Both Redheads, both samurai, both added to the Shonen Jump line-up.
The last thing we heard about J-Stars Victory Vs was that Naruto was added to the line-up for this “Jump Ultimate Stars-esq“, PS3/PS Vita, fighter, well now we can say for sure that two more characters have been added; Ichigo Kurosaki from the series Bleach and Kenshin Himura from the series Rurouni Kenshin. It is really no surprise that these two guys were added. Shonen Jump knows what it’s doing when it comes to mix-em-up fighting games so I think they’re just leaving us in some elongated suspense as they slowly, slowly give us little chestnuts of information.
So the line-up so far is: Goku from Dragon Ball, Toriko from Toriko, Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach and Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin. It’s not a bad roster but it’s still early days and I can see so many more characters added. I’m hoping that this “Ultimate Jump Game” is like a next generation version of Jump Ultimate/Super Stars and I think a lot of people will agree with me.
Namco Bandai will be launching this game for the PS3 and the PS Vita, we’re not sure exactly when and considering the lack of info on it I doubt it’ll be for a while but keep your eyes on the site for more updates on this as they come through and don’t forget to hit up our comments section to tell us what you think or to speculate in general.
Lune is joining The Capsule Computers Indie Bundle, expanding the bundle to twelve fantastic indie games. Players will take control of the moon in what developers describe as “a game about reflection and solitude.” The Lune alpha is now available to all buyers, including those who have already purchased The Capsule Computers Indie Bundle. The game is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Be sure to check out the official Facebook page for Lune.
After having completed the Pokémon National Championships 2013, the European competitors have found their positions in the different divisions. With 3 divisions divided by age (Junior, Senior, and Masters) for both the Trading Card Game and Video Game, the competitors faced off in Swiss pairings to ensure that each participant would have plenty of games to prove themselves. While players in the TCG faced off with their cards, those in the Video Game used Pokémon Black and White 2 on Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo DS to battle each other.
The top winners in the National Championships have won invitations and Travel Awards to be able to compete in the Pokémon World Championships this year to be held in August in Vancouver, Canada. Here they will be facing the top Pokémon players from across the world including U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, and across Europe. Who will be the very best? We’ll all find out in August.
Classic adventure game Syberia 1 is coming to iTunes! The game was originally published by Microids, on the PC, and will be published by Big Fish Games. The game features Kate, a young lawyer who must untangle the will of a French manufacturing estate’s owner. She is thrust into a fantastical mechanical world as she hunts for the missing heir to the fortune.
Syberia 1 is being split into three parts for its iOS release. Syberia 1 – Part 1 is available for iPhone and iPod Touch for $1.99 and for iPad for $4.99. Both versions of the game feature free demos, with the full game being unlocked as in app purchases.
Monster understand that people sweat when working out. Mother nature intended it that way, and the results of not sweating during intense physical exertion is potentially dangerous. However, sweat tends to make things gross, including headphones. Monster‘s new iSport line of headphones are sweat-proof and can be washed in the washing machine after the workout.
The top of the line iSport Victory features high quality sound without digging into the inner ear. The patented ear pipe design provides excellent sound quality and noise isolation with the Omnitip. The Victory will stay put during the most intense workouts with Monster’s earhooks. The headphones are priced at $189 AUD.
The iSport Intensity are specially designed headphones that provide excellent sound quality, low level of sound leakage, and lets in ambient noise. This is an important safety feature for runners, joggers, and cyclists who often share the road with other vehicles. The iSport Intensity is priced at $129 AUD.
Finally, the iSport Strive rounds out the line. The headphones also allow ambient noise in like its more expensive sibling with high quality sound at a more affordable $99.
The iSport line of headphones will be available at Harvey Norman and select JB HiFi stores in August.
Just because Toki Tori 2+ will be coming to Steam next month doesn’t mean that developer Two Tribes will be forgetting all about the Wii U version time soon. In fact, thanks to some great artists on the Wii U Miiverse making some amazing black and white pictures, the devs have decided to hold a contest to put 4 fan drawings into Toki Tori 2.
The contest will go for 4 weeks, each week have a different topic for artists to depict. Using that topic as a basis, artists just need to draw it on the Wii U Miiverse, post it to the Toki Tori 2 community, and comment on the drawing with #contest to make it eligible. If the drawing collects enough Yeahs, the drawing will be added to that weeks Top 10, which the devs will choose one from to put into the game. The contest has just started, so for this first week the topic is “Can you draw an imaginary friend for Toki Tori?”
This first week will last until June 11th when the winner of that week will be announced and the next week will begin with a new topic. Players wanting a bit more information on the contest can find it HERE and those wanting to check out how good Toki Tori 2 is can find our review HERE.
