Author: Steven Kunz

Freelance Digital Painter/Cartoonist, Public Relations Newb, Art Lover, 3DS/PC Gamer, and coffee nut... Find me on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/bleedingink_art

“Shadowrun Returns” Receives Funding For Game Development!

by Steven Kunz

Crowdfunding has been making a big impact in the realm of video games, with the most famous being the Double Fine Adventure kickstarter started by Tim Schafer, which raised nearly $3.5 million dollars to fund development for their new game. It’s a model of funding that could become really big in the future, although I’m personally waiting to see when the 1st real failure of crowd-funding occurs, just so we can analyze and improve on the process of crowd-funding, enabling a better service for fans, consumers, and developers alike.

I am a huge fan of the SNES-era Shadowrun game, and to be able to play this game on the PC, with a level editor built into the game, does sound like a real treat, especially for fans of the Blade Runner/Deus Ex: Human Revolution aesthetic. And now we’ll hopefully get a chance, as the experience I’ve just described, entitled “Shadowrun Returns”, has successfully hit its Kickstarter goals! Well done, internet!

For more information, visit the official Kickstarer page here.

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/29/shadowrun-returns-raises-1-8m-in-kickstarter-campaign/

The Wolverine Will Shoot Japan in Sydney Australia!

by Steven Kunz

For those that follow X-Men, particularly the latest spinoff ‘The Wolverine‘ which will be directed by James Mangold (Director of the movie, Cop Land), the latest development for the film is that it’s going to be shot at least in part in Sydney, Australia, due to a $12.8 million government payoff from Australia as well as other incentives. What’s even more interesting is that at this time, Sydney is going to be the primary location for shooting the film when the story dictates that Wolverine will be traveling to Japan in the story. This means that every shot of Japan will essentially be done in Australia.

At this time, at least $80 million is going to be spent in Australia, including visual effects, while post production work will be in the US. It’s certainly an interesting development, as you would figure that since the story takes place in Japan, it would be a logical decision to shoot in Japan since the primary story takes place in Japan. However, ultimately, it does depend on the production team in how he chooses to use Sydney’s locations to convince the audience that Wolverine is in Japan. There are a lot of new film stages in and around Sydney, but let’s just hope that we don’t spot a kangaroo or a  koala bear in the background of some of the exterior shots. Then again, that would already make it way better than “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” aka “The Tale of Jimmy Logan: The Man They Call Wolverine” aka “Not What We Considered a Real Wolverine Movie by Any Stretch”.

James Mangold’s “The Wolverine” is expected for a July 2013 release.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/the-wolverine-gets-12-8-million-payment-to-shoot-in-sydney/

Wait… Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 Now Modeling for Prada?!?

by Steven Kunz

Final Fantasy has had some interesting crossovers in the past, with the two most recent being Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 with the N7 Armor as a downloadable armor for the main characters of FF XIII-2 as well as an Assassin’s Creed costume also available as a downloadable costume for FF XIII-2. However, I was made aware of a very….unique….crossover for Final Fantasy XIII with……Prada!?

In the latest issue of the men’s fashion magazine, Arena Homme+, there is a 12 page-feature starring Lightning, Noel, Sazh, and Hope as they wear outfits from the Spring/Summer men’s collection, posing as if they are part of a fashion shoot.  It’s certainly different enough that people from the video games and fashion lifestyles will be buzzing about this for the time being.

When asked about this crossover, Max Pearmain, editor of Arena Homme+, had this to say.

Our Spring issue focuses on a world of direction and escapism, and having a visually stunning videogame franchise such as FINAL FANTASY work alongside us and a leading fashion brand like Prada to create something so unique is incredible; I’ve always been interested by the power of videogames and their place in society, and the amount of work that’s gone into this project blows my mind. We’re incredibly pleased with the result.

Yoshinori Kitase, producer of Final Fantasy XIII-2, also had this to say regarding the partnership

The FINAL FANTASY series is known for its creativity and innovation; so working with Prada, a renowned fashion house with such beautiful clothing was a very exciting opportunity. The images we have been able to create together are vibrant and unique,

The images are certainly unique, and considering how Final Fantasy characters have been evolving in terms of visual appearance, I suppose it makes some sense to partner with Prada, even if it seemingly came out of nowhere, and the characters do feel at home as fashion models with their appearances. My personal favorite happens to be Sazh, that is funny.

What are your thoughts on this interesting partnership?

 

APRIL FOOLS! Google Maps for Nintendo Entertainment System!

by Steven Kunz

This was an April Fools joke… but still it would have been cool!

When it comes to Google Maps, it’s the only tool I use to find directions on where I need to go, as well as look up alternate routes. However, there’s always something in the back of my head, nagging me, irritating me, and I couldn’t figure out what it was until now. I had to ask myself this question: “Wouldn’t Google Maps be SOOOOOOOO much better if it had a 8-bit retro look? I would be SO much more invested in Google Maps if it only could do just this!”

Well, Google listened to my oddly specific request. When you access Google Maps, on the top right of the map where you can choose Satellite/Earth/Street views, there’s a new mode called Quest. By clicking it, all the streets, trees, and mountains all become Dragon Quest lands. The maps are still plotted out the same way, and it still works the same, so you can still go to where you need to go. Except now, you can do it to the look and style of the original Dragon Quest. What’s also funny is if you go to Street View, everything is extremely pixilated, as if the NES’s technical capabilities are working overtime to provide even a simple version of Streetview.

