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Review – Spice Invaders

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

SPICE INVADERS – Developer: On5 – Publisher: Chillingo – Format: iOS – Price: Free

Tower defence games are one of the most popular genres on the iOS platforms. The reason behind their overwhelming dominance of the App Store charts is due to their accessibility and addictive gameplay. So how does a new tower defence game on the scene attract new players? The innovative chaps at Chillingo and On5 believe that space pirates and their unhealthy obsession with spice is the way to capture your attention, and it works. The wacky concept, design, world map, music, all of it is of an impeccably high standard, which grabs you initially, but is Spice Invaders’ attraction superficial? Or does this free game have the makings to be a great pastime? Read on. (more…)

Music Review – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Friday, May 13th, 2011

The Phoenix Wright games are popular for a number of reasons. They combine the tense atmosphere of a court drama with the gameplay of a point-and-click adventure game, and the anime art style is popular with many western gamers who call themselves Otakus. These aspects alone have caused many people to fall in love the Ace Attorney series, but for this writer it was the music composed by Masakazu Sugimori and arranged by Akemi Kimura that pointed itself out.

The music is produced in the old video game style of chip tune, however, with the power of hindsight on their side, Sugimori and Kimura have written a soundtrack that screams originality and that doesn’t fall into similar traps as other chip tune music from the 8-bit and 16-bit era.
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Music Review – Dead Space

Friday, May 13th, 2011

dead_space_2_17 A few months ago, Thirteen1 had the golden opportunity to interview composer Jason Graves and discuss his work on Dead Space, the soundtrack that made him a household name for most gamers. It was a fantastic experience to hear the insight into one of the industry’s most terrifying scores, but we’ve come to realise that we never gave the soundtrack our own critique. So for the past month we’ve been listening to the original score in the darkness, heightening our senses and hoping to get the most out of it – it has been traumatising.

The soundtrack to Dead Space is an intense listen. You have to be prepared for what Graves is going to throw at you. You won’t find any moments where he lets you come up for air; you’re either on the edge of your seat in suspense, or cowering in horror as crescendos attack. (more…)

Gears of War 3 – Beta Hands-on!

Friday, May 13th, 2011

gears-of-war-3-wallpaper-13 The level of excitement in the Thirteen1 office surrounding the release of Gears or War 3 later this year is, frankly, unbelievable. Epic’s sci-fi shooter franchise has been an all-time favourite of ours since it’s initiation back in 2006. So with that in mind, imagine how stir-crazy we fan-boys went when we were offered a free pass to access the multiplayer beta of the highly-anticipated title. Also, imagine how tense things got in the office when we realised we only had one access code. To cut a long story short, I was granted access, and I like to think it was because of my awesome hair, but I don’t think that’s the case. Editor Dan is a huge Gears fan, and it was his final decision to give me the Beta key, which I’m very honoured to have received – though I think he’s taken a fall now so he can have first dibs on the final package when it’s up for grabs later this year, sneaky bastard.

On the other hand, at least I’ll have more experience on my side when the time comes to face each other. But I digress, and it’s time to report my impressions of the multiplayer beta. (more…)

Review – Torchlight

Friday, April 15th, 2011

torchlight-main There’s probably some people reading this review who are new to Torchlight, which is fine, sometimes we miss games because we’re far too busy playing other games as well.

However, for most of our readers, Torchlight won’t be anything new, because if you’ve heard of it you probably loved it – we did. XBLA has been receiving a large number of ports recently, and Runic Game’s 2009 classic has joined the ranks. Now, presented in the wonder that is HD, Torchlight burns brightly in the crowd, seeking to quench your thirst for adventure.

Torchlight is an action RPG devised by some of the best minds in the fantasy-genre; the development team consisted of Fate designer Travis Baldree and his team that originally created Thirteen1 favourite Mythos, and Max and Erich Schaefer of Diablo fame – the first two.
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Jack Wall Humbly Departs From Mass Effect 3

Friday, March 25th, 2011

jack_wall_web Legendary gaming composer, Jack Wall, has left the musical helm of BioWare’s epic RPG series, Mass Effect, leaving English composer Clint Mansell some big sweaty space boots to fill.

