Today Konami announced what fans should expect to see in the way of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance DLC. The first DLC pack will be released this week on March 13th and will contain 30 new VR missions which allow Raiden to make his way through a number of new challenges and situations.
Beyond this DLC, the company has also said that they will release two story based DLC chapters in the future. One where players play as Jetstream Sam in a prequel mission and the second will allow players to play as Blade Wolf and follow the robotic canine on a unique side-story. As far as the talking Snake Sword called “Soul Snake Wooden Sword” being released in the West, there has been no information. Currently none of the DLC prices have been released, but they are set to be released on the PS3 and 360 simultaneously.
Today a few new screenshots of Namco Bandai’s upcoming video game adaptation of the Vividred Operation anime have been revealed. We’ve previously seen a few of these images but a number of new ones have been released, including ones showing off the boss enemy which appears in the first episode of the anime.
Anyways, these screenshots continue to only show off Akane Isshiki, though it should be assumed that the rest of the girls will also be playable once the title is released eventually. In case you didn’t know, Vividred Operation takes place in a world where aliens called “Alone” have invaded the world and the only ones who can fight against them are flying girls that have close-up camera angles of their thighs and butts.
Capcom Arcade Cabinet 1985 Game Pack #1 Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: Xbox Live Arcade (Reviewed), Playstation Network Release Date: March 6, 2013 Price: 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99 PSN)
Overview
Not too long ago, Capcom launched Capcom Arcade Cabinet for the Xbox Live Arcade and PSN. Now if you missed our review for the first pack, this title takes arcade classics and dishes them out in groups, letting the consumer choose what they want in their own little retro vault. While 1987 was a good year for gaming and brought us the previous touched upon 1943, BLACK TIGER, and Avengers, this week dials it back a bit and throws us into 1985. You may think going further back in time is an odd way to dish out expansions for the game, but with Ghosts’n Goblins, Gun.Smoke, and Section Z on board – that is one time jump we are willing to take. How do these three still fair in the new virtual arcade? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
Sure, we have probably played Ghosts’n Goblins until our fingers ached, but there is just something special about going through the dark yet whimsical platformer again that can make a gamer of any age feel at ease. Players take the role of Sir Arthur as he sets forth through spooky landscapes to save the Princess Prin Prin from all that goes bump in the night. While nostalgic, this age old experience is still as hard as it ever was, but thankfully controls as tight as ever. Much like all of what we have seen thus far for Arcade Cabinet, Ghosts’n Goblins is a pure arcade port with all of the extra fixings (such as the gallery, bonus time modes, and practice fare), and while the landscape of the modern platforms is new, that controller breaking difficulty is still very relevant.
Yes, Ghosts’n Goblins is a very difficult game – but in a good way as players must conserve and plan while tackling enemies as that screen scrolls. To test the player further, the final boss waits behind 6 stages that must be beaten twice on two difficulty settings to reach. Sure, it can be numbing, but the newly added save states and ability to practice this time around do a lot to assist in the experience. Gun.Smoke was another title in this pack worth a lot of praise, and it still holds it’s own as well. This top-down scrolling shooter has the player take out enemies and dodge obstacles as they make their way throughout a western setting. I will say this title isn’t my particular arcade favorite as it is certainly one of the more tame of the lot, but those who enjoy their shooters with plenty of power-ups are sure to be pleased with what’s on display.
The game I never played until this review is none other than Section Z. Sure, it’s another side scrolling shooter in a space setting, but what sets Section Z apart is it’s form of progression. When the player finishes a route, they have a choice to take the easy route and give up the ability to gain special weapons, or they can take the hard path to get their toys – but face a lot more enemies and roadblocks. Captain Commando however is a strong little hero however, and comes with the ability to shoot forward and back. This allows for a better advantage in the long-run as back in 1985 – the idea of shooting backwards was something a lot of developers didn’t think of. It’s a bit of an archaic mechanic now, but after drumming through a lot of these recent arcade ports over the years, I found Section Z’s interesting qualities to be welcoming and enjoyable.
Visuals and Audio
As I mentioned in my previous review, none of these ports have received any type of polish when it comes to the graphics, but of course that isn’t an issue considering that this is all about reliving the arcade past. It’s still pleasureful to see Arthur’s armor fall off, those dusty streets in Gun.Smoke, and Captain Commando floating about, and fans of 8-bit will feel right at home here. Even though I touched upon it previously, I must say that the presentation of this package is still shining bright with the classic cabinet displays – as well as all of the customization options that come from playing.
