Now that the demo for Resident Evil 6 has been made available for download, the only use Dragon’s Dogma’s disc has probably gotten from most of us is simply launching the demo. However it seems that Capcom isn’t about to let the rather successful title fall by the wayside.
In an interview with 4Gamer, translated by Andriasang, Dragon’s Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed that there will indeed be more DLC in the future that will add “new play elements” to the game. These new elements will apparently be enough to intrigue gamers who have already completed the title once into trying out the content once again.
Literally sick in this case, as the first 100 people who pre-order the game at Activision’s booth at Comic Con this weekend will receive a rather gruesome piece of swag. Similar to the one which Daryl was making in the last season of AMC’s Walking Dead, pre-orderers will receive an “extremely limited edition version of Daryl’s ‘walker ears’ necklace.”
While I have never actually attended the show myself, it may be quite troublesome to be one of these hundred people, but then again… this piece of swag is sick in more of the literal sense and less than in the metaphorical one. Either way, Activision’s version of The Walking Dead FPS is going to be shown for the first time at the San Diego Comic-Con and today they have released a little teaser trailer which can be seen below.
In spirit of Valve’s close relationship with the gaming community, Valve has announced their latest project, Steam Greenlight. Previously, to add a game to the Steam store, the Valve team approved games submitted from developers as a small group. Now with the giant growth of the Steam distribution platform, Valve has decided to go democratic. Steam Greenlight builds upon the Steam Workshop system to allow Steam users to vote on games submitted by developers. Games that reach a required amount of approval will be allowed onto the Steam store. The Steam Greenlight program is slated to begin in August. A full detailed FAQ can be found here.
Nintendo has stated that attendees of the San Diego Comic-Con this week will have the opportunity to go hands-on with its new 3DS XL system, over a month ahead of its US release on 19th August (UK launch on 28th July).
In addition to its booth at the show, Nintendo will also have a Nintendo Gaming Lounge open to the public – you won’t need a ticket to Comic-Con to get in.
Inside, you’ll find playable versions of:
Nintendo 3DS / Nintendo 3DS XL
– New Super Mario Bros. 2
– Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
– Kid Icarus: Uprising
– Mario Kart 7
– Super Mario 3D Land
– Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate
– HEROES OF RUIN
– KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance]
– LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Nintendo DS family
– Pokémon Conquest
Wii
– Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition
– Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft)
Comic-Con takes place from July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. The Nintendo Gaming Lounge will be located in the San Diego Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis & Marina at 333 W. Harbor Drive, adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center.
There have been many attempts to bring popular video game titles to the big screen in feature length movie form and a scant few have succeeded. After disappointments such as Doom, Prince of Persia and Max Payne, a lot of gamers have given up on ever being able to see their favorite video game characters correctly represented at the movies; however if you are a fan of the Assassins Creed mega franchise and want to see the hooded vigilante on the big screen, there may be hope for you yet.
Last year Ubisoft announced the formation of Ubisoft Motion Pictures; a motion pictures studio tasked with creating film adaptations of their hit video games. Shortly thereafter the undertaking of an Assassins Creed film began and remains in development with an estimated release in 2014. The production has been pretty quiet and not many updates have been giving until now.
Michael Fassbender will be co-producing and starring in the film adaptation of Assassin’s Creed. Michael has seen a lot of attention since X-Men: First Class, Inglorious Bastards and more recently Prometheus. If you haven’t seen his performance in Prometheus yet, you should. CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures, Jean-Julien Baronnet told Variety in an interview,” Michael Fassbender was our first choice to play the franchise’s iconic hooded hero” and that “Michael is an extremely smart, talented, versatile and committed actor.”
Resident Evil Chronicles HD Collection Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: Playstation 3 (via PSN in North America & Europe) Release Date: 26/06/2012 Price: $19.99
Overview
The Resident Evil Chronicles games have seen a release before. Originally, both the Umbrella Chronicles and the Darkside Chronicles were released for the Nintendo Wii. Now they are both available for the Playstation 3. Both North America and Europe will be receiving the game via the Playstation Store. However, Japan (where the series is named Biohazard) will receive a physical copy of the HD remastered games. These two on-rail shooters retell the events of Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3 and Code: Veronica, as well as expanding on the stories with two new scenarios. Are these two games worth the time of anyone or just the Resident Evil fan?
