EA has released the first official gameplay trailer for the current-generation versions (Xbox 360, PS3 and PC) of FIFA 14. The video can be viewed embedded at the bottom of this article.
It details the new features found within the latest instalment in the FIFA franchise, (which is also coming to next-generation consoles), from ‘Precision Movement’ and ‘Protect the Ball’ mechanics to the ‘Pure Shot’ and most realistic ‘Ball Physics’ to date. Of particular note, we see the step-based locomotion technology in place, it’s development partially based on the recreation of the biometrics of real-world athletes. Accelerating/decelerating, changing direction, pivoting, cutting, planting and shifting momentum is now more precise and realistic, with each step a player makes taking into account their speed and positioning.
You can pre-order FIFA 14here. We are expecting (and look forward) to see footage from the next-gen versions at EA’s E3 press conference. Stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all future updates.
Overview
The “Mario vs Donkey Kong” series has evolved a lot over the years, allowing us to experience a more puzzle themed journey with our two favorite Nintendo mascots while trying to save the Princess all over again. Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move takes the namesake in a different direction, using one different but still familiar formula, and breaking it up into four different modes that offer something new to keep the player invested. Are these wind-up Marios starting to show some rust, or is this digital version just what we needed to see out of our beloved set of Nintendo toys? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
The old Mario vs Donkey Kong titles always required the player to find a way to get their toys to the destination by controlling the environment. Minis on the Move stays consistent in that approach, but uses a more accessible design for newer players to latch on to. If you have ever played Pipe Mania, Pipe Dream, or even completed those little hacking activities in Bioshock, you will be instantly at home here, as the entire game utilizes those types of mechanics to complete your goal.
The main mode (and I use that term lightly due to the heavy amount of content within each) titled “Mario’s Main Event” has a small Mini-Mario waddle out of a pipe. On the bottom screen, a green warp pipe is also in place beside a more vanilla version of the map up top. As the player starts, a timer begins and you must catch tiles as they fall into the structure using the touch screen, and attach them to the map to build a course for our toy to safely traverse. Sure, it sounds simple, but that timer is constantly ticking and once more than five pieces fill the pipe, it is game over. This means the player must be on their toes and have a ready eye for the correct piece at all times. The stages themselves are rather bite size, but come in great numbers so just like a lot of current mobile titles, there is always a more complex puzzle that awaits right after your current victory.
As stages are beaten, new mechanics enter the equation in an attempt to stump the player. Starting out, the player will simply be guiding their Mini-Mario toy to the star by connecting a path. As the game progresses, springs, enemies, and more pits enter the mix, making it more difficult to simply place pieces without thought. Yes, this means you get to use your brain in a tense, timed situation, but the charm of Minis on the Move keeps the atmosphere joyous enough make the experience pleasing, allowing the player to have many successes and failures as they quickly shift tiles. Bombs are also a big factor, as now and then an explosive will show up that can destroy a tile that was already set on the screen. Now, it does help to blow up an unnecessary piece, but you must do so with caution as bombs are rather rare, and one wrong placement of any tile will lead you to a game over in no time.
I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say I wasn’t frustrated from time to time with Mario’s Main Event, as the timing of pieces and shape of the tile path on each can feel like luck a good portion of the time, meaning you might not get the next area of the path during your turn due to the falling tiles being of random design. Thankfully however, there is more than enough tools to get rid of bad tiles, so with a little patience and perseverance, Mini-Mario will be happily at that star and ready to continue on.
The best mode in the game is without a doubt Puzzle Palace, which bares a Princess Peach theme and comes with lower stress attached due to your needed pieces already being available from the start. It is kind of odd how that makes the experience more enjoyable, but with a few added mechanics and different level designs, it is this mode that quickly becomes the standout of the download. Many Mini Mayhem is also fun, creating a bit of chaos with the task of leading multiple Toads to their destination, but with the catch of swapping tiles on the map that are already placed by default. These two modes may not be the “Main Event”, but certainly allow the user to tap into some creativity without strain.
The mode to avoid sadly comes with the big Kong himself. I hate even saying that this mode is avoidable, but I just did not enjoy “Giant Jungle” much at all. Much like Mario’s Main Event, this mode has the player control a wind-up DK’s destination to the finish on a huge map with a hefty number of tiles. The timer is back, as is the pipe full of tiles – and due to the sheer size of the map, the journey has only intensified this time around. If this large map was present in a mode without a timer or the whole limited time aspect, there might have been a lot to enjoy within Giant Jungle. However, that is not the case as one wrong move means you must complete the giant puzzle all over again. It’s frustrating, and just seems like a miss compared to the delightful puzzle solving found elsewhere.
