ElementCase has announced the new flagship line of iPhone 4/4s cases today. The Vapor Pro Elite cases are constructed from premium materials such as nickel or gold plating, Ziricote or Chechen certified wood, and 6061 Aluminium. As with all Vapor Pro cases, a non metallic bridge is part of the design as not to interfere with the phone’s signal. No chance of iPhone death grips with the Vapor Pro. Each case comes with a soft leather backplate and ear pad. The case themselves only weigh 22 grams and will fit almost all aftermarket cables and high end headphone plugs. The black/gold and frost/white cases are $169.99 and the nickel/brown and nickel/cream cases are $199.99 from ElementCase.
EA Mobile joins the long list of gaming companies saving their big announcements for E3 this year. EA Mobile is rolling out World Series of Poker in Australia, Canada, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, and Turkey today for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Developed in conjunction with Caeser’s Interactive Entertainment, EA Mobile strives to bring the World Series of Poker to players everywhere. Gamers will be able to earn virtual rings, bracelets, access to VIP rooms and Pro status while playing either Texas Hold’Em or Omaha style poker. World Series of Poker will be available in additional territories in the near future.
Need for Speed Most Wanted is coming to the mobile platform. Developed by IronMonkey in Australia, the game will feature over-the-top collision mechanics, with opponent cars, police vehicles, and walls all being fair game. The cops are aggressive as ever to bring even more tension to Need for Speed Most Wanted. Bleeding edge graphics will provide real-time reflections that will make full use of the power of modern mobile computing. No release date has been announced.
FIFA 13 for Android and iOS was also announced. EA Mobile is promising major graphic improvements for players, stadiums, and the crowd and new controls optimized for the touch screen. A new button has been added to the UI for performing certain moves and players will be able to swipe the screen to quickly switch from defensive, neutral, and offensive tactics on the fly. EA SPORTS Football Club is making the hop from consoles to the mobile platform. Players will get a boost in experience points for playing on the console and their mobile platform of choice. Challenges inspired by real life events will be posted, giving players the chance to replay or rewrite history. FIFA 13 will come to Android and iOS later this year.
EA Mobile has a large promotion going on, putting many Android games on sale on Google Play. Check out the list here.
Robotech: The New Generation Studio: Tatsunoko/ Harmony Gold Publisher: Beyond Home Entertainment Format: DvD Release Date: June 27, 2012 Price: $23.99 (Buy Here)
Overview
Robotech: The New Generation is the third and final series in the Robotech Saga serialisation. For those of you who have not heard of Robotech, the series is essentially a series about Earths conflicts with various alien species after a large unmanned spaceship crashes on the Earth and leading us to access the energy source known as protoculture, which is highly sought after across the cosmos. The show is spread across three seasons, with each covering a different Robotech war. This series covers the third Robotech war.
Story
The invading Invid race have conquered the Earth and her people to gain the Earths protoculture, the universes most powerful energy source. The Invid are a race that thrive on the energy and consume entire worlds in order to satiate their hunger.
The story kicks off with Admiral Rick Hunter’s Expeditionary forces returning to the cosmos to retake the Earth from the Invid invaders. Unfortunately for the fleet, only a small handful of units survive and the main story follows the adventures of one such character, Scott Bernard.
Over the course of the adventure Scott picks up numerous characters to join him in his quest to destroy the Invid’s primary base at Reflex Point. The characters follow some kind of archetype, like a tough as nails warrior woman, an know-it-all simpleton, a promiscuous child and a sensitive tank.
What I particularly enjoyed about the series story was the way it progressed throughout the entire arc. At first it was all a buildup with Scott assembling his team of rebels to take on the Invid invaders, which also had had it’s own level of conflicts and lead into a kind of lull in the story, where everything all started to get worse and worse for the group. For instance, the Invids come up with better units, the team rescue a girl with mental issues and have to take care of her and they even almost seperate at one point. Of course, the story almost comes to a close when the series ends.
The series is closed by the end of the series quite well with a massive battle and Scotts team wiping out Vantage point with the help of Expeditionary forces. This battle is also recapped in Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, but from a different perspective. I also believe that the version of the battle presented in this series is the superior version from a story-telling standpoint.
I’d have to say that if you’re new to the Robotech series but was put off by Masters, you should still stick around for The New Generation, as it is a significant improvement in storytelling. And it actually seems like it should fit in the Robotech meta-story, instead of being a different series with the same name.
