Sony has told Eurogamer that the entire Playstation Network will become ‘Sony Entertainment Network’ as from tomorrow, the 7th February.  Sony says it is to make it easier to associate the service to the Sony brand name and with all Sony products.

Previous PSN users will need to agree to the new Terms of Service, User Agreement and Privacy Policy update, but your username or password will not change, nor are we asking you to change them.

“On Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita systems, this rebranding will occur in connection with software updates for these devices. (Note, this change will not be applied to the PSP system at this time.)

“This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering.

“As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation Network will be aligned with Sony Entertainment Network. This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.

“The Sony Entertainment Network account also enables use of Sony’s compelling non-game services such as Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited and PlayMemories Online (currently called Personal Space) across a variety of network-connected devices.”

“If you do not agree with the new Terms of Service and User Agreement or Privacy Policy, you may decline to accept them, and you will no longer be able to access your account.”

In short

Final fantasy XIII-2 offers a few new tricks that the developer incorporated into the gameplay to keep the battles flowing. While the new additions are certainly not ground-breaking or extensive, these additions were a welcomed edition to the trademark turn-based fighting system. The series is known for the ‘fantasy’ storylines, and XIII-2 delivers beautifully here. The game is typical to its origin – quirky, elaborate, dramatic and the dialogue doesn’t always make perfect ‘Western’ sense – and I absolutely love it.

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Distributor: Megarom Interactive
For fans of: Final Fantasy series, turn-based J-RPG’s
Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Also available on: Playstation 3
If we had to give it a numerical score: 9.0 out of 10

Overview

Since the series is largely about driving the rich, fantasy storyline, I will not spoil it for you by giving you every last detail. There are loads of surprises for the series’ followers, and newcomers can catch up on the story by reading up and extensive tutorials (all available in the menus).

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to FFXIII and while Lightning is a big part of the story, her younger sister Serah takes centre stage. New characters will be met and old characters are again welcomed back. Final Fantasy’s most beloved creature –the Mog makes a return to the series by leading the way at times, or helping you find things and generally guiding you.  The Chocobo (Ostrich looking bird) returns to help you speed through areas without being attacked by foes.

Gameplay and Features

As briefly touched on – the series is renowned for its turn-based battle system, something fans of the series have always loved. It’s not about button mashing, more about strategically defending and attacking in turn. You will take hits and so you will need to work out your defence, and then you attack in turn, with an abundance of options to evolve on to suit the various enemies. The Japanese game style of RPG is very distinct so it came as a bit of a surprise to see elements typical of a Western game incorporated in the battle system for XIII-2. Cinematic Action attacks have been included, so during the battle you will need to sequentially hit different buttons to engage the action which normally deal more damage than your average attack. The rest is as it was but with tweaks here and there, making the battle-system one my favourite in the series.

You have ‘Paradigm Shifts’ which can be customised as usual to suit your attacking and defending. These shifts are either focused attacks or defences and can be generated automatically or you can customise them yourself. Another new addition to the battle-system is the ability to add monsters as allies to your team, and incorporate them into you Paradigm Shift. Once you capture the monster at a certain level of the game, the monster joins your ranks by being chosen. I personally did not think much of this, as outside the battle, the monsters are not pro-active and pretty much useless. That said, these monsters do come in handy in the bigger battles, particularly in defensive paradigm shifts. You could set your normal character and ally to defend and some monsters can be set to attack while you are defending. Unfortunately they will also need healing and a ‘Phoenix Down’ to revive them, so they do take up precious reserves.

As is common with RPG’s, you will need level up your character in an enormous amount of departments, customising the character to lean towards brut, ravager, magic, or a combination. The RPG element will please the most ardent of RPG fans, and thankfully newcomers can learn the ropes with extensive tutorials.

