Tecmo Koei is gearing up for the release of their newest title, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll (man, try saying that three times fast). This is actually the latest game in the Zill O’ll series, finally making it’s debut in the west with this installment. The game is developed by Omega Force, known for developing the Dynasty Warriors series. At it’s core Trinity shares many basic similarities with the Dynasty Warriors franchise, mainly that you move from level to level as a powerful character taking on dozens of enemies at once. However, where as Dynasty Warriors is a BIT more hack and slashy, Trinity is a bit more specialized. You won’t see an army comprised of thousands of faceless soldiers that beg to be defeated before the level will end. Instead it’s a bit more of a “get from point A to point B while taking out the enemies that impede your progress” kinda game.
The game tasks you with traversing the world as a party comprised of 3 characters (sound familiar?). What sets this game apart from the rest is that combat is in real time (think dynasty warriors/devil may cry) and you are able to switch characters at will, even mid combo. While you are controlling one character the other two are controlled by AI, so you won’t have to worry about switching up incessantly to cover all of your bases. Each character fights differently and has their own strengths and weaknesses to bring a bit of variety to the combat. The game features some pretty interesting mechanics, one of which deals with the environment when it comes to combat. Using ice magic, for example, while in water will freeze the surface of the water (along with any enemies), allowing you to walk across the ice unhindered while gaining some free hits on your enemies. Nice to see some intuitive environmental effects like this in an action game for once.
As you can tell from the trailer, the setting of Trinity draws similarities with high fantasy/medieval styles, with it’s own unique style of course. The game features various types of enemies, mainly consisting of fantasy-esque creatures. Unlike most other games in the hack and slash genre, Trinity does mix it up from time to time and throws a giant enemy at you, requiring a bit more strategy than just button mashing.
Don’t forget to check out the official site for more details and info. Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll is set to release on February 8th in North America and the 11th for Europe (ha! suckers). Keep your eyes out for more of Trinity in the coming weeks.
Gameloft sold on average 5 games per second in 2010, that seems rather insane, right?
Well it gets better, 2010 was the year of Digital Distribution and Smart Phones/Ipad, which proved successful for everyone involved. Gameloft posted sales of €39.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, up by 25% from the previous year. Europe represented 36% of the company’s sales, North America 29% and the rest of the world 35%. The total for 2010 was €141 million, up by 16% year on year. The full year growth was up by 13%, and they look to improve in the future.
The major growth was driven by sales in emerging countries and by the massive success of Smartphones around the world. In particular, Gameloft has positioned itself as a leading game publisher on Apple’s App Store since launch and has seen its sales on iPhone and iPad grow by 63% in 2010. This year is going to be big as well, with digital distribution on the rise, more tablets than ever coming out and the release of more smartphones. Gameloft is in the right position at the right time in 2011.
Magicka is an independent game developed by Arrow Head Studios, the game is a mix of the Diablo point and click formula with an magic focus added to it. One of it’s biggest features is the support for 4 players online coop, where players can share the adventure together.
The game was released last week with a huge sucess, Magicka sold more than 30,000 copies in less than 24 hours and it’s still on the top of Steam Sales!
“The reception for Magicka has been better than we dared to hope, watching the numerous YouTube clips of gamers and editors worldwide laughing themselves senseless as they misfire spells left and right as well as the comments on twitter and forums show us people really get the humor and the idea behind Magicka. Singleplayer and LAN is what most people are currently playing but updating the multiplayer lobby and continuously improving the game is our top priority. “ – Shams Jorjani, Producer at Paradox Interactive
A big trouble for Magicka was all the bugs the game had at launch, but the developers are already working on patches to fix the current online issues, adding content and implementing player requests like keyboard mapping and much more.
EA Tiburon, the development team behind Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: the Masters has put out this interesting Developer Diary taking a detailed look at one of the new features that will be appearing in the latest Tiger Woods golf game: caddies.
Caddies provide assistance to real-life golfers, and often their knowledge of a course can prove very useful for the golfers. The team behind this title explains how they’ve examined caddies and have tried to add them to the game for a more authentic golfing simulation. They also come with neat quirks attached, such as the caddies’ abilities to gain more and more knowledge of a course the more you play, and subsequently can provide better advice.
