Jan
27
27
Posted by Mark at 10:10
Gary Penn, of developer Denki, told Edge that obvious words such as 'arse', 'shit', 'wank' and 'fuck' are flagged as offensive and can't be played if Family Filter settings are on, in what might well be Penn's best quote of his career.
However, an extra, secret list of words have been included as no-goes: "Microsoft has an additional filter in place for all Xbox Live games, which we have to support, but while we have to use that filter, we don't know which words are permitted."
In the interests of research, and not a juvenile wasting of an afternoon seeing what they could/could not get away with in Quarrel, Edge found words that said filter catches include borderline cases such as 'train', 'help', 'start', 'skid', 'bung', 'hung', 'dice', 'god', and- yes- 'shaft'.
Edge haven't found an explanation as to why those words have been blocked to be forthcoming from Microsoft as yet. I'm sure they'll keep you posted, in between fits of giggling.
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Jan 25
Posted by Ben at 17:50
Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi is an odd game. As you’d expect from a Dragon Ball Z game it’s a fighter… of sorts. You throw punches and fling fireballs, but it feels more like you’re stringing together QTEs than really being in control. You launch attacks much as you’d expect, but once you’ve landed a couple of blows you’re presented with a choice of attacks, essentially this is a toss of a coin and if your opponent guesses right you’re open to a counter. If they guess wrong however you get to launch them through the air, smashing them through mountains before leaving them as a crater in the ground.
Special moves are a tap of the analogue stick away, chaining moves is just a button press, and countering is often just a matter of mashing buttons and hoping for the best. On that point, there is a moment when countering where you’re required to press the Y button at precisely the right time, this to me feels laggy and oddly demanding of precision after you’ve spent 10 seconds mashing the pad with your palm.
The thing that makes Ultimate Tenkaichi peculiar though is that it works. It’s not a fighting game and it’s categorically not for anyone but fans of the series, but by replacing control with graphics and sonics it does an incredible job of capturing the essence of the series. Even when it pulls you away from the combat and into chase scenes, Ultimate Tenkaichi does really well at pairing them with scenes from the show.
Unfortunately it’s when it moves you away from the normal one on one fighting that the game lets itself down a bit. The world map is largely pointless, it does let you get in to a few extra fights (such as a tournament), but you get enough of that just making your way through the main story (which is a fair few hours). You’ll fly to your destination then as you arrive the game will stop for one of its achingly long load times, before you’re back to move an inch, then watch another loading screen. Incidentally the loading screens, which as mentioned occur far too often and for too long, have you collecting capsules for absolutely no reason, they don’t do anything.
The low point of Ultimate Tenkaichi is without doubt the boss fights, giant characters with only a vulnerable limb as your target. You’re asked to rely on the games dodging mechanic and that just isn’t good enough. Things are made worse by the boss fights being prefaced by un-skippable cut-scenes. They’re an odd difficulty spike too, out of sync with the rest of the game that seems pitched at a younger gamer.
Which brings me to my closing point, the smartest thing about how Ultimate Tenkaichi handles its licence is that because it is such a ride at times fans get what they came for, Dargon Ball Z. While I’m still pining for that well done Dragon Ball Z fighting game, the 15 year old me (*cough* 18 year old me *cough*) loves the ridiculousness of it all, an almost perfect capture of the essence of the series.
It’s games like Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi that were the reason we stopped giving scores for a while. It’s not technically a good game, and it absolutely hangs on its licence, but if you are a fan you’ll have a great time with it. To put it simply, if you aren’t a Dragon Ball Z fan don’t buy Ultimate Tenkaichi, ever, but if you are then stick another point or two on what’s below
Special moves are a tap of the analogue stick away, chaining moves is just a button press, and countering is often just a matter of mashing buttons and hoping for the best. On that point, there is a moment when countering where you’re required to press the Y button at precisely the right time, this to me feels laggy and oddly demanding of precision after you’ve spent 10 seconds mashing the pad with your palm.