Apparently, this is only a trial version and that an actual cartridge is coming out for the Nintendo Famicon and Nintendo Entertainment System. I don’t have a reason to really play my NES all that much anymore, but this is one reason to bring it back out from my closet. Now if only there was an update for Super Nintendo, I’d be all set…

Really? A Pokemon and Nobunaga’s Ambition Crossover?!

by Steven Kunz

I have heard a lot of interesting crossovers during my time as a gamer: Kingdom Hearts, Super Smash Brothers, and Marvel vs. Capcom to name a few, and I’ve enjoyed many of these crossovers whenever I came across them, though I was never seriously invested in any of them to warrant dedicated gameplay. Most of these crossovers warranted at least a cursory examination depending on how out-of-place they were, or how the developers came up with a way to unite two completely different franchises, though there usually was an element tying them together that made sense, whether it’d be story-setting, similar game mechanics, or artistic aesthetic.

When I first heard about Pokemon and Nobunaga’s Amibition having a crossover, I was dumbstruck because these two franchises are extremely different to me.  Pokemon is a family-friendly RPG series where you capture monsters to become a Pokemon Master while Nobunaga’s Ambition is a RPG series in which you choose one of many feudal warlords of Japan in order to conquer and unify the country under a single ruler. How in the world would you take these two franchises with two completely different themes and settings and combine them into a coherent story with gameplay?

Analyzing one of the trailers, it looks like you choose one warlord with a specific Pokemon, and you attack your opponent’s Pokemon in a tactics-based RPG combat setting, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics advance, and you proceed to conquer your other opponents in their story, whether each warlord has their individual story, or you’re playing the same story with each warlord offering their own unique dialogue to situations in the game. The game does certainly look interesting to at least check out, though whether it is good or not, or even if the game will even see an international release, remains to be seen.

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/24/pokemon-nobunagas-ambition-crossover-is-a-real-thing/

In The End… Were We Satisfied With Mass Effect 3?

by Steven Kunz

Mass Effect 3 is a game I was anticipating for a long time. The 1st game completely immersed me within its universe, an experience that really drew me in. I played Samuel Shepard, a paragon vanguard who strove for peaceful dealings and diplomacy in his dealings, but was not afraid to fight back with a shotgun.  A year later, I bought Mass Effect 2 and was quite impressed with the sudden change in game play, an increased focus in character development, and seeing some of the decisions I made in Mass Effect 1 having visible consequences that made me rethink how I played. My Shepard continued to use his diplomacy and combat skill well, which ultimately led to his entire squad surviving the Suicide Mission and delaying the Reapers from attacking. Another year after that, Mass Effect 3 is now in my hands and I can safely say that the conclusion to my Shepard’s story is complete, if not abrupt.

Between the 2nd and 3rd game, the human Alliance had Commander Shepard grounded and took back the Normandy SR2, with your squad mates from the previous game splitting up to do their own respective tasks. After some time has passed, the leaders of the Alliance call Shepard into a meeting to inform that the Reapers have arrived. You run into Virmire Survivor from the first game (Ashley in my case) and in the meeting, you confirm that the Reapers are here. Immediately, Reapers attack Alliance Headquarters, with Shepard and Admiral Anderson being the only ones alive. Shepard comes across a young boy who he is unable to rescue and later sees dying while escaping from the Reapers. After escaping from Earth, you learn of  a Prothean super weapon that has enough power to supposedly destroy the Reapers, and Commander Shepard is tasked with uniting the different alien races and finding assets that will not only help attack the reapers, but also build this super weapon which is later known as the Crucible.

In my opinion, the story is the weakest of the three, but it is a Bioware game which means that it is still well-written and epic as ever. Development for many of the characters reaches their conclusion as everyone is now focused on the war. It is still satisfying to interact with them and hear their personal observations on the war, and there are still great moments despite the war being the primary focus. Ironically, Commander Shepard gets the most character development. While your Shepard has always built his own story based on your choices, the death of the child as well as maintaining leadership in rallying both his squad and entire races to fight the Reapers has started to wear him down, though that has not affected his ability as a leader. With the exception of some story elements, particularly with the Crucible and the ending, the story is mostly excellent, and what doesn’t work all depends on how you partake in suspension of disbelief. For some elements, it is easier said than done. As for the decisions you made through all three games, they definitely have an impact as some of the major decisions you made will have conclusions to its stories, and these events will succeed or fail based on some these choices. These moments helped make me feel that the choices I made were not wasted.

Combat is similar to Mass Effect 2. You still have the same battle mechanics: running from cover to cover, firing from cover, and using your powers tactically. There are some tweaks, like how Shepard can run (Unlike the running from Mass Effect 1) and dodge attacks by rolling, which will help as enemies are more aggressive than before. You have a few more ways to attack with melee, like a heavy attack, a stealth kill, and a short combo. There is also another combat: the inclusion of weight in weapons. The weight of your weapons determines how fast you recharge your powers, and you can also equip all 5 weapon types in the main game, so having all 5 weapons equipped will slow down your power usage. Depending on your class and play style, it may be beneficial to have one-two weapons to maximize power usage, or have a variety of powerful weapons with minimal powers, and it is possible to equip all 5 weapons and have a decent power recharge if you pick the lightest weapons and choose skills that reduce your overall weight. I actually like this change as it ultimately refined my play style. With this system, you choose how you play even more. On a side note, what’s disappointing is the removal of Heavy Weapons as part of your standard arsenal. Instead, they now appear in a few specific missions and are used more as a situational weapon. I ultimately did not bother with Heavy Weapons in Mass Effect 3, but I do miss having another option available.

