Ok so we have had Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones and the latest Harry Potter Lego adaptations and now Disney have announced they will be making Pirates of the Caribbean all I can say is AGHHH me arties welcome aboard!
So Disney has officially announced that the next Lego game will be Pirates of the Caribbean courtesy of UK developer TT Games.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game will be published by Disney Interactive Studios and arrives in May 2011 – tying in nicely with the release of the fourth film, On Stranger Tides. Which is nice after we heard that the game that was going to tie into the movie got canned this news comes as a delight to any Pirates and Lego fans alike.
The game was announced during a recent press release where Lego showcased nine new Lego sets based on the films these will launch in spring. The video game will be available for multiple formats so I think we have safe to assume that will be all of them not sure if this includes the PS2 yet or not…..
The first game will cover the first three films – The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End – and will feature all the things we know and love with the Lego game franchise from buildable objects, multiple characters and drop-in/drop-out co-op.
We can hopefully assume that if the first game ties in the first three films then a second Pirate’s game could be made a bit like the second Indiana Jones game where it focuses on the newest film in three parts and then covers the last three films briefly picking out the best bits of the first game.
All I can say this news has got me all excited roll on 2011 argggghhhhh………..
Game Name: Babysitting Mama Platform(s): Nintendo Wii Publisher(s):Majesco Developer(s):Cooking Mama Limited Genre(s): Mini-Game, Simulation Release Date: November 5th, 2010 (US) November 11th, 2010 (AU)
November 12th (EU) Price: $49.99 (Game & Doll Bundle)
Babysitting Mama is the latest title in the “Mama” series and made exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. The game puts Mama as your guide the whole way through as you venture into childcare. The game also comes bundled with a real plush baby which is used to control the game by sticking the WiiMote into a slot on the doll’s back. Before I even get started with my review, I will note that this title is mainly for the younger crowd, parents, and those who are already fans of the Mama series so keep that in mind as well from beginning to end. Either way, here is my review for Babysitting Mama.
Story
There isn’t much of a story to be told with this title, as Babysitting Mama is as advertised. Babysitting Mama puts the player in the role of Mama’s helper as she enters the field of childcare. From feeding, burping, playing, and many other activities, the game does a great job of simulating the childcare experience. The more that the game is played, the more that becomes available to unlock from photos, to mini-games and even new babies that all vary in appearance.
Gameplay
Most Mama games play in nearly the same matter, play mini-games to accomplish a goal, and move on to the next objective. Babysitting Mama is not any different from that aspect, but the means of getting to that point are what makes this title so different. Using the doll with the WiiMote properly inserted, the first screen you will see upon entering the main mode of the game is to pick your baby. Since there is only one available at the start, “Yuto”, who matches the doll bundled with the game, is the only choice available starting out.
The first thing really to talk about is the dolls themselves, as alone they are bright, cheery and soft to the touch which should make them perfect for younger girls alone. When the WiiMote is inserted the speaker for the WiiMote is used to the most full potential I have seen it used on the console to date, as throughout the whole game, the baby’s cries, laughs, and any other emotions can be fully heard throughout the experience and very clearly I might add so at times the doll can be eerily realistic sound-wise.
Each “Stage” consists of four to five levels where different objectives must be completed to be judged at the end by Mama. Each time you perform any task, you are judged and given a specific medal which carries into your overall score.
Speaking of the levels or “tasks” in the game, there is a lot of content in the title and each task performs different from the next. Some levels are a bit on the simple side and mainly consist of rocking the baby back and forth to lull it to sleep or moving the baby up and down to simulate bouncing or playing with it. These may sound like nothing, but with the timer and the precise amount of movement needed all being picked up perfectly, you really have to balance all of these simple notions accordingly. One wrong move and you will soon see the “DON’T SHAKE THE BABY!” screen show up (Something which happened many times to myself). There are many different variants of these levels but a few too many can make them feel like rewashed content at times.
