New Games |
- Gaijin Games announces Bit.Trip Runner 2 for the Wii U
- Wii U Miiverse posts to be screened by Nintendo employees
- Wal-Mart is offering a free game with Vita systems
- Peter Molyneux and the curious case of the £50,000 DLC
- E3: FIFA 13 subtly iterating on FIFA 12
- E3: New Super Money Bros. 2: Gotta get dat cheese
- E3: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance video impressions
- E3: ZombiU could potentially go multiplatform
- E3: Hands-on with Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
- E3: Takamuru's Ninja Castle may contain ninjas
- 38 Studios declares bankruptcy, investigation begins
- E3: David Cage reaches new heights in Beyond: Two Souls
- E3: Player choice completely changes The Last of Us
- E3: Luigi's Ghost Mansion may cause women to shriek
- E3: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation channels Capt Morgan
- StarCraft II is on sale for a limited time
| Gaijin Games announces Bit.Trip Runner 2 for the Wii U Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:05 PM PDT Since wrapping up the Bit.Trip series with the sublime Bit.Trip Flux, Gaijin Games has broadened its horizons, re-releasing some of their more popular titles for PC and iOS. Spending the last few years inducing smiles from Nintendo enthusiasts, the Santa Cruz-based indie studio shifted its focus to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, apparently drawing a bit of ire from their most fervent and loyal patrons in the process. Fear not, perturbed prospective Wii U owner -- the developer has announced their next title, Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2, Future Legend of Rhythm Alien for Nintendo's next generation console. Complete with infectious chiptunes courtesy of Fez composer Disasterpeace, Gaijin has also announced a vast array of new abilities, costumes, and close to ten playable characters for the follow-up to Bit.Trip Runner. You can expect Wii U Game Pad support and trophies as well, if you're into that sort of thing. |
| Wii U Miiverse posts to be screened by Nintendo employees Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:45 PM PDT The Wii U's social network, Miiverse, will have a filter to block spoilers and adult language. In addition, each post will be read by a Nintendo employee -- screened, in essence -- to make sure it is appropriate for all ages. This human screening will be augmented by a computer screening process to get rid of obviously offensive content. I understand that Nintendo is trying to maintain a family-friendly platform, but the whole point of this sort of service is instant feedback from other users. (Iwata even acknowledged that point.) Rather than going on about how ridiculous I think this is, and how it seems like Nintendo is doing even more to alienate their adult fans (who I'm not sure would even use this feature much), I'll simply say that I don't really agree with Iwata. I should also point out that there were no specifics on how long the wait would be on seeing a post go up, and it may not end up being that bad. |
| Wal-Mart is offering a free game with Vita systems Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:50 PM PDT We're taking a little break from our E3 coverage now that the show has ended to give you a quick heads-up: Wal-Mart is offering one free PlayStation Vita game with purchases of either the standard Wi-Fi Vita system or the more expensive 3G/Wi-Fi model. Not a bad deal, in theory -- but what are the games? The applicable titles are: MLB 12: The Show, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Little Deviants, Reality Fighter, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Unit 13, and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational. While clearly some are better than others, that's not a bad line-up. This deal is going to expire on June 9, so be sure to act fast if you're going to act at all. Now that we have seen what's on the horizon for Vita, I suspect you won't have to sleep on the decision. |
| Peter Molyneux and the curious case of the £50,000 DLC Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:45 PM PDT Peter Molyneux can't simply make a game; it has to be an experiment. With Fable, it appears that he wanted to see how interaction would work when you were restricted to farting or doing a chicken dance. Maybe there was more to it than that. Who knows? Well, he's at it again, this time with his latest social game, Curiosity. In Curiosity, players must chip away at a big cube in the middle of a room. The player who breaks it open gets to witness something amazing. It will probably be photos of Molyneux's summer holidays, ones with him in wee swimming trunks. 22Cans will be selling a special diamond chisel upgrade for a rather large sum of money: £50,000, to be precise. Only one person can own it, and it is 100,000 times stronger than regular chisels. According to Molyneux, it's a social experiment testing the psychology of monetization. He's got one thing right, at least: "It's an insane amount of money." It's Peter Molyneux. He's got a new game. It's about a cube in a room and... well, you'd better sit down [GamesRadar via Polygon -- Thanks, de5gravity] |
| E3: FIFA 13 subtly iterating on FIFA 12 Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT The last FIFA game was pretty well received. Accordingly, much of what I saw for FIFA 13 seemed to be more of a refinement of FIFA 12 than a complete overhaul, although I’m sure this is what most players are expecting. The last FIFA I’ve played extensively was FIFA Soccer on Vita, which I’m told is based on FIFA 11’s mechanics. Though I’ve only played a few matches of FIFA 12 among friends, I was shown a presentation that highlighted some of the changes between last year’s game and FIFA 13, all of which point to an even more realistic soccer experience.
