Confirmation of new charaters for Street Fighter X Tekken
Jan 26th
The look at the video for Street Fighter X Tekken confirms that the hidden characters you previously saw only silhouettes of are in fact Megaman and Pacman but really any avid gamer could easily guess that without too much effort. Megaman will not appear as the cartoonish robot we play as in the games but instead will show up as an actual Mega man like he did on the box art of Megaman 1. Pacman will appear as his typical round self riding atop a Mokujin as he does battle.
The news of these two being confirmed will definitely bring a lot of delight to gamers everywhere however the catch is they will only appear as exclusive characters for the PS3 version. Personally I was going to pick up this game for the PS3 anyway so that is not a problem for me and really is just an awesome bonus. There are no Xbox exclusive characters which is a shame but really isn’t going to make or break the game in my opinion as the game looks like it is going to be a ton of fun.
The game is set to release March 6th,2012
Nova out!
Mass Effect 3 Pre-order goodness
Jan 26th
With the release date of the game coming ever closer there are a ton of different companies gearing up to get the gaming community even more pumped up for Mass Effect 3. For starters the online toy distributor BigBadToyStore has a line of Mass Effect toys that when you purchase come with a code that gets you some DLC for the game with the following quote detailing what the content will entail.
“This product contains a code that can be redeemed for bonus content for Mass Effect 3 multi-player that could include powerful weapons to take on the Reapers. The pack could also include character boosters, weapon modifications, and weapon upgrades to make your multi-player squad stronger.”
If you pre-order the art book by Dark Horse at Barnes and Noble before February 20th you will receive the collector assault rifle, which you may remember as a pre-order bonus from Mass Effect 2. However for this bonus and the previous one mentioned they are only good for PC and Xbox 360 thus PS3 is not able to take advantage of these offers.
Other pre-order bonuses include the M55 Argus assault rifle as a general pre-order bonus, Gamestop/EB games gives you the N7 warfare gear, EA’s own origin online store nets you AT12 Raider shotgun. So as you can see there is plenty of swag to get for those who want to pre-order the game.
As a friendly reminder Mass Effect 3 releases March 6th,2012.
Nova out!
Rumors surface that the new Xbox blocks used games
Jan 26th
There are rumors floating around that the new Xbox system is going to include technology in it that will make used games unplayable on the system thus forcing you to buy your game brand new. While I can understand why they would want to do this as the purchase of used games does not actually benefit the game developers, which means less money for them to put towards new projects, paying bills etc. However to actually remove the ability to play used games is also a pretty big dick move since that is essentially eliminating a large staple of the gaming community and while I myself do not usually buy used games (I may have done so only once or twice) I understand how important that option is for many gamers around the world.
Now as I mentioned this is simply just a rumor and may not likely come to pass (we all hope) but honestly if it does end up happening the gaming community will either just accept it or shun Microsoft till they change their mind on the whole thing. Time will tell as more information is released about the new console but in the mean time check out more info on the rumor here.
Nova out!
Fortune Street Review
Jan 25th
Fortune Street (Wii)
Developer: Armor Street, Square Enix
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: December 23, 2011
MSRP: $49.99
This game can be compared to Monopoly however do not expect another simple game where you travel around a board buying property and attempt to bankrupt other players as this game is far more complicated than that. The game basically works like this: you start at the bank which lies at the center of the board. From there, you roll the dice and decide what direction you should head down (usually left or right, but some of the bigger boards may give you more options). Then you purchase property in the Monopoly style, roll more dice, choose the direction of your path again when you hit a fork in the road, and make your way around the board as you see fit. The four corners of the board contain special blocks that represent the four suits (Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades). Hit them all and head back to the bank and you level up, which scores you some dough and better stats.
I would like to mention that it is quite clear that the series designer of the Dragon Quest series Yuji Horii is behind the game from the gameplay to the obvious inclusion of Dragon Quests characters and monsters.
While at the bank, you can also buy and sell stocks, which is where a lot of the advanced strategy comes in. Buy stock in someone else’s property and you’ll increase how much profit they make off of said property while skimming a bit off the top for yourself. You can also invest in your own property, bolstering its profit potential at a cost, buy and sell property with other players, and partake in a variety of other financial strategies. Factor in different strategies around where you buy property and which property is geographically more likely to turn a profit (for instance, properties near the bank have a higher chance of being hit by other players, etc.) and you have a lot to think about, definitely more than in your standard game of Monopoly.
