2K Games, the folks behind Bioshock Infinite, have really kicked up their engines with releasing XCOM trailers. Earlier this week we got the “Last Defence” trailer. Today, they’ve released a trailer called “The Clown Show.”
In the trailer, which you can watch by clicking on the video player below this article, we get to tune into an episode of ‘Orbit and the Asteroids’. We know something terrible is afoot, though, immediately after Kevin gives in to his mom’s pleas for him to go play on his bike.
Was Orbit in league with the aliens? Was he somehow housing them illegally and XCOM found him? Be sure to check out the trailer to see the look on Orbit’s face when he sees the agent.
Dragon Quest X, the upcoming MMO entry to the much lauded RPGDragon Quest franchise, will be making its way to PC as well as the Wii U.
In order to celebrate the game releasing for PC in Japan on September 26, Square Enix has released a pair of trailers. The first trailer, below, shows the primary hero meeting up with a few other folks en route to take down a mighty bad dude.
The second trailer, shown in the video below, gives us some more exciting footage with what appears to be a few intriguing story beats and characters too. Be sure to check it out!
Namco Bandai has officially announced Ace Combat Infinity as a PlayStation 3 exclusive with the anticipated teaser trailer viewable below.
Details on the game are very scarce for the time being but Namco Bandai have reportedly confirmed it will be a download-only title, which seems in-line with their recent releases such as the free-to-play Tekken Revolution and the still-in-development Ridge Racer Driftopia.
The teaser trailer only shows glimpses of what appears to be a Russian Sukhoi PAK-FA stealth fighter, planes with delta wing designs and a massive impact crater on the Earth. Perhaps the real-world setting will clash with the series’ classic Strangereal universe?
We will likely get more info in the coming weeks about this new, unexpected take on the Ace Combat series. The teaser website has been updated with the trailer and “For PlayStation 3.”
Today at the Penny Arcade Expo Australia event held in Melbourne the guys from the Penny Arcadewebsite held a panel about making a script for their comics. The panel took place in the main hall at the expo to a full crowd of attendees.
The creators of the web comic series entered the stage after a massive light and smoke show to the cheers and applause of the crowd. The panel commenced with the guys communicating with the crowd through a series of messages left via notepad. This had the crowd pumped as the gimmick of getting things to appear legible was quite the laugh.
The panel was a regular Q&A session with Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade taking questions from the audience and answering them. Some stand out questions and answers were:
Favourite video game ever?
“Geez man, got a couple. Still have a very fond memory of Kingdom Hearts 2 […] Still really loves Ni no Kuni. [..] Planescape torment.”
If you two had never met how do you think would be today?
“Happy.”
I mean more like where would your writing skills be today?
He answered about how his writing wouldn’t be as good and also about doing IT work that’s where he would be. It’s better for everybody that this happened.
Another thing that was pointed out was that they would really love to start a D&D campaign down here in Aus. If this happens, it would be amazing.
What mistake would you advise other comic creators to take that you’ve taken?
“Keep going when you should stop. […] As long as you’ve done enough you can push for this other kind of thing. [..] Start early before you know what is possible and you’d be shocked at what you can pull off.”
Have you thought about helping people depression given your reach? (In reference to one of their projects dealing with depression)
“When we sorta started it out it wasn’t a project, it was more of the awareness aspect you know. […] the main idea was just to get people to talk about it. […] there’s something more elaborate that we could do get people to talk about it.”
I stole my sisters 3DS, can you draw me a wang?
“How old’s your sister? […] Yeah I’ll draw her a penis.”
Whilst the panel was being undertaken, the audience was also being treated to some on the fly artwork. Nobody was notified of this but we’re sure everyone noticed at some point.
One story that was quite enjoyable during the Q&A was where the Penny Arcade team were talking about their D&D adventures. One adventure that sounded really Fun was where the team had this thing about some mafia dudes and dudes trying to build a dragon. I’d love to play with these guys.
The panel was an amazingly fun experience and it’s evident that everyone there had a lot of fun. Hopefully this is a benchmark for the quality of panels being held this weekend.
The newest Halo game has just been announced, but we’re not talking about the next console game that was teased at E3. We’re talking about the top-down shooter that was just released for Windows 8 PC and Windows 8 Phone and Tablets. Coming from 343 Industries and Microsoft, Halo: Spartan Assault tells the story of Halo 4’s Commander Palmer at the outset of the Spartan Ops.
