During a shareholder meeting at Nintendo, company CEO Satoru Iwata was asked about how they would be handling the online pricing for the company’s upcoming Wii U. Thankfully Iwata responded by saying that charging any kind of subscription fee would be inappropriate and that while he believes online fees aren’t bad on their own, he wants fans to be able to access Miiverse for free so that it becomes popular that way.
Besides this bright piece of information a number of other questions were asked and Andriasang has collected and translated most of the pertinent questions and their answers here.
The indie developer E-One Studio announced that their first point and click adventure game, Hoodwink, has released on Origin for download. Set in on Global-01, a dystopian planet, with an emphasis on “dys” as the entire place is as dysfunctional as any planet could be. Playing as Michael Bezzle, players have to try and win the girl of Michael’s dreams, as he deals with a wide range of ridiculous situations from bureaucracy, to cyborgs, to killer plants.
Featuring a cel-shaded style over top the gritty backdrop of Global-01, the game is made from E-One Studio’s own E1 game engine. The game’s text has also been translated for worldwide release into the following languages; German, French, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Players check out the trailer below and can find Hoodwink available for download on Origin HERE.
Focus Home Interactive has released another slew of screenshots for Of Orcs and Men, this time focused on the title orcs taking up arms. Showing off the orcs in several different combat situations, as well as a human court probably looking to respond to the orc aggression. The screenshots continue to show off just how well the game look graphically and new locations that players will get to encounter in the game.
Of Orcs and Men is a RPG set to releases for the PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 where players will actually take on the role of the leader of the orcs in the game. While releasing this year, there is still no definite release date, but with all the high level screenshots they keep releasing hopefully it’s soon. To see the rest of the screenshots released today check out the gallery below.
Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked Studio: World Events Productions Publisher: Beyond Home Entertainment Release Date:27/06/2012 Price:$19.95Available Here
Overview:
Traditional Voltron fans can complain all they want, but it looks like the new series, Voltron Force, is here to stay. A new studio, a new direction, and a new story, Voltron Force received quite the mixed reaction from fans of the iconic franchise. Regardless of how they felt (and strongly) Voltron Force ended up being quite the success this year. For the current generation, this is their Voltron, and they support it.
When I reviewed the first DVD volume of the Voltron Force series, I spent much of the review comparing it to the still excellent original anime series, which at the time was the right thing to do because obviously comparisons need to be made considering how endearing and renowned the Voltron franchise is. My experience with the first DVD release of Voltron Force, titled the New Defenders Trilogy, was far from being enjoyable. Not only did the show clearly pale in comparison to the original series in just about every single aspect, but even on its own it just wasn’t a very good. The animation quality was lazy, the new characters were unlikeable, and the storytelling was weak and generic. It wasn’t the best start to the series.
Voltron Force continued beyond that rocky start, and the second DVD volume has just been released by Beyond Home Entertainment, titled as Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked, containing 7 episodes that follow right after Voltron Force: The New Defenders Trilogy. For this review, I feel that there’s no point or need to make comparisons to the original Voltron anime, no point crying for spilled milk as the saying goes. Instead I will review it for what it is and how it holds up compared to the previous release.
You’ll be surprised and pleased to know that Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked is actually…not bad. Don’t get too excited, it’s far from being a classic or a really good show, but it is a significant improvement over the episodes featured in Voltron Force: The New Defenders Trilogy. It becomes clear that the show is actually improving.
Story:
Voltron Force: The New Defenders Trilogy set the scene for the series, what it did was introduce the new ‘cadets’, and focused on not just the revival of the original Voltron Force team, but also introduced new foes as well as familiar ones. Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked, moves it along further, and as the subtitle suggests, focuses on the three new cadets, namely Vince, Daniel, and Larima. The seven episodes focus on their development for the most part, in terms of not just their characterisation, but also their powers and abilities. In particular it focuses on Vince, both in terms of his character and his unique powers. This is good because in the previous volume, Vince took a backseat to everyone else and so it’s nice that the second volume spends substantial amount of time in developing his character.
What’s good about Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked is that the episodes in it are actually far more interesting than what we previously saw. For one thing, the subject matter delves away from the typical ‘good always overcomes evil’ scenarios. In some episodes, you see the heroes face absolute near defeat, and even witness situations where they engage in rather questionable actions. The adversaries they face are a lot more intimidating, and they really have to fight their way out of difficult situations. The characters are a lot more interesting this time around, mainly because these episodes spend time developing their relationships and this creates some interesting dynamics and situations.
The storytelling certainly has improved a lot, and is mixed well with the action. It’s surprising to see the quality improve considerably well since the first volume, and I hope the trend continues on. The characters are not as bad or unappealing as they were in the first set of episodes, and the plot is far more layered and diverse than it was initially. The Voltron Force goes up against two major adversaries in this series, and that alone adds a bit of variety to the ‘good vs. evil’ dynamic.
