Nippon Ichi has released their first trailer today for the upcoming title Labyrinth Tower Legacista, or as it is being called in Japan, Meikyuu Touro Legasista. The title is being developed by System Prisma, the same company who developed ClaDun. The title is being billed as a “survival action RPG” by Nippon Ichi where one of the taglines for the game is to survive or die.
The video, which can be seen below, and contains both gameplay footage and dialogue sections with the various characters the player will meet throughout the story. As you can see, the game will feature ClaDun style combat but feature Disgaea-like interaction between characters. The title will be released in Japan on March 15th exclusively on the PlayStation 3 and currently doesn’t have a Western release date.
Skins Series 5 Studio: SBS Publisher: Madman Release Date: November 30th, 2011 Price: $34.95- Available Here
Overview:
In it’s fifth season, Skins has been to the brink and back again countless times with it’s teenage dreamers. And with the series moving into it’s fifth series it also brings in it’s third generation of angst-riddled teens. It is evident that after five seasons that Skins the series still has some fuel left in it’s tank, but it’s even more apparent that it’s stuck spinning it’s wheels.
With repeated story-lines that aren’t any more interesting than they were the first time around and characters who just don’t mesh as well as the show likes to think they do, it’s simply confusing as to why a series with so much to work with, is plagued with such problems.
Is Skins Series 5 just another melodramatic teen series, or does it redeem itself from all the angst and stagnation?
Story:
Much like previous seasons of Skins, this one follows a bunch of teens all of different social cliques and as they all reveal different layers of what is a drug-infused, alcohol-soaked sexual exploration of the teenage psyche.
As you’d expect from Skins by now, each episode focuses on one member of the cast, with most episodes revolving around common teenage drama plots such as ‘bullying’, ‘drugs’, ‘losing virginity’ and ‘family problems’. The series covers them all. Yet somehow there is something crucial that is missing from the core of this series, compared to it’s previous four.
The first generation of Skins, focused on a bunch of kids each with connections to one another and were all ultimately a close knit bunch. The second generation was much the same but generally split the cast into two and at times pitted them against one another. Unfortunately the third generation ultimately fails in creating believable connections between the cast, with their relationships seemingly formed from thin air and not feeling at all natural.
The characters are unfortunately thrown together, without any necessary reason for them really being together. They are all too different with no real immediate reason for them to even be friends. It is disappointing when compared to previous casts on this show that felt like they were born to be with one another, until the point when they must go their separate ways at least.
Plot wise, this series is far more realistic than the generations that preceded it, but in many ways that causes it to be a little more boring than those generations as well. It loses a lot of the surreal stories featured in the previous seasons and goes almost exclusively for the straight up realistic side of things, which admittedly is an interesting approach to Skins, but certainly not the right one.
The defining point of the fifth series is that it’s characters are all entirely unique, without featuring any that appear to be near carbon copies of the previous cast (a problem that plagued the second cast). This uniqueness that these characters embody gives the series that much needed boost, considering it’s poor plotting and monotonous adventures it’s cast get up to.
As a whole Skins Series 5 definitely needed some more polish story-wise, but had enough interesting characters to hold the scatter shot plot together in the end.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically Skins has never looked so good, with an up-scaled production budget and stunning film work, the fifth series manages to capture the teenage wonderland of England in a big way. With stand out episodes such as ‘Alo’ and ‘Everyone’ conveying the vast beauty of the landscape of England.
As you’d expect the cast are all comprised of ‘pretty people’, so there is certainly enough eye candy for both male and female viewers who like to watch some attractive people pretend they are not.
The audio is perhaps the series shining point, with an impressive soundtrack filled with indie tunes and popular tracks that will please the eardrums of any fan of good music, the series makes great use of it’s library of tracks in comprising what is without a doubt a brilliant musical backdrop for the goings on of the world of Skins.
Extras:
For those of you who consider yourselves special feature junkies, Skins Series 5 shouldn’t disappoint you, with its elaborate behind the scenes featurette. Included in the featurette is interviews with cast an crew. Madman have done a brilliant job here in terms of special features and honestly there is not much else you could ask for the paying price.
Overall:
All in all, Skins Series 5 is inconsistent and lacks the clearly defined direction of it’s predecessors. It does feature an interesting cast of characters but more than a little suspense of disbelief is required to ever believe that these characters would ever be friends. They simply just bunch together, with no catalyst pulling them to one another.
Unfortunately, this series does not feature the enthralling surreal story-lines that go beyond realism and into making the teen drama an art form – a facet of the show that was sorely missed in this iteration.
