What if instead of muscle bound soldiers, they wore full suits of armor making them seem robotic? What if Gears of War was made by a Japanese company? Well we might be seeing something quite similar to that in this new game called Vanquish which is being produced by Platinum Games. The game is set for release some time in winter of this year.
My biggest notice is that there seems to be a lot more bullets flying around than your standard Gears of War game, as well as the most glaring difference. Rather than a chainsaw bayonet, it looks as if your hands can be infused with some type of energy and allow you to unleash your fury through your fists on your enemies. Looks to be quite promising, here is hoping that it will continue to stay as promising.
Square Enix announced today that it is partnering with Obsidian Entertainment on DUNGEON SIEGE 3, the sequel for the famous dungeon crawler series. With input from the original developer, Gas Powered Games, Obsidian Entertainment will develop the game with Square Enix as the game’s publisher.
DUNGEON SIEGE 3 will feature all-new coop modes (online and offline), highly customizable character classes, and a decision system, that will impact the player’s alliances, enemies and the culmination of the story.
The game will be available for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and PC. No dates were announced.
Below you can see the full Press Release and some Artworks:
DUNGEON SIEGE 3 is representative of Square Enix’s ongoing strategic partnership with Western game developers and its commitment to increasing its presence in those markets. The game will bring together the beloved aspects of the DUNGEON SIEGE franchise with Obsidian Entertainment’s expertise, to create an evolved action-RPG experience. In addition to its arrival on high-def consoles for the first time, the game will also feature an all-new co-op multiplayer mode.
Originally created by Chris Taylor and his critically-acclaimed studio Gas Powered Games, Taylor will serve as an advisor during the development of the game. DUNGEON SIEGE 3 will seamlessly blend intuitive action gameplay and a robust RPG system in an immersive world where every decision the player makes will result in consequences.
On his involvement, Taylor comments, “It has been a great pleasure to collaborate with Obsidian. They are a very talented developer who really knows what it takes to build a deep and engaging RPG experience, and I can’t think of a better group to continue the Dungeon Siege series”.
“It’s a distinct privilege and thrill to become a part of the DUNGEON SIEGE legacy,“ said Feargus Urquhart, CEO and Co-Founder of Obsidian Entertainment. “This partnership with Square Enix is a milestone for both Obsidian and the franchise, and the two companies’ strengths for compelling characters and storytelling will shine throughout DUNGEON SIEGE 3.”
“Square Enix is proud to partner with Obsidian Entertainment for DUNGEON SIEGE 3,” said Mike Sherlock, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Square Enix Europe. “The company has a history in making some of the most immersive and entertaining videogames and is a perfect fit to take the franchise forward and create a new benchmark for the action-RPG.”
Story
Torn asunder, the delicate balance of power between the kingdom of Ehb’s powerful factions has fallen apart. As one of the few remaining members of the disgraced protectors of the land, the 10th Legion, it is up to you to rebuild the once great Legion and stop Ehb from falling into darkness. Joined by a group of unique companions, you will travel through the striking land of Ehb defeating all manner of villains and beasts through a combination of heroic abilities, screen shaking magic and fearsome weapons.
DUNGEON SIEGE 3 seamlessly blends intuitive action gameplay, a robust RPG system featuring a large selection of abilities, an extensive multiplayer component and the depth of story Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment are known for creating.
Features
* For the first time, play DUNGEON SIEGE on high-def consoles
* Players will be able to adventure by themselves or with friends in co-op multiplayer
* Uncover a deep story that only Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment can deliver
* Pick from unique and highly customizable character classes with a wide range of abilities to choose from
* Recruit companions with unique personalities, abilities and views on the world around them
* Players will have weighty decisions to make that will impact their alliances, enemies and the culmination of the story
BioWare and FUNimation Entertainment announced today an agreement to create an anime feature film adapted from BioWare’s critically-acclaimed RPG franchise Dragon Age.
FUNimation is the leading distributor of Japanese animation in North America, production of the Dragon Age anime movie is slated to begin in May 2010, with a home video release in 2011.
