Ever feel like you just don’t have enough NBA in your life? Well 2K Sports has revealed that they will be launching a new service that will make it so that you will never be too far away from NBA 2K13 once it is released. It is being titled NBA 2K Everywhere and will be available as a companion app on a slew of mobile devices, a social game on Facebook and even a full version of NBA 2k13 will be released on the iOS and Android as well.
The MyNBA2K app will be available in October for the iOS, Kindle and Android and will contain a number of minigames and allow the player to connect to the main game’s MyTeam and MyCareer features. As for the Facebook game, NBA 2K: MyLife gamers will be able to import their MyCareer avatar into the game to compete for endorsement deals which will unlock rewards in the main versions of the game.
As for the full mobile versions of the game as well as the console versions, NBA 2K13 will be available for purchase in October, meaning you have less than a month until you can become one with the 2K NBA world.
Madden NFL 13 Developer:EA Tiburon Publisher:EA Sports Platforms:Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, PlayStation 3 (Reviewed) Release Date:August 28, 2012 Price:$59.99 – Available Here
Overview: With the heat of summer starting to wind down, it is starting to feel like football weather in the United States, and with the NFL season about to kick off it only makes sense that the next release in EA Sports’ annual Madden franchise hit store shelves. This year’s offering is Madden NFL 13 and it promises a number of new enhancements over the last few years’ releases. Do these changes make Madden NFL 13 worth picking up for those who just can’t get enough football in their lives?
Visuals: Perhaps the biggest improvement over past Madden titles is the fact that Madden NFL 13 is sporting a brand new gameplay engine that delivers some rather impressive realism, making Madden NFL 13 one of the most realistic feeling football games that you will have ever played up to this point. This physics engine, called the Infinity Engine, makes it so that players will rarely experience the same play the exact way as players will stumble, bounce off of each other, shed tackles, fight for more yards and go for the ball in so many different ways.
This means that the hard hitting tackles that some football fans look for will come in many different shapes and sizes, often resulting in spectacularly painful looking hits. To top this off, the whole presentation of the title simply oozes in style. Everything from the main menu, the introduction of the teams to the final seconds of the game feel are genuinely enjoyable to watch and may even trick family members into believing it is the real thing.
It is worth noting that the Infinity Engine does have a few issues of its own. For one, there are a number of times that a seemingly sacked quarterback, about to hit the ground with tacklers taking him down, is able to throw a laser pass with perfect accuracy to a receiver. It also struggles terribly with post-play scenes where players try to stand up and untangle themselves from one another. During these instances players will literally stumble all over each other and players walking past them will trip over them, falling on top of them and look absolutely terrible with some players even falling into bone-shattering positions.
Audio: Madden NFL 13 features a new commentary cast provided by Jim Nantz and Phil Simms who provide some rather believable voice work as they commentate matches. However their commentary is also inaccurate at times which can ruin post-play celebration as they describe the events of the play entirely wrong.
The title does feature some minor background music in the menu screens though this is nothing to really write home about, though the in-game sound effects do sound similar to what one would expect on the field.
Gameplay: Besides the visuals and the physics improving, a number of basic occurrences throughout a standard match have been modified and improved. Some of the biggest changes have occurred in the air game as EA Sports has added in a number of new throwing trajectories which change the way that a ball is thrown depending on the type of play, player thrown to and situation. It is also worth noting that both offensive and defensive players need to actually be aware of the ball before trying to catch it, making it so that receivers’ throw icons can be grayed out until they are ready for the ball (though they can still be thrown to) and defensive backs cannot intercept balls they couldn’t have known they were there.
Besides this, in combination with the Infinity Engine, tackles in Madden NFL 13 have been improved and given a higher chance of failing. Considering the fact that hitting a player doesn’t automatically mean that he is going to be taken down anymore, gamers who choose to use the hit-stick can sometimes be shed easily, allowing the runner to advance. This means that simply taking a wrap-up type of tackle may be the better choice at times compared to steam-rolling hits.
Outside of the field a number of adjustments have been made to the gameplay modes. Besides your standard play-now options, gamers will find that the online Franchise, offline Franchise and Superstar modes have been combined into one mode that is now called Connected Careers. In Connected Careers players will be able to start a league of their own, pick whether or not they want it to be offline or online and then whether they want to play as a coach or an individual player. Gamers who select an online league have the option of selecting a coach only league, players only league or anything goes.
In both Player mode and Coach gamers can choose to start a fresh player or coach or choose from a current player and even select a legend in the NFL if they feel like. Now if you choose to play as a normal player you will be forced to play as only that player, (like Superstar Mode) and will be given a chance to even create your own backstory by choosing whether you went undrafted, signed as a low draft player or a high draft pick. These selections can slightly affect your starting statistics as well as the team’s expectations of you.
As a single player, gamers will be able to advance their players by meeting certain goals set to them on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis as well as participating in practice drills to gain XP. This XP then transfers into various stat upgrades which will boost the performance of your player. It is worth noting that players can spend a long time playing as a second or third-string member of the team and see little actual gametime in a normal match which can be a bit frustrating at times until you have advanced your character enough. You can continue to play as your character as long as you want, possibly even making him one of the best players ever in his position or retire whenever you feel like and switch to a different player in the same league.
As far as playing as a coach goes, players have the chance to take advantage of everything previous franchise modes have allowed, such as playing as any player on the team on both offense and defense, managing the team, hiring players, issuing trades and more. The coach will also receive various XP which can be put towards different perks that can help your team and your coaching abilities. Some of the managerial option have been improved and may take a bit of getting used to, though once you do get the hang of everything, most tasks can be handled simply enough.
The Madden Ultimate Team game mode has returned once again in its trading card style and players may find themselves spending hours trying to literally create an ultimate team to take on their friends with and also play against other MUTs online. However gamers can also choose to play against the CPU with their MUT for the first time, allowing them to test them out on the CPU or simply enjoy a basic match against the computer. As far as the online mode itself, gameplay has never been smoother and finding matches have never been easier, as I was always easily able to find a match and play through a game without having any significant lag or questionable connections.
Overall: Madden NFL 13 does a lot of things right and improves upon an already excellent formula by offering a number of changes to the passing game as well as the overall physics of each play. It is a bit strange to see the Infinity Engine cause players to fall all over each other after each play or bend in absolutely horrific ways, but during the running of each play it looks wonderful. Plus with the newly compacted Connected Careers mode, players can find themselves spending hours making their draftee into a superstar ready for the Hall of Fame or become the best coach the league has ever seen and find themselves enjoying almost every minute of it.
Within the last year that crazy guy with no limbs that we have come to know as Rayman has made somewhat of a comeback in the video game world with the incredibly well-received Rayman Origins, which took the franchise back to it’s 2D platforming roots whilst also bringing something fresh and new to the genre.
With a sequel already announced for the Wii U titled Rayman Legends, it was only a matter of time before the franchise branched out even further and now it has with Rayman Jungle Run for the iOS and Android. This new title has been announced just today by Ubisoft and is set to hit the iTunes store and Android marketplace on September 20th.
Rayman Jungle Run is an endless running game, which has proven to be a popular genre on mobile platforms. It will also feature the same visuals and Rayman Origins which was released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. You can check out a trailer for the game below.
The latest expansion to the ever growing The Sims franchise, The Sims 3 Supernatural Expansion Pack, releases on the 7th of September, 2012. This means that those who have long awaited the opportunity to create magical Sims in this latest iteration of the The Sims franchise now can.
On The Sims 3 Supernatural, EA had this to say –
“This expansion pack adds a new, magical dimension to The Sims experience, opening up a world of storytelling possibilities,” said Kari St. John, Senior Producer for The Sims Studio . “We’re excited to put creative tools in the hands of our players, giving them the ability to tell contemporary stories inspired by this supernatural theme.”
This expansion sees the inclusion of several new classes of magical Sims for players to choose from. This list includes Vampires, Werewolves, fairies and more. This is definitely the expansion pack for fans of supernatural themes.
