Today Konami announced they would be holding fan appreciation events during the San Diego Comic-Con 2011 event. Taking place July 21-24 Konami will be awarding their fans loyalty with both a signing and a cosplay event which is sure to impress us all!
July 21: Kojima Productions Signing Event-Meeting rooms 16 AB-1:30pm to 3:30pm
Konami’s signing event is going to be HUGE! This year will have Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, who’s also the Executive Vice President of Konami and Director of Kojima Productions signing autographs for fans. He won’t be feeling lonely though, because he’s bringing Yoji Shinkawa, Art Director of Kojima Productions, as well as Yumi Kikuchi, the voice talent behind Raging Raven in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Strangelove in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker along with him.
July 23: Konami CosPlay Event-Meeting rooms 16 AB-Line at 11:00am, Judging 12pm-2pm
Konami will be hosting a Cos-Play competition during Comic-Con 2011 on the 23rd, where Konami fans can dress up like their favorite characters from decades of legendary franchises such as Contra, Frogger, Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid. The best costumes will be receiving some awesome prizes as well!
Konami have stated that they have plans to show off some other surprises they’ve got tucked up their sleeves during Comic-Con 2011, so keep an eye out for updates and more announcements!
The King of Fighters ‘95 Platforms: PSP, PSN (Reviewed) Develop(s): SNK Publisher(s): SNK Players: 1-2 Genre(s): Fighting
Story
The King of Fighters are back for another years tournament, bringing the worlds most powerful fighters together. The one bringing them together known only as “R” none other than Rugal, who was suspected to have died when he blew up his aircraft carrier in ’94. All the same contestants are back for another go, except Team America who got dropped for their replacements Billy, Yagami and Kisaragi.
The story may not be that strong but then again I can’t remember the last time I played a fighting game for the story alone, it does its job of creating a reason and a boss for the fighters and that’s all it needs.
Gameplay
The game holds up just as good as it did the day it first appeared in the arcades, with what appears to be a perfect port of it. Not to say the gameplay doesn’t still have its issues. The A.I won’t be going easy sometimes finishing you off in 4 hits, appearing to be very cheap at times pulling of the same move in a row knocking you to the ground each time just to get back up and knocked down again.
Best bet is to pull out another controller and get someone round to have a match against and if you do pull out an arcade stick, these hold up brilliantly making the games combos easier and more forgiving, giving you that true arcade feel of standing infront of those old cabinets.
If you can’t get someone over to play with then online might be your choice, but it all depends on how well a connection you have in the end really and if you can even find a game at that, while I was looking the most that was ever on was four other people, so unless you have someone you plan on playing with you might not have much luck finding someone
Graphics & Sound
Some games can age gracefully and others just don’t hold themselves together, luckily this is one that keeps itself looking great. Characters have a very anime inspired look to them some being very much outlandish in look, like the hulking mass Chang Koehan that towers over others, with a massive ball and chain over his shoulder.
It has some brilliant animations for the time, they may look blockish at times but it’s a very minor issue, and the pace of the game makes you forget about them as you watch the smooth animations. Each background has a different atmosphere from the industrial yard too the thunder rainstorm in the forest with trees struck by lighting and all, each one giving a nice feel.
Sound wise it’s a mixed bag some background songs sounding excellent and others just sounding bland with no real kick to them, the sound effects are somewhat the same great for a few characters, then empty with most of the others, Kyo sounding like a little kid for example which gives the feeling of not much power behind the blows he throws
Verdict
With an A.I pulling cheap moves off at you continually most people will get over this and just give up, but that isn’t where the game is at, doing some 3V3 match’s with a mate sitting on the couch is how it’s meant to be played and in this the game runs well, with a roster of 26 characters you will be at it for a while.
It was the one that changed up the series back in the day letting you select your team, and having it still around today and getting released, has to mean they did something right.
Jillian Michaels has a lot of impressive titles under her belt, including fitness coach on the hit TV show The Biggest Looser, best-selling author of UNLIMITED: How to Build an Exceptional Life, Co-Host of The Doctors, and now star of her own Xbox 360 Kinect exclusive adventure video game. Oh yeah, and she dresses like Lara Croft now! Developed by N-Space and published by Microprose Majesco, Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Adventure is set for a release this November for Xbox 360 Kinect.
