Activision will take the Spyro series into a new way of playing them. Through an innovative use of technology, Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure allows players to transport real-world toys into virtual worlds of adventure through the “Portal of Power.” These toys with brains can come to life inside the game in connection with multiple gaming platforms, as well as on handheld gaming devices, mobile devices and on the web, remembering achievements and level-ups wherever they go. This marks a wholesale change in the interaction between toys and video games, opening up new possibilities and revenue streams for both industries.
“These are more than action figures. They are inter-action figures. By pairing world class character design, world class video game design and world class story telling into one entertainment experience, we’ve given players a whole new genre that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds. From the first time a kid picked up a stick and pretended it was a sword, toys have unlocked kids’ imaginations. And how often have you wanted to bring those toys to life, to see them become animated and take them on an adventure? Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure does just that.” – Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing
Some unique elements from the game includes:
Each Character Has its Own Unique Powers – In addition to the highly collectible design and personalities of the toys themselves, each character has different powers and abilities, opening different experiences inside the game. Players can drop in and out of each level with as many different characters as they like, making each players experience unique.
Toys With Brains – Each toy/character remembers the player’s shared experiences. Achievements and leveled up capabilities earned in the game are embedded inside the toy and travel with the toy. Wherever the toy goes, its experiences go with it.
Portal of Power – The Portal of Power serves as the gateway between our world and the amazing world of the characters in Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.
Play With Friends – By placing two characters on the Portal of Power at once, players can team up together for cooperative play, or face off in player versus player battle arenas utilizing their leveled up characters.
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is developed by Toys For Bob and a release date is yet to be announced.
Razer’s newest headset, the Chimaera, is probably one of the best audio devices known to man. For the price of $199.00 and $129.00 for the surround sound and stereo editions respectively, these headsets have eye popping features.
First off, the surround sound set will last up to 8 hours on one charge. The stereo edition will last up to 12 hours. Plus, they are both wireless, meaning you can go anywhere up to 30 feet away and still hear other people speaking or hear your favorite music, movies and games. Up to 4 other people can also locally connect 4 Razer base stations for those cooperative bashing parties.
These lag free devices will also sport PC connectivity, although you have to buy a separate adapter to use this functionality.
“Putting on this headset may cause serious jaw-dropping aural intensity,” said Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, President Razer USA. “With the Razer Chimaera 5.1, we’re giving every gamer the opportunity to experience surround sound in complete wireless freedom. We drew from our expertise in PC gaming audio and worked with Dolby® to develop a headset that lets you hear everything with absolute clarity to pinpoint enemy locations, prevent backstabs, and just take your gaming enjoyment further. I recommend using it with the Razer Onza controller for serious Xbox ownage.”
Well “RazerGuy” that sounds pretty cool. If you want to check out more about these products or pre-order one, head on over to the Razer page, located here: http://www2.razerzone.com/chimaera
The 5.1 surround sound headset will ship on in the US and worldwide in April. The stereo enabled headset is up for shipping on the 28th of February in the US and in March worldwide.
Atari have revealed the line-up behind the upcoming downloadable title appearing on XBLA, PSN and PC, profiling the four characters of the four-player game before it releases on March 23rd.
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime features a rookie team of all-new Ghostbusters:
Alan Crendall
Practical and hardworking, he’s no real background in the paranormal, but is the workhorse leader of the team – the others know he’s always there to pick them up after a Knock Down or help with wrangling a frenzied ghoul. He’s also the steady hand of the team – when things go wrong he’s the one with the plan.
Samuel Hazer
An optimistic scientist with a positive outlook that keeps the team’s spirits high. There’s no ghost too big or bad that can’t be figured out and then busted. He has a slight advantage with his studies in the paranormal and makes good use of this extra knowledge to help bust the stranger entities that the team comes across.
