What if you could encase your enemies within a small bubble of time so slow they were standing still? They could be easy pray to any of your attacks; so much so you could even play with your prey. Also what if you could simply dodge a hail of gunfire thanks to the fact that each bullet is traveling through the bubble as if it were speeding through molasses. In the latest Singularity trailer Raven reveals the Deadlock Feature which does exactly that.
This feels a bit like the stasis weapon from EA’s Dead Space considering it will slow down anything that you fire it at, and also is useful for moving around obstacles just like the Stasis was in Dead Space. With the abundance of features constantly being revealed for Singularity it causes me to wonder; will all of these modes really be used constantly or will some be extremely overpowered while others useless?
A fan Japanese blog named Kyo mo Yarareyaku has stated that they have seen an announcement outside of a Japanese Tatsuya store stating that the second series of To aru Majutsu no Index will be shown this Fall season. This is not confirmed by the animation studio nor the writer of the To aru Majutsu series. However this is extremely good news as there is a very large amount of story from the light novel to cover, including many new arcs and a variety of new enemies.
Here is hoping that this announcement turns out to be true because this was an amazingly entertaining Anime that did not focus on Moé behavior like other anime, namely K-On!, but instead focuses on an in depth storyline about magicians and espers and how they co-incide within the world. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good action Anime.
For those of you who use the internet regularly, including the use of Google, you will have come to notice that Google sometimes changes it’s logo to reflect current affairs or something happening that day. The banner for today is in the style of Pac-man to commemorate Pac-man’s 30th anniversary, as previously featured in this article here
But it isn’t only a banner, it is a playable game too! It is very cute and quirky manouvering your way around the word ‘Google’, whilst you gobble up the dots and ghosts in true Pac-man fashion. There is even a two player option for those wanting to play it on co-op, or if you’re good enough, with one character to each hand. Simply click an extra ‘Insert Coin’ to unlock Ms. Pac-man. Enjoy, but bear in mind, it’s only there for a limited time, so make the most out of it while you can, because like all the Google banners, it will be changed and replaced by something else soon.
Here are the downloads, for WiiWare and DSiWare for Friday 21 May. Unfortunately, as you would have probably noticed without my saying so, there are no Virtual Console releases this week.
Robin Hood: The Return of Richard (WiiWare- Nordcurrent, 500 Wii Points)
Telegraph Crosswords (DSiWare- Sanuk Games, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Discolight (DSiWare- Kaasa Solution GmbH, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
Ferrari GT Evolution (DSiWare- Gameloft, 800 Nintendo DSi Points)
Flips More Bloody Horowitz (DSiWare: Electronic Arts, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)
Do this weeks releases interest anybody? It’s a bit of a shame there is no Virtual Console game released today, although I’m sure there’ll be one next week.
This rumour has been floating around awhile, but it is worth mentioning here. Doom 2 may be having avatar awards.
DOOM II T-Shirt (Male & Female) Show your support for the grandpappy of First Person Shooters!
It looks like You Just Need To Finish The 1st Level
DOOM II Marine Suit (Male & Female)
Finish the brand new episode ‘No Rest for the Living’ to unlock your own DOOM II Marine Suit!
Complete The New Episode
Capcom have released a truck-load of new items for your Xbox 360 Avatars. Finally you can own your very own pet Gordiant (Salamander or Sir Omm Nomm Nomm as most people like to call him) that runs around your feet, this time the tides have turned normally he’s the one towering over you and swallowing you whole.
There’s also a bunch of outfits to deck yourself out with. There’s gear from the Mountain Pirates, NEVEC, Rounders, and all sorts more. Check them all out below :
The limited collector’s edition has been detailed recently, and it is looking like a pretty good list of extras. Who’s gonna buy it? I know I’m tempted to buy the collector’s edition just to the location and the outfit. The dog breed doesn’t tempt me as much, because I love the husky breed not the boxer breed.
The Limited Collector’s Edition also offers unique collectibles that true “Fable” fans won’t want to miss, including downloadable content, also available for Windows users, as well as in-box items that come with the Xbox 360 version. Wrapped up in a distinctive box created in the likeness of a book from “Fable III,” the contents include:
A new quest: Uncover the mystery of the haunted forests of Silverpines and earn the legendary sword, Wolfsbane, deadly against wolves and balverines.
