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Prototype 2 Bios: Dana Mercer and Father Guerra

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It’s time for another round of Prototype 2 bios. This time, we head into the bios of characters Dana Mercer and Father Guerra. These two characters are considered the closest allies of both protagonist Sgt. James Heller (whose ally is Father Guerra) and antagonist Alex Mercer (whose ally is Dana Mercer). Father Guerra is a Catholic priest hiding in a boarded up cathedral in the yellow zone of New York. Dana Mercer is the sister of Alex Mercer. Dana’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

Here is the bio for Heller’s ally, Father Guerra:

Father Guerra is a devout Catholic priest who lives in his boarded-up cathedral in NYZ’s Yellow Zone.  He once oversaw a vast resistance network that fought against Blackwatch and Gentek during the early days of the second outbreak.  He serves as Heller’s confidante and ally.

Guerra is also a kind-hearted badass — the classic inner-city priest who carries a sandwich for the hungry and a lead pipe for the evil.  He is driven to fight evil and motivated primarily by charity and faith.  He always shows concern for Heller’s safety, no matter the risk to his own wellbeing.

When the populace became aware of Blackwatch’s atrocities in the Yellow Zone, Father Guerra banded up with others and started an NYZ resistance movement.  This resistance was responsible for rescuing citizens from Gentek testing, stealing information from Blackwatch computer networks and spreading anti-Blackwatch information.

Father Guerra, horrified by the atrocities he’d witnessed and frustrated by his failure to prevent them, quit the resistance and boarded himself up inside his church.

Here is the bio for Mercer’s ally, Dana Mercer:

Dana is Alex Mercer’s sister.  Previously, Dana aided Alex with his investigation into Blackwatch/Gentek and in recovering his forgotten identity.  She was utterly loyal to her brother and remains so to this day.

Dana is a kind-hearted, affectionate and honest person.  She seems to accept her closest allies without any intrinsic suspicion or fear.  She sometimes shows fear, but it quickly evaporates when she gets down to her work.  This can make her appear detached from her environment and its inherent dangers.  She is so caring, honest and encouraging with her allies that she sometimes seems motherly.  She also has an unusual set of technical and pseudo-scientific skills — computer hacking, network design, surveillance, and an above-average understanding of genetics and virology — all presumably learned from DIY sources.  She is incredibly industrious and clever, and seems to have her fingers in a lot of pies.  Her whereabouts since the catastrophic events in New York City are currently unknown.

Below are some images of both Father Guerra and Dana. Prototype 2 will be released in April for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Touch My Katamari Prologue Trailer

Touch My Katamari, for the Playstation Vita, is rolling ever so closer to stores. So, here is a little trailer to keep you waiting. In this video, the game gets a little prologue to the events that will take place. Long ago, something disturbed the Cosmos, almost wiping it off the face of the universe. However, not wanting the world to end this way, the King of All Cosmos summoned his son and ordered him to collect katamaris so that they may be turned into new stars for the sky. The Prince follows his father’s order and the world was saved. A fitting story for the beginning of the events. For the last part of the video, a boy asks his father about how awesome is the King, to which he replies positively.

Touch My Katamari will be released alongside the Playstation Vita on the 22nd of February 2012 (23rd for those in Australia and New Zealand).

THQ Alive and Well – Not Cancelling 2014 Releases

The rumour mill can finally stop. After a weekend full of speculation a THQ spokesman has released a statement firmly denying that the company is cancelling its entire 2014 line up and its Warhammer MMO:

“THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO. As part of the ongoing review of our business, we have made decisions to ensure that the company is strategically addressing the most attractive markets. As we have previously announced, we have dramatically reduced our commitment to the kids’ boxed games sector which leads to a significantly more focused release schedule moving forward. Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry.

“Additionally, we are thrilled with the great performance of Saints Row: The Third, which on a like for like period in North America has tripled in sell-through from Saints Row 2. In addition, WWE ’12’s worldwide sell-through sales are up almost 40% year-over-year for the same sales period with fewer platforms. According to NPD, for the month of December and the 2011 year, THQ was the #5 publisher overall, #4 third party, with reported sell through growing over 18% in a market that was down almost 6%. And coming up next, we have two great titles for the first half of the year including UFC Undisputed 3 and Darksiders 2.”

So there you have it. No 2014 cancellations, no decision on Warhammer.