Bridget Gibbons
The tough chick with a fierce determination and a penchant for wisecracks at other’s expense. Like Alan she has no paranormal training, but is a natural Ghostbuster, always at the forefront of the battles. At times sparks can fly between her and the rest of the team, but the jokes end when there’s work to be done.
Gabriel Sitter
The technical genius of the group, he’s also not scared of getting his hands dirty when the ghosts try and get up close and personal. Following in Dr Spengler’s footsteps, he’s keen to learn more about being a Ghostbuster, and make his own mark unearthing more information on the spectral realm and developing his own new technologies.
With a fantastic range of inventive ghoul-busting weapons on offer, as well as four player action as you clean up the ghost threat in New York City, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is looking like it could be a nice spin-off game for the series.
Game Name:Bejeweled Blitz LIVE Platform(s): Xbox Live Arcade Publisher(s):PopCap Developer(s):PopCap Genre(s): Puzzle Release Date: February 23, 2011 Price: 800 MSP ($10 US) DOWNLOAD NOW!
PopCap have came a long way with the Bejeweled series as a whole with many different sequels and spin-offs for the series, spanning both the PC and console marketplace alike. Since it’s original release on Facebook a while back, Bejeweled Blitz has became a staple in puzzle genre itself with it’s own success and now looks to bring the intense gem-swapping madness to the Xbox Live Arcade with Bejeweled Blitz LIVE. Not a lot has changed with this new version, but there is still plenty buried under this classic title that makes it an excellent addition to the Xbox Live Arcade’s library. So without further ado, here is my review for Bejeweled Blitz LIVE!
Gameplay
By now I would imagine that most of you should by now know how the formula for Bejeweled works. Swap 3 gems, cause them to break, more fall down, and then you reap your reward of points depending on how many gems you smash as well as the avalanche of combos caused along the way. This same formula is at the very forefront of Bejeweled Blitz LIVE throughout the whole game, and there is nothing wrong with that at all as this title is still as addictive as ever.
In Bejeweled Blitz LIVE, there are a couple of modes to choose from, but none in my opinion are as fun as the classic mode. Classic mode is pretty much the same game many of you might have played on Facebook, where you only have sixty seconds to smash and swap as many gems as possible, with the goal to rack up points and top your high score. Many familiar power-ups are also rewarded, so if you hit four gems at once, you then get a much stronger block known as a “power gem” that can blow up the surrounding pieces as well as the infamous hypercubes and multiplier gems which can be rewarded for performing other various swaps. If this sounds more of the same, you would be correct as the whole game plays nearly identical to the original title.
In this version, the main difference can be found in the controls. For those worried that the transfer from the point and click method of play to the Xbox 360 controller might come off as awkward, fear not as PopCap have perfectly ported the controls to the Xbox 360 controller without any issues. Using the analog to move your cursor and the face buttons to perform swaps is done both smoothly and effectively, which was great to see considering how intense each sixty second round ends up being.
The sixty second timer is truly the key behind what makes Blitz stand out in PopCap’s Bejeweled franchise, and for good reason. Each round must be thought out if you want to have a chance at making a top score. With random gems appearing with each new game, it can make things a bit difficult to plan for but that is what makes Blitz so addictive. You must quickly come up with a strategy to make the biggest combo possible. This on your toes method also rewards those who think ahead with a “last hoorah” that will have all of your powered up gems and multipliers explode at the end of a round leading to a ton of points, so sometimes it just comes down to quick thinking and perfect placement.
For those who might want to mix things up a bit more, Bejeweled Twist is also available from the start. Twist plays differently than the classic Blitz though, as instead of swapping vertically and horizontally, players must control a cursor that covers a square of four gems, rotating the pieces until a match 3 combination is found. Twist may be different, but it still packs the same timed madness as it’s cousin which makes it just as addictive and a great change of pace.
Online leaderboards are also a welcome addition as they truly do give the player something to shoot for at all times, putting you against all of your friends’ scores in both modes. Normally I really don’t pay much attention to leaderboards, but just like the Facebook version of this title, I found myself spending hours just to remain at the top spot for bragging rights alone.
