With the series conclusion of Un-Go this past week, Sentai Filmworks (the U.S. license holder for Un-Go), have confirmed that their license for the series includes the prequel film that played in Japanese theatres for 2 weeks in November.
The film runs at a length of 45 minutes and details the past of Un-Go’s two protagonists; Shinjurou and Inga, whilst giving such more details surrounding the world of Un-Go.
It is presumed that Australian distributor Siren Visual hold the very same license as Sentai Filmworks, given their history or releasing Sentai dubbed products in the Australian region. However, no official word has come from them regarding the matter.
Fighting game noobs beware: your button-mashing days are over…probably.
With Street Fighter X Tekken just over two months shy of its debut across major gaming platforms, gamers around the world are already taking sides – it’s an unofficial Team Tekken versus Team Street Fighter fanboy faceoff. The merger of the two iconic fighting titles isn’t the only thing Capcom’s upcoming game has going for it, however, as it also boasts the potential to one-up the entire fighting game genre with the GEM system.
Revamping the fighting game standard might be a bit of an overstatement, but the GEM system can at least leave its mark in the genre. While not an entirely original concept, Street Fighter X Tekken’s GEM system is unique in how it’s used. Among 57 standard gems, 5 are Assist GEMs that constantly provide assistance to the players using them in exchange for a handicap in other areas of gameplay, and 52 are Boost GEMs that boost one of five statistics like attack or defence if the characters encounter the conditions that trigger them. Players can choose three different GEMs to equip before a fight.
That doesn’t sound like much in theory, but in practice it might make all the difference. Take the standard Assist GEM “Easy Input” for instance. It allows players to make use of their characters’ special moves with fewer controls than they would otherwise have to combine. So instead of a down + forward + X + O, all a player has to do is a forward + X (this is not a specific move example, noobs).
In contrast, all of the Boost GEMs increase points in certain statistics of characters. With Boost GEMs, the player needs to clear a condition for the GEMs to be triggered. Let’s say you have a defence Boost GEM equipped and it is triggered when your character is hit a certain number of times. If while playing you are cornered into a multiple hit combo and your defence Boost GEM kicks in, it increases defence points for your character by a certain amount, reducing damage incurred.
The premise is simple enough; it’s the strategic element that adds depth to an otherwise straightforward fighting game. It also provides real world assistance (as with the Easy Input Assist GEM)and in-game fighting boosts at the same time. Will this take away from the simplistic allure of the genre? It depends.
Personally I’ve found it refreshing to bash demons in Devil May Cry right after a ridiculously difficult level in Splinter Cell. The run and gun (and slash) gameplay in Devil May Cry reflects the unassuming game formula of most fighting titles, Street Fighter and Tekken especially. The problem is – and I’ve encountered this many times before myself – is when button-mashing noobs can chain accidentally awesome combos on you despite your “mastery” of the fighting game you’re playing.
“Mastery” of a fighting game or game character is itself a dubious concept, especially if the game lacks certain technical depth and digresses into a competition of repetition and cheap shots. I loved Mortal Kombat 3 on the SNES, and I could wipe the floor with anyone using Noob Saibot, but after endless fights where I use three to four variations of the same old moves and specials, it just gets old.
This is the case, I’ve found, with a number of fighting games with few exceptions. This is exactly why Street Fighter X Tekken might be the next biggest thing in fighting games not only because you can finally get to match Ryu against Kazuya, but also because it incorporates technical depth lacking in most of the previous Street Fighter and Tekken titles. The GEM system could potentially launch both titular fighting games into the ranks of cult-hits-turned-mainstream-trends like Guilty Gear and technically masterful fighting games like the Soul Series.
This may be my personal preference, but Guilty Gear, particularly games after Guilty Gear XX (or X2), presented a lot of technical fighting with Tension Attacks and Teching. While Street Fighter enthusiasts were chaining together repetitive Hadukens, Guilty Gear X2 players were mastering Selective Teching and Instant Kills. Tekken could have gotten to the next level, but the depth of technical gameplay remained subpar, at least compared to the weapon-based unique techniques in Soul Calibur titles. Soul Calibur is the closest you can get to a Devil May Cry two-player versus mode, minus the demonic speed. I recall some of my gaming buddies staring each other’s characters down for a full minute, feeling each other out and sometimes even feinting moves, and then unleashing hits, grabs, counters, and critical finishes in a few seconds.
