EA Sports have announced that they will link up with the Leo Messi Foundation to refurbish a popular street football pitch in Barcelona, as a way of not only promoting the release of FIFA Street but also to boost the Spanish city’s already huge footballing culture.
The Bon Pastor pitch will receive a complete upgrade following years of being in disarray, including a new state-of-the-art surface, side boards, goals and more. This will ensure a high-quality environment for the youth footballers in Barcelona.
FIFA Street will be out on the 15th, be sure to check back here in a few days for our review!
SSX Publisher: EA Developer: EA Canada Platforms:Xbox 360 (reviewed), PlayStation 3 Release Date: 1/03/2012 Price: $56.28 (BUY NOW!)
Overview
The king of snowboarding is back with an ice-cold vengeance! Making it’s HD debut after a five year absence, the return of SSX is a strong reminder of what the extreme sports games are all about. From the adrenaline-charged gameplay, to the exaggerated stylistic tricks, to the rocking soundtrack, EA Canada have not only flawlessly recaptured the magic of the legendary franchise, but have also improved it in every aspect possible by modernising SSX for this generation. This one’s a no-brainer: if you’re an extreme sports nut, SSX is a must have.
Story
If your playing SSX it’s most likely for the gameplay and not for the storyline. However it should be noted that the set up for this game is quite interesting. Introducing some new characters along side some familiar faces, the story within the World Tour mode shows the origins of SSX and their plan to conquer the world’s nine deadliest descents by snowboarding down them. Beats sitting at home doing nothing, right? But when SSX member Griff Simmons decides to abandon the team, SSX looses funding and are forced to broadcast their drops to raise enough money to fulfil their goal. Thus the race to beat that jerk Griff to conquer the nine mountains first begins! This also marks the first SSX title to feature real world locations, and fact: SSX no longer stands for Snowboarding Supercross anymore, it now stands for Snowboarding, Surfing & Motocross. The story is executed through various cut scenes and graphic novels, and while not hugely entertaining story-wise, it pieces the world of SSX together quite nicely.
Gameplay
At heart SSX stays true it’s roots, where players snowboard down mountains at insanely high speeds and preform gravity-deifying tricks, but how they do so is a little different this time around. While old school players do have the option of using classic SSX controls, buttons have been remapped by default to preform tricks via the analogue stick. Regardless of which control scheme the player selects, the end result is the same with smooth controls that always have the player feeling in complete control. Preforming gnarly tricks builds up your Tricky meter, which allows for boosts and ‘Super Tricky’ mode that lets you preform even crazier moves, all accompanied by a remixed version of Run DMC’s classic rap song, ‘It’s Tricky‘. Various new features also come into play such as the wingsuit which gives a fresh new flavour to the experience and exciting avalanche escape events. Another standout feature includes the ability to rewind and retry a trick at the cost of some points, however strategically speaking there are more cons than pros in using this feature so it’s seldom needed. Regardless, it’s a nice addition to the game and can be used as a rather effective tool to help improve newer players.
Calling SSX a huge game is an understatement. For starters SSX contains three modes of play: World Tour, Explore & Global Events. World Tour provides a basic story with cut scenes in between challenges as you travel over the world conquering the nine descents, each one ending with a survival challenge that works much like a boss battle. While fun, this is ultimately a gigantic tutorial pumping you up for the main mode, Explore which has you taking home bronze, silver & gold medals while setting high scores and records in over 150 drops each with three types of gameplay. There’s Race It, your typical ‘get to the bottom first’ race, Trick It, where players compete for the high score and the challenging Survive It mode that will test your abilities to survive the deadly descents. If this isn’t enough Global Events also take place regularly with updated calendar setting various challenges for players. The goal for both of these modes isn’t just to create an epic high score, but to record your ghost for your friends to take on. As everything is updated in real time, you can easily set an impressive personal best only to find out your friend has already beaten you five minutes ago. While this may disappoint some players as there is no classic head-to-head option available, this provides a unique an innovative experience that is fully flexible and equally intense. Every drop you do is recorded here-there are no excuses for loosing, and is as hardcore as you can possibly get, truly defining which player’s better 24/7.
