Peter Molyneux Dissects Telltale's The Walking Dead With Its Writer
Two years ago at E3 I shot a one-on-one interview between Bethesda's Todd Howard and Mojang's Notch .
. It was an odd pairing, but I continue to receive a lot of positive responses to the video. This year at E3 I decided to schedule more videos that have developers that are fans of each other's work discuss whatever they would like. As a co-host of the Idle Thumbs podcastand creative lead/writer for Telltale's acclaimed The Walking Dead, Sean Vanaman's list of developers that he'd like to talk to on camera was topped by Peter Molyneux. Known for games like Black & White, Fable, and the upcoming Godus from his new company 22 Cans, Peter Molyneux is a colossal fan of The Walking Dead and was gracious enough to agree to this odd interview.
Watch the video below to hear these two developers discuss the writing process, Curiosityand other experiments from 22 Cans, the best way to survive a zombie apocalypse, and even drop a couple of hints about the second season of The Walking Dead. I've added timecode notes below the video if you'd like to jump around and hear them discuss a specific topic.
0:00 - Peter Molyneux explains why he loves The Walking Dead from Telltale Games
6:50 - Sean Vanaman talks about his personal history and how he ended up working on The Walking Dead
8:40 - The two discuss the importance of voice actors
11:40 - Molyneux analyzes the character of Clementine from The Walking Dead
13:30 - Molyneux explains his creative process and the struggle of waiting for brilliant ideas
16:35 - Vanaman offers advice on how to get in to the industry and the importance of reading
20:55 - The downside of adapting books into films and the Harry Potter series
24:23 - How reading informs good game design and the challenge of character motivations
26:50 - Experimentation in games versus a guided narrative
29:45 - Why absolute freedom in games is not as good as it sounds
32:17 - Designing the opening of The Walking Dead's second episode
34:05 - Molyneux and Vanaman discuss Heavy Rain
39:26 - Designing the beginning of a game, and the opening moments from the Fable series
45:20 - The temptation of adding a lengthy tutorial to your game
47:30 - The Walking Dead and why the team wanted to create magic for 3% of its players
51:00 - Molyneux talks about Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube and the other game design experiments that he has planned
53:52 - Molyneux talks about his quest to make "one" great game in his life, his hopes for Godus, and the changing demographics of gaming
58:20 - Lessons from playtesting Telltale's The Walking Dead
1:00:20 - Finding meaningful feedback for your game
1:05:40 - The downside of offering feedback on games from Rare and Supergiant Games
1:08:50 - Teasing the second season of The Walking Dead and balancing the trinity of the game, the show, and the graphic novel
1:13:31 - The rise of zombie/survival fiction in our culture
1:16:42 - Molyneux's old game design about the end of the world
1:18:26 - Vanaman and Molyneux explain what they would do in the event of a zombie outbreak
If you'd prefer to listen to this interview as an audio file, I've attached an MP3 of the full discussion below.
How StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void's prologue sets the stage for the finale
With the promise coming from Gamescom that StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void will truly launch this year, I can’t help but echo the thoughts of Tychus Findlay from the original cinematic trailer way back in 2007: Hell, it’s about time.
In the run up to Legacy of the Void, customers who reserve the game have been given access to three prologue missionsdesigned to bridge the gap between 2013’s StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and the new game (they'll be free to everyone later on). These missions revolve around the Protoss Dark Templar and pseudo-mystic, Zeratul, who has spent the past couple of games banished from his civilization as a heretic warning of a dire prophecy to whomever would listen.
It's understandable if that's all a bit foggy. The path through the twisting and at times unwieldy plots and sub-plots of StarCraft 2 is not easily navigable, particularly as it has evolved from a game primarily about one man’s obsession with his evil and mostly chitin-covered ex-girlfriend to one about galactic prophecies and the millennia-long impact of a particularly bad eugenics project. So here's a quick refresher.
Void where prohibited
Zeratul
The prophecy is centered around the “Fallen One,” Amon, a renegade member of a once hyper-advanced and now presumably long-dead race called the Xel’Naga, and Amon’s attempts to escape from the titular “Void” so he can do what all prophesied, evil creatures of immeasurable power are wont to do: kill everything. Zeratul’s attempts to thwart this prophecy have driven much of the narrative action of the past two games, including being the reason that James Raynor, at the end of StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, restores the humanity of his genetically modified half-zerg, half-human, ex-girlfriend Kerrigan—aka the Queen of Blades.
Of course, Zeratul goes on in the very next game to convince Kerrigan that now the only way to stop the prophecy is for her to, you guessed it, turn back into a slightly more powerful version of the Queen of Blades. So, points off for consistency, I guess.
The narrative does some Olympics-level gymnastics to justify itself on these and countless other points, but to go down the twisty logical route that helps one understand all the mumbo-jumbo would be an exercise beyond the scope of this article. For the sake of expediency, just know this: The Xel’Naga created the Protoss and Zerg. One of their more powerful members, Amon, corrupted the Zerg, and imposed his will on the Zerg’s Overmind. The Zerg launched a war that destroyed the Xel’Naga. In the process Amon was killed or at least banished to the “Void,” and he’s been trying ever since to return and fulfill his insidious plans.
This brings us to the Prologue missions.
Whispers of Oblivion
The prologue opens with the heretic Protoss Zeratul continuing his crusade to interpret the prophecy that tells of how Amon will be reborn, leading him to search for hints left behind by Narud, a shapeshifter that had been disguised as a Terran researcher until he was killed in Heart of the Swarm. In the process, Zeratul finds himself trying to rescue trapped Protoss on a Terran facility that is in the process of being overrun by Kerrigan and the Zerg.
Kerrigan and Zeratul have a complicated relationship, one that usually manifests in a particularly juicy cinematic fight, or at least has in both previous StarCraft 2 games. Here, however, Kerrigan is single-mindedly focused on destroying the Terran research into hybridization—creating creatures that are varying mixtures of human, Zerg and Protoss—and instead becomes an in-mission hazard to be avoided rather than confronted. While Zerg swarm periodically through the heart of the base, your mission is to side-step those conflicts and focus on releasing your brethren.
This process leads Zeratul to discover a plot involving the Tal’Darim, a sect of evil Protoss who seek to help Amon get out of his Void-y prison. This becomes the central plot points for the final two missions.
The missions themselves each have a particular flavor and gimmick associated with them that mirrors previous levels from the game, but none rise to the level of the best of what’s come before. The maps themselves are largely static places where you’re provided iterations of tasks to perform, but in the end they feel like exactly what they really are: a little bonus StarCraft to keep you busy while you wait.
Just a taste
None of the cool stuff promised for the expansion exists in here. No new units to play around with. None of the co-operative play. It’s more a Protoss-centered epilogue to Heart of the Swarm than an introduction to what the experience of Legacy of the Void will be like.
Which is fine enough, all things considered. After all, the prologue serves its fundamental purpose of setting key players like Zeratul, Kerrigan, and Amon into the right stage blocking for Legacy of the Void. With Arcturus Mengsk, the long-time villain of the series, now out of the picture it makes sense to try and set the scene for the final act where our ragtag heroes are now fighting an actual god as opposed to an emperor who just thought of himself as one.
Still, the difference between grocking Legacy’s story and not isn’t likely to rely on whether you dive into the Prologue missions or not. It’s some nice flavor-narrative for those of us paying attention, but as with World of Warcraft and Diablo, the story is really more there for those who dig the lore than to drive the game itself.
If you’re going to be playing Legacy of the Void anyway, there’s no reason not to get a fresh fix. StarCraft 2 still holds up as a fun game, even when the substance itself is missing a beat or two.
Telltale Games and Mojang Release Premiere Episode of Minecraft: Story Mode
Telltale Games and Mojang recently released the first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series .
. The first of five episodes, titled “The Order of the Stone,” is available digitally on PC and Mac through Steamand the Telltale Online Store.
In this new point-and-click adventure game, players take on the role of Jesse, a male or female hero depending on their selection (voiced by either Patton Oswalt or Catherine Taber, respectively). Trouble soon arises, and players must set out on a quest to find The Order of the Stone if they are to be successful in saving the world from certain destruction. Similar to previous Telltale releases, the outcome of Minecraft: Story Mode is shaped by a variety of player choices, resulting in a branching narrative.
PlayStation 4 and PS3 customers can download the episode through the PlayStation Network, while Xbox One and Xbox 360 players can find it on the Xbox Games Store. Users of compatible iOS and Android devices can purchase the episode starting October 15. The title is also planned for Wii U and PlayStation Vita releases at a later date.
Physical copies of the game will be released in North America on Tuesday, October 27 and in Europe on Friday, October 30. The discs will feature the premiere episode of the series, as well as access to downloads of all future episodes as they become available. The first episode is rated Everyone 10+ due to mild language and fantasy violence, while the remaining four episodes have yet to be rated by the ESRB (though they are expected to receive a similar rating). Additional information can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Telltale Games’ official website.
