For all fans of first-person shooters, this is the month for you! This month, first-person shooter fans are treated to Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. However, that isn’t all gamers get this month: a ton of new games are coming out for the Wii U such as New Super Mario Bros. U and ZombiU, not to mention the stealth-based game Hitman: Absolution and crossover video games such as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. This month has a bit of everything for a variety of gamers.

Action

(11/6) Halo 4 (Xbox 360)

(11/13) Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

(11/18) Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

(11/18) New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)

(11/20) Hitman: Absolution (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

(11/18) ZombiU (Wii U)

(11/20) Rise of the Guardians (Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, 3DS)

“Halo 4″ is the first game in a new trilogy of Halo games set four years after the events of Halo 3. The player plays through the entire campaign mode alone or cooperatively either locally or on Xbox Live. In the multiplayer, players customize their own Spartan-IV character and expand their career through games such as War Games, Spartan Ops, Forge, and Theater.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops II” is the ninth game in the Call of Duty series and the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops. It is the first in the series using future warfare technology and branching storylines driven by the player’s choice. In multiplayer, there is a “Create-A-Class” feature which allows the player to customize their character.

“Hitman: Absolution” is the fifth game in the series and has been promised to be easier, to make it more accessible to new players, but still retain hardcore aspects. There is an online option. One interesting new feature is “instinct mode,” which allows the player to predict enemy patrol routes.

“Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” is the sequel to the original “Epic Mickey,” and is featured on multiple consoles. This time the game has a two player compatibility mode which can be played by the computer or an actual person. An interesting feature added to this game is the musical numbers littered throughout the entire game.

“New Super Mario Bros. U” is the fourth game in the New Super Mario Bros. series, solely featured on the new Wii U. There are two new modes: Challenge Mode and Boost Rush. The Challenge Mode creates challenges such as clearing a level as fast as possible or getting as many 1-UPs in a row without touching the ground. In Burst Mode, the player goes through a scrolling screen level which gets faster as he or she collect coins.

“ZombiU” is one of the Wii U launch titles in which the player is the survivor of a zombie apocalypse in London. “ZombiU” utilizes the new features of the console such as the use of the Wii U GamePad for inventory and unlocking doors. The player only has one life, and when the player dies they become a new character. Players are even able to meet up with their old character as a zombie.

“Rise of the Guardians” is a game based on the animated Dreamworks movie of the same name. The player plays as five characters (Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost). It is a drop-in/drop-out cooperative play with up to four people and has a leveling up system.

RPG

(11/11) Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

(11/6) Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS)

“Paper Mario: Sticker Star” is the fourth game in the “Paper Mario” series and the first to be available on a portable system. However, this game introduces the concept of stickers, found throughout the game and then used as items or power-ups. Another interesting new feature is the ability to go into “paperization” which allows the player to place stickers in the world and activate certain events.

“Harvest Moon: A New Beginning” is another game added to the Harvest Moon series with an emphasis on customization including the player’s character and form. The player can go on honeymoons and vacations with their family to different places. The players can also create their own furniture and buildings rather than just buying them.

Fighting

(11/1) WWE ‘13 (Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

(11/20) PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Playstation 3, PlayStation Vita)

“WWE ’13″ is the fifteenth game in the WWE series and uses the Predator Technology 2.0 game engine, which allows for over 300 new moves. A weight detection system lets the game tell which wrestlers would realistically be able to lift others. This game also has the biggest roster of any of the WWE games.

“PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale” is a crossover fighting game in the same vein of Super Smash Bros. where up to four characters battle each other. It features characters from Sony games like “God of War,” “Sly Cooper,” and “Ratchet and Clank,” but also features characters from third-party franchises like Bioshock. The arenas are themed around different PlayStation games.

Racing

(11/6) LittleBigPlanet Karting (PlayStation 3)

(11/20) Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

“LittleBigPlanet Karting” is a racing game based on the LittleBigPlanet series which includes a variety of themed racetracks. The player creates their own Sackboy, karts, and racetracks as well as their own game rules and weapons. The player can even tweak the AI a little if they are having trouble.

“Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed” is the sequel to Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing and has characters from Sonic games as well some other Sega games. A new feature in this game is the ability to transform into sea or air-based vehicles during a race, but it is only performed by going through transformation gates. The game also features a new adventure mode, where players can unlock characters.

The article November Game Releases for 2012 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Announced recently, The Barcode Society is a fan community run by IO Interactive and Publisher Square-Enix. Here, fans can enjoy information about their favorite bald assassin, Agent 47. Chock full of fan content and free giveaways, the release of Hitman: Absolution appears to reach all new highs as coverage of the game increases in the coming months. Sadly, there is no word yet on the possible release date of a sequel for the 2007 film.

As evident by other weblog content, there was a recent Hitman novel give-away on the site where two lucky fans won a copy of Hitman: Enemy Within. Hitman: Enemy Within is a book set between Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman: Blood Money, the 3rd game in the franchise.

A more recent book is Hitman: Damnation which is a prequel novel set before Hitman: Absolution that bridges the gap between Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money. Hitman: Absolution has not been slated for a release date but fans are certainly hoping it will be soon.  Absolution will be available for PC, PS3 and Xbox360.

The site features tons of news and other goodies that no fan of Agent 47 should miss. This includes news articles about the newest aspects of Agent 47′s development that date back from last year, now compiled into one place for all fans to enjoy. Addtionally, recent art work featured on the site is done by artist Patrick Brown with links to his Facebook and DeviantArt Pages.

