Red Faction: Armageddon, developed by Volition inc. and set to be published by THQ, has been showcased through a new story trailer. The video gives a nice glimpse at the game universe, the interesting range of hostile creatures, and a suggestion as to the plot and main character. While it has been left shrouded with a fog of mystery for dramatic reasons, the video sets a background to the tale, and the in-game footage shows that visually it doesn’t look dissimilar to Dead Space given its space-age setting and creepy, lurking enemy-types.
Are you planning on picking this up when it launches in March this year? Or will it more likely be a case of ‘Armageddon outta here’?
If for some reason you did not have enough announcements of 3DS titles today, you are in luck as Ubisoft have now announced eight titles they will be releasing this year for the 3DS. No, none of the Imagine series titles as of yet! Instead we are seeing many big name franchises as well as new titles that are all included in is what is to be Ubisoft’s first venture into the 3D world. From the familiar face of Rayman to the new puzzler “James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes” there is something for everyone in this batch, so let’s now get started in listing these off.
Rayman 3D
Remember back near the beginning of the Nintendo DS when Rayman was released? That title was of course an “improved” port of the first Rayman game, and Rayman 3D will be more of a sequel as it is an adaptation of Rayman 2: The Great Escape which was originally seen on the Sega Dreamcast. Ubisoft is promising major updates for this remake though with accessibility, progression and the learning curve all being completely overhauled. Being honest, I was not the biggest fan of Rayman DS but this new title may just get the once loved mascot back to the glory he deserves.
Rabbids 3D
Over the past few years, the little Rabbids have turned into a powerhouse for platformers and party titles alike. At the moment there isn’t too much known about Rabbids 3D overall aside from a few clips which identifies this title as a platformer, but if the huge success of the past titles is any indication, The Rabbids are destined for greatness in their new outing.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
If you want to make in entry into a new console, sometimes the best approach is to completely shift genres instead of giving the players the same old title with a new look. That is exactly what Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is aiming to do. Shadow Wars is a Tactical, Turn-Based Strategy take on the Ghost Recon series that features eye-popping 3D cut scenes and in-game effects, deep team management options and a 1vs1 multiplayer mode on the same console.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Sam Fisher may be giving Snake a run for his money on the 3DS with this new installment of the popular stealth/action series. Using stereoscopic 3D as well as the brand new control scheme to enhance the realism and offer a more intense experience, Splinter Cell is without a doubt a front-runner of Ubisoft’s first offerings on the 3DS.
James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes
Imagine Professor Layton, add in a much darker world and plot covered in murder and twists and you have James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes. This fresh IP tackles the adventure and puzzle genres while putting the player fully into an interactive world where the plot and mystery unfolds.
Asphalt 3D
Gameloft’s portable racer is revving up for a comeback after seeing much success on the DS, PSP, and the mobile scene. This new entry is set to include 40 licensed vehicles, 17 exotic track locations and complete StreetPass functionality.
Combat of Giants Dinosaurs 3D
Laugh if you will at this title as Combat of Giants is bringing what young fans loved about the Battle of Giants series and adding a full 3D prehistoric world where players can customize and explore. Kids title or not, battling dinosaurs in 3D still sounds like an awesome concept to me.
Driver Renegade
With Driver San Francisco right around the corner, Ubisoft is giving the portable scene some love as well with Driver Renegade. Players will embody the Driver series hero John Tanner and use the accelerometer to unleash their urban driving skills with some high octane 3D car chases.
Quite a line up Ubisoft has! Now I know many of you might want a date, and the good news on all of these titles is that each will be released during the first half of 2011 so we are just months away from these titles spilling into shelves and onto consoles. For anyone getting a 3DS at or near launch, 2011 is going to be the summer of the portable for sure. Now you can tell us in the comments section which one of these are you most looking forward to.
