Over the last two weeks, we found out that classic 80s hits such as Kylie Minogue’s catchy I Should Be So Lucky and Cyndi Lauper’s pop ballad True Colors have made it to Nordic Games’ tracklist for their upcoming music video game We Sing 80s. Eight tracks have been revealed this week with four more Billboard Hot 100 #1s: Starship’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, Lionel Ritchie’s All Night Long (All Night), Toto’s Africa and The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me. The other four are Queen’s I Want to Break Free, Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s The Power of Love, Sade’s Smooth Operator and Cameo’s Word Up! The last eight tracks to round out the thirty of We Sing 80s’ tracklist will be announced next week.
Tracks that were previously announced:
Kylie Minogue – I Should Be So Lucky
Spandau Ballet – True
Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie
Yazz and the Plastic Population – The Only Way Is Up
DeBarge – Rhythm of the Night
Smokey Robinson – Being With You
Roxette – The Look
Cyndi Lauper – True Colors
Tears for Fears – Shout
Yazoo – Only You
Lisa Stansfield – All Around the World
Paula Abdul – Straight Up
Simple Minds – Alive and Kicking
Baltimora – Tarzan Boy
We Sing 80s will be released in September 28 for the Nintendo Wii. In the meanwhile, head to the Facebook Jukebox app for your chance to win a copy of the game by correctly guessing one of the songs that will be revealed next week!
Was your answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up” was to become a train driver? Or maybe you just like trains in general? Well for you budding train conductors out there, it has been announced by RailSimulator.com that Train Simulator 2013 is now available for pre-order on Steam until the worldwide release date of September 20. Until then, everyone who pre-orders will get 10% off the purchase of the game!
The features of Train Simulator 2013 include the Sherman Hill, London-Brighton, Northeast Corridor and Isle of Write routes; Xbox 360 controller compatibility; Quick Drive; Relay Play and Steam Workshop where players can share content with other players from around the world.
Good news for Train Simulator 2012 users, you will be able to get the new features, with the exception of the 2013 routes and locomotives, for free.
TANK! TANK! TANK! That’s right badass tanks taking it to the extreme. Nintendo revealed a new trailer for Namco Bandai’s TANK! TANK! TANK! for the Wii U.
The game itself is based upon the popular arcade game of the same name and allows gamers to become a tank and kick some robotic three-headed dragon ass. TANK! TANK! TANK! will be tailor made for the Wii U and will implement the Wii U Gamepad to it’s fullest.
You can check out the TANK! TANK! TANK! trailer below. Be sure to let us know what you think of TANK! TANK! TANK! in the comments section.
EA Mobile took home the big prize at the 2012 Meffy Awards this year, snagging the Social & Entertainment App Award with their hit game The Sims FreePlay. The award is described as “this category celebrates the best and most commercially successful applications that are focused on ‘fun’ – be it entertainment or social networking. ” The Sims FreePlay was selected by a panel of independent journalists, analysts, academics, and VCs. “Congratulations to Electronic Arts for winning the 2012 Social and Entertainment App Meffy. The successful roll-out of the free-to-play model on this evergreen brand demonstrates the changing ways consumers are engaging with mobile games and apps,” said Rimma Perelmuter, MEF Executive Director.
EA Mobile isn’t resting on their laurels either. They pushed out a major update adding Pre-teens to the game. These children will need a school to attend, hobbies to keep them busy, toys to play with, and lots of clothes to wear. Check out The Sims FreePlay on the iTunes App Store here. The update will soon be released for Android on Google Play here.
In addition, the World Series of Yahtzee has been announced, bringing the classic game to the Canadian iTunes App Store first with a roll out to other territories soon. Monopoly Hotels has also been updating, providing players an opportunity to build rooms that can create the premium in game currency and charge rent in gold. Also, language support has been added for Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. Finally, NBA Jam and FIFA 12 have been launched on the Barnes & Noble NOOK app store. Check out all the latest happenings with EA Mobile at their site here.
