Oh, Japan! is a weekly feature in which I will 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!”.
In the english-speaking world, we have Lady Gaga for those who want pop music backed up by wierd costumes and imagery. Japan however has someone else, someone much more kawaii. Japan has Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. If you like cute things, prepare for what is without a doubt a cute overload. Brace yourself folks, its Pon Time!
Check out Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s hit single “PonPonPon” below. If you can go a day without thinking of all things PonPonPon after watching this, you have the mental discipline of a monk. You are not prepared for PonPonPon! Or put more simply “Oh, Japan!”
I’m going to flat out say it: I am stoked for the Playstation Vita. I look at that handheld and would love to carry it around. The games that are being developed are impressing me more by the day, whether they are downloadable or retail. So, when I see Frank Gibeau, EA Lables President, saying that the Playstation Vita has a better chance on succeeding than the Nintendo 3DS, I tend to agree with him.
Gibeau puts it down to three points in his interview with CVG: innovative design, technology and strong lineup of games. Of course, many others were forecasting doom and gloom for the handheld market, but Gibeau is a breath of fresh air when he decided to put the Vita in a positive light.
“I think that part of the videogame business is tough right now because they have had some significant competition come in that was totally disruptive, and that was the smartphone,” Gibeau said. “I think [Sony has] got a shot because they have some really unique innovation in the control scheme, the technology and the screen. It’s got a lot of social features now so that you can actually communicate with your friends and be social.”
He does point out on the lack of phone functionality, a feature I believe would take a huge chunk out of the smartphone market, but also reminds the average consumer that the handheld is a smaller tablet with unique features that tablets do not have, like proper gaming experiences. The rear touch pad comes out as the stand out unique feature. He also mentions the strong lineup of games, which seems to overshadow that of the Nintendo 3DS.
“I don’t think they’re quite in the same boat as the 3DS,” he said. “The 3DS was a really interesting piece of technology but I think there was some confusion over it and the title slate was a little different. I think Vita has a better chance because it has a stronger title slate at launch. PSP’s had a great run in Europe as a device — it seems to have reached a much larger audience here than it did in North America. So I think they’ve got a good shot. We’re going to publish a few games on it and see how it develops.”
Even though there are calls for a price drop, some of those analysts should really check out what the Vita is offering. Sony realises the competition from smartphones and tablets and has moved as such to combat it, as well as the 3DS. I can not wait for its release, which should be early 2012 for us here in the West. Japan receives it later in 2011.
Overview: The iOS is still relatively new ground in the gaming industry, when compared to the industries history as a whole. There is a lot of developers creating some truly brilliant games for the platform and utilising the iOS to it’s upmost potential. However, on the other side of the coin, there are those who are doing the polar opposite. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance is a game that blurs that line. It tip-toes to the line that is for sure, however the final product is something that unfortunately only barely qualifies as a video game.
Gameplay:
There are game types that lend themselves to the iOS and yes Side-scrollers are often classified as one of those game types. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance is a side-scrolling adventure game, atleast that’s what the package says. Though, take one look inside and what you find is something that’s existence is questionable. Why was this game made? What purpose does it serve? Before I answer those questions, I’ll explain the predicament Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance finds itself in.
The game utilises what is put simply a rather perculiar control system. It’s control concept is something not yet seen on the iOS. Atleast not in this grand a scale. However, this control concept is also Zorro’s greatest undoing. You shouldn’t aim for the stars when you can not reach the moon.
The developers aimed for a control system that would make Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance a single touch side-scroller instead of utilising the standard on screen analog stick. They failed. What they instead ended up creating was a control scheme that is simultaneously unresponsive and impossible to master. There is no chance of understanding the glitches and managing to play this game through hard training. It simply is unplayable by nearly all standards. It is mostly a random foray of movements as you attempt to move throughout the game. Sometimes you try to run, instead you jump. Sometimes you try to jump, instead you dodge roll off a cliff into a field of cacti. It is simply a complete mess.
