I have a column focusing on the "gaming community" at Examiner.com. Being the Video Game Community Examiner allows me to write basically anything I want, so long as it has to do with console games. So, I decided to take players from the community and interview them.
Why not get to know other players? Here is my first Gamer Spotlight. More will be on the way. I'll post them here on my blog and my column. (Beeteedubz, I'll be looking for more gamers to interview. Interested? PM me!)
Please excuse the difficulty differentiating between my questions and Kei's replies. The format is very different in my article.
"Hello there and welcome to this column's first ever Gamer Spotlight! Gamer Spotlight will be a recurring event here as I interview various gamers from all walks of life. There will always be at least one every week. Today we have Kei, a fighting game enthusiast and fellow Examiner!
-So, Kei, thanks for agreeing to meeting with me for my first ever Gamer Spotlight!
Kei - Hey, it's my pleasure.
-Let's get started with some quick personal info. How old are you and where are you from?
Kei - I'm 26 years old, and I'm from Forrest City, Arkansas.
-I've seen that you use different handles. Can you list all the ones you've gone by?
Kei - Well, my gamertag on Xbox Live is I Kei I, and I also use that handle on Shoryuken.com. On YouTube, GameFAQs, and a few other places, my handle is Mikadok.
-Does one take preference of the other as your main handle?
Kei - If anything, I Kei I, because Kei is simply easier to say.
-Makes sense! What's the inspiration behind the name Kei?
Kei - My dad, mostly, after a talk we had. Now most everyone I know knows me by that.
-Quick step away from games... What other hobbies/interests do you have outside the gaming world?
Kei - Well, I myself have always aspired to be a voice actor. To that end, a few friends and I have had projects we've been working on that'll hopefully come to fruition soon.
-Interesting. Voice acting for games, movies, shows, anime or all of the above?
Kei - I'd be interested in doing all of the above, believe me, but for this particular project, my friend has had elaborate ideas for a series, a couple movies and so on, all having to do with a pretty unique property he's had in his head for a nuymber of years. I think it could do well if the right steps are taken.
-I'd like to be the first in line to see how that turns out. :]
Kei - You'll be the first to know. :3
-Thank you! Moving on, what's your gaming background like? What were your first games/consoles?
Kei - Well, like most others, my first console was the NES. As far as my first game, that's actually a tough one. My most memorable games from a young age, though, would have to be Double Dragon, Castlevania, and, of course, the Mario Bros. games.
-Classics! You started playing in a great era. Which generation of gaming holds a special place in your heart?
Kei - Another tough call, honestly, but I find myself appreciating games that were released during the years of the Sega Saturn/PS1. Games were being treated better back then, in my opinion, because they had less to work with, and more to gain from snagging more consumers, so more quality games were being put out at the time.
-Speaking of quality games, how do you feel about the new trends with Downloadable Content? Some gamers appreciate the updates, others dislike that content for games is announced the day a game launches. Do you have a stance?
Kei - I think it's a double-edged sword, honestly. With the current pricing of games, having to pay more after the fact is something that some gamers can't do, and others aren't willing to do. Aside from that, some gamers may feel cheated to see that a downloadable add-on for a gmae that they already paid full price for is basically adding something to it that they might feel should've been included to begin with. On the other hand, there are those companies that put forth an earnest effort to make downloadable content that they release worthwhile, and players will oftentimes find themselves getting an entirely new version or addition to a game they've been playing that they can get much more fun out of, so it really depends on how it's handled, I suppose.
-That's a very fair outlook. Do you have any favorite genres in particular?
Kei - If I had to call any genre my favorite, it would be fighting games, with action/adventure games coming in a close second.
-And do you have any specific games that stand out as favorites?
Kei - If we're talking currently, no. There are games that I've been pretty steady on as of late, such as Tekken 6 and Marvel vs Capcom 3, but as good as I actually think they are, I wouldn't call them favorites. My favorite fighters to date are actually either older games, or games that probably won't get attention stateside that they deserve, such as Arcana Heart 3, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, and, for the usual throwback, Darkstalkers 2/Vampire Savior 2.
-You don't find many gamers this day who can honestly say that they have no favorite games in this generation of games.
Kei - Well, I've always believed that part of a game's charm came from finding out what you can learn from it during the process and how difficult it may or may not be to delve into the more intensive aspects of the games that a person plays. It makes it that much more worthwhile when you can learn how deep a game can really be. While games aren't necessarily lacking in that department nowadays, it's all in where you look. It's my opinion that many games are being made easier in general to attract a broader audience, and that's fine, because it's a process to run a business. This same process, though, means that games with a genuine challenge to them through clever, ingenious design and not due to outright unfairness instilled by flaws in a game's mechanics are becoming fewer and far between.
-I can definitely agree. Did you hear about that Mario game that supposedly gives you the option to let the game play itself if you can't beat a part? My, oh my.
Anyways, what is your proudest gaming achievement?
Kei - Well, I'd think that would be placing 1st in the world in Devil May Cry 4's Bloody Palace leaderboards for a month, afterwhich I wrote up a guide to help other players that might attempt to do the same. At the same time, though, I can't say for certain, as I've made it a point to try and help the gaming community however I'm able, be it by writing guides or making tutorial videos. Perhaps it might be the more recent instance of Shoryuken.com and Eventhubs featuring one of my tutorial videos on the front page of their sites. It's a small step, but it is always nice to know that something you do is indeed being a help to the community, regardless.
-First place in DMC4's Bloody Palace. I have to say, that is quite the feat! It's good to hear you're so involved in the gaming community. Even more so when it's you helping other gamers.
Kei - Well, thank you. I'm hoping I can continue to do so.
-Wrapping up now... Do you have a pieace of gaming advice for others?
Kei - Pretty much that if you're aiming to do great things in a game you're going to play, keep practicing and think outside the box. Also, don't hesitate to help others that need it in the community if you can.
-Good advice. And, just for fun, do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?
Kei - My favorite quote comes from the character Chaos from the Xenosaga series, that being that "Everything follows the flow.". When he said it, he wanted to pass along the statement that, fight it as you may, there are certain things that are meant to happen, but even if that's the case, it's up to each individual to figure out how they'll deal with what may come.
-Very insightful!
Once again, Kei, thank you for agreeing to be my guinea pi- err...my first interview for the Gamer Spotlight!
Kei - Hey, again, it's my pleasure...er...I think.
There you have it! Another huge thanks to Kei and my thanks to anyone who reads about him.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn playing games online. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn playing games online. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Bảy, 15 tháng 10, 2011
Thứ Hai, 19 tháng 9, 2011
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.
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
Just like in real life, the console war continues on in Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2, just announced for release in the US and Europe at NIS America's recent TGS event. If you're unfamiliar with the series, you can check out our FAP of the first game, but all you really need to know is that it's a JRPG about the console wars. Each console is personified as an adorable girl with looks and personality befitting of her console, and they all duke it out Highlander style, basically.
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.
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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