Humble Bundle for Android 4 has made the bundle five times more appealing today with the addition of five new titles. Those who pay more than the average price will now also unlock Avadon: The Black Fortress, Canabalt, Cogs, Swords & Soldiers HD, and Zen Bound 2. Like the previously announced games in the bundle, all games are DRM free and are available on Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. The bundle is a pay what you want with Steam keys available for those who pay more than $1.
Humble Bundle for Android 4 is in support of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play charity. Check it out here.
Fanta have released a brand new gaming app for the iOS and Android titled Funstigator, alternatively referred to as Fanta Funstigator (emphasizing that Fanta brings the fun).
The Funstigator app allows users to take on Funstigator challenges and earn points which can ultimately lead to winning some awesome real world prizes like a Playstation 3 console. You can check out more info on the Funstigator app at the Fanta Facebook and download it on the iTunes Store here and the Google Play Store here.
Be sure to let us know what you think of this awesome Fanta Funstigator app in the comments section below.
EA Mobile is starting their support for the Barnes & Noble NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ with Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled 2. Plants vs. Zombies is now available on the Nook store for $4.99 and Bejeweled 2 for $2.99. Other titles such as Real Racing 2, Tetris, MONOPOLY, and THE GAME OF LIFE is planned for released before the end of the year.
Plants vs. Zombies is Popcap Games’ hit strategy game pitting players against a horde of flesh eating zombies with only their garden to protect them. It has seen a release on almost all major platforms and has found itself as a cultural reference in hit games such as Left 4 Dead 2 and World of Warcraft.
Bejeweled 2 is a tile matching puzzle game also by Popcap Games. The series has seen over 150 million downloads to date.
EA Sports have revealed that, for the first time ever, golfing legend Arnold Palmer will be gracing the covers of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14.
“The King” had a career that spanned an astounding five decades, and has won 92 tournaments and championships since his first in 1955. 62 of those victories came on the PGA tour. Among the many accomplishments Palmer has achieved, his most major and impressive include four Masters, one U.S. Open and two Open Championship wins. There is also a connection between the icon and Tiger Woods himself, as Tiger has won the Arnold Palmer invitational a total of 7 times, with the most recent victory being in 2012.
The photo being used in the box art image, which can be seen on the right, was taken during the 1960s; Palmer’s most prolific years. Of course, Palmer will be featured as a playable character, but this is not the first time that he has been selectable. He was also playable in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 05 and 06. And joining these two legends are four of the youngest, brightest rising stars from the LPGA and PGA Tour, and newcomers to the franchise: Keegan Bradley, Bud Cauley, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson. The quartet round out the field of 25+ golfers available in this next instalment of the popular golfing series.
For future updates on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, stay glued to Capsule Computers, and visit the official EA Sports website.
What’s a good way to advertise a game with a made up rapper in it? From the looks of the latest from Deep Silver and Techland sequel Dead Island: Riptide, it seems to be making a music video for a song by said made up rapper and having it feature a real rapper as well. The video is for a music track that playable Dead Island character Sam B apparently recorded and filmed for right before heading to Banoi and the events of the first game.
The live action video “No Room in Hell” can be viewed embedded below and while it states “uncut” the worst it offers is language and women in swim suit attire. What do you think of the song and video? Does it match up to “Who Do you Voodoo” for the first game? Let us know in the comments.
Dead Island: Riptide will release April 23rd 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
Namco’s Tank! Tank! Tank! already looks to be an awesome title to launch the Wii U with due to the massive amount of variety in tanks and weaponry, but now the deal looks even sweeter due to a new trailer.
This clip invites players to come on down and get a look at the Tanks in stock within Tank! Tank! Tank! , and well…it’s something you just need to see for yourself. Watch the clip below, and you can pick up Tank! Tank! Tank! this Sunday when the Wii U hits shelves. Let’s hope we get salesmen like these.