If you are looking for a fun teen comedy, then Skin Series 5 will provide you with a few hours of enjoyment, just don’t expect it to be anything more than merely enjoyable or you will leave the series very disappointed.
David Jaffe, co-director of the new Twisted Metal game, made a special announcement today on YouTube and the PlayStation Blog. After wishing everyone viewing a happy holidays, he revealed that everyone who buys a first-run copy of Twisted Metal for the PlayStation 3 will also receive a free download voucher for Twisted Metal Black. The version of Black that will be released is the one that was originally on the PlayStation 2 back in 2001.
Jaffe explained that the reason for the inclusion is to reward longtime fans with a bonus as well as allow players to experience both Black and the new Twisted Metal while comparing the two and the advancements that the series has made. Twisted Metal is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and is set to be released on February 14th in North America.
While the PlayStation Vita seemed to have a successful launch in Japan last week, sales have dropped significantly in the second week since the system’s launch. Sony’s PlayStation Vita sold 72,479 units during the second week, which has placed it behind not only the Wii and PlayStation 3, but also its handheld competition the Nintendo 3DS. It even has been surpassed by Sony’s own PlayStation Portable reports 4Gamer.
The Nintendo 3DS sold 482,2000 units while the PSP pulled in 101,121. The Nintendo 3DS has of course done significantly well with the majority of its success in recent weeks since the release of a number of Mario titles. With Mario Kart 7 hitting 260,836 units sold and Super Mario 3D Land at 174,566. Unfortunately not a single PS Vita software title made it in the top twenty sold last week. This certainly isn’t a good start for the system, though with stiff competition from the Mario series and cheaper competition, the more expensive PS Vita may be a hard sell at the moment.
While there are plenty of titles that gamers of both big and small can enjoy on the Nintendo 3DS, quite a few of the titles that are actually bundled with the system are solely focused on selling handheld to a younger audience. But in Japan that is going to change slightly, as Kojima Productions’ Jiroo Tsubuyaki has tweeted that Nintendo is planning on releasing a Nintendo 3DS hardware bundle for Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D when it is released in Japan next year on March 8th.
At the moment there is no specific design for the handheld, but I can guarantee that it will certainly be a system seller for some people. Currently there is no word about this bundle also being released in Western markets, so perhaps the only way to get a special MGS themed 3DS is to buy one from Japan…
As 2011 slowly comes to an end, we reflect on the great year of gaming it has been. A brand new year is set to begin just over the horizon, and with it comes a slew of great games set to be released not to long from now. So gear up and jump on board the hype wagon as we take a look at 12 of 2012’s most anticipated games.
12. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Developer:SCE Bend Studio Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Playstation Vita Release Date: You might be lucky enough to be playing the game already if you’re in Japan right now, but for everyone else you’ll have to wait until February 22, 2012
So…what’s all the hype about?
From what we saw at E3, Gamescom and TGS, Uncharted: Golden Abyss looks fantastic. A launch title for Sony’s latest handheld console Playstation Vita, the game really shows off what this new handheld console is capable of. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is defiantly shaping up to be one good looking game that you can fit into the palms of your hands, sporting incredible graphics (which look as if they have been taken straight out of their Playstation 3 counterparts) along with the same mix of platforming and combat goodness with an added bonus of new characters and story all thrown in.
11. The Darkness II
Developer: Digital Extremes Publisher: 2K Games Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Release Date: February 7, 2012 in North American and February 10, 2012 for Europe and Australia
So…what’s all the hype about?
In 2007, a first person shooter with a twist called The Darkness was released. Combining the mafia revenge story with demonic mythology, the result proved to be a unique and fresh take on both genre and narrative story telling in gaming as a whole. Now a sequel has finally emerged, Jackie Estacado is back to face the demons he left from the first game along with a new foe, The Brotherhood and players can once again take control of the demonic entity known only as The Darkness. The Darkness II is ready to raise the bar in violence with gruesome execution moves set to take main stage. Along with this, the game includes a brand new co-op multiplayer mode complete with its own parallel campaign.
10. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Developer: Sanzaru Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Playstation 3 Release Date: TBA 2012
So…what’s all the hype about?
The long-anticipated fourth game in the series marks a return after a six year absents for Sly Cooper. Sly 4 aka Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was finally announced at E3 2011 and since then information has been slowly drip fed to fans. The first game in the series not to be developed by Sucker Punch Studios, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time promises to be even bigger and better than its predecessors with emphasis on free roaming in much larger environments than in previous games. Sly 4 will be the series first game built for the Playstation 3 and it will be interesting to see how its developers, Sanzaru Games, will take the series into the new generation of gaming.
