We now live in an age where gaming fans are calling for good remakes of their favourite classics and living in this age also means that we have game development companies that would gladly try their best to fill the need for nostalgia, well Flying Wild Hog as developer and Devolver Digital as publisher have come together to revive what seemed like a long dead title: Shadow Warrior! The “You Got Wang!” trailer for this old school, Doom-like, action, first person shooter shows off some fantastic-looking environments that are detailed beyond belief as will as some ninja-style katana-wielding action that definitely makes melee action seem incredibly cool, not to mention the showcase of some fierce-looking guns! Enough talk from me, go ahead and check out the new Shadow Warrior trailer just below this and get pumped for it’s release on the 26th of September on the PC and on all Next-Gen consoles sometime next year!
The PS4 is coming! Sony have finally unveiled the release date for the PlayStation 4 at the 2013 Gamescom conference in Germany. North American gamers will be able to get their hands on the console on November 15th, while those in the Australian and European regions will have to wait until November 29th. The console will be available in 32 countries by the end of the year.
Sony detailed that 15 games would be available on disc (and for download) come day one. The list includes three first party titles and a heap of third party offerings.
The pack in title Playroom, will also be available on day one. A number of other games will be made available by the end of 2013, bringing us up to a grand total of 33 games before the year is out.
A heap of other big name games were also talked about. The games listed below are believed to be coming to the PS4 sometime next year. Games listed with a star next to them are expected to be released sometime during the launch window, which extends from the launch of the PS4 to the 31st of March, 2014.
To add to that extensive list, it was confirmed that three of Sony’s finest studios, Naughty Dog (Uncharted, The Last of Us), Media Molecule (Little Big Planet) and Santa Monica Studios (God of War) are all currently working on PS4 titles. Finally, for those who like their games from smaller developers, a slew of new indie titles were discussed. Release dates for these games remain unknown.
If you’re still not excited, it was also announced that every PS4 purchased would come with a 14-day free trial for Playstation Plus as well as 90 days free upon signing up for a year’s membership.
Sony also has plans to reward early adopters of soon coming PS3 titles that will be launching across both generations. A newly introduced incentive allows gamers that buy PS3 titles that are also coming to PS4 to purchase a digital version of that game at a significantly reduced cost. So far this applies to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Watch Dogs. It is unknown if this scheme will be worldwide or how long it will be available but we can guess it will be ending soon after launch.
Also check out the live PS4 UI demonstration by Shuhei Yoshida, and let us know which titles you will be picking up for the PlayStation 4 as we start the 100 day countdown until the PS4 releases! (86 for you lucky North Americans). You can check out the Gamescom conference in full in the video below.
With Gamescom kicking off today there have been plenty of announcements and new details released for various games. One such reveal comes from Capcom in the form of new screenshots and a cinematic trailer for Dead Rising 3.
As you can see in the screenshots below, vehicle customization returns in Dead Rising 3 and there are numerous vehicle combinations at your disposal, including motorcycles, one of which has a steamroller attached to the front of it, cars and more. The aforementioned cinematic trailer can also be seen below and it features our protagonist trying to survive against numerous zombies and wielding a few of the combo weapons as he joins up with a female survivor.
EA has promised to continue adding more content to its upcoming free-to-play iteration of Command & Conquer at this year’s Gamescom event. Content, however, will not only be limited to multiplayer but episodic singleplayer missions are in the works and are due early next year.
The real-time strategy title by Victory Games was initially announced as C&C: Generals 2 but has since been re-branded as simply Command & Conquer, taking fan feedback on board whilst transforming it into a “free, live service”. The new C&C hopes to bring back what made the series great by placing importance on resource management, larger armies and bringing back some classic units with a few upgrades.
You can apply for a chance to get into the closed beta on the game’s official website for the PC.
