If you are still waiting on your first Christmas present of the year then fear no longer – there’s a gaming freebie on the loose! Black Forest Games have announced the release of a special festive level for platforming delight Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams. The level will be automatically added to the game for those who already have it – just check under the extras tab after updating – but handily for those who have yet to try the title, the level also functions as a stand alone game.
It’s an ideal opportunity to test out a quality game for free, so those seeking some well designed and often tricky platforming can grab the level for free from Steam or GOG.COM.
In case you happened to miss it, Bioshock Infinite’s cover has already been revealed and can be found here. However after the cover was revealed there was quite a bit of backlash from the gaming community, complaining it was the most generic cover ever and many even photoshopped the male character into a number of other covers to show how generic it was.
Well Irrational Games has already said that they won’t change the display cover for Bioshock Infinite but they are planning on providing a reversible cover and you can help select which one. Irrational currently has six different cover arts that gamers can vote on and the winner will be printed on the back of the cover art. You can see the covers below and vote for your choice (#1 or #5 right?) here.
It looks like someone should probably have monitored the European version of the Dead or Alive 5 website a little bit better because it seems that that version of the site has revealed that Dead or Alive 5 Plus will be released in Europe and Australia on March 22nd next year, though France seems to be getting the title on March 21st.
As for a North American release, Tecmo Koei US has already said the game will be released there in Q1 2013 so it seems that the release date may be similar, if not a few days before, the European release of the game.
If you’re dying for some classic games then Good Old Games has a special gift just for you. Today the company revealed that they are going to be giving the 1996 classic title, Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, out to anyone who wants it via their website. In another little twist, this is also the first time that Duke Nukem 3D will be playable on a Mac system!
The game is currently free at the time of this writing and will be free all the way through December 14th 9:30AM EST. The company is also holding a holiday sale at the moment where nearly 500 games have been put on sale. You can find out what is on sale here.
While anyone who picked up the Hardened Edition or Care Package of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has been able to play Nuketown Zombies since the game was released, everyone else has unfortunately been unable to access this very popular map in the extremely popular zombie mode.
However that has changed today thanks to the fact that Treyarch and Activision have now made Nuketown Zombies available for download for anyone who is a Season Pass holder on the Xbox 360. Currently it is unknown whether Nuketown Zombies will be released for non-season pass holders for a fee nor when it will arrive on the PC and PlayStation 3, but you can check out the trailer below to see the map in action.
More information concerning Namco Bandai’s Project Versus J was revealed in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump this week. The key piece of information revealed is the fact that the title is being developed for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 (Import friendly systems) and the title will be a “team battle action” style game.
It is also worth noting that gamers will have a chance to vote on any three characters from the Shonen Jump lineup to join the game’s final roster. The magazine lists that any characters will be acceptable regardless of their position in the manga. However Western fans will not be able to submit their votes, considering the only way to let Namco Bandai hear your voice is to male in a vote via a postcard to an address listed in the magazine.
Interestingly enough, there are multiple screenshots of the game in action in this issue so expect some scans to be revealed in the next few hours showing the game in action.
Black Knight Sword already has a lot going for it, as it has the name Suda 51 attached. This twisted fairy tale is much more than that though, as it features that classic 16-bit sidescrolling gameplay that retro fanatics should love.
Here are some more details if you are unfamiliar:
Perfecting the blend of traditional side-scrolling action with a one-of-a-kind bizarre world, Black Knight Sword presents an unprecedented visual style. In this modern and interactive take on a classic fairy tale, Black Knight Sword is a throwback to the 16-bit era with simple, yet addictive gameplay within a stylized hand-drawn puppet theater world. As an intriguing “Interactive Kamishibia” (paper drama), Black Knight Sword unfolds similar to a virtual pop-up book filled with memorable creatures to encounter and addictive challenges to overcome.
