There were many titles announced for the PlayStation Vita during Tokyo Game Show, so many it may have convinced some people to actually purchase a Vita when it is released in North America. But many eyes were turned towards one of the most unique looking games currently in development for the handheld, Gravity Rush.
Originally called Gravity Daze in Japan, it is being developed by SCEJ. Today they released a plethora of screenshots which you can see below, and you can even see a past trailer for the game here. Speaking for myself, I’d have to say that this game would be a day one purchase for me if it is released in North America simply because of its concept and the art style.
Things were a bit confusing as far as the release date went for Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater. At first Kojima mentioned that the game would be released this Winter season, which meant to some that it could indeed make its initial goal of being released in 2011.
However Andrisang reports that, during an event at TGS Kojima expanded his previous words to mention that the game would actually be released in the latter half of winter in 2012. This is poor news for those eager to play the remake of the PlayStation 2 title in 3D but perhaps a good thing as a rushed title would do nothing but put a sour memory in people’s minds about the Metal Gear series.
Let’s face it, November is going to be a blockbuster month for gaming. There are so many AAA titles being released in the first 15 days that most gamers are only going to be able to purchase a couple of titles during that time period, maybe not even that. So when your game is coming out amongst the biggest competition all year long, your going to need a bit of an edge.
Of course you can also only give that edge to one console if that is what floats your boat. Ubisoft has just announced that first runs of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will contain the original Assassin’s Creed title as well. Whether or not it will be physical media or a download code was not mentioned at this time, but considering the massive amount of backstory that the whole series requires, this is a nice little addition to help sway gamer’s decisions. Too bad about the Xbox 360 version huh?
When DC Universe Online was first announced my first thought was some fangirl reaction to superhero playability. Then the reality that it was a MMORPG set in. In a post-WOW land MMORPGs can only hope for a tepid welcome to the market with a steady income but nothing of the likes that Blizzard make in a day. The game just wasn’t mindblowingly different enough to ensure a decent market share. However, Sony Online Entertainment have gathered their hopes and dreams and set themselves a realistic and good strategy.
Beginning in late October, DC Universe will have a free-to-play mode on both PS3 and PC. There will be three modes in total, Free, Premium and Legendary. Each mode has the same sandbox gameplay, missions, and the general updates and fixes, but obviously the benefits and options will become more varied the higher you go up. To upgrade to Premium you need to make a $5 USD in-game purchase (or have made in the past), and for Legendary it is a $14.99 monthly fee. For more specific details go to their website.
What do you guys reckon? Will this provide the push needed to get DC Universe Online really flying high?
As a self-dubbed Jewsian (half Jewish, half Asian, all cheapass) I love me some discounted stuff and if its free, well, I can’t even begin to contain my glee. So if there are any of you out there like me – and I know there are some of you, especially students – then you’ll benefit from this website.
Daily App Dream is a website that is partnered with various iOS developers to offer up free daily apps. It’s a great way to not only get some free games but be exposed to some great indie developers who you may have not experienced otherwise. And hey, if you don’t like the app all that much, well it was free!
There is also a request service, so you can suggest or ask for apps. They don’t state the exact process but I’m guessing they then sell themselves as hard as possible to the developers to try and make your dream come true. It’s a great way of doing things, and really shows and interest in both the gaming community as well as the developers.
Daily App Dream also have their own app which allows you to get free apps without the use of a computer, which they update on a regular basis. The app is free, however there is also an ad-free version of the app for $1.99 if advertising makes you really angry. The cost is to cover themselves, since their advertising money is their only revenue stream, which is fair enough. Perhaps I just think that because I’m willing to go through ads to get to the free stuff, that’s why I don’t own cable.
Grab the free app here or the $1.99 ad-free version here. Or, if you’d rather, you can sign up for an email newsletter, or follow them on Twitter.
Come on guys, what are you waiting for? Go grab your free apps!
Who remembers Bop It!? I know it was a somewhat big part of my childhood, especially for the early part where I had no idea what it was except that it looked weird and made sound. Well now Bop It! has been reinvented for the next generation on the iOS.
Bop It! has a four different solo modes, Classic, Basic, Extreme and Blitz, and three modes in multi-player including the iPad-exclusive All Play mode. Of course, it also has a Facebook feature which allows you to share and reminisce through Facebook and declare yourself Bop-ing champion. Plus, you can unlock Bopjects, something that the RL-version never had.
It’ll be a great way to distract the kids for a while (if you trust them with your thousand-dollar technology) or secretly turn back the clock and have some good old fashioned Bop-ing fun yourself.
Bop It! is available at the iTunes store for $0.99 – Buy it now!
I would have to say that everyone has heard of Club Penguin, a fun casual gaming world for kids brought forth through Disney. They are quirky, fun and so adorable. Now the franchise have decided to take their world mobile, with a new game available through the ITunes App Store. Available for those with IPhone, IPod Touch and IPad.
The game they have decided to bring into the fun world of Apps is Puffle Lauch. Helping the Puffle get back all the ‘Puffle-O’s’that have been stolen by the mean Cranky Crab. You do tis by being shot through a cannon and collecting the goodies and fighting the badies.
