Fans of the long-running Worms franchise may know that the studio behind the games, Team 17, has operated without the input of Andy Davidson, the series’ original creator, for the last fourteen years.
Team 17 announced today that Davidson has rejoined the studio, in an unspecified creative role.
Davidson presented the original concept to Team 17 at a trade show in 1994, after entering the prototype in a contest run by a games magazine. The studio took him and his prototype on board, until he left for personal and professional reasons a few years later.
“I left Team17 feeling I hadn’t finished what I wanted to achieve, but for professional reasons I knew I had to walk away”, he said. “It’s nice to be back at Team17, it’s as though there’s been a revolution in the studio itself – there’s a real creative buzz about the place.”
Of course, this “revolution” is probably due to the upcoming Worms Revolution, announced on Friday. Andy’s first order of business will be to provide creative support on the new title, as well as developing some new ideas he’s been working on.
It will be interesting to see what impact this might have on the studio, and specifically the Worms franchise. Maybe we’ll see some new IP on the horizon.
50 Classic Games Developer: Cerasus Media Publisher: Avanquest Software Genre: Mini-game Platform: Nintendo 3DS Release Date: Out Now
Overview:
You may remember we reviewed a similar mini-game compilation from the same publisher, 1001 Touch Games, the major difference being that was on the original DS whereas 50 Classic Games is a 3DS game. Now, I know you may be thinking “50 games doesn’t nearly compare to 1001”, but, as I established in its review, there wasn’t in fact 1001 individual games. The total there included the different levels within the same mini-game in order to generate such a total. The real total was probably more likely in the region of 50, or alternatively, if you applied the same practice of counting the levels to 50 Classic Games, the figure would be nearer to 1001.
Gameplay:
I don’t mean for this to be a comparison of the two games, but as they’re both very similar and both from Avanquest Software, I can’t help it. I am also going to start with a rather dull topic on the game: the menus. Although 1001 Touch Games’ menus were satisfactory, it seemed to lack finesse in the organisation department, as it seemed more like a mess of mini-games than a carefully maintained database. The menus in 50 Classic Games, on the other hand, are sleek and professional, putting 1001 Touch Games’ menus to shame.
The 50 games are divided into four categories: Board Games, Card Games, Action and Puzzles. This makes it incredibly easy to go in and select the specific game you’re looking for, as there can be no doubt or confusion as to which box the mini-game you had in mind would be in. So there we are. Menus. It shouldn’t matter but it does. It just gives the indication of a higher level of polish, and there are even neat touches like marking played games with a star, which helps identify your favourites.
Now for the games, and boy is it a good collection. The four different categories ensure a fantastic range. Firstly, there’s Card Games, which is home to the likes of Blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em poker, which are great to have access to for a quick game on the move, especially for those who enjoy these card gambling games more than your average person. Sadly, there’s no cumulative total of chips, which I’m sure some people would have found satisfying if it had been included.
However, it is a bit too easy to get a large haul of chips, for one single reason – and I’m not talking about being a good poker player. It’s easy to win in these betting games because of the weak AI. Unfortunately, the computer players seem to have been programmed to fold whenever you raise the stakes really high. Simply put, build up the pot by calling and betting small amounts, then when the pot is big enough, you only have to throw in all your chips and the computer players will chicken out to leave you with the entire pot.
If anything, this weak AI draws attention to another issue: there’s no multiplayer. It was disappointing to see it wasn’t included in 1001 Touch Games and it’s disappointing to see there’s no mention of it in this. This makes the weak AI a bigger problem than it needs to be. Half-witted AI is to be expected and isn’t a problem if you have the option of playing intelligent human players, but without multiplayer you are stuck with these morons, detracting from the gameplay experience a fair old whack.
Elsewhere, there are other top notch games in the other categories. Most of their success is down to the genius of the concepts behind the classic games, rather than anything on the developers’ part, though the conversions are still good, as all the rules come through in tact. For example, there’s chess, peg solitaire, battleship, match-3 – these games on their own can provide hours of entertainment, and they are only part of a wider package.
