There are plenty of different ways to help promote a video game, some of which include appealing to some people’s baser instincts. We’ve seen examples of this in the West with EA and their handling of Dante’s Inferno, but perhaps the biggest region for providing some half-naked promotional incentives is Japan.
Namco Bandai and Imageepoch has launched a new browser mini-game, playable here, called Shower Time with Toki. It is a rather simplistic game where all you have to do is click as fast as possible to clear the steam from the screen, resulting in some rather ecchi scenes such as the sample above. It is worth noting that the game is not beatable in one run, though players can continue by linking the game to their Twitter account and deleting subsequent automated tweets.
Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years Developer: Three Phase Interactive Publisher: Three Phase Interactive Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed), iPod Touch, iPad Release Date: October 4, 2012 Price: $4.19 NZD – Available Here
Overview
Freshly founded Australian indie developer Three Phase Interactive – comprised of three former Blue Tongue Entertainment employees – have created this nitrous-fueled stunt-driver game in Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years as their début title. With simple trial-and-error gameplay, Stunt Star attempts to hook you into living the life of a Hollywood stunt driver with no frills and ramp jumps of Grand Canyon proportions. Make sure to pack a parachute and find that eject lever…crashes are inevitable.
Gameplay
In the journey to nail each stunt in order to help create an action-packed box office smash hit, you as the player will control the stunt-man in the simplest of ways. Most of the time you will find yourself driving a vehicle on a 2D perspective off of cliffs and ramps, over helicopters and into loop-de-loops using two buttons – an acceleration pedal and a brake pedal. These buttons’ capabilities are two fold as once you are in the air, pressing the acceleration pedal will rotate your vehicle counter-clockwise, while pressing the brake pedal will rotate your vehicle clockwise. Ramps must be placed within a specified zone – highlighted in green – before a stunt can be attempted. Placing one is as easy as swiping end to end, and readjusting it’s placement is as simple as dragging either end of the ramp to its newly desired destination. These are the core mechanics, and they couldn’t be any easier to understand. Your immediate goal is to get to and stop within a set of flags on any given level within a set time period. Once you are stationary within this zone, you will get a text box that tabulates your points for a final score, which will determine whether you achieved a bronze, silver or gold trophy for that level. Points can be garnered from doing flips, endos/wheelies and finishing as quick as you can among other criteria. Many times there will be stipulations made for optimal scoring, such as using a specific vehicle or choosing only one upgrade for a stunt, as well as the collection of a strategically placed star which will grant you an extra 350 points.
Among a plethora of vehicles, which you will unlock as you complete various stunts, there are also many different “upgrades” to pick or purchase using credits earned in each stage. An upgrade, which is inexplicably displayed via text above your vehicle at the start of a stunt as an “addon”, is basically an enhancement. Options include things like a nitrous boost, suspension tweak, grip tires and a parachute. Some upgrades are automatically put into use as you drive, while others require the utilisation of an extra button. There are levels where specific upgrades are mandatory, though it is ultimately up to you how many you use. The parachute in particular adds a unique mechanic to the game, as once you deploy it you must steer your stunt-man left or right by pressing and holding down left and right arrows on the bottom corners of the screen. Wind direction also plays a factor in some of these instances, so there is an added element of strategy and placement when gliding down with your parachute in those conditions. Another element which comes into play very late into the 65+ levels is the land mine. Land mines, once crossed, give you a 4 second window to get out of it’s radius or be destroyed. They are mostly used to destroy wooden platforms blocking your goal, but the fact that these additional gameplay elements are consistently added throughout really increases the variety and fun to be had.
With the game promoting experimentation in your attempts and therefore relying on a trial-and-error system, crashing and failing is a guaranteed re-occurrence. Crashes will almost always result in an explosion, especially if they are at a high velocity or bad angle. Obstacles like hovering helicopters will be put in place, which will also cause an explosion if they are touched even in the slightest fashion. The physics in place are unique for each vehicle, and really lends to the strategy of choosing the right vehicle for the right situation. I did come across an issue in one specific level where I was using a bus to push another along when my front bumper got stuck to the other’s rear bumper. In one attempt, the conjoined buses abruptly jolted into the air and uncontrollably propelled forward at high speeds, exploding upon impact with the ground. This was a one-off situation however and could be avoided, as I subsequently did, by controlling your speed and approach to the other bus. The game can become frustrating, but only because of the increasing challenge that can always be overcome if you find the right angle to place your ramp and/or the right vehicle/upgrade combination to use. Considering the immediacy at which Stunts can easily be retried – without any extra loading time – any frustrations are quickly repressed.
