After a small delay, Nintendo are finally ready to launch the heavily anticipated Global Link for Pokémon Black & White. Starting April 13th, players will be able to use their Game Sync option on the C-Gear to access the Global Link via the internet where they can view some customizable, web only content, exclusive to the site. There are a ton of features that the Global Link holds and anyone with a broadband internet connection as well as Pokemon Trainer Club account (which can be obtained at www.pokemon.com) can freely log on and begin this brand new tool for either version of the game.
For those of you who have not been following just what the Global Link actually has to offer, here is a quick rundown on what to expect.
Dream World
The Pokémon Dream World will allow players to interact with their Pokémon as well as other trainers in a fully customizable world that will boast several mini-games as well as exclusive content and activities. Once a player “tucks in” in a Poké of their choice, they will be able to access the Dream World which boasts a watercolor like setting. The possibly greatest feature of the Dream World is that many non-Unova Pokémon make appearances through mini-games, and after befriending these said monsters, trainers can then transfer them to their own games.
Players also have a home that can be customized to their liking with a garden that will let you grow berries that you can use in your own game. Any berries or other items found are kept in a treasure chest to be later transfered to either Black or White. You can also visit other trainer’s homes and assist them in berry growth, share items, or simply just check in on their design choices.
Battle Union
Battle Union is sure to be the most visited of the Global Link’s locales, as this are is where the true competition will lie. After gaining access to to Random Matchup Rating Mode in his or her copy of Pokémon Black Version or Pokémon White Version, players can view their stats and have full access to check out the world leaderboards. Think of it like Pokémon Stadium, but you are now against the world rather than the second player on the Nintendo 64.
The Global Link will also be home to hosting various events such as item giveaways and Pokémon distribution. Right now, any user with a Trainer Club account to meet an Eevee evolution in the Play to Befriend a Pokémon game in Pokémon Fun Zone, which will soon be fully able to transfer to either version of the two newest Pokémon games.
This Global Link feature is honestly the biggest thing to hit the series since Pokémon Stadium was introduced years ago and this feature should alone add a lot of life for players who are already finished with Black or White’s main story. I am sure over time many more exclusive events will be announced, so stay tuned and we will let you know as each one drops on the Global Link.
Co-op has to be one of the best features of any game as there’s nothing quite like playing alongside a couple of friends. It’s also a redeeming factor for any bad game as co-op can make anything bearable. Fortunately, it looks like Operation Flashpoint: Red River is going to be good enough that resorting to co-op to get any entertainment won’t be the case, only a bonus for those who want to share the fun with friends.
Codemasters have released a new gameplay trailer based on co-operative play for Operation Flashpoint: Red River. It shows the CSAR Fireteam Engagement mode, as Fireteam Bravo gets behind enemy lines to save downed pilots trapped in enemy territory.
A Patapon 3 trailer entitled “Bigger, Badder” has been put out ahead of the title’s launch later this week on PSP.
With the Japanese line of Sony Computer Entertainment’s development studios in charge, the game is a rhythm-based war experience. You must tap different combinations of buttons to the rhythm of the background track, with each action commanding your fighters in different ways into battle against beasts and ultimately, the seven evil spirits.
Where it differs from the other games is through a number of new enemies to fight, a creation tool for your own ‘Hero’ fighters, and the welcome addition of eight player co-op.
Bethesda Softworks have revealed today that their anticipated shooter, Brink, will be releaseing a whole week earlier than planned as they’ve pushed the schedule forward, following an efficient production process that is wrapping up faster than expected. Brink will now first be available for purchase in North America on May 10th instead of May 17th, in Australia on May 12th instead of May 19th, and in New Zealand and Europe on May 13th instead of May 20th.
“Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn’t see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready,” said Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda Softworks. “It’s apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier – we’re going to.”
Is anyone excited that they will be able to get their hands on Brink that little bit earlier? Will you be buying it on its new launch day, have you already pre-ordered it, or doesn’t it interest you?
Produced by: Beetrain, Genco, Funimation Distributed by: Madman Entertainment Media: DVD Genre: Action, Drama, Romance Runtime: 325 minutes, 2 DVD’s Rating: MA15+, Strong animated violence Available from: Madman $59 Reviewed by: Michael Marr and Grace Mitchell PREMISE
Do killers get to have a conscience? What choices exist to those who only see the world in the distorted eyes of an indentured assassin? Something that can be said for Phantom: Requiem is how it attempts to establish and resolve moral quandaries in a world that supposedly exists without morals. Throw together a story that involves pre-meditated murder, lost souls, an unlikely romance and a full scale gang war, and this anime collection is the result. Not exactly your child friendly happy-go-lucky Pokémon anime affair. If nothing else, the rating on the side of the box art should be enough of an indication of the content of this anime. Watch it expecting a bloodbath.
