Radiangames, a developer that strives to create a game a month for Xbox Indie games, has released their new game, Fluid. Players must collect all the dots while avoiding enemies like jellyfish. Collecting power-ups like power pills, vortices, speed pads, and teleporters will help you across the 35 levels available in the game. You can try Fluid right here or you can buy it for 80 MS points ($1.)
Luke Schneider of Radiangames says,“More than any game I’ve made in the series, Fluid has to be played to be properly appreciated. The fluid controls, intuitive gameplay, and flowing graphics combine to form a gameplay experience that feels unique and familiar at the same time.”
It all started on 8 December, 2006: the launch date of the Nintendo Wii. It was quite literally an overnight success with people queuing for days outside stores, sprawling across the streets with their deck chairs and sleeping bags in tow, almost like a group of disorientated campers who had got lost and ended up in the city.
70 million. That is the total number of Wii consoles sold as of March 31, 2010. But these are just the overall sales. It’s sales for the first week are equally impressive if not more so, and afterwards this prosperity for Nintendo only continued, with the Wii remaining sold out for months. It became a rarity, and if people happened to come across some that were in-stock, Wii’s were so sought after, people often picked them up and in turn, flogged them online at inflated prices for a tidy profit.
Naturally, Nintendo’s rival companies, Sony and Microsoft wanted their share of the success. They saw the opening to the new marker of casual gamers, as well as the appeal to their more experienced fans, and decided to seize the opportunity with their respective technology.
Sony had experimented with motion control in the past, with the various EyeToy games for PlayStation 2, and even the age-old Dualshock controller, when integrated with the PlayStation 3, had the added feature of tilt-sensitive controls. However, it was only when they announced the PlayStation Move, that Sony revealed their hand and truly entered the battle for superiority in motion control.
Moreover, after Microsoft witnessed Nintendo’s success with the Wii, they too followed suit and entered the motion control competition in the form of Project Natal. This, of course, was soon renamed Kinect for retail purposes and looks reminiscent of EyeToy, only with much greater capabilities due to advances in technology. It’s release is inbound and I will reserve my judgement until then, though things remain unchanged.
Here we are now, the calm before the storm, a moment of stasis before a frenzy of motion. What will this movement mean (pun intended)? Whichever way you look at it, gaming has a new direction, one of motion control. You only have to glance at some Wii sales figures to see that it appeals to the masses. Not only this, but motion control promotes a healthier and more active lifestyle which society craves. The question that remains is whether or not, as a result of the development in motion control, the controller as we know it will disappear? How would you all feel about controller-free gaming in the near future? Or will there always be a place for the control pad in the gaming industry?
Feel free to voice your opinions via the comment section below.
Club Nintendo has been a great way to score free swag since the launch a few years ago. With Mario’s 25th anniversary upon us, Nintendo has now added some new Mario-themed rewards to the catalog to celebrate. If you have never heard of the Club Nintendo rewards system, each first party game comes with a voucher with a unique code to be entered. Each voucher contains a set number of “coins” that can be used to redeem items such as Nintendo themed stationary, posters, and even the two Game & Watch collections for the Nintendo DS.
Here is a look at the official announcement:
Starting on Oct. 20, members will be able to redeem their Club Nintendo Coins for a special “Evolution of Mario” screen saver and four limited-edition pins commemorating 25 years of Super Mario Bros. fun.
The “Evolution of Mario” screen saver features game-play footage from Mario™ games throughout the history of the series, from 1985’s original Super Mario Bros. to this year’s acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy™ 2. Members will be able to download the screensaver for 10 Club Nintendo Coins. This is the first time an exclusive screen saver has been offered as a Club Nintendo reward. The four commemorative copper pins featuring original 2D Mario artwork will be available for 450 Club Nintendo Coins.
It is great to see some new items added as it isn’t often when the catalog gets an update. Additional details about these and other Club Nintendo rewards, as well as how to become a member of Club Nintendo, can be found at http://club.nintendo.com. For more information about the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., visit http://mario25.nintendo.com.
Bad dudes are screaming around the Seacrest city in their new sports cars. What is a police officer gonna do? Most likely he will bust out a car of his own, and then use special carSWAT maneuvers to bring it down. Do you have what it takes? You will be able to find out when the demo hits on October 26, 2010. The full game intercepts a release date of November 16, 2010 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Will you be the law, or the lawless? Whatever you decide, just don’t hit the Seacrest billboard. The one with that host of that show, ya know?
Your sibling is kidnapped, and it is up to you to find him/her. You are allowed to choose at the beginning which sibling you want to play as. Turns out, your sibling’s costume looked like a candy corn, and monsters have a thing for candy. Who knew?
I was expecting a corny story, but it was actually quite good. Sibling rivalry stars as the main depth to the story. But fighting monsters is the second act. Many various characters turn up to help you. Most of the lines that the characters say are pretty funny. However, don’t expect gut busters. Instead, expect some irony, subtlety and outright clean humor. They may make you chuckle or smile, but the charm the characters exude and not the lines they deliver is where the story really shines through.
