Details pertaining to Tekken 7 and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 part of presentation
Two of the upcoming titles from Bandai Namco were Tekken 7 and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and what were the odds, both were part of Bandai Namco’s E3 presentation. These two games were the heavy hitters for Bandai Namco but they did have a lot of other games to play in their booth so lets get right into it.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has big shoes to fill following up on the first DBZ Xenoverse and from the theater presentation looks like it will do just fine. Details were scarce on the game but Bandai Namco did give us something to work with. The game is releasing by the end of 2016 and you’ll be able to transfer your avatar/character from the first game into the sequel.
There will be new locations to explore like Planet Namek and inside Frieza’s ship for example. The new hub city, Conton City, will be 7 times larger than the previous hub city, Toki Toki City. Flying will finally be allowed in the hub city as well as vehicles such as Capsule Corp machines or hovercrafts. You’ll also be able to fight on land or in the air. Added combos and fighters were just the tip of the “We can’t reveal much” department. However, controls will be easier to use, such as dashing to attack and dodge.
Next up was Tekken 7, which will be releasing in early 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The graphics looked fantastic and they should, the game is going to run on the Unreal 4 engine. Weather is going to play a factor in battles so you’ll have to take into account if it’s snowing/raining and use that to your advantage. In typical fighting game fashion, there will be multiple new characters joining the roster of fighters. The main addition to the lineup is Akuma from Street Fighter. Akuma plays a role in the story mode but that’s all I’m giving you guys on that.
There will be smooth transitions between cut scenes and fights. That reminds me of Tales From The Borderlands where actions occur during cut scenes and you need to act accordingly. While fighting, you’ll have Rage Arts, Rage Drives, and Power Crushes all at your disposal. Rage Arts are similar to special moves and do more damage the lower your HP becomes. Power Crush moves are similar to armor moves where you can use them while defending/to defend.
Rage Drives can be used on offense or defense and are also similar to special attacks. The controls are typical fighting game controls like punch and kick, high punch, things like that.. While playing the demo, it felt that the controls weren’t as responsive as they should have been. You could spam the same attacks over and over again for an easy victory but that’s the case in all fighting games.
Tekken 7 and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 weren’t the only games getting the star treatment in the Bandai Namco booth. Many games based on anime were shown off like Sword Art Online, God Eater, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. There were other games like Pac-Man 265 to play through as well!
God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2: Rage Burst were on display and the two games play similarly. What I mean by that is the control schemes were almost mirror images of each other and they were both button mashers. That was really the only way I was surviving, hitting buttons and hope it worked They also reminded me of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fighting when you locked in on a target and kept attacking the monsters, called Aragami. If you died in battle you would respawn right where you perished but it took a few seconds. The two games looked like you could be watching an episode of the anime, something these types of games are known for.
Who doesn’t like Pac-Man, I know I love the lemon ball! Pac-Man 265 is an interesting take on the formula that is Pac. You can play multi-player and collect items to attack the ghosts while you’re traveling through the different mazes, which appear to be disintegrating beside you. You can select different variations of Pac-Man to play as and my personal favorite is a Pac Chicken. You can’t knock Pac Chicken until you try Pac Chicken, tastes like Power Pellets!
It seems like Sword Art Online makes an appearance with Bandai Namco at least once a year and this year is no different. SAO: Hollow Realization follows Kirito and company through another online game, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. You team up with characters from the anime and do what they do best, beat the living daylights out of enemies they stumble across.
This SAO feels like the easiest to pick up and play right away but it feels like another button masher to me with special attacks splashed in. This Sword Art Online demo didn’t have flying and thank goodness for that. The flying mechanic in past SAO games was ridiculous to learn so that’s a welcome sight, NO FLYING! You have combo moves that you can use with the other characters but I found those popping up at random times during battle.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven was on display as well and unfortunately, I feel the term button masher fits this game as well. During the demo, I found myself using the same attacks and special attacks over and over again since that was my formula for victory. Graphically, the game looks great and has that One Piece: Burning Blood look to it. You could be watching the pages of the anime turning while playing the game. You can partner up with characters in the game and use combo moves to attack. The best part of the demo was when the enemy team in one of the battles was using a creepy looking dog and then one of your attacks kicks the dog a mile away. The crazy thing is the dog was the leader of the combo team but I took them down!
Necropolis is a game that is different every time you play it, similar to the mystery dungeon franchise. You have to get through the “dungeon,” I guess is a good way of putting it, by surviving. You can find rations along the way as well as new weapons to experiment with. Try different weapons to see what works best for you but if you perish, the landscape will change and you’ll have to do it all over again. It will give you a fresh experience every time you play and new ways to get you aggravated! Who knows what you’ll come across or who while playing Necropolis? This is a perfect example of trial and error at its finest!
