After a long delay and hiatus, news is finally starting to trickle out for Obsidian’s spy rpg, Alpha Protocol.  Today we have a developer diary that shows off all the weapons and gadgets that you will have access to in the game.  You also get a look at how you can use the equipment to suit your style of gameplay.  I do love the guy that suggests nothing by grenades and a pistol, but I think I will try something a little different.\

Watch the video after the jump.  Alpha Protocol is coming to PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 1st, 2010.

We also just got a few screens and box art for Alpha Protocol.

Today the sale is over, and the price has bumped back up to over $100. But still it has left me scratching my head for two reasons. One, that people would want to buy it and two, that there are enough brand new ones kicking around to be sold.

Do any of you have any use for a Dreamcast these days? Let me know in the comments below.

You can check out the DealNews listing or the Amazon page.

The gameplay is all in the combat – once you’ve got the jump, shoot, hit and dodge buttons down, you can be eviscerating with the best of them. The loading screens allow you to practice your moves, which is welcome, but you’ll find that the combos are easy enough that you won’t need to worry about memorising anything, as you can pull off really impressive manoeuvres with ease after a few minutes.

You rarely get frustrated – I played on Normal, but there are both Easy and Very Easy modes, which, I’m led to believe, can be played using only one button, so if you’re really terrible, you still get the visual payoff. And what a payoff. Most games are, visually and gameplay-wise rather risk/reward in structure: in Red Faction: Guerilla, for example, if you can get past the guards without being shot and lay some explosives, you can blow up a bridge and watch all the cars tumble into the ravine below. In Bayonetta, the risk is taken out. It’s just reward/reward. Or, more accurately, reward/reward/reward/reward/reward ad infinitum. It’s just incredibly beautiful. There’s always something exciting happening on-screen – in the first playable sequence, you’re fighting on the clock face of a tower in freefall while under attack from a giant two-headed dragon-angel.

Everything about the game (apart from the interminable cutscenes) seems to be geared towards keeping you playing, drawing you in. There are constant visual and gameplay incentives to keep your attention. Every enemy you kill drops Sonic-like rings (well, it is a Sega game) and they can be used to buy better guns to attach to your feet (I know it sounds like a joke, but you actually have guns on your feet). The controls are never frustrating, and when I died, I always acknowledged that it was my ham-fisted incompetence which had caused the death, rather than a problem with the game. An excellent mechanic is the dodge, which, if well-timed, can give you a burst of slo-mo Witch-Time, giving you ample opportunity to smack the nearest enemy silly until he explodes into a cloud of gore and rings.

Bayonetta has a very campy, silly sensibility. Everything is so overblown, so overdone, so over-the-top, that it keeps you laughing almost all the way through. Even some of the attacks are funny! At the point, I was chuckling while I was crushing an angel with an iron maiden made out of hair while my semi-nude character was taunting the enemy. There’s so, so much to love about this game. I had very few problems – one was the irritating J-pop soundtrack, but that could just be me, another was the ‘puzzle’ sections, but only because they kept me from killing more angels.

In short, I’m not sure you’re going to find a much better fighting game of this kind. It’s like Devil May Cry’s insane younger cousin. Seriously, if you like fighting games… hell, if you like games at all you really should buy this game. I haven’t had this much crazy, crazy fun in a long time. 4.5 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

This review was based on a review copy of the game provided by Sega.

The slow drip of “Project Needlemouse” info reached a culmination yesterday with the announcement of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The downloadable game is coming to all three online store services this summer… PSN, XBLA and WiiWare. It promises a return to the classic 2D fast-paced gameplay of Sonic’s heyday.

Which, of course, is the same promise that a dozen other Sonic games have made. So SEGA will pardon our furrowed brows as we analyze the trailer and hope against hope that they don’t release a stunner that half the game will feature Sonic-in-Jetpack or Choose-Your-Gender-Sonic or Stealth-Action-Mode or any of a hundred gaming buzzphrases that could ruin the game yet again.

If the early reviews display a Sonic as good as the originals (or the oft-forgotten 2D DS games), I’m there. But my eyes have seen too much to grant SEGA a free pass after less than 5 seconds of gameplay footage.

SEGA have released an 11th hour demo to showcase what Aliens Vs. Predators has to offer those of us hankering for a genuinely terrifying multiplayer experience but can’t wait until next week’s release (16 February in the US, 19 February in Europe).

The demo – set for simultaneous release across PSN, XBL and Steam – will be available in both America and Europe from tomorrow (4 February) and allows players to experience Deathmatch mode as the Colonial Marine, the Alien or the Predator.

