Nvidia just announced that they will be entering the handheld market with their console called The Shield. A variety of industry figure-heads have weighed in on the new handheld console, among the commentators were the top dogs of Ubisoft and Epic Games, both of whom expressed excitement and interest over the machine.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot sees great potential in the handheld:
“Ubisoft is always excited about new hardware developments, and Shield promises to bring both mobile and PC gamers a great new gaming experience. Seeing the PC version of Assassin’s Creed III run on the device is a great example of this, and further strengthens Ubisoft’s long-standing relationship with Nvidia.”
Co-founder of Epic Games Mark Rein talked up the tech side of the console:
“With Shield, Nvidia brings an uncompromising, high-performance console experience to mobile devices. Amazing games including Real Boxing and Hawken, which utilize the latest Unreal Engine technology, look fantastic on Project Shield. This is just the beginning, and we’re truly excited to see what more Unreal Engine developers will do with so much horsepower in such a compact gaming device.”
It goes without saying that the specs of this handheld are impressive, but does that matter much at the end of the day? What do you think of the Nvidia Shield? Is there reason to be excited? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Samurai Action-Adventure series, Hakuoki, has been licensed by Hanabee here in Australia. Hanabee have shared with us a bunch of details about this upcoming release of theirs.
For those of you that haven’t heard, Hakuoki is based on a game on the Playstation and Nintendo platforms with the same name. The story follows the Shinsengumi, a special police-force that recruits the main character, Chizuru Yukimura. However it seems like the Shinsengumi have some secrets that will come to light throughout the series.
The release will be in DVD format and will be releasing with both an English and Japanese audio track. At the moment Hakuoki has been announced to be releasing with clean opening and closing animations only at this point.
Hakuoki is animated by Studio DEEN and looks like it’ll be an awesome series. It comes out in March. Be sure to check out the official site for more info.
Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, has come out and made a statement in regards the reports that the Wii U has sold poorly since its launch in November 2012.
Iwata responded to these claims saying;
“At the end of the Christmas season, it wasn’t as though stores in the U.S. had no Wii U left in stock, as it was when Wii was first sold in that popular boom, but sales are not bad, and I feel it’s selling steadily.”
When asked about the confusion of two versions of the console he had this to say;
“It was the first time Nintendo released two models of the game console at the same time … and I believe there was a challenge with balancing this, specifically, inventory levels for the premium, deluxe package was unbalanced as many people wanted that version and couldn’t find it.”
What do you think of Iwata’s comments on this situation? Let us know in the comments section below.
Overview
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade sounds exactly like all of those titles most of you see everyday for the Nintendo Wii, awaiting to be bought by a clueless mother – wanting to recapture that magic of Wii Sports for her kids. Yeah, there is something to be said about the term shovelware, as some titles are worthy of the name, while others tragically get deemed part of the cash-in crowd and become forgotten in the process. This is the Wii U though. Shovelware this early? Well, there is a first time for everything, and sadly, this clunker is one that doesn’t even realize what console it’s playing for. Why do I say that? Here is our review.
Gameplay
With mini-game compilations, you know what you’re getting. Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade is no different, as it has 30 different mini-games, wrapped into one package where multiple players can join in together and play. Normally when I review these types of games, I like to look at everything involved and detail each mini-game as it’s own product. Sadly, this title’s offerings are either over in minutes, or have been padded in length to create an illusion of a much more fulfilling experience.
That alone really isn’t the “one great flaw” within this game. Obstacle Arcade starts out swimmingly, presenting the player with four different locations to take their friends to, where you will then partake in the mini-game madness within. Then you are asked to have each player pick their name. This alone is something we don’t think about, as it’s just a name, right? Well, that might be the case most of the time, but no matter what name you enter, Family Party completely ignores it and tries to have you play as some generic boy or girl, while calling you a default name of someone you know nothing about. This may work in Mario, but Luigi, Peach, and the gang are all established characters – and these lifeless and hollow husks just don’t cut it as playing the lead for any one person. Making matters worse is the overly excited teddy bear that acts as the mascot, who tries to be a lovable host, but displays no charms attached in order to do so.
