Final Fantasy XIII finally getting Japanese 360 release

Posted by Chris Holmes at 12:54pm on September 8th, 2010

Square Enix has confirmed that Japanese Xbox 360 owners will finally be able to play Final Fantasy XIII. The publisher will be releasing a special edition of the game in the territory at the end of this year. This version of the game will be officially called the “Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International Edition” and should be released on 16th December for 4980 Yen. Apparently, the special edition features an easy mode, a book that shows what happens to some of the game’s characters after the game and an art booklet.

Japan | News | Square Enix | Xbox 360

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Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy announced

Posted by Chris Holmes at 12:32pm on September 8th, 2010

Square Enix has announced Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy for the PSP and confirmed that it’s due to be released next year. Lightning from FFXIII and Kain from FFIV will be playable characters. Expect to hear more about the game at the Tokyo Game Show next week.

News | PSP | Square Enix | Tokyo Game Show

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Kane & Lynch 2 multiplayer add-ons released

Posted by Chris Holmes at 5:30pm on August 31st, 2010

Square Enix has released three multiplayer add-ons for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. The most expensive of which is the Doggie Bag Pack, which will set you back 560 Allards on 360 or $5.99 on the PC and PS3. It includes two new maps (as well as a pre-order map), five new weapons and some new achievements/trophies. Next up is the Alliance Weapons Pack. That costs 240 Allards/$2.99 and includes seven of the pre-order weapons (expect handguns, shotguns and assault rifles). Finally, there is the Multiplayer Mask Pack. That costs 160 Allards/$1.99 and includes some new masks (surprisingly).

News | PC | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Store | Square Enix | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live | Xbox Live Marketplace

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Final Fantasy XIV open beta coming in September

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:38pm on August 24th, 2010

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIV will be going into open beta early September. The closed beta has been going on for a while, but that will end on the 25th August to make way for the hordes. The full game will be released at the end of September. If you purchase the special edition, you will get early access on 22nd September, with the release for normal folk on 30th September on the PC. The PS3 version has been delayed until March 2011.

MMO | News | PC | Square Enix

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Gun Loco announced

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:33pm on August 17th, 2010

Square Enix has announced Gun Loco for the Xbox 360. It’s currently exclusive to the platform and is due to be released in 2011. As foreshadowed b the title, Square Enix defines the game as a “sprint-action shooter”. As you would expect, there’s both single and multiplayer game modes to mess about with, as well as some interesting in-game moves such as vaulting.

Gun Loco is set on a forgotten prison planet where the criminals are desperate to escape. So desperate, in fact, that they will murder everyone until they can get out of dodge. The character cast have their own kill moves and take-down taunts.

News | Square Enix | Xbox 360

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Front Mission 3 coming to PSN and PSP

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:11pm on August 17th, 2010

Square Enix has confirmed that they will be releasing Front Mission 3 to the PlayStation Network and the PSP. The game was originally released on the PSone ten years ago. A price and date for the re-release hasn’t been confirmed yet. Square Enix haven’t added anything to the game, so expect a simple port.

News | PSP | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | Square Enix

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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light to launch without online co-op

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:29pm on August 9th, 2010

Square Enix has confirmed that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade without its online modes (online co-op, leaderboards and voice chat). They will be patched in at the same time as the PC and PSN versions are released on 28th September. The game will be released on 18th August in a one-month timed exclusive deal.

Apparently, five downloadable content packs will be released for the game between October and December on all platforms. The first three DLC packs will add “new puzzle, exploration and combat experiences and new areas to explore”. The last two will add some new playable “well-known videogame characters”.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will set you back 1200 Allards on the Xbox Live Arcade and $14.99 on the PlayStation Network and Steam.

News | PC | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Store | Square Enix | Steam | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live | Xbox Live Arcade | Xbox Live Marketplace

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Kane & Lynch 2 demo released for the Xbox 360

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:37pm on July 26th, 2010

After some awkwardness over the availability of the Kane & Lynch 2 demo, it has now finally been released for everyone on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Originally, Square Enix wanted to control who could access the 360 demo by making people sign up for a token. What’s more, this demo expired after a few weeks. Then, they went and released it on the PS3 last week and spent most of their time claiming not to know if or when 360 owners could get the “proper” demo. Regardless, you can download it now for any platform and it’s rather good. The new 360 demo needs a sizeable 2GB of hard drive space.

