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Assassin’s Creed III director claims journalists are racist for forgiving Japanese games

You have to love whenever a Western developer decides to open his mouth and speak about things that he has absolutely no idea about, touting his own superior product over an entire countries’ video games. The offender today happens to be Assassin’s Creed III”s creative director Alex Hutchinson.

In an interview with CVG Alex has stated that he believes journalists are way too soft on Japanese developers and their videogames, especially when it comes to most Japanese games’ storylines which he says are “literally gibberish.”

He went on to say that he believes that “there’s a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists’ side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for what they do. I think it’s condescending to do this.”

He also went on to compare the standard Japanese game’s storyline to more popular western franchises such as Gears of War, saying that “Just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish. Literally gibberish. There’s no way you could write it with a straight face, and the journalists say ‘oh it is brilliant.’ Then Gears of War comes out and apparently it’s the worst written narrative in a game ever. I’ll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time.”

Perhaps Hutchinson does have a few reasonable gripes with his complaints, as a large number of video game storylines coming out of Japan are often a bit fantastical and sometimes jumbled, but he also seems to think that just because he doesn’t understand, or care to understand, most Japanese games, that they are “gibberish.” Well my friend, when a fighting game, a genre not well known for telling a decent story, creates hours worth of entertainment with it’s story mode alone, I believe you should bite your tongue. Either way, do you believe that this man is correct in what he is saying?

Fable: The Journey getting a demo before release

It seems that the Kinect-only Fable: The “totally not on-rails” Journey will be given a demo before the title’s October release date. Today Microsoft and Lionhead studios revealed that the demo for the game will hit the Xbox 360 on September 17th.

To commemorate this demo date announcement the studios also revealed the first in a series of “ViDocs” which will detail some of the features of the upcoming Kinect only Fable: The Journey. You can check out the video below and also try to convince yourself that this was actually a good idea on Lionhead’s part. At least it looks like the new game will feature some gigantic and interesting monsters…

Halo 4 Specializations revealed and detailed

It was announced today that Halo 4 will feature a new and unique system called “specializations.” These unique addition will add more content to the game that will give it a fresh feel for months and even years. Specializations are essentially, Spartan mini-classes that will further customize, enhance, and prolong your Halo 4 War Games multiplayer experience.

There are a total of eight specializations and will be end-game content, this means that you will not be able to begin to work on the specializations until you reach the end of the game’s recently announced 1-50 ranking system.

Specializations give you 10 extra levels’ worth of goods to unlock, including nine levels of cosmetic armor items. Those nine include armor sets, skins for those armor sets, a weapon skin, emblems, and a visor color. On the tenth level (though the order of what will unlock when isn’t finalized yet, according to 343 and Microsoft), you get your gameplay modifying perk – the ultimate prize you really care about that we’ll detail below.

Keep in mind that there will only be two available on launch but if you get the limited edition of the game, you will have access to all eight of the specializations right away. They went onto say that all specializations will be available to everyone sometime post launch. You might be asking yourself if these will be usable in Spartan Ops? The answer is yes, they will.

As you can see, specializations will help enhance the gameplay of Halo 4 for years to come, those interested in seeing the full list of specializations can do so over at IGN. Now, whether you choose your specializations based off your weaknesses or your strengths will be completely up to you.

First S.H.I.E.L.D. Briefing Video for Marvel Mobile Game

More information is starting to release after the first initial teaser image related to the Marvel Mobile Game that is to be coming.  Luckily this time the information is coming in the form of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Briefing Video, so there is a lot more to go on, but still not much.  What we do know is that it is Avengers related and involves pretty much every single enemy they choose to utilize for it.

But, the video isn’t the only resource for information as there is also a Facebook page for Marvel XP, which is so far a nice central location with all the images and the video link.  Marvel XP is set up to be a central location to track all the newer XP-powered games Marvel has and has coming, including progress and in-game achievements.  So perhaps we’ll see a lot more crossover between current games like Marvel: Avengers Alliance and the new Marvel Mobil Game that is coming.

Players can check out the Marvel XP Facebook page HERE and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Briefing Video below to get their own ideas of what all is coming.

Ben 10: Alien Escape Makes a Break to iOS

Cartoon Network and Jick Jack, a division of Neon Play, have launched a new game experience for Ben 10 onto the iOS platform.  Ben 10: Alien Escape pits Ben Tennyson with the task of utilizing his alien forms to escape a variety of locations, gathering Energy  orbs along the way.  With the Energy that Ben collects players can upgrade four different aspects of his alien forms, from speed, to agility, to life, to the super special ability Power Blaster.

With the initial release, featuring Jetray, Stinkfly, and Big Chill alien forms, the first update will also add Ripjaws and 15 additional levels to play through.  Casual players can enjoy the levels themselves, but hardcore players wanting to top the leaderboards can max out their alien forms and compete for the fastest times.

Currently, the iOS app is available in England and some other countries (not US), but players worldwide can check out the gallery of images below and the gameplay trailer below that.  Ben 10: Alien Escape is available for £1.99 GBP and players can download the game now for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod HERE.

