It’s strange but not so strange that One Piece’s favourite little reindeer Tony Tony Chopper would be making an appearance in the next Monster Hunter3DS game, we’ve seen Link from The Legend of Zelda’s appearance, we’ve seen Mario and Luigi’s appearance so why not thrown in a fairly huge Anime character into the mix? I, for one, think this is a pretty sweet cameo and while I would’ve liked to have seen a better character like Monkey D. Luffy, I do understand why Chopper was added and I also see how he fits. This collaboration comes as celebration of the fact that One Piece now has over 300 Million copies in print and circulation around the world.
Within the game Chopper will serve as your “right hand man” for a while, he will assist you in fighting monsters as well as cheers you on from the sidelines during smaller hunting missions. He comes equipped with a wooden branch as his weapon and an armour titled “Excited Chopper”. He will work similar to the usual “Felyne” characters that accompany you in previous games and I think he’ll be a fun little addition to an already “chock-a-block” game full of awesome action, awesome adventure and what seems to be a bunch of awesome cameos. It is chalking up to be another great addition to the franchise and I can’t wait for it to be released here in the West which, up until now, has not been given a clear release date.
Namco Bandai Games have only just released a preview video for the upcoming Dragon Ball Z game “Dragon Ball RPG: Boyhood Arc” which, this time around, is for iOS and Android Smartphones. It’s quite an odd one to see, especially with Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z’s release only being around the corner, the last thing you expect to see is the release of an Smartphone game. The game covers Goku’s childhood, hence the name “Boyhood Arc” and will have a great deal of characters from the original series returning in fantastic-looking sprite-style for the game.
The game is said to be slip into four chapters which, in total, will cover from the time Goku met Bulma to the defeat of King Piccolo which, for us here in the west, is the entire series of Dragon Ball seeing as it was renamed Dragon Ball Z in the west once this Arc was complete. The visuals are stunning and very remniscent of the “Legacy of Goku” games that were released many years ago on the GameBoy Advanced. Not only do we have the actual preview video for you to see but we also have a small gallery of pictures from the game itself just below so go check them out and pray to Kami that this game gets a Western release.
Who needs to dress up in an itchy, irritating costume and trudge from door to door this Halloween? Konami have got you covered from the comfort of your own home, dishing out the sweetest treat of all, an all new Castlevania game!
A direct sequel to the 2010 action-adventure title, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, this new story set 25 years after the events of its predecessor has a lot to live up to. Taking control of multiple characters, players can use an array of unique, character specific abilities to carve a passage through hordes of enemies. When you’re bored of reducing an army to ash, you can try out the never before experienced “Boss Rush” mode where friends can battle it out to see who fares the best in an epic showdown with all of the bosses in the game on a global leaderboard.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD is now available on PSN for $14.99 in the US. The release date for Japan and the EU has yet to be announced. Check out our review of this game for the Nintendo 3DS here.
Asterix: Total Retaliation Developer: Bulkypix Publisher: Bulkypix Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed), iPod Touch, iPad, Android Release Date:24th October 2013 Price:$1.99 – Available Here
Overview
The “Tower Defence” sub-genre, like so many other sub-genres, has been brought to light by games like Plants Vs Zombies, it has shown the world that these games can not only be enjoyable but humorous too. Unfortunately though it seems as though many developers have, let’s say, emulated the game’s style in order to gain the same popularity. Asterix: Total Retaliation seems as though it has done just this. What was once a popular comic book is now a tower defence game that is almost entirely the same as Plants Vs Zombies. All the original characters have made their way to the “small screen” within the game and I plan on reviewing this in the mind set of a fan of the original series of comics so bare with me as I fight my way through Asterix: Total Retaliation.
Story
It seems as though the game has little to no story, it doesn’t introduce you to any story, it actually just sends you straight into a gameplay tutorial without any setting so I think it’s safe to assume that this game is NOT story driven. I have not read the original comics nor did I ever follow the series or “franchise” at all so you’d think it is fairly hard to assume where the game is based…well, it really isn’t. You play as Vikings and you fight against the Romans who, much like in reality, were the “bad guys” of this time period, if you can call it that. What shocked me a little bit was the fact that they start you off in the game with literally no story.
