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Tgs07: Project O Trailer 2, Apricot
newVideoPlayer("ProjectO2_gawker.flv", 475, 376);The second in the collectible series of 2, this Project O video...is really something. "I'm Apricot...umm...will you make me your queen?" Shh. You had us at "umm."

Tgs07: First Look At Project O
We just got to speak with Yoshiro Kimura, producer at Marvellous and man at the helm of their super-group Wii title, Project O (reports of the game being named King's Story are apparently premature, Kimura saying "no, that's not its name, we're still working on a name"). Which was largely exciting, since I'm largely excited about this game, even more so since he also said we the first Western journalists in to check it out.Earlier comparisons, a lot of them based on the production team's pedigree from the Harvest Moon, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series, seemed to suggest the game was a a strategy title, a nice blend of Harvest Moon, Pikmin and Black & White. Those are...close, especially Black & White, but think more along the lines of The Settlers than the other two and you'll be getting warm.Essentially you play the role of a small boy who is made King of the land. And you now have to govern said land by bossing your subjects around. Sounds simple (which is the...

Tgs07: Project O Trailer (Now in English)
newVideoPlayer("ProjectO_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Project O night continues! Earlier today, Luke got the pleasure of being the first Western journalist to see the newly dubbed Project O trailer, and now we're sharing it with you. Because what the world really needs more knights riding cows. Go Poncho!

Exclusive: First Look At Project O
We just got to speak with Yoshiro Kimura, producer at Marvellous and man at the helm of their super-group Wii title, Project O (reports of the game being named King's Story are apparently premature, Kimura saying "no, that's not its name, we're still working on a name"). Which was largely exciting, since I'm largely excited about this game, even more so since he then said we the first Western journalists in to check it out.Earlier comparisons, a lot of them based on the production team's pedigree from the Harvest Moon, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series, seemed to suggest the game was a a strategy title, a nice blend of Harvest Moon, Pikmin and Black & White. Those are...close, especially Black & White, but think more along the lines of The Settlers than the other two and you'll be getting warm.Essentially you play the role of a small boy who is made King of the land. And you now have to govern said land by bossing your subjects around. Sounds simple (which is the...

Tgs07: Suda, Grasshopper Working on 360 Game
It's always a pleasure hanging with Goichi Suda. Guy's super-nice. So anyway, there we were this morning, chatting about No More Heroes, when I asked what he was up to now that the game was about ready to ship. He said Grasshopper were working on a new title, and that it would be appearing on the 360. Cue a frantic little exchange between Suda and his translator, but hey, you can't unsay stuff. He also said that the game would be a full, proper release, not an XBLA download.

Tgs07: The TGS Trot
newVideoPlayer("TGSOpenew_gawker.flv", 475, 376);While it's night for most of you, the doors of TGS just opened for the first public day. Was it insane? No, but Japanese etiquette clashing with the longings of fanboys makes for a nice mash-up.And the police are a nice touch.

Day Note: The Server That Ate Friday
To: The Japanese ContingentFrom: FaheyRe: Friday seems shorter somehowIt's always a lovely day when you get to watch timely coverage become less and less timely by the hour. The servers were on the blink for a large chunk of this afternoon as I sat in front of my PC and refreshed over and over and over again. Finally somewhere between 4 and 5PM Crecentral time the server gremlins went out for coffee and the snipers we posted took care of the rest. I don't know about you guys, but it's been a very busy week in the lonely Kotaku Tower, but I take comfort in the fact that it is my weekend now, and TGS lasts until Sunday. Then Monday morning I hop a flight to New York City (where they make the good salsa) to cover the Halo 3 launch event. For now, two days of sleep. What you missed: Resident Evil: Extinction Is Out! FLY HOME NOW!Yakuza 2 Heads StatesideSnakes On A DojoHalo 3 Pirated The Hell Out OfCapcom Mobilizes Several Awesome FranchisesAnd Of Course, MGS4 Is A FlopFrom Kotaku...

