Those of you who have played the charming downloadable game Stacking by Double Fine Productions will be pleased to know that the first downloadable content āThe Lost Hobo Kingā is now available for download today. This new adventure takes place in the kingdom ofĀ Camelfoot, Charlie Blackmore sets out to help his hobo friend Levi on an important family matter with the heir to the throne, Leviās uncle Rufus, missing his crown which he needs if he is to take his rightful place as king.
āThe Lost Hobo King includes the same charisma asĀ Stacking with an added layer of hilarity,ā said Martin Good, THQās Executive Vice President of Kids, Family and Casual Games.Ā Players can expect the same Stacking goodness with this downloadable packās added content, which includes 15 new unique dolls, new challenges, puzzles and of cause a brand new storyline in the hobo kingdom of Camelfoot.
āThe Lost Hobo Kingā DLC is available now on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, for 400 Microsoft points and $4.99 respectively. Check out our review of Stacking here
Asphalt 3D Developer: Gameloft Publisher: Ubisoft (EUR, AUS, NZ), Gameloft (US) Platform: Nintendo 3DS (Reviewed) Release Date: March 22, 2011 Pricing: $19.99 (Available HERE)Ā
Premise
Asphalt is one of the two racing genre launch titles for the Nintendo 3DS. With the introduction of 3D gameplay to the worldwide gaming masses, Asphalt attempts to capitalise on this new technology by providing a fast paced, intense street racing experience. To those who want to test out 3D gameplay for themselves on the new handheld, Asphalt comes as a highly recommended title. The premise of the game itself is for players to engage in high speed, high carnage racing action in iconic locations all over the world to become the best street racer around. 6 racers will enter this test of speed, but only one can come out on top. If you think you can handle it.
Story / Career
As is the case with many games in the racing genre, the game features no story, instead offering an exhibition style career mode. Starting up in career mode, players will notice that the garage of available racing cars is almost empty, with only 3 cars to choose from. It soon becomes apparent that the only way in which the player will be able to access the crĆØme de la crĆØme of the street racing circuit cars is to win prize money, and level up your reputation to unlock the rights to purchase new machines. The prize money and experience can then be used to purchase not only additional cars, but also customised parts to improve the performance of your ride. Racing and cash bonuses can also be earned by undertaking additional challenges when on the track. Doing so adds an additional level of difficulty to the race, but the rewards are all the more sweeter. It’s all well and fine if you want to win a race, but wouldn’t it be so much sweeter to rub in the face of your rivals that you kicked their asses without the use of nitrous, or brakes? And naturally, as with many racers, challenges become harder and harder to meet the more the player progresses through their racing career. It is also possible to maximise your earnings by winning the support of sponsors who are willing to pay up for your upgrades, provided that you are willing to keep winning big under their banner. Although why reputable companies want to sponsor illegal street races still confuses me…
However, for the REAL achievement junkies out there, the game also offers an achievement collection system for meeting certain pre-defined requirements. Normally, this would seem to add plenty of additional hours of gameplay, but it must be said that a flaw exists here. It is that only a select minority of these require additional attention to pass, where most can actually be attained by completing the career mode and adjoining challenges.
Gameplay
The controls utilised within this particular racer are your pretty standard fare. Acceleration, brake, drift and N20 functions are all pretty self-explanatory and easy to figure out. The addition of the 3DS circle pad adds an additional option for steering control as opposed to the + control pad, which I found actually worked more fluidly and made cornering feel more natural. Drifting with use of a control pad like in many console racers ousts using the + pad, as it allows for slightly better and more precise control of drift direction.
When it comes to actually racing the races, the winning the top prizes generally comes down to a combination of racing skill and knowing when to time N20 bursts. In addition to this, the car must be able to withstand the level of on-road punishment that the driver will inevitably put it through (because as we all know, road barriers and opponent cars make excellent substitutes for brakes.) To maintain your speed, and keep your car from falling apart, the game makes use of an item pick up mechanic. During races, different power ups are dispersed throughout the map and are easy to spot due to a shiny plume of coloured light, and a large circular symbol. All in all, there are only 3 types power-up that can be collected, each that comes in a weak and strong variant: the nitrous (N20) power up, which fills the boost meter as you race; the cash power up, which does what it suggests, y’know, earn extra money; and the repair power up which is best described by the manual explanation:
“-removes scratches, dings, dents, and assorted metallic boo-boos from your vehicle, which you got when you drove like a road hog with a crash fetish”.