Despite snubbing a possible Wii U version of the title many months ago, today it has been announced that Borderlands 2 will be released on the PlayStation Vita sometime in 2014. The announcement was made during Sony’s Gamescom press conference and it appears that the game will still feature the same four-player co-op that fans have grown to love.
Details about how the game will work on the Vita and if anything will have to be removed for it to work are currently unknown, but Randy Pitchford has given fans a bit of a message over at 2K Games‘ blog site where he mentions that the title is being published by Sony and Iron Galaxy Studios will have a hand in bringing the game to the Vita.
The other night in the Set Cafe & Bar at Event Cinemas George St, the inaugural Kings Comics Trivia Event was held in celebration of the release of Kick-Ass 2, in theatres August 22nd.
A couple of us were able to attend and represent Capsule Computers, before heading upstairs for an early screening of the film (review will be up tomorrow). Attendees were able to grab posters and show-bags courtesy of FILMINK- Australia’s Best Movie Magazine, as well as free comic show-bags from Kings Comics. The trivia wasn’t entirely Kick-Ass themed, instead covering all kinds of pop-culture, comics and film topics. Our trivia-meister Kevin Curley doled out the questions to the 28 teams present over 3 rounds. The winning team would receive a Kick-Ass Prize Pack from Kings Comics.
Each round comprised of straight-up questions, multiple choice and “who are they?” sections, where we had to identify the actor and character they were portraying in the image provided. Unfortunately, we did not come away victorious…in fact, I personally was slightly embarrassed that I did not know some of the answers. My nerd-card must be provoked me thinks…nonetheless, all up, we did okay with an estimated 40 points. But the winning team was the ‘We Are Kings Comics’ staff with 72 points…
Now, of course, it’s not exactly fair to give the prize to the hosts, so they graciously forfeited and allowed ‘JD’s Justice League’ to take the crown, only 4 points behind at 68 total. Second prize went to the inappropriately named ‘The Unprepared’, made up of a mix of the KAPOW! crew, Geek Bomb and friends, who finished with 60 points. They won the awesome FilmInk ClubInk 1-year subscription which includes loads of movie passes all year round to watch each of FilmInk’s Movie of the Month picks.
Second-last even came away with some goodies, as ‘Team Injustice’ – concluding with a measly 17 points – scored themselves a double Gold Class pass from Event Cinemas…maybe we should have tried to suck on purpose?There were also Lucky Door Prizes from Universal Pictures (that we also didn’t win, waaahh) and free copies of TimeOut magazines for all! All in all though, it was an extremely fun night and we’d like to thank all parties involved for having us. And a special thank you to Anthony from Event for giving us a shout out before the announcement of the winners; that was very kind.
As the event came to a close, there were rumblings of a future trivia night to be held in anticipation of a certain mythological-comic book hero film…I only wish lightning had struck at that very moment. Anyway, we look forward to more of these, and if you’d like to attend in the future, keep an eye on Capsule Computers and the official Kings Comics Facebook page linked above.
It has been revealed that Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will have more than just bonus costumes from Tales of Vesperia, it will also have costumes from Tales of Xillia as well. While no images of the costumes have been revealed as of yet, Kratos will be given the Ludger outfit from Tales of Xillia 2 while Zelos can be dressed as Alvin and Presea will be given an Elize costume from the first Xillia title.
These costumes can be unlocked by playing through the game a second time or will be immediately unlocked if you have save files from either Tales of Xillia 1, the review of which you can read here, or Tales of Xillia 2 which has yet to be released in the West by Namco Bandai but is on its way.
Chinese tangram puzzles have been entertaining people of all ages for centuries, and as simple as their premise is, its easy to see why. Just fit seven shapes into an empty board to complete an image. Its as simple as that. Tangram Style is a game that tries to make an effective romp on the 3DS eShop. The question is, does this formula have enough depth behind it to warrant a purchase, or is there just not enough meat on the bone? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
If I could describe Tangram Style in one word, it would be basic. Yeah, that might scare some off right away – but that does not mean that it is a bad game. The whole concept is one that carries over into all four modes. Flip pieces to make them fit in order to complete a picture of sorts. Whether it be a bird, boat, or bunny, that concept never really changes, as the player is tested in a relaxing environment where the stakes are rather low when it comes to stress.
