Have you been hitting the slopes this year in the virtual winter wonderland that is SSX? Well if so, I may have some good news for you. EA Games have announced that they have released a free update to the game which introduces two brand spanking new game modes.
The two new game modes are sure to add more playability to the game and entice players back if they had already since moved on to the next big thing. There is still a lot more to do and see in SSX it seems and with the two new game modes introduced with the update that couldn’t be any more truer.
You wanted it and EA is giving you it, they are bringing back the legendary ‘Freeride’ mode that players so vehemently requested. It is a mode where players can simply ride freely amongst the mountain slopes of the SSX world at their own pace and in their own style. The other mode is the new ‘3-2-1-Go! Events’ which is a brand new way to lay online multiplayer in SSX, which allows for special global events that will entice the competitive side in any snow slayer.
What do you think of these two brand new game modes for SSX which are available for free download as part of EA’s new update? Let us know in the comments section below.
How do you make a great game even better? Throw some zombies into the formula, apparently. It worked for Red Dead Redemption. And Yakuza. And Call of Duty’s been doing it for years.
Like a lot of successful games, DayZ takes ArmA 2, a zombie-free military simulator, and adds zombies. If you haven’t gotten into this open-world, “realistic”, Zom-Poc survival mod yet, stay hiding under your rock. It’s probably the only safe place left.
The Internet is flooded with player stories about their adventures in the world of Chernarus, and I decided the last thing I wanted to do was throw more into the mix.
Then I decided: no, actually I do.
Day One:
I’m standing waist deep in water. In front of me is lush green grass, a road, and then the landscape slopes upward to a steep hilltop. I have no idea where I am.
I look to my right. There’s a town off in the distance, but I barely notice. My eye is drawn to a crazed figure quickly lurching towards me. Oh God, it begins. Already.
I freak out, and bolt towards the hill. The zombie gives chase at a surprising speed, considering his obvious physical deficiencies. As I start my ascent, I briefly slow down, and the zombie gets one damaging swipe in, before he also slows to climb. I soon manage to lose him, but the damage is done: I’m bleeding profusely.
I struggle to open my backpack, find a bandage, and apply it. Seriously, it takes me a few minutes to work out what it is, where it is, and how to use it. The UI is pretty damn terrible, but in a weird way, it simulates the confusion I’d probably experience in a similar real-life situation.
Finally, I stop the bleeding, just short of it killing me. The massive blood loss has left me very dizzy, and I realize I’m in the forest, I can’t see, I have no understanding of where I should go, and no health supplies. I stumble around the forest mostly blind for more than an hour (real-time), until I spot a building between the trees. Finally!
I make my way down to the town: little more than a cluster of houses around a road, really. I approach cautiously, hoping for supplies or other people. I’d heard that other players were to be avoided, but right now, I didn’t care. I’d either get some allies or die, and both sounded like reasonable options, given the state I was in.
I catch a glimpse of someone moving around and briefly rejoice – until I notice the lurching manner of his walk. Yep, the village is brimming with zombies. I wander through anyway, slowly and carefully, desperate for something to get my vision back. I can’t enter most of the buildings, and there doesn’t seem to be anything lying around. My hope was fading, until I hear a distant rumble. The sound grows, and I recognize it as the whirring of a helicopter.
I look up, and see the whirlybird approach over the horizon, straight towards me. As it passes overhead, I try to call out, hoping for a reply, a lift, some food, anything.
All they give me is a warning shot. That, or they missed. I take the hint after a second shot, and flee to the cover of a shed, as the chopper lands in the street. Still cautiously optimistic (read: naive), I approach slowly, to show I was unarmed (read: pathetic). Someone yells something, but I can’t hear them over the dying whirs of the rotor blades. Apparently they realize I’m not a threat, so one guy runs inside a building I’d somehow missed during my failed looting spree, while the other stands guard at the chopper. I stood next to him, frantically trying to find the chat key to ask for help.
