The Forza Motorsport 4 demo is available to download right now on Xbox Live if you’re a Xbox Live Gold member. Everyone else will be able to download it on October 7, shortly before the game’s launch. The 1.27 GB demo features five cars – 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, 2012 BMW M5, 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator and 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque as well as the all new Bernese Alps track.
The demo supports official leaderboards for lap times and showcases the all new Rivals Mode that lets players compete online against their friends in a range of game types. Players will be able to play Three Rivals Mode events in the demo: Round the Mountain, BMW Blitz and Alpine Rush.
Accompanying Forza 4’s demo launch is a new live action short film entitled “Endangered Species,” narrated by Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson. You should defiantly check out this trailer if you’re a fan of Top Gear or high speed chases or if you ever wanted to drive out of a traffic jam.
Forza Motorsport 4 is set to be released exclusively for Xbox 360 on October 11, 12 and 13 in North America, Australia and Europe respectively.
Snowblind Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have brought out a follow-up video to their recent ‘Power of Three’ trailer, a behind the scenes look behind the ‘Power of Three.
Power of Three comes from the fact that the game will have three-player co-op, because the developers feel it fits in nicely with the game mechanics and also the story behind another part of Middle Earth created for Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North releases on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on November 25th in the UK, and on November 2nd in Australia and New Zealand. Who will be teaming up with two buddies to form their fellowship come November?
About an hour ago, we questioned the validity of Bloody Roar 5. This hoax has now been confirmed by this “Official” Twitter stream and fans can now grab the tissues. HudsonSoftLtd is indeed a fake account and seem to be quite amused with themselves for hyping up an entire fanbase.
It wasn’t too hard to figure out if you did your research, but it’s just sad how the fanbase blew up in excitement and now just have this “troll” card to look at. Maybe next time guys.
So whether it was hackers, jokers, or just a bunch of bored fans, we now can confirm that sadly Bloody Roar 5 can now be laid to rest. This group is continuing their parade on Twitter as I type this, but I think they got enough attention for now. Sigh..
Over the weekend, Hudson Soft tweeted that Bloody Roar 5 was an actual thing and would be coming out in 2012. Of course fans cheered loudly, but now we must wonder if this bit of news was too good to be true. Rumors have now began circulating that HudsonSoftLtd’s Twitter may have been hacked or may just have been a fan page for the dying developer, meaning Bloody Roar 5 might have never existed to start with.
Now before you Bloody Roar fans react in disbelief or anger, lets look over the facts here and why this may be just an elaborate hoax rather than a blockbuster announcement.
Hudson Soft Website shows no new updates
I know Twitter is where announcements in the industry have been prone to happen, but after nearly 72 hours we still should have seen at least some kind of update on Hudson’s official website. No screenshots, no logo, not even a small hint has been delivered that this property is real. If you look on the Twitter stream, you will also see a specific fansite linked on four separate occasions.
@HudsonSoftLTD is not even linked on the Official Website
Go to any developer’s official page and you will usually see a direct link to an official Twitter page. We all know Hudson Entertainment (based in the US) used to operate under the name @hudsonENT, but HudsonSoftLTD did not appear in the Twitter Universe until March 11th of 2011, which very well could mean that this page could just be a dedicated newfeed with tweets made by a fan. Aside from a few retweets, not one actually pertains to anything substantial. Other than the recent Bloody Roar story, this feed has just short and gleeful replies.
On March 20th, HudsonSoftLTD delivered this tweet:
すぐ来るbomberman 3ds to be shown soon!
Interesting thing to note though is that at that time, Bomberman 3DS along with several other titles were dropped due to the Konami buy-out.
Hudson Soft was bought by Konami
Earlier this year, Hudson was absorbed by Konami. If Konami were to publish BR5, they would have been sure to save such news until an actual event such as this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Now we know that Bloody Roar 5 was talked about for years by the company, but this statement made in a blog post by Hudson Entertainment CEO Morgan Haro shows that this new “announcement” is definitely one to be taken with a grain of salt.
A special note goes to the fans demanding a return of the Bloody Roar series. It was something I personally pushed for in the company, despite the crowded fighting game market. With digital distribution channels like XBLA and PSN, I felt there was a chance, if done right, to re-invigorate the series. There were some game design documents sent around internally of some spin-offs of the series, but it didn’t seem like it was the right direction. There was a chance for something to happen late 2011, early 2012; but clearly, we won’t see what was to be. To the Bloody Roar fans out there, I read every single one of your messages, petitions, and calls for the series to be brought back. You guys are awesome, and perhaps some day, a developer and a publisher will pick it up, and do it justice. Until then, just know, you guys rock.
