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Dead or Alive Paradise – PSP Review

Travis Bruno
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2


Dead or Alive Paradise
Published by: Tecmo Koei
Developed by: Team Ninja
Release Date: March 30, 2010
Price: $29.99 US, £29.99 UK, $46.99 AUS

Overview:
Now Dead or Alive is mostly known for being about fighting but in recent years the girls of DoA have made appearances in two different spin off games known as Dead Or Alive Xtreme. These games place the female characters of the DoA franchise in bikinis or swimsuits, your pick, and allow them to play volleyball with one another without any actual violence. Now the series has gone portable with the Dead or Alive Paradise, but does the shrinking of the screen also shrink the ability to stare at girls in bikinis?

Story:
There is a semblance of a story here, but for the most part it just gives a reason as to why all of the different girls from the Dead or Alive series have shown up. The story is introduced with a very bad looking CGI cutscene showing Zack and Niki bringing back New Zack Island back to the surface with the help of some aliens.

Then the game begins anew with the player able to select one of ten different girls(seen above) to begin your vacation with. The girls are invited to the island, some with false pretenses, and others to simply relax on the island. That is all there is really as the rest of the story falls away to simply letting the player take advantage of the DoAP’s mini-games and camera function.

Graphics:
Unfortunately for a game that would usually be all about the visuals and the fact that the players purchased it to primarily focus on the girls it is depressing to say that the girls themselves are very jagged looking and literally rough around the edges. Now it would have been one thing if the rest of the game had been bad looking but the girls themselves would be fine, but that is not the case in this one. The girls may not have be some of the worst things you can find on the PSP but for a game centering around the sights to see this is a major down point.

Plus as weird as this may sound the physics that the previous Dead or Alive Xtreme’s have sported have gone completely out of the window in the case of Paradise. The breast physics are unfortunately really messed up this time around as they no longer appear even vaguely realistic. When each one is bouncing around completely independently from the woman’s actions it is entirely disenchanting.

Audio:
It is worth taking note that players can not only use the background music that the game comes with, which is a mix of light dance songs and up-beat music, but you can also use music stored on the PSP. This is handled by placing Music onto your PSP on its own but not in a folder. For some odd reason if your music is in different folders then you will not be able to select it for use during your volleyball game or staring session.

Gameplay:
As you begin your vacation on New Zack Island you find out that you will be having two weeks to enjoy your time there. The main parts of the game you can experience vary between two different mini games that you can play and earn Zack dollars, give and receive gifts from the other girls on the island to build your relationship with them, and buy plenty of swimsuits to have your girls wear during their time on the island.

Now these mini-games are the Volleyball and Pool Hopping. Oh and there is the gambling section too which gives players the opportunity to gamble away their hard earned money on blackjack, poker, and slot machines. These gambling sections also introduce Rio who makes her first appearance in a game outside of Japan. Now back to the other two mini-games. Pool Hopping gives your girl the chance to race with another girl on floating pads that have different buttons on each one. You can press the buttons on each pad to make your girl jump to that pad. Further jumps require a longer press of the button while one immediately in front of you only requires a tap. The mis-press of a button will cause your girl to fall into the water and lose the race.

Now the other mini-game, volleyball, is more centered on what players have experienced before and is also where players will spend most of their time gathering money. The volleyball mode is serviceable at best and works as great as players could expect with the volleyball mechanic. The mode is put together well and as long as you work well with your partner you will be able to rack up the wins and increase your friendship with your partner.

Now your money can be put to a number of different uses. You will be able to purchase a very large collection of swimsuits that vary from cosplay, to relatively conservative one piece swimsuits, to extremely skimpy bikinis that barely cover any part of the body. These swimsuits can be worn by your girl as well as given as gifts to other girls on the island. You will also be able to purchase different miscellaneous items that each girl has a favorite for and can be gifted as well.

