PushSquare's Playstation Pick Of The Week: Final Fantasy XIII.

It’s a really crazy month here in the PushSquare office. Game-a-geddon is in full swing and no sooner are we done with one game, than we have to move on and get to work on another. Still, at least you’re not going to be bored this month, as not only is there lots to talk about, there’s lots to play. So let’s get started with what’s releasing this week.

PushSquare’s Playstation Pick Of The Week: Final Fantasy XIII [US/EU]

Is it flawed? Absolutely: Final Fantasy XIII takes far too long to get going and when it finally does gather steam, it’s hard to pick up the enthusiasm to keep playing. Still, it boasts a fantastic universe, some interesting characters and stunning CGI cut-scenes. Oh, and the battle system is pretty nifty too.

Also:

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition launches in the US, which is well worth a look if you’re yet to play Capcom’s next-gen horror shooter. SEGA release Yakuza 3 on the West at last in both Europe and the USA (please buy it, someone has to). On the PSN, Mega Man 10 is due a release in the ol’ USA – get ready to throw you controller at the wall.

Whadda’re Ya’ Buyin’?

Hello Japan!

Hey folks, how are you finding the wait for Yakuza 3? Yeah, it’s been a long year hasn’t it? Still, at least we have a firm March release date to look forward to an announcement of a demo for, erm, Yakuza 4! Yep, Yakuza 4 is on the horizon for Japan, so if you have a Playstation Store account for the region you’ll be able to check out the next installment in the franchise on March 4th thanks to a nice demo SEGA’s announced. Lovely.

Let’s hope the wait for Yakuza 4 ain’t quite so long, eh?

Yakuza 3: Still Likely To Be Proper Awesome.

Sadly, SEGA’s confirmed to IGN that the Western release of Yakuza 3 will have less content than the Japanese version. Apparently, due to time constraints and cultural differences, the hostess clubs have been removed from the experience. Hostess clubs are somewhat a Japanese tradition, in which males essentially pay for female company. Sure it sounds seedy to a Westerner, but much of the Yakuza charm comes from exploring a different culture.

“The content between Yakuza 3 US/UK and Yakuza JP is a little different in that we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the west in the time alloted for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn’t make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn’t resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club),” SEGA told IGN. “We didn’t replace the parts we took out, but we made absolutely sure that the story continuity stayed intact so that the story experience was the same as the Japanese version and that it didn’t take away the human drama so inherent to the Yakuza series.”

It’s a shame that the content got cut, but we suppose the good news is that everything else in the game has remained in tact. Karaoke here we come.

Yakuza 3 on Playstation 3 Hands-On Impressions.

It took about, ooh, five minutes. We were excited. We’ve wanted to play Yakuza 3 for a long, long time and finally we got to go hands-on. It took about five minutes and then it dawned on us. “Dude, we’re playing Yakuza 3.”

Click here to continue reading and tell us what you think

We may well be waiting for Yakuza 3 here in the West, but for the folk in Japan, that game is old news. Y’see, the Japanese are hotly anticipating the release of Yakuza 4. And as you would imagine, the latest trailer for that game is bad-ass as hell. We’ve embedded it above for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

American Playstation Store Updates: 18th February 2010.

Special Offers

• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 ($7.49)
• Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood – Old West Map Pack ($5.99)
• Shaun White Snowboarding – The Glamour Pack ($2.49)
• Tom Clancy’s End War - Faction Elite Pack ($1.99)
• Brothers in Arms D-Day ($7.49)
• Price of Persia Revelations ($4.99)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($9.99)

PSone Classics

• Magic Carpet ($5.99)
• Mass Destruction ($5.99)
• Sorcerer’s Maze ($5.99)

Game Demos

• Yakuza 3
• Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

Add-on Content

• BUZZ! – National Geographic: Kids Quiz Pack ($7.99)
• Dragonball: Raging Blast – Saiyan’s Pack (free)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Bonfire of the Vanities ($4.99)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations ($9.99)
• Dante’s Inferno – Florentine Dante Costume ($1.99)
• Resident Evil 5 – Lost in Nightmares ($4.99)
• Resident Evil 5 – Costume Pack 1 ($1.99)
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Hoth Mission Pack ($9.99)

Click here to continue reading and tell us what you think

If you want to watch crazy awesome Japanese dudes fighting, staring and generally kicking ass, then this latest trailer for Yakuza 3 is going to seriously float your boat. Ignore all the low budget production that appears to be going into these trailers and preorder the game now, because it’s going to fucking rule.

Go on. We’ll wait.