The Sydney Manga and Anime Show has been growing over the past few years and this year they will be moving to their biggest venue thus far, the Sydney Convention Centre.
With the convention imminent the great people behind SMASH have posted up the event schedule for fans who want to plan their day ahead of time. Which can be seen below or a larger version can be seen here.
The convention will be held on July 16th, 2011. Advanced tickets are still on sale for $25 on their official website SMASH.org.au. The advanced tickets sale ends on the 6th of July, but don’t fret you can still buy a ticket at the door on the day for $30.
Guests include Little Kuriboh (Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series), Shinichi ‘Nabeshin’ Watanabe (Excel Saga) and Kenji Ito (Square Enix).
We will be covering the event so stay tuned for all the event’s coverage.
Popular gaming publisher, Ubisoft, has recently launched their UbiCollectables online store where gamers are able to purchase various pieces of merchandise based on their most popular brands. Gamers that are faithful to franchises such as: Might and Magic, Assasins Creed and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon will find that th store is currently populated with collectables to do with these.
For Might and Magic fans, there is a statue of the legendary archangel Michael available for purchase, but, be quick as there are only 500 of these statues being made available.
Available for fans of Assasins Creed is a limited 2000 unit model run of Ezio. There is also a T-Shirt available for fans.
And Finally, for fans of Ghost Recon, there is a limited run of developer styles T-Shirts for purchase. However be warned that the production for the T-shirt will not being production unless Ubisoft meet 200 pre-orders.
So be sure to visit the Ubisoft Store and pick up your merch now.
In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.
From everyone here at Capsule Computers we would like to wish everyone in the USA A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND !!
In doing so we would like to know what and how and where you will be spending your 4th of JULY HOLIDAY !!!
Leave a comment below and 2 lucky people will be picked to win a RANDOM, 1 person will win a RETAIL GAME and the other will win a RANDOM XBOX LIVE ARCADE GAME !!! (winners will be notified by email and we’ll announce the winners on the site, Twitter and Facebook on the 5th Of JULY so make sure your following us on both)
We’ve obsessed about the AR.Drone, we’ve dressed it up like a cloud and tried to fool people, we’ve taken it to a dinner and a movie then introduced it to our parents, we’ve discussed all the things that Parrot are doing to make it worth your while to pick one up, showed off all the new games and competition videos and finally, cried like little babies when we had to send it back to Parrot. But today, we’re happy to give you the skinny on the second AR.Drone Challenge starting on July 8, to qualify for the International Grand Final in Paris!
Second Challenge: The Homerun
On 8 July, Parrot will post its second challenge on www.ardrone.com/challenges. Participants will have to film themselves while reproducing the challenge and post their videos on their preferred video sharing website before August 14th.
The criteria taken into account will be:
• The strict observance of the instructions laid down for each challenge.
• The time taken to complete each challenge, the objective being to make the best time possible.
• In the event several participants complete the challenge in the same length of time, a tie-breaker will be introduced in the form of scores allocated on the following qualitative criteria: style, technique, attitude, etc.
About AR.Drone Challenges*
‘AR.Drone Challenges’ consists of three challenges for pilots of the AR.Drone, within the framework of an international competition* which will take place from June 24th till August 14th 2011.
The pilots will have to reproduce the three challenges, film their exploits and post their videos on a sharing platform of their choice before August 14th, 2011. After this date, a jury will determine 14 finalists who will participate in the grand final in Paris.
Prizes
• Grand prize: 1 round-trip to Las Vegas during the ‘Consumer Electronics Show’, valued at $3500 (includes transportation, accommodation and meals)
• 2nd and 3rd place prizes: 1 iPad 2 valued at $700
• 4th and 5th place prize: 1 helicopter flight valued at $425
• 6th-14th place: 1 AR.Race kit valued at $125
Each winner will also be awarded a Parrot AR.Drone valued at $299
Game Name:Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS Publisher(s):Capcom Developer(s):Capcom Genre(s): Third-Person Shooter; Score Attack Release Date: June 28, 2011 (US) June 30, 2011 (AU) July 1, 2011 (EU) Price: $39.99 (US) BUY NOW!
Since the launch of the 3DS, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D has been without a doubt one of the most anticipated titles for the handheld. This game takes “The Mercenaries” mode that we have seen included as a bonus in the most recent Resident Evil titles and attempts to offer a more complete experience as it’s own release. While there are a few slips along the way, Mercs 3D is still one of the most exciting experiences on the 3DS to date that is sure to attract those who are craving more of the classic series. The question is, just how well does this title stand on it’s own? Here is my review for Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.
