…yep.

“We’re geared up for an outrageous sea and land conflict with the all new BATTLESHIP videogame,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Inspired by the film’s exciting action and stunning backdrop, the game is next-gen naval warfare that thrusts players into the middle of humanity’s last stand against an unfamiliar menace.”

I…have never thought about next-gen naval warfare while trying to figure out which coordinates that stupid, tiny destroyer floated on. I also missed the part where the original Battleship had land warfare. I also always knew who I was making my last stand against. (It was my mother, and she had a knack for taking me down quickly.) I have also never put characters on my boats (mostly because they were too tiny and I didn’t miss the part where it was a board game). But this has not stopped Double Helix, who are developing the game for Activision.

In Battleship, you’ll play as demolitions specialist Cole Mathis (who, I’m betting, is going to sink a battleship! Teehee!), who is essentially stuck in a deserted land and sea area where his cell phone doesn’t work. Well, okay, it’s Hawaii. Also, considering that I once had a boyfriend call me from the top of a volcano in Hawaii, I’m not quite understanding this “dead zone” thing. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he has Sprint or something.

Anywho, the game somehow combines first-person shootery goodness with naval strategy simulation, so it’s Call of Duty meets…well, the board game. The key word is “somehow.” You’ll command frigates, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and…well, a very surprising last ship — the USS Missouri battleship.

Why so surprising? Well, the USS Missouri is a museum. So, I’d imagine that makes it very easy for the enemy to find — just go to Pearl Harbor. It’s kind of just…there. And it has a P.O. Box and everything. Easy!

Battleship arrives in Europe this April, followed by North America in May. It’ll be available for PS3 and Xbox 360 with special versions available for Wii, Nintendo DS and 3DS.

Here’s a trailer chock-full of “Not actual game footage.”

Release Date: 29/12/2009
Audio tracks: English 5.1, Japanese 5.1
Languages: ENGLISH & JAPANESE
Genre: Anime, Family, Fantasy
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Subtitles: ENGLISH subtitles
Runtime: 100.0 mins

The most recent release from the folks at Studio Ghibli is the tale of Ponyo, a particularly special fish.

Ponyo (voiced by Noah Cyrus, younger sister of Miley) is a fish with magical powers. She is the daughter of Fujimoto (voiced by Liam Neeson) and Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) – both of whom have their own special powers.

Fujimoto is an eccentric sorcerer who was once a human himself, but he now detests them and lives in the ocean. He tries to prevent Ponyo and her siblings from escaping his possession – he is a little overprotective I guess.

One day Ponyo manages to escape, hitching a ride on a jellyfish heading towards land. Just as she breaks through the waters surface, a ship comes racing towards her. It has a net attached which is being dragged across the ocean floor to collect any rubbish residing there. Ponyo gets caught in this mess and ends up with her head stuck in a jar. She manages to to get free of the net and makes her way to shore – still stuck in the jar.

On a cliff above, there is a house where a young boy named Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas, sibling of the Jonas Brothers) lives with his mother Lisa (Tina Fey) and his father Koichi (Matt Damon). Sosuke likes playing with his toy boat in the ocean, and this is how he comes to meet Ponyo.

Sosuke is meant to be going to school, and in the final stages of leaving he runs down the cliff side to have a quick play. Lisa is almost ready for work, and calls out that she’s starting the car up just as Sosuke finds Ponyo floating in the water.

Sosuke races Ponyo to his house where he helps Ponyo escape from the jar and then fills a bucket with water to place her in. Lisa is still trying to get moving and Sosuke rushes to the car – bucket in hand. He thinks Ponyo is a goldfish, and gives her the name “Ponyo” during the car ride. Her name was actually “Brunhilda” before, but we don’t know that until later.

Lisa works right next door to Sosuke’s school in a Seniors Centre. Sosuke is well-known to the residents and is friends with the women named Noriko (Betty White), Yoshie (Cloris Leachman) and Toki (Lily Tomlin). Noriko and Yoshie are kind ladies who treat Sosuke’s new friend as a wonderful event, however Toki (the crankier of the lot) sees the fish as a bad omen due to Ponyo actually having a human face. She fears a tsunami will head their way.

Ponyo isn’t exactly pleased with this and spits water on Toki. As Toki gets upset, Sosuke escapes down to the ocean shore with Ponyo. Unfortunately, just as Ponyo begins to speak, she is snatched back by her father into the sea. Worried about her, Sosuke tries to search in the water but can’t find her. Lisa retrieves him from the water, crying and upset over the disappearance of his new friend.

