As we recently reported earlier, Activision and Beenox’s The Amazing Spider-Man: The Video Game which slinged into stores today! To help promote the release, an epic launch trailer has been released which is really breath taking! Featuring the song “Control” by the band Garbage, fans are introduced to the re-imagined world of Spider-Man, alongside glimpses of the re-imaginings of villains such as The Lizard, Scorpion, Felicia Hardy, Rhino, Iguana and more. Make sure to check out the awesome launch trailer below!
But why just sit around watching a trailer when you can play it yourself? The Amazing Spider-Man is available now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Portable versions are also available on Nintendo DS and 3DS.
Yesterday Developer: Pendulo Studios Publisher: BulkyPix Platform: iPhone/iPad(reviewed)/PC Release: 21/6/12 Price: $5.49 – Available Here
Overview
I tend to approach ports to iOS devices overly critically. Arcade titles, and made-for-console games just don’t feel great on a touch screen device. It’s not just the interface; the whole thing just manages to feel sloppy in one-way or another. It’s like cramming your old television into a box it didn’t come in, it just won’t fit and in the end you just damage the box, the TV and yourself. Okay well, that is a little dramatic. There are of course certain genres that work very well on iOS – particularly on the iPad with it’s larger screen and, most of the time, better quality graphics.
One type of gaming is the adventure game. You explore, point and click, and slowly uncover mysteries along the way. I’ve always had a soft spot for these games, as feelings of nostalgia sweep through my mind, and I remember as a young child trying to navigate the virtual labyrinth that was Myst. Latest in my PC-to-iPad collection is Pendulo Studio’s title, Yesterday. A fitting title given my own subjective experience of the game brought back so many memories of a genre I have long forgotten. As I said, the game was original a PC title, that has already been received quite well here at Capsule Computers. But how does the iPad version hold up? Read on to uncover the mystery.
Gameplay
Replacing the mouse with the player’s own hand tends to work well with adventure games. It worked to some extent with Telltale Game’s Back To The Future franchise, and it damn well works with Pendulo Studio’s Yesterday. The game is essentially a series of static images with interactive hot spots that can be tapped. Unlike other adventure games, there isn’t a need to move the character around. While some people may be put off by the lack of player input, I welcomed the lack of control and the focus on point-and-click mechanics.
The interface sits perfectly on the side of the screen, with buttons to help reveal points of interest, a hint button and most importantly the inventory of collected items. At times the puzzles can be a little tricky, but that is half the fun of the game. You’ll need to combine elements and uncover secrets hidden throughout a series of scenes in order to uncover the mystery-based plot of the game.
Story
Yesterday is the story of one man, John Yesterday. He wakes up from a coma with no memories, only a series of clues in which to uncover a forgotten past. The game takes place through multiple flash backs into the memories of not just John Yesterday, but also a series of other characters. Without giving too much away, the story revolves around the investigation into a Satanic cult, and also the attempted suicide of the protagonist, John. The story isn’t too long, it shouldn’t take you long to play through it all. But it is engaging, you become engrossed in finding out answers, as more questions appear and you delve further into the memories of John Yesterday in an attempt to answer these questions. If you are the type who needs to compare a mobile game worth against PC/console games, then think of it this way. Yesterday has the same quality story as a PC game, but can be played anywhere, allowing you to hop in and out of the story whenever you feel like it.
Visuals
I found the visual style of Yesterday particularly engrossing. Although this comes as no surprise. iPad games are progressively becoming more and more sophisticated in terms of graphics. Each scene is created with a fantastic amount of atmosphere, with different locations all having a unique look and feel. I was also impressed by the animation in scenes that involve dialogue. Also, the use of comic book style panels to illustrate attention to certain objects when they are in use or if a conversation was taking place. Nice subtle animations keep the scenes from looking static. The only issue I had with the graphics is towards the end of the game, the background, some objects, and even a whole animated dialogue box appeared as blank. I was a little concerned at first, hoping this wouldn’t continue into the end of the game. I shut down the game completely, re-opened it and was back on track in the exact same spot. I should also note, this is the one time during the course of playing that I actually shut the game down. It’s hard to not want to progress further and further.
