We all know that the Playstation Vita will be backward compatible with Playstation Portable games that have been purchased through the Playstation Store. Sony has also told the public at their TGS conference that they will look for a solution to have PSP retail games to be backward compatible. If you decide to upgrade to the Vita in the next few months and still want to play adhoc multiplayer with your PSP friends, then you will have the ability to do that.
Let’s use an example in order to understand it more. One of my favourite games on the PSP is Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy. So, if I have a digital copy of Dissidia Duodecim snuggled comfortably on a memory card for my Vita but people I play with are still on their PSP, then I can still match up with the PSP owners. This is quite excellent from Sony as there are still those reluctant to make the switch. It may also apply to adhoc Party, where PSP players can match up via the Playstation 3. A word of warning, however. It won’t apply to all PSP games, but a majority of them will use this feature.
Resistance 3 Developer: Insomniac Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Console: Playstation 3 Release Date: Out Now Price: AU$109.05/ US$36.85 (Available Here)
If you haven’t heard of the Resistance franchise, then how big is that rock you’re living under? Jokes aside, Resistance returns with the third entry in the Playstation 3 trilogy. Resistance 3 has been out for quite some time, however, it is time for the review. I have had the game for a week since this game needs a great amount of time to dissect. To put it simply, this is a well built, beautifully designed video game. The gameplay stays fresh to stand out in a cesspool of first person shooters, the story is interesting and intriguing, the visuals are top notch and the musical score is beautiful and enjoyable. It is a game which every Playstation 3 owner must have in their growing collection of games.
Story and Characters
After a recap of the ending of Resistance 2 and the aftermath, the game begins with Joseph Capelli, a former Sentinel and protagonist, helps with the organisation of the hideout and is quite well-known. When a passing Chimeran convoy passes by and catches the humans, he is forced into battle before ordering an evacuation. The reason for their presence is that Capelli has discovered that Dr Fyodor Malikov, a top lead Russian scientist who made his presence in Resistance 2, has been hiding in Harem. Afterwards, the two discover a reason to evacuate the town. A Terraformer, a satellite weapon, heads to the town and will destroy it. Using a tunnel underneath the church, Susan and Jack escape the town, with Joseph heading east to New York with Malikov. A wormhole has developed over the once great city and is freezing the Earth. Since Humans hate the cold and the Chimera can thrive in such conditions, it is up to Capelli to destroy the wormhole and hopefully end the conflict once and for all.
This is the Harem section of the story and is basically the setup for the rest of the game. I actually enjoyed the story. The action is intense and emotion is rife. You feel every heart-wrenching moment the game throws at you. When Capelli’s companions fall in the heat of battle (including a very important one), I actually felt his pain to an extent. The pacing isn’t erratic and the plot is easy to follow, so you won’t be confused at certain points. The tension is well paced as well. A great story has a varying degree of it and Resistance 3’s plot is no exception. The tension peaks at the right moments with the right amount, like fending yourself from a hoard of Hybrid Chimeran.
Now, I want to talk about Capelli as a character. I actually like his development as a character in this installment compared to his appearance in Resistance 2. Throughout the story, Capelli holds onto his son’s mitten, symbolising the loss and pain he goes through. This makes the character more human, thus more sympathetic towards him and his cause. He has changed from the rash and rude Sentinel from the second to a loving, caring family man hellbent to protect what he has established. Also, he was more prone to violence in Resistance 2. I mean, he would rush into battle, he held a heavy machine gun. He was fueled by his deep hatred of the Chimera. Of course, that hatred is still there, but there is a deeper motive on top of his hatred. What seems to be the switch is actually in the second game, which is when Capelli pulls the trigger on Hale. He is ridden by guilt of his actions. This, in turn, changes him into a self-less man, ridding of the selfishness of his past life.
The supporting cast of characters more or less fits into well established archetypes of literature. Dr. Malikov is the mentor of Capelli due to the amount of research he has done on the Chimeran. He played out a similar role in the previous installment, so it is no surprise there. To be honest, Dr. Malikov is only one of few characters you may invest into. I do say may because the story is focalised through Capelli. All in all, apart from a few standouts, like Herbet, who helps you escape a prison, most of the characters around you won’t be in the story for long. Even Susan, his wife, only makes an appearance in Harem. Overall, the story is excellent and Capelli is a strong protagonist but his supporting cast, with the exception of a few, could have been drawn out more.