Also helpful is that the AI makes a point to stay onside when breaking towards the opponent’s goal by either curving their route forward or by slowing down their run. This also gives a great contextual clue to know when a teammate is most receptive to a pass. Players curve their running directions a lot more in general now. In FIFA 12, a player faced with opposition directly ahead would either cut diagonally left or right and continue in a relatively straight line, whereas now the AI allows for them to curve around the person in their way and then back around to where they were running. Speaking of receiving passes, trapping balls has been addressed, too. In FIFA 12, players -- even less skilled players -- were often unrealistically able to trap passes either when running in a full sprint or when taking a pass over the shoulder, without looking. Now, an individual player’s skill, speed, and awareness are all taken into consideration when it comes to them receiving a pass and getting control over the ball. Once you do have control over the ball, the dribbling mechanic has been evolved to allow full, 360-degree control; that is, you can even dribble while moving backwards and screening the ball. There is a contextual-based automatic dribble that slows down your dribble and gives you more control when you are faced up with a defender, and it can also be manually activated by hitting both triggers. With this, things like shielding work a lot better. The tackle button has also been subtly altered in conjunction with the second generation of the game’s physics engine. The tackle can be used to jostle players you’re up in tight against, which can lead to them losing possession. Players also use their entire bodies now to block impending plays when using the tackle button without someone in the immediate vicinity, as opposed to just sticking their leg out and being left immovable and useless. Free kicks have seen an overhaul, too, with what is being called the “tactical free kick” system, in which you can position up to three attacking players for all sorts of fake kicks, passes, and other gambits. Defending players can easily add or remove players from the wall, slyly try to edge the wall forward, or send someone to intercept a pass or block a shot. In addition to these noticeable, albeit subtle, core gameplay changes, EA is pushing the social aspects of FIFA 13 even harder than ever. With over 11 million users connected to EA Sports Football Club, this makes sense. Anyone who has FIFA 12 will be able to carry over XP and have access to a catalog of varied items to buy from. I don’t see any reason why existing FIFA fans should stay away from the next iteration. Things are progressing smoothly. |
| E3: New Super Money Bros. 2: Gotta get dat cheese Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:22 PM PDT Okay Mario, you have my attention. I was wondering how Nintendo was planning on switching up the Mario formula for New Super Mario Bros. 2, and here's their answer: cold hard cash money. A long-standing staple of the franchise, coins have been given a much greater purpose. The goal of the game? Collect as much coinage as you can. Previously, the only function coins seemed to serve was in granting 1-Ups after 100 are collected. But since 1-Ups are given out like candy in recent Marios, there really isn't much incentive aside from the compulsive need to collect. First thing Nintendo appears to have done was get rid of the lives system entirely. FINALLY! In exchange, the coin counter has expanded to four digits, meaning you will literally be showering in gold by the end of a single level. Aside from the coins scattered throughout the level and inside bricks, there many other sources of dollar dollar bills, yo. There are roulette blocks that cycle through coin values, and you must time your hit for big money. Collecting eight red coins will give you a gold mushroom that yields a big payout. Jumping into the flagpole at the end of the level will give you a coin multiplier depending on where you land on the pole. There's more! Golden enemies will leave trails of coins in their wake, and killing them will produce more coins. By snatching a golden Fire Flower, you can shoot golden fireballs that turn bricks into coins. By the end of the demo's three levels, I was able to collect nearly 3000 coins. Insane. Why the increased focus on coin collecting? The demo offers no clues. Will you be able to unlock alternate routes on the map? Will you buy items at a shop with them? Your guess is as good as mine. I wasn't able to try out co-op mode, but I suppose there isn't that much longer to wait until the game's release on August 19. Guess I'll find out more then Oh, by the way... the boss of the demo castle? Reznor from Super Mario World. Nice. |
| E3: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance video impressions Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT
Max Scoville just got his hands on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and has decided to share some brief impressions with the world. The Destructoid Show co-host likened the game's controls to Fruit Ninja Kinect, using more precise bullet-time sword attacks to carve up enemies and simpler slashes to serve up a refreshing snack for Raiden to enjoy before heading back into the thick of battle. On top of that, Max delved into some of Revengeance's less prominent features such as stealth and parkour-like platforming. He went on to discuss what little shooting there is on offer in the game, specifically detailing a battle against a helicopter armed with little more than a homing missile and, of course, Raiden's trusty blade. |
