A release date for the Playstation Vita version of Rugby Challenge has been announced by Tru Blu Entertainment. The rugby union game will be released on June 27 for Europe, UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The game will feature full licensed teams at both club and national level, including the All Blacks (New Zealand, winners of the 2011 World Cup) and Wallabies (Australia, third place at 2011 World Cup), who are considered the top two sides of rugby union today.
The game will feature multiple gameplay modes, online 1v1 matches and will utilise the touch screen and touch pad for some points in the rugby match, such as lineouts and conversions. Commentary will come from Grant Nisbett and former All Blacks’ halfback Justin Marshall, both with experience behind the mic. As for the different offline modes, players can expect an exhibition mode, tournament mode and multi-year career mode, involving club and national teams.
Just like the console version, the game will be released under different names depending on which country you live in. For those in Australia, the game will be named Wallabies Rugby Challenge. In New Zealand, it will be called Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge, named after the legendary All Black. For the rest of the release regions, it will be simple called Rugby Challenge.
The first clip from Katy Perry’s autobiographical movie, Part of Me, has been released onto Youtube showing just what we can expect from the movie. That is, Katy Perry discussing what inspires her, a bunch of candy-themed costumes, and some metaphors about life through music.
Given the success of past pop artists releasing movies taking people behind the scenes of their shows and revealing a more personal part of their life, it is no surprise that Katy Perry has jumped onto the bandwagon. After all, being paid while also letting fans feel like they’re closer to you? Win-win situation.
However, the question is, will Katy Perry be able to make the movie an entertaining, and thoughtful journey that legitimately explores her as a person and an artist. In the clip she isn’t wearing any make-up, showing that she really is attempting to make it as much of a genuine reveal as possible.
Check out the clip below. What do you guys think? Are you Katy Perry fans? And if you are (or aren’t), are you keen to see this movie?
Katy Perry: Part of Me will be released in the cinemas on July 2. For more news about the film keep tuned to Capsule Computers.
Ubisoft has announced the release dates of their new game Babel Rising, an updated and expanded version of the original iOS game, for the varying platforms. Set for release on the following dates for platforms:
June 13th for PSN and Xbox LIVE
June 14th for Android, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch as Babel Rising 3D
June 27th for Windows PC
But, unannounced yet for the Windows Phone 7 release, also as Babel Rising 3D.
For players that aren’t so familiar with the story, some people, the Babylonians, got sort of high and mighty thinking they could just build a tower all the way to heaven, so God came and dealt out some divine retribution. The game pits the player in the role of God as he uses a variety of powers to prevent the tower from being finished, including earthquakes, lightening, and floods. Babel Rising will also feature motion controls for PSN and Xbox LIVE versions, with a trailer below showing off the Kinect. Even more interesting, there will be multiplayer modes such as cooperative and competitive, so players can smite together or head-to-head.
Porsche Cars North America and Turn 10 Studios has announced today that 30 new Porsche vehicles are now available for download for Forza Motorsport 4,as part of the Porsche Expansion Pack.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Porsche to offer a virtual experience with our sports cars in a very fitting environment – on race tracks around the world,” said Andre Oosthuizen, Vice President of Marketing for Porsche Cars North America. “In many ways, best-selling gaming titles like Forza Motorsport 4 generate enthusiasm for products that often translate into a lifelong connection to the brand.”
“Turn 10 has been pleased and privileged to work with the fans of Forza within the Porsche organisation,” said Mike Humphreys, director of business development at Turn 10 Studios. “We’re gratified about their enthusiasm for partnering with us to deliver their storied marque to the many fans of racing games, Porsche and Forza Motorsport 4.”
“The emotion and realism of Forza 4 creates so much of that same challenge and buzz I get out of putting a sportscar on the edge during my day job,” said Patrick Long, Porsche Motorsport Factory Driver. “It’s also an excellent way to learn the same tracks that we race in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and around the world. In addition, it is really cool to share the experience with our fans while at the same time driving one of my dream combinations of my favourite Porsche models on my favourite racetracks around the world.”
