Barack Obama and Michelle Obama spoke to Barbara Walters on 20/20. In their interview, the President and First Lady discussed their love for the classic board game Scrabble. To celebrate the US President’s Inauguration, EA Mobile picked out major keywords from his speech like resolve, hope, promise, liberty, and youth. They then created a Scrabble game using those words on the iPad version. The game resulted in a total score of 238 points.
EA Mobile is challenging players to beat the score on SCRABBLE for iPad available here for free. The game features multiplayer action over Facebook and Origin, a Teacher feature to improve player’s skills, and HD graphics.
Chillingo announced the release of their newest game to the iTunes App Store. Dingle Dangle features a small army of adorable Dingles who are trapped underground. Players will need to channel the spirit of the great apes and legendary fishermen and dangle a precious lifeline down the caves lined with dangerous spikes to carefully fish out the Dingles. Players will tilt their iOS device to control the game and have an access to a variety of power ups to make their fishing expedition easier. There are over sixty levels to conquer.
Dingle Dangle is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad for $0.99 here.
G5 Entertainment and DAVA INC. released their latest title for iOS. Old Clockmaker’s Riddle is a match three type and story based puzzle game where players will need to complete over fifty levels to help Mr. Ryan rebuild a destroyed town. The task is make more challenging with frozen and locked pieces. The game features two mods, 12 upgrades, five magical tools, 25 houses to rebuild, and 25 mini-games.
Old Clockmaker’s Riddle is available for $4.99 on the iPhone and $6.99 for the iPad. Check out the iPhone version hereand the iPad version here. The launch trailer and screenshots for Old Clockmaker’s Riddle is available below.
For all of you Australian Legend of Zelda fans that live within the Sydney area that haven’t already heard, the Sydney Opera House will be playing host to the Zelda Symphony Orchestra this weekend. The concert entitled Symphony of the Goddess has finally reached Australia after numerous months of travelling and playing to fans in North America, Europe and Asia. Sufficed to say, Australian fans have been demanding with no small amount of vigour that we too be included in the international tour. And lo and behold, it has arrived!
If you love the Legend of Zelda franchise, then this is an experience that you shouldn’t miss, and it’s only for this weekend! There are only three shows in total, one run on Friday the 1st and two shows on Saturday the 2nd of February. Tickets are still available on the Sydney Symphony Orchestra website. Tickets start from $39
Several of our staff will be in attendance at this event, so if you think you can spot one of us (see our Youtube channel if you want to know what we look like) then come and say hello!
When Dead Space 3 was unveiled for the first time at E3 2012, I had more than a few reserved feelings. Switching from Dead Space’s traditional dark corridors and space environments, for a more of a Lost Planet/Gears of War look and feel with a brand new ice planet setting introduced and the controversial addition of co-op in the game’s main story.
Admittedly I was sceptically of the game’s new direction; I mean if it ain’t, broke don’t fix it, right? But getting a hands-on preview with the first three hours of a near finished build of game, I have to say I was more than surprised.
With two critically acclaimed and widely successful games behind it, understandably Dead Space 3 has a lot to live up to. In terms of story, number 3 has learnt from the mistakes of Dead Space 1 and improved on what Dead Space 2 did. Story takes a much larger role in the game third time around with the half-answered questions from the first two games finally getting an honest and satisfying resolution. Speaking with Dead Space 3 producer John Calhoun, the game will almost be twice as long as Dead Space 2 and questions revolving The Marker and origins of the Necromorphs (space zombies!) will be answered in full.
But not only this, the world of Dead Space and its futuristic setting is explored early on with an exciting, fast paced battle though a Luna colony. It’s an imaginative, Sci-Fi world filled with interesting and complex lore that previously hasn’t been explored all too well in the first two games. This of cause is a noticeable change in Dead Space 3.
Fans of the series will also notice that the scope of the games have been increasing with each instalment, from a single, desolated mining ship – the Ishimura in Dead Space 1, to an entire space station – The Sprawl in Dead Space 2, to now an entire frozen planet named Tau Volantis in Dead Space 3. However right off the bat, without spoiling too much, you won’t be exploring the frozen ice planet just yet.
In our play through, before heading for the planet Isaac Clarke and crew will be exploring a derelict ship and its all too familiar dark, claustrophobia corridors. Oh and did I mention crew? Yes, this time around Isaac is teamed up with a crew hell-bent on destroying The Markers. It’s nice to see more faces in Dead Space, cut scenes are fleshed out far more thanks to these new characters. And if you choice to take the newly featured co-op option, then your friend will take up the role of John Carver, the games second protagonist.
