Awesome.

Re:So basically

[SYSS Mouse]

True. Dreamcast still got new games coming out once in a while.