Visuals/Audio
SSX marks the first time the series has seen a HD polish and the game has never looked better. Textures are detailed and elemental effects are particularly impressive, and while some close ups of character models can appear a little rough at times, it makes up for it with very fluent and smooth animations that make preforming tricks even more delightful. It should also be noted that this marks the first time the SSX series uses real world locations, and that each mountain has been designed based off geotagging data borrowed from NASA themselves. Fancy! One of the brightest highlights of SSX though is the soundtrack that 100% captures the mood of the game. Featuring a very modern soundtrack consisting of chill hip hop tracks, dirty dubstep drops and engaging drum & bass songs, the atmosphere is captured perfectly though the soundtrack. Notable highlights include Foster The People’s Houdini, Fluz Pavilion’s I Can’t Stop, Noisia’s Could This Be and of coarse the fan favourite Pretty Lights remix of Run DMC’s Its Tricky.
Overall
While the last generation of console games were flooded with generic extreme sports titles, this current generation has seen next to none. However all is at peace now as the latest instalment of the SSX franchise is easily one of the greatest of the genre to date. While the lack of a classic head-to-head multiplayer mode may disappoint some fans, the intensity of Explore and Global Events easily makes up for it, putting a stronger emphasis on capturing high scores and aiming to be the best. At heart however, not much has changed from it’s predecessors, as gameplay does feel almost identical to many other past titles. This isn’t a bad thing though-as EA has managed to capture the same excitement the original SSX did on the PS2. Prepare for a flashflood of memories and arcade-styled fun as SSX hits our generation with full force. Without a doubt, SSX is the hottest (and the coolest) extreme sports title available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to date, and most likely will not be beat anytime soon!
With the release of the PlayStation Portable version of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment happening in just a matter of months, Atlus has just shared the very first trailer for the title. There are quite a few screens for the game already released, but it’s nice to now see some footage of the game.
This first trailer does not show any gameplay, but it does show off bits and pieces of the animated motion sequences that will be in the game. The trailer also highlights the main characters, and shares bits of the story, ending with a brief advertisement for the official soundtrack that will be released along with the game.
Upcoming off-road racing game, Jeremy McGarth’s Offroad will be getting a release on digital platforms during the second quarter of 2012. The game is being developed by 2XL Games and will be available for purchase on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.
As the name of this off-road racing game suggests, the game will feature seven-time AMA Supercross world champion, Jeremy Mcgarth. Players will take control of four-wheeled off-road racing vehicles which will include rally cars, pro buggies, and pro lite trucks. Threre will be several tracks, vehicles, and both single and multiplayer modes of play.
The online multiplayer will allow eight players to race against each other and the full fledged career mode where players step into the shoes of Jeremy Mcgarth himself and work towards winning the championship.
“Teaming up with Jeremy to create our frenetic racer is a dream come true for me and the rest of the 2XL Games team,” said Robb Rinard, director at 2XL Games. “We can wait to deliver our brand of smooth arcade-style gameplay to racing fans everywhere.”
“I am super excited about this game…the graphics look awesome and my Monster Energy Pro 2 looks exactly like what I am racing right now in the Lucas Oil Offroad Series,” said Jeremy McGrath. “It’s great to see something that started as an idea turn into a killer video game thanks to the guys at 2XL Games! I am sure my fans from both moto and offroad are going to love it.”
Remember that Blue Exorcist PSP game we talked about last year? Probably not, but interestingly enough a trailer for the game as well as it’s full title have been revealed. The game is set to be titled Blue Exorcist: The Phantom Labyrinth of Time, because what we all needed was another anime game with an incredibly long title (Wasn’t Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Demon Capital – War of a Hundred Gathering Demons enough?).
You can check out the trailer for the upcoming Blue Exorcist PSP adventure RPG game below. The trailer shows off some of the games battle system and you know generally shows things from the game. It’s likely it will never see the light of day in the West but Blue Exorcist fans would likely get a kick out of it.
