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News Archive
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| [3DS] Pricing and Release Date Coming in September |
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Posted by: LemonManX - Yesterday 06:41 PM
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That's right, folks. The wait is almost over. At least the wait until we know the price and release date for Nintendo's upcoming handheld that is. According to sources, the Japanese game giant announced that it will be letting us all know pricing details and a release date on the 29th of September.
So far what we know is all speculation, but we do know that it is scheduled to arrive by March 2011 and that the design shown at E3 2010 is likely to be the final model they go with. As for pricing, rumours were talking somewhere between $200 - $299. Not too much longer until we put the speculation to rest now.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3, X360] War for Cybertron Offering Double XP This Weekend |
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Posted by: LemonManX - Yesterday 06:18 PM
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High Moon have decided to offer double XP to all players over this weekend, starting from tomorrow at 9 p.m ET until Monday 3 a.m ET. So, if you are need more of a reason (the game is pretty fun, so this should only be a helpful nudge to get online) to play this game online then this is a good chance to do so.
However, if that isn't quite enough for you High Moon are also going to be having a few matches themselves on Xbox Live. You can check out the calendar entry here but basically it will run from 9 p.m ET tonight until midnight. These matches won't be double XP, but you'll be playing against the developers.
Transform and roll out.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [Wii] Lost in Shadow Release Date and New Info! |
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Posted by: Foxy - Yesterday 02:11 PM
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Hudson Entertainment have two hot pieces of news for all you Wii owners out there. First off is that their unique puzzle platformer, Lost in Shadow, that sees you controlling shadows will be coming to the Wii in North America on January 4th 2011.
Second up is that Hudson Entertainment are for the first time unveiling a new mechanic in the game with a new trailer to demonstrate which can be seen above. The new mechanic is called 'Materialization' and the release goes on to say:
'While the main character is indeed a shadow boy, on occasion in the game he will need to become a creature of light to achieve his ultimate goal. The boy’s shadow is able to acquire multiple swords, which not only help him defeat enemies but allow him to enter certain areas that were restricted by the Tower’s Keeper. The “Watchman’s Sword” allows the boy to manipulate both light and shadow by cutting a door in reality. Doing so opens areas that the boy can travel to as a being of light and can manipulate physical objects for a limited period of time. '
I for one am very excited about getting my hands on the game next January, what about you?
Written By: James Stevenson
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| [Wii] More Metroid Footage, Some New Mixed With Some Old |
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Posted by: LemonManX - Yesterday 02:04 AM
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Today has been a very Metroid-filled day, and that's the best way things can be. Finally the lid is being lifted on the continuation of Samus Aran's story, and I couldn't be much more excited. Probably the final bit of Metroid love for today we have more video action. This video features a few new environments mixed in with a lot of stuff we have already seen.
If you can read Japanese then you should also feel free to check out the new Iwata Asks which recently went up, if you can't guess it is the Metroid: Other M segment. Be sure to check it out here, or just wait patiently for an official English translation (never trust Google).
Metroid: Other M will be available on the 31st of August in America, and the 2nd of September in Japan and Europe.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3, X360, PC] R.U.S.E Finally Gets a Date |
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Posted by: LemonManX - Yesterday 01:48 AM
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Ubisoft's upcoming strategy title, R.U.S.E, has been somewhat quiet over the last few weeks. Finally though, lips have been opened and the words that have escaped these lips reveal the games release date.
In America, the game will hit shelves on the 7th of September for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. In European territories it will hit shelves on the 9th of September for all platforms. Finally, in the UK it will hit shelves on the 10th of September on all platforms.
These details are correct if the tweet is to be believed, so if you have been anticipating the release your desires will soon be fulfilled. That is unless this all ends up being another ruse cleverly plotted to get people talking again. Either way, stay tuned for further information.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [Wii] New Metroid Footage Appears, Deadly Moves |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 10:49 PM
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GoNintendo have just posted up a video showcasing some more sweet, sweet Metroid: Other M action. Sounds like a nice follow-up to the information-packed interview from Famitsu that you can get the key chunks of information from over here. Why not watch the above short video while it loads?
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [Wii] Theater Mode Coming to Metroid: Other M |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 10:13 PM
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Recently, Famitsu featured an interview with Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi and Nintendo's Yoshio Sakamoto. Inside the interview, various details concerning Metroid: Other M were discussed, such as the origin behind the idea of the game and chatter about the newly announced Theater Mode.
According to Yosuke Hayashi, Sakamoto wanted to create a 3D action game that could also be played by a single Wii remote. This concept, latest gameplay with the simplest controls, was the basis of what would gradually see Metroid: Other M evolve to what we've been seeing over the last month.
