City Interactive have announced that they have now sold a million copies of the Xbox 360 title, Sniper: Ghost Warrior. This bit of news comes just a month before the Playstation 3 release of the title, and honestly it is a bit of a surprise considering other titles such as Enslaved only sold around half that. Of course, the celebration of success isn’t stopping the developers from looking towards the future, as a sequel is also in the pipeline as well.
Here is an official statement from City Interactive on this bit of news:
“A lot of hard work and dedication by the entire City Interactive team went into the development of Sniper: Ghost Warrior, so we are understandably pleased about the worldwide success of the game,” said Marek Tymiński, CEO of City Interactive. “This success is the perfect backdrop to reveal details about some of the fantastic games that we currently have in our development pipeline, including the sequel to Sniper: Ghost Warrior and a couple of unannounced projects.”
First off, I must say a big congratulations go out to the whole team as Ghost Warrior was a superb offering last year. I think a part of this success was also due to the brilliant timing of release and just the fresh take on the sniper simulation concept, so it goes to show that you don’t have to be Activision or EA to have a mega-hit these days. The PS3 version of Sniper: Ghost Warrior releases on March 22nd of next month, and I am sure we will be hearing of these exciting new “future projects” and continuation on the Ghost Warrior franchise from City Interactive very soon.
Comrade Black is back again and up to his old antics in de Blob 2. A new trailer released today from THQ shows a cheerful look on an uprising against the colorless tyrant that players will experience during the story of the game. de Blob 2 is honestly looking like a nice, refreshing breath of fresh air compared to the much darker titles on consoles we have seen in the past year, so I must say if this title hasn’t been on your radar, it may be time to give this game a second look.
With all of the buzz surrounding de Blob 2, the most interesting thing to myself is how the Playstation Move along with the 3D aspects (which will be on the PS3 AND the Xbox 360 versions) will play into the title itself. You can check out the trailer in full below, and de Blob 2 will release next Tuesday, the 22nd in the states and on the 24th for the AU, and 25 for Europe on the Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.
Four new EPIC screen shots have been released for Batman: Arkham City and they look amazing! The city looks vast and beautiful and character designs and models look great, staying true to the Batman world, and keeping very dark and bad-ass. This place really looks like a hell hole, ready for Batman to clean up by sneaking around in the dark. Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009’s critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. DC fans can expect to be playing as the dark knight’s latest adventure/stealth game to hit the shelves in the third quarter of this year on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation3.
Zombies are usually running towards the living to feast on their brains and flesh, but what would a zombie do if a zombie apocalypse failed and there was only one zombie left on earth, and angry humans were chasing it to kill it? Well com2us has an idea-LEG IT!!! in this new iPhone game, players try to outrun humans through a gigantic cemetery in order to survive with many connectivity options competing for high scores.
The highly addictive title saw its release today and is now available for the app store here for $1.29. This game is a lot of fun and you can expect a Capsule Computers review within the next day or two, in the meantime if you’d like an idea of how the game plays without purchasing it, you can check out our exclusive hands-on preview here!
Game: Stacking
Publisher/Developer: THQ/Double Fine Productions
Consoles: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PS3
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points/$15.00
Genre: Puzzle/Platformer Try the demo orbuy the game here!
Double Fine Productions has a reputation for creating exciting and unique game design ideas. And on top of that, they make these ideas work too. However, Stacking may be the most zany creation that these developers have ever dreamed up. Combining matryoshka dolls, lovable characters and intense puzzle solving, the game is awesome. That is undeniable. But, is it worth the price of admission? What the hell is a matryoshka anyway?
Story
Matryoshka, or Russian nesting dolls, are those little wooden toys that stack inside of another. When a family of these dolls become embroiled in economic poverty, the father and children are kidnapped and forced into slavish labor. One child is left though. Little Charlie Blackmore is so small that he escapes these horrid circumstances and goes on a mission of love & rescue.