Overview
ToeJam & Earl was one of the first co-op games I had ever played – and to this day, there really is nothing else like it. Half Rougelike, half platformer, and all personality, this funky little title released back in 1991 and became quite a success for Sega, launching two new mascots for the brand and introducing many gamers to a nice blend of hip-hop and funk. Fast-forward 21 years, and we now have the first two titles in one digital bundle – appropriately titled Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl. Has time made these duo of aliens wrinkled and old, or is that funk still jammin’?
Story
Never let Earl drive. Let this be a lesson to all of you, as that is where the hi-jinx in ToeJam & Earl starts. You see, our plot starts with our alien friends are cruising about in their rad spaceship, when Earl takes the controls and ends up wrecking their craft on Earth. Shortly after, it becomes their mission to recover all of the ship pieces on the planet, while gathering up as many presents as possible to assist in an odd yet enjoyable journey.
ToeJam & Earl: Panic in Funkotron is a bit different in terms of plot, with Earthlings stowing away on the ship from the previous journey – only to release upon the planet of Funkotron and cause havoc. With the use of an infinite amount of jars and a couple of bonuses, the duo now have to bag all of the crazed Earthlings up and return them back to their own planet. Yeah, both plots are rather simple, but for the time, there was never anything quite like either game. Doused in 90’s hip-hop and humorous references, every discovery and piece of dialogue is rewarding (and now nostalgic) due to the massive amount of personality applied, and the parody of the human race within both titles is exceptional. Crazed obese women with packs of poodles, mad scientists, boogeymen that tip-toe throughout a stage hunting for their next victim, every world discovered within both TJ & E games is just as over-the-top as the next, which makes progressing forward an utter delight.
Gameplay
ToeJam & Earl is a unique take on the Rouguelike genre, complete with randomly generating stages, a hefty amount of items and loot, and of course enemies pacing about – ready to cause trouble upon contact. Every stage’s main objective is to find the elevator and proceed to the next environment. Some of these areas will have a ship piece located on the map, which must be tracked down and obtained to properly progress before boarding to the next level. To do this, players can either go in alone as their choice of ToeJam or Earl (there is no difference other than appearance), or tackle the game in co-op with both aliens participating at once. If co-op is chosen, the screen will split when each character separates from the next, and lives and continues can then be shared amongst both players. It’s a solid formula that never weakens throughout the various terrains and encounters, but presents truly make this experience the legendary title it became.
Who doesn’t love presents? On each world, Santa has been busy dropping off gifts across the land, and it is your job to open each in order to receive a unique and mostly useful power-up. Icarus Wings let our friends flutter about in the skies for a short time, Super Hightops offer a boost of speed, and items like tomatoes deliver a solid projectile attack that will completely defeat foes. There is a downside to these awesome abilities however, as some instant death items are inside these boxes, along with other useless techniques that are mainly included to curve the otherwise simple difficulty. Since each gift is in it’s own box, what you receive the first go-around is the luck of the draw, and it’s only from then on that you will know what gift you are opening. Like surprises? Well, ToeJam & Earl offers them up all of the time – for better or worse, and ensures the player is always on their toes when it comes to receiving their loot.
Panic in Funkotron, the second game in the collection, is a completely different experience. Presents are included, but play a smaller role and just offer one of three assists. This title is also in a different genre altogether, as the whole randomly generating worlds gimmick along with the top-down Rougelike perspective has been ditched for the more classic, side scrolling platformer method of gameplay. After selecting a character, the player must explore their environment while following hint arrows that lead them to the missing Earthlings. Once found, you must then toss jars like mad until each Earthling is caught for every stage.
I’ll admit, my fascination with the first ToeJam & Earl was mainly about the presents, but that same charm and 90’s vibe still resonates within this sequel, and the gameplay still never misses a beat – despite the somewhat less exciting (or random) moments within. There are some fun little mini-games that appear from time to time as well as other inhabitants of Funkotron to speak to, which brings out that awesome atmosphere while making both games feel related.
Of course this is an updated collection, so there are a couple of bonuses included for those who may already own the cartridge versions. Online co-op has been added, letting two players go at either title from anywhere in the world. Of course couch co-op is a given (and is still the definitive way of playing either game), but the player can now choose to save either game at any time, providing a very useful upgrade to the originals. Everything else such as the wallpapers and extra options within is just gravy, simply complimenting two nearly perfect gems that have been begging for this type of release.