Executive producer: Mark Darrah
Creative Director: Mike Laidlaw
Director of Original Entertainment: Fukunaga and Chris Moujaes (FUNimation)
“Anime is a great medium for us to continue the robust Dragon Age story. Partnering with FUNimation ensures that we are delivering the exceptional quality and entertainment value that our Dragon Age fans expect.” – Mark Darrah, Executive Producer for the Dragon Age franchise
“We are thrilled to be working with EA and BioWare on the production of the Dragon Age anime feature. We are going to be bringing the classic visual and storytelling techniques found in anime to create a film that will extend the narrative of the world BioWare has created.” – Gen Fukunaga, President and CEO of FUNimation.
Dragon Age has been selected as the first title in FUNimation’s slate of major anime movies to be developed through FUNimation’s Original Entertainment team since the announcement of the company’s co-production initiative in November 2009.
When originally released in 2009, Dragon Age: Origins won over 30 critics awards and was named “RPG of the Year” by the Academy of Arts and Interactive Sciences, Game Informer, G4, SpikeTV, and PC Gamer. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times described the game as ” . . . perhaps the best electronic game made yet.“
E3 is just over a week away and Capcom is getting prepared for an amazing show this year. And looks like they have finally confirmed their exciting lineup to everyone attending E3. If you manage to make your way over to E3 this year stop by the Capcom Booth to check out these great games.
Capcom will have brand new content and hands-on opportunities for a number of their games including:
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Ōkamiden Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Heroes Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Dead Rising 2
Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO MotoGP 09/10
Not sure what but Capcom have announced that they have a couple surprises in store so make sure to visit the Capcom Europe Blog for all the latest news on Capcom at E3.
Not a pretty bad line up of games from Capcom this year. What are you guys looking forward to playing from that list ?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Resident Evil collided with Maniac Mansion ? What sort of mayhem would this cause ? Would it rip apart the world we live in ?? Would it create a survival horror of 8 bit proportions – the likes of which no one has ever seen ?
Well it looks like our prayers have been answered. Animator Major Neese has created a 4 part Resident Evil The Maniac Mansion Incident animation that pretty much covers the entire story to a tee of the first Resident Evil with the use of backgrounds and props and character models from Maniac Mansion. If you’re a fan of either Resident Evil or Maniac Mansion, watching this is going to make you very happy indeed.
All 4 episodes are below. Click on the play button and enjoy.
Episode 1 :
Episode 2:
Episode 3 :
Episode 4 : Finale
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HOW GOOD WAS THAT !!
Make sure you check out Major Neese on his Youtube page. Leave him a comment or two and also subscribe to his page .. who know other cool animations he might unleash upon the world
Crime Scene Publisher:South Peak Platform: Nintendo DS (Reviewed) Genre:Puzzle, Detective, Mystery Release Date:2-16-10 Story:
You play as a freshly hired forensic detective, Matt Simmons. The whole problem is, the only reason there was even a job opening in the first place is because the man who did your job before you, is dead. Not only that but your first case is to figure out exactly what happened to the man and his wife.
You are not alone however, as your partner Pete have a large amount of tools to discover what crime took place. In this game be prepared to find out that not everything as it seems, as nearly every case is different than the initial analysis.
The characters themselves though that you will work with and interview are unfortunately very bland. Their personalities are far from unique with many of the characters suffering from extreme similarities that you will be wondering who put on a disguise in this mystery. It would have been more interesting to see characters with a full range of emotions dealing with some of the crime scenes and discoveries throughout the story.
Also there is no fluid storyline throughout the game beyond the characters in which you play. None of the five cases themselves have any connection with one another which is a shame due to the fact that it could have been much more intriguing if it ended up becoming some sort of conspiracy.
Graphics:
The crime scenes you will experience are about as dark and gritty as you would find in a real life crime scene of that nature. Couple that with the extensive amount of tools at your disposal that look just as their real life counterparts everything in the game has an acceptable appearance. But the characters themselves never move. There isn’t even a bit of mouth movement on said characters, they are simply a bit of still art.
Sound:
As far as sound goes in the game there are no voice overs provided. Being that the game is very text heavy, sufficient voice over work would probably have pushed the limits of the DS but it would have been a nice addition to help break up the monotony of the background music.
If you’ve ever stayed in an elevator for a long enough time you would hear plenty of various bits of music you’d hear in this game. The music is completely in tones without any actual instruments playing so it is hard to call it an instrumental. Then again there is also no vocals; while this doesn’t take away from the game or distract from solving the mysteries it would not hurt to put some form of variety in the music department.
