FAST – Racing League (DSiWare: Shin’en, 1000 Wii Points)
Mighty Milky Way (DSiWare: WayForward, 800 Nintendo DSi Points)
Successfully Learning English Year 5 (DSiWare: Tivola, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Unless you are looking to learn English (I can’t imagine you are if you have managed to read this far), then there are two releases to interest you this week out of the three. The first is FAST – Racing League, a F-Zero style high-speed racer for 1000 Wii Points. The next is Mighty Milky Way, an interesting-looking space adventure game from the developers of A Boy and His Blob which you may remember appearing on Wii.
Let us know if you decide to pick any of these up.
Frog Minutes Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Publisher: Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Genre: Exploration, Relaxation, Education, Casual Platform: iPhone/iPad (universal app) Release: March 30 Price:$0.99 (all proceeds go to Japan Red Cross)
Overview:
Suda 51 and Grasshopper are known for a certain type of game. Namely, blood-soaked action packed “punk rock” affairs that typically express a commentary on the gaming industry as a whole. So I find it rather curious that their first iOS outing is hardly a game at all. Frog Minutes is designed as a charity release where all proceeds go to Japan Red Cross. I suppose when you think of it as a tool for charity, a guy charging up his power sword by mock masturbating probably isn’t the right image to convey.
Gameplay:
As I stated above, Frog Minutes isn’t a game in the typical sense. It’s actually designed to be more of a relaxation/educational tool. The game world consists of just one screen that you explore. You start off with one small location to prod at, making a frog or critter (frog food) come out. The more you play the more locations you find to check for frogs or their food. You catch frogs by fattening them up by feeding them things they like. Because they’re all classy and require you to buy them a meal first. You can catch grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies, flies or snails. When you decide on a frog to capture, you simply tap on it which will display a thought bubble of what it wants to eat. Just feed the frog what it wants until it’s full and it’s all yours for the taking.
For every new frog or critter you capture you’ll be rewarded with an entry in your field guide. The field guide is an encyclopaedia of everything you catch and provides you with some real world information on the subject. Every entry is narrated in addition to being written out. There are a total of 10 frogs for you to find and 5 critters. There’s also a list of in-game achievements which complete a picture the more you play the game. Game Center leaderboards and a single achievement are available for you to compare yourself to all the other frog hunters in the world. There isn’t much verity in the game play and you may grow tired of simply catching bugs and frogs, but I’d say this is perfectly suited for a small child. They’ll learn something about frogs and critters and get some interaction as they do so.
Presentation:
Frog Minutes is a very… zen like game. Everything is hand painted with water-colours and has a great look. The leaves and stream shimmer and move appropriately enough and all the frogs and critters animate, if a little rudimentary. The thing is, this game isn’t really about giving you super awesome graphics. Everything is very peaceful and deliberate. There’s no real music to speak of. There’s just the sounds of the environment. Every frog has a distinctive sound when found and the rustling of the grass and leaves along with the sounds of the stream and nature all certainly give you a calming sensation. It’s all very inviting. I feel Grasshopper certainly accomplished what they set out for with this.
Conclusion:
I have to say, this is a tough title to review. There really isn’t a lot of gameplay in the traditional sense of the word, but that wasn’t what Grasshopper was going for. You have to know what you’re getting into when making a purchase here. I’d recommend it for a small child, or if you want to just zen out with something that’s slightly interactive. I don’t want to compare Frog Minutes to other games as that’s not it’s intention, as it’s not really a game in the same sense. If you’re looking for a deep experience to entertain yourself with this may not be the right thing for you. However, if you’re fully aware of what Frog Minutes has to offer and that sounds like something you’d be into then I implore you, download away. Besides, your money will be going to a good cause.
So it begins. Ubisoft announced today that it’ll kick off E3 with a press only conference on June 6 at 2:30 PST at the Los Angeles Theatre showcasing it’s never before seen demonstrations of their fiscal year 2012 line-up and exclusive announcements. Following the conference, attendees will be be able to view and play Ubisoft titles at the booth located in the South Hall of the Convention Centre from June 7-9, 2011.
Ubisoft is also celebrating it’s 25th Birthday! The company will be celebrating it’s quarter century by delivering it’s strongest and most diverse brand portfolio to date, with titles spanning all major genres and platforms. Which is certainly more productive than I was on my 25th birthday.