The thing that makes Ultimate Tenkaichi peculiar though is that it works. It’s not a fighting game and it’s categorically not for anyone but fans of the series, but by replacing control with graphics and sonics it does an incredible job of capturing the essence of the series. Even when it pulls you away from the combat and into chase scenes, Ultimate Tenkaichi does really well at pairing them with scenes from the show.
Unfortunately it’s when it moves you away from the normal one on one fighting that the game lets itself down a bit. The world map is largely pointless, it does let you get in to a few extra fights (such as a tournament), but you get enough of that just making your way through the main story (which is a fair few hours). You’ll fly to your destination then as you arrive the game will stop for one of its achingly long load times, before you’re back to move an inch, then watch another loading screen. Incidentally the loading screens, which as mentioned occur far too often and for too long, have you collecting capsules for absolutely no reason, they don’t do anything.
The low point of Ultimate Tenkaichi is without doubt the boss fights, giant characters with only a vulnerable limb as your target. You’re asked to rely on the games dodging mechanic and that just isn’t good enough. Things are made worse by the boss fights being prefaced by un-skippable cut-scenes. They’re an odd difficulty spike too, out of sync with the rest of the game that seems pitched at a younger gamer.
Which brings me to my closing point, the smartest thing about how Ultimate Tenkaichi handles its licence is that because it is such a ride at times fans get what they came for, Dargon Ball Z. While I’m still pining for that well done Dragon Ball Z fighting game, the 15 year old me (*cough* 18 year old me *cough*) loves the ridiculousness of it all, an almost perfect capture of the essence of the series.
It’s games like Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi that were the reason we stopped giving scores for a while. It’s not technically a good game, and it absolutely hangs on its licence, but if you are a fan you’ll have a great time with it. To put it simply, if you aren’t a Dragon Ball Z fan don’t buy Ultimate Tenkaichi, ever, but if you are then stick another point or two on what’s below
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What began as a student project that won a Student Showcase prize at Independent Gaming Festival at GDC 2010 is now a full-fledged downloadable game experience like nothing you’ve ever played before. Guide puddles of fluid through a variety of novel, themed environments (the human body, a garden, a foundry, and more). But to do so, you must tilt the environment, balancing each fluid’s unique properties with the environmental factors of gravity, friction, and each course’s obstacles.
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Puddle price is currently 800 Microsoft Points.
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Players fight for dominance over island territories using eight-letter anagrams to build the highest scoring word possible. Quarrel for Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 includes the fun challenge of online multiplayer, supporting up to four players to prove who has the most lexical prowess. Players can also compete against nine unique AI in the classic Single Player mode, or take on the Challenge mode to take on extra mini-objectives within each battle.
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Quarrel will cost you 400 Microsoft Points.
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Japanese website, Famicom Plaza, has taken a look and had the following to report:
Famicom Plaza has a look at at the new device, which carries official licensing from SNK Playmore. The device, currently going by the placeholder name of "Neo Geo Portable Device," has 4.3 inch screen, two gigabytes of internal storage, and ships with 20 Neo Geo classics built in:
1.WORLD HEROES
2.ULTIMETE 11
3.TOP PLAYER'S GOLF
4.SENGOKU
5.NAM-1975
6.MUTATION NATION
7.LAST RESORT
8.KING OF MONSTERS
9.FRENZY
10.CYBER LIP
11.FATAL FURY SPECIAL
12.ART OF FIGHTING
13.SUPER SIDEKICKS
14.LEAGUE BOWLING
15.METAL SLUG
16.MAGICAL LORD
17.BASEBALL STARS PROFESSIONAL
18.SAMURAI SHODOWN
19.KING OF FIGHTERS '94
20.FATAL FURY
The games are all the North American versions with English.
According to the Famicom Plaza report, the device is 170x72x15mm and is a bit larger than an iPhone-like smartphone. It has a 2200mAh battery.
Controls on the device include four face buttons, a d-pad, four shoulder buttons, a menu button, a start button, and buttons for volume and brightness. Ports include headphones, AV and an SD.
