Author: Alex Seedhouse

In an interview in Ultimania magazine, both Motomu Toriyama and Yoshinori Kitase, respectively the Director and Producer of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII title from Square Enix, discuss the reasons behind the linearity of the title. In response to a question relating to such factor, which has been a noted criticism of the game in recent reviews, Toriyama responds “We made the map and battles function as part of the story, so that players get the same feeling as the characters. To achieve this, we wanted the story to progress non-stop [in a linear fashion], until Chapter X*.” The…

In the same interview in which Toriyama explains the linearity of Final Fantasy XIII, he also mentioned the lack of towns was due to the fact that in producing HD quality graphics it would take far too much time for the developers to create. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCAJADlLg9g Alongside such comments, Yoshinori Kitase also explains that such a problem relates to being unable to currently consider the continual requests for a Final Fantasy 7 remake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL_Xqgjm55Q He explains, “This issue is related to whether a Final Fantasy 7 remake will happen or not. It is very hard to make games on PlayStation 3 in…

In a recent interview with the Dutch version of Official Playstation Magazine, Final Fantasy XIII Producer Yoshinori Kitase has explained the decision that has become a sore point to many Western Final Fantasy fans – the choice of Leona Lewis for the titles theme song. Responding to the question as to why the original Japanese theme song, Kimi Ga Iru Kara, was replaced with My Hands by Leona Lewis, rather than receive a straight English translation, Kitase explains “We have tried to translate the original theme song, but the singer had difficulties with that. This is a new type of tactic, an experiment if…

Tecmo Koei Europe have today released the box art for their upcoming third-person shoot ‘em up title, Quantum Theory. It was back in December that they announced the game, originally planned as a Playstation 3 exclusive, was to become multiplatform. The full title is due out on 26th March, for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms.

Microsoft has just announced the upcoming release schedule for Xbox Live Marketplace, which is as follows; Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week:Feb. 2: Splosion Man, 400 Microsoft PointsXbox LIVE Games on Demand:Jan. 26: Dead Rising and Halo WarsFeb. 2: Medal of Honor: AirborneXbox LIVE Arcade:Jan. 27: KrissX, 800 Microsoft PointsFeb. 3: Chime, 400 Microsoft PointsXbox Avatars Marketplace:Jan. 28: Assassin’s CreedFeb. 4 : Valentine’s Day and Carnival collectionsGame Add-OnsJan. 27: Pinball FX Excalibur Table, 240 Microsoft PointsJan. 28: Assassin’s Creed II: Battle of Forli, 320 Microsoft PointsFeb. 2: Halo 3 Mythic 2 Map Pack, 800 Microsoft Points I’ll certainly be picking…

Cliff Bleszinski is sure to excite games across the globe following a rather promising announcement on Twitter today. In a short tease, he reveals that; “Kick ass news soon. VERY soon. Watch this space…” I’m sure that fans will be hoping for an announcement regarding Gears of War 3, rather than a new Natal project from Epic Games… we’ll have to wait to find out though! Picture Courtesy of Spong.Com

Geoff Keighley has just announced on Twitter that the global announcement of the next title from Platinum Games, developers of the recently acclaimed title Bayonetta, is set to happen within this week’s GTTV Show. Alongside this, Gametrailers will also have an exclusive trailer for us to cast our eyes over after the new title has been announced. Following the popular reception of Bayonetta, we’re really excited to see what the developer has in store next – could it be a sequel title, or something completely different? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

EA and Bioware have released new details on a further addition to the new Heavy Weapon category available within their soon to be released title, Mass Effect 2. Titled the M-920 Cain, the weapon has been created by Normandy’s scientists whom have prototyped a modified version of traditional high-explosive rounds that are able to be applied to a 25 gram slug. When these are accelerated to a speed of 5 km/s, the round is becomes absolutely devastating. Though not necessarily encompassing nuclear materials, the prototype weapon has been nicknamed the ‘Nuke Launcher.’ Upon impact, its high-explosive matrix generates a mushroom…

I’m sure many are eagerly awaiting the March release of Square Enix’s highly anticipated RPG title, Final Fantasy XIII, as much as I am. However, i’m still waiting for Square Enix to announce the details of the Collector’s Edition for the title, which was previously confirmed in December. Firstly, I’d imagine that Square Enix would announce the Collector’s Edition as their final “13th” announcement on February 13th, so please remember that for now this is completely unconfirmed and may be a complete mistake on Gamestop’s part. For those that welcome a little rumor regarding the contents of such edition, it may…

It was with joy that I saw my subscription copy of Official Playstation Magazine UK arrive in the post this morning. This was not only due to the fact that I was hoping to find more information on the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII from Square Enix, but more for the fact that I knew that the latest issue would offer the World Exclusive review for Quantic Dreams’ Playstation 3 exclusive, Heavy Rain. Reviewed by Editor-in-chief, Tim Clark, it was his opening sentence that easily confirmed to me that this was another overtly ambitious title that wasn’t going to fall anywhere…