E3 is already promising to dish out the punishment with footage from Namco Bandai‘s Dark Souls II. A new boss battle displays classic Souls levels of punishment, standing stories above the player. Enemy encounters displayed the same ferocity you would expect but other than the boss none of them were actually engaged.
It’s a short glimpse but worth checking out below if you’re waiting with baited breath like me. Design wise it looks like the visuals are clearer this time around. There’s less murkiness with the greens, browns and greys without losing the atmosphere that defined the previous game. I’m itching to play this one and die again, and again, and again.
Fuse won’t be the last of new IPs from Insomniac Games. Today, the company announced their new game entitled Sunset Overdrive for Xbox One. This colourful and cartoony shooter will pit players against a city overrun by mutants. A teaser trailer has been released, showing off a world full of zip lines allowing players to quickly traverse the landscape with parkour style movement. The game appears to have some wacky weaponry like the vinyl disk launcher that is supported by more traditional weapons like the shotgun. A mysterious energy drink is teased in the trailer that seems to have an explosive effect when fired from the shotgun. Sunset Overdrive appears to be a multiplayer co-op game as name plates are spotted above the other human characters in the trailer.
Sunset Overdrive will be released for Xbox One. Check out the official E3 2013 teaser trailer below.
Less than an hour ago a brand new Killer Instinct title was announced for Xbox One at E3 2013. For those unaware of the franchise, Killer Instinct was an arcade fighting game made through the partnership of Rare, Nintendo and Midway in 1994. It saw a port to Super Nintendo and a sequel 1996. Now almost 20 years later, the franchise has been rebooted and is coming to Xbox One. Considered to be one of the greatest fighting games of all time, KI defined itself for having preset combos and it’s awesome announcer.
Xbox One will be available this year in November, and Killer Instinct will be released this year as well. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that Killer Instinct will be a launch title for Xbox One.
During their E3 2013 press conference Microsoft dropped a major bombshell that the 5th installment of the legendary Halo franchise will be heading exclusively to the Xbox One.
The Halo 5 trailer was showcased during the conference. It featured a cloaked Master Chief as he wandered a desert until being confronted by a giant metallic enemy which blew his cloak back revealing his helmet. No further details are known about the game other than it is another Halo game and it is coming to the Xbox One in 2014.
You can check out the Halo 5 trailer for Xbox One below for your viewing pleasure. We will keep you up to date as more information on the game comes to light.
Gameloft‘s latest addition to the Gangstar franchise is now available on iTunes. The previous titles have visited Crime City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Rio de Janeiro. Gangstar Vegas brings players to Sin City as a mixed martial arts fighter. The game features eighty missions, a map 9 times larger than previous titles, and ragdoll effects from Havok Physics. Players will engage in MMA fights, illegal street races, and gang wars for control of Las Vegas. Just remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Gangstar Vegas is available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. It is currently priced at $6.99 USD on iTunes.
Today Square Enix released the first gameplay video from the E3 demo of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. In the video we see actual gameplay footage of Lightning running, battling, climbing and even meeting with the new character Lumina.
We’ve already seen an E3 trailer last week from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII so far which showed the return of Snow and this one capitalizes on that by showing off more actual gameplay footage. At the moment Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is set to be released in February 2014 after being delayed from its initial release window of sometime late in 2013.
We haven’t seen a whole lot of Natsume‘s HomeTown Story since they announced it many months ago but today the company has decided that they should be releasing an E3 trailer what with the event kicking off in less than 24 hours.
In the video which you can see below Natsume is showing off numerous elements of the game including character creation, shop management, shop building, townsfolk, mystical creatures and more. It looks like that despite stepping away from Harvest Moon, the title will still be something of a life simulator but one that involves managing a shop rather than a farm.
Having racked up a modest eight hours on the PC trying out the Company of Heroes 2 Open Beta of late, I thought it might be worth sharing my initial thoughts prior to the full review, which will follow shortly.
So the Beta currently only offers access to the multiplayer/skirmish elements of the game, which is my preferred area of the RTS world so, no complaints there. I first wanted to try out the updated matchmaking system, as it’s a Beta and I was expecting a few issues worthy of noting so that players are aware of them at this stage, but this is hardly the case from what I can tell. I was partnered with players that had a similar connection quality to my own and lag was minimal. I enjoyed very few timeouts and so at this point I’m going to call it a success. However, when the servers get busy this may be a different story, so bear that in mind, perhaps. The connection between two human players facing two A.Is was fluid even when things got busy on a map intended for 6-8 players.