"If you come across something that seems suspicious, that's your cue to try switching perspectives. We intended to have a lot of that searching aspect because that's what Metroid is known for -- Metroid games have unique map structures and lots of hidden corridors, and I was worried that Team Ninja would have trouble grasping the concept at first, but the know-how involved went over loud and clear and I'm impressed with the results."
They also talk about the amount the power-ups that are featured in the game, those who had been worried about the number taking a hit can relax. They mention that it features the usual amount of expansions, which means you'll have plenty of exploring to do in order to track them all down. Hayashi claims that you'll only find about 30% of the power-ups on a straight play-through.
Sakamoto also discusses how they tried to make the transitions from gameplay to cutscenes are seamless as possible. Doing this meant that actions had to be seamless from gameplay to cutscene as well. This meant they had to be especially cautious when doing the motion capture, since it wouldn't have been practical to have to come back and re-capture everything when they did something slightly different. This is where the "theater mode" is mentioned, where you'll be able to watch all of the in-game cinematic back-to-back. When watching them back-to-back there is about two hours of cutscenes to sit through, they will be broken up into chapters, you can also use pre-recorded gameplay bits between the cinematic to link them up. The sameple gameplay seems like Other M's own version of Nintendo's Super Guide, you'll be able to check out how to defeat bosses if you are having trouble.
Hayashi closes with, "In making this game, I wanted to tell action-game fans that this is Team Ninja's newest game without feeling embarrassed to do so. At the same time, I also think that people who've drifted away from the genre can get a taste of what makes action games fun once again, so I'd love everyone to try it out."
Its hard not to be excited about Samus' next adventure at this rate, why does it feel like the end of August is so far away?
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [Wii] Aonuma Explains Reason Behind Skyward Sword's Art Style |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 09:20 PM
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Some of the more picky Zelda fans appear to have been a bit unsettled by Skyward Sword's visual style, but Nintendo have no intention of changing it. Eiji Aonuma has talked about the reasoning behind the choice to follow this style in the latest issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine.
“One of the reasons we’ve chosen the art style we have with Skyward Sword is that it is a better vehicle to showcase the exaggerated characteristics of some of the characters. Not only of the enemy characters, but as a representation of the sword spirit itself. Because of the way we have put the game together you have to focus on how the enemy is carrying their weapon, and there are a couple of different ways you can go about that. One, you can be super-realistic, and the other, not so realistic. We thought that because we want to highlight the swordfighting combat, we have to exaggerate the features. We thought that the art style we chose was best-suited to do that. You have to match the art style to how the game plays, and we thought this worked best. We matched the artwork so that we can highlight the over-exaggeration in the gameplay.”
Does this help you accept the art direction that Nintendo have gone with? Or would still prefer a more realistic Twilight Princess-flavoured style game? Aonuma also talked about some of the environment and gameplay details.
“It’s hard, obviously, to introduce major changes into the Zelda gameplay, and one of the reasons for that is that we have some traditional elements that we have protected and continued throughout the series. You have a field, you have dungeons, and there is a line across which area you are in, and which style of gameplay you are participating in. So what we’ve tried to do with Skyward Sword is to introduce some new elements. This time there are larger fields and dungeons that don’t really feel like dungeons or fields, but also incorporate some of those elements. We are re-imagining some of the traditional gameplay elements.”
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is due to hit shelves in early 2011, however the release date really can't come along quick enough.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3] Uncharted 2 1.09 Title Update Live |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 08:12 PM
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The newest update for Naughty Dog's popular Uncharted 2 seeks to fix some of the issues plaguing online. In particular it will be ridding itself of the nasty "super-throw" that could be exploited in Plunder. As well as this, there are some minor tweaks to cash rewards for performing certain actions or meeting certain requirements.
The altered cash prizes come in the form of lowered rewards for individual and kill-based medals in Objective modes and instead increasing the rewards for medals directly related to the objectives. Check out the numbers below:
- Tip Off – $1,000
- Captured – $4,000
- That's Embarrassing – $10,000
- Protectorate – $2,000
- No Cigar – $2,000
- Drop It – $1,000
- None Shall Pass – $5,000
- Expansionist – $5,000
It makes sense to have higher rewards for objectives in Objective mode, and hopefully should shift a greater focus back towards completing the actual objectives. The rest of the title update details can be found below.