Visuals
What I liked about The New Generation is that the visuals closely resembled the familiar visuals of Robotech: The Macross Saga. The Aircraft were very similar to the original Variatech models and you could easily tell that they were upgrades from generations down the line. This is in opposition to the Masters Saga where everything was completely different and nothing seemed to fit.
What was really impressive were the designs of the Invid units. Each enemy mecha looked both dangerous and unique, which is something that I found quite enjoyable. Conversely, all the human characters and devices all seemed to have their own distinctive looks and feels that were reflective of their personalities, which I found to be a nice touch.
Sadly, the one negative with the visuals is that the series hasn’t really progressed all that far in quality. For example, if you were to compare The Macross Saga, The Masters Saga and The New Generation to each other using a generic scene, people would probably all say that they were released in the same year. I would have loved to have seen a significant increase in quality, but I guess the show is a product of its time. Not that it suffers for it, but it’s just something that would have been interesting.
Actually the show did air all at once in one year, so that easily explains it. But on further digging, you learn that the series is three completely unrelated shows spliced together from different years and so it’s still kind of weird to see it all looking so similar.
Audio
Ulpio Minucci’s Robotech theme is one of brilliance and as a continuation of the Robotech series, it is no surprise that this amazing rendition is still being played as the opening and ending of this particular season. I don’t know if this theme has won any awards or not, but it damned-well should have. It’s one of the few themes that have stuck with me for as long as I can remember and hearing it play at the beginning of each episode is an integral part of the Robotech experience.
Fortunately, all of the sound effects used in the series are of quality and nothing really sounds out of place. One of the only complaints I have with the audio is that it sounds like it was recorded in the 80s, which it was. It does however beat the dubs of nearly all of its competitors from that era, so props for that.
Now the shows background music is lifted from both The Macross Saga and The Masters Saga. I would have loved to have heard some original composition going on with this season, but what they had seemed to work. However, one of the more common background tracks wears out its welcome rather quickly, and instead of it being one of those catchy turns you hear a few times and love, it turns into an overused sack of balls.
Overall
Overall Robotech: The New Generation is easily the second best thing in the Robotech meta-story. It has a feel that reflects The Macross Saga while also carrying itself in a different direction. This is definitely something that you will want to watch, even if you have skipped the second season, Masters, or were put off by its lack of awesomeness. Buy Robotech: The New Generation as soon as you can.
Staring on June 6, subscribers will be able to choice from a selection of 10 games from the Instant Game Collect – games includes Virtual Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD, Renegade Ops, Chime Super Deluxe, Outland, Darksiders and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine to name a few.
In addition to the 10 available games, subscribers will also have access to inFamous2, MotorStorm: Apocalypse and LittleBigPlanet 2.
These games come at no additional cost for Playstation Plus subscribers.
SEGA of America announced at this year’s E3 that Danica Patrick will be appearing alongside Sonic the Hedgehog when he gets behind the wheel again in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Players will speed across land, air and water in fully transforming vehicles.
Known for her talents behind the wheel as a NASCAR and JR Motorsports driver, Danica will be a playable character with customized vehicles in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Gamers will get the chance to test their racing abilities as Danica against an All-Star cast of SEGA characters including Sonic, Knuckles, AiAi and others.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s Wii U and PC Digital Download this holiday season.
Despite the fact that fans of Hatsune Miku in North America have voiced their desire to play her various portable games in North America, Sega has never heeded these cries. However on a small little podium in the very corner of the PlayStation Vita section of Sony’s booth there sat a game that we may have never seen in North America and just might be the only time I will ever get my hands on the game outside of importing a Japanese version of the game at a much later date and at a much higher cost.
This podium contained Hatsune Miku Project Diva f on the PlayStation Vita. To my surprise, not only was this a fully functioning version of the title with two songs available for play, it actually contained full English menus for easy navigation and translated loading screens. After picking my jaw up off the floor at seeing this unexpected title with English translation, I selected the song, World’s End Dancehall which featured a performance with not only Hatsume Miku but Megurine Luka as well, instead of the song Catfood which featured a solo Hatsune performance.
Interestingly enough, even the introduction to the song itself was presented in English and then the song began. As one who follows the game knows, the title features simple button presses to match the on-screen prompts to hear the vocaloids sing. These on-screen prompts change with your difficulty level, and the more accurate you are with your button presses the better rating you will receive, including Greats, while missing can be either Bad or Worst. Doing too poorly will in-fact fail the song and present you quite a sad Miku and Luka, however succeeding feels absolutely great given the rarity of the title.
