Available today in Australia is the first Sims 3 expansion of 2013 – ‘University Life’. New Zealand will be receiving the expansion pack tomorrow.
Available for Mac and PC in stores or through Origin as a digital download, The Sims 3: University Life includes a new ‘College World’. Players can make their sims leave home and pursue their higher education. They will attend classes, prepare for exams, make new friends and dabble in different social groups and activities (doesn’t delve too far into the ‘fraternity’ way of life mind you).
It will be as memorable for your sim as that time in your life was to you…if sims had memories. The expansion gives your sims the opportunity to learn new skills and experience new objects and activities specific to your sims’ chosen majors. Enhance your sims’ lives and further their education today!
Star Wars Pinball Developer: Zen Studios Publisher: Zen Studios Platform: Playstation 3 Release Date: 27th February, 2013 Price:$9.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Zen Studios have made a name for themselves with their incredibly polished and addictive Pinball game series known as Zen Pinball. The Zen Pinball series has seen its fair share of iterations with a variety of popular franchises getting the Zen treatment. The latest of which is Zen Studios take on the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars Pinball.
This is not the first time Zen has ventured into adapting a popular franchise to the Pinball table, having previously brought the world of Marvel’s Avengers to players to great success. After such a run of successful Pinball games, how does Star Wars Pinball compare?
Gameplay:
Star Wars Pinball comes with three tables for players to sink their teeth into. Each table has quite a different feel and layout to it. One is based upon The Empire Strikes Back, another based upon Clone Wars and the last one is based upon the character Boba Fett. They all make for interesting pinball tables and provide their own challenges and strategies.
What Zen Studios have done with Star Wars Pinball is polish the existing formula they have crafted for the Zen Pinball games and given it a new coat of paint in the shape of Star Wars. Now this isn’t a bad thing whatsoever, if you have played the Zen Pinball games in the past you will know what to expect, but at the same time you shouldn’t expect to be surprised as it is really more of the same. More of the same is good however considering the overall quality of the Zen Pinball games.
The game does feature some fairly compelling multiplayer gameplay which can be played in several different ways. The first option is simple split-screen multiplayer which is great to play locally and challenge a friend in a game to reach a certain score or a game of whoever can get the highest score in the allotted time. You can also play in a hot seat mode which requires use of one controller and switching between players. I think that this mode was a great addition as it allows for multiplayer for those with only one controller, its an ingenious move on the part of Zen Studios. The final multiplayer mode is of course your standard online fair through the PlayStation Network.
At its core Star Wars Pinball is nothing we haven’t seen before from Zen Pinball. But there really isn’t anything else you could ask for in a pinball game. Zen has spent quite some time perfecting their formula and should be commended for that and if they continue to pump out pinball games as fun as this then it doesn’t matter if its the same old song and dance. Its a good working formula and at this point deviating too much would be a detriment. Sometimes staying the same is better and in the case of Zen Pinball that much is indeed true.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically Star Wars Pinball is very nuanced, employing many little stylistic touches that will undoubtedly play on Star Wars fans nostalgia to great effect. Each table has its own unique visual style and feels like a pinball table embodiment of what it is based upon. The game also features a number of characters from the series with characters such as Darth Vader appearing in the Empire Strikes Back table and even Boba Fett appearing on the Boba Fett table. The character designs are well done and show that Zen have put in a great deal of attention into accurately depicting the Star Wars universe.
The game’s soundtrack is also done very well and captures the spirit of Star Wars with resounding success. Besides your standard background music there is a lot of character voice acting as well which is accurate to the characters and adds an extra layer to the atmosphere that you don’t usually get from a pinball game. This added level of detail is what makes Zen Pinball so special.
