Yesterday it was revealed in Famitsu that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate would see the addition of Ein, Hayate’s amnesiac alter ego and Virtua Fighter’s Jacky Bryant. Today the company chose to reveal how the characters will look in the game and a snapshot of them fighting already existing characters.
Jacky takes on Christie while Ein takes on Hitomi, which is a bit ironic considering their history together. It is currently unknown how many more characters will be announced before the game is released in Japan on September 5th, but with the previously announced Momiji, the roster has seen three additions so far.
Zombie Fish Tank Developer: Aidem Media Publisher: Chillingo Platform: iPad (Reviewed), iPhone, iPod Touch Release Date: May 23rd, 2013 Price: $0.99 – Available Here
Overview
In the illustrious career of the zombie disease, zombie-ism has affected humans, dogs, crows, and now fish. Zombie Fish Tank stars a fish looking to predate his way up to the top of the food chain and seek revenge on the people that turned him undead.
Story
Zombie Fish Tank’s basic premise is that our hero has been subject to many cruel experiments that eventually resulted in his zombification. Now, our yellow scaled friend is off to grow larger and larger while he seeks revenge on the humans. First, he must survive the insane creatures the lab has produced. The plot is a little light, but serves as a good enough reason why we should sate our zombie fish’s insatiable appetite. The game does have many witty little pieces of writing scattered through the game, which is a pleasure to read. Some of it is genuinely laugh out loud to read.
Gameplay
The core mechanic in Zombie Fish Tank is to eat smaller fish while avoiding larger fish. Getting eaten will result in game over. Once a certain amount of prey is devoured, the zombie fish grows in size and the hunter now becomes the hunted. After devouring a fish, there is a random chance that a can drops that contains power ups, debuffs, or radioactive material called Zomboil. Zomboil serves as in game currency. The game is composed of forty levels split into ten zones. Each zone composes of three normal levels and a boss fight. Each normal level has three optional tasks that need to be completed that add an extra level of difficulty to the game.
With in-game currency, players are able to buy a variety of limited use power ups, new in-game power ups, and a variety of fish that can be placed into a fish tank to provide a stat boost for the player. Eight fish can be placed in the tank at any time, but there are 81 different fish to purchase. Many of these are either more potent versions of previous fish or have the same stats as other fish, allowing players some leeway to pick the best looking fish while still able to stack certain stats.
I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay of Zombie Fish Tank. The boss fights were an interesting change of pace, and some were downright difficult. The prey/predator mechanic is a lot of fun. However, Zombie Fish Tank is one of the few games where the motion controls are by far superior to the touch controls. The gyro controls can be re-centred at any time with a quick double tap of the screen. The motion controls were very responsive and accurate. On the other hand, the touch controls were extremely clumsy. Using the touch controls required very fine movements to control the zombie fish. Even then, half the time I felt I wasn’t really controlling the zombie fish so much as I was encouraging him in a certain direction and eventually he would eventually fling himself that way.
Visuals
Zombie Fish Tank is a done in a slick 2d animated style. There is a large assortment of mutated fish, ranging from monstrously cute to completely strange looking, that help provide a nice visual variety to the game. The backgrounds manage to be full of life without being distracting to the gameplay. The in game UI is well designed, but I found the menus to be visually busy. This gave a cluttered feel to the menu that I do not like.
Audio
The audio in Zombie Fish Tank is rather average. The music is a little on the generic side, but is pleasant enough to listen to. The sound effects are a little lacking; there is only a small handful of chomping sound effects. I would have preferred to see more variety in the chomping noise as it is such an important mechanic of the game. Players won’t be missing much by playing with the sound off.
Overall
Zombie Fish Tank is a good game. It combines snappy writing with a fun predator/prey mechanic. The visuals are excellent, but the audio side is a little lacking. The touch controls could be improved, but it is thankfully eclipsed by the fantastic gyroscope controls. For $0.99, you really can’t go wrong with Zombie Fish Tank.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
If you’ve been waiting to pick up Telltale Games‘ Poker Night 2 because you were anticipating the game’s release on the iOS then you are in luck. Today Telltale launched the game onto the app store for $4.99 where it is available for both the iPad and iPhone, though it is worth noting that the game is only compatible with iPad 2, iPhone 4 and up.
If you haven’t heard, Telltale Games’ Poker Night 2 lets players play poker against Borderlands’ CLaptrap, The Venture Bros’ Brock Samson, Sam from Sam & Max and Ash Williams from the Evil Dead series’ Army of Darkness. Those interested in learning more about whether the game is worth picking up or not can find our review of the PC version here.
With yesterdays announcement of the Xbox One it should come as no surprise that games announced for the next-gen PS4 are also being announced for Microsoft’s latest media device. Today Square Enix has announced that Eidos Montreal’s reboot of the Thief franchise, simply called Thief, will also be heading to the Xbox One as well as the PlayStation 4 and the PC sometime in 2014.
While little has been shown for the title so far, those who want to learn more about the game and keep up with everything about it can check out Thief’s official website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube pages to stay up to the minute on all Thief news.
Just in time to release alongside the flick, Fast & Furious: Showdown has hit consoles and is ready to take us all on a spin. This video game adaptation puts players behind the wheel with all of the excitement from the flicks, and has popped up suddenly on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Here are the details of what to expect:
Fast & Furious: Showdown takes some of the franchise’s iconic characters on a high-stakes adventure around the globe that delivers takedowns, heists, hijacks and havoc. Players can switch roles with their AI partners or team up with a friend for two-person local co-op. Completed objectives unlock new vehicle performance and customisation options to make each player’s ride unique. A bonus Challenge Mode and online leaderboards let players pit their strength, speed and skills against competition from all around the world.
