Atlus today released a new video vignette highlighting the “most interesting hero in 3D”, which further cements the humor and style this game reeks of…

3D Dot Game Heroes is coming May 11th for PS3, and will retail for $39.95.

When I first sat down to write a review of Hello Kitty Online (HKO), I wasn’t expecting much at all from an MMO that was aimed at a decidedly young age group. After playing it, however, I was definitely surprised with the level of detail that went into this game. It has everything that you’d expect from a high-quality MMO: a very detailed crafting system, a form of limited combat in order to get crafting material, and leveling up your character in both general level and various collection skills, including Planting, Gathering, Woodcutting, & Mining. There are also crafting skills (Forging, Carpentry, Cooking and Tailoring), individual player houses, and more.

Installing the game and character creation

HKO has extremely low system requirements, so almost anyone who has a fairly recent PC with an internet connection can play the game. Once you start the download for the client, you can start a character creator and then enter a Flash-based browser game that mimics the real game to get you familiar with the controls before you jump into the game itself. The character creation itself is fairly limited, but you can select your gender, hair style, and color. You are limited to only 5 or 6 selections of hair styles and colors, but it’s enough choice for someone of this game’s target age group to be happy. The only thing that I was disappointed in here is that you were not able to select a server in which to create your character, so if you already had friends in the world, I am not sure you’d be able to select the same world they were in so you could play together.

HKO: Combat de-volved

The combat system in this game is much like a standard game: click on a creature, and you and it enter combat until one of you is out of hit points. Since this game is geared towards children, you won’t find weapons like guns, swords, axes, etc., but rather things like magic wands, brooms, fly swatters, umbrellas, microphone stands, and other rather benign objects. Also, when you defeat a creature in combat, it doesn’t die, but is instead knocked out and falls asleep for a short time. The wild creatures are nothing more than things to be farmed for resources that you use for crafting. If you are lucky, one of the things that a creature can drop is its “Creature Card;” this allows you to keep that creature as a pet that will follow you around (but, as of yet, won’t do anything but look cute). This reminded me very much of Pokémon.

Collecting skills

There are four main collecting skills in the game: Planting, Gathering, Woodcutting, & Mining. Each of these skills increase as you perform these actions more. As you increase your level in these skills, you can get tools that increase your success at getting rare items from the skill. The Planting skill deals with how successful you are at planting crops, which are the main source of income in the game (more on farming later). The Gathering skill is used to gather your crops on your farm, as well as picking flowers. Woodcutting is as it sounds: chopping down trees to get various types of wood used in crafting. Mining is used to gather materials for forging.

Crafting skills

Crafting in HKO is based on collecting recipes. You can get recipes from quest rewards, or by buying them from the various vendors. Once you have a recipe for a specific item, all you have to do it select the recipe and hit the create button. You will receive a message in the chat window if you do not have the proper items to complete the crafting. The crafting skills are Forging, Carpentry, Cooking and Tailoring. Forging is the creation of tools or weapons, Carpentry is creating furniture to put in your house, Cooking is making food that replenishes your health or energy (or both), and Tailoring is creating new clothing items.

Farming

Farming in MMOs usually means going out and killing creatures for raw materials. While that is something that you do a lot of in HKO, you actually have a real farm in the game where you can grow crops and then harvest them for use in crafting or sales for money. While on your farm, there is an icon on the left of your screen that represents how many “days” have passed; a day will usually take only a few minutes to pass in its entirety. When you first go to your farm, it is rather small and half the squares have rocks in them, making them unsuitable for planting new crops. The first thing you need to do is to put fertilizer on a plantable square, then put a seed in the ground and water it. After you’ve done that, the plant will sprout out of the ground; in a day it will get bigger, and eventually start to sprout. Depending on your skill in gathering, you can either gather wilted leaves, caterpillars, or the actual fruit or vegetable you have grown. The higher your gather skill, the more likely you are to gather the crop rather than the useless withered leaves or caterpillars. You need to water your crops every day, or they will eventually die and have to be replanted. The time for this to happen seems to be around 24 hours, so you have to check back on your farm regularly. Thankfully, the basic farming materials are fairly cheap, so you can replant without much worry if you have to. As mentioned earlier, harvesting crops and selling them to vendors is by far the easiest way to make money in the game.

