Icefrog, the man behind the famous Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients (a.k.a DotA), will be announcing his next project in the next 24 hours.
This new project is the result of a important partnership between Icefrog and Valve, who hired him last year, as you can read from Icefrogs himself:
It started off with an email from Valve where they mentioned that they were big fans of DotA wanted to fly me out to spend some time with them and visit their studio. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the trip. After arriving and chatting with them, the first thing I noticed was how much of their decision making process was like mine. They shared the same aspirations towards building a long term and sustainable community without having short sighted business goals that end up hurting the quality of the game. One of the most important things for me though was that there wasn’t going to be anyone standing above telling me how I should be doing things. They trust the developers that have experience to make the best decisions for their playerbase. The atmosphere at Valve allows everyone to be very comfortable and able to focus on what they love doing. It also doesn’t hurt that they are huge DotA fans.. until their favorite heroes are nerfed, then I’m the bad guy for a week!
Icefrog has been working on this project for more than a year already, today he shared some news on his personal blog:
Hey guys, Game Informer dropped by the office last week to take a look at what I’ve been working on with the rest of the team over the last year.
They are going to post an article about it tomorrow on their website. I’ll give you guys a link to it as soon as it is published.
Looking forward to seeing what you guys think!
The official announcement is expected to happen in the next few hours. Lets build up the hype!
Venus Williams is now an ambassador for EA Sports Active 2. Along with David Beckham, Venus Williams will promote the game, and the game will promote improved muscular strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio workouts and a heart rate monitor with wireless motion tracking data to to make fitness a fun experience. Available on the Kinect for Xbox, Wii and PS3 on November 16, 2010, get ready to get active. iPhone and iTouch versions will release later.
Sherdog.com and EA are working together to really showcase what MMA is all about. Sherdog.com has teamed up some MMA rookies and veterans together so that they can train all over the world. Sherdog will be chronicling all this and sharing it with you. So how does EA figure into this? EA’s new MMA game will feature the same type of campaign with your fighter traveling around the world and learning from great MMA fighters. As long as we are on the subject, let us take a look at the new EA MMA trailer featuring Linkin Park.
An indie game turned XBLA, Zeit2looks like a completely original idea that is also quite stylin’. Zeit2 will enable players to jump their spaceship forward and backward through time. Kinda like Geometry Wars, but with some Back to the Future mixed in. Not much else is more awesome. Ubisoft has quite an impressive lineup coming with the likes of Outland, AC: Brotherhood, Bloody Good Time and Shaun White Skateboarding. Hopefully they will all live up to the hype! Look for Zeit2 this holiday on XBLA and PC.
We begin Otome Yokai Zakuro witnessing three of the four female leads we witness Zakuro slice in half a giant monster standing on a bridge. In what otherwise would be an interesting fight scene was finished in under thirty seconds. What I found interesting was the fact that the song/chant that was being performed during the one strike battle actually was extremely addicting and is currently a favorite part of the show.
After this we are introduced to the opening sequence which can be seen below which spoils the pairing of the soldiers and spirits right off the bat and also shows what appears to be the main enemies for the entire season. This is a small let down due to the fact that there is little to surprise as we have already met the main enemy via the opening before they are introduced in an episode.
But I digress, the military has formed a branch consisting of four soldiers to help deal with the spirits which are upset over the change of the calendar and the way Japan is accepting changes from the West. The series quickly takes a turn from what would appear to be a serious romantic show towards comedy as it is revealed that Agemaki, the lead pretty boy, has a deathly fear of spirits (Yokai).
The girls themselves who are half human and half spirit have the appearance of fox-girls with the only difference in their appearance is a pair of fox ears upon their head. Susukihotaru and the twins Hozuki and Bonbori are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the soldiers, while Zakuro is harboring what appears to be a hatred of them though she has yet to meet them.
During the meeting we are further introduced to the soldiers, the pretty boy Agemaki is paired with Zakuro, Riken is paired with Susukihotaru, and the twins are put together with the young Ganryu. Trying to make a good impression Agemaki attempts to charm Zakuro and is very successful in influencing her towards liking him though his fear of Yokai starts to show when two child Yokai run around his feet.
