Monthly Archives: May 2015
Mortal Kombat X Kotal Kahn Statue is Heart-Wrenching
Pop Culture Shock has unveiled its Mortal Kombat X 1:4 scale Kotal Kahn statue and it's gruesome.
Three variants will available for pre-order soon; Sun God, Blood God, and War God, costing $425, $435, and $445 respectively. The Sun God statue is limited to a run of 500, while the War God has a production run of 350. Lastly, the Blood God statue is limited to only 250.
The three statues each represent a different side of Kahn and his power: Blood magic, drawing power from sunlight, and his final state, the Mayan God of war. Each of the statues has a unique colour scheme and both War God and Blood God come with weapons.
Badland: GOTY Edition Coming to Most Platforms Soon
Frogmind has announced that Badland: Game of the Year Edition will be coming to multiple platforms in the last week of May.
It will be out May 26 for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita in North America, and May 27 on those consoles in Europe. PC, Mac, and Linux will get it on May 28, and it will be out May 29 for Xbox One.
The planned release date for Wii U is the end of June, but the exact date will be announced at a later time.
The base price of Badland: Game of the Year Edition is $12 on consoles and $10 on Steam. It will feature cross-buy functionality on PlayStation platforms.
Check out IGN's announcement of Badland: Game of the Year Edition for more details on what to expect.
Club Nintendo Slashes Prices for Physical Awards by 50 Percent
In its customer loyalty program’s final weeks, Nintendo slashed the amount of coins needed for Club Nintendo physical rewards in North America.
The updated Club Nintendo rewards page slashes the exclusive items by up 50 percent off, from a Retro Mario T-Shirt to Fierce Deity Link Jigsaw Puzzle:
- Mario & Luigi Greeting Cards: 300/150 coins
- Nintendogs Greeting Cards: 300/150 coins
- 3DS Game Card Case: 2015 Edition: 400/300 coins
Toren Review
When you're reflecting on a recently completed game, hating it is just as helpful a feeling as loving it. Whether your opinions are glowing or scathing, strong feelings in either direction mean that you'll have plenty to share with others when the topic comes up. It's the middling game--inoffensive but unremarkable--that really haunts you. I don't feel any regret about the time I expended playing Toren, but that's the problem. I don't really feel much about that time at all.
In Toren, you direct a small girl known as Moonchild to the top of a crumbling tower. Like the tower of Babel, it was built by people seeking great power who were punished severely for their hubris. Mankind's last hope is a girl trapped inside the tower, doomed to die and be reborn endlessly until she can scale it and slay the dragon that shares her prison. It's a web of myth and mysticism where each individual thread is vaguely familiar but has been woven into something distinct and original.
Moonchild starts as a toddler stumbling around the overgrown lower level, but the endearingly uncoordinated flopping of her limbs gives way to composure and poise the farther she progresses up the tower. The enchanted sword that takes all her strength to first lift is soon wielded with ease. Aspects of Moonchild's maturation are handled very well, including her evolving design, with one notable exception. In her awkward preteen stage, her childhood dress tears into a convenient deep V-neckline with straps slipping away from her shoulders and three large round gaps in the cloth exposing the majority of her back. This is not what happens when someone outgrows a piece of clothing, and considering that the player saw this same character toddling around in baby bloomers about thirty minutes prior, this phase of her costume evolution comes off as somewhat creepy.
The actual act of climbing the tower involves solving relatively simple environmental puzzles, fending off assorted enemies, and exploring optional dream sequences where Moonchild's mentor explains her situation and some broader philosophical musings about the nature of mankind. This is where the your experience can be seriously derailed; if you skip these optional (and easily missed) sequences, it becomes quite hard to follow the plot. You'll never want for those lofty chin-stroking tidbits, though, even though they're some of the least interesting things the game has to say.
Storytelling gripes aside, the hands-on feel of playing isn't great either. The best illustration of this comes in the form of the shapes that Moonchild must fill with sand during her dreams. Each dream has at least one of these to complete, and to do so, you hold down the interact button and direct her around the shape's outline. The game very weakly snaps her to the path, but it's incredibly easy to stray. It's even easier if you disregard the warnings and elect to play with a mouse and keyboard instead. (Don't do this. Seriously.) These sand tracings are the most annoying part of the game; even when you perform well (controller and all), it looks like Moonchild has spread the sacred sand with as much care as a toddler spilling cereal all over the kitchen floor.
