Author Archives: Lauren Wainwright

Lauren Wainwright battled mighty foes – technical issues – to brave Guild Wars 2′s public beta, uncovering an MMO with traditional mechanics that manages the rarest of things: making you feel special in a crowd.

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Lauren Wainwright talks to Nintendo and others as 3DS slams into Europe ahead of its US launch on Sunday, finding the manufacturer bullish and the fans wowed by core gaming’s biggest portable launch to date.

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After a hands-on session with Duke Nukem Forever at a press event this week, we were given the opportunity to sit down with the game’s savior and biggest promoter, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford.

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We played Duke Nukem Forever in Vegas this week and spoke to Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford on gaming’s greatest myth. Upshot? Gum supplies are negatory.

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Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy’s director spoke from Japan on bringing the RPG-fighter to home consoles, plans for PSP2 and plenty more.

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The 3rd Birthday director Hajime Tabata speaks from Tokyo on the evolution of the Parasite Eve sequel from mobile to PSP, future plans for the series, Aya’s sexy image and the decline of survival horror.

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We all love it when Japanese games get released in English, because they sometimes come with odd and amusing subtitles. Tactics Ogre is no exception with its quaint subline, “Let us Cling Together.” We’re not sure what we’re clinging onto, but let’s do it together.

The funny thing about this particular subtitle is that the Japanese version is actually called Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune, which makes much more sense seeing that the game starts off with tarot cards.

On a recent trip to Tokyo, we spoke to director Hiroshi Minagawa, part of what can only be called the “dream team” working on the SRPG’s remake: the original released in 1995 for Super Famicom.

He talked to us about his worries for the European audience, major changes from the original and how the fans are not always right.

Tactics Ogre will release in Europe for PSP on February 25.

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We were recently fortunate enough to sit down with the producer of Square Enix’s upcoming PSP actioner Lord of Arcana, Takamasa Shiba, at the firm’s PSP Showcase in Tokyo.

The game – which is completely different to card-based predecessor, Lord of Vermillion – is much like Capcom’s Japanese super-smash, Monster Hunter; Shiba-san looked as though he’d been getting a good Monster Hunter grilling from the assembled press on the day.

Shiba talked about about the rivalry with Monster Hunter, the game’s lack of online co-op, Zombie Dragons, what he wants from the PSP2 and the rise of portable gaming.

Lord of Arcana launches in Europe on February 4 and the US on January 25. It released in Japan last October.

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