Over this last holiday season the Pearl Pink Nintendo 3DS was offered in North America as part of a bundle with Nintendogs, however those who still want to pick up this more feminine appearing device may still do so when it is released as a standalone package on February 10th for $169.99
Note that those who picked up the bundle a few months ago actually received a better deal, as the bundle was sold at the same price. Those in Europe and the UK will also be seeing the Pearl Pink 3DS on the same date as well as the Ice White version of the handheld which has yet to be announced for North America but one can assume that it will be announced in the coming weeks.
Fly With Me Developer: EA (Electronic Arts) Platform: iPhone (reviewed), iPad Release Date: 2nd February 2012 Price: $0.99
Overview
EA’s Fly With Me starts where games like Tiny Wings left off, using the core “tap to flap” gameplay and expanding on it to make a more rounded, fully-featured title.
Story
There is a short cutscene at the start of the game, describing the basic premise of the story. A hive of bees inexplicably attack a neighbouring birdhouse, bothering it’s feathered occupant, sunbathing in his garden.
This is where the game starts. In some sort of revenge, the bird decides to fly around eating said bees… and dodge obstacles… and trees… and pick up the golden stars and gears that float around each level, before flying through a vertical wall of stars and landing on your house’s perch. As you do.
Gameplay
As I mentioned, the controls consist of a very “tap to flap” mechanism. Each flap grinds down your stamina meter on the left of the screen, which you can replenish by eating bugs. If the stamina meter bottoms out you can no longer flap, and so plummet to your doom, and have to start the level over.
There’s a level progress meter displayed across the top which is useful for seeing how much farther you have to fly to complete the level, as well as seeing when a star is coming up. Stars are, of course, needed to unlock future stages.
There are obstacles that can stop you in your tracks, killing you instantly if you don’t avoid them or handle them correctly. There are also some helplful features, which are introduced as you progress through the levels, pushing you forwards and allowing you to conserve energy, or floating you upwards, giving you some more time to play with before falling to the ground.
You collect gears to eventually unlock a robotic bird, which makes the levels far easier, and the game also sports an in-app purchasing setup, offering to take your money if you fail a level a multiple times in a row.
There are 3 stages, each with 15 levels and numerous helpful and harmful features added as you go along. There’s also an infinite challenge level for each stage, and a purchasable “Kid Mode” which makes things easier for children; less baddies, that kind of thing.
The production quality of this game is off the charts, as I’ll explain below… that said, the game just isn’t that fun to play. With most arcade-stlye games, there’s a “feeling” they want to convey… with Tiny Wings, it was the feeling of soaring through the sky and keeping your speed up… with Angry Birds, it was seeing an entire structure demolish itself in a chain-reaction you set off. You get a feeling of being in control; your success or failure is all hanging on your skill at controlling your character on the screen.
In this game there isn’t any such “feeling” to draw you in. Most of the time you’re not soaring through the air, and even when you float into a gust of wind which carries you around the screen in loop-de-loops and such, there’s not any feeling of exhilaration, as it’s nothing to do with you. When you collect the stars and gears there’s no effect on the gameplay to reward you for it; if you happen to be going in the right route you’ll pick it up, and if not, then you’ll miss it completely.
And when you accidentally touch the screen when you didn’t mean to and smack into a tree or spiders web, then you instantly die. The same goes for running out of stamina. When the levels start to get longer, this can get real frustrating. Some levels require you to examine the placement of the various features and plan your flaps perfectly to even make it to the end. But this is a casual game… you don’t really want to be calculating the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, here.
Audio & Visual
As flawed as the game design may be, the way it has been implemented has been top-notch! This is some of the best art, sound effects and music I’ve experienced in an iPhone game.
The pure liquid awesomeness of the vector art is a joy to behold. The backgrounds are detailed and atmospheric. The birds, bugs and obstacles are wonderfully rendered. All of the animations are solidly executed in a smooth, cartoony style, and really bring the game to life.
