Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Pros Colourful snazzy visuals Nostalgic classic gameplay Knowingly cheesy tone Cons No online component Enemy Encounter missions a chore A tough nut to crack It helps that BCR is styled exactly as a retro remake should be. Vibrant 3D visuals set it apart from the gritty monotony of many contemporary releases and the only-slightly-modernised chip music adds to the
Pokémon Go Is An Incredible Phenomenon (And A Janky Mess)
This feature was originally published on July 15, 2016.
They seem to be everywhere: People, young and old, hunched over their smartphones, mumbling about gyms and balls and Snorlaxes. As impossible as it sounds, we’re in an era of peak Pokémon, where the collectable creatures are hotter than they were even when they debuted a few decades ago. Pokémon Go has captured our imaginations, but it’s increasingly clear that the technical framework underneath it all simply can’t handle the traffic.
Let me be clear: I think that Pokémon Go’s success has been amazing to watch, and I love hearing about how strangers are bondingover the game. People are exploring their neighborhoods (and getting exercise), and also learning new things about the places around them. Business are using the app’s popularity to draw in new customers, putting Pokémon-baiting lures on nearby points of interest and grabbing foot traffic. It’s great, as long as you aren’t getting robbedor too distracted to notice your proximity to the edge of a cliff. What’s not great? How Pokémon Go has become an unstable, janky mess.
I played in the beta, and I was impressedwith how smooth the experience was. I went on walks with my kids and we took turns adding to my phone’s Pokedex. Catching the creatures was as simple as flicking a finger and waiting for the animation to trigger. Now that it’s out in the wild, the experience is different – and far less satisfying. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve missed out on a rare catch because the game stuttered to a stop in the middle of a capture. That’s if I’m even able to get the map to refresh in the first place. Thanks to the game’s popularity, the game’s servers have been bombarded with players from around the globe, turning it into an unreliable disappointment.
Yesterday, Reiner dropped a lure into a Pokestop that’s right outside our offices. For the next 30 minutes, Pokémon should have flocked to our area putting us up to our elbows in the critters – but that’s not how it worked out. The next half-hour was filled with annoyed groans and sighs as six players’ phones froze, stalled, and crapped out. Fortunately for me, I was merely trailing off someone else’s lure; I can only imagine how annoyed I would have been if I’d personally bought the lure from the store using real cash.
Niantic has released several updates for the game, and it’s likely these issues will eventually be addressed. Meanwhile, we’re stuck playing something that is, at best, unreliable. The joy that I might feel seeing a new creature doesn’t come near to eclipsing the frustration that accompanies having to reboot my phone – again – just to get the app working.
I understand that the app’s success probably took the development staff by surprise, but ultimately that’s not the player base’s responsibility. If you’re going to hold your hand out and ask for money, it’s only fair that the game can be reliably played – frequent freezes or gym-battle glitches shouldn’t be accepted.
We asked Niantic founder John Hanke about the server issues a few days ago, and he said that, as far as the short term goes, “[T]he plan is to keep the servers up and to launch in the rest of the countries that we're not in yet.” That’s great news for people who live in countries that don’t have it yet, but let’s be clear for a moment: It’s not working reliably here.
Nobody knows how long people will continue checking their phones for Pokémon, but I am certain that my own interest is sapping with every bug. There’s a lot of potential with Pokémon Go, and I absolutely love the idea, but it doesn’t feel like it’s anywhere close to being ready for release right now. If anything, I wish I could roll back to the beta. At least I could temper my expectations there.
Rift MMORPG going free-to-play in June
Trion Worlds' soul-swapping MMORPG will become free-to-play on June 12. Rift currently mandates monthly subscriptions for full access, but Trion announced today its free-to-play options will expand to encompass all original game content next month. Free players can move through all vanilla content: its classes, "souls" (mix-and-matchable ability trees), zones, and gear--a big step up from Rift Lite
Shenmue Super Replay
Now that our playthrough of Shenmue is complete, we're moving it from the Chronicles video section to Super Replay.
With Shenmue 3's Kickstarterofficially funded, numerous people in Game Informer's community sent in requests for complete Super Replay playthroughs of the first two games in the Shenmue series. Several Game Informer staffers also expressed interest in either revisiting this series or seeing it for the first time. Since we already have numerous Super Replay projects in the works, yet wanted to get a Shenmue playthrough going now, we decided to record it as a crowd-driven experiment of sorts. If you like what you see, and want more of it, we'll return with more episodes. Just let us know in the comments section below or on YouTube.
In the first episode, I join Kyle Hillard for his first hands-on experience with Shenmue. We play through the first hour of this adventure, purchase several capsule toys along the way, and turn down myriad requests from children to play an assortment of sports. In episode two, we continue or journey to find the men in black suits in the black car, track down the arcade, and purchase even more capsule toys. In episode three, we get our first successful taste of QTEs. In episode four, we punch an arcade machine. In episode five, we wake a sleeping man in a tattoo parlor, and steal from our roommate. In episode six, things get emotional and we spend way too much time dialing a rotary phone. Episode sevenserves as a masterclass in how to play Shenmue, showcasing a perfect run without any glaring mistakes or missteps. In episode eight, we jam a sword into a wall and act like it's not a big deal. In episode nine we continue exploring our dad's weird hidden treasure cave and meet Santa Claus. In episode 10we question whether or not we should be trusted with Fuku-san's life savings. In episode 11, we punch Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki. In episode 12, we battle Gollum from Lord of the Rings , and craft a special outro that makes it worth sticking around until the very end of the video. In episode 13, we get a job. In episode 14, we work that job. In episode 15, we continue to work that job. And fight some dudes. In episode 16, we show that maybe we do actually know how to fight, but unfortunately a computer crash caused the last few minutes of video to not be captured – so you will just have to take our word for it. Episode 17showcases another hard day's work, and finally some luck with the capsule toy machine. In episode 18, our pal Goro gives us some surprising news. Episode 19is a short one, but a lot happens and there is a musical motorcycle interlude. In episode 20, we complete the game.
Unlike our Replay lookat this game, we have one big rule in place: No talking over the cutscenes. We're engaged with the story, and are willing to do as much side content as you want to see. Again, just be vocal, and let us know what you think of the show!
Episode 20
Head hereto watch the YouTube version of this episode!Atari's bankruptcy escape plan is court-approved
It's been less than a year since Atari filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , and today the Wall Street Journal reports the company has secured approval from both its creditors and the court for a plan to pay back part of its debt and exit bankruptcy.
If successful, the U.S.-based Atari Inc. (formerly GT Interactive) appears poised to act on its previously-stated intent to separate from French parent company Atari S.A. -- formerly known as Infogrames -- and establish itself as a purveyor of fine digital-only games.
Atari's comeback plan, approved by Judge James Peck in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Manhattan, requires the company to pay back a $3.8 million bankruptcy loan from Alden Global Capital. Atari also promises to pay its unsecured creditors "up to $560,000" when it exits bankruptcy, plus a matching amount the year after and then an extra $630,000 the year after that, for a total of roughly $1.75 million. That doesn't sound like a bad deal, especially in light of the fact that Atari's unsecured creditors are reportedly owed $10.3 million.
Atari is expected to pay the debts from a $3.4 million cash reserve, along with an extra $1.75 million the company will receive when it formally exits bankruptcy. Atari successfully sold offa number of its properties at auction this summer -- including Total Annihilation , Star Control and Master of Orion -- so it seems likely that the company is relying on that income to pay back its debts.
The loss of those much-loved franchises is likely to hamper Atari's efforts to become a major player in the digital games space, though it still has properties like Test Drive , RollerCoaster Tycoon and Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise to fall back on.
Editor's Note: This news story has been updated to clarify that the current incarnation of Atari, Inc. was formerly known as GT Interactive, and is not in fact the original Atari.
Quick-Play RPG Timing Hero Releases Worldwide
Timing Hero is a brand new mobile game from Buff Studio, who you may remember as the developer behind the RPG runner Buff Knight ( Android , iOS , Steam ).
). Where as their previous title was a quick-play endless runner RPG, Timing Hero is quick-play RPG all about…well, timing, of course. In the game players must quickly attack their opponents while always being ready to quickly leap out of the way of incoming attacks. Each enemy has a telltale move that players can watch out for that will indicate which direction players must jump to in order to dodge the incoming attack.
Controls are simple: tap the sword button to lunge and attack the enemy, tap the special ability button(s) to utilize them and their various effects, and tap one of the three arrow keys to quickly leap in that direction. Each enemy defeated drops a bit of gold that players will want to use to upgrade their hero’s stats, allowing them to progress further into the game.
Timing Hero is free and out now for Androidand iOSdevices. There are sixteen different heroes with different abilities for players to unlock, as well as artifacts to collect which further enhance the fighting abilities of the heroes.
