When it comes to new triple-A video game releases, sequels bring in the cash for developers. So when a publisher decides to take a risk with a new IP (that’s “intellectual property” for any noobs out there), it’s big news.

Capcom today took the wraps off of Dragon’s Dogma, a new IP that puts you in the shoes of a dragon slayer in a vast, open world. First thought that came to my mind: the title Dragon’s Dogma sounds like a medieval ripoff of Assassin’s Creed. But it doesn’t look like the two games have much else in common.

Dragon’s Dogma is a new action franchise, where you play as part of a three-person team who sets out to find and destroy a dragon. The game takes place in a free-roaming world, which you can explore at will while you attempt to find that pesky dragon. The game is built on Capcom’s “MT Framework” engine, which is also used in Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2. The lands are well populated, and you’ll encounter endless numbers of NPCs and mythical creatures like goblins and griffins to fight.

Dragon’s Dogma will live or die based on its combat mechanics, and Capcom claims that this is a major focus of its development. The people behind Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 4 are creating Dragon’s Dogma, giving the action a highly stylized feel, as you can see in the trailer above or this gameplay vid:

Capcom says that the main focus in combat is on where you hit the enemy and how you react to their attacks.

Your two partners will fight alongside you, and they’ll learn new abilities and characteristics along the way by observing you in action. Yet they fight completely independently, with no need for your control. There’s more than just action, though, with exploration, interactions, and crucial decisions to be made.

Dragon’s Dogma will arrive sometime in early 2012. Check out the first screenshots from the game below.

Capcom has released the first teaser trailer for the just-announced Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, which shows off the first glimpses of gameplay. Raccoon City is, of course, well known to fans of the series as a centerpiece to the saga, a metropolis that fell to the T-Virus outbreak and was eventually obliterated by a government-sanctioned nuclear blast. The new game is reportedly set around the time of Resident Evil 2 and 3, but Slant Six Games, the developer behind the new title, says they’re telling “a completely new story” that’s sorta/kinda/maybe set in “a parallel world.”

Slant Six is best known for the SOCOM series, and they’re bringing some of those tactical shooter sensibilities to Resident Evil for Operation Raccoon City. You’ll play in third-person mode as a member of the Umbrella Corporation’s task force, fighting both zombies and the U.S. Special Forces that you usually play as part of in the series. Even Leon Kennedy, protagonist from several titles in the series, is one of your targets in the new game.

What do you think of the trailer, and this surprising new direction for the series? Have they run out of ideas? Or have they found a creative entry point for new players?

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Teaser Trailer

There’s a whole new world out there that I know very little about, never having caught the game system bug.  I was more interested in reading the comics, my level was PacMan and I extended myself to early Sonic The Hedgehog, that’s about it.  (Have you read the Sonic titles from Archie by the way? They are pretty cool in their way, chewing gum for my brain.)

Still, the trailer looks pretty cool.  I for one want to know how characters from the Marvel Universe  are mixing it up with characters from Street Fighter and Resident Evil to boot.  Sounds like it could be a pretty cool story, but no, I don’t want to aggravate my thumbs and lose hours of my life that seem to have disappeared anyway.  If only I was some chronal conglomerate and could manage my time via double accounting! Now, when the virtual reality games start coming out, that’s a whole new matter.

I was talking with my local comic shop manager about the rash of titles cashing in on the gamer market, and he felt that although it could attract new readers to the market, the quality was something left to be desired. I confess, it comes to something when I thought the Resident Evil films were better than the comics. Still, I like those films.

So I decided to branch out, and dug through the back issue bins, and drew out the Prototype series by WildStorm.  Told that Prototype was a really cool game, I had high hopes for the title.

Now I won’t criticise too much, because it was okay.  Mediocre to good, but not brilliant, not as engaging as I would have hoped.  Something tells me that what makes a good game does not necessarily translate into the new medium.

My next target will be the World Of Warcraft series, but that seems more of a role-playing system with a fleshed out universe than a strict beat-em up. So I hold higher hopes. Then again, remembering DC’s old AD&D title, I could be wrong.

My recommendations this week – Fantastic Four #578 and Zenescopes The Waking #3.  And do I dare expose myself to Hulked-Out Heroes #2?

Anyhow, the ubiquitous white Wii now has a black brother. For the longest time, the clean sparkling white of the Wii was synonymous to group fun. Its sales have reached unprecedented heights as well. Why has Nintendo decided to suddenly change gears?

If sales figures are to be believed, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3 are fast catching up on the Wii. While many fanboys have been predicting this for the longest time (indeed, the PS3 has been called a turtle by a lot of people), Nintendo is not about to take things sitting down. Hence, they have come up with a darker – and hopefully more attractive – version of the Wii console.

