With Square Enix’s 1st Production Department conference held earlier today a slew of new information regarding their games has hit the streets. Or at least a slew of new trailers and videos. We’ve already seen the teaser for FFXIII-2 but there is another XIII that was shown as well. Final Fantasy Versus XIII was also shown off in a seven minute trailer that not only demonstrated the game’s amazing graphics but the battle system as well.
Featuring the tagline “This is a fantasy based on reality.” We are shown main character Noctis who returns to battle against a variety of different opponents. It also appears that the battle system will feature completely real-time fighting which is a step up from what was experienced during FFXII where players did battle in the open-world, but still had to wait to perform certain actions. Unfortunately there has yet to be a release date given for this PS3 exclusive.
Earlier we revealed that Square Enix had announced Final Fanasy XIII-2 which will be, more or less, a direct sequel to FFXIII which released back in March of last year. We have a little bit more information now thanks to the latest press release from Square Enix which reveals that Japan will be getting Final Fantasy XIII-2 sometime this year, while Western gamers will have to wait until next Winter, which means we have well over a year of waiting left before we step into Lightning’s shoes again.
Now I mention Lightning for one very specific reason, she is currently the only character we know that will be making a return. As you can see above and below she has returned in a much different outfit, wearing mostly body armor and a feather cape. Also we see who some of the storyline will be focused around and is being called Lightning’s rival. Also revealed is the game’s advertising tagline: “Why does mankind defy its fate?” Sounds like it will definitely be interesting with Motomu Toriyama, who headed both FFXIII and is now also heading FFXIII-2, saying that this one will surpass FFXIII in every way.
RedLynx have released the first trailer for the game, showing the game up and running. It is lovely to see the game in motion as, prior to this, we’ve only had static screenshots which haven’t given a great deal away. But now, seeing it run so fluidly only stengthens the suggestion that it will be able to be said in the same breath as the incredible Trials HD which also came from RedLynx. MotoHeroz looks set to be another cracking experience of much the same as you navigate your way through the levels on your vehicle, just like on Trials HD, only this time you’ve got the bonus of up to 4-player co-op.
One of the things that may hit you as you watch trailer is the sound. This is because it features music from the critically acclaimed composer Petri Alanko, which is looking like just one more reason to buy this game when it is released on WiiWare this year.
No joke it’s real! Square Enix has just announced Final Fantasy XIII-2, a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 and Xbox 360 set to be released next winter. I think that the fanboys and girls might of just had their minds blown right now. Final Fantasy XIII was originally released last year in March to a very mixed reception, with some controversially calling it “the worst in the series” and “disappointing” whilst others loved it for its high production values, deep storyline and interesting characters.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is ready to continue the epic storyline introduced in the first. Square Enix is tight lipped about any details at this moment but we do know that a ‘new battle system’ will be introduced, evolving further on XIII’s. I’m guessing that Square Enix is going to ditch the ‘press-one-button’ system of the first game.
Regardless, I’m sure that many FF fans are eagerly anticipating XII-2’s release.
The International Mobile Gaming Award Nominees have been announced! 263 games were submitted for review, and out of that the IMGA selected 30 nominees to be split into six categories. Maarten Noyons, CEO and Founder of the IMGA said in a press release that “We see a trend of very high quality, big productions coming to the mobile platform and on the other hand a lot of fresh innovative casual games. I think the jury has made a very interesting choice. The 7th IMGA shows a wealth of new ideas and ground-breaking quality coming from studios all over the world. I would like to congratulate each of the developers that have games nominated and thank everyone who submitted games to the awards.”
The winners for the 7th Annual International Mobile Gaming Awards will be announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.
