Back in September we wrote about the guys at work trying to kick-finish a PvP MMO-style multiplayer game called Forge, as the game was already near completion, but they were hoping to put more into it. Â Well, the time for the kick-finish has come and gone and while they weren’t able to meet the goal they had set, they urged those potential backers to at least pre-order the game through them.
Now Dark Vales Games has some new information in regards to how those that had been intent to back the finishing of the project, and those unable to back, that the game would be part of a little platform known as Steam Greenlight. Â One of the top ten games selected for the platform, Forge will be going live unto the product page soon where players can not only pre-order the game, but by pre-ordering gain instant access to the closed beta they have going on now until November.
Those not able to wait to pre-order the game on Steam and looking to get access right away can still pre-order through the Forge website HERE. Â And those interested in seeing some of Forge‘s screenshots from before its release build can check them out in the gallery below.
Underemployed is a new MTV drama about a group of 20-somethings who are a year past graduating college and finding out that the world isn’t as open to them as they expected. This is really representative of the generation who are taught from a young age that they could be whatever they wanted to be.
Instead of following their dreams, one of them is working at a donuts store, one is a stripper-for-hire, one is an unpaid intern, one is a volunteer environmentalist, and one is pregnant. Not really the best and brightest. Still, by the end of the episode the unpaid intern now has a decently paid position at a marketing company, and the environmentalist has sold his sold for a $35k job with his father. But money is money, and it leaves almost half of the cast being quite well employed.
At times the writing can be a bit awkward, in particular with Sofia’s voiceovers. Sofia, the writer, is the main character of the show but she’s a bit too awkward and shy to pull it off very well. Sofia plays a character more accustomed to being to the side, with a few lines here and there used for humour. She does alright when she’s not within the group, but once the other main characters become part of the scene she fades into the background and her awkward nature is emphasized.
Each character has some story arc established in the pilot, Sofia finds that her sexuality is not so straight, intern Daphne has an admirer in her boss, Raviva and Lou have a child, and Miles the wannabe model… Well, he wants to be a model. These could turn into interesting story lines, but they’re approached in such a casual way that the gravity of the situations aren’t at all felt by the audience either. An unemployed 20-something having a kid? Aww, that’s cool because look at how well everyone else is taking it! No biggie!
To be fair, I do prefer this over the other extreme of having them all super dark and emotional and whatnot. No one enjoys watching a group of 20-somethings mope around about how tough they have it.
The show relies on the friendship between all of them, but their chemistry as a group isn’t the best. The actors haven’t settled into having that natural relationship that makes it seem like they’ve known each other for years.
Underemployed is watchable, certainly, but it doesn’t have the charm that shows such as Girls or Sex and the City had. If you’re into shows like this then you can certainly check it out, but it won’t have the same compelling story and characters that you’re used to.
Spoiler warning for Devil May Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.
With Devil May Cry 4 Capcom officially went full circle. There was nowhere left to explore with Dante; there had been the first game, a sequel, a prequel and then a whole new sequel (in that order). The character had nowhere left to grow and the fully adult and somewhat mental Dante in DMC4 is the result of the culmination of experiences from each game. This was also proven with the introduction of Nero as a main character, who while similar in many aspects, had a love interest to pull him through the adventure. Something we could never envision the old Dante associating with. He was far too cool and confident to worry about something as fickle as love. Sure he had the occasional fling with the leading lady of each game, but that was an entirely different affair.
We see proof of this concept much later than Devil May Cry 4 and in the form of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Ezio is all grown up as a character and this instalment closes off the long, long quest for truth that he followed across three games. In the end he settles down (finally deciding upon a single lady), hangs up his hood and stashes his hidden blades, sealing the Auditore story gamers have been playing passionately for years. And with the imminent release of Assassin’s Creed 3, we’ll finally get the chance to start a whole new circle.
We did see a different side of Dante in his prequel however. In Devil May Cry 3 he was more cocky, more stylish and in a way, cooler than he’d ever been before. But he also showed more emotion. Players could really feel the inner struggle he suffered whenever he had to face Vergil, his brother and only remaining family. After finally defeating Arkham together as brothers, they have to face off one final time in that game as enemies, arch rivals even. In one of the most intense boss fights I’ve ever experienced, Dante and Vergil met on the field of battle for one final time. This was probably the only time Dante ever let his guard down and revealed his true face, ultimately growing as a character.
In the new reboot, DmC Devil May Cry we have an entirely new Dante. Featuring an entirely new world and a with whole new story, one can see that being set in an alternate universe will certainly come with its own set of advantages. This way Dante’s story can be explored all over again and his relationship with the new Vergil can once again be on showcase. It appears that the two even bond over the course of the game, an elegant opposite to their previous conflict.
Whole new experiences can be explored. Entirely new characters introduced and even core gameplay can be altered (though not too far from the stylish hack-and-slash we love please).
With the end of Devil May Cry 4, gamers saw the end to everything we could possibly see from the old Dante. The HD Collection let us relive those old memories once again and that’s great, but now it’s time to see the Ninja Theory and Capcom duo flex their own creative muscles.
I can’t wait to see how it finally turns out.
DmC Devil May Cry releases on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America, Europe and Japan on the 15th of January 2013.
