AR Combat Digi Q: Friend Tank Battalion is one of Konami’s Playstation Vita launch titles. It is also a downloadable only title. It will use the Smart AR technology (meaning that you can play battles anywhere you want using AR) and it is based on Konami’s Digi Q infrared mini vehicle series. The game will be comprised of forty stages, which will be offered in bites. Although most stages will be at a price, the initial offering will be free.
Stages one to five will be offered at no price at all to give players a taste of the game. The first stage pack will consist of stages six to thirty and will be offered at ¥800. However, Konami will offer that pack at a discounted price of ¥500 from launch day to January 16. Stages 31 to 40 will be offered in two packs of five stages at ¥200 each. Now that is quite a bargain.
AR Combat Digi Q: Friend Tank Battalion will be available only on the Playstation Vita on December 17.
The Playstation Vita will boast multifunction capabilities when it launches on December 17 in Japan. This means that a player can interrupt the game and access some of the features of the handheld console. They could listen to music, use the social applications and look at your friends list. However, if you want to browse the internet on its web browser, then bad luck, as the browser will be unusable during gameplay.
According to Andriasang, this came from a correction from the Impress Watch Random Tracking feature, which looks at the Vita’s multimedia features. The original story had said that the web browser would be available while you were playing your Vita/PSP game. However, Sony has corrected that statement, telling Impress Watch that the web browser would not be able to run simultaneously with a game initially, meaning that, in order to use the browser, the player would need to exit the game altogether.
Their correction did include the word initially, which would mean that an update to allow the web browser to run simultaneously with games could be considered in the near future.
Square Enix has revealed that there will be a second action RPG in development, straight out of the 1st Production Department. They do have experience with the genre, having been the team behind the Kingdom Hearts series. The new action RPG will target both the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita, according to Andriasang.
What is interesting is that this action RPG will also use another Western developed game engine. It will not be the Unreal Engine (which means this is a completely different action RPG). Instead they will be using the Unity Engine from Unity Technologies. The technology has been quite popular, with over 750,000 registered users.
A couple of job listings have appeared as well and brings some insight into what one can expect in the game. One of those listings requires the planner to implement a character growth system, job properties, ability properties and a customisation system. Another listing requires the planner to develop a 3D game field with development of airships and gameplay elements for within the airship.
Are you a gamer that is lucky enough to enjoy the comfort of a significant-other? If so, then you have obviously been cheating on him/her by playing Skyrim. You may have noticed the irritation with you lately, and that is because more time has been spent slaying dragons than paying attention to his/her needs. I have surveyed a few people to gather their opinions on the very subject of Skyrim. The following may not represent every relationship, but the responses I received are very real.
1. I hate competing for his attention. I am a girlfriend and that is a game!
As I was talking to him (while he was playing a game) he turned to me and asked “Do you want to have a talk later tonight?” I said sure and walked away. I then realized that this question was code for… leave me alone while I play! FML!
2. Don’t tell me you got married on the game. That will piss me off.
You have had the game for less than a week and you are already married?! Whereas we have been together for two years… where the hell is my ring?
3. I have to act happy whenever he achieves a new spell.
It’s pretty self-explanatory. I wasn’t actually impressed.
4. You remember the last “quest” you’re on, but you can’t remember our last conversation.
Remember those wedding plans we talked about last night? Of course you don’t, but you remember the dragon you slain two days ago. (That was me. Ouch.)
5. Now, we have to plan events and evenings around Skyrim playing.
We were going out to see the new “Harold and Kumar” movie, but we had to go to the early show in order for him to get back in time to continue on his quest.
6. His homework, hygiene, and eating have been put aside.
Basically, I walked into his room where I could tell that he didn’t shower. You could wake up enough to crawl to the computer but not the bathroom?
7. Whenever there is a fellow Skyrim player in the near vicinity, I no longer exist.
My boyfriend and I were eating alone in the pub. His friend and fellow Skyrim player came over and our dinner date turned into a Skyrim discussion. I lost my appetite.
8. I don’t know how to politely tell him “no” when he asks me to play.
I put up with all the times that he wanted to create a character for me, but I will never play it. The best answer I can give him is “no”. Its bad enough that he expects me to know and understand the game let alone wanting to play it.