Gameplay
When one strips the various gameplay mechanics that makes Resistance 3 so unique, what they will see is a basic first person shooter. It is no different than Call of Duty or Halo. The basic formula is running to point A, shoot some enemies, running to point B, and shoot some more enemies. It is a worn-out formula for sure. The controls of the game have shifted around since the second game to be more inline with the mainstream first person shooters. The left analogue stick moves Capelli around and holding it down will allow Capelli to sprint. You have quite the stamina as it is noticeably a longer sprint time than other first person shooter games. Shooting, as with the other games, is mapped to the R1 button and looking down the sight is mapped to the L1 button. However, there has been a change to grenade and crouching buttons. Those controls swapped so that players familiar to other first person games are more familiar and can quickly pick up and play. So, pressing O will crouch and the L2 button will throw grenades.
What makes the Resistance series stand out from the rest is the weapons. Just like the previous installments, Capelli can utilise both human and Chimeran weapons. Weapons like the Bullseye, Auger, Carbine and Marksman return in Resistance 3, alongside some new weapons. One such weapon is the Cryogun, an ice based weapon which freezes all enemies. I found it quite useful when I was in a tight spot. Then there is the Mutator, which shoots out a form of the Chimeran Virus and turns human enemies into combustable land mines. New to the series is the ability to upgrade the weapons. The upgrade system is basic and fixed. Every time you kill an enemy the weapon will gain experience and moves towards another level. Each weapon has three levels which add to the weapon. The Rossmore (shotgun), for example, will have incendiary ammunition, which will cause the target to light up. The weapons of the game do not disappoint. They all feel balanced and the secondary fire adds to a new strategy. The new weapons are also quite creative. I mean, a bio weapon with the Chimeran virus as ammunition? A freeze gun? The addition of the Weapon Wheel is also a positive. Allowing the player the freedom to choose what weapon adds to the idea of different strategies the player can employ.
An area of debate seems to be the lack of health regeneration in the game, since the other two included the mechanic. It does include it, but as something that can be unlocked after the completion of the game. To put it simply, health regeneration, without the “cheat”, is non-existent. Capelli has a health bar and, to heal, Capelli must find health packs. Now, the health packs are either laying around in the level or attached to an enemy which drops after their defeat. More often than not I was frantically searching for an health pack. Most of the time I just run over them without knowing they were there. But am i against it? Actually no, I’m not. I think Insomniac went in the right direction. In order to drive the sense of survival, health regeneration had to go. A fitting mechanic for the game.
The Playstation Move is enabled with Resistance 3 and it actually works well. The T-button (trigger at the back) acts as the primary fire and the Move button (the button with the Move logo on it) acts as secondary fire. It is a great alternative to using teh controller, but it might not be popular with the hardcore crowd since it seems they have decided to avoid the Move. The sensitivity can be adjusted to your liking. At first, however, it may be a little awkward. The design of the Move (the face buttons surrounding the Move button) made my fingers go all over the place and it was tricky pulling off a melee attack (I think its thrusting the Move forward) I would note that it still felt a little awkward with a Dualshock controller instead of the Navigational controller. I suggest you use that or the Sharpshooter peripheral rather than the Dualshock for a better experience. But don’t reject this method of control. It is responsive and fun. The gameplay of Resistance 3 is enough to justify a purchase at a local brick and mortar store. It is enthralling, exciting and varied enough that you can implement different strategies every time.
Visuals
If you are into a lot of dark coloured environments, then Resistance 3 is the perfect game for you. Don’t expect a wonderfully coloured world on you journey. Considering the overall tone of the plot, then it is acceptable, even fitting. The game features a lot of brown, grey, you name it. Whether it is rowing down the Mississippi River or running through a prison, you will see the darkness blanketed over Capelli. The layout of each level differs on the locations Capelli trudge through. Throughout the game, Capelli will go through locations like prisons, caves and even a gigantic coal mine. What makes this game an experience like no other is how frightening or horrifying going through these locations are. You have to be on your feet most of the time. The layout of the levels all fit the standard of an First Person Shooter. They are all finely detailed and well designed. The character models are all beautiful. Each and every one of them are detailed in all areas. They all tell a different story and reveal the character’s personality to a certain extent. Insominac did not waste time on the visuals of the game. I applaud their effort into the graphical capabilities.
