Wrongly accused of causing the zombie outbreak that has overrun Fortune City what will Chuck do to clear his name, save his daughter and lead them both to safety? He has 72 hours and the clock is ticking.
Dead Rising 2 builds on the success of the original title adding co-op play, hundreds more zombies, all new environments, Psychos, and a brand new feature – Combo weapons. This allows Chuck to take two conventional items plus a roll of duct tape and construct awesome zombie killing weapons. Put simply, creativity kills.
Hundreds of thousands of gamers across the globe have already experienced the zombie slaying fun having purchased the Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network exclusive Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO. Since its release on August 31s, the title has achieved over 500,000 purchases and broke the previous record to become the best selling piece of content on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in a single week. Xbox 360 owners wishing to extend the Dead Rising 2 experience will be able to purchase the Dead Rising 2: CASE WEST, a new unique piece of content. This Xbox 360 exclusive, available after the launch of the main game, sees Frank West make a welcome return as he teams up with Chuck for co-op action in a series of all new cases.
Dead Rising 2 is available across Europe and Australia for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 now, September 24th, with the Windows PC version shipping on September 28th.
The title releases on all platforms in North America on September 28th and in Japan on September 30th.
Gameloft’s Gangstar : Miami Vindication for the Apple iPhone is the sequel to the Gangstar : West Coast Hustle which is a 3D GTA style open world crime game that has you stepping into the shoes of Johnny a dude on a mission to find his brother Joey who’s been kidnapped by some unknown criminals. As soon as Johnny arrives in Miami, these unknown criminals blow up his ride as to send him a message to “BACK OFF” but this only makes Johnny even more pissed and more determined to find out who has his brother and to take them down and get him back and thus our story begins.
Having played the original Gangstar : West Coast Hustle on the iPhone, I was excited to get my hands on Miami Vindication and see what improvements have been made. The original West Coast Hustle, even though it was very impressive with its 3D open world city to explore, it just didn’t feel like it was a living and breathing world. Unfortunately Miami Vindication has continued in its footsteps. The city feels too empty and lifeless; there is no hustle and bustle of a busy city with streets full of cars and citizens going by their daily life. Miami’s streets are empty with a few random cars driving around pointlessly and the same goes for the citizens, they prove no point and have no real connection to the world what so ever. I found this quite disappointing as I wanted to feel like I was actually in the game, living and breathing it.
The city in Vindication is quite large for a game of this style. Gameloft have improved the lighting and also the draw distance with being able to see buildings from further away with finer details appearing as you come closer to them. The car and character models within the game are average, with character animations lacking in depth. There is no lip movement when they speak between missions or cut scenes and no real detail has gone into making them look and feel life-like. The only improvement from the original is that characters and cut-scenes now have voice overs, so instead of just reading boring old text along the bottom of the screen you can listen to them plan their next mission.
The story line and dialog in Miami Vindication is a great improvement from the original. The missions are more entertaining and there are a lot more cool things you can do. For example one specific mission will have you taking pictures of criminals with the use of a camera. There are approx 75 missions that will keep you busy for hours. You’ll enjoy stealing cars, taking part in street races, killing gang members and even hijacking a hearse with a dead body in it just to piss off the rival gangs and to take you one step closer in finding your brother.
If you don’t feel like doing missions you could always drive, sail or fly around the city. Speed boats will allow you get from one side of the map to the other quite quickly. An open world game wouldn’t be an open world game without collecting collectables along the way. Take for example while on a boat you can find surf boards along the coast and in very well hidden spots. Collecting all of them will unlock an achievement, which I must say Gangstar Miami Vindication has quite a lot of and if you’re that kind of person that enjoys getting them, then this game will keep you busier a little while longer while you search every section of the map for them.
Weapons in Gangstar : Miami Vindication can be purchased from the options menu or at the ammo shops. Starting off with your fists, you quickly gain possession of more deadlier arsenal such as baseball bats, pistols, shotguns, Molotov cocktails, grenades, SMG’s Assault Rifles, Snipers, RPG and my personal favourite the Flame Thrower (burn enough baddies with this baby boy and you’ll unlock an achievement)
What about money you say .. Well let me give you a run down in this department. You collect money by completing missions, killing bad guys and also finding hidden silver briefcases scattered around the city. So while you’re looking for collectables (Surf boards and Tyers) you could also pick up some extra cash along the way. Unfortunately you can’t really do much with it. You can’t buy houses or spend them on fine ladies in the local strip joints but once you’ve collected enough of it you’ll unlock an achievement. Who said you couldn’t buy achievements with money. In Gangstar you can 😉
Just like in GTA sooner or later you’re going to get into trouble with the heat and you’ll need to get away from them. I have to say the cops in Gangstar are pretty laid back compared to cops in GTA Chinatown wars who are relentless and will not give you an inch of breathing space. Shaking them off in Gangstar is quite simple you’ll have a star (wanted) rating. To lower it you’ll have to drive or run around and find cop badges that are visible on the map located in the top left of your screen. Collecting enough of them lower your wanted rating to zero and you’re a free man once again.
