It’s been a long time coming, but Aliens: Colonial Marines finally has a full trailer! The game was first announced all the way back in 2006, and is actually the second title to carry the Colonial Marines title after a cancelled PS2 effort from EA in 2001. This one has survived however, and is being brought to the table by Gearbox Software and Sega.
Players will take charge of a group of United States Colonial Marines as they board a deserted spaceship to try and discover what has happened to the crew. If you’re a big fan of the movies, then the name of the ship should ring a bell – the U.S.S Sulaco. That’s right, it’s the ship that Ripley and the marines of Aliens use to make their way to a certain xenomorph infested colony…
What’s great to see is that the game tackles the Alien universe as it should be – free of Predators! Weapons and environments such as Hadley’s Hope and LV-426 are all drawn from the films, and there are a couple of Battlestar Galactica writers on board to flesh out the story. It sounds fantastic, and now that a trailer with some gameplay has actually landed, looks the part too, with plenty of ferocious xenomorphs lurking in the shadows (or not).
A release date is yet to be confirmed, but Gearbox and publishers Sega are aiming for a spring 2012 release for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game is also being developed on Nintendo’s up and coming Wii U, but there seems to be a bit of uncertainty as to when or if the game will be released on the new console. Fingers crossed that Nintendo doesn’t get left out of the facehugger party!
Feel like playing the next big hockey game to come out of EA Sports but don’t feel like paying a whole lot of money for that Season Pass? Well there is a demo released today on the Xbox Live Marketplace which will allow you to get just a little taste of what to expect in a few weeks when the NHL 12 is released to stores. You will be able to check out the new goalie interaction as well as smashing your opponent’s players through the glass.
If hockey isn’t violent enough for you, there is also a very bloody and violent demo available today as well. The demo for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine went live today as well, which will let you get a bit of a taste of the title before it is released on September 6th. Now if only they made hockey sticks with chainsaws built in…
The PlayStation Home service is either something you love, or tried once and ignored ever since. But Sony isn’t going to let you just forget about this free service, because they will be updating the PlayStation Home with a major overhaul that will not only provide a better experience to its users but be more enjoyable to use.
The service will now have a new Hub which will integrate games, quests, community events and user-generated content, while providing players with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options.”
The Hub will allow players to do practically everything that they want to within the Home, including checking on quests or creating their own events on the Activity Board. The Hub isn’t the only facelift however, as there are now four themed areas where you can venture into. These are called the Action District, Sportswalk, Adventure District and Pier Park. Each will have their own theme and focus. This update will come alongside a client update (what else is new?) this Fall.
If you have a PC and are a gamer, then the bane of your existence is always-on or even any type of DRM. From Dust was ported to the PC and has such a DRM service which requires that any time you start the game up you need to verify that you actually own the damn thing by being online. It seems Ubisoft has heard fan outrage because they will be releasing a patch in the next two weeks that will remove the boot-up DRM.
A statement from Ubisoft regarding the patch says that players will automatically get the update as long as they already own the title and “subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline.” While this fixes the problem with the DRM, there are still the massive amount of glitches and problems that may make PC gamers still want to avoid the PC version.
Just the other day I was thinking that Sega has taken a long time to release the next episode in the Sonic 4 game series. It seems that it will take even longer however than it has now because in an interview with Eurogamer, Sonic Team’s Takashi Iikuza explained that Sonic 4 wouldn’t be seeing Episode 2 until next year because this year is Sonic’s anniversary.
The team is “focusing on the celebration title” which is Sonic Generations, and because of the teams focus on the title, Episode 2 will be “moving forward to 2012.” This is a bit of a disappointment to those who enjoyed the downloadable version of Episode 1, but at least it is good to know that the project hasn’t been scrapped, but simply shelved temporarily.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today has announced the release date for Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection: August 31! Available for download worldwide next week on PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade and Windows PC, this will be the first time that all three of the original Mortal Kombat arcade trilogy titles have been brought together in a single collection. Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 we be playable in the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, and will be on sale for £6.29 on PSN and PC, and 800 Microsoft Points for XBLA.
