Just Dance Wii Takes Over Japan – News – Nintendo World Report

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329915869 42 Just Dance Wii Takes Over Japan News Nintendo World Report

Nintendo will be publishing Ubisoft’s hit dance game, Just Dance, in Japan. Rather than being a straight port, Just Dance Wii has been re-designed with a whole new audience in mind, while still keeping the gameplay that made it so famous around the world. The game is still being developed by Ubisoft Paris, while Nintendo will be in charge of distributing the game. The Japanese website for the game has also been made live.

The first of the changes lie in the track list. While Just Dance Wii has some songs from the other Just Dance games, the majority of the songs are J-Pop. Some of these songs include “Heavy Rotation” by AKB48 (which is heavily featured in the trailers for this game), “One Night Carnival” by Kishidan, and “Cutey Honey” by Kumi Koda.

The full song list is as follows:

In addition to the new track list, Just Dance Wii will feature new dancers and stages that reflect the song list. Nintendo has already released trailers and TV spots for the game, which will be released in Japan on October 13.

Watch the videos below.

  

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DiasFlec | The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 : vidéo de gameplay | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 : vidéo de gameplay

Sorti il y a quelques mois sur PC, The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings se présente comme un excellent jeu de rôle signé CDProjekt. Non jouable pour les possesseurs de consoles, le titre fera finalement un détour par la Xbox 360, tandis que la version PS3 ne verra très certainement jamais le jour.Afin de distinguer les différences techniques notables en raison des restrictions nécessaires pour l’adaptation sur la console de salon de Microsoft, la vidéo ci-dessous vous permettra de juger d’une qualité relativement correcte, ainsi qu’une fluidité très convenable.

Rappelons que cette sortie Xbox 360 s’effectuera en standard, ou par le biais de deux versions : Enhanced Edition qui comprendra les deux DVD du titre, un guide des différentes quêtes accessibles dans le jeu, la bande originale et la carte du monde. Son prix est annoncé à environ 60 euros. La version Collector, quant à elle, propose l’ensemble de la Enhanced Edition avec un DVD making-of, des autocollants, un pendentif et un artbook en complément, pour  un tarif de 80 euros.The Witcher 2 sera commercialisé le 17 avril 2012 en Europe, sur Xbox 360.

This will be communicated later. Finally you will be playing the game you had always wanted to.Enigma Rising Tide for PC Game Cheats Enigma: Rising Tide" will have you commanding a variety of deadly sea vessels for your choice of Germany, The League of Free Nations or the United States. This will definitely enhance the player experience and make you feel like getting addicted to the skillful game. Windows Vista can utilize any version of DirectX 10, though later versions will help smooth issues related to the program. Beat the campaign on medium to unlock hard mode. Fallout: New Vegas' first DLC, Useless Money, is coming to the Xbox 360 first, but we're certain it's going to discover its manner onto the PC soon. These are available for a small charge. It is crucial to address free flash games since we can have some more free flash games. Puzzle-loving gamers should give it a try. I, equivocally, must get this variation. In the multiplayer modes, there are six players. Review websites are enjoying wide readerships because people want to know - for certain - whether or not a video game is worth the money they'll spend on the same. Typing "impulse 101" will earn a player $16,000 in the game, while typing "mat_wireframe 3" lets players see through walls. Editors: The editors are small programs that enable the player to modify some files of the video game.

DiasFlec | Why video games are good for you  | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329913470 49 Why video games are good for you 

What is the influence of video games on the human mind?

Why, they’re the greatest boon to intellectual development since the invention of movable type.

Not everybody thinks this. The common view from President Obama on down is that video games rot your mind, sap your strength, and probably give you acne and bad breath.

I don’t claim video games have been 100 percent beneficial. The Columbine massacre shooters were reportedly addicted to video games. News accounts tell of a kid killing his mother with a hammer when she took away his Sony PlayStation, and of another killing his mom and shooting his dad when they made him stop playing the violent game Halo 3. A woman murdered her baby because its crying disturbed her concentration on FarmVille, which is up there for most idiotic game on earth. A South Korean couple reportedly let their baby starve to death while they raised a virtual baby online, and an American mother did the same while obsessing over World of Warcraft. A Korean man (Korea is the Holy Land of video game fanatics) apparently died of exhaustion after a 50-hour Starcraft binge, and a guy in Wisconsin fatally shot himself while playing Everquest.

These things are unfortunate. However, let’s not forget that Jared Loughner, accused of shooting U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others, said on his MySpace page that his favorite interest was reading and that he studied grammar. This isn’t surprising. If you’ve ever dealt with hardcore grammarians, you know these people are prepared to kill.

My point is if you’re going to make judgments about something just because it attracts kooks and losers, you’d have to ban the Republican primaries. Video games, in contrast, have many positive aspects. For example:

• They can boost brain function. When older adults were trained to play Rise of Nations, a strategy game, they showed significant improvement in switching between tasks, reaction time, and memory. College students who played both violent and nonviolent video games also showed increased cognitive function. Research indicates video gamers are better at counting items quickly, ignoring distractions, and taking in more information at a glance. The stacking game Tetris has been shown to improve spatial coordination.

• Video games requiring physical interaction, such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect, and PlayStation Move, can help you get in shape. A Mayo Clinic study found children playing Wii Sports Boxing burned an 189 additional calories per hour. Do that for 40 minutes every day and other things being equal you’d lose a pound a month.

• Video games can help you train for serious tasks requiring video technology. In a study of medical students who spent up to five hours a week playing either a shooter game or a chess simulator, the shooters proved to be much more adept at learning to use a virtual-reality training simulator for endoscopic surgery. (The next step would have been having the students perform actual endoscopic surgery, which is also done with video technology, but the researchers prudently stopped short of this ultimate test.) Another study found that if you’re good at the Wii, you’ll be good at simulated laparoscopic surgery, too.

• Video games can be an effective teaching tool. A game designed for kids with diabetes reduced ER visits, and one for kids with cancer got them to take their medicine.

Video games have other benefits, too:

• Video shooter games are a good way of recruiting real shooters. America’s Army, developed by America’s real army, is the most popular war game ever, with 43 million downloads as of 2009, and is credited with being the military’s most effective recruiting tool. Whether it’s smart to fill the ranks with trigger-happy 94m3r$ I leave to the reader to decide.

• Violent video games may reduce rather than increase crime, some academics contend, because causing make-believe mayhem leaves participants with less time for the real thing.

• The demands of video gamers for ever faster and more realistic action have significantly pushed the envelope of digital technology, to the point where off-the-shelf toys now rival professional computer equipment that once cost millions. For example, in 2010 the Air Force Research Laboratory unveiled a high-speed, low-cost networked supercomputer it had built by linking together 1,760 PlayStation 3 consoles. Recently the Army announced it’ll use a video game engine to power a portable virtual-reality training program, the Dismounted Soldier Training System.