Gameplay
I normally start off most reviews talking about a story mode. Sadly, The Mercs 3D has no story whatsoever, but for this type of game it really isn’t needed as I couldn’t imagine how shooting through hordes of Majini and other evils from the RE series could possibly be told with a proper narrative. The Mercenaries 3D is a bit of a mix between the The Mercs modes from Resident Evil 4 & 5, as many of the enemies and locations are back from both titles along with some of the more familiar characters from the franchise. Although I enjoyed seeing Rebecca, Chris, Jill, Wesker, and Barry all together yet again, I did feel a bit disappointed to see a lack of Leon Kennedy, Sheva, and Ada Wong, who are mysteriously absent from the roster of this game even though each played a significant role in the most recent Resident Evil titles. This is just a small personal gripe though and thankfully Hunk, Krauser, and Claire all round off the roster quite nicely and separate this title from the console versions of Mercs.
Now if you have never had a chance to play The Mercenaries mode, the object of the game is to simply stay alive as long as possible while taking down as many enemies as you can before the time ends. The same concept applies to Mercs 3D. Once you select your character of choice, you then set off on one of thirty different “missions” in the game. The first few sets are made up of various tutorials to get the player used to the portable feel of the game. After those are done the game completely takes off and becomes progressively harder with the same core Mercs engine that returning players will feel right at home with.
My biggest worry about this handheld version was the control layout as honestly the 3DS’ scheme is nowhere near as advanced as an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller. Thankfully though, this is where The Mercenaries 3D shines the brightest as not only are the controls easy to use, they can also be slightly customized to the player’s liking. Shoulder buttons are used aim, Y to shoot, and the remaining face buttons are used for actions such as reloading, taunting, or healing on the fly. The slide pad works exceptionally well and makes the whole experience rival that of it’s console brethren as not once did I encounter any hiccups or problems trying to turn or move my character in even the most hectic of situations. To add to this, the bottom screen is fully utilized throughout the experience as the player’s inventory. Just with a tap of the stylus, a player can quickly reload, change weapons, or heal, pushing the action at the forefront and making item juggling a thing of the past.
Each character have their own techniques, weapons, and melees, making each feel somewhat different from the next. Once an enemy is stunned, a melee can be executed to either finish off or further damage a foe. These attacks don’t just look nice as they actually play into the strategy of the game as a small time bonus is rewarded for performing one of these special animation sequences. Combos are also a very important part of gameplay as killing enemies one right after the other is rewarded with a substantial bonus at the end of a chain that can play a huge difference into the final grade received at the end of a level. While all this may sound rather familiar to the typical Mercs player of the past, the new addition of skills make this version of the game stand on it’s own.
After performing certain objectives within the game, skills become available that give different boosts in offense and defense such as strengthening damage given to certain enemies, enhancing control of various weapons, and upping the player’s offensive techniques when health reaches a critical point, just to name a few. Up to three skills can be equipped at one time and can play a huge role into the final result of a battle as most of these effects are noticeable and add yet another layer of strategy to getting the highest score possible.
While this may be a fantastic version of the once bonus game, there are still a few flaws in gameplay that hold Mercs 3D back from reaching it’s true potential. One of my biggest complaints is the method used to escape an enemy. When an enemy grabs onto the player, you are forced to press the button that is displayed on the screen…and then another….and then another. It sounds simple enough, but if you miss just one entry you are forced to repeat the same process. Every single time I was grabbed, this caught me off guard and my instincts went to the old button mashing formula (which worked much better in my opinion), making this new way of escaping more of a frustrating chore that instantly takes the player right out of the hectic action and into a tedious mini-game of sorts.
Enemy AI can also be a bit of a problem at times as some enemies seem to just stand it one place, waiting to meet their doom. Other moments seen a group of angry Majini running up against a wall or simply attacking the air. I know that they are infected, but now the virus has apparently spread to their brains. I will say however that the AI is usually smart enough to know to come after the player and provide a challenge, but I certainly feel not enough polish was given compared to the somewhat smarter opponents found in the console versions of the game.
