Resident Evil: Revelations - Preview
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Resident Evil: Revelations is Capcom's attempt to retain the action of Resident Evil 5 while keeping the thrills and sci-fi story of past Resident Evils. That this is on Nintendo 3DS makes the attempt only the more daring. As a return to its survival horror origins, ammunition is more limited, exploration and puzzle-solving are key, and monsters unexpectedly jump out from corridors, ceilings, and whatever holes they like to crawl out of.
Revelations explores one of the first missions that Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield accepts after co-founding the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), though they are not partnered together. Chris and former SOA-agent Jessica Sherawat have gone missing and their last coordinates point Jill Valentine and fellow BSAA operative Parker Luciani to a tempestuous spot in the middle of the Mediterrean Sea that wouldn't be out of place in Deadliest Catch. This leads both duos to shuffle about a steel-bound, semi-flooded cruise ship with hazardous mutants, probably infected with the T-virus—which is all well and good if you're fond of tiptoeing down rusty hallways with heavy, echoing footsteps.
Apart from the newly revealed Keith Lumley and Quint Cetcham, two tech-oriented agents (and otakus) who were shown in a presentation investigating a snowy mountainous area, not much was revealed in terms of the story. The brief thirty-second off-hands demo with these new characters showed off the previously revealed BioScanner “Genesis”, which lets you see invisible enemies by tracking their body heat signatures. Switching between a weapon and the BioScanner is quick and not as cumbersome as switching held items in usual Resident Evil titles, so it's recommended to flip out the BioScanner by using the touch-screen before firing away with the main weapon.
Though Capcom rightfully decided not to show much of the plot, curiously written by Dai Sato of popular Japanese animations Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, the demo on offer allowed access to the single-player or cooperative multiplayer Raid mode, available ad-hoc or online, that is largely reminiscent of the earlier Resident Evil: Mercenaries on 3DS. The point is to clear short stages that reward you with higher-level weapons and custom parts that increase their damage, ammo capacity, and firing rate. Capcom admits that Raid mode is essentially based on loot lust, but it's an addictive mode that should give the game a lot of replay value.
In an interesting departure from the main series, damage to enemies is indicated by numbers that pop out of enemies like a traditional RPG. Yellow numbers mean standard hits whereas red numbers stand for critical hits usually inflicted by well-placed headshots. Also, some monsters will have special icons next to their health over their heads, such as a fist to signify tremendous physical strength or a shield to denote physical resilience.
Turning around with the camera is a tad finicky at the moment, though the game will support the upcoming circle pad accessory announced by Nintendo. It also features multiple control setups, different colors for laser sights for the color-blind, subtitles and dialogue for five languages, and an enhancer for 3D depth to complement the 3D slider. Most importantly—and I quote from Capcom—you can clear your save data.
Resident Evil: Revelations slips its way onto the Nintendo 3DS on February 7, 2012 in North America.
Dragon's Dogma - Preview
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As other high-profile publishers and developers, Capcom has reacted to the struggling economy by relying on its popular franchises; in this instance, creating multiple versions of Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Dead Rising 2. But even Capcom knows that focusing on its former successes doesn't secure its future growth. So arrives its new IP, Dragon's Dogma, an innovative, single-player title that can be described as a combination of Dark Souls, Lord of the Rings, and Dragonheart. Intrigued?
Disrupting the peaceful fishing village of Casadeis, a dragon swoops into the town, razing it to the ground, but before it leaves, it tells you that you're the chosen one and, in an ancient ritual (that I can only hope is voiced over by Sean Connery), forcefully takes your heart out. Instead of dying, though, you reawaken as an aptly named "Arisen", who strangely has the almighty power to command human-like Pawns from the rift dimension. Yeah, it's a bit of a heavy-handed way to incorporate fantasy and NPC party members into the plot, but at the very least, it's meant to peak your curiosity and motivate you into figuring out what the hell is going on. And to kill that scaly, fire-ass, son-of-a-lizard scum.
Dragon's Dogma doesn't go for the old-school challenge of Dark Souls, though it's still a fantasy third-person hack-'n'-slash with an open world populated by forsaken ruins and monstrous giants just waiting to be killed for loot, experience points, and glory (and wow, that's actually kinda mean, but they all attacked first). It also begins by allowing you to mold your character however you like, including gender, face, chest size (oh my), scarring, personality traits, class, and body type.
Smaller types tend to suit the ranger and mage class better due to their mobility and swiftness, whereas larger types fit the fighter class better with their increased strength, allowing them to wield greatswords with ease and prevent harpies from lifting them off the ground. At higher levels, hybrid classes like the mage archer can be selected too for well-rounded builds.
Fitting well within the fantasy realm, adventuring mainly involves slaying bandits, goblins, ogres, and other foul beasts, depending on your current level and whether it's day or night. Inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, taking down golems and enemies about five or more times your size usually requires you to climb on their body and strike at their weakpoints.
