Well, Playstation 3 users seem to be getting the best of the Mass Effect Universe. Although they don’t get the first game in the series, they are getting some good add-ons for FREE!
So, you may remember having to decide what pre-order bonus items you wanted to get for Mass Effect 2. To refresh your memory, that includes the Terminus armor which increases running speed and shields and ammo capacity. Plus, you will get M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon. Tiny black holes anyone? February 23 is the date you can receive and download these free items on the PSN. Get Mass Effect 2 on PS3 on January 18.
Well, I guess better get started beating the first one then…
Alright, so I found this little gem over the weekend and it honestly has kept me entertained for hours. It’s not really a “game” per se, but more of an interactive music creation tool. So it starts out as just a grid of gray squares. Click on a square to “activate” it. An invisible, vertical line passes through the page “playing” each note (square) as it passes, creating a loop of music. The more music inclined user might want to formulate an actual loop of music with purpose, but honestly you can more or less just click random squares and it will make a nice little jingle. It’s honestly a lot of fun and a good way to pass a couple minutes. Horizontally there is no difference between notes, though the higher they are the higher pitch they will be and vice versa. Have some fun with it!
Braveheart is a unique and original action rpg that has players battling with what can seem like hundreds of enemies at a time, defeating wave after wave of foes. While this game could’ve passed off as simply an ok, repetitive level-after-level arcade styled game, Gaijin Entertainment have kept things fresh by adding a surprisingly deep upgrade system, entertaining cut scenes, engaging graphics, audio and unique controls to create an enjoyable title that stands out proudly amongst its competitors in the app store. And for only $0.99, this title is easy to recommend. And no, this game is not based on the movie Braveheart and does not star the controversial, racist, crazy, wife-abusing actor Mel Gibson, but instead stars the ranga-haired, alcoholic, crazy, blood-thirsty, woman-assulting protagonist Richard. Sure not much of an improvement, but Richard is much more loveable!
Gaijin Entertainment’s latest title isn’t exactly similar to what players will be used to, and the learning curve would be a long one if it wasn’t for it’s very clear and all-round just straight up good opening tutorial. The game at the core has Richard spinning in circles with his flail repeatedly and hoping to hit his enemies in time before they get to him, while walking around in circles. Oh yeah, and he never gets dizzy for some reason. Sounds kind of silly? At first it does, and your left wondering ‘how can one dude defeat waves of huge armies of opponents by spinning around in circles like an idiot?’. Well, that doesn’t really matter cause the game is just so damn addictive. With blood flying everywhere, and words like ‘critical hit’ flying up on the screen, gaining experience points, collecting power ups and gold makes it fun.
Players early on will get to choose which style of controls they’d prefer: ‘Stick’ or ‘Swipe’. ‘Stick’ will give players buttons on the screen to move the character, while the ‘Swipe’ style allows players to simply point and swipe where they’d like Richard to go. ‘Stick’ can occasionally feel a little forced, but ‘Swipe’ feels a little more natural making it the better of the two, however its nice to have the option of changing one’s playing style. The biggest problem of the game is one element of the controls which is that spinning the flail can often get repetitive and tiresome on your fingers. It can occasionally take away from the experience, however with most of the waves being a bit short and the ability to upgrade in-game, it often hides the game’s repetitiveness.
As well as the flail and other flail variations Richard arms himself with a crossbow as a secondary weapon. However it is sadly a low point of the game as it is seldom ever needed, difficult to control and not even that effective against opponents, making it practically useless. While players can upgrade and equip variations of the crossbow, its sad to see it wasn’t as explored as it could’ve been. Boss battles are also a let down, and while they do their job of mixing up the gameplay and putting a nice close to the end of a location, their not as epic and as memorable as they could’ve been, and in the end just serve as more of a annoyance rather than an entertaining, exciting battle.
