Four of the characters – Rolento, Poison, Hugo and Elena – have already been revealed. But Capcom teased that the fifth character would be brand new and never before seen in the Street Fighter series.

Naturally expectations went wild, with some people thinking that Asura from Asura’s Wrath would be the fifth character. However, producer Yoshinori Ono confirmed on Twitter that it wasn’t him. Despite the fact that we saw Crappy Mega Mean – infamous for appearing on the box art of the first few games and immediately making the Blue Bomber out to look like a creepy old man – in Street Fighter X Tekken, it’s not him/it either.

Any more guesses at this point? Our money is on Strider. Because Strider. Ultra Street Fighter 4 will be releasing on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

However, not all games or even new IPs are the subject of great commercial success. Some of them may have scored very well commercially but added that extra zing to really win consumers over. Some of them were disappointing and didn’t live up to the hype. Some, however, were just criminally over-looked.

Here’s out top 10 games that no one played last generation. If you did experience these titles, and wonder why they’re here, then remember that they didn’t (probably) receive even half as much acclaim or attention as they might’ve warranted.

1. Asura’s Wrath

The adventures of Asura were a rather quirky affair. You switched between the third person perspective and executed several quick time events, with the story being broken up into episodes with openings and credits, and each episodes consisting of several short parts to play.

It was odd, for sure, and the style of gameplay wasn’t for everyone as some critics sounded off on the excessive use of QTEs. Nonetheless, as a game, it’s unique and worth a go.

2. Binary Domain

Sega’s Yakuza Team decided to do something different this time around with the typical third person shooter. They wanted to make a cooperative experience but with the game’s AI, allowing players to use headsets to issue commands to their squad-mates in game.

A Consequences system that made you think and consider your actions to win over your team-mates also broke away from the typical run, gun and cover mechanics of most other TPS games. And it didn’t hurt that this one had its fair share of addictive action. Sadly, it only sold about 20,000 copies in its first month of release and has since sunk into oblivion.

3. Warhawk

The multiplayer only release from Incognito Entertainment and SCE Santa Monica Studio focused on aerial combat and warfare, and was actually a remake of the same game from the PlayStation days (despite having nothing in common with that game).

Warhawk came off as an addictive, action-packed title that was one of the better initial releases on the PlayStation 3. For some reason, it never received the same amount of commercial acclaim as more mainstream PS3 titles. Nonetheless, it holds a special place for many, 6 years on.

4. Blue Dragon

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s first project since leaving Square Enix introduced an intriguing concept of shadow beasts. However, it flailed hopelessly with its rote gameplay, boring characters and less than stellar visuals. It didn’t help that the project took so long to release, or that it saw decent sales only in Japan.

While the game wasn’t a total failure, it lacked the spark of the Final Fantasy series (well, before XIII came around) and certainly wasn’t worthy of even half their recognition. At least it inspired a half decent manga with Ral Grad though.

5. Lock’s Quest

5th Cell’s Lock’s Quest brought tower defence gaming to the Nintendo DS in an under-stated but nonetheless big way. It allowed for attacking with your main character while building towers to defend, and integrated an RPG like campaign and story.

The overall gameplay was almost deceptively complex and featured some of the most challenging levels possible. Sadly enough, it won its fair share of Best Game No One Ever Played awards when it released in 2008 for the DS, and hasn’t popped up in public memory since.

6. Dark Void Zero

Even though the reboot for the game on consoles was a bust, Dark Void Zero, the follow-up to the game which released on PC, DSiWare and iPhone, was an excellent return to the series NES roots.

It’s amazing that the game started off as a joke but then quickly materialized into one of the better action platforming experiences ever made. What’s not funny is that hardly anyone has bothered to play it.

7. Infinite Undiscovery

For all the bitching we do about Square Enix and the rut they’re in with Final Fantasy XIII, we fail to give credit for games where they truly attempt something new and different. What if you played an RPG where things weren’t scripted? Where everything happened in real-time? Where you could just be sitting around and bam, plot device? That was the logic behind tri-Ace’s Infinite Undiscovery.

It took advantage of its real time settings to allow gamers variety in how they approach different missions, and you could even manage large missions with entire teams of party members. Sadly, the game only barely broke through a half million units sold on launch. The exclusivity to Xbox 360 didn’t help matters either.

8. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

This is the game that featured both R.A. Salvatore of the Forgotten Realms fame as writer and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane for artwork. This was supposed to be the next big action RPG. However, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning only ended up being a tremendous disaster, with Big Huge Games and 38 Studios shutting shop.

38 Studios is currently involved in a legal tussle with the state of Rhode Island over the same issue, following which the Kingdoms of Amalur IP was sold off. And to think that it released to a strong critical reaction.