Music
There is only two words that can describe the soundtrack. Although these two words are overused and cliched, this is a moment in which I can not refuse to write them down: simply amazing. The soundtrack to this excellent game must elevate the game’s brilliance. The Resistance soundtrack, composed by does this with such elegance and beauty. The pieces convey not only the dire situation the United States and all of humanity faces, but the inner conflicts of Joseph Capelli, torn from the separation from his family in order to save not only them but the rest of mankind. The sound effects and the voice acting are all top notch. The music is something the composer should be proud of, as well as Insomniac.
Overall
If you are reading this review and have a Playstation 3, then get up, go to your local game store or department store (or online) and buy this game. It has the most intriguing, interesting and enchanting plot of this generation of first person shooters, Joseph Capelli is a strong protagonist worth caring about, the gameplay is interesting and allows different strategies, the visuals are beautiful and detailed and the music will enrich the story, with orchestral peices fitting into the mood and atmosphere of the struggles of both Capelli and mankind. Even without the ability to play multiplayer, the single player experience is fun and interesting enough to play on your own for the years to come. Forget Call of Duty or Battlefield 3, join the Resistance.
Red Bull X-Fighters
Developer: Xendex
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Platform: XBLA (reviewed), PSN
Release Date: September 14, 2011
Price: 800 MSP – (HERE)
Overview
First thought that rings through my head as soon as I look at the box is that this is just another dirt bike game. As I start playing I realize how wrong I was in my assumption. Red Bull X-Fighters transitions from the normal racing dirt bike game to strictly stunts and wheelies. Only by winning over the crowd can the player achieve stardom. Let’s discuss how the game compares to its racing cohorts.
Gameplay
Shockingly, this is the first dirt bike game in which I did not have full control. While a player may propel forward by hitting the gas, the normal directional navigation is substituted with a wheelie control.
The left analog controls the length and height of a wheelie and directly affects the speed of the bike. Performing wheelies before jumps accelerates your speed which gains the player distance and height – both are greatly needed for maximum points. After a jump, adjusting the left control accurately can cause the bike to spin faster resulting in front flips or back flips. Just make sure to land on the wheels!
Requiring players to finish a tutorial is always a good start. By providing the basics like wheelies and stunts, the gameplay is set for the rest of the game. The only aspect that is progressively shown is the development of harder stunts. However, any stunt can be performed before it is actually known not limiting the player to a small selection.
Objectives vary with the mode that is selected. In each mode, you must attain a high enough score or fast enough time to acquire a trophy. Only by getting trophies can a player gain more fans. Gaining over 10,000 fans will unlock a nice achievement!
My absolute favorite mode to play is Show Off. Giving the most freedom, Show Off provides enough time to perform any trick you can muster. Usually these stages offer high jumps necessary for chaining stunts together to collect large bonuses. I was even able to perform a sextuple jump!
Next up is the exclusive Time Trial stage. Not requiring a single trick, Time Trial is all about speed. By performing wheelies you can gain enough speed to attempt for a gold trophy.
Performer requires a player to gain enough points and perform selected stunts. At the beginning of each Performer stage, the player will be briefed with the required stunts to finish the level. Throughout the level the stunts will be shown on the bottom left portion of the screen. Once the stunt has been performed successfully, the icon will disappear.
Pressure combines aspects from both Performer and Time Trial. While requiring certain stunts to be completed, this mode also must be finished within a time frame. With the most requirements, Pressure is probably one of the harder modes to play. My advice is to chain the two stunts early on and focus on gaining speed throughout the rest of the level. This way you can eliminate one of the requirements and manage your speed to hit jumps effectively.
Graphics/Audio
One graphical feature that is good to see in any game is in customization. In Red Bull X-Fighters, you are able to customize your look and type of bike that you ride. You may not have a wide selection, but having this option definitely gives the player more power.
Since the environments are closed, graphics could be devoted to the surrounding quite thoroughly. A lot of the tracks are repeated, but the environments are very detailed. One of my favorite obstacles is actually available towards the end of play. A level known as “the longest jump” provides a hard challenge that can only be achieved my gaining a high speed. This is my favorite because of the interesting roulette table that you need to pass through in order to complete the jump.
