Earlier today Bethesda announced the voice cast for a number of their main characters as well as voice actors who have yet to be announced a specific role. The big name here however is Max Von Sydow who is an Academy Award nominee. We’ve heard Von Sydow’s voice before as he has voiced the first two trailers for Skyrim, but he will be playing the role of Esbern, a Blades agent and chronicler who has been hiding over the years.
Also joining the cast is Tony Award winner and three-time Academy Award nominee, Joan Allen who will be playing the role of Delphine, one of the last remaining members of the Blades order who is seeking to unravel the mystery of why the dragons have come back. Perhaps Lynda Carter, famous for playing Wonder Woman, may have some hints as her voice role Gormlaith Golden-Hilt is one of the heroes who overthrew the dragons when they first appeared in the land.
Also confirmed to be playing a role is Cristopher Plummer as Greybeard elder Arngeir,Michael Hogan, Vladimir Kulich, Claudia Christian, Diane Louise Salinger, Renee Victor and George Coe who all have yet to receive specific roles. It is safe to say that Bethesda is pulling out all the stops to make Skyrim the best experience possible, especially with all these actors adding their talent to the title. What do you think of these names?
Remember those rumors that began circulating all those months ago about a potential movie being made for Dead Island? Well it seems that there will indeed be a movie created for the game and Lionsgate will be the movie studio to do it. In a press release earlier today it was revealed that the movie is currently in the early development stage. It will be produced by Sean Daniel who has done other films such as The Mummy and Tombstone.
The movie is going to take the first trailer for the game, the one involving a family being assaulted by zombies and a little girl flying through a window as the “primary creative inspiration” but they also have added that the movie will adopt the “focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling” that the game contains. Sounds extremely interesting no?
The company behind the creation of Flower, thatgamecompany announced earlier today that they are intending to release their next big and beautiful game Journey early Spring of 2012. Journey had a tentative release date of Fall 2011 but it seems that path wasn’t the one taken as this minor pushback was announced earlier today on the PlayStation Blog.
TGC’s own Jenova Chen said that the online beta test went extremely well and they are taking the extra time to take the community feedback and improve Journey from where it already was during the beta. As I mentioned earlier, it is always good to see game’s given a chance to be polished and not rushed out the door by their developers. When the game is officially released, it will be exclusive to the PlayStation Network as a downloadable title.
If you were hoping to be playing the downloadable only fighter Skullgirls before the end of this year then you will be out of luck. Reverge Labs has announced earlier today on the game’s official website that the title has been pushed back to a launch in early 2012. The reason for this delay according to the developer is to polish a number of the game’s features from the feedback they receive when showing the game off at expos over the past year.
Peter Bartholow, the Designer/Producer/Community Manager at Reverge Labs said that “Some companies call this ‘feature creep,’ but we call it the extra polish that takes a game from ‘good’ to ‘great.'” It is always good to see a game get that extra player of polish and take feedback to heart. Some updates listed are new effects, 3D backgrounds, more music from Michiru Yamane and of course “innumerable balance and gameplay tweaks.”
Kiloo Games are proud to announce Bullet Time the next massive action-adventure for iOS. Through a vivid post-apocalyptic world you’ll experience the engaging story of John Irish as he strives to reclaim his family from the grasp of a savage breed of mutated beasts. The game takes place in a depraved, distant future. Society has crumbled and only a few human survivors are living scattered throughout the wilderness.
Play through the multiple campaigns delving deeper into the story of Bullet Time or join the action online, as players take part in three-player co-op multiplayer against the vicious mutated hordes! Bullet Time boasts a large, living 3d-world with quests, secrets and treasure to discover. Every player character can be customized uniquely and every weapon can be upgraded extensively.
Get ready for November as the countdown to Bullet Time begins now! Just to let you all know – Kiloo Games is a 11 year old games development company with 50+ released titles and 30+ million achieved installs, not a bad achievement right there.
Check out some of the screens and video trailer below.
Phil, Jared and Kyle are back from Japan with some stories to tell about their misadventures at TGS. We talk about Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, and get into some of the craziest things we’ve seen while gaming.
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Philip Federico, Dustin Spencer, Jared Hilliers & Kyle Moore
Oh, Japan! is a weekly feature in which we chronicle the wierd, wacky and just plain crazy goings on in Japan. Because we all know, Japan is prone to doing things that make us Westerners say “Oh, Japan!”.
We have had video games, prank shows, music videos, game shows and now I present to you some weird pictures of places and products from our Japan adventure from last week for Tokyo Game Show. We also stumbled upon a Cat Cafe MEEEOOOWWW in Shinjuku – (video below courtesy of our editor Jared) after our Cat Cafe experience we then walked into a variety store called (ドンキホテ) Donkihote and discovered a number of crazy wacky stuff openly accepted in Japan. (Gotta love the Black Man Underwear)
Check out the clip below and don’t forget; Don’t suppress the cats while they sleep. What more can I say besides, Oh, Japan!