Now maybe I am completely wrong about this (which I hope I am) and Bloody Roar 5 is in the works. Maybe all of the above is just some doubt due to the shock of Bloody Roar 5 actually coming to be. After all, nearly every website (including Capsule Computers) felt as if this tweet stream seemed legit. Even with that though, I just can’t think that a brand that literally dissolved would announce such a stellar title just a few months later.
As of now, fans should hold their applause for the moment as until a screenshot or at least an official update is released, Bloody Roar 5 isn’t a reality quite yet.
For those who weren’t aware, to promote the release of their two games featuring farming – Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon and Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, both released on the same day of 30th September – Rising Star Games provided me with my own desktop cress farm to put my real-life farming skills to the test.
I started off a little slowly while I got to grips with the amount of water they needed. Also, for those not aware, the UK is having something of a heat wave, which in turn tended to dry out my cress at one point. I updated my twitter daily with specific comments with the photos @Enzo3000 , but you can see for yourself in the photos below too.
Alternative Software have announced the release date of Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge to be October 14th across Europe, with the game being on the formats of PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
With this date it is arriving a little later than expected, but hopefully the extra time will be put to good use polishing the final product, and those of us who waited on Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge instead of snapping up the disappointing official Rugby World Cup 2011 videogame will be rewarded for their patience.
With a lack of other decent rugby games, Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge could come as the the best rugby game since its namesake over ten years ago. Here’s hoping, and fortunately, it arrives before the end of the rugby world cup so those absorbed in the competition can carry rugby over into their gaming habits.
K-ON! Volume 2 Tag Line: The first performance! Produced by: Bandai Entertainment Run time: 100 minutes in 4 episodes Language: English, Japanese Genre: Slice-Of-Life, Comedy, Music Release Date: 14/09/2011 Available for purchase at Madman Online Store ($49.95)
Overview:
K-ON! is one of those perculiar series, in which there is just something about it that you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s got that curious itch, that must be scratched, without any thought. It’s a mystery as to what is that key factor in K-ON! that makes it so very compelling, is it the characters? Perhaps. Is it the story? Perhaps. What is it though that make’s us drawn to these girls and their club?
Story:
This volume of K-ON! has the girls continuing on from last volume which we reviewed, with the light music club on their way to their first performance. While this may seem like a trivial storyline, there is something underneath the story of these girls that makes it so enjoyable.
This volume in particular has excellent pacing that is both fun and relaxing. I get the feeling with K-ON! that it would be nice to watch on a rainy afternoon over a spot of tea. It’s just a pleasant, relaxing series that will leave you free of all forms of tension. It is the perfect chill out show.
That is perhaps what makes this series so successful. The fact that it is just so fun and is just a good old wholesome watch. I guarantee you will leave this series happy. It’s virtually impossible to finish this series without a smile upon your face.
I mentioned in the previous review of volume 1 that there is an over-arching theme behind this series, that being the theme of “belonging”. That theme carries over into this volume. The light music club girls each find a place to belong in eachother and their joint venture to both learn music and well, get good at playing music, keeps them united.
There are some highlight moments such as the entire Christmas episode. An episode which would with out a doubt classify as “A Very Special Episode”. It was simply the best episode thus far of K-ON! in my opinion and will be difficult to top.
All-in-all, the plot continued on at it’s chilled pace that we have come to expect from K-ON! and the more power to it. It is the perfect speed for this series and would only benefit from maintaining it.
Characters:
The cast of K-ON! continue to mesh well together this time around, even more so than in the previous volume. The light music club girls are an absolutely brilliant example of character chemistry that is organic.
I personally believe the most emotionally engaging part of these characters is their connection. Music connects them and holds them together. Without their club, they have nothing. That is why they make music despite lacking skills, that is why they are drawn to one another. They need to belong. It’s the heart and soul of each of these girls and that is what I feel is so relatable about their connection to one another. At some point each of us want to belong to something in our lives, these girls are in that point in their lives, that is how we relate to them.
Without it’s characters, K-ON! would indeed be a baron wasteland without any semblance of a heart. Thankfully it has it’s characters, the glue that holds this crazy thing called K-ON! together.
