I just realized something, I loved Black Ops because of the timeline, the older guns, the cold war feel of it. I thought I was going to love this game too, then it hit me, Black ops 2 is Quazi Futuristic, So I'm basically looking at MW3(2).
Well played Treyarch. Still not buying it though.
Mario has had many incarnations over the years, but Paper Mario is perhaps the pluckiest of all the portly plumber's personas. The way he moves, his feet cheerily kicking up dust, suggests an unflappable willingness to face any challenge. He never talks, but his steady demeanor speaks volumes; he is a happy hero and a faithful friend. One look at that mustachioed visage and you know that he is good and kind and true right down to his papery core. It's a pleasure to be reunited with this incredibly charming character and to explore the lovely papercraft world of Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Mario's cheery outlook is contagious, and you'll often be happy to accompany him on his latest adventure, but it's easy to find yourself stuck for extended periods, during which the joy gives way to frustration. In the end, however, happiness triumphs over all else; it's worth sticking through the tough spots with Paper Mario and seeing this adventure reach its cheery conclusion.
Sticker Star begins during the annual Mushroom Kingdom holiday of Sticker Fest. People gather at the festival grounds in the hamlet of Decalburg to celebrate stickers, and to make wishes on the powerful sticker comet that comes to visit the town each year. Alas, this year, Bowser ruins everybody's fun by leaping for the comet, absorbing some of its power himself, and scattering five wish-granting royal stickers far and wide across the kingdom in a maelstrom of sticker-fueled malice. Bowser makes off with Princess Peach (of course), and Mario joins up with the feisty caretaker of the royal stickers, who is herself a crown-shaped sticker named Kersti.
The story isn't special, but the writing sure is. Sticker Star possesses the smart, witty humor that's typical of the Paper Mario games. It's just a shame there isn't more of it. Though Kersti is almost always with you, Sticker Star can feel a bit lonely at times, and where games like the outstanding Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door were brimming over with memorable characters and funny moments, Sticker Star could have used more of both. But this land of papery forests, deserts, caves, and oceans is nonetheless a treat to explore. Smiling koopas, goofy goombas, and other enemies shuffle happily around each stage, bringing the world to joyous (if slightly dangerous) life. And the flat characters are particularly striking in 3D; at times, you can almost believe that you're gazing at an actual papercraft display.
In the wake of the Sticker Fest disaster, it's not just royal stickers that were sent far and wide across the land. Stickers of all sorts are now stuck to surfaces just waiting to be peeled off, which is lucky for you, because you're gonna need 'em. Early on, you get a sticker album, and as you peel stickers from walls, knock them out of blocks, or purchase them with coins, they get placed in your album. Ordinary stickers have names like jump, hammer, and fire flower, and only by spending these stickers can you attack your enemies during Sticker Star's turn-based combat.
It's an unusual system that encourages you to think about your attacks in a way that you don't have to in a typical role-playing game. When confronted with a group of weak enemies, do you finish them off in one turn by using a somewhat-rare shiny shell sticker, or do you take a few turns to do it, using run-of-the-mill stickers like worn-out jump and saving that shiny shell for later? Stickers are plentiful throughout the world, so it's unlikely--though possible--to find yourself running out; the trick is learning to use the right sticker in every situation. There's a steady curve as you progress through the game; you start finding rarer, shinier, more powerful stickers, which are also often larger, taking up more of the finite space in your album. It's satisfying to start harnessing the power of these stronger stickers and to become more skilled and efficient in your use of stickers as you advance.
The whole idea of spending stickers may seem wrong; after all, anyone who was ever a kid with a sticker album knows that stickers are meant to be collected and carefully smoothed into place. Fear not! In Decalburg, there is a sticker museum that is just waiting for one of each type of sticker to be added to its permanent collection. Once you've placed a sticker in its frame on the wall, you can gaze at it to your heart's content, and read a bit of information about it in the "sticky wiki." Having a permanent home for your stickers gives you a reason to hunt down one of each type, and the rarity and elusiveness of some stickers give you incentive to poke your nose into every corner of Sticker Star's charming world to find them.
Halo 3? or maybe, Halo 2? no let me guess, Halo Combat Evolved(even though no other Halo game is as good as this one in my opinion, not even the 2nd).
Or if your really desperate to play crap online multiplayer you could just play any of the modern call of duty games =P
CBS News reports that seven members of SEAL Team Six are under investigation for revealing secrets while serving as paid consultants on EA's shooter.
Seven US Navy SEALs who served as paid consultants on EA's Medal of Honor: Warfighter are reportedly under investigation for revealing secrets while working on the game.
According to a report by GameSpot's sister-site CBS News, the seven SEALs, who are all currently on active duty, used classified material given to them by the Navy while working with EA on Warfighter.
