PlayStation 3 owners will be happy to know that their wait to play the timed-360 exclusive From Dust will soon be dropping onto their consoles. Next week on September 14th and September 27th for Europe and North American PlayStation 3 owners respectively, Ubisoft’s From Dust will become available. It will retain the same price that was originally listed on both the PC and 360 versions of the game.
The release of the game will fall just around a month after the great launch of the title on the Xbox 360 and shortly after the abysmal mess that was the From Dust’s PC DRM’d and bug-riddled launch. See that volcano up there? That was PC gamer anger exploding.
There are a lot of things that can be found in game’s coding. Most of it is completely incomprehensible to those who aren’t trained in the craft, but some people can still dig around in there and find out some secrets. It appears that a Steam user was able to discover an alternative name for Purna’s skill which is called Gender Wars.
The skill gives Purna a +15% damage against male zombies, but it also was at one point called “Feminist Wh*re.” The skill is obviously not called that in the final title, and it also cannot be switched to that title which means that no one should get offended by this title. Honestly it is also quite funny in my opinion, however I could easily see how some can be offended by it, namely radical feminists. And that is a box of snakes that you do not want to shake.
No one could ever say that football is a dying sport. Sure there was a rather long NFL lockout this year but nearly every team’s season opener is happening this weekend the same as usual. The same can be said about football video games. The last two years Madden games have done well, but not as well as usual, but according to a report from USA Today, that streak has just ended.
After being out for only a week, Madden NFL 12 has sold 1.4 million copies which is a 10% increase over last year’s release. What is driving these sales could be anyone’s guess but I am going to venture to say that it involves fan relief for the continuation of the standard football season.
Arriving to the Xbox LIVE Arcade on September 21st, Rotastic plans to make acrobatic twists to captivate casual gamers. Developer Dancing Dots promises a highly addictive gaming experience that is based around simple swinging mechanics. Latching a rope to a hook propels a player in a circular motion in order to acquire the many gems in the world.
Beyond the simple gameplay of swinging around hooks with your trusty rope, Rotastic offers more than 70 levels of single player storyline. The multiplayer will be an everlasting enjoyment as you challenge opponents to a deadly Deathmatch or a still not so friendly Item Collect. Be the first one to collect the most gems or last man on a rope to win.
Gather your loose change and give Rotastic a whirl on September 21st. For only 800 MSP, this game has a lot to offer. Check out the cool new screenshots and official trailer below.
Since 2003, Max Payne fans have been eagerly waiting for the third instalment of the acclaimed Max Payne video game series – a proper video game instalment and not another cheesy film plagued by random supernatural Valkyries (I mean seriously what was that all about?).
Whilst information about the game has been slowly drip feed to us in the forms of two screenshots earlier in the year. Rockstar Games has today officially confirmed a March 2012 release date for Max Payne 3 for Xbox 360, Playstaion 3 and PC. Proving once and for all the Max Payne 3 is definitely not dead, may just recovering for a shot to the head…but certainly not dead.
Max Payne 3 set years after the events of Max Payne 2, the game moves location from the streets of New York City to the tropical setting of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Players can of cause, expect to see the return of Bullet Time amongst the distinct cinematic action that Max Payne games have become renowned for.
Expect to play Max Payne 3 on your console of choice in March 2012.
Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) and leading game developer, Insomniac Games; today celebrates the launch of the third instalment in the internationally acclaimed first person shooter series, Resistance 3 for PlayStation 3. Resistance 3 is the most anticipated chapter of one of PlayStation’s most esteemed franchises, loaded with amazing 3D graphics and action packed gameplay.
Four years after the epic conclusion of the second chapter, set in an alternate 1950’s universe, ninety percent of Earth’s population are dead or have been turned into Chimera. Reduced to hiding with other survivors, including his family in the ruined city of Haven, Oklahoma, fearless and brave survivor Joseph Capelli was near exhaustion fighting against the Chimeran menace. Dr. Fyodor Malikov arrives with hope and the opportunity to bring down the surrounding Chimeran force. Capelli leaves his family for New York, through the ruined US landscape.