The music plays happily in the background, and the sound effects emphasize every action happening on-screen, making for a nice, pleasant overall experience. Even when you die, a nice little guitar riff introduces you to the “Level Failed” screen encouraging you to pick yourself up and give the level another go.
It’s just a shame the actual gameplay doesn’t fulfill all the joy and fuzzy-warm-feeling the production design promises. If I was rating this game based on Audio and Visuals alone, I would undoubtedly give it 10 / 10. Alas, audio and visuals alone does not a game make.
Overall
Some people may not mind the game’s flaws, or even forgive them considering the rest of the production is so wonderfully constructed. But for me, this game just doesn’t have anything to keep me interested. There’s no satisfaction in completing a level, picking up stars, or dodging the bad guys in this game, which, again, is a real shame considering the art and audio is so joyous.
The production values do their best to carry this game, but ultimately it’s hard to find a reason to keep playing.
EA have released yet another trailer for the hotly anticipated Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The latest video is titled ‘A Heroes Guide to Amalur – A New World to Discover’ and focuses on the world of Amalur and the players affect upon it.
You can venture into the world of Amalur in the trailer below. The new guide trailer dives into the immersive world of Amalur and shows off what it has to offer, as well as what the player has to offer to Amalur.
What do you think of the latest Reckoning video? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning hits stores on February 9th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
Well we all knew that 2K Games and Digital Extremes’ upcoming The Darkness II would be gory but would it really be this gory? A brand new set of trailers will be released over the coming week, showing off The Darkness II’s very brutal and graphic execution moves. Dismantling, dismembering and decapitating his enemies with his two Demon Arms, Jackie Estacado is one badass who you don’t want to mess with.
Check out the new trailer below to witness the Neck Tear, Wishbone and Daisy Pop.
The Darkness II is set to be released on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC on February 7 in North America and February 10 in Australia and Europe.
Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge Studio: Madhouse Publisher:Madman Format: DVD Release Date:January 11, 2012 Price: $29.95 – Available Here
Overview:
Video-game adaptations are an often hit and miss affair. When it comes to adapting such an interactive experience into something that requires zero interaction for it to work as a medium, often is it that something is lost in the transition.
Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge is 15 years old. It not only shows that age, but it also stands as a shocking reminder of how little has changed in terms of how we make a video-game work in the formula of anime. In 15 years time we still have anime that are either faithful to the point of alienation for those who aren’t familiar with the source material and anime that are so unfaithful to where it is no longer recognisable to the fans of it.
So how does Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge fit into this conundrum? Well, it unfortunately fails to bend the game into the anime formula. Sure it’s an anime series with the Darkstalkers characters and world. But for someone unfamiliar with the franchise, this anime is simply going to be an incomprehensible mess that is better left where it belongs – in 1997.
Story:
The biggest problem that plagues Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge is that it expects viewers to already have a decent level of knowledge of who these characters are, what the world they inhabit is like and in general what the plot of Darkstalkers is. This in turn makes this series pretty much an incredibly confusing romp that never really sets out to establish anything for those who are new to the series.
This is a fundamental flaw in anime adaptations and it heavily hinders Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge from being anything more than a brief series of OVA’s for the diehard fans of the games. Being the first time I ever really encountered the Darkstalkers franchise (other than playing as Morrigan in Marvel vs. Capcom 3), I was completely left in the dark.
The plot focuses generally around a group of mythical monsters such as Vampires, Succubus and Zombies, who battle one another in a world were the sun no longer rises thanks to these monsters known as Darkstalkers. It’s hardly anything unique and the characters are not at all developed, leaving the viewers with an odd sense of detachment to the events occuring on screen (that is unless your a huge fan of the series).
It is ultimately a series that does not aim at all for any type of larger appeal and locks in on the fans of the video-game series. There is little in the way of introducing the world of Darkstalkers to newcomers and very little in the way of providing a quality anime series.