Whether you can believe it or not after reading that previous paragraph there was some potential here. The idea was interesting; a single touch side-scroller. However they swung and hit a foul of epic of proportions. Not only are the controls completely broken, if you so happen to manage to make it through a few levels of sheer luck (which I did after random swipings of my screen), there is a device crashing glitch to further rain on this game’s parade. I encountered this glitch 3 times over. Each time exactly the same, Zorro flips into a cactus, my iPhone crashes.
It is all really a shame, there were some interesting concepts here and the Zorro franchise was an inspired choice for a side-scroller. It’s just so very sad that this game can barely be classified as such. So sad that it barely functions. It’s just, such a waste of an idea and franchise that when combined had at first shown such promise.
Visuals: Graphically speaking, Zorro: Shadow of Vengenace is mediocre. There is much left to be desired from these visuals. I wish I could say that they atleast function, but there is often graphical glitches and tearing. Not only this but the model animation is poorly done and often glitches, sometimes crashing the game.
I had hoped the game would have atleast somewhat redeemed itself visually. That was far from the case as like it’s gameplay, it is a glitchy mess. It’s not at all eye-catching or visually pleasing and is sadly below the standard of the average iOS title. Overall the graphics are simply disappointing.
Audio:
Like the rest of the game, the audio is also glitchy. Tracks sound as though they are not properly overlayed onto the gameplay and at times mid-track completely cut off. Also poor was the games sound effects, which sounded simply attrocious and did not match the actions on screen which is a shame really.
I am just confused as to how so many things went wrong with this game. It’s one thing for the gameplay to be bad, but for both the visuals and audio to also be is just another disappointment added to the pile.
Conclusion:
To conclude, I must say that Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance could’ve been a decent game. Earlier on I posed some questions. Why was this game made? What purpose does it serve? I believe this game was an attempt from a small developer to create something fresh. Something different to the massive sea of iOS titles that are all similar in some way or another. They didn’t succeed, by any meaning of the word. This was an experiment, which not unlike that of a mad scientist in an 80’s cartoon, blew up in Pixofactor’s face.
More time was indeed needed during the debugging phase of this game. But in a grave mistep it seems that phase was almost entirely forgotten. The game fell apart and it’s glitching remains were scooped up placed onto the iTunes store and sold for $1.99 a pop. This game should stand in the iOS market as a guidepost for developers of what not to do when developing for the platform. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance will never lurk in the shadows it will remain infamous as the game that both was yet never was.
I think everyone can say they are excited about the upcoming release of Dead Island. Killing zombies, an idea that is simple, but impossible not to be fun, especially on a tropical paradise. So Deep Silver has decided to let us drool a little more with the release of some extra goodies before we can get stuck into some moaning brain eaters.
XBOX Avatar Items:
The avatars on Xbox 360 are just plain adorable. I love it when they dance when you have dressed, but that may be a very female point of view. I assure the men who make them and dress them up, that it is indeed quite manly. New items for you avatars to dress up and play with have now become available on the XboxMarketplace.
Well, they are here now. They moan and eat brains, but some may be up for a photo op… If you ask nicely. Why not pop in for a visit, so you can hit them with bats and other blunt objects.
Getting more with your pre-order
Those who have been scooping out the pre-order competition for Dead Island, you may be pleasantly surprised to see Amazon are giving away a Digital Art book, filled with the lovely scenery and bloody gore designs from the game, but as a bonus they are also added a full strategy map of the entire island. Including locations for weapon mods and other goodies.
I don’t about you readers, but I think it is worth a look.
Chuck Bittner (also known as The Can’t Stand Up Comic, Ask-A-Capper and ONLYUSEmeFACE) is a Quadriplegic Gamer with a simple request: that game developers include custom button remapping as an option in video games. For disabled gamers like Bittner who can’t move the majority of his body, playing video games is on the most part impossible without the option of assigning which button does what. As a result, Bittner is forced to play games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with his face, and he’s not alone. For a bit over a year now, Bittner has been running an online petition for handicapped gamers, as a plea to game developers to allow button remapping in video games, so they can find a way to play. At the time of writing this, the petition is currently over 75 thousand strong, but still aims to get a lot more signatures in order to make an important difference.
