Forget what it used to be, Sleeping Dogs is making a new name for itself and is shaping up to be a summer blockbuster. Today, Square Enix revealed a brand new trailer for the game formally known as True Crime: Hong Kong that shows this colorful cast of characters taking it to the streets. Of course along with the clip comes an explanation of how driving will work within the game, and everything sounds pretty exciting so far.
Take high performance driving to the limit as over 65 vehicles become your tools to take-on the streets and waterways of Hong Kong. Participate in illegal street races where money, girls and status are the high-stakes rewards, taking on your challengers with expert driving and precision-placed ramming, sending any and all rivals into a well-timed spin. Let no criminal escape your relentless pursuit with high-speed action hijacks, leaping from vehicle to vehicle, or intense high-speed gun battles direct from the driver’s seat. In Sleeping Dogs, the streets are yours to take… how you get there is up to you.
In the trailer, all of this action is shown with brief clips of gameplay, and honestly, I’m getting a bit of a Just Cause 2 vibe from it all, which is certainly a good thing. You can check out the trailer for Sleeping Dogs below to view those wheels shred, and mark your calenders and lock in a pre-order as Sleeping Dogs is set to wake in Q2 of 2012 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows PC.
Kingdom Hearts is one of those series that garnered a split fanbase over the years. On one side, you have the group that loves every release Square Enix have treated us to, and put together the broad and branching storyline without much problem. On the other side, you have fans who are only loyal to the main games of the franchise, and completely disregard all of the many handheld spin-offs. Yes, this feud of sorts has always been petty, but Kingdom Hearts 3D looks to completely end all tension between both parties.
Today, Square Enix released six new screenshots for the heavily anticipated 3DS title, which show off how the mainstay characters (Sora, Mickey, Kairi, and the rest) look in Dream Drop Distance. At just one glance, you can quickly see why sea salt ice cream has never looked better. For the first time in years, I also no longer feel the need for a console Kingdom Hearts game as Kingdom Hearts 3D seems to be substantial enough on it’s own to put both of it’s fanbases in awe with it’s brand new tale which is of course loaded with even more Disney lore. You can check out the screenshots below and once we learn a western release date, we will be sure to bring you an update.
If you live in Europe and were patiently awaiting your day to get those coveted Game Gear classics, you can celebrate as Nintendo have delivered all three on the eShop. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Shinobi and Dragon Crystal are all three the first Game Gear titles to see the Virtual Console thus far, and mark the forgotten handheld’s arrival on the Virtual Console.
I know most of you at least know of these titles, but for those who need a refresher, you can check out descriptions for the three gems down below.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble was originally released in November 1994, as a sequel to Sonic Chaos. The platform-oriented game gives players the choice of playing as Sonic or Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble introduces players to Nack the Weasel for the first time.
Sonic and Tails are tasked with retrieving the Chaos Emeralds which have been scattered across planet Mobius during an experiment, by Dr. Robotnik and his team testing the ‘Atomic Destroyer’ which goes wrong. In the meantime Dr. Robotnik runs into Knuckles and convinces him Sonic and Tails are out to steal the emeralds. Nack the Weasel takes advantage of the confusion to collect the emeralds for himself.
Shinobi, known in Japan as The G.G. Shinobi, was developed and published by SEGA exclusively for the SEGA Game Gear. It was released in 1991 as part of the Shinobi series of games. The music in the game was composed by Yūzō Koshiro.
As Joe Musashi, student of the ‘The Master of Oboro’, you are sent to Ninja Valley which has been submerged by an air of terror and destruction as a dark force has established a base within Neo City. You must use the art of Ninjutsu to free your fellow shinobi, and continue your adventure by mastering their skills.
Dragon Crystal is an RPG which was originally released on the SEGA Master System and ported to the Game Gear in 1991 making it one the Game Gear’s earliest Role Playing Games.
In Dragon Crystal, you must navigate your way through 30 randomly generated, dangerous labyrinths, collecting weapons, armour, magic books along the way. Gameplay combat is turn-based, players positioning during battles is paramount to their success.
And there you have it! You can now pick up all of these classics in the 3DS’ Virtual Console, no matter what part of the world you happen to be from.
