With the recent release of the metallic rose DSiXL, Nintendo have been pretty focused on keeping the DS alive. It has now been announced that two new DSiXL bundles will be hitting shelves this holiday season, and they will be bundled with last year’s blockbuster title, Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem. These two sets will be made up out the Midnight Blue and Metallic Rose colors, and will be priced at $169.99, making the game absolutely free to those who snag it up.
Mini-Land Mayhem is a perfect choice for the set, as Nintendo have been holding weekly challenges since it’s release and will continue doing so this week with a new challenge this week involving “Crumble Blocks”. Those who have been craving a DSiXL can pick up one of these bundles when they are released on November 6th, which should make for this years choice stocking stuffer.
If you were planning on ringing in the holidays this year by playing the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft, you now might have to do some re-scheduling as the anticipated port has been delayed until Spring of 2012. Considering the slow drip of actual news we have heard though, this delay comes with little surprise as the Kinect enabled version is surely going to be quite a monster to develop.
Those who are itching to see how this version works though are in luck however, as fans attending Minecon will get to experience the Xbox 360’s Minecraft from November 18th and 19th at the event. You can check out a shiny new trailer for the game below while you wait, and once an official date is announced we will be sure to bring you an update.
Keiji Inafune is a gaming icon especially in Japan, with such franchises as Megaman and Dead Rising already erupting from his brilliant mind, the man is clearly a conceptual genius. Yet over the years he has become increasingly critical of the Japanese gaming market and is not one to hold his tongue. After 23 years with Capcom, Keiji has left to pursue his own independent ideas, and speaking to Gamasutra, he gives some interesting insights into the state of Japanese gaming.
“It feels like things have just settled down — or to put it another way, that people just aren’t hungry enough any longer.” Keiji goes on, describing what he believes to be a sense of complacency in an industry that he says has lost those magic heroic characters he so loved when he was a child.
“Something that struck me when watching American movies or playing their games is that there’s consistently a strong hero who’s always the central point of the story. This has been the case for decades and for games as well.”
“No matter how bad the economic situation is, there’s always that hero, and he helps people and saves the world without really being employed by anyone to do so. That’s right at the forefront. A hero who’s separate from the economy.”
When asked how the management structure of Japanese gaming companies supports creative development, Keiji hints at cultural differences that he says hamper the Japanese markets. He feels that it all relays back to individual recognition and respect. Comparing the US and Japanese markets, Keiji highlights a few differences he believes affects their respective success. He views the US market as a much more nurturing environment that pays recognition to individuals, driving them to achieve even higher goals. In stark contrast, he says the Japanese market lacks any rewards or incentives for developers efforts. While this could be taken out of context, as we all are aware the Japanese are very proud people, Keijo notes that “It’s the classic style in Japan to respect the company as a whole and not the individuals that contribute to it.”
Keijo emphasises how the pay structure within much of the Japanese industry can be a massive dampener on the creative side of things. With very low paid staff, even in important positions, there is simply no incentive to try and go that extra little step. While efficiency and robot like staff are good for some industries it’s not going to work in one that requires independent thought.
Hoping to go in a different direction to the industry norm when working with publishers, Inafune believes that” creating an original idea and making an original game based off of that should allow you to retain the rights to that concept.” While some publishers will disagree with his philosophy, Keijo is adamant that this is the direction Japanese gaming needs to be heading in. In relation to his own company, Intercept, Inafune is chief creator, a fact that should bide well with publishers. In terms of which platforms he will be concentrating on, Keijo says he will be keeping his options open but that social media is definitely at the forefront, as he sees the importance of connecting people.
Keijo finishes his interview giving his views on large scale original IP, and the importance of taking risks for both creators and publishers alike. “The problem with Japan’s game industry is they try to recover the costs of producing a game strictly via game sales, strictly within Japan. They literally can’t avoid these risks, so they rely on cost-cutting to make up the difference.” On the other hand, venturing into unknown territory carries risks of its own, as creators gain the added pressure of marketing to an unknown customer with relatively unknown buying habits.
“No matter how advanced a supercomputer you have in the future, it still can’t be creative or imaginative.” – Keiji Inafune.
Many of you are probably waking up, expecting the usual “game release” day antics with both Battlefield and Kirby launching today, but Rockstar have made sure that October 25th will be a day to remember for other reasons. Rockstar Games recently updated their website with the image you see above, which officially confirms that Grand Theft Auto V is now on the way.
Of course nothing is known about this expected but welcome sequel, but Rockstar have also posted that the first trailer will be out next month, on November 2nd. Yeah, pretty exciting news to wake up to. Without a doubt this will be a huge future release and now that Rockstar have begun the buzz, we can now begin to speculate about the many new features this sequel will have.