Tgs07: Gallery: The Slimy, Reeking Sea of Fanboys (and Girls)
galleryPost('tgscrowd', 8);Three words to sum up Tokyo Game Show 2007: hot, smelly, line-y. And the pictures just repeat them 333 1/3 times each.

Tgs07: Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Hands On
I kind of wanted to say "stylus on," but at least in the demo, there is no such thing—it makes no use of the touchscreen at all. Which is fine in a way, since I'm not interested in a tacked-on touchscreen gimmick. At the same time, it'd make sense on the battlefield for selecting spaces to move to or attack, since tapping the square would be much faster than fumbling with the d-pad. It's natural enough it's the first thing I tried to do, actually. That aside, the system's straight from the rest of the Tactics series, so I jumped right in without bothering to glance at the control scheme. The best way to wrap the game in a neat little description is that it looks like FFT; it plays like FFT; it is Final Fantasy Tactics. Just on a DS. And that's not a bad thing.

Clips: Master Chief Behaving Badly
Is Master Chief coming to the PS3? He really seems to like the console, as seen in this video of the legendary warrior hanging out at GameStop. He note only humps the PS3 once, but later goes back for seconds. Don't ask me why, but I get the distinct impression the robbery at the end was faked. The employees gave Oscar-worthy performances, but something was off there. This is just a friendly reminder that it's almost over folks.

Halo 3: Kotaku's Halo 3 Launch Plans
It's time to announce Kotaku's super-secret, hyper-exciting plans for the biggest game launch of the year! Tada! You can't see it from where you are sitting, but I just struck a dramatic pose. Yes, our plans for the Halo 3 launch, with the majority of our staff either traveling home from or still in Japan that evening, is me. Specifically me, in New York, attending the official Halo 3 New York launch at the Best Buy at 529 5th Ave, where there will be prizes, giveaways, local athletes I won't recognize (go sports ignorance!), Major Nelson, and at midnight - "a spectacle unlike any other." I don't know, I've seen more than my fair share of spectacles, so that's a pretty tall order there. Meanwhile, my copy of Halo 3 will be sitting in a GameStop in Atlanta, feeling terribly neglected. If you plan on hitting up the NYC launch, I'll be the 6'5" man with the shaved head carrying an uncomfortably heavy backpack around, possibly sweating profusely. Me, not the backpack. Hit up Major...

Peripherals: Look, It's A Wii Zapper Box
Sure it's a lovely box, but until they put that little sticker on the bottom left it was merely a curiosity. That little recycled picture of Link is gonna make this puppy sell like a puppy made of gold, filled with chocolate when it hits stores in November. Nintendo has released a little overview of the Zapper and Link's Crossbow Training along with the image, which details operation of the gun peripheral and an overview of Link's three game modes. Those modes are Target Shooting, which is a shooting gallery type game, Defender, in which you stand still while assaulted on all sides by enemies, and Ranger, which you have to play while singing "Sister Christian" at the top of your lungs. You're motoring!Link returns from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to pick up the Wii Zapper and take aim at a host of targets in this shooting-gallery-style game. * Anyone can pick up the Wii Zapper and become a master marksman in the quick-play shooting galleries of Link's Crossbow...

Praise Etna: Disgaea 3 Site Opens
Nippon Ichi Software has just launched the website for the latest game in the Disgaea series, which takes the intense strategy RPG and brings it to the next-generation on the PlayStation 3. The new site contains some screenshots, character and story info, and a whole lot of indecipherable squiggly lines in place of words. Those of you who read squiggly may feel free to translate anything pertinent for us in the comments section, as our normal squiggle-translator is in Squiggle-land. Disgaea 3 Website (Japanese) [Nippon Ichi Software - Thanks Makaze!]

