Lego Star Wars III – The Clone Wars, the latest of the Lego Star Wars games brings to Lego life the events of the (more recent CGI) Clone Wars animated series which currently airs on Cartoon Network. The latest video released by the developers goes into the voice acting and shows us the goofiness and humour that goes into the voice over track of the game. The game tells the story of the first two seasons of the series but in a more goofy lego kind of way.
Anybody familiar with the Lego series of games will know that the game features no spoken dialogue, but instead the characters communicate using grunts and other strange noises. Watching the recording process behind this is quite entertaining and also very informative as to how the process works and how it applies to the end result.
To watch the clip, see it embedded below.
For more information on the game, head on over to the Official Website.
Old school arcade racing returns to the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network with Sega’s newly announced SEGA Rally Online Arcade. A new HD racer for consoles inspired by previous arcade Sega Rally titles such as Sega Rally Revo and Sega Rally 3. “We’ve blended our hit arcade racing series with the best elements from the console versions to bring our fans the SEGA Rally experience in compact, downloadable format,” said Haruki Satomi, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA. “Whether they’re new to the SEGA Rally series or they’ve participated in countless races over the years, we’re confident everyone will enjoy the wide variety of features included in this fan favourite”. SEGA Rally Online Arcade will feature arcade favourites Championship Battle mode and Time Attack, as well as achievements, new rally cars and online leaderboards.
Expect to see SEGA Rally Online Arcade coming soon to the XBLAand PSN in 2011.
You’ve been reading and hearing about this map pack for quite some time ever since it was announced. The waiting is now over because marking the new month of February the Xbox Live Marketplace has received its injection of new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer maps and they are available for download now. You can find the download link here, but keep in mind that the price is 1200 MSP ($15).
Now those who have the PS3 version of Black Ops are left out in the cold for now because the Xbox 360 has First Strike as a timed exclusive, and no release date has currently been announced for other consoles. But for those that do pick up the map pack they will be getting four multiplayer versus maps: Berlin Wall, Stadium, Kowloon and Discovery. There is also the new zombie level called Ascension that will feature players having to survive against Soviet Zombies, perk-stealing zombie monkeys, and traps inside of a Cold War era cosmodrome.
Fans of classic SNK games should rejoice considering the fact that SNK Playmore has just made it official that there will be a PSP compilation released that contains 20 different games from SNK Playmore’s history. The PSP compilation will be called SNK Arcade Classics 0 and each of these 20 games are before the company started working on Neo Geo releases.
What this means is that classics which have long been forgotten or not released in a bundle are now available for the first time all on one disc. Games such as Athena and Psycho Soldier will be able to be played on this compilation as well as many others. Andriasang has thankfully translated the entire list of games on the compilation UMD when it releases in Japan on April 21st. Although there hasn’t been an official release date for the United States announced yet, the ESRB has had a rating in place for the game which had left SNK’s fans wondering when Playmore would make it official.
Full list of the games available on the compilation below:
Ikari Warriors (1986)
Dogosoken (Ikari Warriors 2) (1986)
Ikari III: The Rescue (overseas version) (1989)
Athena (1986)
Psycho Soldier (1987)
Sasuke vs. Commander (1980)
TANK (1985)
ASO (1985)
Prehistoric Isle in 1930 (1989)
Bermuda Triangle (1987)
Vanguard 2 (1984)
HAL 21 (1985)
Marvin’s Maze (1983)
Guerrilla War (1987)
P.O.W. (1988)
Street Smart (1989)
SAR Search and Rescue (1989)
Touchdown Fever (1987)
Gold Medalist (1988)
Super Championship Baseball (overseas version) (1989)
Square Enix announced today that The 3rd Birthday will be making its way to shelves in the United States on March 29th. This means that in just about two months Western fans of Parasite Eve will be able to get their hands on the localized version of the game, with full English voice work. Now Square Enix could have went with a standard voice actor but in this case they went above and beyond as far as hiring actors goes.
Yvonne Strahovski will be the voice of Aya Brea in The 3rd Birthday. Now fans of video games may recognize her voice from Mass Effect 2 as she voiced Miranda Lawson. Though she is much better known for her starring roll in Chuck as Special Agent Sarah Walker. She made this statement about her work with The 3rd Birthday: “I was immediately interested when Square Enix approached me with the opportunity to play Aya Brea in The 3rd Birthday. I love Aya – she’s strong, driven and ready to take on the world.” Now though Aya may be the star of the game, Kyle Madigan will be voiced by Jensen Ackles of Supernatural fame.
