The Bluecoats – North & South is set to be released through publishers Microïds, more than twenty years after the original release of the game, adapted from the Bluecoats comics books.
In the new version of North & South players can access an in-game shop with lots of items, including ones that can really make an effect on the outcome of the game. And unlike the original 1989 version, the battles between the North and South army are more user-friendly, and games can quickly move their units in real-time on the field. As well as this, the objective is based around resources annihilation, instead of annihilation of the enemy, so if there are still resources then as long as the enemy can continue to make new units then the game will continue, creating a longer game.
The Bluecoats – North & South will be released on PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad on May 10, 2012, with Android versions to be released later on.
Max Payne 3 has released a new video in the Design and Technology series, focusing on Max’s signature movie, Bullet Time. Given that Max Payne has to take on leagues of enemies, Bullet Time and Shoot Dodge are the handiest features in your arsenal as the badass ex-cop. Bullet Time and Shoot Dodge are two of the features that really set the game apart from other third-person shooters, and bring the game onto another level.
The video shows off how you can slow down time, make some cinematic and totally kick ass shots, and take out entire rooms of guys. Not only does it give you that tactical advantage when the odds are severely stacked against your favour, but it looks damn awesome, and you get some cool cinematics out of it.
Check out the video below, and let us know what you think about this new take on the classic Max Payne feature.
For more info on Max Payne 3 as it comes out keep tuned to Capsule Computers, or visit the official site.
Max Payne 3 will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 on May 15, 2012 in the US and May 18, 2012 in Australia and Europe, with the PC version launching on May 29th, 2012 in the US and June 1st, 2012 in Australia and Europe.
We have 1 copy of Warriors Orochi 3to give away on XBOX 360 courtesy of Tecmo KOEI. All you have to do to win is to simply leave a comment on our review and let us know what you think of the game. (click on the link below go to the review)
Ridge Racer: Unbounded Developer: Bugbear Entertainment Publisher: Namco Bandai Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Release Date: March 27, 2012 Price: $59.99 BUY NOW!
Overview
Much like Madden, we as the gaming public have grew to expect a new Ridge Racer title nearly every year, for just about every platform. While quantity with the franchise has always been a definite factor in keeping the speed alive, many could argue that quality has been sub-par at best with the past few releases, and Namco seem to be ready to change all of that with Ridge Racer: Unbounded. Think of the classic experience you’d expect, add the bang of a Michael Bay film, and a pinch of arcade racing charm and you have Unbounded, which is definitely a good thing for an aging IP. Are explosions and a few new tricks enough though to get this series back on track? Here is my review for Ridge Racer: Unbounded.
Gameplay
Those accustomed to the classic feel of a Ridge Racer game will quickly learn that Unbounded has steered far off route, as this entry has been created by Bugbear Entertainment, the brains behind the highly explosive FlatOut franchise. Taking place in Shatter Bay, players must take the role of an illegal street racer, shedding through the streets against several competitors. These roads aren’t all smooth sailing though, as shops, signs, and all of the urban fauna are ready to block your path, and luckily are almost everything is fully destructible. It’s a familiar concept, but Unbounded goes for gold with it’s big-boom gimmickry, working wonders to keep the experience feeling fresh throughout the nine districts in the main mode.
Controls couldn’t be simpler, as all you have to do to take off is simply hold down the right trigger to accelerate and use the analog to steer your way through the map. Due to the fact that almost any other opponent can destroy you at any given time, braking is also very important, but thankfully this task is performed without a sweat as bringing your ride to a full stop is as simple as giving the left trigger a tap. The prime feature of these cars though comes in the drifting, which can be done by holding down the B button while making a quick turn. This mechanic did take some getting used to, but it’s a mandatory practice that one will have to use to simply survive.
Drifting deserves a lot more mention for a number of reasons, however. A power gauge can be filled by pulling off drifts, which then allows players to execute a nitro-charged boost to gain some ground. This tactic proves useful in Demolition races, which require the player to destroy everything in their path to make it to the finish by boosting through enemies and literally “fragging” the competition. It doesn’t end with your enemies, either, as there are several large obstacles such as coffee houses and diesels that can be plowed through if you have enough power earned when approached. Yes, it’s quite the exciting feat to see this in action, but for some reason the developers thought it would be wise to turn these action sequences into a cutscene, which results in the madness being ripped out of your own hands as you are forced to watch the same canned sequence each time you pull of the stunt. It’s a bit disappointing to say the least, but even more frustrating considering that you have to gain back control after the scene plays out, which can easily lead to a collision.