CBS News reported that all seven have received letters of reprimand and have had half their pay taken away for two months. One of the SEALs involved was reportedly on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter was released on October 23. EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau said that the critical reception for the game fell below EA's expectations, but that the publisher would continue to push the game during the holiday season through marketing, including the upcoming map pack tied in to Sony Pictures' new movie Zero Dark Thirty, which chronicles the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden.
The game fell into controversy prior to its release when EA began promoting its partnership with real-world weapons manufacturers by linking to their sites from the Medal of Honor: Warfighter official page.
Laura Parker is the Associate Editor of GameSpot Australia. She loves adventure games, sparkly stuff, Trivial Pursuit, cake, Master Chief, earthworms, and rhetorical questions. She once stole a sandwich from Peter Molyneux.
Electronic Arts has partnered with video game broadcasting network Twitch to bring in-built live-streaming functionality to its Origin client.
The partnership will allow Origin users to broadcast their gaming sessions live, directly to their Twitch channel. It will be implemented as part of the latest Origin update, which is scheduled to be rolled out in the coming days.
The update--which, according to EA, has been implemented due to user suggestions and feedback received by the publisher in the last few months--will also allow users to add non-Origin games to their libraries in the client. Users will be able to launch (and broadcast) all their games from one location.
The update will first be rolled out to Origin users who opted in for beta updates, and will be going live to all users shortly afterwards. EA said that the Origin Twitch feature is still in beta, and will be rolling out further Twitch services and functionality in future Origin updates.
The Origin update also includes smaller tweaks, including a more responsive friends list that will accommodate long IDs, status updates, and real names; displaying recently-played games in the Origin task bar; improvement in the overall client performance with faster loading times; and a built-in feedback survey.
EA first announced that it was asking for fan feedback on Origin in May. It rolled out the Origin client update 9.0 in July.
For more on Origin's first year, check out GameSpot's interview with EA's David DeMartini.
Disclaimer: Twitch is a GameSpot partner.
Red and blue variants of latest Sony handheld Singapore-bound.
PlayStation Vitas are about to get more colorful in Singapore, with Sony confirming that two new hues will soon be made available.
The Cosmic Red and Sapphire Blue Vita variants are due in the island on 22 November 2012, and will retail for S$469 for the 3G/Wi-Fi model and S$399 for the Wi-Fi only model. As well as the new colors, matching in-ear headsets will also be on sale soon for S$19.90.
Finally, Sony is also releasing a new wireless stereo headset for the PlayStation 3. The headset--which supports 7.1 virtual surround sound--will retail for S$179, and will be available from 13 November.
Save big with Black Fridays, brought to you by Amazon.com, a new live weekly show that hooks you up with exclusive gaming deals. This week's lineup includes an exclusive offer on Assassin's Creed III. Offers only valid in the US.
Posted Oct 26, 2012 | 30:07 | 2,574 Views
The finishing touches are currently being made to next year's Devil May Cry reboot, so Ninja Theory came in to show us what we can expect when it arrives next year.
2013 is now very much on the horizon, which means that we're starting to think about what we'll be playing in the new year. The first big release, on January 15 in Europe and North America, is DmC: Devil May Cry, which sees British developer Ninja Theory taking the reigns on one of Capcom's most beloved franchises. We were lucky enough to check out a nearly finished build of the game and speak to the developer to see how it's shaping up. The developer is making some bold and exciting changes to the franchise while keeping other key tenets--here are the five key things you need to know about the game.
Take a look at DmC's nightclub level in action in our video preview.
A modern evil
DmC takes the series' gothic horror inspiration and updates it with a more modern take on evil. This means that the Demonic forces utilise corporations, advertisers and banks as a way for the Demon King Mundus to control the human world. In the nightclub level we were shown, celebrities are lured in for drink, drugs and girls, and are brainwashed by Lilith, the club's demonic manager.
Limbo
The human world of DmC is drab and uninteresting, which is in stark contrast to the bright and colourful demon-inhabitied limbo world. The architecture was inspired by modern European stylings--the nightclub, for example, takes inspiration from a club that the developer visited in Germany. If you take a look at our video preview above, you can see how these different elements come together in visually in a way that's completely new for the series.
Dante's new threads
The most vocal feedback from fans of the series has been about Dante's general appearance, whic h has changed quite dramatically over previous games. According to Ninja Theory, the original character designs they submitted were similar to the Dante of old, but Capcom sent them back, saying that if it wanted the same old Dante, it would have made the new Devil May Cry game itself. Ninja Theory says it will satirise the fan reaction to the new brunette Dante at the beginning of the game with jokes about his hair colour, while the blonde hair and red coat will still make an appearance when Dante performs angel combos.