• Finally, video games are a potent force in the economy, accounting for $16 billion in software sales and $9 billion in hardware in 2010 in the U.S., and $65 billion worldwide. Sixty-five percent of U.S. households play video games.

Am I putting a positive spin on things? Of course. You can find evidence to show, and there’s no lack of people who think, that video games are evil and will lead to the collapse of civilization. However, the same is or was thought to be true of television, popular music, text messaging, gum chewing, cars, and books.

Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611. Subscribe to the Straight Dope podcast at the iTunes Store.

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DiasFlec | Pitt, Clooney, Streep Attend Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Which Offers Hints of Voter Sentiment (Analysis) | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329912272 24 Pitt, Clooney, Streep Attend Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Which Offers Hints of Voter Sentiment (Analysis)

(To determine where members of the press would sit, we drew lottery balls that corresponded with a table number. I wound up at table 32, along with Jean Dujardin, best actor nominee for The Artist, as well as Matthew Butler, best visual effects nominee for Transformers: Dark of the Moon; Mike Lerner, best documentary feature nominee for Hell and Back Again; Brandon Oldenburg, best animated short nominee for The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore; Rob Friedman, the governor of the Academy's public relations branch; and Marc Dujardin, Jean's brother.)

PHOTOS: Oscar Nominees Luncheon: The Official Class of 2012

The event was scheduled to begin at noon, but Clooney arrived early, signed autographs for fans who had gathered near the entrance to the event, greeted the Academy staff who were working on-site, and then made his way into the ballroom, where the other nominees and their dates soon joined him for cocktails, mingling, and a salad-and-salmon lunch. The only well-known nominees who were no-shows: reclusive best director/best original screenplay nominee Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) and best director nominee Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life); 82-year-old best supporting actor nominee Christopher Plummer (Beginners); and always-working best supporting actress nominee Jessica Chastain (The Help).

Eventually, Academy president Tom Sherak took the stage to formally welcome everyone. He addressed the nominees: "The Academy appreciates you being here. We know that awards season can be exhausting with everything that you have to do on behalf of your films. Today is not about that. Today is a day for stopping, taking a breath and taking time to recognize what a special family you belong to. My greatest hope for each of you is that, whether your name is called on Oscar night or not, you remember how rare this privilege is — and definitely, definitely well-deserved. So, with that in mind, give yourselves a round of applause." After they did so, he joked, "Did I mention that that's the last time you'll be rooting for each other?"

Sherak then explained the seating in the room ("In this room, all the nominees are equal and all the films are equal, which is why we don't have a 'War Horse table' or a 'Descendants table'"); reiterated there are nine nominees this year for the first time in Oscar history ("Instead of saying 'We need five nominees' or 'We need 10 nominees,' we said, 'Let's have the number of nominees that the members say we should have'"); talked up the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library; and offered shoutouts to those in attendance from the Academy's staff, past presidents, current members of the Board of Governors, and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson (who, he went out of his way to mention, has spearheaded many major changes in her first year of service, such as the construction of a new Academy museum and outdoor theater in Hollywood).

PHOTOS: Outtakes from Brad Pitt's THR Cover Shoot

He also announced that this year's post-Oscar show Governors Ball will operate differently than in years past. "By the time you get to the Ball, you'll have done enough sitting," he began. "So, instead of a sit-down dinner this year, we will have more of a party. There will be lots of food, lots of drinks and lots of chances to walk around or lounge, and, most importantly, to mingle. It will be a way for you to experience the evening for what it truly is: a celebration of our community." He also noted that the Academy will continue a tradition started two years ago of offering winners a chance to have their names engraved into their statuettes' nameplates at the Governors Ball, as opposed to having to bring the statuette to the Academy and get it back only "six or seven months later," as a way to encourage everyone to at least swing by the Ball before venturing off to other parties. "You'll be glad to bring home an Oscar that is fully dressed," he cracked.

Then came one of the cooler moments of the afternoon: when all of the nominees are summoned to a set of bleachers to pose together for a "class photo." They were called up in groups (i.e., "people whose last names begin with S to Z"), which meant that someone like Streep wound her way to the front of the room alongside, say, best visual effects nominee Dan Taylor (Reel Steel), and that competing best actor nominees George Clooney (The Descendants) and Jean Dujardin (The Artist) wound up standing next to each other. It also made for some funny commentary from the audience — for instance, best actress nominee Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) was overheard saying with genuine concern, "Nobody's gonna be able to see Martin Scorsese, he's so short!") Once the group was fully assembled, even celebrities in the audience couldn't resist snapping photos, before being called off from doing so, so as not to screw up the official photographs, six or seven of which were taken.

Then, with all of the present nominees standing in place — or, in the case of 82-year-old best supporting actor nominee Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), sitting in place — Academy COO Ric Robertson called each to the front, one by one, to collect their official nomination certificate, pose for a quick photograph with Sherak, and then claim their gift of an "Oscar nominee" sweatshirt.

PHOTOS: Academy Awards 2012: The Nominees

Journalists and publicists in the room carefully monitored the volume of the applause with which each nominee was greeted, as that has sometimes proven to be an accurate barometer of support from the entire Academy. By my ear, the loudest applause of all went to The Help's best actress nominee Viola Davis and best supporting actress nominee Octavia Spencer, both of whom were already regarded as the favorites in their respective categories. Also greeted particularly loudly: Albert Nobbs best actress nominee Glenn Close and best supporting actress nominee Janet McTeer; best actor nominee Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); best actress nominee Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), best supporting actor nominees Nick Nolte (Warrior) and von Sydow, and best original song nominee Sergio Mendes (Rio).

After all of the nominees took their seats and began eating, the two producers of this year's Oscars telecast, Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer and 13-time Emmy-winning producer Don Mischer, addressed them about Oscar night itself. "It will be great," Grazer promised. "We had some simple goals: to try to be funny — have some comedy — and so, with Billy [Crystal] and with a lot of our presenters, I think we'll succeed at that; to have a little class; and to be on time — and, with your help, your partnership, we'll be on time."

Grazer added: "We do have a theme, and the theme sort of came to me when, one day … I just thought that seeing films in a movie theater — that socialized, electric experience of seeing in that environment — is a magnifier; it's a magnifier to how you feel emotionally. And I knew, when I was a kid and young adult, the movies that meant so much to me, the ones that were indelible in my memory — the scenes and the sequences, the movies themselves, and the themes — really resonated because there was an audience there to punctuate and magnify those things emotionally. So, to that extent, what we want to do is keep that as our theme and integrate it throughout the fabric — throughout the tapestry — of our three-hour piece. There's a lot of different things we're doing in order to do that, but the first thing you'll notice when you get into the theater is that we're going to redesign — redirect — the theater so that it looks like a timeless movie theater like The Village, or The Pantages, or El Capitan, or Grauman's Chinese, so you just feel that you're in a movie theater."

