Over the past few months there has been a little legal dispute going on between Bethesda’s parent company, Zenimax, and Notch’s development company, Mojang. This dispute was for the ownership of the ‘Scrolls’ Trademark, as Mojang was developing a game literally called Scrolls. ZeniMax then filed the lawsuit as the game had conflicted with their longstanding trademark for ‘The Elder Scrolls’.
However after months of non-revealed deliberation, it both companies have chosen to settle. Under the settlement, the Scrolls trademark will transfer to ZeniMax and Mojang will also let go of any trademark to the Scrolls name. However ZeniMax has licensed ‘Scrolls’ to Mojang for use in their game currently in development. They are also banned from using the Scrolls name for any sequel to Scrolls or any video game whatsoever. Bit confusing huh?
Recently, Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan held what they called a PlayStation Vita Game Heaven broadcast that was supposed to reveal a bunch of new titles for the PlayStation Vita. Obviously this raised Vita owners’ hopes immensely, though once the “broadcast” began it was met with disdain and unsatisfied viewers.
The broadcast itself contained barely any titles that were highly anticipated by fans and was also done in an extremely poor manner. It seems that the criticism for the event was so high that Sony’s President Hiroshi Kawano had to write a blog post on the Japanese PlayStation Community site about it. As translated by Andriasang, Kawano stated that he will take the “Harsh criticism” from viewers to heart and use it as a lesson for the future. Kawano ended his blog stating that people can look forward to new changes that are being implemented into the next Game Heaven, whenever that will be.
This month’s issue of the Japanese magazine, CoroCoro has given us a brief look at what the box art for the releases of Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 will look like in Japan. Now while these are the Japanese box arts, it the packaging is unlikely to change when it is released in the West, minus translations of course.
The box arts can be seen below, though the full image can be found from the helpful person who revealed the image on Twitter. Neat stuff huh? Now all we need to do is wait for some more details to roll out and everyone should be happy… except those wanting a 3DS release.
It seems that an anonymous source has chosen to reveal something about a system that Microsoft has been strict about ever since the whole achievement system was established. This anonymous source spoke with Xbox360Achievements and revealed that Xbox Live Arcade games will soon see their achievement limit expanded.
Currently the achievements for XBLA games are limited at a maximum of 20 total, which must equal 200 Gamerscore points. At best, the list can be expanded with an additional 50 points for DLC. However if this rumor is true, the games will now be given a limit of up to 400 achievement points with 30 achievements. This change is said to be coming on June 1st, however this is basically a rumor as Microsoft has not officially revealed this upgrade and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Update: Major Nelson has officially announced that this policy is indeed correct and will go into effect starting June 2012.
Cavorite 2, like it’s predecessor, is a puzzle platformer for iOS, created by 4-man team, Cascadia Games (owners of one of the coolest logos around, by the way). It tells the story of Dr. Cavor, and features the use of his invention, Cavorite, in the solving of numerous and varied puzzles.
Story
In the first Cavorite game, Dr. Cavor flew to the moon using his invention, Cavorite, a substance that negates the effect of gravity on an object. Subsequently trapped on the lunar surface, he finds an alien civilisation, and collects gems to power his flying machine to launch his spacecraft to get back home.
In Cavorite 2 it is revealed that shortly after take-off, the ship plummets back to the moon’s surface, and Dr. Cavor is once again sent on a journey to collect more gems, solve more puzzles, and hopefully get home.
All this is told in a brief bu the to-the-point cut-scene, in the form of a collection of static, but nicely rendered images, with accompanying text.
Interestingly, the character of Dr. Cavor, as well as his invention and adventures on the moon, seems to be inspired by H. G. Wells’ “The First Men in the Moon” novel, written in 1901, which also featured an alien civilisation living in the moon.
Gameplay
The interface is simple. Left and Right buttons, as well as a jump button let you move around the levels, and push boxes around. And there is a “Spray Cavorite” button lets you apply the substance to boxes, floating them up. You can also double-tap the Spray button to hold onto the box as it floats up, allowing you to steer it, and reach higher than you can jump.
Throughout the levels you will encounter things like pressure pads, disappearing blocks, laser beams, and a number of different alien creatures. Using your knowledge of how these things work and interact, you’ll be working to collect any gems, and then reach the exit. Each level is one screen big, making them fairly straightforward to analyse and figure out what you should be doing.
Knowing how to beat a level, however, does not mean you can beat the level right off. Though there isn’t really any physics or randomness to the game, you often feel as though nothing is under your control. Bugs, tight jumps, and controls that are fiddly at times, leave you frustrated; and, although you can complete the levels eventually through trial and error, it feels like the game is cheating you out of your plain victory. This makes Cavorite 2 not just a cerebral game, but has an element of twitch and requires you to gain a level of mastery over the controls that most other solid puzzle games do not have. (Portal, anyone?)
