There are a lot of videos that show up online. Some of these are credible and others are usually just lost in the wayside of millions of videos a day. But it appears that some bored, or inquisitive minds at 4Chan have tracked down a video that no one had known about yet.
It is hosted on Kiwi, a video sharing site, and the video features Ubisoft’s logo, is titled Assassins creed revelations Seizure and the uploader says the video is “an internal project we did here at Ubisoft Cinematics. I animated the character on the table. No mocap whatsoever.” The video itself shows an uncaring doctor performing strange and painful looking surgery on a living man who the doctor keeps insisting is dead. The machine he is hooked up to says it is for memory binding.
We’ve contacted Ubisoft for any clarification on this video, and because of its complete disconnection from anything announced so far there are rumors everywhere. This video could be part of a short film, a start of a separate game that isn’t announced yet, or even just someone who is really good at making fake videos. Find the video here.
This must be one of the most realistic video game trailers I’ve seen. Human Augmentation is not all that it’s cracked up to be, sure it might make you better at sports, stronger, faster and more intelligent, but is it really worth the trade off? Are you willing to take the drugs, the poison everyday of your life to ensure that your body doesn’t reject your new augmentation, failure to so could potentially kill you if you stop taking them. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, Sarif Industries have a far bigger plan for those who’ve adopted this augmentation, what could it be you ask. Well watch the trailer below and find out.
I looks like Deus Ex is building itself up to have quite an impressive story that certainly has grabbed my attention. I had to watch this trailer a few times just to pick up extra little things that I missed but also because it’s really cool.
Now I ask you – would you do it? Would you upgrade yourself? or stay pure.
The last news we heard for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 was from E3, when it was announced for the US. Nintendo have the title with them at Comic-Con this year in it’s full playable state, and also with a new release date. Instead of the previous August date, DQM:J2 will be release on September 19th this year. It isn’t too big of a delay, but one worthy of mention if you happen to be someone who was expecting it to drop in late August.
Also shown at Comic-Con was a brand new trailer for the game, and while it is short, it does do a fine job at introducing the series to newcomers. The main plot has the main character crashing into a mysterious island full of monsters that can be recruited and battled. Check out the clip below for yourself and get ready, as we are just under two months away from the release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 on the Nintendo DS.
Le Tour de France 2011
Developer: Cyanide Studio
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Genre: Sports/Simulation
Platform: Xbox 360 (PS3)
Released: 24th June
This year’s Tour de France competition is already well underway and with it reaching its conclusion this Sunday 24 July, what better time to review the collaborative game from developer Cyanide Studio. The Tour de France race celebrates its 98th birthday with this year’s event, and this tie-in game covers all 21 stages of the most gruelling cycling event on the planet. Thankfully it doesn’t support Kinect…
As aforementioned, the game does include all 21 stages of the race but, with the total route distance sitting at a hefty 3430 kilometres, to avoid the physically testing nature of the tournament being reciprocated in the gameplay, the developers have selected the more interesting parts of stages for you to take control, leaving the more mundane sections to a race simulator. Your approach to the race when you are playing affects how the AI will continue the race in the simulator, basing its own efforts on your performance in the stage so far and the orders given to team-mates over the inter-communication system.
The voice communication system is operated using the LB button and then scrolling through the various options as you race, giving orders to your team-mates when the push forward in the race or protect you, or for consulting the squad car for an update on the status of the race. You notice that the race usually takes place in ‘pelotons’ (groups) of riders, showing how the team options and a tactical awareness are vital for succeeding. However, the mere fact that you are able to open up and control menu while you are racing goes to show the level of involvement present in the game.
You see, many will find Le Tour de France 2011 to be boring because it is clearly a simulation of the sport, meaning you’ll have trouble finding the thrill that you could get in a more arcade portrayal of the cycling. It’s focussed more on the tactical side of the sport, with the controls putting you in charge of increasing and decreasing effort input to avoid wearing your rider out too early, deciding when to go for a sprint to pull away from the other riders, and to a limited degree steering. I say limited steering as there’s a rather large aid from the AI in this area of the game, with auto-assist preventing you from going off-course and even doing all steering for you don’t choose to operate the control stick. There’s no racing ahead and creating a huge gap between you and other riders (unless you are tactically sound, of course); everything must be measured and riding ahead as the pacemaker will often only result in you tiring yourself out, with victory snatched away at the end by a more patient competitor.