Visuals and Audio
Even though it was 1991 when ToeJam & Earl first debuted, each title still looks great due to the heavy amount of varied colors used, keeping these two titles from showing their age. Sure, the 16 bit graphics are a given, but that is easily forgivable due to the amount of variation and life that inhabit every inch of whichever version you decide to play. Panic in Funkotron may look a tad more polished due to the later release date, but the original is still full of life – possessing more charm than a great number of modern titles we see today.
As far as the soundtrack goes, well…there is nothing else like it. I know, I used that term already, but this funky and infectious soundtrack is full of earworms, burying those lovely tunes into your soul – hours after you lay down the controller. Every power-up also features it’s own unique sound effect, delivering further reason to collect each present and try all of the techniques within either game as well. Hearing the fat lady sing, the many “Awesome!” and “YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!” voice clips used for our heroes, and that boogeyman…boogey are all guarenteed to put a smile on your face, no matter what generation you are from.
Overall
ToeJam & Earl came at a time when originality was needed, and delivered just that in every aspect. The gameplay is still a blast – be it solo or with a friend, and while drastically different from eachother, both games in this collection deliver their offbeat humor non-stop, making for two of the most unforgettable experiences ever made. It doesn’t matter if you have a soft place for retro, or if you have never touched anything past the Xbox 360. ToeJam and Earl are two overlooked mascots that defy age and through tomatoes in the face of Father Time, making this mini-compilation a must for those who are missing that extra funk in their lives.
If Jet Set Radio were to have a baby with Bratz and….Dracula, the spawn would be Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze. For those unfamiliar, Monster High is a franchise from Mattel that features vampires and ghouls attending schools while going through things such as boys and…well, pimples and stuff.
Today, the new Nintendo Wii game was released for Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Nintendo DS. As you could guess, this title features the same characters kids that love the franchise are familiar with, along with a roller-skating theme to add in that much needed twist.
For more information on , check out the official website here, or get on over to “Like” the Facebook by following this link.
Today begins Microsofts campaign to celebrate 10 years of Xbox Live service over the course of its two consoles, the Xbox and the Xbox 360. Xbox Live, for those of you that do not know, is Microsofts online service that allows players to access online multiplayer functionality of games for a small monthly subscription fee.
Interestingly enough to note is that this past week has seen the largest use of the service since it was launched. Players have this week clocked in over 442 hours of Xbox Live gameplay. This is in no doubt attributed to the launch of Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
In a letter, Marc Whitten from Microsoft has this to say –
“I’m proud to announce that during the week of Nov. 6 through Nov. 13, our members spent more time on Xbox LIVE (gaming and watching entertainment) than any other week in the history of our service: a total of 442 million hours. And Halo 4, which broke entertainment industry numbers, resulted in the LIVE community unlocking 43 million achievements in just the first five days of gameplay.”
Microsofts Major Nelsen has also released a blog post on the anniversary. Also as a result of this anniversary, Microsoft are offering a few titles at a discounted price for the next week, these are listed below. Be sure to pick up these titles before the discount period is over.
Skullcandy is teaming up with EA Games to release the Army of Two The Devil’s Cartel custom branded SLYR Gaming Headset. There will be two headsets, one inspired by Alpha and the other inspired by Bravo. Each headset comes with a bonus code that will unlock Skullcandy gear for Alpha and Bravo. In addition, Skullcandy is giving players the chance to try out Army of Two The Devil’s Cartel early during their Skullcandy Road Tour.
The Skullcandy SLYR is a wired stereo gaming headset available for $79.99 USD, no word on the Army of Two edition pricing. Check out Skullcandy’s line of gaming headset here. Army of Two The Devil’s Cartel will be released early next year. Check out Army of Two’s official website here.
EA Sports have revealed that, for the first time ever, golfing legend Arnold Palmer will be gracing the covers of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14.