Other mini-games consist of patting the baby on the back to burp it, walking the baby to match the movements on the screen as it takes it’s first steps, and many others as well. Some of these resemble a bit rhythm-action style, much like other mini-games in the Cooking Mama World. Not all of the mini-games require the doll though as the nunchuck is used by itself and in combination with the WiiMote fitted doll many times as well. Bathing, diaper changing, feeding, and many other tasks perform smoothly and the motion controls never gave me any problem whatsoever during my full playthrough as they are surprisingly accurate.
There is also a multi-player portion where you can battle another sitter’s child in local multi-player in the mini-games the overall title is made up out of. There are 6 different babies and 40+ different mini-games along with many unlockables such as photos to add to your scrapbook and other extras, I can see hours of replay value added in easily to keep the kids (and even the parents) interested the whole way through.
One thing I personally liked the little things Babysitting Mama does to really enhance the simulation of Babysitting. There are other children in the household and without notice, an accident can interrupt the mini-game you are in and you will suddenly have to make a quick dash to take care of whatever happened. These work kind of like quick time events except for the fact that a fast-paced mini-game is used to clean up or fix whatever problem is at hand. Once you finish, you immediately pick up right where you left off in the main game. This really was a great change of pace and fit perfectly into the experience as these things can happen in the real world so it could easily teach the young player how to multitask.
I will say this little red-haired brat soon grew to be my enemy as she was usually the culprit behind it all, I called her Codename RED and I felt my own eyes in flame as spills were made just for me to clean up while I do all the work and she just breaks everyth….erhmm..back to the review….
Graphics/Audio
The graphics in the game are all very colorful and made up of charming 3D models and backdrops. Images are very vivid and bright, setting the cheerful mood for the whole game. Each baby looks different from the next and is emotions are easily visualized which makes it easy to know if more is needed to perform whatever task is at hand better. There are also may different areas, ranging from the park to the bedroom, which are assigned based on the objective you receive. Even with the somewhat generic menus and loading screens that consist of the message “Never Shake the Baby”, Babysitting Mama’s high quality presentation can easily pull you in from start to finish.
The music blends together perfect with the visuals as well and upbeat tunes carry on through the game. Nothing is too memorable music wise, but it got the job done just fine. Sound effects such as rattles, toys and other noises all came across decently, too. As for Mama, I don’t recall a title where she has talked more. If you have ever played the Mama games, you should know she sounds a bit like a Japanese woman who just learned English and I was surprised of how many more phrases were added in, accent and all. The baby also sounds very realistic, and aside from the LOUD crying which is received from the WiiMote, each baby sounded as they should, giggles and all and each also sounded different from the next to me, so it was great to not see reused voices throughout the game.
Overall
From a personal perspective, there is a lot that makes this game for a certain audience alone. For the most part, that stands true after my time spent with it even though I did enjoy many elements within the title and it is still a solid addition for fans of the Mama series. But as I knew when I started playing the game, I am not in this target audience and with that being said, this is a spectacular game for younger girls without a doubt and a perfect choice heading into the holidays for any gaming family. There are a few rehashed elements in the game, but there is also a lot more variation included which outweighs those moments as the game does great at switching up the pace making each experience feel new and fresh. In a market filled with “LetsJustMakeABuck” quickly thrown together messes labeled “kid’s games”, Babysitting Mama shines through as a title with great controls, solid and fun gameplay, and tons of replay value to keep the younger batch wanting to go back again and again.
Ivy The Kiwi? Mini (DSiWare: Prope, 500 DSi Points)
The eagerly anticipated Bit. Trip Fate has finally made it onto the European Wii Shop Channel, and as you can imagine, is the highlight of the Nintendo downloads for this week, as I’m sure it is for most other users of the service. It’s been a while coming but if Gaijin Games’ other Bit. Trip titles are anything to go by, this should be another stellar effort, and well worth the 800 Wii Point price tag.
There is also an app-style release from Nintedo on the DSi, Nintendo’s CountdownCalendar, which is an interactive virtual calender for you to input various dates that are important to you. Having a calender on their DS may appeal to some, so if this interests you, it’s only 200 DSi Points which is reasonable.
