I’ve been reading mixed things about Batman’s first handheld outing. I had some hands on time with the game and found it to be a much better representation of its console counterparts than I initially expected. The game is a 2.5D action platformer in the vein of games like Metroid. While the gameplay is primarily in 2D, the game does boast full 3D graphics and environments (with the Vita version having the slight edge visually). Batman controls very much like he does in the other Arkham games, with most of the controls remaining on the same buttons, particularly during combat.
Sonic has been going through a lot lately, as Sega has been desperately trying to revitalize the franchise to its former grace. The critical reception of those titles has been mixed, but in an effort to change up the formula Sega has come up with Sonic: Lost World. What I played was solid and manages to be charming and fun, yet some changes might have hindered what I enjoy about Sonic as a whole.
Zelda fans should already be excited for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but I am hoping that everybody gives it a shot. Traditionally, the 2D and handheld Zelda games have never really grabbed me in quite the same way as the now-standard 3D titles. After getting some hands-on time with A Link Between Worlds, I got right into it, and didn’t want to give it up. Running at a smooth 60 FPS, the game is both technologically and visually stunning. The dungeons are varied and provide thought-provoking challenges to overcome. While I wasn’t stumped by anything the game threw at me, I still needed to stop to evaluate the situation a few times in order to make progress.
Like it or not, the Age of the Alpha Release is here. Whether it’s Steam Early Access, or more humble releases like Sir, You Are Being Hunted, and Cube World, or even Bohemia’s Arma 3, alpha releases are everywhere these days. It’s a controversial subject - some are complaining that companies are charging for incomplete products they may or may not finish, while others believe the process helps fund games that otherwise might never be developed. It’s hard for me to find a suitable metaphor for this complex matter other than likening it to buying a fruit and waiting for it ripen.
As developers of the Battlefield games, DICE should know how to recognize a good multiplayer map when they see one. After Jason Brice posted his first attempt at a Battlefield map on his personal website, DICE swooped in overnight and told him they wanted to make it an official piece of DLC. From that point onward, Brice has been making maps for multiplayer shooters, and now he’s working on his very own full game, Rekoil, to put all of his training to another big test. I got to play several rounds of a capture the flag type match-up when I was at QuakeCon and had Brice at my side to share what he hoped to accomplish with Rekoil.
Welcome back to the Travel Log, an ongoing look at Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. This series of previews, impressions, and stories will ultimately culminate in a review of the finished game. In the previous edition, I talked about the improved character creation, tutorial, and quest structure. Now it’s time to talk about the bread and butter of any MMORPG: combat and farming!
My experience with the Wolfenstein franchise is dated at best. I played through Wolfenstein 3D when it was a shareware powerhouse and never once considered playing one of its many sequels or reboots. Then I got a chance to spend an hour with Wolfenstein: The New Order, and I think I’m about to end my abstinence from the series.
If you’re starting to feel like there’s too much Call of Duty in every shooter out there, you’re not the only one. With pressure from fans of the almost extinct strategic shooter sub-genre, designer Christian Allen spearheaded a Kickstarter project to keep this methodical niche on life support a little longer. Allen is self-admittedly part of the “problem” of shifting slower-paced shooters to mainstream sensibilities during his years of working on the Ghost Recon franchise. His current game, Takedown: Red Sabre, throws all of those years of mainstreaming the genre right out of the AC-130 Gunship’s window and promises to give us the realistic, slow-paced, strategic squad shooter we’ve been missing.
O, the wailing of the fans when Elder Scrolls Online was announced! Would populating the beloved land of Tamriel kill the excitement of being a renowned and solitary adventurer? After spending two solid hours exploring the small Bleakrock Isle in a demo of Bethesda’s upcoming MMO, I can assure you that it feels like an Elder Scrolls game even though there are countless sorcerers, thieves, and warriors running around with you.
Whether you began with Tales of Phantasia or got into the series with later entries like Tales of Symphonia you should be pleased to know that the latest to hit western shores, Tales of Xillia, has a lot to offer. Here are five reasons why you should be looking forward to the latest in this series:
It's unprecedented for an MMORPG to get a second curtain call, but that's exactly what's happening with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. It's an almost completely rebuilt version of the disastrous original that is going to get a second chance at life next month. After playing a good amount of the Phase 3 beta, I’m ready to believe that the game could right all of the wrongs of its 2010 release.
Within 20 minutes of my hands on with Saints Row IV I had stopped a nuclear explosion, become president, punched a guy right below the belt, and laid waste to an army of aliens with a Red, White and Blue machine gun turret. I might add, all in hilarious fashion. As I played, I had this huge grin, which kept getting bigger. One of the things I appreciated with Saints Row 3 is how it redefined itself and set itself apart from the juggernaut Grand Theft Auto by getting creative and going off the wall. Saints Row IV has clearly continued down that path.
