At EB Expo 2013, I got the chance to try out the Omnitrix, not literally unfortunately, and try my hand at High Voltage Software‘s newest title Ben 10: Omniverse 2. Get ready to blast your way through invading aliens as the baddest kid to ever save the day: Ben 10.
The core gameplay I experienced playing Omniverse 2 is that of a classic beat em up game. Once you enter certain rooms, enemies begin to appear. Naturally you must destroy them all in order to progress, ploughing your way through the spawning enemy forces. From what I played, the level threw two types of baddies at me, one was the simple footsoldier, in this case Incurseans, along with more powerful robotic turrets. The trade off being that these turrets are stationary, not that it helps them against Ben’s alien powers.
During my brief glimpse of the game, I was only able to play as three of Ben’s fifty five or so transformations, all of which are unfortunately not in the game. In this case, I was given access to the classic Four Arms, along with the newcomers Bloxx and Crashhopper. In combat, each of the different alien forms possesses its own unique fighting style. For example, the tank that is Four Arms moves comparatively slowly to the other forms, but hits a lot harder. Crashhopper is quick, but requires more strikes to bring down an enemy. Bloxx is different still, being able to construct a clone to draw enemies attention, as well as being able to launch projectiles.
Human: The greatest alien there is
The main benefit of this being a Ben 10 title, is that you are free to switch between these aliens at any time in combat, though this must be done during an idle phase, as you cannot transform mid attack. Defeating enemies yields green orbs crucial to your continued effectiveness. As you remain in alien form, a gauge slowly drains over time. When this hits zero, you’ll hear the familiar time out buzz and return to regular Ben Tennyson. Reverting to human form reduces your abilities to the point of simple punches and kicks. Though, due to the fairly benign difficulty level, you can still defeat most of the enemies the game throws at you. Minus the turrets, who remain stubbornly resistant.
In between these beat ’em up rooms, the game shifts into an on rails runner for a short time. These sections present five types of roadblock, which you must correctly navigate, or suffer damage. The trick to retaining your health is understanding your alien transformations and the unique skills they possess. For example whenever a large pit blocks your path, switching to Crashhopper allows you to jump over it with ease, whilst stubborn walls can be destroyed by Four Arms. These running sections comprise of three lanes for you to switch between, choosing which obstacle you wish to tackle. When turns in the track arise, you are given the option of choosing a path. Different icons denote the end point of each path, for example the Omnitrix symbol leads to an object that increases the time you can spend transformed.
Four Arms are better than two
However, probably the best factor of the game, especially from the standpoint of a fan, is the voice acting. The cast from the Omniverse series returns to voice each of the characters and alien forms. In my brief glimpse I noticed the voice of Bumper Robinson as Bloxx, leading me to believe he will also reprise his role of Rook. Dee Bradley Baker also voiced Crashhopper, so expect almost every other alien form to keep its series voice. Dee Bradley sure is a busy guy.
Ben 10: Omniverse 2 is a game obviously directed towards the younger fans of the television series. The gameplay itself is a fairly watered down version of the beat ’em up style and the game is fairly forgiving damage wise. That being said, it definitely retains the new art style adopted by Omniverse and the returning cast only serves to further the experience. It’s hero time!
What time is it?
If you don’t know the answer to that question then you probably won’t understand 90% of what I’m about to talk about. At EB Expo 2013, I got my hands on Wayforward‘s latest addition to the cartoon franchise full of candy and science: Adventure Time Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! It’s time to explore Ooo like you never have before, for reasons undisclosed.
The game itself brings back the dungeon crawler genre, throwing you into a, you guessed it, dungeon deep below the magical land we all love. Find keys, open doors, plunder chests and defeat skeleton minions. All the trademarks of this classic genre. Being the series that it is, Explore the dungeon utilises a somewhat irregular style. Rather than opting for regular 3d, it employs an isometric style. Sometime known as 2.5D or pseudo 3D, it is an illusion of depth created by a slight angle, imagine top down but more…diagonal. These visuals definitely give the game an old school air, akin to the early games that it’s based off. The pixel based art style furthers this concept, retaining a trademark of older games and blending it with the new age, quirky style of Adventure Time.