Audio
The audio at times can be a little dull. There are moments where all you will hear is the sound of your own footsteps and some random sound effects. For the most part however, there is an ominous soundtrack that runs through the game, which is rather fitting given the title’s satanic themes. Similarly, the voice acting matches the characters well, and isn’t as cheesy as you’d expect, it being an iPad game after all. Overall the audio works well with building the games atmosphere, and doesn’t draw too much attention away from your goals – allowing you to focus on the environment and search for clues.
Overall
Despite graphically issues, the game is very hard to get away from. It does start a little slow, but once you leave that first section of the story the plot draws you in. There were a few times were the search for clues became overbearing and I had to put the game down for some time. But that is the beauty of having the game on the iPad, I can just put my device to sleep and pick up where I left off wherever I want. There is a great attention to detail, and as I have explained, I have a soft spot for these types of adventure games. Chances are, after giving Yesterday a try; you will develop a soft spot for adventure games too.
Activision’s The Amazing Spider-Man: The Video Game swings into stores today!
Is your spider-sense tingling? Because mine sure is! Activision and Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man video game has hit Australian stores today. Based as an epilogue to the highly anticipated reboot film that comes out next week, The Amazing Spider-Man features a free-roaming Manhattan as your playground and a story that takes place after the events of the film by Hollywood writer Seamus Kevin Fahey (Spartacus: Vengeence, Sparticus: Gods of the Arena, Battlestar Galactica), players will get to experience playing like Spidy as you face off against re-imagined villains exclusively for the game such as Scorpion, Felicia Hardy, Rhino, Iguana and more. While the game may not feature the film’s voice actors, it does feature fan-favorite voice actors such as Evil Dead & Burn Notice’s Bruce Cambell and of course Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.
Developed by Beenox, the game is rated M on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions and PG on the Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions. An entirely different game with the same storyline has also been developed by Other Ocean and is rated PG for the Nintendo DS, developed by Other Ocean.
Last night 2K Games threw a launch party for their new shooter, Spec Ops: The Line. Everything had an awesome army feel to it and they let us try out the game, with some headsets hooked up. Unfortunately the loudness of the music meant that we couldn’t quite make out the dialogue or the quips that the soldiers trade back and forth, which are one of the things I actually quite like about the game.
On the surface Spec Ops seems to offer nothing more than any other game in the shooter genre, however it is definitely a game that deserves more attention. Just by playing it for a short amount of time, there is already such a different feel. There is more weight to your actions and what you do, because there is an actual story line to the game. Story and characters is an important aspect of a game for me, and usually something that is lacking in shooter games. Usually, shooters have the character development that can be expected from a game where the most important aspect is how many head shots you can get.
Unfortunately, this whole ‘character and story development’ isn’t something that really appeals to your standard shooter game player, unless they’re after something that is a rarity in the genre. So if you are a shooter that’s looking for something different while keeping that familiar gameplay, or someone who isn’t usually a shooter fan for the same reason as me, then this is a game that you should look at trying out.
Spec Ops: The Line is being released on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on June 29, 2012, or the 26th for the US. Keep an eye out on Capsule Computers for a review of the game!
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Developer:FromSoftware Publisher:Capcom Release Date:June 19, 2012 Price:$59.99 – Available Here
Overview: When the Kinect was first announced it was met with much concern about what type of games would actually work on a system that involved motion controls with no controller whatsoever. Now since the Kinect’s release we’ve seen at least one or two games try to be something more than mini-game collections, exercise titles or dancing games, but even then those titles were lacking in a few regards.
Developed by FromSoftware many of you may remember that the first Steel Battalion was brought over to North America with what can be seen as the most amazing looking controller ever, as it contained twin joysticks, multiple switches, dials, levers and foot pedals that allowed the gamer to control every aspect of the mech. Enter Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, a game which has taken that complex set-up and made it nearly all motion based. Has this transition worked fluidly to create a great Kinect experience?
Story: In the not so distant future a catastrophic event called the Datacide has destroyed nearly all of the world’s electronics, microchips and various other advancements in science through some sort of unexplained means. The loss of all technology has thrown the world into chaos and now the United Nations has taken control of the world. However it seems that the United Nations now is pretty much China and they are nicknamed Uncle.
Players take the role of Winfield Powers, a man with a dark history of Uncle’s rein over the nation, who now is one of the best tank pilots in the United States. Now he has been placed in charge of a Vertical Tank, also called a Veet and will be sent on a number of missions which involve everything from destroying enemy bases, wiping out enemy patrols, destroying assets to the enemy and more.