Story
The two Resident Evil Chronicles games are in fact a retelling of previous Resident Evil games with a few extra titbits here and there. The Umbrella Chronicles is the earlier of the two. It takes care of Resident Evil 0, 1, & 3 and a new scenario that takes place in the year 2003, some five years after the events of Raccoon City. The Darkside Chronicles retell the events of Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica. It too features a new scenario set in the jungles of South America. With a lot of story to cover, the two game features an extensive list of characters from those games. Favourites such as Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and much more make an appearance in one of these two games.
The retelling of each story is actually done well. As a newcomer to the Resident Evil series (this is the first time I have encountered the series), I was able to understand what was going on without feeling lost or confused The newer scenarios also expanded on the Resident Evil world. If there is one complaint I have about the story, it would be the pacing. At times, the game would just trudge along at a slow pace, usually when two characters are conversing. While it seems necessary for character development, at times, conversations should have not dragged for the time it did. Shorter breaks would have allowed the player to catch their breath while not get too bored.
Gameplay
The Resident Evil Chronicles games are both on-rails shooters. One or two players will go through different scenarios and defeat the enemies of the game, the B.O.Ws. They do vary, from slow, low damaging commoners to more powerful beasts, ready to strike you down. Each B.O.W has a critical spot to find, allowing players to score extra points as well as taking down the enemy much faster. For the boss battles, they are usually finding the weak spot to drain the lifebar. They also require more precision and patience than one would give for the average zombie. This brings a certain challenge to the game, even on the easiest difficulty setting. At the end of each level, the player is awarded a score, where they can post it onto an online leaderboard.
Shooting B.O.Ws won’t be the only thing that the player will do in the game. Shooting environmental items will reveal usable weapons items, as well as collectables, such as character profiles and more. There are different weapons available to use, usually picked up during gameplay. All are upgradeable using gold scattered all over the levels. What adds to the strategy of this game is the fact that each gun has limited ammo, expect for the handgun, which has unlimited ammo. Ammo supplies differ with difficulty level, but players must watch their supplies, even for the boss battles. The handgun is not a weapon one would want to be stuck with while fighting a monstrous boss.
A fantastic addition is Playstation Move support. While the controller won’t hinder the player’s experience or skill, the Playstation Move is the recommended choice for these two games. The Playstation Move is accurate and easy to use. If you don’t have a navigational controller, then that is no problem at all. The Playstation Move can be used by itself. With that said, there is no native support for the Sharpshooter or any gun attachment for the Playstation Move. In order to use these attachments, the Move controller must be paired with a navigational controller. Even then, the slider used for reloading will not be available for that feature. Not exactly the best move, but this is more or less as HD re-release, so it is no surprise it isn’t included.
If there is a complaint about these two games, it would be how the camera could get quite annoying. It occurs in both games, but moreso in the Darkside Chronicles. At times, the camera will suddenly change direction, even when there are zombies right behind the characters. While it is meant to express the threat the characters face, it does rob the player a chance to get points. These sorts of changes in the camera occur in a split second. Another complaint is the use of quick time events. I would have never though that an on-rail shooter would use quick time events. They usually pop up more in the Umbrella Chronicles and feel tacked on rather than a natural occurrence.
Visuals & Audio
Being a HD remaster of a Wii game, one would expect the visuals to be sharper and clearer. Well, the visuals are a mixed bag. It does have its strengths, but also its failings. The sharpness of the character models and settings do get a bunp up. However, not much has improved. The character models do look like they did come from the Wii, with nothing much done with them. The same can be said for the settings. The CGI cutscenes look great, though. With that said, players do have to put up with an annoying grain filter playing, which does hinder how beautiful these CGI cutscenes are. The audio is your typical Resident Evil music. Errie tracks evoke a sense of the unknown lurking behind the characters, ready to strike when they have the right time. The sound effects are pretty good and the voice acting seems to have a range. Some characters are good, while others needed some more work.
