South Park fans are going to have to wait a bit longer to play South Park’s next full retail title because today THQ announced that South Park: The Game is going to be delayed until the first quarter of 2013.
Originally meant to be released sometime in 2012, no reason for this delay was given at the time of the announcement. Just last week it was leaked out by Xbox.com that the South Park game’s official name was South Park: The Stick of Truth. With the current season of South Park on mid-season hiatus it seems that the best fans can do at the moment is enjoy some re-runs until the season starts back up later this year.
Anyone who has been following the release date for 7sixty’s Phantom Breaker most likely knows that the release date has been pushed back quite a few times ever since the company announced that they were bringing it to North American shores. Today however the company confirmed on their Facebook that a final release date has been set.
Those interested in picking up the game will be able to do so on June 12th. In case you may have forgotten, all copies of Phantom Breaker will include two double sided character posters, a 100 page mini strategy guide and a 2012 calender featuring special character art. Those interested in seeing what they may be in store for when the game is released can check out our preview of the title here.
Over the past few days 343 Studios has been sending out pieces of a 32 part puzzle revolving around Halo 4. As time went on it was discovered by those intrepid enough to put the pieces together that the picture was going to eventually be the official box art of the game itself.
Unfortunately for Microsoft and 343 Studios, it only took a small altering of each image link to unlock every piece of the puzzle early. As such the full image was finally assembled and can be seen below in all of its glory. Those who wish to see the Halo 4 box art bigger only need to click the image.
We have 2 codes of Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade (valued at 1600 MS points / $20.00 – to give away courtesy of Microsoft Studios. All you have to do to win is to simply leave a comment on our review of Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade and let us know what you think of the game. (click on the link below go to the review)
The Secret World is proving continually popular and more interesting than Funcom’s previous Age of Conan MMO. More players played, stayed longer, and returned than in the beta tests for Conan. This means a lot as that’s more data to help improve and optimize The Secret World before its release. With all this in-line Funcom is preparing for the next beta weekend, which is coming this weekend, May 18th to 20th.
Returning players get to keep their character from last weekend, meet new characters, complete new missions and follow new storylines in the game’s Kingsmouth area. New players get their first taste at the MMO’s unique style of character development and explore what Kingsmouth has to offer. While players can still ensure beta keys through pre-order, there are many more places and ways to get beta keys for this weekend from websites for Europe and North America.
The Secret World is definitely one of the most unique MMO’s in terms of both play and subject matter, so it’s easy to see why it’s succeeding in finding popularity, especially with its blending of multiple supernatural and conspiracy elements. So, it’s really unfair to compare it to Age of Conan, where the major draw was mostly the IP itself.
Check out The Secret World‘s website for more information and a list of where to try for beta keys HERE.
Head over Heels: ZX Spectrum Developer: Elite Systems Group Publisher: Elite Systems Group Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iTouch, iPad Release Date: 11 May, 2012 Price: $1.99 – Available Here
Overview
Old school arcade games being updated and shifted onto the iOS are a popular form of nostalgia these days. The handheld device offers an easy way to transport adults back to a time where things were simpler, graphics were 8-bit and ice creams were a nickel. Or something. As a 90s kid, I don’t have a fondness in my heart for 8-bit, my fondness lies with Pokemon, Street Fighter and Super Mario. But I do appreciate the difficulty that has been sucked from all games, and seeing how far gaming has come. Originally released in 1987, Head Over Heels is firmly rooted in the old school, 8-bit arcade adventure genre, so how does it transfer to the iOS?
Gameplay
You control two different characters, Head and Heels, or Headus Mouthion and Footus Underium. These two different characters each have their own special abilities, with Head being able to jump twice a high, control himself in the air and fire doughnuts from a hooter to paralyse enemies, while Foot can run twice as fast, climb staircases Head can’t, and can carry objects in a bag. Switching between the two is as easy as pressing a button and as the game goes on you’ll find it necessary to utilise this swapping function. There are also moments when they can both be combined, with Head on top of Heels, so that they can use both powers.
The game has a quite rich storyline and range of characters with background information. It’s quite rich in the depth of that it goes to, which is a nice contrast from what is usually seen in games these days. This doesn’t appear within the gameplay, but in a document before you start playing. It’s worth taking the time to read this through, because it is quite interesting. For instance, instead of having spawn/save points, there are ‘reincarnation fish’ that you eat in order to save your spot so you can spawn there again.
This is the sort of game that you can’t jump into and learn as you go as much as you can with most games, because there is no in-game tutorial and it isn’t as self-explanatory as usual. There are over 300 rooms and most of each room offers some sort of puzzle to solve that often requires the special skills of either of your little characters. Sometimes these require some real patience and thought to get through, and that gives the app the meat that it really does contain. This isn’t the sort of thing that you can get through quickly, but you can do it in quite a few intervals thanks to the fact that the game reaches natural pauses.
Visuals
The game keeps its 8-bit charm really well, while also seeming quite updated for the phone. The fake handheld console format on the screen adds to the style of the game, while also working really well as controls. Despite the fact that the graphics can’t be described as the best quality technically, the retro style really does look fantastic.