Listen up Saints Row fans, Deep Silver has announced the massive collector’s edition of Saints Row IV, or rather the Super Dangerous Wub Wub Edition.
And in Saints style – it does not disappoint.
Included in the Super Dangerous Wub Wub edition is your very own real life 12 inch Dubstep gun, taken straight out of the game itself the high quality replica plays filthy bass tunes and a laser sight.
But that’s not all, the collector’s edition also includes an 8 inch Johnny Gat Memorial Statue and your own pocket-sized Dubstep Doomsday Button.
The Saints Row IV Collector’s Edition: the Super Dangerous Wub Wub Edition also includes all in-game bonuses included from the Commander in Chief pre-order bonus, such as the Screaming Eagle VTOL that fires rockets out of its talons, a limited-edition American-iconic ‘Uncle Sam’ uniform, and the epic and patriotic ‘Merica gun.
Saints Row IV elevates the series to new super powered heights, as Third Street Saints and President of the free world fight off an alien invasion. And it’s up to you and your gang to save the world.
The Super Dangerous Wub Wub Edition of Saints Row IV will set you back $99.99 and is now available for preorder, but only as long as supplies last.
Saints Row IV will be released on August 20 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
While the Kickstarter campaign for the successor to Eternal Darkness is soon to vanish, those eagerly awaiting the game, entitled Shadow of the Eternals have nothing to fear. Despite a very slow uptake in financial backing, the games developer, Precursor, have announced some “exciting new developments”, that require the campaign to be scratched and rebuilt with these new ideas in mind.
Precursor explains via their website, “Since we announced this Kickstarter campaign we have seen more support from our community than we had ever hoped for. Along with this support has come a host of a new exciting opportunities that will make the game better than we envisioned. As a result, we have chosen to temporarily take down the Shadow of the Eternals crowdfunding campaigns on both Kickstarter and our own website.”
“This doesn’t mean we are going away – far from it. We’ll be re-launching the Kickstarter in just a few short weeks with a reveal of these exciting new developments.” Let’s hope this project does come to fruition, as anyone familiar with the original NintendoGameCube title will testify to experiencing a perfect blend of psychological horror, mixed with intense action and a well thought out intriguing storyline.
14 Days, 12 Hours and counting…this is the countdown to our functional extinction. Support Crisis Zero, together, and we can spread awareness and survival tips to help each other survive the upcoming pandemic.
Visit the www.CrisisZero.comhub, ‘Like’ to show your support, recruit friends to join you in the safe zone and follow @CrisisZero2013 to stay up to date on the global situation. Directly below are some broadcasts from a neighbour in New Zealand, aiming to provide an effective survival guide. Also, embedded at the bottom of the article is footage of a “HELP” message spotted in South East Asia, proving that the threat is making its way to Australia, and fast!
FUSE Developer:Insomniac Games Publisher:EA Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Release Date:May 31, 2013 Price:$59.95 – Available Here
Overview
What do you get when you ‘fuse’ the best qualities of some of the action game genre into one neat and tidy package? Well the result of that particular ‘fusion’ is none other than Insomniac Games’ FUSE, a game that takes nods from several other titles but all the while etching its own unique identity. While it is easy to overlook FUSE as a mash-up of things we have seen before, it is so much more than that, it is an uniquely Insomniac game that is every bit as fresh as it is wildly fun. FUSE is at once both familiar and unlike anything we have seen before. Insomniac Games have done it again, FUSE is truly special, it’s a genuine diamond in the rough.
Gameplay
The third-person shooter genre has without a doubt grown stale over the years, with most games simply tasking players with taking out hordes of enemies over and over again until a screen pops up saying that you have finished the level. Most games in the genre repeat this process from start to finish without an level of variety in between. FUSE deviates from that formula significantly by introducing a number of gameplay elements from other genres creating a delightful fusion of gameplay that in lesser hands would be a awful mess, but in the hands of Insomniac is utterly brilliant.
FUSE is best described as fluid frenetic fun. It mixes a variety of gameplay elements into quite the tasty gaming cocktail. On the surface it is a mere third-person shooter but it is far more deeper than that. With a focus on pure fun, Insomniac have taken the best elements of the action game genre and made a game out of them, that is what FUSE is; balls to the wall fun. All of these elements we have come to know and love are taken in exciting new directions here in FUSE and given a new lease on life in a new light.
There is a sense of chaotic pleasure that comes with playing FUSE that is simply delightful, regardless of what gameplay mode you are playing there is a great deal of fun to be had from it due to the variation in the gameplay on display in FUSE.
