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Katawa Shoujo available now!

Travis Bruno
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While a small group of people getting together to make a video game of some sort isn’t unheard of, the task undertaken by Four Leaf Studios was something never done by such a group. Five years ago a group of twenty one developers began making a visual novel titled Katawa Shoujo and all of these developers created the art, music, writing, programming as well as the storyline. Besides these 21 specific developers, multiple contributors aided in helping make the 18+ visual novel become a reality.

Now while a 18+ visual novel in English may not be anything new, Katawa Shoujo takes a step in an uncharted direction. While yes, the title should not be played by anyone under 18 years old and a few may find it uncomfortable, the title’s female cast all suffer from some physical disability. This includes a blind girl, one with no arms, one with burns all over her body and more, even the main character suffers from heart defects. Although the title may be adult in nature, it can also be seen as a way to enforce that even those with disabilities are still people with feelings and emotions the same as everyone else.

Now Four Leaf Studios chose not to charge even a penny for their hard work and has released the game free of charge for the PC, Mac and Linux systems. Of course the game is over 18 only and should not be accessed by anyone else, however it can be downloaded here.

Steam Hits over 5 Million Concurrent Users

Dustin Spencer
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If anyone thinks PC gaming is even close to dying, they should check the new numbers from Steam. With over 35 million users worldwide, the digital service recently reached a monumental 5 Million concurrent users. Given the huge amount of holiday sales and the mega successes of the Humble Bundles and Skyrim, it’s no wonder that so many users were seen online at one time.

Console wars are still as hot as ever, but if this recent number is any indication, then 2012 might just be a year that PC gaming as a whole makes a full fledged revival. Considering how cheap it is to produce a game on Steam, it’s honestly head scratching to think that Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony haven’t at least attempted to get a slice of the pie.

Green Technology “PumPing Tap” Saves Energy by Automatically Unplugging Unused Appliances

G Dino
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The PumPing Tap, a recent green technology innovation, is gaining popularity throughout the Web. In 2011, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany awarded the innovation with the Red Dot Award for design concept, an annual international product design award. The gadget unplugs appliances that are not being used after 10 minutes of inactivity.

The PumPing Tap ‘pops out’ a plug from a socket 10 minutes after it detects a drop in current going through the socket which indicates that the appliance is turned off. It uses a spring-loaded mechanism built into wall sockets to eject plugged power cables. When an appliance is turned off and is no longer in use, a bluish circle around the socket the device is plugged into turns to red, which signals the beginning of the 10 minute countdown. After the time has elapsed, the PumPing Tap device automatically pops the plug out.

Gadgets and appliances in standby mode use up energy while they’re still plugged in. The PumPing Tap endeavors to save the energy and money wasted on residual energy consumption. The design concept is not for public consumer markets, though green technology companies eager to develop more power and money saving gadgets might end up developing and marketing it sometime in the future.

Now what does this have to do with you as gamers? Quite a lot actually. Believe it or not, systems take up a good amount of energy when ran in long time spans. If you also account for the portables you charge and never unplug, that can certainly amount to a lot of wasted power. This device may be your ticket to saving some bucks and helping good ‘ol mother earth in the process…if it comes out that is.

3D Classics: Kid Icarus Launches on the eShop in Europe

Dustin Spencer
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Not too long ago, Nintendo announced plans to release the original Kid Icarus in 3D for the eShop service. Those in Europe can now celebrate, as Pit’s first journey is out now, so consider this a friendly reminder. As for a price, well…at the moment, there isn’t one. That is of course because the entire game is free to anyone who registered at least 2 Nintendo 3DS titles through Club Nintendo, you automatically can redeem your download as of now without hurting the wallet.

For those who have yet to snag up two or more qualifying titles, your time is coming soon and 3D Classics: Kid Icarus will be available for £5.40/€6 in the coming future. I would guess that this means that the U.S. will also receive the same kind of treatment, and if that does indeed go down this week, we will be sure to bring you an update.

Crystal Dynamics set to Reveal new I.P. in 2012…

Dustin Spencer
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We may have just got into 2012, but many developers are already planning out their reveal schedules for the year. The first seems to be none other than Crystal Dynamics, who are already set to reboot the Tomb Raider series just a few months down the road. Meagan Marie, the studio community manager offered a bit of new insight on a blog post on Square Enix’s Members Website.

“The New Year ushers in more than just fresh calendars and renewed resolutions. 2012 will prove to be a very exciting year for Crystal Dynamics, more so than any in recent memory,”

“Not only will our team be eating, sleeping, and breathing Tomb Raider, but we’ll also be hard at work preparing to reveal exciting new intellectual property to the world.”

I don’t know about you, but when Crystal Dynamics offer any kind of tease, it’s usually something to get excited about. New IPs are always nice to see as it is, and there isn’t much doubt that at E3, all eyes will be on Lara Croft and this new IP reveal. Stay tuned, as if anything else leaks out regarding either, we will be sure to bring you an update.

 

 

Do You Want to Play The Darkness II Early?

Roger Ma
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Of cause you do! The Darkness II looks like one damn fine game and if you’re like us then you can’t wait to get your hands on it. Well then good news for you Sydney gamers, The Darkness II will be fully playable at INSERT COIN(S) – a new(ish) event that brings together games, music and art along with geek culture and fashion all in to one venue Sydney’s very own Oxford Art Factory.

The Darkness II will be fully playable across 10 screens along with a bunch of old school retro arcade games such as Pacman, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Frogger, Space Invaders, Tekken 5, Marvel Vs Capcom, Street Fighter 2 and Metal Slug X just to name a few, which are all FREE to play on the night.