As for replay value, there is still a ton to be found. As I mentioned, there are a ton of stages to complete (over 180 in all), and each have coins that can be collected by setting up the appropriate path. This means you might just want to retry that level, even if you got to the destination just to get the colorful loot. For an incentive, Nintendo have added the ability to win toys and play a few mini-games as a reward for completion, but these offerings lack much substance and only offer a mild distraction from the main experience. Sure, I like polishing a statue of a new toy and there is a feeling of accomplishment to that collect them all scenario, but these rewards only go so far and don’t do much to broaden the actual gameplay due to the mini-games being forgettable party fare.
Visuals and Audio
The visuals in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move are rather basic in 2D, but come in full effect while playing in 3D. You see, each map allows the player to rotate it to get better perspectives. While in 3D, this little feature adds more depth to the playing field, and makes the lovable little toys come to life even more as they hobble about. There isn’t a ton of detail when it comes to the artwork, but since we are dealing with toys, that isn’t much of a problem as the vibrant colors and solid shapes do enough to set a chipper mood.
The soundtrack is fairly basic and even a tad uninspired compared to most Nintendo fare, but still chipper enough to come off as enjoyable. To be honest, it is the little familiar voice acting of Mario and Company that makes the sound, with the addition of small squeaks and wind-ups that give off the charms of these little robotic characters. As I said, this doesn’t have the full budget of a bigger first party Nintendo title, but it has the heart – and that is really all that matters when you are dealing with Mario.
Overall
The Mario vs DK franchise has grown a lot over the years, and while it does fit into the line of portable titles, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move isn’t quite as imaginative as it’s predecessors. For just under ten bucks however, Nintendo have created a well-rounded package full of clever puzzles, accessible gameplay, and all of the Mario goodness that one could ask for that is just right for the eShop. Go ahead, set a path – as these little minis are well worth the investment.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
We’ve seen a very tiny sampling of what Fairy Fencer F will look like thanks to a teaser trailer of Tiara in action and a handful of screenshots so far, but besides the few main characters revealed so far, little is known about what Fairy Fencer F will have to offer.
Well today Compile Heart released some new screenshots of the game which not only show off some of the game’s combat and dialogue sections, but also a new character named Harler. Harler is being described as a mad scientist who often becomes absorbed in her research and cares little for her outward appearance, which may explain why she’s wearing such a revealing top.
Over the last few weeks Compile Heart has been releasing promotional videos for Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP focusing on each of the CPUs from Hyperdimension Neptunia performing a song and dance. We’ve seen Neptune, Noire, and Blanc so far and today the company closed out CPUs with Vert/Green Heart. It is unknown if the CPU Candidates will be included in this game, so we may see some more videos in the future.
Anyways, the video can be seen below and it features Vert performing the song “HP ∞ Love Power” (idol dance ver.) with her voice actress Rina Satou handling the singing. As for the game itself it is set to be released on June 20th in Japan while NIS America has so far been silent regarding a possible Western release of the game.
Sparkle 2 Developer:10tons Ltd. Publisher: 10tons Ltd. Platforms: iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) – Reviewed on iPad Release Date: 5th June 2013 Price: $2.99 – Available Here
Overview As the sequel and spiritual successor to the original Sparkle iOSgame, is Sparkle 2 more of the same or another blast of fun? It’s time to dust off the Slinger and find out.
Story Though the gameplay is simple, there is an apparent plotline looming in the background, pushing you to march onwards. Long ago, five enchanted keys were created and it was said that, when combined, they unlocked something of great value. Due to this, the keys were scattered across the land. Throughout time, many have looked for the keys and none have succeeded. Being the player, it is naturally your destiny to find the five keys of legend and claim your prize, without losing your soul to the obsession of a pointless quest.
Gameplay Though there is a dark plotline present, there is a fair amount of gameplay and story segregation within Sparkle 2. You control the Slinger, simply tap an area to fire the coloured marble currently loaded, match up groups of three and they disappear. You are also given the option of swapping the current marble with the one behind it, this is where the strategy begins. Occasionally the marble you are given is of little help as the cascade of colour flows towards the end of the course, and therefore the end of the level. As the game progresses, the tracks get more complicated, twisting around each other and even moving on different heights. As the marbles move in front of each other, it becomes harder to match up pairs as your options are slowly but surely blocked, giving you less time to make even more decisions.