And the nominees are:
BEST CASUAL GAME
Bird Strike – Gold Edition – PikPok – New Zealand
Bulba The Cat – C4M – France
Fruit Ninja – Halfbrick – Australia
Jenga – NaturalMotion – UK
Plants vs. Zombies – PopCap Games – Ireland
BEST REAL WORLD GAME
AR Invaraders – Soulbit7 – Israel
Blaze – A Different Game – Sweden
Ghostwire – A Different Game – Sweden
Pocket Critter – Jilin Animation Institute – China
Tourality – Creative Workline – Germany
BEST SPORTS GAME
Billabong Surf Trip – Biodroid Productions – Portugal
Championship Manager 2011 – Dynamo Games Ltd – Scotland
Ice Breaker – NaturalMotion – UK
Let’s Golf 2 – Gameloft – United Kingdom
Snowboard Hero – Fishlabs – Germany
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN
Galaxy on Fire 2 – Fishlabs – Germany
ilomilo – Southend Interactive – Sweden
Infinity Blade – Chair Entertainment – USA
Real Racing 2 – Firemint – Australia
Zen Bound 2 – Secret Exit Ltd. – Finland
EXCELLENCE IN GAMEPLAY
Beyond Ynth – FDG Entertainment – Germany
Guns’n’Glory – Handy Games – Germany
N.O.V.A. 2 – Gameloft – France
Perfect Cell – Mobigame – France
Pix’n Love Rush – BulkyPix – France
MOST INNOVATIVE GAME
Anomaly Warzone Earth – 11 bit studios – Poland
EpicWin – Tak Fung – UK
Finger Balance – Coconut Island Studio – China
Papa Sangre – Somethin’ Else – United Kingdom
The Line – Ant Hive Games – China
This Community review was written by Community Contributor Raphael Duffy. This review has been revised by Dylan Radcliffe. The editor has tried to avoid completely changing what the original Author intended to say; this may cause some Grammatical or Spelling Errors to still be in place from the original Author and overlooked by the Editor during editing. You may also notice the writing style of the particular editor slipping into the Community review, this cannot be avoided. We also try our best to spot plagiarism, but the internet is vast; so if you see this review anywhere else on the web that is not linking directly to our site please contact us immediately at [email protected] with the subject “Review Problems” and any information that may be of use to us. The following Review does not directly relate to the thoughts and opinions of the Capsule Computer’s staff and is just a review written by a community member who wants to share his or her thoughts on the following game.
Dead Space 2 is only a few short days away. To get us all in the mood we have a community site contibutor review of the original Dead Space for PC.
Game Name: Dead Space Platforms: Pc, Xbox 360, PS3 Publisher(s): EA Developer(s): EA Genre(s): shooter/survival horror Release Date: October 14, 2008 ESRB Rating: rated M for Mature (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language) Price: $20.00 (USD)
Story Set in the distant future where mankind is stripping entire planets of resources; you play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer trying to find out what’s wrong with the Planet cracker ship, The Ishimura. Hopefully he will also find his love, Nicole who is somewhere on the ship. The game tasks the player with trying to unravel the mystery of what went wrong and why there are weird shaped humans (necromorphs-they look normal but with a few extra limbs and minor alterations here and there) trying to eat you. The story is really good and draws you in through the use of audio logs, radio communications and simply being with the person. The story itself is engaging, full of twists and isn’t that hard to follow.
Gameplay Set in third person, the player controls the camera with the mouse but with the press of a button you switch too aim mode where you can shoot your weapon; however, aim mode causes you to walk and turn slower. The enemies are killed by dealing enough damage to each enemy. The player can use the weapons too cut limbs off in order too deal more damage and sometime simply too weaken them such as cutting off their legs; however, some enemies can only be hurt in certain places. This combat system matched with the cool weapons that all have alternate fire modes which is all really fun, but you can run you can low on ammo pretty quickly (all your ammo, health and other necessities are shown on the back of the character model) and this is where “survival” part of the game comes in. Outside of combat you try to find more credits, ammo, schematics (for new weapons) and power nodes that add a very engaging aspect to the game. The player can use the nodes too upgrade weapons by linking them in a chain to reach position on a network that change the stats by a few points. There is melee but it is weak along with leaving the player vulnerable but they can knock enemies back so you can shoot them plus the stasis and kinesis modules help to hinder the enemies. The stasis module slows enemies a lot though requires ammo or a recharge at some points, the kinesis is used to levitate objects to pull in far away items or move them.