Black Knight Sword is Suda 51’s twisted interpretation of the princess fairy tale where, rather than saving the charming princess, The Black Knight must free the world from a dark princess’ reign of terror. Players will solve puzzles and unleash the fury of The Black Knight’s sword, the Black Hellebore. Enchanted with powerful fairy spirits to assist in battle, the Black Hellebore will cause more than a scratch to the treacherous enemies set before The Black Knight.
SOLD! Yes, this may sound a bit niche for some, but Black Knight Sword looks damn impressive, and thankfully, is available today on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for just 800 points ($9.99 PSN).
A previously unannounced iOS port of the 3DS music game Theatrhythm Final Fantasyappeared on New Zealand’s iOS App Store today, which usually suggests a worldwide release throughout the rest of the day.
The iOS release adds a “Quest Medley” mode, which puts you through a random pairing of “field” and “battle” levels, which are different every time you play through them. It also adds a composition mode in which to make your own levels, along with the ability to share these creations via Twitter.
Unlike the 3DS version, the iOS release is free to download. As reported by NeoGAF users, it comes with just two songs, with the rest purchased as in-app bundles. Even additional characters are sold through this system. However, user Goli notes that when the NZ release of the game is opened in a US account, the prices for in-app purchases show up in US denominations and add up to around $150.
Considering the teaser sitelaunched for Theatrhythm in Japan is still un-updated as of this writing, it begs the question of what the teaser site was for in the first place. In any case, Theatrhythm is most definitely worth a try if you have even the slightest appreciation for Final Fantasy music. The 3DS version currently retails for $30.
How do you promote an already great game? Well, Reverb Publishing recently made a nice little newspaper clipping for Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller to entice those to not only vote for it on Steam Greenlight, but also to pick it up online as the game is readily available.
Check out the nice little read below, with links fully inserted:
Boston Man Found Tortured to Death in Grisly Death Trap
Early reports state this the work of the Cain Killer
By Rosie Williams – October 29, 2008
BOSTON, Mass. – The latest victim in a string of brutal murders across the Boston area, Needham resident Scott Reed, 26, died as a result of injuries inflicted by the murderer-at-large known as the “Cain Killer.” This serial killer has been terrorizing the Boston area for the past three years, targeting male-female sibling pairs and using numerous torture devices that have left all victims dead. The Cain Killer kills his victims in traps involving large spikes and spears, and once left a man to suffocate in a sealed stone coffin. Disturbingly, the Cain Killer has an active following on social media that has caught police attention, although it seems this is unrelated to the murderer and the case.
Scott Reed was the son of well-known retired Boston Police Captain Brian Reed and brother of local FBI Agent Erica Reed. Boston FBI Director Samuel McAdams has confirmed that Agent Reed is being treated at Mass General Hospital for severe injuries received in the attempt to recover her brother, but is expected to make a full recovery. This makes Agent Reed the first potential victim to escape the Cain Killer. It is confirmed that Agent Reed was working on the Cain Killer case prior to her brother’s abduction and there is speculation that Scott Reed may have been targeted because of this.
Agent Reed has not made any official comments regarding her brother’s murder. Reporters and citizens have been following her still-public Facebook profile for potential information regarding the case. Police and FBI officials have requested that all citizens who have or are looking for more information regarding Reed or the Cain murders should contact the FBI media representative, or browse the public case simulation.
In case you didn’t catch the hint, VOTE FOR COGNITION TO GET GREENLIT ON STEAM! I enjoy seeing clever types of promotion bundled with already intriguing titles, and this mystery is one that should be solved by all.
Along with my interview with Mike Read, Producer of Crysis 3, I also had the opportunity to interview the Producer of SimCity, Jason Haber.
We will also have a hands-on of SimCity up shortly, so keep an eye out for that in the coming days.
