Shawn Vermette

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, despite its premise of a kingdom drowning in a literal darkness, feels somewhat lighthearted and bright when you play and listen to it. It’s a shame, then, that the simplistic combat and inordinate amount of backtracking drags down what would otherwise be yet another overlooked gem by Namco Bandai.

The beginning of the game starts off well enough as, aside from some questionable voice acting, you’re given the backdrop to the story: someone built a kingdom a long time ago with the help of a majin, or a strong non-human being, and a century ago it was overrun by a physical darkness of some kind. You are Tepeu, a thief who can speak to animals, and you are attempting to find the majin so that he can help you beat back the darkness and restore the forests and kingdom to their former glory. The story is told very nicely, with artistic cutscenes and the best voiceovers in the game.

There are two attacks you can do, and you can also dodge enemy attacks. One of the two attacks is a combination attack with the majin, but it can only be done on critically-damaged enemies, so it won’t happen very often. The majority of the combat will be done by the majin, as your standard attack will do very little damage to the enemies. Due to this, nearly every fight other than boss fights will follow the same formula. First, allow the majin to knock down the enemy. Second, wail on the downed enemy with your standard attack until given the sign for your combination attack. Finally, use the combination attack on the downed and nearly dead enemy. Rinse and repeat. Boss battles, though, are a refreshing change of pace, as they require you to use the various elemental powers that the majin will learn in order to beat them.

As you progress through the game, the majin will learn four elemental powers: wind, lightning, fire, and crystallization. Most of the time, these powers are only used to help you through the various puzzles put in your path rather than helping to diversify the combat. The large amount of backtracking you’ll have to do to progress through the game doesn’t help things. Every time a new area opens up for you to play in, it seems as though it is on the exact opposite side of the world from where you currently are.

Visually, Majin is somewhat impressive. It has bright environments, though none of it is particularly breathtaking. As for the sound, the voiceovers during the cutscenes are well done, but the rest of the voice actors sound as though they were budget hires.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom’s promising story and an attractive world ultimately aren’t enough to overcome the mind-numbing combat that gets you through it. There are moments worth experiencing, though.

Pros: Bright, cheery world; Story has promise

Cons: Simplistic combat; Too much backtracking

This week we cover a number of overdue and just revealed rumor confirmations, celebrate a new leader, and get into the season with a number of Blizzard rumors.

Current score

Andrew Passafiume: +280

Graham Russell: +290

Eric Schabel: +65

Shawn Vermette: +195

Results

Scribblenauts 2 drawing on Wii, DS, PC

A little late on the declaration, Super Scribblenauts ended up being a DS exclusive, an event that Wii and PC users may lament, given the strong reception it has received.

Andrew 75% = -25

Graham 65% = -15

Shawn 90% = -40

RedOctane closed by Activision

As rumored, Activision has indeed closed RedOctane. Though, given the fact that the reason to obtain RedOctane in the first place was the Guitar Hero franchise, it is not expected that this will have much of an effect on gamers.

Andrew 10% = -40

Graham 97% = +47

Shawn 80% = +30

Gears of War 3 to be released in April 2011

Gears of War 3 was originally scheduled to be released in April 2011, however it has since been delayed to the holiday season of 2011.

Andrew 90% = -90

Graham 50% = 0

Shawn 90% = -90

F.E.A.R. 3 to be released in 2010

Despite the original statements by Warner Bros, F.E.A.R. 3 will not be releasing in 2010. Instead it has been delayed until March 22, 2011. This marks our second reversal on a previously declared rumor.

Andrew 40% = +20

Graham 50% = 0

Shawn 30% = +40

Next Assassin’s Creed game to take place in Egypt

As anyone who has played Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood can attest to, it is a full-fledged Assassin’s Creed game, not just a stand-alone multiplayer pack. Thus, its presence in Italy causes this rumor to be confirmed false, somehwat sadly.

Andrew 65% = -15

Graham 90% = -40

Shawn 85% = -35

Eric 80% = -30

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair to add two new playable characters

While it has not been released yet, Konami did specify that there will be some DLC released at a later date that will include not two, but three new playable characters for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair: Julius Belmont and Maria Renard, as rumored, but also Yoko Belnades.

Andrew 95% = +45

Graham 90% = +40

Shawn 85% = +35

Eric 80% = +30

Mass Effect to be ported to PlayStation 3

When Mass Effect 2 releases next year on the PlayStation 3, it will do so with the aid of an interactive comic to tell the story of the Mass Effect. While this is a cool feature, it is also confirmation that the original will not be making the jump over to the PS3.

Andrew 10% = +40

Graham 15% = +35

Shawn 25% = +25

WiiHD coming in 2010

Something that all of us expected, except for Michael Pachter, 2010 has come and gone without the release of a ‘WiiHD’. At this point, it’s highly unlikely that one is, or ever was, in the works.

Andrew 50% = 0

Graham 5% = +45

Shawn 25% = +25

Max Payne 3 to be delayed due to internal studio strife

Max Payne 3 was delayed yet again, from its 2010 release date until, currently, Q3 2011. Though no reason is known for sure, such a lengthy delay could have major consequences for Rockstar.