The next generation of the hit bite sized social game on Facebook, Zuma Blitz, was released today. Zuma Blitz: Kroakatoa Island adds expanded game boards, 110 levels, 10 explosive power ups, player abilities, an all new food system, faster game play experience, weekly tournaments, and an all new Shot Aimer. “We’ve put a great deal of thought and energy into making the Zuma Blitz experience even better on Facebook, and the result is Zuma Blitz: Kroakatoa Island,” said Scott Willoughby, Zuma Blitz franchise manager. “PopCap has significantly ratcheted up the fun factor with a more dynamic, expansive game board, dozens of new levels, two new power-ups, and a variety of cool new abilities that we believe will make the game more accessible and appealing to virtually all Facebook users, not just the 15 million who’ve played the original Zuma Blitz.”
As many of you know, a new Super Mario Bros. game has been in development for Nintendo’s next generation console. We have finally gotten a small taste of what it will exactly be like, check out the trailer down below.
As you can see, everyone is returning, from Mario (that’s a no brainer) to Bowser. The games graphics look absolutely outstanding and the worlds you will see in the game are guaranteed to be a blast! But wait, there’s more, with the integration of the Wii U’s gamepad, you will now be able to play the game from the gamepad itself.
New Super Mario Bros.U will be released sometime during the WiiU’s launch window.
Joe Danger 2: The Movie Developer:Hello Games Publisher: Hello Games Platforms:XBLA Release Date:September 14, 2012 Price: 1200 MSP ($15) – Available Here
Overview
Have you ever ran out of a movie theater with the urge to go and do a back flip, tried shooting your friends with your finger guns, or quoted a cheesy movie quote like, “I’ll be back?” Well, then I’ve got some great news for you, there is now a game for that and it is, Joe Danger 2: The Movie.
The game picks up right where the first one left off. You still play the most determined stunt man in the world, Joe Danger. There is something different though this time, he gets sent to Hollywood to work on some of the greatest movies ever made. Through using motorbikes, jet packs, skis, and sky suits, you get to play a part in some Hollywood productions.
Story
The game is cut up into different movies (chapters) with each one consisting of different scenes (levels) that you have to stunt your way through. The game begins with you playing the role of Indiana Bones and you have to ride your way (by mine cart) to the end of the scene by dodging rocks, avoiding enemy bombs, or ducking to avoid hitting your head. This is just a taste of what you will be going against as you will be going against this and much, much more.
While the story of Joe Danger 2 might be a little unoriginal at first thanks to the real movie inspired scenes, you will quickly overlook them because the story is just fun and entertaining! While the game is about Joe Danger, there are some minor characters that partake in the game. One of the being the director who will comment on your performance and try to make witty puns at you every once in a while.
Gameplay
All in all, Joe Danger 2 is one thing and that is a side view action game. You will begin with the simplest of levels which will require you to hop into a mine cart and race your way down the tracks with a jump or two along the way. I will just warn you now, that is the only easy level in that game. The games handles level difficulty the right way. You will begin to notice that the levels will get more and more difficult as you continue along. At many points I found myself having to replay the scenes or start from my last checkpoint because I would hit a bomb or I would have neglected to duck when I was supposed to. The beauty behind that was, it wasn’t the games fault but, it was actually mine.
The games play mechanics are very simple and perfect at best. You have to hold down the right trigger to go, hold down the left trigger to reverse, and so on. You have the ability to use your boost by pressing A but, in order to even gain boost, you have to hold down the left button and rotate your joysticks to gain more boost or, you can just collect the little blue stars while you are playing the level (I highly recommend the first way to get it, due to the fact it ends up being a whole lot more fun).
The also pack in some bonus items for you to collect like letters that will spell the word danger and extra stars hidden through each of the scenes. If you collect enough of these, you can unlock some extra in-game content like deleted scenes or costumes for Joe to wear. This adds replay value to the game because I found myself going back to each level trying to collect everything from that level and aim for the perfect score to be considered a pro on that level.
The game does have a multiplayer mechanic to it but, it is only local multiplayer. While this may be okay for cases like mine because I have an extra controller and a little annoying brother to play with, this won’t appeal to the core online gamers. Maybe we can hope for this in a future update for the game! (A stunt man can dream can’t he?)
The game also includes a track editor in which you can design your own creations for you (and your friends) to try out. I found myself creating crazy jumps with explosions to give me that action movie hero feel that everyone craves sooner or later.
Visuals
The games visuals are one thing, and one thing only, perfect. I found myself just thinking about how clean and polished each of the levels looked. That right there caused half of my failure because I would admire the graphics and the background of each of the games levels. The cartoony aspect of the game makes the game feel much more fun and friendly also!
