If you’re still unsure about what exactly you will be doing in Bethesda and id Software’s RAGE then you should probably take a look below because Bethseda has released a new trailer for the game. The trailer itself is called ‘Uprising’ and it details what the situation is like on the planet you have crash landed on. Players will be taking control of an Ark survivor who is thrown into the resistance’s fight against the Authority.
Not only does the trailer give us some information about the plot, but it also shows that we will be dealing with plenty of blood and exploding heads. Also we will be treated to amazing looking graphics, as you can see in the trailer, courtesy of id’s id Tech 5 engine that is used for RAGE. RAGE itself will be released on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 4th and will probably be one of the best and most chaotic FPS titles this year.
If you own a copy of Brink or just haven’t gotten around to buying it yet, but are looking to do so then you better run off and download the “Agents of Change” downloadable content pack that was just released on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Steam networks. The reason for this is, if you wait to long, you will have to spend $9.99 or 800 MSP to do so.
If you don’t wait however, you will be able to get the whole package for free. In the next two weeks the Agents of Change will be free of cost. This package will add the Founders’ Tower and Labs maps as well as the UAV, Napalm Grenade, Pyro Mine, Field Regen Unit, and Tactical Scanner abilities, bayonets and shields, and even two new outfits in the form of the Sad Punk and Limey forms. Plus you can even level up to 24 now! This is a lot of content for one piece of DLC, especially one that is as free as this one is right now.
In an effort to combat the dust collecting nature of the Kinect, Microsoft looks like they will be aiming to get at least one Xbox Live Arcade title out a month that will have some form of Kinect functionality inside of it. Sure there are plenty of full retail titles that have been released which make use of the Kinect’s abilities, but there has been practically nothing involving the Arcade section of the 360.
EMEA region product marketing manager Robin Burrowe said in an interview with CVG that Microsoft is “targeting a frequency of about one a month from the Xbox Live Arcade portfolio that will have Kinect integration. That will really be powerful and differentiate the platform.” The first XBLA Kinect game will be released next week and it will be Fruit Ninja Kinect. If the game is even half as fun and addicting as it is on the iPhone then it will be a great first entry to what could be the beginning of the end for Kinect dust.
Despite being delayed twice in as many months, you can now go onto the iTunes Store and purchase Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions for your iPhone or iTouch if you so please. Be a bit wary however, because to do so you may need to take a second look at your bank account because the app will run you a cool $15.99 for the iPhone version.
This is a bit of steep price for an iPhone app, but don’t think you will be getting the same game that was released four years ago on the PSP, nor the one released ten years ago on the PlayStation One. This version of the game will see “improved graphics, loading times and framerate over the PSP version.” Still the price is a bit surprising considering the PSP version was released on the PSN a few weeks ago for only $10… Also those hoping to play the game on their iPad will be “coming later” at some unannounced date and price. You can purchase the app/game here.
We are now just six weeks away from the release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 and thankfully Nintendo have brought out yet another trailer for the upcoming DS sequel. Much like the last clip we seen, this trailer also lacks in length, but it does show off the many monsters that players will be able to recruit and synthesize within as well as footage from the battles.
I am glad Nintendo are giving some decent promotion for this game, and hopefully soon we will see a clip or some new details come forward regarding the backwards compatibility feature that will allow players to obtain monsters from other Dragon Quest DS titles. Check out the new trailer below, and get ready slime-fans, as Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 launches on September 19th!
Those hoping to get their hands on the PlayStation Vita some time this year are unfortunately going to be a little disappointed because Sony has changed their launch plans for the handheld. The change made is that, rather than the PlayStation Vita being available “starting at the end of 2011” it will be only available in Japan by the end of 2011. This news comes out of an AP report saying that SCEI Charman Kaz Hirai would not be able to make the holiday window release for North America and Europe and instead would be released in these regions during the early part of 2012.
Hirai also said that the PS Vita would not be seeing a lower price to compete with Nintendo’s 3DS price drop. The reasoning for this he says, is because Sony “packed so much into the device and made it very affordable,” and that “there is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price.” This means that the PS Vita will still be selling at $249 for a normal version, and a 3G enabled one for $299.
Yestrday Atlus came out and said that Catherine had been their “largest launch” in the entire history of the company in the United States. They didn’t release any sales numbers to back up that data though, until today. Although the source of the information could be called into question for being delicious, Atlus USA tweeted a picture of a cake about an hour ago.
On this cake, which can be seen below, it says “Congratulations 200,000 sold in first week.” This number is extremely good for Atlus, and of course what better way to celebrate with cake. It’s a good thing that they decided to take a picture though, because I bet this cake is having its own nightmares now.
Great news everyone! Doctor Who’s second half of Series 6 is going to be returning to air soon. For now we have a date of August 27th, 2011; so be sure to keep an eye out on your local listings and cable guides for more information about the series.
