At last night’s VGAs, Activision debuted a brand new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man video game, based on the upcoming 2012 movie which is a reboot of the movie franchise. The game is expected to see a summer 2012 launch alongside the upcoming movie, although it does take place after the events of the film. Gameplay will go back to the free-roaming, web-slinging style similar to previous Spider-Man games based on the 2nd and 3rd films but with improvements to navigation and combat. The story has been penned by Hollywood writer Seamus Kevin Fahey, who has written for episodes of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. So unfortuently, no hints to the films plot here. While the gameplay looks much like things we’ve seen before, the presentation is certainly a lot more realistic, hollywood-ish and grittier which could potentially result in a more refreshing experience. My Spider-Sense is tingling for this one!
Fatality! Ok not really, it’ll be back someday! Yesterday during a pre-show for the Spike VGAs, the father of Mortal Kombat Ed Boon announced that NetherRealm Studios will be taking a break from Mortal Kombat to work on different projects for a while, and the studio is currently working on a new title. The first of which was Batman Arkham City: Lockdown which was released for iOS devices this week. While no other projects have been announced, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is due for release early next year. Boon also stated that no future DLC is planned for Mortal Kombat at this point in time. Later at the Spike VGAs that night, Boon accepted an award on behalf of NetherRealm studios for best fighting game of 2011. Personally, I’m curious to see how NetherRealm works with other franchises and projects, although I do miss Mortal Kombat already. Hopefully it’ll kome back soon!
Just when you thought all the uneducated, naive and ignorant politicians and various other do-gooders had said all they could on the topic of violent video games, out crawl more to jump on the bandwagon. This time its MP Keith Vaz, who has asked (and been denied) the House of Commons to hold a debate over the effects of video games, citing a recently published and biased study as his main form of evidence. The study is funded by the Center for successful parenting whose mission statement is as follows. “Our culture used to protect the innocence of our children. Today our children are constantly exposed to sex and violence. Our vision is to move parents, leaders in health, government, business, education, public safety, and other vocations to action by changing our culture to protect children from unhealthy media in all formats.” According to Dailytech the group has already published literature about the pure evil gaming incites, based on their interpretation of the studies findings.
The TWO week study, which then attempts to apply its findings to explain behavioural traits in long term gamers, involved 28 total participants, which anyone with a degree in demographics will tell you is simply inadequate and a gross misrepresentation of the population. The study shows, that low and behold, just like any other life activity, violent video games create changes in the brains activity. No suprise there really, or that the rest of the results are a mixture of maybes, mights, possiblies and more than likely’s. Dr Wang MD, of Indiana University, who headed the project states that the study is representative of the effects of long term gaming, something I find very hard to fathom from the limited study.
Someone really needs to stop these groups from wasting money funding research projects that yield results completely non applicable to the argument. While everyone is focused on the fact that video games stimulate the brain, there is very little evidence to support the fact that these effects are negative and create issues for the player. Very few people sit and play violent games for 10 hours a day, especially younger teens, and if they do, well there parents have some answering to do, not them. To make these studies even semi-believable and to give them some merit amongst die hard gamers (if thats possible even), the study needs to incorporate all forms of media, not just video games. As long as lazy parents worldwide have someone or something to blame for their brats behaviour they will, and video games seem the perfect scapegoat. In relation to gamers outside of parental control, there is no evidence, even if certain parts of the brain are more active when playing violent games, that this will ever translate into a greater propensity for violence when interacting with the real world.
Mr Vaz, havent you got anything better to campaign and debate over, surely there are homeless people in your district or roads, schools or parks that need attention. Even an orphanage for stay cats would be a better way to spend your time campaigning for, unless of course it was also funded by violent video game developers, hell bent on providing the cats with violent games so they can amass an angry violent feline race.
Mighty Fin Developer: Launching Pad Games Publisher: Launching Pad Games Platform: iPhone (reviewed), iPad, iPod Touch Release Date: June 1, 2011 Latest Update: December 8, 2011 Price: 0.99$ – (HERE)
Overview
There are a lot of games released for iOS devices, and, let’s face it, a lot of them aren’t worth either your money or your time. It’s easy to lose heart in the face of such shovelware, but then games like Mighty Fin come along, pat you on the back, and tell you it’s all going to be okay.
