Hm notice what looks like a spine that Raiden there is holding? It’s actually a spine. Hideo Kajima has introduced at E3 the first trailer for MGS: Rising and boy does it look amazing. Gone is the focus on gunplay. Instead is the focus on swordplay.
Watch the video below and believe that Raiden can kick some major butt now. He literally tears through pillars and slices through vans to kill anyone in his way. Not only that but the option shown to direct your slices in slow motion to dismember opponents is completely brutal. It slices, it dices, it’s MGS: Rising.
Germany’s Crytek company, which made Crysis 2 the game which required stellar computer requirements, and Microsoft Game Studios has teamed up to bring us a new exclusive game. Announced at E3 Codename: Kingdoms has the look of a hyper violent gladiator style game that will not be using the Kinect. There were no additional details released such as a release date or even what type of game it will actually be. Will it be a first person sword fighting game? A third person? But one thing I do know, is that a current generation gladiator game would be amazing. Especially if your character was able to be customized to the deepest detail of armor. Though we know nothing as of yet.
Remember yesterday how we caught wind of a new Xbox 360? Well that was definitely the truth as you can see above. It is a bit slimmer and a bit shorter if I do say so myself compared to the previous 360 version. But that is purely aesthetic, it’s what inside that counts. And what we said yesterday is still true, there will be a 250 GB hard drive, built in 802.11n WI-FI, and being set up already for Kinectablity. As an added bonus it is also said to be very quiet when running, which is a far cry from how loud the usual console acts at times.
How fortunate for those in the audience though, as everyone in attendance to the Microsoft E3 Conference will be receiving this brand new console for absolutely free. Lucky guys huh? The rest of us will be paying a price tag of $299 in US when the console goes for sale this week. Those in Europe will have to wait until July 16th for the new console to arrive.
E3 for ESPN? Seems a bit of a mix there but here is some good news. If you happen to be an Xbox Live gold member, you will be able to have ESPN for free on your Xbox 360. There will be 3500 on demand programs available at any time of all major sports that ESPN usually covers.
The demo that was shown on at E3 was completely controllable by voice with the Kinect that they had hooked up the the 360, which was neat due to the fact you can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc all by voice. There will also be various bits of trivia included with ESPN Live and statistics of what is happening in the sports world.
Sounds like a good deal and something quite a few people will take advantage of. Facebook and the rest are good, but ESPN has a large following and people always enjoy sports. So if your a Gold Member then your all set for ESPN action.
Peter Molyneux has revealed the release date for Fable III today at the Microsoft Press Conference at E3. Not only that but there was a new trailer shown for the game which was quite awesome, maybe even revolutionary as the ending of the trailer said. But enough about that, the actual release date for the game is October 26th which puts it a few days before the release of Microsoft Kinect, and there was no mention of whether or not there would be support for the peripheral itself.
We will be seeing the sights of New Vegas in the apocalyptic wasteland a bit sooner than some expected. The official release date slated by Obsidian will be October 15th in the United States and October 22nd in Europe. You can catch the game’s E3 trailer here. Looks amazing and with a mid fall release date then it will also be just in time for the weather to start turning sour eh? Best time to venture into New Vegas.
Bit of a small update here but Microsoft has revealed that their Kinect will be available in stores starting November 4th. It will also include 15 different launch titles that will be available for purchase at that time. There is even a full video on ABC News with an anchor who plays the rafting game. She seems to be enjoying it, though to watch the video be prepared to watch a little bit of commercials first. Video and news report Here. Even better news? Kinect is completely compatible with all of the previous versions of the Xbox 360 so no worries in having to purchase a new console just for Kinectability, pardon the pun.
Story
“Prison Break – The Conspiracy takes you inside the Prison Break world like you’ve never experienced it before. You are Tom Paxton, a Company agent sent inside Fox River Penitentiary to observe and report on prisoner Michael Scofield… What you encounter will change your Prison Break experience forever.”
You play as Tom Paxton and see Michael Scofield’s plan unravel through a different point of view. As you attempt to stop Michael from succeeding in freeing his brother, you will run into many of the show’s characters and interact with them in order to get closer to Scofield. The game messes up a few times and changes the actual story of the show but does explain a few things that occurred in the background of the show. The game plays out pretty closely to the show and is truly made for fans of the show.
Gameplay
The concept of Prison Break: The Conspiracy is there, but it is poorly executed. The game is based around you trying to stop Michael Scofield from breaking out his brother. While trying to stop him you will be sneaking around the prison and doing favors for people. A lot of favors, the entire game is pretty much getting stuff for people. Since it is a prison, you will be going through the same areas again and again and since every single concept is shown by chapter two the game becomes pretty repetitive.
