If you were hoping to play Darksiders 2 on June 26th then you will be disappointed to learn that THQ has just revealed that the game has been officially delayed until sometime in August of this year. The additional development time is supposedly meant to “polish and to ensure that all aspects of Darksiders 2 meet the high-quality bar the team is targeting.”
Whether this is true or not is up in the air, but considering how troubled THQ is financially, perhaps this extra time is a good thing if it will make the title better received by the public. Also a little bit more time to market the game probably wouldn’t hurt either.
Today the team at Capsule Computers were lucky enough to attend the Sydney launch of the brand new remote control toy from Parrot. The AR.Drone 2.0 uses HD cameras to create an augmented reality play experience that can be controlled from your own personal smartphone. We had a chance to fly around the event, recording videos and taking photos, even doing back flips. Well, back flips with the AR.Drone 2.0 not actually us physically doing them.
We got the chance to discuss the upcoming release, asking questions about augmented reality in the future, the application of games and the ever important question of securing your AR.Drone’s connection so people don’t fly away with it. Check out the video below for our interview.
The Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0 is the second iteration of the A.R. Drone flying device by Parrot. The device itself is very reminiscent of a hovercraft, rather than a helicopter, which is probably the first thing you will think of when you hear the words ‘flying device’. At an undisclosed location in Sydney, us here at Capsule Computers were able to give the device a nice test-flight.
The original A.R. Drone was pretty much just a toy that you could fly around and have a bit of fun with. The second iteration of this machine more closely resembles a spy device, rather than a toy for fun. This new device has improvements in the User Interface, flying controls as well as a recording method which allows you to record that which the device is seeing through its cameras.
As well as these abilities, participants are also able to attach a USB to the internals of the machine to save videos to, rather than doing it on their handheld devices. I should probably mention that the machine is controlled through mobile (cellular) phones, predominantly the iPhone and the Android type devices. I can see this device becoming useful in making home movies, or for less honourable uses (like watching the cute girl next door getting changed), though I would really like to see this being used by Hollywood and the like for really getting in close to the action.
What I really enjoyed about the A.R. Drone was how customisable you could make your experience with the device. By editing various parameters within the handheld app, you’re able to make the flying experience customisable for your own level of comfort. So if you’re a parent and don’t want your kids to lose this piece of equipment, you can easily adjust these parameters on your phone and hand the device to your child to play with, knowing that it’s likely they wont lose it in a river.
Another thing I enjoyed more was the different modes of flight available. One method is a line-of-sight method between the device and the Drone, in-which the device will always read your point of reference as forward, rather than the way it’s nose is pointing. The other flight method is a more video-game like method where it’s forward is always dictated by the direction that the camera is facing, which will require you to keep focus on both the screen and the Drone itself to keep it out of trouble. I found the first control method to be the simpler of the two, but I found the second to be the more satisfying. You can easily change between these control types in the options menu, even when you’re still in flight.
One thing that bugged me a little about the device was that the carapace was too easily dislodged by collisions, I think that this could have been easily circumvented by adding little locks on the base of the device. But then again, the engineers behind the device will probably have thought of that and deemed it a risk to the vehicles safety. Like the force of a collision could force the locks to rip the shell or something. One thing that I’d really like to see though, is some kind of “Return Home” button, where the Drone can fly on a direct path back to the owners phone., because at the moment (and while nothing is final) you have to manually retrieve your device if you don’t fly it back yourself or if its batteries are running low.
But other than those little nit-picky things, I found the device to be an enjoyable experience and I would heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in flying machines. The device is also backwards compatible with the previous versions of Ar-Drone Free Flight, but the latest version will give you all the functionality that was described in this article.
The A.R. Drone 2.0 feels like it’s going to be an amazing piece of technology once it’s released. It has all the hallmarks of an adventurous toy, or even the potential for a spy gadget or actionshot camera. The greatest value of this device is that it completely operable from your own smartphone, meaning that there is no clutter or massively insane control mechanisms. This is definitely something that you will want to be picking up for a bit of fun or other kinds of film based activities (home movies, etc.). Be sure to look for these on Shelves this June.
Check out our video embedded below for more coverage.
WIN: Pandora’s Tower (Wii) / Pandora’s Tower The Art Book
Pandora’s Tower is the latest action-packed RPG to come from Nintendo and is available exclusively on Wii. With real-time combat, motion controls, multiple endings and a unique relationship system, Pandora’s Tower offers a unique experience and an epic story that will keep you engrossed for hours.
We have one copy of the game on Nintendo Wii AND one copy of the Art Book to give away! So two lucky people will be able to win!
So how do you win? It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps:
The competition ends on the 2nd of May! We’ll be picking 2 winners, so keep an eye on the Capsule Computers Facebook page as we’ll be announcing the lucky winners just after the the 2nd!