Gameplay
Costume Quest is a fairly simple RPG. You lead your characters through various stages and battle monsters, solve puzzles and find neat items.
Combat is standard turn based quick time events. However, through the game you will collect various costumes. These range from Robots to Knights. Each costume has a unique power and special ability. Once a character is wearing that costume, he inherits the costume’s traits. For example, the knight costume has a shield. Similarly, when wearing the knight costume, your character can use a shield in the regular world to protect himself from waterfalls. In combat, the shield is self explanatory. The costumes are easily one of the strongest parts of the game. They all have awesomely original characteristics. Just wait until a certain green, patriotic statue is unleashed; you will be awestruck. Overall, the combat is fun. Timing each strike perfectly or deciding which enemy to attack next is addictive. Watching each costume’s animated attack is also really cool to see. It is quite time consuming to find the costumes though, and I ended up using only about 5 different costumes throughout the entirety of the game. It seemed strange that each attack animation only had one single animation. It eventually got boring watching all these over and over. Also, enemy variety is terribly lacking. Most of these enemies are really easy as well, eventually making combat merely a matter of mindlessly pressing buttons. At least until the last boss, which will require some grinding, and the finding of missed collectibles. Even though there is some some deep customization of the costumes, like stun moves or increased dodge, there is potential for much more.
Puzzles are super easy. Think Lego Star Wars, but easier. However, the game may have been better off adding more of these puzzles. Why? Combat seemed to take over the majority of the game, and more exploration or puzzle solving would have gone a long way in balancing the structure of the game.
All in all, the sheer idea and execution of the costume system saved the game. It is an incredibly creative idea that was fairly well implemented. Adding more depth to the system may have gone a long way though.
Graphics and Audio
The best way to describe the graphics is: simple. Only essential parts of the game are fleshed out. Even then, most areas are devoid of too much detail. And that is not a bad thing. Indeed, for the game that Costume Quest strives to be, simple environments are absolutely fine. Each environment has what it needs and nothing more, making the game not feel overwhelming. However, it was easy to get the characters stuck on certain pieces like bushes or blocks of concrete. Also, quite a few of the areas had pointless detours that added nothing to the game. To give an example, the “town” area had a three sided box of bushes that seemed like it had a point until you get to the end and found nothing. This may have been purposeful to throw gamers off the track, but it was irritating nonetheless.
Audio in Costume Quest is also very simple. Although the soundtrack is good, the only places you are going to notice it is during or after battle. Sound effects are also present, but don’t really add anything to the feel of the game. Even the characters have no voice acting. While the lack of voice acting adds to the feeling of game, it still sucks to have to read in a video game.
Overview
For the price of $15, Costume Quest is an interesting buy. The story was oddly emotional, and I am not really sure why. It wasn’t really meant to be read into a lot, but it still had protagonists that I cared about. Charm, wit and personality are the words to sum it up. Gameplay may be lacking in a few areas, but the enjoyable length of the game counterbalances feelings of tedium. A lazy afternoon or a case of the RPG munchies is the perfect time to play Costume Quest.
I should probably change the image from Rockband 2 to Rockband 3. For now that in game image will have to do until I’m not feeling lazy, which may never happen. Anyway, you should keep a special lookout next week as free DLC is coming your way, or at least towards anyone who plans to buy Rockband 3.
The Doors RB3 FREE Launch Pack – Free
“Light My Fire” X (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
“Riders on the Storm” X (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
“Touch Me” X (Free from Oct. 26 – Nov. 1 in game, features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass)
The Doors Greatest Hits Special Edition – £7.49/€10.99/$14.99
“Hello, I Love You”
“L.A. Woman”
“Love Her Madly”
“Love Me Two Times”
“Peace Frog”
“People Are Strange”
“Roadhouse Blues”
“Soul Kitchen”
“The Crystal Ship”
Remember, those three songs are free within the game, so if you buy the game be sure to download them while you can. They will only be available for a short time; so pick them up while you can.
Ok, I lied. You have technically already met him. The mercenary has popped up in previous character videos and he isn’t exactly new. On the other hand, in this video you get to see him in action. You get to see him in all his Renaissance glory! You get to see him completely own three guys, one after the other.
Enjoy the video, and be ready to stab your friends in the back on November 16th in the US and November 19th in the UK and Europe.
Loco is quite a good word to use while describing this game. Take guns and combine it with Lunatics, and you create “Gun Loco”. The most recent video for the game introduces another character by the name of Mifune. This guy is flat out psychotic. He runs around in nothing but a bunny head, bow tie, and suspenders. Check out the video, and try to keep your insanity intact while you wait for the release of the game somewhere in 2011.