Super Replay – Tex Murphy: Under A Killing Moon (Part Ten)
A few months ago I emerged as the victor of Game Informer's most recent Super Replay Showdown .
. My prize? Subjecting my fellow editors and our viewers to the strange and maddening FMV adventure game that is Tex Murphy: Under A Killing Moon. Starring a bumbling private eye who spends his weeks trying to make rent and ends up going on a quest to prevent the end of the world, Under A Killing Moon is a peculiar mishmash of genres, the kind of game that could have only been birthed in the early '90s.
It's pure, undistilled zaniness that has to been seen to be believed. So sit back in your chair and push the Maltese falcon on your desk out of the way of the screen so you can join me, Andrew Reiner, Dan Tack, and Kyle Hilliard as we navigate this twisted, futuristic vision of San Francisco, putting our flimsy detective skills to use while being constantly berated by James Earl Jones.
For more episodes of Replay, check out our Replay hub, or click on the banner below to watch episodes on YouTube.
Rift developer lays off up to 40
The studio behind Rift may have laid off as many as 40 members of its development team this week. Gamasutra reports Trion Worlds terminated up to a third of the developers behind the MMORPG, whose positions ranged from artists to designers, an affected employee said. Trion Worlds confirmed the layoffs were "in response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company
Batman Arkham Knight delayed again but don't panic
So we’re just going to have to wait a little longer for the world’s greatest detective on new-gen consoles, but it’s not quite the batarang to the face that it could have been. Batman Arkham Knight has slipped from its June 2nd release date to a not unreasonable June 23rd. Following a similar situation to Uncharted 4 a few weeks ago, a statement from Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill says “We’re
Flat Out Is Fast, Simple, And Ready To Get You Through Your Morning Commute
Smashed Crab Studio presents their debut title Flat Out – a fast paced gem-matching arcade game.
– a fast paced gem-matching arcade game. Simply connect ‘gems’ of the same color, creating a loop that the player will then proceed to fly through. But the faster you go, the more fuel you’ll consume, requiring you to connect bigger more complicated loops to regain fuel.
The game is “perfect to distract you on the morning commute,” says Alex Beamer of Smashed Crab Studio. The studio seems well aware of it’s simplicity and as to who it is aimed for. The look is simple and minimal, very similar to it’s name. You’ll be connecting gems and proceeding to go faster until you simply can’t keep up anymore, keeping score as you go.
Flat Out is currently available exclusively for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 for FREE . Smashed Crab Studio is planning a launch later for iOS and Android, though no official dates have been announced. If you’d like to check it out for yourself, you can download the game now right here.
To stay up to date on everything this young studio will be doing in the future, follow them on Twitterand like them on Facebook.
Binding of Isaac dev teases new game
We should have known that whatever The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen was working on next, he wouldn't do something so mundane as telling us what it is.
creator Edmund McMillen was working on next, he wouldn't do something so mundane as telling us what it is. McMillen enjoys making us dance like puppets, so the teaser for his new project, The Legend of Bum-bo, raises more questions than it answers.
The Legend of Bum-bo is another collaboration with James Id, who directed all the Binding of Isaac trailers. This time, he'll be handling the programming and 3D, while Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans will return for the audio.
The description of Bum-bo as "a turn based puzzle RPG type thingy that's randomly generated" poses the following head-scratchers: why is a giant poo a key feature of the logo? Why does it also feature a Binding of Isaac coin? And of course, "but why is this on the isaac blog!? what does this have to do with isaac!? when isaac!? isaac? isaac! why!?".
All of that we have to wait for, or figure out from the manifold ARGs that are probably embedded in.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate boss guide
Even Batman needs help every once in a while. While playing Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate on your 3DS or Vita, you might've noticed something: the bosses can be pretty damn hard. They use mechanics you're not used to seeing in regular fights, and figuring out how to beat them can be a headache. Well worry no more, because this guide gives you the step-by-step on how to take down The Joker, Penguin, and Black Mask, as well as all the minibosses in between. Deadshot Joker Bronze Tiger Penguin Solomon Grundy Black Mask Catwoman
Review: Into Blue Valley – Guided Adventure into Something Strange and Beautiful
Warning : This game contains flashing lights and “tracking” (videocassette tapes used to do this – the picture moves up or down, sometimes clipping completely, like a fast slide show), as well as general brightness in the environment.
: This game contains flashing lights and “tracking” (videocassette tapes used to do this – the picture moves up or down, sometimes clipping completely, like a fast slide show), as well as general brightness in the environment. Take care when playing if you are photosensitive.
is a story-based adventure game, similar to Dear Esther , where you’re attempting to figure out what has happened in an area (I hate to have such a short opening, but that really is the basis of the game). However, rather than a live-action sort of adventure, this one takes place via found-footage reflection. You can walk around, interact with your environment, and everything you would do in an ordinary exploration game, but you play the role of an older man who filmed the actions, acting out a part that seems to have already been played. Found-footage is associated with films like “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity,” and while this game is definitely creepy, I wouldn’t put it in the “horror” category. Developers Kuchaluhave several Ludum Dare titles under their belts, as well as a Frogger -esque app called Cat Cross , but I nto Blue Valley is their first major title, and is much more ambitious than past projects. While this game is short (and you know exactly how short, as there is a timer in the corner on par with recordings of that era), it can be quite a full experience, though not without some (minor) issues that are more annoyances than problems.
Two younger men, Ryan and Matt, have discovered a pile of videotapes, and one of them is unlabeled. They discuss briefly the antiquity of videocassettes, and what might be on the tape, and your gameplay begins as soon as they press “play.” You never hear them; the only connection you have to these narrators is via their dialogue on the screen. Matt is the narrator who’s seen this all before, while Ryan is the reactionary voice, asking the questions the player might have over the course of the game, and reacting to Matt’s answers, as well. As you begin to walk down the path, it becomes clear that they are not merely narrators – they are guides, letting you know when you’ve missed a key point, which direction you should aim, and occasionally which items you should look for. The game does have challenges, but you can generally rely on Matt to steer you in the right direction when you get lost…usually.
Yes, very helpful, Matt, thank you
Into Blue Valley , as the name suggests, is blue – practically everything is in shades of blue, black, and white, giving the environment an otherworldy feel. The graphics are crisp, objects are easily-identified, and paths are easily-spotted. It’s rare that you have to veer off the beaten path enough to lose your way (though that didn’t stop me, naturally). The brightness, as mentioned, can be a problem, but the main issue I had with it is that in the outdoor sections, with the snow-covered ground, it was sometimes impossible to see objects with which you could interact. I completely missed a vital object until I looked it up on YouTube. Matt and Ryan will say things like, “He’s missed something. He’ll go back,” if you leave an area without retrieving/reading everything, so I spent more time than necessary wandering around the town desperately searching for whatever magical thing would allow me to progress.
It’s not that you’re blocked from progression if you continue onward, it’s just that you can’t complete the game without collecting all of the items. With my poor sense of direction, it was just frustrating. It would have also been nice to have been able to adjust the resolution and other aspects of the game without having to restart it to get to the launch options – the “options” screen on the menu of the game merely deals with volume and FOV. A gamma adjustment might have helped with some of the brightness issues, as well.
A room containing one of the objects
The eight items you must collect are rather random, and clues on how to find them are scattered around the town in the manner of notes and diary entries, which you can read at your leisure. There is an axe, a bucket, a bird toy…all of them are necessary, for some reason, but you literally don’t find out why until the very end. With the clues are also notes that hint at something having happened in the village, a pact or oath that was broken, and the consequences seem rather harsh, but there’s not a clear description of what those may be. You’re merely a witness to the anguish present in those scattered bits of paper. To read them, or to pick up items, you merely click your left mouse button. In fact, with the only necessary keys being WASD to move and P to pause, it doesn’t get much simpler to play a game, but there are still some challenges. Thankfully, the scenery is dynamic enough to take away some of the frustrations you may encounter.
For my part, I insisted on walking everywhere I could, and when I veered off the stone path, I discovered a point where I was trapped between a stairway, a large mound of snow, and…the path. I couldn’t get back onto the path no matter how hard I tried, and had to step away and try to see if I was missing something. Eventually, I found an incredibly small point where I was able to regain access to the path, and continued onward, but it was irritating to have that limitation. The mouse sensitivity can be a bit of a bear, too, with the camera control sometimes being so fast that you may miss something you were turning to view. There’s a similar issue to one I found in Ether One , as well, where if I was slightly off-course on a staircase, or happened upon a bit of jutting rock or wall, I was stuck unless I specifically maneuvered away. This took away from the immersion a bit, though it’s not an insurmountable issue. To be perfectly honest, the tracking that became more frequent as the game progressed was causing me more issues than any maneuverability problem I came across, and I imagine this might be amplified once this game is played in earnest on Oculus Rift, as it’s slated to be.
