The first big change seems to be the introduction of ‘Pure Shot’. This is being heralded as an innovation to how players shoot on goal. Apparently, shooting has been transformed since the last game, giving players the intelligence to adjust their stride, positioning and timing to strike the ball with precision. It seems as though this will make striking the ball more accurate and realistic, leading to more satisfying goals and, most likely, devastating misses. This also seems to go hand in hand with the new ‘real ball physics’, meaning that a well struck shot will leave the soccer ball flying through the air like an arrow and a poor shot will leave it bobbling around the pitch.

EA have also stated that players will now be able to ‘protect the ball’ to help dictate and control play in midfield. This is a welcome addition to the FIFA series. It was something that they attempted with the realistic dribbling and close control of FIFA 13, but it was far too easy to barge the players out of possession. This often left midfield feeling over crowded, with as much free space as my six year old 20GB XBOX hard drive (not much space at all). Hopefully, now players like Arsenal’s Wilshire, Juventus’s Pirlo and Barcelona’s Iniesta will actually be able to control play, make powerful runs and pick those characteristic pinpoint passes with enough room to swing a proverbial cat.

In previous FIFA titles, scouting was incredibly passive, allowing your scout to jet to far off lands and bring back players like some exotic animal that was best seen and not used. These players often took an age to improve and were never really overly useful for the team. Now it seems as though the players you’ll be bringing in could have a real effect on your squad. Hopefully this will enable you to choose players with attributes that will actually help refine and boost your squad rather than just sit on the bench, sucking away at your precious budget. Finally, EA have promised that AI players will have attacking and defending intelligence. Now, this was a change that they initially brought to FIFA 13 but, sadly, it wasn’t overly effective. Players did seem slightly more intelligent, true, but they still made idiotic mistakes that, in professional soccer, would leave a player benched – probably for eternity.

It looks like FIFA 14 is shaping up to be the best the series will have ever offered. I’m pretty sure that I said that in last year’s FIFA preview. Keep an eye on inMotion Gaming for all of the latest information on EA’s next instalment to the FIFA series.

Written by

Alec Ward

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Update: 7 April 2013

In a quite shocking turn of events, Nintendo has revealed a new Pokemon–one that looks uncannily related to the classic Pokemon Mewtwo. It is unclear at this time if it is a new Pokemon entirely or an alternate form to the famous monster. Nothing else has been revealed, including its name and typing.

Original Article

Every few years, the power couple that is Nintendo and developer GAMEFREAK ushers in a new era of their uber-franchise, Pokemon. For nearly two decades now, the series has introduced a horde of games and nearly seven-hundred of the titular pocket monsters. The most recent ‘generation’ of Pokemon games, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2, were critically acclaimed for moving the admittedly stale franchise forward in an exciting and fresh direction.

It now seems that the Pokemon franchise is moving forward once again. Pokemon X and Y have been announced for a simultaneous worldwide release sometime this October. This 6th generation of Pokemon introduces some truly huge departures for the series, as well as more Pokemon to catch, train and battle.

Pokemon X and Y will have fully-realized 3D graphics. The series will no longer be sprite based, as it has been done since the original games, Red and Blue. Everything, from your player character to the Pokemon themselves, has a unique character model. Despite this, movement in the field appears to still be grid-based. That means your player character will only move up, down, left or right, with no diagonal movement possible.

Battles are also fully realized. For example, Pokemon will react to being hit by certain moves. This builds on the previous generation’s gameplay enhancements, with Pokemon having moving sprites during battle. Attack effects have also been enhanced and look even more dynamic than ever. The environments in which battles take place are even fully three-dimensional.

Pokemon X and Y will be exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS, and unavailable for any incarnation of the Nintendo DS. Both games will be available to download directly to the 3DS via Nintendo’s popular e-Shop application. It should be noted that this is the first time a Pokemon game will be available at the same time in Japan as the rest of the world. This means Pokefans across the world can experience the new games together.

Pokemon X and Y Official Reveal Trailer

This new, dynamic world looks to be very detailed and very fun. Pokemon X and Y will be set in a new region, the name of which is currently unknown. It does appear to at least be inspired by Europe (more specifically, France) the same way the previous generation’s region, Unova, was directly inspired by New York City.

