Mistwalker announced the 1.2 update for Party Wave and the free demo version of Party Wave will be released October first. No word has been released on exactly what the update will contain and what limitations will be in place for the free version of Party Wave. An Android version has been teased but the date remains as to be announced.
Party Wave is Mistwalker’s first foray into mobile gaming. Players are able to guide several surfers away from obstacles and danger into some sweet waves and help them surf for maximum points. Be sure to check out the new Party Wave trailer below.
You can check out Capsule Computer’s review of Party Wave here. If you are ready to make the dive into Party Wave without waiting for the free version, it can be purchased herefor $1.99.
Boulder Dash XL 3D Developer:Catnip Games/FirstStar Software/Ludosity Publisher: Reef Entertainment Platform: 3DS Release Date: 5th October Price: £19.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Catnip Games was tasked with updating an old classic for Xbox Live Arcade and PC and in 2011 Boulder Dash XL was excavated from the craggy, ancient ruin of 1984’s Boulder Dash. The developer did a stellar job, refreshing the visuals but leaving the simple gameplay mechanics more or less untouched. Who, however, played this reboot and thought ‘you know what this needs: some nausea-inducing 3D effects courtesy of the 3DS’? Still, around a year after the big screen version here it is, with a budget £19.99 price tag to go some way towards making up the difference in price with the downloadable version.
Gameplay:
It’s a simple game from simple time, with the classic premise, synonymous with that era, of running around collecting shiny things. The shiny things are played by diamonds, the adventurer played by a robot (Rockford or Crystal) and the danger, on this occasion, is cleverly cast as the falling boulder loosened by your own greed. There are also bugs lurking in your underground mining missions to contend with, but where the boulders crush you and kill you in one, a bug only takes off a portion of your energy when it manages to hit you.
You mine your way through small two-dimensional grids, chewing your way through earth and collecting jewels until you have enough to open the exit from the cave and complete the level. It’s called an action puzzler because you have to choose a path and assess the danger on the fly, pushing rocks or causing them to fall on purpose in order to free up a new path or jewel. You consider your surroundings all the time but it isn’t the sort of careful calculation of an out and out puzzle game due to the time limit. Then again, it would depend on what mode you are in, as the measured, tactical side to the game is an option.
Although it is sugar-coating the situation a little, technically-speaking there are five modes: Arcade, Puzzle, Zen, Score and Retro. In reality it’s more like three. Arcade mode is a race against the clock to seek out enough diamonds to meet the exit-unlock requirements. There’s usually plenty to spare once you’ve reached this target, which leaves room for repeated play throughs, as you can either do a basic completion of the level and get a green tick next to that selection, or collect every gem and get a gold tick.
The Zen and Score modes, however, are made of the same stuff. Zen mode, as the name suggests, is a chilled out place to practise the caves from Arcade free of any time constraint, so you can plan out your route through the level. Score mode is similar gameplay-wise too, only with renewed focus on getting a high score by chaining treasure in quick succession for higher points bonuses. In Score mode, the girds you play on are much bigger – to promote repeated play throughs, bettering your old scroes by working out the best routes – although there is consequently a great deal less of them.
There are 150 caves in total but the game only really comes into its own in the puzzle and retro modes, which have 25 maps each. Puzzle mode offers the aforementioned slow and steady style of play which seems to suit Boulder Dash well. Less action more puzzler, this mode has much smaller caves in which every move you make is important and you’ll only reach the exit successfully if every move is done in the correct sequence. The thoughtful nature of play here, where you learn the way through using retry constantly, makes for a greater personal sense of achievement than the haphazard, bash and dash style of Arcade.
Retro too carries a similar feeling of reward when you do finally complete a level, but not for the same reasons. In this case, it is because of the challenge it poses. As well as the visuals reverting back to their previous incarnation, the difficulty goes old school, presenting a tough as nails wall of stone in the way of progress to remind you of how accustomed to we’ve all come to more forgiving games.
Visuals & Audio:
In terms of graphics, the game doesn’t seem to be stretching the handheld system to its limits but is facelift for Rockford and Crystal, whom you can actually tell are robots now. With its cute music, the game even manages to give a blank-faced robot a tiny personality. Sound effects, on the other hand, are a no-no due to the frequency with which you collect or smash things, though thankfully you can switch sound effects off separately from the music.
