Wired Productions’ latest app is now available on the app store, making the most of the recent World Cup hype with a game called Spot Kick Hero. Pick your spot and hope your aim is true to get it between the sticks.
It’s a free app, so if you’re interested then take a look HERE
Game Details:
Spot Kick Hero Rugby will test your nerve from the spot with 3 exciting game modes and quick-play shoot-out challenges. Choose your team and progress through Tournament mode, judging wind-speed and direction carefully as you take on friends en route to the final and ultimate Spot Kick glory.
Features:
3 intuitive game modes.
Exhibition mode to practice your spot-kick skills.
Tournament mode, taking on friends or the AI players.
8 countries to choose from, all with different skills.
Hoopla fast-action Mini Game.
Multiplayer for up to 8 potential Spot Kick Heroes.
New updates coming soon, including Soccer and American Football.
In case you missed it the first time around ‘Enslaved: Odyssey to the West’ is now available for download for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Games on Demand service. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is probably one of the most overlooked games of 2010. Initially releasing in October last year to rave reviews, this game unfortunately suffered from poor sales figures.
The game has since gone on to receive a has won a number of awards which included winner of ‘Best New IP’ at the Develop Awards 2011, nominated for ‘Best Action Game’ at the Golden Joystick Awards 2011 and nominated for ‘Best Original Game Score’ award at the 2011 Ivor Novello awards. Acknowledging its initial critical acclaim from both fans and critics.
The game has been praised for its unique focus on the partnership of its lead charators Monkey and Trip, in both story and gameplay. The 4.91 GB download of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is available for $39.95 and downloadable right now on Xbox live.
In continuation of its partnership with CAVE, Rising Star Games has announced they will be exporting another CAVE title out of Japan, to Europe in 2012.
Akai Katana Shin was originally available in arcades. This Xbox 360 version, scheduled for release in the first half of 2012, has been remastered for home consoles. The display ratio has been expanded to make full use of HD TV widescreen visuals, and the visuals rendered in HD.
“There is always something special about a CAVE game,” says Martin Defries, managing director, Rising Star Games, “and Akai Katana Shin is no exception. It’s
an exceptional shooter, which looks stunning in HD, and we’re delighted to be able to give it the full Rising Star Games treatment when we release it next year.”
Akai Katana Shin takes place in a fictional era resembling the years of industrial expansion in Japan, full of hope for reconstruction. Amidst record-breaking economic growth and technical innovation, the people of this era discover a new energy source, a mineral called Guiding Ore.
A powerful natural resource, this Guiding Ore held other mysterious qualities. It could be tempered into a blade, a “Guiding Katana” that endowed certain soldiers who held special symbols with access to a unique psychic power.
It was said that once this katana killed another human being, it would turn blood-red and endow its owner with an overwhelming power. It was this power that the Emperor Basho used to expand his reign, waging war on his country’s neighbors with an elite battalion who wielded the so-called “blood swords”.
Now only a small squadron of rebels stands against his empire and its most fearsome generals. The struggle for justice begins here. Akai Katana Shin will be released in 2012, on Xbox 360.
It didn’t take long for our friends over at Humble Bundle to expand on their already fantastic deal of pay-what-you-want for Voxatron and include two new games. Blocks That Matter and and The Binding Of Isaac are the newest games to be sold off for charity by the team at Humble Bundle. The “Legend of Zelda-esque dungeons; Robotron-esque run-and-gun; and action-RPG progression” The Binding of Isaac and “platform-puzzler mashup” Blocks That Matter are a welcome addition to the Voxel-based platform-shooter Voxatron, and all for the low low price anything-above-the-average-price. That means for roughly $5 you can help some children out and enjoy three fantastic indie games in the process, any small amount of money helps.
Uncharted 3 : Drake’s Deception is unfurling across the globe as we speak, already clambering onto North American shelves and just waiting to make the leap to the rest of the world – probably with a witty quip. In the meantime Uncharted fans can have a look at a new behind the scenes video from Naughty Dog that takes a close look at the relationship between protagonist Nathan Drake and intrepid journalist Elena.
