Zeboyd Games, makers of RPG parody Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, have released their latest game on the Xbox Live Indie Game Marketplace called Cthulhu Saves the World.
It was released on the 30th December 2010, and much like Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, is parody RPG. It’s part of the Indie Games Winter Uprising and if its predecessor is anything to go by, it should be another absolute cracker packed with winning in-jokes.
What’s more, a music video for the game was outed to coincide with the game’s release. Said video can be seen below and gives a taster of what is in store if you purchase the game, as it gives a good look at the gameplay.
Cthulhu Saves the World is available now on the Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points.
Game Name:Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Platform(s): Nintendo DS Publisher(s):Nintendo Developer(s):Camelot Genre(s): Role-Playing Release Date: November 29, 2010 (US) December 2, 2010 (AUS) December 10, 2010 (EU) Price: $34.99 (US) $68.00 (AUS) £34.99 (EU)
Nearly 10 years ago, Camelot introduced the world to Golden Sun on the Game Boy Advance. The title was highly successful and quickly became a household name in the world of RPGs, inspiring a sequel just a few years later. Fast forward to 2010 and Camelot have finally delivered the next chapter in the franchise with Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Dark Dawn is set 30 years after the events of the first two games and brings a bunch of new characters along with new features to the series on the Nintendo DS. How does this title live up to it’s predecessors? Here is my review for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.
Story
When you start Dark Dawn, you are immediately thrown into the story with quite an opening, introducing you to the story’s main Protagonist, Matthew (or whatever you decide to name your character), who is the son of Issac, the hero from the past games. Other descendants from past characters such as Karis (daughter of Ivan), Tyrell (son of Garet), and Rief (Son of Mia) are introduced shortly after and assemble the main team of the game.
Setting 30 years from the the events in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the game starts with Issac sending you on a simple quest with your allies but soon huge events start taking place as Psynergy vortexes have popped up all over the land and are draining adepts everywhere of their Psynergy power. It is now up to you and a few other descendants of the heroes from the past to find out why this is happening and set out to defeat the evil behind the chaos.
The story flows nicely through the main game, but the cutscenes can drag on a little bit too long (especially at the beginning of the game). Overall though, Dark Dawn does catch players who might not have tried the first two games up and is easy to understand. Each character have a level of depth to them and it is easy to like nearly all of the main characters in the game so getting drawn into the story shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. As you progress through the vibrant world of the game, more lively characters are introduced as the main plot slowly gets more interesting. What I mean by that is that it took myself around 7 hours to fully become engrossed in the main story as Dark Dawn has a bit of a slow start to really warm up, but once it takes off the game can be hard to put down. Fans of the past Golden Sun titles are surely to love the story from start to finish though as it stays true to the originals and several cameos from characters the past will make appearances to let you fully get caught up on the past 30 years of the story.
The story is told through text bubbles throughout the game so no true voice work is present, but the text does the job just fine and conveys the story in an old-school rpg fashion which should be a plus to fans of the classic games. There are also emoticons used to portray emotion for each character, but we will touch up on that in a moment.
Gameplay
Those who have played the first two Golden Sun titles will feel right at home as Dark Dawn sticks to the core gameplay that made those two successful and fan favorites years ago. While this one plays like a standard PRG through and through, there are many features that really divide Dark Dawn from other RPGs on the market today though and many of them come off as a refreshing way to play.
The first thing to mention of course is the bread and butter of the series, that being the combat system. As you jump into random battles you can easily level up each character to get stronger and gain new attacks, but where the true strategy lies is the Djinn. Djinn are elemental spirits you come across Weyward all throughout the game that can change up the way you battle all together. Each Djinn can be obtained by simply joining you or after winning a battle after encountering the creature. Once you obtain them, you can set it to an active party member and gain the spirit’s special powers and summons as you move along. The more Djinn you obtain, the more customization you can make as these are the key elements to having your party truly grow and with all of the choices in Dark Dawn, Djinn can lead to a lot more depth in the otherwise simple battle system classes. Djinn also have the power to be put on “standby” as you prepare for summon moves, which can unleash some devastating attacks to foes if used correctly. With these summons you also get the sheer joy of watching the high quality summoning of different beasts and mythical creatures which was feels very rewarding in itself.
Psynergy is also a huge part of the battle system as well, as your magical attacks performed in and out of battle with ease to attack a foe, heal and ally or clear a path that was blocking your way in different situations. The only problem I felt with most of the battle systems was not the strategy or Psynergy/Djinn, but how simple the difficulty really was. With such an interesting class system and refreshing way to progress, it is a shame that most battles can be won by simply spamming the same attacks over and over.