The idea behind Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Adventure is an interesting one. It takes the player on a mission-based adventure, preforming parkour-styled maneuvers in a lush jungle temple environment. Whats the catch? Your actually preforming a regular routine workout that is increasing your fitness. Certainly this is more appealing than a simple workout on Wii Fit!
These are the currently announced features for Jillian Michael’s Fitness Adventure as provided by Majesco:
Multiple Exercise Modes: Fitness Adventure Mode – featuring Parkour-style action (a free-style mix of proactive and reactive running, jumping and climbing) set in an exciting jungle temple environment; Circuit Training – 10 exercise circuits hand-selected by Jillian herself available in three difficulty modes, giving you complete freedom to customize your session; and Individual Fitness Training – offering exercises of varying difficulty allowing you to work out at your own pace.
Use Your Own Equipment: Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Adventure has training programs that can easily integrate various types of fitness gear you may already have at home. Or you can use the game’s complete regimen of training exercises that use your own body weight to get you back into shape…the choice is yours!
Social Integration: Check out your own and your friends’ performance in the online leaderboards. Keep up the great work because Jillian will be monitoring the boards and the best performers will be honored on Jillian’s Facebook page.
Stats: The game provides statistics to track your progress, including a calendar that shows you what days you have worked out from the moment you started playing the game to present day. It also displays the breakdown of calories burned, number of exercises/circuits completed, and time spent exercising. These can be viewed on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis.
Jillian Michael’s Fitness Adventure will jump onto the Xbox 360 for Kinect in November.
Dead Island is going to be listed at a price point of $49.99US on the steam platform for individual players. However, there is a four-player pack available for purchase at $149.97US, which equates to $39.99US per copy, saving players a full $10US on the full price of the game.
When you Pre-purchase this game on steam, you will be given an exclusive pre-order weapon, The Ripper, which is a combination of a Chainsaw and Bat, for use within the game. Players will also be given free-access to the DLC ‘Bloodbath Arena’, which is a separate gamemode that has players taking on hordes of zombies for items and XP.
Amber McCollom from Nintendo of America, recently spoke out about the possibility of Gamecube games being available on the Wii U. Whilst denying Gamecube discs will be readable, she however confirmed that Gamecube titles will be available through the Wii U version of the Virtual Console.
This is a huge news to Gamecube fans. With the plethora of awesome Gamecube titles that could possibly make their way to the console, the sky is the limit.
Gamecube titles will be able to be downloaded and stored upon the Wii U console and played without the need of inserting any form of physical media. This is the first time Gamecube titles will be available legally in digital format. What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment below, letting us know.
Earlier we announced the collectors edition and pre-order for the upcoming Star Wars MMORPG The Old Republic. In following that, we’re going to tell you what the minimum specifications for the game are currently listed as being.
OS
Windows XP, Vista/7
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better · Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better
RAM
Windows XP: 1.5GB · Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB · PCs using a built-in graphical chipset, 2GB RAM recommended.
Video
ATI X1800 or better* · nVidia 7800 or better* · Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better*
DVD-ROM
8x or better *Minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM and Shader 3.0 or better support.
As you can see from this list, the minimum specifications are quite modest and the game should be playable on any game that has been built within the last 3-4 years. While there are no current listings for maximum settings I’d say that an Ati 4870HD or similar graphics card, 4gb of RAM, and a Quad-Core at 2.6ghz or higher. I will do an update if the Recommended specs are actually released, however.
The Fragpedal Quad PC Gaming Footpedal from Good Work Systems is a device that functions in conjunction with a players mouse. Essentially the device is able to remember pre generated combinations to assist players in games.
Can’t be bothered learning your Mutilate rotation, no problem, record a preset and you’re good to go! The Quad Fragpedal device is essentially two dual pedals connected by a thing and allows you to use both feet in place of your standard control scheme and take your gaming to new heights.