With you is a crew of three co-pilots who help perform various tasks in your Veet, such as reloading, starting the engine and other things. As it stands the storyline is extremely predictable and full of so many war story clichés it is slightly ridiculous. The other members of your team tend to be comically bad as well, though you can also interact with them inside of the tank. This can either mean trying to pull in a panicking crew member or simply giving them a fist bump for a job well done. Though when the Kinect fails to read your simple fist bump motion, your co-pilot’s dejected and saddened face will mirror your own.
Visuals: Thankfully the title makes up for visually what it lacks in storytelling. Players will spend nearly all of their time playing the game inside of a Veet and the amount of detail with various blinking diodes, information readouts and may make you feel like you are actually inside a futuristic steamworks robot tank. The tank itself will also incur various battle damages, such as dirtied, cracked or broken viewports or shattered parascopes which can severely limit your battle capacity.
The battlegrounds you traverse are also varied well enough, though things do tend to become quite repetitive, especially considering most of the enemies you fight against are very static in appearance and will usually always look the same. This is quite problematic as well due to the fact that the title will take pleasure in making some enemies nearly invisible due to the lack of actual color diversity in the title, though whether you can either chalk that up to impressive camouflage work or poor design.
Audio: If gamers had a nickel for every time a curse word was uttered in the first hour of the game then they probably could have paid the game off and more because there is so much swearing in Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor it simply comes off as unenjoyable. There are some decent lines of dialogue spoken and mission briefings, however for every single piece of interesting or even alright dialogue is a slew of uninspired tripe.
Thankfully the game’s sound effects are quite stunning as gamers may truly feel like they are in the inside of a moving tank as it rumbles over the terrain, bullets pinging off the armor plating. Explosions sound believable enough and the title does feature some rather nice background music when it actually plays.
Gameplay:
When it was first revealed and detailed, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor sounded wonderful. It would be played nearly entirely with the Kinect with only a few necessary controller actions. Indeed that is what Heavy Armor does present the player. Throughout nearly every stage of the game players will be inside the cockpit of the Veet and will have to use their hand motions to flip various switches, switch between ammo types with virtual presses of buttons, and more. Players will even be able to stand up and look outside of the tank while using their left hand to activate binoculars in what truly feels like a cool gameplay element. In fact, the only thing the controller would be used for was basic movement and the firing of your machinegun and cannon.
Now while everything else sounds like it should work perfectly and crate an amazing gaming experience, in the end the Steel Battalion creates what may be the worst melding of action and Kinect ever to be created. When players begin the game they are run through a number of tutorial sections and the game’s manual will even explain the most optimal sitting posture to make sure the game works perfectly. Unfortunately despite all of these warnings it is difficult to put into words just how awful Heavy Armor’s motion controls work while in action.
There are a few rare times that the game’s systems will legitimately read your motions properly and you can actually fly through the game’s rather short missions with ease, experiencing what should have been an intricate mech vs mech simulation unlike anything we’ve seen before. However nearly every other time players will be spending more time fighting their Kinect than fighting Uncle.
You see, there are a number of legitimate gameplay systems which are locked into the Kinect only, meaning that in the middle of combat players may need to switch ammo types, resulting in them having to let go of the controller (either making them immobile or unable to look around) and attempt to make the Kinect properly read your attempted reach and button press to switch ammo, all while your mech is being hammered with enemy fire.
This would be a little excusable if it wasn’t for the moderate difficulty of the game as a whole. Player’s Veet can and will be destroyed with a few well-placed explosions, effectively disabled if your legs are blown off, or you can simply be killed by an enemy getting a lucky shot through your shattered viewport. Of course, you can try to close the shutter on the viewport but then the game will mistake your gesture for pulling down the periscope where you will then be killed. Oh and best beware of the self-destruct button as it seemed that Powers certainly didn’t want to live before turning on the mech’s headlights.
Interestingly enough, Heavy Armor does feature an online co-op mode that allows players to take on certain missions with other players, with ranks given depending on total points earned, though good luck finding others to play with. If you play these levels without a partner you are instead saddled with AI partners which will do everything in their power to fail and actually earn negative points, which lowers your rank. This is disappointing thanks to the fact that your rank will also reward you with customizable parts for your Veet, though most of these parts are only slightly helpful in the long run.