Visuals
In continuing the movie stunt-man theme, there are three distinct settings for each of the three films being made. The setting of “CornBalls 2” is an outdoors farm environment, while “Tombstone 2000″‘s set is a desert/canyon locale and the “World Tour ’88” is set in a packed arena reminiscent of a Nitro Circus event. Each are vibrant and feature their own color palette helping to further distinguish themselves as separate events. It definitely appeals to the eye and most certainly to a pre-teen audience in particular. The overall visual style of Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years is a complementary mix of hand-drawn objects and more polished backdrops and settings. The fact that certain objects look rougher or more basic than others isn’t necessarily an issue of quality, but is more of a stylistic choice. The GUI (graphical user interface) in particular portrays this difference. The acceleration and brake pedals are crudely drawn and colored, as are the other buttons on screen. It retains a sort of charm and simplicity, but also reinforces the emphasis on gameplay, not visuals. The “director” pops up from time to time to make short quips or drop hints for the upcoming stunt. There were some spelling/grammar issues in a few instances of his text, which is a minute annoyance at worst.
Audio
While certain details were paid great attention, such as the fact that each of the vehicles appropriately have their own unique engine sounds, Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years’s sound, while effective, never felt like it enhanced the experience to any great extent. Of note, in the World Tour ’88 stages, crowd noise and reactions sound very small in comparison to how many fans are visualised in the background – what would seem to be upwards of 100,000 of them. The crash noises also don’t exactly represent the intensity of massive wrecks at high speeds with the same volume explosion and clanking metal sounds playing each time you destroy any vehicle. Sound designer and director of ‘the Sound Library’ Stephan Schutze created new audio for the game, however I couldn’t help but perceive the sfx mentioned, in particular, as sounding like stock cues. Having used ‘the Sound Library’ in the past myself, I recognise the quality of such cues, which is good but also recognisably basic and not as customized as I would expect. However, despite this, Stunt Star’s audio does serve it’s purpose on a whole.
Overall
Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years exhibits all the archetypal qualities of the successful casual title. It’s simple, charming, addictive and most importantly fun. This is what made the casual market such a success to begin with. Minor gripes with the grammar/spelling of what little text is even shown and it’s lucidity of the use of stock sound effects are pretty much inconsequential. Three Phase Interactive is a three-man team representing what the Australian video game industry does best at the moment and that’s creating enjoyable casual titles that focus on pure, raw gameplay. Do not hesitate to jump at this title.
Fans of the Disney film Wreck it Ralph can now continue the adventure at home and on the move as Activision bring to life the franchise exclusively on Nintendo’s Wii, DS and 3DS platforms. The game takes off where the films ends and players will team up with Ralph and Felix as they battle a new hoard of Cy-Bugs, hell bent on destroying Mr Litwaks arcade. In celebration of the up-coming title Activision have released some all new character art featuring some stunningly designed illustrations.
Wreck it Ralph will feature the ability to swap and change in real time between Ralph and Felix utilising their various skills all played out across 4 unique environments that fans of the film will easily recognise, all jam packed with Hero medals and Easter eggs to add to your prized trophy collection. Wreck it Ralph will be available come 5th December exclusively on Nintendo Wii, 3DS and DS consoles.
Shiki Part 1 Blu-Ray Studio: AIC Spirits Publisher: Siren Visual Format: Blu-ray Release Date:In stores now. Price:$59.95 AUD (Buy Here)
Overview
Shiki is an Anime series set in a small rural town where not much of anything happens and everybody knows everybody and their business. However, things change for the mysterious when some new residents move into a mysterious European styled castle nearby.
Is this a series that you will enjoy? Read on to find out if this is the series for you.
