How exactly do developers put people in video games? Currently there are two schools of thought: shrink rays or shrink boxes. Each of course has their own respective pros and cons. Oh, whats that? Yes, um, they are telling me that apparently actors and artists come together and use computers to make video games. Weird. I guess the shrinking stuff is only in the movie industry. Gotcha. If you wanna see our review of Enslaved, you can totally do that.You can also download the demo. Spoiler alert: It is really good!
Capcom have released Capcom Arcade where you can play your favorite Capcom arcade games in near perfect ports of the originals. The Lauch titles will include the legendary Street Fighter II, the original Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, 1942 and Commando. All games are emulated as best as possible and in their entirety for the first time on iPhone and iPod touch.
Now here is the catch. Capcom Arcade is FREE to download .. BUT … yes there is always a BUT … here is how it will work.. Once you download Capcom Arcade you will be able to play THREE TIMES every day for FREE per game.
If you’d like to play more often, additional “Tokens” can be purchased in the Capcom Arcade store for 99c which will give you an extra 10 tokens to spend and play on any game. If there is a game you truly love (for me that’s all of them), the option to buy a game’s “Arcade Machine” outright for unlimited play is also available. For only $2.99 you can own the arcade machine, which I personally recommend – these Original Capcom titles are well worth the $2.99 price tag. Purchasing these elsewhere will have you spending a whole lot more.
Here’s some extra features of Capcom Arcade:
• Play the classic arcade versions of Street Fighter II, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, 1942 and Commando in their entirety
• New games will be added every month to the Capcom Arcade (this is what im excited about) • Two modes of play – “iPhone” mode for more casual gamers and “Classic” mode for purists
• Special premium DLC “cheats” that unlock special abilities, upgrades and weapons (for a price of course)
We’ll have a full featured review in the next day or two. Stay tuned.
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If you’ve already downloaded and played this let us know what you think of Capcom Arcade here or in the forums below.
It’s crazy to think that Black Friday is already around the corner and ads have already began showing up on the internet. The newest from Sears reveals a brand new unannounced bundle though, so that makes this news all the more interesting. In the leaked ad (pictured above), shows off a new bundle for the DSi bundled with Mario Party DS. Even better, the bundles will have two colors, red and the brand new green which will be available for a limited time. The price-point is nice as well, leaving the two bundles set at $149.99 (US) each which is a decent deal for collectors or any gamers who have yet to pick up a DSi.
The next bundle is the PSP 3000 one which may not offer anything too exciting, but you can’t beat the price. The PSP bundle offers Little Big Planet and The Karate Kid for the Black Friday pricing of $129.99.
Nintendo is sure to make a press release soon I would imagine announcing the new DSi colors. You can check out the full ad here and if anything else pops up from the ad scene, we will be sure to let you know.
The Kinect just released to the public yesterday but there has already been a fatality as far as TVs are concerned. Sure we have heard the stories of wrist straps on Wii remotes breaking and smashing expensive TVs. But I’m sure that it took more than a day for that to happen at least. Now how does one break their TV when the only way to control the Kinect is with your own body? Did he kick his TV? Kick something into his TV? Well that is partly true considering he did hit something into his TV.
Phil Villarreal happened to be playing Kinect Sports Volleyball at 1:30 AM last night and while he was playing, he did the motion for spiking the ball. Only problem is there was a ceiling fan right above his head with a dangling chain and weight. While he may have landed a great hit in his volleyball game he also spiked on of these weights right into his TV screen and put a sizable break in it. Though it isn’t the glass smashing spectacular that some TVs do when they break, it does cry an LCD rainbow.
Looks like we should be careful about our ceiling fans when we are playing Kinect from now on. Or for that matter hitting anything in general towards our TVs during an intense Kinect gaming session.
There have been new screenshots released for Splatterhouse today and they feature quite a big gun. It looks like there will be a weapon that Rick Taylor will be able to use to help him destroy the various monsters he encounters. Though what happened to beating them to death with your own limbs?
These screenshots also show off the different masks that Rick can wear to change his appearance. Beyond that however players will be able to do battle in a Survival Arena where players must tear apart 20 different waves of horrible monsters and do their best to survive.
Sounds interesting, but I wish we had more information on that huge double barreled shotgun that he seems to be sporting there. But we’ll know more about it when the game releases on the PS3 and 360 on November 23rd.
Looks like it is official now, Record of Agarest War Zero will be making its way to the Xbox 360 as well now. A few days ago we mentioned that Aksys Games had picked up the prequel to Record of Agarest War and was bringing it to the US for the PS3. We had no idea at the time that the game would be available on the 360 as well, but thankfully it is. Though no news yet of a collector’s edition like the last one featured.