Lastly there is oxygen levels and zero gravity combat. The oxygen levels appear in some sections where there is no oxygen in the area so the player has to rely on the oxygen tank which is refilled at oxygen stations and in areas with oxygen. Zero gravity combat is like normal combat but with genuine three dimensional gameplay, you can jump from any big flat surface too another and so can the necromorphs so players have to watch not only their back but what’s above them as well making combat a bit more challenging and fun. The things I disliked are the rather small amounts of enemies you face at any one time (you’ll face two or so most of the time but some fun and rather hard encounters can have many more) and the boss battles were fun but the attack patterns were a bit simple. Another problem was that there was no multiplayer and the campaign was actually free roam inside levels but it played out rather linear in some parts, but extra things such as big rooms, some necromorphs and zero gravity combat stopped this from being a major problem. The environments cleverly use layouts too affect the difficulty that make killing the same enemy in different areas even more fun, one other problem is that the game is designed for the player not to move away from the objective path (you can a bit for rooms along the side that might have a few more enemies and more items to take) so the enemies are only found by following the objective path and this means the game plays out completely linear and apart from one distraction (I won’t spoil what it is) you really do only complete the story and that is it.
Audio & Graphics Dead space looks great, even on none super powered pc’s. While the environments can be a little repetitive they are still nice and none of them are ever exactly the same but the camera gives you a really good view and it works really well. The audio is good and the voice acting is definitely great (not stand out of the crowd great but very immersive great), the music and sound effects really do make it creepy and have you on edge.
Overview I finished the game in only 14 hours (it wasn’t a speed run, I tried to pick up every object and get everything) and wasn’t satisfied so I completed it again but it was fun and had me hooked right from the start with some very inventive ideas and great story that really hook the player. One of my favorite single player only games and now that it’s in EA’s value games range it is very cheap for pc, if you like blood, epic guns a good story then don’t wait for number two, get this first.
Pros: great story, awesome guns, looks good and gory
Cons: single player only and nothing to do but follow the story to where it takes you, a bit short for a full game
Game Rating:
it really is just one story mode designed for one play through but a really good one at that.
Since its birth on the Playstation 3 back in 2008, LittleBigPlanet broke the rules in providing players a unique chance to literally create their own game. By putting the powers of creation into the player’s hands, LittleBigPlanet offered custom built levels to engage and explore. With the game’s mascot Sackboy, came a game that resonated with young and old alike.
Developed by Media Molecule, LittleBigPlanet has now become a high selling franchise with the upcoming release of its sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2.
Living and breathing by the words Play, Create and Share; LittleBigPlanet 2 begins with a brand new story mode that provides a wonderfully reconstructed world for Sackboy to explore. Like its predecessor, LittleBigPlanet 2 will offer revolutionary gameplay mechanics, the ability to create your own levels and a creative control scheme that has never been seen before.
The newest features of LittleBigPlanet 2 come in a range of 40 new levels across six themes that are influenced by important cultural points in history including Techno Renaissance and Neon Propaganda. There are offline and online multiplayer options that have new game scoring modes which allow players to include scoreboards and even make social levels to play with their friends, such as puzzle and racing games.
Along his adventures, Sackboy will have new gadgets and equipment to assist him as you play. These include a Grapple Hook for swinging across large gaps and Power Gloves for picking things up and throwing them.
Like every video game, the cut scenes remain the focal point and story teller within the game. LittleBigPlanet 2 has a new cinematic cut scene maker with a new camera system which offers tools to make full cut scenes whether as a stand-alone movie or a narrative experience. The player will have full control over camera position, movement, transitions, and timing.
With the release of the Playstation Move last year, LittleBigPlanet 2 will have a Move demo option which will include a standalone, 10 level demo that will support the Move.
Released in Australia on January 22nd ( US: January 18, 2011; Europe: January 21, 2011; Japan: February 10, 2011) LittleBigPlanet 2 will provide a benchmark for the gaming industry and will ensure the player’s creativity is always in use.
Alterac Valley, one of the (and probably most popular) battlegrounds in World of Warcraft, is an instanced arena in which both sides (Horde and Alliance) go to battle in capturing, holding and eventually destroying key points in order to weaken and eventually defeat the opposing factions leader.
Like all battlegrounds, the objectives are secondary to the real fun, which is (normally) working as a team to win as quickly as possible. But this can often degenerate into someone trying to co-ordinate 40 12-year-olds that try and act like they’re adults, or 40 adults who act like 12-year-olds.
