Fractale is a new anime airing in Japan at this moment. It’s an 11 episode science fiction anime, though it appears to still be airing in Japan so there is more to come. The best way to describe this anime is a mix between the Matrix and Castle in the Sky. The Anime is about a world ruled by the ‘Fractale System’ and how a boy who discovers the secret behind the system while searching for a girl called Phyrne.
So far the anime looks like an interesting one, the science fiction and matrix kind of feel intrigues me and makes me want to watch more. So I hope you all check it out with me and even if you don’t, you might as well watch out for some episode reviews :D.
You can even catch Fractale yourself on Funimation’s Website (here) . They currently hold the liscensing rights to Fractale while A-1 studios is animating the series now in Japan.
Crasher Publisher: Punchers Impact Developer: Punchers Impact Platforms: PC and Mac (available on Steam) Price: $15 on Steam Buy Now
Overview:
Crasher is a game that wanted to be good. It took the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre of League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, and DoTA Allstars and added fast cars, explosions, and sci-fi gravity weapons. Sounds like a winning combination, right?
But poor user interface design, painfully useless control schemes, and more bugs than Paris Hilton’s crotch have successfully brought what was potentially an innovative addition to the MOBA scene to its knees, and as is always the case with a MOBA, the community is what will deal the final blow.
Or should I say, lack of community.
Story: You want a story? Go read a book. MOBAs are about crushing people in PvP, grinding their bodies to dust, then insinuating things about their mothers that would make a Mexican donkey blush. The story in this game goes a little something like: “See that guy? Kick his ass.”
Graphics:
The game looks… decent. The graphics are okay. It looks fine, acceptable, alright, and passable. The game takes place in 4 different maps, each of which are varied enough to keep gameplay fresh, and some of the attack animations can be pretty mind-blowing, but all in all its appearance is entirely average. To quote Futurama, “I have no strong feelings one way or the other.”
Audio:
This is the first thing that struck me about the game, and it struck me like a punch in the ear. From the very first note of an extremely repetitive score, I was supremely annoyed by this soundtrack. Featuring synth-heavy percussion occasionally punctuated by a whistling melody, I have never heard music be so mind-numbingly dull and yet so rage-inducing at the same time. It’s like somebody took Polly Shore and turned him into a song.
Outside of the god-awful musical numbers, the audio mostly consists of explosions and revving engines, sometimes accompanied by the “SHINK”-ing of bladed weapons and even a “PEW PEW” or two. Maybe I was just glad to have something drown out the demonically screeching soundtrack, but the sound effects seemed well done. Not that they’re going to win any awards for it, or anything. The sounds play at the right time and sound close enough to how they should, what more is there?
Gameplay:
There’s a slight problem with gameplay I should bring up before we progress: Playing this game will be more difficult and time consuming than eating a bicycle, and about as painful a process. Mind you, the game isn’t hard, but getting to a point where you can start a game might take you an hour. Why? Because nobody plays this game.
For being a multiplayer-only game, it sure lacks a multitude of players. I have seen, at any given time, perhaps a maximum of 10 to 15 players online, which made it nearly impossible to review this game in the first place, especially since there is no way to play against AI players in any kind of practice game. In a game where 5v5 arena matches are meant to be commonplace, only having 10 players online creates an obvious problem. This isn’t really a problem inherent to the game itself, but rather a problem with the way the game was marketed.
Let’s compare it to the launch of another MOBA, League of Legends (LoL). Long before LoL was released, beta codes were given out at conventions across the country, playable demos were offered, and invite rewards were doled out. Before it ever came out, LoL had a thriving community, due to the developer, Riot Games, marketing it like hell. How did Crasher get marketed? I have no idea, I never even heard of it until I was asked to review it, which probably means it was not marketed anywhere near as much as it should have been, and it shows. Just ask any of the 30 people who play it.
But let’s ignore the lack of players, and proceed to the game itself; you’ve gotten a few people in the same game room, what now? The game offers 15 cars in 6 categories: melee destructor, ranged destructor, tank, constructor, defender, and repairer; and you have to pick one. It can be confusing at first, as each car will have 4 unique attacks or abilities which allow you to destroy your enemies, help your friends, and create tactical advantages, but after a few games you pick up on at least the general idea of what each class of car can do. The balance is a bit off, and some cars are more powerful than others, but these are problems that are often only corrected by trial and error, over time. This being a brand new game, I won’t put to much weight into balance problems.
