Co-inciding with the activation of the Socom 4 vouchers that came with Killzone 3 or those obtained at PAX East 11, Zipper Interactive have released 2 previously never seen before multiplayer maps. Even though im not a huge fan of online gaming id have to say these maps, named Von Heine Express and Cesspool look incredibly detailed and immersive, with an emphasis on an environment rich in discreet hideaways perfect for sniping. Community Manager for Zipper Int. Jeremy Dunham, explains the Von Heine Express was one of the last maps to be designed and is set in the South East of Asia, complete with bridges, a makeshift military base and abandoned railway cars. This was the map used at the PAX East 11 Socom 4 Championship Tournament.
In comparison the Cesspool map was designed based on a mission in the single player mode of the game called “Means to an End”. They do stress that it was only an inspiration and the multi-player segment has been developed from scratch and features a more close quarters style of warfare than other multiplayer maps.
Neither of these maps are available as a beta release but will be available when the multiplayer rooms are opened to the public. Socom 4 is released in the US on April 19 and features a massive (by todays standards) 14 mission single player mode and a 5 player customisable coop missions.
The beta version of multiplayer can be downloaded by general public on April 5 for online play. Im sure you will agree by watching the trailers this game has much to offer to fans of the genre.
Named the Condor, it began as a project consisting of just 8 Ps3 concoles, and has culminated in a super computer made up of over 1700 PS3’s, linked and networked together. Owned and developed by the US Air Force, the Condor cluster is finally fully functional and online, ranking it in the top 40 computers in the world and the fastest US defense force computer ever. Condor will hopefully fill a gap in the US Air Forces Aerial Data (which is lacking), allowing unprecedented quality of real time playback and recording over areas spanning roughly 15sq miles. The system allows users complete control of rotation similar to that offered in modern FPS and strategy gaming. Interestingly the computer utilises the PS3’s OtherOS, a feature that has since been removed from Sony’s consoles despite the pleas and anger shown from many of its fanbase. One would assume they are using a linux based system for operations.
Mike Barnell, director of HPC at the Rome facillity in New York where the computer is housed explains that Condor cost 5-10% the cost of an equivalent system bought with over the counter parts. When it was designed PS3 consoles cost $400 each as opposed to the $10000 a unit for comparable parts. Another advantage is that it consumes only 10% the power of a similar system that could provide the same power. Powering along at a billion pixels per second the computer will provide much better image and pattern recogntion and due to the consoles capabilities can use advanced algorithms to better see fast moving blurry aerial objects.
It will be interesting to see Sonys response to a Government run agency utilising their technology and whether they hold any objections to it, especially as it uses features they have removed from their systems for whatever reasons they deem necessary.
I have been putting my 3DS through some pretty heavy gameplay, and one of the most stand out titles on the system that I have been working on is Super Street Fighter IV 3D. If you own the game I am sure you are aware of the figurines which you can unlock as you play, but Capcom have now been generous enough to give away a code which will let players unlock the Platinum Ryu figurine for the game. As you see in the picture above, it is certainly the holy grail of figurines and there should be no reason not to hurry and get this entered in as soon as possible.
The code is : DPrkMnybCd
So go, enjoy your free figurine. Just don’t forget to say thank you to Capcom for being awesome enough to give it away. You can thank them yourselves on their official twitter (@capcom_unity).
The Nintendo DS has seen plenty of fantastic titles over the past few years, but very few have actually been new IPs, or a new IP with promise that is. Dreamrift are looking to change that with the release of Monster Tale. Imagine a game with the gameplay of Metroid with a dash of Pokemon added in along with a brand new set of characters that are charming and quite memorable. That is exactly the experience players are in for with Monster Tale, and while it may not be perfect, it is still a tale worth exploring. Here is my review for Monster Tale for the Nintendo DS.
Story
Monster Tale starts out by placing you as the main protagonist Ellie, a young girl who has found herself in a magical world inhabited by various monsters. Shortly after a small bit of exploration, Ellie encounters an egg which hatches into a small orange monster that quickly takes a liking to the young hero, and receives the name “Chomp”.
The plot unfolds a bit more when Ellie learns that the Kid-Kings are taking over the monster world and using the inhabitants as tools for conquering the land. Kid-Kings are children much like Ellie, only they see the monsters as just a source of power while Ellie sees them more as friends. Now Ellie and her new monster pal Chomp must make their way through the land and take down the Kid-Kings one by one, restoring the kingdom back the way it once was.
