Atari has a trio of action-packed titles ready to be released upon the masses for PC, PSN and XBLA.
First up we have Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. Sanctum of Slime has the player in the role of a rookie hired on by the Ghostbusters to help rid New York City of ghosts and ghouls. The game is a top down action shooter, much like Gauntlet from the days of yore. The game can be played with up to 3 other players (4 total), local and online, making for some pretty action packed levels. As if a co-op Ghostbusters game wasn’t enough to get you excited, the game features gigantic bosses that will require combined effort and strategy from everybody on the team to take down. Players can make use of high powered weapons like the Proton Stream, Plasma Inductor and the Fermion Shock.
Next up is Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale, the newest game in one of gamings most iconic and classic franchises. Daggerdale is a 3rd person action RPG. For newcomers to the franchise, worry not, no previous knowledge is requiring to hop in and enjoy the carnage though series veterans will surely recognize a few things. Once again, this can be played solo or with up to four players, replete with the customization and upgrading that RPG’s have become known for. If you are a fan of fantasy games and enjoy killing some skeletons and other monsters with some friends, be sure to keep your eyes on this.
And last up we have Yar’s Revenge, a re-imagining of the classic title (available in the Xbox Game Room) of the same name. The game sports a sort pseudo cel-shaded look with an anime inspired art style. Not much is yet known about this title but we do know that this game features local co-op, multiple endings and can prove to be quite a challenge for the casual and hardcore gamer alike.
Anime fans love to watch their favorite shows and can pick out their favorite character from watching an anime almost instantly. But what about the voice actors and actresses who provide the voices to these different characters? We have had a chance to talk with Mela Lee who has provided the voices of Shinku for the Rozen Maiden series, Rena Ryugu from When They Cry – Higurashi, Yuki Cross from Vampire Knight and most notably Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night. She has had more experience than just working in anime however, you may recognize her voice from Blazblue as she voices the character Rachel Alucard as well. In our interview we had the chance to ask her a few questions which you can find along with her answers below.
1. What drew you into the field of voice acting? I’d always been told I had a lovely voice and should look into it as a career. On a whim, I took a voiceover acting workshop (much like the one being taught at Armageddon this weekend). It was being taught by a prominent director and I was “discovered”. So follow those dreams- they do come true!
2. Why did you decide to work with anime in the first place? There was an audition for “Vampire Princess Miyu” that came through my agent at the time. The moment I began speaking, the casting director asked me to read for something else. I was very disheartened- but it turned out they asked me to read for the lead in another anime they were doing- “St. Tail”. I booked it, and that was the beginning of my anime career. That being said- I’m awfully glad I waited for the perfect vampire role. “Yuki Cross” in Vampire Knight was worth the wait:-)
3. Which piece of work do you believe let you make your mark in the industry? I’m not sure that I’ve quite “marked up” the industry just yet;-) However, I think with Shinku(Rozen Maiden), Rin (Fate Stay Night), & Rin(Blade of the Immortal), I began to hit a stride. This year with “Vampire Knight”, I’ve been honoured to be a part of a series that has connected with thousands of fans all over the world- I have maybe left a bit of a mark with this role- But the fans and the series have definitely made a lasting mark on me- It’s been an extraordinary year.Thank you.
4. Does being in your band, Magnolia Memoirs, lend to your talent as a voice actress? Many voice actors are actually musicians and vocalists professionally. I think the ear we have for sound and expression through our instrument allows us to be successful VO actors.
Regarding Magnolia Memoir- we’ve been an ensemble for two years now(I’ve been writing jazz for three- I’m a late bloomer;-) I am the main composer and lyricist for the band and am surrounded by very talented musicians- Working with them has made me exponentially better- we all push each other to a level we wouldn’t be at on our own- We’re all best of friends. It’s truly something magical- And(ps) ironically- although the boys are respectful fans of my talent as a vocalist and a writer-My roles in games and anime- gave me a lot of street cred with them;-) They are very supportive of my VO career.
5.What games are your current favorites? Which are your favorites of all time? Do you have a Xbox, PS3 or Wii ? Which one is your favorite? – painful confession- I once had a three year old tell me…” Maybe this isn’t your special gift, Miss Mela- but don’t worry. We’ll find you one” LOL- I think I’m supposed to stick to behind the scenes- I’m in awe of gamers- One of my friends is a professional gamer who tests new games- watching him makes me feel like- if we were ever invaded by ET’s…the gamers would probably save the planet-:-)
6.Most recently you have been providing the voice of Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight. With Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 1 about to be released, will fans of the first season find the second season similar to the first? The next season is stunning-It is the blossoming of the rose- thorns and all. The story just draws you in- I loved playing Yuki’s transition into…well you’ll have to watch;-)
7. Out of all your roles in video games and anime, which is your favorite and why? Would you be willing to reprise your role should a sequel be released? Yuki Cross- I’d love to play a few more seasons. Shinku from Rozen Maiden-I enjoyed that series very much. Rin- from Fate Stay Night. Goodness- It’s such an amazing job to have, we’d all love to have another season of just about every character we play. We, just like the fans, feel sadness when we have to say goodbye to our characters
8. In the BlazBlue series you have done the voice of Rachel Alucard, was doing the voice work for a video game character much different from when working with an anime character? In games, we don’t have to work to picture- but due to animation sequences, we do have to work to a time code. It’s much faster work, and very much a director’s medium- Often times we voice our characters with very little knowledge of the occurrences/storylines in the rest of the game universe- So the director is keeping track of how we fit into to every possible sequence.