The twist, of course, is that you have up to three customizable Pawns at your disposal, one of which will serve as your permanant sidekick and two others that can be recruited throughout the world. You can give them all simple commands—follow, attack, heal, and the like—and they are all infinitely revivable by your hand. This ensures that you can assemble a balanced team with both melee and magic support as well as have a buffer between you and the enemy if you need it.
As you complete story missions and accept side quests from various NPCs or the bounty board, the environment becomes more and more open until the entire world becomes accessible. Eventually, you'll have the opportunity to explore the likes of the Bluemoon Tower and any significant structure you can see in the distance.
In essence, Dragon's Dogma is Capcom's response to the emergence of open-world titles within its keen understanding of JRPGs and MMORPGs. It will indoctrinate the masses in early 2012 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Preview
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Resident Evil has splintered by two genre concepts: a return to the survival horror genre, which Resident Evil: Revelations attempts to rekindle, as well as a reimagining of the series into a third-person action shooter, which defines most of Resident Evil 5 and now Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. In fact, Operation Raccoon City so surprisingly fast that it feels more like a "Lost Planet: Operation Raccoon City" than a deliberately slow Resident Evil from the past. At the same time, it also continues Capcom's recent trend of revisiting their past games by providing a fresh perspective on the story, like Dead Rising: Off the Record, so it's not surprising that they've decided to circle back to the events in Raccoon City.
Set between the plot of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the story will have you take the role of the Umbrella Security Service (USS), whose primary mission is to destroy any and all evidence that would implicate Umbrella for developing the t-virus and accidentally turning nearly all the citizens of Raccoon City into walking biohazards. As the bad guys for hire, you oppose the Special Operations team at every turn and can make “what-if” decisions like killing Leon Kennedy before he ever steps foot in Europe to save Ashley Graham. Anyone who knows their Resident Evil history will have a (covert) field day with Operation Raccoon City.
Depending on your preferred class type, you can control one of six operatives in a team of four: the badass explosives specialist Beltway, the recon and cloaking expert Vector, the medic Bertha, the sniper Spectre, the scientist Four Eyes, and the assault team leader Lupo. If you're playing solo, you can select the other three team members that would best complement the mission at hand, though it's far easier to switch to cooperative multiplayer and work together with someone rather than idiot AI's. Instead of having each squad member having a seperate level, experience points gathered from intel and completing missions can be spent flexibly on learning passive and active abilities on whomever's skill tree you want. Regrettably, Capcom had no further information on the multiplayer.
No matter whom you choose, though, the third-person combat is surprisingly fast, with the ability to sprint across a medical lab almost twice as quickly as it would take in Resident Evil 4, dive right into cover behind some reinforced crate, and then pop out of cover for a few well-timed shots to the opposition. If that weren't enough, you can execute foes with a stab to the gut and then a shotgun blast to the face.
Most guns fire in quick bursts and ammo can be easily found throughout the facility. There's little time to turn around sluggishly, plant your feet, and aim slowly at a monster's head with a laser sight. The one exception, though, is during certain boss battles, particular the one which we were shown where you have to scurry down a lengthy entranceway and evade fire jets and a g-virus mutant from petting you on your head with its fist.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20, 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and on PC later at an unannounced date.
Asura's Wrath - Preview
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Capcom and CyberConnect2 probably don't like their upcoming Asura's Wrath being compared to God of War, but all I could think about in the back of my mind while playing the game (and while sitting in a featuring CyberConnect 2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama as expressively excited as a Japanese game show host) was a screaming match between Asura and Kratos. Just imagine the tornado of fury and spit spewing forth from their mouths. Because if you do, Asura would win. Why? Because he's actually angrier.
Blessed with the power of a demigod, Asura is one of the eight deity generals sworn to protect the human race from the Goma, enemies in the form of animal spirits (perhaps inspired by Shinto) with black skin and red veins all over their skin. However, in what wouldn't surprise Darksiders' main character War, Asura is framed for the murder of the emperor by another deity general named Deus, who seeks power and glory, as gods are wont to do. Asura's wife is murdered, his daughter is captured, he is stripped of all his powers, and he's banished from Earth. Even the Count of Monte Cristo would say, "That sucks."
So begins Asura's quest to rescue his daughter and exact revenge with as much rampage as possible. It remains unknown whether the other seven deities truly believe that Asura is a traitor or if they doubt the ascension of Deus, but if the two boss battles that were available for demo are any indication, they haven't put much thought into it. Thousands of years later, Deus awakes from his slumber only to find that his once compatriots still want to tear him apart. Many of them have abandoned their mission of saving the human race, going as far as wanting to destroy them in the name of purification or whatever other reasons gods conceive to justify genocide. You know, just in case Asura needs another excuse to hurt everything in his path.
