WB Games brought the Wii U to Fan Expo, and were showing off Batman Arkham City: Armoured Edition. The graphics look well done, so there is no doubt in my mind that the console has some graphical power. The controller has some interesting ways of making the game more immersive; the tablet contains the map on the screen so you never have to leave the game which is a nice touch, and the radio frequencies come out of the tablet’s speakers.
All is not fun and games however- while the Wii U offers interesting new ways to play games, it’s extremely difficult to do with one hand. The controller is too large to be able to move the character and perform an action at the same time. It’s also very hard to hold the controller and do anything with it- which is really disappointing.
It is unknown at this point if there is a way around using the Wii U’s tablet controller for the Armoured Edition or for any other titles in the consoles library. Arkham City on the Wii U does look like a must own for the system even if you already own it on another console, but you may want to wait for the price to drop if you own it already. Overall the presentation looks good and the tablet gives a better feel that you are Batman. It’s also nice that you don’t have to take yourself out of the gameplay to find out where you’re going or to upgrade your abilities. The one downside to this of course is that you will have to pay close attention to your surroundings or you may find yourself in a lot of trouble.
I sat down with Bethseda’s Global Community Lead Matt Grandstaff to talk about Arkane Studios’ upcoming stealth action game Dishonored on the show floor at Fan Expo Canada this weekend. We discuss how long the game will take to complete, and about the cool different pre-order bonuses you get.
Check out the audio interview below
The visual presentation looks amazing along with the gameplay, and fans of the Thief series are really going to like Dishonored. People who have never played the thief series will still most certainly enjoy the game. Dishonored will be out in stores October 9th.
DC Comics was at Fan Expo Canada this weekend, and they had a lot going on, from free comic books, autograph signing, and I got to to talk to them about what fans can expect in the coming months. Perhaps the biggest story arc of the year is Batman Death in the Family where the Joker makes his return after a year of absence. The last time we did see the Joker was when he got his face surgically removed back in Detective Comics #1 in October 2011. You can catch the Jokers return this October.
Death in the Family is not the only major event happen as Green Lantern, Red Lantern and Green Lantern New Guardians are about to enter the Trinity Wars. Where all hell is going to break loose as the Lantern Corps must face off against the third army.
Before all the new story arcs DC Comic will also be releasing issue #0 for all the new 52 lineups to get the back story on why events happened in in issues #1-12. The #0 issues will be released in September, and will be released in a hardcover set in December under the name the New 52 Zero Omnibus.
In November DC will be releasing the New 52 Omnibus which contains the issues from the new 52 story lines in one hardcover book. Both Omnibus’s will cost $150 US each. For more information on what DC has coming up this year you can check out DC website.
WB Games was at Fan Expo this year and they brought NetherRealm Studios Injustice: Gods Among Us. Injustice: Gods Among Us is a 2.5D fighter similar to last years Mortal Kombat (also done by NetherRealm Studios), but with a few differences.
The first difference is that instead of 2 rounds like standard fighting games players have a life bar the size of 2 normal health bars. Once the player has depleted the opponents health bar the match is over.
The controls take a little getting used to. The ‘X’ button is jumping, while the circle is for taunts. Pulling off combos was a little difficult, and Injustice has a super move similar to the X-ray move in Mortal Kombat, they deal quite a bit of damage, and can help you in a tight spot.
Only 2 stages were available, The Fortress of Solitude, and the Batcave. The Batcave had the Bat-computer as well as many other of Batman’s gadget. The destructible object is of course the Batmobile. Grundy and Superman take the car and smash it over their opponent, while characters like Batman, and Harley blow up the car to damage their opponent. Players can take advantage of the environmental damage to an area such as dangling broken wires, if the player can juggle their opponent into the air and they touch the wires they will get electrocuted. Players can also throw their opponents through doors and other objects.
The Fortress of Solitude is of course Superman’s lair so there is a lot of Superman inspired elements. While I didn’t spend a lot of time on this stage I did notice that you can throw opponents through walls of the fortress to get to the outside. The scenery of both stages looks fantastic. The character designs look really good as well; it was nice that DC let Netherrealm do their own renditions of the characters costumes.
I personally prefer using Harley Quinn, she is one of the most balanced characters. In terms of speed and power most characters seem to be all speed or all power. Grundy does a lot of damage, but is far too slow to be effective. Whereas Flash and Nightwing have a lot of speed, but do very little damage. Hopefully when the game gets closer to it’s 2013 release date more characters will get balanced more evenly and be more playable.
At this point, I’d say Injustice: Gods Among Us is going to be a must for fighting game fans. The game is expected to be released in the spring of 2013.