“The team at Rebellion has created a truly immersive multiplayer experience with three completely different and compelling playable species,” says Gary Knight, European Marketing Director of SEGA Europe. “We believe that Aliens vs Predator offers gamers a unique alternative to the current FPS multiplayer games on the market, and sets a precedent for the evolution of multiplayer gaming in the genre.”

Rebellion CEO/Creative Director Jason Knightly adds: “Multiplayer was a huge part of our original AVP game back in 1999, and we’ve kept the spirit of that classic experience in creating the multiplayer for our new Aliens vs Predator. With the demo now gamers can get to grips with each of the three iconic species so they can hone their skills and be ready for when the game launches and battle commences.”

Today’s press release reminded us that Aliens vs Predator also features “unique 3-way online multiplayer”, which gives players the opportunity to “pit the three species against each other in the ultimate battle for survival and for the right to be crowned the deadliest species”. There are seven multiplayer modes altogether: Survivor, Predator Hunt, Infestation, Domination, Deathmatch, Species Deathmatch and Mix Species Deathmatch.

Hmmm . . . Deathmatch. Whoops. Just drooled on my keyboard.

After killing the angels by kicking, punching and shooting them, the timeline skips ahead to an overlong cutscene which involves a fat guy mouthing off about Humpty Dumpty (and now the Lewis Carroll reference is justified) at which point, a bunch of angels fly down and attack Bayonetta, who is dressed as a nun. It’s intimated at some point that she’s lost her memory, but frankly, I’m not sure that she’d have been able to make out what was going on either way. She kills some angels, changes into her-hair-suit (in case you’d forgotten, her suit is made of her own hair. At this point, you might be asking yourself “Why is she killing angels, if she’s the hero?” Well, it turns out that her powers came from a pact with the devil, so she’s got to kill the angels otherwise she gets dragged into hell. That stands on a rather unstable patch of theological ground, but it’s clear this game isn’t trying to make sense, so we’ll move on.

There’s a tutorial bit which teaches you how to punch, kick, jump, dodge, and shoot (with guns attached to your feet). If you dodge just before the enemy hits, you get a brief burst of Witch-Time (slow motion) which allows you to take down angels with greater efficacy. After having killed quite a few angels, there was another cutscene, some bald guy burst out of a coffin, threw a large amount of guns at Bayonetta in a ridiculously over-the-top cutscene, and all the angels are killed… or something.

Then, you’re driving away, and a cargo plane crashes onto the motorway, and you fight some more angels on the aircraft’s flaming wing while time is frozen . In this section, you have to do three ‘torture attacks’ in a time limit, which basically involves building up a magic meter by hitting enemies without being hit yourself, and then dispatching them in ridiculously over-the-top attacks which involve various execution devices, such as iron maidens and guillotines made out of hair. There’s also a point where a large angel turns up, and you use your hair becomes a dragon and eats it. I honestly cannot believe I’m writing these words. Go and find it in Youtube if you’re not going to buy the game, because this is something you need to see.

If I’ve said negative things about this game, it’ll be because I am so confused. From a gameplay point of view, it controls well, it’s fun, and it has plenty of gory explosions. The story is ridiculous, but that isn’t really the point – the gameplay is outrageously fun, and stomping on angels with a demonic high-heeled boot made out of your own hair never gets old. A fun, entertaining, if perplexing half-hour. My full review will be along shortly.

This First Thirty was based on a review copy provided by Sega, but played at my friend David’s house, because my bloody 360 has red-ringed, and is currently in Germany for repairs. Get it together, Microsoft.

GAME> Sonic Spinball (1993)
SYSTEM> Sega Genesis
SOURCE> Disney Adventures, June 1994

When I was a kid, I was scared spitless of the Game Genie. I had one for my Game Boy and I tiptoed around the thing like it was a live beartrap. Once I used it to turn the sprites in Battletoads into unrecognizable digital blobs. I never recovered from the horror.

Anyway, Capcom’s Ace Attorney is your headliner this week, arriving in a port of the GBA/DS original for 1000 points. A bunch of us here at Aeropause have had some misgivings about the trial-and-error methodology that drives this game, but the characters are fun, the art is great… and come on, when was the last time you played a lawyering video game? WiiWare is also the proud recipient of Chronos Twins DX (1000 points) and the intriguing ShadowPlay (800 points) where you’re expected to make designs out of shadows.

DSiWare gets some very typical offerings with Touch Solitaire (200 points), Jazzy Billiards (500 points) and Word Searcher (500 points). Someday someone will apprise all the card / pool / word search apps available and tell me the best ones to get.

Virtual Console sorts of gets the stick this week with Shanghai II: Dragon’s Eye (Genesis, 800 points)… which is, you know, a tile-matching game. Fair enough.