Mischer chimed in: "For those of you who win, I know that it's going to be one of the most important and significant moments of your life. And we want you to know that, at that point, you become our creative partner in the show. Your speeches are a very big part of what will make the Oscars a magical night. So … we ask that you speak from the heart, that you talk about how you feel, that you talk about what this moment means to you. … We just hope that you will give that some thought. I know this is redundant, but be memorable and you will be remembered. No one will remember you if you pull out a piece of paper and read a long list of names."

STORY: Oscars 2012 Nominations Complete List

To drill home that point, he then introduced a short, funny video in which the actor Tom Hanks, a two-time Oscar winner and current Academy Governor, provided four helpful tips for giving a great Oscar acceptance speech, as clips of Oscar speeches of yore — memorable (Roberto Benigni's got a lot of laughs) and not (many) — played in the foreground:

Tip 1: Beat the Clock: "Instead of hugging everyone within a 10-row radius … settle for a few fast high-fives as you sprint down the aisle … you'll have 45 seconds to complete your acceptance speech. It's for your own good — history shows the longer winners talk, the less interesting they become. When you have to be played off after your 45 seconds are up, it's embarrassing for you and everyone else."

Tip 2: One for All: "If you are part of a team of winners, appoint a single person to speak for the whole group. That person should talk for all of you, not just for themselves. The Academy will be in touch to find out who you have chosen to speak for your group."

Tip 3: Lose the List: "Our audience wants to look into your eyes as you reach this, the pinnacle of your professional career, but if you're staring at a piece of paper all they are seeing is your bald spot. … Backstage, right after your acceptance, you'll find the Oscar.com 'thank you cam.' There, you can talk as long as you want and thank everyone. Even groups of winners will all have the opportunity to speak. Your 'thank you cam' comments will immediately be streamed and posted online. So be prepared for this second speech as well."

Top 4: Maximize the Moment: "Spontaneity takes preparation, so memorize something memorable! Crack us up, or touch our hearts; be inspiring, intriguing, or compelling. Give the audience a gem to ponder!"

Grazer then added, to great laughter: "There was a year when I was nominated for Apollo 13, and I was sitting very close to the stage, where all the nominees are seated. Sidney Poitier went up to announce the winner, and I see him rip open the envelope — I'm completely transfixed, I'm staring at him, I can see every single thing — I mean subatomic particles. And I'm looking at him, and I see a B-rolling off of his lip; I'm thinking he's saying 'Brian Grazer.' I jump up, and I walk to the stage — and he says 'Braveheart!' So I think that's the last thing you want to do. … Anyway, have a great time!"

With the orientation aspect of the luncheon over, many nominees eschewed eating in favor of mingling. The Artist's best actor nominee Dujardin, best director/best original screenplay/best film editing nominee Michel Hazanavicius, and best original score nominee Ludovic Bource all excitedly chatted with Spielberg. Others chatted with Pitt as he waited in line with everyone else to use the men's room. And, perhaps most memorably, best sound mixing nominee Greg P. Russell (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), introduced himself to one of his cinematic heroes, Streep, as a guy who has been nominated 15 times but has yet to win, to which she replied, "I've lost 15 times, too!" [Not exactly accurate -- Streep will have lost 15 times if she loses this year!] They chatted for a bit, and she reassured him, "You'll get there — I'm pulling for you."

As the event wound down, I ran into Sherak and asked him what the highlight of his afternoon had been. He told me, "The highlight is to see all the people — the little-nervous new ones, the ones who have been here who are not nervous — just enjoying themselves."

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DiasFlec | Modern Warfare 3: First DLC Maps Go Live For Premium Elite Members | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329911082 42 Modern Warfare 3: First DLC Maps Go Live For Premium Elite Members

Published on Jan 24, 2012

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 gets it’s first paid DLC today with the release of new maps Liberation and Piazza – but only Call of Duty Elite premium subscribers on Xbox 360 will have access to the maps initially.Activision has promised that “for non-premium members, the content is coming to you as well, stay tuned for dates,” but if you’re an MW3 on PS3 or PC without an Elite premium subscription, you could be in for a wait of more than a month just for the chance to buy the new DLC.The MW3 DLC kicks off a nine-month season of content planned for the shooter. We’re not sure how much maps and other DLC is likely to cost individually, but Activision is also planning ‘Content Collections’, the first of which will be offered to Xbox Live players in March.if we can clarify the bewildering array of dates and prices for different platforms/circumstances we’ll let you know.Look out for further coverage of the new MW3 maps when they go live later on today.

DiasFlec | PS Vita In-Depth Family Review | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329909878 64 PS Vita In Depth Family Review

With the Vita being available already in Japan, and having read various import reviews, I wasn’t expecting to be all that surprised by the arrival of Sony’s new handheld console on my home shores. While I was still excited to get my hands on the US/European PS Vita ($249.99 Amazon) amongst the pre-order launch furor I thought I knew what to expect.

However, the reality of the unit felt much weightier and significant than I had anticipated. This was obviously much more than simply PSP 2 or a derivative Next Generation Portable as the Vita’s previous code names might have suggested. No, this feels punchy and hard-working. It wants to be liked and lets you know it — something that in market-leader mode the original PSP (or PSPGo) never quite managed.

No longer able to rest on their laurels, the PS Vita is testament to Sony’s recent more attentive stance. You can read it in any number of features the new handheld includes, but more than this its the sense of finesse that really brings this home.

Start up the PS Vita and you are met with Sony’s new interface, part smartphone part games machine, part Xperia, part PSP. It’s snappy and tactile and makes great use of the touch screen. It’s not until you notice how much of a departure this is from the Cross Media Bar of the PlayStation 3 or original PSP that it hits home how much work has gone into this, and how much of a departure it is for Sony.

You can launch a game by touching its icon then jump back to the home screen by tapping the PlayStation button. This suspends play, but you can instantly jump back in by selecting it from the recent applications screen. If you are done with it you can simply swipe your finger, tearing the leaf off the screen, and it will be discarded. It’s simple and instinctive and made me realize how much the PS Vita benefits from the touch screen.

The fleshed out feel continues with a clutch of system apps that while not quite a match for the 3DS’s gaming freebies do a much better job of introducing both the Sony faithful and newcomers to the various features.

The Near app alone, that creates a social network of your PS Vita friends (people you have and haven’t met yet who are playing nearby), is both intriguing and simple to use. Within minutes I had connected with those around me and started broadcasting what amounted to my own PS Vita blog of the things I’ve been playing.

