It’s almost common knowledge that one of the most prolific and successful genres in the gaming industry is that of the FPS, the First Person Shooter. The market is saturated with them, Killzone, Halo, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, all AAA blockbuster titles that have been deemed “must have” by the majority of the gaming crowd. This isn’t just some recent phenomena either, FPS have reigned supreme for years. Who doesn’t have fond memories of Golden Eye or Perfect Dark? NOBODY THAT’S WHO!
Since then, technology has allowed for more realistic graphics and physics to emulate the visceral experience that is the FPS. One must wonder, what does the future hold? One Youtube user asked himself that very question, and this is what he came up with.
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have recently demonstrated that successful storage and encryption of data can take place within 1 gram of E. Coli bacteria. Yes, someday (a long way away) your Xbox or PS3 (if we still have those) might have a hard drive populated by nothing more than some nasty organisms. According to the research, the DNA of just 18 bacterial cells have enough “memory” to store the Declaration of Independence. Whats more, there are ten million cells in one gram of biological material. Thus, about 90GB of storage can take place in just 1 gram of bacteria. Plus, encryption is natural because “using the natural process of site specific genetic recombination: information is scrambled by recombinase genes, whose actions are controlled by a transcription factor.” (Yes, I don’t understand that part either, but it is still cool.) Of course, there are still issues. Retrieval of the data requires a sequencer. That can be a tedious and expensive affair. Not to mention the fact that toxic DNA is present within the stored sequences, and it is possible that organisms will mutate, remove such sequences, and delete some of the data. But, this is just a taste of the future, and with time, hopefully these issues will be ironed out.
While those in Europe may already have their hands on Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties those of us in the United States have to wait until January 11th next year. But that doesn’t mean that we are out of luck dood! Because we have even more gameplay videos to show off the Hero Prinnies doing what they do best dood. We see a boss battle between Hero Prinny and Haldi, as well as what could be best classified as a blooper clip as it demonstrates the worst way to start a level. Also shown is poor angel Flonne being caught in a trap that we see in cartoons all the time, looks like she still has a whole lot to learn. Catch all of the videos below.
Game Name: A World of Keflings Platforms: Xbox 360 Publisher(s): Xbox LIVE Arcade Developer(s): NinjaBee Genre(s): Family, Strategy & Simulation Release Date: 12/22/2010 ESRB Rating: E10 (Everyone 10+) Price: 800MSP ($10 USD)
Story “Build a robot, rescue the princess, make friends with a dragon and help a creepy witch get even creepier. Take your Xbox LIVE Avatar on a journey through exotic lands while you help the tiny Keflings build and customize their kingdoms! Play with a friend on the same console or with three friends over Xbox LIVE in this story-based, kingdom-building adventure.” [Via Xbox.com]
The Keflings find you frozen in an Ice Block and free you from that permanently frozen state. As thanks you decide to help the Keflings that saved you and your quest to build their world begins. As you build you will find new worlds with more Keflings to help. Collect resources, get more Keflings, have the Keflings collect resources, build buildings; all of this is in a day’s work for the giant among the Keflings. Can you build the best kingdom for the Keflings, and make them happy?
Gameplay A World of Keflings is just like the first game. You tell Keflings to collect resources, you build buildings, you unlock more blueprints, and you build more buildings. The formula is exactly the same as the first and anyone who is familiar with the first game can hop directly into this game without having to learn how to play all over again. The gameplay is also extremely easy, so even little children can pick up a controller and play with their older relatives, such as siblings or parents.
The game is extremely similar to the first one but with many improvements that make the entire experience much more enjoyable. The most noticeable one is the fact that you now have multiple worlds to build in, each world coming with their own unique buildings to build and resources to build with. Having multiple worlds creates change while playing and helps keep everything fresh and new for a longer period of time. The second main change is the upgrades that you get in the game, you no longer have to mine every single piece of ore and cut every tree down looking for a pair of gloves or boots to upgrade your stats. Now you just complete a bunch of missions and exchange a certain item for a new upgrade potion that you choose. Another change is a bunch of stronger Keflings that follow you around and will pick up building materials and bring them with you to the location you are building at. The ability to push buildings without breaking them, color coded items in the blueprints, and the ability to level up your Keflings are just a few of the many new features that makes life as a giant among Keflings much more enjoyable.
