The video game Homefront is coming soon, and the trailers leading up to its release are hitting harder than ever before. The newest video, entitled “Resistance,” features plenty of grisly, gritty elements that will make your hair stand on its head and your heart pound. It also showcases a pretty darn good soundtrack and lots of guns, explosions, and even a few chicks. What more could you ask for? Get ready to fight the new enemy, and win the second revolution!
Homefront is being developed by KAOS Studios and will be published by THQ. It will release on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on March 8th, 2011. You can check out our preview of the game here: Homefront Multi-player Hands on Preview
Through the mist of the app store emerges another restaurant/café themed game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. While previous time-based café management games are rather weak themed, Capcom Interactive, Inc.’s latest game, Zombie Café infects the genre with a zombie theme. While there are a number of zombie themed games, such as Zombie Farm, Zombie Café uniquely blends the elements that make zombie games and restaurant management games so enjoyable.
Gameplay
As a newly opened restaurant, you are lacking in a low payed, yet dedicated work force in which to serve your customers. In order to create a reputable business, you need to first infect patrons who visit your cafe to convert them into zombies. This is where Zombie Café differs from the number of real-time based cafe and restaurant simulation games available for iDevices. While it may seem a little uncharacteristic for a zombie to work in a cafe, Capcom have combated this by giving the zombies a short enough attention span to attack customers (in true zombie nature) when they become restless. If the zombie becomes too bored they will begin to attack the customers and cause your café’s star rating to decrease. In order to prevent this you need to give the zombies adequate rest.
In Zombie Café you are required to learn new recipes and increase the level and size of your café. Players also have the option to redecorate as they see fit. Despite the clean look available to players in terms of decoration, the food options would defiantly not pass a health inspection. Recipes like ‘tumor melt’ and ‘dishwater soup’ give the game a great sense of character and add to the somewhat black humour of the game. Each meal needs a different amount of time in which to cook before they can be served to the eagerly awaiting customers by a staff of “hired” zombies.
While the management of a cafe employed solely by zombies may become a little repetitive, the ability to thwart (at least temporarily) your competition by sending an armada of zombie warrior/waiters adds a great new element to the mix. While the zombie raid is not unique to Zombie Café (also present in Zombie Farm) I find the management of theses raids a little less frustrating than other games. Rather than your zombies dying and having to be regrown, Zombie Café employees need time to reanimate. While this is still time consuming I prefer this method as it lacks the need for harvest after a certain time frame. By raiding other Cafés players can boost their level, earn cash, toxins and new recipes while destroying other cafés all at the same time. During the raids, zombies attack and chase off customers from other cafés, or battle against the chefs and waiters. Once a zombie has defeated a human a black censor bar covers the body before it turns to bones and is eaten by your victorious zombie. This is just another clever little element to the quirky humour of the game (as well as to tone down any violence).
Graphics and audio
Graphically, Zombie Café pays attention to detail in a cartoon like fashion, which adds to the overall fun of the game. The avatars in Zombie Café are well designed and add to the overall aesthetic of the game. There are a few different types of customers who enter the café, from punks to politicians, to footballers and retirees. Each of the different types of characters are uniquely designed (although some clothing cross-over character types) and have different attributes according to job (or lack of job in some cases). After infecting different customers their appearance changes slightly to make them more zombie-like, generic zombie alterations such as ripped clothes and more apocalyptic hairstyles. Zombie Café also plays particular detail to the design of the awful meals served in your café, from cockroaches in the ‘zomlet’ to eyeballs encased in the ‘gello mold’.
Zombie Café utilises a minimalist approach to sound design, using a jazzy musical background and cooking noises to emphasis the café setting. A few audio favourites of mine are the zombie noises that come with clicking on an employee or that come with the push notifications. All the audio elements work well together to compliment the thematic and graphical aesthetics of the game.