Despite the fact that the power up selection is highly limited, as a game that places importance on delivering a more realistic graphic experience, I believe that limiting the power ups to these three was a smart move by the developers. It can be said that the simplicity without item and wacky gimmicks works for games going for the realistic or street basics. Those of you eagerly waiting for Mariokart 3D will still have to wait longer before a wacky item-tastic 3D racer is made available.
It must be said however that it felt like races were generally won and lost on the collection and usage of Nitrous. Since all of the In all game types, regardless, all other cars will have access to N20, and they will use it against you. If you are unable, as I was in opening stages of career mode to keep up with the pack’s N20 use, then you will have no chance. And while N20 power ups are dispersed pretty evenly along the map, there will be instances where the player will wish to have that extra burst of speed to make a short cup jump, cut off an opponent to thrust out of a tricky drift. However, if the player is able to undertake some clever, albeit risky driving, their N20 gauge will fill up, and cash bonuses will roll in. The game, if nothing else, encourages the player to drive aggressively and put themselves at risk. Performing aggressive acts like driving within spitting distance of civilian vehicles, or ramming your opponents into oncoming hazards (or traffic) will increase you payout as well as your nitrous gauge. However, do so sparingly. Unlike other carnage racers like Burnout, the cars in Asphalt seem to have a degree more realism when it comes to the physics engine and physical properties of a car. If the player thinks that their light-weight Nissan will be able to play a high speed, all-contact allowed game of chicken with an oncoming heavy SUV, they will be punished. Additionally, and it was not until about halfway through the career that I noticed this, the po-leece will deploy if you cause too much carnage. If you cause too much havoc, and your wanted level rises too quickly, the cops will be all over you as though you were a giant, high-speed donut, which naturally, makes your tasks of winning the race, and completing bonus challenges all the more harder. And while it is possible to take out the cop cars that attempt to shun you off the road, let’s be reminded of the fact that cop cars tend to be built of sturdier stuff than the race car you’re using. What’s also kind of messed up is that the cops will only ever target the player racer. If you accidently bump one of the cops on the road, they won’t care if the others are speeding at 300km/ph, YOU put a dent in their door.
Thankfully it is possible to boost the N20 gauge by drifting. Just be careful of where you slide. If a random car comes flying from off-screen, you want to be able to avoid it. However, there is also a way to plough through obstacles, by use of the Hyperspeed. Hyperspeed can be initiated when the N20 gauge is completely filled and glowing. This is an indication that your car is ready to blast off at its absolute maximum speed, ploughing and smashing every obstacle out of your way for a few seconds. Timing this right can be crucial if you want to take out that frustrating pack leader whose rear you’ve had to stare at for the past 2 laps. Learning timing and the structure of the tracks is key to the player’s success.
If the player wishes to practice their racing before jumping into competition mode, just as I did, they should take note of the ‘free race’ menu selection. This is no way impedes the players progress in unlocking new vehicles as even free play mode earns the player prize money and gains experience points. Additionally, it will give players the opportunity to test out other race modes like Crash Attack and the Cops and Robbers inspired Vigilante and High Speed Chase modes.
However, once the player HAS completed the career mode, it is likely that they will have obtained close to all of the available cars, customised parts, tracks and sponsors. While multiplayer mode is available to players who enact the local wireless link, the longevity and replayability of the game itself is unfortunately low to moderate. As was afore mentioned, the game DOES have a few achievements to work at, but for the most part, players who complete the game are not likely to pick it up again for a while.
Graphics and Sound
Since Asphalt IS a game designed for a revolutionary new graphics system, the standards that the game had to meet were quite high. While Nintendo games on both console and handhelds have rarely made huge attempts at providing the best comparative graphic quality, the 3DS offers a whole new dimension in graphics. Specifically a third one. š As a launch title, the demands are high to make appropriate use of this technology, as gamers are likely to judge the consoles future merits on how well some of the launch titles perform, and how well they show of the 3D tech.