AKB48 fans, pay attention now! The cast for the upcoming AKB48 anime series, cleverly (?) titled AKB0048 has been revealed. The following voice actresses will play the following characters who may or may not be members of the real AKB48, but as you know there is 48 girls in AKB48 and hell will freeze over before I go through that list of names.
Acchan will be played by Miyuki Sawashiro (Kurapika in Hunter x Hunter 2011)
Sayaka will be played by Ayako Kawasumi (Saber in Fate/Zero)
Sae will be played by Mai Nakahara (Renjaku in Mawaru Penguindrum)
The AKB48 anime series, AKB0048 will follow the all singing, all dancing, all heavy rotating girl band in some crazy sci-fi adventures or something like that. AKB0048 will premiere in Japan on the 28th of April, 2012.
The Walking Dead Season 1 Studio:AMC Studios Publisher:Beyond Entertainment Format:DVD (Reviewed), Blu-Ray Release Date:March 15, 2012 Price: $34.99 – Available Here
Overview: What exactly is it that separates television from film? Is it the big budget production values of films that give it a feel of grandeur that television just can’t match? No, the thing that separates the two is that television has the advantage of being episodic. It may not feature the same budget, but when it comes to telling a story, television always has something on it’s side that film doesn’t – it has time.
So why is it that The Walking Dead feels more cinematic than it feels like television? Well it’s simple, The Walking Dead has found itself somewhere in limbo between the two mediums, it features an episodic structure but each episode in itself has more cinematic grandeur than just about an other television show out there.
That brings up another question. Does this level of scale work for a television series? Is it sustainable and does it fit into the formula of long form story telling? Well it does and it doesn’t. The Walking Dead season 1 is ultimately an embodiment of it’s concept, trying to survive in a world you do not belong.
Story: The Walking Dead as many of you may know is an adaptation of the popular graphic novel series of the same name by Robert Kirkman. Being an adaptation, it already has the hefty duty of staying true to it’s material which unfortunately it does not entirely do. Most of the scenarios in the first season were not present in the graphic novels. This is why The Walking Dead season 1 ends up stumbling its way through it’s six episode season without any sense of purpose.
It’s disappointing that a season that started out strong with a killer first episode became an often inconsistent mess since. Plot wise there was some very shaky story telling at play here that would leave even the most casual of viewers puzzled. The pacing is definitely off putting. But it is ultimately that intangible soul beneath the inconsistency that holds it all together.
The Walking Dead season 1 despite it’s faults is a solid season of television. It starts strong and ended strong, it was the stumbling it the middle that lets things down. But that is not to say that The Walking Dead is not an intelligent drama, because it absolutely is a smart series that know how to turn up the intensity when need be and it will certainly leave viewers guessing.
In the end, The Walking Dead had a hard job of not only adapting a graphic novel, but also adapting one that was about zombies. Zombies are hard to pull off long term in a story, which is why they are so often featured in movies. In a long term story more serious topics need to be addressed when it comes to zombie stories and The Walking Dead’s first season feels like the build up to that realisation. Not only the realisation that these characters will have to accept that their world is long gone, but also the series itself having to accept that it needs to be a television series and not a film.
We leave the first season of this zombie apocalypse series knowing that there are better things to come and this was but a mere taste of how good things will get. This has the potential to be the next big intelligent drama series after AMC’s previous works like Breaking Bad and this first season was just the first bite of the brains this series has to offer.
Visuals and Audio: The Walking Dead is set in Atlanta and as such features some beautiful Atlantic scenery as well as one of the largest scale set pieces I’ve ever seen in a television series (the adventure into the city of Atlanta itself). There is just so much mind blowing imagery on show in The Walking Dead, it is clear that the series has a hefty budget backing it. And I can assure you, not a cent was wasted as this series looks stunning.
From an audio standpoint, the soundtrack is very atmospheric and at times quite chilling. In the silent times we are treated to the tranquil sounds of nature throughout Atlanta, with sounds of birds and insects masking the apocalypse that is going on in the world. It’s a great juxtaposition that really sets the tone for the mood of the series itself.