Conclusion
Overall, Zombie Café is a pretty fun game. The easy to use interface and the dark sense of humour that can only come from zombies cooking brains (and a whole bunch of other body parts and bugs) make the game a winner in my books. The necessary waiting period in games such as Zombie Café is a downfall for me. I am constantly setting dishes on the stove to cook only to forget about them two minutes later and return to a burnt meal. The push notifications are a great feature within the game that allows my wandering mind to serve my prepared meals. While this isn’t unique to just Zombie Café, the sound byte of or ‘brraaiinns’ is a great enticement to get back into the Zombie-Café business. The zombie theme really adds a new interesting element that blends uncannily well with the food service industry. Unlike other zombie based games, Capcom have remodelled the zombie elements to include infection as a means of zombifying, as well as providing a well designed and manageable invasion function paired with awesome zombie-designs delivered with a great sense of zombie-humour.
Hard Corps: Uprising Developer: ARC System Works Publisher: Konami Platform: PSN, XBLA (Reviewed) Release Date: 2/16/2011 Price: 1200 MSP ($15) Coming Soon!
Overview:
Contra is a series that has been well known for its brutally challenging difficulty and trademark style of gameplay of being a run and gun shooter. Now Konami has decided to have Arc System Works take a shot at making a Contra styled game themselves. Well known for their work on the Guilty Gear franchise and BlazBlue fighting games, does Hard Corps: Uprising make a nice addition to the franchise with Arc System Works’ anime styled touch to it?
Story:
Now do not let the name fool you. Hard Corps: Uprising is indeed a part of the Contra storyline and takes place before Contra: Hard Corps, making it a prequel to that story. The year is 2613 and the Commonwealth Empire has begun to take power across the world under the leadership of Tiberius. The neighboring countries have done what they can to avoid direct confrontation with the Commonwealth but are suffering greatly at their hands.
Entire the Resistance Forces. These fighters have struggled against the superior military might that the Commonwealth can call upon, but not anymore. Two elite soldiers are entering the battlefield, Bahamut and Krystal. These two soldiers are able to take the fight to the Commonwealth, all the while getting their story told through text descriptions in between stages.
These descriptions are unfortunately not the most exciting bit of storytelling considering that it is the only place that story is really being told short of the beautiful opening cutscene. The story text differs depending whether you are playing Bahamut and Krystal, and looks into what they are thinking about each other as Krystal struggles to trust Bahamut who is an Ex-Commonwealth soldier. The story is unfortunately pretty loose as far as development goes, but it does supply at least enough to explain what you are fighting for.
Graphics:
Those who have played any games created by Arc System Works know that they usually use hand-drawn characters in their games and are often anime-styled with their coloration and design. This has been true for BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, and is just as true for Hard Corps: Uprising. This isn’t to the games’ detriment however because the refreshing art style works very well with the variety of levels that are in the game, as well as giving players a variety of different enemies to face off against. Plus when you choose your character you have the option of changing their color palette, which can create some remarkable lookalikes that may be unintentional, or a nice reference that you can find out for yourself.
Gameplay:
There are two modes of gameplay that can be selected immediately when you load Hard Corps: Uprising up for the first time, the Arcade Mode and the Rising Mode. Arcade Mode is exactly what it sounds like, a straight run through of the game with your standard amount of health and lives to make it through the levels. While Rising Mode provides an experience similar to an RPG where players can upgrade their character’s abilities such as health amount, credit amount, weapons and more.
Now, right out of the gates there is a pretty big part of the game that you should know. It is quite difficult and there is no option for changing your game difficulty. Now while this may be offputting to some, Contra fans will know that this is exactly what the game is known for. Arcade mode is very difficult and will only allow players to be hit a maximum of two times before losing a life, and then only having two lives each time.
Now rather than having a difficulty option, there is the Rising Mode instead. Rising Mode plays similar to Arcade Mode except that you have the ability to choose your starting stage (only as far as you’ve made it so far), and allowing your player to be upgraded significantly. There are a few times that you may struggle simply to get past the first level, but all of those kills that you are acquiring add up to more upgrades, which makes it an easier time for yourself and make the game accessible to those who are looking for an action packed and fast paced shooter, but not quite capable of answering the difficult level that it requires.
As you enter a level you will immediately notice that you’re in a fight for your life as your enemies are numerous and their bullets and bodies are coming right at you. You take direct damage when an enemy touches you, as well as shoots you of course, but there is no melee button and your character does not automatically hit close enemies which I found to be a small disappointment. Rather you will run through each level shooting through a large amount of enemies and acquiring in-stage power ups that will help you along.
