E3 2012: ZOMBIU: Ubisoft Gives Us Survival Horror As It Should Be.

 

Ubisoft is definitely the publisher to watch in terms of creating Wii U experiences that will draw in the core as well as casual crowd, and here’s one for the horror fans out there. The title reminds me of ZOMBI 2, Lucio Fulci’s classic gore-fest from 1979, released here as ZOMBIE (if it’s intentional, it’s a great touch), and after seeing some actual gameplay, I think this one is about as good as it gets for a launch or launch window release.  I absolutely love the idea of a one-life survive as long as you can experience with a real-time inventory as it adds an almost rogue-like feel to the experience.

I also love the fact that when your character dies (and he or she WILL die), you lose all your gained skills and your all important survival kit, which needs to be retrieved by the next person you play as. This makes the game a far more frightening experience as you’ll be constantly fighting to survive every single foot you travel and make it to whatever ending awaits. I’m also betting bragging rights about who made it through the game and lost the least amount of characters will be a big thing for a while. Color me thrilled…

E3 2012: Platinum Games’ “Project P100”: Classic And Current All In One Must-Buy

 

As soon as I saw this trailer and then the actual gameplay reveal on Spike TV, I got really excited and had to put my first thoughts down. The team at Platinum Games has basically created a modern day mash-up of the ancient Game Boy classic Mercenary Force and Lucasarts’ awesome Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES, added their own stylistic brilliance with Wii U functionality and is setting this loose on Nintendo fans for their approval. I like this one a lot, so it’s a must-buy in my book. Go Platinum!

E3 2012: BEYOND: Two Souls. Quantic Dream’s PS3 Exclusive Surprise of the Show.

 

Take one of the most innovative console developers and their award winning tech, add in a great actress with huge fan appeal and mix well under cover for a while, let bake and pop off the lid unexpectedly at a huge press event. BEYOND: Two Souls is going to be fantastic for a few reasons, the least of which being it takes place over a period of fifteen years in the main character’s life. The game is also something a lot more action driven than Heavy Rain, but Page’s character is clearly a “normal” human who happens to have some sort of powerful spirit that enables her to do some superhuman things (and attract the notice of a well-armed SWAT team). Other than a probable 2013 release date, nothing else is know about the game, but this first look at the game and amazing trailer should be more than enough to make you want to buy a PS3 just to play what’s bound to be an instant classic.

 

The Last of Us: Naughty Dog Breaks New Ground (Again). Deal With It.

 

Every time I see bits of this upcoming PS3 exclusive, I have to shake my head in disbelief. But, hmmmm… some fans still want these guys and gals to crank out a new Jak & Daxter game instead of going all out and making another new IP that might be a better move for the developer at the end of the day.  I think they’re entitled to that opinion of course, but I also think they’re slightly bonkers with nostalgia. That and perhaps Naughty Dog has simply grown out of and away from making this sort of CG cartoon experience (no doubt thanks to the success of the Uncharted series). For me, outside of Ubisoft’s fun as hell Rayman franchise, some excellent 2D and 3D indie games and a bunch of cool handheld titles, mascot games and particularly, mascot based platformers are a dying breed. OK, save for the new Sly Cooper game coming, plus Mario and a newly revived Sonic doing their stuff on different systems.

Personally, I’d rather see a developer show what an “old” console like the PS3 can do by stretching the hardware as far as possible while doing something innovative and “adult” in the process. Look, I liked the Jak games on the PS2 and while Naughty Dog didn’t program the game, Daxter on the PSP is a classic for that platform. That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Vita J & D collection at some point. As it stands, unless there’s a supreme reason for bringing both characters back in an all-new game (for a new console), just beating a dead horse harder won’t make money come out of its ass…

E3 2012: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Trailer: Level-5 At The Top Of Their Game

As I’ve said elsewhere, anyone saying the PS3 has “no good games” either doesn’t own a PS3, is a massive fan-troll with FAR too much time on their hands or just really doesn’t get out to the shops much. This latest trailer from Namco Bandai’s upcoming Level-5/Studio Ghibli collaboration shows off just how gorgeous a game can look when everyone behind it is dedicated to the project. This one’s not out for a little while, but don’t worry, NamBan has some other fine games for you to play (as do a bunch of other developers and publishers)…

Injustice: Gods Among Us Trailer: More DC Only On The PS3…

But this time, it’s not a big deal MMO I have no interest in playing (thankfully!) exclusive is a new fighting game by NetherRealm Studios (yup, the Mortal Kombat folks). This one caught me by surprise, but thinking about it, MK vs DC was pretty well received, so this not quite follow-up is going to be huge. I’m hoping we see this on the Vita as well and YES, with cross-platform play of some sort, as Sony REALLY needs to start pushing those features and developers NEED to start using them. Anyway, this looks like a ton of fun…

E3 2012: Papo & Yo Trailer: MinorityMedia’s Got A Majority Of My Attention…

Yes indeed, Sony’s got yet another super PSN-only sleeper on their hands that I really wish was on a disc along with a few other games a bunch of non-PSN users are missing out on (and not because they WANT to, mind you). Hell, I’d even play this on the Vita if it were sold on a card and not just as a download. Yes, I would actually pay more to support a smaller developer, especially when their game is this original, surreal and inventive. Let’s hope SCEA is listening to the little people for a change instead of just doing it their way, damn the outcome. Hey Sony! A little flexibility in this day and age actually gets MORE people to like what you’re doing. That;s also a memo to ALL game companies: if you don’t allow us to care (and buy games how we like), guess what? They’re not always going to sell as well as you hope they will, no matter how good they are…

Sports Champions 2: Is This Sony’s OTHER Move Secret Weapon?

Cue the “It’s About Time!” music, please. Well, I’m glad that’s one more E3 surprise I don’t have to worry about not being announced, even though it was a no-brainer. I like the new additions a lot and hopefully, Sony will have a few more fun PS Move games to show off next week. Truth be told, I’m not even a huge sports fan these days and I’ll be picking this one up just for the workout possibilities. Motion control gaming isn’t dead quite yet, kids – but it’s not going to completely replace traditional controllers at all, either. It’s all about BALANCE at the end of the day…

Steel Battalion Heavy Armor Press Kit: OK, Capcom, You’re Killing Me!

Argh… It’s “bad” enough I’ll soon be getting a Kinect here and knocking over plants and stuff while I’m spazzing out in front of my TV, but Capcom is making me want to see one of these cool press kits miraculously show up at my doorstep. I’m still kicking myself for not snapping up that last Xbox Steel Battalion when I had the chance (hey, it was that or a new console for work, and the new console won). Anyway, they’re giving one of these babies away on their Capcom Unity blog for you non-press folks, by the way. I’m betting From Software is going to surprise a LOT of people with the game, but what else is new? People keep underestimating these guys and they just keep on pulling out surprise after surprise…

Resistance: Burning Skies Launch Trailer: Console Quality FPS Experience, Anyone?

OK, it looks like the mild drought of retail releases is over for the time being… as long as you like shooters. Still, it’ll be fun to actually play a FPS on a handheld with two analog sticks instead of being forced to used a D-Pad for movement. Granted, I’ve played loads of old PS1 and some PS2 shooters with this older form of control, but it’s a LOT different when the screen and controller are in your hands at the same time. It looks as if the team at Nihilistic has nailed it up tight in terms of the look and feel of the PS3 Resistance games, so it also looks as if this one’s a buy for me…