Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have today announced that Batman: Arkham City, one of last year’s most critically acclaimed games, is now getting the Game of the Year treatment. Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition will feature all five previously released downloadable content packs Catwoman Pack, Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, Challenge Map Packand Arkham City Skins Pack.
As well as the brand new, yet to be released final chapter ‘Harley Quinn’s Revenge’. Which will expand on the ending of Batman: Arkham City with two hours of brand new gameplay as players interchange between both Batman and Robin to uncover Harley Quinn’s sinister plot.
Don’t worry if you already own Batman: Arkham city, you won’t need to re-buy Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition to experience Harley Quinn’s Revenge. A stand-alone DLC pack will be available for download via Playstation Network and Xbox LIVE beginning on May 30.
As for Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition itself, the game is set to be released on September 7 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Bloodforge Developer: Climax Group Publisher: Microsoft Studios Platforms: XBLA Release Date: April 25, 2012 Price: 1200 MS Points – Available Here
Overview:
The Xbox LIVE Arcade has been really missing out on a solid hack’n’slash style game in the vein of God of War or Ninja Gaiden lately, but luckily Climax Group is releasing Bloodforge to try and fill this gap for players that are feeling the void. But, the question is, can Bloodforge satisfy what they are missing?
Part of the XBLA “Aracde Next” program, Bloodforge features the new 400 starting gamerscore and 30 achievements. So, it’s being pretty well totted just for being a part of the program, with a lot of people getting interested just from how the game looks. Does the game deserve this attention based on its gameplay, is the real question, which can be found out as you read on.
Story: Bloodforge tells the story of a Celtic Berserker named Crom who has tired of battle and settled down with a wife. Finally living in peace, his dreams remain trapped in the battlefields of his past. One day however, his dream is different foretelling his slaying of the ruler of the gods, Arawn. When he wakes, Crom finds his home under attack by Arawn’s forces to try and prevent Crom’s prophetic dream from coming to pass. Unfortunately, even gods fail to understand self-fulfilling prophesy.
The story is broken up into 6 chapters, each ending in a boss. There actually is a fairly solid story of Crom seeking vengeance against those that took his wife from him, though anyone versed in these style of games may be able to deduce plot points before they happen. This isn’t really a bad thing either as the game delivers exactly what the player expects. If I had to sum up the game in 4 words though, it would be “God of Berserker Gaiden”.
The characters themselves though are really a mishmash of different Celtic mythology. Most come from Irish mythology specifically, but others derive from Anglo-Saxon and Welsh. It is really interesting to see a game feature less widely known deities, though the lack of mythological continuity is kind of a let down. A series that went through the Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, etc. mythologies separately, might have been more engaging for newcomers to those mythologies.
Visuals:
When the information first started releasing about Bloodforge, a lot of people were very interested by it’s Frank Miller-esque art style. Largely dark, with a scant few colors outside of black and white does keep the art consistent throughout the game. The major other color is obviously the red blood strewn about willy-nilly by player and foe alike, which there is a lot of and is essential for Crom’s progression of power. Blood remains after every battle, collected on the snow, and often precedes Crom, so player’s can uses it as a land mark when exploring the areas for secrets.
Most of the chapters have there own unique environments, with environments that vastly differentiate between each other. From the snow covered rocky terrain of Crom’s home, to murky swampland, to the perfectly geometrical based homeworld of Arawn. There is a little problem with navigating though, which is good that blood can be used as a landmark, but with some of it being splashed where Crom hasn’t been yet, it doesn’t always prove helpful for indicating where you have or haven’t been yet. Which leads to trying to decipher actual landmarks, but this is often difficult from the very dark surroundings that often look almost the same.
Audio:
The music of Bloodforge fits the setting and mood, with a lot of drums and deep horns. It fits the levels and plot point as well, if there is heavy rain that’s punctuated with lightening, then music is punctuated with hard drum beats. The music never really feels out of place or gets on your nerves either, which is a good thing as the gameplay will do that in and of itself sometimes. Though the music does have a very big range, mainly being a lot of beats and crescendos.
Voice acting is done fairly decent, with characters fitting the voices and dialogue. The more overly masculine characters have far less to say and even in one case less articulate, but it never feels over done or stupid. Crom as a character comes off as less spoken, more used to speaking with his sword than his words. He is generally talked too more than anything else, which is good as his dialogue at times can make you roll your eyes, but the game wasn’t really made to have profound dialogue. It’s more of it is what, it is, now go kill some dudes.