9. Do you have any geeky hobbies, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Anime, gaming, comic books, video games, world of warcraft, etc. If so, what are they? I do like to collect interesting and rare memorabilia from my shows- I like to choose one item from each job- I’m always looking for that beautiful doll, scroll, or piece of fan art- Ummm- I also love to sew and repurpose vintage close- I love to vintage and antique shop. Each piece has such a story.
10. Was there ever a part that you wished to play in an anime but couldn’t for any reason? Lost roles. Twice now I have been cast in leads that scheduling meant a re- casting or a producer thought I’d be best in another role. Although heart wrenching at the time- in both cases, a much better opportunity came along that was perfect for me. I believe in timing.
11. I know that many guys absolutely suck at talking to girls, like one of our editors Link, and was wondering if you had any advice on talking to girls that they have never met before. Funny story about that, he totally missed an opportunity on his dream girl due to literal freezing on the spot in a shopping center, true facts. Like if they have absolutely no reason to be talking other than the fact one just noticed the other and have absolutely no reason to be talking at all.
Ok- I am in a band with all boys, in an industry with mostly boys- I love you all, but want to cringe when you stop being yourself and try to be something you’re not for someone you like.
Confidence is sexy. Honesty is sexy. Having something that you really care about is sexy- Find what you are passionate about and then find someone who is passionate about that too- So you have something to talk about…to laugh about-to share. We like that- Also- one of the first things you learn in the art of negotiation is – The one asking the questions is the one in control. Ask a question. Listen to the answer. It will give you an idea about the second questions. Ask it. Listen. Pretty soon- you’re not nervous about what to say, because you know what matters to the other person. And they think- you really care about what matters to them. And when we meet someone who listens, who cares..
We melt. And if we’re not available…we tell our best girl friend about this great guy- who listens;-)- Go get ’em;-)
12. What do you think attendees of Armageddon can expect this year? Armageddon- Is awesome. I’ve been a guest at Comicon in San Diego which is Ahhmazing. Armageddon rivals that. Oh- and there’s a performance each day by a band that just got signed to a record label and has critics and fans cheering(wink and a mischievous smile) See the stars and then relax at the end of each day over at the mainstage- and catch a live set by Magnolia Memoir- and come say hello!
We’ll be sure to do that Mela! We’d like to thank Mela Lee again for taking the time to answer our questions and give us a little insight into the world of voice acting.
Better dust off that copy of Fable III if you still have it, because there is some brand new DLC coming down the pipe from Lionhead. Being the second full DLC pack that adds more to the game besides a few new weapons or dog costumes it will be titled Traitor’s Keep and will contain three different new levels. These levels will be Godwin Estate, Clockwork Island and Ravenscar Keep.
Along with these new areas you will also run into a number of strange new creations such as a robot dog and other robotic like enemies, and even some robotic looking armor of your own. The Traitor’s Keep DLC will cost 560 MSP ($7) and will also add 250 more achievement points to the total amount you can gather from Fable III. No idea as of yet what those will be however.
The western branch of Square Enix has released a brand new trailer today for The 3rd Birthday, or at least at first glance it appears brand new. But it is actually the same trailer we saw last December a few weeks before the game was released in Japan. The major difference between the two trailers however is the fact that this one is completely in English which means we no longer have to guess as to what the characters are saying.
Players will be able to satisfy themselves for now on this trailer at least until the game comes out on March 29th in the U.S. and April 1st everywhere else in the world. Let us know what you think about the trailer below, I personally still get vibes of Kill Bill considering the bloody wedding dress that Aya is wearing.
Female MMA fighters are completely lacking from the MMA video game world. This is despite the fact that there are quite a lot of female MMA fighters that fight in legal competitions worldwide. Finally one of these MMA games will give a bit of glory to at least a couple of these real life MMA fighters.
505 Games and Kung Fu Factory have released information today that Felice “Lil Dog” Herrig and Michele “Diablita” Guiterrez will be joining the roster of fighters when MMA Supremacy comes out in stores this June for the 360 and the PS3. There are a couple of videos released along with this statement that shows off bits of gameplay from the viscous looking MMA game as well as interviews with the fighters themselves.