Outside of combat, you still are able to interact with NPCs and engage in meaningful dialogue aboard the Normandy and the Citadel, and the decisions you make not only boost your Paragon/Renegade meter, but also your reputation. When you talk to people, or complete a side quest, you get a Reputation boost which essentially enables more dialogue options as you play through the game. I assume that with higher reputation, not only can you use high charm/intimidate decisions, but there is no major penalty to mixing up Paragon and Renegade.  I do appreciate having some Renegade options open thanks to reputation, but I ultimately didn’t notice it’s effect as I played typical Paragon and chose Paragon options all the way. Aside from side quests, you can also repurchase all of your equipment from Mass Effect 2, including DLC-exclusive weapons and armor from the different stores. I was disappointed that my inventory did not import directly into Mass Effect 3, but I did appreciate being able to buy DLC gear with in-game credits. On that note, armor works exactly the same as in Mass Effect 2: You buy pieces that have various stat bonuses, and you mix and match to form the best armor for you. There are also full suits of armor you can’t customize, but they offer bonuses in various stats, which are definitely more accessible if you’re waiting for a specific armor piece.

The scanning from Mass Effect 2 has been improved as you are scanning for military resources and artifacts instead of hoarding minerals for research. The new scanning not only help you finish side quests, but also build up your War Assets which determines the ending of the game. However, when you scan the system, it attracts Reapers, so when you scan too many times in a single system, they will come to kill you. You have to evade the reapers quickly, or else it’s game over. This adds tension and it makes flying around the galaxy a bit more exciting. You can easily leave and come back to scan while reapers are after you. It’s definitely more enjoyable to scan planets this time around. Aside from this, there are no other mini-games, not even hacking from the previous games, leaving combat as the only gametype.

Your squad is definitely smaller compared to Mass Effect 2, which I did appreciate. While I really enjoyed the large cast in Mass Effect 2, I found myself favoring Garrus and Tali in every mission and did not use anyone else except for their loyalty missions. While I did the same thing in Mass Effect 3, because of the smaller roster, I did enjoy that each character was more or less unique with their abilities. While I did appreciate the smaller-sized roster in general and seeing former squad mates in their individual mission, I was hoping to have them tag as a temporary party member, similar to how Liara was used in ‘Lair of the Shadow Broker.’

Is It All Good?

The technical issues are where Mass Effect 3 falls short. To start off on a positive note, the visual aesthetic of the game is fantastic, especially with how the environments are awe-inspiring in how it shows the Reapers destroying everything, setting up a well-executed mood of constant struggle, hopelessness, and determination to succeed against all odds. However, there are some low-resolution textures in the game which also has some really slow loading, otherwise known as pop in. A prime example would be when you exit from a planet after a mission, and seeing the various landmarks load one at a time. On top of that, some characters glitch with their attention focusing on another object, their eyes spontaneously rolling up like they’re possessed, or completely disappearing. They were very few of these technical errors, but they do stand out.  In terms of the soundtrack, there are some great pieces of music, particularly with the multiplayer tracks and some of the boss fights, but the score is more orchestral, and you can tell the change of focus in music styles. It’s not bad at all. Actually, the music is really good as I wanted to listen to the soundtrack more than once while working. However, it doesn’t stand out as much as Mass Effect 2’s soundtrack. As a matter of fact, the only thing that really stood out to me as WRONG is the technical errors. If these errors can be fixed through patches, the overall experience will be much more immersive.

Multiplayer is the same as it was in the demo. You make a character and play on different maps against enemies in 11 waves of co-op action. You earn credits as you play, and these credits are used to buy equipment, weapons and powerups. It still has the same strengths and faults as it did in the demo, so I’ll explain what’s new. What are new are the different maps and the enemy factions. You have 6 maps total and three enemy factions: Reapers, Geth, and Cerberus. Cerberus plays exactly the same as in the demo, and they are the most tactical enemies. The Geth are powerful and have a variety of enemy types though their weaknesses can be easily exploited. The Reapers are the most aggressive and difficult of the enemies as they will continuously move forward, keeping you mobile.  Each faction requires different strategies and tactics, which keeps gameplay fresh. The store has a new item pack, the Spectre Pack, which costs 60000 credits and will let you get more powerful items. You can also use real world money to buy these packs. It’s optional to purchase these, which is much better than being forced to pay with real money.  Multiplayer is holding my attention, but I don’t know how long it will last. Thankfully, there seems to be DLC coming that will add more characters, items and hopefully, new maps. I would also love to see more gametypes personally, as co-op play is fun, but is starting to get a bit old.

The Controversial Ending

Despite how many people have enjoyed the game, there has been a nearly universal outrage over how Bioware chose to resolve the third game as well as Shepard’s story. (SPOILER ALERT AHEAD) Many people stated that the endings were too similar to one another, the decisions you made essentially didn’t matter in the game’s conclusion, and that collecting War Assets was also pointless as the battle proceeded the same way as if you collected minimal assets.  On top of that, by activating the Crucible, you destroy all the Mass Relays, crippling all of galactic civilization and potentially destroying all life since Mass Effect 2’s ‘Arrival’ DLC established that destroying a single Mass Relay would create a supernova that would destroy an entire planetary system. People were also angry that the Normandy ran away from the main battle and into a relay, essentially trying to escape the explosion caused by its destruction. (SPOILER ALERT END)

The outrage was so significant that fans had started a facebook page called ‘Retake Mass Effect 3’ as well as a charity for Child’s Play to raise awareness of a petition for Bioware to change the ending to make much more sense and provide proper closure to the series. series (Although the petition had just recently ended with an official statement from Child’s Play on Reddit, which makes a lot of sense from the charity’s point of view) One fan even went so far to make a complaint against Bioware to the Federal Trade Commission for ‘false advertising.’ This has also led to a fan theory, the Indoctrination Theory, which basically tries to prove that Shepard had been indoctrinated since the start of Mass Effect 3, and that many of the ending events are a hallucination in Shepard’s head. It’s extremely detailed and lists a lot of great points for its arguments while other players claim that players are grasping at straws in order to make sense of what might simply be a badly-written ending.

