Madman is great at providing us with homegrown Aussie flicks, and September will see the release of another great one. Justin Kurzel’s film debut, Snowtown, will be releasing on September 21, 2011.
The film is based on the Snowtown murders, where eight bodies were found in acid barrels in a former bank building in Snowtown, SA. The number of people murdered eventually reached 11 over the course of a decade, and a man by the name of John Bunting was arrested as the lead conspirator in the gruesome crime.
However, Snowtown the movie takes a different approach. Instead of simply following Bunting’s life, it instead looks at it from the point-of-view of Jamie Vlasskis – a teenager who lives with his mother and two younger brothers in a housing community in Adelaide. When he is introduced to his mother’s new boyfriend, John Bunting, they immediately become friends. Little does Jamie know, though, that this man is responsible for Australia’s worst serial killings.
The DVD will contain special features, including audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes, an interview with the director, and original casting footage. Snowtown will be available on DVD for $34.95 and Blu-ray for $39.95.
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!”.
For the Western world, Prank shows are all about making celebrities angry, confusing people with silly costumes, tricking people into thinking their car got towed, etc. But what would happen if the Prank show format was put into the hands of the Japanese? Well let’s just say the Japanese are known to be… well, rather extreme.
Check out this clip from Japanese Prank show, Panic Face King below. This poor man thought he had been selected to be interviewed for a documentary on the subject of telephone scams. Needless to say, it was a prank that this man will never forget. Oh, Japan!
If you happen to own an Xperia Play phone, then your purchase has just been justified because the Xperia Play can now download the Minecraft: Pocket Edition app from the Android Market right now. Minecraft: Pocket Edition will cost $6.99 at the moment and those familiar with Minecraft should know that this app is currently at the stage Alpha 0.1.
Despite being a very early build, gamers will have 36 different block types to build with either on their own or with another player all in randomized worlds. The game will be continually developed as time passes similar to the normal Minecraft that is on PC, Mac and Linux. Those who don’t have an Xperia Play may still be able to play Minecraft: Pocket Edition in the future as they are working to make it available to other Android capable phones.
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is the upcoming game from Bethesda. I’m sure that everyone on the internet is looking forward to this game, and for good reason. The game is the follow-up to the highly regarded The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and looks like it’s not only taking what made Oblivion great, but going an extra mile in making it into an awesome game.
So this weeks Capsule Theatre of Vision is a look into the world of Skyrim, as seen at QuakeCon 2011, via shakey cam. I hope you all enjoy this 40minute video as much as I did, even if the sound and visuals desynchronise towards the end there.
Moon Diver Platform: XBLA Publisher: Square Enix Developer: AQ Interactive Inc. Genre: Beat Em’ Up
Overview:
The side-scrolling Beat Em’ Up is a rare breed in this modern gaming world. Even rarer is a truly good side-scrolling Beat Em’Up. However many mediocre and just plain bad games have had the gaul to call themselves that kind of game, the genre has always had it’s shining gems. From Battletoads to Double Dragon or TMNT: Turtles in the Time to River City Ransom. The genre has arguably had more hits than a lot of other genres could claim. That brings us to Moon Diver, the latest to join the crowded room of side-scrolling Beat Em’Ups. Does Moon Diver ride the milky way right to the moon or does it crash and burn?
Gameplay:
As previously stated, Moon Diver is a side-scrolling Beat Em’Up. However it doesn’t feel much like the Beat Em’Ups of old, not entirely at least. Instead it expresses a feel and imagery closer to the Sub Space Emissary mode of Smash Bros. Brawl. That may be an odd comparison with a Square Enix title featuring a large cast of anime-esque characters but it is very reminiscent to say the least. But this isn’t a comparison this is a review of the game as it stands alone.
Standing alone, Moon Diver is an appealing and attractive game. It plays well and the cooperative gameplay is indeed a great deal of fun. I was fortunate enough to play with a partner and we were both captivated by the game. The controls are easy to learn and are incredibly accurate. Not once during play did I find that I had difficulty controlling my character or performing gameplay tasks. It was a very streamlined control experience.
It is worth noting that the game features RPG elements as you’d expect from a Square Enix title which does indeed give it a different feel to your everyday Beat Em’Up. Each character has their own unique abilities and personality. It’s Square Enix to a tee. One thing I did feel from the characters was a Strider-esque vibe. I’m not sure whether it’s due to fact that they are ninjas or what, but they remind me strongly of Strider. Which as Strider fans would know, can not be a bad thing.
Being ninjas the characters are expectedly acrobatic. This is a large part of Moon Diver’s uniqueness, as you can have the characters flip about, cling to cieling and bounce off walls. All of this looks so fluid and natural that you quickly become acustomed to the games physics and can just run wild with it.
