The BioShock Infinite board game that was alluded to with the reveal of a game piece, The Handyman, as part of the Premium and Ultimate Songbird editions of the game, has now been detailed. BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia is being made by Plaid Hat Games, and although no official release date has been revealed, we can assume that it will release in conjuncture with the video game in late February.
Along with the game board, which is a given (duh!), The Siege of Columbia will include the common playing cards and dice, as well as 52 miniatures! Irrational Games were actually the ones who initiated talks of creating a board game with Plaid Hat Games. “Players will play as either the Founders or the Vox Populi and will build up an army to fight for control of Columbia by taking ground and completing important objectives,” says Ken Levine, Infinite’s Creative Director. “The whole while they’ll be using their influence to sway various events that arise. They’ll also find themselves having to deal with Booker and Elizabeth who are running around Columbia creating havoc.” So, it will essentially be based around dealing with that same core conflict that underpins Infinite’s video game storyline.
The HandyMan game piece!
The board game promises to provide opportunities for many twists and turns in the plot that the player may initiate. “In one game maybe the Founders captured Elizabeth but Booker took advantage of an assault by a Vox Populi airship on the Founder stronghold to get her back,” says Dauch. “In another game maybe there is a heated battle for critical control of a district and Songbird shows up just in time to give the Founders the edge they needed to drive out the Vox Populi. In another game when the threat of a skyline collapse looms the Vox Populi may recklessly throw all of their resources into influencing it’s collapse, cutting off the Founders from an assault that could have won them the game, and holding on for a victory.” Personally, not having played a board game for many years, the idea of one with branching story paths is an enticing one.
If you are also excited to take part in The Siege of Columbia, you can get your first game piece, as previously mentioned, by pre-ordering the BioShock Infinite: Premium or Ultimate Songbird editions right now!
Doom 3: BFG Edition Publisher: Bethesda Developer: id Software Platform: PC (Reviewed), Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Release Date: Out Now Price:$39.99 (Buy Here)
Overview
Doom is the most recognisable franchise in all of gaming. It is easily the game that is most responsible for bringing gaming into the public eye by having a theme that was openly criticised by the religious organisations and media at the time for being way too violent. Doom is the number one cause of violence in youth if what they were saying was to be believed.
Does Doom 3: Edition make you want to kill babies like the media would suggest? Read on to find out. (Actually we don’t cover that anywhere in this review).
Story
Doom 3: BFG Edition feature the three Doom games available on the PC platform. This of course means that the game features a total of three similar, yet vastly different stories. This is good for players, as it kind of sets the Doom universe up for different interpretations of the overall story.
Actually, converse to that, it also makes the series lore really confusing. Are these three games a retelling of the same story? Are they direct sequels? Maybe they’re alternate universes? I don’t know and whilst you’re playing it really doesn’t matter all that much.
The basic premise of Doom, if you didn’t know, was that a corporation known as the Union Aerospace Complex (or something, the C might be different) owns a colony on the planet Mars dedicated to research and scientific advancement away from the morals of Earth. However, something goes wrong when creatures resembling Demons come from a dimension similar to, or of, Hell and wreak havoc on the colony. As a soldier of the UAC, it is your job to put a stop to the demonic mess and escape the planet.
In the first two Doom games, this means that you’re playing through episodic content with each one finishing off and the next taking place nearly immediately afterwards. In Doom 3, you have a more traditional advancement system, going through levels until you reach the end of the game. Whilst Doom 1 and 2 have levels, they are much shorter and can be completed in less than an hour. Interestingly, Doom 3 also has expansion packs, which are not a part of the Doom 1 and 2 releases (to my knowledge).
Gameplay
The games themselves are incredibly linear, I mean I often give games a lot of crap for being really linear, but you really don’t realise how linear they are until you go back and play them again later in life. I mean all games are linear, but is how well you mask that linearity that makes a game good. In another time, Doom 3’s linearity would have been masked incredibly well; heck it’s masked more well than most modern shooters like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. However, making a player backtrack for a key and then going forwards again to go through a door does not make it open. This makes the game feel a lot like a corridor shooter and well, it always has been.