Developed by Other Ocean in conjunction with NetherRealm studios, Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection will also offer a range of new features as well, including online play, leader boards, achievements and trophies. However for the more vintage gamers, fans will also have the chance to choose their destiny by playing the games in their original arcade state as well.
Today SEGA announced that in true fighting game fashion, Virtua Fighter 5 will receive an update/expansion as a standalone title for both Xbox LIVE Arcade the PlayStation Network, titled Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. Final Showdown will include an entire overhaul of Virtua Fighter 5’s mechanics, balance and animations, as well as the inclusion of all new game modes and fighting arenas, and a gigantic collection of customisable character items. The main attraction however, will be two all-new characters added to the roster: Taka-Arashi from Virtua Fighter 3 and new-commer Jean Kujo. Check out these all new features announced in SEGA’s Press Release below!
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown contains the definitive version of VF5, refined over the years since its original arcade debut. The new release also adds an extensive list of features never before seen on consoles. VF5FS will include:
The Perfect Fighting Experience: Virtua Fighter 5’s signature style of hand-to-hand combat, with revised mechanics, balance, timing and more, along with simplified controls for new players while retaining the depth that veterans demand
Dynamic and Interactive Arenas: Fighting areas in new shapes and sizes, including arenas with fences and walls that are different for every round – take unexpected advantage of fighters’ new wall-based moves, or break through the fences with special attacks
A Mode for Every Fight: Dominate the leaderboards with Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown’s extremely responsive one-on-one online battle system, widely praised for having little latency, or take on an army of opponents yourself in a new single-player mode
Customized Combatants: Enter the ring with one of 19 playable characters, including fan favorite Taka-Arashi from Virtua Fighter 3 and an all-new character, Jean Kujo, and customize them with unique costume and character items
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is expected to be available in Summer 2012.
Codemasters has released a gameplay trailer based around the new safety car in F1 2011 and additionally highlighting some great characteristics of the upcoming game including improved graphics, cut scenes and racer animations. A lot of detail has gone in to the new game, right down the winning pointing fingers of Vettel.
The game, which will be released on September 22nd, will allow players to race in various modes including the ability to team up online with a friend in the co-op Championship mode and also race up to 16 players. F1 2011 prides itself on realism, with 20 tracks to choose from and an array of international F1 champions, with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso being obvious inclusions.
After winning a BAFTA for last year’s edition, it will be interesting to see how 2011 not only competes but takes the game to an even greater level.
K-ON! Volume 1 Tag Line: Welcome to the light music club! Produced by: Bandai Entertainment Run time: 100 minutes in 4 episodes Language: English, Japanese Genre: Slice-Of-Life, Comedy, Music Release Date: 20/07/2011 Available for purchase at Madman Online Store ($49.95)
Overview:
Music is a magical thing. It can bring people together and it can also tear them apart. K-ON! leans more towards the former. It tells to story of a small group of girls being brought together by music. It’s a common story, but a good one and K-ON! takes the concept for a joy ride. With cutesy characters and a story told with pure glee, K-ON! makes for simple fun with a warm gooey heart at it’s core.
Story:
As previously stated K-ON! tells the story of a group of girls brought together by music. The key point however is that it’s not simply of a love of music, it’s of the fact that they want something to belong to. School has just begun and everyone is sectioning off into their individual clubs, leaving our lovely cast of girls desperately searching for a place to call their own. Over the course of the first episode the girls haphazardly form the Light Music Club, never taking into account that one of their members can’t play an instrument and that the others aren’t even very good.
None of this matters to them though, they are looking for somewhere to belong. They do not want to be alone and that is the gooey centre of K-ON! The fact that these girls want to be part of something resonates with the viewer. Every human being, deep inside, has that sense of belonging and that is where K-ON! connects with the viewer. Although it doesn’t wear that message too clearly, it’s visible enough to sink into the minds of those watching.
