I’m glad to see everyone gearing up for the holidays but gosh that sweater I am wearing is still ugly. The Pipper is here, and I want to inform everyone about the great deals that Xbox is offering until New Year’s Day.
Hot Hot Hot
Xbox is celebrating the countdown to 2012 with daily price cuts for popular Xbox Live downloadables. Whether the downloadable is an avatar item, game, or add-on, the discount will only last one day for the featured item.
Now remember this discount only available today, so stay tuned at Major Nelson’s twitter for additional specials.
New Year’s Specials
In addition to the insane daily specials, there are more holiday specials available until January 2, 2012.
Name
Type
Original Price
Sale Price
Savings
L.A. Noire – Rockstar Pass
Add-on
960
480
50%
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Arcade
1200
600
50%
Renegade Ops
Arcade
1200
600
50%
Oblivion
Game
Varies
by
region
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Game
Varies
by
region
Plants vs Zombies
Arcade
1200
600
50%
Peggle
Arcade
800
400
50%
Peggle Nights
Arcade
400
200
50%
BloodRayne Betrayal
Arcade
1200
600
50%
After Burner Climax
Arcade
800
400
50%
Portal: Still Alive
Arcade
1200
600
50%
Training Dummy
Avatar Item
320
160
50%
Grappling hook
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Monkey
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Labrador Dog
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Red Dragon
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Ticker Pet
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Berserker
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Halo Flood
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Inferno Skateboard
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Cactus Dog Prop
Avatar Item
240
120
50%
Home Run Animation
Avatar Item
160
120
25%
Fastball Animation
Avatar Item
160
120
25%
Touchdown Dance
Avatar Item
160
120
25%
Ninja Kick
Avatar Item
160
120
25%
For more information hit up Xbox’s Countdown to 2012. Thanks for joining me, The Poid Pipper, for an exciting news flash. Have a very happy holidays everyone, and always remember to check your underwear.
Can’t get enough of being a bad-ass billionaire vigilante? No bat-sweat! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have got you covered! Two new DLC packs are now available for Batman: Arkham City, as well as a free Batman Inc. Batsuit Skin! You can grab it now via Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Network and Games for Windows Marketplace.
First up there’s The Arkham Bundle which brings together the Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack and the Arkham City Skins Pack for 1,200 Microsoft Points, or £11.99 on PSN and Games for Windows Marketplace so if you’ve missed out on any DLC so far, your all set!
Next of coarse there’s the Challenge Map Pack which came out today that includes The Joker’s Carnival Challenge Map, the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map, and a brand new invisible predator challenge map, The Batcave! The Challenge Map Pack is available for 240 Microsoft Points, or £2.39 on PSN and Games for Windows Marketplace. Holy DLC Batman! That’s fantastic!
Hold on Bat-fans, it gets better! If you love free stuff, then you’ll love to hear that as of today, the new Batman Inc. Batsuit Skin is available for FREE! The skin can be worn during the story campaign upon completion of the main story and in the challenge maps, so you can kick all kinds of Arkham ass with a whole new style of Bat-Swag! Yeah I said it, Bat-Swag. It’s a word now!
So Arkham City fans, today is like an early Christmas for you guys-it’s Batmas! So head on over to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Network and/or Games for Windows Marketplace and tell your friends that Bat-Swag is now a word! It’s SO gonna be a thing!
Age of Enigma: Special Edition Studio: Casual Box Publisher: Casual Box Platform: Mac (reviewed) Release Date: December 7, 2011 Price: $8.49 Available Here
Overview
The Point-and-Click genre suffers under a terrible curse-it will forever be compared to The Secret of Monkey Island. But one brave reviewer dares to go against the odds; enter Matt Vella, editor at Capsule Computers and a secret vigilante crime-fighting dolphin training Ninja-Pirate-Monk by night! This man takes on the challenge to review Casual Box’s latest title, Age of Enigma: Special Edition for the Mac app store by judging it fairly and not by comparing it to a 21 year old game that came out the year before he was born. So how does he find Age of Enigma: Special Edition? Screw pointing and clicking! Instead scroll down, read on and find out!
That’s it. I’m calling child protective services!