However, it does become a bit more maze-like the further you go in the game. There are more and more elements that you have to travel through, more key mixing, a bit more puzzling and some great platforming sequences. Whilst this applies to all the games, in Doom 1 and 2, it is a bit more basic as you aren’t able to jump.
OH! One gripe I have with Doom 3 is that strafe-jumping is incredibly weird. As a quake player, strafe-jumping is my preferred movement type. In Doom 3 I’m not entirely sure how the jumping mechanics work, do you jump three times in succession for the speed boost? Is the strafe-jumping working but just nulled in Doom? I’m not entirely sure. I know that there is extended jumping in the game and it definitely increases speed, but is it Strafe-jumping? I’m not sure.
Doom 3: BFG Edition has a multiplayer component to it also. However, it is surprisingly barebones. I’m not entirely sure if it’s connecting me to any game with the desired gametype, if there are dedicated servers somewhere that I’m missing or if it’s using Steam to determine which games would be a best fit. All that I know is that I was never matched into a game with a desireable ping, and neither was anyone else playing. This is odd, because id have a free-to-play shooter that does this so much better. Why should paying customers be getting a sloppier multiplayer experience?
Visuals
Back in the mid-2000’s Doom 3 was THE GAME graphically. If you wanted to compare PC’s, you’d use Doom 3 as the benchmarking agent. When id announced that they’d be releasing Doom 3: BFG Edition with graphical upgrades, I was thinking to myself: “Here we go, it’s going to be graphical king again”. However, whilst this is not the case, it would have been nice if there were actual noticeable improvements to the game.
To be honest, if you put the versions of the game next to each other, you could probably tell the difference between the two. However, running from my memory, this game looks exactly the same as it did in the past. It is incredibly similar that I don’t feel this version of the games enhancements should have been as heavily talked up as they were.
I will, however, state that us here at Capsule Computers do not own a Face-Mounted Display and as such have no comment as to how this game plays with it on. It’s cool that the game supports it, but we have no idea how it would run. Apologies.
Audio
The sound in this game is really odd. There are a tonne of problems that really need to be fixed, especially in regards to volume mixing. Sometimes the characters talking will be muffled due to some of the ambient noises in the game. And the game having a lack of subtitles makes this incredibly painful to listen to. This is especially bad when you have to pay attention to details in recordings and videos and you have some gloomy noise playing over the top.
Somehow, the weapon sounds in this game sound excrutiatingly weak. The Shotgun, which is one of the better weapons to use for normal enemies, sounds incredibly weak. I mean, I can get why weapons might need to sound weaker from an atmospheric standpoint (you can’t have the game making you feel over-powered where you could be killed at any moment by demons) but there’s no need to have them sounding incredibly weak either.
Overall
Doom 3: BFG Edition is a great package for anyone who has yet to purchase Doom 3 and its corresponding expansion packs. The two predecessors to the Doom 3, Doom and Doom 2 are a great addition to the package that makes this even more worth your wallet. However, if you already have copies of these it isn’t a must buy. This is, though, the best way to get into the Doom franchise if you’re not already there.
Need a lift? In the Sydney areas? Need a ride that will leave the impression of a lifetime? The Need For Speed Most Wanted Taxi is roaming the streets of Sydney to mark the launch of the game. Members of the press and select consumers will be getting a taxi ride in a converted Lamborghini Gallardo that is roaming the streets from October 29th, 2012 to Saturday November 3rd, 2012.
There will be no fare for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Keep an eye on the twitter hashtag #mostwantedtaxito see where the taxi has been spotted last or if you want to post your pics of your Need For Speed Most Wanted Taxi sighting.
Today Kadokawa Games released the first trailer for Experience, Inc.’s first PlayStation Vita title, Demon Gaze. Now Demon Gaze will play as a first person dungeon crawler and from the screenshots and artwork below there looks like there will be a decent reliance on fan service in the game as not only is one of the main characters shown in a compromising position, a few pieces of artwork also show barely dressed characters.
Outside of the artwork, we are given a brief glimpse at how the battles will look in the game. Those curious about the game’s storyline will be happy to hear that the story will follow a young man named Oz who has lost his memory. Despite his lack of a memory he contains a powerful demonic eye that allows him to capture demons. It is unknown whether Demon Gaze has a shot of being released overseas, but thanks to the lack of region locking on physical Vita games, it will be available as a possible import once it is released in the future.