Extras:
Now if the small episode count had you worried, don’t fret as Beyond Entertainment have included a plethora of special features for The Walking Dead fans to plough through after they finish watching the first season. Included on disc is a making of The Walking Dead featurette, an inside featurette for each episode, an interview with Robert Kirkman the creator of The Walking Dead, a behind the scenes featurette, a convention panel with the creators and bonus footage which includes cast interviews and other extra footage. That is certainly more than your average DVD and will definitely satisfy special feature junkies looking for some more out of their DVD.
Overall:
You can not deny that The Walking Dead is an amazing action series, but it is also sadly a very inconsistent one at that. That inconsistency however doesn’t hamper what is an overall impressive first outing in the zombie infested world of The Walking Dead. There is enough brains and intelligence in this zombie drama to ignite the flame of excitement in any fan of great television.
The Walking Dead has left it’s first season in a promising way after having tip toed the line between film and TV in a very haphazard manner, resulting it what makes for some interesting viewing none the less. This series needs to escape from the cinematic structure that has it by the balls and allow itself some room to breathe as a television series. And after watching this first season, I believe that it is something The Walking Dead can and will do moving forward.
If you are a fan of zombie fiction, The Walking Dead season 1 is worth a look. At it’s core it is compelling television, despite all it’s missteps and deserves a spot on the shelf of any fan of quality television. The world may have gone to hell, but things can only get better from here right?
Ken Levine, game producer at Irrational games, has revealed that the Playstation Move support for the Playstation 3 version of Bioshock Infinite will be included at launch. The Move support was revealed at the 2011 E3 Expo during Sony’s media conference. Levine revealed the information with an interview with Eurogamer. This is the first new information since the revelation of the Move support.
In the interview with Eurogamer, Levine found it hard to explain how the Move will work in the game. He even created an analogy for it:
“Talking about Move support is like talking about music. It’s hard to do.”
He suggests that the only way to explain the Move support is for the player to experience it:
“You’ve got to put the thing in somebody’s hand and say, ‘here’s our Move support. How does it feel to you?’
“We’re definitely going to be doing that at some point. But it’s hard to talk about because it’s like, ‘hey, does it feel good? Does it feel right? Does it break down barriers of interface for you?’
“That’s the goal of Move, right? It’s to make you forget you’re playing with a controller. It’s to make that much more transparent. The proof’s going to be in the pudding.”
In addition to Move support, the Playstation 3 version will also include a copy of Bioshock. Bioshock Infinite will be released on October16. It will also be released for the Xbox 360 and PC.
Sky Defenders Publisher:Apple Developer: Superplay Games Platforms:iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone (Reviewed) Release Date: March 6, 2012 Price:$0.99 – Available Here
Overview
The developers of Sky Defenders are well known. They have created games for various big name studios, such as Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Oddworld Inhabitants, Petroglyph and Turbine. Their first game as a studio was named Cosmonauts and it released in December of last year.
Sky Defenders is a completely different game than Cosmonauts though. Set in an unnamed city, Sky Defenders has you controlling one of two superheroes in a top-down collectible shoot’em up experience.
Gameplay
As a superhero, it is your job to protect the city from alien bots. As you fly around over the city, the bots will try to attack you. If they manage to lay their cold tentacles on you, you will be stunned for 3 seconds. Therefore, fast reflexes, superior flying skills and weapons are needed. Weapons you say? But doesn’t a superhero usually have a power inside him, or one that he can call upon at will? Not in this game, my friend. Not in this game.
While zipping around the alien bots, you are required to pick up collectibles. As soon as they are picked up, they activate and kill bad guys. Picking up the ‘ice’ collectible, for example, allows you to smash through several alien bots. The ‘explosive’ collectible is self explanatory. A ‘magnet’ and ‘lightning’ collectible are also included. Once you have killed enough of the attackers, you can activate a “SUPERPOWER” for about 5 seconds, which deals a lot of damage. As long as you keep killing baddies, your combo meter goes up. Fly around aimlessly too much or get stunned, and it goes back to 1x. The game starts you off with 60 seconds on the clock, but you can gain more increments of 20 seconds if you get a good score.
