Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Vita New Screens
Konami confirmed today that Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will see release this June on PlayStation Vita. Along with the release date confirmation, they have also shared new screens.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Genre: First Person Shooter
Origin: Japan, North America, Europe
Release: Nov 13, 2012
Activision officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which will be hitting PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on Nov 13. The story takes place in near future during the 21st Century Cold War, in which you will find all new advanced weapons. The battle will take place in several locations including China, Japan and Afghanistan.
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Genre: First Person Shooter
Origin: Japan, North America, Europe
Release: Nov 13, 2012
Activision officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which will be hitting PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on Nov 13. The story takes place in near future during the 21st Century Cold War, in which you will find all new advanced weapons. The battle will take place in several locations including China, Japan and Afghanistan.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Mortal Kombat Vita Review
As Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 proved at the system's launch, the Vita can be a very capable home for fighting games. The system's gorgeous screen and impressive hardware make for a handheld that can stand up next to what the consoles have to offer. NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat reboot is the latest fighting game to get the Vita treatment, and luckily stands as a great port of last year's viciously violent fighter.
In terms of sheer content, Mortal Kombat on Vita offers a ton of features both new and old. The entire original game that released on consoles last year is here, complete with the full challenge tower and story mode. Additionally, all four DLC characters are now available from the get-go, along with God of War's Kratos, who was a special character in the PlayStation 3 version of the game. If that wasn't enough, the Vita version also adds in another bonus challenge tower accessible from the menu, with challenges that capitalize both on the DLC characters as well as the Vita's touchscreen and motion controls.
Mortal Kombat on Vita brings all of the brutal combat, huge character roster, and bloody fatalities from last year's game to the system. The fast and frantic pace and combo-based mechanics are a blast to play, and the brutal X-ray moves return from the console version. While the AI can be exceptionally cheap at times leading to some real moments of frustration, the game still plays very well. Last year's story mode also returns with no changes made, following Raiden and his band of Earthrealm warriors as they attempt to change the past by fighting through the events of the first three Mortal Kombat games. The story is pretty cheesy and is filled with some over the top voice work and writing, but is a pretty fun take that MK fans will dig.
Control is an area where previous fighters have faltered on handhelds, and where Mortal Kombat on Vita shines. The game controls extremely well, and once unwieldy fatalities have been given the touchscreen treatment and are much easier to pull off. Simple directional swipes replace d-pad presses and face buttons aren't required when using the touchscreen. If you'd like to still use the more traditional button-based control scheme for fatalities, you absolutely can.
Another great element added to the mix is a brand new challenge tower. The new tower is a completely separate group of original challenges, quite a few of which take advantage of what the Vita has to offer from a hardware perspective. Using the accelerometer and touchscreen, you'll be doing everything from juggling fighters in the air with missile fire and wiping away view obstructing blood from the screen to shaking the Vita to defuse bombs and stagger enemies.
The bonus challenge tower includes two new modes, as well – Test Your Slice and Test Your Balance. Test Your Slice is a Fruit Ninja-style mini-game that has you slashing across the touchscreen, dismembering body parts to rack up high scores, while the more difficult Test Your Balance mode requires you to tilt your Vita to balance your character and keep them from falling in a deadly pit, all while severed body parts are being thrown at you. Of the two, Test Your Slice was a lot more fun, but neither of them really seemed to add much outside of self-contained, gimmicky experiences.
However, there are still plenty of challenges that play out more traditionally, featuring the game's four previously DLC-only characters for the first time in the challenge tower. The new tower will require you to use Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger quite often, on top of the aforementioned Vita hardware abilities.
Playing through the challenge tower is definitely addictive and extremely tough, but feels rewarding as you burn your way through it. As you complete the tower and you're your way through the game's other modes, you'll earn Koins that can be spent in the Krypt on new costumes, art, and other unlockables. You'll even get some new art and costumes from the DLC characters, which were previously unavailable in the original release. Overall, the new challenge tower is a blast, offering varied gameplay and some really fun, albeit very difficult moments littered throughout.
Graphically, Mortal Kombat on Vita runs at an impressively smooth 60 frames per second with very few bouts of slowdown. The original console experience ran at a similar clip, so being able to bring that and the smooth animations to a handheld format is a notable feat by the developers. However, there were a few consolations that happened in order to ensure the fast framerate, namely in the image quality of the character models. While the game looks great in motion, a closer look reveals that the characters look jagged, blocky, and not as detailed as their console counterparts. However, the grievance is a small one, and watching the game in motion is fantastic, as it successfully captures the fast pace and action of the original game.
The game supports both Wi-Fi and Ad-Hoc play. While there were a couple of performance hiccups in play sessions over Wi-Fi, Ad-Hoc worked swimmingly and both managed to maintain fluid framerates throughout.