It wasn’t long before the first guy returns, and without a word to me, they both climb back into the helicopter and take off, leaving me to die, alone, in the street. For you see, the noise of the whole ordeal had attracted the horde. I finally figure out the chat button and begin calling out for them to come back, but I don’t blame them for not: by then the wall of zombies surrounding me was pretty impenetrable, and I’m sure, hilarious.
Codemasters has just announced that GRID 2, the sequel many race fans have been waiting for, is in production at Codemasters Racing Studios. It follows the acclaimed Race Driver: GRID, a game many thought was left as just a one-off, and is set for a 2013 launch for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
GRID 2 will challenge players to be fast, be first and be famous as they enter a new world of competitive motorsport. You can check out the announcement trailer embedded below.
Codemasters has stated it’s been in pre-production for two years, but GRID 2 is now in full development on the latest evolution of the award-winning EGO Game Technology Platform. Following the success of GRID, which set new standards for damage, AI, visuals and introduced the Flashback time rewind feature – now adopted by many racing games – GRID 2 will attempt to raise the gameplay and technological bar again for motorsport gaming and remain true to the series’ core value – it’s all about the race.
Brave: The Video Game Developer: Behaviour Interactive Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios Platform: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PS3, PC, DS, Wii Release Date: 27th July Price:$69.99/£39.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Disney and Pixar are renowned for creating touching computer animated films which carry a message, moral or sentiment and tug on the heartstrings of new and old alike. This is done through hard work to make the animation top notch and by having all the areas like the musical score and pacing of the story come together to make a finished piece of emotive work.
So what do you do with significantly less development time and little room creativity, like most movie tie-in game developers have? Well, you make a fairly standard movie tie-in game; one with shortcomings young fans of the film will be more forgiving of but will still notice. Something playable enough to enjoy but unlikely to be remembered after the cinema and DVD release of the film have gone and past.
Story:
Brave: The Video Game doesn’t strictly follow the plot of the film as far as I’m aware, although I too am awaiting the general cinema release on 17th August so can’t say for certain. What I do know is that it’s similar with some alterations made for the benefit of gameplay, like various made-up enemies which you won’t see in the film that put some action in this action-adventure game.
The story goes a little something like this: as Merida, a young, spirited daughter of a King, you are a target for evil trying to get at your family to turn the balance of good and evil and cast this peaceful kingdom into darkness. A witch tricks you into feeding a cursed cake to your mother and three brothers which turns them into bears. Despite having only just been given your first bow and arrows by your father, you are swept away in a whirlwind adventure where you must break the spell on your family before they become part of Mor’du’s army (Mor’du being a dark, mythical bear in the film who acts as a device in the story to represent anger and all that is evil). For the fate of her family, it’s time for one small red-headed girl to be brave.
Gameplay:
Gameplay is movie tie-in fodder: run through a series of themed levels like caves, snow and forest, bashing up enemies when you meet them, solving the odd puzzle or two and ‘exploring’ in a linear fashion. Merida has two options for fighting – sword for close combat or rapid-fire arrows for ranged – in addition to 4 different worldly elements to use in battle. These elements are fire, ice, earth and wind, and add a new dimension to combat as you have to change between them to match each enemy type’s weakness, as indicated above their head for the benefit of those playing. In this respect it reminds me of an XBLA game called Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime (also by Behaviour Interactive) where you dispatch different ghosts with different weapons according to colour.
You play as Merida the majority of the time, but as well as her action, plat forming and puzzle sections, you take on the role of your mother or brothers as bears occasionally. The mother grizzly interjects at set points in the game when loads of enemies descend upon the scene. She uses her bear strength to scratch and charge down the forces of evil to protect her daughter. The brothers’ transformation is handled a little more light-heatedly, and as your adventure unfolds you utilise them for three-way puzzles, swapping between them to push buttons and pull switches. These puzzles could definitely get young minds ticking along and are a good difficulty for the target audience.