Exclusive location: Unlock a new region, ideal for settling down with a family and discovering new treasures.
“Fable III” playing cards: Created by Lionhead, these cards depict every type of character in “Fable III,” including Heroes, royals, rebels and villains from across Albion and beyond.
Guild Seal Coin: The coin features a Good side (blue) and Evil side (red) to assist players in making critical decisions that will impact the fate of the world forever.
A new dog breed: Renowned for its loyalty, the Boxer is a brave canine companion worthy of greatest Queens and Kings.
One unique outfit: Unearth one male and female outfit from the mysterious, faraway land of Aurora, a new destination in your “Fable III” adventures.
“Fable III” will be available in Standard and Limited Collector’s Editions for Xbox 360. The Standard Edition will retail for $59.99/£44.99/€64.99, while the Limited Collector’s Edition will retail for $79.99/£59.99/€84.99. The Windows version will retail for $49.99/£39.99/€54.99, and will also be available for download exclusively on Games on Demand on Games for Windows – LIVE.
Ok now I don’t know about you guy but reading the press release for THQ’s FAMILY WRECKING…ahhem …. I mean Family Party Game called Truth OR Lieshas me in two minds. There’s a total of 3000 built in questions which the game will throw you and not to mention something called a Hot Seat which will allow players to ask the victim.. oops sorry I meant the player any sort of question that comes to mind. I know that for a fact this is not going to end well. THQ are using a proprietary voice calibration system that works in conjuction with either the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone or USB microphone and measures stress levels in a player’s voice. Now I don’t know about you guys buy I’m constantly stressed !! So does that mean I’m a LIAR !! … Well does it ???
Look I’m INNOCENT I TELL YA !!! INNOCENT !!!
*Runs out the door*
… silence ….
*Voice Over*
THQ’s TRUTH OR LIES will be available on the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3. It’ll be out in the Fall of this year. Stay tuned for more information in the days and weeks ahead.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3 Release Date: May 15th, 2010
Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands is the next chapter in the fan favourite Sands of Time universe. Visiting his brother’s kingdom following his adventure in Azad, the Prince finds the royal palace under siege from a mighty army bent on its destruction. When the decision is made to use the ancient power of the Sand in a desperate gamble to save the kingdom from total annihilation, they unleash an army of skeletons, sand demons and huge beasts. The Prince will embark on an epic adventure in which he will need to reunite the two pieces of the medallion used to unleash this evil and return them to where they came, but he will also learn to bear the mantle of true leadership, and discover that great power often comes with a great cost.
With the intro out of the way let’s dive in shall we. Prince Of Persia The Forgotten Sands has returned and is back with game-play mechanics that you’ve all grown to love about the franchise. Battling overwhelming amount of evil creatures and minions, using the elements to solve tricky puzzles and of course running along walls with the greatest of ease.
Continuing along the lines of the Princes’ wall running skills, his athletic abilities are truly amazing . The Prince clings onto anything and has the agility that will put a mountain goat to shame (it’s true mountain goats are very very agile) Jumping from pillar to pillar, leaping from one plank to the next, sliding along a ledge and leaping to the next and swinging from post to post better than any Olympic athlete is a complete pleasure to watch. Everything that Prince does looks very fluid and life like. The Prince also comes equipped with a handy little sword which will come in handy with the amount of enemies he will be facing. With the correct button combinations (which are not very complicated) you can perform some really powerful techniques and finishing moves whilst enemies are standing or on the ground. Unfortunately the Prince cannot block attacks which is a little disappointing but with his athletic ability he will be able to roll and dodge out of the way of incoming attacks.
The Prince will learn pretty much all of his magical abilities and supernatural skills early into the game (by early I mean a few hours). In a way it’s a good thing as then you can get stuck into agame and put these abilities to the test to complete puzzles and take down enemies. Making its triumphant return is the rewind feature, where you can use the Sands Of Time to wipe out and rewind any mistakes you’ve just made and let me tell you, you’ll be making a fair amount of them all thanks to platforms that dissolve into thin air, traps, swinging axes and everyone’s favourite the buzz saws on the wall.
