Sine Mora To Feature Mechanical Designs By Prominent Anime Creator
Sine Mora, the colourful dieselpunk shoot em’ up by created by Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture, is one of the most visually stunning titles coming to Xbox Live to date. Beyond its intensifying, high-flying gameplay, much of Sine Mora’s greatness is thanks to the intricately designed boss battles derived from the very concept work of famous anime creator, Mahiro Maeda who’s various credits include directing Blue Submarine No. 6, Final Fantasy: Unlimited and The Animatrix , as well as designing art for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Magic User’s Club and many more.
Coming exclusively to XBLA, Sine Mora provides a unique take on the shoot em’ up genre, where time is always the key factor. Intertwining classic shooter sensibilities with next-gen presentation, Sine Mora is a beautiful title that appeals to both hardcore and casual gamers alike. Sine Mora features over 60 combinations of planes, characters and time manipulation devices to complete every intricately-crafted stage with increasing difficulty. All of this is set to an epic score of soaring heights, composed by Akira Yamaoka, acclaimed for his works on Shadows of the Damned and the Silent Hill series.
Epic Games On The Xbox 720
With the ever building noise surrounding the Xbox 360′s eventual successor, even Epic Games, developer behind the Gears Of War series and creator of the Unreal Engine has reached out and had their say in all this.
Founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney stated that they are investing heavily with their engine, as well as game development for the next generation of console technology and games:
“With every console transition, people ask if there will be another console transition or another successful console platform. We are betting big that there will be. If you look at games like Call of Duty and Gears of War, it’s clear that console is the pinnacle of the gaming experience. so we are investing heavily with our engine and game development efforts for the next generation of console technology and games. But at the same time, we actually see this wonderful thing happening where the mobile platform and web platforms are getting to the point where they can run a AAA game. One consistent game engine technology can run across console, PC, mobile and web games. We’re really happy with that position. It lets game developers target lots of different platforms. We have shipped Infinity Blade of iOS. We have announced a new game Fortnite for an entirely different audience, more casual. It appeals to a wider audience than a hardcore game like Gears of War. We are branching out, but we tie it all together with AAA production values.”
Sweeney continues:
“The longevity of this console generation has been a mixed blessing. On the game side, it’s been really great for our business. We have been able to ship three Gears of War games on the same generation of hardware, each one with dramatic improvements over the last and a two to three-year development cycle. So it’s been a very good thing for a game business today. With each new title, there is a bigger and bigger Xbox 360 installed base of users, so the games can sell more. On the other hand, it gets harder to generate the same excitement from the same hardware. That is when the new hardware is justified. But then you reset the installed base to zero and it’s a lot harder to sell a lot of games again. So you should only replace the hardware when you can make a dramatic leap in quality, not just 2X or 3X. It has to be huge and fundamentally new.
If you create awesome technology for the wrong platform, then nobody will ever adopt it. Epic in general has always tried to be really savvy on the business side. We look at the business models and changing trends and try to stay on top of them. If you look at Epic, we began as a shareware game company in the 1990s making really tiny games. Then we pulled together into one huge team and created the first Unreal game. At that point, we needed to build a huge game to compete with the likes of id Software. We changed our company dramatically to do that. Around 2004, we decided the game industry’s sweet spot was moving to consoles. So we made the transition from a PC game company to a console game company with Gears of War. Now we see new changes afoot with the move to mobile and web gaming with Adobe Flash. So we put together business relationships with Apple and Adobe and other folks to do what we need for the future.”
With some luck, this latest comment from Epic Games will spawn a host of unique opinions about the Xbox 720 from some of the other big names out there so be sure so keep checking in for all the latest updates.
GOTY Winner Skyrim Ships 10 Million Worldide
It has surfaced that a staggering 10 million units of Bethesda Softworks’ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have been shipped across the globe for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, accumulating approximately $650 (£400) million in sales since its release on November 11. The PC version of Skyrim in North America outsold all other PC games by a factor of over three to one in the month of its release. Large retail orders across all platforms and record-breaking digital sales reflect the ongoing global demand by consumers excited to explore and experience this extraordinary fantasy epic.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has already adorned over 20 ‘Game of the Year’ awards from major outlets worldwide, including winning the top honor of Game of the Year at the 2011 Video Game Awards which are voted on by a panel of editors from the industry’s most respected magazines and websites. In addition, Skyrim has received ‘GOTY’ awards from numerous other game critics, which, to date include such respected media outlets as G4TV, Official Xbox Magazine and Machinima.com. Skyrim was named ‘Most -Played Game of 2011’ by Raptr, based on research data which confirms its highly popular gameplay experience.
