Destructoid gave some impressions on Atlus’ upcoming 2D fighting game Persona 4 Arena. If you’ve played Blazblue, you already know that Atlus hand drawn 2D sprites are probably the best in the business.

Combat will be conducted from a 4 button arrangement. 2 buttons manage attacks from your character, while the other 2 buttons will handle attacks from your character’s Persona. I’m glad to hear that it seems that the controls seem less complex than Blazblue (I never could get the hand of it). Check out their write up for more details. I for one will be looking forward to this game later this summer.

Image from Destructoid.com

GameTrailers.com has some E3 gameplay footage posted of some of the single player campaign where Decepticon Vortex is trying to destroy the Autobot’s transport bridge. To say this game looks gorgeous is an understatement.

It’s been a long while since I played a decent Transformers game. It’s been almost as long since I’ve seen a decent Transformers movie, but that’s a story for another day. This looks like it’ll be a great late summer game to satiate the palate before the Fall blockbusters come in.

Digitaltrends.com got a hands on with the upcoming Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. According to their write up, FoC will have gamers playing out a focused linear story regarding roles on both the Decepticon and Autobot fronts during the events that lead to the Autobots leaving Cybertron. According to the write up, players will assume roles of several Transformers, including Grimlock (one of my personal faves), Optimus Prime, and others. Check out the impressions for this upcoming game.

Alex Jones, producer on DmC gave an interview PC World’s Game ON regarding Ninja Theory’s impressive looking effort of the Devil May Cry reboot, and what gamers can expect from the game.

A couple of points from the interview: According to Alex, the game takes place early in Dante’s life as he tries to master his burgeoning powers and abilities. Familiar weapons like Ebony, Ivory, and Rebellion return, but combat is based on this Dante’s angelic and demonic powers (no mention as to whether this relates to a change of origin for Dante).

The combat will revolve around a system designed to allow the player to take on multiple enemies at once by switching between angelic and demonic abilities Alex suggests that skilled players will be able to keep enemies in a constant state of helplessness by performing combos between Dante’s angelic and demonic abilities. Alex describes Ninja Theory’s combat system as a refined mix of Gunslinger, Royal Guard, and Trickster styles from Devil May Cry 3.

The video that I’ve seen of the game has me hyped. I’m a fan of the series, and I’m also a fan of Ninja Theory’s work in melee combat games; namely Heavenly Sword–a launch period title for PS3 that still holds up graphically and gameplay wise even at this point in this gen’s life cycle. I’m anxious to get my hands on this game.

Image from PC World: Game ON

SiliconEra has reported on some Tweets from Team Ninja regarding info on Ninja Gaiden 3 – specifically, the new role Ninpo will play, and how Ultimate Techniques are activated in the upcoming title.

In the past, Ninpo had more than one use. The fireball was a good way to lay heavy damage on a single enemy (I used it mostly during boss fights), while the electric Ninpo was good at zapping multiple enemies at close range. Also, Ninpo had another useful benefit–Ryu was invincible during the startup animations and execution of the magic; providing nifty method of bypassing a heavy damage boss attack.

Now, per Team Ninja’s tweets, Ninpo serves as the only means in which Ryu can regain health. No more elixir bottles or blue karma orbs. Instead, the Dragon Ninpo will devour enemies which will in turn give Ryu health. The more enemies consumed, the more health Ryu gets, so there is a “high risk, high return” element to Ryu’s health management. What isn’t mentioned is whether or not the Dragon Ninpo will be the only magic Ryu will have access to.

There’s a substantial change to the Ultimate Techniques as well. Before, you absorbed karma orbs into your weapon by pressing down hard attack, or held down hard attack long enough for your weapon to build enough energy. Now, Ryu’s arm glows red after a few enemies are slain, and when the strong attack button is held down, the Ultimate Technique is unleashed. Per the tweet, you can cancel out of a combo and go into a UT.

To be honest, this is really the first promising news that I’ve heard that the Ninja Gaiden I remember may not be totally lost to the dark abyss of mainstream mediocrity. I like the risk/reward with the Ninpo, and I like the change in how UTs can be used. I can see how combo canceling could be quite punishing in boss encounters. I just hope that these changes will rely on player skill to be used effectively instead of being a mainstream crutch to lure the casual on board.

Capcom revealed some details regarding the party system for the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma. While there is no true co-op in the game, there is a “Pawn” system implemented that sounds pretty cool. The short story is, the main character (no word on whether this person is customizable or not) will have 3 “Pawns” with him. The player will get to customize 1 Pawn who will be at your side at all times. This Pawn will be fully customizable, can be shared online, and will affect the story of the game.

Instead of re-writing the details, I’ll point you to Destructoid’s in depth article on the Pawn system as it is now. Personally, I’m hyped about this game. Here’s hoping implementation is as good as it sounds.