Get those savings ready cos you're about to be bombarded with truckloads of games for this week. It's summer vacation, anyway, so we're sure you won't have to worry about taking a break for schoolwork. Topping the much-awaited list this week is The Phantom Fortress installment of the Naruto Ninja series. There's also Alone in the Dark to give you the hibby-jibbies as well as a plethora of other simulation games and more. Fun's spread the multiplatform way so get going and click on that full article for the full 411.

During the recently-concluded Tokyo Game Show 2007, Capcom bigwig Keiji Inafune talked about Mega Man's 20th anniversary, detailing the highs and lows of his career all throughout and some future plans for the series.

Inafune took the opportunity to dispel the myth that he's the creator of Mega Man, saying that his mentor had a design prior to his entry to Capcom and he only created about half of what the blue blaster looks like. "I didn't get to completely design a Mega Man from scratch until Zero," he narrates. "But I realized that this design wouldn't be accepted as Mega Man, so I had another designer create the new Mega Man, and I worked on Zero to release him as the 'other main character' that would steal all the good scenes!"

One particularly noteworthy anecdote came in when he recounted the story of how he designed early boss Elecman. ""When I created this character, I tried to make a character that looked [like] it was from an American comic," says Inafune. "You'd see characters like him in Spider-Man or X-Men. It was pretty hard to design him, and I had to make sure that he didn't end up looking like an S&M queen."

Asked what his favorite game from the Mega Man series is, some of you may be amazed to know that it's Mega Man Legends, released in 1998 for the PSX. The game received lukewarm reception from aghast fans who were shocked with a 3D action-RPG spin-off of the series. Inafune says that the game might have been to advanced for its time, leaving what could have been a good game under-appreciated.

"I'd love to make a revival," says a determined Inafune. "But it's really difficult to have your company give you a budget for a game that flopped. I'm saving up so that I can make it on my own." He says that given today's technology, the idea might just work and sell better than it did almost a decade ago. "I'm making it my dream to create Mega Man Legends 3 before either I die or leave my company. With the continued support of fans, I hope that the Mega Man series continues to live on, and that we'll get to see its 30th and 40th anniversaries."

Keiji Inafune is the same creative mind behind other big Capcom titles such as Dead Rising, Onimusha, and the very first Street Fighter game. He continues to be a major influence in Capcom's projects and is considered as one of the gaming industry's true-blue trendsetters.

With Megaman ZX out since last year and definitely enjoying its much earned success, it's good to get information about the next installment in the annual tradition that is Megaman. Cubed³ managed to snag an interview with Takeshi Horinouchi, Line Producer for the Megaman series. As the line producer, he takes charge of coordinating the schedules of different departments working on the Megaman games. Horinouchi gave juicy info about making Megaman DS games, possible future Wii Mega Man titles, and more.

Horinouchi revealed that the development process for Megaman ZX took about 20 months, with Capcom crossing hurdles such as integrating the DS' touch screen feature into the game. The development team, however, decided on keeping the control scheme as-is, using the D-pad and buttons. The few touchscreen elements that made it into the game received less-than-positive reviews, he said.

But so far Horinouchi is pleased with how Megaman ZX fared, though he thinks that it may have sold better if it had been released a bit later, not last year while the Nintendo DS was "still rapidly expanding in the market."

Go on and read what else Horinouchi said about the latest Megaman installment, another Megaman ZX sequel, and Capcom's plans on a Nintendo Wii version of the video game - all at the Full Article.

You must be wondering how come we're still posting these screenshots for Mega Man ZX for the DS when it's been out since September (U.S.) and July (Japan) of last year. Well, that's because our European counterparts have yet to get their hands on this, so they do deserve the update on the game.

Yup, this Capcom offering, described by ESRB as "cartoon violence", has yet to land in European shores. In fact, they'll have to wait until June 22, just one month short from the first anniversary of its Japan launch. Anyhow, just to refresh the memories of awaiting PAL gamers, Mega Man ZX will be featuring two playable characters, namely Van and Eile. So, if you wanna catch them in action, we suggest you have your fill of the screenshots we have for you -- all 24 of 'em.

See more at the Full Article!

Mega Man ZX is now in stores nationwide. Yaay! For those few who are still wondering whether they should buy the game or not, Capcom has released a game intro and gameplay video just for you.

The intro is just exciting enough for us to try the game out. We liked the graphics but appreciated the audio more. It had this arcade-like sound that just makes you feel all the more excited to play the game. In it you can also hear some voice acting even though a previous report said otherwise. The second one is an in-game video wherein we could also see one of the earlier bosses pummeled to bits. However, we were wondering why our hero had to revert to human form just to crouch under different objects and obstacles.