I have to admit that, at first, I was expecting a more light hearted story. Although the team behind the game has delved into heavier fare like kidnapping before, the presentation of the game and the way the story was thrown at me was a bit of a shocker. After all, the game starts out with a loving family gathered around their papa. A joke is told. BAM! Dad leaves; children kidnapped; Charlie leaves on suicide mission. Other than this abrupt change in the circumstance,the story is actually quite good.
The story is presented like an old fashioned silent film. The film is grainy, neutrally colored and makes for an atmosphere that really makes the darkened mood set in. It is also interesting how attached I got to these characters, even though their mouths did not move. The animations that accompany each character’s words accentuate the feelings that they are expressing. It was not hard at all to identify with their sentiments.
Gameplay
As you can imagine, the best part about Stacking is the gameplay. In order to reach your family and get them home safely, you must complete various challenges and puzzles. All the characters have different specialized moves. For example, one man can unlock doors. Another will fart loudly. Some women sip tea; while others seduce guards.
Since you are playing as the smallest doll of all, you can stack inside any of these dolls. No, really. You can literally hop inside a doll. The only restriction is that the new doll must be one bigger than you are at the present moment. Once inside the new person, you control this man or woman’s actions and use their powers to finish the levels. You can stack many people on top of each other and larger sizes are unlocked as you play along. Unstacking can be just as crucial to your success too.
If you are just playing to get the through the game, it will probably only take 6 or 7 hours. But, the challenges in the game can solved in a variety of ways and will make the game at least twice as long. Finding each doll and then figuring out ways to use their gifts to solve a specific challenge is very rewarding. The only complaint I have with this gameplay element is that it often leads to a lot of backtracking. Therefore, I recommend that you don’t try to complete all the puzzles in the each level on your first playthrough.
Of course, you can also try to find all the collectible dolls in each level and you can even find new families of dolls, and bring them together. There are also a plethora of of side objectives to complete.
Audio
The rollicking ragtime soundtrack in the game fits the tone of the silent film/vaudeville style game perfectly. Piano music is a genre of music that does not often get picked to play in a video game; Stacking’s implementation of this type of music is a bold move that brings even more originality to the game.
A lack of voice acting does kill some of the charm though. Adorable gibberish does not count as a language! I want to find out what a tiny wooden doll sounds like! This deficiency of audio also makes watching each cut scene at least twice as long as it should be.
Graphics
Stacking’s graphical style is very interesting. On hand, I hate it. On the other hand, it is also an artistic masterpiece. Each cylindrical body & face is exquisitely detailed. They each have their own unique trademarks and look like realistic matryoshka dolls. However, stale backgrounds are no fun to walk around in. Most of the time, all the walls are blank. At the same time though, the bland environments also bring out the skillful use of colors that the artists used in the game. Sections of the game that do play pivotal roles in the game have areas that can be explored, but it would be nice for a lot more of the game to have some artwork or something.
Overview
Stacking is one of kind. It is intrinsically awesome and an experience that you will not regret playing through. Paying $15.00 for Stacking is a little bit pricey, but I would not be disappointed to give my money for this great video game. After all, there are only a few minor problems with this game.
All in all, the slow cut scenes, annoying backgrounds and backtracking nature of the extra challenges can be solved by simply enjoying the fine workmanship of how each puzzle is so well constructed.
Have you only just managed to get the Ghostbusters theme out of your head after playing the retail game a couple years ago? Well, prepare to be singing it for another year yet!
Atari have released more enticing screenshots for the upcoming digital release, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. Since it was announced in December, a steady stream of images have been released, with the latest here showing some epic battles.
Details are a little scarce, but what we do know is it will be a downloadable title on the Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and PC, it will be four-player co-op, on the same machine or online, and it will be available in the vague window of “Spring 2011”. For us Southerners, that means March, April or May.
One small cause for concern – apparently, the original cast is not involved this time. The player characters are rookies, which worked in the 2009 retail game, because it kept the banter and relationships between the main characters intact. This time, with four rookies and no Venkman, much of the charm of the franchise may be lost. But, we’ll have to wait and see. At least, it’ll tide fans over until Ghostbusters 3 hits cinemas next year (hopefully!)
