The latest in Max Payne 3’s Design and Technology video series is due to hit later today. The latest video focuses on the game’s cutting edge targeting system, explosives and weaponry which the Max Payne series, is of cause renown for. Previously, the last Design and Technology video focused in on Rockstar’s design on creating a modern, cutting edge action shooter.
Max Payne 3 is set to be released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on May 15 in North America and May 18 internationally, and for PC on May 29 in North American and June 1 internationally.
Fans of the blue blur, have we got an announcement for you! Today marks the offical launch of Sonic the Hedgehog’s OFFICAL merchandise store. Now, while many of you are probably already aware that there are plenty of pieces of Sonic memorabilia strewn throughout the global market today, this is the first time an offical, SEGA sponsored online store has been devoted to their favourite mascot. The UK based website features a large variety of merchandise ranging from collectable figurines, to DVD’s of the cartoons, posters, various articles of clothing and thensome. Despite its European base of operations, the website caters for iunternational shipping of all goods listed on the site. More merchandise is also on the way, so collectors would do well to keep their eyes peeled for rare, or highly desired items, such as the DVD boxset of the Sonic SatAM cartoon below. For the hardcore Sonic devotee, this is a website that should not be overlooked.
The offical launch announcement from SEGA:
GET YOUR OFFICIAL SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™ MERCHANDISE HERE!
LONDON (January 18th, 2012) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and RHM Solutions are pleased to launch the full official online store for Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise in Europe. To celebrate there will be a fantastic offer of 15% discount across all stock available on www.sonicmerchandise.com (excluding items already discounted). Customers will simply need to use the JANSALE15 promotional code when prompted, and the offer runs until the end of January 2012 with no limit on the amount of times it can be used! Although currently only live in Europe, plans are in place to launch a similar store for the USA and other American markets at a later date.
www.sonicmerchandise.com soft launched for the European markets in December 2011 and carries a range of Sonic the Hedgehog figurines, stationery items, apparel, consumer electronics, collectables, posters and DVDs. The store is managed and run by RHM Solutions on behalf of SEGA, and RHM Solutions also take care of order fulfilment and shipping.
The range of goods available in the store is set to widen throughout 2012 with www.sonicmerchandise.com offering a loyalty system for registered members. Reward points can be earned every time items are purchased through the store and can be redeemed on future orders. The store will also run various seasonal sales and promotions throughout the year, information on these will be posted via SEGA community channels.
“Sonic the Hedgehog’s fan base has grown continually over the past twenty years and the demand for branded merchandise has increased along with his popularity” commented Sissel Henno, Head of Brand Licensing SEGA Europe. “By teaming up with RHM Solutions we are able to provide something for all Sonic fans with an online store that includes fashionable apparel, collectible figurines, stylish stationery and much more. We are looking forward to seeing how the store evolves and how consumers can engage with the brand in a new way.”
For all of you Prototype fans, there is a new digital comic coming out that is based on the games. Published by Dark Horse Comics and with teh help from Prototype developers Radical Entertainment, the Prototype world will have some gapes filled with three comics which will bridge the two games, offering a continuation of Alex Mercer after the events of the first game as well as some back story for Prototype 2 protagonist Sgt. James Heller.
The first comic will be entitled “The Anchor,” illustrated by Paco Díaz. This will explore the events after the conclusion of the first game and will be focused on Prototype protagonist Alex Mercer. The second comic will be entitled “The Survivors,” illustrated by Chris Staggs. In this comic, readers will follow the footsteps of a group of New Yorkers trying to escape the city after the Blacklight Virus outbreak. The third and final comic will be entitled “The Labyrinth,” illustrated by Victor Drujiniu. The comic will focus on the back story of Sgt. James Heller, protagonist of Prototype 2.