Story
Age of Enigma tells the tale of Ashley Reeves, a medium who can see dead people, talk to them and help them find their way into the afterlife. Ashley one day receives an unsigned letter summoning her to a haunted house, where she finds six ghosts which are trapped inside. It becomes Ashley’s mission to earn the trust of each ghost and then help them overcome their unfinished business on Earth by traveling to their exotic homelands and helping them find peace so they can move on beyond this world. Besides the obvious and lacklustre plot twist that concludes the game, the plot while thin does contains some interesting highlights. What ruins the story for the most part however is that all the ghosts you meet are of cliché cartoonish stereotypes like Pirates and Egyptian Pharaohs that clash with the dark and serious theme of the game itself, and as a result generates little-to-no-care for the characters at first glance. What is surprisingly good however, are the eventual results of learning what has been keeping each ghost from moving on. These focus on themes such as love and betrayal and for these brief moments these characters develop a layer of depth, that helps create a sense of appreciation and accomplishment by helping them. Sadly, these moments are quite short and the plot never expands on these moments as much as it probably should, but thanks to Age of Enigma’s short lifespan it should be enough to carry you through till the end.
Age of Enigma LOVES stereotypes. Pirates, Pharos, Japanese Bridesmaids and of coarse-an under appreciated woman who loves cleaning up after chauvinistic men!
Gameplay
Age of Enigma is a point-and-click adventure game, so as you can imagine the gameplay simply just boils down having to point and click on things as you venture around. However the game’s main problem is the fact that most objectives feel more like fetch quests, making you go collect things that often don’t make any sense at all with very little variety, creating for a very repetitive experience. For example, on two or three occasions during this short game your told to clean up after people, whether it be a Japanese bridesmaid or a rude pirate. While it may not of been the developer’s intentions it doesn’t exactly empower the lead female protagonist. Hell, I’m surprised it doesn’t ask you to make a sandwich for someone!
What did I say? I told you guys Justin Beiber would bring upon the apocalypse! I TOLD YOU!
What breaks up the simple point-and-click mechanics of the game are the 26 mini-games found within, one more than the original PC release. Take that PC Gamers! While there is reply value after the game is over with all the mini-games being re-playable, you most likely won’t want to replay most of them as they suffer from repetition, stupidity and frustrating difficulty. While a few of them are enjoyable such as variations on memory-based mini-games, many of them can get unfairly hard such as the later math-based ones as well as guessing games. The key to making a good puzzle in a video game is to motivate the player to want to overcome the challenge by making the puzzles seem easier than what they really are, but Age of Enigma mostly has puzzles that seem ridiculous from the first sight of them. The introductions to each puzzle can be equally bizarre, such as instead of just being able to pick up a stick one stage, your forced to pick them up in the correct order….for some unknown reason!
Ashley guest stars as a victim in Law & Order: SVU.
On the bright side however, Casual Box have inserted a smart system of skipping through these mini-games. Players can use up to 2 Jokers per puzzle, which will each simplify it, and if that’s not enough you can skip it entirely. What this does create however is the option for those who are stuck to continue playing anyways. While this does destroy a lot of the challenge, this inclusion is great considering how annoying some of these mini-games can be, especially since a few of them are not very well explained in the first place. Furthermore, those who are stuck outside of the mini-games also can access a guide which is much like an in-game walkthough. This basically makes Age of Enigma: Special Edition one of the easiest, most unchallenging, most casual games you’ll play in your life. But with a game like this, the option of having it there is helpful and very much appreciated. Also, for one to complain about that are simply stupid-what can you expect? The developer’s name is Casual Box! Age of Enigma also provides two modes of gameplay-a simplified, easier version called ‘Casual Mode‘ and a slightly harder, more story-driven mode called ‘Adventure Mode‘. With that in mind, it’s pretty clear that Casual Box have done their best to appeal to multiple markets by providing multiple options which I’m sure many will enjoy. While half of the game is revolved around puzzles that for the most part are pretty flawed, you can’t argue against the fact that Casual Box does meet the player half way with a fair compromise. These options along side impressive visuals ultimately save the game from being a total disaster and actually make it a decent experience with a few bright moments.
Here you cannot pick up the sticks, but instead your forced to pick them up in the correct order. Why you can’t just kick them away is simply a mystery. Perhaps Ashley has OCD.
