It has been confirmed that Doctor Who’s second half of season six will be returning on the 27th of August in the UK (27th for US, 28th for AU). Which is merely a day away.
This is huge news for Doctor Who fans, who had been eagerly awaiting following the huge plot twist cliffhanger of the last episode “A Good Man Goes To War”.
The series will make it’s return with a Nazi Germany themed episode, “Let’s Kill Hitler” which will have the Doctor Who cast travelling to try and prevent Hitler from becoming the face of pure evil we all know him as.
Leave a comment below with your thoughts on the return of Doctor Who.
Konami has started streaming their Tokyo Game Show 2011 NeverDead trailer online early in anticipation of the event. The trailer is released a month before it is to be shown at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 in Tokyo, Japan.
The trailer shows off some footage of the upcoming game and gives a taste of what to expect from NeverDead. The game trailer is in japanese and features several popular Japanese voice actors alongside some demon ass kicking.
You can check out the trailer below for all the undead goodness you could possibly ask for. Also please leave a comment letting us know what you think of the NeverDead TGS 2011 trailer.
With the upcoming premiere of the new Last Exile series Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing it has been announced that a Last Exile TV special will air a week before the new series.
The TV special is set to detail the history of the Last Exile franchise, give an in-depth look at the world of Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing as well as featuring interviews with the cast and creators.
The special will be airing on the 7th of October, 2011 in Japan. The series was also recently licensed for release throughout the United States by Funimation Entertainment and licensed for Australian distribution by Madman Entertainment. Alongisde being licensed both Funimation and Madman held premieres of the first episodes in their respective countries.
Please leave a comment below letting us know what you think of the Last Exile TV Special.
To be a man you must have honor and a… err… You can find out what else it takes to be a man with the upcoming Shin-Chan game for the Nintendo 3DS. Namco Bandai has announced that they will be releasing a Shin-Chan game for the Nintendo 3DS on the 1st of December 2011, through out Japan. The game is set to be titled Crayon Shin-Chan Uchū DE Achō!? Yūjō no Obakarate and will feature a story that will take the characters of Shin-Chan out of this world as Shin tries to return his town to it’s rigthful place back on earth.
The game is set be an action adventure game which will utilise the Nintendo 3DS’ gyro-sensor and stereoscopic 3D display. The game’s developers are aiming to give the player a feel of controlling the anime series in which the game is based off of. What do you think of the upcoming Shin-Chan game? Leave a comment below letting us know your thoughts.
Warner Brothers Japan have confirmed that they will be releasing a second Gintama film which as of posting is known tentatively as simply Gintama 2. The film is set to be released and distributed by Warner Brothers Japan but it has yet to be announced in what manner of release or when.
The previous Gintama film, Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-Hen was given a limited release of a mere 90 theatres. Leaving fans to ponder whether this second film will recieve a theatrical release at all. Some believe a straight-to-DVD release is more likely, which I am sure Gintama fans wouldn’t complain about.
So please leave a comment letting us know your thoughts on this upcoming second Gintama film.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is nearing its release date, so Insomniac has released another trailer in their Weapon Series, which looks at the different weapons that will be available in the game.
The trailer for the multiplayer focused game shows off the Pyroblaster, which is a flamethrower, the Arc Lasher, which is an electric whip, the Blitzer, which are a pair of charging fists and the Frost Cannon, which sends an icy blast to the enemy.
Insomniac has done it again. These are some very over the top weapons which look like they are going to be fun to use. Why not check it out, as well as the first trailer of the weapon series, which shows off four more weapons: the Combuster, the Darkstar Fission Tether, the Warmonger and the Thundersmack.
Expect Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One on October 18 for the United States, October 20 for Australia and October 21 for the United Kingdom.
The Rebuild of Evangelion has revitalised the classic franchise and in many peoples opinions, did the story the justice the original series modest budget could not. The first two films of the Rebuild, known in English as 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone and 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance have recieved world-wide critical acclaim and it’s looking as though the trend will continue with Evangelion 3.0 which will continue the rebuild series.
