Going through the weekly Mega Monday games at Zavvi and I see this - http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/ps3/anarchy-reigns-limited-edition/10650905.html

I totally forgot this game even existed. It doesn't bode well that you can pre-order the Limited Edition of it for £15 quid, that's a third of what normal games are, and it doesn't even mention what the Limited Edition extras are. I thought this game was in development limbo and had ceased to exist, from what I remember it was a more colourful Mad World right?

It was released in Japan a while ago and is coming here at a discounted price. It's Platinum, and they make good games. Seems like the scope is just smaller than their usual fare.

Limited editon gets you Bayonetta as a playable character and 2 survival modes.

It was supposed to come out July but sega pushed it back to January.

Ah, I didn't think Platinum were on it any more so thought it had been dropped but now I see their faint logo. How big are Platinum? I thought they were reasonably small and to be working (have worked) on this, MGS: Revengeance and Wonderful 101 that seems a lot to have on their plate.

Why is it so cheap there? Says £37.99 on Amazon.

Is Zavvi any good?

@RazielCuts said:

I thought this game was in development limbo and had ceased to exist, from what I remember it was a more colourful Mad World right?

No, the game has been out in Japan since July. The localization has been done since then too, as you can import the game and play in English. People were able to play the JP-only demo from the JP PSN severs several months ago, and that was completely localized too. This is just Sega being weird on the publishing side--no blame should be placed on Platinum.

The actual game is like multiplayer God Hand with a hefty dose of Smash Bros. You have the same tight 3D combat you expect from a Platinum Game, but you fight in very large multiplayer arenas with tons of item drops (missiles, swords) and environment events (poison gas, carpet bombing, black holes). There's potential for skill-based competition thanks to the excellent mechanics, but--like Smash Bros--you have a lot of control over how random and wacky you want your battles to be.

It's tonally similar to Mad World, and many of the characters return, but it's not a canon sequel. Personalities, back stories, and the world are totally different, which isn't confusing at all.

I haven't checked up on it since I played the demo, but it's likely that the low amount of content is the reason for the price. I'd estimate--without having played the full game, mind you--that there's about a much "game" here as, say, Gotham City Imposters, which if I recall also launched at $15.

@49th said:

Why is it so cheap there? Says £37.99 on Amazon.

Is Zavvi any good?

In that it's your typical large media store

They took over from Virgin Megastores a few years ago. Doesn't seem particularly changed from whenever I went in there.

@SagaciousJones: It's a multiplayer game, say whaaa? I thought it was a third person action brawler..is there no single player at all or..? Because that sounds kind of crazy pants and completely depends on if an audience gathers round it or not. Hmmm....

@SagaciousJones: It's a multiplayer game, say whaaa? I thought it was a third person action brawler..is there no single player at all or..? Because that sounds kind of crazy pants and completely depends on if an audience gathers round it or not. Hmmm....

@49th: Their online is ok. Sometimes you get stuff on day of release, other times you get it early the next week. I don't understand how they get so many exclusive limited editions of games.

I bet even at £15 this game is going to sell like shit.

I seriously doubted that this game would even come out in the west because of how bad it apparently did in Japan. I'm just happy that it appears it will come out and at a discounted price.

Sega tried as hard as they could to screw Platinum over on this one, from the almost complete lack of advertising to the unwarranted and un-warned delay for the western release. Even the people at Platinum didn't know it was going to be pushed back until Sega officially announced it. Still not sure why.

@Solh0und: That voice sounds suspiciously like a former GB intern of the name Kessler. I'm not sure if 'crazy Japan' irony would be enough for me to get this game but thanks for the vid, I have some understanding what this is now.

I imported the game cause of my love of Platinum and Matt's bomb-ass review a few months ago. It's awesome and a steal at the discounted price it's getting released at everywhere. Hell, I'll buy and play through it again if it has a different set of Achievement Points.

I think Anarchy Reigns is a pretty cool game. I wrote a bunch about it when I imported it it if you're looking for extended opinions. It's got a fantastic soundtrack (if you don't have an aversion to all things rap/hip hop) and the multiplayer is very chaotic and ridiculous in the way you'd expect from Platinum Games. It's got some delightfully insane characters too. Durga, Ai Rin, and Oinkie are some of my favorites.

It's got a single player story where you play as Jack Cayman and Leo which runs hot and cold, and a training mode where you can play all the MP modes with computer players if you don't want to risk running into online assholes and such. This game is definitely more focused on multiplayer though, so fair warning.