Even though the game is a bit overly simple for it’s genre, Dark Dawn pulls no punches when it comes to the clever puzzles in the game. Each area usually has one or more which add a lot of depth to the overall experience as you must think up ways to get the the next area. The puzzles all utilize Psynergy powers as well and with the quick one-button setting, puzzles can be an easy to learn and enjoyable sight once you discover the next as each feels a bit different from the next so you are not constantly doing the same thing over and over again. Most of the Psynergy that is used in the puzzle solving also involves the touch-screen as well and though sometimes you might find yourself pulling your hair out to pull a rock across the screen, the touch-screen was still a welcome method of execution for these encounters.
One thing added to the list of features is the use of emoticons to express emotion of characters based on certain dialogue sequences of the journey. For instance, you can tap on one of the four expressions and get a different reaction from the character you are interacting with. While these are a welcome addition, they are not too useful as nothing is effected in the story except for maybe a sentence of dialogue. I do however feel like if there is another Golden Sun title down the road, Camelot made an excellent template to make the series much more open-ended story wise.
Graphics/Audio
The visuals in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn are without a doubt some of the most charming and vivid on the Nintendo DS by far. The whole world is booming with life and color in full 3D. The characters also have a great artwork design with a bit of cell shading that make each stand out on their own. Each monster or boss you encounter also each have a cleverly designed model as well so it is always a treat to run into a new enemy. As great as the in-game graphics are, the way the two-screens are utilized during cutscenes and summon attacks truly pushes the DS to the limit with beautiful 3D animations that transfer from screen to screen, having you tie together both as one big production. This isn’t the first time this method was used on the DS, but Dark Dawn might be the game to say it did it the best.
The music in the game is fitting with each environment, with each tune bursting out as you go into battle or enter a new area, you are sure to want to keep the volume up as you are playing through the game. As odd as it sounds though, whenever a character is talking using a text bubble, some of the sound effect used sound a bit off and awkward. This isn’t the case for all characters, but with such a great soundtrack, the sound of a grinding “klink klink” noise used to show off the speech can actually make you feel like you are reading instead of paying attention to the story as it takes you out of the game a little. Just a small nitpick mainly, but other than that, the sound nearly matches the already high presentation value of the game.
Overall
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is a superb follow-up to the Golden Sun series. The somewhat slow and dull storytelling is easy to overlook due to the complex and easy to use battle system in the game where you can always customize your team to best fit just about any situation. High presentation value was one thing Camelot nailed with this one as well as battling and using new attacks can almost be just as rewarding as progressing through the overall story. There really is nothing wrong with Dark Dawn whatsoever from an RPG standpoint as it keeps the core roots alive and adds to that with some innovative features, but watering down the difficulty may turn some players away as it leads to a much shorter experience than the previous two titles. Either way though, this title an excellent addition to any DS owner’s collection and is a worthy induction into the much loved series of Golden Sun.
The Capsule Computers Crew would like to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR, May all your hopes, wishes, and dreams come true in the year 2011.
To kick off the New Year we would like to give away our first prize for the year 2011 .. To win :: Tell us what you got up to on New Years EVE for a chance to win a VIDEO GAME !! 🙂
The best comment will win 🙂
…
Good luck to all !!
(only one entry per person – Winners will be announced in a few hours so get your entries in QUICK)
It isn’t a very big secret that many games released in Japan are never released outside of the country for the rest of us to enjoy. There are countless games released every month in Japan that never are localized and some of these games were once popular series in the US or Europe. But it looks like one game will finally get itself a localized release thanks to a few dedicated fans.
The game they are working on is Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers which is the sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner. It was released back in 1997 in Japan for the Sega Saturn but never has seen any progress to being localized even as a handheld title. The group of fans called the Devil Hackers is looking to change that however as their fan translation is nearly finished and will be playable on the PSP.
They have released a large thirteen minute teaser for their work. There really has not been any word beyond the fact that they are working on this title. Meaning that their work could be stopped dead in the water if the game’s developers wish them to stop working on the product. Time will tell.
The winner of the Unlock Xbox Challenge has been announced and although my earlier predictions had set Harms Way as the winner, it turns out that Doritos Crash Course won instead. To be honest after trying both games I believe that the appropriate game won the challenge. Of course winning this challenge isn’t only for bragging rights.