Overall
Despite being a re-release of two Wii titles, Resident Evil Chronicles HD offers two excellent games worth playing for both the newcomer and the veteran. The on-rails mechanic offers a new spin on old stories. The content available helps expand the world of Resident Evil and the stories behind them. Playstation Move support is excellent, with accurate controls. With that said, it would have been nice to offer a better visual experience and work on some of the voice acting. Also, the camera in the Darkside Chronicles went a little too far, shaking quite a lot and pulling away from the action at the wrong moment. Quick time events were an odd mechanic to implement in an on-rails shooter. Overall, these two games are worth your time and money, no matter how you feel towards the Resident Evil franchise. It is fun, with a great retelling of some classic stories and excellent use of the Playstation Move.
This is it, the reason that we have been delayed in our somewhat congruent podcast. The Absolute Reason. THIS IS OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY PODCAST! In this podcast we celebrate our 50th podcast release and it took a fair bit of planning to get it there. So come and join us as we take a retrospective look at our time on the website, sharing memories and having an awesome time. This is also probably our funniest episode.
Cast: Dustin Spencer, Philip Federico, Luke Halliday, Benjamin Webb and guest starring Dylan Radcliffe
Music for this podcast is from The Legend Of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary.
Thanks for listening and let us know what you think!
We have gained a product sponsor for future podcasts (that’s each podcast after this one). Razer will now be doing giveaways on our podcast, so be sure to tune in next week for more info.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT DO NOT LOOK UNTIL YOU GET TO THE GAMESHOW!!!
Thanks for listening. Copyright Capsule Computers Pty Ltd – All Rights Reserved.
All Other Samples Are Copyright And Property Of Their Official Copyright Holders.
In a recent press release given to the nice chaps over at PSO-World, a release date was given out for the North American and European versions of the Phantasy Star Online 2 MMORPG. The game is set to be released in early 2013, which could mean anywhere up to as late as March.
What I am really liking about this release is the following line that implies a dynamic experience for players –
“Phantasy Star Online was a revolutionary game when it was released, and we want to make sure that its successor in the series is every bit as ambitious,” said Chris Olson, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We look forward to introducing Phantasy Star Online 2’s unique, easy-to-access multiplayer action to the rest of the world next year!”
“The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests,” added Satoshi Sakai, Phantasy Star Online 2 Producer at SEGA of Japan.
Battlefield 3 – Razer BlackShark Developer: Razer Designed for : PC Price: $129.99 USD Get it Here
The days of cheap 20 dollar headsets are long dead. Good riddance. Today, headphone makers are realizing that gamers actually appreciate a good set of cans with a solid microphone attached to it. Razer brings out their latest offering to the gaming headset market with the Battlefield 3 – Razer BlackShark. Priced at the popular $129.99 USD price point, Razer has some big competition in the gaming headset field, including their own previous offerings. Can the Razer BlackShark take a bite out of the competition?
The Razer BlackShark comes in a large hefty box with the Battlefield 3 motif in full swing. Inside are the traditional Razer information package, the Razer BlackShark headset, and two extra accessories for the headset. The headset itself it designed after the headsets worn by military attack helicopter pilots. The BlackShark is an incredibly cool looking headset. The headphone cups are an extremely dark navy blue that looks almost black in lower light conditions. This is accented by orange cabling, metal construction, and black leatherette ear pads with an orange inner material.
The first thing that surprised me was that the headsets were actually smaller than I expected them to be. They are extremely light weight and fit around my ears perfectly. Being Asian, I have pretty small ears and I found the fit to be just perfect. Those with larger ears may find themselves trying to cram their ear lobes into the cups comfortably. Initially, I found the artificial leather used in the ear padding to be a little sweaty after five or ten minutes of wearing them, but surprisingly the problem did not worsen over time like I expected. I found myself able to wear the headphones comfortably for three to four hours at a time without any problems.