Thankfully, there is a good amount of variety in Shatter Bay, as there are plenty of non-demolition styled races that players can partake in. From the likes of time trials, all out drifting wars and of course the straight-forward Shindo races, these extra inclusions act as a nice vacation from the intense main match-ups, and feel a lot more traditional as the main goal is simply to speed to the finish as quick as possible. Unbounded’s environments keep the core concept in tact though, and even though you may be cruising for a different purpose, you are sure to see plenty of destruction along the way. To keep you coming back and going in for more, experience points can be earned for simply placing in the top three of a race, which can then be used to unlock more districts, vehicles, and pieces of environment for the track editor (which we will get to in a moment).
As exciting as the races can be, I still have a few complaints with how everything plays out as a whole. The AI is actually brilliant, as they are fueled to win whatever type of match you may be competing in. The problem with this lies in the challenge though, which is sure provide a stiff learning curve to newcomers. For demolition matches, the game places you at 11th out of 12 racers. This means that it’s your job to fight through ruthless AI to get into first. Just when you think you’re safely tearing through ranks, a frag can come from another racer pulling off a boost that can set you back a good six places. As I mentioned earlier, the canned sequences can also be harmful, as I had several occasions where a cutscene would finish up just as a foe from behind rammed my car with a boost. Now, I do enjoy a challenge and a good part of Unbounded’s charm is the unforgiving AI, but due to how easy it is to crash, a lot of victories within the game come down to trial, error, and a bit of luck.
Track editing allows players to create their own city to race in by placing runnels, turns, loops, and ramps all over the road to make a distinct track. Once you have a good bit of pieces unlocked for it, this editor is quite unique to the genre and also very broad. Making a track is done with a grid-based scheme, so placement is super-easy, and players are even allowed to test out their creations as they build in order to perfect their urban masterpiece. I designed a track with nothing but loops to test this out at first, but it didn’t play out too well. That’s the fun of this mode though, as there is nothing but freedom and you can design just about any type of track you could possibly want. An online mode stacks onto this editor to near perfection as well, letting players create a city for others to race in, where the challenge comes in beating the top score. Online mode also offers daily challenges to earn XP as well as the standard fare of racing, which can lead to an almost infinite amount of hours soaked into the game.
Visuals/Audio
I know many racing fans hold the recently released Forza 4 or Gran Turismo as the benchmark for visuals for the genre, but Ridge Racer: Unbounded’s graphical stylings in my opinion surpass what those games offered as they are simply more unique. Think of Blur, a bit of Split Second, and the fine vehicle detail of the earlier mentioned titles and you really have what gives this title it’s appeal. The shading is simply superb and makes these cities come alive, with the sun usually casting it’s light through buildings, making environments appear highly realistic but still original. The animations of the destruction are also done in a AAA manner, with concrete walls crumbling as you skid past and glass shattering from windows at the lightest touch. The cars also can take massive damage, and this shows as you take hits from opponents, making your ride appear as if it’s been through hell as you cross the finish line.
As far as a soundtrack goes, think dubstep. These beats bode well for the thrills and even if you’re not a fan, they can easily be muted so you can treat yourself to the sounds of the highway. Those familiar with Skrillex and The Crystal Method are going to love the in-game music, and I personally have discovered a few lesser known artists that are actually quite good on their own just by playing through Shatter Bay’s districts. Unbounded also creates an intense atmosphere with the environmental sounds, as hearing the effect of a oncoming opponent boosting behind you is sure to keep you on edge as you propel through each area, with revving engines always pushing the player to go faster. Explosions also sound great, and assist even further in bringing the “blow everything up” concept full circle.
Overall
Ridge Racer: Unbounded is by no means the perfect racer, nor is it the most original. It is however a fantastic addition to the genre as it offers a simplistic yet unique form of challenge through it’s vehicular-combat driven races, which are just as fun to watch as they are to play. Having a track editor included with online play intertwined was also a brilliant move, as it’s sure to give all budding street-racers plenty of reason to keep coming back for more. Ridge Racer as a franchise doesn’t get a lot of respect due to the many missteps of past entries, and yes, you have every right to be cautious going into Unbounded. Fret not with this one though, as this is the return to glory for the namesake, and one of the most enjoyable thrill-rides to hit the genre since Burnout.
Konami’s prized Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will be coming to the PlayStation Vita eventually, but until then Konami has decided to tide over fans with a few screenshots for each of the two games included in this release of the HD Collection.