Driving and Combat : Combat hasn’t changed much from the original. Tapping on an enemy will target them. Then depending on what weapon you have, all you have to do is press the fire/attack button to either punch or bludgeon them to death (baseball bat) or shoot them from a distance to end their miserable lives. A new feature thrown into the game is cover system. When you’re close to anything that can be used as cover (car, boxes, rocks etc.) pressing the cover button will let you go into cover and hide from bad guy bullets. It’s quite useful and does come in handy when you’re in tricky situations.
Driving does feel a little more stable from the original. You now have three options once you’ve car jacked a car, boat or chopper. The original Steering wheel, Slider options are fine and easy to use with the tilt being the newest addition to the control system. Tilting will allow you to fly a chopper by leaning forward and back and also a motorbike by pulling back to do wheelies. It’s all up to personal choice, so experiment on what you like best and then stick to it as you’ll need to master them to stand any sort of chance when taking on the more difficult missions later in the game.
One thing missing in the game is a GPS system. Even though the game world isn’t that big, and you really can’t get lost, a simple GPS system would have been perfect to guide you from one mission to the next without have to go into the map screen every few mins, especially at the beginning of the game as you’re not sure where and how to get to certain locations. It’s something were not used to. We have GPS’s everywhere we go. In our cars, on our phones and in other titles (GTA) that it would have been great to have it thrown in as well.
Gangstar : Miami Vindication is graphically an improvement from West Coast Hustle. Missions are more entertaining and voice over acting is also very much welcomed. But it does lack the firepower to take down other open world games currently out at the moment. The world is lacking life, action and crime and there isn’t enough happening to make it feel real. No GPS, No Emails, No Phone and not enough side missions to keep you busy. It does have collectable finding which will keep a few of you busy but there isn’t much of an incentive apart from unlocking achievements. If you enjoy a 3D experience full of car jacking, riding around popping wheelies, surfing the waves and flying through the skies in a chopper with killing and blowing up stuff, then Gangstar Miami Vindication is for you.
Do you like explosions, head shots and/or bullets? That is like asking, “Do you like oxygen?” This video showcases all three types of awesome as it demonstrates Electronic Art’s “Medal of Honor” Objective Raid game type. Insurgents try to capture two points, and the Coalition must defend these capture points. The PC beta will launch on October 4, 2010 and the full game will release in about 17 days.
Game: Mystery P.I. Stolen in San Francisco Publisher: POPCAP Games Developer: Spintop Games Genre: Puzzle Console: PC Buy or try the game: http://bit.ly/bSeXM2 Story
“A fortune in gold has been stolen and you’ve been hired to find and return it before the trail goes cold and it’s lost forever. Seek & find more than 2,100 hidden objects in 25 amazing San Francisco locations — from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury and Fisherman’s Wharf — and track down the stolen gold!”
You are a Mystery P.I. Yes, you are an expert at decoding pictures, and you have an opportunity to be a millionaire once more. (What happened to that 20 million you got in your last adventure?!) PopCap is back at it with Mystery P.I. Stolen in San Francisco, another sequel to the Mystery P.I.Series. Someone in San Francisco has stolen a plethora of gold, and it is up to you to find it. Find the gold in 17 hours, and 20 million is in your hand.
To be honest, the story in this game is pretty weak. There is an explanation at the beginning about the gold being stolen and your reward. There is also a fantastic puzzle at the end that wraps up the experience nicely. However, during the middle, there is literally no explanation. Even when you find clues, it doesn’t explain how it relates to the puzzles just solved. However, at the end, the final puzzle does make sense of many of the clues, but more of an explanation would’ve been appreciated in those long middle sections. This type of game obviously doesn’t NEED a story, but it begs the question why there is even a story in the first place. It would definitely be possible to just play the game “as is” without a story. The only reason I can think of for a story is to give the player an objective, and 20 million sure is good way to push you along.