It is (strangely) the Trophies app that I’ve spent the most time using though. This gives access to the various PS Vita and PlayStation 3 trophies, all beautifully rendered in a few simple screens. My first reaction was to browse through the PS3 trophies I’d recently won, and was quickly presented with a progress-ordered list including my favorite games (Uncharted 1, 2 and 3, Heavy Rain and Flower to name a few).

This then got me thinking about games on the Vita. Having trophies for these, as well as a welcome addition to my portable gaming, made Trophies genuinely matter to me for the first time. In fact I spent a few hours that evening playing Uncharted 3 on the PS3 with the Vita open on my lap to keep track of the Trophies I still had to win. Being able to take my Trophy collection with me felt good.

While all this felt very fresh, there is one aspect of the Vita that reminds me of the PSPGo (which is no bad thing in my book being a real fan of the flip up device). Like on the Go I can keep my games collection loaded on the Vita itself rather than having to swap cartridges. After all when you buy an album you don’t have to put it into your MP3 player each time you want to listen to it. In fact the idea of going back to the 3DS’s cartridge system felt a little antiquated in comparison — and perhaps led more from piracy and market control concerns than the interest of the player.

I could purchase PS Vita games on the console itself (once the Store is activated at launch) or on the PS3 and then hook the two up to transfer them across. I could also buy a range of PSP games and play those — the Vita has a full PSP emulator that I hadn’t heard about before cracking open the box myself.

CrossPlay, the PS Vita’s name for its multiscreen multiplayer mode, worked very well. Wipeout 2048 could be played seamlessly between the main home console and the handheld without any slowdown. In fact having the local screen and the tilt steering in your hands actually became my preferred way to play the game. My kids also seemed to get on better having the experience close at hand.

The dual analogue sticks may not quite offer the movement of a Six Axis or DualShock 3 but their diminutive movement provides more than enough control for the shooting of Unit 13, parkour climbing in Uncharted Golden Abyss ($47.99 on Amazon) and fine steering adjustments for Wipeout. In fact, on the less violent games, my kids actually got on better with the small controls than they do with the big game pads (both 360 and PS3 controllers are simply too big for them to use efficiently).

The PS Vita also has a nicely broad range of launch titles. While Uncharted Golden Abyss underlines Sony’s insistence that this really is console gaming on the go — jaw-droppingly so — Little Deviants also does a good job of showing off the system’s novelties. The rear touch screen makes a surprising amount of sense once you have used it — in fact I found myself disappointed you can’t use this to navigate the main interface as that would have reduced the need to wipe the impressive screen of my greasy fingerprints. I would also have liked to have the option to select items with sticks and buttons too, and assume that will come in a future update (as this is will be an important accessibility issue for some players).

This may sound like being fussy, but these rough edges will need to be knocked off before the system can really shine to its full potential. The biggest of these snags for me is the RemotePlay feature. On the PSP this enabled you to play a handful of games and stream TV and video from the PS3 to the handheld. It was a wonderful feature way ahead of its time — with the Wii U only just catching up now.

It seemed understandable that the PSP would limit this big-screen-freeing feature to certain games because of the system’s smaller horsepower. On the PS Vita I had thought (and I’m sure read somewhere) that it would support RemotePlay for all games. But currently this is not the case (unless you have hacked your system, according to some nefarious YouTube videos). It seems only that same handful of games are supported for RemotePlay on the Vita. If they could just add the Uncharted series and Flower to this list I’d be a very happy man (you see, the RemotePlay feature works not only over your local network but over the Internet as well — the excitement of playing the full Uncharted series from anywhere in the world would be quite something).

The other negative is, as expected, battery life. Even compared to the 3DS’s disappointing duration between charges, the PS Vita still struggles to keep up. I seemed to get around two hours of gameplay, although this did vary depending on the game I was playing. I know that there has to be a trade off between cost/weight/size/battery but it’s still hard to take the Vita seriously as a portable when you need to pitstop so frequently. The system does come with a combined charger-USB cable, but I found that anything less than mains power really didn’t create much of a dent in that battery meter.

As I spent more time with the Vita I did find this less of an issue though. I have gravitated towards treating it like a home-portable (as opposed to an out-and-about-portable). I like being able to play it in different rooms of the house, but still play near a power socket where ever I end up.

Unlike the 3DS, which I’ll have on my lap while watching TV, with the Vita I’ve waited until the family is in bed to spend some quality time with the likes of Golden Abyss on the PS Vita. The quality on offer feels like it justifies setting aside some dedicated play time. You may be surprised to hear me saying that, having championed the family-friendly bite sized nature of the DS and 3DS games, but the fidelity of the Vita experience has won me over to longer play commitments for now at least.

The gorgeously big screen and general layout of the buttons/sticks/pads works well, and is a testament to that iconic PSP design. To this the Vita adds its gyroscope and accelerometer controls. This works remarkably well, at times in Golden Abyss you almost don’t need a second stick for the camera or aiming — the gyroscope controls are simply so good.

I recommend turning up the gyroscope sensitivity so you can use it to aim like you would a second stick. In doing this you gain a huge amount of fine control — much more than with a DualShock or SixAxis.

However, the gyroscope controls in the Vita mean you have to move it around and with this you need to adjust your grip more often. I find that my fingers, resting behind the bottom of the PS Vita, chaff somewhat. I would have liked a slightly more ergonomic undercarriage so the Vita could go a bit easier on my pinkies — maybe I just have girly hands. That can’t be it though as the Vita seemed to suit the kids’ hands better than mine – and certainly better than a traditional joypad.

Their general reaction to it has been positive. It’s a sign of the times they have grown up in that they weren’t all that awe-struck at the visuals (despite my prompting). But the combination of the tilt controls and the PlayStation games seem to have hooked them in more than the PS3 did on its own terms.

They have actually developed their own way to play with the Vita. On Little Deviants for instance my daughter will control the sticks while her brother takes charge of the touchscreen leaving their younger brother to look after the rear touch panel. It sounds like it wouldn’t work but they’ve actually got on better with this than many family-friendly console games.

Certain Little Deviants levels have become favorites for their ability to include all these controls — it’s very cute to see them huddled around the handheld working together so nicely. It was very reminiscent of the quality and potential of the EyeToy and PlayStation Eye games, that although less technically impressive than Kinect’s 3D scanning technology delivered body control gaming ahead of its time.

My kids have also realized that they can watch TV on it (via PlayTV) so that when the main screen is being used by another family member (me or my wife) they can huddle on the sofa with something to watch on the Vita. I’ve not told them yet they could also watch their films too (if I ripped them to the PS3).

I caught my son under the covers a couple of nights ago watching an episode of Blue Peter we had recorded via PlayTV on the PS3. I had forgot that I’d setup the PS3 to automatically turn on when the PS Vita accessed it via RemotePlay. He would have got away with it if the PS3 hadn’t given off its tell-tell beep on startup, that and the sniggering coming from under his duvet.

