Hey everyone,
Just a quick note to inform you that Ace Armstrong vs. the Alien Scumbags! has finally been given a SCEA PSN Store release date. It's Tuesday 7th September, just six days behind the SCEE release!
For more info on this and some other bits you can check out our blog here. Why not sign up? :)
Comments on the blog are always welcome, of course. :)
Thanks guys,
Al
Hey, thanks for the info guys... this game is on my "minis to get" list.
A first day buy for me defo. ;)
gonna buy it the first day also! And gonna make a video about it! subscribe pspgamer01 on youtube.
Uh, oh. $6.99? I don't want to support inflation of the average Minis price, but at the same time, I do want to support a new scrolling shooter. What to do? I paid the $11.99 for PM Studios' release of Strikers 1945 Plus, but it turned out I didn't like the game. :( That played a part in my decision not to get the $20 Cho Aniki Zero; the other part of the decision was: do I really want to own a Cho Aniki game??? Most likely, I'll still get Ace Armstrong, but not on day one.
In related news (related because Laughing Jackal made Vibes), I beat "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku" in Hard mode (the hardest song in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA) today with a Great rating! I don't know if this means I'm qualified to try a harder-core rhythm game, but it's still an achievement. The secret to my success was holding the PSP firmly face-up against a table (at the edge, so my right hand could still use the face buttons) and switching from using my thumb to using my forefinger, powered by forearm movement, at the point in the song where the button-pounding speed gets really intense. Do people normally use such tactics in the harder rhythm games?
Anyway, still looking forward to Ace Armstrong, just with a little more willingness to wait for others' thoughts first.
wait a sec. Is it now 5 EUR or 7 EUR??????????
Hey onmode-ky, really wanna try Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, is it good? I think a new on is coming out soon too.
How much one would enjoy Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA is likely quite variable. I think very few people would dislike the game, but where you would end up on the scale from "yeah, it's fun" to "I freaking love this game" probably depends on 1) how much challenge you're looking for and 2) how interested you are in the Vocaloid phenomenon. If you regularly play DJ Max games and are only interested in that level of challenge, you may find DIVA too "casual." However, DIVA is extremely well presented and may still charm you even if you think it's too easy.
The entire package is a celebration of the user-generated Vocaloid content community: most of the songs are popular ones by skilled composers/manipulators of the Vocaloid vocal synthesis software, along with some original to the game; the load screens consist of an enormous amount of art created by numerous community artists; the game itself has an Edit Mode which lets you not only create button charts for any song in the game or on your Memory Stick (MP3), but even design and choreograph the music video for it starring Miku, and what you create can naturally be uploaded to the Internet for sharing (note that I don't know how to use the Edit Mode myself; I think there are fan-made English guides for it online, though).
Aside from the community portions, the game also just looks and sounds spectacular. Though some songs' visual portions consist of slideshows of static community art (all later viewable in the Visual Library Mode, along with all the load screens you have seen), the vast majority feature real-time 3D music videos with a model of Miku that has impressive motion capture animation and facial expressiveness. I'll admit, I don't like the Japanese idol-style dancing Miku does in some of the videos, but they're not all like that. The real-time bit comes into play because there are 50+ costumes ("modules"; among these are Alicia's uniform from Valkyria Chronicles and Ulala's outfit from Space Channel 5) unlockable via gameplay which you can switch to. Also, there is a ton of other unlockable objects to be used in the Miku Room mode; among these are a Sega Mark III, Master System, Mega Drive, and Game Gear. Miku Room is basically a little apartment you can decorate, and it's mostly good for taking screenshots of Miku doing a bunch of silly animations. You can also take screenshots anytime during gameplay and in the Visual Library Mode; instant PSP wallpapers!
HOWEVER, while playing the actual game is easily understood, the entire interface is in Japanese. Unless you can read Japanese, you may have problems navigating the interface and reading the unlockables' requirements (to say nothing of using the Edit Mode). I'm sure there are English guides on the Internet, though.
I myself mainly decided to get DIVA because of the Edit Mode. The flexibility it gave to essentially direct your own music videos (all the staging, camera placement/movement, dancing) was attractive. Ironically, I completely got sidetracked by playing the game and collecting all the stuff. The presentation is just so slick and fun. If that's enough for you to overlook the game not being obscenely difficult (except in a few songs' Hard versions), then I think you will enjoy it.