The biggest highlight of the game however is the attention to detail and the little things to keep the game interesting. Since fending off hordes of opponents can get repetitive very quickly as well as moving your finger in a circular motion to swing the flail, Gaijin Entertainment must have done a great job of keeping such the simple, repetitive core basis of the game both entertaining and interesting. There is a surprisingly deep upgrade system for a game like this. In between battles players can visit the city and buy weapon upgrades, perks, potions and skills using gold collected in battles. Also by gaining experience points from defeating enemies and advancing levels, players can assign points to upgrade Richard’s Flail, Crossbow, Vitality, Mastery and Wisdom, with the choice to decide what goes where, this basic customisation really keeps things interesting. Also entertaining comic styled cut scenes piece together the locations and battles, with a storyline keeping things in place. Braveheart also boasts a ‘Challenge’ mode and the ability to ‘Hunt’ in between levels to gain money and experience as well as other items to level up your character before advancing, which is much needed. There’s also achievements to unlock and a leader board, and with the whole upgrade system there’s a little bit there for replay value. While all these features are standards for the rpg genre, its nice to see them in a game like this as it really does keep a simple game fresh.
Braveheart must also be commended for its graphics and soundtrack. The artwork in title screens and loading screens are epic, and really add to the already solid presentation. The in-game graphics are nicely detailed but not overdone and the blood looks beautiful. The cut scenes have a comic styled theme to them and are both entertaining and nice to look at. The only complaint however is that the title and loading screens are very serious and dark, while the cut scenes are bright and friendly, with the game itself sitting in the middle of the two. It makes one think about which audience the game is targeted at, and perhaps the developer didn’t even know. The random change in art styles don’t take away from the over all experience as they all look great, but it does raise an eyebrow. The music also gets its job done, keeping the mood of the game with great sound effects to go with it. While the music isn’t all that memorable, it certainly sets the mood for the game. However boss battles could’ve done with some more chaotic, epic tracks on the most part, but the music that’s there is still good.
In conclusion, Braveheart ticks all the boxes required to be an awesome, must-have title for the iPhone. Blood and gore? Check. Addictiveness? Check. Originality? Check. Fun? Check. The ability to upgrade and customise your character so you feel like you’ve accomplished something? Check. Able to defeat what seems like hundreds of enemies with ease so you feel like a bad ass? Hell yes! At the end of the day however, its just a few things like sore finger from constantly spinning your character in circles and great ideas left barely touched upon that stop this game from being a perfect must-have. Braveheart has alot of potential but sadly doesn’t take advantage of it all. Here’s to hoping Gaijin Entertainment works on this for a potential sequel.
Who would have thought that when Circuit City went out of business last year that they would be used as a supply depot for the North Koreans huh? In the latest developer diary for Homefront we see the developers discussing the world that you will be playing in. They have done their best to make it as real feeling as possible. When a game takes real world brands and stores and implements them for the reasons that Homefront has then there is no problem at all with in-game advertising. It makes the world more immersive.
Also discussed is the fact that your actions will have consequences. More like your violence will. Rather than being trained soldiers with an army to support you, you instead are a civilian supported by fellow civilians against a large occupying force. This definitely sounds like the developers of Homefront are trying to set themselves apart from your average FPS and we’ll see just how well they did it when the game comes out on March 11th.
Konami released new screenshots for No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradisewhich is scheduled to release in Q2 2011 for PlayStation3. According to the press release, fans of the exciting hack and slash series will have the opportunity to see Travis Touchdown in rich high definition graphics as No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise makes its first appearance on a next generation console in Europe. In the 4 screenshots below (and 1 above) Travis Touchdown can be seen in a variety of environments utilizing his Beam Katana as he strives to become the world’s deadliest assassin. An image is also revealed of Bad Girl getting ready to assault Travis Touchdown with a baseball bat in Santa Destroy.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise will be available in Q2 2011 for PlayStation3 utilising the PlayStation Move motion-detecting unit for the very first time.
