Steam announced two special deals this week, check it out:
(50% off) Final Fantasy XI Online Ultimate Collection
Vana’diel — a land of magic, swords and technology — welcomes new adventurers, along with seasoned FINAL FANTASY veterans, with open arms. This land cries out for fearless warriors like you to restore the peace that the citizens dream of. Heed the call and join hundreds of thousands of players from around the world to become the hero that Vana’diel needs.
FINAL FANTASY XI ULTIMATE COLLECTION includes the following:
* FINAL FANTASY XI: The award-winning original game
Four expansions:
* Rise of the Zilart®
* Chains of Promathia®
* Treasures of Aht Urhgan®
* Wings of the Goddess®
3 add-on scenarios:
* A Crystalline Prophecy™ — Ode of Life Bestowing
* A Moogle Kupo d’Etat™ — Evil in Small Doses
* A Shantotto Ascension™ — The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born
Hearts of Iron, Mount & Blade, Majesty, Europa Universalis, Lead and Gold, and many others games from Paradox Interactive. Individual games and Special Collections included.
Capcom held a special event in Tokyo, Japan today called “Save the Zombie” in an effort to promote Dead Rising 2. Andriasang was there to provide us all a bit of insight into the event. There was a movie showing of the movie based on the game, as well as the alternate ending you can only see if you happen to purchase or obtain the DVD version of the movie.
Most of all though what we are really were excited to see is new information on Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. We were able to see Chuck Greene the main character of Dead Rising 2, treating his daughter who has become infected with the zombie virus due to a bite from a zombie. He must give his daughter a dose of Zombrex every 12 hours or she will succumb to the virus and become one of the undead. However his car which contained an entire case of the medicine, enough to keep her alive for months has been stolen.
That places you and your infected daughter stranded in Fortune City with only 12 hours to find any Zombrex that he can give to his daughter to keep her alive and escape the infected suburb. Another nice feature that was released was the fact that your saved data will transfer into Dead Rising 2, bringing with it any level ups you receive and potential game bonuses.
There has been no official announced release date, but expect to see Dead Rising 2 Case Zero, exclusive to the XBLM, sometime before the release of Dead Rising 2.
Fans of stunts and crazy motorbiking can once again go mad, because Red Lynx has announced the new DLC pack “Big Thrills” for Trials HD. Red Lynx have promised to include about 40 professional new tracks and 10 of the best user created tracks.
“Big Thrills” Pack will also add three more achievements worth 50 gamerscore, brining Trials HD to a total of 300G !
Also, there’s a track creating contest going on on the Big Thrills DLC Official Site. 1st place will win $5,000, a Trials HD T-shirt and a Red Lynx flag; 2nd place will win $3,000 and 3rd place $1,000. If you plan on participating, here’s a helpful Guide.
The pack is set to arrive this winter on Xbox LIVE. No definite price has been set, but like the BIG Pack last year, it should be around 400 Microsoft Points.
It’s official! Kinect and the new Kinect games have been set a definite and final price by Microsoft.
So without further ado, here’s what you will be spending in the following months:
Kinect will be sold along with a free game, Kinect Adventures, for the retail price of$149.99
All first party games for Kinect – $49.99. Microsoft expects this price to be standard for third party games also
There has also been announced a new bundle which will include a new Xbox360 Slim model with 4GB internal memory and black matte finish (NOT 250GB HDD and NOT glossy finish), the new Kinect camera and the game Kinect Adventures. This bundle is set for $299.
So what do you think? Is it too expensive or just right? Can Microsoft win the motion controller war with these prices?
Rockstar has announced that a new title update is on the way for Red Dead Redemption, and with it, a lot of new features for multiplayer. If they’re good or not, it depends…
Firstly, Rockstar will deliver the ban-hammer on everybody who has been/is caught cheating. So if you’ve been “on the dark side”, don’t get mad at Rockstar for doing their job and keeping the online world fun and safe. Here’s what they said:
“We’d just like to let all fans and players of Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer know that we’re aware a few rotten apples persist in the online world, trying to make the experience unpleasant for everyone else. Obviously, these Multiplayer modes can be great fun when everyone is on the up-and-up, so to ensure we preserve the integrity of gameplay for all online, we are actively working on new features to counter against the isolated incidents of abuse that go on.
Our next title update, planned for release on both Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network within the next month, will include measures to counter hacking and cheating. Those who have been detected to be cheating beyond a shadow of doubt will be promptly banned from the Red Dead online world for a period of our discretion.“
Also, new Free Roam features will be added: if you’re being killed repeatedly, you will have the option to flee, and also, if you’re being a bully and have a 6 kill streak, you will become Most Wanted, alerting the NPC Police and players with the same status as you.
The title update is due to arrive within the next month on both Xbox LIVE and PSN.
Grab yourself a bargain from Capsule Computers Online Store. Search for all the latest games, movies, electronics, software, music and books. The lowest prices guaranteed!
**Note Video Games, Consoles and Movies purchased from this store will be in NTSC format**
Since MasterAbbott was snoozing when Limbo’s Embargo was lifted, I was unable to give him the video file of the Avatar Awards. So since the original review didn’t have the video in it, I felt it best to do another update that had the avatar awards, as well as update the review for anyone who looks at the review in the future.
This is the third annual summer of arcade, and Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light is hitting up the rear of this promotion. While the game is getting released on the Xbox 360 exactly 4 weeks before it releases on the PS3 and PC, it is only because of a deal they signed with Microsoft. So all three versions are going to be pretty much identical. Below is a trailer for some gameplay. Enjoy.