Personally, I actually found the use of the 3D technology quite effective in enhancing the real sense of speed that this particular racing title is attempting to portray. By increasing the player’s perception of distance by superimposing the illusion of actual physical distance in 3D, it literally feels as if elements on the screen are going to come flying through the car’s windshield. (Which acts as a good deterrent for NOT crashing into things.) The 3D effects are also very cool to see implemented in the Garage and showroom where your cars are held. Whenever Hyperspeed is initiated, the 3D special warp effects make it feels as though the Millennium Falcon just hit light-speed, or that an episode of Dr Who is about to begin.
The 3D processing capability also presents a surprisingly detailed background environment for the racetracks, a feature which is all too commonly breezed over in many racing games. Whenever a temporary camera switch takes place to show an extreme moment of gameplay, the 3D graphics really shine, by even defining the background of the event in 3 dimensional detail.
The music available for the game is your standard racing soundtrack. A combination of techno beats and guitar riffs with heavy bass to give a sense of pace and speed, yet at the same time make everything seem calm and in control. And if there’s one thing you don’t want to feel while racing a miniature 3D computer generated automobile, it’s out of control. If there’s carnage to be had, gamers want to make DAMN sure its THEM that causes it, and not a random series of events. Additionally, the dead silence of music combined with the shattering sound effects will REALLY let the player know they’ve wiped out, and that their race plan has just been screwed over.
Additional Comments
Asphalt is another of the growing catalogue of 3DS games that allows the use of the 3DS Streetpass. By racing in time trials, career mode of free race, the player will record their best track times. This data will be sent via Streetpass, and will allow others who own the game to compare their stats with yours. For the real egomaniacs out there, aim for the best times if you want to show off your elite driving skills to complete strangers and rub their noses in it. And this will in no way reflect upon whether or not this is to… *ahem* …compensate for anything.
Now despite the pretty graphics and pretty fluid gameplay, the game is not without a few faults. The limited longevity has already been mentioned, but there are other in game issues which can make gameplay painful at points. One of the biggest frustrations for me was the random spawning of streetcars on the racetrack. Ā There have literally been instances where I have been driving a great race with a convincing lead, I’m about to cross the finish line and then BAM, a random civilian car spawns or appears 25 metres ahead of me, not allowing while travelling at high speeds for me to dodge. The Ā Ā resulting collision resulting in a significantly reduced purse, as well as loosing me several places in the race as I attempt to build up my speed again. And when I three other cars pass by me just as I am about to cross the finish line, it made me slam the 3DS lid shut in frustration. The slightest mistake can really cost the player, even if the mistake is not of their own fault. This frustration can also be added to by virtue of the fact that you will NEVER be able to see oncoming hazards or traffic through the power ups you want to collect. Since the incentive for nabbing these is high, few players will miss a chance to grab some extra N20. BUT when the N20 power up has an oncoming Prius hidden behind the fantastic alluring ball of light, there is nothing that will make the player curse the lure more. Well, besides the dramatic, over the top wipe-out cut scene, which basically slaps a huge middle finger to the player.
Additionally the in menu load times have a tendency top freeze up on occasion. During career mode, you cannot simply cycle through all of your cars, to get to the one you want to use. You must wait for the entire visual and to load as well as the car stats before you can move onto the next one. The loading time can get a little off-putting in the main menu. There were clearly still a few loading glitches that could have been resolved a bit better.
And while this is a minor issue, it’s probably worth noting that huge motorsport or car buffs will not find too much love here. The game features only a selection of 40 cars to play with. While this isn’t necessarily bad, there will more than likely be a few hardcore motorsport enthusiasts who will not look on this omission kindly. Personally, I do not think it is a matter of grave importance, but to each his own.
Overall
Asphalt is actually a pretty fun game if you’re the kind of gamer who likes a bit of fast paced racing action. As an introductory title to the 3DS system it is certainly worth considering if you want to test out the 3DS’s graphics capability for yourself, but don’t want to play the more child oriented launch titles. It’s the kind of game that you don’t really want to play all at once, but over a long period of time. It’s the kind of game that you can set down for a while and come back to, and still be familiar with the controls, gameplay and goals. Gamers and Motor Sports fans alike are liable to see past some of the minor issues and see what is by and large a thoroughly entertaining and fluid flowing game. Heck, if you just like things that go incredibly unnecessarily fast, then it’s certainly worth having a go with in 3D.
Last year, DS gamers were treated to one of the most well written and intense titles of 2010, that being Aksys Games “9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors” which gave a riveting story of escape and threw in a bunch of top notch puzzles to create a truly one of a kind experience. It seems Nintendo Power were also aware of this title, and rewarded the game with “Best Story/Writing” for their 2010 Nintendo Power Awards.
