Project CARS Full Rides List: Your Car Is Ready (Almost!)


 

As soon as I saw this list, I started rubbing my hands together a wee bit too much and eventually set fire to my laptop’s keyboard. Ouch. It’s a good thing I was drooling at the same time because that put the fire out. Memo to self: I need a new smoke alarm for the house. Well, better a new laptop needed than a new lap, as laps can’t be transplanted last I checked. Project CARS will be rolling into retail and digital in North America for PC on May 7, 2015 and for PS4/Xbox One on May 12. Steam OS and Wii U versions will arrive later this year.

Anyway, get ready to race soon in the following cars once the game is out: Continue reading

Overkill’s The Walking Dead Set To Scare Up Sales on PC, PS4, Xbox One

Overkill's The Walking DeadAfter a few not so stellar attempts by other studios to make a first-person shooter based on The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman and David Alpert at Skybound have decided to let one of the best multiplayer FPS teams in the industry have the keys to the car along with all the gas they can scrounge up. Currently in development by Overkill Studios, all we have to look at for now is this simple followed by Kirkman’s announcement and a nice little gift for Payday 2 fans worldwide.

As it’s far too early to say what the game will be about in terms of its plot. We do know it will at least take place in and around Washington DC and be released sometime in 2016 for the aforementioned consoles and PC. Once again it looks as if those holding on to those PS3 and Xbox 360’s for dear life will need to bump themselves up into “next gen” which in now “current gen” to a few million people around the globe. PC owners will of course be trumpeting their own victories on the frames per second and detail setting maxed out front, but that’s always another tale for another time. 505 Games just got another money making AAA title in their library worth checking out.

Project CARS Update: Three Out Of Four Isn’t Bad, Unless You Only Want One


 

Ha. So Project CARS has gone gold and is coming out on my birthday… at least for PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners. For some reason, the Wii U version has dropped off the radar in North America and I was worried that it was being silently killed off. However, thanks to Bandai Namco Europe posting these newer trailers that at least note the Wii U actually exists, my hope meter just coughed back to life. Of course, a careful eyeball or two will see that there’s no box art for the Nintendo version at the end of those trailers. That could be due to the game being a download only eShop title (he noted hopefully). I guess I could bug someone at Slightly Mad Studios to see what’s going on or even one of my PR contacts at Bandai namco here in the US. But I’ll hold off on that and just stay focused on more urgent matters.


 

Of course, if it IS a download only game there’s the distinct possibility that the game will be larger than the insane 15GB One Piece Unlimited World Red was. Eeek. Given that the only two hard drive sizes for the Wii U are 8GB ad 32GB, I’m predicting a lot of 64GB SD card sales should the Wii U version ever get a release. Well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, as it seems no news isn’t exactly good news when it comes to some games these days. Delays don’t bother me at all, mind you. It’s just hearing nothing and seeing less that gets me fretting away.

Mad Max Gameplay Overview: We DO Need Another Hero!


 

If there was any doubt that Avalanche Studios could do Mad Max justice as a game property, well.. let’s just say some mind erasing has just taken place with this new video. The game is set to land on September 1, 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC and that means a bunch of gamers will finally be upgrading to something they can play this on. I’d write more, but there’s the matter of that puddle of drool I need to clean up before someone slips in it. Yep, I do need this game, folks. If the film and game are as good as they look, I’d say we’ll be seeing more of the man himself sooner than later.

Star Wars Battlefront Trailer: Yes, The Force Is Strong With This One

 

SW Battlefront EndorWell, it looks as if some of you holding out on getting that fancy gaming PC or new gaming console may want to consider upgrading if you’re wanting a new Battlefront to play in. While this isn’t actual gameplay footage (“not actual , this Star Wars Battlefront trailer uses the in-game engine to spectacular effect and shows how developer DICE intends to bring the look and feel of classic Star Wars to the masses this November 17. PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC via EA’s Origin service only on this one, meaning you old console owners are going to have to make some new friends or finally retire your old beasts to a closet somewhere.

This one’s going to be huge. HOW huge? Well…

SW Battlefront Art BIG

 

Is that huge enough for you? I thought so.

Guitar Hero Is Back. Plastic Guitar Gods, Rise!

Out with the old...

Out with the old…

GH Live (1)

…in with the new!

1. The new Guitar Hero Live logo looks a wee bit like the original Star Trek TV show logo. That made me laugh a bit because it’s not intentional at all. I’m just really old.

guitar hero live 333 (Custom) 

2. Plastic guitars are back after a five year hiatus.It’s hard to say how those who bought the rock games that required real guitars will feel about this. However, it’s entirely possible that both camps will find something to like or not about GHL.

GH Live 4 

3. There are no colored buttons this time and instead of five colored buttons, you get three buttons set into two rows. This is because testing showed most people play GH using three fingers and never got past the harder modes. The game’s easier modes use only three buttons while the harder modes use all six.

GH Live 5

4. There’s an autoplay button on the controller for people who just want to practice the songs or look good cheating. Longtime GH players seem to hate the new controller already, but EVERYONE will need to get used to the new controller should they pick up the game. It shouldn’t take long, though.

Yes, this is ALL actual gameplay.