Challenge Mode starts us off within the main course (the other being Freeplay, offering one time quick trips to the games you have already unlocked), where all players involved will pick a zone and play mini-games at random. The player that has the most points from winning bouts will be declared the winner at the end, but that is only if they can stand the mediocrity on display. Family Party utilizes WiiMotes for all of the main games within, and features bonus games that allow one player the self-proclaimed privilege of using the Gamepad to play. Yes, that is a problem in itself, but we will get to that in a moment.
The Wiimote centric mini-games include the likes of horse racing, maze exploring, and other various themed activities, but come off as mostly broken or flat out boring affairs. For instance, there was one game that sort of functioned where all players must use the Wiimote pointers to drag a dot in a maze without touching an electric wall. There were a few bells to ring to get points along the way – but honestly, this mini-game felt as if it would have been released 15 years ago during the early days of flash. A good number of the mini-games also rely heavily on waggling to progress (most of the racing events), and the detection for even that simple function is not even all there.
Once a game is won, a wheel can be spun to select a bonus round, where the winner will get to use the Gamepad. My first experience with this was an asteroid blasting game. The Gamepad user had to touch asteroids before they hit Earth on the screen, while the other players had to take control of paddles with the Wiimotes and knock them to the planet. The Wiimote player’s role in this game was almost non-existant, as it was no fun trying to even hit an asteroid, with little to no indication of what do actually do and just a colored strip of debris determining who was hitting what asteroid. The Gamepad user didn’t get to have much fun either, as all they got to partake in was an uninspired tapping of rocks to prevent the other player’s shots from hitting Earth. That is the general idea of what to expect from these bonuses. The saddest part about this set-up is that Family Party doesn’t even reward the winner with something special, as the Gamepad portions are just generic and usually broken offerings.
Even though my first few games were terrible, I kept looking for that gem. We all know that there is usually one or two decent mini-games in these types of compilations – but that just never came to be. All 30 of these offerings fail to deliver any entertainment, and feel as if they were made for the original Wii and just plastered on the Wii U at last minute due to the lack of full Gamepad support for the entire package. I hate to say it, but this obstacle arcade is one with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, as every mini-game feels unfinished, lacking the polish and quick burst of fun that make party romps fun.
Visuals and Audio
If I had to praise anything within Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle, it would be that there is a lot of color. A lot of color, plastered on to ugly looking models with plain, boring backdrops. The Wii U may be a powerful piece of hardware – but none of it gets used here, as there are framerate drops, choppy animations, and graphical glitches in almost every mini-game. Sure, there are themes, but each are devoid of atmosphere or character. Sticking a few rockets and stars on a map and calling it “Space” just isn’t good enough.
The audio doesn’t do much to help the final product. The mascot narrates every mini-game, and repeats the same one-liners over and over while the players try to win. It’s sloppy, annoying, and another major issue with Family Party. Unfortunately, the soundtrack isn’t much better. Each song sounds lively enough, but unfitting with the theme for the zone at hand completely. I don’t want to act is if an amazing soundtrack is needed for a sub-par party game, but if you are going to aim for a younger market, make sure you use some tunes to grab those young ears – and not unlicensed drivel that does nothing to promote the fun this Family Party was supposed to be all about.
Overall
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade advertises itself as a Wii U game with a budget price, but that in itself is a lie. Family Party feels like it was made for the Wii, ported to the Wii U, and rushed in extra features with the Gamepad just to make the cut onto the console’s early line-up. Wii games can still be fun, but not one of these 30 included mini-games are enjoyable, as each suffer from major problems, uninspired characters, and lackluster concepts as a whole. At first, I was insulted that this could have even seen a release, but there is one good thing about a game like this existing this early for a new console. Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade’s only merit is that is should be looked at by all other developers as what not to do this generation – and that is to completely fool and take advantage of a market that might be attempting to get their children a game with a low price-tag. Avoid this trash like the plague.