Overall:
Asking me to give the game a score and tell you whether it’s worth buying or not places me between a rock and a hard place. It’s definitely one of the more subjective games I’ve played of late in that it will appeal to some through aspects which others will detest. For me, its quality lies in the Puzzle mode – not conventional Boulder Dash territory but a slow, considered pace seems to suit it. One thing you can be sure of is that your money would be better spent on the cheaper XBLA version of Boulder Dash XL if you have got your eye on it; the 3D doesn’t add much, and the visuals undoubtedly look better on a more powerful machine and bigger screen. Plus, playing something bite-sized on the go like this is available at a fraction of the cost in this day and age through the Apple Appstore.
DMD Enterprise’s Uprising44: The Silent Shadows may have only just been released for digital distribution on September 18th, but they are still hard at work updating the game as can be seen with Update 1.02 released today. So, what all does the new update do for the game?
Changes made for the game to overall improve it include:
New firing sounds for weapons
New balance for short firearms
New and better camera views for the cutscenes in mission “Tenement under Fire”
Plus additional Main Menu information
Fixing English subtitles
Fixing loading screens
Fixing the enemy AI functionality
Fixing the main camera functionality
Players can download the patch from the following websites:
English Update 1.01 for GreenMan Gaming or Gamers Gate versions (required before 1.02) HERE
FIFA 13 has come to the iOS platform for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, but don’t feel it’s been skimping on the fun as the iOS version still maintains 33 licensed stadiums to play in and more than 500 teams across 30 leagues. EA Sports has even put in the work to make sure that for the first time players from the iOS version can play online against Origin users.
Other features include allowing players to support their favorite soccer club by earning XP. Players with a bigger sense of history of the sport will find a lot of interesting fun to be had in the challenges that allow them to relive moments in history. Those more connected to the social media streams will also enjoy being able to take moments from their own games and uploading them right to YouTube.
Players interested in FIFA 13 can find it on iTunes App Store for $6.99 HERE.
Dead or Alive 5 Developer: Team Ninja Publisher:Tecmo Koei Platforms:PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (Reviewed) Release Date:September 25, 2012 Price:$59.99 – Available Here
Overview: Amongst the rather small list of 3D fighting games that are still being released in today’s gaming age, there stands one franchise which has always made itself memorable with relatively easy to learn combat and a cast of characters which are memorable in more ways than one. That franchise happens to be Dead or Alive. Now while it has been a few years since Dead or Alive saw a full release on a console that didn’t involve volleyball, Dead or Alive 5 looks to bring some action packed fighting to fans everywhere. Does it manage to succeed? Let’s find out.
Story: Rather than simply feature an archaic arcade mode that only offers a small video for each character in the game, Dead or Alive 5 supports a full blown story mode. Gamers will go through the story mode playing as a number of different characters in the roster, usually fighting around three to four fights which each one before switching to the next character in the story.
While not very long in length, Dead or Alive 5’s storyline does a relatively nice job bringing most of the characters together and keeping the various character relationships that have been built up over past releases intact. It is also worth noting that the two new characters, Mila and Rig are also present in the storyline with the two of them woven into the existing story well enough that they don’t feel intrusive.
Visuals: If you thought that past Dead or Alive games have looked good before then you will simply be blown away with how amazing the character models in Dead or Alive 5 look. Every character in the game sports an absolutely beautiful appearance and excellent facial expressions, making it the best looking fighting game on the market today. Their fighting motions are unique to each character and each one manages to portray the character’s personality.
To top that off, the character’s themselves actually get dirty and sweat during a fight, meaning that a fighter’s outfit can become sweat stained or see-through and covered in grime during an intense fight, making it feel all the more real. The characters also come with a relatively large amount of alternate costumes, with most characters seeing over five unlockable outfits which are full clothing changes rather than simple palette swaps.
Outside of the characters themselves, the stages the player will be fighting on are also well designed and also action packed thanks to the fact that most of them have things occurring in the background in some shape or form. Whether it is fighting in the middle of the Dead or Alive ring, in the middle of a middle-eastern battleground or in the Antartic, each stage is visually impressive and a number even feature multiple levels of combat, allowing for fighters to be knocked over an edge or balcony, resulting in damage and the fight continuing in a fresh area.