Super Meat Boy Forever is back in development
Team Meat put the cat breeding game Mewgenics on hold last year so it could concentrate its efforts on Super Meat Boy Forever .
. At some point after that, Team Meat co-founder Edmund McMillen shifted his focus to Fingered, a strange little side project about assigning criminal guilt in a world of moral relativism he unveiled last week. With that now released, McMillen told Destructoidthat Super Meat Boy is back on top again, but Mewgenics will have to wait awhile longer.
"Super Meat Boy Forever is back in development again and is my primary project at this point now that Afterbirth is basically complete on my end and Fingered is [almost] out," he said. "Mew is on hold till after Forever is out, the only target release is, 'When it's done.'"
" Afterbirth," for those having trouble keeping track of all these abbreviations, is DLC for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, which McMillen announced in March. That project doesn't yet have a release date but McMillen said it should be ready to go in the next month or two. Super Meat Boy Forever doesn't have a date either, although hopefully it won't be too terribly much longer now that development is once again full steam ahead.
On the other hand, as Shaun pointed out earlier this month, McMillen seems to be easily distracted, and it wouldn't be entirely surprising if something else takes priority between now and then. In fact, his observation came in response to Team Meat's musing about a possible full-on SMB sequel, which arose from efforts to get SMB Forever finished. McMillen's Fingered collaborator James Id acknowledged that tendency to get off track as well, describing it as something "that will inevitably make everyone ask, 'Where's Mewgenics?'"
The post originally suggested that Fingered is a Team Meat game, which is not the case. I've updated to clarify that it's a separate, independent project developed by McMillen and Id.McMillen also said that, as a designer and artist, he tends to have multiple projects on the go at the same time, and that non-Team Meat games, like Fingered and The Binding of Isaac, "do not at all affect" the Team Meat release schedule.
Dragon Age lead writer on the role of romance
Dragon Age and Mass Effect, BioWare's two biggest franchises, have a few things in common: Customizable characters, ethical dilemmas, and interspecies smooches. Whether they're fighting Reapers or the Blight, players find love can bloom, even on a battlefield. Some of those players get that a little bit out of proportion with the main game, Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider wrote on his blog . "Romances
E3 MVG 2011 Selection: XCOM interview
Our MVG recognition during E3 continues, this time with 2K’s XCOM. We haven’t seen the game since last E3, but that extra year seems to have made a big difference. With intense FPS action and classic sci-fi style, XCOM is a promising reimagining of a beloved franchise. Jun 7, 2011 Our MVG recognition during E3 continues, this time with 2K’s XCOM. We haven’t seen the game since last E3, but that extra year seems to have made a big difference. With intense FPS action and classic sci-fi style, XCOM is a promising reimagining of a beloved franchise. Jun 7, 2011
Super Meat Boy 2 is a possibility, according to Team Meat
An official sequel for Super Meat Boy is not something Team Meat is opposed to, the duo has said.
An official sequel for Super Meat Boy is not something Team Meat is opposed to, the duo has said. In a recent interview with Game Informer, artist Edmund McMillen indicated that Super Meat Boy Forever, an auto-scrolling instalment coming to PC, may not be the last adventure for everyone's favourite chunk of red meat. Indeed, the studio's work on Forever has inspired fresh ideas for a potential sequel.
"An interesting thing happened in the midst of chaos," McMillen said. "We were like 'How can we finish [Super Meat Boy Forever]? We have to finish this, and I don't know what I'm doing.' That was around the time we realized we could release Meat Boy on other platforms, too. So it was kind of like this change of perspective in a way.
"What we talked about was possibly working on a sequel, and it's something that I like a lot. There were aspects of Forever that were moves that Meat Boy did...that we were prototyping that felt like they could be better used in a sequel. The future of Meat Boy is definitely up in the air, but a sequel is something that I wouldn't be opposed to doing even though we both said that we wouldn't do it."
Super Meat Boy is one of my favourite games, but I'm not holding my breath for a sequel. If it happens, it's likely to be a while away: Team Meat has a habit of announcing cool stuffand taking aaaages to release it, which is totally fine and acceptable and understandable because they make amazing games, but... oh boy do I want a new Super Meat Boy tomorrow. I need it back in my life.
Dragon Age 3: Inquisition - 5 lessons Dragon Age can learn from the Mass Effect series
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E3 2011: New trailer for XCOM reboot. Release date set for March 6
2K Games’ reboot of the classic X-COM series is now scheduled to release on March 6 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Moving away from the original series’ tactical combat and isometric camera, the reboot will be more of a first-person action game with a weapons and research system that reminded us of BioShock when we previewed it at last year’s E3. But despite the change in genre from tactical
Rebellion announces Battlezone reboot
The original Battlezone , an arcade stand-up released by Atari in 1980, was built around a vector graphics-based wireframe view of a futuristic battlefield, upon which players piloted a tank that was neither fast nor tough enough to keep me from bleeding quarters at an alarming rate.
, an arcade stand-up released by Atari in 1980, was built around a vector graphics-based wireframe view of a futuristic battlefield, upon which players piloted a tank that was neither fast nor tough enough to keep me from bleeding quarters at an alarming rate. The updated version, announced today by Sniper Elitestudio Rebellion, has come a long way from those early days, but looks to be very much the same sort of experience.
The new Battlezone will make use of the Asura Engine used in Sniper Elite 3, and is being developed specifically for VR platforms. "It's our aim to deliver the same revolutionary thrill of the original for a whole new generation," Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley said. "We want to use VR to truly capture the imagination of today's gamers, just as the original Battlezone captured ours."
Oddly, Rebellion said the game has been confirmed for Steam and the PlayStation 4, but the only VR platform announced is the PS4's Project Morpheus. Other VR platforms are being "evaluated," while a non-VR version is "being investigated, but not confirmed." A Vive release would seem the most certain, based on that, but I'd be a little surprised to see the Oculus Rift passed over. A release date hasn't been set, but there's a website at Battlezone.comwith more information.
Far Cry 3 preview
This preview originally appeared in issue 242 of PC Gamer UK.
Sitting in a room and watching Michael Mando scream and laugh at a woman in a chair is a great way to pass half an hour. He looks a lot like his character, Vaas, the compelling psychopath who's become the face of Far Cry 3. That's mostly down to the full performance-capture technology – a full suit loaded with reflective strips, and a helmet with a camera strapped to it that captures every movement of his face. It's also because he has the same mohawk hairstyle. As affable and likeable as Mando is, he's not taking the role of Vaas lightly.
Producer Dan Hay suggests that there have been some method acting moments in the development, and writer Jeffrey Yohalem (Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood) has worked with the actors and directors to rewrite the script to suit their styles. Hay tells an anecdote of how they got the glint of madness that made that original trailer so compelling. Turns out that it was a simple trick making everyone repeat the same scene over and over again until they were tired and hungry, and then lying about turning the cameras off. It's the kind of anecdote you expect from a movie set.
As much as that's true, Jeffrey Yohalem dismisses the idea of Far Cry 3 making a good movie. “The story depends on the interactivity. There are strands of plot that involve the interaction between the player and the hero. It wouldn't make sense as a movie.” This hints at the higher levels of narrative ambition going into Far Cry 3. While FC2 had a decent story, the new sequel doesn't just acknowledge video game and Hollywood conventions, it uses them as tools to mislead the hapless player.
The playable demo at E3 gives a great taste of the varied aspects of Far Cry 3. It begins during a scene with Vaas's sister, and seems to depict part of an initiation ceremony inducting main character Jason Brody as a warrior. This is tied to the tattoos on his arms, which represent the player's journey through the story. Sidemissions, hunting and quests will earn you new tattoos – a sleeve woven in the order in which you do things. There's a good chance your tattoo will be unique, as well as the introduction to many “let me tell you about my gap year” conversations should Brody survive.
In this scene, Brody's tattoo is smoking and warping, which plugs into the game's other themes – reality, hallucinations, and madness. The island is laden with mushrooms, which the dangerously meek Dr Earnhardt seems determined to distil into something purer. In the demo, I guide Brody towards Vaas's island by diving off a cliff and into the sea. Pausing to admire a manta ray on the short swim, Brody takes out a sentry patrolling the pier with a stealthy lunge from the water. Maintaining the quiet approach, I find two more guards, giving me a chance to try out the melee takedown combo. It's an unlockable skill, which lets you pinball from one lethal animation to the next with just the tap of a button.
The shape of the map intuitively guides you to the left, where a stack of boxes compromises the perimeter wall. I'm told there are two other ways in, but however you manage it, there's a small playground of death inside – a network of roofs to stealth your way across, a machinegun encampment, a large fuel tank that takes some punishing but explodes eventually.