There is an easy mode that streamlines the entire game by eliminating the stock option and while the game is still more complicated than the average board game it is still a lot easier than the game on normal difficulty. Easy mode is perfect for beginner players that need to get the hang of things or for people who just don’t have the time or energy to be bogged down by all the additional rules that the stock option gives you. To keep things fun the game also has fun squares that are some what random and have players do multiple things such as go to a carnival and play Mario Party style mini games, which do not last very long for those that do not enjoy that kind of thing. There are other squares that let you play a Super Mario Bros 3 card game of chance, transportation squares and other odd things and while that can be a lot to take in or simply makes no sense in a board game it proves that Fortune street could be nothing other than a video game.
The online game play is rather smooth and really has no issues, which is a nice change of pace and while there is no way to chat with the people you play against it really does not matter all that much. One main draw back to the game aside from the complicated rules is that it can take a long time to play an average game (roughly 2-3 hours) with the odd game lasting upwards of 5 hours or more as it can be very difficult to win or lose in the game. The game itself has a rather dry personality and in order to unlock all the boards and Mario based content you have to play through the campaign mode which can take a lot of time to complete and while it adds a little to the game it does not add that much over all. The average player will no doubt not like this game too much but the more hard core player will no doubt enjoy a Monopoly on steroids game that really makes you think about each move you want to take in order to cash in the most.
All in all this is still a great game and I do recommend it for those that really enjoy a board game that is not just lengthy but really makes you think and focus. I give it a 7/10.
Nova out!
Shinobi 3DS Review
Jan 25th
Shinobi (3DS)
Developer: Griptonite Games
Publisher: SEGA
Released: November 15, 2011
MSRP: $39.99
I would like to start things off by saying that this game is not a cake walk and if you want to play this game simply to be a cool ninja in 3D you are going to be frustrated. That being said if you love a game with a challenge then you are going to really enjoy this game as it can even be difficult on the beginner level setting. The levels in the game are not long however they can still take half an hour to complete solely due to the challenge of the game as a whole. A nice thing about the beginner level is that you get better check points, take less damage and half unlimited lives while harder difficulties have finite lives and continues and if you waste them then you start at the very beginning of the game.
The gameplay is still the same from previous Shinobi titles at its core it is a 2D sidescroller with the focus on fighting and and precise platforming and your hero Jiro Musashi has at his disposal the double jump, wall jump and a small selection of melee and ranged attacks to accomplish things in the game. The game definitely rewards a player that has patience during combat as the way to win a fight is to try to predict the enemy’s attack then counter when their defense is down, which in turn builds your combo meter and gives you the feeling of being a bad ass ninja.
Platforming takes a back seat to the combat of the game in the sense that it just doesn’t occur as often as the combat scenarios, which while this is not a bad thing at the same time it isn’t that big of a deal. The controls were not a problem for platforming however sudden pitfalls and spikes hidden from view did cause a few cheap deaths in the game which could have been solved by simply having a more zoomed out camera during those scenarios.
The story is some what difficult to follow but honestly that isn’t anything different from the previous games and any fan of the series is able to piece the story together well enough to enjoy it. The developers knew the story was not the main point and that the gameplay is where it counts and they did a great job and to top it off they through in a bunch of bonus content including achievements. The rewards differ from minor things such as additional outfits or weapons to major things such as boss rush modes and other challenges that really test your skill; the amount you see depends on how much effort and time you put into the game over all.
All in all the game is a lot of fun and has a lot of cool old school elements and gives you a ton of things to do with very impressive gameplay. As I mentioned before this game is for people who enjoy a challenge and don’t care too much for a cohesive story and any other player should look elsewhere. I give the game an 8/10 and a nice title to add to the 3DS.
Nova out!
Microsoft denies security issues with xbox live
Jan 17th
Despite the growing number of reports Microsoft is denying any issues with security and claiming that any problems users are having are not unique to the 360, which is really the “hey look over that way!” defense.
As quoted by a Microsoft representative “… Online fraud and identity theft are industry-wide problems, and as such people using any online services should set strong passwords, not share those passwords across multiple services and refrain from sharing any personal details that could leave them vulnerable.”
Microsoft has been able to confirm that there have been no breach of security of their online users and that they say the security and safety of their users is the upmost importance.
What I find rather surprising is how quickly Microsoft is to blame the victims as if to say they are all newbies that fall for phishing scams in an attempt to gain their info. While phishing scams are a problem the most recent reports are coming from people who are not confused newbies and it appears there are more security issue reports from xbox live this month than when the PSN had its problems and that to me does not say “industry wide” as Microsoft has put it.
