EA announced yet another entry in their Battlefield series yesterday when they revealed Battlefield Play4Free, a free to play game in the same vein as Battlefield Heroes. Unlike Battlefield Heroes though, Battlefield Play4Free appears to be a much more ‘realistic’ shooter, in terms of both art design and tone. READ MORE
Shawn Vermette
Continuing in their efforts to help DS owners with train their brains or learn new skills, Nintendo has now re-released Art Academy for the DS. Having previously released it as a two part DSiWare download, Nintendo apparently decided it was worth releasing to the greater DS owner population. After having fiddled around with it for awhile, I have to say that it is definitely worth a look if you are into art.
Art Academy takes the approach of teaching you step by step the basics of how to draw and paint, from the basics of drawing circles and trees to painting full still-life images with nothing but your DS and a stylus. Along the way, you’ll learn a lot of real life lessons regarding drawing and painting techniques and composition. Even if you’re already a fair hand at drawing or painting, you may learn a little something from these very thorough lessons.
I’ve never been what you would call a good artist…heck, I can barely draw stick figures. Despite that, I learned more from this title than I ever did in art classes in school. My pictures still suck, but they suck correctly now.
The top of the touch screen is basically your tool tray. Every pencil, paintbrush, eraser, you’ll need for the techniques you’ll learn will be there. Even a magnifying glass for adding finer detail to your drawings will be there. You are given three different pencils and six different brushes, and how you rub the screen changes how each of them are used. Faster and quicker movement lends itself to a different style than slower more precise movement, as it should. Additionally, you are given a palette of 10 colors that can be mixed with each other to create more colors however you see fit.
If you have a DSi, there’s no point in buying this. You can get it for cheaper via the DSi Shop. However, if you have an older DS model and you enjoy art, this is definitely a worthwhile pickup- if only for the real techniques and composition lessons you’ll receive.
Pros: Real life techniques; Some art history lessons sprinkled throughout; Different strokes are actually different in the game; Taught me how to make better stick figures
Cons: More expensive than the DSiWare version
With a slightly different take on the sport than THQ’s UFC 2010, EA Sports MMA aims to impress, and it does, for the most part.
MMA uses controls reminiscent of the control scheme used by the Fight Night series- the right stick controls the strength and direction of your strikes- with kicks, submissions and pins added. For players of the Fight Night games, the control scheme will feel very intuitive, though others may take a little while to get used to it. Overall, it is very responsive while allowing for a reasonable amount of error in the movements required for each strike.
There are 9 different fighting styles you can choose from, each with 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses. From Boxing and Wrestling to Judo and Samba, the variety of different ways to fight and win a match lends itself well to a lot of strategy and thinking during fights, especially against human opponents.
MMA is a bit short on playing modes, as the only real ways to play are the Career mode and local or online multiplayer. To make up for the relative lack of modes, EA made sure that the Career mode was fairly lengthy and satisfying. You’ll take a customized fighter into the cage and try to work your way from being a newcomer to being the ultimate MMA champion. Between fights, you’ll spend 8 weeks training, which is how you improve your skills in each area of fighting- Stand-up, Clinch, and Ground. By executing moves correctly and quickly, you’ll improve your stats faster, while eventually you’ll earn the right to pay to visit exclusive gyms that will help you learn special moves you can use for added punishment in the ring. Unfortunately, the AI is disappointing at the default difficulty. You’ll likely win most of your early fights easily and unsatisfyingly, though you can turn up the difficulty to make it more of a challenge.
The online portion of MMA is very robust. In addition to the standard ladder and ranked matches, EA added the ability to set up tournaments of all sizes. Additionally, special EA-sponsored tournaments are regularly help in which the championship bouts are broadcast on the official EA Sports MMA website, with commenting done by real MMA experts. Whether you are participating in it or just watching it, this feature adds a lot of entertainment to the multiplayer.
The graphics aren’t great, but the details are all there in replicating the look and feel of a real MMA event. From the announcing of the fighters to the cheering of the crowd, it sounds and looks like a real event.
This game doesn’t supplant UFC 2010 as the top MMA game out right now, but it is different enough that it can be enjoyed for itself by fans of the sport. It’s a great start for a new sports franchise, but it’s just that: a start.
Pros: Presentation feels like the real deal; Career mode is satisfying and lengthy; Broadcasted tournaments are fun to play in and watch
Cons: Controls can take getting used to; AI is easy to beat
NBA Elite 11 cancelled
News / by
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EA has announced that rather than keep NBA Elite 11 on an indefinite delay, they’ve decided to outright cancel it. This means that, for this year at least, 2K has an undivided audience for NBA 2K11. READ MORE
This week we weigh in on a phone, a camera, and the return of an angel-killing witch.