9. Borderlands 2
Developer: Gearbox Software Publisher: 2K Games Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Release Date: July 30, 2012 (According to Amazon.com…)
So…what’s all the hype about?
The original Borderlands was a sleeper hit when it was released in 2010, mixing first person shooting with traditional role playing loot hunting. Now sure the game was not without its flaws and a general lack of story all round, but the fundamental core gameplay and art style was very solid. There was much to like about this game, and what better to have than a sequel set to improve on all the flaws of the original and improve on the parts that made the game so good.
8. Hitman: Absolution
Developer: IO Interactive Publisher: Square Enix Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Release Date: TBA 2012
So…what’s all the hype about?
Hitman: Absolution the fifth game in the long running stealth action series is looking very good. We first got word of the new Hitman game with little more than a short teaser trailer back in May. But this gave us a clear indication that E3 would soon deliver the goods. Powered by IO Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine, this game pushes some very fancy graphics – just look at Agent 47’s bald head! Stealth games are always quite hard to get right but IO Interactive by the looks of things are on the money with this one, paying attention to what players want out of a stealth game along with bring in new innovations to keep the game fresh.
7. The Last Guardian
Developer: Team Ico Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Playstation 3 Release Date: TBA 2012
So…what’s all the hype about?
Originally announced at E3 2009, Team Ico’s long awaited follow up/spiritual successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus The Last Guardian was set to be released in late 2011 but was later on pushed back to 2012. So will we finally get to play The Last Guardian in 2012? Well we hope so. Just exactly how the game is actually going to be played is yet to be revealed. Will it be an action, puzzle or adventure game or a unique mix of all three? Well whatever it is, The last Guardian is sure looking like one incredibly unique game.
6. Max Payne 3
Developer: Rockstar Games Publisher: Rockstar Games Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Release Date: March 2012
So…what’s all the hype about?
Just have a look at the debut trailer for Max Payne 3, and oh wow you can just tell that this is going to be something. Rockstar Games have made some damn fine games over the years and Max Payne 3 will be no different. Set years after the events of Max Payne 2 and in a new tropical setting of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Max Payne 3 is set to bring back the bullet time action that we all know and love. Some serious tech is going into this game, with its Euphoria engine once again set to overdrive and once again set to exceed our expectations promising a third person shooter with the fluidity and precision of a first-person shooter.
In early November, 2011, customer Dave ordered a couple of new N-Control Avenger controllers, a product designed to allow for quicker reflexes, as well as being a great step forward for the disabled gamer market see more about the product here.
He pre-ordered the product, which was set for arrival “Early December”. When that expectation was let down, he got in touch with Ocean Marketing, the marketing company in charge of handling complaints, enquiries, etc. And so began a tale epic in scope, fail in nature.
At first, the responses were curt and mildly confusing. Then they were slightly more informative, while still managing to be utterly unhelpful. Then they took a nosedive into being outright rude and obnoxious.
Dave, as any conscientious gamer and egregiously slighted consumer would… he dropped a line to gaming media sites like Penny Arcade and Kotaku. Gabe at PA then joined in on the conversation, in the hopes of coming to some sort of resolution.
Ocean-Marketing-guy then proceeded to name-drop and big-talk himself into a deep, dark, lonely hole. The entire conversation can be read on PA here.
Then the rest of the gaming world went wild with rage. They brought down the Avenger controller’s Amazon rating to 1 star within 8 hours. This is a real shame, as despite it’s marketing troubles, and enraged gamer community snapping at it’s heels, the product itself and the company that makes it had nothing to do with the debacle. Read their side of the story on Kotaku here.
Meanwhile, it seems the one-man PR company Ocean Marketing has gone out of business, and has even had his personal privacy invaded. I don’t know if he’s really a bully who deserves to be ground into dust, or he was just having an off day… and was drunk… or whatever… The way he acted was unbecoming a marketing-guy-person. And, now that it’s all across the web, his mistakes will likely haunt him forever, and in that way I kinda feel for the guy. I’m sure he’d take it all back if he could.
That said, I guess he just wasn’t the right guy for the job, and in all likelihood won’t be in the same line of work for the foreseeable future. Such is the wrath of the internet-savvy gamers of today.
So I’d like to put forward a suggestion… perhaps he’s had enough abuse now? And maybe we shouldn’t be taking it out on N-Control and their product, particularly when they had no control over Ocean-Marketing-guy’s actions.
