2011年11月2日水曜日
Wii U can do anything PS3 and 360 can - E
Wii U is likely to be capable of doing anything PS3 or Xbox 360 can, according to EA,jimmy choo outlet, which recently received new development kits for Nintendo's console. Vice president Andrew Wilson told Eurogamer the publisher now has a slightly better idea of Wii U's power and it hopes it's even more capable than Microsoft's and Sony's systems."I think that's our hope, but again we're still in the early stages," he said. "As every new piece of hardware and every new development library comes through we get a greater understanding of the power. With our early research we had been very happy with the output of the box and we expect that that will only go up moving forward."It's still moving," Wilson added, "but I think we'll be able to do anything that we can do on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on the Wii U."Asked about the Wii U's online capabilities, Wilson said he couldn't disclose much because EA's NDAd up to the eyeballs."[Online is] something that we're working very closely with Nintendo on. We are highlighting to them what we believe are the most important elements to that infrastructure to deliver a connected experience that we think is the future of gaming. "We're working through the development with them now," he added. "We have a series of people who are under very strict NDAs as you can imagine, operating with them, building that system out." He also said FIFA 13 may be a Wii U launch title, but ultimately that decision will rest with Nintendo.While publishers and developers are still attempting to work out the technical capabilities of Wii U, Aliens: Colonial Marines and Duke Nukem Forever developer Gearbox has described the platform as a "stop-gap" between this generation of consoles and the next.
Rage, Skyrim, Prey 2 confirmed for GAMEfe
September's GAMEfest show at the Birmingham NEC will offer the first UK public hands-on of id's hotly anticipated Rage. Bethesda has announced that, in addition to Rage, there will be regular presentations throughout the day of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,jimmy choo outlet, and Prey 2.Nintendo announced this morning that it will have five titles on display, including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Kid Icarus: Uprising. Elsewhere, Disney's multiplayer adventure Disney Universe will all be available to experience.Bethesda, Nintendo and Disney join the likes of THQ, Sega and EA at the show - which also boasts the first UK public hands-on of Modern Warfare 3.Both Microsoft and Sony have signed up as headline sponsors of the event.GAMEfest will run from the 16-18 September 2011 at the Birmingham NEC, with the retail chain promising that attendees will be able to "play the most anticipated titles of the year before anyone else".Tickets cost £10 for anyone aged 12 or over and £5 for anyone under 12-years-old. They can be purchased from www.game.co.uk/gamefest.To buy tickets, would-be attendees must own a GAME reward card, which can be grabbed via game.co.uk or any GAME store.GAME UK marketing director Anna-Marie Mason said: "From worlds inspired by Disney films to helping Nintendo's world famous hero Link in Skyward Sword, we know gaming fans young and old will be in for a treat at this year's GAMEfest. Thanks to the involvement of the industry's top publishers, GAMEfest has something for the whole family to enjoy this September." CVG Staff
Ubisoft drops From Dust DRM
Ubisoft is to release a patch for the PC version of From Dust that will remove online authentication DRM entirely. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the publisher originally stated the game would require a one-off online activation,jimmy choo outlet, before later deciding it would always need an active internet connection to launch. If the latest post on the matter by a Ubisoft forum manager is to believed, that won't be the case for much longer."We recognize that one of our posts in the From Dust forum regarding the need for authentication in the game was not clear," it reads. "We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding."Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication. This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who's progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally."Once the patch is ready, players who already have the game will automatically receive the update on their next login and subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline."Earlier this month, Ubisoft also backtracked on the use of always-on DRM for Driver: San Francisco following negative consumer feedback. Tom Ivan
Sword 2 Revelations - A Whole New World
By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist Some if you might have heard of this game before. This game was formerly known as Granado Espada: Sword of the New World. Sword 2: Granado Espada was developed by imcGAMES. Sword 2 has won the Best Graphics award and also Presidential Award for Game of the Year. GamersFirst brings this amazing game to the West with many game enhancements. Set on a mysterious, dangerous continent with a story inspired by Europe’s exploration and conquest of America, Sword 2 is destined to dominate the world of MMORPGs by virtue of its groundbreaking design features, fast-paced gameplay and amazing graphics.Recently Granado Espada: Sword of the New World changed its name to Sword 2: Revelations and provided quite a few much needed features such as a more in-depth crafting system ,jimmy choo outlet, the Viron Island Area, a new unique playable character, and the ability to have a pet. Sword 2 has a unique feature that lets you multi-character control up to 3 characters at a time. When you start creating