All of this information and more can be found out by taking a look at the video below, which features members of the development team and professional golfers.
A while back, we brought you some news about the very unique and impressive El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, which has been in development over the past few years by a team which have brought us titles such as Okami & Devil May Cry. Publisher for the title, UTV Ignition have now announced that the game is now complete. Based on western mythology and heavy in a unique, artistic flare, El Shaddai has certainly got a lot going for it and this title could very well be the next big franchise based on what we have seen. Speaking of that, the game director has also released a statement on completion of this title as well.
“The creation of El Shaddai has truly been a long and exciting journey, and yet there is still much to be done to prepare for the game’s launch. So far, the public’s response to the game has been very encouraging, and I hope that the final product will greatly exceed their expectations. I also look forward to having time to consider the future direction of the El Shaddai franchise,” said Game Director Sawaki Takeyasu.
The word franchise being used this early really shows on how confident the developers are in El Shaddai which is certainly a good sign. UTV Ignition also plan to start a marketing campaign for the upcoming title soon as well so that will be interesting to see as we grow closer to the now marked April 28th release date for Japan. Still no word on an exact date for the States or Europe, but that should all come forth in time. For more info on El Shaddai, check out the official website here and check back soon as I have a feeling the marketing wave is right around the corner.
In 1995, the hit, gory and controversial fighting franchise Mortal Kombat launched the third title in the series: Mortal Kombat 3 for arcades and home console, and was one of my personal favourite games for the Super Nintendo as a kid. It introduced countless of new features, among which were the new Animality finishing moves, and still to this date is one of the darkest titles in the series. Within the same year though, an updated version of the game was released-Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. It took out the Animalities and replaced them with the new Brutalities, as well as taking out the character Sheva and adding in some of the classic characters from the series that were missing, such as Scorpion and Melieena. Now over ten years later, the game is ported to the iPhone, or at least it claims it has. Warning to Mortal Kombat fans: this game is MUCH different to the original. The original had 25 characters, this one has 9 with 2 unlockables. The digitised graphics have been replaced with 3D models, and the character selection is very different. Brutalities are missing too, and replaced with Animalities. However the gameplay and presentation has been basicly untouched and if you consider this title as a stand alone one rather than a port or an update its pretty damn good. In fact, you’d be surprised at just how much fun you’d have with this game, as it truely is a delight to play.
Fight?! What else am I going to do dressed like this?
Presentation
If you’ve played the original MK3 or UMK3 you know what to expect. It’s dark and gritty, it has an almost creepy feel as you move through menus and such. It’s refreshing to see in the fighting genre as now days its all anime dudes with bright colours and big flashy words, so its nice for something a little more in the opposite direction. The blood and gore is admittedly toned down a litttle bit from the original, but not by much. Unfortunately there is only 9 characters to choose from, but there is an additional 2 unlockable fighters and 2 unplayable bosses which sort of helps. Modes available include the standard arcade mode with a ‘choose your destiny’ difficulty select, with the added bonus of being able to save between fights, which is a really handy thing to have. On top of this is a very solid local multiplayer that works really well, survival mode and a pretty cool mode called Shou Karnage which is alot of fun to play. On top of that there are bios, stats, options multiple control schemes, leader boards and achievements, so this game is alot more than simply just ‘Round One…FIGHT!’
Scorpion learns that “Get over here!” is not an effective pick up line.
Gameplay
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3’s controls feel pretty much identical to the original, which had it’s controls tight to begin with, which is always a make or break point for a fighting game. What’s really handy is the variety in the button layout. The standard iPhone-exclusive one will definitely be loved by some and hated by others,personally I found it a great addition. It’s a simplified, 5-button system. One punch button, one kick, block, run and a special button that preforms special abilities. This is great for the iPhone as it makes things easier and being on such a small screen it really helps the game become more enjoyable, especially for a casual gamer. It also makes preforming fatalities easier as well, which blood-thirsty gore fans will love! For the hardcore MK fans however, there is the option to have the original 6-button layout, with high and low punch, high and low kick buttons, run and a block. There is also option of customising your own layout which helps too, so it really should satisfy all kinds of players. The control stick works well and is really responsive, although sometimes on a rare occasion you player may jump upward instead of a particular direction, but it never really ruins the game. The combo system though isn’t very deep and at times can feel a little too simple.
