With just about every major publisher starting to reveal titles for the 3DS, Natsume have now revealed what will be their first game on the console. Surprisingly, instead of a Rune Factory or Harvest Moon title, gamers will get to see the next entry in the Reel Fishing series, Reel Fishing Paradise 3D. Reel Fishing Paradise 3D will have players travel in over a dozen “stunning 3D” locations to become a “master angler”. In true Natsume style, this title will bring a lot of customization to the sport of fishing, letting players mix-and-match rods, reels, lines, lures or bait. There will also be much to collect such as rare items and tools for you fishing quest, including items branded with rarity.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing the best-selling fishing series into the third dimension,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume.
“With environments that boast stunning depth and fish that leap off the screen at you, Reel Fishing Paradise 3D is a fishing experience like nothing you’ve ever seen before!”
As well as this announcement, the company also released the first set of screens (which you can view below), and they are looking sharp and I can easily see why this series was chosen to take a venture into 3D. There is not official date at the moment on “Reel Fishing Paradise 3D” but we do however know it won’t be too long of a wait after the big launch as Natsume have set a release window of Spring 2011.
Ever wonder what Mario Kart would be like if it existed in real life? Youtube user Freddiew wondered the same thing and made this pretty awesome video depicting such a thing. The production values are pretty good, special effects look pretty realistic and the whole video is pretty comical. Check it out!
Free items for a game that you want to purchase is already a good thing, but wrapping up these free items in a demo that we will already be downloading anyways is a great gift from the developers. BioWare has created what they are calling a Call to Arms challenge which will make fans of the series have to gather over one million demo downloads between February 22nd when it is released and March 1st.
If the one million mark is reached then BioWare will release two special items that will be free in the retail copy of the game. Two books titled Lothering’s Lament and The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall. Lothering’s Lament will give players an XP boost and unique perks while Kirkwall will give players free money to start their journey with.
Downloads on any console will go towards the goal so that means that all you have to do is download at least one demo and you will be doing your part. Or of course download it on all three if you can. You can track the progress of the download on the Call to Arms Page but I have little doubt that the one million mark will be reached.
Wait? What? Apparently within only a few short hours of Sony banning people who have hacked their PS3s there is now already a hack that says that it will allow modders to get themselves into the PSN and unban themselves. This is already a problem in and of itself considering the PSN ban was supposed to be the last step to stopping the hackers.
But there is even worse news considering the fact that this hack will also allow modders to ban other PS3 consoles as long as they are able to get a hold of the console’s ID by tricking the owner. We have been tipped off to the existence of the hack and the fact that modders are simply not going to stand down and let Sony push them around. But in the end the only people who are going to get hurt by this are legitimate users of the console.
Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition Platform: iPad Publisher: Chillingo Developer: Chillingo Release Date: January 20, 2011 Price: $1.99 – Available here
The game developers at Chilingo deliver an upgraded, iPad version of ‘Pro Zombie Soccer’ originally for the iPhone, dubbed “Apocalypse Edition” the title says it all really. Here’s another zombie game bringing over-the-top action, story and zombie killing madness to the iPad and it’s not that bad at all providing a simple, fast pace action game for anyone on the go or with some time to kill will enjoy this game.
Story
The story, sure not the best but hey for a zombie soccer game it’s what come to you expect. The story is ridiculous, over-the-top and quite humorous at parts. The story itself is told through cartoony text based cut-scenes which set up the following scenarios and setting, and yes they are quite cheesy and you can choose to skip them if you just want to cut straight to the action. You play as Jax, a star soccer player who on one night gets bitten by zombie superstar soccer player and somehow inherits soccer superpowers and uses them to take on the undead in the mitts of transforming into a zombie himself. From then on you fight wave after wave of zombies, nothing really new here but the story does provide some occasional funny bits and a nice break from killing zombies.
Gameplay
Taking on wave after wave of zombie foe requires skill to rack up a high score. As a skilled soccer player, you ball is your weapon. Jax remains stationary while zombies approach from the right hand side, aiming and firing is controlled using the same button and is very easy to get the hang of, holding down the button will charge up Jax’s shot for ‘massive damage’. Power-ups are also through into mix and they are very rewarding and satisfying to use, as using them properly can either make or break a round. Jax’s super soccer powers grants him three power-ups lightning ball, piercing ball and laser. The first, ‘lightning ball’ slows down time allowing for faster kills, ‘piercing ball’ as the name suggest pierces through multiple enemies at a time and the last ‘laser’, well… you somehow gain control over a giant satellite laser which targets multiple enemies at a time.
Overall the game sort of plays out likes a mix between pin ball and tower defence, it’s really quite fun but at times the game can feel a little too easy, especially when you have one your power-ups turned on and since all enemies eventually funnel into the centre, just spamming the firing button clears out any feeling of being too overwhelmed. Aiming can get frustrating at times as lining up shots can be quite difficult and are often not completely accurate. The game does get tougher later on with the introduction of enemies that can only be taken out with a precise one hit kill weak spot “Nutshot” anyone? Also, controlling the ‘laser’ with the iPad’s accelerometer (tilting the iPad from side to side) is quite awaked, clunky and again quite frustrating as it is quite slow to respond to your movements. Also, there is no quick play option which may put off some players but you can replay missions once you have beaten them. Aside from this, gameplay is genuinely quite good.