It has been announced that Evangelion 3.0 will make it’s Japanese premiere date of sometime during Fall/Autumn 2012. This means that in roughly a years time from this posting you can expect Evangelion 3.0 to have made it’s way onto the big screen through the land of the rising sun. This is big news for fans of Evangelion hanging out for their next hit of Evangelion related entertainment. Leave a comment below letting us know your thoughts.
Com2Us are back once again after one hell of summer for the iOS game developer. Now they bring us Minigame Paradise and as you can imagine the game is essentially a minigames compilation game, which should feel right at home nestled up into your iPhone and iPad.
The game boasts cartoon styled graphics (somewhat in the same vein as Tamagotchi), 35 little critters for you to collect as well as several changable costumes for them and 70 in game missions for you to sink your cute critter teeth into.
You can purchase Minigame Paradise on the iTunes store now here for $0.99. Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s go to Minigame Paradise!
Based on the movie of the same name, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World brings together both young heroes from the film and turns them toon in a platforming adventure. I know this title may be ignored by some due to the famed “movie-to-game” curse or simply due to the younger audience targeted, but there is actually a bit more that meets the eye with this one. With that said, there are still a few elements to hold this Spy Kids romp away from achieving its true potential on the Nintendo DS. So how do these little spies measure up to other contenders of the same genre on the platform? Here is my review for Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.
Story
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World starts the player out with the main characters, Cecil and Rebecca, heading off to school. In a matter of seconds, the evil Timekeeper reveals himself and lets it be known that he is fittingly out to control “All the time in the World”. After talking with their robot dog, both Cecil and Rebecca set out to infiltrate the Timekeeper’s hideout and take time back once and for all.
I will admit this whole story is a bit cheese-tastic, but considering the audience the game is targeted for, it certainly should be a sufficient enough plot for anyone to follow. I did however feel that more could have been added to tell this tale, as the lack of voicework, sound effects, or even animation during these “cutscenes” really didn’t give a whole lot of substance or personality to any character involved. Throughout the game, this way of story-telling remains the same, so even though events are unfolding and the game makes sure you have a purpose to progress, I simply couldn’t get behind the heroes I was controlling. Now I also didn’t watch the movie, so I would guess that those who have seen the flick could easily attach the on-screen personalities and plotlines into this title, but those who missed the film may be a little underwhelmed with Spy Kid’s quickie narrative.
Gameplay
Back when Spy Kids: All the Time in the World was first announced for the DS, the main thing that captured my attention was how this title is in fact a 2D platformer, which is one of my favorite genres for the platform. Now after playing the game, I can definitely say that OneNineStudio’s did a fine job with this entry into the platformer market, but there are still a few flaws that make the experience more frustrating than it needs to be.
During the game, players are taken through over 20 levels, either controlling Cecil or Rebecca. Both of these kids control nearly the same, as the controls are rather solid when it comes to the standard fare of just running and jumping. To make each kid feel distinct though, each feature their own special abilities to utilize the current level’s design. For instance, Rebecca wields a grappling hook which can attach to specific surfaces, allowing her to climb up or swing across a level quickly while Cecil has a double jump, giving him the ability to jump a bit higher onto platforms.
Each kid also has their own objectives they must complete to progress as well. Rebecca’s levels usually are made up of a “find your way out” formula and Cecil must find keys to unlock doors. It sounds simple enough, but I found each to be a bit of a chore due to the punishing consequences for failure. Rebecca’s grappling hook honestly works great, but if the timing is not absolutely perfect when triggering, she will fall all the way to the ground and leave the player to spend 20 minutes just trying to get back up the previous platform. The stage design is rather clever for these levels, but I didn’t feel like I enjoyed it as much as I could have as I constantly was falling and having to take the long trek to the top over and over. Now aside from this gripe, I will say out of both “kids”, Rebecca was a lot more polished in terms of controls and it is hard not to admire the crafty placing of platforms for her stages.