Despite the fact that Atlus’ Catherine has received ridiculous amounts of coverage in the United States and other countries outside of Japan, apparently Atlus has zero plans at the moment to localize the game for a U.S. release. Atlus’ PR Agent told BeefJack the following information: “Catherine is a Japan-only game and there are no plans for a NA release at this time. Sorry about that!”
Considering the fact that Catherine sold more copies in Japan in its opening release than Marvel vs Capcom 3 on both systems it is a confusing choice to make considering the wide scale popularity that the game has seen overseas. Also considering the fact that Atlus released the game on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is strange in the first place due to the low popularity of Xbox 360 games in Japan.
Remember a few weeks back when we mentioned that other games from Epic’s library wouldn’t be able to unlock special equipment due to restraints on Microsoft’s part. But it appears that problem has been overcome. More on that later however as there will be a Golden Retro Lancer available through unlock only by playing the Gears of War 3 Beta for a long enough period of time.
Apparently the Lancer will unlock when you have played 90 matches of the beta itself and then get over a hundred kills using the special gun. After you have done this then this gun will be yours to use in the full retail game. The Golden Retro Lancer has a bayonet on the front of it instead of chainsaw, and of course a golden coloration. Also if you play 70 different matches in beta you will unlock the Thrashball Cole skin seen above. With this skin you will need to play 13 more matches and you will have complete access to him.
Now earlier I mentioned that past Epic games would actually get a special item for being supporters of the developers. Anyone who has purchased the Epic Edition of Bulletstorm (the only edition you can buy) will get a flaming Lancer for use in GoW3 free of charge.
If you’ve just picked up a copy of Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360 then you know that you also have access to the Gears of War 3 Beta but unfortunately for you, you don’t know when you can gain access to that. But now you do because Microsoft announced today that the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta will begin some point in the middle of April.
Players will have access to the Thrashball map and the Checkout Map and a third map that players will be able to vote on, with the most popular being the third map. There will be new weapons included in the beta such as the sawed off shotgun, a retro lancer and a one shot and incendiary grenade. I know a few people on the staff will be jumping at joy to hear this news; how about you?
We’ve been teased long enough with blurry screenshots and an old man talking about the dragonborn. It is finally time to see what The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has to offer today. Below you can find the first in-game trailer that Bethesda released today and it shows off not only a few in game areas and fights, but the awesome battle between the Dragonborn himself and a dragon.
Also revealed with the new trailer is a redesigned Elderscrolls.com webpage that has a large version of the below trailer and things we have already heard about so far. But the highlight of this is obviously the trailer itself. There are plenty of different things that are shown, including the fact that the environments look absolutely stunning and the combat has received a complete overhaul. Now the can’t wait even more for 11-11-11 to role around so that teveryone can play Skyrim on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Bulletstorm Publisher: Electronic Arts Developers: People Can Fly, Epic Games Platforms: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC Release Date: February 22, 2011 Price: $59.99 US – Buy Now!, £49.99 UK -Buy Now!, $109.99 AUS -Buy Now!
Overview:
Don’t you think that the modern day first person shooter has set a certain standard of gameplay mechanics and go from point A to point B just trying to survive and kill anyone in your path? Well the people at People Can Fly and Epic certainly think so because they have created something that they are saying will break up that monotony of gameplay. That game is Bulletstorm. When a game says dick about as many times as you’ve heard it in your entire lifetime and in more variations than you can imagine then you know that you are in for a new experience entirely.
Story:
Bulletstorm places players into the distant future of the 26th century. They step into the inebriated boots of Grayson Hunt and his crew who are ex-assassins for the Confederation of Planets. Unfortunately for the rest of the Confederation, they have bounties on their heads and are not impressed with the number, meaning they are on the lookout to get some action, especially when that action involves getting revenge on their previous boss General Sarrano.
Of course alcohol and piloting a space cruiser while trying to shoot down a much larger space cruiser is never a good idea and the actions of Grayson quickly cause the ship to be shot down and crash land on the planet of Stygia. After their landing nearly all of Grayson’s crew is killed by the violent local tribes that reside on the once colonized resort planet. Together along with his very angry cyborg partner Ishi Sato and a woman named Trishka he has to not only survive and escape from the world, but kick its teeth in and blow its nuts off. The story can quickly draw you in especially with how well the characters interact with one another, even though the ending can be very disappointing and a blatant attempt to establish a sequel.
Now despite the fact that the characters and the majority of the dialogue you hear is very boorish and can be hard to take serious at first, it is all just the cover of a very well written story that has quite serious undertones. Not only do you experience a very big twist right near the start of the game, you will find yourself growing attached to your comrades despite the fact that they will call you so many names it’d be impossible to list them all. If anything else, the constant swearing makes your comrades feel like a major part of the experience instead of simply someone else shooting a gun. Also it is quite humorous more often than not and you will find yourself chuckling as long as you have a good sense of humor.
