Nintendo has been focusing on New Play Control games of late, but that's going to change shortly. The latest Shounen Jump offered up first solid details on Takt of Magic, a first party Wii game that's now set for May 21 release in Japan.

In Takt of Magic, you take control of Orwell and Sharlot, two childhood friends who, for a reason that's currently unclear, face off on the battle field against monsters and enemy soldiers.

Jump promises an in-depth look at the game's "new style battle system" and "deep story" in its next issue, but this issue provides a couple of hints about the game. You hold the Wiimote like a wand and draw out shapes to perform magic. The game includes over 100 spells. In addition to casting magic, you also control a battle party, whom you direct on the battle field from an overhead perspective.

A May 21 Japanese release means further online details should be on the way shortly. Stay tuned!

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/968/968795p1.html ...

The latest issue of Nintendo Power published with the first story on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Wii. This is not an April Fool's joke. Rumors floating around the Interweb previously suggested the title might be a remake of the original PlayStation game, but according to the magazine, the WIi title is far removed from its predecessor. In fact, Konami describes it as a "re-imagining" of the original game.

Excerpts from the article itself have also made it online, and reveal a great deal about how the new game will look and feel.

"This is a reimagining of the first Silent Hill," says producer Tomm Hulett in his Nintendo Power interview. "It's not a remake or a port. That's an important distinction. It really feels like a new game."

Other aspects of the game have also hit the Net, including some interesting pieces based on the story itself, as well as the game's ability to "watch" users as they play. Hulett mentions that characters will be playing different roles in the game, and events won't necessarily carry out in the same order or how they did in the original project. Fans of the main character Harry Mason will be happy to hear that the title still revolves around his search for his daughter, though.

Another major element within the game is that it watches you, and will actually react to how you play. Your behavior dictates the action, so to speak, with the game always aiming to not only get into the protagonist's head, but "Your head" as well, according to Hulett. The remote itself is also being used to interact directly with the environment, rather than just having button presses dictate specific actions. As Hulett puts it, "You're not just hitting buttons to choose things." It also seems there will be a larger emphasis on streamlining the whole process, with a few minor details suggesting that there's a way through every door in the game, and a whole lot less backtracking overall.

Details beyond that are sparse, but IGN can confirm that this is in fact not an April Fools joke, and that Shattered Memories is a very real, very anticipated Wii offering from the folks at Konami. As for the Nintendo Power issue, more information has yet to break, though you can expect more news to hit through us very soon, with coverage on Konami's take on Wii's darker side ready to begin.

Be sure to check back soon, as we'll have a whole lot more on what is sure to be an impressive, mature offering for the devoted "core" Nintendo fans.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/968/968741p1.html ...

Newly released



Amami Shuu is a modern magician who combines science and technology with his magic.

With full knowledge of what he is and the danger that he may come to, he could not be close to any ordinary people, and thus rejected Shione, a sweet girl who confessed to him. However, his rejection incurs the wrath of Shione's best friend Mio who has a hidden agenda.

Besides trouble with love, he is entrusted with investigating a case of missing persons. Replicas of people start appearing in town, and once the original comes to contact with the doppleganger, the original disappeared.

He enlists the help of the Library's witch Kanae as his informant, but suspects that the case is not as simple as she puts.

One night, he witnesses the fight between Mio and a doll-like girl, and realizes that Mio, like him, is a modern magician while the girl will soon become his classmate.

Battles, magic, cute girls and utter chaos, 11eyes Crossover is the answer to any adventure gamers' dreams. The game is available as a limited edition and standard edition

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-376d.html ...

Newly released



features
Contains three PixelJunk games on one disc
Includes PixelJunk Eden, PixelJunk Monsters and PixelJunk Racers

description
The PixelJunk 3in1 Pack contains three popular PixelJunk games previously released only on the PlayStation®Network on one Blu-ray disc. The ultimate collection for all PixelJunk fans.

PixelJunk™ Racers

PixelJunk™ Racers is an addictive slot car racing game that supports 1080p and features single player and multiplayer fun (up to 7 players simultaneously offline!). Intuitive controls, 32 different race modes, and online rankings will provide countless hours of racing mayhem.

PixelJunk™ Monsters

Inspired by the popular and addictive "tower defense" genre, PixelJunk™ Monsters takes the simple real-time strategy concept of building, researching and base defending and presents it in a uniquely attractive style. With meticulously hand-drawn 2D art, PixelJunk™ Monsters recreates the look of a classic with crisp graphics designed for optimal viewing in Full 1080p HD.

