PC gamers can be a bit of a fickle bunch. With EA’s Origin service many people grew angry over EA’s departure from Steam, and any game that is announced to use Game for Windows Live is instantly met with a sigh due to the horrible service that Games for Windows LIVE is. Well my friends, you can take that sigh away because although the game is being published under the Game for Windows logo, it won’t use the Live service.
This news comes from PC Gamer after a short conversation with Bethesda’s vice president of PR Pete Hines. This fact was then later confirmed on the game’s official twitter account saying “We can confirm today that we’re using Steamworks for Skyrim.” Thanks to this news, PC gamers can breath a little easier by being able to avoid one of their most hated services.
EA have released two more legend reveal trailers revealing four of the nine legends. There are now only two more legends remaining as we close in on the final lap of the ice before NHL 2012 is released on September 8th.
The first of the two videos showed Detroit legend Steve Yzerman and Swedish sensation Börje Salming take their place on the legend lineup. Today both Jeremy “JR” Roenick and legendary goal-tender Patrick Roy were added to the list.
We’ll let you know the final two legends as soon as we do, for now you can watch the videos!
Way back at E3, Nintendo was able to make a few friends with those in attendance and viewers around the world when they announced that they would be providing the four player The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords to the Nintendo 3DS eShop entirely free. This excitement dissipated slightly shortly after the announcement when it was revealed that the GBA version of the title is the one being provided and does not include online play.
Despite this news, Nintendo hasn’t been fazed in the slightest and is still bringing The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords to the 3DS entirely free. Eurogamer received information from Nintendo saying that this free game will soon be available to all 3DS owners very soon. Sometime in September to be exact, though a specific date as not mentioned.
I need to get something off my chest. This should be read by all of the developers who believe that dedicated handhelds have met their end and the future of portable gaming lies solely with tablets and smartphones, or more specifically, the Apple range of tablets and smartphones. To those naysayers, I have four words for you: You have it wrong.
Crytek Managing Director Cervat Yerli has really stirred me up through comments made on GamesIndustry.biz. In short, this is what he had to say:
“While it’s a nice achievement from Sony in the first step, it’s not something we would take into consideration in the short term.”
“I can see that the multifunctions that devices like tablets offer is a big advantage of them. And I think people want one mobile device that can do multiple things.”
“Considering this, I think those handhelds are lacking in that area and they are losing ground, actually. I think they have to be more innovative.”
This seems to be the general consensus with handheld development as of late. Because of the move towards smartphones and tablets, game developers want a piece of the market. I have no issue against that. In fact, there are possibilities with that corner of development. However, I am sick of developers who haven’t touch a dedicated handheld, let alone develop one; proclaim doomsday on a section of the market because everyone jumps onto the Apple bandwagon.
I am studying game design at university and from what I have learnt is that the player is not your enemy/opponent because they are the one who will buy the games. The players in this instance are the ones who are constantly playing the latest blockbusters, reading the magazines or searching online for the latest news. Granted that type of gamer might also enjoy the iPhone or iPad game, but my point is that dedicated gamers won’t jump to the site if a $2 game. For one, there are no physical controls on the tablets and smartphones. That is the most common complaint with gaming on tablets and smartphones.
The handhelds deliver something more than a game. They deliver an experience that can not compare to something on the iPhone. They can create console-like experiences and we can take them on the go.
I’ll talk about the Playstation Vita since it is the example Yerli used. Now, the reason he thinks the handhelds are “losing ground” is because of a lack of multifunctions. Umm… he hasn’t been watching Sony since the announcement earlier this year. Let see what the Playstation Vita sports outside of games:
• Photo capabilities, including taking them and video recording
• Music capabilities
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Skype
• Foursquare
• Near
• Party
• Interaction with Playstation 3
• Augmented Reality for non-gaming
• 3G capabilities
• Other unannounced features (if there are anymore, which will be announced)
I think the Vita might be more than a one trick pony. In fact, it seems that Vita is really a miniature tablet with a selection of console-like games.
Then he believes that the handhelds are not “innovative” enough. Okay, he is talking about the Vita, right? I mean all of the big tablets sport rear touchpads, right? They don’t. Well… what about 3D just like the 3DS? Wait, only one? Only one smartphone, the LG Optimus 3D, actually sports the feature. No Apple products implement this, despite re-releasing a model every year with little improvement? What about a dual screen platform which made the DS popular? No. Hmm…
What about cost? I’m not talking about the games but the platforms themselves. Smartphones and tablets have a monthly cost through a network. They can be up to $60/$70 per month for a year or two years. Now, let’s look at the Vita and 3DS. They are a one off cost with no monthly fees (unless you do purchase the Vita with 3G).
