Gameloft released their first Unreal Engine game to the iTunes App Store today. Wild Blood is a twist on classic story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The game is a 3d hack ‘n slash action game featuring Sir Lancelot fighting back against hell spawn. King Arthur has gone mad after discovering Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere in love. In a fit of madness, he turns to the sorceress Morgana who opens the gates of hell, feigning an attempt to seek revenge upon Sir Lancelot. Wild Blood features ten levels, puzzles, exploration, and horde based combat. Check out the launch trailer below and our review of Wild Blood here. Check out Wild Blood on the iTunes App Store here.
The very recently revealed Marvel Avengers: Initiative for the Android and iOS is going to be released tomorrow, September 6th, 2012. The game is going to be a series of four games set in the Marvel XP Universe that the Marvel Avengers Alliance is already a part of. Each game in the series will feature a different playable character from the Marvel Avengers lore.
The title is set to retail for the price of $6.99 and can be viewed on the iOS App store and the Google Play store. Be sure to check out our preview article for more info.
Wild Blood Developer: GameLoft Publisher: GameLoft Platforms: iPad (Reviewed), iPhone, iPod Touch Release Date: September 6th, 2012 Price: $7.99 USD Get it Here
Overview
Wild Blood is Gameloft’s first game on the legendary Unreal Engine. A console quality hack ‘n slash set in on a dark twist to the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with lofty expectations, the game combines some FPS mainstays and influences from Devil May Cry and other hack ‘n slash classics. Does Wild Blood have what it takes to start a brand new hit hack ‘n slash franchise for the iOS?
Story
Wild Blood stars the knight Sir Lancelot on his return to Albion. He and King Arthur’s wife Guinevere have had a lengthy affair and King Arthur has discovered his wife’s infidelity. Wracked with grief, Arthur makes a deal with his sister, the sorceress Morgana who promptly opens the gates of hell and wreaks havoc upon Albion as the demons enslave the population. Sir Lancelot returns to Albion to close the gates of hell and bring peace back to Albion.
The plot seems to provide some background noise to provide a little reasoning for the hacking and slashing action. Unfortunately, character development is lacking and our heroes seem to be rather one dimensional for the most part. Some parts, such as the random archangel boss, left me rather confused without much explanation. I could help sitting at my iPad thinking “Hang on, I thought I was fighting hell spawn…” Although the hack ‘n slash genre is not known for its particularly epic stories, games such as Dante’s Inferno and the Devil May Cry series have raised the bar for the genre.
Gameplay
Wild Blood is a hack ‘n slash game that looks torn right out of a console. Players have all the toys and abilities that are familiar to the genre including a light and heavy weapon, a ranged weapon, and potions. Special abilities are fueled by mana that regenerate as players use regular attacks on the enemies. Enemies are plenty and diverse. Each enemy has their own particular weaknesses and tactics to best deal with them that provides a welcomed sense of variety.
The upgrade system is simple to understand but provide plenty of options to fit anybody’s play style. I appreciated the fact there are three different special elemental attacks for each weapon, but players are only able to choose two special attacks for each weapon. I also really enjoyed the puzzle chests. To open some of the chests in the level, players are given a Rush Hour type puzzle game where they must move a key block to a certain zone on the board to unlock the chest. These were a great change of pace and made great use of the touch screen. I also appreciated the FPS mainstay of mounted turret sequences. This brought much needed pauses in the hack ‘n slash action.
Gameloft stuck to its familiar control set and kept with a control scheme found in many of their games. A virtual joystick is on the left side of the screen moves the character, a variety of action buttons is on the right hand side of the screen, and players can swipe the screen to move the camera around. For the most part the controls feel ported from the console. For regular action, players use the virtual game pad with the odd swipe puzzles and opening of doors that make better use of the touch screen controls. There are the traditional turret shooting sequences that is a staple of the FPS genre that is also controlled by the virtual joystick. For the most part, the possibilities touch screen controls of the iPad are largely ignored. Players are stuck with a frustratingly inaccurate and clunky control scheme for the multitudes of turret sequences. The regular hack ‘n slash controls are only marginally better. The staple movement of dodging in a particular direction is extremely finicky. I found I was only able to execute a successful roll when the joystick was not causing Sir Lancelot to move in any particular direction. When avoiding the use of the action button and focusing solely on attacking and moving from creature to creature, the controls were flawless. The game compensated for the inaccurate joystick by automatically sticky targeting the closest enemy after one dies. This was a tremendous help.
