Nearly all of the gaming community is unable to attend E3 each year and usually the best they can hope for is to read about various snippets of gameplay footage us journalists were shown during the event. Now while you can still go and read our E3 preview of Dishonored here, Bethesda has chosen to release both their stealthy and aggressive Dishonored playthroughs below.
In these videos you can either watch the main character stealthily infiltrate the bath house and take out his targets without being noticed by the guards or try and kill everyone in sight in a giant massacre. Then again, it seems that playing stealthily seems not only more effective, but much more badass. It is also worth noting that the first video, the stealth playthrough, goes over a number of abilities that will be in the game while the second video is less informative.
Radical Entertainment has been shut down by parent company Activision. After rumors began to circulate on Twitter, Activision released this statement to Kotaku:
Although we made a substantial investment in the Prototype IP, it did not find a broad commercial audience. Radical is a very talented team of developers, however, we have explored various options for the studio, including a potential sale of the business, and have made a difficult conclusion through the consultation process that the only remaining option is a significant reduction in staff. As such, some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects, but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward.
Evidently Prototype 2 did not meet sales expectations, causing Radical Enertainment and it’s employees to be the latest studio thrown into the flames. Although the studio will still technically exist, only a small number of the employees will remain to work on exisiting Activision titles, meaning that Prototype as a series has likely bitten the dust. Prototype 2 recieved strong reviews, scoring an impressive 9 out of 10 here at CC. High scores sadly do not equate to high sales, or at least not enough to secure the future of a studio. Prototype 2 was the highest selling game in April according to NPD data, but overall retail sales are still suffering, with that particular month being down on the previous year.
Radical Entertainment was founded in 1991, and as well as the Prototype series has been responsible for Scarface : The World is Yours, The Simpsons Hit and Run and various late Crash Bandicoot games, the most recent of which was cancelled in 2010.
Early this morning Tecmo Koei confirmed that they will indeed be releasing a new character to go along with Dead or Alive 5 and alongside this confirmation came a slew of information about the character, as well as screenshots and a trailer of him battling against first Christie and Bass. The company also confirmed that Dead or Alive 5 will feature a fully controllable photography camera, allowing players to zoom in and get the “perfect” shot in replays.
Rig is a man who can’t remember his name or where he came from, so he has been called Rig simply because he has been working on an oil rig since he was young. He uses his own brand of fighting as well as hints of taekwondo. Take a look at him in action below as he fights against a seductively dressed Christie and a rather angry Bass on a newly revealed stage called Fuel.
Nintendo is planning on having a little Pokémon extravaganza on October 7th as today they revealed that they will be releasing both Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 on that day for the Nintendo DS, allowing fans to play the first ever direct sequel to a Pokémon title.
But also set to be released on that same day, though with a much smaller impact, is the 3DS eShop title Pokémon Dream Radar. This little game allows players to catch Pokémon with the 3DS’ camera as well as use the game’s motion controls and Augmented Reality features. Interestingly enough, those who pick up the Dream Radar will be able to transfer Pokémon that they caught in the app to Pokémon White or Black V2. Interesting combination there.
So you have probably heard about the pocket-busting size that the new Nintendo 3DS XL will have when it is released later this year in North America. Well today it was revealed that Nintendo is planning to make it so the Nintendo 3DS XL will no longer be a portable handheld gaming device. They are planning on doing this by releasing a Circle Pad Pro for the Nintendo 3DS XL system.
So… while the poorly received 3DS accessory will expand the 3DS XL to an even larger size, assuring that even the biggest cargo pant pockets will have difficulty holding the thing. While many may argue that Nintendo should have included the second circle pad on this XL version, it would probably have royally ticked off anyone who already owns a Nintendo 3DS, so in the end this may have been their best choice.
Beeline Interactive’s latest game Dark Ring was released to the iTunes App Store today. Available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, Dark Ring is a collectable creature game. Players will take possession of a magical ring that allows them to summon over a 100 different creatures, such as dragons and demons, from three different classes to do their bidding. Players will equip, level, and grow their army of creatures to do battle with the enemy, whether they are the computer AI or real human players via the multiplayer mode.
Dark Ring is free to play and can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store here.
Frederic – Ressurection of Music was featured in our very own MasterAbbot’s iOS Pick of the Week and now the team behind Frederic – Ressurection of Music is back with a huge contest worth $17,000 dollars. Yes, $17,000 with three zeros. The devs are giving away a limited edition set of white gold and diamond jewellery hand crafted by the Japanese artist HIROKO. This set was made in commemoration of Frederic Chopin’s 200th birthday anniversary and bears the serial number 001 of 200 and contains a necklace, a brooch, a ring, and a pair of earrings. To enter, purchase and play Frederic – Ressurection of Music and nail the high score. The competition starts July 1st and to celebrate, Frederic – Ressurection of Music will be free for two days. Check out the rules of the contest hereand snap up your copy of Frederic – Ressurection of Music here.
Honey Darling Author: Norikazu Akira Release Schedule: Oneshot Publisher: SuBLime/Viz Media Release Date: June 12, 2012 Price: Print $12.99, Digital $5.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Yaoi, for those that don’t know, centers around the relationships between two male characters, so it is often also known as Boys’ Love in English. Needless to say, if you’re the type of person interested in the bond that can be shared between two men, Honey Darling might be your cup of tea or even a gift for that special someone. The author, Norikazu Akira, has previously written Twin’s Labyrinth, Heart Strings, and Beast & Feast, so she has a decent amount of writing and art under her belt for Honey Darling and knows what the ladies (or guys) like. Want to be sure if this is the nightstand book for you or a friend? Keep reading to find out.
