No one ever tried a video game adaptation of Adam Sandler's golf comedy Happy Gilmore, but if they did, what would it look like? YouTube's 8-Bit Cinema imagines something straight out of River City Ransom.
Yes, it includes beating up an alligator. And beating up the clown. And being beaten up by Bob Barker. There was a lot of beating in this flick, which is probably why a brawler was the most appropriate genre.
It's the work of CineFix, which has put out a series of well known Hollywood flicks adapted to an old-school 8-bit visual style. Past editions include Pulp Fiction and Inception.
Sony revealed its Oculus Rift competitor, the PlayStation 4-exclusive VR headset, Project Morpheus (a codename), at the 2014 Game Developer's Conference, and it's a nifty piece of tech. It works similarly to Oculus VR's hardware, though it's got the advantage of supporting the motion-sensing Move controllers that Sony released midway through thePlayStation 3′s life. It also makes you look like a member of Daft Punk when you wear it, which inherently makes it cool.
We've got no sense of when the headset will be released or how much it will cost, but it appears to be far along in its development. It's a safe bet that you won't be able to get one by the time holiday 2014 rolls around (you never know, of course), but sometime in 2015 seems like a distinct possibility.
A new entry in the Metal Gear Solid series is usually an event, surrounded by years of hype and critical appraise upon release. However, things are a bit different this time for Metal Gear Solid V, the fifth main numbered entry (and 9th overall) for Konami's long-running stealth series, as Metal Gear Solid V has drawn quite a lot of controversy in the last few months.
See, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes isn't actually the fifth main console entry in the series, but is instead a prologue for the rest of Metal GearSolid V, subtitled The Phantom Pain, due to release presumably next year. To compare MGSV to other games in the series, Ground Zeroes could be seen as akin to the “Tanker” chapter in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, whereas The Phantom Pain will probably be the “Big Shell” chapter of this analogy.
The key difference here, though, is the fact that MGS2's Tanker chapter was originally a free demo (and then later included as part of the full game), whereas MGSV: Ground Zeroes is being sold as a separate piece of content, a choice that has soured many pre-release, especially in the wake of the oft-repeated news story that, from opening credits to close, Ground Zeroes can be beaten in less than two hours. So, is Ground Zeroes nothing more than just a paid demo?
Let's get this out of the way - yes, Ground Zeroes' main story mode can be completed in less than two hours, and even quicker than that on repeat playthroughs where you know what you're doing. Further, the game is surprisingly light on story. Taking place in 1975, a year after the events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes finds Snake tasked with infiltrating a secret black site base known as "Camp Omega" (a fairly heavy-handed stand-in for Guantanamo Bay) in order to rescue Paz and Chico, Snake's former comrades from Peace Walker. Those who elected to skip over Peace Walker will definitely feel lost going into Ground Zeroes, although the main menu features a lengthy backstory detailing Peace Walker's events. After the opening cutscene, you're left to explore the base, retrieve your targets, and escape the base, all without the interruption of cutscenes, save for a final one that essentially serves as a teaser to The Phantom Pain.
I can easily see Ground Zeroes' short length as disappointing for long-time fans of the series, but dig deeper and you'll find that there's actually much more narrative content than meets the eye. Audio logs in the menu provide backdrop for all the major characters, and various others are hidden throughout the base and its various side missions. It could be argued that the real meat of Ground Zeroes' story rests in these, and hunting them down and piecing together the story becomes almost as central to the experience as the gameplay itself.
Of course, the gameplay is the real star of Ground Zeroes, and in fact is the best the franchise has ever been, providing the biggest overhaul in game mechanics since the first Metal Gear Solid debuted over 15 years ago. Gone is the camo index - a percentage meter used in the past three main entries to measure how well you were hidden - as players now must rely on cover, darkness, shrubbery, wits, and common sense to stay out of sight from enemy soldiers. Enemy line-of-sight has greatly increased since previous entries, with guards being able to spot you from up to 80 meters away if you're out in the open.
To account for the loss of the camo index and increased guard awareness, Snake brings a new set of tools to the table. A new dive mechanic allows Snake to quickly jump out of the way in any direction, instantly going to prone and potentially out of the way of any suspicious guards. This combined with a new sprint button adds a huge deal of mobility to what has traditionally been a slow, methodical franchise.
A new “Reflex Mode” has also been added to Snake's repertoire, going into slow motion whenever spotted by an enemy guard, giving players time to dispatch the guard before sending the whole base on alert. Purists may decry this feature, but those looking for more challenge can turn this mode off in the settings, creating for a much more tense and slow-paced experience.