The difficulty of the game is a funny thing. For the most part, the game was just difficult enough to be challenging without hair pulling diff
icult. Most of the difficulty suddenly hit by chapter five due to the controls. Suddenly it became apparent that the inaccurate controls caused getting past spike traps that happily dealt almost quarter of a health bar worth of damage to become a small mini boss on its own right. Bosses began to hit mercilessly with gigantic health pools, the lousy dodge controls made the game unnecessarily difficult.
Visuals
The visual quality in Wild Blood is strong for the most part. On one hand, the game is beautiful. The animations transition into each other with a buttery smoothness. The visual design is impressive, enemies are visually distinguishable and the graphics are top notch. The skinning and modelling are well done with only a little bit of aliasing to be found. However, it seems rather obvious that this is Gameloft’s first game on the Unreal Engine. I ran the game on the top of the line new iPad with the Retina display. There are some extremely noticeable FPS drops interspersed in the game. There are moments when the action becomes too intense on the screen that the game drops a few frames to cause a sudden visual jolt. These problems ruin an almost perfect visual experience.
Audio
Wild Blood brings a great soundtrack and strong sound effects to the table. However, the voice acting is a mixed bag. The main characters are all well voice acted, especially for the iOS platform. However, minor characters like Merlin have a marked difference in acting quality. Worst of all, the hostages are some of the most irritating voices in the game. There are two different types of hostages, one female and one male. Each seems to have only two lines.
I found the male hostage to be the most irritating of the pair, but both hostages repeat the same few lines over and over with only a few second pauses between lines until you free them. Although I am aware this was most likely done to help players locate hostages hidden in alternate paths, the same two or three lines become old very quickly. On the other hand, the soundtrack is extremely pleasant to listen to and the sound effects are well done.
Overall
Wild Blood feels like a hack ‘n slash game designed for the console and ported onto iOS as a last minute decision. Some of the touch screen controls feel like afterthoughts. Places where the best of touch screen controls could shine, players are stuck with a clumsy virtual joy stick. Although the plot is a tad thin, I find it no thinner than the average hack ‘n slash. An epic story this game is not, but it provides just enough reason to slaughter hundreds of demons without mercy. Visually, Wild Blood is an impressive display making great use of the new iPad’s Retina Display. However, there are some obvious FPS drops at some points that detract from the visual quality of the game. Considering the premium price of $6.99, Wild Blood is by far cheaper than a similar quality console game, but priced as a premium title on the iPad, it is hard to recommend all iOS gamers to brave Wild Blood’s troubling control scheme. If you are a diehard hack ‘n slash console gamer that wants to get straight to business in killing or bring the experience onto their mobile device, then by all means purchase Wild Blood. But Wild Blood will not win any new converts to the genre by any means.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It was revealed Tuesday evening that Halo 4 will include one map remake when Halo 4 launches on November 6, 2012. Frank o’ Connor, the lead franchise director for the franchise said the following via twitter:
“Halo 4 only includes one map remake, I know what it is. It is good. It will cause the least amount of drama of any new thing. It is NOT small.”
This comes as quite a shocker to many fans because it was said by Frank himself that the game would not feature any remade maps at launch but, it is a possibility to release some as DLC. The map is unknown, but, many fans are hoping for another remake of Blood Gulch. Fans may be disappointed with Frank o’ Connor’s response, no.
Halo 4 will launch on November 6, 2012, on the Xbox 360.
Fire Escapes: Save the Babies Developer: Brian Kokernak & Carl Jagt Publisher: headRUSH Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iTouch, iPad Release Date: August 30, 2012 Price: $0.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Fire Escape brings back the classic and retro feel everyone knows (or once knew) and loves. You play as the fire captain in the game and you have to use your trampoline to save babies for a crying woman who has one to many children. With the game bringing back the nostalgia due to the games graphics and music, it takes you take you back to the good ol’ days! Now, lets see how the game really shapes up.
