The thoroughly excellent racing title, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit has sold itself to many delighted gamers. After the great E3 showing and unique addition of Autolog, it really should not be surprising that, according to the stats, over 417,000 copies have been purchased. With Blur and Split/Second selling so poorly at the beginning of the year, it is really great to see that the arcade genre of racing is not dead. Personally, that is the only type of racing game that I really enjoy. After all, who doesn’t like wrecking cars by smashing them? Now that that is settled, how many of you are in that particular statistic?
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the world seen gaming’s first ever console war. Atari was a hot commodity at the time, but Mattel would soon give birth to the phenomenon known as the Intellivision. The system was similar in many ways but had crisper sound and a unique control scheme which at the time was completely groundbreaking in the early days of the industry. After outliving nearly all it’s competition before finally ending it’s console run in 1991, the Intellivision still has a huge following to this day from those who either grew up at the time of release or those who discovered it much later and still got a lot of enjoyment out some of the best 8-bit classics of the 80’s.
Today we have seen the company release many successful compilations on last generation’s consoles as well as the single releases via Xbox Live’s Game Room, but the latest release Intellivision Lives! brings something completely different to the table with a release exclusively on the Nintendo DS. The game uses the touch-screen control to emulate the classic 12-button touchpad we seen on the original Intellivision systems and brings 60 retro favorites back in one compilation. So how does this control scheme and compilation play out overall? Here is my review for Intellivision Lives! on the Nintendo DS.
What Games are on it?
One of the best things about Intellivision Lives! for the DS is the huge amount of content packed on each cart. There are 60 games, which I will touch up a bit more on in a moment, but for now here are all of the titles that are in the compilation:
SPACE
Astrosmash
Space Armada
Space Battle
Space Hawk
Space Spartans
Star Strike
ARCADE
Brickout (an Unreleased 1980s game)
Buzz Bombers
Frog Bog
Hover Force
Night Stalker
Pinball
Shark! Shark!
Snafu
Thin Ice
Thunder Castle
Vectron
BATTLE & SIMULATION
B-17 Bomber
Bomb Squad
Crown of Kings (originally released as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
Minotaur (originally released as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Treasure of Tarmin)
Sub Hunt
Tower of Doom
SPORTS
Bowling (originally released as PBA Bowling)
Chip Shot: Super Pro Golf
Super Pro Decathlon
Deep Pockets: Super Pro Pool & Billiards (UNRELEASED)
Motocross
Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing
Classic Skiing (originally released as US Ski Team Skiing)
Slam Dunk: Super Pro Basketball
Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey
Spiker: Super Pro Volleyball
Super Pro Football
Stadium Mud Buggies
World Championship Baseball
Body Slam! Super Pro Wrestling
GAMING & STRATEGY
Checkers
Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack
Reversi
Las Vegas Roulette
Royal Dealer (includes Crazy Eights, Rummy, Gin Rummy & Hearts)
Multi-Player
Blow-Out (UNRELEASED)
Hard Hat (UNRELEASED)
Sharp Shot
Space Cadet (UNRELEASED)
Triple Action (includes Battle Tanks, Racing Cars & Bi-planes)
Armor Battle
Sea Battle
Auto Racing
Boxing
Classic Baseball (originally released as Major League Baseball)
Classic Basketball (originally released as NBA Basketball)
Classic Football (originally released as NFL Football)
Classic Hockey (originally released as NHL Hockey)
Learning Fun I (includes Math Master & Factor Fun)
Learning Fun II (includes Word Rockets, Crosswords, Word Hunt & Memory Fun)
Takeover (UNRELEASED)
Utopia
That throws 60 games altogether on this compilation. Now some may notice some of the licensed titles may be missing such as Burger Time and the Tron titles, but honestly, there was so much here that I never even thought about those titles much myself. If you are an Intellivision fan, you will be in pure nostalgic heaven without a doubt due to this huge array of content. If you have never really played the Intellivision games, there is really something for everyone and the games are meant to pick up and play as it is, so this compilation can also be great for the casual gamers out there as well.