Gameplay:
Now if you have played any point and click adventure games in the past, you should know roughly what to expect in South Peak’s Crime Scene. Though they have also included a variety of mini games to help solve the crimes as well; by gathering evidence, analyzing it, and even reporting it to your boss.
Unfortunately due to the fact that you are newly hired, there is literally only a tad bit of information given to you on how to perform said mini games. Your partner will walk you through the finer points of each bit of evidence gathering and introduce new tools which will be unlocked as you go along. This is a problem however as when you first begin to learn how to use a brand new tool; you will make a lot, and I mean a lot of mistakes. There will be times that you will follow the first set of instructions only to mess up later on due to the simple instructions provided.
Now this is all well and good, if only there was not the factor of credibility involved. As in any job in the real world if you make too many mistakes there are consequences and the same can be said for Crime Scene. When you begin a case you have a blue bar that contains a certain amount of credibility, and when you perform tasks incorrectly the bar drops down while performing certain tasks correctly will raise your credibility.
Not only that but you will be graded on the end of each chapter of a case by how much credibility you have remaining. This then equals out to be your final grade for said case. Not only that but due to the demanding need for accuracy in a forensic detective’s line of work if you’re credibility falls to zero, you will be fired and it will result in a game over.
Thanks to the trial and error way of learning how to advance through the mini games, certain parts will require multiple attempts simply due to failing too many times. This could have been solved if there was an additional tutorial mode or practice mode so players have the chance to actually learn how to perform the actions in the game without worry of losing credibility.
Of course enough about how your colleagues see you, how about how you see the outcomes of the crimes? Arriving on the crime scene you will find quite the gruesome scene. Though you must progress by looking around the screen with your stylus and zooming into various parts of the scene when the pointer turns into an eye to investigate further.
You can only investigate areas that will contain an important clue towards the case and then begins the various mini games. Each mini game will contain a variety of forensic tools to find the evidence for the case. Such tools are cotton swabs for fluids, a pair of tweezers for bullets and fragments, fingerprint dusting kit, and a scalpel. Later in the game your tools become much more high tech, including a light to detect dried fluids, and to pull footprints off of a floor.
Of course pulling various bits of evidence out of the crime scene is all well and good but what do all of these various clues mean? After gathering all the evidence available, you must analyze the clues you have found. This is done through another set of mini games, such as taking pictures of a bullet and analyzing the ballistics to determine what type of firearm it came from. Then comparing various charts to match the pictures together and determine a murder weapon. Or matching fingerprints with those in a database, requiring exact overlays of the two prints to determine whom they belong too.
These mini games work well within the game and even with the large amount of time you will spend playing they will not begin to feel boring due to the sense of urgency you will feel to solve the case. There is another issue however; due to the fact that the DS is not the most accurate of touch screen recognition with the stylus. Precise movements on the touch screen will sometimes falter and result in credibility loss when you yourself performed the action correctly. The tweezers and the cotton swab are the most criminal in this case. Both of these tools require precise motion which is in turn can force many credibility losses.
Overall:
Though it has its flaws, Crime Scene by South Peak is a point and click mystery game with quite the adult feel to it. There are some problems when it comes to recognition and the various characters you will meet in the game have as much of a personality of the bodies you are investigating. The surprisingly gritty storyline is a major draw for this game due to the amount of realism shown throughout the game.
Singleplayer / story
“Blur is the ultimate racing experience, dropping you into heart-pumping, electrified in-the-pack action with 20 cars targeting the finish line and battling each other as they trade paint. Intense power-ups, including the ability to blast other cars out of the way with huge bursts of energy, as well as defensive shields, nitro speed boosts, and landmines create realistic damage and destruction. “[Via Xbox.com]
In all honesty, there is no story. It feels like the creators made an awesome multiplayer experience and slapped on a singleplayer that copies the multiplayer experience but with really crappy AI. So this little part will discuss the singleplayer and the next part will discuss the multiplayer.