Audio wise – well, do I need to really go on about my love of chiptunes? It’s a matter of preference for most if you will fall in love with any of the soundtracks, but after revisiting the Castle of Satan in Ghosts’n Goblins, I felt a rush of happiness and nostalgia as the ominous beat blared through the speakers. I would say the same about Gun.Smoke and Section Z, but I found those tracks to be a bit lacking in comparison to Goblins – but that is partially my own bias and nostalgia playing into that opinion.
Overall
After just a few hours, I got to revisit a year of gaming that took place two years before my birth – and for the most part, I loved every second of it. I wasn’t too fond of Gun.Smoke compared to the brutal Ghosts’n Goblins or the cleverly designed Section Z, but finding your niche is what these packs are all about. With that said, those who love their trophies/achievements will be taken back by learning that ten dollars will only get them 30 extra points, but even if you are that way – you have to remember that these classics were built without the bragging rights in the past, and the six achievements included should still keep you busy for a good time – along with all of the extra content. Capcom Arcade Cabinet’s latest may be a bit pricey, but for what’s involved – you can consider your own vacation to the mid eighties as money well spent.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It has taken quite some time but Pandora’s Tower will finally be released by XSEED Games in North America sometime this April. An exact release date has not been announced yet, but the company did provide the below trailer for Wii owners to salivate over until it is released.
In Pandora’s Tower a mysterious curse has started affecting a singer named Elena and Aeron has set out to kill twelve “master” monsters to try and cure her. The problem is, she has to eat their flesh to cure herself. There are multiple endings based on your interactions with Elena throughout the game and the longer you take to kill each monster, the more inhuman Elena becomes. We previously reviewed the PAL version of Pandora’s Tower and you can check it out here.
PowerA unveiled the first footage of their upcoming MOGA controller system for Android devices. The controller features dual analog sticks, two triggers, and four face buttons that are supported by a variety of major Android games including Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour, Dead Trigger, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2. The controller is powered by two AAA batteries and is rated for an 18 hour run time. Both phones and tablets are supported through the Bluetooth connection. Phones 3.2 inches and smaller can be clipped directly into the MOGA.
The MOGA will be released some time in mid 2013. Find out more information and the full list of supported games at the official site here.
Recently there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding God of War: Ascension due to a particular allegedly sexist trophy titled ‘Bros Before Hoes’. The trophy is gained after defeating a main antagonist who just so happens to be female.
The trophy gained a large deal of criticism when Rev3’s Adam Sessler reviewed the game and egregiously made a point that the trophy and by extension the entire game was misogynistic based simply on the fact that you fight and defeat a female character to gain a trophy that refers to said female as a ‘hoe’. The controversy train went wild from there, highlighting once again the industry’s obsession with finding sexism and taking offense out of anything.
As a side note it is strange that Adam Sessler of all people claims God of War: Ascension to be ripe with misogyny when he himself referred to Athena as ‘menstrual’ in his God of War 2 review for X-Play.
The saddest part of this story though is the fact that Sony Santa Monica have buckled under the controversy and have announced a patch to rename the trophy ‘Bros Before Foes’. This is quite simply ridiculous and with this whole situation, it really proves that no matter how small, no matter how painfully insignificant something is, in the gaming industry there is always going to be someone to be offended by it. It is really just sad that all this controversy stems from three words that only appear on screen for a matter of seconds.
Unfortunately this is just a smaller symptom of an industry gone sour. Instead of focusing on REAL issues that this industry is facing such as consumers being screwed with DRM, game’s that are essentially utter crock being sold for full retail price (Aliens: Colonial Marines and SimCity I’m looking at you), online passes, some companies expecting to become joint f**king owner of your bank account and a slew of other REAL issues, we are arguing over the apparent misogynistic qualities of three words that appear for essentially three seconds in a game. Where did we go wrong?
Did we all screw up when we gave Anita Sarkeesian 160,000 dollars to make Youtube videos about Super Mario being a sexist game? Or maybe we screwed up when we let people like Leigh Alexander campaign to ‘objectify’ men in the tech industry? Maybe we screwed up when we all posted our #1reasonwhy tweets. Did we ever stop for a second and think to ourselves that maybe the problem isn’t that the gaming industry IS sexist, maybe the problem is that the IDEA that it is sexist has gone too far?