YOU can help gamers like Chuck bysigning the petition here, or you can view his ‘can’t stand up’ comedy and asking him questions yourself at his website, www.askacapper.com, or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Chuck will also be appearing on the Capsule Computers Podcast next week, so if you have any questions you would like answered on the podcast, you can post them below or send them to [email protected].
Street Fighter III: The Third Strike: Online Edition has fought it’s way onto the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace, with a couple hadokens thrown in for good measure. The online edition of Street Fighter III: The Third Strike takes the classic game into the world of online gameing with intense battles now taking place world-wide. Along-side the online mode are several other fist-pumping new features as detailed in the following press release:
Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition, one of the most revered, deep, and sophisticated fighting games of all time, now takes the battle online. Fighting game fans new and old owe it to themselves to experience this mastery of 2D fighting. Throw down with enhanced HD-filtered graphics, arcade-perfect gameplay, GGPO seamless multiplayer, YouTube™ replay sharing, new art, and more. It’s time you realized it’s the third strike that counts.
With all these amazing new features, you’d have to be KO’d to miss out on this revival of what is without a doubt a gaming classic. You can purchase Street Fighter III: The Third Strike: Online Edition now on the XBLA or on the official Xbox website here.
Konami have made it no secret that they want everyone to test out their upcoming football simulator, Pro Evo Soccer 2012. Recently the publisher announced they would launch two free downloadable demos, the first of which is now available.
The demo is based on a preview build of the game – not at all representative of the final product -, designed to allow players to test out the new features that will be included in the title. Players can test out the Teammate Control system that allows two players to be controlled at once; the demo will also allow players to see the new Active AI Konami are bringing to the game. In addition, the demo will feature Challenge Training elements as well so players can practice the new controls. The current roster for the demo will see six teams featured: Manchester United, AC Milan, FC Porto, S.S.C. Napoli, Santos FC and C.A. Panarol.
A second free demo will be issued closer to the release date, and will allow gamers to get a glimpse of what the final product will look like. It will offer 10-minute matches but has a different lineup of teams: gamers will play as either Tottenham Hotspur, FC Bayern Munich, FC Internazionale Milano, Rangers FC, Club America or Sport Club International.
The demo is available for PS3 on the Playstation Network and PC from the download link here. However, an Xbox 360 demo will be yet to surface due to unforeseen issues in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Konami says the demo will be available sometime in September.
If your 3DS is missing a bit of CommanderVideo in your life then Aksys has just the game for you, and very soon at at. Both BIT.TRIP SAGA for the Nintendo 3DS and BIT.TRIP COMPLETE for the Wii will be released in North America on September 13th. For those who don’t know, BIT.TRIP.SAGA contains Bit.Trip Beat, Core, Void, Runner, Fate and Flux all with 3D upgrades.
Also if you happen to pre-order either the Wii version or the 3DS version at Gamespot, you will be able to get the BIT.TRIP SOUNDTRACK SAMPLER which you can see below. This CD comes with a sampling of music from each BIT.TRIP title and is a must have for those who love this bizarre side-scrolling shooter.
Here’s our latest excerpt in the 100 games you must play before you die series. This week sees a particularly great lineup of games gracing our list as Time Crisis 2, Resident Evil 4 and Mass Effect 2 all make it on our top list of 100 to play before your time is up. Remember – the games are in no particular order.
Thinking back I must say, I’ve always had a love for Japan. Having read James Clavell’s masterpiece novel Shogun at an early age made me even more determined to learn more about Japan; to my surprise not long after reading the novel, Shogun was released on the Commodore 64. Picking this up for only $10 (which was about equivalent to about $50-$70 back in the day), I was super excited. I threw the game it into my C64 Cassette deck typed in LOAD, then pressed PLAY on the tape recorder and waited for what seemed to be an eternity for the game to load. Once it finished loading the intro music started playing. To this day I have not forgotten it: the music was composed amazingly well with simple audio tools they possessed back then. Personally, I think Shogun really hit home with the music score (as I’m typing this I’m humming the theme song).