Sniper Elite V2 Developer: Rebellion Developments Publisher: 505 Games Platforms: PS3 (reviewed) Xbox 360, PC Release Date: May 4 2012 Price: $49.86 Available here
Overview
Sniper Elite V2 touted as the sequel to Rebellion Developments highly acclaimed Sniper Elite is more a remake than a second game in the series. The game aims to capture the intensity of covert warfare and the satisfaction of dispatching targets from afar with impunity. Does it achieve this aim? Keep your head down and your eyes peeled for Nazi’s while I give you the Intel.
Story
We reprise the role of long range brain surgeon and American Officer of Strategic Services Karl Fairborne. Deployed behind enemy lines in Berlin our mission is to eliminate or retrieving officers and scientists who were involved in Germany’s V2 rocket project as the US seeks that technology for potential future warfare and has no intention of sharing.
Visuals
Sniper Elite V2 captures the desolation and bleakness of environments torn by war, tanks burst through walls, its rare to see a structure that isn’t Swiss cheesed with numerous holes and rubble lines the streets providing much needed cover. Soldiers are faithfully represented and with the game’s x-ray bullet impact feature including bullet cam so we can watch our special delivery in flight, soldiers are realistically and viscerally depicted with excellent damage models, rag doll physics and depending on where the shot lands the player can be treated to a full body x-ray view of a spine shattering or vital organs imploding (particularly wince worthy for the guys as there is something blood curdling about watching a testicle or two explode)
Audio
The Audio is part of what makes Sniper Elite V2 the perfect balance between building-top long range god and sweating bullets, nail biting, heart pumping stealth em up. When perched and ready to strike we scope up and instantly you’ll hear the deep breath’s of Karl Fairborne (you) trying to line up the shot, then as we hold our breath to steady our aim a heartbeat starts to pump and the controller vibrates in time and slowly gets faster as it becomes more and more difficult to hold that breath. Music is subtle and sets the tone as you sneak but get discovered and the music becomes as frantic as we are. Shots ring out loud and proud and German’s or Russian’s bark commands as they search for you. This is intense immersive audio at its finest.
Gameplay
The game aims to make you live and feel what it is to be a sniper and it delivers, find a perch and expertly dispatch your enemies and you feel a sense of untouchable godhood but start to miss or fail to scout the area with your binoculars beforehand (marking every soldier in the area for future reference) and “oh that’s just 5 guys” can turn into “omgwtfsomanyarrrrrrrrrrgh” and you’ll find you’re just a frail meat bag like the rest of us.
Sniping is the primary aspect of the game but there are times where you’ll have to move to different objectives by throwing rocks to distract guards, sneaking up behind enemies and dispatching them with a quick snap of the neck or prep areas with explosives on bridge supports or roadside rubble to set off later when the tanks or convoys arrive. My personal favourite aspect other than sniping was rigging land mines to bodies for that special are you ok buddy? KABOOM or stringing out tripwires so that anyone flanking or sneaking up behind me had a nice trip and learned to fly the hard and in a million pieces way.
Missions are very thinly briefed with your character Karl Fairborne talking about his next overall objective, the level begins and we’re in another bleak war torn town or city with a single objective which once completed yields a checkpoint and will reveal the next objective. Other than your mission the game encourages “appropriating” gold bars and wine and lists how many you can find in each mission and in some missions you’ll find new weapons to replace your sniper rifle, assault rifle or silenced pistol.
Sniper Elite V2 can be played on numerous difficulties and each ramps up the realism of using a sniper rifle and enemy reactions going from take a breath, point, press button and win to taking into account gravity with an indicator to show where the bullet will go, to taking all the training wheels off and dealing with windspeed, gravity, distance and enemies that realistically spot and eliminate you with minimal misses.
Multiplayer
If you don’t fancy the lone wolf experience the singleplayer campaign can be traversed co-operatively and allows for you to revive one another and trade off between spotter or sniper. Other multiplayer options include: fighting waves of enemies in the survival-style Kill Tally, Bombing Run in which you recover parts to rebuild your escape vehicle before the whole area is bombed back to the stone age and Overwatch which has one player handling sniping duties from afar while the other runs around at ground-level calling out enemy locations and pushing forward to reach checkpoints. These missions require a lot of teamwork and co-operation but when it works it’s cause for celebration.