Mighty Fin is a simple two-dimensional cartoon platformer that puts you in command of a cutesy fish, Fin, as he traverses various aquatic environments on his holidays gone wrong. You may have rolled your eyes at “two-dimensional”, “cartoon”, and “platformer”, but it’s what this game does with the tired iOS genre that really sets it above and beyond the competition.
Gameplay
It’s a big ocean, and Fin is casually speeding forward through it regardless of the obstacles and death-traps in his way, so it’s up to the player to save him from ending up as shark food. Tapping the screen lowers Fin into a dive, releasing sends him back up; the further Fin dives, the higher he jumps when you release.
The simple controls make this game easy to get into, but challenging to master. The levels in Mighty Fin each have themes, but they’re randomly generated every time you start them, ensuring that the game is about your skill with the controls rather than level memorization. Depending on the level, you’ll have to dodge sharks, jellyfish, ninjas, or santas. Yes, it gets crazier as you go.
In a lot of cases, randomly generated levels lead to detrimental gameplay, but the game’s scoring system is based around Fin collecting bubbles along his path to the end of the level, and these bubbles act as a guide to the player, indicating where Fin should be heading next. That’s not to say, there aren’t secret areas and paths to be discovered. Each obstacle generally has multiple ways to be avoided, and choosing one over the other can lead to additional point-bubbles or even higher-scoring gold coins. The scores can, of course, be uploaded onto Games Center for use of leaderboards.
Each level also houses hidden costumes for players to find. Once unlocked, Fin can then put on different costumes, ranging from simple hats to a robot outfit. Though they don’t add to overall score, it’s surprisingly fun to get new costumes and put them on Fin, as they generally do a good job of enhancing his cutesy aesthetic.
What’s more, the game has been receiving constant updates since launch, and where the original game’s levels were grounded in either tropical, arctic, or stormy settings (with repetitive obstacles and music), the number of levels added since launch more than doubles the amount of content in game and each of the new levels is unique and different. Whether it’s the Nightmare Before Christmas ocean, or a sea entirely made up of and decorated by candy, sweets, and cakes, or a ninja-themed level, the developers at Launching Pad went crazy, and the game’s variety and gameplay are so much the better for it.
Audio & Visual
The game looks fantastic. Normally a cartoon-aesthetic on iOS is a quick two-dimensional plane with cutesy stuff thrown on to appeal to moms and kids, but the game really makes use of some great graphical techniques. Though the gameplay space is two-dimensional, there are several background planes which all move at different speeds and are drawn differently based upon their distance from the foreground. On top of that, some of the levels from the various game updates make some drastic graphical decisions that are really quite beautiful. The ninja level, in particular, was a standout.
The audio tunes are cheerful and upbeat tunes, but even in the original, slightly-repetitive levels there was enough variety to keep the music from becoming the annoyance it is in lesser games. As the game goes into the additional levels, it seems as if almost each level has its own soundtrack music which was both surprising and impressive.
The sounds effects do the job. Bubbles pop as you collect them, the ocean splashes when you jump out; the basics are there, but it’s not the stand-out portion of the game.
Finally, Fin himself is a well-designed and animated character. His small body and cute bug-eyes help his appeal, and the way the character animates (half-closing his eyes while zooming through the water, or opening them wide, a big smile on his face as he jumps out of the ocean) go a long way to giving a character, who never says a word, a good deal of personality.
Many iOS games go for the cute, cartoon look, but Mighty Fin does it leaps and bounds better than most of the competition. A screenshot of the game would not look out of place among a reel of Saturday morning cartoons, and it probably even looks better than some of them.
Overall
Mighty Fin succeeds spectacularly in being a game that can be played by someone who has never touched a video-game before, but mastered by those who have a history with platformers. The simple touch-mechanic and easy-to-understand gameplay make the game both a joy and a challenge to play, and on top of that, it looks great.
And though the first eight levels can grow repetitive, Launching Pad’s updates to the game have added creative new levels that not-only reinvigorate the formula presented by the originals, but surpasses them. I have no qualms in saying Mighty Fin is one of the best iOS games to come out this year, and it’s definitely worth your 99 cents.
Today video gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto accepted the Spike VGA 2011 Hall of fame Award for his work on the classic franchise The Legend of Zelda. Holding the award above his head much like Link when he found the master sword, an emotional Miyamoto thanked the fans on behalf of both himself and Nintendo for their support over the franchises’ 25 year long history. His award was granted for The Legend of Zelda franchise, but the world has known his efforts in video gaming have always been legendary with the creation of other popular franchises such as Super Mario, Pikmin, Star Fox, F-Zero and many more.