Sweet, innocent NEPTR
The overall aim of the game is to proceed downward. On each floor of the Secret Royal Dungeon is a set of stairs, this is where you must go. Reaching said stairs will allow you to move to the next floor, one flight of steps closer to your goal…not that I’m sure what it is…Or how far down it is…or why we’re doing this. I guess that’s why the games is subtitled Explore the dungeon because I don’t know…expect this humour to pop up a lot in the game, and this article for that matter. Why? I don’t know. Haha, referential humour.
During my all too brief time with the game, I got the chance to play as Marceline the Vampire Queen. One of the best aspects for fans of the series is the fact that the voice cast from the series returns to bring their characters to life in the game. From Finn, to Jake, to even Lady Rainicorn, they all sound just how you want them to. Playing as Marceline, you are able to wield her axe bass in combat. This serves as your standard attack and can be charged up to unleash monster damage. A sub-weapon is also acquirable, by picking them up from the dungeon floor. Unlike the primary, character specific weapon, these tools are interchangeable and more generalised. Along with a regular melee items like the bamboo blade, there are some ranged weapons to aid you in your battles. Want to throw hard boiled eggs at skeletons? Go for it. Got a hankering to launch poor defenceless kittens at demons? You’re a sick, twisted individual, but sure why not. Its all in good fun I think. (No animals were harmed in the making of this game…not permanently at least) These projectile weapons do use ammunition, but it can be easily replenished by finding an ammo bag somewhere on the dungeon floor.
It’s a fungeon!
Adventure Time Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! is chock full of the humour that makes the show the hit that it is. The game is absolute oodles of fun to play, more so if you’re a fan of the show. However, even if you’ve never watched a second of Adventure Time, for which I pity you (something that can be remedied by clicking here and here), the mechanics are still solid enough to keep you entertained. Unfortunately I didn’t play the game long enough to see the “huge reveal” promised, not too surprising, what with it being at a convention and all, plus the line behind me was getting anxious. Though I’ll be sure to discover it once I buy the game proper. Mathematical!
At EB Expo 2013, I was able to get my hand on a demo version for Square Enix‘s upcoming title Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Ever since the ambiguous climax of Final Fantasy XIII-2, fans have been curious to see what happens afterward. Now we have the answer: Lightning returns. Set 500 after the adventures of Serah and Noel, this stern soldier with locks of pink makes her journey back to the world she left behind…Let’s go back for a second. 500 years! I’ll let that sink in. Though the previous title saw travel across the timelines, it’s still a large leap for the central time period of the game. This calls into question the storyline and raises curiosity regarding the presence of XIII mainstays Hope Estheim and Snow Villiers. That Hope definitely gets around.
For starters, the overworld has received some improvements over the last two instalments. With the inclusion of jumping, climbing and even sprinting, the overworld is more fluid than it has been before. Sprinting however is not unlimited, as a bar will drain over time, reducing you to a brisk jog. This function should allow you to dodge some of the more persistent enemies, should you not want to fight them. Once again, combat is affected by how you engage the enemy in the overworld. Should you sneak up on them, they begin with up to 25% less health. But if they get the jump on you, the battle begins in their favour. That being said…
You’ve been…Thunderstruck!
The combat system in Lighting Returns follows the trend of the series and makes drastic improvements over the previous title. One of the major new elements of note is the ability to move Lightning around the battle field, simply by using the left analog stick. Though this is fairly limited, it is definitely and upgrade from the last game. This is now an option due to the alterations in the attacking mechanics. Rather than scrolling through a list as you did previously, attacks are now set to the controllers face buttons (Square/Circle/Triangle/X for Playstation and X/Y/A/B for Xbox). This allows you to attack with little to no break in between, though as always the number of strikes you can throw is metered by your ATB (Active Time Battle) gauge.
The largest change comes to combat in the form of the brand new Schema system. Replacing the paradigm system of the previous two titles, schema allows you to switch between a number of different power sets. Each of these comes with a different outfit for Lightning, providing some variation in the visuals, which is a nice touch. Each outfit also possesses its own ATB gauge, allowing you to switch between schemas to compensate for a drained gauge. This gives off the feeling that combat it more consistent than it has been in XIII, ramping up the pace from Lightning’s previous jaunt across Pulse.
