Morning Quickies – June 10, 2010

Who’s excited for E3 next week? That’s right, all of us. Here’s some news to tide you over until the crush of info that will be E3 on June 15-17:

• (Siliconera) Square-Enix’s iPhone and iPod touch game Space Invaders Infinity Gene is officially coming to the XBLA and PSN, and here’s a video. This game is fantastic – I love it even more on my iPad; the graphics are nice enough to not look distorted even when blown up to 2x – and I can’t wait to see it brought home.
• (Eorzeapedia) Speaking of Square-Enix, here’s a video of the Final Fantasy XIV character creator, with a translator and a cheesy Mission Impossible theme. I bring this up because Eorzeapedia reports that while Square-Enix might not be holding a press conference, apparently FFXIV will be among the games shown at the conference. They have a virtual E3 booth here.
• (Game Informer) Speaking of E3, Sony confirmed the PS4 viral videos are fake. Now you know.
• (Valve) Welcome, Mac users, to the Team Fortress team. Good to have you, soldier. There was also a rumor that the Engineer update would go live with the TF2 for Mac release, but this is so far unsubstantiated.
• (Joystiq) And lastly, much to my disappointment, the new instrument in Rock Band 3 is not a keytar. It seems it’s a keyboard, USA Today revealed. Joystiq also talks a little about the "Pro Mode," designed to actually teach you how to play a real instrument, and revealed some of the songlist. "Portions for Foxes?" "Bohemian Rhapsody?" Stop making me want to buy Rock Band 3.

Fanboys: Them Folk be Crazy!

First off let me just say that at its purest form I love fanboyism. Fanboys make: midnight openings possible, communities function, and the people that make the games and movies we all love really feel special. I myself happen to be a Star Wars fan boy. Whenever someone says the ewoks come from Endor I correct them saying that “Ewoks are actually from the forest moon of Endor. The planet Endor is a gas giant.” Yet despite my huge love for Star Wars, I’d never say that Star Trek sucks because it isn’t Star Wars. So then what makes certain fanboys go out of their way to discredit a game or console just because it is in competition with what they have and enjoy?
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Lunchtime Quickies – June 2, 2010

Lunchtime quickies. Or would that be afternoon delight?

And that’s that. Now, links.

• (Game Informer) Behold, an enormous Gears of War 3 art and screen gallery. I wish I had more to say on this, but quite frankly, I’m not a Gears fan. But some of you might be! And so here’s a bunch of screenshots and art!
• (Andria Sang) Ever wanted to sling some bears? Square-Enix will be granting your wishes with their downloadable WiiWare game, Kumanage. Described by Square-Enix as a "throwing action game," the game is set in a mysterious picture book which is in turn in an old mansion, and you’ll be using the Wiimote for – wait for it – throwing paper bears. In one version it’s to collect candy; in the other, to protect a blue gem or gems. Yeah, I don’t know either. But it’s got an ESRB rating, so presumably this is coming to the US too.
• (Destructoid) Ubisoft hasn’t even gotten Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood out the door yet, and their UbiWorkshop Twitter account – which is a verified account, so yes, it’s the real deal – is already teasing what may be Assassin’s Creed 3 – or at the very least, some other AC game. Egypt? Yeah, I’d take that.
• (Broke My Controller) Capcom filed a trademark for Zombie Cafe. Again with the "yeah, I don’t know." Capcom is really fascinated with zombies! But imagine the possibilities. Jill Valentine serving up not hot lead, but delicious brain stew? Frank West covering not wars, but the bar? The possibilities are endless, my friends. Feel free to speculate in the comments.
• A late addition! (Inside MGC) A lot of achievements just seem kind of grindy. Kill 20 of X, do 20 of Y, finish all of Z. Crackdown 2 isn’t an exception – it certainly has its share of grindy achievements – but some of these are just fantastic. "In Plain Sight" and "The Closer?" Someone’s a USA fan. "Co-op Keepy-Up: Pass a vehicle back and forth between Agents 3x using UV shotguns. Vehicle must not hit the ground." Sounds like vehicle volleyball! My personal favorite, though? "Yippee-Kai-Yay: Drive an Agency SUV into an airborne helicopter."

Ep 27: Warriors of the Snake

Or should that be “Union of the Snake”? Ok, maybe not. Well, welcome back to Polygamerous! We slither our way through this episode in the usual way. Stopping at all of our normal haunts. This week in Gaming, New Releases, Rumor Mill, etc. Russell has some AWESOME deals this week, so pay close attention to his 5 deals in 5 minutes section. We also have a good bit of discussion, well, more like a bit of a review on Modnation Racers. So, listen up, because we are definitely “on the rise”.

Don’t forget to email us your questions, comments and reviews to info@polygamerous.com OR call in to our voicemail at 407-584-POLY (7659)

 Ep 27: Warriors of the Snake [121:33m]: Play Now | Download

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Listener Review – Real Racing (iPhone)

by Gareth (Gazimoff)

After producing one of the first path tracing games on the iPhone in the form of Flight Control, no-one was expecting Firemint’s second outing on the platform to be as advanced as Real Racing. In an attempt to bring the feel of games like Sega Rally and the like to the handheld, the developers have really pushed the boat out on this title.

There’s certainly plenty of content to get stuck into with Real Racing. The guts of the game are in Career mode, where leagues, tracks and new cars are unlocked. A quick race option is also included if you want to try out a single car or track. Time trials are there for practicing circuits and racing against the clock. There are even a few online play options available, either racing head-to-head over wi-fi or taking part in online leagues. This all adds up to a huge mix of racing options, but there’s also plenty of content to try out the different game styles with. 48 different cars have been included, split up into 4 classes ranging from hot hatchbacks to exotic sports cars.

There are also three different racing divisions to work through, each of them increasing the challenge the AI drivers put up. Racing is spread over 12 different courses, with most being the classic racetrack style rather than street racing – think NASCAR more than Project Gotham. While the tracks themselves are well presented, it’s quickly clear from the lack of rich textures or anti-aliasing that this is an iPhone game. While your opponents on the track also drive reasonably well you’re only going to face five of them at a time, making those moments of battling through a pack of drivers fairly rare as well as brief. There’s no benefit from having the souped up iPhone 3GS either, with performance and looks being almost identical on both variants. That said, the action is smooth, fast and well presented, and apart from minor issues is generally great to look at.

Car handling can be a little tricky at first, especially with the default control settings. Without changing the options, Real Racing employs an auto acceleration and braking mechanism, simplifying the controls to tilting the handset in order to steer. While this is great for getting started, it’s unlikely to win you any races – to do that you’ll need to fiddle with the control mechanisms and auto-braking level to find something that suits you. There are also several varieties of manual control should you prefer it. The absence of some kind of introductory or set-up race explaining these features can cause problems unless you spend time digging through the menus.

Once you get over the initial hurdle, the game is great fun to play.

The career mode is rewarding, with unlockable content coming at regular intervals to keep you interested and all progress being backed up online through Firemint’s Cloudcell service. IPod integration to access stored music is also welcome, with game sounds being played over your favorite tracks. And with a free cut-down version available sponsored by Volkswagen, it’s definitely worth trying out.