Visuals and Audio:
To make matters worse, Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge wears it’s age like a fluorescent vest. There is a lot of repeated animation as well as very poor quality art work that jut screams 1997. Put simply; it does not hold up to today’s standards. Everything about it just looks old and while that isn’t always a problem (take Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho for example), Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge looks and sounds ugly in pretty much every way.
That brings me to the audio, which is simply an attrocious mix of old school action tunes and overbearing gothic-inspired tracks. Nothing really comes together musically and it ends up being an irritation to viewers ears.
Likewise the voice acting is mediocre and features acting that will cause just as much as a headache as the background music will. It’s a sad attempt at a dub and does not come close to what is expected when Viz Media (who dubbed this OVA series) have actually done much better work.
Extras:
The only bright spot in the disappointing release is the large quantity of bonus features that were included on disc. There is a plethora of extra content such as various character art galleries and profiles, a director interview, trailers, plus a few other goodies for the truly hardcore fans to sink their teeth into.
There is certainly enough here to keep viewers busy after they are done with all 4 parts of the OVA series, making what is the high point of a release unfortunately plagued with multiple low points.
Overall: Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge is through and through a time capsule, a look back at an era we had thought the industry was long past. But instead it shows how little things have changed. There are still adaptations like this being produced and each one does not open itself up to newcomers, echoing the biggest problem of Night Warriors.
It is unfortunately the culmination of a bunch of poorly conceived ideas and amounts to little more than a cash in on a franchise that had very little to cash in on the begin with.
This could have been so much better, but it is the lack of ambition that leaves Darkstalker’s Revenge nothing more than an artefact of the dark ages of animation. For anyone but fans of the franchise, I strongly recommend you leave Darkstalker’s Revenge where it truly belong, in the darkened nights of years long passed.
You would think that a developer with a game about to be released would be taking it easy and relaxing for awhile but it seems like the Project Soul team is still hard at work making sure they will provide plenty of extra content for players to pick up when Soulcalibur V is released and even a few weeks afterward as well.
There are three packs expected to be released on February 2012. The first is a launch day dlc pack on February 2nd that will include nine new customization items including bikinis, wings and face paints as well as original music from Soul Blade and Soulcalibur.
The next piece of DLC will be released on Valentine’s day on February 14th which will provide nine more customization options such as animal heads, a breast plate and a kimono. Those wanting more original music will also be able to pick up music from Soulcalibur II and III. Last we have the DLC for February 28th which will include face paint, camouflage, a skull and masks and music lovers will be able to pick up tracks from Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. All music tracks will be able to be picked up for only $0.99 or 80 MS if the buyer wants them separately.
The landscape of portable gaming is going through a change. The mobile market seems to be growing thanks to the advent of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. This brought a new smartphone and tablet market which is gaining steam. With that in mind, media and consumers have proclaimed the doom of the dedicated handhelds and its market as casual gamers turn to their smaller smartphones. Cheaper games and accessibility to such games are the main reason, but is it enough to kill a whole market? To put it bluntly, no. I say that with confidence as there are a few reasons why one market won’t kill the other and why the cries of doom are premature, even unnecessary to begin with.
As I write this article, the Playstation Vita, Sony’s latest handheld, hasn’t had the best of starts in its home country of Japan. Despite a promising 325,000 units sold over two days, sales have only been downhill. Week two saw sales of 72,000, week three 42,000 and so on. Not very impressive on paper, but I think a lot of us need to take a couple of steps back. Now, some of the media look at this as an indication that the Vita will not sell well in Western markets. After reading such articles, some do not acknowledge that this is one territory, Japan. Also, these are retail figures. One does not know import numbers or even Hong Kong and Taiwan numbers (these territories received the Vita during December), meaning that the total sales is much more than what we are getting at the moment. With that in mind, this raises the following question: since when was one territory indication of worldwide success or failure? Last time I checked, the video game world was more than Japan.
After a rocky launch, the 3DS defies the pessimists and sells 15 million units worldwidethus far.