This comes to a head later on as Agemaki tries to find the bathroom, but only stumbles upon continuous Yokai that are far from human in appearance, though are quite friendly. He stumbles into Zakuro and confesses he is terrified to do anything on his own, and breaks apart the illusion in her heart that he is the perfect man.
As the group prepares to view the cherry blossom trees in full bloom they start to develop their relationships further between the partners. Susukihotaru first sees Riken as a huge scary soldier thanks to his body size, but after helping her retrieve something she was having difficulty with, and kneeling down for her to not be afraid she finds him less frightening and more sweet. While Ganryu makes a snide remark about the twins’ hair style seeming similar to a vegetable before scrambling to make up for his mistake.
Once arriving at the cherry blossom grove, the group is met with disdain as normal human onlookers see the Yokai as disgusting and no longer want them to be there. Though the viewing turns violent as a lightning beast crashes down to earth and prepares to attack everyone. After saving a pair of child like Yokai Agemaki is too stunned to move, so Zakuro and the rest of the girls must jump to his aid.
The melodic chanting begins again and we see more of the performance this time around, as Susukihotaru and the twins sway cherry blossom branches around and chant, while Zakuro changes her cherry blossom into a small sword which she uses to pacify the demon beast, though it looks like she stabs it in the head. The lightning beast is no longer enraged and joins the group in viewing the trees as the relationship aspect develops further and Zakuro wonders why such a normally passive Yokai suddenly lost control.
Surprisingly enough the first episode for this series was really amazing. Sure it was more of an introductory episode where we met the characters and saw how they will be fighting and even who will end up paired with who. The chanting part of the fighting is one of my favorite aspects as it puts the fights in another light.
The characters themselves are still pretty vague, with the only ones receiving development being Agemaki and Zakuro. Zakuro herself looks to be another tsundere type character but is more willing to accept Agemaki than your average tsundere which means she may end up leaving behind the character archetype as the show goes on. There is most likely plenty of drama to be had eventually thanks to the differences between the humans and the Yokai as they try to adapt with one another, including the fact that something seems to be making normally calm demons go crazy with rage and attack humans.
Up until now, there has been only one legit way to obtain Mew into Heart Gold & Soul Silver, a quite complicated method through My Pokemon Ranch through the WiiWare, then you would have to trade it from your Diamond or Pearl over to HS/SS. Let’s face it, Mew has never been an easy Poke to obtain in America. For the first time, Mew is set to be available over Wi-Fi via the game’s mystery gift function.
The Mew character you will receive is a Level 5 and comes with one basic Normal-type attack, Pound, giving Pokémon Trainers the ability to raise and train Mew as they see fit. Making this distribution especially exclusive, Mew comes inside a Cherish Ball and has a Premier Ribbon, both indicating that you got it via a special event.
During the limited distribution period, players will need to receive Mew using the Mystery Gift option via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and their existing wireless broadband Internet access, and will need to acquire the Pokédex in the game. Players must also have fewer than three Wonder Cards in their game.
More good news is Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum owners can get in on this deal as well as it works with all 5 of the main DS Pokemon titles. Don’t wait too long on grabbing Mew as the event is only available October 15 through October 30, 2010.
With Fable 3 releasing at the end of the month among the hailstorm of new games, Sumthing Else Music Works is announcing that they have also planned to release Fable 3’s soundtrack on October 26th. Releasing the same day as the game seems like a good idea as consumers can purchase both the game and the music at the same time and have the entire Fable 3 experience.
If you are interested in pre-ordering the soundtrack you can do so on Amazon.com now for $16. Though you can also get the music through iTunes or Sumthing Digital themselves for an undisclosed price. But with iTunes you can pick your favorite songs from the game.
The soundtrack itself was created by composer Russell Shaw and performed by the Slovak National Symphony who have performed the music for the Fable series since it’s beginning. So if you happen to like the musical score for each of the past games, then you know a bit on what to expect.
Sonic’s old pal Tails appears in the latest Wii trailer for Sonic Colours. However, don’t be fooled as Tails will not actually feature as a playable character. In the video, he is shown to be helping before the blue hedgehog enters the amusement, and though he won’t be a playable role in the game, he will still pop-up in cut-scenes and play a part in the story of Sonic Colours.