In terms of sheer content, Mortal Kombat on Vita offers a ton of features both new and old. The entire original game that released on consoles last year is here, complete with the full challenge tower and story mode. Additionally, all four DLC characters are now available from the get-go, along with God of War's Kratos, who was a special character in the PlayStation 3 version of the game. If that wasn't enough, the Vita version also adds in another bonus challenge tower accessible from the menu, with challenges that capitalize both on the DLC characters as well as the Vita's touchscreen and motion controls.
Mortal Kombat on Vita brings all of the brutal combat, huge character roster, and bloody fatalities from last year's game to the system. The fast and frantic pace and combo-based mechanics are a blast to play, and the brutal X-ray moves return from the console version. While the AI can be exceptionally cheap at times leading to some real moments of frustration, the game still plays very well. Last year's story mode also returns with no changes made, following Raiden and his band of Earthrealm warriors as they attempt to change the past by fighting through the events of the first three Mortal Kombat games. The story is pretty cheesy and is filled with some over the top voice work and writing, but is a pretty fun take that MK fans will dig.
Control is an area where previous fighters have faltered on handhelds, and where Mortal Kombat on Vita shines. The game controls extremely well, and once unwieldy fatalities have been given the touchscreen treatment and are much easier to pull off. Simple directional swipes replace d-pad presses and face buttons aren't required when using the touchscreen. If you'd like to still use the more traditional button-based control scheme for fatalities, you absolutely can.
Another great element added to the mix is a brand new challenge tower. The new tower is a completely separate group of original challenges, quite a few of which take advantage of what the Vita has to offer from a hardware perspective. Using the accelerometer and touchscreen, you'll be doing everything from juggling fighters in the air with missile fire and wiping away view obstructing blood from the screen to shaking the Vita to defuse bombs and stagger enemies.
The bonus challenge tower includes two new modes, as well – Test Your Slice and Test Your Balance. Test Your Slice is a Fruit Ninja-style mini-game that has you slashing across the touchscreen, dismembering body parts to rack up high scores, while the more difficult Test Your Balance mode requires you to tilt your Vita to balance your character and keep them from falling in a deadly pit, all while severed body parts are being thrown at you. Of the two, Test Your Slice was a lot more fun, but neither of them really seemed to add much outside of self-contained, gimmicky experiences.
However, there are still plenty of challenges that play out more traditionally, featuring the game's four previously DLC-only characters for the first time in the challenge tower. The new tower will require you to use Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger quite often, on top of the aforementioned Vita hardware abilities.
Playing through the challenge tower is definitely addictive and extremely tough, but feels rewarding as you burn your way through it. As you complete the tower and you're your way through the game's other modes, you'll earn Koins that can be spent in the Krypt on new costumes, art, and other unlockables. You'll even get some new art and costumes from the DLC characters, which were previously unavailable in the original release. Overall, the new challenge tower is a blast, offering varied gameplay and some really fun, albeit very difficult moments littered throughout.
Graphically, Mortal Kombat on Vita runs at an impressively smooth 60 frames per second with very few bouts of slowdown. The original console experience ran at a similar clip, so being able to bring that and the smooth animations to a handheld format is a notable feat by the developers. However, there were a few consolations that happened in order to ensure the fast framerate, namely in the image quality of the character models. While the game looks great in motion, a closer look reveals that the characters look jagged, blocky, and not as detailed as their console counterparts. However, the grievance is a small one, and watching the game in motion is fantastic, as it successfully captures the fast pace and action of the original game.
The game supports both Wi-Fi and Ad-Hoc play. While there were a couple of performance hiccups in play sessions over Wi-Fi, Ad-Hoc worked swimmingly and both managed to maintain fluid framerates throughout.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Screenshots Leaked
Looks like someone got a bit too excited! Ahead of tonight's formal reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2,
a series of screenshots have hit the web. The three pictures, enclosed
in this article, confirms that the upcoming sequel will have a
futuristic setting.
Two screens show a soldier under attack by previously revealed Quadrotor drones - big military airships powered by four huge rotors - while a third sees a number of these vehicles engaging in combat against an urban environment. Things are quite clearly blowing up, too.
Visually, the game is looking rather tasty, but it's also decidedly brown. That's the future, folks. It's certainly a big jump from the Cold War era that we experienced with the first Black Ops game. Are you pleased with it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.
Two screens show a soldier under attack by previously revealed Quadrotor drones - big military airships powered by four huge rotors - while a third sees a number of these vehicles engaging in combat against an urban environment. Things are quite clearly blowing up, too.
Visually, the game is looking rather tasty, but it's also decidedly brown. That's the future, folks. It's certainly a big jump from the Cold War era that we experienced with the first Black Ops game. Are you pleased with it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.