Now 20% cooler
Though it should go without saying, the game looks fantastic. Once again you are pitted against complex and extremely detailed beasts, such as the Anubys, all who are gunning for victory. Lightning herself is more visually varied with the inclusion of multiple outfits. Her victory animation also changes depending on the schema active at battle’s end. Though I only explored one enclosed area in the demo, it was very intricate and ornate, a staple of the XIII saga. From my brief glimpse at the third instalment to the XIII saga, I didn’t get the chance to fully appreciate the new time based gameplay. That being said, I definitely noticed the clock counting down on the screen. Though I’m unsure of how fast the time drain is in regards to story progression, it certainly gives off a vibe of impending doom.
Overall, Lightning Returns serves to fix the problems present in the previous titles and improve gameplay in general. From what I saw, I’m definitely curious to discover how Snow fits into the plot and why he chose the dark, broody look. Plus Hope is back, which is always good.
Before we start this article, are you a boy or a girl? That’s right Pokefans, your favourite creatures are back for the biggest instalment the franchise has ever seen. For the first time in history, these monsters will be hitting the pockets of fans worldwide at simultaneously. At Nintendo‘s booth at EB Expo 2013, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a demo for the newest Pokemon adventure: X and Y. A demo specifically constructed to showcase the new elements of the game, it included a mix of elements that will assuredly pique-achu your interest.
Alright let’s talk about the Donphan in the room: the graphics. For the first time ever, the handheld versions of Pokemon have received a visual upgrade and they. Are. Awesome. The 3D graphics are very clean and simple in their presentation, retaining an old school feel whilst bringing it into the next gen. I’ll admit, when I heard about the 3D graphics, part of me worried how they would come across on a 3DS screen. But my fears have been put to rest. The style came across well on the 3DS XL, the system I demoed the game on, and is in no way visually imposing or confusing. When exploring the overworld, the game no longer locks in a top down perspective. X and Y sees the introduction of a more free form camera, shifting from an angled glimpse to behind the back perspective, depending on the situation. The game also receives some new variation in its assets, for example flower patches have been added to the list of areas where you can discover Pokemon.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon…again
In addition to the visual enhancements of the overworld, the control scheme has also received a few enhancements. First of all, characters are no longer locked into a four direction movement grid. Feel free to move in any direction you want, left, right, left-right, right-left…south. These new travel options can be aided by the brand new pair of roller skates your player obtains. These allow you to glide pretty quickly around areas, like the running shoes of previous generations. In X and Y however, the roller skates are used automatically when you use the analog stick. This removes the tedium of having to equip your bike or hold down B to run. A small complaint I know, but Pokemon fans will understand the benefit of the upgrade. You are still able to walk if you so desire, by using the D-pad. But why bother when you can skate or better yet ride around on a Pokemon? You heard it folks you can now use your some of your select companions as mounts to dash around the Kalos region. The demo I played provided me with Skiddo, half goat, half motorcycle, all boss. Only the Skiddo, Gogoat and Rhyhorn have been announced rideable at this point and, in the demo, I didn’t get a chance to experience the true benefits of these mounts, being locked in an enclosed area. Still cool though.
Ah, the battle system. That turn based realm where dreams are made…then possibly eaten. Just like the overworld, battles have had their graphics ramped up considerably. As much as the 3d style affects the pokemon, their movement has also been improved. Pokemon will now react to attacks, both used and received, livening up the visuals of battle. The camera will also react to attacks, cinematically zooming in and out as battles wage. Just as in the console releases, your Pokemon also possesses a brief fainting animation, another small touch that adds to complete the experience.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
My brief excursion into the new world of Pokemon also gave me some time with the new mechanic that’s taking the world by storm: Mega Evolution. Provided with Mewtwo because why not, I was thrown into battle against a terrifying foe: Crobat. (Who, sarcasm aside, is an awesome Pokemon) Naturally against impending doom I had not choice but to unlock the true power of Mewtwo. One of the greatest aspects of Mega Evolution is that it does not use up a turn in battle. Before you choose your attack, simply click the Mega Evolution button, your Pokemon will then power up and strike. Efficient and deadly.
