Afrika – Released in North America!

[Shin-Ra]

I've seen a video where the player got too close to some hippos and the screen starts flashing red. Do they eventually chomp you or does the screen fade out and reset you to camp losing your photos, time, money or something?

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Shin-Ra

I've seen a video where the player got too close to some hippos and the screen starts flashing red. Do they eventually chomp you or does the screen fade out and reset you to camp losing your photos, time, money or something?

You guessed right.

The animal "knocks you out" and you're back at your camp with your photos for the day lost.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

What I have heard is that there will be a outside of Japan release (for now only guaranteed for Asia), under the label "Akuna Matata".

Given that Akuna Matata doesn't sound that Asian to me, I can't imagine that they wouldn't release it in NA / Europe. Maybe depends if they perceive a demand or not, I know a lot of people that ask "what is the interest of a game where you can't shoot stuff?"

It's not an Asian term, it's Swahili.

Actually the corrected title is "Hakuna Matata" (yes, the same phrase popularized in one of the songs from The Lion King)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEVczA8PLU

I would imagine most of the problem is that they have to localize all the names of the animals, etc.

[Drew664]

This must be the video where you saw the hippos getting angry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8QrSlfJiU

The game play looks like it'd be mildly entertaining although it looks as if you are constrained to just taking photos and are unable to interact with the environment or animals (besides scaring/pissing them off when to close).

If they added tranquilizer guns in the mix where you would have to tranq and tag a certain animal then release it, I would think they could broaden their western market. Even traps would be fun.

[androvsky]

Looks like Natsume is bringing Afrika to the U.S.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/986/986560p1.html

[bajor27]

Originally Posted by androvsky

Looks like Natsume is bringing Afrika to the U.S.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/986/986560p1.html

was really excisting to read this. can't wait to play this game, but I'm really hoping it's not full priced. $39.99 would be awesome

[Protectron]

Could someone post the complete article? I would like to read it but at work at the moment.

[fsavoie]

Originally Posted by Protectron

Could someone post the complete article? I would like to read it but at work at the moment.

May 26, 2009 - We first heard about Afrika several years ago, most noticeably at E3 2006, when an animal-filled trailer popped up amidst a sizzle reel during Sony's press conference. The trailer didn't have any gameplay to speak of -- just scenes of majestic animals grazing in a series of exotic African locales. The trailer was instantly a target of speculation, but U.S. gamers didn't hear much else about Afrika for quite some time. Much later on, more information was dispersed through the net that revealed the basic premise of Afrika's gameplay: taking photographs of African wildlife. But even though you can now find ample details about this PS3 exclusive online, U.S. gamers seem to remain in the dark about the Afrika experience. That's about to change.

Natsume is bringing Afrika to the Unite States.

Developed by Rhino Studios, Afrika is a photography simulator with adventure elements. Boasting licenses from Sony and National Geographic (to name a few), Afrika places you in the vast African wilderness as you attempt to capture images of the various animals and plants with your trusty camera. I had the opportunity to sit down with a U.S. preview build of the game and try it for myself, which led to a series of blurry photos and being knocked unconscious by a hippopotamus. Oh well -- I get an "A" for effort!

Afrika is divided into several different modes, though all of them revolve around the "one with nature" design theme. The Safari mode is divvied into three parts: the Safari Game, the Photo Gallery and the Big Game Trophy mode. The GEO Afrika section of the game is also split into three segments: the Afrika Field Guide, the National Geographic Library and the Afrika Viewer.

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.

[Goodintentions]

it is really a unique game ... the beginning is very slow though .. i still havent made ti where i can drive the jeep on my own ..

[jkwest]

still no release date...how odd.

[DetroitSportsFan]

A Korean version was released, featuring 100% English. Nice price too.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-...n-70-3d7h.html

[Marine Mike]

How Natsume picked up Afrika (bonus: trophies confirmed!)
by JC Fletcher { Jun 17th 2009 at 2:45PM }

When Sony first revealed Afrika, it was a marquee first-party PS3 title used to show off the power of the system. Three years later, it's finally being released in North America, by tiny third-party publisher Natsume, who is more familiar with Harvest Moon and handheld games than anything shown off at a press conference. How did this happen?

According to Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations for Natsume, Finny the Fish was instrumental in the deal. No, really. Sony's Uo: Nanatsu no Mizu to Densetsu no Nushi was localized on the PS2 by Natsume as Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters.

"We have a relationship with Sony Japan," Markay explained. "You might remember Finny the Fish? That game was done by Sony Japan. So we licensed that game from them. We have a little bit of a history with their licensing department in Japan." Because of this relationship, Natsume was one of the companies contacted by Sony Japan about the game. Markay said that Afrika "really fits with the Natsume theme" because it's non-violent and nature-oriented. We might add that it fits with the Natsume theme so well that the company is simultaneously releasing a different safari photography game on the Wii.

In case you need an extra incentive to buy Afrika, Markay confirmed that "there is going to be a trophy system, which wasn't in the Asian release or Japanese release."

[Goodintentions]

i already bought hte asian version for the 30 bucks deal .. so maybe if the trophies seem more fun to get than aggravating ill be willing to double dip

[RamiusOO7]

Almost forgot about this game Some sources saying Aug 31st is the release date, my local EBG is now saying Sept 23rd, anyone know if there is a confirmed date yet?

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by RamiusOO7

Almost forgot about this game Some sources saying Aug 31st is the release date, my local EBG is now saying Sept 23rd, anyone know if there is a confirmed date yet?

September 23rd sounds more right because August 31st was just a placeholder date. But that 9-23 date can always change for good or bad.

[Bageara]

Afrika Now Available In The US

http://www.ps3center.net/news/3836/a...ble-in-the-us/

[RatedRstar]

IGN put out their review today.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/103/1032352p1.html

3.5

O IGN, why do I bother to read your reviews.

[Protectron]

Even though I haven't played the game, I get the impression that he barely played the game before writing the review. I bet the guy though no guns = no fun. lol

The game still looks interesting for me.

[RatedRstar]

Originally Posted by Protectron

The game still looks interesting for me.

Same here. I don't think it's worth 60 bucks but I loved Pokemon Snap back in the day so I'll definitely check this out when it's cheaper.

[TL OWNS U]

Originally Posted by RatedRstar

Same here. I don't think it's worth 60 bucks but I loved Pokemon Snap back in the day so I'll definitely check this out when it's cheaper.

On Gamestop it says it's 50 bucks