Doctor Who: Return to Earth Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Platform: Wii Developer: Asylum Entertainment Publisher: Koch Media Released: 19 November
Doctor Who is a cult-British science fiction programme that has spanned over generations like none other, starting in 1963 with a bunch of cheap sets and low-budget special effects. It soon became famous for making transitions between actors, dubbing them “regenerations”, which was a clever way swapping actors whilst fitting in with the story at the same time. The television series had some downtime as it ceased to be produced in the 90’s, but a recent revival in 2005 summoned a new era for Doctor Who, allowing it to be enjoyed by a brand new generation of children and adults alike. Since its rebirth, the series has already undergone some changes, eating its way through two different actors playing the Doctor including their female counterparts, moving on to the latest incarnation of Doctor Who, played by Matt Smith with his damsel in distress turned sidekick being played by Karen Gillan. However, as Doctor Who is produced by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), it only has a small following outside the United Kingdom, so it is unlikely that this title will be released outside of the UK/Europe.
Doctor Who: Return to Earth is set in the current Doctor Who era featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. The game reflects this through a story based on these two characters, as well as the actor lending their physical likenesses to the in-game, as well as their acting talent. Yes, you heard right, the actors actually did the voice recording for their characters. The fact that Asylum Entertainment managed to land the actors in person is an impressive feat when compared with other games based on cinema or TV, most of which usually have to settle for sound-alikes or worse. To top it off, Doctor Who: Return to Earth even boasts of a “brand new official storyline” written by Oli Smith, a scriptwriter who has had previous involvement with the Doctor Who universe, before writing the plot of this game.
The story sees you board an odd space ship called the SS Lucy Gray after the pair of time travellers discover a peculiar signal being emitted from somewhere near the edge of the solar system. Materialising on the human colony spaceship, he notes that this is the first colony ship to return to Earth after the solar storms. But everything’s a little too quiet for his liking, and he soon finds out the ship has been commandeered and overrun by Cybermen, as well as a number of other instantly recognisable Doctor Who enemies, such as the infamous Daleks, which for those who haven’t laid eyes on the world of Doctor Who before, resemble wheelie-bins with arms, guns and some bobbled armour plating. The plot is a blatant attempt to cram in all the enemies from the series, and some of the voice-acting performances are a little stiff, which we can just about forgive considering they are supposed to be playing robots.
Still, it all sounds fairly promising so far: actors from the show doing the voice-acting and a fully-fledged, brand new official storyline. Well, it’s all downhill from here. Upon starting up the game, you are greeted by the memorable, lovable menu music that is the Doctor Who theme tune, but as soon click new game, you are entering a world of pain. Although there are a number of save slots preventing argument over who gets to make a data, I’m not sure there would be too many arguments over who gets to play. The gameplay is dire and the visuals are an absolute travesty. Graphically, it looks last-gen, with washed up textures and poor character models. Also, the animation is awful, with no movement or expression in the characters’ static faces, and walking animations bordering on amusing just because they make it look like the character models are wearing trousers several sizes too small.
During the story you switch between control of the Doctor and Amy Pond depending on the level you are on. Firstly, the story plays out through a passage of play in command of the Doctor’s assistant, Amy Pond. Navigating through various obstacles, your efforts see you assist the Doctor land your collaborative mode of transport, the Tardis, and in turn, a mix of puzzle solving and platforming has you switch to the control of the Doctor. You swap control of the Doctor and Amy Pond regularly throughout the game, but other than physical changes, there is little differentiation between the two characters. Amy Pond even has a sonic screwdriver, one of the title’s slight inaccuracies considering that on the show, this gadget is reserved exclusively for the Doctors possession only. However, this isn’t a huge problem where most are concerned, and if anything, livens up the parts of the game spent playing as Amy Pond because using the sonic screwdriver is actually one of the highlights of the game. It makes good use of the Wii pointer mechanic, forcing you to hone in on the smiley face and shoot it with the appropriately coloured crystal. It all sounds very random, and that’s because it is. What it has to do with the Doctor Who universe, I don’t know, just appreciate that it is one element of the game that’s playable.