Story:
There is no actual story for the game, and you know what? It doesn’t need one. The game itself explains it all, you are a fire captain with another firefighter trying to rescue babies and return them to their mother. While most people would usually be upset if a game has no story, this game proves that not all games need an actual story. If there was only one thing that I would like to see explained that would be equal to a story would be why this woman has so many dang babies.
Gameplay:
The game play is as simple as you would expect, all you have to do is either tap the screen in order to position the trampoline to where it will cause the babies to bounce off it and get safely to their mother. They also give you the option to use tilt controls but that is a little difficult due to the speed the babies will randomly appear.
As you can see, they have made the controls very straight forward and easy which is a good thing compared to the confusing controls of most games that have been releasing in the past few years.
Visuals:
The graphics for the game are absolutely stunning. The game is done using 8-bit graphics but, they have made the game crystal clear. In other words, there is no blurriness or fuzziness that most 8-bit games have today.
The game has no lag issues and plays perfectly. Even when you have the little annoying Game Center message pop up when you begin to play the game, it causes no lag whatsoever. Also, when you tap and the firefighters move, they move at a perfect speed and show no sign of trouble.
The colors the used for the game are perfectly balanced. They have some intense colors like red but, those are balanced out by more calmer colors like brown.
Audio:
The music for the game is a nice retro song that reminds you of music from classic titles you would play at your local arcade. They keep the tone of the music upbeat and cheerful, and that is funny considering you are in a life or death situation. They only thing I would have done different is lower the techno level down a notch.
They sound effects for the game are good also. You hear the sound of a crying baby when they appear and you hear them say their first word ‘ow’ when they land on the pavement and die.
Overall:
Fire Escapes is truly a hidden treasure that everyone should buy and play. With its great graphics and gameplay and the wonderful audio the game has, it is truly hard to tell if there is anything wrong with the game, and that’s the thing, there isn’t anything wrong with it.
Supermagical Developer: Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team Publisher: Gala Pocket Platform: iPad, iPhone (reviewed), iPod Touch Release Date: 29 August, 2012 Price:$0.99 (HERE)
Overview
Are you tired of cartoon games on your iOS device? Weary of the genre re-treads and re-hashes? Well, Supermagical is not a game that will fix your problem, but Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team’s game does rise a cut above the rest and provide a fun, polished experience. It’s just that it’s a fun, polished experience cut from the same mould as pretty much every other portable game out there.
Gameplay
You are Nina, one of a group of sister witches, and you’re the only one of your siblings not to have been sent to another dimension for being evil. The drawback to being a good-hearted girl is extreme clumsiness, and when Nina tries to impress her wizard masters with a special spell, things quickly go awry. A trans-dimensional portal opens and cute, pesky creatures, called Minix, are unleashed upon the world, as well as Nina’s evil sisters.
So now it’s up to you to send the Minix and your siblings back to where they came from, using, what else, but colour matching puzzle mechanics. Because nothing says “I fight evil” quite like shooting cute furries at one another.
When you match three or more same-coloured Minix on a board, they’ll be zapped away by a spell. If by zapping a group away you also manage to disconnect some Minix from the right hand side of the screen, they too will be lightning-ed into oblivion.
The colour of the Minix in your launcher is randomised, but you can change colours using items you can buy between levels in the overworld (a la Super Mario, level 1-1, 1-2, and so forth). This map-like look of the world also harbours not-so-well-hidden collectibles and mini-games, as well as allowing Nina to find and purchase special ingredients which she can then turn into spells she can use during the game’s levels. You can also buy pets and find Warlocks to help you eradicate the hordes of Minix.
What’s great about Supermagical is the way all the various parts work in tandem. Like a Megazord created by various, typically incompatible dinosaur-robots, the game takes a bunch of different, not-obviously connected game mechanics and creates something special. You’ll never get bored, because even if you don’t spend money (real or fake) on hats and pets, there’s always some new toy to play with, and those new toys are almost always incorporated into the gameplay.
