Arkadium is likely best known on Facebook for games like Mahjongg Dimensions and Cooking Mama, but that's about to change. Thanks to a brand new partnership with Image Metrics, an animation studio best known for the facial capture technology it provides to traditional game developers, your own face could be the star of Arkadium's next Facebook game.
During an interview with Gamasutra, the new found duo revealed Portable You, a new toolset for Facebook game developers--starting with New York City-based Arkadium--to allow players to include their own face as the centerpiece of their avatars. Using a simple webcam, Portable You, embedded in any given Facebook, could create a 3D rendering of your head and face.
By the way, that picture to the right is a 3D reproduction of an actress's face done by Image Metrics--it's not real. But we doubt Portable You will be as powerful. This is especially considering the technology was bought through an acquisition of Big Stage earlier this year.
"Mostly we've been the user of our own technologies," Image Metrics CEO Robert Gehorsam said to Gamasutra. "But we've also really come to realize and believe there's a major shift going on in how people want to represent themselves, express themselves and communicate online, starting with creating your own character in a game."
"We work directly from video; we don't require any kind of markers, or the special makeup," Gehorsam told Gamasutra. "We can go directly from a video screen or from a single image to 3D animation... through a whole bunch of equations that recognize the face in a 2D context. It's not a photo; it's really 3D."
Sure, this has the potential to introduce a never-before-seen level of immersion to Facebook games. The idea of representing or expressing yourself more accurately than ever has plenty of charm. But the more pressing question I have for Image Metrics is: How well does Portable You render beards?
What do you think this type of technology means for Facebook games in the future? Would you ever place a 3D version of yourself into your favorite Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 9, 2011
FarmVille: Free Crab Shack with any Farm Cash purchase
While the "free-gift-with-purchase" feature in FarmVille has continued to grow, giving users a way to stock up on extra animals that they may have missed in their original releases in the game, until recently, that's all the feature has been: a way to earn animals. Now, though, we're starting to see trees and even buildings come into the mix.
For example, the latest offering is the Crab Shack, which was originally released during the New England event way back in July of 2010, and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. Interestingly, this is one building that cost coins during its previous releases in the game, but if (for whatever reason) you never picked one up, here's a chance to earn one for as little as $1. For that price, remember you'll also earn 4 Farm Cash.
The reason this building is so significant is that it basically screams to be added to the Lighthouse Cove farm, which all players were given access to earlier this week. And since we can't (as of this writing) pull items out of storage from our others farms into the Lighthouse Cove, this is as close as you're going to get to having any of this theme on your land for the foreseeable future.
As usual, this free Crab Shack offer will only be around for a limited time, so make sure to login to your farm sooner, rather than later, if you want to take advantage of this deal.
Will you purchase a Farm Cash bundle as part of this free-gift-with-purchase giveaway? Would you pay Farm Cash to access your "other farm" storage in the Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
For example, the latest offering is the Crab Shack, which was originally released during the New England event way back in July of 2010, and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. Interestingly, this is one building that cost coins during its previous releases in the game, but if (for whatever reason) you never picked one up, here's a chance to earn one for as little as $1. For that price, remember you'll also earn 4 Farm Cash.
The reason this building is so significant is that it basically screams to be added to the Lighthouse Cove farm, which all players were given access to earlier this week. And since we can't (as of this writing) pull items out of storage from our others farms into the Lighthouse Cove, this is as close as you're going to get to having any of this theme on your land for the foreseeable future.
As usual, this free Crab Shack offer will only be around for a limited time, so make sure to login to your farm sooner, rather than later, if you want to take advantage of this deal.
Will you purchase a Farm Cash bundle as part of this free-gift-with-purchase giveaway? Would you pay Farm Cash to access your "other farm" storage in the Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 9, 2011
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Come Ashore Goals: Everything you need to know
As part of today's launch of the Lighthouse Cove farm in FarmVille to every farmer that's interested (whether they paid for admittance or not), a new goal series has been launched in the game, allowing even those new players a chance to become acquainted with their new farm, while also earning prizes. There are six goals in this new series, and they're limited edition, being available for the next seven days (or just a week).
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
DC Universe Online: Pound on bad guys for free starting next month
If you've always wanted to try out Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe online (on either PS3 or PC), but didn't want to pay actual money to do so, you'll be happy to know that you'll soon be able to access "the entire game" for free starting next month. As reported by PCWorld, this switch to a freemium pricing plan will still allow users to purchase premium content, but all of the open world gameplay, missions, game updates and patches will be free.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
Thứ Tư, 21 tháng 9, 2011
Could Adobe Flash 11 make 3D the norm in Facebook games? [Video]
Well, it's certainly a possibility. VentureBeat reports that Adobe Flash, the software used by developers to create most of the Facebook games you play right now, will be updated to Version 11 this October. The new version of Flash will include something gamers, critics and industry folk alike have clamored for: 3D graphics. Namely, 3D graphics with no downloads.
San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.
Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.
And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.
However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.
If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.
[Image Credit: MacLife]
Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.
Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.
And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.
However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.
If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.
[Image Credit: MacLife]
Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Go on a Buddy Rush between Facebook, iPhone and now Android
Now, that's what I call cross-platform. Budang, South Korea-based Team Sollmo announced that Buddy Rush, its RPG (role-playing game) in which players can use the same adventurer between Facebook and iOS devices, has hit Android devices. What this means is that now, you can access the very same game with your very same character across all three platforms.
"We've been truly honored by the reception Buddy Rush has received thus far, reaching hundreds of thousands of users on Facebook and the Apple App Store," said Company100 (the game's publisher) President Jin Cheon Kim in a release. "With the launch on Android, we're proud to offer Buddy Rush to the vast majority of smartphone owners and establish ourselves as the first to offer an RPG with true cross-platform capabilities across these popular gaming channels."
If Buddy Rush for Android is anything like it is on both Facebook and iOS devices, which we assume it is given Kim's wording, then this is essentially the same game offered across all three modes of play.
Players can take the character they're used to dungeon crawling with on Facebook, play with it a bit on their Android phone, conquer some more monsters on, say, their iPod Touch and proceed to enter yet another battle with the baddies back on Facebook.
Gallery: Buddy Rush
While it's largely a single player experience, Buddy Rush allows players to take their friends' characters asynchronously on adventures like in most Facebook games of its kind. (The main draw, of course, being that you can do so across three platforms with the same character, and arguably whenever.) So, it pays to have lots of friends in this game that I likened to a saccharine take on Blizzard's popular if terribly dark Diablo RPGs. And now that it's on yet another gaming platform, you have no excuse.
Click here to download Buddy Rush for Android Now >
Have you tried Buddy Rush on either Facebook or iOS? What do you think of Sollmo's take on asynchronous, cross-platform gameplay? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"We've been truly honored by the reception Buddy Rush has received thus far, reaching hundreds of thousands of users on Facebook and the Apple App Store," said Company100 (the game's publisher) President Jin Cheon Kim in a release. "With the launch on Android, we're proud to offer Buddy Rush to the vast majority of smartphone owners and establish ourselves as the first to offer an RPG with true cross-platform capabilities across these popular gaming channels."
If Buddy Rush for Android is anything like it is on both Facebook and iOS devices, which we assume it is given Kim's wording, then this is essentially the same game offered across all three modes of play.
Players can take the character they're used to dungeon crawling with on Facebook, play with it a bit on their Android phone, conquer some more monsters on, say, their iPod Touch and proceed to enter yet another battle with the baddies back on Facebook.
Gallery: Buddy Rush
While it's largely a single player experience, Buddy Rush allows players to take their friends' characters asynchronously on adventures like in most Facebook games of its kind. (The main draw, of course, being that you can do so across three platforms with the same character, and arguably whenever.) So, it pays to have lots of friends in this game that I likened to a saccharine take on Blizzard's popular if terribly dark Diablo RPGs. And now that it's on yet another gaming platform, you have no excuse.
Click here to download Buddy Rush for Android Now >
Have you tried Buddy Rush on either Facebook or iOS? What do you think of Sollmo's take on asynchronous, cross-platform gameplay? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Game of the Day: WHATword?
whatword what word game of the dayHalf match-3, half word game, WHATword? is an addictive word-making challenge. Line up letters to form words and knock them off the screen. But be careful because as soon as you clear a word, new balls will drop in to fill the gap. Line up various words, make an extra-long word, or use a special bonus letter; and you'll get heaps extra points. To advance to the next level, complete all the WHATwords!
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
6waves Lolapps puts up $10 million for indie social game developers
Is 6waves Lolapps looking to find the next FarmVille? It's possible, but what's more important is that the new found publisher-meets-developer duo is looking to give the little guy a chance. The company just announced that it has raised $10 million in what it calls the 6L Fund. With it, the publisher will grant independent social and mobile game creators the financial resources and support they need to (hopefully) create the next big thing on Facebook or elsewhere.
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment To go along with the Animal Mastery feature released in Pioneer Trail this weekend, you can now also complete one of three new collections in the game. Two of these collections go with the new animals that have also been released: the Badger and Moose, while the third goes with the 4F Mastery Club itself.
4F Collection
* Rewards Spring Water and 80 XP
Badger Collection
* Rewards Free Critter Milk and 120 XP
Moose Collection
* Free Carrot Juice and 100 XP
As you might expect, you can earn each of these collections' items by tending to the appropriate animals (that is, you'll earn Badger Collection items for tending Badgers, and Moose Collection items for tending Moose), or by collecting the 4F Mastery Club's daily bonus. You'll also have a chance to earn these specific collectibles during the construction of the Mastery Club itself, although I wouldn't expect to receive the full set unless you're really lucky. By the way, if you're that lucky, would you mind letting some of that luck rub off on me?
Are you a fan of the collections in Pioneer Trail and actively try to complete them, or do you just let yourself complete these Collections casually? Let us know in the comments.
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment To go along with the Animal Mastery feature released in Pioneer Trail this weekend, you can now also complete one of three new collections in the game. Two of these collections go with the new animals that have also been released: the Badger and Moose, while the third goes with the 4F Mastery Club itself.