Multiplayer
If there is anything that can make an already addictive title even more addictive, it is competition. PopCap have accomplished this well with how multiplayer was integrated into Blitz LIVE. For those who just want a standard local match-up, the local duel mode is a great way to compete to swap gems quickly with some friends. The online however is a product of it’s own as there is quite a bit of variation mixed in. Standard duels can be found, putting you up against a random player in quick match (or by invite). If you have a lot of friends on at once or create a lobby, up to sixteen players can go at it for a minute straight with icons shown during the match on the side to show score progression. Winning one of these matches is highly rewarding and the whole concept is pulled off well as fighting for that top spot is a true test of skill. Both Twist and Classic can be chosen for any multiplayer match so mastering both can be something else to aim for if you want to proudly boast yourself as king (or queen) of Bejeweled Blitz Live.
Graphics/Audio
As far as the visuals go, Bejeweled Blitz LIVE really doesn’t have any distinct changes from the many other incarnations we have seen on the Xbox 360. By no means though is that a bad thing, as each gem still is loaded with glisten and shine and every board has a somewhat animated backdrop which lets you fully immerse yourself in the game with ease. Menus however are a bit on the generic side, but since they do not effect how the game is actually played, this can be put off as more of an afterthought.
The same thing can be said when it comes to the tunes in this title. Each get the job done, and while not quite memorable, they do fit perfectly with the hectic gameplay. There is however a female announcers voice which will chime in during certain points, adding intensity to rounds with warnings for time and cheering you on for combos. Altogether, both the sound and the visuals make Blitz LIVE feel as it should with quite a bit of stylized flare and eye candy mixed in, creating yet another Bejeweled experience fans of the series should expect.
Overall
While I was playing Bejeweled Blitz LIVE, I tried to put the controller down, I honestly did, but that same addictive formula is always there to suck you back in every time. That is what is great about Blitz though. It takes the age old swap-3 formula, speeds it up, and then adds in the demand of the leaderboards to keep you competing and playing. I also believe that the multiplayer mode is one of the most complex we have seen for a puzzler to date on the Xbox Live Arcade as of now due to the 16 player matches which was a fantastic addition to the series. If you are looking for a great puzzler that is great to jump in and out of with solid gameplay that can lead to hours (or even whole nights like myself) of pure joy, look no further than this “gem” on the XBLA.
Kirby Epic Yarn Cloth Notebook, Cute ‘n Cuddly Kirby & Game Courtesy of Nintendo
Bursting At The Seams With Fun, Cute lil Kirby is back and available right now across Australia and New Zealand on the Nintendo Wii. Play as the lovable Kirby in a world where everything is made of yarn and fabric in this really epic platform game suitable for all ages. This is by far Kiby’s biggest and woolliest adventure yet!
Everything in Kirby’s Epic Yarn is styled to reflect the game’s inventive textile theme, from its charming environment and devious enemies to Kirby himself. You can tug on zippers, swing on buttons and pull on stray threads to reveal hidden areas. A new Yarn whip allows Kirby to disarm and unravel his foes or roll them up into balls of yarn that be lobbed as obstacles.
The fun doesn’t end there, Kirby can transform into amazing new forms of all shapes and sizes. As you dodge obstacles and clear levels, you’ll be able to transform Kirby into new forms such as Car Kirby, 2-Ton Kirby and Parachute Kirby. Special level specific transformations include Tank Kirby, Surfboard Kirby and Spaceship Kirby! All these cool features makes Kirby’s Epic Yarn a unique action platform game and one that be enjoyed by everyone in the family.
Now not everything is all cute and cuddly in this world of wool and yarn, a powerful sorcerer named Yin-Yarn transforms Kirby to a realm called Patch Land. Along with fearless Prince Fluff, Kirby must recover strands of magic yarn that will help keep this wondrous cloth-based kingdom from coming completely unravelled.
