Well if you were waiting for F.3.A.R to be released this next month then you will be soundly disappointed by the following news. Neil Castle who is the community manager for the title told the Official Xbox Magazine that the delay itself involves the studio’s commitment to releasing a high quality title. Either that or they didn’t want to contend with other high profile titles that were already being released in May.
Dungeon Siege II, Duke Nukem Forever and now F.3.A.R have dropped back a month. FEAR 3 itself though has suffered a number of delays however. The title was originally meant to be released last year at some point but then saw a delay until March 2011, then May 2011 and now yet again. Unfortunately no other actual statement was given about why the title was released, so it is all guess work at this point.
For a long time now, there have been 3 heroes on Playstation consoles. These heroes and their respective sidekicks have kicked butt, saved their worlds and attained fame, all while helping Sony keep the fans happy and the Playstation disc readers busy. Now Ratchet, along with Clank, Jak & Daxter and Sly, helped by Bentley, tackle the Playstation 3 and Move controls for a new generation of gamers. This is the first time all 3 of these guys have been grouped together into one game, and indeed, this is the first time most of them have been on the PS3. So, yea, you could say that the developers had a heavy burden placed upon. The burden to not mess up, and to continue the legacy that these characters have built.
All three of the adventurers are on missions when suddenly they are mysteriously transported to a strange, alien world. Seeing as how none of them have seen each before, there is an understandable amount of superstition amongst them. Out of nowhere, a nasty looking alien informs the trio that they have all been so good about protecting their worlds that now it is time to compete against each other for ultimate bragging rights; a Heroes’ Olympic, if you will. Clank and Bentley then surmise that somehow their home worlds have been paused, much like TiVo. All three parties then agree that yes, a little competition would be nice. After all, they are there anyway, right?
Cut to the nasty aliens again though, and it appears that a trap is afoot. Will our brave animals and other scruffy, lovable characters make it out alive? Its tough to say, but I have reason to believe that they do. It is unfortunate that getting to that point is a long and sluggish affair though. Although each and every one of the franchises comes from a respected pedigree of games that usually had entertaining, if not outright awesome stories, it is a little disappointing how clichéd and boring the plot in this game is. Although it obviously started out interesting enough as mentioned above, things quickly took a turn for the worse and nothing much in the way of super exciting stuff happens. As a result, there is a little construction of character development, and the oppurtunity to cleverly write some interesting interactions between the 3 drastically different heros is wasted.
Moving on to gameplay, matters take an even bigger turn for the worse. Playstation Move Heroes is basically just a collection of mini games that occasionally make use of the gameplay elements that made these heroes heroic in the first place. The first collection will have you have throwing a futuristic looking frisbee at cages. After the frisbee is thrown, it is possible to control it with the Playstation Move wand. Once you a hit a cage, the prisoner inside is allowed to escape, and you are one step closer to a gold medal on that challenge. Hooray.
Other activities include bowling through crazy explosive environments, still trying to free prisoners, this time by using the bowling ball (which can can explode) to collect crystals, which in turn fuels a rocket, which in turn will take off and free the convict. Okay.
The most exciting of the modes is combat. Protecting the cages from robots or just plain killing mechanical enemies is always a highlight in any game, and this game thankfully makes no excpetion. Whether it is with Ratchet’s Wrench, or a huge ass whip, there is nothing better than bringing the pain down. The Move controls add an interesting touch to this formula as well. It does give a better feel to the experience, as I actually felt like I was swing a massive wrench and taking down goons. Other controls like dodging and shielding are also well implemented, although there were slight hiccups in the camera and movement department. Namely, sometimes it felt very sluggish, or the camera would get stuck.
It really is a shame though that the great combat implemented could not have been used in a more creative way. These franchises have been known for having amazing platforming and combat. Since the foundation for all of them has already been laid, there should have been no reason why a terrific game with an actual campaign, multi-player and the works was not implemented. A lame collection of repetitive mini games is no substitute for quality, and even some great controls in combat can not fix that. It feels like this was just a lazy cash in to promote motion controls, and the only way to attract the hardcore crowd was to put respected franchise characters into the game. But glorified tech demos, like frisbee and bowling, is a sure way to merely alienate those most interested in seeing these legendary characters be a success.