Miyamoto has been making headlines a lot recently. Firstly he claimed he was going on retirement, then he said he wasn’t and then he said he’s preparing for it and it’s left hardcore Nintendo fans on the edge of their seats. Despite a rough year for Miyamoto and Nintendo, with the recent releases of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land as well as this Hall of Fame award, it’s nice to see Nintendo end on such a bright note.
Namco Bandai have announced that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will be released during the 2012 holiday season, although no specific date has yet to be revealed. Today during the Spike VGAs a new Tekken Tag Tournament 2 trailer was revealed sporting fighters in combat in a dark room with very Soul Calibur styled colour motion waves following the limbs of the combatants. The video can be seen below and it features a strong focus on the tag element of the game. The trailer concludes with the announcement that the game will be available during the 2012 holiday period, although no date has been revealed as of yet.
Namco Bandai has recently released a demo for the game titled Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue as a part of Tekken Hybrid. You can see our review for it here.
Horrid Henry: The Good, The Bad & The Bugly Developer: Asylum Entertainment Publisher: Europress Platform: 3DS Release Date: 25th November
Overview:
I’ve never fully understood why Horrid Henry’s supposed to be cool to youngsters; he’s loud, rude to his parents, throws tantrums and chooses to listen to heavy metal full of guitar solos at his tender young age. In fact, I think I prefer ‘Perfect Peter’, his younger brother who he labels ‘the worm’. Then again, I’m too old to get the appeal. This game follows the art direction and personalities for the world of Horrid Henry created by Novel Entertainment when they made their CiTV animated series, rather than that of the books. With Asylum Entertainment developing, Horrid Henry: The Good, The Bad & The Bugly manages to capture the spirit of the CiTV series, with the same voicing, likenesses and those same guitar riffs that infuriate everyone but the kid who chose Horrid Henry. Oh yeah, and don’t ask me what ‘Bugly’ is. Even after completing the game I’m none the wiser – it must just be short for ‘Bloody Ugly’, Henry’s perception of ‘Moody Marget’ (though she doesn’t actually appear in the game, just the box art).
Story:
Peter’s lost his cuddly bunny and is crying his eyes out. Fearing his mum will get the wrong impression and think that he’s the one who stole it, Henry sets out on an epic mission to retrieve the toy, traversing three wild otherworldly regions from another dimension. He probably stole and hid the bunny himself, but using his vivid imagination has thought up an adventure to go and save it, squirting an assortment of animals and alien creatures with his goo gun and leaping from platform to platform along the way.
It’s a little bit thin on the story, with spoken-over static images acting as cut scenes. Theses ‘cut scenes’ aren’t even in 3D and are slow-paced where the talking and sound effects come to a standstill while the next image is put up on the screen. Not that it matters but there aren’t really ongoing links to finding the bunny; he simply turns up after you’ve went through the 11 levels leading up to the final boss showdown.
Gameplay:
The three worlds are each split into 4 levels, making for a rather short overall experience at 12 levels. The first two worlds have pitiable boss fights at the end of the last levels. While you can tell they have been geared towards youngsters well in that their health gauge doesn’t heal between your deaths, meaning anyone can take them down through a process of attrition, their make-up is just a stodgy as the rest of the enemies. It seems very buggy when blasting them with the goo shooter, to the point where it’s preferred just to jump over most enemies and carry on as normal to save yourself the hassle. That said, the final boss is more substantial, with more challenging, tactical battle that has you using the four different abilities acquired for your goo shooter, though for much younger players is could be a bit too confusing and they could instead prefer the simpler stuff.
Although you do notice the levels get progressively harder, the levels are very samey. The framework remains the same throughout despite slightly modified backgrounds each time around, such as puzzles which use the touch-screen and feature a large hamster-type thing throwing puzzle pieces at you for you to organise. Of course this overgrown marmot probably means more to Horrid Henry fans, but to an outsider seems random. Nevertheless, whether you know who the hamster is or not, these puzzles get repetitive and have quite a few problems of their own where they’re fiddly to control on the touch screen and can easily to manipulated in a way that wasn’t intended (I.e. breaking through invisible walls to get jerky pieces of juxtaposed scenery).