- Changes made to multiplayer character skin system to allow for voices to be included with future skins
- Made changes to character game mechanics to prevent players from using exploits
- Fixed ability for players to "super throw" the treasure in Plunder matches
- Cash awarded per kill in Elimination has been increased to $750 per kill
- Enabled the ability for Naughty Dog to easily alter the amount of cash earned for individual Medals on a playlist or gametype basis and per-kill
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3, X360, PC] August 10th Sees New Dragon Age DLC |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 08:04 PM
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Recently, attendees at Comic Con had the chance to spend some hands-on time with the newest downloadable content package for Dragon Age: Origins, titled "Golems of Amgarrak".
If you liked what they were saying about it and own a copy of Dragon Age: Origins then you'll be happy to know you won't be waiting too much longer before you find yourself hammering through it. The DLC will go live on the 10th of August for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC players of the popular BioWare creation.
So, are you ready for some more Dragon Age action? The pack's description informs us that it will involve the search for a "missing dwarven expedition" as well as "ancient secrets for creating monstrous constructs."
Money on the "monstrous constructs" being Golems?
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3] No SOCOM 4 Until 2011 |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 07:41 PM
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Today on the official SOCOM blog, a post has appeared that explains why we won't be playing the PlayStation Move powered SOCOM 4 from Zipper until next year.
"While we're certainly aware that you've been looking forward to playing SOCOM 4 this year, we don't want to take any shortcuts. Instead, we want to deliver the best and most immersive SOCOM game we possibly can and we're going to use our extra time to do just that."
Slightly disappointing news for those who were anticipating the release of the game, but extra time being poured into the game can only result in a higher quality title. Until then you'll have plenty of other games to occupy your time such as Gran Turismo 5 and LittleBigPlanet 2 or even Zipper's own MAG if you'd rather.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [360] Hydro Thunder Hurricane Review |
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Posted by: Foxy - 07-28-2010 12:45 PM
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Title - Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Platforms - XBLA (Xbox 360)
Genre - Racing
Release Date - Wednesday 28th July 2010
A little over 10 years ago Midway released the boat racing title Hydro Thunder and it took the arcade scene by storm becoming an instant classic and it then made its way onto a number of platforms but it never had a true sequel. Sadly Midway went into Bankruptcy and had to sell off many of its franchises however Microsoft picked up the rights to Hydro Thunder and got Vector Unit to work on making a sequel straight away. This week Hydro Thunder Hurricane is hitting Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 microsoft points as part of their Summer of Arcade promotion that begun last week with Limbo, click here to see our review, or read on to see our thoughts on Hydro Thunder Hurricane!
Last week Summer of Arcade begun with a unique platforming title that had a large focus on presentation and this week the follow up is a stark contrast. In no way is this a bad thing though. Years ago arcade racers were in abundance but recently there has been a lack of such titles and fans of the genre have been starved but Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the very definition of the genre. While being a sequel it doesn't stray too far from the original.
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a more technically impressive game than the original. The new HD visuals while not being realistic, which wasn't the intention in the first place, are impressive and suit the arcade presentation of the game. The 8 different courses look great and are extravagant, featuring a variety of different routes and short cuts, huge canyons and on occasion you may even have a hazard on the track - for example on one of the courses a dragon will appear and cause a whirlpool to suck all the water towards the middle of the circular room and you have to drive around it.
Vroooooom
The water in the game looks good and is controlled by the AI in order to give a more controlled environment in the courses. At times the water physics can be a bit over whelming and turn from being something that you're enjoying conquering into an annoyance that is constantly flinging your boat around with little control on your part. The boats are fun to control for the most part. A lot depends on the route you take through level and if you hit the speed boosts that are dotted around the course.
The game holds up well and doesn't have any noticeable issues such as frame rate drops while you're playing however you're often greeted by tedious loading screens. While the loading doesn't take a long time you'll be seeing them a lot. Another problem I felt was that despite these boats traveling at extreme speeds you never really feel that even during the boosting where blurring is introduced.
The game doesn't feature much in the way of music, there is a looping background track through the menu and races but it gets repetitive. The boats themselves don't sound like the powerful machines they're meant to and through races you'll keep hearing a radio voice repeating the same lines over and over which gets annoying. However every time you start the game up you'll be greeted with an over the top announcer shouting HYDRO THUNDER HURRICANEEEEE, it'll be annoying to some people but to people like me it's a nice arcade touch.