For now, only the Japanese market will be able to purchase the black Wii. It is due to be released on the 1st of August. The price tag? They say it’s going to be 250,000 yen or $258. Naturally, the console will not be the sole item in the package. It will come with a black Wii-mote, a black Nunchuk, and a black classic controller pro. A bundled version will also be released, with the game Monster Hunter Tri by Capcom. This bundle will go for $341.

Again, it might be for naught to get excited over this piece of news if you are not in Japan. Then again, that has never stopped us from getting what we wanted in the past, has it?

Capcom recently partnered with the American Red Cross to drum up publicity for the hotly anticipated Resident Evil 5, which will be released on March 13. And the campaign? Capcom will fund a blood drive with the help of Red Cross.

The Capcom / Resident Evil 5 blood drive will be held at the World of Wonder Gallery located in Hollywood California. The whole day event sounds like fun. People who donate their blood during the event will get a chance to win prizes that includes several limited edition Resident Evil 5 Blood Drive collectors items like posters, bumper stickers and buttons along with, predictably, copies of the Resident Evil 5 game.

Capcom will also be raffling off limited edition red Xbox 360 Elite gaming consoles that are bundled with the Resident Evil 5 game. Interested to join in the blood drive? Just visit the Red Cross web site for details.

Street Fighter IV

Gameplay
The characters this time around are represented in 3D and fight on 3D backgrounds. However, they are locked in to a 2D plane, meaning you don’t have the option to sidestep into 3D. Essentially it was a way in which to keep the gameplay the same but move the graphics into the 21st century.

The characters of course make the game, so you will be pleased to hear that Ken, Ryu, Chun Li, and Zangief etc all make an appearance. Alongside the cast of Street Fighter 2 Turbo you’ll be able to select some new fighters, including Crimson Viper (fights with power gloves), a lucha libre wrestler known as El Fuerte, Rufus – a large kung fu master, MMA exponent Abel others.

Most of the characters seem quite well balanced, with a range of standard, special, super special and EX attacks (these last ones are more powerful versions of special attacks, for example Ryu’s hadoken is unleashed as a fire variant). There’s also an ultra combo system that builds on an aggro style meter, charging up to the max when you’ve taken a lot of damage. In one fell swoop, you can turn the match around.

On the whole, fighters seem to be quite well balanced (barring the comedy variants such as Dan). Seth though remains a big disappointment. This new boss character looks quite derivative and is similar to the boss from SF3. Worst of all though is his fighting style. He goes from reasonable to beat to massively overpowered in the second round.

Controls are slick, which is as you’d expect for a game that hasn’t been tampered with too much and doesn’t move from the tried and tested formula. So, you have sick buttons (light, hard and medium kicks and punches) with which to attack your opponent. Alongside this you have a counter system initiated by using both medium attacks together, which implements another layer of strategy to the game.

Playing through Xbox Live means that at any point you could face ‘A New Challenger’ – what could be more fun than that? A global ranking system means you get to see how good you really are, as well as facing players from all over the world.

Graphics
Street Fighter IV is a real visual treat. Characters have been reimagined in a chunkier, visually arresting style and it’s something that I personally think you’ll love or hate. Characters look almost like action figures that have sprung to life. Animations are completely superb and when you do nail a combo that is of the ‘Ultra’ variety the game moves into 3D to show the full damage you inflict upon your opponent. It really is quite a sight to behold.

Sound
Not too much to say about this one here – it’s not like you need the atmosphere of Dead Space created for SFIV! The voice over work isn’t particularly great, but the sound effects in general are nice and meaty. The wailing guitar might make you think that you’re back in the early nineties but hey, this is Street Fighter II but with a modern twist!

Overall
My first impression was that I could just pick up and play it. Don’t get me wrong, you can do that. You might find however that you’re just not as good at it as you remember – which is probably down to years of other games such as Soul Calibur and Tekken. Nonetheless, Street Fighter IV is a fantastic game and one that deserves a place on the shelf of any gamer.

Granted, the gameplay does hark back to another era when things were more simple. However, subtle tweaks, added characters and great little elements such as the anime intros are divine. If you’re a fan of fighting games then they generally don’t come much better, or fair than this.

Without the simple combos of the Tekken series or the huge complexity of the Virtua Fighter games, Street Fighter IV remains at heart a game that provides a character for all and gameplay mechanics to put a grin firmly on your face. Capcom, you’ve done a great job.

9/10
Available: Now
Price: $50

Namco X Capcom is a turn based RPG that features 200+ characters from both companies like Ryu, Jin, Arthur, and KOS-MOS. I don’t know about the system, but the game was originally meant to be a Namco all stars RPG to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. The game will also have an anime intro made by Production IG.

IGN has more details

Sounds like serious fun to me. And how can you resist a game with our beloved Capcom characters in an RPG setting from the creators of Xenosaga? And with anime sequences by Production IG (same people who did the Kill Bill anime sequence)! It’s set for Japanese release in May 6. I hope North America isn’t being an ass and looking this game over.

Thanks, Delurio, for the heads-up. Screenshots found here.