Audio/Visual
Graphically speaking Age of Enigmalooks amazing and by far is the greatest highlight of the entire game. There is so much character and beauty in the artworks of every scene that will make you feel compelled to push forth through many of the game’s flaws just to see more. As this type of game involves a lot of focus on looking around, the graphics strengthen the gameplay itself and makes the entire experience all the more fun. While many of the cartoonish character designs seem a bit of place within the dark and serious atmosphere of the game, the art style has found a way to make it seem a little less extreme in a good way. Music is also a major positive of the game, as while it isn’t entirely in your face, the piano-driven theme throughout further expands on the mystery and suspense of the adventure, and the multiple variations of the theme song throughout the game is a nice touch as well. However not every aspect of the audio is as great, as the voice acting in Age of Enigma is very cheesy and the performances aren’t very convincing. On the hand the game could’ve benefited from more voice acting as well, as it is seldom seen throughout the adventure. While the voice talent isn’t perfect, it is tolerable and does make for dialogue to be much more engaging.
He used to be a point-and-click adventurer like you, until he took an arrow to the knee.
Overall
Age of Enigma is how I imagine a lot of my presents I’ll get from christmas this year will be like: ok, not great, and wrapped up in some really pretty wrapping paper but only to distract me from what little thought was actually put into the gift. Age of Enigma’s plot takes a good concept and dumbs it down, showing glimpses of what it could’ve been from time-to-time but never reaches it’s full potential, while the gameplay shows promise and is really accessible, but is held back from a majority of poorly designed mini-games. By all means, Age of Enigma: Special Edition is not a bad game, it’s just not a great one. It looks and sounds great and the game’s structure is well done. It’s just the frustrating mini-games’ difficulty and poor explanation that make the player feel more like a sidekick to the real hero of this adventure: the ‘Skip’ button. Unless your a hardcore point-and-click adventure game fan, you may want to ‘skip’ this one.
But Casual Box is onto something here, and I encourage them not to give up as Age of Enigma: Special Edition does show a lot of potential. Perhaps with a few improvements, a sequel to Age of Enigma could prove to be one really impressive title.
Hey bro, here’s a tip: making a girl a human sacrifice is NOT a very good pick up line. Just saying!
Sci fi fans take note, Prometheus is coming. But why should you care about this big budget science fiction horror epic? If you need more reason than that- read on…
It’s directed by Ridley Scott, the man who brought the world sci fi classics Alien and Blade Runner. When first announced Prometheus was due to be a continuation of the Alien universe, a two part prequel exploring the origin of the ‘Space Jockey’ (the pilot of the ruined ship encountered at the beginning of Alien, thought to be part of the race that created the xenomorphs) .
Although it still contains some influence from the Alien universe (as can be seen from Scott’s comments below, originally from an interview with Filmophilia) Prometheus has since grown to become a film to stand on it’s own, certainly drawing on the mythology of the Alien universe, but not restrained by the ever horrific ‘sci fi prequel’ tag:
“I think one of the reasons why I’ve never gone back to science-fiction, even though I’ve often noodled around, thought about it, looked for story, looked for material, is that there’s a nice purity to the original ‘Alien’. It’s fairly pure. And [‘Prometheus’] does actually raise all kinds of other questions, because if someone could, a being, could be as monstrously clever to create something like we experienced in the very first one [ie. the ‘Alien’ xenomorph] – I always figured it’s a weapon, and I always figured that [the ship in the first ‘Alien’] was a carrier of weapons. Therefore, who is that, inside that [Space Jockey] suit? That wasn’t a skeleton, that was a suit. And if you open up the suit, what do you get inside it? And why were they going, where were they going?”
Now, if you know anything about Greek mythology the name Prometheus will be familiar. Although it’s the name of a ship in the movie, looking at it in a more metaphorical sense can maybe shed a bit of light on the plot and tone of the film. Prometheus was one of the Titans of Ancient Greece, an old god whole stole the gift of fire from Zeus to bestow it upon humanity. What did he get for his trouble? Eternal punishment. Prometheus was chained to a rock and had an eagle tear out and eat his liver, and being a god, his liver would grow back, so this happened every day.
Eternal punishment via disembowelment for bringing a hidden power to a lesser race. Hm. What could that possibly entail? Of course the official synopsis for Prometheus has been released, and goes like this:
Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Now, in the same interview quoted above, Scott ruled out any possibility of the infamous xenomorphs appearing , making accurate use of the phrase “squeezed it dry” along the way. But by no means does that mean Prometheus will be lacking in horror, and possibly some new nasties. The two teasers released today (trailers for a trailer if you will, with the full trailer released tomorrow) show off a few glimpses of the action, and Scott himself discusses the team of characters coming across “dangerous elements that…are capable of eviscerating all of them”. Eviscerating. Nice.