Vita has actually triggered something of a family revival in all things PlayStation. My wife played endlessly on Locoroco while she was in the hospital waiting for our third child to decided how he wanted to be born. Seeing the Vita and mistaking it for a PSP (which is not that hard to do), she asked if we still had Locoroco.

I only had the disc version of the first game that wasn’t much use to the Vita that only supports its new solid state game and memory cards. But within minutes I’d downloaded Locoroco 2 from the PlayStation Store on my PS3 and soon had her up and running. The game also looked pretty good upscaled. Now, if they could just incorporate the tilt controls back into it — or better yet offer a new Locoroco on Vita — she’d be in Mui Mui heaven.

The advent of the PS Vita ushers in the joined up delivery of games and experiences that the PSP was only ever able to hint at. A combination of higher specification along with much more determination and attention on the part of Sony mean that the Vita can make good on these promises. The promise of console gaming on the go, the promise of EyeToy’s camera gaming, the promise of multiscreen multiplayer, the promise of twin stick shooting.

While there is still more work to be done to make the Vita all that it can be, this is a much more impressive start than I had expected. In terms of ethos and delivery Sony have come a long way since the PSP launched back in 2005.

PS Vita is available from Amazon for $249.99 with a pre-order bonus pack.PS Vita games are available from Amazon from $29.99.

[Header image by flickr/sergesegal]

The info below is my opinion on this method of buying games. It's a challenging game and you'll have fun breaking high scores with your friends and in singleplayer. The Fable series. Davion is a game fanatic. The sort of miniclip you want entirely depends on your selections. The dungeons themselves were random, so no two games were ever alike. Since aircraft simulators are not created equal, you should be cautious when it comes to choosing the one for you. There are however several companies who uses P2P networks to distribute legal copies of games. It is since I only use a little it to be missed in relation to. You should know that I fully have no feeling one way or the other about this relevant approach. Fear Developer/Publisher: Monolith Productions, Vivendi Universal Games (2005) More than a pc game, Fear is like playing a movie, and a horrific one at that. Going by what top experts say as this touches on this demonstration, what I have is an appetite concerning doing this. There are several conflicting magic secrets in that area of convoluted thought. There is no way to skip these! According to CheatInfo.de, it is always important to be aware of the time and to check if a building is open (by holding the mouse cursor over the desired location) before disembarking.

DiasFlec | Anti-Piracy bills threatens width of World Wide Web | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329908648 49 Anti Piracy bills threatens width of World Wide Web

Science & Technology Editor

Published: Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Earlier this month, a blackout by Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites raised awareness of both the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Both bills would have dealt a massive blow to the Internet and its federal neutrality in order to combat online piracy.

While the U.S. Senate and House shelved the bill indefinitely with both parties backing away from the controversial legislation, the issue of piracy and Internet neutrality is still relevant.

The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate, especially in the United States.

When it comes to the Internet, piracy is an issue that is at the forefront of media mongols’ minds.            

Whether it’s movies, television shows or books, big companies view these downloads as lost sales due to torrents and files being downloaded for free on the Internet.

During the SOPA/PIPA protests, NewsCorp CEO Rupert Murdoch was in full support of the bill.

“Don’t care about people not buying movies, programs or newspapers,” Murdoch had tweeted on his certified twitter account. “Just [users] stealing them.”

However, not everyone is against the idea of users sharing files of their content.

Some individuals even encourage file sharing to spread word of their work further and faster.

 Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of the popular PC game “Minecraft,” believes that if fans can’t afford his game, they should just download it illegally.

On Twitter, a fan had explained to the game creator his money-saving woes, messages, “I really like the game but lack the money to buy it. I thought I might at least ask for a free account before piracy.”

“Just pirate it,” was Notch’s tweet response. “If you still like it when you can afford it in the future, buy it then. Also don’t forget to feel bad.”

It appears that Notch’s view on players buying his game hasn’t affected his sales too drastically, as the game has reached nearly five million sales worldwide.

Though alternative views such as Notch’s are not the norm, many believe that the Internet should remain free from any kind of government interference. Whether it be to combat piracy or other issues.

These ideals spring from the principals of deregulating the Internet and a surprisingly large number of creators support it.

“We live in a fairly new age where an artist, visual or otherwise, can manage to make a living off freelance and independent work. This is greatly due to the internet,” said Mike Luckas, a senior cartooning student at the School of Visual Arts, who makes money by doing freelance comic work for various studios as well as independent work. “It’s a world of free realm, where your hard work can pay off, and you can reach a greater range of people than ever before.”

Internet Neutrality advocates the idea of not restricting users by any means, specifically anything that would prevent restrictions on content, sites, platforms, types of equipment that may be attached to computers, and modes of communication.

“The use of words like ‘Piracy’ and ‘Protect IP’ are worked into the bill in order to scare less informed people into supporting what sounds like a good cause,” said Luckas. “What isn’t mentioned is that the term “Piracy” is far too inaccurate; it’s really just file sharing.”

However, with radical online organizations like the hacker group Anonymous (who had compromised SONY’s PlayStation Network last Spring), some believe that tighter reins may stop similar attacks from happening.

“Unlike what law makers believe, hackers really can’t just do whatever they want. Well, at least not most of them,” explained Konstantin Uroskin, a Baruch College junior studying computer information systems. “A lot of the actual ‘hackers’ aren’t hacking at all, but using programs and other means to stretch a site’s bandwidth until it actually breaks. These programs can always be updated, by true hackers, who will most likely make it their new hobby to crack through any regulation the government would try.”

Luckas, on the other hand, believes regulation will be an attack not on so-called “internet terrorist”, but independent creators, like himself.

“I believe SOPA, PIPA and the more recently composed bills were created in an attempt for companies to have a control over artists or creators who are successfully supporting themselves,” said Luckas. “These companies are in a panic because they may no longer be needed as much in the future for the creators to make money and content.”

Regardless of how creator-owned content is distributed, the issue of using copyrighted material without permission can sometimes be enough to get an entire website taken down. Regulation has the potential  to implement more severe penalties.

“I understand the need for copyright laws,” said Uroskin. “But no private company should have the right to get a website pulled for having a single piece of copyrighted material, without going through the courts first.”

With major torrent-based sites such as the Pirate Bay, hosting a reported 3.5 million files of copy-written content, the Internet can be seen as a plethora of free media.

Uroskin insists that while this can be the case, bills like SOPA or PIPA are going overboard, and not tackling the correct issues, as it promotes censorship rather than actual regulation.

“SOPA or PIPA is not the right way to combat piracy and downloading for free is not the right to see a new movie.”

A deeper reason behind the grievances of anti-piracy bills may not be the issue of the file sharing, but an issue of censorship.

