Wait? What? Apparently within only a few short hours of Sony banning people who have hacked their PS3s there is now already a hack that says that it will allow modders to get themselves into the PSN and unban themselves. This is already a problem in and of itself considering the PSN ban was supposed to be the last step to stopping the hackers.
But there is even worse news considering the fact that this hack will also allow modders to ban other PS3 consoles as long as they are able to get a hold of the console’s ID by tricking the owner. We have been tipped off to the existence of the hack and the fact that modders are simply not going to stand down and let Sony push them around. But in the end the only people who are going to get hurt by this are legitimate users of the console.
Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition Platform: iPad Publisher: Chillingo Developer: Chillingo Release Date: January 20, 2011 Price: $1.99 – Available here
The game developers at Chilingo deliver an upgraded, iPad version of ‘Pro Zombie Soccer’ originally for the iPhone, dubbed “Apocalypse Edition” the title says it all really. Here’s another zombie game bringing over-the-top action, story and zombie killing madness to the iPad and it’s not that bad at all providing a simple, fast pace action game for anyone on the go or with some time to kill will enjoy this game.
Story
The story, sure not the best but hey for a zombie soccer game it’s what come to you expect. The story is ridiculous, over-the-top and quite humorous at parts. The story itself is told through cartoony text based cut-scenes which set up the following scenarios and setting, and yes they are quite cheesy and you can choose to skip them if you just want to cut straight to the action. You play as Jax, a star soccer player who on one night gets bitten by zombie superstar soccer player and somehow inherits soccer superpowers and uses them to take on the undead in the mitts of transforming into a zombie himself. From then on you fight wave after wave of zombies, nothing really new here but the story does provide some occasional funny bits and a nice break from killing zombies.
Gameplay
Taking on wave after wave of zombie foe requires skill to rack up a high score. As a skilled soccer player, you ball is your weapon. Jax remains stationary while zombies approach from the right hand side, aiming and firing is controlled using the same button and is very easy to get the hang of, holding down the button will charge up Jax’s shot for ‘massive damage’. Power-ups are also through into mix and they are very rewarding and satisfying to use, as using them properly can either make or break a round. Jax’s super soccer powers grants him three power-ups lightning ball, piercing ball and laser. The first, ‘lightning ball’ slows down time allowing for faster kills, ‘piercing ball’ as the name suggest pierces through multiple enemies at a time and the last ‘laser’, well… you somehow gain control over a giant satellite laser which targets multiple enemies at a time.
Overall the game sort of plays out likes a mix between pin ball and tower defence, it’s really quite fun but at times the game can feel a little too easy, especially when you have one your power-ups turned on and since all enemies eventually funnel into the centre, just spamming the firing button clears out any feeling of being too overwhelmed. Aiming can get frustrating at times as lining up shots can be quite difficult and are often not completely accurate. The game does get tougher later on with the introduction of enemies that can only be taken out with a precise one hit kill weak spot “Nutshot” anyone? Also, controlling the ‘laser’ with the iPad’s accelerometer (tilting the iPad from side to side) is quite awaked, clunky and again quite frustrating as it is quite slow to respond to your movements. Also, there is no quick play option which may put off some players but you can replay missions once you have beaten them. Aside from this, gameplay is genuinely quite good.
Graphics and Audio
The graphic in Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition are presented well with slick cartoony visuals. An improvement over the iPhone version, ‘Apocalypse Edition’ boasts HD graphics thank to the developers specially redesigned the game’s backdrops to fit the iPad’s large screen. Character animations are very slick and seamless, which particularly look great in a final kill where the game slows down to focus on the final gory death, yet they can get repetitive as you will be seeing the same death animations over and over. The game also features original music which is pretty good and suits the game very well. Fast pace rock music will play for your zombie killing pleasure, which is exactly the type of music you want to hear when playing a game like this.
Overall
Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition is a very decent game, providing simple yet action packed gameplay which is enchased all the more with fast paced rock music. Later levels in the game do take some time to beat as very precise shots are required to beat certain enemies but once you get the hang of it you’ll have a blast playing this game. Considering the game’s relatively cheap price, this game is easily recommendable to anyone wanting a fun, original, humorous, zombie killing experience.
