Gameloft, the powerhouse game development company that are known worldwide for their high quality iOS and Android games like Despicable Me: Minion Rush (check out our review here), and the Gangstar series (check out the review of the latest installment; Gangstar Vegas, here), have reached an epic milestone today; achieving a more than impressive 10 MILLION Facebook fans.
Gameloft has always believed that the community has been the biggest influence in their success and continued growth. Starting with their first ever Facebook fan when the page was launched back in 2009, it grew to over a million by September 2011. Since then, the rise has been even more meteoric, with the page today reaching its 10 millionth fan. This achievement makes Gameloft one of the top video game publishing pages on the social media site.
That’s a lot of coffee
Gameloft’s Product & Digital Marketing Director, Benoir Pourgaton summarises the company’s excitement on reaching this incredible milestone. He says;
We’re very proud to have reached 10 million fans on our Facebook page. This is the result of our fans’ dedication and the unique relationship we’ve formed with them … We thank our fans for all the suggestions and comments they share with us each day, allowing us to improve ourselves and deliver in return the best experience possible in all our games. We’ll continue to develop and strengthen this close bond with all our fans!
To celebrate, Gameloft have created an application where people can create their own Facebook infographic, as well as an instant win game that has a tonne of cool prizes to give out. If you haven’t done so yet, head over to Gameloft’s official Facebook page here.
After coming out of nowhere to repeatedly challenge the titans of the manga world like One Piece and Naruto, Assassination Classroom is getting its own one-off anime adaptation. The announcement was made in this year’s 34th issue of Shonen Jump where they revealed the return of the Jump Super Anime Tour after its nearly 3 year long hiatus.
The event will also feature footage of the upcoming SHAFT adaptation of Nisekoi, a never before seen Naruto Shippūden OVA, and promotion material for this fall’s second season of Kuroko no Basket.
Assassination Classroom is written by Yusei Matsui (Neuro – Supernatural Detective). It follows the story of class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High, as they attempt to kill their homeroom teacher. However, while this may sound bizarre, it is not as simple as just killing a person. Their homeroom teacher is really a colossally powerful squid-like creature that, before arriving at their school, destroyed 70% of the moon. With just a year until he destroys the Earth as well, it is the student’s job to kill the monster and claim the 10 billion yen bounty that is on his head. Unfortunately, as the monster can move at 20 times Mach speed and has a huge knowledge of assassination techniques, this proves to be an almost insurmountable task.
Whether this will be the start of a hugely anticipated full anime adaptation is yet to be seen, but if that ever does come to fruition it will be one of the most exciting bits of news in a long time.
The Razer Hammerhead are the latest in Razer’s line of headphone peripherals aimed at the hardcore gamer market. What’s interesting about this particular pair of earphones is that they come in two flavours, the Hammerhead and the Hammerhead Pro.
The thing that differentiates the two headphones apart from each other is that the Pro headphones will also feature an omnidirectional microphone down its line, whilst the original does not. Both headphones run on the same neodymium drivers, meaning that audio playback will be as clear as day on both sets. They will both also offer the user the ability to switch out the heads with three sizes available to choose from, meaning that most users will be able to find a comfortable fitting and listening experience.
On the Hammerhead headphones, Razer CEO, Min-Liang Tan, had this to say:
“With numerous mobile PC gaming systems emerging, peripherals that offer both great performance and portability on-the-go are what make the experience complete,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “The Razer Hammerhead and Hammerhead Pro’s unrivalled durability and deep bass tones are fantastic for any gamer or music listener with an active lifestyle.”
Product features:
· Machined lightweight aluminum body
· Advanced passive noise isolation
· Interchangeable ear-tips with bi-flanges
· Powerful drivers for supreme audio fidelity with extreme bass
· Compatible with iPhone, Android and mobile devices
· Omnidirectional microphone
· Audio/Mic splitter adapter for PC connection
Headphones
· Drivers : 9 mm Neodymium Magnets with CCAW
· Frequency Response : 20 Hz – 20 kHz
· Impedance : 16 Ω
· Sensitivity @ 1 kHz : 106 dB
· Input Power : 1 mW @ 126 mV
· Cable Length : 1.3 m / 4.27 ft
· Approximate Weight : 12.5 g / 0.03 lbs
· Connector: Analog 3.5 mm Combined Jack (Headphone and Mic)
Microphone
· Frequency response : 50 Hz – 10 kHz
· Signal to Noise Ratio : 55 dB
· Sensitivity (@1kHz) : -42 dB +/-3 dB
· Pick Up pattern : Omni-Directional
Be sure to check out the official site for more info and to purchase your pair. The Hammerhead headphones release in August, 2013.
Game company Glu is set to launch their next zombie themed game, Zombies Ate My Friends, for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Mac. Welcome to Festerville, the most recent casualty of the zombie plague and as one of the few survivors, you must fend off undead hordes. Set-up safe houses, take to the streets and scavenge for supplies, weapons and other surprises. Complete quests to help the other townsfolk and explore the remains of a once normal town. Chart your own path as you interact with a cast of memorable characters and unravel the secrets of the Festerville invasion.