The game itself has some extremely interesting and different graphics, though it might be hard to make out some of the details, there are things such as the head of Prince Charles on the body of a Dalek. The game is surreal and incredibly imaginative in its content, this is definitely not your typical game. The only downside to these imaginative graphics is that they aren’t super clear in the 8-bit style.
Audio
Unfortunately what is charming and enjoyable visually, does not translate over well in terms of the soundtrack. The soundtrack is also old school, and it screams nostalgia but it also screams annoyance due to a loud, repetitive set of tones that plays as more of a sound effect than real track in the background.
When you move or do an action (which will be often if you are playing the game), those familiar arcade beeps and boops will come over the speakers but they’re fairly grating and not that enjoyable to listen to. But this is coming from a 90s kid, so perhaps those who are breaking out the nostalgia will really enjoy the sounds from childhood.
Overall
Head over Heels is a revival of an old school classic game that has an interesting, and very imaginative back-story, a great throwback in terms of graphics, and a uniquely challenging approach to gaming. This is the perfect game for anyone who wants to reminisce about retro gaming, or those who just love their 8-bit games. Even for those who aren’t big fans, this is a great way to change up the pace and take a shot at something really different from what is offered these days.
There was a little problem with Mario Kart 7 when it was first released, it was discovered that there were a few accidental “shortcuts” on some of the levels. These shortcuts were in fact exploits, routes that only worked because of a mistake in the game’s programming, where exploiters could throw themselves into the water on a few of the levels and be dropped off on the other side of the lake for their trouble, far far further ahead than when they entered.
Needless to say, this kind of sucked for legit players that actually wanted to follow the course, as they didn’t stand a chance against anyone using these exploits. But, have no fear players, Nintendo is releasing an update to handle this problem. Players can get the Update data for Mario Kart 7 from the eShop for free of course after ensuring they have the latest 3DS system update. Those that don’t download the update will no longer be allowed on Online Multiplayer, but can still manage local multiplayer and single-player races of course.
It’s great seeing Nintendo taking action against this exploitation, even if it did take a little while to actually get.
The countdown is on to the release of Dirt Showdown and over 2 million cars have sacrificed themselves to the cause, and thats only in the demo version alone. Adding to the already seen gameplay, Codemasters have released the Race Hard, Party Hard trailer, showcasing the variation amongst the different environments and shows how each location transforms into no mercy arenas for thousands of fans to do battle on. Dirt Showdown will hit the shelves on 24th May for XBox 360, PS3 and PC with the demo being available for some time now, and is downloadable from XBox Live, PSN and Steam for PC users.
Thanks to Racenet, Codemasters new free extension to all their racing titles that can be used now in its beta stages, all players and competitors stats and progress can be tracked. Enough destruction and racing has already been accomplished in the games demo that according to Racenet statistics players have driven around the world 100 times using enough oil to make 5 return trips to the moon.
Just a reminder for all Australian and New Zealand residents that the special Hoonigan edition of the game is available now for preorder, offering plenty of bonuses such as unique packaging and game cash as well as online XP multiplier and liveries via an online code.
Australian film is about to see the launch of it’s first ever 3D action film. Shot on the Gold Coast and with a reported budget of $200 million Bait 3D has caused a bit of a controversy by being one of two films about sharks ripping people to pieces partially funded by the Australian government, which didn’t spend a penny on the far more tourist friendly Great Barrier Reef documentary series.
That slight craziness on behalf of the Aussie politicians aside, the movie is full of Australian actors looking to make the jump to the big leagues – and Julien McMahon (guess who’s going to die). Set in a coastal town, the paper thin yet sublimely absurd plot sees a former couple trapped in an underground supermarket by the sudden onslaught of a tsunami. Tsunamis tend to drag things with them, and in this case that happens to be a whole shiver of sharks (add that to your collective noun collection people) .
Really the trailer can speak for itself- there be bitin’ aplenty!
Patcher had made a comment that SCEA CEO Jack Tretton opposed a ban of used games in the next generation Playstation on GameTrailer’s Bonus Round. In that same episode, Patcher has revealed that he had tried out a Playstation Vita game that could be big and he is quite excited about it. This is what he said:
There is one big title on the Vita that hasn’t been announced yet that I was pretty excited about.
The common belief is that this is the unannounced Rockstar game, possibly another Grand Theft Auto. The Playstation Portable versions did sell a few million copies, so they have found success on the portable front. With the technology of the Playstation Vita, it would not be hard to fit the GTA IV’s Liberty City or even GTA V’s Los Santos. Maybe even a newly designed Vice City. If it is not Rockstar, then it may be a first party game, possibly from God of War, Killzone or even Infamous. No matter what game Patcher refers to, it should be revealed at E3. Capsule Computers will be at the event to report on the biggest announcements, including a live blog of Sony’s E3 media conference.
Australian film is about to see the launch of it’s first ever 3D action film. Shot on the Gold Coast and with a reported budget of $200 million Bait 3D has caused a bit of a controversy by being one of two films about sharks ripping people to pieces partially funded by the Australian government, which didn’t spend a penny on the far more tourist friendly Great Barrier Reef documentary series.