Gameplay
Gameplay consists of selected a predetermined screen, like a trolley car, and then finding 10 items in that screen. Quickly spotting different items will net you a speed bonus. In addition to these 10 items, there is one key, one peace symbol and a flashlight to be found in each screen. Finding objects that have been right in your face all along is at once thrilling, humbling and funny. After two to eight of these screens you are tasked with solving a puzzle like Simon Says, Spot the Differences, Match Three or putting a jigsaw of a picture together. In the beginning, it was simple and addictive. Later, the game gets harder but still manageable. However, it loses its some of its addictiveness and begins to feel like grinding. Most all of the screens are reused at one time or another, and it can be very boring looking at it over and over again. On the other hand, this does have some advantages. For example, if you missed a key or peace symbol in that particular screen earlier, you now have a second or third chance to find it. Also, although the 10 items to be found are different, the screen doesn’t change. As a result, if you remember seeing an item last time around, you can very easily find it. The game’s final puzzle, as mentioned above, is a breath of fresh air, and it would be nice if they would have used more originality like that when they designed the full game. Although the game can get to be very boring, it is a nice way to relax without straining your brain cells too much. It could also be a very welcome addition to a road trip. Another way this game is fun is if you play with it a friend.
There are two other game modes as well. To unlock these, you must find each key and peace symbol. These modes consist of unlimited seek and find and the match 3 game. Unlimited seek and find, as its name implies, is going through the repertoire of 2100 items and trying to find each one. Match 3 involves matching 3 different symbols together. Clear the board by matching all the symbols. These game modes don’t really add anything new, but they do add some replay value if you are done with the main game.
One other complaint about the game was that occasionally some items would refuse to register that they had been clicked on. Even if I was sure that that was the right item, even if I used a hint, it would take many clicks to finally prove to the game that those items had indeed been hit. This was not a game breaker, but the game would subtract points if you clicked too many times without finding anything.
Sound and Graphics
The game’s soundtrack sets the mood of the game. I can’t really give an example of what it sounds like, but the Law & Order theme with a less dramatic feel would be about right. Although it drew me into the experience at first, having it go on repeat for 7 hours was tedious. The only other sounds are if you find an item, use a hint and when you complete a level or rank up.
The graphics are nothing to write home about, but they are also not the worst. However, they are filled with a large variety of pictures and items. Many of these are quite humorous. For example, an eye exam chart with the letters E3. Or a rhino in an Italian vineyard.
Overview
What Mystery P.I. Stolen in San Francisco reminded most of was an I, Spy book. However, this I, Spy book had some sounds and puzzles plus an inkling of a story. If you love I, Spy books, puzzle games or PopCap, you should give a try. Otherwise, look for something a little more exciting.
So now that we have had a taste of the first bit of Alan Wake DLC, The Signal, we now have what is being called the final piece of DLC that will be released for the game. Named “The Writer” the trailer states that it will finish the nightmare and end Alan’s journey throughout his nightmarish world and try to survive using various tactics, mostly revolving around his flashlight.
The DLC will cost your pocketbook 560 MSP, which for DLC is not a horrible price considering the usual going rate. In the trailer below courtesy of GameTrailers we see that Alan has gained mastery over the floating words and can use them in combat by causing objects to spring into being for his benefit. An old friend even shows up but in what way he will be in the nightmare is yet to be seen. But we will all find out when “The Writer” hits the XBLM on October 12th bringing even more horror to the month of October.
It’s the weekend now and it’s the perfect time to be lazy and not cook any food and go out for fast food. Now while your thinking about what type of food you would want to eat, Taco Bell is offering a tantalizing treat if you happen to purchase a kids meal though. They are offering a free copy of MySims for the PC, or a sticker case or MySims Sky Heroes poster.
Personally I’d request the game and not leave it up to chance considering the other options are a far cry lower than the game itself. We’ve seen Burger King create their own brand of games for the Xbox 360 that made them a decent income of money, though they were largely seen as a marketing tool. Bear in mind though that the promotion is only as supplies last, but if you feel like getting their new chicken flatbread sandwich and a kids meal to go with it, you might also get a game for your troubles. You can see the deal here on Taco Bell’s website.
I can imagine everyone reading this knows about the huge surge of casual titles online. I can’t even check my facebook page anymore without seeing someone needs their crops fertilized or their cow died, got hit in the mafia, the list goes on and on. These titles are highly popular (and strangely addicting) for gamers online and on mobile phones everywhere. Atari took notice to this casual gaming trend and have now announced Atari Games Online also known as Atari GO.