These three digital comics will be available every other week beginning February 15, 2012 at Digital.Darkhorse.com. For a sneak peek, just scroll down and see two illustrations, both from “The Anchor” and “The Labyrinth.” Prototype 2 will be available in April 2012 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
A lot of games have been rebooted and revitalised recently, and one defining characteristic of these projects is that they are for the most part handled by someone other than the original developer. Bluepoint Games do a fantastic job of tuning up other developers work for new generations, and have so far handled the God of War Collection, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus double bill.
Square Enix, despite handing over past Final Fantasy ports to other developers (Final Fantasy Advance series, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection) have just revealed to Famitsu that they have decided to keep the highly anticipated HD remaster of Final Fantasy X within their own 1st production department.
As has been previously reported here at Capsule Computers, this is rumoured to be no quick HD lick of paint. The game is reportedly being completely rebuilt using the same engine behind Final Fantasy XIII and will use the ‘next generation’ Luminous engine for light and magic effects.
Final Fantasy guru and long time producer Yoshinori Kitase has previously floated the idea of keeping the game’s (re)development within Square Enix to “ensure that the remake of the game will have the same quality as the original.”
It looks like that thought won out!
There is no concrete release date as of yet, but prepare to see Final Fantasy X return to your life on PS Vita and PS3 sometime before March 2013.
For players of the latest game in the X universe, X3: Albion Prelude, a new patch has been released that addresses some serious issues with this game. Specifically, there was a major glitch that severely impacte3d on the games performance over long game sessions, which are incredibly common in this kind of game (for me, I would just leave my game running over night and come back to find my traders had netted me a nice income).
Among the major issue listed above, there have been a number of significant improvements within the game, listed below –
X3: Albion Prelude 1.1
New Features and Improvements:
– Added various performance optimisations
– Made several balancing changes to improve gameplay
– Reduced excessively loud weapon/explosion sounds
– Improved missile friendly fire behaviour
– Push effect of “push” lasers now uses falloff
– Player missiles now immune to bullet damage for 2 seconds after launch
– Reduced missile spam from missile boats
– Improved missile barrage command for M8 ships
– Out-of-sector combat fine-tuned for better simulation
– Game now uses a wider range of combat music tracks
– Valhalla’s jumpdrive will no longer jump to gates (because it’s too big!)
– M8 ships now considered more powerful than M6 ships for mission balancing
– Reduced excessive Stock Exchanges profitability
– Graphs show zero lines for X and Y axis if values above and below zero are present
– Improved behaviour of Home and End keys in menus
– Wider range of quotes used when starting a plot game
– Added localised Loading screen messages
– Steam achievements can now be obtained while in offline mode
– Improved target rectangle scaling at high screen resolutions
Fixes:
– Fixed slowdown over time caused by missions (existing savegames should speed up too)
– Fixed crash when jumping in-sector while player ship turrets are firing
– Fixed freeze caused by RRF script priority conflict
– Fixed claiming of abandoned ships
– Fixed Terran Complex Construction Kit
– Fixed handling of war objects that are boarded
– Fixed OWP firing at targets that have been captured
– Fixed turrets “losing” weapons when going out of sector
– Fixed default shield on Lasertower
– Fixed missing docking slots on Kyoto
– Fixed Pike so that it can now carry shields it can fit
– Fixed price of Griffon Sentinel
– Fixed Traveller achievement
– Fixed several Stock Exchange bugs and exploits
– Fixed sector blacklists for Mk3 traders
– Fixed OOS mining not working
– Fixed various minor issues with marines, fleets and RRF
– Fixed custom menu selection for certain menu items
– Fixed incorrect mod path
– Fixed global parameter for number of missiles in a swarm
– Fixed interface animation speed when running SETA
This news is no doubt welcome by the X fanbase, especially considering the long list of fixes that have been implemented so far. I can’t wait to see what the next patch brings. Check out the full patch list here.
It seems that Waka is quite the popular character for Phantom Breaker fans and from 7sixty themselves as another batch of screenshots has been released and this time we see Waka Kumon again and this time she is fighting against Mei Orisaka.