Check out the pics below, our personal favoite is the “Finger Basher” and the Poo Hats modelled by our bearded warrior Kyle Moore. We also stumbled upon just like the OS system a run down abandoned Linux Cafe in Akihabara. Let us know what your favourite crazy products are.
Arkedo Series – 02 SWAP! Developer: Arkedo Studio Publisher: Sanuk Games Platform: Playstation 3 (PSN, reviewed), Xbox 360 (XBLA) Availability: Out Now Price: $2.49/€1.99/£1.59
Arkedo Studio has returned to the Playstation Network with the second installment of the highly successful Arkedo Series. Entitled SWAP!, this puzzle game follows a binge drinking (milk, that is) cat on his quest to return to the grand castle through a series of colour matching puzzles, a far cry from their previous title, JUMP!. This twin stick puzzle game is challenging but exciting. The speed of the game changes and offers a few modes of play. The visuals are colourful and bright, while the music, although not memorable, fits the game well. However, the game does suffer due to its over reliance to the simplicity of its game mechanic and the staples that puzzle games bring.
Gameplay
The gameplay can be described in one sentence: four match puzzle game. The core mechanic revolves around that style of gameplay. It is a classic formula that has never tried throughout the ages (Connect Four anyone?). It is also twin stick, the face buttons have no input in this game. The left stick is used to move the cursor around the blocks while the right stick swaps the blocks in any of the four directions. The controls work well and are quite comfortable. With the added fact that the blocks can move as far as they can without any repercussion, the quest for those points can seem like a breeze, if you know what you are doing. Power-ups are present in the game, including temporary halt of the blocks, as well as coins and treasure chests to boost the score. Combos, a staple of puzzle games, are also present.
The modes on offer are more numerous than that of JUMP!, but by only one. There is Castle Mode, which acts as the story mode of the game. King Kat, the protagonist, has had a night of binge milking and doesn’t remember the activities of the previous night. The story covers the journey home to his Castle, played out in five levels. These levels can be a challenge when the speed of the game increases to the higher levels. Then there is Arcade Mode, a never ending line of blocks with the simple objective of collecting points before a game over. Then there are the Challengers. Each challenge has a set objective, like doing a combo or achieving a certain score. The challenges are unlocked after the completion of Castle Mode, to keep the players coming back for seconds.
The mechanic is reliant on simplicity. Being a downloadable title, this is understandable. Many downloadable titles have hit it big time by sticking to the basics. I will mention Limbo as a prime example. It is basically a 2D platformer at its core but its art direction, storytelling and complementing mechanics made it a very compelling game. However, with the four match puzzle genre, there has to be a certain degree of originality or creativity so that the player wouldn’t turn it off and walk away. I don’t see it with SWAP!. Yes, playing the game was fun, but only when speed was a factor. With JUMP!, at least there was some sort of variation. Despite that, the gameplay mechanic should appeal to puzzle fans.
Visuals and Music
The visuals heavily differ from those of JUMP!. While JUMP! was based on the 8-bit era, the SWAP! art style tends to focus on the cute factor. To be honest, this was done very well. King Kat has this simplistic design but still looks cute. His expressions during the game reminds me of the facial expressions in anime, which I did enjoy. I even glanced at them during gameplay. The blocks are colourful and easy to look at, which is good considering that is all you will e looking at. The menus are well designed and fit the overall art style.
The music is quite generic and unmemorable. However, it does fit well with the game and some of the tunes are easy on the ears. Each of the stage music complements the gameplay, despite its generic tone. So does the main menu theme. Its cutesy aswell, so it blends in with the overall art style. Just don’t expect any sort of great music piece. JUMP! suffered the same problem. It was great but too generic.
Overall
SWAP! is a great game. The gameplay can be enjoyable and fun and the visuals are colourful and cutesy, fitting the overall tone of the game. The music is not bad but not memorable either. The problem is that the mechanic is basic and it can get boring if there is nothing happening. Its over-reliance on the simple mechanic restricts the game to cross new boundaries that other downloadable titles manage to do. Its lack of original spin on the genre will make it fade into the shadows of already established puzzle games. Despite that, it is a well-built game with the tendency to have fun at times found. The higher speeds of the game will provide a challenge, testing your nerves and skill.
Four years after the initial installment of the Darkness, Top Cow Productions and publisher 2K Games are gearing up for the release of its sequel, the Darkness 2. Jackie Estacado is back and so is the Darkness he’s been trying to bottle up. The sequel boasts the same incredible story written by comic book author, Paul Jenkins, who was responsible for the writing behind the first Darkness. Another addition is quad-wielding with being able to control the two demon arms at the same time as firing two weapons. These features, plus a lot more, are guaranteed to bring a pretty awesome sequel to our gaming screens on February 10 2012.
For more information including a kickass trailer, developer Q&A, podcasts, downloads, and media. Head on over to EmbracetheDarkness.com. And with a name so warm and cuddly you just know this game is going to be as happy go lucky as the first one.
