Tim Schafer’s Double Fine runs a two week game jam that happens every year. The company stop work on all their projects, split up into small teams, and spend the next two weeks creating several brand new games. Amnesia Fortnights has spawned some of Double Fine’s greatest games such as Costume Quest.
This year, Tim Schafer is opening up Amnesia Fortnight to the public in support of Child’s Play charity. The devs at the company have pitched 23 ideas and are allowing buyers of the bundle to vote for four prototypes they want to see made. In return, buyers will receive prototypes of Costume Quest, Happy Song, and the four winning ideas as DRM free downloads and Steam keys. Additionally, the whole session will be live streamed for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Those who pay more than the average will also receive the prototype for Brazen. Check out the bundle here.
The mind behind such games as Time Traveller, Darkstone, Flashback, Operation Stealth and Moto Racer Saga Paul Cuisset and his studio VectorCell has partnered with French game publishers Anuman Interactive. “I’m very happy to start a collaboration with Anuman Interactive, a publisher who is today one of the best advocate of French creation,” said Paul Cuisset. Cuisset started developing games in 1987. He began his career working on Operation Wolf and Space Harrier. He left the games industry in 2003 only to return three years later with the opening of VectorCell
Anuman Interactive is at Game Connection Europe next Wednesday and plans on making a major announcement every day for a full week. Their biggest announcement is slated for Monday the 26th.
EA and Bioware are celebrating the recent transition to a Free to Play option in Star Wars: The Old Republic with a brand new trailer. Players now have the choice between paying a monthly subscription fee for unlimited access to Star Wars The Old Republic. Alternatively, players can play for free with several restrictions in place. They can use either micro-transactions to remove certain restrictions and gain preferred status or transition seamlessly into a full monthly subscription.
Players who originally purchased the game and allowed their subscriptions to lapse will immediately gain Preferred Status and a complimentary Cartel Coin grant. A website explaining all the restrictions for free to play players is found here.
Marvel Avengers Initiative has been smashing up the sales chart on iTunes since its release back in September. Finally, Android owners will get the opportunity to get in on the action with their very own Android version. The game is optimized to take full advantage of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 graphics chip. To celebrate the Android launch, the game is on sale on the iTunes App store for $0.99 USD/AUD. Get it here. The Android version is on sale for $4.99 USD here. Check out our review of Marvel Avengers Initiative here.
There are a limited set of devices that Avengers Initiative runs on, so make sure you own one of the devices listed below.
– HTC One X
– HTC Evo 4g
– HTC Incredible 4g
– LG G2x
– LG Nitro HD
– Motorola Droid 3
– Motorola Atrix 4g
– Motorola Photon Q 4g
– Samsung Galaxy Nexus
– Samsung Galaxy SII
– Samsung Galaxy SIII
– Samsung Galaxy Note
– Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
– Asus Nexus 7
– Asus Transformer Prime
– Asus Transformer
EA has a lot to be thankful this year like being nominated for the sixth year in a row for the Mobile Entertainment Awards for Best Mobile Games Publisher. The awards are held in London, England every year and winners are selected by a 400 member jury panel. Additionally, today is Thanksgiving in the United States.
So to celebrate, EA Mobile is knocking down the prices of some of their biggest titles with a huge sale. EA Sports FIFA 13 is at the lowest price ever, Monopoly Millionaire is on sale for the very first time since release, and in-app purchases in freemium titles like Bejeweled Blitz, Monopoly Hotels and World Series of Poker are also on sale.
For additional sales on other downloads and in-game products, you can check in at www.ea.com/dailydeals.
Little Big Planet Karting Developer: Media Molecule, United Front Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform : PlayStation 3 Release Date: November 8 2012 Price: $59.99 (available here)
Overview
Sackboy is one of this generations more traditional mascots. In a world full of realism and gunfights, he’s a squishy cartoon character who runs around crazy worlds trying to save the day. After a long love affair with platforming which has produced some stellar titles, Sackboy and his developers have jumped into another genre that has sadly become old school -karting. Taking over somewhat from Modnation Racers, it would seem like a perfect fit.