| E3: ZombiU could potentially go multiplatform Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT Chatting with IGN, Ubisoft senior VP of sales and marketing Tony Key explained that the company's Wii U-exclusive survival horror game ZombiU could be adapted to release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but "they would have to change a lot of what makes the game cool." "And I’m not saying that can’t be done, but not in the next six months, you know?" Continuing, Key brings up the Wii's Red Steel. "We talked about bringing that to other platforms, and we always kept coming back to 'what makes the game cool isn’t what would make it cool on those other systems.' The brand itself we generally try to exploit everywhere we can, but I think for now it’s going to be a really, really good Wii U game," he says of ZombiU. "There's definitely going to be knowledge that we gain from developing for Wii U that we'll be able to transfer not only to SmartGlass technology but also to even the cross-talk on PlayStation 3 and Vita." "The whole industry is evolving towards this multiple screen mentality. We love that. We showed interactivity between Assassin’s Creed III on PS3 and Assassin’s Creed III on the Vita. We’re learning how to do that on the Wii U right now with two screens, and now Microsoft's talking about SmartGlass." E3 2012: ZombiU Could Go Multiplatform [IGN via Kotaku] |
| E3: Hands-on with Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:45 AM PDT Coming into E3, I did not expect that a trip to Hell would send me to gamer heaven. Yesterday's visit to the Sega booth was a refreshing one, as I was able to get my meaty paws on the devilishly fun little platformer Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit from French developer Arkedo Studios. The premise: Ash is the newly christened bunny prince of Hell, and some compromising photos have been taken of him and his -- ahem -- rubber ducky fetish. To kill the legacy of his plastic passion, Ash must vanquish the 100 monsters privy to his paparazzi faux pas before they spread the word and all of Hell finds out. This game has personality coming out the ass. It seems almost inspired by Behemoth in that it combines a mischievous sense of humor and a bright, distinctive cartoon art style to create a game with an identity that is all its own. As Arkedo Studio founder Camille Guermonprez tells me, their goal was to make a fun platformer like those he played when he was a kid, and to not take it too seriously. Certainly, they've achieved their goal. I'm completely enchanted by its combination of humor and comic violence. The level design largely resembles an ant farm, with winding paths and occasional backtracking to newly opened areas, harkening valid comparisons to Metroidvania-style games. While Hell Yeah! takes place in Hell, its ten levels cover much more, including a robotic factory, water, and castle settings that have varying puzzles and baddies to fit the theme. Puzzles and tricky time-based maneuvering will navigate you through each as you unlock doors to new paths by defeating more monsters. To change up the gameplay, different premises have been formed to take away or bestow new powers; for instance, the third level removes your previously collected guns, giving you a defensive jump ability to maneuver around the obstacles instead. The monster battles themselves are pretty creative from boss to boss, and livened up by a wide range of delightful quick-time events as a final move to finish them. My verdict: say "fuck yes" to Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. Hell Yeah! is finished and due for a summer digital release on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam. No price has been established yet. |
| E3: Takamuru's Ninja Castle may contain ninjas Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT
In this video from E3 2012, Jonathan Holmes shows off his ninja star-throwing skills in "Takamuru's Ninja Castle," one of the Nintendo Land minigames being used to showcase the Wii U. It looks pretty responsive, and quite a bit of fun. As Holmes said, it's got that Nintendo whimsy. Take a look at the video to see how he fares against these adorable assassins. |
| 38 Studios declares bankruptcy, investigation begins Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:15 AM PDT The death knell has sounded for 38 Studios. Following the layoff of its entire 379-person staff two weeks ago after missing a $1.125 million loan payment to Rhode Island, the developer of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and the Project Copernicus MMO has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means that the company is officially no more and its assets will be liquidated. Here's the full statement from a 38 spokesman, as given to the Providence Journal: This action comes after several weeks when the company has reviewed, considered and received the recommendations and advice with respect to potential avenues for relief that are currently available. After ongoing negotiations with the State of Rhode Island and potential investors and other interested parties, the Company has been unable to find a solution to the current stalemate. The bankruptcy filing comes one day after state and federal officials -- the Rhode Island State Police, Rhode Island Attorney General, Rhode Island U.S. Attorney, and the FBI -- launched a criminal investigation into 38 Studios' finances. Rhode Island State Police Col. Steven O'Donnell told WPRI that they will be looking into "both the money that came from the state as well as the money that came from Bank Rhode Island." Rhode Island officials are hopeful that the state can get some return on 38 Studios' assets, which it now owns. Jonathan Savage, legal counsel to the Economic Development Corporation, told reporters today that the state has had discussions with investors offering upwards of "tens of millions of dollars" for 38's former intellectual property. "We're going to do everything we can to maximize the return on our investment," said Gov. Lincoln Chafee. Here's hoping Rhode Island gets something for its trouble, since the state's taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $90 million through 2020. |
