To date,Mojanghas enjoyed remarkable success almost exclusively from the strength of one game —Minecraft. The Microsoft-owned Swedish studio is about to test its luck with its next major game though, finally setting a release date for the delayedCobalt.
The side-scrolling action game, developed by three-person studioOxeye Gamesand published by Mojang, will launch on Steam,Xbox One, and Xbox 360 on 2 February. It’ll set you back $19.99 “or equivalent”, although UK specific prices haven’t been set yet.
Cobaltwas originally set for release around October 2015, but was held back at almost the last minute because Oxeye said it was “buggier than we’re comfortable with”. The delay has not only allowed for those kinks to be worked out, but for the console launch to arrive simultaneously with the PC version. It also means the game dodges the glut of releases vying for Christmas purchases.
Despite theMinecraftconnection, don’t expect it to be anything like the open-world sandbox. Instead,Cobaltoffers a blend of run-and-gun combat and fast-paced 2D platforming with cartwheeling cyborgs, upgradable weapons, and slow-motion gameplay mechanics that let you punch enemy fire right back at them. It also packs in an eight-hour story campaign, and multiplayer modes including “capture the plug”, deathmatch, survival, and theCounter-Strikeinspired TeamStrike, where each player only has one life. Oh, and tameable space hamsters,of course.
WillCobaltbe the newMinecraft? No, almost certainly not — but only becauseMinecraftis a certifiable phenomenon. This is aiming more for the competitive gamer, with the real draw being its potential for long-term post-release versus play.
If you can’t stand to wait just over two weeks to get your hands on it, you can buy thealpha version— which Oxeye admits is “remarkably dated” — for PC now. Anyone who’s purchased the alpha will get an upgrade to the full Steam version upon release.
Allll aboardShy Guy’s Perplex Express. It’s a bit blockier than usual but there’s plenty of sights to see.
This faithful (with a few alterations)Minecraftrecreation of the Perplex Express comes courtesy of Nathan_Oneday ofWalschaertsBuilds. It’s a scale recreation, under construction since early December. There’s some secrets to find since, as the creator put it, he “couldn’t resist hiding a ton of things around the train.”
Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo
Oh. My. Gosh.
Is that a non-video game review I see squeezed into the weekly Technobubble Wrap? Why yes, yes it is.
I admit, I haven’t been as prolific with the gadget reviews for some time. But I’ll try to squeeze more of the stuff in, especially now that the year-end video game rush is over.
Now let’s get this week’s game and gadget party started, shall we?
Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Play Set
Spoiler alert!
That’s actually something you ain’t gonna see in the campaign of the “Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Play Set.” Thanks to a campaign that does its darned tootin’ best not to spoil as many details as possible from “Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens” movie, fans of the blockbuster will find themselves having, well, a bit of a different experience.
Graphically, the game’s three main areas continue to be an improvement over the drab cityscapes of “Disney Infinity 2.0 Marvel Super Heroes.” Gameplay also remains solid, particularly for action lovers. Each character typically employs a unique fighting style that can be upgraded and customized via skill trees for adding combo extenders, powering up moves and beefing up a characters’ health bars, for example. I also like how the two base characters included in the playset play differently from each other. Rey, for example, is more of a melee character who especially benefits from improving his staff-based moves. Finn, on the other hand, is awesome with firearms — especially once upgrading his shooting skill tree. Folks who buy the extra packs also can get pilot Poe Dameron and the film’s resident emo force user, Kylo Ren.
If you liked the original Disney 3.0 experience, The Force Awakens Play Set gives you more of the same while allowing you to experience the franchise’s new characters. The not-exactly-canon story might disappoint some folks and the campaign itself is pretty short outside of the side missions. If you’re a fan of the series, however and are itching for more content to play or add to your Toy Box for 3.0, then this game gives you more of what you love.
Rating:3.5
Cost:$35 for playset with Rey and Finn, $14 each for Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron
After the Debbie Downer that was “Game of Thrones Episode 6: The Ice Dragon,” I needed some serious positivity to bring a much needed ray of sunshine into my life. After all, a man can only take so much soul-crushing sadness before he throws up his hands and says, “You know what? Those Morrissey songs weren’t as depressing as I thought.”