Do you have what it takes to save the Yarn Kingdom ? I know you do !!!
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is currently available right check out our review of the game here. Pick up a copy of the game from online here.
It seems the soon to be present months of March and April are to be rather exciting for iOS developer and publisher DotEmu, who specialise in the reformatting of classic gaming experiences into new devices.
On March 15th, DotEmu will be releasing a major update for the Sega Master System classic RPG, Golvellius, The Valley Of Doom, which includes a brand new interface and game center functions with thirty new unlockable achievements.
If that isn’t enough for retro iPhone gamers in one day, DotEmu have also scheduled to release 64th Street: A Detective Story. This is the third game from the Jaleco Arcade series originally published on the Super Nintendo. Players are given the option to choose to be one of the two heroes from the original game: Rick Anderson or Allen Tombs and try to rescue a young girl from her kidnappers.
March 24th sees the release of Goblins 2, the squeal to the point and click game Goblins, which is to be edited for iOS by BulkyPix. With two goblins at your command, your goal is to rescue the King’s son in a delirious fantasy world.
If these big March releases aren’t enough then surely April will tie you over, with the release of P-47 The Phantom Fighter (P47 Thunderbolt), a classic World War Two warplane shooter, on the 11th and The Astyanax, (The Lord of King), a fantasy RPG that takes you across six levels to free the world from the evil wizard Algos, due to be released on the 25th.
For those that love classic gaming, from Commodore 64 to Super Nintendo, March and April are looking to be a pixel-packed couple of months thanks to DotEmu.
Today, the 24th February 2011, welcomes Sony Computer Entertainment Australia’s latest addition to the war between the ISA (Interplenetary Strategic Alliance) and the Helghast forces in the latest edition of the Killzone series, Killzone 3.
The game features an improved visual framework, which makes it an immersive thrill to observe and with the addition of Move controls, can feel like you’re actually in the field of battle. Coming out next month is the Move peripheral ‘Sharpshooter’ which puts the gun in your hands to add further depth to the gameplay experience. Killzone 3 also features the voice work of notable Hollywood actors – ‘Malcolm McDowell’ (of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ fame) as one of the main antagonists ‘Stahl’, and ‘Ray Winstone’ (As seen in ‘The Departed‘) who plays as ‘Admiral Orlock’. Also supporting Glasses-on 3D, this game looks to be one of the best titles of 2011.
Gemini Rue, latest point-and-click adventure from developer ‘Wadjet Eye Games’, is a rather well made adventure game for the PC. The story is interesting, the characters follow the Noir theme well and the setting is perfect for this type of story. Like any good adventure game, it is both puzzling and rewarding and does a good job at gaining your interest. You’re likely to think about solutions to puzzles while you’re away from the keyboard simply because some puzzles can be quite a puzzler.
Story:
You play as Azriel Odin, an ex-Boryokudan (intergalactic mafia), looking for a certain person on a planet called ‘Barracus’. Barracus is a world covered in constant rainfall and is governed by the deadly Boryokudan gang who were able to overthrow the previous Government many years earlier. In order for Azriel to locate the person he is after, he must enlist the aid of a fellow ex-Boryokudan by the name of Matthius. With Matthius’ help he learns the location of the person that he is searching for and begins a quest to find them.
The story branches itself early on as players are introduced to a second main-protagonist – ‘Delta-Six’. Delta-Six awakens at an unknown location with his memories removed and is lead around a secret facility, called ‘Center 7’, that is lead by ‘The Overseer’. He is required to complete a series of tests that seem more like a personality reconstruction than a rehabilitation scheme. What kind of civilian needs to undergo weapons training? It is quite clear that things are not as they seem as players adventure through Delta-Sixes time in the secret facility.