Along for the ride – on a couple of camels in the middle of a desert for some reason- are voice actors Nolan North and Emily Rose, who seem quite happy to chat away about the characters they have now been playing on and off for the last five years. The relationship between Elena and Drake has always been on the credible/non cringe worthy side of the video game romance scale, so it’s nice to see the characters and the writing behind them get a bit of the spotlight.
Fight off that weird sensation from seeing the real people behind the pixels (Emily Rose and Elena are eerily similar in appearance), and while away five of those waiting minutes with some Uncharted 3 insight.
With the recent release of Battlefield 3 and the impending releases of other popular FPS titles like Modern Warfare 3 and Halo Anniversary, gamers will begin looking for ways to augment their gameplay experience, whether that be through online play, collectable memorabilia, or perhaps with the latest FPS gaming accessories. Controller accessories that are specifically adapted to enhance the gameplay experience for 2011’s shooter release season are more than likely to garner a little attention from the gaming community. For anyone looking to enhance their FPS shooter experience this year, or just add that level of personal customised detail to their console gaming experience, it is worth noting that third-party accessory developer KontrolFreek, has recently released a set of 3 controller thumbstick accessories that they have dubbed: “Perfect Arsenal”. Within this set contain 3 different thumbstick covers useable for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 controllers, with each being adapted to a different style of FPS gameplay: The SNIPR; The ELITE; and the CQC.
As the name might suggest, this particular control stick accessory is adapted to assist with sniping. Labelled as “a tribute to Battlefield 3” the SNIPR is adapted for players who seek to improve their game in mid to long range combat. Besides the aesthetic design of the sniper crosshair on the thumbstick, the SNIPR provides players with enhanced thumb grip to the control stick. The elongated stick size also allows players to aim down iron sights and zooms modes with a significant degree of greater precision. The elongation does, in fact improve performance in zoomed combat, but not at the expense of hand comfort. The lengthening of the stick size can be felt, but the controller will still sit comfortably for the player. Definitely worth considering if you favour sniper rifles and long ranged assault weapons in your FPS gaming.
Adapted for use with popular shooters like the upcoming Modern Warfare 3, the ELITE boasts probably the best all around gameplay enhancement. Rather than favouring a particular style of gameplay, the ELITE reflects a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’ mentality that many gamers like to favour in FPS gaming, particularly online. Aesthetically inscribed with a Delta Force insignia, this particular accessory aims to improve the control of combat at any range. Like the SNIPR, it features an elongated stick with a centralised dip to comfortably sit the thumbs. However, the grip feels much different to the SNIPR and precision feels capable outside of iron sights and zoom modes. Movement feels more fluid, and it feels as though the player can better pace the speed of their character’s movement. The gamer feels more in control as a result. And did I mention the ELITE’s design is damn cool to look at?
Kontrol Freek CQC: Release date: November 15
Standing for Close-Quarters-Combat, the CQC is the final piece of Kontrol Freek’s Perfect Arsenal. As a gamer who likes the “up-close-and-personal” touch in FPS gaming, I have to say that personally, this thumbstick add-on is my favourite out of the three. Unlike the other two models, the CQC does not elongate the controller as much, as an up-front shotgun and SMG wielding gamer tends to prefer raw firepower over precision. The design of the accessory is a simple one, where the control stick features a multitude of small micro bumps. While the bumps enhance grip, it also provides a physical feedback feeling to the thumbs when pressed down. While this might sound like an obvious element, it actually enhances the enjoyment one gets from utilising a press-stick melee attack, as players are able to experience a degree of feedback from the control stick when pressed down. As the human finger is a highly receptive part of our body, this feedback feels satisfying, and augments the player mentality to utilise ammo-saving melee attacks where possible. Movement precision is also augmented, similar to that of the ELITE but more so due to the lower stick height. The CQC comes recommended as a first for people new to buying controller accessories.
To check out KontrolFreek’s catalogue of controller accessories click HERE.
With the delay of Gears of War 3’s first major downloadable content earlier today, Epic Games and Microsoft have seem to make it up to us by announcing free some DLC inbound for November 24. The “Versus Booster Map Pack” will feature five maps, three brand new ones Azura, Rustlung and Blood Drive from the “Horde Command Pack” and two fan favourites from Gears of War 1 Swamp and Clocktower.
