Categories
Game Reviews

We Review: Mindjack

Mindjack, as an idea, sounds great. The chance to bridge single player and multiplayer campaigns seamlessly with the ability to “hack” into other neutral players at a whim intrigued most of the gaming scene. The hype around the game set the expectation bar high when teaser trailers and screenshots were released prior to its launch.

This over-the-shoulder, cover-based third-person shooter has strong competition. It faces up to franchises such as Gears of War, Uncharted, and the recently successful Vanquish. How does Mindjack stack-up against the rest? Let’s see if this potentially brilliant concept, developed by feelplus and published by Square Enix, has what it takes to heat up the competition.

Wander around some more after the hack.

Categories
Game Reviews

We Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is not a game to be reviewed lightly: it is probably one of the most anticipated fighting games of the year (Ed – right up there with Mortal Kombat 9!), and at the top in terms of genre. When Marvel vs. Capcom debuted on the Playstation and Dreamcast in 1999/2000, it revolutionised the fighter genre with its flashy combos, fast pace, and fan-favourite characters. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 took this model and advanced it: 56 playable characters, 3 vs. 3 match-ups, hyper combos the size of your screen, and the unique feature of making me hear Ringo Starr scream “I got blisters on me fingers!” in the background.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3—amidst much hype—needed to not only match the expectations of the die-hard fans, but also accommodate fans new to the series and genre. It did this perfectly and in style.

You can easily pick up a controller, jump into Arcade mode, and mash some buttons together to pull of some awesome hyper-combos with little practice. This is not the extent of the depth of this fighting game, however. MvC3 will go as far as you can, all the way to the 3-teamed hyper combo finish line.

Read more after the Super Jump.

Categories
Game Reviews

We Review: Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2

Today we look into a game that is based on a highly popularized anime series, which has many iterations on the video game market and has followers all around the world. Dragonball: Raging Blast 2 is the sequel to the previous Dragonball: Raging Blast video game. Having not played the first installment in this series I cannot comment on how the game has advanced since, but being a DBZ fan, and having played pretty much all the other DBZ games, I feel my opinion could be taken with lot less grains of salt.

Dragonball:Raging Blast 2 is a 3D fighter based video game that focuses on customisable characters with team battles of up to 5 characters per team. It must be the biggest fighter game out with the most linear gameplay known to man. It is so jam packed with characters (96) and content that the actual fighting in the game has taken a back step. So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if there are multiple characters with the exact same move sets with slightly changed animations.

Lets instant transmission to the rest of the review after the jump.

Categories
Arty Inspirational Designs Video Clips

Thought of You

Ryan Woodward, the director and animator of this piece, has magically captured the essence of style versus emotion. He portrays his characters in a surreal sense which draws the viewer deeper into the film.

Thought of You was born out of Ryan’s desires to connect several of his passions into one art piece. Figurative works, 2D animation, EFX animation, and contemporary dance. The theme revolves around an intimate relationship and it portrays this exceptionally.

“Rather than creating a narrative animated piece that communicates a well defined story, this piece allows for each individual who views it to to experience something unique and personal that touches their own sensibilities.”

You can also check out the “making of” from Ryan’s site listed below.

[via conteanimated.com]

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Video Clips

Amazing Cat and Dog Ads

The internet is a magical place, in fact it is the best source of weird and wonderful content. From the strange to the cute, almost anything can be found. More importantly I have had more time to troll my Twitter account, and I found some awesome stuff. @Pfangirl retweeted an amazing video originally posted by @Yolandi_JvR about a Pedigree ad, which involves cute dogs catching some treats at 1,000 frames per second.

After I showed it to prawn1, he sent me a link with a similar and on-topic video of a Friskies ad. This contained the first (and possibly only) video that was filmed by cats. Different cats across the USA were equipped with HD cameras and left to roam the world as they usually do, for us to see the world from a cat’s perspective.

So who do you think is the next generation of movie stars in the furry industry?

Categories
Game Reviews

We Review: NBA 2K11

Before I go into the details of this NBA title I think I should dwell a bit on my personal experience on sport gaming titles. I’m not a FIFA/PES fan, I hate golf and cricket, and I absolutely cannot handle repetitiveness of sport games.

