Today Atlus released nine new screenshots for their soon to be released 3DS exclusive Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. With only a couple of weeks until the game is released in North America, the company chose to focus on the game’s battle system with these images.
As you can see, players are able to give commands to their demons as they fight against other demons as well as answer various questions posed by their enemies in the hopes of convincing one of the enemies to possibly join their side. Anyways, expect to see Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers on April 16.
Magrunner is still coming along, so today developer 3AM Games and publisher Focus Home Interactive have released some more screenshots to show off just what kinds of things players can expect to encounter. From scientist NPCs, to sleek looking puzzles, to many-tentacled Cthulhu Mythos beasties, the main character Dax will have his hands full with people to see, solutions to find, and monsters to escape.
Being made using Unreal Engine 3, Magrunner will follow Dax from competing as part of a training program to trying to reach the end just to get back to the world and away from the horrors unleashed. The training program was designed to teach how to utilize the magnetic manipulation glove Dax can be seen wearing, which seems to be the main focus of gameplay.
Magrunner will be releasing for XBLA, PSN, and PC though no precise date has been announced just yet. However, those wanting to check out the 6 new screenshots can click on the images in the gallery below to see the full sized versions.
Dinner Date Developer: Stout Games Publisher: Stout Games Platform: Windows Release Date: March 1, 2011 Price: $2.99 Available Here
Overview
Dinner Date is a nominee for the Indie Games Festival 2011 awards. The game is a fantastic example of video games as a legitimate art form.
Story
Dinner Date is puts the player in the sub-conscious of a young British man named Julian Luxemburg who has invited a girl named Meiko to his house for a dinner date. For the most part, Julian appears to be an average young man, suffering from normal insecurities and desires. Players endure Julian’s heart wrenching experience as he slowly begins to realize he has been stood up and watch as his ego. Players witness Julian’s sense of self-worth crumble.
Dinner Date can easily compete as one of the most depressing games ever made. The themes of longing for romantic companionship and heartbreak are universal. Most gamers can sympathise if not outright empathise Julian’s situation. I do not recommend playing this game while feeling depressed, this will only drag the mood to even darker places. Julian’s monologue is well crafted and believable. It spans approximately 25 minutes in length and even manages to quote Lord Byron’s poetry.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Dinner Date is not gameplay in the traditional sense. Dinner Date could have easily been made into a short film as players only control Julian’s subconscious. Players can nudge Julian’s anxious eyes to the clock or dip his bread nervously in his soup by pressing keys on the keyboard. That is literally the extent of the gameplay. The game clearly states in the beginning that the actions of the player will have zero effect on Julian’s behaviour. It is extremely difficult to properly give Dinner Date a genre beyond “indie” as it is unlike most pieces of interactive fiction. Instead of providing options on how Julian reacts to the situation, the player will drilled right into Julian’s shoes and forced to ride along a set track with the story. Many gamers will be uncomfortable with having so little control over their character.
Visuals
Dinner Date does not have cutting edge photorealistic graphics. Instead, it runs with a slightly dated graphics that is realistic looking with the slightest touch of cartoon. The animations were excellent, however with the camera movement, I found myself getting a little motion sick. I am usually ok for the most part when playing video games, but I found when Julian threw his head to the side to look at the kitchen counter or stare at the clock on the wall. I suspect this may be a mix of the field of view used and the way the camera jerks to the side. This can be avoided by simply choosing actions that keep Julian’s attention focused to things in front of him.
Audio
Dinner Date contains approximately 25 minutes of Julian’s monologue. Although it will not win any Oscar awards for acting any time soon, the actor does a good job none the less. Julian’s voice strikes the right tone of a man whose confidence is slipping away and being filled with self-doubt. The delivery manages to be depressing and just barely avoids becoming mopey to the point of annoying. The music is gentle and suits the mood well. One thing that particularly stood out to me was the menu’s sound after the game was complete. I wore headphones using Dolby Headphone for surround sound. I felt like I was actually sitting in the kitchen while Julian cleaned up the dishes from the night before. It was a small but impressive touch to the game.
Overall
Dinner Date is an incredibly hard game to give a proper numerical score. It is a love it or hate it game that probably split a room of gamers in half. For the price of $2.99 for a 25 minute game with zero replay value, it is extremely expensive. However, it is an interesting take on video games as a story telling medium. If you manage to see Dinner Date on sale and are looking for something new, give it a try.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Over the years, gamers have rescued princesses, saved the world, and stopped horrible villains countless times, but how many times have gamers done something as simple as protecting someone who is being bullied?