I wish my problems with Toren ended there, but I can't leave out the times that I somehow managed to wedge Moonchild in places where the camera steadfastly refused to follow, the times when she simply slipped through the floor geometry and fell into oblivion, the times when Moonchild's arms froze in place while her legs continued to animate normally, the times that her sword hit foes with so little effect that I kept attacking, not realizing that they were already dead, the times that I took a jump too early but the game graciously floated me over to the destination platform as though I'd triggered some sort of moon gravity mode, the time that I fought the dragon, fudged the timing, and darted back to regroup before it could perform its “you're too slow” instant kill... only for the game to snap Moonchild back into its talons anyway.
And yet Toren is not without its charms. In spite of some conspicuously low-quality models, it's a delightful thing to look at: its colors are vivid, its world is small but detailed, and it doesn't shy away from dramatic use of its camera and lighting effects. A couple of the dream sequences elicited quiet gasps as I proceeded through them, and even the credits (which feature painted illustrations unfurled to a vocal version of the game's beautiful theme) are worth watching.
For all the problems, it's easy to recognize the flashes of something special in Toren. It's a loaf of homemade bread, proofed and kneaded, laid in a pan, and sprinkled tenderly with rosemary but unfortunately pulled from the oven a few minutes before it could pass the toothpick test. However complex the recipe, Toren just feels undercooked.
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season Finale Photo Preview
The battle between the Inhumans and SHIELD has crossed a line. Jiaying murdered Gonzales but made it look like a case of self-defense, and now everyone is on edge. The two hour Season 2 finale, "S.O.S.," will see SHIELD put everything on the line to survive. The end of Season 1 left the organization gutted and ripped apart, and it appears as though they're facing starting over yet again. The synopsis says Coulson's team "will be forced to make shocking sacrifices."
Sacrifices could mean a team member dies, but maybe it also means that they have to decide to kick Skye out of their lives and leave her with the Inhumans. See a preview of what's ahead in the below photo gallery.
The Flash Photo Preview: “Rogue Air”
It doesn't seem like the team at STAR Labs can get a leg up against Dr. Harrison Wells, a.k.a. Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse Flash. He's always at least one step ahead, and Barry's just not fast enough. Barry's desperation drives him to ask for help from Captain Cold even though Joe and Caitlin explain that it's a terrible idea.
Captain Cold isn't the only person coming to help either. Arrow and Firestorm also arrive in Central City to give Barry an assist.
The Flash: "Rogue Air" Photo Gallery:
Watch "Rogue Air" on Tuesday, May 12th, at 8:00pm ET/PT on The CW.
Amy Ratcliffe is a writer for IGN TV. You can follow her on on Twitter at @Amy_Geek and IGN at alratcliffe.
Witcher 3 on Xbox One Features Dynamic Scaling
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will dynamically upscale from 900p to 1080p in certain sections.
Developer CD Projekt RED has made the announcement via official statement and Xbox One gameplay video (below).
“The video you’re now watching is grabbed directly from an Xbox One console. We’ve been working to give gamers an even better experience on Xbox One and, on day 1, we’ll bring you
dynamic scaling from 900p to 1080p," read a statement from the developer.
“We’re not much more than a week before launch, but we’re still fighting for every line of code—we want gamers to get the best possible experience we can deliver.”
This news comes in the wake of the unlikelihood of a fidelity bump to coincide with the launch of DirectX 12.
Guild Wars 2 Cheater Faces Execution
Think twice if you're considering cheating in Guild Wars 2, because you're likely to be banned in a spectacular way.
Mashable has discovered the public and humiliating execution of a cheating player's avatar.
A user by the name of DarkSide was reported by several players for teleporting and dishing out a Superman amount of damage.
Even groups of players were unable to stop DarkSide, and even if you managed to achieve the impossible and kill him, he was reportedly reappearing 10 seconds later to get revenge.
Action Henk Review
Editor's note: Due to a discrepancy between the version of the game used for review and the full release, the original Action Henk review contained some inaccuracies. It has been updated to reflect the game as released. - KV, 5/14/2015
I like to think of Action Henk as a retired action hero on the fast road to retaking the spotlight. A distended beer belly hanging far over his belt, Henk is a small action figure sporting a wide, yet determined grin separating an impressive set of 1980s sideburns. It’s hard not to root for him as he slides down ramps and over obstacles at a relentless velocity. This side-scrolling, speed-running platformer has the rush of a classic Sonic the Hedgehog game, without any of the irritating sidekicks.