The side adjustment for the headphones is a little fiddly. The headphones extend up and down and a thumbscrew is tightened to secure the headphones at the desired length. One side of the headphones could be screwed down tight, but I found the arm still slipped up and down. I found that once the headset was on my head, there was no slippage. However, the inability to screw one side down annoyed me slightly. I found the aviator style microphone boom to be one of the best microphone setups I have ever encountered. Instead of using the bendable wire or a piece of plastic with a small length of bendable area for adjustment, the boom is constructed from metal rods with two joints. Once I found a position I was happy with, the microphone did not move at all.
The Razer BlackShark headset is a stereo headset driven by two 40mm drivers. The cable ends with a single 3.5mm TRRS plug that is compatible with mobile phones, portable game devices, and some laptops. For those who use soundcards that have a separate audio and microphone plugs, a conversion cable is included with the BlackSharks. The microphone is removable and the final accessory with the BlackShark is a hefty metal plug that will cover the exposed microphone jack at the side of the headset, allowing the BlackSharks to double as a stylish set of cans for on the go listening.
One thing I found extremely confusing was the lack of an inline mute or volume switch. Almost every headset I have owned from 20 dollar LAN party beaters to expensive $250 gaming headsets have all had some way to control the volume without going into the computers setting. I suspect that this was omitted In favour of a straight cable due to fact the designers were hoping that the BlackSharks would also be used for mobile devices. Although some people will not be bothered by this, I found this to be irritating to no end. A physical mute switch is one of those necessities for players who use voice activated comms or VoIP programs like Skype as their main form of communication while gaming. Although a volume dial is handy, I rank its importance slightly lower than the mute switch. I did manage to blow my ears out with the BlackSharks when switching from my Astro Mixamp to my computer’s sound card. In light of this painful event, I am happy to report the BlackSharks are capable of reproducing music at extremely high volumes with no distortions. When dealing with the Blacksharks, I strongly recommend checking your computers volume to ensure the settings were not reset before putting on the BlackSharks!
I can best describe the Razer BlackSharks as an incredibly fun headset to listen to. They are not the most accurate headphones; these are definitely not a set you will want to bring to tournaments and expect to have every possible upper hand possible. The highs are rather weak and muddy; the mids fare only slightly better. Everything seems to be drowned out by the strong bass. Crazy bass heads will enjoy the BlackSharks, but when gaming competitively, I prefer something more balanced. Being closed headphones, the BlackSharks did a fantastic job of isolating me from the noise from outside. However, by design, closed headphones tend to suffer from a very small soundstage and the BlackSharks are not immune. The BlackSharks work very well with Dolby Headphones. Although Dolby Headphones does not increase the soundstage by much, I could listen and track footsteps around me much better than without. I found this was best done when things were rather quiet. Once the gun fire drew closer, it became extremely difficult to pick up on smaller audio cues with the bass drowning everything out.
The microphone performed admirably on the BlackSharks. The microphone is extremely clear and has a decent volume without being too loud. I really appreciated the big chunky pop filter that comes on the microphone. Coming from a podcasting background, popping sounds on microphone feeds is one of my biggest pet peeves. Having the extra ugly puff on the top of microphones is something I am more than willing to deal with that having voice chat pop on every p sound.
I was particularly impressed when playing Battlefield 3 with the BlackSharks. It feels like the designers of the headset were keeping in mind the game that would share the spotlight beside Razer on the packaging and tuned the BlackSharks accordingly. Out of all the games I played, the BlackSharks probably performed the best on Battlefield 3. BlackSharks were enjoyable to listen to when watching movies. Obviously action movies were favoured due to the powerful bass, but the BlackSharks were respectable enough in more low key movies too. The BlackShark’s biggest weakness is music. The headphones did well playing bass heavy genres like dance music and hip hop. Although the highs and mids were overpowered by the bass, these genres are bass focused and work well with the BlackSharks. However, once the music changed to genres like classic, jazz, and some classic rock, the weak highs and mids became obvious.
