Althi Inc, the creators of critically acclaimed iOS title Little Dreamer, have announced plans to release a new game for the iOS next month. The new title will be called Zombie Swing and is set to swing to iOS decvices on the 4th of November, 2011.
Althi will be taking on the Zombie genre with their unique Althi Inc. style that they have become known for. The game challenges players to swing a zombie around, in what Althi have called “stress release” gaming.
You can check out the official facebook page for Zombie Swing here and like them. What do you think of Zombie Swing? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
Last time I played golf, the only obstacles I encountered were trees, a persistent torrential downpour and my own lack of co-ordination. Â
The new gameplay trailer for Worms: Crazy Golf shows off the kind of obstacles you might expect from playing golf as a worm across a pirate-themed course – namely, cannons, bats, treasure chests, and explosive barrels.
It also demonstrates the functions of some of the mechanics we’ve been told about in our interviews with Team 17 design staff. Players can call upon anti-gravity powers to bounce their ball across wider gaps, hit switches to toggle troublesome magnets on or off, and collect coins. Oh yeah, and try to get the ball into the hole.
You know what? Just watch the video. Worms: Crazy Golf is due out this Wednesday, October 19. Â
Ready for some shocking, jaw-dropping news? Well, you won’t find any here. As expected, EA will be sticking their lovely online pass into new copies of Battlefield 3. This of course means that if you buy the game pre-owned to save a few bucks, you will then have to dish out extra funds for the online pass seperately.
DICE’s Alan Kertz confirmed this with this statement:
“You can also purchase an online pass for a used copy.”, which was quickly followed up with “Because servers cost money, and used games don’t make developers any money” to give a bit of reasoning to the decision.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Battlefield: Bad Company 2 did quite well for EA, and Battlefield 3 will no doubt benefit from those huge numbers if we judge by the high number of pre-orders the game has already taken. If you were to factor in all of the gamers that bought the game at a discounted price with pre-owned sales, you would think that those users will end up buying Battlefield 3 new anyway. I know nearly everyone is adding online passes these days, but you would think that some developers would eventually understand that a high number of used sales can equal a high number of pre-orders for your next follow-up.
Maybe I am just blabbering on about the unchangeable and I am still in “the entire experience should be on the disc” mindset, but if more companies would reward gamers for purchasing new with extra content rather than taking away half the experience in this punishing process, their future sales for sequels would be even greater.
Well looks like a couple of video game retailers in Australia have broken the street date for the highly anticipated Batman: Arkham City. October 19th was the official Australian release date for the game, but now it seems that this is no longer the case. EB Games announced that they were selling the game earlier via their twitter and facebook page, with other video game retailers following suit.
The retailers in question are JB Hi-FI,EB Games and GAME are all now selling the game two days earlier than planned. So I guess if you’re lucky enough to be in Australia and can’t wait a few days to play Batman: Arkham City you can now go ahead and buy it right now for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
Eager to see how Prototype 2’s new hero is going to kick some butt in Prototype 2? Well Activision has released a new theatrical trailer for the title this weekend and in it we see him doing just that. While we may not actually be seeing any gameplay, we are introduced to the Red Zone of New York.
You can catch the video below and check out some of the new creatures and see just how determined our new main character is in his hunt for Alex Mercer. Radical Entertainment’s title is released next year in April across both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.
Developer: Sports Interactive Publisher: SEGA Platform: PC, Mac (both must be accessed via Steam) Release Date: 21st October 2011
There’s a reason why previous versions of Football Manager have been so successful. After having had my life taken over by FIFA 12 the last few weeks, I came into Football Manager 12 thinking there was no way it could pull me away for long enough; why would I want to just manage and watch simulations when I could be playing the actual matches? I wish I knew the answer to that, it would really help explain why I’ve become addicted to this game.
Display wise, the new “adaptive layout” is very useful if you have a big screen, expanding the number of panels you can see at one time. If you’re new to Football Manager, the interface may be a bit confusing at first, but there are plenty of tips and help available in the game to show you around. At times it still feels a bit messy but after a while you get used to it easily enough. The only real change that has been made in regards to the setup is the ability to add/detract leagues which definitely comes in handy, (meaning you can actually control more than one team in different leagues in one save file) there are however countless additions scattered throughout the game, each improving the experience to different extents.
Where Football Manager 12 really earns its points is the sheer level of detail and complexity included in the game. The series has been renowned for its use in real life by some clubs such as Everton as a player database, and it’s not really difficult to see why. From scouting reports to player attitudes, you really get swept up in trying to build and sustain a formidable team. There is very little to find fault about in the off-the-pitch parts of the game, the amount of control and and options you have in all aspects of managing is really amazing.
It’s the little additions such as loyalty bonuses, youth contracts, and player talks which boost the off-field activities and make them more engaging and much more controlled. Contract negotiations now have even more detail which you can integrate in order to get your players, allowing you to set a maximum wage offer to the agent at which you can adjust other areas of the contract such as bonuses to make it more appealing for the player. I felt that pricing for players seems a bit off, with young stars such as Mario Götze available at a more than reasonable cost, not to mention Dortmund giving him up a bit too easily.