Audio: Combat in Dead or Alive 5 is absolutely brutal thanks to the fact that every connecting attack makes a satisfying thud and even the throws themselves sound bone-breaking. The environmental noise on each stage creates a great atmosphere for each fight, though it is worth noting that the game’s background music is a bit substandard and can be easily forgotten about.
One thing that is definitely worth mentioning is the fact that all of the characters have had some impressive voice work recorded for them and considering how dialogue heavy the story mode of the game can be; this is a major plus, though the guest character’s voice work feels off compared to the rest of the cast. The voice work also translates into the fights themselves as the characters will often make small comments during a fight, besides grunting of course, when certain moves are performed, making the fight feel a bit more alive.
Gameplay:
In case you happen to be unfamiliar with the franchise, Dead or Alive 5 features a four button system where players will perform punching attacks with Y, kicks with B, holds (which counter blows with a throw)/guarding with X and throws with A. This makes the game a bit easier to pick up and play for newcomers thanks to the fact that there is no need to worry about a limb system, but there are also a large number of moves and attacks that players can learn for each fighter, with some fighters containing over a hundred different attacks for the more hardcore fighter to master.
Dead or Alive 5 provides a nice selection of characters to choose from with a few guest characters that must be unlocked during Story Mode as well as two new characters. The balance between these fighters is well-handled and thanks to the hold system even slower characters have a chance against faster fighters. As far as new characters go, Rig is a nice addition with an impressive move set while Mila features an MMA fighting style that even includes ground throws which result in either ground and pounding or MMA submission moves for damage.
One thing that has received a notable increase in Dead or Alive 5 is how intense the fighting is. The action usually will feel very fast paced as the characters fight one another and this is accentuated by the fact that nearly every single stage is interactive in one way or another. One example is that a player can hit their opponent into a generator, causing it to explode and cause massive damage to the environment, creating a cliff for players to throw their opponent off of.
The interactivity with each level is especially noticeable when the player uses a new fishing move called a “power blow” which is new to the Dead or Alive series. Only usable at about half health, this charge attack will not only deal a large amount of damage to your opponent but send them flying a great distance. Players can slightly aim where they want to blast their opponent, allowing them to choose what obstacle they want them to smash into and deal even more damage. Thanks to the power blow’s charge time and the fact that players must be under 50% health makes it feel relatively balanced despite the fact that it can be used to swing the fight in one’s favor.
Now there are a number of modes for a player to choose in Dead or Alive 5, such as the aforementioned story mode, an arcade mode that players can do as one on one battles or as a tag team, score attack and survival for those looking to set high scores, an in-depth practice mode that can teach every character’s attack and even simulate online lag if the player wishes it and of course, a Spectator mode. The spectator mode will allow players to watch the computers fight it out and also the player can take snapshots of the fighters in action with a free motion camera.
While those are all offline options one can play with others in local co-op, there are a number of online fights as well. Players can choose to accept “Throwdowns” during offline matches and jump into an online match instantly, fight a ranked match or just a “simple” player match. There are also online lobbies which can be created and customized so that players can fight in tournament style and also spectate on the current fight while they wait their turn. As far as the netcode goes, Dead or Alive 5 played smooth online during my matches and opponents were found quickly when desired, though accepting throwdowns during offline matches sometimes resulted in no fight occurring.
Now, one thing that Dead or Alive has been known for is the fact that the game contains a relatively large amount of fan service and that is retained in Dead or Alive 5. In fact it has actually increased thanks to the dirt and sweat that characters now gather and the spectator mode. However while this is available for those who enjoy fan service with their games, it is not something that is forced down the player’s throat so it can easily be ignored.
Overall: Dead or Alive 5 is the pinnacle of what the series has been capable of so far, with unbelievable visuals and intense combat, the fighting never gets old. While there are some people who will say that Dead or Alive 5 is mostly about the fan service, there is also a deep and enjoyable game beneath all of the more, shall we say, sensual features in the game. With an impressive offering both online and offline and plenty of content to unlock and most importantly, tight fighting mechanics, make Dead or Alive 5 one of the best fighting games you’ll play all year long.
Publisher 505 Games has just announced the latest Ashes Cricket game to be released, Ashes Cricket 2013. This game is being released in celebration of the double header Ashes Series cricket over in England.