The story is very light-hearted and easy to follow for the most part, as it is told with brief cutscene-like moments that appear during certain points of progression. You also learn more about your own monster, Chomp as this tale unravels and he starts to grow and evolve on the journey.
Gameplay
From first look at this title, even by looking on the back of the box, one may think Monster Tale is just a childish take on a platformer with a virtual pet on the bottom screen. That is where you would be mistaken though as Monster Tale actually is a retro-fans dream when it comes to the actual gameplay, with different elements mixed in reminiscent of titles such as Mega-Man, Metroid, Castlevania, Pokemon, and of course Henry Hatsworth, which was made by the same developer, Dreamrift. Monster Tale is a platformer/adventure for the most part, and is best described as a “Metroidvania” style game as the whole world is non-linear and just about every crevice can be explored as you progress through the game. Most of the time, you set out to travel to a particular place on your map, fight enemies along the way, and then recover a key or new ability that opens up the next section. It’s a simple formula and it works quite well throughout the whole process, though those who hate backtracking might grow tired of visiting the same environments over and over again.
Ellie is a pretty tough fighter and has a vast array of techniques that can be used to take down the many foes that block each path. For the most part, players will be using Ellie’s magical bracelet that fires projectiles as well as her purse which is used as a standard melee attack. As you progress, more techniques for these two methods of fighting can be learned by reaching various platforms which give Ellie new abilities and upgrades. These upgrades are not just cheap add-ins either, as each play a key role in progressing to the next point of your journey. Ellie is a bit slow compared to other platforming protagonists, but these upgrades make up for speed and work perfectly for the challenges at hand. Everything from jumping, shooting, and simply whacking an enemy all perform smoothly and effectively, as the controls are all well placed on the DS and never become an issue throughout the game.
What separates Monster Tale from all of the other Metroidvania type titles though is Chomp. Chomp is by your side throughout the entire experience, battling other monsters as you go, but he also spends a bit of his time down on the bottom screen which is known as the Monster Sanctuary. This area is used as more of a training ground for Chomp so when Ellie collects items such as food, toys, or other weapons you can quickly send down Chomp at a tap of a button into this little station as he consumes or uses whatever collectible you may find. Each item consumed or used along with enemies defeated results in experience for Chomp and a gain in levels, much like the same system Pokemon has. Some moments will also require you to actually send Chomp back to this area to take care of any monsters who might have took up residence while the action was taking place up top.
As Chomp levels up, new forms can be unlocked which are element based and you can instantly switch to any form straight from the menu to best fit the elements of foes at hand (Elements consist of Grass, Water, and Fire, each having an advantage or disadvantage over the other). Chomp also learns new moves for just about each form which actually can be quite helpful in boss battles or tougher enemies down the line. Chomp is mainly ran by AI and is usually pretty smart on knowing which switch to hit or when to smack an enemy, but I did run into a couple of instances where he would just float next to Ellie in a daze while I took damage. Thankfully Chomp has two attacks that can be controlled with the shoulder buttons which corrects this issue completely and due to the variety that can be learned, customization later plays a much bigger role with Chomp.
It took me about 6 hours to complete the game and it is a bit simple, but there is a ton of attacks to learn, traits to earn, and sights to see on this magical little journey that will surely keep players going back for more. With such a mix of genres, this game could have easily been a big mess, but thanks to the streamlined mechanics and open customization for the whole “pet simulation” aspect, everything feels well knit together, letting the game shine to its full potential early on.
Graphics/Audio
Monster Tale has an art style that is very vibrant and kiddish, but that isn’t a bad thing. The characters are all well detailed and seem to come straight from a story book and blend in perfectly with the active environments. Monsters in the game also have quirky appearances as well so everything stays light-hearted and fun while the deep gameplay takes off. Every area feels different from the next, and even though you spend most of your time backtracking, I never felt like the game was too repetitive as a new area is usually reached before you know it.
If I could describe the music in Monster Tale with one word though, it would have to be “magical”. I know that is a strong statement for any game, but this soundtrack truly took me back to the days of SNES platformers and even could stand up to some themes from much more advanced games of today. The music is just so atmospheric it makes everything feel relaxing and simply fun while you play and is definitely not to be muted if you truly want the full on experience from the game. There is even a little bit of voice acting thrown in as well which doesn’t do too much but it does give Ellie, Chomp, and the Kid-Kings a bit more of a distinct personality.