9. I have to show skin to get his attention.
The Saturday after the release date I wore a shirt that said “Rub For Good Luck” across my chest. I was hoping that would work because I have no idea what else would.
10. If Skyrim never ends, I have no hope of getting him back.
My fail safe was that hopefully someday he would finish the game. Now I find out that it never ends…
Addictive games like Skyrim require some sort of immersion to get the most fulfillment; however, I believe that video games should be enjoyed in moderation while completing daily responsibilities as well as maintaining social relationships – outside of Skyrim. If you have a significant-other that has expressed some of these responses, take a break and reassess your priorities.
If by any chance you have found a significant-other that plays Skyrim, you have unlocked the last achievement. Congratulations!
For as long as videogames have been around, gamers everywhere have been tasked with the eradication of many evils. Some are invaders from space, while others are soldiers from within our realm. Why is it then that the wildlife in many games are all so very vicious?
Maybe it’s because, as gamers, we have been hunting them for so long. Imagine that your own kind were being endlessly prosecuted each day, for little more than their pelts, or often times, less. Would you not be vicious towards those coming into your domain, especially while it’s been proven that they’re often hostile themselves?
Take any game, such as Skyrim, where players are given the freedom to engage with nearly every living being. Have they not often taken a path that has lead them to engage with the precious wildlife? I mean, those wolves would have to have a reason to be so vile, right? I postulate that this is the revenge of gaming animals, retribution for those who came before and this can be seen from as far back as Duck Hunt. What did those ducks do to deserve such a hunting? It was all the mastermind dogs doing, or so many gamers believe.
So in short, the wildlife in videogames are vicious, simply because, we as gamers, hunt them. And have been for quite some time.
The future of wildlife everywhere in videogame land.
F1 2011 Developer: Sumo Digital Publisher: Codemasters Platforms: 3DS (reviewed), Xbox 360, PS3 Release Date: December 1st, 2011 Price: $39.99 Available Here
Overview:
The sound of engines roaring, fills the skies, injecting all those who hear it with a heavy dose of adrenaline. That is the spirit of racing, the excitement of it all. Witnessing these powerful machines going head to head with only one coming out victorious.
F1 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, is a realistic racing game that attempts to capture that spirit, but unfortunately falls incredibly short, to the point that those roaring engines become droning motors, emitting a cloud of smoke that intends to cover up the disappointment this game truly is.
Gameplay: F1 2011 is a straight up racer that aims to provide the real to life experience of Formula 1 racing. While it manages to accomplish that to some extent it still fails as a whole to comprise a good game. With a plethora of gameplay problems F1 2011 is permanently stuck in the pits.
While the game manages to feature a decent amount of game modes to choose from, each of them essentially boil down to the exact same thing. Never before have I played a racing game that’s Time Trial mode feels no different than a normal race. If F1 2011 achieves anything it is in the fact that it makes one game mode appear to be several other modes, while actually not being any differing what so ever.
Besides the small trivial difference between modes, they are all essentially the same thing – generic, bland, repetitive and tedious. The game offers no incentive to continue playing it, with no real customization or interesting unlockables, there is literally no reason to play on in F1 2011.
What makes matters worse is that it controls so poorly. There is no way to properly steer your vehicle without winding up off the track or spinning out. The thumb stick is way too sensitive and adjusting it in the options menu is futile, as regardless of what sensitivity you put it on, it never truly feels right. There may be two control schemes but both just don’t quite work and are ultimately uninspired.
There are also several portions of the game that are completely broken. Such as the AI which instead of acting like real drivers, insist of crashing into you at every chance. While this may be not too big a deal in any other game, in F1 2011, getting hit by another vehicle usually means you will be sent into a spin, losing all momentum you had built up. To add even further insult to injury, after one occurence of being spun out I was slammed by four other cars which sent me flying through a wall and into the crowd, with no way of escaping this glitch besides pausing the game and quitting the race.
There is so very much wrong with the gameplay in F1 2011 and that extends even to it’s terribly dead online multiplayer mode. In the very few matches I managed to encounter online after spending a long period of time searching for a match, I had to deal with an incredibly laggy race that resulted in the other player dropping out on me, leaving my car in perpetual lag.
