Some of the most standard ways to make your way through Valentine’s Day without being killed by your significant other is by giving them some candy. But this time around, another sweet tooth is going to be visiting on Valentine’s Day. One that has a flaming head and drives around in an ice cream truck full of murderous weapons.
After it was announced that Twisted Metal would be delayed until sometime in 2012, there was no release window given for the title, until now. David Jaffe says that the delay has really paid off as they have spent the extra time “pouring, and tuning and tweaking and polishing the game” for fans when it is released. Catch Jaffe’s funny little video for this announcement below and even a bit of gameplay footage.
On the afternoon of September 15, a Business Day during TGS, the Asia Game Business Summit will be held. What is the Asia Business Games Summit you say?
Only in its second year, five top executives of game companies from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan hold a discussion panel. The theme this year is: “The Main Battlefield of Digital Entertainment: Users’ Palms!” You know what this means, they’ll be talking about new portable game devices, smartphones, tablets and e-book readers. Focusing on the outlook for each company as well as trends in different countries and regions, comparing the industry today and all things in the future.
TGS last year had a focus area on the topic of mobile gaming, and rightly so, as it’s probably one of the fastest growing segments of the industry. In the last year alone, smartphone gaming as a lucrative business has taken off in various markets. One of those areas is Social Gaming, not something that I exactly agree with, but nevertheless find interesting because of it’s future. Reports last year were saying that Mobile Gaming will nearly double it profits from the period between 2009 – 2015, and that’s probably a modest projection. I hope to be there to find out what they have to say, I don’t speak Japanese, but that’s what translators are for.
The panelists of the Asia Game Business Summit are:
[China] Mr. Chien Tunghai, Vice President, Shanda Games Limited
[South Korea] Mr. Rim Chong Kyoon (Albert Rim), Vice President, NEXON MOBILE Corporation
[Taiwan] Mr. Aaron Hsu, Chairman, XPEC Entertainment Inc.
[Japan] Mr. Haruhiro Tsujimoto, President & COO, CAPCOM CO., LTD.
Many all over the world are heading back to school this week but Sega want to make sure you still get that last bit of gaming in. Until August 29th, many of the developer’s top classics are getting a temporary price cut on the iOS in honor of the returning students, and anyone can now get their hands on classics such as Streets of Rage 2 & 3, Gunstar Heroes, and several other top sellers for under a buck.
Check out the full list and prices below, and be sure to act fast as there is just four days left until these titles return to their normal rates.
Welcome fellow space cadets. We will be undergoing heavy infantry fire by the disgusting Orks. They have invaded our home and stand at least a million strong, but that’s plenty more for us to kill. Grab a bolter rifle or chainsword; you are now a Space Marine.
THQ has two new Warhammer 40K: Space Marine videos for the public to gaze their eyes upon. First up is “I Am A Space Marine”. In effort to show humor, THQ provides ordinary people declaring they’re a Space Marine while incorporating in-game action. There seems to be a lot of spammed comments about a women’s ineligibility to be a viable Space Marine. I wouldn’t mess with a chainsword wielding woman. Nope.
First rule about Fight Club: talk about Capcom? On September 17th, Capcom is sponsoring its second date of the Fight Club tour in Bristol. At the West Country Boxing Club anyone will be able to join the fight by playing the following games: Street Fighter x Tekken, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Super Street Fighter IV AE and Marvel Vs Capcom 3.
Think that’s all? Hell no! A DJ will be mashing video game music all night to match the intense battles of the contestants. And I suppose there is a very small free prize drawing for a measly item like an… ARCADE CABINET CONVERTED TO RUN PS3 GAMES! Holy crap, how can you not go now?
Check out the Street Fighter FaceBook page for more information: (HERE)
Question: How does a night of fighting get even better?
Answer: Free food and drink!
We haven’t had much to celebrate over in terms of quality releases on the eShop for over a month now, but thankfully Nintendo have brought out their classic Game Boy game “Gargoyles Quest” to the eShop today to give 3DS owners a reason to spend some of that remaining balance.