Funko’s Pop has announced a new line of collectible figurines that are inspired by characters of the upcoming blockbuster Halo 4.
The new lineup includes some returning characters like Master Chief. The full line up is the following Master Chief, both red and blue Spartan Warriors, as well as the unbelievably cute Cortana figure. This line up will be able to join the already released group of Halo vinyl collectibles which include Noble 6 (Halo: Reach) and the fan favorite Grunt (Halo 3).
You will be able to pick these cute collectibles up when they release on November 8 and you can pick up Halo 4 when it launches on November 6.
A leaked image of a poster for Rockstar’s upcoming blockbuster, Grand Theft Auto V that was found in Europe has finally given us a launch window for the game. Grand Theft Auto V will be releasing Spring 2013.
The news was found on a fan forum that is simply called GTA-Five. The news was expected to release sooner or later but this is the first time we have gotten a good assurance of anything we have heard about its release date via the rumor mill.
It is still unknown though if the game will have a simoltainilious release period across the globe. They did this for GTA IV so some are led to believe that the same thing will be implemented for GTA V.
On another note, the poster points out that the game will only be releasing for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This means that it is currently unknown if they will be bringing the game to the Wii U.
Keep your eyes posted on here as more news regarding GTA V will be revealed in November.
The Walking Dead: Around Every Corner Developer:Telltale Games Publisher: Telltale Games Platforms: Mac, PC , PSN, XBLA (Reviewed) Release: October 9, 2012 Price: 400 MSP ($5) – Available Here
Overview: Telltale Games has created quite a legacy for themselves over the past few months with one episodic franchise that is taking the world by storm. Telltale’s The Walking Dead series has created a zombie game unlike anything else on the market and with their episodic releases; they have created a fan base eager to see what will happen next. Over the last three episodes, the reviews of which can be found here, hereand here, we’ve followed a group of survivors through thick and thin. Now that the fourth episode, Around Every Corner, has been released, what will Lee and the group encounter now?
Story: We join the survivors in Around Every Corner as soon as they pull into Savannah and disembark from the train. As the survivors venture into the streets of the city it is clear to anyone that the group is not only on the brink of shattering, but they are being crippled from the inside out. Not only is there an injured member of the group slowing them down but also a man whose life was shattered not a day before. Plus with the events of the previous episode still fresh in our minds, we know that no one is safe from the zombie apocalypse, not even children…
To top that off, anyone who has made their way through The Walking Dead from the very beginning will be hard pressed to not be saddened by the fact that the original Macon group has now come down to only a few distraught survivors which have been through hell and back. That being said, it is hard not to feel disconnected from the newer members of the group which were freshly introduced in the closing of A Long Road Ahead, as not only were we given little time with them, but little reason to care for their survival.
That is unfortunately still the case with Around Every Corner, as the episode does barely anything to focus on Chuck and Omid as the two are barely shown on-screen while Christa often provides assistance, but her first priority is always Omid. Plus, there is Ben… Now as the group manages to find a relatively safe place in Savannah, Kenny desperately searches for a boat to take them away from it all. Unfortunately things won’t be that easy for them, as zombies are everywhere in Savannah and the streets are full of stripped vehicles and boarded up buildings. With the strange voice over the radio still fresh on our minds, a new survivor’s colony with twisted rules and other survivors to encounter, Around Every Corner proves that there is always another twist that can happen at any time.
It is worth noting that one of the most concerning plot points of Around Every Corner4 is only barely dealt with until the closing minutes of the episode while the bulk of the episode focuses on trying to find and fix up a boat for Kenny. Thankfully with the various situations the group finds themselves in, players will constantly be at the edge of their seats.
Now The Walking Dead has always been about the player’s own choice and how they interact with one another and never has that been clearer than in this episode. The series has done an excellent job of making players feel connected to the group of survivors and in Episode 4 players will find some of the most difficult choices they will encounter. While a few of them are simply survival based, other decisions will strike to the very core of who the player is as they must make a choice no one should ever have to.