Housing

Eventually, after progressing far enough into the game, you are given a land deed and can build a house on your farm. The land deed can either be purchased from an NPC (non-player character) or won as a Quest Reward. There are many different types of houses, and each requires a large amount of resources to complete. You have to be a fairly high-level player to even make it to the town that has an NPC that sells deeds, so don’t expect to create a new character and then start working on your house.

Apparently "kitty" is a forbidden word

Social aspects of HKO

Again, as HKO is geared to a younger audience, the focus of the game is on cooperation and teamwork with other players while working together to accomplish your goals—whether that is questing, gathering materials for your house, or others. You can create a guild and invite other people to it in order to help each other out throughout the game. If you click on any player, you also have the option of adding them to your friends list, inviting them to your guild, or even sending them an email (to their SanrioTown.com email only). One major MMO standard that is absent from this game is PvP (Player versus Player) content. As I said, the focus is on help and cooperation between players, so PvP is clearly contrary to this idea. The age group for this game is definitely ages 7-13 or so, and it shows in the chat that goes on in the game. The first indication I had of this was within the first few minutes after I loaded my character: I was asked by a few female avatars if I wanted to be their in-game boyfriend.

Conclusion

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and detail in this game. This MMO is definitely geared towards younger children, and I’d have no problem as a parent allowing my child to play this game if they were interested. The game runs on basically any modern system, and would be fun for young children who might watch their older siblings (or parents) playing more adult-themed MMOs. It does require a lot of reading, so if your child isn’t reading yet, it will at least require you to sit and read with them. It is a great introduction to MMOs for children that enjoy Hello Kitty, and if they are familiar with the Hello Kitty World, they would definitely enjoy wandering around this environment and interacting with the characters that populate it. Hello Kitty symbols are everywhere, from signposts to lakes shaped like HK and others; you never really forget that you are in the Hello Kitty World. In addition to a few imaginary towns, there are also real world towns of London, Paris, Bejing, Tokyo, and New York (with their own Hello Kitty stamp on famous landmarks). Overall, I think this game would be great for young children.

Medal of Honor features an impressive graphics engine and sequences of intense modern warfare. The game is due in the fall of 2010.

The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) has announced the winners of the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards at a ceremony held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to honor outstanding creative, technical and artistic audio achievement in the world of interactive entertainment.

G.A.N.G. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of game audio, by providing information, instruction, resources, guidance and enlightenment to its members, content providers, and listeners throughout the world.

Voted and judged upon by the game audio industry and members of G.A.N.G., the winners represent the best in game audio for 2009. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves led the night with 9 nominations and 6 wins including “Audio of the Year”.

Game industry veteran Charles Deenen was honored by receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work over the past 25 years.

Highlights of the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards follow:

AUDIO OF THE YEAR: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

MUSIC OF THE YEAR (TIE): Assassin’s Creed II / Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM: inFAMOUS

BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE: Flower

BEST HANDHELD AUDIO: The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition (iPhone)

BEST CINEMATIC/CUT-SCENE AUDIO: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST DIALOGUE: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL: “Reunion” – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – CHORAL: “Halls of Iron” – World of Warcraft: Secrets of Ulduar

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – POP: “Plants vs. Zombies” – Plants vs. Zombies

BEST USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL SURROUND IN A GAME: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC: Rock Band: The Beatles

BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE, PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST: “The Future of Game Audio / The Game Audio Mixing Revolution” – Gamasutra.com

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Charles Deenen

The videos showcase impressive real-time physics simulations that rival some of what we’ve seen from current implementations of PhysX. Havok physics are handled in software and calculated on the CPU, rather than offloading calculations to the GPU like PhysX.

Havok Destruction

Havok Destruction is a cross-platform solution for rigid body dynamics. The video showcases some scenes with an impressive amount of real-time rigid body interactions. The sequence of the train trestle collapse is especially impressive, with a very high amount of breakable objects all interacting without killing the framerate.

Another notable demonstration is the deformable rigid body objects. Metal objects being dented under the weight of heavy objects is a feature that PhysX has toted heavily. Havok is effectively stepping on their business by pulling off dynamic deformable objects and doing it at a software level.

Havok Cloth

Like Havok Destruction, Cloth is a cross-platform solution that optimizes and streamlines dynamic cloth simulation in real-time environments.