(I also didn't see any trees in the game. The gods must have killed them. How dare they?! Grr...)
Luckily for Asura, he gets stronger the more furious he becomes. His chrome-like body and godly strength, which makes him look like an Asian version of X-Men's Colossus, allow him to pummel his foes like ragdolls. A series of light attacks become easy combos and a devastating heavy attack can be used once the red ring above his head disappears. With jump attacks, chase sequences, quick-time events, jump recoveries, diving attacks, and the ability to shoot energy blasts (I assume) from Asura's arms, the action never lets up and there is rarely a chance to take a breath.
Punches to the face are accentuated in slow motion and hits usually have Dragon Ball Z impact, all while waves of lightning and blood-red energy bursts smear the scarred rocky landscapes. Boss battles tend to be split into multiple phases, each one challenging you to fill Asura's Burst meter by successfully hitting the opponent before unleashing it all in a damaging Burst attack.
If that weren't enough, Asura can go into Unlimited Mode once the corrresponding meter is full and just slam heavy attacks without having to wait for a recharge. And then on top of that, he can sprout multiple arms when he's enraged even further in specific boss fights. Even when his arms are ripped off, he'll just power through enemies with his feet, knees, and head. If Kratos had no arms, he would just mince his teeth, growl, and die in a pool of his own "I'm not as badass" blood.
Asura's Wrath erupts first in North America on February 21st, 2012.
Mass Effect 3 - Preview
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It shouldn’t have come as such of a shock. Mass Effect is one of the few single-player focused franchises that have held off on adding a multiplayer component—something that seems almost necessary in this day of video games and console. It was only a matter of time before BioWare caved.
But BioWare isn’t just adding multiplayer for the sake of having another bullet point to add to Mass Effect 3’s game case—they’re pitting the entire Galaxy at War. It’s an experience that BioWare hopes to be as satisfying as the award-winning formula used in their single-player campaign. And from what we’ve seen—although still early in development—has the potential to do that and more.
The entire galaxy is your lobby: Mass Effect 3’s Galaxy at War system is a large, inter-space map with battles raging on throughout. Teams of 4 players will enter individual battles taking place to co-operatively defeat wave after wave of different challenges. These waves are combat-focused, but also objective-based, and increase in difficulty and scope with each successful completion of a wave.
Neither you nor your teammates will take the role of Shepard, and instead will build a player from scratch using one of the six races in Mass Effect 3. Characters start off bare-bones, but as you earn experience points through kills and completing objectives, you can power-up most anything just as you would Commander Shepard in the single-player campaign.
Multiplayer gameplay is much like the single-player—proper use of weapons, tech and biotics are key. Selecting teammates whose abilities compliment a well-rounded assault is equally important. Using combined skills, your team will take on a variety of baddies, ranging from Assault Troopers to massive mechs, while attempting to complete objectives such as defusing bombs.
The demo I played through was early, you could tell. It was a little glitchy (the debug unit crashed on me twice within 30 minutes or so) and very difficult. But seeing what's already there and knowing the level of polish and detail BioWare brings to the Mass Effect universe, multiplayer is bound to be out of this world when the game releases on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 6th, 2012.
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Saints Row: The Third - Preview
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Yep, I'm reusing my preview from E3. And no, I don't really care what you think. I had the chance to play Saints Row The Third for six hours, so I'll make a few touch-ups here and there. But my preview was awesome, and now it will just be more awesome. Much like what Saints Row The Third is to Saints Row 2—more ridiculousness, more irreverence, and more fun.
So if you answered "Saints Row" to that opening question, then congratulations, you just won. If you answered "Gay Tony", do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Okay, fine, we'll give you the money, as long as you spend it on a long, rubbery, purple dildo called The Penetrator so you can whack grandmothers on the street. What can I say? They love it in the face. All over. Until it's red. Or blue, depending on the position.
How dare you, Nick?! That's disgusting, sir. Terribly offensive. Crude. Unprofessional.
Oh, yeah? Well, then read this boring-ass Wikipedia article for the game. Otherwise, shut up and bend over, missy. It's going to be a rough night. (Teabagging is for pussies.)
Just when you think Saints Row couldn't be more crass and over the top, Saints Row: The Third blows... if you don't know why I'm letting this sentence dangle, here's a dead hooker. Some people say that the series is just a rip-off of Grand Theft Auto, but that's the fucking point. In fact, it's really the bold-faced truth. Don't lie and say that you play GTA for the heartwarming story when you spend half the time shooting cops and ignoring phone calls from your cousin and your girlfriend. Saints Row: The Third knows what you really want: To Kick Them In The Nuts.
