Upcoming anthropomorphic video game roundup

This fall appears to be setting itself up for a string of new blockbuster video game titles, ranging from Star Fox 64: 3D, to Sly Cooper [4]: Thieves in Time, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, a pair of Tekken games, and even the little-heard-of 3DS title, The Rolling Western.

Tekken Hybrid

If the video on Kotaku is any indication, Namco's latest Tekken-series release (Tekken Hybrid) allows players to fight as polar and brown bears, bringing anthropomorphic animal back characters back into the long-lasting fighting series. Tekken Hybrid contains Tekken: Blood Vengeance (the new CGI movie), the classic 1999 hit game (remastered in high-definition) Tekken Tag Tournament HD, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue. The game is due out for the PS3 sometime in Fall 2011.

Street Fighter X Tekken

While we're on the topic, a second Tekken game is coming out on March 2, 2012: Capcom's Street Fighter X Tekken (and its 3D Namco-made counterpart, Tekken X Street Fighter). While little has been announced regarding the pair of games, several screenshots have already been released. Like Tekken Hybrid, Street Fighter X Tekken apparently allows players to fight as a brown bear.

Mists of Pandaria

Kotaku also has new information on the expansion pack "Mists of Panderia", a game Flayrah has previously reported on. Within the article, a representative for Blizzard tried to dissuade rumours. Expect more information to come at GameCon in October.

StarFox 64: 3D

StarFox 64: 3D's release date is inching closer and closer with each day. To keep the hype up, Nintendo has released some new screenshots of the video game, along with a trailer. The gameplay has not been radically changed from the original on the N64, and there have been only minor graphical touch-ups. The game is expected to be released in North America and Europe on September 9.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Sly 4 was alluded to for a while in the last Sly Cooper game (Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves), and the next chapter in the raccoon's series was only officially confirmed by Sony in 2011 at their keynote meeting. From the English Wikipedia:

Sly Cooper and the whole gang return with an epic brand new adventure for the PlayStation 3 system. The pages of the Thievius Raccoonus are disappearing and Bentley, now keeper of the ancient master Thieves book, must round up the gang along with new recruits and save the Cooper Clan legacy from being destroyed forever. The game will be developed bySanzaru Games, the same development team behind The Sly Cooper Collection, instead ofSucker Punch Productionswho are focusing on theInfamous series

The game has a release date of 2012 (exact date not specified yet), though Sony has released some screenshots.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One

A new video game trailer was released at Gamescon 2011. According to the English Wikipedia, the plot of the lombax's latest adventures take place after A Crack in Time and the Ratchet & Clank six-issue comic miniseries.

The game takes place when an evil plan set in motion by Nefarious to destroy his three arch-nemesis once and for all backfires, sending the four of them into the snare of a mysterious machine known as the Creature Collector. Now, they are forced to work together and cooperate in order to escape from the machine and get back home.

The game has a release date of October 18 in North America, October 20 in Australia, and October 21 in Europe.

The Rolling Western

This interesting little game may very well be Nintendo's best-kept secret. The game features an anthropomorphic armadillo in a western setting. The era of "mascots with attitude" is long-gone, but this game brings it back with a refreshing change of pace: instead of being a platformer, this is a tower-defense game. While reminiscent of Sonic the Hedgehog (or his friend, Mighty the Armadillo), especially since The Rolling Western's title character can roll in a ball just like the blue blur, the game is not being developed by Sega. The Rolling Western was announced at Nintendo's E3 2011 conference, and will be available for download from the 3DS' eShop in the near future, if not now. Those who think Nintendo isn't giving any love to other franchises (or making new ones), and want to try a refreshing Nintendo game should certainly give this title a chance.