We have Spike hosting this week again with Luke and Josh discussing new piracy agreements, a possible PS4, online passes and what classic game franchise they’d like to see get the modern treatment.
Cast: Michael Marr, Luke Halliday and Joshua Spudic
Would you like to play games before they are released and tell developers what you think of them?
Would you like to become a paid beta tester?
TeePee Games, whose services include smartphone, social and Flash games, is accepting applications from enthusiastic individuals who would like to try their hands on beta testing until midnight on Friday 28th, October.
Successful applicants, called Tomahawk games testers, will take on activities such as reporting on bugs and glitches, and giving feedback to help developers improve games. They will also be able to earn some money for testing certain titles as well as seeing how the game industry works.
No qualifications or experience is necessary as accepted applicants will be given training and briefing by TeePee Games.
Ubisoft have released a new trailer for The Black Eyed Peas Experience – the new dancing game set to hit the block. From the trailer it’s clear that they’re really going to push this game as an ‘Experience’, not only are you going to be dancing along with the Black Eyed Peas, doing their choreography, but you’ll know what it’s like to be a Black Eyed Pea, travelling the world and being cheered at by millions of tiny audience members.
Of course, some of the stages on which you will join the Black Eyed Peas will not be the usual for the group, but that’s all part of the fun gaming experience. Not only will the soundtrack be made up of their fun, catchy beats but you get to rub shoulders with simulations of Fergie, will.i.am and those other two guys (I kid, Taboo and apl.de.ap, you guys are awesome too).
Check out the trailer below, are the sweet moves and crazy dance floors dazzling you? Or are you waiting for the alternative rock version where you get to fling your hair around, drink beer and make moody insightful comments about commercialism?
The Black Eyed Peas Experience is coming out on Xbox 360 Kinect and Wii on November 10, 2011.
Think Halloween only has treats and candy to offer? Well you’re wrong! Gameloft have announced a Halloween sale with six iOS and three Android games going on sale for the low price of 99 cents. The games are:
– Order and Chaos Online for iOS and Android
– Driver for iPhone
– UNO for Android
– Gameloft Action Pack (including Hero of Sparta, Brothers in Arms, and Blades of Fury) for iPhone
– Iron Man 2 for iPhone and iPad
– BackStab for Android
– Skater Nation for iPhone
– Shrek Forever After for iPhone and iPad
Gameloft also have a Trick or Treat contest running where the prize is an iPad 2 or a Samsung Galaxy Tab! Check out the video below for more information, as well as some lulz.
To enter go to the contest Facebook page and solve the puzzle in less than 60 seconds (with as many entries as possible!). So what are you waiting for? Go win yourselves some prizes and score some cheap ass apps!
Developer: Popcap Publisher: Popcap Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade (Reviewed) Playstation Network, DS, PC ReleaseDate: 19 October 2011 (XBLA) Price: 1200ms points – Here
Overview
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years, you’re probably familiar with at least the concept of Bejeweled. You match same-coloured gems in lines of three or more to score points until you’re out of turns. This simple formula has turned the Bejeweled franchise into the best-selling puzzle video game to date. Have Popcap outdone themselves once again, or should this gem have been left buried in the sand?
Gameplay
Bejeweled 3 comes packed with eight modes, each of which is unique and caters to a different kind of player: Classic, Lightning, Zen, Quest, Diamond Mine, Ice Storm, Poker, and Butterfly.
Classic is good old Bejeweled. You progress from level to level, matching gems for points until your moves run out. Matching three same-coloured gems is a basic clear, matching four creates an explosive flame gem, and matching five creates a power cube which clears the board of every gem of a certain colour. If you match six gems in an L-shape, you create a star gem, which when used clears every gem in the row and column it’s in. As you progress through levels, you’ll find yourself losing track of time entirely. Who knew gem-matching could be such a fascinating pass time?
Lightning takes the Classic gameplay and adds a timer. You have limited time to get as high a score as possible, with the occasional time gem dropping in to buy you precious seconds.
Diamond Mine is similar in concept, except there’s a giant line of dirt at the bottom of the gem board. Under this dirt are gold, treasure, and time boosts that you can uncover by matching the gems that are adjacent to the ground. This strange match and mine and be pressured by time (and my, does it rhyme), combination creates a challenge mode that requires equal attention be paid to what kinds of matches you’re making and your
matches as quickly as possible.
Zen is Bejeweled in its most relaxed form. There are no time limits or turn limits, just you, the board, and endless matching possibilities. You can even adjust various meditation-esque settings such as ambient noises and breathing pattern training to give that relaxing, sleepy feeling you’ve always wanted from video games.
Seriously. I nodded off.
