GTA 5's multiple protagonists explained

Excited by the prospect of multiple protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V?

Excited by the prospect of multiple protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V? Or just confused as to how they're going to work? Either way, you're in luck. While we learned some of the detailsfrom Game Informer last week, another preview by Guardianbrings new info on Rockstar's three leading men and how you'll be switching between them.

But nope, still no mention of a PC version.

Whichever character you aren't playing will be controlled by the AI and will have their own life elsewhere in the city. Each lives in a different part of San Andreas, meaning that yes, the entire map is finally open from the start of the game. You can even call up the other protagonists and invite them over for a friendly game of tennis, much like Roman used to do to Nico when you were in the middle of being shot by angry Russian gangsters.

The constant swapping between protaganists will extend to missions as well. The article describes a mission where the trio attack a building by air. Ex-military psychopath Trevor pilots them to the location in a helicopter while young up and coming gangster Franklin lurks atop a building across the street, using a sniper rifle to cover ageing retired crook Michael, who rappels down through the skylight to kidnap their target.

The game is structured around five or six 'mega-heists' like this, each with smaller missions leading up to it. The idea is to offer the same kind of spectacle as 'Three Leaf Clover', GTA 4's memorable Heat Homage bank robbery, but faster and more frequently.

For more details, check out the full preview at the Guardian.

Dungeon Siege 3 trailer goes demon hunting

A new trailer has been released for Obsidian's upcoming dungeon crawler, Dungeon Siege 3.

A new trailer has been released for Obsidian's upcoming dungeon crawler, Dungeon Siege 3. It sets up a bit of story, and then cuts right to the good stuff, a hero with a flaming sword, a world of darkness, demons and magical explosions. You'll find the new video embedded below.

For more on the game, which promises some exciting co-op monster-mashing, check out our in depth preview, or check out the official Dungeon Siege 3site. The games due out on May 27 and is available to pre-ordernow.

[via Eurogamer]

Get Gunstar Heroes, Viking and Renegade Ops for free

The third and final round of Sega's weirdly generous Make War Not Love promotion is here, which means a new bunch of games has been made available for free.

promotion is here, which means a new bunch of games has been made available for free. If you already have Gunstar Heroes, Viking: Battle for Asgard, and Renegade Ops in your Steam library, then there are zero reasons for you to be excited, but if you don't, well, I have some good news.

Gunstar Heroes, Viking: Battle for Asgard, and Renegade Ops are free for the next few hours, though it will probably take a little while for you to receive the keys. Unlike the first roundof Make War Not Love 3, you have to visit this siteand sign up for Sega's newsletter, though it should be easy enough to unsubscribe afterwards. It's the same procedure as round two, meaning you'll need to input your email address and wait for Sega to email you a Steam key, something that could take up to three days. (If, like me, you already signed up for round two of the promo a couple of days ago, you should automatically receive round three's games without having to do anything.)

So yes, if all goes to plan your Steam library will soon devour another trio of old/classic games. There's also some Dawn of War II: Retribution DLC available for free from the same link.

If you want even more free Sega games, consider booking tickets for the PC Gamer Weekender in a couple of weeks.

Grand Theft Auto 4 mod requires 1.21 gigawatts for fully functional Back to the Future DeLorean

Just when it seems the mod scene for Grand Theft Auto 4 lets off the gas from implausibly gorgeous visual upgradesand gravity-mocking hijinks, it surges back with an amazingly dedicated homage to Back to the Future's time-traveling DeLorean.

Crafted by YouTuber"seedyrom34," the mod mixes a custom cocktail ("There is no single download link," seedy states) of heavily altered files, sounds, and tweaks cobbled together to form the onslaught of awesome in the video below. Sure, other DeLorean modsexisted long before this one, but seedy's extra dose of functionality and polish -- particularly with the spot-on fire trails and inventive randomization of street traffic and time-of-day after hitting that 88mph sweet spot -- definitely presents an exciting future for Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5's skilled mod community.

Dungeon Siege 3 preview

And lo, in the Kingdom of Ehb, at a time of warring factions, the weakened King did fall.

And lo, in the Kingdom of Ehb, at a time of warring factions, the weakened King did fall. And the King's daughter, the beautiful Jeyne Kassyndar, didst blame the 10th Legion, the warriors who had, in previous games, been known for their excellent fighting skills, pulling offst such tricks as the shield bash and swordrelated shit that gave rise to a “whoa” from nearby peasants. And Jeyne went off on a massive one, and didst hunt down the 10th Legion across the lands, diverting funds that couldst, truth be told, more effectively have been spent on public services.

That's the rough story behind Lucas Montbarren, son of a tenth legionnaire, and the hero I was allowed to play in the first hands-on of the new Dungeon Siege game. With the blessing and occasional advice of Chris Taylor and original developers Gas Powered Games, development duties have passed to Obsidian – the prince regents of taking another company's IP baton and running with it. PC exclusives such as Neverwinter Nights, revered shared platform classics like Knights of the Old Republic, and emotional reunions with their prodigal Vault Boy – Obsidian are sequel masters.

This is, however, the first time they've taken a well-loved – or at least, remembered-with-a-fond-nostalgicsquint – PC exclusive, and folded it into the shape of a gamepad. So they're going to have to bear in mind that entitled pricks like me are going to want to talk about whether they're dumbing the game down. It's slightly disappointing to learn that the mouse and keyboard controls haven't been calibrated to the point where they're willing to let outsiders play on them, but the game's only at pre-alpha.

The young Montbarren's early life was one of training and fear, because his camp was constantly discovered by Kassyndor's forces. One day, by methods no one's going into, given that these guys were on the run and everything, a man called Odo sent a message to the scattered survivors and told them to meet in the spookiest old house in the Kingdom of Ehb. There was a grave matter of the utmost peril and urgency, and he wasn't even joking.

This is a hero-led game. There are no classes. That ballsy statement boils down to something substantially less brassy – there's no class selection screen. Of course, Lucas has a fighting style that's analogous to familiar classes – a warrior by any other name would smell as sweet, and still wields two-handed weapons. As a melee fighter, Lucas can distribute his skill points into three stances – onehanded weaponry, two-handed kit and a healing defensive stance. Invest points in defence and you'll have a Paladin-esque tank. Otherwise, it's the warrior's path of damage-dealing melee.

The early levels gave me access to three of Lucas' powers, with six more opening up at higher levels. The one-handed shield bash stuns an enemy, while the two-handed version charges you into the thick of the action, dealing damage to anything in the way. Take the healing stance and you can regenerate some health while dodge-rolling around like a drunkard.

This is limited only by your focus bar, which is regenerated by landing your regular attacks, forcing you to keep going back into the action. So, while DSIII doesn't have the strategic depth or character development of Diablo, that's not where Obsidian want to go. There's the unexpected tinge of an action game.

As they sallied forth into the verdant green forest – not the spooky purple barren forest that would probably come a few levels on – the Montbarren child stumbled across a mound of abandoned barrels. He licked his lips. It hadth been minutes since his last chest, and the old hunger for a nice new set of pauldrons was returning. Praying that he werest not observed, he gave the stacks of crates and coopery a right royal swording, good and proper. And lo, there was a bit of gold that no one seemed to be using.

I've got Nathan Davis, associate producer, sitting with me during my limited-time play-through, so I'm trying to strike a balance in my crawling behaviour. Do I spin the camera to peer down every potentially chest-filled nook, or would that look like I was lost? Do I take on the side-quests? Does Nathan even know how much I love chests?

He's a patient man, but as I walk past another stack of barrels and crates, he chokes on his own compulsion. “I swear, if you don't smash up that pile of stuff...” Let's not forget the loot. Loot is important. I question the lack of adjectives on the items I find – “Deadly Greatsword” seems slightly less prosaic than, say, Blizzard's fruit machine of loot names. With curiosities such as the Jeweller's Sturdy Pauldrons of the Owl in the wider gaming world, surely a Deadly Greatsword seems a little dull?

Loot, explains Davis, is only gently randomised. Some stats will be different from game to game, but not names, and many of the items – particularly rare ones – are hand-placed. There are no level limitations, either: this is because the loot will be tailored to your level. It's a philosophical thing: Dungeon Siege III isn't about endlessly replaying on the offchance of finding better gear or another flawless gem: it's about playing through the story, with or without a friend.

