Review: Magna Carta 2 December 1, 2009
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Take every J-RPG cliche, mix it in a bag, and you may have something that resembles Magna Carta 2. With concept art that initially sold the game for me, the actual graphics are stiffer than two kids at a middle school dance.
The story itself has been done a million times. There is a civil war going on between a corrupt politician and Rzephillda, the rightful heir to the throne and you are the unknowing hero, Juto, caught in the middle. Juto has lost his memory of his past, but when the Southern forces arrive, lead by the benevolent Rzephillda, he starts to see rings of dead bodies surrounding him. It comes as no surprise, when wielding nothing but a stick, Juto call upon amazing powers when it comes down to the wire.
The battle system is even more stubborn, players are restricted to walking briskly while fighting monsters. The rigged dialogue and cardboard cut-out characters inhabit this game with an overarching message of “Friendship conquers all.” From the get-go this game has no depth to offer the player and wading through two disks of this artificial story is nothing short of boring.
Preview: Bayonetta November 17, 2009
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Above the gun-wielding temptress poses in style for her concept art and below thoughts on the one-day-old Bayonetta demo.
British Gamers are Quieter November 6, 2009
Posted by nshoema1 in News.Tags: british, gamers, left 4 dead, valve
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According to Valve’s Chet Faliszek, British gamers are notoriously quiet. Compared to the racial slurs and various Internet speak you hear shouted by US citizens, it would seem that the players from across the pond don’t feel the need to curse when being blown out of the sky.
Faliszek hopes that Brits will pipe-up a bit more with Left 4 Dead’s new “realism mode.” This version will turn off on-screen assistance and will encourage talking with your teammates.
“Realism mode will prod you – you have to talk. If you don’t talk you’re not going to make it. Instead of being harder Realism’s actually more challenging as a team because you have to communicate. When a Smoker pulls you off somewhere you’ve got to yell because nobody can see where you are.
[via Computer and Video Games]
Spore Islands: You Must Now Think of Facebook as a Console November 6, 2009
Posted by nshoema1 in News.Tags: facebook, spore islands
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As if EA doesn’t have its fingers in enough pies, the Maxis studio has launched an exclusive Spore title on Facebook. Spore Islands will put users at odds with one another by competing to build a dominate species.
“In Spore Islands, players get to invite friends in their social web to play on their island, so creating this game exclusively for Facebook was a natural choice for us since they are the largest and most popular social platform for games,” said Caryl Shaw, the game’s senior producer.
Game Industry noted that this release follows a similar announcement by Sir Meier, where he proposed developing Civilization for the Facebook platform.
Operation Flashpoint Releases New DLC November 6, 2009
Posted by nshoema1 in News.Tags: dlc, operation flashpoint
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Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has released their first DLC that is currently available for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
The download is a map pack and two new Fire Team Engagement missions (FTE). The multiplayer maps range in environment from wide valleys that is a sniper’s paradise to a close quarters killing ground for the “shotties.”
New FTE include capturing bunkers and hitting enemies from the sky. These missions can be played in both single-player and co-op modes.
The PC version is free for download, but the PS3 and Xbox 360 version cost somewhere in the ballpark of $3.99.
Leaked: Left 4 dead 2 Trailer October 22, 2009
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Why wait for the cinematic trailer when there’s a perfectly good leaked one right here.
It looks like players will get more bang for their buck with Left 4 Dead 2, such as cinematic sequences before each chapter. The video speaks for itself.
Australia “Refuses to Classify” Left 4 Dead 2 October 22, 2009
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Valve has recently appealed the Australian government’s decision to “not classify” the zombie first-person shooter Left 4 Dead 2.
When a game has been “refused classification” the title cannot be commercially sold in that particular country.
Valve’s appeal failed to overturn the government’s decision, so the development team has had to make an “adjusted version” that will be released, come launch. The changes have made the game accessible to audiences 15 years and up.
Valve’s Gabe Newell, in response to the change, said, “It’s a game for adults. But we’re aware that different countries have different restrictions, and we want to make the choices that make the game the most fun for that country.”
[via Kotaku]
Namco Bandai Announces Inversion October 22, 2009
Posted by nshoema1 in Previews.Tags: inversion, ps3, xbox 360
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The game Inversion begins in the future where peace and freedom reign, but an unforeseen enemy, the Lutadore, sideswipes the world into chaos. Players choose to take on the persona of Davis Russel, a disgruntled cop and victim of the war, or Leo Delgado, Davis’ neighbor.
On their journey, they move through Lutadore-ravaged lands that have been turned upside-down with zero gravity machines. Players will have to be quick on their feet to become accustomed to this new battlefield.
Inversion also offers a new breed of weapon, the Grappler, that will become a key tool in solving puzzles, creating objects, and throwing enemies (a la Portal).
“Inversion will turn the shooter genre upside down, literally,” said Todd Thorson, director of marketing and public relations, Namco Bandai Games America. “Saber Interactive’s innovative gravity manipulation feature will blow away any preconceptions of what a contemporary shooter should be.”
The game is set to be released sometime in 2010 and will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Final Fantasy XIII Revealed: Developers tell some October 22, 2009
Posted by nshoema1 in Previews.Tags: Final Fantasy XIII, Lighning, Oerba Fang
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Rather than Japanese developers taking the usual route of secrecy with their games, Final Fantasy XIII’s Tetsuya Nomora and Motomu Toriyama have decided to dish on their latest creation.
The team revealed some character trivia about Oerba Yun Fang who, for a while, had no name. Apparently, during the development stage she was also missing her sexual identity, as “she” was supposed to be a “he”. When it was decided to switch Fang from him to her they had to make sacrifices to the main character, Lightning’s, sex appeal in order for audiences to differentiate between the two (perhaps they were afraid that too much sexy would break the game).
The next bit of character gossip has to do with past Final Fantasy games—a particular name that has been in every title. If you guessed Cid you are most likely right. Toriyama never did say, but he mentioned that a familiar character will have a major role in Final Fantasy XIII.
As for the technical specs Toriyama shared that save data will take up 500KB and the trophy data will take up 3,080. The load times, or so they say, will only be seen when players transition from town to the field.
[via IGN]
Holiday Games May Leave Wallets Dry October 13, 2009
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There is a huge line-up of games this holiday season. With a majority of titles being released during the month of November, consumers are going to have to choose between the AAA games that they love and their ever-thinning wallets.
A majority of gamers have already put their money down on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The sequel is projected to sell millions at launch and has even pushed several competing titles to next year, including Bayonetta, Red Dead Redemption, and Bioshock 2. (more…)
