Check out Gameloft’s cinematic intro for their upcoming golf title Let’s Golf! 2 coming soon on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Trailer looks very promising. Let’s see if Let’s Gold 2 can hit a hole in one.
Utakata: The Ephemeral Sky Review
Utakata: The Ephemeral Sky
Developer: Althi Inc.
Genre: Adventure, Visual Novel, Mild Horror, Mystery
Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed)/iTouch
Released: Jun 03, 2010
Price: $4.99 – Buy Now!
Story:
I truly must hinder myself from revealing the storyline for Utakata: The Ephemeral Sky, due to the fact that it is something which must be experienced for yourself. In a small run down however, you play as Ayumi Nishina, a high school student who ends up traveling back to where he used to spend time as a child.
On the way however, a terrible accident occurs which throws Nishina into a whole new world of trouble, the alien world. There are many things that people wish to keep secret, and the darkness of the past can be overwhelming. Believe me when I say that these two phrases fit the storyline perfectly.
Utakata is quite a long game, but with it’s engaging storyline you will be hard pressed to put your iPhone/iTouch down. This is perhaps one of the best games you can pick to receive a full visual novel treatment instead of reading simply out of a book.
Graphics:
Ukataka plays similar to any Japanese visual novel if you may have experienced those. For those who haven’t the graphics are displayed through standing still backgrounds and the main character is rarely ever pictured. However the characters that are talking will be displayed via a floating image of their upper body. This is intentional though and the character’s expressions change to fit the proper mood of what they are saying.
There are also special scenes which are shown individually that expand upon either a flashback currently being talked about, or an important event at the time. These scenes are beautifully rendered and expand upon our knowledge of the current characters due to a new perspective.
The backdrop for the story contains a variety of still imagery that stays the same throughout text unless the character travels to a different area. The backdrops are designed well with some containing extreme detail. Some are even a bit spooky when it comes to the puzzle areas. Many of the puzzles have a spooky feel and the graphics portray this perfectly.
The puzzles are also well designed with little given away. The first puzzles the player comes across will be simply pressing three things in the proper order. However the environment that Althi has designed where the puzzles occur are very atmospheric and provide an eerie feeling as you advance through the alien world.
Sound:
Every word you see on the screen is just that, words. Unfortunately this very long story does not have voice acting for any of its characters. Not even specific phrases are said aloud for emphasis or character reaction to an event.
However the game does sport a nice sized album of background music that is available to listen to at any time if you so wish. This is accessible from the Albums option on the main menu. They have information on the background music including who originally composed it. There are no lyrics and some of them sound like elevator music. Bear in mind that the music itself is designed to be unobtrusive to the story itself.
Gameplay:
As you play through the story of Ukataka: The Ephemeral Sky you will advance by reading the storyline text as it is presented to you. There is no option to speed up the text display which is unfortunate for fast readers due to the original display speed being quite slow.
On the other hand, full text can be shown by tapping your finger on the screen. Bear in mind that this will occasionally cause you to skip a certain bit of dialogue. But if this were to happen there is a Log of all the previously said text right next to the text window.
Navigating through the menu’s is occasionally a pain as well, due to the fact that you can not simply tap which selection you want, but instead must slide your finger up or down to reach your desired selection. Then with a tap of your finger you are there, this is not a major cause for concern but does take getting used to.
The puzzles designed for Ukataka are very challenging, and have quite a large variety. There are puzzles which involve finding a secret code earlier before, those who require a certain combination of things done, and even a sliding block puzzle to solve as well. Each of these puzzles are navigated using your finger as the pointer guide, and then selected with a tap of said finger.
These puzzles only occur in the alien world which happens during specific parts of the story and tend to be quite freaky. There are noticeably odd things which occur during these sections of the game and many of the puzzles are spooky in good way.
Considering the amount of text you will be witnessing, and the fact that the game was translated from Japanese to English leads to some unfortunate translation errors. Many of them are barely noticeable, with only a small hint of mis-translation. There are times however that you will not know exactly what was meant due to the fact that certain words have been used completely out of context from what their meaning truly is. These are not game ending flaws by any means, but does cause for some mis-communication as certain phrases are lost in translation.
Overall:
Utakata: The Ephemeral Sky has one of the best stories you can find on your iPhone/iTouch and with the ability to always have it on hand, you will have this engaging storyline always with you. There are small issues with the control system, and the translation is not perfect either. Though these issues are barely detrimental when matched to the storyline.
Infamous 2 screenshots and trailer
Infamous 2 is an upcoming 2011 open world video game for the PlayStation 3, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.
Infamous 2 follows the events of Infamous with Cole MacGrath as the main protagonist once again. The game will take place in a new city called New Marais, a New Orleans-inspired city, and will involve Cole opposing the Beast. The game begins with Cole fighting the Beast and barely escaping with his life. He, along with his friend Zeke, flee to New Marais and prepare for Cole’s inevitable encounter with the Beast while combating The Militia, a shadowy group led by a man named Bertrand. The Militia has taken over New Marais in an attempt to keep all super powered or abnormal things away and do not take a liking to Cole. Cole will combat the Militia, explore New Marais, and learn about himself, Kessler, and The First Sons along the way.