Dungeon Siege's re-jigged combat can quickly swap between two attack stances – one-handed and two-handed. Doing so instantly changes your weapon to suit. You also have a defence stance. Each stance has its own set of three special attacks, which unlock over time. The novice one-handed attack lets you use a shield bash for crowd control. The novice two-handed lets Lucas charge into (or out of) the action. The defensive stance allows you to cast a light regeneration spell. These actions are limited only by Lucas's focus, which doesn't regenerate, but can easily be built up by using his regular attacks. So, if you're going to wimp out and run away, make sure you've got enough focus to heal before you do.

Each of the character's nine skills has two branches, on which you can spend talent points. It's a familiar range of buffs: boosted crits, increased stun chances, higher healing rates. However, it doesn't make sense to spread them around too thinly – you get an extra bonus for maxing out a particular talent.

So, your reading skill will not increase by one. This is a simplified system, completing Dungeon Siege's migration from Oblivion-esque 'jump while you walk' levelling in the field to an exclusively skill-point menu-based development system. It's a process that began in the second game – Obsidian have just concluded the process.

Obsidian's president, Feargus Urquhart, talks about how the developer is finding a balance. His own career's been pretty illustrious. From Interplay to Black Isle, he oversaw Fallout 2 and the critically acclaimed reading game Planescape Torment. He described how Dungeon Siege has had to change slightly to suit a multiformat release.

“It's direct control versus mouse click. As soon as you make that change, a lot of time is spent on how it feels. The idea isn't to turn it into an action game like Ninja Gaiden or a Devil May Cry, but you don't want it to feel like there's no action, which is why we've added a lot of combos.” The “combos” that Urquhart mentions aren't a huge list of light-heavy timing combos – instead, they're automatic animations that trigger on your third attack. “And then, blocking and rolling, they're not RPG skills, and we've included them, too. In a lot of action RPGs, particularly on the PC, you run after something and you just hit it. Don't get me wrong: I'll play any of those, even the bad ones! But that's not what this is.”

But I'm still curious, because the experience I've had – apart from improved framerates and a crisper depth of field effect, thanks to the beast of a PC next to my feet – has been identical to the consoles. How will the PC mouse and keyboard experience differ?

“When you're playing an action RPG on the PC, when you don't exactly hit the creature that you attack, you then walk to where you clicked. So what we're playing around with right now is that the game is a little more forgiving with the mouse aim, and does that for you. If you're near a creature, it'll swing the sword for you. The PC interface is going to work really well, because of that focus and that perspective.” Yes, but how will it work? Hotkeys? Click to move? “The control scheme will obviously be mouse and keyboard, but it's still going to have the same way of accessing abilities and skills. We probably won't have a one to nine hotkey system.”

You'll have relationships with other non-hero characters, but it won't be as complicated as, say, Dragon Age, and you'll never upset anyone enough to leave your party. There'll be times at which you'll make decisions that define your character as forgiving, vengeful, loyal or practical, and party members who value that will grow in loyalty.

Urquhart offers a little more detail. “Occasionally, you make a decision that your companions agree with and that aligns with their beliefs. You can't make everyone happy at once. What will you get? It's game level things – so it has effects on your abilities and your characters' abilities. You'll also get some feedback from the characters – there's a mid-range response, and an endgame consequence. You're seeing the effects of that decision throughout the game.”

On my first visit to the levelling-up screen, everything's on display – nine skills, three in each stance. It's certainly not as daunting – or compelling – as a big, lovely skill tree. On the other hand, you've got more heroes to try. They're only mentioning two for now – warrior Lucas and the mage Anjali, who we didn't get a chance to play. Urquhart, however, implies – without going so far as to announce – that most fantasy archetypes will be represented.

In terms of multiplayer, Dungeon Siege has never been a competitive game, but the only cooperative play being talked about at the moment is the drop-in, drop-out sofa style. “If you were playing on gamepads on the PC, you can jump in and out in real life, but we're not sure how we're going to do that online with distributions,” explains Urquhart. It would have been slightly more reassuring if he'd just added the word 'yet'. If you do play with a friend on gamepads, they're a guest in your story, and are free to rummage around in your inventory.

So it's clear that the new Dungeon Siege is much more of an action game. Of course, there's still strategy, but it's not strategy that comes from having a huge range of interacting abilities. It's more a matter of mana management, and learning to deal with the game's special enemies, whose colour-coded auras affect the fight in different ways. Even fighting the regular fodder-mobs is more tactical than chaining a set of regular attacks – from the very beginning, there's a strong element of crowd control and taking the enemy on in a way that effectively uses your current hero's style.

There's a lot to like about Dungeon Siege III. It's an earnest story, told well, and it looks great in Obsidian's beautiful new RPG-oriented Onyx engine. I don't feel like my self-important worries about dumbing down the game have been fully addressed, but I enjoyed my playthrough on a gamepad, and there's more than enough time to address the worrying lack of information about how the PC version will stand out. But for now, with Obsidian's history of solid adopted sequels, it's probably fairest to give them the benefit of the doubt.

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Our Verdict
Sloppy controls make for an infuriating platformer.

Sloppy controls make for an infuriating platformer. If you want a modern Sonic game, get Generations instead.

Need to Know

What is it? 3D platformer starring Sega's long-suffering mascot.
Expect to pay £20/$30
Release Out now
Developer Team Sonic
Publisher Sega
Reviewed on GeForce GTX 970, Intel i5-3570k, 8GB RAM
Multiplayer No
Link

Sorry Sonic, but your once celebrated '90s attitude no longer seems charming. Maybe you wouldn't be in this mess if, rather than spending your life making quips and waggling your finger, you'd settled down into a real job with a proper pension plan. You could have retired with some dignity. Instead, you've been dragged out for another sub-par platformer. You're a tired, ageing lesson in the importance of financial planning and stability—if not for yourself, then for Sega.

There are some things I like about Sonic: Lost World. It's a bright and vibrant game, and varied enough within its very specific design. It also features mercifully little of Sonic's annoying menagerie of friends. Tails is there, of course, and 'Eggman', but even Amy and Knuckles have relatively little screen time. Unfortunately, we get the Deadly Six instead—less characters than colours with a personality trait. One is purple and violent, another green and vain. They're awful.

It's a reasonable port job, too. Coming to us from the Wii U—where it probably should have stayed—the game runs at 60 frames per second without any problems. That said, the aliasing results in cutscenes more jagged than my teeth after they've been ground down during the numerous, terrible attempts to spice up the core running and jumping. (In one section, I had to guide a fragile, inexplicably huge and deadly melon into a rotary blade. That was many hours ago, and I'm still a bit angry about it.)

Remember Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone? This is like that, only worse.

The Lost World in question is comprised of multiple tubes and small planetoids that Sonic runs across. Sometimes, to mix things up a bit, he runs inside them too. Other times, he must navigate a weirdly rotating 2D plane that features many references to Sonic's Mega Drive heyday—something of an inadvisable move, given the unfavourable comparison. Super Mario Galaxy was clearly an influence, except, instead of joy, Lost World's primary emotion is a sort of sad malaise.

The moment the game asks for some finesse, everything falls apart.

In each level, you lose control during interstitial transitions—the game playing itself for a few seconds as Sonic travels to the next island. These are the best bits. They look fluid and exciting, and always do exactly what they're supposed to. With a player in control, it's nothing like as smooth. For an ostensibly speedy hedgehog, Sonic has no precision in the air. This is fine during sections where all that's required is to go fast and avoid obstacles. The moment the game asks for some finesse, everything falls apart.

To make up for Sonic's lack of aerial nimbleness, there's a double-jump and lock-on attack. Both are activated by pressing the jump button in the air, but the lock-on is inconsistent. It works most of the time, but not always. Double-jumping pulls Sonic out of his spin, so this can be the difference between doing damage and taking it. Things only get more arbitrary when you need multiple lock-ons, or a single, charged attack.

The game recommends using a controller, but opens a menu screen when you click the left-analogue stick—the one that's used for movement. Wrench the stick in either direction as you attempt to cajole the sluggish blue ball into doing what he's told, and the game will instead pause to list its optional missions.

There's parkour, too—although that word implies a level of grace and artistry that's absent here. It's activated by holding the sprint button, something that you'll almost always be doing because Sonic's default speed is painfully slow. Sprint directly into a wall, and Sonic will run up it. Jump against a wall that's parallel with you, and Sonic will run along it. Alternatively, he'll flounder awkwardly against the wall before dropping you into some deadly hazard. He can be fickle like that.