Incidentally, the sequel, Project DIVA 2nd, released last month in Japan, and it adds to the gameplay (D-pad keys, held-down buttons). Also, there is a DIVA arcade version with high-polycount models, and there is a 3000-yen PS3 application, Dreamy Theater, you can get from the PS Store which lets you connect the PSP to the PS3 and play the (original) DIVA on the TV in HD with high-polycount models. I'd like to get the PS3 thing someday; those may be the most lifelike anime-style renderings I've ever seen, and it's incredible that they're real-time graphics. Go, PS3!
How's that for off-topic?
man you type to big texts! :P
Addendum: it seems Project DIVA 2nd has an Extreme difficulty for each song, so if that's your thing, maybe go for the sequel? Here's an example I just saw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkrHxTU3MUk
The uploader writes, "The Extreme difficulty is pretty challenging, it's actually harder than Disappearance of Hatsune Miku on Hard on the first one." There's a sign right there. I tried to mimic the button presses while watching the video . . . but found it quite beyond me.
So, uh, yeah, Ace Armstrong finally coming soon! Maybe it has auto-fire so you won't have to kill your buttons like in DIVA 2nd Extreme.
Wow thanks for the run down! I was just expecting "yes it's good!" :)
Is there no English version of Project Diva?
Thanks for the run down, I might wait for the 2nd one and pray for an English version.
PS Ace doesn't have an auto-fire. So prepare your fingers now!!!
in the trailer I don't see much different weapons. How many weapons are there in total?
No, there is no English version of DIVA, and I doubt there will ever be a localization of any DIVA game. The main issue is that all the songs are in Japanese. And sure, Miku could be made to sing in [thickly accented] English, but the success of the game stems from its character and her existing, Japanese songs being known already to the game's intended audience; it is a licensed-IP title. There is only a cult awareness of Vocaloids outside Japan, so as much fun as the game may be, it would be a tough sell to foreign markets.
Then again, I said the same thing about Fate/unlimited codes, and Capcom still brought it to the US as a PSN exclusive. So, there may be hope yet.
No auto-fire in Ace. . . . What was that just now? Ah, yes. Yes, I just felt millions of PSPs scream in agony.
No, wait, that was my stomach. I gotta eat something.
Just thought I'd note: almost one year to the day since I first placed an order for the game, I finished Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA earlier today. Every song, all 3 difficulties per song, rated either Great or Perfect. :) The end credits are hilariously cute (similar to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YGiQgzI53U; that's the sequel's end credits, though). The only things left to do in the game are finish collecting the unlockable objects (accomplished by replaying ad infinitum; they're dropped via probability distribution at the end of a song) and unlock the other characters' swimsuits. The swimsuits are a pain to get, though, as getting each one involves playing through the entire song list with that character. I think I'll only do it for one character and then call it quits.
Incidentally, getting a Great rating or higher on all the songs' Hard modes got me a gold trophy, of sorts. Doing so unlocked a "P-Style CG" costume that's Champagne Gold in color (the other P-Style costumes also use PSP colors: PB = Piano Black, CW = Ceramic White, IS = Ice Silver, RP = Rose Pink, LP = Lavender Purple, FB = Felicia Blue, MG = Mint Green; Ice Silver is the silver trophy: Great rating on all Normal modes). There are probably lots of players out there who are missing only the P-Style CG costume, just because of that one song, "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku."
Anyway, with DIVA done, I have cleared some space now for Ace Armstrong and The Flying Hamster . . . and Valkyria Chronicles II, my most anticipated game of 2010.
volcane
Member
There's some interesting news over at the Laughing Jackal blog.
Ace Armstrong will have a lower price: £3.99 (UK), €4.99 (EU) and $5.99 (US).
The release of Ace Armstrong by SCEE has been postponed until 22nd Sept to permit some additional marketing & promotion activities. The SCEA release is still scheduled for 7th Sept.
There was also this interesting bit of news:
More news next week, including an all-new licensed product announcement on Monday, which we’re really excited about! :-)
Sounds intriguing! :-)
Then they will have my buy!!! They read the thread..
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