Don’t forget-you MUST Like both pages FIRST then post the code phrase on the Capsule Computers Facebook wall, in order for your entry to be considered. The phrase is:
InnoGames has released an official trailer for its free-to-play browser game Lagoonia, which is still currently in open beta. The trailer mimics the overall story of the game, from crashing on the island, to building a society, to building relationships between characters. Besides YouTube the trailer is also going to run internationally as a TV ad, with more languages to reach more countries.
Lagoonia lets players build as they like on the tropical island their character crash lands on. Starting from fire and shelter, to be able to create lighthouses and water slides, while working on the relationships between the other characters on the island too. Lagoonia runs straight from the browser, without need of a download, so check the trailer below and the game itself HERE.
Activision and Hasbro have announced that BATTLESHIP is releasing today for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game utilizes both aspects of a military strategy and first-person shooter, to take control of a naval fleet as well as Petty Officer First Class Cole Mathis, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician.
After being trapped in a dome off the Hawaiian Islands, players will have to fight to defeat the alien attackers on land, sea, or over air. Players can use ships from Destroyers, to Aircraft Carriers, and even the USS Missouri. Attacking with air strikes, missiles, machine guns, and tracking with radar; players will try to stop the alien attack and free themselves.
The long wait is over. The next title in the Age of Monsters series, Escape from Age of Monsters, will be released by Ayopa games on April 26 for all iOS devices. The official trailer can be seen below, but before you check that out, here is some information about the upcoming title.
The game will be the first collaboration between Massive Joe Studios and Ayopa games. The game will be released in both a standard version for iPhone and an HD version for iPad that takes full advantage of the new iPad’s retina display. The game boasts some amazing hand drawn graphics, with unique animated visual created by Emmy award-winning comic book artist and animator Jeff Matsuda (of the animated Batman series). The title will also bring innovations to the genre of running games, featuring slug monster boss levels, over 60 objectives, a trophy room and a turbo mode mini-game. Both versions will be available for only $0.99 after launch, but only for a limited time. Soon after Escape HD will be raised to $1.99 so get in quick.
The free-to-play arcade cartoon shooter Battlefield Heroes, developed by Easy Studios and published by Electronic Arts, will receive new content surrounding the theme of outer space on Wednesday April 18. Leading the new content is a new map known as ‘Lunar Landing.’ Using low gravity to traverse the environment and outsmart enemies, players can jump over objects and even base jump from a vantage point to take down the enemy faction and lead their team to victory.
In addition to a new map, the space theme brings in new items that players can use on their individual heroes. These include laser-based weapons, which allow players to swap out their traditional guns and gadgets for high-powered plasma blasters to dish out damage and brand new outfits, which include a space explorer outfit and full spacesuits. To try out the new content, you can play Battlefield Heroes at www.battlefieldheroes.com. Battlefield Heroes is free to sign up and play, but it does include a microtransaction model.
EA have released a brand new gameplay trailer for NCAA Football 13, and it’s full of action, epic music, and big letters flashing on screen revealing new features.
Of note is the improved defender AI, a plethora of new options for the quarterback, and the ability to tell whether a receiver is looking at the QB when he throws the ball. Oh and the overall presentation looks absolutely fantastic. Who could have predicted that gorgeous would be an adjective attributed to college football?
Developers seem to be enjoying sounding off on Twitter profiles as of late, with the most recent being Beamdog’s Trent Oster. For those unfamiliar with Beamdog, they recently distributed MDK2 digitally through the service, which was apparently not too successful on Beamdog’s part. As a result, Oster slammed Nintendo as a whole, claiming he has no plans to use Nintendo for any future projects.
“We don’t do Nintendo development. Our previous experience with Nintendo was enough to ensure there will not be another.” said Oster on his official Twitter page. Later, he further clarified his comment with a bit more insight. “My problems with Nintendo are: requiring 6000 unit sales before payment, a certification process that took us 9 months and a 40mb limit”.
I respect his opinions as this development hell has been heard of before, but one thing that was a bit uncalled for was the little jab that came next in the continuing conversation.
“The result is a belief that Nintendo isn’t a good platform for developers. The Wii is a toy, not a console; The reason I say the Wii is a toy is the exceptionally low attach rate. You buy a Wii, Wii sports and never buy another game. Bad for devs”
This is where I fully disagree with Oster. Yes, the Wii is a casual console, but that doesn’t make it any less of a platform. There are plenty of “core” experiences on the Wii to be found and anyone who says different might as well be searching with blinders on. The Wii released in 2006, and if Beamdog didn’t understand the market for the console four years after launching, then they really have no right to throw Nintendo under the bus for their port’s shortcomings.
This may just be a smart business move to drum up sales for MDK2, as Oster even linked the WiiWare version’s detail page on his feed more recently. I however see this as a one-man pity party from a creative mind who has talent, but refuses to get up after taking a fall. With the Wii-U coming out soon, it’ll be interesting to see if there is a change of heart, as saying no more Nintendo is currently a narrow minded way to look at the future.
