Type-Moon’s popular Fate/Stay Night series of visual novels has spawned a number of multimedia products, including an anime and the fighting game Fate/Unlimited Codes. Though it has been out in Japanese arcades for by a year and was subsequently released there on the PlayStation 2 and PSP, it had yet to see the light of day elsewhere in the world until now. Capcom is finally releasing that anime-style fighter beyond the land of the rising sun in the structure of a PSP download-only game, and we recently had a chance to dive right into the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Check out the Japanese-spoken trailer:

Fate/Unlimited Codes is a hybrid 2D/3D fighting game in which a group of forceful magi known as Masters summon legendary warriors called Servants to battle each other by the Holy Grail. Nearly all the action takes place within a flat 2D plane, though the characters and backgrounds are 3D and some special moves and attacks feature a much more dynamic camera. Fate features a wide selection of game modes, including the standard Arcade mode, which is a series of nine battles for the Grail that feature story cutscenes for each character; Practice mode, which allows you to experiment out special moves and combos; Tutorial mode, which helps to teach you about basic and advanced battle techniques; Mission mode, which allows you to choose from a list of specific tasks to perform; and a mode that lets you battle a friend by ad hoc Wi-Fi.

The battle system is very straightforward, and we were surprised at how easy it was to learn. Though there are a number of more advanced techniques that require finesse and skill to pull off, the basic gameplay is easy to grasp, and the special-move button combinations are simple to execute. Battles consist of best-two-out-of-three contests of strength, and each participant has two overlapping life bars to blow through to proceed to the next round. Characters have light, medium, and heavy attacks, and special moves are for the most part performed by inputting simple commands such as back-forward or forward-forward and one of these attacks–the move will be performed differently based on which attack type is used. As you brutalize your opponent, your magic meter gradually fills to one of three charge levels, and you can expend it to perform forceful and flashy super moves, to cancel out of attacks, and more. As both fighters beat up on each other, they additionally charge up the Holy Grail, and whoever is able to top it off gains a supreme advantage that can turn the tides of battle whether effectively used. It may seem like a lot of absorb, but within the Tutorial and Mission modes, it’s really easy to figure out how everything fits together.

There are a total of 17 characters, and though their special moves are generally performed the same, each contestant plays drastically different and commands the battlefield in a different way. Saber, for example, can easily chain together her special attacks and constantly keeps her enemies on their toes with charging attacks. On the other hand, Caster works best by keeping her foes at bay with ranged attacks. Rider is excellent at misdirection thanks to her ability to leap into an attack stance that can be followed up or simply canceled, and Assassin’s enlarged sword lets him keep the punishment up while keeping his distance. Other characters we saw that fans should recognize include Bazett, Berserker, Archer, Gilgamesh, Luviagelita, Kotomine, Rin, Shiro, Lancer, and Sakura. whether you beat Arcade mode and fulfill positive requirements, secret characters, new costumes, and additional stages can be unlocked.

The cel-shaded visuals are true to the art style of the anime and visual novels, and they look quite striking on the PSP–everything from the backgrounds to the various attack animations looks great in motion, in specific the super attacks and special moves that feature a more 3D camera. Additionally, the music heard thus far is top-notch from menu screens to individual battle themes. One final thing to note about the audio is that Fate/Unlimited Codes comes with the Japanese audio fully intact, so fans will be able to compose out the voice talent that they’ve become accustomed to in action once again.

Fate/Unlimited Codes will come out exclusively as a PSP download this upcoming September.

More info at GameSpot

Though Sony’s E3 Press Conference isn’t until 11:00 a.m. on June 2, one of its centerpieces appears to have been prematurely exposed. A YouTube video of what appears to be the next issue of the PlayStation-focused video magazine Qore has revealed that Sony will use its event to unveil a new PSP model, the PSP Go.

As had been widely rumored, the PSP Go will have a sliding design factor like the Mylo, Sony’s ill-fated World Wide Web communicator device. The new handheld–which does not sport a second thumbstick–is shown several times in the video, which features Qore host Veronica Belmont and John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

According to Koller, the main differences within the PSP Go and the PSP-3000 are “on-board memory, the flash memory, and 16 gigs of space. There’s Bluetooth on board as well, so you can use a Bluetooth headset, and you can actually tether it to your cell phone as well. But ultimately, it’s the portability. Since you can bring all that subject matter with you in a smaller mold factor, you’ve got the most immersive games to play, and now you’ve got a smaller unit to do it with.”

Koller plus said the emphasis will be on downloadable games. “Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter, and even a new Metal Gear Solid coming–all of those games will be available. So will all the first-run movies you can rent or buy on the PlayStation Network. So you can bring so much subject matter by with you and fill up that 16 gig of flash memory.” (Emphasis added.) The new MGS PSP game was previously hinted at in a Web post by the Japanese arm of the 7/11 convenience store chain.

Koller additionally appears to reveal that the long-lost PSP Gran Turismo Mobile game–first shown off in 2004–will resurface at next week’s expo. “There are games like Gran Turismo being announced at E3,” said the executive.

Host Belmont soon after asks, “So since it’s called the PSP Go, I would image it will work with Remote Play as well.” Koller responds with the following blanket statement: “Integration with the PS3 is very fundamental, and it works just like the PSP-3000. A lot of public like to be able to take their PS3 subject matter with them on the go.”

As for the PSP Go supplanting its predecessor, Koller said flatly: “It won’t replace the PSP-3000. We’re going to keep them both on the market.” Koller did not mention a price, release day, or whether or not it would have a touchscreen when closed. Sony Computer Entertainment America reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press moment.

[UPDATE] A second video from Qore shows the PSP Go in even greater detail, and additionally reveals its logo. The handheld will have a 3.8 inch screen–versus the PSP-3000’s 4.3-inch screen–and will be 43 percent lighter than the original, and will have “all digital substance,” according to Koller. “The UMD drive goes away…and it has a Memory Stick Micro, so you can add memory to it whether you like…It will be something the digitally savvy consumer can really enjoy,” he explains, before revealing some new PSP games will be download-only.

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