Electronic Arts and Two Tribes are partnering up to release a new game on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check out the trippy trailer below for details. In the game, you get to free cute piranha’s from ice blocks by matching blocks super fast. Like, Superman fast. Three different game modes will be available. You will be able to battle enemy fish in Fish Fight, blitz your scores and time in Minute Match or exhaust your brain in Puzzle Mode. Plus Facebook and Twitter integration will allow you to brag to all your online buds. And what is an iPhone game without Retina Display graphics?! Check out the official website for the game and test yourself to see if you are a swap-aholic!
You didn’t think we would make it through a the whole 3DS announcement day without a sports title, did you? Of course, if you are going to bring a franchise into 3D, Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer seems to be a perfect fit. During the 3DS event earlier today we seen a trailer for the PES 2011 3D and it honestly looks to be amazing with how the depth perception is used in game.
Instead of typical camera angles we have seen on titles of this genre in the past, PES is looking to be quite different as the camera in game centers around the player’s movements to bring out the full 3D effect and as result, mix in perfectly with the 3DS’ 3D screen. This feature also allows for better distance perception, allowing the player to get a better and more realistic view so passes and shots can go down with little to no error.
Of course the 3D is a nice touch, but PES 2011 will also feature in many things that fans have come to know and love about the esteemed soccer franchise. The game will include a UEFA Champions League option which will let users build a team from scratch to take on the club and the global scene of the sport. Players can select one of 60 National and 170 club sides and lead them to glory within a range of challenging tournaments and leagues. Konami is also promising more enhanced AI so the players on the field react perfectly to all moves done on the field as well.
Konami has even factored the StreetPass feature into this title as well, allowing players to exchange data, with one user being proclaimed the winner depending on their stats in game.
With play-by-play commentary, local wireless multi-player, and many more features, it seems that PES 2011 is set to change the way we think about the franchise altogether. You can check out the trailer below and watch the game in action. As for a release date, well, there isn’t an official number at the moment but Konami does have PES 2011 listed for Spring, so this will be one to keep an eye out for when it eventually releases.
Bulkypix, Press Start Studio and Sanuk Games will be releasing their nun slaying zombie game on the European PlayStation Store on February 2nd, 2011. The game will be availabe for PSP and PS3 at a price of €2.99 / £2.49 on the Mini side of the Playstation Store.
Get engrossed in the manga adventure by helping the Sister Angelika kill all evil. Mighty scythes and artillery will help you along on your to way to domination of the undead!
“We’re very excited to bring TWIN BLADES to Playstation Minis” says Philippe Rapin, co-founder of Press Start Studio, “Sanuk Games has a proven track record of delivering quality ports and the Playstation ergonomics makes it a platform of choice for such an action-packed game.”
With all of the big heavy hitters announced today for Nintendo’s new handheld we also received word that The Sims 3 will be one of the titles appearing on the system later this year. The good news is that while this is probably going to look and play a lot like the other versions of The Sims 3, it is incorporating many of the 3DS’ features to make a whole new experience. One of the most promising new features will allow users to trade Sims with everyone via the Nintendo StreetPass which is sure to open many new doors to the whole game itself.
Popular features such as Karma Powers from the console release will also be in the mix with a few new 3DS exclusive powers that will also be presented in a unique way, allowing players to blow into the mic to unleash butterflies or shake the system to have an earthquake pound down on your Sim.
Other features include:
• First Complete Life Simulation from The Sims franchise on the Nintendo 3DS! Create any Sim you can imagine and control their lives. Control multiple Sims within your household and enjoy life’s special moments as you interact with their world.
• Build a Sim With Your Own Likeness! Use the 3DS camera to capture your own likeness and create yourself as a Sim. With the stylus, you can sculpt your Sims’ facial features, choose their hair styles and clothing and dictate their personalities.
• Travel to Different Zones with Your Sims! These zones will be unique destinations for your Sims and will contain community features and buildable lots for your Sims’ homes.
