Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is all set to release next year and will include characters from the animated television show and the rest of the Star Wars universe. With the feature list announced so far, this may be the best Lego game yet.
Over 60 missions and levels
A new story that will hopefully actually be new and not just a rehash like in past Lego games
Ground battles that will allow you to take BATTALIONS of trooper into combat and build bases, deploy vehicles, etc. I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to have a massive Lego army.
In what I am thinking is a totally new addition, SceneSwap is “a new feature allows players to take control of multiple teams in separate locations. Working together to complete various objectives, players will control each team through the press of a button, while playing in single player or in multiplayer co-op modes.”
Space battle with your favorite Star War’s spaceship through multiple levels of space.
New abilties like lightsaber cutting, lightsaber throwing, and lightsaber climbing and new grappling maneuvers. Also there will be Force powers. Plus new Clone accessories like weapons and vehicles.
Game:Tetris Party Deluxe Platform:Nintendo Wii Publisher: Majesco, Nintendo Developer:Hudson Soft Genre: Puzzle Release Date: Out Now Price: $29.99 / £19.99
Tetris is one of those rare games that has transcended boundaries with practically everyone, gamer or otherwise, from John O’Groats to Timbuktu having owned or at least heard of a version of it.
Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnovon in 1984 and it was not until 1989 that Nintendo jumped on the bandwagon and produced the first videogame version, originally bundled with the Gameboy, that has gone on to be universally loved across multiple formats and via multiple developers to this day. Yes Tetris has certainly come a very long way in the past 25 years and having been featured on pretty much every major platform it is somewhat comforting to see the latest version, Tetris Party Deluxe, released on a Nintendo machine, in this case the Wii, just in time for it’s silver anniversary.
Tetris has never really been one to follow a story with the main crux of the game generally being to line up the falling blocks into a form or pattern, usually of the same colour, with the objective being to clear the screen whilst aiming for highest score. So what’s new this time around..? Well for starters Tetris Party Deluxe builds on the success of Tetris Party, a predecessor available as a download on the Nintendo Wii’s WiiWare some two years ago. In Tetris Party gamers got to play the evergreen puzzler in a new, fun and funky way. Nintendo has built upon the success of the downloadable version with a fully formed and upgraded sequel that is literally bursting at the seams with plenty of fresh surprises, new game modes and some almost ingenious ways to continue the Tetris legacy.
Gameplay
Tetris Party Deluxe offers players six new game modes plus a host of additional ‘enhanced’ modes to enjoy. Renowned Bomberman developer Hudson Soft have all bases covered here and whether you are a veteran Tetris fan or new to the game altogether be prepared for a new addiction! Game modes include:
Bombliss: Players have to deal with non-standard Tetris pieces – including bombs! Clear the lines and the bombs to cause chain reactions.
Sprint: Clear 40 lines in the quickest time possible
Vs. Sprint:Players compete locally to see who can be the first to clear 40 lines.
Master: This is for those real hardcore Tetris fans out there! Players see themselves starting out on the games highest difficulty and speed. Instead of falling pieces, Tetris blocks appear at the bottom of the screen and lightning fast reflexes are a must if you have any chance of surviving in this mode.
Co-op vs. Co-op:You and a partner pair up to take on another team.
All Clear Sprint: Achieve 20 perfect clears in the quickest time possible.
Field Climber:This mode drops a tiny climber into the playing field. The climber will scale the mountain you create for him in an attempt to reach the goal zone but be warned – the poor little guy can only climb one block at a time! There are checkpoints to reach on each level so Field Climber requires a more methodical approach and is a nice change of pace.
Shadow Mode:This mode has you creating pictures by dropping Tetriminos into their silhouettes. An edit feature included within this mode allows players to create their own shadow puzzles to play.
Tetris Party Deluxe does not disappoint those looking for a multiplayer experience with the inclusion of online battles over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection as well as local multiplayer fun for groups of friends and family.