As a proud parent should be, Aksys are proud of this accomplishment and have put together a press release for this accolade. Instead of a boring text document though, the company treated us to “Aksys Press Release Theatre” with a host who truly delivers this news to the public in the best fashion imaginable. Check out the clip below to watch this greatness unfold, and if you have yet to pick up a copy of 999 yourself, you really should get on that as well.
Hi all welcome to another Capsule Computers interview.Ā This time MasterAbbott sat down with Mr. Ryosuke Jinno, Project Director (Brizo Interactive)Ā the creators of Dragon Dragon on the Apple iPhone.Ā Anyone that’s a fan of the Double Dragon franchise should take the time to read through this indepth interview with Ryosuke there’s quite a lot of really cool information about how Brizio created the remake to this legendary 2D side scrolling beat em up.
Enjoy the interview.
1.Ā When was Million Co. Ltd/Brizo Interactive first established – Where are your offices located.Ā What other titles have you developed in the past?
Brizo:The company was established in 2002, and is located in the 2F Toyoda Bldg., 5-3 Hiroshiba-Cho, Suita-City, Osaka. We develop iPhone versions of the well-known titles made by big companies. Since it is confidential, I canāt reveal the titles, but we cover almost all genres including Fighting, Action, Adventure, etc. Weāve worked on the very famous titles such as Double Dragon, Tamagocchi, Sonic, and Ragnarok.
2.Ā While creating Double Dragon on the iPhone, did you communicate or speak to the original developers Technos Japan and designer Yoshihisa Kishimoto?Ā If so what input was provided from them?
Brizo: We didnāt work directly with Mr. Kishimoto, but Million supervised us. Weāve been trying not to ruin the original world setting/perspective and disappoint fans.
3.Ā What was your main reason for creating this remake of Double Dragon on the iPhone opposed to creating it on another console?
Brizo: In terms of developing Double Dragon, this iPhone version is our 3rd title after making a mobile game for North America/South America called Zeebo (and a console version for South America). We decided to make Double Dragon iPhone not only because weāre a mobile game developer, but also because weāve noticed that there are so many fans who were waiting for Double Dragon on iPhone. In addition, weāve done a lot of research into the technical aspects of iPhone, and we were confident we could re-creat Double Dragonās world.
4.Ā How many developers did it take to create Double Dragon? How long was development? Where there any issues with development? And what did the team do to overcome them.
Brizo: A total of 15 people worked on this title in jobs such as Programmer, Designer, Planner, Director, and Debugger. It took about 10 months, including planning.
The most difficult part was unexpected technology changes, as the device itself was changed during development, and the SNS functionality was added.
Also, we had a difficult time trying to decide on the designāspecifically, how we would keep its 2D pixel theme as well as Double Dragonās ātoughā image. However, since we were very particular about what we wanted to create, Iām confident that we did a good job.
5.Ā During development, were there any ideas that couldn’t quite make it into the final build of the game?
Brizo: There are still a lot of people in the US who havenāt updated to iOS 4.0. We assumed that most of users would have updated their iOS versions, so now, weāre planning to release updates for those who use older versions of iOS.
6.Ā From all the Double Dragon remakes on all the different home and portable consoles which one do development team believe was the best one ?
Brizo: Iām tempted to say that is this iPhone version, ha ha ha. However, Iād like to think that it was the design of the original arcade that helped Double Dragon gain the fanbase that it has. Ā I remember when I was kid I used to play the Double Dragon arcade all the time. I put a whole lot of coins into the one in front of the local convenience store.
We respect the original Double Dragon very much.
7.Ā What was it like redesigning the original Double Dragon characters and recreating them into a modern game?
Brizo: It wasnāt too hard to redesign the original Double Dragon since the world was already established. We were very careful about how we could maintain that world, and how we could approach users in Europe/America in such a way that they would still see the game as exciting and exotic. The 2D pixel images might be outdated but that is the technique that Japan developed, and weāre very proud of it. It was challenging for us to use this technique on such an advanced piece of equipment.
8.Ā Where did the ideas and inspirations come from when creating the three new never before seen levels and the three new boss characters.