Along the way; he encounters the remnants of humanity left in the aftermath of the brutal Chimeran invasion. There are a number of ways to play Resistance 3, which include:
· PlayStation®Move & stereoscopic 3D support: immerse yourself deeper into the warfare with PlayStation Move enhanced control as well as 3D gameplay
· Sharp Shooter: take down the Chimera with accurate precision with the PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter peripheral
· Multiplayer & 2 player online (or offline) co-op: team up with friends with the 2 – 16 online multiplayer and 2 player co-op mode – play through the story mode either online or split-screen
This episode brings to you a number of retail game editions to defeat the Chimera. Resistance fans will be able to enjoy ‘Special’ and ‘Survivor’ editions that are loaded with content and accessories.
Finally, a special Resistance: Fall of Man & Resistance 2 Platinum Twinpack that takes you to go back to where it all began, when the Russians closed their borders and it was feared they were developing a weapon of unparalleled power. The truth was far worse.
Get ready to come face to face with the Chimera once more with Resistance 3, exclusive to PlayStation 3, available now in stores across Australia.
It is a good day to be a PS3 owner, as this day in particular marks the start of the long awaited beta for Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Users who are subscribed to either PlayStation Plus or Uplay should already be enjoying the beta due to their subscription packages, but now all PSN users will be able to get in on the action for a limited time.
This is no small beta either, as it will offer up nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight’s Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four playable modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch, and Artifact Assault), all of which are just a small sampling of what the final product will offer. Of course if you are going to get in on this offer, you better act fast as Ubisoft are only keeping the beta open until the 11th, so stop reading and get to shanking some players!
Over the past five years or so, there certainly have been some unique offerings on the Nintendo Wii. The downfall of the platform though has always been the many third party offerings that fall flat and offer up nothing but a quick cash-in for lazy publishers that are trying to make a buck. Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football honestly looked to fall into that category at first, but after just a short time with the game, the love that Judobaby put in to this quirky title started to shine through and I can easily say that this game may be one of the biggest “underdogs” on the platform this year. So what is it that separates this game from the rest of the licensed pack on the platform? Here is my review for Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football for the Nintendo Wii.
Gameplay
Forget all about Jerry Rice, this game’s true stars are the dogs within. As the title states, the name of the game here is dog football and surprisingly, everything works rather well despite the crazy concept. In the standard game, the player starts out by picking a human avatar to be their quarterback as well as picking a couple of breeds out to actually play the game itself. As a quarterback, it is your character’s job to pass or run the ball down the field and try to rack up as many yards as possible in the process. Since this is dog football rather than the actual sport, the main objective is to hand off the ball to your pooch players and control their moves with a tasty treat as bribery.
As soon as your four-legged team take the field, the player must pick one of a set number of plays to conduct and pass the ball off to a pup. If you think this sounds somewhat like Madden, you would be right as the game is still football as the rules are nearly identical. The gameplay however is quite the opposite though as these pups require a little convincing to play the sport. When one of your dogs have the ball, you must then use the Wiimote to drag a treat along the field, which is used to lure the targeted pup closer to the touchdown line. Even though you don’t actually control a dog, this treat method still allows for you to gain their full attention and command them to jump and dodge obstacles with a flick of the remote.
Due to the target audience, this concept might be a bit much for younger players to grasp. Thankfully though, Judobaby thought ahead and included an auto-pilot mode that lets the player hold down the A button and let their breed automatically run in one pre-set direction without the need to constantly float the treat around. If an obstacle comes in the way, the player can simply let go of the button and resume using the waggle controls to better guide the dog out of harm’s way. Defense works about the same, but with the main goal being to tackle the opposing teams’ pup in order to prevent any scoring on the other side. At first, I felt this whole control scheme was a bit awkward as I had a hard time adjusting to not controlling the “player” on the field, but after a short time, I discovered it really is as simple as moving a reticule on the screen.
Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football also features quite a few themed locations for the game to be played at, with each boasting their own obstacles and shortcuts that can be utilized to let the player gain an upper advantage. Tunnels, path-blocking obstacles, and even other animals can instantly change the pace up on a play, so the player must constantly be on the look-out for terrain that could very well play out in their favor if used correctly. This clever level design keeps each field feeling distinct and offers up new strategies to be applied while trying to score that coveted touchdown or to simply take down an opposing mutt by surprise.