The singleplayer mode takes everything that is awesome about the multiplayer and copies it. The only problem with copying a multiplayer experience onto a singleplayer experience is that it translates horribly onto AI. The AI doesn’t think at all when it comes to power ups. They will either use it, or store it. There are no strategies for them. This is why I will focus entirely on multiplayer during the gameplay portion of this review, because if you are going to buy this game buy it for the multiplayer experience.
Singleplayer, on the other hand, consists of a bunch of tasks that you must get lights from. Complete in first, second, or third place for 5, 4, or 3 lights respectively. There are 2 more lights for completing the fan run in each level, and hitting a specified fan target. The only thing that ruins the singleplayer is the predictable AI. The AI isn’t as random as your average online player and this completely ruined the hectic feeling I found in multiplayer.
Mutliplayer / gameplay
Blur is all about strategy. Use powerups to attack, and save powerups to defend; all this while driving at 180+ Miles per hour. The game can also be played randomly and brutally, but you will find yourself constantly being shunted or barged.
There are a number of powerups. All of them do a specific task, but none of them a restricted to only attacking or defending. Depending on how you use the powerup and a little bit of imagination determines how far you get in a game. A shunt which can be used as a homing ball of fire to hit the opponent in front of you can also be used to counter another shunt locking onto you. Shield, which seems pretty self explanatory, can also be used to nullify the damage and slow down that occurs when you hit walls. Shield is the best tool when taking sharp turns, so you can glide on the wall rather than slowing down.
As you progress through the game you will unlock cars, mods, and game modes. There are a few problems with this unlock system; however, the problems cause the unlock system to be almost pointless. First off, multiplayer and singleplayer are governed by two different ranking systems, which means you have to unlock everything in singleplayer as well as multiplayer. You can also unlock many cars, but once you find your favorite car there won’t be much switching. Most people have one or two cars per class and that is it. There are tons of cars but only a few are actually use. It is a real shame, but it is true. Finally you can unlock more game modes as you rank up. Problem with this is as you progress higher less people are at that rank so less people play those game modes. The original 3 game modes are the most populated, and they are where most people spend all the game playing in.
Splitscreen multiplayer is awesome in this game. The developers were extremely thoughtful when they set up the options. Since you go to friends houses and bring the game with you, you don’t want to have to unlock everything at their place or bring a memory card to transfer your account and unlocks over. The developers have pretty much given you everything in splitscreen so you can cater the game the way you want it. They give you every single car, every single track and tons of options to optimize the way you play with your friends. Blur is a lot of fun with a group of friends. You’ll always remember those moments when that one girl screams in your ear as she gets shunted from behind or your friend breaks your controller in excitement as he finally beats you in a race. (Those two moments actually occurred with me) The ability to control what powerups are present is also a lot of fun, if you buy this game you should try a match with only lightning attacks.
The beauty of Blur comes out when you realize that you just made it out of a huge cluster of cars unscathed. As you swerve around a corner and then just barely avoid a mine lying right in front of you. As you swivel between 3 lightning attacks that everyone behind you just used. These hectic and crazy moments are what make Blur so much fun. Even when you have the lead, one false move or accident can cause you to lose it. Even to the last second of the race anyone can use an attack to cause you to fall behind. I’ve been victim way to many times to hitting a lightning right before crossing the finish line in first and falling back to third place.
Graphics and Technical Issues
I’ve been reading around, and people are actually complaining about the graphics in this game. Are you crazy? Seriously?! Sure, the graphics aren’t on par with some of the more “Realistic” racing games (Quotes on Realistic, because you are still playing a video game). There is a reason for these reduced graphics. The system can’t handle it. The console or computer you play on only has the specs to handle so much. Bizzare Creations reduced the overall graphics in order to support more powerups and explosions happening on screen at one time. While you may take it for granted that 15 of your opponents just blew up at the same time, there is actually a limit to how much is happening on screen at once. My friends and I put together a little experiment. We managed to set the experiment up to unleash 20 lightning at one time and a whole bunch of shunts. Once the graphical limit was hit, the shunts would fizzle out and do absolutely no damage to the other players and the lightning strikes would stop occurring.
Keep in mind that the situation above is literally impossible to manipulate in an actual game, and was only possible to acquire with only the shunt and lightning powerups turned on and having them set to permanently be up everywhere on the map. With the game set up like that, my friends and I were able to sit on the powerups and spam the button to release them. It’s nice to know that Bizzare actually foresaw a situation this hectic happen in a real game. The ability for so much to go on at one time is what makes the multiplayer Blur experience so much fun.