After winning the Gee Unity contest, indie development micro studio “3 Sprockets” has released it’s latest title, “Cubemen” on the Steam and Desura services, and have just released it for iPad and Mac users. The game is a cross between Tower Defence and Real Time Strategy. The art style features the luscious, cuboid goodness that has become so popular in indie games today. From the screenshots and trailer, this game looks like a blast to play, and with online multiplayer as well as cross-platform scoreboards, is sure to be a gather a huge following.
Check it out on Windows through Steam or Desura, or oniPad and Mac AppStores, available for purchase now! Review coming soon!
EA Sports have just announced that the ice hockey star to appear on the cover of NHL 13 will be determined by a vote by the fans.
Starting today fans around the world can participate in the campaign, sponsored by BlackBerry, and can go and vote on NHL.com/covervote. The voting format will consist of two preliminary rounds in which fans can vote for whichever player they want of the 60. The 60 is composed of two players from each team and then this will then be narrowed down into a 16-player bracket in which the most popular player will be selected to appear on the cover on NHL 13.
“The EA SPORTS NHL Franchise has had a rich tradition of outstanding cover athletes including Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup Winners, NHL All-Stars and Hall of Fame Members,” said David Le, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS. “With fans selecting the cover athlete for NHL 13 they now control who gets to join that prestigious club.”
“Being the EA SPORTS NHL cover athlete is an honor that is coveted by many NHL players,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing. “With the EA SPORTS NHL 13 cover athlete being selected by the fans, the honor is now even greater. This vote campaign will be exciting for both the players and the fans, as they will be engaging online, and through social media, while the bracket narrows towards the fans’ selection for the cover of NHL 13.”
The first round of voting is open until April 11, check out the video down below and go and get voting! The winner will be announced at the 2012 NHL Awards on June 20 at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Developer: Chillingo Publisher: Chillingo/Apple Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed), iPad, iPod Touch, Android Release Date: Mar 22, 2012 Price: $0.99 USD/AUD – Available Here
Overview
Be prepared to read the word “roller coaster” alot.
I’ll be the first to admit I used to be afraid of roller coasters, something that heavy going that fast, it’s similar to the fear that comes with flying. The main difference being, you can’t actually flail your arms like a maniac on a plane, on a roller coaster it’s perfectly acceptable. That’s probably because terrorists don’t hang out on roller coasters, they don’t believe in fun. Case in point, the first time I went flying overseas, I would have been about 10 years old. Taking off was fine, but once the plane experienced some turbulence, I freaked out, arms flailing and started to yell “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE”… Yep, I was that kid on the plane, I probably freaked a few people out with my terrorist antics, whilst pissing off my parents at the same time.
Screaming like that is acceptable on a roller coaster, that’s probably why they’re so fun, everyone’s voice muffles one another out and the sense of chaos is pure adrenaline. So, how can a little iPhone game emulate something so awesome? With a 2D platform game that has nothing to with the above description, but ofcourse! This game made me slightly disorientated, I’d recommend keeping the screen at arms length and not to play drunk, just like you wouldn’t go on an actual roller coaster drunk, would you? Or would you… hmm
Gameplay
I feel stupid for explaining how this game works; it’s quite simple, like all iphone games that ever existed, ever. A roller coaster goes along a 2D level, obstacles pop up, and you tap the screen to jump. Holy groundbreaking mechanics batman, this sh#% is off the chain, I believe there’s a swipe thing as well. Oh did I mention, you also collect coins like Mario/Sonic for a score multiplier? All jokes aside, it’s actually pretty fun once you throw in power ups and the speed increases, hence the disorientation that comes along later.
I’ve looked at what other people have said about this game, quotes like “To sum it up, Madcoaster is mind blowing!” – Wow… some people are easily pleased, I didn’t experience any joygasms like that, so you won’t see quotes like that here. Sorry guys who also published Angry Birds, but Angry Birds is better and this one won’t add anymore money to that pile you’re rolling in right now, probably naked. Did I mention you can fly in this game as well? That’s right, fly a roller coaster, what a sick joke. If you ever had a crash on a roller coaster and survived, which is statistically insane, don’t play this game. Save yourself the insult, if you didn’t have a crash on a roller coaster, pay the 99 cents don’t be tight.
