Will the US get this new NDS title?

Shining fans have had to make due with mediocre fare over the past few years. We never did get Shining Wind, granted Shining Tears bombed here in the US. What I played of Wind was promising, though all I could evaluate were the system upgrades. The story, I’ve heard, is nothing short of mediocre. Then there’s EXA. While enjoyable, it failed to live up to the series’ exemplary earlier days. So here we are with a new Nintendo DS entry: Shining Force Feather. It’s being developed by the team that did Summon Night. No US announcement thus far. Scans here. For more on the history of the series, check out this article.

Jimenez hopeful that fans will get the full game before year’s end.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has been under the microscope ever since it was announced. It seems that everyone thinks they know what’s best for this legendary remake. I for one enjoyed my time with the beta and am looking forward to the final product. Recent updates have been few and far between and there are still a lot of questions about many characters. While no new character info has been revealed, an interview with HD Remix producer Rey Jimenez was recently posted on The Street Fighter Blog. Check it out here.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any zanier.

I wonder what casual gamers must think of this strange, addicting series? I often wonder myself why I am spending so many hours trying to find pirates or pass a bill or simply leveling over and over and over again. Then I just melt back in to the experience and enjoy it, because it’s a rare thing.

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Innuendoes and all, the popular sim RPG comes back for round 2.

Ar tonelico was an interesting game, so it’s no surprise that we are getting a sequel. How hot and heavy the sexual under- (and over-!) tones will be is yet to be determined until we get our hands on a preview build later this year. Amping up the concept of song magic, combat will now involve two Reyvateils. Let’s just hope that the combat is a little quicker this time, as one of my major gripes with the first was waiting for the initial intro charge animation to take place.

NIS has enhanced many of the original features, so fans can expect plenty of lovely ladies to “dive” into once again. This time around Croix, a young knight from the Church of Pastalia, is sent to deal with an epidemic that is killing Reyvateils. We’ll post US trailers and Web site info as it becomes available. For now, the Japanese trailer will have to suffice.

An in-depth E3 demo highlights new gameplay elements.

There was a lot of great coverage both here and elsewhere for E3 this year. Besides any and all Street Fighter news I could find, I was also very interested in news of Resident Evil 5. One such in-depth stage show demo highlighted a few levels and co-op play. Needless to say, RE5 is shaping up to be an impressive game and it’s most interesting to see how far the series has come since its B-movie roots.

Chris Kramer, senior director of communications and community at Capcom, walks us through early stages in the game and shows off partner options, enemy AI, and one huge boss character. Of course not everything was revealed and I’m curious to see if there will be weapon upgrades, auto healing (as we’ve seen in more recent action games), vehicle use, and possible hidden, playable characters. It seems as if weapons/ammo are even more plentiful this time around and melee attacks are ramped up as well.

Kramer mentioned a spring 2009 release, but for now, check out this stellar video of the Resident Evil 5 demo.