Bullet Time HD has made its debut on iTunes, kicking off the epic action adventure app. With an awesome storyline already in place and two more campaigns promised this app is sure to be a great get, especially since it’s free!
Play as John Irish as he braves the post-apocalyptic world to try and save his family from the mutants who are rabid and hungry for human flesh. Take on a range of different mutants, from the grunts to the big bosses, and do so with awesome customisable gear and dual-stick action.
With GameCenter capabilities, you can compare your mutant slaying scores and try to reach the top of the leaderboard with your unique John Irish. I know I’ll be giving him some interesting gear choices, what about you guys?
Bullet Time HD is available NOW on the iPhone, iPad and iTouch for FREE – Available Here
Keep an eye on the site for a review, coming soon!
THQ had release the uDraw tablet for the Wii back in November 2010. It is basically a gaming tablet with a pressurized stylus and, in combination with the Wii Remote, can be used for motion control. Instead of keeping it a Wii exclusive, however, THQ has announced that the tablet will be heading for both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360, due out sometime in 2011.
Vice President of THQ Asia Pacific, Rodney Block, had this to say about the expansion of the uDraw tablet on other consoles:
“Xbox 360 and PS3 fans have been asking for uDraw and after such an overwhelming response from Wii players, it’s with great excitement that we launch uDraw HD. There’s no console based artistic tool like it, uDraw can be used to create pieces of art, keep minds active and play games. Fostering creative expression, the uDraw for HD consoles can be enjoyed by the whole family, encouraging them to spend quality time together”.
Alongside the bundled software uDraw Studio Instant Artist, THQ has revealed two more games for the tablet that will be released this year: Pictionary: Ultimate Edition and Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat. THQ promises more games for the tablet in 2012.
I guess those who wanted this tablet and didn’t have or want a Wii would be excited about this announcement, but I do seriously doubt that it was in high demand from all types of gamers, especially one group of gamers. At least they decided to expand.
Raccoon Rising Developer: Pixelnauts Publisher: Romper Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iPad Release Date: November 18, 2011 Price: $0.99 – Available Here
Overview
The forest is in danger Raccoon hero! Sure, it sounds like an odd Disney movie, based around cute little talking animals and the evil invading forces of mankind, but that certainly hasn’t detracted from iOS games in the past.
Gameplay
Raccoon Rising has a simple, yet also surprisingly difficult to fully master, control system. You tap on the screen, sending your raccoon flying high through the forest, rebounding off either side of the screen. With the invading robot forces threatening the forest, you have to dodge, leap, and slam your way through dangerous obstacles.
There are four worlds to go through, and the learning curve is quite steep. I was actually quite surprised at the tutorial, which is an entire world and consists of twelve gates, because while it does well to introduce you to the various aspects of the game, it gets far more difficult than you’d expect from a tutorial. Or maybe that’s just me being uncoordinated with my raccoon. Either way, this game will need some definite stubbornness to get into because otherwise you’re pretty much just going to give up on it.
If you die during the gate then you’re sent back to the start, which is okay if it’s a short gate but if you’ve managed to get to near the end of a long, hard gate and then get sent back to the start of the gate you feel the urge to rage quit. Not to mention when it’s a boss gate at the end of the world and you do all the work and fail at the last second. Nothing is quite as devastating as that. That is why I think this game can’t really be classified as your standard casual iOS game.
While it can be played in short bursts, and some gates are easy to pass through, you will encounter a gate that will take some attempts, then a frustrated re-evaluation of what you have to do, and then some more attempts, to get it right. Don’t think that I’m saying this is a negative thing though, I think it’s quite the opposite. In an environment where solutions and hints are handed to you on a silver platter before you’ve even really tried to do something this is a great diversion from that. Even the way you have to figure out how to deal with bosses is great, if frustrating at times. Personally, I think that being frustrated at a game is a good sign because it means that the developers have put the effort in. Because of this, the fact that there are four worlds doesn’t feel as short as it sounds at all.
However, the game still has some issues, the main one I had didn’t have much to do with the game itself, it was with the pause button. In trying to select the pause button I’d just end up having the raccoon trying to go up the wall. To pause you have to drag the button across the top of the screen, which I caught on to through no help of the game itself. The ability to shift the pause button across the top of the screen doesn’t always work, and I don’t know if it was because I have sausage fingers or something, but at one point it was so impossible that I just ended up quitting the app instead of pausing. Also, the load times were lengthy at times and require a little bit of patience.
Visuals
I really like the graphics, they’re sharp and the little details, such as calling the robot stompy arms the TreeStomper v1.6. The comic book cut scenes are great, the graphics have really been taken care of and I have an appreciation for that. Plus, the fact that the raccoon fur patterns makes him look like he has a bandana mask like all good heroes.
Audio
The soundtrack is a jaunty little tune that goes well with the graphics, even if it might get on your nerves while you make a crucial mistake that drives you mad. There is a repetitive aspect to the soundtrack, which means that if you’re planning on working through a world you might be switching it to silent.
Overall
Raccoon Rising is a game that you will enjoy greatly, given that you have the patience to spend some time learning how to play it. The concept is interesting and the gameplay is easy to pick up, but has that degree of difficulty which makes it a very interesting to master.
For those of you who have got some epic family road trips planned for the holidays, EA Mobile has got you covered. With their new app Road Trippin’ you get to cruise your way from the east to west coast of the US, visiting more than 100 real American cities and completing over 400 activities along the way.
