For the past few weeks now, Nintendo have been coming forth with numerous details about Mario Party 9, and for the most part, this new entry is shaping up quite nicely. In true Nintendo fashion, a new television commercial was recently released to promote the game, and it’s quite a goomba-filled family affair.
Along with talk about the new features of boss battles and vehicles, this clip shows a family enjoying some Mario Party with a bevy of Mario characters making appearances throughout. Mario Party 9 hits the Wii on March 11th, so mark your calenders, snag a pre-order, and use a coaster, as this follow-up is sure to be the swan song for the franchise on the platform. You can watch the new commercial down below.
Overview
If you were to mention 15 years ago that Mario and Sonic would have collaborated in any video game, most would have fell over in shock at the thought. Times are different now though, the SNES and Genesis wars are over, and Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games marks the third entry in Sega’s growing franchise that sees the two now legends going for gold. Just a few months after releasing a console version, this portable offering is set to bring together two all-star teams for some mini-game madness at the world’s grand stage for sporting events. Being on the 3DS, does this entry shoot for the stars, or is it bound by the limitations of it’s platform? Here is my review for Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games.
Story
Believe it or not, there is a full story to be told in the London Olympic Games. Eggman and Bowser have set out to do the unthinkable. After years of kidnapping princesses, holding small animals hostage, and opening corrupt amusement parks, it’s now this duo’s duty to make the Olympics…foggy. Sonic, Mario, and the rest of the bunch are not going to stand by and watch the dark auras take over though, and are out to clear the air and restore these events to their bright and jolly state.
Yes, it’s not the most intriguing of stories, but for a franchise that has made a name for itself out of sheer simplicity and star power, you can’t really ask for too much more. Cutscenes in-between games tell the small plot rather well and with two branching paths, players can see everything unfold in two perspectives (Mario and Sonic’s, of course). Instead of jumping or spindashing through foes, these two gaming icons must compete against whatever evil lies ahead, and in true fare for both parties involved, there are plenty of nods and fan service to keep the player interested until the final event.
Gameplay
If Mario and Sonic have anything going for them in this outing, it’s the hefty variety of mechanics that are involved when it comes to makes these mini-games tick. Whether it be biking, weight-lifting, swimming, or any other Olympic-flavored fare, Sega have done a fantastic job in bringing out the full potential of the 3DS’ touch screen, mic, gyroscopic and button controls by putting them all to use at one time or another, giving each sport it’s own unique feel. While that alone is worthy of a ton of praise, there are still some shortcomings within the game due to poor choices in execution.
Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games featured around 20 mini-games in all, and while each felt…”mini”, they never came off as bite-sized and were equally enjoyable to some extent. The 3DS counterpart is quite different though, letting the player have a vast selection of over 50. This sounds great at first, but quite a few of these romps lack the quality of others and stick out like rotten apples amongst the stronger contenders within the game. For instance, there is one game that lets players blow at the 3DS’ mic to control a sailboat. This works just fine and the vessel moves accordingly, but the whole event is over in a blink of an eye and feels lackluster as a result. Another mic-based event has you yell into the mic to control your character’s performance, which is about as awkward as you can imagine. These are just a couple of examples of course, but thankfully Sega did craft out some more memorable inclusions in this lot that are sure to please.
Out of all the events present, I found the timing-based games and button-mashing races to be the most enjoyable. Taekwondo has the player hit an appropriate input at the correct time to slam their opponent into the ground. Whoever has the fastest and most accurate fingers become the victor, and it’s hard not to want to try again in either case. Since this is the Olympics, racing and swimming can both be done by mashing a few buttons and controlling your character’s speed, and this is yet another fine event that works well with the game’s limited scope. You see, nearly every mini-game takes less than a minute to complete and every sport has been shrunken down to fit within the small time span, while boasting some kind of gimmick to make things more interesting. Sadly, what should be the most exciting sports on the cart are also the most disappointing. Instead of getting to play volleyball in a full court and actually taking control of your character, the player is forced to control what feels like a statue as they wait for the ball to come to them, using the stylus strokes to knock it in a particular direction. Many other big-named sports work in the same manner, limiting the player to a couple of button-presses instead of a more fulfilling control scheme.
