Independent game developer Trapdoor joined forces with EA Partners to bring sci-fi and puzzler enthusiasts together for Warp. Looking above we can see an adorable orange alien ready to befriend us all right? Well, this little guy is extremely lethal and has a huge score to settle with his captor as he escapes from an underwater facility. Only by utilizing his abilities – Warp, Frag, Echo, Swap, and Launch – can he escape and enact his pent up fury.
Warp is available for Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points. The PlayStation Network and PC have a release date set for March 13th, so don’t fret if you just happen to have a different gaming platform. With the Xbox Live House Party celebrating Warp, we can expect a great quality title.
As the release date for Armored Core V etches ever closer, Namco have released a new trailer just a month out from launch to remind the world that the giant robots are headed thier way.
The trailer does a FANTASTIC job at showing off the graphical update that have been made between Armor Core For Answer and Armored Core V. And I’m not just referring to the cutscenes. The trailer shows off snapshot clips of gameplay that have also undergone a SIGNIFICANT improvement over the graphic design from the previous games. The extra level of detail accompanied by the stronger palette variation in color significantly adds to the appeal, especially for those like me who played the last game and found the graphic design a bit too simplified. These are giant futurisitc robots. The genre is often judged by the attention to detail.
“Fear nothing, Forgive Nothing, Destroy Everything” These words are flashed upon the screen leading up to the battle drop. The trailer then breaks into a rythymic dupstep soundtrack as we witness the AC unleash absolute HELL on everything surrounding it. The soundtrack is, as the name of the trailer suggests “Doomsday” as performed by Nero. People say you should never sensationalize war, but let’s face it: there’s no way combining giant robots with such a soundtrack could NOT be AWESOME. We’re shown a combination of pre-rendered cinematics and gameplay footage as we witness this futuristic version of war erupt before our very eyes.
We’re also shown additional messages:
“Multiplayer: Engaged” as a reference to the multiplayer facet of the game being a significant addition to the game’s overall feel.
“Armor: Fully Customized”. A guarantee that the level of customisation options within the game do not shrink away from the game’s predacessors. If there’s one thing I want to be able to do, it’s create my own personal war machine the way I want. Gundam’s anyone?
“Weapons: Locked and Loaded”. Again, reminding the player that it’s not just the standard stock weapons in the fray this time around. Don’t forget about the OVER WEAPONS.
“Doomsday”. With this much ordanance flying about, you’d probably think so, wouldn’t you?
If the trailers job was to get mech battle fans psyched up for the release of this game, then mission accomplished! Armored Core V is set for a US release date of March 20, 2012.
Chances are that you’re aware of a little game that’s on the horizon called Mass Effect 3. If not, step out from under that proverbial rock and take a look at the demo – currently available on PSN, Xbox Live and EA’s Origin service. In case you can’t get your hands on the playable demo or simply haven’t got to it yet, here’s a run down of what to expect from it and the game itself:
Co-op and single player: That’s right, the demo will let you get your mitts on both play modes of the game, the ‘standard’ single player, and the brand new co-operative mode. Level up a host of new characters with up to four players, and help influence the outcome of the main game. The multiplayer feature will go live on February 17, but anyone who has activated an Online Pass for Battlefield 3 will be able to access it early.
Three different experiences: Depending on what you crave from your Bioware fix, you can set the game to be more story or combat orientated, cranking up the RPG or action as you see fit. Of course both can be equal partners in this epic space opera, so stick with the ‘Action RPG’ mode if every conversation and every gunshot are equally important to you.
Kinect Voice Command: Mass Effect 3 has the honor of being one of the very first pre release demos to feature Kinect voice command control. The game supports dozens of commands that free the player from pausing the action, and will bring an improved flow to fights as you can command your allies and their weapon selection with your voice.
Start a New Life: Mass Effect 3 is being touted as a great entry point to the series, so anyone looking to get in on the action, switch platforms or simply roll a fresh Shepard should have no problems. Just as the PS3 version of second game fleshed out the events of the first via an interactive digital comic, Mass Effect 3 will also ensure that previous events are accounted for and known to the player – exactly how this will come about has yet to be revealed…
Of course the full game releases on March 6, so clear that calendar and make ready your gaming chair of choice – Sheperd’s back.
