Our good friends over at Gameloft are celebrating the release of Asphalt Adrenaline, they have organized a one of the kind competition. Ladies and Gentlement start you engines for the The Asphalt 6 Adrenaline Challenge!
The Challenge will take place from December 29th to January 3rd, and you’re going to have to be on your toes and prepared as Gameloft will be mixing up the challenges each day. So practice your driving skills now and prepare for the ultimate battle !! Do you have what it takes to supercharge your way to the finish line and leave your competition in the dust ??
Check out full details over at the Gameloft blog. Also if you havent already got the game well you have 6 days to do so. Check out our review here and then make your way over to the iTunes store and pick it up !!
Looks like another great old school RPG will be making its way onto the iPhones early next year. This is because Square Enix just took and placed up a little teaser site that hints that Chrono Trigger will be coming to mobile phones in Spring of 2011. Originally enough the game is called Chrono Trigger Mobile and there currently isn’t much information about the game itself.
After the Appstore has just been graced with the Secret of Mana it shows that Square Enix is looking to bring a lot of their most popular older titles to phones. Considering the teaser site is also only in Japanese it could mean that the release date is currently only set for Japan, but considering the success that Chrono Trigger received overseas in the past it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that a Western release date didn’t come immediately after.
While you may not mind your eyes witnessing plenty of blood and heads getting blown off by guns your ears may still be just as sensitive to all of those nasty curses. Ever since Bulletstorm has been announced we’ve seen countless trailers and videos that showed parts of the game where the characters swear up so much of a storm that a simple F-bomb doesn’t even cut it to what they say compared to what we’ve seen.
Thankfully it seems that Bulletstorm will have a feature that not only gives the game subtitles (in case you like to read your curses as well as hear them) but also an option to turn on a language filter that will tone down the excessive swearing. There aren’t too many details involving this so that means that this filter could just cut down the extra swearing during gameplay but not in cut-scenes, or it could cut the swearing down all together. This means that as long as you aren’t worried about all of the blood and stylistic killing doesn’t bother you but creative swearing does then you won’t have to worry when Bulletstorm comes out February 22nd next year.
Ubisofts’ adorable party animals, Raving Rabbids have been featured in a video wishing us all a merry christmas this week.
After a successful release of Raving Rabbids: Travel In Time last month and gaining favourable reviews by many, the Rabbid’s latest adventure involves two Rabbids in cute Santa and Elf costumes, armed with a bell, slay and reigns. Viewers then witness a Rabbid making a humours attempt at convincing his reindeer decorations to take flight in true Rabbid fashion, before sending us their christmas wishes. Ubisoft also takes the time to remind us that Raving Rabbids: Travel In Time is available now, a subtle hint to pick it up for the holidays. This has become a tradition for the franchise, as fans of the series may recall a few similar videos released around this time in the last few years.
Game Name:Frenzic Platform(s): Nintendo DSiWare Publisher(s):Two Tribes Developer(s): IconFactory, Two Tribes Genre(s): Puzzle Release Date: November 29, 2010 Price: 200 Points ($2.00)
Two Tribes’ latest DSiWare title Frenzic is a puzzle game, but not quite what you would expect. Using the touchscreen, you must fill a pie-styled circle with certain colored while on a short time limit. With power-ups also in the mix, Frenzic attempts to show the DSiWare a new puzzler on the block with it’s unique style and gameplay. Here is my review.
Gameplay
Describing how Frenzic plays is kind of tough. It’s not that the game is complicated by any means, as I assure you it’s not. Frenzic is just not your typical puzzle title. When you start up Frenzic, you are greeted by a standard menu screen and with one tap, the game gets started. Everything has an extremely simplistic layout, which at first I was thinking “That’s It?”, but soon after the gameplay made me forget about every other thing that was going on as Frenzic is truly addictive.
Each game starts off with 6 blank circles surrounding a center circle. A piece will pop up in the center and you must quickly assign it to an outer circle before the timer runs down by tapping where you want to place it. Each piece is specially cut so that it looks like a pie piece with six pieces making a whole pie. The object of the game of course is to fit each piece properly and make a complete pie and keep going until you are out of lives to score as high as possible. After you fill a pie, it becomes blank and you do it all again as the speed raises. With the pieces being one of three colors, the game has you pick and choose which colored piece should be applied wherever you see fit to place it.
The whole concept is simple, but the timer is what makes Frenzic live up to it’s name. As you place pieces and fill circles, you must keep in mind two things. The first is of course the timer as it drains rather quickly so you must fit a piece in the six circles as quickly as possible. The second thing to keep in mind is the colors. When you combine a circle of all of one color, more points as well as an extra life are rewarded. It may sound simple, but the variation of pieces make this a game of strategy and reflex as past moves can come back to haunt you if you are too busy focusing on one color.
One thing I thought was great is that while lives are needed to keep in the game, you must use them as apart of your strategy. There were many times while I was playing Frenzic where I had to sacrifice a life to “skip” a wedge that didn’t fit with any of the pies on the screen. There are also pies that have power-ups attached such as a x2 score, the Nuke, which clears the board of pieces, and a timer which can slow down the game for a few seconds. Holding pieces also can come into play as well, so there is quite a bit to keep up with to fully master everything. With the game moving faster as you progress, you must utilize as many of these power ups as possible if you want to continue racking up points on the current game.