Where would a game be without powerups? For every third or so combo, the game produces a powerup relic. These range from altering the colour of the remaining marbles, to a supercharged blast that decimates everything in its path. These powerups are a great help during the levels and as the game progresses, they pretty much become necessary to win. As you complete more levels, another type of powerup is unlocked. These “Enchantments” provide a number of functions from acting as upgrades to the Slinger itself, altering the difficulty of courses and even unlocking other features, such as the classic Survival Mode.
Visuals and Audio Sparkle 2 definitely has a contrast in its visuals. The background and overall theme of the world is dark. The game plays out along the trails of a shadowy forest, locked in night and home to abandoned windmills and statues that reach out to the sky (literally, it’s a statue of an arm). Amidst the perils of this dangerous world are your key to survival, brightly coloured marbles that explode into pretty sparkles. The blue, red, green and yellow onslaught of colour that rolls across the brown, blacks and dark greens of the background are a definite contrast.
The overworld theme music has an almost majestic quality to it, adding to the mystical purpose of your marble matching journey. During the levels themselves, the soundtrack has a definite fairy tale feel to it, though more upbeat than the overworld theme. Both pieces of music create a unique feeling, somewhere between innocent fun and looming danger. At certain points during the game, when receiving a key, a single frame “cutscene” appears complete with foreboding narration by an ominous deep voiced man.
Overall Sparkle 2 is a great iOS game. It’s relatively simple and a whole lot of fun to play. Though the storyline is not really important, the game likes to constantly remind you that there is one. Although it is somewhat unnecessary, in the end it doesn’t take away from the gameplay and that’s what matters most. All in all it’s a fun iOS game and a great way to lose time, playing for way longer than you may set out to.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
How about a free-to-play MMO to go with that Playstation 4? Today, it was announced that Planetside 2 would be headed to the Playstation 4, bringing the popular PC franchise to consoles. A new trailer that you can watch below was released today for the game, and things are looking rather nice for the big move to a new platform.
I find it interesting looking at the comments on the trailer that the audience is so split, to be honest. On one side, you have Sony loyals who are more than happy to see this title come to the PS4. On the other side, you have disgruntled fans of the PC title who are more than vocal about why they do not want to see this port even take place. For now however, Sony have just placed a big foot in the door for their upcoming “war” of sorts with Microsoft, and it will be interesting to see how things play out with the fans. Grab some popcorn folks, as E3 just got more interesting.
Sony and Naughty Dog have released a new featurette ahead of the release of their PS3 exclusive The Last of Us, on June 14th. Called ‘Nature Encroaches’, it focuses on the science behind the game.
More specifically, the video – which can be viewed embedded at the bottom of this article – examines the Cordyceps fungi, which infects humans and causes the obliteration of 90% of the world’s population in The Last of Us. David Hughes, a Disease Biologist and Assistant Professor of Entomology and Biology at Penn State University walks us through a lesson on the fungi’s real-life behaviour and M.O., before asking the question: “could it indeed jump to humans?” Check out this interesting vision for the answer.
We are currently playing The Last of Us for review and will have it up in the coming days. In the meantime, you can read our hands-on preview of two levels: Lincoln and Pittsburgh.
It has been revealed that Square Enix will be holding a special media only meeting that will focus on what the company is calling the “Future of Final Fantasy.” The event will take place before E3 2013 and press questions will be answered by senior vice president Shinji Hashimoto.
It is currently unknown what type of details could be revealed during this Q&A session, but it is worth noting that Square did mention that they would be announcing something Final Fantasy related during Sony’s presentation during E3 this year and that will occur before this question session. Of course, with the roads Square Enix is currently traveling, gamers may want to be concerned.
Well that changed today when Tecmo Koei released their first full trailer for the game which can be seen below. Currently Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemist of Dusk Sky is set to be released in Japan on June 27th. As far as a Western release is concerned, Tecmo Koei has not announced anything as of yet, but with E3 coming up soon, perhaps we’ll see some sort of announcement then.
Today Ubisoft released their E3 trailer for South Park: The Stick of Truth and if it looks familiar, there is good reason for that. It just so happens that this video below is a retooled version of the one we were shown back in 2012 except at that time, the game was still being made under THQ’s label.
Regardless of how new this footage is, it only helps drive home the fact this game is highly anticipated by the gaming community and it is good to see Ubisoft putting some promo material out there. Currently South Park: The Stick of Truth is set to be released later this year on current-gen consoles and PC.