I’m currently streaming some Monster Hunter Tri with my good friend Shawn Baxter (Snow from the Capcom forums). Come join us if you want/can, otherwise stay tuned to see how a true Monster Hunter kills some giant beasts. As always, check here if you want a request done, I’ll see what I can do.
The Jamaican Bobsled Team is looking for a special individual that has what it takes to join the slopes and take the world by storm. In this unique title, Sled Shred featuring the Jamaican Bobsled Team is a racing game at heart with a surprising amount of content at a budget game price. So how is the game and how does it play out when it comes to sled racing? Here is my review.
Story
The main story mode starts with three kids sledding down a hill and into the path of Coach Mon. Coach Mon is looking for someone with serious skills to participate in the Winter World Games with the Jamaican Bobsled Team.
The story is quirky, a bit stereotypical, but honestly fun for the most part. In the few cutscenes that come between races, Coach Mon will drill you on what to expect for the next set of events and your off. Not too much to it, but the characters all have some charm with their personalities and while a bit cheesey, they keep the game interesting and add some life to Sled Shred throughout the experience.
Gameplay
Downhill sledding has not been approached too many times in gaming, and the best comparison to Sled Shred in this area that I can think of is the penguin race from Mario 64. There are 4 different sleds you can use in the game which each play very differently. I will get to those in a minute though. First let’s talk about the races themselves.
Story Mode is the mode you need to start with and due to nothing, not even power-ups being unlocked for other modes from the start, this mode was the first I jumped into. The main objective in story mode is to get 1st or 2nd place out of the 4 racers or teams you are up against while traveling to new maps as your progresss . Using the WiiMote, Classic Controller, or Balance Board, you slide downhill and avoid obstacles to cross the finish line. I will say that the first half of the game is extremely simple. Most races can be won with little effort but the game was still fun to play regardless as each sled was a different experience from the next.
Power ups consist of different items found on the track which can help during gameplay. Most prominent are the snowballs, which can be gained by getting the snowflake icon in various locations on each map. Tossing a snowball is as simple as it sounds and doesn’t require much aim at all for a successful smash. By gaining three on certain levels, you can use a super move with certain sleds which is also a bit rewarding. There are also Sun icons which boost your time for landing tricks, and a few other random power-ups such as speed boost tunnels are also present to assist in speed. Keep in mind though that even these must be unlocked, but it really isn’t too hard as every race you complete in story mode give you something new and most power-ups are given near the beginning of the story.
Now for the vehicles, or sleds, you have to alternate between an intertube, disc, two-man toboggan, and of course a four man bobsled. The intertube is the easiest to use as it controls very well. Players can jump over obstacles and braking and speeding up by leaning forward or backwards is accurate and doesn’t slow down the matches at all. The next sled is the disc, which has a special power you can activate which whips up a tornado quickly, delaying all those behind you for an advantage. The disc also makes jumping and landing much more simple and speed is increased quite a bit over the standard intertube. With the toboggan, the game puts you with an AI player, and the two of you must race down together. With this sled being a bit slower, you must work together to lean with your partner to gain speeds.
The last and most important sled is the bobsled. This was my favorite in the game as it controls without gimmicks or power-ups and is by far the fastest in the game. There is a huge amount of challenge when you get up to the bobsled races and it can come down to making a proper start-off by rapidly shaking the remote at the beginning of a match. Bobsleds travel fast and the races are more enjoyable, but the game seems to have hiccups from time to time frame-rate wise as if it were having trouble keeping up.
When you complete the game, replay value will not be hard to find as with the in-game achievements to unlock as well as multi-player and many other challenges to keep you busy, there is a reason to return to the tropical iced world many times over.
Graphics/Audio
As far as the characters go, think of the Miis, add a bit of height and add floating hands and you have the racers in Sled Shred. Each character is detailed differently and the game adds a bit of personality to the title. The environments you race in are bright and with the characters make the game stand out on its own which was a plus for me. From giant gators to sandy beaches, each area brings a new feel to the game. Besides a few bobsledding framerate issues, everything plays smooth and looks just as good.
The music is pretty solid, but nothing too memorable. With this genre of game though, music isn’t too big of an issue to start with. There is a voice-over for Coach Mon which is borderline Sim-lish and added subtitles used to translate. Even with the odd language, personality is still present in the small bit of voice work though, and it was a plus to hear some of the sounds made by the characters coming from the Wii-Mote, even if some sounded more like squeaks than anything else.
Overall
Sled Shred is a lot of fun to play and with all of the the various races and wacky costumes and characters, it thrives with personality and charm. The game does have it’s small issues such as framerate trouble and some unlockables that shouldn’t really be an unlockable rather than part of the main game to start with. Overall, with the price and the fun factor in mind, Sled Shred is one of the better racers on the Wii and adds a unique twist on racing games making it stand out in a crowded market and definitely gets a recommendation to anyone looking for a fresh, off-beat experience on the console.
I Give Sled Shred featuring the Jamaican Bobsled Team:
