Author - Judgeman

Capcom Shows Off Upcoming Titles at E3

2011/06/08
Judgeman
E3, News

Capcom today showcased many of their upcoming releases for the next year at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.  Capcom was busy showing off new content for their previously announced titles; Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil Revelations, and Street Fighter X Tekken.  Capcom also debuted playable versions of Asura’s Wrath, Dead Rising 2:  Off the Record, and Street Fighter III:  Third Strike Online Edition.

 

Dragon’s Dogma
From the creators behind some of Capcom’s best action games, including the critically acclaimed Resident Evil®4 and Devil May Cry®4, comes their next opus, Dragon’s Dogma. Set in a vast open world, Dragon’s Dogma is a unique action experience that blends exciting and fulfilling combat with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world. With a party of three Pawns, players set out on an epic adventure to track down and destroy a mysterious dragon. Along the way are encounters with some of the biggest and baddest beasts ever to roam the land, and only skillful play and tactical teamwork can save the day. At this year’s E3, attendees will be able to experience two of the game’s epic encounters as they battle the legendary Griffin and Chimera beasts. Dragon’s Dogma will deliver a whole new world of action to PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® in early 2012.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City delivers a third person team based shooter experience set in the sinister Resident Evil® universe. It’s September 1998 and Umbrella has ordered an elite team of its security service soldiers (U.S.S) into Raccoon City to destroy all evidence of the organization’s involvement in the horrific T-Virus outbreak. The E3 demo showcases the game’s four player co-op campaign as the U.S.S. battle against the US Government Spec Ops, zombies and deadly Bio Organic Weapons on their mission to eliminate any survivors, including rookie cop Leon. S. Kennedy. For the first time in Resident Evil history, players will risk infection from the hordes of zombies scattering the streets of Raccoon City, causing their playing ability to be jeopardized and their character’s behavior to change, ultimately turning them against their own team members. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC this Winter.

Asura’s Wrath
With unprecedented levels of dynamism, drama and interaction, Asura’s Wrath will deliver a fresh take on the action gaming genre. Making its playable debut at the show, attendees will be able to experience the rage that fuels Asura and how the title blurs the traditional lines between gameplay and cinematics through seamless player controlled narrative. With a combination of range attacks and visceral close-quarters action, Asura will fill his “Burst Gauge” which depicts his ever growing level of rage. Once full, even the largest of enemies will witness Asura’s rage as he unleashes frenzied, devastating and visually dramatic attacks. Asura will let loose his wrath when the title launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

Resident Evil Revelations
Built from the ground up for the Nintendo 3DS™, Resident Evil Revelations sees a return to survival horror, revealing a brand new storyline for the series. Taking place between the events of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil®5, the action centers on BSAA member Jill Valentine and introduces her new partner Parker Luciani. Set principally on board a supposedly abandoned cruise ship, players will be able to take control of Jill on her search for Chris Redfield, whose last known GPS data positions him as being on the ship. Danger lurks around every corner and with nowhere to run or hide in the confined space of the ship, players must face a menacing new enemy that emerges from the darkness. E3 attendees will experience the horror that Resident Evil Revelations adds to the series through a playable demo at the show.  In addition, an exclusive gameplay video being shown in the Capcom theatre features characters venturing underwater, for the first time ever in the series, in order to escape from the terrifying creatures that roam the ship. But will the water provide such sanctuary?

STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN
The long awaited dream match-up between the two leaders in the fighting genre becomes a reality.  STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN delivers the ultimate tag team match up featuring iconic characters from each franchise, and one of the most robust character line-ups in fighting game history.  With the addition of new gameplay mechanics, and having members of the original Super Street Fighter®IV team take key roles in its development, the acclaimed fighting engine from Street Fighter®IV has been refined to suit the needs of both Street Fighter® and TEKKEN® players alike. E3 attendees have one of the first chances to get hands-on with an early version of the game. This latest demo features dozens of playable characters from both Street Fighte r and TEKKEN, including the newly revealed Cammy, Sagat, Julia and Hwoarang. STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Frank West is back in the game! Dead Rising 2: Off the Record sees the return of photojournalist Frank West as he takes center stage in this reimagining of the Fortune City outbreak. This new “Off the Record” storyline means an all new Dead Rising®2 experience.  Frank will face off against more twisted enemies, build more outrageous combo weapons, follow his own unique mission structure and explore brand new areas of Fortune City to get his biggest scoop yet. Debuting the first playable at E3 2011, the demo features the all new “Uranus Zone,” Fortune City’s very own theme park. Full of deadly rides and crazy attractions, the sci-fi themed Uranus Zone is a true zombie-killing paradise.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC this fall.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition
Bringing the new generation of World Warriors to new consoles and debuting its first playable at E3, Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition takes one of the deepest, most sophisticated fighting games of all time online with an arcade perfect re-creation. Featuring the unique and memorable characters of the Street Fighter®III series, GGPO-enabled online allows players to use their technical moves – like the series-defining parry system – in a seamless, arcade-like environment. High-quality, HD-filtered graphics emphasize the smooth animation, a vault of unlockables allow for replayability, and an integrated leaderboard combined with an extensive and viral replay sharing system encourage players to bring their A-game. Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition will battle its way to PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade as a download title later this year.

Tecmo Koei Announces Launch of Jollywood for Facebook

2011/06/01
Judgeman
News

Tecmo Koei Singapore announced today that social game, Jollywood, has ended it’s beta phase and has officially launched on Facebook.

Jollywood allows players to create scenic and exciting getaways for the forest animals that inhabit Jollywood.  Players can plan, build and develop their creations while managing their resources, decorations, and completing quests that can unlock gadgets and facilities, such as bridges, Jacuzzis, and amusement rides. The official service of Jollywood unlocks premium paid items for the player to enjoy.  These items include stats boost, unique gadgets, and decorative items.  Tecmo Koei will continue to add additional features and events through upcoming extra content.

Jollywood will also be shown at this years E3 Exhibition in Los Angeles at the Tecmo Koei booth in South Hall #2447.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior One-Shot, One-Kill Limited Edition Announced for PS3

2011/05/31
Judgeman
News

City Interactive announced today the upcoming release of the Sniper: Ghost Warrior One Shot-One Kill limited edition for the PlayStation 3.  Planned for release on June 28th, along side the standard edition, Sniper: Ghost Warrior One Shot-One Kill Limited Edition will come packed with extras, including the “One Shot-One Kill” DLC.

This Limited Edition will be sold exclusively at GameStop for $49.99 and will contain the base game plus a host of collectable items including:

  • ‘One Shot-One Kill’ DLC – allows players the option to fully dominate the single player battlefield. For ten second intervals at various points throughout the game, players will be able to:
    • Shoot through almost any object (including houses and solid cover);
    • Inflict intense damage on enemies when players fire at them, giving gamers that true “one shot -one kill” experience;
    • Experience super steady shots, as the scope of your weapon does not float;
    • Achieve pinpoint accuracy with perfect weapon consistency.
  • Exclusive ‘Sniper Stories’ book;
  • Official Sniper: Ghost Warrior dog tag;
  • Sniper: Ghost Warrior poster;
  • Limited edition Sniper: Ghost Warrior production artwork postcards.

Rise of Immortals Developer’s Podcast #2

2011/05/27
Judgeman
News

Petroglyph Games today announced the second podcast detailing the closed beta of their upcoming release, Rise of Immortals.  In this podcast, the developers chat about the Immortals, the current state of the closed beta, and Wisconsin cheese.

[stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DTnmTmnNmkUk%26feature%3Dyoutu.be img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/TnmTmnNmkUk/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]

The Next Big Thing – Review (PC)

2011/05/22
Judgeman
News, Reviews

Interesting characters abound in The Next BIG Thing

The point and click adventure game has undergone a rejuvenation within this last year.  With the success of the latest season of Sam and Max, Telltale Games brought another point and click adventure game to the market recently with the Hector series, which we reviewed last month.  Not wanting to be left out, Pendulo Studios has also hit the market with their very own point and click adventure game called The Next Big Thing.  Will The Next Big Thing live up to it’s moniker, or will it just be a forgettable attempt at following in Telltale Games recent footsteps?

Pendulo Studios places the story for The Next Big Thing within an alternate Earth during the golden age of the movie studios.  In this alternate Earth, the monsters that we see in the movies are played not by actors, but actual monsters.  The head of the most successful monster movie studio, William A. Fitzrandolph, is preparing to announce “the next big thing” to hit Hollywood.  Reporters Dan Murray and Liz Allaire have been assigned to report on this news, when they stumble into a more sinister story surround Fitzrandolph and his movie studio.  It is up to the player to discover the mystery that surrounds Fitzrandolph’s next big thing!

Pendulo Studios put together a really engaging story for “The Next Big Thing” that takes the player back to the golden age of a Hollywood.  The story feels familiar and moves along at a very nice pace, but also has that edge of silliness and strangeness that makes the Earth the story takes place in feel not like our own.  The characters all have their very own quirks that set them apart from any other characters that I’ve played.  The pair of Dan Murray and Liz Allaire play off of each other extremely well in this game, like another point and click adventure duo from Telltale Games.  Dan and Liz are forced to cover this story since Dan was kicked off of his beloved sports beat, and from the beginning you can tell that these two do not like each other.  However, when Liz disappears, Dan’s true colors come through and he scores Hollywood to find her, while discovering the sinister plot that permeates The Next Big Thing.

The Next Big Thing is a very humorous game.  It isn’t funny in the slapstick way that the Sam and Max series is, though The Next Big Thing does have its share of slapstick.  It’s funny in a much more biting, sarcastic way, especially when the player is playing as Dan Murray.  The characters are fully voiced and voiced well.  Each character is believable and has their own quirks and issues that they have to deal with throughout the game.

The game play of The Next Big Thing is standard point and click fair.  You are forced to confront a series of clues and puzzles that, when solved, will allow you to continue through with the story.  The game has a nice clue system that will help you when stuck, but only works properly on the easy level of difficulty and cannot be turned on mid-game.  Most of the clues will be easy to figure out for a seasoned point and click player, however, you will run into a few clues that are extremely difficult to figure out.  On a few puzzles, even after clicking on the hint button, I still had no clue on what I was expected to do.  This can end up being frustrating to players who do not have the patience, but for most I think the challenge will be a nice change of pace.

If you have followed any of my reviews, you know that this is the place where I would discuss the graphics and sound of the game.  In a recent discussion with a few people, I have come to realize that discussing the graphics and sound of a game isn’t really doing any justice to anyone.  Graphics in today’s gaming world have become a given.  All games should have nicely rendered graphics that are crisp and clear on my TV.  There isn’t any reason for anything less.  However, just because a game has crisp and clean graphics, doesn’t mean that the game looks good.  So instead, I will be discussing the game’s aesthetic style.  How does the game actually look?  Does the style and sound help immerse the player into the world of the characters?  How does the developer use color to help make the visuals pop?  As reviewers, we should be focusing on aesthetics instead of graphics to help the reader to understand the world of the game that we are reviewing.

With that being said, the aesthetics of The Next Big Thing are fantastic.  The scenery is completed in a stylized manner of the alternate Earth in which the story takes place.  Each room and scene is filled with interesting items that the player will want to learn more about.  The use of color throughout the game helps to bring the scenery to life.  The voice acting is also top notch for The Next Big Thing, which helps immerse the player into this world.  You believe in the characters and feel like each character has a distinct personality and a voice to match.    The Next Big Thing feels unique and is extremely interesting to both look at and to hear.

The Next Big Thing by Pendulo Studios is a must purchase if you are a fan of the point and click adventure genre.  In comparison to the other point and click adventure game out, Hector: Badge of Carnage, The Next Big Thing not only feels more polished and challenging, but is a much more complete game, with well acted and humorous characters, a very pleasing aesthetic style to the scenery and color, and a length of play that makes it worth your time.

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Release Date

2011/05/11
Judgeman
News

Namco Bandai Games announced today the release date for their upcoming Ace Combat Assault Horizon. Ace Combat Assault Horizon is set for release on October 11th, 2011 in North America for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, with a European release on October 14th.