Initially, Bioware’s executive producer Casey Hudson claimed that he wanted the ending to be as unforgettable as possible in an extremely polarizing way, stating that the intention was to get gamers talking and discuss what’s next with the franchise as well as the characters. Well, talk about it they did, but not in the way that the team had expected. Eventually, they released a statement on the Bioware social forums that they are listening to the feedback and will engage in healthy discussion about the ending when more people have had a chance to play it, which indicated a good sign that things might change, especially since Bioware’s Jessica Merizan posted a thread on the forums asking for constructive criticisms and suggestions on what to change in Mass Effect 3. Well, just yesterday, Bioware’s co-founder, Dr Ray Muzyka has released a statement that they are working on ‘a number of game content initiatives’ that will help answer questions and ‘providing more clarity’ for those seeking further closure to their journey.’ Here is a segment from his statement.

Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey. You’ll hear more on this in April.  We’re working hard to maintain the right balance between the artistic integrity of the original story while addressing the fan feedback we’ve received.  This is in addition to our existing plan to continue providing new Mass Effect content and new full games, so rest assured that your journey in the Mass Effect universe can, and will, continue.

This honestly could mean anything, whether it results in new cutscenes after the ending, if the game opts for a Fallout-style epilogue, or if the ending will be significantly changed.  However, there will be more information come April in regards to the proposed changes. You can bet that there will be unhappy fans that won’t be happy with what Bioware decides to gives the fans, but the fact that Bioware is modifying the ending after only two weeks of the games release is quite significant, and it will probably be the first game that modifies the ending substantially through DLC, at least in recent history.

Mass Effect 3 is definitely the conclusion of the Shepard Saga of this franchise. Where the franchise goes, it’s unknown. I would say that despite the ending of the series, the game franchise still has a bright future ahead of it, and I’m excited to see what the next game will bring us. In regards to the ending, I’ve opted to omit the ending from this review as I feel it requires a separate discussion and article in order to do it justice. Regardless of how you feel about the ending, this game should be played, regardless whether you’re being introduced into Mass Effect, or if you’ve played from the very first game. I would recommend that for the absolute best experience, you start from the very first game all the way to the third.

Sony Pictures to Distribute MGM’s Robocop Remake!

by Steven Kunz

Sony Pictures has officially signed on to distribute MGM’s Robocop remake. This deal is only the latest in the relationship with Sony and MGM with previous partnerships involving ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘ and ‘Zookeeper.’

The film is being directed by Jose Padilha, whose previous credits are the brazillian film series, “The Elite Squad” and the documentary, “Secrets of the Tribe.” The lead role of Robocop, formerly played by Peter Weller, now stars Joel Kinnaman as the main lead, his most recently starring in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and the AMC TV Series, ‘The Killing‘.

One more interesting note, the script of Robocop was written by Joshua Zetumer, whose most recent work was the draft script for the now defunct remake of Dune. With these sort of people working on the film, Robocop is shaping up into a decent film at least, though time will tell if the film will be as memorable as the original.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/sony-pictures-to-distribute-mgms-robocop-remake/

Konami announces HD Version of Zone of the Enders 1 + 2

by Steven Kunz

Coming this fall, Konami is going to be releasing a remastered version of both Zone of the Enders AND Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner!

Zone of the Enders, for those who don’t know, was a 2001 PS2 game developed by Kojima Productions. Many people bought it because it had a demo for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, but marketing tactics aside, the gameplay was fantastic, the story was surprisingly decent, and piloting a giant robot that destroys other giant robots was as natural and easy as jumping on a goomba in Super Mario Brothers. ZOE: The 2nd Runner built on that with improved gameplay, an epic story, graphics that are still completely mind-blowing to this day, and a ton of extras unlocked once you beat the main game that will keep you coming back for more.

These games are beloved and hard to find, especially ‘The 2nd Runner’. Now they will be available outside of the PS2 and will see a release on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Tomoyuki Tsuboi, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc, had this to say regarding the re-release:

We are looking forward to bringing the legendary Zone of the Enders series to fans old and new in a high definition format with the Zone of Enders HD Collection.

As of now, there is no information regarding extras or updates in the game aside from the graphics. Personally, I’m hoping that with ‘The 2nd Runner’, we get all the content that was included in the special edition that was only available in Japan, but even a straight port with remastered graphics will still make for a great experience.

Source: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/163460/KONAMI_ANNOUNCES_ZONE_OF_THE_ENDERS_HD_COLLECTION.php

Hulu Plus coming to the Nintendo 3DS!

by Steven Kunz

The Nintendo 3DS is becoming more of a media device, which seems to be an indication of where future video game platforms are moving towards. In terms of Nintendo platforms, the Wii has Netflix streaming and Hulu Plus has recently become available as a free app for the system. (Each one requires a subscription to use, although you can stream on multiple devices once you are a subscriber to Netflix or Hulu Plus) The 3DS also has Netflix and Nintendo Video which downloads 3D video clips from different partners like CollegeHumor, 3Net, and Variety. By the end of this year, the 3DS will have Hulu as another media app available for download

Hulu Plus is currently being developed as an app for the Nintendo 3DS, and is slated to be available sometime before the end of the year. While other platforms have an app for Hulu Plus, I wonder if the 3DS app will just be for streaming content, or will it take advantage of the 3DS’ Streetpass and Spotpass capability?