Then there’s the puzzles, which can last you ages thanks to many of them having multiple levels and difficulty settings. For instance, Mahjong has 300 different puzzles to work your way through. Occasionally there were issues with interpreting puzzles when they were too small or being looked at from an odd angle – Mahjong for the former and a crate-pushing game for the latter.
Visuals & Audio:
Through almost no fault of its own as it has merely tried to adapt to use the 3DS’ 3D upper screen, 50 Classic Games has jeopardised the functionality of some of the games for 3D. Most of the time, it’s just an ugly effect which it is advised you keep switched off, but sometimes, like in the aforementioned crate-pushing game, they have changed the game in order to suit the 3D. In that particular instance the game adopts an isometric diagonal viewpoint to emphasise the puzzle coming out of the screen at you, although what this does is make it fiddly to manipulate the puzzle using the circle pad from this angle.
However, visual problems aren’t commonplace throughout – it is just a select few games where problems have been caused by the 3D. Otherwise, the cross-use of the touch screen and the upper screen works well, especially on action games like darts and air hockey.
Overall:
Overall, another top notch game compilation from Avanquest Software. These really are classic games – of the lot, there are only a few duds. It’s not without its problems – the occasional visual difficulty, the at times mediocre AI, the lack of multiplayer – but the game is enjoyable in spite of them.
The Uncanny Valley is Capsule Computers new documentary web series telling human stories within geek culture. From game competition, to cosplay and zombie walks we take an honest look.
Make sure you check out our KICKSTARTER page and visit us onFACEBOOK to show some support!
The Global Game Jam is a worldwide competition where groups have just 48 Hours to create a game from start to finish. This episode we followed Team Blackwolf; a group of 5 university students who won a 48 Hour game competition the previous year. We follow them from start to finish to see how they went.
Sometimes it’s hard to describe things. You have a clear idea of what it is in your head and the moment you try and put words to it everything fumbles out of your mouth and it sounds like nonsense. This is not what our show is about. What it is about… is, well it’s about a lot of things. It’s about life, it’s about love, it’s about you.
The Uncanny Valley is a documentary styled show that tells stories about people who love things not because they’re cool; but for the pure sake of loving them. It’s about that time you camped out in the rain for first screening tickets to Star Wars; but it’s not about Star Wars. It’s about all those hours spent putting together and crafting the perfect costume for that cosplay convention; but it’s not about anime. It’s even about how you took first place in that Starcraft competition; but it’s not about video games.
This is a show about the people who never let that childlike love of things escape.
Be sure to also check out the 2nd & 3rd Episodes of The Uncanny Valley below.
Activision have released another trailer in anticipation of the sequel to critically acclaimed Transformers: War for Cybertron game, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. The trailer is called ‘Our World’, and focuses on the titular Fall of Cybertron, the world of the Transformers.
Both games are prequels to the Transformers cartoon canon and feature the events that took place before they evacuated to Earth. The trailer ‘Our World’ features just about everything a Transformers fan could ask for, badass Transformers, destruction, explosions and of course the obligatory dub step track to back the carnage.
Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments section. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron will be released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on August 29th, 2012.
While the internet is heating up with enraged customers who lined up from 7am this morning for Dick Smiths 7 million dollar sale to get themselves a bargain only to leave shaking their heads as to where the stores stock had magically disappeared to, the real question remains as to how much of the blame should be placed on Dick Smith themselves. What we need to remember is that the so called price lists were actually leaked documents, the source being irrelevant unless perpetrated by the company themselves to bait customers into their flailing stores. If so then its a matter for the ACCC or some other governing ody to decide as im guessing they dont take to kindly to retailers tricking the public. From working in retail for many years I can tell you that these are nothing more than database dumps of deleted lines, quit stock, end of the line, whatever you want to call them they are largely unavailable even if you wanted them at full price. So to walk into your local store expecting a PSP 3000 for any price is illogical as they havent been available anywhere for quite some time. Even visiting other gaming stores you wont find a lot of the items that were listed for the ridiculously low prices that we viewed online. The lists are just items that have been in stock and on the order sheets and potentially could be floating around stores even if not listed on the computers database.