| E3: David Cage reaches new heights in Beyond: Two Souls Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Whether you loved it or hated it, you must admit that Heavy Rain could have been better. Even its creator David Cage admits it fell short of his ambitions. He’d also be the first to tell you that its follow-up, Beyond: Two Souls, is better, and he wouldn’t be wrong. Beyond isn’t a brave step forward for Quantic Dream. It’s more of a meditative glimpse in all directions; it's the product of a studio reflecting on what they did right, what they did wrong, and what they can do better. How about actors who don’t sound like down-syndrome French? How about a story that has momentum, focus, and variety? How about a game that you control more than you watch? The 30-minute demo of Beyond, showed behind closed doors, presented its teenage female protagonist Jodie Holmes in an intense couple of scenes, as she literally runs from the law. At the start of the demo, Jodie is asleep on a moving train. Instead of controlling Jodie, you control her spirit friend Aiden. As Aiden, you can float around the train, travel through windows, and interact with items in close proximity. In the demo, Aiden isn’t given a voice or personality. Who he is, is defined completely by the player. I imagine Aiden, for most players, will be a nuisance that maliciously spills hot coffee on people and steals their newspapers from them. Regardless of what you don’t do in the game, there are certain things you must do. Cage loves to say the game is nonlinear but he is only half-right. Beyond seems as linear as Heavy Rain in play, it’s just that there are many branching linear paths you can go down. Most of the time you’ll have direct control over Aiden or Jodie, but in action scenarios you’ll be presented quick-time-event sequences identical to those found in Heavy Rain. Despite looking and playing better, there is an element of genuine surprise missing from Beyond. Though, Cage hints that this demo was only a small, action-focused piece of Beyond’s story that follows Jodie through 15 years of her life. Though the demo presented a fugitive scenario, Cage said it's only a footnote in the game's decade-spanning story. Beyond is filled with details that display the passion and artistry pumping through Quantic Dream. Actor performances are top notch, with voice and motion capturing done at the same time (like Uncharted 3; unlike the awkward animation/acting of Heavy Rain). Jodie has numerous animation loops that give variety to her walking and ideal states. Animals react to Aiden’s presence, even though others are unaware. Beyond is a unique experiment in interactive storytelling. Between a script that Cage slaved over for a year and some slight improvements to elements in past Quantic Dream games, Beyond will likely be every bit as unique and divisive as Heavy Rain. Although I find many of Beyond’s ideas intriguing, I worry about their execution. Being able to possess a cop is neat, but isn’t the novelty kind of faded if all you can do is press L3 to trigger an animation of shooting other cops? Sometimes you can walk around and have more choice, but that seemed to be the exception rather than the rule in this E3 demo. Even when there is some player agency left intact, it doesn’t seem very fun. The demo came to a close with Aiden protecting Jodie, as she hides in a small town invaded by heavily armed police. You can blow up the car on the right, or the car on the left. You also need to blow up the car in the middle if you want to continue the story. There are other options, but it all seemed to boil down to "blow this up, instead of that; watch animation, and repeat." That seems to be Beyond at its most open. Like Heavy Rain, there is a trade-off taking place: The player isn’t given much freedom in action, but the action is wonderfully orchestrated when it does happen. I don’t think Beyond will change anyone’s mind on David Cage and the type of games he makes. At the end of the demo, Cage had a very apologetic tone, as if to say, “I really want to show you the weirder, narrative-focused stuff, but this is E3 so I needed to show you a big action set-piece.” Cage hinted that the game may play with player death, chronological storytelling, and aging in innovative ways. Though I can’t get stoked about hammering the trigger buttons in a QTE sequence, I’m excited to explore the narrative tapestry that connects the Beyond’s more heated moments. |
