Disney Fireworks (DSiWare: Disney, 800 DSi Points)
Drift Street International (DSiWare: Tantalus, 800 DSi points)
The downloads for this week are all pricey as they’re all fairly bulky, well, at least as far as downloads go. Only five games out this week due to their size. WiiWare and DSiWare are two a piece, with a further one for Virtual Console- Wild Guns, which was originally on the SNES, as indicated by it’s price.
Supposedly you play as a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt who is sent to the airborne city of Columbia to rescue a young lady named Elizabeth. She has been imprisoned in Columbia since childhood. You are required to form a close relationship with Elizabeth, and augment your powers with hers in an attempt to escape from Columbia before it falls out of the sky. Using Elizabeth’s powers however will make your progression easier, but weaken her own life force creating a choice of whether to keep her safe or progress more easily.
This is Bioshock, so you’ll have numerous powers and weapons at your disposal to fight battles both inside and outside the enormous city. Supposedly there is a grappling hook that you use to traverse as well.
Check out the teaser site – whatisicarus.com for more, and check out the trailer below.
Last time we had night vision goggles this time we have a RC-XD surveillance vehicle comes in this Call of Duty’s Package. This RC car is a fully working replica toy that you can mess about with, the bomb that is found within the game is absent however.
The RC car has a range of over 200 feet and a built-in remote camera which transmits images back to the monitor on the controller. Ill leave your imagination to figure out what you could do with that.
The Hardened Edition will be bundled in the Prestige Edition package with the car, and includes a special steelbook case and a card to redeem Xbox Live Avatar items and four extra co-op maps.
While the avatar outfit will probably be an exclusive, I am sure the Co-op maps will eventually peak their heads out on the xbox live marketplace as purchasable DLC.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 will be getting a Collector’s Edition when it comes out this autumn.
The special Edition of the game is packaged with an individually numbered original ‘Laser Cell’ artwork featuring ‘Hokage-Naruto’ drawn by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto. A soundtrack CD with the games music and an download code to unlock the game’s final character Minato are also included in the special Edition
This all comes in a special edition box and will launch at the same time as the standard edition of the game on October 19th, 2010 in the US. October 15th, 2010 if you live in the UK (you lucky buggers!).
Some other news you guys might like to hear:
Tekken 6’s Lars will appear in the game as a playable character in his Kishihimoto-designed garb.
There will be a Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 demo hitting Xbox Live on August 25th.
If you were eagerly waiting for Test Drive Unlimited 2 to come out, then I have some bad news. The game has been pushed back to a 2011 release window. This is perceived as bad news for some while being good news to others. Supposedly there were just too many games coming out around the same time as the original release. Too Many games?! How could that possibly be!? You can never have too many games.
“By moving the title’s release date to early 2011, we will be able to further advance the game and take into account consumer feedback to help ensure we deliver a great online lifestyle racing experience,” said David Nadal, Studio Manager of Eden Games.
One of my favorite games this year was Deadly Premonition. I enjoyed everything from the story to the B-Movie setting. Now PAL gamers will be able to get their hands on the unique title this fall thanks to publisher Rising Star Games. Here is an official announcement from Rising Star:
“Having seen how Deadly Premonition split reviewers’ opinions in America, gamers are itching to get their hands on it to judge it for themselves,” says Martin Defries, managing director, Rising Star Games. “We have high hopes for what can only be described as the most distinctive survival horror game that has ever been released – it’s going to be interesting to see how the game is received over here. It’s a cult classic in the making.”
Developed by Access Games, Deadly Premonition is an open-world game set in Greenvale, a secluded rural town in North West America. Playing as FBI Special Agent Francis York, gamers are charged with investigating the shocking, ritualistic and brutal murder of a local girl.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the quirky action title, from Destructoid giving it a 10/10 to IGN giving it a 2. I will say this, if you have not played the game, give it a chance. It may have a few flaws, but the story and characters feel very real and you are in for one of the most humorous and twisted games for the Xbox 360.
Come this fall, gamers in the PAL regions will be able to pick this title up and see what the buzz is about for a low price of £24.99. Deadly Premonition is already available in the U.S. and retails for $19.99.
Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera! is a flight simulation game which takes advantage of the Nintendo DSi’s built in camera.
Story
There is not a story in Face Pilot. You are a hang glider pilot and you move through various stages to accomplish certain goals. Each stage is made up of five objectives which you complete while earning medals to move forward in the game. Objectives include popping all the balloons in the stage, flying through certain hoops and hitting targets and many more other timed challenges.
Gameplay
Within the gameplay of Face Pilot lies many different areas. The first thing you have done is have your picture taken and it is pasted on a pilot of a hang glider. On the bottom screen, you will see your face with a snazzy helmet. As you move face, your pilot will move in that direction to give the flight simulation experience. Everything in Face Pilot is motion controlled with the DSi camera. How does this work out? Well, it’s kind of complicated.
Face Pilot gives two options of gameplay. The first in my opinion is much easier to use, and that is the table top gameplay where you sit your DSi on a flat surface 20 inches or so from your face and just move your head in the direction needed to climb up, dive, or turn left or right. Just simply sitting still will move you in a straight-forward direction.
