Games Thursday : Costume GET!

If there was ever anyone who knows more about the costumes of computer game characters, it has to be Wataru Maruyama whose Costume GET! blog discusses the finer points of the threads (or lack thereof) adorning the computer game characters of today.

While I mainly root for the heavy chunky armour suits for the monsters in Korean MMORPG games e.g Soul of Ultimate Nation, It’s always nice to read stuff written by someone else with similiar interests. Of course, Wataru’s primary interest in fashion for female characters can’t really hurt either : there’s a lot of ahem … eye-catching outfits out there that I definitely haven’t seen before, that’s for sure :)

Soul Calibur III art snagged from Costume GET! here.

I mean, I didn’t even know that there was an official Playstation blog where they occassionally post high resolution character renders and concepts like this lovely lady from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (three other ladies await when you click the above link :D ).


Tthe site design looks a bit drab but what matters is the content, right?

You’ll also find several thoughtful and well-written articles on game costumes and games in general at Costume GET!, including a serious, in-depth analysis of Lara Croft’s outfit from Tomb Raider : Legends (Part I and II) provided that you weren’t too busy appreciating the costume designs featured there :P

Check out Costume GET!.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Cool Character Designs for Upcoming Webzen’s MMOG APB
Tekken 6 Character Renders
Virtua Fighter 5 Renders & Wallpapers
Bullet Witch Wallpapers
Korean MMORPG Wallpapers (III) – Tantra Online

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Games Thursday : Mini Ninjas Demo Impressions

Just played through the demo of IO Interactive’s Mini Ninjas – an enjoyable but rather short little romp through a cartoonishly rendered medieval Japan. You control a party of three different Ninjas (more in the full game) and can switch between them at will – little Hiro who can possess nearby animals and then sneak past enemy guards, Futo a big brawny fellow with more than a passing resemblance to Mr Incredible from Pixar’s The Incredibles and Suzume whom I haven’t figured out her specialty yet.

While it’s nothing particularly innovative or challenging, Mini Ninjas is surprisingly immersive and engaging – I have played the demo over and over for more than five times, mainly trying to find all the secret areas and hunt down every single artifact.

Maybe it’s the goofy character design and animation, or the silly cutscenes or simply the lightheartedness of the game or even its soothing music which keeps me playing on and on.

Watching the exaggerated motion of the enemy samurai goose-step with armor clinking as they patrol along paths in the bamboo forest or chitter “Ninja Ninja” incessantly like insects as they swarm towards you, never gets old for me :)

Different types of enemy samurai ensure that a little more than simple button-mashing is required if you’re going for the brute force approach. As with IO Interactive’s Hitman series and with ninjas in general, the preferred way is to rely on stealth and use force only when necessary – sneaking past enemy patrols by creeping around in tall grass is a viable option even for big bad Futo although you’re always welcome to cut the enemy at your own discretion.

More devious gamers will be delighted to find that there are more fancy tricks at your disposal for every situation. You can sprinkle caltrops as a gift for pursuing samurai when you’re feeling nasty or you can always switch to Hiro and use his Spirit Form spell to sneak past enemy strongpoints as a harmless chicken to avoid shedding blood (especially your own :) ).

I guess Mini Ninjas won’t last long judging from the length and linearity of the demo but it’s a blast while it lasts (hey, it rhymes :P )

Download the demo and other goodies (click on the Castle to download wallpapers) at the official Mini Ninjas website.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Shinobido Imashime Opening Movie
Katakijin – Stylish Ninja Hack n’ Slash Game
Ninja Rinseout
Makibishi Comic – Japanese Point &Click Flash Adventure
Ninja Gaiden 2 Official Wallpapers

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Art Friday : Concept Art for Concrete Games’ Revolution

Concepts from the canned guerilla-inspired console game Revolution by Concrete Games which was a subsidiary of THQ until it was closed down in January last year. First read about this game from Joshua James Shaw’s blog where he showcases artwork done for the game together with his personal portfolio.


© Concrete Games / THQ

Reminiscent of games like PopTop’s sunny dictatorial sim Tropico and of course, Avalanche Studios’ Just Cause, Revolution is set similiarly in a tropical country governed by a highly decorated dictator and his oppressive military regime.


© Concrete Games / THQ

Of course, a game with a title like Revolution would be incomplete with the rebels – some are depicted here wearing military fatigues emblazoned with the Marxist red star or with caps in the style of Fidel Castro’s. Surprisingly, there’s no depiction of the rebels wearing Che Guevara’s famous beret, given that the iconic mugshot of Fidel’s comrade is plastered on countless T-shirts worldwide in real life.


© Concrete Games / THQ

I like this piece highlighting the contrasting appearance of two very different warlords – the one on the left with his two henchmen wearing sneakers and sunglasses probably hail from a large town or city whereas the other is dressed like a fighter based in a rural town or in the jungle with a more practical and longer ranged rifle slung on his back. Both do wear extravagant accessories, probably to set them apart from their followers.


