Atari has announced Super Bunny Breakout, a new breakout game from Atari and Zynga for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch.
Free the bunnies and their critter friends enslaved at E.A.T. (Evil Animal Testing) Labs. Break them out in crazy but certainly fun mini-game challenges that combine classic Atari Breakout-style gameplay with physics-based puzzlers. Gather your team of genetically-altered Super Critters, nurture them and band together to destroy E.A.T., so all the poor lab animals can return to nature where they belong.
KEY FEATURES
• 40+ levels of laboratory breakout madness!
• Awesome, real-time physics and 5 handsome characters total to unlock!
• Unleash powerful special attacks for each Super Critter!
• Tons of cool power-ups: Time Warp, Anti-Gravity and more!
• Decorate your tree house with snazzy furniture and make it feel like home!
• View, feed and play with each Super Critter!
• Game Center integration.
Farming Simulator 2013 has plenty of new features and what better way to show them all off than a video. Â Focus Home Interactive and GIANTS Software have released a new trailer with a montage of the new features, though only quick glances nothing too in-depth yet. Â So, what all is coming to this years edition of Farming Simulator?
The main thing is the new huge playable map, but in addition is plenty of new buildings to switch up the farming monotony, like wind turbines to harness the power of the sky itself hopefully able to aid in keeping down the cost of the farm.  Lots of new vehicles are also making it into the game some specifically geared towards different crops or the new animals, chickens and sheep.
Farming Simulator 2013 is set to release for PC later this month and will be coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in the first quarter of 2013. Â Be sure to check out the trailer embedded below.
Black ☆ Rock Shooter Studio: Ordet Publisher: Siren Visual Format: DVD (Subtitles Only) Release Date: September 20, 2012 Price: $49.95 – Available Here
Overview:
How do you translate a music video into an anime series? This is the task that Black ☆ Rock Shooter had to take on and it does a decent effort in making that transition. While it’s origins are rooted firmly in another medium altogether, becoming an anime series doesn’t seem too big a stretch given the origin (Vocaloid).
Like most adaptations though, there is always going to be some liberties taken with the source material, especially when that source material is a mere music video. Black ☆ Rock Shooter is an ambitious project, but does it ultimately manage to work as an anime series or does it flounder under the weight of the little content to draw from?
Story:
The biggest draw that Black ☆ Rock Shooter has going for it is it’s ambitious fantastical action sequences which run in parallel with the drama of the real world. The problem is that there is little to no connective tissue between these ambitious scenes and the story actually occurring. The Black ☆ Rock Shooter world, simply exists as an enhancer for the drama that is going on, but it feels as though it is there for little to no reason.
There isn’t a lot of logic behind it other than to serve as a glorified personification of the warring emotions of the girls in the series. At times it’s far to obtrusive and halts the story entirely. This is something that is rather ill-advised considering the overwhelming angst-ridden nature of the cast and plot.
If you have a problem with characters that behave irrationally and are frustratingly naive then you in for a horrible ride with Black ☆ Rock Shooter because that is what you’ve got served on the menu here.
It’s not all bad though, the Black ☆ Rock Shooter world side of things is much more fun to watch due to the spectacle of it all, a spectacle that I might add will not be repeated any time soon. The action and story-telling in the Black ☆ Rock Shooter world portions of the series hauntingly resonate with you, despite the abhorrent juxtaposition with the real world portions. It really makes you wonder what influenced the decision to even have the real world portions. I’d have much rathered a series set entirely within the Black ☆ Rock Shooter world, but you know that’s just my wishful thinking. They do attempt to tie the two worlds together in the end but it does really feel flat and uninspired.
Ultimately though Black ☆ Rock Shooter is a mess in terms of it’s plot and characterisation, it is incredibly difficult to relate to and it often struggles to find any footing in it’s narrative just stumbling from one point to another. It’s a shame given the potential of this ambitious IP.
Visuals and Audio:
It’s no surprise that aesthetically and aurally this series is excellent. You have incredible visual imagery that is simply a sight for sore eyes amongst the standard art that many series implement. The Black ☆ Rock Shooter world sequences in particular are an impressive sight, with a mix of CG and digital animation these scenes are always a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately the real world scenes are not even half as impressive visually, with a noticeable decline in quality in those parts of the series. However this decline doesn’t discredit the ambitious and imaginative art of the Black ☆ Rock Shooter world parts.
The soundtrack of the series is well conceived and composed, serving as a suitable backing for the action and drama taking place. The opening theme song is not really anything to write home about, but it gets the job done. The real star in terms of the audio is in the incidental music that really hits the sweet spot emotionally with great timing.