Check out the screenshots and video trailer below
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Achievement unlocked E3 2010 reaches 45,000 attendees
E3 2010 is now over, and with that the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have shared the following information :
In total of 45,600 attendees from 90 different countries visited the 300 exhimitors at this years E3 2010 in Los Angeles.
“E3 Expo is the global stage for the interactive entertainment industry, and the 2010 show was reflective of our innovation, growth and vitality,” said Michael D. Gallagher, ESA president and CEO. “We are thrilled by the positive news generated by this year’s show, and we are looking forward to building on this great momentum for 2011.”
“This year’s E3 Expo has again delivered above our expectations,” commented Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager of Disney Interactive Studios. “With retail participation up 20 per cent, strong international media attendance, partnered with a dynamic show floor environment, E3 Expo has affirmed its status as the cornerstone event for our global video game business.”
Last year 41,000 attendees made their way to E3 2009. Its great to see that this year it was safely beaten. Lets hope that E3 2011 will be even better with close to 50,000 visitors. Capsule Computers will be there next year covering everything that happens just like we did this year !!
What was your favourite part of E3 2010 ? Let us know leave a comment below.
SEKIREI ~Pure Engagement~ – Anime Preview
In Japan a strange group of 108 different women and men (mostly women) have shown up with strange powers. They call themselves Sekirei, and are searching for Ashikabi to realize their true potential. This was the premise of the first season of Sekirei and after watching it myself I loved it. These women all have terrifyingly powerful techniques and powers ranging from control over water, super strength, advanced technology, and even the ability to drain life itself.
The organization called M.B.I. has let loose the Sekirei in the form of a game called the Sekirei Project, however enter Minato. A very calm and compassionate man who slowly started gathering Sekirei without even intending to. With six Sekirei vying for his constant attention and his love, prepare for quite a lot of comedic outcomes. The fighting scenes are very intense and well planned out in the first season. However as a warning, the Sekirei quite often have their clothing torn during battle, and though nudity never occurs it is hinted at.
The storyline of this second season will pick up from the last season, so if you wish to be completely in the loop for Pure Engagement, I would also highly recommend the first season as well. Expect to see Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ airing July 4th on Tokyo MX.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended for those who enjoy Harem style Anime. Though of course if you have seen the first season, you will definitely be coming back for the second season like I am.
Left 4 Dead 2 Headshot Mutation
How about some brains for your cereal this morning good sir? Well that is what you will have to do with this new mutation mode coming up for L4D2. The only way to defeat the waves of undead is by destroying the brain with a headshot or a nice decapitating swing of your weapon. Bear in mind that blowing parts of their body off is still possible, however is not deadly.
Plus if you dislike Versus mode because of the Defibrillators then you will definitely like the fact that Valve has started to modify Versus mode. They have made it that Defibrillators are limited to one per map, plus there is a 25 point deduction for every defibrillator used, which can be a crucial loss of points in very competitive matches.
Health kits were modified to be less numerous, and what is called the dynamic Pill conversion has been removed. Before if the first team was injured during battle, the Director would give First Aid Kits instead of Pills for each team, instead it will only remain as Pills.
To top off the healing modifications the Jockey was also adjusted with buffs. He will have higher DPS (damage per second) and his delay for hurting the survivors has been removed. Making the Jockey a force to be reckoned with instead of a possibly useless special infected.
Any of these different changes appealing to people? They sure are adjusting the healing factor down which will make it much harder to stay alive throughout the Versus mode. Put that together with the Jockey buff and now the Special Infected have a much higher chance of killing the Survivors.
Source: Left 4 Dead Blog
Your Gray will Matter this October
Fans of point and click adventure games can rejoice. As Gray Matter now has a relative release date stated by the creator herself.
Jane Jensen spoke to Joystiq at E3 this year and let loose a bit of information about this mysterious game that has long been pushed back. No longer though as the release date is no set for some time in October. Releasing for the Xbox 360 and the PC it will be interesting to see how it will stack up against other titles coming out in the season of the witch.
Source: Joystiq
Escape Whisper Valley – Latest PopCap release!
Everybody has seen a PopCap game. Whether it was Zuma or Bejeweled; I for one was hooked for weeks on Plants vs. Zombies! We all know how fun and addictive they can be, but at the same time we are amazed to see their simplicity compared to present-day titles!
Well PopCap have just released a new hidden-object game called Escape Whisper Valley! The objective sounds easy enough: finding the indicated objects in a variety of scenes, but as a person who has played the demo (which by the way is available on PopCap’s website) I assure you that things will get tricky pretty fast!
The story is that a sudden rock slide leaves you trapped in an abandoned village called Whisper Valley,so you have to find hidden objects, collect map fragments, and solve puzzles to find a way out. The game developers promised 25 different scenes with over 2000 objects to be found, seven different mini-games and three game modes (Escape the Valley, Unlimited Seek & Find, and a mystery bonus game).
