This week we talk about the Capsule Computers Community Night on XBL where we played Halo: Reach with everyone, discuss some game news, talk about what what we’ve been playing and end on our least threatening game villains.
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Philip Federico, Dustin Spencer, Michael Marr, Luke Halliday
Game: Guerrilla War Publisher/Developer: SNK Playmore Consoles: PS3(Reviewed), PSP Price: $2.99 Genre: Top down shooter
SNK Playmore has released 8 classics onto the Playstation Network and so far, they have all been fairly decent games, although many of them desperately need a paint job and some updated gameplay. Nevertheless, for 20 year old games, they hold up on par with some of the games of today.
Guerrilla Wars is most likely the most popular of the 8 games released and it is available to Playstation Plus members for free. If you buy or receive one copy of the game, then it will be available to play on both the PSP and PS3, as is standard with all Minis on the Playstation Store.
As with most games released in 1987 , Guerrilla Wars does very little to be praised in the graphical department. Everything is pixelated and the colors and textures are very basic. Nevertheless, this game’s graphics rise above those of Athena or HAL 21 (2 other games released by SNK on PSN). Character models especially look like they could, in some instances anyway, be substituted in iOS games or other modern games.
Unlike the previous arcade game that Guerrilla Wars originally was, this game only costs $2.99 and there is no quarter slot on the PS3 to continually feed it. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change anything in the gameplay department. This is a top down shooter where you must use your guns and grenades to fight a bevy of dangerous combatants. You will die, a lot. From the constant grenade spam (think World at War) to the awful boss fights, there will be a lot of cursing and raging as you play through this short little game. The “one hit and your dead” mechanic also seems a bit unfair, although the fact that you have unlimited continues and can up the lives counter to 5 does work in your favor. There is 2 player coop available if you need some help too.
Although the game does have a super high difficulty curve, it does offer some fun and slight strategic gameplay for those willing to give it a try. As a matter of fact, I would say it is one of the better games released by SNK so far. You can pilot tanks, pick up enemy weapons (flame thrower for the win!) and wreak havok with the reliable control system. Featuring the ability to auto aim in the options menu, it is gratifying to mow enemies down as you liberate an island. Although the story is nearly invisible it is enjoyable to finally meet the final boss and have your revenge (after 8 million deaths anyway).
In conclusion, Guerrilla Wars is the classic game that many people remember and it is the highlight of the 8 games released so far on PSN. If you have Playstation Plus, it will offer a nice respite from all that modern stuff. For the price of a couple of candy bars, it may offer some delight to others who own a PSP or PS3 as well, especially seeing as how you can accomplish one good deed for the day by freeing some hostages throughout the game!
When I originally read this article I decided to do some research but got bored reading biased research and stories taken out of context. The arguments for and against the influence of violent video games has been long standing and will more than likely continue till the end of time. Even recently within Australia, there has been a push from many states to include an R18+ category, as well as the banning of the latest Mortal Kombat due to gratuitous violence levels. So who better to voice his opinions on the matter than John Carmack, one of Id softwares founders. Carmack has been there from the beginning of FPS and violent franchises, being involved with the ground breaking Doom, which followed on from the Operation Wolfenstein phenomena.
Standing in total defence of violent games, Carmack is quick to comment, “There is more evidence to show that violent video games reduce aggression and violence”. He goes on to mention studies relating violence in games to cathartic type behaviour. Using QuakeCon as an example, Carmack believes a cross sectional study would reveal a much more placid crowd at the gaming convention. The technical director dismisses much of the hype surrounding the correlation between violent games and gamers aggression, clearly not losing any sleep over the matter to say the least.
Personally I do think violence in video games has an effect on our brains and anyone who argues differently doesn’t have a leg to stand on. If any gamer was hooked up to a neurotransmitter and played violent games one would of course expect certain centres within their brain to be active. What we are forgetting is if the same gamers were playing Fifa soccer, one would expect, as studies have shown that the SAME centres are activated sometimes at more intense levels. Think of the reaction that Soccer itself brings out in crowds. The countless riots and fences of iron to separate violent crowds all brought upon by a sporting event. Has anyone ever talked of banning Soccer or all sport for that matter simply because it brings out violent tendencies in some people? I grew up in Australia as a child with every kind of toy gun I can think of. The result, someone who believes all guns should be banned worldwide. I also grew up with cartoons where coyotes were massacred day in and day out by a bird, and ducks had their beaks blown backwards by redneck hunters, yet I feed feral cats and love all animals.