As you can see by the tournament schedule, the Mortal Kombat Tournament isn’t technically really a tournament. There are no brackets and the same guys are always in the finals and semi-finals. So how exactly is this death match organised? No one knows.
The selection of Mortal Kombat fighters is an interesting one, especially with the inclusion of Sheva who wasn’t even in the original Ultimate Mortal Kombat to begin with. However, the mix of characters actually complement each other well, and for the most part it actually feels like its evened out pretty well, unlike the original Mortal Kombat 3 with characters like Sektor being able to preform some pretty unfair (but fun) moves. The selection ranges from fighters who are better in close range combat and some who are better off with specials fighting from a distance, so gameplay doesn’t get repetitive as your strategies will probably change for each character. Not having the ‘toastys’ here are disappointing, but don’t ruin the game, and keeping of the ability to knock opponents into other levels still remains and still are alot of fun to do. Shou Khan and Motaro are also still very unfairly hard in all difficulty levels, but its not so bad it ruins the game.
Here you can design your own button layout, and you can create some really silly, hard to use ones for the lolz. It’s also handy and nice to have such a customisable button layout for the hardcore gamers.
There are a few other modes other than arcade mode however which also enjoyable. Survival mode rears its head into the iPhone port and is a real challenge involving the player fighting fighter after fighter with no replenishing of his/her health bar. Shou Karnage is always a blast to play with gamers fighting the final boss Shou Khan both with unlimited health. The aim of the game is to rack up as many points as you can before the timer is up, and is alot of fun. There is also a local multiplayer option, where if you find someone with the game and you both have a strong wifi signal you can go head to head. The blood is ever so much sweeter when its someone you know, and is a really rewarding experience.
Sadly, the blood isn’t as common in this port and it doesn’t even look that great either. Character models and stages look good though!
Graphics and Audio
The graphics for this port are interesting to say the least. As it’s not digitised actors like the original, they have all been replaced with 3D models. Fear not however, as they all still control and feel the same, they even look and move the same, just the fighters and stages have gone graphical update. Why this was decided is a mystery to everyone it seems. It does seem a bit like an unnecessary update as the old graphics didn’t really need to be improved on at all, however its still nice to see the developer put in the effort to attempt to update the game as some developers do get lazy when it comes to ports like this. It seems to have either crossed or blurred the line between what separates a port from being an update or a completely seperate game with this new graphical style, modes and different character selection. It’s almost as if its a separate game with the same name rather than a port. Regardless, the models look great on the iPhone and are still superb and look rather impressive. There are some small things in menus that actually look better than the original, so its nice to see things like that too. The audio appears to be untouched from the original, which isn’t an issue. Many tunes have a creepy dark vibe to them while others really get you into it. There are a few memorable tracks here that are pretty catchy and really get you into the fighting spirt. Like all games in the Mortal Kombat franchise, the sound effects are epic. The evil demonic voice saying ‘Choose your destiny’ and ‘Finnish him!’ are always a pleasure to hear, and at some point you will laugh at Lu Kang’s Bruce Lee yells and you will shout the classic ‘Get over here!’ with Scorpion everytime you preform his memorable harpoon technique.
Yeah! Take that, Girl Goro!
Konclusion
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a must have for all Mortal Kombat fans and all fans of the fighting genre. The controls are decent, the fighters are well balanced with multiple fatalities, the graphics look sweet, the sound effects are awesome, the soundtrack is good, there are multiple modes and it has a solid local multiplayer. In short, its just a really great game and is alot of fun. A delight to play and very easy to recommend to fighting fans.
The amount of Fatalities, Stage Fatalities, Animalities, Babatalities and Friendships are impressive for each character, and adds a nice extra layer of depth to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and let’s face it-it’s pretty much the main reason why we all love MK so much!
