Anuman Interactive is knocking down the price of their white collar crime busting hidden object adventure game Petrodollars. Originally priced at $2.99 for the iPhone only version and $4.99 for the universal iPad and iPhone version, Petrodollars is now $0.99 and $1.99 respectively.
Petrodollars follows the story of Francis Keegan. Keegan is a special agent for the Federal Tax Bureau, the US tax police. Her partner Eric Ward disappeared nine months ago investigating the Gold Oil Company. Suddenly, Francis Keegan’s world slingshots back to Eric’s disappearance when a suspicious movement of funds alerts the FTB. Keegan must now investigate Gold Oil Company and unravel the mystery of her partner’s disappearance.
Check out the iPhone version hereand the universal version here.
The Video Game Museum (VIGAMUS) of Rome is opening soon to allow visitors to explore and celebrate the history and culture of video games and to serve as a permanent archive of video games for academic purposes. TAITO has had the special honour of having Space Invaders featured as the mascot of the Museum. The Space Invaders aliens will be featured as part of the interior and exterior decoration of the museum. A playable original Space Invaders cabinet will be available at VIGAMUS starting in November.
VIGAMUS officially opens on October 20th, 2012 in Rome. Check out the VIGAMUS website herefor directions and admissions prices.
Runaway was Pendulo Studio’s classic adventure game released in 2001. BulkyPix and Pendulo Studios have teamed up to release an official follow up to the Runaway series. Players will find Brian and Gina on the couch together exploring their story covered in the original Runaway and the events that transpired afterwards. Major questions will be answered from Runaway, such as the current state of the relationship between Brian and Gina.
The game is a hidden object game that features simplified puzzles from the original adventure game, brand new mini-games, and narrative cut scenes. Hidden Runaway contains four chapters and is available for the iPad, the iPhone, and the iPod Touch for $2.99 USD on the iTunes App Store here.
It’s a miracle! Or that is what most people would be saying. Unfortunately this following news wasn’t released by Sega, since Sega seemingly cares so little for the title they refuse to promote it or acknowledge it’s existence, but by Platinum Games. But on to the news! Today Platinum Games revealed via Twitter that Anarchy Reigns is in fact set to be released in North America on January 8th and Europe on January 11th.
The game will be released at a discounted price of only $29.99, £19.99 and €29.99 depending on your region of purchase. Platinum’s Executive Director/Producer Atsushi Inaba has said that “very few games fall under its genre of a melee-based online multiplayer brawler, so I think we’ve been able to supply a new kind of excitement that you can’t find anywhere else.” Hopefully the game will still sell well at this price, despite the ridiculous six month delay of a finished English game.
Update: The game has been given a release date of January 10th in Australia and will cost $49.95.
As some of you may know, Arc System Works decided to surprise everyone by having their upcoming game, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus’ North American release date suddenly appear for next week on the Xbox 360. Well today it was found that the PlayStation 3 version of the game will be available for download on November 1st.
Also revealed today was a trailer for the game which can be seen below. As for the game itself it will cost 1200 MSP or $15 depending on your console of choice. It is also worth remembering that Arc is planning to update the game after release to upgrade it to the same version found in arcades, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R.
Welcome to my weekly Psycho-Pass episode impressions. This week, I go through episode 1 and 2 of Psycho-Pass. What did I think of the episode? Watch below to find out.
Got any questions for Anime Say? You can send me a tweet on my official twitter or alternatively drop me an email at [email protected]. I will do my best to respond to your tweets and emails as well as try read some out on the show.
What do you think of this episode impression? Let us know in the comments section below.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors Developer: Tecmo Koei Publisher:Â Namco Bandai Platform:Â Playstation 3 Release Date:Â 21st September, 2012 Price:$65.99 – Available HereÂ
Overview:
The One Piece franchise is the best selling anime and manga property in all of Japan, so it’s no wonder that One Piece: Pirate Warriors or as the Japanese know it One Piece: Kaizoku Musou was a major hit in the land of the rising sun. It really goes without saying that anything with the One Piece name attached turns into cash in Japan, it is just that much of a phenomenon. But the same can not be said for the Western world which doesn’t think too highly of One Piece largely due to the horrible 4Kids dub of the anime that ruined the franchise for many people.
So how does one bring a game such as One Piece: Pirate Warriors to the West and try to sell it? Well it’s simple really, don’t aim for mass appeal, just try and hit that niche audience of westerners that love One Piece and you know, it works in the case of One Piece: Pirate Warriors. It works, but to what extent?
Gameplay:
What Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei have done with One Piece: Pirate Warriors feels by and large like a love letter to the One Piece franchise, providing fans of the series a way to relive the series greatest moments with some Dynasty Warriors styled action in between. It’s effective, but the fact that little of the story is really told with highlight moments instead interspersed throughout it really limits itself to only being appealing to One Piece fans. Now that right there makes this a game that not many will enjoy simply on the fact that they will not be able to follow it or connect with the characters. It simply assumes that you have already been initiated into the One Piece universe. Of course this is not a problem for those the game is aimed towards – One Piece fans. But it does make it a difficult game to recommend.
In terms of how the game plays it is a simple yet addictive arcade style beat em up, reminiscent of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, the Genji series and even a little bit of Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage. You have a variety of characters that you can encounter throughout the game both to fight alongside and against. The main centrepiece of the game is of course the story mode which focuses on the protagonist of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy. The main story mode places you in famous One Piece locales and against many of the series most memorable enemies. Each level generally consists of hordes of enemies for you to beat down on as you maneuver through a number of obstacles that initiate quick-time events that focus on Luffy’s rubber abilities that allow him to stretch and swing and launch himself from different parts of the environment.