I’ll confess to hugely enjoying previous LBP games, the recent Vita release is one of my games of the year. But this time Sackboy hasn’t struck gold, and whilst that would be okay for some other games, Little Big Planet suffers by comparison to both it’s platforming brethren and Modnation Racers.
Story
The plotlines of the Little Big Planet series have never been a selling point for the games, but they have always been a more than tolerable dose of charm and light humor. As in previous adventures protagonist/mascot Sackboy must save Craftworld and its denizens from an evil force, this time a bunch of go karting malcontents called The Hoard.
Sadly there is something missing this time around, with the cutscenes losing their light grip on player attention and becoming something to be immediately skipped. Precious few karting games have even bothered to sling a story together, but LBP Karting’s failure is all the more obvious because of the success that has gone before it in the series.
Gameplay
After the traditional opening salvo of Pod, Poppit and Stephen Fry, players are let loose on the actual racing. Presented this time on numerous LBP worlds, tracks and mini games are opened up by progressing through the story and placing in the top 3.
The racing mechanic is a simple affair, using a boost to drift system with a good dose of comical but by the book weaponry. The grapple hook from previous games also makes an appearance, as does the ability to give fellow players a good smack in the head if they get too close. Whilst the controls are tight and the drifting entertaining, there’s nothing new or fast enough to make the racing exceptional.
What really lets things down is the track design. As always with Little Big Planet the locales are packed to the rafters with themed goodies, but the design doesn’t extend to the road itself. There isn’t a single stand out track here. Where previous games had plenty of moments best described by a delighted bunch of exclamation and question marks, Karting just produces some mildly entertained periods. There’s nothing outright bad here but nothing to revisit and learn like the back of your hand either.
In addition to the bread and butter races you’ll sometimes come across battle arena challenges or solo checkpoint races. The checkpoint races are a fairly minor part of the game, but free up space for some trickier track design by taking away the other racers. The battle arena levels can be capture the flag or simple death match type games, and often play home to the levels that come closest to being memorable.
Flinging weapons around is vastly improved by having some human competitors, indeed giving the AI’s the boot is a good thing all round. Local multiplayer allows up to four players to take part split screen, and of course there is also an online option.
The weapons themselves are a standard collection of missiles and boosts, and can be used offensively or to defend from other players attacks. Only being able to hold one weapon stymies the strategy a little, and the system is completely open to cheap shots that can wreck an entire race in an instant.
Overall the racing experience in Little Big Planet Karting is simple and a nice pleasant distraction, but it definitely left me hankering for the previous LBP titles or even a bit of Crash Team Racing. If you already have a preferred multiplayer racer there is just no reason to cross over unless you are a huge Little Big Planet fan, and even then one who is sold on the idea of creating more than racing.
The extensive creation tools that are a given for the series return once more, allowing more dedicated players to create and share their own custom tracks. The same huge range of bits and bobs is on offer, with the collectibles scattered across tracks and unlocked for placing well. Creating tracks feels more comfortable than creating platforming levels, perhaps down to the easier to grasp starting point of what is essentially a giant sandbox. As with Modnation Racers you drive to create the track itself, and can then gradually put together whatever your creative flair allows.
Audio & Visual
There’s no denying that the Little Big Planet style is bursting out of this game and not just slapped on top. Levels remain packed with visual delights of a Craftworld flavour, even if you don’t have the same opportunity to appreciate them as you race by – much of the intricacy is background. Despite the inherent quirky flavour things don’t feel as smooth and slick as in the previous games , and there is a noticeable difference in visual quality.
As always with the series the music is superb, full of energy and neatly matched to the racing environment. Some familiar tunes pop up from previous LBP games, handily bringing up a bit of nostalgia to shore up the gameplay.
Overall
As a Little Big Planet fan LBP Karting made me want to play the other games for all the wrong reasons, and as a karting fan it made me long for Crash Team Racing, a game that is over a decade old. There is fun to be had here if you go in for multiplayer, and the creator mode is no doubt a selling point for some, but unfortunately the game never rises above ‘good’, which is far below par for something with this name on the box. Put simply this game just left me cold.
Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D Publisher: Reef Entertainment Developer:Reef Entertainment Platform: 3DS Release Date: 30th November Price:£24.99
Overview:
In all my years of gaming, until playing Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D I had never come across a fire fighting game, including that of the same name which appeared on the Wii (minus the 3D that has added to emphasise the fact that it is on the 3DS). However, with a little researching and after looking over assets from the Wii game, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a 3DS port of that game, so any fans of the fire fighting genre will have probably already seen the guts of it and have another long wait in store for the next fire fighting game.
Story:
As the latest cadet in the fire fighting academy, you embark on your training to become a fire fighter under the watchful eyes of the your superiors (complete with friendly banter between these work buddies). Some will like the banter, some won’t – but c’mon, it’s a means for these virtual characters to relax and ease the tension in a stressful job like fire fighting. Plus it’s at the very centre of the story, because without the voice acting there would be no characters as their expressionless faces leave much to the imagination.
Your training conveniently acts as a tutorial, teaching you how to use all the fire fighter’s tools at your disposal. It trains you to find stations dotted around to grab a fire hose as you only have so much line before you can go no further with a hose; then you’d use your fire extinguisher. Also on your touch screen toolbox on the bottom screen is a halligan (special rescue crowbar) to open things, an axe…to open things a different way, as well as in certain situations a rotary saw to cut your way into or through something, and hydraulic spreaders to, say, squeeze the door off a car in an emergency.
All the tools work well and are explained nicely, including the different nozzles you have for fighting fire and the two different control scheme options (you can use the touch screen or the buttons), except for the rotary saw, which on top of being explained poorly, doesn’t work all that well once you do know how to do it. This is mainly because it relies on too much precision, when the player should always just be given the benefit of the doubt when they’re close enough rather than have to fiddle about trying to find the exact place the game’s creators intended you to start sawing.
Gameplay:
It’s one of the hottest, driest summers in LA on record, though, so you’re fast tracked through the training and are out on duty fighting the many fires that are breaking out in no time. The game could have just as easily have been called ‘Firemen: The FPS’. It’s essentially a first person shooter except your guns come in the shape of a hose nozzle or a fire extinguisher and fire water and foam instead of bullets, and the melee combat sections of the game are limited to doors.
All joking aside though, as you are probably writing this off as dull, it’s a refreshing change to be shooting fire instead of bad guys. There’s a reason behind your actions that everyone can understand; shoot the fire, save the people. Most shooters encourage you to take for granted that you’re murdering some guys that come into view. When you think about it, you’re not exactly the good guy. At least here there can be no doubt and everyone has a common enemy: fire.
There are a staggering amount of games with fire in them – considering explosions usually lead to fire. Yet in spite of fire getting a starring role in so many games, no one seems to get it right. If you actually go up investigate in many games (read: walk up to and into the fire) it turns out to be guarded by and invisible wall, causes your character to do some weird jerky movements and doesn’t behave like real fire at all.
Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D has gone back to basics with its fire mechanics. The flames spread as squares, spreading if you don’t put out every last one. But on your missions it isn’t about putting out every last one; it’s about containing the fire, protecting those who need to escape or locating people to carry to safety.
Puzzle elements are simple; merely locating a fuse box or gas valve and switching it off to eliminate the danger. When weaknesses in the game come through they do so to comic effect. For a start, your co-workers animations look odd when they’re dashing through a burning building – the phrase ‘high knees, lads!’ springs to mind.
The AI is poor, such as when it unintentionally shows an ineptness at fire fighting. It looks like something from a comedy sketch when you’re on the massive fire truck mounted water cannon and you see and fellow fire fighter running back and forth with pretty much a bucket of water trying to douse the flames. There was also an instance where the fire fighter abandoned the factory workers surround by flame to get himself to safety.
Visuals & Audio:
It’s not a bad example of a 3DS first person shooter, either. The controls are passable. The turning is too slow for anything close to quick reactions thanks to the lack of a second analogue stick, instead having to make do with the stylus on the screen, but the touch screen tool change works well. The visuals aren’t too hot, but it’s not a bad attempt at a three-dimensional game world on a small screen, and it’s certainly a functional environment though not a very pretty one. Plus the fact that the developers have actually bothered to include voice acting to make the story more engaging deserves some brownie points.
