Feed Your Console

Review: Academy of Champions

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:49:45 +0000

Guest Review: Alan Carr

I started playing Academy of Champions for the Wii as a skeptic. I am a diehard sports video game enthusiast and this looked from the packaging as a kids game that just couldn’t live up to the more series soccer (football) titles like Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA.

And to be honest, Academy of Champions isn’t a title for the sports purest. But if you like a good story line and fun sports play then Academy of Champions is a title you should consider.

The Story is definitely designed for tweens the story placed you in a Academy somewhat inspired by Hogwarts is the Harry Potter series. It is run by soccer great Pelé in which you must learn new skills with mini-games, deal with high school issues like tests and rumors while taking your game to the pitch for matches against the unscrupulous cross-town rivals Scythemore.

The gameplay is quite a pleasant surprise. You will find a lot of challenges and minigames but none requiring too much effort to beat. The visuals are fun, colorful and cartoonish. Gameplay within this arcade-style soccer game is simple yet very satisfying. Ubisoft has included several rewarded features like great animations, music and surprises for scoring a goal. They have also included a solid roster of wacky guest characters from other Ubisoft franchises. A bit lacking in the multiplayer department this game is best experienced in solo mode.

I only have a few minor issues with this game.

The first is the player control. It felt like a throwback to games that only allowed players to move in 8 directions which makes for some awkward transitions. I expect more for any game designed in the last decade.

The Second is, given the basic camera view, opposing players tend to sneak up from behind you with no warning. This however, is overcome with time as you learn the pace of the game.

Third, like a lot of games these days, the Wii Balance Board seems like an afterthought – you only get to use it for one mini-game and it’s not worth the trouble. It was clearly added to the game as a marketing ploy and to get the Wii Balance Board logo on the package.

Lastly, given the number of scenes in the game, it accesses the Wii Disc often and which has you waiting for new scenes to load. Not a deal-breaker but a little annoying at times as we all would rather play than wait for the game to load.

Overall I recommend this game for anyone who likes arcade games or a sports fan willing to fall back to some old-school gameplay. Academy of Champions: Soccer is a pure delight with its whimsical atmosphere, storyline and challenging minigames. Enchanting and fanciful, it comes together nicely to keep the player’s interest for quite a few hours.

Feed Your Console gives Academy of Champions: an 8 out of 10.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Vancouver

Gameplay Video Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Mvern78 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:12:17 +0000

Today Ubisoft released a Gameplay video, along with the developer comments, from Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. In the video the Development team discuss the back story of the game, some of the new features and level designs as well as the battle engine used (originally designed for Assassins Creed). From the videos appearance this looks like a great rebooting of the franchise, heading back to the roots of the game and building on the success of the Sands of Time.

Video includes comments from:

* Michael McIntyre – Level Design Director
* Jean-Christophe Guyot – Creative Director
* David Deschenes – Level Design Manager
* Ceri Young – Scriptwriter
* Thomas Simon – Lead Game Designer

Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands. Coming out on May 18th

Ubisoft Announces: Shaun White Skateboarding

Mvern78 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:34:48 +0000

Stand back Tony Hawk there is an new kid in town, XGames Gold Medalist Shaun White. After the success of the Shaun White Snowboarding franchise Ubisoft will take Skateboarding to a new level with Shaun behind the wheels.

How does Shaun feel about all this:

“I can’t describe how excited I am about the skateboard game,” said Shaun White. “We’ve been working on it for a while now and it’s ready to melt minds.”

No info yet on which systems we will see this on but stay tuned for details of check out: www.shaunwhitegame.com.

FFXI Online Getting Three New Add-ons

Mvern78 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:09:28 +0000

Square Enix, announced earlier this week the upcoming development of three new add-on scenarios for their popular MMO, FINAL FANTASY XI, which are slated to launch over a period of months throughout 2010. Up first will be the “Vision of Abyssea”, is scheduled to launch early in the summer of 2010, and will be followed by two additional releases, “Scars of Abyssea” and “Heroes of Abyssea”.

Other significant changes planed for FFXI include:

New Wings Of The Goddessmissions
A new battleground in Castle Zvahl with new battle areas
A new series of quests called the “Trial of the Magians” created specifically to cater to level 75 characters, with a focus on weapon and armor enhancements.
Updated job adjustments including puppetmaster, beastmaster and summoner.
Increasing the new maximum level to 99, vs. the current maximum of 75.

These scenarios are planned to be release simultaneously online within all supported regions (North America, Japan and Europe) across all supported platforms (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs).

Stay updated with the FFXI website.

* This new content will be dependant on the two previous expansion packs Rise Of The Zilart and Wings Of The Goddess.

Halo Reach Multiplayer Trailer

Mvern78 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:25:31 +0000

New From the team over at Bungie – the Halo Reach Multiplayer Trailer. Showcasing some of the new features and moves your going to gain access to in game – Jet packs, assassinations look amazing. New game play types; Head Hunter, Spartans vs. Elites and Invasion all look amazing.

Remember Halo: Reach multiplayer beta starts on May 3. Got your invite code yet?

Crackdown 2 Trailer

Mvern78 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:16:36 +0000

Crackdown was one of my favorite games of 2007, and watching the trailer for Crackdown 2 has me a giddy as a small child the night before Christmas.

If you haven’t seen it yet – we have it here:

In the trailer, Pacific Citys new generation of Agents takes to the streets with obliterating force. In an explosive ballet of destruction, Agents work in tandem to bring down the Freaks and any others who threaten Pacific City by any means possible. Both seasoned and newer Agents should be on the lookout for important details hidden in the footage to get better prepared for the upcoming rumble.

