We’ve seen plenty of trailers and screenshots of Phantom Breaker since 7sixty announced that they would be bringing the unique fighting title overseas to North America. However one thing that some fans have wondered about is how the Story Mode of Phantom Breaker looks.
As such, 7sixty has provided us with these exclusive screenshots of the Phantom Breaker story mode, following both the routes of Cocoa, a girl who has grown so bored with reality that she modified her body to create her ideal form and a mysterious girl named M who has lost all her memories. Below the story mode images you can also see a new exclusive trailer below showing these two unique girls battling against one another. Who wins? Check out the fight below and keep an eye out for Phantom Breaker in stores early this year on the Xbox 360.
Chances are you’ve seen something of Squids in the App Store. An “underwater epic that stars a ragtag team of cephalopod heroes”, since release in October it’s seen over 100,000 downloads and is sitting pretty with an average rating of five stars. Topping the number one spot for RPG’s in 51 countries and the paid app category in it’s native France, the game sees players take control of an army of sea creatures to help protect their underwater kingdom.
Developers The Game Bakers have just announced that the official game soundtrack is now for sale, with the title track on offer for free. Ramping up the squidy goodness in support of the soundtrack release is a two day sale on the game itself, which has been discounted by 50% to a very tempting $0.99.
And the price of the soundtrack? Whatever you want. The 11 track album (which has fantastic cover art, above) can be downloaded here, and all the proceeds will be going straight to the independent production of the Squids sequel. Better act fast, because the pay what you want offer is for a limited time only (with a minimum cost of $4 thereafter). The purchase will include a digital art book with line notes from composer Romain Gauthier.
If you fancy checking out the game itself, click here. It’s currently compatible with all iOS devices and will see a release on Android, PC and Mac in the next few months.
Zumba fans already know that Zumba Fitness Rush is preparing to launch on February 14th, exclusively for the Kinect. Now it seems you can also look forward to the multiple add-on packs as Majesco recently detailed what we can expect with the post-launch DLC.
A three-song Bollywood style pack available in May addresses consumer demand for more of the trendy dance style and expands upon the Indian choreography in the game, and a Hip-Hop style pack out in September offers three additional songs that will include hit tracks from today’s popular artists. Each Game Add-on pack will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points.
“Zumba® Fitness Rush is a truly exciting addition to the Zumba® Fitness video game franchise,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. “This high-quality experience built for Kinect for Xbox 360 offers a wealth of exclusive content to fans, and then delivers even more post launch with multiple Game Add-on packs. The February 13th launch of Rush is the company’s largest integrated marketing program to date, and we are thrilled to have Microsoft’s support around the world to bring this exceptional product to market.”
You know, it’s kind of refreshing to see a company announce their plans ahead of time in this manner for DLC, as the fans can be aware of both the price and content ahead of time. With already 42 songs in Zumba Fitness Rush already though, there looks to be plenty of reason to snag up this latest fitness dance title when it launches next month.
In the latest issue of Famitsu, information is covered on the latest installment into the .hack// series of media. This series is well known for it’s genre spanning story, occuring across multiple platforms. The story started with .hack//SIGN, combined with the four .hack// games on the Playstation 2 and moved on to .hack//ROOTS and another three games on the Playstation 2 device.
Now, there is rumoured to be a game or series of games appearing on the Playstation 3, alongside this latest movie, in which players return to the latest iteration of The World, called FORCE:ERA. Of course, my japanese is a little awful so I’ve taken a look over at dothackers.net for more info, which you should all do as well.
Be sure to check out the original article at Famitsu for more information. It is worthwhile just for the artwork.
Need some more country in your lives, but don’t own a Wii? You’re now in luck as GameMill have now announced Country Dance All Stars for the Kinect. This new version looks to include all of the boot-scootin’ greatness of the Country Dance series, but for the first time will have full body motion controls for fans to dance along with.
Country Dance All Stars features more than 35 tracks from the best names in country music including 18 CMA 2011 award winners like Male and Female Vocalists of the Year Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Album of the Year winner Jason Aldean and Vocal Duo of the Year Lady Antebellum.
A partial list can of other announced artists and tracks can be found below:
Alan Jackson – “Good Time”
Ashton Shepard – “Look It Up”
Billy Currington – “People Are Crazy”
Blake Shelton – “All About Tonight”
Brad Paisley – “Water”
Brooks & Dunn – “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Carrie Underwood – “Cowboy Cassanova”
Chad Brownlee – “Carried Away”
Dierks Bentley – “What Was I Thinking”
Easton Corbin – “Roll With It”
Eric Church – “Hell On The Heart”
Gwyneth Paltrow – “Shake That Thing”
Jason Aldean – “My Kinda Party”
Josh Turner – “Why Don’t We Just Dance”
Katie Armiger – “Best Song Ever”
Kellie Pickler – “Tough”
Lady Antebellum – “Lookin’ For A Good Time”
Laura Bell Bundy – “Giddy On Up”
Miranda Lambert – “White Liar”
Zac Brown Band – “Chicken Fried”
Due out in March, Country Dance All Stars is also set to feature post-launch DLC, where players can download new tracks to experience. At the moment, no official rating or exact date has been announced, but once GameMill detail the game further, we will be sure to bring you an update.
