When you think of video games and anime usually they don’t go together well, other than gamers watching anime. But in the past we have seen a Halo anime movie that featured various characters from the Halo Universe and it was distrubted over the Halo Waypoint system and later on DVD. Now another video game looks to be getting the anime treatment.
Mass Effect will be getting a straight to DVD/Blu-Ray anime movie as it was announced today by EA that they would be partnering with FUNimation to help publish the title. The studio behind the production will be T.O Entertainment. The anime itself will be set in the Mass Effect universe and currently that is all that is known. We can expect the anime to be released in the summer of 2012. A small excerpt from Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of Mass Effect can be found below:
“Over the last few years, we have revealed different pieces of the Mass Effect world through different media. Extending the story through an anime medium is another amazing opportunity for us. Partnering with FUNimation ensures that we will bring this rich universe to life with the utmost quality and the same attention to detail that the Mass Effect games are known for.”
For all you you aspiring farmers out there, Natsume have now announced a brand new Harvest Moon game that is headed to the Nintendo DS as well as the 3DS. Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns will put players in the role of a new farmer who is new to the area and must choose between one of two villages to set up shelter in whether it be the eastern-styled Konohana, which has an abundant supply of crops or animal-loving, European-styled Bluebell. Both towns are now bitter rivals after a dispute of who the had the best cooking caused them to grow apart.
Natsume President & CEO had this to say about this new Harvest Moon tale:
“We’re extremely excited to be bringing The Tale of Two Towns to these two great platforms,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume.
“We wanted to ensure that all of our loyal Harvest Moon fans would have a chance to play this game. No matter which version they pick up, they’re sure to love the great new cast of characters, the fun festivals, and the exciting new gameplay mechanics.”
You know, I really respect the fact that they kept both platforms in mind with this release as there are still many fans who I’m sure haven’t had a chance to pick up a 3DS yet. I am also now curious of just what kind of features we might see in the 3DS version though as Harvest Moon is a great series to utilize the streetpass functions as well as the 3D visual effect. With either version though, you can be sure it will be filled with that same charm that made this once small series into now a staple of video game history.
With it being Sonic’s 20th anniversary this year, Sega seem to be finally ready to get the party started as a brand new trailer was released on the blue mascot’s official Facebook page showing a bit of new footage from what appears to be a brand new title. Now the clip is under the name of Sonic Generations so I can I really can see that name being used for this new game as it fits this trailer perfectly. I could be wrong on that and this may just be the first look at Sonic The Hedgehog: Part 2, but I am inclined to believe otherwise for now.
In the actual trailer, we see the current version of Sonic the Hedgehog racing through the Green Hill Zone and he is soon joined by a 3D 16-bit version of himself (which honestly looks amazing by the way). Of course this trailer is going to now stir up some curiosity of just what this game is, but I am thrilled it seems everytime I see a new game announced for Sonic as he is still one of the most loved mascots in videogame history. We do however know that at the end of the clip, it does mention that this title is slated for 2011 and will be headed to the XBLA & PSN. So for now, sit back and enjoy this 50 seconds of greatness below. We will keep you updated as Sega eventually spills a bit more information out over time.
Game Name:WWE All Stars Platform(s): Xbox 360 (reviewed), PSP, PS2, PS3, Nintendo Wii Publisher(s):THQ Developer(s):THQ San Diego Genre(s): Fighting/Wrestling Release Date: March 29, 2011 (US) April 1, 2011 (EU) Price: $59.99 BUY NOW!
THQ’s WWE All Stars brings together both legends and current WWE superstars to square off in the ring with some over-the-top combat. While this game does qualify as a wrestling title, everything is crafted to best fit an arcade fighter with things like combos, an HP bar, and of course a huge movepool filled with techniques the WWE Superstars could only dream of pulling off. This combination mixes a bit from both genres to give a brand new feel for a wrestling title and while it isn’t perfect, it is certainly a step in a new direction. So is this journey in a new direction for the WWE brand an enjoyable one or does it fall flat on it’s face? Here is my review for WWE All Stars.
