Now video games of this generation often try to look realistic or set themselves apart with some gimmick. But what about a video game that has a trailer that could easily pass for a Hollywood blockbuster? If you have any doubts then feast your eyes upon the newest Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer. Some bits of the trailer may appear familiar as it is the extended version of a previously released trailer.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been announced for a release in early 2011 and I can’t wait at all. After watching this trailer and seeing the entire premise surrounding the continuation of the Deus Ex series looks amazing and Square Enix is definitely set to put a new standard on the science fiction genre.
Dragon’s Lair Publisher: Digital Leisure Console: PlayStation 3 (Reviewed) Release Date: Nov 23, 2010 Price:$10 on PSN Store
Overview:
Now 27 years ago in 1983 some of us weren’t even born, and those of us who had been were still young children or in our teen years. Arcades were all of the rage still around the world and one game arrived that took these Arcades by storm. That game was Dragon’s Lair. Despite the popularity of games out in the arcades at the time, none could not hold a candle to the uniqueness that was Dragon’s Lair. Arcade-goers had no idea what to expect when they first began playing a game that was so unlike anything they had played before.
As the months wore on it grew harder and harder to simply find a working cabinet of Dragon’s Lair due to its immense popularity causing the cabinet to malfunction. Now that was many years ago and now that Dragon’s Lair has revived itself on the PSN does it still have that same old school goodness so many loved?
Story:
As far as the story goes there isn’t much structure for Dragon’s Lair. You take the roll of Dirk the Daring, a knight who is in love with the Princess Daphne. But of course it wouldn’t be called Dragon’s Lair if there wasn’t a dragon involved. The dragon Singe has kidnapped Daphne and is holding her within his trap filled castle and it is up to Dirk to save her.
Sure the storyline isn’t much to go on, but it does establish one of the earliest video game premises about a hero saving a princess. Also it helps that as you progress through the castle the different routes end up changing and can become completely maze like at times. While the storyline does set the stage for the game itself, there isn’t much development beyond the initial premise and then of course saving Princess Daphne.
Graphics:
Now back in 1983, you can count the amount of pixels that were used in most heroes on one hand, two hands if you were lucky. But what set Dragon’s Lair apart was the fact that it was a fully animated and beautifully drawn game. This literally stunned audiences when it first appeared for public use and was many years ahead of its time graphically.
Now these graphics have been revamped to look even more stunning on HD screens. The art that fans had come to love returns better than it had before with animation work rivaling top cartoon companies of this era. Of course the reason for this was that Don Bluth, an ex-cartoonist from Disney, created the animation and handled all of the drawing and his expertise is clearly evident throughout the entire game. Newcomers to the series will especially love the great look of the game and can easily have their children play as well thanks to the appealing nature of the cartoon graphics.
Also there are two modes of gameplay display. Fans of the original arcade game can take advantage of an arcade mode setting that places the screen within an arcade cabinet and certainly gives it that old time feel. Though if you prefer the more modern wide screen versions then that is originally the standard setting.
Gameplay:
Now the best way to describe Dragon’s Lair’s gameplay is as a series of quick time events. Being a full motion video game like it is, the majority of the actual gameplay is only pressing a directional button or X if you have to swing your sword. The on-screen D-Pad will highlight what button to push at the right time to avoid death, or the center of the D-Pad will highlight to show that Dirk has to use his sword to avoid death.
Now death is something that happens quite often in Dragon’s Lair as any missed or mis-pressed action will result in Dirk’s instant death. Now the ways that Dirk dies are as humorous as they are numerous and one of the more interesting aspects is the fact that you can simply fail on purpose to see what happens to Dirk in that situation (not that you won’t be dying enough already).
When Dirk dies he will resurrect from his skeletal form ready for battle again, that is of course unless you are out of lives. Then he just is a zombie that crumbles into dust before a Game Over screen. These can be avoided however as players have the option to set either 3, 5, or infinite lives which makes it quite easy to make your way through the game if you wish it, or provide yourself a little challenge.
Initially players will find themselves frustrated at the difficulty of the quick time events, as many require extremely fast reactions to avoid death. However whatever doesn’t kill you (or end the game) makes you stronger. In the Home version of the game, death will result in Dirk respawning in the same exact room and allows the player as many tries as they have lives to make their way through. The Arcade mode will place the player in another part of the castle entirely.
The gameplay itself is quite humorous as I stated earlier thanks to the fact that Dirk, even though a knight, appears to be a complete coward in some situations. He can quickly flip flop from a daring fighter to running in terror and shrieking from the current traps he encounters.
However if you happen to be having trouble with the game itself, then you can choose to simply watch the game. Yep this port of the game has a feature that allows players to watch the game be played flawlessly from start to finish. This means that if you are currently lost within the castle, or are just dying to save the princess then you can watch it happen. Then again this also shows how short the game can be if played through flawlessly.