The things about this is that we’ve received the most ambiguous sounding information in regards to this game, so are any cricket fans out there able to help me translate this?
Celebrating the most intense and long standing international test cricket rivalry, the game launches in time for the unique double header Ashes Series that takes place in England and then a few months later in Australia.
On the new game Luke Bould, Head of Commercial Marketing at Cricket Australia had this to say:
“The launch of the new Ashes Cricket 2013 is an important step in bringing fans closer to the game than ever before. Gaming is an important part of cricket’s entertainment offering and plays a role in achieving our objective to be Australia’s favourite sport. 2013 is a huge cricket year, with back to back Ashes series, and we look forward to seeing the tradition and excitement of the Ashes brought to life through Ashes Cricket 2013”
This new Ashes game will be released on home consoles and the PC master system. It looks like the game is set to be released sometime in 2013. It would be a great help if any cricket fans could help us out on the actual date in the comments below. Also make sure to check out the official site for more info.
Welcome to my weekly SKET Dance episode impressions. This week, I go through episode 76 of the crazy comedy anime that is SKET Dance. 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.
Welcome to my weekly Hunter x Hunter episode impressions. This week, I go through episode 48 of the 2011 version of Hunter x Hunter. 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.
Steins;Gate: Complete Series Part One Studio:White Fox Publisher: FUNimation Format:Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date:September 25, 2012 Price:$69.98 – Available Here
Overview: Usually when an anime is adapted from a visual novel of some kind, that visual novel’s plot revolves around one young man and a large group of women who gather around him. Rarely do we find a visual novel that is packed with drama and suspense given an anime adaptation, however back in mid-2011 one such adaptation was created.
Steins;Gate, originally developed by 5pm. and Nitroplus for release on the Xbox 360, was critically acclaimed by the Japanese media and the subsequent creation of an anime delighted many. Now FUNimation has brought Steins;Gate to North America in two parts. Does the first half of the series ensnare the viewer in an intricate storyline that will hold them throughout both parts? We shall see.
Story: In what is stylized as modern day Japan, a rather eccentric and slightly delusional college student named Rintarō Okabe who claims that he is a mad scientist is attending another scientist’s discussion on time travel. However during the event he stumbles upon a girl named Kurisu Makise who for some reason says that she had met him only fifteen minutes prior, though he never remembered seeing her before.
After leaving the scientist’s discussion with his female friend Mayuri, a scream is heard in the building and Okabe finds Kurisu dead and laying in a puddle of her own blood. As he leaves the area in shock, he sends a text message to another one of his friends Itaru Hashida but as soon as he sends the text, the world around him changes and the once busy street has cleared of people. Too his dismay not only has a satellite crashed into the building he was just standing in, but no one around him remembers anything about the lecture nor the fact that they were ever in the building.
While this bizarre turn of events may be startling to most, Okabe continues on with his day and returns home where we learn that there is a good reason that Okabe calls himself a mad-scientist. He is the leader of a small group who is planning on discovering time travel. While trying to discover a possible way to travel through time, Okabe and Daru (Itaru’s nickname) find that they have actually created a time machine in the form of a microwave hooked up to a cell phone.
Not only does this microwave manage to transport a banana back in time (gelatinized however) , but the group soon discovers that they can actually send text messages back in time to their former selves. Too make things even more complicated, the previously dead Kurisu appears alive and well, eventually joining the group’s efforts to better understand their time travel device. However things aren’t all fun and games, as text messages sent to the past can have an irreversible effect on the present, altering minor to major details in the world.
While the group tries to understand the machine, the changes to the timeline grow worse and only Okabe manages to retain his memories between these jumps. Though with another supposed time traveler called John Titor warning of a future where an evil organization uses time travel to rule the world with an iron fish, Okabe’s own concept of events unwinding and more occurring around the group, can Okabe manage to keep everything together and discover what exactly is happening?
If it sounds like Steins;Gate has a whole lot of storyline going on at one time, you are absolutely correct. However despite the dense plot the anime never lets the viewer feel too overwhelmed or let the plot become muddled as most of the intricacies of time travel are explained throughout Part 1 and viewers learn alongside the characters in the show. This not only helps the show flow fluidly but also allows for minor character development throughout.