Extras:
Siren Visual have done a great job with this release. Although it is a subtitle only release they managed to include a fair amount of special features that will surely excite fans of the series looking for more out of this release. On disc is a special making of Black ☆ Rock Shooter featurette, clean ending song, TV spots and some awesome 3D CG animatics. It’s a decent amount of extras for bonus content junkies and does well to buffer the low episode count of this series.
Overall:
Black ☆ Rock Shooter is ambitious. I’ve said it before in this review and had to say it again, because that is exactly what Black ☆ Rock Shooter is – ambitious. It sets the bar high for itself and in the end it falls short of that potential it’s ambition promised.
The real problem with Black ☆ Rock Shooter though is that it has so many different ideas much like the girls in the show, constantly at conflict with one another. There is little to no cohesion and it suffers for that. There was a great need for it all to be tied together, but that never really happens with Black ☆ Rock Shooter. It’s a compilation of ideas that never quite work together.
I honestly feel this is all due to the fact that the series is based upon a music video, there is only so much you can draw from that really and that shows in spades here. Despite the weak story-telling and characterisation, this series does deserves a look-in for it’s impressive visual outing.
The Russian developer Dodo Games is looking to make a new space ARPG and to help them make it they’ve set up a Kickstarter, so that fans of science fiction can help back and get the game made.  Planned for mobile platforms from Android and iOS, to computer platforms like PC, Mac, and Linux, Divine Space is a sci-fi game that hopes to portray a realistic take on what the future could hold.
Using real star charts with real star names and positions and working with scientists and futurologists to find a realistic take on what the future can hold, Divine Space combines hard science fiction with simple and casual controls and 3D gameplay in third-person view. Â Featuring battles, trading, exploration, questing, ship building, diplomacy, and much more. Â Potential backers should be sure to check out the Kickstarter Page HERE and player wanting to see more can check out the gallery of some of game’s art below.
There have been a couple of attempts to create TV shows around superhero characters, the only really ‘successful’ one was Smallville (and that depends on your definition of the word successful). People love their superheroes, but it’s kind of a rare occurrence for that to translate well onto screen, especially the TV screen.
The premiere of the new show Arrow has debuted, giving life to the Green Arrow as a standalone hero. Previously he did have a regular stint on Smallville, but Arrow is certainly no Smallville. Joining the recent trend of making superheroes dark and angsty, there is plenty of storms, furrowed brows, and cryptic statements (as well as a healthy dose of relationship angst and love triangle-ness).
Most people aren’t familiar with the Green Arrow as a hero, apart from the fact that he’s super good with a bow and arrow and wears a green hood. So, the fact that the TV show doesn’t really follow comic canon probably doesn’t matter too much.
Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is a billionaire playboy with a secret identity – what is up with all these rich dudes and their urge to go out and play rough and tumble with criminals? They just don’t seem to have enough to do with their time or something. Queen was stranded on an island for five years after his boat went down, taking his father and girlfriend’s sister (who he was sleeping with) with it. So there’s your angsty start.
He returns to Starling city – a crime-ridden, corrupt city that’s being run by powerful and evil men – to right the wrongs and run around in a green hood. At the same time he keeps on playing up the billionaire playboy persona, acting like he used to before he got stranded on the island. It is very Batman-esque, but hey who doesn’t love a brooding vigilante with a tonne of money and a whole bunch of morals.
Except… He’s cool with killing criminals. Well, that’s new, and not something you really see with DC heroes. But at least it won’t result in some angsty moral choice like other heroes have. But, knowing superhero stories, there will be one anyway.
The first episode kicks off what the series will probably be about, with Queen planning to take revenge and dismantle the corrupt core of Starling city. It seems like this is a fairly interesting way to proceed, with an episode-by-episode plan, but hopefully this will develop into a longer story arc.
A few of the characters are references to DC characters, with Black Canary being Queen’s ex-girlfriend/lawyer, Tommy Merlyn being Queen’s best friend, and the Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy being replaced by his younger sister with drug issues. And then there’s his mother who has a somewhat devious side, creating a bit of mystery about where the series is going.
Arrow is definitely something worth taking a look at if you’re a fan of superhero shows, but aren’t too invested in comic canon.
Make sure you check out the rest of our CC Screen coverage and keep an eye out for recaps of future Arrow episodes.
There is some good news for fans of the Darkstalkers series who have been dying to hear about any news concerning their beloved franchise. Capcom has revealed at their New York Comic Con 2012 panel that they will be releasing a two game Darkstalkers collection onto the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 digitally early in 2013.
