The publisher Destineer today announced a partnership with Digital Leisure to create a compilation based on the classic arcade series Dragon’s Lair.
Dragon’s Lair Trilogy will feature, for the first time in a console, the original Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp, and Space Ace, all in just one disc.
The compilation features include:
Completely arcade authentic
Original arcade gameplay modes
Remastered animation
Both standard and widescreen editions
All-new move guides for beginners
Watch Mode – View all of the stunning animation without playing!
Dragon’s Lair Trilogy will be available this fall in North America for a budget price of $29.99
I’m going to start by saying that Metro2033 is a great game. And I’m saying this because it was VERY underrated! It’s a great game with a great atmosphere and it has a really good story too.
For those of you that have already played this and actually liked it, you’ll be happy to find out that a new DLC Pack will be available next week, on August 3rd.
The Ranger Pack DLC will include two new modes: “Ranger Mode” and “Ranger Hardcore”. “Ranger Mode” will reduce the amount of ammo in-game,weapons will cause more damage but your enemies will be deadlier. And by activating the “Ranger Hardcore” mode, your HUD will be removed, thus “creating the most immersive Metro 2033 experience yet.” Also, there will be new weapons like the Heavy Automatic Shotgun and the Volt Driver. Playing through all of these will net you 250 Gamerscore.
The Ranger Pack DLC will be available on PC for free, and on Xbox Live for a measly 240 MSP (Microsoft rules and regulations).
The Canon XL H1a is no cheap, ordinary or hand-held camera – but a sturdy, durable camcorder which can be said to target the semi-professional videographer/film maker. It is priced around the $6000 mark and in this package you will get: a monster 108mm 20x optical zoom lens with a Vari-angle Prism Optical Image Stabiliser (VAP OIS), decent quality microphone, extra long life battery, high quality viewfinder, manuals and all the necessary cables. This review will discuss the Design, Footage, Hardware and Sound, then finish up with Pros and Cons followed by a Conclusion.
Design:
The Canon XL-H1a has a very sleek design. Just by holding it you can tell it is a very solid, well built camcorder made especially for filming documentaries and short films. The shoulder-mount attached to the XL-H1a makes a huge difference in terms of less fatigue when you compare it to an average semi-professional camcorder using wrist strength only. It has a handle which you can use to hold onto for low shots, but is quite unstable because of the front-heaviness of the XL-H1a. The camcorder also has a headphone jack and firewire port (used to transfer footage from a DV tape to your computer)
Footage:
With this camcorder, you can expect to see high quality video shot in full 1080i, 1440×1080 resolution and MPEG2 compression which fits up to 63 minutes of HD footage on an DV tape. The XL-H1a uses three 1.67-megapixel, 16:9-aspect, 1/3-inch CCDs with the Digic DVII image processor which are superb at making your film look good. A bad trait of this camera is that it can’t shoot in a true progressive form, leading to fast movements of the camera looking bad and the footage not quite film-like. To compensate for this, the XL-H1a has a feature which allows you to shoot in 30F or 25F mode. This is similar to a 30p and 24p cinema style look, and you could probably get away un-noticed by using it. As I exported the footage I had filmed onto my computer, it instantly hit me – The quality of the footage is phenomenal. Even after finishing up with the editing and rendering, the quality still stayed crisp and clear. There is some noise in the footage produced, but you can easily avoid it with adjusting the gain and a few other features. The auto white balance is OK, but as with other camcorders, you should manually white balance often. The XL-H1a also has a variety of modes which surprisingly include a night-shot mode. Although manual mode is highly recommended for all types of shooting, night-shot mode is acceptable at pulling a dark scene off.
Hardware:
The view finder is extremely effective at showing even the most minor details, but as a result of the size, it may interfere with how you focus the camcorder. The 20x optical zoom lens is about three-quarters the weight of the XL-H1 itself; a heavy duty, high quality lens. On this lens, you can easily control the focus, zoom and iris in smooth and controlled movements. The zoom feature, while it has a controllable zoom speed from 1-16, I sometimes find is still too slow at the maximum setting. The focus ring is very controlled and glides smoothly leading to great shots. The iris is adjustable to any of the following apertures: f/1.6, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 9.5 and with this camcorder is also 13 levels of shutter speed. Other than the minor sluggishness of the zoom (probably just my personal opinion), it performs extremely well and is reliable in most situations. The Vari-angle Prism Optical Image Stabiliser (VAP OIS), which comes on the lens works wonders. It is something that you absolutely must use since this camcorder is so front-heavy. Another great perk of this camcorder is that you can interchange your lenses, leading to more of a variety of shots you can take.
Sound:
Included with the camcorder is a decent quality internal microphone. I don’t recommend this microphone for professional film as a result of the sound quality being not up to par with professional microphones, but for home videos it should be suitable. The camcorder comes with 2 XLR female jacks used for your professional grade shotgun microphones and +48v phantom power is included. On the side of the XL-H1 is where you have all your CH-1 and CH-2 volume adjustable controls which is similar to most other semi-professional grade camcorders.
