Reviewed: Donkey Kong Country Returns
I heard rumors right before E3 2010 that Retro was working on a DK game. I didn’t think much of it since it was just a rumor but once they mentioned Retro at Nintendo’s Press Conference and the DKC theme played… I either cried tears of joy or stopped breathing for a little bit. That’s all the summary I can give you.
The Good
- Retro has done the old classics proud…heck I think these levels are harder than the old SNES ones
- Music is a remix of the first DKC game and new tunes and it sounds great
- Co-op Mode
- Boss Fights
- Plenty of secrets
The Bad
- Shallow replay value
- Can’t switch between characters
- Co-op mode needs more work
“Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”
This week’s new releases! February 21st- 27th
Another wide range of releases across all platforms this week, including Guerrilla Games’s gorgeous looking futuristic shooter Killzone 3, a PS3 exclusive that’s just as likely to sell gangbusters as it is to cause fanboy wars in the comments section of every major gaming news site (i.e. very likely). Alongside that there’s People Can Fly’s ultra-violent killathon BulletStorm, a first person shooter that rewards you for destroying your opponents in the most brutal, messy and juvenile ways possible. So yeah, expect several (more) ill-informed mass media outcries and a campaign by the Daily Mail to get it banned within the next month or so. If that doesn’t quite sedate your thirst for blood, then you may also be interested in Game Republic’s Knights Contract for the PS3 and Xbox 360, which for all intents and purposes appears to be……yawn….. another God of War clone about mutilating mythical beats via the fine arts of button mashing and quick time events.
If gore and dismemberment ain’t really your thing, then on the other end of the spectrum we’ve got the WAY overdue ultra cute Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii. Yarn’s minimal resemblance to the classic Kirby games might put some fans off, but on the other hand it’s nice to see Nintendo put out a game that’s not identical to something they’ve already released a bunch of times already. That said, don’t expect it to happen again any time soon. From what I can gather the similarly original Metorid Other M was somewhat of a flop, while the highly iterative Donkey Kong County Returns is still positively printing money. I’m sure people will still complain about a lack of original content from the big N, but at the end of the day people vote with their wallets, and they voted for more of the same.
Speaking of the Wii, this week also sees the release of de Blob 2, sequel to the critically acclaimed Wii exclusive de Blob, which turned out to be a real sleeper hit back in 2008. Hopefully now that colour based puzzler has moved into the much more practical multiplatform arena it’ll get a bit more media attention this time around. I’m also praying for the success of the new PSP remake of SNES classic Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, a deep turn based RPG with a surprisingly dense narrative (for a game released over 15 years ago) and a very unsurprisingly weird name. I haven’t played it myself yet, but so far it’s had massively positive reviews from numerous Japanese AND American critics, which is a somewhat unusual correlation for that sort of game. Come back in a week or two and I’ll help you discover if it really is just that good.
It’s not the only game getting a re-release this week, thanks to the Sega Dreamcast Collection for PC and Xbox 360 (what, no PS3 version?) you can bare witness to the return of classic titles: Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5 part 2, Crazy Taxi and….. Sega Bass Fishing (?) all in one box for only £39.99! I should probably point out that all of these titles are/will be available to buy separately over Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, so don’t feel that you have to get stuck with a bunch of obscure games no one cares about just to get your hands on Sega Bass Fishing, that would just be silly.
Of course, let us not forget the obligatory talking CGI animal movie tie-in multiplatform games, this week brought to you by Industrial Light and Magic’s Rango! Can’t say I’ve seen the games in action, but I think its a fair guess to say that if you’re reading this, then they’re probably not for you.