Take A Video Tour Of E3 2013
Every year we like to invite those that can't make it to E3 on a grand tour of the show floor from Game Informer editors.
Every year we like to invite those that can't make it to E3 on a grand tour of the show floor from Game Informer editors. This year we rounded up Dan Ryckert and Jeff Cork on opening day of the big show to give viewers a glimpse of what they are missing. Watch the video below to experience the insanity of the show for yourself, be on the look out for weird celebrity cameos and witness the potential of Google Glass. I hope you enjoy the video!
Visit our E3 News Headquartersfor all the stories from the show.
Starcraft 2 pro disqualified over offensive tweet
In today's instalment of the unending series 'Sometimes People Make Poor Life Decisions,' this.
In today's instalment of the unending series 'Sometimes People Make Poor Life Decisions,' this. Starcraft 2 pro Mihaylo "Kas" Hayda has been disqualified from next month's Fragbite Masters tournament for tweeting the message, "going to rape some girl soon" before his qualifying game against Madeleine ”Maddelisk” Leander.
"I don’t even know what to say," wrote Leander in a post on Aftonbladet's e-sports site. "I was very surprised to say the least. This coming from a pro player is scary. The organizers did what they could. They asked Kas to apologize and talked about it after."
"Fragbite Masters have decided to disqualify the Ukrainian Terran Mihaylo "Kas" Hayda from our tournament," the organisers wrote in a news post on their site. "This was decided tonight after Hayda acted inappropriately in social media, where he wrote an offensive post, claimed to be a joke, towards his opponent. Fragbite Masters do not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We strive to bring out the best of e-sports, and the said Twitter-post showed a part we all want to destroy from our community."
Hayda later apologised over Twitter, claiming that he sometimes makes "stupid tweets".
Thanks, Deadspin.
More Walking Dead from Telltale coming before Season 2
The second season of Telltale Game's The Walking Dead is "a way off," but fans won't have to wait quite that long to get back into the action. And choices. And zombies. "There may be something in the works as we speak that will make the wait for Season 2 slightly less agonizing," series story consultant Gary Whitta told IGN . "You won't have to wait for Season 2 to play more Walking Dead." We assume
Video Recap – EA's 2013 E3 Press Conference
EA started its press conference with a clever twist that revealed the next game from Popcap and continued to impress from that point on.
EA started its press conference with a clever twist that revealed the next game from Popcap and continued to impress from that point on. From a tease for Star Wars: Battlefront to a new Mirror's Edge game from DICE, there was a lot to digest in this year's press conference from Electronic Arts. Watch the video below to see Game Informer's Joe Juba and Tim Turi discuss EA's press conference and what stood out for them.
Watch the video below to see EA's entire E3 press conference.
Visit our E3 News Headquartersfor all the stories from the show.
Can you decipher these StarCraft 2 sound clips?
Blizzcon is happening this weekend, so we'll get to see what Blizzard's plans are for the coming year or two—don't worry, we'll be there in force to report live from the scene.
Blizzcon is happening this weekend, so we'll get to see what Blizzard's plans are for the coming year or two—don't worry, we'll be there in force to report live from the scene. Meanwhile, PCGamesNnote that Blizz have been teasing some mysterious noises ahead of the event. Take your best guess.
CLIP ONE
Our guess: an alarming act of flatulence propels a Zerg Hydralisk several miles through the air, whereupon it collides fatally with the flank of a surprised Siege Tank.
CLIP TWO
Our guess: A Terran marine bends attempting to tie his shoelaces instead shoots himself in the foot and promptly falls over. Not heard: Jim Raynor fullscreening the inevitable YouTube video on fullscreen on his massive battlecruiser to the amusement of Terran top brass.
Whatever's happening in these, it's interesting that they don't sound like Protoss. The third expansion: Legacy of the Void, is set to focus on these mysterious space warriors. Is that what Blizzard will reveal this weekend?
Keep an eye on the Soundcloudpage for more, and post your best guesses about the noises in the comments.
Hop Hop Away From Animal Cruelty on Mobile
All the way from Abu Dhabi, Hybrid Humans has released a Lemmings-inspired mobile game called Hop Hop Away .
. Abused bunnies will need all the help they can get if they’re going to reach The Happy Farm, away from their ringmaster.
Though the name suggests a light-hearted game, the studio wants to shed some light on the condition of animal welfare in certain entertainment establishments, such as circuses. This is presented in the form of puzzle-action gameplay, where gamers will help the bunnies escape from the clutches of the “cruel ringmaster” through four different environments, before finally reaching their safe haven, The Happy Farm.
In order to do this, gamers guide the bunnies by interacting with objects in the world. And, as an added bonus, bunnies will also be able to visit secret levels if they are able to get their paws on candy and berries, where they can even become a rockstar or a ballerina.
Hop Hop Away will have gamers evading the ringmaster across 60+ levels, with the inclusion of mini games and boss levels leading up to one of three possible endings. Replay videos can also be shared with friends using the Everyplay feature, which may be used for helping fellow gamers to survive, progress, and create an abundance of rockstar bunnies.
Hop Hop Away is available on iOSand Androidfor the price of $3 USD, and more information can be found on the game’s website , or by following the studio on Twitteror Facebook.
Video Recap - Sony's E3 2013 Press Conference
Immediately after Sony delivered its press conference, we gathered a few editors on camera to talk about the impressive news Sony delivered.
No used restrictions, no required online check-in, and a price tag $100 cheaper than the PlayStation 4's main competitor, the Xbox One. Check out the video below to hear Mike Futter, Matt Helgeson, and Jeff Marchiafava discuss one of the best press conferences we've seen in a long time.
Watch Sony's full 2013 press conference in the three videos below.
For more video analysis on yesterday's press conferences check out our video of the Microsoft recapwith Jeff Cork and Dan Ryckert, the Electronic Arts recapwith Joe Juba and Tim Turi, and the Ubisoft recapwith Kyle Hilliard and Kimberly Wallace.
Visit our E3 News Headquartersfor all the stories from the show.
Starcraft 2's 2.1 patch enters PTR, brings Extension Mods and classic soundtracks
Public Test Realm is a great name for a patch preview server.
Public Test Realm is a great name for a patch preview server. It sounds grand and democratic, like the ornate forum of a philosophically minded republic. It's much better than what I'd have called it: probably Alpha Hovel or Beta Bin. Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm's own Trial Toilet has been filled with the first drops of the upcoming patch 2.1, giving players an early preview of a reworked custom map system, an event calendar for clans and groups, and a set of classic soundtracks, optionally enabling the tunes of StarCraft and Brood War into non-campaign matches.
"Extension mods will help streamline the mod creation process for map developers and allow players to more easily find and play their favorite mods," Blizzard writeof their reworked mod feature. It allows players to apply the parameters of a mod to any map in the custom game list. As such, custom map players will no longer need to check if the mod they want is available for their preferred maps, instead being able to apply the Extension Mod to whichever maps they like.
Other features include a new Events tab, allowing clans and groups to create a schedule; the aforementioned classic soundtracks, available as an option in the settings menu; and new rules for lobbies, that will kick and reassign the host should they go idle.
To try it out, open the Battle.net launcher, and change your region to PTR: Heart of the Swarm.
Microids and Paul Cuisset Launch Kickstarter for New Adventure Game
Indie publisher Microids and Paul Cuisset, well renowned designer of adventure games, have teamed up and launched a 30 day Kickstarter for a new project.
Indie publisher Microids and Paul Cuisset, well renowned designer of adventure games, have teamed up and launched a 30 day Kickstarter for a new project. That project is called Subject 13, a new 3D adventure-puzzle game that will take gamers on a gripping journey.
In Subject 13 , players assume the role of Franklin Fargo – quite possibly the best name ever – a troubled scientist who spends every day in misery since the death of his wife. Then one day Franklin awakens to find himself in a small room with a foggy head and unsure of how he got into his current predicament. A voice speaks to him and tells him to not worry, and a hologram pops up that reads “Hexatech Labs,” and Franklin soon finds himself being called by a new name: Subject 13.
Subject 13 is an immersive, 3D adventure game where players must navigate Franklin through various locations in hopes of solving the mystery he has awoken in. Gather objects and use your smarts, while choosing dialogue options wisely as you resolve the situation at hand.
Subject 13 started out as a concept and programming experiment that soon became Paul Cuisset’s obsession. An obsession he could not put down and wants to bring fully into realization. We realized we needed assistance from players to realize the game’s potential and we are asking for Kickstarter supporters to help us create an expression of pure adventure gaming,” said Paul.
Head over to the Kickstarter pagefor some more information, including details on the sweet, sweet rewards that supporters can receive, and if you like what you see but can’t pledge directly, help spread the word about Subject 13.
Video Recap - Microsoft's E3 2013 Press Conference
Microsoft's E3 press conference was all about the games.