Skill rewards
One element of DmC that remains true to the roots of the series is the combat, which rewards skill and aims to make you feel cool as cool as possible at all times. According to Ninja Theory, this is the area where Capcom's expertise was invaluable, given the Japanese company's decades of experience refining combat across numerous genres. The aim is still to earn a triple-S ranking on each level by chaining together cool combos, and you're rewarded with concept art and new moves for Dante as you progress. You can reassign your library of moves during the game as the situation demands, but it'll take multiple playthroughs to unlock everything. In fact, just with previous games in the series, new difficulty levels such as Son of Sparda, Dante Must Die! and Heaven or Hell reward many, many playthroughs of the game.
New collaborators
Ninja Theory's last game, Enslaved, was famed for its collaboration between scriptwriter Alex Garland, actor Andy Serkis, and musician Nitin Sawhney. For DmC, Garland has given feedback on scripts from Ninja Theory's chief designer Tameem Antoniades, while Giant Studios in Los Angeles, who worked Avatar, was used for motion capture. The team also contacted street artists to incorporate their work into the game to give the outdoor locations an authentic urban feel. And while Sawhney may not be on the audio this time around, Norwegian aggrotech band CombiChrist and Dutch electronic group Noisia have both provided new music for the game, with music that is very much in keeping with the visuals.
Overall, we're excited about DmC's combination of a bold new visual direction and solidly satisfying combat mechanics. But are you excited about what Ninja Theory has done with the franchise? Let us know in the comments, and watch out for the game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 15th in Europe and North America, with a PC version to follow.
A patent application by Microsoft for "Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User" has surfaced. The filing, which was made with the US Patent and Trademark Office on April 26, 2011, and was spotted by Eurogamer, outlines a system designed to monitor viewers as they watch; ensuring compliance with licensing for music, games, and film.
The technology works by using cameras (no explicit mention is made of the Kinect or a Kinect successor) found in home and mobile devices to take still or moving images of the consumers and their environment. The system then compares the number of viewers visible in the frame with the licensing terms attached to the product; prompting watchers to purchase additional licenses (as required) for each person watching.
Excerpts from the application are listed below, while the full version can be read on the USPTO website. Warning: contains legalise.
"Consumers are presented with a content selection and a choice of licenses allowing consumption of the content. The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken."
"Content is distributed to consuming devices, such as televisions, set-top boxes, and digital displays, with an associated license option on the number of individual consumers or viewers allowed to consume the content. The limitation may comprise a number of user views, a number of user views over time, a number of simultaneous user views, views tied to user identities, views limited to user age, or any variation or combination thereof, all tied to the number of actual content consumers allowed to view the content."
The patent covers home and mobile digital content, both streamed and downloaded to a device, as well as various types of physical storage. Failure to acquire the additional licenses required for multiple viewers when prompted will result in the content stream or playback stopping.
"…a license validation is performed by comparing the user count and any view or performance limitation against that allowed by the license. If the license is satisfied, the content presentation begins. If not, then the user is presented with an option to adjust the license terms. If the license is updated, then the content presentation begins. If not, the presentation is halted."
The patent filing also makes numerous mentions of at least one type of head-mounted display. These match those found in the purportedly leaked (now taken down) Xbox 720 documents from June this year, which showed concept drawings of players wearing armbands and glasses while playing.
"Head mounted display device 502, which in one embodiment is in the shape of glasses, is worn on the head of a user so that the user can see through a display, and thereby have an actual direct view of the space in front of the user. The use of the term 'actual and direct view' refers to the ability to see the real world objects directly with the human eye, rather than seeing created image representations of the objects. For example, looking through glass at a room allows a user to have an actual direct view of the room, while viewing a video of a room on a television is not an actual direct view of the room."
"In one embodiment, processing unit 504 is worn on the user's wrist and includes much of the computing power used to operate [the] head mounted display device…"
"A head mounted display device 502, may include microphone and/or camera 5110 for recording sounds and transmitting that audio data to [a] processing unit."
As a technology patent, the document doesn't disclose any specific devices or services, but may provide a glimpse into the direction of Microsoft's next generation console, as well as how users may be required to engage with games and entertainment.
GameSpot contacted Microsoft, but the publisher was unable to provide comment at time of publication.
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune has been listed on the Australian Classification Board's website; developer One Loop Games is attached.
A posting on the Australian Classification Board's website has revealed a new Uncharted game. Titled Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, the entry lists the game with a "G" General rating, and as being a "multi-platform" title.
Additionally, the listing cites developer One Loop Games as the author. The organisation's website reveals that the studio recently completed two secret projects, one of which is their "first big game".
Previous projects from the developer include Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Full Spectrum Warrior, and The Saboteur.
The well-received action-adventure Uncharted series released its latest instalment in the form of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, which was released in November 2011. A spin-off game, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, was released for the PlayStation Vita earlier this year as a launch title for the handheld console.
Zorine is the Community Manager at GameSpot Australia. She enjoys competitive gaming, eating and winning. Is prone to gamer rage.