Brizo: Those are the result of a lot of internal brainstorming. We knew Abobo, Brunov, Chin, and Willie had to be in the game, but we thought it would be kind of boring if there werenāt any women. So, we added in some ladies.
9.Ā Why was Marian’s hair changed from Brown/Red to Blonde ?
Brizo: To be honest, we didnāt really think too hard on that. Ha ha ha!Ā If fans donāt like it, we might want to consider changing it!
MasterAbbot’s Reply : NO its ok .. leave it how it is š
10.Ā Please explain the reason behind mixing characters from both Double Dragon 1 and 2 in this remake of Double Dragon on iPhone. Were there characters you wanted to add but couldn’t and why?
Brizo: Initially, we wanted to pull every good aspect of Double Dragon into this game. Considering the entire volume of the game, that would have been 30 playable characters and 6 stages. If possible, we wanted to use all the characters, but we didnāt because, the game would have started to drag, and it would have frustrated players.
11.Ā This is the first time in any Double Dragon game that will allow you to gain experience.Ā What characters can gain experience?Ā Is this option only available to Billy and Jimmy Lee?
Brizo: Only Billy and Jimmy can gain experience, since theyāre the main characters. Weāve added other playable characters mainly just as a bonus, but if people really want those bonus characters to be able to gain experience, weāll consider it.
MasterAbbott’s Reply : Yes it would be great to also level up the other characters in the game especially the bosses.
12.Ā At the beginning of the game in the original Double Dragon the Black Warriors approach Marian, punch her and then take her away.Ā Why was this removed from this remake?
Brizo: Weāve removed this part because itās shown in the opening movie. We were actually discussing whether or not it should be in the game right up until the end of development. I guess you really wanted to see it, huh? Ā Also, in the original Double Dragon, Marian is taken away in front of the Billy and Jimmyās house, and then Billy comes out of the garage. We actually questioned why Billy didnāt notice Marian was taken, since it happened right in front of his house, which was another reason why we changed it.
MasterAbbott’s Reply :Ā YES BRING IT BACK !! LOL It’s a classic moment in the game just like how Marian is lowered down by the rope at the end and dangling in the air in the final level.Ā Please bing it back !! PLEASE !! š
13.Ā Some of the original level designs have been changed and enhance but also cut down quite a bit from the original arcade game.Ā What were the reasons behind this?
Brizo: Because itās an iPhone game.
This is not a game that you can use a joystick and put in detailed commands that way, so we focused on making it easy to play. That is why we removed the difficult actions and functions.
14.Ā What would Billy do if he found out that Jimmy had a crush on Marian?
Brizo: Theyāll fight it out in Double Dragon mode. Ha ha ha!
We donāt get this kind of question a lot from Japanese fans, so I love it!
Itāll be fun to make the story about splitting the brothers up, but we want to keep the original main story. Ha ha ha!
MasterAbbott’s Reply : YES Do it !! That would be fun to play and see !!!
15.Ā Trophies / Achievements are what drive a number of players to play games now-days.. Give us a run down on how you came up with and all the achievements in the game, what you think is the easiest, funniest and hardest achievements to obtain.
Brizo: We as a developer understand each level of difficulty (high, mid, low) as adjusting the game. Weāve discussed over and over about which achievements we want to have, and how those should be achieved.
The hardest one to gain would be the achievement of No Damage Clear. There are only a few people whoāve gotten it, even in my company.
The most interesting achievement would be āIāll give it to you because I feel sorry for you.ā This is recieved when the player fails No Damage Clear.
16.Ā Certain fans already playing Double Dragon have expressed an interest to have an online option to play Double Dragon over the internet with friends all over the world.Ā Do you believe that this option might be added to the game at a later date?
Brizo: Of course, weāre considering it. However, from a technical standpoint, there is some difficulty when it comes to perfect online play via Wi-Fi.
For Double Dragon specifically, Billy and Jimmyās movements, as well as their opponentsā movements and the positions of obstacles all have to be synced up during an online match. Because you have two players on the same screen, there is a huge amount of data the app has to deal with, so you have to make sure it can do that with the iPhoneās specs and interact with the communication infrastructure as well.
There are a lot of games out there that seem to be using āSync and Shareā functions, but actually not many of them are successful about maintaining that function.
We are aware, of course, that weāll need to catch up with that technology in the near future.
17.Ā Will there be any further updates or enhancements to Double Dragon on the iPhone moving forward.