The images can be seen below, with the first few pictures being of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty while the last few are from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, it should be easy to tell which one is which as MGS3 has obviously fared better with its HD upgrade. While many may have already picked up the HD collection when it released late last year, the Vita version offers a multitude of touchscreen capabilities and the benefits of being a portable title.
EA Games have released a new trailer for the forthcoming FPS game Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The new trailer features some footage of the intense gameplay that has become a staple of the Medal of Honor series as well as revealing many of the playable and present countries in the game.
In what may very well be a first, the Australian SASR will be part of an FPS war game. This is great news for Australian FPS fans who have often felt shafted in war games. Regardless, this game certainly looks impressive as you can see from the trailer below.
What do you think of Medal of Honor: Warfighter? Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.
Warriors Orochi 3 Developer: Omega Force Publisher: Tecmo Koei Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PSN Release Date: March 20, 2012 Price: $59.99 – Available Here
Overview: Occasionally in the video game world developers choose to combine their franchises together in a mash up of universes. Sometimes this happens with two different developers working together in collaboration with one another, other times it is one developer taking multiple franchises and putting them together. That is exactly what Tecmo Koei has done with Warriors Orochi 3, as it takes characters from nearly all of their franchises and puts them together in one game, offering what may be the ultimate Warriors styled game we’ve ever seen.
Story: While many people can easily guess the beginning to a Warrior styled game depending on which franchise they are playing, Warriors Orochi 3 provides something new right out of the gate. A gigantic Hydra has appeared in the world, shattering the timeline and hunting down every single warrior who may stand against it.
Players enter a world that is nearly destroyed by the Hydra, where only three generals are left alive and attempting a last ditch effort to slay the Hydra before it wipes out the last of the resistance and destroys the world. Struggling against the might of an overpowering foe these three generals face their doom; however a brand new character named Kaguya freezes time in an effort to save their lives and set them on the path to defeat the Hydra and its forces.
You see, Kaguya has the ability to travel through time and she has tasked the last three generals with going back in time to revisit battles and save warriors who have died in the past, so that they may help in the future battle against the Hydra. With the ability to travel through time and change the past, warriors from every nation and even new fighters must join forces to slay the Hydra and stay alive… are you up to the task?
Perhaps one of the biggest complaints that will arise whenever someone plays a game like Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors is that the overall storyline will still be the same, as both of those franchises draw from a historic period in, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Sengoku period respectively. As such this can sometimes make for some repetitive storytelling as fans play each consecutive title.
However those who have that mindset when they look at Warriors Orochi 3 will instantly have it shattered as this title offers not only a brand new storyline that bears no resemblance to anything fans of Tecmo Koei’s Warrior titles have seen before. While the game may still offer literally over a hundred people to play as, many of them are ones we have seen before but this is for the best as not only do fans experience a brand new plotline with these characters as they face off against their own destruction. This unique story offers quite an enjoyable experience, especially for longtime fans of the series.
Audio & Visual: In an effort to please fans and make sure that the game would still be released overseas, Tecmo Koei chose not to include English voice acting, meaning that the only voice track available is the Japanese voice track. The decision to not include the English voice acting actually does the game a bit of a favor as most fans appreciate the original Japanese cast. This does however mean that you will need to play close attention to any text that is shown off to understand what is being said, and with the action being as heavy as it is at times, it is easy to miss what is being said.
The game itself looks about as well as you can expect, with relatively impressive character designs, especially on the newly added characters. Enemies are poorly varied however, especially basic enemy generals as they all feature the same type of appearance that can grow tiresome after a short period of time. On the other hand, all of the Musou attacks are impressive and powerful looking.
Gameplay: As always the bulk of the time players spend playing the game will feature their characters slashing through hundreds of enemies, sometimes even thousands, as they complete various objectives and finish battles. This core mechanic goes relatively unchanged, though players can now choose from three different characters that they want to bring into battle at any given time.
These three fighters can be switched between in battle and each of them has their own separate Musou gauge and Health gauge which is fortuitous in difficult encounters. This includes the ability to use a “True Triple Attack” that features all three warriors entering the battle at once to attack nearby enemies and deal out massive damage to enemy generals.
Another interesting and highly enjoyable mechanic is the ability to shift between fighters in the middle of a combo attack, allowing players to literally switch between all three fighters multiple times, unleashing an onslaught of various attacks that will slay everything in your way in what has to be the most satisfying hack and slash action I’ve ever experienced in a Warriors title.
As players experience the story mode they will enter into a base camp, or hub area where they can purchase new weaponry or fuse weapons together to create more powerful armaments. In this base camp you can also speak with other heroes you have rescued and increase your bonds with them which can sometimes unlock special missions or allow you to even hold a banquet to raise your bond level with fellow fighters. In this area you will also find the stage select screen where you can select what battle to enter into next.