A few months ago, I posted an article about a unique game on Kickstarter called The Adventures of Rubberkid. Rubberkid is a Flash and PC game all about helping people get through the evils of bullying while learning about the terrible effects it can have.
I can now happily report that, not only was the game fully funded with the goal surpassed, but the game is now complete! You can either play the game straight out of your web browser or download it. Both ways to play the game are available on its official website here.
The game is full of upbeat music, bright colors, and lessons that everyone should learn. There are also other learning materials available to go in tandem with the game.
We’ve all had to deal with bullies at some point in our lives. Being able to educate people about something that can be so devastating while having fun in the process is what The Adventures of Rubberkid is all about. So head on over and check out the game, and make sure you follow them on Twitter!
There are three very important questions that you have to ask yourself:
Do you like games? (If not, why are you even here?)
Do you like pie!? (Who the heck doesn’t like pie!?)
Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?
What is Pie Day, you may ask? The history behind Volition’s celebratory holiday is simple. Someone there gave up sweets for lent. The day after lent, he decided he wanted pie, and there was pie, and it was good. Now, on the precipice of their 8th Annual Pie Day Celebration this Monday, April 1, they’re asking for friends to join in! Can you top the current record of 7 minutes for an entire pie eaten?
The rules are as follows:
Pie type is up to you.
You’re responsible for your own pie.
Pie Day begins at noon CT.
Anything in a normal 9″ pie pan or bigger is legitimate, but it has to have been bred within the pan.
Official end time is 7:00 PM CT
Volition recommends you pick a pie you love – not just something you can only handle a single slice of. They also ask that you take the decision seriously – it may be the biggest decision you make all year. Failure to consume the entire pie will result in shame being brought upon your family, which will then honor-bind you to attempt a comeback with the same pie the following year.
Once you’ve finished your pie, be sure to let everyone else know by tweeting your empty pie pan with the hashtag #PieDay2013. You can also tune in to watch Volition destroy their pies in real time over on their Twitch channel, Monday at noon.
That’s right, the most over the top anime of all time is being re-released in two extremely comprehensive box sets.
The DVD pack will contain all 26 episodes, including a director’s cut of episode 6, in both English and Japanese as well as 2 soundtrack CDs, a 36 page artbook, 12 postcards, a double sided poster and two Kamina catchphrase stickers. Video extras will include staff interviews, 3DCG test footage, along with the “Yoko Goes to Gainax” short among others.
The Blu Ray set will be an import of Japan’s “Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Complete Blu Ray Box” set over 10 discs and 5 CDs. In addition to the series and features of the DVD package, this set will contain both Childhood’s End and The Lights in the Sky are Stars movies with English subtitles, since there is no English dub of the films. It will also include clean openings and endings for both the series and movies, the Parallel Works music videos, episode 5.5 “My Gurren is Shiny” OVA (originally released alongside the DS game), staff interviews, documentaries on the films and more. All the Gurren you could ever want. Seriously, even the box is an added bonus, featuring exclusive illustrations and early production designs. Ridiculous.
The sets are slated for an American release in May, though pre orders begin April. The DVD set is said to cost $174.99(US) whilst the Blu Ray set will put you back around $669.99(US).
With more special features than you could shake a Giga Drill at, what more could you want? But ludicrously over the top, that’s Tengen Toppa. That’s Gurren Lagann.
Avoiding chocolate this Easter? Cheap PC games will help you avoid those sugary calories!
Steam has the Grand Theft Auto series and the Hitman series on sale this weekend at 75% off the local price. All of the 3d Grand Theft Auto titles are on sale separately or buyers can opt for the Grand Theft Auto Complete Pack that contains all of the PC titles including Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 which are unavailable for purchase on their own. Personally, if I can only recommend one then Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasis probably my favourite title. Grand Theft Auto is definitely a series that deserves to have one of its games played by every gamer.
The Hitman series including the recently released Hitman: Absolution are also on sale. This is the second lowest price since its release. So if you missed Greenman Gaming’s 75% off plus an additional 20% off, snag it at Steam. Gamers on Redditare reporting that they are receiving Hitman Sniper Challenge as an added bonus. This was not included in the GMG sale, so that definitely makes up for the extra 20% off not available on Steam. If you aren’t sure about Hitman: Absolution, be sure to read our review.
