Sony has announced that their PlayStation Vita handheld will be able to support over one hundred different PSOne Classics when the update hits the handheld next week. Some of these big games include Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2 and of course, Final Fantasy VII.
There has not been a full list of these games revealed yet, though with the release of Firmware 1.8 happening on August 28th, many will be eager to turn on their Vita and see what they will be able to download. Better late than never right Sony? Any titles that you specifically would like to see available upon launch?
If you happen to still own 2K Games’ Spec Ops: The Line or are thinking about picking it up, then you will be happy to hear that the game has received a free update across the PS3, 360 and PC platforms. In this update players will now be able to take and play the shooter with a buddy as a co-op mode has been patched into the title.
The co-op mode consists of four objective-based missions, so there unfortunately is no way to go through the main story with a friend, but each mission will offer “its own unique objectives, environments, and playable characters.”
In a very quick turnaround from FUNimation’s licensing announcement, anime fans will soon be seeing Aria: The Scarlet Ammo on store shelves on October 23rd on both Blu-ray and DVD. To get fans pumped for this release, FUNimation released a trailer for the show in English while also announcing the English cast.
The full cast of main characters can be found below and the trailer itself below that.
Many of us remember Highschool DxD for its very provocative ending sequence and the massive amounts of fan service the show contained when it aired at the beginning of this year. Now it seems that there may be a second season of this anime coming to fans everywhere, much to the joy of many, including myself.
According to a printout found by Japanese website Yaraon, there will be an announcement of some sort made on the 6th of September, two weeks before the thirteenth light novel is meant to be released. Now this announcement could be anything, though with the popularity of the first season and the massive amount of un-animated content from the light novels, a second season does seem probable.
Anime viewers in North America should especially keep their eyes out for this news, as the first season was licensed by FUNimation, so if a second season is produced it will likely be acquired as well. Those interested in seeing the document can find it below.
What’s better than one free game? Try 101 Games for free! European game developer and publisher, Nordcurrent, announced that today their latest game 101-in-1 Games HD is out free on the iOS App Store.
Nordcurrent games director, Victoria Trofimova expressed their excitement today, “it was re-designed from scratch to take full advantage of iPad. 101-in-1 Game HD offers a huge variety of games in different genres – from arcade games, to puzzles and racing. 101-in-1 Games HD is a perfect game to play alone or together with your family and friends!”.
The collection is a range of different games from different genres, such as arcade, puzzle, racing, cooking, and many many more. With a wide spectrum of different visual and game worlds – taking players from ocean depths to the Wild West, and even back in time to the stone age, this is surely worth the minutes it will take to download. Pick up your free copy of 101-in-1 Games HD for the iPad here.
Set in the year 2088, Cosmic Colony allows players to become the ultimate space commander. In this distant time, brave men and women venture to the far reaches of the galaxy in search of life. Join veteran Planetnaut Breck Powers on his journey to explore the unknown!
Cosmic Colony is the latest in the long list of Gameloft titles for iOS and Android. The game gives players the ability to create and expand a lively space-age settlement – featuring more than 60 animated buildings, business centers, factories, and more! Players can explore the planetary surface by expanding their colony, launch rockets and traverse space, seeking out galaxies and planets in search of artifacts. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Players will need to defend themselves against invading space pirates in fun and engaging mini-games. Alongside all of this there are unexpected events from the cosmos, such as dangerous UFO’s and falling meteorites.
Would-be space explorers need only to wait until this Thursday, the 23rd of August until they can blast off into space and explore the unknown reaches of the galaxy.
This is something that is going to excite anybody who has even heard the words Video games as a passing remark; the EBGames Expo is coming to Sydney and it’s schedule has just been announce. The Expo looks like it is packed tight with video game distributors and publishers showing off the latest builds of upcoming games.
Here’s some interesting info about the screenings –
Taking place in a massive 3000-seat arena, with a gigantic 65m x 8m viewing screen, EB Live is the ultimate gaming experience. The world’s leading publishers will show off the hottest new games, including long awaited new releases such as the ground-breaking Halo 4 and Tomb Raider.
The schedule looks amazingly tight with a few major publishers giving out a presentation at key times during the day. Each presentation is sorted into a daylight / twilight sessions with a different company taking the presentation hall during different sessions.