Tgs07: Yakuza 2 Coming To The U.S.
With the announcement of Yakuza 3 last week, gamers across the U.S. had one question on their minds: "Where's Yakuza 2 for the PS2?" Well Sega's got your Yakuza 2 coming, announcing it and two new DS titles slated for stateside release in 2008. The second game, released in Japan last December, picks up where the first left off, continuing the story of Kazuma as he fights to prevent a war between two rival clans. In addition to Yakuza 2, Sega also announced Dinosaur King and Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer for the Nintendo DS. Dinosaur King somehow involves digging for fossils plus special moves, which sounds...nice? Meanwhile Shiren is a remake on an SNES game using the Mystery Dungeon engine you either love or hate with every fiber of your being, with me firmly in the latter camp. Still, Yakuza 2!Sega Bringing Yakuza 2, Shiren To North America [Gamastura]

Tgs07: New RockMan Dash, RE4, DMC, Breath of Fire - For Mobiles
If you folks are anything like me, reading the headline to this post was like feeling a nice, satisfying sneeze coming on and then having it fade away at the last minute. Capcom is taking some of their top franchises mobile, including my beloved Mega Man Legends series which returns as RockMan Dash: The Great Five Islands Adventure. Also slated for handsets is Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition, Devil May Cry: Dante X Virgil, Sengoku Basara (Devil Kings) Tactical RPG, and Breath of Fire 4 Action RPG Edition. Looking at some of the screens shown on the GAMEWatch site, it might be time to pick out a gaming phone to tide us over until we get a new MegaMan Legends on consoles. It's All In Japanese - Capcom Mobile Games [GAMEWatch via NeoGAF - Thanks Archaotic]

Circles: Wii Versus Halo 3 At Dover
This weekend at the Dover Speedyway, it isn't a battle of Ford versus Dodge. It's not #16's Greg Biffle versus #40's David Stremme. This is a battle between the Wii and Halo 3. Last week we told you about the Halo 3 car that would be racing at the Nextel Cup preview event, but Nintendo dropped us a line to let us know that more than one gaming property would be represented on the track. I see one of two things happening here. Either the Halo 3 car will start early and be disqualified, or the Wii driver's steering wheel will slip out of his hands and he'll end up with his car stuck in the Halo car's windshield.

Tgs07: Eye of Judgment Online Impressions
Eye of Judgment may end up sucking up a lot of space at your house once you get it, but it sure does solve a whole lot of the problems with Online Trading Card Games.The problem it solves, at least for me, is finding someone who can play a trading card game with me when I want to, where I want to without sacrificing the satisfaction of holding honest to god cards in your hands.That sounds like a minor point, the fact that you get real cards, but it isn't. For people like me, for a lot of people I bet, the joy of card games are the cards. Once you get rid of those and replace them with digital images and online stats you might as well be playing an elaborate game of bullshit. And don't tell me that you can't cheat in online trading card games, that doesn't matter, because you can't fondle your cards either.I need to hold the cards in my hand when I play. Tap them on the desk as I think over strategy.Eye of Judgment gives you all of that. It also gives you fancy graphics, making...

Xbox Live: PES2008 Demo Hits Europe
And suddenly downloads of the Fifa 2008 demo in Europe drop like a stone, as Pro Evo 2008's demo hits Xbox Live Marketplace. Weighing in at a healthy 1.18GB, the demo is available everywhere fine Xbox Live players are found, with the exception of North America and Asia, because North Americans don't appreciate the sport enough and both call it Winning Eleven instead of the proper PES. I really wish I could say more, but I just don't follow the sport. Otherwise I'd make some witty, team-specific comment or something that would cause some sort of comment-brawl. My exposure to soccer is limited to high school PE, where the upper classmen used it as an excuse to repeatedly kick the lower classmen in the junk. Here's hoping PES 2008 is better than a kick in the sack!

Clips: TGS Twister (aka 'No No' Means Yes)
newVideoPlayer("WeirdTokyoSex_gawker.flv", 475, 376);From the partially consensual body grinding to the customary respectful bowing...it's TGS!