All of that aside, one of the main purposes of any score attack style game is re-playability. It should take most players around 4-5 hours to complete every mission found within the game, but thanks to online co-op and the many unlockable medals that can be obtained, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is extremely addictive and a blast to play with a friend or any of the random players online. The lack of online leaderboards is a bit puzzling as such a simple feature could have been a necessity and it feels criminal seeing how you can’t share that high score obtained with the world. Even without leaderboards, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is still worthy of a few replays and even though the content included is small, this 3DS release is certainly the most fun I have had with the handheld to date online.
Graphics/Audio
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is probably the best looking game we have seen on the 3DS so far and is truly a mascot for showing off just what kind of visuals the system can truly display. Each model looks fantastic and you can easily see all the fine details applied with each attire. Enemies are a bit of a mixed bag though as up close, each look fantastic and are animated wonderfully. At a distance however, enemy models run at maybe 4-5 FPS at best and look extremely rough. While this game is in 3D and that feature adds to the immersion of the experience, I never felt too much of a difference to actually keep the 3D on the whole time as the final result is a bit subtle and feels a bit tacked on. Overall though, there is no denying that this title may be the best showing of a character model to date and the familiar environments found within also do a fantastic job of making the player feel right at home in the Resident Evil universe.
Music is yet another fine feature of the game as much of the soundtrack is ripped straight from the Mercs mode from Resident Evil 5. Adding to this, the music can now change at an instant whenever your time is running out or when a larger boss like enemy presents itself, adding some much needed excitement to the scene almost instantly. There isn’t a whole lot to say about the actual voicework as there isn’t a whole lot here, but most of the taunts and screams are done fairly well and while most were ripped from Resident Evil 5, each dab of voicework works miles into giving each character a sense of individuality.
Overall
To be honest, I went from wanting to play Mercenaries 3D to almost a complete loss of interest whenever I discovered that save data was unable to be deleted. Oddly enough, once I actually got to playing I became increasingly addicted to the whole experience given and at the moment I would say this may be the finest version of the game to date. Models look stunning (at least from close up) and each area captures that Resident Evil atmosphere that fans will instantly cling to. Controls are all responsive and work well and the inventory system on the touch screen does wonders to make the game more enjoyable, keeping everything focused on the chaotic combat. There are quite a few design choices that keep the game from reaching it’s true potential however and the lack of content for a full cartridge release is present and can make this mini-game of sorts feel like it could have simply been added to the upcoming Revelations (which is set to release a year from now). All that aside though, I still believe that Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a fantastic start for the series on the 3DS and is a nice addition to any fan’s library as it almost redefines the term “pick up and play”.
Well, well, welll…back to reality. I’m back from the Land of the Rising Sun. I bought myself a Japanese (NTSC) Nintendo 3DS with Japanese versions of Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time, Resident Evil Mercs, One Piece Ultimate Cruise Special and a number of other DS games which I know are impossible to find anywhere else. Unfortunately, I still haven’t had time to play and of them yet because I’ve been so busy with work and getting Linkage to do his chores around the office (cleaning the toilet and making coffee).
Last night while on a 3 hour long conference call with Dustin and Link, Dustin advised me that Double Dragon for the original Gameboy was released on the 3DS Virtual Console store. So quicker than you can say Tatsumaki-senpukyaku, I jump on and download that along with 2 other great DSi titles : Shantae (read our review here) and also Gameloft’s Castlevania Stone Soul Of Darkness. I haven’t been able to put down either. So once again all I’ve been doing this week is playing with my 3DS, collecting Mii’s with my Street Pass and of course working on the site.
My plan next week is getting stuck into maybe Child Of Eden, which is probably one of the best games ever made for the Xbox 360 Kinect (check out our review here) and also give Duke Nukem Forever a whirl. If you haven’t seen our Balls of Steel unboxing video, check it out here.
That’s it for me boys and girls. Remember…Play hard, or don’t play at all!
Senior Editor: Travis Bruno
Dusted off the old Kinect this week to play some Kung Fu Panda 2 for my review of the game. The title itself is rather enjoyable but is marred with many issues that make it more frustrating to play the longer you have to experience it. The Kinect has been out for over half a year now and titles have still refused to work properly at the best of times, which is disappointing to say the least. Besides that I have also been playing the Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS which has brought back many childhood memories. So many in fact that occasionally I find myself lost in nostalgia and going places before I even should be there.