FUSE’s single’s player and cooperative campaign modes are the game’s bread and butter. Both experiences are simultaneously straight forward yet pleasantly complex affairs that provide players with a lot to see and do in the world of FUSE. The campaign features a plethora of gameplay types reminiscent of third-person shooter experiences such as Gears of Wars and action adventure titles like Assassin’s Creed. There is even hints of Borderlands and Mass Effect on show here in the RPG aspects.
The campaign begins as you’d expect with everything going wrong for our heroes Overstrike 9. Slowly but surely we begin to uncover the mysteries of the world and become embroiled in a conflict regarding an alien compound simply known as fuse. It is a simple story that unfolds in unexpected ways. We see these four distinct characters develop over the course of the story all of which concludes in a way that is both satisfying and cathartic.
Each character has their own characteristics and unique skills which set them apart and encourage players to play the game strategically and make use of the game’s ‘Leap’ function. The ‘Leap function is a truly ingenius gameplay mechanic that allows you to switch between any of the four playable characters on the fly with a simple press of a button. Through this you can work on leveling and developing each character in Overstrike 9 and getting to know each on more deeper level by taking control of them. You can upgrade their skills much like in and RPG game, gaining different abilities along the way. The skill tree itself is well designed and gives players an incentive to improve each character. The best part of it though is that all experience and development earned crosses over through all game modes, so if you train up in single-player you retain that development in multiplayer, it works a real treat.
Not only that but each has their own special fuse-based weapon that they get early on in the game, each of which fits with the character’s skill-set. For example Dalton’s mag-shield perfectly complements his tank-like characteristics, likewise Jacob’s arc-shot suits his long-range sensibility.
There is even greater variety than just that in FUSE, with the level structures being very different from your average third-person shooter. Each level is set within vastly different environments, be it a jungle-like setting, an underground military facility or snowy mountains. Instead of simple bombarded players with enemies one after the other there is down time in between fights that not only makes each combat section feel important and fresh but also allowing players to soak in the world of FUSE and explore the wonders of it all.
This downtime in between combat is accomplished through exploration segments that implement climbing mechanics reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed. These climbing mechanics provide a sense of place to the world of FUSE and allow you to absorb in the setting instead of worrying about shooting enemies. This was a very smart decision from Insomniac to include these climbing aspects as it adds to the overall fluidity of the game, these places feel real and if you see it you most likley can climb on it, jump over it, hang off it or just plain do about whatever you so very well please. It is fluid and it works so very well. It achieves a balance between combat and exploration that makes FUSE so incredible.
Besides the single-player mode, there is also the multiplayer mode Echelon, which is a real challenge to say the very least. It works similarly to Gears of Wars’ horde mode but instead of simply plowing through enemies you are given a variety of objectives to complete all the while working cooperatively with your team mates in order to achieve that goal. Objectives include players being faced with an enemy to defeat, protecting a position, capturing a position, capturing a cargo drop, transporting a fuse cell and even deadset domination of an entire army of enemies.
It is far from your standard multiplayer mode and I must say that Echelon may just be the most addictive multiplayer experience in quite some time. There is so much fun to be here and that is a something that really something that can be said about all of FUSE, it is pure fun, no holds barred entertainment at its best.
Visuals and Audio
Aesthetically FUSE is a very appealing game, it is simultaneously vibrant and gritty, much like its gameplay being a unique fusion of familiar visuals which when combined makes for something ultimately fresh. The art is refined but with a cartoon silliness to it that complements the gameplay perfectly. It has that action movie feel to it that fits FUSE like a glove. It’s rich and detailed giving the game a sense of place and a unique atmosphere that sets FUSE apart from the pack. It is a really impressive outing graphics-wise for Insomniac Games, they retain what makes them Insomniac all the while reaching to new heights.
The game features an equally impressive soundtrack, comprised of action movie ready tunes that adds to the on screen action in ways that few video-game soundtracks ever do. It is a memorable soundtrack to say the least and it all works to create an atmosphere and vibe that serves FUSE admirably.
Overall FUSE is ultimately a fresh take on a genre gone stale. By focusing on pure fun, FUSE takes the best elements of the genre ‘fuses’ it all together and becomes something that we haven’t seen in a long time, a game that puts fun first and everything else second. FUSE may not be perfect, but if you take the chance on it, you will undoubtedly find it to be a thoroughly entertaining game with an honest heart underneath it all that can only come from Insomniac Games.
FUSE is a game that remembers why people play games to begin with – to simply have fun. For that alone FUSE succeeds where so many other games fail. FUSE is explosive fun and if you aren’t playing it, you are missing out – FUSE is fantastic.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