Brizo: Of course! Weāre preparing both major and minor improvements and updates, so look forward to them!
18.Ā Will this release of Double Dragon make its way onto other consoles / hand helds such as Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, Nintendo 3DS or PSP.Ā If so will it be enhanced and beef up with more gameplay / levels or characters?
Brizo: Letās just say weāre considering that.
19.Ā What was the best part of developing possibly the best 2D fighting beat ’em up game ever created for its time?
Brizo: Probably that I was able to be part of the development of this game, and that we were given a great deal of freedom.
Our next challenge will be to incorporate what we hear from reviewers and our users into the game. If you look at it that way, then the ābest partā is probably still yet to come.
20.Ā (Spoiler Question)Ā At the end of the game Billy and Jimmy Lee drive off into the sunset with Marian.. Right at the end before the screen fades, there is someone looking at them on the side of the road … WHO is this mystery man??
Brizo: The son of a character from the game. His hair color might give you a hint, but Iāll leave the rest up to your imagination. Perhaps itās hinting at a sequel?!
–
There you have it, another great interview done.Ā Capsule Computers would like to thankĀ Mr Ryosuke Jinno-San for taking the time to answer our questions.Ā We wish them the best of luck moving forward and can’t wait to see what else they release in the future.
Lets us know what you thought of the interview.Ā Leave a comment below
Majesco have already announced a couple of titles they will be publishing for the Nintendo 3DS, but the latest announcement for the hidden may hold the most interesting use of the actual handheld to date. In The Hidden, players will use the Augmented Reality function to turn the portable into a “portal to the astral plane” as you hunt for paranormal entities through-out real world environments. Thrown into the role of a paranormal investigator, it is now up to you to capture and destroy all the supernatural entities you may encounter.
Majesco also spoke more about this upcoming release which is being developed by 1st Playable Productions:
āThe Hidden is a great example of exciting content mixed with compelling technological innovation on the Nintendo 3DS,ā said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. āThis immersive experience leverages many key features of the new system– including the camera, gyroscope and Wi-Fi capability–to deliver a rich 3D adventure with multiple layers.ā
As a member of the elite G.E.I.S.T. squad, Ghostly Entity Investigation and Strike Team, you must work with your team to track, capture, shoot and eliminate evil spirits, including fast-moving Kamikazes and Tanks, solid phantoms armed with claws. Explore different real-world locations to find and destroy new ghosts. Battle and defeat powerful entities using a full arsenal of high tech tools and upgradeable weapons, including the Plasmatic Disruptor, Ectoplasm Sensor and Spectral Shield. Navigate through tunnels to access a hidden dimension and collect power-ups to fight off dangerous threats. You will also use the Circle Pad and Nintendo 3DS gyroscope control to shoot and destroy ghosts, while keeping a log of your otherworldly discoveries made at previously visited places using the Location History feature.
Sounds like a modern day, real world version of Ghostbusters, and that is a good thing for sure. I have loved every second of the AR function and if this title plays as awesome as it sounds, I think we may see quite a winner with The Hidden. The Hidden also is scheduled to hit just time for Halloween when it hits stores this October. We will continue to bring you more updates as they arise for this title, so stay tuned!
Hereās a game release that might have you jumping for joy! Namco Bandai are about to release a new game for iDevices called Pac’n-Jump. The game is a clone of the iOS hit Doodle Jump, but with Pac-man themes of course. Pac’n-Jump is a tilt controlled platformer that has Pac-man jumping from platform to platform, eating power pellets and avoiding or eating ghosts along the way. If Pac-man isnāt enough classic Namco arcade nostalgia for you, then good news, Pac’n-Jump will have a number of levels based on Namco games such as Rally-X, Dig Dug and a forever personal favourtite of mine, Galaga. Pac’n-Jump is due to be released on April 7th.
Its no secret that I am super excited for the next iteration of the fast paced, wacky snowboarding game. Ā And now EA is offering fans, like me, to get in on the development of the game.
