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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: High Moon Studios
Publisher: Activision
Released: Fall 2012

To start things off it looks like High Moon listened to the fans and made the stages much bigger for Fall of Cybertron as compared to the stages from War for Cybertron. They made the stages as big as they possibly could using the Unreal engine so lets hope the fans will think the levels are big enough but really I don’t think there is going to be too many complaints on that this time around. The hands off demo showed Vortex zip around the stage as a helicopter or jet and the transformation was seamless between them along with going from air/missile to ground/melee fighting. The next part of the demo shows Bruticus bashing his way through enemies and that made me really want to play since he looked like a blast to be able to control. Afterwards it shows in contrast Jazz in a sniper like role but unlike typical sniper situations this one has Jazz under constant pressure from all sides meaning he has to keep moving in order to do his job and to help him he has a grapple hook to zip from place to place.

The demo moves over to Optimus Prime who now has the Matrix of leadership and is able to use it to send orders to Metroplex and this part of the demo is just beautiful. In the foreground you have Optimus kicking ass and beating down Decepticons while he orders Metroplex to send missile barrages and devastating melee attacks to enemies in the background. Finally the demo ends with showing Dinobot leader Grimlock who while not being massive in size like Metroplex and Bruticus is huge in his own way. Grimlock is all about power and melee attacks as he starts out with sword and shield and once his rage meter is full he is able to transform into a dinosaur and he will smash and crush his way through anything that gets in front of him then breathe fire on it to make sure it is dead.

The demos show the improvements that High Moon has made to this sequel and they really did a good job on that; for starters they put in story segments that give you a break from the fighting and have also done away with the dual campaign for this game. Now players can start out a storyline controlling one character and seamlessly switch with no transition to tell you that the switch is occurring. As an example of this one part shows Starscream spying on a scene with Grimlock being held captive then after some time the player is suddenly controlling Grimlock.

High Moon has really outdone themselves and has given us a game to really look forward to with a lot of major improvements from War of Cybertron. I’m looking forward to this game and seeing all these demos has made me want to play it even more.

Nova out!

It looks like a list of Mass Effect 3 downloadable content was accidentally released onto the Xbox Live marketplace and while it has since been pulled down by the powers that be there was still enough info given to get an idea as to what it is all about. If you are not looking to see any spoilers then I suggest you just ignore this story and go about your merry way but for the rest of you then read on. The title of the DLC is “From Ashes” and it would seem that you will dig up something from the past and find out some things and possibly unlock a new character. There is a possibility that the DLC may come free with new games just like Zaeed was in Mass Effect 2 but that has not been confirmed so only time will tell on that one once it has been officially released. For those who are interested in seeing what the mystery character is that you will be getting then head on over to the link at the bottom where IGN has posted info about the character and what they look like.

Mass Effect 3 DLC leak (IGN)

Nova out!

It looks like the most popular selling app was a Pokemon one and it turns out that app was just a fake one made by a guy who was just out to get your money and it really worked. The app which was named Pokemon labelled was uploaded by Daniel Burford of Home of Anime late last week. He was also responsible for uploading a Digimon and YuGioh+ game, which were also fakes that would simply just crash upon opening. Apple has removed all three games from the App store and is allowing those who purchased the apps to get their money back via a refund through their transaction history. The apps only cost 99 cents so some may feel the hassle is not worth it but really it is more a matter of principle and this is also a good example of buyer beware and to be very cautious of what you buy on the app store. While Apple is pretty good about making sure most of their apps are safe some do slip through the cracks as there are over half a million apps and it really does show you that when you look at apps check things out especially the reviews as the reviews right off the bat told you the game just crashed and it was a scam of sorts.

Nova out!

It is rumoured that the new Xbox console is going to have a touch screen controller which will have an HD touch screen surrounded by the buttons. According to Xbox magazine it will act as your standard controller during game play with the possibility of extra in game info available on the screen; offline it will be a web browser and the controller will act as a portable screen when you want to take the game with you. The report goes on to say that the console will heavily integrate Kinect. It predicts the new console as “a matte-black media hub with a mission to bring games to life in your living room with augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player, finger-tracking Kinect.”

Now this new controller certainly sounds familiar as it sounds exactly like the Wii U and its tablet like controller but as mentioned this is a rumor and only time will tell if this is actually the case. Honestly though it wouldn’t be so bad as the tablet like controller is a really cool idea and can have a lot of advantages compared to traditional controllers.

Nova out!

One of the early missions of the game takes Shepard and company to Mars to investigate why there was a loss of communication at a Martian base. Bioware does a great job of really showing off an impressive landscape on the red planet, which is really no surprise and as for the RPG elements they return in full force for ME3. Upon leveling up you can improve many stats and weapons are upgradable as well using parts which you graft to the weapon at work benches. There is also the option for quick battle orders by allowing you to put one ability per team mate in a quick action button using the d-pad as well so there will not be any need to go into a menu to make your guys do what you need when you need it done.

The small amount of story that the demo shows really plays well with the previous titles but is also good for those who did not play the other games as history is shown between the characters but without feeling forced. Strategy becomes more apparent as you progress through the level making you use your teammates in coordinated attacks in order to take out enemies without a large amount of trouble. Combat seems to be more streamlined from previous titles and that is a really nice fix as the combat in the first two games while not bad were still somewhat lacking.

The story is really engaging which is really not a surprise and this will bring a close to the trilogy and honestly after being able to check out the demo I can’t wait to see the full game and thankfully it isn’t too far off now. The release date will be March 6th, 2012 so just a few more weeks.