Overall:
Star Wars Pinball is a great example of why Zen Studios are so damn good at what they do. They make brilliant pinball games, the likes of which are simply unmatched. Star Wars Pinball seamlessly takes a beloved universe and turns it into three addictive pinball tables. If you love Star Wars or simply love the game of pinball then this is definitely something to check out. Zen Studios are really good at what they do and Star Wars Pinball may just be their finest work to date. It is polished, engaging, challenging an most of all it is a lot of fun. If you have yet to check experience the Zen Pinball phenomenon, now is the time, the force is strong with this one, Star Wars Pinball is out of this world.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Sonic Dash is due out soon for iOS devices. App focused community TouchGameplay recently uploaded a gameplay trailer of the upcoming title and made a very interesting comment on the video in response to many viewers negative comments on the game.
“I hope that the Sonic Community will like it. I know that it isn`t an Classic 2D Jump’n’Run Sonic Game but it`s still one of the better Sonic Adaptations so far on Mobile. While this is said SEGA should really consider finally to start talking about the new 2,5D Sonic Game that they are currently working on. Hopefully SEGA will announce it at the upcoming E3 so we will be able to play another Sonic Game this Year that is more like the Old School Sonic Games and less like Temple Run :D”
Seems like TouchGameplay knows about an inside project at Sega. Could this be the third episode in the Sonic 4 series, a 2.5D game based on the classic gameplay present in Sonic Generations or perhaps an all new type of title. Sonic 4 Epiosde 1 and 2 were launched about a year and a half apart so an E3 announcement would give the game a few months to build hype and release in a similar time frame. Of course this is all speculation so we will have to wait until E3 to see what else is in store for the blue blur this year! If you would like to see the trailer for Sonic Dash below.
What would you like to see in a new Sonic title ? Let us know below.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has partnered with Talenthouse for a very special competition to help bring to life the online multi-player experience on PlayStation Network.
The PSN Way of Play competition, hosted by Talenthouse, is looking for “creative submissions that illustrate favourite online multi-player moments.” Potential entrants across Europe, Australia and New Zealand are eligible. Never heard the ‘Way of Play’ before? Sony defines it as:
n. pl. Way of Play
A gaming mantra, related to different aspects of online gaming life, that exemplifies why playing online against – or alongside – real living, breathing people rather than computer AI is where gaming comes to life. For example:
“Couples who slay together, stay together.”
“There’s no I in goooooooal!”
“Actions speak louder than smack-talk.”
To enter, you must submit films, photographs or artwork inspired by your #WayOfPlay. The top 10 entries (one of which will be the ‘People’s Choice’ winner voted on by the public) will receive the equivalent of €1,000 cash and will have their work broadcast across PlayStation’s websites and social media pages. On top of that, ten runners up will win a PlayStation Vita and a year long subscription to PlayStation Plus.
The submission cut-off is April 7th. If you’re thinking of entering, please read this brief beforehand. For more information, please visit ‘Create for PlayStation‘.
FUSE is launching soon, and EA want you to get to know just who you and your friends will be playing as. Today, four new trailers were released that show off Dalton, Izzy, Jacob, and Naya, which should assist in getting you ready to pick your own favorite.
I like this diverse personality schtick that FUSE is starting to show, and luckily we will be able to get our hands on it when it releases a bit later this year. For now though, meet the cast and learn your future face down below.
When Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is released in two weeks in North America and one week from now in Europe there will be a number of new attacks available for players to unleash upon the various enemies they come across. There are attacks that allow players to call in partners for extra damage, Ex Finishers and more.
New for this title is something called an EXE Drive Skill that has a background track all of its own. They released the below trailer showing off just a sample of the plethora of these different attacks and another glimpse at the CPUs doing what they do best.
For quite some time, Viz Media has brought numerous manga for teenagers and adults over to North America but along with manga titles such as Naruto, Toriko, Rosario + Vampire and more, the company has brought numerous comics for children to North America.
Until now, the only way for parents to purchase these children’s comics for their young family members was to purchase the physical copy. But today that has changed because Viz Media has launched a new comic app for the Apple iPad and iPad mini which is called Sticky DOT comics.
Sticky DOT Comics will contain digital versions of all of the best all-ages comics to the iPad and many popular manga series are already available for purchase on the app. The full launch line-up can be seen below:
Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures: Diamond and Pearl/Platinum
Pokémon Black and White
Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Mameshiba: On the Loose!