The free Versus Booster Map Pack allows all Gears 3 players to unlock and play through the new multiplayer maps. But for players who have purchased the ‘Horde Command Pack‘ or the ‘Gears of War 3 Season Pass‘, you’ll get exclusive access to the pack’s Horde fortification upgrades and new playable characters – Bernie Mataki, Big Rig Dizzy and the Onyx Guard, as well as a few weapon skins such as Team Plasma and Jungle Camo.
The delay issue of the Horde Command Pack have been resolved and is available to download today for 800 Microsoft Points and the free Versus Booster Map Pack will go live in a few weeks time on November 24.
Skylanders: Spyros Adventures
Developer: Toys for Bob (Wii), XPEC entertainment (PC, PS3 XBOX 360), Vicarious Visions (3DS), Frima (IOS, mobile)
Publisher: Activision, Square Enix (Japan)
Platforms: PC,Wii, PS3, XBOX 360(Reviewed), 3DS, iOS
Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: October 13th 2011
Price: 59.95 (Starter Pack) Here
Overview
Spyro was originally conceived as a mature title but wanting to stay truer to the games roots, Toys for Bob decided to come up with something more creative for a younger gaming audience. Thankfully, even though it was emphatically stated that no previous knowledge of the franchise is needed or even encouraged, the famous purple dragon is prevalent throughout in all his fire breathing glory, adding a further element of nostalgia to one of the most FULLY immersive, conceptually brilliant packages I’ve had the joy to play. Skylanders incorporates tangible items into a virtual world in a way that hasn’t been accomplished with trading cards or even advanced peripherals such as guitars (sorry Activision, I love Guitar Hero). Instead of having a little icon in the top corner telling me how many lives I have left, I have my warriors lined up on the arm of the couch ready to go into battle when called upon. It’s a concept that even for an adult will never get old. Additionally, when I now buy DLC it’s in the form of a toy I can physically interact with, not just a new polka dot shirt for my characters wardrobe. You can’t look at Skylanders in its parts; it’s the complete package that makes for such a unique experience.
Story
Remembering that the intended audience is younger gamers, the storyline is very reminiscent of and contains similar magical elements of a modern day fairytale. Skyland was a peaceful place, where the rivers ran clean and all the earths’ elements existed in harmony, courtesy of the ever powerful core of light that kept Skylands fertile and radiated throughout the different lands, keeping the thick and rather unpleasant darkness at bay. That is, until the evil and maniacal Kaos enters the picture, hell bent on plunging Skylands into eternal darkness with the aid of his faithful and demonic minions that attack the Skylanders with no sense of self preservation.
Although the Skylanders are a powerful team with unique powerful abilities and nasty little minion annihilating tactics, they eventually succumbed to Kaos’ summoning of his mysterious beast which destroyed the core, plunging Skylands into darkness, and sending the Skylanders to Earth, where void of their magic they are banished to the life of an inanimate plastic toy. (Sound kind of familiar, well interestingly both Alex Sokolow and Joel Cohen, who penned the storyline for Skylanders, worked on the original Toy Story.) But……………………all is not lost for Spyro and the Skylanders as you, holder of the mighty Portal of power and acting as chosen portal master can weave your magic and assist them in restoring the Core of Light and destroying Kaos forever. Where Toys for Bob have excelled is really giving the player a sense of responsibility for bringing these heroes back to life. They just sit there looking at you, constantly reminding you that their world is in darkness, until you give in and join them on their adventure.
Throughout the journey to restore power to the majestic Core, the Skylanders meet many friends who are vital in the success of their quest. With the great Master Eon reduced to his most basic spirit form by Kaos’ hideous mega super evil secret beast when it destroyed the core, Hugo, his faithful assistant takes on the role of sensei, guiding the Skylanders towards the eternal forces and offering advice in perilous situations. Alongside Hugo is the charismatic Flynn the balloonist, whose constant hitting and wooing of the cat like Cali is cringe worthy but innocently cute at the same time. Cali rewards the Skylanders from clasping her from the bony hands of the drows by offering them heroic quests throughout their journey, further aiding them to level up and upgrade their weapons.