It’s undeniable that Street Fighter X Tekken is already a highly anticipated game owing to its combination of characters alone (despite some griping from hardcore gamers about the character lineup announcements), but can the game go beyond that and become intensely involving and technically challenging? Is the GEM system even worth the hype?
I would say yes, it is. It is neither a novel feature nor an exceedingly bold one, and many players would probably even ignore it completely at first, but it’s one buzzing trend that’s worth keeping an eye on. In the end it will meet one of two fates: fighting game fame or lame.
Here’s to hoping it doesn’t fizzle out into oblivion.
It has been reported that action hero Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo will be getting a video game adaptation for retail release next year, as UK-based publisher Reef Entertainment has recently secured game rights to the first three films (First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III) which have grossed over 6 million dollars collectively. The game is set for a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC release, and will contain a gritty atmosphere much like the films.
“I am a big fan of Sylvester Stallone movies, and when we had the opportunity to secure the video game rights from StudioCanal for the Rambo franchise, we had to grab it with both hands” says Reef Entertainment CEO Peter Rezon.
No man, no law and no war can stop this game from hitting store shelves! Unless of coarse, it gets a R18+ rating, then it most likely won’t be coming to Australian stores.
Street Fighter X Tekken may of seemed like just Street Fighter IV with new characters to some at first, but those people are going to take it all back once they hear about the new innovative GEM system, which adds an extra layer of depth to the game itself and will change the way players experience the game.
A total of 57 GEMs (5 Assist and 52 Boost) come standard in Street Fighter X Tekken, and combatants equip three different GEMs to improve upon their strengths and/or weaknesses depending on their style of play. There are two types of GEMs; Assist and Boost, and each have specific advantages and disadvantages. The GEM system is sure to make Street Fighter X Tekken one of the most personalised fighters to date, allowing players to give their styles of play more balanced and to set their own custom handicap.
For an in-depth explaination with examples of the new GEM system check out this episode of Capcom’s online show promoting the game, “X the Line” below!
Street Fighter X Tekken for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 is set to release in North America on March 6, 2012 and March 9, 2012 in Europe. PlayStation Vita and PC versions will be announced in the near future.
Housos Studio: SBS Publisher: Madman Platform: DVD (Reviewed) Release Date: 30/11/2011 Price: $29.95 Available Here
Overview
We’ve fallen on harsh economic times, and governments worldwide really need to man up before we all end up like a bunch of bloody Housos! Housos is the latest project from Paul Fenech, mastermind behind Aussie hit SBS TV stoner-comedy shows such as Fat Pizza and Swift & Shift. Like Fenech, I too am a Maltese/Australian citizen, and while I personally haven’t grown up in housing commission, I’ve been brought up pretty close by to a lot of um…economically-challanged areas so I can personally relate a lot to this show. Hell, it’s filmed only a few towns over from where I live! That being said however, anyone who is aware of Fenech’s previous works should know what they’re in for: adolescent sex, drugs and violence jokes of very poor taste, most of which we’ve already seen in Fat Pizza. But with a new unique setting and a whole bunch of new characters, does Housos have enough to pull the weight alongand make it a series worth watching? Let’s find out!
Story & Characters
Housos documents the tales of a town called Sunnyvale, more specifically it’s small housing commission zone who’s residents are known as the Housos. The Housos are all a bunch of slackers who are willing to work very hard to well…not work by any means necessary! This means all these immoral alcoholic junkie slackers must find new and inventive ways to pay for their thrills, and that usually comes down to theft, but being uneducated often means they’ll screw up a lot resulting in hilarious failures.