Be sure to check out the official schedule here and to buy your tickets ASAP at the nearest EBGames or Ticketek. We’ve also reproduced the map of the convention below, right click and view image to make it bigger.
Hybrid Developer: 5th Cell Publisher: Microsoft Studios Platform: XBLA Release Date: August 8, 2012 Price: 1200 MS Points ($15) – Available Here
Overview
5th Cell is fairly well known as the company that brought us Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts, very innovative games that allowed players to draw most of the game art assets and write most of the game’s story themselves, respectively. This wasn’t a bad thing, the functionality of the games allowed for a decent amount of freedom and later Scribblenauts games allowing for more and more detailed objects to spawn and use. This time around 5th Cell hasn’t made Hybrid to be fun little cartoony game though, stepping into the genre of the shooter 5th Cell is hoping to bring the innovation it’s brought to its previous games to the third-person shooter and massive multiplayer online play-styles. With the gameplay split into seasons and the first season having been completed this past weekend, it’s time to look at the game as a whole.
Story
The story of Hybrid is pretty easy to sum up, seeing as the only time it comes up is after loading it up. At its most basic, in the future aliens have invaded Earth and now a human group, named Paladins, are fighting with the aliens, called Variants, over the resource of Dark Matter. In all honestly, these elements could be changed to anything and the game would play exactly the same. This is both good and bad, as the story is not a crutch, but it boils down to an entirely multiplayer game, not that there’s anything wrong with that. If you thought that this was a cool premise for a game though, sorry, that’s all it is, just a premise.
Gameplay
While lacking in story, gameplay is the meat and potatoes of Hybrid. The game is very well designed to allow for users to customize and play exactly as they want to. At the base of the game is the cover-based shooting, with plenty of weapons and abilities to choose from to give any player what they want. Yes, it can take a few levels to unlock the exact weapon type and ability a player wants, but once a player can unlock one of the shotguns they can choose from ANY of the shotguns without having to be at a specific level for each. Additionally, the game has certain freemium qualities, in that if players’ don’t want to wait until a level so they can unlock a specific type of weapon or ability they can just purchase points to get whatever when ever, but isn’t necessary for a player willing to wait to get what they want.
Weapons aside, the abilities also greatly impact gameplay, such as special grenades to do anything from blowing up the enemy to turning an enemy drone to your side. Other abilities aide the player’s team instead of hurting the other, like healing or giving the entire team the ability to know where all the enemies are. Some abilities are only good for specific situations, being able to blow yourself up and kill all the enemies around isn’t very useful in deathmatch, but can be a big help in some objectives. The versatility and variety of the abilities is really nice to see and adds a lot to giving players a wide berth to play exactly how they want to play.
Armed with the same weapons and abilities the two sides are essentially the same, with the only different being cosmetics. With the game set up the way it is, it is even possible that players don’t necessarily need to be the opposite side to go against each other, technically being able to just make each team look like the other and players wouldn’t even know. Though there doesn’t seem to be any need for this to be happening. Though both sides are the same, they are still competing for the same goal 100 units of Dark Matter, which is spread across the world. To earn them each team plays matches in different sectors, with the same gametypes and maps in each sector, but after so much a sector is claimed for 2 Dark Matter by the first team to reach the goal and 1 Dark Matter by the team reaching the goal second, if they do reach the goal. This is the strategy MMO portion of the game, pushing and gaining different sectors first and claiming an entire continent grants 5 bonus Dark Matter. The first season came down to 6 Dark Matter or basically scoring with anentire continent.
The matches needed to reach the goals are pretty straight forward shooter stuff. Cover based shooting and standard objective types, team deatchmatch, king of the hill, capture, etc, the real innovations are the movement style and the kill streak drones available. Movement is something players have to get used to to really get into the game, instead of running from cover to cover, players literally fly from point to point. Once down the movement is pretty quick and seamless, with the ability to easily retreat if they run into trouble, plus players can find cover on walls and the ceiling. It isn’t just straight lines either, as that will get players shot to hell, but have a decent amount of control when in the air to maneuver and avoid.