Localization Editor Ben Bateman from Aksys Games has been quoted saying:
“We will be releasing Record of Agarest War Zero on a disc for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system. It was made excessively clear to us that there are a number of people who do not care for downloading their videogames. I am told this number is bigger than a breadbox, and so we have gone to great lengths—I personally have killed at least five orcs—to ensure that everyone will have the opportunity of sliding a shiny, new physical disc into the console of their choice. Or both, if they are into that sort of thing.”
Don’t know about the rest of you but that is really great news. I happen to have the PS3 version of the game that this is the prequel of and I can say that it never hurts to have a disc copy to call your own. Good thing that the other people outside of this breadbox think so too huh?
From Idea Factory in Japan, Record of Agarest War Zero will feature the following additions and updates:
The Prequel to the RPG That Brought You Five Generations of Stories: The pivotal installment of the multi-generational tale tells the story of what happened in the age before Record of Agarest War, detailing the rise of some to glory, and the fall of others, into darkness.
Experience “Living Portraits”: The beautiful, static character portraits from Record of Agarest War are now animated to resemble living and breathing characters. Players will now see Sieghart display emotions of surprise, despair, and joy, among others.
The Return of the Unique Soul-Breeding System: Once again, the choice of bride at the end of the first generation further determines the skill sets and weapon of the offspring.
The Addition of the New Card Skill System: Players now have more control over the battle style of the main character, as well as his skills, by way of a card system. By picking the appropriate cards, Sieghart can be customized to reflect the type of fighter one wishes to play.
On top of these new add-ons players will be able to experience enhanced graphics and even a new mode for towns which is called Free Intention. This mode will allow players to explore towns that they are staying in and talk to the different members that are with them, which also gives players more in-depth control with the relationships they are developing with their female compatriots. Their clothing may even change as their feelings change. Sounds interesting yes?
No set release date yet but we can expect to see these games available for both the 360 and PS3 sometime next year in the Summer.
On the same day of the launch of Nintendo’s WiiWare demo download service, today four downloads have been made available:
ThruSpace: High Velocity 3D Puzzle (WiiWare: Nintendo, 800 Wii Points)
Bookworm (DSiWare: PopCap, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
GO Series: Fatal Blow (DSiWare: Gamebridge, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
Rytmik Rock Edition (DSiWare: Cinemax, 800 Nintendo DSi Points)
You would expect the selection of downloads this week to be a little thinner than usual with the integration of the demo feature on the Wii. It is, but that’s not to say Nintendo have neglected the downloads this week. They haven’t completely forgotten about the WiiWare and DSiWare download service amist the big announcement, adding four titles to the expansive library of games inhabiting WiiWare/DSiWare, including another iteration in the GO Series, and ThruSpace: High Velocity 3D Puzzle, a puzzler designed to test your spatial awareness and reactions to the limit.
In a move, that is sure to generate hype: Activision has revealed that the soundtrack to Call of Duty Black Ops, will be available to download November 9th when the game drops. The digital only music features 30 tracks including scores from renowned film composer, Sean Murray. The tunes will be available through iTunes and other major retailers.
Selling at US$11.90 for the whole set list or US$0.99 per track, given our recent foreign exchange rate it’s a safe bet the Australian prices will be similar. the move comes as part of a distribution agreement between Fortuna of Universal music and Acitvision Publishing. After working on Call of Duty: World at War, Mr Murray returns to compose the Black Ops music. Releasing soundtracks is a more and more popular move in the industry these days, with many indi or smaller developers releasing them free on their websites to generate interest, including the makers of SHANK and Comic Jumper. the fact that Acitvision is charging, is of little surprise.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated MA 15+ in Australia and drops November 9th for all major platforms, as what is one of the most highly anticipated games this year
Game Name: Blazing Souls Accelate Genre: Strategic RPG Developer/Publisher: Never-Land Games /Aksys Games Price: $39.99 Console: PSP
Story
“It has been years since a war called the Seven Year War ended and peace finally arrived in the land.
The story begins with Zero the protagonist making his living as an independent contractor. One day he is investigating a certain site. It is there that he finds a mysterious stone infused with a powerful magic known as the Core Elemental. As he takes on more and more jobs to investigate other locations, he discovers more and more Core Elemental stones. On his travels, he begins to encounter the Human Genomes—new creatures created by God to replace mankind.