On the main path, the parkour is rarely necessary, but each level contains alternate routes and secrets. If the game's freerunning wasn't an awkward, cack handed mess, these would probably be fun to find. It is, though, and so it's not.

I admit: I enjoyed this bit.

I like one level in Sonic: Lost World. In Desert Ruin, Zone 2, Sonic must run down a hexagonal tree because reasons. The gravity shift creates a sense of continuous momentum—letting Sonic bash through lines of bees, before quickly dodging through hives and across log sections. It's a one off. Everywhere else, Sonic's flow is continuously broken. It's difficult to know whether the game values speed—supposedly Sonic's raison d'être—or methodical exploration. The balance is trapped in the middle, rendering both options frustrating.

By giving Lost World contextual traversal mechanics—from parkour to lock-on attacks—a game about fine, exacting movements is lumbered with controls that rarely do what you want. Of the many lives I lost, all too few felt like a result of my own mistakes. And that's just in the regular zones. Sometimes, Sonic's on ice—his already annoying imprecision made worse. I'm angrier about that than I am the melon thing.

Should you buy Lost World? Maybe if you have a DeviantArt page dedicated to Sonic. Even then, probably not.

The Verdict

Sonic: Lost World

Sloppy controls make for an infuriating platformer. If you want a modern Sonic game, get Generations instead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Phil has been PC gaming since the '90s, when RPGs had dice rolls and open world adventures were weird and French. Now he's the deputy editor of PC Gamer; commissioning features, filling magazine pages, and knowing where the apostrophe goes in '90s. He plays Scout in TF2, and isn't even ashamed.

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Dungeon Siege 3 slated for May 27

Obsidian have announced that the next in the series of classic Dungeon Siege games will be released on May 27.

Obsidian have announced that the next in the series of classic Dungeon Siege games will be released on May 27. A limited edition of the game is also available for pre-order. Read on for details

The limited edition of the game will only be available as a pre-orderpackage. It contains four bonus items that can be equipped to your characters that will buff their abilities as they journey across the kingdom of Ehb. The game is being developed by Obsidian with help from Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games, the company who made the original Dungeon Siege.

For more on the game, check out our preview, or head over to the Dungeon Siege 3site for more information.

Test Chamber – The First 30 Minutes Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants In Manhattan

Our review for Platinum's take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn't ready yet, but that doesn't mean we can't look at the game's opening moments.

Bypassing the training that showed us how to do things like move around and press the attack button, Andrew Reiner, Ben Reeves, and myself look at the game's opening levels. We take on the first boss, Bebop the boar, grind on some rails, and soar rooftop to rooftop. After that, we head underground for the second level, which takes place in a flaming subway. We looked at the first 30 minutes of the game, which came out today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

For more on the game, head here. And be sure to keep an eye out for our full review, which should be coming soon. For our list recounting some of the best and worst Ninja Turtles games, head here.

For more Test Chamber, click the banner below, or check out our hub.

Rock Band Network Goes Live

Dungeon Siege 3 preview

Call it the new nerdcore: RPGs are big business.

Call it the new nerdcore: RPGs are big business. Dungeon Siege 3 is entering the cave-complex that Diablo, Dragon Age and Torchlight have called their own. What can it bring to the ornately carved game-table? A hefty weight of physical violence. Drop-in, drop-out cooperative dungeon crawling. Gorgeous new technology. And intricate business manoeuvring.

The private demo I saw was little more than a proof of concept. A dungeon, two heroes (a warrior and a wizard) and a steady stream of ugly baddies. The bads got knocked about like toys – the warrior slamming his shield into entire groups. It's simple bash bash bash entertainment. The wizard fights by the warrior's side – one is controlled with a gamepad, the other with a mouse and keyboard. Their abilities are complementary, the wizard slowing or freezing bigger enemies in place while the warrior carves a safe path through them.

The technology is impressive. The dungeon they're fighting through is miles deep. You can see it spiralling down into the depths. Each little goblin that gets knocked off the ledge can be seen pinwheeling into the river below. This isn't an off-the-shelf tech solution like the Unreal engine: this is developer Obsidian finally flexing their technical muscles.

And that's the other weird surprise. Hold tight, this is complicated financial stuff. The original Dungeon Siege was developed and created by Gas Powered Games, led by Chris Taylor. The Dungeon Siege games and intellectual property were sold to Square Enix. The same Square Enix that created the Final Fantasy games, and then merged with UK publisher Eidos (themselves the owners of Deus Ex and Tomb Raider). Square Enix, in turn, have contracted out development of Dungeon Siege 3 to Obsidian, the team behind Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, and in their former iteration, Planescape: Torment and Fallout.

Why is that surprising? Because Obsidian are all about story and lore and detailed moral consequences. The Dungeon Siege games were mostly about turning orcs into piles of guts, and overloading your pet donkey with loot.

Which is why when lead designer Nathan Chapman talked about “paying respect to the Dungeon Siege lore,” I had to stifle a giggle. The Dungeon Siege lore is what director Uwe Boll used to make a four hour epic. It's not exactly Shakespeare. Expect slick cutscenes with Mass Effect style dialogue – they're not going to hang about making you read pages of quest text. Unless they're daft.

Being grumbly at this stage seems churlish. Obsidian have great tech, smart dynamics, and an ambition to create a fleshed out RPG. Success isn't assured – but they're already on the right track.

Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Obsidian Release: 2011

Get Ready For Our Game Club On Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Last month, in the final installment of our GI Game Club covering Final Fantasy VII , we announced that our next game to dissect and discuss would be Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

, we announced that our next game to dissect and discuss would be Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. With the game's release today amidst a glowing reaction from critics, here's the latest info on how you can participate.

On The Game Informer Showpodcast airing May 26th, a group of Game Informer editors will be going in-depth on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End up through chapter 10. This is roughly half-way through the game and will be our stopping point until the next discussion. We will not spoil anything beyond the tenth chapter in that first discussion. The point of the GI Game Club is to play games alongside the community, so we strongly encourage people to play up until that point as well and send in questions, thoughts, or discussion topics to podcast@gameinformer.combefore May 25th.

To get the ball rolling on some discussion points, feel free to write in to podcast@gameinformer.comon the following topics...

- How well does the beginning of the game re-establish who these characters are? Does Uncharted 4 depend on knowledge from previous entries?

- In the first ten chapters, how much does the game change/add to your impression or your previous knowledge of returning characters?

- Do the dialogue decisions add anything of value?

- How much do you enjoy the gameplay of Uncharted 4 versus the writing?

- What are the little touches in this game's design/animation/writing that separate Naughty Dog from other developers?

- How do you think the production of The Last of Us has influenced Uncharted 4: A Thief's End?

- What is the best moment from the first ten chapters of the game?

We can't wait to dive into Nathan Drake's latest adventure with you all, so please subscribe to The Game Informer Showand join in on the discussion. Happy treasure hunting!

Video: Jonathan Blow explains Braid's rewind mechanic at GDC 2010

"I wanted to find out what happens when you design a game where rewind is not a resource, and there's not a death challenge gating the game." --Braid creator Jonathan Blow explains how he built and implemented Braid's time-rewind mechanic in this video from GDC 2010, courtesy of GDC Vault.

In Braid, the player can rewind time at will -- the scene plays backward at an accelerated pace, like you might see on a VCR. Blow explains in detail how he programmed and designed this mechanic, why he chose this particular method instead of other possible solutions, and how he dealt with many implementation concerns.
About the GDC VaultIn addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form.

Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins.

Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.

Dungeon Siege 3 E3 Impressions

The newly announced, Obsidian developed Dungeon Siege 3 was on-show in private rooms off the show floor at E3, and I was there to take a look.

The newly announced, Obsidian developed Dungeon Siege 3 was on-show in private rooms off the show floor at E3, and I was there to take a look. This new dungeon crawler is an interesting project: the first two games were purely about action and loot. Dungeon Siege 3 does things differently - Obsidian want to add a story and moral complexity to this over-the-shoulder Diablo-inspired orc-em-up. WTF?

As the demo began, reps from Square Enix explained that both the Supreme Commander, and Dungeon Siege intellectual properties had been purchased from their former developers (Gas Powered Games, led by Chris Taylor) and were now wholly owned by Square Enix. Dungeon Siege 3 is the first time Square Enix have really created a western style RPG - and it's a market they're keen to crack. Obsidian clearly have the talent to make this work. They've just completed Alpha Protocol and are beavering away on Fallout: New Vegas.