There are also buildings that reflect Vaas's unlikely preoccupation with TV, art and showmanship, plus a live tiger in a cage. You can blast open the cage if you want, and the tiger's antics will add a dash of chaos to the map until he inevitably gets shot or burned to death.
Clearing the map leads me into a room, where Vaas appears from nowhere and plants a knife in Brody's shoulder. Whether through drugs or unconscious dreaming I find myself in a 'corridor of Vaas'. The path is made out of televisions. Vaas is pole-dancing on the right, and taking your place in the sex scene with his sister on the left. And at the end is Vaas himself – proving you're a 'pussy' by putting your gun to his head and telling you to pull the trigger. “I am you! You are me!” he screams. It's just too much of a gift, even in a hallucination. You have to pull the trigger. But Vaas disappears, replaced by the friend you've already watched die once.
It's a great slab of action and story, reassuring me about the open arena of Far Cry's gunplay and raising juicy questions about what's actually going on. Jason and Vaas, the same person? How much of any of this is real? And how tacky is that whole 'white man leads an otherwise doomed tribe to victory' thing?
Yohalem's way ahead of us all. “The greatest pleasure about telling a story,” he says, “is to lead the player into certain expectations, and pull the rug satisfyingly from under your feet.” He's not surprised by me mentioning Lost, Fight Club, and Avatar, because he put those seeds there on purpose. “There are going to be some pretty big rugs,” says Yohalem.
2K reveals its E3 lineup
We're less than a week away from the year's biggest game show (that'd be E3 2010, not like Price is Right or something) and the list of confirmed games keeps on coming. Today we've got 2K spilling the beans on their lineup: Mafia II Civilization V Spec Ops: The Line XCOM Plus the usual roster of NHL/NBA 2K11 titles, as well as two Wii-only party games that directly attempt to copy Nintendo's naming convention - New Carnival Games (New Super Mario Bros) and Nickelodeon Fit (Wii Fit). Guys, there's more to it than that. June 9, 2010 Topics E3 E3 2010 Action Strategy Sid Meier's Civilization V Mafia II Spec Ops: The Line XCOM We recommend By Zergnet Load Comments
The Game Informer Vault
Often called Game Informer’s Library of Congress, the Vault is hands-down the best part of the office.
Often called Game Informer’s Library of Congress, the Vault is hands-down the best part of the office. With over 11,000 games currently stored inside and still growing, it really is a sight to behold that each and every editor shows off with nerdy pride. As part of our 200th issue celebration, we’re finally unbolting the locks and giving you the full reveal of everything inside. Above you will find a full, one gigabit interactive 3D image that now only allows you to look around on your own, but zoom in to see just part of our huge collection. To the right and immediately below, we’ve compiled some pretty cool stats and broken down the totals by platform. And finally below, you will find a full, HD video tour with Executive Editor Andrew Reiner and Media Editor Nick Ahrens. They take a walk through the entire collection and point out just some off the coolest items inside. So what are you waiting for? Click the magic link below and start exploring. Note to users, there is no commenting on the special edition Vault page so this is your place to sound off.
Far Cry 3 preview
This preview originally appeared in issue 242 of PC Gamer UK.
Sitting in a room and watching Michael Mando scream and laugh at a woman in a chair is a great way to pass half an hour. He looks a lot like his character, Vaas, the compelling psychopath who's become the face of Far Cry 3. That's mostly down to the full performance-capture technology – a full suit loaded with reflective strips, and a helmet with a camera strapped to it that captures every movement of his face. It's also because he has the same mohawk hairstyle. As affable and likeable as Mando is, he's not taking the role of Vaas lightly.
Producer Dan Hay suggests that there have been some method acting moments in the development, and writer Jeffrey Yohalem (Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood) has worked with the actors and directors to rewrite the script to suit their styles. Hay tells an anecdote of how they got the glint of madness that made that original trailer so compelling. Turns out that it was a simple trick making everyone repeat the same scene over and over again until they were tired and hungry, and then lying about turning the cameras off. It's the kind of anecdote you expect from a movie set.
As much as that's true, Jeffrey Yohalem dismisses the idea of Far Cry 3 making a good movie. “The story depends on the interactivity. There are strands of plot that involve the interaction between the player and the hero. It wouldn't make sense as a movie.” This hints at the higher levels of narrative ambition going into Far Cry 3. While FC2 had a decent story, the new sequel doesn't just acknowledge video game and Hollywood conventions, it uses them as tools to mislead the hapless player.
The playable demo at E3 gives a great taste of the varied aspects of Far Cry 3. It begins during a scene with Vaas's sister, and seems to depict part of an initiation ceremony inducting main character Jason Brody as a warrior. This is tied to the tattoos on his arms, which represent the player's journey through the story. Sidemissions, hunting and quests will earn you new tattoos – a sleeve woven in the order in which you do things. There's a good chance your tattoo will be unique, as well as the introduction to many “let me tell you about my gap year” conversations should Brody survive.
In this scene, Brody's tattoo is smoking and warping, which plugs into the game's other themes – reality, hallucinations, and madness. The island is laden with mushrooms, which the dangerously meek Dr Earnhardt seems determined to distil into something purer. In the demo, I guide Brody towards Vaas's island by diving off a cliff and into the sea. Pausing to admire a manta ray on the short swim, Brody takes out a sentry patrolling the pier with a stealthy lunge from the water. Maintaining the quiet approach, I find two more guards, giving me a chance to try out the melee takedown combo. It's an unlockable skill, which lets you pinball from one lethal animation to the next with just the tap of a button.
The shape of the map intuitively guides you to the left, where a stack of boxes compromises the perimeter wall. I'm told there are two other ways in, but however you manage it, there's a small playground of death inside – a network of roofs to stealth your way across, a machinegun encampment, a large fuel tank that takes some punishing but explodes eventually.
There are also buildings that reflect Vaas's unlikely preoccupation with TV, art and showmanship, plus a live tiger in a cage. You can blast open the cage if you want, and the tiger's antics will add a dash of chaos to the map until he inevitably gets shot or burned to death.
Clearing the map leads me into a room, where Vaas appears from nowhere and plants a knife in Brody's shoulder. Whether through drugs or unconscious dreaming I find myself in a 'corridor of Vaas'. The path is made out of televisions. Vaas is pole-dancing on the right, and taking your place in the sex scene with his sister on the left. And at the end is Vaas himself – proving you're a 'pussy' by putting your gun to his head and telling you to pull the trigger. “I am you! You are me!” he screams. It's just too much of a gift, even in a hallucination. You have to pull the trigger. But Vaas disappears, replaced by the friend you've already watched die once.
It's a great slab of action and story, reassuring me about the open arena of Far Cry's gunplay and raising juicy questions about what's actually going on. Jason and Vaas, the same person? How much of any of this is real? And how tacky is that whole 'white man leads an otherwise doomed tribe to victory' thing?
Yohalem's way ahead of us all. “The greatest pleasure about telling a story,” he says, “is to lead the player into certain expectations, and pull the rug satisfyingly from under your feet.” He's not surprised by me mentioning Lost, Fight Club, and Avatar, because he put those seeds there on purpose. “There are going to be some pretty big rugs,” says Yohalem.
Dragon Age 2 DLC cancelled as Bioware considers series' next phase
Bioware has been “thinking a lot about Dragon Age – what it means, and where it could go,” says Dragon Age II executive producer Mark Darrah, and the company's moving onto the future of the franchise. On the occasion of DAII's one-year anniversary, the Bioware exec made a forum post to let fans know the franchise is moving forward, putting aside a mooted DLC continuation for sequel hero Hawke. “While
Dev Links: Going To Town
Today’s Dev Links discuss doing things a little differently, with touchscreen controls and cloud gaming.
discuss doing things a little differently, with touchscreen controls and cloud gaming. Also, version control, which is something you’ll probably have to deal with no matter what platform you’re developing your game for.
Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 News and Screenshots – Battles, Monster Allies, and World Map(Zeboyd Games)
“Lots of fun news for you all today. First up, we have the first set of battle screenshots for the game. You may recognize a few familiar faces.”
Let’s Talk About Touching: Making Great Touchscreen Controls(Gamasutra)
“I’ve been working on making mobile games as the founder of an independent studio called Action Button Entertainment. In order to make the best mobile games, I’ve been dissecting and researching every interesting game-control mechanic I can find, from Pong to Angry Birds . Here is what I’ve found.”
Democracy 3: Voter Type Income Design…(Cliffski.com)
“Sooo.. I found myself almost sleepwalking into adding a new feature to Democracy 3. I honestly can’t remember actually making the decision to include it, it just seemed to ‘happen’. In democracy 2, the model for income of voters is fairly basic. You can implement policies which affect different levels of income (luxury goods tax hits the rich, for example), and that would affect the membership of the poor, middle income and wealthy voter groups. So far so good.”