Overall: It is truly disappointing to see what became of Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor as I truly wanted to enjoy and like the title. However after struggling for hours trying to manage the Kinect control scheme it ultimately became a battle against the game rather than the enemies on-screen. It doesn’t help that the game’s storyline barely serves as a structure for what is happening on screen. Ultimately if Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is crushed under the weight of its own ambition, with a control scheme better suited for a controller than shoe-horned motion controls.
If you missed out the Resident Evil: Chronicles titles when they hit the Wii, you can now feel at ease as Capcom have launched The Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection on the PSN as of today. As some of you may know, this title features Umbrella and Darkside Chronicles in all of their glory, ready to put that un-used Move controller to work.
When it comes to a price, this collection as a duo has taken the tag of $26.99, with each title releasing separately at $14.99 on July 17th. Either way, this is an excellent value that anyone should snag up while they can, and if you are looking for a nice way to prepare for Resident Evil 6, there is no better way than this on-rails compilation of greatness.
Square Enix are top blokes wouldn’t you say? They make some really great games, specifically in the genre of role playing games. Their latest really great game looks to be Bravely Default: Flying Fairy for the Nintendo 3DS which is flying into Japanese stores this coming October.
That’s right, Square Enix have finally confirmed the Japanese release date for this hotly anticipated title, which will hit shelves October 11th for the price of 6,090 yen. The game is also coming in a special Collector’s Edition exclusive from Square Enix’s e-Store which will include a soundtrack, art book, poster and 3DS cover. This will come at a pretty hefty price of 12,800 yen.
What do you think of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy? Does it excite you like a giddy little child? It evokes that reaction from me. If it does for you, let us know in the comments section below.
Spec Ops: The Line may have just launched, but DLC is already on the way for 2K’s latest. This August, four co-op campaign missions will be added that that take place before the campaign, adding in a good amount of story and gameplay to keep this title as your primary shooter.
That alone is good news, but to make things sweeter, this DLC will be completely free and will feature new characters and areas that are sure to keep fans coming back for more. Yes, this is the kind of DLC we like to see, and being at no cost puts it over a lot of it’s competition almost instantly, which is a brilliant move to make for a new IP. Now if we can get other publishers to follow this type of mindset.
As of last nights maintanence, the latest version of the the Star Wars MMORPG, Star Wars the Old Republic has been launched. This brings the game version up to the long awaited 1.3 which introduces some great gameplay additions that are sure to assist players in their Star Wars adventure.
Star Wars The Old Republic Patch 1.3 “Allies” is a pretty decent update to the game with a few notable additions being introduced. First, we have the new Group Finder system, which should assist players in looking for groups to tackle dungeons with. How many of us have been going around from Carrick Station to whatever the planet is at the time that is the same level as the dungeon just to spam for more party members? We all have, This should hopefully alleviate that process some.
The second addition are the ranked warzones. Players are finally able to PvP for ranked gear and notoriety based on their skills in the ranked warzones. This also includes rank tracking, making your e-peen look that much longer.
Legacy perks are the next big addition to the game. Everyone knows how the Legacy system is supposed to affect their characters. Well now characters are finally going to be able to level their Legacy perks which are all categorized and bring unique benefits to the player character.
And finally we have an addition called Adaptive Gear. Basically what Adaptive Gear does is it allows the player to wear their social clothing options over the top of their armour whilst retaining the bonuses from having the armour on. Could this be used deceptively in PvP?
Paramount have released some more clips from the upcoming Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D movie to join the rest of the clips they have released.
The first is a clip about Katy Perry’s fans, who range from small excitable kids, to older, excitable adults. It’s sweet how warmly Katy treats them, and it is nice to see the positive effect that Katy Perry has on fans. Often singers will instill a sense of hope and inspiration within fans, and it certainly looks like Katy Perry has done this with her fans.
The second clip is about her grandma, a cute little few moments that seeks to take the grandeur of Katy Perry’s life and her performance and ground it more for the watcher. Judging from the clip, it will probably work, because like most grandmothers she’s got a healthy dose of sass on her.
Check out the videos below!
Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D is hitting cinemas on July 5. Keep tuned to Capsule Computers for more information as it comes out!