Microsoft's E3 press conference was all about the games. The company showed off a host of Xbox One exclusives, including Ryse: Son of Rome, Dead Rising 3, and a new Halo. Join editors Dan Ryckert and Jeff Cork as they break down the highlights from the show.
The company also revealed the Xbox One's price – $499 – as well as its worldwide November release window. Check out our thoughts below, and add to the discussion in the comments.
Watch the full press conference from Microsoft at E3 2013 in the video below.
Starcraft Universe mod releases multiplayer boss battle in Kickstarter's final days
There are four days left on the Starcraft Universe Kickstarter klock , and the fan-made multiplayer RPG still needs to raise just over $10,000 to reach its $80,000 goal.
, and the fan-made multiplayer RPG still needs to raise just over $10,000 to reach its $80,000 goal. In an attempt to drum up some interest, the mod's developers have released a new module on Battle.net, and - unlike the singleplayer prologue - this time players can go online to find similar, like-minded dungeon crawlers, who can team up to slap a boss around some neon squares.
To try the mod, just load up Starcraft 2, or the free Starter Edition. Head over to the Arcade, and search for "SC Universe: Final Testament". From there, you and four other players will be able to fight through the multi-phase encounter.
"We're still working out some expected multi-player release bugs," write the devs, "but the game is still playable and working. This is our first multi-player release, so please understand there will be continued development on SCU pending our funding, and this is not the final product."
The Kickstarter will run until September 10th. If you'd like to contribute, head here.
Over 9000 Zombies! – A Preview to Die For
To kill, or not to kill?
To kill, or not to kill? That is something which is not even a question in Over 9000 Zombies! , an action survival game wherein which players are faced with unending hordes of zombies that have come to seal your doom.
As a gamer with little experience in zombie apocalypse type games, I was pleasantly surprised (in a bloodthirsty, gory way) by how much fun annihilating zombies could actually be. I mean, I was under the impression that zombies could be defeated using the humble violin(Obviously not.) Over 9000 Zombies! ‘ publisher, Mastertronic, promised that the game would use ‘special mathematical technologies to squeeze the maximum amount of undead chaos out of your PC,’ and they have most certainly delivered. The moment you start, you’re thrown into the deep end. A five second countdown is all the warning you get before zombies start erupting out of the ground, and begin converging on you like it’s going out of style.
This is Day 1 of the apocalypse, your HP is 100, and there are ‘a few zombies.’ At first, you might think that you’ll be able to get through this by just running away from them, but eventually, the angsty rock music which sometimes becomes dubstep will get to you, and you will be transformed into a cold, calculated killer. It’s all in the name of survival though, and to do that you need to use that o.357 Magnum and any grenades you can pick up along the way to keep going. You move around using the up/down/right/left keys, and can fire using either spacebar or the left-mouse button (which I recommend as grenades are set to right-click). Crashing into any zombies for too long drains your HP, so for Day 1 I developed a strategy where I hid in a specific corner and just kept shooting, collecting any scrap metal pieces the zombies would drop when I had the chance. It kept my damage low, and before I knew it Day 2 had arrived.
The feeling of relief and accomplishment at destroying my first wave of zombies was wonderful. And although another wave was soon approaching, and relief and accomplishment were slowly being replaced by terror and fear, I could hear Lara Croft’s words echoing in the background-no, not “I hate tombs”, but “Just keep moving.” This proved to be completely true because on Day 2, my corner strategy was rendered useless as the zombies now had firepower and they were shooting back. On my first playthrough, I’ll admit I was massacred by the zombies, but afterwards I knew that I had to get out of there and not leave myself exposed in the open. (That’s probably a good general life tip, too.) Along the way I discovered you could change weapons by using the scroll button on the mouse, and let’s just say that the MZK-.45 is a monster of a gun. It’s firing rate is much faster than many other options, and is great for quickly disposing of any zombies that are rapidly approaching you.
There’s a bit of multitasking involved in that you have to built turrets around yourself using build mode whilst protecting yourself from advancing zombie hordes, but that’s where the fun lies in this game. The mechanics are simple but effective: Construct defensive walls and impenetrable fortresses using the scrap metal pieces you’ve accumulated, and survive-which is definitely not an easy task, let alone defeating the entire army of over nine thousand zombies.
Over 9000 Zombies! is an Early Access game on Steam, currently available for $7.99 for the PC. A two-player co-op mode will also be available on the internet for players who want to have a zombie-fest with their friends and/or family.
And for those who are curious-my final record proved to be just shy of 9000, totaling 331 kills. What’s that I hear you say? That’s not even close? Bah, humbug.
Video Interview - Suda 51 Breaks Down Killer Is Dead
Known for his colorful and eccentric taste in game design, Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51) has become his own brand in the industry.
Known for his colorful and eccentric taste in game design, Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51) has become his own brand in the industry. His work on titles like Killer 7, No More Heroes, and Shadows of the Damned has turned him into a gaming rockstar for his devoted base of fans. While at E3 this year, Game Informer's Kim Wallace had the chance to speak with him about his new project called Killer is Dead.
Watch the video below to hear Kim and Suda 51 talk about assassins, love, and the origins of his fixation with death.
To learn more about the game, click here to check out Kim's written preview.
Visit our E3 News Headquartersfor all the stories from the show.
Blizzard's Battle.net desktop launcher shown in first footage of beta
The first beta footage of Blizzard's Battle.net launcher has appeared online, courtesy of Starcraft 2 commentator Husky .
. What he shows is a basic, but characteristically slick integrated desktop launcher for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, allowing players to install, launch, and get updates from all three games from the comfort of an executable that lives inside their computer.
Husky's superb use of the phrase "super-poopy" aside, we don't see anything particularly notable in the video, beyond the further confirmation that the launcher is continuing its slow push into existence. Inevitably it's feature set will get beefed up before an official launch. While the centralised hub is nice, a few links that redirect to a browser aren't a particularly strong justification for merging of separate game launchers.
Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger goes free on Origin
It's hard to be too critical of anything that's free, assuming that the free thing in question isn't actually doing you harm.
It's hard to be too critical of anything that's free, assuming that the free thing in question isn't actually doing you harm. So even though I'm not a big fan of Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger, I can recommend it right now because it's free—"On the house," you might say—and it's probably not going to set your PC on fire.
If you're not familiar with Origin's " On the House" program, it's really quite simple. Every so often, EA makes one of the games on Origin free, and... that's really all there is to it. It's yours to keep, no catch and no time limits, and so far the games on offer have been pretty good: Dead Space, Battlefield 3, Plants vs. Zombiesand Peggle. And now, Wing Commander 3.
I'm somewhat less enthusiastic about Wing Commander 3 than I have been about previous On the House offerings, as you may have picked up on. It was an incredibly ambitious project, but those ambitions were almost entirely technological and didn't always work to its benefit. The game boasted an impressive cast for its extensive FMV segments but they were poorly written and poorly acted, and the move away from sprites to texture-mapped 3D objects left the combat segments looking dull and drab compared to those of the previous games.
That is, admittedly, a minority opinion. Our own Cory Banks loves Wing Commander 3 deeply, though we're all concerned he may be a Kilrathi sympathizer. My disappointment in WC3 may just be a reflection of my preference for the hand-drawn style of the first two games. Regardless, you should definitely give it a try; it's free, after all.
Titanfall Smashes The Line Between Solo And Multiplayer Experiences
When it comes to shooters, people often draw lines between single- and multiplayer experiences.
When it comes to shooters, people often draw lines between single- and multiplayer experiences. Some players happily cruise through the storyline soaking up every set piece without once going online and fragging strangers. Their counterparts probably couldn’t even tell you where their favorite multiplayer maps are set; as long as there’s a line of new opponents, they’re happy. That schism creates all sorts of problems for developers.
“There’s a lot of times where you’ll spend months and months and months putting together this single-player level that someone will try to run through in six minutes,” says Vince Zampella, co-founder and general manager of Respawn Entertainment. “All that effort you put into it doesn’t get seen, doesn’t get used – it’s kind of wasted.”
As a new studio, Respawn doesn’t have resources to waste. Rather than put out diluted versions of the ordinarily separate modes, the company took the unusual approach of merging the two to create one highly polished experience in Titanfall – something the studio is calling “campaign multiplayer.”
“The idea of trying to take a single-player experience and imprinting it onto a multiplayer world was not something we came to immediately,” says producer Drew McCoy. “It actually was a couple years into the process where we realized that we have people here who are really good at making addictive, fun, fast, fluid multiplayer games, and we also have people who are making believable characters, moments, and situations. There’s this huge bifurcation of those two experiences in current offerings of games.”
Single-player modes in shooters usually offer a narrative – hardly a strong suit for multiplayer – but the differences go deeper. Campaigns are normally built around players going from point A to point B, instead of dumping them in unstructured arenas. As such, designers can create bombastic moments when players reach certain spots on levels. It’s more difficult to incorporate those kinds of storytelling techniques in multiplayer matches, where a dozen players are too busy scrambling to fulfill their own in-game needs to notice a collapsing bridge in the background.