I’m not saying that sexist individuals don’t exist in the industry, but I sure as hell know that this has gotten beyond a joke now. Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe if we just opened our eyes we wouldn’t be so damn blinded by the idea that this is an industry of misogyny and discrimintion? When we have people flat-out just looking to be offended, looking for another thing to accuse of being sexist, we know we have lost the plot.
It all comes back to three words appearing for three seconds. It does beg the question, if a game like Bayonetta featured an achievement titled ‘Hoes Before Bros’ that is unlocked after beating a male antagonist, would anyone be offended? No they wouldn’t because there is an intense double-standard in this industry. In the eyes of many in the industry it is only sexist if men do it and quite frankly that is rubbish.
I could argue all day about the double-standard in the industry, but it would get me nowhere. The problem isn’t that the industry is sexist. The problem is that some people in this industry can’t view each other as people before a gender. Look at the sad state the ‘almighty’ gaming industry is in. Three words appearing for three seconds makes the news for being supposedly sexist. I don’t know about you, but there is really only one way to even describe that; it is utter bullshit.
Voting on the quarter-finals of the Injustice: Gods Among Us Battle ‘Arena’ is now open! And with this new round of fights comes more special guest opinions, not the least of which are from Marvel Comics legend (that’s right…commenting on DC characters) Stan Lee!
Voting ends on the 15th with the winners to be revealed on this coming Monday. The match-ups are as follows: billionaire genius Batman vs Amazonian Goddess Wonder Woman, the lightning-fast Flash vs the criminally insane Joker, King of Atlantis Aquaman vs the fearless Green Lantern and the almost all-powerful Superman vs trick archer Green Arrow. Below are the introductory videos for this week’s clashes, which includes footage of man-on-the-street interviews and predictions from the voice-over cast of Teen Titans among other celebrity experts.
Injustice Battle Arena Weekly Match-Up: Quarter Finals Part 1
Injustice Battle Arena Weekly Match-Up: Quarter Finals Part 2
Remember to visit injustice.dccomics.comto cast your votes on these battles and also check out who Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Jace Hall and the legendary Stan Lee think will win. For those who are unfamiliar with the competition, its rules or the prizes at stake, goherefor more information.
Defiance, the game and the show, are quickly approaching next month, so the flow of information is continuing, this time presenting a trailer to show off but a few of the modifications that can be applied to the weapons of the game. From weapons to infect enemies with parasites that will go on to attack even more enemies, to rocket launchers that can be fired up overhead of enemies, plenty of weapons and thousands of modifications give players the perfect chance to build exactly what they want in terms of firepower.
Defiance is an interconnected experience between a game and TV series never before attempted. With the game releasing for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC and the TV series airing on SyFy, they hope to build a world where both are impacted by the events of the other. With the game taking the form of an open-world MMO, it will none-the-less prove an interesting experience as to what and how it will be impacting the show.
Check out the trailer embedded below to get just a taste of many modifications players will have at their disposal when Defiance releases on April 2nd.
Indie Royale is helping four indie games and two indie game developers make their big debut with their latest bundle. The Debut Bundle features Phoenix Online Studio’s first game Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller Episode 1 – The Hangman, Elefantopia’s arcade RTS McDroid, Darkwave Games puzzle game Master of Alchemy – Rise of the Mechanologists, Rockin’ Android’s shoot ’em up Cloudphobia, Flexile Studio’s platformer Wimp: Who Stole My Pants?, and Turtle Cream and PokPoong Games’ platformer 6180 The Moon.
The debut theme also extends to the chiptune album traditionally given to those who pay more than $8.00 for the game. Fearofdark’s first full length album Motorway is the Debut Bundle’s chiptune album. Buy your bundle here.
Are you excited for the Ouya? For those who were interested in the console however, there is some bad news. The Ouya console will not support online play at launch and won’t support it until an indefinite time in later this year.
This is surely disappointing for those genuinely intrigued by this console and wanted to play it online. Founder of the Ouya console Julie Uhrman claimed in response to this situation that “Ouya is going to bring back couch play.”
What do you think of this puzzling situation with the Ouya? Let us know in the comments section below.