In case you got loss in what we're trying to convey, the game follows the story of two humans, Vale and Alie- both working for Girouette Express, as they transport items and articles to anywhere. The adventure begins when they discover how to use the biometal suits, Model X and Z. Where it ends is up to you. Good luck with the game and we hope this downloadable videos could help you decide if you're buying it or not.

Download: [Mega ManZX Intro]
Download: [Mega Man ZX Gameplay]

Mega Man fans should be pretty happy as Mega Man ZX is shipping today for the Nintendo DS. And to top it off, Capcom has released some new screenshots for the newest sidescrolling platformer in the Mega Man series. In the game, players assume the role of either a human male character named Vent or his female counterpart Aile, who are employees of the Girouette Express, a courier service that takes jobs transporting anything to anywhere.

The two screens of the DS are utilized as the main action happens on top, beneficial data ranging from an enemy's weak point, locations of hidden items and more are displayed on the bottom. So go ahead and check out the screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails below.

   

More of the screens await after the jump!

Game releases for this week is said to be one of the biggest ever for the United States, with a whopping 46 new titles for various consoles. NDS players will have a lot to choose from this week, whether it be from popular franchises such as Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mega Man ZX, to the more original and new Cooking Mama and Harvest Moon.

Available for all platforms this week is LEGO Star Wars II, one of the most anticipated games since its prequel. LEGO Star Wars II will feature similar gameplay to that of its prequel, and of course, will allow gamers to mix and match the heads and bodies of  their beloved Star Wars characters. Below is the complete list of DS games to be released this week:

- Cooking Mama
- Harvest Moon DS
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
- Mario Hoops 3-On-3
- MechAssault: Phantom War
- Mega Man ZX

Game sequels have it tough. They need to ensure that the same elements as the original is there and at the same time provide something fresh and exciting that'll be better than the previous one. A great example would be the Megaman Franchise. It started with the SNES, then GBA, PSX, and now with the Nintendo DS. According to an article we read, the Megaman games almost count to a hundred. Definitely, there will be some good and better games. Will the new game, Megaman ZX, be a good or a better one? We read the review and will give you the highlights.

The positives: The writer likened this game to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Both are jumping to the innovative Nintendo DS. The article continues on to say that a new element was added to the game: the biometals, which we mentioned last time, enabled the character to transform into five X units at any time. It made the game more fun to play. The audio and video naturally showed a big boost due to the DS's better graphics and speakers.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Mega Man is one of the classic icons in the whole of Video Game Kingdom. He's up there alongside Mario, Sonic, Lara Croft, et. al. So, naturally, when the new Mega Man ZX gets released, ripples of excitement are bound to spread like wildfire. Now, before its American release, here's a little something-something to tide you over!

Way back when, it was already announced that Mega Man ZX was to boast a plethora of "Living Metal" armor suits. Here, we have the list of your biometal suits that both Vent and Aile can use in the game. Each biometal suits will allow you to use different kinds of abilities.

First row, left to right:
X: basic armor that comes with an X buster, and comes with all the basic skills (dash, wall jumps, etc) that Mega Man players are used to. XZ: this is based on Zero's suit, and has your typical Zero abilities of a long range buster attack and a beam saber that can do combos. FX: the FX suit is built on the element of fire and can rapidly shoot fire blasts in two directions at once, useful for breaking blocks when charged up.

Second row, left to right:
HX: this one, on the other hand, is built on wind, and is the ultimate exploration suit as it allows you to dash up into the air and hover around. LX: the LX suit is that of ice, and aside from being able to shoot ice platforms over land, it also gives you the ability to dash underwater. PX: the suit is non-elemental, mostly based on electricity and is the "ninja" suit that allows you to latch on to platforms and pipes, and even make you see things clearly in the dark.

Well, these biometal suits aren't much different from the different kinds of abilities you absorb from killing bosses in the previous games. The concept is still the same - that you can change your "suit"  to suit your mood - but for Mega Man ZX, it makes for an interesting twist to the franchise.

According to a post by Jeremy Parish, 1up Editor, on a LiveJournal blog, Mega Man ZX will not feature any voice acting whatsoever. The original Japanese game had voice-acted anime cutscenes. The English game features subtitles and the voices have actually been taken out. There are no English voices to replace them. This seems like a very weird move by Capcom. We can understand adding new things, but taking them out? At least the option for Japanese voices should be left in so we can hear something. The game still has a bit of time before it's finalized, so hopefully they'll change their minds. Parish's version is an early copy sent by Capcom after all.