Multiplayer is back and this time you can even co-op on the same console. There is nothing more fun than building an entire world for the Keflings while joking around with friends and family. In the original you were able to go into other people’s worlds and help them build their giant kingdoms. In A World of Keflings you can do the exact same thing, but this time you can also choose to split-screen with another person if you would prefer to play with someone in the same room. Everything is exactly the same, but now it is you and a friend/relative/acquaintance doing all the building together. Split-Screen also has a weird split-screen set up that rotates the way that the screen is split based on the position of both players. At first the rotation is kind of annoying, but I quickly became used to it; however, I still found the fact that my building window would shut, every time my brother changed the side of the screen he was on, extremely annoying.
Also, I must not forget to mention the Musical Cannons. These canons let you create music in the game by changing a number of settings on each cannon and lining them all up for Keflings to be launched through. It would probably just be easier for me to show you a video of them in action. While they were added as a last minute feature, they are pretty cool and provided me with quite a bit of entertainment as I let my younger brother run around building stuff.
Audio & Graphics The audio in the game is nothing really special, but it isn’t intrusive either. The peaceful melody is there at all times, but is only really noticeable when you are waiting for something or if you are just standing around doing nothing. The Musical Cannons as seen above lets you create your own music for the game as long as you are near the cannons. The ability to have your own song (that you make) playing in the background is a nice feature and creates a change from the same relaxing song that plays throughout the entire game. Some of the sound effects made by the Keflings as you pick them up or kick them around are amusing at first, but they quickly become normal and slip into the background noise unnoticed.
Play as your Xbox Avatar as you build, collect, and kick Keflings all over the place. The scenery in the game is relaxing and the Keflings all have their own unique little hats. The graphics are reminiscent of the original and will make you feel right at home as you move from the first game to the second. The detail on the little Keflings aren’t amazing, but they are really tiny a majority of the time and their faults are only noticeable during cutscenes or when they are talking to you. As for the cutscenes, they are usually frozen 3D scenes that the camera pans around; while the effect is simple the point as well as the story of the game is pushed along without having to watch extremely long cutscenes that may become annoying with multiple playthroughs.
Achievements This game’s achievement are pretty easy; however, a few of them may take some time to acquire. A majority of them will be achieved by just playing the game normally, the avatar awards are also acquired by just playing normally through the game. The achievements that may take some players a little longer are “One Tree Hill” and “I Am The City”. “One Tree Hill” seems to be glitched and even after you make 25 unique decorations the achievement doesn’t always pop up. “I am the City” will just take time, although to make it easier, normal houses without hearts count as buildings built; so you can just spam those. Below is the achievement list:
The Stars At Night – 10 – Helped enhance your world with culture stars.
I Would Walk 500 Miles – 20 – Visited the Ice Kingdom, the Desert Kingdom, and the Forest Kingdom.
Reunited (And It Feels So Good) – 20 – Talked to the whole family of builder brothers.
All You Need Is Doug – 5 – Thawed out poor frozen Doug.
Smile On Your Brother – 10 – Received Collectibles from a friend. How sweet!
Go Ahead And Jump – 15 – Watched a kefling bounce through a long series of cannons.
One Tree Hill – 15 – Adorned your world with 25 unique decorative pieces.
I Am The City – 25 – Helped out with building 100 buildings.
Be It Ever So Humble – 25 – Finished the Giant’s Gift. How relaxing!
Come on, Vogue! – 10 – Expressed yourself with 20 different emotes. Strike a pose!
Endless Doug – 20 – Got to know Doug pretty well. Does he ever stop talking?
Help! (I Need Somebody) – 25 – Started 10 buildings the builders finished without you.