Atari GO initiative will support the development of new online casual and social games and help game developers navigate the increasing complexities of publishing online games. Here is a look at the official press release of Atari GO that Atari CEO Jeff Lapin announced earlier:
Thom Kozik, who recently joined Atari in March, brings more than twenty-five years of experience in games, technology and online beginning with Microsoft followed by leadership roles with Yahoo!, Bigpoint and K2 Network. Kozik has been leading this new initiative, focused on attracting independent developers and content distribution partners with Atari’s multi-platform approach to development, marketing and distribution. More than a dozen studios are actively developing new casual and social games around the Atari GO suite of services.
“Thom brings a wealth of experience and insight to his role here at Atari as he joins our management team during this high growth period in online gaming,” said Lapin. “We look forward to bringing modernised versions of our well-known games, such as Asteroids, and new original games to global online marketplace.”
“The programs, tools and support structures behind Atari GO allows developers to focus on making great games that can then be delivered globally,” said Thom Kozik, Executive VP, Online & Mobile at Atari. “Developers can already sign up for our programs and collaborate with us as we envision the future of cross-platform gaming.”
Atari Games Online will offer programs designed to connect great games to online gamers across a number of platforms:
The Independent Developer Program will cultivate new original games and games based on Atari’s deep catalogue of classic IP while supporting them with the strength of the Atari brand, marketing and platform support.
The Affiliate Program will enable popular independent sites to embed genuine online versions of Classic Atari games along with our new titles, directly into their site and share in the revenue.
The Distribution Program is focused on identifying and partnering with top portals, social networks and game aggregators to expand Atari’s audience.
Marketing and Platforms support will help developers with distribution, marketing, and metrics. Atari will also help developers navigate the increasing complexities of publishing on multiple social networks, sites and portals by assisting with registration, inventory management, monetisation tuning and advertising support. Complementing the announcement of Atari GO, the company is showcasing a new production slate of re-imagined classic games that will roll out in the coming months.
I could definitely get behind some official online releases of classics for sure and this may look to be targeted towards some casual, but I am glad Atari have made it clear that Atari GO will have a bit for both worlds of gaming. I think the true winners here will be the indie developers that Atari GO will employ to help jump start the program.
For more information about Atari’s online initiatives (ATARI GO) and developer, affiliate and distribution programs please visit: www.atari.com/go
Story
“The glorious high-definition chaos continues in Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, the highly anticipated arcade action FPS sequel to Serious Sam HD. The Second Encounter features single-play, deathmatch, and cooperative play mixed with brilliantly updated visuals and classic over-the-top action from the golden age of first-person shooters.
Brand new multiplayer modes include Survival, Capture the Flag, My Burden, and Coin-Op Co-Op for up to eight players, and over a dozen multiplayer maps make Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter a worthy successor to the original masterpiece.” [Via Xbox.com]
Sam “Serious” Stone is from the future, fighting in the past, in order to stop Mental and his horde of minions. Other than that subtle story line, Serious Sam HD: TSE doesn’t really have a story, but it doesn’t need to have one either. Unlike most games which try to slap on a story that is easily forgettable; Serious Sam places a bit of story as to why you are killing all these enemies, but focuses more on the gameplay aspect and the enjoyment it gives players by throwing tons of enemies at them for their slaughter happy needs.
Gameplay
Serious Sam HD: TSE is a twitch shooter. This pretty much means that the game throws tons and tons and tons (may I add another ‘tons’ in there?) of bad guys at you. These bad guys will try to kill you and you in turn have to kill them and make sure you don’t get hurt. The combat gets quite crazy and you will be jumping around a lot and shooting even more. Each opponent has unique traits, and they will all try to kill you at the same time. Dodging is important and killing everything is even more important.
Serious Sam doesn’t really require any thought processing and only requires a happy trigger finger and the ability to quickly dodge. This mechanic creates a game experience which is perfect for relaxing and just having a good old time killing tons of enemies. Of course there are harder difficulties for when you want a challenge, but the overall mechanic is still the same; Kill Everything.
There really isn’t much more to say about the gameplay. Use your immense arsenal of guns to kill everything in your way. The formula is a formula which succeeds brilliantly in what it tries to achieve and creates a pure “kill everything” experience. There is no need to worry about figuring out where to go, there is no need to find a certain item, there is only a need to traverse the level and kill everything in your path. Although occasionally you do need to hit switches and pick up keys, they are always located directly in your pathway.