Are you one of the millions of players who picked up their copy of The Old Republic as it launched? Then congratulations, you are eligible for a new Title for your characters within the game.
The “Founder” title is available for players who have had an active subscription paid out of their accounts in the coming weeks, as they are the founding members of the game. The title will be sent to players using the in-game mailing system and it will be attached to an item called the Founder’s Medal. Use the medal on your character, and it will grant them the Founders title.
So make sure that you check out your mailbox in the coming weeks for your Founders Medal. Be sure to check out the official info page for more info.
Overview
When you first look at Konami’s Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights, a certain polite professor comes to mind almost instantly. In all honesty though, both have very little in common aside from the usual puzzle elements tossed in. This game lets players explore a 19th-century Paris as the very intelligent and witty Doctor Lautrec, who is out to discover a once hidden treasure. So far on the 3DS, we have seen very few original IPs, so Lautrec’s first outing looked to be a promising one and looking back, there certainly is a lot offered here to make this adventurer and his bubbly sidekick stick out on the platform. So, how does this title perform on it’s own? Here is my review for Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights.
Story
If Doctor Lautrec has any silver lining, it has to be the story that has been pieced together for the player. For the most part, this plot is told through fully animated cutscenes with the main two characters being the bubbly yet smart sidekick, Sophie and the rather wise but stubborn Lautrec. This tale begins with Jean-Pierre Lautrec getting challenged to go after the missing treasure of Louis the XIV. You see, this clever chap is a bit arrogant, so any challenge he receives becomes a primal duty to achieve to prove that he is more than any simple “Adventurer” (a term that is a four letter world in his vocabulary). While this might be charming in most cases, I found it rather hard to actually like this Doctor as he constantly insults and demeans nearly every other character in the game due his famous history. Sophie on the other hand acts as a balance. Instead of being pompous and egotistical, this companion is genuine and caring, and it’s easy to love everything about her innocent nature.
As the game progresses, the player learns more about the many inhabitants of Paris they come across, tying together for one satisfying finish in the end with plenty of excitement and mystery found in-between. I even felt like the main two protagonists evolved a bit, as you learn enough about each to view them in a completely different way by the time the curtain falls. That being said though, the story as a whole can be a bit hard to follow as your constantly getting sidetracked by extra missions that do very little to add any depth to the main narrative. Most of these side quests are simple in execution, but feel as if their only point of existence is to lengthen the experience and prolong the journey to your ultimate goal. Even though the story is good, the game’s many distractions can make you quickly forget the main plotline and completely lose track of the core of just what Doctor Lautrec is truly about.
Gameplay
As for the The Forgotten Knights gameplay goes, it could be best said like the famous Facebook marital status, “It’s Complicated”. This is because there are three different methods mixed in, and the game switches between each at it’s own choosing. The first to talk about is the main dish, and that is of course the puzzles. Whether it be to just solve one at random or to discover a new doorway, there is always something new to decipher as you progress through the plot. If you remember, before Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights actually launched, a lot of the hype was built around the fact that there would be 250 in total. While that is true to an extent, most of the 250 are of the same type and differ in very minor ways from the next. Doing crosswords, seek and finds, and other simplistic romps are sadly the most we see in variation as well, leaving a lot to be desired. If you’ve played any Layton title, you will more than likely find the lack of imagination applied here to be a disappointment as a whole. Thankfully, the control methods used are all point, click and drag though, so if a younger or more in-experienced player is looking for something easily accessible, they should feel comfortable with Lautrec’s very low difficulty.
Next up comes the most interesting element, with that being the actual exploration. Whenever you need to get from point A to point B, you the take control of Lautrec himself and simply move from one destination to another with the D-pad. In certain areas, NPCs will be roaming the streets and can offer up side-quests to kill some time, but most just offer one line of dialogue and let you be on your merry way. This type of exploration can also be found in the dungeon segments, where Lautrec is hunting down treasures. Instead of just walking up to a find and snagging it, the player must traverse the level carefully as guards are on watch. Yes, this is a full stealth-oriented mission and works exactly the way it should, but a bit watered down in comparison with the major contenders of the genre as the pathways are pretty straight-forward.