The last time we saw Waka she faced off against Tokiya in a trailer, but unfortunately she was defeated in her fight. Now she faces off against a 14 year old idol and it seems that her luck hasn’t gotten any better, because as you see in the screenshots below she is beaten once again. Could it be that Waka needs some more assistance from the fanbase? Or will it take a gamer’s hand to make sure she can win her battles when Phantom Breaker is released early this year.
While this isn’t an official announcement from Tecmo Koei per-say, the Tecmo Koei Europe community manager Chin Soon Sun has responded to multiple questions about the Japanese named Musou Orochi 2 being brought over to Western shores. On his Twitter account he stated the following: “Sorry if I can’t manage to answer everyone. Not in the UK at the moment. But Warriors Orochi 3 IS coming to oversea on both PS3 & Xbox 360.”
The title will be called Warriors Orochi 3 due to various naming issues, and the fact that Warriors Orochi 2 has already been released in the West. Currently Tecmo Koei hasn’t set any release date or made an official announcement, but we have contacted Tecmo Koei to see if they would be willing to make any statement on this response from Chin Soon Sun.
Currently, Gamestop is hosting a huge sale on a ton of games. All you need to do is to go to this here link here, and shop to your hearts content. Once Upon a Monster, Need for Speed, WoW and many more games are featured in this sale.
In addition, Gamestop will be discounting Modern Warfare by $10 starting tomorrow. 12 month Xbox Live subscriptions will also be going down in price by a whole 20 bucks. Will you be picking up any of these items, or are you sticking your ‘rental’ services and Silver membership? Make sure to let us know in the comments below.
Rayforce Developer: Taito Publisher: Taito Platform: iPhone (reviewed)/iPod Touch Release: 13/01/12 Price: $12.99 – Available Here
Overview
In 1993 Taito Corporation, a company famous for their classic top-down shooter Space Invaders, released yet another space themed shooter – Rayforce. Originally Taito fans could blast through enemy ships on the Taito F3 arcade hardware – before the title was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995. If the game doesn’t sound familiar, perhaps you remember it by its American title, Galactic Attack or European title, Gunlock. Call it what you will, Rayforce has made its way to the iPhone and iPod touch, and at a rather hefty price. Is it worth the money you’ll be dishing out for this game? Read on and see.
Gameplay
Having not ever played the original title, owning neither a Taito F3 nor Sega Saturn, it’s a little difficult for me to compare the titles latest reincarnation to its original form. However, I can only make an educated guess and assume that the original was played with a controller and not with the sliding of fingers. As difficult as the title is using a finger to control it, I cannot even fathom how hard it would be without the aid of precise finger movements. But before I delve too much into the controls, it may be wise to give an overview of the level structure and mechanical features of Rayforce.
Rayforce is a 7 level based arcade title – with multiple modes for the iPhone. There is little noticeable difference between ‘iPhone Mode’ and ‘Arcade Mode’ perhaps with exception to the ‘insert coin’ to continue after dying. Dying isn’t a big deal in Rayforce. Game overs don’t seem to exist. You die; you come back in the same place. You die again, and again, you insert a coin (or press continue) and start in the same place. The only downfall would be that you lose your weapons upgrades, which themselves are hard to keep track of – especially when attempting to pinpoint the reason for the upgrade. The absence of rewards and punishment is a little weird for me. I understand the score based arcade levels, but that doesn’t really cut it in terms of a sense of achievement. The levels aren’t even unlockable – they can be accessed from the moment you open the App with a mere click.
Despite the lack of punishment for dying, I am rather glad the game is structured this way. On my first play through of level one I must have died 20 times. The controls themselves are simple to pick up and even to master. Iphone users will be familiar with sliding their fingers along the screen and will eventually develop a precision to help navigate through fields of bullets. Yet, using a finger becomes highly problematic when attempting to follow the on screen action. The finger, which sometimes finds itself over your ship, will often obstruct the view of enemy attacks, or even enemy ships from behind. There are so many directions from which attacks may come from that it’s impossible to find an appropriate place to anchor your finger. The arcade view, with arcade-style boarders is a little simpler to use because moving fingers along the boarders still controls the ship. But I’ll discuss the problems with that a little later on.