There are also many different revisions and the item YOU think is on the list might be the older version in a older box, or have been returned for some reason or other not to mention lost and repaired stock. For example the MSP cards advertised were NOT the current ones but much older stock that was in some stores but not all. Additionally there were many items not even on the lists that were almost free, i got many PSP and PS2 games as well as DJ HERO 2 all for $1 each so there was some stock.
The biggest issue that customers are complaining about is the way in which the sale was handled. When management or the powers in charge realised the leak had occurred they acknowledged via Twitter and Facebook that the sale was real and was going to go ahead online from 8am and in stores from 9am. While they stressed that stock was limited what they failed to tell us what that firstly STAFF had first pick on most items as confirmed by many customers and by myself at my local store which i shall not name as I am not a Dick like some and do not want the manager to lose their job. I went in at 9am and asked for an xbox 360 4gb slim rugby pack for $100 as the website said they had plenty of stock. I was told they had none, only to return later to see a guy purchasing one. When I asked the manager I was told he was staff and had put it away so he could come and buy it. The same went for all the DSi consoles plus multiple other things all confirmed by the manager that they were held for staff only. Secondly there was 19 items available to buy online and all others had been changed to instore only. Customers were told to check stock levels online which they all did only to return first thing in the morning to find it all gone. I dont object to a store being out of stock, I do object to being told we dont have it only to find out it was put on hold for staff.
Clearly their is no policy implemented in the company that prevents staff from getting first dibs on items, a policy that exists even within charity organisations such as St Vinnies where VOLUNTEERS will be told to leave if they act in such a manner. I watched many staff throughtout my retail years get fired for putting items on hold to act on impeding sales and get a good bargain for themselves. What might act in their favour is that this was not an advertised sale and therefore might be exempt from the same rules and regulations as catalogue deals. Either way the whole situation has been handled in the wrong manner. Staff are being purposely smug about the fact that they are stockpiling the big console packs for themselves and their are reports of them walking through hoards of customers with bags of now sold out gear. While I will not boycott Dick Smith as they cant be held responsible for every staff member they should never have advertised the sale if they had planned to sell 90% of the stock internally. This is baiting pure and simple and misleading the public into visiting your store on false pretenses.
Ive said enough, my conclusion is that even if staff are legally allowed to take all the good items for themselves it is unethical to allow it and still lead the public into believing they would get the item through false online records or sheer laziness in updating it. Stupid is as stupid does and putting the items away is one thing but telling customers they are on hold for staff is pretty dumb by anyones standards.
WIN: Skylanders Tower Case We have 3 Skylanders Tower Cases to give away (click here for more info about the Skylanders Tower Case), courtesy of our friends at Activisionto give away and YOU can win one. The pack consists of the following!
So how do you win? It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps:
Answer the following question and post it on Capsule Computers Facebook page. : Question : What’s your favourite Skylander character and why? + also let us know what part of the world you are from!
The competition ends on the 15th of Apri! We’ll be picking 3 lucky winners to receive this great prize! Keep an eye on the Capsule Computers Facebook Page as we’ll be announcing the lucky winner just after the 15th!
Do not forget that you MUST Like both pages FIRST then post your answer on the Capsule Computers Facebook wall, in order for your entry to be considered. The question once again is:
“What’s your favourite Skylander character and why?” + also let us know what part of the world you are from!
Razer have announced that they will be releasing a left-handed Naga mouse for those gamers who happen to be left-handed and unable to use the current Naga mouse thanks to its right-handed design. The planned release follows a campaign the company had on their Facebook page, stating that if a certain post got over 10,000 likes by April 21st, they would be releasing the mouse. A couple of days later, the limit had been reached and since then, the team have announced that they will be releasing the left-handed version of the mouse.