Jill Robertson who came up with the idea for Doritos Crash Course has been given a six month opportunity at the company plus a nice $50,000 prize. But there shouldn’t be any hard feelings involved as Doritos also gave Justin Carpenter, maker of Harms way, a $50,000 prize as well. This way at least both “contestants” received something for their efforts and players received two free XBLA games that will remain free in the future.
Just days after the official announcement from Nintendo on a March 6th release date we now have a brand new trailer for the upcoming titles in the Pokémon series, Pokémon Black & White. Now the trailer doesn’t show off too much of what we haven’t seen before, but in the trailer you can see some short clips of the battle sequences and starter Pokémon as well as a glimpse at the game’s opening cutscene.
A “New Beginning” is upon all Poké-fans and this game’s 3 month wait will be a long one for those anticipating the new title, but for now you can check out the trailer below and keep checking back as we will be sure to bring you more updates as the release draws closer. You can also keep up to date with the official website at www.pokemonblackwhite.com.
TRON: Evolution Developer: Propaganda Games Publisher: Disney Interactive Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: Xbox 360 (PlayStation 3) Released: 26 November
Movie tie-in games have a horrible track record, and in the past there has been some truthfully terrible ones, so you would be forgiven for thinking TRON: Evolution went down a similar route. A videogame based on a film that is based on a videogame? Not only does it sound ridiculous, but it also doesn’t sound like the makings of a good game, either. Well, if you thought this, you’d be wrong because, as movie tie-ins go, TRON: Evolution is actually surprisingly good.
Technically, it is not a straight tie-in of TRON: Legacy which recently hit the big screen, otherwise, as you can imagine, it would probably be called TRON: Legacy. In actual fact, TRON: Evolution fits in between the older film and the latest addition as a sort of prequel to the new movie, and the story aims to bridge the gap between old and new, helping players to fill in the blanks between the original film and TRON: Legacy.
Events of TRON: Evolution help to explain how things got the way they did after the original which then, in turn, lead on to the happenings of TRON: Legacy. It is hardly essential to play through TRON: Evolution before seeing the cinema release, although it does cover some points that would’ve previously been left down to assumption such as how the creator of the Game Grid came to be imprisoned and how the Grid came to be overrun by the corruptions of the programs, the ISOs.
The storyline of TRON: Evolution is fairly average. While it doesn’t live up to the high-standards set by some of the pieces of story-telling witnessed on our consoles, the story isn’t bad, with a somewhat gripping tale. It is mainly conveyed through cut scenes which is kind of where the story galls down, as it has your interest in the clips, but when these are followed by extended sections of gameplay with no progress on the story, it can feel a bit patchy and, in general, you lose interesty in the plot when it isn’t added to during the gameplay.
The gameplay is very good, one of the game’s strengths, and can only be described as like a futuristic Prince of Persia. You play as an anonymous program under the name ‘Program’, who is basically a super soldier and as this program, your job is to act as a guardian to the people of the Game Grid. The platforming is of high quality with all kinds of free running manoeuvres like wall running and vaulting barriers chained together in fluid motion. The controls are clearly explained in the initial tutorial which allows you to get used to these acrobatics, and throughout the entire game you are offered guidance via dots on the walls hinting at what you need to do to move on to the next stage. In some ways, this feels like an extension of the tutorial, but in reality, it is a helpful feature added for the benefit of the player at little cost to the gameplay; it is preferable knowing where to go thanks to a little guidance rather than being lost without a clue what to do next in order to progress.
The single-player story is made up of seven chapters with, as per usual, a varied range of difficulties to suit everyone’s needs. While some would say that it is slightly too short, I think it is actually the perfect length as it is short enough that a second or third play through isn’t out of the question. There are also collectables in the form of TRON Files and Abraxas Shards, adding a bit of extra depth to the game. TRON Files are scattered around throughout the levels whereas Abraxas Shards appear once every chapter, and, of course, these come with the normal achievement point incentives, but more importantly are a nice touch that gives something extra to do during the story.
On top of the story there is also an online multiplayer mode for up to 10 players to play simultaneously. This features TRON versions of all the classic competitive online modes, such as Disintegration (Free-for-all Deathmatch) or Team Disintegration (Team Deathmatch). All the game types seem to lack the competitive edge of other games and the multiplayer options seem like a tagged on bonus instead of feeling like a fully-fledged game mode. The lobbies feel cheap and like they haven’t been worked on very much as evident by the limited powers of the host when setting up the game. Furthermore, the level structure during each match thought through, meaning multiplayer matches quickly derive into meagre affairs of most players racing around aimlessly on their light cycles. However, there is at least one decent implementation regarding the multiplayer mode, in that all your RPG-style progressive stats are carried between the two modes. This means you can level up to higher versions and upgrade yourself with all the best enhancements while you play in the Game Grid in multiplayer, which can then be used to help you when fighting the enemies of single-player.