News | Square Enix | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live | Xbox Live Marketplace

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Final Fantasy XIV to have 18 classes

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:29pm on July 23rd, 2010

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIV will have 18 character classes at launch. We’re presuming they’re going to add more classes in the future with DLC. The classes cover combat, gathering and crafting. The game uses an Armoury system which bases abilities on equipment and there’s no overall character level. FFXIV will be released on the PC in September.

News | PC | PlayStation 3 | Square Enix

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Dragon Quest IX Review

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:18pm on July 20th, 2010

Having never played a Dragon Quest title before, I was a bit apprehensive about giving this one a go. It’s the ninth title in a well-established series with its own niche and well-carved out audience, supposedly not fitting for newbies. Or so I was told. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that DQIX is a game with such simplistic gameplay that I was sucked away from my editorial duties for this very site due to severe addiction.

It all started when I chose my little character and got him setup and into his journey. What followed was a trip through what can only be described as an epic adventure. It may not be the quintessential Japanese RPG, but its so feature complete and really does feel like a full console title in the palm of your hand. Level-5 and Square Enix really have worked hard on this one to make it accessible. The closest thing I normally get to a Japanese RPG is Pokemon, which is a series that has made trade-offs to appeal to a western audience. DQIX doesn’t dilute itself to appeal to these shores, but aims to entice us through other means.

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Level-5 | Nintendo | Nintendo DS | Reviews | Square Enix

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Kingdom Hearts Re:coded dated for Japan

Posted by Chris Holmes at 11:04am on July 20th, 2010

Square Enix has announced that Kingdom Hearts Re:coded will be hitting Japanese DS’ on 7th October. The game will be getting a western release somewhere along the line, but we’re not sure when yet. H.a.n.d. are handling development duties for this one, which is a remake of Kingdom Hearts: Coded, a mobile title. H.a.n.d. were responsible for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Japan | News | Nintendo DS | Square Enix

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Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days getting released a week early

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:27pm on July 13th, 2010

Square Enix has confirmed that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has gone gold and that it will now be released one week earlier than previously scheduled. You can now expect the game to hit on August 17th North America and August 20th in Europe and other PAL territories. This is effective for all versions of the game (360, PS3 and PC).

“The team has worked hard to deliver a game that’s different from the current trend of third-person shooters and we’re so pleased to be able to share it with the world ahead of schedule,” said Niels Jørgensen, general manager of IO Interactive. “With development now complete, why keep people waiting any longer? We want to let gamers experience the game we’ve created and get them online betraying their friends in Fragile Alliance, so we have decided to bring the release date forward by one week.”

Eidos Interactive | News | PC | PlayStation 3 | Square Enix | Xbox 360

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The 3rd Birthday announced for Europe

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:07pm on July 6th, 2010

Square Enix has confirmed that PSP title The 3rd Birthday is coming to Europe. Beforehand, the game was only announced for the US. It’s the third game in the Parasite Eve series, but it’s a shooter-based spin-off. You have to jump from body to body while shooting monsters like Agent Smith from The Matrix.

News | PSP | Square Enix

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Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo impressions

Posted by Chris Holmes at 9:21pm on July 1st, 2010

The Kane & Lunch 2: Dog Days demo was released today (on the 360) to those lucky enough to get a download token from Square Enix. We were in the bunch that got a code, and have just finished up with our first play of the demo from the third person stop and popper. Immediately upon loading the game up, you can see the new CCTV-esque presentation and a fancy, clean UI. There’s a lot to try out here in the demo, including a small part of the story mode, arcade mode and a smattering of online modes.

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Eidos Interactive | News | Previews | Square Enix | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live

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Square Enix announces Lord of Arcana for the PSP

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:11pm on July 1st, 2010

Square Enix has announced that they are working on a new PSP game called Lord of Arcana. It looks a little ‘inspired’ by Capcom’s Monster Hunter. There’s no solid date for it yet, apart from an ominous “coming soon”. Expect four-play co-op against monsters and simple controls.

News | PSP | Square Enix

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