Now when you become good friends with the different girls on the island you will receive something called Venus Clips. Venus clips are more or less videos of the girl who gave them to you performing various acts around the island. These range from crawling along a few tree trunks in the jungle, swimming in the ocean, or lounging at the poolside. These Venus Clips are also a way for players to experience the camera system which allows players to take different pictures of the girls at various angles to put into a photo album for themselves.

Now after your two week vacation is up and you have returned back to the main menu you will unlock something known as the Private Paradise mode. The Private Paradise mode is basically a mode to view any previously received Venus Clips and allows you to place the girl in them in any bikini that you have purchased already.

Sure there is a lot of bad here, but there is one shining light that I have mentioned again and again in this review. There is a very large collection system as far as the bikini systems go, and the friendship rating with the girls is actually well done so there is a redeeming factor if you enjoy collecting different things and unlocking new swimsuits while also building friendships with the other Dead or Alive girls.

Overall:
Now Dead or Alive Paradise may be exactly what you are looking for if you want to pick up a game that can easily provide countless hours of entertainment while unlocking countless amounts of swimsuits and place them on the different girls. There just isn’t a whole lot of depth to DoAP considering there are only two mini-games and gambling to be had, and unfortunately for a game that is all about looking at female characters and enjoying the different views you can experience within the game, that the graphics are sub-par at best.

I give Dead or Alive Paradise

5-5-capsules-out-of-10

Half-Life 2 done on paper

Justin Mienkiewicz
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3

Half-Life 2 is arguably one of the BEST games of the past decade.  You would be hard pressed to find somebody who hasn’t played it or doesn’t like it.  Lauded for it’s new and innovative approach to cutscenes (by not having any and just making it part of the game), creating a compelling and fluid story that isn’t just “hide behind chest high walls and kill every enemy in room, move forward, rinse, repeat” and introducing the famed gravity gun.  You get it, the game is great.  Youtube user Remus2008 has recreated the more memorable moments of Half-Life 2 (in chronological order) on paper with some humor thrown in.  I definitely had a smile on my face by the end, I’m willing to bet you will to.

Indie Game “Sequence” Brings Some Rhythm Action to the Xbox 360…

Dustin Spencer
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1
Indie Game “Sequence” Brings Some Rhythm Action to the Xbox 360…

Before the days of titles like Rock Band and Guitar Hero took over the whole rhythm action genre, titles like Bust-A-Groove and Dance Dance Revolution were the way to get your musical fix on a console. The main reason I am bringing up these titles is due to a new trailer which was recently released by Iridium Studios for their upcoming game, Sequence, which in my opinion looks to be a bit reminiscent of those late 90’s rhythm-action titles which is of course a good thing.

At first glance, this title looks like standard fare for a rhythm title but as shown in the trailer, Sequence is a lot more than that. With over 80 minutes of spoken dialogue as well as a full plot and customizable characters, and even a claim of over ten hours of gameplay, this indie title has me interested as Sequence is looking to bring a lot to the table. The gameplay in the trailer looks to be top notch with quite a motley cast of characters and the whole concept of mixing a rhythm-action game with an RPG is quite intriguing, and this very well could be a recipe for success for Iridium if the game is half as good as it looks. Sequence does not make it’s debut until March, but you can keep updated on development over at Iriduim’s official blog website at http://www.playiridium.com/. Also check out the trailer below and if any more news comes forward on Sequence, we will be sure to bring it to you.

Dead Space 2 has a unique marketing technique

J. Bradshaw
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3

After the Medal of Honor publicity scuffle earlier this year, you would have thought that EA would have avoided bad PR in the future.  But, the Dead Space 2 marketing team has embraced the violent nature of the game and showed it to unsuspecting mothers.  Obviously, they believe in the “any publicity is good publicity” mantra.

“It’s revolting. It’s violent. It’s everything you love in a game,” the ad proclaims. “Your mom’s going to hate it.”

My mom certainly will.  What about yours?  Check out the responses that some of the mothers had for the Dead Space 2 trailer.  When will this trailer make it to the FOX News Network?  Probably very soon.  Very very soon.