Made exclusively for Windows 8 devices, Halo: Spartan Assault gives insight to what the UNSC was doing in time Master Chief spent as a meat-sicle in space. Starring Commander Palmer as the main character, players will face new battles from a completely new perspective in the form of top-down perfect for controlling on a Windows 8 phone or tablet.
Those interested can check out the launch trailer embedded below or head straight over to download Halo: Spartan Assault from the Windows Store for $6.99.
There has been no more news on the newest Tom Clancy IP The Division, since its announcement and reveal at E3 2013. Though perhaps because of the long wait period, Ubisoft has graced us with a sort of prequel to what was shown at E3, by the way of a behind the scenes video talking with the developers before the big show.
The video tops off at a little more than 6 minutes and is broken up into two parts, the first sees the developers being interviewed more than a week before Tom Clancy’s The Division E3 reveal and the second at the convention. Overall, there isn’t a whole lot more new information about the game itself, but doesn’t provide an insight into their development process for the new title.
Those wanting to watch the full video for themselves can check it out embedded below. The Division is an online open-world shooter RPG set to release for both the Xbox One and PS4
Melbourne fans or Liverpool fans that happen to be in the area on Monday, July 22nd, 2013 have a chance to see some members of the teams face off against each other before their game on Wednesday during a special event at Elizabeth Street JB Hi-Fi. EA Sports, a division of publisher EA, will be hosting a 30 minute presentation of FIFA 14, with players from both teams.
Will the Liverpool FC prove victorious or will Melbourne Victory live up to their name. Those wanting to check out the two compete in FIFA 14 before their match on Wednesday should be sure to check it out from 5:30pm to 6:00pm local time. Fans that come check it out will also be able to grab photos and autographs from the players as well.
SongRush Developer: BulkyPix Publisher:BulkyPix Platforms:iPhone (Reviewed), Android Release Date: Out Now Price:FREE – Available on iTunes and Google Play
Overview
SongRush is a music-based autorunner from BulkyPix. The game has you importing your own music from your library and then running through the tracks, jumping, sliding and charging through the beats, rhythms and melodies. The game is fun, and at a $0.00 price point is always a great download, but is held back by a few tiny problems that stop it from being a perfect experience.
Gameplay
SongRush is an auto-runner with an incredibly simple control scheme. The game has you running through flat areas, ducking and weaving around rock & roll themed obstacles, all while being chased by a tentacle beast. By tapping on the left hand side of the screen you will slide under oncoming obstacles, while tapping on the right side makes you to jump.
The game builds stages depending on the music you have in your mobile library. You pick songs to import into the game, where it will then analyse the beat and rhythm before spitting you out a level that matches the tune. It works great and is really a lot of fun to duck and weave through four minutes of Disease by Matchbox Twenty or the Power Rangers Theme. The only problem I found was that all of the songs I imported only ended up reaching the medium difficulty level, and believe me I tried a LOT.
The controls are simplistic enough that anyone can play, and make it through their favourite songs with relative ease. The difficulty arises when you try to make perfect movements and combos to increase your score counter. In order to gain the maximum score, you have to time your jumps and slides so that you make them at the absolute last second. The more perfect dodges you get in a row, the higher your combo multiplier gets. On the flip side, waiting until the last second leaves you open to the very real opportunity of missing completely and running through one of these hurdles. if you hit too many obstacles, then you run the risk of having your game ended prematurely by the tentacle-beast.
Since the game is free-to-play it is a reasonable expectation that there would be in-app purchases. SongRush takes a tried and true method of implementing an “Energy bar” that replenishes over time. You are given a few coins at a time, and each run costs you a coin. Once you are out of coins you are able to buy more using the in-game currency, which you can beef up by using real-world money. All in all it doesn’t feel pay-to-win, but at the same time, when you have a great run and want to go again but are out of energy, it can really put a damper on the whole experience and kill a lot of the buzz you had for the game.
Visuals
Most of the foreground objects in SongRush are dark coloured silhouettes, and this helps them to really pop out from the background. The game uses a lot of these deep colours like greens, blues, purples and black, which allows for the brighter reds and yellows to really pop out at you. As you run, the background will be lighting up and flashing to the tune of your song, while the obstacles in your path appear in front of you. Many of these obstacles are reminiscent of typical rock and roll imagery. Things like devil-horn hand gestures, pillars of fire, and guitars jumping out of the ground all add to the music vibe that this game is all about.
Audio
The Audio is SongRush is great… Or it is awful… Really it all depends on your taste in music and what you have on your mobile at the time. I personally got to play through levels to the awesome sounds of Linkin Park, Matchbox Twenty and Jimmy Eat World, before I finished my final play-through by running the gauntlet that is the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Theme.
