For all those who own a Mac, yet love videogames, have no fear! Adventure games publisher and designer Microids have you covered with the release of their latest title, XIII – Lost Identity. The title is an interactive adventure based on the events of the first eight episodes. Don’t worry if you don’t own a mac, the title is also available on PC, iPhone, iPad and an Android version set to be released in 2012. Visit the Mac App Store by clicking here to purchase your copy of XIII – Lost Identity.
‘XIII – Lost Identity’ Can Now Be Found On The Mac App Store
Ubisoft drop XBLA prices – grab yourself a bargain
As you may have noticed, it’s Ubisoft’s 25th birthday. Instead of demanding gifts and a party, Ubisoft have instead decided to drop some prices – happy anniversary indeed. Xbox 360 owners should take a quick trip over to the XBLA, where there are discounts of up to 50% on various games, add ons and avatar items.
Included in the sale are cult favourite Beyond Good and Evil HD, From Dust, and Might and Magic Clash of Heroes. If your looking to pick up a bit of extra content for a few older titles, then add ons for Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Splinter Cell Conviction are all discounted, along with a bevvy of extra content packs for various Tom Clancy games.
If you’ve ever wanted to outfit your avatar in some Ubisoft character gear, then now is the time – make sure and grab those rainbow legwarmers!
For a full rundown of all the deals, click here
Confrontation New Trailer Released
Confrontation, the upcoming tactical RPG from Cyanide, has recently had a new trailer released for it. The game is based on the board game by Rockham, and combines RPG elements with a strategic and tactical system to create dynamic and fun battles.
In the trailer, Rag’narok has announced the end of the world of Aarklash. which spells doom for citizens everywhere. The paths of Light, Darkness and Destiny have begun preparing for battle against each other; with each factions armies following heroes into battle to take control of Rag’narok and ensure utter doom upon the other factions.
The title is looking at an early 2012 release for the PC. Be sure to visit the Official Site for more info.
Check out the video embedded below.
Michael Jackson the Experience HD Now Available For iPad
The King of Pop has made his way onto the iPad with Ubisoft’s Michael Jackson The Experience HD which is now available on the App Store for the iPad. This music rhythm game features 13 of Michael Jackson’s classic “short film” music videos such as ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Bad’ just to name a few.
The game has been specially designed for the iPad’s multi touch capabilities that allow players to experience the music rhythm game in an entirely new way. Instead of the regular ‘taping in time to the music’, players will instead need to draw out a series of shapes according to the certain beat and choreography of the on-screen dancers.
Michael Jackson The Experience HD is available now for the iPad from the App Store for $5.49.
Xsens MVN Motion Capture Makes Cgi Easy
The excellent film-makers over at 20th Century Fox have recently discussed that they use the Previs technology to quickly render computer generated images in their feature films, such as X-Men First Class. The technology makes the previsualisation process much quicker, and the Xsens MVN Motion Capture device allows time for creative processes by reducing the need for timje consuming technological processes.
“Animators at the Previs Department of 20th Century Fox use Xsens MVN Motion Capture system to significantly speed up movie productions. Previs (short for previsualization) allows major time and cost savings in the technical process, putting creativity back at the heart of filmmaking.”
The technology essentially works in the pre-production phase of development, effectively replacing storyboards and preliminary animations, ensuring that costs are reduced and animations can be applied much more quickly. The technology is able to create 3D renderings of a movie before filming even takes place, thus enabling directors to envision the scene much more effectively and tweak or even remove scenes that do not work, before filming has even occured. The best example of this technology is a scene cut from the film X-Men First Class, where six major characters were to do battle in aircraft. Unfortunately, the scene did not hold up virtually and was cut from production.
In this case, the scene did not make it to the final cut of the film – a decision made at much lower than traditional cost, due in large part to the Xsens MVN. “We were able to develop the scene in just two days. Traditional keyframe animation would have taken much longer and would have involved more artists”, says John Griffith, Cinematic Director at 20th Century Fox. “Previs is rapidly gaining ground in the development process of moviemaking today.”
Be sure to check out the embedded video below for a behind the scenes look at the technology. And make sure you take a look at the website for Fox and the Xsens Technology.
Trion Worlds to Host In Game Childs Play Charity Drive
Game developers Trionworlds have been hosting a charity in-game with their title Rift, on the PC, for the charity Childs Play. The drive starts on the 9th of December and promises donations to the charity.
The drive goes for three days, december 9th until the end of december 11, and involved digital upgrades for player accounts. For every digital upgrade made in-game, Trion will donate $1 to the charity Childs Play. Of course, it might be more effective to make a donation to them yourself, but if you were considering upgrading your account, part of your proceeds will be going to a worthy cause.