This makes “Minecraft Story Mode Episode 4: A Block and A Hard Place,” a much welcome change of pace. Oh, look at those cute blocky people doing cute blocky things. I think everything’s going to be just alright.
Not that Episode 4 doesn’t have its share of serious moments, mind you. In fact, it’s probably the most serious episode of the bunch and includes what’s arguably the most powerful moment of entire series. Even with all the serious stuff going on, though, the series still manages to sneak in some chuckles. It’s obvious that this is a game aiming to satisfy more than one audience, comprising of of Minecraft’s stalwart base of young kids on one side as well as older gamers who love their point-and-click adventuring.
It’s a double-edged sword to be sure as its propensity to please two masters makes it appeal to a wider audience but also blunts its storytelling impact in a way that, say, “Tales From the Borderlands” didn’t have to worry about. The end result is that it’s a great series for young Minecraft fans, who will like its familiar blocky look, item crafting nods and witty storytelling. The same can’t be said for older audiences, however, who might find it lacking the extra punch they expect in their story-driven games.
Rating:3.5
Cost:$25 for five episodes; PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XB1, iOS, Android (Review based on Xbox One version)
We kick off the return of gadget reviews with the Ratsel BT speaker from Thonet and Vander. I remember positively gushing about the last Thonet and Vander speakers I reviewed in this space, the Kurbis BT. I actually really liked those. A lot.
As such, I had high expectations for the Ratsel BT, which diverges from the double speaker setup of the Kurbis and includes two mini towers and one serious looking subwoofer instead. So far so good. It even includes a control tower that lets you adjust volume, bass and treble settings separately, which is always a plus for control freaks like me.
Admittedly the speakers didn’t sound that great the first time I listened to them. After using them for about a week during the holiday season, however, the sound improved a lot. I know some folks say that speaker break-in is a myth and, honestly, I wonder myself sometimes but for whatever reason, it worked for this set of speakers. Obviously, it still won’t sound as good as some serious component speakers but for its size and class, the Ratsel BT stacks up well against its competitors. Having both wired and wireless options also are a plus.
One downside is that it appears to be prone to interference. I noticed a faint buzz, for example, when I placed it by my home workstation, where all my other gadgets and ginormous TV are. Placing it at a different corner, however, alleviated the problem. Another is the lack of input controls on the control tower. Instead, you have to use the remote to switch from wireless to wired, which is mightily inconvenient for some such as myself. It also means you’re screwed if you ever lose the remote.
If you don’t have any issues with those two main niggles, the Ratsel might still work for you. Otherwise, I recommend opting for the Kurbis instead.
BASIC is a programming language, and Minecraftis a video game. If you used a Commodore 64 or Amstrad CPC464 back in the 1980s, you probably have some vague familiarity with the language. Anyway, someone has built a BASIC interpreter in Minecraft. It doesn’t work very well, and you’ll probably never want to actually use it, but the fact that it exists is its own reward.
It’s the work of one SethBling, who does a great job of explaining what it is and how it works in the accompanying video. It’s made in vanilla Minecraft, and utilises hundreds (or maybe thousands) of command blocks. You can download the scripting here, if for some reason you actually wanna use it, but I feel like it’s better just to watch, and to marvel at what’s possible.
At last, I’m free to speak about one of the most exciting things that we’ve been squirreling away on at TT Games for LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, outside of everything that already makes the game such a fun and authentic Marvel title (Yes, Squirrel Girl reference intended… sorry!).
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is getting some free DLC content exclusively for all PS4 and PS3 players. What’s even more awesome is that this content is based on the brilliant Marvel’s Ant-Man movie and also one of my most anticipated films of 2016, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War. And yes, believe it or not I’ve managed to keep a lid on this. I’m not quite sure how… but I have.
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers already features content from six epic Marvel films (and a plethora of content from the rest of the Marvel Universe, including a ton of characters from Marvel Comics), however, now PlayStation gamers will be able to add content from two more movies to their experience.