These in-game power ups provide immediate weapon upgrades depending on the ones that you pick up. They include a rapid fire machine gun, a scattergun (shotgun), a flame throwing plasma gun, homing laser shooter, grenade launcher, and a reflecting beam. You will be able to switch which weapon you use by pressing Y, though you can only carry two at a time, meaning if you pick up a new weapon with one already equipped it will replace it. Weapons are dropped at the slightest hit however, so that means that you will need to pick when and where to use your weapon because they can make a pivotal turning point in boss fights. The most efficient weapon is probably the homing laser as you can easily dash through an area shooting it and most likely make it through unscathed, though I found myself favoring the scattergun usually.
Now I’ve mentioned before that the game is hard, and that cannot be understated. Sure there may not be as many enemies as hardcore Contra fans would be used to, but there are a number of cheap deaths that can occur which can easily remove a life from your precious counter. These include the relatively badly designed wall climbing sequences which not only break up the action, but involve areas that one touch can cause you to fall to your death. Also there are a number of levels which take place on or near water, and a careless respawn system can often cause your character to fall into the water and remove yet another life, which can cause a quick end to your Arcade play through.
Overall:
Hard Corps: Uprising stays true to the Contra formula while also making it accessible to newcomers that are looking for a fun time. There is plenty of fun to be had, especially after defeating the first stage after losing so many times before. With the inclusion of Rising Mode it extends the replayability of the game significantly and allows players to enjoy the game thoroughly. So there is something for everyone in Hard Corps: Uprising. If you are a Contra fan who likes a challenge, tackle Arcade mode, anyone else would be best suited to trying Rising Mode, and despite a few cheap deaths and badly designed wall climbing sequences, enjoy a great run and gun shooter.
Next week, February 14th to be exact, it is going to be a very special day for Dragon Quest fans everywhere. After a 15 year wait, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation will finally be released outside of Japan. Nintendo wants to make this release as special for the fans as possible, so on February 12th at the Flagship Gamestop location in Palo Alto, California, Series’ Creator Yuji Horii will be in attendance for a Dragon Quest gathering, signing autographs for the first 50 fans in line. As well as the meet and greet with Horri, fans will also have the chance to win some exclusive prizes at the event.
I really don’t have to mention how big of a deal this is to Dragon Quest followers out there as events such as this just do not happen everyday, so if you are in the area for this gathering, be sure to get lined up as soon as the launch begins. If you don’t live in the area like myself, you still have the game itself to look forward to when it releases next week, as well as our review which should be up around the February 14th release date as well. Below are the exact location details for the event as well as the date and time.
GameStop Flagship store
370 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(Between Waverley and Florence streets)
You ready Brother? WWE All Stars is getting quite a bit of promotion lately from THQ, and with the recent announcement of both a brawl stick and and a brawl pad, we now have some new information about Madcatz’ new devices that will be released to help players smash up opponents in the ring. A price as well as all of the functions for both have been revealed along with the shiny new artwork that both feature with the WWE All Stars’ versions of The Rock & Triple H’s likeness gracing each controller.
Full Details on Each are as follows:
WWE All Stars Arcade BrawlStick – Xbox 360® / PlayStation®3
Recreate the quality, gameplay and precision found in arcades
Official artwork from WWE All Stars video game depicting a variety of WWE Legends and WWE Superstars
Available in time for launch of WWE All Stars game
Arcade-style joystick and 30mm quick connect action buttons
Genuine 8-button arcade layout configured specifically for WWE All Stars
Dual-speed Turbo functionality for each 30mm action button
3-way switch enables joystick to function as left or right analog stick or D-Pad for navigation
MSRP: $79.99
WWE All Stars BrawlPad – Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 System
Official artwork from WWE All Stars video game depicting a variety of WWE Legends and WWE Superstars
Available in time for launch of WWE All Stars game
Enlarged, circular 8-way floating D-Pad and a classic arcade-style six-button layout, allows simple execution of signature wrestling moves
Separate turbo settings for each action button
Rubber grips for improved handling
3-Way switch enables D-Pad to also function as left or right analog stick for easy navigation
Integrated headset port for use with Xbox LIVE® (Xbox 360 Version only)
Wireless 2.4GHz designs (PlayStation 3 version only)
MSRP: $39.99
I am really liking both of these devices and it is great to see a new IP shown such love with such awesome accessories. It really shows how much faith THQ has in WWE All Stars to succeed, and by the looks of it, this will be a fighting experience that fans will not soon forget. Along with these details also comes an epic new trailer showing off the roster within the game performing versions of their over-the-top moves as well as entrances. You can check that trailer out below. WWE All Stars launches on March 29th for the states and March 31st for Australia on the PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, & Xbox 360. The Brawlpad/Brawlstick will be available in stores in the USA upon release and online for Australia residents.