But I have not always hated sport games; there was a time on my PS2 when I played NBA JAM religiously. It was awesome fun, I loved the arcade style of playing and having played Basketball in real life I knew the rules backwards and really enjoyed the 3 pointers and slam dunks.

Now some years have passed and I cannot recall the last time I even considered playing a sports title. When the Big Prawn asked me to review NBA 2K11, I was very eager to see if this game could revive that old fire that burned rather deep. It turns out NBA 2K11 wasn’t exactly the “phoenix down” I was hoping for.

From the get go I was disappointed. Not having any knowledge of previous 2K games, I had no idea how the control system worked and NBA 2K11 threw me straight into the deep end: the 1991 finals, Bulls vs. Lakers. Needless to say I made Michael Jordan look like a paraplegic whose hands had been replaced with spoons. I’m even sure I started singing the hit song from Rick Astley, “Never Gonna Give You Up” while I was sobbing in between time-outs. Sorry MJ, it didn’t end there.

Catch more of His Airness in action after the jump.

Categories
Arty Awesomeness Cartoons & Comics Entertainment

Marvel Gets TRON-ified

Marvel.com recently put up a special range of covers which shows our popular comic book heroes into a new light, Tron-style. This also highlights that Marvel has begun designs for a Marvel Tron comic, Tron: The Betrayal. It is a miniseries so I’m hoping that it’s full of quality!

Since Disney’s acquisition of Marvel I have been very weary of the future for comics, but it seems that Marvel is keeping its true spirit alive. I just hope it doesn’t go further than this.

Walt Disney Pictures’ 3D adventure, Tron: Legacy is due in theaters on December 17th. So along with this, Marvel comics has produced these variant covers to promote the new film. These characters have been re-imagined to tie in with the Tron universe, and of course, to get us even more hyped up about this highly anticipated film. The artists, Mark Brooks and Brandon Peterson, have truly nailed the crossover.

Tron: Legacy is a sequel to the original 1982 film and promises new material and a great cinematic experience. Tron: Evolution is the tie-in video game, scheduled for release late this year as well. I’m hoping that these Marvel characters can make some guest appearances in there.

So here are some of the Marvels’ Tron variant covers:

Captain America

More pics are up after the jump

Categories
Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Set 150 years from now, assuming 2160 AD, there was a colossal war on planet Earth. Combat mechs were designed to play out the war, but when it ended, nobody told them. Now these mechs ravage the lands, still following their century old instruction.

Our story starts you off as a prisoner on a Pyramid slaver ship. The hero then attempts to trail another prisoner who had a head-start on the escape and ends up being ejected off the ship with the aid of a escape pod (I say aid very lightly), to notice that the young woman has beaten him to it.

After the hard crash landing you wake up in a blur to find that she has equipped your forehead with an electronic crown of sorts. It turns out that it is a slave device, which commands you to the will of the slaver. She announces herself as Trip, a member of one of the larger tribes left on earth, who now wants to make her way home with our help. Not that we have a choice, because no one likes dying from an aneurism.

The hero, Monkey (Voiced by Andy “Gollum” Serkis), is a wanderer who travels the land for food and fuel, is now bound to Trip. Equipped with a plasma staff he has to battle his way through impossible battles with mechs of all proportions. The staff also doubles as a rifle of sorts where he is able to target and shoot enemies from a distance.

The +1, Trip (Voiced by Lindsay Shaw), is a computer wizard who helps Monkey through the adventure in every aspect. Be it with scanning environments, combat assistance, or just generally not getting involved.

Enslaved1

Alright it is time now to get into the “nitty gritty” of things. The adventure continues after the jump.

Categories
Featured Game Reviews

We Review: DeathSpank

A note from prawn1: Gamers are a wonderful bunch aren’t they? The other day I posted on a local PS3 forum that my puppies had nommed on my controller and showed everyone the gruesome images. A Durban gamer under the nick of Cloud_Ratha offered to post some replacement parts to me. I was touched by the fact that a person who I had never met before would do this for me, and to so say thanks, I shared Hothead Games’ latest action-RPG title with him. And as a token of his appreciation for the token of my appreciation he sent us a  fantastic review of  DeathSpank, which we have just published for your reading pleasure.

Join Cloud_Ratha as he explores the tale of the purple thong after the jump.