Afrika (PS3)

[Complex]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

WOW, that is impressive. I can see someone playing this game and getting involved for hours.

[Candyman5]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Wow, I am amazed.

[goh]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Guess it's not coming this month.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

I was happy to hear about this when I read about it a few days ago. Before I was going to have to import the European version when it came out -- now obviously I don't. I hope it sells relatively well, and I'm sure I won't be the only one on OS playing it.

I was also hoping to be able to play this one. I enjoyed Endless Ocean on the WII, and was looking forward to a similar non-game like game.

[Flawless]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Pre-E3 2009: Afrika's Finally Coming to the US

The Safari Game is the bread and butter of the Afrika experience. In it, you'll choose between a male or female photographer and set up a large tent in the African wild, which serves as your base of operations. Here, you can sort through your various cameras and lenses, study maps of the surrounding environments and check your PC for email and more. Emails are the key to accepting missions in Afrika, and missions are the primary gameplay component of the experience. You'll be tasked with pursing particular animals or photographs, and you'll be rewarded with handsome payments for getting the job done.

When you're actually roaming the wild, you can move around and control the camera just like any other adventure game with the two analog sticks. Pressing Square will bring you into a first-person camera mode, where you can adjust a surprising amount of options. Depending on the camera, you'll also have a digital zoom available that can be adjusted with the right stick. You can even tilt your controller to the side to take a portrait shot -- nice touch.

Pressing down on the D-pad will make your character crouch low so you can sneak closer to the otherwise skittish wildlife. Of course, if you do scare away that nervous zebra, you can always hop into your jeep and drive after it. Although you won't be able to get Halo-like airtime in your vehicle, it's a great way to get around, despite the fact that it makes a lot of noise and might scare away more animals in the process.

Although I wasn't able to see it, your photographer will also have access to more advanced camera tech, like trap cameras for snapping a shot of nocturnal creatures and cameras mounted on small remote-control rovers. This will hopefully give players even more options for capturing rare moments on film.

The great thing about Safari mode is that completing missions doesn't just net you cash. When you take a picture of a particular animal, you'll unlock extended information and media about that animal in the GEO Afrika section of the game. The National Geographic Library is full of real photographs and video clips of the various African critters, so this unlocking system adds to the "collectible nature" of the experience. The Afrika Field Guide is also helpful, as it has plenty of facts straight from National Geographic on the animals so players will be able to learn a little bit about nature as they go.

Going back to the Safari portion of Afrika, the Big Game Trophy mode is an excellent way to see the most exciting, classic moments in the African landscape. These are like the mini-games of Afrika, as they drop the player into a preset scenario where you have a limited amount of time to take a picture of the event at hand, like two lions fighting or a cheetah chasing down a gazelle. These mini-games remove the exploratory element of Afrika and focus on the raw picture taking, which you're graded on.

Of course, what "one with nature" game would be complete without a straight screensaver mode to put on at parties? In the Afrika Viewer, you can set up an automated camera to pan across the game's landscapes, and you can even set the slideshow to music. And the music, by the way, is quite fantastic.

Although I barely scratched the surface of Afrika, this game looks like it has serious potential to win over a niche crowd. With more than 100 missions to pursue and plenty of animals to capture on film, Afrika is sure to be a welcome break from the standard shooter/action game fare we've seen so much of lately.

[ChaseB]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

I've had Hakuna Matata (Afrika) for a while now, and I'm glad to see it's finally going to be coming to the U.S.

[Eton Rifles]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

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sorry, I had to do it.

[pfunk880]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

LOL

[Burns11]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

I wonder if there will be any real differences, other than the National Geographic branding, they certainly sat on it long enough considering it was already fully translated, it just needed a little proof reading.

[The C]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Just wanted to point out that the op is wrong. Pokemon snap is plenty realistic.

[DickDalewood]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

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sorry, I had to do it.

LOL, good stuff.

This game looks sweet though. When the hell is it coming out!?

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

This does look cool. The asian import is $30 which will be cheaper than this one when it releases.

[Burns11]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Unknown, you can get the Korean version of the game, that has a full english translation, for $30 from play-asia.

I just read the article, what happened to the publishing deal with National Geographic (or was it Discovery Channel) that was reported at the end of last year? I guess that fell through?

[ChaseB]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

Unknown, you can get the Korean version of the game, that has a full english translation, for $30 from play-asia.

I just read the article, what happened to the publishing deal with National Geographic (or was it Discovery Channel) that was reported at the end of last year? I guess that fell through?

National Geographic published the game overseas at the very least because it has the National Geographic branding on the back of the Hakuna Matata box.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Afrika (PS3)

It looks like the game has been delayed to 10/6 and rumor has it that it may even be into 2010.