One of the major improvements over the predecessor was the dropping of the fairly tedious linear missions. Final Fantasy XIII-2 will certainly please long-time followers, as while there is still a path to follow in order to drive the main story; the world is again an open one that rewards those who explore as there are countless fragments scattered around the worlds which open up time-gates for you to travel through. There are platforming bits as well as some puzzle solving making this the most diverse Final Fantasy yet. You need to travel across time through the ‘Historia Crux’, visiting areas hundreds of years apart, either solving side quests or driving the main storyline. Once unlocked, it is possible to jump back and forth in time or areas.  The story is beautifully fleshed out across time, wonderfully tangled with Paradox’s which must be overcome to drive the main story.

Sound and Graphics

In the sound and graphics department is where the Japanese-style games are most distinct, and the Final Fantasy series never falters. The series’ design is true to the ‘fantasy’ genre the title suggests. The scoring, the sound and visual effects are well-suited to the game’s world and epic, ‘fantasy’ stories.

The scoring and sound effects are like something straight out of an arcade of old and that’s because the arcades of old were filled with Japanese games. The sound effects are quirky, somewhat humorous, they are distinct and a far cry from the realistic flavour found in typical Western titles. In my opinion this is part of the charm, you will never forget that this is in fact… a game.

The design of the sound of Final Fantasy XIII-2 was excellently put together, a continuous flow of digital sounds and melodramatic sounds effects. The dialogue, again typically Japanese, is like something straight out of a good anime film, again true to the ‘fantasy’ genre and again, melodramatic.

The presentation is typical to the series, and while it works a dream, it has never been to my liking – I find Japanese games in general to have an old-school sort of looking presentation. That said the menus are a breeze to work through as are the deep in-game menus.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is made up of bright, vivid colours filled with flashes of visual effects. The visuals, like most of the design, are rich and vibrant, heavily detailed which makes for an absolute treat in this department. The game’s world is well detailed, despite consisting of various eras and across fairly large areas.

The characters look like typical anime characters, perfect and somewhat outrageous looking. The dress decor is like nothing you would see in a Western counter-part, again perfectly suited to the genre and wonderfully memorable.

Overall the sound and graphics design and quality is of the highest calibre. There absolutely no visual flaws thanks to the highest standards in this department. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is splendid feast to the senses, and so escapism at its very best.

Final thoughts

The latest games in the long-standing series might not evoke the interest it once did – some of the chapters in the series might even have lost their way. As far as Final Fantasy XIII-2 goes; it is one of my favourite in the series thanks to the incorporation of many of the aspects that charmed me to the series, as well as some nice new additions.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 corrects the issues most of us had with the previous title while sticking with the elements that make up a great Final Fantasy game. In true Japanese game-crafting style, Final Fantasy XIII-2 delivers a near faultless and rewarding RPG experience that should certainly make feel you that you got your money’s worth.

Zombiegamer rating:

Read about our ratings here.

Here’s some awards with a bit of a different style- and so we decided to share the 1st Annual New York Videogame Critics Circle Awards, which was recently distributed at New York’s Cantor Film Center.

The Critics Circle presented 11 Awards for the best games of the year:
Manhattan Award for Most NY Centric Game
Crysis 2

Battery Park Award for Best Handheld Game
Super Mario Land 3D

Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game
Bastion

A Train Award for Best Mobile Game
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP

Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game
Portal 2

Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game
Bastion

Statue of Liberty Award for Best Open World Game
Saints Row: The Third

Great White Way Award for Best Overall Acting in a Game
Portal 2

Algonquin Roundtable Award for Best Book
All Your Base Are Belong to Us, How 50 Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture by Harold Goldberg

Mad Men Award for Best Videogame Commercial
Long Live Play – Michael

Big Apple Award for Best Game
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Why?  Because you never know if you will need it sometime in the future we assume.  Like maybe for Mass Effect 4.  Or just simply for some DLC.  Who knows?  BioWare’s Mike Gamble most likely, but all he’s saying is: “Obviously I can’t say anything, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea…”

He also went on to say that some people may not be overly happy with Shepard’s send-off:

“We want the outcomes to be satisfying to the player. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all going to be happy or positive, but they have to be satisfying. Players have to understand that the choices they’ve been making in this game and in previous have had an impact, and that they’re an architect in what happens.”