“A young man with no memories fights to salvage his humanity when he’s forced into a life of murder by a dangerous crime syndicate called Inferno. The organisation gives him a new name, Zwei, and moulds him into a perfect killing machine, a meticulous instrument of death created to obey his masters’ every deadly command.
Zwei’s not the only puppet controlled by Inferno; Ein is a girl as beautiful as she is brutal, and lethal as she is lost. While mafia violence escalates around them, the two assassins grow closer, and Zwei begins the struggle to reclaim his past and save Ein from a blood-soaked future.” -DVD Blurb
While it may not be an anime title that many within western circles would be familiar with, it was apparently popular enough in Japan to spawn several spin-off games for the current generation of Consoles. Additionally, the original visual novel featured a choose-you-own adventure style story flow, which allowed readers to experience multiple endings. While watchers of the anime will be stuck with the pre-set story flow, there are many scenes and occurrences that will no doubt leave some of the episode endings open to the interpretation of the viewers. A Dark edgy thriller mixed with a slice of drama and romance.
STORY
The story begins with very little detail regarding the universe and characters. All we as viewers are told is that an Organization known as ‘Inferno’ is pulling some serious strings. Cut to a young man driving a convertible through what looks like the coast of Brazil. The car approaches a check-point with two heavily armed guards waiting to check him out. They never get around to it though, courtesy of the few extra holes that the young driver just put through them using his concealed weapon. Viewers are then treated to a sudden onslaught of gunfire as we realise that this young man isn’t somewhere where he’s supposed to be. That is the introduction of our protagonist: Zwei.
The show primarily centres around both Zwei, and an young girl codenamed Ein. Both are established as elite class assassins, with the senior killer Ein taking on the mantle of “Phantom”, the best assassin and marksman of the Inferno criminal organization. Her name is supposed to strike fear into the hearts of Inferno’s enemies, whether they be the law, or any rivals to their power. Sufficed to say, they are a very rich group with few quarries about killing what gets in their way, and plenty of bullets to achieve that. A volatile combination. Wishing to usher in a new world order, which is to be controlled by their organization, Inferno goes about the task of destroying any rival mafia gangs which may pose a threat to their superiority. To do so, they need to kill a lot of people. One of the senior members of Inferno refers the matter to one of the group’s top scientists, a cold-blooded professor known only by the nickname “Scythe-Master”. He commissions the creation and manipulation of the two super-assassins Ein and Zwei based on their animal like instincts, as well as their brutal natural combat skills.
Now, as both slaves and assassins, Zwei and Ein are forced to undertake deadly missions if they are to survive within the Inferno organization. Their code of life is to kill or be killed. Throughout the series, we see both assassins learn and perfect killing techniques, but we also recognise that they feel they are losing their humanity in the process. They undertake many fatal missions at the whim of both Inferno and the Scythe Master himself, who viewers will no doubt perceive as something of a wild-card in this story. Additionally, an unpredictable and somewhat unexplainable romance begins to develop between the two assassins and is often hinted to in many episodes.
By and large, the themes and story of the anime are quite dark. The plot has been pretty well thought-out, and episodes and events spaced at appropriate intervals. However, there lies something of a predictable pattern in each episode. In an immoral world rules by crime lords and killers, it’s pretty obvious that in each episode, someone is going to get back-stabbed or killed in some way, shape or form. Add on the numerous hidden agendas and the mysterious nature of the story itself, it is sometimes difficult to place what is happening and whether we, as viewers, are supposed to side with, sympathise or detest certain characters. The pace is well thought out, but sometimes, audiences do value a degree of transparency. We love knowing who to hate, but in this show, it isn’t always clear.
VISUALS
The art style of the anime is actually quite well executed. Dark colours dominate a majority of the darker scenes in the anime, however not so much to the point where the whole series is overwhelmed by it. Colouration of other scenes is well varied. This is accentuated in viewing the recon scenes being executed by Zwei and Ein, who both pretend to be a couple on a date of some kind to divert attention from themselves. In these scenes, viewers are treated to a few wacky scenes which seem totally out of character for the dumbfounded Zwei and cold hearted Ein. I personally did not picture Ein as a girl who would be sensitive about Zwei’s approval of her swim wear. In these scenes, natural elements like water, wind and light really change the feel of the scene. Despite the viewers being aware of the charade, they genuinely believe that the two are treating the experience like a real date. In contrast, it does seem to me that much of this anime tends to take place at night. Often during the missions themselves, darkness dominates everything. Even amongst the bright casinos, we know that, like the date, the pretty and seemingly normal display, there lies a sinister intent or deed.