No details yet on pricing or release date.
Famicom Plaza's report does not list the maker.
We've included pics of the new device in our gallery.
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It's been a long time coming, but I've finally completed Rage
Steam reckons I've played it for 22 hours, I'd guess about 13, which is a pretty decent length for an fps nowadays, especially as there's still a few side missions I haven't touched.
I've got to say once the game started working properly I really enjoyed it. The shooting is near peerless, which really hit me towards the end when I was using the more powerful weapons liberally. It does tension too, I've talked about it before but playing through the mutant areas wearing headphones was as tense as I've been playing a game for a while.
One criticism that I've heard and would agree with is that the end, while I knew it was about to arrive, it isn't exactly a climax. There's no boss, which is arguably commendable, but what's there was fairly easy and then you get a 10 second cutscene. Great game though, I hope id are allowed to make a sequel.
Elsewhere, and a completely different tone, I've started The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword (that's going to be annoying to type). I'd heard it starts slow and it certainly does. I don't really blame Nintendo for it though, they need to roll out the plot without trialising it, and teach you new controls, it was never going to be done quickly.
I think I'm at the point where the game really starts, it certainly seems like more is being expected of me in combat. I've not really got the hang of it, but you can see that you need to attack a certain way depending on how the enemies are holding their sword. Also the game looks great, both thanks to its filter and my tv doing a bit of work. I don't mind Wii games not looking up to much, I've put up with it for years, but it's nice that my new tv can help smooth some of the rough edges
Steam reckons I've played it for 22 hours, I'd guess about 13, which is a pretty decent length for an fps nowadays, especially as there's still a few side missions I haven't touched.
I've got to say once the game started working properly I really enjoyed it. The shooting is near peerless, which really hit me towards the end when I was using the more powerful weapons liberally. It does tension too, I've talked about it before but playing through the mutant areas wearing headphones was as tense as I've been playing a game for a while.
One criticism that I've heard and would agree with is that the end, while I knew it was about to arrive, it isn't exactly a climax. There's no boss, which is arguably commendable, but what's there was fairly easy and then you get a 10 second cutscene. Great game though, I hope id are allowed to make a sequel.
Elsewhere, and a completely different tone, I've started The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword (that's going to be annoying to type). I'd heard it starts slow and it certainly does. I don't really blame Nintendo for it though, they need to roll out the plot without trialising it, and teach you new controls, it was never going to be done quickly.
I think I'm at the point where the game really starts, it certainly seems like more is being expected of me in combat. I've not really got the hang of it, but you can see that you need to attack a certain way depending on how the enemies are holding their sword. Also the game looks great, both thanks to its filter and my tv doing a bit of work. I don't mind Wii games not looking up to much, I've put up with it for years, but it's nice that my new tv can help smooth some of the rough edges
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US games ratings board the ESRB have rated a handful of new games for the service, the first lot since those which launched alongside the Xperia Play phone early last year.
Those games are the PS1 title Rally Cross, the more recent PSP games Daxter and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, cross-platform flOw, and eight tables for Pinball Heroes based on Uncharted, PAIN, Motorstorm, Hot Shots Golf, ModNation Racers, Fat Princess, WipEout HD and Hot Shots Bowling.
Most of those have come away with E For Everyone ratings, bar Daxter (E10+) and Syphon Filter (Teen). None of them seem to have come away with release dates yet- but when they do emerge, they'll be playable on the Xperia Play and Sony's newer Tablet S and Tablet P.
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GamesRadar caught it, however, and it displays- through the medium of Split-screen technology the difference between 'Normal' and 'Insane' difficulty modes- the most obvious of which seems to be that power-ups are green in 'Insane', and red in 'Normal'.
That crazy Suda51. Whatever will he think of next?