In terms of unit variety, it’s a veritable treasure trove of choice. But with that comes the problem of how to spend those manpower points that are always few and far between. Various bonuses come from selecting one of three commander specialties, as with the earlier titles in the series, but the level of depth and customization that has been added to that mechanism is truly impressive. In terms of unit strengths versus weaknesses, expect that to play as central a role in the fighting as it has in previous games. One minute your MG team is doing swimmingly, holding a victory point, until a tank shows up, at which point you call in the artillery, at which point they use air support on your artillery, at which point you throw a large brick, and so on.
In terms of the Essence Engine, it makes a real impact and gives the old gameplay mechanics that made the series so notable a breath of next-gen life. It’s deeply satisfying to see what is essentially everything players loved about the original Company of Heroes and Opposing Fronts retained (because it works, ‘if it ain’t broke…’), whilst offering additional features that simply add to the realism. Units navigate the terrain more intelligently, and are more reactive to fire than in previous games. As usual, the vehicle-based German faction have a decided edge (specifically regarding production speed) over the Soviets, but this for me was one of the selling points of the series, as I enjoy a challenge that presents me with unseen difficulties.
If comparing this to say, Chris Taylor’s Supreme Commander, it’s easy to see where ‘camps’ amongst RTS gamers can form. In Company of Heroes, the focus is on realism, tight resources, fierce fighting and pure strategy. With Supreme Commander the focus is on amassing huge quantities of resources to aid in the building the biggest things possible faster than the opponent, and if you don’t… enjoy watching your base get smashed to bits by what looks like something out of Far Cry: Blood Dragon. Although patrolling and the other features that define the SupCom series work well, they don’t compare in depth to physically having to point your guns in the direction of any given problem. Company of Heroes is plate spinning strategy at it’s finest, is what I’m getting at. You can’t simply set up a patrol and let the units look after themselves, and that’s why I’m such a fan. I like both styles of RTS, don’t get me wrong, but I clearly prefer the former. This is an RTS for players who actually want to see how they’d fare making real, difficult decisions in a chaotic setting. This is if anything, a simulator as much as it is a strategy title.
The weather effects are hard to assess and comment on fully with access only to a few maps and chosen settings, but I will say that what we’ve been given looks fantastic. The destructibility of the environment transfers farther than anticipated, too. I was expecting some nice building animations and little else, but firing different weapons on to terrain of varying density, elevation etc. produced a wealth of different effects. It feels much more immersive to see your shots affecting and shaping the environment, rather than say, the Age of Empires way of doing things: “One dust animation should do it… For everything. Next.”
Some reviewers taking a look at the Beta have said that they found it disappointing, as if they expect vast changes from every sequel offered by the developers of a successful series, and to that I issue the following response: Anyone who is willing to criticize a title harshly for its A.I during its Beta stage should stand up from the computer right now, find a vice and issue themselves some nad-related-justice; and by criticize, I mean bash the A.I. Now I won’t name names, but I will say that the Beta is primarily (from what I understand) a means of working out issues with the A.I, to perfect it for release and to give Relic a head start when planning their post release support and updates. So with that in mind, expect fans of the series to love this game, for precisely the reasons that many reviewers don’t seem to like it.
The screenshots show off a bit of gameplay, but more interesting are the leaked character renders.
Much like previous Assassin’s Creed games, a host of personalities will be playable in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag’s multiplayer, and big surprise all of them look pretty piratey (argggg). And hopefully its multiplayer is as strong as Assassin’s Creed III is.
In terms of actual gameplay details, I guess you’ll have to wait for Ubisoft’s E3 press conference.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is set to be released on October 29th in North America and November 1st in Europe for current and next-gen consoles.
Forever associated with Nathan Drake and the Uncharted franchise, people seem to forget that Naughty Dog have been around a long time, and already proved their ability to adopt new hardware and utilise it to provide radically different experiences for the player. From the legendary Crash Bandicoot to the popular Jak & Daxterand globetrotting adventures of Uncharted, the team have consistently made great games. Does their post-pandemic The Last of Us match, or perhaps exceed that bar of quality? Read on to find out.