The Havok Cloth video displays impressive cloth dynamics on top of an angry ogre. Cloth dynamics is one of the greatest trump cards that PhysX currently holds. There is no word yet if Havok Cloth will rise to support dynamic tearing and ripping of cloth mesh as PhysX is able to do, but it is certainly an achievement if Havok Cloth implements simulation this impressive at a software level.

For more information on Havok Destruction, Havok Cloth and the Havok physics engine, the company has provided additional videos and information at their official website.

Capcom today announced that their new motorcycle racing game, MotoGP, which focuses on realistic graphics and physics, will be coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 23rd of this year. The demo is already available on Xbox Live.

Capcom also released a series of 10 screenshots showcasing the advanced graphics.

Earlier this month, Valve announced the upcoming release of Portal 2, which is set to debut during this year’s holiday season. Though not much information has been released about the game, Valve CEO Gabe Newell is claiming that it is “the best game [Valve has] ever done.”

Newell chatted with 1up.com about Portal 2 which, unlike Portal, will be released as a full game.

“One of the nice things about the Orange Box was it allowed us to try out a couple of different things, and Portal really seemed to resonate. We got the signals that we wanted — this is what people liked; this is what people didn’t like. And to us, it was like, ‘OK now we know how to take this big,’ so that’s what we’re going to do with Portal 2,” said Newell.

Newell did express some trepidation over getting consumers to accept and pay for the larger game, especially after backlash from gamers last year over the release of Left 4 Dead 2, which came only a year after the release of the its predecessor.

“I think you always have that challenge on your new games, explaining ‘Why is it worth their time? Why is it worth their money? Why is it worth their passion?’ And that’s a case you have to make with every release you do,” he said.

1up.com did try to weasel some details about the game out of Newell, but all he would say was that, “Jonathan Coulton is awesome — he’s just brilliant; he’s a joy to work with.” Jonathon Coulton is the creator of “Still Alive,” the ending theme from Portal, signifying that another humorous tune will grace Portal 2.

The company reassured an anxious crowd in San Francisco on Thursday that they are still at the bleeding edge when it comes to real time computer graphics.

The video details many of the new technologies that are being implemented in Crysis 2, most of which are featured on the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of the game. Amongst the features we’ve come to expect from CryEngine, like its signature real-time dynamic lighting and advanced shader techniques, the video shows off plenty of new technology. Notable additions include color grading, blend shading and a much more robust procedural system for object destruction.

To ease concerns that CryEngine 3 is going to be watered down to console standards, the video also showcases PC-specific tech such as facial animation and subsurface scattering techniques that look significantly better than they did with Crysis. Also specific to the PC is deferred lighting, which is a rendering technique that calculates lighting per pixel and renders the information down to the texture, which is stored in a buffer. In short, deferred lighting is able to handle a large amount of lights without crushing GPU performance.

We also get to see more of the war-torn cityscape environment that has been so prevalent in other CryEngine 3 videos. Whereas Crysis’ gameplay focused on semi-futuristic guerrilla warfare set on a tropical paradise, Crysis 2 looks to be a CQB affair.

Finally, the video demonstrates a dynamic cover system, which lends credence to the urban combat model. Battles look tight and intense with an impressive amount of destruction in tow.

XS Games has recently announced that they are porting their acclaimed The Red Star title to both the PSPgo and the iPhone.

Previously released on the PlayStation 2, The Red Star is a classic-styled game that mixes elements of both top down shooters and beat ‘em up games.

Originally a graphic novel written by Christian Gossett, The Red Star takes place in an alternate reality that features a brilliantly-masked version of Soviet Russia known as the United Republics of the Red Star. The URRS is a dystopian land of mystical powers and advanced technology, including the ability to bolster soldiers with mental-powered abilities.

Players can choose to play as one of three main characters, including powerful sorceress Maya Antares, fighter and bodyguard Kyuzo, and warrior Makita.

Those familiar with the original PlayStation 2 version will be offered a fresh visual polish and redesigned controls. With “pick up and play” design, it lends itself well to being on a mobile platform. The Red Star for PSPgo and iPhone will be released Spring 2010.

Ubisoft has recently launched a sweepstakes to promote their upcoming game, Splinter Cell Conviction.