I was only granted a brief audience with Pokemon X and Y, but i relished every minute of it. This next endeavour into the world we all know and love so much will prove to be a memorable one. Get ready Pokemon trainers. Mega Evolution, Fairy-type…goatorcycles. The game has it all and we…Gotta catch ’em all!
During EB Expo 2013, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the latest instalment in the Ratchet and Clank franchise: Into the Nexus. As the fourth and final instalment of the Future series, the game picks up after A Crack In Time to lead you on another rollicking space adventure.
Everybody’s favourite Lombax is back and this time he’s heading straight into the nether regions…better known as the nexus. You know, censorship and all that. After the four player co-op bonanza known as All 4 One and the tower defence excursion of Q-Force, Rathcet and his robo-buddy clank are returning to their classic formula. With platforming a plenty the duo are, as they always have been, fearful of the countless bottomless pits that seem to plague the galaxy.
The game plays identically to the main series titles that have come before. When I picked up the controller, I immediately threw my wrench into a stack of crates and collected the sweet bolts within. No tutorial needed. The controls weren’t broken in past games, so why fix them now? Furthering their return to the main series is the appearance of some characters who haven’t been seen in a while. Talwyn Apogee is back, passing you order over the space walkie-talkie, probably isn’t called that, along with Cronk and Zephyr. Harking way back to Going Commando, the Thugs-4-Less crew is also around again to get in your way. Though they aren’t to much trouble because of…
They’re having a ball
Guns. Let’s face it, whenever you play Ratchet and Clank it’s what you want to see. Wacky, over the top, beyond-explanation weaponry that you can turn against your foes. Let me tell you, with what Nexus throws at you, your enemies will be cowering in fear, or shaking with frostbite, or helplessly circling their demise. Following the trend of quirky transformative weapons, this game grants us the Winterizer, which reshapes your target into a festive snowman version of themselves, complete with candy canes. Also joining the arsenal is Vortex Grenades which, upon detonation, release a localised ball of gravity for bad guys to helplessely spin around.
But I digress. The game is called Into the Nexus, so naturally expect the Nexus to come into the gameplay. At certain points in the game, you must scan an area with a flashlight, in search of dimensional anomalies. Once shone at the correct area, it will start to glow purple, indicating a Nether Rift. In these rifts the gameplay shifts to a 2d side scrolling platformer which, as Clank, you must navigate with the aid of gravity powers. Flicking the right analog stick reverses gravity, shifting it so that you now run on the ceiling. Naturally, this becomes progressively more difficult, requiring quick thinking and skill to navigate this topsy turvy world. You must also attract the ire of a Nexus creature by slapping it in the face. Sufficiently enraged, you must lure the creature back to the entrance of the level, without getting hit of course. Completing this returns you to regular gameplay, wherein the wall the rift appeared has now shattered, allowing you to progress.
Ho-Ho-Holy crap!
The game also introduces a new gravity mechanic when playing as Ratchet. At certain points in the game, you will come across two purple circles affixed to walls or tracks. Using a new gadget, you must connect them with a gravity tube, allowing you to travel between them. This concept plays out similar to the Excursion Funnels in Portal 2, though unlike Portal, Nexus allows you to determine which way the gravity current will flow.
From what I got the chance to play, this epilogue to the Future series is oodles of old school fun. After their venture into slightly varied styles, Insomniac Games is taking Ratchet and Clank back to the formula that made them gaming superstars. I mean they’re getting their own movie for crying out loud.
Dead Man’s Draw Developer:Stardock Entertainment Publisher:Stardock Entertainment Platforms: iOS (Reviewed) Release Date: October 2, 2013 Price:$1.99 – Available Here
Overview
Stardock Entertainment has been around for years and they’ve had their hands in a variety of software endeavors. Originally known for making Microsoft Windows usability applications (such as WindowBlinds), they’ve sought to diversify with game development. Now they’re making a name for themselves in the game space with strategy titles like Sins of a Solar Empire and Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes. Stardock is looking to diversify once more with Dead Man’s Draw, their first entry on the iOS platform. How does it hold up? Has it earned its loot or should be drowned at the bottom of sea? Let’s find out.