Every time you complete a level, you are awarded a star rating based on the time you took to complete the room, how many of the available gems you collected, and how many tries it took you. There are 21 levels, per area, with 3 areas including their own unique look and new pieces added to the puzzles in each. You can also pay a small fee to unlock all the levels.
That said, the fact that everything is on one screen, and each puzzle is fairly brief, makes this a fun little time waster. The solutions can take some thinking about, but it’s always well within reach of any puzzle enthusiast. And that’s who this game is for, mainly; for anyone who loved the first Cavorite game, and was left wanting more, there’s more to be had here!
There are a ton of GameCentre achievements for you to unlock, too.
Audio & Visual
The soundtrack to this game is pleasant and well made, going solidly along the synth and 8-bit genres. The sound effects, too, are old school, with a chip-tune feel to them. The graphics, too, are in keeping with this style. Everything, apart from the UI, is made up of beautiful and detailed pixel art, with great animation and effects. There’s nothing to write home about or anything, but this is a simple puzzler, and the art and sound does a great job of setting the tone of the game.
Overall
Even with it’s minor issues here and there, this is a solid platform puzzler. If you liked the first in the series, or just love brainteasers, this game is for you!
A new elusive trailer has been released by Namco Bandai with a more in depth look at the true extent of the environmental and vehicle damage in Ridge Racer Unbounded as well as giving a little more insight into how the games physics engine looks. Theres nothing like having a car explode in your face as you jump through an intersection to get the adrenaline going and Ridge Racer Unbounded will provide plenty of heartstopping moments. Also on offer is the City Creator, allowing players to create their own urban playgounds and share them online with others. For those who pre-order the game Namco Bandai are offering the “Day One Edition”, with bonus cars and paintjobs, and for Vita users free DLC for a limited time period on offer.
Phantasy Online was the first major console MMORPG and was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast, followed by ports on the Xbox, Gamecube, and PC. The game was immensely popular at the time, and while subsequent sequels on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS did continue with the online multiplayer focus, they never quite enjoyed the same amount of success.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is the true sequel to the original Dreamcast game, and untill recently it was going to be a PC exclusive. That has changed as the PlayStation Vita will be getting a port of the game sometime in 2013 with the PC version still getting a release as planned in 2012. The Vita version is currently 10% complete and what’s cool Vita and PC users will be able to play together on the same servers.
You can check out the first images of the Vita version below, as well as a video showing the behind the scenes development.
With the recent release of Pokepark 2 and the news of sequels for Black and White, you would think Nintendo might be ready to ease up on the Poke-releases. Of course this is Nintendo, and they know what the fans want. More games. Mysteriously, Game Freak and Nintendo have recently files a trademark for “Pokemon Adventure Camp”.
Yes, this barely qualifies as anything worthy of note, but to the hardcore fans, I am sure that lone title is enough to speculate with for some time. Personally, I smell a 3DS title underway that mirrors the same jolly stylings of the Pokepark series, but it’s way too early to guess that at the moment. Either way, this marks the 4th upcoming Pokerelease to drool over, and once more information rises, we will be sure to bring you an update. Stay tuned.
It’s a rarity when any game topples over a million in sales, but Mario isn’t your ordinary franchise. Nintendo recently announced that the beloved plumber’s first big adventure on the Nintendo Wii has now sold 5 Million copies in total, which puts this title up there with the likes of Just Dance, Wii Play, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
“Wii continues its record-breaking run by surpassing 39 million units in its 64th month, a pace that is unmatched by any other system in U.S. history,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Titles like Super Mario Galaxy help explain why Wii continues to resonate with consumers. The fact that one of the best-reviewed games of all time is available for a suggested retail price of $19.99 speaks to Nintendo’s combination of quality, family fun and value that is unmatched in our industry.”
As far as 2012 goes, I would expect to see a lot more heavy hitters turn into Nintendo Selects, as that lower price-tag seems to be doing wonders for sales. If you have yet to pick up Super Mario Galaxy, you should lightly hit yourself as punishment, and aim to be one of the next million buyers.
Late last week it was revealed that Lollipop Chainsaw would feature not only a bunch of special costumes such as the above pictured bikini, but also a number of anime and manga styled costumes. Everyone, including myself, thought it would be a great idea if all of these costumes would be available in North America when the game is released.
It seems that Warner Brothers has decided to stay true to our hopes and have in fact confirmed through the Official Lollipop Chainsaw Twitter account that “All outfits will be available in all countries.” Doesn’t get more concise and simple than that right? Nearly all of the costumes will also be on the disc when the game is released, though a few may be included as pre-order bonuses. We’ll know more as the release date for Lollipop Chainsaw, June 12th, grows closer.
![XBLA achievement score may raise to 400 [Updated]](https://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/achievement-unlocked.jpg "XBLA achievement score may raise to 400 [Updated]")