The game boasts 24 high speed levels with easy touch controls, boss battles against Cranky crab and his mechanical claw and extra challenges such as time trials, turbo mode and replaying the levels in Slo-Mo.
The game was originally released online in March 2010 and became a hit almost immediately, with over 150,000 people playing each day (I would assume mostly children, but you never know when us immature adults are also online). For those who are not aware, Puffles are the cute adoptable pets of the Club Penguin World, and have also become a rage on their own. A puffle is adopted every second… Í would let that set in for a minute, but then 60 puffles would be already gone!
To check out more from the Club Penguin francise or to adopt your own Puffle, check out their website www.clubpenguin.com
Peacemaker Complete Series Studio: Gonzo Publisher: MADMAN / FUNimation Release Date: September 6, 2011 Price: $59.95 (Available Here)
Overview:
Have you ever thought of becoming a samurai? While most of us may wish we could simply because of how cool we think they are, but real samurai had much deeper reasons for picking up their swords. Such is the story of Peacemaker, an anime which was originally released in Japan back in 2003 under the name Peacemaker Kurogane. The series itself was based off of a manga which was created by Nanae Chrono.
Now while Peacemaker may have been released back in North America in 2004, FUNimation has recently released the entire series bundled in one package under their Anime Classics label. Does Peacemaker’s tale of swords and a young boys journey to find his true purpose tell a memorable story so many years later?
Story:
The story for Peacemaker takes place just before the Meiji Restoration in Japanese history. Viewers follow the story of a young boy named Ichimura Tetsunosuke who wishes to join the Shinsengumi, a force of samurai that act as the special police force of the area and are the first responders to anyone causing trouble. Now while some members of the Shinsengumi do this to uphold justice, Testu has another force driving him.
This fifteen year old boy watched his parents murdered by a Choshu Clan rebel two years before and his house burnt to the ground. In an effort to become strong and obtain his revenge against the Choshu, Tetsu wishes to join the Shinsengumi. The reasoning for this is that the Shinesengumi are constantly in conflict with the Choshu Clan, meaning if Tetsu is able to join the ranks of the Shinsengumi he may one day be able to take his revenge. Which is why when his peaceful older brother named Tatsunosuke joins the Shinsengumi as a bookkeeper Testu feels that this is finally his chance. That is of course until his small stature and course attitude get him quickly turned away.
Thaty is until he meets the first unit captain of the Shinsengumi, master swordsman Okita Soji who gives him a chance to prove his skills and join the group. After being eventually allowed into the group Tetsu learns that rather than being placed on the front lines against the Choshu, he is to be a page for Hijikata Toshizo, second vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. This frustrates Testu at first but he falls into place doing menial chores for Toshizo.
The series progresses from then on as Testu begins to train as a Shinsengumi and one day obtain a rank that will allow him to become a full-fledged member and find his revenge. Along the way Testu grows closer to the various members of the Shinsengumi and eventually develops friendships with a few of them. But the biggest question remains, when Testu finally does become a sword wielding member of the Shinsengumi will his blade turn towards vengeance or keeping the peace?
Peacemaker’s story has plenty of potential and is overall a relatively enjoyable show but there are a few problems which hold it back from being great. There are plenty of characters that can be talked about and most of them have some of their back stories revealed, but in the end the stories are usually always depressing in one form or the other and the many of the characters will simply seem like emotionally distraught people carrying swords around.
While the character’s emotional issues can be a problem, Peacemaker is still an interesting tale set in one of the most violent times in Japan’s history. Many of the members of the Shinsengumi are based off of real members in history and even Testu was based off a real swordsman during that time period. Watching the young Tetsu struggle to find his true purpose and grow close to the various members among the Shinsengumi is the highlight of the series. His moments of character development are relatively slow but are meaningful when they come about.
From the description above it may seem like Peacemaker is a story of dark pasts and deep wounded emotions but there is still a small vein of comedy thrown in. While most episodes are focused around serious developments, there are also pure comedy episodes thrown in on purpose, usually involving Tetsu of course. Watching the historical members of the Shinsengumi in comedic situations only makes things more amusing, especially when you remember that this was once one of the most feared forces in all of Japan.
Graphics:
The studio behind the animation for Peace Maker is Gonzo which should tell you roughly the level of quality that you will be in for. The studio’s reputation for making samurai anime precedes itself, with Peacemaker actually being made a few years before their other samurai shows Samurai 7 and Afro Samurai. The action is always very well drawn and viewers will be astonished by the choreographed swordplay at times.
Honestly the action sequences with heavy combat between various sword fighters are some of the best experiences you can have with Peacemaker. The animation is very fluid and I couldn’t determine any significant non-intentional drops in quality which is always a plus for a series with heavy action such as Peacemaker contains at times.
Audio:
Peacemaker may be one of the few anime where an English viewer may prefer listening to the Japanese dub and reading subtitles than listening to the English voice work. The Japanese voice cast does a great job portraying their characters and many of their personalities fit perfectly. Especially if you happen to recognize some of the voices.