Gameplay: Bloodforge is entirely hack’n’slash gameplay, not trying to shake things up with puzzles or platforming, which is actually a good thing because you know exactly what the game will be like after the first half and hour. This isn’t a bad thing either, it doesn’t get too boring or feel too repetitive because there is a large amount of variety when it comes to the enemies. It does require a lot of dodging though, health can only be recharged through health that you can find, but use whenever though if you run out you’ll be running on minimum health until you find more.
The game also only features 4 different weapons for Crom; a sword, a hammer, claws, and a crossbow, but they are upgraded regularly through the campaign, so they don’t feel outdated as it goes along. You can only use one weapon at a time obviously, so it really comes down to personal preference for what to use in combat or whichever you get the most blood with. The crossbow you can use with any of the other weapons, but until it’s fully upgraded isn’t very useful accept to keep a combo going. After it is fully upgraded though it is a little over powered, but doesn’t gain much blood, though it will make short work of almost every enemy.
Blood in the game acts as an upgrade system, but the only thing you can really buy and upgrade are special magic attacks that aren’t really necessary. They can be helpful in a bind, but like health they don’t recharge and must be filled by finding it, so more often then not you’ll either never use it for fear of needing it later or it use all up and have it empty most of the time.
Outside of the campaign the game also features challenge arenas, where the player can face rounds of enemies. The challenges also allow the player to use one mod point per wave to make the game harder or easier. Use of mod points affects the amount of blood received, either positively or negatively, and then those blood scores can be used to challenge your friends to try and beat them.
The game isn’t completely bug free though, but the major problems are gone by the second half of the game. Jumping at some of the earlier enemies can sometimes get Crom strangely stuck on their head for a bit, which can cut into the flow of battle. The camera is a bit glitchy too at the beginning, getting caught on some of the game objects and jittering because of it. This doesn’t happen in the later levels, so if you can just get past it, it’s fine.
Overall: Bloodforge is a solid hack’n’slash that fans of the genre should find enjoyable and fun. The game is a bit short overall, but as an arcade game it isn’t really a problem. The difficulty curve can be a bit formidable at first, maybe even requiring to restart a chapter to have more health at the boss, but with the second boss being the hardest from there the game isn’t nearly as frustrating and is a lot more fun. The mythologies as well are a nice break from Greek and Roman, making the game a bit more unique and certainly more interesting. This is one you should consider checking out.
Taito Corporation, the makers of Bubble Bobble and other games, have released a new game on the iOS App Store, but it’s only for Australia and New Zealand right now. Zombie Carnival let’s players build their own carnival and fill with zombies of all different kinds. What do you do with a carnival filled with zombies, you ask? Why you take over the world of course!
Australian and New Zealand fans of Taito should head on over the App Store now and download Zombie Carnival for free HERE. Don’t fret though worldwide readers, the limited release won’t be permanent. Once the folks down under have had a chance to check the game out and see how it works in the wild, the game will be made available worldwide.
Gameloft, arguably one of the biggest and prolific houses in the iOS game development industry, have created many games loved by hardcore and casual gamers alike over the years. They have given us high-end experiences on mobile devices, showing us what can really be done on this new and growing platform.
In the meantime, more casual games such as Angry Birds and Jetpack Joyride have taken the market by storm, with simple but engaging gameplay for five minutes of fun, to hours of addictive gameplay. Gameloft have ventured fearless into this space with their latest title, Shark Dash.
Story
So there’s a load of sharks hanging out in a bath tub, chillaxing and having fun. Then a group of evil rubber duckies jump in and steal away the female shark. So I guess you’re on a mission to “save the princess”? Okay, so the story is just as random and nonsensical as any other physics-based casual game out there, but the simple, cartoony characters and overall presentation only adds to the fun and engaging atmosphere this game creates.
Gameplay
There are comparisons that can be drawn between Shark Dash and Angry Birds. Your job is to catapult sharks around the place by grabbing their tails, pulling them back and letting them go, in order to chomp down the rubber duckies littered throughout each level. There are also various objects and platforms set up to help and hinder you in reaching this goal. However, this is where the comparison ends.
