Jason Fanelli

Koei Tecmo’s mission to introduce new audiences to famous anime series continues with Berserk and The Band of the Hawk, chronicling the life of lone wolf mercenary Guts and his many battles. Berserk is a button masher’s dream, with hordes of enemies on-screen at one time and combo counters reaching into the thousands. For Koei Tecmo and developer Omega Force it’s unfortunately a step backward, as the innovation in movement that came with Attack on Titan has been replaced with the familiar scheme, which is a disappointment.

The ultra-popular Attack on Titan anime series has finally made its way to the video game world, with the minds behind the Dynasty Warriors franchise --- Omega Force and Koei Tecmo --- charged with the transition. I was hesitant to truly get excited for this new game, as I didn’t think Attack on Titan fit well into Omega Force style of game, but I’m happy to say that playing the game has proven me wrong... for the most part.

After achieving super-stardom thanks to the popular Saints Row franchise Volition has decided to introduce a brand new group of fearsome fighters. They are the Agents of Mayhem, an elite squad charged with keeping the world safe from whatever threats may emerge. This new team is less Third Street Saints and more GI Joe, although the trademark Volition attitude and humor is still very much intact. Agents of Mayhem is a step in a new direction, and so far it’s shaping up nicely.

I worried a bit about Koei Tecmo taking on Attack on Titan. The publisher’s previous foray into the anime realm, two games based on Fist of the North Star, really underwhelmed me with monotonous gameplay and rehashed ideas. I went into my hands-on demo for Titan expecting to write about more of the same things I’d played before, but I left the demo completely surprised. Attack on Titan is a bold new direction, and if it pans out it could be a new era of success for the company.

Platinum Games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: a company and a property that should be a match made in heaven. Platinum has made a name for itself with fast paced, high adrenaline action games and Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo perfectly fit that mold being a fearsome fighting team and all. Why then, as I sit through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, does this marriage made in heaven bore the hell out of me?

Close your eyes and imagine yourself steeped in the midst of the epic battle on Hoth. Listen to the Y-Wings and TIE Fighters zoom over your head and the pings of laser fire bouncing off of the rocks behind you. Immerse yourself in that world, then open your eyes. Of course you're no longer in that epic and icy struggle, but if you were playing Star Wars Battlefront then what you saw in your mind would match what was happening on screen. The level of detail that went into reproducing this battle is enormous, and all of it pays off into what is a fantastic experience.