Gameplay:
The way Gemini Rue is played is fairly standard of point-and-click adventure games. That is, you point at a location you want to move to, an object you want to be using or a character you want to interact with; then you click on them and then you’ll usually do that thing. In Gemini Rue, your last used action becomes your default action for when you click on something to use but can be manually switched using a right-click menu over the top of any usable object or character.
Center 7 – Delta-Six’s home.
Quite often you’ll find that you’ve come to a point where you need to use a specific skill or item on a particular object or character and have no idea what it is. Combining the wrong combination can be either disasterous, funny or even sometimes indifferent. I can think of at least one part with a fairly puzzling action (not like explosions, but things you have to do) sequence that was actually took a fair bit of thought power and trial and error. Once you get these puzzles down they’re quite rewarding mentally.
Your actions can be selected through a right-click menu and are limited to what ever items you have in your inventory and four actions that your character can undertake. Each action is as follows – Hands, Mouth, Eyes and Foot. It doesn’t take much to work out what each thing does on a particular object, like if you use hands on a box – you’ll be able to push it around. Or if you use foot on a door, you’ll be able to kick it in… sometimes. Other actions are unlocked or used later, like when you have another character in your party, you can double click them to activate them and then click on something else for them to use that object. Another action that is unlocked later is the ability to switch your main player character, this *spoiler alert* switches between Azriel and Delta-Six, and is conducted through clicking the other player characters portrait on the top right corner of the play space. This not only changes your playable character but also to the location of that character. For example if Azriel is on Barracus and Delta-Six is on Center 7 and you switch from Azriel to Delta-Six, then you will change from Barracus, where Azriel is, to Center 7, where Delta-Six is located. Though it should be noted that the character you just switched from will remain wherever it was that you left them.
Where the game differs from most point and click adventures is in the combat. In combat players must gun-fight their way to survival. You’re given limited ammunition and usually a few enemies to dispatch. The gunplay differs from not only point-and click games but also shooters in that you do not get point click to shoot enemies. You’re basically stuck behind cover and are given three options – A and D – which are to pop out left or return to cover/pop out right. Once you are out of cover you can hit control to gather accuracy for your shot and/or press spacebar to fire a round at the enemy that you’re facing. One of the good things I found is that if you hit control while out of cover and pop back in, you can still gather accuracy to get a decent shot when you pop back out to shoot the enemy. Against multiple targets a kind of rhythm/puzzle aspect comes into the gunplay where you must time your actions against both opponents to avoid being shot at or wasting all of your ammo. Once you’re out of ammo or bullets, it’s pretty much game over. Sure, you can sit behind cover forever if you’re out of bullets, but that’s all you can do really. But if you run out of health, you’re dead and must reload the game.
Like most classic PC games, the Fx keys actually do stuff, like F1 shows you a key map of the Fx keys. Escape brings up a menu for players who can’t be bothered with the Function keys. In the menu/function keys you have the usual options, Exit, Resume, Save, Load, Options, etc. though it should be noted that exit is shortcutted to alt+x; just like those classic games.
Graphics:
Gemini Rue not only follows classic adventure games gameplay wise, but also in terms of graphics. The game is built on sprites and pre-drawn backgrounds which give the game a retro look and feel. The art of the game is quite gloomy and gritty, which is very fitting of the Noir theme represented within the game.
In the game there isn’t much in the way of graphical gimmicks as everything looks pretty much how you would expect it to. People look like people, streets look like streets and guns look like guns. Other ingame items, like the communicator or the stick that you acquire early on look just as you expect them to also.
The environment on Barracus is a dark and gloomy one, with it’s perpetual rain and constant low light, whereas, Center 7 is a cleaner looking place which makes it feel more like a hospital or a Spacecraft from Star Trek. Speaking of Spacecraft, Azriels ship is something that you would expect Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds to fly in as opposed to the clean and bright Enterprise that Kirk or Picard would command. It is this direction that gives the ship itself a personality, as any Noir story piece should, and gives it a life of it’s own. The same can be said for Barracus and Center 7, that the art direction is what makes them unique and gives them their own personality.