They're known for their emphasis on story, and the developers are keen to impress that that dedication will be transferred to the new game. "We've taken Chris Taylor's lore," says lead designer Nathaniel Chapman, "and really expanded on it." In the game, the 10th Legion, heroes of the previous game, have fallen into disgrace and ruin. As the hero, you've got to return their honour.

Obsidian's design for the game is much more open compared to the strict linear path of previous Dungeon Siege games. It will also be the first game to debut their own 'Onyx' technology.' The quest I saw was a simple proof of concept - a few lines that asked the player, quite simply, to 'eliminate evil in the crypt'.

The dungeon itself was remarkable. The Onyx engine, according to Obsidian, allows the developers to produce vast draw distances. The view off the edge of the marbeled blue cliffs, stretched on forever. It was a pit that didn't seem to end. Across the edges of the chasm, the path down was clearly visible. You could stand and plot your route down into the caves from far above. The tech also allowed for some ragdoll deviancy - when the player was attacked by sinister Murloc thingies, the warrior punted them over the edge with a vicious shield bash.

The demo was played with an Xbox 360 pad, and delivered a neat trick. A second designer picked up the controller, and pressed Start, and instantly appeared on-screen in the first player's party. He was a mage, and used crowd control and stuns to hold the bads in position while the Warrior scored critical hits on the vulnerable enemies. When the time came to defeat a hulking boss, the warrior cut chunks into his armour, while the mage stood back and pelted him with fire magic. When done, the mage exited, and the game quickly adjusted difficulty.

While the game is being built jointly across PC and console, Obsidian promise a new interface for the mouse and keyboard, but players will still be able to add a 360 pad for same-box co-op play. When pressed about what the PC version would deliver over and above the 360 version, they replied that they have 'additional multiplayer plans'.

The game's due in the first half of 2011 - and it already looks sharp. Obsidian are an odd choice for making an action RPG - it's not really in their DNA, but what I saw gave me confidence they understand the violence required of the genre. And the importance of Murloc punting.

Overwatch’s physics objects are fantastic

This article was originally published at the start of Overwatch's closed beta.

This article was originally published at the start of Overwatch's closed beta. Since then, more levels and more silly phyics objects have been introduced, like the Control maps' basketball and hoop!

Overwatchhas been in closed beta for a couple of days now, and lots has been said about its guns and abilities. Our very own Chris Thursten talked about his disappointment with the support heroes—a stance I somewhat agree with—but today we’re going to talk about the real star of Overwatch: its ridiculous physics objects.

Overwatch is littered with destructible physics objects ranging from books and chairs to pinatas and fire extinguishers, just there to distract you in the moments before a match. In fact, on the attacking side you spend most of your pre-match time locked in a room shooting everything that’s not nailed to the ground. They're small distractions, but they really do help make the world feel more alive—and in some cases can become a game all on their own.

We went through the seven levels currently available in the Overwatch beta to showcase the best shootable props so far, in all their gif-y glory.

The soda machines

There are soda machines like this scattered throughout a couple of levels, though the first half of Hanamura has the most of them. Break them open and the cans go flying, becoming shootable objects themselves. There are a few other types of vending machines as well, but nothing beats the chaos of cans scattering all over the floor.

Dorado’s pinatas

Dorado is by far the most imbalanced map in the Overwatch, clearly favoring the defending team. This is solely because they have free reign to destroy all the Pinatas hanging in the town square before the attacking team is even allowed to leave their starting area. I hope it's not too long before Blizzard recognizes this awful imbalance and adds some Pinatas around the attacker's spawn.

Gas canisters and fire extinguishers

The most comical physics object in the game can also potentially be the most disappointing. Shoot any of the gas canisters or fire extinguishers found in most levels and they will zip around like Wile E. Coyote on an Acme rocket—as in the clip above—or they can shoot straight into a corner and slowly drain out their air. But when they do go crazy, it's a wonderful sight.

The Hanamura arcade

Every game as the attackers on Hanamura begins with the all out destruction of the arcade that makes up your spawn area. It's an absolute free for all, as all six players shoot up anything that will explode, which is most things around. The arcade is also full of references to other Blizzard games, including an arcade cabinet for Lost Vikings and Starcraft.

The claw machines are my personal favorite, as the plushies that spill out will bounce and squeak as you shoot them, soullessly smiling the whole time.

Soccer balls

So far I've only been able to find two soccer balls: one in Dorado and another at the Attacker's spawn on Temple of Anubis. They are another of my favorite things to knock around, as they can pick up a considerable amount of speed and start bouncing off the walls. The soccer balls are even more fun when teammates join in and start defending doorways as goals. You can easily forget there's a war just outside.

Winston’s chalkboard

Winston's chalkboard in the attacker spawn on Watchpoint: Gibraltar is one of the heavier objects you can play with, meaning some hero's weapons won't move it nearly at all. I had to pull out an automatic weapon and time my shots well to get it spinning as fast as possible, which you can see above. It doesn't actually help you in the match, but this is probably the most productive I've been with Widowmaker so far. My sniping skills leave something to be desired, but I showed that chalkboard who's boss.

Volskaya Industries' library

Once again, the attacker's spawn (this time on Volskaya Industries) is a heck of a lot more fun than having to frantically set up your defenses on the other side of the door. Grab Road Hog, Reaper, or any other character with splash damage and watch as you send books flying and make chairs crumble like gingerbread houses. There is something incredible satisfying about destroying an entire table worth of chairs in one shot.

Basically anything with Symmetra’s gun

Symmetra's primary fire requires her to get up close and personal with enemies, meaning you don't usually have a chance to use it much during an actual game. Fortunately, this is balanced by it being the absolute best weapon with which to mess with physics objects. It's essentially a force field that instantly sends anything not tied down flying away, no matter how heavy. Basically it's a laser-powered leaf blower, and is by far the best way to cause havoc.

These little destructible details are a fantastic touch. They remind me of the clickables around a Hearthstone board—tiny, inconsequential distractions that are made with all the attention and care we expect from any part of a Blizzard game, ensuring that we're never just waiting around idly. They're always there for you if you have to let off some steam after a bad game, or want a distraction before the next match, or just need to go all John Belushion a guitar:

StarCraft , and getting to the heart of the game and its story

Video: Using analytics to understand players and inform design

"Balancing the gameplay in the first [play] sessions is the best thing you can do in improving your retention rates." In this free GDC Vault video from the inaugural 2013 App Developers Conference, GamesAnalytics co-founder Mark Robinson discusses best practices for using analytics in design from day-one, including quickly adapting gameplay to new players' skills, in the talk " Analytics Driven Design ."
About the GDC Vault In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events , and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech

Darkest Dungeon is getting Town Events this month, plus a Linux port

After a lengthy and productive Early Access period, Darkest Dungeon officially released in January to very strong reviews .

. That doesn't mean Red Hook Studios has moved on, though: the game continues to get regular updates, with the next poised to introduce new 'Town Events' to the game, which will bring some life and variety to the game's Hamlet.

Previously a static hub world the player returns to after each quest, the Hamlet will now feature events of its own which will trigger after certain quests. "For example, the ALL SAINTS DAY event has a high chance to proc after successfully completing the Ruins Gather Holy Relics Quest," a studio spokesperson explains in a r.

They elaborate further: "ALL SAINTS DAY sends the Abbey into a zealous celebration, and makes all treatments there free for that week! We like this example as it helps answer a common community concern on the value of the various gather/destroy quests that we’ve had in the game for a long time, and have been criticized for their loss in value due to inventory restrictions."

Meanwhile, Darkest Dungeon now has a Linux port, and the studio intends to make modding the game a more accessible enterprise. To these ends, "better tools, docs and Steam Workshop integration" is still a work in progress. As for the Town Events, they're expected to roll out mid-May.

TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE IN SILENT HILL 4: THE ROOM , we should first review the SILENT HILL

series, in case you aren’t familiar with the franchise. The concept for the original SILENT HILL was simply a full 3D action game with a horror theme. We wanted to do something within that genre for the PlayStation, which was still new hardware at the time.

Silent Hill 4: The Room

This postmortem of Silent Hill 4: The Room was first published in the March 2005 issue of Game Developer magazine.