Drones in the game add another layer, with streaks of 1, 3, and 5 earning different drones and enemy drones counting for those streaks, it adds in more to fight and utilize in a 3-vs-3 match. Fairly well balanced in terms of damage, speed, and health, the three drones can make a difference in a fight without being overpowered, plus if a player really gets hammered they earn two drones to help and get back in the fight. Though, just because they count for the kill streak doesn’t mean they attribute to team deathmatch kills, only player kills count there and that’s the way it should be.
The best thing about the game is the it isn’t too time consuming, matches are fairly short, which is good to prevent griefing. Even the first season only took less than a dozen days to finish and then players could go at it all over again. Plus, players don’t lose their levels or equipment between seasons, being able to continue into the next fully armed the way they like. About the only things that do reset are the Dark Matter totals and the Specializations, which are single attribute boosts that players can choose each loadout, that can be upgraded for a bigger boost through playing in different sectors. All around, plenty of balance and customization to make a good deal of fun.
Audio and Visuals
Being set as a futuristic Earth there are plenty of auditory reminders of it. The music as a good deal of synth feel to it and the futuristic weapons do a good job sounding the part too. The best aspects of the audio are really more of the drones than anything else though. The huge Warbringer is just funny in general with what it says as it enters into battle such as “I mean you no harm” right before opening fire and it adds a good deal of lightheartedness to the game, while the noise the Preyon makes when entering into battle can really put a player on edge and start trying to find her before she rips them a new one.
Visually the game looks amazing, at 60 FPS the game plays out fast and the models just look great. The levels are a little small, but fairly detailed to make up for it. Player characters’ only personality comes from the helmets though as all the bodies look the same on a given team, and even certain helmets seem to get used far more than others especially now that the Paladins of first Season all have the Helm of Valor as a token of victory. In terms of looks for each side, the Variant focusing on a mostly white motif stemming all the way to the guns that their side brought with them, while Paladins go more of an Earth tones, dark greens, etc, and the guns seem to stick to the old-fashioned looking and at the very edge of junky, when compared to Variant ones. A nice aesthetic runs throughout the game though, and there is a pretty wide diversity in colors as well.
Overall Hybrid is by no means a perfect game, it relies a lot on established aspects of the shooter genre, but the innovations that it does bring do play out pretty well. Not all players will find this to be for them though, as some could see it as being kind of generic despite what it brings to the table. Players that are really into the multiplayer shooter genre, should probably look into this though as it does offer a few unique aspects to the game and will feel familiar after getting used to the movement controls. Though another factor may be how long the community will exist, as this was the first 2 weeks after release and the season gameplay seems pretty dependent on a good number of players. All summed up though I give Hybrid
Partysaurus Rex is the upcoming third episode in the Toy Story Toons series following Hawaiian Vacation (released with the theatrical release of Cars 2) and Small Fry (attached to the theatrical release of The Muppets) episodes. Pixar has recently released the first sneak peek clip online featuring Rex getting the party started in a bathtub with some of his new buddies at Bonnie’s house. The new episode features new toys such as the whale-shaped tap sleeve and a yellow rubber duck with a funny accent.
Rex (voiced by Wallace Shawn), who gets brought for bath time, is the only toy with limbs capable of getting the party going for the dried-out toys which leads to a soap bubble rave, combined with glow-in-the-dark toys, happily enjoying themselves to Grammy-nominated electronica musician BT’s dance music. The new short is being directed by Mark Walsh and produced at Pixar Canada in Vancouver. It will be shown in the theatrical 3D Finding Nemo re-release in September 14th this year. Two more shorts are currently being developed with one of them planned for release in Spring 2013 as well as two TV specials expected to come out in October 2013 and Spring 2014.
101 Dalmatians: Platinum Edition Studio: Disney Publisher: Disney Format: DVD Release Date: Available NOW Price: $39.95 – Available Here
Overview
Having been released over fifty years ago, 101 Dalmatians is one of those epically classic Disney films. People who watched it in their childhood have shared it with their children, and chances are those children will share it with theirs. It inspired a live action film, and is one of the most awesome animal-based films. Every so often Disney graces us with a re-release of these classics, and this platinum version of 101 Dalmatians grants us just that.
Story
While there can’t be many people out there who haven’t seen 101 Dalmatians in one form or another, I have to admit I haven’t seen it since I was very young, so it was nice to rewatch a movie that I watched over and over again as a kid, but this time from an adult perspective. And I gotta say, it holds up.