Each battle you fight against can either be a side-battle or a main mission which will help drive the story along. As you battle through these missions you will unlock more warriors that will help swell your ranks and offer you a chance to play as them in future battles. It is worth noting that there are also moments where you will see allied generals fall in battle, dying in a way you cannot avoid.
However in a game where time is a road that goes both ways, players can unlock battles that occurred before said battle, and offer a way to change that future battle. This creates a “Redux” version of said mission which will usually still play out nearly the same, except for one or two small changes that will allow the player to save that warriors life and add them to your army.
In the beginning you will find yourself only able to choose from a handful of warriors, however nearly every single warrior you save can be played as. This certainly creates a quandary for players who quickly like three fighters, considering Warriors Orochi 3 contains over 120 characters to choose from and every single one of them has a unique weapon and play style that offers just a glimpse at the massive amount of content included in this one game.
While characters from both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors already swell the ranks, there are plenty of crossover characters from other titles such as Ayane from Dead or Alive, Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, Joan of Arc from Bladestorm and more. To top it off there are also plenty of brand new original characters as well. This massive amount of characters allows for players to quite literally create their dream team of fighters and take unleash them on their foes.
While there is plenty of content on single player, Warriors Orochi 3 also features co-op gameplay that allows players to enter a battle with you and help you fight. However this mechanic is poorly implemented and it is difficult to find anyone who will fight with you without having to wait for a while. On the other hand, there is a brand new gameplay mode that offers players a chance to create stages of their very own, and that mode is called “Musou Battlefield.”
The Musou Battlefield will allow players to create and share their own stages as well as download other creations. The creation system isn’t very in-depth but it does offer a nice side-option to the main story that will expand the massive amount of options you have in Warriors Orochi 3.
Overall: If for some reason you have never played a Warriors game of any kind before, then Warriors Orochi 3 is calling to you. This title could easily claim the crown of being the best Warriors game to date and my personal favorite. Not only is it packed full of content and more characters than you can shake a stick at, but it also features countless hours of gameplay.
Sure, the combat still revolves around simplistic hacking and slashing, but it has evolved beyond that by offering players seamless switching between fighters in battle. With a brand new storyline, Warriors Orochi 3 is a must have for any fan of the Warriors series and a game that should not be passed up by those who love action titles.
Coming to stores on the 18th of April, 2012 is Trials Evolution, the Motocross Stunt game for Xbox360. The Map Editor is a device within the game that allows players to create stunning maps that can be both challenging and complex, which is sure to add to the overall gameplay experience of the game.
Trials Evolution is on every front the next dimension of the smash-hit, award-winning Trials HD. Bust out of the warehouse into an outdoor world of night and day, curving drive lines, and spectacular scenery. Multiplayer comes alive, in your living room or on Xbox LIVE. Build your own tracks with the included editor or download those of any other player from the new Track Central.
Be sure to check out the trailer, embedded below, for some amazing examples of the kinds of maps that can be created using the editor.
A special promotion for Xbox Live games has just hit the Windows Phone Marketplace, where seven Windows Phone titles are going for an absolute bargain for just 99 cents each. These titles include a mix of single player and multiplayer experiences, including the highly popular Angry Birds.
The list of games that are part of this 99 cents offer are as follows:
Angry Birds
Burn the Rope
de Blob
Doodle God
IonBallEX
Max and the Magic Marker: Special Edition
Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp
You can can get more details of the promotion on the Windows Blog here and jump straight to the Windows Phone Marketplace to grab these titles now.
The hotly anticipated Fairy Tail movie, now with it’s official title Fairy Tail: Maiden of the Phoenix, gotten yet another trailer. Thankfully this time around the trailer has more than 2 seconds of actual footage.
Along with the trailer and name reveal are more details on the films plot. The main theme of the movie is ‘Magic can cause misfortune’. The plot revolves around a new character named Éclair, who shocks the Fairy Tail guild when she asks for assistance in delivering two Phoenix stones to a mysterious unknown place. The film will feature a battle between Dragonslayer and Phoenixslayer.
Fairy Tail: Maiden of the Phoenix will hit cinemas across Japan on the 18th of August, 2012. Be sure to check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
The hotly anticipated Fairy Tail movie, now with it’s official title Fairy Tail: Maiden of the Phoenix, gotten yet another trailer. Thankfully this time around the trailer has more than 2 seconds of actual footage.