Hatsune Miku Project Diva f also takes advantage of the Vita’s touch screen controls, for whenever a star icon appears the player must swipe or tap the screen as the star reaches the target. These swipes are also given various ratings which contribute to the song itself. Visually the title was quite amazing as it featured a choreographed dance battle between Miku and Luka and their back-up dancers.
Now despite the fact that there was an English demo in a completely playable condition, I spoke with a nearby Sega representative to see if this was perhaps a good sign that finally, a Hatsune Miku title would come to the West in the form of Hatsune Miku Project Diva f. However, the representative told me that there are currently no plans on bringing the title to the West, as the demo station itself was simply a way to gauge interest on Miku herself. Now despite this bad news, this is indeed a good sign for those looking for this title, as it shows that with only a few pieces of actual translation in the game’s menu system and presentation, leaving the Japanese songs themselves alone, Sega could easily release this title digitally through the PlayStation Store and rake in quite a large amount of sales in North America, if not the world itself. So, let Sega hear your voice by letting them know just how eager you are to see this title fully released!
2K Play and Nickelodeon announced at E3 today a line-up of video games that celebrate the kid-friendly worlds of Nickelodeon’s hit preschool series; Dora the Explorer, Bubble Guppies and Team Umizoomi. Available this fall, Nickelodeon Dance 2 for console systems builds on the success of its predecessor, featuring new Nickelodeon characters, game modes and dances, and songs from the network’s hit TV shows.
In addition, Bubble Guppies will cater to pre-schoolers on the Nintendo DS gamers, with a watery world of laughter and learning. Rounding out the line-up, Dora & Team Umizoomi’s Fantastic Flight for Nintendo DS brings together Team Umizoomi and Dora the Explorer for a game of arithmetic fun.
Amongst all the glitz and glamor of E3, girls dressed up as the female fighters from Tekken, Lamborghinis detailed with Tekken fighters and more which you may see later there stood plenty of stations for one to try their hand at Tekken Tag Tournament 2 itself. Now we were given a brief introduction to the title as well as a number of new features which make Tekken Tag Tournament 2 a standout fighter, such as the pair play feature and the brand new Fight Lab mode.
Now it isn’t new to see a versus mode in a fighting game. However it is completely brand new to see up to four players playing at the same time as they trade blows with one another. The Pair Play feature in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 allows for just that. Two players will each take a side, with one player on each side fighting at any given time and the other player taking up the fight when they are tagged in. What makes this mode even more exciting is the fact that it can also be taken online and allow for players from four different places in the world to fight against and with one another. Now Namco didn’t have an online feature set up of course, but the four player Pair Play set up was quite enjoyable to play through, though it is disheartening to see your partner get subsequently destroyed without allowing you to be tagged in.
Now another new feature which the Namco Bandai representative was quite proud of was the brand new Fight Lab mode. This Fight Lab Mode serves as not only a comprehensive tutorial but also a way to create a robotic fighter capable of performing nearly every special attack in the roster’s arsenal or allowing the player to create a fighting style of their very own with pre-existing moves. The Fight Lab takes us on a walkthrough of nearly every aspect of Tekken’s battle mechanics, including how to successfully perform juggle attacks by breaking down each combo and presenting it simply.
It was quite clear from this presentation that, while Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is of course a difficult game to master, Namco Bandai is eager to open up the series to newcomers to the series and potentially pull in more fans. The Fight Lab may be a bit of a turnoff however due to the fact that players look like they will only be forced to play as a robot at the moment. Still, this is a great way to invite more to join in on the fun and the more people willing to take the fight online, especially with the new Pair Play mode, the better.
As for the fighting mechanics themselves, they felt as smooth as ever as I took Paul Phoenix and Asuka against the Namco Bandai representative. As before combo throws can be performed to deal extra damage and stringing together juggling by tagging in and out was as simple as returning fans will remember. Of course these fans will be able to try out the game for themselves when it is released in North America on September 11th.
During E3 Expo 2012, Gearbox Software revealed some new screenshots for their upcoming installment in the popular Borderlands franchise, Borderlands 2.
The new screenshots show off some of the games action, combat, environments and of course the new set of playable characters available in the new game. You can check out the new screenshots below in all their Borderlandish glory. Unfortunately this is all Gearbox have given fans of the series at E3 2012, which is a bit of a shame, but still better than nothing at all.
Check out the new screenshots of Borderlands 2 below and let us know what you think of them in the comments section. Are you ready to enter the Borderlands again? I am.