EA’s 50% off XBLA Sale

J. Bradshaw
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1

Activision has had their fun on XBLA with a 50% off sale.  It will soon be Electronic Art’s turn.  Starting on January 18, 2011, many of the DLC packs from the hottest EA franchises will be on sale. Arcade games will also be on sale. The whole list is below.  Get them before the 24th of January.

  • Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening
  • Dragon Age: Origins – The Golems of Amgarrak
  • Dragon Age: Origins – The Darkspawn Chronicles
  • Dragon Age: Origins – Witch Hunt
  • Dragon Age: Origins – Leliana’s Song
  • Medal of Honor – Hot Zone Pack
  • Battlefield 1943
  • DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue
  • DeathSpank
  • RISK: Factions
  • Madden NFL Arcade
  • Hasbro Family Game Night: Battleship
  • Hasbro Family Game Night: Scrabble
  • Hasbro Family Game Night: Boggle
  • NHL 3 on 3 Arcade
  • MicroBot
  • Madden NFL 11 Max Pack
  • NCAA Football 11 – NCAA Power Pack
  • Tiger 11 – Favorites Course Pack
  • FIFA 11 – Live Season All Leagues
  • Fight Night Round 4 – Champions Pack II
  • NHL 11 – 20th Anniversary Bauer Boost Pack

Total War: Shogun 2 Campaign & Gameplay Trailer

Roger Ma
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0
Total War: Shogun 2 Campaign & Gameplay Trailer

A new trailer has been released for the highly anticipated turn-based/real-time strategy game, Total War: Shogun 2. Bring to light new details on the game’s campaign and showcasing new gameplay features. The team behind the Total War series, The Creative Assembly has used their wealth of development experience and new ideas to make Shogun 2 as revolutionary as their first title proved to be when it was released in 2003. Total War: Shogun 2 is set to raise the bar in strategy games once again using innovative gameplay combining real-time strategy and turn-based strategy into one.

Total War: Shogun 2 release on to the PC on March 15, 2011.

Killing Floor – Review

Raphael Duffy
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2

Game Name: Killing Floor
Platforms: Pc, Mac (via Steam)
Publisher:  Tripwire Interactive
Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Genre: Co-op survival horror action fps
Release Date:  14 may 2009
Rating: M – ESRB
Price:  $19.99 (USD)

I am sure if most of you reading this have played any of the Call of Duty zombie mini-games or left for dead 1 & 2, you should feel familiar with this title as Killing Floor on the surface appears to be a cross between these two series’ zombie multiplayer modes. Killing Floor was originally a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004 before any of these games were released though later became a full game. How does the final release stand up to those other titles in this day and age? Here is my review for the Killing Floor.

Story
Killing Floor doesn’t feature much of a story, the back story is rather generic, failed military experiments go wrong and now zombies roam the streets and you and your time simply have too kill every zombie in an area of England. Not a great story but other then the loading screens you don’t see it because this game doesn’t have a story mode and is just about killing zombies.

Gameplay

There is one game mode in the Killing Floor. Each match you or your team select your perk and get ready to start fighting. The combat is separated by waves that grow increasingly difficult until the final wave, where you fight one zombie who is a challenge by himself because he has the abilities of almost every other zombie and often calls in more zombies, between waves you will have too go to one of the trader points and spend the money earned by shooting and killing zombies on weapons, ammo and armor which are a necessity for your survival in the later rounds. The game continues till all players die in one round or the final round is completed.

The combat itself is very addictive. You don’t get a cross-hair (like most games of today in the genre) and instead have to look down the barrel of your gun to line up a shot. If you shoot of the head of a zombie they can no longer use their special ability (all zombie types have different abilities) which makes things much easier as the zombie will grow much weaker and slowly die. The zombies come in all different types and most are slower than you but will come from all directions so you must constantly keep an eye on the horde at all times so paying attention to your surroundings at all times is very important. The most dangerous ability goes to the clot. This zombie makes up the majority of the horde and has it’s name because if it attacks you then you are rendered immobile so long as it has its head and the rest of its body. This is a core danger because the sheer abundance of these enemies means you will often have to kill several of these things before you can escape.