Graphics:
The world of Bulletstorms is a wonder to look at with amazing looking levels and character designs that will leave you wanting to take a look around. Even if taking that look around is to find something pointy to kick an enemy into. The game does not have any slowdowns from what I experienced despite the fact that the action kicks into high gear quite often and you can find yourself sliding around at high speed. Bulletstorm even avoids the usual brown and gray color scheme that plagues most shooters by providing a variety of different environments and enemies that will keep your eyes happy as you turn a human being into nothing but a skeleton.
Audio:
The background music is well suited to the fact that the game is very fast paced and action packed. Meaning that there is plenty of rock-sounding background music to keep you on the edge of your seat as you skewer your enemies onto cacti and throw them off of cliffs. The various sound effects are also well done with explosions sounding as well as you can expect and enemies yelling in pain.
The true star of Bulletstorm’s audio department is the voice work and the dialogue that goes with it. Each of the characters in Bulletstorm may sound like a cliché at first when you hear them talking, but their clichés match their personalities perfectly. General Sarrano is the perfect example of every military commander cliché that you can imagine, but it works. The amount of swearing and foul language is easily over-the-top but most players will find themselves chuckling rather than being offended and finding it childish. Still this is easily one that you shouldn’t play with children in the room, unless you want to get a call from school about your child’s new vocabulary.
Gameplay:
When a game’s motto is to kill with skill you know immediately that you are in for something different, and that something different is the Skillshot feature which awards players points for the more elaborate kills that they perform. Rather than running through a level and shooting all the enemies in the chest players are encouraged to find elaborate ways to finish off enemies. Sure you can go for simple headshots but those are only worth 25 points. Instead you can take that very same enemy and shoot him in the ass instead and it will give you 50 points for a Rear-End shot. Or you could kick an exploding barrel into him and set him on fire for even more points. With 131 different Skillshots that you can perform you will find yourself always on the lookout to perform special environmental kills or trying to one-up your previous attempts at destroying the enemies in your path and it is a great feature.
In the campaign mode these points are then used to purchase new equipment and upgrade the gear that you already have. You have many different weapons at your disposal such as the flail gun which fires two grenades attached to each other, a magnum pistol, a bouncer grenade launcher and many more. Each of these weapons comes with a secondary fire as well which allows you to carry twice as much creativity once you have purchased them. For example the machine gun you start out with is able to shoot a hundred bullets at once, stripping an enemy’s skin right from its bones. These weapons provide a great touch to the Skillshots system, especially considering there are certain Skillshots that require a specific weapon be used.
Other than the story mode there are two other modes of gameplay which will be taking up most of your time. One of these is called Echo mode and is perhaps the most addicting part of Bulletstorm because it combines the two best parts about the game. Killing enemies with as much variety as possible and the best parts of the levels from story mode. There are twenty different areas that you can select and each of these maps have a three star rating that you can try to achieve depending on how much time it takes you to pass the section and the amount of points you acquire from Skillshots.
These twenty areas have varying time limits and take some of the best parts of the story mode to allow the player’s creative juices flow as they let their enemies’ blood flow. In these areas you will be tasked with killing every enemy in your way as quick as possible and as creatively as possible to earn the most amount of points and reach the certain amount you need to reach a three star rating. But the real enjoyable part about this is the fact that you can compare your scores with others around the world on the leaderboards and lets you show your friends that you can be more brutal than they are. The only negative I found during Echoes mode was the fact that, considering the amount of game time per Echo run, the load times for each area is relatively long despite the smaller area to load.
Now what FPS would be complete without a multiplayer aspect? Well rather than have a competitive multiplayer mode Bulletstorm only contains a co-operative mode. This mode is called Anarchy mode and will place players against waves of enemies. But instead of having to survive these waves, you have to reach a certain amount of Skillshot points from the enemies in the wave to advance. This means that the higher the wave level, the more score you will need to advance. The mode can be tackled by yourself, with friends, or with random people through a quick game join.
There are a few problems that come about with all of the players trying to kill the enemies in the area at one time however. There are a number of times that the Anarchy mode requested a specific enemy to be killed through an elaborate team kill. The game itself however seemed to have trouble recognizing the fact that the requested Skillshot was performed and often caused the Wave to fail because of this.
Overall:
Bulletstorm easily proves that it has much more to offer besides a foul mouth. There is something here for everyone especially if you are a fan of FPS games. For gamers who enjoy a fast paced and brutal shooter then they have exactly what they are looking for, but there is also something here for those who like to plan out their strategies and find the best way to kill their enemies, especially in Echoes mode. Despite a lackluster ending the storyline also proves that there is more than meets the eye as far as Bulletstorm is concerned. Oh and don’t forget all of the swearing…