4F Collection
* Rewards Spring Water and 80 XP
Badger Collection
* Rewards Free Critter Milk and 120 XP
Moose Collection
* Free Carrot Juice and 100 XP
As you might expect, you can earn each of these collections' items by tending to the appropriate animals (that is, you'll earn Badger Collection items for tending Badgers, and Moose Collection items for tending Moose), or by collecting the 4F Mastery Club's daily bonus. You'll also have a chance to earn these specific collectibles during the construction of the Mastery Club itself, although I wouldn't expect to receive the full set unless you're really lucky. By the way, if you're that lucky, would you mind letting some of that luck rub off on me?
Are you a fan of the collections in Pioneer Trail and actively try to complete them, or do you just let yourself complete these Collections casually? Let us know in the comments.
Google+ opens its doors to all, but (hopefully) mostly social gamers
The proverbial veil has been lifted, everyone. Google+ is finally open to the public, meaning anyone can join Google's social network regardless of whether they've been invited through a friend. More importantly, this means the service, which soft-launched back in August to a controlled amount of users through invites, is open to even more social gamers than before.
Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.
Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.
At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.
Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.
[Via Inside Social Games]
Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.
Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.
At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.
Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.
[Via Inside Social Games]
Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Baseball Superstars: The League goes for a grand slam on Facebook
Just in time for the playoff season in the states (Philadelphia NL East Champs! ... sorry), Gamevil has released its very own baseball simulator on Facebook, Baseball Superstars: The League. The Korean and Los Angeles-based developer best known for the Zenonia series of RPGs (role-playing games) on the iPhone released this social version of its hit baseball sims on iOS.
Of course, EA Sports and Playfish have already staked their claim to the sub genre on Facebook with World Series Superstars, but already Gamevil has one thing going for it: global multiplayer. That's right, once you choose your team's name, logo and specialty between Power, Accuracy and Speed, you can jump into games immediately with anyone playing the game.
While you will certainly need Facebook friends to play in Exhibition games, those looking for a fast and easy Quick Play game, the world's digital baseball managers await you. There's also a Home Run Derby mode as well as full-blown tournaments, which are coming soon. And the gameplay is surprisingly interactive, having players actually swing at pitches with clicks.
Baseball Superstars Logo
Baseball Superstars features a full-blown pitching system as well, in which players select from a variety of pitches and choose exactly where they land in or around the strike zone. There are also a number of commands you can give to base runners to attempt to steal bases. All in all, this looks like an impressively full-featured baseball game on Facebook at launch.
While much of the game has players tweaking their stadiums like most sports games on Facebook, it's the actually Quick Plays and Exhibition games that are the meat and potatoes of Baseball Superstars, and what could make this game a competitor to existing social sports games. "It builds upon our years of strategic advances in the global games market, and shows that we can adapt and offer a unique yet competitive social games experience," VP and head of Gamevil USA Kyu Lee said in a release.
Baseball Superstars gameplay
Baseball Superstars is just Gamevil's second release on Facebook after Train City, which didn't do so hot, according to AppData. Considering the hype train that is US baseball in September and October, baseball fans (the closet Facebook game-loving ones, at least) are going to be on the hunt for a new experience on Facebook.
And it looks like Gamevil will be there to meet them with a Facebook game that actually focuses on, you know, the baseball? Hey, the second time can still be a charm, too, right?
Click here to play Baseball Superstars: The League on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new baseball Facebook game yet? What do you think of Gamevil's second entry into the Facebook game space, and what about their existing iOS games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Of course, EA Sports and Playfish have already staked their claim to the sub genre on Facebook with World Series Superstars, but already Gamevil has one thing going for it: global multiplayer. That's right, once you choose your team's name, logo and specialty between Power, Accuracy and Speed, you can jump into games immediately with anyone playing the game.
While you will certainly need Facebook friends to play in Exhibition games, those looking for a fast and easy Quick Play game, the world's digital baseball managers await you. There's also a Home Run Derby mode as well as full-blown tournaments, which are coming soon. And the gameplay is surprisingly interactive, having players actually swing at pitches with clicks.
Baseball Superstars Logo
Baseball Superstars features a full-blown pitching system as well, in which players select from a variety of pitches and choose exactly where they land in or around the strike zone. There are also a number of commands you can give to base runners to attempt to steal bases. All in all, this looks like an impressively full-featured baseball game on Facebook at launch.
While much of the game has players tweaking their stadiums like most sports games on Facebook, it's the actually Quick Plays and Exhibition games that are the meat and potatoes of Baseball Superstars, and what could make this game a competitor to existing social sports games. "It builds upon our years of strategic advances in the global games market, and shows that we can adapt and offer a unique yet competitive social games experience," VP and head of Gamevil USA Kyu Lee said in a release.
Baseball Superstars gameplay
Baseball Superstars is just Gamevil's second release on Facebook after Train City, which didn't do so hot, according to AppData. Considering the hype train that is US baseball in September and October, baseball fans (the closet Facebook game-loving ones, at least) are going to be on the hunt for a new experience on Facebook.
And it looks like Gamevil will be there to meet them with a Facebook game that actually focuses on, you know, the baseball? Hey, the second time can still be a charm, too, right?
Click here to play Baseball Superstars: The League on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new baseball Facebook game yet? What do you think of Gamevil's second entry into the Facebook game space, and what about their existing iOS games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Hai, 19 tháng 9, 2011
Sony publishing president Shuhei Yoshida confirms new handheld will not be content-restricted by location.
Sony devoted nearly all of its Tokyo Game Show press conference to the PlayStation Vita, but one omitted bit of news concerning the device was revealed today in 140 characters or less. In a post to his Twitter feed, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that the PS Vita will not be region locked.
After a Twitter user asked Yoshida whether it had been confirmed that the PS Vita would be region free, the Sony executive replied with a simple, "Yes, it is." Yoshida did not indicate whether the PS Vita will be open through just physical media, or also digital content. Sony had not responded to GameSpot's request for clarification as of press time.
Currently, with the PlayStation 3 and PSP, physical media is released region-free, allowing games published in one country to be played without hassle in another. However, Sony's digital strategy restricts content to the region in which it is released, with access being determined by the region of a user's PlayStation Network profile.
As announced earlier this week, the PS Vita will launch alongside 26 games in Japan on December 17. Sony expects to release its newest gaming hardware in Europe and North America sometime in early 2012. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of the PS Vita.
The PS Vita won't be region-locked.
Currently, with the PlayStation 3 and PSP, physical media is released region-free, allowing games published in one country to be played without hassle in another. However, Sony's digital strategy restricts content to the region in which it is released, with access being determined by the region of a user's PlayStation Network profile.
As announced earlier this week, the PS Vita will launch alongside 26 games in Japan on December 17. Sony expects to release its newest gaming hardware in Europe and North America sometime in early 2012. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of the PS Vita.
* Uninteresting story * Making good monsters requires grinding * Some elements aren't explained well.
You assume the role of the game's nameless protagonist, a young ruffian and would-be monster scout (a person with the ability to subdue and command monsters) who stows away on a flying vessel headed toward a major monster-scout tournament. As fate would have it, the ship encounters a patch of turbulence and crash-lands on an uncharted island seemingly devoid of human life. It's up to you to develop your monster-scouting skills to command the beasts that rule this island and find the ship's missing passengers. But there's more to this strange island than meets the eye, and you soon discover secret tomes and treasures of legendary monster scouts of yore. Perhaps you were sent to this place for a reason. It's not a particularly interesting or original story, but Joker 2's saga still manages to charm thanks to superb localization. Dialogue is consistently amusing, laden with silly puns and odd little speech tics that make the various characters and critters you meet during your quest a memorable bunch. The visual element of the game is also strong, with surprisingly detailed environments and amusing character and enemy animations that help bring the island and its denizens to life.
Dragon Quest is known for its staunch adherence to traditional RPG elements, and while Joker 2 maintains the old-school feel of its forefathers, it also takes the formula in some different directions. Instead of progressing on an overworld map from hub town to dungeon to point of interest, you move from one monster-riddled area to another via a simplified map menu, with new places to explore opening as you complete various story goals. You won't find much in the way of towns, either. Instead, the wrecked ship acts as a hub, with functions like a vending machine, an automated bank, and a monster holding pen becoming available as the game progresses and more shipwrecked non-player characters are rescued.
Combat in Joker 2, as in its sibling games, is old-fashioned. Commands are given to your party through text menu selections, and your crew and the enemy take turns bashing each other until someone emerges victorious. The big difference this time is that instead of a crew of armored warriors, you're commanding a monster squad that you have personally recruited and trained. Your party consists of up to six monsters at a time: three in combat, three in reserve (though bigger beasties require multiple spaces in your roster). You can switch your monsters in and out of combat at any time, even replacing fallen fauna with a full-health unit from your reserve crew if need be. Each monster breed has numerous distinct characteristics, and as they gain levels from fighting, you earn skill points that you can use to give them new attack skills and stat boosts from a species-specific selection. You also have the ability to attempt to scout almost any foe you encounter, which involves having your on-field team show its strength by attacking a monster as a group (but not dealing any damage). If you hit hard enough, you might get a new teammate, but if you fail, you could lose a turn--or worse, make your foe even more aggressive.
Capturing and building your monster posse is a lot of fun, but what makes things even more interesting is the monster synthesis feature, which opens a few hours into the game. You can fuse two monsters of a high-enough level into a brand-new beast, complete with otherwise unobtainable skills inherited from its "parents." Not only do these fused monsters have access to a wider skillset, but they also gain levels more quickly and have better stat sets than creatures captured on the field. While synthesis itself is great fun, the preparation and aftermath are considerably less exciting. You often need to build up one or both of the monsters for your desired fusion to a certain level--and possibly well beyond that if you want their offspring to come into the world with a huge pool of skill points off the bat. Fused monsters also start at a very low level, requiring you to fight and grind for experience points to make them as strong as the rest of your crew. Since combat can be a bit slow, this can become a source of some irritation. At least you have the option to let the monsters in your party use their own AI instead of giving them direct commands, but even so, you still have to watch combat animations and dialogue play out every single turn. Making things worse is that several nuances to combat and fusion aren't explained well in-game--you need to consult your easy-to-overlook Scout Guide to figure out that maybe you need to run away from that giant flying lynx that can kill you instantly instead of trying to fight it.