The Prince can also freeze water, it’s one super cool ability and will be needed to accomplish many puzzles, by freezing water you turn an innocent trickle of water into horizontal poles which you can then swing from one to the other , also thick streams of water can be turned into columns which you can climb up or down on. The Prince will also have the ability to freeze and unfreeze water in mid-air so that you can over-come puzzles and or just simply make your way through the area. There will be times were you will need to freeze and re-freeze with pin point accuracy, it can be a little painful to get this right but when you pull it off you’ll feel like you’re the king of the world !!
Something that would have made things a little easier while pulling of these acrobatic stunts would have been the ability to move the camera around the way you like it. Sometimes the camera angle is fixed while other times it follows you around; this is something you will need to overcome especially when tasked with difficult puzzles or jumps.
Once you’ve taken the final boss to the cleaners, the challenge rooms appear. As the Prince is the master of agility, your first thought would be platforming action making your way from point A to B in the quickest way possible using all your acrobatic abilities with rewind and water freezing skills. However the focus of the challenge rooms is combat. There are a total of 8 waves of enemies that get difficult with each wave. Your goal is to smash your way through them in the quickest amount of time.
UBISOFT have started introducing a service called UPLAY. For people not familiar with this check out the article we did on it a while back.
UPLAY rewards gamers for completing certain task’s within the game, they are similar to achievements/trophies but once you earn them you can use the points to unlock cool little extras. The points can be redeemed on any UBISOFT title that supports UPLAY. With Prince Of Persia you can unlock a few extras, one of which is a playable EZIO from Assassin’s Creed II. UPLAUY is a cool little feature that will certainly get gamers hooked but only if the unlockables are worthwhile.
Graphically Prince Of Persia looks and feels very smooth, everything flows quite nicely, character models look good and the level designs are great. I certainly had a feeling of Déjà vu with some of the earlier levels in the game as it brought back some good memories.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands has improved in certain areas and stayed the same in others. The acrobatic gameplay with freezing and un-freezing water on the fly is great and is a little more complicated than the previous versions of the game making this far more challenging and fun. Combat has never been a strong point in the Prince Of Persia series, the inability to block would of been nice but instead a roll out of the way isyour only way to avoid being smashed. The fixed camera angles also make you feel like you’re caged in as you can’t see what you’re doing in certain parts of the game. Forgotten Sands is great for newcomers to the Prince Of Persia Series. Trying out the game for the first time will really give them a great impression. For the hardcore fans they’ll be wondering when the franchise will hit higher ground.
Bayonetta Publisher: Quimby RBG Developer: Quimby RBG Platforms: Xbox 360 Release Date: May 8th, 2010
MoonShine is a strategy/trading game set in the 1920’s, during the period of prohibition in the USA. You play a black market operative as you buy and sell various quantities of alcohol, which you can then choose sell on at later ‘day’ once the market has changed, either for a profit or a loss. The game’s format is a series of consecutive menus. Some would find this change of pace in regards to the indie market, from action-packed mayhem-fests to something a bit more quiet and calm, as a welcome change, whereas others may see it as a change for the worse. This aspect is all down to personal opinion, although whatever your opinion, you can’t deny that this is a style of game yet to be explored on the indie games marketplace.
The time frame of the game is measured in days, which are effectively just turns. You can progress through each day once you have finished your daily dealings fairly rapidly, meaning you can progress through many in-game ‘days’, during a real-life day.
The game is short and simple to complete, but to combat this, the developer offers a range of single-player modes, on top of the option of going back and trying to beat your high scores. There is also a single-player section in which you can create your own mode for extra entertainment. It only offers simple customisation features but it is still another way to extend the life of this title.
Overall, MoonShine, offers a new experience yet to be seen on the Indie game marketplace, although some could find this experience rather boring and uneventful due to the simple nature of the game. It is stylised to reflect the era with the use of music from that period as well as visual features like some of the images and newspaper cuttings. This gives the game an authentic feel but still fails to lift you from the uninterested depths that you will soon plummet to after playing this game for a reasonable amount of time. It is an innovative idea from the ambitious developers, but unfortunately it isn’t executed as perfectly as you would hope. Still, I hope this will inspire others to follow suit and try their hand in the strategy genre on the Indie games marketplace.
Four lucky winners who answer the following question will land themselves a copy of the game:
What do Indie developers need your money to buy?
In order to find the answer, you must download the trial of the game and search through the news stories on it until you manage to find the necessary answer. When you think you’ve got it, then email the answer to [email protected] and leave a comment below saying that you have done so.