Housos doesn’t really follow a set storyline, but rather focuses of individual tales of Franky (Paul Fenech), his barely legal girlfriend Kylie (Kiri Schmitt) and their houso friends. The structure of the show is strictly comedy, meaning that all ideas such as character development and emotional depth is buggered off completely in exchange for stories that glorify crime in a comedic manner. The problem with having a cast that are scumbags that never show signs of remorse or consequence for their actions, or any signs of growth in character results in little-to-no care for them. The fact that the show contains some terrible actors doesn’t help the characters either. Most purposely exaggerate a fake bogan Australian accent, and while it can be funny to laugh at it isn’t ever convincing. Also some characters such as Shazza (Elle Dave) scream every line they ever speak. Talk about over-acting!
A huge problem with the show is that it heavily relies on shock-comedy hoping to surprise us, but often fails as it is constantly repeating the same ideas. For example, in almost every episode either a police car or fire truck is stolen and taken for a joy ride and is tried to be passed off as a joke. What the writers don’t seem to notice however, is that the funniest moments of the series is when it relies on observational humour or placing the housos in situations outside their comfort zone such as being around rich government officials or at a foreign holiday resort. Instead, they focus on trying to shock us with jokes about sex and drugs, or by ‘chucking a Dane Cook’ by simply screaming. Here’s a tip to all comedies out there: just because your yelling, doesn’t mean your being funny! That being said, there are funny moments throughout the series, but while your sometimes laughing with the show, sometimes you’ll also just be laughing at the show’s horrible acting, accents and just how much stupid crap they get away with.
There are some really bright moments however, and these are often due to a few good characters that bring different types of humour and jokes into the show preventing it from becoming too repetitive or stale. Examples include a lebanese gang known as the ‘Sunnyvale Assassins’ who steal the spotlight in every scene they appear in, and Kev (Kevin Taumata) who seems to be the only person in Sunnyvale with a positive outlook on life. It’s characters like these (among a few select others) that give the viewer a break from the constant yelling throughout the show as well as keep the repetitive plot interesting. The main issue however is that the show works best when Housos such as Frankie, Kylie, Dazza and Shazza are shown in ‘normal’ society to point out their behaviour through contrast, but this doesn’t happen very often. Instead, the show is forced to rely on placing these characters with little depth and no development in comedic situations, but these situations are often similar if not the same so there isn’t much to keep it going. So while the show is pretty entertaining at first, it all gets very old very quickly.
Audio/Visual
Aside from the constant barrage of screaming and overuse of profanity, Houso’s contains a relatively enjoyable soundtrack. Focusing on a Australian rock and hip hop songs throught the series, the chaotic nature of the selected songs often reflect the mood of each scene really well as well as staying true to the Australian roots of the show. Furthermore, the show’s theme song is really catchy and makes for a great introduction to each episode. Visually speaking on the other hand, Houso’s is clearly on a very low budget. The camera quality is certainly of not a very high standard, although it isn’t terrible. The sets on the other hand have been put together well, creating a very authentic look for the series and making a very believable town for these stories to be told in.
Extras
Housos contains a whole bunch of special features that are actually really entertaining to watch. There’s a whole range of deleted scenes and out-takes that show off a lot of what appears to be improvisation, a tour of the town the show is filmed in and comparing the actors to citizens of the town, and my personal favourite; a guest star appearance from the internet sensation Trent from Punchbowl! As a fan of Trent’s previous work, I was filled with excitement to see him alongside the Housos cast, even if it was for just a few minutes. It’s a shame he wasn’t in any more episodes, as again like the ‘Sunnyvale Assassins’ and Kev, he brings a different style of humour to the show. All in all these extras make a pretty interesting watch and if you enjoy the show you’ll love these as well. Oh yeah and there’s also a credits section in the extras. Awesome!
Overview
Housos, like many of Fenech’s previous efforts relies heavily on shock comedy aiming to be ‘edgy’ and ‘controversial’ but instead falls into simply bad taste. Keep in mind however, this isn’t a show your meant to take seriously, as the show is aiming to be the opposite of classy by using it’s low-income setting as an excuse for immature jokes based on sex, drugs and violence. But there’s something about Housos that can bring out that adolescent boy inside of you and make you just want to see more. The entire show is like a cigarette: you know it’s bad, but you just don’t give a damn because it’s just a bit of fun. And in the end isn’t that what entertainment is meant to do-be fun?