There are a number of optional things you can do around the jail. You can exercise to increase your fighting strength and speed. You can fight in the underground fights for cash. Finally you can spend cash on getting tattoos and only tattoos. Other than those things, the only thing to do in the prison is the mission at hand.
For a stealth game that is all about sneaking, Prison Break: The Conspiracy is completely linear. There is only one way to do anything. The game tells you that you can turn on radios to distract guards, but the only time you can actually do this is when you are required to. A majority of the game plays out like that; you only have one route to do anything (Albeit the route is not always clear, but that’s only because the AI cheats). AI can’t really cheat, but a stealth game is supposed to be about sneaking around the guards without them seeing you. A lot of the time, you will be sneaking behind a guard and get caught without them even seeing you or even looking in your direction. This brings me to the second annoying thing about the AI. When one finds you it is an instant fail, and you must try again from the last checkpoint. There is no way to confront the AI even if it is another prisoner (which in reality you can bribe) or a janitor (who no one would actually miss if he vanished).
Combat involves button mashing. There are strong attacks, quick attacks and guarding. Strong attacks don’t reward enough damage for the time it takes to execute them, and guarding is pointless since you can’t actually die in the game. The quickest way to dispatch an enemy and there are less than 10 actual encounters in the entire game (not including the underground fights) is spamming the quick punch button until they are almost dead and then finishing them off. If you aren’t button mashing to kill someone, you’re mashing buttons for the poorly placed quick time events which are more of a headache than anything. The game requires you to rapidly press a certain button and then switches to another button without warning. Since you are busy spamming one button, you miss the button switch causing you to lose instantly. Retrying these quicktime events over and over again is one of many annoyances in this game.
Audio & Graphics
The audio in Prison Break: The Conspiracy is flat out terrible. There are some sound bites that remind you of the TV series and there is the Prison Hallway zoom down between chapters just like the TV series, but everything else having to do with the audio is terrible. Voice acting is shameful and sound effects are lacking. A majority of the top notch actors didn’t even voice act for the game. Michael has every single one of his lines taken from the actual show and many other characters are like that as well. The game also has a problem keeping one volume level; regularly the game will either become too quiet or too loud.
The graphics in the game aren’t bad. The character likeness is pretty well done and Fox River Prison is beautiful. The developers really did a good job at recreating the shows prison and the ability to go around and pin point every location from watching the show was really nice.
Achievements
The achievements in Prison Break: The Conspiracy are really easy. A majority of them are achieved through simple story progression. The rest are either based in fighting or require a lot repetitive work. Shark difficulty is extremely easy, so those won’t be a problem either. The hardest achievement is the “Invisible” achievement, and that is only because it is glitched and requires you to exit to the dash board every time you are spotted. Overall the achievement list is easy.
Overview
Prison Break: The Conspiracy is a game that puts the series to shame. There are numerous references to the show but it doesn’t follow the first season well at all. Voice Acting is pitiful and the gameplay is repetitive, with nothing new past the second chapter. The recreation of Fox River is spot on and very cool, but the awesomeness wears of quickly as you realize you are exploring the exact same locations over and over again but with new objectives. It is just a prison, but it feels dragged out. The AI is also terrible, and they spot you without even looking at you. Prison Break: The Conspiracy is a game that was intended for the fans of the show, but I am a fan of the show and I had to push myself to get through the game. The concept is there, the execution is not.
I give Prison Break: The Conspiracy
Pros
Made for fans of the show.
Very good replica of Fox River
Watch a few of your favorite characters from a different perspective
Best Buy has officially announced their new magazine which is called, @Gamer.
According to best buy, the magazine will focus on a number of new games as well as giving buyers some sweet deals. “@Gamer will cover the best 30-40 games and hardware items available each month in an easy-to-digest format, while offering at least $20 worth of exclusive offers redeemable at Best Buy locations,”
Sadly, @Gamer won’t be free. The new magazine will have a subscription plan (10 issues for $19.99) or a $5.99-per-issue cost in-store.
Everyone loves fighting with swords, and when you bring that to the future and fight with lightsabers everyone gets excited! What’s better then lightsaber battling virtually on the Kinect? The video that was shown at E3 seems to have game features such as controllerless lightsaber dueling and motion-activated Force powers. We sadly don’t have a video of it currently, but once we get our hands on it we will share it with you.
Sounds pretty cool in my opinion! The video ends with a duel against Lord Vader. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU! The lightsaber kid would be proud.