Here are some choice quotes on the operation of the device –
Maximum Programmability and Intelligence
Program your Fragpedal with any keyboard or mouse action, combination, or sequence. Plus, use IDI™ Smart Button™ capabilities to fire different actions on press and release, taps and holds, and more! Then, assign Smart Buttons and macros to your keyboard keys! Build up to 30 configurations, housing each of your control schemes designed for different games, play styles and applications, and switch automatically when you play the game.
You can’t kick ass if you don’t use your feet
If they’re good enough to drive a car, you know they can drive your game.
• Fire weapons with your feet!
• Zoom with your feet!
• Cast spells with your feet!
• Control movement with your feet!
• Scroll with your feet!
Four individually-adjustable buttons, two on each pad. Adjust pedal resistance by raising or lowering the flexible pedal. Adjustable in 5 steps. Keep the pedals low for hair-trigger response, or raise them up for tactile feedback and a distinct press. Or, move the pedals left or right (5 spacings) for a wide or narrow stance
Be sure to check out the official site for more information on these devices.
The Nintendo 3DS eShop is slowly expanding its library of games, with this week’s choices adding three 3DS specific games, as well as a backwards compatible DSiWare game:
This week’s notable release comes in the form of a remastered Xevious in line with the ‘3D Classics’ scheme which recently saw Excite Bike given an all new perspective.
Do you like to dress your Xbox Live avatars? If so then you may be interested in this new pack of clothing based around Michael Jacksons work.
The packages include very stylish garments that will enhance the look of your avatar regardless of whether you’re a Michael Jackson fanatic or not. Though, these packs is probably more appealing to those who are fans, as opposed to those who are not.
The clothing packs are in celebration of the upcoming game by Ubisoft, Michael Jacksons: The Experience, and feature outfits from all of his memorable video clips. These items and prices are listed below.
Beat It Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Billie Jean Live Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Black or White Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Leave Me Alone Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Smooth Criminal Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
They Don’t Care About Us Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Thriller Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)
Thriller Girlfriend Outfit (400 Microsoft Points)*
Bubbles Avatar Prop (240 Microsoft Points)
*Thriller Girlfriend Outfit is only available for female Xbox LIVE Avatars.
Ms Splosion Man
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Twisted Pixel
Genre: Platformer
Price: 800 MS Points Buy Now
Overview
What would you get if you gave a Red Bull laced with Speed and Ecstasy to a cheerleader suffering from ADHD?
Ms Splosion Man.
Likely one of gaming’s most unique – and annoying – characters, she takes after the star of Twisted Pixel’s earlier quirky platformer, SplosionMan.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the SNES days, the golden age of platform games, but I have always loved platformers. The market was flooded with them back then, much like FPS games now. Time has filtered out the duds; only the truly great ones were spared from the folds of obscurity. In the last few years we’ve seen a resurgence of 2D platformers, and due to their simplicity, the advances in technology since the SNES, and the familiarity gamers have with the genre, developers have been able to experiment with new mechanics within an old context.
Recent fantastic platformers like the original Splosion Man, Braid, Limbo, The Adventures of Shuggy, The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom, and of course Nintendo’s 2.5D revivals of Mario, Kirby and Donkey Kong, all feel like classic platformers at heart while allowing developers to implement fifteen extra years’ worth of game design principles.
Story
To keep them recognizable from the rest, a good platformer is one with an interesting context and unique mechanics related to that, and Ms Splosion Man gets thumbs up for both. The character herself is enough to warrant a playthrough, or at least a demo. She’s loud, annoying and full of energy – but I guess you would be too if you were made of explosions. She’s a walking stereotype of a teenage girl; pink, gossipy, obsessed with shoes, and relates everything back to pop music.
While her male counterpart constantly spewed action movie quotes, Ms Splosion Man prefers to speak through the lyrics of female singers. Her frequent lines echo Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, the Spice Girls, Madonna, Beyonce and just about every other famous one-liner from a girl-power song.
The game begins as the scientists of the Big Science Lab finally capture Splosion Man. As they celebrate, some drunken lab guy spills wine on a fancy looking machine, the sparks ignite and with the special ingredient of a hair ribbon, Ms Splosion Man is born. Quickly trashing the party, she storms through the science facility sploding everything and everyone, to find a way out and rescue her man.