All in all, there is a great deal of severe problems with F1 2011’s game play that kill the experience dead in its tracks. What could have been a good game is ultimately held back by a lack of attention during the creation process. If more time had been spent ironing out the kinks, F1 2011 would’ve been a much better game for it.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically F1 2011, does not make the grade expected of the Nintendo 3DS. The game looks like it should be on the DS not the 3DS, with spotty graphics and models that look as blocky as they come and horrible frame rate on top of that. It is simply not acceptable for games to look this bad with the power improvement of the 3DS over the DS.
To top it all off, the game features what is easily the worst 3D experience the console has had to offer. It provides no added depth to the title and in fact proves to be more detrimental than anything. Instead of actually being 3D, the game just pushes your vehicle towards you, with everything else simply looking far away. It actually makes things harder to see and does not do this technology justice by any means.
The game’s audio does not fare much better. While the game features some actual music in the menu screens, the actual races themselves feature nothing but the sound of engines droning over and over and over again. It is without a doubt the most irritating thing they could have possibly done and well they went ahead and did it.
If you haven’t torn off yours ears by this point, you would have surely punched your 3DS into pieces It is that grating on the nerves. I honestly do not see how they thought it was okay to repeat the same annoying sound effects each and every race. If only they could put a music track on races, it would atleast be tolerable, but no, were given the silence of the engines.
Overall:
In conclusion, F1 2011, is an utter disappointment that can’t be considered anything but a mess in every aspect of gaming. There is very little here to like in F1 2011. To repeat my sentiments from earlier, it is generic, bland, repetitive and tedious. It’s just about everything that isn’t fun and in all honesty, if a game isn’t fun then what reason is there to play it?
If you are a fan of Formula 1, you may want to check this out simply out of interest in F1 racing. But if you are looking for a solid racing game on the 3DS, this is not the game you are looking for. Unfortunately F1 2011, fails at providing even the most basic expectations of a video game and sadly that’s all there is to it.
Sonic Generations Developer: Dimps Publisher: Sega Platforms: Nintendo 3DS (Reviewed), Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Release Date: November 22, 2011 Price: $39.99 – Available Here
Overview:
There are only a few gaming companies where the very mention of their name brings about an image of their iconic mascot. One such company is Sega and their iconic Sonic the Hedgehog. It is hard to believe that Sonic has been around for twenty years now, but what better way to commemorate twenty years of the blue blur than to create a game to quite literally jump through time and visit various parts of the Sonic series.
Indeed that is what Sega has done with the release of Sonic Generations across various platforms. Now while we have seen Sonic Generations on the home console, Sega has also recently released Sonic Generations on the Nintendo 3DS. So how do these two hedgehogs handle the fast paced 3D world that is Sonic Generations on the 3DS?
Story: It seems like everyone in the world of Sonic knows that it is Sonic’s birthday because they are planning to hold him a surprise birthday party. Though it is a bit odd to think they would be able to surprise the speedy Sonic as he shows up early to the party when only Tails is there. It turns out that none of his other friends have even shown up yet and the only person who is there at the moment is his close friend Tails with a birthday chili dog.
Before Sonic has a chance to have his delicious hot dog however, a mysterious purple creature appears and rips open a time anomaly that causes Tails to be sucked in. In an attempt to save his friend Sonic rushes in to the hole as well and finds himself in the middle of a white world devoid of color. To make things even stranger, familiar stages have appeared that the two quickly recognize as the Green Hill Zone. Even stranger than that, two other familiar sights quickly show up in front of them, and that is their old classic selves. Now the two Sonics must work together to try and defeat the mysterious creature known as the Time Eater which has been tearing holes in time and stripping the land of all history.
While this story may sound great at first, it unfortunately is extremely poorly told and has little actual bearing on what is going on at any given time. While players don’t need a whole lot of structure to set up the story there are tons of missed opportunities with the various zones and past enemy appearances which are not even commented on. In fact most of the time the Sonics and Tails won’t even be fazed by what is going on and simply make an idle comment before moving on to the next section which creates a completely bare bone experience.
Visuals:
Rarely have we ever seen a stark contrast between the ages of games than in Sonic Generations. Classic Sonic appears short and simple while Modern Sonic shows the advantage of having more detail for a more advanced time. This is similar with the two Tails characters but especially true when the stages are involved. All of the stages in Sonic Generations are taken from past titles and all of them have been redesigned and adapted to the 2D style that Sonic Generations uses. This means of course that some of the older favorite stages have seen an immense graphical enhancement with new paths added and extra features while modern stages have also seen a minor upgrade with new areas as well but also a transition to a 2D plane.