Doublesix Digital Publishing has announced that All Zombies Must Die! is coming our way with separate console release dates. This twin stick shooter will be available on the PlayStation Network on December 27th for $9.99 and Xbox Live Arcade on December 28th for 800 Microsoft points.
In a world where the military cannot handle a zombie breakout, only four remain as the Earth’s last line of defense. A gamer, girl, alien, and scientist are all that stand between the zombies and the prized human grey matter. The town of Deadhill – appropriately named – is under constant swarm of zombies. Our heroes must complete quests throughout the town as they administer destruction to the undead.
While the gameplay surrounds the twin stick shooting format, RPG elements have been added to increase the fun factor. Characters are able to build new weapons from collecting items throughout the levels. As players progress through levels they will also gain experience to add points into attack, defense, health, and speed. How you administer these points will greatly change your experience of play.
With the holidays only days away, All Zombies Must Die! could be an unique gift for only $9.99 or 800 MSP. Check out the Christmas gameplay trailer below, and spread the holiday cheer!
Yesterday Sony officially announced the prices for the PlayStation Vita’s memory cards. While these cards actually turned out to be a bit cheaper than initially thought, they still are quite expensive considering they are mandatory to really enjoy any of the titles for the PlayStation Vita. For those who don’t remember, the 4GB memory card will run $19.99, 8GB at $29.99, 16GB at $59.99 and finally 32GB at $99.99.
So… now we know how much they will cost, but which one should you be picking up? Well, considering the Vita is currently out in Japan now, the download size for each of the launch titles has now been revealed. The full list of the games and their sizes can be seen below.
AR Combat DigiQ: Friend Tank Battalion – 220 MB
Army Corps of Hell – 598 MB
Asphalt Injection – 724 MB
BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend – 3180 MB
Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die – 121 MB
Dark Quest: Alliance – 1057 MB
Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention – 1619 MB
Dream Club Zero Portable – 2835 MB
Dynasty Warriors Next – 1485 MB
Everybody’s Golf 6 – 1100 MB
F1 2011 – 1435 MB
Little Deviants – 869 MB
Live Tweet – 6 MB
Lord of Apocalypse – 1427 MB
Mahjong Fight Club – 793 MB
Michael Jackson: The Experience HD – 1225 MB
Minna to Issho: Friend Network – 168 MB
Monster Radar – 1640 MB
Nico Nico – 14 MB
Power Smash 4 – 1241 MB
Ridge Racer – 561 MB
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen – 1057 MB
Touch My Katamari – 744 MB
True Night of the Kamaitachi: The 11th Visitor – 793 MB
Uke-torne – 16 MB
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – 1350 MB
Uncharted: Golden Abyss – 2777 MB
So, if you are looking to pick up any of these titles digitally in February when the Vita is released you can not guess at which memory card you should be looking to pick up as well.
Sports Interactive, the developers of the football managing simulation, and SEGA are giving fans of the game a couple extra reasons to smile this Christmas.
First, anyone who already owns the game can unlock a unique Steam achievement, which is being kept secret, by playing the game on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (UK time). Players are being encouraged to keep an eye on the Sports Interactive Twitter page for hints and clues about what needs to be accomplished to receive the mysterious achievement.
Also, for anyone who has already purchased a physical copy of the game, or is planning on purchasing one as a gift, there’s a special Football Manager 2012 Christmas sleeve available for download on the game’s official website (check out the downloads section). To use the words of the press release, whether the sleeve is for your own game or for someone’s gift, it’ll give the copy of the game “some Xmas sparkle”. And everyone loves sparkles.
Football Manager 2012 is available on PC, Mac, PSP, and iOS devices right now, and fans can also go check out the Football Manager 2012 Christmas podcast on iTunes.
Developer:Rockstar Games Publisher:Rockstar Games Platform: iPhone (reviewed)/iPad/iPod Touch/Android Release:15/12/11 Price:$4.99 – Available Here
Overview
Back in 2001, Rockstar Games first introduced players Liberty City and open world gaming in Grand Theft Auto III. Ten years have passed since then and Rockstar Game has re-released the classic for iOS and Andriod devices, allowing for players to once again explore and reacquaint themselves with the mayhem of Liberty City in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto III: 10th Anniversary Edition.