The first two soundtracks, which Wall wrote with Sam Hulick, Richard Jaques, and David Kates, were widely praised by fans and critics, all of which were hoping for this team of musical mastery to return for a third and final time.

However in a brief interview with Thirteen1, Wall explained his reasons for departing from BioWare, a developer that he has enjoyed working with over the past decade.

“I have had a long and wonderful relationship with the folks at BioWare,” states Wall reminiscently. “Like anything, sometimes a fresh approach is the best. I’m working with new clients now and it feels very different than I think it would have to be working on a third game.”
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G.A.N.G Awards: Winners

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

gang_awards The ninth annual G.A.N.G awards took place in San Francisco last week (March 3) and were as I hoped, with the Music of the Year award going to Red Dead Redemption – Yeehaw!

The musical aces of the soundtrack, Bill Elm and Woody Jackson, were also recognised, winning the Rookie(s) of the Year category – something that I considered to be well deserved.

However, Red Dead Redemption didn’t stop there, the relentless game also scooped up three more awards: Audio of the Year, Best Interactive Score, and Best Dialogue.

By no means was it an easy judge either. The Rockstar game was up against some brilliantly strong competition including Heavy Rain, which unfortunately won nothing, Halo: Reach, again nothing, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the other prominent winner that day (Best Sound Design, and Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game).
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13-1 Countdown – Most Terrifying Characters

Monday, October 18th, 2010

spider_super It’s time to say Happy Birthday to this feature – that’s right; our 13-1 Countdown section is a year old this month. It’s been a great year of list compiling; we’ve looked at videogame fashion, vocal talents, boss fights, etc. However, nothing seemed to top our original list, Videogame’s Scariest Moments, but that’s all going to change with this month’s terrifying list.

A lot of videogame characters are memorable for all sorts of reasons, heroes may provoke a sense of pride and achievement, while love interests may result in an unhealthy attraction, but nothing is more evocative than a character that has the ability to scare the shit out of you!
You’d better grab an extra pair of underwear, as we unleash our 13-1 Countdown of the Most Terrifying Videogame Characters.

Number Thirteen: Berserkers from Gears of War

It’s no secret that we love the Gears of War games. They often show up in these lists for very good reasons – we’re not bias, honest. The Locust Horde is a ferocious enemy. Ugly, powerful, probably smelly, these underground dwellers love nothing more than obliterating humans. Looking through the wide catalogue of Locust types, we settled on the Berserker as their most beastly offering. These towering bitches are not a pretty sight, which is probably why they’re so mad. Despite their terrible eyesight, these speedy monstrosities will rip you limb from limb if they catch you. (more…)

Badass Boss Fights (13-1 Countdown!)

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

great_mighty_poo_by_darkjackal28_0 The Boss Fight is probably the most fundamental staple in videogames. You always know when they’re coming, there are many tell-tale signs. In the retro days it was obvious: anything from the music stopping suddenly or a suspiciously surplus amount of ammo and health items.

As the industry moved forward it got easier to tell whether a fight was imminent; a convenient save spot just before you enter a new area or even the game’s narrative would suggest some sort of boss fight will ensue. However, now that videogames are outstanding feats of technology and a lot of triple-A titles favour more realistic settings and characters, boss fights seem to be dying out, instead replaced with set-pieces or a horde of enemies (Modern Warfare 2, BioShock 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction). So in honour to all the Big Bosses out there – excluding Naked Snake – we’re presenting you with a list of our favourite Badass Boss Fights.

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Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Review)

Friday, June 18th, 2010

9/13

Ever heard of the Interquel? It’s a piece of fictional work that takes place chronologically between two other pieces of already completed work, bridging one to the other, therefore an interquel is a sequel to one work and a prequel to the other – still following?

Chances are you’ve probably seen an interquel, or more likely played one. Ever play Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire? That’s an interquel for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Metroid Prime took place between Metroid and Metroid II, consequently it’s an interquel. Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is an interquel, taking place in the seven year gap between the fantastic Sands of Time and the not so great Warrior Within. (more…)