Considering this is Sonic Generations on the Nintendo 3DS, there is also the inclusion of the 3D aspect. Whenever the 3D slider is turned on there is an amazing amount of depth added to the title and provides a clear background and foreground layer for players to move around on. This is especially true whenever Sonic is running at high speed and ends up transitioning between the various planes of the title. It is a shame however that I could not keep the slider for the 3D on the entire time I was playing as the high speed movements of Sonic with the inclusion of the 3D began to cause discomfort or became a liability to my Sonic’s life and occasionally needed to be shut off.
Also there are a couple of parts of Sonic Generations which does not take advantage of the 3D capability at all, such as the menu and loading screens. The dialogue sections of the game where the characters talk with one another is another example of bad 3D implementation. While these may be few in number, the character animations and 3D display just feel awkward and out of place in the visual novel like setting in which they are portrayed.
Audio:
Being that Sonic Generations takes levels from past Sonic titles it only makes sense that there are also plenty of classic and memorable music tracks from Sonic the Hedgehog’s history included. Sonic Generations takes it a step further than simply copy and pasting old songs and actually includes re-mastered and reimagined versions of each song. The two act parts of each stage help provide a great contrast between classic Sonic songs and newer updated music. Players won’t even need to worry about playing each level if they want to hear the songs, as fifty musical tracks can be and listened to whenever.
Those hoping to hear some of Modern Sonic’s voice will be a bit disappointed as the dialogue scenes are not voiced fully, if at all. There are a few words that are said occasionally or at least a few noises that are made by talking members of the cast but that is unfortunately all. Otherwise you would believe that everyone was as mute as Classic Sonic who simply either acts happy or angry in appearance.
Gameplay: As you begin the story of Sonic Generations you will notice that you are given two acts for every stage that is unlocked. Act 1 will be the stage where you will need to play as the Classic Sonic while Act 2 will contain levels that must be played as Modern Sonic. What makes each act unique is the fact that every stage will not only be designed differently but will also factor into each Sonic’s strengths. For example, most of the Act 1 stages will feature more platforming and simple running while Act 2 will usually feature much more speed and more difficult obstacles.
The reason for the difference is that Classic Sonic only knows the original moves he knew from the first title in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, though he can learn more as you progress through the game. Modern Sonic on the other hand knows a vast variety of moves including homing attacks, sliding, boosting, grinding on rails and even various quick time events to jump off of walls and more. In fact between the two Sonics, Modern Sonic felt like much more fun to play and seemed to really capture the speed that a Sonic game should have.
After you make it through each Act in a stage you will then unlock a special stage where you will need to control Modern Sonic and travel down a pipe-like corridor to try and chase down a Chaos Emerald. These chases get more difficult as you make your way through the game with early levels only containing the bubbles that need to be popped for your boost bar to fill while later levels will include multiple bombs, dash pads, bumpers and other obstacles in your path.
After you finish a set amount of levels you will then face off against a Boss Gate. A boss gate also has two parts, with the first being a race against a bad guy or antagonist from Sonic’s past through one of the stages you have played already. These are rather simple and it is good to see a few of these older villains show up for at least a brief appearance. After that you will also fight a boss enemy from one of Sonic’s older games.
Unfortunately there are only four boss battles, with one of them being quite basic to play and also quite short. These battles are very fun on the other hand, especially the battles near the end of the game. As far as the game’s length goes, unfortunately the story mode is quite short, so short in fact that there are only seven stage sets, three races and four bosses. As a whole, the short length of each stage can translate perfectly for the mobile gaming device that is the Nintendo 3DS as they are perfect for a quick run through as you wait in line or wait at a bus stop.
Besides the rather anemic story mode there are a number of extra mission that can be unlocked and completed. These missions require a set condition to be completed but doing so will unlock a misc. collectible item ranging from music, character model or piece of art work. These missions are unlocked by playing through the game normally but can also be unlocked by Street Passing other players or buying them with Play Coins.
Besides the mission mode there is also the time attack mode which allows the player to try and blast through a level as quickly as possible and try to beat the best scores of other people around the world as they can upload their times to the Leader Boards as long as the handheld is connected to a Wi-Fi source. To round out the gameplay modes there is also a multiplayer aspect which is quite lively and easy to access.
