While the first-person shooter variants of Wolfenstein haven’t ever been geared towards kids, it’s been quite clear that Machine Games’ reboot of the series was going for a mature audience right from the moment that first teaser trailer popped up online. I want to play this just because the writing has been pretty adult and amusing in each video I’ve seen and while the game pulls no punches in its dialogue or extreme violence, both work in favor of the material because there’s enough humor here to keep one playing through the blood and bits you’ll see above and in the gloriously gory Stealth vs. Mayhem trailer from a few weeks back I missed. Yeah, it’s clearly not for the squeamish types, but I’d prefer a game that goes this far and makes me want to keep playing than one that’s just mean and stupid just to be so. May 20th on on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC, folks. “Be there, Aloha!”
While this Bombshell reveal trailer isn’t revealing a stitch of gameplay (just a nicely scarred under-clad gal with a punk haircut and metal arm who seems to like her whiskey, watching cable news, firearms and motorcycle riding), fortunately, the game’s official site has screenshots to ogle and yep, they’re below.
I happen to like isometric games (and isometric action or turn-based RPGs in particular), so my interest has been piqued. I’ll also give huge credit to the dev team for not making yet another first-person shooter and instead going with a viewpoint and genre that may actually help draw in players who prefer this type of game experience.
While the game isn’t coming until Q1 2015, it’ll be interesting to see it in motion on the PS4 or PC. I wish this Unreal-powered game was also landing on the Vita, but I guess this is one of those games where a bigger screen means you appreciate the work that’s gone into it a whole lot more. Anyway, color me intrigued. More on Shelly’s big adventure soon. Here’s a brief interview with two of the people working on the game and an intro to the character to close things out:
Spiders’ next game is (almost) here and I’m actually quite eager to give it a play through, as they’re a developer that’s done a number of great looking games with interesting play mechanics that while not flawless, showed a ton of promise with each project. Bound By Flame looks like a labor of love and the next step for the developer, as it’s their first “next-gen” game for the PlayStation 4 as well as being on PS3 and Xbox 360. Of course, PC gamers will say they’re getting the “best” version (and they’d be right in terms of visuals), but for me, at the end of the day, it’s gameplay that makes the game, not running the game with all the settings maxed and showing off what that graphics card you have can do. The visuals look nice on anything I’ve seen this on, the music (by Olivier Derivière) and voice acting are excellent and the combat looks like an interesting mix of a few games. Of course, videos are one thing, but there’s nothing like some controller time to see how it’s all come together. Well, May 9th is the day, so I guess I’ll see what’s up with this one then…
Yes, the Call of Duty franchise is a multi-billion dollar winner for Activision’s coffers each year, but it’s also one of the more automatically reviled game series to some folks who think it’s more of the same each year. Activision seems to know this and has for a few years, so it’s shaking things up in a big way with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. While the game is also set to hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 4, 2014, it’s the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions that will be getting the most scrutiny. A three-year development cycle means the team at Sledgehammer is most likely looking to change up elements of the more than familiar gameplay and the added star power of Kevin Spacey in a central role (nope, you don’t PLAY as him, though). Videos ahoy, above and below with three teasy screens, all in-engine of course:
While I LOVE Vice as a news outlet, their getting caught up in this game here is a bit dicey on a few fronts. Oh well, I guess this whole concept of future war HAD to be addressed, but Blackwater getting a nod here? Yeesh. Anyway, I guess those guys still have their loyal supporters. Anyway, more actual game-related teasy-pleasy for you:
And YES, in case you’re interested, the pre-order madness has officially begun. All you need to do is click one of those links above with your wallet out and *ding!*, you add money to Activision coffers, get yourself a copy of the gae on launch day AND boost up the presale figures to potentially Guinness World Book of Records stats if you’re one of those folks that’s REALLY thrilled about a new CoD game and what that entails and wish to be part of that potential record.
As for me? I just want to see what the campaign looks and plays like, as I avoid multiplayer entirely in these types of military shooters. If the story is engaging and thrilling, I’ll even sink to playing this on my old fat PS3 which is still going quite strong after years of service. Anyway, if looks could kill, the next-gen visuals here would leave plenty of folks deceased in front of their monitors, shrinking the user base down by a significant amount (much to Activision’s displeasure). Thankfully, gorgeous screenshots have never (as far as I know) caused serious injury (or even minor ones), so I think Activision has found a great balance here that will make some commit to that new-gen console if they haven’t already made the move.
Well, it HAD to happen, but I’m not exactly happy it has. Anyway, I bet Activision is royally ticked off because this would have been excellent as a T-rated Marvel Ultimate Alliance sequel or reboot with a more serious story and more “realistic” action figures that they could have also done as a more family-friendly jaunt in the Skylanders vein. Granted, dividing the universe up like that may have been a bad idea because one BIG game that will sell well is better at the end of the day that two that use wallet-draining collectibles as a core element, but who knows? I could see the older collectors sticking to the heroes they like and spending money and those with kids (and more money) springing for both sets, but that’s my brain over-thinking things (again).