For more information on Childs Play, check the site out here. And for more information on how to upgrade your account be sure to visit the Rift Official Website.
Some celebratory pie and prizes from Ubisoft
Ubisoft are having a little celebration at the moment – not only is it the season to be jolly, but the company is celebrating it’s 25th birthday. To celebrate this cheery little triumvirate of events (that’s Christmas, New Year, and Ubi-birthday), the Rabbids have brought us yet another little bit of bunny themed distraction.
Have a watch of the video via the link below and you’ll find yourself transported to an alternate universe where the Rabbids have taken over the Ubisoft studios for one sinister purpose – to throw giant Ubisoft themed pies everywhere. There is actually a little web game behind all this, and the highest scorer will walk away with a copy of Just Dance 3, Rayman Origins and Assassin’s Creed Revelations – not too shabby. To enter all you have to do log in with your Ubisoft Uplay account, fling a pie across the Google map of the world, and register your score – “the pie’s the limit” (Ubisoft’s awful pun, not mine) and the highest score walks away with the games.
Just click on the link below to check out the video, which will in turn lead you straight to a bit of pie throwing.
FIFA Superstars and Theme Park Now Free on iOS Devices
EA has added to its list of free-to-play games for iOS, announcing today that FIFA Superstars and Theme Park would be unleashed upon the app store.
FIFA Superstars brings the popular Facebook game to your nearest iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Players can choose their favourite football superstars, from Rooney to Kaka, and manage their ultimate team. They can then take their teams and pit them against those of their friends, all the while buying, trading, and training players over the course of an in-game season.
Meanwhile, Theme Park brings the bestselling series to iOS devices as a completely new gaming experience. Players will create, manage, and develop their own theme parks with attractions, rides, and shops. They can also complete quests to level-up and unlock new features, or they can simply play indefinitely and build up their park right away. Finally, Super Tickets can be purchased to accelerate profit and construction times, as well as unlocking new rides and shops early.
Much like the other freemium games offered by EA, FIFA Superstars and Theme Park offer players the choice of playing entirely for free or laying down some cash for an enhanced experience.
Scribblenauts Remix Now With Voice Recognition
A free voice recognition update for Scribblenauts Remix on the iPhone 4S is out now. Released back in October earlier this year, Scribblenauts Remix is the port of the successful Nintendo DS game. Now with voice recognition the Scribble Speck voice feature allows players to now speak to their game to create object in their game world, rather than typing them out. Just by tapping on the keyboard microphone icon Scribble Speak will pop up which allows for play to simple speak in objects they want. This new feature is only available for iPhone 4S and is completely free via the latest update.
Scribblenauts Remix is available on App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Release Date: Out Now!
Price: US$49.99 (Buy Here)/ AU$79.99(Buy Here)
Overview
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is easily one of the best Zelda games ever made. The title is one massive adventure that goes from beautiful locations to unique locations at every path. The game has a magnificent scope, a variety of quests and a very memorable cast. All of these elements go together brilliantly and form one of the best games ever.
Story
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has a very well written and excellent story that blends the best parts of previous Zelda experiences and has a very similar feel to watching an anime series, which is not a detriment at all. What was particularly interesting was the direction that the story proceeded in. While it is a typical heroes journey style story, the way the characters interacted, the way the world changed around them and the way that the quest was presented within the story was a truley unique experience.
What was particularly interesting with the story in this game was the way that it casts light on the origins of both the Master Sword and potentially Hyrule itself. In Skyward Sword, the world is set in a pre-Hyrule state, which means that humans have not yet created a kingdom upon it’s soil and renamed all of the locales. This means that over the course of your journey, you will have minimal amounts of human contact while on the surface world, while having wholly human contact in the land of Skyloft. Even though you will have negligible contact with other humans within the bulk of the quest, the variety of creatures that were present in this pre-Hyrule world all have their own interesting characters that interact and assist Link in his quest to save Zelda. I mean, really, the characters are what make the story interesting and without them, it’d just be a green dude running around to save this girl for next to no reason.
What’s even more interesting in this title is the use of time travel, as not only a gameplay element, but a storytelling one as well. In the title, there are various uses of time travel help to establish the origins of some of the stories more predominant figures, as well as a way of increasing drama and tension within itself. It’s really hard to talk about this story element without getting spoiler-y, but it plays a huge role in Links quest, and is also behind a driving factor and motivation for a large portion of the game.