Overall
I think many gamers have had the same conversations I have had in the past, like “What if they mixed this game and that game to make a whole new title?”. That is what is great about Monster Tale though. It is ambitious and dares to go that distance while doing just about everything right in the process. In an age of remakes and reboots, it is great to see such an original and polished platformer make an appearance which makes me think Monster Tale has the makings to be a cult classic that ten years from now will be remembered as being one of the Nintendo DS’ last great games. Ellie and Chomp certainly fit the role of mascots and are full of future potential, so it goes without saying that a franchise is born with this gem.
Ubisofts soon to be released ‘Michael Jackson The Experience’ is coming with a small set of exclusive tracks to the High Definition versions of the game appearing on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The game promises to feature full compatibility with both the Xbox 360 Kinect and the Playstation 3 Move devices.
The game is set to be released in Australian stores on the 14th of April, 2011 with the three exclusive songs alongside of it.
The exclusive songs include ‘A stranger in Moscow’ (written in 1993, but not appearing globally until the year 1996/97, depending on location), which is the fifth and last single of the hit album ‘HIStory’; as well as a couple of other tracks that will only be available on the HD consoles. The exclusive tracks are as follows:
Blood On The Dancefloor
Stranger In Moscow
You Rock My World
Embedded below is the official trailer for Michael Jackson The Experiences exclusive tracks below.
HOLY COW MICROSOFT! This week, in addition to the regular deals of the week, Microsoft is discounting a ton of merchandise on the Xbox Live Marketplace. For example, you can get the Halo Wars DLC for 400 MS points each (hopefully if everyone buys it, we can get a sequel, although it probably still won’t be the same without the original developers behind it.) Also on sale is Alien Breed 1 & 2, plus Darwinia+ and Defense Grid. There is also A HUGE PRICE REDUCTION on the Red Dead Undead Collection (basically, this includes all the DLC for 1000 MS points.) Finally, on April 1, you will be able to pick up Comic Jumper, Fallout New Vegas DLC and the Deadliest Warrior for 1/2 off. To see the whole list of deals, check out Xbox.com here. What will you be picking up?
EA has released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 on the iPhone and iPad, with some awesome features that will make your commute between holes go faster than a bird plummeting to the ground after it was hit by your screaming golf ball. The game will take advantage of the retina display on the iPhone and the huge display of the iPad. In addition, it is possible to play with friends over Bluetooth or local wifi. Skins, match play and new golfers like Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Paula Creamer are included. Plus, the Predator fantasy course and the Old White Course at Greenbrier have been developed for their release on the Apple platforms.
Facebook functionality has been put into the game too. “Twice a week, a new Par-3 hole will be chosen for the ‘“Closest to the Pin”’ Facebook Challenge. Players can tee off and see how close they can get to the pin and where they rank amongst their Facebook friends on the leaderboards. ”
People who are familiar with the Atari 2600 days will undoubtedly be excited by the news that Atari is publishing a remake of Warlords, being developed by Griptonite Games. In the summer of 2011, the game will be released on the PSN and XBLA. Included in this game is online/local 1-4 person coop, in which the players must protect their castle from the enemy. Sometimes, these enemies use dragons that disgorge fireballs. Luckily, it is possible to deflect this ammunition or fling it back at the baddies attacking you.
Not only must you defend your stronghold, but you also have to to use your troops to capture and control waypoints that will grant you power-ups and the like.
According to Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari: “Warlords infuses the arcade action genre with a bold and vibrant visual style coupled with robust strategy gameplay. It exemplifies our design goals and company strategy as we reintroduce these classic brands to a new generation of gamers.”
Tecmo-Koei has received a lot of hate from gamers over the years, which is usually due to putting out the same old Dynasty Warriors game ever year. Well someone really went out of their way to show it as their office in Yokohama was tagged by grafiti artist. They wrote such wonderful poetry as “die garbage”, “crap game”, and “Tenchu” to name a few.
Not for sure why they wrote Tenchu since Namco-Bandi has nothing to do with the series. Guess they really love Tenchu. There is no information on who the culprit is but this is just silly. What happened to just ranting and crying on the Internet?
Stay tuned we’ll have our review of Dynasty Warriors 7 in the next few days. Keep an eye out for our live video gamplay stream as well.
