Square Enix’s next Kingdom Hearts title, aptly named Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] (because its on the 3DS… get it 3 Ds?), has received a new trailer today that goes over a number of the titles special features and gameplay modes that are new to the title, such as Dive Mode and new minigames like Flick Rush.
The trailer itself can be seen below while the game itself is meant to be released on July 31 in North America. Then again, you won’t have to wait that long if you happen to live in North America because the game’s demo is currently available as a download on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.
Platoonz Developer:Antic Entertainment Publisher:Chillingo Platforms:iPhone (reviewed), iPad, iPod Touch Release Date: 28 June 2012 Price:$0.99 AUD (HERE)
Overview
Mobile gaming powerhouse Chillingo is back with a new entry invading the iOS App Store. Is this portable side-scrolling shooter worth the price of entry, or should we tell it we’re going to kill it last (but then kill it earlier, telling it we lied when we said we’d kill it last)?
Gameplay
Oh no! Strangely dressed, evil men have arrived and they’re doing things only imaginable in the darkest of horror films: parking in handicapped spaces and stealing candy from babies. Who they are, why they are so evil, or whether they are motivated purely by their bad upbringings or in service of some more nefarious cause is never broached. And in this kind of game that’s fairly appropriate.
At least it’s not the Nazis again.
Regardless, it’s up to your squad of battle-hardened men and women to dismantle this great evil with the greatest wartime strategy every devised: beat them down with tree branches. That and your squad isn’t that battle-hardened. Actually, they start off wearing what is commonly known as casual summer clothing. It’s once you start earning some in-game cash that you’ll be able to turn those poor bastards into inglorious ones.
To go about getting some gold you can always dash out some real money and micro-transaction your way through the game’s various armour sets and weapons. Or you could actually play the game, and it is quite easy to pick up and play for five minutes. Essentially you need to move your men from the left side of the screen to the right until you reach the end point of the level. On the way, you’ll bash your way past various enemies who are out to nefariously finish off any plans you might have of freeing the denizens of Earth from them.
In basic terms, the controls are intuitive. Tap where you want to move, tap the enemies you want to attack, and swipe down to duck and avoid incoming fire. The fact that the controls are this simple would have been amazing were their responsiveness not so shoddy. If the game picked up that I was even tapping or swiping the screen at all, it often misinterpreted what I was telling it to do. Swipes made my commando attack instead of duck, and taps by enemies were seen as move commands rather than an attack. Sure, there was always the odd power-up to bail you out (activated by tapping a button in the bottom-left corner of the screen), but I couldn’t help but think that the game would have been better off using tilt for movement and taps and swipes for attacking and dodging. Platoonz‘s confusion at various inputs is probably due to the fact that every action you undertake in the game involves tapping or swiping the screen, and it’s just too much.
Control issues aside, the game doesn’t particularly engender long play sessions either, as it’s quite repetitive. What it does do well is not take itself seriously. Between laser guns and wacky costumes, Platoonz manages to add a fun vibe to what is otherwise an unexciting formula.
Audio & Visual
Visually, the game’s cartoon style is underwhelming. Where several iOS games have stopped with the cookie cutter two-dimensional cartoon style and dropped it for a more elaborate, “this could be a cartoon on TV” approach, Platoonz unfortunately sticks to the status quo. Despite a variety of environments, none of them pop out as being particularly interesting or beautiful.
The game’s sound design fares a little better in the sense that it is not entirely forgettable. The musical themes are packed with gusto, perhaps a bit too much so, and the effects are serviceable, if a bit corny. Unfortunately, if you’re without headphones in a public place the game ignores your device being on silent. It’s trivial, but also annoying.
Overall
Platoonz is a game that is limited by its lack of originality and a makeshift control scheme that is, in basic terms, broken but still functional. The game’s stylistic charm is diluted through its less than impressive visuals, and though you may find some enjoyment going through the levels due to the robust character progression system, you’ll be frustrated and bored far more often than you’ll be entertained.
In the end, I have to consider the value of Platoonz in comparison to its $0.99 price tag, and to be honest, it’s not worth it. Had it been free, with perhaps a larger emphasis on microtransactions, it would definitely be one to check out, but as it stands Platoonz is a game that is far to happy to stick to the basics, and yet it doesn’t even do those well.
Atlus will be going to Evo 2012 and they’re bringing quite an exhibit with them. This exhibit will feature Atlus’s new fighting game Persona 4 Arena and King of Fighters XIII will be played at tournament level and all tournament participants will receive a Mai Shiranui T-shirt, so even if you happen to be only a decent player, its a chance for you to still get something neat.
Atlus is giving the participants the T-shirts as a way of saying thank you to the fighting game community for letting them be part of the world’s largest fighting game event. So if you are at EVO 2012 this weekend you can check out Persona 4 Arena before it’s August 7th release date, and perhaps next year we may even see Persona 4 Arena being played at EVO 2013 at tournament level.