It may not be an all-time classic like some of the other Dragon Quest installments, but Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is still a solid entry in one of the most storied RPG franchises around. It's challenging, endearing, not overly complicated, and plenty of fun, and and a good bet for RPG fans looking for a new beast to tame.
Dragon Quest is known for its staunch adherence to traditional RPG elements, and while Joker 2 maintains the old-school feel of its forefathers, it also takes the formula in some different directions. Instead of progressing on an overworld map from hub town to dungeon to point of interest, you move from one monster-riddled area to another via a simplified map menu, with new places to explore opening as you complete various story goals. You won't find much in the way of towns, either. Instead, the wrecked ship acts as a hub, with functions like a vending machine, an automated bank, and a monster holding pen becoming available as the game progresses and more shipwrecked non-player characters are rescued.
Combat in Joker 2, as in its sibling games, is old-fashioned. Commands are given to your party through text menu selections, and your crew and the enemy take turns bashing each other until someone emerges victorious. The big difference this time is that instead of a crew of armored warriors, you're commanding a monster squad that you have personally recruited and trained. Your party consists of up to six monsters at a time: three in combat, three in reserve (though bigger beasties require multiple spaces in your roster). You can switch your monsters in and out of combat at any time, even replacing fallen fauna with a full-health unit from your reserve crew if need be. Each monster breed has numerous distinct characteristics, and as they gain levels from fighting, you earn skill points that you can use to give them new attack skills and stat boosts from a species-specific selection. You also have the ability to attempt to scout almost any foe you encounter, which involves having your on-field team show its strength by attacking a monster as a group (but not dealing any damage). If you hit hard enough, you might get a new teammate, but if you fail, you could lose a turn--or worse, make your foe even more aggressive.
Capturing and building your monster posse is a lot of fun, but what makes things even more interesting is the monster synthesis feature, which opens a few hours into the game. You can fuse two monsters of a high-enough level into a brand-new beast, complete with otherwise unobtainable skills inherited from its "parents." Not only do these fused monsters have access to a wider skillset, but they also gain levels more quickly and have better stat sets than creatures captured on the field. While synthesis itself is great fun, the preparation and aftermath are considerably less exciting. You often need to build up one or both of the monsters for your desired fusion to a certain level--and possibly well beyond that if you want their offspring to come into the world with a huge pool of skill points off the bat. Fused monsters also start at a very low level, requiring you to fight and grind for experience points to make them as strong as the rest of your crew. Since combat can be a bit slow, this can become a source of some irritation. At least you have the option to let the monsters in your party use their own AI instead of giving them direct commands, but even so, you still have to watch combat animations and dialogue play out every single turn. Making things worse is that several nuances to combat and fusion aren't explained well in-game--you need to consult your easy-to-overlook Scout Guide to figure out that maybe you need to run away from that giant flying lynx that can kill you instantly instead of trying to fight it.
It may not be an all-time classic like some of the other Dragon Quest installments, but Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is still a solid entry in one of the most storied RPG franchises around. It's challenging, endearing, not overly complicated, and plenty of fun, and and a good bet for RPG fans looking for a new beast to tame.
Radiant Silvergun proves that great core mechanics stand the test of time, though its severe difficulty could derail the unprepared.
Time marches on, technology continually improves, but one thing remains constant: Radiant Silvergun is really difficult. This Xbox Live Arcade shoot-'em-up proudly carries the mantle of its genre peers, staunching your enthusiasm with its relentless swarm of enemies gunning for your fragile ship. Death is fast and furious for the unprepared. One minute, you're smiling with confidence as you gleefully vanquish a persistent boss; the next, you're cursing your inattention as you slam full steam into an inflexible wall. Radiant Silvergun offers a clever tweak to the shoot-die-repeat formula, which turns out to be its biggest strength and most glaring weakness. A persistent upgrade system lets you carry your powered-up weapons through each story mode run so that you're slightly stronger than you were the previous time. All but the most skilled players will need to use this feature as a crutch, grinding for hours until they're strong enough to make serious headway. However, it is immensely rewarding to watch your ship grow more powerful with every effort. Radiant Silvergun deftly balances punishment with reward, so though frustration comes early and often, the moments of glory make your commitment worth it.
For the uninitiated, Radiant Silvergun is absolutely daunting the first time you start things up. The right side of the screen displays all of the weapons you currently have access to, as well as the buttons that they're mapped to. Your eyes stare at the screen, trying to comprehend how you're going to manage seven separate guns at once. Do you unlock them as you go? Maybe grab power-ups from destroyed enemies? Nope! The weapons you begin Radiant Silvergun with are the ones you keep for the entire game. There are three base weapons that continually upgrade as you use them. Homing missiles, explosive diagonal blasts, and a deadly frontal ray offer good diversity in your killing powers. The four secondary weapons have more specific uses. Lock-on missiles, a sweeping laser, and rear assault fit right in with what you'd expect, but the final weapon is quite different from the norm. A short-range sword can be used to defeat enemies, as well as gobble up certain attacks, and figuring out how to use this bad boy is the key to mastering the game.
There are many shoot-'em-ups where enemies flood the screen with so many bullets that the games have become known as "bullet hell." Radiant Silvergun is not one of those games. Challenge comes from managing your guns so you can efficiently dispose of the vast assortment of enemies you encounter. The radar strike, for instance, is the only weapon that can pass through barriers, so using it to clear out foes in front of you is a great way to win a battle before your life is even threatened. At other times, your best bet is to fly toward the top of the screen and use your rear cannon, so you're safely out of harm's way while your enemies fire their worthless guns toward the bottom. But you have to play levels many times before you understand these methods. Furthermore, your guns are so weak in the early going that it takes an awfully long time to take down simple enemies. Because of these two elements, you have to spend hours upgrading your weapons and learning patterns before you're adept enough to triumph.
There's no use sugar coating the experience of playing Radiant Silvergun during its first few hours. Unless you're an expert in this genre, you will die repeatedly, and you will be forced to replay the first level over and over again. It's exhausting. If you aren't prepared for this onslaught, it's easy to lose faith and move on to a less demanding game. And because Radiant Silvergun is so challenging, there's no reason to feel bad for admitting you're just not good enough. But if you have the dedication to see things through, Radiant Silvergun is richly rewarding. Every minute you spend playing makes you that much stronger, and it's empowering to cleave through enemies that stoically stood in your path when you were weaker. Every hour you spend fighting waves of enemies adds another life onto your total, so even those who aren't proficient in shoot-'em-ups should be able to amass a large enough collection to succeed.
Radiant Silvergun is never cheap. When you die, it's because you messed up. You misjudged an enemy's attack pattern or flew too close to a barrier. This knowledge gives you the strength to push on because if you stay attentive, you won't make careless mistakes that cost you dearly. Precise controls ensure you're completely in command of your craft. Whether you're weaving in and out of bullets, circling bosses to find their weak points, or wielding your sword like a dragon slayer, everything feels just as it should. Age has been extremely kind to Radiant Silvergun because the core mechanics are so well implemented. The visuals have been updated slightly from the Saturn original, and though it's clear this is a game that was first released more than a decade ago, it still looks sharp. It's easy to discern the background from the foreground, as well as identify enemies, and that instant communication is the most vital aspect of a shoot-em-up's visual design.
The persistent Story mode is the most interesting way to play Radiant Silvergun, but if steep difficulty is too much to handle, you can dive into Arcade mode for a breather. Here, you can tweak how many lives you have, and that cushion gives you a chance to experiment without the fear that constantly hounds you in Story mode. If you're still stuck, Practice mode gives you a chance to test out the best strategy in a specific portion before you make a legitimate run for it. Here, you can tweak the speed settings, which gives you a chance to understand everything unfolding before you crank things up full blast. There's also a cooperative mode (online or offline) if you crave help from a more adept player or want to take a novice under your wing. Finally, you can tweak the difficulty, even in Story mode, so beginners have a chance to succeed. Turning things down to easy lowers the hit points of your enemies, so you can spend less time focusing on leveling up and more time having fun.
Radiant Silvergun has stood the test of time. The core mechanics are so well implemented that you can never blame the game for your mistakes, which goes a long way toward lessening the frustration. But it's impossible to completely eliminate the feeling of helplessness in a game this difficult. You will need to sink in many hours before you're strong enough to expertly gun down enemies, and it's hard to deny the tedium of repeatedly playing the first levels until things finally click. Those easily intimidated need not apply, but anyone craving a serious challenge should look no further, and the novel persistent upgrade system offers a healthy change from other shoot-'em-ups. When you throw in modern amenities, such as leaderboards and downloadable replays, this turns into an addictive challenge for anyone who loves chasing high scores. Radiant Silvergun is unkind to beginners but offers a satisfying experience to those who are willing to invest themselves in it.
For the uninitiated, Radiant Silvergun is absolutely daunting the first time you start things up. The right side of the screen displays all of the weapons you currently have access to, as well as the buttons that they're mapped to. Your eyes stare at the screen, trying to comprehend how you're going to manage seven separate guns at once. Do you unlock them as you go? Maybe grab power-ups from destroyed enemies? Nope! The weapons you begin Radiant Silvergun with are the ones you keep for the entire game. There are three base weapons that continually upgrade as you use them. Homing missiles, explosive diagonal blasts, and a deadly frontal ray offer good diversity in your killing powers. The four secondary weapons have more specific uses. Lock-on missiles, a sweeping laser, and rear assault fit right in with what you'd expect, but the final weapon is quite different from the norm. A short-range sword can be used to defeat enemies, as well as gobble up certain attacks, and figuring out how to use this bad boy is the key to mastering the game.
There are many shoot-'em-ups where enemies flood the screen with so many bullets that the games have become known as "bullet hell." Radiant Silvergun is not one of those games. Challenge comes from managing your guns so you can efficiently dispose of the vast assortment of enemies you encounter. The radar strike, for instance, is the only weapon that can pass through barriers, so using it to clear out foes in front of you is a great way to win a battle before your life is even threatened. At other times, your best bet is to fly toward the top of the screen and use your rear cannon, so you're safely out of harm's way while your enemies fire their worthless guns toward the bottom. But you have to play levels many times before you understand these methods. Furthermore, your guns are so weak in the early going that it takes an awfully long time to take down simple enemies. Because of these two elements, you have to spend hours upgrading your weapons and learning patterns before you're adept enough to triumph.