Dragon’s Lair can be completed easily within one sitting if you know exactly what to do in each room, but even then a quick death to not pressing the right button fast enough can set the player off on a different path entirely. So while the game itself may be short, the replay value is quite high due to the amount of different paths that Dirk can take on his quest.
Overall:
Dragon’s Lair is perhaps just as iconic as Pac-Man as far as old arcade games go. It was truly a sight to behold nearly thirty years ago and it still hasn’t lost its appeal now. Though overall the actual gameplay aspect may be a series of quicktime events, it doesn’t mean anything when placed against the ever changing environment and pure nostalgia factor that Dragon’s Lair provides.
Game Name: Queen’s Crown Platform(s): iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad (iOS 3.1.2 or later) Publisher(s):Com2us USA, Inc. Developer(s): Com2us USA, Inc. Genre(s): Action, Casual, RPG Release Date: 2nd December, 2010 Price:$4.99 (Now on sale for only $2.99! GET IT HERE!)
Overview
Just when you thought you would have time to finish off the already-great-amount of RPG titles that you owned in your iOS devices, Com2us adds another one to the list. The name is Queen’s Crown and it is another hack-and-slash RPG title, slightly different from their popular RPG series, The Chronicles of Inotia. It has a deep storyline, with humors chipped in here and there to assure you an enjoyable adventure throughout. This time around, you will be placed in the shoes of Ann, the precious princess and the only heir of the throne in the Scarbelhold Kingdom, which is at the edge of destruction, again.
Storyline
When you first started, you will be introduced to the history of your kingdom with sentences flashes on and off on your screen. It basically tells you about the tale of the Golden Crown. Apparently, the Fairy sacrifice herself in order to helps protect the Kingdom during the battle with Skelentom and its three demons. Years later, the castle is attacked once again by the evil forces after enjoying several years of peacefulness. Your father (more precisely, Princess Ann’s father), King William will ask you to leave the castle through a secret tunnel located just behind his throne. He also asked a female servant to protect you along the way (not for long, though).
You will then be babysat by the female servant for the next few minutes. Her name is Katrina, she will be in charge of the tutorial session in-game and will also appear on and off during the game. Only after these tutorial lessons that your journey in the Scarbelhold Kingdom will truly begins. Your mission is to recover the peace in the Kingdom. Sounds simple? You bet! Plenty of monsters and bosses will attempt to stop you (as well as the Grim Reaper who constantly express his love towards you). Be prepared for a challenging journey ahead!
Gameplay
There will be four different weapons for you to play with; each comes with a special ability of their own. It is your top priority to master the usage of each of these weapons as they are usually useful in many different situations. For example, having to dash quickly with the spear allows you to dash through monsters, or the tornado’ish ability of the mace could help you get out of trouble if you happened to be surrounded by many monsters (and it’s going to happened a lot of time, seeing that the respawn rate of the monsters in Queen’s Crown is pretty high).
In general, the towns and dungeons in Queen’s Crown are significantly smaller compared with the other similar titles (Zenonia, The Chronicles of Inotia, etc). However, Com2uS compensates that by bringing several new features to the game, which include things like infinite dungeons, weapon-leveling system, unique game quests and bosses that appears after the ending. One of it that worth mentioning is the Gem System. This is the only way to differentiate your princess from the others. By equipping different gems (which you will be collecting during your journey), your character grows in terms of increments in stats or strengthening of your skills. In addition, you can also strengthen your weapon by enchanting it with the gems. Do note that gems registered with the gem slots cannot be used/recovered to enchant your weapons, so use them wisely!
There are also a lot of other features included in Queen’s Crown which are greatly welcomed in any RPG, such as the auto-save feature, simplified mini-map and the IM-like emotions and speech bubbles during a conversation. I like the fact that important information are color-coded, assuring that they will not be buried in the sea of information presented to the player. I also like that I only need to walk over an item to pick it, instead of staying close to the item and press the action button like in most RPG on the App Store. Save me a lot of time.
The only possibly downside of Queen’s Crown is probably it’s lacking in terms of customization. You will only have 6 magic skills to play with, without any skill trees to develop. Apart from that, there are no job classes to choose from, you will play the ONE and only Princess Ann, with 4 different stats (STR, VIT, DEX, INT) to add as you gain stat points by leveling up. This also means that characters across players are going to be very similar. I’m not saying that it’s not good. In fact, I actually like it, but the other players would either just love it or hate it.
Controls
Control is one of the most important aspects of an RPG, and Com2uS simply nailed it down perfectly. The touch buttons are responsive at a soft tap of your finger, and movement is simply very smooth with the D-pad. Also, there is a wheel-style button on the top left and right corner of the screen, which allows you to quickly switch your current active skill and weapon respectively simply with a touch. Sadly, you would not be able to customize the size and visibility of the controls button, which seems to be a norm on the App Store nowadays. Well, the default is good enough in my opinion, so no complaints here.