I give Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition for the iPad:
There have been a number of zombie games released over the past few years. Nearly every one of them has advanced the genre in one way or another. Team based combat in one game, a variety of killing tools in another with a partial open environment in another. How about if you were to put those two things together? A few years ago we saw a trailer for something that would not show up again until just recently, and that is Dead Island.
Deep Silver has announced that they will be publishing the game for developer Techland after years of hiding in the shadows. Dead Island will place players on a tropical island after the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse. Being trapped on the island is the least of the survivors worries when there are flesh hungry undead right outside the door.
Players will be focusing most of their efforts around melee combat and using items around them to fight off the zombie horde due to the fact that weapons and ammunition are in a short supply. But don’t worry you will not be alone because you can form a team of up to four players to make your way through the campaign. All of this will take place in an open world tropical island of course and give players the chance to upgrade different abilities and skills for their survivor as they gain levels.
A new trailer was released for the game as well which shows the struggle of a family as the zombies come down upon them, in reverse. There currently is no set date for the game to be released besides some point later in the year but when it does release it will be coming out on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Today game publisher Lace Mamba Global, a prominent independant games publisher, released a new trailer for their up and comping point and click adventure ‘Black Mirror 3’.
The english subtitled trailer for the game tells the background story of the Black Mirror series and also gives players a look at on what is to come from Black Mirror 3. The concept behind the Black Mirror series is that a mysterious curse has been haunting the Gordon family for many generations which causes one of their family members to become possessed and carry out brutal murders.
Black Mirror 3 is set around the Black Mirror castle with an enhanced graphical aesthetic and a whooping 62 areas for players to explore, with a few being familiar to players of the previous titles. The game follows Darren Michaels who is arrested by police forces on suspicion of murder; and who is also tormented by nightmares and visions portraying death and murder.
It is authored by a lady named Anne von Vasary who also wrote the second game.
The game is planned for release in the UK, Australia, US, New Zealand, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries in April 2011.
It appears that when Sony gives you a window of opportunity you should take it. It was only yesterday that they announced that they would begin banning anyone that had a hacked or modded PS3. Those who had modified PlayStation 3s were given a small time period to remove any modified content on their console. Too bad that chance has come and gone in only a day.
Anyone who had a modified or hacked PS3 was greeted with a message saying that they could “not use the PlayStation Network with this account (8002a227)” or received an email linked to their PSN account with the following message:
Notice: Access to the PlayStation(R)Network and access to Qriocity(TM) services through your PlayStation (R)3 system has been terminated permanently due to the use of unauthorized circumvention devices and unauthorized or pirated software on your PlayStation(R)3 system.
This use violates the terms of both the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation(R)3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation(R)Network/Qriocity(TM) and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. In the unlikely event that this termination was in error, contact your local consumer support centre.
It seems that legitimate players can now go onto their favorite PSN game without the worry of encountering a modder or a hacker. This is finally what fans of PlayStation 3 have been waiting for, definitive action by Sony. Maybe more people will be willing to pick up their favorite online shooter again.
Ubisoft’s throat slitting franchise will be getting some new blood this spring. In March 2011, you can expect to see a huge new expansion pack for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The DLC will include two new areas for players to explore in single player mode. The reason for doing this? Well, Ezio’s little pal Da Vinci got himself kidnapped because he’s a damned genius. These kidnappers are world dominating freaks and want to use his special gifts to rule. You should probably rescue him before it is too late. That is, if you can rip yourself away from the new multi-player components.
The Dama Rossa, the Knight, the Marquis and the Pariah will all be new characters added into the multi-player slash fest. The “Alhambra” map is a lush quarter of a Spanish city that will allow your stealthy feet to creep around in a multi-level indoor/outdoor arena. Finally, there are also two new modes. First up is Escort. Two teams of four players each are tasked with assassinating the opposing team’s VIP. Assassinate, the final mode, is a ten minute round of Deathmatch. Get the map packs for $10.oo on Xbox and PS3 when they release.
There have been many different ways to advertise your upcoming game. You can put out commercials, you can rent ad space on a bus, or you could create a bunch of North Korean looking food trucks that are called the PyongYang Express and have them drive around the Los Angeles and San Francisco area. Yep if you live in the either of those two California towns you have a chance of stumbling upon these trucks between February 22nd and March 21st.