“We really wanted to try and meld the two together and get our strengths combined and just make one big, deep, awesome experience that everyone could see all of,” says producer Drew McCoy. “We wanted to reconcile the two of those things together and make one cohesive game.”
Respawn is developing the game for high-end PCs and the Xbox One, which affords them additional in-game horsepower. One noticeable implementation of that power comes in the battlefields themselves, which can be filled with dozens of AI characters. These characters act as both friend and foe, and help to make the matches feel as densely populated as traditional FPS story missions. They do more than shout “reloading” and “cover me,” too. Some are used in scripted vignettes, so you might enter a room and see several soldiers clustered around a wounded comrade as another performs CPR. Or you could surprise a group and watch them scatter in fear.
Respawn says the game’s story, which highlights a conflict between far-flung galactic settlers and their corporate counterparts, is being told with the cinematic flair that’s typically reserved for single-player campaigns. The overall story arc is told through discrete missions, with prefaces and epilogues, as well as the set-piece moments normally found in contemporary single-player campaigns. Moment-to-moment gameplay is also driven by video-comm displays, which provide direction on what needs to be done next as well as adding situational flavor.
In one section we saw, the player sneaked up on an opponent and killed him with a melee takedown. Rather than show the simple knifing animation that we expected, the action triggered a showy move where the player snapped the enemy’s neck, flipped the shotgun he was holding out of his hands, and then used the newly acquired weapon to clear the room. Players who get close enough to a wounded Titan can ride on its back, plant explosives, and then watch the fireworks. These types of interactions are relatively standard for single-player games, but it’s a rare treat to see them in multiplayer battles.
The campaign multiplayer approach plays to the team’s strengths, though it creates a new set of challenges. “From the art side, levels are a bear,” says lead artist Joel Emslie. “When you’re doing a single-player game, you’re just on a rail usually. It’ll open up and bottleneck and do that stuff, but that makes wrapping your head around building and making things look gorgeous as you can get them pretty manageable. When we stepped into this stuff, you have to go over every square inch of these environments because the player is going to be at some point, someone is going to go there, and it needs to look up to par.”
The entire team is working on the game as a whole – without divisions between the single- and multiplayer development – and Respawn says the approach is paying off. “[W]e can take all that effort and instead put it into multiplayer, where you’ll see it multiple times, you’ll see it again and again, so now the animations are going to be richer, the world is going to be more alive and more engrossing, and you’re going to see it more,” Zampalla says. “The work that people do here is more appreciated, so it makes the team feel better. The world that the players see is going to be more enriched, so they’re going to appreciate it. So it’s a great feeling for us.”
One of the unknowns at this point is how Respawn plans to tell a story when players are essentially experiencing a set of linked multiplayer matches. How does the campaign account for the times when your side loses? Respawn won’t elaborate on how it works, though the team says you don’t have to replay missions. The developers have set a stiff challenge for themselves that could nonetheless have a hefty payoff in delivering a satisfying and at least semi-cohesive story out of these seemingly fragmented sections.
StarCraft 2's most successful European announces retirement
StarCraft II pro Ilyes "Stephano" Satouri announced on a livestream today that he intends to retire from professional gaming this August, returning to school with his over $200,000 in winnings.
StarCraft II pro Ilyes "Stephano" Satouri announced on a livestream today that he intends to retire from professional gaming this August, returning to school with his over $200,000 in winnings. The French Zerg player is arguably the most successful non-Korean in the history of the game (indisputably, based on winnings alone). His most recent major victory was at the 2012 Blizzard WCS European finals, since which he has been showing less impressive performance.
Notable victories for Stephano include unseating well-known Koreans Bomber and Polt, respectively, in both Lone Star Clash 1 and 2, making him the only player to win an LSC. He was also the champion of IGN Proleague Season 3, the Electronic Sports World Cup 2011, and the NASL Season 3. Since August of last year, he has played for well-known team Evil Geniuses, which just let go Greg "IdrA" Fields, another of the most well-known Western players.
Not everyone in the community is wholly convinced by the announcement, however, as it's not the first time Stephano has announced such intentions only to resume regular tournament play. GameSpot's Rod "Slasher" Breslau tweeted:
https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/334063075747586048
Stephano specified a date of August 15 for his retirement, which would mean he won't be participating in the World Championship Series Grand Finals in November of this year. So, it might be a while before we know how serious he actually is—and he's got plenty of time to change his mind. Whatever the case, we'll keep an eye on Team EG, which we expect to have an eye out for ways to fill the void left by the loss of two of their best non-Korean players.
Photo Credit Kevin Chang, Team Liquid [Creative Commons BY-SA (Attribution—Share-Alike)]
Dev Links: Particle Man
“It’s time to leave the debate as to whether video games are art or not behind.
Today’s Developer Linksinclude the future of Zeboyd, the Australian games industry and the pursuit of a video game masterpiece.
Pursuing a Video Game Masterpiece(Gamasutra)
“It’s time to leave the debate as to whether video games are art or not behind. Instead, there is a need to consider how video games function as works of art, to ask whether game developers have properly grasped the nature of interactivity and to consider whether we as an audience really understand what it is about video games that makes them so compelling.”
Particles; the homicidal aurochs(Gaslamp Games)
“Daniel and I are crunching a little bit this week in order to meet an internal deadline. (“El Dorado”, named after the mystical city that doesn’t really exist and has never been found; we only chose that codename because “Titanic” was apparently used for a Microsoft product.) We try to avoid it as a general rule – after Dredmor, which was released after we crunched for about three months, non-stop, the old batteries need time to recharge – and were more or less successful doing this for the Dredmor expansion packs; however, we’re a little bit behind where we want to be and we need to do a little sprinting until the end of June in order to get everything back on track.”
The Future of Zeboyd Games(Zeboyd Games)
“We feel like we’re at a turning point here at Zeboyd Games. We’ve released some fun RPGs over the past few years (and in fact, we just released a new RPG earlier this month which you should definitely play if you haven’t already) but now it’s time to take things up a notch. Now it’s time to get serious.”
Zeboyd Weekly Art! (6/19/2013): Fish Force! And more sweet CSTW fan art!(Zeboyd Games)
“Hey everyone! It’s Bill, I’m alive. Been living under a rock finishing up on Rainslick4 the past few months, so now that the game is out, I can start up the weekly art column again! Yay!”
Osmos 2.3 for iOS(Hemisphere Games)
“Hey everyone, just a quick post about our latest iOS Osmos update.”
Island Snapshot(The Witness)
“Once again, we have been mostly working on things you can’t see from this angle. The most-visible changes are probably the peninsula on the left in the foreground, which has undergone extensive work lately.”
A hot Summer(Winter Wolves)
“Technically today 21st June Summer starts, but here in Europe things are getting hotter since one week at least. Every year during this period I struggle to work, and this year is no exception. I thought that going living at 800m on sea level would have been enough but apparently I was wrong…”
Opinion piece: Australian games industry social media culture(#AltDevBlogADay)
“I’m a programmer. Through and through. I might pretend to be good at organising a community every now and then, or at speaking on panels, but in my heart I’m a programmer. I deal much better with pieces of code than I do with words or people. So please bear in mind that writing is not my forte as you read this. It is a struggle to communicate exactly what is on my mind – just ask the people who know me well. And sometimes I screw up: what I say doesn’t quite capture what I meant, and occasionally people can take other meanings from my words. Also, the following is all my opinion, and mine alone. It does not represent that of the IGDA, AIE, Convict Interactive, the GDAA, PAX or AltDevBlog. And if you would like to comment about this article, please do so here – as I mention below, discussion over Twitter is difficult.”
Bejeweled 3 is Origin's latest On the House freebie
Is it just coincidence that "three" rhymes with "free," and Bejeweled 3 is now free through Origin's On the House program?
program? The answer, obviously, is yes, it's a complete coincidence. But so what? It's free!
The nice thing about On the House is its simplicity: There's nothing to sign up for, no expiry dates, nothing more than going to Origin and clicking the "get it now" button. You have to be an Origin user, of course, but that's a simple fact of life for anyone who plays EA games these days.
On the House, for those of you who have missed out on the fun so far, is an ongoing giveaway program on Origin that offers free games at semi-random intervals. They're not necessarily the latest and greatest titles on the market—past OTH games include Peggle, Dead Space, and Wing Commander 3—but they cost nothing. Like, zero . That makes it pretty hard to go wrong.
Bejeweled 3 will remain on the house until October 28. Get it while it's hot from Origin.
The Gameplay And World Of Respawn's Titanfall
Gracing our magazine's cover this month is Titanfall , the first game from Respawn Entertainment.
, the first game from Respawn Entertainment. As a studio founded by the creators of Call of Duty, the brand new game is a fast-paced first-person shooter that allows players to command giant robots to unleash chaos. The game has shown very well at E3 2013, and the company released a trailer that shows off the unique gameplay. We visited Respawn Entertainment and spoke with general manager Vince Zampella and game director Steve Fukuda about how the game plays and how they are taking storytelling cues from Valve, watch the video below to learn more.
