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Warner Bros. Interactive today revealed three new characters to be featured in the LEGO Batman video game: Bane, Clayface, and Nightwing. The first two are villains while Nightwing is a hero character. Hit the jump for images and information for each one.

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Namco Bandai has released a new trailer regarding their announcement of Tales of Vesperia at the Jump Festa 2008 event.

The game will feature cel-shaded graphics with character designs and animation managed by Kosuke Fujishima and Production I.G. The platform and release date details have yet to be announced.

Check the link to download the trailer, or just hit the jump to view.

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This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

As I’m sure you can tell from the title, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is, quite simply, child’s play, a title developed so that both children and adults can enjoy those giant yellow, fun-loving, eager-to-please birds called chocobos that have proven a staple of every Final Fantasy game. For the first time since the relative disaster that was Chocobo Racing (1999) on the original PlayStation, the chocobos are back in their own premier title, ready to weave a spell of classic storytelling with a Final Fantasy twist upon both the young and the old. Strangely, the game’s friendly nuances, colorful atmosphere, and fun minigames make Chocobo Tales an enjoyable retreat from the fast-paced action/adventure games that make up the bulk of a gamer’s diet, and the title is much simpler than a regular Square Enix RPG, making for easier pick-up-and-play moments. Gather around for story-time: depending on your age group, this could be a winner.

The overall plot for Chocobo Tales is simple and direct, with minor twists and turns paired with fun or witty dialogue to keep the player interested regardless of age. Gamers are cast as a young yellow chocobo fond of a storytelling white mage who has gathered all her chocobo friends together for a fantastical treat, but as these things tend to go, the fun is spoiled by a thrifty black mage who has just purchased a rare storybook. The book, of course, is cursed, and as the black mage recites its spell it comes to life as Bebuzzu, a wicked fellow who proceeds to eat all the chocobos and retreat until a “dark” woman appears. It’s now up to you to free your birdy friends from Bebuzzu’s grasp by collecting their cards throughout the environment which, by the way, you navigate entirely with the status.

The usual method for freeing your friends involves completing tasks from various storybooks containing traditional fables (Three Little Pigs, Ugly Duckling, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc) told with Final Fantasy flair. Each storybook contains three options: trial (in which you attempt to meet a gameplay requirement for a reward), battle (you against AI-controlled chocobo opponents), and storytime (which gives the prologue/theme for each book; keep in mind that you can unlock new epilogues for completing certain goals). The story is told in colorful pop-up fashion, with cut-out characters interacting in the book’s picturesque environment. In Titan and the Beanstalk vol. 1 players help their chocobo climb the humongous plant by drawing leaves to propel the chocobo up, all while avoiding the hazardous bombs along the way; in vol. 2, gamers race down the stalk by drawing leaves that are used to slide the chocobo back down to earth, collecting coins to beat opponents. In Ugly Chocoling, players utilize a magnifying glass to find a flaming bird; in Shiva and Ifrit, gamers collect fruit without being frozen or burned alive by the ice and fire raining down upon the poor chocobo’s head. The majority of these storybook minigames are enjoyable and of an appropriate difficulty for children, though a few of them sport some tough spots to keep the title challenging.

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This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Square Enix has announced that it shipped Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales to North American retailers on April 3. The title is a DS exclusive "delivered just in time for the Easter holiday" and "provides gamers with an all-encompassing package that contains a rich multiplayer experience and a classic storyline that will enchant gamers of all types and ages."Said Producer Yuuki Yokoyama, "I am thrilled that CHOCOBO TALES has gone on sale in North America. This game, featuring the beloved chocobos, combines action-packed games, a heartwarming story and an intuitive card-based battle system to create a title that will appeal to players of all ages. This game fully utilizes the Nintendo DS system's wireless communications like never before, allowing players to battle with users across the globe via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. I hope you have fun playing CHOCOBO TALES!"Here's the scoop:Once upon a time, there was a small, peaceful island protected by the crystals of fire, earth, water and light. On this island lived Shirma, Croma and a farm full of cheerful chocobos. Just when it looked like they were all going to live happily ever after, Croma brought back a mysterious book from his latest journey. Without thinking twice, he opened the dark tome and inadvertently invited misfortune upon the island. Every nearby chocobo was sucked into the magical pages of the wicked book!Unbeknownst to all, Bebuzzu, who had once laid waste to nearly the entire world, was imprisoned inside the pages of the book! Luckily for the good guys, his strength was not fully restored...at least, not yet! Taking the role of a chocobo, players must rescue their friends while stopping Bebuzzu from regaining his devastating powers.Features:Innovative gameplay brings party games into a new era by combining exploration, card combat, minigames and multiplayer into one exciting packageAddictive card-battling game brings many FINAL FANTASY elements to life in a fun 3D pop-up book art style – call upon the powers of the Cactuar, Cait Sith, Ifrit, Tonberry and other creatures to aid you in battle as you challenge the world via Nintendo® Wi-Fi ConnectionLimitless fun after the adventure ends – continue the excitement by engaging in more than a dozen minigames with up to three friends via local multiplayerTest your skills in any of the 23 different microgames that make full use of the dual-screen and Touch Screen functionalityA beautiful and vibrant game world comes to life through a unique blend of 2D and 3D elements, creating a fun and inventive art style that puts the player inside a pop-up bookAccessible save system offers true portability that caters to your lifestyle – save your game anywhere, anytimeFinal Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales carries an MSRP of $29.99 and is rated E.