Congratulations, you’ve started a game! Lets see if you can- oh, look you bugged out, and the game is now unplayable. I’d say that 1 out of every 3 games I played ended with at least one person unable to move, being locked into an attack animation, or simply getting kicked from the game. Along with a number of graphics bugs, lag, and general tomfoolery on the part of the game’s code, you’re never sure when the game will decide it has taken a sudden, unexplainable dislike to you, and will boot you unceremoniously from the game you just spent a full hour trying to join.
Gritting my teeth and trying again, I eventually started actually playing. The control scheme isn’t the best, but it’ll do, consisting of steering and aiming attacks with the mouse while using WASD to accelerate and strafe, while attempting to select abilities. As of now, there are 2 game modes: Territory Control, a straightforward territory capture game, and Battle Arena, a straightforward battle. According to the “tutorial” (a single screenshot), you can earn experience, level up, and earn new gear for your cars by winning games, a process that will take you an immense amount of time, not only because of the staggering wait between games but because of the advantage that higher level players will have over you. This isn’t a slight boost for them; no, these players can crush you with a thought, a balance issue that I WILL harp on because it is something that should never happen, and that will slow the pace of leveling down to a crawl. I spent several hours playing, and never got passed level 1.
The game might be fun, but I’ll never know, as attempting to play it through the filter of uninspired and nearly unusable UI, numerous bugs and glitches, and dubious wait-times is a similar experience to eating a pie that has been covered in excrement; sure, the pie might be delicious, but it’s just not worth getting through all the shit.
I guess my final verdict will be this: if you want to have fun, don’t play this game; at least not until some bugs are fixed and some people are actually playing. Unless the game suddenly spikes in popularity, I’m afraid I’m going to have to declare Crasher doomed to the mountain of failed online games.
Sadly, Crasher crashed headlong into a brick wall, forcing me to give it
Game: Alien Breed: Impact and Alien Breed 2: Assault Consoles: PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 (Reviewed on PS3) Price: $10USD each Publisher/Developer: Team17 Software
The creators of the hit series Worms also have a game that is decidedly less goofy and much more violent. That game is Alien Breed. Did Team 17, developers behind the game, pull off a digital download feat that surpassed their previous title? How does the game fare among other games in the same market class?
You play as Chief Engineer Theodore J. Conrad. Assisted by his AI counterpart, he must save his ship from certain disaster. After jumping out of hyperspace, the ship Leopold collides with another ship. As if a damaged space vessel is not enough to deal with, aliens also cross over to your ship. Like most mysterious creatures, these aliens don’t have friendly intentions. What is a hardened engineer to do but to take pick up his gun and blow away these blood thirsty enemies.
Each main story cut scene is like a frame from a comic book. I really wish that Team 17 would have spent a little more time on these parts of the game. Monochromatic color schemes drag these moments down. This is especially irritating when you view the smaller in-game cut scenes that happen occasionally. These littler videos are good quality, but they only demonstrate such minor things like where a certain piece of equipment is or where a boss erupts out of the environment. Nevertheless, even though the presentation may not be the most exciting, the content therein is much better.
Quite simply, this story is fun to play through. It is an action romp through a unique universe filled with some shallow, but entertaining characters. Yes, it may not stick with you after your done, and it does not necessarily have the most amazing plot line. However, it will keep your attention for the entire experience, and I never got bored wondering what was going on. Instead, I rather enjoyed learning about the heroes and denizens of the world. In fact, it was the prime reason that I kept playing the game.
Alien Breed’s camera is in a top down isometric view. As with most games that have this type of camera, it does cause problems. Cramped corridors can make navigation annoying. Nonetheless, it is nice to play a shooter that isn’t an FPS; the variety is nice. Plus, the controls are set up in way that makes the camera less of a pain. Pressing the L1 or L2 key will allow you to turn view an incremental amount with each press. Although it takes a little bit of getting used too, the controls are not impossible to manipulate. You can also move around in 360 degrees, while using the twin stick control system to gun down the fools attacking you. One stick controls your laser sight and the other your body. Different gun types and weapons add additions to the game too.