The biggest new addition is the ability to tag enemies by focusing on them, allowing players to see their location no matter where they are on the map. Initially it seems like a cheap tactic, but Camp Omega is dense enough that it's still incredibly easy to be blind-sided by an unseen enemy, so staying aware of your surroundings is a must.
If you have not noticed already it appears that Playstation have took a new creative look to their box art, as you can see from the upcoming PS3 and Vita image of Deception IV: Blood Ties above. As you can see it is a little bit different to their usual box art.
As it turns out, this is no accident or one-off. We reached
out to Sony to see if this will be a trend moving forward, and it will. All
forthcoming PlayStation 3 software will tote a similar look, one that brings
PS3 game boxes in line with the already-established look set by PlayStation 4
and PlayStation Vita.
PS3 box art had its last fundamental change back in 2009,
around the time the PlayStation 3 “Slim” launched. Before the change,
PlayStation 3 software came packing the “Spider-man” text similar to that
emblazoned on PlayStation 3 “Fat” consoles, along with a red tag on the spine.
This new iteration of PS3’s box art, rolled out very late in its lifecycle,
seems to change nothing other than the color on the blue band, and is otherwise
virtually identical to PS3's box art dating back to mid-2009.
So, don’t be confused when you start seeing these new boxes
on store shelves at your local retailer, or at your online retailer of choice.
EA CEO considers VR headsets a "fourth modality" in gaming
EA CEO Andrew Wilson has said before that the company decides to create titles for virtual reality headsets it will need to study how the tech is being used by consumers in gaming.
Speaking at a session at SXSW attended by Polygon, Wilson said "gaming hardware is too volatile a space" to plan how to implement tech such as Oculus Rift and other VR headsets.
"When we think about making games today, we think less about the technology or the means of experiencing the game, and we think more about the modality of play". Wilson then goes on to say that "so, how are you trying to interact with the game ?
Wilson has said that virtual reality can potentially break the fourth wall in gaming , the other three being the lean back modality such as couch gaming, the lean in modality in pc gaming and the lean over modality which is mobile.
Wilson has previously referred to these modalities in the firms last conference call to investors.
"When I look at any of the VR devices, I look at that not in terms of 'what is that device going to deliver', but a desire for gamers to have a different type of modality- the 'get in' type of mdality, right." Wilson then goes on to say that "might be delivered to you through a headset, or through some hologram that evolves out of your living room floor."
"The thing I challenge my team to right now is, 'listen, there's clearly a desire to add a modality to play to the three we're currently focused on. I don't know who the technology partner is that's going to deliver that modality for us, but lets start thinking now about the experiences so that we can deliver experiences that make sense for you; experiences that deliver on the promise and the fantasy of being inside a video game."
VR headsets are reportedly in the works at Valve and Sony
Early Titanfall players won't be banned; preload now available on Origin
Those lucky people who were fortunate enough to score a pre-release copy of Titanfall can enjoy the game without the fear of getting banned by Microsoft or the developers of Titanfall, Respawn Entertainment.
This is quite some unexpected news and comes from Respawn's co-founder Vince Zampella. "About playing early; We won't stop or ban legit copies," Zampella tweeted this before telling early players that the pre-release gameplay experience may not be without flaws. "It is prelaunch, so there may be interruptions in service as we prep servers."
Also those who have pre-orded the pc version of Titanfall from Orogin can now begin pulling down the games necessary files. As with all the preloading schemes out there, you won't be able to play Titainfall until the offical, March 11 release. But that wait will hopefully be enough time to download all 50GB of Respawn's giant robot shooter.
Super Smash Bros 3DS, includes an Animal Crossing stage
Super Smash Bros on the 3DS is reported to have an Animal Crossing stage. An image of the stage was taking during the development of the game and has now been posted on the official Smash Bros site. The image was posted on the site by director Masahiro Sakurai. It's a small shot of the stage but you can check out the image below. Super Smash Bros is set to release later this year on the 3DS and the Wii U.
Sony may be doing well with the success of the Playstation 4, but it is undergoing a bit of an employment overhaul at the moment. Hot on the heels of layoffs at Sony Santa Monica and the departure of Uncharted's creator Amy Hennig earlier this week. But SCEA's president Jack Tretton has now announced that he will be leaving the company after being their for a massive 19 years.
Tretton said the following in a statement:
"Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the
most rewarding experience of my career. Although I will deeply miss the
talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I'm
very excited about starting the next chapter of my career. I want to thank the
employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation
brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of
innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in
a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for
PlayStation Nation."