While the ideal of a completely hands-off Internet is not completely enacted, Luckas believes regulations can become a slippery slope.

“The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to break any copyright laws, nor pirate a single thing to be censored, fined, or arrested under these bills,” said Luckas. “A company or the government just has to not like what you’re doing. The reasons can be made up later as they see fit.”

This alone makes me have to check out game (Maybe I should upgrade my free downloadable games). Granted, connoisseurs have a different ingenuity level. : The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content. You still will see some of the old characters though. Or use a dual-core processor where each core runs at at least 1.8 gigahertz. The best counsel I can give is that: I am a few bricks shy of a load. The game tries to draw children and adults alike with different selling points, but all of them are so rife with polluted phrases and "off" language that its impossible to enjoy. I know this sounds quite time consuming. I'll do it when I'm good and ready. Of course playing in 3D, takes it all to a new dimension. In other words, "Two is company, three is a crowd." In case of crushes the repair will cost you from $100 to $1000 depending on the damage.

DiasFlec | Reader Review: Soul Calibur V | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329905074 68 Reader Review: Soul Calibur V

Itching to play a new fighting game? Kotaku reader Tristan Damen has taken Soul Calibur V for a spin. Does a fifth iteration do the game some good? Or should the developers have left it at number IV?

Soul Calibur V

It was a bright Saturday afternoon when I’d first realised that I didn’t like the direction that the Soul Calibur series had taken. I’d just finished an hour long session against a skilled opponent who’d bested me five times straight with Edge Master’s feminine duplicate, Elysium. Cycling through a series of move sets – both old and new- and coupled with a near-unblockable Critical Edge attack, I had found my match for the day. I persisted, however: another five fights until a breakthrough – and not to mention, painfully-close – fifth round win. In spite of this achievement, I felt nothing but apathy for a series that I’d loved since my final years of High School.

What was to blame? Was it just that my skills had failed to evolve across six iterations (remember Soul Edge/Soul Blade kids)? Had I come to rely too much on new features aimed at newcomers? Was it the lack of compelling single player content?

It was a combination of all of the above, plus a few other minor annoyances that I had encountered throughout my twenty-something hours with Project Soul’s latest weapon-based fighter. The overriding feeling I got was that what was added wasn’t substantial enough to mask the features that were watered-down or taken away.

A fighting game with a story?

As with Tekken 6, the first thing that your gaze will be thrust toward is the new Story mode. Set in 1607 A.D (seventeen years since the last instalment), players will control a handful of characters in a (roughly) four hour quest to destroy the cursed sword Soul Edge. You’ll spend most of your time with protagonist, Patroklos (and his Alpha variant), but you’ll also get some time with his whiny sister and the mysterious Z.W.E.I. Fights are tied together with hand-drawn stills overdubbed with melodramatic voice acting. All comments about the predictable, woefully-told story aside, it’s odd that the developers opted to use a central character that is so difficult to use (this observation is true for his variant as well). Patroklos’ attacks don’t seem to flow like that of series veterans like Cervantes or Mitsurugi, so the later chapters are actually quite difficult

Apart from the aforementioned Story mode, there’s very little else to keep solo players engaged for a sustained period of time. To their credit, Project Soul has implemented some practical elements to the genre staple Training mode; with the ability to enable prompts that offer advice as to when you should use specific attacks as well as the more common move lists. Quick Battle is very similar to Ghost Battle from the more recent Tekken games, with the exception that you can earn titles for the new License system (more on that later). Arcade mode follows the standard time attack formula and has no hints of story for those intrigued by the rest of the game’s cast. Finally, there’s Legendary Souls mode which will be a welcome addition for the more skilled players amongst you, as it sets the CPU difficulty to near unbeatable levels (read: be prepared to face off against perpetual combo machines). After about eight hours, you’ll have seen all that Soul Calibur V can offer you without engaging in online competition.

The game-changer

It may not be apparent at first, but new mechanics inspired by (or derived from) Capcom’s recent revival of the fighting game genre have significant implications for the Soul Calibur formula as we know it. First, there are Critical Edge moves that act as your Ultra Combos (for those experienced with Street Fighter IV and its subsequent releases). Performing a double quarter circle motion in concert with pressing all three attack buttons will trigger a flashy, multi-hit attack that can either turn the tide of a match, or at least help you keep up depending on your choice of character. While all of these moves are expertly animated and awesome to behold, some of them are grossly overpowered. Characters like Yoshimitsu, Elysium and Siegfried can take – in some scenarios – more than fifty percent of their opponent’s life with a carefully timed Critical Edge manoeuvre; turning what could have been a close contest into a series of one-sided affairs. I liked the concept initially: a last minute gambit that could help newcomers (or those like me with lesser skills) to get back into the match, but it’s been poorly implemented across the board with some being neutered by range or lacking comparable power.

Project Soul has also lifted the License system from Marvel Vs Capcom 3 and have implemented it with similar aplomb. You can customise your license with titles that you’ve unlocked in Quick Battle and icons (pictures of the cast and your custom characters). Your license will also track your stats across single player and online activities and you can compare your accomplishments with any players that you encounter. The developers have also managed to put their own spin on this with the Rival system which allows players to compare vital stats (time played offline/online, best Arcade time, win/loss ratios and more) with up to three registered players. It’s a great idea and it managed to ignite my competitive side for a few speedy playthroughs of Arcade at the very least. Soul Calibur V benefits from the blend of old and new book-keeping techniques.

Horses in pink g-strings?

The character creator returns in Soul Calibur V, with the ability to customise the look of your favourite fighters or deliver your own spawn to the dueling grounds. Gone from this instalment is the quasi RPG weapon and ability selection, this time it’s all about looks. I’ve fought everything from provocatively-dressed lingerie models to pixel perfect likenesses of comic book heroes. I’ve also been tasked with defending myself against some more abhorrent creations, like a horse dressed in a pink g-string, sporting a conical dongle and bright white, spherical testicles. This is what you get when the default placement area for waist accessories is directly over a character’s crotch. In any case, Soul Calibur V’s creation suite showcases the most creative and deviant elements of a fledgling fighting community.

In terms of presentation, Soul Calibur V features what are easily the most technically-impressive visuals in a fighter on this generation of hardware. Minor clipping issues through clothing aside, the game is achingly beautiful; even when showing duels between the most loathsome of cast members. It must be said that in this iteration more than any other, Project Soul has the camera squarely pointed up the skirts of the feminine cast members and this can be off-putting; particularly when you manage to break some of these characters’ armour.

Despite the spirit of negativity that permeates throughout this review, you should know that the 8-Way Run system and weapon-based combat still holds up well after all these years. The new additions may cheapen some contentious battles, but Soul Calibur V is still a competent fighting game. It’s just that the game has drifted so far from its point of difference that I yearn for the days of the Dreamcast original. The visuals are just as striking as any of its predecessors, the soundtrack rousing, the cast varied, but Project Soul hastaken too much from the competition and omitted features and characters that endeared the series to me all those years ago. A great game, though merely a solid entry in an otherwise distinguished series.