What Is Bionic Heart 2 ?(Computer Games)
“I realized that I always talked about Bionic Heart 2 like if everyone played the first game. By the way, if you haven’t, you should since I lowered its price to $9.99and even if was one of my earlier games, the story is still one of the best I think. Anyway, for those who haven’t played it, I’ll introduce the game. Warning there are some small spoilers about some endings/characters of the first game, so be warned before you continue reading!”
The Video Game Kickstarter Report – Week of Feb 22(Zeboyd Games)
“First up for this week, we have a new Adventure/RPG hybrid called Mage’s Initiation. Developed by the team responsible for the King’s Quest 1-3 & Quest for Glory 2 remakes, Mage’s Initiation looks to be heavily inspired by the Quest for Glory series. That means multiple character classes, traditional Sierra Online style puzzles, alternate routes of success, and RPG stats. They’re off to a strong start with $39k of their $65k goal raised with 28 days left to go.”
A Clarification About Our PS4 Exclusivity(The Witness)
“There has been worry and speculation on the internet about the PS4 exclusivity that we announced during the press conference, so here are some details to help answer those questions.”
Game Development: Version Control(Unknown Worlds)
“Games are complex systems. They mix 2d and 3d artwork, sounds, game logic and rendering engines. These systems are most often created by teams. The biggest games are often worked on by hundreds of people. All these people are making changes, adding pieces, and fixing problems. It is essential to keep track of all these actions in order to maintain the integrity of the whole. Such tracking is facilitated by systems referred to in game development as ‘version control.’”
Cloud Gaming Helps Indie Developers, Playcast Board Member Says(Polygon)
“Cloud gaming helps independent developers break into the living room through digital distribution , according to Gadi Tirosh, a member of the board of directors of Playcast. Tirosh believes that distributing console quality games through the cloud circumvents retail channels that have prevented smaller developers from penetrating the market. Services like Playcast are ‘removing the barriers to distribution to console games, which historically have been quite high,’ he said.”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney pummels Microsoft's UWP initiative
Microsoft's ambitions for PC gaming appear to be taking shape.
Microsoft's ambitions for PC gaming appear to be taking shape. In our recent interviewwith Phil Spencer, he asserted Microsoft's commitment to bringing its biggest franchises to Windows and Xbox through its Universal Windows Platform, designed to spare devs the headache of porting between Microsoft devices. That's ostensibly good news, but using a column in the Guardian, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has battered the UWP initiative, saying "they are working to turn today’s open PC ecosystem into a closed, Microsoft-controlled distribution and commerce monopoly". He calls for companies that play any part in the PC ecosystem to fight back.
Sweeney argues that Microsoft is operating a closed shop with UWP, whereby access to certain Windows features is only available if you take part in the initiative. Supposedly, it pushes developers and publishers to supply via the Windows Store, "curtailing users’ freedom to install full-featured PC software, and subverting the rights of developers and publishers to maintain a direct relationship with their customers." This is a far cry from the Win32 API that is the current standard.
Microsoft has struck back, with vice president of Windows Kevin Gallo telling the Guardian, "The Universal Windows Platform is a fully open ecosystem, available to every developer, that can be supported by any store. We continue to make improvements for developers; for example, in the Windows 10 November Update, we enabled people to easily side-load apps by default, with no UX [user experience] required."
This contrasts with Sweeney's assertion that side-loading (loading onto other stores, in essence) is disabled by default and so buried in obscure options that you're liable to give up trying. Sweeney sees similarities with Google—the features that make the Android platform open appear deliberately hard to find. And theoretically, Microsoft could remove the option to side-load as it chooses through Windows 10
"Unless Microsoft changes course," Sweeney says, "all of the independent companies comprising the PC ecosystem have a decision to make: to oppose this, or cede control of their existing customer relationships and commerce to Microsoft’s exclusive control."
Far Cry 3 preview
If insanity really is “doing the same thing and expecting shit to change,” as Vaas, psychotic killer and mohawk-sporting poster madman of Far
Cry 3 suggested during last year's E3 trailer, then Ubisoft are certifiably sane.
Far Cry 3 looks like the original Far Cry. It's got the island setting, it's blessed with the same shimmering blue water and silvery-white sand. Again, you are a lone soul, marooned somewhere that wants to kill you, and again you've got a suite of skills to stop the place doing just that. But dig under the idyllic facade and you'll find something new, something infectious. Ubisoft want to do something different with their third free-roaming shooter, and as our unhinged friend Vaas would say, shit has definitely changed.
To understand the changes, it helps to appreciate the things that have stayed the same. Sitting in a conference room full of journalists in Ubisoft Montreal's labyrinthine offices, my first sight of Far Cry 3 being played certainly feels familiar.
Blue sky. White sand. Our first-person protagonist comes across the rusting carcass of a boat, stricken against the shore many years ago. A voice in his ear tells him he must get to the top of the boat – the Medusa – and deactivate a radio mast.
Guards mill around at beach level, patrolling and chatting. On the boat's russet-coloured deck, another set of men swing their AK47s around as they sweep their designated areas. There's a hole in the prow of the boat, large enough to fit through. The back of the boat falls away into the water, perhaps concealing another entrance. Behind our hero, on a bluff next to his starting position, is an opportune vantage point: stand there and you'd be free to survey the scene at leisure. A room full of gaming brains are whirring at once. We're all familiar with this kind of situation – gun in hand, task ahead – and we've all got our favourite resolutions.
This scene is Far Cry as we know it – a series of fighty vignettes that players can come at from hundreds of angles. There's freedom, there's choice, there's the potential for things to go violently and delightfully wrong. On the surface, there's no change.
Later, I'm shown a second mission. It starts on a hillside, in a glass-fronted potting shed occupied by a wild-eyed man flecked with white paint. This is Dr Earnhardt, and he wants the player to find him some mushrooms. Our hero makes his way down to a submerged cave at the bottom of a shallow hillside, his journey speeded up by handily placed ziplines. Gaining access to the cave requires a swim, but once inside there's no obvious threat. Getting the required mushrooms seems to be a case of pushing forward: the cave is winding but linear, and seems devoid of any kind of hostile life. Our hero brushes past some mushrooms – not the ones the doctor wants – and suddenly his vision swims. Colours change, light swells and fades. Trees and branches seem to grow from the cave's rock walls, and, strangest of all, that glass-fronted potting shed has made its way inside and is now hovering just out of reach. Approaching it causes it to retreat, leading our hero deeper into the cave, until he finds the requested mushroom and a secondary route to the outside world. When he went in, the island was lit by the midday sun; on exiting, it's midnight. It's only when he brings the mushroom back to Dr Earnhardt that I realise our hero had his gun holstered for the duration of the mission.
This kind of directed, linear adventure is new for the series. It's also worrying: Far Cry games are characterised by the freedom of approach they offer. But Far Cry 3's producer, Dan Hay, is certain that these heavily scripted sections will add to the game.
“I think the best way I can describe it is a palette cleanser.” Dan wouldn't commit to a ratio of these kinds of missions compared to more traditional firefights, instead describing the former as “something that every once in a while surprises you. You go down the rabbit hole and then you come back to the game and then you start to see: I'm going to do some weird stuff and then I'm going to get back to shooting.”
Back to the shooting. On board the Medusa, our hero crouches low, ducking through the rusted hole in the boat's hull. He takes the first guard by surprise, yanking a knife from his belt loop and inserting it in his clavicle. In one quick motion, he yanks it out and hurls it full-force at the dying man's colleague, who'd turned round to investigate the gurgling. Both collapse, and there's silence. But not for long. This version of Far Cry 3's protagonist quickly drops the subtle approach, retrieving an assault rifle from one of his conquests and sprinting up the stairs to the upper deck. He takes potshots along the way, firing ragged-sounding rounds from the hip at guards failing to coordinate a response. From up high, he's got a clear sight on the agitated enemies below, and leans over the deck to choose his targets. There's the hint of a cover system: our hero raises his gun when he's behind the sturdy railing, sighting it again when he pops up to fire.
With the main throng of enemies now gently bleeding on the floor, our hero is free to pop up to the crow's nest and activate the necessary MacGuffin. Doing so triggers another wave of baddies. Our hero makes his way down to a mounted gun, turning it against the boat's previous occupiers. Over the rhythmic thud of the .50 cal bullets hitting sand and flesh, I hear our hero shriek: “that's for my brother, you motherfuckers!” There's a genuine sense of pain in his voice.
Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker anime shines in production trailer
You'd be forgiven for knowing very little about this Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker anime. Unlike the live-action Dragon Age: Redemption , this slickly-produced CGI feature has maintained a fairly low profile. That may change after this behind-the-scenes production trailer starts making the rounds: Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker recounts the life and times of Cassandra Pentaghast, who fans might remember
Halo 4 multiplayer guide
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NBA 2K17 Wishlist
Information is starting to trickle out about the next edition of the popular NBA 2K series, which consistently ranks as one of the best sports games.