As always, Nintendo’s complete press release featuring all of this week’s releases is after the jump.

Nintendo Download

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: WHEN YOU SEE THIS WEEK’S DOWNLOADS, YOU WILL HAVE NO… OBJECTION!

Courtroom intrigue with everyone’s favorite Ace Attorney leads this week’s Nintendo Download. For the first time, players can use the Wii Remote™ controller to help them balance the scales of justice. Six other games join this week’s lineup, including some temporal adventures and a puzzle game based on shadows, not to mention new twists on solitaire, billiards and word searches. A classic Genesis mahjong video game rounds out the list.

Virtual Console

Shanghai® II: Dragon’s Eye
Original platform: Genesis
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: The ancient pastime of mahjong solitaire is reinvented as an interactive video game where each tile you remove may be your last. Discover enchanting music, fun animation and exciting obstacles that are built in to this intriguing board game that will keep you engaged for hours. This classic title challenges you to clear the board by removing matching pairs of tiles. Play the traditional Shanghai® II or take the game to a new dimension with Dragon’s Eye. Don’t let the simple rules deceive you – the depth and intricacy of this challenge will become your new obsession very soon.

WiiWare

Phoenix Wright™: Ace Attorney
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Meet Phoenix Wright, the rookie defense lawyer new to the scene with the wildest cross-examination skills in town. Take on four intriguing cases to reveal dramatic, stunning and even comical court proceedings. Use the Wii Remote controller to investigate the crime scenes, question witnesses and present shocking evidence.

Chronos Twins DX
Publisher: EnjoyUp Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Enter into the original world of Chronos Twins DX to live a fantastic adventure full of innovative ideas. Thanks to its Dual Gameplay game system, you’ll be able to control Nec in two temporal scenarios at the same time. Chronos Twins DX mixes action, platforms, adventure and puzzles to challenge your intelligence and ability.

ShadowPlay
Publisher: Deep Fried Entertainment
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Alcohol Reference
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Welcome to ShadowPlay. Let your imagination run wild when light meets everyday objects to create fascinating shadows. Play and experiment, make a monster out of a pineapple, a dolphin out of a banana – the only limit is your imagination. ShadowPlay challenges players by transforming shadows into more than 100 exciting, unique puzzles. As more challenging puzzles are unlocked, players will have to find more creative ways to solve problems. You will never look at a slice of pizza the same way again! Winning a round will allow players to advance to the next level as well as score another item to use in the Free Play Mode, where you can unleash your imagination and create your own shadow art. Family and friends can also jump in to help tackle a puzzle at any time using Local Co-op Mode. ShadowPlay will provide tons of brain-racking fun for players of all ages. How do you ShadowPlay?

Nintendo DSiWare

Touch Solitaire
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Touch Solitaire features two of the most popular versions of the world-famous card game – Spider and Klondike – with simple touch-screen controls and an easy-to-understand interface. In Spider, the aim is to arrange cards in piles of a single suit from King down to Ace, thereby removing the pile from play. When all cards are removed, you win the game. The goal of Klondike is to arrange cards from Ace to King in piles, one for each suit, on the four foundations. You win when all cards have been moved to the foundations. Various difficulty levels are available for Spider and Klondike, allowing beginners or experts to enjoy the game at their own pace.

Jazzy Billiards
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Challenge intelligent computers or even your friends to a traditional game of 9-ball while enjoying mind-soothing music with Jazzy Billiards. Take advantage of the intuitive stylus mechanic to aim and hit the cue ball with varying strength to sink the other balls. Defeat your opponents by being the first to sink the 9-ball. Jazzy Billiards’ Stage Mode features nine different stages, each with an opponent of ascending difficulty. Find out how many computers you can defeat in a row with Challenge Mode, or challenge your friends to a game of 9-ball in Versus Mode.

Word Searcher
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You’ll need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete these 100 themed word search puzzles. Word Searcher contains fun words from multiple categories including anatomy, world cities and U.S. presidents. Packed with a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle anyone will enjoy. Help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with these challenging puzzles. Keep track of, and try to beat, your own play-through times again and again as words are scrambled every time you play. Get your thinking cap on and conquer all 100 today.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit www.Wii.com or www.NintendoDSi.com.

Kotaku is reporting that eagle-eyed readers have spotted Bayonetta sitting casually on shelves, several weeks before the scheduled release date.

If you’d like to lay your hands on Bayonetta (ahem), your best bet is to check our Wal-mart, K-mart or Toys R Us. Let us know if you too have picked up an early copy and what you think of it.

Via and picture credit: Kokatu