| E3: Player choice completely changes The Last of Us Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Remember that incredible live gameplay session of The Last of Us we saw at Sony's press conference earlier this week? I've watched live gameplay of that same section of the game one more time since then, but it was approached with a different play style this time, and that made for a completely different experience. The Last of Us was built to change with player choice, meaning that even small decisions have the potential of setting up entirely new situations. The very beginning of the press conference presentation has Joel and Ellie coming across a movie poster, and Ellie says that she has noticed several of the same posters around throughout their travels. The conversation ends there because the item was not checked to be interacted with, but in this playthrough, Joel responds, saying that he actually saw the movie before the outbreak. From there, a new narrative moment opened up, giving the player a new perspective. Joel and Ellie still end up working their way into and through an old hotel, but when they finally manage to work their way up to a rooftop clearing between two floors, instead of trying to flank around a group of scavengers (and being caught and forced into a gunfight), Joel sneaks under the windowsill where he finds them to throw a trash bottle in as a distraction. And instead of barging in with a gun, Joel quietly sneaks around behind one of them, holding a gun to his head ("Not a fucking word!"), and then strangles him and drags him into another room. For the last of the scavengers, Joel and Ellie quietly move around him, avoiding conflict as they climb up a dresser into a hole in the floor that leads to the next floor up. On that next floor, Joel finds bandages in a bathroom and uses them to tend to his wounds. In the press conference presentation, he used similar bandages and a bottle of booze to create a Molotov fire bomb instead. This shows that the player is free to choose how they use their findings, and that items found can be used offensively or defensively. In some gameplay that went beyond the press conference demo, Joel and Ellie continue on through this next floor, using a mixture of stealth and brute force to take on a few more enemies. A standoff occurs between the last remaining scavenger and the duo, which has Joel trying to track him down, shotgun armed. Joel barely dodges a fire bomb and manages to take him out with a bullet. Moving on, Joel and Ellie try to continue on by climbing up an elevator shaft. After boosting Ellie up, the elevator falls, sending Joel several floors down into the basement, which was flooded with water. In The Last of Us, the AI was crafted so that the humans in this world react based on what weapons you expose. They read your defenses like a poker hand and react appropriately. Group behavior in the AI has it so that all enemies are aware of each other, and they'll work together to take you down. For instance, if they find a body, they'll work together to investigate and find out who killed this person. All of this work helps to provide an experience where it will seem like you're up against other humans stuck in the same world, trying to survive. Ellie's movement and behavior is controlled by AI that adapts to player choice and performance. There are rule sets that look for how challenges play out as you play as Joel. So, if Joel engages enemies offensively, Ellie will follow. If Joel chooses stealth, Ellie will try to follow, with her motivations falling right in line with the player's. The game will track things like inventory, tendencies and other triggers to change Ellie's behavior dynamically, meaning that if Joel needs help, Ellie will probably try to help out. The goal was to make her feel like another human in the same situation, and you'll see her grow over the course of the game. What's exciting is that all of this comes together to make for a game that plays out differently every single time. In this demo, for example, Joel and Ellie could have taken another path toward their goal, with different items and obstacles for them to deal with. And even on the same path, with different actions, Ellie's reactions would also change, making for a different experience. The AI would have enemies also reacting differently, perhaps moving differently, or changing their tactics. The work that Naughty Dog has put into The Last of Us could bring us an experience that goes far beyond the scripted, segmented play that we've become accustomed to. To me, that's far more exciting than the post-apocalyptic setting or cinematic presentation. |
| E3: Luigi's Ghost Mansion may cause women to shriek Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:40 AM PDT
Jonathan Holmes finds himself surrounded by shrieking women and responds by roaring and playing the Nintendo Land minigame "Luigi's Ghost Mansion." It looks like a hoot. Check out the video for all the multiplayer goodness. Don't forget a torch. |
| E3: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation channels Capt Morgan Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:10 AM PDT Max came away from his demonstration of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation impressed, which is good, considering Ubisoft has been promising that this PlayStation Vita game brings the "full Assassin's Creed experience" and dropping phrases such as "console-like experience." 18th-century New Orleans should make for a compelling setting, so I'm expecting a lot out of this one. I can easily see this game getting overshadowed by Assassin's Creed III, but Liberation does seem like one of the more noteworthy Vita titles to have a presence at E3. |
| StarCraft II is on sale for a limited time Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT In celebration of the StarCraft World Championship Series North American Finals, Blizzard is taking 33% off the price of StarCraft II. Until June 13, anyone who buys a direct-download copy of the title from Blizzard's store will get it at a reduced price of $39.99. If you have been considering buying the strategy game but haven't wanted to shell out sixty dollars, now is your chance to grab it up. It's not a bad deal and considering how long it takes Blizzard titles to drop in price, it's worth jumping on now. |
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