His replacement, Layden, said the following:
"It's an honor and privilege to join Sony Computer
Entertainment America and be a part of the team that is leading the next
generation of gaming and entertainment. SCEA is committed to delivering
breakthrough gaming experiences that inspire fans and exceed their wildest
expectations. As PS4™ shows us every day, there has never been a better time to
be part of the PlayStation community and I look forward to working with our
retail, development, publishing and network partners to further demonstrate why
PlayStation is the best place to play.
Layden will effectively take over as president and CEO of SCEA on April 1st
Screen Gems who were the studio behind the Resident Evil film franchise, will be bringing another game title to the big screen. The studio has announced that they have sealed a deal to produce a feature film version of Naughty Dog's, The Last of US.
The movie's screenplay will be written by Neil Duckmann, the creative director from the game, who will also help produce the film along side Raimi and his ghost house pictures company, Naughty Dog co-president's Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra and Game director Bruce Straley.
Rumours of a Last of US film came from Sony when they registered domain names for a potential film.
In a statement Wells stated that "Our partnership with Sam Raimi, Ghost House pictures and Screen Gems to develop a film based on The Last of Us universe is a perfect fit." He then goes on to say "since our game released last June, we've talked with many companies about making a film, but we couldn't have found better partners who share our creative vision and high standards. We look forward to collaborating with Sam, his team and Screen Gems, to make a movie that will thrill fans of The Last of US and general audiences worldwide."
Watch Dogs Wii U and initial release delays explained by Ubisoft
The Wii U version of Watch Dogs may be releasing later than on the other consoles, but that doesn't mean that the delay will put Nintendo fans off.
Senior producer of Polygon, Dominic Guay said that the Wii U version is "on hold, to a certain extent for shipping", and that a 2014 release date is still possible.
He then goes onto state that "We're going to take the time we need to make sure the game is good technically and design-wise, and makes good use of the specifics of the Wii U.
Watch Dogs was originally set to release last year to coincide with the release of the Playstation 4 and the Xbox one, however four weeks before its November release, Ubisoft hit some problems with the game and had to announce a delay.
Jonathon Morin said that " a complicated game that is broken is no more acceptable than an easier one that works." He then goes on to "when you're promising a player that they can hack everything and express themselves, they expect the results to be there."
But Watch Dogs will release worldwide on May 27th for playstaion 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Pc. But we will have to wait a bit longer for a Wii U version.
A release date for PS4's exclusive game Driveclub has been listed on the US Amazon store. This follows from rumours that have been floating around for sometime of an early April release date.
According to the listing on the US Amazon store, Driveclub will be released on the 1st April. It is worth noting that games release on Tuesdays in the US, so a release date of the 1st April for Driveclub would fit that criteria.
In a previous rumour it was stated that Driveclub would be released on the 9th April, however Driverclub's developers state that the tweet was sent unintentionally.
It is still not clear if the Amazon listing is the correct date for the release of Driveclub or if it is just their estimation of the release.
But in any case developers of Evolution have previously indicated that Driveclub would be released in early 2014, so the beginning of April does seem likely.
Sleuths at website VideoGamer.com discovered a listing for a
game called Batman: Arkham Knight on the website of British retailer GAME. It
appears that developer Rocksteady has indeed been working on a new Batman game,
and it will launch later this year.
According to VideoGamer.com, the listing notes that Arkham
Knight is the “explosive finale” to the revived Batman videogame series started
by Rocksteady with 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum. Scarecrow, Penguin, Two-Face,
and Harley Quinn are confirmed villains that will appear in the game.
The since-removed GAME listing. (Courtesy of VideoGamer.com)
Interestingly, the GAME listing also purportedly talks about
“Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile, which is drivable for
the first time in the franchise.” It seems that the Batmobile will be usable in
addition to the normal exploration found in previous iterations in the series
(such as the ability to “soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City”).
It was only days ago that word of a new Batman game started
to leak via promotional items sent to game stores. It has long been rumored
that Rocksteady was working on a next-gen Batman game, however, as WB Montreal
took over Arkham duties with 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins, conceivably to give
Rocksteady time to work on its new title.
The game is reportedly targeting PlayStation 4, Xbox One,
and PC. We hope to have more information for you very soon.
Update 1
Following the earlier leak, Game Informer has gone live with
its cover reveal of Arkham Knight.
As you'd expect, the accompanying write-up corroborates much
of what we said below. The Batmobile is explained as a "core element"
of gameplay, which means a new area of Gotham larger than Arkham City will be
revealed, including wider streets to accommodate the vehicle.
An accompanying video also explains the game takes place a
year after the events of Arkham City. Game director Sefton Hill also says,
"This is the natural end for the story. We really want to go out in
style."
More details will be revealed in due course.
Update 2
Major US retailer GameStop has listed Batman: Arkham
Knight's release date as October 14, 2014.