Visuals
Originating from the 16-bit era, Rayforce retains its ‘retro’ look with pixelated ships and backgrounds. The pixilation makes little use of the retina optimisation of the screen, and often – perhaps due to the top-down nature of the game itself – adds to the confusion of enemy proximity. The only means of telling if bullets or lasers can reach any enemy is by passing over it with cross hairs. If you automatically lock on, it is below you and forward shooting bullets are ineffective. This leads to a wide range of on screen noise, as barrage of enemy bullets, ships, not to mention the onslaught of your own bullets, causes huge levels of confusion until finally a small explosion underneath your finger signifies that you have been killed. Being an arcade based title, it’s a little difficult to picture it being visually updated – but perhaps a little tweak would not have gone astray. Any nostalgic charm that you originally feel when opening the App is in danger of being washed away by frustration.
For those looking for an even more retro feel, there is also the option to add arcade boarders to the game – removing it from its ‘zoomed in’ form. If maneuvering the ship was difficult before, wait until it’s a fraction of the size and certain types of enemy ballistics are virtually invisible. Perhaps the title would fair better on the large screen of the iPad – increasing the screen size and image quality while at the same time retaining that all-important retro feel to the game.
Audio
There is nothing wrong with the audio for Rayfroce per say. Each level has it’s own unique soundtrack, each of which retain a certain 16-bit era quality to them. Despite the sense of nostalgia, the music is a tad cliché and sounds like multiple re-hashes of other space-shooter soundtracks. The sound effects are fitting, but with the constant shooting (especially in auto-shooting mode) the sound of laser blasters may soon get to you.
Overall
Rayforce may have that retro charm, but it doesn’t translate well to the world of iOS. The control system would be fantastic if it wasn’t for the small size of the screen – often a problem for anything beyond tap-based titles. A graphical boost and shift to the iPad is the best option for a title like Rayforce. Not only this, but $12 for an HD iPad game is a little more reasonable. There is still always the option of playing it on your iPad at times two size but the grainy textures don’t marry well with Taito’s choice to retain the visual style of the original title. If you are a fan of the original, perhaps stay clear of this one so as not to alter your position on the game.
AMY Publisher: Lexis Numérique Developer: VectorCell Platforms: XBLA (reviewed), PSN, PC Release Date: January 11, 2012 Price: 800 MSP – Available Here
Overview
As one of the newest games of 2012, AMY was given tremendous amounts of attention. Unfortunately, this survival horror has not lived up to the generated hype for the vast majority of gamers. What could make this game so poor?
Story
Lana, our leading protagonist, has taken the role of babysitter for the young and mysterious child named Amy. The pair boarded a train destined to Silver City running away from a facility that seemed too interested in the child. While aboard the train, Lana becomes paranoid with the train guard that asks to see their tickets. All that we gather from conversation is that Amy cannot talk, it is Christmas Eve, and the guard is a potential creeper. After he passes, Lana is talking with a doctor that we assume must be the one that ordered Lana to retrieve the girl. The doctor mentions confronting Professor Raymond about Amy’s symptoms, but this upsets Lana. She repeats that she is taking Amy to the hospital for analysis but nothing with the professor. Amy begins drawing on her new art board becoming scared as the picture unfolds.
Lana becomes interrupted with the doctor looking at Amy’s new drawing. You see two angry beings atop several dead people next to a burning building. Both passengers are now staring out of the windows as a glimpse of surging bright light blinked outside. The doctor said it must have been an explosion near the Phoenix Center – where Amy was begin kept. Soon after the train begins to tip from side to side causing Lana to drop her cell phone. As she bends down to pick up the phone, the guard from before steps closer only this time he has changed. No longer looking human, the estranged being knocks Lana to the ground rendering her temporarily unconscious. As our protagonist awakes, she is wandering through a train wreck looking for clues and most importantly for Amy.