The sequel to one of the best games from 2009, Batman: Arkham City is already a highly anticipated title for 2011. But while 2011 is still away from us, you can check some new artworks and screenshots of Arkham City and it’s villains:
Batman: Arkham City will be released in Fall 2011, for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Numb3rs Platform: iPhone
Developer: Apocalypse Train/CBS Interactive
Publisher: Chillingo
Genre: Puzzle/Mini-games
Released: 4th October
Price: $0.99 BUY NOW
“Everything is numbers.” That’s right, according to the Numb3rs game on iPhone, based on the TV series of the same name, the thing of utmost importance, that you must remember at all costs, is that everything is numbers. Numbers? Yeah, that makes sense, they’re numbers. Pictures? From now on they are numbers. What about letters? Nope, they are also numbers.
But dramatic sentiments and joking aside, Numb3rs isn’t really very much linked to the television series at all, and for that I am thankful. Maybe the developers hoped the license would help shift a few copies, when in fact, it may well act as a deterrent. This is a shame as it is actually a brilliant number game.
From a choice of two modes, story and challenge, you play a number or different sub-games with the one that’s played the most being brain-based. Now for some of you this may be a complete turn-off, but those who like this kind of thing (me being one of them), are in luck. The main element of the logic-based game is one number game in particular. This mini-game makes up the core of the game purely because it appears the most, and can only be described as a maths-based missile command game, replacing precision aiming with speedy mental arithmetic. Imagine Dr. Kawashima, but if you don’t complete the calculations quick enough, instead of a drop in your personal chart, there are rather more catastrophic consequences. Let’s say a hacker managing to breach his/her way into your top secret database.
This prospect may not sound thrilling, and initially it’s not, but believe me, when you start to progress through the missions it gets better. From there, if you start upping the difficulty settings it can turn very exciting as you struggle to complete sums in time, or manage to perform a combo and eliminate multiple threats at the same time. The faster and more complicated it gets, the more thrilling it gets.
But this isn’t the only aspect to the game. There is also a range of other mini-games that make up the game, such as a colour sequence memory game, in which you have to memorise the sequence as it grows longer and as a result, harder. A number of you may have even experienced this before as a flash game over the internet, so really this is nothing new, yet extremely fulfilling to play. The aid of a different sound for each panel adds to the satisfaction from completing a sequence, and can even help you to memorise the order if this is the way your mind works.
However, not all the mini-games are quite up to these high standards, and as you progress in the story, the quality of these bonuses declines. Fortunately, as aforementioned, the speed calculation number-defence game plays the leading role in the game, making up the majority of the playtime. You can rest assured in the fact that you will only encounter each mini-game once, as they only appear as a single one-off at select intervals. Therefore, if you didn’t enjoy repeatedly tapping the screen in some of the various mini-games, there is no need for these to get another look-in as soon as you have completed them, if you so wish.
On top of the story mode, there is a challenge mode which gives more of the same number-crunching action like in the story mode, this time omitting the mini-games which break-down the story. Those who didn’t fall in love with the slightly random mini-games may favour this mode, preferring to chase high-scores than resolve the dire plot. In addition, scores set in this mode can then be compared with the scores of others on the leader board, an added incentive to strive for a large score.
Overall, Numb3rs is a pleasant surprise and while some may feel discouraged by the fact the they don’t watch the show, in reality it has next to nothing to do with the series. It can and should be enjoyed by anyone with a basic mental mathematics ability thanks to an addictive calculation-based defence game that makes up the bulk of the gameplay. As the game progresses, the difficulty surges which could leave slower players behind, whereas other players who breeze through have the added challenge of increasing the difficulty to confront. Some of the mini-games are good, some aren’t so good, but either way, they serve as a great stop-gap from the main gameplay element, preventing it from becoming repetitive. Both the sound and graphics are passable, and while the plot is mediocre, the short lines of speech before and after each mission are unobtrusive with little affect on the game, and require no knowledge of the characters’ backgrounds, either. It’s just a shame the game is so concise, with the story mode done and dusted in little over an hour.
Pros
Good for the grey matter
Fast-paced, exciting mental arithmetic
Accessable to all, not just those who watch the show
