Posted by Justin on September 3rd, 2010 | 1 comment
There are many rules in life we as a people try to follow, but there’s only one we must follow: Always bet on Duke.
All the rumblings were true, Gearbox has officially taken over Duke Nukem Forever.
Duke Nukem Forever has been a long running joke within the industry for what feels like, yes, forever. This truly marks the first time in years I’ve ever said with any real confidence that the game will absolutely come out.
During a 2K live stream, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford guaranteed a 2011 release date. To go along with his guarantee was a playable demo for PAX attendees, which the live stream filmed a bit of (albeit with terrible sound and shaky footage).
Given that Borderlands was one of my top games of 2009, I have confidence that Gearbox can do the Duke right, or that at the very least, they can release a damn game.
Game’s coming to PS3, 360 and PC. The demo was running on a PC with a 360 controller.
Having heard a little about it and its creepy sheep people, I figured watching the Catherine trailer was a necessity. Now that I’m in the other side of it, I have a few questions I’d like to ask.
First off, what? It’s a weird ass trailer, but Andriasang helps clear it up a bit.
Catherine is a 360 and PS3 title from the Persona team, a first for them I believe. The trailer appears to mix a few different art styles, but based on the one or two clips of gameplay, the in-game assets look a little rough.
Before you go watching this video, I should warn you that while it doesn’t show anything too explicit, there are multiple scenes of sexy time in the trailer. So, you know, you might not want to watch it at work anything.
Catherine has my intrigued, even if I have no damn clue as to what’s going on. It seems interesting, and people seem to love what the Persona guys make so I’m sure this game will turn out alright.
Work on tightening up the graphics on level 3 though, they’re pretty ugly.
Posted by Justin on August 17th, 2010 | 0 comments
Unlike Crackdown 2, inFamous 2 seems like a worthwhile sequel. This new trailer supports my grand old theory that Sucker Punch knows what it’s doing here and won’t disappoint.
I’m digging the New Orleans locale. It feels fresh despite Valve recently taking a trip to the bayou with Left 4 Dead 2.
Oh, and new Cole is featured in it – who said Internet bitching doesn’t accomplish anything (I have, actually)?
Posted by Justin on August 17th, 2010 | 0 comments
While I tend to criticize CG trailers because they lack any relevance to actual gameplay, I’m willing to accept the fact that when done right, said trailers can be absolutely gorgeous and leave me wanting more.
Blizzard has mastered the art of CG hype trailers, and BioWare has certainly proven to be quite the talent with ‘em, too.
BioWare brought a new trailer for Dragon Age 2 to Gamescom and it’s beautiful. Not a damn bit of it is gameplay, but it’s beautiful.
Like many people, I was on BioWare’s case about Dragon Age 2 after seeing the lackluster early screenshots. Those comments stand, but as does my original sentiment: it’s a BioWare game so I have confidence they’ll get it right.
Hopefully we’ll get more than just a pretty trailer because seeing some actual gameplay would certainly be nice.
For now I’ll just, uh, watch this clip 12 or 13 times.
Posted by Justin on August 13th, 2010 | 2 comments
You’ve undoubtedly heard about BioShock: Infinite so this isn’t exactly news, but I wanted to weigh in on it so here we go.
I’ve got a feeling of both hype and trepidation about the project. The last thing I wanted Irrational to do was create yet another BioShock, and judging from their quotes leading up to 2K Marin’s launching of BioShock 2, Irrational was done with the series, too.
Yet here we are with a terribly named entry into the franchise. It feels forced; it feels like a marketing scheme. Attach the BioShock name for a sales boost, right?
But then I watch the trailer and hype kicks in.
Aesthetically, it’s worlds away from anything we’ve seen in the series. Rather than traveling the depths of the ocean, we’re stranded in a floating city. That’s where I’m drawn in because it looks gorgeous, and it’s a completely refreshing environment.
It doeshave some very familiar concepts. The game is set in Columbia, a sky city with true American ideals that have (surprise!) gone awry. It’s also set back in time, but Infinite dials back even further landing us in 1912.
Irrational is working with a new graphics engine and the game is better off visually for it.
I can bitch and nag about the name, but in the end it’s all about the game itself. After hearing the announcement, I fully expected to be turned off. The more I sit on BioShock 2, the more I realize how irrelevant it is to the series, so should I really care about a third?