AR Campaign for Darksiders II

THQ and BlippAR have put together something special to go along with the release of Darksiders II this week.  Interested players and true apostles of death can download the blippAR app from the iTunes App Store HERE or Google Play HERE and check out the poster to the right.

With the app and poster players can check out the trailer, Facebook page, Twitter, and use your phone’s camera to make you and your friends apostles of death.

For all the features embedded in the images, players can check out the video below showing off the locations of the different special locations on the poster.

Be sure to grab the app and check out all the posters features and share out your pics of everyone with their Death Mask to show off their appreciation for Darksiders II.

EA Mobile Weekly News 8/16/12

EA Mobile released their first TV spot for World Series of Poker and started the $10,000 Seat Sweepstake this week. The commercial will air on ESPN in the United States til November. Those outside of the US can watch the commercial at the end of the article. Additionally, American (except those in Florida and New York) and Canadian (except those in Quebec) fans above the age of 21 can win a $10,000 seat at the Main Event in Las Vegas in July 2013. More information can be found here or in the iOS app. In addition to the grand prize, 20 first place prize of 150,000 virtual chips and 10 second place prize of 90 day VIP memberships are up for grabs.

Additionally, The Sims FreePlay has been nominated for the 2012 Meffy Awards in the Social and Entertainment App Award being held September 12, 2012. The Meffy Awards are given to the very best providers and players in the mobile content and commerce industries. The Sims FreePlay is a free to play app for iOS and Android that allows players to develop the lives of up to 20 Sims.

Boggle has been launched for Android this week. The game supports multiplayer, four gameplay modes, intuitive touch controls, 44 achievements, customizable Boggle rules, three power ups, bonus words, and Dictionary.com integration. Players can download Boggle for free on the Google Play store here.

NBA2K13 Dynasty Edition Announced

2K Sports announced the NBA2K13 Dynasty Edition. Australians will be able to snag their own copy for $129.95 for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Since a limited quantity of the Dynasty Edition is being released, it is strongly advised to pre order a copy at JB HiFi or EB Games to ensure players will not be disappointed.

The NBA2K13 Dynasty Edition includes a copy of the game, NBA2K13 All Star add-on presented by Sprite, an exclusive full sized NBA 2K13 basketball made by Spalding and Art of Basketball, 2K Sports themed Ink’d earbuds from Skullcandy, and a NBA 2K13 basketball textured controller skin from Skinit. Austrlians can pre-order their copy at EB Games here or JB HiFi here.

Hyrule Historia Pre-Order Now Available

Amazon have very recently listed the upcoming book from Dark Horse and Nintendo: The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. The book is an endorsed product from Nintendo that is essentially an encyclopedia for all things The Legend of Zelda.

The Amazon listing has the Pre-Order price currently set to $20.99, which is cut down from the retail price of $34.99. As part of a special promotion, Amazon says that the Pre-Order price will be guaranteed, but if the price lowers, then you will be eligible for the lowest price. To quote the listing –

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price. Here’s how (restrictions apply)

Be sure to visit the Amazon store page and pre-order this amazing book.

Hyrule Historia Translated By Darkhorse Confirmed

So this is a story that I’ve been following all day and have yet to see any kind of actual confirmation on. But a site called Gengame has reported that there will be a translated edition of the somewhat official The Legend of Zelda encyclopaedia – The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia.

The original story, posted here, tells us that the book will be released by Dark Horse in January 2013 but links to a source that is completely unavailable. The source is this. It then copy-pastes this blurb from the unverifiable source –

Dark Horse Books and Nintendo team up to bring you The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, containing an unparalleled collection of historical information on The Legend of Zelda franchise. This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link’s adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga — Akira Himekawa!

KEY SELLING POINTS:

• The Legend of Zelda franchise has sold 68 million copies since the release of the first game, with the original Legend of Zelda being the fourth best selling NES game of all time, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time holding the record for the highest reviewed video game of all time.
• Covers the full history of The Legend of Zelda franchise.
• With an introduction by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
• Includes the official timeline of The Legend of Zelda games, never-before-seen concept art, The Legend of Zelda manga, in-depth information on the making of the The Legend of Zelda franchise, and art by some of the most storied concept artists in video games.

Now, with something as big as this, I was almost tempted to post it up myself with the unverified source. However, I was quite skeptical about this and actually did some research on the topic. The results of this are that the book is indeed coming out in January and Dark Horse is indeed publishing the book. This can be verified here at the official Dark Horse website. I have reproduced their description below –

Dark Horse Books and Nintendo® bring you The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, containing an unparalleled collection of historical information on The Legend of Zelda™ franchise. This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong™, Mario™, and The Legend of Zelda™, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link’s adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga—Akira Himekawa!

* The full history and making of the The Legend of Zelda™ franchise, never-before-seen concept art!

* Introduction by Shigeru Miyamoto!

So it turns out that it was all true. Journalists really need to step up their game though.