Yes, that headline does seem a little ludicrous, especially when you consider that triple-a titles are usually the ones that top sales charts. But you can decide for yourself whether or not that is true after hearing what Assassin’s Creed 3 creative director Alex Hutchison had to say about the state of big triple-a games.
Recently in an interview with EDGE, Hutchison made some somewhat puzzling statements regarding triple-a games, “We’re the last of the dinosaurs. We’re still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made, especially as the middle has fallen out.”
“We really felt like this was a rare opportunity, We had an experienced team, who had worked on the franchise for a while; we had the full backing of Ubisoft to make something huge. We had almost three years to do it, which is a rarity these days; the tech and the hardware platforms were both mature, which allowed us to start running instead of building base features; and the installed user base for all platforms is massive,” said Hutchison.
He went on to conclude, “Many of these factors are about to change, by choice of circumstance, so a lot of us truly believed this was a once in a career opportunity.”
Now this is not the first time Hutchison raised some eyebrows with his comments as he had already caused some controversy when he claimed that gaming journalists were racist.
What do you think of Alex Hutchison’s comments on triple-a titles? Is he right or is he wrong? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to Playstation Plus now might be the time to take the plunge. Sony have announced that Playstation owners can get a Playstation Plus membership for a discount of 25% off.
From today until the 19th of September, Playstation owners can pick up a year long membership for Playstation Plus for the price of $52.45. Alongside the announcement of the limited time discount of Playstation Plus year memberships is the announcement that Red Dead Redemption has been added to the Instant Game Collection. This means that if you’re a Playstation Plus member you can get this game for the price of absolutely nothing.
What do you think of this Playstation Plus discount and Red Dead Redemption joining the Instant Game Collection? Let us know in the comments section below.
Aksys Entertainment have announced that their BlazBlue 3rd Anniversary Contest has been extended to the 3rd of October, 2012. This contest is one where fans must take photos of themselves either in costumes or with their Noel collections in order to prove that they are the biggest fans and for a chance to win some amazing prizes.
There prizes actually look quite interesting and they include awesome items like banners. In fact people will be competing for a horizontal banner and two vertical banners. Be sure to check out the official contest rules here for more info.
Ever heard of the manga known as Doubt? You haven’t? Well I’m not surprised, it’s a series that ultimately flew under the radar of many manga fans. But that does not mean that it is not a quality series. The good news is that Yen Press have licensed the manga for a Western localisation.
The manga follows a group of teens who regularly play the online mobile game known as ‘Rabbit Doubt’ which focuses on a number of players having to figure out which one of them is actually a wolf in disguise. One day during a meet up of ‘Rabbit Doubt’ players, they soon discover that ‘Rabbit Doubt’ is not just a mobile game but a Survival Game with their lives truly at stake in a mysterious unknown place with seemingly no escape.
Doubt ran for 4-volumes and was serialised in Monthly Shonen Gangan from 2007-2009. A sequel to Doubt called Judge is currently being serialised but has not yet been confirmed to have been licensed by Yen Press.
Paramount Pictures released the Australian trailer for their action adventure horror film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The film is directed by Tommy Wirkola and stars Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel. The movie follows the years after Hansel and Gretel fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm when the siblings have become expert witch hunters. A coven of evil witches are planning to sacrifice children and Hansel and Gretel are hired by the mayor of the local town to stop it. The film will hit theaters in Australia on January 17th, 2013 and North America on January 11th, 2013.
Code of Princess’ unveiling kind of came out of nowhere earlier this year, but the hype has began here and as of now, this little action packed romp is looking to be the most refreshingly new IP on the 3DS this year. Along with the hefty amount of attacks and depth of the combat system, Princess will also feature a online and local co-op mode where up to four and team up throughout 100 quests.
Yes, this will be the first title of it’s kind to try the online co-op is such a large manner, but Atlus’ new trailer displaying the feature makes it look quite savory. Check out the clip below, and make sure you mark your calenders as Code of Princess hits thew 3DS on October 9th.
Ever heard of the manga known as Doubt? You haven’t? Well I’m not surprised, it’s a series that ultimately flew under the radar of many manga fans. But that does not mean that it is not a quality series. The good news is that Yen Press have licensed the manga for a Western localisation.