There are also 2 avatar awards
Winged Hat Of The Kefkimo – Acquired through story progression.
Baby Dragon Pet – Acquired through story progression.
Overview A World of Keflings contains everything that was loved about the first one and improves on it entirely. There are more places to explore, more buildings to build, and even Keflings that help you carry things. Even functionality is improved and building the ultimate world for your Keflings is much easier. A World of Keflings is a relaxing game that consists of resource management, building a whole bunch of buildings, and kicking a whole bunch of Keflings. Plainly put, if you enjoyed the first one you will love this one; however, the same applies to the opposite. While everything has been improved, nothing has been changed to bring in a larger audience to the game. There is a specific group of people that enjoyed the first one and that same group are the ones that will enjoy this sequel.
I give A World of Keflings
Cross-Title Extra Content:
A World of Keflings is one of the Three titles being released as part of Microsoft’s “Games for the Holidays” Promotion. By getting an achievement within either of the other two titles in the promotion (Raskulls and IloMilo) you can get exclusive ingame content for A World of Keflings.
By getting an achievement in Raskulls you can build a special Raskulls’ house that lets you bring a Wizard Raskull and a Ninja Raskull into your Keflings’ world.
By Getting and achievement in IloMilo you can build a special IloMilo house that lets you bring Ilo and Milo into your Keflings’ world.
Also by buying A World of Keflings you can get early access to trials of both Raskulls and IloMilo before they are released.
You like candy. I like candy. We all like candy. So why not make a game about eating candy? That is one brilliant idea! And so the talented folks at Zeptolab made this game called ‘Cut the Rope.’ But I will let them tell the rest of the story.
Answers from Semyon Voinov, COO of ZeptoLab.
1. How did you get the idea for such an original creation?
The very beginning of Cut The Rope really comes from our first iOS game we developed, Parachute Ninja. When we were creating different mechanics for the game, we experimented with a rope mechanic. It wasn’t right for Parachute Ninja, but for our next game we decided to build on that mechanics system.
From there the ideas grew and you really have to address everything. We wanted to know what each level objective would be. How fast would the rope swing? Should we have characters in this game or develop it as a straight puzzler? Ultimately we’re happy with what we decided and I think quite a lot of people love Om Nom, the little green monster.
2. Will ‘Cut the Rope’ be available for other platforms?
We are planning to release the game on the Android platform, and we’ll definitely be learning about what’s possible for other platforms.
3. How do you decide and/or create each level? Is it a team or individual effort?
We have a talented level designer in our team, but many of our team members are also involved in creating the levels as we try to get as many cool ideas as possible.
4. Do you like candy? What is your favorite kind(s)?
Just like Om Nom, we do! Chocolate ones especially.
5. What was the hardest part about making ‘Cut the Rope’?
The challenge was really fine-tuning Cut The Rope to be a very smooth and very polished game. There are a lot of games on the App Store, so it’s not that easy to make something that stands out from the crowd. Our goal was to make sure everything in this game was just right. From the music to the look and feel of the game. We created the game engine from scratch because really nothing else would do what we wanted to do.
6. What is your favorite level in the game?
The first one! It shows the essentials of the game really well.
7. Is there anything you would have changed in the game, now that it is out?
We are eager to bring even more content and variety to the game, and the great thing about the AppStore is that we can easily do it with the updates, long after the game has been released.
8. Besides the 1.1 update, are there any more awesome announcements regarding the game?
Yes! You may have noticed that just recently we released Cut The Rope: Holiday Gift. This is a free, standalone version of the game. It features 25 new levels and we’re hoping new and existing fans will enjoy it. We wanted to create this and gift it to our fans as a thank you. Thank you so much for your support and for supporting Om Nom!
9. How many candies can an Om Nom eat?
In total? Probably well over 1000. In one sitting.
10. Is there an origin story to ‘Cut the Rope’?
It really was something that stemmed from our last game and had a very organic growth.