A new study finds links between the reduction of anxiety and depression with the use of casual games, like Bejeweled, Peggle and Bookworm adventures.
In a study conducted between ‘East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic’ and ‘Popcap Games’; comes evidence that suggests a link between the reduction of psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression, with casual games like Bejeweled. The study itself featured ~60 randomly selected participants with around half featured as controls. To quote the study –
East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic today revealed the results of a year-long randomized, controlled clinical study that measured the efficacy of so-called “casual” video games (CVGs) in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety as a co-morbid condition. Nearly 60 subjects, half of whom served as controls, all meeting the criteria of clinical depression, participated in the study, which involved three family-friendly, non-violent puzzle games: Bejeweled 2®, Peggle® and Bookworm® Adventures. (All of the games are made by PopCap Games, underwriter of the study.) The hypothesis was tested using state-of-the-art technologies including psychophysiology, biochemical and psychological measurements, and found an average reduction in depression symptoms of 57% in the experimental (“video game”) group. The study, the first such research ever to measure the efficacy of video games in reducing depression and anxiety, also found significant reduction in anxiety, as well as improvements in all aspects of mood, among study subjects who played the casual video games.
Dr. Carmen Russoniello, Director of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU, and also the overseer of this study, points out that casual games have a positive effect over these psychological issues. He shares his findings –
“In my opinion the findings support the possibility of using prescribed casual video games for treating depression and anxiety as an adjunct to, or perhaps even a replacement for, standard therapies including medication. Remarkably, these games had both short term (after 30 minutes of game play) and long term (after one month) effects when compared to the control group. Equally important, the data supports the hypothesis that casual video games contain intrinsic qualities that, when played, provoke physiological and biochemical changes consistent with positive changes in mood and anxiety.”
An estimated 20.9 million Americans suffer from some kind of mood lowering symptoms and around two thirds of those suffer from major depression. – National Institute of Mental Health (US).
For more information, check out the study results here.
Feeling a little down because your favorite yellow haired ninja hasn’t been around since November of last year? Then cheer up because the demo for the latest Naruto Shippuden game is available right now on the PlayStation Network to download onto your PSP. This way you can get a taste of what Naruto Shippuden: Kizuna Drive has to offer before it comes out on March 22nd for $40.
The demo itself will give players the chance to play as Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Shikamaru to battle against the opponents that they put you up against. But the most interesting bit of news is that a new trailer was also released for Kizuna Drive which says that the game will feature a completely seperate storyline than what is featured in the show and looks like it will place players up against Fake Tailed Beasts.
Kizuna Drive will allow players to go through this unique storymode as well as a free battle mode where you can build a four man team of your own and do battle against enemies. The appeal of this mode is the fact that you can team up with three other friends to fight together wirelessly.
From now on when you see a popular App that happens to be free on the Appstore then you better check the fine print because Apple has just approved the ability to allow Apps to charge a subscription fee to let you even access the content inside of it. The App Store previously allowed in-App purchases through your iTunes account and will now also allow subscription fees to be charged as well.
There has been no word as to how many games will actually be using this subscription based method of transaction but it could be dark times ahead for anyone who enjoys taking Farmville with them on their phone or simply enjoying something like Lil’ Pirates on their iDevice.
CEO Steve Jobs said this during the approval of the subscription fees:
“Our philosophy is simple — when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing. All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.”
Hackers beware, Sony isn’t about to just let you have a field day anymore on their console. The PlayStation 3 has unfortunately become one of the most notoriously hacked consoles of this generation considering the fact that Sony and the Hackers of the PS3 are always at war with one another. It seems that Sony has finally had enough of trying to simply patch the holes in their console and are bringing the PSN bans out. Read their full statement below:
Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.
To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems.
Sony is currently going to allow anyone that has any unauthorized additions to their consoles and hacks a chance to remove their unauthorized content before they ban them. However once that time period has passed they will begin banning players just like Microsoft has done for years on the Xbox 360. Will this solve the problem or just make it less prominent?
