In the United States, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that AT&T will be the exclusive provider of 3G in the United States. In Australia, it will be a fight for your dollars, but Sony will recommend that potential buyers should choose Vodafone over the other providers, with a little incentive to persuade the consumers to follow the red brand.
However, Vodafone may not be your choice and Sony will allow you to make that choice. They did, however, add the following statement on using other services other than Vodafone:
“It is possible to use another provider as PS Vita isn’t SIM locked. As we have partnered with Vodafone, we have fully tested PS Vita’s features on their service and therefore can assure a great 3G service right from the off. We haven’t tested with other providers’ services and therefore can’t give the same quality assurances.”
So, what about that incentive? Well, stick with Vodafone and, once your Vita connects to the network, you get a free digital copy of Wipeout 2048. Pretty good incentive, I think. However, just like AT&T, Vodafone has been put under the spotlight for poor service and constant dropouts, which led to a $1 billion investment to upgrade the network.
The origianl deal was actually struck between Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Vodafone. The following countries are under the deal: Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and The Netherlands.
While they’ve never lifted a finger to stop the slaughter of trillions of virtual humans in games like Battlefield and Call of Duty, PETA have attacked certain games for apparently promoting cruelty to animals.
Did you ever stop to think about the awful conditions that virtual turkey you prepare in Cooking Mama was raised under? How about the innocent Tanookis that Mario slaughters for their fur in the upcoming Super Mario 3D Land? If not, then you’re an awful human being.
Whenever PETA run out of actual animal cruelty cases to deal with, they start defending virtual animals. It’ll no doubt happen again, so I’ve compiled a list of PETA’s probable next video game targets, so you can start boycotting them in advance.
Pokemon
It’s a video game classic, but Pokemon is essentially cockfighting for children. It’s based solely around capturing wild animals, keeping them in tiny balls that bounce around on your belt, and only ever giving them exercise when you call them out to engage in fisticuffs against someone else’s mistreated pets, until one of them passes out from its injuries.
And those are the lucky ones. Spare a thought for the ones people pluck from the wild merely to complete their Pokedex, before leaving them to rot in virtual storage forever.
Viva Pinata
Pinatas are a blatant promotion for animal violence, teaching kids that if they beat their pets with sticks, maybe candy will fall out. But why don’t PETA ever campaign against them? The answer is obvious – piñatas enjoy being smashed open, and relish the joy their sweet sweet innards bring to children.
Unfortunately Viva Pinata denies these creatures the basic right to be cracked open and eaten. Instead players force them to wander around big open plains, living in harmony with other piñatas. It sounds nice, but it’s not the lifestyle they want. It’s so dull, it’s torturous. Help PETA get them back to their rightful place: broken open on the floor, with children scrambling to devour their inner organs.
Lemmings
Animals have been used to help humans with manual labour tasks for thousands of years, and it’s just wrong. Forcing animals to perform strenuous activities against their will should be stopped.
Lemmings are the perfect example of animal exploitation: these resourceful little creatures are forced to climb, build, dig and even blow themselves up to traverse environments against their will.
But PETA says no more! Let them wander aimlessly around, with no pressure to work. It’s much more humane to leave them trapped in a small area for eternity, rather than dig for thirty seconds to reach the paradise on the other side.
Worms
For many years,Worms resided in their 2D environment. Their games worked well, people were happy, the worms were happy. But then, the 3D revolution comes along, and suddenly every franchise tries to incorporate this new dimension, this new way of playing.
The 3D Worms games arguably didn’t work as well as their 2D counterparts, but the characters were much happier. Their environment expanded into an entirely new dimension they’d never even comprehended before! We can’t even imagine what that would be like. Their minds expanded with them, as suddenly problems could be tackled from other, unheard-of angles.
But then, years later, Team 17 decided to revive the old 2D style of Worms gameplay. To fans, this was a welcome return to the series’ roots. To the worms themselves, it was devastating. After being enlightened by access to a previously unknown dimension, and all the mind expansion that brings, they were suddenly forced back into the confines of two dimensions. This cannot have positive effects on a creature’s mental stability.
