After just releasing the news that Professor Layton & the Mask of Miracle will be one of the titles launching with the 3DS in Japan, we now have a new gameplay video that shows around 30 seconds of the new Layton title and there is a lot in the clip that shows that this Layton title will be quite different from previous games in the series.
The first thing you will notice while watching the video is that the environments are all rendered in full 3D, which of course is fitting since the title is on the 3DS. All the artwork still has the 2D shine we all love as well so it is great to see how well this is looking to blend together. A cursor is also shown which is interesting to see as in the past games, the bottom screen was used to search environments with the stylus and it appears that the new analog pad will replace that method, keeping even clue-hunting in 3D.
Of course we will also see a new story and with flashbacks in the mix as well, if you couldn’t already tell by Layton’s huge mane in the end of the clip. Check out the video below for yourself and get ready as it looks like this month will be full of even more game reveals for the 3DS as we get closer to the official launch.
Along with the leaked details for Skyrim we now have the leaked information containing Silent Hill 8 from Game Informer. First it has been officially given the name Silent Hill: Downpour which looks to make use of water as a major role. This includes water running upside down on a ceiling and water playing pivotal points in gameplay.
Also revealed is the fact that the town that the game takes place in this time is so huge that you must use a Subway system to get around it. This includes a never before seen area of Silent Hill, the mysterious Southeastern side. Take that as it may but it seems like Silent Hill may be a bit more open world this time around as they are also including optional side quests in these new areas.
It also appears that combat will be similar to the earlier Silent Hill games, where it is possible to avoid most enemies and by and large this is the best route to take. The reason for this is that there is no longer a weapon inventory like in Homecoming, instead you will only be able to use one melee weapon at a time (at least an axe has been shown so far). To raise the tension further enemies will be tougher to kill and your weapon can break easily. Meaning that it may be better to simply incapacitate your enemy instead of finishing them off for the sake of surviving.
The usual staple of puzzles will also return in Downpour and they will have a separate difficulty level that can be adjusted in case you love survival horror but hate puzzles. To me it sounds like the Silent Hill franchise is going back to its roots as far as gameplay goes. But the inclusion of a possible open world is definitely something worth taking note of.
America may still be in the dark for a release date and launch info for the 3DS, but over in Japan, Nintendo have announced all of the launch titles players can expect when the portable launches over there on February 26th. At Nintendo World eight launch titles were shown (10 if you count the other versions of the Nintendogs titles) and I am digging most of them.
Here is the full list of launch titles which will hit Japan when the 3DS releases:
Winning Eleven 3D Soccer
Super Street Fighter IV 3D
Samurai Warriors Chronicle
Tobidasu! Puzzle Bobble
Nintendogs + Cats
RidgeRacer
Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle
While this now throws into question the eventual release dates of titles such as Kid Icarus, Paper Mario and many other titles that were shown at the 2010 E3, it is good to at least see titles like Street Fighter IV 3D and Layton already making their appearance on the system a bit earlier than expected. Without a doubt not all of these will be present in the U.S. or U.K. when the 3DS launches so now I guess the main question for us is what will be our launch titles. If I had to guess, I would say Nintendogs would be a front runner at launch here as well as maybe Street Fighter but until Nintendo announces anything, the rest of the world will have to go on pure speculation. Keep checking back though as when the U.S./AU/EU line-up gets released, we will be sure to cover it. Until then you can check out a video of the Japanese announcement below.
Looks like we finally have some more details about the mysterious Skyrim. You won’t have to wait until February to find out the details that will be discussed in that month’s Game Informer because all of the details have been leaked and are available for your reading pleasure.
First of all we now know that Skyrim will be set 200 years after the events that happened in Oblivion and you will be playing as one of the Dragonborn. Your main objective in the story is to stop the dragon god Alduin who is the world eater mentioned on Game Informer’s back cover.
Quests have changed as well, at least the way that you will be given them. Something that developers are calling a dynamic quest system will make it so that players may only receive certain quests if they have a certain level of proficiency in that quest-specific skill, or on your actions throughout the game so far. This means that you won’t be having any vanilla playthroughs of the same quests happening again and again in the same ways.
Also changed is the leveling system. The more you use a specific skill will level it up overtime as it did in Oblivion but the amount of skills to level has been cut to 18 which is down from the 21 used in Oblivion. But in a more interesting update, the Perk system from Fallout 3 will be returning as you level up your main character you will have the ability to unlock perks.
As you leveled up your player in the Oblivion you may have noticed that enemies leveled up just as much as you did. Meaning that a measly rat could pose just as much danger to a high level character as a Xivilai daemon. But that isn’t going to be the case anymore. Enemies will only be scaled up to when you first entered the area and then remain that same level even as you advance. Plus this will only happen in critical areas of the game which means that leveling up will help immensely this time around.
