PaperJello Reviews: Persona 4 Arena

Written by PaperJello
Persona 4 Arena is Atlus’ latest entry in the popular Shin Megami Tensei subseries. Surprisingly though, it is a fighting game, whereas all the others are RPGs. This is also the first Persona game to hit not just Sony's system but the Xbox 360 too. Developed in collaboration with Arc System Works (of Blazblue fame), the game serves as a direct sequel to PS2’s Persona 4 and takes place a few months after a group of high school students (P4’s main cast) solve a series of murders that threatens the sleepy town of Inaba. Arena pits these students against each other in the P-1 Grand Prix, but what at first seems to be a harmless event hosted by one of their friends turns out to be much more than a simple prank.

Top 5 Voice Actors in Gaming

Written by PaperJello
Every game has its iconic features that set it apart and make it instantly recognizable to fans and non-fans alike. It can be a logo, a theme song, or even a character’s hat. One thing that really brings games alive, and just so happens to be the subject of this article, is a character’s voice. Whether it be with a deep, heroic drawl or an upbeat, innocent lilt, a character’s voice can draw players in and really make them feel. That epic one-liner might send a chill down your spine, or that heartfelt speech might bring a tear to your eye. Maybe a character’s voice will bring you back to the good old days; nothing can fill you with nostalgia quite so well as Mario’s declaration of “its-a me!”

So in honour of these great actors that make our games that much better, here’s a list (in no particular order) of Gaming’s Top 5 Voice Actors.

TheAssailant Reviews: Borderlands 2

I bought the first Borderlands back in January 2011 when I had the urge to play a Shooter-RPG that would take my mind off of things. I played Borderlands almost everyday with my best friend in split screen co-op for hours at a time, and for even longer on a separate save. To me, playing Borderlands by myself was always a lot more boring and felt more like a chore than the pinnacle of fun it was in co-op. Sadly, since that time my best friend and I are now attending separate Universities, so I had to go through Borderlands 2 alone. However (and luckily for me), Borderlands 2 is just as much fun alone as it is with another person or a group, which should speak volumes to how it has improved over its predecessor.

Borderlands 2 Collector's Edition Unboxing

Do you enjoy spending large sums of additional money atop your already expensive retail console games? Then do we have a video for you!
Do I think this Collector's Edition is worth the $100 price tag? No.
Is the bobblehead still pretty cool and nifty? Absolutely.

TheAssailant Reviews: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard

Note: This review will be split between the main game and the Dawnguard DLC. For the main game, click here.

After beating a majority of Skyrim, I shelved it because I had lost interest and didn't have much else to do. And so I patiently waited for the Dawnguard DLC, and bought it almost immediately and began to play it. Though it's still Skyrim, this DLC brings a lot of its own flavor, something I'm used to seeing in the Fallout DLCs (I never played the Oblivion DLCs, but I should get around to doing that soon). Unfortunately, it also leaves a lot to be desired.

TheAssailant Reviews: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Note: This review will be split between the main game and the Dawnguard DLC. For the DLC review, click here.

I've played the ever-loving crap out of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I absolutely love the whole first-person open-world RPG thing, but for whatever reason, playing Oblivion was never something I fancied too well. I borrowed it from a friend and eventually gave it back because I complained it wasn't "as good as Fallout." Luckily, Skyrim is a huge improvement over Oblivion.

Crysis 3 Not Currently In Development for Wii U

In a surprising move, Crytek has dispelled any rumors that they are currently working on Crysis 3 for the Wii U. Previously, Crytek had stated that they received a Wii U SDK and were pleased with it. They had stated that their development team in Nottingham "are very happy with their tests on the dev kits and they're excited about it."

Speaking about the possibility of Crysis 3 on Wii U, Crytek's general manager Nick Button-Brown stated on his Twitter account:

"Just to answer the speculation, we are not currently working on a [Wii U] version of [Crysis 3]."