The fact that it's actually going to be released outside Japan with a reduced price is pretty awesome. I will definitely buy it again when the opportunity presents itself, if only to get some online games that don't span the Pacific Ocean.

@SagaciousJones said:

@RazielCuts said:

I thought this game was in development limbo and had ceased to exist, from what I remember it was a more colourful Mad World right?

No, the game has been out in Japan since July. The localization has been done since then too, as you can import the game and play in English. People were able to play the JP-only demo from the JP PSN severs several months ago, and that was completely localized too. This is just Sega being weird on the publishing side--no blame should be placed on Platinum.

Sega of America literally didn't have enough money to print discs at the time, which is why they pushed it back to early 2013. It really sucks, as July was wide open for a game like this and I would have absolutely bought it at the time for a full $60.

Whether the game succeeds or fails, at least the official soundtrack is fucking awesome.

Comes out in a month

@Taku128 said:

Sega of America literally didn't have enough money to print discs at the time, which is why they pushed it back to early 2013. It really sucks, as July was wide open for a game like this and I would have absolutely bought it at the time for a full $60.

I'm willing to believe it, but I gotta ask you for a source on this one.

@DocHaus said:

@Taku128 said:

Sega of America literally didn't have enough money to print discs at the time, which is why they pushed it back to early 2013. It really sucks, as July was wide open for a game like this and I would have absolutely bought it at the time for a full $60.

I'm willing to believe it, but I gotta ask you for a source on this one.

I don't have a source anymore, it's a thing I heard a lot around the time the game's date was changed from July to "TBD". Somebody had a contact at Sega who gave that reason, and Sega was in really bad shape financially at the time so it makes sense.

Everyone should buy it. It's only 30 bucks in the states and the game is confirmed to be awesome. The only reason it got pushed back was due to Sega's mismanagement.

@Mesoian said:

Everyone should buy it. It's only 30 bucks in the states and the game is confirmed to be awesome. The only reason it got pushed back was due to Sega's mismanagement.

THIS.

@Solh0und: They have another video. As you can see, the game look pretty badass.

@Nottle said:

@Solh0und: They have another video. As you can see, the game look pretty badass.

Kudos for posting that. I totally watched that last week.

I've played a fair bit of this game and all I can say is i hope Giant Bomb do a TNT for in the new year

Maybe Sega should market this, in some manner. Or even talk about the fact that it exists. I forgot this game existed until I saw it in the "New Releases" page on GB. That's surely a recipe for sales success.

And companies wonder why their shit doesn't sell. :\

@RazielCuts: I just realized that Kessler and the Matt in this video kinda sound similar..

@csl316 said:

@Solh0und

@RazielCuts: I just realized that Kessler and the Matt in this video kinda sound similar..

Get your conspiracy theories OUTTA here!

Conspiracy theories? I never!

Since multiplayer is like 85.576% of this game and I don't pay for Xbox Live, anyone know if the PS3 version is any good (especially framerate wise)? I seem to recall Platinum games on PS3 having framerate issues compared to the 360 versions.

Oh yeah, I ordered the game on Zavvi thanks to this tread.

@Cozmicaztaway said:

Since multiplayer is like 85.576% of this game and I don't pay for Xbox Live, anyone know if the PS3 version is any good (especially framerate wise)? I seem to recall Platinum games on PS3 having framerate issues compared to the 360 versions.

Is it? I got the impression that there was a campaign or is it very short or something?

@Forcen: Unless Sega pulled a dick move and ripped it out without saying anything, there is a standard-sized campaign mode that lasts for several hours with a couple of storylines, but it mostly serves to teach you the basics in a trial-by-fire way. At least that's the impression I got from the gameplay videos on youtube.

@Forcen: There is and @DocHaus: is correct, for the most part.

It is rather grindy but shitting insane in places

@Sticky_Pennies said:

Maybe Sega should market this, in some manner. Or even talk about the fact that it exists. I forgot this game existed until I saw it in the "New Releases" page on GB. That's surely a recipe for sales success.

And companies wonder why their shit doesn't sell. :\

Platinum is in a weird place, making outstanding games that are generally received as anywhere from "This is pretty awesome" to "Sweet lord, find me a way to wire this directly into my veins", and yet every major company they work with goes out of their way to try and screw them. I still can't believe that no one was willing to back them for Bayonetta 2 until Nintendo stepped in.

But yes, everyone should get this game. It's got cyborgs, mutants, helicopter suplexes, and the best sound track since Mad World.