Click the banner below to follow our month of online coverage, which will feature additional Titanfall media and information.
The Coma Explores Student Nightmares via Korean Culture
Final exams aren’t exactly relaxing, especially if one spends an entire night cramming at the last minute.
Final exams aren’t exactly relaxing, especially if one spends an entire night cramming at the last minute. The young Korean student, Youngho, dozes off during a test, but that turns out to be the least of his worries. He wakes up to a horror that’s the stuff of his worst nightmares.
The Coma is a 2D horror game and debut title from Devespresso Games. The game takes place in an abandoned high school, where Youngho’s biggest worry is surviving. There’s a murderous being hunting him, in addition to many other perilous traps around the building, such as living vines. With hardly any means of defending himself, the student has to find hiding spots in spooky classrooms and hallways. Being able to quickly duck inside a locker could mean the difference between life and death.
As Youngho fights for his life, he navigates three connected sections of the school and uses his wits to find the way. Along with the maps, notes, and keys, he encounters a few characters who help him. There is also hidden artwork and other secrets that reveal a few more details about the game’s setting. One of Devespresso’s goals is to expose players to the rigors of Korean student culture.
The Korean developer plans to release The Coma in October, just in time for Halloween, but that’s dependent on whether it passes Steam Greenlight. Check out the Steam pageand the game’s websitefor more information about it. The Coma will be Windows and Mac compatible.
Jump to Section:Best Price
Comments
Our Verdict
Although familiar to BF3, but BF4 remains a visually and sonically satisfying, reliably intense FPS.
Although familiar to BF3, but BF4 remains a visually and sonically satisfying, reliably intense FPS. Improved by Commander Mode and a terrific and diverse map set.
Battlefield 4wants you to break it. Demolition has been, to varying degrees, its distinguishing feature since DICE made Battlefield: Bad Company 2 destructible. In BF4 it takes the form of massive, shatterable centerpieces in each multiplayer map. A concrete dam you can ruin. A dentable radar telescope. A crippled Navy destroyer that, with an encouraging explosive push, can be run aground in Paracel Storm. On Siege of Shanghai, which you may have played during the beta, it's a glass skyscraper that's centered on control point C. Throw enough C4, RPGs, or tank rounds at its four exterior support columns, and the tower will jenga to the ground, leaving a grave of split concrete behind.
But over the hours I spent in multiplayer, I stopped caring that I could topple skyscrapers. And by the third or fourth time it happens in your game, you'll probably be shrugging it off too. The sky scrapers that I actually adore in Battlefield 4 are the jets. The sound they make, like other sounds in BF4, is the best sort of distracting. It is a ragged, jagged crackle of bass, like a thunderstorm being dragged against its will. Jets are immersion emitters, and whenever one swoops through my field of view I feel it on my skin.
This continues to be one of Battlefield's enjoyable traits--the individual violence of 64 people generates immersion for everyone. The big, disaster-movie moments of destruction in BF4 are initially novel, but it's the incidental, aggregate moments of wonder that hold up over time. The blur of wind as you basejump off a rooftop. The growl of an ATV as its tires chew grass. The ringing in your ears when a MLRS rocket detonates nearby. The carriage-return clink of an M40A5 bolt shifting back into place.
DICE is the Mozart of war, and its mastery over sound continues to define Battlefield's moment-to-moment richness.
War rarely changes
But this is nothing new, and neither is a lot of Battlefield 4. Two years removed from BF3, DICE hasn't made fundamental changes to the feel or format. It's still a 64-player, infantry-driven FPS fought on expansive outdoor maps, with a garage of air, ground, and sea vehicles waiting to taxi you between capture points. The weapon roster is fairly intact, with assault rifles such as the M16A4 and AEK-971, carbines such as the SG553 and G36C, SMGs such as the UMP and P90, shotguns such as the M1014 and the SPAS-12, and sniper rifles including the SV-98 and M40A5 all returning from BF3 essentially untouched.
I understand why DICE wouldn't deviate from its design--why change weapon handling that continues to rest comfortably between accessible and nuanced? Why throw out modes that already suit the maps and mechanics? Even so, you'll want to factor in that abundant familiarity if you tired of BF3 quickly--BF4 will probably age faster than its predecessor did.
Keeping some of that sameness at bay are features like Commander Mode, a strategic role returning from BF2142 that one player per team can occupy instead of fighting. Commanders view the match omnisciently through a fullscreen map, issuing attack and defend orders while phoning in what are essentially killstreaks as they're earned by squads. These “commander assets” are pretty powerful in the right hands, as they include everything from air-dropping ammo and health, to temporarily spotting all enemy infantry, to summoning an AC-130 gunship that players can spawn into. The latter makes you feel like Zeus; lobbing cannon rounds from on high is a wonderful break from being a pair of boots on the ground and it takes real skill to lead targets while orbiting.
I like that these commander abilities aren't so ubiquitous that they create frustration, as killstreaks have for me in some iterations of Call of Duty. The commander role has a similar effect as it does in Natural Selection 2: as a grunt, it's liberating to have most of the top-level strategic thinking offloaded. For BF groups and clans, it also creates a clear position for a captain, which I love. Considering the way that BF3 slightly de-emphasized teamwork by running VOIP through Battlelog, this is a welcome addition. Of huge help is being able to see teammates' perspectives through a picture-in-picture camera (also available when you're spawning on squad), which removes some of the abstraction of telling your colored triangles how to best kill differently-colored triangles.
Outside of this strategic role, there's a new hybrid bomb-planting and capture-point mode that I like. “Obliteration” joins the compact, fast-paced mode Rush and standard, longer-form Conquest and team deathmatch modes as a more meat-grindery back-and-forth that occasionally resembles rugby more than it does Battlefield, but in a good way. Like the armory, the vehicle set is mostly unchanged, save for a neutral MLRS truck that spawns on a few maps. It's a lovely addition, and in smart hands it's a tide-turning asset. Controlling the MLRS gives your team a mobile artillery to knock out hunkered-down defenders or disrupt the advance of vehicles. DICE balances the truck by giving it a limited firing arc, a long ammo-regeneration timer, and by separating the driving and firing positions.
Appetite for destruction
BF4's “ Levolutionmoments,” as EA clumsily termed them, are presented as BF4's main attraction. As I mentioned, these scripted action movie setpieces don't fundamentally change how you fight, but I actually appreciate that they only gently influence matches. One of the better events in Paracel Storm isn't the wrecked warship that you can run aground, but the way the sky shifts from a clear, tropical postcard to an oily hurricane. The ocean gets choppy, making movement on jetskis and boats more of a chore. Tonal shifts like this are hard to find in modern multiplayer games.
At the less enjoyable, less ambitious end of the Levolution spectrum is Golmud Railway, a vehicle-friendly Chinese plain. The dynamic element here is a small, slow-moving train that happens to be one of the six capture points. This might've been a nice design on paper, but the train is easily intercepted and implemented in a way that has almost no strategic value. A lonely caboose putting along in the middle of a tank war feels out of place.
Good and not-good gimmicks aside, the layout and look of BF4's maps is thoroughly great, great enough in a few cases to stand alongside Wake Island and Caspian Border as some of Battlefield's all-time best. Hainan Resort is my favorite of the 10, a bowl-shaped tropical bay overlooked by a hotel. LAVs inevitably stack up in the courtyard at the lip of this resort, generating some excellent cat-and-mouse between armor and engineers while gunboats harass from the shore.
Naval combat is more abundant in BF4, expressed in maps like Flood Zone, where you fight on the connected rooftops of apartments that are submerged in 50 feet of swimmable water. And Golmud Railway, while it's slightly a drag in Conquest, is fantastic in Rush, which shrinks the map to a concentrated, satisfying attack-and-defend format--my team had to earn every capture point against defenders who continually had the high ground. All maps also benefit from the increase in squad size from four to five, which does a little to mitigate the long traversal times present in some BF3 maps and modes.
The sour exception to the well-designed map pool is Operation Locker, a flat, bottlenecky industrial bunker. If you enjoyed BF3's Operation Métro you'll love it, but it's my belief that Battlefield doesn't play well in compact spaces. Even with just 28 players, an Obliteration round on Locker that I played devolved into an embarrassing 40-minute meat-grinder. Small crowds would gather at meter-wide tunnels, with players blocking each other and dying in piles. Both teams were groaning in text chat up until the end.
Campaignful
BF4's campaign is a better appetizer than BF3's dismally generic offering, although it's still a single-player-by-numbers execution. You're a Marine, leading an elite team of tactical experts who all continually need your help to open heavy doors. Amid political strife in China, you're sent to extract a VIP. When it goes predictably awry, it sparks an open conflict between the US and China.