Welcome to Festerville, population 4,206 (mostly zombies). We hope you enjoy your visit: explore the town, take in the sights and sounds (mostly groaning), dine on whatever you can find, and get to know the locals (though we suggest you avoid the dead ones). For recreation, try combat: use what you find, or visit one of the town’s many weapon-crafting merchants for your choice of the finest hand-scavenged implements of zombie removal. If you decide to stay, we recommend you find one of our comfortable safe houses – but please remember to board the windows and doors. Have fun, and good hunting!
Zombies Ate My Friends is set to be released on iOS and Mac July 18th, with an Android version to follow soon after. For more info, visit the Glu Facebook page and check out the trailer below to begin your fight for survival.
Use the Linux-based Ubuntu OS and found yourself deeply disappointed that Wakfu wasn’t available for it? Well your prayers have been answered as Ankama Games have confirmed that Wakfu will now be available on Ubuntu for all of you Linuxians!
If you are using Ubuntu and want to get in on the Wakfu action you can do so now at the Ubuntu Site Directory here. Ankama Games have mentioned that they want to get as much feedback on the Ubuntu version of the game as possible, so if you download it be sure to leave a rating on the application in the Ubuntu software centre. You can alternatively download it directly from the Wakfu website here.
August 22, 2013 is the next date to book in your Neverwinter calendar as the upcoming free module “Fury of the Feywild” will be set to release. The free content will include the enchanted forests of Sharandar, new playable races – Sun and Moon Elves, and plenty of new items to collect/earn/trade. Jack Emmert, CEO of Cryptic Studios, had the following to say regarding the encroaching module:
We’re excited to announce the release date of our first free expansion — what we and D&D fans call a Module — for Neverwinter. Come August 22, we’re releasing our first expansion. That’s less than two months from launch; pretty cool. New and exciting content is at the heart of making and expanding a persistent world. Our goal is to deliver engaging and constant updates to our players so that they always have something new to discover in game. Fury of the Feywild is the first of many Modules to come in Neverwinter.
You have heard it yourself! Straight from the mouth of the CEO of Cryptic Studios. Only one of the “first of many Modules to come”, and you better believe with as much heat as this MMORPG is getting new mods won’t be too far in the future. Until then you can learn how to become a “Knight of the Feywild” by either tuning into the video below or simply clicking (here). Be ready to join the battle against King Malabog and his formidable ranks of fomorians!
Many Saints Row fans were shocked when they saw Johnny Gat die at the beginning of Saints Row III, and if that is a spoiler then try to keep up with games a little bit more, but they were slightly pleased by the fact that he could come back as an allied zombie.
Well it seems through some manner of retconning or other method, Johnny Gat will be appearing in Saints Row IV from Deep Silver. As you can see to the right, the official Saints Row twitter has tweeted out that Johnny Gat is back and considering the amount of bodies under him, he’ll be back at full capacity.
You can check out the latest trailer for GAT below.
Today perhaps one of the most unique looking JRPGs in recent memory has been released on the PlayStation 3 in North America. NIS America‘s Time and Eternity is now available for purchase now in North America, both physically and digitally.
The title follows the story of Toki who must travel back in time to prevent a disaster from occurring during her wedding and the entire game has been animated by Satelite, giving almost every element of the game an anime look. You can find my review for the title here, but it is worth noting that despite the score, it is still an intriguing game.
Mad Catz have recently announced that their new premium quality fighting game controller, Killer Instinct Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition (TE) 2 will launch this Holiday 2013. The fighting game franchise, Killer Instinct, developed by Microsoft and Double Helix, is coming exclusively to Xbox One with the first fighting game controller available for the new console.
Darren Richardson, President and CEO of Mad Catz stated, “E3 greeted us with a positive reaction to our Tournament Edition 2 FightStickand we’re pleased that the controller will provide passionate fans of Killer Instinct with an even richer gaming experience. We believe that Killer Instinct Tournament Edition 2 FightStick perfectly illustrates our commitment to the next generation of entertainment.”.
Mad Catz TE2 FightStick offers players an extensively designed and high-quality arcade controller, in addition to button mapping tuned specifically for the game and the official artwork of Killer Instinct.
Stay tuned with Capsule Computers for more information on the expected November release of Killer Instinct, alongside Xbox One!
DARK Developer: Realmforge Studios Publisher:Kalypso Platform: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PC Release Date: July 9, 2013 Price: $49.99 BUY NOW!
Overview
Back when it was first announced, the idea of DARK was something to get excited about. You see, I love modernized vampire flicks (aside from Twilight), but the console market has looked the other way for the genre, other than releasing a few duds over the years. Sure, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines had its time and cult following a good while ago on the PC, but this little market has gone untapped for the most part up until Kalypso’s latest. DARK blends together a stealth/action game with RPG elements, and attempts to grab the player with a tale of one man trying to find answers as he battles his bloodlust. How does it stand up? Let’s find out.
Story
Players jump right into DARK, taking the role of a newly turned vampire by the name of Eric Bane. Bane has no memory of how he turned or who his creator was, but soon finds out that if he does not drink the blood of his maker, he will be turned into a lifeless ghoul. This means that our motive for progression comes in the form of a rather solid plot, with one genuinely interesting protagonist surrounded by some one-dimensional allies and enemies.
