Journey “Reaching The Summit” Developer Diary: thatgamecompany At Its Pinnacle

If Journey isn’t nominated and doesn’t win a few awards from respectable peers (and not sites that automatically fall over themselves to give the big shooters and AAA releases you’d expect to win even more praise, there’s just NO justice in this world. OK, that’s a bit overly serious, but once you see the game in motion (or even better, PLAY IT), you’ll want to run out to any shop that sells any kind of trophy, buy them out and get them all engraved with the names of everyone who works at tgc, the folks who deliver the mail and even the janitor if they have one. I still want a Vita version or even better, a Blu-Ray with ALL of tgc’s games on it plus some music, art and “making of” documentaries for good measure. Who’s with me on this?

Armored Core V Gameplay: Steel Yourselves For Some Heavy Metal Hits…

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, here’s a look at some more ACV gameplay. This one looks like it’ll be fun for those who love a ton of pre-battle preparations and tweaking (par for the course in the Armored Core franchise). It’ll be interesting to see how well this stacks up against the other titles in the long AC history, but I have the feeling that From Software will be pleased with the response from fans old and new once the game ships out on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Oh, Kara! What Quantic Dream’s Been Up To These Days Is Pretty Awesome Indeed…

Sure, it’s just a tech demo (and a beautiful one at that) running on the PS3 hardware and not an actual game project, but wow. I’m actually hoping we see this show up as either a new PS3 game OR we’ll see parts of this in a new project for the Vita or whatever new console Sony has planned down the road. Hmmm… perhaps there’s an Omikron remake or sequel on the way? That would be fun to see, especially if it’s got a decent and lengthy single player portion plus co-op and online play for those who want to adventure together… We shall see, i suppose.

Papo & Yo Update: Another Unconventional Sleeper On the PS3 That’s A Must-Buy…

Minority Media Inc. is a new developer to watch closely and in my opinion, Papo & Yo is shaping up to be one of the best hidden gems of the year. This PS3 exclusive PSN download combines fantasy, puzzle-solving and non-violent action platforming elements with colorful, favela inspired environments and a great main character to play as. You can practically feel your sense of wonder activate and buzz around the room as this latest trailer shows off improvements from last year’s demo version. I’d absolutely love to see this game on the Vita as well as bundled with other PSH hits on a disc, as it’s something that’s too well-made and heartfelt to be limited to a mere digital download. No release date has been set for this one other than sometime this year, but I’ll be keeping an eyeball peeled and letting you guys know what’s what. For now, just watch that trailer and let your mind drift into the game world. That’s an order, by the way…

Journey Developer Diary: thatgamecompany WIll Make You A Believer

Not only are the folks at thatgamecompany some of the nicest you’ll ever meet, they really know how to make some truly engaging games. While you’re waiting for Journey to drop onto PSN later this month (early reviews are out and yes, the game is a must-buy), take a look behind the curtain and check out what members of the dev team have to say about their baby and the games industry in general. I still think they need to slap all of their games on a Blu-Ray with an art gallery (maybe an actual art book) a soundtrack CD or download with selections from their games and some behind the scenes videos like this one just to get a few more folks who might want to get hooked onto their work up to speed.

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Developer Interview

After too many years without a new Sly game, it’s just really great to see the raccoon back in action and looking fantastic on the PS3. Love the different costumes and their effects, although I can hear the Super Mario 3 fans out there shaking their fists at the screen for some reason. No matter, I say. As long as the game is great and continues the fun tradition started by Sucker Punch, I’m all aboard and banging the drum as loudly as possible. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to brush up a bit and play Sly 3 again so I can make sure I’m not (too) terrible at the new game…

Unit 13 “How To Play” Video: Zip It, Haters.

Yeesh, so the game doesn’t feature some super crazy balls-out 100-player online death-match modes up the wazoo. I say big deal, as I don’t care for that stuff and this early in the Vita’s life cycle, I’ll also suppose any developer would need a bit more time to make sure any competitive MP was running as smoothly and with as little lag or load times as possible. It’s definitely not just a simple “cut and past from the PSP code” deal, I’d bet. Of course, the spoiled/jaded/cranky gamer crowd won’t hear any of this, nor will they face the fact that as much as they WANT the Vita to be a portable PS3, it’s not QUITE going to do that. Yet. For me, as long as any game this early on is well-made, I’m aboard with any compliments and complaints I’ll have placed exactly where they should be.

Gravity Rush Live-Action Trailer: Another Reason To Get a Vita…

Don’t try to read too much into this as far as any “messages” go, folks. It’s just a cool ad designed to get you interested in another awesome Vita launch window game. Created by some of the team behind the Siren games (for my money, one of the most frightening series to date), this one’s a completely different and yes, gravity defying experience that’s a must-buy killer app. It’s also proof that the handheld is a LOT more than “just  a hopped up PSP” as I heard some 3DS owner claim a few days ago. Of course, I just had to ask him if he’s actually had the chance to try the Vita out and yup, he admitted that he didn’t. Sorry, but that sort of ignorance gets you a BUSTED rating here at DAF.

Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but as soon as they creep over into the fact section and you start brewing up that pitcher of hateorade (in new bile flavor, Oh Yeeeeeaaaah!), a little gentle smackdown must be applied.  Respect gets respect, I say, and broadening one’s horizons only makes you a better person in any subject at the end of the day. I like the 3DS as well as the Vita for different reasons and there are great titles for BOTH systems that make for some fine entertainment.

OK, that’s a solid 100 posts for this month – whee. Act-ually, it’s a solid 120 posts when you include the stuff on the other DAF blog (feel free to sign up if you like – I can always use the extra traffic). I should celebrate a little, but I’m actually focusing on being even MORE productive with so much going on that I need to cover. That said, here’s a live-action WipEout 2048 trailer – another great reason to be a Vita owner, I say.

 

The Journey Is Almost Over: March 13 Arrival, Expect Lots Of Sand In Your Shoes…

thatgamecompany’s fantastic new title, Journey has been a game I’ve wanted to dive into ever since I saw those first screenshots and movies about two years back. Heck, I even started my preview by breaking out in song (well, sort of). Anyway, the PSN/SEN exclusive game finally has a concrete release date, which is March 13, 2012. Without saying too much (other than BUY IT – when has thatgamecompany ever made a bad game?), let’s just  say a lot of you reading this with PS3’s (and a PSN account, as this isn’t coming out on a disc) will be amazed and absolutely in love with what the team has crafted. The word “innovation” is highly overused in the game industry, but here’s a case where you’ll get to see, hear and more importantly, PLAY a game that goes above and beyond the call. Hopefully, a Vita version is in the cards, as this is far too great a game to be confined to the home space…

A Twisted Metal Valentine (a bit late, thanks to Toy Fair)…

Day Three of the show was pretty exhausting and again, I’m BEAT. As I didn’t check my email until now (Hey! I needed a nap after all that walking around), I missed this cool TM Launch trailer (oops) Anyway, here you go (a day late, too). Oh, well… it’s the thought that counts, right? Now, I just need to snag a copy of the game and play it…