“ACE COMBAT is a beloved franchise and we’re excited to take the series into a whole new direction with more visceral and fast-paced action,” said Kazutoki Kono, Producer and Executive Director at NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. “Players around the world will find an adventure that will keep them glued to the edge of their seat. They’ll feel their adrenaline pumping with every bullet, every explosion and every near-miss escape.”

Featuring a story written by New York Times bestselling military author, Jim DeFelice, Ace Combat Assault Horizon is set to reinvigorate the franchise by placing the player into the role of a top gun pilot in an international task force. Ace Combat Assault Horizon will take place in real world locations, such as Dubai and Russia, and will also include many types of different aircraft and roles for the player to experience.

Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 1 Review

2011/05/05
Judgeman
News, Reviews

Telltale Games has finally released their newest point and click adventure game for the PC, entitled Hector: Badge of Carnage.  In a similar fashion to the last set of Sam and Max games, Hector: Badge of Carnage will be released episodically, starting with We Negotiate With Terrorists. This episode had previously seen release strictly on the iPhone so, technically, this is a port.  Regardless, I was very excited to get my hands on this game, since I am a big fan of what Telltale Games released with The Devil’s Playhouse.

Story:

In Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 1, you play as Detective Inspector Hector of the Clappers Wreake Police Force in Britain.  Hector is a fat, foul-mouth, drunk of a police officer who does things his way – including using one of the department’s cells as a place to crash after a night of debauchery.

The story of We Negotiate with Terrorists begins with a hostage situation in Clappers Wreake.  A crazed gunman has taken hostages and has barred himself inside a building.  The Clappers Wreake Tactical Weapons and Tactics group, or TWAT for short, is on the scene to help calm the gunman.  However, the police department starts to loose negotiators fast, as the gunman kills each and every one that TWAT sends out.  Hector is then called in, not because he is the best, but mostly because it seems like a good time to be rid of him off of the police force.

The gunman gives Hector a list of three demands that you, as the player, must figure out how to complete so that the gunman will release the hostages.  The story leads the player through five locales around Clappers Wreake including the Park, the local porn shop, and the town clock tower.  The episode ends with a complete cliffhanger, leaving the player wanting more.

The writing in Hector: Badge of Carnage is on par with other Telltale Game that I have played lately.  The dialogue is snappy and funny, but in a different way then the Sam and Max writing was.  Hector is British, thus he uses many British terms and slang words that some Americans may not know.  This also leads to the humor being a little subtler then the Sam and Max series.  Hector does not have a wacky sidekick to play off of, so he uses the interesting inhabitants of Clappers Wreake for the punch lines to many of the game’s gags.

My only complaint with Hector: Badge of Carnage is that episode 1 is very, very short.  Barring any issues with puzzles, you are only looking at about a couple hours of game play.  Episode 1 also ends with a dramatic cliffhanger, and episode 2 is set to be released sometime this fall, so you have a good wait to find out how the ending is resolved.  Other then those two issues, Hector: Badge of Carnage is a top-notch point and click adventure game that will make you chuckle.


Game play:

Hector: Badge of Carnage is a point and click adventure game, along the same lines as Sam and Max.  You use either the keyboard or the mouse to move Hector through each locale, looking for clues on how to solve puzzles and problems that Hector faces.  For example, Hector starts the game off with no trousers, and refuses to go outside without a pair.  The player must find a way to get Hector dressed before continuing with the story.

Items can be combined with other items to make them useful for solving puzzles.  One of the early puzzles has you combined an empty whiskey bottle and coffee in order to carry the coffee to the local drunk next to the police department. Not all items that you can find in Hector: Badge of Courage has a use, so this has the potential to through off newcomers to point and click adventure games.

Point and click adventure controls are hard to mess up, and Telltale Games have been doing these types of games for years now.  The puzzles ran the entire gambit, from very easy to very hard.  Even seasoned point and click adventure fans will find one or two puzzles that will slow you down.


Graphics and Sound:

The graphics of Hector: Badge of Carnage are done in a very stylized manner.  Completely two dimensional, Hector looks more like a better-drawn episode of South Park then, say, characters in the recent Sam and Max series.  While this can be seen as a step backward in today’s graphics-intensive video game market, Hector’s visual style works beautifully with the overall tone of the game.