With this being only the first 4 episodes of the series there is a lot of room for the series to grow into something greater. It certainly has the potential to become something huge and that possibility of growth is resoundingly clear. Only time will tell as Madman releases future volumes.
Characters:
K-ON! boasts a well rounded and cleverly concieved cast of characters. All of whom are cute and memorable by all counts. With the series having such a huge fandom, the images of these characters has made it’s way into anime fans psyches over the past few years and that is a testament to the characters iconic status.
It’s clear to see where that status came from when watching this volume as each character is surprisingly original and unique when compared to the plethora of cute anime girl characters that have flooded the market. These characters all bounce off one another so perfectly it is almost a magic feeling at how well developed they are.
Artwork:
The series artwork is put simply brilliant. It achieves everything it sets out to do without fail. The character designs are expertly crafted, with each character looking so cute it is hard to note feel warm inside when looking at these plush-like girls.
The backgrounds are likewise well made and incredibly well defined and detailed for a series of this genre. Let’s not forget the instruments, which as simply astonishing to look at. So much fine detail was placed into them in an attempt to recreate real life music kits. I found myself oggling these music makers with delight, they look that good.
Another great part of this series was it’s fluid animation which brought the girls to life. For a series with little action, there was a lot of motion when it came to these girls movements. Whether it be Yui falling over something due to her usual clumsy behaviour or watching the girls bop about whilst belting out some tunes, the animation was rock solid.
Audio:
For an anime series about music, this section can mean life or death. Thankfully K-ON! lives on with an amazing soundtrack with tracks that will reverberate throughout your entire body making their way up into your head and make themselves at home for the next few days. It is catchy music at it’s best, without a doubt.
The opening and ending tracks are also extremely well done and suit the series to a tee. Both of which are also catchy ear candy that you will certainly find yourself humming long after putting away your DVD. I know I did.
Let’s not forget the voice work which is brilliant on both audio tracks. But for this review I will be commenting on the English track. Which was a great job, with stand out performances from Stephanie Sheh, known for her role as similarly daft girl Orihime Inoue from Bleach. She perfectly encapsulated Yui Hirasawa’s clumsy personality without fail. Overall it was a brilliant job by the audio department.
Special Features:
Madman has done a really good job here. We have on disc a great interview with the voice of Yui Hirasawa, Stephanie Sheh who I previously mentioned as doing a good job with her character. However other than this interview there is little else besides trailers for upcoming releases. But for a 4 episode volume release, there is no reason to complain when you get an interview with the voice of the protagonist.
There is also a very nice reversible cover of the girls standing istruments in hand over a nice blue background. So overall it is a great job from Madman as usual.
Conclusion:
In closing, K-ON! volume 1, is an amazing piece of anime, with a deeper message than most slice-of-life series could ever hope for. The series has already gained such a huge fandom and I believe it is largely due to the message and heart of this series. That message is, if you don’t belong, there are others out there in the same boat, looking for somewhere to call home. You are not alone. That is what is at the heart of K-ON! and that is why K-ON! will be remembered. Not because it’s cute, not because it’s fun, because it has heart.
Althi Inc’s recent iPhone title Utakata -the ephemeral sky- which has been released in both Japanese and English has made it’s way to the top of the Paid iPhone game charts in Japan.
The game is currently ranked number #1 in all of Japan. This is huge news for Althi Inc. also known for their iPhone hit, Little Dreamer which have reviewed here. This is the current rankings for Japanese Paid iPhone games:
No.1 Utakata -the ephemeral sky-
No.2 MONSTER HUNTER Dynamic Hunting
No.3 Where’s Wally? in Hollywood
No.4 Bar Oasis
No.5 Mega Mall Story
You can purchase Utakata -the ephemeral sky- (or うたかたのそら for the japanese readers) at the following link.