They are calling this collection Darkstalkers Resurrection and it will include Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge and Darkstalkers 3. Both games will feature online multiplayer, replay sharing and the ability to upload replays to YouTube, a gallery of unlockable artwork and of course an HD filter. Currently Capcom’s press release is showing that the game will cost $14.99/1200 MSP on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Update: The first gameplay video for the game has been added below.
With NIS America’s Mugen Souls set to hit stores in a little under a week it is a good time to take a look at some of the features that the game will be offering players. As such, the company has chosen to release a new trailer which shows off some of the game’s features and what sets it apart from all the standard RPGs out there.
The video can be seen below and while gamers in Europe are already performing moe attacks on enemies, gamers in North America will be able to pick it up next week on October 16th exclusively on the PlayStation 3.
We’ve heard of various collections before, but most of them happen to be either collections of really old games or digital titles. Now Rockstar Games has come out and decided to release a rather massive looking four game bundle for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
This bundle is being called the Rockstar Games Collection and apparently there will be more than one of them considering this one is called Edition 1. The collection will include Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, L.A. Noire, Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition and Red Dead Redemption and it will be released on November 6th for $59.99.
EA Mobile pushed their latest take on the classic board game Monopoly. Players have only one goal in Monopoly Millionaire, earn a million Monopoly dollars before your enemies do. This rule set significantly shortens the game of Monopoly. Players will purchase and trade properties, gamble on fortune cards, and upgrade their play pieces to show off their Monopoly dollars. The game is available here for $2.99 at the moment on the iTunes App Store and supports the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
In addition, EA Mobile released the latest trailer for their recently released social gaming take on Yahtzee. World Series of Yahtzee is available for free hereand the trailer can be viewed below.
E.T. The Green Planet Developer: Straw Dogs Studios, Universal Publisher: Chillingo Ltd. Platform: iPhone (reviewed), iTouch, iPad Release Date: October 1, 2012 Price: Free- Available Here
Overview
Celebrating the 30th anniversary and the first time Blu-ray release of E.T. the people over at Straw Dogs Studios and Universal have created a game to celebrate it. E.T. The Green Planet is where you can create your own life on E.T.’s home planet and you play as E.T.! While you take care of the world around you by planting plants, getting spaceships, and so on, you get to experience the life of everyone’s favorite little alien. Now let’s see if this is a good thing or not.
Story
There is no actual story for the game and that is a total draw back. If they would have added in a story about what truly goes on with E.T. around the Green Planet. Even if it would have just been a little scroll through of text, it would have been better than nothing. The fact that they made a movie and couldn’t even come up with a small follow up story in the app is truly disappointing.
Gameplay
The Green Planet is just like many of those games you play on Facebook, an example would be Farmville. The gameplay is quite simple, you plant plants and build gourds so you can expand your garden so you can help save your planet.
You have a wide variety of plants you are able to use and each one is unique in its own way. The time you must wait in order to actually have it grow is excruciating to put it in simple terms. I got bored with the game many times because I would be staring at my screen waiting for the plant to finish growing.
Plants are just the only thing you can build. You also have decorations, space objects, resources, etc. The sad thing is, they didn’t put much importance on these objects because there clearly isn’t enough of them to use. Even then, you still don’t have access to them becuse the levels are so high before you can actually achieve access to them.
Visuals and Audio
The games visuals are a little too small when you are looking at an individual object. I had to squint or put on my set of glasses many times so I would be able to see what plant or decoration I was actually looking at.
There is also a little bit of lag when you start to try and play the game right after it loads up. They do add a nice little touch of visual pleasure with the screen stills you are able to view after you level up. The problem of speed continues with those though because they are also incredibly slow when you are switching from still to still.
The games audio isn’t that bad. The music they use actually make me feel like I am inside the actual movie the game is based on. It has a very cheerful and happy sound too it which transfers over to me and makes me feel the same way. I only wish that they would have added more than one song to the games playlist because you can only stay happy by listening to it for so long. The sound effects for the game is also good because it is clear and precise. I remember turning off the music and just listening to the sounds that were going on all around the world because they all sounded awesome!
Overview
Sadly, E.T. The Green Planet is looking a little green. With the games small objects, lag, and all the other problems, it makes it very hard to actually play the game without wanting to put it down and play something else. The only thing that kept me from not picking the game up again was the audio for the game because that is truly the best part of the game.
There have been a couple of attempts to create TV shows around superhero characters, the only really ‘successful’ one was Smallville (and that depends on your definition of the word successful). People love their superheroes, but it’s kind of a rare occurrence for that to translate well onto screen, especially the TV screen.