There are different types of blocks that react differently to water or touch. There are special elements like floating mines you need to be wary of, or, at times, create a controlled explosion to get rid of before continuing to solve the level. There are rubber rings that speed up your shark and help him get to hard to reach places, and there are tubes which guide your shark around the levels.
Different sharks have special abilities you must utilise to solve different levels, and some levels may even feature two sharks you need to keep alive.
There are 4 stages, each with their own look and special components introduced, and there are more coming soon. Each stage has 24 levels available, so there’s plenty to sink your teeth into. When you complete a level, you will receive a number of stars; one for eating all the ducks and completing the level, one for using the par amount of shots, and another for collecting all the coins.
At times, the physics will seem to work randomly, making it a little on the frustrating side to complete some of the more complex and precision-based puzzles, but most levels are all down to figuring out how to get to all the duckies in the least amount of shots.
Audio & Visual
In the level selection screen, a jaunty little track keeps up the cartoony craziness to the world, whereas the game itself relies on the great sound effects and character voices to accentuate the action happening onscreen.
The look of this game is really what sells it. The cutesy, colourful cartoon feel makes the graphics really pop, and a joy to watch as the level unfolds. The mini-sharks are cute and cuddly-looking, and they even become happy when they’re put next to one of their sharky friends. Each time a level is completed (all ducks are eaten), they jump out of the water, spinning and playing, which always makes the player feel better even after a frustrating level.
The water is simulated well enough to pass for a game like this, and the frame rate is good even on older devices. The environments and blocks are well designed and polished. Everything’s painted with good detail, which somehow works really well with the cartoony design and look to the game.
Overall
This game is great. If you like physics puzzlers, then this will be perfect for you. If you like to play casual games from time to time, there couldn’t be a more entertaining and endearing game to choose for such a purpose. If you love Gameloft’s usual level of polish and quality they infuse into their games, then you won’t be disappointed with Shark Dash.
EA Sports have released a new trailer in anticipation of the release of the UEFA EURO 2012 DLC for FIFA 12, explaining and highlighting the new Expedition Mode.
Expedition Mode takes a unique approach to the tournament, allowing you to build your own fantasy team and take them through the 53 teams in Europe to become Europe’s best.
You start out with either a player of your choice or your Virtual Pro, then customise your team name, kit, colours and whatnot, and then your team will be randomly selected from the pool of reserves from all the nations in Europe. The Mode hub takes a similar layout to that of FIFA Street, although you can move across the continent but only along special “roads” which unlock as you defeat different teams. Defeat a team once and you’ll get to choose a player from their reserves, twice for a substitute, and a third time to be able to select one of the nation’s starters.
Each time you defeat a nation for the third time you’ll unlock a “mosaic” piece, and to complete the mosaic picture you will need to beat every country, meaning you will need to win 159 matches. Seems like a strange incentive to be working towards but I would hope there’s some hefty achievement points to be unlocked with it.
The EURO 2012 DLC launches at the end of the week on April 24
Keen to have a sneak peek at Ghost Recon: Future Soldier? Well, if you’re a Sydneysider then you’re in luck! Awesome gaming event, Insert Coin(s) is having a Ghost Recon: Future Soldier launch party on May 17, a week ahead of the release date. The game will be playable across multiple screens, so there won’t have to be any fighting with others to try and get a go at some Future Soldier goodness.
Insert Coin(s) is an event that pays tribute to old school arcade games, good music, art and geek culture. Oh and it previews awesome games like Ghost Recon. It’s just $10 for entrance to the event, which is quite value considering the awesomeness that is inside the event. Plus, there is a milk bar (which serves alcoholic milkshakes, spiders and free candy) and a New-York style dog vendor.
Plus, if you dress up in military costume you have a chance to win exclusive prizes from Ubisoft, so get yourself kitted up and grab some free swag! Plus, if you get the most likes on the Insert Coin(s) Facebook album by the end of the week then you win FREE ENTRY for the next event for you and four of your friends.
Whether you’re a hipster, a hipster geek, or just a plain arcade gamer geek, this is definitely a fantastic event for you. The Ghost Recon: Future Soldier launch event is on May 17 at Oxford Art Factory with the doors opening at 6pm for just $10 at the door.