Gameplay Dead Man’s Draw is, at first glance, a relatively simple card game. The concept is straightforward. There are 10 suits of seven cards. On your turn, you draw as many cards as you want, but each draw is a gamble. If you draw two cards from the same suit, you “bust” and your turn is over, with everything you’ve drawn going into the discard pile. At any point, you can bank the cards you’ve drawn, counting only the highest of each suit toward your score (for a maximum score of 70).
The basic concept is fun enough, but Stardock weren’t satisfied to leave it at that. As you play, you earn gold and experience. With each level gained, you’ll get access to a special ability from each suit (but beware – so will your opponents!). For example, when you draw a cannon, you can choose a card for your opponent to discard, or a sword lets you steal an opponent’s card to play. These can be combined, too, so you could draw a sword, steal a cannon, and force your opponent to discard a card.
As you grow in levels and gain more of the suits’ abilities, the game takes on a completely new dynamic aspect. Every card you draw will somehow affect the outcome of the game. It blends the satisfaction and thought of a strategy game with the excitement of games of chance, brewing together an addictive experience that will keep you coming back for more.
One of my primary problems with Dead Man’s Draw, as seems to be the case so often with mobile games today, is the microtransaction system. After you’ve unlocked all the suits’ abilities, you begin to unlock “traits” that will give you special allowances in a match (such as cannons destroying every card of a suit instead of the top card in a stack). These traits have limited uses, though. How can you get more trait usages? Why, pay real money for them, of course! There’s no promise this will help you in the long run, either, since the game is so heavily weighted toward chance and odds. It feels like it could have been worked around, especially since they’re already charging $1.99 for the game.
The difficulty in the game is also a moot point. Every opponent you face plays virtually the same. They will all use everything at their fingertips to take you out. They are all absolutely ruthless. It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing in the first tournament or the final tournament, they will all send you straight to Davy Jones’ locker if they’re able.
Visuals
The visual aesthetic of the game is great. It all maintains a theme consistent with swashbuckling and maritime piracy. This game feels like it would be right at home in a scene of Pirates of the Caribbean, with Jack Sparrow busting on a hand and shooting some no-name bilge rat. Characters fit the theme beautifully and the suits of the cards could’ve have fit better in any other world.
The UI design is also well done. The game is easy to pick up and intuitive to play, thanks to hints given visually to the players. Everything is easy to navigate and that makes for great player experience.
Audio
The audio in the game fits thematically with the visuals. Sea shanties rule the soundtrack and it works well enough, but with only two tracks that loop fairly quickly, you may grow tired of the music before long. The sound effects, like the UI, do a great job mixing entertainment with usability. They grant cues to the player on what effects cards have and what’s going on, helping to keep everything connected and moving along.
Overall Dead Man’s Draw is a fantastic mobile game experience and a wonderful inaugural iOS showing for Stardock. The game looks and sounds great, even if you may tire of the soundtrack. Though the AI can be relentless at times and the (unnecessary) microtransactions feel somewhat off-putting, there are few games on iOS that have had me sneaking time to play them like Dead Man’s Draw. Anyone who enjoys card games will have a blast with Dead Man’s Draw.*
*- There is the chance that Stardock may sell printed decks in the future. You can go to their website and sign up to be notified.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Kevin Shortt (Left), Danny, Lead Graphics Designer (Right)
Thanks to Ubisoft Australia, we were able to interview some very special guests who flew in from across the globe to attend EB Games Expo 2013. Firstly, we got to speak with the Lead Scriptwriter/Story Designer on Watch_Dogs, Kevin Shortt. Topics covered included Dedsec‘s relationship to Aiden Pearce, his main motivations, how the timely U.S. government surveillance ‘scandal’ reinforces the messages/themes within Watch_Dogs and much more.
So, we’ve heard bits and pieces about Aiden Pearce’s backstory as it relates to a tragedy occurring to members of his family, but what are his true motivations exactly?