Graphics
Visually, I think this game looks fantastic. It might not have Retina Display-enabled graphics, but I think it’s very adorable to look at. Com2uS adopted a graphics style that has never seen before in its past game releases, with adorable characters and colorful cartoonish backdrop. It is working very well with the game. It mimicked a 16-bit graphics style that was used in many chart-topping RPG on the App Store, which appeals to most gamers on the Apple handheld devices.
Conclusion
Overall, this is one of the great casual RPG that you will rarely see on the App Store. The lack of customization in terms of character building might not appeal to some people, but it is actually a plus point to people who doesn’t want the stress to worry about their character every single minute. It also has Game Center and Facebook integrated for you to show off your great stats and achievements to your friends. Simply said, Queen’s Crown has all the elements you would want in an RPG game, minus the stress. With up to 10 hours (or more) of gameplay at a low price point, there is no reason for you not to get it if you are an RPG fanatic.
Dance Paradise Publisher: Mindscape Inc.
Developer: Mindscape Inc.
Format : Xbox 360 – Kinect Required
Genre:Rhythm / Dancing
Release Date: Nov 18, 2010
Rating : PG
Price : $79.99 AU
Everybody can dance (even though some are better than others), so let’s get the party started!! If you’re a professional dancer you’ll have no problems at all getting your groove on and shaking that “thang” all around the living room. For those who are new to the dancing games out there, and maybe have a little more difficulty than some at moving to the beat, then it may take you a little bit of time to get accustomed. Those who persevere can have some great fun with this super cool dancing game.
Since XBOX Kinect hit the market, a flood of dancing games seems to have emerged. What better way to test out and teach newcomers on how the Kinect works by getting them up off the couch and waving their hands around and moving their body to the music in front of the tv in their living room.
In developing Dance Paradise Mindscape have partnered up with Universal Music to bring you a total of 40 International hit songs that also include their original video clips from the world’s best-selling music artists such as:
50c – Inda Club
Fallout Boy – Dance Dance
Gwen Stefani – What you waiting for ?
Lady Gaga – Poker Face
Mika – Lollipop
Rihanna – Disturbia
The Pussycat Dolls – When I Grow Up
MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
There should be something in this 40 strong hit list to keep everybody happy and dancing their little hearts out. What is also great is that the video clips to these hit songs play on a screen in the background. Sure, this could be a distraction for some who are keen to feast their eyes on the likes of Lady Gaga or Rihanna instead of concentrating on what dance moves they should be doing next.
Dance Paradise offers a solo career mode which consists of six levels. Within each level you will need to complete challenges and collect Golden Steps that, once achieved, will unlock the next level(s). Some of the challenges are easy and some are quite hard yet rewarding – as once you complete specific challenges, you’ll be able to unlock cool new outfits and accessories for your avatar.
As mentioned, the dance moves might be a little complicated at first to newcomers, but with enough practice you should pick up them up after a few attempts. One thing I have to mention is that the tutorial in the game does teach you the basics but it’s not very thorough so even though you kind of know what you have to do you’ll never be taught all the moves in the game. Some of the dance steps will be quite more difficult to pull off as you may not have seen or been taught how to do them.
Gameplay works a little something like this: There are four coloured lines that initiate a specific dance move which begins at the top of the screen and slowly makes its way down to the bottom. Similar to other Rhythm style games where you need to press the right colour button once it reaches the bottom, this time instead of pressing the button you need to perform the specific dance moves. The moves are represented by a blocky and sometimes hard to figure out animated character. Once the figure reaches the bottom of the screen you need to move your body in the same way it does and then prepare yourself for the next dance move that will be making its way down on a different coloured line. Dance like a superstar and your life bar will continue to rise to a point where you can activate a power dance which allows you to score even more points. If h the other hand, you dance like you have two left feet, your life bar will slowly dwindle away to nothing which will then end the game causing you to lose all self-esteem in your dancing abilities. But it’s all good – just dust yourself off and start all over again – not everyone can be a superstar overnight!
Another cool feature thrown into the Dance Paradise is the inclusion of your Xbox Live Avatar which will mimic your dance moves while standing on a boom box/podium etc. This is far cooler than seeing a blurry image of yourself that appears in other dancing titles.
Multiplayer mode (both offline and online) is also available. Multiplayer mode allows you to dance together in Synchro mode, versus and also attack mode. “Synchro” mode has you and a partner dancing and performing the same moves that appear on the screen trying to score the best possible outcome. In the end the final score is taken from the player with the lowest score. “Versus” mode pits you against another player where both of you will take two coloured lines each and attempt to obtain the best score to take the win. The most enjoyable is “Attack” mode – this mode works similar to “versus” mode but with the addition of power ups thrown in for good measure. You can use these on your opponent to throw them off their game and give you that much needed advantage. Just make sure you dance like a superstar and gain a full energy bar before your opponent does so you can kick off those power attacks and laugh at them while they try and recover.