Thankfully, the game also supports two-player local co-op, and a partner can make the repetitive nature of the game less glaringly apparent. The second player can drop in and out as Will O Wisp, a blue ghost-like character with the same attacks as Merida so that player two isn’t at a disadvantage.
The problem is, though, player two is at a disadvantage. It’s as if Will O Wisp isn’t a valued member of the team. He can’t interact with surrounding objects like springboards. He’s always being left behind as the camera doesn’t follow him, made worse by the fact that when Merida uses a certain route which he can’t follow he has no choice but to wait to respawn with her in the new place. Then there’s his colour: his ethereal qualities make it difficult for the second player to trace their own position; he’s easily lost amidst the chaos of battle. Maybe it’s because he is, after all, a magical gust of wind, but his treatment can leave the second player feeling unloved and unwanted, not to mention frustrated.
On top of the 8/9 level main game, Kinect users get a bonus archery mode. I’m not sure the ‘Better with Kinect’ is quite truthful in this instance, although I can’t deny that it offers something completely different to the main story. The three mini-games – Quiver Limit, Survival and Quick Draw – use a three-step exaggerated archery gesture for some virtual target practice. Frankly, all are just shooting lifeless wooden targets despite sounding quite exciting. Plus, holding your arms in this position for extended periods of time can get tiring.
Visuals & Audio:
In the audio department you can expect cringe-worthy Scottish stereotyping, the accent cropping up both in longer pieces of narration and as a series of short ‘Och!’s and battle sounds. Graphically, it isn’t great either, but at least it’s deceiving. If you glanced over the screen it would look relatively pretty, but if you were to look any closer you would notice how it’s rough around the edges. Some of the visual effects, such as water crashing against the cliff face on a coastal level, aren’t pulled off convincingly.
Overall:
Whether Brave – the film- will work its Disney and Pixar magic to capture the hearts of audiences, I don’t know. The game, however, won’t go down as one of the great movie tie-in triumphs. It’s an average piece of movie merchandise which young fans of the film can certainly enjoy as a follow on to the trip to the cinema. In fact, it’s ideal for the under 12 age group as the difficulty of the puzzles and adventuring has clearly been geared towards them. This makes it all the more bewildering that he game as been labelled a PEGI 12 because the older the player the less they will get out of it.
It’s official! Everyone relax – The Avengers sequel is in safe hands. Walt Disney Studios has announced that Joss Whedon will be back to write and direct The Avengers 2. While we have suspected Whedon would return, this official announcement comes as welcome relief.
The Avengers of cause not only had the biggest box office opening weekend of all time (…of all time!) but was also critically acclaimed by both fans and critics alike.
Along with this announcement, Marvel Studios has revealed that Whedon will help out on a new upcoming live action series for Marvel Television and will contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.
Though the exactly details at this point are pretty tight-lipped.
But if The Avengers’ success is anything to go by, then Marvel is in safe hands. The Avengers 2 is set for a 2015 release date.
Xbox is pumping out the discord deals again, but perhaps this week we can see a light shining through the dark tunnel of “Deals of the Week”. With the Pipper growing impatient about the weekly deals, it is safe to acknowledge that others have simply given up on Xbox to provide deals to satisfy their gaming thirst. What’s driving the Poid Pipper crazy this week?
Deals Of The Week
The first set of deals this week are gold exclusive. This means you are only able to purchase the deals by first acquiring a gold account. If you had wish to purchase the packs for Amalur, Bejeweled 3, or Saints Row: The Third, you will need to resubmit your gold status.
Name
Discount Dates
Price
Electronic Arts
Aug. 7 to Aug. 13
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – Teeth of Naros
400 (50% off)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – Legend of Dead Kel
400 (50% off)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – Weapons & Armor Bundle
The biggest news to hit this Xbox update is more than likely Scott Pilgrim. For being an older game, the developers have been dedicated to put together a multiplayer and finally release it – definitely worth looking into.
Here are the new releases from August 3rd to August 19.