The Vita was not the only dedicated handheld to received this doom and gloom treatment. Nintendo’s 3DS launched in February 2011 in Japan and March 2011 elsewhere. It too had a rocky launch due to price and lack of quality launch titles. While the Vita boasts more launch titles of quality, the 3DS and Vita share the price issue, at least at the launch window. Well, the 3DS was not performing to Nintendo standards. Gamers did not want to fork out US$250/AU$350 plus a game, just like gamers with the Vita, which will launch at the same price for the base Wi-Fi only model. Yet, after some drastic actions by Nintendo, including a price cut, 3DS sales were on the rise. What followed was what the handheld gaming world needed, the 3DS Renaissance. Quality titles began to stream through retailers into the consumer’s hands, which positively affected 3DS sales, to the point where it had beaten first year DS sales. Now it stands at 15 million units sold worldwide according to Nintendo’s latest figures.
The 3DS success in its first ten months shows that the treatment of the dedicated handheld was misguided and unnecessary. Not everyone wants an iPhone to play games. In fact, who actually buys one to play games? The focus of the iPhone is communication, whether it is through traditional calls or video. Not gaming itself. Gaming on the iPhone is an extra, an optional experience, just like every other feature on the iPhone, including Siri. Virtual controllers are no match for pure physical controls. When you pay $1 for a game, you get $1 worth of gameplay. Now, I am not against the rise of the mobile market. What I am against is people predicting that this is how handheld games are going to be played in the future. There will always be gamers out there who want a portable Mario or a portable Uncharted on a system with gaming as their primary focus. I believe that is where people are misguided.
“The focus of the iPhone is communication… not gaming.”
Thinking about how much doom and gloom these two handhelds had (or, in the case of the Vita, have) to endure from the media, I wonder if it had/would have an adverse effect on sales. Well, I think that, we as the media do share some of the responsibility as we can have an influence with the general public in terms of whether they will make a purchase. Reviews are the first type of article that comes to mind, as this is our opinion of a game formulated into written words, sometimes into a short (or long) video detailing what our experience with the game was and adding some form of numeric number to reflect the contents of the review. However, this does not mean that we should formulate opinions with little data to back us up. Every argument requires justification or evidence to add a foundation so that it may hold itself up. The foundation of my argument lie with the sales figures from one territory, which I argue are not enough to suggest success or failure in other territories. Also add the general consensus of this current generation of doom predictors when it comes to dedicated handhelds.
I believe that I should express a warning to those who believe dedicated handheld gaming is forever dead: never count them out. Yes, the landscape is changing, but it does not mean one shall conquer the other. Both can co-exist, an idea which seems to escape those predicting doom. I am glad the 3DS is seeing success around the world, even if it was after a price drop. The Vita will have problems with price, seeing the consumer must purchase a memory card and a game, but considering the technology it offers, don’t expect one anytime soon. However, the Vita will succeed in its own right. Success of both handhelds can only mean one thing, healthy competition and that means that the true winners are the consumers themselves.
[UPDATE]: This article has only been published for three days and, as I was searching for news, this article caught my attention. Over on the UK version of CNET, one of their writers are trying to convince their readers that the iPod Touch is no match for the Playstation Vita. The author gives three reasons why: size, price and the fact that gaming experiences will be similar to the Playstation 3. The iPod Touch, like its phone counterpart, is not primarily used for gaming; it is, in fact, a music player first. As I have pointed out, the iTouch devices can not be compared to handheld devices due to the different primary focus that both fields have.
This article was written three days after their review of the handheld, which they have given the device three stars out of five. To make it interesting, the author of this recent article happens to be the reviewer. Throughout the review, he constantly compares the Vita to the iPod Touch, so the creation of this second article should not be a surprise. Now, CNET (and seemly the author in question) have received flak from blatant Apple bias, despite pleas that they are providing a fair and balanced view. But this just proves my point further. Some sections of the media will place a negative spin on a product when it is not justified. Why do we have opinion piece articles trying to convince consumers choose one product over the other? In a profession where being fair and objective is praised upon, shouldn’t it be practiced?