Story
For those of you who haven’t played Grand Theft Auto III or aren’t familiar with its story, it’s a basic premise for which the action (the bulk of the game) to take place in. After being betrayed by your girlfriend Catalina after a bank robbery, left for dead and captured by the police. The mute protagonist aka ‘the GTA 3 guy’/Claude escapes from police custody after a dramatic bomb blast in the game’s opening to climb the ranks of the criminal underworld in Liberty City.
It has its fair share of wacky characters, memorable moments and plot twists but overall Grand Theft Auto 3’s story isn’t exactly a stand out, but it’s still enjoyable and surprising that it holds up even after ten years.
Gameplay
The burning question for many gamers (myself included) is how exactly would you play control an open world game on a touch screen? The port over from consoles to mobile plays out quite well. Whilst at first you may be swamped by all the on-screen buttons, you’ll get used to their location and functionality. Their size and location can be adjusted to suit player preference if you really need to.
A few sacrifices had to be made in this port to fit the touch screen format, and a few issues do plague the game. For starters, you can’t aim or control the camera exactly at all in this game as there is no secondary analogy stick. Shooting is taken over by auto-aim which works just fine, provided that enemies are a fair distance away from you where you can pick them off one by one. In a crowded group situation, it is a completely different story as it’s quite difficult to select your target and the issue is exacerbated further closer up when you are completely surrounded by enemies.
Looking beyond this, the game is still Grand Theft Auto III and you are an entire city to explore in. The city itself is split into three islands which are unlocked as you progress through the story. Reaching that final island is quite an achievement and driving from one side of the city to the other is a genuine reward once you have unlocked them.
Grand Theft Auto III: 10th Anniversary Edition also introduces an auto save feature and other significant changes to gameplay, whereby if you die or get arrested you will not lose all your weapons and after failing a mission there is the option to instantly replay it and try again. If you’ve played Grand Theft Auto III before, then you know how much of a welcome relief these new feature are.
They take the tediousness out of playing Grand Theft Auto and put you straight back into the action. As before, you would have to buy all your weapons back if you died or got arrested and you would have to drive all the way to the mission’s start point to retry it if you failed. These are all significant change to the game which allows for on the go portability, which the majority of gamers will be doing when the play this game on their mobiles.
Visuals
The game doesn’t look terrible keeping in mind that this is a ten year old game. This is a straight up port of the original game and no massive changes to the overall visuals have been done. That’s fine as the game retains its classic look and feel. However, you just can’t help notice the somewhat goofy and stiff looking character models in the cut scenes. There also is noticeable pop-in playing through the game. But again, for a game that is ten years old it’s still very solid. There is an entire city to explore, with each island take its own unique visual look and feel.
Audio
If there is one thing you need to know, the radio in this game is superb and as convincing and funny as it was ten years ago when I first played the game. Both the radio and soundtrack really does sell this game, and adds a layer of realism that you don’t usually in many games. Voice acting is top notch as well, although as I mentioned before cutscenes do look a bit goofy with the dated visuals. In game sound effects work and sound fine. As a ten year old game, it can be forgiven for having somewhat repetitive driving and firing sounds.
Overall
There is much to be enjoyed in this nostalgia filled epic, revisiting Liberty City and all its crazy shenanigans. It’s unfortunate that there are just some issues that distract players from the overall experience. And while you can look past these, as the fact of the matter is you’re playing Grand Theft Auto III, originally a PS2 game, in palm of your hands. And for that, I suppose the game can be forgiven for having a few issues.
EA have today released a new trailer online for the forthcoming Kingdom’s of Amalur: Reckoning, which takes an inside look at the vast depth of the games combat system through the form of an 8 minute trailer.
So grab some popcorn, cuddle up to your elven wenches, turn out all the lights and get comfy for 8 minutes of Reckoning. You can view the lengthy trailer below, which details hand-crafted animations, impressive combo chains, ability hierarchy and more, with commentary from the people behind the combat of the game.
What do you think of the 8 minute long Reckoning trailer? Be sure to let us know in the shoutbox and comments section below.