Gameplay
You really cannot even begin to talk about WWE All Stars without mentioning the gameplay engine. Now if you are familiar with the Smackdown series or a fan of any wrestling games for that matter, the combat will feel slightly familiar as grapples and standard attacks work about the same control-wise but of course are more simplified overall. There is one light grapple button as well as one heavy grapple, with each having a different variety of moves you can pull off based on the combination of input from the left analog. Following suit, there are also light and heavy strikes that work in a similar fashion. It sounds quite simple, but there is actually a complex strategy behind this which is a clever countering system as well as a bit of a combination from an arcade fighter that allows for fast paced combos to be pulled off along with some mid-air juggling and a better build-up for a takedown.
With this newer engine also come the main course of the game, that being the brand new movepool which has some of the most over-the-top attacks a wrestling title of any sort has never seen before. Each superstar and legend now boast an action figure appearance with some of their most prominent features as well as muscles being blown up, kind of like a caricature of sorts. Along with the larger than life performers, the moves in WWE All Stars fit the same bill. Instead of someone like Rey Mysterio performing a standard hurricanrana, you will see Mysterio Flip up about 20 feet in the air and then land on the opponents shoulders and smash them to the mat. Nearly every move boasts a bit of these mechanics with the ring even showing ripples flow through it after a hard attack takes down a foe. I spent a long time just going through and trying to actually just see every move I could as they not only look great, they are also rather simple to pull off and really make WWE All Stars stand on a league of it’s own, offering a breath of fresh air from the much stiffer simulation turn that the Smackdown series has taken in the past few years.
While you are actually in a match, moves can be chained into combos much like standard fighting games that we see out today. To counter this, there are two block buttons which completely take the momentum from a move and let you counter into an attack of your own. This adds in the element of timing into the whole process and adds a thick layer of strategy going into each match. Controls are fully customizable so you can play to your best liking, but if you were like me and just go for a default set, you may find the small shoulder buttons on the standard 360 controller a bit too small and awkward feeling to aim for the precise and perfect timing needed. Thankfully though, WWE All Stars seemed to be ready for change and that alone makes a comfort zone for any player easy to find.
While I had a blast getting to know this brand new layout, I did find myself in utter frustration as I spent more and more time with game in general for a number of reasons. Button tapping meter mini-games from the Smackdown series do not appear often, but they do however appear during a pin. I have never cared for any button mashing pin system that includes a meter you must fill at all and in my very first match, this caught me by surprise and just barely a minute in I was pinned due to not being able to tap fast enough, whereas later after a 20 minute match, 3 finishers, and having no HP remaining, my opponent was able to kick out before the ref called a 2 count. In my opinion this kind of made the pinning system feel a bit off balanced. Now there is also a match finishing alternative which can be used, that being to simply KO your opponent.
After taking so much damage, you can knockout your opponent which ends the match instantly. This works well and seems to keep up with the pacing and HP of the match, but it also causes each match to begin to feel like a race for a finisher. It isn’t too hard to fill up the finisher bar to start with as I had mine full two minutes in usually, which lead to some much shorter games overall. All of this would be fine normally, but I felt cheated even when I won many times as I was left simply wanting more.
Roster
One of the greatest features of WWE All Stars is the huge roster that you can choose from. While it only features 30 superstars/legends, the diversity is quite wide. Legends such as Stone Cold, The Ultimate Warrior, The Rock and many other familiar faces have made their comeback for this title and those who enjoy today’s entertainment product should be happy as well since popular wrestlers such as John Cena, Rey Mysterio and the many more of the most prominent faces of the brand are available right off the bat as well. This mix is great for making some great “what if” matches, as well as trying to recreate your own over-the-top versions of past meetings.