Here’s a quick look at the background of Mr. Haber:
“Jason has over six years of experience at the Maxis Emeryville Studio, and has worked on a number of memorable titles across multiple platforms including: Spore Creature Creator, Spore Creatures, Spore Hero Arena, MicroBot and Darkspore. Prior to joining Maxis Emeryville, Haber worked as a Producer/Designer at LeapFrog, Web Development Lead at Grand Central, and Interface Engineering Manager at Snap.com. A graduate of Oberlin College, Haber holds degrees in both Computer Science and Psychology. He is a proud parent and travel enthusiast who also enjoys photography, interactive artwork, pinball, and of course, videogames— with a particular penchant for indie and classic games.”
Ok, let’s get on with the interview!
Let me just start off by saying, and I know I can speak for Jess too [fellow Capsule Computers editor present during the interview/huge fan], that SimCity is becoming one of our most anticipated titles of 2013. First of all, I’d like to talk about the Glassbox engine; it’s very impressive. Do you see it being used, moving forward, for The Sims as well as SimCity?
Well, what I can say about it is that the Glassbox engine initially started to get created right after Spore, under the vision of Ocean Quigley, our Creative Director [I really should have interjected here with a “hippy parents?” line…] and Andrew Willmott, who’s our Chief Architect. It’s sort of meant to be…we’re certainly using it for SimCity and it’s a great engine for SimCity, but it was built with the intent of being the next big engine for the Maxis studio. And we don’t have specific plans for how we’re going to use it after this, and SimCity is certainly one of the most difficult things we could have done with it, but I’d be surprised if there weren’t future endeavours with the Glassbox engine.
It’s a great engine and it’s been built in-house so I just thought it would fit perfectly with The Sims, giving some interesting data into their daily lives, in that same respect that it works in SimCity. But anyway, going off on a tangent here, but it was the first title we gravitated to here today. [Jess: It looks amazing!]
Great! How many times have you played it?
Jess: We only played it once, but I want to go back and play it again.
The fun thing about this demo is you can play it over and over again, and you can skip the tutorial to just get into it quick.
It’s funny, there was a point where one of the residents commented that “it’s obvious that we are generating more power than we need!”, so I shut down the power plant and then 10 seconds later everyone is complaining that there’s no power! (Laughter)
(Laughter) Yeah, we’ve done a lot of tuning since the creation of this demo!
But in a sense it works because it’s indicative of how we react to things. There’s the energy/power conscious and there are others who don’t understand/care about those things, they leave the lights on all the time, you know? (Laughter)
(Laughter) Yeah, in a way it’s more representative of the real world.
Ok, so we’ve heard about SimCity World. How exactly can multiple players affect each other’s cities?
So, within a region, cities can work together. And we call it multi-city play, but you can easily play it on your own as well as with other people. But there’s three main ways that cities can interact with each other. One is through the Sims, where they can move between cities in a region; so they may live in one city, and work in another city and spend money in yet another city. And in other ways they can share resources, so power and water can go and flow out of a city and go to other cities in a region, so you may have a city that doesn’t even need a power plant because it’s getting so much power from it’s neighbours. And then there’s things like services as well which you can share with other cities; if I build this big higher tier, higher level police station, I can share that police coverage with another city in a region. There can also be negative influences as well, so a lot of crime can spill over and affect other cities. Crime and pollution are actually the big ones that can affect the cities next to you. In addition, cities can collaborate together on great works, and those are sort-of regional projects that require tons of workers and resources, but they really benefit everyone that’s connected to them. So it’s this idea of like “let’s work together to do something big and great that we all can benefit from”.
I was pondering the possibility of disasters spilling over to neighbouring cities as well, but all up that is a lot of functionality between cities, and I never expected there to be that much so this is all very cool to hear.
Yeah and you know, I’m sure you saw the first strategy video that Stone [Lead Designer] did, and there’s going to be more coming out that shows how these cities can work together and how it works in the real world. And what we think is cool is that even hopping between cities is really easy. You just simply move to that city, click on it, and it loads up right away. So it really makes that multi-city play feel more contained, but let’s you play the whole region instead of just a single city.