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Namco has announced the development of Tales of the Abyss, an RPG probably in the works for the PlayStation 2. The game was unveiled in the popular Shonen Jump magazine. We'll keep you updated on a possible stateside release, media, and other game details.

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Originally written by Shiva Stella

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This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Namco Bandai has announced that its Tales of Legendia for the PlayStation 2 has shipped to North American retailers. The game is a PS2 exclusive RPG that features a real-time fighting mechanic influenced by the Soul Calibur series and took several years to develop.Tales of Legendia combines the depth and storytelling of a traditional RPG with the action and strategy of a fighting game, while taking on fearsome enemies with the game’s new Crossover Linear Motion Battle System (X-LiMBS). Influenced by the acclaimed Soul Calibur series of fighting games, X-LiMBS lets players unleash attacks never before seen together in a role playing game that including throws, rapid fire combos, and potent team attacks. Boasting detailed and vibrant 3D graphics, Tales of Legendia features an all-new cast of characters and close to 30 minutes of anime cut scenes featuring characters designed by artist Kazuto Nakazawa, renowned for his work on the animated sequences in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and the anime series Samurai Champloo.

Said Yoshi Niki, business unit director at Namco Bandai Games America, "We are very excited that Tales of Legendia will introduce PlayStation 2 owners to the Tales series because it delivers what the Tales series has always been known for – a fun and compelling role-playing experience. With its innovative combat system and top-notch story telling, Tales of Legendia is sure to be on the ‘must play’ list of role-playing fans everywhere."The game is rated Teen by the ESRB and carries an MSRP of $49.99. You can view our own preview by clicking here.

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This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Namco’s Tales series hasn’t been one of the more popular RPG franchises in the states, but it’s definitely no new kid on the block. It’s seen a number of different games in the series, most never making it over to these shores. In the summer of 2004, Tales finally broke through with Tales of Symphonia on the GameCube. RPG loving ‘Cube owners flocked to it because it was one of the few games of that genre to hit Nintendo’s little console. What fans were treated to was a fantastic game featuring a fun real-time battle system. It was eventually ported to the PS2 in Japan and paved the way for the newest game – Tales of Legendia, which releases next Tuesday.

The epic story starts off with the brother-sister pair of Senel and Shirley Coolidge. They’re adrift at sea and Shirley is gradually growing sicker by the minute, showing a weakness to the poisonous sea air that surrounds them. Suddenly, a large flash of light swallows them up and they then find themselves washed up on a beach – or at least that’s what they think it is. It’s actually an enormous floating island. In typical RPG-fashion, the inhabitants take the sick Shirley away while Senel screams questions asking why at them. From there, the rest of the story unravels with a number of other characters joining Senel on his journey.

The battle system in Legendia will feel very familiar to Tales fans, though those coming directly from Symphonia will be most at home here. Battles, however, are now initiated through random encounters. [Ed. note: Preview updated and edited with information that random battles are present.] The 2D linear battle system returns, though you can still expect to get hit from all sides if you’re surrounded. In battle, you have control over one character while the rest of the party acts according to the AI you’ve set in the menus. Hitting the X button initiates a standard melee combo, which you can aim to hit flying enemies or crouching ones.

“Eres” sounds like a new facet to fighting, but in fact it’s just a new moniker for the old and familiar techs. These eres are what you’ll be using to cause massive amounts of damage in battles. Iron eres are melee special moves while crystal eres are what most would consider typical magic attacks. Most eres are character specific and learning new ones involves the repeated use of the eres already in your arsenal. The more powerful eres tend to be combinations of lower leveled ones, so using them often is always a prudent move. However, each use of an eres eats up a character’s TP, or technical points. At the end of a battle, there’s a partial restoration of the TP, but don’t rely on that, especially in lengthy dungeons. The best way to restore TP is landing solid non-eres type hits on enemies; so as long as you can string some combos together, you shouldn’t find yourself struggling to regain TP too often.

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