Information is starting to trickle out about the next edition of the popular NBA 2K series, which consistently ranks as one of the best sports games. Coming off another stellar year, we don’t envision the game needing wholesale changes in any particular department, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to see developer Visual Concepts incorporate a few meaningful tweaks into NBA 2K17 and its follow-ups to take its already world-beating basketball sim to another level.
Here are some areas we would love to see improved in the coming years. Our staff primarily plays the MyCareer and MyGM modes, so our wish list skews toward these experiences.
GENERAL
Better Player Creation Tools The face scan technology introduced in NBA 2K15 got better last year, but could still use some work to avoid disasters like this. In addition, we would love to see more variety offered for body definition and tattoos.
Widen The Scope Of Spectator Mode Last May, Visual Concepts introduced a spectator modecalled 2K Streamcast so fans could watch the high stakes Road to the Finals tournament. However, that technology didn’t expand beyond that purpose. This year the technology’s utility should be extended across the entirety of the game so users can watch friends and pros play NBA 2K outside the confines of specific tournaments.
Add All-Franchise Teams We love the inclusion of classic NBA teams, but you know what would be even better? Decade-spanning rosters that collect the best players from every era for each team. Not only would these all-franchise rosters be great conversation pieces, the on-court action would be fantastic. They also would offer some honest competition for the ridiculously overpowered 2016-17 Golden State Warriors team, which should smoke most modern NBA teams with ease.
GAMEPLAY
Eliminate Remaining “Canimations” Visual Concepts has continued to evolve its animation and physics system to give the player more freedom to move the way they intend on the court, but the game needs a bit more clean-up work. We still see moments where a player is sucked into an unintended canned animation, particularly when it comes to double teams on the perimeter.
Develop Advanced Tutorials NBA 2K is a surprisingly intricate game, with a large variety of dribble moves, passing options, and shot styles to choose from in any given moment. Visual Concepts buries a tutorial in the menu system, but I would love to see a redoubled effort to not only help users master the ins and outs of the controls, but also learn some basic basketball concepts. The Madden series has done a phenomenal job of teaching players to identify passing concepts and exploits to defensive coverage; I could see the same thing work well for NBA 2K.
Fix In-Game Injury System NBA 2K16 introduced the deepest injury system I’ve ever seen in a video game, tracking ailments throughout a player’s career and ultimately having them play into their longevity. This system works fine when you sim most of your games, but I rarely saw players get injured in games I played. A quick Google search confirms that many users who prefer to play their games rather than sim them had the same experience. To remedy, Visual Concepts should tune the frequency that players get injured during games the users actually participate in.
MYCAREER
Reintegrate The Story Rather than integrate Spike Lee’s story into the full MyCareer experience, Visual Concepts opted to make players plow through the underwhelming narrative first before introducing the full suite of features. While you played through the early years of Freq’s hoops career, you couldn’t accrue VC currency to upgrade your player, get performance grades during games, or even gain access to the social media interactions or league stats. This was a misguided decision that should be avoided in future iterations, as these components go a long way to making the mode engaging.
Start Careers With The Right Rating Starting users off with an overall rating of 55 makes total sense – if MyCareer is about a failed athlete working a Foot Locker cash register. But if users are going to start as first-round draft picks, they should have a rating that reflects their standing amongst the other rookies. Intentionally starting us with deflated ratings just smacks of a cynical ploy to get players to spend money on VC for upgrades.
Make Player Choice Matter Back when MyCareer was first introduced, the mode felt like you had more agency over the trajectory of your career. You could even turn into a universally reviled jerk. That flexibility with making the kind of player you want to be has waned in recent years, and that’s unfortunate. A re-emphasis on player choice impacting the trajectory of your career would be a nice touch. Bringing back GM interactions would be a great step in the right direction. Once you become a franchise player, having options open up that allow you to exert your influence on personnel decisions would be great, whether that be offering feedback to the GM on who’d you like them to target in trade talks, getting another player who you don’t work well with shipped out of town, or being given the chance to try and lure upcoming unrestricted free agents to your town by spending time with them.
Give Users More Control Over Their MyPlayer Emotions In the previous three MyCareer stories, a disconnect always surfaced between what I thought I told my player to say in a press conference or meeting and what comes out of his mouth. Visual Concepts needs to do a better job of shedding light on the tone and meaning of the responses. We'd also like to have a choice between voice styles to better reflect the type of player we want to create. I'd love to select between voices that offer different personality types like DeMarcus Cousins’ volatility, Steph Curry’s quiet confidence, and LeBron James’ demand of greatness.
Revamp The Progression In MyCareer The previous two games’ progression systems forced you to upgrade sets of skills rather than tweaking individual ratings. This approach is blind to the type of player you want to become. This is especially irksome early on in the progression, when you see points allocated to post defense and blocks when you're a point guard who would be better served with skills used during defending the perimeter. Visual Concepts should hit reverse on this revision and go back to a more granular system that lets you improve the skills that are most applicable to your play style.
Create Separate Currencies For Items And Progression This one is a holdover wish from the past few years. Deciding between buying a new tee shirt or improving your jump shot is a stupid choice that players shouldn't have to make. Visual Concepts could remedy this by awarding upgrade points for performance and by paying players a regular cash-based salary like real NBA players so they can use that money on off-the-court items. We'd also like to see Visual Concepts expand the types of things you can buy in the game. Drop the clothing and accessory prices (which only makes sense since most NBA athletes are millionaires) and introduce a new collection of high-priced luxury items for us to waste our earnings on. Think of it as MyCrib 2.0, with a selection of high-rise apartments, private planes, and a slew of off-field activities that users must balance against the expectations the franchise has for the player on the court.
Highlight Major Team Moments I love the off-court interactions with teammates, but MyCareer skips some of the biggest moments that shake the foundation of a team during the course of the season. Trades, injuries, position changes, and locker room controversies between teammates go by with hardly a mention. These should be surfaced with locker room addresses from the coaching staff and interactions with the players to make us feel like we're really a part of a team.
MYGM
Make Training Matter More Though it got less frequent last year, the only time general managers really have to deal with training is when a player complains about being overworked or if the trainer thinks the team should be put through its paces more often. The A.I. driving trainers should be more savvy than this, offering season goals for players and suggestions for shoring up weak points for both players and the team as a whole.
Make Contact Negotiations More Intense NBA 2K offers more drama than most sports games when it comes to free agency thanks to its conversation system, but we’d like to see these discussions expanded even further. We’d love to have deeper talks about why our team is a good fit for the player, as well as honest talks about what other teams are offering.
Get A New Press Corps Perhaps this is intentional, but you can’t win with the press. Most of the time you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t when fielding questions from reporters, even if you offer a perfectly reasonable answer. We would love to see this system revamped, so reporters more capably challenge your decision making on free agent signings, busted draft picks, and trades. Given the number of decisions a GM has to make on a daily basis, the press has plenty of weapons for challenging their leadership. Visual Concepts should focus on these things instead of the vague questions about how the team is doing.
Keep Tuning Trade Logic The trade mechanics in NBA 2K are deeper than any other sports game, even allowing for multi-team deals. With these complexities come some complications that we hope Visual Concepts can address in NBA 2K17. We’ve seen some strange offers from CPU-controlled teams, like a 72-rated player and a first-round draft pick for a 69-rated player with a C+ potential. Those are the kind of dumbfounding decisions that should have been removed when the Timberwolves fired notorious failure David Kahn.
ONLINE
Get Rid Of The "Got Next" Format In MyPark I understand where Visual Concepts is coming from with the idea of MyPark. Placing users in a virtual basketball mecca with several street courts and an indoor gym sounds great on paper, but it breaks every rule about good matchmaking in practice. You know what's better than making people stand in line to play the next game? Letting them jump immediately into a game via a standard lobby system. Our time is precious. Don't make us waste it by standing around a virtual court instead of playing.
What features are you hoping come to NBA 2K17? Share them in the comments section below.
Far Cry 3 trailer teases E3 showing
E3 is tantalisingly close.
E3 is tantalisingly close. Far Cry 3 raised eyebrows at E3 2011 with trailers introducing the game's psychotic antagonist, Vaas. Hopefully we'll get more of a sense of what the game will be like to play at Ubisoft's conference next week. The misty flashes above tease a few new characters, but it'd be nicer to see more in-game action, to find out exactly how open Far Cry 3's jungle will be. The footage so far has felt a little rail roaded. We'll be covering E3 in force, so stay tuned for more on this year's biggest games from the year's biggest games conference next week.