Your HUD and the controls are all explained in a wordy albeit helpful tutorial mode, and if you can stand to read through the 17 screens, many housing multiple pages, then it will work out in the long run as you won’t need to spend as much time figuring out how the cycling works. It really does go in depth, even showing you your cyclists heart rate and the gradient and speed of the wind for you to take into account. Among your various energy meters is a danger meter. While most of the stuff on your HUD is relevant, this danger meter is not, for the sole reason that it is nigh on impossible for your athlete to fall off the bike, no matter how close to the edge of the road you are and how much you clatter with the others as the auto-assist/invisible walls stop you. In fact, occasionally you can even pass through them in some sort of visual glitch.
The two play modes are; Tour de France, which obviously lets you kick-start the season at the starting stage commencing in Vendée on your goal to obtain the coveted Yellow Jersey for coming first; and a one-off play mode for some slightly more instantaneous gameplay. The game features real-life teams and riders for anyone that follows the competition, although it’s not like it makes much difference as you’ll only be seeing the back of his head for the ensuing hours.
The soundtrack is generally singer-less French pop which carries from the menu screens over to the races. Some has clearly been geared more towards menu screen music whereas other parts feel edgy and cool enough to be playing as you ride. It’s all on a loop with a limited selection which has the potential to grow irritating, but it sounds good enough to see out at least one competition if you decide to play through it.
On the other hand, fairly long loading times come as a shock considering the graphics aren’t anything special. Some of the environments don’t get the most of the technology at hand, with a short distance meaning hedges will form only shortly before you come up to them, even if you don’t notice your surroundings quite as much while you are cycling past. The loading times are only justified by the sheer volume of participants on screen at once at any one time, particularly at the beginning before pelotons have started to break off and the riders are just one large group.
Surprisingly, the simulation sections take a fair amount of time, too. I would have thought it would be better to have the results of the rest of the race up automatically, rather than wasting 30 seconds/a minute needlessly watching a live line graph.
It’s not that Le Tour de France 2011 is a bad game – in fact, of the few cycling games around it must be one of the better ones – it’s just that as a game genre, cycling isn’t a very exciting one. For a start, you don’t get that same feeling of speed that you would in, for example, a driving game. It is a decent simulation of cycling, but uneventful, auto-assisted races mean watching the computer-generated, lycra-clad derrière of another man for hours on end doesn’t turn out to be very entertaining and it only holds value among dedicated fans of the race who are looking for a serious virtual version of the event.
With the successful release of Aralon: Sword and Shadow behind us, Crescent Moon Games are back to bring their quirky art style and charm into a whole new adventure with Pocket RPG. Pocket RPG is a “dual stick” hack and slash adventure, where the player picks a character class and traverses through varied dungeons, collecting loot along the way while leveling up in the process. While the formula has certainly been successful in the past, Pocket RPG applies some new elements to the genre to stand out on it’s own. Just how ambitious is this bite-sized adventure? Here is my review for Pocket RPG.
Story
In Pocket RPG, there really isn’t a story for our three main heroes. The main concept of the game is to simply perform quests with special tasks hidden within, and level-up your character enough to tackle a boss at the end of each area. This formula is rather simple, but in the cartoony universe of Pocket RPG, the plot is not really a necessary element as this is more of a pick-up-and-play title that you can easily jump in and get right to the action.
While the game may lack a plot, it makes up for it heavily with it’s personality. Players are treated to bits of stereotypical dialogue spurted out by NPCs as well as a quirky art style that truly brings this world to life. You see, Pocket RPG actually knows it’s an RPG, and while it brings laughs by breaking the fourth wall, it also keeps in substance that should satisfy any dungeon crawling appetite.
Gameplay
The first thing that you must do in Pocket RPG is select a character. Players can select between a Dark Ranger, who specializes in ranged attacks with a bow, the Blade Master who is best for close combat, and a Battle Mage that can perform various spells that can hit several targets at once. Each character possesses a distinct feel and require a different strategy to be successful. For instance, the Battle Mage can learn several magic attacks that consist of projectiles, so playing at a distance from the foe is crucial to the player’s survival. The Blade Master however is much more hands on and can quickly run in and chop up enemies with his twin weapons, but due to the close range combat he is left somewhat vulnerable to incoming attacks. This balance of gameplay styles works well and adds an extra incentive for multiple playthroughs.