Apparently if it’s Irrational made, then yes. After watching the Infinite trailer I was desperate for more footage.
Oh, and cut out all the SkyoShock crap. It got old five minutes after the debut trailer. If it came to your mind immediately, you’re not alone – there’s no reason to post (or worse yet make headlines) with your clever wordplay.
Here’s the bad news: Infinite releases in 2012. Bummer.
This is why I love LittleBigPlanet regardless of some control issues.
If you’ve played through Limbo (and if you haven’t you should), this clip will probably speak to you more but give it a watch either way. That a game like Limbo can be so faithfully remade in LBP speaks volumes about Media Molecule’s toolset within the game.
Knowing that LittleBigPlanet 2 is even more expansive, man, I just can’t wait to see what users come up with when it launches.
You might be able to take on Hard mode, but can you handle God Hard? Given that Shinji Mikami says only a “chosen few” can, I’m guessing the odds are stacked against you.
Mikami gave a Vanquish update that listed off the five different modes found in the game. God Hard, which I have to imagine is a reference to God Hand, is the most ridiculous of the bunch and won’t be available on your first run through.
It’s for masochists, so if getting stomped on is your thing, have at it.
Mikami recommends Normal for most but gave a description of the easiest mode, Casual Auto.
“Before we started work on it, I can’t say that I had high hopes; however, once we got it up and running, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong,” he said. “Once you get your target on the enemy, the rest is easy as pie.”
It sounds like a thrill ride mode where there’s no real threat, but it’s still a hell of a time.
I’ve had my eyes on Vanquish for a while now so it’s good seeing it shape up so nicely.
Consider me a fan of LittleBigPlanet on PS3. I can’t comment on the PSP version because I don’t own a damn PSP but even with its odd, floaty controls, LBP won me over.
I’ve fallen behind on my LBP2 knowledge, I just know that it’s absurdly customizable in the same way that StarCraft II is.
So yeah, I’ll probably be a day one buyer.
However, I didn’t expect to be interested in the Collector’s Edition of the game. Sadly for my wallet, I am.
For your $80, you get a significant amount of content. Along with the game comes LBP2-themed “game ends (think book ends),” an absurd amount of Sackboy costumes including one modeled after the three-eyed green aliens from Toy Story, and some PSN Avatar crap I’ll never use.
Making the whole thing worth it is the 7” Sackboy plushie. Since the first LBP launched, I’ve wanted a Sackboy plushie and yo, here it is.
I would’ve liked an art book, but I guess we can’t have everything we want.
Ugh. That’s all I really have to say about the first screenshots of Dragon Age II.
If you were anything like me, you expected vastly superior graphics when compared to Origins, a game that was rough looking the moment it hit stores. BioWare swooped in to shatter those expectations with two screenshots that to some degree look worse than the original.
I’ll grant ‘em this: the human character model looks better up close, but that’s where the praise stops.
From a distance, the models look decidedly blockier in an almost World of Warcraft-like fashion and colors look extremely washed out.
The textures look nasty, too. I mean really, what the hell are those enemies supposed to be standing on? Is it sand, rust-colored rocks? Holy shit, I think it’s lava.
I don’t make a habit of writing off BioWare games and I’m not going to start now, but they’ve certainly let me down at first glance.
One quick note I saw at NeoGAF: the PC version keeps the same style of gameplay that Origins has, but the console versions are getting tweaked to be more 360/PS3 controller friendly.
Dragon Age II is happening. I think we already knew that, but now it’s official. It’ll be featured on the cover of a few magazines this month so look out for it.
The official press release says to expect it on 360, PS3 and PC in March 2011.
It sounds as if BioWare is creating Dragon Age II with old and new players in mind. From what I gather, those familiar with Origins will recognize some things here and there, but playing through Origins isn’t going to be crucial to get a grasp on its sequel.
“With Dragon Age 2 we are creating an exciting new entry point into the Dragon Age universe while ensuring that fans of the original game retain a sense of satisfaction and familiarity in the world,” executive producer Mark Darrah said.
Good news, but I still want to get through Origins before moving on to the sequel.
What may or may not be cool with some is the lone lead character you’ll have to choose from. It takes a Mass Effect approach letting you choose from either a human male or human female with the shared last name of Hawke.
Either way you choose, you take on the role of a “penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age.” Well, until Dragon Age 3, of course.
This doesn’t bother me, but I can see how it might frustrate some.