I could follow the rules of a preview and methodically anatomize the game's components on its updated graphics modeling, more furious third-person shooting system, GPS with green arrows in the air that show you where to turn, clearer mission objectives, and menu system which is now a smartphone, but that wouldn't serve Saints Row: The Third any justice. I could mention that the Third Street Saints have left their territory in Stilwater from Saints Row 2 due to a failed bank heist and are now recuperating in the Chicago-inspired city of Steelport to get revenge on the Belgian Phillipe Loren (well played, Belgium, but GR saw you coming), who had taken over Stilwater's banks and bribed the Stilwater police force.
But since all you probably got from that last paragraph was "blah, blah, blah", here's a bulleted list of only a few of the things you can do in Saints Row: The Third (if you don't like bulleted lists, recall the part about bending over):
- Leap into the air onto a slut, grab her head between your thighs, slam her into the pavement, and walk away like a boss
- Refuse to open the door to a car, press the "awesome button", and jump into the driver's seat through the window
- Sign an autograph by a fangirl of the Saints, while you're robbing a bank on the third floor (anything for the fans, right?!)
- Earn extra cash and respect, which are now essentially experience points, by doing Side Activities that have you blow up the city with a tank, fire missiles at cars from a helicopter, ram yourself into oncoming traffic for insurance fraud, and headshot furries in a time-trialed gauntlet in Professor Genki's Ethical Reality Climax game show
- Play the entire game cooperatively with a fellow Saints Row homie online or via System Link
- Customize your character so that it looks like the Silver Surfer with a Pornstache, a zombie voice-over, one white glove, and a Thriller taunt
- Dress up in a furry cat suit and stab a Luchador with a samurai sword because you can
- Find a gang of fifteen super-sized, shotgun-toting mercs in a parking lot, and instead of being an idiot by facing them head-on, call in an everyday, normal-sized SA-3 airstrike
- Fly the laser-mounted V.T.A.L. jet and fire missiles at the world
- Suck up to six pedestrians into Professor Genki's Man-Cannon vehicle and shoot them, yourself, and your co-op buddies into the air to songs of patriotism
- Suck yourself into Horde Whored mode and slice gimps and giant women wearing only bras and panties
- Or if none of that sounds like fun... do shit
Perhaps the only thing you can't do is throw a jart - that's a fart in a jar - that would have made its victims vomit uncontrollably. Apparently, that's the line at Volition. A scary, scary line. A line I call "DLC, please!"
Saints Row: The Third will put a stick in all of our asses on November 15, 2011 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Don't worry, though. We'll learn to like it.
WWE '12 - Preview
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My hands-on time with WWE '12 in Tampa, Florida confirmed what I concluded from my short time with the game at E3: It's a return to form. Normally, I tend to ramble about annual WWE titles on how they've made minor adjustments and how THQ claims that it's a complete reboot and how it's all about the WWE experience and blah, blah, blah. We get it. You get it. This time around, though, it's more than just an impressive graphics rehaul with a higher triangle count.
With the introduction of W Universe and a general reformatting of the franchise, last year's WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2011 laid the groundwork for the improvements for WWE '12, the most important of which is the increased difficulty. On the easiest setting, without turning down the knobs in the game balance options, defeating opponents is a challenge. Don't count on John Cena's or Undertaker's high stats to win you matches. If you don't have the timing down for reversals, you'll have trouble finding your footing and getting any kind of momentum going in your favor. As before, if you press the reversal button before the prompt, your inputs will be locked out, and just because you've reversed a move doesn't mean the AI won't counter you back. The only place where button-mashing is appropriate is the new Breaking Point Submission system, which is a strong translation of submission struggle.
Upping the challenge is all a part of emphasizing the fighting gameplay by removing the spam and getting rid of the possible immaturity, or as much as they can, that THQ knows that a pre-teen particular section of its audience has a penchant for. Case in point, they've added an additional statistic called Adrenaline that controls the duration that a wrestler can run, which means you can catch up to players online who like running about the ring if they start losing or jus tfor the sake of trolling. Some of the several basic strikes, like toe kicks to the stomach, have also been debuffed so that they no longer stun an opponent for too many frames.
Another tweak is how clean the HUB is, while still providing information when you want it. The character model for limb health has usually been relegated to the corner of the screen, if it's even displayed at all; here, the new limb-targeting system shows the opponent's limb health whenever you use it. By holding the appropriate shoulder button and pressing one of the face buttons, your wrestler will strike at at your opponent's limb of choice. It all makes sense too; the top face button targets the head and the lower face button targets the legs.
WWE '12 has fully updated its career mode with W Universe 2.0 by still providing unpredictable match cards that are completely customizable, but also allowing you to interfere in any AI matches you want. You can create your own show, your own logo, and edit the brands to the point where Smackdown and RAW only has create-a-wrestlers. In a nice touch, they've also added a momentum meter that awards a stat bonus to wrestlers with a winning streak and a stat penalty for the opposite.