As soon as you go into the “Story” mode, it just sends you into a tutorial that lasts about three levels and then you’re off on your own. I’ve yet to come into any story that explains anything and I definitely haven’t come across any story that makes me want to continue defending the village. Fact is though; I can see a great deal of the characters from the comics in this game, we’ve all seen a DVD or VHS of “Asterix and Obelix” while walking through a store and the characters represented on front covers do make an appearance so I’ll give them credit for actually having them in but as far as story goes; there really is nothing.
Gameplay
Basically the game plays out like a fairly sluggish Plants Vs Zombies. It’s very harsh, I understand and It’s unfortunate that the developers decided to use the same gameplay layout because it will always be compared to PvZ. You have a grid where you can place certain characters that will defend your line, enemies will begin spawning at random and you have to collect “Potions” that give you points which can be traded for characters to help you defend. That is basically it. Main fighters can only be placed once and they must be moved around to defend other areas where as environmental traps like sandbags and wild boars can be placed multiple times.
There’s also what I would consider to be a “special technique” character that attacks multiple enemies in times of need. I found it boring and I couldn’t help but think that I’d be having a lot more fun with a game that used these mechanics originally and had fleshed them out entirely. You continuously unlocked characters to use and, yes, they were quite interesting but they just weren’t enough to keep me going. Like I had mentioned above; it is the bane of any game to be compared to another but this can be easily stopped by not developing a title so closely to another. Had this game been as polished as Plants Vs Zombies than it would have had a big chance at the Champion Title but this is not the case.
Audio And Visuals
This aspect of the game was probably what actually kept me going with it to be entirely honest. The music was quirky and up-beat, it definitely didn’t put me to sleep like the rest of the game was trying to do. It suited very well and, although I don’t like type of music much, made me enjoy the game that little bit more than I should have. It was very plucky-sounding, it’s use of harps and dated instruments did very well in the setting of the game. The actually sound the characters make weren’t too annoying either, they were subtle and matched the character design. I honestly can’t fault them for this.
Visually I thought this game was stiff and fairly rough but it looked so much like the original comics, to which I did some research on, that I can’t help but imagine that it was done entirely on purpose. It looked like a moving comic of that time and I can say for certainty that it did the original series justice. If only the animation during gameplay was a little better than I deffinitely would have enjoyed it a great deal more. The animation side of the visuals was rough like sandpaper and terribly stiff but I guess you can’t have everything, at least it had a nice style to it.
Overall
I feel like I’m being far too harsh on this game but I have to review it as honestly as I possibly can. It wasn’t a terrible game on it’s own but on a whole it felt like a cheap clone of Plants Vs Zombies. While it felt like a good old comic, it didn’t feel like a nice new game and that’s really what we’re looking for in this day and age. Why nostalgia plays a big part for most people, it doesn’t for people like me who were much too young to have picked up an Asterix comic and remembered it to this day. For the most part this game is playable but if you’re a seasoned mobile gamer I can guarantee you will NOT be able to stop the comparisons in your head and it will effect your enjoyment of the game. It’s unfortunate but true. I have to say though, if you’re a fan of the comics or just the style of comics; pick the game up, it is for a very selected audience and hopefully it will bring some level of enjoyment to them.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Microïds have announced some more details for their upcoming title Garfield Kart. As the name suggests, it will be a racing game featuring everybody’s favourite lazy, Monday hating cat: Garfield.
Being a themed kart racer, the game will include a number of power-ups to aid you in your race to first place. These Garfield-centric objects will provide you with a number of abilities, such as a speed boost, immunity to damage, teleportation, and even a sticky bomb. It’s up to you to use them wisely and keep your guard up for some nasty reciprocation.