When it comes to the main protagonist in a video game, the charisma and appeal of a character can make or break a game.
Many have fallen into the abyss as players couldn’t connect to their characters. With the release of Dragon Age 2 in March, the newest protagonist Garrett Hawke will most likely appeal to a new audience with his Renaissance man persona.
Despite the game based during the Middle Ages, Hawke appears very ‘modern’. His hair cut is manicured, clean with a hint of emo charm. In the promotional images, his attire pays homage to his heritage but his pants might give the impression of a jean wash.
With a smidge of blood across his face, aiding as war paint, Hawke looks like a warrior, primed and fierce for battle but according to new information about Dragon Age 2, it will be very similar to Mass Effect with the chance of changing the gender, attire and looks of Hawke.
Despite not appearing in the first Dragon Age, Hawke’s modernised look has been making big waves among fans. Early concept art showed him as an older man, with battle scars and a knack for fury. Since then, he has dropped 20 years and definitely appeals to a younger audience, attracting more female gamers with his sex appeal.
There is sure certainty that Hawke will earn a cult following that will enable him to grow and rival the likes of his competitors.
LittleBigPlanet was one of Sony’s greatest, exclusive hits that won over plenty of fans and earned critical fame. It spawned the tag line: Play. Create. Share. And the concept was just that simple too. You could play through the campaign. Or you could create actual “levels” in the game and share them online for others to play. Some of the people who created levels actually got hired by the developers behind the game. Now, Media Molecule is back and ready for round two. The concept has expanded. The world has grown. Did Sackboy succeed once again?
Story
The balance of the LittleBigPlanet universe is hinged upon imagination. When an evil monster starts swallowing imagination and turning it into evil, there are only a few who can oppose this monster. Enter Sackboy!
Of course, the general world in LBP 2 is quite fantastical. Each set of missions has Sackboy solving puzzles in new ways. It kept the game fresh and original.
The first few levels task you with joining the Alliance. Basically, these amount to a giant tutorial. After completing the tests though, you join the Alliance, a trio of people that includes a crazed, brilliant creator named Larry Da Vinci, a cocky, deep voiced MC called Avalon and you, Sackboy. You are then sent out to help the citizens of the world. These citizens often also have valuable assets that will help the Alliance.
The story is often hilarious. Dialogue was also extremely well written. All the characters have great lines and they complement the game well. Quite simply, you will never get bored in the campaign. The story is well written, easy to follow and will keep your attention throughout the experience.
Gameplay
Level design in the game is fantastic. No matter how zany the level before was, the next world will have twice the the amount of awesome crammed in. And the insane creativity of the levels will keep you on your toes too. To illustrate, in the second world, you are tasked with stopping a train. This train is no ordinary train though. It is the train that is operated by a baker, who also happens to be cloning an army of sackbots! On your way, you will find cherry pastries. Using these pastries, Sackboy must grind the metal railings. Other areas of the game will also test your extreme platforming skills.
Whats more, the game is set up to allow you move in between the 2D backdrops. That is, the background and foreground must be navigated separately of one another. This allows for all sorts of interesting puzzles to take place. When jumping and fooling around in these levels, then you also have the opportunity to collect bubbles full of prizes. It’s like an endless bubblegum machine full of awesome stuff that doesn’t need quarters to operate! The prizes are pivotal to other areas of the game too. More on that later though.
When playing online, all the puzzles are heightened in excitement. Every time you enter a level, you can choose to play cooperatively with others. This is a really cool implementation of the online features. Local coop play is included as well. Hidden areas of the game can only be accessed with two players. If you are concerned about replay-ability, this game will have you covered for a long time. In addition to the coop modes, there are adversarial types of gameplay.