your ‘family’ you are allowed to make different characters consisting of the following classes: Fighter, Scout, Wizard, Musketeer and Elementalist. With so many possible combinations it was rare that I felt like a copy of someone else’s family. As you go about your journey, you can unlock new playable characters to increase the diversity of your family. These characters are specialized in different statistics and skills, in order to unlock these characters you have to find them in the game and do the available quests to get the NPC into your team. All characters are assumed to be from the same family and share the same surname. This surname is used to identify a player in the game. Every character I tested brought a unique and enjoyable skill set that made for some very strategic party setups. Though when having fun swapping in multiple characters, remember that each character levels independently so you might have to do some basic grinding to level up a character if you want to utilize them in end game content.When you have created your desired team and have advanced a few levels you notice the skills you have gotten are all on different keys on your keyboard. No matter which one of your 3 characters you have selected to lead, you can all use their skills when you want to. This makes battles feel akin to playing the piano and put my worries to rest that I would have to play 3 MMO characters at once.If you don’t feel like doing normal quests in Sword 2: Revelations you can also visit various dungeons. These dungeons are generally composed of three to five floors with increasingly more difficult challenges to block your progression. In these dungeons there are boxes and barrels that act as monster spawn portals. These items make going AFK nearly impossible as they trigger wave after wave of monsters until destroyed. To keep you guessing, these monster generators are placed randomly on the map each time you enter, so you will be forced to explore a bit to find the source of your foes. In these dungeons there are waypoints or (player chosen) save locations. I found these very convenient since you can warp to a set part of the map with a ward scroll rather than fighting through the entire dungeon in one go. Five locations may be saved initially. And up to five more locations can be purchased from the Bazaar.It is possible to command your characters to do various things. You can choose to do this in a team or separate with the selected character. It is possible to choose from the following commands:Team Summon (F4): The team members are called to the team leader.Assault Mode (CTRL+Click): Attack all the enemies on the route to the point you have clicked. Harvest mode (CTRL+SHIFT+Click): Pick up items while moving to the designated point.Hold Mode (CTRL+H): Characters stop moving and attack approaching monsters.Defend Mode (CTRL+E and space): Automatically engage enemies in battle.When you have accepted a quest it is possible to look at the location in the Quest info tab (ALT+A). There you can see the location of the target you are looking for. In this quest menu map as well as the standard zone map, you are able to move to a target location simply by clicking it. The zone map is very detailed, informing you of available quests, npc locations, and what shops you have access to. In Sword 2 you can also test yourself against other players for one of the greatest challenges in the new world. The limited PvP action I had was enjoyable and all the industry standard types were available. These are the different forms of PvP included: Family vs Family dueling, Clan Wars, Faction vs Faction, Arena Play and GM Tournaments.For a game that is released in 2006, Sword 2 has wonderful graphics. The game is really detailed and the textures are really nice to look at. The game is also well programmed resulting in lower system requirements than one would expect for such a gorgeous game. You should at least have a Pentium 3 processor with 512 MB RAM and a Directx 9.0c supporting Graphics Card. Anyone without these specs probably has an ancient computer, likely made of wood and powered by a hamster. For the rest of us, we can enjoy this beautiful game to our heart’s content!Many items can be crafted in Sword 2, from refined materials to gems to equipment. Equipment can be upgraded through various means. This upgrading system is the standard MMO process involving increasing the number of slots and imbuing gems to given bonus statistics. Once you progress to above level 30 you can begin dabbling in gear enchantments as well. This gives you the option to customize and enhance your gear further without wasting precious slots. With the Revelations expansion, Alchemy, Cooking and Wing Crafting were added into the game to give craftsman even more toys to play with.GamersFirst calls their cash shop the Bazaar. The items for sale include the expected experience and drop chance bonuses. Also available are passes that allow you to access more challenging regions of the world faster than non-paying players are able to. I didn’t find too many items though that would give players a flat strength bonus over their enemies, which is always a good sign.Sword 2: Revelations is a fun game that thrives on its unique 3 character class system. It truly makes this game much more challenging than most MMOs and adds an unbelievable amount of fun factor to the genre. Combined with its beautiful graphics I really had few negatives to say about this game. If I have to quip about something it is various new regions haven’t been translated yet and quests will still be in Korean. I hope GamersFirst pushes to get this fixed as soon as possible because it seems like an easily patchable error in an otherwise flawless game.