The launch trailer for Halo 4 has now been revealed to the public. With a mix of CGI animation and live-action footage, this trailer is certainly out to impress. While strange that no real gameplay is to be seen in this trailer, it certainly does its job of stirring up hype for the game’s imminent release. The trailer focuses on how Master Chief came to be the legendary Spartan he is known as today and showcases some of the shenanigans he’s been up to since the last game. The Prometheans are also featured heavily in the trailer, taking on the new role of primary enemy in this instalment of the series.
The launch trailer was produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller. Halo 4 is developed by 343 Industries and will release on November the 6th exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Focus Home Interactive and Giants Softare released a new video of some of the features coming to Farming Simulator 2013 last week, so this week they are releasing a few screenshots to show off some high quality shots of some of the new things to this years game.  Players and aspiring simulation farmers wanting to see what the game will offer can check out the gallery below to some of the new equipment and new livestock, like simply delicious looking sheep and chickens.
Farming Simulator 2013 is coming out next week (October 25th) to PC, or the week after for the UK, and then Xbox 360 and PS3 in the first quarter of next year.
People really love their medical shows. Seriously. You can see it in the amount of new medical dramas every fall, and its always the interns. All these shows are trying to emulate the success that Grey’s Anatomy was so graced with (nine seasons and counting. Seriously). So it’s no surprise that this fall Emily Owens, M.D. was put forward by The CW.
Emily Owens is like a mix between Grey’s and Scrubs, the lead is neurotic and self-conscious, and her voiceover reiterates that time and time again. At first it’s charming, then it gets old. Being that her name is the title of the show that’s concerning.
See, while Grey’s Anatomy is named after the main character, it’s also a witty pun, and even though Meredith has her name in the title, the other characters are so strong that it doesn’t matter if you like her. Her voiceovers come at the beginning and end of the episode, vaguely and cryptically wrapping up all the story lines. Emily Owens voice is constantly saying how her life sucks and obsessing over things.
In a lead I enjoy a sarcastic character; a smart, witty character who takes things with a snarky comment and a raised eyebrow. Or a dorky one who is self aware of their lack of cool and still manages to own it.
Emily Owens tries to be the latter, oh she tries. But instead of being self aware, she is painfully, painfully aware, and every character takes advantage of every opportunity to tell her so. The show takes such pains to say over and over ‘Hey how uncool is she? Isn’t she such a dork? Do you see how lame she is?’ that is just gets annoying and awkward. I understand, she is uncool, and has no confidence, and awkward. I don’t need to have it spelt out for me right up until the last moments.
There are other characters which are far more interesting, the ‘rival’ who has a brother with cystic fibrosis, the lesbian who us trying desperately to hide this from her Chief of staff father, the resident with a mother just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who still tries to cheer up interns, and the grumpy attending. Hell, even the cheating husband/father who is the Chief. These are all characters who have far more interesting back stories and personalities.
The clean cut, sharp jawed, super model of a male intern, however, is not so interesting. So Emily’s obsession with him, in turn, is uninteresting. Their chemistry is non existant, and her confession of love at the end was just awkward. Not funny awkward, or even uncomfortable awkward, just awkward awkward. It left me feeling nothing except a hope that the scene would end soon.
Other than him, the show does have promising characters. The thing is, the show stays so deeply embedded in Emily Owens head all the time, that we probably won’t get a proper chance to explore the other characters. Hopefully, like Grey’s Anatomy, the show will depart from featuring the main character so strongly (because I may be able to stomach her emphasised dorkiness if given other characters to watch). But if the pilot is anything to judge it by, it isn’t promising.
Keep tuned to CC Screen for more coverage on the new Fall shows, including news, reviews and recaps.
Strategy fans should be interested to hear that Meridian4 and Full Control are making a new tactical strategy game called Frontline Tactics. Â The first look trailer that they have released shows off a bit of the gameplay and menus, as well as doing it’s best to try and give some good deals about the game. Â The most interesting aspect though is that the multiplayer will be cross-platform, so anyone with a copy of the game on PC, Mac, iPad, or iPhone will be able to go at it head-to-head or cooperative.
Set in a future of 2025 that still requires the precise oil to make the world go ’round, a splinter military group attempts to take over the country Fahrahn, which is still providing rich with oil.  Because Fahrahn is still a large supplier to the West an elite unit is sent in to try and maintain the peace, through not only eliminating the enemy, but protecting valuable locations and assets.
Check out some screenshots from Frontline Tactics in the gallery below, as well as the first look trailer embedded below that.  Players wanting more information on the game can check out it’s website HERE.
Ten is a nice round number. It’s a good milestone. Indie Gala is celebrating their tenth bundle with the biggest release yet! Indie Gala follows the traditional pay what you want system, with those playing more than the average receiving extra titles. Indie Gala is returning to support the Italian Red Cross and AbleGamers.
All buyers will receive Omegalodon for Desura, Praetorians as a DRM free download, Majesty 2 for steam, Lead and Gold for Steam, and East India Company for Steam. Those who pay more than the average will receive Europa Universalis Rome Gold, Knights of Honor, Elven Legacy, and Hearts of Iron II Complete for Steam. In addition, there are three secret bonuses, two of them for Steam, that will be released in the second week of Indie Gala. Check out the bundle here.
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.
