Ratings Board Leaks Simpsons Arcade for Modern Consoles
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I couldn't decide between a clip of the Arcade game or this.... I think I made the right decision.
Regardless, you should know that it looks like Konami is once again tapping their arcade beat-em-up heritage. Instead of X-men, The Simpsons Arcade Game looks to be heading to modern consoles in the form of a downloadable title via PSN or XBLA. The Australian Classification Board let the word out by rating the title.
Backbone Entertainment appears to be handling development for Konami. Having dropped an estimated $400 on the arcade machine at my local pizza joint as a child, I'm very excited about this news.
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House of the Dead: OVERKILL - Extended Cut - GR Review
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I mean, it doesn't make that much sense, right? If you know that you're headed toward a mansion filled to the brim with the undead (and I don't wanna know how all of them got in there), who in their right mind would go back… except for maybe a dumb detective (with a particular love for the letters "m" and "f") and a dumber FBI agent with a letter for a name? Or that one chick with the giant bust and a score to settle?
Isaac Washington, Varla Gunns (yup, big chest equals corny name), and Agent G are just three of the characters involved in the "intricate" experience that is House of the Dead: Overkill, the on-rails shooter from a franchise that started in the arcade, was only ever suited for an arcade, and continued to get more-and-more depressing as it left the arcade. Sega and friends were shooting zombies before shooting zombies was "hip" and "cool" as the kids today know (really though, zombies have always been cool, even to me), though this time it's blatantly stated that it's not "zombies" you're shooting… they're mutants. Man-made virus and all that. Boogie woogie woogie. How are we allowing them to get away with calling this "House of the Dead" when you're not shooting the walking dead?
Anyway, have you ever played a light gun, on-rails shooter? Because if you have, you know exactly what to expect: point at the screen and pull the trigger. It's as easy as the best of arcade quarter-munchers. As mutants march towards the screen, it's up to you to shoot them. It's that simple, mainly because when drunks stagger into arcades, they have to know what to do with the funny-looking guns attached to the TVs.
With that transition to a home console comes plenty of more intricate playing options, like upgrades to a faster reload and larger clip and even buying brand-spankin'-new guns which all keep the action and violence fresh. On top of that, every environment is unique with its own set of bad guys. That's not to say that previous baddies aren't constantly showing back up for more punishment, but every space has a batch unique to their region. You'll see some awkward valley girls in the swamp, but they're surrounded by the creepy rednecks with bloody flannel as well.
Throughout the stages are extra items as well. Comic book pages, movie posters, even heads-on trophy platforms, which unlock 3D models of characters throughout the game, are littered across the landscape. Sometimes they're blatantly there, while a few take some sharp shooting (or an Uzi, whichever's easier for you) to capture. They're fun little extras, but similar to those in tons of other games. Still more swearing, but nothing special.
Three mini-games are options right from the get-go, and they're all fun. First is "Victim Support", the goal being to save the limping humans from the attacking hordes of attacking mutants. The further the survivors travel before being munched, the higher the score given. It's the trickiest of the games, and not the most fun since you have to worrying about someone else instead of willy-nilly pulling the trigger.
The second game "Stayin' Alive" is like the main game and involves shooting whatever moves, lumbers, crawls, or throws stuff. Given a time limit and your trusty weapon, you must rip down the fleshy walls until either time runs out or your health does. "Money Shot II", the third game, is the trick-shooting target game. There has to be a touch of everything from the main game, doesn't there?
Developers were striving for second playthroughs, so after playing through the main game, a wealth of new bits and pieces are unlocked. "Shoot the Sh*t" is available, where you must shoot the bad words before anybody gets to say them (which means a lot of bullets are necessary), along with an extended version of the main story called the Director's Cut. They add some replay, which is what a game like this needs, though once a section has been played through and mentally recorded, playing through again can be more of a chore than a privilege. Especially since this started out on the Wii, so on the PS3 the thing is butt-ugly. Realizing that can help with the little graphical glitches and tweaks, but going in blind, it's just awkward and bland, even with drastic changes in environments to help the story along.