2011年11月1日火曜日
Nintendo stock dives following poor finan
Nintendo stock dived on Friday after the platform holder reported a first quarter loss, cut earnings forecasts and announced plans to slash the price of the 3DS. At one point they tumbled over 20 percent to hit a six-year low, although they closed down 12.2 percent in Japan on Friday, according to AFP.Nintendo posted a net loss of $329 million for the three months ended June 30 and cut its full-year profit forecast by 82 percent to $258 million.Yesterday Nintendo revealed global 3DS price cut plans after the portable sold just 700,000 units in the first quarter. Tom Ivan
Minecraft hits 3 million sales
Indie world building hit Minecraft has just hit three million sales, game creator Markus Persson has announced on Twitter. It's a great milestone to reach, particularly considering the game's still in beta. The full game is released later this year for €20, but you can pay €14.95 now and get access to the title in its current unfinished state plus a copy of the full game once it's out.Microsoft revealed at its E3 press conference in June that Minecraft will see an Xbox 360 console exclusive release this winter. The game will feature Kinect support.Minecraft's also coming to iOS and Android, with the Android version launching on Xperia Play first. Tom Ivan
Early Access Tiara Concerto
It feels like each of the games shown at the Gamania Gameshow last week held a strength that made it unique from the others. In the case of Tiara Concerto the defining factor is its animation quality. This game plays well, but each action and reaction from foes and players alike just comes out seamlessly. For anyone familiar with Skies of Arcadia or the Tales of Series, this game will throw you into massive nostalgic shock due to the gameplay style, driven storyline, and air pirate theme coming together. But great animation, pretty outfits, and nostalgia isn't enough to compete in the MMO market so I'll start with the core mechanics and build up to why Gamania is so confident in this game heading stateside.Tiara Concerto bases its character selection on a system of 3-3-2. 3 races, 3 classes, and 2 weapon types per class. This basically leads to 18 potential ways to build yourself as each race provides passives and skill variations and each weapon unlocks new ways to each class.Beast: The beast race is hardier than the others. With higher physical attack power and defensive stats, they are right at home on the front line as any class. What they lack in magic ability they make up with additional combos to help keep foes stunned longer from range.Elves: The elves are the opposite of the beasts in every way, both shorter in stature and extremely vulnerable to taking any kind of damage. It's usually unwise to use any of their melee range abilities unless you are extremely confident in your ability to block and counter an enemy. Their magical abilities are top notch and make devastating use of long charge attacks skills.Humans: Humans are balanced, neither specializing in defense or over the top magical prowess. However their unique execution of skills and freedom to excel on both the front and backline allow them to skill spam like no other and compete quite well with their racial counterparts.Performer: The tank class. They can utilize two-handed swords for maximum offensive power or polearms for long range attacks and skillful aoes.Composer: Composers are mid to long range fighters. They can excel at long range with charged shots from their twin guns or get more personal with the gun blade. Their agility and resistance to critical strikes make them surprisingly resilient in intense boss battles.Tuner: Tuners are the mage/cleric classes, utilizing Harmony and Chord skills to utilize the elements of fire, earth, water, and wind to support their team. They pack the greatest punch in combat but can die just as quickly under the care of an unskilled player. Utilizing your racial specialization to its fullest is key to unlocking the ultimate potential of this class.Tiara Concerto couldn't claim to be a true pirate MMO without an extensive exploration system on its world map. There are constant treasures abound for the keen eye to discover, including musical instruments that can unlock hidden dungeons or even alter currently unlocked dungeons