With SOPA and PIPA legislation in the works, it is refreshing to see Eidos and IO Interactive feature fan made content on their website. It gives budding film makers the chance to show their skills and hopefully get some decent exposure. You’ll find a lot of these fan made videos inside The Vault while the artworks are found in both The Vault and the Community tab.

The Vault is a wealth of history in itself, as there are screenshots and video footage of every Hitman video game ever developed inside. Included is also some artwork, wallpapers and community videos on each game. There is official video logged from every game and also community-made videos that are both exciting and hilarious. Changing legislation with SOPA would obviously reduce the effectiveness of the Barcode Society website.

The community section includes links to all the external networks where fans can find most of the scattered Agent 47 content. With links to YouTube, Twitter and forums, coverage is already quite extensive. There is also a community art section which links to the idea of a community sharing content with one another in a streamlined format to reduce content overlapping. Links to Facebook and DeviantArt are also included for fans who want to contact the original artists.

The Forum threads many of the community questions together into one area which serves as a sounding board for the fans as well as the game developers. The Forum also includes select goodies such as previous Agent 47 magazine covers and fan suggestions for weapons and tactics that will be seen by developers. It is near to life imitating art as fans may influence developers in ways that are rarely so streamlined.

The site is a unique experience for fans of Agent 47 because it showcases our favorite bald assassin in all his suited glory. It gives Agent 47 a new and exclusive way to shine through in a gaming industry, quickly filling up with assassins and other hunters. There is plenty of free content for fans to go around and enjoy with this single unified website that serves as a portal into Agent 47′s life.

The article The Barcode Society: Hitman Tribute Despite SOPA Threat appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

It has been nearly half a decade since the last Hitman game was released onto a major console. Barring the 2007 movie with Actor Timothy Olyphant playing the role of Agent 47, the Hitman franchise has been dormant in the minds of most fans. Well that stops today with the walkthrough commentary video below.

Rumors started surfacing around 2007 parallel to the release of the movie tie in and then authenticated in 2009 for development by IO Interactive, that the next Hitman game has been a long time coming for fans of Agent 47.

Announced with an approximate release time in 2012 and a longer nearly two minute trailer (above), thanks must go to the Glacier 2 engine from IO interactive for its sheer realism and depth of detail.

Now fans can have a small taste of the game with the release of the 16 minute play through video, this time with commentary by Game Directors Tore Blystad and Gameplay Director Christian Elverdam.

The initial release of the 16 minute video without the commentary gives the players an exceptionally focused view of the game. The footage is quite dark for most of the video, which may not shed a great deal of light on how well the graphics can be expected even with the Glacier 2 engine. Still, the darkness serves to add an almost tangible sense of menace when combined with the sound and special effects. You won’t be bored watching this video, that’s for sure.

Fans will further be confused with a new skill that they’ve never seen or used before come into play during the video. The new body heat sensing skill allows Agent 47 to see through walls and floors to gain a better mental picture of his enemies’ locations.

Much improved and welcomed are the cinematic feel of the AI characters and the higher degree interactivity with the use of cover environments. Opponent dialogue has certainly improved as has the heighten realism of the shooting with slight weapon recoil. They have clearly taken cues and inspiration from some of the more successful games in the recent assassin genre.

The sound design again comes into play during the video for eliminating targets silently; the only audible sounds are the increasing suspense, followed by the crunch of bone and then silence in a targets’ heart rate.

However, the next parts of the game once you exit the building onto the adjoining roofs are anything but quiet as you are chased, shot at and leap across an open chasm  between buildings a la Jason Bourne. Towards the end of the chapter, there is even someone whom asks Agent 47 if he’d quit years ago and 47 mumbles that he never left, no doubt answering fans questions as to Agent 47′s retirement.

With the commentary however, you get a different and more complete picture of what Director’s Bylstad and Elverdam wanted to achieve. Mentioned within the first few minutes is the perceived dark and broken first chapter which is meant to convey his progression through the game. This is a significant change from past Hitman titles as those tended to stay uniformly in the same slightly drab and dark themes rather than changing as Agent 47 progressed through his journey.

The new skill as mentioned before about the body heat sensing now has a name aptly called “Instinct”. Seeing through walls and predicting the path of an enemy for much better execution of gameplay, this feature may take some of the surprise out of the experience but adds to Agent 47′s skill set when he eventually needs to eliminate another target quietly.

Additionally the commentary also reveals familiar knowledge that the game is being developed to tailor the player and give them choices. It is your choice to be the coldest assassin on the block or to spare everyone except the primary target. Perhaps we can also expect a rating system, a hallmark feature in previous Hitman titles, to rate your kill count per mission anywhere from Silent Assassin to Mass Murderer.

Another familiar touch the commentary mentions is the use of costumed disguises, which has always been a favorite aspect of the Hitman franchise. It has allowed for some of the most memorable and exciting kills in Hitman history and will certainly change gameplay since players must now match disguises with props or risk being discovered. A mailman carrying pizza for example, would be easily exposed.

One thing not completely obvious at first glance,  is that Agent 47 does not at any point in the level, despite being shot at by cops and a helicopter, ever need a health recovery. There is a health bar but perhaps for the purposes of the initial play through, this aspect was set aside? Most will wonder but hopefully new information will surface soon to further explain this specific aspect of this otherwise fantastic gameplay experience.

The newest edition of Hitman therefore, seems to be the best and brightest of all. It does what previous games could not, offering an expansive interactive experience that is sure to wow fans and new comers alike. Hopefully the main storyline and the rest of the proceeding game are equally as spectacular so that fictional assassin can meet factual gameplay.

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