This Ghost & Goblins spin-off puts players in the role of the Gargoyle Firebrand, as he traverses the ghost realm to prepare for battle against the Destroyers’ King Breager. Gargoyle’s Quest will be priced at $3.99 and can be found in the Virtual Console tab in the eShop.
Also new today is Let’s Create! Pottery, a “Calculator”, and Magical Whip: Wizards of Phantasmal Forest for the DSiWare. New videos are also in the eShop with Nintendo Video, with the short film “Moving Still” and The Blue Man Group’s “Upgrade Your Life!” hitting the service.
On the Wii front, the SNES firefighting game, Ignition Factor has become available for 800 Points along with a new demo of the recently released
“Kyotokei”.
Aussie developer Firemint have released their first game through EA Mobile – SPY mouse, James Bond with a cute little mouse twist. You play as Agent Squeak, a mouse agent with a little bow tie, because just because he’s a mouse doesn’t mean he has to be dressed down. You run around levels in 6 worlds gathering cheese, avoiding cats, and being downright suave.
There are over 70 levels in total, with a variety of agent gadgets, gizmos and the like to help you avoid the cats and get the cheese. SPY Mouse utilizes line-drawing mechanics, which some of you may recognize from Firemint’s previous game, Flight Control.
SPY mouse is available on iPhone and iPad for $0.99 in the iTunes store. Check out the trailer below!
Peggle has always been one game that I can sit at the computer and become a zombie playing as I watch that famous silver ball drop and hit colored pegs. It’s such a simple formula, but it very well could be PopCap’s most addictive game to date. Today is yet a new day for the franchise though, as PopCap have released Peggle HD for the iPad, which will take the modern classic and add in Game Center support with 29 achievements while adding a shiny coat of HD paint so users can bring a more definitive version with them on the go. To sweeten the deal, Peggle Nights will also be available as an in-app purchase at launch.
PopCap had this to say on Peggle’s new touchscreen platform:
“We’re bringing Peggle in all of its glory to mobile gamers everywhere with this fully optimized adaptation, exclusively for the iPad,” noted Andrew Stein, director of mobile business development at PopCap. “Peggle HD delivers riveting game action familiar to millions of fans of the original PC blockbuster, and is enhanced with Game Center achievements, like First Bjorn and Circus Daredevil, an in-app purchase option for Peggle Nights, as well as vibrant high-definition color and detail that offers the best of on-the-go entertainment to scores of iPad gamers.”
Since releasing back in 2007, Peggle has been downloaded 30 Million times so far, which comes as no surprise due to the mass amount of platforms that PopCap launch their famous titles on. For a limited time only, Peggle HD will be available for a special introductory price of £1.79 from the Apple App Store with the in-app purchase option of Peggle Nights for £0.59. Thereafter, the games will be available for £2.99 and £1.19, respectively.
So if you own an iPad, get to downloading this classic and ball dropping your way to the land of digital bliss.
Many fans who have played through the video game series of Sonic the Hedgehog have probably heard of the very popular, long-running comic book series based off the blue blur. Written, drawn and published in America, and often thought of as the spiritual successor to the popular Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM TV show, the comic book similarly holds a large international following of fans.
However, for many fans of the series, subscribing to the comic itself was a bit of an issue for many. Up until last year, subscriptions for the comic were exclusively made for only US and Canadian audiences. This left many fans in the international market, particularly the UK, Australia and New Zealand out in the cold. Many a time, obtaining a certain comic issue was reliant on one’s ability to find an issue in a comic book store before they all sold out. In 2010, Archie announced that they had finally decided to provide international shipping and an international subscription service. As a long running Sonic fan, I immediately jumped on board, wanting to get in on this phenomenon. I was happy it was finally getting the international treatment.
However, only one short year later, Archie has decided to revoke the international subscriptions, again restricting releases to the US and Canada only. At the same time shipments of the comic books to Australian stores have also been discontinued, and I would wager, to many other countries as well. This has left many international fans high and dry when it comes to their comic book fix. As a fan of the comics and the story told within them, I have to say I’m particularly disappointed by this decision, and I know many others are likely to feel the same way. Checking through the subscription pages of the Archie website revealed that only the mainstream Archie comic would still receive international shipping treatment. For those who currently hold outstanding international subscriptions, all issues up until the 1 year from purchase date will still be honoured, but that news is likely to be of little solace to the weeping masses.