While the idea of moving the Sims 3 was smart of EA, the way they seem to be going about utilizing the system’s features may make this one of the best Sims outing yet. The Sims 3 will be available sometime later this Spring so I am guessing around May for the 3DS and is yet another fantastic looking title to get hyped up about as we grow closer to the launch of the console itself.
Similar to Activision, THQ will be releasing exclusive downloadable content on the Xbox 360. At launch, a map entitled “Suburb” will be available on the Xbox 360. Presumably, the map will eventually make it to the Playstation 3 as well. Most likely, even more downloadable content will also be released. The Inside Xbox show will also have more details on the the”Suburb” map. So, go check that box! Although this may be upsetting for Playstation 3 owners, this is a good move for Microsoft. Who knows! Maybe the next generation will not be about exclusive games, but about marketing deals done in back room deals.
It’s been said before that not every single game that is released needs to have a multiplayer mode; but then there are the exceptions. Dead Space 2 is that exception. From the video that EA just released we are able to witness Outbreak mode from the eyes of the vicious Necromorphs.
The video details each of the classes that players will be able to experience if they play on the Necromorph side of the battlefield. It is interesting to note that Necromorph players will be able to spawn through vents around the map, leading to a potential ambush if planned accordingly. Though that is only if players will be able to choose which vent they spawn out of. Now in a battle between humans with weaponry and the hard to kill Necromorphs who will win? Watch below to find out.
Just a while back, THQ put gamers on notice that a new MX vs ATV title was underway and was soon to be announced. Today the company has fully revealed the new game which will be called “MX vs ATV Alive” and will launch for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in May of 2011. THQ is promising this will be the best title of the franchise to date as they are changing the way the games are played by the user with downloadable content. While there will be many popular modes included on the disc already, there will also be DLC which will available to “enhance” the player’s experience. The DLC of course will consist of more tracks and modes as well as other content that will be revealed next month according to THQ, so there is a lot we still don’t quite know at the moment of how this will all work.
THQ have however released a list of features that will be readily available at launch, so lets go through what we do know:
Features Include:
Definitive Realism
Experience total control of rider and bike with easier controls as part of the enhanced Rider Reflex
An advanced real-time deformation continuously changes the track beneath you with every lap
Wreck avoidance lets you correct collisions and landings and race like a pro
Elbow-to-Elbow Action
Go bar-to-bar with in-your-face motocross racing
Rider-to-Rider collisions and win/loss conditions through a new bar banging system
Awe-Inspiring Sports Experience
Real Riders, Real Gear, and Real licenses to be announced
Vehicles to be announced
Event Types
Compete in the Nationals and claim the Motocross National Championship
Additional Event types to be announced
Multi-Player to be Announced
Now while MX vs ATV Alive looks quite awesome, I do have a couple of concerns. The first would be the download approach that this title seems to carry with most of the content. I am guessing many different modes will be downloadable, but I know I am not alone in saying it would be better to not rush a release and force players pay for things that should have been on the disc anyway. The price is also TBA so let’s just hope if this is the case, fans will be getting a discounted price at launch as well. A lot is still up in the air at the moment and I am sure more questions will be answered as the release date grows near, but for now check out the new trailer below and we will keep you updated if more news breaks about this DLC heavy title.
Game Name: World of Warcraft : Cataclysm expansion Platforms: PC Publisher(s): Blizzard Developer(s): Blizzard Genre(s): MMO RPG Release Date: December 7, 2010 ESRB Rating: T for Teen Price: $39.99 (USD)
Story Deathwing from ancient warcraft lore is back, and extremely angry. Agonized by his enemies, he is finally free and wreaking havoc on all of Azeroth. The entire face of the world has changed, and danger is now always present. Can you survive the new Era of Azeroth and stop the destruction caused by Deathwing?