The sweepstakes, known as “Search for Sam Fisher” is tied to the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction GigaPan Facebook app. Participants have the opportunity to browse gigapixel-sized images and for entry into the sweepstakes, which offers the chance to win prizes such as an Xbox 360 Splinter Cell Conviction Special Edition bundle.

Participants will have access to high-resolution images and a list of items to find within them. This high-tech interpretation of a scavenger hunt will have players searching for equipment found in the game, baddies and Sam Fisher himself. Findings can be tagged and submitted, and new objectives to search for will be received.

The super high-resolution images are approximately a gigapixel each. They were captured using the GigaPan Imager, technology developed by Google, Carnegie Mellon and the NASA Ames Intelligent Systems Division’s Robotics Group. The technology was also previously deployed in the Mars Exploration Rovers. GigaPan images can be zoomed in on to reveal impressive levels of detail, as the following images demonstrate.

GigaPan image zoomed out. Note the highlighted area we added to show the zoom area!

The highlighted area zoomed in to show people, cars, and... A tank? Jinkies, a clue!

Harmonix announced yesterday that Rock Band 3 is currently in production and will come out during the holidays this year. Harmonix said that it will be published by MTV games and distributed by EA. Harmonix claims that that Rock Band 3 is sure to “Innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again.”

This announcement comes on the heels of the Rock Band Network going live at the beginning of March. The Rock Band Network gives artists a venue by which to create music, edit it, and have it put into the Rock Band store for purchase by users across the world.

Since the Rock Band Network Beta went up in January, over 4,300 users have registered as artists and peer reviewers. Many artists have already gotten songs into the Rock Band store, such as the Shins, the Hold Steady and of Montreal, with more songs from the Smashing Pumpkins and Flight of the Conchords currently in the peer reviewing process.

The Rock Band Network will also be featuring an Artist of the Month in connection with T-Mobile starting in April to garner attention for new talent.

The Rock Band Store offered over 1100 songs for purchase in the Rock Band store before the Rock Band Network, and through Beta already have added an additional 100 songs. The Network certainly seems like it will swell the size of the Rock Band store quickly, and allow many more genres into the game than were previously found.

NBC Universal today announced the development of a Massive Multiplayer online game based on the popular SyFy series Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica Online will be an in-browser game developed on Unity, a non-client engine which allows advanced 3D graphics streaming over the web. The game will mark the first major MMO release using Unity, and so will also serve as a test of the viability of the platform.

The game is being developed by Artplant and published by Bigpoint, both 3D MMO specialists. It will be available on syfy.com exclusively for the first thirty days after release, details of where the game will be available after that have not yet been released.

The gameplay will consist of exploration and mission-based, tactical space combat. Players will choose to join either the Humans or the Cylons, and follow a changing story-line based around plot-heavy missions.

“Battlestar Galactica is a supremely gameable intellectual property, with compelling character classes, a fantastic array of ships and weaponry, multiple worlds, and a dramatic storyline,” said Bill Kispert, VP & GM, Digital Platforms, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. ” We are excited to work with Bigpoint – and our partners at Universal Cable Productions and Syfy – to bring an epic, accessible, and ‘always on’ BSG experience to fans of the franchise and online gamers alike.”

“Cooperation between Bigpoint and NBC Universal is a very important strategic step for us,” explains Heiko Hubertz, CEO and founder of Bigpoint. “Battlestar Galactica has a huge and passionate fan base. We are proud to be able to publish such an internationally famous title as one of our online games. For the first time ever, we’re relying completely on Unity in order to offer our users fantastic game graphics right in their browsers.”

An “oil wrestler from Turkey”, as the press release states, Hakan uses… hold on while I force myself to not smile while writing this—he uses lubricants to assist him in battle.

… okay, I’m good.

At any rate, Hakan was revealed last night in San Francisco… *breathe* … at the Fight Club in San Francisco, to what we can only assume was a rapt audience. Capcom claims he has some of the most insane moves and ultra combos in the game. I mean, why wouldn’t an oiled-up Turk have some insane moves. Logic dictates that he must.

Hakan represents the final character reveal for the April 27th launch of Super Street Fighter IV, and is a brand new character to the SF universe.