Monster Hunter
PETA’s issue with the Monster Hunter franchise may not be immediately obvious, but if you dig deep enough, you’ll find that the game actually rewards players for hunting down animals! These creatures may be a danger to the human villages in the games, but that’s no excuse for killing them. Did any of these glorified exterminators try reasoning with the beasts before resorting to violence? Unlikely.
Claiming “Self defence” to justify taking a life is only acceptable in one situation – when an animal kills a human to defend itself.
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic was once a proud creature, standing with an Italian plumber as equals. But at the hands of his masters, he’s been knocked to the ground over the years and forced to perform humiliating acts for money. All this majestic being wants to do is run, really fast, but Sonic Team have refused to let him do what he so yearns for.
Sonic now works under terrible conditions, churning out games that force him to slow down and engage in unnatural platforming, sword fighting, bizarre love interests and woeful hand-to-hand combat as a weird werewolf thing. They even had to break his legs to give Mario a fighting chance in the Olympic Games crossovers.
Sonic Team have physically and mentally abused their animal mascot, and PETA fully encourage fans to bust him out of captivity before they work him to death.
Nintendogs
At first glance, Nintendo’s popular virtual pet game appears to teach kids responsibility in raising pets: how to feed them, walk them, play with them. But to raise a Nintendog is to mistreat it.
You might play with it for ten minutes a day, then ignore it while you lug it around in your bag or your pocket. Ignore Paris Hilton – a bag is not an acceptable way to transport an animal.
Your pet lives in that 3cm wide game card, but you “generously” give it the “freedom” to roam about your entire DS system. At least, before the novelty wears off.
Once you get sick of the game/pet (you monster), you’ll revoke its exercise yard privileges and confine it to that tiny game card, to gather dust in a drawer. You won’t feed it or play with it for months, but it won’t starve to death. The Nintendog is a unique creature, in that no matter how hungry it gets, it cannot die. So it’ll sit and starve, painfully, indefinitely, without the relief of death.
Eventually, you’ll remember it’s there, and since you don’t really play the game anymore, you’ll take it to the pound – by which I mean, trade it into EB Games for four dollars. There, it has two possibilities: someone else might buy it, but they won’t want to play with your old dog. They want to start a new one of their own, so yours is quickly deleted.
Or, if it stays on the store shelf for too long, well, we all know what happens to the Nintendogs no one buys – they take them out the back and put them down.
Those who feel like picking up Final Fantasy XIII-2 at GameStop should know that Square Enix has just revealed that the company has come to an agreement for an exclusive pre-order bonus. People who are just normal consumers will receive an extra alternate costume for Serah, but those who are PowerUp Reward members will get the exclusive “Genji Bow” weapon for free.
The weapon will have two forms, the bow and the sword form seen above. Those who have pre-ordered the game already will already have the bonus applied to their pre-orders. This means that when the title is released on January 31st next year, you can pick up your special weapon at no additional cost for yourself.
It looks like not all publishers are hating on companies that allow consumers to play their title without running out and buying it for full price at a store. In fact, Blockbuster has stated to MCV that they are actually seeing a lot of support from game publishers. This is because companies actually see a decent amount of money from rentals unlike with used games where the companies see no actual return.
Gerry Butler, commercial director has stated that “We have ramped up the rental side of our business and we have got an awful lot of support from publishers. Publishers like renting as it takes away from trade-ins. The problem with trade-ins is the publisher doesn’t get any money. The advantage of renting is that they get quite a lot of money.” Of course considering players who rent from Blockbuster still suffer from a missing online pass, at least companies are happy about this one.
I’m sure if you are like me, you’ve seen the Nintendo 3DS bundles that have already been revealed in the Black Friday ads. But Nintendo wants to have the final word and has revealed today what we already know. On November 24th Nintendo will be releasing two special 3DS bundles for the money saving consumer this holiday season.