With audio in mind, I feel that more could have been done. Throughout the game you are listening to the same announcer over and over again. Restarting stages you hear the same voice, and it can be exhausting. My fiancée asked me, “Is it saying Wilma?” And yes, yes it did. Wilma just so happens to be a trick you have to perform, and I was repeating that stage several times.
Overall
I still feel there is something missing to this game whether it is the freedom of navigation or extras like mini-games to add some unique filler. Without a horizontal movement the game lacks freedom for the player to explore. Perhaps adding some sort of multi-player with games of chance could provide further enjoyment.
However, Xendex did deliver a solid backbone of gameplay for a linear freestyle bike game. The objectives are clear and attainable. Each stage has its own levels of difficulty, and hardcore players will try to get a gold trophy to complete the game entirely. With wonderfully crafted environments, players can visually enjoy crashing head first into the ground. But even with leaderboards to compare scores, the game seems to lack re-playability. While the game was fun to play through, once the game is completed there is not much more to offer.
A new Uncharted bundle has just been announced. This PS3 bundle comes with 320GB of hard drive space, a copy of Uncharted 3, one free month of PS+ and of course, the regular accessories like a controller and cables. The entire set will only cost $299. Will you be picking one up?
In addition to revealing this new Drakes’ Deception bundle, Sony has also reminded us that the release of Uncharted 3 is only 41 days away. With 2 great games already on the market, Naughty Dog will surely make Uncharted 3 the best game possible.
At this years Tokyo Game Show, company NIS America held a press conference revealing their upcoming titles for 2011 and 2012. The coming years see NIS expanding into new territory with the move to more portable gaming, and teaming up with Aquire for a new title unlike any other game they have developed before. Well known for their RPG’s, NIS America seem to be pushing boundaries in terms of their development practices, resulting in an exciting list of titles due out within the next year.
NIS America’s franchise, Disgaea will be making its move to mobile devices with Disgaea Netherworld Unbound coming to Android. Disgaea has the same basic premise as most strategy RPG games, but uses unique features to make the game play unpredictable. Although streamlined for the Android, the game play will be the same. The only difference will be that you start off with a single character and can acquire additional skills, weapons and characters through both achievements and downloads. Disgaea Netherworld Unbound will be available in the US later this year.
NIS America will not only be expanding their Disgaea franchise to Android-based phones, but also the Playstation Vita in Spring 2012 with Disgaea 3: Absence Of Detention. Those with either a PS3 or PSP might be familiar with the third Disgaea title, but rest assured that Disgaea 3 for PSVita will have features unique to this reincarnation. The new version will have a few new characters and skills, downloadable content once you finish the game and will also utilise the PSVita’s unique touch screen capabilities. Key features of the game will also include: Geo Blocks, which are cube shaped terrain altering blocks; Geo Panels with various effects and lastly Item World, which are randomly generated battle stages that exist inside every found item.
Keeping with what they are known best for, NIS America announced the release of another RPG, Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 for the Playstation 3. This will be the sequel to the popular title Hyperdimension Neptunia, which allowed you to take control of humanoid video game consoles. The story takes off right where the original title left off, where it is up to the younger sisters of the previous games heroines to stop the evil underground criminals of Gamindustri. Rather than being a turn based RPG, this title will be more free roaming, where players can move around a battle field and attack or perform various magic attacks. Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 also features streamlined combo attacks, to execute combination attacks faster, an item synthesis system to craft items and weapons, and last but not least a guild system to take on multiplayer missions. Expect Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 to arrive on US shores in spring 2012.
Last but certainly not least, NIS America have partnered with Japanese development team Acquire on the title Clan of Champions for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Clan of Champions is a hardcore multi-player action game, in high-resolution 3D. This signals a change for NIS America who usually develop games in 2D. Players are given the option to choose between three difference races, human, elf or orc -each with their own inherent benefits. Once your character type is complete, its time to venture off and complete a load of questions, each requiring a different amount of time, and with their own unique content. Clan of Champions will be highly customizable, in terms of character appearance and stats as well as the ability to use a huge range of weapons and equipment to create your ideal warrior. Furthermore, the game features weapon mastery, where players can use a single weapon type over and over in order to gain skills and moves specific to that weapon type. The game also will have multi-player functionality, allowing teams of three people to play the came co-operatively or fight it out in a three-on-three head-to-head mode. With loads of downloadable content for additional quests, items and weapons in the future, Clan of Champions looks to be a game to keep your eyes out for. It’ll be due out in Spring 2012.
