In January at CES 2013, Eric Rudder, Microsoft’s chief technology strategy officer, unveiled the IllumiRoom—a new Kinect driven device for use with next generation gaming consoles. This proof-of-concept project being developed by Microsoft Research “augments the area surrounding a television screen with projected visualizations to enhance the traditional living room entertainment experience.”
Pairing a Kinect for Windows with a projector allows for enhanced gameplay experiences by extending the screen beyond the TV. Unlike previous technology, such as Focus+Context screens, the IllumiRoom can be used in any type of living room setup.
While sitting on a coffee table, the self-calibrating Kinect will map out the user’s living room by detecting the placement of the TV, stationary objects, and colors in the environment. This allows the projector to “change the appearance of the room, induce apparent motion, extend the field of view, and enable entirely new game experiences.” Microsoft Research released the video below to demonstrate what the IllumiRoom can do.
Sacred Citadel was developed by Southend Interactive and published by Deep Silver. It was released April 17, 2013 for 1200 MSP. A copy, including the Jungle Hunt downloadable content, was provided for review purposes.
The recently independent studio Southend Interactive is no stranger to XBLA. Previous games include the cute puzzler ilomilo—a favorite among many players—along with new takes on old classics like R-Type Dimensions and Tecmo Bowl Throwback. Southend’s newest game, Sacred Citadel, puts a twist on the RPG franchise Sacred, trading in the point-and-click action for side-scrolling brawling reminiscent of Golden Axe and the great Dungeons & Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara. While it may not have the lasting impact of those titles, it’s more than capable of hanging with that crowd.
In Sacred Citadel, the world of Ancaria is threatened by Lord Zane’s quest to destroy the peaceful Seraphim. Players will stand against Zane’s evil Grimmoc army by taking control of one of four heroes: the Seraphim Mage, Safiri Warrior, Ancarian Ranger or the Khukuri Shaman. Throughout four acts (five with the Jungle Hunt DLC), the heroes will gain experience, level up and find new weapons and armor to further their quest towards victory. Players can experience all of this through a single player or three player co-op campaign. Get your button-mashing thumb ready because Sacred Citadel is going to put it to the test. Read More
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Official word on Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox — believed to be codenamed Durango — is expected to come out during the May 21 Xbox event with more details to follow at the company’s pre-E3 press conference in June. Last month, Pete Isensee, principle program manager at Microsoft Xbox, told UBM Tech that, “In many ways, the next generation is already here in the form of natural user interfaces powered by Kinect.” Naturally, Microsoft wants to keep the focus on the Xbox 360, the Kinect sensor and titles shipping on the system; however, plenty of rumors have been popping up as the reveal grows ever closer.
One of the most controversial rumors is the Durango’s supposed “always on” requirement. Meaning an internet connection is required to boot any application or game. Allegedly trustworthy sources tell Kotaku the “always on” requirement was still planned as recently as March. They also said a network troubleshooter will display if the system loses connection for more than three minutes during a session.
The good news is nothing is official. It could be that “always on” doesn’t affect games at all. With the poor consumer reaction and Sony officially stating the PS4 needs no internet connection in order to be used, it’ll be interesting to see what Microsoft does.
Alien Spidy was developed by Enigma Software Productions and published by Kalypso Media. It was released March 20, 2013 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.
In the interest of full disclosure, we were unable to complete Alien Spidy for this review. Finishing a game before it’s reviewed is the ideal, but as you read you’ll understand the issues encountered that led to these circumstances.
Enigma Software Productions may not be a familiar name to most gamers, especially on the Xbox Marketplace. Their previous titles include History Channel: Legends of War – Patton, War Leaders: Clash of Nations and several other RTS and action games. Coming from a lineage of titles like that, it’s surprising to see a game like Alien Spidy come from the same studio. With its cute animation style and what looks to be fun, laid-back platformer gameplay, the game is a real step into uncertain territory — which is something we’d normally encourage. However, looks can be deceiving, and even though it’s nice to see a developer step out of their comfort zone, there’s something to be said for sticking to your strengths. In this case, Alien Spidy is a game that would have been better left unspun.
Alien Spidy puts players in the role of an alien spider named, you guessed it, Spidy. As the game opens, Spidy’s friend Virgi sets out on an exploratory mission to the planet Earth; however, Spidy quickly becomes concerned when he loses contact with her. Being the adventurous sort, Spidy decides to set out for Earth to save his friend. As he approaches the planet, his ship runs in to some technical difficulties. Crash landing on Earth, pieces of the ship are scattered across 70 levels in three unique areas. It is here players set out to find the missing parts of Spidy’s ship and save Virigi.
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