11. Why is Zeptolab call Zeptolab?
“Zepto” – is a prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10−21, so it’s basically something pretty small – just like our team. “Lab” – comes from the fact that we like to experiment with the different game mechanics, styles, etc.
12. Have you found every secret there is to be found in the game?
As developers, we surely know about every aspect of our games. For example, if you’ll shake your device in the main menu of “Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift”, something cool will happen.
13. What other games does the team at Zeptolab like?
We are very impressed with the “Infinity Blade” recent release. I personally think that this is one of the best games for the iOS platform. Also, Geared 2 is a very nice sequel to the famous original game.
14. Are there any other games you are working on?
At the moment, we are working on the new updates for “Cut the Rope”, but there will be definitely more games coming from our studio in 2011. Stay tuned!
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Ok, that is the end of the interview. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the fine people at Zeptolab. We can’t wait for your next game!
It’s Tuesday and Christmas is just a few short days away but that doesn’t mean that some people aren’t sitting around bored still. But thankfully two great ways to occupy your time between now and Christmas just landed right on the XBLM. First of all we have the release of the Dead Space 2 demo by EA that hit not only the XBLM but the PSN as well. Fans of the first game should be ready to be terrified as they wet their appetite for Dead Space 2’s release next month. To add Dead Space 2’s demo to your downloads take a look here.
Also arriving on the XBLM is the first installment of Fallout: New Vegas DLC. Unfortunately PS3 users are being left in the dark for Dead Money is currently only available on the Xbox 360. Dead Money will place players in a life or death situation where they must obey certain commands or suffer quite the headache. Dead Money is available right now for 800 MSP ($10) and you can find it here.
No don’t let that picture up there fool you, that is the bundle you would get if you happened to live in Korea. Korean purchasers will be able to get Hyperdimension Neptunia with a beach towel, sound track, and an art book even. Unfortunately since the majority of us don’t live in Korea that means that the above bundle isn’t worth much to us, but it is still interesting to note the quantity of things that happened to be bundled in that package.
For those of us that live in the United States though we are not forgotten. NIS America also released the first English trailer for Hyperdimension Neptunia which features some of the game’s different features as well as letting us hear the new English voicework that the characters will be sporting. Also revealed at the end of said trailer is the premium set that anyone who purchases the game will receive. They will be getting a special 36 page art book along with special packaging. Not sure if NIS America will be offering any incentives to purchase the game from their own online store however, but we will find out more as the release date of February 2011 grows closer.
Good things come to those who wait. Although Splinter Cell Conviction never shot/stabbed/punched its way onto Playstation 3, three of the older Splinter Cell titles, namely the original Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory will be getting a new release on the Playstation 3. According to Ubisoft, the games will have high definition graphics. Other details such as multi-player and trophy support have not been confirmed. Also unannounced is how they will make their debut. Will it be on PSN or disc based? Finally, the only other thing left to wait for is when these remakes will ever land on Xbox 360 (if ever.)
“In Bungie news, the Covenant war rages on. Here with the story is Jed.”
Jed: “So far on the home-front, over 33 billion kills have occurred. In this ongoing war of attrition of over 24,000 years, just over 1.3 billion occurrences of violence have broken out. Probably one of the most amazing things to note is over 200 thousand soldiers have registered a killionare. Plus, over 900 trillion credits have been earned. And you thought the national debt was bad! Oh wait, it is still worse. Back to you.”
“Thank you. Now, in other news, the Grunt genocide rages on in parts of the Graph System. Here with the story is Cortana.”
Cortana, ” Freakin’ suicide grunts musta killed John-117 a couple dozen times. THEY MUST DIE! Plus, I love how their heads pop into confetti.”
“So do we, Cortana, so do we. For Capsule Computers, this is (Censored) signing off.”