I’ve also had a good time playing a little bit of Dungeon Siege III. The title is certainly a dungeon crawler to the core but the control scheme is something that any player will balk at at first simply due to the main button that is used to interact with objects as well as pick up dropped loot. The shoulder buttons meld into gameplay on an Xbox 360 controller barely at the best of times, and should not be a main button to push. Playing co-operatively is certainly the best highlight of the game because the second player can drop in and out easily without interrupting the flow of the game too badly. Besides the newer titles I’ve also picked up Ar Tonelica Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel on the PlayStation 3 again for a little bit. Western RPGs are great and I can’t wait until Skyrim comes out, but I was raised playing JRPGs and this title is a JRPG all the way to its core, which means I will always be going back to play it again for a different ending.
Senior Editor: Dustin Spencer
At the moment, I have been working through Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. The save data controversy is sure to haunt the game forever, but I am starting to enjoy it a bit more now that I am past the tedious tutorials. Lack of leaderboards hurt the game greatly though as there is no way to show off a score. Even a subtle street pass function for score sharing would be nice, but at the moment this is just the gameplay of mercs on a cartridge (BUT WITH CLAIRE!). I really think the game is addictive though and we should have a review up very soon, so keep an eye out for that.
For some odd reason, I always go back to the Halo series after a certain amount of time, and the past week was no exception as I have been playing quite a bit of Halo Reach. Due to MasterAbbott, I am also doing a second playthrough of Shantae: Risky’s Revenge as well now that I transferred it over on my 3DS, and falling in love with the half-genie all over again. Finally, my trek through The Ocarina of Time 3D is continuing, but a bit of a slow process due to myself not remembering anything about the game and getting lost constantly.
Senior Editor: Jed Bradshaw
This week I have been trying to clean up my backlog a bit, so…I started with Castle Crashers. I am about halfway through the campaign and I love it. The artwork is fantastic. I will say that sometimes the enemies get a bit hard to kill, but it is still very fun and the entire game charms my little heart greatly.
Next up, I played Chime until I got really sick of the 5 songs therein, and I got 7/12 achievements. I really like the music and gameplay in this game as well, and for 400 Microsoft Points this game is a steal. I even bought one of the songs on Zune so that I could listen to it when I am not playing the game, although that may have to wait, as my ear drums currently bleed when I hear any song from that game. I will wait a couple more months though and it should be good.
Finally, this week I also got back into Full House Poker. The net code in that game is awful and the achievements are stupid. For example, if you didn’t play in the Spring Texas Holdem Xbox Live event, you miss out on about 50 gamerscore, for good. One time achievements are the dumbest idea ever and developers who put them in games should be ashamed of themselves. Overall though, I have to say that it is really fun and addictive. I am getting better at poker, but I will still never go to Las Vegas.
Oh, I almost forgot. This week I also got really into Halo Reach. I am super addicted once more. Hit me up if you wanna play.
Editor: Kyle Moore
This week has been insane for me in terms of gaming. I can’t actually remember a week in which I have spent so much time playing games in a long long time. Firstly, wearing out the battery of my iPhone with a few small games here and there like Tiny Tower and Cow Trouble. Both are pretty good little time wasters, and have some nice pixel-style graphics which I always find ever so charming. I also just, as of say 10 minutes ago downloaded and played for a really small amount of time Astroboy Tap Tap Rush. So far so good, but with a lot of dialogue running through it. Too early to tell if I actually like it, but still, it sounds promising. In terms of reviewing I had a quick play through of Ninja Rescue (read review here) which is a nice little puzzle game you can pick up for free. Secondly, I had a huge play through of Gameloft’s Backstab (read review here) which proved to be a really awesome game with some impressive combat based game play. iOS aside, I’ve also been getting a fair amount of use out of my 3DS this week, having reviewed Sudoku: The Puzzle Game Collection (read review here) and soon to be reviewing Sports Island 3D, both of which are games by Hudson. Much like every other 3DS owner, I have also been beating the hell out of my Zelda cartridge, spending way too much time on it considering the mountain of things I have to get through. Either way it’s great fun, despite having played the original N64 title dozens of times.
Editor: Michael Irving
This week was a loose-ends kinda week for me, finishing off a few games I’ve started over the last few weeks.
First up, I finally knocked off Duke Nukem Forever, and while I enjoyed it (kinda, mostly…) the last few levels really annoyed me. I hate underwater levels in most games, but they were particularly bad in this case. The Duke would get stuck on everything: the amount of times I drowned while trying to fit through a doorway was ridiculous – and drowning while trying to figure out which way to go was worse. Follow that with an underwater boss fight, and I was almost ready to call it quits. I stuck it out though, and even waited around till the end of the super-long credits. I felt I had to pay my respects.