PROS
Simple, pick-up-and-play gameplay
Decent controls that are very customisable
Great graphics
Great Audio
Well balanced character list
Multiple Fatalities
Multiple modes
Decent multiplayer
CONS
It’s advertised as a port of the original, but its very different from it
Original had 25 playable fighters, this one has 11
Blood is toned down a bit
Jumping isn’t always spot on, but it is most of the time
Difficulty for the bosses is a big leap from normal fighters, and seems uneven, even on easy
Loss of digitised actors looses a bit of charm
Combo system isn’t very deep and is a bit too simple at times
As well as being half price as part of this week’s Deal of the Week on the Xbox Live Marketplace (Xbox Live Gold members can buy Hydrophobia Pure for just 400 Microsoft points HERE), there will also be a special competition running this week surrounding the game.
This sweepstakes giveaway states that anyone over the the age of 18 who downloads Hydrophobia Pure this week will be entered into a draw with a first prize worth $4500. The winner of the grand prize will be able to choose a cruise vacation (including spending money) worth $4500 (US residents only). UK residents can select a beach vacation to a value of $3,000 with a further $1500 for applicable prize taxes and fees.
On top of the grand prize, a further 5 winners will be able to bag themselves a cool 4000 Microsoft Points. So, is anyone downloading Hydrophobia at its reduced prize this week? As if it wasn’t enough of a good deal at 400 Microsoft Points, there’s this sweepstake as an extra incentive to get the game. Check out our review of the game when it released in September 2010, although bear in mind it has undergone significant changes through the recent ‘Hydrophobia Pure’ update.
Hydro Thunder Hurricane – 800 MSP (33% off) BUY NOW
As you have probably noticed from the list of games on sale (and if you somehow managed to overlook the title), this week’s deals have a water-theme. These three titles offer wet and wild thrills for a fraction of the price. Hydrophobia is actually for a third of its original price tag which was 1200 MSP: it was reduced to 800 MSP in late December coinciding with a massive update to the game, Hydropobia Pure, and now the price has been slashed again, making this in particular a real bargain.
These offers will run until next Monday, where they will be replaced by next week’s Deal of the Week, so make sure if there’s something you’re interested in, you act before these deals are gone!
After a long wait, one of the best titles of 2010 is finally ready to come down under as Kirby’s Epic Yarn now has a release date of February 24th in Australia. Now, if you haven’t had the chance to try Kirby’s Epic Yarn, it is a bit similar to your standard Kirby title, except in a world made of fabric and yarn with all new powers and a new adventure for our pink hero. In my opinion, this title also packs a punch with one of the best soundtracks of last year as well as each level’s score is memorable and stays true to the Kirby franchise. It is a title that really must be tried by any fan of platformers out there and is bursting at the seems with charm.
We also awarded Kirby’s Epic Yarn a golden capsule under the Wii category and loved the game so much, it received a perfect 10/10! So now that all of the Wii owners have been put on notice for a release date, it is now time to prepare for Kirby’s Epic Yarn to finally come to Australia.
Publishing giant, Konami, has recently released their line-up and pricing for titles to be released in 2011.
Currently the titles released under their label are – *please note prices are in AU$
Publisher
Release Date
Game Title
Console
Price
Konami
Out now
Karaoke Revolution Glee (stand alone)
Wii
$59.95
Konami
Out now
Dance Dance Evolution
Kinect
$89.95
Konami
Out now
Crossboards7
Kinect
$89.95
Konami
Out now
Sports Island Freedom
Kinect
$79.95
Konami
Out now
Beyblade- Metal Fight
Wii
$69.95
Konami
Out now
Beyblade- Metal Fight
DS
$69.95
Konami
Out now
Yugioh! Master of the Cards (bundle with card reader)
Wii
$59.95
Konami
Out now
Yu-Gi-Oh Tag Force 5
PSP
$59.95
The titles currently planned to be released are –
Publisher
Release Date
Game Title
Console
Price
Konami
10-Feb
Def Jam Rapstar
PS3
$89.95
Konami
10-Feb
Def Jam Rapstar
X360
$89.95
Konami
March
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships 2011- Over the Nexus
DS
$59.95
Fighter Collection
TBA
DCS A10C
PC
TBA
Konami
Autumn
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise
PS3
TBA
Konami
Autumn
PES 2011 3D
3DS
TBA
Konami
Autumn
Dr.Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights
3DS
TBA
Konami
Spring
Silent Hill Downpour
PS3/X360
TBA
This is a great looking lineup and it looks like a good year from Konami with many great titles (some of which I’m personally interested in getting; No More Heroes Paradise! :D).