The saving grace to it all though is how these casual tasks are tied together. Single player mode lets players pick their own events to play, with the option to create a “medley” of events to be played one after another, which is great for those who would rather player their favorites than go through the offerings found in Story mode. Winning medals and “going for gold” is also a good reason to keep going back in for more, and there is hours of content to be found for any completionist looking for a challenge. For those with friends, a multiplayer mode can also be found where you can square off against friends, competing in several events locally.
Visuals/Audio
Graphically, Mario and Sonic at the London Olympic Games looks fantastic. Each model for Sonic, Tails, Mario, Luigi, or any of the many other characters from either franchise look crisp and delightful, easily standing toe to toe with their console forms. The 3D effect however is rather subtle and feels a bit tacked on, and of course can not be properly used with the gyroscopic themed games to the movement of the handheld. Animations are also well done, with each character capturing their quirky charms with expressions alone in the colorful and appropriately themed London environment.
As far as a soundtrack goes, you should expect a bit of Mushroom Kingdom, a dash of Sonic, and a few generic yet upbeat tracks blaring in the background as players compete. None of these tunes are too distinguishable or stand on their own, but are just effective enough in giving the game a warm and inviting feeling to fans who are both old and new to this franchise. Voice acting is very sparse and is mainly done through grunts and whines, which is a bit of a let-down considering that we have seen other 3DS titles go out of their way to offer rich dialogue sequences.
Overall
When it boils down to it, my only true complaint with Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games is that it’s just a mini-game compilation. Nothing more, nothing less. Events have been shrunken down to best fit the platform, but the 3DS has proven itself capable of much more in the past which leaves a lot to be desired from this portable entry. Mario and Sonic are still very much Mario and Sonic though, and their personas alone are enough to make younger and more casual gamers cling to this title and get hours of enjoyment out of the huge variety of events in tow. Mario however…could never, and I do repeat never beat Sonic in a race. That is just craziness.
Cave Company can’t seem to stop pumping out new DoDonPachi titles. The popular shooter franchise is getting quite the attention in 2012 with several new releases across several platforms, which include the arcade, Xbox 360, iOS, and now the Windows Phone 7.
Instead of just porting the iOS title, DoDonPachi Blissful Death, to the Windows Phone 7, the company has instead decided to release an all new DoDonPachi game for the platform titled DoDonPachi Maximum.
At this stage the Cave has shared a debut teaser trailer and mentioned that it will come out sometime in 2012. You can view the trailer below which has some really cool music and a weird looking scientist with glowing eyes.
Biarat Company has confirmed today that their latest third person shooter project, Deep Black: Reloaded, will be released on digital download platforms this week for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
The game is a unique shooter featuring over 40 missions taking place on both land and water, the unique aspect are the missions that place underwater as you literally swim, shoot, and engage in a variety of actions while submerged under water. The water physics look to shake up the tried and tested third person shooting formula.
The game will be compatible with NVIDIA 3D VISION and can be controlled using the Razer Hydra controller. You can check out the latest trailer below.
Madman and SBS have just announced their March line up for 2012, with several new shows heading to your home as the highlights of the month.
Danger 5 (March 21)is a World War II comedy set in the 1960’s. You read that right. The show follows an elite squad of international Allied operatives as they pursue their one true goal: kill Adolf Hitler. There’s plenty of action and offbeat humor as the squad do their best to off the mustachioed one – taking in a perverted Antarctic death circus, a golden murder casino and a bit of exotic dancing for good measure. Influences cited for Danger 5 include legendary puppet show Thunderbirds, Japanese Monster movies and the less than politically correct crime capers of the 1960’s.
Coming along with a slightly different tone is Cinema Asia (March 21) a five part series packed with clips from some of the most important films produced by the burgeoning Asian film industries this year. Interviews with the film makers provide an added insight to a region that boasts the first and third most prolific film producing countries in the world, India and China respectively.
La Boheme (March 7) This high budget production of Puccini’s legendary opera is directed by Oscar nominated director Robert Dornhelm, and brings together two of opera’s biggest stars in the leading roles. The story follows the relationship of two lovers who are brought together and torn apart in the city of Paris, and is one of the most enduring tales of tragic love.
