Bethesda may be known for its large scaled open world games but that doesn’t mean they can’t create an action packed dungeon crawler just the same. In the latest trailer released by Bethesda we see tons of new gameplay footage for Hunted: The Demon’s Forge which shows off plenty of amazing looking gameplay that already has my anticipation level maxed.
We see Caddoc and E’lara teaming together to do plenty of different kills on enemies as the two person mercenary team attemps to stop the ancient evil that has been unleashed in the heart of Kala Moor. Also stay tuned until the end to see a giant floating eyeball and a bit of humor. Personally I can not wait until June 1st when the game arrives on shelves in the US.
Never say that EA hasn’t given you anything, at least not if you are a PC user. Those who are able to pre-order Bulletstorm on the PC will be able to get a free download of Shank from Klei Entertainment. Of course you can only get this bonus content for free if you happen to pick it up at EA’s Online Store which is of course beneficial for them as well.
You have to take advantage of this pre-order bonus quick because the deal ends on February 21st and is only good for those who pre-order the $60 Limited Edition of Bulletstorm. Of course considering that is the price of a standard game in the US usually, there isn’t anything wrong with that.
It looks like there will be no more heroes in the future of Activision…. okay bad pun but regardless of that, Activision will be pulling the plug completely on Guitar Hero and DJ Hero at the end of February. This crushes the hopes of fans who hoped that despite the cancellation of the series, that the games would continue to be supported with song packs and DLC in the months to come.
This news comes from the Guitar Hero twitter and states that any previously announced DLC tracks will still be released this month, but after that the IV that has been keeping the series supplied with fresh songs will be stopped. Then again it makes sense considering the amount of money that Activision has to pay bands to license their songs and use them for their game, but it still is a let down to know that your Guitar Hero discs will not be supported any further by the publisher.
Yesterday we received some bad news regarding the Guitar Hero Franchise from Activision, which left Harmonix as the only music instrument peripheral using music game maker in the business at the moment. Or at least the only main stream company. Now Harmonix has issued a statement regarding the fact that Guitar Hero has now found itself in the game franchise graveyard.
Harmonix’s John Drake commented on the Rock Band forums about the closure saying:
We were sad to hear yesterday that Activision was discontinuing development on Guitar Hero. Our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs, and we wish them the best of luck.
The discontinuation of Guitar Hero is discouraging news for fans of the band game genre. As retail sales of Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles have slowed with time, we’ve been focused on building a robust digital platform for music gaming and have recently crested 2,500 songs available for play within Rock Band 3.
He went on to say that Rock Band would continue as a franchise and that they thought of Activision’s Guitar Hero as a battle of the bands but now that they are gone they are keeping their eyes to the future. This is good news considering the fact that, as he said, the music game shine has faded over the years, but at least one company will continue to support fans.
There are only seven days until Catherine hits shelves in Japan and give players there a chance to experience one of the strangest, but most intriguing games of the past year. Atlus isn’t missing a beat either, they have released another trailer for the game which shows off plenty of the anime-styled custscenes and lots of drama and of course suggestive scenes too.
It looks like there will be plenty of scares of course, as Atlus is looking to provide fans with a very creepy and mind bending experience as they explore the horrors of the human mind. There are also plenty of different characters shown off, though their relation to the main character other than the two girlfriends are a mystery.
So the ESRB has picked up The 3rd Birthday now and given it an expected M-Rating and a breakdown of what may offend people who play it. The description really isn’t much of a surprise to anyone who has followed the game so far, but if you haven’t been following it then a lot of the game mechanics are explained and fans of Parasite Eve will be happy to know that the blood and horror has returned.
A new mechanic which may interest some, and make others wonder how they thought about it, is the fact that Aya’s clothing tears depending on how much damage she takes and can reveal parts of her body as the description says. Also the famous shower scene has returned yet again despite earlier statements that it would not be included in The 3rd Birthday. But don’t take my word for it, catch the full description from the ESRB below:
This is a third-person shooter in which players assume the role of a federal agent (Aya) who uses her special abilities to battle an alien invasion. Players use machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and explosives to attack and kill alien creatures (i.e., “the Twisted”). Battles are accompanied by realistic gunfire, explosions, and screams of pain; enemies generally explode and disappear when defeated. Several cutscenes contain large pools or splashes of blood; in one sequence, slow-motion blood droplets fall over a crowd as multiple characters are killed at once.