Konami has revealed a new Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s game for the DS. Based on the popular TV show, Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2011: over the nexus offers a lot of new mechanics for the fans of Yu-Gi-Oh to sink their teeth into. 4200 cards for use in the game, tons of duels based of the show, wi-fi multiplayer and the new ‘Storm of Ragnarok’ booster and the ‘Lost Sanctuary’ structure deck; for the players to enjoy. It is also the official video game for the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship in 2011, so get playing, get practicing, and get winning when the championship comes around.
The full press release is below, but be prepared for when this game drops on the DS… Oh! and don’t forget purchasers get three official Trading Cards inside the box, to add to their collection!
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Prepare to duel as KONAMI unveils stunning new official game of the 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH will unleash the latest in its Yu-Gi-Oh! range of titles for Nintendo DS in March, as Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus delivers the ultimate dueling simulation to handheld fans.
The new game is based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TV series and is also the official video game of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship in 2011. Skilled duelists will be invited to show their prowess at a series of events, with the very best players eventually picked to compete in KONAMI’s World Finals. As such, multi-player competition plays a big part in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus, offering Wi-Fi gameplay and the ability for up to four players to duel offline.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus features over 4200 cards for use in the game, and includes the new ‘Storm of Ragnarok’ booster and the ‘Lost Sanctuary’ structure deck. The game’s one-player story mode uses characters and situations from the TV show, and the in-game presentation has been streamlined with all-new dual-screen presentation to offer more information at a glance, while a new Duel Puzzle Editor allows users to create dueling situations that can be shared with duelists all over the world via Wi-Fi.
Every aspect of dueling is showcased in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus, and it is the ultimate simulation of the ever-popular TRADING CARD GAME. Its many online options detail the social aspects of dueling, and the collectible nature of the various cards is also perfectly realised – even allowing players to get their decks rated, using given feedback to refine their cards.
As has become traditional with KONAMI’s Yu-Gi-Oh! titles, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus will be released with three official Trading Cards inside the box.
Prepare to duel as KONAMI unveils stunning new official game of the 2011 Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH will unleash the latest in its Yu-Gi-Oh! range of titles for Nintendo DS in March, as Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus delivers the ultimate dueling simulation to handheld fans.
The new game is based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TV series and is also the official video game of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship in 2011. Skilled duelists will be invited to show their prowess at a series of events, with the very best players eventually picked to compete in KONAMI’s World Finals. As such, multi-player competition plays a big part in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus, offering Wi-Fi gameplay and the ability for up to four players to duel offline.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus features over 4200 cards for use in the game, and includes the new ‘Storm of Ragnarok’ booster and the ‘Lost Sanctuary’ structure deck. The game’s one-player story mode uses characters and situations from the TV show, and the in-game presentation has been streamlined with all-new dual-screen presentation to offer more information at a glance, while a new Duel Puzzle Editor allows users to create dueling situations that can be shared with duelists all over the world via Wi-Fi.
Every aspect of dueling is showcased in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus, and it is the ultimate simulation of the ever-popular TRADING CARD GAME. Its many online options detail the social aspects of dueling, and the collectible nature of the various cards is also perfectly realised – even allowing players to get their decks rated, using given feedback to refine their cards.
As has become traditional with KONAMI’s Yu-Gi-Oh! titles, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over The Nexus will be released with three official Trading Cards inside the box.
On your marks, get set, GO KART! Indie developer Rendercode Games have released their latest title this week, Avatar Karting. As the sequel to Avatar Racedrome, Players will experience many similar features of the previous game, but with many new ones added to the list, including improved handling and physics. Racers can use turbo boosts, autobreaks and even rewind the game through 16 reversible circuits, through Single Race, Time Trial and Championship modes. The game includes challenging bots, multiplayer via local split screen and online multiplayer over Xbox Live and System Link, as well with Global Rankings system. Avatar Karting is now available on Xbox Live for the cheap price of only 80 Microsoft Points, so give it a download, get some mates and start your engines!
