Timed-exclusives are the newest way to gain a bit of an advantage over other consoles, and nobody knows this better than Microsoft. It seems that when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hits stores this November, Xbox 360 owners will have a little bit of a leg up on post-launch DLC. Bethesda revealed that the first two pieces of content that will expand Skyrim’s already ridiculously large amount of content will be exclusive to the xbox Live Martketplace “30 days before it’s available anywhere else.”
The news doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, but the question is how much did Microsoft have to pay to make perhaps the biggest game of 2011’s DLC temporarily exclusive to their system? Also it seems that Skyrim fans will be able to enjoy at least more than two add on DLCs which according to what Bethesda has said in the past, will be large expansions to the world similar to what was done in Fallout and Oblivion.
Congratulations Capcom, you have finally given players what players want – a sandbox mode for Dead Rising. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is set to feature a full sandbox mode. No pesky timer to getting in the way of my zombie killing fun. Sandbox mode is exactly what Dead Rising fans have been raving on about since the original Dead Rising in 2006.
A ‘Survival mode’ this is not, Sandbox mode will include special challenges complete with online leaderboards that will put your zombie killing skills up to test, such as “Rumble in the Jungle,” “Chop Suey,” and “Silver Strip Smackdown”. Sandbox mode also supports co-op play, because everyone knows that killing zombies is more fun with a friend.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is set to be released in October 11 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC
Torchlight 2, the non-corporation dungeon crawler that has made millions of dollars with their first title, has been given a price by Runic Games, and it is a price that should please many fans and their wallets. Joystiq reports that Runic Games’ Torchlight 2 will be sold at $20 on the PC when it is released in the coming months.
This price is surprising in a few ways, as it not only is the same price as the original Torchlight, but considering the vast amount of improvements that will be in the sequel, this price only will help motivate those who need no more motivation to buy. Runic also revealed the last class that will be playable in Torchlight 2; the below pictured Embermage will join the game’s Engineer, Outlander, and Berserker classes.
Not too long ago, a rumor crept up that mentioned the Xbox Live Arcade version of Bloodrayne Betrayal would be launching one month later than the September 6th release date for the PSN. Thankfully though, the official twitter account for the game has set the record straight, remarking that the XBLA date was just a rumor and BloodRayne Betrayal will be released just a day later than the PSN (September 7th) for all Xbox 360 owners.
So all of you who were crying a bit inside can now be happy, as Bloodrayne Betrayal is now less than two weeks away from taking over the digital world and covering it in blood. Now we must just figure out what to do with ourselves for the remaining bit of time.
Considering that this is a game that you can play on your smartphone, the graphics for Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nations are pretty damn insane. This game is Gameloft’s next instalment of the highly successfully Modern Combat series. Gameloft have also unveiled a trailer for the upcoming game which features some of the best and most realistic graphics for a first person shooter that can fit in your hands.
Alongside a cinematic 13-part campaign, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation will feature a full multiplayer mode that can fit up to 12 players, 6 different modes over 6 different maps complete with 90 ranks to level up in.
Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation is set to be released this Fall for iOS and Android devices.
Oh, Japan! is a weekly feature in which I will chronicle the wierd, wacky and just plain crazy goings on in Japan. Because we all know, Japan is prone to doing things that make us Westerners say “Oh, Japan!”.
In the english-speaking world, we have Lady Gaga for those who want pop music backed up by wierd costumes and imagery. Japan however has someone else, someone much more kawaii. Japan has Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. If you like cute things, prepare for what is without a doubt a cute overload. Brace yourself folks, its Pon Time!
Check out Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s hit single “PonPonPon” below. If you can go a day without thinking of all things PonPonPon after watching this, you have the mental discipline of a monk. You are not prepared for PonPonPon! Or put more simply “Oh, Japan!”