But if you're just looking for a reminder of why this franchise just gulped quarters in arcades, this is about as good as it might ever get again on consoles. Plus, since this is obviously an "M"-rated title, it's a great way for classic players to feel like kids in an arcade… but grown up and filthy enough to get into a grindhouse flick and see some nasty stuff go down. Oh, and there's plenty of innuendo, swearing, blood-spewing, and a few of the sickest bosses I've seen yet to keep the creepy-crawlies around for a while yet. Now good shoot those dirty muthaf-
Title exclusive to PS3. Copy provided by the publisher.
10 Tips for Skyrim: A Dragonborn Mini-Guide
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Welcome to the Old Kingdom of Skyrim, the snowy heartland of the Nords, tall and hearty folk who delight in brawling, drinking, and calling weaklings "milk drinkers". Now you may be a fledgling in this strange land, but you're no "milk drinker", at least after you read this series of tips. Whether you're a newbie or a veteran of the Elder Scrolls series, this mini-guide will give you direction on how to succeed within the first 20 hours of Skyrim. Besides, I'm level 32 (at the time of this writing) after about 60 hours of play, so I'm glad to help you all out. Don't worry, you'll be level 32 soon enough. You can also check out our Skyrim cheats to help out.
1) Stick more or less to the main story until you "understand what Shouting means"
Was that vague enough for you? We're not into spoilers.
If you're not used to an Elder Scrolls title or any of Bethesda's open-world titles, stick to the main quest line until you get a handle on it. For veterans, it's still important to stay on track so that you earn all of the powerful rewards from learning what Shouting is about, especially before you pick a random direction and start exploring. Of course, you'll free to do what you want since that's what the game design is all about, but Shouting is the coolest thing in the game apart from the dragons (who aren't that hard to kill, really).
Also, just a friendly note: There's a mountain pass southeast of the initial city of Helgen that can serve as a shortcut when you need it.
2) Choose a guardian stone as early as possible.
I wish I knew this earlier... Scattered throughout Skyrim are ritual stones that you can activate for additional boosts or even additional powers. The earliest guardian stones you can find are directly northwest of the initial city of Helgen, around the mouth of the river as it proceeds into the lake. You'll know you're nearby once you see a pillar icon with a black diamond in it.
This particular spot has a trio of guardian stones, each representing the three archetypes: warrior (red), thief (green), and mage (blue). By choosing one of the guardian stones, all of the skills associated with that archetype accelerate in skill building by 20%. If you're unsure which skills refer to which archetype, go to the constellation skills menu and you'll see skills grouped by the red, green, and blue nebulas. See how ingenious it all is?
3) Pick Restoration and at least one or two additional schools of magic.
Restoration is key for any build, as healing yourself (or others) quickly on the fly is dictated by this school of magic. The Apprentice spell Fast Healing will get you out of a bind in combat more than once. Many of the perks in the Restoration skill tree are premium choices, like upgrading all restoration healing by 50%, restoring stamina whenever you heal, and most importantly, improving magicka regeneration by 25% (twice!). That said, Restoration is also extremely difficult to upgrade, as the developers expect you to get damaged a lot. Even after 60 hours of play, my Restoration skill is only at 39 out of the full 100. So heal as much as you can.
Any of the other schools of magic, be it Alteration, Conjuration, Illusion, or Destruction, provide welcome support. Destruction magic is probably the most practical choice as a way to deal long-range elemental damage and lay rune traps on the floor that take advantage of the idiocy of most enemies in narrow corridors. Warriors will no doubt be attracted to the Oakflesh and Stoneflesh armor rating boosts in the Alteration school and tactical sneak-thiefs will be attracted to the noise-cancelling and mood-altering spells in the Illusion school. Conjuration will likely be favored by the battlemage who wants the ability to call weaponry for close quarters and summon creatures to serve as battle aids and distractors.
While it's recommended to learn every school of magic through the various spellbooks, easily purchased by any court wizard, focus on several schools of magic instead of all five. It's far better to be a master of several skills than a master of none.
4) Cast spells constantly. (Particularly, Muffle.)