Overall
Sniper Elite V2 aims to capture what it is to be a lone wolf sniper and it captures this beautifully, the deep breathing heart pounding audio sets the scene while the bullet cam and x-ray bullet impacts provide a deep satisfaction to a well aimed shot that makes you keep coming back. The flip side to this is that being a lone wolf is never easy and Sniper Elite V2 is far from it, careful planning and aiming are paramount to success and while failure is regularly an option the satisfaction of precision aiming and a plan coming off flawlessly drives that “Just one more go” urge.
Their are a few issues with the AI most notably tanks spotting you from great distances even when prone or in shadows (or both) and shooting at some enemies makes them stand still with their back to the direction the bullet came from which only detracts from the realism of the game much like destroying tanks by shooting their fuel tanks which have been unusually moved to the outside of the heavily armoured vehicles to allow for this option.
All in all the sniper experience is captured in all its intensity and brutality like never before and its not something you want to miss!
Facebook is undoubtedly the next step in the evolution of gaming, right? Well Konami certainly thinks so. They have today announced that they will be launching a new title on the Facebook platform. That title is called Puzzle Chasers, a puzzle adventure game unlike any other, because it is on Facebook.
Puzzle Chasers is an exciting new spin on classic puzzles of yesteryear such as jig-saw puzzles, but also a daring dive into the mysterious uncharted land of complex new age puzzles. The game’s story revolves around Roxy, Blake and their monkey Austin as they must solve puzzles around the world to discover who is stealing landmarks and things around the world.
The game is set to launch on Facebook this Summer. For more information on this hotly anticipated puzzling Facebook game, visit the games official Facebook page here. What do you think of Puzzle Chasers? Let us know in the comments section below.
Starhawk Developer: Santa Monica Studios, Lightbox Interactive Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: PlayStation 3 Release Date: 08 May, 2012 Price: $59.99 (available here)
Overview
Starhawk is a PlayStation 3 exclusive handled by the developers of God of War (Santa Monica Studios) and Lightbox Interactive, who were behind the first game in this newly made series – Warhawk. Unlike that first game, Starhawk is technically not a multiplayer only affair, although it’s clear that the solo campaign was far from the main focus during development. It’s a third person shooter with a sci-fi setting and a dash of real time strategy, and it draws a lot of strength from this cocktail of genres and the chaotic gameplay that it allows. Calling down walls mid gunfight is a pretty fresh experience and there’s a lot of fun to be had in the numerous vehicles on call – especially the transformer like mechs, which switch up into jets – Hawks – at the push of a button.
Story
Starhawk goes for something of a sci-fi western vibe: think Firefly but without the personality and charm. It’s set in a future where the world runs on Rift energy, a glowing gaseous substance that pours out of holes in the ground. Sadly for the miners of this precious substance it also mutates people into Rift addicted monsters, but given the value of the stuff no one seems to mind taking the chance.
Players take on the role of Emmett, a former miner who now spends his days as an Outcast hunting merc. He also happens to have had a dose of the good stuff himself, and is somehow able to retain his humanity – even if he does look a bit too fluorescent to be 100% healthy.
Emmett is something of a bipolar non entity, channelling manly clichés during battle (he’s strangely obsessed with his arsenal) yet coming on all regret and drama during the now standard comic style cutscenes. The story is very much a background detail for the gameplay, and involves the not so shocking return of Emmet’s presumed dead brother who is uniting the Outcasts (otherwise known as ‘Scabs’) against humanity.
Honestly, most of the time I had no idea why I was shooting the hell out of things in a transforming mech/jet, but I was having so much fun in said contraption that I didn’t really care. It’s only when things slow down a notch and the exposition comes in that you realise: no one involved gives a damn about the story. Starhawk is a game that exists to let you shoot stuff, build walls and watch things go kaboom – hopefully any future entries in the series will take the time to at least build some sense of personality for the game that goes beyond token clichés.