9. Lost Odyssey

Another attempt by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Mistwalker at an exclusive JRPG on the Xbox 360, only this time with more mature characters and story-telling and far better visuals. Despite the significant leap over Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey just never caught on.

Delays and other issues such as limited marketing – which isn’t quite what a title from the creator of Final Fantasy should have – ensured that the game only sold a few hundred thousand copies since its launch.

10. Folklore

Yet another failed action RPG from Japan from Game Republic, Folklore could easily be one of the few games on the PS3 to make decent use of the SixAxis controller to reel in “folk” for one’s use.

The game’s eschewing of epic story-telling in favour of a fantasy-mystery and use of famous folklore characters – not to mention the vivid art style – helped set it apart from the pack. The poor sales of the game caused developer Game Republic to shut down, with plans for a sequel left to be forgotten.

What are your thoughts? Any particular game you played last generation that didn’t receive enough love? Let us know in the comments below.

CyberConnect2, the developers of last year’s Asura’s Wrath revealed in their New Year’s greetings video that they are currently working on three new individual properties.

The video, given below, hints at some new completely new franchises to come our way in the near future, besides JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle, which the Japanese studio is already working on.

In the video, studio CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama mentions “original new works”. That is a translation by SGCafe, and the site also mentions that that is the term that is used in Japan for new IPs.

The studio is also currently working on Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm, which comes out in March, and Asura’s Wrath 2 may be in the works too, considering the first one proved to be successful.

No other info on these new IPs is given yet, but we will keep updating this space as more of it comes our way. Stay tuned.

[VG247]

Available beginning today, Episode 11.5 is the first downloadable episode and provides players with an insight into what happens between two episodes from the full game. A week later on April 3, Episode 15.5 will arrive.

Both offer a completely new artistic style taking their inspiration from the world of anime and will each be available to purchase for 160 MS points and $1.99 on PSN.

We reviewed the game and gave it a decent 5.5 score, you can check out our review here.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Asura’s Wrath will get a new DLC for 700Yen on April 23rd, Famitsu has confirmed. It is supposed to be an entire story arc, which explains the high price.

It’s called the “Destruction Chapter” expansion featuring episodes 19-22.

You can check out our review of the game over here. Fans of the game,. if any, should be pleased with this DLC news, although, they have to shell out a bit more.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Uh-oh.

Now, that may sound like a bit of an extreme comment. What is a game without a gameplay? Well, Asura’s Wrath does have a little bit of gameplay, to be honest. But when I played- or watched- it, I considered it to be an anime rather than a video game, because that is what the game feels like. Everything from the story to the characterization to the art style to the direction screams “anime”, and it does a very good job of keeping players interested. The game is split into episodes, each literally ending with a “To be continued” screen, in vein of animes, and each about 25 minutes long.

In these 25 minutes, the time you spend playing is almost negligible. You’ll have played the game for 5-7 minutes and watched cutscenes (sometimes interactive) the other times, and this is what is the most jarring. Because at the end of the day, Asura’s Wrath is a game. You don’t want to be sitting limply, staring at the screen uselessly while playing a game. You want to be pressing buttons and moving analog sticks.

Uh… your hands.

When the game does give you a chance to do all that, it doesn’t do it very well. The combat is a button mashing mess, and all you have to do is, well, mash buttons. There’s no satisfaction to the fisticuffs and the on-rails shooting sections, and they just fee bland and boring. And during these sections, you just want to get it over with and see what happens next. And this creates a bit of a paradox. At the same time, you always want and don’t want the game to have more gameplay. This makes the experience a huge, confused mess.

Then there are the context sensitive situations, when during the cutscenes, you have to press buttons as and when they are prompted on the screen. These are some really good sections, and though your actions off and on screen seem to have a little bit of a disconnect sometimes, most of the times, the QTEs result in some pretty cool actions. From constant punches to dodging godly bullets to beating the crap out of your enemies, these sections are always entertaining and thrilling.

So this is my hand too, then?

However, the real star of Asura’s Wrath is the storytelling. The game, as I have said before, might as well be called a collection of some episodes from an anime. The cutscenes are wonderfully directed, and you will see the same over-the-top moments you’d expect from an anime or a CyberConnect2 game. Be it a sword as long as the distance between the earth and the moon (literally), or kicking a guy so hard that he’s blasted into the sky, the game will be throwing unexpected, badass, awesome moments like these at you all along, and these will be the moments that keep you coming back for more, despite the other glaring flaws of the game.

The story told here is also pretty good. While it’s nothing new and does resort to a few clichés, it’s still interesting and supplements the storytelling very well (I know, usually it’s the other way round, but that’s just how it is here). The characterization is a bit poor- Asura is just a Kratos with hair; he even sounds- like Kratos- but the characters are not exactly bad. They’re cliché and a bit too conventional, but good nonetheless.