The instance begins with all players being warped in at the beginning of the map, with each faction spawning at opposing ends of the map, and waiting for the match to begin. It is usually a good idea to begin planning your assault and bragging about past successes (this part builds confidence in the team). Generally it’s not a good idea to be pessimistic or troll your team.
Decent Planning
Don’t do this as it incites negativity and decreases confidence.
A good teams strategy will usually have your field looking similar to this –
-at a few minutes in.
A decent grab and hold strategy will involve this kind of planning –
Okay so the instance has started and all players hanging out at the front of the cave near the gate will have already left. You want to be in this crowd as if you haven’t left the cave within the first 5 seconds or started in an in-progress match you’ll be stuck guarding the Alliance territory from the Horde.
Like these poor saps.
Just remember though, that if you’re a part of the main Zerg (the large force that run straight into the horde territory to capture towers and defeat their general) and you die and none of the graveyards have been captured you will be sent back to the nearest captured graveyard… which in this case will be the spawning zone for your team.
Like this poor sap.
From there, you’re best off just staying to defend as it’s unlikely you’ll slip through the enemies main zerg.
After a few minutes of waiting for the towers and fending off Horde attackers, it is now time to launch an attack on their general. Unless there’s something wrong with the makeup of the attacking zerg.
A successful attack will result in a screen that looks a lot like this –
But if you’re not quick enough, or your defence team is incapable of doing its job correctly, you will get a screen that looks a lot like this one –
You’ll notice the difference in the two images. One being that the Alliance team wins, while the other is that the Horde team wins. Depending on the team you’re on, you want the winning screen that corresponds to your team.
Though, there’s more fun to be had in Alterac Valley then just combat and strategising. There’s the chat box, which is full of lunacy and sometimes hilarious commentary. Though quite often it’s just mindless dribble.
Below are a few samples –
I hope you enjoyed this guide through Alterac Valley and that you maybe learned something from the experience.
I shall leave you with some more images and explanations for your enjoyment.
The gates blocking the entrance to the battleground at the Alliances spawn point.
This is the main Zerg. As you can see on the minimap, it’s quite a large force.
I think this is a battle against Drek’Thar, but as you can see there are a few Hordies in the fight. This is a typical looking battleground fight. The flashy stuff are all spells and effects, the purple skull thing is someone being feared and it’s all quite messy.
Minimap. It shows a top-down, miniaturised representation of the battlefield designed to quickly provide navigational and positional data to the user.
EA is bringing in the Robots and has confirmed that its XBLA platformer, Spare Parts, is coming to the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday for 800 Microsoft Points. Play as a robot duo who find themselves stuck on a planet with what seems to be no life on it. You must collect the ship parts in order to get off the planet, by yourself or with a friend in co-op.
The Deal of the Week this week is one that a lot of you have probably been waiting for (or not). Plants vs Zombies is finally being discounted for 800 Microsoft Points. Many of you are probably thinking that it is worth all 1200 Microsoft Points from its normal price, and you may be correct; but 800 Microsoft points makes it all that much sweeter and cheaper!
Also, don’t forget that EA is having a massive sale on many items this week as well. We’ve already shared the list today here, but I’ll put it back up here for those of you who didn’t see it. There is speculation floating around that a few of the items are still unknown, since it was initially advertised as “over 25 items from EA being discounted” and now they reveal a list with less then 25 items. We’ll just have to wait and see if the speculation is true.
Consider this post more of a reminder that one of last year’s biggest titles, Plants vs Zombies will be out tomorrow (1/18) for the Nintendo DS. While this version doesn’t seem all too different from the standard Plants vs Zombies we have all seen, it does offer a great way to take the addicting title with you at all times as fully utilizing the Nintendo DS’ touch screen control scheme, letting you drag and drop your army of plants straight on the battlefield.
I think one of the things that makes this version so appealing (at least to myself), is the low price-tag that goes along with it at just $19.99 (US) as well as all the features such as survival, 2-Player, and some brand new mini-games will all be playable on this new portable version. You check out the trailer below and get your survival plans ready as the zombie invasion is just hours away from hitting the Nintendo DS.