Since mana regenerates and skill in any school of magic improves by casting spells, cast spells whenever it counts. The developers of course have designed the game to reduce spam spellcasting as much as they can; spells like Stoneflesh only improve the Alteration skill if you're actually casting it during combat. Still, it's important to cast Restoration spells, at the very least, to improve your proficieny at healing.
The one exception I've been able to find is Muffle in the Illusion school. I've been casting it whenever my mana gets full and I currently have an Illusion stat of 79. Once I have access to Invisibility, my ninja skills shall not be challenged.
5) Use the save system to your advantage
Both lockpicking and pickpocketing are luck-based. Lockpicking works exactly like it does in Fallout 3, except that in Skyrim, you can pick any lock no matter your skill level. That means a Master lock can be picked successfully with a certain degree of luck, though it might waste a lot of precious lockpicks. Pickpocketing, perhaps the most difficult skill to improve at the beginning of the game, uses percentages as a chance to steal, but early on you'll get caught a lot. So use the save system to, well, save your ass from having city guards chase you down, throw you in jail, and take back all your stolen goods.
Buf if you're a master at the lockpicking mini-game, you won't even need to put in a single perk into the Lockpicking skill tree. I haven't done so yet, and I currently have a lockpicking skill of 70 and so many purchased lockpicks that it's 99+. That's after picking and opening every locked chest I've encountered in the last 64 hours.
Also, take off the autosaving on wait, rest, and travel in the options menu if you want to cut down on loading times. Auto-saving adds about 15 seconds to every loading screen, and with the amount of doors in Skyrim, that's... a lot... of time... wasted. It's your call, of course. I would just get in the habit of manually saving yourself and having an auto-save set once every 30 minutes or so.
Disney Universe - GR Review
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Well, it seems the Disney Imagineers have been at it again. This time, they've re-imagined some of Disney's top-grossing flicks into immersive worlds where tasks abound. Disney Universe is a sometimes frustrating adventure through familiar settings where the goal is to free characters and win lots of gold. Popular productions, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Wall-E, are just two of the game's jump-off points. No matter the venue, I had a lot more fun with this than I thought I would, and I'm not even the target audience. That being said, I did my best to channel my inner 8-year-old while reviewing Disney Universe, keeping an eye out for pitfalls, of which there are a few, but they have easy workarounds. Given the right set up, Disney Universe will allow kids to get maximum joy out of playing in its kingdom.
From the outset, the guide in Disney Universe hints that it should be played with teammates. Heed these suggestions. The antagonizing bots that appear are both numerous and impossible to avoid. Once they show up, you can forget about accomplishing the current challenge until they are all dead. Just drop whatever you are doing and kill them all. It only takes one of those sneaky so-and-so's to get you, so be thorough; you have endless lives, but it's never fun to die. Killing all the bots is easier said than done, and would be ever so much easier in multiplayer mode. My 8-year-old self hasn't made many friends lately, so it was all up to her. She nearly gave up and declared the game stupid, but then the grown-up me took over and skimmed the manual.
If you give this game as a gift, you will want to do the same for yourself. Open up the manual and commit the special attacks to memory; they're simple—the most complex is a 3-button combo. Learning the Double-Jump Ground Slam Attack is essential. Although the game will pop up hints along the way, and how to perform the slam attack is one of those hints, it comes too late and in the middle of a melee brawl when you may not have time to read it. Perhaps this was a strategic decision on the game designer's part to make things more challenging and extend replay value, but it's also a big risk.
I've purchased more than a few perfectly enjoyable games that my real child dismissed after five minutes because the game was “too hard”. When a game is frustrating, kids tend not to want to play. It would be a shame to have Disney Universe relegated to the heap of untouchables, because it is really well-done, visually impressive, and fun (as long as you can kill the bots). Without the slam attack, you may as well save yourself the trip to the store and throw 50 bucks directly into the trash.