Pros:
Shoulder mount included to take stress off your wrist and distribute the weight to your shoulder
Excellent quality viewfinder
Fantastic 20x optical zoom lens
Superb image stabilisation
Long-lasting battery
Smooth rotation of zoom/focus/iris
Sound controls are easy to use
White balance is accurate
Image quality is immaculate
Cons:
Front heavy because of the massive lens
Can’t set timecode for multi-camera work, need to buy the XL-H1s which would run you a few thousand dollars more
No true progressive recording (eg. 720p or 1080p)
The viewfinder fitting is bulky and can become a bit loose, so you might find it sliding from time to time
Conclusion:
All in all, the Canon XL-H1 performs well in all the sections listed above. The long-lasting battery allows you to be filming for a few hours without replacing it and the 20x optical zoom lens is a great addition to the camcorder. The smoothness of the lenses zoom, focus and iris and the image quality of the footage make the XL-H1 a pleasure to work with. While it can’t shoot in progressive, it has different modes which are similar to progressive to make up for it. Unfortunately you can’t multi-cam well with the XL-H1, but single-cam use is superb.
One of the most addictive and fun games growing up has always been match-up. You know, where you have a deck of cards and lay them back side up and flip to reveal matches. The toad houses in Super Mario 3 is probably the best example of this. Developer Digital Leisure are creating a new game for the DSiWare using the classic formula with a more updated twist.
Here is a snippet of the Press Release from Digital Leisure:
Flip, match and…kaboom! – How fast can you find the right set in Match Up!? Whether you’re 4 or 40, Match Up! will have you captive for hours. Reveal shapes, colors and even hidden bonuses with a new take on a childhood favorite. Quick hands and a sharp mind are the only way to beat the clock and disarm the explosive cards riddled throughout. Not quite ready for the explosive action? Then start with the absolutely addictive classic concentration play, and see if you can level up. So come on – get matching!
For only 200 Nintendo Points, this should be a no-brainer for DSi owners looking for a fun casual game to pass the time. This Monday, August 2nd, Match-Up! will be available for download on the Nintendo DSi’s DSiWare download service. Until then, check out the screenshots below.
It has been years since the Beyblade series has had a video game release outside of Japan. If you remember back in the early 2000’s Beyblade has quite a bit of success in the U.S. launching toys, video games and even an animated series. Beyblade consists of the characters battling with special tops enchanted by magical spirits.
Hudson has now announced some of the first information for the new title “Beyblade: Metal Fusion-Battle Fortress” that they will be developing for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
“The original Beyblade television series and toy line were a worldwide phenomenon and the new versions are already immensely popular in Japan. We’re confident that the series and the video games will have similar success in North America,” said Mike Pepe, Director of Marketing for Hudson Entertainment. “Both the Nintendo DS and Wii versions of the game will follow the story in the show, and we’re looking forward to fans being able to battle as their favorite Beybladers whether they’re home or on the run!”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Hudson Entertainment to bring the excitement of Beyblade to video games,” said Colin Bohm, Vice President and Managing Director, Nelvana Enterprises. “Hudson’s experience creating hit games for a younger audience makes them the perfect partner for a Beyblade video game.”
Platform Specific Features:
• Wii:
Completely game-specific story with the original characters from the animation
4 player competition against 3 other human or AI controlled enemies
Choose from up to 20 different characters
Carry the blades you create to your friends’ houses inside of your Wii Remote
• DS:
Voice commands using the DS microphone
2 player competition via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection™ or wirelessly using one cart!
Supported with Beyblade enhancement function based on experience
Wi-Fi competition/ranking supported
This news should make all fans of the Beyblade franchise excited and the fact that Hudson is behind the project is also spectacular news.
Check out the new screenshots below for the Wii Version. Both versions of Beyblade: Metal Fusion for the Nintendo Wii and DS should be hitting shelves of Fall 2010. For more information on Beyblade as well as other titles from Hudson Entertainment, please visit www.hudsonent.com.
There’s a brand new trailer for Two Worlds II rolling out from SouthPeak today and it is both a treat for the eyes and the ears. Accompanied with a great voice over, we see the world of Antaloor in a new light as combat and the world is exhibited to us extensively. We see primarily the mage and fighter classes in combat, but there is also a small glimpse of rogue style assassinations. Expect to see Two Worlds II on shelves October 5th and I must say that it is looking 100x better than what many people may initially think.
Artistic types will definitely want to pay attention to this. You can now make your very own Chibiterasu papercraft! The wolf cub with a god inside of him is your playable character in the upcoming Ōkamiden for the DS, and it features artistry as a major part of the game. You may not have the option to play the game yet, but you will have the option to create your very own paper Chibiterasu.
Click on this link to find the template necessary to create Chibiterasu. There are no instructions so you are left to figure it out yourself, but I can guarantee that anyone who makes this will definitely have a prized creation to go along with their wolf cub love and their Ōkami fandom. Anyone willing to take up the challenge?