Pokemon X and Y will return to the series norm of including older Pokemon along with brand-new ones in the main part of each game’s story. In Black and White, by contrast, the player couldn’t even witness Pokemon of past generations until finishing the game’s main narrative.

With every new set of Pokemon games comes, of course, new Pokemon. As of this update, there are six known official new Pokemon being debuted in X and Y. They are:

Froakie, Fennekin, and Chespin

These three constitute this new region’s starter Pokemon. Like all starter trios in the Pokemon series, they are typed as Water, Fire and Grass respectively. These are the only new Pokemon whose types are officially revealed. At this time, there has been no official reveal of each starter’s evolution family. Chespin appears to be based on a hedgehog and/or porcupine, making it the first Grass-type starter to not be reptilian. Fennekin most likely uses the real-life fennec fox for its inspiration, while Froakie is obviously based on a frog.

Xerneas and Yveltal

These formidable looking creatures appear to be the stars or ‘version mascots’ of Pokemon X and Y, respectively. Virtually nothing is known of them yet, including their types. You can see the ‘X’ and ‘Y’ motifs that each beast is designed after, however. Xerneas and Yveltal may be the most confusing Pokemon names yet; proper pronunciation of each is ‘ZURR-nee-us’ and ‘ee-VELL-tall.’

Sylveon

Arguably the most controversial new Pokemon so far revealed is Sylveon. It is the newest in the ‘Eeveelution’ family of Pokemon, or different creatures that share a common base form in the classic Pokemon Eevee. Due to their designs, this collection of Pokemon is incredibly popular, and Sylveon is already forming a fanbase all its own. Like Xerneas and Yveltal, its type has not been officially revealed.

Little is known about Pokemon X and Y, but the games are already shaping up to be nothing short of revolutionary. As the October 2013 release date approaches more information will be made available. Keep it here at inMotion Gaming for Pokemon X and Y news updates you can trust.

That being said, I think Chespin is the coolest starter out of the new three, by far. Disagree? Let us know which your favorite is in the comments below!

Written by

Christopher A. Carlson

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In case you missed last week’s Re: Cap, you can find it here.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Following the elimination of Ansem and Xemnas at the hands of Sora and Riku, Xehanort has revived. This is because when a person’s Heartless and Nobody are eradicated, their original being is resurrected. In light of this troubling news, Yen Sid puts Sora and Riku through their very own Mark of Mastery exams to make them Keyblade Masters and prepare them for Xehanort’s coming onslaught. For the trial, they are separated and sent to worlds previously destroyed by Heartless that have been restored, though now asleep and disconnected from other worlds.

Their ultimate goal is to reawaken the sleeping worlds by unlocking the seven Sleeping Keyholes they contain, and return from the realm of sleep. During the exam, the two both come across the resurrected Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas, as well as a young Master Xehanort from an alternate past. The three reveal to Sora what Organization XIII’s true purpose was– to serve as vessels for Master Xehanort to place pieces of his heart inside, turning them into his clones. Near the end, Young Xehanort forces Sora into a comatose state and his heart is engulfed in darkness. However, it’s protected by Ventus’ suit of Keyblade armor, which is still residing within his heart.

Riku tries to save Sora, but is confronted by a new Organization, comprised of the newly revived Master Xehanort and his eleven vessels, whom Xehanort is plotting to have battle seven Keyblade wielders and once again forge the X-blade (through the penultimate clash of equal strengths of darkness and light). Master Xehanort tries to turn Sora into his last needed vessel, but Sora is rescued by Riku and several other friends including Lea–the revived human form of Axel–after which Xehanort and his Organization retreat.

At Yen Sid’s tower, Riku enters Sora’s body and releases his heart from Ventus’ armor in a fierce struggle. When Sora wakes up, only Riku is made a Keyblade Master, as Sora ultimately gave in to the darkness in his heart. Lea is revealed to be a Keyblade wielder, much to everyone’s surprise. Sora then begins a new journey to train by himself. Ven is shown still in Castle Oblivion’s Chamber of Waking, but smiling a bit. The secret ending reveals that Yen Sid is preparing to gather seven Keyblade wielders to battle Xehanort’s thirteen vessels of darkness. He has Riku bring Kairi to his tower to begin her training with the Keyblade she was given in the climax of Kingdom Hearts II.