There are four different single player modes in the game. Race is your standard affair, you against 15 other boats to complete the course the quickest, you choose any route you want around the course in order to beat the opponents and some of the later levels will depend heavily on you remembering the quickest routes around. Ring Master is a time trial gate stage in which you have to race around the course going through all the rings, taking away the freedom of exploration of the track and leaving you to battle the waves in order to go through each gate or face a time penalty. Gauntlet is another time trial event but you can go anyway around the track you want however the track is littered with explosive barrels and every time you hit one time gets added onto the course completion time as your boat gets placed back on track. Championship is just a mix of all the previously mentioned events. It's a good mix and they are enjoyable variants, each feeling different to each other.
Each event has its own leaderboards which you can check your times against your friends and players all around the world. While flicking through events a box will appear showing where you stand compared to your friends. This is a great implementation of leaderboards, they actually add to the experience rather than feel tacked on.
Blast off!
The game also features multiplayer in the form of both local and online. There are two multiplayer modes, there is the standard race and there is ducky races. Ducky races are about two teams, each team has a rubber duck boat and you have to get your team's rubber duck across the finish line first. You have to try to slow down or destroy your opponent's duck so your team's duck can take the lead. My online experience with ducky races weren't as enjoyable as I imagined as I spent a lot of time waiting in lobbies for people to choose their boats and swap teams and then in the races most players didn't understand what to do so just treated it as a normal every man for himself race. However I did have a lot of fun playing standard multiplayer races and I can see myself returning to them. This is a game that really benefits from multiplayer both local and online. Local multiplayer is locked to only four players but online has up to eight players. In multiplayer all the boats are unlocked from the start but the extra skins for the boats stay locked, this is fair as you don't have the better players being rewarded with even better boats to increase their advantage.
All in all I had a lot of fun with Hydro Thunder Hurricane, fans of arcade racers will love the game but it is also attractive to those who don't have the same fondness of the old arcade classics. Visually the game is good looking and features great looking large environments. The simplistic gameplay is extremely enjoyable and easy to get into but at times can be frustrating. Audio is present but lacking in quality. The game is one that features fun multiplayer and you'll keep replaying the single player portion due to the in depth online leader boards. Hydro Thunder Hurricane is an enjoyable game but it isn't a memorable title, I'd recommend trying out the free demo. The game is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft points which translates to $15/£10.
Written by: James Stevenson (James.s@vgzero.com)
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| [DS] Radiant Historia Announced for the Nintendo DS |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 11:14 AM
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Back in March, it was discovered that Atlus had registered a new trademark for a Radiant Historia, at first gamers were interested but nothing had come of it. That is until now, the game has been unveiled in the newest issue of Famitsu.
In short, Radiant Historia is a game being developed for the Nintendo DS and it is being worked on by Atlus and some of the staff that helped make Radiant Stories (which was a tri-Ace developed RPG for the PlayStation 2 published by Square Enix). Hiroshi Konishi is taking the reigns as the lead artist and Mitsuru Hirata (who worked on Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey) is stepping in as the game's director.
The first page mentions that the characters will find themselves traveling back and forth through time. It is due to release in Japan on the 4th of November, so far there is no known date for a Western release.
At this point in time, not much more news is known. Rest assured, as it comes to light you will be informed.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [Wii] "Story Trailer" for Metroid: Other M Released |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 11:03 AM
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With the American release slowly (and I emphasise) slowly crawling closer, the intriguing title that is Metroid: Other M will soon be in the hands of the general public. To make the wait that little bit more painful, some more footage featuring the Japanese voice work has been uncovered.
The new trailer is titled the "Story Trailer" and, as you can imagine, appears to focus on the story of the game. However, due to the Japanese language voice acting, it will be difficult to really understand what is happening.
Do you think the Japanese voice acting is so far sounding far better than the English voice acting? Or are you at peace with both versions so far? Lastly, would you like a dual-language option?
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3, X360, PC] Dungeon Seige 3 Teaser Unleashed |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 10:54 AM
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Obsidian Entertainment aren't only working on Fallout: New Vegas, they are also teaming up with Square Enix for the upcoming title, Dungeon Siege 3.
After the announcement that it was coming, radio silence seemed to take over somewhat, but luckily that has broken with Square Enix releasing a teaser trailer for the game to the world.
According to Square Enix, it will seamlessly blend "intuitive action gameplay, a robust RPG system featuring a large selection of abilities, an extensive multiplayer component and the depth of story." Joined by your unique companions, you will embark on a quest through the land of Ehb in an attempt to restore peace using your heroic abilities, powerful magic and deadly weapons.
Stay tuned for more Dungeon Siege 3 news as it surfaces.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [GC10, PS3, X360, PC] Bethesda Announces Their Games Com 2010 Titles |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-28-2010 10:43 AM
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Bethesda have unveiled the list of games that they'll be showing at GamesCom 2010 in Cologne when it kicks off on the 18th of August.