For more information on the event visit the site HERE and the Facebook page HERE
The latest One Piece film was announced last year and just this past week had it’s title revealed to be One Piece Film Z. Now a teaser trailer for the hotly anticipated One Piece movie has made it’s way online and boy do they take the word ‘teaser’ seriously.
The trailer can be seen below. The film is set to feature a new villain created by One Piece author Eiichiro Oda. Alongside an Oda created villain, the film will be the first One Piece movie set within the New World.
One Piece Film Z is set to hit theatres across Japan on the 15th of December, 2012. Check out the trailer for One Piece Film Z below and let us know what you think of the upcoming film in the comments section.
Devil May Cry: HD Collection Developer: Capcom, Pipeworks Software Publisher: Capcom Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 Release Date: April 3, 2012 Price: $39.99 BUY NOW!
Overview
Before Vanquish, Before Bayonetta, and before God of War, Dante burst onto the scene in 2001 and introduced the world to a new type of action game. While third person hack and slashes were very much around 11 years ago, the Devil May Cry franchise brought about a more stylized and polished form of combat, with a killer soundtrack and top notch character designs to match. Today, the series has a hardcore cult following due to Dante’s past masterpieces, and lately, the entire fanbase has been awaiting the series reboot from Capcom, simply titled DmC.
I’ll admit it. I don’t care for HD remakes that much. Due to how much the industry has changed, playing an older game on a current console is just not the same. The flaws are more obvious, the newer graphical designs can seem forced and pixelated, and what was exciting and fresh then is now below average by today’s standards. This collection is for the first three Devil May Cry titles though, and if Capcom know anything about their fans, it’s how to tap on our nostalgia soft spots. How does everything fare as a complete package? Here is my review for Devil May Cry: HD Collection.
Story
For those who were unaware, the Devil May Cry series is not actually in order in terms of release, as Devil May Cry 3 serves as a prequel to the first game. Even with the odd numbering though, this franchise’s narrative is still as intriguing as ever and of course stars the badass demon hunter, Dante. The original title has Trish send Dante on a journey to take out the demon emperor, Mundus on Mallet Island, while the second steers to another territory and has our hero fight off a sharply dressed demonic entity known as Arius on yet another mysterious isle. In the prequel (DmC3), players get to learn more about Dante’s brother, as well as how the shop titled “Devil May Cry” came to be.
Those who are new to the franchise don’t have to pick a title based on it’s numerical order, as each plot stands strong on it’s own and doesn’t require playthroughs of the other titles on the disc to properly enjoy. With that said, Dante’s own story is expanded upon greatly throughout the trilogy, and learning more about the cocky main protagonist is plenty of reason to go through each Devil May Cry, even if the second isn’t quite up to par with the rest. One of the strongest elements this series had going for it was characters, and luckily each antagonist or ally you come across still has the same charismatic or sadistic charms, and that agelessness of the cast is further proof of why this trilogy is still very much relevant in today’s world of un-fulfilling sequels that are filled shallow and meaningless encounters.
Gameplay
Running through all of the gameplay aspects of each game in the collection could take up pages, so with these remakes it would be best to just inform you of the basics. Devil May Cry as a whole plays out like your standard hack and slash action title, but with flips and flare thrown in to make the entire experience stylistic. Dante is a graceful swordsman, and can run up walls or float over an enemy to perform a kill. Players are also equipped with a set of pistols that can be used at anytime, which allows for a bit more variety to be used while taking down demons or the famed underworld bosses within the games. Bringing the combat full circle are the combos, which track the number of hits the player gets off before being interrupted. The more violence you incite, the more you are rewarded. That concept is the heartbeat of the trilogy and is honestly what made the games stand out then, and even more so now.
Evasive maneuvers also tie into the combat mechanics well, and make it easier to continue a chain without being stopped. Even though the story is what pushes the game along, the ultimate objective in each stage is to perform flawlessly and obtain the highest rank possible at the end. Weapons can be upgraded over time to make this easier, and each stage can be revisited later for those who crave perfection. It’s a solid scheme that allows for plenty of reason to keep going back in for more and luckily, extra characters can be unlocked to play through the entire game with all over again (for the 2nd and 3rd installment) that have a completely different feel from Dante.