Those happy pink balls spell your doom.
Radiant Silvergun is never cheap. When you die, it's because you messed up. You misjudged an enemy's attack pattern or flew too close to a barrier. This knowledge gives you the strength to push on because if you stay attentive, you won't make careless mistakes that cost you dearly. Precise controls ensure you're completely in command of your craft. Whether you're weaving in and out of bullets, circling bosses to find their weak points, or wielding your sword like a dragon slayer, everything feels just as it should. Age has been extremely kind to Radiant Silvergun because the core mechanics are so well implemented. The visuals have been updated slightly from the Saturn original, and though it's clear this is a game that was first released more than a decade ago, it still looks sharp. It's easy to discern the background from the foreground, as well as identify enemies, and that instant communication is the most vital aspect of a shoot-em-up's visual design.
The persistent Story mode is the most interesting way to play Radiant Silvergun, but if steep difficulty is too much to handle, you can dive into Arcade mode for a breather. Here, you can tweak how many lives you have, and that cushion gives you a chance to experiment without the fear that constantly hounds you in Story mode. If you're still stuck, Practice mode gives you a chance to test out the best strategy in a specific portion before you make a legitimate run for it. Here, you can tweak the speed settings, which gives you a chance to understand everything unfolding before you crank things up full blast. There's also a cooperative mode (online or offline) if you crave help from a more adept player or want to take a novice under your wing. Finally, you can tweak the difficulty, even in Story mode, so beginners have a chance to succeed. Turning things down to easy lowers the hit points of your enemies, so you can spend less time focusing on leveling up and more time having fun.
Radiant Silvergun has stood the test of time. The core mechanics are so well implemented that you can never blame the game for your mistakes, which goes a long way toward lessening the frustration. But it's impossible to completely eliminate the feeling of helplessness in a game this difficult. You will need to sink in many hours before you're strong enough to expertly gun down enemies, and it's hard to deny the tedium of repeatedly playing the first levels until things finally click. Those easily intimidated need not apply, but anyone craving a serious challenge should look no further, and the novel persistent upgrade system offers a healthy change from other shoot-'em-ups. When you throw in modern amenities, such as leaderboards and downloadable replays, this turns into an addictive challenge for anyone who loves chasing high scores. Radiant Silvergun is unkind to beginners but offers a satisfying experience to those who are willing to invest themselves in it.
Epic Games' trilogy capper joined by Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, Kirby Mass Attack at retail; Black Ops: Rezurrection comes to PS3, PC.
Gears of War 3 marks the end of Epic Games' current story arc starring Marcus Fenix and his merry band of cogs, and early reviews indicate the trilogy is going out with a bang. However, Epic's sci-fi shooter isn't marching to the front lines alone, as the third week of September also marks the arrival of two DS exclusives from Nintendo as well as a stockpile of downloadable fair.
As for Gears of War 3, the game begins with the last human city having been obliterated and series hero Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde, as well as from the newer, deadlier foe, the mutating Lambent. The game is available in a standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150) edition, and a $30 season pass for four upcoming add-on packs is also available.
On to Nintendo's platforms, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 plays out much like other games in the Square Enix-owned franchise, where turn-based battles offer players the option to fight or flee. More than 300 different monsters are available in Joker 2, though about 50 can be gained only through the correct merging of two other species.
The turn-based role-playing game will be accompanied by Kirby: Mass Attack. Biilled as a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, Kirby: Mass Attack challenges players with guiding an amassed army of Kirbys to safety. Gamers can complement their purchase of the pink puffball's latest outing by picking up a new $170 metallic rose DSi XL, which hits store shelves on Sunday.
Switching to the downloadable sector, Bethesda Softworks will be releasing Lonesome Road as a free add-on for Fallout: New Vegas. The week also sees the release of the PlayStation 3 and PC version of the Call of Duty: Black Ops' Rezurrection map pack, which is already available for the Xbox 360 edition of the game.
Also this week, EA will be releasing Burnout Crash through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. A top-down take on the Burnout series' signature crash mode, the game sports three modes across six locations and boasts 18 crash junctions. Additionally, Burnout Crash supports the Autolog feature, an online social infrastructure that was first introduced in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and lets players measure their performance against their friends.
Capcom has a pair of Resident Evil HD remakes en route for XBLA and the PSN this month, the first of which debuts this week. Resident Evil 4 HD signifies the first time the critically acclaimed installment in Capcom's long-running survival horror series releases for Microsoft's and Sony's high-def platforms.
For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
Metallic Rose DSi XL hardware
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2--DS--Nintendo
Kirby Mass Attack--DS--Nintendo
Time of Fury--PC--Slitherine
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Barbie: Jet, Set & Style!--WII, DS--THQ
Brunswick Pro Bowling--3DS--Crave
Burnout Crash!--PS3--EA
Casino Chaos with Las Vegas Players Collection--PC--THQ
Challenge Me: Word Puzzles--DS--O-Games
Cubixx HD--PS3--Laughing Jackal
Drakensang: Complete Saga--PC--ValuSoft
Emily The Strange: Strangerous--DS--Tri Synergy
F1 2011--X360, PS3--THQ
Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road--X360, PS3, PC--Bethesda Softworks
Frogger 3D--3DS--Konami
Gears of War 3--X360--Microsoft
Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns--DS--Natsume
Jewel Time Deluxe--DS--O-Games
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection--3DS--Crave
Resident Evil 4 HD--X360, PS3--Capcom
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin--PSP--Atlus
Supremacy MMA--X360, PS3--505 Games
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
Burnout Crash!--X360--EA
Rotastic--X360--Focus Home Interactive
Worms Ultimate Mayhem--PC--Team 17
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Aya and the Cubes of Light--WII--Object Vision Software
Break Tactics--DS--Agetec
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection--PS3, PC--Activision
Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom--PC--Telltale Games
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
As for Gears of War 3, the game begins with the last human city having been obliterated and series hero Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde, as well as from the newer, deadlier foe, the mutating Lambent. The game is available in a standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150) edition, and a $30 season pass for four upcoming add-on packs is also available.
On to Nintendo's platforms, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 plays out much like other games in the Square Enix-owned franchise, where turn-based battles offer players the option to fight or flee. More than 300 different monsters are available in Joker 2, though about 50 can be gained only through the correct merging of two other species.
The turn-based role-playing game will be accompanied by Kirby: Mass Attack. Biilled as a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, Kirby: Mass Attack challenges players with guiding an amassed army of Kirbys to safety. Gamers can complement their purchase of the pink puffball's latest outing by picking up a new $170 metallic rose DSi XL, which hits store shelves on Sunday.
Switching to the downloadable sector, Bethesda Softworks will be releasing Lonesome Road as a free add-on for Fallout: New Vegas. The week also sees the release of the PlayStation 3 and PC version of the Call of Duty: Black Ops' Rezurrection map pack, which is already available for the Xbox 360 edition of the game.
Also this week, EA will be releasing Burnout Crash through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. A top-down take on the Burnout series' signature crash mode, the game sports three modes across six locations and boasts 18 crash junctions. Additionally, Burnout Crash supports the Autolog feature, an online social infrastructure that was first introduced in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and lets players measure their performance against their friends.
Capcom has a pair of Resident Evil HD remakes en route for XBLA and the PSN this month, the first of which debuts this week. Resident Evil 4 HD signifies the first time the critically acclaimed installment in Capcom's long-running survival horror series releases for Microsoft's and Sony's high-def platforms.
For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
Metallic Rose DSi XL hardware
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2--DS--Nintendo
Kirby Mass Attack--DS--Nintendo
Time of Fury--PC--Slitherine
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Barbie: Jet, Set & Style!--WII, DS--THQ
Brunswick Pro Bowling--3DS--Crave
Burnout Crash!--PS3--EA
Casino Chaos with Las Vegas Players Collection--PC--THQ
Challenge Me: Word Puzzles--DS--O-Games
Cubixx HD--PS3--Laughing Jackal
Drakensang: Complete Saga--PC--ValuSoft
Emily The Strange: Strangerous--DS--Tri Synergy
F1 2011--X360, PS3--THQ
Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road--X360, PS3, PC--Bethesda Softworks
Frogger 3D--3DS--Konami
Gears of War 3--X360--Microsoft
Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns--DS--Natsume
Jewel Time Deluxe--DS--O-Games
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection--3DS--Crave
Resident Evil 4 HD--X360, PS3--Capcom
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin--PSP--Atlus
Supremacy MMA--X360, PS3--505 Games
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
Burnout Crash!--X360--EA
Rotastic--X360--Focus Home Interactive
Worms Ultimate Mayhem--PC--Team 17
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Aya and the Cubes of Light--WII--Object Vision Software
Break Tactics--DS--Agetec
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection--PS3, PC--Activision
Hector: Badge of Carnage - Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom--PC--Telltale Games
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
TGS 2011: Kingdom Hearts 3D hands-on preview
Have a care for the poor Kingdom Hearts fan. All they want is a true third entry in the series and all they get is a series of spin-offs and half-sequels on portable systems. That seems again to be the case with 3DS title Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which takes place after KHII and stars Sora and Riku teaming up on a quest from wise mage Yen Sid to prepare for battle with returning Hearts baddie Xehahort. The demo build at TGS 2011 had one level each for the two leads of the game, and while the stages were brief, this felt more like a fuller KH experience than some side game.
Above: Sadly, Square-Enix has been very stingy with new screens, so you'll have to make due with older stuff like this trailer We started with Sora in a stage that seemed early in the game as he awakes in Traverse Town in some new clothes thanks to Yen Sid’s magic. Just as he’s wondering how he returned to the famous hub city and was shouting for his missing pal Riku, the most surprising moment of the demo happens as Neku from the DS RPG World Ends With You appears. It’s a pretty funny meeting, as Neku’s dour, fatalistic ennui can’t defeat Sora’s helpful nature. As Neku talks of “The Game,” meaning the life or death challenge he faced in WEWY, Sora immediately offers to help him and tries to start a friendship with the emo headphones wearer, though Neku tells him he’s odd for wanting to help total strangers. Neku then disappeared as fast as he showed up, leaving Sora to explore Traverse on his own.
