Remember Project Needlemouse a few months back?  Well, that 2D Sonic platformer has been officially confirmed today (as of 3:00 AM EST) as Sonic the Hedgehog 4 – Episode 1.  Yep, you read that right.  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will be available on all three consoles as a downloadable game.  The gameplay is 2D, while the graphics are 3D.  From what little that was shown, the graphics look pleasing.  Then again, I would be pleased if Sega just did the graphics in a 16 bit style, ala the classic Genesis titles.  Teaser trailer after the break!
continue reading "Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Confirmed for all Consoles"

-Bayonetta-

-Review-

The genius behind games like Devil May Cry, Okami, Resident Evil 2 (I could go on and on), Hideki Kamiya, decided to grace us with yet another gem of a game.  Bayonetta sets the bar for the action genre.  It’s that simple.
continue reading "Judgement Zone: Bayonetta"

No objections from me of course.  If you don’t have a DS but do own a Wii, you owe it to yourself to download this game now.  You at school/work?  That’s a shame.  If I was your employer, I’d totally let you have the day off to play this incredible game.  Here’s a summary of the game taken from Nintendo’s press site:

Meet Phoenix Wright, the rookie defense lawyer new to the scene with the wildest cross-examination skills in town. Take on four intriguing cases to reveal dramatic, stunning and even comical court proceedings. Use the Wii Remote controller to investigate the crime scenes, question witnesses and present shocking evidence.

There’s one little thing that concerns me though.  The summary mentioned four cases.  The original Phoenix Wright had four cases, but the DS remake included a bonus fifth case.  Naturally, since it was DS specific, certain elements cannot be ported to the Wii since there is no microphone (Wii Speak doesn’t count because it’s not standard).  Nevertheless, actions that required the microphone should have just been replaced by a button input or something.  It’s a shame to see such a great case go missing.

However, if you don’t have a DS, you should definitely pick up the WiiWare version for 1,000 points ($10).  After all, Nintendo’s press site did mention that this game features add-on content.  A bonus case could be possible… for a fee most likely.

I believe it’s time to start slowing things down a bit here.  Over the break, some bizarre display issues were occurring on the site, to the point where the only things displayed were the header and the featured stories block.  I attempted to correct the issues by downgrading Wordpress, because all of the problems coincidentally started after the upgrade, but no dice.  I then reinstalled the theme while replacing every file I had in a backup created a few months back.  Still, the problem could not be fixed.

So, what I am to do?  I’m going to change the site back to its original theme.  It’s been about eleven months since the change.  My how time flies!  Because of the different layout, I am no longer going to continue covering video game news everyday.  I personally feel that the old theme is not very suitable for such things.  Instead, Hidden Palace Zone will be a simple blog from this very own video game/tech nerd.

Since school will commence once more in the coming weeks, I feel that it’s time to slow things down a bit here.  I will still update, but not as frequently.  So don’t feel as if this is a goodbye, because it certainly isn’t!  Hopefully by tomorrow, all of the changes will be implemented.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break.  Here’s what I’m personally anticipating for 2010.

Bayonetta

The wait is not much longer now.  Been playing the demo nonstop.

Mass Effect 2

While I found the original Mass Effect to be a little overrated, the sequel promises to fix a lot of the problems (if you can call it that) of the first game.  Definitely looking forward to playing it.

BioShock 2

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and storyline behind the first game.  The gameplay was loads of fun too.  Therefore, by default, I’m anticipating the sequel.

Alan Wake

Interesting premise.  Don’t know what else to say except that I really want to play it for the story.

Final Fantasy XIII

Of course.  How could I leave this game out?  I suppose no further explanation is needed.

Hello all, I would like to take this opportunity to announce my brief vacation from Hidden Palace Zone in order to enjoy this holiday season.  Since I am the owner of this lovely site, I can do what I want.  You know what I want?

A TWO WEEK VACATION!

Yes indeed.  Any objections?  Because if you need some new material during this time, simply create it yourself!  Register and submit any humorous article you create by hitting the submit button at the top of your screen.  Don’t worry, I’ll laugh at them.  Laugh at your attempt at comedy.

In other news, my town was hit with a major snowstorm this weekend.  My car is literally buried.  I took a photo for proof.

Those weird lines in the photo are from the window screen.  I dare not venture outdoors in such conditions.

See that?  My poor Saab.  First GM decides to kill you off then God covers you in snow, effectively making you immobile.  It was not a good weekend for the little griffin.  Anyway, I’m going off topic a bit.

Have a great holiday and I’ll begin the regular routine once more on January 4.  See you then!

It’s clear that Sony wants the PSP to be more than just a gaming machine.  It plays music, movies, and even has a web browser.  Now though, it’s your own Kindle for all things comic book related.  The PlayStation Network Digital Comics service is now live and allows you to download comic books right to your PSP.

How many issues are there at launch?  About 550 from Marvel, Disney, and IDW Publishing as of right now.  More will be added as time goes on.  Comics usually cost $1.99, but certain special comics will run you $0.99 or $2.99.  There are a few free ones too.

Firmware 6.20 is required in order to use the service, which is only available in the U.S. for now.  To see the full list of titles, check out the PlayStation Blog.

On Sega’s Bayonetta blog on IGN, special effects designer, Kudo, talks briefly about his work on Bayonetta.  We all know how special effects can really enhance a game, but have you ever seen video comparisons with and without special effects?  Kudo posted a couple of videos on the blog, one with the special effects and one without.  I think we can all agree that he did an amazing job.  Check out the videos below.

With the special effects…

Without them…

As you can see, the difference is night and day.  It’s nice to see such attention to detail, especially how Bayonetta takes damage.  Here’s a snippet from the blog:

Kamiya-san: Hey Kudo, when Bayonetta gets damaged…

Kudo: Yeah.

Kamiya-san: …We should do something special with that.

Kudo: Yeah, we should.

Kamiya-san: Maybe something like Okami’s hit effects, where flower petals flew off.

Kudo: Yep! That’s a great idea. So Bayonetta would use…

Kamiya-san: A rose, of course.

Kudo: OK. But it’s damage, right? So isn’t there supposed to be blood?

Kamiya-san: If it isn’t pretty, then it isn’t Bayonetta!! Even the blood that flows out of her body can be turned into a rose with magic!!

Kudo: Whoa!!

Kamiya-san: She just goes, “Wuhhh!!” (He’s imitating Bayonetta’s damage voice.)

Kudo: …

Kamiya-san: You know… “Wuhhh!!” (He’s really getting into it here.)

What resulted from this conversation is the hit effect below:

And here’s the video…

Yeah, not really that newsworthy, but today is my last day at college.  The semester is over and I have a Japanese final to take in two and a half hours.  Anyway, as you can see, the two colors announced are pink and blue.  How nice.  What’s not nice though are the white Wii Motion Plus attachments.  Really Nintendo?  You couldn’t make the colors consistent?  After all, you managed to make a matching black Wii Motion Plus peripheral for the black Wii Remote.  No price has been confirmed as of right now.

After announcing Halo: Reach at E3 about six months ago, Bungie finally decided to give us a true first trailer to the game.  After all, the game will be made available for the Xbox 360 sometime in the spring of 2010.

After watching the trailer, it seems evident that the game was based off of Eric Nylund’s novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach.  What happens in the novel?  The Covenant take over Reach and we see the origins of the Spartan program, which gave way to soldiers like Master Chief.

In the trailer, we also see the Noble Squad, which is composed of six Spartan soldiers.  This is their story after all; they must protect the inhabitants of Reach from the Covenant threat.  Check out the trailer below!