“Ubisoft has been delivering top-notch entertainment for 25 years, and we’re incredibly grateful for all of our fans,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “We plan for the upcoming years to be just as exciting and full of innovation, and the wide range of creative, fun and unique titles we’re demonstrating at E3 illustrate the stellar talent of our development teams and Ubisoft’s ongoing investment in delivering entertaining and innovative products to consumers.”
Madfinger Games, creators of Samurai II: Vengeance (available for iOS, Android & Mac), have decided to take things up a notch and announce a brand new property, SHADOWGUN. Designed for mobile and tablet platforms, SHADOWGUN looks far nicer than it has any right to. I mean seriously… that looks like a console game. It’s melting my face with it’s pretty pictures.
By focusing on mobile platforms and tablets, Madfinger has created an extremely advanced handheld game for the market, optimized for performance and delivering a fidelity and quality typically reserved for a console experience.
Authored with the Unity development platform, SHADOWGUN combines tactical combat with third person harrowing action, ushering in a new visual standard for handheld gaming. SHADOWGUN puts players into the role of John Slade, a professional bounty hunter in the year 2350. Slade’s mission: hunt down Dr. Edgar Simon, renowned geneticist and former employee of the trans-galactic corporation Toltech Enterprises. Players must lead “shadowgun” John Slade as he infiltrates Dr. Simon’s mountain fortress and fights his personal army of mutants, cyborgs, and genetically-enhanced humanoids. Using state-of-the-art weaponry, ships, and the assistance of S.A.R.A.—Slade’s personal android assistant. The story is written by award winning author Micah Nathan who has joined the MadFinger team as executive creative consultant for SHADOWGUN.
With SHADOWGUN, Madfinger is hoping to expand the perception of what a mobile game can be. It’ll be available for iOS (iPhone, iPad) and will support Android mobile devices powered by the NVIDIA Tegra super chip, and will be available on the Tegra Zone app and Android Market.
Look for SHADOWGUN, available in an app store near you in 2011.
Wayforward and Majesco’s upcoming downloadable title BloodRayne Betrayal is honestly my most anticipated game for the summer. While news broke of this title a while back, we haven’t seen the actual gameplay as of yet aside from a couple of quick teases. That is history now though as Majesco have released the debut trailer from the game, and as expected this title looks to be fast paced, full of action and yes, very bloody.
The trailer shows off the hack and slash gameplay as well as giving players a first look at the newly designed Rayne, who has been a bit shy from coverage up until now. I am really digging the art style and the retro-esque vibe though, which are two elements Wayforward are well known for. Also take notice in the combo system, which is a nice touch that is sure to deepen the combat as you hack away at foes. You can check out the intense trailer below and get ready, as BloodRayne Betrayal will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade and PSN this summer.
With so much being released ahead of Infinity Ward’s schedule, another leak has emerged of the proposed screen menu for Modern Warfare 3.
Infinity Ward has struggled to maintain anything under wraps after the storyline, character designs and the trailer was notoriously leaked days before they were supposed to. The developer stated they would seek legal advice on how to approach the alleged staff member who leaked the plot and character designs.
Fans have analyzed the new trailer like an investigator, believing the beloved Ghost will return. The studio or developers are yet to confirm however if the plot is to continue on from Modern Warfare 2. If so then Ghost will only live on in memory.
Natsume have reason to celebrate as the company’s first 3DS title, Reel Fishing Paradise 3D has gone gold. Reel Fishing Paradise 3D is of course a 3D fishing experience that takes players through 15 locations as they aim to catch a large variety of fish, from wily largemouth bass to bluefin tuna. To deepen the strategy behind this, 100 pieces of tackle are available with three types of lures to let you nab the big one.
“Reel Fishing Paradise 3D delivers an experience that couldn’t exist on any system but the Nintendo 3DS,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. “With gorgeous 3D environments and fish that leap off the screen at you, this is a fishing game like none you’ve ever seen before!”
I normally wouldn’t be that excited for a fishing game, but the low price combined with the depth and the experience that Natsume bring to the table with the Reel Fishing series has me thinking this may be one title that any 3DS owner should reel in when it is released on June 28th.
Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 1 Tag Line: Memories of a bloody past
Produced by: Studio DEEN Run time: 100 minutes in 4 Episodes Language: English, Japanese Genre: Mystery, Drama, Shōjo, Supernatural Available for purchase at:Madman Online Store ($24.95), Amazon US ($14.99), Amazon UK (£8.10)
Overview:
Vampires have been depicted in countless different ways and everyone has their own idea of what a vampire should actually be like. They can be cruel and heartless beasts, or they can also be misunderstood creatures and have even been romanticized.
Such is the case in Vampire Knight Guilty, the second season of Vampire Knight where at the Cross Academy two classes exist. A day class and a Night class, but the Night class consists of vampire students. With the continuation of Vampire Knight’s story directly into Guilty, how will Yuki cope with the relationship triangle brewing from past season as well as the threat looming over both her friends and herself?
Story:
Vampire Knight Guilty begins just a few short weeks after the events of the first series. Zero returns to Cross Academy after his transformation into a Level E was prevented by Kaname’s blood during the last season. Yuki is happy to see Zero back but is still troubled by the fact that she does not have any memories of her past and Zero is concerned about Kaname’s blood inside of him.
The death of Shizuka in the previous season provides much of the plot in these four episodes as we learn more about what she was actually planning to do. With her death however many things begin to quickly move in the vampire world, including the fact that Zero is being hunted for the murder of Shizuka.
The inherent problem with Vampire Knight Guilty is the fact that it is a direct continuation of Vampire Knight, meaning that knowledge of the previous season is required to understand most, if not all, of what is going on at any given moment. This means that there is a bit of an entry level to Vampire Knight Guilty, though fans of the series should find absolutely no trouble picking up the story where it left off.
These first four episodes help develop the initial plot with a few flashbacks here and there but mostly focus on developing the love triangle involving Yuki, Zero and Kaname. The intensity level of the relationships between Yuki and Zero and Yuki and Kaname increase greatly. Romantic scenes occur often and end up becoming quite endearing at times, meaning that fans of romance novels or romance in general will find these first few episodes to their liking. There is also a decent amount of comedy mixed in with the drama but the comedy begins to dwindle as the foreshadowing of an imposing thread begins to loom over each character.
One thing that is a bit disappointing however is the fact that there are only four episodes on the first volume of Vampire Knight Guilty. The series will eventually culminate at thirteen episodes, which is the standard for most anime DVD releases nowadays. Madman did release Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 1 at a cheaper price than average but the limited content per purchase (there is no bonus content) is certainly going to hurt wallets when all three volumes finally are released.
Artwork:
The character designs for Vampire Knight Guilty have not changed at all since the first series which means you will immediately be able to recognize returning characters and the rest of the scenery around you. The character designs themselves are still a bit too exaggerated. This may sound a bit odd when criticizing an anime due to their usual exaggerated features but some characters’ eyes are quite large. Vampire Knight Guilty falls into the shōjo genre (meaning female audience) so this is something that one can expect, though perhaps not in such quantity. Take a look at Fruits Basket for example.
The environments are suitably eerie and help create the dark theme that the anime works towards creating. Besides the exaggerated facial features most of the characters appearances are quite close to reality and shading on the outfits and hairstyles was really well done in these first episodes. I didn’t find many issues with the character designs but there are some problems with the video itself, mainly revolving around poor quality. Scenes with action involved keep the same animation consistency throughout which is a definite plus. The opening video is enjoyable to watch though the ending song animation feels quite week, even for an ending video.
Audio:
Vampire Knight Guilty has both English and Japanese language options depending on which you prefer of course. The English cast fits well into their character’s roles and all voice actors have retained their jobs this time around so you will not be hearing any inconsistencies between Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty. Overall these voice actors were nice and consistent but I found myself unimpressed with their presentation.
The Japanese voice acting is great and fits the characters well enough. Comparing the two different dubs the English version was done well enough that viewers who may prefer the Japanese version won’t find the English option too off-putting.