Visuals: As with the past episodes in the series, Around Every Corner provides a distinct visual style that many fans of the comics would appreciate and this art style makes some of the nastier moments in the game all the more gruesome. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of zombies to kill this time around and gore to be had and while it may have seemed bland with realistic visuals, the art style Telltale has consistently used for The Walking Dead makes these gruesome scenes all the more brutal.
It is worth noting that Episode 4 is probably one of the least troubling episodes I experienced as far as technical issues went. During a few scenes, a few zombies’ bodies seemed to move a lot faster than their shuffling forms would allow, appearing to vibrate as they walked. However outside of that there were no disappearing character models, sliding movements or strange positions like what has occurred in previous episodes.
Audio: As before, the voice quality of the characters in Around Every Corner is top notch and you can really feel the emotion in these characters’ voices during desperate or depressing situations. There are a few new characters introduced this time around, though only one is given any extensive voice work but it is still performed admirably.
All of the various situations you will encounter while playing through Episode 4 are accompanied by some impressive background tracks as it seems that Telltale has pulled out most of the stops this time around, making sure that every track fits perfectly with the situation, enhancing the emotions felt at the time with stellar background music choices.
Gameplay: As Lee ventures through Episode 4 they will encounter a light collection of puzzles. These puzzles are rather simplistic and involve solutions that are simply common sense based, though they do help provide a bit of an adventure feel as players will need to explore their environment to figure out how to advance.
Now while action sequences where Lee and the group’s lives have been on the line are nothing new, Episode 4 is the most action packed episode so far. While the last couple of episodes have factored in how human beings can be just as horrible as zombies, this latest episode brings the undead back with a vengeance. Savannah is full of zombies and Telltale never hesitates to put the group at the mercy of the undead.
As with episode three, there are a few first person shooting moments where players will need to aim with a gun and kill zombies that are attacking someone or about to kill them. The aiming has been improved and considering players can fire the gun with a simple pull of the right trigger, killing zombies is actually very easy this time around. That being said, it seems that Lee has grown quite used to the zombie apocalypse as he often dispatches zombies in rather quick, albeit awesome, ways. When you put this together with the fact that his pistol seems to have infinite ammo, Lee has turned into quite the zombie killing machine and gamers are there to witness his new ferocity.
Overall: All of this culminates to creating an excellent penultimate episode with only a few minor bumps in the road. While the group has lost a lot of the dynamic over the events of the last episode and little is done to repair it during this one, Lee and Clementine’s journey of survival is still one for the ages. With more action than past episodes and a new twist that will lead into what may be the most varied episode of them all, The Walking Dead: Around Every Corner will leave players chomping at the bit to see the final outcome in Episode 5.
BeBee The Bee Developer: Alexey Vlaskin Publisher: Alexey Vlaskin Platforms: iPad Release Date: October 3rd, 2012 Price: Free Get it Here
Overview
The iPad is a great platform for kids. The touchscreen controls are extremely natural and kids seem to pick it up in a snap. There are plenty of videos on YouTube of children operating an iPad better than their grandparents and even their parents. BeBee The Bee is a nonviolent action game geared towards children. The game challenges players to collect pollen and nectar to create honey while managing hazards and enemies. Can BeBee win the hearts and minds of families everywhere?
Story
BeBee the Bee is injured young bee. Her family has to leave her behind as she is unable to fly. When she is finally healed and ready to fly, BeBee is the only bee remaining. Dutifully, BeBee is off to collect nectar and pollen so she can help flowers breed and create delicious honey.
The story is told through still pictures in cut scenes. The story itself is extremely simple and a little bit of voice acting is thrown in for good measure. There are four parts to the game but only two are available at this time. The first chapter of the story is free, while the remaining three need to be purchased via in app purchase. The story itself is completely appropriate for children and remind me of a young children’s book found in a library or a book store.
Gameplay
The gameplay is introduced with a simple set of illustrated instructions that stands for a tutorial. I found the tutorial to be rather bare boned. Along the way, there are fingers that will appear that will provide a hint on what to do. As a mechanic is added to each level, it is introduced in the cut scene. Although I would have preferred a proper tutorial level, the first chapter itself feels like a giant tutorial level.