Gameplay
In a lot of compilations, the main problem seems to be that converting the games over to a new unit can be a huge problem. Luckily, this is not even a thought with Intellivision Lives! at all. The game uses the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS for overlays to better compare to the Intellivision system. One thing I loved about these overlays is that every game has it’s own personalized version so each game is set up to control in the title’s own specific fashion. The game also mixes in the D-Pad and standard buttons for certain titles which some games can have the option of being exclusive to those alone.
If you have ever held an Intellivision controller in your hand, the feel of it was like nothing else. The overlays for the touchscreen are without a doubt the closest thing to that as the layout and numbers all are responsive and easy to use every time as well as being set up nearly identical. While some games, such as Snafu and Thin Ice rely mainly on the D-Pad, others like Minotaur will have you using the touchscreen for nearly every option. This mix-up is great and adds a lot of balance to the games included.
I listed the games earlier, but I didn’t speak much about how these truly vary from each other. If your an Intellivision guru and reading this, I really don’t have to go into detail about the 60 or so games included but one thing I really want to press upon if your new to these titles is how easy they are to access and easily pick up on. I will admit, I hadn’t played some of these games before and I was a bit lost when first trying out Vectron and Buzz Bombers more specifically, but with practice, I grew to enjoy each one. Along with obvious casual choices like Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, Space Spartans (which is a lot like space invaders), and the highly enjoyable and my long-time personal favorite, Thin Ice, there is such a variety in this compilation that it is very easy to get hooked instantly on just about any of the titles based on personal preference.
My only real gripe with Intellivision Lives! was that most of the multi-player games are exclusive to multi-player. It is extremely easy to connect to a friend though and it is great to see a single-card multi-player with such a huge selection so that was a plus to that small complaint, but if you are craving to try out some of those unreleased titles such as Blow-Out or any of the titles I listed above, you might be a bit disappointed unless you find a friend.
Graphics/Audio
Graphic-Wise, not a thing has really changed about any of the titles in-game, but that is what you should expect of course in a retro compilation such as this. Each pixel looks bright and vibrant though-out each game though and gets the job done without problem, so there should be no visual difference graphic wise from the older games to most. There is also box-arts for each game that can be seen as you scroll through categories, but all together the menus are pretty simple and straight forward.
As for the music, everything is about like the graphics and has remained true to each original release. Some of the games also include voice commands which are very clear and had the same quality as the original releases which helped bring out the classic feel even more. Music is also done well for each title and these 8-bit tunes will have fans humming along with them rather quickly as they are all clear and have never sounded better.
Overall
Intellivision Lives! does what a lot of compilations could only dream of doing. With the touch-screen, the Intellivision experience has never felt closer to the console version of each title and the music and audio all made the transfer perfectly. Now who exactly do I recommend this title to? If you are an Intellivision fan, there isn’t a game out there that is better than this collection and this is a system seller if you do not have a Nintendo DS without a doubt. It just stays so true to the original titles that even if you are just a classic 8-bit fan in general, you should walk away pleased. As for that group of gamers who have not quite tried any classics, I still have to recommend the title to you as every game included is easy to pick up and play and each can provide hours of fun depending on what type of games you enjoy more. With the variety included, it should be a no-brainer at such a low price to at least give this one a try.
SingStar Wiggles for PS3 is the upgraded version of the PS2 version (read the review for it here) released earlier this year. As such, it’s pretty much the exact same game, with the addition of some bonus tracks.
Having said that, playing the game on PS3 did give me the opportunity to enjoy the experience a lot more. When reviewing the PS2 version I played using the “disk swap” method where you start a PS3 version of SingStar, hit Select, and then load the tracklist from the PS2 game. Playing the game this way means you get to play the tracks from the PS2 version, but the interface is still linked to the PS3 SingStar game you originally loaded (in my case, SingStar ABBA ;)). That was all a bit of a mouthful, so to cut a long story short, with the PS3 version of SingStar The Wiggles I got to see the interface the way the developers intended!
First thing I noticed was the interface, very colourful and candy-like, and fits perfectly with the Wiggles theme. My son LOVED it, and he was entertained enough with the song-select screen alone.