In the 3.5 years since 343 was founded, the studio has ballooned to 230 people. During this growth period, they have been able to work on one of the most famous video games ever. Microsoft has given them the lead on Halo, one of the most celebrated shooters ever. With great privilege though, comes great responsibility. To that end, 343 has retooled nearly every part of the engine that Halo is built with by rewriting or radically overhauling almost everything involved in production. Halo 4 is the start of the next 10 years of Halo; its a new saga in the franchise.
When 343 was first starting out on development of Halo 4, they wanted to be bold and ambitious with the series, but also keep the classic gameplay that has won the game so many fans. With Halo 4, they believe they have struck that balance. At E3 2012, I was able to sit in during a behind closed doors demo of the game and I also think they have been able to innovate and energize the game, while still retaining everything that has made Halo great. This is a game that Bungie would be proud of.
One key element moving forward for 343 is to make sure that anything released involving Halo 4, whether it be books, toys, movies, etc. ties into the current Halo game on the market. For example, the new Forerunner book by Greg Bear fits into the Halo 4 storyline. Fans have expressed discontentment with the fragmentation of so much of the universe, when one storyline from a book might not intersect at all with a Halo game. 343’s goal is to change that and ensure that every piece of content extend the storyline of the game and add some meaning to the universe.
This demo focused on Spartan Ops, a groundbreaking new idea that extends the campaign through weekly updates of DLC. Spartan Ops is meant to be similar to a TV show. Each update, or “episode” comes packed with 5 missions that can be played with up to 4 people. Best of all, there will be matchmaking, so if you don’t have any friends who play Halo, you’ll still be able to enjoy co-op in Spartan Ops. In addition, each episode has a cinematic cutscene that is meant to be meaningful addition to the Halo universe. And while Spartan Ops is the actual story portion, War Games (Deathmatch multiplayer, etc.) is meant to be a simulator, or a training excercise experience that the Spartans use in between their operations, thus proving that 343 is truly making Halo into a believable, meaningful and story driven universe.
Demonstrating 343’s commitment to Halo, Spartan Ops will not be using recycled assets from the main game. Each episode will feature entirely original graphics and visuals. According to Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, Halo 4 will “Double down on what makes Halo unique and different.”
One of the most prominent and drastic changes to Halo 4 is the addition of a loadout system. You’ll be able to customize your weapons and armor abilities to your liking, name your load-out and carry it into battle. The Tactical Package menu gives you special abilities — like being able to carry a DMR and Battle Rifle at the same — without having to find each of them in the environment during battle. Of course, there are also numerous Tactical Package options that will enable many more options.
Plus, you can equip your favorite Armor Abilities and Support upgrades. Much like in Halo Reach, once you create your own Spartan, it will follow you everywhere — across Spartan Ops, War Games and Campaign. And, there will be a progression system that rewards you with additional enhancements, weapons, Tactical Package options and more. Although the majority of Spartan Ops missions will be infantry based, there will also be flying, driving, and all the regular missions that are typical of a Halo game, although it was promised that there would be a few surprises in store as far as mission variety goes.
Spartan Op’s story begins 6 months after the Halo 4 story ends. On the planet Requiem, the Covenant have found some Forerunner artifacts but it is up to you to nab them first. However, this planet is full of Forerunner technology and messing around with it often triggers traps. For example, when trying to deactivate a shield, the defense system activated and new enemies — the Crawlers, the Watchers, and the Knights — attempted to kill the Spartans.
Crawlers are simple enemies that can be dispatched with one shot most of the time, but they attack in numbers and move very fast.
The Knights can be compared to Covenant Elites, except they also are able to slash with their claws, and they appear to be even more evil.
Finally, the Watchers are diabolical flying enemies that can spawn Crawlers, heal downed Knights and provide shielding to their troops. Of course, these enemies are equipped with the clever AI routines of Halos past, making each encounter a lot more exciting than the simple scripted enemy routes of many games.
What would a Halo be without new guns? The Scattershot was showcased during the demo, and it looks like it will be a fan favorite. Although its shot pattern is similar to a shotgun, the Scattershot can also bank bullets off geometry, thus offering you a plethora of tactical options.
Spartan Ops will essentially be an entirely new campaign released through a period of months, much like a TV season. Hence, Halo 4 is basically two games in one, and three if you count multiplayer options.You will need to be connected to Xbox Live to play through Spartan Ops, and although the first season is free with paid copies of the game, it is unclear whether used copies of the game also get access to Spartan Ops without a fee. Also, once the first season of Spartan Ops is complete, will it cost to access the second season (if there even is a second season)? These questions will hopefully be answered soon.
Halo 4 releases on November 6, 2012. Are you excited or not excited about it? Have an opinion about the game? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
