Let’s let its new Persona-themed fighter tell us shall we?

Because, you see, that’s exactly what Arc seems to be doing with Persona 4 Arena (opens in new tab). Perhaps in an effort to open up the excellence of their fighters to a less dedicated audience of RPG players, or perhaps simply to allow a community of players beyond the autistic octopi of the world to play them for more than an hour without bursting into tears and gooey finger-blisters, the decision has been made to have P4A bring all of the depth without the brick-wall learning curve. And having gone hands-on, I can tell you that the attempt seems to have absolutely worked.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve consistently loved Arc’s games. Between Guilty Gear and Blazblue they’ve produced some of the best thought out, most sharply implemented fighters of the modern era. But when taking on any new Arc fighter, even a player with decent 2D fighting skills knows that he or she will have to set aside a day or so to get to grips with the multitude of complex and demanding fighting systems required to even competently make the thing work.

Not so this time round. You see while analogues to a great deal of Arc’s traditional systems and tropes are present and correct, everything just feels so damn effortless once you get your hands on it and start playing around. I won’t bother listing all of the control, attack and defence options here because a) it would be boring for both of us and b) the beginners’ videos below will do the job far better than a tiresome paragraph of directions and button labels ever would.

Above: That’s the basics done. Head over to our Persona 4 Arena video hub (opens in new tab) for more

Rest assured though, with your characters’ Personas now standing in for BlazBlue’s powered-up one-button Drive Attacks (but tempered nicely by the risk of getting them injured through foolhardy over-use), not to mention the staple array of dashes, evades, air-control and variously-powered standard and special techniques, the more demanding fighting game player will want for nothing. But for once, neither will the less dextrous player.

There are certain concrete elements which feed into this, though as with all great fighting games there’s a certain indefinable something about the overall feel of play that’s vitally important too. In terms of the more traditionally quantifiable stuff, combo timings have been made significantly more generous than the second-splitting tap windows demanded previously, with a simple standardised combo-breaker system across the board to balance things out. In-keeping with the philosophy of easy-to-remember, standardised command inputs, almost every special move in the game is performed via a simple quarter-circle fireball motion. P4A is about the fight, not the fight to remember how to fight.

Similarly, in a move perhaps slightly aping Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s party-friendly set-up, everyone now has a default insta-combo available through mashing the A-button. Mercifully though, I found that far from dumbing things down to a mash-fest, this simply gives everyone a level point of entry from which they can start to develop their own more complex combo-game. See it as an easy-to-access opener rather than a tactic in and of itself. Basically anyone can now start an effective combo, but it’s where they choose to take it once it’s rolling that will separate the strong players from the scrubs.

But overall it’s just the feeling of immediacy and control that makes P4A such an instant pleasure to play. For all of the pyrotechnic lunacy exploding off all over each fight, the action is incredibly trackable. Not once did I suffer the kind of frantic eye-twitching panic that the faster, flashier Japanese fighters can all too often incite. Movements are smooth and totally comprehensible despite the eclecticism of character types and move-sets on show. Just as importantly, that sense of assured predictability in one’s travel around the screen, usually only earned via hours of practice with any new fighting game, arrived pretty immediately for me this time.

Obviously it’s going to take a lot more in-depth play (and hours of multiplayer) before I can really gauge just how deep and satisfying Persona 4 Arena is going to be long-term, but based on this current hands-on time I’d say it’s potential as a damnably fun cross-over hit is pretty high indeed. More info as we get it.

The post Persona 4 Arena hands-on: How to make your hardcore fighter accessible to mere mortals (without making it stupid) appeared first on Game News.

First we were introduced to two tech-nerd type characters, Keith Lumley and Quint Cetcham, and their Bioscanner. With this item, you can scan enemies and the environment to gather information – the heroes were forced to whip out the gadget to get a bead on a new invisible enemy, the Hunter. These hulking monsters fade from vision only to reappear just before they attack. Looking through the Bioscanner highlights the Hunter’s outline, enabling the player to pull out a gun and fire on the enemy’s location.

Campaign details are always nice, but the most surprising and interesting part of our hands-on time was the brand new multiplayer feature, Raid. In this challenge mode, players choose their characters, loadout and stage, then tackle levels alone or with a friend via Nintendo WiFi or internet connection. Don’t jump to conclusions and assume this is merely Mercenaries tacked on to another Resident Evil, as Raid unexpectedly adds significant RPG elements. Characters can be leveled up to increase damage, health and resistances; loot is dropped in the form of weapons and weapon parts; and enemies have levels, attributes and resistances. The goal of Raid is to move from point A to point B, kill all of the enemies to get keys, and break a giant floating coin at the end. Performance determines the ranking at the end of the level and completing more difficult challenges nets better loot.

The variety of environments, satisfying weapons and intimidating high-level enemy encounters was impressive, but we are concerned with how Raid will fare in replay value. Stages – at least the ones we experienced – are short and don’t require much effort to memorize enemy locations. The RPG staple of grinding may also rear its ugly head, negating the horror elements with overpowered characters.

During our Resident Evil: Revelations demo, we also tried out the game with the 3DS’s Circle Pad Pro. When attached, the peripheral enables a fourth control option with the right control pad controlling the camera and aiming. The dual stick option felt very natural and the added bulk even made the 3DS more comfortable to hold. Anyone accustomed to playing the console Resident Evil games should feel right at home. The standard control scheme with gyro enabled aiming also felt fantastic and was the most precise, so you don’t necessarily have to plan on forking over the dough for a Circle Pad Pro.

Resident Evil: Revelations is scheduled to release next February in the US, and next January in Europe and Japan.

The post Resident Evil: Revelations preview new characters, new items, and an RPG mode? appeared first on Game News.

Above: The long question blocks are like the regular question blocks except they’re… longer

It’s not because of the controls, and it’s not even really because of the presentation. Mario looks and feels a lot like he has in the past 3D games, with most of his movement involving either jumping or jumping, spinning around and landing hard. The only new trick up his red sleeve was the ability to roll, letting him tumble through hard-to-reach spaces and smash blocks that he otherwise would need a shell to destroy. It’s not an offensive attack – more of a slow, leisurely tumble that allows for more navigational options.

No, the way 3D Land manages to grab the classic feel is with its level design. There’s no hub world, and no over-world to explore. When we beat a level we pressed right on the d-pad, watched Mario walk a few feet, and then hit A to jump in. And once we jumped in, the levels themselves offered throwbacks to different eras in Mario’s career. First up was World 1-2, which was most traditional, playing like a classic side-scroller (though we were able to move back and forth in the environment to dodge obstacles). It still controlled like a typical 3D level, but 3D Land’s 3D-ness was kept in check, maintaining experience more reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3 than anything else. But when the third dimension did come into play with moderation, 3D land used it well. New enemies and obstacles still came into our path – like a black piranha plant that took advantage of the camera angle by breaking the fourth wall and shooting ink that stuck to screen – making the familiar feel fresh.

Above: Good news! You don’t need to blow into the microphone to get the ink off your screen

The next level couldn’t have been more different. It started Mario off near binoculars, which utilized the 3DS’s gyroscope to look around. Here, we were given a look at the level ahead, filled with large drops and multiple paths. We also saw a Toad, who tossed a collectible coin into the middle of the level. Once we stepped back and started traversing the level we got our first Super Leaf, transforming Mario into Raccoon Mario. The return of this fan favorite has been wildly publicized, but what surprised us most, was how useful it was, again, thanks to the level design.

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