THIS. IS. STUPIIIID!!!

Asura’s Wrath does look very good though. Technically, it’s a game that stands tall, but it’s in the artistic department that it really shines. The animations are superior, the lip syncing is great, the soundtrack is wonderful, and the voice caste is good, except for Asura himself.

The problem is that there isn’t much to do here. The game can be finished in 5-6 hours, and after that, there’s nothing you can do- nothing at all. No collectibles, no different modes, you’re not even encouraged to play the game multiple times. It’s here that Asura’s Wrath falters the most. If it had a little more gameplay and a little more value to it, I would have recommended it to one and all without hesitation. But given the current state of the game, it’s worth a rent at best.

Second Opinion By Bojeeva:

Capcom’s latest epic, Asura’s Wrath, is a game that’s sure to divide opinion. There will be those who adore its anime-style graphics, engrossing storyline and God of War-fighting mechanic… but conversely there will inevitably be others that question whether a full price release should really offer a bit more gameplay, less narrative and forget its heavy emphasis on quick time events all together. I surprisingly found myself falling into the former camp and think that Capcom have developed a game that is both captivating and well worth playing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of lengthy cut scenes or QTE, and this game has both in abundance. Not only that, but the fighting elements are fairly basic and can get repetitive… but these points aside, I still wanted to keep on playing – and enjoyed the experience wholeheartedly.

We all have bad days but Asura’s having an absolute stinker. Following a triumphant return home after a skirmish with the Gohma, he falls from grace rather abruptly after the Emperor is found murdered. Everyone assumes he is responsible and his pleas of innocence fall on deaf ears. Things go from bad to worse when he finds his wife slaughtered, his daughter kidnapped and he is subsequently banished. Ostracised and pretty darn miserable, 12,000 years pass and we take control of our hero as he embarks on an epic quest to save his daughter and crack some skulls in the name of revenge. He’s an angry guy, but fortunately he can channel his rage to take on allcomers.

The game looks fantastic and is split into a series of bite-sized episodes, much like a TV series. Each part opens with credits and a brief animation or some artwork to progress the story. It works really well and develops the plot nicely, encouraging you to play on. Most episodes involve fighting giant apes, elephants and a multitude of other beasts using various attacks, followed by a confrontation with one of the seven deities thrown in for good measure. The size and scale of some of these bad guys is immense; early on, while seemingly on the verge of defeating a rival called Wyzen, he suddenly grows in size to become bigger than the planet itself. You then see him attacking Asura from outerspace, his giant finger piercing the atmosphere to crush our hero like a flea. Despite the odds being against him, Asura is still able to hold his own, however, thanks largely to the ability to sprout six arms and fill a gauge as he gets angrier that unleashes some devastating attacks.

As mentioned above, QTE dominates the proceedings and it does grate a little after a while, making the gameplay seem a little light. A flick of the sticks, a well-timed twist or all-out button mashing is enough to beat the bad guys. Get it right and you’ll be rewarded with a positive rating at the end of the section; a poor performance and your grades will be marked down – possibly incentivizing you to have another attempt and extend the game’s longevity.

It really does feel more like an interactive movie. The sound effects and background music is superb, really adding to the atmosphere and its big screen feel. When not watching the cutscenes, you get to dabble with in some hand to hand combat, which is reminiscent of the God of War series. Occasionally there are also some basic on-rail shooting sections, where you simply have to aim your reticule and press the rapid fire button or unleash a few homing missiles when locked on to your target. Overall, the controls are easy to grasp – a heavy and light attack button, dive and dash attacks, rapid fire and the trigger button when your rage gauge is full.

It’s really not a tough game and it doesn’t last too long. By the time you’ve “played” the first few episodes you’ll have an idea of what’s to come but I found myself keen to fulfil Asura’s destiny. To summarize, this is a good-looking title that’s full of shouting, grimacing, violence and repetition. At full price, you may feel a little shortchanged but find this discounted and you should snap it up as it’s an enjoyable romp.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Dragon’s Dogma will get a new DLC, Capcom has confirmed. They revealed this information via Famitsu, but no specific date was given as to when the demo will be available.

The game is one of Capcom’s most costliest projects and it’s also being bundled with the Resident Evil 6 demo, and the offer is exclusive for the Xbox 360 for 2 months.

Meanwhile, they also said that there are new episodes for Asura’s Wrath coming on March 27th and April 3rd respectively.

We will keep you updated once we get more information on these DLCs.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Capcom has revealed the full Trophies list for their upcoming hack-n-slash game, Asura’s Wrath. The list contains 45 Trophies, 22 of which are Hidden. There may be spoilers ahead, so be careful.