While The 3rd Birthday arrives on store shelves in the US on March 29th for $29.99 there was also an announcement today regarding a special edition available in Europe. Now there was no release date announced for the following pack, which means it could be a few months past the US release date. Regardless of that fact however Square Enix announced The 3rd Birthday Twisted Edition which will include two lithographs, a 48 page hardcover art book and a DLC code that gives Lightning an Aya Brea costume that can be used in Dissidia 012[duodecim]: Final Fantasy.
New media for Lord of the Rings: War in the North has emerged, showcasing Middle Earth Enterprises beautiful realisation of Tolkein’s/Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth, the universe of the Lord of the Rings.
Among the assets for the game were four new screenshots, showing the visuals for a snowy terrain, and a new trailer for the game which at the very least will excite Lord of the Rings fans, if not everyone. Perhaps I’m slightly biased as a fan myself, but this game is looking incredible and looks like it will bring an unprecedented level of freedom to Lord of the Rings games.
Free from the bounds of a movie license, it offers a completely new storyline, and although it links in with events of the movies, is set in a completely different time period and sees a new cast of characters: a ranger, an elf and a dwarf. This is the class system that will feature in the game, with you picking one of these races for yourself, but with the other characters still playing a fundamental part in your quest.
The other revelation was a new trailer about the Black Númenorean, which can be seen below.
Game Name:Plants vs Zombies Platform(s): Nintendo DS (Also available on iOS, PC, XBLA, and soon the PSN) Publisher(s):PopCap Developer(s):PopCap Genre(s): Tower Defense Release Date: January 18, 2011 (US) March 25, 2011 (EU) Price: $19.99
After making a strong debut in 2009 for the PC, PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies has been one of the biggest success stories in recent years. Continuing the trend of porting this addictive tower defense title, we now have Plants vs Zombies on the Nintendo DS. While not a whole lot different from the original, this port still brings a few minor changes to utilize it’s newest platform. Does the DS version keep the same addictiveness and charm that we know and love? Here is my review for Plants vs Zombies on the Nintendo DS.
Story
You start your crazy adventure as a homeowner simply trying to protect your home from a zombie invasion. Using a wide variety of plants as well as being assisted from your neighbor, “Crazy Dave”, it is up to you to fend off the Zombies as they approach wave by wave. The story pretty much has not changed a bit from the previous versions of the game as it is simply ported over. The good news though is that most of your favorite herbal friends and the many variations of zombies still retain the same charm so thankfully this new portable version did not fall victim to hardly any cuts other than one less seed packet and a couple of other minor (and barely noticeable) retractions.
Gameplay
Of course this is where Plants vs Zombies packs a punch the hardest. The main adventure mode plays almost exactly the same except with a few new add-ons that take advantage of some of the Nintendo DS’ features. I will get to those in a minute, but for the gamers out there that haven’t tried it yet, I will rundown exactly how this title plays out.
You start out in the main adventure mode in your front yard which has a grid like set-up with a set number of rows. The main plot of the game is to drop plants on your yard to perform various tasks to defend your house from zombies who slowly trot down the rows, on a mission to break past your defenses, break into your house, and then eat your brains. The whole game is about proper placement and strategy as every move is crucial to your survival.
Using a Sun system, the player must gather suns through plants (or through dropping sun icons during the day levels) so you are able to place more plants on the field in order to properly protect your house. Each plant is also on a timer as well so you must wait for a recharge in your seed packet before planting another ally on the field. The strategy to all of this madness comes in with the zombies themselves though. As you move through out the game, you unlock many new plants which spit or throw projectiles, gather sun, blow up, slow down, and even block out zombies for a short period of time. While you unlock these charming new members of your army though, the Zombies also get better equipped with powers enabling them to counter many of these attacks so it soon becomes a matter of quickly assembling an army of plants in the appropriate spots and hammering the horde as it approaches until there is no zombies standing. All of this is handled using the Nintendo DS’ touchscreen as now you simply just drag and drop each plant on to the battlefield. This method is played out perfectly as the touchscreen was always 100% accurate and made placement a breeze.
As you move on in the adventure, the gameplay also changes in a few different ways. After so many levels, it soon grows night over your area, which means most of the solar powered plants can no longer be active. Mushrooms and nocturnal plants quickly take the stage with a similar defensive strategy though, but these require less sun (or no sun at all) but pack a little less of a punch to the ongoing horde providing the need for a new strategy from the player. With other areas including a backyard which brings in some aquatic madness with a pool, rooftops that require flower pots for placement, and the continuing rotation of day and night, everything soon comes together as the game grows in challenge and intensity.
As I mentioned, you unlock a new plant after nearly every level in the adventure mode, but you also have a store ran by Crazy Dave who supplies you with upgrades on your journey which can be purchased with the coins found on the field during battles. Each of these are all useful so another challenge in itself is saving up and purchasing the right items needed for whatever zombie danger that may be ahead.