The Wii release also has some pretty unique ways of playing the game and players can use the Wii Balance Board, Wii Wheel, Wii Speak or their own personal Mii to customize the gameplay experience!
The Wii balance board mode is a particular favourite and throws up a unique twist to Tetris. When utilising the board the game is played on a smaller grid using the more conventional blocks of the original Tetris with the goal also being the familiar make lines/clear lines/score points. The controls are actually really straight forward and moving left or right will move the blocks accordingly as they make their way down the screen whilst leaning forward or backward drops them into place. Squatting on the Wii board will rotate the Tetris blocks ready for you to position them onscreen. Although fairly easy to master these controls don’t make for a particularly precise gaming experience but do offer an amusing diversion as well as a light workout!
Graphics/Sound
Taking into account the limitations of the genre the graphics here look great whilst remaining on the right side of functional and never becoming overwhelming. Overall presentation is bright, punchy and most importantly given the sheer amount of gameplay options menus are fluid and easy to navigate.
The Sound for this game is also very pleasing with some upbeat melodies bolstered by the classic theme making for a catchy soundtrack that is rarely an irritation.
However more attention was definitely needed on certain modes of the game as it limps along with what appears to be one background and a single music track on a loop. That said you can customise this mode by choosing which song and image you want to have but that is the extent of the game’s tweaking options so be prepared for some repetition during extended sessions which could become either tiring or very hypnotic depending on which way you look at it.
Overall
The best versions of Tetris remain those that have been true to the original formula. Adhering to this golden rule whilst introducing new elements and modes aplenty gives Tetris Party Deluxe a facelift that is more than a case of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ . Despite this the more traditional modes were still the most enjoyable elements with beating your own high scores the surprisingly addictive long-term goal. I also found myself immensely enjoying the battle mode and the ability to use power–up items during play. In this mode you can stop your opponent’s tetriminos from rotating, shoot blocks onto their grid or force them to use a single type of block for a limited period of time. These items are always fun to use and add strategy to the otherwise straightforward tactic of clearing rows faster than your opponent.
Tetris Party Deluxe offers a huge variety of different gameplay modes that arguably make this release the definitive version of the game. Despite being a quarter of a centaury old it still feels as vital, instinctive and most importantly, downright addictive as it ever has. Here’s to the next 25 years!
Boomin’ and jammin’ into a release date of November 17, 2010, NBA Jam is only a quick dribble away. Already released on the Nintendo Wii, NBA Jam on Xbox and PS3 looks like it will be as cool as ice. HD visuals, online play and unlockable politicians? It is a home run… err… slam dunk! Take a quick look down the lane at these new videos. One features the features that will be available in the game, and the other takes a look at the politicians available to play as. The next NBA Jam should totally have donkeys and elephants. Who doesn’t want to play a game of B-Ball without an elephant?
Fox has joined Hulu, ABC, NBC, CBS and a whole bunch of other shortsighted companies in blocking Google TV from accessing streaming video on the their respective websites. GTVhub.com has a list of websites still allowing Google TV to access video. USA (Psych) Spike (Entourage) and PBS (seriously?) are a few of the awesome companies still allowing internet and TV to be harmoniously together. Dish Network is also offering a $179 deal that includes”variety of content on the Web with DISH Network’s onscreen programming data, DVR and Video on Demand content.” You can read more about that here. Hopefully, we can soon all settle our differences and have a fantastic world free of DRM, net neutrality issues and licensing disputes… Oh wait.
An all new game from Brad Borne, Over the Top Games and EA, The Fancy Pants Adventures will be coming to XBLA and PS3 in the spring. Fancy Pants got its start with two flash games. However, The Fancy Pants Adventures will be a totally new experience. Fancy Pants Man must rescue his sister, Cutie Pants, by exploring a plethora of unique levels and using new abilities and weapons. Get ready to Run Fast and Run Fancy. Looks to be a pretty sweet game. It also gives rise to a new experiment: Will enemies cower before us if we start wearing some fancier trousers?