Those who have a friend with the game can play local multiplayer through the Versus mode in which both players attempt to race across a level similar to the races in the main game and try to reach the end before your opponent. The same can be said for the online multiplayer mode where I experienced little lag through the matches I played. This mode is a nice little diversion, though the stages are exactly the same as the story mode minus the inclusion of a time warp that will hold you in place temporarily. This of course means that your opponent could be a master of a certain stage and easily leave you in the dust, though this is also countered by the fact that the game randomly chooses between your choice for a stage and your opponent’s choice, sort of like flipping a coin.
Overall:
In the end Sonic Generations provides everything that most Sonic fans could ask for. There are plenty of nostalgic stages to be played through and plenty of classic pieces of Sonic included making everyone happy. Unfortunately the short length of the title as a whole, barely any characters being shown except Sonic and Tails and the 3D implementation which can sometimes cost you a life hold the title back from being great. There are also plenty of times that a level could be seen as overly difficult and can be frustrating for new players but most players shouldn’t have too much trouble clearing each stage. Sonic Generations on the Nintendo 3DS still provides all the joy of the old Sonic titles in a nice portable format but falls short in more than a few ways.
That’s it. 1 whole year. 12 months, 12 games, and I’ve done what I set out to do. I’ve managed to do one game’s achievements to 100% completion for the last 12 months. I’ve played some games that I haven’t enjoyed for a little longer than I should, but I’ve also found some fun games which I leave with a special attachment to in helping me in this task.
This final month doesn’t exactly go out with a bang like it would in an ideal world, but the important thing is it’s done: Achievement Unlocked. There were plenty of games released this month in preparation for the frenzy of Christmas sales, so it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough games to play, just that their achievements were a little out of reach given my time was divided between the lot of them. This month was simply putting into action the escape plan I’d had all along in case of an emergency. This month I got all the achievements for Xbox Live Arcade game Dash of Destruction.
So let’s take one final look at the the standings for this year-long task:
December 2010 Harm’s Way 200/200
January 2011 Faery: Legends of Avalon 200/200
February 2011 Spare Parts 200/200
March 2011 Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 1000/1000
April 2011 Doritos Crash Course 200/200
May 2011 Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime 200/200
June 2011 TRON: Evolution 1000/1000
July 2011 Lazy Raiders 200/200
August 2011 Googly Eyes 50/50
September 2011 Truth or Lies 1000/1000
October 2011 Kinect Me 50/50
November 2011 Dash of Destruction 200/200
With that, I’ll just say thanks to those of you who commented, and to those of you who followed it silently maybe now’s the time to comment to give your opinion on the challenge now it’s all over.
I guess I didn’t get the support I’d hoped for and you could argue it tailed off a bit at the end there where I started running out of games/lost my drive to do it, but looking at the overview of it I’m proud of what I managed. Plus now it’s over it feels like a weight has been lifted for my shoulders, as I won’t have to rush to complete something in the days before the month is out.
Welcome to Capsule Computers’ newest weekly segment, Anime Say! Each week I will be diving into the biggest anime related topic of the week and having my say on the matter. To top it off each episode will conclude with a recommendation from your’s truly of an anime or manga that you should check out.
This week, I discuss the latest news regarding the highly controversial live-action adaptation of the anime masterpiece Akira. This past week George Takei of Star Trek fame, publically slammed Warner Bros. for their production of their version of Akira. Check out Anime Say! below to see what I have to say about both the film and Takei’s reaction.
Got any questions for Anime Say? Send all your queries to [email protected] and I will do my best to answer anything you can throw at me. So don’t be afraid to ask anything related anime or manga and I will do my very best to answer it to the best of my knowledge. So fire away, Space Cowboy.
What do you think of the first episode of Anime Say? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
There is some great anime titles to premiere this Winter season (which covers both the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012). The complete list of Winter 2011/2012 anime has now been released for your viewing pleasure and can be seen here. With so many great series coming out it’s definitely going to be difficult to decide which to watch and which to miss.
So check out the Winter 2011/2012 anime line-up in the image here. Which anime will you be following this coming season? Is there any OVA’s or movies you are looking forward to? Well just take a squizz at the line-up and let us know your picks of the season in the shoutbox and comments section.