Story
The cordyceps – a parasitic fungi that infects the brain of its victim, controls their behaviour and transforms them into grotesque, aggressive monstrosities. That’s the threat faced within the reality of The Last of Us. The fungi exists in real life, but the specific species that was the inspiration for the story’s menace only targets ants and other arthropods/insects. The theoretical possibility of it jumping over to humans is quite frightening, and is thus an effective basis for the pandemic that causes “the apocalypse” in the game.
20 years after the outbreak in a time of martial law, Joel (Troy Baker) and Tess (Anna Wersching) – black marketeers within Boston’s quarantine zone – have a snake in their midst; someone who’s sold their guns without permission. The duo seek him out with vengeful intentions, and in doing so come across Marlene (Marle Dandridge), the leader of a resistance group called the Fireflies. They make a deal to smuggle something out of the city for her: a girl named Ellie (Ashley Johnson). At this point, so many questions arise, most pertinent of all: who is she to Marlene and why is she so important?
With such a character/story driven title such as The Last of Us, I find it hard to talk about any plot point outside of this setup. There are so many twists and turns in the players’ journey…almost everything is a spoiler! Just know that this is a tale that you will not soon forget. The relationship between the main protagonists is the focus. Outside of Heavy Rain, I haven’t seen a game tackle the kinds of themes that The Last of Us does, and convincingly at that. In fact, it’s probably the preeminent example for the industry. A warning: it often times can be quite depressing and emotionally draining, which is due to its relatable nature and expertly written script.
Gameplay
Joel can handle a gun, that’s for sure. Being involved in the black market for years, he’s surely been at both ends of the barrel. You start off with a pistol – naturally – with new mechanics and combat elements being introduced over the course of the game at a great pace. Weapon sway is heavy at first, but can be improved – through finding and applying “supplements” (signified in the game world by a pill icon) – along with other attributes of Joel’s like maximum health, “listen mode” distance (“listen mode” allows you to track enemy silhouettes through walls), shiv skills and more. This can be done from your backpack inventory (the “select” button).
Also accessible from your backpack inventory is the crafting mechanic and collectibles. Crafting is an integral part of the gameplay. Throughout your travels, you will find ingredients such as binding, blades, rags and explosives that can be used to make very useful items. There are offensive and defensive items, which will generally share the same two set ingredients that must be possessed in order to craft either one. So you must decide: “do I want to use one binding and one alcohol to craft a health kit, or a molotov cocktail?”. It all depends on your play-style; if you go out guns-blazing, it might be smart to have some health kits handy.
You have the options to play through, from beginning to end, stealthily or otherwise. Ellie sometimes gets involved in the combat by throwing nearby bricks or bottles at the bad guys, which you can also do to momentarily stun them, or as a method of distraction. Melee weapons can be found throughout and degrade with each hit, but can be modified through crafting to become more deadly or durable. “Dynamic stealth” as Naughty Dog call it, allows you to break line of sight and re-enter a hidden state. However, enemies won’t be quick to let you off the hook, with each type of adversary bringing their own unique challenges.
On the infected side, “runners” are fast and travel in packs; players can feel more comfortable taking a head-on approach with them and going to town with their bat or what-have-you. “Clickers” have completely impaired eyesight, rely on sound and will kill you instantly if they grab a hold of you (sneaking is a must). “Bloaters” are stronger, more resilient and throw spore bombs (for lack of a better term) which damage your health. Situations where the immediate area is infested with these infected have a horror-feel and occur in darker locations, so the flashlight becomes a significant tool…just don’t shine it on a “runner”.
Human enemies – “hunters” – are equipped with everything from weaker 2×4’s to a variety of guns. They are much smarter in the sense that they will audibly communicate with each other, attempt to flank you, return to the last spot they saw you when in-tow and react to you, your actions and the world around them. While you can’t grapple-kill a “clicker” (without a shiv upgrade), you can always “acquire” a human shield and perform a non-lethal or lethal finisher from that position. Tense is the best word to describe each and every encounter, with real strategy being necessary to survive them on higher difficulties especially.
