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.
While Capcom is known for their fighting series, one franchise has long been left in the cold much the the chagrin of fans of the series. I’m speaking of course about Darkstalkers, a fighting game series that has long been left in the dark, with no new game or even re-master in many years. However it seems that will all soon change as it has been discovered that Capcom has filed for a Darkstalkers trademark in Europe.
The trademark was filed yesterday, though no other information was given about the title at this time. Though given the fact that Street Fighter x Tekken producer Yoshinori Ono has encouraged fans to push for a new Darkstalkers game, fans will likely be happy even if the game is an updated port. We’ll let you know the minute more information is released, but for now you can still enjoy the classic Darkstalkers games that I’m sure you still own.
While Final Fantasy XIII-2 is great in a large number of aspects, one thing that it was severely lacking was a certain character with an afro and a baby chocobo. I’m speaking of course about Sazh, but it seems we won’t be without this favorite character for very long as Famitsu has revealed that Square Enix is planning on releasing a side story featuring him on February 28th.
The DLC is called Heads or Tails and will add Sazh’s side story as well as new games to the casino. The DLC for Sazh will cost $8 on the PlayStation 3 or 400 MSP for 360 owners. Currently Square Enix in North America has yet to give this DLC a release date, though one can expect a date in the near future. For those more interested in character costumes, Noel’s knight costume and Serah’s swimsuit costume will also be available on the Japanese marketplace sometime before the end of February.
Update: Square Enix in North America have announced that they are releasing the DLC to Western markets the same day as the Japanese release on February 28th. They have also released the below image of the costumes that will be available for download on that date.
Mass Effect 3 is one of the most anticipated titles in 2012! We have two copies of the game on either XBOX or PS3 to give away and we want YOU to win a copy!
So how do you win? It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps:
The competition ends on the 6th of March! We’ll be picking 2 winners, so keep an eye on the Bluemouth Facebook page as they’ll be announcing the lucky winners just after the the 6th!
Don’t forget-you MUST Like both pages FIRST then post the code phrase on the Capsule Computers Facebook wall, then Bluemouth Facebook Wall in order for your entry to be considered. The phrase is:
If you are a lucky winner & you have referred others to join up, you will also win either 2 xbox360 or 2 PS3 controllers as a bonus, plus a HDMI cable!
To win the extra stuff enter the following POST “Code” at Bluemouth’s Wall.
“We Fight Or We Die! & @Phil sent me (for referrals).” – or – “We Fight Or We Die! & @No-one sent me”
For extra chances to win these controllers, you can also SHARE something like
“@Bluemouth Interactive has an awesome Mass Effect 3 comp to winner over at ….Get on over”
We’ll know they’ve done it so we can take note of your entry so make sure you share this out to all your friends, and get them to refer you so you have a bigger chance of winning both the game/strategy guide and the 2 controllers of your choice.
Competition is open worldwide and winners can elect to receive either the Xbox 360 or PS3 format of the game.