I can tell you some things you probably haven’t heard before. Aiden is a former fixer; before the game starts, that’s what he was doing. A fixer is like a freelance mercenary who works for a contract – which he could get from anybody, from government agents, corporations or individuals – and fixers know how to shoot, handle themselves in combat and they know how to hack. So that’s what Pearce did. That was how he made his living, and then a tragedy happened with his family because they were trying to get him… somebody was trying to attack him, and his family was hurt as a result – quite severely – so he became obsessed with protecting his family, making sure that never happens again and also finding the people responsible.
So, at the start of the game, he’s not working for a contract anymore, he’s working for himself. He wants to find out what happened and that becomes his main drive through the whole game. He’s obsessed with protecting his family; he monitors them through cameras and surveillance, and it does become obsessive to him to the point that, even when he’s seeing other people […] the catch is when he sees something happening to somebody else, he is the kind of guy that just can’t let it happen; he has to step in. So he’s this guy who almost by accident turns into this vigilante.
So, do we get to see how Chicago transforms into this “smart city”, or is it a case of ‘this is where the story is set, and it’s already established’?
You are certainly going to learn a little bit about how ctOS came to be. The game starts where the city has had this system for about a year. So we start it, it’s fully up and running, but you’ve got forces that are up against it. Groups like Dedsec – a hacker group that doesn’t like what’s happening with ctOS. They’re raising questions about how far ctOS is going with privacy and how integrated they are into everybody’s lives and how good or bad that is. So, they’re trying to wake up citizens and say ‘hey, what the hell is going on. This isn’t right. We should be shutting this down.’
Bloom is the corporation that created ctOS, and I think their goals, initially, were noble goals; they wanted to bring a system that centralises everything, and it does. For the civilians, they’re like ‘this is great; my commute is faster, I’m paying lower costs on my hydro bills, things run more efficiently, I get free Wi-Fi through the whole city’, so on a simple level like that, citizens love it. I think I would love a ‘smart city’ to be honest. But, you know, I think there are elements that are trying to abuse that. Just like any new technology, we love it, it’s great, but you’re gonna find somebody who’s gonna find a way to screw with it and abuse it to their advantage. And that’s kind of what’s happening in Watch_Dogs.
In regards to Dedsec, what is the relationship between them and Aiden? Because back when first story details were trickling out, I think many assumed that Aiden was a part of the hacker group, but then in later promotional and viral videos released to market the game, it revolved around Dedsec declaring that they do not support or condone Aiden’s actions. So what’s their dynamic like?
Yeah, it’s a good question. I’m glad you brought that up, because Dedsec […] Aiden does not work for Dedsec, and they do not work for Aiden, right? But I think they both see… Dedsec sees that they can learn from Aiden; they can help him out a little bit, but there’s a very clear distinction. Aiden works alone. [Vigilantism, like you mentioned earlier] He’s a vigilante, right? And he works by himself, but he’s not like this lone wolf. He’ll take help where he can get it. And so he tries to get some help from Dedsec, and they will accommodate him, but it’s not like they necessarily have the same beliefs, the same philosophies… they are definitely separate entities in the game.
I’m interested to find out what your personal reaction was to the whole U.S. government surveillance/privacy controversy that came to light in the last half-year. Because, obviously this information came out after way after the game was revealed, but considering the subject matter, how surreal was that?
It was pretty amazing. I think I had two reactions when I heard that. My first was, ‘wow, I just can’t believe that they’re doing that. I can’t believe they’re so embedded in the way they are’, and my second reaction was, ‘of course they are, of course they’re that embedded, of course that’s going on.’ When we started creating the game, we had no idea what was going to happen. We always felt like this game was the near-future. We’re sort of speculating where things might go. We’ve been on this game for about 5 years, almost 5 years. So it’s been a long time…
It was kept secret for a long time too. Maybe the best kept secret in a long time.
Yeah, thank you. We worked hard on that. [Laughs] So, we’ve been on it for a long time, and we can’t anticipate where things are going. But what’s interesting is, we always thought that this was near future, but as the years have gone by, we’ve watched everything that we’ve been imagining coming to life. So suddenly this game – even though there’s still near-future elements like ctOS – we’re still surprised to see how close to the present the game actually is. As for everything that’s going on in the U.S. in the news, we couldn’t imagine that. I always said, [Laughs] it could have been the greatest Ubisoft promo ever!