Those who want competition can take on the season mode which has the player take out one team after the next while they battle for the “Golden Hydrant” trophy. As matches are won and the player progresses, a ton of unlockables can be found that add in new personalities to act as quarterbacks and new breeds to be your powerful players. Oddly enough, Jerry Rice (and Nitus) are not even available until they are unlocked, which is certainly an odd move considering all the endorsement that was seen on the front cover of the game. I know it may sound a bit odd, but the vast amount of unlockables such as costumes and avatars kept me going back to Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football, as we don’t really see many titles offer up hidden content anymore. Obviously, this adds in a ton of replay value as there always seemed to be something new to be found by simply progressing throughout the game.
Graphics/Audio
The visuals in Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football are decent, but there are still a few flaws that can make this reek of a budget game. Loading screens are usually choppy and the animations within hesitate and struggle to keep up at times. Now these are just loading screens so this won’t effect the actual gameplay, but at times I thought my system was having trouble reading the disc due to these recurring frame-rate drops. Now on a more positive note, each dog looks great and runs fluently on the field so never will the player have trouble controlling as like I said, the game really is as simple as pointing the remote at the screen and directing your dog. Little touches also go a long way, as Judobaby are definitely a proud mother when it comes to this title and it shows by how much effort that went in to each field’s design. Stages are usually full of color and sacrifice true realism to create a bubbly and upbeat atmosphere for these puppies to play in. Cheery animations such as a pooch dancing when scoring a touchdown and celebrating when making a tackle also make the game more fun to actually play and offer that much more incentive to win each session.
As far as the music goes, there is nothing really award winning here as most of the music sounds rather generic. It’s not really bad by any means, just not innovative for the genre as sometimes I literally felt like the music could have coming from a Sims title based on the track provided. Each avatar’s voice acting (including Jerry Rice himself) usually does a good job at adding some individuality into your persona, but some of these voice bits are looped far too often and made me grow quite tired of my “rock star” avatar telling me how he likes to rock every 30 seconds of the game. The dogs themselves all sound realistic however and these “Woofs” and “Howls” are thankfully worked in well and never sound too cluttered or overbearing compared to the humans within the game.
Overall
Back when I first heard of Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football, I would have never thought that this odd concept would have worked on any platform, little alone the Wii. Interestingly enough, the simple yet original control scheme provided works wonders to make this woofy romp an enjoyable one. Stage variation and the heavy amount of interactivity also offer up fresh elements of gameplay for each area and these dogs are filled with lively animations that make them hard not to love. I still feel that more work could have been applied in the audio department of the game, but Dog Football certainly shows us that Judobaby are a new developer that look to be out to make quite a name for themselves. If you enjoy the pigskin and have a love of canines, you really can’t go wrong by giving this unique, tail-wagging experience a try.
Kontrolfreek have announced they will be releasing Xbox 360 and PS3 controller accessories specifically [and scientifically] designed to enhance gameplay for FIFA 12 and Forza Motorsport 4. Both attach onto the control sticks however are two separate designs for each game.
For FIFA 12, the convex-surface designed Football Freek are said to be the first controller accessory to be geared towards a football game. The attachments will make precision passing, dribbling and tactical defending easier. With FIFA 12’s new precision, 360 degree dribbling movements, Kontrolfreek are confident this will amplify your game experience whether you’re a casual or hardcore player of the game.
The Speed Freek 2.0 APEX for Forza Motorsport 4 provides a U-shaped attachment for the control sticks enabling you to have greater handling and more precise turns and takeovers. The 2.0 improves upon the previous Speed Freek, giving even greater responsiveness and simplifying the most difficult abilities in the game.
Both of these accessories are not just limited to these two games. The Football Freek can naturally be used for other football titles such as PES and Pure Futbol, and Speed Freek 2.0 for racing titles such as Gran Turismo, Need for Speed, F1 and Burnout.
Football Freek will be available September 27th and Speed Freek 2.0 on October 4th.
People that have been out there waiting to get some hands on time with Diablo 3 (myself included), will be happy to know that the beta is out, well sort of. At the moment its only for family and friends of Blizzard staff, but the client is up for download already making the possibility of the beta being open to others very soon.
The beta finishes with a fight against the skeleton king in the end of section one, with all character classes playable and a level cap rumoured to be 13 from the total of 60 set for the full release giving just a small taste of each class, but more than enough for fans.