We wanted to do something within that genre for the PlayStation, which was still new hardware at the time. Given the limitations of the console, we could not render objects too far off in the distance, since it would be too taxing for the system.

But to capture the feel of a true 3D experience, we limited the field of visibility using fog and darkness, which worked really well for a horror game and has become a trademark for the series.

By restricting visibility with fog and darkness, we were able to instill a true sense of dread in people, something they instinctively feel when encountering an unknown environment. Then of course we added some lurking creatures, and some cool audio effects, and we wound up with something that was very scary. Of course creating the game was not as easy as that implies, but these were the basic building blocks.

To amplify this feeling of dread, we created an alternate world that was permeated with blood and rust. This visual style accentuated the horrific nature of that world by contrasting it with the standard game world. In essence, a dual world was created, in which one side was normal and the other was filled with every imaginable horror.

SILENT HILL was a work that ended up using the hardware's limitations to advance the horror of the game, and one that managed to come from a different perspective, when compared to other games released at the time. Even today, people still mention that SILENT HILL for the PlayStation was a favorite game of theirs. That makes us feel great— it’s very refreshing for other people to offer their views of our games, since everyone seems to like different aspects of them. We’re so close to our projects that sometimes it’s difficult to see what’s meaningful to other people.

SILENT HILL 2 made the leap from PlayStation to PlayStation 2 while retaining the horror concept in the original game. This was a big endeavor because of the new hardware platform, and it required much more time and effort to develop, given the capabilities of the system.

We followed up that game with SILENT HILL 3 , which further refined the graphics and sound, but there were no major changes to the game mechanics. As the creators of the series, we started to feel as though the gameplay was becoming stale. With that in mind, we undertook SILENT HILL 4: THE ROOM , for which preproduction began in fall 2001 and full production in spring 2002.

Even though the SILENT HILL 4 project was a proper sequel to the SILENT HILL series, our top objective for the game was "change." We wanted to make sweeping changes from the past titles and give players something new and fresh to play. Of course, changing something that has already proved its worth is always a risk, but we wanted to see what we could accomplish.

We took on the challenge of affecting change from many angles—from the horror concept to the game's subsystems. SILENT HILL 4 is very different from the previous SILENT HILL games, although to the average eye, it may still be just a horror game. The title emerged from our trials and errors while trying to achieve this change.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

1) THE HORROR CONCEPT.

While the SILENT HILL series lies firmly in the horror/action adventure genre, the root of the terror is not a fear of being attacked and killed by horrific creatures. Rather, it is a psychological terror of being slowly stalked and cornered by unknown beings.

It’s not really about the shock value, but much more of a deeper sense of foreboding; you know something is coming, but you don’t know when, and you can’t stop it.

Comparing the game to movies, the SILENT HILL series is closer to The Exorcist than Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street.

In thinking about how it might be possible to realize a new type of horror in SILENT HILL 4 without destroying the foundations of the series, we arrived at the idea of the horror of being trapped within one's own room.

A person’s room should be a place of refuge and comfort. We felt that it would really be terrifying to become trapped in that sanctuary and to have that space gradually eroded through a succession of disturbing events. This was our main concept during SILENT HILL 4's development. We hoped that it could become a new type of horror game that people had not seen before.

2) A NEW TYPE OF ENEMY.

Once we established the horror concept, we wanted to add innovation in how we projected it. If we wanted supernatural phenomena to happen in one's own room, we also wanted spiritual presences to appear as enemies.

We therefore created ghosts, a new type of enemy that inflicts damage on the player just by being nearby. Worse than that, they can come through walls, and even when knocked down, they rise again to relentlessly pursue the player

For Japanese people, the horror of ghosts is deeply entrenched in our culture. However, we weren’t confident that they would be frightening for people overseas, in America and Europe, for instance. In the end we agreed that the more general sensation of horror is shared by people worldwide, so we adopted our ghost as an enemy type after all. We believed that this enemy—an indefatigable being that ceaselessly pursues the player—is a very frightening presence to all, regardless of culture.

3) FIRST-PERSON VIEW.

In developing any game, we hope to make the experience as real and immediate as possible for the player. One effective technique for doing so is using first-person perspective. This technique is one that we have long wanted to adopt for the SILENT HILL series, but using the first-person view for the entire series proved to be impractical. In terms of weaponry, the SILENT HILL games primarily featured objects used for clubbing enemies, which are very difficult to incorporate into a firstperson mode.

With SILENT HILL 4's room setting, though, we felt that it would be possible to use the first-person view to good effect. In practice, we believe that the technique sufficiently heightened the sense of being there, especially when supernatural phenomena occur. For the action sequences in the other world, the view shifts back to a third-person perspective, since it would be way too hard to fight enemies in first-person mode.

4) REAL-TIME ITEM MENU.

In past SILENT HILL games, whenever players needed to use an item or change weapons during battle, they could pause the action by opening the item menu, then leisurely select the needed items and weapons. We changed that with SILENT HILL 4 . Item icons appear at the bottom part of the game screen to let the player use the items and switch weapons without pausing.

This system of putting the icons at the bottom of the screen was inspired by a similar feature found in many online games. The fact that the game time doesn't stop when selecting items was an improvement because it made for smoother gameplay and helped sustain the tension of the scenario.

Of course, SILENT HILL 4 is not an online game, so we still made it possible for the player to interrupt gameplay with the pause button to avoid needlessly distressing the player.

5) PLAYABLE MOVIE SEQUENCES.

In many games, movie-like demo scenes are incorporated in key story junctures, and SILENT HILL 4 is no exception. We decided to add playable movie scenes, in which the hero could be freely moved. In those instances, there are no clear transitions to the scenes—we made the trigger an automatic one, in which the scene is set into motion when the hero approaches certain non-playable characters (NPC), who then begin conversing.

In actual play, there are instances when the NPCs seem to be talking to themselves. Even so, we felt that this approach heightened the player’s immersion. We thought that these sequences worked very well and brought a different feeling to the series.

WHAT WENT WRONG
1) ABSENCE OF MID-LEVEL BOSSES.

It was disappointing that we couldn’t add any mid-level bosses simply because we didn’t have enough staff. We felt that the game stood well enough without them, but as we feared, it became a game that lacked catharsis. It has to be said—mid-level bosses are an important element of any action game.

By fighting mid-level bosses, the player experiences a sense of achievement and exhilaration at key points in the game. That tension compels players to keep moving forward. It’s really unfortunate that we weren’t able to budget the time for our programming staff to make even one mid-level boss. I think this hurt the game, as players wander through it without enough challenging fights at strategic points. It makes it difficult for the player to see what he or she has accomplished.

2) GHOSTS WERE TOO OBTRUSIVE.

We wanted to introduce a new type of enemy by including ghosts, but many players said that rather than being frightening, the ghosts were merely exasperating obstacles. Even when knocked down, ghosts rise up immediately to resume their pursuit of the player. Players were irritated at constantly being on the run from them and as a result, were incapable of fully appreciating the beautifully rendered game environments.

In the latter half of the game, there are swords that can stun downed ghosts. While these swords allow the player to counter the indefatigable ghosts, there aren’t enough of them. The concept of invincible enemies wasn't a bad one, but in the case of the ghosts, we made them too strong.

In the retail version, the ghost becomes “unstunned” in 3–10 seconds. If we could change it, we would make the stunned time between 15 and 60 seconds, depending on which mode (easy, normal, or hard) the player is in, to give the player some respite. It also might have been nice to allow players to kill ghosts, but at a high cost. In any case, the ghosts turned out more annoying than scary for most people.

3) TOO MUCH DEPENDENCE ON MELEE WEAPONS.

At the start of the project, we planned to make the main character use club-like weapons for almost all the fighting. We also planned to make guns and ammunition very rare and special. We did so because we felt that one of the SILENT HILL series' more horrifying aspects is the brutal sensation of physically clubbing enemies. So we increased the variety of battering weapons, introduced a new system of charge attacks, and limited the availability of guns to only handguns.

However, when we developed the game with those weaponry changes in mind, ammunition was too rare, making players horde it for the final boss, thus rendering the gun a largely wasted weapon. We also discovered that battering weapons alone made fighting too difficult, which made it tough for the player to progress through the game. We quickly added more ammunition so the handgun could be used more regularly. For players of SILENT HILL 3 , this was a big departure; that game had various guns and other types of weapons too.

