Patapon demo out today!

All of a sudden, SCEE have decided that Valentines Day is the perfect day to release a demo for Patapon which can now be downloaded on the PC Playstation Store! The demo allows you to play the first 3 levels of the game and also allows you to save your progress at the end which you can bring forward to your full game, including a rare Spear of Protection, which will be unavailable in the full game without the special save file.

The demo was brought forward a week to coincide with the release of the same demo on the US version of the store.

Source: Eurogamer

Last Week (4th to 10th February)

Last week, I put out the European release list for games that I'll be looking out for. Also, there was a trailer for Lost Odyssey.

Upcoming release dates (Updated: 6th February 2008)

"When is X coming out?"

Well, hopefully, I'll have an answer for you. By subscribing to the European Releases label, you will be able to get the latest list of release dates for games in Europe that I think you might be interested in.

If you spot a problem, do tell me about it ;-). Without further ado, here are the latest updates to the list (which you'll find nestled on the right hand side):

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - 15/02/2008
Patapon - 22/02/2008
Beautiful Katamari - 29/02/2008
Fading Shadows - 29/02/2008
Lost Odyssey - 29/02/2008
Persona 3 - 29/02/2008
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - 21/03/2008
Odin Sphere - 28/03/2008
Riviera: The Promised Land - 28/03/2008
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Spring

To subscribe, the feed URL is here.

Trailer: Lost Odyssey

How this game slipped my radar, I don't know. One thing is for sure though. It looks superb. This trailer from the Tokyo Game Show shows some stunning moves that should appeal to most RPG veterans.

The game will be out in Europe at the end of the month.

Last Week (28th January to 3rd February)

Some excitement last week. Patapon was confirmed along with the previously US-only demo. Persona 3 was also confirmed for Europe in the end of February, making it a great month for the unusual games to come out.

Patapon confirmed for Europe - and with the special demo too

Well, after a lot of bitterness and anger over the demo fiasco, all those worries have fizzed away, along with the news of Patapon's release in Europe. Patapon will be released in Europe on the 22nd February 2008 (that's just a few days before the US gets it) and SCEE gave us an extra surprise by telling us that the demo of the game, featuring a rare weapon that can be brought to the full game, will be released on the PSP Store the day before!

So, the only gripe is that we're getting charged over the top for it, and it's not available to pre-order in many places. Don't let that stop you getting the free demo at least though!

Source: Eurogamer (demo), Eurogamer (release date)

Trailer: SMT: Persona 3 coming to UK at the end of February

Koei has announced that the dark RPG, Persona 3 will be coming to the UK on February 29th 2008. The PS2 game is a stand-alone part of the Shin Megami Tensei series of games and no previous knowledge is required to play, which is good news for me...

Despite recent problems with other controversial games, the press have thankfully missed this RPG's controversial Evoker weapon, which you use to shoot yourself in the head to bring out Personas to help you in battle. The game is based on you doing well in your school (yes, school) studies to increase your abilities during the day and fighting at night when the monsters come to play.

Here's a trailer for you to see the game in action (Not for the younger viewers!):



Source: Eurogamer

Last Week (21st to 27th January)

Two major stories brushed the news this week with the first "hint" of the 3rd game from Team ICO finally revealed. Hopefully there will be more information next month. Also, it was announced that my most anticipated release for the year, Patapon, will be retailing for $19.99 on release. Sadly, it looks like that Europeans will be charged the full price for the game as well as missing out on an exclusive item in the UMD demo.

Update: Sony confirms that the demo of Patapon will be on the PSP Store - and will include the same demo save to full game feature!

Patapenny for Patapon

My most anticipated game of 2008 is coming soon to your PSP and SCEA have decided to give the Patapon buying nation a treat - by cutting the price of the game to $19.99 (About £10). If you're serious about buying this game, the US has suddenly become the first port of call!

Source: Kotaku

ICO 3 screenshot appears

The rumours of Fumito Ueda of Team ICO being in the GDC in February have been around for a while but nothing prepared anyone for the sudden appearance of what looks to be a screenshot from the team's latest project. The screenshot came to light when a job advert coming from the team appeared with the picture. It was the original place for the previous job advert. At the moment, it seems to show a chain, going into a hole, which might be hiding someone or something deep within.

Hopefully it will make sense next month. The Games Developer Conference starts from 18th February and finishes on the 22nd February 2008.

Sources: Job listing

Last Week (14th to 20th January)

Err, before I catch up on this week's news, here's a quick look at last week.

Basically, it was all about announcing release dates for PAL gamers last week. Namely, Beautiful Katamari, LittleBigPlanet and a couple of Square-Enix games too.

FFCC:RoF dated while Crisis Core gets vague release "season" in Europe

Things are never fun for gamers in Europe. We suffer delays, overcharges, less downloadable content, did I mention delays? Square-Enix have made 2 announcements in the past 2 days with a very vague "Spring" release date for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. The game is already out in Japan and helped boost PSP sales.

Also announced was an official, concrete, release date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates on the DS on 21st March 2008.

Sources: Eurogamer (CC: FF7), Eurogamer (FFCC: RoF)

LittleBigPlanet heading to PS3's in September

The rumours were flying around for quite a while but a few days ago, Sony finally committed to a September release (although it isn't clear whether or not this will be worldwide or US only) for the user-generated game LittleBigPlanet. The game sees people making levels for others to download and play.

Source: Eurogamer

Beautiful Katamari rolling towards Europe

It's taken a long time in coming, but the third full game from the Katamari series will be rolling up European XBox360's in February. For those who don't know, the katamari games are all based on one objective. To roll up as much stuff as possible with a very sticky ball. Cars, planes, buildings, people, UFO's, continents, planets. Yep, you can roll them all up in a bid to make as large a katamari as possible!

Source: Kotaku

Last time (Christmas Eve to 13th January 2008)

Well, there wasn't much. At least you can marvel at the list of games I completed last year!