A lot of emotion and despair is visually translated to the audience by the eyes of the characters. When Zwei and Ein kill, we see a faint greenish glow around their eyes, showing that the natural instinct of kill or be killed has taken them over. In contrast, we never see some characters eyes clearly, and thus their intent is difficult to place.
As the anime attempts to portray itself as a sort of realistic, dark interpretation of a sinister world, the need for special effects or over the top clothing or character design is played down. The anime itself seems accurately contextual to the date in which it is published. No futuristic or alternate universe clichés to bog it down. The rough raw feel and simple elegant character designs really benefit the overall tone of the anime.
AUDIO
The opening song reminds me a lot of Ghost in the Shell, maybe not the beat as much as the melodic voice. Either way it’s a beautiful and interesting way to begin an anime on. The music within the anime itself can only be described as magical and mysterious at times and then dark and full of tension at other times. The only thing I can say is the music seems to be mostly instrumentals. An interesting fact is that the closing song made me laugh slightly because I instantly recognized it. The closing song is the famous Rozen Maiden’s opening song! Overall the music really fits with the anime and brings out the darkness from the story line.
CHARACTERS
-Zwei
Zwei is the main character of this anime. A Japanese tourist who has had all his memories erased has been turned into an assassin by a criminal organization called Inferno. Zwei means two in germen and this can be seen as very fitting as he is the number two assassin for Inferno. Unsure of whom he is or what he is doing, all Zwei knows and has been taught is that he has to kill to survive. All together he is an interesting character but through watching the first 6 episodes, I can’t help but feel like he should have given a bit more of a fight then just accepting that this was his life now.
-Ein
Ein is the first assassin that Inferno has, and therefore her name means one in germen (though it really should be eins.) She is a cold blooded killer that seems to feel no emotions but at the same time you can’t help but feel like she is slowly breaking down as she watches her prodigy, Zwei. This character seems to have no real flaws with her characterization as I understand why Ein has become cold and seems to have shut down from the world. The only thing I question about her is why she is being so nice to Zwei and what it is about him that is making her break down, maybe a real social relationship? I don’t know but I’m curious to find out.
-Scythe Master
Scythe Master or just Master as Ein calls him is the puppeteer pulling the strings of the assassins Ein and Zwei. Instantly we can tell he is the villain and the way he treats Ein in his creepy sleazy way just makes him seem even worse. We don’t know what he is exactly planning but we know it isn’t going to be good for his two puppets.
– Claudia McCunnen
Claudia is a confusing one. She is a lady with lots of power and wealth, and just seems to have fun messing with Zwei’s head. Sexy and full of confidence, she is a good asset to Inferno but what I’m really wondering is what she is getting from all of this.
CONCLUSION
Phantom: Requiem is a unique and dark toned anime. It has both an interesting concept of mind controlled assassins as well some great characters and an interesting story line of a crime organisation trying to unify the underworld. While it’s not perfect, and the story and characters tend to jump from one place to another very quickly, the moral argument of using people as tools is quite clear, as is the social commentary regarding choice. I believe those who love concepts, characterization as well as drama and action would love this anime.
It’s that time of week again! The 3DS is again a hit, with a bunch of the guys playing Street Fighter, and the rest of us have been playing a wide range of games. It’s been a bit of a “return to childhood” week, with a few editors jumping back into their favourite retro and childhood games. I just noticed too, we don’t ever really play the Wii…What happened, Nintendo? Maybe the Wii has taken a back seat to the 3DS? Share your opinions, and let us know what you’re playing too!
Editor-in-chief: MasterAbbott
I am AKUMA and I WILL TEACH YOU THE MEANING OF PAIN !!!
This week has been all about Street Fighter IV 3D for me. It’s possibly the best 3DS title out at the moment. Capcom have done an amazing job at porting the console version of the game to this little pocket rocket of a handheld device. There are so many options such as Street Pass battles with the use of Figurine Trophies that you can pick up within the game, code redemption or even swapping with mates, player medals (achievements) and many, many more. Did I mention that my inbox has 232 unread emails in just 2 days because Street Fighter IV is so DAMN addictive and didn’t allow me to get any work done? (look here is the proof)
There are two modes in the game. Dynamic view (which I highly recommend everyone try out) in the game does take a lot of getting used to and will disorientate you a little, making it hard to perfectly time your attacks. But don’t worry, the standard normal view is also included so you can dish out the pain with your favourite character just like the good ol’ times. I do have to say that Akuma’s Ultras (Wrath of the Raging Demon or Demon Armageddon) have been watered down just a little bit! having playing some online multiplayer against some of the crew Travis, Ben and Dustin; I’ve decided that its best not to even use his Ultras as they won’t do anywhere near as much damage compared the MASSIVE amounts that Cammy, Ibuki and even ROSE can do.