Outside of combat and scavenging/crafting, Joel and Ellie interact in a variety of ways, commonly in efforts to overcome traversal obstacles. You will find yourself boosting Ellie up, carrying and placing planks and ladders, diving and swimming through the water with a palette to move her across on (she can’t swim…what a burden…). There are also talkative moments where you can engage in “optional conversations” that add a little extra context to the subject and their relationship. There is also a total of 140 collectibles to find, including various Artifacts (letters, mementos, recordings, etc.), Firefly Pendants, Comics (Dark Horse stamped comic books under the title “Savage Starlight”) and Training Manuals.
Training manuals add bonuses such as extended smoke screen time or additional hits for your melee weapon. The final form of upgrading is achieved at tool benches strewn across the lands. Along the way, you will scavenge parts and toolkits (5 in total). You can then spend these parts to add gun holsters, increase clip sizes and a myriad of other abilities specific to each weapon in your inventory. The number of toolkits you possess determines what level of upgrade you can initiate. All the various enhancements mentioned, once completing the story, will carry on when starting a New Game+ (only at or below the difficulty option you beat the game on initially).
As you may tell, gameplay is incredibly deep for this genre of game, although this kind of game has rarely been seen. I wish I could offer some perspective on the multiplayer aspect, but I did not receive an online pass with my press review kit (bit of an oversight Sony!). However, I think it’s safe to say that nobody is buying The Last of Us for the multiplayer, which is not an insult in any way! The single-player campaign will keep you busy for upwards of 18 hours (if you are searching for every collectible) so it is well worth it on that front alone.
Visual
The Last of Us is one of the most stunning games on the PS3, if not the most. The environments – through being rarely populated with any sort of human presence – can be appreciated for their own beauty without distractions. The amount of detail that went into dressing each location is indicative of the dedication of the team. From the overgrowth and all-but-abandoned cities to the wilderness and quarantine zones, it ironically feels like a living, breathing world, even though only 10% of its population has been left living and breathing.
The cutscenes and performance capture is top-notch; a marked improvement over Uncharted 3. The expressions that are conveyed, almost by the eyes alone, rival any other title, and are nuanced – a key difference between this and the occasionally goofy, over-the-top facial expressions of Nathan Drake and his comrades. The lighting system brings a level of realism and adjusts as you enter differently lit areas, much like your eyes would adjust in real life (although almost instantly here). I encountered a couple visual bugs, such as the flames not appearing from the end of the flamethrower, and rare artifacting when using the flashlight in certain areas.
Audio
A large part of what makes the story of The Last of Us so impactful and moving is the stellar score by 2-time Oscar winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain,Babel). The music heightens the sense of hopelessness and loneliness, enhances the sadness felt during the most tender, human moments, and even uplifts in the very few moments of serenity. The ronroco – a Spanish-origin guitar that the Argentinian composer favors – is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The voice acting is equally impressive, and that goes for the whole cast.
Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson deliver their performances of main characters Joel and Ellie with such realism and emotion. There’s also a key character that reintroduces Naughty Dog fans to a certain, now iconic, voice actor. All bases have been covered in regards to the sound effects, from the sizzle of charred bodies to the clatter of dropped bottles. Meanwhile, the crazed grunts and whispers of the “runners”, the clicking of the aptly named “clickers” and more beastly sounds of “bloaters” aid in making the infected truly petrifying. I experienced one specific instance where walking too close to the rear wall of ‘Bill’s Bar’ would initiate the exterior’s ambient track, which is undoubtedly a simple node placement issue within the game engine’s editor.
Overall
The Last of Us is the most tense experience I’ve ever had in playing a video game, and is definitely in the top 2 on my list for most emotional and powerful storytelling for the medium. Ever! When considering the depth of combat, the harmony of the various mechanics, the brilliant performance capture, script and lasting impressions, it is fair to call this the best, defining game for the PS3. A new franchise is born amongst the remains of human civilisation.
For me, Naughty Dog have taken their place among the likes of Rockstar and Valve in being unable to make a bad game. Just to see what they can do in the next-gen is reason enough to buy a PlayStation 4. My final thought is: “I want to spend more time in this beautiful wasteland!!” and can’t wait to see what the announced single-player DLC will entail. The game is gruesome and mature to the umpteenth level, but every PS3 owner should buy this game!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
