Got word that Bioware’s top honchos are stepping down, a sign that the company has nowhere to go but down as well. The way things have been going for them, we can expect big blockbusters with no soul just like EA’s biggest disappointments. I really want to stop being depressed so let’s concentrate on all the cool stuff that came out of the Tokyo Game Show shall we? First off, Earth Defense Force 4! Ever since the
We’ve also got some good news for Vita owners as there’s this really interesting title called Soul Sacrifice coming out for the portable next year. Based on demos, it looks like a Monster Hunter clone but with a really cool premise. To use abilities, one must sacrifice soul, hence the title. You can sacrifice your soul or that of your teammates, making for some hilarious trolling opportunities in co-op. The game looks amazing on the Vita as well, and since the system needs all the amazing games it can get, this is a welcome addition to the library. Of course, there’s also a moral choice system. Of course. A wide variety of spells doesn’t hurt either.
Then you’ve got The Unfinished Swan, a game whose mechanic strikes me as being very unique and fresh, a rare thing in this age of sequels and clones. Even the premise is quite different, as a young boy discovers the swan is missing in his fave painting and he goes in to search for it. Seems like an episode of Chalkzone, a little cartoon you may not have heard of. Well once inside the painting, you’re faced with a blank scenario and must paint your way through the first level. Each level will have different mechanics too, and I can only imagine how the rest of the game will play. The Unfinished Swan is a PS3 exclusive and we’re pegging it as a “Journey” beater when it’s released sometime in the future. Yep, no release date yet.
But it’s not all roses in the land of the rising sun, as we’re here to spread more Wii U discontent. There’s probably a good number of you intrigued by that new touch gamepad. How about the Wii U Pro? You know, that thing that looks like a 360 controller. Well, some are saying the controller is a little disappointing to use as it’s too light with mushy controls. That and it looks like a 360 controller! Rumble feedback is also on the light side. And you can have this little piece of hardware for only 50 American dollars! Seriously, if you’re going to sell a secondary controller that developers aren’t going to focus on as much? Make it cheaper. ‘Cause the point of the Wii U is that touch pad. Without it, it’s a PS3.
Want more disappointing news? Of course you do! Heard of that little title called Metal Gear Revengeance ? Well, based on one report from Kotaku, controls are quite intuitive. It also seemed like he was whining ‘cause he couldn’t get the game but there is some logic to what he’s saying. If a hack and slasher is going to be tough, it better have some decent block and dodge action. So far, using a well timed weak attack to block is your only defense against dogs with chainsaws. But the game sounds so weird we’re still going to check it out!
[Tukkolabs]
started this sentence. I guess Ninty’s fanboys are over the moon about all this hulabaloo, although for the love of all that is virtual, I don’t know why. Right there, you instantly know I’m personally not a fan of this new console I not so endearingly named “the ambulance.” Although at the start, there was a certain level of excitement generated in this gamer’s beating heart. All the reports and rumors initially suggested a console targeting the hardcore market, the new controller looked interesting enough, and we even heard that it would at the very least be twice as powerful as Sony and Microsoft’s current systems. Then blam, blam, blam, excitement shot dead.
As for their purported icing on the cake? Bayonetta 2 is going to be an exclusive release on the WiiU. You could say that it’s a coup for Nintendo pulling this off. What’s a sultry vixen doing on this thing? Huzzah right? Well, the game was pretty much canned by Platinum games. People complaining about it not going to PS3 or 360 should relax because it was never going there. It was dead until Nintendo came along. So yes, I’m happy the game’s alive and good job Ninty for this. Then again, I never finished Bayonetta so I’m not THAT happy. This is more of a neutral point for me. And again, it played fine on regular controllers so the whole gameplay over power part still isn’t kicking in for me.
because their sacred pastime had been violated. Console and pc gaming stood on the brink of change, and many thought not for the better. The social casual gaming scene had arrived, and with each game that the great overlord Zynga unleashed, they created a growing shiny bubble that grew each year, threatening to smother all.