So we know about the story, the change in quests and the change in levels, but what about the combat? Well there is a new duel wielding weapon system as well. This means that you can assign any weapon or spell to each of your hands. This means that you can use two swords at the same time, or an axe and a sword, or a sword and a lightning bolt. The combinations are of course endless and a welcome addition to the game.
Beyond these changes there will be a weapon creation system, better graphics of course, better character creation, the ability to run faster, finishing moves for the brutality feel, and an NPC dueling system which allows you to hold a duel with any NPC that accepts. Now all of these changes and enhachments sound like exactly what fans of the series have been looking for, and I am most certainly excited to see all of these changes coming when the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim releases on November 11th 2011.
Fresh from Tokyo -more specifically the Nintendo World 2011 event- details relating to the 3DS’ battery life from Nintendo themselves are beginning to emerge.
Reportedly, the system is said to able to last three to five hours whilst playing a 3DS game with the backlighting turned down. This figure could be even less with all the lighting settings maximised.
However, that figure increases to inbetween five and eight hours if you’re playing a standard DS game. Once out of juice, it then takes 3.5 hours for a 3DS battery to fully charge.
So what do you all think of this battery life? It hardly makes the handheld highly portable. Is this the cost of 3D gaming – a handheld that isn’t great on long journeys? That said, the DSi does about the same in terms of play-time, but the 3DS is a much more powerful machine.
Animal Crossing for Wii got a series of item downloads before the year was out, courtesy of Nintendo. And now, it looks like the set out to start 2011 as they ended 2010: with plenty of downloadable items.
The latest addition is this rather stylish Gold Bed. Items in the Golden Series cannot be bought or grabbed from anywhere else, so this is your one and only chance to get hold of a gold bed with a chunky, embellished headboard and cosy golden quilt.
All you need to do is bump into Pete The Postman between now and 31 January to get hold of this new item, making sure your WiiConnect24 settings are enabled. Also, as with all Animal Crossing downloads, the gold bed won’t count in your favour when it comes to having your home assessed by the good people at the Happy Room Academy.
Having a save game file of the original Dead Space on your hard drive will unlock the original plasma cutter in Dead Space 2 right from the beginning, as confirmed by a member of the programming team in a recent tweet on their twitter.
It is not yet known how this will differ from the Dead Space 2 plasma cutter. Whether it’s simply a cosmetic change or whether there’s more substance, such as it’s more powerful. The save file doesn’t have to be anything special. You don’t need to have completed the game, even.
Who’s going to benefit from this bonus then, or if it turns out to be useful, who’s going to get a Dead Space save file especially?
Xbox Live mourned the loss of 1 vs 100: we were all sad when it was announced 1 vs 100 wasn’t going to be returning for another season – if only for the unfinished achievements that would blemish some gamer’s gamercards forever.
However, it seems 1 vs 100’s metaphorical shoes are going to be filled, and the currently empty interactive live show slot busied with a Full House Poker season. Already, players have begun to receive invitations to join a Beta version. It looks like you better start practising that poker face.
Anyone excited by Full House Poker? By the sounds of it, it will be Texas Hold ’em rather than Blackjack, but will it have the accessibility of 1 vs 100?
Yep, it’s an announcement for DLC before the game has even been released. It’s a buyers worst nightmare. But alas there isn’t much we can do about it as Bioware has announced the first bit of launch day DLC for Dragon Age II. If you were to pre-order the Signature Edition you will be getting this DLC for free, however everyone else will have to pay 560 MSP or $7 depending on the console that they own Dragon Age II for. So if you are looking to pick up Dragon Age II you have only until the 11th to receive the free upgrade.
The DLC was announced alongside of a trailer which shows off what the content will be about. There will be entirely new content exclusive to those who download the DLC, as well as a new companion and new sidequests. Sure there may have been plenty of DLC for Dragon Age: Origins but it is a bit strange when a company announces DLC two months before the game is even released.
The latest game being developed by the game development studio ‘Kalypso’, Dungeons, has reached completion over the weekend and is currently awaiting it’s retail release in early February.
During the game, Dungeons, you will play as a cunning Dungeon Lord who’s main goal is to lure in adventurers and promptly eradicate them over the course of an elaborate dungeon.
Over the course of the 20 missions in Dungeons the player must work his/her way up the Dungeon Lord hierarchy until they reach the top and are able to get revenge on their evil ex-girlfriend. Players are also tasked with overthrowing the other Dungeon Lords located on the lower levels of the Dungeon. While planning to overthrow the other Dungeon Lords, players must also create elaborate and difficult dungeons to keep heroes and adventurers from advancing and possibly defeating them.
The game boasts many units and dungeon objects to use to achieve your goals, which include: Monsters, Objects, Workers, Prison Cells and Torture chambers.