A personal score-board is also added in the game which has 7 scores for the player to achieve, all the way up to MASTER. This score-board to me made the game that much more addictive as I was trying to topple each score and playing hours at a time. The fast-paced gameplay and life system may make for shorter games, but the urge for jumping right back in each time was always there.
Graphics/Audio
Everything in Frenzic looks bright and sharp even though the standard menus are a bit simple, but none of that really mattered as I was so deep in concentration I didn’t even bother to think about menu design too much as they are not a necessity in Frenzic whatsoever. The shades of colors all really contrast really well against the colored circles so it is easy to apply full attention to the pieces and pies. The game also gives you an option to change the colors of the pieces which was a small, yet great addition which I used a lot to change things up visually.
The music in Frenzic is rather generic but it fit in well with the hectic gameplay overall and after the hours you spend playing this game, you are bound to be singing it’s tunes wherever you go. Sound effects are pleasant and also flow nicely with the game. I do feel some more variation of music would have been great as well as some sharper sounds, but as I said, the sound does not affect much of the game at all.
Overall
Frenzic was quite an experience it is really simple to learn, but as I progressed through I got better at playing it and there is an infinite amount of strategy buried underneath all of the simplicity. The whole game just feels original and for the price is well worth the 200 points spent as the game is so addictive you will never look at a real pie piece in the same way again. Frenzic is one of those titles you will want to play again and again and it would be a true shame for any puzzle fan to miss out on this hectic yet strategic title as it is a perfect fit for the DSi.
Mario Sports Mix may still be a couple months away, but Nintendo seem to be as ready as ever for their newest title to hit shelves as the company released a brand new trailer on the official Nintendo of America Twitter earlier today. As most of you know by now the title being developed by Square-Enix & Nintendo will feature all of your favorite characters such as Mario, Peach, Luigi and more from the Mario side as well as characters from Square titles like Final Fantasy & Dragon Quest such as Slimes, White and Black Mages and quite a few more (to see the full list, click this link).
Now the trailer doesn’t show off too much new, but we do get a chance to see some of the basketball/volleyball/dodgeball matches in action and honestly, everything is looking spectacular. So go ahead and check out the trailer below and we will keep you updated with more Mario Sports Mix news and tidbits we grow closer to the release date.
Sony is strongly encouraging you to support 3D. Considering that I don’t even have a HDTV yet, it is kinda hilarious. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note which developers are jumping on the bandwagon. And, in an effort to get all fancy, Playstation has compiled a list of games supportin’ actual 3D support. Here it is in all its glory, NO GLASSES REQUIRED TO READ! 😉
Auditorium*
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Enslaved: Journey to the West (via PSN software update)
EyePet
The Fight: Lights Out
Gran Turismo 5
High Velocity Bowling
Hustle Kings*
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game
MotorStorm: 3D Rift*
NBA 2K11 (new retail version; free PSN software update coming in January 2011)
PAIN*
Prince of Persia Trilogy*
The Sly Collection
Super Stardust HD* (via PSN software update)
Swords and Soldiers*
TRON: Evolution
Tumble*
WipEout HD*
Coming in 2011
Crysis 2
de Blob 2: Underground
Dungeon Defenders*
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
Killzone 3
MLB 11: The Show
Mortal Kombat
MotorStorm Apocalypse
Virtua Tennis 4
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
*Indicates downloadable PSN title
Blu-ray 3D Movies
Note: Select titles appear here, for a full list of all 3D Blu-rays, refer to Blu-ray.com/3D.
Valve is well known for delaying games, but they have also recently agreed to partner with Electronic Arts to distribute their latest masterpiece, Portal 2.
“Portal 2 is Valve’s most innovative title in the company’s history and will be launched with a first-class launch campaign this April,” said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. “We’re excited to be working with Electronic Arts to deliver this title as we expand our platform strategy to include the Mac and PlayStation 3 platforms.”
Portal 2 will launch on Steam on April 21, 2011. Electronic Arts will be handling the distribution of the game on Mac, Xbox 360 and PS3 through regular, retail, brick and mortar stores. However, Valve does reserve the right to delay the game at any time, so we will see.
Lara Croft: Legend and Lara Croft: Anniversary will getting their first release on Playstation 3 in 2011. Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be getting released again. All three of these games will be bundled together on a single Blu-ray for your viewing pleasure. No, not that kind of viewing. Male and female avatars for PlayStation Home and an XMB theme are rumored to be included on the bundle too. With Prince of Persia, Sly Cooper and Splinter Cell getting updated releases on PS3, what is next? What are you most excited about?
Also, if you are confused about your Tomb Raider series, here is a recap.
Crystal Dynamics reinvented Lara with the games in the collection mentioned above. A continuation of her story was available in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, available as a digital download on Xbox, PS3 and PC. She will be be getting rebooted (new look/gameplay/etc.) in Tomb Raider, coming soon. More details here.
A little splatter here a little splatter there, bloody snowflakes in the air. Just a bit of holiday cheer to go along with the blood and gore that goes along with any mode in Splatterhouse. If you are enjoying the Survival Arena mode then you will be happy to know that Namco Bandai hasn’t forgotten about Splatterhouse because they have just released the Lost Islands DLC which will bring with it the new Lost Island Survival Arena.
The Survival Arena will bit Rick against countless enemies as they increase both in number and strength as the waves go on and on. Can you make it to the 20th wave? If you think so then you better go pick it up now on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 160 MSP or the PSN for $2 as it is available now.