In Shogun, the main goal of the game is to gather 20 followers and become the Shogun of Japan. This isn’t an easy task depending on what character you select. Many of the main characters from the novel are available to choose from such as Captain Blackthorn or Lord Toranaga. Along the way you can bribe, befriend, attack, kill rival lords, or anyone you think is a threat. The great thing about the game is it provides you with a live news feed explaining what’s going on in different parts of the game, such as “this person killed this person” or “this person is now friends with person”. For a game made back in 1986, I have to say that its truly was a work of art and very well programmed.
To complete the game you must have in your possession, the Mirror, Scroll and Buddha along with 20 followers. If you can pull this off you become the Shogun of Japan and the game is complete. I’ve heard that this can be done in less than 30 mins. I personally haven’t been able to finish it in that time but managed to get it done closer to the hour mark.
Getting your hands on Shogun will not be an easy task as the C64 is quite a rare item to get your hands, let alone sourcing a copy of the game itself. Probably your best bet for now would be checking out footage and gameplay on Youtube. If you can grab yourself a copy of the game play it and enjoy every minute, because classic games like this don’t come around very often.
The original Time Crisis II is one of my personal favourite video games of all time. The original Time Crisis revolutionised the rail-shooter genre by introducing an exciting duck-and-cover system, the helpful ‘crisis flash’ system and an epic time-based style of game play to speed things up. The sequel brings in a few new things, but most importantly it introduces a second player with both co-op and competitive game play. What’s so innovative about how this is done however, is that each player has a separate screen and a separate path to take. You constantly feel in competition with your partner to shoot secret event items first and shoot the enemy before the other player. There’s also an interesting take on friendly fire, as instead of loosing lives you lose points, which is a huge loss since the game as largely points-based. It’s also one of those few games that actually make you feel like your letting your partner down if you die, so you get this extra urge to stay alive and keep playing.
The narrator has a really memorable and awesome voice, and the game is filled with variety so nothing ever feels old. The bosses are cinematic, memorable and really exciting, and the cut scenes are done well with an interesting story that doesn’t drag on and keeps the action going – with some awesome scenarios to accompany them. Sporting an amazing soundtrack, great graphics (for its time), and the best damn level design I’ve personally ever seen in a rail-shooter, Time Crisis II is a must play!
You’ve played Resident Evil 4. Of course you have. Even if you haven’t played it you still have in some capacity. No other game in the last decade has been as influential as it. RE4 is responsible for creating the template of the third person action game as we now know it. The over the shoulder view, having the character in the lower left of the screen, the popular proliferation of quick time events. Yep that’s right, even QTE. RE4 may not have created them but it sure as hell made them popular with all the kiddos. RE4 was a drastic departure from the previous games in the series. Known for clunky controls; well the controls were still clunky –lets say, clunkier controls, scarce ammo and a creepy/moody atmosphere with lots of jump scares. RE4 changed all of those, the mood was less scary with more of an action/adventure vibe with it, ammo was far easier to come by, you can control where you shot far easier and you were no longer stuck in one or two locations continually backtracking. However it wasn’t all rose pedals and gum drops during production. RE4 went through 4 versions before the final was eventually made, the first one eventually morphed and was turned into Devil May Cry, another version, dubbed “fog version” saw Leon S. Kennedy (the protagonist of the final version) infiltrating the Umbrella headquarters in Europe. Fog version was 40% complete, scrapped and followed up by what’s known as the “hook version” which featured Leon again fighting spectres, suits of armour and, you guessed it, the hook man. There’s a video of this version floating around the internet.
So what does this tell us? That you shouldn’t be afraid to scrap an idea you’re not confident in and iterate until you are. However that only works if you have millions of dollars and an infinite amount of time. But in this scenario, it really paid off. I’m not sure if the Resident Evil series will ever have another title in it like RE4<, but then again it’s hard to top one of the best games in the history of video games.
34. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Platform: Xbox/PC Genre: RPG Release date: 2003 Nominated by: Roger Ma
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the best Star Wars games ever made. Set 4,000 years before the films (thereby cleverly sidestepping the complex Star Wars film canon), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicc is at heart an innovative RPG that plunged players deep into the Star Wars universe, leaving them free to explore the living, breathing galaxy.