This will be Insert Coin(S)’ third appearance, with its first arcade night successfully hitting it off in September last year and its second incarnation held last November, saw gamers getting a preview taste of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations before its release date.

INSERT COIN(S) Presents: The Darkness II is taking place at 6pm at Oxford Art Factory, Thursday January 19. Entry to this all of this gaming goodness cost only $10 – available at the door on the night or online via Moshtix

For more information about Insert Coin(S) check out their Facebook Page

Kenshin and Kurogasa face off in latest live action Rurouni Kenshin images

Travis Bruno
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After the first few images were released of the live action adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin manga, hype for the movie even in the Western world has skyrocketed. As such it is good to see that Japanese website Eiga has continued to release a few more live action images. The images can be seen below and this includes a face-off between Kenshin Himura and Kurogasa.

The images were taken from the movie as it was being filmed on location at the Anraku-Ritsu Temple in Shiga Prefecture’s Otsu City. As you can see only a few of the screenshots only show what the movie may look like when it is finished while the rest are rather obvious that the live action is still in production. As you can see below a trailer was also released quite some time ago that gave us a hint as to how the movie will look in motion. Do you believe that this live-action adaptation will live up to fan’s expectations or will over hype create an unmeetable level of expected quality?

Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 is too Mature for Teens

Travis Bruno
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Or at least that is what the ESRB thinks. Last year when Hyperdimension Neptunia was released by NIS America the title was given just a simple Teen rating but this time around when the ESRB rated the sequel, they figured that it would be best to give it a Mature rating instead. Now the full rating can be seen below, and is certainly an interesting read as it has been quite some time since we’ve seen an interesting ESRB rating.

This is a role-playing game in which players control a young goddess on a quest to rescue her sister from an evil organization. As players advance the storyline, they use swords, lances, over-sized syringes, and colorful light attacks to engage in turn-based combat against fantasy creatures (e.g., slime monsters, dragons, robots); damage is indicated by impact sounds and a loss of hit points. Some female characters are dressed in low-cut outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage or buttocks.

A variety of scenes depict a supernatural villain who harasses female characters and makes sexually suggestive comments (e.g., “Come, come and sit on daddy’s lap. We’ll have fun exploring each other,” “You can be a cunning linguist, my dear,” “I’m dying to leer at her longingly,” and “Mmmm, the height of ecstasy, licking a nubile maiden’s wounds!”/“No, hey stop . . . I said stop it!”)—accompanying licking sounds can be heard off screen. In one sequence, a character moans as she is massaged by another woman; suggestive dialogue can be heard throughout (e.g., “Don’t carry any of those impure thoughts,” “Ahh, I’m so sensitive to this . . . Ahhhahahahaha! I can’t take it anymore!”). The words “sh*t” and “b*tch” also appear in dialogue.

Simply reading through this rating description, there doesn’t seem to be too much more naughty content than what was shown in Hyperdimension Neptunia, but the sexually suggestive comments do seem a bit more blatant and not simply referenced unlike the first. Then again, considering the enjoyable experience the first Hyperdimension Neptunia title provided should not be missed simply due to a rating. NIS America is currently set to release Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 sometime in Spring this year.

The Advent of the Indie Bundle

Thomas Giles
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There is a new way to buy games, which has taken the indie gaming market by storm! In May 2010, The Humble Indie Bundle brought us a new way to buy games, with a name-your-price scheme which allows the customer to distribute their money between developers and the project’s supported charities American Red Cross and Child’s Play as they see fit. Through this selling point, and the power of word of mouth in the indie gamer community, they have sold over 400,000 bundles to date for over $2 million, and are into their 4th bundle!

They always seem to have the best indie titles out there, and have recently been adding betas and even game soundtracks to the line-ups.

First, you select your price, or type it in, fiddle with the distribution of finds, and pay via Paypal. You then receive an email including a link back to the site which will list out your purchased games, along with any bonuses which you can download straight from the site. For the moment, the 4th Humble Bundle has ended, but you can subscribe to get an email once they start HB5! Check it out here.

A new site has now sprung up, in the same vein, releasing their first Bundle 2th December 2011 in time for Christmas. They’ve had good success, too, with 40,000 bundles and counting (in under a month!?) sold so far, providing similar pay-what-you-want features, and supporting charities Save the Children italia ONLUS and Child’s Play.

This time, they include a selection of albums, too, giving the lesser known artists out there a bump up in the community. Once you’ve placed your order, you’ll receive a nice long email listing out all the games and albums you’ve bought, including any of the special bonuses you got for donating over a certain amount. Most games are downloadable through Steam using unique codes, and the music can be downloaded through the artist’s sites.

Check it out here –but be quick! The current bundle ends 6th January 2012!

All this is a great thing for indie game developers and the growing games industry, as well as gamers, and of course, the charities. I’m sure sites, projects and initiatives like these will continue to grow and multiply into the future!

The Retrode 2 emulates SNES & Genesis games

J. Bradshaw
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Its release date announced today, the Retrode 2  will allow you to play SNES and Genesis games on your computer, provided you can come up with a cartridge and a downloadable emulator.  Oh and a controller.  After that, just plug the device into your computer and play all your favorite classics.  The Retrode  will allow you to export save files and take screen shots on your computer.   It launches on January 23, 2012 , costs about $85 and is available for preorder.  Check out the website here for full details on every feature that the Retrode  has.  Will you be getting one, or are your old consoles sufficient enough for ya?

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