While the improvements are admirable, it’s still far from being a classic. The execution stills feels a bit awkward and cheesy at times, it certainly lacks emotion and richness. While the story and character development has gotten better, the delivery still lacks passion and emotion, and ultimately it just isn’t as compelling as it tries to be.
Visuals and Audio:
The visuals of Voltron Force are now better since the last time I complained about them. That said, you eventually do get used to it. The character designs and animations are nothing special, even by Western animation standards, and the set pieces are still as dull and boring. The 3D animations still feel awkward, and never meld well with the subpar 2D animation. Musically there isn’t much to say about the show.
Extras:
Apart from the episodes, there isn’t anything else on this collection. Perhaps it would be better to get all the volumes in one collection at some stage.
Overall:
For what it’s worth, Voltron Force: Powers Unlocked is a marked improvement over Voltron Force: The New Defenders Trilogy. I hope the trend continues and the show is able to shape up into something decent. That said, it still suffers from too many shortcomings in its execution, but at least the story and characters are getting more interesting.
The creators of SHADOWGUN released their latest game today. DEAD TRIGGER blasts its way onto the App Store, boasting a console quality FPS experience for the iOS. The graphics offer rag doll physics, hi-poly weapons, motion captured animation, advanced lighting, and post processing effects. DEAD TRIGGER provides plenty of options for killing zombies, whether you prefer methodical head shots with your favourite rifle or blasting the zombies into small pieces with explosives. Players will also have access to powerful gadgets such as laser amputators, baits, radars, and more. The game can be played in two modes, either Story mode or unlimited random missions.
DEAD TRIGGER is available on the app store for $0.99 here.
Rising Star Games’ crop is ready; Harvest Moon: The Tale of Towns is available from today in the UK and France, with a German launch soon to follow sometime in August.
It launches on both Nintendo DS and 3DS, portraying a plucky young farmer who has arrived in the area to learn of a rift between the two neighbouring towns.
Choose either the Western-style town of Bluebell, specializing in rearing livestock, or the Japanese-style town of Konohana, who specialise in crops. Pick a town to settle down in, bring your new farm to life with crops and animals, try to rekindle the friendship between the two mayors of the towns, and maybe find yourself a partner along the way.
Reef Entertainment has announced that its firefighter simulation will be blazing its way onto Nintendo 3DS this September in Europe.
In this first-person fire & rescue action game players will enter the soot-stained boots of an everyday hero as a newly graduated academy cadet getting their start in a big city fire station. Players must use the tools of the trade like the axe, hose and saw to battle raging blazes, tackle explosive environments and rescue survivors.
The last game came out on Wii, so expect this latest title to make use of the control and visual options of the 3DS as you fight the fires, an enemy quite unlike those faced in other games.
Remember Where’s My Water? Chances are if you’re a frequent iOS/Android gamer then you’ll have at the very least seen this game sitting in the ‘Most Downloaded’ lists. It’s a Disney title, featuring an alligator called Swampy who needs to get hold of some water to get himself scrubbed up.
Today Disney have launched a game following on from Swampy’s success story and even featuring the same basic game mechanics. Where’s My Perry? is releasing on Android and iOS today, and combines the gameplay of WMW with the stylings of Phineas and Ferb, a long running Disney ‘toon that I know for a fact way too many adults watch.
The storyline of the game focuses on Agent P, otherwise known as Perry the Platypus. It’s a new story in the Phineas and Ferb world, with appearances from some of the voice actors featured in the show. Disney has stated that they plan to release free updates with new levels and more special features, including levels that feature the aforementioned Swampy.
As well as the usual WMW gameplay mechanics of digging dirt to guide the flow of water, Where’s My Perry? will feature some new gadgets and gizmos inspired by the comedy of the show, such as lasers that instantly change water into ice or steam, or even, the mysterious sludge…
It’s a ninety nine cent title with over 80 puzzles, a tried and tested gameplay mechanic and a heavy dose of Disney charm. This is otherwise known as a no brainer.
Ubisoft has been kind enough to provide information on the recent launch of DLC for Mad Riders. The Daredevil Map Pack DLC #1 is out now for the downloadable off-road racer.
Content of DLC:
The Daredevil Map Pack DLC #1
– 2 events (1 event is a pack of races with different rules) based on one main new environment (Zambia) + 4 others (already present in full game), each one with 5 races: “High Stakes” event 1 & “Balance of forces” event 2
– 2 off-road elite races
– All these tracks are available in Single Player mode and multiplayer mode, Platinum Tracks (extension of Tournament mode)
ETHER VAPOR: Remaster Publisher: Nyu-Media Developer: Edelweiss Platforms: PC Release Date: June 29, 2012 Price: $7.99US (Buy Here)
Overview
Arcade 2D shooters used to be a thing of the past, or a thing that would only be released not as a full title. This, I believe is something that is wrong with the industry and Ether Vapor: Remaster is the reason that I believe this to be true. The game itself is a fast paced action 2.5D rail shooter that is very similar to games like R-Type, Sol-Deace and many others.