The Cosmo Black bundle contains a special Cosmo Black 3DS decorated with Zelda imagery, along with a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The Flame Red bundle contains a plain old Flame Red 3DS with Super Mario 3D Land. These bundles are going to cost $199.99 on average, however you will likely be able to find them for cheaper if you feel like standing out in the cold Thanksgiving night.
Cheaters better watch out in Modern Warfare 3 because their actions aren’t going to be ignored. While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may not be a playground for cheaters and hackers yet, unlike MW2, Black Ops and World at War, there still are people who end up cheating in some way or another. However Modern Warfare 3 community leader Robert Bowling revealed on Twitter that Activision has already issued over 1,600 bans.
“Reporting [cheaters] in-game through [Modern Warfare 3] goes directly to our security team, who issues the bans directly after verifying. Every ban unique to the level of douchiness of the offense. The greater the douche, the greater the length. PermaDouche possible.” Sounds like good news to me, people who cheat and hack the game only end up hurting the experience for honest players.
Yesterday a couple of us here at Capsule Computers were lucky enough to have a hands on session with Syndicate, a first person shooter from Swedish developers Starbreeze Studios – behind the Darkness and both Chronicles of Riddick games.
Being published by EA, the 2012 release sees a gap of almost twenty years from the release of the original title. At this point fans of the original Syndicate (1993) may be a tad confused. A first person shooter? Hang on a second, what happened to this?
Yes, Syndicate in it’s original form was in fact an isometric view, real time tactical shooter. In the couple of decades since it was first released, Syndicate has morphed genre, neatly landing in the incredibly well populated box of the FPS. What happened? The gaming industry of 2011 happened!
Syndicate circa 2012 (it is future set after all), now looks more like this:
So what’s the story?
A near future set sci fi tale, Syndicate brings to life a world divided and ruled by mega corporations – syndicates. These companies supply the citizens of the world with neural chips that allow access to a huge digital world, and with every aspect of modern life linked to the chips, the syndicates, not the politicians, have all the power.
Players take on the role of agent Miles Kilo, a EuroCorp agent and part of the front line of the Syndicate war. The agents are equipped with the very latest developments in chip technology, and as well as being more than a little handy with normal weapons, can ‘breach’ anything in the dataverse, including other people.
And the gameplay?
The demo allowed for a playthrough of the opening moments of a single player campaign level (four player co-op will feature in the full title), and sees Miles and a fellow agent break into the research lab/hub of a rival syndicate. After a brief introduction (“civ casualties is a non issue” ) the two split up, leaving the player in pursuit of a neural chip currently embedded in the head of scientist Gary Chang.
From the off it’s incredibly clear that the level of violence here is going to be pretty high. Unarmed scientists are fair game, gunshots have blood spraying the ground. The ability to breach ups the ante even more, allowing players to cut into the minds of a security guard to make him madly take out his colleague before turning the gun on himself. This is the ‘suicide’ breach, one of three on offer in the demo but by far the most intriguing – will the Australian censors have a field day?
Miles can also hack into inanimate objects such as security systems, and the ability slots nicely into gun fights. Gun turrets can be breached to turn them on their masters and environments tweaked to add or remove cover. Fighting through a handful of security guards, Miles eventually gets his hands on Chang. Ripping the chip out his head (more blood spray) acts as an upgrade for the players own chip, allowing one point to be spent in usual suspect areas like speed, health regeneration and combat efficiency.
Players quickly get their hands on one of the more futuristic weapons, a gun that once locked on to its target can shoot round corners and over cover to find its mark. Combined with the long range efficiency of the breaches, it adds a different dimension to the gun fights, which can also take on a more short range flavour with a range of executions available in close combat. These are fairly snappy to say the least, and are pretty efficient at taking out enemies with one button push.
The gun also opens up more of a puzzle element to the game, as secured doors that seem unreachable can be opened with a some creative use of the environment – breaching an air conditioning unit to freeze some nearby glass will make it shatter when shot, so players can target the security mechanism on the door and watch as the bullets fly through the new opening.