As the Skylanders progress closer towards recovering the eternal forces, they need the assistance of many others bestowed with special skills and powers to see the way forward. Arbo the young sapling who can speak to the seeds, Gurglefin who doubles as a boat chauffeur and my personal favourite, the annoyingly charming and quick witted T-bone, a skeletal bonehead with an attitude but also thankfully an invaluable guide through the underground catacombs of the undead worlds. With friends like these, not to forget General Robot and the Arkeyan Weapons Master, the Skylanders, under your power are in excellent shape to take on the malevolent Kaos and company. That’s all of the story I’m willing to give away, you need to play it for yourself to see the rest.
Character design
You know the designers have done something right when you go to your local shops only to be greeted by empty shelves of what once were an army of Skylanders ready to take flight. EBay offered no assistance either, besides revealing a small black market of collectors who had their grubby sweaty hands on rare (any dragon or undead character really) Skylanders that were selling for higher than retail prices, with postage on top. Each character has a unique attitude, and being an army of thirty two, pretty much ensures you will relate to one of them and have a personal favourite in no time at all. I spent most of the game with trigger happy at the forefront simply because I preferred his “style” of weaponry and his aesthetic looks over the others. Some characters are cute, and some (such as the undead) are decidedly darker in appearance and mannerisms. Even the despicable Kaos is a somewhat likeable character, more in the sense of id like to fireball his face but likeable nonetheless as is his sarcastic and slightly more intelligent side-kick Gkumshanks whose job itseems to make sure Kaos doesnt self destruct.
Gameplay
Addictive and sleep depriving, it your kid doesn’t show maximum levels of immediate excitement and throw at least one tantrum when told to goto bed, please take them to the closest professional help. Don’t get me wrong, given the identical game played through with one core character, and this title would be nothing short of average. Sure, there are a multitude of levels to make your way through with a mind boggling amount of quests and challenges outside the main mission to complete, but it would still fail to hold its audiences interest for long without that extra magic that are the Skylanders. The sheer variety of different characters available ensures a different approach will be taken by every player and adds a unique form of replayability to the game.
Each character has two weapons, primary and secondary, both of which can be upgraded and transformed into over the top quirky and often humorous prototypes of mass destruction. My little Trigger Happy, which ran around screaming “mine, mine” while collecting goodies, was well endowed with two golden pistols which transformed into a turret machine gun as well as golden bomb boxes which upgraded to exploding money bags of doom.
As well as having unique weapons and abilities each character is assigned an elemental force, that being Earth, Air, Tech, Magic, Water, Life, Undead, and Fire. Herein lays the concept that binds the whole ideology of Skylanders together. Throughout each level players will encounter varying different environments in which one particular elemental force will outshine all others. I initially thought a fire Skylander would be more effective in a water world, but it seems the Skylanders are harmonious with their own environment drawing power from it to fight off Kaos minions. On this note, minions are a must; they are just so cool and obedient like blind mice in a room full of traps. Players will be prompted when there is a change in elemental force power so they can strategically plot their path through the masses of enemies waiting to keep them away.
Each level in Skyland is a treasure pot of sparkly magic goodies that gleam and tinkle, beckoning you to pick them up. Defeated enemies explode into collectable orbs which are used to level up your Skylander and allow for further upgrades. Treasures within Skyland come in many different weird and wonderful shapes, from gem adorned rings, diamonds and coins; everything is brightly lit and entices the player to collect more. Although working as a team to defeat Kaos, Skylanders (like most dragons) are like Scrooge McDuck with their gold, and will not share it among themselves. Each Skylanders wealth is theirs and theirs alone to spend upgrading their armoury.
Skylanders, despite their immense magic abilities and power, have a limited life span that is very quickly drained when backed up in a corner. As they level up they do become more powerful but eventually will need to rest and allow another Skylander to take the reigns for a while. Throughout their journey the Skylanders will find many tasty treats to snack down on, ranging from pretzels and cheese through to various candies and everyones favourite, multi layered cake, perfect for energising Portal masters and Skylanders alike.