From time to time in adventure mode, different mini-games will come into play which change up the gameplay with some unique ways to destroy the zombies. From bowling, blasting, and other zombified versions of some familiar titles, these are all fun to try. One of the most unique in this area is an exclusive mini-game that lets you cheer on overheated plants, powering them up to better fight the zombies by the name of “Heat Wave”. Even after you complete the main adventure mode, you can access any of these for later play through the main menu. The incredibly addictive Survival and Puzzle modes are also back adding tons of re-playability and local wireless single & multi-card multiplayer are also great additions where a friend can instantly take the other side and join the zombies in their quest for brains. This version stands strong with the other Plants vs Zombies’ titles with the same addictive formula players should expect and with the minor additions is now even more accessible for those wanting a better portable option.
Graphics/Audio
While the sprites in this DS port may be a bit smaller, the details in the artwork are still very visable and look great on the system. I really thought with all of the constant animation that is on the screen, Plants vs Zombies might have suffered a frame-rate death on the system but very little slowdown took place even in some of the busiest scenes. With all of the battles taking place on the bottom screen, the top screen was used to show off enlarged and charming animated zombies approaching as well as various other animations which all looked very polished as well.
The audio certainly did not take any hits either as the same memorable tunes are all played throughout the game and sounds crisp and clear. Sound effects did seem a bit lighter in tone but like the frame-rate, this really was not too noticeable and had no effect on the game altogether. The whole presentation as a whole though was surprisingly well made and really showed that this “port” was just as enjoyable as the other offerings already available.
Overall
While not a whole lot has changed, Plants vs Zombies still has the same addictive gameplay that fans of the series love, just in a bit of a lighter form. The way the DS is utilized throughout the game makes everything flow smoothly, allowing the player to concentrate on the frantic gameplay instead of any unnecessary gimmicks like some ports bring when they come to the system. While the new mini-games are not too advanced, they definitely deserve to be tried on this version as well. With a nice budget price-tag as well as a beautiful presentation, there is now no reason not to tote the zombie madness with you everywhere you go.
A couple of days ago we wrote about the crossover between Angry Birds and the upcoming animated film Rio. Well, that somewhat strange partnership has been one-upped, with the merging of the film Hop with the super-popular app Doodle Jump.
From Chris Meledandri, the guy behind Despicable Me, Hop tells the story of a slacker who incapacitates the Easter Bunny, and must take care of him. The Easter Bunny (shortened to E .B.) will be available as a playable character in an update for Doodle Jump, to be released sometime in February.
For not one, but two Hollywood films to utilise popular app games as marketing is an interesting development. “To have Doodle Jump involved with the launch of a major motion picture demonstrates how influential apps have become in just a few short years,” said Igor Pusenjak, the president and founder of Lima Sky, the company behind Doodle Jump.
Comment, which other app/movie crossovers would you like to see?
Adventure fans will be pleased to hear that the iPhone game Scarlett And The Spark Of Life: Episode One from Launching Pad Games got an update this week. Version 1.2.1 includes 11 new OpenFeint Achievements added to the game, as mentioned on it’s itunes page:
“What’s New in Version 1.2.1
★ OpenFeint Achievements ★
Are you the local Scarlett expert?
★ Can you tap like a wild person and race through the adventure in super-quick time?
★ Can you play a certain well-known tune on the graveyard contraption?
★ Can you delve into Gherkin’s dark psyche and uncover a softer side?
★ Can you stoop to telling terrible bee jokes?
Prove your worth with eleven new OpenFeint Achievements!”
Scarlett And The Spark Of Life is an amazing game and is very enjoyable, and when us here at Capsule Computers reviewed it, it was praised in almost every aspect, only real criticism we could even find for it was the unfortunate shortness of the game, leaving players wanting more and the lack of content outside the game, resulting in very little replay value. The inclusion of achievements while a very small feature, is a step in the right direction to improve an already spectacular game. Hopefully more small goodies like this are included in Episode Two!
Finally, some proper footage has surfaced for Anarchy Reigns, Platinum Games’ latest title which, until now, has remained shrouded in a mist of mystery. But now we can get a real feel for the gameplay by watching this latest footage – in fact, it doesn’t look unlike Bayonetta which was released last year from Platinum Games.
The new trailer shows off a character known as Sasha, or to some, the Ice Queen, who uses weapons such as ‘snow spikes’ to take out opponents.
SEGA plan to release Anarchy Reigns in Autumn this year for PS3 and Xbox 360. Will you be buying Anarchy Reigns later this year, or is it still too early for you to decide? Let us know in the comments section below.