Another thing the gift-giver may want to consider, at least at first, is playing with the child. I know you probably want the game in order to get the rugrat out of your hair. The distraction capabilities of this game are very high, but only after you give your kid the tools to be successful. Once he has the controls down, he can pass on his knowledge to his peers, or if he's really good, he can defeat the bots on his own. Playing with a partner will really cut down on the frustration level early on. You might even find yourself enjoying the game. Remember when you had to sit through Aladdin (not the video game) and pretend to like it? The Imagineers pay you back with Disney Universe. This time you won't have to pretend.
If you've ever vacationed at one of the Disney parks, the next pitfall won't come as a surprise. Things are really expensive in Disney Universe. You start off in an “arrr”-duous setting: The Pirates of the Caribbean. There are so many things to accomplish that you may be inclined to simply go about doing what you are directed to do. This would be a mistake, because in order to advance you'll need gold. Lots of gold. Unlocking the next world will cost you 2000, so remember to break open every cask and crate you see along the way.
The last pitfall may be as unavoidable as it is inevitable: Disney Universe gets repetitive. Kind of like standing in line for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland for the fifth time... somewhere among the fake hanging vines you'll wonder why. Sure, it's an exciting ride, and maybe you have a fast-pass, but why subject yourself to the torture of standing in line over and over? The answer is clear. It's all about presentation.
Imagineers make standing in line fun. In Disney Universe, they do the same. Even though every level has some form of a crank and a cannon you have to assemble and most have collecting tasks, the Imagineers make it new in each world. In the Lion King world, you collect bones; in the Pirates world, mermaid tears. The universe of Wall-E and Monsters Inc. invert the playing field while the Aladdin world speeds up the intensity. The things you have to collect or assemble meld nicely with the world you inhabit and the creativity will not go unnoticed. Even with all the flash, the repetition shows through the veil of presentation, especially to older players.
All of this is not to say Disney Universe is not a top-shelf pick. Creativity covers up many of the imperfections, the artwork in the backdrops is unrivaled in a kids game, and best of all, it's extremely entertaining. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy Disney Universe. Heed the pitfalls and choosing this game off your shelf will be an easy decision for any member of the family.
Review based on X360 version. Copy provided by publisher.
Revolution report card + Unlimited lives+ Inventive worlds+ Enjoyable for a range of ages- Impossible without special attacks- Tasks get repetitiveMore information about Disney Universe
Dragon's Dogma - Preview
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As other high-profile publishers and developers, Capcom has reacted to the struggling economy by relying on its popular franchises; in this instance, creating multiple versions of Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Dead Rising 2. But even Capcom knows that focusing on its former successes doesn't secure its future growth. So arrives its new IP, Dragon's Dogma, an innovative, single-player title that can be described as a combination of Dark Souls, Lord of the Rings, and Dragonheart. Intrigued?
Disrupting the peaceful fishing village of Casadeis, a dragon swoops into the town, razing it to the ground, but before it leaves, it tells you that you're the chosen one and, in an ancient ritual (that I can only hope is voiced over by Sean Connery), forcefully takes your heart out. Instead of dying, though, you reawaken as an aptly named "Arisen", who strangely has the almighty power to command human-like Pawns from the rift dimension. Yeah, it's a bit of a heavy-handed way to incorporate fantasy and NPC party members into the plot, but at the very least, it's meant to peak your curiosity and motivate you into figuring out what the hell is going on. And to kill that scaly, fire-ass, son-of-a-lizard scum.
Dragon's Dogma doesn't go for the old-school challenge of Dark Souls, though it's still a fantasy third-person hack-'n'-slash with an open world populated by forsaken ruins and monstrous giants just waiting to be killed for loot, experience points, and glory (and wow, that's actually kinda mean, but they all attacked first). It also begins by allowing you to mold your character however you like, including gender, face, chest size (oh my), scarring, personality traits, class, and body type.
Smaller types tend to suit the ranger and mage class better due to their mobility and swiftness, whereas larger types fit the fighter class better with their increased strength, allowing them to wield greatswords with ease and prevent harpies from lifting them off the ground. At higher levels, hybrid classes like the mage archer can be selected too for well-rounded builds.
Fitting well within the fantasy realm, adventuring mainly involves slaying bandits, goblins, ogres, and other foul beasts, depending on your current level and whether it's day or night. Inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, taking down golems and enemies about five or more times your size usually requires you to climb on their body and strike at their weakpoints.