Rise of Prussia

For the PC, Rise of Prussia is a new turn-based battle game for fans of in-depth strategy and tactics along the lines of the Hearts of Iron franchise. Players take the side of Prussia in the 7 Years War. The Germanic states are broken up into over a thousand different regions for greater flexibility and detail of tactical decisions. Player will run through 6 minor campaigns for each year of the war, resulting in 42 total campaigns spanning the seven years of the overarching scenario. Replayability is ensured by a series of multi-outcome events which change the course of the war, making it a slightly different challenge each time.

Scrap Metal

Coming to Xbox Live Arcade this week, Scrap Metal is being called a cross between R/C Pro Am, and Carmageddon. Pick a car, customize it to your liking, and then compete against the AI or your friends in several different race and demolition modes. It’s all top down controls, and smashing up the cars is a big part of the game. Each vehicle is mounted with weapons for extra destruction. In the single-player mode, defeat challenging Bosses to take their pink-slips, and add their cars to your garage.

Max & the Magic Marker

For WiiWare, Max & the Magic Marker is a drawing physics platformer. The evil Mustacho has invaded Max’s illustrated world, and Max must fight back, using his wits and his giant magic marker. Max runs and jumps, collecting items from the environment, and avoiding enemies and other obstacles. When needed, Max uses his marker to draw new objects on the screen, which become real, and allow his environment to change. Draw bridges to cross gaps, and pendulums to crash through barricades. Take Max and his marker through fifteen challenging levels to defeat Mustasho.

Final Fantasy XIII

Icrontic’s Spotlight Release this week is Final Fantasy XIII. This new entry in the franchise marks the beginning of new adventures in a new world. After nearly ten years of stories in the world of Ivalice, Final Fantasy fans will be moving on to the utopia of Cocoon, where mankind has known peace and prosperity for time unknown under their benevolent protectors, the fal’Cie. This prosperity has finally been broken by the revelation of a single fal’Cie of great evil, who has come awake in the lower world. The protagonist of this new story is a young woman known only as Lightning. Along with her fellow chosen fighters, she must become the champion of humanity, free them from their new servitude, and set right the failures of the fal’Cie guardians. As with past Final Fantasy games, this entry will have all new battle and advancement systems. Thankfully, the “programming” concept from Final Fantasy XII has been retained in at least some form, allowing the Active Time Battle system to have a certain level of autonomy. Keep an eye on Icrontic, as we’ll have a review of this title within the next few weeks.

Following is a list of this weeks announce North American releases:

PC

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Battle of the Immortals
• BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack
• Memory Clinic
• Order of War: Challenge
• Rise of Prussia
• Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising

Wii

• Calling
• Dracula: Undead Awakening
• Max & the Magic Marker
• Racquet Sports
• Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
• Final Fantasy II (Virtual Console – NES)

DS

• 4 Travellers: Play Spanish
• 50 Classic Games
• Dracula: Undead Awakening
• Elemental Masters
• Flips: The Bubonic Builders
• Foto Showdown
• Spectral Force Genesis

Xbox360

• BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition
• Scrap Metal
• Supreme Commander 2

PS3

• BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Mega Man 10
• Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition
• Yakuza 3

PSP

• Blazblue: Calamity Trigger Portable

“This is Street Fighter IV in all its glory… uncompromised and awesome,” said General Manager of Mobile Content Development, Takeshi Tezuka. “We’re particularly proud of the multiplayer feature as it remains true to the series arcade roots by allowing players to go head-to-head over Bluetooth in spectacular fashion.”

Well, I guess it's going to have to do...

Controls for the game will use conventional virtual d-pad and will play just like the console versions and bring a new level of flexibility to the controls we’ve seen in similar game interfaces on the iPhone thus far. Players will be able to move the d-pad and buttons anywhere on the screen for comfort and precision and adjust the transparency of the controls to preference as well.

Considering how much emphasis the franchise has put on tactile physical controls and how much time and money gamers have been willing to spend on getting custom equipment to play the game we’re a little skeptical that the virtual pad is going to be exceptionally satisfying experience.  However, we’re still excited to see how the game will run on this platform regardless of the limitations.

Too early to call

Players will be able to get a good feel for the game in the single player Dojo mode but the real action will take place in the Bluetooth multiplayer championship. It’s a good start but we would have been much more excited to see online multiplayer competitions or at least the ability to play with specific friends over WI-Fi or 3G. Hopefully this is a feature they will consider adding sometime after the release if the game proves as popular as they are hoping.