4) PLACEMENT OF GAUGES AND ICONS.

With the SILENT HILL series, we had the policy of not displaying any gauges or icons on the game screen to enable players to become immersed in the world of horror. But we wanted to change the item selection process, so when we first started on the project, we clipped the top and bottom of the screen to make the playing field wide, and placed gauges and icons on the clipped black strips at the top and bottom.

However, with the top and bottom clipped, the game screen didn’t actually feel wide, just short. It made the screen feel cramped when controlling the character. Rather than adhering to policy, we gave priority to ease of play and decided to allow the placement of gauges and icons on the game screen. If we had gone with the widescreen mode, I think people would have complained that we weren’t using the entire screen!

5) ABSENCE OF A UFO ENDING.

From the beginning, the SILENT HILL series has always featured so-called UFO endings that were intended for laughs. I think a lot of fans were looking forward to some kind of silly ending with SILENT HILL 4 , but we were unable to put one in.

The UFO endings had been added to the past titles as jokes by staff who thought up something particularly funny and had the time to add it. However, no one came up with an amusing idea, and eventually we didn’t have enough time to include anything. I think that fans of the series were probably a little disappointed, although we did include a few different endings depending on how people played.

When making a sequel, developers usually try to include as many fresh ideas as possible; but fans of the titles will want the signature elements of the original game to reappear in the sequels.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

In making SILENT HILL 4 , we attempted to implement quite a few changes. As with all things, we had some successes, and we had some elements that in hind-sight, we could have improved. Also, some areas demanded more trial and error because the project was a new challenge, for example, having the player go back and forth between the room and the horrific world, and having the room gradually infected by the "other" world.

This approach was one that perfectly suited a representation of horror. But it lacked depth as an actual building block of the gameplay. We added problem-solving challenges, such as having to figure out that you need to use items brought back from the other world to the real world to complete a task. We tried to make various adjustments of that type to make it more satisfying for players to travel between the two worlds.

Before implementing this, it was just boring to go between the real world and the horror world, because it seemed too much like a chore instead of being fun. While we were faced with many challenges, developing SILENT HILL 4 was definitely gratifying to tackle.

No matter what the title, franchises are faced with the constant need to evolve. Otherwise, developers run the risk of turning people away from their games, due to the lack of innovation. (However, we also know that you need to identify and maintain certain sustaining elements of the original game when making a sequel.)

In the future, we will have to consider the possibilities of network gameplay for the SILENT HILL series, among other improvements. What that will entail we don’t know yet, but hopefully it will be something people want to try. Ultimately, we hope to keep providing the world with new entertainment by adopting new ideas for future games. Please look forward to what’s coming next!

Dragon Age 2: Mark of the Assassin screenshots show Conquistador riding Wyvern

Whatever you liked or disliked about Dragon Age 2, it's painfully obvious that there weren't enough Conquistadors riding Wyverns.

Whatever you liked or disliked about Dragon Age 2, it's painfully obvious that there weren't enough Conquistadors riding Wyverns. That is a problem that the next slice of DLC, Mark of the Assassin, hopes to correct. See the monster below, along with two other screenshots showing Hawke dramatically throwing a knife into a man's chest from easy stabbing distance, and a dim fortress exterior.

In Mark of the Assassin, you team up with a feisty elf played by Felicia Day, and must hunt down a mysterious gem housed within that dim fortress, which happens to be protected by Orlesian Chevliers, some of which seem to be riding monsters. See the Dragon Age 2: Mark of the Assassintrailer for an overview. It's due out next Tuesday October 11.

How Darkest Dungeon got inspiration from Band of Brothers and Aliens

In a post-mortem of Darkest Dungeon at this year’s GDC , Red Hook Studios’ co-president and design director Tyler Sigman mentioned an unexpected inspiration for one of the game’s key systems: HBO’s WWII dramamentary Band of Brothers.

“The inspiration for the Affliction system was not games, really. It was more human experience,” says Sigman. If you haven’t played Darkest Dungeon, Afflictions are ‘big’ status effects that can trigger when one of your adventurers hits 100 stress. If they succeed their resolve check at this mental breaking point, they receive a Virtue, a temporary buff. But if they fail, which is usually more likely, they receive an Affliction like ‘paranoia’ or ‘hopeless,’ debuffs that spread stress to other characters and create other problems that can put the whole quest at risk.

A good chunk of Sigman’s hour-long talk focused on the Affliction and stress systems, which Sigman says, surprisingly to him, didn’t change much during Darkest Dungeon’s year in Early Access. These systems were an important expression of one of the game’s core principles: “Heroes are human,” and Sigman talked about a moment from Band of Brothers that led to their creation. “There’s this character, Buck Compton, played by Neal McDonough. He’s tall, he’s handsome, he’s tough, he’s been on a bunch of missions, he’s kind of just this gregarious, energetic guy that’s holding the squad together, in a way,” says Sigman. At least, that’s true until the seventh episodeof the series, when Easy Company faces their biggest challenge. “They’re in the battle of Ardennes, getting shelled, in winter, and he watches a shell land in a foxhole on a couple of his buddies and they’re just gone. And there’s this great scene where he comes up, and he has a thousand-yard stare, shellshocked, and he takes off his helmet, and that’s it: his war is over,” says Sigman. “I think that was really a moment that we wanted to capture, ‘Game over, man!’”

Neal McDonough in Band of Brothers.

Sigman also mentioned Hudson from Aliens, Bill Paxton’s famously rattledspace soldier. “Hudson is the most boisterous… especially in the director’s cut, I think there’s more of him just being a total, boisterous asshole. And of course the minute things go to hell he can’t handle it. And Ripley is the one who’s made of steel.” Red Hook wanted players to experience moments where characters reveal their mettle, but they wanted that to happen through systems of the game, not through scripted storytelling. “Darkest Dungeon is not a game about mental health or mental illness, Darkest Dungeon a game about the human response to stress, and those are very different things.”

Sigman also spoke to the difficulty of balancing a system that takes agency away from players, a side effect of Afflictions—something that on paper most designers would consider is antithetical to a good game. “Darkest Dungeon has a lot of numbers and a lot of systems and it’s kind of a turn-based combat game, and so sometimes you’re worried about balance like, ‘Hey, this character’s DPS is undersized by five percent compared to the other characters, and then you have this system in the game that can just rob you of a turn entirely. That was sometimes a hard balance to tread and to get people to expect … because ultimately there is this stuff that’s taking control away from you,” says Sigman.

Destiny isnt perfect but its brilliant enough to be GOTY

This week, we're highlighting the top five titles in our Game of the Year 2014 list. Destiny ranks at #1 - and here's Andy Hartup's take on what makes it so important. Destiny is not a perfect game. Its plot is vague, partly the result of a grand ambition to have a narrative that evolves over the next ten years, throughout the course of an entire console generation (and partly because, yeah, Bungie

Dragon Age web series to star Felicia Day

The creator of comedy web series The Guild, Felicia Day, has announced that she will be starring in a six-part web series set in the Dragon Age universe.

The creator of comedy web series The Guild, Felicia Day, has announced that she will be starring in a six-part web series set in the Dragon Age universe. Day wrote the series, and will be playing the central role as an elf tasked with fighting back against the Darkspawn menace.

Day plays an elven assassin called Tallis, who will have to recruit companions on her quest to strike back against the Darkspawn threat. Day has been speaking to USA todayabout the role. "Tallis is headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor," she says. "I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world."

"She can't accomplish her mission alone, so finding allies is tricky," Day says. "The success or failure of the mission will have a big impact on her future and her freedom."

Bioware co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk is really, really excited about the project. "We are really, really excited to work with people like her who have a passion and appreciation for the content and a really good history of quality. That's who we want to work with."

Filming on the series has already finished. It's directed by Peter Winther, associate producer on Independence Day, with cinematography from John Bartley of Lost fame. The series is set to hit the web later this year, will you be watching?

Darkest Dungeon launches this week, so here's a new trailer

Most PC owners keen to play Darkest Dungeon have done so already: it's been in Early Access for over a year now, and it's one of the best supported titles operating under that scheme.

have done so already: it's been in Early Access for over a year now, and it's one of the best supported titles operating under that scheme. Still, if you're the type to hold off until a game is officially complete, then Darkest Dungeon releases officially tomorrow. The trailer above has arrived to remind us of this fact.