Story
Shiki takes place in a small rural town in the country of Japan that is neither densely populated or anything special. It is a town where everybody not only knows each other, but also knows everybody elses business. Whilst most people within the town have come to accept this fact as a part of their life, one girl does not like this at all. And when something interesting does happen, she feels that is necessary to investigate it.
In Shiki, a strange and rich group of people from out of town move into their recently build European styled mansion. This creates an alluring mystery to the general population as to who they are. Very early on, we get hints that they may in fact be vampires, or some other kind of mythological creature when townsfolk begin to develop bizarre symptoms with puncture marks similar to a vampires bite.
What’s really interesting with the story-telling in this series is that it doesn’t just dump a whole lot of information on the viewer at once. You kind of experience the story as the characters do, rather than having someone spend a whole lot of time explaining what is happening around you. For instance, when I learned of the family being vampires, it was after analysing a bunch of hints littered throughout the first few episodes. However, it wasn’t until I realised that the family were approaching people and asking for permission to enter their homes before my suspicions were proven correct. Someone well versed in vampire lore will probably have worked this out much more quickly than myself.
Unfortunately for the show, I just could not feel any interest for it. Maybe it was a lack of any relatable characters, maybe it was the pacing – – I’m not entirely sure. It was just completely uninteresting to me, maybe you’ll have a better impression from the story than what I did, but I had absolutely no will to get through this series other than I had to.
Visuals
This is where the series is actually at it’s strongest. I really liked the visuals in this show. They were just so much more interesting than the story could ever hope to be.
Let’s take a look at the character designs. Each character has a unique and interesting look and feel to them that easily reflects their personalities. For instance, there is one girl who is incredibly image obsessed and this is reflected through her look. She has bright pink hair, wears fashionable clothing and generally looks out of place in comparison to the rest of her town. This aesthetic is carried over across all of the characters in general. For instance the vampire family have this rich and well dressed look to them that is completely out of place anywhere but with the most highest of society.
There are also some really nice looking backdrops and set pieces within the series. These only further enhance the incredible visual quality behind this series. One such example of this is this one scene where a family is celebrating outside and the vampire family come to chat to them. Everything in that scene looks simply amazing. Not only the set-pieces, not only the backgrounds, but also the characters themselves. It was a really well done scene.
Overall the visuals in this series are simply amazing. Anyone with an appreciation for art will enjoy watching this show.
Audio
The audio in Shiki is neither impressive or unimpressive, it is just there. Sometimes there’ll be some dialogue that makes you laugh, but most of the time, it’s just as mundane as its setting. The only interesting character in the show initially is killed off really early and doesn’t return for what feels like a long while.
As I said in the story section, you aren’t really dumped with dialogue that throws the story at you. Rather, you begin to understand what’s going on by listening to what’s being hinted at. Some people may not be so open to subtlety, while others will think it’s clever.
I personally didn’t mind the language tracks included with the disc. Both the Japanese and English did a fine job at conveying what the characters were saying and doing. I think that only the most die-hard anime fans will complain about the subtle differences in dialogue between the two tracks.
Extras
What’s really strange about this series’ packaging is that it does not list any extras at all. Fortunately, by accessing the discs menu, you can see that this is not the case. There are in-fact extras included with this series, which is a good thing.
The first disc of this two disc set contains one extra, which is the commentary of the first episode of the series. This commentary is quite interesting to listen to as the cast and crew talk about various aspects of the show. I usually love watching things like these.
The second disc contains a much larger plethora of features, which include a bunch of preview features, clean openings and closings commentary for episode 12 and trailers. It looks like a fair amount of added time is here, so it definitely increases the value of the series exponentially.
Overall
Shiki Part 1 on Blu-Ray Disc is an excellent buy for people into the vampire genre. It’s a fairly good series that people who enjoy this kind of thing will enjoy. Just because my own enjoyment of this show was limited, I can see why other people will find much enjoyment in this and as such, I would heartily recommend Shiki to all vampire aficionados.
The now released Carrier Command remake, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission has had a launch trailer released for it. This is the Carrier Command: Gaea Mission launch trailer. The game is currently out on the PC platform and will be released on the Xbox 360 in 8 days time, on the 11th of October.