If I might be allowed to speculate, I would say that the 3DS app should focus on streaming, but allow access to exclusive content for 3DS users with the Spotpass updates and Streetpass feature, regardless of whether they pay for a subscription. This way, not only will it give potential users another reason to subscribe, but it keeps you accessing the app consistently, which is really important in the longevity of Hulu Plus’ 3DS integration in my opinion.

At this time, there is no other information other than it’s announcement, so I guess we will have to wait and see. Either way, good to see the 3DS becoming versatile in delivering content to it’s users.

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/16/hulu-plus-wii/

Assassin’s Creed 3 Leaked Screenshots!

by Steven Kunz

First, there were rumors that Assassin’s Creed 3 would take place during the American Revolution, then we received this promotional image of Assassin’s Creed 3 from Best Buy showing the protagonist with an American Flag in the background and a tomahawk and flintock pistol. Now we have 5 leaked screenshots of the game right here!

This definitely looks refreshing in comparison to the previous Assassin’s Creed games. I also can’t wait to see gameplay footage of this character in action as well as clues to how the story progresses in AC3.

Anyone else have any thoughts or speculations they’d like to share about Assassin’s Creed 3?

Source: http://imgur.com/a/3NNkQ

Sony Pictures to Develop Film Based on Valiant Comics’ Bloodshot!

by Steven Kunz

Sony Pictures has closed a deal to acquire the film rights to the Valiant Comics series, Bloodshot, a 1992 comic book series that continues to be one of the revamped publisher’s strongest properties.

The story is about a killer for the mafia who is framed for a murder he didn’t commit, thanks to his mob family betraying him.  When he goes into Witness protection, he is immediately kidnapped and his body goes through the experimental procedure, “Project Rising Spirit.” His body is injected with nanomachinery, also refered to as ‘nanites’, that gives him superhuman abilities at the cost of his memories. He eventually escapes his captors and goes on a journey to rediscover the person he once was.

The script is being written by Jeff Wadlow, whose previous credits include the drama/horror movie, Cry-Wolf, and the screenplay for the horror thriller, Prey. Reportedly, the deal came out of Wadlow’s love for the comic and agreed to write the script on spec, and when Sony saw the script, they bought the rights. The film is also being produced by Neal Moritz, producer of The Green Hornet and the Fast & Furious series.

The idea is to develop the property as something that X-Men First Class director Matthew Vaughn can direct. Hopefully, the movie doesn’t come in a foil edition.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/sony-pictures-taps-valiant-comics-character-bloodshot-for-live-action-feature/

Pushmo – A Nintendo eShop Game Retrospective

by Steven Kunz

Pushmo was the first original eShop game that caught my attention. Pyramids and Freakyforms did not interest me at the time(Though I plan on reviewing them later), so when Pushmo was released, I immediately bought it. It was my first impulse purchase, and it was one I have not regretted at all.

The story of Pushmo begins when you, a round sumo-like character named Mallo, visit a place called Pushmo Park. You meet with the inventor, Papa Blox, who shows you how Pushmo works. Pushmo, according to the game’s eShop page, “are incredible puzzle-like climbing toys” in which you can push and pull individual blocks, forming a path to the top. Suddenly, a young punk has trapped several kids in different Pushmos across the park, and it’s up to Mallo to rescue all the children who are trapped. What’s interesting about the story is that in the main game, there are 180 Pushmos, each with a kid trapped inside. That means this single punk took 180 separate kids in the park and trapped them in gigantic convoluted structures. In any other world, he would have been arrested for kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a minor, but in Pushmo Park, he is left to roam free and continue to wreck havoc on the lives of little children.

In all seriousness, the story does give you context on why you should solve every puzzle in this family-friendly adventure. The visual aesthetics also support this family-friendly nature. The world is colorful and vibrant and the character designs are simple and EXTREMELY cute to look at. The 3D also works well, with the illusion of depth achieved when you push and pull sections of the Pushmo forward. The world of Pushmo is not only a world that is full of positivity and life, but it also looks great as well.

The music and sounds also show off a very bright and happy environment, with sets of levels getting their own theme music. You have tutorials, regular levels, murals, and Nintendo-themed murals to get you through the game. However, there are no other stage themes. You’ll hear the same song repeat in each level in a single set, which is slightly disappointing since the tracks are very good. However, the appeal disappeared right when I reached the last set of stages.

The game play is where Pushmo shines. The goal is to rescue children trapped in the Pushmo, and since they are usually stuck at the top, you have to scale the gigantic puzzle until you reach the goal. When you get past the beginning stages, you are introduced to two new elements that complicate the puzzles: The manhole and the pullout switch. The manhole lets you enter and exit from one manhole to the other as long as they are exposed and of the same color while the pullout switch lets you push all blocks of a same color out when you step on it. It’s important to know when and where to use manholes and switches, especially the switches as you don’t need to hit every switch. If you’re overzealous in pushing and pulling blocks and activating switches, you’re likely to block your path. This is especially true near the end. You can also rewind time by holding the L button, so you can go back and fix your mistakes. Finally, by holding R, you can see the entire Pushmo from afar so you can plan your next step, or if you just want a full view of the Pushmo.