Little Miss Sunshine: here comes the sun!
Mr. Strong: Good Thing I Came Along!
Redakai
Voltron Force
The app itself is a free download that can be downloaded herebut it is worth noting that all individual volumes will cost between $2.99-$3.99 per volume but Viz does plan on providing free previews over time.
The devs at The Game Bakers, the makers behind SQUIDS and SQUIDS Wild West, have been cooking up a new game that they are finally ready to announce. Combo Crew is a fighting game that combines touch screen controls and brawling action as three heroes face a plethora of enemies as they ascend floor after floor of tower structured gameplay.
With three heroes, players will have someone to pick up and fight on if they happen to succumb in battle, as well as including co-op so that friends can team up together in game. What’s more, it wont matter what device friends are playing on as Combo Crew is the first game of its kind to allow cross-platform asynchronous play.
The intuitive touch controls allow players to attack, counter, and utilize combo streaks unique to each fighting style, all of which players can see in action in the gameplay footage embedded below. Combo Crew will be releasing same day to iOS and Android devices this Spring.
Bottomline Guild just announced that GamePocalypse 2013 will have all proceeds donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. GamePocalypse 2013 will be a 24 hour event where gamers will get to play their favorite MMOs like Rift, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, and PlanetSide 2. With all proceeds going to the charity, the event goal is to raise $50,000 for the wounded troops. 24 hours of playing games and cash donations are the least we can do as gamers to support those that serve to protect us and were injured in the process.
With such a grand event, there will of course be prizes for those that participate. As a sponsor FleshEatingZipper will be donating prizes courtesy of Sony Online Entertainment. Looking for a new PC? Well, Bossrigs.com will be raffling off a gaming PC during this event. PlanetSide 2 will even have t-shirts and hoodies to dish out. Rycon, Event Coordinator for Bottomline Guild, had the following to say:
It [GamePocalypse 2013] represents two things that are dear to me: playing games and helping others that are in need. With GamePocalypse, I get to do both!
Here is a mock list of guilds that will be participating in games during the event:
World of Warcraft:
Bottomline Guild
Guild Wars 2:
Bottomline Guild
Rift:
Bottomline Guild
PlanetSide 2:
Agony
Azure Twilight
Black Widow Company
NoNonsenseGamers
Sons of Odin
ZCompany
Let’s put out the facts here. There is a good cause to serve. To serve you only need to play hard during the 24 hours and possibly donate some cash. That is not too much to ask for when the Wounded Warrior Project serves those that placed themselves in danger for the sake of others. So on March 16th at 12:00 AM CST, I know where I’ll be. Do you?
Dishonored, Arkane Studio’s stealth first-person shooter, picked up Best Game at the British Academy Game Awards; fighting off tough competition from games such as Journey, The Walking Dead and Far Cry 3.
Despite this success for Dishonored, “Best Game” was the only award that it actually claimed, losing out on two other categories it was nominated in. This left Journey to steal the show taking home five awards for Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Game Design, Online Multiplayer and Original Music. Journey has received acclaim for its innovative use of online multiplayer, with other users drifting in and out of the game with no user ID or any on-screen alerts, something which is somewhat of a revolutionary innovation. The fact the game picked up five awards left many shocked it didn’t also pick up best game overall.
Other notable successes were the game The Walking Dead, which picked up awards for Best Story and Best Mobile/Handheld game, and PSN title The Unfinished Swan, which was awarded the Game Innovation and Debut Game prizes.
In a special award Gabe Newell was awarded with a BAFTA Fellowship. Accepting the award Newell gave a speech acknowledging his fellow Valve staff, saying “I tend to show up at award shows, but everything we do at Valve is collaboration.”
Let’s put out the facts here. There is a good cause to serve. To serve you only need to play hard during the 24 hours and possibly donate some cash. That is not too much to ask for when the Wounded Warrior Project serves those that placed themselves in danger for the sake of others. So on March 16th at 12:00 AM CST, I know where I’ll be. Do you?