One of the reasons levels get harder is a lack of control. The physics are floaty and Henry jumps very high, but you feel they are subject to strict programming. Changing direction in mid-air just isn’t possible and you never really have the feeling of total control over Henry’s movements. You can also get snagged where pieces of scenery are jagged and unfinished (in some instances even registering damage to your health, despite not doing anything wrong), and there was even one time where the checkpoint registered with me dangling in mid-air, so every time I respawned there and then I fell to the area below, therefore having to climb up again just to get to where I was.
Visuals & Audio:
As I said, the cut scenes – if you can call them that – aren’t up to much, with some short lines voiced by the people from the cartoon played over some still images. During the gameplay though, the visuals are pretty colourful and, accompanied by the music, create the illusion of these distant worlds. The textures are a little grainy, a problem that tends to affect more that just the aesthetics, and the model of Horrid Henry himself is so small and blurry you don’t actually see that much of him despite the license. The 3D isn’t put to as bad use as expected, with depth evident during the levels and the final boss battle being rendered in 3D fairly well. Although it’s more a criticism of the 3DS than the game itself as many games have this problem, the effect quickly becomes sickening and it feels better with it off.
Overall:
Although it’s from a small team who were more than likely a little rushed to get it out in time for Christmas, Horrid Henry: The Good, The Bad & The Bugly isn’t a great experience. The fact that it’s a platformer makes it a lot more playable than it would be given the same attention to development in any other genre, but its problems are in clear view for all to see. A number of minor glitches are sure to crop up for anyone who plays it, but the important thing is that, although regular, these issues are all small. The low level count means it ends after only several hours of play, the stat-based completion percentages offer little incentive to replay levels, and even though overall it may be sufficient for Horrid Henry fans, the gameplay is unlikely to win it any new followers.
Atlus and SNK Playmore have released a demo for The King Of Fighters XIII for Xbox Live Arcade, and a demo is also coming to the PlayStation Network tomorrow. The demo features six playable characters, two stages and even supports online play! Two teams are available-Team K’ which consists of K’, Kula and Maxima and Team Fatal Fury which consists of Terry, Andy and Joe which can fight within two stages called London and Airship. The demo showcases some of the breathtaking hand drawn artwork and even features online play to give gamers a chance to try out the demo with friends online.
Furthermore, Atlus and SNK Playmore have also confirmed that they are currently working on a new patch to further improve the functionality of the gameplay online. While no other details have been released, we are told to expect to hear additional information soon.
The King Of Fighters XIII is out now in North America for the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles.
Fruit Ninja: Puss In Boots Lite version has scratched it’s way to iOS platforms, meaning everyone can now try the game out for FREE! The Lite version gives players a taste of a few precision and timing challenges from the game’s puzzling Bandito as you go head-to-head with a misunderstood tomato. Gameplay should remind players like the popular Fruit Ninja many should be familiar with, where players test their sicing skills by attempting to dice through a cascade of falling fruits while avoiding those devastating game-ending bombs. This juicy Lite version of the game contains multiple Bandito challenges as well as a number of unlockable Stash items for customizing the games appearance, and remember-it’s all for free!
You can download the FREE Lite version here and the full $0.99 version of the game on iPhone here via iTunes.
Overview
There are a ton of popular racing genres out there, but over in the west, horse racing is honestly at the bottom of the food chain. It’s not that the sport is bad by any means, as there is definitely a hardcore following out there. It’s just that we have never seen one of the video game adaptations hit the mainstream and the entire genre lies in it’s own little niche zone. Tecmo Koei have a lot of faith in their loyal fans though and have released Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey & Gallop Racer across all platforms to better feed their hunger. This title is a spiritual successor to the G1 Jockey series we seen from the past, but adds new motion controls to make the experience a more immersive and realistic one. How does this trip to the track hold up? Here is my review for Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey & Gallop Racer.
Story
Believe it or not, there is a bit of a story within Champion Jockey. Players start out as a rookie to the jockey world and soon set out to pass through the ranks in a lengthy career mode. As you progress, you are taken through several dialogue sequences with other racers, with a coach of sorts guiding you to victory with tips and suggestions. It’s quite a simple plot to follow and is definitely not heavy by any means, but there was something rather charming about the way this story is told.
Instead of viewing spoken dialogue or actually controlling your jockey off track, players will be treated to a complete text based experience. The jockeys themselves are simply made out of still 2D images, with facial features changing depending on the dialogue spoken. This makes the entire cast rather forgettable, but I personally looked past that fault quickly as even though the conversations can get a bit bland, you will constantly get a detailed critique after every race along with some nice motivation from other riders or coaches. Again, this isn’t too deep, but I actually felt like I was learning from my mistakes after each race which made this campy interaction end with something productive.