The Roster

There are quite a few new faces to the Soul Calibur series: front and centre being Patroklos and Pyrrha, series veteran Sophitia’s children. Pyrrha handles similarly to her mother and her Omega variant’s move set is nothing short of deadly.

Viola is an interesting addition, being able to place her weapon behind you to juggle and otherwise continue combos.

Z.W.E.I is similar to Patroklos in that he’s pretty hard to read, and even harder to use.

Natsu, Leixia and Xiba are ring-ins for Taki, Xianghua and Kilik respectively, and handle somewhat like their predecessors. There are also several returning characters with minor tweaks; but some have stood to benefit more from the passage of time than others.

Ezio Auditore, of Assassin’s Creed fame, also makes an appearance, and he’s a perfect fit for the series. Dampierre, the bumbling thief from the PSP instalment, Broken Destiny is present as EBGames-exclusive DLC. It’s a shame that this lively character is held to retail ransom, but I’m glad that he made it all the same. Puzzlingly, there’s now three Edge Masters (read: characters that switch move set in every round) available in this instalment: Edge Master himself, Kilik and Elysium. Edge Master and Kilik inherit everything – including Critical Edge maneuvers – from the characters that they imitate.

It may sound like sour grapes, but there’s a distinct lack of balance in this roster and it’s also missing some characters that have endeared themselves to the series faithful (Zelasamel and Talim are the most notable omissions). This is made worse when you consider that three characters perform what is essentially the same function.

The ceiling can become the floor and the floor can become walls. Take extra fuel with releasable drop tanks or only launch with half a tank to enable tighter turns. For those of you who graduated in the 80's know, that this was still during a time of Dungeons and Dragons (the real paper and pencil version) and very few, if any, schools had computers and the computers they did have, usually had some type of game (as they were never used in class). Blue," "Mr. Computer PC games are here to stay.Console and PC Games Up for Grabs This Month Duke NUKEM Forever Game Type: Sci-fi Platform: X360, PC, PS3, Short description: Duke Nukem Forever is a cocktail of alien invasion, gorgeous babes, bawdy comedy and big guns. Latest game titles are: Darker Shade of Grey, Death in Scarlet and Twice in a Blue Moon. Well one reason may be that the game did an excellent job keeping the player involved and active in the game by all the mechanics. I didn't have to open this can of worms, although I have. It is the fundamental difference between miniclip and it and that I am happy with that. Who can participate in the Open Beta? Load your bomber formation with a multitude of lightweight bombs (known in the game as eggs) for targets like cities and factories or take a number of high weight explosives for precision targets like hangers and fleets.

DiasFlec | The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Activision Blizzard, Take 2 Interactive, Electronic Arts, Microsoft and Sony | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329901486 99 The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Activision Blizzard, Take 2 Interactive, Electronic Arts, Microsoft and Sony

CHICAGO, Feb. 14, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ — Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Take 2 Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO), Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: EA), Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE).

(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Video Game Sales Plummet in January

January 2012 video game industry sales figures revealed that it has not yet recovered from the 2011 slump. While late December economic data was mostly upbeat, consumer confidence data failed to excite. January was no better, with sales figures remaining weak.

According to market research firm The NPD Group, US sales for January 2012 plummeted 34% to $750.6 million from the comparable prior-year period, mostly on account of tough comparisons with the year-ago when there were a number of launches like Dead Space 2 and Little Big Planet 2. Moreover, weak performance from the hardware segment played havoc on the total sales of the industry.

However, sales through digital downloads of full games and add-on content downloads, social networking games, mobile games, rentals and subscriptions accounted for an additional $350 to $400 million.

Software and hardware sales were both down 38% from the previous-year period to $355.9 million and $199.5 million, respectively. Moreover, sales of videogame accessories were $195.2 million, down 18% year over year.

For the third month in a row, Activision Blizzard‘s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the top selling game in January with Ubisoft‘s Just Dance 3 snatching the second position. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bethesda Softworks was third in line, while Take 2 Interactive‘s (Nasdaq: TTWO) NBA 2K12 was fourth. Electronic Arts Inc.‘s (Nasdaq: EA) most covetedBattlefield 3 remained in the fifth position for the second month in a row.

The weaker hardware numbers were attributable to the aging of gaming consoles from Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT), Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo. Incidentally, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been on the market for seven years and its competitors, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, are both six years old.

For the past several months the video game industry has been bearing the brunt of weak consumer spending and troubled economic conditions. We note that the Consumer Confidence Index declined in January according to Conference Board, reversing its gains in December.  However, analysts are optimistic about February and March sales, expecting new game releases such as UFC, Resident Evil, Mass Effect 3 and Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning to save the day.

We believe that the video game industry is undergoing a massive transition from physical to digital. Thus the corresponding retail sales decline is not unexpected. Digital online games — including used games, rentals, mobile games and social games — have gained tremendous popularity in recent times. We believe that publishing companies having an exposure to these segments would be able to gain a first mover advantage.

However, we also remain cautious about retail sales and believe that strong growth in the digital business will cannibalize the market going forward. According to one of the studies by Strategy Analytics, the global online games market is currently worth $4.0 billion and is expected to triple in the next five years.

Moreover, the overall video game market remains highly fragmented, graced by a large number of companies. This has increased competitive pressures, keeping prices down.

Despite competition and a lackluster macro outlook, we believe that companies with significant exposure to the digital business will stand out even in this sluggish market. Additionally, new game releases and improvement in consumer spending will act in favor of the industry.

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Mel is determined to stop him and aquires quite a few interesting friends along the way, including a vampire or two. For those of you who graduated in the 80's know, that this was still during a time of Dungeons and Dragons (the real paper and pencil version) and very few, if any, schools had computers and the computers they did have, usually had some type of game (as they were never used in class). No need for a gamer to physically procure a game and no need to wait for lengthy download and installation processes 3. The camera will sometimes keep you from seeing how nice the game looks, but it won't ruin the experience. This is simple. Here are the least crucial circumstances to learn when it relates to this. An important part of the game is a SIM realism. Six names unlock content: "DINOMAN" unlocks all dinosaurs, "Charlie Peterson" unlocks all foliage, "Ron Propst" unlocks the dinosaur foliage research program, "Steve Serafino" unlocks endangered animals, "Andrew Binder" unlocks all animal houses and "Lou Cataranzo" unlocks all animal toys. Though in a sense, how do you end it? I know the legend. Those who donate more than ten grand will get their name on the game's screen. The point is this free arcade games is related in quite a few way.