I also managed to play a little more Sacred Odyssey on the iPhone and some more Samurai Warriors Chronicles on the 3DS which is great fun as well. I was very lucky to get my hands on the new Sony Xperia Gaming Phone which looks amazing. Running the latest Android 2.3, everything on the Xperia flies. The flip up controls with the touch panel analogue buttons have been designed very well (designed by the same dude that designed the PS3 controllers) and it’s very comfortable to play on. Even the FPS that I played (Modern Combat 2, Black Pegasus and NOVA 2) were great fun to control. If you’re thinking about getting an Android phone, then look no further: the Sony Xperia is all you need to get the job done with a great blend of work and play features.
Now if you’d please excuse me, I have to PAIN to dish out on Street Fighter IV : Die one thousand deaths !!!
Senior Editor: Travis Bruno
On a couple day vacation at the moment so I won’t be playing much games this next weekend, but this past week I ended up playing a large amount of Dynasty Warriors 7. I haven’t ventured into the story mode yet but I’ve been enjoying the conquest mode with Sun Shang Xiang. The upgrade to the graphics is certainly nice and I think it is easier than ever to kill thousands of enemies without any trouble…especially when you equip a lance with an extended reach seal, practically killing enemies on the other side of the map at that point.
Other than that I dusted off that thick layer of dust that had collected up over my Kinect and danced along to Dance Central and Dance Masters as the type of songs that are in the two are very different from one another. Dance Central has mostly pop and hip hop music while Dance Masters has mostly club music and Para Para moves. My PlayStation 3 ended up just collecting dust this week but my PSP ended up getting a ton of use as I’m on my second playthrough of The 3rd Birthday, now with some of the added cheats that are given to you once you finish the story mode once. There is certainly a large amount of re-playability but I don’t know if it will be as interesting to play on the third time through. That and it is really hard to see Aya Brea as a weaker character than she usually is.
As you’ll read with everyone else, we’ve all been fighting with one another on Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition through the internet access. I’ve grown quite used to Ibuki over these fights and I’d have to say that she is my main fighter. Though I wish that my 3DS would pick up more people from StreetPass, only found one person since I bought the 3DS.
Senior Editor: Jed Bradshaw
As usual, the week was just too short to get everything played that I wanted to play. Nevertheless, I did spend some quality time with my consoles this week. First off, I reviewed Red Faction: Battlegrounds. This dull car combat game could have had a lot going for it, especially if they would have added some actual mission objectives to the “single player.” Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the game felt more like it was just a regular car combat game before some exec walked in, saw it and said, “Hey! What a perfect little throw away title to promote Red Faction: Armageddon! I must haz it!”
Other than that, I also reviewed Rush ‘N Attack: Ex-Patriot (link here.) Like its name, the game’s story was absolutely ridiculous. The game play was fairly fun though, as long you can overlook some super sluggish animations.
Finally, this week, I received Alan Wake in the mail. I have only played the first half of chapter one, but it is a great game so far. As I was sitting there, enjoying the game as the sun went down, I came across the very first enemy in the game. As is standard for Alan Wake, the enemy was shrouded in darkness. The spooky music reached a crescendo. Suddenly, he swung his axe. At that exact moment, the damn wind slammed my door shut. Needless to say, near unspeakable things almost happened in my pants.
Senior Editor: Dustin Spencer
It has been a busy week for gaming this week as I finally had some time to give my 3DS a full run through. After finishing up on Rayman 3D (review link here), I started in on Super Monkey Ball 3D. Pretty decent title so far, though a few of the modes could be a bit more polished. I also got stomped on in SSFIV3D by MasterAbbott a bit but I finally learned how to actually play with a new character, Rose. Other than that, Mafia II has been a great way of killing some time on the console front along with a bit of Dragon Quest thrown in. I still need to complete the originals in the DQ series and have now made that my goal for the year. Maybe by next week I can finally say at least one of those is out of the way.