The sound and voice acting, once again, are top notch from Telltale Games – each character has a distinct personality that can be immediately heard through their performances.  From the stoic police chief to the obnoxious street thug, each character has a voice that directly matches their personality.  In a similar tone to the graphics, the sound for Hector: Badge of Carnage isn’t anything technically superior, but works perfectly with the style of the game that Hector is.  Hector is a great example that good writing and voice acting can supercede three dimensional graphics and surround sound any day.

Final Thoughts:

While not as entertaining as the last season of Sam and Max, Hector: Badge of Carnage will keep you entertained for the couple of hours that it lasts.  Speaking of time, the game did not last as long as I would have liked, but the good news is that there are more episodes in the pipeline set for later this fall.  If point and click adventure games are your thing, then I strongly recommend Hector: Badge of Carnage Episode 1.  You will have to judge for yourself if the price tag is worth the couple of hours of game time you will get.

First Developer Diary for Dawn of Fantasy Released

2011/05/05
Judgeman
News

505 Games and Reverie World Studios have released a new developer diary that details the development of their upcoming MMORTS, Dawn of Fantasy. In this diary, Lead Writer and Assistant Producer Gorden Farrell talks about one of the game’s many modes, Stronghold Defense.

Stronghold Defense gives players the ability to practice defending a pre-built fortress.  The defensive player has a vast array of tricks at their disposal to set up before the invading army begins their attack, including setting up spike traps or planting man-eating plants.

The player will be able to defend their stronghold against the waves of invaders by repairing damaged walls and war machines.  Players will also need the help of the peasantry to help put out the fires caused by the invaders arrows.

[stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/v/6Hzii-stqTI img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/x:/www.youtube.com/v/6Hzii-stqTI/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]

Culture Club, Phish, Faith No More, STP and Loverboy to Hit Rock Band 3

2011/04/29
Judgeman
News

Harmonix announced today their next set of songs that will be available for download on May 3rd.  Spanning the 80’s and 90’s, this six pack of tracks has a lot of variety to offer players.  Next week’s track pack will include hits from The Culture Club, Phish, Faith No More, Stone Temple Pilots and Loverboy.

This track pack will include three songs from the 80’s, Loverboy’s hit “Working for the Weekend” and The Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”.  Loverboy’s offering to this track pack came out in 1981 on their album, Get Lucky, while Culture Club’s offering was a massive hit in 1982, off of their album, Kissing to be Clever. Also from the 80’s, Faith No More squeezes into the decade with their 1989 release, “From out of Nowhere”, off of their monster hit album, Epic.

From the 90’s, Harmonix is offering two hits from Phish and one from Stone Temple Pilots.  “Stash” and “Tweezer” will be on next week’s track pack from Phish’s 1992 album, A Picture of Nectar. Stone Temple Pilots song, “Big Bang Baby”, from their 1996 release, Tiny Music, rounds out the six pack of tracks.

As always, songs available as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 feature five-button guitar and bass parts, drums, Pro Drums, and keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable. Some songs also feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades available for an additional $0.99 upgrade download.

Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation®3 system (May 3):

  • Culture Club – “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”
  • Faith No More – “From Out of Nowhere”
  • Loverboy – “Working for the Weekend” X
  • Phish – “Stash” X
  • Phish – “Tweezer”
  • Stone Temple Pilots – “Big Bang Baby” X

(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation®3 system May 4)

These tracks will be available for purchase as individual tracks on Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii. Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.

Price:
$1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song
$2.00USD (200 Wii Points™) per song
$0.99 USD (100 Wii Points/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade

Warcraft 4.1 Patch Notes for ‘Rise of the Zandalari’ Patch

2011/04/26
Judgeman
News

Blizzard has released the next patch for their MMO giant, World of Warcraft, named “Rise of the Zandalari”.  The tribes of trolls that once ruled all of Azaroth have banded together to take back what was once theirs.  With the new patch, players can look forward to two raids that have been introduced in the past, but have been renewed for level 85 characters.  Both Zul’Gurub and Zul’Aman have been repopulated and now represent significant threats to the post-cataclysm world of Azeroth.

Players will also can look forward to other changes, such as new achievements, changes to class traits and spells, quest updates and bug fixes.  The entire set of patch notes can be seen here.