So the set up is rich in mythology and being handled by an incredible director who knows the world like the back of his hand. What about the rest? Well writing duties have been taken care of by Damon Lindelof, whose name will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen Star Trek (yay), Lost (yay?) or Cowboys and Aliens (hm). Casting wise there’s quality all round – lead Michael Fassbender is one of the industry’s biggest rising stars, you’ve probably seen him in X-Men First Class as Magneto, and probably not seen him in the fantastic Hunger, where he played Bobby Sands , leader of the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike, to disturbing perfection.
Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce round out the XY side of the cast, with the women bolstered by Oscar winner Charlize Theron and the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Noomi Rapace (also to be seen shortly in the second Sherlock Holmes film).
There’s a lot to be excited about, and the snippets we see in the teasers today will no doubt pale in comparison to what the trailer reveals tomorrow (fingers crossed). Prometheus is due in cinemas in June next year, so keep an eye out for more news and trailers from Capsule Computers.
Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand Developer: DICE Publisher: EA Platforms: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC Release Date: December 14th, 2011 Price: $15.00 Available Here
Overview:
A major qualm I have with downloadable content is that more often than not, the pricing is way off. As you can imagine, I am referring to downloadable content that is simply more costly than it is worth. Unfortunately for Battlefield 3’s first DLC map pack, that is the case.
Back to Karkand is comprised of older maps (albeit reinvented), along with some minor new additions. While that is all well and good, is it really worth $15.00?
Content:
Let’s be honest here, there is a pretty decent amount of content in the Back to Karkand DLC pack, that is for sure. But the problem is that, it almost feels as though it should have already been a part of the game from the get-go.
I find it difficult to comprehend why this DLC is not free or why it was not originally in the game itself to begin with. The ‘new’ maps, if you want to call them ‘new’ are as a matter of fact ‘old’ maps. Fans of the series who have stuck around for the long haul, would most certainly have played these maps previously in Battlefield 2, while it is a nice nostalgic kick back for those players, it is also a point of fault with this DLC.
It is a DLC pack that rewards new players instead of the series veterans. Instead of providing new content for players, the easy route was taken in simply revamping the old maps, knowing a lot of the newcomers would not know any different. If you had played these maps in Battlefield 2, besides added destructible environments and updated graphics, there is very little else you have not seen before. It is a sad thing that EA have chosen to reward those just jumping on with the series instead of those who purchase each and every single title with the Battlefield name.
The maps themselves are as good as they ever were and many of the games bugs are patched with the compulsory 2 gigabyte patch (along with the size of the DLC itself that was definitely a knife to the gut of my download limit for the month). The stand out addition in the entire map pack is perhaps the least marketed update – Conquest Assault. A new gameplay mode, which is a variation on the Conquest mode. It’s a nice little addition, that gives a little more mileage to the update.
All in all, there is truthfully not anything too enticing for veteran players to sink their teeth into, with just plain sucks. If you are new to the series however, you will have more than enough to appease your lust for more Battlefield content.
Visuals and Audio: Back to Karkand looks just as good as the rest of Battlefield 3 does, which means that the new maps are treated to Frostbite 2 powered up-scaling, making the maps look as good as they ever have and then some. There is definitely no disputing that the maps look great.
The same can be said for the DLC’s sound. It is essentially just like the rest of Battlefield 3, which is pretty damn good. Unfortunately all the bells and whistles of the the updated graphics, can not hide the fact that this DLC is ultimately a hollow update that is little more than a graphical enhancement of an old games maps. Fans will get a kick out seeing the maps with new graphics and sound quality, but that will wear off into a sense of disappointment.
Overall:
As a whole, Back to Karkand should not have been paid DLC and it most certainly should have already been in the game from launch. It provides veteran players with a brief waft of nostalgia, but once that wears off all that is left is nothing but remorse. I am sad to say that, Back to Karkand is not worth the asking price and if you were smart enough to pre-order the game to get the DLC for free, the more power to you.
It is a sad day, when the Battlefield franchise, a once highly regarded series, has taken such a fall from grace, to the shallow depths of punishing their fans in ways only ‘that other FPS franchise’ would. Back to Karkand is ultimately a shallow cash-in and certainly not a very covert one at that.
The Heroes and Herald DLC mode for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 will be available for Australian owners this week, Capcom has announced. Heroes & Heralds is a separate mode available via the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. Players will choose between two factions – Heroes or Heralds– and will engage in a series of battles with the opposing side to help save the world or take it over. Gameplay in the Heroes & Heralds mode will be altered through the acquisition of Ability cards that range from basic alterations (speed boost) to game-changing, combo enhancing powers (invisibility or ability to pass through projectiles). Cards can be used in online and offline versions of the Heroes & Heralds modes as well as the training mode. Ability cards are based on classic Marvel and Capcom characters.