[Source]

March 9 we can see what it’s all about when the game released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Since Dragon’s Dogma is a new IP which Capcom say will “redefine the action genre,” we thought it’s  best to publish the latest facsheet which reveals a bunch of interesting stuff you might not yet know.

Dragon’s Dogma is set in a huge open world which Capcom say will allow you to interact with. The developers describe the game’s world as a “rich, living and breathing” world.

It seems Capcom’s focus on developing Dragon’s Dogma as an interactive game, which is in fashion of late, they have introduced AI partners to assist you in the game known as Pawns.

Three AI Pawns will accompany you and fight independently. These Pawns develop traits which they learn over time from the player and their actions.

Then on Xbox LIVE and on the PlayStation Network, you will be able to journey to the Rift where you can reportedly share their own Pawns with friends and be rewarded with treasure, knowledge of the world and strategies for taking down enemies. You will also be able to borrow friends’ Pawns with the specific skills or experience required to tackle a particular quest. I

If you are not taking your game online, then you can choose from thousands of ready-made Pawns which ships with the game.

Here’s the Key Features

• Resident Evil 6 demo – Dragon’s Dogma will ship with a redeemable token allowing purchasers early access to the Resident Evil 6 demo.
• Highly Stylised Action Combat – The creators of this game were responsible for the action hits – Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 4.
• Fight With Ability – The soul of combat comes down to how the game is played, where you strike the enemy, and how you react to their attacks.
• Pawn Them All – The pawn system offers flexible combat assistance with a main pawn companion that you can train throughout the game and two secondary pawns that can vary wildly to fit your combat style.
• Help Your Friends, Help Yourself: To enhance your battle experience, share your main pawn with friends and others via Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network. Your pawn’s experience as a member of someone else’s game will be passed on to you in loot, knowledge of the open world and strategies for taking down enemies. Or, you can choose one of the thousands of AI pawns included with the game.
• Accessible Depth – Bringing an unprecedented level of depth to the action genre, every decision has an effect on gameplay in an intuitive way that does not require micromanagement. The weight of your weapon, the material of your armor – even the length of your legs – plays a role in how you fight your battles, but does not interrupt the flow of the action.
• Epic Adventure – Dragon’s Dogma is built from the ground up as an action experience for consoles with a continuous, epic storyline that stands alone in style, scope and substance.
• Open World – Utilizing Capcom’s proprietary MT Framework engine and the groundbreaking graphical styles and lighting effects used in Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2, Dragon’s Dogma expands the environment to create a vast, richly detailed world, ripe for exploration.
• Night and Day – The open world features a dynamic 24-hour day/night cycle that will offer different enemies and surprises depending on when you venture into the world.
• A Rich Population – In addition to interacting with hundreds of fully voiced NPCs, you’ll be able to fight a large variety of creatures, from goblins to griffins and dragons. Each enemy requires a different strategy and provides a unique experience.

The good folks at THQ Insider were kind enough to treat UFC Undisputed 3 fans to the entire DLC plans and Season Pass Program.

Amongst the reported DLC plans is a wide variety of new fighters, career boosts, historic UFC fights and early access to unlockable content which will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network.

Fighter Packs

Fight of the Night Pack – March 2012
Price: 400 MS Points / £3.19
Featuring UFC fighters Joe Lauzon, Rory MacDonald, Charles Oliveira and Sam Stout, along with former UFC fighter Anthony Johnson.

International Pack – April 2012
Price: 400 MS Points / £3.19
Featuring UFC fighters “The Korean Zombie” Jung Chan-Sung, England’s John Hathaway, Germany’s Pascal Kraus, Australia’s Kyle Noke and Italian Alessio Sakara.