In order to fine tune the game and promote it, EA is having a contest on their Facebook page to win a round trip to the studio where the game is being created. All you need to do is write a strictly enforced 100 word essay explaining why you should be chosen to win. Ā The prize will not only include a trip to see and play the early build, but you can also give your feedback to the team building the game. Ā You better head over there fast though, as only 5 people are being chosen and the contest ends on April 15, 2011. Ā Board on over to the FB page here:Ā http://apps.facebook.com/ssxconetst/contests/103490?ogn=facebook
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D Developer: Ubisoft Publisher:Ubisoft Platform:3DS Release Date:Out Now! Price:$59AU Buy NowĀ $39.99US Buy Now
Overview
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is a game that takes place on a more ancient Earth where dinosaurs rules and battled their way to supremacy.Ā There are four groups of dinosaurs for players to choose from, each with their own distinct look and feel; Predators, Hunters, Defenders and Chargers. Each group has their own subset of dinosaurs from players to choose from and each group has its own particular advantages. The game also has an extras area to view things that you have unlocked; as well as other things, like streetpass, credits and a trade menu.
Story
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D’s story is that basically an evil Arkosaurus is threatening the land and it’s up to the player to gather a party of dinosaurs to take into the Arkosaurus’ lair and end its evil scheme. Well, at least that’s what I assume is happening. The Arkosaurus’ plot is never really delved into aside from a few lines to let you know that he is evil.
Primeval Earth, 15o million years ago. The dinosaur races shared the ancient land respectfully. Under the protection of the four great chiefs, the fury of the Arkosaurus was contained.
Contained you say? How is that he broke out?
One day, unforeseen cataclysms struck the land. The four great chiefs disappeared and the Arkosaurus seized power, rallying the tribes of malevolent dinosaurs. The world stood on the brink of utter destruction.
Fair enough.
While the story may be a bit basic, the game is likely to have been developed with children in mind, so any kind of complexity within the story may have been too confusing for younger gamers. Which is a fair call, it’s better to have a basic story that you can get everyone behind, rather than put on a long and convoluted plot involving several teenaged dinosaurs running around a city and having the main protagonist be a fraud and etc. Simple, but maybe too simple. As I said earlier, you’re not really given much backstory to the Arkosaurus, other than he was contained and that he broke out because of a fluke. I would have liked to have seen a little more from the Arkosaurus’ backstory, just so that it would make it easier to get on board with killing him later.
This is all done on the + pad. Touch screen is a no go.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is quite basic, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Essentially players need to guide their selected dinosaur down a linear path and battle 4-5 other dinosaurs along the way. These battles are always in sequence and can never be skipped. Between battles, there are generally long stretches of landscape with a handful of breakables that sometimes drop bones or other collectibles as you break them. Along with the breaking of stuff, like dinosaurs bones, sticks and rocks, there are also smaller dinosaurs which you can scare into dropping loot for you to upgrade your dinosaur with. After traversing the long stretches of land between each battle and defeating each opposing dinosaur, you will reach the levels boss and you have to defeat the boss to move onto the next level.
Each level in the game is set up the same, start at point a, travel to each new point with a new enemy, kill it, then end up at the end point with the boss and kill that. The levels are set up differently, but I’m sure I noticed that a few environments were seen elsewhere in the game. For instance, for each of the dinosaurs I played as, I passed through a giant tunnel in a desert and a volcanic mountain – with each of them having a layout that was incredibly similar between each dinosaur. I understand when it’s a dinosaur of the same base type (example hunter), but when ones a charger and ones a defender (and each is on a separate continent) it starts to look a little lazy. Though, I must admit that the repetition in environments does not detract from the fun all that much.
Each enemy has a particular strategy to them, which the game informs you of for the first time you encounter that particular enemy. While it may seem effective to utilise an enemies weakness, I often found that the weak-point sometimes took a bit long to appear and would switch to a more quicker strategy… such as ramming the enemy off the side of a level. In this game, players battle anĀ enemy dinosaur on a platform with the ends leading off an edge (think Super Smash Bros.) and each combatant must either knock their opponent out, or knock their opponent off. It’s quite simple.
There are three types of attacks for players to utilise, which are: basic and rapid physical attacks, charging and a special attack. The physical attacks are where your dinosaur attacks using their own body, charging rams your opponent back; closer to the edge and the special attack is used to deal damage and push your opponent back. I’m assuming that each class of dinosaur, Chargers, Defenders, Hunters and Predators, has their own unique advantages and disadvantages, but outside of movement I haven’t really noticed a difference between them.