The biggest story element in this title is most obviously the Master Sword herself. The character/device has been on display since the game was announced, so it was obvious that this time, it’d be playing a large role in the story. The thing about the Master Sword in Skyward Sword is that it raises questions about the future of itself. It is highly likely that the Master Sword in this game is the same one as in the future, yet, it’s primary inhabitant and personality, Fi, is never mentioned in any Zelda game further down the timeline (assuming there is one). Fi’s story within the game is one that many players will probabaly overlook, but, it is also one of the most interesting – assuming you pay attention to it. It is also a point that raises much speculation about, not only the Master Sword, but the origins of the Zelda Universe itself.
Of course, the last main story piece I want to talk about is the Story of Hyrule itself. In this game, Hyrule has not yet been united by the King (This happens a decade or two before Ocarina of Time, if I recall correctly), so it is a land separated by earth and sky. The Goddess and the evil Demise had a war at some point in this lands history and because of this, the Goddess sent all humans up into the sky to live peacefully until such a time arrived that the chosen hero would be able to come down and save the world. Because of this, the world has a small handful of ruins and religious temples that all take a large role in the story. What’s more is that there are still godlike creatures living amongst the soil, who have been appointed by the Goddess herself to aid the hero in his journey. Unfortunately, for gods, they seem to be weakening and at least one of them is dying.
One of the best examples that showcase the history of the land, is the section of land that houses The Imprisoned. Lined across the walls of the earth are some rather striking pieces of art that seem to showcase some kind of historical account of the world. One could easily assume it is the story of how The Imprisoned was imprisoned, but, the art is the same 1000 years before your first encounter with him. Further, the look and design of the temples within the game, as well as their technological backgrounds, add further mystery and food for thought as to the origins of the land, and the story. Who was this Goddess, was she some kind of God? Or was she someone really good with technology? What does this mean for the future of Hyrule, is all other magic just a form of misunderstood technology?
The story of this game casts so much doubt on what we believe to be true in the previous Zelda games, while also telling a gripping tale of its own.
Gameplay
The easiest way to discuss the gameplay of this title is to suggest that it is very similar to previous 3D Zelda titles. I mean sure, there are a few enhancements, but why change the fundamental gameplay characteristics if they aren’t exactly broken? However, I will say that this is probably one of the most fun Zelda games to play, and the way that many items interact with the Wii Motion+ really enhances the overall experience of the game.
Skyward Sword is a behind-view third-person action/adventure game with very puzzling puzzle elements. I know that you can make a case for saying that this is actually an RPG, but, the decisions that you scantily get to make that isn’t deciding to move in a fashion to get you to a goal do not affect the world all that much. Sure, interacting with certain characters a certain way will get them to say a different line of text, but there isn’t much difference, storywise, as to what you say or do to them. Another argument that one can upgrade their weaponry and items within the game. But I counter with the fact that upgrading them only makes them cooler, but they still have no bearing on choosing how the world reacts to your presence that much more.
What’s even worse with the crafting system is that I found it incredibly hard to get the materials that I needed to fully upgrade my items. This isn’t a detriment to the system though, as players who enjoy collecting obscure items will be greatly rewarded and this is even more enhanced by the bug collecting system within the game. THE BUG NET IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST FUN ITEMS TO PLAY WITH IN THE GAME!!! So is the beetle, especially when you upgrade it so that it can carry bombs.
The Beetle is an item, not an insect, that you obtain in the game and is also the best example, that isn’t the bug net, of the Wii Motion+ controls within the game. By using the Wiimote as a stand-in for the beetle, you can manipulate the in game beetle by using your wii remote as a basis for its movements. I personally found that holding the Wiimote like a pencil was the best method of control for such devices in the game. This also holds true for the birds that you fly whilst in Skyloft.
The birds, like the boat in Windwaker, are the primary method of transportation by the humans living in Skyloft. You, as a human from Skyloft, also have your own bird. Controlling the bird is as simple as tilting your Wiimote around as though the tip of it is the birds beak. As I previously mentioned, I found it much easier to control whilst holding the controller like a Pencil.
Swordfighting. This game has a huge emphasis on 1:1 movements with the Sword in the game. Fortunately the controls are quite responsive, except for when they are not. There were a few instances, not that many but all were crucial, where the controller would not responds correctly to my movements. Overhead vertical, turns into a horizontal strike from the left. Even worse is when you’re trying to block and the controller reads your subtle movements as sword strikes. So yes, the controls are accurate, just they sometimes are misread by the Motion+ sensor, which is a shame.
Is the Motion+ “enhancement” justified? No. But does it add a level of fun to the game that would otherwise be missing? Hell Yeah! And fun is the most important aspect of gaming.