Next, I wrapped up my time with Resident Evil 2, playing the Gamecube remake on the Wii. I wish the series still played like this. I miss the slower pace, the stronger focus on puzzles, the way even a single zombie can freak you out. The later games feel the need to “scare” the player by sending hordes and hordes at them. I was told that I’m only halfway through though – now I gotta play through as Claire. Is there actually any difference in the gameplay? Really don’t know if I can be bothered with it again just yet.
Editor: Adam Tabor
Hello everyone, it’s Adam again. I haven’t posted one of these in a while so I figured I’d better tell you guys what games I have been digging into. First of all I have the amazing Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I just beat the Shadow Temple so I don’t have too far to go. This game is easly one of my top 3 best games of all time and this is the best port of the game so if you have a 3DS and you don’t have this then I am ashamed of you.
I also delved a bit back into some Marvel Vs Capcom 3. I missed my fighting games and need to get back into the grove of things. Some friends and I have played a little indie game for the NES called Battle Kid; take I Wanna Be The Guy, Castlevainia, Metroid, Mega Man and throw them in a pot and you get this wonderfuly evil game. Evil, you ask? Okay, let me tell you: this game will challenge the hardest of hardcore gamers. One hit you die that will test any gamer. If your interested in it you can buy it for $30 at http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?products_id=86, and I will be doing a review on this soon.
I also playing Donkey Kong and Kirby on the 3DS virtual console. Kirby is a very short but fun game. Sadly, this is before he can learn powers from his enemies but a quick fun little game. Donkey Kong is getting hard as can be: this isn’t your grandpaw’s DK. Just take my word and give it a chance. Finally, my lady and I have spent some quality time as I help her get though Super Mario World on her GBA. She’s not a hardcore gamer like me but she loves Mario and lets say it was a different expierence than Mario 3. She has almost beat the game and I’m very proud of her…now what game to get her into next? Hehe…I will turn her into one of us just yet.
Editor: Ben Webb
This week! Obviously the biggest game in gaming in ever, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3DS. I’ve also managed to get a game in on QuakeLive and I have to tell you, those Tier4 guys are freaking tough! I still have a long way to go before I’m even close to comparing against them.
Of course, Team Fortress 2 is now free-to-play, so I picked that up (I was actually intending to buy it the day it went free too, so $20 saved!) and I’ve been playing a bit of that. I play a scout at the moment as they suit my playstyle a little better than the other classes (considering my background in fast-paced FPS’) but I’ve played with most of the other classes and I’m also liking the engineer and heavy.
The Steam July sale started the other day and so far I’ve picked up a bunch of old favorites that I can’t be bothered pulling the discs out for for cheapsies, so yeah, Oblivion and KotOR for the moment. This list will obviously grow over the course of the sale I’m sure. And on the topic of Steam, I’ve also been playing a little bit of Counter-Strike Source, but not too much as I’m currently reviewing two items (that may or may not have been completed by the time this goes up).
Editor: Jack Joly
As you may have seen, I have recently announced my progress on an achievement challenge to fully complete the achievements of a game each month, so this week I did one ‘Hard’ and one ‘Insane’ play-through of TRON: Evolution to complete it for the month of June. This week also saw me play Loving Life with Hello Kitty & Friends for Nintendo DS in order to review it.
Editor: Darren Resnekov
This week I have spent most of my time on Fear 3, not because its that much different from other games but because it’s just so well made. It has that real arcade style feel to the fighting but at the same time requires special attention to tactics. The AI enemies are by far and away the most intelligent of any console game I have played. Enemies speak to each other and have high powered weapons. Add to this the scare elements of the game and it’s awesome. I’m also playing Red Faction Armageddon, which is cool – especially the ability to remake environments. I wasn’t overly impressed with Duke Nukem especially considering what else is out there to try. Apart from those, I haven’t had much time to play heaps but I did play Dirt 3 which from reviewing is the king of racing games in my opinion.
Editor: Luke Halliday
What have I been playing this week!? What a ridiculous question from an adequate person. To answer your half ridiculous half adequate question I have the following to say: Jump Ultimate Stars (or for those Japanese fellows out their “ジャンプアルティメットスターズ, Janpu Arutimetto Sutāzu”).