Speaking of movement, out of all the dinosaurs classes, the only dinosaurs that don’t handle like a school-bus are the hunters. I’m serious, none of the others seem to glide or have any kind of grace in their movement, they move as heavy as they appear to be. Which is both interesting and annoying simultaneously. It’s interesting because it gives you a sense of feel with the dinosaurs, but it can also be annoying because sometimes you’ll miss the thing you’re trying to crush and it takes a little bit of work to back up and try again.
The boss fights probably have the strangest difficulty curve in the game, with the first being initially difficult and with subsequent bossed getting easier. That is, until you reach the final boss where it’s back to being tough as nails. While each boss is built to be beaten a certain way, I found it easiest to avoid using the strategy that you’re supposed to use and just went on a more push-back type stratagem. This made the fights terribly easy as it would only take a handful of hits to ring them out as opposed to the whole bunch of hits it usually would have taken to drain their HP to zero.
This however almost changes with the final boss battle of the game. The final boss has a much faster rate of attack and much more harder to notice cues as to which attack it is going to be doing next. This makes it hard to dodge it’s attacks which increases the challenge a fair bit. I think this is one of the few boss battles in a game that I have enjoyed in a while, which is something in the games favour. While the boss is hard to work out, once you do, it becomes way easier and is almost simple to pull off. It’s all about learning the moves and then pulling them off one after the other.
Overall the gameplay is a bit wavey, but it isn’t to the games detriment.
And he’s almost off the edge.
Sound
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs features a rather compelling soundtrack and series of effects. I can’t complain about the music or the sounds, which is good.
The sound effects in the game sound similar to the way you would expect them to, for instance, stepping on a branch will yield a crunch. The dinosaurs have a particular roar that will let out at certain times, like when a player selects one or when a player hits Y while running around, that sound surprisingly authentic and aren’t irritating at all. Each hit a dinosaur lands on an opponent is greeted with an effect that correlates to that action and seems to fit wonderfully.
The background music is there usually, with jungle beats and similar music to accompany the gameplay. Though often, it will play at the beginning of the level then kind of just stop. I’m not sure if it’s a bug or expected behaviour, but it suits the game quite well. Somehow it adds a sense of length to what what’s happening, whereas if it was just fast paces, then it would feel much shorter.
Open the door; Get on the Floor; Everybody walk the dinosaur!
Minor Gripes
This game has one minor personal gripe with me and that’s with it’s 3D feature. At maximum I found that the 3D effect was too strong for me to handle and too hard for me to focus on. While turning down to 75% or below made it more enjoyable, I feel as though the maximum 3D effect has been aligned incorrectly as I have no problems viewing maximum 3D in other titles.
No touch screen support! This game could have made decent use of the touch screen, but I found that I couldn’t even use it for input when naming my dinosaurs… talk about a bit odd.
Overall
Overall Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is a rather fun game aimed at a younger audience. It provides a solid amount of time to complete fully, but can also be picked up and played in short bursts. There are also a few extra that can be earned through collecting items which also increases the re-playability of the title. This is a title that I would heartily recommend for parents to get their younger child as it is both enjoyable and challenging. A considerable purchase for any parent.
Let’s face it lag in online games can kill it for any gamer. This holds true with fighting games as it requires precise controls to pull of moves and combos. One delayed button press can make a difference between winning and losing. GGPO technology was made to allow people to play fighting games online just as good as good as playing next to someone in your own living room. However other than PC emulation GGPO has yet to be used in a commercial fighting game until now.
It has been announced that the downloadable fight game Skullgirls will be using the GGPO online technology in the game. President of Autum Games stated that using this tecenology in the game will enhance the games online features. This is something fighting game fans have been asking for a while now, let’s see if Skullgirls can convince the bigger game developers to implement it in the future. Skullgirls will be out on Xbox Live and PSN this summer.
At first glance when you start up the trailer you will think that there is absolutely zero chance that a game like this would be getting a Western release. Well you are wrong in that case because Otomedius X, also called Otomedius Excellent, will end up getting a release date for the U.S. but it will be later this year due to delays. Originally the title was set for release on the Xbox 360 in Japan this past year but due to delays it is currently set for release on April 21st according to Andriasang.
Either way this trailer shows off plenty of gameplay and introduces us to a handful of the characters that we will be able to play as when the game comes out as well as enemies players will face. The characters are all anime styled girls including a catgirl pirate that you can see above. The game looks like it will be a bullet hell shooter with side scrolling action as opposed to vertical based. Catch the trailer below.