Piano Man (March 7) jumps back into the modern day, with atypical concert pianist James Rhodes not only playing the music of his favourite composers (Bach, Chopin, Beethoven) but explaining how they have had an impact on his life. After coming through childhood abuse, drug addiction and suicide attempts, James brings a unique approach to his performances that aims to bring classical music to everybody’s ears.
A seven film compilation, The Bible: A History (March 7 )explores the origins of the Bible, tracing how seven sections of the Scriptures came into being and their influence on today’s world.
Coast host Nicholas Crane returns with new series Town (March 7), which takes a close look at one of the more forgotten aspects of urban living. Crane explores four iconic British towns over the series, taking in the sights and sounds of Scarborough, Ludlow, Perth and Totnes. The geographer and adventurer delves into the character of each unique town, and looks at the secrets of their survival and success.
Now you may be wondering how any film, let alone the latest Sacha Baron Cohen effort, can be victorious at the Oscars without being released yet. Well the Dictator’s victory was of a different sort:
VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea. What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!
In case you missed it, the Academy Awards had apparently banned Sacha Baron Cohen from attending the ceremony because he was all set to attend in full The Dictator regalia. Despite the fact that he starred in a nominated film (animated flick Hugo, which went on to win several awards) and is a member of the Academy, his tickets were supposedly pulled and backing studio Paramount commented to Deadline: “Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show.”
So there you have it, the Academy Awards banned anything entertaining from happening at the Oscars. At least for a little while, because the instant media backlash quickly changed the Academy’s mind, and Cohen was soon re-invited. Now you should note the key words here: apparently, and supposedly. According to the Hollywood Reporter no invitations were revoked and no tickets pulled – they Academy simply didn’t like the idea.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it’s certainly paid off for Cohen and The Dictator – hundreds of millions tuned into the Oscars this year, with the show enjoying an upswing no doubt thanks to returning host Billy Crystal. Media outlets around the world churned out news of the supposed snub, and Baron Cohen can congratulate himself on another publicity stunt well done.
(and in case you didn’t catch the stunt, you can check it out for yourself below, Ryan Seacrest is the victim, I know that may persuade some…)
Were you playing Scrabble on your iOS or Android device during the award ceremonies last night? Did you happen to “steal” and use any of the words that were said during the show?
If you did, then EA knows exactly what happened. After all, they collected the best words that were said last night and even paired them up with an equivalent SCRABBLE score. Have a look at the list below:
· Inexplicably – Score: 28 (Meryl Streep, Best Actress, “The Iron Lady”)
· Virtuoso – Score: 9 (Colin Firth’s introduction speech for Best Actress)
If that got you in the mood to play Scrabble, then jump on over to your favorite App Store and download it. Its free. Check out EA’s official Scrabble site for more information.
What if the hardcore metal music is playing in the background while a woman wearing a gas mask kills zombies?
No?!
Ok, how about if the hardcore metal music is playing in the background while a woman wearing a gas mask violently kills zombies and stomps on their balls? Plus, a flamethrower is involved.
Seriously, still no?
Well, I guess you better not watch the Brutality trailer that is embedded below that shows off Resident Evil Raccoon City. Also, you have no soul if you answered “no” to any of the above questions.
Klei Entertainment, the indie developer behind the gory beat em up Shank 2 (XBLA, PC, PSN) have announced their next project. In a move that is quite a surprise Klei Entertainment announced that their next game will be a text based adventure game (Or is it?).
Their latest game will be titled Mark of the Ninja. Is it really a text based adventure game? Or are these ninjas disguising themselves? You can find out for yourself here.
What do you think of Mark of the Ninja? Let us know what you think of this ‘text based adventure’ game in the shoutbox and comment section.
Little Deviants Developer: Bigbig Studios Publisher: Sony Platform: PlayStation Vita Release Date: February 23, 2012 Price: $32.99 (available here)
Overview
Little Deviants is one of the PS Vita’s numerous launch titles, coming to the handheld alongside big names and big games like Wipeout and Uncharted. Whilst Little Deviants is a fantastic demonstration of all the Vita’s flashy new control schemes, it really is just a collection of mini games that only the high score obsessed will find any great joy with.