Miss all the fuss? Check out our summary of all the ups and downs of the weekend here.

Stop SOPA – A Capsule Theatre of Vision Special

In a special edition of the somewhat unfrequent Capsule Theatre of Vision, I bring to you a message. That message, stop SOPA. For those of us in the know, SOPA is a huge piece of US legislation that basically wants to control the way we access the internet, the websites we browse and the content that we share between each-other across it.

While initially, the Stop Online Piracy Act may seem like a step in the right direction for the US, it also affects nearly every other country that relies on US webservices to exist. Why should countries like Australia be censored because the US wants to block half the internet? We’re already doing a fine job of censorship on our own, we don’t need some Act that’s out of our control to further throw us into chaos.

This is why I’m showing you this eye-opening video on the act and hopefully you learn why it is that you should be opposed to it. So be sure to check out the embedded video below.

Anime Say! Episode 9 – Winter 2012 Impressions

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Welcome to Capsule Computers’ weekly anime segment, Anime Say! Each week I will be diving into some of the biggest anime related topic of the week and having my say on anything that matters in the anime world.

This week, I go through my first impressions of the Winter 2012 anime season. What do I think of this season? You can check out this week’s Anime Say! below.

Got any questions for Anime Say? Send all your queries to [email protected] and I will do my best to answer anything you can throw at me.

What do you think of the ninth episode of Anime Say? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.

The THQ Rumour Mill – What to Believe?

UPDATE: THQ have released a statement – click here for details

The internet has exploded with word that THQ have cancelled their entire slate of games for 2014 with a view to preparing the company for sale. But how much of this can we expect to believe? Here’s a rundown of the current situation including a look at the source of all the rumours Kevin Dent, and a general overview of why 2011 wasn’t a great year for THQ and maybe, there could be something in all of this talk.

It all started with a Tweet as video game industry veteran Kevin Dent revealed that the company had apparently cancelled ‘The Game workshops MMO’, most likely referring to Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online.  He then went on to state that the company had in fact cancelled its entire 2014 line up and had begun returning IP’s to licensors, citing Disney as one company THQ had returned prepaid IP to without hope for a refund.

Dent is well enough positioned in the industry to know what he’s talking about. He is the CEO and founder of Tiswas Entertainment, a video game consultancy firm that helps companies ‘navigate the business side of the industry’, including contract negotiations and raising capital. Presumably there is a connection to a legitimate source involved and Dent isn’t just starting a fire for the sake of it. But who is the source?

THQ are showing no signs of any trouble on their assorted social networking pages and have confirmed none of Dent’s statements. In fact according to a recent update by Game Informer, THQ PR ‘haven’t heard anything’ about the rumoured 2014 cancellations. ‘Haven’t heard anything about it’ is by no means an end to the speculation, and given that there is no direct quote or official statement it looks like there’s still a bit of waiting to be done before the full truth emerges.

A couple of employees from the WWE development team have chimed in via Twitter, with community manager Marcus Stephenson opting for a simple – ‘rumours suck’. Such a response from a development team would seem to suggest that there is no official word on the whole thing, even for employees. Whether this is because the entire thing is nonsense or has simply been let out of the bag in a way the company didn’t expect is anyone’s guess. Twitter is something of a minefield when it comes to unofficial/early announcements, and it’s certainly going to take a lot of work to take control of the flood of Tweets repeating the rumours.

IP’s on the line besides WWE and Warhammer include Darksiders 2, Saints Row, UFC, Homefront and Metro. Other franchises and developments under the THQ umbrella include the suspended MX vs ATV and Insane, a horror project by Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro.

The publisher/developer shut down several of its studios back in August citing ‘restructuring’ for the loss of 200 jobs across Australia and America. An interesting point to note is the seeming lack of notice for the employees involved, particularly at THQ Australia and Bluetongue Entertainment.The annoucement for the closure and the actual shut down of these studios happened on the same day.

The official line was that the company was redirecting its resources to focus more on core IP’s like Darksiders over its bevvy of licensed and children’s games. Whilst no one lamented the loss of Spongebob Squarepants does something stupid version 7 , the closures were only one part of a bad year for the company. Saint’s Row the Third struggled in a quarter packed with AAA releases, and the uDraw tablet failed to make a mark, resulting in the loss of thirty staff. Since February last year the market value of THQ Inc has dropped from over $6 a share to $0.66.