On the question as to whether violent games affect younger minds, that’s a different issue and all I will say on the matter is “RESPONSIBLE PARENTING”. If you couldn’t bothered as parent to check what rating the game YOU are buying for your child has then it’s not the industries issue, it’s yours. So in a nutshell I have no issue with violence in video games no matter how disturbing it gets. My parents taught me right from wrong, something that the video game industry can’t change. Reading other gamers comments I’m confident their parents instilled the same values.
Everyone, in order to unlock the playable character Griffin in Gears of War 3, as played by Ice-T, you must act quickly and like the games Facebook Page.
Liking the facebook page will give you a token to use the character Griffin in multiplayer. So make sure you do this quickly as I have no idea on how long it’s going to be up.
Gears of War 3 now has aFacebook page for everyone to like and follow for the latest Gears News, or you can follow us here at Capsule Computers where we are sure to be mirroring, or maybe even have exclusive, information.
Overview:
There are types of games that lend themselves to mobile devices and there are types that simply should not see the light of day on them. The platform itself is still relatively new territory for gaming when you consider the mediums long history. So you’d be excused for thinking that it the platform is still finding it’s footing. Unfortunately though until it does find it, games such as Mad Wheels will pile into the virtual landfill known as iOS gaming.
Gameplay:
Let me start by saying that Mad Wheels isn’t necessarily a bad game, it’s just not even close to being a good game. On a functional level, it works. But on the grand scale of things, Gamaday clearly had no intentions of creating anything other than a functioning racing game. They never seemed to strive for anything more and thus, Mad Wheels is mediocre by every sense of the word.
The game as you can tell from it’s title is a racing game. It is for the iOS and as you most likely know, racing games don’t have the best track record (pun intended) when it comes to the iOS. Mad Wheels just adds another to the list.
The control scheme is put simply, a mess. It is impossible to master this often unresponsive control system, which requires one thumb to steer your vehicle with an on screen control stick and the other to tap tiny icons to use weapons. This would work if both of these controls would respond properly. They either do not respond at all or respond late, which in a game such as this is just not acceptable.
The racing itself is bland, awkward and unenjoyable. There is next to no incentive to continue playing and is more likely to turn a player away than to maintain their attention. Even for casual play this is pushing the human minds attention span to its up most limits.
That isn’t to say the game is all bad, there was potential here. It would have been half decent if even an ounce more care was put into it’s development. As it stands the game feels and plays like a freeware title, which is never a good thing when you are trying to sell it to a large market. It’s a shame because the game does show signs of potential, if it had only had more care put into it’s creation.
Visuals:
The graphics of the game are decent and do the job they need to do, however they are quite bland. The visuals do not stand out in any significant way from the sea of other racing games for the iOS, but on a functional level, they work. It looks like a racing game, thats all Gamaday tried to do and it is all they achieved.
There isn’t anything too impressive here and that doesn’t just speak for the visuals but the entire game in general. It’s very lackluster and most definitely required more nurturing during the creative process.
Audio:
The music for the game was average and didn’t even try to leave an impression. It did what it had to do and called it a night. Perhaps they were playing it safe? Whether that was the case or not, it is unfortunately mediocre and forgettable.
With a game called Mad Wheels I expected some more exciting music to justify it’s title. Instead the game subjects you to the soundtrack of nearly every other racing game for the iOS, random generic rock music. It’s just sloppy and ultimately disappointing.
Conclusion:
All-in-all, Mad Wheels is a game that doesn’t strive for to much, and rightfully so achieves very little. It is a basic racing game that doesn’t always work the way it should. It is playable but little more. I will reiterate one last time, this game could have been much better. It had a great deal of untapped potential which is evident throughout the game but it never even seems to grasp for anything other than proper functionality.
Oddly enough, the classified ad for the following has gone unanswered for quite some time: “Single undead zombie seeking a place to live and stage deadly terror attacks. Must accept flesh as payment. Dwelling must be large enough to host a horde. Owners should not be alarmed at the site of weapons, dead people, or other survival horror items.”
Sony has finally listened to the plea of this zombie though and offered a home on Playstation Home. If your over the age of 17, you can even visit the zombie and his horde. Themed mini games, which can be played with up to 4 people, will be available, as well as photo taking and rewards. 4 free Playstation Home rewards can be earned, as well as some other exclusive items.