Despite the gameplay being quite simplistic in nature for most mature gamers, the content is perfect for a younger audience and the controls and concepts in puzzle design are a good training ground for younger gamers not quite ready for the perils of more powerful enemies. While being fairly consistent in difficulty across the whole game there were specific parts that would give challenge even to more avid younger gamers. Specifically the boss battles with Kaos, which are frantic and in many instances left me with three very despondent and exhausted Skylanders resting on the floor. In reality the more Skylanders toys you invest in the more lives you have to play with as I never had the chance to see a figure rest as the parts when more than one were needed usually drained the life from all three of them, thus sending you back to the start of the chapter. Regarding the boss battles, be appreciative that you do not have to do the whole level but only the boss.
Aside from the main mission of restoring the Core of Light, there are many other in-game puzzles and quests to embark upon. Cali offers heroic quests throughout most of the game, and there are various locked doors scattered throughout the worlds that require unlocking. While being the same puzzle on all doors, it does at least increase in difficulty as you move further into the game. Every world also has Portal gates which can only be entered by a Skylander matching its elemental lock. These gates reveal pathways to rare treasures, scrolls and medallions all of which are invaluable in unlocking new character features and abilities. Speaking of medallions, although your Skylander can upgrade his weapons, there are still some super destructive powers that can be unlocked via medallions located throughout the various worlds. When you find one it reveals the new power and what character it relates to, even giving a little preview of its destructiveness in action. If you look hard enough through Skylands you will also find various humourous helmets to adorn yourself in for protection and of course, good looks.
Players can also team up to fight against Kaos, and the game features the ability to be able to drop in and out whenever you want. Additionally players can take their characters to a friend’s house and irrelevant of what system they are playing on can use their Skylanders in battle, complete with all their items and upgrades. Skylanders can also be used in battles against each other as two players go head to head with their respective armies.
There were a few minor glitches such as the wrong name coming up occasionally on Skylanders, and I’m not sure which character the items I collected went to but aside from this, there was nothing major that detracted at all from the experience in any way.
Overall
You can’t really ask for much more when it comes to a kids interactive form of entertainment than Skylanders. Everything about it screams “enjoy me”, and in this respect it certainly does not disappoint. Even the over the top language used in-game and throughout the review such as “super duper” and mega destructive is ultra appealing to children and draws them closer to the characters. Although the addition of a difficulty setting would have been nice, it is aimed at a young audience to which its appeal would be immense. It’s not about playing the next kids game, it’s about taking control of the game in a physical way that binds the player to the storyline and builds a relationship between them and the characters, something Skylanders delivers on all accounts. Its not even about playing this particular game which was evident as after completing the main game i went out and bought four new characters and didnt even care what game i was playing them in, i was just excited to unlock all their new abilities and portal gates.
Today Codemasters announced that F1 2011 will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS on 25th November 2011 across the EMEA region. It did mention that a US release date had yet to be set in stone, although I imagine it shouldn’t differ too much from the 25th November release date.
Developed by Sumo Digital, under Codemasters’ exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One World Championship Limited, F1 2011 features all the official teams, drivers and circuits – including the new 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India at Delhi’s Buddh International Circuit – from the thrilling 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Check out some gameplay below, although bear in mind it is 2D footage of a game with the option of 3D:
Lord of the Rings: War in the North is back with another interesting insight into the game, with comments from stars of the films among others. It will be the first mature-rated Lord of the Rings game, an aspect that this video focuses on by showing the way you will slay the enemy. Chopped off limps and decapitated heads all feature.
key members of the Snowblind Studios team discuss not only the sheer fun obliterating the foul creatures that terrorize Middle-earth, but also speak to the violence depicted in the pages of the books, to describe war torn Middle-earth. Sean Astin and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Show) and Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) comment on not only the hordes of orc players will face in the game, but other foes that will pursue them, from troll, to goblins, to fell beasts and more. Gaming personalities Eric Eckstein (G4), Alison Haislip (G4) and Miri Jedeikin address the combination of the visceral combat, with the depth and character development of the RPG elements. Noted Tolkien scholar Corey Olsen points out the scribe’s own experience with war, particularly World Wars I and II.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North comes to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on the 25th November for Europe, and slightly earlier on the 15th for Australia and New Zealand.