Crackdown 2 Preview
Up until recently there seems to have been a lack of substantial information regarding Microsoft’s soon to be released sequel to 2007’s popular action hit Crackdown. With the July 2010 launch date rapidly approaching I was lucky enough to be selected to test drive what Microsoft are calling a ‘beta release demo’ of the aptly named Crackdown 2 and wanted to share those first impressions with you.
First and foremost the sequel features something of a changing of the guard with a new developer at the helm. Whilst the first game was conceived by Realtime Worlds and published by Microsoft, Crackdown 2 is set to be Scotland based Ruffian Games first foray into the console market. Fans of the original will not doubt be reassured to discover that the game appears to be in very safe hands, with many former members of Realtime Worlds now forming the Crackdown 2 team over at Ruffian.
To mark it’s return Crackdown 2 has undergone quite a facelift with a slick cell shaded appearance (think Boarderland) replacing the first game’s colourful mayhem. Whilst not a night and day change the striking new look certainly puts you in the mind of a gaming world that holds little real world limits and as such suits Crackdown 2 perfectly.
The demo itself packs in 30 minutes of action packed gaming with a unique twist. At the time of writing those playing the demo can earn up to 100 of the game’s 1000 achievement points prior to the actual games release – perfect for the ‘over-achievers’ out there! Unlocking all 10 of the achievements available in the current demo would appear to be a tough ask, with some possibly obtainable within the 30 minute time limit – but no harm in trying right? Perhaps confusingly any achievements earned will apparently not show up on your profile unless you actually play the full game when it’s officially released but it’s still a nice touch and quite possibly a time saver later down the line.
As you progress through each mission players will find their character levels up in certain areas. The way you level up, for example becoming more proficient in hand to hand combat or improving your shooting skills, seems to vary depending on how you are taking out your enemies. This nice little touch assists you in playing the game the way you want without forcing you onto a certain path. In addition to levelling up your attributes the demo also enables you a collect up to 500 orbs in and around the map area. The more orbs you collect the better your character’s jumping ability becomes, just as in the original Crackdown.
As a big fan of the first game I would say that Microsoft would appear to have another hit on their hands. Sure it isn’t a quantom leap over the first in terms of gameplay and there have certainly been a number of great sandbox games released since Crackdown first hit the scene three years ago but based on the demo Crackdown 2 is fun, fast and crazy addictive. Just like the recent Just Cause 2 demo which also featured a 30 minute time limit, this demo gives you the freedom to explore the sights and sounds of Crackdown 2 pretty much anyway you choose. Although seemingly more structured than Just Cause 2, I personally feel that once openly released this demo will prove equally as popular and go along way to selling the game to both Crackdown veterans and new players alike. Being able to unlock a handful of achievements early is the icing on the cake and a feature that I hope catches on for future demos.
There are three helicopter landing sites scattered throughout the Crackdown 2 demo. Securing two of the three helicopter landing areas, will unlock more missions the first of which requires you to engage in a little facilitated vandalism by destroying generators. In addition to the structured missions available during the demo you are also able to compete in races, of which there are 15 as far as I could tell. Most of these appeared to be checkpoint based with no opposition trying to stop you, although the presence of heavy traffic and shoot outs around the city made things much more interesting and exciting. As with the leveling up of your character, the more driving and racing you do you the easier you will find handling the vehicles. This is definitely worth persevering with as once your driving skills improve you are rewarded with a slew of upgraded vehicles.
The demo throws players in at the deep end and straight into the action with no tutorial to be found. One of the first missions requires you to secure a number of tactical locations that have been quite literally overrun by bad guys. Those of you who enjoy being under pressure and backed against a wall should be pleased to read that Crackdown 2 likes to bring the pain as I quickly discovered when after calling for backup the area I was in, which was already packed with enemy characters was now absolutely swamped as new bad guys quite literally poured in to counter my attack. All very well and good until I realised my character was as weak as a new born kitten as the demo gave you no opportunity to hone or level up my skills! That said with a little strategy the weapons that you provided with at the start are more than capable enough to take care of anything thrown at you, although the lock on system can be quite frustrating as it struggled to find the correct target on a few occasions and would often snap away and lock on to a nearest armoured vehicle instead.
WiiWare/DSiWare Releases For This Week Ending 18th June
Amongst the buzz of E3, Nintedo have still managed to whip up a selection of downloadable releases for this week. Here they are:
- BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE : WiiWare (1000 Wii points)
- Ant Nation : WiiWare (700 Wii points)
- Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera! : DSiWare (500 Nintedo DSi points)
- Pocket Pack Strategy Games : DSiWare (500 Nintendo DSi points)
- Combat of Giants: Mutant Insects – Revenge : DSiWare (800 Nintedo DSi points)
- Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro : DSiWare (200 Nintedo DSi points)
- Mario Tennis : Virtual Console (1000 Wii points)
This week sees Mario Tennis, originally on Nintendo 64, volleying it’s way onto the Virtual Console, for those looking for a Mario-spin on the tennis genre just in time for the tennis season. For those of you, like me, who did not get around to playing it through first time round, it looks very enjoyable, both single player and with friends.