Overall, Moon Diver features fascinating gameplay mechanics which spin some RPG elements and interesting physics nicely into the classic Beat’Em Up formula to great results.
Visuals:
Graphically, Moon Diver is impressive for an Xbox Live Arcade title. With beautifully concieved lush world designs and very unique anime styled characters it is difficult to dispute that Moon Diver looks brilliant.
The characters are full of such vigor and life, it is a total viewing pleasure to simply watch your character move with the grace and precision of a ninja. At times I found myself getting caught up in my characters movements and noticing the fine detail and attention put into the simple things such as running. It is incredibly impressive and it truly shows how much care was put into it’s creation.
The visuals of Moon Diver are all in all a wonder to behold, they not only are well done for an Xbox Live Arcade title, but they are also well done for an Xbox title in general. Some full retail releases struggle to look this good and that’s truly a testament to the game and its developers.
Audio:
Moon Diver boasts a well composed soundtrack which provides a suitable score for the gameplay. They do their job perfectly and are never repetitive or monotonous. Each track creates the appropriate mood and atmosphere without faltering.
It is the exact type of music you would expect from a Square Enix release and the developers did a good job matching the music to the action. There is nothing to fault the games music on what so ever.
Conclusion:
In closing, Moon Diver is a game that harkens back feelings of nostalgia whilst feeling as fresh as cold water on a hot summers day. The game is fast, intense, compelling, nostalgic, fresh and most of all fun. You could find hours of enjoyment hidden in this underappreciated Beat Em’ Up.
Whilst games such as Bastion and From Dust have currently taken the Xbox Live Arcade by storm, Moon Diver is seated right besides them, calling out to be played. Is it within the league of those titles? Indeed it is? Is it better than those titles? That is up to you to decide. One thing is for sure however, Moon Diver is not a game to be missed.
Hard Reset is a title that hasn’t seen a whole lot of press coverage, but this latest trailer begs the question as to why that is. Today Flying Wild Hog, the developer behind Hard Reset, released a story trailer for the game which you can see below. The comic styled cut-scenes are an excellent way to tell a story, especially if they are all as high quality as shown in the video.
For those who do not know, Hard Reset is about a man named Major Fletcher who has been dragged into a war with two of mankind’s greatest enemies. Unfortunately he soon will find out that nothing he knows is as it seems to be. Catch the trailer below and Hard Reset sometime next month.
You know what developing company didn’t actually have their own website despite making a few games already? Including the popular Cave Story on the Wii? Well that may as well be the biggest hint right there, becaues NICALiS, developer of Cave Story and the group bringing us Cave Story 3D has launched their own official website today.
You can find the website here. Personally I really enjoy the pixelated look and the website has the most interactive and unique look you can find among game developers nowadays as nearly everything has become so streamlined. Currently NICALiS doesn’t list Cave Story 3D on their website, though with NIS America helping them publish the title on the 3DS, expect it to show up soon.
Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland is exactly what the PlayStation 3 needs right now. Not only do we have Disgaea 4 coming out in a couple of weeks, but with Atelier Totori coming out a few weeks after that, the PlayStation 3 is going to be getting plenty of new quality RPGs, especially after the stagnant period it has suffered as far as RPGs go.
NIS America is taking advantage of this RPG dry period by releasing a new official trailer for Atelier Totori which you can either see on the game’s official website here, or below. In the trailer we are shown not only the gorgeous graphics that the game contains but also a number of the characters special moves and the upgrades to other parts of the game since Atelier Rorona.
Fans of the Vocaloid game series, Hatsune Miku Project Diva, will never be released overseas in North America in any shape or form. Of course that is what the region free PSP is for and importation of video games. Thus we present the latest, very long trailer for Hatsune Miku Project Diva Extend which is the next PSP Hatsune Miku title.
You can catch the video below and see roughly four minutes of gameplay and the end of the video which shows off an animated clip that could be used as the opening video for the game. Those looking to import the title should know that the game is going to be released on November 10th, though a price tag is currently unknown.
If you were still concerned about what Resident Evil Code Veronica X HD will look like, then you should take a look below because Capcom recently released a number of screenshots for the title,focusing entirely on our heroine Claire Redfield. Resident Evil Code Veronica X HD will be released on the Xbox Live Games on Demand and PlayStation Network on September 27th.
Unfortunately there is still no word of an actual retail release for Resident Evil Code Veronica X HD nor Resident Evil 4 HD which is a depressing state of mind, as fans of these classics would certainly enjoy having a physical copy on their shelves. Currently there is also no price for how much Resident Evil Code Veronica X HD will cost, though expect an announcement regarding that in coming weeks.