Of course, these events will go down in internet history, and the web will forever meme and reenact them for years to come. Such as the following, by New Challenger (previously ByteJacker)
Zumba Fitness 2 Platform: Nintendo Wii Publisher: Majesco Developer: Zoë Mode Release Date: November 15, 2011 Price: $39.99 – Available Here
Overview
The Wii may be slowly winding down, but sales are still high and at the moment, the fitness/dance game genre remains high on many gamers’ want lists. Majesco came out of nowhere last year and released Zumba Fitness: Join the Party, which quickly dominated sales charts for the platform and gave everyone a gift they could easily give their spouse, mother, or child. If you are new to the brand, Zumba is a Latin-inspired exercise that has users burn off calories while performing intense dance routines. Classes can be rather expensive, so it’s really not too hard to see why the first Zumba title was so successful.
A year later, Majesco are back with a follow-up in Zumba Fitness 2. This sequel takes everything fans loved about the first title and adds in even more content with new dance styles, a progress checker, and a revamped visual design for players of all ages to easily jump in and shake their booty to. The main question is, are these additions enough to keep the series relevant on an aging platform? Here is my review for Zumba Fitness 2.
Gameplay
If you played the first Zumba title, you should already be very familiar with how to play this successor. Zumba Fitness 2 comes bundled with a snazzy belt that players simply strap to their hip and then slide their WiiMote into a small pocket on the side. This simplistic design allows for every motion the player executes to be tracked by the hip, rather than the in-hand schemes that several of the other dance titles on the Wii utilize. Once your belt is strapped on, all the player has to do is simply mirror the routines performed by the on-screen instructors, where they will then be ranked for their technique and accuracy. I would love to say how complex this makes the overall experience, but to be honest, the whole game is rather fool-proof. I’m a pretty clumsy dancer myself and each time I missed, I was never punished for error and the game simply continued on. Once you do master the art, stars at the bottom will start filling up, making the main objective to mimic each dance to perfection to get the highest rating possible. Some of the hardcore dancing fans may be turned off by the lack of a true challenge, but I can’t really fault Zumba 2 for that as the whole game is meant to be more of a tool to get in shape, rather than an accuracy based dancing game.
The core of this exercising romp can be found in the Full Class Mode. After choosing the length of a class (which can be either 20, 40, or 60 minutes long), you then are taken straight into the game and must mirror each dance as closely as possible. There are ten different setlists to choose from for your selected duration of class, with each being grouped by intensity. The lower intensity setlists are targeted more towards beginners and start things off slow and easy, medium offers tracks with a higher tempo and amp up the difficulty with faster-paced dance routines, and high intensity is exactly as it sounds and keeps the player constantly dancing and moving for the entire class. These classes can also be customized to your own liking, where the player is allowed to select each track, venue, and overall length of their session. I went in with a bit of an ego and picked the 60 minute class on high, and as I am writing this, things are a bit sore everywhere. I would say that this is a good thing though, as even though the routines can be rigorous and demanding, I still managed to have fun and it never quite clicked that I was actually exercising until sometime afterwards. Up to four players can participate at once as well, so if you have friends that also want to join in, all that is needed is some extra belts and a few bottles of water (trust me, you’ll need it). Like most dance titles, Zumba 2 is a lot more rewarding and enjoyable with more players as well, which makes it a perfect party game as a whole.
For those just wanting the fun of dancing without the feeling of an intense workout, the Single Song mode is for you. As it sounds, all that is needed of the player is to pick a song and dance along. As for variety, there are 32 different tracks to select right from the start, with each track featuring it’s own particular dance style. Fans of the original Zumba will be familiar with returning styles such as Hip-Hop, Salsa, and Cumbia and with new additions like Bellydance, Latin-Pop, and Bollywood thrown in this time around, each track feels completely different and distinct from the next. Considering that the amount of dance stylings now have doubled this time around as well, this sequel thankfully feels like a brand new game, rather than a mere track change that so many other follow-ups try to offer and then charge full retail price for.
The best feature of the game comes not in dance, but progress. As you perform in classes and single songs each day, a progress tracker keeps record of the amount of calories you have burned, how long you have exercised, your body weight, and how your technique is. These statistics are all tracked well, but if you leave a dance session early your results will not be tallied. As an incentive to keep playing, rewards and extras can also be unlocked for the player’s personal accomplishments. Most of these are just achievements, but some new visual customization options for the instructors can be unlocked based on the number of stars collected. An attire change isn’t huge by any means, but the ability to unlock more content should have a nice appeal to any completionist out there.