If you had been waiting on Sony to restore PSN services, you’ll be happy to know that the Playstation Network is now working again. The Playstation Twitter account tweeted out the following about 6 hours ago: “PSN update: If you encountered issues logging in today, try logging in now. Apologies for the inconvenience!” No reason for the outage was mentioned. Sony’s most recent firmware update to the system promised to improve network stability. Hopefully this outage will be the last for awhile.
So, what is the first game you’ll be hitting now that service has been restored?
Paramount Home Entertainment has announced the debut of a DVD and Triple Play pack for hit movie Super 8. The Academy Award winning movie breaks the usual movie genre boundaries, and dares to use a primarily young cast to bring a unique and enthralling story to the screen.
The Super 8 Triple Play edition is up for $49.95, which includes the DVD, Blu-ray and Digital copy. As well as these three versions you get numerous behind the scenes documentaries, deleted scenes and commentary from writer/director J. J. Abrams and producer Bryan Burk. Additionally, there is a DVD that has the feature, commentary and two of the behind-the-scenes documentaries for $39.95. These are both coming out for release on November 17.
For those of you who haven’t seen Super 8 yet, this would be a great purchase, this movie is really worth it. Keep an eye out for an upcoming review on the Triple Play release.
Got a point and click adventure itch? Well Wadjet Eye Games are on hand with a new entry in their Blackwell series – The Blackwell Deception. The studio is the same one behind the sci-fi noir themed Gemini Rue, which picked up a lot of critical praise for it’s gripping storyline, truly smart puzzles and entertaining characters (see here for CC’s own review).
Like previous entries in the Blackwell series, Deception follows the exploits of Rosa, a psychic medium with her own personal ghost in the form of the sardonic Joey Mallone, a spirit pulled straight out of 1930’s New York. When the victims of charlatan street psychics start turning up as confused ghosts, it’s up to Joey and Rosa to delve into the mysterious underground world of the street psychics to clean up the mess.
The game will be available as a $14.99 PC download from October 12, but if you pre-order you have the chance to pick up a special DVD edition for $24.99. The on disc version is chock full of content for that extra $10, throwing in all four games from the series (with developer commentary), an MP3 soundtrack, animated shorts and more. To keep you going until the disc arrives in October there’s even a download copy of Blackwell Convergence available immediately after checkout, as well as the new game when it’s released on October 12.
If you want to try before you buy Wadjet Eye are currently offering a free demo of the new title on their website, which can be found here, along with a great little trailer that shows off the game’s voice acting and story quality. So that’s October 12 point and click fans, keep an eye out for the review!
Last month Natsume Inc. revealed that they were expecting to have Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny out on store shelves on September 27th for both the PlayStation 3 version and the Wii version. However it seems that there have been some sort of production difficulties which are preventing the title from being made next week, and as such has been delayed until mid-October.
Natsume Inc. revealed this news by their twitter deckhere. Their full statement says that “Currently Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny Wii & PS3 are in production. They will not be available at retail on the 27th of September, however they will arrive October 11th. Unfortunately this is the busy time of year when a lot of companies are producing titles; we have to wait our turn.”
There are indeed plenty of titles being released next week with four 360 titles and eight for the PS3, though some of these are multiplatform. That means that not only are store shelves being filled up with tons of new releases, but the factories that make the game cases and discs and all that jazz are probably working on overload. Still, it is unfortunate to see a game many have been waiting to play for the first time on an HD console be delayed due to the flooding game market.
Those who have been watching the current anime season should know that one of the shows airing at the moment is called Natsume Yuujinchou San. That San there at the end signifies that it is the third season for that anime. Now while the third season is ending next week, fans of the series should be glad to know that the show is actually getting a fourth season, and better yet it will they will only need to wait until January to see it.
Revealed in the November issue of LaLa magazine, the series will continue to follow the storyline of Natsume, a boy that has been able to see demons all of his life and inherited a “Book of Friends” from his grandmother which contains the names of various demons. Natsume then must deal with these various demons that show up to retrieve their name either through honesty or through vengeance.