Gameplay
All that said, the gameplay in Starhawk is a kick. The genre mash up of real time strategy plus third person shooter creates a set of mechanics a bit fresher than what most games provide, pulled off in a slick and polished manner. The strategy comes in the form of the build and battle system, which allows Emmett to use stored Rift energy to call down structures from his old mate up in the sky (sadly he’s only an old pal in a spacecraft and not some bizarre structure flinging god). Players can modify the battlefield with walls, turrets and more, all completely on the fly. The use of these structures can completely change your experience with the level, especially if you conjure up – or crash down to be more precise – a launch pad or Razorback garage.
The launch pads are always a sign of good things to come, because they provide you with access to the rather exciting Hawks. Know that bit in Transformers where Starscream seamlessly goes into jet form and blasts off? You get to do that, in space. Being able to go from a goon stomping mech into a missile launching, machine gun wielding jet in the touch of a button is quite simply, awesome. The controls are very easy to pick up and make you feel powerful instantly. You can loop around enemy fighters, launch missile distracting flares and launch your own assault against an enemy in seconds. It does make the simple ground based stuff pale in comparison, but it’s worth it.
Ground based combat is mostly a run and gun affair, with enemies seemingly unaware of anything quite so useful as cover. It keeps things quick and up front, but the limited number of enemy types and easy enough difficulty means its up to you to make your own fun out of it with the gadgets on offer. Summoning up a Razorback (quite literally another name for a Warthog) can often just be a simple time saver and dropped down allies can be a bit thick – no ‘Trent’, you shouldn’t walk off the end of that asteroid…It’s still fun by all means, it just plays second fiddle to the Hawk sections.
Mission structure is bog standard, and as mentioned above you won’t really be too concerned about the motivations involved anyway. One thing to be mindful of is the brevity of the campaign, which struggles to get anywhere near double digit hours with little value in replaying. The final levels are a bit of a cop out too, and the whole thing lacks a good threatening boss battle. Here to save the day however, is Starhawk’s multiplayer-which will be the real reason anyone sticks with this game.
In a word it is chaos. Up to 32 people can play in full Build and Battle glory in modes like Capture the Flag and Deathmatch. The game engine handles everything incredibly well and when you get in to it the whole thing clicks into place – this is the game, not the campaign. Hawks are by no means the strongest players out there and a team limit on structure numbers enforces a little bit of co-operation and strategy. It can be difficult to get a foothold in a match, and if one team of 16 manages to get any edge on the other then it’s pretty much game over: don’t jump into the losing side midway through a match, you’ll die and die some more!
The multiplayer is certainly the selling point for Starhawk – there isn’t anything else like it for the PS3. Single player die hards will find it short but sweet, and for those who like their multiplayer to be with humans in the same room then there’s always local co-op – sadly another horde mode, who’d have guessed?
Audio and Visual
Starhawk manages to stay away from the lacklustre colouring of some other sci fi games, showing off a handful of alien landscapes that nonetheless theme themselves around the Western vibe. Outer space provides a gorgeous backdrop to a few stages, with highly detailed space stations surrounded by asteroids to fly through and nebulas and stars to admire whilst you blast around in your Hawk. It’s not the best looking game you’ve ever seen but the sheer amount of action it can handle is impressive – especially when the 32 man multiplayer doesn’t miss a beat. The action sound effects are suitably visceral, backed up by a score that mixes it’s dramatic space opera notes with a twang of the Western.
In keeping with it’s lazy plotline, the voice acting in Starhawk is a bit dodgy and the cut scenes yet another entry into the ever growing cheap comic book style collection. Major events that would look fantastic in engine are shunted into 2D sepia. Why sacrifice a solid and colourful game world for such a dull storytelling device? If there’s one fashion in video game design that needs to die a death, then it is the comic book cutscene.
Overall
Starhawk is a very good game held back from greatness by some tired out design choices. The barely there story would be forgivable if not for the humorless presentation and bland characterisation, but for the most part you’ll see past that when gunning your Hawk or dropping turrets on peoples heads. The single player campaign can be filed under short but sweet, with some moments of pure power tripping fun making it a great experience while it lasts. Multiplayer fans will doubtless get a lot more wear and tear out of Starhawk, and the game should also be a big ego boost for the series, which with its neat genre mash up and accessible gameplay deserves to win itself a place in the ever growing list of big name gaming franchises.