© Concrete Games / THQ

The Watch-Dogs – looks like to be a well-equipped CIA paramilitary types (see these photos of Hot Toys’ 1/6th CIA Commando) or simply mercenaries.


© Concrete Games / THQ

Another set of miscellaneous concepts – a Roman Catholic cardinal with the scarlet zurchetto and black cassock, a heavy armoured SWAT-style trooper and a machete-wielding cowboy(?).


© Concrete Games / THQ

For those who can’t get enough of the artwork for Revolution, Unseen 64 has a great selection of concepts done by other artists for the game, including this unequal faceoff between a fearless protester and a entire squad of riot police supported by an armoured car and snipers on the rooftops.


© Concrete Games / THQ

Goverment tanks and artillery securing the entrances to the airport.


© Concrete Games / THQ

The same airport up in flames after rebel “liberation”.


© Concrete Games / THQ

More concepts from the Unseen 64 gallery.


© Concrete Games / THQ

Mother’s Mercy – A heavily adorned rebel M1A rifle modified with a carrying handle. Comes with rusty bayonet (or is that dried blood on the blade?)

View more of these concepts for Revolution at Joshua James Shaw’s blog and at Unseen 64 (Part I and Part II).

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Concepts & Wallpapers from Iron Grip : Warlord
Waltz With Bashir – Award-winning Animated Documentary
Modernized M14 Rifles
A Second Look @ Jagged Alliance 2 Mod 1.13 v 1.0.0.687

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Wallpapers Wednesday : The King of Fighters XII

Wallpapers for the latest installment of The King of Fighters series – KOF XII. Nothing much to add except that most of the classic characters are still here :)


© SNK Playmore

Download the KOF XII wallpapers (24 in total) from SNK Playmore Japan.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match Wallpapers
The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match Wallpapers
UFS Wallpapers – Darkstalkers, Soul Calibur III, Samurai Shodown V, Street Fighter & King of Fighters 2006
KOF XI Wallpapers @ Gpara.com
Muay Thai Wallpapers

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Games Thursday : HRmageddon – This is Corporate Waaaarfare!

During the recent merger between Gray Solutions and Beige Dynamics, the HR division devised a revolutionary new system to better empower their employees by allowing them to weed out the less capable ones among them, division by division, thus creating a leaner and more efficient corporation as a result.

Welcome to HRmageddon, yet another tongue-in-cheek parody of corporate culture developed by THUP Games and published by the wickedly cool people at Adult Swim. As with any AdultSwim game, there’s bound to be a bit of their trademark mature themes in there but it’s generally all good old tactical squad-based action.

Four different personnel stereotypes are yours to hire : managers provide defensive bonuses to their co-workers but are useless on their own, receptionists are masters in delivering volleys of staples to the faces of the opposition, salesmen zip around dealing massive damage with their equally huge bar charts and IT guys generally mess around with computers and disrupt multiple enemies in the vicinity with abilities like Server Crash.

Pick your six staff wisely and get ready to wipe the opposing division off the new company’s payrolls. Simply take over the required number of cubicles in the office to forcefully retrench the rival division (you can’t work when you don’t have a cubicle to work in, can you) or better still, literally terminate them all (permanently). There’s no limitation to how many employees of each type you can hire in your division, which partially explains why the corporation wants to cut costs – anyone who has ever worked in a place where there were more managers than workers will definitely understand :)

While it’s obviously just a game, some of the fundamental (and unwritten) rules of work still apply here – pay raises always boost staff morale – but their supposedly positive impact on employee health in real life is still a hotly debated topic :P Also more coffee = more power (for special attacks) – although I’ll like to readily admit that IT guys like me are more prone to cause server crashes (accidently, of course) from lack of coffee than with more coffee as depicted in-game :)

The tactical gameplay is surprisingly deep due to the the number of possible division setups – 720 – as the factorial of 6 proves (see, maths is good for you). Understanding how and when to use each special attack for each character for maximum effectiveness as well as how each of your staff complements the others is crucial for victory.

Every cubicle that you control for your division further increases the offensive bonus for your entire division so you have to strike a fine balance in your strategy between a wholescale murder of your rivals and a all-out race for the cubicles.

There’s also several power-ups to be collected, some which will affect your strategy depending on which character picks them up – clone a speedy salesman with the copier to quickly grab more cubicles or a manager for extra healing support for a sustained battle with your foes. For those random effect powerups, you’ll just have to make do with what they confer on your fortunate (or unfortunate) employees and re-adjust your strategy accordingly.

Definitely loads of fun to be had in HRmageddon especially if you like your tactical games sprinkled with a generous dose of irreverent humour.

Play HRmageddon – as recommended by Indie Games :)

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
IGWB (III) – Firefight – WWII Infantry Tactics Simulator
Warfare 1944
Autumn War – Zombie Killfest
Modern Tactics 3
Learning Your A.B.Cs with Viva Caligula

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