On their way home, Lisa tells Sosuke that his father is coming home that night. Koichi is Captain of a large sea vessel, and is gone for days at a time. Unfortunately, he rings to let them know that something has come up and he won’t make it home. This news dampens their spirits a little more.

Koichi did say he would sail past though, and would signal them from the ship. Lisa is not happy and doesn’t want to participate in the Morse code light exchange. After a period of back and forth between Koichi and Sosuke, she lets Koichi know she’s upset. Sosuke cheers her up after Koichi has sailed off, and all is right for the night.

Back at Fujimoto’s, Ponyo is determined to return to Sosuke. She even sprouts legs and arms in an attempt to make herself human – much to her fathers disapproval. He manages to overpower her and return her to her original form. She falls asleep from all the use of power, and her father leaves her alone with her siblings. When the coast is clear, her siblings help her awaken which leads to her turning human again and making another escape.

A huge amount of power is used in this escape which causes an imbalance in nature. The Moon is drawn closer to Earth which causse the waters to rise incredibly high – submerging most of the town. Ponyo manages to catch up with Sosuke at his house. Lisa and Sosuke had just raced through the crazy rainstorm to return home, when Ponyo appears on the road behind them. They shelter her from the storm at their house.

Worried about the Seniors, Lisa leaves Sosuke with Ponyo knowing they’ll be safe on the cliff top. In the morning they find that the water has risen to the back door. Lisa hasn’t returned home and Sosuke wants to go find her. Ponyo helps out by making his toy boat large enough for the both of them to ride in. So off they go to find Lisa.

As Ponyo is powering both her own physical state and the size of the boat, it isn’t long before Ponyo tuckers out. Luckily they are close enough to land to walk the rest of the way to the Seniors Centre. By the time they reach their destination, Ponyo has reverted back to a fish. They also find that the Seniors Centre is submerged, and a set of empty wheelchairs are sitting on a hill sticking out of the water.

They also come face to face with Fujimoto who tries to convince Sosuke to allow Fujimoto to take the pair to his mother and the other seniors. Toki is camped on the hill and calls out to Sosuke warning him not to go with Fujimoto. She believes Fujimoto tricked the others into going with him, and encourages Sosuke to cross the water and join her. Just as Sosuke makes the leap into Toki’s arms, Fujimoto catches them all and takes them underwater.

At the submerged Seniors Centre, the residents are all enjoying themselves. They are able to breathe and delighted that they can also walk again without pain, free from their wheelchairs. Lisa has been engaged in a conversation with Gran Mamare all night. To seafaring folk, Gran Mamare is known as the Goddess of Mercy.

When Sosuke, Ponyo and Toki appear, the conversation between the two mothers had just finished. Sosuke is introduced to Ponyo’s mother and told that for the imbalance to be corrected, he must show that his feelings of love for Ponyo are genuine. And Ponyo must agree to give up her magic if she wants to continue to live as a human. Will they?

Special Features include:

• Alternative Angle Storyboards
• Japanese trailers for Ponyo
• Trailers for other Studio Ghibli releases available from Madman

Ponyo is a majestic and sweet movie for all ages. The voice cast were excellent, with Cate Blanchett almost unrecognisable and the younger cast performing incredibly well. No surprise really considering their family ties, but they even sang the closing song – and it’s freaking catchy!

I absolutely loved this, and it is now one of my favourite Ghibli films. Go out and get it for your family or yourself – you definitely won’t regret it!

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

News from our friends at Madman is that Australians can expect a release of the film on DVD, just after Christmas on the 29^th December 2009. The DVD will feature the Disney Pixar produced English language dub and Japanese language (with subtitles) audio, as well as creator interviews, ‘The Five Geniuses Who Created Ponyo’ featurette, Japanese TV Spots and Trailers, Textless Songs and more. The English voice cast includes the voices of Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Lily Tomlin and Noah Cyrus as Ponyo.

If you aren’t clear on the story behind PONYO, here’s the synopsis:

In a small town by the sea, high on a cliff, lives 5-year-old Sosuke. One morning, while playing on the rocky beach below his house, he discovers a goldfish named Ponyo, her head stuck in a jam jar. Sosuke rescues Ponyo and keeps her in a green plastic bucket. Both Ponyo and Sosuke are fascinated by each other and promise to stay firm friends until Ponyo’s father, a sorcerer who lives deep under the sea, forces her to return with him to the ocean depths. What follows is an amazing underwater adventure for all ages.