Editor: Ben Webb
What have I been playing this week? Hmm…
Been playing a fair bit of 3DS along with some of the other editors on the site. As you may be aware; I wrote up a review for the 3DS title Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D earlier this week. I’ve also got a review of the 3DS Ghost Recon game coming up soon, which is pretty cool. Fortunately for me, my device is more than a thing to review games on as I also use it for leisure. So far I’ve had reasonable success in collecting new Miis to the device and using them to collect puzzle pieces and advance in the StreetPass Quest. Unfortunately I’m stuck on a yellow monster with a shield and have yet to run into any yellow Miis. I have lots of black and lots of blue Miis though.
Late last week, a few of us editors all got together and smashed it up on Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition; which was quite fun. As far as I can tell, I’m probably the best editor, considering that I have defeated both Dustin and Phil in streaks. I still have to rematch Travis though, as he did pretty well against me the first time we got together and duked it out. I’ll still probably win though.
Also, taking advantage of EA and Biowares sequel celebration deal thing, I got myself a copy of the PC version of Mass Effect 2. This time I’m running as FemShep and I’m going to be as ignorant as I possibly can to the galaxy, just to see what happens. Heh Heh Heh. Also, on the PC front, I’ve been playing some more QuakeLive. I think my skill is starting to become apparent in the community as more and more people are sending me friend requests. Remind me to record a gameplay video later.
OH! The Streets of Rage Remake is really, really, rreeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy awesome too. I’ve actually been joining the .ogg files of the soundtrack together so that I can listen to its epic soundtrack outside of the game. 70-something songs…. Ugh. Still awesome. I like how the game kept the feel of the original while also being revamped for PC play, as well as having its own art assets and music. I’ve seen AAA sequels a lot less true to their original source than this fan remake is. I believe that this remake stands toe-to-toe to the original, that’s how great it is.
Editor: Kyle Moore
This week I’ve been reliving some classics from my childhood, well, so to speak. The first half of my week has dedicated to Yoshi’s Island DS. Although it came out a while ago, I only recently borrowed it from a friend and was blown away but the revisions to one of my old favourites from my SNES days. I really enjoyed the ability to change the rider of Yoshi and the new abilities each new character brought to the game. Not to mention, I was really surprised when all the levels were different to the older version of the game, but in hindsight it makes sense to just use the same premise and update the game, hopefully for the better…which in my opinion is exactly what happened!
Second half of my week I have spent almost completely engrossed by Pokemon White! I haven’t played a Pokemon game in some time, except for a few minutes on a borrowed DS playing Pokemon pearl. Before that my last Pokexperince was with the Gold version of the game. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked when I noticed how far the graphics have come. The game play is awesome, I am seriously addicted, which is weird because I don’t like any of the new Pokemon at all and struggle to find the ones who are the least annoying to include in my party. Still, it’s a great game and I have had fun this week playing both games.
Editor: Michael Irving
Unfortunately, life has been getting in the way of my gaming lately, but this week I finally finished Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee after buying the Oddboxx on Steam more than a month ago. I remembered the first two games on the original Playstation, but missed the Xbox ones, so this is an awesome way to get reacquainted with the incredible characters of Oddworld. I love the challenging puzzle gameplay, and the unique art style, but most of all, the developers have created one of gaming’s most fascinating worlds and filled it with well-drawn characters.
An HD remake of the first game has been confirmed for the Playstation Network, and there have been rumours of a new game for a while now. I really hope they come to fruition – the Oddworld saga needs to run its own course, rather than fade into the folds of time unfinished.
Editor: Kelly Teng
As with everyone else, my life has been getting in the way of my gaming (shocking!), but it’s when life kicks us down that we pull out the games from our childhood and remember a simpler time. The fondest memory I have is of Tombi! (or Tomba!) on the Playstation One, so I pulled that out and had a bit of a go playing it again…and by a bit of a go, I mean I spent 5 hours playing it. It truly is the old games that are the most fun and time absolutely flies when I play Tombi. Who could forget the evil pigs and the pink hair that is everywhere in Tombi? I genuinely hope that Sony brings this game to PSN because if they do, I think I’ve just found a reason to buy a PS3.
Aside from that, I finished the Elite Four battles in Pokemon Black, and am now on my way to finding the Seven Sages and then filling up all 500 Pokemon in my Pokedex. I just have to say, I was blown away by the Elite Four in this game. Firstly, the battles were a little bit challenging, but what stood out even more were the graphics! It was just so cool, and I really did feel like an 8 year old kid with a new toy again.
And since I seem to talk about L.A. Noire consistently, I’ll tell a little anecdote: in one of my tutorials, the person who was supposed to present didn’t show up and I managed to get the entire tutorial group to talk about the game and its implications on the gaming community. I would love to throw that up to share with all of you, but it’s been a hectic week…hopefully when life quietens down a bit, I’ll have time!