So, I hear you all asking: what is this content exactly, and what makes it so exciting? Well, first up we have the Captain America: Civil War Character Pack, which will be available at launch on January 26th and includes nine characters — yes, nine characters — featured in the upcoming movie: Captain America, Iron Man (Mark 46 armor), Black Panther, Winter Soldier, Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch and my personal favorites, Crossbones and Agent 13. It’s a great pack that will hopefully get everyone as excited as I am about the film. Obviously before you ask, yes, you will be able to take all of these characters into the main game, into the various levels or into the eight different open world locations.
The second is the Ant-Man Character & Level Pack, of course based on the Ant-Man movie, which will be available later this spring. This pack features an awesome level based on a section of the film. It also has eleven great characters, including Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Ant-Man (Hank Pym), Ant-Thony (Flying Ant), Cassie Lang, Darren Cross, Scott Lang, Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, Luis, The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), and Yellowjacket.
We are really bringing Ant-Man and Yellowjacket to life with all the abilities that you’d expect them to have. The team and I here at TT Games are positive you will really enjoy this DLC offering. But, not only are we bringing you the characters and the level content, the part of this pack I’m most excited about… Ant-Thony the Ant! You’ll be able to fly around on Ant-Thony within the DLC level and then into the main game as well.
When I watched the movie with the team, we really enjoyed it, so much so that I went back to watch it again the next day, and then saw the amazing playsets that LEGO created for the film so to now be able to pair those together and bring them to life in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is yet another reason why this game has been an absolute delight to work on.
In addition to the movie and comic content in the game, we’re really looking forward to hearing what you all think of the many new features in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, specifically the Avengers Team-Ups. When you think of the Avengers, you think of teamwork, pulling together against adversity as a team. So, now you can team-up characters to perform incredible combo moves to take down the bad guys.
Teaming up core Avengers results in unique moves based on the pairing so we hope you enjoy trying out all of the various combinations to see which is your favorite. For us, it’s yet another reason why LEGO Marvel’s Avengers has been such a pleasure to develop. All of us on the team here are Marvel fans so make sure you look out for the various references and nods we’ve put into the game to make it the most authentic and fun experience.
We think that this is our best game yet — more humor, more characters, more features, more open world gameplay, more abilities, and of course, more movie content exclusively for PlayStation fans.
On behalf of myself and the team, we hope you have many hours of enjoyment when you play LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, and if you love it as much as we think you will, keep an eye out for the season pass content that we’ll be bringing your way featuring classic comic content as well as content from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the real life version of Ottawa, Parliament Hill looms over the downtown, the Rideau Canal bisects the city, and the Senators take to the Canadian Tire Centre ice way out in Kanata.
In Minecraft Ottawa, none of that’s set in stone.
The recently-unveiled GeoOttaWow lets Minecraft players explore and refashion Ottawa’s streets, houses, train tracks, as well as major buildings like Parliament Hill and City Hall.
“I think we’re one of the first in Canada to do this, so that’s a good thing,” said Coun. Rick Chiarelli, chair of the city’s information technology sub-committee, on CBC Ottawa’s All In a Day Friday afternoon.
For those unfamiliar with how the game works, Minecraft lets players dig (mine) and build (craft) nearly anything they want using Lego-like blocks and bricks.
The game — which has no levels to complete or mandatory objectives to accomplish — has proven immensely popular. In 2014, its Swedish designers Mojang were bought by technology giant Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
GeoOttaWow came about after a staff member took the city’s open data and uploaded it over the holidays, said Charles Duffett, the city’s chief information officer.
Duffett toldAll In A Day host Alan Neal that the freedom of being able to shape the nation’s capital to your liking gets people — especially young people — invested in the future of their city.
Game teaches ‘principles of civil planning’
“Now you have kids who are experimenting with basic principles of municipal planning. So if they think, for instance, that an outdoor stadium should be somewhere, they can build one — and then they can look at what impact it would have on that area, and what the concerns would be,” said Duffett.
Ottawa is one of the first cities in Canada to be made available on Minecraft, said Coun. Rick Chiarelli, chair of the information technology sub-committee. (CBC)
“They may discover they’re learning some principles of civil planning.”
Other places in the real world have made themselves available on Minecraft, perhaps most notably theentire country of Denmark, which can be torn down and built back up according to players’ whims and desires.
According to Chiarelli, in one important way, the Minecraft version of Ottawa is even better than the real thing.