Each week, new content will be introduced “including a premium PlayStation Home reward “Exploding Zombie Outfit” for players that pre-order Dead Island directly from Home’s Central Plaza” and “Exploding Meat”, a powerful weapon for use in Dead Island that can only be acquired by surviving the PlayStation Home onslaught.”
The Dead Island area of Home will be habitable before the games release in September.
The PlayStation Vita was officially unveiled at E3, but we’re still still waiting on official specs and most of all, a launch date and software lineup.
During the TGS keynote speech in September, Sony President Shuhei Yoshida and Senior Vice President Yoshio Matsumoto will be doing a speech titled “All About PlayStation Vita.”, you get the idea.
We can expect all the detailed specs, the final software lineup and release date. Over the weekend rumors surfaced of a suggested launch date of October 18 in the UK, also Sony’s Jack Tretton had previously suggested a phased rollout with Japan getting the device before the end of 2011 and then North America getting it in the first quarter of 2012. Hopefully the mystery is all cleared up in the TGS keynote speech, including the official size of the PS VITA’s system memory, which has also caused rumors across the industry.
I’ll be there in Tokyo when it’s all revealed, just quietly, I can’t wait!
After the long-awaited confirmation of the new Hunter x Hunter anime series, details have risen from both Weekly Shonen Jump and an official website created for the anime.
It has been now officially announced that this new anime series will indeed be a reboot, going back to the beginning of the manga and starting from scratch. That means that the new anime will not simply continue from the Greed Island arc into the Chimera Ants arc, instead it will go back to its roots in the Hunter Exams arc. This was clearly the smartest thing to do given the last anime series finished airing in 1999. The last OVA airing in 2004. It has simply been too long to just continue it, so a reboot is the best option.
This version of the anime is being touted as the definitive version and will be both filler free and strongly faithful to it’s manga source as it has no worries of catching up to the manga any time soon.
It was also announced that MADHOUSE, famous for Death Note, High School of the Dead and many more, will be handling the series animation. Hiroshi Koujina will be directing the new series and Jun Maekawa, of Dragon Ball Z fame, will be dealing with the series scripts. Also, Takahiro Yoshimatsu will be working on character designs and Toshio Nakatani will produce. The cast has yet to be announced.
The new series will make its wildly anticipated premiere October 2nd, 2011 on NTV at 10.55 a.m (the same time it will run every Sunday following the premiere). This is all huge news for Hunter x Hunter fans, who have long been put through many trials and tribulations for their love of this series. It’s good to see that all the waiting will finally pay off.
You can check out the official Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime website here. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on this huge news in the comments below.
Electronic Arts announced today that a novel will be published based on their upcoming title Battlefield 3, one of the most highly anticipated games of 2011. Written by ex-SAS operator and best-selling author of Bravo Two Zero, Battlefield 3: The Russian will tell the back-story of one of the hero soldiers from Battlefield 3’s campaign mode, RU Special Forces operator Dima. McNab and co-author Grimsdale have first-hand experience of the drama and trauma of real war, which will give an authentic voice and heart-wrenching perspective to the story.
The story will be told in similar fashion to the game, in an intense, documentary-styled format, and ripped-from-the-headlines incursions. Battlefield 3: The Russian will tell the story of a soldier struggling to do whatever it takes to keep his platoon and himself alive. The team at DICE is also working with McNab as well to ensure the authenticity and grittiness of today’s warfare is experienced in the single player, co-op and multiplayer campaigns for the game.
“It is impossible for any single medium to fully capture the emotion and intensity of war. The Battlefield 3: The Russian novel is one window into the experience, and the game is another. They complement each other perfectly,” McNab said in the press release, “Working with DICE has been a fantastic ride. Battlefield 3 is going to surprise people this spring. The story, the characters, the world and the intense action come together to create a resonant, memorable experience.”
Battlefield 3: The Russian is looking at an October 25 release, published by the Orion division of Hachette Australia.
In less than a year, the London 2012 Olympic Games will be underway and Mario and Sonic are all set to compete. The newest game from Sega that will celebrate these games will hit store shelves on November 15, 2011 for the Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo 3DS version of the game will be releasing in February 2012. For the Nintenod Wii, the packaging will have a unique yellow banner (see above). The Wii version will have an enhanced 100m sprint race, and the Nintendo 3DS will have a new event: the 110m hurdles. More events and new features are also being developed for the game.