As the player continues on their path, DARK commits a sin against itself and stretches out its own plot to make the game longer. This comes obvious as the player must traverse to other locations in order to find specific targets, and while padding can work in something like Mario, it does nothing but fill this promising vampire tale with way too many filler moments. If you have an awesome gameplay experience in-between, filler is perfectly fine. I mean, look at Darksiders II and even Mario (in another castle…is she?). Dark sadly doesn’t have gameplay that comes across as satisfying though, and that alone makes the narrative feel shallow and underwhelming compared to what it could have been if there were more strong points.
Gameplay
If I could compare DARK to any other title gameplay-wise, it would be Metal Gear Solid: The VR Missions. I say that because DARK does not have much else going for it than stealth, and while an ability tree adds a lot to the experience, this alone can make things feel rather repetitive. Each stage is made up of several areas, where the player must sneak by enemies in order to progress. To do this, a good number of abilities have been provided at Eric Bane’s disposal, to which he can make use of to sneak through a stage unharmed. The gimmickry of being a vampire is taken further, as these vampiric powers are the only weapons at your disposal, but that really is what makes DARK feel unique to start with – so I see that as a good thing. Sadly, a lot of these powers come off as useless to the player, with some failing entirely during the most chaotic of situations.
The Shadow Leap is your main power within the game, allowing the player to jump to another side of the stage at the press of a button. This means that if there are some menacing guards ahead, you could in theory jump behind them for a surprise attack, or leap to a ledge in order to get out of harm’s way. If only it were that easy. In order to execute this technique, the player must hit the shoulder button and control a reticule along ground to aim where you want to go. Every single time I would try to drag the reticule however, it bounced all over the floor and usually would teleport my character into danger. In a stealth title – even one with a super vampire of sorts – I don’t expect to be an expert in parkour, but not being able to master such a simple gameplay mechanic due to a faulty design was very frustrating, and one of the most glaring problems DARK has.
On the up side, the general core gameplay – while basic, is solid enough. The AI all have their set patterns that they patrol, and the player must sneak around or kill each target to get to the next. Bane has an ability wheel that he can utilize to execute special attacks and abilities to get around guards and thugs, which comes at a cost of Vitae. Think of Vitae as your mana bar of sorts, as it can be filled up by feeding on enemies, and empties out as these powers are performed. The abilities themselves include mind control, creating a distraction, or even regeneration for health purposes. There are plenty more, but many don’t prove useful due to the poor AI. In a lot of old stealth titles, we were used to a guard just staring at a wall for no reason whatsoever. DARK however has been released at a time where standards are higher, but still applies the archaic placement of enemies to each stage. This means that your general task for every stage will be to lure the enemy out, make a quick kill, and move on to the next. I even had some stages where I would intentionally step on glass to grab the attention of guards, and just by hugging a wall, I was able to take out ten as they trampled up stairs, clueless about their surroundings due to the dead bodies that would always grab their attention first.
Even with the option to upgrade powers and attacks, DARK fails to deliver. It does not matter if the game is clunky or has a few problems. That does not effect this review in the slightest, as my favorite game of all time is a budget title by the name of Deadly Premonition, and it is full of bugs and we all know that fun gameplay can make up for the minor frustration. The problem is that DARK is a vampire game with a protagonist that does not fit his role. Eric Bane is slow and lacks any type of agility. That is acceptable if you are playing as Snake, but when you have powers that almost demand speed and precise movement, it is simply not good enough.
Visuals and Audio DARK does do well when it comes to visuals, outside of the stages that is. The entire world and characters within are all cel-shaded, set in a dimly lit world during nights filled with neon lights and bright undertones. Yes, it is a pretty game to look at, but the animations are not nearly up to par with the scenery. As characters converse, mouth movements rarely match to the dialogue. The movements of characters during cutscenes and in the actual game are also stiff, making it hard to get behind any of the main cast as they attempt to portray emotion. Bane’s finest moments can be found when he is feeding or executing a kill as there are some nice animations to be seen there, but those alone do not cover up all of the same, bland design in the rest of the game.
The voice acting is well done within DARK, as the actors seemed to have really tried to bring these characters to life, making the non-expressive animations even more damning to the final product that was released. There is a good group of haunting melodies during the gameplay as well, staying under the radar to keep the player on their toes, and being replaced with the more up-tempo tracks when Bane is discovered. It makes for some intense moments, but again, without being the complete package, this is yet another mark missed.
Overall DARK is a game full of potential. The core gameplay engine works well enough, but sluggish character movements and the extra padding to the plot mess with the experience, making the player feel great restriction as they control what is supposed to be an all powerful being. Forget that bullets are killing vampires and all of the other plot holes. DARK is not nearly as enjoyable as it should be due to every room being a copy of the next, and every ability taking a hit due to the poor AI that require zero ingenuity from the player. Every now and then, a budget title will rise up and shock us, making us wait in angst for the next hidden gem. Sadly, DARK is not one of those games, but instead a hollow shell of what could have been something truly special.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