Well not totally alone, as Sora is accompanied by two animal companions that are nearly as helpful, though not half as fun to be around as Donald and Goofy. One was a bouncy dog-like creature, the other a large panda-esque animal, and throughout the stage we found enemy versions of those guys, which tells us that there must be some system for making enemies team members, though our Square-Enix US representatives had few details on just how that system would work. Though your cute friends didn’t seem as deep as some of your previous partners, once you tapped their icon on the touchscreen they unleashed powerful co-op attacks with Sora, as Sora rode the dog as it bounced off the ground, hitting enemies in waves with each drop, while the panda swung Sora by his legs in a spin attack before launching him head first at enemies.
As we hopped around Traverse Town we ran into new KH baddies the Dream Eaters, beating the crap out of them for the green orbs KH fans hunger for. The combat used A to attack, B to jump, and X for magic, while the Y button unleashed flashier attacks dependent on where the character is in the stage. We saw Sora do a mid-air combo, bounce of walls to hit multiple enemies, and even swing around a light post when we used this command. Additionally, most areas had a special box that when you pressed X and A at the same time nearby, Sora jumped inside, initiating the Sling Shot attack as you directed where in the immediate area you wanted to fling Sora using the touchscreen.
After a short exploration of the world, we quickly ran into Sora’s lead enemy of the demo, a giant wolf creature. We had an involved battle on the glass roof of one of Traverse Town’s bigger buildings, as we put our team attacks to good use against the big bad. After crashing through the roof and with one last helpful toss from our panda pal, the villain was no more. In a flash of light that portion of the demo was over and it was time to explore with Riku.
Above: Japanese magazine Famitsu got to record their time with the Sora half of the demo Things start off a bit worse for Riku, as the white-haired youngster arrives in the troubled world based on Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame film from the mid-90s. The normally populated area in front of the famous structure is in disarray, with several buildings on fire, and a distraught Quasimodo holding a barely conscious Esmerelda (think they’ll get Demi Moore to reprise that role for the US localization?). They were just attacked by a giant, flying, demonic creature, one Riku intends to stop. The Hunchback world is hopefully the first of many new Disney-themed areas to be introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D, though we’re a little surprised they chose one of the darker and less popular films of Disney’s 90s releases.
As Riku explored the famous cathedral to face the boss at the top, we noticed that his combat was a little more visceral than Sora’s, with his special Y attacks a tad fiercer. Riku’s two sidekicks were a bat monster and something akin to a deer, and their team-up moves were less playful, as both just seemed to enhance Riku’s Keyblade attacks instead of him working directly with the creatures. Also, Riku’s X+A attack on the touchscreen, Holy Rope, was more serious, as you drew a line between different points as Riku unleashed an attack when flying between them.
Once we began our boss battle at the top of the cathedral, we thought we’d had trouble as the enemy mostly just flew in the air and sent projectiles our way, though we soon found out Riku could fly with ease, so we engaged the baddie in a floaty airborne battle. It was fun, though at times we were wishing we had the new Slide Pad for the 3DS which is compatible with KH3D, as continually resituating the camera with the shoulder buttons to chase after the enemy wasn’t all that awesome.
Just as with the other half of the demo, once Riku’s boss was dispatched the gameplay slice was complete and we were left wanting more. Though the game has yet to be officially made official for a US release, we would be VERY surprised if we didn’t see it sometime next year after its Spring 2012 Japanese release. Though we aren’t sure just how long it will be, it certainly felt like a fuller KH experience, and one we can’t wait to see more of.
Above: Sadly, Square-Enix has been very stingy with new screens, so you'll have to make due with older stuff like this trailer We started with Sora in a stage that seemed early in the game as he awakes in Traverse Town in some new clothes thanks to Yen Sid’s magic. Just as he’s wondering how he returned to the famous hub city and was shouting for his missing pal Riku, the most surprising moment of the demo happens as Neku from the DS RPG World Ends With You appears. It’s a pretty funny meeting, as Neku’s dour, fatalistic ennui can’t defeat Sora’s helpful nature. As Neku talks of “The Game,” meaning the life or death challenge he faced in WEWY, Sora immediately offers to help him and tries to start a friendship with the emo headphones wearer, though Neku tells him he’s odd for wanting to help total strangers. Neku then disappeared as fast as he showed up, leaving Sora to explore Traverse on his own.
Well not totally alone, as Sora is accompanied by two animal companions that are nearly as helpful, though not half as fun to be around as Donald and Goofy. One was a bouncy dog-like creature, the other a large panda-esque animal, and throughout the stage we found enemy versions of those guys, which tells us that there must be some system for making enemies team members, though our Square-Enix US representatives had few details on just how that system would work. Though your cute friends didn’t seem as deep as some of your previous partners, once you tapped their icon on the touchscreen they unleashed powerful co-op attacks with Sora, as Sora rode the dog as it bounced off the ground, hitting enemies in waves with each drop, while the panda swung Sora by his legs in a spin attack before launching him head first at enemies.
As we hopped around Traverse Town we ran into new KH baddies the Dream Eaters, beating the crap out of them for the green orbs KH fans hunger for. The combat used A to attack, B to jump, and X for magic, while the Y button unleashed flashier attacks dependent on where the character is in the stage. We saw Sora do a mid-air combo, bounce of walls to hit multiple enemies, and even swing around a light post when we used this command. Additionally, most areas had a special box that when you pressed X and A at the same time nearby, Sora jumped inside, initiating the Sling Shot attack as you directed where in the immediate area you wanted to fling Sora using the touchscreen.
After a short exploration of the world, we quickly ran into Sora’s lead enemy of the demo, a giant wolf creature. We had an involved battle on the glass roof of one of Traverse Town’s bigger buildings, as we put our team attacks to good use against the big bad. After crashing through the roof and with one last helpful toss from our panda pal, the villain was no more. In a flash of light that portion of the demo was over and it was time to explore with Riku.
Above: Japanese magazine Famitsu got to record their time with the Sora half of the demo Things start off a bit worse for Riku, as the white-haired youngster arrives in the troubled world based on Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame film from the mid-90s. The normally populated area in front of the famous structure is in disarray, with several buildings on fire, and a distraught Quasimodo holding a barely conscious Esmerelda (think they’ll get Demi Moore to reprise that role for the US localization?). They were just attacked by a giant, flying, demonic creature, one Riku intends to stop. The Hunchback world is hopefully the first of many new Disney-themed areas to be introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D, though we’re a little surprised they chose one of the darker and less popular films of Disney’s 90s releases.
As Riku explored the famous cathedral to face the boss at the top, we noticed that his combat was a little more visceral than Sora’s, with his special Y attacks a tad fiercer. Riku’s two sidekicks were a bat monster and something akin to a deer, and their team-up moves were less playful, as both just seemed to enhance Riku’s Keyblade attacks instead of him working directly with the creatures. Also, Riku’s X+A attack on the touchscreen, Holy Rope, was more serious, as you drew a line between different points as Riku unleashed an attack when flying between them.
Once we began our boss battle at the top of the cathedral, we thought we’d had trouble as the enemy mostly just flew in the air and sent projectiles our way, though we soon found out Riku could fly with ease, so we engaged the baddie in a floaty airborne battle. It was fun, though at times we were wishing we had the new Slide Pad for the 3DS which is compatible with KH3D, as continually resituating the camera with the shoulder buttons to chase after the enemy wasn’t all that awesome.
Just as with the other half of the demo, once Riku’s boss was dispatched the gameplay slice was complete and we were left wanting more. Though the game has yet to be officially made official for a US release, we would be VERY surprised if we didn’t see it sometime next year after its Spring 2012 Japanese release. Though we aren’t sure just how long it will be, it certainly felt like a fuller KH experience, and one we can’t wait to see more of.
TGS 2011: Lumines Electronic Symphony hands-on preview
With PS Vitas in short supply at this year's TGS, we were pleased to be able to sit down in a quiet spot off the show floor and play the TGS demo of Lumines: Electronic Symphony. From our brief time with the game, it looks like Electronic Symphony is poised to be the puzzle game for Vita as the original Lumines was for PSP.
Creating a follow-up to such a simple, well-designed, well-balanced block puzzle is tough. Besides updating the visuals and sound, what do you do? Well, Electronic Symphony obviously has upped the ante on the overall presentation, but it adds a few elements to the gameplay without disrupting the core mechanics or the flow of the game.
A quick primer on Lumines: it's a falling block puzzle where squares of four blocks fall one at a time from the top of the screen, and you must match same-colored squares of four or more (there are only two colors of blocks on any given level). Blocks clear each time the sweeper line passes over them, and you get more points the more blocks you can clear in a single sweep. It's from Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi though, so you know it's more than just a falling block puzzle – there's a music and rhythm element too. The sweeper line, called the timeline, moves to the tempo of the music in each level (so it moves slower during a slow song), and of course the visuals also pulsate and change in rhythm with the music too, the intensity of which escalates as your score climbs higher and higher.
So what's new in Electronic Symphony? For starters, it adds two new special blocks, called the chain block and the shuffle block. The chain block clears all blocks of the same color that it touches and any other blocks that are adjacent to those blocks within the same cluster. So if you have a long snaking line of blocks that touch but don't form any squares, it will clear them all. The shuffle block does exactly what it sounds like it does – it randomly shuffles all the blocks within a cluster (clusters are any group of blocks that all touch each other on the field). This might sound bad, but in a pinch it can actually be a lifesaver. If your screen is almost full and you're in danger of a game over, a shuffle can potentially create a bunch of matches and clear more room on the screen.
Avatars also play a bigger role this time too, and the avatar you choose determines what kind of special power-up you get. As you play, a meter fills that allows you to use an avatar power by tapping the icon in the lower left corner – in the demo, using the avatar power gave us a random special block. You can fill up the meter faster by tapping your fingers against the Vita's back touch pad, which totally works, but feels a bit silly and seems like an unnecessary use of the hardware's features. At the very least, you can ignore it if you'd like.