The twist, of course, is that you have up to three customizable Pawns at your disposal, one of which will serve as your permanant sidekick and two others that can be recruited throughout the world. You can give them all simple commands—follow, attack, heal, and the like—and they are all infinitely revivable by your hand. This ensures that you can assemble a balanced team with both melee and magic support as well as have a buffer between you and the enemy if you need it.
As you complete story missions and accept side quests from various NPCs or the bounty board, the environment becomes more and more open until the entire world becomes accessible. Eventually, you'll have the opportunity to explore the likes of the Bluemoon Tower and any significant structure you can see in the distance.
In essence, Dragon's Dogma is Capcom's response to the emergence of open-world titles within its keen understanding of JRPGs and MMORPGs. It will indoctrinate the masses in early 2012 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations Launch Trailer Kills Tons of Guards
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Assassin's Creed seems to have built up to this point, piling questions on top of questions, making gamers sweat while they waited for the secrets to be revealed. If you haven't finished the story up till now, you might want to take the weekend to get through Brotherhood to experience its cliff hanger ending.
If Assassin's Creed: Revelations can continue to iterate and improve upon the original vision, I'll continue to enjoy the yearly releases. I'm certainly invested in the story and characters, but a successful send off for Ezio would certainly make a new character or a return to Desmond a welcome addition to the franchise.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations will hit store shelves next week on November 15th for Xbox 360 and PS3. The PC version has been delayed to December. Look out for more coverage on GameRevolution and our verdict on the latest time-traveling action-adventure.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Preview
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Resident Evil has splintered by two genre concepts: a return to the survival horror genre, which Resident Evil: Revelations attempts to rekindle, as well as a reimagining of the series into a third-person action shooter, which defines most of Resident Evil 5 and now Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. In fact, Operation Raccoon City so surprisingly fast that it feels more like a "Lost Planet: Operation Raccoon City" than a deliberately slow Resident Evil from the past. At the same time, it also continues Capcom's recent trend of revisiting their past games by providing a fresh perspective on the story, like Dead Rising: Off the Record, so it's not surprising that they've decided to circle back to the events in Raccoon City.
Set between the plot of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the story will have you take the role of the Umbrella Security Service (USS), whose primary mission is to destroy any and all evidence that would implicate Umbrella for developing the t-virus and accidentally turning nearly all the citizens of Raccoon City into walking biohazards. As the bad guys for hire, you oppose the Special Operations team at every turn and can make “what-if” decisions like killing Leon Kennedy before he ever steps foot in Europe to save Ashley Graham. Anyone who knows their Resident Evil history will have a (covert) field day with Operation Raccoon City.
Depending on your preferred class type, you can control one of six operatives in a team of four: the badass explosives specialist Beltway, the recon and cloaking expert Vector, the medic Bertha, the sniper Spectre, the scientist Four Eyes, and the assault team leader Lupo. If you're playing solo, you can select the other three team members that would best complement the mission at hand, though it's far easier to switch to cooperative multiplayer and work together with someone rather than idiot AI's. Instead of having each squad member having a seperate level, experience points gathered from intel and completing missions can be spent flexibly on learning passive and active abilities on whomever's skill tree you want. Regrettably, Capcom had no further information on the multiplayer.
No matter whom you choose, though, the third-person combat is surprisingly fast, with the ability to sprint across a medical lab almost twice as quickly as it would take in Resident Evil 4, dive right into cover behind some reinforced crate, and then pop out of cover for a few well-timed shots to the opposition. If that weren't enough, you can execute foes with a stab to the gut and then a shotgun blast to the face.
Most guns fire in quick bursts and ammo can be easily found throughout the facility. There's little time to turn around sluggishly, plant your feet, and aim slowly at a monster's head with a laser sight. The one exception, though, is during certain boss battles, particular the one which we were shown where you have to scurry down a lengthy entranceway and evade fire jets and a g-virus mutant from petting you on your head with its fist.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20, 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and on PC later at an unannounced date.