Multiplatform
de Blob 2 (DS/Xbox360/Wii/PS3)
Rango: The Video Game (Xbox360/Wii/PS3/DS)
Sega Dreamcast Collection (PC/Xbox360)
Gray Matter (Xbox360/PC)
Knights Contract (PS3/Xbox360)
BulletStorm (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
PS3
Killzone 3
DS
Jewel Link Chronicles: Legend Of Athena
Atari Greatest Hits: Volume 1
PC
Cities In Motion
Surgery Simulator
Trapped Dead
Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull
eXperience 112
PSP
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Wii
Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Haunted House
This weeks new releases! February 14th – 20th
Oh man, the retail sector is finaly starting to pick up the pace again, this week we’ve got something for nearly everybody! Top a lot of peoples most wanted list will likely be the long awaited and much hyped Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds for Xbox 360 and PS3. With Capcom’s legendary fighting game craftsmanship and a combined total of over 36 classic characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes, it’s sure to get all sorts of fanboys and girls giddy with excitement. Check back next week when we’ll hopefully have a review up!
Speaking of reviews, pretty soon we should also have one of tongue in cheek RPG parody Magicka for the PC. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it right now, but if you’re a hardcore RPG nerd that’s looking for a mindbending spellcrafting system as well as bit of humor targeted squarely at you, then ya can’t go wrong with Magicka. If on the other hand you’re a nerd looking for some more serious swords and sorcery, then you’ll probably be better served by inXile Entertainment’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, an action fantasy game full of Gears of War style grit that only the Unreal Engine can provide (without looking awful) for the Xbox360, PC and PS3. All these game’s however, are massively outclassed on the nerdiness scale by Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition, a Japanese bullet hell shooter* for the Xbox 360! Damm, I can’t remember the last time one of those actually came out at retail over here, too long ago, way too long.
If you’re more interested in looking to the past than the future, then we’ve also got two Xbox 360 double packs that bundle together some classic action titles for the fair price of only £24.99 (it’ll vary depending on retailer). While that’s nice and all, I would question the logic in bundling Halo 3 with Fable 2 and Crackdown with Mass Effect, just about any other combination of those games would have made more sense. But regardless, they’re some pretty cool games that have aged fairly well, so if you missed out on them first time then now is a good chance to catch up without your wallet taking too much of a hit.
Oh yeah, and there’s some obligatory shovelware and casual stuff too. Each to their own!
*If you don’t know what one of those are, then it’s probably just a little TOO nerdy for you.
Multiplatform
Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate Of Two Worlds (PS3/Xbox360)
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
The Mysterious Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (DS/PC)
Wii
Family Party: 90 Great Games
Nickelodeon Fit
Fit & Fun
Xbox 360
Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition
PopCap Hits!
Crackdown & Mass Effect: Double Pack
Halo 3 & Fable II: Double Pack
DS
Natalie Brooks: The Treasures Of The Lost Kingdom
PC
Magicka
Bejeweled Blitz
This week’s new releases! February 7th-13th
No major titles to talk about this week, but I bet a lot of people’s wallets are still recoiling from Dead Space 2 the other day, so at least you can rest safely in the knowledge that you’re unlikely to impulse buy anything new for a while. That is, until Marvel vs Capcom 3 gets released a week on Friday!
But for now it’s mostly casual stuff headlined by the latest chapter in the ever prolific Ben 10 franchise for the Wii, DS, Xbox360 and all 3 major Sony consoles (yes, people still buy PS2 games). If that’s not your cup of tea then we also have the PC based point and click adventure Edna And Harvey: The Breakout – Collector’s Edition which, according to the sales pitch, possesses the highly sought after accolade of “most acclaimed German adventure game of 2008”. Yeah, it’s a slow week ok?
For the more niche audience there’s the predictably difficult to pronounce Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll, sequel to the Japanese only PS1 JRPG Zill O’ll and its PS2 remake Zill O’ll Infinite Plus. On top of that, for the REALLY niche audience there’s PC based simulators for both tanker trucks AND model trains (2011 edition naturally).
And to finish off, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Dr Kawashimas series of rather annoying and highly successful brain-training games of questionable effectiveness have now escaped the Nintendo DS and entered your living room*. And this time there’s no stylus, because YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER. Yes, a very slow week indeed.
*Provided you living room conforms to the absurd size requirements of the Kinect.