Adam Gorham is the artist behind the up and coming medieval fantasy black and white comic Teuton. Partnered with writer “Fearless” Fred Kennedy, the host of Teletoon at Night (the Canadian equivalent to Adult Swim) and Toronto radio personality, Teuton tells the tale of Andrus Tamm, a Teutonic Knight suffering a crisis of faith in the midst of the crusades bringing Catholicism to the Lithuanian barbarians.
We asked Adam about what brought him to comic books, his future projects, the beginnings, inspiration, and future of Teuton.
Check out the first 90 pages of volume 1 and the first 51 pages of volume 2 of Teuton at Big Sexy Comics here. Volume One of Teuton can be purchased hereand Volume Two herefrom Indy Planet. You can check out more of Adam’s Work at his page here.
One Tap Hero Developer: Coconut Island Studios Publisher: Chillingo Ltd Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iTouch, iPad Release Date: August 23, 2012 Price: $0.99 – Available Here
Overview
You know that feeling when you want to battle an evil wizard because he has stolen your girlfriend and changed her into a teddy bear and the only way to get her back to normal is by collecting stars and using their power? Yep, we all get those crazy feelings and that is why the people over at Coconut Island Studios have created One Tap Hero to satisfy these crazy urges. So now all we have to do is see how the game truly is.
Story
The story for the game is literally as straight forward as mentioned above. You battle an evil wizard who has turned your girlfriend into a teddy bear and then you have to rescue her. Now there are some points in the game where you come across a little more of the actual story when you encounter a new enemy or more challenging puzzles. You could compare this game to the hit title, Angry Birds, because in that game you also complete levels and will unlock a new chapter with many more levels to play through. In simpler terms, it gets repetitive since you have to re-rescue your girlfriend on every level you play. If they would have taken a bit more time and added a true story to it, the game would be one of the best iOS games out there.
Gameplay
The gameplay is where One Tap Hero truly shines. When Coconut Island announced that all you would have to do is tap the screen to play the game, I was a little skeptical. After playing the game it is safe to say that the gameplay works. You can literally tap to do anything, whether it is jumping, climbing ladders or to pull levels. It all works well.
The levels themselves can sometimes be harder than the previous one you have played and that is how it should be. As you progress from chapter to chapter you will begin to notice that the platforming will get a little more tricky and you will have to begin to get more creative on how you will collect all the stars and then save your sweetheart.
While you are playing through each of the levels there will be keys for you to find and the more keys you find, the more bonus levels you will have unlocked for you to play. This addition of keys to the game adds a lot of replay value as you will be going back from level to level to see if you can collect all the keys.
Visuals
The graphics for the game are cartoon and simplistic yet it works with the game’s cooler colors and shades they decided to use. Everything in the game runs well as I never did experience an issue with lag or any bugs and/or glitches. It is a great app that shows how to use coloring in the best way possible.
Along with the good graphics, they also give you the option to change your character visually. In order to obtain the costumes, you must first collect enough coins in the game to purchase them or you can buy more coins by doing an in-app purchase for them.
Audio
The audio is just what you’d expect from an iOS game. With the games unique melodic soundtrack, you come to feel a sense of peace and serenity from the game (think Viva Pinata). If you aren’t one for peaceful music then they make up for it in the games FX in which you can hear anything ranging from what sounds like a xylophone to just about any other sound they would use in old cartoons. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the character audio. Whenever you jump or do other actions like that, the voice he makes sounds fuzzy and too high pitched.
Overall
One Tap Hero is definitely a game I would go and check out if you are the type of person that enjoys a good clean platformer. It will give you what you asked for, a game that requires only one tap to play it. While the game isn’t challenging at first, it will slowly progress and get more difficult as you continue to play through the various levels. This game does have its issues though with the terrible audio used for the main characters voice and the story.
For only ninety-nine cents, it is safe to say that you get your money’s worth from this game. Now all we have to do is wait for number two to come out.
FanExpo is the biggest convention for a variety of geek culture ranging from comic books to gaming in Canada and the third largest of its kind in North America. Capsule Computers was on site for this big event. The convention started at 3pm with a big cheer on Thursday, August 23rd as the lines were opened and people started flowing into the convention hall. Hall G was reserved for celebrity Q&A and the rest of the halls were opened into a giant space for exhibitors, vendors, artist alleys, and a gaming floor.
On the gaming side, Microsoft had a hands-on demo of Halo 4 that had some of the longest lines outside of the lineups to get into the celebrity Q&A panel. Ubisoft had brought demos of some of their biggest upcoming games including Wii U, Just Dance 4, and Assassin’s Creed III. WB Games brought in big titles such as Batman Arkham City Armoured Edition, Scribblenauts, and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Sony had plenty of games to try, but the biggest draw was Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Multiple gaming tournaments were running on site, including the iGO3D Battlefield 3 tournament that was part gaming tournament and part research project for Interactive Games Ontario 3D. This tournament featured new 3d technology that is a vast improvement on the 3d quality shipped with Battlefield 3 retail copies. Traditional non digital platform gamers were also represented, with a busy game room. EB Games set up a whole giant store offering pre orders for the latest big titles, tons of popular games, and lots of freebies. Pen and Paper RPG campaigns were going full swing alongside TCG players. Several impromptu Magic the Gathering games popped up in the hallways at Fan Expo.