Ever dreamed of crossing American in a Military Tank? Well you’re in luck, with thirteen different cars to choose from and over 100 accessories to pimp your ride, you can fulfill that lifelong dream to take up the entire highway and put those American muscle cars to shame. Along the way you can also tune up your cars, receive ‘power boosts’ and earn extra points at Sears Auto Centers.
Road Trippin’ is available on the iPhone and iPad for free – get it HERE
Capsule Computer’s ‘Oh, Japan!’ segment has been running for a total of 15 weeks and 12 editions. Today I bring you the news that Oh, Japan! will be ending. That isn’t to say it may never return, it is just simply time to wrap things up with this weekly segment and bring in some new ideas and hopefully capture your imagination in the same way that Oh, Japan! has for it’s past 12 editions.
I have strived since Oh, Japan’s inception to make it a great way to introduce the eccentricities of Japanese culture to those who are not privy to it, or to glorify it to those who have grown to love it. In that right, I feel Oh, Japan! has been a success.
For my final Oh, Japan! segment, I will introduce you to the mother of all that is strange with Japanese animation, Chargeman Ken. An anime that took roughly an hour worth of plot and tried to cram it into 5 minutes each and every episode. See for yourself in the infamous 35th episode of the series below.
To conclude, I’d like to thank everyone who has stuck with Oh, Japan! over it’s short but sweet tenure and for one last time let’s all kick back together, watch a funny video a say the words we all know so well… “Oh, Japan!”
Namco Bandai unveils four new characters joining the ranks of Soul Calibur V. Veteran players of the Soul Calibur series will recognize the faces of Aeon, Cervantes, and the infamous Yoshimitsu. With the old blood comes new and a rod wielding, monkey man enters the battlefield.
Xiba
Only sixteen years of age, Xiba grew up at the base of Zhen Hang Mountain. Disciplined in the secret arts of the Ling-Sheng Su & Kong Style Rods, he has incredible balance and grip making him a deadly opponent. Xiba travels with Maxi, Leixia, and Natsu during the course of the storyline.
Aeon
Twenty-four years have passed since Aeon Calcos has known a human form. Duel-wielding axes the hunter inside of him has clearly taken over. Aeon can no longer understand the difference between memories of his family and the blood of his enemies – only a void is left in his heart.
Cervantes
The Spanish Empire is the birthplace of the ship captain Cervantes de Leon. With his newly acquired body, Cervantes appears much younger and alive than his previous ghostly self. He has known the powers of the Soul Edge, and the hunger for power still lingers through his veins.
Yoshimitsu
Insanity is probably considered the normal for Yoshimitsu. Combining the Manji Ninjitsu along side katana blades, Yoshimitsu creates confusion for his enemies by performing attacks that can hurt himself. He also leads the chivalrous band of thieves known as the Manji Clan. Perhaps if one Yoshimitsu falls, another will be there to replace him.
If you haven’t marked your calendars already, Soul Calibur V will be released on January 31, 2012 in North American and February 2, 2012 in Australia and New Zealand.
Minecraft lovers have always played the title on the PC, but there are a few other versions which have been created in the past year for the iOS devices and other formats. However there has not been a single console release of the title, that is until we heard about a Minecraft XBLA game being developed for the Xbox 360. Unfortunately since it was announced, there hasn’t been a whole lot revealed for the game.
That is until now. Below you can find a very odd video from the guys at Mojang, including Notch himself. We are also given a momentary look at the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft, though it doesn’t look much different from the original to my eyes. Gamers can expect to see Minecraft XBLA sometime in the spring of next year.
It’s so good to have Sonic back again and while Sonic Generations for consoles was great, the 3DS version is also looking just as superb. Sega recently released a new trailer (in Japanese) for Sonic’s debut on the 3D handheld, and if this footage is any indication, this may be the best Sonic title yet to hit a portable.
Much like all great things in life, this clip starts off with the tunes from “City Escape” and displays nearly all the stages in the game with the blue blur speeding along at a rapid pace. With the recent releases of Super Mario 3D Land, Cave Story, and now Sonic Generations set to hit shelves as soon as next week, it’s certainly a great time to be a 3DS owner. Check out the lightning fast clip below and stay tuned, as our very own review for this version is soon to come.
It appears that Tecmo Koei is bringing more than just a couple of different characters from various game series into their next title, Musou Orochi 2. It has been previously announced that Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden would be appearing in the title and now it seems that they will also be having a crossover with Dead or Alive as they are bringing Ayane in as well.
Now while Ayane is a Ninja Gaiden character as well, the company stated that this is in fact a Dead or Alive crossover. Plus with this announcement they revealed the below screenshots showing Ayane in action. The reason for her inclusion is that after the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, Ayane fell into a bend in the space time continuum and ends up in the world of Musou Orochi 2.
A number of other characters have been revealed in the past including Jeanne d’Arc from Bladestorm, Achilles from Warriors: Legends of Troy, and Nemea from Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll. Musou Orochi 2 will be released in Japan on December 22nd, but currently has no release date in the Western world.
It appears that players who have become lost in the world of Skyrim can expect a patch to be arriving shortly to fix at least a few of the problems plaguing their world that don’t involve dragons. Bethesda’s Pete Hines has revealed on his Twitter that the “PS3 & 360 updates have been submitted for certification. PC coming too. Current estimate is they will be live the week after T’giving.”
This means of course that in roughly two weeks time players can expect to see at least the two console versions patched up. However at this time the company has not revealed what the patches will be for, though hopefully it will fix the install issues on the 360 and the save data lag on the PS3.