Summer of Arcade is hitting the ground this week, and it is all starting off with Limbo. Limbo will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade on the 21st of July, 2010 for 1200 Microsoft Points.
This week’s Deal of the Week sees the rising of some cheap Assassin’s Creed 2 DLC and 2 AC2 avatar items as well. As a side note, the DLC for AC2 does not have Achievements, but they are still fun bonus missions to play for those of you who absolutely loved Assassin’s Creed.
Assassin’s Creed II DLC:
Sequence 13: Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations – Was: 560 Now: 400
Sequence 13: Bonfire of the Vanities – Was: 320 Now: 240
Overview:
There have been many Dragon Ball Z games throughout the years, and they have reached high fame for portraying the over-the-top action of the fighting series. But there have been barely any games portraying young Goku before he was fighting Saiyans and beings from beyond the stars. With the first game already in the books, Namco Bandai brings us Dragon Ball: Origins 2 as it continues Son Goku’s search for the Dragon Balls.
Story:
The story itself takes place through the Red Ribbon Army arc of the manga and anime, as Goku fights his way from the smallest soldier all the way to their leader in his search for the Dragon Balls, which when all seven are collected can grant any wish the collector desires.
The story continues right where the first Dragon Ball: Origins left off, with young Goku sitting on the Flying Nimbus in search of the fabled Dragon Balls. For those who don’t play the first game there is not much missing in the way of storyline to worry about. You will not be understanding some things at first, and a bit of knowledge about the story itself will be of great assistance to your overall enjoyment.
Plus the story is told in an episodic way, such as you would find in the manga or anime via the chapters or episodes. This is a nice touch and a good transition as various cut-scenes are portrayed during this jump between episodes.
Graphics:
As you begin your journey into the world of Dragon Ball you will notice that the backgrounds and the areas you will be journeying through occasionally are left behind when it comes to the rest of the action occurring on the screen. Occasionally the backdrop you will be seeing will appear bland and unnoticeable, but other times you will be amazed at where you are fighting at, this bit of inconsistency provides a feeling of rushed environmental graphics.
One thing however that does not suffer from a rush, are the characters. Each of the characters moves smoothly through their battle motions regardless of what fighting technique you use. The cut-scenes displayed throughout the game show impressive character design with facial expressions that mimic the both the Anime and the Manga amazingly well. You will see many funny expressions such as Goku’s silly wide mouthed grin, or Bulma’s surprise. Another nice feature is that the cut-scenes occupy both the top and bottom screen rather than be constrained to one, which is a good touch. The graphics have an extreme manga style feature, including when enemies are and they explode into smoke saying Boom! The feature of these graphics are perfect for the DS and Dragon Ball.
Sound:
On the other hand the background music, is a bit depressing. Instead of using various Dragon Ball theme music, you are treated to bits of music that sound similar to anything you would hear normally. Plus most of the text is treated as just that, text. There is the occasional voice over clip that will play during a cut scene and when it does it sounds just like they would from the show itself. It is unfortunate that they were not used more often, but it does provide a nice surprise when you an occasional voice inserted into the standard cut-scene.
Game play:
Dragon Ball Origins 2 takes an interesting turn on the franchise as they convert the game into a top-down brawling game. You traverse various areas around the world through set paths that are yours to navigate. Everything is strictly structured and yours to advance through with a relatively long story.
Movement is controlled through either the stylus, or the buttons, or even both if you make the choice. The buttons are a preferable option of control due to the way that you can easily string combo attacks and finishers together with ease as you battle through the various enemies you will be facing. Another little feature is that during story specific battles the game will turn into your standard fighting game side view as you do battle against your opponent old school fighting game style. There are a large amount of attacks at your disposal and a few crushing finishers as well, but this is further expanded upon by the additional characters you have a chance to play as.
Krillin, Yamcha, Eighter, and Bulma expand the fighting list with their own various attacks; the most unique of which are Bulma and Eighter. Bulma, as fans of the series may know, is far from any type of fighter but she makes up for this weakness by using firearms instead. This change in style creates various unique experiences that help break up what could possibly have been a repetitive experience.
Considering repetitiveness, the player’s ability to tolerate these types of things will eventually determine how much they enjoy the experience. The game has save points spread sporadically throughout longer levels, and none at all in smaller levels. This leads to further troublesome problems when the fact of small environmental puzzles come into play. Sure these puzzles are not very elaborate and they also create a bit of extra enjoyment, playing through the same puzzle a few times becomes a draining experience.
The reason you may have to do this, is because since the game has oddly placed save points, you will occasionally fight a very difficult boss and be defeated, and if there was not a save point anywhere in the level you will literally have to play the entire level again to reach the boss one more time. Rinse and repeat until defeated.
The amount of combat you will be doing on the other hand hardly becomes monotonous due to the fact that as you advance through the game you will learn new abilities and level up Goku’s character. This, and the fact you can change your battle style to that with his signature power pole creates plenty of opportunities for enjoyment.
There is even a bit of co-op available in the game, that is played locally. Plus a survival tower which places the player against bosses that must be defeated to advance further up the tower. Also a small feature included in the single player mode is the fact that you can collect various trophies during game play that act as collectibles. Not a very huge feature but something to do if you happen to be a completionist.
Overall:
Despite an occasional feel that the game was a bit rushed in the level design, you will find a very rewarding experience from Dragon Ball Origins 2. Fans of the Dragon Ball series will find everything they love and more from the story and the way it is told. Combat is extremely satisfying, though the lack of continuous save points is frustrating. DBO2 ultimately results in an enjoyable experience with the occasional stutter in enjoyment due to poor save point placement and odd level design.