Gameplay
There isn’t a whole lot to playing the game. The controls will tell you that: thumbstick to move, every other button to splode. It’s pretty limited, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It tightens up the gameplay, removes extraneous elements and shows that complicated isn’t always better. The variation comes through clever level design, which leaves no use of Ms Splosion Man’s single ability unexplored. You splode to jump, to destroy stuff, to move stuff, and to launch yourself from barrels, a la Donkey Kong.
There’s little to explore outside the main path through each level, but unless you want to look for the hidden collectible shoes, or secret exits, the game encourages players to fly through quickly. Having only one button that does all these things leads to some clever problems to solve; for example, you may need to jump, but sploding to jump will shatter the glass platform beneath you. Or conversely, you may need to break a platform to drop down, but doing so will make you jump into danger overhead.
It’s a very fast-paced game, and precise timing plays a large role, for better or worse. Play regularly involves chains of splodes in precise spots, and one misstep can result in a restart. These can be a lot of fun, but all too often the quick pace leaves too little room for error. Mess up one splosion, and you’ll redo the whole chain again, and sometimes several chains. It gets pretty hard pretty fast – by the end of the first world, I was struggling along – so fail you will. A lot. And repeat the same sections you will. A lot.
But with the frustration comes the immense satisfaction you’ll get for completing each level. When things are going right, and for the first few times things go wrong, the game is an incredibly fun platformer. After repeated restarting, it gets old.
Thankfully, the developers apparently saw this issue, and gave Ms Splosion Man the ability to “cheat on the game”, and skip to the next checkpoint. But doing so has its consequences – not only will you receive no score for the level, cheating will make your butt look big. Literally.
The most interesting elements added to change things up are the human “helpers”, unwilling though they may be. Scientist Mandy can be hijacked as a meat shield, protecting Ms Splosion Man from lasers and such, while Wilford, a wheelchair-bound old geezer, can be pushed along to clear your path, functioning as both a shield and a weapon. Both have a lot of personality in their design, and are fun to exploit.
A generous helping of multiplayer levels are included as well – in addition to the 50 single player levels, there’s another 50 separate levels for two to four players. Not a lot is different design-wise, with the only difference in abilities for multiple players is that sploding next to another player will send them flying. This is used mostly to help one player reach a high ledge, then having them hit a switch or something that allows the others to progress.
It’s just as fun as single player mode, and having a unique set of so many multiplayer levels is a very nice feature.
Graphics & Audio
The presentation is where Ms Splosion Man really shines. Her zany character is portrayed fantastically through some awesome animations. She has more run cycles than most characters, each illicting at least a smile. Sometimes she skips, sometimes she skates, or dances, or flails, or chats on an imaginary phone. As she falls she might strike a model pose. She can never stand still, doing star jumps or dancing if left motionless for too long.
Another cool little graphical feature is the little silhouette left behind after each splode.
Normally I can’t think of much to comment on with the soundtrack in games, but Ms Splosion Man would not be imbued with the same level of personality if it weren’t for the great audio. Each line she speaks is entertaining, quoting a girl-power song or movie, or just a random female cliché (“Who left the toilet seat up again?”, “Not tonight, I have a headache”). Somehow her constant babbling treads the fine line between funny and irritating, without ever dipping too far into irritating. She’s hilariously maddening, but I would completely understand if other players couldn’t stand the game because of her.
The music is suitably high-energy and very catchy, particularly the main theme, which is a version of the original Splosion Man theme, rendered as a female pop song, and each level’s music also encourages you to run through quickly.
Other music is just downright weird. Listen closely during the pause menu, and you’ll hear some strange song about going nuts for donuts. Climb into the porky Mandy shield, and a faux-love song about meeting a girl named Mandy plays. And the insults are piled on if you cheat on a level, with a song constantly reminding you of your enlarged posterior.
Final Comments
Hate her or tolerate her, Ms Splosion Man is a damn fine specimen – of platforming, that is. She may seem little more than basic, but she’s so well dressed and highly polished that it’s more a case of “pure” platforming. It presents a definite challenge, but if you have a high tolerance for frustration, Ms Splosion Man herself will be there to keep you company through the whole ordeal. Whether or not her presence is a good or bad thing is up to you.