It’s that time of the month. After a nice dose of rewards last month, Nintendo have came back big yet again, delivering four more titles that you can spend those hard earned coins for. So what’s up for grabs?
This month, and all of the way til Feb. 10th, Mario Kart 64 can be purchased for 200 coins, which is also the same price for Punch Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream for the 3DS Virtual console. For 150 golden chips, you can also cash in on the Game Boy version of Tetris on the 3DS, as well Snowpack Park for the WiiWare. Honestly, I thought the bigger rewards were to celebrate Christmas, but it seems Club Nintendo has some momentum built up, and now is the time to start taking those surveys and claiming your bounty.
Here is one of the good news/bad news stories for you. After a long wait, it seems that Code of Princess will be headed to Europe. Yay! Right? Well, those who want the game better get their plastic cards ready, as this release will be digital only for the region.
As of now, there is still no solid release date for the side scroller, but Europeans should at least breathe a sigh of relief that the game will be coming out in one form – even though the cartridge crowd may snub their noses at the thought of a download.
Nearly three years ago, Deadly Premonition came into my life and changed my perspective on everything for this generation. Never before had I felt as close to a cast of characters, or have ever been so attached to a whimsical little world. Greenvale is an amazing locale to visit, and thankfully, Playstation 3 owners will get their chance to dive into insanity with Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut.
Today, Rising Star Games released a fact sheet, detailing just what players can expect to see in this upgraded port:
New scenario from the game’s director, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro
HD graphics
Reworked control system allowing for an even better combat experience
Downloadable content to expand the mystery beyond the original game
Sounds good to me, but I personally feel as if Deadly Premonition, despite it’s faults, was a perfect experience. That being said, this game is one that you either love or hate, and that nature has lead to a hardcore cult following, which I am proud to be a member of. This version should be out in March, so the wait will soon be over for this gem to hit the PS3, right Zach?
Welcome to Talking Crap, a show were a bunch of game journos talk about crap. For the first episode we discuss Capcom’s poor handling of Mega Man’s 25th Anniversary, green Mega Man lanyards, Satan the CEO of Capcom and well things get weird from there.
You can check out this episode of Talking Crap in the video below. What do you think of the latest episode of Talking Crap? Wanna have your say? Well youu can talk some crap in the comments section below.
According to a recent tweetby Distressed Debt Investing, THQ’s intellectual properties will be auctioned off “title by title”.
“Parties have come to agreement: THQI auction now on Jan 22nd. The auction will allow for piecemeal (“title by title”) sales of THQ assets”
The company with the most interest in buying these IPs is EA, who is well known for buying up intellectual properties and turning out games under that name. With much loved game IPs like Saints Row up for sale, many people are wondering if EA could keep up the quality. If EA does buy and develop these IPs, will they hire the same teams or at least some of the same developers to make sure the games keep up what made them loved or will they just use their own people to make their own version of the games?
Entering in their second closed beta today, the upcoming free 3D MMORPG browser title “Chrono Tales” is providing more goodies for its testers. With new content available Chrono Tales is inviting players back for a two week closed beta event. I’d say that is enough time to love something and become depressed as soon as it is taken away. Nonetheless, here is the new content available in the second closed beta:
The official gives away one pet, named Flame Steed to all players.
Level cap has been raised to Lv 60, more World Bosses and Daily Instances are available.
Two attractive systems: Divinization and Treasure Plant are added.
Hotkey CTRL+Z is available to turn on/off auto-combat directly.
Server Time display has been added to the Event Intro interface.
Some items are repriced, such as HP/MP potions, fodder.
Some translation has been tweaked.
Being a closed beta, accounts will be wiped clean after the servers close. However, players who have topped out in the first closed beta will receive 100% return in the second. And beyond that 110% return will be seen for those that will continue to the open beta.
To check out the closed beta events or potentially join the second close beta, jump into the rift (here).