Alright I think I need to wrap this up. This is another example of the poor attitude towards the dedicated gaming handhelds. Developers really need to stop this doom and gloom outlook and actually embrace them. I have just debunked comments about the lack of multifunction and innovation. Vita and 3DS are more than just gaming devices and they are introducing new experiences through a second touchpad and the use of stereoscopic 3D respectively. They provide hours of entertainment and are not timewasters to play on the bus or train. Please, before you decide that tablets and smartphones are the future, try and develop for the handhelds. You might actually like it.
When X-Men Destiny was first announced, people got a bit upset that they wouldn’t be able to play as their favorite X-man and defeat waves of enemies. But now that this latest trailer was released from Activision during Gamescom, maybe that is for the best. What is the purpose of playing as your standard normal mutant when you can create your own power combinations.
X-Men Destiny comes out next month on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and with all of these new powers that the new batch of mutants can wield, I personally can’t wait. Also you can see a number of familiar looking bad guys that you will be encountering. Don’t take my word for it however, check out the trailer below.
Want to lead a mysterious population of small creatures home using only your own body? Well Konami has seen fit to give you that, with their first Kinect compatible XBLA title, Leedmees, released on September 7 for 800 Microsoft Points. It’s a cute little puzzler with the mystical creatures in question looking like a cross between Sackboy’s little minions from Little Big Planet 2 and the friendly wood spirits of Princess Mononoke.
Players are essentially being the level, and as a giant stick man can spread their arms out to create bridges and hit switches to keep the little guys going on their journey home. A friend can jump in on the action too, allowing for more complicated puzzles and posing to keep the critters alive (or not, if you’re feeling a tad evil).
It’s an interesting addition to the first wave of Kinect arcade titles, and with it whimsical design and fun co-op premise, could be a nice little surprise come September.
In order for a game development company can create games for a particular system, they need to require the development kit from the hardware manufacture. This is no exception to the Playstation Vita. This usually comes at a cost. For the Playstation Vita, that would be 1,900 euros, according to a report on Gamasutra. This was revealed at GDC Europe, which runs parallel with Gamescom.
Compared to other development kits from Sony for the other platforms, this is dirt cheap. The Playstation 3 development kit cost 25,000 euros while the Playstation Portable development kit cost 15,000 euros. The price was described by SCEE developer relation manager George Bain as “very affordable”. No tax will be placed on the kits.
This is a great move from the electronic giant. Any prospective developers don’t need to fork out on the kit and can focus their budget on the actual game. I also believe that they would want a broad range of developers on board to compete on two fronts.
Also talked about was the ‘Vita Develop Program’ which is aimed at small developers. There will be no additional cost to join, only the development kit purchase is necessary. The Pub Fund program was also discussed, where indie developers can pitch ideas and, if successful, can develop the game with a development kit loaned to them. It was revealed that they seem as many as 15 weekly pitches in the program.
Little side note, development kits do have HDMI output, unlike the retail version.
If you’ve been following the world of MMOs then there is a good chance that you probably are knee deep in World of Warcraft and aren’t reading this. But if you are, or simply are a person looking for a new and rather unique looking MMO then you shouldn’t look any further than the newly revealed MMO named WildStar.
WildStar is being developed by Carbine Studios and being brought to the public by NCsoft, though at this moment in time there is no release date announced, though a trailer for the game was released which you can catch below. From the way that the characters look and the action shown off in this cinematic trailer, WildStar is a game that deserves at least a little more attention. You can find the game’s official website here.
An RPG with the words fusion is usually a good sign for a vast amount of customization. Though this usually only applies to weapons, it will be quite different in Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked. That is because rather than having to fuse a sword or piece of armor, you will be able to fuse together demons. The demons can be fused together to create stronger and maybe even cooler looking demons.
Besides revealing how demon fusion works, the new trailer released by Atlus also details the auction system in Devil Survivor Overclocked by showing it in action. It appears you can sell demons online through the game Wi-Fi system, though more information will have to be revealed on this feature in the next couple of weeks before the title is released on the 3DS.
According to IGN, Activision stated at Gamescom that Modern Warfare 3 will have dedicated servers for the people who play the game on the PC. However, they also want to implement an anti-cheating system. This is important, because PC players could mod and cheat the game much more easily than other console gamers, and that would mess up the prizes and contests that Activision will be holding through Call of Duty Elite. Activision has said that the PC version of the game will launch alongside the other consoles, so only time will tell if they can come up with a win/win solution.