Multiplatfrom
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien – Cosmic Destruction(PS3/PSP/Wii/DS/PS2)
Test Drive Unlimited 2 (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
PS3
Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll
Wii
Hello Kitty: Seasons
DS
Magic Encyclopedia 2: Moonlight
Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret
Xbox360
Dr Kawashima’s Body And Brain Exercises (Kinect)
PC
Model Train Simulator 2011
Tanker Truck Simulator
Edna And Harvey: The Breakout – Collector’s Edition
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Teaser Trailer and Screenshots
Today Lego & Disney have announced their upcoming Lego title… Lego:Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game is an action adventure game bringing to life the Pirates of the Caribbean world and all its colourful characters in LEGO brick form. Players will experience all the memorable scenes from the first three films, as well as those in the upcoming fourth film, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” in the humorous and quirky LEGO video games style.
GAME PUBLISHER: Disney Interactive Studios
DEVELOPER: TT Games
GENRE: Action Adventure Game
RELEASE DATE: May 2011
PLAYERS: Single Player and two-player co-op on same system (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii)
PEGI RATING: Rating Pending
GAME PLATFORM: Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ console, the Nintendo DS™ family of hand-held systems and the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.
Key Features
Exploration – Players will explore familiar locations filled with interactive LEGO objects and encounter more than 70 memorable and new characters while making their way through more than 20 levels
Combat – The LEGO Caribbean is full of danger! Intense sword fighting moves give the LEGO minifigure a brand new pirate flavour
Unforgettable Cut Scenes – Everyone’s favourite scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean films are re-rendered with LEGO minifigures, in the humorous style synonymous with LEGO video games
Puzzles – Players will need all their pirate cunning to find the hidden LEGO treasures and discover the game’s many secrets
Two-Player Co-op – Players can join a friend or family member in the same room for two-player “drop-in/drop-out” cooperative action
Freeplay – Building a collection of characters throughout the game, players can then use their distinctive abilities to gain access to previously unavailable areas
Enjoy the teaser trailer and below screenshots “ARGGH ME MATEYS”
Reviewed: Let's Tap
Yuji Naka, Sonic’s former head programmer, left Sonic team in 2006 to form a new company so he could work on games and not paper work. His first game for the new company came with the tag line that “even penguins could play it. “ Gotta give the man credit, this is one of those few games where if you have the ability to tap, then you can master this game. Within Let’s Tap there’s 5 different modes, all of them are played by tapping but it’s how you tap that matters… it’s better than it sounds.
Pros: Simplistic controls, Most of the mini games are actually interesting enough to play, Quick pick up and play style,More fun when others are playing, Though a bit similar to the DK Bongo Drums I haven’t seen a game on the Wii played like this, I’m very positive there’s at least one mini-game that anyone will enjoy.
Cons: Not a lot of Depth, Play it for too long and your fingers might cramp up or go numb.
This week’s new releases! January 31st – February 6th
Wow 19 new titles this week, that’s the same amount as the last 3 weeks combined! Although to be fair, half of them are just shovelware titles for the Wii. But Jesus who doesn’t love those right?
First of our notable titles this week is the multiplatform release of Two Worlds 2, an Elder Scrolls styled sandbox fantasy romp by Polish developers Reality Pump, who are better known for their Earth 21XX franchise of RTS titles. The fact that a second Two Worlds game exist at all is a bit of a mystery; back in 2007 the original received a harsh beatdown from a vast majority of the gaming press thanks to a series of bizarre glitches and some truly laughable voice acting, not exactly sequel material. That said, it looks like the Reality Pump took all that feedback on bored pretty well, the game has already amassed a healthy metacritic score in the high 70s across all three platforms, a big improvement over the original for sure.
Secondly we have Lord of Arcana: Slayer Edition (there’s no “normal edition” in the UK) for the PSP, Square Enix’s attempt at taking a bite out of that delicious and highly profitable Monster Hunter pie. Although it’s loosely based on fairly badass Japanese arcade game Lord of Vermilion, it’s a pretty pedestrian action RPG from what I’ve played of it; essentially a mere shadow of the far superior games its tries to emulate. Its only real qualities are some rather cool looking quick time events and a rather rockin’ soundtrack, something they’ve been keen to capitalise on with a lot of their English trailers. In retrospect, hiring a company whose most famous title is legendary for its lack of production values was probably a bad idea on Square Enix‘s part.