The other thing that immediately stood out was the way the song handles the judging and marking of performances. In the other versions of the game a low score is usually dealt with fairly harshly (the braying donkey sound comes to mind). In SingStar The Wiggles however even a zero point performance will get an encouraging message from Dorothy the Dinosaur or one of the other characters.
The tracklist features all of the songs from the PS2 version, plus an additional six PS3 exclusives:
Dorothy (Would You Like To Dance?)
Ooh It’s Captain Feathersword
Go Santa Go
Here Come The Chicken
Over In The Meadow
In my preview for this game I promised to test the game out for SingStar Guitar compatibility, and I am sad to report that NO, you will not be playing your guitar with Murray. I also checked for DLC, and the answer is “not yet”. I really hope that Sony do create some downloadable tracks for this game as there’s still a lot of holes in the collection of songs for die-hard Wiggles fans.
My mark for SingStar The Wiggles PS3 doesn’t change from the score I gave for the PS2 version of the game. To recap:
“Overall, this game really requires two ratings – one for the general public, and one for parents of small children. So with that in mind, I would award the game 2 out of 10 for the general public. If there were more recent tracks to balance out the catalogue of songs, SingStar The Wiggles would be a perfect 10, but as it stands I award it a solid….”
The peoples at Firemint’s office have been working very hard to finalize the sequel to their popular car racing game. Thanks to them, the release date has finally been set; it will be out on the App Store at approximately 5 days from now. The game will be priced at US$ 9.99/ £5.99 / AU$12.99, featuring as many as 30 licensed cars, with up to 16-players online multiplayer racing. It’s just simply too awesome that I shall repeat that again, it’s sixteen. Not five, not ten, but SIXTEEN. That is like one and a half football team. You can now race against 15 other players online, and we actually thought that 10 people on multiplayer are the maximum we could go on the iOS devices few months ago (Remember Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus?). 5 days is a long wait, so I’m going to give you a video trailer to watch and some in-game screenshots for you to drool at. Enjoy!
Well another delay on the Playstation 3 Version of Final Fantasy 14 and also looks like the staff is getting switched around. I do hope when the game is released it’ll be well worth the wait here’s the info Yoichi Wada-san.
Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.
While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.
After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.
To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company’s top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group’s most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.
We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV’s new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.
Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.
The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.
President and CEO, Yoichi Wada
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Now how does this make you feel ? Let us know leave a comment below.
After two amazing E3 events and two incredible videos, Electronic Arts has announced that early 2011 is not the date your looking for in regards to a release date for the Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic. The new release date is scheduled for sometime around in the fiscal year of 2012, which starts after April 2011. EA has just taken over publishing and distribution rights for the game, which it had been previously been sharing with Lucas Arts. So far, this is Electronic Art’s largest project ever, as measured by the total amount spent on development. As with anything Star Wars, I am geeking out. Anybody else with me?
EA recently revealed their plans to bring out Madden NFL to the 3DS with traditional 11-on-11 games or the more fast paced 5-on-5. The publisher has now released quite a few more details (as well as the shiny new logo above) for the title which is looking to be a launch title on the Nintendo 3DS.
Details are as follows:
• NFL Football in 3 Dimensions—Experience all the drama of Madden NFL with 3D graphics. Madden NFL Football brings the NFL to life like never before with a presentation optimized for 3Dviewing, including 3D specific cameras that provide all-new levels of depth.
• Authentic Madden NFL Experience— Madden NFL Football delivers all 32 NFL teams and stadiums in 3D graphics, making Madden NFL Football the perfect on-the-go game for every football fan.
Football for Everyone—With three types of playcalling—GameFlow, Arcade and Classic—Madden NFL Football offers an enjoyable experience for gamers of all skill levels. The GameFlow feature automatically selects the best play for the situation based on authentic NFL team gameplans. Use Arcade playcall for more control over plays or Classic to experience the full depth of your favorite team’s authentic playbook.
Season Mode—Take the reins of your favorite team on a journey to the Super Bowl! Play 11-on-11 or 5-on-5 and see if you have what it takes to make it through the rollercoaster ride of a full NFL season.