Rumour: Bayonetta 2 Has Been Cancelled
Some bad news for SEGA fans everywhere - SPOnG has heard word that Bayonetta 2 has been cancelled, following the publisher's ongoing restructure.
A source familiar with the situation has told SPOnG that progress on the apparent Platinum Games sequel was halted. The game was to include a new character, in the form of a member of the US military.
While it was not possible to ascertain from our source if Bayonetta 2 had begun development internally, the detail of a potential new character would suggest that plans were at least in a pre-production design stage.
SEGA announced a dramatic restructuring of its Western consumer business last month, following a dismal performance in the last fiscal year. Redundancies hit both the European and American offices, and a number of titles were said to be cancelled internally.
It was feared that Platinum Games' projects - which have been critically well-received but have had little success commercially - would be at risk, with a rumoured sequel to Bayonetta at the top of such a list. The original game was released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in January 2010, to critical acclaim.
SPOnG has asked SEGA about the situation, to the response, "No comment."
A source familiar with the situation has told SPOnG that progress on the apparent Platinum Games sequel was halted. The game was to include a new character, in the form of a member of the US military.
While it was not possible to ascertain from our source if Bayonetta 2 had begun development internally, the detail of a potential new character would suggest that plans were at least in a pre-production design stage.
SEGA announced a dramatic restructuring of its Western consumer business last month, following a dismal performance in the last fiscal year. Redundancies hit both the European and American offices, and a number of titles were said to be cancelled internally.
It was feared that Platinum Games' projects - which have been critically well-received but have had little success commercially - would be at risk, with a rumoured sequel to Bayonetta at the top of such a list. The original game was released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in January 2010, to critical acclaim.
SPOnG has asked SEGA about the situation, to the response, "No comment."
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Project Draco Officially Named Crimson Dragon
Project Draco went playable at today's Xbox 360 10th anniversary fan event in Akihabara. In addition to attendees getting a chance to go hands-on with the game, they were also given first official word of its new name, Crimson Dragon. The name had previously leaked out through overseas classification boards.
According to Famitsu.com's report from the event, Crimson Dragon is due for Xbox Live Arcade release some time this year.
Crimson Dragon is one of the high profile Xbox 360 games Microsoft announced at Tokyo Game Show 2010. It's being developed for Kinect by Yukio Futatsugi, of Panzer Dragoon fame.
Famitsu's report mention the following:
The game is a rails shooter, so you automatically progress forward through the stage. Your movements translate to direct movements by your dragon. You'll need to move around to avoid obstacles and incoming attacks.
To attack, you use your right hand, left hand, or both hands. Your right hand is used for lock on and homing attacks. Your left hand is used for powerful single shots.
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The lock-on and homing attack, while relatively weak, can strike multiple enemies at once. It also does not deplete your spirit gauge.
The spirit gauge is needed for performing more powerful attacks. The attacks from your left hand deplete a certain amount of the spirit gauge with each attack. If the gauge is filled up a certain way, you can wave both hands for a screen wiping attack -- this game's equivalent of a "bomb" attack. The spirit gauge is automatically filled up gradually with time.
Famitsu's writer was impressed with the presentation, with high praise for the graphics quality. The sound is from the Panzer Dragoon staff, according to the report.
Joining the impressions, the site shared a bunch of screenshots, which you can see here.
Grand Theft Auto V
Months after the release of the first official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, details on the game have remained fairly scarce. Now however, information about the direction of the upcoming sequel is finally coming to light.
“The greatest thing about the franchise’s last visit to San Andreas wasn’t the action, or story, or freedom to explore a huge, detailed world,” said Leslie Benzies, long-time producer of the GTA series. “It was the game’s meticulous attention to the protagonist’s physiology. If you ate too much, your character would become fat and sluggish; if he spent a lot of time at the gym he’d get stronger. That’s the sort of thing that gets people invested, that really makes them believe in the world of the game. With Grand Theft Auto V, we’re really pushing that to the forefront to make the most exciting open-world action game/health and personal hygiene simulator ever released.”
GTA: San Andreas’ character development mechanics will be returning in even greater detail. While its predecessor’s tracking of the player’s physical condition was relatively simple, Grand Theft Auto V will have a much more detailed system. “It’s not just a matter of going to the gym, doing some button-mashing to lift some weights, and getting stronger. You’ve got to exercise all the major muscle groups- quads, lats, abdominals, everything- as well as aerobic exercise to maintain cardiovascular health. You’ll also have to maintain proper levels of hydration, have appropriate rest periods between sets, remember to wipe off the equipment afterward if you’re using an exercise machine- all the fascinating minutiae of exercise.