Story:
Honey Darling tells the tale of Chihiro, a do nothing kind of guy, that is completely non-committal to anything. That is until the day he happens upon the kitten Shiro and finds the drive to want to do more with his life. After Shiro gets sick and must go to the vet, Chihiro finds that he wants to learn how to be a vet and as luck would have it the big strapping vet Kumazawa is willing to take him in as a housekeeper.
The interesting thing about Honey Darling is that although it is a yaoi, it becomes more and more about cats and vetting. Realizing this herself, the author actually puts in side chapters from Shiro’s perspective and about vetting itself. This less subtracts from the story and more adds to the depth of the characters by showing more about what Chihiro is going through and doing in his time living with Kumazawa.
Those yaoi fans interested in lots and lots of sweet man love action will be kinda disappointed with this, as the story is based more on Chihiro and Kumazawa growing to love each other then jumping into things. Not that it doesn’t happen, but the story works up to it making the relationship the story goal and not the story matter. In this way Honey Darling is actually a good intro for those interested in getting into yaoi than the more hardcore fans.
Characters:
The characters are actually very well developed throughout the story. It is nice that the character pool is kept generally low, focusing mainly on Chihiro, Kumazawa, and Shiro with other characters providing outside views and conflict. So the main three drive the story, while the others will help steer or push it in different direction.
Animals lovers will definitely like this as well as besides Shiro actually being a cat, both Chihiro and Kumazawa describe and see each other as the animal they are closest to, a cat and bear respectively. This not only gives a good starting point for understanding the characters, i.e. Chihiro being drifty and quick to drop things when he’s bored or it’s too tough and Kumazawa being stern dominance as well as big, with beard scruff.
The secondary characters are a bit more flat, who for the most part can be summed up in their first few lines or introductions. They are mostly there simply to give the main characters people to talk to, but it would have been nice to see at least a little more depth out of them. The way the character interact gives the feeling that much more could have happened to expand the story, but instead it stays fairly short.
Artwork:
The art of Honey Darling has three distinct ranges within the story itself. The first is the most common, where the characters have a good amount of detail and are the general representations in the story. This one is probably the best as it makes the characters look the most like regular people, as well as showing off how good the characters actually look.
The second style is halfway between the standard characters and chibi style. The detail is toned down to display one specific type of emotion, in most cases this is ire between the main characters and some side character. This is a little haphazard, as the characters are made to look angry, but at the same time cute. Though looking cute all the time is probably a main tenant in yaoi anyway.
The final style is really just showing off the characters as their animal side. For Chihiro, this means having cat ears whenever he’s being aloof and catty, from sleeping on the bed with Shiro to his surprise at his feelings for Kumazawa. The bear aspects of Kumazawa don’t show up nearly as much in drawing as Chihiro, but they still happen a bit and in pretty humorous ways.
The final aspect of the artwork is probably the main elephant in the room, with how much the manga actually shows. Hardcore fans might be a little disappointed, but for the most part the naughtiest bits are blurred out white. Scenes still take place and actions still happen, but imagination is required to fill in all the little (and big) voids.
Overall: Honey Darling is a pretty fair Boys’ Love yaoi, that provides a good start or introduction for anyone interested in seeing what they are about, but worried about seeing too much too quickly. The story in some places feels a bit rushed, in that a lot more could have been expanded and more character depth could have been done, but for the most part its good at what it does. Ladies (or guys) looking to get themselves a little something for themselves or a friend, who has a soft spot when it comes to pets, can probably enjoy what Honey Darling has to offer. Though hardcore yaoi fans would probably get their kicks elsewhere.
Pokemon Trainers looking forward to the upcoming Pokemon Black and White 2 games will be feeling a sense of joy at the launch of the Official Pokemon Black and White Version 2 websites launch a short while ago. The website is stock full of information and other kinds of presentations for the upcoming Black and White 2 versions of the series.
Having a quick look around on the site we can see that there is detailed information on much of the games’ story, region and more. In order, the site has contents on –
Story
Characters
Pokemon
Locations
Gameplay
Online Features
Fun Stuff
Videos
News
Players will also be glad to know that they can pre-order the game from website by clicking on a link at the bottom of the navigation bar. So if you’re a Pokemon fan, or are just plain interested in the upcoming games, be sure to take a look at the official Pokemon Black and White 2 website.
GAMEVIL has just released a new game to download for FREE on iOS devices with MOLEHEART. MOLEHEART is the tale of William, Prince of the Mole Kingdom, who has to save the kingdom from evil. Part defense, part RPG MOLEHEART features William as much in the action as the other units players must utilize to deploy to protect different locations across 60 stages.
Through skill building and leveling up, players will be able to successful defend through the real-time strategy gameplay, continue the story, and save the kingdom from all the foes that threaten it. Plus, if you can’t tell from the picture overhead, the game has a fairly unique, stylistic set of characters.
Players interested in downloading MOLEHART for FREE from the App Store for iPad, iPhone, or iPod can find it HERE.