Nova out!

To start things off I would like to mention that while I am a big fan of the Final Fantasy series I was not that big of a fan of Final Fantasy 13 however but there were not that many fans of that one. Final Fantasy 13 had a lot of flaws to it but Square Enix was able to redeem themselves with the sequel to 13. The sequel took the good elements of 13 and then added elements that were missing from it while also giving a few extras as a fun little bonus.

The biggest problem that the first game had was the fact you could not choose where to go and who to have in your party until the very end and by that point it was just constant level grinding. In FF 13-2 levelling is far easier and the story allowed you to actually do side quests throughout the whole thing while derailing from the main story at any point you wanted to but every side quest added to the over all story making it all that much better.

The main story is very well done and not at all what I was expecting from a sequel since the first sequel Square Enix did for Final Fantasy (X-2) ended up being a game geared more towards getting girl gamers rather than a legit sequel. The player takes control of Serah (Lightning’s sister) and a young man from the future by the name of Noel who go on an adventure to fix the strange time paradoxes that keep appearing throughout the world in order to restore the timeline and bring Lightning back home. A really cool feature is the ability to tame and use monsters in battle, which really adds some cool customization to the fight teams and to level the monsters you use special items so you will be doing a little bit of farming to get your best team to max level. The game also offers a feature to rename and even adorn your monster just to add a personal touch to those you tame. Since you are able to control monsters they did away with the summoning option but honestly I did not like the summoning feature in the first game so this is not really a loss to me.

The battle system is exactly the same so if you played the first game you will have a good grasp of how to do battle and for those who are having trouble the game even offers an easy mode that makes battles a good deal easier to do but when you play in that mode you do not get as many item drops. Square Enix also did away with levelling your weapons allowing you to focus on other aspects instead and as I mentioned levelling in general is a lot easier and you get instant customization right from the start allowing you to pick which of the 6 roles you want to level first. Each character of course having a preferred role set to follow and each role is able to reach level 99 thus allowing you to be powerful but not too over powered. The monsters on your team each have one specific role and they also have their own personality, level cap and abilities giving you a lot of options to form a solid team. Pick your monsters wisely though as you can only have 3 of them equipped to your paradigms and since each monster has a different level cap starting from early peaker (level 20) to well grown (level 40) and ending with late bloomer (towards the 80′s) you will be making alterations to your team as you progress.

One of my favorite things about the game has to be Mog as I am a huge fan of Final Fantasy 6 and the moogles I was pumped to see Mog come back and not be just a secondary character like the moogles have been in previous titles since 6. Mog was definitely added to not just be a sweet weapon but also be the comic relief in the game and he pulls that off perfectly. Over all Square Enix really did a damn good job of making the sequel a worth while game with a ton of things to do and a lot of replay potential as well. The story is amazing, the battle system is great, side quests are plentiful and character development takes a major turn for the better making everything about this game great.

Fans of the series will enjoy this game and those who are not fans will still have fun with it and as long as Square Enix keeps this up I am looking forward to their next one. I give this a solid 9/10.

Nova out!

Just when we thought names for game systems couldn’t get any worse, Nintendo hit us with the name “Wii U” last year. It somehow managed to be even worse than “Wii,” and many quickly pointed to how the name could potentially confuse consumers. Shoppers could see the familiar white box with blue text and logos, and white console, and pass on what they think they already have at home.

CVG says that sources “close to the platform holder” have suggested that Nintendo is considering changing the name of their next console before E3 comes around. They say that discussions are going on at the highest level right now, and that they could be moving to avoid some of the public confusion they saw with the 3DS. They say that a name change is a real possibility, and that Nintendo is keen not to repeat the same naming mistakes with this next console.

Personally I think they should name the thing the Nintendo Revolution since that was the rumored name of the original Wii but that is just me.

Nova out!

For those gamers out there that pick up a copy of Dragon’s Dogma for 360 or PS3 will gain access to a code that will allow them to play a demo of Resident Evil 6. The catch however is that those who pick up the 360 copy will get access to the demo a full 2 months before those who pick up a PS3 copy. The reason for this as stated by Capcom is simply a business one and they stand by their decision but other than that will not say anything else about it. I can tell you right now for sure that Dragon’s Dogma is going to sell a lot more 360 copies since most fans are not going to want to wait an extra 2 months to try out the demo. The demo will be available on July 3rd via Xbox live and September 4th via PSN so for those of you who only own a PS3 I guess you will just have to wait it out a little bit longer.

Nova out!

Set to release at some point in 2012 for xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Welcome to the city of Columbia. Floating amongst the clouds, cruising far above sea level, this is a place unlike any you’ve ever seen. Please enjoy your voyage…

The third game in the popular Bioshock series, BioShock Infinite breaks away from the underwater setting of the first two games to take players into a floating city held aloft by dirigibles. The game is set in 1912. You play as Booker DeWitt, a disgraced former private detective who’s picked up a new case. Your goal is to find Elizabeth, a young woman who’s gone missing and return her unharmed. The only problem is that she’s being kept on this flying city. Columbia was once a symbol of America’s success as a nation, floating around the world as a traveling World’s Fair, a marvel of human innovation. But strange things have happened since Columbia’s unveiling in 1900, and now the city has disappeared into the clouds. DeWitt knows how to find it, but over the years stories have been told about Columbia having unlawful heavy armament and deranged citizenry. Do not expect this to be a pleasure cruise.

Nova out!