Tgs07: Justify Your Game, MGS4
newVideoPlayer("JustifyMGS4_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Up until this moment, Metal Gear fans and news outlets alike have been eagerly anticipating Kotaku's Justify segment on MGS4. Because while the game looks to be...OK...a buzzer would (for absolute certain) flush three years of effort down the toilet (and render PS3s everywhere completely useless, shut down most electronic devices within range and boil the seas). ...it's not our fault.

Game Movies: Resident Evil: Extinction Infects Theaters
The third installment of the continuously worsening Resident Evil movie series is finally here, waiting patiently at a theater near you until something you really want to see ends up sold out. From the 18% Resident Evil: Extinction has gotten so far at Rotten Tomatoes, it definitely sounds like the sort of movie you'd only see if nothing else was available, or perhaps on a dare. I personally am amazed at how they've taken a concept as glorious as Milla Jovovich killing zombies and made it totally abhorrent to me, though honestly Milla herself contributed greatly to that thanks to her vapid commentary on the first movie's DVD, where she was revealed as that girl who is extremely hot until she opens her mouth to talk and half the sounds are giggles. Not so much an announcement now as it is a warning - Resident Evil: Extinction is in theaters today. Makes sure to buy your tickets for better movies in advance.

Breaking: Plagachef Confirmed, Details to Follow
From our tips box:We saw Dave's LittleBigPlanet Justify Your Game clip this morning at Media Molecule and one of our graphic designers Jim promptly knocked this up!So wait, does that mean Jim completed the logo and then proceeded to impregnate it? When Luke Plunkett saw the awesomeness of this custom Plagachef graphic, he thought/hoped/dreamed it was Media Molecule's new Tetris alphabet game (instead of an ironic jab at their own slogan seen here). I pretended it was, got him super excited and then broke the bad news that such a game is not on the horizon while dually informing him that Ash has been fibbing a bit during those "translated" booth babe conversations—but that I was sure they thought he was "hulky" nonetheless. Plagachef!

Dojo Dump: Snake Inflitrates Smash Bros. Dojo
With every one looking for him at the Tokyo Game Show, Solid Snake has used the diversion to infiltrate Smash Bros. Dojo!! in a series of not one but three updates today. The first update merely introduces the character to the site in standard Dojo fashion. The next gives you a chance to listen to the "Metal Gear Solid: MGS4 Love Theme (Smash Bros. Brawl Version)", composed by Nobuko Toda and arranged by Akihiro Honda, created specially for the game. It's 100% MGS music. Epic, powerful, while at the same time maintaining the haunting, mournful quality unique to the series. Finally we have Snake's special moves, all of which involve our hero using military ordinance to do something horrible to the bad cartoon people. My favorite is the remote-controlled missile, though using the Cypher flying reconnaissance camera to recover from a fall is a nice touch. Snake's Page On Smash Bros. Dojo!! [Smash Bros. Dojo!!]

Gotta Wear Shades: Itagaki Unmasked
Head ninja Tomonobu Itagaki goes nowhere without his sunglass and leather jacket. Or his pack of smokes. And while we didn't catch him without the leather and the cigs, Itagaki did take off his sunglasses — only for a brief instant. A sonic boom that separated time and space and blurring our photo. Catching this moment on film? Impossible. Though, once he got the shades back on, the reverb was felt. The evidence after the jump.