Other than those two we have the thus far coldly received off road racer Nail’d along with the standard mix of casual titles with a bit of Mario thrown in here and there for good measure. Not exactly a week to remember, but we’ve had far worse recently.
Multiplatform
Two Worlds II (Xbox360/PS3/PC)
Nail’d (Xbox360/PS3/PC)
PSP
Lord Of Arcana: Slayer Edition
Xbox360
PopCap Hits!
Wii
Dance Juniors
Mario Sports Mix
Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream *
Chicken Blaster *
Wild West Shootout *
Dodge Racing: Charger vs. Challenger *
Jeep Thrills *
North American Hunting *
Speed *
*All these are bundled with the usual pointless wiimote attachments, bet you’re just foaming at the mouth with excitement huh?
PC
The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff (Expansion Pack for PC & Mac)
Hacker Evolution Collection
Dungeons
Jolly Rover
The Hidden Mystery Collectives: Veronica Rivers 1 & 2
DS
Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem!
This week's new releases! January 24th-30th
Little Big Planet 2 might have had it easy last week, but it’s sure as hell got nothing on Dead Space 2′s utter dominance this time around. Seriously, the closest thing it even has to a rival is a Wii/DS title based on a very poorly received kids film. Even if it did have some kind of real competition it’d still stand to do pretty well in the charts; riding off the success of the 2008 multiple million seller Dead Space, it’s already seen some extremely positive write-ups by popular publications. Not bad considering review embargoes were only lifted a few hours ago! Hopefully we’ll have our own review up in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Right now all I can say is that if returning to the space hulk style horror of the Dead Space universe wasn’t good enough already, PS3 owners are in for a special bonus: the previously Wii exclusive on-the-rails shooter (or “guided experience” as the rather pretentious developers insist it be known as) Dead Space: Extraction bundled in for free*! The PS3 version promises updated graphics as well as support for the highly accurate PlayStation Move controller, good news for those of us who bought the damm things last year before realising there’s only a minuscule number of decent titles available for it.
Hopefully Extraction’s PS3 re-release will be a little more popular than the original Wii version, it sold pretty miserably despite the lack of decent Wii shooters to contend with. Not that it’s failure was a surprise or anything; I strongly question the marketing strategy behind releasing a tie-in game exclusively on the one console that didn’t see a release of the game it’s actually based on.
The rest of this week’s line up is the standard mix of shovelware and casual stuff for the usual platforms, although there’s one non-retail Xbox Live release worth mentioning: the launch of Atomic Game’s Breach, which is supposedly going to bring Call of Duty style combat of triple A quality to the Live Arcade service. It’s not an impossible task by any stretch, but bringing retail quality product to a digital platform is a promise I hear way to often from cocky game developers, most of whom very rarely live up to their much exaggerated sales pitches. There’s not been any major official reviews yet, but if Atomic Games really have managed to crack the Call of Duty formula then I’m sure we’ll be hearing at lot about it within the next few days.
Multiplatform
Yogi Bear (WII,DS)
Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360,PS3,PC)
PC
18 Wheels Of Steel: Triple Pack
Match 3 Mayhem Compilation
Xbox Live Arcade
Breach
DS
Alpha And Omega
Wii
Family Quiz
*I should probably point out that technically it’s only bundled with the “Limited Edition” of the PS3 version, but as far as I can tell there’s no NOT limited edition on the PS3. It’s a common marketing ploy to make games seem a lot more valuable than they actually are, similar to what Sega did last year with Yakuza 3′s “premium edition”.
9 Impressive gaming soundtracks from 2010
It’s one of the inevitable facts of life, every January you’re going to get legions of game hobbyists and journalists writing at least one “Top (whatevers) of (whatever last year was)” for just about every conceivable topic.; best graphics, best moments, biggest flops, best dark horses, best anthropomorphic protagonists etc. However there’s one subject that often gets shafted, something that’s so fundamental it’s easy to forget it’s even there until it really isn’t. I speak of course, of that which brings game worlds to life through our ears, the soundtrack.