The mode will also be available packed in with the Playstation Vita version of the game. The PS Vita edition of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will also feature online and local multiplayer, touchscreen functionality, NEAR in addition to the features found in the PS3 version. It also includes a Spectator Mode and Replay function that allows players to watch or share exciting matches over Wi-Fi. The Gold Herald colour option and “Ultimate Controller” (a mode where the PS Vita turns into a controller for the PS3 version) are also exclusive to the Vita.
The console version is now available at stores everywhere. The Playstation Vita version will be available to all Australians on February 23 2012, the same day that the Playstation Vita will launch in Australia. Capcom also released a trailer and the Australia cover art, which you can see below.
In the visual world of video games sound is often an overlooked element – but there’s no denying that it’s absolutely critical to the atmosphere and emotion of a game – something that isn’t lost on Mass Effect 3 developers Bioware. Bioware games are, of course, all about the story, so the music to accompany the tale is of paramount importance, especially when it comes to the end of a trilogy which will no doubt be packed with epic and emotional scenes that affect the galaxy and Shepard alike.
Composers working on the grand finale of Commander Shepard’s story include Clint Mansell, a Golden Globe nominated composer most famous for his work on the films of Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream) and returning series composers Christopher Lennertz (Horrible Bosses), Cris Velasco (the God of War series), Sam Hulick and Sascha Dikiciyan. Casey Hudson, Executive Producer on Mass Effect 3, had this to say about the importance of soundtrack to the series:
“The magic of BioWare games has always been the emotional power of the story, so music is extremely important to the experience. With Mass Effect 3, we’re taking players on a more personal journey, even though the scope is bigger than ever – an all-out galactic war! Each composer has played an intricate role in delivering the combination of epic scope and delicate emotion that will make Mass Effect 3 the best game in the series.”
You can click here for a taste of what’s to come from the composer’s of Mass Effect 3.
It’s out last show before the Holidays and we’re extremely thankful for the Humble Indie Bundle 4, and you should be too! We get into Miyamoto possibly creating an exit strategy from Nintendo, the new Xbox Dashboard update and get crazy with a new Game Show segment.
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Luke Halliday, Michael Marr & Josh Spudic
Music for this podcast by, Krapo and The J. Arthur Keenes Band
Thanks for listening and let us know what you think!
An official trailer to Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest flick ‘The Dictator’ has finally been officially released. The man behind Ali G, Borat, and Brüno, Cohen takes on the role as a “ruthless” Middle East dictator. The premises of the movie is said to be based off Zabibah and the King, a novel by written by none other than former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein himself, as well as former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. But by no means is this a ‘serious’ film about Middle Eastern dictatorship. Much like Cohen’s previous films this movie is a comedy satire and like all of Cohen’s films it’s sure to raise some good old controversy.
The Dictator is set to be released in cinemas in 2012, check out the trailer below and see what you think
Remember Renegade Ops? That rather awesome twin stick shooter that released on PC, PSN and XBLA? Well you should, because it was fantastic. Released by SEGA and boasting the same game engine as big brother game Just Cause, Renegade Ops provided a decent chunk of explosive heavy action, and gained a highly respectable 8 out of 10 here at Capsule Computers.
SEGA have just announced some details for two DLC packs to be released on December 21. The Coldstrike Campaign continues the storyline of the main game, bringing a new villain to the fore with three new missions set in ice cold environments. Priced at £3.59/€4.49/AUD$6.25 for the PlayStation Network, and 400MSP for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Coldstrike will include new enemies and challenges for the seasoned Renegades out there.
The second DLC pack is more of a character expansion set, adding two new heroes to bring the total number of playable Renegades up to five. Crystal and Blazemo bring a custom armoured vehicle and an off road racer to the game, each with their own unique abilities to take down the enemy ranks. The Reinforcement Pack (Vehicle Pack in the US) will be priced at £1.99/€2.49/ AUD$3.45 for the PlayStation Network, and 240MSP for Xbox LIVE Arcade.
In case you missed out on the glorious explosion rich goodness that is Renegade Ops, check out the Accolades trailer below.
Whether the downloadable is an avatar item, game, or add-on, the discount will only last one day for the featured item.