The soldiers are all equipped with one weak handgun, a weld to hold doors shut, a very weak knife, some grenades, and a high tech reusable syringe that allows you to heal you and your team mates with whatever dangerous situation that may apply. The weapons all look, feel and sound unique and many feature an alternative ability such as a torch or switching from semi automatic to fully windows.

There are things make this game standout as oppose to the aforementioned games, those being the cash system and the biggest difference, the perk system. There are seven perks and each player can select one at a time, gaining benefits that range from being able to carry more weight or certain weapons being stronger. There aren’t many ranks for the perks but they require a lot of time and effort to level up. For instance, doors can be welded to 100%. Each percent represents one point, you get the idea. At the highest levels perks can allow players to spawn with extra weapons making for an awesome reward to come off a players hard work.

Now I did enjoy this game but it does have a few flaws. One of these flaws is the respawn time. The time spent after dying, waiting to re-spawn can feel like an eternity. Another is the cash system and how it can cripple your enjoyment a bit with having to get all of your weapons again in much later rounds. The only other issue in gameplay was the lack of other modes but I don’t mind it as there are heaps of different maps along with the different strategies different teams use so the true length of enjoyment is really determined by the player who is behind the controls.

Audio and Graphics

While Killing Floor doesn’t quite fit in with today’s visual standards, I do feel that many of the players who do not quite have a decent video card will not find this a problem as if you can run titles like Unreal Tournament 4, you should be good to go. This also makes for a more retro feel to the game as well as of course more players on board on the servers.

The game’s voice actors are all distinctly British and often the player’s character will have some silly lines that aren’t very humorous and can kill the some of the excitement while players roll their eyes and move on. As I mentioned, the guns and Zombies do sound great with all the appropriate groans and blasts that can easily get you to immerse yourself in Zombie killing mode.

Killing Floor is a great game and provides awesome fun when played with several friends and is the best multiplayer fps zombie mode I have seen to date. While it is just a take on a zombie killing mode, the cooperative multiplayer and huge online population keep Killing Floor updated and interesting the whole way through.

Pros:

The combination of awesome combat and lots of gore not only matches all the features in some other zombie games but improves on them along with the perk system which adds progression outside of each match along with the ability to run this game on most computers.

Cons:

Due to it just being spawned off a Zombie killing mode, there isn’t a whole lot of depth.

I give Killing Floor:
8-0-capsules-out-of-10

New Mortal Kombat Trailer, Album and Renders Revealed!

Matthew Vella
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1

Blood-thirsty Mortal Kombat fans will be excited as Warner Brothers Interactive have released a new story trailer, this time for the character Mileena. The trailer shows a much darker, twisted side of the female warrior, showing a slight insight to her insane mind as well as new footage.

The video also features the song “Mileena’s Theme”, by DJ/Producer Tokimonsta and will be featured on an album called “Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors” from WaterTower Music and Teenage Riot Records, which comes out in April. “Mileena’s Theme” is the first single off the album, and it can be downloaded here via iTunes and Amazon.

No release date revealed yet for the franchises’ next instalment, but it has been announced we can expect to be ripping out kidneys via x-ray moves and preforming fatalities early this year. With the album coming out in April as well as having this in mind, one could speculate that the game could possibly be released in April if the cd and game are to be released along side each other, but we can only guess at this point as nothing is confirmed.

If that’s not enough to get you excited, a few sexy renders of Mileena and Kitana have be released for the fans, previously exclusive for magazine publications. Check them out as well as the trailer below!

Another 007 Movie; Another Bond game?