Yeah, speak about viral marketing!
But the weird thing is it’s real life! This is real life we’re looking at, and that’s what’s pretty shocking about it. And I think that’s what we like about the game; the game is so current. I would love it if players are playing the game, put down the controller, they go to head out and what do they grab? They grab their cellphone. And I would love if they’re kind of like, ‘okay, everything that’s happening in there – it’s fiction, sure – but it’s really connected to my real life’, and I hope we kinda get people thinking about ‘what does that mean for privacy?’. We’re not saying Watch_Dogs has the answers, but we’re saying we want to be part of that conversation. We want to be part of that dialogue that everyone’s having about ‘where are we going with technology, where are we going with privacy and what does that mean for the future’.
I keep going back to the concept that the whole thing is an elaborate Watch_Dogs marketing ploy. [Laughs] That would have been hilarious. It’s just so timely…
I think that everyone would have loved to realise that too, like ‘oh, okay good, it was just a viral campaign’. Sadly it is not.
It would have relieved a lot of people. You know, we just walked past a guy in Aiden Pearce cosplay, and he was unintentionally standing in that poster hero pose, with his phone out and we thought ‘quickly, let’s snap a shot of him, he’s hacking something!’
[Laughs] Just working away. That’s it though, right? Like in the game, if you wander through the game, and you see people there, you can hack any phone conversation, any text message. We came to a bus stop, and we looked at it, and all we could see were icon, icon, icon, icon that you can hack, and we kinda laughed that they were all clustered together. And then we tough, ‘that’s real life’. That’s what a bus stop is, you just see everyone there and they’re all like this [motions his head buried into a phone].
So going back to the drive of the story and plot, and as a final pitch, what is the true lynchpin and what do you think will grip players? Is it the revenge tale of a man doing what’s right for his family, who were innocent victims? Is it the fight against oppression? What’ll keep people interested in the long run?
I think, if you’re thinking of story and what it is that’s gonna draw you in, I think it’s the fact that Aiden is on a personal quest – I’m hoping that’s gonna grab people. It’s a personal journey that should interest people for sure. If they buy into it, it’ll be something they’ll get excited about. I think what’s key about it is the characters you end up meeting along the way…
I was going to ask about that; for someone who is so focused on his singular, personal goal, he meets others who he can call friends in the process, right? And to see those origins, and why he can call on them or vice versa is a whole other layer.
Well exactly. And what’s interesting is we wanted to make sure that all these people you cross paths with, they have their own stories. They’re not just there to say ‘hey, I’m going to help you in this chapter and then I’m gonna go’. They’ve got their own goals, their own ambitions, their own problems and their own conflicts, and sometimes they clash with what Pearce wants. But, somehow it works together. So I think that’s something that’s going to be particularly exciting.
I think characters like Jordi – he’s this fun guy, he’s humorous, he’s entertaining, but he’s dark. You know, he’s really dark and dangerous. You could end up dead if you handle Jordi wrong. T-Bone’s another guy; he’s a programmer, he knows the ctOS network really well and he’s a great resource. But the same thing – he’s got a whole dark past that you’re gonna get to discover, and realise that he’s a little more involved with ctOS than what we see on the surface. So I think those are the things that are going to be particularly interesting for players, on top of the fact you’ve got a whole city to explore, and roam in and hack into.
And then you’ve got the second screen experience with tablets and smartphones, which in a way introduces a secondary player story to the fold by adding another affecting entity into the world. We’ve seen that you can write messages to the console player…
Love it. Yeah, you saw that!
Yeah, a lot of people missed that detail in the demo, but you could see her typing out the message that then appeared on the billboard or whatever it was.
Well yeah, it’s hard. Those demos are very fast and you’ve got a short amount of time, but you’re right, that’s exactly what happened. I think the tablet is going to be particularly fun. The thing I love about the tablet is that, okay, with my girlfriend, when I play a game… she’ll watch, but she has no interest in actually playing with me. She’s just not into games as much. But I know, I hand a tablet to her and say ‘okay, there’s a map of Chicago. Try and screw with me in Chicago’. I’m gonna drive around, and then she can hit bridges while I’m trying to go over them, short-circuit traffic lights, she can send choppers after me or cops… and once you start playing it, it’s pretty addictive. It’s a fun, fun experience; it’s very different. [It’s so accessible] It’s very accessible. And it’s something that’s different from other games – I think our use of the tablet is something unique. And it just makes sense! We’re a game about hacking. Aiden’s weapon is his phone, so we had to get a smartphone application that you could use.