Overall, the Razer BlackSharks are a good headset. There are some serious design flaws, namely the lack of an inline microphone of volume switch, yet some good designs that more headphones should adopt, such as the aviator style microphone boom and the single 3.5mm TRRS plug that is compatible with mobile phones and portable gaming devices. However, I feel torn by the sound quality. The BlackShark is an incredibly fun headset to listen to. They are not particularly accurate or balanced. These are by no means a tournament grade headphones, but for the average gamer or bass head, the BlackSharks are a solid choice. At $129.99, there are worse headsets you could buy, but there are better ones too. If you are a Battlefield 3 player who games in a noisy environment or are a casual to average gamer looking for a fun sounding set of cans that look really cool, give the BlackSharks a serious consideration. However, anyone expecting a tournament grade or extremely well rounded headset should look elsewhere.
You can also check out our video review for the Razer Blackshark Headset below:
Have you heard the legend of Slender Man? I hadn’t until yesterday. My girlfriend told me how she’d had trouble sleeping the night before because Slender Man was creepin’ at her window. I had no idea what she meant until she explained: apparently he’s a tall, long-limbed humanoid creature, wearing a suit and tie (for some reason), who snatches children and… I don’t know, kills people, I guess. Oh, and he has no face.
Suddenly the tree outside the window looked a little too… slender.
The origin story of this disturbing creature is less than mysterious: he’s an Internet meme, born in a forum dedicated to inventing urban legends to see if they can catch on in “serious” paranormal forums.
That makes Slender Man an interesting specimen, then: he’s not really a mythical creature, he’s a mythical mythical creature. One who’s myth we’ve seen evolve before our eyes and gain momentum through forum-troll satire and naïve, troll-bait readers.
Regardless of his fictional status, he’s a genuinely creepy figure, as evidenced by my girlfriend’s insistence that he was at her window. It comes from the same childhood fear of movie monsters: we know they aren’t real, but when it gets dark, we feel like they could be.
Slender Man has been the subject of some (rather lame) YouTube videos, but Parsec Productions’ simple horror game, Slender, presents him in a much more terrifying way.
Let me take the opportunity here for you to download the game and try it for yourself, before I potentially spoil it for you. I don’t think I will, but you might prefer to go in not knowing what to expect.
Still with me? Good. Now, whether it’s just a rough shareware game, or the beta version of a bigger project, Slender is undeniably scary. Players wander through the forest after dark, collecting pages of information on the mysterious Slender Man, who is never far away, always watching.
Armed only with a torch and the limited ability to sprint, you have to keep moving, lest he catch up to you.
At first, you won’t see anything but trees in your short beam of light, but soon the occasional landmark will appear. An abandoned truck. Rows of rusted boilers. A gnarled old tree. By the time you find your first page, your confidence begins to return. Maybe there’s nothing out here.
But pick that paper up, and tension quickly settles in. Ominous music will swell, and glancing behind you, you might start to see a tall, slender figure lurking motionless among the trees.
You’ll soon figure out that while you’re looking at him, he won’t move. But turn your back, and he’ll advance, slowly. Maybe not fast enough to actually reach you, but enough to invoke panic. Just… don’t stand still.
The more pages you find, the closer he’ll seem. After a while, it’s best not to look back. Knowing that he can’t move when you’re staring at him, it might seem like a good way to slow his approach. But actually laying eyes on your pursuer can have detrimental effects on your mental state – a gameplay equivalent of the creature’s supposed technique of inspiring fear and panic in order to ensnare its prey.
So you don’t look back. But if the forest sounds begin to give way to a low static buzz, Slender Man is near. If your screen begins to flicker, it might be a good time to pocket the torch and run. Because if the static gets too loud, you might find you no longer have control of your body, and you are spun around unwillingly to face your shadow.
Right, no sleep for me tonight.
All told, Slender is quite a disturbing experience, in the same vein as Amnesia (albeit far less polished). At a time when classic survival-horror franchises are moving away from their terrifying roots and towards more actiony shooter games – I’m looking at you, Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 – indie projects like Slender are a breath of fresh air. I dare you to play it in the dark, alone, with headphones.
If you like your scares psychological and atmospheric, you’d do well to download Slender, available for free here.
Literally sick in this case, as the first 100 people who pre-order the game at Activision’s booth at Comic Con this weekend will receive a rather gruesome piece of swag. Similar to the one which Daryl was making in the last season of AMC’s Walking Dead, pre-orderers will receive an “extremely limited edition version of Daryl’s ‘walker ears’ necklace.”