From the brief demo alone, it's clear that Electronic Symphony takes full advantage of the new hardware, and the newly 3D visuals look absolutely amazing on the Vita screen. As our score grew and the visuals got more and more intense, it was impossible not to slow down and admire how gorgeous it looks in motion. Like Mizuguchi's other works, it really plays with different visual aspects creatively, like opacities and textures, dynamic lighting, and particle effects (we're told there's a skin with a popcorn popping theme, which sounds like a satisfying visual). And with over 50 skins confirmed for the game, there's a lot more to look forward to. Expect tons of great music too, with licensed tracks "Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers and "4 AM" by Kaskade.
Lumines: Electronic Symphony is planned as a launch title for North America and Europe, so look for more info in the coming months.
Creating a follow-up to such a simple, well-designed, well-balanced block puzzle is tough. Besides updating the visuals and sound, what do you do? Well, Electronic Symphony obviously has upped the ante on the overall presentation, but it adds a few elements to the gameplay without disrupting the core mechanics or the flow of the game.
A quick primer on Lumines: it's a falling block puzzle where squares of four blocks fall one at a time from the top of the screen, and you must match same-colored squares of four or more (there are only two colors of blocks on any given level). Blocks clear each time the sweeper line passes over them, and you get more points the more blocks you can clear in a single sweep. It's from Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi though, so you know it's more than just a falling block puzzle – there's a music and rhythm element too. The sweeper line, called the timeline, moves to the tempo of the music in each level (so it moves slower during a slow song), and of course the visuals also pulsate and change in rhythm with the music too, the intensity of which escalates as your score climbs higher and higher.
So what's new in Electronic Symphony? For starters, it adds two new special blocks, called the chain block and the shuffle block. The chain block clears all blocks of the same color that it touches and any other blocks that are adjacent to those blocks within the same cluster. So if you have a long snaking line of blocks that touch but don't form any squares, it will clear them all. The shuffle block does exactly what it sounds like it does – it randomly shuffles all the blocks within a cluster (clusters are any group of blocks that all touch each other on the field). This might sound bad, but in a pinch it can actually be a lifesaver. If your screen is almost full and you're in danger of a game over, a shuffle can potentially create a bunch of matches and clear more room on the screen.
Avatars also play a bigger role this time too, and the avatar you choose determines what kind of special power-up you get. As you play, a meter fills that allows you to use an avatar power by tapping the icon in the lower left corner – in the demo, using the avatar power gave us a random special block. You can fill up the meter faster by tapping your fingers against the Vita's back touch pad, which totally works, but feels a bit silly and seems like an unnecessary use of the hardware's features. At the very least, you can ignore it if you'd like.
From the brief demo alone, it's clear that Electronic Symphony takes full advantage of the new hardware, and the newly 3D visuals look absolutely amazing on the Vita screen. As our score grew and the visuals got more and more intense, it was impossible not to slow down and admire how gorgeous it looks in motion. Like Mizuguchi's other works, it really plays with different visual aspects creatively, like opacities and textures, dynamic lighting, and particle effects (we're told there's a skin with a popcorn popping theme, which sounds like a satisfying visual). And with over 50 skins confirmed for the game, there's a lot more to look forward to. Expect tons of great music too, with licensed tracks "Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers and "4 AM" by Kaskade.
Lumines: Electronic Symphony is planned as a launch title for North America and Europe, so look for more info in the coming months.
TGS 2011: Army Corps of Hell (PS Vita) first hands-on preview
On the show floor of Tokyo Game Show, space is at a premium, with crowds all over the place, and based on the gigantic lines for most titles, it seems the PS Vita is most popular with attendees. That’s no surprise as this is its public debut in Japan, but it makes getting your hands on a Vita title incredibly difficult. Fortunately, one of the first titles we finally got a shot at was Square-Enix’s just revealed Army Corps of Hell. With over-the-top violence and a heavy metal aesthetic, you might not think it would remind you of Nintendo classic Pikmin, but the similarly light RTS gameplay style quickly made this one of our early favorites planned for the Vita launch.
We began the game as the skeletal lord of demons entered the Underworld with his tribe of 99 smaller minions surrounding him. As our first enemy appeared, a monster that mostly consisted of a giant, purple-lidded eye, we approached him on the circular platform with our brigade of testy demons and began tossing our angry army at the giant. As our team equipped with swords got on top of the beast and stabbed it to death, it eventually exploded into a shower of blood, leaving only its eyeball, which the titular Army Corps of Hell quickly consumed.
Soon enough we learned that our squad was made of three factions: the previously mentioned swordsmen, a group that used spears, and a team of magic users. Each made up a third of your forces and you switched on the fly between them depending on what the situation called for. A couple baddies were more susceptible to spears than swords, and there were a few times we needed to strategically pull back and use the magical ranged attacks of our squad. It struck a nice balance as we took out hellspawn after hellspawn with our team.
Still, we have to admit that the small amount we played was a tad linear, as each encounter followed thusly: find a few enemies on a circular platform, kill them all, wait for a bridge of bones to appear, then cross to the next platform. There was a health-restoring minigame that used the back touchpad to liven things up, but unfortunately it wasn’t really working in our demo build. But even if it started to grind a little, our spirits were kept up by the hilariously silly heavy metal soundtrack in the background and just how excitedly violent the title was. Though the game hasn’t been announced for an English language release, the style and design just screams Western announcement, so hopefully it’ll be ready in time for the early 2012 US/UK launch.
As we reached the boss of stage, the strategy got a little deeper as we ran around the platform avoiding his powerful stomp attacks then circling back around to fling our swordsmen at his knees to bring him down. By the way, Army Corps gameplay demands makes the direct camera control a necessity, giving us renewed appreciation for the Vita’s right thumb stick. Once we brought the boss to the ground, our spearmen were all over his face and eventually ripped off his head, which sailed across the stage in a bloody arc. As our satisfied team fed on the spoils of battle (aka the severed head), we were also satisfied with the pretty fun time we had with Army Corps of Hell. As long as Pikmin 3 is stuck in development hell, we may as well have fun in the meantime with this hellish tribute on the Vita.
We began the game as the skeletal lord of demons entered the Underworld with his tribe of 99 smaller minions surrounding him. As our first enemy appeared, a monster that mostly consisted of a giant, purple-lidded eye, we approached him on the circular platform with our brigade of testy demons and began tossing our angry army at the giant. As our team equipped with swords got on top of the beast and stabbed it to death, it eventually exploded into a shower of blood, leaving only its eyeball, which the titular Army Corps of Hell quickly consumed.
Soon enough we learned that our squad was made of three factions: the previously mentioned swordsmen, a group that used spears, and a team of magic users. Each made up a third of your forces and you switched on the fly between them depending on what the situation called for. A couple baddies were more susceptible to spears than swords, and there were a few times we needed to strategically pull back and use the magical ranged attacks of our squad. It struck a nice balance as we took out hellspawn after hellspawn with our team.
Still, we have to admit that the small amount we played was a tad linear, as each encounter followed thusly: find a few enemies on a circular platform, kill them all, wait for a bridge of bones to appear, then cross to the next platform. There was a health-restoring minigame that used the back touchpad to liven things up, but unfortunately it wasn’t really working in our demo build. But even if it started to grind a little, our spirits were kept up by the hilariously silly heavy metal soundtrack in the background and just how excitedly violent the title was. Though the game hasn’t been announced for an English language release, the style and design just screams Western announcement, so hopefully it’ll be ready in time for the early 2012 US/UK launch.
As we reached the boss of stage, the strategy got a little deeper as we ran around the platform avoiding his powerful stomp attacks then circling back around to fling our swordsmen at his knees to bring him down. By the way, Army Corps gameplay demands makes the direct camera control a necessity, giving us renewed appreciation for the Vita’s right thumb stick. Once we brought the boss to the ground, our spearmen were all over his face and eventually ripped off his head, which sailed across the stage in a bloody arc. As our satisfied team fed on the spoils of battle (aka the severed head), we were also satisfied with the pretty fun time we had with Army Corps of Hell. As long as Pikmin 3 is stuck in development hell, we may as well have fun in the meantime with this hellish tribute on the Vita.
GR’s weekend giveaway: Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition download codes
Welcome to GamesRadar’s weekend giveaway! This week, we’d like to bring you the gift of game with a chance to win an XBLA or PSN download code for Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. Entering is easy. Trust us. Just read a few more words and you'll see what we mean.
To enter, just leave a comment on this article by 9:00 am (Pacific Time) on Monday, Sep 19. In your comment, make sure to tell us if you’d prefer an XBLA or PSN code if you win. You can read our official contest rules here. US and Canada residents only please. Our apologies to readers from other countries.
Winners will be selected at random and can expect a PM from one of our administrators early next week. Don’t forget to check your inbox to see if you’ve won!
Good luck!
To enter, just leave a comment on this article by 9:00 am (Pacific Time) on Monday, Sep 19. In your comment, make sure to tell us if you’d prefer an XBLA or PSN code if you win. You can read our official contest rules here. US and Canada residents only please. Our apologies to readers from other countries.
Winners will be selected at random and can expect a PM from one of our administrators early next week. Don’t forget to check your inbox to see if you’ve won!
Good luck!
iPad reviews of the week: VidRhythm, Radballs, DrawRace 2, Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!
We're checking out the latest offerings from a couple recognizable names in the world of console gaming this week: VidRhythm, the wacky video creation from Rock Band developer Harmonix, as well as DrawRace 2 HD, a touchscreen-oriented racer from Trials HD creator RedLynx. Elsewhere, we're tackling an alluring music-addled puzzle game called Radballs, as well as checking out the second in the series of Serious Sam-inspired indie games, Kamikaze Attack! Most of these are universal apps – aside from DrawRace 2, which has separate iPad and iPhone apps – so one download will let you play on any compatible iOS device. Check 'em out!
Game: VidRhythm
Price: $1.99/£1.49
Size: 12.8MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store: US / UK
VidRhythm is not a game, which makes it a curious anomaly in the history of this weekly feature, as well as the long and impressive background of creator Harmonix – you know, the studio that spawned Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central, and Karaoke Revolution. Harmonix has an amazing knack for creating innovative and exciting music-related products, and VidRhythm continues that theme on the much smaller scale of a two-dollar universal iPad and iPhone app. Is the developer's first commercial non-game as notable as those aforementioned experiences? Not in the slightest. But for all that the studio has served up over the years, we'll happily check out their other ventures if it'll keep 'em rocking out for years to come.