In case you've managed to avoid reading about this game already, Darkest Dungeon is a modern RPG rogue-like with a harsh, low-fantasy aesthetic. It's a challenging game (and it's only become more challenging throughout its Early Access period) but it's also utterly unique and, frankly, worryingly addictive.

For more thorough impressions, Ian spent dozens of hours playing it early last year. If you don't want to wait until tomorrow to play the "finished" game, you can always just go ahead and get it while it's still in Early Access.

PlayStation Mobile's shutting down, here's how to keep your stuff on Vita

Don't already have Super Crate Box on PS Vita? For real? That's, like, the ideal platform for Vlambeer's breakout 2D shooter. You'd better get on that real quick, because the PlayStation Mobile distribution platform is shutting down later this year. PlayStation Mobile, which is hosts Super Crate Box and a number of other titles, serves as an all-in-one destination for developers interested in Sony

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm prepares for launch with 21 hour livestream

In the run up to Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm's release later today, Blizzard are hosting a 21-hour global livestream of launch events, community features and the final of the Day[9] hosted King of the Beta tournament.

release later today, Blizzard are hosting a 21-hour global livestream of launch events, community features and the final of the Day[9] hosted King of the Beta tournament. Those wanting to watch the full event will need to stock up on a body destroying amount of caffeine - the Irvine launch event, including the tournament final, doesn't kick off until 4am GMT.

For anyone not looking to irrevocably damage their kidneys through excessive energy drink consumption, the stream is currently switching between previously released videos of HotS feature round-ups, and pro-players facing off in friendlies. Right now, the action is centred on Seoul, with Day[9] and Team Liquid taking over for the first community block at 1 pm GMT.

The full schedule is up on Blizzard's event page. There you can pick between different regional events, but if you just want to dip into the main global stream, it's embedded below.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Darkest Dungeon update brings new class, tweaks

The new class, the Antiquarian , plays on Darkest Dungeon's existing risk/reward trade-offs, sacrificing almost all of her fighting strength for the opportunity to haul more treasure back to your estate.

The next Darkest Dungeonupdate is available on Steam, and it brings with it a unique, loot-oriented class and some small but significant changes meant to mitigate late-game grind.

, plays on Darkest Dungeon's existing risk/reward trade-offs, sacrificing almost all of her fighting strength for the opportunity to haul more treasure back to your estate. "The Antiquarian is an under-powered combat class, but very useful in camping and also for driving up profitability of a quest," Red Hook's Tyler Sigmantold me via email. The Antiquarian also "has a chance to draw antiques of various value from every combat and treasure curio. These antiques get sold like gems at the end of the quest for a tidy sum," says Sigman. "She does have some useful self-preservation skills as well as some skills that pair very well with blighting classes and some general team buffs as well."

I love the idea of a class that lets me roll the dice with a weaker party for a chance at more treasure—it feeds nicely into existing mechanics like the torch, which you can dim to increase your probability for big loot at the cost of endangering your party. I'm looking forward to seeing an expert player attempt an all-Antiquarian run. If you want a gander at her skills, a commenter on Reddit pointed to this cobbled-together image of her abilities and stats:

via /r/darkestdungeon

Just as welcome, though, are the metagame changes made in this update. Higher-level heroes can now be recruited from the Stagecoach (which gets a corresponding new upgrade tree), so you won't have to level everyone you add to your party from the ground up. Heirlooms, the resources needed to upgrade your town, can now be traded within the town at a cost, and the rewarded heirloom is no longer locked to a specific region, which should encourage you to fight in different zones more often. Likewise, the heirloom cost of some town upgrades has been reduced or increased— check the Darkest Dungeon blogfor the full rundown.

Take note: Red Hook is releasing the update in beta form today so it can gather a bit more feedback before finalizing the update. Red Hook assures on Twitter that your save file won't be harmed or deletedby switching to the beta.

Right Click on Darkest Dungeon in your Steam Library Select Properties Select BETAs tab In the dropdown box select “coming_in_hot” Close the Properties Window

PS Vita will soon lose Maps, YouTube app, and much of Near

So, did you ever figure out what Near on PS Vita was actually supposed to do? Seems like Sony didn't either, since it plans to disable several of the app's key features along with the entirety of Maps... and I hope you're not too attached to the YouTube app, either. Sony explained its intentions to shut down and/or scale back all three applications in two support articles . Maps will be disabled in

Day[9]'s bright idea to grow the StarCraft 2 eSports scene: high school leagues

StarCraft 2's longtime player/commentator/ambassador Sean " Day[9] " Plott is one of the best interviews in gaming.

" Plott is one of the best interviews in gaming. He's universally candid, positive, relatable, and unlike some game developers, he's got nothing to hide. He's also full of good ideas—another one of which was mentioned last weekend to GameSpotduring the Battle.net World Championshipin Shanghai. In that interview, Mr. 9 was asked to look into the long, six- or seven-year future of StarCraft, and tell us what he'd like to see in such a crystal ball. His response: StarCraft in high schools.

Dan " Frodan" Chou, GameSpot: "Now we've seen the scene grow and expand to this point, what would you like to see in six, seven more years as well. I know that's really shooting far, but if you could extrapolate, what's your dream and your vision?"

Plott: "I've given this answer many times before, and I'm gonna give it again: High. School. Leagues. I think that is the prime example of cultural embeddedness. You think of something like football—American football, sorry Europe. 'American hand egg,' you know the thing with like the leather coney dude. I'm great at descriptions, oh yeah. Occasionally, but not always. Okay, so American football is stupidly complicated in terms of rules. Just, the concept of downs and kickoffs and onside kicks and what off-sides is—all that is quite complicated. But no one's looked at a manual ever. I've never opened the rule book to football, and yet I know all the rules to football because my friends and my family acted as the manual. It was a cultural manual. And high school I think is a huge part of that—that you go into high school sports, you see it, it's all around you, and I'd want that for StarCraft. Even something like chess—not a lot of people invest in chess or play a lot, but they know about it, a lot of people know the rules of it, they know how the pieces move, that the knight moves in a little 'L.' And if that carried over to StarCraft with high school leagues then I think that would be the biggest sign of success."

It's a nice thought, letterman jackets with stitched-on patches of Banelings and Siege Tanks. Blizzard agrees, apparently; Plott's comments directly echo those of Ilja Rotelli, Blizzard's Director of Global Community & eSports. Watch GameSpot's full interview below.

Darkest Dungeon gets darker with Inhuman Bondage update

Turn-based descent-into-madness simulator Darkest Dungeon was due one more content patch before breaking out of Early Access this January .

. As promised, Inhuman Bondage adds a new hero to your line-up of flawed adventurers: the Abomination. Yes, 'flawed' does seem a rather loose term, doesn't it?

The Abomination takes after Jekyll and Hyde, switching between human and beast forms at will, but as you'd expect from a game that does its darndest to send your party insane, other heroes aren't all that comfortable around the manbeast.

The Abomination is joined by two new monsters—the Collector and the Madman—and a sweeping array of AI changes which angle towards making things harder but less punishing. Your characters' stress levels have been jacked right up on Veteran and Champion-level quests, but you're now offered a last-ditch shot at saving heroes who have heart attacksas a result. Brings a tear to the eye.

The unabridged patch notes, including a hefty list of minor adjustments, are right here.

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Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Pros The beautiful new cutscenes The deep character creation Watching the plot unravel Cons Camera can obscure your view It's too hard for some That you can't play on your TV Go to page: Page 1 Page 1 Page 2 Oct 8, 2007 Nine years ago Final Fantasy Tactics chronicled the life of Ramza Beoulve,one of thesons of the late king Balbanes, and his role in The Lion War

How to find a StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm launch event near you

Much as we've all had a love-hate relationship with brick and mortar game stores, some of my fondest memories as a PC gamer have been lining up in the freezing cold with dozens of other gamers to grab the next big collector's edition at midnight on launch day.

Much as we've all had a love-hate relationship with brick and mortar game stores, some of my fondest memories as a PC gamer have been lining up in the freezing cold with dozens of other gamers to grab the next big collector's edition at midnight on launch day. If you're hoping to have that experience with Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard has created a dedicated page to find launch events in your area.

So far, there is only one event listed for each region. There will be some Blizzard presence in Mexico City, Brazil, the US, Russia, France, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and, of course, South Korea. Many of these events will also feature prominent eSports pros. The event in our neck of the woods, in Irvine, California (near Blizzard HQ), will feature MC, Polt, Suppy, and ViBE, with emceeing by Day[9] and Husky.