Overall, TRON: Evolution is surprisingly good, and as movie tie-ins go, it is a fairly solid title. The single-player story is good while is lasts, and short enough for a repeated play through to be a possibility. There is some great, fluid platforming on display up in the leagues of Prince of Persia-standards and vehicular sections are enjoyable enough in the small increments the game offers them in. It suffers from a few common problems that always seem to affect movie tie-in games, namely a few in-game camera issues, but problems such as these are small and insignificant. Your stats are carried between single-player and multiplayer meaning you can earn towards upgrades in one mode to help you in the other – a nice touch by the developers. It is just a shame that the multiplayer mode feels like an extra instead of its own standalone mode.
Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Platform: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC Release Date: December 21st 2010 Price: 800 MSP ($10) – Buy Now!!!
Overview:
Fallout: New Vegas released back in October and introduced players to the Mojave Wasteland. There were countless things to explore, hundreds of hours’ worth of quests, plenty of new and old enemies to kill and an entirely new storyline to embrace that had multiple ways to finish it. As with its predecessor Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas has received its first installment of DLC called Dead Money. Does Dead Money live up to the New Vegas feel without tearing players out of the experience?
Story:
The Sierra Madre was to be the pinnacle of all casinos, with a lavish villa below its towering walls. Then the bombs fell and everything changed. Now all that is left is the mysterious treasure that is supposed to lay within the Sierra Madre’s vaults, that and a poisonous red cloud threatening to kill everyone who comes close to the casino hoping to plunder its treasures.
Now the courier has picked up a radio signal on his Pipboy exclaiming the wonders of Sierra Madre and is quickly given a quest to investigate said signal. This leads him to not only being gassed and dragged away to the Sierra Madre, but you lose every single one of your possessions (minus some Misc. items) in the process. To make matters worse your life is no longer your own.
You are given a mission by a mysterious man named Elijah to gather three others who he has captured in the past. The only problem is that you are now wearing an explosive collar that will detonate if you disobey him at all. Plus these three others are tied to your fate, meaning if one of you dies, everyone does. The three new companions introduced are Christine, a mute Brotherhood of Steel member, Dead Domino, ex-singer turned ghoul, and a Nightkin called Dog… or God depending on your choices.
Now these new companions each have an interesting back story to them and the player can delve into their histories if they have the required stats. The choices that you can make involving your comrades are diverse enough that you can easily turn them into your friend or your enemy. The different ways to interact with the mute Christine and the multiple personalities of Dog/God are worth delving deeper into regardless of how you view them. The story itself is quite interesting as players not only find out the history of the ill-fated Sierra Madre, but its designer and occupants as well. There has been a lot of attention paid to the crafting of this storyline and is a worthy experience for those who are willing to take the time and discover its secrets.
Graphics:
The Sierra Madre’s villa is interesting to see but unfortunately there are a lot of the same things to see. As you explore the outside of the Sierra Madre to collect your different companions you will notice that practically everything looks the same. The hallways and buildings vary only slightly and there are instances where you can become lost simply because everything is the same looking.
The new enemies that have been added also all appear the same, Ghost People they are called. The story does somewhat explain the reasoning for their appearance but it would have been interesting to see more new enemies added into the mix. Sure they have small differences such as wielding different weapons but that is all. Also there are holographic enemies (Ghosts) that are interesting to see, but the game handles them as a solid object which is a little strange as you swing your weapon at one and see stone chips fly off of them.
Another graphical issue that I experienced was the cloud itself. There is the constant presence of the poisonous red cloud in certain areas of the map. While the player can usually see these areas and avoid them if they have to I experienced issues of the cloud disappearing entirely only to have my player still experiencing damage and death due to over-exposure to the invisible cloud.
Gameplay:
As you wake up for the first time in the Sierra Madre you will notice that not only are you now the proud owner of an explosive collar, you are also the proud owner of nothing else. The loss of all of your equipment and healing items is explained and it also increases the challenge. Because not only do you have to worry about the Ghost People but the fact that you are in a poisonous environment.
The game warns you initially that you should be around level 20 before you begin the DLC and this is for good reason because there are times that you will find Dead Money quite difficult. As you begin you start with barely anything, a Holorifle (new weapon) and just a small amount of ammo. The problem is that the Ghost People are more than they appear. As you encounter your first one and happen to defeat it, you will notice that instead of being killed they instead fall unconscious. To finish them off you must either blow their body parts off, disintegrate their bodies, cut them apart, or have your companion Dog eat them.