Editor: Adam Tabor
What games have I been playing this week? Well, quite a few. I borrowed a PS1 game from a friend called Rival Schools; it’s not too bad a game and one I always wanted to experience. Next up on the list is Crysis 2 on my 360. I rented this game from Gamefly and I haven’t gotten too far into it but I don’t know if I can get into it. Next up is Ridge Racer on the 3DS, which is kind of fun. I’m learning how to play the game and I’m kicking butt, taking names, and asking for them again because I didn’t remember it the first time. Online play would have been nice Namco…just saying.
On my PSP I’m playing Ys I and II Chronicles. The best part of the game is that you attack by running into stuff (I’m not kidding either). I also got owned in a little Marvel Vs Capcom 3 with some friends. Last but not least, if you guys truly know me you’ll know I am a big fan of the Guilty Gear series and when I found out that GOG.com had Guilty Gear X2 #Reload on there for $6 plus getting a free MP3 soundtrack with it, I jumped on it. I love the game, and since the games are DRM free and use Paypal, I jumped on that.
Editor: Chris Cerami
This week I played Fate of the World, a strategy game centered around global climate change (“global warming” as most will know it) which was a pretty cool title. I found it especially interesting because I have a degree in Biology and have done field research in ecology and environmental science so it really hit home. I’ve also been playing the Sly Cooper Collection on my PS3 since my Xbox has red-ringed (I got 4 healthy years out of it) which has been immensely fun. I’m also eagerly anticipating Mortal Kombat, which will be out here in the States on passover (the 19th). I can’t wait to get my hands on it to get my ass handed to me by my more fighting game literate friends. Finally, I recently started playing Final Fantasy X again which is exciting because it’s one of my favorites in the series and I haven’t beaten it in years.
Editor: Darren Resnekov
I got back on Gran Turismo 5. It kinda sucks when you cant find the right car to put in a race which is why I think I haven’t played it for ages. Still going on Crysis 2…it seems to go on forever but in a good way. I’m also playing Halo Reach, although I keep not having enough time to get through a certain section and a checkpoint. Got the DS out and tried to teach my 18 month old Nintendogs but she just wants to pat the dogs and doesn’t understand the rest of it. I’m wanting to get back on Killzone 3 but I want to finish the other first person shooters as I get confused with the controls especially inter-console (if that’s even a phrase). I feel sorry for the Wii cowering behind the other huge black consoles.
Contributor: Michael Marr
Real life commitments have prevented me from playing the ever growing catalogue of games I still need to play. However, I did manage to squeeze in a little time to play a few more missions in Dragon Age 2 early in the week. Those missions however, proved pretty uneventful, and so I switched it off pretty quickly. (Side missions are not all that entertaining…) However the experience left me thirsting to play another western RPG of some kind, preferably Bioware oriented.
Searching through my old stock, I found my old Xbox copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It’s been a few years since I’ve had the chance to go through this little number, so I figured, why the hell not? Booting up the game, I found an old half-finished play through of a light side, Jedi Guardian game. Firing it up again was nostalgic. However, it didn’t take long for me to realise that the Xbox360 doesn’t always handle original Xbox games all that well. Every now and then, the frame rate would drop horribly in the middle of combat. With no idea of what I’m doing, I have to pray that my AI allies are able to pick up the slack. Most of the time, they were able to. Still, fighting those sand people on Tatooine is alot harder than I remember it being… Now I remember why I always bring HK-47 along. That droid is damned good in a firefight, and always available with a funny remark when I feel like throwing down the controller.
Statement: I help people resolve their anger issues. By providing them with heavy-duty firearms and watching the ensuing burning and crackling of meatbag flesh… I only wish I had only the means to smell its no doubt sweet scent…
So after a few hours of play, I finally got through those sand people and into the Krayt Dragon’s lair, finding (what I think was) the first star map of 4. I exited the cave only to be quickly slain by that Bounty Hunter, Calo Nord. Seriously, this guy is the like the Rival from Pokemon. He shows up at the worst points with completely unbalanced combat abilities, leaving me and mine to engage in a hit and heal fest. This death and re-loading cycle continued I finally realised why I dropped this playthrough a few years ago. I had pumped all of my level up abilities and feat points into useless skills. Next time, I’m starting fresh.
Have you ever wondered how Street Fighter IV 3DS’ Streetpass battles work? Well wonder no more. MasterAbbott (thats me) has created a simple to understand video running you through how the Streetpass battle system works for Street Fighter IV 3D on the Nintendo 3DS.