Bottom line: no one knows for sure.  The internet is an easy place to build a story, and the only real evidence to support this is THQ’s weakened financial position – which doesn’t necessarily spell doom. What we do know is that there are THQ employees out there waking up to a flurry of rumours that their jobs are on the line,  so for their sake let’s hope for a resolution soon.

News Corp giant Rupert Murdoch accuses Google of being Piracy leader

I just love it when people who have so much money they could use it as toilet paper get involved on issues relating to piracy and all the money these poor underpaid stars are losing when someone downloads their precious movies. Dont get me wrong, I agree on principle, I just wouldnt bother wasting my money or time trying to eradicate the issue. Using his newly activated Twitter account, News Corp chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch has accused Google of aiding internet film piracy, even going so far as calling them a “piracy leader”.

“Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them,” Murdoch wrote. He later went on a further rant, making the point that producing films was “risky as hell”, without having to worry about the piracy issue hurting actors and writers. Oh, how we all wont sleep at night until the pirates are locked away in their cells, lest Brad Pitt not have enough money to feed his wife and kids. While Murdoch did praise Google for being a great company, he says his one complaint regarding their so called pro stand on piracy is a major issue to the industry. Using the new Mission Impossible movie as an example, Murdoch seemed astounded that he found several free links to watch the not yet released to retail title. What pray tell was he expecting to find while using a search engine, a message telling him to stop being a bad boy and looking up entertainment mediums that are not legal.

Mr. Murdoch has taken to Twitter lately on many topics ranging from the mundane through to his views on many things relating to US politics, and now Google. And in response to complaints about his own self proclaimed useless spelling and typing; Mr Murdoch, we all actually care.

Bump Monkeys on your iPhone in Monkey Bump

Who doesn’t love a good game about bumping a monkey up a ridiculously high forest so he can gather fruit, get the monkey girls, and explore as much as his little monkey heart desires? In Monkey Bump, that is pretty much the gameplay, aim and goal of the game. Get as high as you possibly can, bumping your little monkey and avoiding any obstacles that might get in your way. There’s only one giantly long level, with easy controls and leaderboard and achievements capabilities, Monkey Bump sounds like the perfect casual game to have tucked away in your phone for boring occasions.

Monkey Bump comes from PomPom Games, a charming indie games developer from the UK who seem to have as much of a sense of humour as they do developing skill. And that’s a compliment, not a stab.

Check out the gameplay trailer for the game below. What do you guys reckon? Will you be bumping monkeys on your iPhone soon?

Monkey Bump is available on iPhone and iPad for $0.99 – Get it HERE

Habbo Hotel Creators Release Niko for iOS

Epically popular Habbo Hotel’s parent company, Sulake, today announced the release of Niko, a new gaming app for iOS devices. Niko is a freemium game, which will be free to get and play for the first six levels, with the full game featuring three worlds and 28 total levels, available for $1.99.

Niko involves some inventive sling shot action, and some pretty amazing platform level designs. You have to help Niko rescue his friends who have been captured in a mysterious Otherworld, racing through challenging levels, dodging traps, flipping over monsters, and collecting achievements.

And for you Habbo Hotel players, there is also some extra benefits and value you can get from Niko, similar to those experienced in Lost Monkey where users who finished the game were given a special reward for their Habbo Hotel account. Niko will have a similar, but more involved tie-in.

For more information on the game check out the site, and check out the trailer for the game below!

Niko will be available on January 19 for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch for FREE.

Stand O’ Food 3 Bringing the Flippin’ Business to Kindle Fire

You guys ready for some food management hecticness? Well, good news for you, G5 Entertainment has announced that Stand O’ Food 3 will be released on Kindle Fire on January 26, 2012. The latest in a range of hugely addictive, time management games, this one is sure to be just as addictive, and just as fun, as its predecessors.

In Stand O’ Food 3 Ronnie the Chef offers Tinseltown his services, combining forces with Nikki and Mr. Clarence to stop the dastardly Mr Torg’s revenge plans. Help Ronnie open up to 25 restaurants, serving clients fast and healthy food, and keeping the good folks of Tinseltown feeling well fed.

There are five settings to choose from, with over 75 levels and 12 bonus levels to unlock over 33 achievements and that shiny, shiny expert status sitting there, waiting for you to grab it.

Check out the trailer below! For more info on the game before its release head on over to their site.