Dragon’s Dogma Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3 Release Date: May 22, 2012 Price: $59.99 – Available Here
Overview: Over the past decade the RPG genre has evolved into something that gamers may never have thought possible back in the ‘90s. The rise of the open world and action RPG concepts have created many different experiences which fans have swarmed around. While a number of other publishers jumped on the open world RPG bandwagon, Capcom has only offered gamers the Monster Hunter series and seemed to have stepped away from the RPG genre as a whole.
However last year Capcom surprised many by revealing that they were creating an open world action RPG set with a medieval European setting in the form of Dragon’s Dogma. With RPG fans eager to see what Capcom has to offer, do the many unique features contained within Dragon’s Dogma make it far stronger than a normal RPG? Or should it fear the flame of the masses criticism?
Story: The land of Gransys has been relatively peaceful as of late and many people are enjoying their simplistic lives, with only the worry of bandits and the occasional monster attack concerning them. However that all changes because a giant dragon of prophecy has come to the land to bring apocalyptic ruin to everyone and everything.
However the minute the dragon appears on land, one fishing village resident refuses to run away and let his/her home be destroyed. In a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to slay the dragon, this villager is batted aside and has their heart stolen and eaten by the dragon. While this may sound like the end-game already, it turns out that this very act has made this villager the one person who can destroy the dragon and bring peace to the land, the Arisen. As the Arisen you set off to track down the dragon and reclaim your heart, if only you can get past the legions of monsters and fanatical cultists which have begun roaming the land.
Dragon’s Dogma’s storyline isn’t anything too original as it calls upon a number of classic RPG clichés such as a simple villager rising to save the realm from imposing doom. However despite these clichés the game presents an easy to follow and enjoyable story that will keep the player interested in following the main quest-line despite the fact that there are so many other intriguing distractions to lead you astray. This is only helped by the fact that the many elements of Dragon’s Dogma’s world just seem to fit in perfectly with its storyline. With the religious cult begging for salvation in death, political strife and so many monsters to face off against, players will likely find themselves quickly invested in the world.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t plenty of small areas of disdain however, as a number of side-quest storylines seem to have been left hanging or end without any seeming resolution. This is disappointing as a few of these side-quests involve interesting characters that are abruptly left hanging with little to no resolution. While yes these are side-quests involving side-characters, the lack of a relatively long side-plot resolution may leave a sour aftertaste once they are completed.
Visuals:
Dragon’s Dogma creates probably some of the most atmospheric battles you could possibly experience as the character and enemy animations are amazing to behold. During battle it truly feels like you are actually striking enemies and dealing damage. Seeing a Pawn cling desperately to the back of a chimaera as the beast tries to shake him off while seeing another Pawn carry your downed compatriot out of the reach of the beast’s claws as you rain fiery arrows into the beasts fur to set it aflame will leave you breathless. The attention to detail on many of the larger beasts is lovely to see, especially on griffons and dragon-like enemies.
Unfortunately there are a few downsides to Dragon’s Dogma’s visuals. There are quite a few clipping problems that will be experienced where even smaller enemies will just clip into objects as if they weren’t there and a number of textures are blurry and visually bland. Many characters the player runs into will also look as if they are a few years out of date with today’s graphical expectations with bland expressions and basic textures. This is helped some by the fact that players are able to use a mildly in-depth character creation system to create a character and main Pawn however they like.
Audio: There be aught to talk about here and that happens to be the fact that the Pawns always have aught to say whenever the player does aught. In case you don’t know, like most people wouldn’t before playing this game, aught just happens to mean something and good lord do the Pawns love to say that word. This is only made a bit worse by the fact that the Pawns will quite literally never be quiet. While receiving tips in battle is nice, hearing about how wolves are afraid of fire for the literally thousandth time can tend to be a bit annoying at times.
It is also worth noting that the Pawns will constantly talk about their locations as well. This means you can sometimes have all three of your followers chiming in and mentioning how big Gran Soren is, or where you are on the map after you’ve already traveled and seen these places over fifty times. In fact they will often just make random statements which are out of place, as they can warn you about goblins or enemies in the area even though you literally just killed said enemies.