The HUD display is a bit on the messy side, but in it’s current state the game is still impressive. Everything handles well, and the four player co-op could be a big draw if it takes advantage of Syndicate’s sci-fi trappings. The emphasis on breaching and the general atmosphere feels similar to Deus Ex Human Revolution, but here the action is definitely the main focus – there’s a lot more adrenaline in Syndicate’s system. With plenty of visceral action and some varied gameplay ideas, it could be one to watch when it’s released next year.
Max Payne launches early next year and while we all patiently await to see how Rockstar treated the sequel, we can also get those wallets ready as Rockstar have officially announced a Collector’s Edition that is now available for pre-order everywhere. From a statue featuring Max himself to a ton of in-game extras and tunage, there is a good bit packed in for the price.
What all is inside?
A copy of Max Payne 3
10′ tall Collectible Max Payne Statue created in a collaboration between TriForce and Rockstar Games
Series of game-inspired Original Still Life Art Prints that depict some of Max Payne’s inner demons and vices
Copper and brass-plated iron, bullet-shaped Bullet Keychain featuring a screw-off back
Classic Multiplayer Character Pack of eight playable multiplayer characters for Max Payne 3 Multiplayer, including fan favorites from the original Max Payne and Max Payne 2 like Max Payne from Max Payne 2, Mona Sax and Vladimir Lem
Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack for Max Payne 3 Multiplayer that includes the Hammerhead Auto Shotgun, G9 Grenade Launcher and Molotov cocktail
Max Payne 3 Official Soundtrack featuring the game’s instrumental score.
Whether your new to this tale of revenge or have followed it from the start, this edition seems to have something for everyone and at just $99, the whole set seems to be a fantastic value. Now as pictured in the promo sheet above, this whole limited edition is in fact meant to be limited, so those who plan on pre-ordering need to do so by January 15th.
So what do you think? Are you snagging up this version?
Not too long ago, a rumor all but confirmed that we would in fact be seeing Jak and Daxter go HD in their very own collection. Naughty Dog have now confirmed this as of today and fans of the series can rejoice as the Jak and Daxter Collection is set for a February release. This collection will feature Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, and Jak 3, which will all be fully remastered in 720p, allowing for crisper visuals, smoother gameplay animation, and now full stereoscopic 3D.
Also confirmed by Naughty Dog on the Playstation Blog is the much craved trophy support for the entire trilogy, giving fans a reason to trek through each again. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since Jak and Daxter first landed on the Playstation 2, but December 4th marks the series’ 10 year anniversary, so there is no doubt that these remakes will be made with a ton of love this time around. To get a first look at the trilogy, you can check out the new trailer below. After that, everything is just a waiting game as Jak and Daxter’s very own collection is just a couple months away from hitting shelves.
Although Saints Row started life as a GTA clone, the series’ journey into the realms of the silly and absurd have earned it a following all of its own. This direction truly began with Saints Row 2, but Saints Row: The Third manages to go a few steps further and ups the ante with the whole “over-the-top” thing. Now more than a bunch of crooks, your gang is a saleable image and has grown into a big business, calling for even more exaggerated larks in the city of Steelport.
Over the short time the character customisation tool, Initiation Station, was made available online, THQ reported figures of over 1 million different characters being created. The developers have stated that the emphasis of the game is on fun – a sentiment I agree with. Many games get so bogged down with realism they forget gaming is an escape, somewhere you won’t feel the consequences of your actions and a place where the concept of death doesn’t exist, as you can just click restart. The ridiculous get-ups are just one example of this. Running around in a gimp suit, battering people with a pink dildo baseball bat, was always going to split opinion. To many, probably most, it’s vulgar, but it at least shows that the game’s not taking itself too seriously.
The gameplay itself isn’t particularly special – just another shooting game. It’s the situations that you find yourself in during gameplay that really have the power to impress. Many other games are criticised for such unrealistic set-pieces as they only happen once, usually as a finale, but the fact that they happen throughout Saints Row: The Third makes them more acceptable. Whether these activities are story-driven or spring from some open-world exploration (read: pissing about), you know to take them with a pinch of salt and just enjoy the ride. This is your city. These are your rules. Strap it on.