“We are gratified that Skyrim continues to garner high review scores and accolades around the world,” said Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media. “We are most grateful to our fans for their support and enthusiasm for the game, and their love of the hundreds of hours of gameplay it offers. We continue to strive to deliver the highest quality entertainment experience for everyone. 2012 will be another huge year for our fans, with the release of the Creation Kit, as well as exciting DLC which will add to the richness of this epic adventure.”
“Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve Corporation. “Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that the game has received. We are delighted that Bethesda chose to use Steamworks to support Skyrim both at retail and digitally.”
To date, Skyrim has received well over 200 perfect review scores worldwide, earning the highest praise from some of the industry’s most influential critics including: G4TV, GameSpy, Wired, Eurogamer, Destructoid, GamePro, Official Xbox Magazine, Joystiq, The Guardian, Famitsu and GamesRadar.
Japan Gets Long Overdue Zelda Bling
With the epic release of Nintendos The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword fans were nicely greeted with the option to buy a limited edition golden Wii Remote . However, any gamer knows that almost every game on thew Wii including Skyward Sword (voted SpikeVGA’s Best Motion Game) isn’t played with the Wii Remote alone. Now the lucky Club Nintendo members of Japan can finally own a golden Nunchuk controller to complete the set. Earlier this year, Nintendo raised the idea of a gold Nunchuk, however, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime firmly stated, “We looked into it. It was a little more bling than I think the average consumer was looking for.”
I’m crossing my fingers for the global release of the nunchuk but for now as far as controller modding goes, ill have to make do with my plain old Wii Remote.
Metal Gear Rising’s Director Already Having to Pacify Angry Fans
The man leading development on the up and coming Metal Gear Rising, Atsushi Inaba, seemed as if he had saved him and his team from any angry mobs after the release of the latest stunning trailer at the VGA’s over the weekend.
However, despite the great production values and developer track record involved, many Metal Gear fans aren’t happy with the frenzied action shown throughout Rising’s trailer, prompting Inaba to take to Twitter in a bid to falter this uprising by issuing the following statement:
“Let me begin.
It seems there are some who wish to imply PlatinumGames was able to achieve what Kojima Productions could not – interviewers among them.
This notion is spurious. Clearly, we have not yet produced any results in the world of Metal Gear.
The artists at Kojima Productions gave their blood, sweat and tears to bring the Metal Gear Saga to life.
The gap is immense. Mr. Kojima tossed his chips on our table, believing we could handle the task. In other words, he took a gamble.
Many seem to think the change from MGSR to MGR altered everything about the game, but this is simply not true.
MGSR’s concept excited us. We have love and respect for it, as we do the character of Raiden and the idea of freely cutting anything apart.
I know reaction to the new trailer is mixed. Yet I also believe our love and respect shines through.
It is my hope that you catch a glimpse of the future in the footage.
In order to achieve that evolution, that future, we at PlatinumGames will continue to fight, shedding our own blood, sweat and tears.
That is all.”
It seems Inaba is standing firm on this one, and I honestly don’t believe anyone should try and stop him. As one of the former big names up at Capcom, and one of the key developers at PlatinumGames (known for their sword-swinging action-packed titles such as Vanquish, Bayonetta, MadWorld etc) – Atsushi Inaba is without a doubt the man to bring Hideo Kojima’s legendary franchise back to life and in as much style as possible
PlayStation Vita Rooms Coming To The UK
PlayStation are once again back on the road bringing “Vita Rooms” to cities across the UK where you and your mates can get full hands on action with PS Vita’s Dual Analogue sticks, magnificent OLED screen, front and rear touch panels and Augmented Reality capabilities. These rooms will also be equipped with the latest and greatest in handheld gaming software too, including the highly anticipated Uncharted: Golden Abyss, FIFA 12, Reality Fighters, MotorStorm RC, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Little Deviants, Escape Plan, Super Stardust and Wipeout 2048.