Co-op is the other big new feature in Dead Space 3. And while Dead Space purists out there may complain and criticise the developers for the sudden change of direction, this ani’t no Resident Evil 5. The co-op option isn’t forced upon players; it’s just that – an option that’s fully compatible with two different player’s games. As Dead Space 3 producer John Calhoun explains, “with drop in drop out co-op your friend plays for 20 minutes and you two come out, that 20 minutes needs to be valuable for your friend. So we made sure that any progress you made in the game, not matter where you are, will be saved and be part of your experience.”
Overall Dead Space 3 is far less linear than Dead Space 2, and while it takes place on an entire planet, it isn’t fully open-world but rather takes a few cues here and there. Introduced in Dead Space 3 are optional missions inline with the game’s main missions. And of cause as the name suggests, they’re completely optional but if player choice to complete them they’ll be rewarded with valuable items. Going off the beaten path is what the game wants you to do with hidden rooms and items scatted throughout the game.
Survival horror is where Dead Space started and while its trailers may mislead you in thinking that Dead Space 3 is an action game, don’t be mistaken – Dead Space 3 is still true to its roots. From our play through, walking though the derelict ship is just as creepy as ever and ammo is equally as scarce. In the early levels I played, there’s a fair amount of backtracking – and that’s not a bad thing as it all makes sense, there are reasons behind your actions here. As you go about the ship, you powering up the engines, which then in turn unlocks and opens up new areas to explore. Isaac even comments that he’s an engineer not a solider.
And you’ll see him use his engineering skills out within the game. The game feels far more improved over it’s last two instalments, as a sequel should be. While I didn’t reach up till the frozen planet itself, from what I played hands on so far I can say that the game is exactly what you want from a sequel, taking a note from Cliff Bleszinski, it’s bigger, better and more badass. A lot of fuss has been made over Dead Space 3’s controversial inclusion of co-op, and say what you will about it –it’s completely optional and isn’t forced upon players. It’s there if you wanted it, and if you don’t then you don’t have to play it.
You can read the full interview with Dead Space 3 producer John Calhoun here.
Dead Space 3 is set to be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC on February 5 in North American and February 7 in Australia.
If you’ve been diligently collecting and hoarding all those precious coins for a rainy day on Super Mario Bros. 2 then now might just be the perfect time to make a withdrawal. Nintendo Australia has announced that because across the globe players have collected a staggering five hundred billion coins that any fan who carries at least a million themselves can receive a unique certificate. This exclusive, limited edition Nintendo Certificate is sure to attract jealousy and maybe even respect from any friends who come over (if collecting one million coins leaves time for friends that is).
All you have to do to receive said award is to submit a photo of yourself and your 3DS while it displays an in-game coin counter of at least a million, with submissions being taken over on this page. This competition and potentially resume boosting reward will be available right up to March 31st, so those close to the mark still have time to make the cut-off if they so wish.
If you’re looking to earn more coins than ever before, feel free to download the Gold Classics Pack for Coin Rush Mode, which uses old, retro Mario levels as set courses. This pack will be free until midnight tonight in Australia at which point it will be made available for purchase only. Also available are the two final Course Rush packs: the Mystery Adventure Pack and the Impossible Pack, which respectively feature intricate labyrinth courses and the toughest challenges Mario fans have ever faced. To purchase these two as well as the eight previously released, head on over to the In-Game shop menu within New Super Mario Bros. 2 itself.
The largest Star Trek convention will be hitting Chicago from May 31st to June 2nd. It will have Star Trek stars like Patrick Stewart, Avery brooks, and many of the cast from The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. There will be tons events that most trekies would die to see, like the Star Trek: The Next Generation Reunion Performance.
There will also be a music video competition, a costume parade, and lots other fun events. Capsule Computers will be covering the event with Mari Shishido, avid Next Generation fan to the very bone. You can meet and listen to the screen writers of popular Star Trek series episodes, and learn more about them and the motivations for the episodes. Any trekie would be missing out if they had the chance to be there and didn’t go.
Weekend passes are from $239-$389 depending on the level of access you want, and daily passes are $40-$80 depending on what day you want to go on. To find more information on the convention and to buy passes, visits www.creationent.com.
If you’ve been eager to get your hands on the awesome looking online features of Crytek‘s latest title, Crysis 3, then now is the time to take the hunt directly to New York. Crysis 3’s multiplayer beta has now officially seen the light of day for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC; with players taking on the role of Nano enhanced special forces in their battle for domination across a devastated urban jungle inside the New York City Liberty Dome. Crysis 3 allows players to use a variety of powers and enhancements far beyond the capabilities of ordinary soldiers including things like increased agility, strength and reflexes.
In this Beta you can expect to find two different game modes as well as two separate maps for increased variation, with gamers able to reach up to Rank 10 before being capped off in this demo. Don’t worry though, as you’ll have the full potential of levelling up to Rank 50 when the full game is released.