Achievements
Blur has a fun achievement set up that shows the requirements to unlock every achievement in game. The set up is called stickers, and each sticker has certain requirements to hit before the achievement is unlocked. This system is very cool, and enables there to be multiple tasks per achievement. The achievements are not difficult and just take time and some luck at times. The hardest is probably getting all the lights on the hard difficulty in singleplayer. Overall the achievements are pretty easy and just take time to achieve.
Wreck Tee – How to obtain: Wreck your first opponent
Sticker Tee – How to obtain: Complete the Sticker Book
Legend Tee – How to obtain: Unlock the first Legend Rank in Multiplayer
Friend Rechallenge Tee – How to obtain: Beat a Friends Rechallenge
Showdown Tee – How to obtain: Beat all Showdowns
Overview
Blur truly is Mario Kart for big boys. It takes all the fun of Mario Kart and makes it faster and more hectic. While the multiplayer is a lot of fun, the singleplayer seems tacked on and isn’t worth it. Blur is one of those games you buy solely for the multiplayer experience. Beautiful locations, fast cars, and everyone trying to kill you makes for an awesome racing experience.
I give Blur
Pros
An awesome multiplayer experience
Social Networking capabilities
Fun on the couch multiplayer
Cons
A lot of cars, but only some of them are good
Singleplayer is a clone of multiplayer but with AI
Unlocked stuff doesn’t transfer between singleplayer and multiplayer
Blur has a fun achievement set up that shows the requirements to unlock every achievement in game. The set up is called stickers, and each sticker has certain requirements to hit before the achievement is unlocked. This system is very cool, and enables there to be multiple tasks per achievement. The achievements are not difficult and just take time and some luck at times. The hardest is probably getting all the lights on the hard difficulty in singleplayer. Overall the achievements are pretty easy and just take time to achieve.
Below is the latest press release, and a trailer for the upcoming Red Faction game, set to release on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC in March 2011.
It seems they are going in a horror direction, but you never know. The horror feel could be just the way the trailer is presented. It is also a sequel to Red Faction: Guerrilla. If you don’t have Red Faction: Guerrilla, I’d suggest to buy it, it is pretty cheap now. Go get it!
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THQ Inc. today announced the next title in the award winning Red Faction® franchise is currently in development at internal studio Volition, Inc. and is scheduled to ship for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC in March 2011.
Red Faction®: ArmageddonTM moves beneath the surface of Mars as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As Darius Mason, players fight to save humanity from an even greater evil that threatens to extinguish all life on the planet.
Leveraging Volition’s groundbreaking Geo-Mod 2.0 technology, Red Faction®: ArmageddonTM offers never-before-seen physics-based weaponry that redefines gameplay in the shooter genre. Utilizing Darius’ Nano Forge abilities, players are presented with a wealth of new strategic options including reconstruction technology and the Magnet Gun in their battle to save humanity. From lava tubes to ice caves, gamers
will discover a new playground for epic battles in both the single-player campaign and multiplayer co-operative modes.
About Red Faction: Armageddon
Half a century after the Red Faction resistance freed Mars, the red planet again becomes a battleground. Colonists struggle for survival in the underground mines after the surface is rendered uninhabitable. When Darius Mason, grandson of revolution heroes Alec Mason and Samanya, unknowingly releases a long-dormant evil, Armageddon is unleashed on Mars. As settlements are torn asunder, only Darius and the Red Faction can save mankind. The battle will take them to the core of the storm-blasted planet through ice caves and lava flows until they are face to face against the unspeakable threat. Red Faction: Armageddon expands on the critically acclaimed, best-selling franchise with new, groundbreaking challenges. You are humanity’s last hope for survival.
Shinji Mikami and his team over at Platinum games have been hard at work, and now is the time to peel back the curtain!
Check out the first Vanquish trailer to feature in-game footage:
Details :
Directed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, VANQUISH is a sci-fi shooter that sees players take the role of Sam, a government agent kitted out with a futuristic battle suit. A versatile fighter with a huge arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, Sam also has an array of martial arts skills that he can use to take down his robot enemies.