If it turns out that Microsoft actually knows something is up and is just covering it up I am certain that not only will it get uncovered but when it does there is going to be a shit storm so massive it will dwarf the nightmare that was the PSN fiasco.
Nova out!
Amy review
Jan 17th
Amy is another adventure game type in which you are charged with caring for a small child while you progress through the game uncovering strange events. The concept of Amy seemed like a rather solid game at least on paper however that is really where it stops as the game just fails on all fronts with a rather confusing story and incredibly brutal game play.
Several chapters into the game you are still attempting to figure out what is going on around you but since the game play is poorly done you don’t exactly want to attempt to finish the game. In the game you play as Lana a woman in charge of a little girl Amy and while on a train an explosion sends the train off the rails and you must figure out what is going on. Lana is unable to survive long if poisoned and while Amy is capable of healing Lana by holding her hand the action becomes so monotonous that this one neat thing about the game becomes one you end up hating. The combat is entirely unfair as you are basically hoping for luck to be on your side, the puzzle solving is frustrating and the check point system is just a cruel joke. The check point system would not have been so bad if you were not dying constantly just trying to figure out what you needed to do in order to progress to the next part of the game.
All in all this game fails at all fronts and while it is only a downloadable that costs 10 dollars you are better off just randomly selecting a game to spend 10 dollars on as this one annoy and frustrate you to the point you’d sooner toss yourconsole out the window than finish this game. I give this a pitiful 2/10 and do not recommend you play this game at all.
Nova out!
Soulcalibur V Preview
Jan 9th
Here is yet the latest instalment the franchise with this game taking place 17 years after the events of Soulcalibur IV with new and returning characters that will battle in an epic showdown of good versus evil. The story of Patroklos the son of Sophitia unfolds as his family’s destiny intertwines with the soul swords. The game also boasts some new features the most note worthy being the increased speed, which has made game play far more balanced and has made each character more available for players of all skill levels. For the tactical player the quick step will come in handy as it will allow you when timed right to appear behind the opponent and deliver some nasty combo attacks. There are suppose to be around 30 playable characters, which means plenty of variety and plenty of different mini stories to follow as you playthrough the game. One thing to note is Ivy has once again gotten an over haul and this time around she is actually easier to use but is by no means any less of a badass character so for those Ivy fans out there you need not worry that she has been ruined by this change. The game is set to be released in March 2012 so it isn’t too terribly long of a wait to get back into the world of Soulcalibur.
Nova out!
Halo 4 Preview
Jan 9th
So far all that we have seen is a teaser trailer that shows the ship Master Chief was on at the end of Halo 3 exploding and Cortana waking up Master Chief so they can escape. He makes his way to the outside of the ship picking up a new gun along the way that looks like a mini grenade launcher type of a weapon and it looks like the ship is being attacked and pulled in by some kind of large ship.
Halo 4 marks a new trilogy in the series and will be out by holiday time 2012 so yes we have a bit of a wait but hey it’ll be worth it.
Nova out!
SWTOR’s first major patch
Jan 9th
Well it looks like Bioware will be releasing its first major patch for The Old Republic bringing some fresh content and official support for anti-aliasing options. Aside from AA support, Swoahtor is soon to get four brand new bosses in Operation: Karagga’s Palace, as well as a new level 50 Flashpoint mission, Kaon Under Siege.
There are going to be some fixes as well along with some changes to improve some class abilities and the companion droids will finally be silent rather than repeating the same lines over and over during combat. Currently the patch has hit test servers so hopefully it will hit the live servers soon as the update seems packed with lots of goodies.
Below is a list of the patch notes courtesy of destructoid.
General
- Anti-aliasing is now available and can be enabled in the preferences menu.
Classes and Combat
General
- Healing caused by crowd control abilities no longer generates threat.
- Tooltips for abilities modified by skill points now display correct damage values.
Guard
- This ability now transfers to a new friendly target without requiring deactivation on the previous target.
- Activating this ability while targeting a guarded or invalid target will still toggle the Guard ability off.
- A distinct visual effect is now present on characters using Guard on another character, and another effect is now present on the guarded character if they leave Guard’s range.
Taunt
- A new visual effect has been added to the user and the target of the Taunt ability for the duration of its effect.
Jedi Consular
- Project: This ability no longer shakes the screen of onlookers.
Shadow
- Battle Readiness: Now allows Combat Technique to trigger once every 3 seconds.
- Combat Technique: Healing received through Combat Technique has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.
- Slow Time: This ability’s damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.
Jedi Knight
- Force Leap: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.
