The creators of the Dragon Ball Z Budokai trilogy return to present the series with its first next-gen installment! Namco Bandai showed us a few battles behind closed doors and fans of the show will be dying for this game's release date, because this is the closest anyone has ever come to recreating it in video game form.
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Our first demo of E3 was spent with two of the fine folks at Namco Bandai games as they led us through the latest installment of the game. While Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse will also be coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360 (sorry, Wii U owners) the next-gen version is clearly what they're pushing the hardest. Why wouldn't they? It's clearly the best version of the game.
From the trailer below we were shown it was immediately obvious that the game has seen a graphical upgrade, and that was only confirmed by the three quick fights we were shown, via a live demo. Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse will let you recreate famous battles from the show and while the game plays much the same as the last installments, with your super-powered fighters flying through the air and battling on the ground, the power of the next-gen systems changes everything. The game uses the Havok engine for physics, most which was immediately obvious when Goku's kamehameha ripped up the ground underneath it, sending stone tiles flying realistically from the sheer force of the beam. The game also features the YEBIS 2 engine for superior lighting and particle effects, which is good when you're playing a game that features people lighting themselves on fire and blasting through mountains.
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What's more? You can now transform yourself in real-time.
The battles really do look like the best ever. As you can see above they've gotten so detailed that really powerful blows will deform your opponent's character's face, while yours will bear a look of triumph. Screens of this game look just like the show- there's no other way to put it. The game will apparently play as good as it looks too, with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai studio Dimps returning to the series it made famous.
There will be a brand new story and a single player campaign as well as the robust multiplayer, but they're not saying yet what modes there will have, either. There's no word on if more than two players will be able to battle at once, either. But there is one thing for fans- a brand new character, a mysterious figure only glimpsed briefly from behind during our demo. Who could it be? Perhaps we'll find out in the new futuristic city that's featured as a stage in the game.
Expect much more about Dragon Bal Z Xenoverse in the months ahead, including a release date as soon as we hear it!