Aya’s character can change into a variety of outfits (e.g., lingerie bunny costume, short skirts, bikini tops); when she is injured, her clothes also take damage and reveal large amounts of cleavage/buttocks. One unlockable video depicts Aya in the shower, with her breasts and buttocks partially obscured by steam and varied camera angles. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” appear in the dialogue.
There are many ways that you can make a boxart for your game. You can create something entirely unrelated to the game and leave it as a nice picture to help try and make the game look fancier than it is, or you could simply leave the name of the game on the title and leave it as that. Or you could also place every single character in the game on the cover as well.
Such is the case with Dissidia 012[duodecim]: Final Fantasy’s box art. As you can see below you will be able to tell distinctively which characters will be on the Cosmos side of the fighting (on top) and who will be fighting for Chaos (below). There are a number of different ways they could have done the box art but I believe that this is actually one of the more complicated ones that you can find. I’ve always been partial to having a well done box art and I’m really liking the fact that they put a good amount of effort into designing this one. So much in fact that I decided to give a full sized view so you will be able to pick out your favorite characters.
Crux Prime, an add-on for the Lego Universe MMO, was released today. Battle your way to the Ninjago Monastery Ruins on Crux Prime to meet Sensei Wu. She can teach you Spinjitzu, a fightin’ style that will allow you to decisively defeat your enemies with a tornado made of pure Imagination.
Plus, the developers of the game added a new functionality that is a great addition to the universe. Players can finally defeat the enemies of Crux Prime with their friends. Up to 4 of your friends can join you in the action to kill all who want to ruin the creativity beating inside you.
Crux Prime and the Ninjago storyline is based on the Lego Ninjago toy series that was put on store shelves last month. Gamers can now continue the story in video game form in Lego Universe.
This new zone will have 100 new missions and achievements, 100 new pieces of gear, decals and weapons, 4 rare armor sets and even more collectibles and missions than you can shake a brick at. The add-on is huge, expansive and the biggest expansion the game has seen; it will greatly grow the game’s universe. If you have Lego Universe, this is a great time to get back into the action, and if you don’t have the game yet, you should probably consider it. It is great MMO that will surely stay in your mind for a long time. Read our review here if you are still undecided.
Game Name:Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! Platform(s): Nintendo DS Publisher(s): Nintendo Developer(s):Nintendo Genre(s): Puzzle Release Date: November 14, 2010 (US) February 4, 2011 (AU & EU) Price: $29.99 (U.S) £29.99 (EU) $68.00 (AU) BUY NOW!
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is the fourth installment of the successful Mario vs DK spinoff series which has you guide wind-up Mario toys to a particular goal, avoiding many obstacles along the way. In many ways, this entry stays true to the same formula that we have seen in previous incarnations, but with much more content and some brand new game-play mechanics that add quite a bit to the growing franchise. Here is my review for Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
Story
The plot for Mini-Land Mayhem kicks off with Mario and Pauline sponsoring an opening for a brand new theme park where mini-Pauline toys are being given away to the first 100 attendees. Donkey Kong soon shows up to claim his toy, but when he is just a little too late for the give-away, he becomes enraged and kidnaps the real Pauline. It is now up to Mario and his wind-up friends to travel through 8 worlds, level by level, to save Pauline once and for all.
If you remember the original Donkey Kong titles, Pauline was the victim in those games and in many ways, the whole Mario vs Donkey Kong series is more of an evolution of that age-old formula. We also see many other classic characters throughout the game in wind-up and real form, so Mario fans will be happy to see many familiar faces along the way. Being a puzzle title at heart, the story isn’t really a big presence of the game as this title is all about the unique form of gameplay, so let’s move on to that area.
Gameplay
In previous Mario vs DK titles, the focus of the game was to control the minis to a certain destination while collecting coins and various items along the way. Mini-Land Mayhem is the same for the most part, but now the controls are much more environment based so instead of controlling the minis along transparent blocks, you must now drag and pull on various mechanisms to clear a path for your little soldiers to reach their goal.
When a level starts up, we see the famed plumber winding up his little minions, and then they set off into the environment. The minis do not stop for anything though, so keeping a close eye on each one is pivotal in completing each stage. Using the Nintendo DS’ touchscreen, girders are used to connect platforms to each other on the map. If you see a rivet, simply pull and release a girder between one rivet to the next and a platform will then be available for your minis to safely cross. It may sound simple, but the game truly uses strategy for each level, as there are many obstacles such as spikes, standard Mario-themed enemies, pitfalls and many other traps that are ready to take your minis down one by one. You also are only able to have a certain number of girders in an area at a specific time, so switching these out must be done quite often in the game, which adds the element of timing in to the gameplay. How many pieces you are allowed to use is judged by however many are collected within the stage by your minis.