This game requires patience and a nice setting in the background as at first, my white walls were clashing with my skin color and making detection of my movements error out quite a bit. Once I got in a proper setting, the game started to really take off. Every movement you make in Face Pilot is detected as you fly around through various stages. Popping balloons or going through targets is simple and actually quite rewarding. I didn’t notice any discomfort really as I thought that might be a factor due to the constant movement you must use with your face. You must stay within the camera or you will crash over and over. It can be a bit frustrating if the camera doesn’t detect your movement and your sent into a cliff.
The other way to play is handheld mode, where you mainly tilt the DSi to control your pilot. You still use your face, but instead of moving your head, you tilt your DSi to move your pilot in the direction needed. For me this mode was much more of a hassle and did not really work too well as steady hands are needed. I am glad that Nintendo incorporated both types of gameplay as each person who plays Face Pilot can find the mode that best suits them.
Graphics/Audio
As far as the graphics go this game does well with areas ranging from canyons to cities and other colorful 3-D environments. I can best compare this to Wii Sports/Sport Resort in many ways graphic and feel wise. Being up in the air while using the motion controls, it is important to have an environment that captures the true essence of flight for your hang glider. Face Pilot accomplishes this with no problem though and will make you feel like you are soaring through the skies in no time with the textures and view from the sky.
The audio was spot on. The sound effects from rushing waterfalls to the wind and other environmental noises really put me in the game. I also really enjoyed every tune that was played in the game. The music is really relaxing and goes perfect with your setting. Good music really isn’t anything new for Nintendo titles, but it was a pleasant surprise to see the quality HAL and Nintendo brought to the soundtrack for Face Pilot.
Overview
If you can get past the learning curve and complex and not always accurate way Face Pilot controls, I think this game is well worth the 500 Point price-tag. Face Pilot brings a whole new use for the DSi camera and can be rewarding and relaxing if you give it a proper chance. The music stands out above many other DSiWare games and I think that was worth the price alone and gives it a bit of the old Nintendo charm. Overall, Face Pilot is an innovative yet somewhat flawed experience but patience and having a proper playing area can lead to making the title shine to it’s full potential offering quite a bit of fun and unique experience.
I give Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera!
Activision announced the 11 latest artists and tracks that will make an appearance in the September release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
“Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock delivers an impressive 90+ set-list and we are happy to be introducing our fans to 11 bands that have never before been featured in a Guitar Hero game.”
The 11 artists and their tracks are as follows:
Anberlin – “The Feel Good Drag”
Arch Enemy – “Nemesis”
The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants”
Duke Nukem Forever is a game that has appeared and disappeared numerous times through the last bunch of years.
Once again more rumours for the game that doesn’t stay dead appeared today. Sources state that the game is actually still under development, but now at Gearbox (Developers of Borderlands).
Little is actually known about the game and has been in development for a VERY long time. Take-Two took 3D Realms to court for failing to complete the title in a reasonable time frame (reasonable being an extreme understatement).
The source has stated that Gearbox has picked up development of the title where 3D Realms had left off. Supposedly studio head, Randy Pitchford, indicated that he may be able to clarify the situation at this year’s PAX in Seattle.
Along with all this a supposed playable demo of Duke Nukem Forever would be available later this year.
Rumours are abundant around games, but this is a rumour that many people are hoping will finally be true. Do you see that “Rumour” tag in the title? That means we aren’t responsible for giving info that turns out to fall through the cracks, so no getting mad at us when you get disappointed once again.
Music games really do seem to touch base with every fan out there from rock to pop, country and now even music now coming from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musicals. Music from the famous “Cats” or the “Phantom of the Opera” will now be joining the already huge collection on content in the popular singing game.
Douglas Glen, Head of Digital for The Really Useful Group says: “With the video gaming sector having evolved from its male-dominated roots towards a more family-oriented demographic, we’re very pleased to partner with Microsoft in releasing some of the best-known brands in musical entertainment to their global Lips audience”.
From August 13th 2010, Lips players will be able to access the Andrew Lloyd Webber song packs through the ever expanding “Lips Music Library” (accessible through all titles in the “Lips” series) through Xbox LIVE, for as little as 160 Microsoft Points.
The following Game Add-ons will be available to download via Xbox LIVE:
August 13th
“Memory” – Elaine Paige (Cats)
“All I Ask of You” – Cliff Richard & Sarah Brightman (Phantom of the Opera)
“Love Changes Everything” – Michael Ball (Aspects of Love)
September 10th
“Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” – Elaine Paige (Evita)
“The Phantom of the Opera” – Steve Harley & Sarah Brightman (Phantom of the Opera)
“Any Dream Will Do” – Donny Osmond (Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat)
Someone needs to also send a note to Microsoft for classic TV themes to join the mix. Ya know, Chip & Dale, Duck Tales, or any theme from any 80’s sitcom. With the way releases are looking, anything seems to be possible at this point.