Music is a vital yet under appreciated element of almost every game; you just have to try and imagine Mario without the ditty tunes or Fallout without the vintage harmonies and you realise music can be an integral part of an entire franchise’s identity. So I present to you my little celebration of the unsung arts of gaming music: In no particular order, 9 soundtracks from games released in 2010 that I humbly feel are worthy of note.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
I’m being a bit cheeky with this one, this arcade fighter did get a limited Japanese release back in 2008 under the name of Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, but it was essentially a rather primitive arcade port. It wasn’t until 2010 when heavy fan demand resulted in a remake released in every territory titled Ultimate All Stars. It saw huge improvements over the arcade original including a host of new characters and gameplay tweaks.
But that’s all irrelevant at the moment as we’re only concerned with the music, so what did it sound like? Well lets just say that even the Daftest of Punks might feel compelled to tip their robotic hats at All-Star’s hyperactive techno remixes of classic Capcom and Tatsunoko themes. It’s fast paced rhythms had perfect synergy with All-Stars unrelenting light speed combat; guaranteed to get most potential combatants hearts pumping before they’ve even selected their character.
Favourite track: Orbital Ring Systems Cargo Bay
If the All-Stars remake bringing in 90s Tatsunoko legend Tekkaman-Blade (or Teknoman for those who grew up with the English version) wasn’t good enough already, we also got blessed with possibly the best new song on the soundtrack to be his theme!
Mass Effect 2
Nothing quite relaxes like the smooth soothing synth of a good sci-fi space epic such as Eve Online or Sunshine (the 2007 movie, not the Mario game), and the OSTs of the Mass Effect franchise are no different. Its slow relaxing rhythms fill you with a sense of wonder at the incomprehensible vastness of the void that lies before you, as well as the sleek cyber-punk technologies of the future.
Favourite Track: New Worlds
Anyone who’s played much of Mass Effect 2 should recognise this pretty fast, at least you should do considering how long you spend in the Galaxy Map! You may even recognise it even if you only ever played the first Mass Effect, as it’s a remix of the original Galaxy Map tune “Uncharted Worlds”. But don’t misunderstand, it’s far more than cheap rehash of an old song. While it retains the deep space exploration vibes, there’s something else just beneath the surface; a reflection of the underlying urgency in your supposed “Suicide Mission” and the unknowable dread of what lurks beyond the sinister Omega 4 relay…
Bayonetta
The problem with launching a game early on in the year, especially if it’s a new IP, is that it often gets ignored when these sorts of yearly retrospectives come around. But Bayonetta was different, because I could never forget Bayonetta after how it gave the tired old beast of Devil May Cry “character action” style games a firm kick up the ass. Nor could I ever forget its soundtrack of pure unadulterated funk that was about as smooth and stylish as the witch herself, something that couldn’t paint a harsher contrast with the standard grim dramatic tones of the genre.
Favourite Track: Let’s Dance, Boys!
Even with such a large number of amazing tunes to choose from, I had no hesitation in choosing what I feel is the definitive track for both Bayonetta the game as well as Bayonetta the character.
a
I chose not to include the really awesome music video that goes with it because its one of the unlockables for finishing the game, but for those who don’t intend to play it’s still worth a look. If watching that doesn’t make you interested in Bayonetta, I don’t know what will. Oh, and the game that’s named after her is pretty good too I guess…..
Another Century’s Episode: R
What? You haven’t heard of this game? You been living under a rock or something?!? Okay yeah seriously, this game is about as nerdy and niche as it gets; available only in Japan the A.C.E games (of which this is the 4th)
pits pilots and giant robots from popular anime TV shows against each other in all out war. The game itself was a little disappointing for reasons outside the scope if this article, but the soundtrack more than lived up to the very high standards set by these sorts of crossover games.