There are really only two quarrels I have with the game. The first is the controls. The controls always felt really clumsy, as if I was constantly fighting the controller. That is never a fun way to play the game. Maybe it was because Sackboy is made of yarn and yarn is naturally flimsy. But yarn is not an enjoyable thing to play with in a video game. Sackboy would always float out of control, or he would be impossible to manipulate because he wouldn’t respond to the actions of the Dualshock. A platformer must have rock solid controls, and I found it inconceivable that this game didn’t.
My final complaint against the game is the creator mode. Now, I am not saying that the creator mode is bad itself. The community is fantastic and creates some of the best games & levels ever seen. However, they must spend many hours at their task, because the menu systems in the game are convoluted as all heck. I was able to create a few things, but it took me a few hours and many minutes of tutorials to accomplish simple building. That is really a shame too, because this is where the main strength of the game comes from. All those prizes that you collect are given to you to create your masterpieces. But actually making sense of everything, finding the pieces and making them do what you want is hard to do. The satisfaction of completion does make it worthwhile though. It also made me appreciate how much game designers put into their work. All in all, the creator mode is a wonderful and terrifying thing. There are thousands of options given to you. If you have the time, it is truly crazy how much effort you could put into making an awesome game of your own. If the example of the first game is any indication, this sophomore title will also have plenty of DLC to add. Just be warned that it is not for the faint of heart. Your imagination and willpower will be strained until you get the hang of it.
Graphics
Since the objects in the game are so varied, it is very easy to form an opinion of them. Each item is textured well and given a plethora of details. It was very easy to tell that Media Molecule did not skimp on graphical clarity. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different items that enable you to create. All of these materials are well designed and polished to perfection. If the developer did not cut corners on these rather small parts of the game, then you can be sure that the rest of the game is also very easy on the eyes.
Audio
Probably one of my favourite features in the game was the soundtrack. For each world, it seemed like there was a different influence. For example, the first level has you dancing to disco. However, some jammin’ hard rock is featured later, as well as many other genres. The editing process done to make each track unique is amazing. When it comes to music, LittleBigPlanet rocks with the best.
Conclusion
LittleBigPlanet 2 is a game that will delight you for hours. Level design and music score alone make it a game that any PS3 owner can be proud to own. Atrocious controls and menus are annoying though. However, if you can get through these parts of the game, Sackboy’s cute face will always have you coming around for more. Extreme customization options, swell graphics and an engaging storyline make this game a joy to play.
Ever wondered how and why all these Sony characters have come together for PlayStation Move Heroes? Well, feast your eyes on this latest story trailer and all unanswered questions should be resolved.
PS Move Heroes, fomerly called Heroes on the Move, is almost like a Sony equivalent of Super Smash Bros., except instead of being an arena brawler it’s actually an adventure game which has you using all the different characters’ abilities and utilises the PS Move controller. It features an all-star PlayStation line-up including Jak, Daxter, Sly, Bentley, Ratchet and Clank.
It releases exclusively for PlayStation 3 on March 22, but expect a playable demo as promised by Sony beforehand to allow you to test it out and see if it’s for you.
2012 marks the end of the world according to Hollywood producers and the Mayan calendar. It also makes for an intriguing and eerie backdrop for many games.
Particularly made famous by Fallout 3, the apocalyptic world is a cruel and seductive beast. Citizens are dealing and living in extreme conditions, fighting mutated animals and people, only just on the cusp of survival. But it marks the question: could we really survive the end of the world?
In the Bioshock series, the once beautiful and productive Rapture has turned into a dump. The city is in ruins with its people running amok high on ADAM and murder. Rapture could have been considered the perfect city before its fall. Now, once outstanding citizens are struggling to survive, feasting on the remnants of the dream.
This may be a good example of how society and humanity might succumb to the end of all measures. The pyramid of class rank has fallen, food is in shortages, and the only way to survive is to kill. Despite the non-existence of ADAM, can we really see our vibrant cities fall into an abyss of living in rotting housing and searching for that element of escape?