Modes & Match Variety
While the roster is impressive, there isn’t a whole lot of matches you can actually participate in. There is an exhibition mode in which you can participate in single, tornado tag, extreme rules, and cage matches which are all fun, but I thought with how insane the gameplay is, we might have gotten to see some more fitting match types (like TLC, Table, or even Inferno).
Path of Champions is the game’s season mode in which you can take your favorite superstar through three different paths. This mode reminded me a bit of older wrestling titles as each path consists of a gauntlet style line-up of ten different matches you can participate in until an eventual encounter at Wrestlemania. As you make your way through each, cutscenes will appear to try to mend in a story into this gauntlet and for the most part, these were usually entertaining to watch and easy to follow. The tag match portion with DX was my least favorite of the three, but that was mainly due to the AI for my partner. The AI either KO’d the opponent extremely early, or simply got taken out quickly which lead to a lot of rematches taking place.
The last mode in the game is Fantasy Warfare. This mode is made up of preset matches, putting one superstar up against a legend for one reason or another. Once you select your favorite out of the two you are given, a clip is shown to build up the fight and you do battle in the ring. Some of these “fantasy” matches were great to try out, but others felt a bit forced and rushed as later rounds have a current star like Kane going after Jimmy Snuka to see who has the most ruthless aggression. That didn’t make sense to me personally, but either way the build-up clips are fantastic to watch and made me feel some true nostalgia.
Online mode simply has all the match types from exhibition in which you can do battle with with players all over the world. I had no lag whatsover in the sessions I played and each match feels just like it does in the standard game. While I was online though, I did notice many different strategies being used though which further implements how deep and varied attacks and combos really go. If you really want the most out of this game, online is where the true challenge and variation is in my opinion.
Creation
The creation mode in WWE All Stars is complex enough when it comes to actually making the appearance of your superstar, but move wise things are a bit linear as preset movesets are all you can actually assign outside of a finisher from the start. As you play, more options become unlocked for this mode, so patient players will be rewarded with a bit broader selection later on allowing for the more creative juices to flow. For instance, I made a fantastic looking Diesel in under an hour so the potential here comes with whoever may be player behind the controller.
Graphics/Audio
As I mentioned, each character in this game has been blown up to look like an action figure of sorts, and I must say every wrestler’s model in the game looks fantastic and truly fits in with the absurdly fun antics you can use in the ring. You can really see the attention to detail that the developers put into face models as even little features such as wrinkles and receding hairlines match to perfection. The crowd are nice to look at as well and do a good job of making each match feel a little more authentic as the fans jump up and down throughout each bout. Animations for moves are accurate and in my opinion make this game flow to nearly perfect. Not having any dropped frame rates or glitchy movements that we have seen from other titles leave everything feeling smooth and humorous each time you step in a ring
The audio work that went into WWE All Stars was done well also. For the voice acting that is in the game, I was very impressed with the final product. Whether it be the screeching voice of Paul Bearer or DX simply cutting jokes, everything seems like the personas participating were having fun actually doing their part. Commentary is still a bit annoying, but I can’t recall a perfectly commentated game….ever, so that should be little problem for any fan wrestling titles. The classic combo of King and good ol’ JR are just nice to hear in general anyway so most should be pleased with the calling of any match. The sound effects used for moves truly make them feel as over-the-top as when they are performed, you not only see the hard hits, you hear them as well. The music in the game for menus is simply entrance music, but to hear Hulk Hogan’s classic theme blaring over your speakers is definitely a reason to crank up the volume and this alone helps pump you up to do battle.
Overall
WWE All Stars is huge in many ways, from the performers in the game, the nearly flawless presentation value, and the brand new set of campy moves that can be executed. Sadly though, I did feel this title came up a bit short as there just is not enough content that kept me going back for more. Small issues like button mashing and the KO system can really kill the opportunity to recreate that perfect match by either making something as simple as pinning a chore, or just cutting the match way too short to start with.