On the other hand the English voice cast just didn’t seem to come together well. Many of the characters receive rather strange accents which are noticeably fake and unfitting for the series. There are also a number of southern accents thrown in which just doesn’t fit the show and ends up being distracting in the end. Still, if you have to watch the show in English the dubbing could always be worse.
The series’ sound effects are well done and the sword clashes sound as one would expect, while the background music is usually extremely fitting and perfect for the mood. The opening song “You Gonna Feel” by Hav is more of a rock song with a couple English phrases thrown in that most viewers likely won’t remember nor wish to listen to every episode and only seems to match the opening animation half of the time. The song’s only saving grace is the fact that the rock sounds appropriate for a show involving decent amounts of combat such as Peacemaker. The ending song “Hey Jimmy!” also by Hav also contains some English lyrics mixed in with the Japanese but feels more than a little out of place, though the ending animation is all black and white animation which makes the ending sequence as a whole feel rather weak in general.
Characters:
There are many historical and famous members of the Shinsengumi which are alive and well for Peacemaker and most of them are relatively historically accurate. This includes their personalities that were written down in history books and things similar. The historical accuracy will be a major plus for anyone who has knowledge of Japanese history. Plus each of the side characters is very unique and their personalities are another highlight which will make watching most episodes interesting.
On the other hand we have the main character Testu who is a rather big disappointment at times in the series. Sure he may be portrayed as a brash teenager who has to grow up quickly and seeks out revenge, but his shortcomings (pun not intended) are quite abundant. His attitude may play well for the comedy aspects of the show but he is extremely loud mouthed at times, and a puddle of tears the next when he falls short of his goals.
Extras:
As far as bonus features go, there are your standard clean opening and ending animations as well as trailers for FUNimation past and upcoming releases. But there are also a number of other bonuses as well; these include some character spots, sketches and Japanese TV commercials. A few of the character spots are subbed which is a plus, but the commercials are rather lackluster.
Those bonuses are all on the last disc, the other three discs each contain one episode summary from the voice actors from the show. Now don’t let your ears deceive you, a number of the actors mention the show being an ADV release and that is because FUNimation acquired the license after ADV was shut down a few years back. The commentary is actually very funny and may have you laughing more than the original episode itself, making them great bonus features.
Overall:
Peacemaker is a very enjoyable series for the most part. It is a bit of an older series but that doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. The series has wonderfully animated battles and overall has a great aesthetic to itself, although the English voice cast is something that most people may want to avoid due to the oddity of their fake accents.
Still the historical nature of the period the anime takes place and the relatively historically accurate Shinsengumi makes this a series that is great for people who are fans of samurai and battles with swords. There is just enough character development and humor to keep the show interesting for those who care more about that than sword play, but still the series takes a long time to evolve past that. Regardless Peacemaker is an interesting take on the Shinsengumi and on a teenage boy attempting to avenge his lost parents.
There were rumors circulating around the internet last week that the Melbourne branch of Visceral Games was going to be shut down on September 19th. It appears that those rumors were true because the International Game Developer’s Association just confirmed on their twitter account that the studio has indeed been shut down. This is a damaging blow to the already struggling Australian videogame industry as studio closures continue to plague the continent.
The studio employed 21 developers and apparently had spent the last three years working on a large title for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Unfortunately that game may never see store shelves as the project was not finished by the time of the studios closure. Though that doesn’t mean that the now out of work developers won’t talk about what they were working on in the future.
Let’s face it, there are still a little under two months until Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is released to stores. That may not seem like a long time to most people, but from everything we have seen so far Skyrim looks to be one of the most engaging experiences you can have with an open world adventure title.
Of course there is one group of people who have to see a game before it is released, and those people are the ones working at the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) where they have to rate every game before it is released. Well today they released their rating for Skyrim and boy is it a large one. Some highlights are drinking contests which include slurred speech, all the whores you desire and plenty of enhanced combat. In the end Skyrim has been rated Mature, but check out the full ESRB rating summary below.
This is a fantasy role-playing game in which players assume the role of Dovakin, a prophesied figure with the power to combat dragons in the fictional world of Skyrim. As players traverse through mountainous open-world environments, they complete missions and quests that impact the eventual fate of their character. Players use swords, bows and arrows, axes, and magic attacks (e.g., fireballs, ice shards) to kill various enemies (e.g., wolves, dragons, human bandits and soldiers). As players engage in melee-style combat, some sequences are highlighted by slow-motion effects, particularly for decapitations. Large blood-splatter effects also occur during combat, and some environments are stained with blood or body parts (e.g., heads impaled on spikes). Some sequences allow players to injure/kill nonadversary characters, including prisoners chained to a wall; they scream in pain amid splashes of blood or fire.
As the game progresses, the dialogue and on-screen text contains references to sexual material (e.g., “. . . all the whores your heart, or any other organ, desires,” “She . . . raped the men as cruelly as Bal had ravished her,” and “Remember when you thought [he] was . . . intent on making you . . . into his personal sex slave?”). Alcohol such as wine, mead, and ale can be purchased and consumed by players’ character throughout the game; and in one sequence, players can engage in a drinking contest with another character, which eventually results in slurred speech (e.g., “One more. No problemsh . . . Thash grape!”).