Sith Inquisitor
Assassin
- Dark Charge: Healing received through Dark Charge has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.
- Overcharge Saber: Now allows Dark Charge to trigger once every 3 seconds.
- Wither: Damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.
Sith Warrior
- Intercede: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.
- Shatter: this ability’s tooltip now correctly reflects its damage; damage from this ability has not been adjusted.
Imperial Agent
Bug Fixes
- Corrected an issue where activating cover, using Explosive Probe, and then using Snipe could cause Snipe to be interrupted.
Bounty Hunter
General
- Incendiary Missile: This ability is no longer misclassified as an Area of Effect ability.
Companion Characters
General
- C2-N2 and 2V-R8 no longer vocalize crafting commentary during combat.
- The Carbonized Stream companion ability no longer breaks prematurely.
Companions
Kira Carsen
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be unable to progress in Kira’s affection conversations. Players previously affected by this issue can now speak to Kira and progress normally.
Bug Fixes
- Companions will now sell trash items when requested, regardless of group size.
- Companion healing abilities no longer apply a permanent green effect on the character.
- Fixed an issue that caused Companion Characters to sometimes have the incorrect appearance in cinematics.
Crew Skills
Bug Fixes
- Corrected an issue that prevented recently completed Crew Skill missions from showing up in the next list of available missions.
- Fixed a bug that could cause Crew Skills a character didn’t have to appear in the Crew Skills window.
- Players can no longer loot harvesting nodes they do not have the appropriate Crew Skill for after a group member harvests (but does not loot) a node.
Flashpoints and Operations
General
- A new level 50 Flashpoint, Kaon Under Siege, is now available for play in Normal and Hard Modes!
- The Gav Daragon and the Ziost Shadow have been expanded to accommodate the Kaon Under Siege gateway.
- The difficulty of some non-boss enemies in Flashpoints has been adjusted.
- Enemies now drop credits more frequently in Flashpoints.
Flashpoints
Cademimu
- General Ortol’s rocket fire damage no longer occurs when the rocket is not active.
The Black Talon
- Some enemies in this Flashpoint are no longer invisible.
The Foundry
- Corrected an issue that could cause the final boss to become stuck at 10% health.
The Battle of Ilum
- Krel Thak’s Allied Weequay Pirates have had their toughness reduced in Hard Mode.
The False Emperor
- The Sith Entity’s affliction ability now properly deals damage in Hard Mode.
- HK-47 now has the correct amount of health in Normal Mode.
Operations
Eternity Vault
- Players are now able to successfully loot the chest after defeating the Infernal Council.
- Perimeter Defense Cannons have been re-tuned and have improved targeting behaviors.
- Soa’s Mind Trap and Force Throw abilities no longer target the same player multiple times; they now target every player in the group once.
- Ball lightning enemies summoned by Soa deal damage in a smaller radius.
- The Annihilation Droid’s rocket burst attack no longer deals double damage in 16-player Operations.
- Soa now summons fewer ball lightning enemies during the final round in 16-player Operations.
Karagga’s Palace
- Four new bosses can now be battled by players in Karagga’s Palace!
- Players no longer get stuck attempting to exit the Karagga’s Palace phase.
Bug Fixes
Flashpoints
- Corrected an issue that prevented some enemy NPCs from spawning in Flashpoints.
- The correct error message now displays when a player attempts to enter a different Flashpoint than the rest of the group.
- Flashpoint gateways no longer display as orange in incorrect circumstances.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Flashpoint difficulty from being set properly.
- Fixed an issue that caused mapnotes directing players to some Flashpoints to not appear correctly.
- Corrected map issues that made locating mission objectives on the Gav Daragon difficult.
- Fixed an issue preventing some players from opening a chest after a boss fight if the group was previously defeated by the boss.
Items
General
- An Item Modification Table has been added to the Supplies areas of the Republic and Imperial Fleets.
PvP
- Battlemaster Gear Tokens have been converted into Battlemaster Commendations, which can be used to purchase any Battlemaster gear. This allows players to purchase any piece of gear instead of requiring them to purchase the piece indicated by the token.
- Battlemaster Bags now contain Battlemaster Commendations instead of Battlemaster Gear Tokens. They still also contain Champion Commendations.
Missions and NPCs
General
- All Bonus Series missions and their required missions can now be abandoned.
- Certain Wampas on Hoth that were preying on lower-level characters have had their level reduced.
Missions
Imperial
- Pressure Points: The Lerantha Lurker no longer engages players in combat before completing its spawn sequence.