Gameplay
Here is where the game gets tricky. You would think horse racing on the Wii would involve just using the controller and nunchuck to move side to side and speed past opponents, but these controls have a steep learning curve and unless you take the long tutorial at the start of the game, you might find yourself completely lost in under a minute. With the Wii version alone, there are four different control types. Players can use the balance board, Classic Controller Pro, WiiMote and Nunchuck, or simply the Wiimote by itself to play the game. Out of the four, I felt most comfortable with the two latter methods as they were much easier to master in a short time. Those craving a more realistic feel will also want to attach that nunchuck as the experience is much richer when you have both “reins” in your hands.
Starting up a race, the amount of meters on the Heads-up display can be flat out intimidating. I say this because there is so much happening on-screen, it can honestly make controlling a horse seem like you are about to start driving a diesel. It takes time to master, but again, the tutorial explains a lot and after my 8th race or so, I felt comfortable monitoring everything at once. The game also becomes a bit more accessible when you remember that you’re controlling a jockey, and not the horse itself so everything you do goes into how fast your horse will cross the finish line. Some tracks also have obstacles and hurdles the player must clear which brings up yet another meter and you must then make a timed stroke to get the most out of a jump and landing. The whole experience is very detailed, but thankfully the scheme given is a working one and performs with any hiccups.
Each horse in the game have their own personality of sorts. Yes, that sounds a bit odd, but the attributes each steed portrays can be critical in the more difficult courses. Some horses hate making left turns but perform well on rough tracks while others are better in close situations and do well with hurdles. These qualities might not sound like much, but you can actually feel a distinct difference with every horse in the game. To thicken the variety even more, there is even an in-depth breeding mode, which can let the player spawn a creation that fits better with their own personal play style.
Those wanting a more casual racing experience our of Champion Jockey are also in luck. A “Fun Race Mode” can be accessed from the start and allows players to take part in much more simple exhibition races. Pick a course, pick a horse and go. The standard Race Mode offers a bit more meat, allowing you to choose from several different modes that can be found in the Story. This include the likes of simply practicing, a Quest Challenge, Scenario Challenge, and multiplayer competitions. Quest Challenge is the most substantial of these offerings, presenting a series of races that the player must advance in to win in a tournament-based setup. Scenario is a bit lighter, but lets players take their bred horses into races and compete in a line of preset matches.
As you could probably tell, there is a lot more to Champion Jockey than it may seem. The story mode alone can go on for a hefty amount of time as there is always a new feat to conquer. Breeding is so in-depth that it can also lead to a full experience in itself, which can even double your of time spent with the game. There is also an online mode that allows you to participate in races with players from all over the world, but sadly I have yet to actually find another player on the servers after a good number of attempts. That extra is just icing on the cake though, as the single-player offerings offer enough replay value to keep fans busy for quite some time.
Visuals/Audio
While there is a ton of options and general customization when it comes to gameplay within Champion Jockey, the graphics are plain and generic. The horses and even the jockeys all look the part, but the entire presentation feels dated by about 10 years. Menus have very little color, courses exhibit some bland textures, and the characters in career mode carry an atheistic that appears to have been ripped out of a children’s storybook. Now, this doesn’t mean that the game is ugly by any means, but there isn’t a whole lot of “life” to be found and if you are after something that pushes boundaries for the Wii, you would be looking in the wrong place with these boring tracks.
As far as music goes, the soundtrack in Champion Jockey is also a bit stale. The tunes do give off an upbeat atmosphere at times, but many are repeated and don’t offer much excitement during races. Horses however sound realistic and the thumping of hooves can be heard as your steed gallops to victory, which in turn makes everything feel more authentic. While it’s not a huge loss, some sort of voice acting would have worked wonders with the jockeys as you can easily tell with the writing that Koei attempted to craft out several varied personalities.
Overall
I personally don’t have much experience when it comes to horse racing titles as Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey & Gallop Racer was my first. With that said though, I felt like this title definitely delivered in terms of gameplay and those looking for an authentic and true adaptation of the niche genre will find love with all of the in-depth approaches taken here. There was definitely some sacrifice made in the presentation of the game, but considering the heavy amount of detail, it’s quite easy to see why. Champion Jockey isn’t for everyone, but if your up for a challenge or just want to try a unique racing romp, this title has all the tools to craft you into a master.