Needless Part 2 Tag Line: IN AD 200X, World War 3 began… Produced by: Sentai Filmworks (US), Siren Visual (AU) Run time: 280 minutes, over 12 episodes. Language: English, Japanese Genre: Action, Seinen, Science-Fiction, Comedy Available for purchase at Siren Visual Online Store ($49.95)
Overview:
So here we are with the second and final part of Needless, a series which set out to break down the walls of convential anime with it’s first half and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down with it’s second. Or does it?
Story:
We left off at an unusually slow spot in Needless with the battle in the giant bedroom in the previous collection. While that was somewhat of a drag and went probably 2 episodes longer than needed, the plot is finally moving forward again this collection. While last collection’s first half was spent introducing the cast, world and general tone, it’s second half really let it down by falling into the trap of overly long unimportant fan service battles which really were the series lowest point. Being the lowest point, that means things only get better right? Wrong.
It doesn’t get better. It spends another hellish period of time in the very same location that the first collection ended, simply squandering time and showing off some fan-service. What else can I say besides that this is a pacing nightmare. Half of the entire series is spent in the same god-damn room, with next to nothing happening in said room story-wise. It is without a doubt one of the most disappointing decisions I have seen in an anime series in a long time. It’s almost as if the creators had no idea how to adapt the manga into the alotted amount of episodes and just said “screw this!” and decided to spend about 10 episodes in the same room and then after realising they actually had to end this show, rushed out any plot they could in the last 4 or so episodes.
All of the plot at the end really should have been spread across far more episodes to have been effective. Besides that there is really no excuse what so ever for the horrible pacing of story-telling here. It is simply unexcusable.
And with that long exasperated sigh which was what shall forever be known as “The Room of Hell” Needless loses all it had going for it at the very beginning. It could not even reclaim it with its final episodes. All in all, Needless will be remembered as a perfect example of were story-telling can go wrong in anime.
Characters:
Somewhere along the way Needless just lost control, and not the good loss of control that was in the series beginnings, the bad one. The characters completely fall flat losing nearly all the heart they had at the series outlook and are now reduced to walking stereotypes instead of being parodies (good ones) like they once were.
There is little to no character development here, besides a few back stories here and there. But it is honestly just so utterly disappointing to see the characters I once enjoyed now reduced to monotonous one dimensional jokes.
I just can’t wrap my head around how things could turn so bad for this show. Especially when taking in to account how much promise it showed in the early goings. The very little character action going on here is so very small or poorly done that in the long run feels irrelevent or just plain disappointing.
Artwork:
Thankfully the art and animation is still in good shape even when the plot and characters have spun out into a complete chaotic mess. The art stays in its comfortable spot somewhere close by Gurren Lagann’s artstyle. While it doesn’t stray too far, there is some pretty dodgy animation sequences, however when their are sakuga (fluid animation) scenes, the series really does look brilliant, even if what is actually happening is far from it.
All in the all the artwork is perhaps the crowning achievement of Needless, however that isn’t too hard to achieve when you take into account how bad most of the other parts of this series sadly are. So make of that what you will.
Audio:
The soundtrack like the previous collection is still overall well done however, the opening and ending theme have changed and it really was not a change for the better. Perhaps the change in themes was a bad omen or something because their change marks the rapid decline in quality of this series. Both songs aren’t very good in their own right, making poor companions to the series background music and even tone of the show.
On the part of voice work, what can I say, the actors in the dub clearly know they are dealing with something that all in all just isn’t very good. But you have to give them points for effort, although it’s evident in their voices that they are growing tiresome of these roles, they still do their best in portraying them. Which is indeed quite admirable, when considering the laughable material they had to work with. The japanese audio is equally well voiced however there is no hint of tire as is noticeable with the English actors.
When it comes to the audio portion of the series, I left feeling more sorry for the actors than I did, happy for them for landing a role in this series. Which is a sad thing to say but it is true. Heres hoping they find other better works to let their talent shine.
Special Features:
Unlike nearly all Siren Visual releases there is actually special features here. There is clean OP/ED themes as well as 12 bonus short animations called The Secret of St. Lily’s Academy, which is a great improvement over the usual lack of features Siren put out. As for the slip case cove however, that is a disappointment. Siren opted for an incredibly similar slip cover to the previous collection that from a distance would not look any different until closer inspection. Besides that, Siren have done a relatively good job with extras here, especially when compared to their other releases.
Conclusion:
Needless Part 2 is 12 episodes of anime that I would unfortunately rather forget. I do not intend to come across as hitting this series too hard, as I truly did enjoy it at one point. But it slowly unfolded into something so utterly disappointing from all possible perspectives that I am given no choice but to do so.
Don’t get me wrong, this series had a lot of potential. The way it parodied common anime tropes all the while telling a relatively compelling story, had me rather engaged in the early going, however it all amounted to nothing in the end, becoming merely another added to the pile of best forgotten anime series.