2070 saw the long running city sim move into the future for the first time in the history of the series – and it was a great success. Ubisoft have just announced that some DLC is now available for the game, which was already packed with extra online world events to sweeten the deal from day one. The DLC is titled ‘Eden Project’, which players of the game will recognize as referencing one of the games factions – the Eden Initiative (of course if you are of the UK persuasion it’s a giant greenhouse in Cornwall) .The content on offer is a new architecture line that comes into play via a new world event, which of course features technologies aimed at developing a clean and sustainable economy.
You can check out the full review of the game here, and make sure to take a sneak peak at the new building style in the screenshot above.
Earlier today, it was revealed that the bill to introduced the R18+ rating for Australia was finally put forward to the Australia Federal Government with implementation by January 1, 2013. Despite the fact that the bill was introduced as planned, as Federal Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare (pictured above) stuck to former Minister Brendan O’Connor’s timeline, it still has a long path to take.
First up, the R18+ bill must be passed at Federal level. For those who don’t know how our government works, we have two separate houses at federal level, the House of Representatives and the Senate. It will go through the House of Representatives first, where the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader reside. In order for the bill to pass, Clare revealed that it will require support from two crossbenchers: the four independents (Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Andrew Wilkie and Bob Katter) and one member of the Green Party (Adam Bandt). The hurdle with the crossbenchers is that they have been quiet on the issue, meaning it pendulum could swing either way.
If it does pass the House of Representatives, then it will be introduced to the Senate. There should be no problems with the Senate. Either the Coalition (Liberal-Nationals) or the Greens is required for support and both parties have announced that they are for the introduction. Once it passes the Senate, then it becomes federal law. However, each state and territory will have to introduce the bill as well so that everything is fine individually, but, as all states and territories have agreed in principle, this should not be a problem.
Clare made a comment on the process to make the bill a law:
“A lot of Australians are passionate about this reform. This bill will implement the Commonwealth’s obligations as part of this agreement–and state and territory jurisdictions will follow with their own legislation later this year. It is anticipated that the Act provided for in this Bill will come into effect on the first of January next year.”
This leads to the estimated introduction date of January 1, 2013. Clare revealed to Gamespot AU that there are two reasons for such a lengthy time period. The first is that he wants to give the Federal Government time to introduce the bill into Federal law. The second reason is similar to the first one, but it applies to the governments of the states and territories.
Pokemon: Black and White Collection 1 Studio: OLM Inc. Publisher:Magna Pacific Format: DVD Release Date:February 1, 2012 Price: $19.99 – Available Here
Overview: Pokemon is known worldwide as one of the greatest childrens programmes of all time. It has earned that title with over a decade on the air and the millions of people who were touched by the show’s stories and characters.
Now in it’s 14th season, Pokemon has decided to go back to it’s roots, with Pokemon:Black and White. By stripping back the things that have become tired and old with the series and in it’s place introducing new elements tied in with what made the show so good in those early years, Black and White makes for what is the series’ freshest instalment to date.
Story: Black and White like previous Pokemon series involves Ash Ketchem travelling to a new region in the world of Pokemon, this time a place called Unova. From the moment he steps off the plane onto this new continent he immediately encounters the legendary Pokemon, Zekrom, whose attack cause Ash’s Pikachu to become severely weakened in strength (unable to do electric attacks for a certain period of time). From right at that moment, we know that things are going to change with this series.
In the past whenever Ash journeyed to a new region, his Pikachu is mysteriously weaker than it was in the previous season. This was a major inconsistency that left a lot of viewers feeling that the series was simply recycling the same plot every time a new season begins, and they weren’t wrong. But with Black and White, from the get go, we are given a reason for why Pikachu is substantially weaker than before (it is necessary for Pikachu to be weaker in order for Ash to still have a challenge in this new region afterall). That is the first of many delightful changes in Black and White that make this new series feel so much more fresher than anything we have seen from the franchise in a long time.
So what else has changed with Black and White? Well, everyone’s favourite buffoons, Team Rocket, are now actually competent criminals with more dimensions to their characters than simply wanting to steal Pikachu from Ash. This is a major step for the series as not only does it give some room for new comedic material, it also makes Team Rocket actually interesting to watch. Which is something they have no been since somewhere during the Johto season.
There is a lot of new jokes told in this series that just could not be told back in the era of ‘Team Rocket blasting off’ humour and thank god for it. There was some genuinely humourous dialogue being thrown about between characters and Ash finally has gotten a chance to be funny again now that Team Rocket have taken a back seat to deal with their own storyline (uncovering a mysterious meteorite that their boss needs for world domination).