This year's Road to Wrestlemania mode is a connected story that features the Hero, the Villian, and the Outsider seamlessly in three acts, which in this case represents Shaemus, Triple H, and your create-a-wrestler. (By the way, Shaemus or Stephen Farrelly showed up in person as a surprise, and he's an incredibly down-to-earth guy and former IT technician who just can't believe that he achieved his dream of being a WWE wrestler.) The concept is to examine three wrestling archetypes, which is far more academic than wrestling should ever sound, and to see how wrestlers break in and out of character from backstage to onstage. Though it remains linear, there's potential here for an inside look at the world of wrestling.
Apart from that, the depth and variety of modes and options are astounding, with 80+ match types, 10 creation tools including a new Create-an-Arena mode, and 70+ characters on the roster featuring many relative newcomers like Daniel Bryan, Alex Riley, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, and Zack Ryder (plus special guest Brock Lesnar, oh snap, no I didn't!). The first offerings for DLC remains the same as well, with an Online AXXESS pass, an attribute customizer, an all-unlockables cheat, and Fan AXXESS pre-paid plan for future DLC at a discounted rate.
Finally, just a shout out. There's a small chance that you live near Tampa, Florida, but if you do, I recommend seeing the live show for Florida Championship Wrestling at least once. A ticket for seeing about eight matches up close and personal is under $20 and a T-shirt is just $5, plus all of that money helps to train up-and-coming wrestlers who might just make the big times.
WWE '12 slams into stores with the force of a powerbomb on November 22, 2011.
Back to the Future: The Game - Preview
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It’s late at night in the empty parking lot of a suburban shopping mall. Empty, that is, except for a van, a DeLorean, an eccentric white-haired scientist, and a perplexed teenager with a video camera in his hands. Oh, and furry little Einstein, of course.
This iconic scene from everyone’s favorite time-traveling 80’s adventure is exactly how Back to the Future: The Game begins as well, and it's sure to be a welcome throwback for any fan. But you’ll quickly notice that the scene diverges from our fond memories: The DeLorean doesn’t reappear a minute after Doc sends it on its maiden voyage.
At this point the player takes control of Marty McFly, who immediately has a spirited conversation with Doc about what the hell’s going on. In tried-and-true Telltale point-and-click fashion, you advance the conversation through several dialogue branches. Being an actual scene from the movie, you can pick the options that Marty originally said for nostalgia’s sake… or you can rewrite history a bit and go for some different dialogue.
Rest assured, despite clearly diverging from the film, as you play, you’ll understand why this opening scene to Back to the Future: The Game doesn’t mess with our beloved canon (I’ll leave the spoilers out). But it sets an exciting, authentic tone for the five episodes that are now collected on one Wii disc.
If you’ve played Telltale’s previous Wii ports of their episodic games like Sam and Max, then you know exactly what to expect: the same PC point-and-click gameplay and puzzle solving, using the Wii-mote instead of a mouse, all at a bargain price. Back to the Future: The Game on Wii will only set you back a mere 20 bucks, even less than what it costs on Steam. And we’ve already reviewed the PC episodes very favorably, if you hadn’t noticed.
It’s great for any BTTF fan to see the series revived again—it has the same feel as the movies, along with Christopher Lloyd reprising his role and A. J. LoCascio doing an uncanny Michael J. Fox impersonation. In fact, several of the developers (and Lloyd too, for that matter) were incredulous upon hearing the dialogue that they were able to cast Michael, until they were informed that it was, in fact, a different voice actor!
Back to the Future: The Game will get its retail release on October 25. Now make like a tree and get outta here.
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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded - Preview
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Finally, GoldenEye 007 is being released on a non-Nintendo console. It's not as though nobody saw this coming… in essence, we were all asking for it to be on something other than the Wii. The Wii isn't really designed for everyday gunplay, so the more choices, the merrier!
The Xbox 360 and PS3 are both getting Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, and the biggest change from the Wii version (aside from an obvious sharpening of edges) is the twin-stick controls being an actual option. A "real" controller instead of the Wiimote pointing at the screen? Sign me up. Still, if you're one of the group that enjoys pointing at the TV and shouting "bang", you have the opportunity on the PS3; yup, it works with the Sharp Shooter and Move controllers. Most players will likely be playing with the dual sticks, though hopefully the gameplay will tighten up a bit more before release; it wasn't terrible, but there was some notable latency.
The big change to the GoldenEye formula is the online component. Now, finally, 16-player deathmatches can be had! At what should be a full 60 frames per second, 16 players can blast through a diverse array of both new and familiar maps featuring good ol' Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig, Oddjob, Scaramanga (the Golden Gun, baby!), Jaws, and over 50 others. Fourteen of the characters, the classics like the fellas I just named, have unique features: Jaws can use his steel teeth; Dr. No's arms are cybernetic so hitting them won't do any damage at all; and so on.