Usually quick-time events are boring, repetitive and feel like a lazy excuse for gameplay but they feel fully justified within the context of One Piece: Pirate Warriors and I found some of the most enjoyable levels to actually be quick-time event heavy levels. Most of the fun of the quick-time events is in bringing to life some of the greatest One Piece moments such as when Luffy defeats Arlong with the Gum Gum Axe Kick move.
The story mode itself is incredibly long and covers from the beginning of the series up until the end of the Marineford War Arc, excluding a few arcs which didn’t seem to make the final cut (Syrup Village arc, Loguetown arc, Skypiea arc, Davy Back arc and Thriller Bark arc). I found the exclusions of these story arcs to be troubling as this game had been marketed as the definitive and most complete One Piece game to date, however missing out on some of the series greatest story arcs is without a doubt a misstep of major proportions. I mean who wouldn’t want to play the Luffy vs Eneru fight?
Besides the main story mode, players can play through different stories as other characters in the ‘Another Log’ mode. This mode functions similar to the main story but allows you to play as other characters in somewhat different scenarios to the main story mode.
There is also an interesting online play mode that is essentially a horde mode type of game which has you team up with other players to take on hordes of enemies to earn points. It’s a lot of fun but I do wish there was a death match type of mode somewhere here but unfortunately none was to be found.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors is definitely a fun game, but with a heavy emphasis placed on the story mode it really makes itself nothing more than a tribute for One Piece fans only. Unfortunately this will be a hard game to follow plot-wise if you have never watched or read One Piece. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the game, because it is an incredibly fun title. No doubt about that.
Visuals and Audio:
Fans of One Piece will find themselves absorbed into the world they have grown so attached to with Pirate Warriors, as it damn near perfectly captures and recreates the unique personality and spirit of the One Piece world through both it’s visuals and soundtrack. Aesthetically there is a great deal for fans to sink their teeth into with players getting to explore the beautiful locales of the series in depth. The game itself is somewhat cell-shaded and looks great for it. The cell-shading style has proven in the passed to stand the test of time (see Legend of Zelda: The WindWaker) and has made for an impressive aesthetic experience for both fans of the series and those just interested in what all the hubub is about.
The game’s soundtrack is a blend of original tracks and tunes from the series itself. I personally loved hearing an instrumental version of ‘We Are!’ play during the game as well as some of the other famous tracks from the series. Not only that but the new original songs for the game are brilliant and of themselves and fit well within the existing musical catalogue of the One Piece franchise.
Overall:
One Piece: Pirate Warriors exists by and large exclusively for One Piece fans. If you love One Piece than you will probably buy this regardless of what I have to say. The fact that this game aims simply for that niche market that is the Western One Piece fandom is both the best route and also the worst route that Namco Bandai could have taken. The problem is that the game has little mainstream appeal and will likely get lost in the shuffle because it doesn’t provide anything to entice non-One Piece fans and it doesn’t care to hold their attention and captivate them in game with the wonderful story that One Piece tells. Instead it simply opts to provide an abridged version of the series greatest moment without an ounce of real connective tissue.
All in all this game is for One Piece fans, it’s just a shame that a game that is pretty fun such as this doesn’t allow itself to be understood by non-One Piece fans. Regardless of that misstep it is an enjoyable experience from start to finish and is easily the most definitive One Piece game to date despite some missing portions of the story and gameplay mechanics that can be improved on. The bottom line is that it’s a good game, but it lacks too many things to be an easy title to recommend. It is best left for the hardcore fans.
EA Australia have announced a major promotion they will be launching for their upcoming open-world racing game Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Introducing the ‘Most Wanted Taxi’ a Lamborghini Gallardo set to drive winners of EA’s latest facebook competition around Sydney for the price of absolutely FREE. All of this is to promote Need For Speed: Most Wanted which releases on multiple platforms on the 1st of November.
So how exactly do you go about getting a ride in the ‘Most Wanted Taxi’? Well it’s simple really, head on over to EA Australia’s facebook page here and ‘Like’ the page and leave a comment in 25 words or less stating why you believe that you are the Most Wanted.
The Taxi will offer winners rides between October 26th and November 3rd. Well there you have it, a chance to ride around in a Lamborghini Gallardo ‘Most Wanted Taxi’. Let us know what you think of EA Australia’s ‘Most Wanted Taxi’ promotion in the comments section below.
Just because your video game has been in stores now for about a week and a half doesn’t mean you can’t release some new artwork to remind everyone about it! Or at least that is what Bethesda and Arkane Studios may be thinking because today the companies has released a few pieces of artwork which can be seen below.
The artwork shown are ten favorite pieces of artwork chosen by the Art Director at Arkane Studios, Sebastien Mitton. Those who haven’t bought Dishonored yet and are intrigued by the artwork shown below can check out our review here and then go pick it up since it is certainly a game of the year contender.
Skylanders Giants has finally hit the retail stores and I for one am exceptionally excited to see the multitude of changes that have been implemented to improve upon an already superbly creative and fun experience in the first installment. The fact that the game now has a difficulty setting was pure music to my ears as I could now play through and experience somewhat more of a challenge as well as getting the pure joy of having well crafted and conceptually brilliant tangible characters with which to play. The most noticeable change is obviously the addition of the 8 new giants representing the various elemental forces as well as 8 new smaller Skylanders joining the already 32 strong army.
The original clan is also back and can all be used within the new adventure, alongside the lightcore characters which have varying glowing properties when in close proximity to the portal. The rare characters have also made a comeback with Glow in the Dark figures already gracing ebays pages and being snapped up by fans and collectors.
Check out the video to see all the changes and for more Skylanders Giants information and character bios visit www.skylanders.com
