Cool. As I was strolling home yesterday right past his truck, the UPS guy beckons me over to sign for a package I wasn’t expecting. It’s good that all the delivery guys know me around here, as I sometimes get stopped in the street or waved over from across the street if they’re working that side of the block.
Anyway, I’ve got some homework to do, it seems. I did play for about two hours yesterday and the game is quite good (definitely Spark Unlimited’s best game to date) with a few quirks (that Unreal tech is showing its age, but the characters and environments are lovely to look at). I’ll dive back in after I take care of that late dinner I started cooking a little while ago – the pot has stopped rattling, so I’ll assume that means that clawed thing I had to shove in with a baseball bat and the long tongs must be done by now…
With so much happening this year in the gaming universe, I almost forgot about Quantic Dream’s upcoming PS3 exclusive, set for an October 8, 2013 release. The PS3 has had a really busy year with key first party exclusive titles as well as third party games that show the console is far from dead once the PS4 hits in November. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see how well this does going into the PS4 launch so soon afterwards. I predict it will sell better than some PS4 launch titles and if it scores highly enough, may actually go up in price thanks to eBay resellers taking advantage of smaller stores running out of copies. Either way, the game is guaranteed to move in some impressive numbers even if it’s at a slower pace than the usual analyst and corporate forecasting (which is always annoyingly high to the point where even a game that sells five million copies is seen as a “failure” because the target was a bit too high)…
In other words, the inmates have taken over the asylum and yes, Bats needs to do some darknight detecting and with due diligence at that or he’s not getting out in one piece. This 3DS/2DS and Vita game (set to launch with the console and PC versions on October 25, 2013) brings things down to size in “2.5D” form, but manages to look pretty cool and should feel like a classic side-scroller with a nice Arkham twist. Sure, you can get cranky and say the Vita game should be closer to the PS3 version, but here’s a case where I’ll defer to the dev team over at Armature because they’ve done a really good job with the visuals on both handhelds.
Well, that was… educational. Every time I see footage and screen shots from this upcoming wonderful time stealing enterprise called GTA V, I have to wonder how Rockstar Games keeps pulling this off, as each title in the long running series has been setting and raising all sorts of bars in terms of interactivity and storytelling. Yeah, yeah, I know many of you buy in for the mayhem you can cause, but when you get to the story and let it play out, they’re always extremely well written (and easily beat much of what Hollywood has to offer to death) and highly enjoyable. September 17th, people – start practicing that fake cough for that telephone call you’re going to make saying you’ve a bad case of the “flu” so you can get that week off to dive in and play around… you KNOW you’re going to…
This former big deal Wii U exclusive getting delayed from launch window status to September 3 just so it could be ported to other platforms as an equally big deal release (and all launched simultaneously) seems to be well worth the wait, although it also seems that Nintendo’s console is the best way to play this one based on what I’ve heard from a few folks. Nevertheless, the combination of outstanding visuals, breakneck pacing and an amazingly wacky and varied soundtrack make this one a must buy for anyone into “old school” gaming bliss. I hear the game is also pretty challenging if you have terrible reflexes, but that’s par for the course with games such as this. Well, that’s another one for the library once I get around to getting it. That Wii U library is slowly getting better, folks…
It’s a great thing that One Piece Pirates Warriors 2 demo on display at Namco Bandai’s press event a few weeks back was timed or they’d have had to drag me away from the controller. I’m a big fan of the Dynasty Warriors/Sengoku Musou series and the games that use the same formula and/or game engine and while last year’s One Piece game was solid, it had a few flaws in the ointment that made some parts slightly annoying. OPPW2 completely nixes the quick time events from the original’s boss battles and has a more free form style in terms of how much there is to do and how you can get it all done. There’s a new leveling system where you can used earned gold to train characters and even the ability to temporarily switch characters during gameplay by building up a special meter.
Developer Omega Force is at the top of its game here, packing the huge battlefields with even more enemies, ridiculously stylized (and hilarious) special attacks and that trademark Musou gameplay that’s addictive and challenging on the higher difficulties. As with the first game, the wacky art style of the anime translates fantastically to 3D with the assorted cast members retaining their exact likenesses and expressions from the show and bringing more to the table thanks to a dev team clearly having a blast doing what they do so well. I keep wondering when Omega Force will finally do a Tekken game in this style or even better, a crazy Namco Bandai character mash-up that’s part Musou, part Super Smash Bros. (of course, some hard core Nintendo fans will want to beat me up for even suggesting this, but I can handle it).