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Jan 23
Posted by Duane at 15:11
It seems odd to be playing something like Disgaea on the PlayStation 3 despite the series origins being on Sony's previous console. This is purely because the series has felt so at home with the re-releases of the first two games on the PSP. Now it feels odd to be viewing HD Sprites and cut-scenes within the same isometric viewpoints that we're used to from the series. It's also remarkable that the game has seen a release outside of Japan and the US considering just how much of a niche it finds itself in over here and Nippon Ichi's lack of a supportive publisher. Even so, it's made it to our shores, and for those who give it a chance, you'll be more than glad it has.
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten is essentially an evolution of a well crafted formula, one could say Nippon Ichi have decided to play things safe, but in fairness, since its first iteration shuck the Tactical RPG foundations up a little, the developer has built in small improvements whilst using other titles such as Makai Kingdom to trial other ideas, to differing levels of success (although I barely recall a bad experience from any of their games). It would be unfair to even begin to criticise the fourth instalment in a series such as Disgaea for being "similar" to its predecessors, whereas we expect more action orientated titles to evolve and try new things, something the size of Disgaea needs that sense of familiarity to make sure it doesn't push its fans away. Nippon Ichi are hardly trying to win over new fans here, they're keeping to their tried and tested formula which is good enough for yours truly.
As usual, the story and characters are the stars and are what drives the player to learn the games intricacies and technicalities. Valvatorez, the key character in this particular tale, isn't quite as charasmatic or memorable as Laharl, but he's also much less of a brat and much more amusing for it, mostly down to his decision to eat sardines rather than feed off of human blood (he's a vampire) and his habit of making promises that he may struggle to keep or should think twice about making for various other reasons. It's often the latter that leads the story down some amusing and interesting pathways. The games heavily political leanings suit the gameplay structure, with both having a strong emphasis on domination of territory, although the banter between most of the characters flows much better than any televised political debate, and oddly enough manages to touch upon some rather tricky ground such as prisoners who have been falsely accused of crimes they haven't commited. Despite its cutesy appearance, Disgaea 4 knows its core audience isn't going to be the 12 year olds that PEGI have said the game is suitable for.
One thing that truly stands out is just how nice it all looks, it would be easy to assume that the game looks a little flat and lacking life thanks to its 2D sprites on a HD console, but Disgaea 4 genuinely looks lovely, with the backgrounds being as well drawn as the sprites, the music and voice acting is of the series' normal high-standard, which again makes the game an absolute pleasure to sink into, and really, theres nothing here thats actually bad even if it is treading old ground. That latter point will make or break the game for most, you'll either want "more Disgaea" and thats exactly what you get here, or you want things to be changed a bit more drastically, in which case you'll be wanting to keep an eye out for anything Nippon Ichi develop that doesn't carry the Disgaea title.
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten is essentially an evolution of a well crafted formula, one could say Nippon Ichi have decided to play things safe, but in fairness, since its first iteration shuck the Tactical RPG foundations up a little, the developer has built in small improvements whilst using other titles such as Makai Kingdom to trial other ideas, to differing levels of success (although I barely recall a bad experience from any of their games). It would be unfair to even begin to criticise the fourth instalment in a series such as Disgaea for being "similar" to its predecessors, whereas we expect more action orientated titles to evolve and try new things, something the size of Disgaea needs that sense of familiarity to make sure it doesn't push its fans away. Nippon Ichi are hardly trying to win over new fans here, they're keeping to their tried and tested formula which is good enough for yours truly.
As usual, the story and characters are the stars and are what drives the player to learn the games intricacies and technicalities. Valvatorez, the key character in this particular tale, isn't quite as charasmatic or memorable as Laharl, but he's also much less of a brat and much more amusing for it, mostly down to his decision to eat sardines rather than feed off of human blood (he's a vampire) and his habit of making promises that he may struggle to keep or should think twice about making for various other reasons. It's often the latter that leads the story down some amusing and interesting pathways. The games heavily political leanings suit the gameplay structure, with both having a strong emphasis on domination of territory, although the banter between most of the characters flows much better than any televised political debate, and oddly enough manages to touch upon some rather tricky ground such as prisoners who have been falsely accused of crimes they haven't commited. Despite its cutesy appearance, Disgaea 4 knows its core audience isn't going to be the 12 year olds that PEGI have said the game is suitable for.