DiasFlec | Army Corps of Hell: The Kotaku Review | (2/22/2012)

Posted by on February 22, 2012 No comments

1329900258 38 Army Corps of Hell: The Kotaku Review

Into the midst of the PlayStation Vita’s launch lineup drops a fiery comet, crashing through the Earth’s crust and plunging into the mythical underworld below to amass a massive force of evil with infernal domination in mind. The Army Corps of Hell is recruiting. Should you join up?

The King of Hell is back in town, and he’s pissed. Having been stripped of his powers and banished from his throne, this once and future king claws his way back and begins to assemble a goblin fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. His goal? Cutting a bloody path through the denizens of hell until nothing stands between him and his seat of power.

This is achieved by running around a series of floating islands (hell is floating islands) surrounded by a horde of goblin warriors, spearmen, and mages, each ready to lay down their lives for your pursuit of power. Well, they might not be quite so willing, but they don’t really have a choice, now do they? Does a Pikmin question Olimar? Does a totally different sort of goblin challenge his unrelated Overlord?

Do we question the worth of Square Enix’s PlayStation Vita launch day offering? Of course we do. It’s our job.

Loved

Fast-paced Action Strategy: There are plenty of action games and tons of strategy games, but not a lot of titles can successfully merge the two quite as well as Army Corps of Hell. Being the commander of hell’s army is not a desk job, requiring precision movements and dodging while simultaneously issuing attack orders to three different sets of troops. It’s up to you to keep them out of harm’s way while they tear apart your enemies, and you’ve got some very important decisions to make.

Do you fight in formation, opening your army up to massive damage in exchange for the quick kill, or do you play it safe, dodging and weaving about the battlefield while nickel-and-diming your foes to death? Which element should your magic users carry into each stage? What sort of balance should be struck between the three classes? There’s a lot more going on in this game than meets the eye.

WHY: While I’m still not sure the price is right, the sublime blend of death-metal fueled mayhem and off-the-cuff strategy make Army Corps of Hell worth a try.

Developer: Entersphere Platforms: PS Vita Released: December 11 (Japan), February 14 (U.S.), February 22 (Europe)

Type of game: Action-Strategy

Played through 20 levels of single-player goblin-slinging action, becoming the Lord of Hell, which I suppose was the point. There’s more (another 20 levels covering Purgatory and Tartarus), but I got the point.

My Two Favorite Things

  • Fast-paced strategic gameplay.
  • Boss fights to die for, multiple times.

My Two Least-Favorite Things

  • Getting to the boss fights.
  • Music-based power-ups aren’t a particularly impressive use of the Vita’s rear touch panel.

Made-to-Order Back-of-Box Quotes

  • “Pretty fly for a PSP game” -Mike Fahey, Kotaku.com
  • “Frantic action leaves almost no time to think… almost.” -Mike Fahey, Kotaku.com
  • “I hate the music; it’s perfect.” -Mike Fahey, Kotaku.com

Intuitive Controls: Army Corps of Hell’s action / strategy blend wouldn’t work nearly as well if not for the game’s intuitive control scheme. Left stick moves and right stick controls the cameral. Square, Triangle, and Circle buttons switch between your three squads. Left shoulder attacks, right shoulder sees your minions falling into formation, effectively an alt-fire mode for your goblin crews. It might look complicated typed out, but once the game is in your hands the control scheme is surprisingly intuitive.

The only time this Vita launch game’s controls falter is when deploying special battle items and power-ups. These require timed taps and finger slides on the Vita’s rear touch surface, and those don’t seem to register as well as they should.

So Big, So Boss:While hopping from hell island to hell island, popping minor demons gets old rather quickly, the game’s massive boss fights are a fine reward for slogging through the unblessed masses. It’s here where the real strategy of Army Corps of Hell kicks in. You can wing it as you work your way up to these marvelous main events, but when you’re facing off against a slinky succubus riding a gargantuan multi-headed worm, a fire-breathing dragon easily ten times your size, or an insect lord swarming with deadly lackeys, you’d better bring your ‘A’ game.

Crafting Up a Storm: Army Corps of Hell did not need a crafting system in which you use the bits your goblins chew off dead monsters to craft new weapons, armor, and items to aid in your fight, but it’s nice that it’s there. It gives the player motivation to hit up those earlier levels, harvesting bits of monster gobbly-goo in order to have the best equipment the damned can get.

God Help Me the Music: It’s like an entire soundtrack made up of Final Fantasy XIII-2′s horrific wild chocobo song. Packed with death metal, heavy-ish metal, and the screaming of distressed guitars, there is not one song on Army Corps of Hell’s soundtrack I would download to my MP3 player. Within the context of the game and its themes, it all works so brilliantly. I hate it so much, but I couldn’t imagine playing without it.

Hated

Pretty Ugly: If you want to impress your friends and family with the graphical prowess of Sony’s latest handheld, this is not the game to do it with. Army Corps of Hell looks like a PSP game. I’m not talking some of those fine latter-year PSP classics either. It has the look of a game that could have been a launch title when the PSP hit Japan back in 2004. Graphics aren’t everything, of course, but they do count for something, and this game’s look just doesn’t make the grade.

Slaughter, Eat, Repeat: If it weren’t for Army Corps of Hell’s boss fights (and the nifty crafting system) it’s gameplay would consist solely of hopping from nondescript infernal island to nondescript infernal island, wiping out the minions that spawn until the bridge to the next area appears. Even with the additional elements breaking the monotony, the formulaic levels do get tiresome after the first five levels pass. Increasingly difficult enemies might keep you from falling asleep, but when those enemies are basically resized and palette-swapped versions of only a handful of demonic creatures that same-old feeling sticks with you.

A Piecemeal Production: Just as the game recycles enemies, it also recycles cut scenes. Between each level you’ll see some variation of a small series of still images with different dialogue. A slow pan-in on the would-be lord of hell, an image of his minions whimpering, and a shot of those minions being shocked with new powers are repeated ad nauseum, with fresh images only appearing before major boss battles, furthering the feeling that everything but these climactic showdowns is simply padding to plod through.

My initial instinct was to give Army Corps of Hell a ‘No’ vote in the sidebar, simply because I didn’t feel a game with PSP-level graphics and repetitive gameplay warranted its $40 asking price. This is a title that would be just as at home on the iPhone as it would on the Vita; why should it cost the same as the bigger, brighter, and more beautiful Vita titles?

But I’m not here to haggle with Square Enix. I’m here to evaluate Army Corps of Hell as a game and determine if it’s a title worthy of players’ attentions.

Once I looked beyond the shelf sticker I found exactly what I was seeking: a quirky little action-strategy game with solid controls, hideously good music, and epic battles between evil and more evil. While Army Corps of Hell isn’t the technical superstar of the Vita launch lineup, it’s earned its rightful place as a herald of this new era of handheld gaming.

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