Staff will be on hand at the Vita Rooms to answer any and all questions you have about the Vita, and if you’re lucky you may even get the chance to meet some of the developers behind these great games.
The Vita Rooms will be launching at 63 Deansgate in Manchester from Friday 13th – Wednesday 18th January, the spaces will then continue to Glasgow, Birmingham and London throughout January and February 2012.
For more information visit their Facebook here or if you’re the tweeting type; twitter.com/PSAccess
Square Enix and Ubisoft Costume Collaboration
A recent partnership between Square Enix and Ubisoft has sparked off a little surprise as Ubisoft has allowed the release of a special costume for Final Fantasy XIII-2 male protagonist, Noel Kreiss, which will be available to download soon after the games’ release. The young Noel will now have the privilege to wear the clothing of Assassin’s Creed Revelations’ master assassin, Ezio Auditore which should prove to be quite interesting.
Along with this fantastic and somewhat sudden news, Square have also nicely released a few more FFXIII-2 screens to sate our appetites for now.
Square Enix To Experiment With Epic’s Unreal Engine
Epic Games have announced their agreement with Square Enix which will grant them a license to develop a number of games with Epic’s award-winning and highly praised Unreal Engine 3 technology. Epic Games Japan, which supports the company’s licensees locally, worked directly with Square Enix on the new license.
“It is a pleasure to provide Square Enix with an exceptional game engine that will help them bring thrilling new experiences to legions of fans all over the world,” said Taka Kawasaki, territory manager of Epic Games Japan. “Many Western games have achieved great success with the Unreal Engine, and this milestone reflects the Japanese development community’s trust in our technical prowess. We can’t wait to see how Square Enix fuses the power of Unreal Engine 3 with its beautiful characters, enthralling storylines and fantastic gameplay.”
Details about the selected games Square Enix will be developing using the Unreal Engine are on the horizon so keep checking with us first.
A New Zelda And Possible Remake Coming To 3DS
Producer of the iconic Lengend of Zelda franchise Eiji Aonuma has confirmed that a brand new title is in development for 3DS. Aonuma states that the game will be closer to console games than to previous DS Zelda titles.
“We are already preparing a new game, a game in the series for the Nintendo 3DS, but don’t think that it is a direct sequel to the Zelda titles released on DS, we are talking about a new game, but it takes much of what has been done on previous consoles.”
According to Aonuma, Nintendo is also still considering a remastered version of Majora’s Mask for 3DS, but would rather release an all-new Zelda title before another remake.
“It’s something I’m asked about often and I assure you that it is something I’ve spoken to Miyamoto about. But recently we released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D as a remake. We are considering the idea, but it didn’t seem right to launch a remake one after another, so the next Zelda game on 3DS will be original.”
Tecmo Koei Sheds The Blood On This Years London MCM Expo
Ready your umbrellas as Tekmo Koei will be unleashing a world of blood and gore while showing off their best and brightest such as the action packed Ninja Gaiden 3 and hack ‘n’ slash king Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends at this years MCM Expo London Comic Con.
Ryu Hayabusa returns once more in his latest crusade wielding a number of blood-tastic new techniques to help him make it through the most horrific battles, including the kunai climb move and an enhanced ninpo system. Ninja Gaiden 3 also boasts full PlayStation Move compatibility, giving players a new advantages over the playing field when slicing through hoards of unsuspecting victims.
The highly anticipated expansion to the hugely popular Dynasty Warriors 7 titled “Xtreme Legends” breathes new life into the feudal landscape with brand new characters, deadly secret weapons, a new Challenge Mode and Legend Mode that allows players to face battles from both past Dynasty Warriors titles and brand new scenarios with all the iconic characters in the fray.
Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends is scheduled for release on 18th November 2011 while Ninja Gaiden 3 is set for an early 2012 release.
To stay up-to-date with Expo news, follow @MCMExpo; www.facebook.com/mcmexpo or visit their website at www.londonexpo.com