Overall:
As my first fire fighting game I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I can’t say it has left me with a bad impression of the rather niche genre. Its unique approach to the shooter makes for a refreshingly non-violent FPS. Fire has a devastating power and it’s hinted at in parts of the game where suddenly it engulfs the room around you in a matter of seconds, but then the illusion is spoilt when it doesn’t progress any further to allow you to escape in your own time. Executed correctly it could have been stunning, emotional – and still can be if the developer/publisher did decide to take it any further – but as it stands it’s a new experience, not a special one.
Xbox 360 owners who are yearning for more precise gaming control can look no further than the PowerA developed FUS1ON Tournament Controller, coming to your local EB Games store this December, in Australia.
PowerA has consulted with a select number of pro gamers whilst researching the best controllers of the past and have implemented leading edge technology and materials to create what they boast to be THE premium console controller. Featuring unique analogue thumbsticks, a pro-gaming inspired D-Pad and many more high grade components, the FUS1ON Tournament Controller provides gamers with that precision-based competitive edge.
The following video shows the FUS1ON Tournament Controller in action at the 2012 MLG Tournament in Dallas, TX.:
Vice President of Product Development at PowerA, John Moore had this to say about the creation process, “We worked alongside pro gamers from the very beginning of the development process to get real-life insights into design, aesthetics and control… Extensive testing and rounds of refinement for each individual component produced the FUS1ON Tournament Controller – a brand-new, best-in-class controller designed from the ground up. We’re excited that every gamer now has the chance to play like a pro.”
The FUS1ON Tournament Controller has some great key features, which include:
Perfect Analogue Control: High grade components are finely tuned to provide durability and precision accuracy.
Unique Analogue Stick Design: Reduces thumb fatigue during extended play sessions.
Precision D-Pad: Pro gamer-inspired design for precise 8-way control.
Custom Illumination: Controller accents and analogue sticks light up in 5 different LED colours.
Interchangeable Grips: Two sets of interchangeable ergonomic grips offer multiple styles of comfort.
Braided 10-Foot Cord: Wired for tournament play and regulations; stay competitive and avoid latency.
Protective Travel Case: Stores and protects the FUS1ON Tournament Controller when gamers light up the gaming circuit.
The FUS1ON Tournament Controller concept trailer is available to watch below. And once again, the FUS1ON Tournament Controller for the Xbox 360 will be available in time for Christmas, this December, for the RRP of $99.99. For more product information, visit the official PowerA FUS1ON website.
Rurouni Kenshin Studio:Studio Swan Publisher: Japan Foundation Format: Cinema (Japanese Film Festival) Release Date: Sydney – November 21, 2012, Melbourne – December 5, 2012 Price: $17 – (Buy Here)
Overview: Without a doubt, the most anticipated film of the 16th Japanese Film Festival was Rurouni Kenshin, the live-action adaptation of the classic samurai manga. As with all adaptations they are ultimately compared to their source material, so how does Rurouni Kenshin stack up to it’s origins? Better than one could have hoped. Rurouni Kenshin is a non-stop thrill ride, the likes of which have not been seen in recent memory. This is how you handle an adaptation, much like Kenshin’s back-blade, with deft accuracy but enough creative spin on the norm to differentiate it. Rurouni Kenshin, isn’t just good. It’s damn good.
Story:
Rurouni Kenshin follows the wandering swordsman (aka. rurouni) Himura Kenshin. He is a drifter, with little direction other than where ever life leads him. He once fought to kill, but after the end of the war that brought about the New Age, Kenshin saw the error of his ways and made the decision to never kill again. This is of course the main focus of the story here, Kenshin doesn’t want to kill, but can not killing cause just as many problems as killing? Thus is the quandary of Rurouni Kenshin, are some people better off dead?