Ultimate Fights Collections

Ultimate Submissions – Released at launch
Price: FREE
This collection will be available free of charge and include the following…
• UFC 109: Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago
• UFC 115: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry
• UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
• UFC Fight Night 19: Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard
• UFC Fight Night 21: Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi

Ultimate Rivals – Released at launch
Price: FREE
This collection will be available free of charge and include the following…
• UFC 92: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
• UFC 111: Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
• UFC 114: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
• UFC 117: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
• The Ultimate Fighter® Season 9: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida

Ultimate Upsets – March 2012
Price: 400 MS Points / £3.19
The Ultimate Upsets collection will include…
• UFC 92: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• UFC 109: Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt
• UFC 112: Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn
• UFC 116: Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
• UFC 121: Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar

Mixed Bag – April 2012
Price: 400 MS Points / £3.19
The Mixed Bag collection will include…
• Best of PRIDE – Final Conflict 2003: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Mirko Cro Cop
• Submissions – UFC 125: Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida
• Upsets – UFC 110: Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos
• Rivals – UFC 124: Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle
• Knockouts – UFC 120: Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit

Alistair Overeem – Available at launch
Price: FREE
UFC Heavyweight Championship contender Alistair Overeem will be available at launch for consumers who participated in the limited time promotional offer on facebook.com/UFCUndisputed, the official Facebook page for UFC Undisputed 3. There will also be the opportunity to purchase ‘The Reem’ in March 2012 for 80 MS Points / £0.59.

Create-a-Fighter Boost – Available at launch
Price: 240 MS Points / £1.59
Enabling players to acquire additional points for created fighter development and save an estimated 8-10 hours of gameplay.

All Unlockables – Available at launch
Price: 160 MS Points / £1.19

The Season Pass Program allows players to pre-purchase select DLC at a reduced price point

For 1360 MS Points / £11.99, players will receive the following items:

• Fighter Packs – Fight of the Night Pack and International Pack
• Ultimate Fights Packs – Ultimate Upsets and Mixed Bag
• UFC Heavyweight Championship contender Alistair Overeem
• All Unlockables

THQ Insider will also be running two launch tournaments – The Xbox 360 tournament will take place on the 21st Feb and the PS3 one on the 27th Feb. See the details on THQ Insider.

Microsoft have launched the ‘Kinect for Windows commercial program’ which should see the boundaries of the technology pushed further by allowing applications to be developed using Kinect. Companies like United Health Group, American Express, Mattel, Telefonica, and Toyota are already developing applications with Kinect for Windows.

Craig Eisler, general manager for Kinect for Windows says

“We’re only starting to scratch the surface of what’s possible with Kinect.

“By offering hardware and software that’s designed specifically for Windows applications, we hope to inspire visionaries around the world to create transformative breakthroughs with Kinect—taking its gesture and voice capabilities beyond the living room into other industries such as education, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail.”

The Kinect for Windows commercial license and hardware will only be available in 12 countries, with South Africa not being one of them, so I am not going to delve to deeply into how we can get involved. It is just interesting to hear of where the technology is going and its capabilities.

Microsoft Kinect for Windows Features

The Kinect sensor is a fully-tested and supported Kinect experience on Windows which is built for developers. It is said to offer features such as advanced speech and audio capabilities with the latest Microsoft Speech components; “near mode” which sees objects as close as 40 centimeters in front of the sensor; improved skeletal tracking that enables control over which user is being tracked by the sensor; and a commercial ready installer that makes it easy to install Kinect for Windows runtime and driver components for end-user deployments.

Capcom’s latest trailer for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City looks at the characters of the game…

Square Enix say that “extensive” DLC is planned for Final Fantasy XIII-2, for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The planned DLC includes Coliseum Battles where players players can take on friends and foes from previous titles in the series. Once players defeat opponents, you can recruit into the player’s party. The Coliseum battle entitled ‘Lightning & Amodar’ will be available for Xbox 360 on 7^th February via Xbox LIVE Marketplace and on 8^th February on the PlayStation Network.

DLC will also include story episodes for some of the key characters, which Square Enix say will give you the opportunity to explore the game’s secrets, such as Lightning which complement the narrative of the game.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 releases locally this coming Friday 3rd February.

EA and Bioware were not mucking about when putting together the voice cast for Mass Effect 3.

EAVision has uploaded the latest trailer which reveals that Martin Sheen returns with his role as Illusive Man and is again joined by Seth Green, Keith David, and Jennifer Hale. Then Jessica Chobot makes joins the ranks as Diana Allers, and Freddie Prinze Jr. is Shepard’s latest recruit, James Vega.