Serious Sam HD: TSE also includes a bunch of online multiplayer modes, such as deathmatch and Capture the flag. These extra modes gives more to do within the game, but require people to actually be around to play as well. The life of Arcade online communities isn’t very long, so I don’t expect these to be populated for that long; however, what I have managed to play has been quite fun and hectic.
Audio & Graphics
The audio in this game is slightly odd. You don’t actually hear the soundtrack until there are no enemies left because you are so busy killing, and when there are no enemies left the music changes to something less epic. On the other hand, Serious Sam relies heavily on sound based cues in order for it to be played right. The type of sound tells the player exactly what enemy is approaching and lets the player dodge and shoot the opponent accordingly.
The graphics are really nice. There are tons of plants this time around. While the first game was pretty much just vast deserts; this time there are trees and tons of shrubbery. These additions to the scenery create a much more beautiful world. On the other hands, the enemy models seem out of place; but what can you expect when there are so many of them. The developers had to make some sacrifices in order for so many enemies to be attacking you and keep the engine running smoothly. You kill them so quickly anyway, and there are so many; you barely notice them before they turn into bloody body parts.
Achievements
I don’t often say this, but Serious Sam HD: TSE has an extremely bad achievement list. First off, the most fun part of this game is the online co-op, yet all the achievements that have anything to do with the story force you to play singleplayer. Next the multiplayer achievements are excessive and require a lot of grinding, and hoping that you can find a game. As we all know, arcade games usually don’t hold onto their online community for a long time (with some exceptions) and these multiplayer ones will take a while; particularly winning 100 Deathmatches. You could boost them, but no game should ever force you to boost achievements. So while the achievements will give you plenty to do within the game, they aren’t exactly fun to get. I’d suggest to ignore the achievement list and just have fun playing; because only a few people will actually get all these achievements, and those that do won’t enjoy it. Below is the achievement list:
Serious Beginner – 5 – Complete any level in single player.
Game Master – 15 – Complete the game.
Serious Sam – 25 – Complete the game in single player on serious difficulty.
Look, It’s a Secret – 20 – Find at least 80 secrets in single player.
Cathedral King – 30 – Complete The Grand Cathedral level on serious difficulty without dying or loading.
Coin-op Co-op – 15 – Complete the entire Coin-op cooperative game on normal or higher difficulty.
Capture The Flag Beginner – 5 – Win a CTF match with at least 2 players on each team.
My Burden Beginner – 5 – Win one My Burden match with at least 3 players.
Beast Hunt Master – 20 – Win a Beast Hunt match on all game levels.
Survival Beginner – 5 – Earn at least a bronze medal on any level in single player Survival.
Sam I am – 35 – Accumulate a total of 100,001 enemy kills and frags combined.
Overview
Serious Sam HD: TSE should be treated more like an expansion to the first game, rather than a true sequel. The developers have taken everything that works so well in the first game and added even more too it. There are new multiplayer modes to give a larger variety of gameplay, new locations to slaughter enemies in, and new weapons to slaughter enemies with. Serious Sam HD: TSE is meant for fans who just couldn’t get enough of the first game, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. Many people may feel like they are just playing more of the same, but Serious Sam is all about slaughtering lots and lots of bad guys, and when it comes down to it Serious Sam fills the slaughter quota extremely well. If you want it laid out in front of you, and want to treat it even more as an expansion; think of it like getting 3 new campaigns at $5 each. My score is based on that logic.
I give Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter
Picking up three years after Phantasy Star Universe Saga, this latest title sets out to bring the world of Phantasy Star to the PlayStation Portable. It brings an exciting new adventure to the PSP, with all new content and a return to it’s online roots. New to the franchise on PSP is Infrastructure mode and improved social interactivity features, integrated to improve the experience for players of the game.
Phantasy Star Portable 2 cummulates the series to its conclusion as players take on the role of mercenary to save the Gurhal system. Phantasy Star Portable 2 offers a gigantic dose of original content from new combat moves, weapons and character customisation options, a promising proposition for fans of the series and newcomers alike.
Phantasy Star Portable 2 is available on PSP now. Take a glimpse at the story trailer below if this game tickles your fancy and you’d like to know more.
This latest trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (which will hit the PSN and XBLA late 2010), showcases the Casino Street Zone. As you will see from the video, the game looks very fluid, and the Casino-theme, a concept already explored in many previous Sonic games, seems to work well, with a whole manner of cards and slot machines meeting you along the way.
