Gamertell

Koei has just released a free PC demo of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI (RTKXI). The full game comes out September 9, 2008, and will only be available through direct download. Originally, RTKXI was scheduled to be released July 29, 2008, but I guess things changed.

Stopping by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI site will allow you access to a game trailer, screen shots and the demo. Well, FilePlanet is actually hosting the 280.4MB demo, so the site will direct you there. You have to have a Windows XP or higher PC with DirectX 9.0c…

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I have seriously been waiting months for this announcement - thankfully Koei decided E3 would be as good a place as any to reveal more information about their space puppy game Prey the Stars. This casual game, much like Katamari Damacy has been listed on Gamefaqs and hinted at for a long time. Now we know that it will definitely have Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support, be released in October 2008, carry an “Everyone” ESRB rating and cost $29.99.

See, Prey the Stars stars these unusual space puppies - Gabu, Bari, Chuchu and Pero. They are insatiable, and can end up eating everything in their environments. So in each stage, you have to eat as much as you can before the other players to earn the most points. Its a multiplayer game at its heart, which is why it is great to see that there is going to be four player single-card download play, multi-card play and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection play.

Click through to watch the game trailer…

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Koei has decided to release its DS fashion simulation game, That’s QT outside of Japan! This is great news, as it was a fun and engaging shop management game with stylish characters. The game will be released in North America as POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation sometime in September, 2008. The goal of the game is to slowly establish yourself as a designer, creating clothes from buzzwords found in conversations with potential customers and then selling them in your shop.

When you first start out in POP CUTIE!, the character is basically running his/her shop out of a closet. You have to create designs people want, hire models to walk the streets in your clothes, design your shop, wear your clothes, hire workers, place ads for different items in fashion magazines and compete against opposing designers in shows.  You can also face off against friends who also own the game, to see whose clothes are better.

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Koei has officially announced that the PC version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI will be released in North America. The game was previously released for the PS2, and now the PC port will be available in all video game retailers on July 29, 2008. Like other Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, RTK XI puts users in charge of a kingdom of territories in China, this time during the Han Dynasty. The best part of this news is the price - it will only cost $19.99.

So basically you run your territories and try to expand your power so you have total control of China. Its really a very involved process. You have the ability to run almost every aspect of your kingdom, from building economic centers, to interacting with other territories, declaring wars and creating government policies.

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Title: Dynasty Warriors 6
Price: $59.99
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Koei
ESRB Rating: Teen
Pros: Nice level design, redesign to characters, plenty of missions
Cons: Brain-dead AI, numerous bugs and glitches, terrible story and audio, so-so graphics, no online play, lack of game features or options, same game we’ve played time and time again.
Overall Score: 5/10

Click through for the full review…

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In what is the never-ending saga of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and I mean never ending, Koei has found yet another way that they can bleed more cash out from fans with, of all things, a Romance of the Three Kingdoms MMO.

Koei Entertainment Singapore, (Koei being the first major Japanese game development studio to open up in the country) launched cunsumer trials for the MMO in Japan on February 29, 2008. Much like the long running Dynasty Warriors series, the game will retell the…

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For the first time ever, Warriors Orochi, which combines characters from both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, will be released on both the PC and PSP. Koei has announced that the PSP version of the title will be available on March 25, 2008. The PC version has not received a definite release date, but the press release notes that it should also be available by the end of March.

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On March 25, 2008, Koei, a company best known for its historical video games, will bring Opoona to North America. Opoona is an life-sim and action RPG for the Wii which will be able to be played using only the nunchuk. The game is created by ArtePiazza, which also created Dragon Quest and .

Interaction in Opoona is two-fold. As the title character, Opoona, you must fight to defend Landroll and find his family. The main weapon for Opoona are bombs, which are hurled at opponents. It isn’t all about war though, there’s peace as well. You must also become a part of the community on the new world, which means finding a job and making friends. If you don’t take the time to develop both parts, you won’t be able to finish the story. In a way, the whole design of the game feels reminiscent of Rune Factory.

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A definite release date has been set for Dynasty Warriors 6 and more information about the title has surfaced. The Koei game will be available on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 19, 2008. The game has been designed specifically for the next-gen platforms and will provide battles that are even more massive and engaging. At the moment the game has not been rated by the ESRB and a price has not been set.

Koei is also adding in extra features to make the game the best entry in the series. The latest title will allow for more units on the battlefield, enhanced terrain features and authentic kung-fu action thanks to motion-captures of Asian stuntpeople.  The title will also feature a new Renbu system which will allow for faster combination attacks that are easier to pull off. Like other Koei games, the story and characters are taken from directly from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

So basically to sum it all up, this is another more hacking and slashing strategic adventure in Ancient China. Perhaps a break should be taken from Dynasty Warriors to develop a new prospect. (Come on Koei, you promised you’d bring Gabu Gabu Planet to North American DS owners as Prey the Stars.) Romance of the Three Kingdoms can inspire only so many games after all.

Read [QJ] Also Read [Destructoid] Site [Koei]

Samurai Warriors: Katana for the Nintendo Wii now has a definite release date. Koei has announced that the latest entry in the Samurai Warriors series will be available in stores on January 15, 2008. The game is rated Teen, can be preordered at video game stores and will retail for $49.99.

This entry provides a first-person arcade style samurai adventure. In Samurai Warriors: Katana, the player uses the WiiMote to control the onscreen weapon in battles. Like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Samurai Warriors: Katana will be a rail-shooter style game, where there is a set path through the level and enemies must be defeated to advance. The player must use melee and ranged weapons to progress through the game.

There are also multiple ways to play Samurai Warriors: Katana. Musou Mode is the standard one-player story-based mode where the player progresses through the game. In Trial Mode players can practice their skills and earn money to buy additional weapons and items to use in Trial Mode and Musou Mode. The final mode is Versus Mode, where a player play one of eight different mini-games against a friend for fun.

It seems like Samurai Warriors: Katana is trying to be a bit like Time Crisis. It not only has the shooting aspects that are familiar from that classic, but sword fighting like Red Steel. The diversity and ability to master a variety of weaponry could make this game a hit. At the very least, it can add replay value to the title. Of course, this kind of game seems a bit more suited for arcades, as it is really only fun in small doses.

Read [ShackNews] Also Read [Joystiq] Site [Koei]