Sounds rather interesting, and those who are fans of the franchise might want to think about dishing out the dough to interact with the overall experience. Yes, it’s licensed, but with the lore involved, there are sure to be a few out there who are ready to take it to the streets.
If you’ve been thinking about picking up Platinum Games’ Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance then you may want to wait a second before running out to the store to buy it. Today Konami announced that the game has been given a special “Ultimate Edition” on the PlayStation Network.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Ultimate Edition is currently available for download on the PSN for $63.99 and it comes with the game itself, the Jetstream Sam and Blade Wolf DLC packs that were released since the game was released, a free VR mission pack and the various pre-order bonuses of Cyborg Ninja Armor Skin, METAL GEAR SOLID 4 Raiden Skin, Commando Armor Skin, White Armor Skin, Inferno Armor Skin. Currently there is no word if this Ultimate Edition will come to the 360 in any form.
Black Forest Games, the indie studio that brought you the lovely Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams in March, has begun teasing their next project called Ravensdale.
Heralded as their next Kickstarter project, the team will be releasing one image that’s part of a bigger picture over the next eight days leading up to the reveal on May 30. The formal announcement will be held on June 1 at RPC Cologne.
As you noticed, the first puzzle piece is that hefty big axe up there which suggests a fantasy or medieval setting for the game. The gritty title is described as a “over the top smash em’, shoot em’, bash em’” co-op multiplayer platformer. Be sure to keep an eye out as we reveal more of Ravensdale in the coming days!
Check out the game’s Facebook page and the team’s website in the meantime.
Nordic Games, the publishing company behind games like Painkiller, Torchlight, and the upcoming game The Raven, have announced today that they’ll be releasing ArcaniA: The Complete Tale to the PlayStation 3 on May 31.
Initially released for Windows PC and Xbox 360, Arcania: The Complete Tale will combine ArcaniA Gothic 4 together with the Fall of Setarrif expansion pack adding a whopping 10 hours of gameplay to the original story.
Set in a rich fantasy world, ArcaniA is an action RPG that invites players to immerse themselves and explore the rich world. Both gameplay and the game world will be affected by the weather, which is accompanied by fantastic atmospheric music and top-of-the-line sound effects.
For more information, be sure to check out the game’s official website here.
UFO Interactive Games, the folks that brought you Way of the Samurai III, Raiden IV, and more, are bringing you a third-person shooter for the Xbox Live Arcade dubbed Scourge: Outbreak.
Developed by Tragnarion Studios, the upcoming shooter will be releasing for the Xbox Live Arcade on July 3, 2013. The game features a raw, gritty, futuristic squad-based game built on Unreal Engine 3. It pits the veteran mercenaries of Echo Squad against the Nogari Corporation, their sworn enemies. Echo squad will have to go behind enemy lines to save a double agent and recover a mysterious meteorite fragment.
Originally released for PC in 2010, Scourge: Outbreak marks the debut of the massively overhauled The Scourge Project: Episodes 1 & 2. Key features to the new and improved game include:
Up to 4-Player Co-op Campaign with 6+ hours of gameplay
4 Playable Characters, each with different weapon handling stats and a distinct combination of Special Abilities
Unique character-specific flashbacks that reveal critical past events, and shed a new light on the game’s story
XP system to track your experience and unlock powerful gameplay rewards in Campaign AND Multiplayer
Squad AI for groups with less than 4 Players
Quick-Order-System (QOS) for rapid deployment of squad-members
9 Weapons, plus multiple variants of each to suit your style of play
Up to 8 Players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture-The-Flag multiplayer Versus modes in 5 action-packed maps!
Leaderboards for competing with friends and other Players around the world!
Challenging Achievements to unlock
For more information, be sure to check out the trailer video below. You can also check out the official website for the game here.
Finally after a gruelling wait, comic book and superhero fans around the world are beginning their countdowns, as in just three short weeks Superman finally soars back onto the big screen in “Man of Steel“. The movie had garnered considerable buzz even before the casting was official, as it was announced that David S. Goyer (Dark Knight Trilogy) was writing the screenplay, Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) was sitting in the directors chair, and Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception) would be acting as producer.
Through the course of the film’s production Warner Brothers has met the fan enthusiasm by providing a plethora of updates, tweets, set pictures, posters and trailers all to keep us informed and hungry for more. It seems like every few days there has been something to remind us how much we really want to see this movie. Today WB dropped the latest of these morsels on us in the form of a new full-length trailer. The trailer features General Zod (Michael Shannon) calmly demanding that the people of Earth hand over Kal-El/Superman (Henry Cavill) within 24 hours, or “face the consequences.”
If you are anything like me, this new trailer on top of everything else will have you counting down the days until Man of Steel’s June 14th release date. For those playing at home it is 22 days at time of posting (If you are in Australia, we don’t get the film until June 27th, so it is 41 days). If you just can’t wait that long for your Superman fix, then check out the awesome new animated film Superman Unbound which is based on the 2008 story-arc: Superman: Brainiac.
Check out the trailer below, and be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the news about Man of Steel leading up to its release. Until then lets just hope we don’t have to;
“Kneel Before Zod!”
– General Zod, Superman II (1980)