That being said, and the Pawns will say over and over again, even over important dialogue, the rest of the game’s cast and even the pawn’s voice actors are handled well enough and sound believable and the game features quite fitting background music.
Gameplay: At its basic core, Dragon’s Dogma is an action RPG where the player has the ability to choose from a number of classes, however only three are offered in the beginning. Again these classes don’t do anything we aren’t already familiar with, as they are your simple warrior, mage and strider (bow-using) class. These classes can be a bit more diverse as later on in the game players will have a chance to take these classes to the next level, make a hybrid version of these classes or simply focus on developing all of the skills for their basic class by using development points. Players even have the chance to simply switch their class as well, becoming a warrior rather than a mage. These development points are earned through combat and can be used to learn new skills, add little bonuses to your character and more.
It’s that time again, Infinity Ward faithful. Those of you who opted out on Elite (which is still a puzzling decision in my eyes due to the value alone) can now snag up Modern Warfare 3’s Content Collection 2 on the Xbox 360 for 1200 points. Along with three new multiplayer maps, this pack also comes with two special ops missions for fans of the game to enjoy to top off a varied add-on as a whole.
Want all of the deets? Check out the official listing for Collection numero duo below:
• Getaway: This former white-sand vacation spot, boasting exotic aquaria and surfside infinity pools, is now a Face Off map and a haven for ruthless run-and-gun violence. • Lookout: A perilous warren of chokepoints and tight corridors, the second Face Off map drops your one- or two-man teams into a forward observation base carved into a war-torn mountainside. • Sanctuary: Destroy the opposition—and the ornate relics of an ancient monastic order—in the towering sandstone cloister of central Greece’s Sanctuary. SMGs, assault rifles and shotguns will make short work of both. • Foundation: Choose your rules of engagement in this decommissioned cement factory in the heart of South Korea, perfectly constructed for both sniping and run-and-gun combat. • Oasis: Once a postcard-worthy holiday spot, now a paradise for a different sort of traveler—the ones who’ve traded fanny packs for combat fatigues. Pick your combat lanes carefully atop this ancient stone fortress turned five star resort. • Kill Switch: Armed with an EMP, you and a squad mate must neutralize a Russian carrier deep within enemy territory. This Special Ops Mission tasks one team member on the ground, fighting through hostiles on your way to the detonation site, while the other must maintain vital cover from behind a sniper scope. • Iron Clad: For the first time, take the wheel of an Abrams-class tank with full escort. Breach and clear and exfiltrate from behind enemy lines in Hamburg in this all-new Special Ops mission.
As always, these content packs deliver a ton of new stuff to do, and it looks like Activision will be keeping their latest CoD relevant for quite some time with even more content drops in the future. For now though, you can find all of the goods on the Xbox Live Arcade, and keep an eye out as soon the PS3 will be seeing the same treatment. Check out the official trailer below for a more in-depth look.
The Lost Planet franchise has always had the ability to bring the awesome monsters to the screen for you to take out. Capsule Computers was given the great opportunity to try out the third game of the franchise, Lost Planet 3, which is a prequel to the first game. It involved a whole bunch of wandering around frozen terrain, an ambitious mining crew, and some giant icy crabs.
The gameplay we tried out involved exploring some of the forbidding terrain, scoping out some of the areas, and recovering ourselves a Mech and using its melee attacks. The gameplay involved quicktime events when taking on some of the creatures, which you’ll hate if you dislike these events, but shouldn’t find too difficult to take on either. It also involves a lot of ‘shoot the glowing part of the creature’, and ‘quick, dodge!’.
In the sampled gameplay there weren’t a whole bunch of tactics required, or cover that you could duck behind (which is kind of to be expected in a snow-storm heavy terrain). But there was certainly some interesting looking stuff in the preview game, and this is definitely a game to watch in the future, especially if you like your third-person monster-hunter shooters.
Lost Planet 3 is due for release on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC in 2013. Keep tuned to Capsule Computers for more information on the game as it comes out!