It's the same Americans-versus-communists plot pulled from Michael Bay's diary that we've played plenty of in the past few years. The action is straightforward, never deviating from the whack-a-mole game of plunking down pop-up targets in the form of guards, punctuated by cutscenes and the occasional helicopter or tank kill. It's bland, mildly exciting, and so tropey that it includes a level where you lead a prison breakout alongside a Russian inmate, as seen previously in Call of Duty: Black Ops. DICE does gets a good performance out of Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on The Wire.
On the technical side, it was frustrating that I couldn't widen the campaign's narrow FOV, which is inexplicably locked at around 70. I also found the inclusion of kill counters--points that tally to Battlelog for headshots and combos--in single-player to be strange, and even stranger that I couldn't disable them despite there being a menu option (it only applied to multiplayer).
DICE is certainly guilty of taking an “if it ain't broke” attitude to creating BF4, but its modest multiplayer refinements alongside excellent maps are enough to make it one of our favorite current FPSes. A cynic would call BF4 a deluxe map pack in sequel's clothing. If that's your predisposition, know that it's at least a wonderful map pack, one with enough variety, depth, and quality to survive a year of intense play.
Note: In reviewing Battlefield 4, we played using the same version of Battlelog present in the final build. However, in order to publish our review at the time that it's most useful to you--at launch--we weren't able to test Battlelog in the context of high usage that is typical of a launch week. We didn't encounter any issues with Battlelog, but you may recall that the system wasn't perfect at launch for Battlefield 3. We consider it part of our role to suffer through launch issues so you don't have to, and we'll report on any significant issues with Battlelog at launch and throughout Battlefield 4's lifespan.
The Verdict
Battlefield 4
Although familiar to BF3, but BF4 remains a visually and sonically satisfying, reliably intense FPS. Improved by Commander Mode and a terrific and diverse map set.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Raised by a Team Fortress Classic clan, Evan can only communicate using multiplayer FPS jargon, sort of like that Star Trek: TNG " Darmok" episode. 2fort, when the walls fell...
We recommend By Zergnet
Getting Up Again: The Birth Of Respawn And Titanfall
Vince Zampella and Jason West developed the most successful franchise of the generation, then they were fired.
Vince Zampella and Jason West developed the most successful franchise of the generation, then they were fired. The creators of Call of Duty founded a new studio called Respawn Entertainment, signed a publishing deal with Electronic Arts, and were given carte blanche to create a new IP.
We visited the studio for this month's cover storyand talked with the team about the long and painful process of building a new game, and Respawn also granted us access to concept art and studio photographs from the earliest days of Titanfall.
Watch the video feature below to learn how the team started in an office without electricity and ended up creating our game of the show for E3 2013.
Learn more about Titanfall by clicking on the banner below to enter our content hub.
Titanfall review in progress
Don't skip to the score just yet, folks, because you won't find one.
Don't skip to the score just yet, folks, because you won't find one. We're not finalising our review of Titanfall until we've had a chance to test it properly on live servers. The following represents my thoughts on the game after ten hours of play at an EA-run event last week. The version I played was final, and I've seen the entirety of the campaign as both factions as well as every mode, map, and weapon - but until we know for sure that EA's servers are capable of handling the stress of launch, the game doesn't get PC Gamer's endorsement. As ever, it's worth waiting to hear launch-day impressions before you commit your cash.
Titanfall is the last place you'd expect to find restraint . This is a bombastic, big money multiplayer shooter where robots fall from space; where jetpack-equipped 'pilots' dash over, alongside and through sci-fi cityscapes; where AI-controlled minions are shot, trampled, kicked and blown up by the squadload. It's a game where you'll run up a wall, jet into the air, lock onto a platoon of grunts with your smart pistol and eliminate them all as you land. It's a game where you'll drop a forty-foot robot titan onto another forty-foot robot titan just to see if you can.
It's a game where you will do all of these things - and more - constantly, thanks to lean, intelligent multiplayer design. Titanfall is silly on the surface and clever underneath, and this cleverness is characterised, somewhat counter-intuitively, by restraint.
Matches are limited to twelve players split into two teams. This restricted player count caused internet uproar when it was announced, but is the foundation for all of Titanfall's other successes. A lower headcount allows the game to incorporate immediate respawns without upsetting the competitive balance of the game, and an intelligent dynamic spawn system means that when you die you pop back, near-instantly, a short distance from the next big fight. This small detail ensures that you are doing something exciting for the entire duration of each ten to fifteen-minute match.
Titanfall's other features provide plenty of strategic options - and I'll get to them shortly - but keeping the scope of the game manageable means that you always have the opportunity to use them. This is what the latter Battlefield games got wrong. It's great to offer the player interesting objectives, vehicles, or weapons, but it means little if the player spends their time queueing, respawning, or running to get to the next firefight.
Whenever I found my mind drifting during an extended Titanfall session, it didn't take long to realise that I was the hindering factor, not the game. I always had the option to go and do something more exciting, to play better, or to try to generate another of the 'you had to be there' stories that the game does so well.
Here's a story, then. It's the closing minutes of a capture the flag match, and my team has a single point advantage - but the enemy has our flag. You can't score a point unless your own flag is on the stand, so in lieu of chasing down the enemy capper I opt to try to steal their flag and hold onto it until the match ends.
We're playing on Boneyard, a winding series of desert canyons where small military bunkers are linked by ziplines. I sprint out of our base and, jetting into the air, use a bunker wall to pick up some momentum. I fling myself off, grab a zipline, and gain more speed: then I'm across a rooftop, through a short passageway, and up off the top of a defensive tower to ensure that I come down on the enemy base from above. Three enemy titans prowl the open area outside. Two are 'auto-titans', meaning that they are being controlled by the AI while their pilots are elsewhere. The third is manned. I activate my cloaking device to slip by them on the way in.
As I dash toward the enemy flag I throw a grenade ahead of me, clearing the stand of mines and satchel charges - a habit I picked up in Tribes. The moment I touch the flag, I'm highlighted on the HUD of every player on the map: I become a target, immediately, for those three titans waiting outside.
I glance at my own titanfall timer. Thirty seconds to go.
There are NPC soldiers in the enemy base, and each one felled cuts a few seconds off my titanfall timer. I stop, crouch, and kill a few more with my carbine before rushing towards the precipitous drop to the desert floor. Leaping from the enemy base, I jump onto the roof of the manned enemy titan and unload half a clip into its innards. It's not enough to disable it, but it's enough to make the pilot disembark to try to dislodge me. By that point I'm away, jetting onto the next titan, buying myself the seconds I need to...
My titanfall timer hits zero. I aim at a point on the ground in the midst of the enemy titans and hit the 'V' key. A green marker appears, and another timer, this time counting down from two.
My Ogre titan smacks into the ground on all fours, hunched like a silverback. I leap towards it and it holds out its arm to help me climb inside its chest. As its interface comes online, I'm already hammering the key to deploy electric smoke. Then, in the midst of the chaos, I'm away, thundering across the desert towards our base, carrying the enemy flag towards the line of friendly titans that stride out to meet me. And it feels - here's the important part - incredible.
This series of moments is useful because it highlights how Titanfall's best qualities come from lots of individually well-designed parts operating together. As a footsoldier you always have access to a broad range of movement abilities that turn you into a cross between TF2's Scout and Tribes: Ascend's Pathfinder. You can double jump, zipline and wallrun at will, and with a bit of time you start to learn how these can be used in tandem. Wallrunning, for example, speeds you up - it's by chaining together wallruns without stopping that you build up titan-beating momentum. In the same way that a good Tribes player learns to see each hill as component parts of a longer route, so do Titanfall's cities eventually start to look like inviting, freeform obstacle courses.
How you choose to use your special abilities alongside your mobility is up to you. You might be a sniper who uses freerunning and a cloaking device to escape when your vantage point is discovered, or a close-quarters brawler who uses stims for a speed and health boost between firefights. You might spec for covert ops but swap out the cloaking device for a special vision mode that lets you see enemies as glowing skeletons through walls.
In each case you'll also be making decisions about whether to hunt other players exclusively or stop to kill the platoons of NPC minions that spawn throughout each match. Doing the latter might reveal your position on the minimap, but it'll also shave seconds off your titanfall timer. At first, the presence of AI cannon fodder seems like a way of counterbalancing the reduced player count, but they actually function like creeps in Dota or League of Legends. 'Farming' is a legitimate strategy, and some teams may choose to equip one player with a minion-slaughtering smart pistol so that they can be the first to bring a titan into play.
How they choose to kit out and use that titan is entirely up to them. Placed on auto, a sturdy Ogre could hold a capture point against opportunistic cappers in Domination mode. Alternatively, an auto-titan using the mid-range Atlas chassis and equipped with shields could be lead through the streets to open the enemy to a flanking assault by on-foot pilots. You might prefer to take charge yourself, nipping at the enemy in a nimble Stryder chassis equipped with hit-and-run quad rockets and electric smoke.