Need more fPONYO? Maybe you would like to read The Art of Ponyo, Ponyo Picture Book and Ponyo Film Comics that are available now from Madman Manga. Or perhaps you need to complete your Studio Ghibli collection by getting some of the other DVD releases you may have missed, by purchasing their Studio Ghibli-related books such as The Art of Spirited Away, The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle and Hayao Miyazaki’s autobiography Starting Point 1979 – 1996? All of those are available at www.madman.com.au/studioghibli.

PONYO will be available on DVD in Australia from December 29^th 2009, and can be expected to cost $34.95.

Ponyo

Disney and Miyazaki teamed up to release Ponyo, a story inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid”. The story follows a young and eager fish named Ponyo on her quest to become human. The following list of American voice actors are pretty impressive with Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon,Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Betty White all with parts in the film.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential and much loved directors working in animation today. He’s one of the few Japanese directors to have achieved general public success for his work.

Ponyo has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and if you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, go to the theater now. Here are a couple clips from the film:
During SDCC 09, we were fortunate to sit with Miyazaki to talk about Ponyo, his career and everything else. At the interview was Miyazaki, translator, and
John Lasseter. Enjoy the interview!
Q: In your movies we see alot of movies with concerns for the environment and what not and older characters that are greedy. I was wondering if you believe that people are born with a conservative mindset and learn to be greedy over time?
A: I don’t think we are born with a natural tendency to try to protect the environment. It’s something we learn if we are educated or brought up with manners to protect or care for the environment. At some stage in our lives the greed factor became stronger and now we are faced with horrible environmental situation. I think it’s if you are taught manners toward the environment or not.

Q: We hear so often on the differences between Japanese and American animation. Can you comment on the similarities?
A: The similarity is that actual people are the ones drawing the animations. And they are working with the same kind of feeling every day. Can’t I get better, can I draw better, can’t I draw more quickly those are the kinds of things we are thinking about. [laughs] When I meet animators we can really understand each other right away. Everyone is very honest with how you feel.

Q: Does your inspiration come from your dreams?
A: I try to fish out my own dreams by dangling fishing line into my subconscious but they don’t catch very well. When I get stuck on ideas I realize the surface of my brain that isn’t helpful anymore. I have to go way down into my subconscious. When I have a pipe into my subconscious is when I can release something more interesting that might resolve a dramatic situation or scene in films. But I have to come to real difficulties and really struggle with it for that subconscious to work.

Q for John: When did you first Miyazaki?
A: I went over in my first trip to Japan at a conference called Nikograph. The person taking care of me worked for Studio Ghibli during the movie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind . He contacted them so I got over to visit. Prior to that, Miyazaki-san came over with a group of Japanese animators to Los Angeles and talked to a lot of animators in Los Angeles and that is when we first met. The first trip was November of 1987. I went to visit the studio and he was in production on My Neighbor Totoro . He appreciated my work and then he showed me around the studio and I’ll never forget the backgrounds were so beautiful. But this one cell of the catbus and I just looked at it. I didn’t need any translation…a bus that is a cat? I have to see this movie. Every chance when I go to Japan I visit him and when he comes over he visits me. I volunteered to help in every way I could with the english versions so Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and now Ponyo as well. I want this country to see his films because once you see him you love him.

Here are pictures from the Disney Animators panel at SDCC (look for other interviews to come soon!):

ESRB:

Buy it!

Purchase it from our Amazon store for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3

Fallout 3 is built on the same open world concept as Oblivion, also developed by Bethesda. You begin your life in Vault 101 with your father (voiced by Liam Neeson), where it is boring, yet safe. It jumps forward in time from when you were born, your first steps, the birthday when you get your Pip-Boy, the day of the GOAT exam. And then your father decides it is time for him to leave the Vault, much to the chagrin of the Overseerer. With your father gone, there isn’t much of a reason for you to remain in Vault 101, so you venture out as well, tracking down your dad and meeting all sorts of interesting people out in the Wastelands of DC. As you search for your father you discover that he did not always live in Vault 101. There is more to your parents’ life than what you were ever told as a child. Little by little you will uncover the secret your father and his comrades have been trying to keep from those who would steal it for their own means and not the good of the people.

Birthday Party in Vault 101

While traipsing all over the map, you’ll discover the curious little town of Andale, a girl with a fascination for all things Nuka-Cola, and some people who like to wear twigs. You can work for Moira by performing all kinds of crazy tasks for her to help her write a guide about surviving in the Wasteland. There are several areas of the map for you to discover & loot for better weapons and armor, and traders in the major hubs and wandering the wastes for you to swap with.

Another aspect I loved about Fallout 3 was that we can choose the kind of path your hero walks. Karma can be gained and lost depending on how you interact with other people. If you decide to kill some bad guys to save innocents your Karma level will go up. But steal from those same innocents and it will drop. You can maintain a neutral balance or lean either towards good or evil. The way you decide to play the game will impact which side quests are available to you.