Artwork:
The art and animation is in great shape here, much like last time, with the music scenes incredibly well animated as the girls play their instruments the motion is near life-like in it’s fluidity. It is sakuga anime at it’s finest.
This volume does seem to have slightly more crisper visuals in comparison to the last volume but it’s only a tiny slight, not really something you would catch easily.
It is a good job from the animation department in general, I look forward to seeing the music scenes each time they appear as they are so well animated it’s just a joy to watch.
Audio:
Like the previous collection the audio is great. The songs are all fun and pleasant on the ear, not to mention catchy as hell. You will certainly find yourself humming the tunes subconsciously after watching this volume. I know I did, this time and last time.
On the other side of the coin, the voice work is another triumph in K-ON! I absolutely adore Stephanie Sheh as Yui Hirasawa, it’s like a perfect match. She just portrays these sorts of characters so well (see Orihime Inoue), that I can not picture anyone else voicing her. Even listening to the Japanese audio, it just did not feel like Yui to me. It needed to be Stephanie Sheh. But that’s not to say the Japanese voice actors aren’t good. They are great in their own right. But I just have a certain fondness for the way Stephanie Sheh gives life to a character.
It’s hard to find a series that has as good a soundtrack and voice work as K-ON! I’d go as far as to say that K-ON! is the benchmark in this field.
Special Features:
It astonishes me how much Madman manage to fit into such a small package. It is always surprising especially when compared to other anime collections out on the market that lack any sort of special features what so ever.
K-ON! is one of Madman’s small packages that pack a huge punch. We have the usual trailers on disc, alongside an interview with Christina Vee (the voice of Mio), a little featurette called Fuma Fuma Time and even music videos. This volume is utterly bursting at the seams with extras, depsite being only 4 episodes in length. It’s an amazing feat by Madman here.
Conclusion:
K-ON! is a series that is as enigmatic as it is compelling. It’s a series you will love to death, but will find difficult to pin-point why. It just has that x-factor that is so rare to come by in anime these days. To miss out on it would be to miss out on a true experience in animation. I wholeheartedly recommend the second volume of K-ON! If you have yet to purchase the first volume, do so and then purchase this one while your at it.
Anyone who is thinking to buy Uncharted 3 used and want online play better think again. The highly anticipated November release will require the PSN Pass for online multiplayer. It was confirmed when Sony España Software Manager Juan Jiménez mentioned it with Spanish website The Vault. For those who want to play online without the PSN Pass, make sure you have US$10 in your PSN account.
The PSN Pass was introduced with one of Sony’s other highly anticipated, Resistance 3. It was the reason why I wasn’t able to give a review on the multiplayer aspects of the game. However, if you still want an idea of how the single player aspect fares, then read the review. Uncharted 3 will hit selves in November 1 in North America, November 2 in Europe and Japan and November 3 in Australia.
Lord of Apocalypse, the second Playstation Vita game to be launched from Square Enix in Japan, has its own pricing scheme released. This comes as Army Corps of Hell received its pricing scheme. If you decide to trek to your local store, then expect to pay ¥5,980. Is a digital copy more to your liking? Then expect a price of ¥4,980, a whole ¥1,000 less than at retail.
Unlike Army Corps of Hell, Lord of Apocalypse will have a Playstation Portable version available for those who are not ready to go the next step. However, expect to pay the same price as your Vita brethren with price tags of ¥5,980 and ¥4,980 for retail and digital download respectively.
What I would like to note is that Lord of Apocalypse seems to be more expensive than Army Corps of Hell. Both are launch titles. So, why the more expensive price tag? However, if you are a Japanese Square Enix Member and redeem those points for purchasing the game, then they will receive an original magic card for Lord of Vermillion Re:2, an arcade title.
Namco Bandai have today released a new trailer for the upcoming Crayon Shin-Chan 3DS adventure game titled Crayon Shin-chan Space DE Acho!? Obakarate Your Friendship! or Crayon Shin-Chan 3DS for short.
Crayon Shin-Chan 3DS follows Shin and friends as they try to protect their town from an alien invasion, in a crude, lude and definitely rude way that you’d come to expect from young Shinnosuke Nohara. The Crayon Shin-Chan anime has been around for nearly two decades now and has recently been reinvisioned in English by Funimation Entertainment.
You can check out the awesome trailer below. Let us know what you think in the shoutbox or comments section.
