JOE’s Gaming Round Up

JOE's Gaming Round-up features the launch of Yakuza 4, the earthquake-related delay of the latest Yakuza title in Japan and Nintendo's plans for Ocarina of Time 3DS.

JOE

JOE’s Gaming Round-up features the launch of Yakuza 4, the earthquake-related delay of the latest Yakuza title in Japan and Nintendo’s plans for Ocarina of Time 3DS.

By Emmet Purcell

Welcome to another week of JOE’s videogame round-up. As always, we’re looking to provide you with up-to-the-minute news, download reviews, weekly charts and forthcoming release dates on a weekly basis.

So if there’s anything you think we’re leaving out, or would like us to shine a spotlight on, feel free to leave a comment below.

News

Disaster Report 4 cancelled and new Yazuka delayed following Japanese earthquake

Understandably, corpses rising the grave in Japanese cities wouldn’t go down too well right now

For many gamers, this weekend’s Yakuza 4 release is a time for celebration (after all, hostess bars has been included this time around) yet overwhelming jealousy for Japanese gamers, who are all set to get their hands on the follow-up, Yakuza: Of The End, which rather bizarrely deals with a zombie uprising. That was until this morning, when the game, originally set for release in Japan on March 21 was delayed.

Developers SEGA have said that the delay is due to ‘various circumstances’ but it doesn’t take a genius to realise that the horrific and ongoing fallout from the Japanese tsunami and earthquake last week has forced SEGA’s hand. It’s an understandable and sensitive move, while another title, Irem’s Disaster Report 4, has been cancelled entirely.

Disaster Report 4 was to be the first PS3 installment of the disaster-based franchise, and apparently included an enormous earthquake in a Japanese city. While we applaud both SEGA and Irem’s thoughful decisions, the decision to cancel a game entirely is a big shocker.

Nintendo president Iwata promises that Ocarina of Time 3DS is ‘crammed’ with new features

The entire game has been remodelled from scratch. In pics such as this, it really shows

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is regarded by many as the greatest video game of all time, so we have absolutely no problem with the 3DS remake planned for June. For most, the thought of revisiting Kokiri Forest and the Great Deku Tree would be irrestistable, though there’s bound to be plenty on the fench that don’t want to pay full price for a game originally released in 1998.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has done much to help the remake’s cause, however, with his latest statement on the title’s development. According to Iwata, “the Nintendo 3DS version of Ocarina of Time is crammed with interesting things that weren’t in the Nintendo 64 version, but we’ll wait to talk about those [closer to] the release.”

It has already been confirmed that the ‘Master Quest‘ version of the game (which shipped alongside The Wind Waker on Gamecube, it included slightly altered and much tougher dungeons) will be included, though exactly what Nintendo have managed to ‘cram’ remains a mystery, albeit a very exciting mystery.

Purchase/Download of the Week

Stardrone (€7.99 on PSN)

Can you keep up with Stardrone’s crazy pace?

With Playstation Move functionality and an upcoming 3D patch, Stardrone is a psychadelic and brain-melting space title that combines arcade action and pinball-style physics through over 50 levels. With that kind of longevity, it’s an excellent excuse to dust off that Move controller and is a steal at just €7.99.

Friday Releases 18/03/11

Such angry, angry men

One of the biggest franchises in Japan, Yakuza 4 reaches our shelves nearly 12 months after its Japanese release. If you’ve never played a Yakuza title before, it’s essentially a mix of Street of Rage-style battling, Grand Theft Auto‘s mobster storyline and the hyper-real attention to detail of Shenmue. With dozens of hours outside of the main story mode to try out everything from professional wrestling and kareoke bars, it’s finally time for newcomers to see exactly what the fuss is all about.

Out this Friday:

Xbox 360

Full House Poker(XBLA)

Homefront

MotoGP 10/11

Top Spin 4

Warriors: Legend of Troy

Playstation 3

Homefront

Monster Jam: Path of Destruction

MotoGP 10/11

MotorStorm: Apocalypse