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Dragon Age: Redemption trailer reveals the softer, stabbier side of Felicia Day
Warning: the following trailer for the live-action Dragon Age: Redemption web series is rated F for Felicia Day, fangs, fast action and somewhat fake looking Qunari costumes. It's also rated Y for “You know, for a web series, this looks pretty good”, and “You should really just skip this preamble and just watch the video now.” Dragon Age: Redemption will begin its six-episode run on October 11th and
That Console Feeling: What defines console gaming in 2015?
For the old school console fan, 2015 is a paradise of fresh delights. Axiom Verge oozes that classic console feeling when it starts up on PlayStation 4. The grinding wub-wub-wub of the distortion field weapon and its glitchy effects warping the blocky environment seem like they were lifted right out of 1989. The same is true of The Adventures of Pip. Played on a Wii U, the hero’s transformation from
Tim Sweeney renews attack on Microsoft's UWP
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney has not been subtle in his denunciation of Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform, famously describing it as an attempt to create a “Microsoft-controlled distribution and commerce monopoly”.
in his denunciation of Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform, famously describing it as an attempt to create a “Microsoft-controlled distribution and commerce monopoly”. Despite Microsoft’s attempts to allay fears at its //Build/ conference last month, Sweeney still isn’t having a bar of the initiative.
Speaking at the GamesBeat Summit in California today, Sweeney likened Microsoft’s Windows 10 approach to Facebook. The latter platform was a lot more freewheeling back in its formative years, but has become increasingly locked down and monetised as time has passed.
“Nobody is adopting UWP except the small group of developers Microsoft is paying to do so,” he said, noting the absence of major titles like the GTA series. “It’s the same with the Windows store – it’s mostly ports of Android titles.”
Sweeney later whipped out a stunning metaphor. “If you throw a frog in boiling water, he’ll just hop out,” he said. “But if you put him in warm water and you slowly ramp up the temperature, he will not notice and he’ll be boiled. But a lot of frogs in the industry have already been boiled. Look at Facebook: Every company moved their brand presence to Facebook, sending out messages for their customers to receive. Now, you have to pay to send out your messages to people who chose to follow you. [You’ve become] a boiling frog.”
He believes that, while Microsoft has spoken about its willingness to maintain an open platform, it’s still capable of slowly nailing it down. “Microsoft has given itself the ability to force dash updates without your authorisation,” he said. “It will just update itself and you can’t do anything about it. They can change the rules of the game at any time.”
Sweeney also pointed out that most of the major breakthroughs on the PC have not been spearheaded by Microsoft, but instead by other innovators taking advantage of the open nature of the platform.
“The GPU revolution started there, well before Microsoft adopted it. If that had relied on Microsoft initiative and Microsoft had actively blocked external drivers and apps supporting these things they didn’t approve of, it never would have happened,” he said.
“The VR revolution that’s happening now – there’s no direct VR interface with Microsoft. If you tried to make it work with the UWP system present, it would never happen. Open platforms encourage innovation, and when you have a closed platform and a monopoly on commerce, it stifles it.”
We’ve already seen evidence that the UWP won’t be as open as we’ve come to expect: for example, “ some, but not all” game mods will be accessible through the platform, on the basis of security concerns.
Far Cry 3 dev on game narratives: "almost no-one" can get great performances
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The maniacal performance of the player character's captor, Vaas in the Far Cry 3 demo was one of the most memorable moments of E3 this year.
The maniacal performance of the player character's captor, Vaas in the Far Cry 3 demo was one of the most memorable moments of E3 this year. We caught up with narrative director on Far Cry 3, Jason Vandenberghe on the show floor to discuss the art of honing a great virtual performance, and explore the reasons why so many virtual actors end up in "the uncanny valley of performance."
Far Cry 3's virtual actors are captured from real performances, using technology that records body and face movements simultaneously. Vandenberghe told us that keeping the body and facial performances together made it much easier to shoot Far Cry 3's scenes. "We were able to play it as a movie," he says.
However, getting Vaas's performance onto a hard drive involved more than simply pointing a camera at the actor. "I think we have to be sophisticated and use these tools correctly," says Vandenberghe. "Directing actors is also a technical discipline, and a creative discipline.
"There are techniques in acting and performance that evoke great performances, and there are techniques in acting and performance that evoke good performances. The industry has gotten really good at getting good performances, almost no-one can get great ones."
Talking about why some virtual performances work and others don't, Vanderberghe said "there's an uncanny valley of performance, not just in characters, but performance, and we are just , like, one or two of us have just gotten across that frickin' gulf, right? Like, scrambling up of it, going "okay!"
"Now we have to figure out how to repeat that, and make sure that we're consistent in doing it, so it's a fun moment to be pushing that. Our goal is to be at the very front, to be way ahead of anyone else."
For more on Far Cry 3, check out our Far Cry 3 previewfrom the E3 2011 show floor. The Far Cry 3 announcement was one of our pick of the biggest news stories of E3this year.
Felicia Day is about to get all up in Dragon Age II
If you don’t recognize this charming lady from The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, then you have horrible taste and should rectify the situation immediately. If you are familiar with Felicia Day, then you’re no doubt aware that she knows her business when it comes to games. As a longtime BioWare fan, she’s absolutely ecstatic about her upcoming contributions to Dragon Age II, and so the hell
Why I Love: XCOM's second wave options
I'm hard pressed to list a video game that wouldn't benefit from modifiers like XCOM: Enemy Unknown's second wave options. These are advanced gameplay modifiers you can enable to increase challenge or add replayability - similar to Skulls in the Halo series. It's shocking how a few tweaks to XCOM's turn-based strategy formula completely upend your strategy against the alien invasion. Some ramp up the
Watch Dogs 2 hands-on: hacking Silicon Valley, cars, and dogs
Watch Dogs 2 seems to be borrowing a little of Saints Row’s anarchy, and I think that’s a good thing.
Watch Dogs 2 seems to be borrowing a little of Saints Row’s anarchy, and I think that’s a good thing. I got hands-on with the sequel recently and the slightly cheekier tone just about makes me forgive all the hacktivist banter that I’m at least five years too old to not wince at. I like that Ubisoft is building a slightly sillier open world game, and the intention to make players choose their approach to completing its sandbox missions seems genuine.
I played Watch Dogs 2 for about twenty minutes yesterday. After Ubisoft showed off a story mission which was included in its E3 presentation today, where new protagonist Marcus Holloway breaks into a penthouse using a crane, I was allowed to sample some of the open world side missions that Ubisoft has deployed onto the vast map of San Francisco. This landmass is at least twice as big as Chicago, and encompasses Oakland, Marin County (I hope Skywalker Ranch is in there!) and the Bay itself, which you can cross in a boat. We start on Watch Dogs 2’s version of the tourist-y Pier 39. I go looking for the pier’s notorious gang of sea lions, but they’re apparently somewhere else in Ubi’s version of San Francisco.
My time with the game is set in the open world but still feels a little like a guided demo, with a Ubisoft developer taking me through. I grab a mission that involves sneaking onto a guarded pier, climbing up to the roof of the building there and entering an office to do my whole hacking thing. What Ubisoft wants to highlight is that Watch Dogs lets you approach missions any way you like, and I’m pretty convinced by that in the two side missions that I sample. The pier is guarded by dogs and guards. I use Marcus’s drone to get the lay of the land. I hack a transformer to weaponise it, then use another hack to lure a guard towards it, which acts as a mine when they get within a certain range. That’s one down. I hack a guard dog’s collar, which only temporarily takes it down, then accidentally reverse a car that someone left on the pier over the poor creature. It is dead now. I hacked a dog, and then I ran it over.
Using a portable lift, I get Marcus onto the rooftop without using the stairs, then tase a couple of guards without being seen. I break into the room, complete my objective, and I’m done. What’s cool, though, is I could’ve gone in all guns blazing, or driven a car through to the front of the pier to make a showy entrance. It’s not like it can play out in hundreds of ways, but it does offer some player agency. More than anything, it was just good fun to mess around with different parts of the environment and manipulate the AI. You can make NPCs a wanted target, which sends bad guys after them, but I didn’t get to see this in action. I really do feel bad about the dog, though.
After that, another Ubi developer jumped into my game and we knocked around in co-op. We did a mission together where we raided a garage, at first stealthily, and then all guns blazing when the AI spotted my drone in the sky. One thing I will say about the change in tone and how this world is presented is that it doesn’t quite feel right when Marcus puts his taser away and starts using deadly weapons. That is a choice they put in the hands of the player, though, which is cool. In the last moment of the mission, an enemy tried to escape with a package I needed, and I hacked his motorbike to make him reverse before tasering the guy and stealing the bike for myself.