So there you have it. The story of Kingdom Hearts recapped. Admittedly, it’s a lot to take in, but it’s worth it to prepare for Kingdom Hearts III.

Kingdom Hearts III Predictions

While I’m on the subject of Kingdom Hearts III, I would like to take a moment to speculate the events that could transpire in our long-awaited sequel. Here are 6 things I predict.

1. Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are trapped, and it’s up to Sora to save them. This will probably be the bulk of the game; saving them one at a time.
2. Riku passed his Mark of Mastery exam, but Sora didn’t. So either saving Terra, Ventus, and Aqua will earn him the mark, or he’ll have to find another way before he’s fit to take on Xehanort.
3. Xehanort is back, and he’s got a squad of versions of himself from different time periods. This will undoubtedly mean they will be messing with our hero’s head, as is tradition of Kingdom Hearts villains, and also that there’s going to be an epic battle in the climax of the game, similar to that of Birth By Sleep.
4. Yen Sid needs 7 Keyblade wielders to battle Xehanort. Right now, there’s Sora, Riku, the newly acquired Lea, and Mickey. That’s four, lets assume that Yen Sid won’t be taking part in the battle, so if/when Ventus and Aqua are retrieved, we’ll have six. Kairi will make seven. Unless we somehow get Terra back…
5. We know where Aqua and Ventus are, but what about Terra? He was trapped in his body with Xehanort. Now that Xehanort is back in his old form, what happened to Terra and his body? I suspect he’ll be the last of the three you rescue, with Aqua and Ventus helping you locate him.
6. The battle system has taken many different forms throughout the games. However, Dream Drop Distance looks to have the coolest one. For III, we can probably assume that there will be an awesome system, possibly combining the more popular ones. Or maybe they’ll just come up with something completely new.

The MoonLight of Keyblade Wielders | Image by MultiShadowYoshi

Thank you for joining us throughout this series! Keep it here at inMotion Gaming for all your Kingdom Hearts III news!

Written by

Jonathan Gipson

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What We Know

And a brand new story it is. Black 2 and White 2 takes place two years after the events of their predecessors. The games focus on a new pair of protagonists, who hail from the newly-developed southwestern corner of the Unova region, which is only accessible via boat. Team Plasma, the criminal organization from Black and White, has split into two warring factions. New Team Plasma, lead by one of the previous games’ Plasma Sages, seeks to dominate Unova by capturing the legendary Pokemon, Kyurem.

As usual, collecting all eight Gym Badges and conquering the Pokemon League is your character’s primary mission. As players journey across the slightly altered Unova region, they will encounter new and familiar faces alike—some in new roles with new responsibilities. For example, Cheren—the previous games’ rival character—is now a Gym Leader. Unlike in Black and White, older Pokemon now roam free in Unova’s wilderness.

There are a host of new features headed to Black 2 and White 2. Largely replacing the unpopular musicals from BW is ‘PokeStar Studios,’ a Hollywood-esque mini-game featuring mock battles being ‘filmed’ on the set of a movie. There is a bigger focus on player connectivity, with several of Black and White’s EntraLink features being expanded upon. Some legendary Pokemon are getting new forms, including Black- and White- Forms for Kyurem, and Resolute Form for Keldeo.  In the same vain as Black and White, there are certain aesthetic changes to certain areas in Unova.  For example, there’s a cave that holds an underground river in Black 2, whilst in the same cave in White 2, there’s a subterranean lava flow.

Another significance Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 hold is that they are not being developed exclusively for the 3DS. Just as Black and White were, their sequels will be made available to owners of older DS models. As you might expect, this was met with quite a bit of public opinion. On one hand, Nintendo doesn’t want to isolate their DS market base—the millions of people who still game on their DS Lites and DSIs. Even after last year’s price drop, the 3DS still retails at $170. It’s understandable that Nintendo would make the DS family’s strongest selling franchise available to the widest margin of people possible, if only from a marketing perspective.