With a release date of February 25th of next year Bulletstorm isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to bringing the hardcore action. People Can Fly and Epic have brought us yet another crazy over the top video which shows us some gameplay and some voicework. If being told to pull up your skirt and strap on a dildo shows us anything; it is that Bulletstorm is ready to bring some comedy to it’s destruction.
Set to Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter this video demonstrates the fast paced action with giant monsters, big guns and big mouths so to speak. Showing off is obviously one thing that Bulletstorm does well, especially considering their tag phrase is to kill with skill eh? Regardless though I don’t believe I’ve heard so many one liners spoken during an FPS since the old Duke Nukem days.
Ready to see even more new fighters in action for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3? Well then you are in luck because we have another pair of characters jumping into the fray from each side of the battle. From Capcom we have Zero, from Mega Man fame. Plus there is She-Hulk from Marvel Comic. While She-Hulk may not be quite as popular as her male counterpart she sure can deliver just as much of a beating, especially when she hits them with a car.
With the list of fighters growing longer it’ll be interesting to see who we will see released next, but until then check out the videos below where both fighters are introduced and show off their special moves. First is Zero, then She-Hulk.
Call of Duty: Black Ops has a bunch of little easter eggs just waiting to be found and the Next-Gen team has managed to find yet another little easter egg, this time within one of the multiplayer maps. The map Nuketown is already a reference back to when Nuclear tests were being performed in deserts on fake towns to test their effectiveness.
Now a long time ago David Vonderharr from Treyarch was quoted saying that there would be something special that would happen if the players were able to “kill” every mannequin on the map within a fast enough time. Now Next-Gen Tactics looked to take this as a challenge and set off to accomplish the feat. By shooting the heads off of every mannequin within only fifteen seconds they unlocked the easter egg.
The song slowly begins to play over Nuketown’s speakers and what is that tune you may wonder? Well it definitely appeared a few times within the game itself but any lover of Rock songs should recognize it as Rolling Stone’s Sympathy for the Devil. You can catch the video below and may I say thanks to the Next-Gen team for organizing that, if only there was a way to have it play all the time huh?
Have you perchance already finished Fable III? Do you own everything in the nation, or have 20 different wives/husbands? Well then you may feel like you’ve exhausted what Fable III has to offer you at the moment, but fear not because Microsoft has already developed DLC to expand upon your experience. The DLC called Understone Quest Pack will be available next week on November 23rd.
This pack will run for 400 MSP and will add a handful a few new quests to the game. The main quest is called The Voice and revolves around a mysterious voice that has been controlling the people living within Undertown and the player’s quest to find out what it is and do something about it.
The other two quests are The Wheel of Misfortune and the Shooting Range. The Shooting Range will take place inside of the Mercenary Camp, which has now become a tourist attraction after the defeat of Saker. Players will be able to compete for the high score and win different prizes. The Wheel of Misfortune returns as a reusable feature inside of Reaver’s home and give players a chance to do battle in the arenas with various monsters and win even more prizes.
That is the main feature of the upcoming DLC, but there are a couple smaller packs that will be available. The 5 Star Dog Potion will upgrade your faithful companion’s abilities to their max for 160 MSP while the Exclusive Hair Pack containing corn rowns, afros, and a bob hairstyle to the game for 160 MSP as well.
2K has jumped on the 3D bandwagon. If you buy NBA 2K11 at Best Buy, starting on November 16, 2010, you will automatically have the “I want to see the ball coming at my FAACCEE” 3D experience for NBA 2K11. This applies only to the PS3 though. A free patch will be be available on the Playstation Store for current owners of the PS3 NBA 2K11 game. The patch will release in January.
“The authentic broadcast presentation of NBA 2K11 is something we’re really proud of,” said Greg Thomas, president of product development for 2K Sports. “The new 3D capabilities literally add a new dimension to the experience and provide a level of immersion that has never been experienced in a basketball video game.”