Watch Dogs 2 feels entertaining, a welcome 180 from the overly serious original. I’m keen to explore other areas, and to see how advanced the hacking abilities can get this time around. My only slight issue so far is with the free-running, which is basically Assassin’s Creed’s one-button platforming, which is a touch too simple for my tastes—but since you spend most of your time driving anyway, which itself has been overhauled to make the handling a little simpler, it’s not a huge problem for me. If they get the tone right in Watch Dogs 2 and it really feels like a true sandbox game, this could be a sequel that gets closer to realising the first entry’s potential.
Far Cry 3 trailer flees madmen, drops beats
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The latest CG trailer for Far Cry 3 sets up the premise quite nicely.
The latest CG trailer for Far Cry 3 sets up the premise quite nicely. The psychotic one in the red vest is Vaas, the star of the E3 trailer. It looks as though he'll be hunting you through the jungle as you try to find a boat, any boat, to take you away from the wilderness gone mad. You had a choice of characters to play as in Far Cry 2, but none of them were innocent holidaymakers caught up in a gang war. It'll be interesting to see if there's any transition between 'man on holiday' and 'man who can single-handedly take out a base with a toothpick.'
Dragon Age II: Mark of the Assassin review
BioWare had a lot to prove after its last Dragon Age II DLC offering; Legacy was a short and insubstantial adventure unworthy of both our time and money. So back they went to the drawing board where none other than Felicia Day was waiting, ready to lend her likeness. Yes, the lovable queen of all things nerdy has joined BioWare to produce another chapter of the Hawke legend that is, thankfully, much
The Tender Cut Offers a Slice of Surrealism
Fans of the 1929 surrealist short film, Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog), have the chance to experience it in a novel way thanks to The Tender Cut , a first-person interactive adventure developed by Russian team No, thanks.
, a first-person interactive adventure developed by Russian team No, thanks. The game, which draws inspiration from the “ Il etait une fois” scene of the film, invites players to dive into a surreal atmosphere and share the character’s dream-like experience.
Although the game’s monochromatic aesthetic and title might suggest a horror adventure, the developers reveal that the focus of The Tender Cut is more about the different ways people experience feelings in a dream; an otherwise ordinary action could yield surrealistic consequences. The visual style specifically attempts to combine the atmosphere of a strange dream with an old film, and almost every item that players can interact with is a prototype from the original film.
As a self-contained product, Th e Tender Cut can be enjoyed even by those who have not seen Un Chien Andalou , however, for a deeper experience the developers suggest having some familiarity with the film’s initial scene. Those interested in immersing themselves in the eeriness of The Tender Cut can do so for free via itch.ioor Game Jolt.
For more information on The Tender Cut , and to stay in the loop on the latest projects from No, thanks, be sure to follow them on Twitter. What do you think about The Tender Cut ? Would Salvador Dalí have been impressed? Let us know in the comments section.
E3 2011: Far Cry 3 dev: "Games flirt with vulgarity. If done incorrectly, they become pornography"
Ubisoft Montreal's Jason Vandernberghe has been talking to PC Gamer about how games deal with mature content.
Ubisoft Montreal's Jason Vandernberghe has been talking to PC Gamer about how games deal with mature content. Far Cry 3 is set to be an M-rated game when it releases next year, but the narrative designer stressed the badge doesn't give developers reason to pack games full of filth. He also hinted Far Cry 3 might be more of a cerebral experience than gamers who spent FC2 burning everything might expect.
Speaking from the show floor this morning, Vandernberghe told PCG: "We're rated M, so we can do just about anything we want... mwahaha! It is absolutely my ambition to flirt with, and not cross the taste barrier.
"A lot of games flirt with vulgarity. And I think if done incorrectly, vulgarity becomes pornography. I'm not here to make pornography. I'm here to make an entertaining, mature experience. I think that's our goal and hopefully it comes through. One of the great things about Far Cry is that we're in an environment where anything goes. That said, to me, Far Cry has never been about whether you're going to be good or evil. It's a game about a fairly decent guy who is... not a law-abiding citizen."
Jason also gave us some hints as what to expect from Far Cry 3: "A gun is one way to solve many problems in this kind of environment. It's absolutely not the only one. One of the things we want to focus on in our narrative is the consequences of heroism. I'm the narrative director. My goal is to address that in as mature a way - sophisticated isn't the right word - believable - a way as I can."
Far Cry 3 is due for release next year. You can read Graham's preview here. Do you think games flirt with vulgarity? Maybe just a little bit?
Felicia Day starring in Dragon Age II Mark of the Assassin DLC
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Neocolonialism’: Fill Your Bank Account, While Ruining The World
‘Neocolonialism’: Fill Your Bank Account, While Ruining The World
Indie designer Seth Alter’s Neocolonialism is a PC strategy game about taking over the world.
is a PC strategy game about taking over the world. But don’t start training an army or building a barracks, this serious game invites players to take on their friends, or the AI, though financial soft power and economic control.
Players assume the roles of greedy capitalists, that is, investors, and try to control the world. Straight violence isn’t the answer, but funding puppet governments is totally acceptable! So is insider trading, manipulating votes, and skimming money into your private account. By using game mechanics to represent the relationship between the investor’s financial choices and the worldwide consequences, Alter creates a simulation that’s playable as a strategy game and informative on other levels.
I’ve played Sid Meier’s Civ a few times with a non-violent house role, battling friends and the jerk Montezuma to control the globe by dominating trade routes, controlling resources, and spreading culture. Players who enjoy that sort of strategic challenge will enjoy the gameplay involved in Neocolonialism . Alter has aligned gameplay goals with economic exploitation, which uses both the moral thoughtfulness players have making virtual political decisions in Positech’s Democracyor Max Barry’s NationStates, and our desires to succeed in multiplayer games, and he creates a strategy sim that’s serious, moral and still engaging.
The Neocolonialism game map puts north on the bottom, and south on top. Alter hopes an upside-down worldmap will provoke discomfort, and draw attention to economic inequality between regions. The reoriented map isn’t so usual that it brings social discomfort for me. As veteran boardgamers know, playing a game set on a world map, like Pandemic or Axis&Allies , means that someone at the table’s going to be sitting with the map upside-down. But it does require more thought and inconvenience to navigate on the upside-down map, and it works well with Neocolonialism ’s disruptive themes and ideas of privilege.
The game is currently in alpha. The alpha version can be downloaded here from Subaltern Games, and there’s a Greenlight for Neocolonialism for distribution through Steam.
There’s a Kickstarter for the game too. Backers at the top tier receive a re-oriented play map, and a credit as an “Orthodox Cartographer”, a delightful bit of Orwellian phrasing. With enough money, Alter is saying, and you can have things your way! Pay enough, and you have have it the easy way, where you don’t have to think too much.
First Assault is a free-to-play Ghost in the Shell FPS coming soon
Free-to-play publisher Nexon has announced a new tactical FPS based in the Ghost in the Shell universe, and it has a really catchy name.
Free-to-play publisher Nexon has announced a new tactical FPS based in the Ghost in the Shell universe, and it has a really catchy name. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – First Assault Online is the full name (GitS: SAC – FAO for short!) but it's probably easier to refer to it as First Assault. I think that's sensible.
When it launches next year the game will boast eight characters, with each customizable with "specialized body augmentations, weapon attachments and enhanecd abilities". There's also something called 'SkillSync', which apparently allows players to share their "cyber-abilities" on the field to create "devastating combinations".
While the game won't launch until 2016, a closed beta phase will operate from October 1-4. You can register your interest for that over here. The below trailer shows some of the game in action.
Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar funded, new stretch goals announced
In inevitability news, Richard Garriot's Shroud of the Avatar has sauntered past its Kickstarter goal, perhaps twirling a cane and singing a jaunty tune as it danced over the line.
In inevitability news, Richard Garriot's Shroud of the Avatar has sauntered past its Kickstarter goal, perhaps twirling a cane and singing a jaunty tune as it danced over the line. It was accompanied by the announcement of a bunch of new reward tiers and stretch goals, with pets and weather being added to the game if it hits $1.1m and $1.2m respectively. The pets will come in "social" and "combat" varieties, while the weather will be "seasonal". As, I'm told, it is in real life.
In the previous update, Tech Director Chris Spears also talked about Shroud's " selective multiplayer", which certain publishers could probably learn a thing or two from. Essentially, you'll be able to play the game entirely offline and without DRM, or you can play it 'Single Player Online' which allows, er, content updates and the ability to see how other players are affecting the world. You can also play the game in 'Friends Play Online' and 'Open Play Online' modes, which sound fairly self-explanatory. You'll be able to switch between any of the latter three modes at any time when you're in a city or the overland map. Which is nice.
Now that it's funded, Shroud of the Avatarcan focus on getting made - with or without pets and weather - in time for its estimated October 2014 release date. But probably with pets and weather, as they're currently not too far out of its grasp.