Another aspect of the game which isn’t too bad are the mini-games. These seem promising at first, and although they are badly explained -leaving you with no option but to figure it out for yourself by giving it a go- can be enjoyed to a certain extent. Unfortunately these too lose their appeal due to the fact that there is a grand total of two different types of mini-game: The Sonic Screwdriver Game and The Gravity Gun Game. This limited variation means the mini-games quickly become repetitive, further detracting from the already dismal experience.
While there are no huge bugs or glitches in the game’s coding which inhibit the game’s flow, the gameplay is generally flawed, turning what should be a game aimed primarily at kids, into a frustratingly challenging game. I can empathise with the developers, as based on the context of the game and the subject matter of Doctor Who, there is an emphasis on non-violence, meaning you can’t kill the enemies. This suddenly turns an easy engineer robot with a strange motive to attack you into an invincible, unstoppable killing machine that will play havoc with you. You are left with no option but to evade the enemies using stealth, only to be killed when your back is turned as you try and make out your position on the HUD as you squint at the fuzzy mini-map.
Overall, Doctor Who: Return to Earth looks promising from the off as you hear of the in-game characters being voiced by their real-life counterparts, as well as official storyline to boot. The result is a complete flop. Perhaps it was meeting deadlines to capitalise on the Christmas sales boom, or perhaps it just goes to prove that TV tie-in games suffer from the same syndrome as movie tie-in games. Either way, it’s not a great game, with the high points being the parts that are distinctly average rather than being as unforgivably atrocious as most of it is. The flawed gameplay makes it inaccessible to most by upping the difficulty to near impossible levels, with only a handful of exceptions who get a kick out of overcoming absurdly difficult hurdles such as this able to get some enjoyment out of it. If you really must get your next Doctor Who fix then get the DS title, Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth. It may be set centuries earlier, but it’s light-years better than this.
Following the release date and the Collector’s Edition announcement, CD Projekt started today the pre-orders for The Witcher 2. With a “standard price and extraordinary content” phrase, as it really is, everyone will receive a lot of additional content since all versions of the game are going to be really special.
All digital editions of The Witcher 2 are called “Premium Editions”, and includes:
-Making-of: All the cinematic materials related to game – trailers, developer diaries, gameplay footage, interviews and making-of exclusive video.
-Soundtrack: Audio files with in-game music.
-World Map: A map of the game’s world.
-Game Guide: The Witcher 2 strategy guide for both novice and experienced role-playing fans.
-Game Manual: A rulebook and interface explanation to help you get started.
-Pamphlet: A representation of one of the in-game items.
-Papercrafts: Two papercraft dolls – Geralt and one random character for collectors.
Pre-ordering the game from GoG will give you instant access to all goodies and a Exclusive digital Artbook, while players pre-ordering from Steam will receive Steam Cloud support (Saves are stored on Steam) and Steam Achievements.
Both sites are having a 10% off pre-order bonus ($49.99 $44.99).
The retail versions of the game includes the same content as the digital Premium Editions, but there’s a Collector’s Edition with even more content! For more details about pre-ordering the game check the site: http://buy.thewitcher.com. The Witcher 2 is confirmed for May 17, 2011.
Our friends over at Gamevil just this past few days, have released a bunch of details about the upcoming holiday season and the games that you- need to play. They are currently developing on a number of consoles with a variety of media for the whole family so check out the pics, movies and games, and make sure there is just a little bit more room in the stock- for Gamevil.
Apple iOS
* Baseball Superstars 2011 version 1.2 has been submitted to Apple, and will be our first game to implement Game Center. Game Center will feature enormous 58 unique achievements with beautiful badges for each of them.
* Official trailer for ILLUSIA has been released. ILLUSIA is a casual platform action RPG for the iPhone and iPod touch. Please look forward to receiving the official press release from us.
* Sequel to our award winning game NOM, NOM: Billion Year Timequest, is finishing off development for the iPhone and iPod touch and will be submitted to Apple soon. We expect the game to launch in December.