Choose your weapon
Garfield Kart will be available on iOS and Android from November 7th, with a PC and Mac version to follow soon after. Players will be able to compete against each other from around the world, so look out for some serious competition. Check out the screenshots below for a closer look at the competition, as well as a glimpse of the courses. I hate Monday races…
2K Games have released a brand new trailer for WWE 2K14 to celebrate the launch of the game. The launch trailer serves as a highlight reel of all of the game’s features such as the ‘Creation Suite’ and the ’30 Years of Wrestlemania’ mode.
WWE 2K14 is now available in stores on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. If you pre-ordered the game you’ll be lucky enough to feel the power of the warrior and receive an exclusive Ultimate Warrior download code.
Be sure to check out the launch trailer below. You can also check out our hands-on preview of WWE 2K14here for a look at what is waiting for you in this epic game.
Codemasters has announced today that F1 Race Stars will be coming to the Wii U in F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition. The game will be more arcade like than the realstic titles available on other consoles and is designed to be fun for all ages and will take advantage of the Wii U’s unique hardware.
F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition marks the first time a cast of Formula One stars will be hitting a Nintendo console. Jensen Button, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and more have become personality-packed, cartoon heroes sprinting for the chequered flag in cars representing each team on a range of super-fast, feature-packed circuits perfect for split-screen multiplayer fun. This new edition comes packed with four extra tracks (to bring the amount of tracks up to 15 each with a unique theme) and nine extra accessory packs. The unique features of the Wii U are also being utilised as players have the ability to play as their Mii and can use the Wii U Gamepad’s tilt functionality to steer, display a map or be used for off-screen play. The game will feature 4 player split-screen multiplayer.
The game will be available exclusively from the Nintendo eShop as a downloadable title sometime in December. Check out the gallery below for some screenshots to see what you can expect from this title. Personally I’m getting a bit of a Speed Freaks vibe from the game which was one of my favourite kart racers back in the day. Let us know what you think of F1 Race Stars in the comments below.
Originally planned to release this year, Hellraid will unfortunately not be making its deadline. Techland, the creators of the Dead Island series, have sent out a press release detailing the “tough decision” they made to push the game back for a 2014 release instead.
The reasons for this delay in Hellraid? To make the game better with new ideas and redesigns based on playtesting from fans. From a different kind of magic system that will allow for new ways to cast spells, to a completely new set of spells, to other new gameplay modes and features. While, there isn’t much detail right now about all the new things that will be coming to the game, we will most likely hear more on it as the new release date draws near.
Hellraid will allow players to take on the forces of hell alone or with up to 4 players, which is now set to release digitally for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC sometime in 2014
Battlefield 4 has been launched to retail stores for Xbox 36o, PS3, and PC but it is of course still on its way for the upcoming Xbox One and PS4. So there are players of course considering whether or not to just get started on the current gen consoles or wait until the next gen.
Well, EA and DICE have reiterated today, along with the launch, that players will be able to transfer their multiplayer stats from their current gen console to the next gen console. This means that not only will players that get started on the current can get a head start on those waiting for the next, but they will also be keeping everything they’ve unlocked if they upgrade.
What does this mean to you the players? Will you be grabbing up the current version and upgrade to next gen when they release, wait until the next gen comes out to start from scratch, or just stick with the current gen for Battlefield 4. Voice you opinions in the comments below.
Final Exam has seen a little bit of change with the new title, but it still has the same principles of gameplay one of which has always been to make sure that 4 players will be able to get together and fight the monstrosities side by side. Finally, just in time for Halloween, today is the day Focus Home Interactive and Mighty Rocket Studios show off the co-op gameplay in a new trailer.
The trailer shows off quite a few different places with the friends all making a mess out of the monsters, as well as showing off how the players can split up as well. Final Exam looks to be a splatter fest, especially with up to four players working together to make mincemeat and giblets.
Final Exam is set to release in early November for XBLA, PSN, and PC; however PC gamers can already pre-order on Steam to get exclusive early access to the first chapter of the game to play by themselves or with friends, even offering a 4 pack of the game for the price of 3. By sure to check out the Co-op Trailer embedded below.