There are even a few new weapons to accompany the classic machine guns and the infamous Golden Gun. The Moonraker laser pistol, Goldfinger's gold-plated revolver, the C96 Mouser, and others come along with the over 30 rifles, pistols, and launchers from the original Wii incarnation. This is being touted as the "authentic Bond experience", and while there is still plenty of deviation from the source material, the actual game is still, at its core, Goldeneye. Hopefully the issues with the Wii incarnation have been worked out by now, but we won't know until the final product is on the doorstep.
GoldeneEye 007: Reloaded's release date is November 1st, 2011. If the online multiplayer is anything like we all remember from the N64, then… damn, can't wait!
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Shank 2 - Preview
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Shank 2 is a sequel to the XBLA and PSN side-scrolling beat ‘em up released in 2010. The original didn’t bring anything ground-breaking to the table, but made up for it with a crisp, cartoony visual art style, and some of the most satisfying beat ‘em up style gameplay since Double Dragon. Klei Entertainment and EA have teamed up yet again to bring create a sequel that embodies everything that made the original a blast to play, but have added to an already strong foundation.
Shank was all about the single-player experience. It was an absolutely blast to play, but ultimately users agreed that one special ingredient was missing: co-op. Klei has answered the call by implementing a part Super Smash Bros., part Gears of War Horde co-op "survival" mode in Shank 2.
Everything about the new co-op “survival mode” feels old. Not grandpa’s favorite chair type old, but inspired by some of my favorite classic games. The stage is laid out in three tiers of platforms, and at first will seem confined to a small space. Any bigger, though, things could get too chaotic. Wave after wave of enemies, and I mean a shitload of enemies, will attack you. Each one with a different style of attack, some may not even go after you or your partner, instead opting to set bombs all over the stage—bombs that you must diffuse, while still managing to kick everyone’s ass.
The combat gets hectic, but in the best way possible. When things get too out of hand, you can use points to buy special weapons, replenish health, or call for air strikes. Or save the points and pick up things dropped all over the stage, like beer, which fills your health meter. Just like in real life.
Attacks are the most enjoyable aspect of the game. You’ve got your heavy weapons—a chainsaw; your projectiles—either daggers or a pair of pistols; and your shanks—to stab a bitch. You can use enemies’ own weapons against them, too. A couple of stabs to the gut, followed by a well-timed chainsaw uppercut, and a few pistol shot juggles will bring a sinister smile to anyone’s face.
It all comes together to make for a helluva good time, filled with stabbing, explosions, beer, missiles, chainsaws and blood. Did I mention beer? If that doesn’t scream awesome, then… I will have to scream awesome for it... Because it is.
Shank 2 is planned for a 2012 release on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.
SSX (2012) - Preview
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I hate the winter. It’s cold, my heating bill soars, I have to shovel, and my beautiful lawn is covered in snow. If there’s one good thing that comes out of it, is all of the fun you can have playing in the snow. There’s skiing, snowboarding, sledding, making snowmen—it’s my second favorite powdery white substance (I’m talking about sugar; get your mind out of the gutter!). But there’s no better way to play in the snow than with SSX. I can stay warm but still enjoy the slopes. It’s been a while since we had a real SSX, so snow has mostly been a drag. Thankfully, the series is back; better than ever, and in high-definition.
It feels a lot like previous SSX games or even the old Tony Hawk games—you know, the good ones. A helicopter drops one of the handful of characters down a snowy slope filled with obstacles, rails and sweet jumps. EA Canada has used real life locations like the Himalayas and the Rockies, and NASA geographic data to create each level. But that’s where the realism ends.
Hit a jump at breakneck speeds and you can pull off 2160 degrees of rotation, in various poses, only to land right on your board and keep on going. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Pulling off those moves can be done with either the face buttons or by using the right analog stick. We found a combination of both to work best, by using the X button (PS3 version) to pop up, but then switch to the analog stick for the actual moves. It all feels tight and polished.
If you played any of the old SSX titles, then you won’t struggle with the controls. New to your arsenal of impossible to pull off moves is a flying-squirrel like glide using the “wingsuit”. Like MC Hammer pants, you spread your loose-fitting suit to glide across longer jumps and caverns. However, you can’t perform tricks during this, so use it sparingly.
Areas are wide open with multiple pathways to choose. It’d be pretty tough to play the same stage in the exact same way; there are that many options for making jumps, grinding, or tricks. Even if you happen to run into walls, you can now trick off them, so there’s a feeling of being able to perform tricks almost the entire way down the mountainside, racking up some seriously high scores. If you happen to screw up and face plant on that sweet jump, there’s a new rewind button that turns back time allowing you to give it another go. It’s funny to watch your character go in reverse after spending so much time swooping down the slope at mind-numbing speeds.