As players move their pieces to complete the tangram, they will notice that a red outline underneath means that particular shape does not fit, while green is good to go in terms of placement. Spinning pieces is easy with the touchscreen, and even though a picture may look like its coming together, one wrong placement can lead to a complete re-do, which means that finishing these little puzzles comes with satisfaction and a bit of frustration – depending on one’s patience level.
The four modes feature minor differences to keep the player coming back. Classic is your standard, non-rushed fare, while child mode colors the pieces to make the game much easier for beginners. One Touch Mode locks a placed shape in as soon as your stylus finishes fiddling, adding some extra meat behind the ordeal, while Challenge mode itself offers a test of time where the player tries to flip their little heart out in order to complete as many tangram puzzles as possible before the timer goes off. Completing puzzles leads to totems being obtained, which in turn reward the player with more puzzles. There is over 600 puzzles in all, so as you can tell – this title definitely is a full package when it comes to delivering the ancient puzzles to the consumer.
With that said, there is only so much you can really do in Tangram Style before the appeal wears off. Its kind of like purchasing a crossword book. Sure, there are hundreds of puzzles to complete, but once you get sick of the formula, it is time to take a break. The attempts at creating an illusion that this title is something more than tangram puzzles is there and I must give the developer credit for the large amount of puzzles, but this genre is niche for a reason and will come as a very acquired taste for most.
Visuals and Audio
Much like the game itself, the graphics in Tangram Style are also rather standard fare. Now I have seen similar games on the iOS and eShop that are rough around the edges, but for a 3DS title – everything has a nice coat of polish and even a unique theme to keep the game visually interesting. Sure, that only goes go far, but when it comes to covering the basics, Tangram Style at least keeps itself together well enough to feel like a nicely put-together product.
The audio is…well…crickets. Each puzzle has the same track of “nature” themed sound effects, which are just crickets chirping until the tangram is complete. Sure, it can be relaxing, but for the challenge mode, I would have rather seen a different clip used to create some intensity of sorts. Like I said, that nature theme is represented by the chirps, but those chirps also represent boredom, which is something that does sadly occur once the player has had enough shape flipping for the day. I don’t know if fresh audio tracks would have changed this, but they certainly couldn’t have hurt.
Overall
Tangram Style is a very tough game to review in many ways as it walks in the grey area, playing it safe in almost every way possible. Yeah, it does nothing wrong from a technical standpoint – but doesn’t really do anything to set itself apart from similar titles in the genre. Everything is extremely basic – and while there are a good number of puzzles to be solved, there is no magnetism present to keep the player involved for long periods at a time. Sure, Tangram Style knocks it out of the park when it comes to the offerings of Tangram, but the whole “Style” aspect is missing – making for one solid, yet very bare-bones package.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Swearing, nudity, violence and vulgar gestures are classy right? Good. Moving on, today Deep Silver has released Volition’s latest entry in the Saints Row franchise, Saints Row IV in North America. As for the rest of the world it is currently set to be released on August 23rd so you only have a little bit longer to wait until you’ll have a chance to play this literally out of this world open world action game.
You can check out my full review of Saints Row IV here, some day one patch notes, and the game’s launch trailer which is all kinds of classy below those.