This freedom to pick and choose whatever song you want means that the player should never be in a situation where they don’t like the background music, because well, if you don’t like it, play a different song.
During gameplay, there are no sound effects or audio cues aside from the music you are playing to. This is a mixed blessing as it allows you to really enjoy the music that you love and play the game without interruption, but at the same time the inclusion of a few light sound effects when you jump or slide could really pack a punch to this game and just tie up the package nicely.
Overall
SongRush is an awesome little auto-runner that creates its levels based off of the songs you own. This means that there are never any moments where you start to hate on the music (and if you are, it means you need to update your iTunes Library). The controls are simple enough for anyone to be jumping and sliding around the rock themed obstacles in no time. The game is only held back by its energy-bar system, and the lack of sound effects can make you yearn for just that little bit more. Despite these minor shortcomings though it is hard to not recommend SongRush, especially at that sweet $0.00 price point.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
CC: We are here at PAX Australia, I’m here with David Tipton from Bluemouth to talk about their line of Astro Gaming headsets. How are you?
David Tipton: I’m good! Really happy to be here at PAX!
CC: Awesome, can you tell us a little about what you have here on show at PAX Aus?
DT: Sure. We’re repping the Astro headsets. We’ve got two towers and a tournament of Blacks Ops 2 going so people an enjoy the glorious sound of the Astro headsets live and in tournament mode.
CC: What specific models do you have here today?
DT: We’re mainly showcasing the Astro A40s as they play Black Ops 2. It is a wired headset obviously and obviously people have got a chance to check it out playing in tournament mode with the A40s in their complete glory.
CC: Can you rundown some of these ‘glorious’ features of the A40 model?
DT: Absolutely! The A40s are a wired headset that comes with a mix amp. It is fully universal for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, so it is a universal headset for all of the consoles. It has got a tournament level grade chassis and audio quality that is all designed to game for hours on end.
CC: So what would you say sets the Astro headsets apart from all the competition out there with headsets?
DT: Well you know… I mean, we don’t tend to talk too much about the competition, but I know that the Astro headsets are built to be the gold standard in tournament gaming audio. You know we’ve got optimum premium equipment in the chassis, in the drivers and in the audio reproduction. And you know, gamers love it!
CC: Okay so you’re saying this is more aimed for tournament players? Or is this suitable for people who just want to play at home with it?
DT: No it is for anybody that really loves gaming. They will all love our Astro gaming headset. It is multi-purpose being equally good at home in a gaming environment online with PSN or even Xbox Live, but it also have features on board that will allow it to perform at its optimum level in LAN tournaments and in a general tournament sense. It is really a multi-purpose headset.
CC: What other models do you have available for the Astro headsets?
DT: Okay we the A40 is a wired headset which retails in Australia for $299 and there is also a wireless headset which goes for $349 which eliminates most of the wires to allow you to have a tangle free headset interface for your equipment. It is also great to enjoy home theater and movies on the couch.
CC: Alright, so we know it sounds good, but how does it feel in terms of comfortability?
DT: Ah mate! I personally adore wearing the Astro headsets for times of elongated gameplay. I game for hours on end and my ears and forehead do not get tired at all. So you can literally lift them off your head and it feels like you haven’t had a headset on at all in that period of time. While you’re gaming they are really hardly noticeable. Other headsets I’ve tried feel like they are on your head but with the Astro headsets they have been designed so they are not felt, only heard.
CC: Only heard indeed. So with that I think we will wrap things up, so thank you for your time!
DT: No thank you Capsule Computers for coming by our booth and taking the time to check out our Astro headsets. What more can I say, play hard and game on!
You can check out Astro Gaming’s official website here for more information on their product line-up. You can also follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook for all the latest updates. You can also check out Bluemouth Interactive on Twitter and Facebook as well as their official website here.
Today the people behind Japan Expo 2013, which is set to be held in Santa Clara, California, something of a hot spot for Japanese focused events, from August 23rd until August 25th, announced that the talented J✰Dee’Z group, which is a young band featuring Momoka, Nono, Meik and Ami, will be performing at the event.
For those who don’t know, J✰Dee’Z is a very popular dance band in Japan that has grown to be so popular, that they won the LOTTE x Sony Music Grand Prix by beating over 8,000 other competitors. The group recently attended Japan Expo back when it was in Paris and this will mark their first performance in Santa Clara. No exact performance times were announced but the group will also be holding panels and signing autographs during the event.