The controls are pretty simple. Swipe towards the direct you want Bebee to fly towards and move. Let go to stop, tap flower and enemies to interact with them. For the most part the controls are pretty average. There are moments where the controls are not as fine as I would like when navigating through confined areas and the game struggles at time with the tapping action.
The game can actually be rather challenging at times even for an adult. Players are rated out of three honeycombs, time to complete the level, and the amount of nectar and pollen collected all contribute towards the final score. This brings a little bit of replayability to the game.
Visuals
Bebee the Bee provides simple cartoon graphics reminiscent of children’s story books and cartoons. The game is extremely colourful and pleasant to look at. I do wish there was a little more variety in the game. Enemy bees all look the same and there are only a few different types of flowers Bebee can harvest.
Audio
The audio in Bebee the Bee is pleasing and is partially voice acted. The music is pleasant though it lacking variety. The same goes with the sound effects, it seems there are only a small handful of sound effects that are repeated over and over again. I really appreciated the game was partially voice acted, but I am not completely sure if the voice acting is done by a computer or by a first time voice actor. Although the voice itself sounds extremely natural with a hint of an Australian accent, the cadence in the speech sounds extremely unnatural.
Overall
The first chapter of Bebee the Bee is free, the rest of the game can be purchased for a one time purchase of $4.99 or each chapter can be purchased for $2.99. Unfortunately the price range for the game is way too high. Playing through the first chapter is most likely going to be enough for most players. Although the visuals are decent and the game manages to fit in some voice acting, the gameplay is average at best. It is simple enough for a child to enjoy, but I struggle to see the game keeping the attention of a child long enough to warrant the $4.99 in-app purchase. But considering the first chapter is free, there is not much risk in giving it a download and letting your child have a whirl at it to see if it captures their attention for a little while. However, I doubt this game has the staying power to keep an adult occupied for long.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Firefly studios sci-fi strategy game Space Colony is currently undergoing a HD makeover on the way to it being re-released this November. Originally released in 2003 to favourable acclaim, it allows the player to take control over a group of 20 colonists as they attempt to colonize various planets, and then hold them whilst under alien attack. At the same time you also have to manage your colonist’s well being, with everything from their levels of hunger to their mental state needing to be looked after. Don’t think this is merely the Sims in space though, as you have multiple structures, weapons, aliens and strategy mechanics which you will have to employ in order to achieve victory.
In a similar fashion to Firefly Studios other game Stronghold, the player can choose either a ‘Military path’ or a ‘Civilian path’. With one leading you down a road of lasers and death, while the other results in you building intergalactic golf courses (no joke). Space Colony is also fondly remembered for the colonists themselves, as each colonist has their own personality, needs and abilities. Also who wouldn’t want to control a colonist named Stig Svensson who is a walking Norwegian ex-biker behemoth?
As well as the game receiving new HD textures as part of the remastering, the field of view has also been increased, allowing players to see multiple situations without having to scroll around the map. The aspect ratio is also being upgraded from the previous cap of 1280×1024 to 2560×1600.
The game is set to be released digitally on the 8th of November, and will be available from Amazon, GoG, Get Games, and other major retailers.
*Please note the image is not representative of the final game*
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit Developer: Arkedo Studio Publisher: Sega Platform: Xbox Live Arcade (Reviewed), PlayStation Network, PC Release Date: September 26th, 2012 Price: 1200 MS Points ($14.99) – Available Here
Overview:
Hell seems like a pretty common place to let players go crazy and just lay into enemies, even better about it is that it can be made to look like pretty much anything the makers of a game want it to look like. As big or small as it needs to be to fit the story, gameplay, and tone, Hell Yeah! boosts to have 10 massive areas of Hell to explore and defeat the 100 strongest monsters that happen to standing in the way. While that sounds like a pretty fun time, it comes down to how well it is executed as in the ends that what separates different classes of games. So, does this one have what it takes to be a good one?