These trucks were used a few months ago by THQ to help market Homefront and actually will sell food like they did before, including tacos and rice bowls for only a few dollars. But that isn’t the best thing about these trucks, rather than getting food you will also have the chance to play Homefront earlier than anyone else because they will have a working demo of the game available on certain days in the truck. The best way to track the truck is through its twitter page PyongyangBBQ. Certainly creative but it’s surprising no one has been offended by it somehow yet.
It is one thing to say that you have done a major graphical overhaul to your video game sequel and leave it at that. It is an entirely different beast when the company goes over the graphical improvements in great detail by explaining everything bit by bit like BioWare has just done for Dragon Age 2. On the BioWare blog the team behind the graphical technology have went into extensive detail about the new engine they are using; the Lycium Engine.
The image above is just a taste of what they explain on their website but it shows the new terrain and sky editing tools that they have at their disposal to create more realistic looking, and realistic behaving clouds and provide an enhanced visual experience in the outdoor worlds which usually start to look bland at a distance. Don’t take my word for it however, there is more on the way from the development team as the days bring us closer to the March 8th release date.
Those of you who played the Killzone 3’s open beta know that it had it’s fair share of problems, both bug related and balance related. Teams were often lopsided with 10 players on one team and 5 players on the other, players corpses acted as brick walls that would allow none to pass, constant “your faction has won” glitches which would result in unplayable games.
If you were worried these problems would persist in the final version, perish the thought. Guerilla Games has provided an update on their blog detailing a list of changes and fixes that will be applied shortly after the games launch, whether this means minutes, hours or days remains to be seen.
-The full list of changes and updates-
A fix to the “Your Faction Has Won/Lost” issue, along with all oddities that resulted from this occurring
An issue that allowed more than two clans to join a clan match will be fixed
Increased Accuracy, Bullet Damage and Faster Reload Ribbons will update correctly on personal statistics screens
We’ve simplified the process to invite players into your game (just one button press)
The radius of the Marksman’s Scramble++ has been lowered
Medic’s Revive distance increased and cooldown to re-use is decreased
No collision on mortally wounded player bodies
Increased player stamina
An icon will be shown in the menu when you have a Killzone 3 message in your inbox
Support for color-blind players
Implement unranked custom games for players to create private or clan matches
Enhanced custom games functionality that will allow players to:
Control over games modes and settings
Secure games, allowing you to invite the players you want to play with
The ability to prevent abilities and weapons from being used
Toggling on and off functionality, such as ribbons, skills, explosives, etc.
Selecting which careers you want available to players
Allow friendly fire to be turned on or off
Faction switching enabled or disabled
The Clan Officer role will be added to clans
Separate turn speeds for hip-fire and ADS
Overly enthusiastic death screams will be toned down
Increased the amount of kills required to win a Guerrilla Warfare match
Increased Accuracy ribbon will have its effectiveness lowered
Likewise, the Bullet Damage ribbon will have its effectiveness lowered as well
Matches will end if the other team forfeits (i.e. too few, or no players on the enemy team)
Matchmaking enhancements that will close and merge games based on player count, which will keep games more full
Balance factions out by moving players to the other team at the end of the match if one team is lopsided
The ability to turn off HUD markers for point pop-ups and objectives
A menu option to allow squad-only chat
The addition of a Mute All button
Scoreboard flickering will be fixed
Clans will no longer get matched against other clans that have many more players than they do ( i.e. 4 vs. 7, 5 vs. 8 )
Worried that the fix or change you have been hoping for isn’t listed here? Worry not, Guerilla Games says this is just the beginning and will continue to work on the game post-release. Knowing how committed Guerilla Games is to providing support for Killzone, I’m eager to see what the next batch of updates is.
Bethesda and id Software’s post-apocalyptic shooter just got a bit more attention now that it has received another trailer that shows off some gameplay. The trailer itself shows off some shooting of random mutated enemies as well as a few actual characters from the game that are currently unnamed. What could their correlation be to the story in the end? We’ll find out more soon.
Despite that, the song in the background is Burning Jacob’s Ladder by Mark Lanegan and for those who do not know what RAGE is, it is a FPS that will be powered by id Tech 5 and take place after an asteroid caused apocalypse. Considering the fact that RAGE has the likes of DOOM under their belt, Rage looks like it will be able to make a mark in the FPS genre when it releases on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC later this year on September 13th.