Visuals/Audio
Graphically, Zumba 2 has improved miles above it’s predecessor. Each instructor are well detailed and very pleasing on the eye this time around. I would even say that the models in the game may be the best crafted in a dancing game period, as the animations keep up with every step and make mirroring movements at least seem easy enough for any player to follow along with. I’m not personally familiar with the “celebrity” instructors featured, but Zumba followers should have no problem telling the difference between the realistic avatars and their sharp looking attires. As for the backgrounds, there really is none better for the genre. While only 5 venues (such as a yacht or a dimly lit nightclub) are featured, each are full of life and flow perfectly with the music playing. As you perform better, the scene becomes more exciting as well and acts as yet another reward for mastering a specific technique.
As you would have guessed, the music is the most important factor of the experience. Zumba is infused with a mix of familiar artists such as Pitbull and Nicole Scherzinger as well as upbeat tracks from many international artists. There is Latin-Pop, Hip-Hop, Salsa music, and several other genres included and each feel very fitting to the dance maneuvers the player has to mimic. This is where I must really give the Zumba series credit as well. Most titles in the genre rely on well known top 40 tracks to actually create an enjoyable atmosphere. Zumba Fitness 2’s soundtrack goes a different route and offers lesser known tunes that are full of energy. Even though I hadn’t heard of 90% of the music within the game beforehand, I felt like I remembered them afterwards from this particular title and had more fun dancing to them as a result, even though the genres really aren’t my thing.
Overall
Zumba Fitness 2 does everything a sequel should. There are more offerings in terms of both dance styles and music, the graphics have been revamped for the better, and the gameplay is still as rigorous as ever while remaining easily approachable to all newcomers. The newly added progress tracker also makes a huge difference to the entire experience, as players can now see their own personal growth and form a fitness plan without the need of a bunch of charts or extra paper. If we have learned anything by the huge trend of dance titles this generation, it’s that you can indeed shed pounds while having fun in a video game. Zumba Fitness 2 doesn’t completely change everything we know about the genre, but it does manage to perfect it with it’s high energy grooves.
You love your laptop. You take it virtually everywhere with you. You work with it, play games on it, and live out your social media life through it. Unfortunately, it can only give you an average 8 hours of standard battery life (more likely 4 hours if you use it for gaming) before you need to hunt for the nearest power outlet. Well, that’s about to change.
If Apple could have their way with fuel cell powered mobile devices, your Macbook Air would not only be smaller and thinner, it would also be up and running for weeks without recharging. If Sony succeeds in current bio battery developments, when you see your Sony gadgets’ battery levels indicating low power, you just feed them scraps of paper and they’re good to go. This is the future of battery power – renewable, eco-friendly, and of course longer lasting.
Apple and Sony are positioning themselves right at the starting line for a battery race that is simply inevitable. There are too many mobile devices out there, and many more will be manufactured and delivered to eager consumers. Right now manufacturers may be trying to trounce each other with attached camera capabilities or processing power and speed, but sooner or later they’ll all have to take the right step backwards and take a look at the batteries powering their devices – just as Apple and Sony are currently doing.
There is a slew of resources on the Web that offer helpful tips on prolonging the battery lives of beloved gadgets. Battery life in terms of talk time is an important facet of any smartphone these days. It’s painfully evident – the need for better batteries to power the myriad mobile devices dominating consumer electronics is not just an auxiliary demand anymore, it’s a priority.
Even Bill Gates is onto it. He recently backed (as in invested in and funded) a startup company that is researching ‘big batteries’ – bad boys that can store the energy derived from renewable and eco-friendly sources like solar panels and wind turbines. The ‘big battery’ idea solves a perpetual problem in eco-friendly energy sources: they almost always have to be used immediately. Gates’ perspective on the issue is spot on: “renewable energy resources…will never approach the scale or affordability that is necessary.” Big batteries might just be the ideal solution.
Translate that to apply for mobile devices, and you get a demand for better, longer-lasting batteries that are practical and eco-friendly. Not five years from now, you can expect a new line of gadgets that can last days on end on one charge. You can expect them not just from Apple and Sony, but from almost all other technology and players and movers in the industry, because the battery race will soon begin.
These corporate giants indeed know what their consumers will be asking for next. After all, better batteries in their gadgets afford them the power of technology and the Web at their fingertips – for longer.
The EA Daily deals site recently launched has proved uber popular with mobile gamers and a quick look at the plethora of specials on offer and its not hard to see why it has surpassed 4.5 million visits since its launch. Wanting to keep the program in full swing, EA have added some amzing and popular new titles such as Need for Speed and NBA Jam for IOS users and Plants Vs Zombies and Madden 12 for Android lovers.
The EA Daily deals site features price drops on a whole range of games as part of their second annual holiday sale, available on both the iTunes store for IOS users as well as for the Android market. As well as being able to purchase the games through the daily deals website, EA are utilising the Zoove platform to provide users an alternative means to download the titles.