In anticipation of the return to this series, the BBC have posted a new trailer for the show that teases the second half of this season. I have included this embedded below for your enjoyment.
What does everyone think about the new trailer? What are your expectations of the new series? What do you think will happen?
In an update from Tecmo Koei games, the upcoming Champion Jockey game appearing on the X360, Ps3 and Wii has had a series of new screenshots released. These screenshots show off the race track and some of the races within the game.
Champion Jockey is the spiritual successor to the G1 Jockey series, recreating the horseracing world through a variety of immersive races, intuitive gameplay with simple controls. Utilising the latest motion controllers, being a jockey is no longer just a dream. The new standard in horseracing is here.
Junior Brain Trainer: Maths Edition
Developer: Vacari
Publisher: Avanquest Software
Genre: Maths/Brain training/Puzzle
Platform: Nintendo DS
Released: Out Now
Both Junior Brain Trainer and Junior Brain Trainer 2 contain maths and number puzzles interspersed among the word and literacy games; Junior Brain Trainer: Maths Edition, on the other hand, is from a different developer and focuses only on the numbers side of things, providing 15 all-new maths puzzles separate from the other Junior Brain Trainer games.
A dedicated maths edition was a good move as maths is slightly more universal and boundless in terms of age. Despite being having a recommended age bracket of 7-11 years, this has potential to extend with maths as doing simple mental arithmetic calculations can still be fulfilling as you just do them faster. The same isn’t the case for English puzzles though, as when these are simple, no matter how many of them you are racing through under timed conditions, they can still seem unsatisfying.
As a result of having a different developer to the other Junior Brain Trainer games, Junior Brain Trainer: Maths Edition takes a different approach to training young minds. Instead of going for a Dr Kawashima-esque layout of your daily training visit, which in turn unlocks other mind challenges to play, this game is an adventure with an abundance of rats. You play as a young rodent called Newton, and after the evil Count Ratatrax imprisoned all the furry inhabitants of Rodentown for his experiments, you must find a way to free everyone. Yep, you guessed it! Solving the maths and logic games is the solution to setting your innocent community free. Completing each of the fifteen challenges unlocks a new piece of an aircraft, which with the help of a wise old rat called Flanagan, you will build to provide a means of escape.
You are given a choice from the three standard difficulty settings upon starting your data: easy, medium and hard. Three data slots allow two others to create save files or, alternatively, let you create a data for each of the three difficulty settings. As well as making the puzzles themselves harder, (such as introducing division and multiplication symbols into calculations), going for the higher difficulty settings increases the set amounts of points required to unlock the next set of games or win a ship part, and the combined challenge of a higher point requirement and more difficult puzzle, all done to the pressures of a time limit, make the game more than enough challenge for 7-11 year olds. You must be speedy and also correct as wrong answers affect your final score and chances of receiving a piece of the aircraft, and not only does the level of challenge mean those who aren’t necessarily ‘juniors’ can enjoy the game, but it also brings up the question of whether it could be too difficult for 7 year olds to complete. Certainly they will still be able to enjoy and make use of the software, but given that the different mini-games are unlocked in sets of three once you have hit the target with the previous three mini-games, younger players could have trouble opening up the rest of the game, significantly dwarfing the already brief adventure.
With only 15 games on offer, it is a relief that all of them are fairly strong. Many have you completing calculations by inserting the missing numbers/symbols, or finding the sum of the calculation, although some are more logic based puzzles. Some games can be difficult to understand as there’s only a short explanation before each game, but fortunately, the booklet has a rundown of each individual game which should help if any problems knowing what to do arise – quite likely given that many young kids nowadays might not have come across an abacus or know what to with dominos.
However, some puzzles have slightly deeper problems than initial understanding, problems relating to errors in their design. Firstly, some games don’t have a back button or a way of cancelling and re-doing your first answer, meaning you have to take the points deduction of a wrong answer despite knowing that the answer you’re submitting is wrong. It’s a silly gripe to have with the game because a handful of the games do have a cancel or undo button included, proving it could have quite easily been done for the others. Secondly, a problem which relates to the ‘Mystery Number’ game, one of the first you will meet, is that the game can have some trouble recognising your writing, hence misinterpreting the numbers you write unless you do it their specific way. For example, when doing a ‘4’ you must do it joined up as a singular motion because taking your stylus off of the touch screen will cause it to see the downward swipe to cross your ‘4’ as a ‘1’.
Overall, Junior Brain Trainer: Maths Edition isn’t a bad brain training tool, as the incentive based rewards of ship parts as you try to build your aircraft and complete the adventure means you do the challenges before you fully realise, or more importantly the kids fully realise, that the challenges completed were actually maths. The fact that it is all maths – along with a slightly mismatched difficulty given that 7 year olds are supposed to be able to complete it – mean that the game’s bearable even for non-juniors, and of course the short-ish 15 puzzle adventure lasts a little longer in younger hands.