I’m going to flat out say it: I am stoked for the Playstation Vita. I look at that handheld and would love to carry it around. The games that are being developed are impressing me more by the day, whether they are downloadable or retail. So, when I see Frank Gibeau, EA Lables President, saying that the Playstation Vita has a better chance on succeeding than the Nintendo 3DS, I tend to agree with him.
Gibeau puts it down to three points in his interview with CVG: innovative design, technology and strong lineup of games. Of course, many others were forecasting doom and gloom for the handheld market, but Gibeau is a breath of fresh air when he decided to put the Vita in a positive light.
“I think that part of the videogame business is tough right now because they have had some significant competition come in that was totally disruptive, and that was the smartphone,” Gibeau said. “I think [Sony has] got a shot because they have some really unique innovation in the control scheme, the technology and the screen. It’s got a lot of social features now so that you can actually communicate with your friends and be social.”
He does point out on the lack of phone functionality, a feature I believe would take a huge chunk out of the smartphone market, but also reminds the average consumer that the handheld is a smaller tablet with unique features that tablets do not have, like proper gaming experiences. The rear touch pad comes out as the stand out unique feature. He also mentions the strong lineup of games, which seems to overshadow that of the Nintendo 3DS.
“I don’t think they’re quite in the same boat as the 3DS,” he said. “The 3DS was a really interesting piece of technology but I think there was some confusion over it and the title slate was a little different. I think Vita has a better chance because it has a stronger title slate at launch. PSP’s had a great run in Europe as a device — it seems to have reached a much larger audience here than it did in North America. So I think they’ve got a good shot. We’re going to publish a few games on it and see how it develops.”
Even though there are calls for a price drop, some of those analysts should really check out what the Vita is offering. Sony realises the competition from smartphones and tablets and has moved as such to combat it, as well as the 3DS. I can not wait for its release, which should be early 2012 for us here in the West. Japan receives it later in 2011.
Overview: The iOS is still relatively new ground in the gaming industry, when compared to the industries history as a whole. There is a lot of developers creating some truly brilliant games for the platform and utilising the iOS to it’s upmost potential. However, on the other side of the coin, there are those who are doing the polar opposite. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance is a game that blurs that line. It tip-toes to the line that is for sure, however the final product is something that unfortunately only barely qualifies as a video game.
Gameplay:
There are game types that lend themselves to the iOS and yes Side-scrollers are often classified as one of those game types. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance is a side-scrolling adventure game, atleast that’s what the package says. Though, take one look inside and what you find is something that’s existence is questionable. Why was this game made? What purpose does it serve? Before I answer those questions, I’ll explain the predicament Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance finds itself in.
The game utilises what is put simply a rather perculiar control system. It’s control concept is something not yet seen on the iOS. Atleast not in this grand a scale. However, this control concept is also Zorro’s greatest undoing. You shouldn’t aim for the stars when you can not reach the moon.
The developers aimed for a control system that would make Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance a single touch side-scroller instead of utilising the standard on screen analog stick. They failed. What they instead ended up creating was a control scheme that is simultaneously unresponsive and impossible to master. There is no chance of understanding the glitches and managing to play this game through hard training. It simply is unplayable by nearly all standards. It is mostly a random foray of movements as you attempt to move throughout the game. Sometimes you try to run, instead you jump. Sometimes you try to jump, instead you dodge roll off a cliff into a field of cacti. It is simply a complete mess.
Whether you can believe it or not after reading that previous paragraph there was some potential here. The idea was interesting; a single touch side-scroller. However they swung and hit a foul of epic of proportions. Not only are the controls completely broken, if you so happen to manage to make it through a few levels of sheer luck (which I did after random swipings of my screen), there is a device crashing glitch to further rain on this game’s parade. I encountered this glitch 3 times over. Each time exactly the same, Zorro flips into a cactus, my iPhone crashes.
It is all really a shame, there were some interesting concepts here and the Zorro franchise was an inspired choice for a side-scroller. It’s just so very sad that this game can barely be classified as such. So sad that it barely functions. It’s just, such a waste of an idea and franchise that when combined had at first shown such promise.