Current score
Andrew Passafiume: +340
Graham Russell: +109
Eric Schabel: +65
Shawn Vermette: +185
Results
PSPGo Price to drop to $200 before Thanksgiving
In a move that was long overdue, Sony finally dropped the price of the PSPGo from $250 to $200 this week, finally making it a viable alternative to the UMD-equipped PSP-3000, which remains at $170.
Andrew 90% = +40
Graham 50% = 0
Shawn 70% = +20
PlayStation Phone to be confirmed by Sony in 2010
Rumors are swirling madly this week over the long rumored PlayStation Phone, not to be confused with the also long rumored PSP2. Engadget is touting pictures of the rumored device, which appears to look similar to the PSPGo, while Sony initially stirred the rumors on by saying that the lack of a cellular connection is limiting the PSP, then follows that with a non-denial when asked about the existence of a PlayStation Phone. At this point, barring this being a massive disinformation campaign, it appears a PlayStation Phone is on the horizon…but will it be announced in what remains of 2010?
Andrew: Seeing as information about new Sony products is often leaked well before the official details are released, I would not be surprised if this were real. I don’t know if this will be the actual PSP2 or not, or just a way for Sony to try and compete with a company like Apple, but I can definitely see this happening. But with the failure of the PSPGo, it’s hard to tell if Sony is willing to risk another potential handheld failure. 65%
Graham: I can’t see them not officially announcing this project within two months of it leaking. Maybe the details will wait, as they don’t want to distract from the holiday season, but…well, that was my reasoning for doubting the price cut. Let’s go in the complete other direction today. They’ll do it! It won’t make sense, but they will! Probably! 85%
Shawn: You know, I would probably buy a PlayStation Phone if it came out…assuming it was an Android phone. Considering the wealth of information that has released this week, and the strange comments by Sony, I’d say they’re on the verge of going ahead and making it official.90%
Sega to announce Bayonetta 2 by E3 2011
Platinum Games, creators of Bayonetta, have been teasing the possibility of making a sequel to it almost as soon as it was released. So far, Platinum Games has not released a sequel to any of the games they made in conjunction with Sega, however Bayonetta sold better than any of the other games they partnered on. The desire is obviously there for Platinum Games, but is it there for Sega also?
Andrew: Bayonetta, despite a slow start in terms of sales, did do pretty decent business for Sega. I’m guessing if they are willing to get behind a sequel to The Conduit, a game that sold rather poorly on the Wii, they would definitely do a Bayonetta sequel. I’m not sure if it will be announced at E3 though; TGS seems way more likely. 60%
Graham: The deal with Platinum Games gave Sega ownership of the IP, so despite Platinum’s strict no-sequels policy, the game could happen. It’s a more successful property than the others Platinum made, and if there will be a sequel, it’d need to happen soon. People may balk at the idea of Platinum not handling the development, though. 50%
Shawn: Considering the desire of Platinum Games to make a sequel, and the fairly high sales of Bayonetta, I think the only reason Sega wouldn’t make a sequel is if they don’t have the rights to do so. Thus, I’ve got to lean heavily toward this being announced at E3, if not earlier. I mean, what else does Sega have that they can announce at E3? 75%
Kinect’s price to drop by July 2011
Microsoft’s Kinect will finally be released on November 4, at the somewhat high price of $150. Granted, this price includes the ability to play with at least 2 players, but it is still a higher price than many expected when it was first announced. We here at Snackbar Games wonder how well it will sell at that price. If it doesn’t sell well, will Microsoft react quickly to drop the price?
Andrew: This all depends on how well the Kinect sells this holiday. If it does good business for Microsoft, it might be another year before we see a price drop, but if it does only decently (or poorly) we might see it drop in price rather quickly. I can definitely see the price drop being more of a possibility than not, but it’s pretty hard to tell at this point. 60%
Graham: There are two reasons for a price drop: phenomenal success or any sort of failure. Products get cheaper when you ramp up production, and if the demand drops they’ll either want to (1) save face and move units or (2) get rid of everything and get the experiment behind them. So…Yes, this will happen. Maybe just down to $129 or so, maybe to $99. Who knows. 90%
Shawn: I hope that the Kinect vastly outsells the Move this holiday season, and not just because that’s what I predicted. I think it is a vastly superior piece of technology. On that note, I think Microsoft will be aggressive with pricing in order to increase sales or to keep the lead so I can definitely see Microsoft announcing a price drop at E3 next year. 80%