Pocket RPG is a twin-stick hack and slash at heart, where the player must use the left stick to move while using the right stick to control abilities. Holding down the right stick can also allow for a more powerful charged attack to be unleashed that comes in handy for taking down multiple targets at once or dishing out extra damage on a larger foe. It can take a little while to get used to if you are unfamiliar with twin-stick titles, but the sticks provided are very responsive and easy enough to get the hang of in just a short time.
There are seven different quests to partake in within the game, broken up into a few sections for each. On your quests, you simply travel throughout each area while battling enemies that spawn along the way, collecting loot such as currency and items that drop as each foe meet their doom. Chests and barrels are also easy to spot, and with some power-ups and weapons being rarer than others, it is essential to explore and kill everything in sight to gain an upper edge before the final boss at the end of a quest. Merchants can also be found in every stage, selling equipment and new weaponry, which of course put all of that loot to good use. While the locations are varied and unique to their own, this same formula is used up until the end of the game, with the biggest change being the higher level of difficulty found later on.
One element that caught me by surprise in Pocket RPG was the inability to have levels and inventory transfer over after a quest. This isn’t quite a bad thing though as starting fresh on each quest allows you to keep with the pace and challenge of the game. Perks, experience, and other bonuses do carry over however, so all of that hard work still manages to be worth something in the end.
Graphics/Audio
One of the finest features of Pocket RPG is the art style, as I mentioned before. The somewhat blocky 3D characters and environments fit perfectly with the feel of the game, and each dungeon provides a new setting to explore, full of vivid color and detailed models. Animations are also well done and no matter how many enemies are on the screen at once, there are never any frame-rate problems or slowdown to be seen, at least from my experience anyway.
The music in the game is also fitting, with each track perfectly complimenting each area and fading into the background as you hack and slash your way through the many dungeons. While most of the sound effects came off fine, I did notice that certain enemies had no sound at all when actually attacking my hero. That might sound a bit minor, but when you have several enemies on the screen and suddenly have your life drained to zero without even a simple “whack” noise, it can lead to quite an unfulfilled death.
Overall
Pocket RPG is a simple yet fulfilling dungeon crawler that is sure to please both core and casual fans alike. The whole game never takes itself too seriously as witty humor and colorful characters are found throughout, yet still provides all of the looting and XP-gaining goodness that fans of the genre will cling to instantly. Starting nearly fresh on each quest was also an element I rather enjoyed seeing, as I never felt too over-powered and the challenge to the game rose because of that. If you are looking for a substantial RPG-like title for your iPad without all of the commitment, meet your new best friend.
There was some debate over whether the wonderfully weird Catherine would ever make its way out of Japan to America, Australia/New Zealand or the UK. Thankfully for those dwelling in the UK, it will be making its way to our shores thanks to Deep Silver who today announced the closing of a publishing agreement with Altus for Catherine. Under this contract Deep Silver has gained the publishing rights for all PAL territories.
Catherine from Atlus and Deep Silver will be released in PAL territories for multiplatform consoles and will feature localised text in French, Italian, German and Spanish. It should hopefully offer a unique, quirky experience to the Western world upon release.
The rebirth of a platforming legend, Rayman Origins, is the upcoming side-scroller from Ubisoft and is an attempt at moving back to the series roots. It retains the same aesthetics that the series is known for as well as the classic formula for that retro feel.
The game looks like it’s going to be amazing from the trailer previewed at Comic-Con and is going to be a must-have for anyone series about their Rayman games.
When the Glade of Dreams is overrun by “nefurrious”Darktoons, the Fairy Council hastily invokes Rayman to save the day; but the hero of light isn’t quite all there…To help him, Rayman teams up with his best friend, Globox, and two crafty wizards, the Teensies. Together, the world’s most hilarious team of heroes will need to restore peace to the Glade or watch as their beloved home vanishes like a bad dream…
The game is releasing on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii.
Thontic, God of Seas, is one of the many gods that the Guardians of Telara pray to. This particular god is the one that the Guardians pray to whenever the feel that a voyage is going to be unsafe across the ocean.