This brings a tear to my eye…
Once again, living in Australia seems to give us the short end of stick when it comes to fandom…
Overview
When I first started playing this game, I became immediately excited. Lucha Fury looked like a Mexican wrestling version of Streets of Rage 2, game originally available on the Sega Genesis. Streets of Rage 2 brought emotions of killing enemies with unique powers and weapon pick-ups. I was hoping that the gameplay would be similar, but I was mistaken. Let the fury begin!
Story “This story like most stories starts… with a chicken.”
An ancient recipe for the nectar of the gods has been found and created into a powerful energy drink named Pollojo. The olds gods are unhappy that this power has been found and start wrecking havoc on the world of Lucha Fury. Four unaccomplished luchadores embark on a quest to restore their beloved Pollojo. Perhaps they can even save the world in the process.
Gameplay
The problems of the game is the functionality of the move set and gameplay fluidity. The developers include an introductory level that provides the basic moves available. After each level you are able to unlock a move in a character’s skill sheet. New moves are harder to utilize because they rely on button combinations. Why try focusing on complex combos when the basic moves are the quickest available to use and just as efficient?
Humor may be Lucha Fury’s only saving grace. Most of the basic enemies that you encounter tend to flail towards your character like a frantic chicken. Holding on to the chicken theme, a chicken may drop from an enemy once you are low on health. By punting the chicken, a Pollojo energy drink drops. Walking over the drink restores your health.
Upon death a countdown commences. During the countdown, the player is put in a dazed state and must find health in order to continue the stage. The level restarts if the player cannot find health in time. This is perhaps one of the worst game mechanics because of stage length. I would rather not re-play a five minute level that I nearly completed.
To avoid unnecessary backtracking, the developers could implement a lives/continue system like Streets of Rage 2. Once a player runs out of lives, the game would ask if he/she would like to continue. If the player chooses “Yes”, a portion of the overall score would be deducted in order to re-spawn at the current death location. Otherwise the current score could be placed on the local leaderboard, and the game would end.
There isn’t any online multiplayer for Lucha Fury. The main purpose of a multiplayer game on a network console should be to incorporate an online feature. Even with the lacking mechanics, online play would bring players together and at least co-op in landing devastating wrestling moves. Nevertheless, one to four players can play locally on a single console. Local scores can be uploaded and compared on Xbox Live leaderboards.
Graphics/Audio
The visuals are sufficient, but as a player you may feel lost in your surroundings. With the exceptions of one hefty playable character, you are a very small portion of the game’s screen. For example, there is a level where you must jump from one semi-truck to another. The first few times I tried to make a jump I missed the adjacent vehicle because of an unknown gap size.
From animations to special effects, the game is very detailed. You can see power attack effects when they performed. Picking up chairs and barrels are animated nicely, but be quick to release before you are hit – especially with an explosive barrel. When you are smacking up enemies, dazed opponents display a ring of rotating stars above their head.
Chickens yelping as they are punted make for an interesting effect. I am not sure if you can copyright punting chickens, but the Fable series sure made kicking a chicken fun. To punt or not to punt – is that a serious question?
Characters do not possess many sound effects. Normally if your character takes damage they would grunt or scream in pain. One of the only instances that your character makes noise is during a special move. If I am about dead, I want my character to let me know. Scream baby, scream!
Overall
Lucha Fury works as good as a broken down vehicle that is leaking antifreeze everywhere. Poorly constructed gameplay mechanisms ruin the game’s core. Combat becomes awfully repetitive using basic moves against easy fodder or extremely hard bosses. The length of the level can be shortened to maintain interest. If I have to ask “When is this level going to end?”, the level is too long for a side-scrolling game. Crude humor and creative visuals spice up this beater car, but do not be deceived by the chicken. Lucha Fury shines like a polished turd. It looks pretty, but please don’t touch.