Gameplay
Waking from a concussive blow, you are free to navigate the train wreck in a third person view. Movement is control by the left analog in junction with a direction camera of the right analog. Interacting with the environment can be done with the use of (A). There are certain objects that can be manipulated during the course of the game, but pick-up items are limited to syringes, security keys, and weapons. Further interaction can be accomplished with carts, ladders, lockers, and even the occasional telephone. Thus far the game seems to be in working order as the basic controls work without too much problem.
One major issue I find in the game is with Lana’s combat items. Weapons are extremely limited to wooden boards in the beginning levels and other similar weapons as the chapters progress. I felt that unarmed attacks should have been made possible at the very least. You can essentially break a wooden board over an infected and be left with no weapon to fight with. Testing should have proved that a broken weapon with no alternatives is a major flaw that should be fixed.
Now that we have discussed the limited combat items, the next topic is the actual combat system. Combat is based on two factors, attack and evasion. Holding the left trigger and pressing (X) offers a swing of the current melee weapon if available. Once in combat, your opponent may choose to attack or parry oncoming attacks. Lana is also able to parry by holding left trigger and pressing (B). With only these two factors, combat can become quite repetitive. If you attack too early or late, you will more than likely take damage. Trying to run away will score a hit on you, so do so with plenty of life. I would suggest the use of parrying instead of running away. After about three hits, you should be dead on the floor and restart from your last checkpoint.
Health is based upon the amount of blood on your screen. Since Lana is contaminated with the mutagen, the screen may become blurry and turn red after time passes being away from Amy. Syringes of anti-toxin prevent Lana from becoming a walking corpse. Amy likes to run away a lot, so your best bet is to go searching for syringes and stock up.
One aspect I keep remembering about AMY is dying a lot with the lack of checkpoints. Not being able to save your progress when you want increases the difficulty of the game and definitely increases the length of play for this title. Some chapters require rigorous tests of trial and error, and the penalty for failure is usually death. Restarting back to a checkpoint gets very tiring.
Audio/Visual
Environment visuals are acceptable and provide a “horror” theme. The problem that arises during the game is that I experienced a shaky frame rate. When moving the directional camera, I occasionally notice that there is a slow transition from one position to another. Beyond the frame rate issues, you are usually running down hallways occupied by pools of blood, broken glass, and a zombie set on killing you.
The art makes the game somewhat bearable. The models for our main characters Lana and Amy are tasteful but raise questions about Lana’s choice of footwear throughout the story. Those heels have to be killing her. As Lana strays from Amy and/or runs out of syringes, her facial features become pale and full of veins. The transformation signifies the need to find Amy or anti-toxin quickly or else die.
I’ve had a couple on-lookers say that Lana’s voice isn’t believable as Amy’s caretaker. The implications are simple that the actor was not in tune with the child running away, but there are agreeable moments that Lana is in distress. This feeling is prevalent as she is constantly in danger and preserving the child’s and her own life. Sadly, I am glad that the child is mute. I doubt any voice would be able to match the suitable silence of the mysterious child.
Overall
With some serious flaws, AMY does not present itself as well as the media does. The battle system is simple and plays out as a guessing game. Before you know it you’ll be lying dead in a pool of blood waiting to respawn at the last checkpoint you were at ten minutes ago. If this doesn’t scream “RAGE QUIT”, I do not know what will.
The models and environments are actually tasteful but cannot be fully appreciated. With a lagging frame rate, the environments occasionally become distorted. If you take the time to wander around the levels, you can tell the developers enjoyed designing each area.
Sadly, AMY does not yield a positive lasting impression. The story is diluted by a continuous test of trial and error. I really wanted to enjoy this survival horror, but collectively the game did not have a solid foundation.