As the game was not based on the films, Bioware was free to create their own unique epic story filled with memorable characters, settings, worlds and of cause one of the biggest plot twists ever told in a video game (if you haven’t played the game, please don’t go look this one up. Trust me, this one is worth playing the game for).
Asides from an epic story, what made the game so good was its setting. Bioware made sure that you were, in fact, in the Star Wars universe. Knights of the Old Republic was one first games to employ a dialogue tree with full voice acting, along with a morality system that actually effected events in the game later down the track. You choice in the game of which planets you visit affects whether you became a Light or Dark Jedi – these choices are entirely up to the player to make.
On top of this, the game just played well: both hardcore RPG players and causal fans could easily pick up and play this game without being alienated or freaked out by overly complex statistics, skill trees, menu layouts etc. Bioware found a balance between accessibility and depth in the RPG genre. They didn’t dumb it down; nor did they make the game overly complicated. Tying solid gameplay to Star Wars…well who knew that they were on to a winner?
If Half-Life 2 was the stand-out intelligent shooter of the last generation, then Bioshock is the current equivalent. While its shooting mechanics essentially stuck to genre standards, it dressed them up with a combination of regular weapons and genetic enhancements that allowed the player to unleash from their own arms a lightning storm, fireballs, or a swarm of bees, among others.
However, the most striking thing about the game was its setting: the underwater dystopia of Rapture. Secretly built at the bottom of the ocean in the 1940s, Rapture was designed to allow people to pursue their own goals that may fall outside of what society deems moral. Of course, it doesn’t go well, and the player arrives by way of plane crash twenty years later to find the city in ruin, stalked by its psychotic, genetically-modified residents known as Splicers. But the creepiest and most dangerous residents are the Big Daddies and Little Sisters, who roam the halls in pairs, collecting genetic material from the dead. The Little Sisters form the game’s central moral dilemma: kill them and harvest the valuable genetic material they carry, or save them from their zombie-like state and surrender your prize. Either way, first you have to get through her bodyguard: the hulking, diving suit-clad, drill-armed Big Daddy.
Bioshock was also praised for using a political and philosophical base, something video games had rarely (if ever) done previously. It was largely based around Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, and used elements of Art Deco and Steampunk in its environment design. It even challenged video game conventions such as player control: the “Would You Kindly…” revelation is one of gaming’s most powerful narrative twists.
Bioshock isn’t perfect by any means, but it should be noted for its achievements in straying from the norm, playing the posterchild of the “For” argument in the ongoing “Video Games As Art” debate, and attracting the attention of the general public to recognise video games as a maturing and versatile medium.
The Tales RPG series never truly competed with the Final Fantasy series (or Dragon Quest series, for that matter). The games just lacked the same spark that sent those series to fame…that is until Tales of Symphonia came along. Although it was released for the Gamecube (a console which is known for its low level of popularity), Tales of Symphonia made a huge statement in the RPG world and made waves that have impacted the genre ever since.
With an unprecedented battle system that went on the influence RPG games that came after it, memorable characters and a brilliantly concieved storyline that doesn’t require an elephant’s memory to remember every single little detail in order to be comprehended, Tales of Symphonia not only changed the RPG genre overnight but it left a lasting impact on the Gamecube platform as well as gaming history. This is indeed one RPG you have to play before you die.
37. Tetris
Platform: Game Boy Genre: Puzzle Release date: 1989 Nominated by: Jack Joly
A good measure of Tetris‘ success would have to be the amount of imitations out there; on a yearly basis the legal team must have their work cut out for them as they – with a hint of regret seeing as they could be destroying something creative – battle to shut down projects which copy their game. It must be hard to avoid similarities though, because Tetris is the definitive puzzler – almost a loose framework that many may feel inclined to build on.
Its simplicity is the reason Tetris is so addictive: the shifting of various shapes made up of four squares into neat lines hits a chord with our instinctive desire to organise. Almost every console has been christened by some form of the game appearing on the system, although the conclusive edition is still on the original Game Boy. As a launch title, it helped the system shift many more units as a Tetris craze swept the world, all the while making it portable so you could shift blocks with five minutes spare on the go.
38. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Platform: Sega Master System/Wii/XBLA/PSN Genre: Platform Release date: 1987 Nominated by: Kyle Moore
Sega’s answer to Mario, Alex Kidd, would go on to visit many worlds through out his time in video gaming. However, no world was so engaging and memorable as the very first: Miracle World. Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platform game released for the Sega Master System in the late 80’s that also incorporated some strategy elements. Armed with a mighty fist, Alex Kidd was able to punch enemies and grab bags of money in order to purchase some pretty cool vehicles along the way, such as motorbikes or peddle powered helicopters. One of the most notable features is the inclusion of boss levels where you must play rock-paper-scissors (jan-ken-pon) in order to progress further, eventually facing off against Janken the Great. It’s this element that makes the game so unique, not to mention some pretty fun, often frustrating level design.
Perhaps my motivation for including Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a little personal, seeing as it was my first video gaming experience – one that taunted me with endless difficulty from the age of five until my Master System finally burnt out and passed away. Armed with new found dexterity, I was finally able to beat the game (an emulated version I struggled to find before the game was available for download), reaffirming my nostalgic love of the game.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World stands as the best of the Alex Kidd franchise, and at the time of release up until the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Alex Kidd acted as a mascot for Sega. Given the success of Sonic as a franchise, perhaps this was the best move. However, in doing this Sega have pushed Alex Kidd in Miracle World back into the vacuum of video gaming history making it a lost treasure of sorts. With the release the game for Wii’s Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, it’ll be all too easy to jump into the 8-bit Miracle World alongside Alex Kidd at least one time before you die.
39. Mass Effect 2
Platform: Xbox 360/PS3 Genre: Action/RPG Release date: 2010 Nominated by: Kelly Teng
One of the biggest complaints I have about “choose your own adventure” types of games is that the decision making always feels forced, and no matter what happens, it still feels like you’re playing through a linear title…that is, until Mass Effect 2 came along. With characters that truly touched your heart, a style of gameplay that virtually allowed you to customise everything, and a narrative that requires you to go out and save the universe, ME2 truly was a delight to play.
Even if sci-fi style games aren’t your cup of tea, it’s definitely worth having a taste of what ME2 has to offer. Being able to play as both the good guy and the bad guy offers endless possibilities, and many have replayed the title more than once simply to see how everything would have been if different choices had been made throughout the title. Throw this in with wonderful graphics, and a complex backstory on the different races and different nebulas, and you have a title that is enjoyable from start to finish, and then some.
I dont have a massive amount to say about Ico despite it being in my list of choices of must play game titles – the main reason being that I dont remember any of the finer details of the games storyline or any of the characters encountered. What I do remember, however, is the sheer beauty of the game, the vast open spaces and the minimalistic feel to the entire environment. The game had a very Japanese feel to it, depsite being a commercially available Western title and centered around a boy meets girl concept. Ico came onto the market in a similar manner to Portal 2 and was lapped up by gamers bored with rehashed titles solely based around guns and weaponry. It offered a challenge not before seen within console titles and was groundbreaking in concept and visuals. Ico will be available in all its glory as Sony have decided to give it a makeover and will be releasing a HD version. This title truly is a work of art.
The ever-growing Playstation Vita library can add another title as Canadian studio DrinkBox Studios have announced their second title will debut on Sony’s new handheld. Entitled Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!, this is a sequel for their debut game, Tales from Space: About a Blob, which is available on the Playstation Network. Players will take control a new Blob character through new levels and experience new controls and new powers.
Here is what DrinkBox Designer Chris McQuinn had to say:
“The control systems available on the PlayStation®Vita have allowed us to experiment with all kinds of new gameplay possibilities. We’re finding that touch controls in particular can be used to complement traditional thumb-stick puzzle-platforming very well. We learned a lot developing our first game – we want to use that experience to deliver the best game we can in Mutant Blobs Attack.”
The game will be a downloadable only title and will target the North American Vita launch for their release date. The game does sound interesting. I now want to see what the game looks like and how it plays. I might get the chance to, as well as everyone else, as the game will make its debut at PAX 2011.