The mechanics are simple but refined. Forming a path to reach the goal is easy to do, and the game builds from that by steadily increasing the complexity of the puzzles as you play. When the manhole and switch are introduced, you have to think a few steps ahead, mainly to see if using a switch or manhole will move you forward or completely trap you. However, you only get into this mindset near the endgame, as the beginning puzzles and some of the midgame puzzles are very easy. It feels like once you begin the endgame, it suddenly spikes in difficulty without warning. I’m assuming that since I’m an adult, I’m able to see things two to three steps ahead. If you’re a child, you might perceive this increased slope in difficulty more easily. For me, I went from breezing through the game to spending twenty minutes solving one part of the puzzle so I can move onto the next part. The difficulty never reached the point where I stopped playing out of frustration. Being able to solve a hard puzzle definitely yields a sense of pride and I felt much more eager continuing to play. The game is rewarding. Though there is a sudden spike in difficulty near the end, it just made want to beat the puzzles even more.

In terms of replayability, the only levels I wanted to replay were the mural levels. The tutorials were just tutorials, and the regular levels felt more like expanded tutorials in the beginning, but the murals were entertaining at least. It was interesting and satisfying to see what shape each Pushmo was as well as climbing on top of a giant lemon soda, or alternatively, Mario.

There are also user-created Pushmos, which are incredible.  It’s amazing to see how creative some people are in making levels.  I tried a couple out and they were just as difficult as the end-game Pushmos and extremely fun like the mural levels. In order to receive user-created Pushmo, you go to the Pushmo Studio in the main menu, click on an empty square in the stage selection, and press the “READ QR CODE” button. You position your 3DS so that the QR code is within the frame on the top screen, and if done correctly, the game will recognize the QR code and download the new Pushmo for you to save and play.

As for making Pushmos, I never got the hang of it, but then again, I’m not very good at creating my own levels in any game/level maker. For those creative and determined enough, the level creator will certainly occupy a lot of your time, as well as playing some of the user-created Pushmos. I definitely recommend keeping an eye on the internet for some great levels.

All in all, I have to say that Pushmo is definitely worth the $6.99 that it is worth and more. There are some minor issues with the music, but that is just nitpicking on what is deservedly a fantastic game, and one that I would definitely call an eShop classic. The gameplay is solid, there are plenty of entertaining puzzles and the user-created Pushmos and level creator will ensure plenty of game time depending on your level of creativity with the level maker and patience with the end-game puzzles. This is one game that everyone with a 3DS has to download.

Redbox to Promote Week of Free One-Day Game Rentals!

by Steven Kunz

Here’s something interesting that I stumbled upon. You might be familiar with Redbox, those kiosks where you can rent a variety of DVDs and video games for cheap and can be typically found in malls, grocery stores, or any public place? Well, they have just announced a special deal on their website, Free Game Nights!

Between February 26 and March 1st (Sunday through Thursday), by reserving a game online through their Game Night section (Just click the big banner when you load the page), you can rent a game for an entire day free of charge! If you keep the game for another day, they charge you $2 bucks per day, which is still pretty good. Of course, terms of service are as follows:

*Limit: 1 free 1 day game rental per transaction. Only available for online reservations (for rentals that originate at a kiosk or for prior rentals). Payment card required. Additional day charges will be $2, except in MD, where they’ll be $2.12. Void where prohibited by law. Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer subject to cancellation or change at any time.

They have a small selection, but with pretty decent games, like Soul Calibur V, Modern Warfare 3, Saints Row 3, Uncharted 3, so if you were on the fence with some of these games, or if you just want ONE day to play that ONE game from beginning to end, this will be your best chance to do so.

Personally, I want to meet the guy that is going to be renting Skyrim with this deal.

Source: http://www.redbox.com/gameweek

Bioware Releases Official Response to “From Ashes” DLC Leak + Screenshots!

by Steven Kunz

When the Xbox Live Marketplace accidentally leaked Mass Effect 3’s DLC “From Ashes“, people were outraged. People were angry that Bioware/EA had seemingly taken out content developed alongside the main game and are selling it as DLC, especially since there are supposedly voice files for the DLC character simply known as “The Prothean” already packed into the demo. Whether this is the real voice of the character or not, people were raging pretty hard at Bioware and EA. One of the more common complaints is that the character was already built into the game during development and was subsequently removed to become paid DLC for an already pricey game. Its 60 dollars for the standard edition of the game and having to pay 10 more dollars for DLC that was supposedly developed alongside the main game on Day One is definitely outrageous and can also become pretty expensive as further DLC is released.

Three days ago, Michael Gamble (Producer of the Mass Effect franchise) posted on the Bioware Forums regarding the leak and wanted to clear things up. This is from his post:

As most of you know, yesterday there was a leak that revealed the upcoming DLC “ME3:From Ashes” on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This leak took place before we were prepared to make an announcement about the details of that pack (slated for this Friday).

There has been a lot of discussion about the DLC offering but we wanted to clarify a few things…

– “From Ashes” includes the Prothean squad mate, an adventure on Eden Prime, a new weapon, and an alternate appearance for every squad mate. Note that these alternate appearances are in addition to the ones already advertised in the CE.

– The Collectors Edition has been advertised from the beginning as containing a bonus character/mission, but we were not at liberty to provide the details. The Prothean is optional content that is certainly designed to appeal to long-time fans, which is why he is part of the CE offering (the version many fans would be likely to purchase).  Mass Effect 3 is a complete – and a huge game – right out of the box.

– The content in “From Ashes” was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification.

– The Collectors Edition has been sold out in most places for some time now, and is becoming very hard to find (many players prefer not to purchase the digital version). As such, we wanted to make this content available so that SE buyers could also incorporate the Prothean into their game.

As always, we are extremely thankful for all of your support. We pulled out all of the stops to make Mass Effect 3 the best game ever, and we can’t wait for you all to experience it.

Mike

So that’s the official response from Bioware. Interestingly enough, Gamestop’s facebook also leaked screenshots ahead of when Bioware was planning to announce From Ashes officially. Screenshots are below if you can handle minor spoilers.