Tgs07: Sega Predicts 4 Million For Mario and Sonic
Sega is counting on the Wii rekindling of a 16-year old rivalry will match the sales of the first shot fired in the Mario VS Sonic war back in 1991. The original Sonic The Hedgehog sold 4 million copies, and Sega's Masanao Maeda says Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games will do the same. The corporate director at Sega's gaming unit made the statement at the Tokyo Games Show yesterday. Considering the number of Wii systems already in gamers' hands and the fact that this is one title that people will buy to see Sonic and Mario in the same place no matter how good or bad it turns out to be, I'd have to say that it's a realistic goal. Hell, Sonic Heroes alone sold a million copies in Europe, and it completely sucked. If that many people will buy crap with Sonic's name on it, adding Mario to the mix should get them 4 million easy.Sega Sammy Says Sonic and Mario Game Sales May Reach 4 Million [Bloomberg via Next Generation]

Tgs07: Talking Virtua Fighter 5's Online, Rumble With Sega
Had the pleasure of chatting yesterday with Sega's Tohru Murayama and Noriyuki Shimoda about Virtua Fighter 5. While we conversed, the subject of the "discrepancies" between the PS3 and 360 versions came up. In particular, why the 360 version features online multiplayer, while the PS3 one does not.Shimoda said "Well, the PlayStation 3 version was developed first so the online was missed, but because the 360 version came later we could add that feature". Sounded OK, if a little vague, as it didn't explain why it hadn't been added subsequently. Handily, Murayama elaborated, and when asked whether the PS3 version could see online play added at a later date via download he replied: If we wanted to, we'd think about it, but the point with the PlayStation 3 version was to release the game as close to the console's release as possible. So we have no plans for that. Bummer. Sorry, VF5-loving PS3 owners. Something interesting that came up just after, though, was that they didn't know...

Space Pirates: Halo 3 Hits The Web
With Halo 3's street date being broken left and right, you knew it was only a matter of time before it showed up in torrent form. Sometime in the past 24 hours, a 6.14GB torrent file for Halo 3 began circulating on the interwebs, hacked and ready for play on illegally modified Xboxen around the world. Checking around myself I found at least 15 separate torrents running for the game, meaning that on top of those lucky enough to be on the receiving end of retailer error or stupid enough to pay exorbitant eBay prices, hackers and pirates (not the good kind) are added to the list of early players. This also means that if you don't want the game completely spoiled for you, you'll probably want to go into hiding in a mountaintop cave right about now. Halo 3 leaked online [GamesIndustry.biz]

Tgs07: Omega Five Hands-On Impressions
Hudson's Xbox Live Arcade shooter Omega Five may have been unfairly lost in the noise of the thunderous announcements of Rez HD and Ikaruga for the Xbox 360, but anyone interested in shmups simply must take a moment to learn more about the game. Developed by a five person team at Natsume, Omega Five immediately won me over with one of its playable characters. She's not only sporting some revealing Brazilian cut bustier get up that's apparently perfect for space battles, she immediately cemented the game's similarities to my personal favorite arcade shooter of all time, Forgotten Worlds.Unlike Forgotten Worlds, you won't purchase weapon upgrades from shops. However, there is an undeniable series of moments, enemy types and aesthetic decisions that invoke memories of Capcom's futuristic shooter.Each character—two of which were on hand today, a female humanoid and a male four-armed alien—is equipped with a unique weapon. Hers is a satellite that fires independently...

Fixed Stuff: Greenberg Says Current Xbox 360s Are "Improved"
That's Xbox Group Marketing Manager Aaron Greenberg. A group of us chatted with him at Microsoft's TGS hotel, touching base on the 360 quality woes. But relax! Aaron says things are getting better. No, things are better. Says Greenberg:We have made all the improvements in our manufacturing process... All the consoles on the market have those improvements.... [We will] repair the console sent to us with these improvements. It should be similar to buying a new console off the shelf. So no need to wait for that new fancy chip! Or something.

Tgs07: Echocrome Hands-On Impressions
Got lucky this morning. Despite an influx of students today, which has increased both the numbers of attendees and the potency of the showroom floor's odor, I walked past the Echocrome stand to find it deserted. Everyone else's loss! While simple in premise, the game's also super-easy to get to grips with, as players only do one thing: rotate the camera. Doing this changes the perspective of an escher-like 3D space, allowing a little drawing figure to get from one end of a level to the other. The simplicity extends beyond the controls, with no on-screen clutter, a clean white colour scheme and simple, nice music. Should be one of the better PSN games coming over the next few months if they don't make the levels too hard.