The point is that you will constantly have interesting decisions to make, loadouts to tinker with, and daring plays to make. The game showers you with unlocks, but the most interesting changes to your playstyle come with experience. You learn to combine game features in new and exciting ways, and are forced to adapt on the fly to new maps and rulesets.
You can also change the game for yourself with 'burn cards', disposable unlocks that allow you to access certain bonuses for one life only. They scale in power with rarity - the most basic allow you temporary access to weapons you haven't unlocked yet, and the most advanced grant you instant titans, reveal all enemies on your minimap, or grant you a permanent cloak when you stop shooting. Burn cards could have been a hook for some truly awful monetisation, but thankfully that's not the case. They are dished out with such frequency that my deck was constantly full - after a few hours of play, I never entered a match with anything less than a full set.
The game ships with fourteen maps. The majority offer a mixture of open and urban environments - the former being the preserve of titans, the latter offering cover to on-foot pilots. One map, set in a prison, links open courtyards with sweeping internal roadways at multiple levels of elevation, giving titans rare access to the game's vertical dimension. Another, a smuggling outpost, mixes complicated nests of buildings with a wide-open bay area where titans can spar with each other in waist-deep water.
Almost all of the maps succeed at feeling like real places. Interiors are littered with detritus - bookshelves, upended tables, pots and pans, scattered papers - that make them look as if they have been abandoned in a hurry. Each map has a distinct palette, and there's a level of design skill evident in their buildings and backdrops that creates a feeling of occupying a piece of well-constructed, if familiar, sci-fi concept art.
Two maps stand out as exceptions to this rule - one is a symmetrical and relatively featureless training ground, and the other is a partially-buried desert bunker that would look more at home in a Halo game.
Texture quality and character detail both fall below modern standards when viewed up close, but they are compensated by unfaltering 60 frames per second performance at 1080p and phenomenal animation. Titanfall looks much better in motion than it does in screenshots, and again this is down to the small details. Titans in particular are more expressive and human than the mechs you might be used to. They brace against damage, lean into sprints, and dismember each other in a variety of colourful ways. Even an action as simple as reloading a chaingun is rendered with care and attention to detail.
The vast majority of your time with the game is spent in traditional multiplayer, which is divided into five modes. Minions, hackable turrets, and titans are common to all five, but one of them - Last Titan Standing - is remarkable for working more like World of Tanks than regular Titanfall. Each player spawns inside their custom mech, and whichever team is able to destroy all of the enemy's titans is the winner. Dying knocks you out for the entire round, but if you're able to eject from your doomed titan then you can keep fighting on foot. This turns Titanfall into a class-based vehicle game of sorts, where interactions between titan abilities become more important than they are in other modes.
Those others include Attrition, where kills against minions, titans and players are added up into an overall score for each team, and Hardpoint Domination, where teams fight over capture point scattered over the map. Capture The Flag is included without many changes to the formula, but feels considerably revitalised by Titanfall's new ideas. The weak link in the set is Pilot Hunter, a team deathmatch mode where only kills against players count towards each team's score. It's fine on paper, but in practice it's the only mode where you're really conscious of the fact that there are only six players on the enemy team. Whenever I found myself unsure about where to go, what to do or who to shoot, I was playing Pilot Hunter mode.
Then there's the campaign. You are likely to play it first, in reality, but I'm discussing it last because its qualities are grounded in exactly the same things that make regular Titanfall multiplayer enjoyable. It is, functionally, a narrative strung out across nine multiplayer missions that alternate between Hardpoint Domination and Attrition mode. Beyond narrative context provided by introductory intro and outro sequences, these missions play much like any other match.
This is not a substitute for a singleplayer campaign, but it is a novel alternative. The scale of some of these introductory sequences is impressive - one team might land in dropships while other receives a briefing underground, or warp in from a space battle in orbit, or crashland and have to storm into the map proper via a beachhead offensive. The game gets its Call of Duty-style scripted sequences, but crams them into an economical slice of time before the game itself begins. This is a smart refocusing of the genre onto its key strengths. That said, there are players who will miss having something to play while they're offline, and who will be frustrated by the way Titanfall casts you as an anonymous soldier in a story that is played out in voice-over by characters you're never personally involved with.
It's also a huge shame that the campaign doesn't branch in any meaningful way. Certain lines of dialogue change depending on whether teams win or lose each match, but the overall arc of the plot doesn't alter at all. Winning a battle only to find out that your side lost for the sake of the plot is a massive waste of potential. Fully-realised, Titanfall's new ideas about shooter storytelling could have made it a classic and injected much-needed life into a tired genre. As it is, it's a novelty rather than a revolution.
I'm very impressed by Titanfall, and I'm keen to start playing it again on launch. The multiplayer FPS hasn't felt this fresh or multilayered since the release of Team Fortress 2, and even that game was based on foundations laid ten years before its release. If Titanfall - or something like it - had been released fifteen years ago, I suspect we'd be talking about it today in the same hushed tones reserved for Tribes 2 and Team Fortress Classic. Titanfall is every bit good enough, from moment to moment, to be a part of that legacy.
Where it does fail, it fails because of the ways that games in general have changed in the last fifteen years. The notion of the shooter as a MMOish 'service' manifests in ugly ways: the lack of LAN or offline support of any kind, the high price tag, the inevitable season pass. You can form a party with your friends and queue for games, but you can't create your own private lobbies or dedicated servers. You can't even queue to play a specific map on a specific gamemode - you can choose to play Capture The Flag, for example, but you've got no say on where you end up doing it. These issues are not necessarily dealbreakers, but they prevent the game from receiving the outright recommendation it otherwise might.
The things you do in Titanfall are likely to be some of the most exciting things you do in any game this year. It is clearly the work of sharp, analytical designers, and it deserves to penetrate the thick layer of cynicism that traditionally surrounds big budget shooters of this type. It's just a shame that this same intelligence and restraint isn't evident in the business culture that surrounds the game. If you choose to invest in Titanfall, make it your mission to track down the stories that emerge when all of its systems come together and sing. They are why this genre became so popular in the first place, and Titanfall is a fine way to rediscover that attraction. Just know what you're being dropped into.
Titanfall And Relatable Sci-Fi
One of the questions we had for Respawn was why the studio wanted to go down the sci-fi route with Titanfall.
One of the questions we had for Respawn was why the studio wanted to go down the sci-fi route with Titanfall. The reason came down to simple pragmatism. “There’s only so far you can go if you’re portraying [a conventional] military,” says game director Steve Fukuda. “A big part of it is if you want a guy to be able to leap buildings in a single bound or we want people to be able to cloak – if you want people to be able to do exotic things and have somewhat outlandish things happen, it makes it easier if you can sort of explain it away or you have a mechanism for doing that, and sci-fi served that purpose.”
When work on what would become Titanfall began in earnest, one of Respawn Entertainment’s internal mandates was to make something relatable. The term “science fiction” means a lot of things to a lot of people, and given its rich background in military shooters the team didn’t want to travel too far off from our current reality. Even with its sci-fi trappings, Titanfall looks more in like with a modern combat game than the typical sci-fi shooter with its glossy hallways or meetings between rubber-faced alien council members.
“A lot of gamers, especially those who like shooters, when they think of sci-fi they think of Mass Effect and pew-pew lasers,” says Respawn Entertainment community manager Abbie Heppe. “We are not a pew-pew laser game.”
Titanfall’s futuristic setting includes plenty of fantastical elements – those 24-foot-tall Titans are difficult to overlook – but the battlefields won’t be crisscrossed with pink and blue laser beams. Instead, this is a world of rivets, cordite, and rough-hewn armor plating.
“When we discussed how this game should look, ultimately it was a big deal to not really look completely sci-fi, but to look believable and genuine,” says lead artist Joel Emslie. “It’s more the Blade Runner or District 9 vibe."
The story is also grounded in contemporary reality, even though it takes place light years away. “The basic backstory fiction is that there’s a core civilization on Earth, but then at some point a lot of people decide that they were going to try their luck at this area called the frontier, which is kind of a new gold rush,” says Fukuda.
The two playable factions in Titanfall are the settlers, who have been building in and exploring these new worlds, and a massive corporation moving in to claim the natural resources. Fukuda won’t provide dates, but he jokes that the game takes place further in the future than anyone reading this will ever see. Even though locations may be light years away from Earth, familiar elements abound – it’s a universe where mundane things like coffee shops, fire hydrants, and parking meters still exist, even if they’re all far away from our own solar system.
In their time away from Earth, the settlers have developed their own culture and militia. It’s understandable that an encroachment from the IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation) ruffles feathers. “They’re coming out to explore, to exploit, various areas of the frontier, and that’s where the conflict begins,” Fukuda says. “That’s where the conflict actually happens between the representatives of the settlers, the militia, and the people coming from various locations on Earth and the IMC coming from those core systems.”