When Pikachu had an adventure on the Wii a while back, I passed it up completely as Pokepark Wii seemed to be more of a simplistic cash-in for the franchise as a whole. After seeing the promotion for a sequel that has rose up over a year later though, things are looking up for the series. In a new trailer for PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond, we get to see Pikachu and the three Unova started roam around the region and dish out special abilities to their opponents.
Yes, it’s still not the same as Snap or the Mystery Dungeon series, but this follow-up seems to be better built all around and packed with more fan service than any Pokefan could ask for. Multiplayer, mini-games, and the standard fare all look to have improved greatly, and those thirsty for more monsters to interact with should now take notice. Check out the trailer below for yourself, and mark your calenders Pokefans, as PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond launches on February 27th for the Nintendo Wii.
.hack//Quantum Studio: Kinema Citrus Publisher: FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: February 14, 2012 Price: $29.98 – Available Here
Overview:
The .hack series has been around for nearly a decade and over that time we have seen multiple video game series produced as well as a number of anime and OVA’s to provide original content and sometimes even follow the events of the video games. The three episode OVA .hack//Quantum is the latest addition to the franchise. Does .hack//Quantum live up to the franchise’s name or does it not have enough Chim Chims to get off the ground?
Story:
Many years in the future, an MMORPG (Massive Online Multiplayer Role Playing Game) has been developed that has engulfed the entire world with its popularity. The Cyberconnect Corporation has created The World R:X, a game that allows the use of face mounted displays that make the player feel like they are truly in the game by providing near virtual reality like displays.
The story of .hack//Quantum follows three main characters who just happen to be friends in real life who attend the same high school as one another. The main lead is named Aida Asuma, also known by her in game character Sakuya, Ikuta Iori also known as Tobias online and finally Etou Eri who is also known as Mary in The World. These three girls have been playing The World for quite some time and love spending time adventuring and enjoying everything it has to offer.
However one day when the group attempts to sneak through a high level dungeon containing the most powerful boss in the game, Sakuya’s foolishness in wishing to catch the Yata Mirror guild’s battle against the final boss she triggers a trap that not only causes the death of nearly the entire guild but also draws the boss’ attention. Despite surviving the ensuing pursuit, Sakuya’s actions in the dungeon are not long forgotten and a bounty is soon placed on her head for malicious interference with the guild’s battle.
Besides Sakuya and the rest, there was one more character there however, a strange cat player known as Hermit who possesses strange powers. That happiness soon ends however as the ones who placed the bounty prepare to Player Kill their characters. Yet right at the height of the battle everything changes and The World as Sakuya and her friends know it changes forever. As darkness and mystery surrounds the group, Sakuya, Tobias and Mary find themselves in the middle of dangerous circumstances that cause anyone who is killed by certain monsters or in a certain area to fall into a coma and trap their bodies inside the game. With a friend seriously wounded and areas around The World appearing where pain is reality can Sakuya, Tobias and Mary find the truth and put a stop to it all?
With only three episodes in length, it may be better to think of .hack//Quantum as a movie more than anything else as each episode flows together at a fast pace with very little interruption from ending songs and recap. Being that the show is only a few episodes long there are it is quite surprising to see how quickly the characters can flesh themselves out emotionally. While there isn’t too much character development to speak of and only a few focused on, the short length never allows for any down time. Sakuya’s change from a careless and easygoing player into one that will do anything to save her friends is a great transition that shows how close knit the group is. Hermit is another highlight of the show who carries an interesting personality mixture of playful mystery.
One thing that should also be touched upon is the amount of time that is spent on the outside of The World as well. Through nearly all of the .hack series we nearly spend all of our time watching the characters interact within The World itself and we rarely ever see real world counterparts to the characters and how they get along in the real world. While the bulk of the story still occurs within The World the times when Asuma, Iori and Eri are shown in the real world flesh out their personalities and provide an oft-unseen look at the effects of The World on those in the normal world.