Awesome. Well thanks so much for your time and the opportunity, we greatly appreciate it.
No problem, it was a pleasure meeting you.
A big thanks to Kevin Shortt for making the time for us, it was a true pleasure. If you’re as excited for Watch_Dogs as we are, this was a treat of an interview. The game releases for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and PC on November 22nd, and at launch for the PlayStation 4 a week later.
Titanfall. The game has been turning heads and garnering more than its fair share of positive attention since it was announced at this year’s E3 Expo. EA‘s upcoming sci-fi shooter combines traditional first person combat, with parkour/free-running/double jumping super soldiers, and of course giant mechanical suits into a game that just awesome. With all the hype behind the game, I had some questions, so I took them to Abbie Heppe, Respawn Entertainment’s community manager.
Sitting in the Microsoft interview room, at this year’s EB Games Expo, Abbie was more than happy to take my questions about Titanfall, the reception it has been receiving, its accessibility to players, and why you need to own it. We recorded the interview for your enjoyment, so check out the video below. As always, for all the Titanfall news as it becomes available, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
We’d like to apologise for the background noise in the interview, please set your volume to max to catch everything that was said.
Pac-Man is undoubtedly one of the most legendary video-game characters of all time. The original Pac-Man game is one that has etched itself into gaming history as one of the best of the best. After all these years, we still haven’t had a new Pac-Man game that really captured our imagination like the first one did. However with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, that might have just changed.
At EB Expo 2013 we got to go hands-on with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. The latest installment in the long-running franchise is unlike the Pac-Man we know from all those years ago. This is a game based upon the highly popular children’s television series of the same name, but this isn’t just Pac-Man going wakka wakka through a maze, it is Pac-Man in a new light.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures plays very much like one of the 3D Super Mario games. You travel into different fully three dimensional worlds and adventure through them all the while progressing the story and gaining new abilities. Pac-Man can undergo a number of transformations including Fire-Pac which allows him to become on fire and through fireballs.
Whereas most platforming adventure games like this have players defeat enemies by jumping on them, Pac-Man simply chomps them down. The controls are quite simple and it allows you to really take on the role of Pac-Man with ease.
One of the things that stood out most to me about this game was that there was effectively no hand-holding whatsoever. You are basically thrown into a world and it trusts you to figure out what to do and where to go. It treats you with a level of intelligence that most games targeted towards kids don’t and for that it earned some respect points. It also makes for a much more interesting gameplay experience, adding some exploration elements and allowing you to really absorb in the world of Pac-Man.
Namco Bandai have honestly done a great job with this game and with the number of platforms it is slated for release on, it is truly a game that anyone can appreciate. This isn’t strictly a game that only kids will enjoy. The game provides a great deal of challenge and fun for all ages.
If you thought Pac-Man had seen better days, think again! Pac-Man is back baby and with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, the yellow ball of fun we have come to love over all these years has had new life breathed into him. Pac-Man fans have waited a long time for a game like this and at long last Namco Bandai have brought those wishes to life. This looks to be a serious contender for platformer game of the year. What more can I say? Pac-Man mania is running wild brother!
Techland and Warner Bros’ upcoming zombie survival game; Dying Light has been capturing the attention of zombie fans since it was announced. We got to go hands on with the game a few days back, and since then I had a tonne of questions about the game and the team behind it. Luckily, at this year’s EB Games Expo I was able to grab Tymon Smektala, producer for Dying Light for a quick one-on-one chat.
Despite the insanity of the expo, Tymon was happy to talk to me about what we can expect from the game, and the team’s development process. We recorded the interview for your enjoyment, so check it out below and remember that for all the Dying Light news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
We’d like to apologise for the background noise in the interview, please set your volume to max to catch everything that was said.