It’s been a long, hazardous road from Saints Row the Third to the fourth entry in the series. As Volition began work on a final (and massive) piece of DLC for the third game, THQ was collapsing around it. Realizing that Saints Row was one of the company’s last best chances for survival, then-CEO Jason Rubin got the team working on a proper Saints Row sequel, using the DLC as a springboard for the new game. While this news rubbed some fans the wrong way, it seemed like it wouldn’t matter, as THQ indeed shut down, its major IPs and studios sold off to the highest bidders. Thankfully, Volition survived intact, and from what I’ve seen of Saints Row IV, fans have a lot to look forward to.
Many Nintendo fans have been anxiously awaiting the latest Super Smash Bros. This E3, we caught a glimpse of both the Wii U and 3DS versions, and thankfully, it seems to continue the tradition of high-energy wackiness.
Ubisoft made good on last year’s surprise of Watch_Dogs with another, this one known as Tom Clancy’s The Division. One of the biggest draws about this title, besides the outstanding visuals, is the way that players engage with one another.
If you’ve ever sat around fantasizing about what the next Capcom “versus” game should be, or you’ve dabbled in the Mugen mods for fighting games, Project x Zone may be your holy grail. This is a strategy/RPG that brings together characters from Capcom, Namco-Bandai, and Sega in a story that can’t possibly make sense, but who cares? This one is all about the fan service, and if the recent playable demo is anything to go by, Project x Zone is bringing the fan service by the truckload.
We’ve known about Infamous: Second Son for a while now, but never did I imagine that the game would look this enticing. Sucker Punch had a strong showing during Sony’s Press Conference with this latest entry into the Infamous universe, and all signs are pointing in the right direction for the series.
Every party has an energy. You can feel it wax and wane when people come and go, eat and drink, and talk or uncomfortably look around. The greatest way to completely sap a party’s energy at any stage is to flip on the TV– even if it is to play a “party” video game. Thankfully, Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party may be the solution for people who want to try to integrate a video game into their next social gathering… even if the event has a few non-gamers in attendance.
Killer Instinct was one of the bigger surprises to come from Microsoft's E3 press conference, and information is beginning to trickle in about how the long-absent fighting game will shape up when it is released alongside the Xbox One in November.
I should start this preview by saying that I was not a fan of Super Mario 3D Land. Upon hearing the news of Super Mario 3D World, I was initially a little disappointed. Now, I've played a little bit of 3D World, and I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t know about you, but I always have a tough time getting through E3 without squealing with glee at the thought of so much gaming goodness coming in the next year. The bigger the E3, the bigger the squeal, and this year I’ve almost gone hoarse. With so many amazing games on the horizon for both current and next gen, it’s tough to focus on favorites. However, everything shown about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tickles me in a way that few games do.
There was plenty of excitement about the final salvo Sony fired at their E3 press conference on Monday night, maybe to such a degree that they forgot about an exclusive PlayStation 4 game that debuted before the grand finale. The only new exclusive game revealed during the conference, The Order: 1886 looks like it could satisfy our collective need for new properties on our flashy new console.
When it came to Injustice: Gods Among Us, my initial reaction was a resounding “meh”. Don’t get me wrong – I’m actually a huge fan of DC Comics, and fighting games for that matter. A few weeks ago, Injustice was a game that I couldn't care less about. I didn’t like the character designs. I wasn’t sure I wanted to learn a new fighting game. And I definitely thought the stage interactions were extremely gimmicky. However, now as I type this, I couldn’t be more pumped to get my hands on the game and explore its intricacies. So you might ask, “What changed your mind JD?” In a nutshell the answer is this – good marketing.
Even though they seldom get the chance to prove it, Gamefreak—famous for making the mainline Pokémon games— can also innovate in genres quite different from their meat and potatoes product. So, when it was announced that they would be creating a downloadable rhythm game for the 3DS, there was good reason to get excited. Thanks to the recent release of a demo in the eShop, anyone who wasn’t already psyched up for HarmoKnight can find out why the rest of us are counting the days until its release on March 28th.
After such a long and torturous wait, Assassins Creed fans finally get to walk the plank again. Director Ashraf Ishmael announced a new location and setting for the seminal franchise in an interview on March 4th, 2013. To be released on November 1 of this year for Ps3, Xbox 360, WiiU, PC, in addition to next generation consoles Ps4 and Xbox 720, Black Flag will be set in the 18th century Caribbean.This age of piracy should prove an interesting shift in the format laid by Assassin’s Creed 2’s trilogy: Assassin’s Creed 4 will release after just one iteration to the series’ third installment.