Now for those unfamiliar with The World or any of the .hack series as a whole the show isn’t the most inviting however an uninformed viewer can still jump in and find enjoyment. They will however miss out on a number of references to past games, such as character’s from the past revealing themselves and especially a number of visual references and mentions of past occurrences within the series. Any newcomers will likely be able to still follow along however as nearly every mystery or technology is given explanation in a story that will leave you wanting more. .Hack//Quantum provides a compelling story full of mystery and likable characters that provides a gratifying narrative.
Visuals:
Being that this series is an OVA with only three episodes it is clear that the budget for the show was extremely high because the quality of the artwork the viewer is treated to is a treat for the eyes. The characters themselves are all references to past characters, such as Sakuya’s female Kite, Tobias’ take on Balmung and Mary who appears similar Blackrose. A number of other characters who stay true to the video game’s classes are there and each features the same level of detail and quality and long time fans will take pleasure picking out various background characters who look similar to main characters from past series.
While the characters are impressive, the background detail is even more so. The World is a beautiful place full of adventure and although a number of areas are shown multiple times, the environments are high quality. Kinema Citrus, the studio who produced .hack//Quantum also did an amazing job mixing together standard animation with 3D CGI with barely any drop in the quality of the background characters or the monsters given such treatment.
Audio:
It is unfortunate that while the series is a treat for the eyes, the music as a whole is not. There is no opening song but there is an ending song called “Shizuku” by Yūka Nanri which is enjoyable to listen to and fitting for the theme of the series. It is disappointing however that the background music never takes the series to a higher level. At best the background music simply helps provide a better atmosphere for anything occurring on screen but never goes beyond that point.
Both the Japanese and English voice tracks are provided with this release so that means viewers can choose their preferable track. The English voice actors perform their job admirably and features a few veteran voice talents. The fact that we are shown the characters outside of their player characters in The World is one of the biggest reasons that the English dub is preferential compared to the Japanese dub due to the personalities we see from the characters both in-game and outside of it.
Extras:
With this release of .hack//Quantum we see a plethora of bonus features. Unfortunately most of these special features may not be something one would be willing to sit through and watch for any given length of time. There are your more standard inclusions such as trailers for past and upcoming FUNimation releases as well as the Japanese commercials and promo videos for the title.
Also included is a three part series called Go, Our Chim Chims!! which range between two to three minutes long each and are very strange, as they feature chim chims from the show with the main characters hair styles.
Also included is a series of longer videos featuring Yui Ogura, the Japanese voice actress for Hermit. We follow Yui as she takes cooking lessons and makes a Hermit styled bento In “Yui-Yui Cooking” as well as a club-like activity with “Yui-Yui Club” and finally a simple quiz show featuring Yui asking various obscure questions about things that occurred in the anime in “Yui-Yui Cult Quiz.” All of these specials are in Japanese and while Yui’s bonus features may be worth an extra half hour or so of your time, are not something most would wish to watch a second time.
Overall:
Now while I may not have mentioned it before, .hack//Quantum has a unique quality that none of the other series produced so far have had. That being that this is the first anime for the series that hasn’t been produced by studio Bee Train and directed by Kōichi Mashimo and perhaps it is a good thing that neither of these two things is involved with the series anymore as .hack//Quantum is probably the best part of the .hack anime franchise so far.
By showing us both the events in The World and the real world this anime has elevated the story telling by showing us that everything in the series has consequences to those in real life. This is especially true during the segment where players feel real life pain as they are injured in the game. Couple that with great artwork and animation and you have a highly enjoyable OVA worth every minute of your time.
EA Sports have released a trailer for FIFA Street showcasing some of the tricks, players and locations which will be featured in the upcoming game.
The locations include Tokyo, Rio, and New York City amongst others, with each area having unique surfaces and surrounding environments, naturally. The trailer also includes soundbites from real life street football stars which really set the aspired tone for the game.
Street football is not just about scoring goals, it’s about doing it with style and that’s the key message that comes through in this video. Check it out now down below!
FIFA Street will be out March 13th for Xbox 360 and PS3.