Greenman Gaming has Codemaster, Plug in Digital, Saints Row the Third, and Tomb Raider games on sale this weekend and a 20% off coupon that works for most games. Remember to try out GMG20-FDSCL-AQQXD on your purchase. The recently released prequel Tomb Raider is 25% off, the cheapest price so far. Just be aware the 20% off coupon will not work with Tomb Raider. If you found GTA IV a little too series for your liking or wished for a co-op open world experience, I highly recommend Saints Row the Third. However, the game regularly goes down to 75% off, so skip this sale. If you were still on the fence about purchasing A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 last week, the game is now even cheaper as the 20% coupon stacks with this sale. Finally, GMG brought back the 25% off coupon, GMG25-S0FSG-R7Z9B, forDead Island: Riptide, Defiance, and Metro: Last Light. Check out our preview for Dead Island: Riptide, our review of Tomb Raider, and watch our very own Joe Morgan play the first 30 minutes of the Defiance Xbox 360 beta.
Gamefly is running their own 20% off coupon code too. Enter GFDAPR20 at checkout. Puzzle fanatics getting bored with Portal 2 should definitely check out Quantum Conundrum which is 75% off and works with the coupon code. Origin redeemable Syndicateis also 75% off.
Ubisoft’s Uplay store has an Easter Salethis weekend. Most of the deals are completely forgettable at 50% off. However,Orcs Must Die 2, Alan Wake, Walking Dead, Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed III, and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare are all at one of their lowest prices. Just be aware, all of these only activate on the Uplay service. I highly recommend Orcs Must Die 2 if you love tower defense or co-op games. Walking Dead is a must play whether you are a fan of the show or not.
Amazon has Dark Souls: Prepare to Die edition on sale for $14.99. This is the cheapest price for the game so far. If you are looking for a fiendishly difficult game, this is it. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves a little to make this game run the best on the computer though. Amazon is also running a 2k Games Weekend sale. Those who pre-ordered Bioshock Infinite on Amazon and have credit for 2K Games are able to use it here if they aren’t saving it for the upcoming Civ V expansion. XCOM: Enemy Unknownand Civ V: Gold Edition are on sale for 50% off while the rest of the games are 33% off. For the exception of XCOM, the prices are not very good and should be avoided. Those wishing to purchase Civ V: Gold Edition right now should look at purchasing from Get Games for 66% off. If you can wait, Civ V goes down to 75% off during major sales.
Get Games has a World Builder Sale on this weekend. Tropico 4 Collector’s Edition at 75% off is recommended for those looking for a city building alternative to a certain heavily DRM-ed city builder. The Collector’s Edition contains the base game and Tropico 4 – Modern Times expansion. The DLC and the Modern Times expansion alone is 50% and 66% off respectively and should be avoided. They have gone down to 75% off in the past and will most likely will drop down to that price in the near future.
GamersGate has a decent sized sale this weekend. The big title is Borderlands 2 for 66% off. This is the lowest price so far and a fantastic game. I highly recommend purchasing the game at this price. As a bonus, the Season Passis also 50% off, one of the lowest prices yet. GamersGate also has Tomb Raider for sale, so buyers have plenty of options on where to purchase their copy this weekend as all three retailers running Tomb Raider sales are selling the game for the exact same price.
IndieGameStand’s latest 96 hour sale is Waking Mars. The platforming adventure takes places in the deep caves of Mars where new alien creatures are waiting to be discovered. Players seek to discover the ancient secrets hidden on Mars, but will need to use the local plant and animal life to help them on their journey. The iPad version of the game was runner up in Apple’s Game of the Year award.
Waking Mars is normally $9.99. Pay a minimum of $1.00 and buyers will receive keys redeemable on Steam, Desura, and GOG.com. Those who beat the average price paid will also receive wallpapers, hi-res posters, and the soundtrack. The game is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. 10% of the proceeds will go to support Feeding America, a charity that helps stock 202 food banks around the United States.
Two more commercials have been released and begun streaming for the new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle game. They’re only short but any chance to see more of this game is great. The first of the two videos shows possible combinations for something called a “Dream Match” that can be played.
Ad #1:
Ad #2:
The game is planned for shipping to Japan on August the 29th of this year.
Once again if you havn’t seen the pre-order package for this game check it out here it’s one of the best I’ve seen for a while. If you’ve missed a lot of news for this game go ahead and check out our search page here which has all the info you need to catch up to speed.
Also check out or comments section below and give us your thoughts on the game and/or series, we’d love to hear from you!
Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet is now available on iPad. Based on the Paradox Interactive’s hit PC game Magicka, Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet brings the same satirical build your own spells, friendly fire enabled gameplay to the mobile platform. The game moves to a comic like 2d art style and features brand new spells and items that can only be found on the iPad version. The game serves as a prequel to the PC version of Magicka.
The game supports cross platform multiplayer and four player co-op. Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet is available for $1.99 on the iTunes App Store.