One thirsts for power. One desires only the eradication of mankind. And one hopes to retrieve what he has lost.To get what they desire, each one appears before our protagonist. Through his battles against the Human Genomes, our protagonist begins to learn the truth about the secret of his birth, and before long finds himself at the very place where he was born… Finally, he will learn the truth of his existence…” (via Aksys Games)
The best part of the story is that it is deep. However, I don’t mean deep in a compelling, emotional sense. I mean deep in the “What the hell is going on” sense. This is not a bad thing, if you like that type of story. A story like that also keeps the game moving, so that is a good thing. Often, I felt like I was dropped in the middle of some storied universe, but I had no idea why exactly the I was was there, and what kind of back story these characters had. Perhaps if I had played previous iterations, I would have known what was going on, but for now, my head still pounds with questions. All in all, if you are looking for a tale that will make for roller coaster like hills of confusion, your gonna love Accelate. Mainly, though, the story merely provides a cover for the gameplay.
Gameplay
Gameplay is also deep. However, this kind of deep is like, “WOW, I can create and do all kinds of stuff!” For example, players can find and fuse together grass and ore to create a powerful ring. Sure that may not make a whole ton of sense, but the title of the game doesn’t really make sense either. What is more impressive though is that gamers can keep fusing the ring with other items found. Options are virtually limitless, especially when you consider the fact that there are a lot more things than just grass and ore available. Of course, what is a PSP enthusiast supposed to do with these alchemist creations?
Combat is where you get to use all your fancy new created duds. Sure, some of them may only increase your strength and the like, but it is very satisfying to crack the skulls on some monsters with attacks and items. It is even more fun to “chain” together these attacks. To illustrate, each character you have in the party builds up AP. Once they have AP, they can do different attacks. AP seems to come from any type of move. At any time you have an attack, you can do a charge attack. Choose either to unleash the attack right then and there, or hold the attack. If you choose to hold the attack, other characters can also hold their attacks. Once you actually unleash an attack with a character though, every character gets to unleash their held walloping attack. That. Is. Awesome. Characters also have many many unique attacks and carrying them out is a great part of the game. These things mentioned above only scratch the surface. If you want to take the time to upgrade and get all fancy with everything, you are going to have a long, satisfying game in which to do that.
The only part I really didn’t enjoy about the gameplay was the fact that nothing was explained. A plethora of old school gamers are probably laughing at me right now and saying, “Sonny, back in the old days we didn’t have nothing explained. You young’uns never wanting to do anything….etc, etc.” The point still remains though. It took me forever to finally figure out exactly how the strategies and even simple controls worked. My first hour of the game, I was unable to even attack because I had no clue what to do. This seems especially imperative when you realize that this was my first strategic rpg. New SRPG gamers will certainly be turned off if they have no clue what to do. What makes it even worse is that the downloadable copy has no instruction manual. However, although I did not enjoy that part, I do realize that most games require a lot of practice, and that practice is what actually makes the better strategies in the long run.
Graphics and Audio
Although I can rarely really tell the difference between graphics on games, Accelate’s graphics seemed to have no weird glitches or parts that would make your eyes want to bleed. The graphics did their job and didn’t get in the way. As far as I am concerned, those are some darn fine graphics.
However, audio is seriously lacking. Every character in every battle sequence says the same line, over, over and over again. Another point to bring out is that during cutscenes, you must press X to advance to the next line of dialogue. With all the high quality voice acting present in the game, why must I press a button after every sentence, especially when that scene can be quite lengthy?
Overview
Blazing Souls Accelate is a good game. No way around that. Great gameplay can often make up for many shortcomings. That is certainly the case with Blazing Souls Accelate. Extremely short loading times are also a great plus to add to the good parts of the game. A funky story, some weird audio/text choices and a lack of direction for new players are the only low points to this stellar title.
Atlus, those gods of publishing, have announced a new game. The Cursed Crusade, looks to be a taste of that Demon’s Souls formula that everybody loved, throwing the player into a medieval, European setting with that hint of dark fantasy. Now, to be fair, this isn’t developed by From Software, the people who actually made Demon’s Souls. This game is being made by Kylotonn entertainment who, admittedly, haven’t done much but are looking to “wow” gamers with The Cursed Crusade.
The game follows the stories of a knight and a mercenary as they set off on a quest to save themselves from damnation, the templar’s curse, as it sweeps across the land claiming everything in it’s path. The combat looks to be in a similar vein as Demon’s Souls, real time with various weapons. While the game does have fantasy elements, this is no Kingdom Hearts, there are no super colorful and stylized magics/combos to be had, at least from what the in-development footage shows. It just gets right down to the nitty gritty, just like Demon’s Souls. The game sports two person (sorry people with more than one friend : /) coop, both online and off. The game is set to hit this summer on the 360, PS3 and PC so keep an eye out! Click on over to the official site for some more info and images.