Playing this game has made me realise that I want a new Jump Stars game. Someone out their within the dark night, hear my cry! Hear my plea! Hear me! Make a new Jump Stars game!
Oh and I was playing Barbie: Horse and Ride on the Playstation 1. Unfortunately, really. Please can someone watch my 5 minute-long Horse race montage on Youtube? Chestnut wins, for those who don’t mind spoilers. Unfortunately I bet on Buttercup… Unfortunately, really.
This week we wrap up E3 week with our in-depth discussion on all major platform holders and how their press conferences went. We rate ’em and declare a winner. I bet you’ll never guess who we decided on…
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Dustin Spencer, Jed Bradshaw, Adam Tabor, Michael “Spike” Marr, Luke Halliday
Thanks for listening and let us know what you think! 🙂
Send all your video game or podcast questions, hints, suggestions and feedback to [email protected] Thanks for listening. Copyright Capsule Computers Pty Ltd – All Rights Reserved
FIFA is always known for its commentators, and EA is boosting up the broadcast booth for FIFA 12: Alan Smith will join noted commentator Martin Tyler as the second voice for this year’s title.
This is my way to subliminally get you all to support Chelsea.
Alan Smith is a former English footballer who played as a striker for Leicester City and Arsenal. During his time at Arsenal, the team won the FA Cup, two League Championships, and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. He is well-known now as a co-commentator for football games, and commentated on the 2011 Champions League final alongside Martin Tyler.
Martin Tyler is the iconic voice that FIFA players hear in the game, and this pair in the booth will be an interesting addition to the game. FIFA 12 is due to be released on September 27 in the USA and September 30 in Europe and Australia.
The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is one of the most highly regarded games in video game history. It is also a game that is known to be confusing at times (Water Temple), so it’s a no-brainer that a guidebook may be required by some gamers who want to fully complete this game, or are just plain stuck. This is where Prima come into it.
Prima Games have released the The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D guidebook as a companion to the 3DS version of the game. The guidebook covers almost every aspect of the game, in a fashion that some would call ordered. It details the game through the course of Ocarina of Time and moves into Master Quest walkthrough afterwards. The guide is fairly comprehensive when it comes to the secrets and strategies, as well as optimal routes through dungeons. I did however notice that there was no mention of a secret image of Link that I found behind a few crates in the Gerudo valley.
Most of the Guidebook is incredibly light on details, probably to avoid spoilers, but that can sometimes make it a little hard to discern the purpose of going to a particular location other than ‘you have to’. The book seems to be written with returning players in mind, with it being a little hard to understand and utilise for a newcomer coming into the game. Though, I did enjoy some of the survival tips the book offers “As Phantom Ganondorf flies between paintings, it releases a shock attack. To avoid it, back into a corner of the room. It will never touch you back here.” It’s something like this that I wouldn’t have thought about doing that can save you a few hearts in what is (potentially) a tough battle.
The book is full of screenshots that are of a pretty good quality. I wonder how they got these screenshots and I would like to have one of whatever device they used to capture the images. Speaking of quality, the cover of the book, I feel, would have benefited from being comprised of a harder material, as opposed to this cardboard like nonsense. It is incredibly odd that a game as big as Ocarina of Time didn’t actually have this feature. However, this could actually be a throwback to the original guidebook which was made of a similar material. The paper is standard glossy magazine-like paper which adds a nice texture to each page and makes the package seem a little more valuable. At the end of the guidebook, consumers will be pleased to find that there is a very nice poster awaiting them at the end.
There’s a section in the guidebook that features a checklist of which Gold Skultullas you’ve found. The only problem is (if you value the quality of your book) you probably wont want to checking any of the boxes next to any of the Skultulla locations within the book.
The book is segregated into sections which clearly define and separate each section into its own content. The book moves from the Introduction to the great Deku Tree and then to everything else in a kind of order that works. Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, some sections of the book can be a little difficult to understand for newcomers to the series. I remember one of the other editors telling me of their woes in trying to understand what to do and where to go and how they couldn’t work out what the book meant. This problem is greatly noticeable at the section of the book that covers the Death Mountain Trail. It tells you to run up to Goron City, then go into Goron City and then to exit and throw the bomb flower at Dodongo’s Cavern. This is completely weird as it leaves players that are closely following the guide confused. If I were to do a literal run of the game from page to page of the guidebook, I would simply not be able to progress past this point.