5. Or: If you owned a PC, Sega CD, 3DO, PlayStation or Saturn back in the 90’s, you’ll be pleased to know FMV games are back (but much better looking). Yeah, that’s right. Gone are the cartoon-like players and now it’s you onstage playing that plastic guitar in front of an actual audience in first person mode. But this time, it’s for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U and mobile devices. Yes, the crystal-clear FMV can run on any current console out there, so you’ll see all looking exactly the same (like it or not).

GHL 215 

6. There’s a music video channel-like online play mode. You can choose from hundreds of videos to battle someone against, there will be a MASSIVE library of songs from classics to indies and overall, this mode may be the bigger deal for some players who love their social sharing stuff.

GH Live 10 

Guitar Hero Live is coming this fall for those systems noted above. So many changes after five years off, right? Will it be a house band in millions of homes, or is the new look and focus on both simplifying and complicating things be too bumpy a ride for the loyal fan base? As usual, we shall see.

Project Root: OPQAM’s Retro Inspired Shmup Reverbs The Nostalgia Meter

Project Root shipComing up on the radar from publisher Reverb Triple XP is Project Root, an arcade-style space shooter with a nicely retro vibe and shiny modern visuals. Headed to PS4, Vita and Xbox One on April 28 after landing on Steam last year, the game packs in a few fixes over the original version as well as Cross-Buy for PS4 and Vita owners.

Developer OPQAM has added a great little twist to the usual side or vertical scrolling shmup by giving players a full 360 degrees of movement, allowing them to play levels as they see fit. If you know your game history fairly well, you’ll see that this free roaming style of shooter isn’t *new* by any means if you’re old enough to remember Thunder Force II on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (or Sharp X68000 PC if you’re REALLY old school*). The chance to preview the game via a work-in progress build popped up recently and yes, when opportunity knocks, an return call must be made… Continue reading

GTA V PC: Beyond The Almost Uncanny Valley of the Dolls


 

Oh the places you’ll go next week when Grand Theft Auto V finally hits PC. Well, those of you who have systems capable of running the game, that is. The two high-end system trailers that show off the main game and Online Heists multiplayer mode look spectacular enough to almost fool the eye. This should be the definitive version of the game, which means those who can play it will have some fine bragging rights and fun videos to post as they play through the game they’ve been waiting for for quite some time. As long as there are no crippling launch issues and day one patching woes, I’d gather there are going to be a great deal of happy campers spending all their free time with this one.

GTAV PC 4K.1 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.10 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.11 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.12 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.13 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.14 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.15 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.2 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.3 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.4 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.5 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.6 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.7 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.8 (Custom) GTAV PC 4K.9 (Custom)

New Batman: Arkham Knight Gameplay: Something to Tide You Over While You Wait A Little Longer


 

“Why so seriously delayed (again!)?” Actually, at this point the game looks so phenomenal that it’ll get snapped up even if it slips into the holiday season. I’m gathering this latest wait is due to the developer making sure the game will run as smoothly as possible out of the gate without the dreaded day one patching issues many games slap players in the face with. I’m wondering just how much better things would be if this was a completely single-player game with no online play, but such is the modern videogame development cycle that allows for DLC, season passes and other stuff that needs to work right out of the box or it’s unhappy campers complaining all over the internet. Well okay, it’s not THAT much longer a wait, but I can see a few Bat-fans leaping around and huffing and puffing in their hockey pads.

Project CARS Skids Off-Road Into May

While this latest delay may seem like “bad” news, developer Slightly Mad Studios is letting gamers know that the game is pretty much done (99.9% is certainly “pretty much done” to me!) and just needs that extra QA love so it ships across all platforms ready to run out of the gate:

“Despite our long heritage and pedigree in making critically-acclaimed racing games, Project CARS is by far the grandest and most intricately detailed of them all. Despite therefore the game being 99.9% complete, the remaining 0.1% attending to small issues and bugs has been tricky to anticipate. We’re absolutely dedicated to delivering a ground-breaking experience and by targeting mid-May fans can be assured that’s what they’ll receive” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios. “Again, we want to thank our fans for their support and patience on this matter. There’s a high expectancy from racing fans around the world that Project CARS is going to be an exciting new contender in the simulation racing space and we firmly believe gamers deserve it to be in its most complete and polished state when they come to play it on day one. And since the gaming community is our primary focus and has always been at the heart of the project during development, we would like to offer some free content to all players as compensation for this short delay and as acknowledgement of how grateful we are. This gift, that we’re sure is going to excite fans, will be available from day one and revealed shortly. Keep an eye on our website for more info.”

To me, this reads “We want the console versions to ship out with hopefully zero need for day one patching, particularly the Wii U version.”, which is a good thing at the end of the day. Given the release of certain other high profile racers plagued with bugs (notably Sony’s DriveClub and UbiSoft’s The Crew), seeing Slightly Mad take the extra time to add that bit of extra polish their game up is a good thing. I’m holding out the Wii U version will get some love and respect, as Nintendo just can’t seem to get a break when it comes to good marquee racers that aren’t Mario Kart 8. Yeah, yeah, it’s lightning fast, looks phenomenal and most of all is FUN to play. But at my age, I tend to like my racers a bit more grounded in reality.

Okay, back to holding my breath for a bit longer, which is tough to to with a sore throat, mind you…