Asphalt 6: Adrenaline Developer: Gameloft Publisher: Gameloft Genre: Racing Platform: iPhone (iPad) Released: 21 October Price: $8.99(AUS), $6.99(US) BUY NOW
Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, developed and published by Gameloft isn’t your typical racing game. Although at first glance it may appear to have gone down the realism route, in actual fact it deviates from the classic formula in a way that many other racing games before it. It is kind of hinted to in the game title, but this game introduces the aspect of boost in the form of Nitro to rocket propel your car to super speeds.
It is a route many other games have taken; the Need for Speed series and the Burnout series just to name a couple, but with Burnout out of the picture on the iPhone, it seems that Asphalt 6: Adrenaline’s main rival is the recently released Need for Speed game. But how does it fare in comparison? It overtakes its opposition racer, leaving Need for Speed in the dust.
Asphalt 6: Adrenaline has a hugely in-depth and detailed career mode. It offers 11 different leagues and 55 events in the game with numerous tuning options to speed up your ride. The single-player mode is excellent and offers a colossal amount of individual races, taking you through and introducing you to the 4 different race modes as you progress through the career. As you move the levels, opponents get harder, but this matches the skill progression because as they get more difficult, you become a better driver.
You earn money in each of the races which can then be used to utilise the decent customisation options on offer. Money is earned through a number of methods. Performing stunts and tricks considered dangerous and/or risky results in a monetary reward, such as driving on the wrong side of the road and getting a near miss with a item of oncoming traffic, or one of my personal favourites, ramming an ordinary car which is just a part of the traffic on the road, only to get a cash bonus under the name of ‘Traffic Control’. Other factors as to how much money you get include final position in the race, a bonus for drifting in-game, collecting money icons denoted by green and orange dollar signs (orange icons gives a larger bonus, and not only in the case of cash icons), number of enemies eliminated (forced off the road to crash, but they respawn and are still in the race) as well as other minor factors like rewards for damage of public property. As you can infer, there is an emphasis on carnage, although the game doesn’t go as far to provide you with weapons, so in a lot of ways, the aims of taking down your rivals and finishing in 1st place make it a lot like a portable version of Burnout, albeit from a different developer.
As well as the cash symbols, you will encounter a number of other symbols during the course of each track. And, as I said, the orange signifies a larger bonus, but not all the things available to acquire by driving through are about bonuses to your bank balance. The other items available to pick up are mainly regarding boost. Orange boos pads give a one-off powerful boost, but blue and orange pick-ups in shape of flames actually add to your boost meter which you can activate by touching the right side of the screen. When this boost meter is maxed out you get something known as ‘Adrenaline’ in reference to the title, and this, for lack of a better expression, is basically a super-boost which carries on for longer than normal and allows you to go faster.
Customisation options are also very good and this is where money earned from races can be spent. This includes buying new decals and designs for your car, tuning it to improve it’s performance in competition, or even buying an entirely new car. The cars are even from real car manufacturers and really are the real deal. The graphics of the cars are also very nice, and impressive given some of the shoddy and visually uninspiring games released on the platform. Unfortunately, the in-game scenery and backgrounds aren’t quite up to the same standards, with some grainy and blurry objects dotted around, but you have to commend them for making significant changes between the different real-world countries. If you are in Tokoyo, the game clearly reflects this.
On top of the enjoyable Career there is a multiplayer mode too. However this feels a little bit tagged on, although to be quite honest, the iPhone isn’t the greatest system for online play anyway. It is advised you stick to single-player as the multiplayer side of things leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline uses formula that is known to work well: the combination of realistic cars with some boosting added in for good measure. The control scheme of tilting your iPhone to steer is intuitive meaning you can quickly get the hang of it, even if it can be slightly dizzying trying to watch the screen as it is moved all over the place. Similarly, the other controls are just as simple, with the right side of the screen reserved for boost, and the left for braking, and the car being set to accelerate of it’s own accord. In the single-player you’ve got a lengthy and substantial Career mode that should keep you busy for ages, then there’s Freeplay races to keep you busy after you’ve finished that. You could even trial the underwhelming multiplayer if you got bored! It’s a solid racer with a few issues, but on the whole, it is an entertaining experience.