Game Name: IloMilo Platforms: Xbox 360 Publisher(s): Xbox LIVE Arcade Developer(s): SouthEnd Interactive Genre(s): Platformer, Puzzle & Trivia Release Date: 1/5/2011 ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Price: 800MSP ($10 USD)
Story “Explore the visually lush dream world of IloMilo. Challenge yourself with exciting puzzles as you dive deeper and deeper into the story. Play along with a friend or family member and share the journey. Beautiful and full of charm, the game is equally appealing to seasoned gamers and young families alike. The puzzles are easy to learn, but challenging and deeply rewarding to find all the hidden surprises. Experience the unique, fun new co-op experience where you and a friend or family member can take control of ilo and milo and help guide each other through the exciting puzzles.” [via Xbox.com]
Ilo and Milo are best friends, and regularly go to the park to have tea and crumpets; however, for some reason it is getting harder and harder to find each other within this park, which seems to be changing on a daily basis. Maybe it is just their memory, or the park could really be changing, but either way they need your help to find each other so that can be happy and have tea together.
Gameplay IloMilo has a pretty unique gameplay mechanic where you switch between playing as each character as you attempt to progress to the other character. The player must use each character to slowly get towards a location where both characters can meat up. As you progress you will find safkas to save and if you save all of one color in a zone you unlock a bonus level within that zone. There are also memory fragments to find, photos to collect, and CDs to discover as you progress through each level looking for your friend.
The puzzles are pretty interesting, and new mechanics are thrown in regularly and then combined with old one. The game starts off pretty slow and easy, but quickly increases to ever more difficult puzzles. A majority of the levels have multiple ways to beat them, and as you get better you may begin to find shortcuts and quicker routes to win; however, if you are trying to collect everything these shortcuts are pretty much obsolete. There are leaderboards to see who completed a level with the least amount of steps, and this may add some replay value but once the ultimate route is found, it isn’t as if you can improve on it very much.
Co-op is the exact same game as singleplayer, except now one person controls Ilo while the other controls Milo. While it is co-op, both players can’t play at the same time, you must take turns as you progress to the other person. It is essentially like playing singleplayer except you are only controlling one of the people yourself. It would have been nice if it was splitscreen, but it isn’t. Co-op tasks you to progress through the entire game again from the beginning but now taking turns playing. There are a few extras, like the player waiting can fly an “IloMilo” bug and point out things, as well as find the secret easter eggs that can only be collected in co-op. The player waiting can also play instruments, which actually just gets pretty annoying if your friend or relative keeps spamming the buttons for no good reason.
Audio & Graphics The audio is pretty relaxing and doesn’t make you feel rushed at all as you progress through the levels. This is a good thing, because some take quite a bit of working out and feeling rushed would ruin the overall feeling of the game. There are tons of audio extras as well, including an achievement that has to do with the audio and a bunch of CDs to find throughout the game.
The graphics are pretty cute too, and quite docile. everything around you is peaceful and serene and helps the player to relax. The game is basically designed to be picked up as you relax on the couch and attempt to solve puzzles. There isn’t much action and there isn’t a whole lot going on to distract the player, and in this type of game that is perfect!
Achievements The achievement difficulty is completely based on how well you can complete puzzles. A lot of the puzzles in this game are pretty difficult, and in order to get all the achievements you’ll have to complete every single level. The co-op achievement isn’t that bad, and if you know where all the eggs are, you’ll easily be able to get those achievements by rushing through the easier levels in each chapter and going to the levels with the eggs. As for IloMilo Shuffle, it is an extra minigame located within IloMilo and while the achievement for getting 500 points may seem difficult at first, it is manageable after a few attempts. Just don’t collect the safkas immediately after they come on the board, because the more that are on the board the more points newer ones are worth. There are also 2 avatar awards; however, both are incredibly easy to get and will be unlocked simply by playing a bit of singleplayer. You cannot unlock the Ilo and Milo avatar award in co-op because you don’t collect memory fragments in co-op. Below is the achievement list:
Anyone For Tea? – 20 – Get to chapter 2.