Visuals and Audio
I’m literally playing the game right now; I couldn’t remember what it looked like, that’s how good these reviews are. I’m playing and typing, so you get my live thoughts directly to you, like a stream of pure consciousness. Can you handle it? I just dropped my phone…
So my multi-tasking abilities aren’t up to scratch, who would have thought. Madcoaster looks surprisingly similar to Angry Birds style, I don’t know about the themed backgrounds though, what’s that all about? The last time I checked (just now actually), Egypt doesn’t have roller coasters, so why put an Egyptian themed background in the game? Are they trying to point out that Egypt is still building democracy, and the development of roller coasters is a symbol of the people’s liberation? Maybe I’m just looking to deeply into it, they don’t look bad, but it was distracting.
“The emotional roller coaster: Egypt’s uprise” is one of the first articles I saw when I googled “egypts roller coasters”. Maybe the level design guy did the same thing, what a cool dude. There are other themes, halloween for example, but I doubt anyone is going to pay real attention to them. But the truth is, if I could paint, I would paint copies of the backgrounds and sell them for squillions.
I normally play games on silent, but just for you, I turned the sound on for about 30 seconds. Let’s just say, Results may vary, this is why I play iPhone games on silent.
Overall
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably going to buy the game right? I probably would have been better off simply giving the game a star rating in the app store, sadly that would have more effect on your purchase. Madcoaster doesn’t feature arms flailing, which is vintage roller coaster in my mind, and I didn’t see that. Instead you have these kids who just sit in the roller coaster, hardly animating at any given time, they’re like the best behaving children ever. They’re also multi-cultural and politically correct children, featuring one red head, standard white kids and a couple of others thrown in the mix for good measure. In conclusion, this game is nothing like a roller coaster, but it’s still fun. It’s more fun if you play it while you’re on a roller coaster, I don’t know that for sure, but I imagine it is. 10 out of 10 if you’re on a roller coaster.
Update: there are roller coasters in Egypt, my bad
After numerous reports of suicides and many protests, Apple and Foxconn have agreed to improve working conditions at factories in China. A new Fair Labor Association report revealed that although previous accounts about terrible working conditions at factories had been overstated, there were violations of Chinese Labor Law. As a a result, Foxconn will now cut the monthly overtime hours its employees are allowed to work from 80 to 36. This is part of the Chinese and FLA legal codes and will be implemented by July 2013. Other safety and health conditions have also been promised to improve.
These actions may result in a small increase in electronic prices in the USA.
Trine 2 has just received a new update, and with it comes several tweaks, a Steam sale, and a whole new difficulty mode. Hardcore mode, according to Frozenbyte CEO Lauri Hyvärinen, is “a throwback to the good old days”.
This is for the fans who thought the Tower of Sarek level in the first game was just right in its pre-patches state, for those who really want an extra challenge from the game. The Hardcore Mode adds a big value to replayability, especially in online and offline co-op, and really means you have to work together or face game over.”
“P.S. We take no responsibility for broken relationships attributed to the Hardcore Mode.”
Nice. There are also a few more tweaks in the update, including the option to completely disable the self levitation trick within the game that can make challenges all too easy. And if you haven’t yet tried the gorgeous puzzle platformer, now is the perfect time to take the plunge, with the game sitting pretty with a 50% discount on Steam and the Mac App Store, the sale running until April 2.
Sentai Filmworks has announced by press release that they have bought the license for the second season of Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle. Phi Brain will be finishing its first season this weekend, with the second due to start the weekend afterwards. The second season will be 25 episodes, just as the first season had, and is set for online release as it comes out as well as for home release after it finishes its run.
Phi Brain tells the story of Kaito Daimon, a student at the Root Academy, who has been granted the title of Einstein for his outstanding mental prowess and puzzle solving abilities. After solving a Sage Puzzle and gaining the Orpheus armband, Kaito must now solve puzzles from the Givers of the P.O.G. to prove his worth to even attempt to solve the legendary Puzzle of God.
Incipio has announced that three of their iPad 2 cases have made the transition to the new iPad and are now available for purchase. TheSlim Kickstand folio case, the Premium Kickstand case with stylus in leather, and the Smart Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case in lime are all available. The Kickstand cases are priced at $39.99 each and the Hard Shell is priced at $34.99. For those who have an issue with having the skin of an animal wrapped around your new iPad, Incipio’s leather are vegan friendly. And if lime isn’t your thing, the Hard Shell is available in a rainbow of colours.