You see, while developers and publishers are more than willing to navigate the merciless seas of copyright law to try and get accurate likenesses of all the popular characters and robots from various shows, they vary rarely use exact duplicates of theme songs to go with them. Instead we often get some classy guitar riff heavy remixes that in many cases improve on or at least provide a cool new spin on some signature tunes. Obviously your mileage is going to vary massively by how much you care about the shows involved or even if you like anime at all, but to a fan it’s certainly a nice treat to hear your favourite songs given such respectable treatment.
Favourite Track: O2
In recent years, crossover games like A.C.E have been reluctant to feature some of the newer anime IPs such as Gundam 00 and Gurren Lagann, probably because of absurd licensing issues far beyond our comprehension. So it was a nice breath of fresh air when it was announced that characters and robots from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, a very popular anime that had ended “only” 2 years before hand, were going to make a significant appearance in ACE: R. Things got even better when I discovered the awesome remix they did of Orange Range’s “O2” to be the franchises
in-game theme song.
If you’re interesting what the original sounded like, it was used as the first intro song for the shows second season.
BlazBlue: Continuum shift
Most fighting game franchise worth mentioning have a pedigree stretching back into at least into the late 90s, and while BlazBlue certainly takes considerable cues from Arc System Works previous franchise Guilty Gear, it managed to succeed largely due to its own merits alone. However, one thing it certainly inherited directly from Guilty Gear was a taste for raw guitar shredding ROCK, a tradition that the second BlazBlue title Continuum Shift proudly upholds.
Favourite Track: Gluttony Fang
Character specific songs are generally there to help represent the personalities and traits of the characters themselves, subconsciously giving you an impression of who they are and what they’re about. None of that is truer than in the theme song for BlazBlue’s current main villain: Hazama. Right off that bat with Gluttony Fang you know Hazama is a very dangerous and chaotic man. The intricate guitar work overlaid with the classical piano themes reflecting the image of suave sophistication he uses to disguise his true nature as a twisted sadist, ready to torture and kill on the slightest whim.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
After the rather disappointing Portable Ops it would be easy to dismiss Peace Walker as another minor spin-off not really worth anyone’s time. That couldn’t be further from the truth; there’s a good reason Kojima wanted to call Peace Walker Metal Gear Solid 5, it’s nothing less than the next pivotal chapter in the Metal Gear Saga.
Like most games in the franchise, Peace Walker had an emotionally charged highly dramatic soundtrack, with each song conjuring up feelings of patriotism, sorrow, crisis and the grim realities of warfare. While such music is certainly at its best when being overlaid by some sort of pretentious speech from the now very Che Guevara like Big Boss, its still pretty moving stuff in its own right.
Favourite Track: Heavens divide
Of course you cant have a Metal Gear game without some kind of epic ending song, even Portable Ops managed to have one of suitably high quality. When Heavens Divide started playing over the (sort of) final mission, I knew I was in for one hell of a finale.
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes
Another franchise that sadly doesn’t have much name recognition in the west, Capcom’s answer to the popular (in Japan in Europe at least) Dynasty Warriors series is basically a Japanese history lesson as taught by a ten year old who just finished a Power Rangers marathon. In a similar vein, a lot of the soundtrack uses all tropes and sound effects you’d usually associate with ultra serous samurai epics, but appears to have been composed by someone who plays way too much BlazBlue.
Favourite track: Date Masamune’s theme song.
Nothing personifies Sengoku Basara’s combination of traditional history and anime absurdity better than it’s resident king of cool Date Masamune. While his theme song certainly leans far more towards the latter than the former, it doesn’t stop it from being seriously hardcore.
Deadly Premonition
Oh god. Deadly Premonition. I could write an entire dissertation on this damm game; a train wreck of insane design decisions, that is yet somehow incredibly compelling. Okay! Got to restrain myself! Save that story for another day…….just focus on the audio. Right so, imagine you’ve just been appointed producer of an upcoming Twin Peaks inspired survival horror game, what sort of music do you want a majority of the soundtrack to have?
A) Slow eerie piano tracks aimed at causing an uneasy atmosphere.
B) Dark foreboding music with a dynamic tempo to help build tension.