If you don't live near one of the officially-sanctioned events, I'd recomment the r/barcraftsubreddit, which is a hub for organizing (mostly StarCraft-centric) eSports viewing events at local venues. Depending on your area, it's not always 100% dependable, and tends to be US-centric, but most major metro areas have at least one or two. There's also a running list on TeamLiquidwith a few more locations, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Croatia, Sweden, and Israel.

What we've learned from Kickstarter’s biggest successes and failures

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Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Pros Pitch perfect first-person platforming Stays challenging without getting frustrating Unique visual style Cons The look-how-eccentric sense of humor Lack of strong characters Running out of puzzles Go to page: Page 1 Page 1 Page 2 Here’s a tip: if you’re leaving one of the most influential developers in the industry, it had better be to work on something as

Firefall Fest starts next week, livestreams to feature Day[9], Wil Wheaton, Nathan Fillion

Next week from October 22-27, Firefall's developers will be livestreaming the game with celebri-guests such as Day[9], Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion.

the game with celebri-guests such as Day[9], Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion. Two three-hour streams will run every day from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. with a new guest for each. There are prizes, too, because when are there not? Viewers will have the chance to win an AMD gaming desktop, Razer Blade gaming laptop, and other things one might use for PC gaming.

Even more interesting is that the purchase of a Founders Packwill give players immediate beta access so they can appear in the stream and "meet the celebrity guests in-game."

We'll be there to cover it! The full schedule and guest list is available on the official site.

Darkest Dungeon is coming in January

Let's be honest: If any of us had to fight through a dark, fetid dungeon crawling with monsters, shambling coffin dodgers, and worse, we'd probably lose our minds and our lunches.

Let's be honest: If any of us had to fight through a dark, fetid dungeon crawling with monsters, shambling coffin dodgers, and worse, we'd probably lose our minds and our lunches. That simple fact is the basis for Darkest Dungeon, a dungeon crawler in which "flawed heroes" must deal with stress, famine, disease, despair, fear, and other such human frailties, on top of the usual menaces inherent to subterranean treasure quests. It blew the doors off its Kickstarterin early 2014, and has been on Steam Early Accesssince February of this year. And on January 19 of 2016, it will finally be released in full.

Developer Red Hook Studios had initially hoped to have the game out this month, but said in today'sthat doing so "would mean rushing our endgame content out the door—a move that would ultimately not be in anyone's best interest." The date was thus moved to December 1, but the recent death of Creative Director Chris Bourassa's father-in-law led to the decision to push it back further.

The team plans to drop an "interim patch" near the end of November that will add a new playable hero called The Abomination. The hero will be properly revealed in the coming weeks, but for now Red Hook said "this bloodthirsty class is unlike anything currently in the game." The patch will also include a pair of "decidedly unsettling backer-designed monsters," and various sorts of other "goodies."

Evan got some hands-on timewith Darkest Dungeon back in January, and expertly demonstrated how the game's psychological elements work to influence the characters during combat—which is to say, he got his ass kicked. It's obviously not an easy game, as evidenced by Red Hook's decision in August to let players turn off heart attacks and corpses (if only it were so easy IRL), but this still looks like it will be a lot of fun.

Dispute ensues over rights to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise

BitComposer Games, the publisher of open world action game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in Europe and the U.S., today claimed that it has acquired the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

license, and plans to release new games in the franchise.

The future of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has been unclear for some time, since reports surfaced around a year agothat developer GSC Game World was closing down.

With this acquisition, the Eschborn-based BitComposer says that it now has the exclusive worldwide rights to future video game adaptations of the brand. A statement from BitComposer notes, "So far, the three titles in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series have been released exclusively for Windows PC."

Wolfgang Duhr, member of the BitComposer Entertainment AG executive board, noted, " S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a reputable brand with a long history of success. Naturally, we'd like to tap into the success of this series, and we see a great deal of potential for the future."

The company also noted that Boris Natanovich Strugatsky, one of two brothers behind the original Roadside Picnic novel series, on which S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is based, passed away on November 19, 2012.

All other rights outside of video game adaptations remain with the Strugatsky brothers, says BitComposer.

This is the second international license that BitComposer has acquired in recent years, as the company grabbed the Jagged Alliance license back in 2010.

[ Update: : Following confusion regarding whether BitComposer owns the video game rights to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. , or whether GSC Game World's Sergiy Grygorovich owns it, a spokesperson for BitComposer has told Gamasutra that it is the sole owner of the license.

"We hold the license for PC and video games from the Strugatsky brothers," he said. He reiterated, "The owner of the license was the Strugatsky brothers. As far as we know, GSC never had the license for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. "

Update 2: Sergey Galyonkin, director of marketing at Russian games company Nival, has suggested thatBitComposer has in fact bought the rights to the original Roadside Picnic universe, and the Stalker license that comes from those books, rather than the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. movie and video game franchise.

It's still not 100 percent clear whether this is the case, as BitComposer is adamant that it has bought the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. license. Gamasutra has contacted GSC Game World associates for confirmation.

Update 3: Eugene Kuchma, who works in sales and marketing for GSC Game World, told Gamasutra in an email that -- as trademark filings show -- BitComposer does not own the right to make S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video games.

Kuchma's email in full reads: "In view of the rumors appearing in press, we find it necessary to inform that GSC Game World and Sergey Grigorovich [GSC CEO] remain to be the sole owners of all the intellectual property rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series and the brand overall, including all the trademarks, the game universe, the technology etc. This can be easily verified with the trademark services online.

"From time to time news on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brand purchase by this or that company appear over the Internet. We relate such a keen interest in the brand to its exceptional popularity. Even the purchase of rights to create a a€œRoadside picnica€ book-based game by a small publisher is presented as the continuation of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise. We have doubts regarding the mentioned product by BitComposer (the publisher of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in some territories), since the latter has significant debts in terms of fulfilling the obligations under the existing contract between our companies.]

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Our Verdict
Despite unrefined combat, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a fun, unforgettable journey in color, design, and images.

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a novel in which anything might happen. Alice: Madness Returns is a sumptuous but mechanically simple third-person action game in which just about everything does.

Set more than a decade after her adventure in American McGee's Alice, Alice: Madness Returns finds the titular heroine receiving psychiatric care in a depressing Victorian orphanage, so it's no wonder that she'd decide to duck out of grim reality and return to the Wonderland that she fought to restore to verdant beauty as a girl. But when a gooey black “ruin” begins coughing up baby-faced monsters, Alice's refuge turns into a series of phantasmagoric prisons that she must traverse to find its source—in her own fragile psyche.

And she does so with aplomb. Alice whips out her Vorpal Blade and tears into her foes with a rapid series of bloody slashes that gracefully drop into slo-mo for an instant after every combo. The result is some gorgeous combat, but despite the addition of a few more novel, vaguely upgradable weapons and a fantastic dodge maneuver that whisks Alice out of harm's way in a burst of blue butterflies, it's not particularly rewarding—especially in the second half of the game, where it becomes apparent that new enemies are so much like the old enemies.

Wandering Wonderland

Fortunately, Madness Returns doesn't rely on its wind-up, clockwork combat or its vast catalog of collectibles to sustain our interest through its 12-plus hours. Instead, its strong-est feature is its extravagant, vision-ary art direction, which gleefully loots not only the sinister underpinnings of Carroll's novel but everything from twelfth-century Japan to the grotty visions of the Brothers Quay as Wonder­land's six sprawling domains gradually descend from whimsical dreamscapes into horrifying nightmares. Within them, Alice breezily walks into paintings that transform the game into a delicate-looking 2D platformer. She restores an underwater theatrical production resembling Pirates of the Caribbean crossed with Glee. She rides teacup trolleys, fires a pepper-loaded minigun, collects the body parts of her friends, and mercilessly, furiously stomps tiny card-soldiers under the soles of her boots.

But even in its darkest moments, Madness Returns plays enjoyably with magical grace and beauty—even Alice's spirited pirouettes from one platform to another shed blue and teal leaves. This is the real triumph of Madness Returns: you could blot out the game's dialog and narrative, and the demented sets and gorgeous visuals would tell a mesmerizing story on their own.

The Verdict

Alice: Madness Returns

Despite unrefined combat, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a fun, unforgettable journey in color, design, and images.

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