“That Facebook post generated more buzz than we could’ve ever imagined, which proves that there have been a number of gamers that have had their needs ignored for some time,” said Tan. “We pride ourselves on being gamers ourselves, and we all know that there is no substitute for gaming with your dominant hand.”
The mouse is to feature the following specifications –
17 MMO-optimised buttons
Program up to thousands of different in-game commands.
Maximum Comfort for Long Gaming Sessions
Game for days with the Razer Naga’s ergonomic design, optimised for easy access to every button.
Custom Interface AddOns for MMO Games
Organise your skills and eliminate visual clutter with the Razer Naga’s in-game custom interface AddOns (available for World of WarcraftTM and Warhammer Online: Age of ReckoningTM, and more).
Product Features:
5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G Laser Sensor
1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
200 inches per second max tracking speed
Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ mouse feet
17 MMO-optimised buttons (including 12 button thumb grid)
Optional MMO-specific software AddOns
Unlimited character profiles with AddOns
Approximate Size : 116mm (Length) x 70mm (Width) x 46mm (Height)
Approximate Weight: 134g
Does this mean that Razer will also be releasing a Naga Hex for lefties in the future? Hopefully. But for now, The left-handed Naga is a great deal for gamers whose hands are dominated by the left.
Recently, Razer released a gaming mouse pad in conjunction with the elite Starcraft II clan, Team Liquid. The success of this product has caused a continued working partnership between Razer and Team Liquid in terms of branded merchandise.
Of this merchandise, the upcoming Razer Blade will be made available with Team Liquid branding in the near future. On team Liquid, RazerGuy had this to say –
Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, President, Razer USA said,”With nearly a decade of relentlessly passionate support of the StarCraft community, Team Liquid has grown to become one of the most trusted brands in e-Sports.It’s just awesome to work with partners who are in line with the way we think, and who understand the importance of helping the community grow.”
And in response to this partnership, Team Liquid had this to say –
I’m proud to continue working with Razer in the future,” said Victor “Nazgul” Goosens, CEO, Team Liquid. “Over the last year I’ve learned a lot about Razer and the way they do business. It was a great experience, and we really appreciate working with Razer. We’re happy that Team Liquid can continue to grow with their continued support.”
Razer is one of the largest proponents of organised gaming tournaments and the whole E-Sports movement and are likely to continue supporting this area with the creation of better and better gaming devices, peripherals and the like. Razer is one of the largest and most recognisable brand by gamers around the world (and they are also one of my favorites).
Be sure to check out the Team Liquid webpage and the Razer website for more info.
THQ have announced the latest DLC for Saints Row The Third, this time a standalone expansion pack, as you take on Zinyak in a virtual reality dimension.
The Dominatrix enables you to use a whole array of super powers including Mind-bending Telekinesis, “Really, Really” High Jump as well as Fast Sprint, Shiny Blue Force Shield, and Shiny Blue Fireball Projectile-of-Doom (sounds like Genki had a part in the naming of these).
You will also get to use new Dominatrix weapons, including the Floppy Alien Tentacle Bat, the Fire-in-the-Sky Alien Abduction Ray, and the Alien Anal Probe.
As you delve into the depths of your memory to fight Zinyak, you’ll recruit former saints as you try escape from the Dominatrix and return to ruling Steelport. Does any of this make sense? Only one way to find out, strap it on and enter the Dominatrix.
We Sing Pop! Developer: Wired Productions Publisher: Nordic Games Platform: Wii Genre: Singing Release Date: 23rd March
Overview:
Nordic Games are back with another entry in their We Sing line of karaoke games, this time in the realms of pop music. They’ve already tackled Rock and UK Hits, but it’s crazy that it has taken them until now to take on the staple of every mainstream listener’s musical diet; pop music. Bring on the cheesy tunes and chart-toppers, past and present.