Depending on how you choose to wield VidRhythm’s abilities, it's either a force for amusement or annoyance. The app grabs quick video clips of whatever's in view – your face, a pet, etc. – along with a brief voice clip as detailed, whether it's a drum-like sound or a hummed note. You'll choose one of 20 featured songs, including sped-up classical tunes and original compositions from within Harmonix, as well as a visual theme, with options inspired by past studio releases and other general themes like cats and colorful icons. Then simply press a button and watch the app transform your various choices into one goofy video that can be uploaded and shared online.
If you'd like to see some nightmarish examples of what happens when you mix the feline theme with human facial reactions, don't hesitate to search for "VidRhythm" on YouTube. It's hard not to admire the app’s ability to immediately translate bite-sized recordings into something lightly amusing you'll want inflict upon friends and family. Before iPhones (and later iPads) were so widely owned, it was easier to be wowed by the things these touchscreen wonders could do. VidRhythm is a welcome throwback to that time, so don't overthink its long-term worth; just drop a couple bucks and get weird with us already.
Game: Radballs
Price: $2.99/£1.99
Size: 165MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store: US / UK
"Radballs" is an awesome term, and Radballs also happens to be a neat iOS puzzle game. The game is all about matching like-colored balls and clearing them from the screen, but this superbly presented app takes its cues from a variety of sources, especially Bejeweled and Lumines. The latter favorite comes to mind due to the inclusion of a moving line (set to the beat of the music) that clears bunched-up balls – but it's also a notable influence on how damn slick the audio and visuals are in this iPad and iPhone offering.
This hodgepodge of familiar elements from top genre entries may not feel quite as polished, balanced, or addictive as its influences, it's definitely intriguing. Colored balls drop onto the playing field, where you shift balls around (one at a time) to pair up four or more like colors into squares or rectangles. Such blocks are cleared when the moving line passes through, which earns you points to fill your Radness meter and clear the stage, but Radballs adds in a fresh mechanic where you can grab the line and scratch it like a record to earn extra points. With power-ups that detonate or electrically clear large chunks of balls, you'll encounter several ways to earn enough Radness to clear each stage.
Born from '80s-inspired design flash, Radballs looks like a million bucks thanks to its eight distinct skins which toss up uniquely styled and colored balls, as well as themed iconography like palm trees and shutter shades. The soundtrack includes some fabulously thumping remixes of recent OK Go singles and other original electronic tracks from Neil Voss, who composed the Tetrisphere and The New Tetris OSTs way back when. Better yet, you can use your own DRM-free music to propel the puzzle action, which adds a new twist to the on-screen antics. Radballs may be like a Frankenstein's monster of existing puzzle ideas, but we can't help but be hooked by the excellent aesthetics.
Game: VidRhythm
Price: $1.99/£1.49
Size: 12.8MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store: US / UK
VidRhythm is not a game, which makes it a curious anomaly in the history of this weekly feature, as well as the long and impressive background of creator Harmonix – you know, the studio that spawned Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central, and Karaoke Revolution. Harmonix has an amazing knack for creating innovative and exciting music-related products, and VidRhythm continues that theme on the much smaller scale of a two-dollar universal iPad and iPhone app. Is the developer's first commercial non-game as notable as those aforementioned experiences? Not in the slightest. But for all that the studio has served up over the years, we'll happily check out their other ventures if it'll keep 'em rocking out for years to come.
Depending on how you choose to wield VidRhythm’s abilities, it's either a force for amusement or annoyance. The app grabs quick video clips of whatever's in view – your face, a pet, etc. – along with a brief voice clip as detailed, whether it's a drum-like sound or a hummed note. You'll choose one of 20 featured songs, including sped-up classical tunes and original compositions from within Harmonix, as well as a visual theme, with options inspired by past studio releases and other general themes like cats and colorful icons. Then simply press a button and watch the app transform your various choices into one goofy video that can be uploaded and shared online.
If you'd like to see some nightmarish examples of what happens when you mix the feline theme with human facial reactions, don't hesitate to search for "VidRhythm" on YouTube. It's hard not to admire the app’s ability to immediately translate bite-sized recordings into something lightly amusing you'll want inflict upon friends and family. Before iPhones (and later iPads) were so widely owned, it was easier to be wowed by the things these touchscreen wonders could do. VidRhythm is a welcome throwback to that time, so don't overthink its long-term worth; just drop a couple bucks and get weird with us already.
Game: Radballs
Price: $2.99/£1.99
Size: 165MB
Buy it now from the iTunes store: US / UK
"Radballs" is an awesome term, and Radballs also happens to be a neat iOS puzzle game. The game is all about matching like-colored balls and clearing them from the screen, but this superbly presented app takes its cues from a variety of sources, especially Bejeweled and Lumines. The latter favorite comes to mind due to the inclusion of a moving line (set to the beat of the music) that clears bunched-up balls – but it's also a notable influence on how damn slick the audio and visuals are in this iPad and iPhone offering.
This hodgepodge of familiar elements from top genre entries may not feel quite as polished, balanced, or addictive as its influences, it's definitely intriguing. Colored balls drop onto the playing field, where you shift balls around (one at a time) to pair up four or more like colors into squares or rectangles. Such blocks are cleared when the moving line passes through, which earns you points to fill your Radness meter and clear the stage, but Radballs adds in a fresh mechanic where you can grab the line and scratch it like a record to earn extra points. With power-ups that detonate or electrically clear large chunks of balls, you'll encounter several ways to earn enough Radness to clear each stage.
Born from '80s-inspired design flash, Radballs looks like a million bucks thanks to its eight distinct skins which toss up uniquely styled and colored balls, as well as themed iconography like palm trees and shutter shades. The soundtrack includes some fabulously thumping remixes of recent OK Go singles and other original electronic tracks from Neil Voss, who composed the Tetrisphere and The New Tetris OSTs way back when. Better yet, you can use your own DRM-free music to propel the puzzle action, which adds a new twist to the on-screen antics. Radballs may be like a Frankenstein's monster of existing puzzle ideas, but we can't help but be hooked by the excellent aesthetics.
TGS 2011: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy hands-on preview
The Final Fantasy series as whole has one of the best music catalogs in all of gaming, so the idea to make a rhythm game featuring all the classics from the franchise's history is about as solid as it gets. With awesome rhythm games on the DS like Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven already setting a strong standard, our expectations were high as we picked up Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy for the very first time. After playing through all the tracks available on the TGS demo, it looks like the Final Fantasy rhythm game is right on track.
First, let's talk about the basic mechanics. Like many rhythm games, Theatrhythm features several kinds of notes that you must hit in time to the music in a specific way. Basic notes require a simple tap, arrow notes require a quick flick in the indicated direction, and hold notes require you to hold the stylus to the screen for the indicated duration. Accuracy is graded on each note, with "critical" appropriately being the highest grade possible. Similar to DDR, your character has a life bar and you HP goes up and down depending on how many notes you hit/miss, failing you out of the song if it hits zero.
From the start, it's clear that Theatrhythm isn't just a generic rhythm game with a Final Fantasy skin. First, there are three types of levels that correspond with the three major sections of an FF game – battles, exploration, and cutscenes. Battles are quite similar in format to DDR, where notes move in a straight line across the screen. The set-up looks like an FF battle, with a monster on the left and four party members on the right. As the notes scroll across the top screen, you can tap anywhere on the bottom screen to hit them. Once we got a good streak going on our first battle (the battle theme for the original FF), we automatically triggered a summon, which felt a lot like activating star power in rock band.
Field exploration levels switch things up a bit. Whereas the hold notes in battles are all just a straight line where you don't have to move the stylus at all, the field sections we played had lots of hold notes with wavy lines where we had to move our stylus on the bottom screen to keep it lined up with each note's twisting path. And whereas the battle and exploration levels are side-scrolling, the cutscenes present a fixed screen where the scene plays in the background and the notes circle around in place.
While the highly stylized, over-the-top chibi-size adorableness of the art won't appeal to everyone, we absolutely love it. It fits well for this type of game too – it's a spinoff, not a serious Final Fantasy game, and as such it shouldn't look like one (and if the sprites look familiar, it's because they're from the Japan-only Kingdom Hearts Mobile game). Plus, there's just something fun about seeing characters we've known and loved for so long in a completely different light than we're used to.
The music too, is obviously fantastic. The final game will have over 50 tracks, with three songs each for each game in the numbered series, from the first Final Fantasy through FFXIII (our favorite track from the demo was probably Tina's theme from FFVI, but it's tough to choose).
We're eagerly anticipating an official announcement that Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy will be localized outside of Japan, so look for more news as soon as that happens.
First, let's talk about the basic mechanics. Like many rhythm games, Theatrhythm features several kinds of notes that you must hit in time to the music in a specific way. Basic notes require a simple tap, arrow notes require a quick flick in the indicated direction, and hold notes require you to hold the stylus to the screen for the indicated duration. Accuracy is graded on each note, with "critical" appropriately being the highest grade possible. Similar to DDR, your character has a life bar and you HP goes up and down depending on how many notes you hit/miss, failing you out of the song if it hits zero.
From the start, it's clear that Theatrhythm isn't just a generic rhythm game with a Final Fantasy skin. First, there are three types of levels that correspond with the three major sections of an FF game – battles, exploration, and cutscenes. Battles are quite similar in format to DDR, where notes move in a straight line across the screen. The set-up looks like an FF battle, with a monster on the left and four party members on the right. As the notes scroll across the top screen, you can tap anywhere on the bottom screen to hit them. Once we got a good streak going on our first battle (the battle theme for the original FF), we automatically triggered a summon, which felt a lot like activating star power in rock band.
Field exploration levels switch things up a bit. Whereas the hold notes in battles are all just a straight line where you don't have to move the stylus at all, the field sections we played had lots of hold notes with wavy lines where we had to move our stylus on the bottom screen to keep it lined up with each note's twisting path. And whereas the battle and exploration levels are side-scrolling, the cutscenes present a fixed screen where the scene plays in the background and the notes circle around in place.
While the highly stylized, over-the-top chibi-size adorableness of the art won't appeal to everyone, we absolutely love it. It fits well for this type of game too – it's a spinoff, not a serious Final Fantasy game, and as such it shouldn't look like one (and if the sprites look familiar, it's because they're from the Japan-only Kingdom Hearts Mobile game). Plus, there's just something fun about seeing characters we've known and loved for so long in a completely different light than we're used to.