Like the first game, North American gamers are only getting this as a download through PSN while Japan gets this as a disc game, download and as a separate Vita release. Granted, this is exactly the sort of niche title that won’t move as many units as it will in its home country, but I think Namco Bandai should bend a wee bit and reach out more directly to the fan base just to see if they’d indeed buy this as a disc if were to be made available. Even better would be both One Piece games on a single Blu-Ray if possible for a fair price, but as usual, that’s more wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, US gamers get this one soon (September 3, 2013), so keep your eyes peeled and your fingers limber. You don’t want to seize up from a bad case of “controller claw” or anything right as that boss battle gets underway…
Hmmm. I knew some of the critics would be harsh of Suda 51’s new game, but yeesh. When did a bunch of juvenile puritanical prudes get in the entertainment reviewing business? Granted, I’ve only read an industry site post that had a few links to other reviews and some quotes that ranged from complimentary to downright baffling, but still. Between the hand-wringing about the game’s overuse of sexual themes (as if one needs to defend a work of OBVIOUS fiction and offbeat fantasy from a creator well known for his bizarre games) and this latest trend for critics to take on the mantle of defender of feminism or whatever whenever there’s a side-boob in a game, I’m getting tired of hearing the latest paid persecution of a game creator by some who should just quit writing and maybe go join an abbey or convent.
Hey, Xseed! I know I didn’t request a review copy, but that doesn’t mean I’m NOT interested in this game. I’ll buy this one shortly and whip out a non-biased opinion for you guys. Yes, I’ll poke it in the eye for stuff it gets wrong on a technical front, but as for the content? Hell, Suda and developer grasshopper manufacture together on a game mean you’re getting WEIRD and FUN as well as something NOT for the kiddies who don’t “get” it that’s going to go over the heads of those who play and trade or play and don’t respect because they know no better. Damn kids (and overly skittish adults)…
I’m still working through a ton of stuff here (as in among other things, I’ve piles of old artwork stacked or spread out on nearly every flat surface in the home office), but I’ll need to grab a copy of Lost Planet 3 to play through soon. I haven’t read any reviews (which is helpful when you’re going to write one yourself eventually, in case you hadn’t guessed), but someone sent me an email with two links I didn’t read and noted that one was positive and the other not so positive, which is what I expected from the usual suspects out there in review-land. I liked what I played on the two occasions I got some hands on time, so I know I’ll enjoy the final version warts and all. I’m more of a story guy than a back of the box bullet point person, so I’m in this for the whole package, not just seeing if the game is as good as other games released this year or whenever.
Yes, it’s a few more Grand Theft Auto V screens below and below the jump, info on the game’s Special and Collectors Edition extras some of you Standard Edition buyers will want to shake your fists at before canceling your old pre-order to upgrade to either the Special or CE version for all the goodies they’ll has. Or if you’re feeling particularly self-generous (or are naturally that way) you can just buy all THREE versions of the game and make Rockstar even happier, right? RIGHT?
Tequila Studios’ upcoming PS4 exclusive, RIME looks wonderful in that ICO meets Journey manner with similarly rich (but more detailed) visuals and what sounds like a pretty lovely score (provided it’s not placeholder music). As for the story and gameplay, it’s tough to get a grasp on what the plot is and how this one controls from the video, but the game sure carries the influence of Team Ico’s work with those shadowy creatures and the protagonist using a torch to fight them off. It also looks like a more open world experience than ICO or Journey, but again, it’s tough to say much other than the game looks simply gorgeous.
I’m reserving any judgement on this one until it gets seen in person and played, so hopefully, Sony will get back to inviting those of us with smaller sites BACK to their press briefings, as they’ve been shutting out everyone who’s not packing in page views by the multiple thousands in exchange for what seems to be “strategic partnerships” with the big guns. This, of course… STINKS, as I used to be invited to SCEA events all the time and it’s a total pain in the neck to not get a response back to an email or a heads up that there’s something cooking in the city. Hell, I’m a train ride away and always thrilled to see new titles, so someone needs to start paying heed to the “little guys” (although after doing this stuff since 1998, I don’t consider myself “little”, grrrr…)
Cool. As I was strolling home yesterday right past his truck, the UPS guy beckons me over to sign for a package I wasn’t expecting. It’s good that all the delivery guys know me around here, as I sometimes get stopped in the street or waved over from across the street if they’re working that side of the block.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 