The main issue with the game (and it’s so simple it probably could be fixed in an update) is the way in which you aim and launch Minix. A lot of times, you want to launch to consecutive Minix in the same place, but it seems the launcher doesn’t quite stay still between launches, meaning that your aim can, more often than not, end up being a little off as you start clearing the board and there are fewer Minix to focus on zapping away.
Colour matching games can be a dime dozen, and Supermagical takes plenty of queues from its predecessors in the genre. However, it also borrows many ideas from RPGs and meshes them seamlessly into the game, making Nina’s adventure a heck of a lot of fun to play through.
Audio & Visual
Is Supermagical a cartoony game? Yes. But where it’s different to most of the 2-D, cartoon fare out in the app store’s poo pile, is in the detail. The game boasts serious personality, and while it’s not a personality that particularly appealed to me (let’s face it, I can’t really relate to the sibling rivalries of a young girl who’s into cute animals and magic), it is definitely a style that will draw you in from the off.
Even the stoic master wizards who say nary a word come off as strong, wise types who have to stoically clean up the mess created by one of their students; a student they believe is too useless to help them in that task. The overworld map is also a strong point, even if it is a little static. There’s lots of variety in the environments and the world of Nina comes off as a place with history. Supermagical MMO anyone?
The soundtrack for the game is good, though, much like many of the stronger iOS titles, it doesn’t blow you right out the water. If we’re to continue with that beach-y metaphor, it makes more of a pleasant splash. It’s fun and light-hearted, and you won’t be turning it off in annoyance, which can happen quite often with some mobile games.
Overall
In the end, Supermagical is a game that manages to pull off what many iOS games try but hardly ever get away with: It refined colour-matching puzzle play, mixes in RPG elements, and creates one very memorable experience. Though not without flaws, this game will keep you coming back for more.
It seems that Sony has gotten a little bit faster making it so newly released PSP games can be playable on the PlayStation Vita, as less than thirty days after it’s release on the PSP, Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time has now become playable on the PlayStation Vita.
Atlus USA revealed the news today, making it so Vita owners can still enjoy a great RPG on a system nearly devoid of the genre. Gamers can either re-download the title on the Vita if they previously bought the digital version of the game or can re-purchase it through the Vita’s PlayStation Store. For those curious about what they should be expecting from Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, our review of the title on the PSP can be found here.
In what should come as no surprise to anyone, popular franchises and characters sell consoles. This week the PlayStation Vita received a serious boost in sales thanks to the fact that Hatsune Miku Project Diva f was released exclusively on the PlayStation Vita. In fact, the game sold nearly 160,000 copies on its own while the Vita was able to top charts with 50,070 units sold.
The fact that Hatsune Miku Project Diva f sold so well isn’t too much of a surprise as the Vocaloid has quite a following in Japan, though considering the fact that the four of the five best selling games in Japan that week were brand new, it does show the power of the virtual idol.
The top 5 selling games can be seen below courtesy of 4Gamer:
If you thought that you were going to be getting a dose of a different kind of Mass Effect soon well, looks like you’ll have to wait a month and a half longer than expected. Originally scheduled to hit stores on November 13th, the Mass Effect anime, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, has been delayed until December 28th.
This news comes from the anime’s official Twitter, though they have still reminded people to pre-order the title despite the delay. For those interested in seeing what they can expect, a sample of the English dub and the anime’s plot can be seen in the trailer below, though the last few seconds should be ignored as they are now inaccurate.
If you happen to be a PC gamer then you likely have experienced some of Ubisoft’s DRM measures since they have incorporated them into practically every single delayed PC game they have released since they implemented the system. Well that won’t be the case any longer as Ubisoft is claiming that they have discontinued their use of this terrible DRM.
In a statement to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Stephanie Perotti from Ubisoft stated the following:
“We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game and from then you are free to play the game offline.
“Whenever you want to reach any online service, multiplayer, you will have to be connected, and obviously for online games you will also need to be online to play. But if you want to enjoy Assassin’s Creed III single player, you will be able to do that without being connected. And you will be able to activate the game on as many machines as you want.”
Whether this is true or not has yet to be seen, though if it does happen to be true, this is a small gift to PC gamers who have long had to deal with multiple issues with Ubisoft over the years.