WAGNARIA!! Complete Series Produced by: A-1 Pictures Licensed by: NIS America Contents:2 DVDs containing episodes 1-13, Premium Edition Box and Art Book Language: Japanese with English subtitles Official Website:WAGNARIA!! Price:$43.99-47.99 Available for purchase at: Right Stuf, The Anime Corner Store, Anime Castle, NIS America’s Online Store
Overview:
There are many ways that anime has tackled slice of life material. The usual set up would either revolve around the characters’ home or high school but that appears to be a bit too common now. Especially for the people at Aniplex’s A-1 Pictures because they have adapted WORKING!!, a yonkoma (four panel) comic manga and turned it into an anime series. Now, NIS America has brought it overseas as WAGNARIA!!, and with a unique setting and characters will it be an enjoyable slice of life comedy?
Story:
Nearly the entire show takes place inside the place where all of the characters work, Wagnaria. The restaurant has become understaffed after becoming more popular. The manager, Kyoko Shirafuji, passes along the task of hiring a new worker onto Poplar Taneshima who accepts the task. Now Taneshima has a special trait about her which attracts Sota Takanashi to even help her out in the first place after she bumps in to him on the street.
What makes Taneshima unique is the fact that she is extremely tiny. Takanashi originally mistakes her for a lost child but is quickly told not to worry because Taneshima is actually a seventeen year old high schooler and needs a part-timer to help out at the restaurant. Now after hearing this Takanashi readily accepts her offer due to his love of anything small. Little did he know that, although Wagnaria is just a normal restaurant, the staff that work there are far from normal.
Now as a whole WAGNARIA!! doesn’t exactly have much of a plot. There is no objective in mind or task to be accomplished other than to serve the customers and “do their work.” Of course considering the series is of the slice of life genre it does not require a driven plot. Rather episodes mostly progress at a simple pace with the characters interacting with one another in the restaurant with only minor interaction with the customers. There are plot points which are followed throughout the series but these can be seen more as running gags and it actually holds the series together well while keeping the watcher laughing all the while.
Artwork:
There is one thing that caught my eye as I began to watch WAGNARIA!! and that was the fact that the characters’ hair coloring manages to avoid the “halo” effect that is prominent in nearly every anime that is made today and is shaded impressively. Plus there are plenty of vivid colors that help keep the viewer’s attention on the characters with their great designs added into the great coloration. The backgrounds for the most part help set the fact the characters are working in a family restaurant but isn’t impressive or lackluster; simply suitable. The few moments when the anime turns away from the restaurant we see some more impressive backgrounds and design which shows that the main reason for the lack of noticeable backgrounds in the restaurant were due to setting constraints.
Audio & Subtitles:
The voice actors who are playing the characters do an impressive job of handling the voice work. The personalities of each character really shine with the voices that are matched to them, especially Soma and Sato the kitchen staff. What is surprising is the opening sequence for the anime. The opening song “Someone Else” is extremely catchy and timed perfectly with the animation making it a great way to set the mood for the viewers. The ending song “Go To Heart Edge” is also enjoyable to listen to but not as impressive as the opening.
Now WAGNARIA!! uses the original Japanese dialogue which means that the whole series is subbed. Some people may be turned off by this aspect but there are those who do appreciate the original voices with subtitles. As far as the subtitles themselves they are suitable enough and I only noticed a handful of grammatical errors throughout the thirteen episode series.
Characters:
Now every anime is held together by how the characters interact with one another, but this is especially evident in the slice of life genre when there usually isn’t a plot to follow. Now the workers of Wagnaria are no slouches when it comes to having unique personality traits and each of them ends up bringing something interesting to the restaurant and to the show.
Our main character Sota Takanashi appears to be the most normal of the workers but that is only because his personality trait is less evident than the others. Takanashi has an extreme affinity for anything that is small and cute. This ranges from children, tiny animals, toys and Taneshima. Though his actual fondness for these small things is only because he wants to protect them and only happens to see Taneshima at the same level as a “water-flea.” His constant affection for tiny things appears frequently throughout the show and is the whole reason he joined Wagnaria in the first place.