The first game mode is the highly publicised and (in my opinion) most interesting type, Hunter. Across five matches a team of two Hunters with infinite Stealth Energy and armed with Compound Bows are set loose on a squad of regular CELL infantry, whose only goal is to survive until the end of the round. Hunters are tasked with eliminating the entire CELL squad, with each kill resulting in that player returning as a Hunter for the rest of the game. Some tips for this mode include:
When playing as a Hunter remember that you need to pull back and charge your bow for maximum damage, while keeping track of said targets remains easy thanks to all Enemies appearing on Hunter Radar.
As a CELL trooper your task is to outlast the Hunters, with audible motion trackers (Alien style) and a vast range of weaponry available across each load-out. Stick together, play as a team and always check your corners as the augmented Hunters could be anywhere.
The second game mode is Crash Site, a standard Take-and-Hold game with each consecutive point being released from a moving drop ship and eventually self-destructing after a period of time. To get the most points your entire team needs to remain on location, fighting off all those who seek the site for themselves. Remember to:
Always use grenades first on an already entrenched enemy team, this way you put yourself at minimal risk while effectively disrupting enemy lines.
Use the available shields from Drop Pods as defensive tools when holding points or throw it as a lethal weapon when enemies get too close.
Both these modes are available on Museum, a now flooded and overgrown locale that allows for plenty of verticality and sniper play; and Airport, a once bustling terminal turned plane wasteland, with a mix of long lines of sight and close quarters areas.
An in-game feature known as the “New York Feed” allows players to see how their friends are going in comparison to themselves as well as check out challenges that reward bonus XP and receive news directly from developer Crytek. Similar to previous “AutoLog” systems this will ensure that you always know how you’re going in the grand scheme of things, did your friend just complete a hardcore challenge or earn some ridiculous XP for their last game? Time to show them up next time around.
Did any of this get you excited for the upcoming release of Crysis 3? If so then make sure to pick up the game at its release on February 19th for Europe, 21st for Australia, 22nd for Europe and March 7th for Japan; available across the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC platforms . If you’re still not convinced then feel free to try out the brand new open Multiplayer Beta, available for download now across all aforementioned platforms.
Crysis 3’s Multiplayer Beta trailer can be viewed down below.
Both Epic Mickey and Epic Mickey 2 were released to less than stellar public opinion. Though they were much lauded for the creative mind behind them, Warren Spector (the creator of Deus Ex and Thief), the games were unable to generate enough steam to gain much ground, and were ultimately not commercially successful enough to self-sustain.
As it is always unfortunate to hear, it was confirmed that Junction Point Studios, Spector’s development studio, has been closed down by parent company Disney.
Said Spector in a letter on his Facebook page:
“Yes, it’s true. The Junction Point journey is over. To all those who’ve asked, or want to ask, I’m sad but excited for the future.
JPS had a good eight year run. I got to work with some amazing people on some amazing projects. I’ve had some of the most magical times of my life, fulfilling several life-long dreams. I’ve gotten to know Disney fans and Disney cast members, gotten hands on with Disney’s history, walked where Walt walked… “Magical” really is the only word.”
All MMOs have patches. Players have come to terms with the thought that they’re going to have to wait for that download bar to fill every so often. Every now and then, though, a patch worthy of some more thought comes out. For Guild Wars 2 players, one of those major content patches finally came.
On January 28, a major patch was released that included what is referred to as the “Flame and Frost: Prelude,” the first entry in a full story series moving forward. The description according to the patch notes say:
A mystery presents itself in this first entry in a multipart Living Story series. What could be causing such discord in the foothills of the Shiverpeaks? All those poor homesteaders and ranchers displaced with nowhere to go calls into question if the storms could be that bad—or if there’s something more sinister stirring up the flame and frost. The ground is shaking, and the sky is falling in northern Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau. Norn and charr refugees, crawling from the wreckage of their homes, are fighting their way to shelter in Hoelbrak and the Black Citadel. Many are in shock and wounded; most have only what they can carry on their backs. A call has gone out for volunteers to assist them in their time of need, when the environment itself seems to have become their enemy.
You can get all of Guild Wars 2 patch notes and read up on everything we couldn’t cover at the official Guild Wars patch notes here.
G5 Entertainment and DAVA INC. released their latest title for iOS. Old Clockmaker’s Riddle is a match three type and story based puzzle game where players will need to complete over fifty levels to help Mr. Ryan rebuild a destroyed town. The task is make more challenging with frozen and locked pieces. The game features two mods, 12 upgrades, five magical tools, 25 houses to rebuild, and 25 mini-games.