The video runs you through what a battle looks like once you’ve encountered someone on the street. Also how you can setup your Street Fighter Figures/Trophies to do battle in Streetpass taking into consideration the rules and regulations that you have abide by, making it a very strategic type of mini battle system. We also cover how to pick up more figurines using the Figure Slots option in the game that will give you a better chance to win next time you challenge someone else while walking past them on the street.
EXCITING YES ??!! Check it out the video below and let us know what you think. Leave a comment if you though this was helpful.
I’m off to wander the streets in search of a battle just like RYU – HA DO KEN !!!
So, Sony has announced that Eyepet & Friends will be available later this year so that two people can join in on the maniacal fun of raising, nurturing and feeding two pets, all by only using your Playstation Move and PS3.
Stroke, tickle them, or select toys and games to play with. In addition, you could also engage in the watching the two EyePets take “a shower or play with toys – all brought to life with PlayStation Move.” Its even possible to “get creative with your EyePet by visiting the Creativity Centre where you can make tons of new toys, funky outfits and customise just about anything in the game.”
The game also promises that these pets will not make a mess, so that is a definite plus!
Sony has just shot us a release saying that that the PSP will be dropped down to a an appealing $189.95RRP! It appears that only the PSP 3000 is getting the price slashed though. Hopefully, the PSP Go will also be on its way to a steep decline in price too. And although this reduction in price for the PSP has only been announced for Australia, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear of a new price for the PSP in other countries too.
Sony has also discounted several games. Starting at $14.95, the PSP Essentials line will include the likes of LocoRoco 2 and Pursuit Force: EXTREME JUSTICE. PSP Platinums are priced at $29.95 RRP and include the games Modnation Racers and God of War.
On another note, on April 14, through their PSN ID, PSP owners can now access Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, “a new, cloud-based, digital music subscription service. By studying users’ listening habits and incorporating their preferences, Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity delivers dozens of personalized music channels uniquely tailored to their tastes. PSP owners can also enjoy a common and synchronized music experience on their PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems as well as PCs and other network-enabled Sony devices without the need to manage or transfer music files.”
With the release of the 3DS comes a new Ghost Recon game, one that more closely resembles a SRPG than a 3rd person-shooter. It features a group of ghosts: Duke, Haze, Richter, Saffron, Banshee and Mint; who must put a stop to the chaos that is descending upon Europe.
Story
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars follows a small team of Ghosts as they travel through the land of Kazakhstan in a quest to defeat the evil bandits and raiders plaguing the land. On top of the usual bandit fare, there is also a government conspiracy as well as talks of war.
The game follows the squad of Ghosts, with their leader Duke, over the course of 5 chapters, each with their own missions and sub missions for players to work their way through. However, you may not be able to use all of the members of the squad depending on the mission.
Oh hey, it’s the squad. Banshee is awesome.
Over the course of the story the player will gain access to new squad members, gametypes (I mean some of these scenarios feel like they were made for multiplayer then tacked on in the story campaign) and command abilities.
Ultimately, I didn’t find the story at all that engaging and I frequently found myself skipping over chunks of pointless banter between squad members. Though, at the beginning of each mission, the Duke will often have something to say about the background of the area that you are investigating in the mission that you are on.
Gameplay
Ghost Recon does not play as similarly to previous titles in the series as you would expect. The squad based gameplay is still in, as are the guns and bad guys. But the game has gone from a more real-time 3rd person behind-view game to a 3rd person birds-eye view turn-based tactical game. The game is closer to Fire Emblem than it is to a Ghost Recon game. While this is not a bad thing, it obviously looses some of the tension that the other titles in the series generate by having the player in the thick of what’s happening.
The game is all about being tactical and I’ve often found myself restarting an entire mission just because I didn’t plan ahead accordingly. Usually the missions revolve around completing certain objectives (and by usually, I mean always) and how you approach it early on can often have an impact on your success later. For example, in the first mission that involved me capturing certain devices to gain command points I just rushed forwards with no real strategy and, while I managed to capture the middle point, my team got out flanked from either side where the other two points were and I had to restart. The second time I did it, I took the bottom base first and worked my way up, ensuring victory and overall awesomeness.
Tactics are a definite recipe in the winning formula.
Command points are gained through capturing these command point structures and accumulate in batches of however many of the points that you hold at the beginning of each turn. For instance, say I hold 3 points. I will then gain 3 points (1 point for each location) at the beginning of my next turn. These Command Points are used to call in various kinds of Command Powers, like an air strike, that do devastating amounts of damage, or Reactivate, which allows you to re-use units.