Andrew 50% = 0

Graham 50% = 0

Shawn 35% = -15

Saints Row 3 to be released in 2010

THQ’s flagship franchise, Saint’s Row, will not be making an appearance in 2010, though Saints Row 3 is scheduled to finally be released in Q3 2011. News did come out this year that another Saints Row title will be released for the 3DS as well next year.

Andrew 65% = -15

Graham 1% = +49

Shawn 40% = +10

Next Tomb Raider to be an open world reboot of the series

Square Enix announced last week that the next Tomb Raider would indeed be an open world reboot. Featuring what appears to be a teenage Lara Croft, it will chronicle her first adventure and will presumably have a heavy emphasis on exploration.

Andrew 70% = +20

Graham 70% = +20

Shawn 75% = +25

Next Starcraft II episode to release in 2011

After an agonizingly long wait for Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, it sounds as if Blizzard doesn’t plan on keeping us all in suspense as long for our next Starcraft fix. According to a supposedly leaked Blizzard release calendar, the next installment in Starcraft II, Heart of the Swarm, is scheduled to come out during the 2011 holiday season. However, Blizzard’s project director said the next Starcraft II installment was 18 months away in October, which would make it an April 2012 release. So is this release calendar the real deal? Or is it a clever fake?

Andrew: I really don’t see why Blizzard wouldn’t want to get out the next game next year. I’m sure they have more done on the following two games than they are willing to show at this point. But knowing Blizzard, they could probably get away with not releasing it until 2012, so it’s hard to say. 50%

Graham: I thought the point of episodic content was getting new gameplay to consumers in a timely fashion. It seems Valve and Blizzard have different definitions than the rest of us. Especially considering it’s simply another campaign, I don’t know why it would take long at all. 60%

Shawn: I’d almost be surprised if we didn’t see Heart of the Swarm in 2011. That’d be 18 months after Wings of Liberty was released, especially since the tech is all done, all they need to do is basically build a new single player campaign. And I doubt Blizzard wants to go all of 2011 without a Starcraft II episode. 80%

Diablo III to release in 2011

Blizzard has been leaking Diablo III news to us for over a year now, but has never hinted to us about a release date. However, due to the supposed leak of Blizzard’s release calendar, Diablo III is actually set to release the same time as Heart of the Swarm, next holiday season. With no previous timetable given to compare it to, we are left wondering just one thing: Could we really be just one year away from killing Diablo again?

Andrew: I think Blizzard will wait to release Diablo III when the time is right. People will buy it regardless, but I’m sure they want to find the perfect opportunity to get it out to as many people as possible. I think they might try to get their Starcraft II games out of the way first. A lot of people believe we won’t actually see it out until 2012, and I’m very much inclined to believe this. 30%

Graham: Blizzard puts out games when it’s good and ready. Which is nice for the quality and all, but entirely nerve-wracking to the gaming public. Even though anyone else would, they won’t release a Starcraft II pack and Diablo in the same year. Seriously, guys, just give us the game already. (They’re not listening to me, though.) 30%

Shawn: I really hope this happens. I need my Diablo fix. I’m just worried that my computer won’t be able to run it. However, I also don’t believe that Blizzard would release it at the same time as a Starcraft episode. Considering that, and the already crowded holiday season for 2011, I’ve got to say I believe we won’t see it until sometime in 2012. 30%

Blizzard to announce a 4th expansion to World of Warcraft

Blizzard’s cash cow is, without a doubt, World of Warcraft. And what leaked release calendar from Blizzard would be complete without a World of Warcraft entry on it? Sure enough, this release calendar lists an unnamed fourth expansion to the World of Warcraft universe being released in Q2 2012. It seems like it’s a little early to predict something that far out, but we’ll be more certain once it is either announced, or the Diablo III/Starcraft II dates are confirmed/denied. For now, we can only predict away!

Andrew: World of Warcraft makes Blizzard and Activision a lot of money. Cataclysm was the biggest launch of any of their expansions. It’s kind of a no-brainer that they would want to continue putting out content for World of Warcraft, and a new expansion is the thing that makes the most sense. 95%

Graham: Of course there’s going to be another WoW expansion. Blizzard’s not incredibly stupid. There’s this pang of doubt in my mind, but it only comes from the faint possibility that Blizzard may want to completely upgrade the system and pull a World of Warcraft 2 on us. But that’s a very, very slim chance since they can just upgrade WoW. And now I’ll put a percentage that will drive Shawn crazy. 99.863%

Shawn: The only reason I can think of for this to be false, is for either World War 3 happens first, or Blizzard’s new MMO comes out and completely decimates WoW’s population. Since I find both of those events unlikely, I’ve got to say this is a matter of when, not if. 95%

Shawn Vermette

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom

Snackbar Speculator: Wintry mix

Current score

Results

Next Starcraft II episode to release in 2011

Diablo III to release in 2011

Blizzard to announce a 4th expansion to World of Warcraft

Uncharted 3 coming in 2011

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People coming to PSN

New Tomb Raider reboots franchise

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