Thontic is a protector of the sea and is constantly protecting his domain from the forces of Akylios. These Abyssal followers of the false water god are growing ever so more bold in their attacks, and so the Ascended must assists Thontic in the protection of the underwater realm.
Be sure to read the Lore quoted below.
Thontic
God of the Sea
On a ship at sea, a sailor plots his course, a merchant dreams of distant shores, and a scholar charts the stars. Each in their way prays to Thontic, God of the Sea, of trade, and of mystery. When the gods formed Telara from sourcestone at the dawn of days, it was Thontic who shaped the clouds, filled deep places with water, and sparked the thirst for knowledge in mortal minds.
The faceless Abyssal say that Thontic merely imitates Akylios’s genius, but this is a filthy lie. Akylios represents the profane darkness of the crushing deeps, where sanity flees even the design of nature and hideous secrets wait, hidden from the light. Thontic is the deity who guides travelers to safe harbor, who hides teeming life and fantastic revelations beneath the briny tide. While the Abyssal are misers of knowledge, hoarding secrets until their minds burst, Thontic’s priests are patrons of wisdom, answering life’s great questions and revealing their discoveries for the benefit of all.
In mysterious ways
Of all gods of the Vigil, Thontic is the most inscrutable. They say he moves across the land wearing the night as a cloak, his voice just barely softer than the lapping of the waves and the clinking of coins. His ways are not always kind—at his whim one merchant opens new cities for trade, while another is swallowed by the tide. Yet exploration is hollow without risk, and Clerics say those who die at sea have a place at Thontic’s side.
The Guardians pray to Thontic when they embark on long journeys, solve crimes, or study the ways of magic and nature. And in Sanctum, most commerce takes place in Thontic Square, where every exchange pleases the god of the seas.
The Vigil’s cunning
Thontic provides the Vigil with his wisdom, his craft, and a necessary ruthlessness that righteous Thedeor or gentle Mariel-Taun simply could not imagine. Like the trader who must outbid his competitors or the storm that rises without warning, Thontic knows that some events are unavoidable and had best be wisely managed. It is thanks to him that Rogues prowl the night to strike at hidden evils and Cabalists bring their forbidden rites to bear upon the Guardians’ enemies.
Without Thontic, the Guardians would truly be the guileless crusaders of Defiant propaganda. Guided by his canny insight, they are a subtler and more adaptable force than their enemies imagine. Like their god, their methods are a tightly-woven secret for the clever to unravel.
At this years Comic-Con, Ubisoft will be announcing it’s brand new gametypes and tracks for the Kinect title Just Dance 3.
One of the modes being featured in the game is ‘Just Create’ mode, which allows players to choreograph and create their own dance numbers. These dances can then be shared with friends or played locally as though it were an ordianry dance challenge. The other mode is a new four player mode, which will be exclusive to the Kinect, and will allow players to dance together.
The following are the tracks announced in the game –
New Playable Just Dance 3 Tracks include:
Apache (Jump On It) – The Sugarhill Gang
Baby One More Time – The Girly Team
Forget You – Cee Lo Green
Night Boat to Cairo – Madness
She’s Got Me Dancing – Tommy Sparks
Video Killed The Radio Star – The Buggles
Be sure to check out the official site for more info.
Better be careful fellas – it’s “that time of the month” for Ms. Splosion Man. And you have to be especially careful when dealing with a girl made of pure combustible material.
Through what Twisted Pixel are calling TMS, or Title Managed Storage, the developers of Ms. Splosion Man are planning to deliver new monthly challenges, free to owners of the game. The first is available now, up until the 31st July, and sees a joint venture with Destructoid.
Participants are ranked on a leaderboard, with the top three winning a Twisted Pixel/Destructoid prize pack, including a Ms. Splosion Man light-up statue, a Destructoid bobblehead (both pictured below), and t-shirts and posters from both studios. In addition, a random participant will win a Twisted Pixel prize pack.
In other free download news, a new level for the original Splosion Man is also now available. The level will bridge the gap between the two games: players will control Splosion Man through to his capture at the beginning of Ms. Splosion Man.
Aaaand that’s still not everything! In the next month or so, a Ms. Splosion Man-themed pinball table will also be released for Zen Studios’ XBLA title Pinball FX2.
Twisted Pixel have been very busy. It’s a good time to be a fan of their dynamo duo.