C) A lot of ultra smooth jazz + whatever else you feel like, for reasons known only to yourself.
If you seriously chose C, then congratulations! You obviously worked on Deadly Premonition!
Favourite Track: Life is Beautiful
Not only is this track incredibly catchy, it’s also weird and above all wildly inappropriate; the very essence of what makes Deadly Premonition one of my favourite games ever.
Comic Jumper
And so we finish by moving from one beautiful train wreck onto another. If you want full details on what I mean by that then head over to my review, but to cut a long story short, the gameplay in Comic Jumper was abysmal but as a whole it was redeemed by laugh out loud humour that just kept on giving.
The soundtrack was no different; a majority of the songs were fairly generic background tracks that were so bland I struggle to even remember them at all. However, interspersed between these where the diamonds in the rough, songs of such immense comedic value it somehow more than made up for the rest of the soundtracks deficiencies. Even the developers themselves seem to agree with me on this, offering all the joke songs in one free downloadable pack on their website.
Favourite track: Brad’s theme song.
When trying to select a stand out track from Comic Jumper’s (admittedly thin) selection, there’s only one real choice. Nothing can compare to Captain Smiley’s brolicious rival: Brad. A man so egotistical that his vehicle of choice (the Bradcopter) is essentially a flying boom box that he uses to bombard poor Smiley with his self performed theme song.
EA SPORTS SIGNS RHYS DAVIES FOR EA SPORTS TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 12: MASTERS EDITION
18.01.11 – Today EA Sports have announced their new signing of Welsh golf pro, Rhys Davies.
Davies will become a Brand Ambassador for EA Sports and will be wearing the EA Sports logo on his shirt in all competitions.
This will become the first time that EA Sports will sponsor a golfer on the European Tour
This is a following extract on what EA Sports had to say on the announcement
“We’re extremely excited to be partnering with Rhys Davies. He had an exceptional rookie year on the European Tour in 2010 and is sure to achieve even greater success in 2011,” said Shaun White – Senior PR Manager EA SPORTS. ”We will work with Rhys on several initiatives during the season and give gamers an insight into the life of a tour professional.”
“I’m delighted to be appearing in the new game and especially proud to be the first European Tour golf brand ambassador for EA SPORTS,” said Rhys Davies. “It’s every golfer’s dream to be immortalised in a video game and I can’t wait to compete against my virtual character.” said Davies. “As a tour professional, I am privileged to experience some of the world’s best golf courses, many of which are featured in the game. I look forward to getting some vital practice on these courses in the game before tackling them for real!”
Davies’ successful 2010 rookie campaign featured his maiden European Tour victory at the Tropheé Hassan II in Morocco. The 25-year-old from Bridgend added three runner-up finishes and ended the season ranked 18thin the Race to Dubai. Davies’ decorated résumé also includes two victories on the European Challenge Tour in 2009 and runner-up finishes on the Asian Tour in 2008 and 2009. He has been praised by his peers as one of the tour’s best putters, generating enthusiasm for the future of one of the rising stars of European golf.
For the first time ever, gamers can step onto the hallowed grounds of Augusta National and experience the rich history and tradition of the Masters Tournament and begin their own journey to capture the most sought-after prize in professional golf – the Green Jacket. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 also features several renowned Championship courses including Royal Melbourne Golf Club (Australia), TPC San Antonio, St Andrews Links and Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The Masters editionwill go on sale in Europe on April 1, available on the Wii™, Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3, with support of the PlayStation® Move controller. The Masters and five additional courses will also be included in the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12 Collector’s Edition, developed exclusively for Sony PlayStation®3.
This year marks the 20thanniversary of a long-standing partnership between EA SPORTS and the PGA TOUR. Over the past two decades, EA SPORTS has introduced a series of immersive and authentic golf experiences across a variety of game platforms that has helped expand the popularity of the sport amongst fans. EA SPORTS growing golf portfolio includes the award-winning Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®franchise, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online and the recently announcedEA SPORTS PGA TOUR® Golf Challenge for Facebook.
To see additional information regarding Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12: The Masters, log on to www.easports.com/golf.
