On this week’s podcast we take a look at the new Star Wars comic series The Old Republic along with two games, Voltron: Defender of the Universe and Rochard.
Based on the upcoming BioWare game of the same name, The Old Republic is a new comic series set years before the films we are familiar with. Andrew got a chance to read through Volume 1 – Blood of the Empire and is here to give us his take on the series. You can preview the series at the official DarkHorse site.
Voltron: Defender of the Universe (10:32 – 27:41)
Developed by Behavior Interactive, Voltronis a new downloadable game based on the 1980′s animated series. This twin stick shooter allows you to take control one of the five Voltron lions allowing you to shoot and pounce on your targets. We looked at the game on the Xbox 360 but it is also available on the PS3.
Rochard (27:55 – 35:56)
We also have a new side scrolling platformer game called Rochard. Developed by Recoil Games, this game hands you a gravity gun and sends you on your merry way to solve numerous puzzles. The game is available on Steam and the PS3. At the time of our recording there wasn’t a demo available but there is one now posted over in the Steam store.
Rockstar Games had a booth at last weekend’s New York Comic Con to showcase two of their upcoming releases, Max Payne 3 and the 10th anniversary release of Grand Theft Auto 3.
Grand Theft Auto 3 – Anniversary Edition
Today marks the ten year anniversary of the release of Grand Theft Auto 3. A game that not only completely changed that particular franchaise but set the template for dozen of other games to come. To celebrate Rockstar Games is preparing an anniversary addition of the game for release on a number of different mobile devices. I got a chance to get some hands on with the game on an iPad 2 last weekend at New York Comic Con.
First off the game is exactly as you remember it – in a good way. The game is identical to to the original with some extra polish to clean it up a little. I was immediately hit with all kinds of warm and fuzzy nostalgia as I grabbed my first baseball bat and began smacking the hell out of people. The game uses the same approach as a lot of iPhone/iPad games by using the left & right on screen sticks to move you and your camera around. If you’re familiar with this layout then moving around and driving will come pretty naturally. There are buttons on the right side of the screen to tap in order to get in a car, draw your weapon and jumping. The demo was still a work in progress as some functionality, like being able to view the full size map, was unavailable, but will be in the final version.
The game doesn’t have an official release date yet but is scheduled for to hit the street later this fall. Here’s a list of the currently supported devices:
Apple iOS Devices: iPad 2, iPhone 4S Android Phones: Droid X2, HTC Evo 2, LG Optimus 2X, Motorola Atrix, Samsung Galaxy S2 Android Tablets: Acer Iconia, Asus Eee Pad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
There aren’t currently any plans yet to do similar releases for Vice City or San Andreas but I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Max Payne 3
I also got a chance to sit in on a walk through demo for the upcoming Max Payne 3. It’s been eight (?!) years since the release of Max Payne 2 and while a lot from the previous games are in tact, the game looks to have advanced nicely into the modern era. The game’s locales are split between New York and Brazil which gives two very distinct looks and identities while the character animations are fluid and look fantastic. Now like many games lately they’ve now included a cover mechanic. However, they have designed the game so that you aren’t relying on cover constantly but only use it when you need it, for example when reloading. Their design is to allow the player charge in with guns blazing rather than hiding behind a rock.
The original Max Payne was known for it’s bullet time mechanic and they’ve kept that for the third game. The bullet time has been refined to allow you to control the camera and watch where your shots are headed. One other element that I liked was the inclusion of destructible environments. There were some great instances in the demo of blowing things up and taking out all of the enemies in an area.
As a fan of the original games, I’m looking forward to the release of this third game and to see where the franchise is headed. The game does not have an official release date yet but is scheduled for early 2012.
We’ve got a pair of games on this week’s podcast. First up, L.A. Noire, the latest release from Rockstar Games. The second a downloadable game published by Electronic Arts, Gatling Gears.
Set in 1940′s Los Angeles, L.A. Noire sees you take the role of Cole Phelps, a cop looking to rise up in the police force. The gameplay involves questioning suspects and looking for clues in order to solve and close your cases. The game is available on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
Gatling Gears (19:48 – 31:54)
Gatling Gears is a top down shooter that sees you riding around in a mech and shooting everything that moves and making things go boom. The game is developed by Vanguard Entertainment and published by EA. It is currently available on the Xbox Live Arcade and is scheduled for release on the PlayStation Network and for Windows.
On this week’s podcast we review the new first person shooter Homefront and we also talk about the movie Hereafter which was just released on Blu-ray and DVD.
Homefront takes place in 2027 when Korea has become a world super power and has invaded the United States. The first person shooter was developed by Kaos Studios and is available for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows.
Hereafter (11:37 – 31:52)
The plot of Hereafter revolves around three different threads. One sees Matt Damon as a former psychic was is able to communicate with the dead while the other two involve a young boy whose twin brother has recently died and a French woman (Cécile de France) who has had a near death experience. The Clint Eastwood directed film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 15, 2011.
Misc Xbox Indie and Live Arcade games (32:02 – 37:31)
We wrap the show up by looking at a few demos and indie games we’ve had the chance to check out recently including Wizard’s Keep, Bird Assassin and You Don’t Know Jack.
The Old Republic - Voltron - Rochard - Ep 149 - Carry the One [ 38:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