WWE All Stars does deliver the goods when it comes to being a fun wrestling title and doesn’t take itself serious at all, but some of the execution that went into the final product just makes the whole game feel a bit smaller than it’s actual premise in the long run. This game is great at making your jaw drop and you are sure to have a great time playing through each mode, but after a while the bells and whistles can start to fade, a lacking feeling emerges after just a few hours of play. WWE All Stars does do more right than wrong though and certainly has potential to grow as a series so if you just want a wrestling game you can just hop into and have some quick fun, this title is for you and a more light-hearted approach to the genre as a whole.
So basically there has been a lot of discussion across multiple eras of gaming in regards to framerate. More specifically however, the issue of which is the smoothest for the human eye.
Most people will note almost immediately that televisions display at 24 frames per second (fps) and that they look look fluid. This seems to be the reason that people commonly believe that 24 frames per second is the minimum frame count for fluidity. Though, this is pretty much untrue. The fluidity is caused by the frame blur which is captured on the film as an action is undertaken. This creates a sense of fluidity between the frames which your eyes pick up on and brain interprets as movement.
However, a few gamers will notice that a framerate 6 frames higher will have a noticeable stutter during gameplay with the use of motion blur. This brings our count up to 30. Though, it should be noted that this is the base frame rate that most publishers will deem playable. It should also be noted that many gamers will also call this a comfortable framerate. However, I should note that I am one of the gamers that find 30fps to be too jerky.
Let’s double the framerate again to 60 fps. This is also the framerate that any person would refer to as fluid.
This webpage probably does a better job of describing what I’m talking about than I can in the written word. It basically shows the difference between 13, 30 and 60 frames per second, and if you’re like me, you will notice the jerkiness at 30fps and 15 fps. 60 is incredibly smooth though.
Madman will release Palace Film’s Blue Valentine on DVD and Blu-ray on the 22nd of June.
Blue Valentine is a romantic drama which features the talents of Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) as Dean and Michelle Williams (Shutter Island, Brokeback Mountain) as Cindy. The storyline tells the tale of a married couple, shifting to different times in their relationship to provide an insight into the change of individuals and couples as they grow older.
Before you stop and think “romantic? no way!”, just remember that the film was nominated for an Oscar for Michelle Williams’ performance as Cindy…and also, any film with the word “romantic” is a good excuse to have a nice evening with that girl or guy you’ve been eying for the past few weeks.
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 “The Lost Hobo King” is now available for download today. This new adventure takes place in the kingdom of Camelfoot, Charlie Blackmore sets out to help his hobo friend Levi on an important family matter with the heir to the throne, Levi’s uncle Rufus, missing his crown which he needs if he is to take his rightful place as king.
“The Lost Hobo King includes the same charisma as Stacking with an added layer of hilarity,” said Martin Good, THQ’s Executive Vice President of Kids, Family and Casual Games. Players can expect the same Stacking goodness with this downloadable pack’s added content, which includes 15 new unique dolls, new challenges, puzzles and of cause a brand new storyline in the hobo kingdom of Camelfoot.
“The Lost Hobo King” 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)
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 crème de la crème 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. 🙂 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. 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 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. This time MasterAbbott sat down with Mr. Ryosuke Jinno, Project Director (Brizo Interactive) the creators of Dragon Dragon on the Apple iPhone. 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. When was Million Co. Ltd/Brizo Interactive first established – Where are your offices located. 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 can’t reveal the titles, but we cover almost all genres including Fighting, Action, Adventure, etc. We’ve worked on the very famous titles such as Double Dragon, Tamagocchi, Sonic, and Ragnarok.
2. While creating Double Dragon on the iPhone, did you communicate or speak to the original developers Technos Japan and designer Yoshihisa Kishimoto? If so what input was provided from them?
Brizo: We didn’t work directly with Mr. Kishimoto, but Million supervised us. We’ve been trying not to ruin the original world setting/perspective and disappoint fans.
3. 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 we’re a mobile game developer, but also because we’ve noticed that there are so many fans who were waiting for Double Dragon on iPhone. In addition, we’ve done a lot of research into the technical aspects of iPhone, and we were confident we could re-creat Double Dragon’s world.