CURRENTLY RECRUITING FOR CLOSED BETA APPLICATIONS HERE
Google Android
* Baseball Superstars 2011 is currently under development and is scheduled to be released on Android late December.
* ZENONIA 2 is currently under development and is scheduled to be released on Android in December too.
* We are also planning to service our Android games through VCast Apps. This will be our first carrier distribution channel outside of Korea for Android games.
Nintendo DSiWare
* ZENONIA for DSiWare has passed Nintendo of Europe’s testing and is scheduled to go live in December. The game has already been live through Nintendo of America.
* ZENONIA update with improved framerates has passed Sony’s testing and will go live in December. The original version has already been live through SCEA and SCE of Asia.
Wonder what it was like to create Create? If your scratching your head with that statement, I am referring to EA’s title that releases next week, Create. In the game, players can create their own world with unique tools to solve various challenges. Think Scribblenauts meets Little Big Planet and you have the concept for Create.
In this developer diary, the creators of the title explain the different ways players can customize each land and objects to solve different puzzles. The team also explains more about the theme-element that goes into each level, such as turning your world into a theme park, skate park, and so on. This game is looking quite interesting and with the online sharing option to share each creation, it seems like the possibilities could be endless. Buzz for this title has not been too huge since it was first announced, but it does contain a lot of “creative” possibilities and looks rather addicting. Check out the Developer Diary below and and for those in the US, Create is now available for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii & PC and will be launching the 19th in Europe.
Earlier today NIS America announced that they have acquired the license to release the subbed version of Working!! the Anime for American shores. The name has been changed to Wagnaria!! but that isn’t much of an issue considering the actual restaurant that everyone works in is called Wagnaria. Regardless of that this is great news.
Instead of a simple DVD release, NISA is releasing Wagnaria!! in a Premium Edition. Wagnaria!! Premium Edition will be coming with a hardcover art book and a collectible case to go along with everything. The price will run at $59.99 and will be released at some point in March of 2011. The entire 13 episode series of the show will be included in one package so expect to get the entire Wagnaria!! experience in one pack.
Now what is Wagnaria you may ask? Well it revolves around the life of high school freshmen Sota Takanashi who works at the restaurant Wagnaria along with his fellow eccentric and high spirited co-workers. Wagnaria is a family restaurant so expect lots of comedic scenes between Sota and his co-workers, especially Popura who got him into the job in the first place!
Ash Developer: SRRN Games Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed)/iTouch/iPad Released: November 9, 2010 Genre: RPG Price: $4.99 – Buy Now!!!
Story:
Ash throws players into the story of two ex-imperial officers Damien and Nicholas. They used to be members of the Imperial force until they saw an entire village destroyed by the advanced guard. Going into hiding is their only way to survive, and they do this by becoming mercenaries. In the Empire of Aghaus, the land is simply in chaos after the death of their king five years ago. But little do they know that their mercenary life style is going to place them dead in the center of the conflict.
While this storyline is a bit unique considering many RPGs don’t bother with as much set up as Ash does. Players will feel themselves genuinely interested in what they are experiencing and eager to learn more. The storyline never becomes stagnant. This is further assisted by the way that the story is told.
Now Ash follows your standard RPG text bubbles for text, but that is where it also takes a step outside of the box. Much of the content that players will be reading never becomes dull, there are humorous jokes thrown in, throwbacks to old games, and even the odd pun thrown in here and there. The characters never feel played out and generic as their personalities are developed over time, giving players the feeling that they should keep driving forward to find out what would happen next. Ash’s story is just like what a good book should be, interesting without too much stagnation which leads the reader to keep pushing forward even though it is long past time to take a break.
Graphics:
Before I go into the graphics department, there is one thing to take note of. Ash is mimicking the 16-bit RPG style that we used to play yesteryear. Now that that is out of the way, let me just say that it does that perfectly. Everything from our memories is there, from the small character icons that we navigate around the world, to the basic but intriguing environments that are created through the limited resources available.