It is entirely possible that although they have the SDK for the Wii U, that the console was announced too late in the development cycle of Crysis 3 (as it would require them to work on the game for the console and spend more money testing it alongside the other 3 versions). It's also likely that a Wii U version releasing alongside the 360, PS3 and PC versions would have pushed Crysis 3 to a later date, and that the publisher (EA) wouldn't appreciate the delay.

Via: Joystiq
Source: @nickbuttonbrown

E3 2012: Watch Dogs Gameplay Demo

Hands down this is easily the best game to come out of the Ubisoft Press Conference, and is in strong contention for my Game of Show.

Microsoft E3 2012 Press Event: Live Blog

Wii U Pro vs. XBOX 360 Controller

No, I'm not even joking. It looks as if Nintendo nicked the 360 design and swapped the right stick with face buttons and vice-versa.

This E3 is about to get interesting...

Assassin's Creed III Steel Case Available From GameStop

As I was picking up my pre-order for Mass Effect 3, I saw that GameStop was giving away AC3 metal cases to the first 60 or so pre-orders for AC3. The case is literally just a promotional item that you'll put the game into once it comes out later this year. Luckily, I waited until yesterday to pre-order.

Stay tuned for some ME3 stuff, and be sure to come back for more info on Assassin's Creed III.

The Witcher 2: Xbox Gameplay Trailer: Beautiful and Deadly [GDC 12]

Well They fixed the screen tearing and it still looks really good, I'm happy to see this.

Medal Of Honor Warfighter Debut Trailer

Halo 4 Behind The Scenes [GDC]

Leaked Star Wars Kinect Advertisment

I don't know what to say to this without busting out laughing and feeling embarrassed. Star Wars Kinect #not looking so hot

Assassin's Creed 3 - Reveal Trailer [GDC]

This looks as if it could be real-time WiiU footage who knows, we will keep you posted on more GDC coverage all week long.

New DOA 5 GDC Gameplay

Three New Jaw Dropping Halo 4 Screens

Stay tuned for more info during GDC

Resident Evil 6 Reveal Trailer

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HearMii Max Payne 3 Preview Impressions

Not too long ago I was given the privilege to see a live demo of Max Payne 3 in action thanks to the good people over at Rockstar. Now I'm here to tell you why you should be excited for Max Payne 3 and how Rockstar has done it again; innovating while creating the great, mature, fun gameplay they're known for.

The demo began with a cut-scene between Max Payne and some officers on the outside. This opening was a great example to showcase the still-heavy emphasis on telling a compelling story. While I wont spoil what was happening for you (as the main purpose of this preview is to give you an idea of where the game is going), everything seemed as impactful as the first two games, giving you reasons to care about the characters.

The first part of the combat shown was used as a means to show off the tweaks made to the gun mechanics with a high emphasis on slow motion. The combat seemed very compelling and also very familiar to the previous games, which is a really good thing. As Max Payne began shooting across panes of windows, the game slowed down: not only showing the increased accuracy changes to the control and detail visuals, but also showing the awesome animations which is really what makes this game the Citizen Kane of Max Paynes.

This brings me on to the final part of the demo where Max Payne is fending off a bunch of goons in a gas station, which was a perfect place to really show off how the animations work in this game, as well as the level of detail in the game world itself. As bullets fire across the screen and debris whisk around the station, the game was doing an excellent job marrying the cut-scenes and the gameplay with the oh-so-pretty-looking explosions. Towards the end of the demo, I got to see how the animations were really used to create this perfect marriage of cinematic gun mechanics and excellent game design. The demo showed how Max Payne can now dive into prone in real time and also completely rotate 180 degrees dynamically, but the part that really made it for me was how fluid and detailed the movements were: all the way down to the movements of the fingers.



Max Payne 3 is shaping up to be a killer hit for 2012 and I can't wait to get my hands on the full game for myself (as I'm sure you too may now be more interested in picking up May Payne 3). Stay tuned on HearMii.com for any and all updates regarding Max Payne 3 and a big thank you to Rockstar for giving me this opportunity. Max Payne 3 is slated to be released in March 2012.