- Geroya be Haran: Objectives related to this mission now glow when selected.
- In Cold Blood: Enemies that use Armor Piercing Cell during this mission no longer each stack a debuff on the player.
- Shadow Spawn: The Sith Spawn no longer knocks players down for longer than intended.
- Thuggish Behavior: Corrected an issue that could cause the player to remain stuck in combat during this mission. The required kills to complete this mission have been reduced.
Republic
- Climbing the Ladder: A conversation related to this mission no longer ends prematurely.
- Droid Clean Up: Corrected an issue that caused the bonus mission to persist in the player’s mission log.
- The Summit: The difficulty of the encounter with Sidone has been reduced.
- Vivicar Awaits: Lowered the amount of enemies that attack the player during the step “Find a Way Past the Force Field.”
NPCs
Bug Fixes
- Jilcoln Cadera’s abilities now correctly take into account whether a player is immune from knockbacks.
- The “Primal Destroyer” World Boss on Belsavis is now “Overwhelming” as intended.
- The World Boss “The First” on Dromund Kaas no longer inhibits Bounty Hunter’s Rapid Shots, and Imperial Agents will no longer be knocked out of cover during combat with it.
PvP
General
- The shuttle room in Dorn Base Command Center on Hoth is no longer considered contested territory.
- Ka on Voss is now a PvP Sanctuary.
Warzones
- Level 50 players now participate in their own Warzone bracket and will not be matched with lower-level players.
Ilum
- The daily and weekly mission objectives in Ilum now require defeating enemy players and/or collecting armaments from the center objective.
- Players now gain increased Valor from player kills in Ilum.
- Players now gain increased bonus Valor for kills based on the number of objectives controlled by their faction.
- Increased bonus Valor is now granted for player kills when defending an objective your faction owns.
- A notification is now displayed when a player gains Valor.
- Three new respawn points have been added for each faction.
- Companions are now restricted from the PvP objective area on Ilum.
- Notifications are now displayed when enemy players are close to an objective.
Bug Fixes
General
- The scoreboard value for “Highest Protection Per Single Life” now functions correctly.
- Players who have left a Warzone can no longer receive an MVP vote from teammates.
- Your PvP status will now be toggled automatically upon leaving a PvP region.
- Additional feedback is now provided when a player attempts to toggle their PvP flag.
- The Bolster tooltip now more accurately represents the buff’s effects.
Huttball
- Corrected a rare issue that could cause the Frogdogs to be declared the winner in a 0-0 match even if the Rotworms held the ball last.
Ilum
- Mountable turrets in Ilum no longer deal damage to targets behind them or outside their range.
- Turrets no longer immediately dismount the player after use.
UI
Maps
- Fixed a bug that prevented the minimap title from displaying when loading into the game or refreshing the UI.
- Corrected an issue that caused some mapnotes to disappear from the minimap when other mapnotes were updated.
Items
- Item hyperlinks now display stats for crafted research items properly.
- Item hyperlinks no longer display erroneous additional information relating to schematics when examined.
- Attempting to place a non-mission item into the mission inventory now displays an error message.
- Dragging equipment onto the character paper doll no longer prompts an item deletion notice. Items dragged to the paper doll are now equipped if possible.
- Item set bonuses now appear on the tooltip when viewing an item on a vendor.
- Items that can be modified now display with the correct loot color in the loot roll window.
- Comparative tooltips now correctly display stat differences when mousing over items in the Crew Skills window.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed the tooltip display for ability cooldowns over one hour in length.
- The interface for splitting stacks of items now displays correctly.
- Servers that are online now always display on top of servers that are offline in the Server Select screen.
- Corrected a typographical error in the “Additional Commands” context menu option.
- Players nearby a player who achieves a new Legacy level no longer receive the Legacy level-up notification.
- Legacy name display preferences now persist when travelling between planets.
- A new confirmation dialogue now appears when submitting spam reports in game.
- Sorting now works correctly in the Guilds tab.
Miscellaneous Bug Fixes
- The owner of a holocall conversation is no longer shown in the last frame of the cinematic.
- The spacebar button is now recognized when a player presses it to progress after a loading screen even if the spacebar button has been re-bound.
- Additional issues that could impact performance on Taris have been addressed.
- Vanity pets can no longer be considered targets for any abilities.
- Corrected an issue that could cause some preferences to reset to defaults upon area transitions.
- An Aim Datacron on Ilum is now accessible and no longer repeats its initial cinematic once used.
- A Datacron on Coruscant is no longer blocked by unintentional collision.
Nova out!