J. Bradshaw
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James Bond has had many men fill his shoes.  And there have almost been just as many video games to match.  Although the video game equivalent of the espionage master has had some rough spots, reports are coming in that another game starring 007 will be released to coincide with a new movie.  The movie is rumored to star Daniel Craig, actor in the previous two  movies in the franchise (and arguably some of the best as well.)

It is unclear which developer under Activision is creating the game.  As you know, they have the all inclusive rights to all things in the ‘shaken, not stirred’ universe. Currently, Raven Software has taken the top spot in the rumor department as the ones who will take the controls of the game.  However, you can be sure that Bizarre Creations will not do it, as they are currently on the auction block after developing the last Bond game, Blood Stone.

EA’s awesome 2011 line up

Raphael Duffy
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1
EA’s awesome 2011 line up

EA has had some great games and has had some great years but this year looks better then ever, the first four titles are already tempting but how much more does EA have to offer?  

  • 18/1/2011 Mass Effect 2: (ps3) Biowares extremely popular Xbox 360 and PC exclusive series comes to ps3 or at least the second installment but packed with a bit of bonus DLC and it runs on the same engine as the next installment! If you haven’t already got it on Xbox then this should already be a must buy.

  

  • 28/1/2011 Dead Space 2: (Xbox 360, Ps3, PC) The first game was great and the promise for the second game is multiplayer along with a whole new story that continues the already great story of the original Dead Space, at least download the demo and give it a go.


  

  • 22/2/2011 Bulletstorm: (Xbox 360, Ps3, PC) This game didnt look like a game I would get but then I learnt a little more, this lets you kick butt (literally) and many other things. I think this game will be a standout title but see for yourself, just check the ESRB rating until the demo is released.
  • 25/3/2011 Crysis 2: (Xbox 360, Ps3, PC) the first game was notorious for its high system requirements for the different settings, so high in fact, that it was only found on high end pcs. The first game was surprisingly more then a pretty face, the combat was fun and challenging, I hope this game retains the same fast paced combat but tweaked to perfection.
  • March/2011 Rango: (DS, Ps3, Wii, Xbox 360) Another game made from a film. The movie is voiced by Johnny Depp and is the tale of a chameleon who becomes some kind of hero. If the past has taught as anything is that great games made as a tie in of a recent film are extremely rare. Hopefully this one will be different but the verdict is still out on this upcoming title.
  • 29/3/2011 Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters: For those of you who don’t know, the masters is a golf tournament and one of the biggest. Considering the last game won the award of the best individual sports game at the Spike video game awards and this game boast more upgrades, also notable is that Ps3 users have move surport.
  • Q1/2011 Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath: (Ps3) Does anyone else remember any of the Oddworld games? This is a remake of the classic game that shares the title for Ps3, expect a lot more news to come but no release date has been set and if we are unlucky this is just an update to the graphics but it could be a must have game for Ps3 owners.
  • Q1/2011 SHIFT2 Unleashed: (PC, Ps3, Xbox360) A sequel to Need for Speed: Shift could make a nice addition to your collection, expect a lot more news to come.

  

  • 21/4/2011 Portal 2: This game is to anyone who played through the first Portal game a must, and if valve was serious when it said that portal was just an experiment rather then a full game and that this is a real game then I strongly advise picking up this game as soon as you can. The original game, for those of you who haven’t played it, was a single player game that used a portal gun to create puzzles that blew the minds of many people and this time around there is co-op.

  