On the other hand, not developing a key title for their newest handheld may be a costly mistake. The 3DS has seen a small but stellar influx of key Nintendo IP’s in its year lifespan, from Zelda to Mario, Mario Kart to Star Fox. These have all been developed with the 3DS’s processing power in mind. To withhold Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 from the 3DS’s hardware capabilities can be seen as counterproductive, and even detrimental to the 3DS’s success.

However, there is a 3DS Download game being slated for release alongside Pokemon Black and White 2, entitled Pokemon Dream Radar. This game serves as an extension to the main games, and is an augmented reality shooter in which the player attempts to catch different Pokemon. If successful, they can be transferred to the player’s B2W2 save file.

How do you think these sequels will play out? Let us know in the comments below. Stay tuned for a detailed review from iMG when the games are released worldwide on October 7th, 2012.

Written by

Christopher A. Carlson

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Update: Check out our Theatrythm Review.

What We Know

The game features yet another conflict between deities Chaos and Cosmos, as previously seen in the Dissidia: Final Fantasy series of fighting games. Like in Dissidia, the game pools heroes and characters together from nearly every aspect of Final Fantasy lore. Unlike Dissidia, however, said heroes aren’t being pitted against each other or their respective rivals–they’re squaring off against some of the more famous beasts from across the Final Fantasy franchise.

One key thing to note is the art direction in Theatrythm. To liken it to a ‘kid-friendly’ rendition of the Dissidia games wouldn’t be inaccurate. Specifically, the heroes depicted in the game are Chibi versions of their regular artwork. Even the monsters and bosses you face off against are getting the cute treatment.

Of course, for this rhythm/RPG hybrid to work, you’d need troves of well-loved, quality pieces of music. Thankfully, the Final Fantasy series just may have the largest catalog of renowned game soundtracks in the history of video gaming. At least three of each Final Fantasy main series games’ best known pieces of music are featured in Theatrythm. Each piece falls into a separate category: field, battle, and event. For example, Final Fantasy V’s ‘Four Hearts’ represents that game’s field music, while ‘Battle on the Big Bridge’ shows up as its battle music. There have even been reports of DLC in the works, which will supposedly add even more tracks to the game’s already impressive library. This in itself is notable, as it will effectively be the first bit of 3DS DLC to be released, period.

Some Tracks that Theatrythm will Feature

• The opening theme from Final Fantasy
• Final Fantasy IV’s ‘Theme of Love’
• Final Fantasy VI’s ‘Dancing Mad’
• Final Fantasy VII’s ‘One Winged Angel’ and ‘J-E-N-O-V-A’
• Final Fantasy VIII’s ‘The Man With the Machine Gun’
• Final Fantasy X’s ‘Suteki da ne’
• Final Fantasy XIII’s ‘Blinded By Light’

Gameplay is split between field and battle modes. These are aesthetically different, but what you’re physically doing is exactly the same between both. The top screen contains the in-game action, and shows different directional arrows that move from left to right. As they move toward the right end of the screen, you either swipe or tap your stylus on the bottom screen in the indicated direction.

During battles, you control a party of up to four. Battles are shown as you’d see them throughout any older Final Fantasy title; the monster/boss is on the left, and your party is on the right. As notes and indicators move towards your characters, performing the correct stylus maneuver will damage your opponent—this is how you attack. It is also possible to use summoned monsters during battle. These include standard FF appearances, such as Ifrit, Shiva, etc. Field sequences, on the other hand, merely feature your lead character walking through environments based on the various Final Fantasy games. You still interact with the music during these parts of gameplay, however.

It was announced on April 19th that the North American pre-order bonus for Theatrythm will include a high-quality, Final Fantasy-themed stylus for your 3DS, complete with stickers depicting the game’s characters to decorate it with. There are reportedly seventeen different stickers that come in the kit.

What character will you put on your stylus? Let us know in the comments below, and keep it here at inMotion Gaming for a full review after the game launches on July 3rd.

Written by

Christopher A. Carlson

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