Not only that but the series is back to it’s roots of telling compelling story-lines, with a common theme underneath it all; Animals are often misunderstood by Humans. This message is one that plays often through-out the first collection of Black and White, with many Pokemon at first appearing to be ‘bad’ but ultimately turning out to have simply been misunderstood. This is a great message for children and along with the themes of friendship with animals these lessons are the things that make Pokemon such a great kids show.
Ultimately Pokemon: Black and White is a massive improvement in the plot department, compared to previous seasons and that is something that is incredibly clear through-out the entirety of this first collection.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically, Pokemon has never looked better. With vibrant visuals and impressive art direction, Black and White makes for a very good looking season of Pokemon, better than anything we have seen from the franchise before. The character designs are all unique and memorable and the Pokemon themselves look great in full animation (Pikachu’s Volt Tackle attack looks absolutely stunning).
From an audio standpoint this feels like the point in which The Pokemon Company’s voice actors has finally gotten into their groove. It’s been a fair while now since they took things over from 4Kids and for the first time, it feels like the actors have finally gotten into the roles. The soundtrack is also great, especially considering most tracks are from the games themselves (something 4Kids did not do).
All in all this is the most superficially pleasing season of Pokemon and things can only keep getting better from here.
Extras:
Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of special features on this release, but for the asking price (around $20 AUD) you can’t complain, especially when there are 24 episodes in this collection. There is more than enough here to keep viewers satisfied, but it would’ve certainly been nice to have a few bonus features thrown in for that added bit of longevity.
Overall: Pokemon: Black and White Collection 1 is all in all a great release from Magna Pacific. It is undoubtedly the best Pokemon season in years and is nothing short of a crowd pleaser. This is a great show for children and is even good for the adults who had grown up watching the series.
There is a lot of things to like about Pokemon: Black and White, whether it is the refreshing change it brings to the franchise, the endearing new characters (Iris, Cilan and even Pokemon like Sandile and Oshawott), the adventure of it all or just the pure enjoyment that comes with watching Pokemon, this is a must buy for fans of the series or something for your kids.
Pokemon: Black and White is one of the series finest hours and as such should not be missed.
Just giving everyone a heads up about a cool new game from Sunstones games aptly named Sun Stones, which features unique and innovative puzzles and has been designed for both the iOS and Android markets. While the trailer seen below doesnt give too much away, the game is influenced by traditional Hopi sounds and visuals where players have to learnt he powers of transformation, creation and destruction in order to solve the plethora of puzzles (100+) awaiting them. Other key features include an original score by Michael Jones, an integrated trophy system and of utmost importance, continued updates and supprt from the studio.
Double Fine makes some huge records with Kickstarter making a new adventure game, Mass Effect 3 will link with iOS titles, Sony continues to make strange decisions and the Skyrim Creation Kit is now available.
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Dustin Spencer, Ben Webb & Michael Irving
Welcome to Mad Riders, a new upcoming off road racer from Ubisoft for XBLA and PSN, that true to its name, looks to be chock full of manic adrenaline fulled mayhem set across 45 different tracks in differing tropical locations across the world. Collect rings and perform off the wall stunts in an attempt to fill the all important boost bar so you can zip past your opponents, finding hidden shortcuts to even further your lead. Developed by Techland, Mad Riders allows players to pit themselves against friends and others online, featuring extensive competitions and leader-boards so you can always keep track of your ratings.
Mad Riders also features a well implemented drop in system allowing players to compete in 3 different and action packed multi-player events with up to 12 other friends or racers from around the globe. With fully customisable ATV’s and characters, Mad Riders looks to be one of those highly addictive racing games that will leave you with sore thumbs and worn out control sticks by the time your done with it.
Nothing says information leak like a video game trailer released in German that reveals the release date of your game before the planned reveal time. Ubisoft has only currently set Far Cry 3’s release date as a very vague 2012, meaning it could be released anytime between now and December 31, 2012. However thanks to the leaked trailer it seems the game will be released September 6 in Europe or September 4 for North Americans.
The trailer with the leaked information has since been pulled down by Ubisoft though Joystiq still managed to grab the above image of the screen that provided all the information fans needed to know about the game’s release schedule.