PlayStation 3
• Fix for an animation issue that occurred when super jumping and clipping a building on the way down
• Added a more detailed error message when signing out of PSN while in game
• Fix for using the ‘continue’ option when the only save data present is another user’s save data
• Fix for a hang that occurred if the player was shot as they entered the Friendly Fire interface
• Fix for a crash if the host exits a mission while the client is mid-save
• Fix for a crash caused by spamming “A” during Shaundi’s cutscene during the second mission
• Fix for sometimes the map not displaying diversion icons
• Fix for a stat mismatch between the time played on the save game stats versus the in game stats menu
• Fix for a crash when using the nuke DFA back to back at maximum height
• Fix in the Ben King rescue mission where a player could get stuck in part of the world
• Added functionality to allow DLC weapons to work.
Xbox 360
• Fix for a lack of audio on the ending credits
• Fix for beating the game with all loyalty missions not playing the proper end game credit sequence.
• Fix for using the ‘continue’ option when the only save data present is another user’s save data
• Fix for a hang that occurred if the player was shot as they entered the Friendly Fire interface
• Fix for a crash if the host exits a mission while the client is mid-save
• Fix for a crash caused by spamming “A” during Shaundi’s cutscene during the second mission
• Fix for sometimes the map not displaying diversion icons
• Fix for a stat mismatch between the time played on the save game stats versus the in game stats menu
• Fix for a crash when using the nuke DFA back to back at maximum height
• Fix in the Ben King rescue mission where a player could get stuck in part of the world
• Fix for an animation issue that occurred when super jumping and clipping a building on the way down
• Added functionality to allow DLC weapons to work.
There has been a lot of announcements for the Xbox One at Gamescom 2013, so it can be a bit confusing when you are trying to keep up. To save some of you the trouble, we have compiled some of the major announcements, starting with shiny new bundles that will be releasing at launch.
All European pre-order customers will will receive a digital version of FIFA 14, while supplies last. Not a shabby deal, but even more enticing is a Call of Duty: Ghosts bundle that will be available the same day that the game launches. This bundle will also include special bonus content, exclusive to Xbox One.
Next up we have a new interface for the Xbox One store, which will have ways to track the users tastes and trends in order to show the consumer what they want to see.
Here are some details:
Trending will show what your friends and the community are playing
Recommendations will highlight new games you may like, based on what you like to play
Spotlight will showcase Editor Picks for great games across the entire store
With Game DVR and Upload, gamers can instantly capture their favorite moments and edit and share them with their friends around the world
Achievements and Challenges enable developers and the community to create special events out of games
The ID@Xbox program will offer game developers the same great benefits that existing Xbox developers have today, including the full power of the console, cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox Live toolset such as Xbox SmartGlass, multiplayer, Achievements, Gamerscore and more. A global support team, forums and local events will provide education and assistance to foster creativity and help developers with getting their games published on Xbox One quickly and easily.
Applications for the first phase of the Independent Developers @ Xbox program are accepted starting today. For more information on ID@Xbox and how to apply, visit: www.xbox.com/id.
Finally, we have the launch line-up. Sure, we knew what was coming after E3, but Microsoft have changed a lot since then, and now that they have new sets of eyes, its time to take a look at what can be expected.
Microsoft Studios debuts a brand-new exclusive for Xbox One: Fable Legends from Lionhead Studios. With the next-generation capabilities of Xbox One, Fable Legends brings you back to Albion like never before. For the first time, up to four heroes can cooperatively play and explore, or even play the villain and mastermind the entire game in real time.
Also coming to Xbox One is award-winning Mojang’s highly anticipated Cobalt, an action-packed platform shooter, which features a multiplayer mode with up to eight players that lets you punch rockets and deflect bullets to win the day.
In addition, Microsoft unveils the full list of Xbox One launch titles, which includes the industry’s biggest blockbusters and most highly-anticipated exclusives. On launch day, fans will be able to enjoy titles from a diverse range of global developers and renowned studios. Xbox One launch titles include:
Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)·
Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)
Whether you’re a fan or still on the fence, you have to admit that Microsoft are doing well in cleaning up their image. The Xbox One launches this holiday, and with all of this new information, I imagine a lot more will be “jumping in” to Microsoft’s pool of games and entertainment.