“The player will have tremendous freedom to choose different training options according to the sort of development they want for their own character, whether it’s weight machines, treadmills, jogging, the StairMaster, free weights, isolation exercises, deadlifts, squats, or injecting various mixtures of anabolic steroids, amphetamines, and human and animal hormones into your buttocks. You’ll have to choose wisely, of course, or you may end up with a huge upper body and little stick legs, or be unable to throw a decent punch because you’ve developed huge biceps but neglected your triceps, or become so ‘roided up that you become an acne-covered, tiny-balled, man-bosomy rageaholic or, God forbid, a Gears of Warcharacter.”
Other physical attributes of the main character will also play an important role during gameplay, requiring players to carefully monitor and manage things like their current bowel and bladder capacity, blood sugar, hair length, body odor, breath odor, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, beard length, sperm count, sun exposure and sunscreen SPF, fingernail and toenail length, blood alcohol content, risk of dangerous interactions between prescription medications, and many other important stats.
“There will be a lot of challenging minigames to really bring the character to life,” Benzies said. “Showering, shaving, applying various creams and lotions, using the toilet, brushing your teeth, changing your contact lenses, ‘taking care of business’ when your character gets lonely, and lots of others. Videogame development is a conservative industry. I’m sure there are naysayers who will insist that fans of the Grand Theft Auto series won’t want to have to periodically interrupt the game’s usual intense intense action and excitement to play minigames that revolve around mashing buttons to successfully mix a protein shake, or maintain correct posture during a shoulder press, or douse yourself in aftershave to conceal how long it’s been since you’ve showered, but we believe gamers are a lot more open to innovation than they’re given credit for.”
Saturday, 25 February 2012
WiiU
My speech was about the potential for growth of social gaming. I am pretty sure it was taped and posted on gamerlive.tv
The Wii U comment was in response to a question about the potential for the Wii U.
I believe (and please feel free to disagree) that a large portion of the Wii audience comprised casual gamers--those who bought one or two games a year the first two years, then put the Wii aside--and that those casual gamers moved on to another platform. The "other" platform may have been Facebook games, smart phone games, tablet games, or one of the other consoles, but once they moved on, they are not likely to come back.
At the same time, I believe (again, please feel free to disagree) that the growth of smart phones and tablets has attracted many potential dedicated handheld game customers, and these people also are unlikely to come back to either 3DS or PS Vita.
Summing this up, I think the addressable market for the Wii U is around half of the market for the Wii, and I think Microsoft and Sony will compete for a portion of that market if the Wii U is priced too high. I think that the dedicated handheld market is permanently impacted by smart phones and tablets, and think that Nintendo's addressable market is probably also half of its former market.
Nintendo is in disarray because they waited too long to launch the Wii U. I know that this sounds like (and is) sour grapes because they didn't launch the Wii HD in 2009 or 2010 as I "predicted". They should have, and because they didn't, the decline in Wii and DS hardware and software sales drove them into generating LOSSES. For those of you who aren't financial analysts, losses mean that the company is worth less than it was before. Nintendo stock has dropped by over 80% in the last few years, and the market has appreciated over the same period. I'm paid to advise investors, and none have made a profit owning Nintendo stock. I don't think that many will make a profit over the next few years, because I don't think Nintendo's strategy will return them to profitability.
The Wii U comment was in response to a question about the potential for the Wii U.
I believe (and please feel free to disagree) that a large portion of the Wii audience comprised casual gamers--those who bought one or two games a year the first two years, then put the Wii aside--and that those casual gamers moved on to another platform. The "other" platform may have been Facebook games, smart phone games, tablet games, or one of the other consoles, but once they moved on, they are not likely to come back.
At the same time, I believe (again, please feel free to disagree) that the growth of smart phones and tablets has attracted many potential dedicated handheld game customers, and these people also are unlikely to come back to either 3DS or PS Vita.
Summing this up, I think the addressable market for the Wii U is around half of the market for the Wii, and I think Microsoft and Sony will compete for a portion of that market if the Wii U is priced too high. I think that the dedicated handheld market is permanently impacted by smart phones and tablets, and think that Nintendo's addressable market is probably also half of its former market.
Nintendo is in disarray because they waited too long to launch the Wii U. I know that this sounds like (and is) sour grapes because they didn't launch the Wii HD in 2009 or 2010 as I "predicted". They should have, and because they didn't, the decline in Wii and DS hardware and software sales drove them into generating LOSSES. For those of you who aren't financial analysts, losses mean that the company is worth less than it was before. Nintendo stock has dropped by over 80% in the last few years, and the market has appreciated over the same period. I'm paid to advise investors, and none have made a profit owning Nintendo stock. I don't think that many will make a profit over the next few years, because I don't think Nintendo's strategy will return them to profitability.
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