Tgs07: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Hands-On Impressions
Sega's inexplicably capped Wii-bound sequel NiGHTs: Journey of Dreams is playable on the Tokyo Game Show floor, a welcome change from the hands-off demos the company ran at E3 this year. Also a welcome surprise, the next Nights adventure features a shockingly simple control scheme. The game features no noticeable motion control options at all, using only the analog stick for directing Nights and the A button for speeding him up. B speeds up Nights. As does C. Maybe even Z, too. It's not too complicated.Gameplay is similar to the Saturn game and involves plenty of balletic aerial maneuvers, guiding Nights through a series of rings, picking up scattered bonuses, paralooping around blue orbs, the typical fare one engages in when in a jester suit. The level on hand at TGS started off on foot, with human boy William, but just for a moment.We quickly took control of Nights, chasing a key-wielding bird around the grassy obstacle course. If you've never played the original NiGHTS Into...

Tgs07: Simple Series Coming To XBLA?
I was just over at D3's booth checking out some of their Simple series of budget games. Most of them were pretty good, considering their cheap, cheap price, especially their new line of Wii games. Remember: these games might look basic, but they're cheap and the company churn out around 119 of them a week, so the law of averages dictates that you're bound to see one you like sooner or later. Right now, you (provided "you" are Japanese) can see them on the PS2, DS, PSP and Wii. Soon, though, you might be seeing them on your 360 as well.I asked the D3 (the Simple series' publisher) PR rep taking me around their booth about the possibility of the series appearing on the 360 or PS3, and she said no, no they had no plans for that. But when I asked her about the possibility of the series turning up as downloadable titles on XBLA or the PSN, she nodded slightly, then said they had two cheap, easy games coming out soon on Xbox Live Arcade. D3 were still unsure whether to formally attach...

Tgs07: Sega Rally Impressions
I went to a Sega Booth tour that really was nothing more than the guy gesturing me towards their booth and then walking away. After looking around I realized that all of the games were in Japanese and the ones that weren't were already being covered by my colleagues so I went for the one game that was close and didn't have anyone mobbing it which turned out to be Sega Rally for the PS3.While I love kart games, I've never been a big fan of "realistic" racing games. I like a little fantasy with my games, something that makes me forget that I live in the real world. But, I decided to put my reservations aside and take the game on it's own merits.The track I tried out had an African Safari theme and the graphics were nice if not a little typical. It looked very real and the terrain physics were well done. As you raced around the track, your car would leave ruts in the dirt that would still be there when you came back around and would affect your driving. Tearing through puddles...

Tgs07: Metal Slug 7 Hands-On Impressions
Only announced a few days ago, Metal Slug 7 is tucked away in a quiet corner of SNK's booth. Which is tucked away in a quiet corner of TGS. Which is a pity. Because it's everything you'd expect of Metal Slug on the DS. As in, it's great. Same old Metal Slug, same old controls, except now the bottom screen is devoted to a "map" of the current level, which is revealed as you progress. Can't think of why exactly it does that, but I guess it looks nice, and I they had to put something down there.

Tgs07: Dynasty Warriors 6 Hands-on Impressions
As one would guess, any title marked as the sixth in a series probably isn't going to offer a whole new ballgame, despite Dynasty Warriors 6 adding swimming, climbing and destroying walls to the well-worn mix. In the demo level no swimming was to be had, but I did get to break a wall, which was sort of not that thrilling. Killing hundreds of guys with a combo that stretched across most of the stage was fairly engaging, on the other hand—but aside from the endlessness of the combo, that's the series' admittedly formulaic bread and butter in the first place. Graphics-wise, it's definitely easy on the eyes, even if it's not the prettiest game out there (I played the 360 version, for the record). Overall, it's fun—definitely familiar, but definitely fun.