As far as differences go, the black sheep of the trilogy is Devil May Cry 2. Not only is this title the easiest of the three, but it’s also the shortest and the most mediocre. Yes, the narrative and general gameplay are still decent, but a lot of the challenge was taken out for this entry and boss battles require a lot less strategy compared to the much more in-depth fights seen in Devil May Cry 1 and 3. On a higher note, I did find the world to be a bit more open and easier to explore, as it’s easy to see that this sequel attempted to rid the linear aspects from Dante’s first outing. It’s still the weakest out of all of the Devil May Cry series, but playing through all of these years later has definitely made me appreciate it’s existence more.
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening is the standout release on the disc, and players have been treated to the Special Edition, which includes new bosses, the option for faster combat, and a lengthy yet enjoyable survival mode. This title also brought about varied fighting styles, which gives the player a choice of six different styles and switch between the lot at the beginning of each stage.
Visuals
Everything I have mentioned so far should be known about Devil May Cry as to be honest, these three titles are old and a good number of us beat them to death years ago. This is an HD Collection though, and while the combat and story is the same, the graphics have been revamped entirely…well, almost entirely that is. Each model has been given a new coat of paint, making them now appear much smoother and ridding the characters from any unwanted pixelation from the past. Dante, Trish, Vergil, and the rest look better than ever before, and animations have been stabilized to run fluidly on any high definition television. This is great news considering the high emphasis on stylized animations, but those who wanted the same treatment for cutscenes will be a bit disappointed as they have remained untouched, leading to a glaring change when going from combat to a pre-rendered movie.
The textures within the environments appear to be a bit smoother, but it’s also a bit obvious that these areas were given much less attention than Dante’s (or any other characters) model. It wasn’t too long ago that I gave the original Devil May Cry another spin though, and I must say the gothic charm of the art design is still very appealing to myself, pixelated or not. As far as menus go, the main menu is rather generic and only acts as your hub to choose a title to play. Once you are in a game, you also must completely reboot the disc to choose another title. This is the norm for HD collections, but it would have been nice if Capcom could have combined content that was originally split on two discs (like the two campaigns from Devil May Cry 2) into one game.
As far as the sound goes, things have definitely improved, but nothing has really changed. That’s a good thing, if you were wondering. The rock soundtrack still blares up when enemies approach and what was great voicework then still stands strong today. Yeah, there are still some awkward pauses in dialogue and a few hiccups with the score, but it’s hard not to appreciate how much went into making this dark atmosphere come alive.
Overall
It’s easy to hate the existence of a HD Collection, as if done wrong they can harm one’s perspective of what might have been their favorite game of all time. Devil May Cry’s treatment however was pulled off to near perfection, stapling one of the most influential series together into one package for fans to enjoy for the first time, or all over again. While the artistic design will always remain as stunning in my eyes, the incredible combat system keeps Dante not only feeling timeless, but legendary as one of the heroes that truly kicked the action genre in the ass and showed the world how it was done…with style.
With the huge success that was War for Cybertron, it’s no wonder High Moon Studios have already started heavily promoting the follow-up, Fall of Cybertron. This time, we have been treated to a new trailer, showing off Grimlock in action. As the clip states, Grimlock will focus on melee attacks with his sword and shield, and honestly looks fantastic as this character seems to be one of the more unique within the game.
Although it’s a bit lesser of note, I also thought it was nice to have a developer so passionate about this project explaining how much went into creating the Dinobot, as all that passion has surely went in to making this title into yet another blockbuster for the team, jam packed full of fan service. You can check out the trailer below, and stay tuned as there is sure to be even more footage release as the August 28th release date for Fall of Cybertron nears.
If that isn’t an article title that gets your attention then I don’t know what is. Though Aksys Games themselves have not revealed whether or not Record of Agarest War 2 would be getting a special edition of any kind, Amazon.com went ahead and revealed it for them.
According to the updated listing for Record of Agarest War 2, a Limited Edition version of the game will be available for only $10 more and anyone who purchases it will contain an art book, the game itself, heart shaped compress towels and apparently a blow up character doll…
Now anyone who purchased the “Really Naughty Limited Edition” of Record of Agarest War 1 may remember that it came with an Ellis pillowcase and a breast mousepad, so it will be interesting to see what this Limited Edition will look like when it is officially revealed by Aksys.
The latest One Piece film was announced last year and just this past week had it’s title revealed to be One Piece Film Z. Now a teaser trailer for the hotly anticipated One Piece movie has made it’s way online and boy do they take the word ‘teaser’ seriously.