I really love Final Fantasy, but the series in general seems to be going down hill bit these days. To add to these woes, we’re now in the era of direct sequels. Something that never happened until Final Fantasy X and now you’ll be waiting abit longer for a HD remake of the game aswell. Speaking to Famitsu, Motomu Toriyama hinted a another sequel, DLC and the progress of a HD remake regarding Final Fantasy X for PS3 and Vita.
“The [FFXIII-2] Lightning download content had an ending that left a feeling mystery and hope,” he said. “The day when the meaning of this will come to light is not too far off.”
The FFX HD Remake however, seemed a little further away going off his comments. It was announced last September for the PS3 and Vita when we were at the Tokyo Game Show, since then, not much information has been released.
“Regarding HD conversions, there is a lot to look into, so please wait a bit more,” he said.
Toriyama also touched upon the next generation and the Luminous Engine that Square Enix has developed, commenting on the amazing visuals and progress, “While still at the technology development stage, we’re currently moving to the phase where where we come together with our game development teams and prepare for next generation machines.”
Are you a Pokemaniac? Do you live for the thrill of Pokemon battling? Well, why not come down to SMASH! 2012 on the 14th of July and duke it out with your fellow Pokemon Trainers with some cool prizes on the line?
July 14th at SMASH! 2012, in conjunction with Beyond Home Entertainment, a special Pokemon Battle Arena will be set up for fans of the Pokemon games to battle one another. At the end of the day, participants that entered into the Pokemon Battle Arena have the opportunity to win a special Pokemon prize pack provided by Beyond Home Entertainment. How do you go in the running to win one of these awesome prize packs? Simple really, enter into the Pokemon Battle Arena and have some fun! Any form of participation puts you in the raffle which will be drawn at approximately 4pm.
For more details on the Pokemon Battle Arena’s rules and guidelines, check out the official competition page on SMASH!’s website here. Will you be entering the Pokemon Battle Arena? Let us know in the comments section below.
With the SMASH! 2012 Convention only a little over a week away, voting is now open for the event’s annual AMV competition. This year’s competition is fierce with a lot of excellent AMVs in contention for the top prize.
You can check out all the great AMVs in the annual SMASH! AMV contest here. Be sure to vote on your favourite in each category. Categories in competition this year are ‘Action’, ‘Comedy/Parody’, ‘Drama/Romance’ and of course ‘Upbeat/Dance’.
Be sure to check out the AMVs and vote here and be in attendance next weekend on the 14th of July at SMASH! 2012 to find out the winner of this competition. SMASH! 2012 will take place next weekend at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour.
Many of you probably have fond memories of tubing in the hallways of Terminal back in Modern Warfare 2, or maybe racking up kills while camping in the many corners and hide-outs that the level contains. Well we have good news for you, Modern Warfare 3 is going to be getting Terminal for free.
No this isn’t free only for those who are Elite members, it is free for everyone. The only bonus Elite members will receive is that they will receive the map one day earlier, on July 17, while everyone else will have to wait until July 18. Currently the map is only set to be released on the Xbox 360, though a PS3 and PC version may come soon.
Remember a week ago when it was discovered that Final Fantasy VII may be getting a re-release onto the PC marketplace? Well it turns out that that little leak was actually a hundred percent true as Square Enix made their official announcement today stating that the game would indeed be coming to the PC soon as a digital download.
The title will unfortunately not be given the HD treatment that fans are so desperate for, but it will be given a couple of new features, such as cloud (ha ha) saves, achievements and also a game editor which is basically an easy button, allowing players to max their parties stats and money. No price was given at the moment, though a trailer was released to show off some footage of a game many of us will remember fondly.
Namco Bandai has announced that it will be releasing an HD collection for the Dragon Ball Z Bodukai series which was originally developed by Atari. The HD Collection will feature Dragon Ball Z Budokai and Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 and it shall be released for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
No price has been giving for the collection as of hit, but it will probably cost $39.99 like most HD collections. Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection is expected to hit store shelves this Winter/Summer in Australia and other PAL regions no word yet on when it will hit North America. What do you think about an HD collection for the Dragon Ball Z Budokai series and the lack of the second Budokai title?
Despite the fact that, for whatever reason, Sega in the West has chosen to delay Anarchy Reigns in the West despite Platinum Games (the developer) stating that the game is 100% complete and also fully in English, the Japanese release for the title has gone off without a hitch.
To commemorate today’s release of the game in Japan, the character designer of the title, Kenichiro Yoshimura, drew up an image of one of the characters in the game, Rin Rin. The piece of artwork can be seen to the right, while gamers in America and other regions can now freely import the title instead of waiting until 2013 for Sega to release the same exact thing.
Despite the fact that, for whatever reason, Sega in the West has chosen to delay Anarchy Reigns in the West despite Platinum Games (the developer) stating that the game is 100% complete and also fully in English, the Japanese release for the title has gone off without a hitch.