The length of each mission varies, usually by a players tactical decisions in the game, and can range from 10 minutes to enormous amounts of time (sometimes 1hr or more). The campaign is a huge amount of missions, something like 30+, which you can tell will lead to a pretty huge playtime. As well as the campaign, players also unlock special missions to undergo in Skirmish mode, which are extra challenges for players to utilise and challenge themselves in. I quite like how the extra challenges are included in the game and that you are not required to fork out extra money for DLC challenges. Thanks Ubisoft!
Each of your units can be outfitted with different kinds of equipment after you reach a certain point in the game, which allows you a certain amount of flexibility and tactical planning of your team. As well as a method for a potential winning strategy, mentioned in a below section.
Explosions are prettier in 3D.
Each character moves across a grid on the battlefield that is limited by various factors, such as a characters maximum movement, obstacles and things like that. If a part of the movement grid is a green colour, then when that particular character stands in that spot they can attack an opposing unit. Each weapon has a range that they can hit up to, but that doesn’t mean that they can go through obstacles or anything like that, which definitely adds to the tactical feel of the game. I do have to mention, though, that at least one member of your squad is strong enough to take out an entire army when played correctly and that member is your stealth unit, Banshee. I’m not going to tell you how this is, as it would be up to you to work out, but I will mention that it involves stealth and knives, as well as (when done correctly) having things that can get her to move around more than once per turn.
While having an over-powered unit can often help tide the battle, not worrying about your overall teams tactics will still get you killed. So be warned.
The game also has a small multiplayer component in the form of hot-seat multiplayer. not many games utilise hotseat anymore, which is unfortunate as it is one of the most funniest ways of hosting a multiplayer session. Taunting, screen-peeking, beers and all around goofiness. Need more hotseat in future Shadow Wars titles if they are ever made!
Sound
The sound in Ghost Recon Shadow Wars is fairly good. The music takes on a more ambient role, as opposed to an entertaining one, which helps to set the mood of the area quite well. However, listening to the same theme for (sometimes) over an hour can start to grate on you. Thankfully, you can turn the music off in the options menu. Or if you’re like me, you have your PC headphones nearby and can listen to some music. The music isn’t terrible and you are supposed to take 10 minute breaks every 30mins or something, so when you take that into consideration, it isn’t so bad.
You’ll often find it’s hard to get a picture to play a sound.
The game also has a sound-effect component where most things have a sound associated to them. While the game doesn’t appear to have recorded actual weapons fire, the sound effects for each weapon do their job and you can tell the difference between a Sniper Rifle and an Assault Rifle. Most objects sound similar to what you would expect them to make the sound of when used. So it all fits quite well.
Graphics
Graphically the game consists of two-dimensional sprites over a three-dimensional environment. This may sound a bit awkward at first, but it integrates very well and it scales beautifully with the 3D capabilities of the 3DS. The interface is all 3D when the 3D is turned on and it gives the menus this awesome feeling that you’re kind of looking into or at a hologram projection. It’s really quite amazing.
Each sprite is finely detailed, from the shoulderpad on Dukes arm to the ponytail on Saffron, and have several predefined animations. Each animation is attuned to the action that is being undertaken by that unit, for example a running animation would occur when a unit runs. All animations are quite smooth, even with the 3D on at full and even when it was not. Each weapons animations also play quite well, with a firing effect playing from the end of the barrel and a thick shot being hurled towards the enemy, not too quickly and not too slowly… just right. It just all fits together so well.
Blue is the colour of awesome.
The 3D environments, while plain, are quite tactical in appearance and do well to suit the locations that they represent… or at least I assume they do. I mean, like, in Kazakhstan, it felt as though I could have actually been there. I’ve never been to Kazakhstan, so it could be a lot different to how it appears in the game, but it felt right. And as I said earlier the 2D sprites fit into the environments quite well.
The environments aren’t just the ground and sprites sitting on top of them, they also have other things surrounding them, like buildings to take cover within and well places walls, dividers and plantation. The one gripe I had with the environments is that a lot of the buildings look the same (though there are some variations) or that they could have been copied and pasted into multiple locations. While it would be ideal to have every single building be completely different to each other visually, they all server the same function anyway so it kind of works out in the end.
Overall
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars is an amazing game (not just as a launch title for the 3DS) that offers players plenty of hours of challenging entertainment as well as even more challenging Skirmish missions. It is visually pretty good and offers a pretty decent soundtrack. I’d recommend this game to anyone who loves Strategy Role Playing Games like Fire Emblem or Super Robot Taisen (Wars).