To the geeks out there, what do you think? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!

Source: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/9403705

Sakura Samurai – Art of the Sword – A Nintendo eShop Review

by Steven Kunz

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword was a game I discovered on the eShop a couple of months back, and seeing the trailer for the game, it looked like a fantastic concept. A game inspired by Japanese legends in terms of story and design, a great battle system where evasive dodging and quick strikes are preferred over just a frontal assault, and an epic journey to rescue a goddess from captivity, Sakura Samurai looked to be another eShop classic, similar to my beloved Mighty Switch Force. When I finally got my teeth sunk in the game, I found it to be entertaining during intense moments and was content with its environments and overall aesthetics, but I was just generally underwhelmed by what Sakura Samurai had to offer.

Sakura Samurai starts off with a well-presented prologue. Back in the days of feudal Japan, there was a god who lives in the mountains, and his daughter was Princess Cherry Blossom, a beloved guardian of the land. One day, an unknown evil kidnapped her, and her lack of influence put the land in disorder, causing people to forget about her, save for one vigilant Kappa, who waits for a pure-hearted samurai to arrive and save the Princess.  When you arrive, your sword is enhanced with sakura essence in order to rescue the Princess and the kappa declares you the Sakura Samurai, sending you off on your quest.

It’s a basic story of a hero rescuing a princess, but it’s one that has a great presentation. The art style is cartoony and whimsical, creating an extremely vibrant land to traverse through along with well-designed characters to interact with. It is reminiscent of Okami with its overall aesthetic design, which is definitely refreshing.

While the aesthetics are great, the graphics themselves are not. I am aware that this is a downloadable title from the Nintendo eShop, but it looks like the graphics were rushed, as a few characters and many of the backgrounds have low-resolution textures, making them somewhat blurry. This is especially noticeable in the towns. On a final note, you’ll see similar environments in the regular stages since they reuse the few maps they made for fighting outside the boss dungeon, so be prepared for some familiar sights.

The music itself definitely sets the mood that you’re in Japan. It’s not particularly memorable in my opinion, and is essentially ambient, but it doesn’t break immersion and it does the job. Sound effects and voices definitely play a bigger role and it ties into the gameplay.

The combat is about reading your opponent’s movements, evading their attack at the last second and then striking when they’re open. When you evade properly, you earn precision points that you can sell for gold as well as build your sword meter. The more points you collect without getting hit or having your attack blocked, the more money you make, and when your sword meter is full, you can use a special attack that hits all enemies on screen for massive damage. Once you master reading the enemies’ tells, and go up against a larger group, that’s when the game gets really fun. There are regular swordsmen, spearmen, archers, ninjas, and samurai all out to get you, each with their own attack movements to read off of. As you advance on, you find more powerful versions of the same enemies. They do more damage and move faster, which forces you to speed up your reaction timing as well. You can also use items to heal yourself, distract an enemy, attack from a distance, or repair your sword if it gets dull from improperly planned attacks. Finally, when you beat a level for the first time, you get one half of a cherry blossom petal, which is essentially half a heart piece from Legend of Zelda.

While the battles are fun initially, the gameplay does get repetitive, mainly due to an ultimately limited amount of enemies as well as each enemy attacking one at a time. It is fun to defeat large groups of enemies, especially groups with different enemy types in the later levels, but even perfecting your evasion will wear out at some point. Also, you can enable free movement by holding X during battle, which means you can run. However, this means every single enemy will attack you simultaneously with no way to see how they’re attacking you. The combat system was clearly designed for one-on-one fights, which makes free movement entirely pointless.

There are 3 main parts to Sakura Samurai. There is the Map, which let you move between stages in that colorful overworld, the Field/Dungeon in which you fight enemies and advance to the next stage or boss and the Town. In the town, you can repair and upgrade your sword, buy items, go to the inn to heal and save your game, plus play mini-games. The mini-games involve you slicing a set number of fruit, whether perfectly in half or just slicing in general. You win gold if you wagered it or stamps that you can collect. The stamps, while not essential, can earn you extra items and unlock a more powerful special attack.

New towns gives you different mini games that offer more stamps than previous towns, though if you are patient and grind the 1st town’s mini-games, you can unlock the most powerful special attack within an hour of grinding. To highlight how easy it is to easily upgrade your character, I actually found a design flaw that gives you lots of gold. When you die, the kappa appears on a previously cleared level. By replaying that level, defeated enemies drop 5-7 pieces of gold, and there are usually 2 to 5 enemies in a single level at once. There is no penalty for dying either. (No lost items, gold, decreased sword level, or a different ending) Using this method, I got the most powerful special attack, maxed out my inventory, and upgraded my sword in under an hour. Thankfully, you can’t upgrade your sword to the maximum level in the 1st town, but it still made the early game MUCH easier which should have provided a decent challenge.

When you beat one of the bosses, you unlock a challenge mode in which you have to defeat a set number of enemies in a single run. There are 30, 50, and 100-enemy challenges to tackle, and the only benefit is to see how fast you can beat it. There is also the Rock Garden mode where, once per day, you can register the amount of steps you take with your 3DS to revive dead cherry blossom trees in your garden. There also aren’t any apparent benefits other than for its own sake, though it is nice to have an excuse to go walking. After you beat the main game, you unlock Expert Mode, which has you restart the game with no power-ups or inventory. Enemies deal twice the damage, you can’t increase your max health, and items are twice as expensive. Expert mode also has no benefit for playing other than bragging rights. This game might be worth replaying at least once, though when you finally beat it, you’ve seen everything Sakura Samurai has to offer, and for 7 dollars, that’s not a lot of value.