Aside from what we’ve outlined here, there is still plenty we haven’t seen. SSX will have online modes and plenty of unlockable boards with different attributes to help keep you entertained. Instead of traditional leaderboards, you’ll see your friend’s ghosts as you race, trick and explore, showing you not only how well they did, but how they did it. A new online mode called Global Event can last for hours or days with up to 100,000 participants. Crazy stuff.
SSX is appropriately pegged for a January release in 2012.
Batman: Arkham City - Final Preview
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Through the entire lead-up to the upcoming release of the very much anticipated Batman: Arkham City, I have not yet had any chance to see the game. Not at GDC. Not at E3. Not anywhere. Okay, I'm lying a bit. Being a ninja myself, it's just not within the code of conduct to see Batman, despite his choice of costume, unless it's completely necessary. Luckily, this time, it was.
It's difficult to say anything about Batman: Arkham City that hasn't already been said from my fellow GR comrades. Perhaps the only thing I can do is shed some clarity. While Arkham City is an open-world game, which in itself is a tremendous feat worthy of the Batman name, this isn't about exploring the entirety of Gotham City but merely a particularly large section of the city that has been turned into a large complex to hold all the inmates. Batman has the heart not to kill any of them, but none of the inmates really have any, so they just break out and start causing a huge ruckus. Actually, I think Batman allows this to happen just to clean up the mess. It's his daily exercise.
The situation soon spirals out of control and Batman swoops into solve the problem, and by that I mean pulverize muscled guys like human punching bags. It's the natural consequence that happens when you give inmates way too much whey protein powder and weight equipment and deprive them of even the sight of another woman. They get all mad and start wearing clown makeup and think they actually stand a chance against Batman. As usual, he can take on a group of overconfident thugs with just a few punches, kicks, and counterattacks; if they've got guns, he can just use the many ledges installed just for him that allow him to grapple his hook and slip behind them like a true ninja.
Just to give them a fighting chance, the Rocksteady developers have given enemies grenades, night-vision goggles, and some gadgets that jam Batman's detective mode, not that he really needs it in combat. To address complaints of the first game, they have disabled certain navigational aids in detective mode so that players will actually want to come out of it. That said, Batman also has new weapons of his own, including one makeshift electrical taser gun that can be used to stun enemies, short-circuit some computer systems, and attract and repel metallic objects. His fighting moveset has also nearly doubled in size and the animations have been made noticeably more fluid.
But you probably knew all that already, so I'm just going to talk about how to glide and swoop around the city like you've always wanted to do. Standing atop any high structure, Batman can launch himself into the air and glide almost silently almost anywhere in his surrounding. From midair, he can then dive and relaunch himself high into the air, or grapple-hook onto another ledge to propel himself even farther. So don't be surprised to find YouTube videos showing off how long some player with a whole lot of spare time can stay in the air before touching the ground.
Of course, as you fling yourself from one side of the island to the other, you will come across plenty of side quests for extra experience points as well as Riddler's Trophies. Given that the size of the island is estimated to be about six times as large as the setting of Arkham Asylum, that's a lot of time waiting to be spent on exploring. Some of the trophies are even highlighted pink, which means they can only be picked up by Catwoman, who can swap in for Batman once you finish her introductory story sequence.
There aren't many sure bets when it comes to video games, but Batman: Arkham City looks to be one of them. Look for it to swoop into our hands October 18th.
(P.S. I'm not going to spoil what happens, even though I'm allowed to report on it. I just don't think it's necessary and you're going to buy the game anyway, right? RIGHT??!!!)
Dead Rising 2: Off The Record - Preview
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Capcom has been releasing enhanced versions of a lot of their games lately, so it shouldn't be that shocking to see Dead Rising 2 get the same treatment. As its subtitle implies, this particular edition of the zombie-slaying, time-managing, kill-zombies-with-anything-you-can-find series is non-canonical to the Dead Rising mythos. It's not a prequel or a sequel, nor is it just the same game with more content.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is an alternate take on the story of its 'vanilla' counterpart, swapping out motocross champion Chuck Green and replacing him with everyone's favorite photojournalist, Frank West—the protagonist of the original. Many fans, myself included, were let down when we realized Frank was a no-show in Dead Rising 2 (apart from the DLC), and while Chuck turned out to be a more serious but certainly likeable character in his own right, his melodramatic 'Big Daddy' syndrome took away from the zany humor that made the original Dead Rising different from many other zombie games. It seems that good ol' Frank was the missing factor.