Oddly enough, Doctor Lautrec has a bit of a trick card up his sleeve. After exploring a dungeon, you are usually rewarded with a type of treasure that has a spirit inhabiting inside. Shortly after, this triggers a battle sequence and the player then must watch their spirits come to life to take out an opposing foe in a turn based format. Sound familiar? Well, it should as from HP gauges to advantages, these mechanics feel ripped right out of the Pokeverse. It’s an interesting change of pace to do battle in this way, but there is very little explaination of why or how you are supposed to go about battling these spirits, and just finishing a match is usually the result of luck and trial and error. Even though these moments were out of place in such a title, I still wanted to see more to get a better idea of what was going on as the concept worked. By the end however, you will be happy to exit a spirit battle though as these moments are confusing, unfitting, and just a major miss all around.
If you have the patience for it, Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights can easily last around 20 hours. The sad truth to that though is that even with the vast amount of puzzles and underground sequences, the whole game begins to reek of repetitiveness and the story is the only thing that truly changes after all of Lautrec’s cards are on the table.
Visuals/Audio
As far as the presentation goes, Doctor Lautrec almost feels like a AAA title. The cutscenes are crisp and easy to watch, the animation is fluent, and the colors and textures are bright and chipper. Much like the gameplay though, it feels as if the developers wanted to include too many ideas. One moment you will be viewing a 2D sequence, and the next you are then forced to play as the Doctor in what looks to have come out of an early N64 game. It’s a shame that the game’s lovely main art style wasn’t used at all times, but this crime isn’t game-breaking so most will be able to overlook the change in both environments and character models so often.
As far as the soundtrack goes, the music is well done and blends well into that classic Paris atmosphere. These tunes aren’t as charming and upbeat as the Layton series, but they work just well enough to at least capture the theme of the game. The true stars of the entire experience however are the voice actors. Nearly ever character is voiced and make this mystery feel exciting with each bringing a bit of spunk or emotion to any situation. To be honest, I hated Lautrec’s snotty character at first, but I really think that Konami were going for such a pompous personality to start with and his actor at least made him sound as arrogant as he appeared to be. If it was a good idea to use his character for a protagonist however is still very debatable.
Overall
Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights is a game that wants to do everything, but never manages to find itself in the process. Sure, the three types of gameplay work, but each feel shallow and dry, leading to a lot of lost potential in what still could be a great new property if executed correctly. There still is a charming cast of characters and some decent cutscenes that feed the player a somewhat entertaining plot, but aside from that, Lautrec feels more like a mix of clones that became unglued and then stapled back together. Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights wanted to be the next big IP for handhelds and it certainly makes an effort, but in the end, this box of treasure is one that is full of an array of mechanics that are disconnected and confusing, with a few shining moments sprinkled on top.
Get those trigger fingers ready, but not for Battlefield 3, this time its a little more innocent, as EA announce Fly With Me, soon to perch on the iTunes App. store. Assist the birds through a multitude of hazardous levels, as you tap the screen to keep the birds flapping, avoiding obstacles as you catch bees and try to stay with your wings above ground. Imagine for a moment, an innocent sparrow, lazing around in his backyard doing what sparrows do best, when along comes a swarm of evil bees to mess about in his business. Not being one to be bullied around, the birds take to the skies, in an effort to gobble up as many of the pesky bees as they can.
Challenging the local flora and fauna, with the aid of the wind, players will have to make their way through 45 challenging levels of fields, trees and tropical forests either in a quick play session for those on the run, or in challenge mode for those seeking a longer experience. Although seemingly simple in premise, Fly With Me has something on offer for all ages and with a puzzle based unlock system, the ability to vary the difficulty level and challenges, Fly With Me will have a massive appeal to all iPhone users.
Still on its way from migration, Fly With Me will be landing on the iTunes store in February 2012, so keep an eye out above, and give those birds a fighting chance in their new perilous environments.
It’s official guys, Funimation love boobs. They have today announced that they has acquired the license to the hardcore fan-service harem series High School DxD.
The series follows a young man named Issei Hyodo, who is of course a total pervert. One day he is killed by an angel and resurrected by a demon, both of whom of course have abnormally large breasts. He is soon caught up in demonic battles and stuck between pairs of giant boobs.
Funimation has announced that they will be streaming the series starting the 23rd of January. They also have intentions of releasing the series on both DVD and Blu-Ray in the future. What do you think of these boobs this announcement. Be sure to let us know in the bedroom shoutbox and shower comments section.
It’s Puzzle Time… Again! It has officially been confirmed that Puzzle Battle series Phi Brain will be getting a second season come April 2012. This news may come as no surprise to fans of the series, but it is incredibly popular in Japan. So it is only expected that a second season was a given.
Currently the plot for the second season will revolve around the origin of the Orpheus Bangle as a new organistation of villains appear known as the Orpheus Order. As you can imagine Daimon Kaito must defeat them by solving deadly puzzles and what not.
Season 2 is currently slated to premiere on the 8th of April 2012. Will you be checking out the second season of Phi Brain? Let us know what you think in the shoutbox and comments section.
