A lot of exciting stuff has been coming out of Gamescom, including the new Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep trailer.  Before you sit down to watch it though, be sure that you have refreshments handy because it’s seven minutes long.  The trailer features plenty of glimpses of the gameplay, characters and story.

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It’s an issue we’ve touched upon more than once here at Spawn Kill: some games simply require too much of a time investment for most (adult) gamers.  As much as many of us love our RPGs, our time is too divided to devote hundreds of hours to a single title.  Last year, Half-Minute Hero sought to change that by giving everyone the fun, old-school RPG feel, but making it playable in bite-sized 30-second chunks.

Happily, the recent issue of Famitsu revealed that a sequel is in the works, set for a November Japanese release under the humorous title Hero 30 Second.  Although no North American release has yet been mentioned, hopefully XSEED will again publish the title so English speaking fans can enjoy even more fun. (more…)

Just yesterday, Hideo Kojima came strolling along the streets of SOHO, New York City in Metal Gear REX touting his Big Boss shirt to celebrate the recent release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (June 8th) for American fans. Well, maybe they couldn’t fit REX in Koji-san’s helicopter, but he definitely had a nice entourage of bodyguards for any “just in case” crazy New York fan moments. We understand, Kojima.

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Europe, Australia, and New Zealand will see the “PSP Essentials” line launch in June and later this year, North America seems to be getting its own series of promotions, including a tempting offer with the purchase of a new PSPgo and additions to the Greatest Hits lineup.

Sony launched their “PSP Favorites” lineup in North America with games for $9.99 each. Some of the notable titles include LocoRoco 2, PixelJunk Monster Deluxe, and Manhunt 2.

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Sony announced today via the PlayStation Blog that Metal Gear Solid fans here in the U.S can look forward to a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP bundle. The pack will include a “Spirited Green” PSP-3000 system, the game on UMD, a voucher for in-game content, a PSN downloadable movie voucher and a 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. The highly anticipated Metal Gear PSP title picks up where MGS 3 left off and “marks the return of Hideo Kojima’s world-renowned stealth-action series.” Not sure why Sony wouldn’t be trying to push the PSPgo especially with a big title like this but maybe it’s because you can get all of this stuff for $50 less than a PSPgo. The entertainment pack will sell for $199.99 and will coincide the release date of the standalone game on June 8.

[Source: Playstation Blog]

The ever popular side-scrolling shooter Metal Slug returns in the form of a PSP game titled Metal Slug XX. Originally released in 1999, the classic 2D run n’ gun shooter Metal Slug X is getting a bit of a facelift on the PSP. The high resolution 2D art brings to life all the stages in the game. Metal Slug XX will include the original stages along with adding co-op support via Ad-Hoc Wireless Lan and the popular Combat School mode. In Combat School you will go through 70 mini game challenges and if you do well enough you can unlock some fancy new weapons. In order to play Metal Slug XX’s Co-op mode you and a friend will have to have a copy of the game.

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Atlus and Persona series fans had heard about the infamous Persona 3 Portable months ago, but that was sadly for the Japanese version.  While SMT fanatics played through Persona PSP, we waited (as patiently as we could) for today: the official announcement that Persona 3 Portable or P3P, will arrive in North America in July (both on UMD and via PSN).

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There’s no denying that Laharl is one of the coolest characters when it comes to the world of Disgaea. Or is it Etna? Or Pleinair? In any case, the Disgaea series is known for some of its more colorful characters, especially the recognizable flame-haired Etna. Imagine the surprise when Disgaea 2 introduced Adell and Rozalin, completely different protagonists that didn’t seem to fit in so well the original game’s attitude. With that, a new can of worms was opened, one that fans were eager to jump right into despite initial hestiancy. More Disgaea? Yes please! How could anyone pass that up? Disgaea 2 was released a few years ago now, but that very same experience has been brought to the ultra-portable PSP in the form of Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days. It packs all of the frustratingly hard gameplay, spunky characters, and brand-new story chapters into a package you can take along with you anywhere you want to escape to a world where Overlords run rampant and magical quests abound, with great finesse. This is a port you can be proud of.

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As horror enthusiasts are probably aware, the Obscure franchise as a rule is approached with trepidation. And for good reason. It’s not exactly the creme de la creme of the land of Pyramid Head and cursed tattoos. While the original game stood on its own as an intriguing thriller, its Wii sequel tended to disappoint, as migrations to the Wii tend to do. It stands on wobbly legs as a survival horror title, stumbling more than once as it struggles to be recognized as a viable spectacle of the macabre. Now that it’s on the PSP, this is one port you may be wise to pass up, especially if you have a strong aversion to pitiful, Americanized attempts at college horror films. Because that’s what Obscure: The Aftermath is trying to be, and that’s a nightmare in itself.

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My dad wasn’t kidding when he said everything is made in China these days. This sleek PSP Go ripoff is the next product in the fine line of fake portable devices from the fine makers in the Republic of China.

Called the Slide Panel Retro it has up to 4GB of space, a built-in camera, mp3 player, and built in software emulation. Your features sound like everything I could ever want in a device, but your blatant exploit of the PSP Go’s design is making me have commitment issues. Get your act together China, seriously.

[Source: Joystiq]

It’s October 1, and you know what that means, boys and girls!  That’s right!  It’s Sony Thursday!  Every week, boys and girls around the world anxiously await the PSN updates and new releases that actually usually end up arriving pretty late.  But this week isn’t just any Sony Thursday, it’s PSPGo Day, otherwise known as the launch of Sony’s new overpriced version of the PSP!

With the Go’s launch comes a sleighful of updates to PSN, including the 6.10 firmware update for the PSP, which, among other things, will allow you to use a new feature, “SenseMe,” to create different music playlists based on mood.  The update also includes a feature exclusive to the PSPGo, which allows you to use the handheld’s Bluetooth capabilities to link it to your cell phone in order to create a WiFi hotspot.  I guess you can chalk that up as one “bonus” the Go has over the 3000 model (it has to have something, right?).

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I am continually amazed by Sony’s paradoxical nature.  On the one hand, they give us fantastic products like the PS3 and PSP and games that strike joy into the hearts of millions.  And then they release things like what is pictured to the left. What you’re seeing here isn’t some symbiotic alien lifeform sucking the electricity from that helpless PSP Go.  It’s actually Sony’s “prototype” converter cable.  I suppose that means it’s not a 100% sure thing that we’ll see it in a ridiculously difficult to open hard plastic case soon, but man I hope we do.  I will get a great, booming laugh every time I’m walking through the store and happen to look over at it. 

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