One of the most hyped features of the game was coop. Unfortunately, coop is an even worse experience in this game. A friend can help take the sting out the dull nature of the game, but the coop is still a mess of broken gameplay that will quickly leave you feeling angry and frustrated.
As far as graphics go, I would say that all the character models looked pretty spot on. Backgrounds and environments looked acceptable, but they are far from being the best that the system has to offer. I did appreciate the colors used though. This is a very colorful game, and that helped dispell a little of the boredom. A little more variety in palette would have gone a long way though.
Audio in the game is also acceptable. The original voice actors were brought on board for this project, and they add a nice touch to the game. To bad that the rest of the game does not support their hard work and talent.
In conclusion, this game is just not good. A solid foundation was already laid down by these franchises.
Nihilistic needed to build a game that respected the roots of each franchise while creating a new experience. Yes, that would have been more work, but designing a slovenly collection of mini-games is much worse. Uninspired gameplay nearly ruins everything in the game, and hopefully the next sequels to each respective franchise can fix the horror that was done to them this round.
If, like me, you’ve been waiting (not so) patiently for your copy of the new Jurassic Park game from Telltale, it looks like you’ll be waiting another few months yet.
I noticed a couple of days ago that the release date on the game’s Steam page had been changed from the vague “April 2011” to the much vaguer “2011”, and this morning we received confirmation that the game had been officially delayed.
An email from Telltale Games CEO, Dan Connors, was sent to customers who had placed a pre-order, stating “the game’s mechanics and storytelling have come together in such a way that we see great potential, so much so that we feel we can push these elements to the next level if we spend some extra time working on them. It is because of this that we are delaying Jurassic Park: The Game on PC to ensure PC players get the best possible gaming experience.”
The game is now due sometime between September and November, with a simultaneous release across all platforms.
It’s not all bad news though; as compensation, Telltale Games are giving customers a 100% refund on their pre-orders, and are throwing in a free copy of a Telltale game of your choice. If you’ve placed a pre-order, you will receive the details of the compensation via email within the next few days.
While the delay is disappointing, the end result can only benefit from the extra time put into development. Let’s hope that when it finally hits the virtual shelves, the wait will have been worth it.
Two Tribes has some awesome news for all you Toki Tori fans, as the chubby little chicken as flown his way (yes i know chickens cant fly), onto the android market. Iphone, PC and Wii owners have already had the pleasure of playing this entertaining and highly addictive game with features never seen before in puzzle platformers. Users have described the android version as a “perfect port”, that runs perfectly on all android devices.
Players will have their puzzle solving skills pushed to the limit as they guide Toki Tori through 80 beautifully crafted levels across 4 different worlds in a quest to collect as many precious eggs as possible. Throughout his adventures Toki Tori will have a huge arsenal of weapons at his disposal, including the infamous Telewarp, Instantrock and Slugsucker, all which need to be combined to successfully navigate through each level ranging from simple to pure diabolical. Packed with multi-touch controls, cool items and weapons, Toki Tori is a must for any Android users game library.
Toki Tori is available now from the Android Market for $2.99
Check out the official Two Tribes Facebook page here
Thanks to the financial results briefing notes that were released today after the meeting was finished with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata we now know that a new, previously unannounced feature will be used in Star Fox 64 3D when it releases on July 14th in Japan. The feature that it will be using is the Gyro Sensor that is built into every 3DS hand held.
Unfortunately as these were only the notes there was no other information given as to how the gyroscope will actually be worked into gameplay though we can guess that it will allow the player to control Fox’s Arwing during gameplay but tilting a 3DS usually causes the 3D effects to not work properly so it is an odd inclusion to the title. We can expect more information soon from Nintendo about this feature and hopefully a release date for the rest of the world.
One thing that never gets old is the mysterious websites that publishers release with the whole countdown approach. If you remember, Dragon’s Dogma and Tales of Graces F both featured mysterious websites before an announcement was finally made for either title, and now it seems it is time to begin speculation as yet another website has launched from Namco along with a timer, which sets the date in question to May 12th.