Audio
The games music feels like it was pulled out of the one classic 80’s movie you have seen but you don’t remember the name to. Who is to say that is a bad thing though? It actually makes you feel like you are the actual character you are supposed to be playing. The game does have some dialogue but it includes very little and I have to say, I really did enjoy hearing the director yell at me with his pirate sounding voice!
The game also has some awesome sound affects. I found the explosions to be the best sounds in the game and would repeat missions just to hear that sweet sound.
Overall
Joe Danger 2: The movie is a game that is really worth purchasing. With the games great story where you will find yourself taking on many roles that include being a treasure hunter or a secret agent. The game play’s absolutely perfectly and there are so many extra things for you to find and collect through each level that you will be going back and replaying all of them many times. The visuals are nice, crisp, and well polished with beautiful colors and objects used throughout each level. The games audio makes you feel like you are really in one of those good ole’ classic movies and the sound affects just seriously help complete the final product. With all this being said and done, go get your jumpsuit on and get to playing!
Guild Wars 2 has seen incredible success as over 2 millions copies have been purchased. And to what does ArenaNet and NCsoft owe this success to? A video game in the MMO genre must be able to add continual interest to a player from the very beginning. Eventually, there comes a point where a player caps at a certain level and is left grinding at the bit to attain the best armor possible. Let’s see what Guild Wars 2 offers to supplement the lost interest we see in many other MMOs.
From the very beginning, the developers have altered the concept of an endgame by infusing a special event that propels the player’s personal storyline. The player will experience one such endgame after completing homeland quests and proving to be a champion by defeating a boss. Guild Wars 2 continues to envelope these endgame elements throughout the experience to remove the loss of interest and give the player quests and events to continually keep an eye out for.
Even as a player comes closer to capping, dynamic events become larger and giant bosses reach towards extreme. The realization that players will come to learn is that joining forces with friends and strangers is essential. Dynamic events provide challenging situations with much uncertainty that will leave a player trembling when left alone. I mean just look at this mammoth!
Giant bosses and hordes of enemies offer plenty of interest, but exploring all of Tyria can provide its own challenges. As another aspect of endgame, players can search maps high and low for places of interest as well as completing all quests in that area. Don’t think for a moment that you will get away with stomping on baddies in lower level areas. The level adjustment system alters the difficulty of the enemies in the area just so you will receive a decent brawl.
Then after exploring through the game with your character, you can jump into a different race and experience their personalized story. One character in this genre is simply not enough. Every race has a unique beginning campaign that will place you in the trenches right away. A multitude of starting campaigns gives the title plenty replay value.
Guild Wars 2 did not create the wheel of MMOs, but it certainly makes us look at it differently now. Players can now experience endgame elements throughout their experience and maintain interest through dynamic events, exploration, new characters, and a whole lot more. If you have Guild Wars 2, get back in game and let your life essence drain away onto your computer. Haven’t purchased this game yet? Check out our review (here), and join the 2 million others in the fray.
DMD Enterprises have released some special promotional screenshots of Uprising44: The Silent Shadows to show off and explain their decision and explanation of combining the Real Time Strategy and Third Person Perspective. The idea of combining the two styles made a lot of sense development wise in terms of story as the point was specifically personal as well as large scale fighting. By having the players start out personally trying to achieve objectives while in TPP until finding a good command post, then switching to RTS to command others.
Ideally, players should have a greater appreciation for what they will be commanding their fighters to do once in RTS mode, having already gone through some of the action themselves in TPP. Players can check out some of the screenshots in the gallery below to see how the different modes will look in-game, as well as seeing how the game world will look in general. Uprising44: The Silent Shadows will be released for PC and Mac on September 15th.
Focus Home Interactive and WizarBox have released a new video showing off what it will be like using the cooperative mode for R.A.W., Realms of Ancient War. Hopefully more effective together than alone, players should be able to work well together to ensure that each character can do what they need to succeed. Mainly, the Fighter should focus on keeping all the enemies off the more squishy characters, while either of the other two are free to take out everyone without need to worry. Though how effective a Rogue and Wizard coop would work is interesting to think about as there would be no major tank.
Players can check out the video embedded below to prepare themselves for the cooperative action. The game is set to release on XBLA and European PSN September 19th, American PSN September 25th, and then finally on PC on October 4th.