Azriels Spacecrafts interior.
Audio:
Gemini Rue is a fully voice overed game, with every piece of dialogue having a voiced component to it. One of the things that I liked about the voice acting is that some of the characters do not sound as you expect that they would given their position. Like for example with The Overseer on Center 7. You’d probably expect a sinister voice given the obviously shady stuff that they do at the center, but you are instead treated to this friendly sounding guy which I thought to be quite a good direction. Another nuance that I also enjoyed with The Overseers voice acting is that you can hear him clearly getting more and more annoyed and Delta-Six while still trying to keep a friendly sounding voice. It’s this type of conflict in the voice work that gives you a sense of character towards The Overseer that you probably wouldn’t get a sense of otherwise.
Lately I’ve found that most games soundtracks have been (literally) putting me to sleep so I usually just throw my own music on in the background to keep me alert. Not so with Gemini Rue. It has this ambiance that fits each scene perfectly while not sounding like the audio engineer or composer was trying too hard to sound epic. They’ve kept it simple and it works really well with the scene. Sometimes you don’t notice it, but you know it’s there, affecting your gameplay, your thinking and when you do notice you think to yourself ‘Man this is good, I love me some ambiance’. This is not sarcasm either, it just fits so well that you believe that it’s a part of the scene and not some epic score tacked on over the top of the game.
In the game, you get use objects that make noises, like terminals and guns. Each object that you use sounds like you would expect it to and adds a certain level of friction to whatever it is that you are doing. It’s like you’re doing something and you know that you’re doing it because of the sound, not that you’re doing it because you can see it with a cheap noise thrown over the top.
Overall:
Gemini Rue is an interesting point-and-click adventure with a sci-fi Noir setting. It looks like a classic adventure game, it plays like a classic adventure game and it sounds great. While the game is probably not for everyone, like people with low attention spans, low problem solving skills and/or low patience, it is a very good game – not only for the PC, but in general. If Wadjet Eye games had released this game in the early 90s they would probably be quite a force in the gaming industry today. This game has the potential to bring back the point-and-click genre to the mainstream and I would advise all point-and-click fans to pick it up ASAP, as well as all gaming enthusiasts. Especially those who loved the point-and-click adventures from the earlier days.
NIS America has shipped out their first batch of Our Home’s Fox Deity Volume 2 to various online retailers which means you can order it now at any of them that you so wish. The contents of the the second volume’s premium edition are a special bonus disc that contains interview footage with the different voice actors who voice the characters from the anime itself. This includes Yukana as Kugen’s female form, Yuichi Nakamura as Kugen’s male form, Saori Hayami as Ko and more. Also included is a family photo art book and the hard collectible case that they all come in.
Volume 2 brings a close to Our Home’s Fox Deity where the Takagami brothers are protected by the fox demon Kugen and the very sheltered priestess Ko. But this time around Kugen meets Gyokuyou, her sibling, for the very first time since she was sealed away and the only thing on Gyokuyou’s mind is revenge. To make matters worse the long lost Oni clan has surfaced and is closing in on the Takagami brothers.
Last week Deep Silver revealed to the world that they would be publishing Techland’s Dead Island and revealed one of the most interesting trailers in recent memory. It wasn’t interesting because of gameplay or features shown, it was interesting because of how dramatic it was and the way that everything was portrayed. In this trailer we see a family on vacation get attacked and bitten by zombies after a mysterious outbreak on the island occurred.
The trailer itself has made its rounds through the internet and is easily one of the must see trailers of this year, making Dead Island itself one of the hottest topics right now on the internet. In under a week it managed to occur 100k fans on Facebook, viewed by 2.7 million people on YouTube, had 3.2 million tweets so far, and even shown up on various news websites that don’t even report gaming news. Considering the large amount of hype currently being placed on Dead Island with only a few screenshots and one CG trailer out so far, hopes are already very high for the open-world zombie survival game.