See, the thing is, no matter what Zynga said, even if their bosses all stuck around, even if they sold their employees a load making them believe that it’s going to all right… I don’t think it’ll change anything if something fundamental isn’t altered. The fact is Zynga copies games far too often, and fine, if they claim they don’t, the fact is their games are entirely unoriginal and uninspired despite being fun to play in a mindless sense. Even casual gamers were bound to eventually graduate from the usual Zynga fare and want something more substantial. And here lies the flaw in the ultimate scheme of Zynga.
designers are either excited, or really intrigued. Don’t believe me? Robert Bowling of Call of Duty fame donated $10,000 for the Ouya, and has given the new console exclusive rights to his Human Element prequel series. If you’re not familiar with the game, you soon will be as it’s an action rpg set in a zombiepocalypse and that’s always awesome. And Bowling isn’t the only one. The guys behind such PSN hits as Journey, Flower, and Flow are also intent on backing the console, especially since their Sony contract is up. Here’s hoping we get a ton of exclusive content for this little wonder.
Analysts say there are good things in store for our f2p gaming future, and it’s not going to be as bad as you think. I mean, have you seen the kick-butt browser games in development? Look up Bastion and tell me I’m wrong.
a big way. Gaikai will be installed in TVs, browsers and most likely the PS4. This means all of these devices can stream a game being run on hardware miles away. No need for a game disc, just like Netflix does for movies and TV shows. Suddenly, even games are all about streaming. Or are they?
But back to internet connections, ‘cause that’s the real issue here. Why would Sony or Microsoft cut out millions of people from experiencing the next generation? Because that’s exactly what will happen if games make the big jump to the land of streaming 24/7. Currently, such a service supposedly needs a minimum of 5mbps, but people that have tried it complain it’s choppy even at 20mbps. The reason is your internet isn’t only for gaming. You download stuff, call people, surf and watch videos. If you want to stream a game? You better be ready to focus 100% on that game. The minute you decide to pop a browser, you’ll be navigating some choppy waters.
Take Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and his views at the Game Developers Conference who said, “…with the Unreal Engine as a whole, we found it's much easier to scale down from high end to low end devices than in this generation.” The importance of this is profound for Epic, whose mobile title Infinity Blade was the most profitable game for the company, even more than Gears of War. With this in mind, graphic quality is not the only concern, but development efficiency as well; although the former is still a major priority for the company with Unreal Engine 4. This is a view Crytek shares with their own CryEngine3. The power and efficiency part anyway.
So gone are the days where Japanese giants like Square Enix stick to tradition and internal development. Help is coming from everywhere. The game industry isn’t just the US and Japan; it’s Poland, it’s the Philippines, it’s every single place with a growing focus on IT and game development, all thanks to mobile gaming. Sweeney also sees this, acknowledging the pace at which mobile platforms are developing saying even the iPad2 is a DirectX 9 device. With the ability of the new Unreal engine to easily scale down from Console to mobile, EPIC is putting the MULTI in multiplatform.
EA! Man, these guys just love getting unwanted attention. Ok, they don’t, but they can’t seem to help themselves. So many of their games are being criticized for catering to the big audience, which in turn is hurting more than a few aspects of said games. Dragon Age 2? Went so mainstream it was barely recognizable as a Dragon Age sequel. Controls became so streamlined it was criticized for being a little too easy. It was also released a mere couple of years after the first game, not enough time for a great sequel. Story suffered, controls suffered, level design suffered. This level of business tampering on creativity was also evident in Mass Effect 3, but I don’t want to talk about that as that topic has been written to the ground. Frankly, I don’t want to talk about EA until they have an awesome original game worth going crazy over. But then they had to mess with Dead Space.
an IP like Dead Space.” This screams two words to me. Sell and out. The Dead Space series is known for giving awesome thrills and scares in outer space. It is arguably, the best modern horror video game series; but with EA’s statement, you have to wonder if that will change. To reach audiences of 5 million, things tend to get messed around with by businessmen that don’t have a clue how a great video game works. All they care about is “reach this audience, and to do that, maybe modernize your dialogue. Stick dude in there somewhere. Maybe the word bro as well.” Then you get Dude Space: Galaxy Bromance. I sincerely hope not, but EA’s not doing anything to instill confidence.