Now before I mentioned that Poplar Taneshima is vertically challenged. Being a worker at a family restaurant this causes her to have more than a few problems with her height. She is often mistaken for a middle schooler, or even worse an elementary school student thanks to her small size and she often requires help around the back of the restaurant with certain tasks. Her sensitivity to her height is only made worse by Takanashi’s (or in her case Katanashi) constant reminder she is tiny and Sato’s teasing.
Rounding out the three characters with the most focus in the anime is Mahiru Inami. Now Inami is one of the strangest girls to work at Wagnaria, mainly because she suffers an illness. This illness is androphobia, better known as a fear of men. She is so extreme in her illness that she punches any man without hesitation which leads to her constantly pummeling Takanashi as the manager told both of them to work together to try and fix their respective problems. Inami manages to work at Wagnaria by serving only the female customers and taking out her built up frustrations on Takanashi in the back.
Now earlier I mentioned that the manager of the restaurant is extremely lazy, her name is Kyoko and does absolutely zero work around the restaurant. Instead she only eats parfaits that are made for her by Yachiyo Todoroki. Now Yachiyo has a unique trait of her own, and that is the fact that she always carries a katana strapped around her waist and is more than willing to pull it out whenever someone threatens her close bond with Kyoko. Kyoko responds in same by providing a dominating force in Wagnaria and helps keep the restaurant from coming under any trouble.
The chefs of Wagnaria are Jun Sato and Hiroomi Soma and although Sato appears to be the most calm and collected worker at Wagnaria he actually is far from it. Sato is unusually helpful in the back and often helps Taneshima when she needs help, of course that isn’t when he is teasing her about her height or making designs with her long hair. This usually only happens however when Yachiyo has finished telling him a story about the manager for certain reasons…. Soma appears to be the quiet member of the workers but there is a saying that one should always watch out for the quiet ones. Soma is extremely deceiving and often blackmails various members of the staff with his knowledge about their lives or pasts that they don’t want revealed to the rest of the staff.
Now various other characters appear throughout the series, with Aoi Yamada helping to round out the final main cast later in the series. Yamada is a very cheerful but apparently clumsy girl whom is found by the head of the restaurant Hyogo Otoo, who is never at the restaurant because he is searching for his lost wife. Yamada has a mysterious past around her and is “suffering selective amnesia” after falling and hitting her head. Yamada appears later in the series and sees various workers at the restaurant as “perfect family members” to make up for her forgotten family.
Sota’s sisters also make an appearance occasionally and range from either a wild drunk who can’t manage to stay in a relationship, a shut-in romance author, a younger sister with a habit of twisting her elder sisters around, and a divorced lawyer. Sota’s sisters are evidently the reason for his love of small things as even his youngest sister is quickly passing him in height. Their diverse personalities create a hectic home life for Sota who tries to keep the household from imploding on itself.
Premium Edition: WAGNARIA!! comes inside of a hard white collectors box. As per standard with NIS A’s premium editions the box is oversized to help store the rest of the contents of the package with ease. On one side of the box we see Sota in his waiter uniform walking to the left side of the box with Taneshima in her waitress outfit walking to the right side of the box. In the top right corner is the anime’s title and yellow caution sign logo with a knife and fork inside the sign. On the flip side of the box is a large picture of Inami in her street clothes that is cute looking. Also the pictures are completely crisp and avoid of any pixilation issues which were a problem in the previous release.
Now the two DVDs come inside of slim cases with one disc containing seven episodes and the second disc containing six episodes. Also on the second disc are the clean versions of the endings, meaning no credits in the way of the animation. Unfortunately it is a disappointment that the opening was not also provided as bonus content as it is a major highlight of the series.
Now onto the best part of the premium edition, the hardcover artbook titled WAGNARIA!! Special Sample. Inside of the book are a number of different character sketches and background pictures. The highlight of the art book however are the character pictures and descriptions about their personalities, a relationship chart showing off the relationships between each character and of course a few four-frame comics that the anime is based off of. The artwork inside the book is pleasing to look at and the comics are humorous, though best read after watching the anime for full enjoyment.
Overall:
WAGNARIA!! does everything right as far as being a slice of life comedy goes, especially with a little bit of romantic comedy as well. There may not be a central plot but with characters as unique as the ones working at Wagnaria there certainly doesn’t need to be one. The humor is usually well set up and the only person I could see not enjoying the comedy is someone with a bad sense of humor. With great artwork and a cheerful opening each time WAGNARIA!! welcomes you with a smile that you will experience throughout the series.