Action Packed 5-on-5 Mode—In addition to the traditional 11-on-11 games, Madden NFL Football puts a new twist on an old style of competition. Take your game back to the neighborhood with high-scoring, fast-paced 5-on-5 action. No penalties, no play clock, just action-packed football where the first team to score a set number of touchdowns walks away with ultimate bragging rights!
Call Your Shots—Unleash the amazing power of the Nintendo 3DS Touch Screen to draw up your own plays on the fly! Whether on offense or defense, you can create the ultimate audible at the line of scrimmage.
Spotlight Moments— Experience the drama of game-changing plays with Spotlight Moments in 3D. During pivotal moments, cameras move in tight and gameplay slows down to allow you to influence the biggest plays of the game. Whether evading a sack, making an open field tackle, or leaving a defender in the dust, it’s up to you to make the key move when Spotlight Moments put you in the limelight.
I have said it before, I don’t care too much for most sports titles, but Madden NFL is showing a lot of promise not just for a gamer like me, but anyone who is planning on picking up a 3DS. EA’s ground up approach is starting to look better each day and I can’t wait to see how this one plays out. On another note, with all of this information coming forth as of late for 3DS titles, I am starting to think the announcement of the price and date for the 3DS itself should be very soon so…stay tuned? For now though, we have yet another title to look forward to for the 3DS with a date as of now of simply “2011”..
A few weeks before my sister got married, my parents, my brother and I went to visit our future in-laws in Ohio. While everybody else fretted over wedding plans, my brother-in-law’s nephew and I played hours upon hours of SSX on the original Xbox. At the time, I thought it was the greatest game ever. It is what inspired me to purchase Skate, another game I loved.
So what could possibly be better than SSX and Skate? By combining SSX and Skate! And that is exactly what is rumored to be happening. According to the registration of two websites, SSXFirstDescent.com and SSXDeadlyDescent.com, the game is being developed from the studio that brought us the totally siiiiiick skating franchise and the new SSX will incorporate the totally siiiiiick control scheme of the Skate series. Plus, it is purported to have features like “avoiding, out-running and even riding on top of massive avalanches; battling hurricane winds; white-outs; bitter cold; falling rocks; and gaping crevasses that open up at a moment’s notice.” The game may even have base jumping, skyboarding, ice climbing, and wingsuit flying. In the last piece of evidence, Peter Moore also mentioned that an “obscure” title will be revealed at the VGA ceremony. Here is hoping…
It’s been quite a long time coming but L.A. Noire is coming out next spring for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Now Rockstar Games and Team Bondi have decided to up the anti even more by releasing a few screenshots to help keep us satisfied just a little longer by teasing us. Four screenshots were released that show off different parts of the game, such as how a detective from 1947 had to perform his job.
Playing as Phelps you will have to solve different cases that range from robberies, murders, and what looks like arson even. Rather than jumping in guns blazing it seems that a sharp tongue is the best way to survive the world that L.A. Noire takes place in. Then again dead bodies don’t answer questions so make sure that your guns are your last resort. Catch the screenshots above and below.
Kung-Fu LIVE has just launched on PSN in North America and Europe!
Using the FreeMotion technology (along with the PS Eye) for some real life moves, Kung-Fu LIVE fuses players into a world of pulp action-comics with accurate real-time motion and image scanning, letting fans literally step inside the fight like never before. You can expect a roster of impossible-made-possible power moves and unique multiplayer components.
“From the very beginning, we’ve set out to deliver some serious fun for people who don’t take themselves too seriously. Today is the day that we can finally share our vision with gamers across the world. It’s a vision that literally puts players inside of the epic action of the video game world with no controllers and no disconnect between their real life selves and an avatar on-screen. They are truly inside of the game. Every kick, punch, cartwheel, and power jump they can perform in front of their televisions is now an integral part of the game play experience, and the result is exactly the kind of ridiculous and physically challenging fun we’ve strived to create.” – Teemu Maki-Patola, CEO of Virtual Air Guitar Company
Kung-Fu LIVE was developed by Virtual Air Guitar Company and is available for $14.99 USD in North America and €13.99 EUR / £10.99 GBP in Europe.