In order to complete the game, you must explore the ship collecting items, repairing consoles or ransacking dead bodies. Initially, I felt that this was much too repetitive. After all, most of the time, you are merely running from one computer to the next. In between these machines, you have to battle aliens or upgrade your stats, guns and health. However, I quickly became addicted to this cycle. I kept thinking that I would just upgrade one more time. Or, just one more way point. One more gun battle. Finally, I realized that I was actually having fun. Alien Breed is extremely linear. You literally walk up to a computer and hold down X for 5 seconds hundreds of times. Performing these actions dozens of times throughout the 5 surprisingly long levels may seem like lazy design. These elements are actually fun though, as each time you do them you feel like you are accomplishing something and that parts of the ship are coming alive again. I should note though that all the enemies are recycled, but the boss battles are not bad if you like arena style firefights that devolve into wars of attrition.
One part about the game that I did hate though was the unbalanced gunplay. I constantly felt like I was out of ammo. Most of the time, I ended up running around with my underpowered pistol struggling to get through. The game also uses an the outdated system of health packs. Scrounging around to pick up health packs, and then dying a few minutes later only to have to go back and collect the same health packs again can be frustrating, especially when your low on health and facing a mountain of fast paced enemies. Dying 10 times in a row is even worse when you have to wait 30 seconds to respawn.If you do get easily thwarted by difficulty, I would recommend setting the initial play through on Rookie setting, as the game scales up pretty fast. Changing the brightness settings also helped me to actually see what I was shooting at too.
For only ten dollars each though, you do get your money’s worth. When I first started up the game, I immediately said to myself, “Dang, these graphics are good!” The 2nd game in the series has improved graphical performance, but they both look very fine. Bumbling around in a broken down spacecraft is all the more awesome when it looks spectacular. Detailed they are, down to the gleaming floors and the fleshy alien guts.
Both games have coop modes, although these feel a little tacked on. The sequel has a mode called Survivor though. It is basically a coop firefight wave mode, where the baddies just keep on coming and don’t stop. This adds to the value of the game and makes replayability options greater. This mode is also available for single player.
In conclusion, Alien Breed feels like a game from the last generation of consoles. It is a solid action game, but it is also very samey. No matter how addicted I got, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was just replaying the same game over and over. Both games each had very similar objectives, and only the story and some of the artwork was different. All in all, for this price you are getting a quality game that has quite a few features and lots of neat weapons. If you have only the money to get one of these, I would suggest purchasing Alien Breed 2: Assault. Gameplay improvements and graphical enhancements make it the best option. In addition, you won’t be confused by the story, as the developers put a special beginning video in there just for such occasions.
In case you didn’t already know, today, February 26th marks a huge milestone for Nintendo with the release of the Nintendo 3DS in Japan. As I type this I am sure many Japanese gamers are now breaking in their consoles and getting to work on some of the launch titles which makes me just a tad jealous.
The new system is packed full of features such as the ability to play titles in full 3D (with a depth slider) on the top screen as well as take 3D pictures, a motion sensor and gyro sensor allowing the player to tilt the system to react to certain titles and applications, and the Nintendo Streetpass and SpotPass functions which will make the handheld a bit more social by trading and transferring data among other 3DS’ instantly.
Of course if you have been keeping up, you should know all that by now. It looks like the console is selling extremely well, as fans have been said to be “lining up around retailer’s blocks everywhere” just to get the new device, with the systems selling out quickly all over Japan. This now means that soon it will be our day to get the Nintendo 3DS with the release dates of February 25th for the UK, 27th for the US, and 29th for Australia. I am sure this release will be just as big everywhere else, but for now we must wait to see the numbers from the first week’s sales. This also means that news should start to flow out about how the device handles, or if there are any problems with the unit.
There have been tons of unboxing videos on Youtube from Japan in the past 12 hours which I have spent quite a bit of time watching myself, but I now leave you with one that simply shows how sleek the 3DS really is, as well as showing off the size and cartridge slot which it will boast. Check that clip out below, and we will keep you updated as more news comes in.