Halfway There – 15 – Get to chapter 3.
Smelly Jelly – 15 – Get to chapter 4.
Finally Together – 20 – Complete the game.
Meet Up – 20 – Completed a level.
The Student – 20 – Complete the tutorial.
The Hunter – 20 – Complete all bonus levels.
One Of Each – 20 – Collect one safka of each color.
The Egg Hunters – 10 – Help find all 10 floating eggs with the fly while playing cooperatively.
The Musician – 20 – Play the solo instrument to the music theme in the main menu.
The Shuffler – 10 – Get a score of 500 points or more in the ilomilo shuffle minigame.
You’re In The Way – 10 – Defeat a Nabber in the same move as you complete a level.
The Avatar Awards Are:
IloMilo Shirt – Complete 3 Levels
Ilo and Milo – collect enough memory fragments to unlock a full memory.
Overview IloMilo is an overall fun puzzle game that will get everyone thinking and may take a while to beat depending on your skill at puzzles. The audio is pleasant and the graphics are cute. Sadly, Co-op is a bit of a disappointment, but the option will help those who have people watching them. Instead of just watching, you can take turns solving the puzzles together. The only gripe I have with this game, is that there isn’t much replay value, unless you are going for a good score on the leaderboards. Once you finish a puzzle, the chances of going back to that puzzle are extremely slim unless you forgot to get something the first time around. The best way I can sum up the feeling this game gave me is that it is like solving a Rubik’s cube. Sure, I can solve it and it may take some people longer than others; however, once I solve it, do I really want to do it again? Only if I want to try solving it faster than I did last time, but not many people do that. So while it is fun the first time through, the second time and every time after that seem more like a chore.
I give IloMilo
Cross-Title Extra Content:
IloMilo 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 (A World of Keflings and Raskulls) you can get exclusive in-game content for IloMilo.
By getting an achievement in A World of Kefling’s you can get an in-game Kefling costume for Ilo or Milo.
By Getting and achievement in Raskulls you can get an in-game Raskull costume for Ilo or Milo.
A few months ago we brought some information about Majesco’s upcoming genre bending title, Monster Tale. Now since it has been so long, you should actually get re-introduced with what Monster Tale exactly is. Monster Tale is a Nintendo DS title that is being developed by Dreamrift, creators of Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure which launch to quite a following and a lot of praise a few years ago. What makes this title truly unique is how it utilizes the two screens of the Nintendo DS by using the top screen for platforming and the bottom screen for an in-depth virtual pet simulation game. It is quite an interesting concept honestly and the information that we have so far is making Monster Tale look quite promising.
The story follows a girl named Ellie and a newly hatched monster named Chomp who together set out to reclaim the Monster World from the Kid Kings and their enslaved creature pets. I have been extremely interested in this title for good reason since last year as it seems to be a unique title that is blending together two genres for an original yet fun experience. Dare I say this could even be a new franchise in the making? Majesco have released a brand new trailer for the game which you can check out below and you can expect Monster Tale to hit shelves sometime in March. For more information you can check out and be sure to “Like” the official facebook page for some exclusive updates on Monster Tale at www.facebook.com/monstertale
Skee Ball is a great game. But going out to the arcade, changing your money into specialty coins, and throwing balls that have been touched hundreds of times by who knows who is not great. Besides, you just bought Halo Reach for $60 anyway. Xbox Live member and Halo Reach content creator B0ANERGES created a gametype and map in Halo Reach that allows you to save money and be protected from the outside world, while at the same time playing Skee Ball. His custom creation uses an inclined ramp leading to rings within rings. Add some golf equipment in, and you got yourself a perfect cool down game after going 0-50 in that last, unspeakable match. This creation even includes an automatic ball return system. Ingenious! Download the map here and the gametype here.