One thing that truly stands out is just how nice it all looks, it would be easy to assume that the game looks a little flat and lacking life thanks to its 2D sprites on a HD console, but Disgaea 4 genuinely looks lovely, with the backgrounds being as well drawn as the sprites, the music and voice acting is of the series' normal high-standard, which again makes the game an absolute pleasure to sink into, and really, theres nothing here thats actually bad even if it is treading old ground. That latter point will make or break the game for most, you'll either want "more Disgaea" and thats exactly what you get here, or you want things to be changed a bit more drastically, in which case you'll be wanting to keep an eye out for anything Nippon Ichi develop that doesn't carry the Disgaea title.
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I haven't had as much time to play games as I was planning on this weekend, the initial plan was to make a massive dent in Zelda Skyward Sword but I didn't get chance, instead it was all about the 3DS
Some of you will know that demos finally arrived on the e-shop this week, bringing and as such I played through the demo of Resident Evil Revalations. It's pretty short and as I've heard people mention scanning, yet I didn't scan a single thing, I've clearly missed something. Perhaps scanning would have led to more ammo because I was pretty much on 0 by the time the demo finished. It seems a lot slower paced than recent Resident Evil games, I suspect this is to keep the game looking and running well, sacrificing the hordes of enemies from post Resident Evil 4 games.
I also played the Cooking Mama demo, but I really don't have much to say about it. I've no problem with the series, I really enjoyed the first game way back when, but I can't say I need another one in my life.
For review I've put some time in to Prince of Persia, it's the Gameboy Colour version of the classic. I'm still terrible at the game but I can still see its appeal, and the animation still stands out. I always feel Prince of Persia suffers from input lag though, and I've suffered a few deaths because of it, that said I've definitely enjoyed my time with it.
Finally I had some friends round to watch the football, and we spent a few hours post-match playing Fifa 12 on the PS3. I haven't played this years Fifa anything like as much as I wanted to, I did just about play enough to get my head around the tackling, although that's gone out of the window now. It's been a long time since I played same room multiplayer on Fifa with anyone, it used to be a staple of my week, but even though Fifa 12 if infinitely more complicated than the old Gamecube Winning 11 game we used to play it was still a laugh.
And it turns out if you play someone up front with Carlton Cole rather than leave him isolated he turns in to a bit of a beast
Some of you will know that demos finally arrived on the e-shop this week, bringing and as such I played through the demo of Resident Evil Revalations. It's pretty short and as I've heard people mention scanning, yet I didn't scan a single thing, I've clearly missed something. Perhaps scanning would have led to more ammo because I was pretty much on 0 by the time the demo finished. It seems a lot slower paced than recent Resident Evil games, I suspect this is to keep the game looking and running well, sacrificing the hordes of enemies from post Resident Evil 4 games.
I also played the Cooking Mama demo, but I really don't have much to say about it. I've no problem with the series, I really enjoyed the first game way back when, but I can't say I need another one in my life.
For review I've put some time in to Prince of Persia, it's the Gameboy Colour version of the classic. I'm still terrible at the game but I can still see its appeal, and the animation still stands out. I always feel Prince of Persia suffers from input lag though, and I've suffered a few deaths because of it, that said I've definitely enjoyed my time with it.
Finally I had some friends round to watch the football, and we spent a few hours post-match playing Fifa 12 on the PS3. I haven't played this years Fifa anything like as much as I wanted to, I did just about play enough to get my head around the tackling, although that's gone out of the window now. It's been a long time since I played same room multiplayer on Fifa with anyone, it used to be a staple of my week, but even though Fifa 12 if infinitely more complicated than the old Gamecube Winning 11 game we used to play it was still a laugh.
And it turns out if you play someone up front with Carlton Cole rather than leave him isolated he turns in to a bit of a beast
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