After months of waiting it seems that Parasite Eve might actually be coming to the U.S. Playstation Network as a PsOne Classic. Of course nothing is official at the moment because the only way that we have receieved any news that it would actually be coming now is a rating by the ESRB which has Parasite Eve listed for the PS3 and the PSP.
Besides getting a Mature rating there currently isn’t much known other than the fact that the publisher is being listed as Sony Computer Entertainment which sets it up perfectly for a PsOne Classic release. In the past PsOne classics have shown up on the ESRB and then released a few weeks later so this bodes well for fans of Parasite Eve and also place a release date close to the release of The 3rd Birthday.
How much does it cost to get a full deployment for SOCOM 4? About a $150 according to Sony and Zipper Interactive because they just announced a nice little bundle that will give you everything you need to enjoy SOCOM 4 when it is released (PS3 excluded of course). The bundle is called SOCOM 4 Full Deployment Edition and will include the game itself, a PS Move controller, the Navigation controller, PlayStation Eye camera and finally the Sharp Shooter gun.
This bundle will arrive on stores the same day as the regular edition on April 19th. This bundle is a decent deal which will save you about $10 if you bought the PS Move bundle separately from the game itself. Also you get a decent looking plastic peripheral to attach your Move to. Then again if you already have a Move set then this bundle obviously isn’t for you.
With the NGP announced and the 3DS shipping in under a month Sony must have thought that it was time to make selling PSPs even easier. They have just announced that the PSP-3000 will be dropped to a price tag of $130 permanently. This means that this isn’t a simple sale with the price rising back to normal in a few weeks but a full price cut. The bundles that are still available in stores for the PSP-3000 will be cut down to $160 as well. The current price for the PSP Go is still $200 but that is expected to drop within the next few weeks.
Also announced today was the addition of a few more games to the Greatest Hits collection which drops their price tag down to $20 and you can find these games below:
Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines
Dissidia Final Fantasy
LittleBigPlanet
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Resistance: Retribution
Toy Story 3: The Video Game
Plus a handful of other games were added to the Favorites category which puts their price down to an easily affordable $10 mark. Catch the full list below:
We still have well over a year before Prototype 2 sees a release, but today Radical Entertainment revealed a new teaser which was inspired by a Penny Arcade strip. If you are familiar with Penny Arcade, back when the original title came out, Gabe gave off some of his own reasoning of why you should purchase Prototype, and a bit of that very strip starts off this clip, followed up by the main protagonist in Prototype 2 performing a kick to a helicopter just as Gabe described it two years ago. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself for the developers to not only reference, but release a whole trailer based on a Penny Arcade comic.
It will indeed be a long wait for Prototype 2 to release, but with clips such as this being used for early hype, there is no doubt that this sequel will arrive with much anticipation and fanfare. Check out the Copter kicking teaser below for yourself and hopefully many more of these teasers will release throughout the year.
It is yet another sad day for Aussie gamers everywhere, as the new heavily anticipated return of Mortal Kombat has officially been canned by the Australian Government’s ratings board for receiving a rating of R18+. If you remember, the ratings board for the country has made it extremely tough to release titles with adult content. The Classification system is known to be outdated and many officials have been making a move to make changes, but sadly it just wasn’t soon enough for the age-old fighter. Warner Bros. Interactive confirmed this grim news with a statement that was released earlier today:
“The highly anticipated video game Mortal Kombat, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) in Australia, has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board and will not release in Australia. We are extremely disappointed that Mortal Kombat, one of the world’s oldest and most successful video games franchises, will not be available to mature Australian gamers. WBIE would not market mature content where it is not appropriate for the audience. We understand that not all content is for every audience, but there is an audience for mature gaming content and it would make more sense to have the R18+ classification in Australia. As a member of the iGEA [Interactive Games & Entertainment Association], WBIE is reviewing all options available at this time.”