Of course girders are not the only thing that gets the wind-ups from point A to point B. Many areas have barriers with that can only be opened by having a mini hit a certain trigger. Since these minis cannot jump, there are plenty of spring-loaded launchers that must be used, launching minis in the air upon contact to a higher point in the stage. Timing is yet again used with these contraptions, as each can be moved to fill a transparent spot and many times if you are not there to catch your mini, it will meet its doom due to an environmental obstacle or enemy. Ladders, power-ups, conveyor belts, warp pipes and many more passages can also be found as you travel through the varied worlds, each adding their own new techniques to add different twists to the puzzles.
As you move throughout the game, gameplay changes up in different ways. One of the prime examples are the other wind-ups which are used such as Toad, Princess Peach and few other familiar characters. These wind-ups differ as they must pass through their own specially marked door. My favorite levels in Mini-Land Mayhem though come down to the boss battles themselves, though. The boss stages are crafted more as an ode to the classic Donkey Kong games by design, but with the same core style of the Mario vs DK series. You must guide your minis in the same way as before, but instead of reaching a door, they must hit a trigger point which damages the big ape. Each boss battle is different from the next so reaching these feel like an extra reward in itself, as the way they are presented gave off an old-school nostalgic feel that truly lets each world end with an exclamation point.
As a whole, Mini-land Mayhem really isn’t too different from the past titles in the series, but the fresh and varied level design kept me going for hours at a time. Each puzzle is well thought out and the pace of challenge grows as you complete the game, so you really must think a lot more and use strategy to safely guide your minis to the correct doors later in the game. The menu system is well integrated into the game as well making everything easy to access at anytime. Nothing felt that repetitive either with each world contributing something new to the equation, mixing up the gameplay mechanics as you progress. With the addition of coins and trophies which can be collected and earned to get better scores, perfectionists should get even more time out of the whole experience as many coins are well hidden and can take some serious planning if you want to grab them before the timer ticks down to zero.
After you complete the game as a whole, it doesn’t stop there. The Construction Zone lets you construct your own levels with all of the features from the main game. Once you make a level, you can go back and play it at will, or you can also upload it to Nintendo Wi-fi to stump other players all over the world. Players have already created a ton of levels, so just going in and downloading new areas can add an infinite amount of replay value.
Graphics/Audio
I was very impressed by how Mini-Land Mayhem looks. The whole game is bright and cheery throughout, and each area is heavy in detail that reeks of that Mario charm that fans have come to know and love. The minis themselves are also full of character and life and share this same high-end detail. With the worlds constantly changing as you progress design wise, each area not only plays differently, but has it’s own special themes to add that rewarding feeling of progression. Some stages have a lot going on at certain points, especially boss battles, but fret not as there was absolutely no hiccups or slowdown during my play-through and everything flows smoothly.
The music in the game might just be my favorite soundtrack for a Mario title on the system period. With remakes of classic familiar tunes from both Mario titles as well as Donkey Kong Country, and even a few new tracks thrown in, it is clear that Nintendo wanted to appeal to their core audience with this title. Sound effects are also woven in well as the little voices of the minis and characters such as Pauline are all clear and well acted. These little things like getting to hear your little minis shout in victory as they reach a door or Pauline scream in agony as she is taken to the next level add a lot more charm to the title, so all of the high quality work done on the audio should not be ignored to get the full experience here.
Overall
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is not a groundbreaking sequel, but it does extend the series’ lifespan with new elements of gameplay that add some new puzzle mechanics as well as fantastic level design which is challenging and simply fun to complete. Nintendo have filled this title full of their classic charm and the overall quality of presentation make it clear that this game was crafted for old and new fans alike. Along with the jam-packed main story mode and the Construction Zone, this is the perfect title to pick up and play anytime as it never really ends. Not only is Mini-Land Mayhem now a necessity to a Nintendo DS library, it simply tromps many other addictive puzzlers on the console proving yet again that Mario still holds the throne when it comes to putting out fantastic titles.
If your into sports and Android, then this announcement will undoubtedly excite you. As you (hopefully) inferred from the title, the PES football/soccer experience is coming to the Android OS. Coming with Konami style quality and personality, this iteration of PES brings the sport to life. Featuring a new control system called True Flow, PES 2011 aims to allow you to control the game simply and accurately.
The game also puts the UEFA Club Competitions into the mix. Both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will be included and the UEFA Super Cup Final will await the champions of the aforementioned leagues. Get it on the Android Market now!