Scouting has also been improved quite a lot, in terms of both player scouting and team reports before a match. You can get reports on almost everything about a team bar what they ate for dinner last night. Average ages, heights, wages and caps can be viewed and squad comparisons between your team and an opposition can be done assessing players in each position and giving you a rundown of which areas you have the advantage or lack thereof one in.
Where I think Football Manager falls down a bit is the actual matches themselves. One addition I do quite like is the ability to choose the tone of the team/individual player talks. Certain tones seem to have more effect then others, although unless you consistently are yelling at your team it doesn’t seem to do too much to their morale.
The 3D graphics for matches, although slightly improved mainly thanks to the director’s cut view, are still average at best and not particularly enjoyable to watch. I prefer the 2D view, although very simplistic it still makes watching them a bit more bearable. I think it comes down to personal preference really, but I just don’t find it fun to watch poorly controlled AI players. This year SEGA boasted improved AI for goalkeepers, and whilst they have improved a bit the overall AI is still pretty frustrating. Sure you can add tactics and change your players around in an attempt to change the outcome of the match but it’s just not particularly enjoyable to watch.
In terms of sound, well, there really isn’t much to say. As with last year there is very limited sound, so you’ll basically be sitting in silence or listening to the radio/iTunes in the background. Whilst the lack of a soundtrack doesn’t bother me too much, some match commentary would be great. I’m sure it would get very repetitive very quickly but it would still be a really nice addition and make the simulated matches much more enjoyable.
Finally just a small note to add about the increased effort to utilise social media has the potential to make FM12 become a much more competitive community game. Facebook and YouTube tools have been added and improved to allow clip posting and updates to be done with much more ease and effectiveness. It’s nothing that’s going to change the gameplay really but it definitely is a nice addition to encourage a more social way of playing the game.
Conclusion:
Football Manager 12 is one of those games that you get what you give. If you have the patience to go through all the off-field managing, scouting new players and negotiating contract, not to mention sitting through the simulated matches, then you will absolutely love this game. It’s lasting appeal is limited only by the release of the next release in the series, and it’s detail and depth is second to none in the realm of football manager games. As I mentioned earlier, the main flaws I found with this game are more of a personal preference thing, but I still think there is a fair way to go for match presentation to make this game perfect.
If you’re a fan of the series, you won’t be disappointed with this game at all. If you’ve never played any previous versions but you’re a big fan of football, then it’s definitely worth giving it a go. It’s not a game that will appeal to all, but it’s a very solid, well constructed game which is very easy to get addicted to.
After recently announcing PokePark 2: Beyond the World for the Wii, Pokemon Company International have now gave us a new trailer for the unexpected sequel. If you are unaware, this follow-up will feature the same adventure style gameplay that lets players now take control of Pikachu, Oshawott, Tepig, or Snivy while playing mini-games with many Pokemon that inhabit the game’s two worlds.
This clip shows us some of the unique abilities that these mascots will possess, as well as mini-games such as a rhythm action style dance-off and several other activities that fans should enjoy. There still isn’t a date or even an official word on localization at the moment (but we know that is coming) for PokePark 2, but for now you can watch the new trailer down below.
Remember way back when Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was announced it was mentioned that the game would have some sort of Kinect functionality? Well it was detailed this weekend at New York Comic Con and 343 Industries revealed whether or not we will be able to flail around in front of our televisions in an attempt to shoot an Elite.
No need to worry about that, as the Kinect functionality was announced to be mostly voice commands. When players are in the Anniversary mode of the game, where everything is all fancy looking, they can say out loud “Analyze” and the game will then add enemies or other things to the game’s database. Also players can say certain actions and they will be performed, including throwing a grenade when the player says grenade. Sounds nice and harmless for non-Kinect users but a nice addition for those with a Kinect.
Recently, Level-5 announced during their big conference that they will be releasing a new anime titled Yokai Watch. The anime as you can imagine will be focused around yokai and a watch of some kind. Level-5 will also be releasing both a game and manga based on the series.
You can check out the spirited Yokai Watch trailer below, which features the scenes of the anime as well as a short clip of the game.
What do you think of the new Level-5 project, Yokai Watch? Will you be watching Yokai Watch? Let us know in the shoutbox or comments section.
There has been much hate for Capcom’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3 final boss Galactus but it seems that this big powerful bad guy will be available to be played somehow in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Capcom’s strategy manager Seth Killian revealed over the weekend during New York Comic Con that Galactus will be a playable character in this new skinned release.
Galactus will have his own game play mode though they were not able to go into more detail at the time. How do you think he could be added in to the game? Perhaps he could have his own little mini-game where you destroy planets, or a survival mode where you beat down all the other characters?
Althi Inc, the creators of critically acclaimed iOS title Little Dreamer, have announced plans to release a new game for the iOS next month. The new title will be called Zombie Swing and is set to swing to iOS decvices on the 4th of November, 2011.