Henk sets off on his pint-sized adventure sprinting along plastic orange ramps--like the ones for toy cars--and wooden blocks, leaping and butt-sliding toward the goal line--oh yes, butt-sliding. Holding down a button causes Henk to fly (literally) on the seat of his pants. Sliding down inclines builds up speed, and a comet-like trail of flame jets off Henk’s plastic-molded posterior. You burn through loops and bounce off walls while rushing past checkpoints as you complete the first group of levels, which exist entirely on the floor of a child’s bedroom, complete with jumbled clothing drawers, posters, and scattered video game cartridges. But you don’t stay stuck in the bedroom for long. Soon, Henk finds himself making tracks on a beach resort, and later swinging through a lush green jungle. Despite his appearance, Henk moves through each level at an energetic pace, all to the tune of a jumping soundtrack.
Action Henk is a fast ride and pure speed-running bliss from start to goal. It feels like Sonic in his glory days. Though the kindly faced Henk doesn’t quite parallel the blue blur’s devil-may-care attitude, he nearly matches the blistering speed with his stride. Many levels last less than a minute, but as you make your way around the track, you notice other pathways and ramps just out of reach. They all lead you to the same point, and yet the promise of more even speed makes the desire to reach them all the more enticing. There are tricks that only experience can teach--for example, hopping just before a declining ramp increases the speed of your butt-slide, rewarding you with more air time than ever before. Soon those other areas become attainable, opening up steeper slides and more death-defying jumps--all of which amounts to gaining even more of that gratifying speed and fewer moments of slowdown.
Completing levels nets you medals of bronze, silver, or gold, which are collected to unlock new areas. The setup is similar to that of some mobile games that require a certain number of stars or other related items to unlock gates. But the rules here are not nearly as strict. New sections open up quickly, and unlocking the final section is possible only several of hours after starting. It does make sense: this is a game whose conceit is unrelenting speed, not throwing out road blocks. Because of this playability, I felt myself running through older courses again because I actually wanted to, just for the fun, and not out of any sort of obligation. It cuts down on a lot of the undue stress usually presented by games that make it difficult to unlock new missions. If you’re having trouble with any of the levels, you can race against a bronze, silver, or gold ghost, who will show you the way.
Though the kindly faced Henk doesn’t quite parallel the blue blur’s devil-may-care attitude, he nearly matches the blistering speed with his stride.
There is still some stress involved. At the end of most sections, you face a tough boss challenge. These races can require a lot of patience and restarts as they test your speed-running skills. The final section missions, however, are the most difficult, and are capped off with a boss challenge that had me wearing down my restart key. Earning a gold medal in every level of a section unlocks a touch bonus mission to collect coins. The medal also unlocks the rainbow medal ghost, as well as the ghost for the top player of the level--both of which are the hardest challenges you can face. The game doesn't suffer much from technical issues; there is minor lag in some levels, but it doesn't stay noticeable for long.
Though reaching the final series of levels is possible in only a few hours, there is still a lot of extra content to experience and discover. Completing challenges such as boss battles unlocks new characters and skins--the Sonic costume for Henk with his belly bursting through the front is an easy favorite. Action Henk is a community-focused game, and includes tools to build and share your own custom level and download other users’ levels from its Steam page. I tried a few of the higher rated tracks, many of which are great. Some send you through enough loops to make your head spin, while others are designed for pure speed. There is also an online racing mode, where you and a group of fellow speed-runners compete for the best time in a level. You are given a time limit and as many restarts as possible to secure the best time and a chance to bop the top runner off the first-place podium. There is one problem with multiplayer, however. Having a text chat box is great, as it gives you the opportunity to talk smack or get running advice form the pros. But because of its size and position on the dark background, it covers too much of the screen.
Completing Action Henk will set you back around five hours or so, and you will be at the edge of your seat for most of that time. The speed is immensely satisfying, and earning those precious gold medals after replaying levels feels good. It’s a heart-pumping adventure starring action figures and toy tracks, so give yourself a break and come play.
This PS4 Game’s Name Is 65 Words Long
An upcoming Japanese game by D3 Publishers has a whopping 65 word long title.
The full title, quoted by Geek, reads:
Summertime High School. A Young Man’s Notes – How a New Exchange Student Like Myself Ran Into His Childhood Friend On The School Tour, Then For Some Reason Became Super-Popular With The Girls For His Daily Scoops On The School Photography Club Even Though He Only Takes Panty Shots, And What He Thinks As He Goes On Dates During His Summer Of Island School Life.
The game follows a high-schooler and amateur photographer in his attempts to take up-skirt shots of his fellow classmates. The object of the game seems to be to take as many shots as possible without getting caught.