Titanfall doesn’t provide separate single- and multiplayer experiences. Instead, Respawn is working to combine the strengths of both. That poses a challenge, as you can imagine. “How do we sell a universe in a multiplayer universe?” Fukuda recalls asking. “How do we make multiplayer more cinematic? Because that was something we felt hadn’t really been explored, or at least not enough. From there, that’s what got us Titanfall.”
Respawn wants to avoid telling story through cutscenes and talking heads. Instead, players absorb elements on their own by paying attention to smaller details. Linger in an apartment complex, for example, and you might notice signs that the residents were forcefully evacuated before the battle started. Respawn is also adding those bombastic moments that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in FPS campaigns.
“In one particular situation, there’s what we call a dog-whistle tower,” Fukuda says. “It’s a massive, massive Space Needle-type structure that sends out a signal that repulses a lot of creatures on the outskirts of this IMC facility. When that thing goes down, that’s bad news.”
We saw the tower during the game demo, and it kept a variety of manta ray-like beasts at bay as they circled high above the battle. Fukuda says that players will also get to see the aftermath of the device going down, after the creatures have had their fill of human flesh.
As it turns out, sci-fi is a perfect vehicle for making the unbelievable believable – with or without pew-pew lasers.
Invisible, Inc. review
Invisible, Inc. review Your main enemy in Invisible, Inc. isn’t the goons that populate the levels, it’s time. Typically, you think of stealth games as sluggish – you’ve got to wait, examine your surroundings, move at the optimum times. That’s only partly true with Invisible, Inc.; sprinting is your friend, you want to dash from cover to cover, lure enemies away from you, scout out your objectives
Codemasters drop shooters and action games for cars, form Codemasters Racing label
UK-based Publisher and developer Codemasters have given up making shooters, choosing instead to focus on racing games.
have given up making shooters, choosing instead to focus on racing games. The company have launched a new publishing label - Codemasters Racing - that will be responsible for putting out Codemasters' upcoming games. They include the inconsistently capitalised but consistently good DiRTrally series, and the similarly speedy official F1games.
Codemasters' comms chief Rich Eddy clarified the change to MCV. "In racing, we are number two in Europe and that's not good enough. Racing is our DNA, it is our heritage, it is our specialisation and it is our absolute focus going forward." No clues as to where that leaves Dizzyin this shakeup.
DiRT Showdownwill be the first gAmE (that's how you do it, right?) to be released under the new imprint. The change is surely a good move for the publisher. They're pack leaders in the racing oeuvre, but recent forays out of it haven't metwith muchsuccess. A focus of assets and resources on the games they're best at makes sense.
June Cover Revealed: Infamous Second Son
This holiday will mark the release of the PlayStation 4, and gamers can't wait to learn more about Sony's jump to the next generation.
This holiday will mark the release of the PlayStation 4, and gamers can't wait to learn more about Sony's jump to the next generation. In anticipation of this big event, Game Informer set out to create the definitive PlayStation 4 issue. Starting with a 10 page feature on Sucker Punch's Infamous Second Son (the cover star), our massive feature doesn't stop there. We explore the future of PlayStation 4 including Sony's new indie agenda, discuss Media Molecule's upcoming project, and reveal new information and screens for Destiny, Knack, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and DriveClub. On top of all that, we also interviewed Sony's Shuhei Yoshida and got our hands on the Dual Shock 4 controller.
But enough about our 30-page PlayStation 4 cover story, let's get back to Infamous Second Son.
With Cole MacGrath out of the picture, the country is on high alert looking for other conduits. To deal with this perceived threat, the government has set up the oppressive Department of Unified Protection, and they've placed Seattle on lockdown. As new protagonist Delsin Rowe, players will be given more than enough opportunities to fight the power.
Watch our coverage trailer below for a taste of what to expect from our content. Also, check out the first information on three new PlayStation indie games: Hohokum, a creative and colorful 2D sandbox game; Counterspy, a 2D cover-based shooter steeped in the spy mythology of the '50s and '60s; and Doki-Doki Universe, a quirky tale from the creator of ToeJam & Earl starring a robot on a mission to learn about humanity.
Watch and share the YouTube version of our coverage trailer by clicking here.
You can view the full cover by clicking the image below.
If you subscribe to the print version of Game Informer, you should see your issue within the next couple of weeks. If you're a digital subscriber it will be available later today via web browser, iPad, and Android. You can download the apps for free.
Not a digital subscriber yet? Convert your print subscription hereor start a new subscription here.
Click the banner below to go to our Infamous Second Son hub, where you'll find additional info throughout the month.
Retro City Rampage’ 1.11 Boasts Mod Support, Retro+ Graphics
‘Retro City Rampage’ 1.11 Boasts Mod Support, Retro+ Graphics
The PC version of Brian Provinciano’s Retro City Rampage has received a feature-packed update that brings enhanced graphics and mod support to the game.
RCR v1.11 allows players to create in-game character sprites, vehicles, color palettes and fonts. The latest version also includes a Retro+ enhanced graphics option, which includes soft shadows and doubles the displayed colors. To celebrate, Brian has chopped the price in halfdown to $7.49 through the weekend.
The update will start automatically for those who purchased on Steam, while DRM-free owners and those who purchased on GOG will need to log into their specific download page. No word yet on if the update is planned for all the other platforms the game is available for.
Dirt Rally review (Early Access)
Once upon a time, the Colin McRae Rally series was a celebration of the purity of rally driving.
Alpha and Early Access reviewsoffer our preliminary verdicts on in-development games. We may follow up this unscored review with a final, scored review in the future. Read our full review policy for details.
Once upon a time, the Colin McRae Rally series was a celebration of the purity of rally driving. But over time, after adopting the Dirt monicker, it became increasingly flashier, fancier, and noisier. It developed an American accent and started chain-drinking cans of Monster. The rallying was still there, kind of, but was drowned out by rawk music, irksome announcers, and daft stunt driving.
But Dirt Rally, a PC exclusive that sneaked quietly onto Steam this week, redresses the balance. It’s the purest rally game since the earliest entries in the McRae series, and one of the most realistic simulators Codemasters Racing Studio has ever made. Their other driving games are great, but you can’t really call them sims. They’re entertaining approximations of motorsport, giving you the feel of driving a car, not the reality.
Dirt Rally, however, is as real as it gets. The developers have created a brand new engine designed to replicate the real-world physics of rally driving as closely as possible. Lead designer Paul Coleman drives rally cars himself, so he knows first-hand what it feels like. You realise just how realistic the game is when you tear away from the starting line in your first race and immediately skid into a ditch. Try to play it like a traditional racer, or a traditional Dirt game, and you’ll get nowhere.
Mirroring the knife-edge tension of real rally racing, you constantly feel on the verge of disaster when you play Dirt Rally. As you hurtle along its rugged, unpredictable courses, all it takes is the slightest mistake to send you spinning out. The cars are twitchy and heavy, giving you the feeling that you’re wrestling to keep them on the track. It’s all about balance: driving carefully and precisely, but also knowing when to push the limits, so you can shave precious seconds off your time.
The sound design is excellent, and really helps sell the weight and power of the cars. On gravel roads you hear stones ping against the metal. Your chassis creaks and groans as you trundle over bumpy terrain. They’re subtle details, but they give the game a remarkable feeling of physicality. You really do feel like you’re throwing a hefty, tangible machine around the tracks.
It’s perhaps not surprising given their racing pedigree, but Dirt Rally is impressively polished for an Early Access game. You’ll just have to decide whether the content on offer is worth £25—a price that will rise as the game approaches completion. Buying in now means you get access to all future updates, including a hill climb mode, new cars, new tracks, and PVP multiplayer.
There are 14 cars, all rendered with fine, hand-crafted detail, including rally classics like the Lancia Stratos, Subaru Impreza, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, and Mini Cooper. From the 1960s through to the modern day, the cars on offer have their own distinct personalities. Bombing around a gravel track in a rickety little Mini Cooper feels very different from doing it in a modern rally-tuned car.
There are 36 courses spread across three distinct environments. Powys, Wales is grey, wet and muddy, with nerve-racking forest sections. Monte Carlo, Monaco features tight ice-and-snow-covered tarmac roads. And Argolis, Greece is dry, dusty, and comprised mainly of gravel roads. They all look fantastic, especially the rain-soaked Welsh countryside, and they’re packed with trackside detail. I was so distracted the first time I saw a camera drone buzz over my car, I crashed.
Throw in a career mode with vehicle upgrades and team management and you’ve got a pretty decent package. Above all, though, the real joy here is the driving, and the 36 courses offer a good variety of terrain and weather to test your skills. It's a satisfyingly back-to-basics rally game that makes up for its lack of flair with a deep, robust driving model. This is shaping up to be one of Codemasters’ best driving games. With regular updates promised, Dirt Rally might be worth investing in early.
Verdict
A welcome return to the series’ rally roots. A driving game for anyone who likes a stiff challenge, or who thinks the other Dirt games weren't realistic enough.