Gameplay:
Nordic Games have put together a varied setlist of 30 tracks, spanning many different eras of music up until the present day with recent songs. One such modern example is ‘Rolling in the Deep’ by Adele. She’s an artist who has seen an insane amount of success over the past 12 months, and a sure-fire way to shift more copies, even if it isn’t the easiest song to do karaoke to. Another big British anthem on the disc is Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’, again a tad daunting for sing-along, although there are more light-hearted songs on the game that suit karaoke better, like ‘Hey Ya!’ by Outkast, a song that appears on countless games, and Y.M.C.A. from the Village People.
The full tracklist is as follows:
Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
Bruno Mars – “Just the Way You Are”
Coldplay – “Clocks”
Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Enrique Iglesias – “Hero”
Fergie – “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – “Club Can’t Handle Me”
Florence + the Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
Hanson – “MMMBop”
Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours”
Jessie J – “Nobody’s Perfect”
Kelis – “Milkshake”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
Lady Gaga – “Born This Way”
Nelly Furtado – “I’m Like A Bird”
Nicole Scherzinger – “Don’t Hold Your Breath”
Outkast – “Hey Ya!”
Owl City – “Fireflies”
Peter Andre ft. Bubbler Ranx – “Mysterious Girl”
Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”
Rihanna – “Don’t Stop the Music”
Scissor Sisters – “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”
Sonny & Cher – “I Got You Babe”
The Killers – “When You Were Young”
Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner – “Written in the Stars”
Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”
Wet Wet Wet – “Love Is All Around”
Wham! – “I’m Your Man”
Wretch 32 ft. Example “Unorthodox”
As I said before, there are 30 tracks, each one including its original music video and fully compatible with all the interchangeable options. However, it’s surprising how far a selection of 30 songs goes, or rather, how far it doesn’t go. Once you’ve sorted the tracks you like from the ones you don’t, suddenly 30 tracks seems a little thin on the ground. While as it stands the game is good for one night of entertaining – which could be all you need it for – it doesn’t have enough choice to keep you coming back. This isn’t for lack of trying to keep you interested, as Nordic Games have included loads of options to mix things up. But ultimately it comes down to not having enough singing material.
There are plenty of smaller details to customise and choose from in We Sing Pop! (the exclamation mark is its official title, I’m not quite that excited). You can sing the full song or half of the song, choose a difficulty setting that suits you, and on songs that are duets you have the choice of singing along to either part, or both if you like. There’s even a timer running along the top of the screen so you can see how long you have until the humiliation ends and your go is over.
Singing a karaoke are offered, the difference being that when singing the artist’s voice is included on the song so you accompany them, whereas in karaoke their vocals are removed to leave you on your own with only instrumentals.
Obviously it is the multiplayer aspect of the game that houses most of the options, as We Sing Pop! Is designed as a party game. Unfortunately, all modes except ‘pass the mic’ are locked if you only have one mic, leaving your party severely hindered should you only have the one mic, although you would probably already know you’d be limited by this going into the evening. Other spin-off modes designed to inject some fun and competition into proceedings include; Blind, where the visual cues like the scrolling lyrics are removed; First to X, where two teams have to reach a certain score, at which point the song ends and the winner basks in their newfound higher social status, perhaps fist-bumping fellow revellers; there’s even the added challenge of an Expert mode for anyone who actually thinks they can sing.
Visuals & Audio:
Each song features its own music video, which plays in the background or can be watched at your leisure in the ‘Jukebox’ mode. The sound and video quality of these are good, and the tone recognition technology behind the scoring seems to give fair results. If you are actually singing in tune you will be rewarded accordingly.
The menus aren’t the sleekest thing ever but you can’t complain; they serve their purpose, the colour scheme and layout clear and legible. Everything is simple to navigate, and touches like difficulty ratings out of five stars for each song aid the music selection process.
Overall:
We Sing Pop! Has strengthened the We Sing brand further; you get a quality of service you wouldn’t get from the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band for vocals, as this is a devoted singing game. In all honesty, though, the setlist isn’t all that different from previous efforts, with similar artists and songs to previous We Sing games. It’s definitely all pop-themed, but at only 30 songs it runs out of steam fast, and even faster if you own previous games in the series. A quality singing game, but a longer setlist would have been nice.