Some game companies really go that extra mile to break the fourth wall and really get to know the players that enjoy their products. What I am saying is Hudson will be hosting a tournament for the title this Friday July 30th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Pacific Time (US).
Here is the official announcement from the Hudson forums:
Okay so here’s how things are going to go. Because there are probably going to be more people interested in playing than the 8 player limit for Bomberman LIVE, we’ll organize things outside of Xbox LIVE using a forum thread as well as a chatroom. At the start time you can enter the chatroom/thread and I’ll be waiting. State your gamertag and I’ll invite you using the gamertag we’ll be using, still not determined, and we can play together. The chatroom/forum can also serve as a way to contact us outside of the Xbox Live if you have any questions or technical difficulties in joining.
I’m thinking to do 4 player matches (so 1 staff plus 3 other players) to start or at most 5 players unless the majority opinion is to just accomodate as many people as possible and do an 8 player match. I know a lot of expert players dislike too many players in one match though. The order in which players will be invited into the game session will be first come/first serve depending on replies in the chatroom or forum. Winners will stay in, as well as myself the Hudson staff playing and the others will rotate in and out. If players wish to spectate we can always play 8 player games and just have people eliminate themselves at the beginning of the match who aren’t officially in the selected group.
We’ll also determine the match settings in the chatroom prior to beginning the match and subsequent matches will probably be a combo of winner getting to choose and us at Hudson picking a match type. However, in all cases it will probably be 3 wins to win a match. Rest assured we will incorporate some Bombing Run matches with limited items for a truly pro level competitive match at least some of the time. Please don’t cheat or glitch or anything like that as we will be monitoring the events and this just supposed to be a fun time for all. Although we probably won’t be adopting a strict tournament format for this Friday, unless it’s overwhelmingly demanded, it’s something we want to incorporate in the future perhaps as early as next week.
We’ll try to play for around an hour although the time is a bit flexible. Unfortunately we can’t spend all our workday playing games here at Hudson and there is real business we’ll have to be handling.
Inviting yourself to the chatroom is possible with the AIM client directly, AIM through meebo, and AIM through Pidgin. Those are ones I’ve tested it with so far.
THE RELEVANT FACTS:
Game: Bomberman LIVE on XBLA
Winning condition: 3 Wins
Match type/parameters: TBA
Time: Friday July 30th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Pacific Time
AIM Screenname: HudsonBomberman
Chatroom: BombermanLIVEwithHudson
Forum thread: This one
Gamertag: TBA
Opportunities like this are rare so get make sure you hop on and join the fun that will be taking place tomorrow. You might even bump into one of us at Capsule Computers while your there.
Check out the original post HERE with constantly updated information.
Zombies were plentiful in the first Dead Rising game, especially when it came to the underground tunnels. But how many zombies could the new upcoming Dead Rising 2 hold at a time? Well in an interview with GamaSutra, Capcom’s Shin Ohara has a bit to say on that point. From what he has said it won’t be the 360’s or the PS3’s technological capability that is going to limit the number of the zombies on screen at once. It will be the factor that the game won’t be fun at all if there were simply rooms full of zombies with like no where to move.
Excerpts of the interview can be seen below from Ohara:
“Last year at Captivate we did a demo. We had a strip — It was probably like 10 meters wide and 200 meters long. We filled it with about 7,000 zombies. After about 3,000, you can’t really tell the difference because it fills up the screen anyway. Over 3,000, it ruins the experience. It’s not a game anymore.”
“We can show about 7,000 zombies if we wanted to, our technology is not limiting us. If the game only shows about 500 zombies or 1,000 zombies, that’s not the game’s limit. We have just enough so that people have fun with the zombies and the gameplay is rewarding.
“We want people to use a lot of weapons, and they need to be able to move around to use it against zombies. Traversing the space shouldn’t be a pain, but it needs to be a challenge as well. We didn’t want to fill a room out of zombies where you had to wiggle your way out.
“Rather, you can jump over them, kick them, or go around them. There are many ways that you can deal with the zombies.”
Not sure about you but seeing 7,000 zombies on a screen at once would definitely put me off going down that path if I had a choice, but it would definitely be interesting to see this factor into a certain mission or some sort of survival mode where you must face down thousands of zombies at once.
Before you read any of this take a look below and watch the trailer……..
Done? Well this trailer is not made by Epic Games at all, but by the fans of the series. It is made between those known as the Duo Group, Kootra, Treadmaster Media, and Sound Wizardry. These four groups joined together create this trailer all on their own. They used various character models and pre-existing art to develop the video itself which means they pretty much created it entirely from scratch!
Put that together with the epic song choice of Johnny Cash’s rendition of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt and you can’t help but love it. Not even that alone but they synced it up expertly with what you are seeing. Even the phrase at the end, Together till the End shows the gears mentality. This is probably a more exciting trailer than one I have seen yet for Gears of War 3, what do you think?
