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Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Snoozes Its Way To America
Square Enix is bringing the PSP prequel to its incredibly popular Kingdom Hearts series to North American shores, unsurprisingly, applying a vague “summer” release date to Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. The fifth entry in the Disney-Square Enix crossover series, Birth By Sleep will be armed with a few new additions in its North American…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 16, 2010 -
Rumor: Final Fantasy XIII PS3 Has Freezing Issues
In the West, role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII is a multi-platform game, getting a release on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. While the PS3 version might look better, individuals are claiming that there are freezing issues. “For me it happens in the exact same spot (1st level, right after 3rd group of enemies, while…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2010 -
Frankenreview: Final Fantasy XIII
Come, brave adventurers, and witness the Final Fantasy XIII Frankenreview, a Franken so disparate we decided to run the graph right at the top of the post. As you can plainly see, Final Fantasy XIII isn’t shaping up to be the runaway critical hit that Square Enix was hoping for. Metacritic scores are currently hovering…
By Mike Fahey Published March 15, 2010 -
Direct Sequel For Final Fantasy XIII?
For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy XIII might seem like the sequel to Final Fantasy XII. It’s not. Each game is its own title, so if there was a FFXIII sequel, it would be FFXIII-2. When asked about the chances of a direct FFXIII sequel, the game’s producer Yoshinori Kitase replied, “In the past three years…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 15, 2010 -
Reviews
Final Fantasy XIII Review: A New Paradigm For An Old Franchise
The role-playing series that launched a million bad attempts at cosplay is back, with a new group of colorful characters carrying the fate of the world on their shoulders in Final Fantasy XIII. Hovering above the surface of the planet Pulse, the shell-like city of Cocoon was once a haven for humanity, but fear of…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2010 -
Final Fantasy Fans Are Far Too Sensitive About The Xbox 360
At the big Final Fantasy XIII launch at the HMV store in London, fans show their disapproval of the prospect of winning a free Xbox 360 bundle. Really guys? Gary from The Koalition was on hand at the big London Final Fantasy launch, where hardcore Final Fantasy fans nearly booed presenter Alex Zane off the…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2010 -
Small Differences Between Japanese Final Fantasy XIII and International FFXIII
Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are different. But that’s not all. According to website Final Fantasy-XIII.net, there are several slight differences between the Japanese version of the FFXIII and the International version: • Vibration: “However, how powerful the vibration is has been changed dramatically,” writes the site. “You seldom feel…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2010 -
Here Is Some Info About Final Fantasy XIV
Upcoming online role-playing Final Fantasy XIV will take place in a sci-fi meets fantasy universe. That we know. But that’s not all. According to recent Japanese game magazine articles, there’s more. Much, much more. Website FFXIVCore.com has a long laundry list of all the nitty gritty, but here are some selected highlights: • The PC…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 10, 2010 -
Guess How Many Copies Of Final Fantasy XIII Are Out There
Go on. Guess. Or, if you don’t feel like guessing, read on to see the shipment figures for Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix released overnight. With two million units shipped in Japan since the game’s release there in December and three million sent to stores in the West for its release here this week, that…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 10, 2010 -
Stupid Speedboat Tricks In Just Cause 2
Square Enix’s latest Anatomy of a Stunt video for Just Cause 2 shows off a very creative way to reach those hard-to-reach places with a rocket launcher. The more I see of Just Cause 2 the more I want to get my hands on it, yet I’ve not even downloaded the demo yet, mainly due…
By Mike Fahey Published March 9, 2010 -
In Japan, Getting A Tattoo Means You Can Never Go Home
At last night’s launch event for Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada showed up with a Fal’cie symbol from the game tattooed on his hand. He tweeted that he “probably” would not be able to return to Japan. Wada, of course, was being lighthearted. The tattoo, of course, is fake. It appears in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 2010 -
How to Try Out for Final Fantasy XIV Beta
Now that role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII has been released in the West, gamers are looking forwarding to the next Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV. Those who want to get into the beta, read on. Know that you must be willing to part with money and purchase the PS3 version Final Fantasy XIII. Players can…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 2010 -
Report: FFXIII On 360 “Isn’t Anywhere Near As Impressive” As PS3 Version
The obsessives over at Digital Foundry, who do this kind of thing for a living, have compared the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Final Fantasy XIII in agonising detail. The results? Not so good for 360 owners. While acknowledging that the most important thing – that game itself is the same (of course) –…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2010 -
We Were Wrong About Nier Before … Or We Are Now
We here at Kotaku have been underwhelmed by forthcoming Cavia-made video game Nier Gestalt. We have played it and been bewildered. We have questioned the game’s reason for being. So, uh, last time I saw it, I liked it. Maybe we got this Nier thing all wrong. That was the Olympic-level leap I tried to…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 4, 2010 -
New Tomb Raider Game Drops Tomb Raider Name
Not surprisingly, Square Enix announced today that developer Crystal Dynamics is at work on a new Tomb Raider game. Except, this one isn’t called Tomb Raider, the famous words nowhere to be found in the game’s title. Instead, the game is called “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light”. Strange to forgo such a recognised…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2010 -
Just Cause 2 PC Loves On NVIDIA
Square Enix London Studios dropped us this video to show off how pretty Just Cause 2 can be when running on a PC equipped with NVIDIA’s latest graphics hardware. I’m not all that familiar with NVIDIA’s CUDA technology, and Bokeh lens techniques mean absolutely nothing to me, but I do know a very pretty game…
By Mike Fahey Published March 3, 2010 -
Rumor: Square Enix’s Music Division Shuttered
The last note has apparently been played by Square Enix Music, rumors website Square Enix Music Online. At the end of last year, the group was disbanded for budgetary reason, leaving composer casualties that include: Masashi Hamauzu (Final Fantasy XIII, Dirge of Cerberus, SaGa Frontier II) Junya Nakano (Final Fantasy X, Threads of Fate, Musashi:…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2010 -
How To Upgrade Your Vehicle In Just Cause 2
Let’s take a look at the innovative new vehicle upgrade system Avalanche Studios developed for Just Cause 2. It’s simpler than you’d expect! As easy as they make it look, you probably don’t want to try this at home. Better an open stretch of highway.
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
A Couple More Details About Final Fantasy XIV
Over the weekend, Square Enix held an event that not only celebrated 8 years of Final Fantasy XI, but held a “mysterious” Final Fantasy XIV event. How…mysterious. According to website FFXIVCore, a teaser site FFXIV for March 11 is opening, and the game will have a beta (details are scant). On March 1, info for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 1, 2010 -
Square Enix “Suspicious” That Avatar Was Influenced By Final Fantasy XIII
Avatar, the biggest grossing film ever, looks familiar, says Square Enix’s Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy XIII. A little too familiar. “The in-game universe this time around is quite fantasy based, but also futuristic at the same time,” Toriyama told website Tech Digest in a recent interview. “We never really had any particular reference…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 1, 2010