On the game, Bohemia’s CEO had this to say –
“Carrier Command: Gaea Mission delivers everything I loved about the original, and much more”, said Marek Španěl, CEO and founder of Bohemia Interactive. “The action-packed, strategic gameplay, combined with the open environments and stunning visuals, make this a melting pot unlike anything else. It is one of those games, I and many passionate gamers like me have been longing for.”
In this game players are tasked with capturing islands in an effort to take down an enemy commander of an opposing Command Carrier. We have already reviewed the game, so you can be sure to check that out here.
Be sure to check out the trailer, embedded below for more info.
This is it folks. The day has come and Nintendo’s first ever paid DLC is now out. New Super Mario Bros. 2 of course is the game that is getting the love, with new downloadable add-on level packs that fans of Coin Rush are sure to enjoy.
Here are some new details:
“Nintendo fans have really enjoyed the fun and competition of Coin Rush Mode, recently surpassing more than 100 billion total coins collected worldwide,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “These new packs offer completely new levels that fit into the New Super Mario Bros. 2 world, but offer new challenges that will keep players coming back for more.”
The packs being released on Oct. 4 include:
Gold Rush Pack: Fun new courses that give novice players the best chance to collect lots of gold, and veterans the chance to set even higher Coin Rush records.
Coin Challenge Pack A: The New Super Mario Bros. 2 website will track the rankings based on the scores for this pack, enabling players to measure their scores against other tallies from around the world in these more open courses.
Nerve-Wrack Pack: Intense new courses designed for veteran players looking for new challenges.
These packs can be purchased with the following procedures: Players who are connected to a wireless Internet connection must first activate SpotPass in the game and receive a notification from New Super Mario Bros. 2.* After receiving the notification, the next time the player enters Coin Rush Mode**, a Shop icon will appear in the game. Players who have accessed the shop can then read information about the packs, including descriptions, difficulty ratings and the required storage space. As long as players have enough funds in their Nintendo eShop balance, they can then tap and purchase the packs they want all within the game.
Sounds easy enough, and this DLC is rather cheap too, with each pack costing only $2.50. The floodgates have been cracked open, so lets hope to getting more of this kind of DLC in the future, and also pray that Nintendo don’t take lessons from some of the other guys.
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have released the second episode their “Final Hours” series of Tomb Raider videos. In case you may have forgotten about the last one, you can find it here. As for this video, it is called “Origins of a Story” and the host Zachary Levi (Chuck from Chuck) takes viewers for a behind the scenes look at how the character development and the narrative for the game are being handled.
Those who watch the video will also be able to see the lead writer Rhianna Pratchett, narrative designer John Stafford and creative director Noah Hughes talk about the game as well as catch some never before seen footage of the game itself.
EA has released a new video for Dead Space 3 that would probably be best classified as an actual walkthrough of a level considering the video is fifteen minutes long. You can take a look at the rather terrifying game in action below, where you will hopefully find the footage to be much scarier than you may have originally thought.
As you watch the walk through you can also listen to the game’s Creative Director and Senior Audio Artist give their insight into the game. If you can’t wait to play Dead Space 3 then unfortunately you still have quite some time to wait, as the game won’t be hitting store shelves until February 5th next year.
In what is becoming such a common occurrence that it almost isn’t news at this point, another game is getting a season pass for DLC right when it is released and it should come as no surprise that Assassin’s Creed 3 is the game getting it.
This week’s PlayStation Store Update revealed that a season pass will be purchasable when the game is released on October 30th for $30 and it is worth noting that the “Assassin’s Creed 3 Gold Edition” downloadable on the PSN will include the season-pass with purchase. With Ubisoft’s history of AC DLC, perhaps only big fans of multiplayer will find the pass worthwhile, but who knows at this point.
Today Telltale Games released a nice little teaser trailer for Episode 4 of The Walking Dead game and boy is it a great one. The video can be seen below but it is worth noting that it contains a few hints about what has happened in past episodes, so if you haven’t finished Episodes 1-3 then you may not want to take a look at it yet.
As for when Episode 4 will be released, Telltale Games has stated that they are aiming for an October release, though exactly when hasn’t been specified. As for you who have managed to avoid buying the episodes individually so far, you will be happy to hear that Telltale is planning on releasing a collection of all five episodes on a disc on December 4th.