Cool, I always keep up with dev diaries so I’ll keep an eye out for them. So what challenges did the team face in tackling full online play? If I’m not mistaken, it hasn’t been tackled in the franchise since SimCity 2000?
SimCity’s never done full online play before.
Really? My memory must be bad…(laughter)
Yeah, well that I know of, let me put it that way.
Maybe not full online play, but some sort of functionality. [I was semi-correct: SimCity 2000: Network Edition (or Gold Edition) did enable players to share in-game resources and to compete or cooperate with other cities.]
I mean, to answer your question, in doing any online game there are a lot of challenges – I mean there’s a whole server architecture that we have to deal with; we actually simulate the entire regions on our servers. So that’s been in development for a while, and there’s this whole slew of challenges that come with it. Luckily, at the Maxis studio, we did Darkspore and we learnt a lot from that about how to set up an online environment and all the challenges that arise from that. So there’s a lot of different aspects relating to that.
Of course. Well I was interested in asking, when it comes to single-player, what kind of goals will the player have? I know it’s a sandbox game and that word “goals” is subjective and broad when used within the genre…
(Laughter) I’m just laughing because yeah, it’s so hard to define what a goal is, but I think some of the things that motivate me as a player depends on how I’m playing. Sometimes it’s that I want to become a specific big business city, sometimes I just want to make a city with a big population or a lot of Simoleons and the leaderboards actually – part of that SimCity World feature – gives me a lot of guidance to what I’m doing. For instance, Kip Katsarelis – who’s the Lead Producer – and I, we were competing on the petroleum leaderboards a couple of weeks ago. It was like, we kept knocking each other off the top and we kept building bigger and bigger oil cities to try and take the other person off the top. And it was fun because it was just one way to be motivated and we were like “next time, I’m gonna go and play the electronics game and try to beat everyone at that”. So I think for those higher level goals, there’s a lot of different motivations you can have. And even moment to moment you’re going to have your own little goals of like “ok, the next thing I’m going to do in this city is figure out how my police coverage is gonna work; where I want my police station, how many police cars I want, etc.”. So they’re like mini-research projects that you do at points in the game.
Well, something I noticed in the demo are the speech bubbles that pop up, whereby the residents give you little tasks, or maybe more appropriately I should say hints as to what you should do in the city. Is that something that occurs early on, similar to a tip system/tutorial element or is that found throughout the game?
That’ll occur throughout the game. We’re still balancing how often that appears and what sorts of things appear, and we’re actually hoping to give the players the option to turn those off if they don’t want them. But it’s funny, everyone who plays it actually likes to leave them on, because they’re really easy to ignore; if you’re in the middle of doing something else it’s not like you’re forced to click on them, but it’s nice to have them there sometimes.
Yeah, I actually like that aspect. Ok, so for the final question, I know this is looking a bit too far down the line, but given the release strategy of The Sims with all the expansions, do you consider it a possible that SimCity will do the same? Because historically it hasn’t really ventured into that DLC/Expansion pack territory very often at all.
Well, right now we’re really just focused on finishing the core game. We’ll see what the future holds, but for the record SimCity 4 did have Rush Hour, so…
Yeah, that’s true. I just thought there’s a market for that extra support, but yeah that’s true…
I think SimCity 2, 2000, actually also had…one of them did because we have the box in the studio. It actually may have been the original SimCity…
Well I was born in 1990 so excuse me for not remembering…
Oh God, that’s so depressing! (laughter)
(Laughter) Well thank you for the interview, and SimCity is coming out on March 5th?
I believe it’s March 8th here, so there’s a couple days difference from the U.S.
I don’t think people will have any other choice, it looks fantastic so having to wait a few extra days is a price we’re willing to pay! (laughter) Thanks so much Jason.
In case you happened to miss it, Bioshock Infinite’s cover has already been revealed and can be found 
BOSTON, Mass. – The latest victim in a string of brutal murders across the Boston area, Needham resident Scott Reed, 26, died as a result of injuries inflicted by the murderer-at-large known as the “