Story
Are you really expecting anything? The set up for Little Deviants is kept to a cutesy minimum. A space ship full of the titular Deviants is shot down by some nasty robots and crash lands on a cubist planet of cubist humans. The robots follow shortly after and decide for some random reason to raise the dead to help them crush the amorphous blobs that are the Deviants. Players must take control of the Deviants and guide them through a series of mini games to win back their space ship parts and escape the planet.
That’s it.
Gameplay
As mentioned above, Little Deviants is primarily a demonstration of all the new wizardry that is packed within Sony’s latest handheld. Think of it as the Wii Sports for the Vita, except it’s not free and it’s not half as friendly to non gaming relatives and Christmas parties. Every mini game is controlled using the gyroscope, touch screen, microphone or touch pad, and old school buttons only get involved in one type of mini game. Score enough points for a bronze medal and another game will be unlocked, with each success netting the Deviant’s a space ship part with which to rebuild their craft. Games are primarily touch screen and gyroscope based, with these motion controls used to roll Deviant’s around mazes, tilt them through caves and steer them through race courses. There’s a touch screen variant of whack-a-mole that utilises both touch screens, and even one game that requires a bit of singing.
Now everything is technically sound, and the game truly shows off just how accurate and sensitive the alternate control options on the Vita are. Unfortunately none of the games are particularly addictive or fun, and there are even a couple that are a complete turn off – using the back touch screen to generate a hill to roll around the Deviants is a nice twist of an idea, but in execution it feels clumsy and based on luck rather than skill. There’s nothing that leaps out of the collection and grabs you, nor anything particularly surprising or creative. The augmented reality game (move the Vita around to shoot down some robots that fly around your house) is good for some gimmicky fun, but will quickly bring some hurt to your world,either when your arms get tired of holding up the Vita or someone on the train whacks you for being an idiot.
Portability is a concern, and not only with the above example. The singing mini game (you can hum or whistle if you want) will induce even more wrath from members of the public, and unless you’ve got nice big man hands, it can be a bit difficult to get decent control over the whack-a-mole style game without assuming some strange yoga position to allow both hands access to the Vita. If the handheld is charging you can write off the augmented reality games, and things will become a lot more difficult on the tilt based sessions too.
There is some fun to be had with the games, but only in short and sweet sessions. Although there are thirty on offer there are an awful lot of reskinned repeats that simply dial the difficulty up a notch. Apart from unlocking more games, the bronze, silver and gold trophies serve little purpose, and leaderboards are tucked away in a separate menu rather than updated live at the end of every game. If you do take to a game enough to bash away at it repeatedly, then a silver medal earns you a gallery item, and a gold a bit of glory. Another completely bizarre feature has you collecting a ‘Mogger’ from every game – that’s a cat to you and me – that does nothing but sit in a house – is Little Deviant’s trying to turn us all into cat ladies? Perhaps there’s some sort of reward for collecting all the cats, but I honestly can’t bring myself to play through every game again in search of them.
Audio & Visual:
Much like the gameplay in Little Deviants the audio and visual properties of the game are good but not in any way unique. Everything has a vibrant coat of cartoon paint, and the Deviants themselves always have their mouths hanging open and bounce around like the insane googly eyed blobs that they are. They and the zombie style enemies have some amusing details, and the backgrounds are simplistic but bright. There’s nothing overly flash on offer here – the Vita can certainly do better – but everything is bright and bubbly enough to make Little Deviants a pleasant enough experience for the senses. Sound effects and music follow a similar pattern, with upbeat tunes and a light hearted, goofy feel.
Overall:
Little Deviants is difficult to recommend. The games within it are by no means bad, but there’s just not enough here to make the package stand out. It shows off the Vita’s control capabilities very well, but anyone who’s booted up the handheld will have had a similar experience with Welcome Park. If you’re a fan of mini game compilations or like chasing high scores purely for the sake of it then you may find more joy here than most. Ultimately there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to the Vita launch line up, and with Lumines and Super Star Dust Delta among them, this arcade compilation doesn’t stand much of a chance.