Name
Release Date
Microsoft Points
(Games)
Hybrid (Microsoft Studios)
8-Aug
1200
Dust: An Elysian Tail (Microsft Studios)
15-Aug
1200
(Games on Demand)
The Orange Box: Half Life 2 (Valve)
7-Aug
NASCAR® Unleashed (Activision)
7-Aug
King of Fighters XIII
7-Aug
(Game Add-Ons)
Left 4 Dead 2: Cold Stream (Valve)
3-Aug
560
Mass Effect 3: Firefight Pack (Electronic Arts)
7-Aug
160
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: Collection 3 (Activision)
9-Aug
1200
Rocksmith: Bass Expansion (Ubisoft)
14-Aug
2400
Quantum Cunumdrum: The Desmond Debacle (Square Enix)
15-Aug
240
Scott Pilgrim: Online Multiplayer+Wallace Pack (Ubisoft)
19-Aug
400
Please forward your comments over to Major’s blog and post your frustrations and/or praises for this week’s Xbox Live update. Currently the comments haven’t been the greatest, and perhaps you can explain why below. Give us your comments on how Xbox could be doing better.
When you turn on that console remember one thing, “Play Hard or Don’t Play at All!”
Death Rally launched on Steam last week, and Remedy Entertainment wants to offer the public one final trailer for the game. The trailer prompts the player about “How Do You Prepare No. 4” and is strictly a cocktease with flamethrowers. But then again, I see no problem with this.
In succession from the previous videos, Butch – our helmeted protagonist – was caught washing a Porsche that wasn’t his. The owner may have appreciated the free cleaning but zapped Butch anyway. If getting zapped causes these kind of dreams, you can sign me up! Check out the video below, and let us know if this new trailer excites you enough to purchase the title on Steam (here).
Save an additional 15% by purchasing the title before August 17th!
For all of you who are fans of PC RTS games, you might take a hankering to this. You may remember earlier this year during PAX East that Carbon Games were developing a title called AirMech and that they would be having a beta on Steam sometime this summer. Well, they lived up to their word and released the beta today.
You can gain access to the beta by purchasing the “Beta Bundle” for $20 via Steam. The purchase includes many extra perks such as all of the AirMech classes and units, lifetime silver VIP status and a beta-exclusive bomber.
Many of you may have already been playing the game since February via Google Chrome, which you can still access via the the official Carbon Games website. They have also announced some statics from the Chrome beta which reveal that over 250,00 people have created accounts and have played the game.
For those of you wondering what new things the Steam version includes, it includes 86 Steam achievements and the ability to invite players and friends to join your games.
Do you happen to be a fan of the Sacred video game storyline? Well you are probably hoping that we have some news about Sacred 3 waiting for you. Unfortunately we don’t quite have that but we do have one better. Today Deep Silver announced that they will be bringing out a title called Sacred Citadel, developed by Southend Interactive, to the PS3, PC and 360 as a digital download.
Interestingly enough, Sacred Citadel is a side-scrolling brawler that, at least from the trailer below, looks like it will contain plenty of action and crazy looking mounts to ride on. The game will follow the story of three warriors that have teamed up to defeat an evil threatening to take over the world of Ancaria. Players will face off against Lord Zane’s Ashen Empire of Grimmocs and more.
Players will be able to select from a number of classes and fight alongside their friends with the 3 player co-op mode. Now why should those excited about Sacred 3 be hyped up for this game? Well Sacred Citadel is going to be acting as a prologue to Sacred 3 and will reveal an interesting secret concerning Seraphim.
Before you scurry down past these meaningless words to find your true objective, the first multiplayer footage for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, you better prepare yourself for either righteous fury or unrelenting happiness, because there have been a few changes and adjustments to your standard formula.
Are you prepared? Then check out the trailer below where there is tons of action to be had and people being shot by other people. There are a number of interesting mechanics and things happening here, including new drone killstreaks, mechs and more. Do these new additions make you happy or furious? Let us know below.
