With The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s release date growing closer and closer, there are still a few things which have yet been unanswered about what fans could expect this time around. Mainly, one of those things is the way that enemies will end up scaling to the way that the player levels up. In past Elder Scrolls titles, enemies scaled in level to the character, often meaning a weak rat could still pose a threat.
However Todd Howard, director of Skyrim, let slip to PC Gamer that enemies in Skyrim will be ” a lot more like Fallout 3, where as you level up you are going to see harder things, but the easier things stay around as well” and if you happen to “run into the weaker stuff you’ll just decimate it.”
He also revealed that conversations with NPCs will focus more on the way they were in Fallout 3, with players able to have specific conversations with specific people rather than completely random such as before.
Attention Sydney gamers! Do you want to get a cheeky play of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations before its release date? YES of cause you do! Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be fully playable across six screens at Sydney’s coolest new night out – INSERT COIN(S): LEVEL 2! at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday November 10.
Insert Coin(S) is a new event that brings together games, music and art along with geek culture and fashion all in to one venue – complete with retro arcade gaming machines and 80s-style milk bar. This will be Insert Coin(S)’ second incarnation with its first arcade night successfully hitting it off back in September earlier this year.
Tickets to INSERT COIN(S): LEVEL 2! are only $10. For more information check out their Facebook page
With all the fighting and hype that’s generated between Apple and Samsung over their smartphones one would be wise not to forget Nokia. Speaking at Nokia world in London, the CEO of the company unveiled two new major developments in their smart phone range, as well as a multitude of services and accessories, sure to keep the most avid early adopter pleased.
A welcome addition to the Nokia family will be the companies first Windows based smartphones in the Lumia family range. Both will feature Nokia Drive, a personal navigation device as well as Nokia music with built in gigfinder, a global music streaming app with a live music finder for on the go use. Nokia have also teamed up with Monster who have co-designed and co-developed the on/in ear purity earpieces accompanying the smartphones.
There has also been more of an emphasis placed on navigation and location based tools with the introduction of Nokia Pulse and Nokia Live view, which can add locations to conversations and act as a reality augmenting tool respectively.
Nokia Lumia 800 and 710.
Both will feature a 3.7” screen perfect for watching movies, viewing pictures, emails and anything you require on the go. In terms of the processor, anyone considering the 710 will be pleased to hear Nokia has used the same 1.4GHz processor as the 800 model. While the 800 is packed with 16Gb of internal memory the 700 doesn’t come in far behind boasting 8Gb for music and entertainment. Both phones feature the Windows mango OS while the 800 series will feature an 8MP instant share camera and the 700 a 5MP camera both based on top end Carl Zeiss optics.
Asha family
With the Asha family of smartphones, Nokia aims to bring to market high quality devices that focus on todays fast paced society, providing easy access to social networks, internet and information. Asha, which is derived from the Hindi word for hope, signifies Nokias commitment to providing positive user experiences, helping them aspire towards their dreams. With the Asha family, the goal is to bring to users a perfect blend of smartphone and feature phone or the best of two worlds.
Nokia will release four versions to begin within the Asha family, with the 200 series being a perfect starter phone for younger users. The 303 and 301 models, although both featuring a 1GHz processor, differ in keyboard layout (the 303 offers a QWERTY style), memory and camera quality, and while the 303 has a slightly larger screen the cheaper 300 actually has a better 5MP camera and slightly more internal memory (although insignificant).
Aimed at a younger audience the 200 and 201 are almost identical, with the only difference being the 200 has dual-sim function with a hot swap feature whilst the other model is a single sim. Despite being simplistic in design, which is perfect for young users, the phones are jam packed with features, such as high speed internet ability, a high powered speaker for those bass packed tunes and most impressively a battery that can handle 52 hours of music playback.
All models are expected to be released at the end of the year, with expansion moving into other markets in 2012 aside from Europe. Pricing is not set in stone but will be approximately
Nokia Lumia 800 – 420 EUR
Nokia Lumia 710 – 270 EUR
Nokia Asha 310 – 115 EUR
Nokia Asha 300 – 85 EUR
Nokia Asha 210 and 200 – 60 EUR
Keep posted to capsulecomputers for more Nokia news and for any more information regarding these products please visit Nokia.com and read more.
As we approach the release date of Saints Row: The Third, THQ and Volition have announced the launch of the Saints Row: Initiation Station beta, which is available now.
You can create, share and upload crazy character creations with the Initiation Station and save them online. Just log on to the Saints Row site SaintsRow.com, and you can also vote for your favourite creations which you can download directly to Saints Row: The Third upon it’s release on November 15.