Thursday brought comic legend Stan Lee and Darth Vader actor David Prowse in celebrity Q&A sessions. Friday brought Jamie Bamber who plays Lee Adam on Battlestar Galactica, Levar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame, and one of the most hotly anticipated Q&A of the day, John Rhys-Davies.
The cosplayers were a little thin in numbers on Thursday, but came rushing out in full force on Friday. Steam punk, anime, gaming, comics, goth, and Lolita fandom were all represented at the con, including some incredibly detailed armour work.
Fan Expo 2012 kicked off with a slower day on Thursday and picked up intensity come Friday. Initially I had my reservations about starting the convention on a Thursday versus the traditional Friday. But the quieter Thursday turned out to be a great idea, giving people plenty of time to get their shopping done early and have many opportunities to deal with shorter lines to test some of the hottest up-coming games. Most cosplayers chose to do this out of costume, allowed them some uninterrupted convention time. Friday was a whirlwind of activity with larger crowds and tons of excellent cosplayers. Overall, a great start to Fan Expo 2012.
Check out all the photos from both Thursday and Friday in the Gallery below or on our Facebook Page here (FACEBOOK FAN EXPO GALLERY PHOTOS)
John Rhys-Davies has had a long storied career in the movie and tv industry. Best known for roles ranging from Vasco Rodrigues in Shogun, Professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders, Sallah in Indiana Jones, and Gimli in Lord of the Rings, Rhys-Davies was at Fan Expo 2012 for an hilarious Q&A filled with stories from Rhys-Davies’ life. His answers to questions were wonderfully long and winding, often times filled with funny, fascinating, and charming personal stories about his experiences before coming back to the question itself.
He had plenty of words for aspiring young actors about their careers, advising them that luck is even more important than talent and skill as an actor. He recalled the most talented classmate of his at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art who is still working full time as a working actor simply because he has been unable to have his big break. Rhys-Davies had just as much words for the Writer’s Guild, complaining of a culture that focused less on talented writers and more on personal gain and cronyism. He also candidly told the audience that they could save themselves the tuition to film school and simply watch the behind the scenes footage for Lord of the Rings and learn everything they would need from film school.
Rhys-Davies spoke a lot of about Lord of the Rings, admitting that he did not expect the film to succeed. He nearly turned down the role until his agent and his son insisted that it was extremely important for his career to take on the role of Gimli. Rhys-Davies spoke of the troubles with the glue used to attach the prosthetics to his face and his greater struggles on creating the correct voice for Treebeard. John Rhys-Davies said that he enjoyed New Zealand but preferred the southern portions of the country. He shared his particular dislike of Auckland, complaining about the traffic in Auckland and in Toronto, Canada.
He also talked at length about his work with Harrison Ford and the Indiana Jones films. Rhys-Davies recalled the Tunisian Fire Brigades failed attempt to put out a prop to ensure it could be reused for several takes. He complimented Ford’s growth as an actor.
Overall, John Rhys-Davies provided a spectacular Q&A session.
Check out the audio below for the full hour long panel with John Rhys-Davies.
Capsule Computers had a chance to sit down with Nathan Grubbs, writer and star of the film Brawler and have a chat about Brawler, his role as older brother Charlie Fontaine, Grubb’s martial arts background, and the preparation required for the role.
Brawler is a film based on a true story about two brothers participating in mafia run illegal fighting matches on the river boats of New Orleans in the 1950s. The film recasts the story in a modern day with a mixed martial arts twist. Brawler will be released to DVD, BluRay and Video on Demand on September 18th, 2012 in Canada. Check out the trailer for Brawler and our interview with Nathan Grubbs below.
While Playstation All Stars Battle Royale will be coming on a delayed release date in the week of November 20, over in Japan, the game has just been officially announced for a release. The original plan was for Japan to receive the game later, but, with the delay, Japan will be the first country to receive the Sony brawler with a release on November 8, some two weeks before the West.
Playstation All Stars Battle Royale will pit a plethora of Playstation characters (and third party characters) in a four player brawl for supremacy. Characters such as Nathan Drake, Jax and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Cole MacGrath, Sweet Tooth and Sly Cooper just to name a few. The game will make an appearance at the EB Games Expo on October 5-7, so expect a preview from Capsule Computers. The game will see a release on the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. It is part of the new Cross Buy initiative announced at Gamescom.