Gameplay Tons of updates have been added to this game. New looks for old locations, new quests, new quest structures, new enemies to worry about; however, a majority of these updates aren’t even part of the Cataclysm expansion and instead are just part of Blizzard’s massive update to the World of Warcraft that coincided with the expansion. Blizzard has used the new threat introduced in the expansion to completely redesign the way a lot of this game works, and have succeeded brilliantly. New players are introduced to a much more user friendly experience right from the start, and old players get new scenery too look at. Sure, everything is completely destroyed and locations are regularly attacked by giant fire breathing dragons, but this just adds to the fun found within this MMO.
The expansion itself has tons of new things to offer on top of all these changes. The first thing a player notices as they start this particular expansion is an increased level cap. The new level cap is now level 85, and these extra 5 levels create a threat for even the current highest level players. Everyone is now tasked to gain those extra levels and the extra levels succeed in creating even more tension between the higher level players and the lower level players. With the increased level cap comes new quests for those levels, new skills, and new tactics for the players that hit these levels to explore and develop. Cataclysm also unlocks both the Worgen class and the Goblin class. These classes each have their strengths and weaknesses and each will slowly be adapted into the game by other players. Currently the Goblins seem to be to be the better race, with more racial bonuses that benefit the player; however, the Worgen has a few good resistances that can seemingly help in the long run as a player gets to higher levels.
New areas have also been introduced with a plethora of new raids and a bunch of new training locations. Each location is quite unique and a majority of them are actually quite enjoyable. One of the locations I didn’t enjoy as much, but that may be because I was grinding out that last level and grinding tends to sap the enjoyment out of a previously fun experience. Two entire new PvP zones have also been introduced that give the players who have gained their new levels somewhere to fight and compete to see who is better. I spent a little bit of time in the PvP arena; however, I quickly ran away with my tail between my legs as I was royally destroyed… over and over again.
On top of all this, there is also a new skill and a new guild level up system. Archeology is the new skill and it lets you discover some lore behind World of Warcraft; however, the actual purpose of this skill seemed pretty pointless to me. It succeeds nicely in sending you all over the place to train it, but I couldn’t find any real benefit compared to other skills. Maybe with a bit more time I could find another skill to pair it up with to create a beneficial partnership but it is currently unknown to me. Guilds also have a new level up system. This level up system gives guild experience to a guild who has at least 3 of its members go through a raid or other event. There are a total of 25 levels and each level rewards the guild with a unique ability; such as exp gain boosts at lower levels, or mass guild member revival at the higher levels. There is a cap to how much EXP your guild can acquire in any given day, so progress is incredibly slow. The guild I was in while reviewing this game assisted me in quite a few of the raids to help me get through them faster and see everything the expansion had to offer in a much faster pace than is normal; however, even with all this we only gained 1 guild level by the time I hit 85 (from 80) on my character.
Audio & Graphics Every single cutscene has incredible voice acting. There is also very nice ambient music that helps create a form of pacing in the game. As an area becomes more dangerous, so does the music. As the area calms down, the music does as well. Music is used well, and creates a better overall experience.
The graphics haven’t changed much from the original. While everything looks different, it is still all graphically the same. There is some new lighting and water effects strewn across the expansion, but overall everything has the same graphics as every other part of the game. World of Warcraft is a pretty old game, and the graphics are slowly getting outdated. New expansions aren’t doing much to update them; however, this could possibly still be a good thing as it will still run on a lot of older computers without the need to regularly update your software.
Overview There seems to be a whole bunch of new things that came along with the Cataclysm expansion; however a majority of the changes were simply put in place for free and don’t require the expansion at all. If you include these changes, Blizzard’s Cataclysm update is massive and the most impressive to date, but if you don’t it borders on being smaller than the previous expansion. While the content is richer and much more in depth than previous installments, the core additions that are actually included within the purchased expansion comes in a much smaller easy to manage size. Either way you look at it, Deathwing has recreated the way Azeroth is seen; old and new players alike will need to adapt to the changes as they venture out on a new landscape scorched within the flames of Deathwing.
I give the Cataclysm
I have used videos rather than pictures because the expansion is huge, and a few pictures just doesn’t cut it. Both these videos were create by Blizzard.