There are more obstacles in your way however, as I mentioned before you have the poisonous cloud to contend with which blankets areas of the Sierra Madre and does damage to the player as they stand inside of it. There are rewards however by braving the cloud, as you can occasionally find hidden stashes of gear that is direly needed. Speaking of gear there are a few new weapons such as the Cosmic Knife and Knife Spear, they aren’t exceptionally strong or interesting looking however but are useful for chopping up Ghost People.
That isn’t your only worry however as you explore the Sierra Madre and the villa below. Remember that explosive collar wrapped around your neck? Well there are also radios and speakers placed around the Sierra Madre and the villa that can set it to explode as well. These are treated more as environmental hazards and traps. The reason for this is that when you grow close to one, your collar beeps whenever you are close enough to trigger your collar. They can be either shot or turned off (radio only) but there is a special type of speaker that has armor plating. These speakers add tension to Dead Money as you never know where they could be…. unless of course you use your environment for a clue.
Overall:
Now Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money may not have added a whole bunch of weapons or enemies but it does have plenty of other things to offer. Besides the raise in level cap to 35 there is an intriguing story hidden inside of the always similar looking ruins of the Sierra Madre. Plus the companions you come across to accomplish your mission have as much, if not more, in-depth of a backstory as companions from the main game. There are even some hints as to what the next DLC could be about hidden if you look hard enough. The intriguing storyline and companion characters are more than worth the price of admission to the Sierra Madre.
Nintendo has issued a warning to parents regarding their new handheld, the Nintendo 3DS, related to the 3D effects of the device.
While the company prepares to showcase its latest creation, it has issued the warnings, with numerous already in place on their official website. Nintendo have stated that in order to enjoy the 3DS problem-free, a break after 30 minutes of gaming is recommended: “If your physical condition worsens or you become ill, please stop playing at once”.
The organisation has also issued a caution to parents over the usage of the 3D effects with children aged 6 and under. Due to young children of this age still developing physically, including their vision, Nintendo recommends that they do not use the 3D effects on the 3DS as it could affect their vision in later life. “Since the Nintendo 3DS can be changed to 2D to avoid any effects on young children’s vision, it is possible for anyone to enjoy playing it,” the company confirmed.
Of course this last statement completely defeats the point of purchasing the 3DS if you aren’t going to make use of its features. Is this going to affect any of you with small children? We already know that 3D has its minute dangers, so the announcement was somewhat unsurprising. On the other hand, I actually think issuing the warning is wise as it means parents are aware of the dangers and can act accordingly, either not buying the system or making sure that the 3D settings are turned off when in the hands young children to avoid damage to their eyesight.
The Nintendo 3DS will be released in Japan on February 26, while Europe, North America and Australia will see its release in March.
A well known marketing tactic is to leave the fans wanting to know more, but one publisher has recently decided to take it a step further by telling us practically nothing. Surprisingly, this is beginning to prove effective and is gaining hype net-wide within the last few weeks, leaving anime fans asking ‘So what the heck is Project Ninja anyways?’
Last week character artwork images were released for a secret anime-inspired project under the code name ‘Project Ninja’; even more of this anime style artwork were released this week. To make things even more curious, in various press releases it was kept secret what publisher will even release this project, only that there will be multiple award winning publishers publishing it. But what is it? They won’t even announce that. It is hinted however it could be either a new web comic, cartoon or video game. However, promises were made that “Whatever the format, gamers and anime lovers alike are guaranteed to be satisfied when further “Project Ninja” details are released in the coming weeks.”
What we do know is that new information will be announced soon, and that it will be based on the life and journey of a ninja, who’s job is to defeat the world’s most evil and destructive warrior corporations. We also know that the world’s last hope is ‘the chosen one’, who is the ninja that needs to protect ‘Angel City’. Oh yeah and he’s also got to restore the natural balance of order and utilise extraordinary ninja skills along the way. You know, typical ninja stuff.
Many are assuming it will be a video game based on the fact these press releases were distributed to various video game news websites, but nothing is confirmed yet. One rumour surfacing the net is that the character artwork is rather just cute, chibi versions of famous characters from the Bleach and Naruto franchises and that this project will be a collaboration or mash up of the two. Others argue against this theory saying it could be they just share similarities because the project is anime inspired. Regardless, ninja fans should keep an eye out for this one.