It does put to mind if a place like Rapture could really exist. It may seem the ADAM-obsessed, killing machines that walk mindlessly around are trying to live normal lives only if you stop and listen carefully to their dialogue. They too are like us…but only just. But the concept of Rapture’s fall is not that far from the truth. Think of war torn Afghanistan or the Congo. Andrew Ryan is the government and the splicers are the soldiers. We aren’t that far from where we thought.
Some video games like Dead Rising, Singularity and Bioshock have prepared us for the fall of humanity, even if it is all for a bit of fun. We are taught on how to act, survive and behave around others. We know what weapons to reach for or what to say to avoid confrontation or make a fight.
Every year we are bombarded by disaster movies from Hollywood whose main objective is to scare us into thinking the end of the world is just around the corner. We shudder in our seats, knowing with sick dread and fear that it could possibly happen, watching the fall of man crumple before our eyers. However with interactive video games, they take a different route, making that element of fear a part of survival: pick up a gun or die.
Even though video games are often rich in sensualization and good ol’ shoot-em-up morals, it can be a bit reassuring knowing if the world did decide to end tomorrow, we would be prepared.
Yoostar Entertainment Group has revealed a stunner set list embodied in the game. The first of its kind, Yoostar 2 will put players into their favourite tv series and films in dozens of iconic scenes and sets. Releasing on 8th March on Xbox 360 Kinect and PlayStation 3, there will be 80 scenes in the box with more available online from day one, all of which suited to five different languages.
Here’s just a taster of the iconic and fan-favourtie moments which will be making an appearance, with more to follow soon after:
Hollywood Scenes
-300: This is Sparta! & Tonight we dine in hell!
-Along Came Polly: Me no estas too good.
-American Pie: Stifler’s mom.
-Angels and Demons: A Vatican jet is standing by.
-Animal House: You’re expelled!
-Apollo 13: Houston, we have a problem.
-Baby Mama: Here come yo’ baby mama.
-Beverly Hills Cop: Herpes simplex 10.
-Blazing Saddles: I was born here, and I was raised here.
-The Blues Brothers: It’s 106 miles to Chicago.
-Casablanca: Here’s looking at you, kid.
-Coming to America: I want to tear you apart.
-CSI: Miami Season 3: Gator bait!
-Employee of the Month: Call an emergency staff meeting!
-Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
-Forest Gump: It’s a household name.
-Frankenstein: It’s Alive!
-Godfather: An offer he can’t refuse.
-Grease: What’s the matter – you afraid?
-The Hangover: One-man wolf pack. & Oh, Lord – it’s Mike Tyson
-The Italian Job: I’m Handsome Rob.
-Karate Kid: Wax on, wax off
-Kick Ass: You lookin’ at me? & Nobody’s tried to be a superhero?
-Kindergarten Cop: It’s not a tumor!
-Mad Men Season 1: Enjoying the company of women.
-Meet the Fockers: Look at this! & That weird shrine thing.
-Meet the Parents: Can you deal with that!
-The Mummy: Protect and watch over me.
-Norbit: I haven’t touched your seat.
-The Nutty Professor: Dinner with the Klumps.
-The Princess Bride: Tale of the 6-fingered man.
-Rocky: What about my prime, Mick?
-Rocky Balboa: People see me, and they think of you.
-Shaun Of The Dead: Zombie Soundtrack
-Slap Shot: The finer points of hockey.
-The Spiderwick Chronicles: Jared meets Thimbletack
-Stark Trek: The Next Generation Season 3: Locutus of Borg: Resistance is futile.
-Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2: What killed these tribbles?
-Superman Returns: Superman saves an airplane
-The Terminator: I’ll be back.
-Tropic Thunder: Agent Pecker on the line. & A sweet, cuddly, vicious little panda!
-Up in Smoke: Anybody got any coffee?
-The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy meets the Scarecrow.
Hollywood Sets
-Clash of the Titans: Defeat the Kraken!
-Gladiator: A gladiator before the cheering masses.
-I Am Legend: I can save you!
-King Kong: The wrath of Kong.
-The Matrix: The One commands ‘The Matrix’.
-The Matrix Revolutions: Outmaneuver the Sentinel army.
-Men in Black: Confront the Bug.
-Scarface: Say hello to my little friend.
-Stark Trek: The Next Generation: Enterprise-D bridge.
-Top Gun: Flight Simulator.