4. 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 design—specifically, how we would keep its 2D pixel theme as well as Double Dragon’s “tough” image. However, since we were very particular about what we wanted to create, I’m confident that we did a good job.
5. 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 haven’t updated to iOS 4.0. We assumed that most of users would have updated their iOS versions, so now, we’re planning to release updates for those who use older versions of iOS.
6. 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: I’m tempted to say that is this iPhone version, ha ha ha. However, I’d like to think that it was the design of the original arcade that helped Double Dragon gain the fanbase that it has. 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. What was it like redesigning the original Double Dragon characters and recreating them into a modern game?
Brizo: It wasn’t 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 we’re very proud of it. It was challenging for us to use this technique on such an advanced piece of equipment.
8. 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 weren’t any women. So, we added in some ladies.
9. Why was Marian’s hair changed from Brown/Red to Blonde ?
Brizo: To be honest, we didn’t really think too hard on that. Ha ha ha! If fans don’t like it, we might want to consider changing it!
MasterAbbot’s Reply : NO its ok .. leave it how it is 😉
10. 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 didn’t because, the game would have started to drag, and it would have frustrated players.
11. This is the first time in any Double Dragon game that will allow you to gain experience. What characters can gain experience? Is this option only available to Billy and Jimmy Lee?
Brizo: Only Billy and Jimmy can gain experience, since they’re the main characters. We’ve added other playable characters mainly just as a bonus, but if people really want those bonus characters to be able to gain experience, we’ll consider it.
MasterAbbott’s Reply : Yes it would be great to also level up the other characters in the game especially the bosses.
12. At the beginning of the game in the original Double Dragon the Black Warriors approach Marian, punch her and then take her away. Why was this removed from this remake?
Brizo: We’ve removed this part because it’s 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? Also, in the original Double Dragon, Marian is taken away in front of the Billy and Jimmy’s house, and then Billy comes out of the garage. We actually questioned why Billy didn’t notice Marian was taken, since it happened right in front of his house, which was another reason why we changed it.
MasterAbbott’s Reply : 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. Please bing it back !! PLEASE !! 😉
13. Some of the original level designs have been changed and enhance but also cut down quite a bit from the original arcade game. What were the reasons behind this?
Brizo: Because it’s 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. What would Billy do if he found out that Jimmy had a crush on Marian?
Brizo: They’ll fight it out in Double Dragon mode. Ha ha ha!
We don’t get this kind of question a lot from Japanese fans, so I love it!
It’ll 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. 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. We’ve 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 who’ve gotten it, even in my company.
The most interesting achievement would be “I’ll give it to you because I feel sorry for you.” This is recieved when the player fails No Damage Clear.
16. 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. Do you believe that this option might be added to the game at a later date?
Brizo: Of course, we’re 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 Jimmy’s movements, as well as their opponents’ 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 iPhone’s specs and interact with the communication infrastructure as well.
There are a lot of games out there that seem to be using “Sync and Share” functions, but actually not many of them are successful about maintaining that function.
We are aware, of course, that we’ll need to catch up with that technology in the near future.
17. Will there be any further updates or enhancements to Double Dragon on the iPhone moving forward.
Brizo: Of course! We’re preparing both major and minor improvements and updates, so look forward to them!
MasterAbbott’s Reply : WOO HOO !!! CANT WAIT !! 🙂
18. Will this release of Double Dragon make its way onto other consoles / hand helds such as Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, Nintendo 3DS or PSP. If so will it be enhanced and beef up with more gameplay / levels or characters?
Brizo: Let’s just say we’re considering that.
19. 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 “best part” is probably still yet to come.
20. (Spoiler Question) 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 I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination. Perhaps it’s hinting at a sequel?!
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There you have it, another great interview done. Capsule Computers would like to thank Mr Ryosuke Jinno-San for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish them the best of luck moving forward and can’t wait to see what else they release in the future.
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