  • Spring 2011 Wildlife: Forest Survival: (Ps3, Xbox 360) In most games you play as a human, in Wildlife: Forest Survival you don’t, instead you can play as one of four animals in a forest. This game seems a bit ambitious but if the controls are fun and the rest of this game works then it will definitely be among the games you remember from 2011. The four animals you play as are: a rabbit, fox, hawk and gator, the best bit is that this game features PvP multiplayer.
  • Christmas 2011 Mass Effect 3: (PC,Ps3,Xbox360) When Mass Effect 2 came out, some people weren’t happy with the huge yet subtle changes and for some those were the selling points of the game, with the way the series is going this game could be even more RPG lite but could be even bigger and better then it’s predecessor but is the last game in the series.
  • 29/12/2011 Microbots: (Ps3, Xbox 360) Microbots has some very nice ideas, you play as a robot that is a small as a body cell that is killing diseases in the body, the human body. The levels are said to be dynamic which could potentially be a feature that makes this game a gem or this game could just be great or just mediocre depending how this feature and others are used to make this game different to other games of this kind. It will be on the PSN and Xbox live arcade.
  • 2011 Alice: Madness Returns: (PC, Ps3, Xbox 360) EA has yet another sequel, this game is the sequel to American McGee’s Alice, a darker reimagining of Alice in Wonderland. Expect more details to come but this game is unlikely to be a huge success that you find in almost every house but has fans from the original 2000 game so it will meet an audience.
  • 2011 Battlefield Play4free: (PC) This isn’t the only free to play Battlefield game there is, Battlefield Heroes is like the other games but features a micro transactional system and an art style that is slightly reminiscent of Team Fortress 2. As this game is set to be realistic in appearance, my prediction is that it will be very simular to Battlefield Heroes but it might be completely different within the restrictions of a battlefield game offcourse.

  

  • 2011 Darkspore: (PC) Spore suffered heavily from high expectations but Darkspore seems like a great new approach to the series. The title says it all, this game is NOT spore but instead a darker version of the basic idea, this game is actually an RPG that sees you collecting creatures and upgrades for them but doesn’t allow the same customization as Spore, you control a team of creatures and use their abilities in a top down view to collect loot and progress in the game. It looks promising and could be a great RPG or not very good at all, my bet is that it will be a fun RPG that will have much success.
  • Spring 2011 Fancy Pants Adventures: (Xbox360, Ps3) I have played the original version of this game, the flash version. It is a fun and imaginative game that you should try online, I don’t know what will be changed to merit this game a place on the Xbox live Arcade or the PSN, it could be the same game that is now on the internet or it could be a really good version that has had content added to it to earn what ever price it will be at, if it does that then it will be a great game but for now try the flash one here.
  • 2011 Gatling Gears: (PC, Ps3, Xbox 360) Gatling gears is a top down, dual analogue shooter which many of you may not know what that means. In this top down game you use one analogue stick to move and the other to aim. This game will appear on the PSN and Xbox live arcade, it has yet to announce any information that will really excite us but it is still a while off release

  

  • Fall 2011 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: (PC, Ps3, Xbox 360) The staff list of this game features some pretty sweet names including the person leading this games development, Ken Rolston, lead designer of elder scrolls 3 and 4 which is pretty good considering this is also and open world RPG. The game is yet to display much of a reason to count down the days till it’s released though has boasted about having the standard stuff, “rich universe” “fluid controls”.  This game could be anything from just boringly generic to highly polished standout RPG action but with it’s staff it is unlikely to do horribly. I hope this game announces what it will bring to the genre otherwise it will have to rely on how well it can improve on gameplay from simular games.
  • 2011 The Sims 3: (3ds) I have no idea how this game will end up, the amount of ports of the classic PC series is astonishing, my biggest fear is that it will only be an update to the previous DS Sims games and it’s only great feature would then be the 3D but it might bring something new or be a better port then it’s predecessors.
  • 2011 The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff: (PC, MAC) The Sims 2 had made “stuff” expansions but they weren’t major expansions, maybe there will be another take on the whole “stuff” expansion but if not then I hope this is a cheap expansion or pack a lot of stuff.
  • Summer 2011 WARP: (Ps3, PC, Xbox360) A PSN Xbox live arcade game that is a top down sci-fi stealth action game with puzzles, traps, a supposedly distinctive art style and levels it claims to be addicting. This game sounds like it has the basis to be good fun but I don’t yet know enough to say how well it could go.

Those are EA’s games for this year, which ones have got you excited? 

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