In PixelJunk™ Monsters, the player controls a defender-of-the-forest character in a lush 2D environment. The player's goal is to strategically defend the pathway to his homebase from an onslaught of various threatening monsters. In between waves of monster attacks, the player scrambles to reinforce his defenses by collecting gold coins and jewels from fallen enemies to finance new towers and research deadlier weapons. Eventually, the player can harness the elements throughout the 20 different stages to cast lightning storms across the forest. Gamers can enjoy PixelJunk™ Monsters with a friend in offline co-op mode, which requires careful strategy and communication.

PixelJunk™ Eden

PixelJunk™ Eden is the third PSN title from the addictive PixelJunk series by Japanese developer Q-Games. Utterly unique and spell-bindingly beautiful, PixelJunk™ Eden welcomes you to a psychedelic world unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. As a tiny, silk-spinning ‘grimp’, it is up to you to collect the lost “Spectra” that have been scattered across all the gardens of Eden. You grip, jump and swing, destroying “Prowlers” and collecting their pollen which lets you grow more plants to take you further and deeper into the garden to locate the precious ‘Spectra.’ Lush visuals, slick controls and amazing music make it an incredibly atmospheric and addictive experience.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-36px.html ...

Newly released



The Leisure Suit Larry® Box Office Bust video game gives gamers an all-access pass to the glitz, glamour and gorgeous women of Tinseltown. In this third-person adventure game, Larry takes a summer job working on his uncle Larry’s movie lot doing odd jobs and trying to uncover a mole from another studio who threatens to air the studio’s dirty laundry in the tabloids.

Leisure Suit Larry Box Office Bust is a rollicking, innuendo-laden lampoon of Hollywood that features open world sand box game play that includes exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving to complete missions. Additionally, the game will feature an all-new Directors Game that allows the player to create their very own “Larry Feature.”

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3an7.html ...

New special offer from Play Asia:



Fracture advances players to the year 2161, where the effects of global warming have altered the planet’s landscape, and a clash in ideologies over human enhancement places society on the threshold of war.

In utilizing the core gameplay mechanic of Fracture, a destructive next-generation technology known as Terrain Deformation, players are equipped with an arsenal of futuristic weaponry to strategically reshape their surroundings on the fly.

Every action they perform dynamically reshapes the earth in ways no videogame has.

Sate your desires for destruction in Fracture, split the ground, erect barricades with lose soil, the future is in your hands, shape it to anyway you like. The game is available as a PlayStation3™ Austral-Asian version, at an unbeatable bargain price of US$ 9.90 only

The maximum amount of purchase is set to 3 units per customer, so be sure to get a copy for your friend.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-1zz-84-n.html ...

The XBLA approval process has always been a process shrouded in mystery ... until now. Developer Introversion, the folks behind upcoming XBLA game Darwinia+, are laying all the cards on the table -- design documents, internal emails, weekly reports, code from the game and even the project plan -- thus providing transparency of the XBLA approval process. Available on Introversion's website, the company has made it clear that it'll show "the good, the bad, and the very very very bad" that takes place during game development. "If we can show it to you -- we will."

Teaming up with GamesIndustry.biz, the company will also be regularly updating an ongoing series "critiquing the ongoing development process," and presumably helping those outside of Introversion to understand more intricately what has gone into creating Darwinia+. The game is set to release internally on September 24, so with any luck we'll see it not too long afterward.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/02/in...-for-darwinia/ ...

Announced sometime around the end of WWII itself, The Saboteur has managed to survive EA Pandemic's recent shake-up and is on track for 2009 release on 360 and PS3. We never really saw much of the game to begin with, so comparisons between how it looks now and did back then are difficult to draw. According to info on the newly launched official site, though, the core gameplay is still very much same as it ever was.

By that, we mean the "Will to Fight" mechanic, where more Parisians will join the player's fight against the Nazis as the city is gradually liberated. The site also makes a bullet-point out of the fact the game is the first to feature an open-world recreation of Paris. Hmm, we'll go with the former as the more exciting of the two "features." Unfortunately, all of the site's screenshots are tragically small and low-quality. Sabotage perhaps?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/02/pa...official-site/ ...

Announced sometime around the end of WWII itself, The Saboteur has managed to survive EA Pandemic's recent shake-up and is on track for 2009 release on 360 and PS3. We never really saw much of the game to begin with, so comparisons between how it looks now and did back then are difficult to draw. According to info on the newly launched official site, though, the core gameplay is still very much same as it ever was.

By that, we mean the "Will to Fight" mechanic, where more Parisians will join the player's fight against the Nazis as the city is gradually liberated. The site also makes a bullet-point out of the fact the game is the first to feature an open-world recreation of Paris. Hmm, we'll go with the former as the more exciting of the two "features." Unfortunately, all of the site's screenshots are tragically small and low-quality. Sabotage perhaps?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/02/pa...official-site/ ...