101 Dalmatians doesn’t follow the standard Disney protocol, i.e. Disney princess, singing, and learning valuable lessons about being yourself. In 101 Dalmatians the valuable lesson is learning not to trust crazy ladies who are obsessed with fur, have insane cheekbones, and want to buy your puppies.
The story moves at a rapid pace, never dallying and retaining that urgent nature throughout. While there are no massive face offs with the hero of the story going up against the villain, it’s kind of refreshing to watch a Disney movie break that type. Especially given the fact that it was made in 1961, after we were graced with the classics of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
Pongo is a lovely and wonderful hero, and Perdita is a great mother and wife that (as you get older) you can find yourself relating to more. As a kid? Well, puppies, adventures, and many more exciting things! 101 Dalmatians also shows a side of relationships that doesn’t often get explored in Disney movies by having the wedding (of both humans and dogs) happen at the start of the film. It is a departure from your usual Disney experience, but it keeps the same Disney magic (and inserts some awesomely cute puppies).
101 Dalmatians doesn’t teach kids that they need to go explore to find the place that they belong, it’s all about family and hey, there’s probably a pretty big pro-adoption message in there too. It’s probably a better message for kids than teaching them to go off and find their prince, or that they should pretend to be poor or a man to explore the world. Plus, puppies.
There are the most heartwarming scenes, mostly because they will remind you of things a normal family would do, or what a married couple would do. There’s something about 101 Dalmatians (and I don’t think this is just because I watched it over and over as a kid) that feels a little like coming home. It’s like the movie version of walking into a warm home with the smell of your favourite food wafting from the kitchen and the promise of your favourite piece of furniture to flop down on to.
Not only is it a Disney movie to reminisce to, it really is a well constructed film with an interesting and compelling plot, and it will definitely make you want to watch it again and again (and if you can get your kids to join you then you get to blame them for that).
Visuals
101 Dalmatians was the transition from Disney’s softer, hand painted animations to their Xeroxed copies that were far more modern and contemporary looking. 101 Dalmatians looks far different, from the rougher drawings, to the stylizing of it. It’s far less romantic and more edgy and defined, and the city itself has a personality that you don’t really see in other films (the fact that it is in a quite defined area might be the reason for that too).
The animation of both humans and animals is extremely well done and smooth, which is no surprise given the talent at Disney. And then there’s Cruella, who is one of the most memorable villains that Disney has come out with. The way she’s drawn is just brilliant, and really cements her in your mind, and from the first moment that her silhouette falls against the front door you know that she’s going to be the antagonist of the piece. There’s nothing quite like the unspoken things that you gather from her, like the usually lit cigarette that fills up all of her surroundings with foul green smoke.
Audio
101 Dalmatians isn’t big on songs, despite the main male human being a songwriter, in fact there are only two songs, Cruella De Vil and Dalmatian Plantation. Still, Cruella De Vil is certainly a memorable song, and something that remains stuck in your head for days after hearing it. Apart from songs with lyrics the soundtrack really does accompany the movie well, and it highlights some of the more carefree, as well as the suspenseful, moments. Soundtracks are always something that Disney does well and 101 Dalmatians is no exception to the rule.
Special Features
The platinum release of 101 Dalmatians has plenty of special features for you to explore, not only for adults who have gained an interest to know more about the movie and its creation, but there are also some games for the kids to play on the second disc.
There is quite a bit of interview footage in there about the different important things that 101 Dalmatians meant to Disney, including some archival footage from people actually involved with the project. As a person who used to be in love with the film as a kid, and now loves it as an adult, it was truly interesting to get a behind the scenes look at the film, particularly in how it represented a changing time for Disney animations.
Overall
101 Dalmatians is simply a classic, the film that every child should have the pleasure of seeing. It does become overlooked when people start talking about Disney princesses, or the later generation movies, but it is most certainly one of the classics – and it is a well deserved title.
The Platinum release of 101 Dalmatians would make a fantastic addition to any DVD collection.
Sony has announced that their PlayStation Vita handheld will be able to support over one hundred different PSOne Classics when the update hits the handheld next week. Some of these big games include Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2 and of course, Final Fantasy VII.