to include new more powerful monsters, challenges, and even storyline. Once inside a dungeon the game changes drastically from an open world sandbox exploration game to a heavily story driven game with missions to accomplish and fast-paced action combat galore.Tiara Concerto uses its beautiful animations to the fullest with the action and reaction system. Every attack, whether done by a player or enemy, features a clear animation signaling the strength and type of attack being prepared. Some AI will actually dodge away or attempt to interrupt your attack, so you better believe you need to be just as active and aggressive to stand a chance. Players can crouch, jump, block, counter, and use various dodge oriented skills to their advantage to escape from enemy attacks. The type of escapes vary from class to class with performers utilizing powerful knock backs and defensive stances, composers using lunging pistol shots, and tuners using snares and long range teleporting. Producer Gabriel Pang even suggested that if they can iron out some of the roughness of dodging skills, they might even introduce platforming challenges into the game such as skillfully jumping and ducking across ropes to board an enemy pirate ship.Although the obvious reason of learning these escape tricks is in order to stay alive, a note gauge system will further reward players for their style. As your gauge increases, you gain access to more powerful Sforzando attacks that will really cut through the most daunting of foes. Though the difficulty of actually building up to the level that Sforzandos unlock means you will likely only utilize them on key moments of the storyline when death is certain without them. Another reason to care about style points is that each individual member of the team will be graded at the end of successfully completing a mission. Those who contributed the most towards the musical gauge will receive higher grades and greater potential rewards, with a bit of luck.Another system in place that really lets players cut loose is the Accent State. Though I'm not entirely sure of the details involved with unlocking this mode, when the little pink haired girl from the trailer sings, your character goes wild. All cooldowns are removed, channeling time increases, and the game is broken down into a spam fest of how many skills you can get off in rapid succession and still duck away from the boss in one piece.Combat intricacies aside, Tiara Concerto further mixes up the medley with mission based objectives beyond kill X and walk to Y. I feel like they haven't quite developed them to the point that this is game changing, but it was still nice to be barraged by endless pirates until destroying their side cannons or infiltrate a pirate ship and search for hostages between decks. Too many MMOs up till now have relied on flat boring maps and Tiara Concerto really adds depth and realism to its flying pirate ships.Very much to the North American press' dismay, PvP was not yet ready at the time of the gameshow. This became even more painful after we learned that they are planning an airship capture the flag mode as well as the standard PvP deathmatch. Many of the skills in this game seem built for PvP and, if done well, PvP could be the difference between Tiara being a success and being a blockbuster title in the western market.Overall this game felt like one of the more solid and complete games showcased at Gamania's Gameshow. My few gripes though must be known as this game has so much potential that I don't want wasted. The deep focus on animation sometimes slows combat down a bit, and you find yourself unable to force your character to react to enemy attacks that should have been dodgeable. I also felt like the game was a bit too casual friendly for an action game, and I would like to see more rhythm actions included in long channeling skills. A game built around a musical theme and not having an element of rhythm based skill charging just seems silly. It was also a bit ridiculous that some performer attacks would launch you straight behind you into your blind spot if you had targeted your foe prior to using the ability. If they make animations cancelable and actions like defending and jumping more responsive, this will be an action game worth counting down for when beta is announced.