All in all, I had a great time with the core gameplay. Zapping alien bots was awesome, and I liked setting off the collectibles. The pace was really enjoyable, and I constantly wanted to better my score. In addition, when I would deftly maneuver around a pack of bots, set off a massive chain reaction or get a good combo, I was having a blast. Grabbing an extra 20 seconds on the clock always gave me a rush because I knew I would be able to continue playing the game without having to go back to the menu screen.
Nevertheless, there are some serious problems with the game. While the standard gameplay allows you blow up aliens in fine fashion, it can be quite hard to rack up a a good score. There are two reasons for this. One is that the game utilizes tilt controls, thus often making it hard to operate with much dexterity. Although it is possible to adroitly fly around the aliens at the beginning of a level, by the middle of the level the enemies come in such great number that it is frustrating to collect power-ups because your more than likely to get stunned for a precious 3 seconds, get released and then fly right smack into another group of aliens who repeat the process. This is especially troublesome if you are playing the game while traveling in a car or other transport.
Secondly, Sky Defenders allows you purchase helpful bonus items that can increase speed, reduce stun time or activate a sidekick. The first time I played the game, I spent about 20,000 credits, assuming that I would quickly earn them back again. However, to my surprise, I learned very quickly that credits accumulate at a glacial pace. While you can try to speed up the process by accomplishing the daily mission, or by getting a VERY high score (which is tough to do considering the controls), there is also another option: in-app purchases. Paying $0.99 will get you 25,000 credits which lasts about one 2:00 minute game, if you buy 3 power-ups. The power-ups make Sky Defenders a much more fun game and they allow for higher scores, but it is frustrating that earning them was not balanced very well.
Another issue I had with the game was that it constantly asked me to sign into Facebook and ‘Like’ the Sky Defenders page. It promised to reward me with 10,000 credits. After going through a slow process of opening up Facebook and typing in my credentials, I “Liked” the page. I backed out and tried to collect my credits, but I didn’t get anything. I restarted the app and still nothing. Although the Facebook popup was annoying, and the lack of awarded credits disheartening, I actually do like the Facebook integration. If your friends buy the app, you will be able to compete on the leaderboards against them.
Audio and Visuals
The soundtrack in the game is a standard “cartoon superhero” type mix, similar to what can be found in many TV shows or movies. That said, I enjoyed it and it kept the game moving, although it did get stuck in my head because it keeps repeating over and over. Sound effects, like smacks, bangs and explosions are pedestrian, and while the game would certainly be incomplete without them, they don’t do anything too exciting either.
Sky Defenders graphics are beautiful for an iOS game. Animations are smooth and detailed. When power-ups are used, they pop out of the screen and look really cool. In addition, the menus are full of life and color. The character models are really detailed, and look really good, especially considering how small they are. However, the background is dull, being just a plain blue overlay on top of anther dull graphic that looks somewhat like a city. Plus, while most of the UI is good, the constant Facebook popup mentioned above was annoying.
Overall
In conclusion, Sky Defenders is a game that feels a tad unfinished. A lack of extra modes, bothersome controls and limited power-up options mean that there is only so much to keep the game interesting. Maybe after a couple updates (or if you opt to overspend on ridiculously priced in-app purchases) Sky Defenders will become a “must have” game, but in its current state, it is better to hold off for awhile. Then again, super hero games are always fun to play, and I can’t deny that I always like smashing, electrifying and blowing up alien scum, especially when the price for such enjoyment is only $0.99. In addition, I love that the game has “Daily Mission” to accomplish and Sky Defenders gets more charming by the second as you play through it.
Amazingly in 48 hours, there were one million players ready to sign up for a chance to take part in Guild Wars 2 beta events. However, only so many slots are available for players to partake. So in honor of all the people that signed up, ArenaNet has some never seen before footage that they would like to share with all of its fans.
For those that missed out on the beta sign-up, the Guild Wars 2 team mentioned there will be sign-ups later on for the beta events. Until then follow additional news through the Guild Wars 2 Facebook page, and gain access to ArenaNet’s special gift by liking the page.