Become the Queen or King of the dance floor in your own living room with Dance Paradise. It’s not one of the easiest games to master and the tutorial does leave you a little in the dark especially if you’re new to these types of dancing games. The solo career is great and will keep you busy and hungry to unlock achievements and your avatar awards. Multiplayer is also fun with the unique attack mode making sure someone will end up crying by the end of the night. And don’t forget the 40 strong music videos at your disposal. Dance Paradise is unique in its own special way, and because of that it’s certainly worth looking into.
Drake better look out for mummies because so far what I’ve seen from Uncharted 3, it looks like bits and pieces from The Mummy movie all those years ago. But that isn’t what this is about, because today at the VGA Naughty Dog has unveiled a bit of extra footage for Drake’s Deception. Oh and a release date as well. It seems that video game companies are currently getting a kick out of setting release dates that will end with all ones as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will be released on November 1st, 2011.
While the original trailer we saw was a teaser, this one expands to make a full blown trailer. Also it helps to know that the final scenes of the trailer are depicting actual gameplay. While the gameplay isn’t much to go off of, it’s looking great already.
So while we’ve seen plenty of new games revealed at the VGA, more than that was shown off during the show. Rather than another game reveal, Resistance 3 has finally received a set release date. Though obviously the date is subject to change but it is currently set for September 6th of 2011. This release date is a full three years after the release of Resistance 2.
Of course this bit of information wasn’t given without a great trailer to go along with it. We see bits of real life cinematic sequences mixed with actual gameplay cinematics. This PS3 exclusive is set to continue the story of the Resistance series and has already been advertised to work with 3D televisions, though this was not talked about during the trailer at all. But don’t take my word for it, watch it below.
After many years of waiting, SSX fans can finally celebrate as EA Sports have finally revealed their new title at the Video Game Awards, SSX: Deadly Descents. Recently rumors have been swirling that a new title was to be revealed for the beloved snowboarding series and not only did we receive confirmation, but a new trailer to boot.
After watching the announcement trailer I can say that I am ready for this title as it looks to completely revamp the whole series. The game looks a little darker and has more of an edge to it, but it also gave off a bit of a “Modern Warfare 2” vibe, to me at least. There is no confirmation as of yet of what consoles will be seeing this title, but you can bet the Xbox 360 & PS3 will be the most likely candidates. Watch the trailer below and judge for yourself as this could not only be a revival of a franchise, but the whole snowboarding genre in general.
For all of the racing fans out there, Forza 4 is now confirmed and will be hitting the 360 in the fall of 2011. At the VGAs we also got to see a first trailer for the game to top off the awesome news of this sequel. The live-action trailer shows off some of the terrain and action we can expect with the fourth entry of the game but one thing that was not shown in the trailer was the Kinect support which Microsoft boasted about during this year’s E3.
I expect more to come forward about just how the Kinect will play into Forza 4 in the future, but for now the trailer is a great confirmation that one of the 360’s most beloved racing franchises is still revved up and ready to go next year. Check out the trailer below.
Feeling an itch for a good horror title? Well if so then there is some great news coming your way in a few words. At tonight’s VGA Guillermo Del Toro, director of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth, announced that he has joined together with THQ to create a new game titled Insane. Danny Bilson from THQ released on his twitter the following regarding the game: “Finally announced inSane! Been workin with GDT for 6 months. Just finished the story beats yesterday. An Horrific Adventure for 2013”
Not much else was released about the game other than a teaser trailer which shows pretty much nothing about the game beyond try to give us a taste of what type of scares we will be seeing in a very vague way. Oh and also the fact that the game will be released in 2013. So while many of the games announced tonight are coming our way in under a year, this one is at least two years away still.
So it looks like all of those different teasers that have been released over the past few weeks all lead up to the announcement tonight at the VGA. BioWare and EA announced that their next blockbuster game will be Mass Effect 3. They also debuted a nice little trailer of Earth being under heavy attack. Wait did I say nice trailer?
As far as the trailer shows the Reapers have made their way to Earth and in little under a week they have decimated most of the defenses and are tearing apart the last of Earth’s defenders. But who is left that can save the world? Well Shepard of course. The narrator himself says “If Shepard doesn’t bring help soon, there won’t be an Earth left to save,” as the trailer pulls out to show Shepard watching the Earth burn.
Mass Effect 3 is set to launch sometime in the holiday season in 2011 so we have around a year to wait for the conclusion to BioWare’s Mass Effect trilogy. Catch the trailer itself below.