Sakura Samurai is not a bad game. It’ll run you between 2-5 hours if you stick to the main game without trying to upgrade your character, 10 hours if you want to beat the challenges, maximize your character and finish Expert Mode. It has a visual aesthetic that reminds me of Okami and I think that a combat system requiring precision and finesse to attack rather than brute force is definitely engaging. It was what led me to download the title to begin with. However, with the gameplay becoming much easier and repetitious as I played, the appeal quickly wore off. It never got frustrating or annoyingly bad, but it just became boring. For 7 dollars, I expected just a little more content or slightly more varied combat that would’ve made the game a solid buy, especially since it was shorter than I anticipated.  If you must get it, I would wait until it either drops down to at least 5 dollars, appears on the Club Nintendo website as a downloadable title, or if the eShop has a sale on their games.

Our First Impressions Of Mass Effect 3’s Multiplayer Demo

by Steven Kunz

When it comes to modern RPGs, the Mass Effect series is at the top for me. It’s much better than Persona 3, Fallout 3, and even Skyrim. For the main games, you got fantastic cinematic storytelling, an extremely immersive universe, and most importantly, excellent characters that you really care about. It’s also interesting to see how the game evolved from an RPG similar to Knights of the Old Republic to an extremely competent hybrid of 3rd-person shooter and RPG, and when it was announced that it would have multiplayer, I was worried that it was the first potential sign that Mass Effect 3 would not be as great a game as the first two. To my surprise, when the demo was released and multiplayer was open to everyone, it was fantastic…! Intense game play that plays EXACTLY like Mass Effect 3’s single player campaign, strong co-op, and a really fun experience, the multiplayer certainly has a lot going for it.

Mass Effect 3’s Multiplayer has you playing as part of a squad whose task is to survive wave after wave of enemy forces until an Alliance shuttle can extract you and your squad from danger. You and three other players have to survive ten waves of enemies, with special tasks to accomplish at the 3rd, 6th, and 10th wave. These usually involve deactivating/activating 4 targets on the map, or fortifying a specific location to allow/stop the upload of intel, and after the final wave, you fortify your starting location for 2 minutes until a friendly shuttle can pick you up and end the mission. At this time, there are only two maps with three difficulty levels, but it’s still fun to play.

What’s great about the multiplayer is the sense of teamwork you get from each match as you need to work together in order to survive. It is possible to play by yourself or with one other person, but the maps do not adjust the amount of enemies in relation to how many players are in a single match, especially since the enemies are actively pursuing you in Mass Effect 3, unlike Mass Effect 2 in which the majority of enemies only advanced when you moved from your position. In order to win, it’s best to have at least 2 other people to back you up. At the end of each match, you get experience to level up your character and credits to buy different packs of items, which include weapons, mods for your weapons and armor, weapon upgrades, consumable items, and the ability to unlock further customization for a specific class.

When you start multiplayer, you choose a class and then you choose a character. There are 4 characters to each class: Two humans (Male and Female) and two aliens. As of now, only one character is unlocked, and I’m assuming that as you buy more item packs, you can unlock the other characters. Each race per class has unique abilities, so if you want a specific power set, try to unlock that character as you play more of the game. After you name your character, you can adjust his primary armor color and highlight color, with other customization options waiting to be unlocked.

Afterwards, you’re brought to the character menu in which you can choose and upgrade your powers like in the main game, change your weapon loadout as well as mod your weapons with scopes and other add-ons, add special enhancements for a single match via the Equipment option, or buy more item packs from the store. With weapons, you can only equip two guns total and you can’t carry two of the same type (IE, can’t carry two shotguns at once), but you can choose whatever guns you like, so it’s a good balance. One disappointing thing is that while you can create more than one character per class, you can’t delete your character. If you’re playing a human, you can move to the other gender since humans have the same skills in each class, but if you mess up with any of the other races, you’re stuck with a bad setup, and at this point, I don’t know if there is a way to re-adjust your powers.

When you’re done perfecting your character, it’s time to join a match. You’re able to join any match via Quick Match, create a new match and see personal and global leaderboards. Regardless of whether you choose quick match or create new match, you get to choose your map and your difficulty level. With creating a new match, you can choose to make it public, so anyone using quick match can access your lobby, or private, so that only your Origin friends can access the room. You can examine mission settings, adjust your character settings as if you were in the character screen, and adjust options here.

When you’re ready to play, click “Ready”, wait for everyone else, and in 5 seconds, you’re dropped into the match.  Another disappointing note is that there’s no general lobby where you can pick and choose player rooms, so you can pick the ones with a decent internet connection. When I used Quick Match, the hosting player’s internet connection was unstable half the time, which meant plenty of lag and matches ending prematurely when the hosting player is disconnected. This is probably the most disappointing part of the Multiplayer, and I hope that when the full game is released, there is at least an option to pull up a general lobby to pick your matches.

All in all, the multiplayer for Mass Effect 3 is very solid, and it is a good example of how to do co-op multiplayer well. The aggressive enemies and increasingly difficulty help reinforce working together as a team, and that is definitely the best part of the multiplayer altogether. It also feels more immersive than the main game at this time since you are playing as your own character in the Mass Effect universe rather than your version of Shepard. However, the disappointments that I pointed out will definitely turn off some players, especially those who play mostly for the multiplayer. Bioware/EA has at least some time to fix these issues, and if not, there will hopefully be a patch that addresses this in the near future. I definitely recommend checking out the single player campaign before you dive straight into the multiplayer, just so you can get an idea of how it works. You can download the demo and get more information about Mass Effect 3 at masseffect.bioware.com.