The music too, is obviously fantastic. The final game will have over 50 tracks, with three songs each for each game in the numbered series, from the first Final Fantasy through FFXIII (our favorite track from the demo was probably Tina's theme from FFVI, but it's tough to choose).
We're eagerly anticipating an official announcement that Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy will be localized outside of Japan, so look for more news as soon as that happens.
TGS 2011: Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (Kinect) preview
Announced last year at Tokyo Game Show before Kinect hit stores, the idea of a new Steel Battalion game for a controller-free hardware d-on seemed almost comical. The original Steel Battalion is remembered by hardcore collectors for being packed in with one of the most complicated console controllers of all time. Now the series is back with Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor as Capcom gives development responsibilities to From Software, and in the place of two control sticks, three pedals, and 40 buttons, you’re left with motion controls to fill the gap. Could that possibly work? After seeing it in action, we think it just might.
During our hands-off, developer controlled demo, we quickly understood that Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor’s greatest strength is its use of Kinect and the standard controller in unison. The fact that a controller is involved came as a relief to us, since a mech combat game like this one demands precision that waving your arms about can’t really do on its own. For the core mechanic of pointing you weapons at stuff and blowing it to smithereens, it’s all on the controller, but there’s a myriad of things happening around that central experience that can only be done with Kinect.
Taking place in a future where a virus caused technology to basically be set back to the 1920s, humanity has had to to quickly get back in the swing of things now that computers are gone. In that turmoil America was invaded by a country that sounds like some sort of Communist conglomeration, and in 2082 America is slowly taking back their states, one bloody, mech-filled battle at a time. In this war you pilot a VT or Vertical Tank, the walking war machines central to the conflict.
From inside the VT a team of soldiers run the contraption, with you manning the main controls. In the background your support team is reloading the canons, checking diagnostics, and talking plainly yet poetically about the nature of war. From standard view inside the cockpit, which is seen when sitting and having the controller in a resting position on your lap, you can turn around and check on your squad mates with a quick sweep of your hand in the direction of the corner of the tank you want to check.
As we were introduced to the motion controls they came off as a mix of useful and gimmicky. Pratical tricks included turning a knob to switch your main weapon, pulling down your camera array to view the battlefield from different angles, and standing up to exit the top of the tank to get an unobstructed view of the battlefield. The more gimmicky uses included shaking a squad member’s hand, putting your hands up to your eyes to use binoculars while standing, and in one of the funnier moments of the demo, punching a hysterical teammate. As the battle gets too intense for one member of the support team, he tries to run out of the tank and, after pulling him back in with a quick overhead grab with your right hand, you then punch him in the face multiple times to get him to calm down, which works for some reason.
That brief exchange of therapeutic punches was peppered with obscenities highlights another important thing about the game: it seems heavily aimed at the western, mature market. The battles are incredibly bloody, with VT machinegun fire hitting human infantry and exploding them into bloody messes on impact. Additionally, the soldiers have swear-heavy conversations about how effed up a particular battle is, and how they don’t need this shit. The overall look also seems more Western, with character designs and settings taking a much more American flavor.
Though the start of the demo was frontloaded with Kinect-based actions, the deeper we got in, the more the controller took center stage. With a quick push forward of both hands and the controller, the pilot enters the standard action view, as the VT slowly walked forward, blasting enemies both human and mech to bits. While standard munitions just bounce off the exterior, heavy blasts from opposing VTs cast about the cockpit and its inhabitants violently. After taking down a particularly heavily armored VT and some guard towers, the day was won and the soldiers had taken back Manhattan.
After the brief demo we were impressed with how the controller and Kinect were able to work together for a richer-looking experience that could be something special when its 2012 release rolls around. Though we don’t think all the Kinect uses we saw were wholly necessary, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor could be the first Kinect game that successfully caters to hardcore players instead of dancing grandmas and excitable children. However, with all the different ways you use Kinect controls in the cockpit, we bet this will have one hell of a tutorial.
During our hands-off, developer controlled demo, we quickly understood that Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor’s greatest strength is its use of Kinect and the standard controller in unison. The fact that a controller is involved came as a relief to us, since a mech combat game like this one demands precision that waving your arms about can’t really do on its own. For the core mechanic of pointing you weapons at stuff and blowing it to smithereens, it’s all on the controller, but there’s a myriad of things happening around that central experience that can only be done with Kinect.
Taking place in a future where a virus caused technology to basically be set back to the 1920s, humanity has had to to quickly get back in the swing of things now that computers are gone. In that turmoil America was invaded by a country that sounds like some sort of Communist conglomeration, and in 2082 America is slowly taking back their states, one bloody, mech-filled battle at a time. In this war you pilot a VT or Vertical Tank, the walking war machines central to the conflict.
From inside the VT a team of soldiers run the contraption, with you manning the main controls. In the background your support team is reloading the canons, checking diagnostics, and talking plainly yet poetically about the nature of war. From standard view inside the cockpit, which is seen when sitting and having the controller in a resting position on your lap, you can turn around and check on your squad mates with a quick sweep of your hand in the direction of the corner of the tank you want to check.
As we were introduced to the motion controls they came off as a mix of useful and gimmicky. Pratical tricks included turning a knob to switch your main weapon, pulling down your camera array to view the battlefield from different angles, and standing up to exit the top of the tank to get an unobstructed view of the battlefield. The more gimmicky uses included shaking a squad member’s hand, putting your hands up to your eyes to use binoculars while standing, and in one of the funnier moments of the demo, punching a hysterical teammate. As the battle gets too intense for one member of the support team, he tries to run out of the tank and, after pulling him back in with a quick overhead grab with your right hand, you then punch him in the face multiple times to get him to calm down, which works for some reason.
That brief exchange of therapeutic punches was peppered with obscenities highlights another important thing about the game: it seems heavily aimed at the western, mature market. The battles are incredibly bloody, with VT machinegun fire hitting human infantry and exploding them into bloody messes on impact. Additionally, the soldiers have swear-heavy conversations about how effed up a particular battle is, and how they don’t need this shit. The overall look also seems more Western, with character designs and settings taking a much more American flavor.
Though the start of the demo was frontloaded with Kinect-based actions, the deeper we got in, the more the controller took center stage. With a quick push forward of both hands and the controller, the pilot enters the standard action view, as the VT slowly walked forward, blasting enemies both human and mech to bits. While standard munitions just bounce off the exterior, heavy blasts from opposing VTs cast about the cockpit and its inhabitants violently. After taking down a particularly heavily armored VT and some guard towers, the day was won and the soldiers had taken back Manhattan.
After the brief demo we were impressed with how the controller and Kinect were able to work together for a richer-looking experience that could be something special when its 2012 release rolls around. Though we don’t think all the Kinect uses we saw were wholly necessary, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor could be the first Kinect game that successfully caters to hardcore players instead of dancing grandmas and excitable children. However, with all the different ways you use Kinect controls in the cockpit, we bet this will have one hell of a tutorial.
TGS 2011: Clan of Champions announced for PS3, 360 and PC
NIS America recently announced at TGS that it plans to publish the fantasy action game Clan of Champions in North America and Europe for PS3, 360 and PC. The multi-platform title is quite a departure for the publisher, best known for niche Japanese titles like the hardcore tactical RPG series Disgaea and lovely Ar Tonelico JRPGs.
Clan of Champions is being developed by Acquire, best known for the Tenchu series. The developer has also worked with NIS before on the PSP titles What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord? and Class of Heroes, but this type of multi-platform project is new territory. Multiplayer will be a huge component too, with both three player co-op and three-on-three competitive modes. Character customization will allow players to choose among human, elf or orc, and although it's primarily an action game, it appears to have some RPG elements like weapon leveling.
Set for a Spring 2012 release in both North America and Europe, Clan of Champions is definitely one we'll be keeping our eye on in the coming months.
Set for a Spring 2012 release in both North America and Europe, Clan of Champions is definitely one we'll be keeping our eye on in the coming months.
TGS 2011: Comical Tekken 3D Prime Edition trailer fires new shot in the Street Fighter/Tekken war
Since the announcement of Street Fighter X Tekken the heads of their respective franchises, Yoshinori Ono of Street Fighter and Katsuhiro Harada of Tekken, have appeared in a series of silly videos for that game. Still, most of them have been for the Capcom side of things, as SFXT is being developed by Capcom and Tekken X Street Fighter has yet to be shown in any real capacity, but that changed with the new trailer for Tekken 3D Prime Edition for 3DS. Despite this being a Namco title, this awesome video starts at Capcom’s offices and features a scene-stealing turn by Ono. Watch!
We love this trailer for so many reasons, most of which involve Ono’s theatrical laughter, and it was cool to see Namco use this comical developer rivalry to hype their new game. And you have to give credit to Capcom for participating in an ad for something they aren’t involved in at all. Though we suppose it’s possible that this indirectly advertises SFXT, so Capcom gets some bonus.
Tekken has been all over the place lately, with a new CG film, a Tekken Tag HD remake and the planned Tekken Tag 2 on top of all the Street Fighter crossover talk, so seeing it spread to the 3DS isn’t much of a shock. When we briefly saw the game in action we thought, “Yup, that’s totally Tekken in 3D,” as it seems like a capable, no frills version of the series for the new handheld. And the fact that you get the 3D CG film Tekken Blood Vengeance with your standard Tekken fix of 40 playable characters on the 3DS sounds like a pretty good deal. Now if they could just make Ono and Harada playable characters…
We love this trailer for so many reasons, most of which involve Ono’s theatrical laughter, and it was cool to see Namco use this comical developer rivalry to hype their new game. And you have to give credit to Capcom for participating in an ad for something they aren’t involved in at all. Though we suppose it’s possible that this indirectly advertises SFXT, so Capcom gets some bonus.
TGS 2011: The console war parody rages on with Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2
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The same cast of characters will return in Mk2, but the battle system has been totally revamped. We're told battles will be more strategic this time, the combo system will be streamlined to be faster, and the overmap and exploration are receiving overhauls as well. We're eager to see what improvements the sequel will make over its predecessor, so look for more details before Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 releases next Spring.
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