At first only those who purchased the Saints Row: Double Pack or pre-ordered Red Faction: Armageddon will be emailed download codes directly. For everyone else, the public Initiation Station will be available to download via PSN, Xbox Live and Steam starting November 1.
Check out a very, err…engaging instructional video about the Initiation Station down below. Don’t forget to also head over to the Saints Row YouTube channel to catch up on the cherished memories, with Cherished Memories #5 being released earlier today, featuring sticky bomb suicide attacks!
In perhaps a first for the Yakuza series, the next entry may move outside of the standard city Kamurocho. Sega’s own Toshihiro Nagoshi revealed yesterday in a Nico Nico broadcast that besides the usual city, a new city will also be added into Yakuza 5. Andriasang reports that the current cities that have been thrown around are Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
To make things even better, Sega is offering fans a chance to share their opinions on which of those four cities they would rather see in the next game. On the all Japanese site, fans can select one of the four cities and also explain why they would want to see this one in the next title. Unfortunately they did not say whether or not fans will actually have a say in the decision.
Well well well… Those with long memories should remember that Electronic Arts and Sony stated that there would be a decent incentive for people to pick up a PlayStation 3 version of Battlefield 3. Namely that it would include a free copy of Battlefield 1943 which certainly is a nice bonus to those already intent on purchasing the title.
Unfortunately this didn’t seem to be the case, as since the game came out yesterday, PlayStation 3 purchasers have disappointingly discovered that there would be no free game with their purchase. EA never announced that they would be refuting the bonus content, and instead simply let the fact go unnoticed until release. Under complaint of customers, EA issued a statement via Twitter saying “in lieu of 1943 being available on disk for PS3 customers, EA has made all BF3 expansions available early to PS3 customers.” Poor move EA…
Uh oh, it seems that the PlayStation Vita may cost most people a tad bit more than they were expecting to shell out when it is released next year. Sure you may save $50 by avoiding the ridiculous 3G version and only pay $250 for your Vita, but that extra money you saved will likely have to be dropped on an expensive Sony brand memory card if you want to even play your games.
Famitsu reported in their weekly issue, that some games will not even start without a memory card inserted. Andriasang goes on to detail that a few of these titles are huge names, including what will likely be the most sought after title upon release, Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Famitsu even goes so far to say that the memory card is “pretty much a requirement” and without it, your Vita may be as useful as a paperweight with a few apps installed.
Good news, everyone. It seems that Konami has revealed a specific release date for the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Expect the game’s release on February 2, 2012 for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The collection will contain five games. Three of those games headline the package. Fans will revisit Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (originally release for the Playstation 2), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (also a Playstation 2 release) and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (originally released on the Playstation Portable), all remastered in high definition. Fans will also be pleased to hear that there Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, both released on the MSX in Japan over 20 years ago. That is a long time ago. these will not be in HD, rather the original games untouched.
For all of the fans out ther eagerly anticipating this title, mabye this trailer will feed the growing appetite. This is a playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Also expect the game to grace the Playstation Vita next year. There has been no word on a specific date for this version of the game.
[UPDATE] The North Americans will be getting it a little earlier than the Europeans as the game will see a release of November 8 2011 on the continent.
Hot off the press The Black Keys (above) latest single ‘Lonely Boy’ from their upcoming album El Camino, features in latest Need for Speed The Run Trailer. The song itself only debuted yesterday and it is surprising to see it appear this quickly in a video game. Alongside the awesome song, the trailer showcases never before seen gameplay footage of the Need for Speed The Run in action, reminding gamers of the fast pace racing that the Need for Speed franchise has become so renowned for.
The full retail release of Need for Speed The Run is scheduled on November 15 in North America, November 17 in Australia and Europe and on November 18 in New Zealand for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, PC and handheld iOS and Nintendo 3DS.
However if you’re keen to get your hands on a taste of Need for Speed The Run, a demo of the game is available to download now.
Other Ocean Interactive’s side scrolling platformer ‘The War of the Worlds’ is now available for download on Xbox Live Arcade. This new game is fresh take on the famous science fiction novel of the same name by H. G. Wells. As a 2D platfomer, the game features old school gameplay alongside highly stylised visuals and graphics.
The game’s story is set alongside the 1953 film adaptation (not the 2005 one, thankfully) where a Martian invasion of Earth has taken place, leaving players to follow the events, narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart, through the eyes of an unknown everyman.
The War of the Worlds is available to download now on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points.