The main storyline of Fallout 3 does follow a fairly decent progression. However, sticking straight to the storyline will mean a short gaming time and you will miss out on an abundance of opportunities. Jumping in and out of the main story is fairly simple. Play through one chapter of the quest, go off to kill fire ants and some other exploring, then move onto the next chapter of the story. You can do this as much as you would like, and it is highly recommended for leveling your character. The more you follow your father’s footsteps the higher the difficulty becomes and weapons become more powerful.

City in the Wasteland

Make sure you take time out of chasing after your father to pursue the side-quests. Meeting the Tree-People who live in Oasis, an orchard hidden away inside some northern mountains was a great one. Heading to the Arlington Library was fun too. Even dealing with the superheroes of Canterbury Commons has it’s bonuses, allowing you to become a superhero if you play your cards right. And with one hundred locations to find and explore you can meet some interesting people, hunt for collectible bobbleheads, and find all sorts of personal diaries from doctors to normal people living in the Wastes that are very informative or can lead to new locations.

Another aspect of the game that I both love and loathe at the same time involves currency and ammunition. You need to scavenge all dead bodies, crates, ammo boxes and any place you can to find some as it is sparse. There is also the option to purchase from various Wasteland vendors, however, what they have is also very limited, so make sure not to squander any. Your currency is in the form of bottle caps, because somehow Nuka-Cola made it through the bombs. Bottle caps can be made from selling unneeded items to vendors, drinking refreshing Nuka-Cola, and raiding lockers, other survivors or just finding them in houses. Make sure you think everything through before you spend them as they are just as hard to come across as ammo and vendors have very limited amounts of caps to give you if you are selling them items.

The VATS Adventage

Fallout’s control scheme is incredibly familiar for anyone who played Oblivion. However, the addition of the VATS system is new, and do I ever love it! The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System slows down the real time combat system and used action points for more precise targeting on certain parts of the enemy’s body. I love using VATS when I have the AP to do so. Watching limbs fall off your attackers or witnessing them turn into a puddle of green goo is very satisfying sometimes. The most important thing I have to keep in mind when I am playing Fallout 3 is that pressing the jump button is all well and good, but it won’t increase my athletics skills.

Fallout 3 allows you to create your own character from pre-rendered faces, skin tones, hair and other features. You can earn experience points in the game from picking locks, hacking computer terminals, killing enemies and completing quests. As you level up, you acquire skill points which you can award to different areas like big or small guns, science and repair, medicine and lock-picking. Also with each level, you can chose a “perk”, a title that comes with additional advantages for your character. Some of the perks are related towards speech or will add more skill points to certain areas of your development. Currently there is a level 20 cap on character development but that will be changing in 2009 as DLC becomes available.

With voice work by Liam Neeson and Malcolm McDowell front-lining the game, the ambient sounds and overall soundtrack of the game had to make sure it was all of the same caliber, which it most certainly was. The soundtrack to the game fits in so seamlessly. You can tune into GMR radio and listen to Three Dog and some tunes while you travel, or listen to Mother Nature. When in range or wandering Raiders and Super Mutants, you can hear them talking amongst themselves before they detect you.

I have to say that Fallout 3 is one of the best games I have seen this year. The design team at Bethesda deserves an award for creating the Wasteland they way they did. The browns and greys of destruction are just how I would imagine them to be if I was crawling out of a shelter years after bombs had fallen. I was very impressed with the texturing of the buildings, those which were crumbling apart and the make-shift ones of the survivors. Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and wandering around the Museum of History were just amazing for me. The odds of me actually visiting those places are very slim, but from seeing them on TV and in pictures I could tell that they did a wonderful job recreating them.

Megaton

For those people enjoying the game for achievements or just wanting the entire experience, you will definitely want to give the game more than one play-through. Karma can affect which quests are open for you to play which leads to three different play-throughs at least. And Bethesda has announced download content for console versions starting in January 09. They released some great (and one not-so-great) expansions for Oblivion, so I am excited to get my hands on the new content and explore other wasteland areas. Anchorage and Pittsburgh are new locations which will be coming, and there will be more Brotherhood of Steel quests which will also come with a new level cap for those who have maxed out their characters to level 20.

Fallout 3 is a must-have for any RPG gamer who is looking for a long term gaming investment, but is also great for people who want a game that lets them explore at their own pace. Whether you stick to the main story and breeze through it quickly or take your time scouring for bottle caps and ammo, be prepared to find yourself immersed in the post-apocalyptic wonders of Fallout.