Quest Mode is there for those who like objective-driven gameplay. Rather than just shooting for high scores, you’re given direct goals in lots of creative challenges that involve the various other modes of Bejeweled, or modes where you have to match certain coloured gems, and so on. As you progressively complete the challenges, you’ll go through the campaign until you’ve revealed a collection of relics. Unfortunately, once you’ve completed a challenge, there’s not much reason to go back and play it through again, meaning the most objective-based mission is also the least replayable.
Ice Storm is the most insane of the new modes, as ice climbs up the board, the only way to stop the board freezing over is to match gems. As time progresses, the ice begins to appear in more columns and move faster, so that you’ll begin matching gems frantically all across the board, lest the next Ice Age freeze your precious gems.
Poker Mode is the mode for those who like their Bejeweled calm and thoughtful. There’s no time limit, but you only have five turns to make matches. Each time you match, the colour of the gems is transferred to one of five cards at the side of the screen. Once the turns are up, the five cards are put into poker-like hands based on the colours you’ve matched, like Pairs, Full Houses, etcetera. To mix it up as you go on, the mode throws in a Skull Coin. The Skull Coin is assigned to certain hands, like the full house, and if you’re unfortunate enough to get one, the coin is flipped and there’s a fifty-fifty chance your game ends right then and there. This ensures the mode really encourages players to look before they leap if they want to accrue a higher score.
Finally, there’s Butterflies mode. As you match, different coloured butterflies move up the board. If they reach the top, there’s a hungry spider waiting to gobble them up. It’s up to you to match the butterflies with same-coloured gems, and save them from winding up in the bowels of an angry arachnid. This mode can be extremely frustrating if you’re being dealt a bad batch of gems, or super satisfying if you’ve got a matching streak going. And it is frustrating to see the innocent, little butterflies bite the dust.
Of course, all your scores from all the modes can be shared on Xbox Live Leaderboards, though there are so many people playing, it’s hard to see a casual Bejeweled player moving anywhere near the top 2000.
Visual
Bejeweled is Bejeweled. If you’re playing a gem matching game, you’re certainly not after Anti-Aliasing or Specular Lighting. Which is good, because it’s not there.
The graphics do the job, but on each of the levels in Classic mode is a gorgeously detailed background vignette showcasing “the world” of Bejeweled. If nothing else, the vistas provide a great background for the time you spend matching gems together.
Audio
The sound effects of Bejeweled are what you’d expect. Gems clink when you move them, go boom when they explode, and lightning effects shake your speakers when you set off a power cube.
The medieval-sounding themes are surprisingly catchy, and I may have found myself humming them in the hours after playing. Then I realized how embarrassing that was. I’m a hardcore gamer dammit!
Conclusion
Bejeweled 3 is everything you could want from a puzzle game. It’s got an insane amount of modes, solid gameplay, and Popcap has a way of turning the hardest of the hardcore into people who just want to match strangely-coloured jewellery all day long.
The game isn’t free of flaws, as you’re often at the mercy of the randomly generated gems that appear on the board, you can have particularly amazing games or horribly embarrassing ones where you choke out before really having gotten into it. And the game is definitely more suited to
mobile platforms, like the DS or a laptop, so if you’ve got the option, go for one of those.
But it’s fun, it’s addictive, and it’s slowly turned me into a casual gamer (*effects may be temporary).
EA Sports have been very quiet since announcing the revival of FIFA Street but we finally have some pictures and details for you. So here’s a summary of what FIFA Street 4 will look like:
Complete Authenticity- Players, environments, gear and music- all completely authentic and true to the culture. Official licences for a massive list of stars and clubs, as well as authentic kits, training gear and street gear, not to mention some real street stars from around the world.
Street Ball Control- Greater precision then ever before, integrating creativty, flair and a whole array of new skill moves.
Incorporating the revolutionary Precision Dribbling from FIFA 12, street and stand dribbling will allow your players unprecedented control and maneuverability.
Over 50 new skill moves on top of the vast array that was included in previous versions.
World Tour: The mode we will all be keeping an eye on. Create yourself in the game, build up your team of stars and progress through all the stages from local to national. Compete in 16 tournaments and complete 20 challenges to ultimately take your team to the world stage and make them the best.
A variety of unique environments from the streets of Rio de Janeiro to New York Stadiums (pictured below)
Complete customisation over match types to replicate the unique ways the game is adapted around the globe. Go for the tricks and panna’s of Amsterdam, to the futsal-style, no wall style of Spain or get stuck into a rough and tumble 5 on 5 match in the UK.
FIFA Engine: FIFA Street utilises the best features from the FIFA gameplay engine, including the Player Impact, precision dribbling, Personality+, EA Sports Football Club and the rest.
FIFA Street 4 is set for release in March 2012 for Xbox 360 and PS3, let us know your thoughts so far in the comments below!