Graphics and Audio
The graphic in Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition are presented well with slick cartoony visuals. An improvement over the iPhone version, ‘Apocalypse Edition’ boasts HD graphics thank to the developers specially redesigned the game’s backdrops to fit the iPad’s large screen. Character animations are very slick and seamless, which particularly look great in a final kill where the game slows down to focus on the final gory death, yet they can get repetitive as you will be seeing the same death animations over and over. The game also features original music which is pretty good and suits the game very well. Fast pace rock music will play for your zombie killing pleasure, which is exactly the type of music you want to hear when playing a game like this.
Overall
Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition is a very decent game, providing simple yet action packed gameplay which is enchased all the more with fast paced rock music. Later levels in the game do take some time to beat as very precise shots are required to beat certain enemies but once you get the hang of it you’ll have a blast playing this game. Considering the game’s relatively cheap price, this game is easily recommendable to anyone wanting a fun, original, humorous, zombie killing experience.
I give Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse Edition for the iPad:
There have been a number of zombie games released over the past few years. Nearly every one of them has advanced the genre in one way or another. Team based combat in one game, a variety of killing tools in another with a partial open environment in another. How about if you were to put those two things together? A few years ago we saw a trailer for something that would not show up again until just recently, and that is Dead Island.
Deep Silver has announced that they will be publishing the game for developer Techland after years of hiding in the shadows. Dead Island will place players on a tropical island after the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse. Being trapped on the island is the least of the survivors worries when there are flesh hungry undead right outside the door.
Players will be focusing most of their efforts around melee combat and using items around them to fight off the zombie horde due to the fact that weapons and ammunition are in a short supply. But don’t worry you will not be alone because you can form a team of up to four players to make your way through the campaign. All of this will take place in an open world tropical island of course and give players the chance to upgrade different abilities and skills for their survivor as they gain levels.
A new trailer was released for the game as well which shows the struggle of a family as the zombies come down upon them, in reverse. There currently is no set date for the game to be released besides some point later in the year but when it does release it will be coming out on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Today game publisher Lace Mamba Global, a prominent independant games publisher, released a new trailer for their up and comping point and click adventure ‘Black Mirror 3’.
The english subtitled trailer for the game tells the background story of the Black Mirror series and also gives players a look at on what is to come from Black Mirror 3. The concept behind the Black Mirror series is that a mysterious curse has been haunting the Gordon family for many generations which causes one of their family members to become possessed and carry out brutal murders.
Black Mirror 3 is set around the Black Mirror castle with an enhanced graphical aesthetic and a whooping 62 areas for players to explore, with a few being familiar to players of the previous titles. The game follows Darren Michaels who is arrested by police forces on suspicion of murder; and who is also tormented by nightmares and visions portraying death and murder.
It is authored by a lady named Anne von Vasary who also wrote the second game.
The game is planned for release in the UK, Australia, US, New Zealand, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries in April 2011.
It appears that when Sony gives you a window of opportunity you should take it. It was only yesterday that they announced that they would begin banning anyone that had a hacked or modded PS3. Those who had modified PlayStation 3s were given a small time period to remove any modified content on their console. Too bad that chance has come and gone in only a day.
Anyone who had a modified or hacked PS3 was greeted with a message saying that they could “not use the PlayStation Network with this account (8002a227)” or received an email linked to their PSN account with the following message:
Notice: Access to the PlayStation(R)Network and access to Qriocity(TM) services through your PlayStation (R)3 system has been terminated permanently due to the use of unauthorized circumvention devices and unauthorized or pirated software on your PlayStation(R)3 system.
This use violates the terms of both the “System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation(R)3 System” and the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation(R)Network/Qriocity(TM) and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. In the unlikely event that this termination was in error, contact your local consumer support centre.
It seems that legitimate players can now go onto their favorite PSN game without the worry of encountering a modder or a hacker. This is finally what fans of PlayStation 3 have been waiting for, definitive action by Sony. Maybe more people will be willing to pick up their favorite online shooter again.
Ubisoft’s throat slitting franchise will be getting some new blood this spring. In March 2011, you can expect to see a huge new expansion pack for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The DLC will include two new areas for players to explore in single player mode. The reason for doing this? Well, Ezio’s little pal Da Vinci got himself kidnapped because he’s a damned genius. These kidnappers are world dominating freaks and want to use his special gifts to rule. You should probably rescue him before it is too late. That is, if you can rip yourself away from the new multi-player components.
The Dama Rossa, the Knight, the Marquis and the Pariah will all be new characters added into the multi-player slash fest. The “Alhambra” map is a lush quarter of a Spanish city that will allow your stealthy feet to creep around in a multi-level indoor/outdoor arena. Finally, there are also two new modes. First up is Escort. Two teams of four players each are tasked with assassinating the opposing team’s VIP. Assassinate, the final mode, is a ten minute round of Deathmatch. Get the map packs for $10.oo on Xbox and PS3 when they release.
There have been many different ways to advertise your upcoming game. You can put out commercials, you can rent ad space on a bus, or you could create a bunch of North Korean looking food trucks that are called the PyongYang Express and have them drive around the Los Angeles and San Francisco area. Yep if you live in the either of those two California towns you have a chance of stumbling upon these trucks between February 22nd and March 21st.
These trucks were used a few months ago by THQ to help market Homefront and actually will sell food like they did before, including tacos and rice bowls for only a few dollars. But that isn’t the best thing about these trucks, rather than getting food you will also have the chance to play Homefront earlier than anyone else because they will have a working demo of the game available on certain days in the truck. The best way to track the truck is through its twitter page PyongyangBBQ. Certainly creative but it’s surprising no one has been offended by it somehow yet.