The worlds that you explore are very intricate with plenty of little items that can be looked through and examine. Now with the game’s already humorous dialogue examining various bits and pieces around a house or a town is always good for a quick laugh. Another nice feature that more RPGs should factor in, is that players need to know when they have talked to someone already.
One thing I noticed was that as the player goes through a town they will talk to the different people the text bubbles above their head will change color, signifying the fact that you have already heard everything that NPC has to say, or are yellow if it is important.
Another nice graphical enhancement is the fact that the game’s battles are treated as a first person experience. Players will be treated to an Earthbound-esque type battle screen with enemies facing them and being unable to see their own players besides the battle menu. The enemy sprites are well illustrated and look great; there is also a decent amount of variety among the enemies that keeps things interesting as far as the battles go.
Gameplay:
Now Ash is your standard old school RPG. There isn’t too much to the gameplay elements beyond adventuring around and doing battle with the enemies you will encounter. Don’t let that discourage you however as it is far from lacking in this department.
As I said before the way combat is handled in first person, but the way that it is executed is the interesting part. Rather than having to navigate a bunch of different menus to simply attack, or touch attack and touch the enemy you want to hit, and then touch accept, in Ash you do not have to deal with any of that. A simple attack is done by tapping the enemy you wish to hit, simple as that. Of course more in-depth moves such as using skills or items do require the use of the menu system but the streamlining of basic fighting is enjoyable.
After a battle ends rather than getting individual experience the player will receive something known as Part EXP. This Party EXP is exactly what it sounds like, experience for the entire party which means that the Party levels as one, it doesn’t matter on whether or not if the combatant was alive at the end of the fight, or if they even took part in it. This also means that new warriors are automatically the same level as your characters. Which means your EXP grinding efforts won’t go to waste simply because you have a low leveled character joining your group later on in the game.
Despite the fact that battles are very enjoyable and well-handled getting from place to place is difficult. This is mostly because of the fact that the game does not have a virtual D-Pad, instead it uses the players finger taps to go in that direction pressed. Touch the top of the screen to go up, the left of the screen to go left etc. This is very awkward and in the end troublesome when exploring a dungeon or even when searching around a room which requires double taps to examine something. It is hardly game breaking but does take some getting used to in the early goings.
Another problem is that not only is there no actual map of the over-world that you can explore. The world itself is quite large but that also means that wandering into an area that you shouldn’t have been yet simply because you were lost will result in instant death battles. There is a map available at the game’s website, but it is unfortunate that it isn’t available on the iPhone where players can access it easily within the game.
Overall:
Ash definitely makes it’s mark in the world of RPGs available on the iPhone/iTouch today. It brings with it a bit of an entrancing storyline that makes it hard to stop playing, humorous moments, and streamlined old school turn based battles. Even random encounters make a return. There is a patch coming that will provide a D-Pad for easier navigation but at the current moment there is none which is a detriment, but expect this to be fixed in the near future.
So, I’m going to announce all of this slightly out of order but that is your fault. I know if I didn’t mention the free game first you all would never click here. You would have just watched the video on the front page.
As you may or may not know, redlynx held a contest for user created tracks. The winners would get their track into this “Big Thrills” DLC and win money as well. Below there is a video of some parts from the 10 winners and may I say they look awesome! That laser tag track looks particularly interesting can’t wait to try it out.
While I have your attention, you might like to know that Redlynx also announced that it is making their classic Trials games available to all, free of charge. Completely free (aside from a bit of memory usage) all in one complete PC bundle. All you have to do is go hit up RedLynx’s Facebook page, “like” it and then the Trials Legends download link will pop up shortly after. You could also just click this link, but you’ll still need to “like” it and download the link.
Yeah, I bet you are glad you checked out this news post now.
Trials Legends includes 33 different tracks taken from the classic Trials games, six different bikes, 15 different ranks, a track editor tool, and some backstory of the series. RedLynx has also set up a forum for Trials Legends, in case you want to share tracks or just talk about the game.
Now here is the video showing off the 10 sweet player made tracks coming in the “Big Thrills” DLC, set to release on December 1st. You can watch it while waiting for your free game to download.