While the game does has it’s flaws, it is an incredibly fun experience. Within this review I hope to have convinced you on why I believe this is so. So onwards, into the meat of this topic.
Story
The story of Ether Vapor: Remaster follows a young pilot that appears to be in some kind of experimental aircraft and is hellbent on seeing the destruction of a particular device to end the a war between massive factions that has seemingly engulfed the world. Along the way he encounters various forces from either side of the war and is constantly within strife because of this. However, early on we see the hero team up with a young female pilot from the Lydia nation named Sana.
The story, I felt, was a pretty standard affair, existing only to excuse the gameplay and to give players a reason for playing through the game. I mean honestly, that’s what a videogame story is and the one presented in Ether Vapor is a good example of that. I think that players will enjoy the story for what it is, even if it is a bit simple and scantily laced throughout the game.
However I do have a bit of a gripe with the story and that comes in the form of the main character, Luca. I mean seriously, I have rarely come across an unlikeable main character in a videogame, but this guy makes me want to jump into the game and give him a taste of my pimp-hand. For example, in this one scene an enemy pilot comes up to him and asks him to explain himself in a pretty peaceful manner and all of a sudden Luca is is all like (paraphrasing a bit) “I’m a whiny, angst-filled teenager and I have a sore back so I’m going to make fun of you and then shoot at you a lot”. There are a few examples of this happening in the game, the lead character is a douche.
Other than that, the story is pretty good for what it is and if you don’t like it, you can turn it off on your next play-through. How cool is that?
Gameplay
The gameplay in Ether Vapor: Remaster is one of the best things about the game. Who here doesn’t like arcade styled side-scrolling rail shooters? Who here doesn’t like awesome looking aircraft going into combat and blowing each other to bits? Nobody, that’s who.
I make this game sound incredibly simple, and that’s because it ultimately is. Don’t take this to mean that the game lacks any kind of difficulty, because it does. Trust me on this, it is -incredibly- difficult. Who knows how many times I died trying to get through this game. If you’re somebody afraid of failure, has a short attention span or lacks the will to learn, you WILL NOT like this game.
Like most games that require any kind of skill to beat, players will find themselves constantly trying to learn how a particular level works. This is so that they can not only survive, but can also achieve the highest score for that stage. I comfortably predict that a lot of players will fail a lot, replay the entire game from the beginning over and over only to find that they’re slowly mastering the levels that they’re continually going through. This is how you know a game has a decent design behind it, you want to get good.
The one gripe that I have with the game is that you start the game with no shields or ‘credits’ to continue the game with. You instead have to earn these by travelling further and further into the game, or by dying a lot. I honestly still do not know which one of those two methods are the actual way to earn credits and shields, but they are the way, somehow. Also, while you’re playing you get an additional shield for that playthrough by earning a certain amount of points (60,000 by default). So getting better at the game is definitely of benefit to the player.
Visuals
Visually speaking, the game isn’t a technical masterpiece. The game is very much a work that shows a small team was working on it, and had to make some compromises due to budget, time and a whole lot of other constraints. This is not to say that the visuals are bad.
What I really like about this game is that even though the graphics aren’t super-HD, Battlefield 3 and Crysis experiences, they’re still pretty detailed and accurately represent the world presented within the game. For the kind of game that it is, the visual style worked really well.
The character designs in this game are pretty good, with the exception of the main character. I don’t know why, but his limited facial expressions often didn’t match the context of what was being said and as a result I felt that it hindered the visual effect of what could have been better portrayed.
Audio
In Ether Vapor: Remaster there is a set of incredibly cool sounding effects and background music. Each of the levels has their own unique soundtrack which give them each a nice and distinctive feel. The soundtrack is also incredibly catchy and well composed.
Each of the various weapons in the game sound pretty believable, but also carry that kind of sci-fi feel that fits in with the games theme. Players familiar with other games of this type will find the sound effects familiar and fitting in with the genre.
Overall
Ether Vapor: Remaster is an excellent 2.5D sidescrolling rail shooter that fans of the genre should be sure to pick up and enjoy at their earliest convenience. Players will probably love the awesome background soundtrack and vehicle designs. Anyone who loves the feeling of conquest after adversity will definitely keep on coming back for more.
The storyline of the game focuses on Agent P, otherwise known as Perry the Platypus. It’s a new story in the Phineas and Ferb world, with appearances from some of the voice actors featured in the show. Disney has stated that they plan to release free updates with new levels and more special features, including levels that feature the aforementioned Swampy.
Ubisoft has been kind enough to provide information on the recent launch of DLC for Mad Riders. The Daredevil Map Pack DLC #1 is out now for the downloadable off-road racer.