Story: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is the story of Ash, the current ruler of Hell, as he tries to prove that he isn’t a weak coward after a bit of a photograph snafu. Of course, when the ruler of Hell needs to prove how badass they are, the only real way is to knock around a few of the stronger monsters across ten very different realms of Hell. No need to feel too bad though, as when in Hell, death is apparently nothing more than a change of scenery. For the most part however the story of Hell Yeah! is little more than a excuse for going around the different places, as the quest to recover said photos is simply mentioned a few times throughout the game, usually around bosses. But, with games like this the main focus isn’t exactly the main event and as weak as it is as a story, the developers still seem to have a little fun with it.
Gameplay:
The vast majority of the game is spent with Ash in a tricked out drill-like wheel strapped with plenty of guns as he moves around 10 pretty big maps. Attacking comes in the form of either drilling through enemies or blowing them away, depending mostly on their defenses and how close players are willing to get to them. As the major component of the game, it is pretty fun as Ash jumps around and unloads into pretty much everything. When he first gets the wheel he can grind through some materials blocking some paths, but not all of them, giving the game at least a bit of a Metroidvania element, but not too much. While it would have been nice to see a little bit more of this, with some cooler rewards, as it is mostly part of the natural progression. Natural progression is unfortunately fairly short after figuring out what to do, with only a few puzzle-ish monster bosses that could give a little trouble.
The wheel isn’t his only mode of transportation though as when he starts out, as well as a few other areas where his wheel isn’t allowed, he doesn’t even have that, instead hoofing it on foot completely defenseless. These sections play completely differently, it isn’t possible to go toe-to-toe with even the smallest of enemies, making it more important to out think and out maneuver. This adds a nice diversity to the game, making it important to think about how to go about defeating enemies when Ash can’t just empty all of his guns into them. Despite how any boss is dispatched however, the only way to finish them off is through special little mini-games that require faster skills as the game goes on, failing these means the boss gets a second, or third or more, chance at life and costs Ash a bit of his own. Success of course means a beautifully visceral death for the boss.
There are a few side things to do in the game, side missions to complete for a few customization options and “The Island”, a location where the killed monsters are sent to be put to work. There are also special sections with the wheel that see Ash without his guns and performing stunts, instead of killing enemies, while this does occur minimally in gameplay, it is more of a part of the side missions. The side aspects of Hell Yeah! are kind of a let down, most rewards are simply customization options that will probably only cater to completionists. Even worse, some of the side missions are needlessly difficult, having to restart a mission because of failure is fine, but the fact that moving platforms and obstacles don’t reset to a preset position for each mission means that failure can be unavoidable creating needless frustration. The Island has its own little issues, for the most part the progress there is slow and what it provides almost isn’t worth the time. Perhaps if it gave more or faster it would be useful, but unless the game is being played over the course of a great many days The Island almost isn’t worth the time.
Visuals and Audio:
The visual style of Hell Yeah! is bright and colorful, much more than one might in Hell, but there is a great variety of environments from the expected fiery molten lava of a volcano, to the less expected clean marble interior of a casino, to the very bright and shifting nature close to a psychedelic trip. The styles of customization include anything and everything, so that Ash can look something that anyone will enjoy, while the wheel itself has a few interesting skins that all look good from plain blade schemes indicating upgrades to pretty detailed with elephants.
While the game doesn’t really have any voice acting there is still fun to be had with the audio. Music is pretty interesting, though only really two songs stand out throughout the game, those being the ones with actual lyrics. Very reminiscent of those fun songs in other games over the past few years, they are however integrated less effectively in the game as they act only as background music or over the credits. Ash does make it a point of bring them up, as it annoys the hell out of him, but there might have been a somewhat better way to bring them together without just beating players over the head with it. Regardless, the music does have a nice blend of silly and rock to fit the tone and subject matter effectively.
Overall: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is a fun little game that seems to be trying pretty hard to be more. The gameplay is solid and fun, but after getting to know what is expected, blowing through the game after the last upgrade is pretty easy. The additional features might have added some depth to the game, if they had been a bit more effective, but as they are they act as little more than a bit more play time after the game is done. This isn’t a bad game by any means of the word, just not as much as one could possibly hope. Fans of this type of game should enjoy it for what it is however, which is why I’m give Hell Yeah! a
The HandyMan game piece!