Cecil on the other hand is a lot more lop-sided in terms of polish. The double jump works well..or just as one would expect, but many times our young lad will be forced to do battle with enemies in order to collect a key or simply progress further. This wouldn’t be a big deal normally, but Cecil’s hand to hand combat skills are very short range and slow. I would be fighting an enemy, landing every punch, and still take a considerable amount of damage just because I was too close. This effect is magnified later on in the game, as luck and a few special attacks seem to be the only answer to actually defeating a large boss with Cecil.
To combat both character’s rather short arsenal, three special attacks are given at the start of a level for defeating enemies. Rebecca has a variety of bombs that vary in damage depending on who they are tossed at, and Cecil has a fireball projectile along with a ground punch and an uppercut for assisting in close combat. While these all can be useful, the player must be thrifty when executing these special moves, as there is only a limited amount of times each can be used. Oddly enough, if you character dies during a mission, they must start over completely with whatever remaining specials you had left (if any at all). I thought this choice was very out of place and felt like another form of punishment for dying on top of the whole restarting a level from the beginning bit. During boss battles, these limited special attacks definitely put a damper on the whole experience as with Cecil, players are left with just the short, slow punches and kicks to take out the foe.
One thing that I did however enjoy was some of the extra levels that are thrown in to change up the gameplay a bit. There is a rather forgettable memory game thrown in, but the one that really stuck out was an R-Type like shoot-em-up section that had the player controlling a small ship while traversing to the next area. This whole element worked well and while out of place, I really feel this was one of the game’s shining moments.
Graphics/Audio
I can’t really say that Spy Kids: All the Time in the World really shines in visuals as it is best compared to the platformers we seen on the Game Boy Advance. However, I did feel that the cartoon sprites do their job well enough though and each level is fairly detailed throughout the whole game. Animations for the game are decent, though each kid runs a bit like a robot and when mass amounts of sprites are on the screen at once, some slowdown can occur. I would imagine though that the bright colors and happy-go-lucky character designs should catch the eyes of younger players though, as the environments blend well with the art style provided.
The music in the game is a bit hit and miss, as some tracks are re-used and looped constantly throughout each level. There was one level however that stuck out as it was made up of clocks and had ticking and grinding noises being blended together with a catchy beat. Other than music, there isn’t much sound to speak of as the characters have no voices whatsoever and cutscenes are made of pure text. A few sound bytes would have went miles into making these kids come to life, but instead players just get two lifeless protagonists to control in a bubbly and upbeat environment.
Overall
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is by no means a bad game, as the controls are solid and the game is fairly lengthy considering the platform and genre. Sadly though, the final product just didn’t come together too well and a lack of detail and polish is to blame. Some levels are frustrating and the trial and error gameplay can lead to a feel of monotony replacing any actual challenge. A bit more work on the presentation would have also went a long way, as animations are stiff and robotic and the lack of audio for the main characters rob them of any true personality. That being said, there is some great ideas within this game and if you’re a platforming fan with patience or have a child that is a die-hard fan of the 4D flick, this title is certainly worth a look.
Today at PAX Prime, Square Enix and Airtight Games revealed that not only are they working together to create a game known as Quantum Conundrum, but that they are also working together with co-creator of Portal Kim Swift. In the game you have a genius uncle named Professor Fitz Quadwrangle who is an avid and eccentric inventor, problem is that some of his inventions work too well.
Your uncle has been trapped in another dimension and the only way to save him is using his newly designed Inter-Dimensional Shift device to explore his puzzle filled mansion. The device allows players to switch dimensions, between the normal world and a fluffy dimension that makes everything into soft and fluffy versions of themselves. This means that everything in the fluffy dimension is extremely light, which means you can maneuver puzzle items much easier in this mode.
Quantum Conundrum will be released as downloadable title on the PS3, 360 and PC early in 2012. To go along with this announcement Square Enix also revealed the below trailer for the game which just screams Portal puzzle mechanics.
It has been confirmed that Doctor Who’s second half of season six will be returning on the 27th of August in the UK (27th for US, 28th for AU). Which is merely a day away.