The book is adorned with nice illustrations that decorate the page, like the Heart Containers atop the page that fill as you progress through the book, there is what I believe to be the Harp of Ages on the bottom left corner of the left hand page and the Ocarina of Time on the top right of the right hand page. It’s the little things like these that help to bring life into the book and put it into its own. I found that these, in combination with the other decorative imagery, made the book feel particularly Zelda and that is always a good thing.
Overall the Prima Games guidebook to The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D for the Nintendo 3DS is a solid package for all players who either require guidance or love to collect memorabilia based on the franchises that they love. The book is presented in a passable manner, with highly decorated pages within. While the book can be a little confusing in some parts, it is mostly coherent and as spoiler free as possible. If you still have a surviving copy of your original Ocarina of Time guidebook, I’d still say to pick this copy up, if only for collectable purposes.The official Nintendo Seal adorns the edge of the cover of this book, which is an indicator of the quality of the comments that reside within.
Modern Combat: Domination Developer: Gameloft Publisher: Gameloft Genre: Multiplayer FPS Platform: Mac Release: June 15, 2011 Price:$12.99
Overview:
I’ve been a Mac user for a great many years now, and as such I had all but given up on playing games on my machine. But within the last year or so not only have we received Steam for Mac but now we have the juggernaut of the App Store right on our very desktops. Having any old App Store isn’t a big deal but with the gold rush of iOS development, game developers now have a pavlovian response of seeing money symbols when they hear the word App Store associated with Apple. In this mad rush for position, Gameloft has done quite well for themselves. With the new Mac App Store, Gameloft has delivered Modern Combat: Domination, an online multi-player FPS in the vein of Counter-Strike or the Call of Duty series. With such a mad dash for something to be recognised, does it hold up?
Mechanics:
If you’ve played a FPS in the last 10 years you know what to expect control wise from MCD so I’m not going to dwell on it. Controls are smooth and solid with no lag that I picked up on during my play time. I was using a mouse and keyboard which ran smoothly and the game comes with controller support, which I didn’t get the chance to try out myself. While predominately an online multi-player FPS, you do have the option of playing all the maps by yourself with bots so you can get familiar with the layout so you’re not diving in blind when you play online. Tragically, the single player bot A.I. is pretty terrible. But to be fair, that’s not the focus of the game so it’s really not the end of the world. The real meat comes with the online multiplayer. There’s 6 different play modes with up to 16 players at once. All your favourite game modes are there with Capture the Flag, Boom & Bust, Deathmatch, Extraction, Escort and Domination.
The map design was pretty solid, if a tad small, and while the gun selection was pretty standard, they all handled really well. You have to buy and unlock weapons with in game currency and levelling up. However, you have to purchase the weapons you use for every round. This usually winds up with you using lower tiered weapons with all the heavy hitters hardly being used because of the gamble. I found it a little hard to find a good amount of people to really match up with. Bots helps a bit filling in spaces but nothing can really replace going up against another live person. As I mentioned before, there was no lag and the servers were all rock solid with no hiccups during my play sessions.
Presentation:
I was running the game on a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 with 8 GB of RAM and had absolutely no issues with performance and graphically it held up to the PS3 version. This is really where Gameloft shines, they have great technology and it really shows with how the game performs. The colour pallet is what you’d expect from a war based FPS with lots of browns and greys but the graphics are crisp and looked great running on my machine.
Where the game truly shines is the music and sound design. Really, this is where the game is better than it has any right to be whether it’s with fantastic ambient noise, the sound of your footsteps running through the sand or a bullets whizzing by you and hitting the wall. The guns all sound great and the score is a stand out. I can’ really say enough good things about the sound design in Modern Combat: Domination.
Conclusion:
Let me be frank here, if your metric for comparison with Modern Combat: Domination is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare then obviously there’s no comparison. CoD looks, sounds and plays better, not to mention that it has a full single player campaign as where MCD is multiplayer only. But if you consider that MCD is a mere $12.99 and CoD had a drastically larger development budget then your opinion of the game will change considerably. For that price point I couldn’t recommend MCD enough if you’re looking for an online multiplayer FPS. Especially on the Mac, where hardcore titles are still is in short supply. So if shooting guys in the face on your Mac is your thing than you could do far worse than Modern Combat: Domination. So click that download button and lets get trigger happy.