The opening song, “Rondo” by the band ON/OFF is enjoyable to listen to and matches the animation quite well. The yellow subtitles are a bit off putting unfortunately but being as the song is in Japanese; this is the only way most viewers will know what the lyrics to the song are. The ending theme “Suna no Oshiro” by Wakeshima Kanon is quite impressive and matches the theme of the anime well. The background music and sound effects help provide the dark and eerie feeling that the series tries to place over the love triangle focus.
Characters:
Yuki Cross is a fifteen year old student who is human and also a Guardian that is tasked with the job of protecting the vampire students’ secrets from reaching the human students in the day class. She is seeking a way to recover her lost memories. Yuki shares a long lasting love for Kaname but due to his vampiric nature it is difficult for her to approach him romantically. She also has fallen in love with Zero, and struggles with her feelings for both Zero and Kaname while both men share a hatred for one another. Her constant struggle with emotion will leave fans of both Zero and Kaname growing angry with her as her indecisiveness and naivete is an issue with the series.
Zero Kiryu is a close friend with Yuki. He became a vampire at a young age when his family was killed by a pureblooded vampire that also turned him. After the events of last season Zero has had to avoid capture and conflict with other vampires due to the charges leveled against him of killing Shizuka. His sudden return to the Cross Academy also brings the trouble that has been following him. His relationship with Kaname can be best described as strained due to the fact that Zero wishes to slay any pureblood vampire he meets.
Kaname Kuran is a pureblood vampire who is in love with Yuki. He saved Yuki when she was a young child from being attacked by another vampire. His true intentions for fostering feelings for Yuki have yet to be revealed but it is obvious through his actions that he is in a constant struggle to keep his emotions in check when he is around her.
Overall:
Vampire Knight Guilty is a great series for those looking for romance and action mixed together. These first four episodes are more of an introduction to what will be occurring further on in the series and with their focus on relationship development these episodes are certainly slow with development. The animation quality is rather impressive, if not a tad too shōjo for my liking. The main issue with Volume 1 is that the viewer will be left wanting more, but will need to buy the second volume. Also with being a direct continuation of the first season, it is highly recommended that viewers watch Vampire Knight before watching Vampire Knight Guilty.
I know what you were thinking when you saw the headline, if you’re like me you saw “Balls of Steel”, but that’s another story.
Konami announced a game today for Xbox 360/PS3 that aims to replay Famous WWII Battles with Realistic Air Combat Simulator and MMO Game Play, which sound like an interesting mix, even though I’ve never really liked flight simulators. Besides I thought they were a PC thing, so it’ll be interesting to see how this goes.
The game is developed by Gaijin Entertainment, battles from WWII include Midway, Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, Siege of Malta and the attack on Pearl Harbor, in both single player and multi-player. Shinji Hirano, President of Konami had this to say about their new IP.
“For far too long, first person shooter fans have been tied to the foot soldier point of view, with the rare ability to experience realistic flight simulations or combat situations,” he went on “Birds of Steel pushes the throttle of realism by giving fans what they’ve been missing; cooperative online game play, life-like VFX and game dynamics, and a campaign that spans that encompasses some of history’s most memorable aerial battles!”
Comparisons can be easily made to Battlefield, but the focus on air simulation seems like a niche’ market that konami are looking to target. Featuring realistic damage, physics and varying cockpit views, they could very well be successful. I can’t honestly think of any other online flight simulator for consoles, but maybe that’s just me and there’s a great one out there. Check out the trailer below and some highlighted features
• 20 historical and lots of fictional missions, spanning 15 world-famous campaigns (including DLC)
• Over 100 famous aircraft
• Dynamic Online Campaign
• Realistic flight environments, weather conditions, time-of-day changes
• Enhanced flight controls
• Monthly dogfight tournaments and arena game play
• Ability to create, edit and share videos of game play
The Lego Universe soundtrack has been “recently nominated for the IFMCA’s award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media.” To get a better idea of who is behind the voices, sound and music in the game , a new video has been unveiled that gives an inside glimpse into the recording studio and Slovakian Orchestra that made the Lego Universe come alive with audio.
Plus, Patrick Stewart lends his legendary talents to the video. As usual, when he is around, nothing else can top it.
If your looking for something to do on Memorial Day weekend, Capsule Computers suggests that you give Lego Universe a try. It may not appeal to everybody, but the soundtrack and gameplay are great for people of any age and it is truly epic now that the Nexus Tower has been completed.