Developer: Ruffian Games
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Review: Heavy Rain

Kaneda Gallon — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:21:52 +0000

Sony sure has been on a bit of a tear lately with hit after hit draining our bank accounts and limiting our time spent doing other things. Does their streak continue with Heavy Rain? Read on to see what I thought and rest assured, I’ve chosen my words carefully to avoid any plotline reveals.

The concept of Heavy Rain has been around for a long time coming. Back in 2006, Quantic Dream displayed a technology demo on non final PS3 development hardware displaying a virtual actor who displayed a variety of emotions and some incredible motion capture tech. The character portrayed in this demo would eventually go one to play the character ‘Laruen Winter’ in Heavy Rain.

This technology would eventually power Heavy Rain using incredibly advanced full body and facial motion capture complete with real-time tears, wrinkles and a variety of other technological features that in plain English make the game damn pretty to look at.

Heavy Rain is an “interactive fiction videogame” that centers around 4 main characters (Madison Paige, Norman Jayden, Scott Shelby and Ethan Mars) who are somehow connected to the mysterious serial killer known only as “The Origami Killer”. You will play through each characters interwoven story as the mystery unfolds through a variety of actions, conversations and some good old fashioned detective work.

The game utilizes quick-time events for every action in the game from something as simple as opening a car door to fast action fight scenes. All of your decisions affect the narrative of the game including the game’s ending (Some reports say 9+ endings but I’ve been unable to ascertain the exact number). The use of quick-time events has garnered some negative attention but for the most part I would say that it works. Sure the game itself doesn’t feel as open as it could, but realistically I look at this game as a sort of “Choose your own Adventure” piece that bridges a gap between movies and videogames.

I loved that Heavy Rain presented itself they way they wanted without any compromise. It’s a good M rated title that featured everything you would see in any murder mystery movie on TV or in theaters. I also firmly believe that this title opens up the gates for other companies to produce more M rated games that feature more realism.

Pros:

Graphics: Stunning…Simply stunning

Sound: Incredible soundtrack adds to the ambience of the game

Replay Value: 9+(?) different ways to finish the game

Story: A damn fine murder mystery that keeps you guessing and rethinking your decisions.

Cons:

Voice Actors: Some of the scenes come off a little flat

The end: The killer is always the same person

Feed Your Console gives Heavy Rain a 9 out of 10

Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

SCEA Announces Acquisition of Media Molecule

Mvern78 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:45:24 +0000

Today Sony Computer Entertainment announced that it had acquired game developer Media Molecule, creators of LittleBigPlanet for the PS3 and PSP.

Quote from the release by Alex Evans – Co-founder of Media Molecule:

“Since Media Molecule’s inception, we’ve had a uniquely close relationship with SCE. Over the years they have consistently shown their dedication to Creative Gaming and Media Molecule, not only through their support of the company, but their willingness to take risks and embrace our often unusual approach and ideas,” said Evans. “What we’ve achieved already with LittleBigPlanet has proved this to us and we’re excited by this new chapter of innovation and creative gaming, for all involved.”

Media Molecule will be joining the ranks of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS) and will bolster the already phenomenal talents of 15 game development studios located in Japan, the USA, the UK and The Netherlands.

Congrats to the Media Molecule team and to SCE for finding a great partner and talented studio.

Assassins Creed II: Multi Free

Mvern78 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:03:04 +0000

Right now on the Apple App Store you can get Assassin’s Creed II: Multi for your iPhone or iPod Touch for free (Regular price $2.99). This is a limited time (48 hours) offer to celebrate the launch of the mobile game.

Features:

Online multiplayer game letting you compete against up to 3 other player assassins.
Hunt down other players and assassinate them before they find you.
Escape other players by blending into the environments & crowds of citizens.
Play in 3 different environments from Assassin’s Creed II inspired by Renaissance Italy.
Use power-ups to gain edge over your opponents.
Fight your way up to the top of the leaderboards.
Collect achievements and post them on Facebook.
Go head to head by inviting your friends to a game and find out who amongst you is THE ONE.

Get the game here now! * Limited Time Offer *

In game Screens:

PSA: Don’t turn on your PS3 Phat today [Update]

Andrew — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:05:56 +0000

For those of you who haven’t heard, most non-slim PS3s are suffering from a calendar error, causing a plethora of bugs ranging from disabled PSN sign to games not running to THE SYSTEM EXPLODING INTO A THOUSAND PIECES. Although the last bit was an outright fabrication, the PlayStation blog suggests you not turn on your PS3 Phat until tomorrow when they solve this problem.

You can follow updates on the situation on the PlayStation Blog and through their official Twitter account.

I have a 80GB PS3 from the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle and my Critter Crunch game save had disappeared when I tried to play it yesterday. Anyone else care to share the condition of their Spiderman machine?

Update: Joystiq has broken the news that the bug has been fixed. PSN is back online and your trophies should have returned to you. If your trophies are still absent, Joystiq recommends:

If you lost any Trophy data over the past 24 hours, there may be a way to salvage it. Launch the game for which you’re trying to restore Trophies and it should automatically recreate a Trophy data set on your PS3’s memory, which you can then sync with the PSN server (just by opening up your Trophy list in the XMB). Our Heavy Rain Trophies had vanished, but this trick brought them back from the ether.