Now from the picture, I want to say based on the sword alone, this could very well be a new Soul Caliber title or maybe even a new Tales game, but everything until Namco breaks their silence in just sheer speculation. Another thing to note is the url in question, which includes the phrase “beginning_of_the_new_chapter”, so I definitely want to believe this is looking like a follow-up or continuation of a past series (Yeah, I know, still not very helpful). We will keep a close eye on this website and as soon as more comes forward on this mystery, we will be sure to let you know. So what do YOU think this mystery project is? Check out the link for yourself by clicking HERE.
Atlus is keeping their fans well stocked with plenty of Catherine media it seems because today Atlus released a handful of new English screenshots. Or at least screenshots with English subtitles which means that fans may be able to listen to the original Japanese voice actors if they so wish, but this has yet to be confirmed. Either way though these screenshots reveal some of the interaction we can expect between the different characters.
Also released were character bios for each of the three main characters; Catherine, Katherine and Vincent. You can read them below:
Catherine
Sex: Female
Age: 22
Occupation: ?
The seductive beauty who suddenly appears to Vincent.
This startling seductress steps into Vincent’s life from out of nowhere and immediately throws his relationship with Katherine in jeopardy. Her coquettish charm grabs a hold of Vincent’s heart, even as her free spirit and potent sexuality grab a hold of… other parts of his mind and body. Without warning, everything in Vincent’s life becomes twisted around Catherine.
Katherine is a loyal and steadfast girlfriend. She works for a clothing company. She and Vincent were classmates in high school, but they only started dating after they met again at their 10-year reunion. She has begun to think more and more about their relationship, and wants him to fully commit to her. His indecisiveness is beginning to annoy her more and more as time goes by.
Vincent
Sex: Male
Age: 32
Occupation: Systems Engineer
An indecisive bachelor who gets swept away by the actions of the two women in his life. Vincent is a lifelong bachelor trying to escape the pressures of adult life: his job, his love life, the prospect of marriage… His seeming goal is drift aimlessly through life. While his girlfriend Katherine wants him to settle down and marry her, he still wants the freedom of the single life.After meeting the enigmatic beauty, Catherine, his life is dragged into a waking and sleeping nightmare.
Interest in the game is certainly reaching high levels considering this is perhaps the first game of its kind to be localized recently if not at all. We’ll find out just how Catherine will be on July 26th when it releases in the United States on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Ridge Racer is famous for a lot of reasons. Fast cars, stunning graphics and tracks, and in the past the series has launched with many consoles making it a staple in the gaming world. Ridge Racer: Unbounded seems to be on the right track so to speak of delivering what fans of the series love while creating a whole new destructive image for itself.
In a new trailer released today by Namco, we see two cars in what appears to be just a cutscene for the game speeding through a city before smashing through a brick wall in an alley. Now this doesn’t appear to be the actual gameplay footage, but either way this new teaser certainly sets the stage for the latest entry in the series and gives off a nice reckless, destructive vibe. Of course though that is what Unbounded is being promoted as, with the tag-line “Drive, Destroy, Dominate” being used to sell the game. Check out the new trailer below for yourself and you should expect to see this new high velocity Ridge Racer in stores sometime in 2012 for the 360, PS3, & PC.
Ever since last week if you wanted to play games online or even purchase new ones with PSN you are out of luck. There is even more bad news on this whole hacking situation as Sony has stated on their Playstation Blog that personal information could have been compromised. In the post Sony states that “We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network.”
Sony go on to mention what information they think may have been taken “we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.” Sony mentioned in the post that there was no information as to whether or not credit/debit card information was taken but to keep in mind that it could have been obtained by these hackers. According to the post PSN should be back up within a week.
I have already noticed on my own twitter account and various places online people claiming that they may have already been a victim and have had their cards accessed. Hopefully this all gets situated soon but it seems that not playing Mortal Kombat on PSN is the least of our worries.
For anyone out there that still hasn’t tried out Contra/Gryzor here’s your chance to do so. Konami are practically giving the game away for free; and have announced today that Contra is 50% off on XBLA for only 200 MS Points until May 2nd! Hurry and pick this up while its on sale.
Where did you first play this side scrolling classic? For me it was at the local take away shop and I remember throwing in 20cent pieces into the machine like it was going out of fashion.