I imagine many of you are as baffled by this decision as I am, and the official reasoning behind the ban doesn’t quite make sense either. The ratings board fully elaborated with this statement which lead to the decision:
“Kung Lao throws his metal hat into the ground and it spins like a buzz saw. He grabs his prone opponent by the ankles and drags their body through the saw, explicitly slicing them vertically in half. Copious bloodspray is noted. Kung Lao then holds up both halves of the corpse as blood pours out,”
Now, if you by chance follow what is allowed in the country, you should know that the whole ratings system is Australia is completely broken and filled with hypocrisy.
First off we have the FAQ which is listed on the official Australian Government’s Classification website, which sheds light on how these decisions are made when it comes to the release of titles of all sorts in Australia.
Here is a breakdown of the “code” of ethics which goes into ratings:
Under the Code, classification decisions are to give effect, as far as possible, to the following principles:
1. adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want
2. minors should be protected from material likely to harm or disturb them;
3. everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive;
4. the need to take account of community concerns about:
1. depictions that condone or incite violence, particularly sexual violence; and
2. the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner.
The needs of the Australian public are varied and the guidelines seek to strike a balance between permitting adults to make choices about their viewing, gaming and reading habits, while at the same time respecting that others need not see material they find confronting and protecting children from inappropriate content.
What baffles me is that the Mortal Kombat series has been around in Australia since the start (rated MA15+ for most titles in the series) , and we are just now seeing the first title in the series banned for having in the same content as it’s predecessors. Fatalities and Mortal Kombat are nothing new, so why ban what has never been stopped before is my question. The fatality listed above is just about what we have seen in nearly every MK release dating back to the originals on the SNES and Genesis.
It is also extremely disheartening to know that movies like Saw, which feature even more realistic gore are rated for an age 15+ market are freely available in the country. In the U.S., the Saw series has been rated R, which means no one under 17 are allowed to purchase or view any of the movies unless adult consent is given. I am not picking on that movie series by no means, it is just an example of the hypocrisy in the system.
These are just my opinions though so they really do not matter at all as I am just a U.S. onlooker, but for the gamers who are now deprived of seeing a release of Mortal Kombat, this news is yet another reminder that changes need to come to this system, and getting your voice out there may be the best way to do this, even if it just results in a watered down release. Below I have attached a link which can be used to contact the very people who make these decisions, so if anyone wants to get their voice out there, even if it is ignored, by all means go right ahead. Please act like adults though as threats and trash talking will show that you are not mature to handle a mature title to start with. Write a letter, send an email, make a call. Decisions like this rarely get lifted, but maybe Aussies out there can protect this from happening in the future.
Contact Information for Australian Classification Board
RIFT, the latest MMORPG to hit the market will be launching on March 1 for US players, March 2 for Aussies, March 4 for European players and now for Pre-Order players. The game is created by Trion Worlds and published by QV Software in Australia.
RIFT boasts a large world for players to explore, awesome Player vs. Player content, an Epic Story, Deep character customisation, a really nice character editor, dungeons, deep endgame content and a level cap of 50. What sets this game apart from most other MMORPGs on the market is that includes an invasion from extraplanar RIFTs that launch invading forces upon the world that have a direct impact on the environment around them.
The games specifications are as follows –
Minimum PC Requirements
Operating system: Windows XP, Vista or 7
Processor: Dual Core 2.0 GHz or better
Memory: 2 GB
Hard disk space: 15.0 GB available
Video: Nvidia GeForce FX 5900, ATI/AMD Radeon X300, Intel GMA X4500 or better.
Sound: DirectX 8.1 compliant card
DirectX®: 9.0c, June 2010 update
Broadband internet connection (DSL, cable modem or other high speed connection)
Recommended System Specification
Operating system: Windows XP, Vista or 7
Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or better
Memory: 4 GB
Hard disk space: 15.0 GB available
Desktop Video: Nvidia GTS 250 or better
Notebook Video: Nvidia GTX 200M series or better
Sound: DirectX 8.1 compliant card
DirectX®: 9.0c, June 2010 update
Broadband internet connection (DSL, cable modem or other high speed connection)
RIFT is rated M for Mature Audiences in Australia and contains ‘Violence’/’Online variable content’.
Also, Time Cards! No need to whip out your credit card info! w00t!