A Cry of Anger (Bronze)

Activate Burst 50 times.

A Roar of Fury (Silver)

Activate Burst 100 times.

Hit’Em Hard (Bronze)

Defeat 100 enemies with a special attack.

Hit’Em Harder (bronze)

Defeat 300 enemies with a special attack.

Can not Touch This (Bronze)

Perform 50 counter attacks.

Can not Touch That (Bronze)

Perform 100 counter attacks.

They Do not Stand a Chance (Bronze)

Defeat 50 enemies while in unlimited fashion.

Unstoppable Force (Bronze)

Defeat 100 enemies while in unlimited fashion.

Taking Out the Trash (Bronze)

Defeat 300 enemies with heavy attacks and / or lock-on fire.

Quick on the Draw (Bronze)

Achieve 70 EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.

Lightning Reflexes (Bronze)

Achieve 150 EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.

Be the Fist (Bronze)

Achieve at overall average rate of 80% synchronic on any difficulty.

Pain Is Universal (Bronze)

Accumulate a total of 10,000 in damage.

Too Legit to Quit (Bronze)

Continue the game after falling in battle.

Look Ma, No Eyes! (Silver)

Complete the game with the blind master gauge equipped.

Who Needs Health? (Gold)

Complete the game with the Mortal gauge equipped.

Ka-ching! (Silver)

Accumulate a total of 120 000 points battle.

View of the Valley (Bronze)

Continue to stare at the hot spring attendant’s assets.

Like a Fish (Bronze)

Consume more alcohol than you should.

Sometimes I Feel Like … (Bronze)

Find all the peeping doji at the hot spring.

Shut Up, Wyzen! (Bronze)

Interrupt Wyzen’s monologue.

Shut Up, Kalrow! (Bronze)

Interrupt Kalrow’s monologue.

Shut Up, Augustus! (Bronze)

Interrupt Augus monologue ‘.

Secret Trophies:

Hidden Trophy (Platinum)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Silver)

Hidden Trophy (Gold)

Hidden Trophy (Silver)

Hidden Trophy (Silver)

Hidden Trophy (Silver)

Hidden Trophy (Gold)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)
Hidden Trophy (Silver)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Hidden Trophy (Bronze)

Capcom’s upcoming action game, Asura’s Wrath, has been delayed in Europe from its original February 24 release to March 9, the same day when Mass Effect 3 launches in the region.

This delay has been made “due to the uncertainty of the UK retail market”, Capcom tells Eurogamer.

Developed by the developers of the Naruto hack-n-slash games, Cyber Connect 2, it looks like Asura’s Wrath is on its way to become one of the best hack-n-slash adventures around. We recently did our hands on impressions of the game based on a one and a half our long playthrough of the game, and we quite liked it. Read the preview here.

I am pretty sure that many of you are under the impression that Asura’s Wrath is a pure and a mindless hack-n-slash game, something which I have also mentioned before, but much to my surprise, the game has a pretty solid plot backed up by the over-the-top dialogues- something which is to be expected in a game like this.

Asura was a part of a group of generals who once defeated the Gohma. While returning from the ambush, Asura finds that the Emperor of the generals has been killed and he is now accused of the act. In the process, his wife Durga gets killed and his daughter Mitra gets kidnapped. When Asura goes to save Mitra, he is ambushed by Deus, who is actually the murderer of the Emperor.

After several centuries, Asura is found stuck in some mountain, only to be awakened by the prayers of a little girl. This is where Asura’s revenge against his former allies, the seven generals and Deus begins. The build I got to play featured several boss fights with Olga and Kalrow, two of the seven generals I mentioned before. Later on he also faces against Augus, who looks like an elder version of Asura. Augus was a former mentor of Asura, as well as Yasha, his brother in law. So, as the name of the game indicates, the story is all about revenge, and the developers have done an admirable job in representing it via a number of comic style slides and cutscenes.

Much of the gameplay that I had mentioned in my previous hands on impressions has not changed. This is still a true hack ‘n’ slash game. Combat is based on mindlessly approaching an enemy and beating the hell out of it. And when you reach a particular number of blows, the game switches to quick time event mode. Even though the quick time events are simple, CyberConnect2 have made sure that they at atleast look good. In every boss battle you face, you will have to build up your burst meter, which will result in a QTE. I think the developers have done a good job in maintaining balance between the difficulty of the game and the fun factor. Asura’s Wrath isn’t exactly hard, but it is no pushover either.

So I conclude this hands-on article with this- if you are a fan of epic boss battles and mindless hack-n-slash combat backed up by a touching story, then Asura’s Wrath is worth your time. Some hardcore players may get turned off by the constant quick time events, but others may enjoy the brutality they always result in.

Pick your side.

Asura’s Wrath is due out this month for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.