Anyway, the license is now Disney’s to play with for ages (forever, it seems), so this is what’s coming, and soon, at that. Hmmm… Iron Man, Thor and The Black Widow in that starter pack? Okay, but I bet Cap will sell out in America and yes, like you, I thought Spider-Man (who’ll fly off store shelves as well) wasn’t going to be here thanks to Sony Pictures currently owning the rights to the character. Yes, Disney Infinity 2.0 and these figures will indeed sell out everywhere this holiday season, but I’d love to see something mature pop up out of the Marvel Universe again before it goes all cookies and milk and yearly “spend your holiday money on THIS!” on us grumpy old timers. That, and how do you make Deadpool cute? Or the Man-Thing? Or some of the other oddball characters you probably won’t see here thanks to some hefty editing out of anything deemed too much by Disney? Eh, we’ll see… I’ve been proven wrong many times in the past.
Some of what it says on the PlayStation YouTube page:
inspired by such classics as Rygar, Contra, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, and, of course, Metroid. But it also gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas.
Hmmmm… Okay, I’m IN. PC, PlayStation 4 and Vita bound soon, Axiom Verge may look like yet another of those endless numbers of retro homage games that crowd the indie space these days, but everything I just saw about in in that trailer above set my nostalgia meter into the red zone where it’ll be stuck until I finally play the game proper.
To me, it looks spectacular, capturing that old-school 8-bit vibe through its sprite and tile-based visuals while adding a few wicked visual effects you probably didn’t see back then on home consoles. Even better, it’s being made by ONE guy, Tom Happ, who has worked on a number of “triple-A” games for both PC and consoles (End of Nations, Tiger Woods, and NFL Street, to name a few), meaning he knows what he’s doing (but I’ll bet his wife thinks he’s crazy sometimes for tacking such a killer project like this!).
Even more awesome, in addition to the screenshots above featuring his great pixel art, Happ has also made some excellent GIFs of the game in motion so you can see all that hard work he’s doing. The screens are above and the GIFs below the jump because they’re of varying sizes. Enjoy! Expect updates as more news comes in and if you’re a fan of this style of game, you KNOW you need to get this on something its coming to. I’m all over this one, but I know the folks who hate having their butts handed to them by digitized alien scum will be pooh-poohing this before they even pick up a controller. It’s their loss, of course… Continue reading →
So, DAYLIGHT is here for your PC or PlayStation 4 from Atlus and developer Zombie Studios, but you should play it in the dark for best results. Granted, this short, scary as hell romp through a few creepy locations isn’t the deepest game on the planet, but it delivers the scares thanks to maps that are procedurally generated, meaning it’s a new experience each time you dive in. Now, I’m not a fan of the whole Slenderman thing (it’s so laaaaaaaaame and not a scary myth at all to me!), but this more ghostly take on that fad works better on a few fronts while delivering the jump scares horror fans crave. It’s too bad this wasn’t also made for the Vita, as I’d be playing it now and jumping out of a seat somewhere in public squealing like a bag of hungry mice. Eeeeeek!
So, Bound By Flame is looking to be your next epic action RPG experience and as seen in that work in progress video above, it’s coming along nicely, especially if you like a more arcade-like style of gameplay. This isn’t even trying to be “realistic” in the way some folks want, but to me, that’s the beauty of developers all doing different things. If every game played EXACTLY the same, I’d be one bored stiff gamer looking fora new hobby, that’s for sure.
As for the music, composer Olivier Derivière (who did the fantastic score for Remember Me) has whipped up a beautiful, varied score that features a chorus and some wonderful “vocal textures” as you’ll hear above. Developed by Spiders and published by Focus Home Interactive, Bound By Flame hits stores for consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) and lands on PC via Steam on May 9, 2014. Back with more if there’s more coming before it ships – I hope so, as this one’s looking very interesting indeed…
Yeah, the pay for online multiplayer access thing is still here and silly, but PlayStation Plus is still the best deals in console gaming in terms of what you’re getting otherwise for that $50 a year. Next month’s pile of stuff you’ll need a working time machine to play is quite awesome (as you’ll see above) and overall, you make that cost back each month and then some if you also own a Vita in addition to your PS3 and/or PS4. I keep wondering what will happen when Sony runs out of stuff to give away, but given the large library of old first and third party titles people are clamoring for from the PS1 and PS2 era plus the amount of indie titles currently on PSN, I’m gathering this won’t be an issue they’ll need to deal with for quite some time…
Well, I think it’s a wee bit elaborate compared to what was seen in thee first two films, but apparently, West Coast Customs is making a real version (or has made one already, because you know, TV “reality” shows operate outside of the real world in terms of their schedules):
I actually got a Carmageddon meets Twisted Metal feel out of that WCC video above, but hey, enhancing the pointy and shooty stuff on the rides makes them stand out visually. I’m hoping that suspension can actually stand up to some major bumps and jumps, as I’d be taking that thing sailing over a few barricades in my own post apocalyptic imagination. Which, by the way, isn’t post apocalyptic until I start watching the news for more than twenty minutes, ugh…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 