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25th September 2002:
TGS 2002 wrap-up
The winter instalment of the Japan-based games event has come to a close, so we've linked all our coverage from the show from one easily accessible article.
Posted by Marc Hull - Xbox,PlayStation 2,Game Boy Advance - UK and Europe

It may not have been as big as E3, and it might not have had any killer announcements, but this year's Tokyo Game Show still gave Japanese developers a chance to show off their Christmas produce to eager-eyed consumers and eagle-eyed press. Fortunately for us Europeans, this also meant a surge in the number of screenshots and general news from the Eastern side of the world, and our site was inundated with hundreds of new pics from long-awaited games over the two-day show and for a couple of days afterwards while we tried to catch up with it all. However, for those not used to website staff giving up bits of their precious weekend to keep you up-to-date with the latest news from across the world, we've compiled all our articles into a little list below, so that you don't miss an iota.

Sega's showing was pretty strong, and they seen as dedicated as ever to producing great videogames since leaving the hardware scene over a year-and-a-half ago. While a Sonic Adventure 3 announcement was sorely missed, Sonic Team still had a two other titles to impress onlookers with. Firstly, further details on the Xbox version of Phantasy Star Online were revealed, indicating an exact port of the GameCube game, including the previously exclusive extra features. They also showed off their 2D Sonic sequel Sonic Advance 2, and announced a new playable character to take over from the slightly-sickening Amy Rose who featured in the original. Hitmaker were also at the show to announce the latest game in their mech-battling series, Virtual On: Marz, which hopefully Sony will pick up the publishing rights to over here.

First Xbox Phantasy Star Online details (Xbox)
New Sonic Advance 2 screens (Game Boy Advance)
Virtual On: Marz announced (PlayStation 2)

Capcom also were pretty strong at the show, with their action-adventure, Western title Red Dead Revolver making its first appearance. Next up was Devil May Cry 2, the gothic-action sequel, which is looking particularly tasty if the new screenshots are anything to go by. They also released new screenshots from their cel-shaded racer, Auto Modellista, which is now eerie lacking the online mode that was much-vaunted during the game's infancy. Finally, they also showed off another cel-shaded game, this time from the fighting genre. Gio Gio's Bizarre Adventure is described as an action-adventure-fighting title that takes place in a comic-strip world. I never thought it would see light of day over here, but never-the-less it's popped up on Capcom Europe's release schedule for December.

First Red Dead Revolver screens (PlayStation 2)
Capcom shows Devil May Cry 2 (PlayStation 2)
New Auto Modellista shots (PlayStation 2)
Capcom releases Gio Gio screens (PlayStation 2)

Tecmo were previously tipped to be the stars of the show, but their final contribution ended up a little disappointing. Dead or Alive 4, currently subtitled 'Code: Chronus', was announced as an Xbox exclusive, but nothing else in the way of details or media found its way out of Team Ninja's tightly-clenched fists. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Ninja Gaiden and Gallop Racer 6: Revolution also made a brief appearance, but once again nothing substantial in the way of features or media was leaked. Possibly the best bit of their entire showing was the announcement of Breaker, an online shooting game for the PlayStation 2, but without any media or solid facts, this fell mostly on deaf ears. Overall, the thought of writing a general article about Tecmo's appearance did cross our minds many a time, but in the end all the facts we could actually get from their limited showing were barely enough to warrant this paragraph.

Finally, in quite probably the biggest announcement of the show, Blizzard released the first details on their new game, StarCraft: Ghost. The game will allow players to see the age-old StarCraft Universe fleshed out in full 3D, but PC owners may be disheartened at the fact that it's only scheduled for next-gen consoles.

Blizzard announces StarCraft: Ghost (Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2)

That pretty much concludes our Tokyo Game Show coverage for another few months until the Spring show starts next year. It may not be anywhere near the scale it was just a year or two ago, since many of the larger Japanese developers are now holding their own separate shows, but we still managed to squeeze eight articles out of it. Kinda reminds me of last year's ECTS...

Marc Hull

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