Visuals: Graphically speaking, Zorro: Shadow of Vengenace is mediocre. There is much left to be desired from these visuals. I wish I could say that they atleast function, but there is often graphical glitches and tearing. Not only this but the model animation is poorly done and often glitches, sometimes crashing the game.
I had hoped the game would have atleast somewhat redeemed itself visually. That was far from the case as like it’s gameplay, it is a glitchy mess. It’s not at all eye-catching or visually pleasing and is sadly below the standard of the average iOS title. Overall the graphics are simply disappointing.
Audio:
Like the rest of the game, the audio is also glitchy. Tracks sound as though they are not properly overlayed onto the gameplay and at times mid-track completely cut off. Also poor was the games sound effects, which sounded simply attrocious and did not match the actions on screen which is a shame really.
I am just confused as to how so many things went wrong with this game. It’s one thing for the gameplay to be bad, but for both the visuals and audio to also be is just another disappointment added to the pile.
Conclusion:
To conclude, I must say that Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance could’ve been a decent game. Earlier on I posed some questions. Why was this game made? What purpose does it serve? I believe this game was an attempt from a small developer to create something fresh. Something different to the massive sea of iOS titles that are all similar in some way or another. They didn’t succeed, by any meaning of the word. This was an experiment, which not unlike that of a mad scientist in an 80’s cartoon, blew up in Pixofactor’s face.
More time was indeed needed during the debugging phase of this game. But in a grave mistep it seems that phase was almost entirely forgotten. The game fell apart and it’s glitching remains were scooped up placed onto the iTunes store and sold for $1.99 a pop. This game should stand in the iOS market as a guidepost for developers of what not to do when developing for the platform. Zorro: Shadow of Vengeance will never lurk in the shadows it will remain infamous as the game that both was yet never was.
I think everyone can say they are excited about the upcoming release of Dead Island. Killing zombies, an idea that is simple, but impossible not to be fun, especially on a tropical paradise. So Deep Silver has decided to let us drool a little more with the release of some extra goodies before we can get stuck into some moaning brain eaters.
XBOX Avatar Items:
The avatars on Xbox 360 are just plain adorable. I love it when they dance when you have dressed, but that may be a very female point of view. I assure the men who make them and dress them up, that it is indeed quite manly. New items for you avatars to dress up and play with have now become available on the XboxMarketplace.
Well, they are here now. They moan and eat brains, but some may be up for a photo op… If you ask nicely. Why not pop in for a visit, so you can hit them with bats and other blunt objects.
Getting more with your pre-order
Those who have been scooping out the pre-order competition for Dead Island, you may be pleasantly surprised to see Amazon are giving away a Digital Art book, filled with the lovely scenery and bloody gore designs from the game, but as a bonus they are also added a full strategy map of the entire island. Including locations for weapon mods and other goodies.
I don’t about you readers, but I think it is worth a look.
Chuck Bittner (also known as The Can’t Stand Up Comic, Ask-A-Capper and ONLYUSEmeFACE) is a Quadriplegic Gamer with a simple request: that game developers include custom button remapping as an option in video games. For disabled gamers like Bittner who can’t move the majority of his body, playing video games is on the most part impossible without the option of assigning which button does what. As a result, Bittner is forced to play games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with his face, and he’s not alone. For a bit over a year now, Bittner has been running an online petition for handicapped gamers, as a plea to game developers to allow button remapping in video games, so they can find a way to play. At the time of writing this, the petition is currently over 75 thousand strong, but still aims to get a lot more signatures in order to make an important difference.
YOU can help gamers like Chuck bysigning the petition here, or you can view his ‘can’t stand up’ comedy and asking him questions yourself at his website, www.askacapper.com, or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Chuck will also be appearing on the Capsule Computers Podcast next week, so if you have any questions you would like answered on the podcast, you can post them below or send them to [email protected].