They'll be bringing a few titles with them, two of which will probably get some of their fans excited. They'll have Fallout: New Vegas (from Obsidian), Hunted: The Demon's Forge (by inXile Entertainment), Brink (from Splash Damage) and the hyped Rage (from id Software) will be having a few presentations after it swept E3.
After how many awards Rage got from E3, it will be very interesting to see some more impressions on id's return to the top tier of video game development.
GamesCom runs from August 18 - 22 in Cologne, Germany.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [iPhone] Doodle Jump Reaches 5 Million Downloads |
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Posted by: Snakey - 07-28-2010 06:25 AM
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Lima Sky, developers of the increasingly popular iPhone app Doodle Jump, have confirmed that the game has reached the 5 million downloads mark from the iTunes App Store. Doodle Jump has remained in the top 25 best-selling apps list for over a year, and has received nods from big names such as Jimmy Fallon and Lady Gaga to further spread the word.
Apple takes a 30% cut of the profits, meaning that the two brothers who developed Doodle Jump are around 3 Million dollars better off. The game recently received an update to support multitasking, along with underwater and World Cup themed levels for you to jump around in.
You can download Doodle Jump from the App Store for 59p (99¢).
Written By: Billy Hudson
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| [Wii] Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-27-2010 12:23 AM
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Title: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Platforms: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Platformer / Adventure
Release date: JP – Out now US – Out now EU – Out now AU – Out now
Nintendo have been unpopular amongst their core fans lately. Well, mostly those who remain quite intolerant towards their constant neglect of the hardcore fans. But they are seeking to turn that around over the next few months. What is their first step towards redemption? Super Mario Galaxy 2 is, of course. Upon its grand reveal at E3 last year, there was a fair amount of doubt among fans. And fair enough, because the game looked exactly the same except that it featured Yoshi. Fans began to believe that Nintendo were just appealing to their wallets again based off of Super Mario Galaxy 1. Is this how the end result ended up? Or is this game truly a great sequel. Easy question. This game easily surpasses and improves everything that the first game gave to us. More colourful and good-looking visuals, refined control mechanics, more glorious and sometimes mind-bending galaxies and another beautiful soundtrack to get stuck in our heads. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a true successor to the first game.
...this game is nearly all good points, when compiling the pros and cons list for the end of the review I struggled with the negatives. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is all that you could want from a Mario game and so much more, some may complain that is too much like Galaxy 1 and they are entitled to. After all, it is a sequel and Mario games generally haven’t had sequels since the old Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World days. Does this mean we might see a Super Mario Galaxy 3 on the Wii? Well, if this effort is anything to go by then all I can is: I certainly hope so!
Click here to read the rest of the review.
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| [X360] Return of Master Chief Will Happen |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-26-2010 11:27 PM
- Replies (8)
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After his send-off at the end of Halo 3 in cryosleep (You have played the game by now if you cared about Halo) as he drifted through space seemingly towards a mysterious planet many people began to speculate when we'd see him again. Since Halo 3 we've had Halo: ODST and soon Halo: Reach.
Well, you can all breath a sigh of relief as Frank O'Connor (Creative Director of 343 Industries) has said in an interview at Comic-Con that the big Chief's return is a definite one.
“We’d have to be the world’s biggest a**holes not to follow through,” O’Connor said. “We certainly haven’t seen the last of Master Chief.”
The only question is how long we'll have to wait after Halo: Reach before we get to see him again. Do you want Master Chief to come back? Especially as Bungie leaves the franchise in the hands of a Halo-centric team.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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| [PS3] MAG's Sabotage Heading to 'Faction Neutral' Territory |
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Posted by: LemonManX - 07-26-2010 07:04 PM
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The Sabotage game-mode has been a cause of distress for some dedicated MAG players, mostly because some of the factions just have extremely well fortified fortresses and infiltrating them can at times be frustrated, especially when you are always the one attacking one of them.
Zipper have listened to complaints and are adding a minor change that will set it so that anyone can be the defending team on any of the fortresses, thus meaning that that you can be Raven and defend S.V.E.R's fortress from Valor's unwashed masses.
Jeremy Dunham wrote "if you choose to play Sabotage and you're on Valor, you'll be able to defend SVER and Raven's map in addition to your own. On the flipside, you'll also be able to attack you're own map with another PMC defending it."
Potentially the best thing is that it isn't a downloading, they just had to tweak some options so that when you log-in next, you'll be able to go faction neutral.
Written by: Kyran Morrison
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