Part 1 is presented mostly lighthearted and comically with the main character Okabe presenting most of the humor with his outlandish behavior and comedic belief that an “Organization” is out to get them. Combine his eccentric behavior with the other members of the cast who join the group along the way and we find a well-functioning cast of characters that begin to feel something like a family.
Now Part 1 brings us to the midway point of the storyline and as mentioned before, while most of the first half is played for laughs things begin to take a dark turn as more revelations about time travel and other factors in the world come into play. As such, Part 1 leaves off with a killer cliffhanger that will leave viewers wishing that Part 2 would come faster.
Visuals: Steins;Gate is a rather beautiful looking series with excellent artwork both on the characters as well as the backgrounds. The characters are well designed, especially when it comes to Okabe, and the close-ups of a character’s face during dramatic moments helps raise the tension greatly. In fact, a number of the characters in the series are designed rather different from each other and go a bit outside the norm by having a rather large individual be a main character.
It is worth noting that Steins;Gate uses a rather subdued color palette, but this ultimately works for the best as any brighter colors that are used ultimately accentuate plot points or certain objects. Another thing worth noting is that Steins;Gate features a lot of text messaging and therefore text reading. Thankfully FUNimation has done a good job with translating all of the texts that are shown on screen with subtitle displayed over the object, though larger messages usually have to be paused and read thanks to their short display time.
Audio: As standard with a FUNimation release, Steins;Gate Part 1 includes the original Japanese dub as well as the brand new English dub. The English voice work for the series is handled quite well though there are a few times that it sounds like the quality of the recording itself takes a dip for the worse. This is a shame as Michael Tatum’s portrayal of Okabe and Trina Nishimura’s work as Kurisu are the two stand out performances in the series, though Jackie Ross also deserves a mention with her portrayal of the always positive Mayuri.
Steins;Gate features a rather light set of background music which is usually forgetful outside of dramatic moments in the show. On the other hand the theme opening song “Hacking the Gate” by Kanako Itō is impressive sounding and worth listening too often and the ending song “Toki Tsukasadoru Jūni no Meiyaki” by Yui Sakakibara happens to follow along the same lines.
Extras: As far as Bonus Features go, Steins;Gate comes with your standard faire of trailers for other FUNimation releases, a clean version of the opening and ending theme song as well as two episode commentaries. Outside of the norm is a rather simplistic Akihabara map tour done through the menu system that shows the location of some areas in Steins;Gate if they were in the real Akihabara.
As far as the episode commentary goes, Episode 1 features Trina Nishimura the voice of Kurisu and Tyson Rinehart who voices Itaru/Daru. The two of them spend a lot of time discussing how this is Rinehart’s first major role in a FUNimation series and past works of his. This one is rather hilarious as the two spend a lot of time joking around with only a little focus on the episode itself.
Episode 12 on the other hand features J Michael Tatum who voices Okabe and is also the Lead Writer and John Burgmeier who is the head writer on the series. The two spend a lot of time talking about technical aspects and the writing in the show, while also discussing how they worked in Western references such as Back to the Future so the original Japanese references wouldn’t fly over the viewers’ heads. It is worth noting that this commentary should be avoided until the viewer watches the entirety of Part 1, as the two also discuss how the show takes a darker turn.
Overall: Steins;Gate does a great job sinking its claws into the viewer with Part 1 and doesn’t let go throughout the first twelve episodes. While slowly introducing the time travel logic used in the show and the various alternate realities that spring from the group’s actions, viewers will grow invested in the intriguing storyline and the characters themselves. With an impressive presentation, top-notch voice work and a story that will leave viewers begging for Part 2, Steins;Gate is an anime that simply should not be missed.
Fans of the XCOM franchise, or those taking an interest in the franchise for the first time will be pleased to know that a demo for the upcoming XCOM Enemy Unknown is now available on Steam. The demo itself is a whooping 5.4gb in size, so those of us with a small internet cap will probably have to find another means to obtain the demo.
As someone who has taken a look at the demo already, I can tell you that it is very similar to the levels of the game that we played earlier this year, only it is a lot more refined. Disappointingly though, is that the demo ends incredibly fast, especially if you skip through all of the cutscenes. And it ends on the most cliffhanger part possible too. This has got my psyched for the full game when it releases in under a months time.
Players can pre-order the game at this link. Pre-orders will receive an Elite pack which unlocks a bunch of new customisations and special abilities. This is all rundown on the previous link.