First and foremost I must say that this film features some of the most eclectic action sequences I have seen in years. I watched with my jaw slightly ajar instilled by awe. The action is well choreographed and a pleasure to watch, thankfully due to the great deal of substance behind it. In a particularly chilling scene in which Kenshin’s back-story regarding his scar is revealed, we are treated to what is a beautiful scene of combat in a road becoming littered in cherry blossom petals as they fall ever so mystically around Kenshin and his opponents. This scene in particular tells us a lot about the character of Kenshin, but we will get to that soon. It is worth mentioning the film’s pivotal fight scenes at the mansion towards the end. The battle of Kenshin and Sanosuke against 250 former samurai is pulse-pounding to say the very least and features some incredibly creative movements such as Kenshin running sideways along the ground whilst slashing at his enemies. It is a scene that must be seen to be believed. In the end though it all comes down to emotion, thankfully this is something that Rurouni Kenshin has in troves.
The theme of killing is explored with delicacy and on occasion verges on profound, especially the aforementioned sequence of how Kenshin got his infamous scar. What makes killing okay? What makes killing wrong? These are some of the questions the film sets out to answer and although it never truly provides a solid answer for either conflicting question, much like Kenshin the film doesn’t force ideals upon you, it simply states it’s view and let’s you make up your own mind.
The characterization here is all pretty spot on with a few minor changes, which ultimately don’t impact things too significantly. Himura Kenshin himself though is easily the most well portrayed and developed. Throughout the course of the film we come to know and understand Kenshin as a person. One thing that stands out most about Kenshin is that he is a character who has done great wrong in his past, yet he does not seek redemption, he doesn’t believe he deserves forgiveness, he just dedicates himself to protecting others. The film teases whether or not Kenshin will give in and kill again and his final decision in the film’s climax is simply glorious and something to savour. Kenshin is an incredibly admirable character and his band of comrades are just as admirable. They say judge the masses by the man they follow and that man is Himura Kenshin.
Now I am certain what most of the anime and manga fans want to know is how good an adaptation this film is, well I must say it is an excellent one. It adapts a mix of the first two story arcs of the series and does so with relative ease. So much happens in this film and it barely stops to take a breather. The tone is intense and rarely strays from that. It is paced well enough but truthfully could be a little shorter. Of course that is not going to be an issue to Kenshin fans who just won’t be able to get enough of this. This is as good as an adaptation gets and Studio Swan should be proud of it.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically Rurouni Kenshin is utterly gorgeous. The set-pieces and scenery are awe-inspiring and tease at a world anyone with an adventurous side would love to explore. The costumes are well designed and are very highly detailed, making a perfect image of the original designs in the manga. Visually though it is hard to go past the stunning action sequences that is an utterly phenomenal achievement in film as a medium. I can still recall some of the incredible artistic feats on display in Rurouni Kenshin and I doubt they will leave my mind any time soon.
The film’s soundtrack is great as well, with some great tonal incidental music that is simultaneously atmospheric and memorable. The theme song is catchy and strangely in English. I found this odd but the song itself was good enough to serve as the film’s theme. It is of course the incidental music that is the star here though.
Overall:
It is hard to fault this film because it’s honestly a tour de force of fun and excitement that just won’t stop accelerating even when it hits a speed bump. Rurouni Kenshin is quite simply a love letter to it’s source material and beneath it’s flurry of clashing swords and occasional gunfire there is a warm heart and honest soul that will resonate with audiences of all ages. This is an invigorating film in every sense of the term, one can only hope that this signals the revival of this beloved franchise.
The Skylanders Giants steamroller continues as Activision announce that Skylanders Lost Islands is now available for download exclusively via the iTunes App Store. With the Mabu in trouble its time for the Skylanders to lend a hand. Lost Islands is a unique blend of character innovation and resource management as players again take on the role of Portal Master to build customised versions of Skylands. Send your Skylanders on on important quests and adventures, facing perilous trolls and pesky enemies in your goal to help the Mabu rebuild their homelands.
Skylanders Cloud Patrol is also in full force as a top casual title on iOS, partly in thanks to ACTIVATE, Activisions new mobile gaming service that gives extended online features and services to online gamers as well as providing valuable cloud storage space for Skylanders figures progression and save games across iOS devices. And if that wasnt enough theres huge things in store for Lost Islands as the Skylanders Giants join the rest of the Skylanders Cloud Patrol.