In this alternate universe, Frank's fallen from the glory he received after exposing the truth of what happened in Willamette. The guy's developed a beer belly and a receding hairline to match, washed up and forgotten. Following a similar path that Chuck ran, he ends up at Fortune City in the middle of a new outbreak and thus a new plot to foil. Of course, if you recall the setup of the original version, you can already guess that the storyline here needs to be quite different if Frank is the star. And indeed it is. Most every cut-scene I encountered in my extensive time with the preview build was different, and whole chunks of the plot are rearranged, messing with player expectations from what happened in the original version. I can assure fans of Dead Rising 2 that you are in for plenty of surprises.
This said, Off the Record is not a completely different game. This is Dead Rising 2 in terms of how it plays, the basic structure, and the mechanics. That said, there are many subtle refinements and additions that make the experience better. Players can check the time on the map screen without being vulnerable to attack, learn new techniques and abilities in a different order than Chuck did, and don't have to run back to the safe house when it comes time to administer a dose of Zombrex.
Positions of certain items, NPCs, and side missions have also been rearranged, and I even noticed a few weapons functioning slightly differently. There are definitely some new objects to play around with and, more importantly, new weapon combos, so keep that duct tape at the ready. And since Frank is the big star here, it's a neat little addition to hear him have more voiced dialogue in-game when encountering various NPCs and Psycho bosses than Chuck ever did.
There are some more significant alterations, however. At least a couple of new bosses lie in wait, for example, and a host of random oddities can be toyed around with in the new Uranus Zone, a sci-fi theme park that is about the size of any other area in the old version of the game, complete with carnival games. And I know you guys missed taking those zombie erotica photos to share with your friends, so Capcom has answered your prayers and brought back the photography element, including experience bonuses and hidden PP stickers. I was also able to check out a concept art gallery, which teased other goodies and characters you'll have to see for yourself, as it's another new feature.
Perhaps the most prominent addition here, though, is something fans and critics alike have complained about since the start: a true sandbox mode. I'm happy to tell you that Sandbox Mode is here, and from what it seemed, was unlocked straight from the get-go. I was able to hop back-and-forth between story and sandbox, maintaining my statistics, PP, and cash across both modes. Essentially, this means that any PP or money earned in the sandbox can then be applied to your story progress, and vice versa. Sandbox mode isn't just mindless destruction, though if bopping zombies repeatedly with dildos is all you want to do, knock yourself out, because you can. There's no timer and no pressure here, meaning players can explore Fortune City freely and experiment. But violent humans—and even bosses, it seems—can show up without warning to keep you on your toes. So remember to keep some coffee creamer handy, as drinking it straight from the jug heals all wounds.
Last but not least, this mode features dozens of missions that are unlocked as more zombies are slain. The tasks I played included some basic ones, from killing as many zombies as I could in a certain amount of time (or even with a particular type of weapon)m to running an obstacle course as fast as possible. Despite my experience with the series, though, I was hardly able to eke out a couple of silver medals, much less the gold ones, so there's bound to be some strategies you'll have to cook up if you want to reach the higher ranks of these missions. Oh, and yes, this is a new release, so there's a slew of new Achievements/Trophies to earn, too.
If all of this is sounding like a good excuse to revisit Dead Rising 2, you'll want to keep an eye out for Off the Record when it launches this month. At the discounted price of $40, it looks to at least provide a lot of content with some tweaks to the formula, all while keeping fans surprised with its story differences. Frank West, it's good to have you back.
Need for Speed: The Run - Preview
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Need for Speed has been around the block once or twice… or 17 times to be exact. Since 1994, it has never run out of gas and has remained the series to beat by constantly reinventing itself with new style and vigor. The newest rendition of Need for Speed, dubbed The Run, is EA's most original yet.
After discovering a newfound appreciation for the athletes known as race car drivers, I took the wheel of Need for Speed: The Run. And while it’s hard to match the exhilarating experiences of tearing up actual pavement, Need for Speed does a great job of making you feel like you’re in the driver’s seat.
The game is gorgeous and blisteringly fast. Both of which are staples in the series, and The Run is no different. It’s even faster with a well-timed boost of nitrous, which can help propel you ahead of your opponent. If you’ve played a Need for Speed game before—or any racing game—you will be right at home with The Run.
But that’s because it’s not so much the racing itself that makes The Run special. The Run uses the Frostbite 2.0 engine used in Battlefield 3 and other EA titles to push destruction full throttle. This was shown expressly through a massive avalanche that was triggered in a snowy mountain stage during a high-speed race. The snow effects were realistically threatening and served to pose additional obstacles for drivers and opponents alike.
Catastrophic destruction is everywhere throughout The Run’s cross-country trek from San Francisco to New York. During the tour of America, you come across opponent after opponent waiting to race you for glory. Meeting each opponent is seamless for the most part; if you can stay ahead of one opponent until the timer runs out, you’ll find another after a short distance down the same road. There’s no wait in between, no loading screen, nothing—just good ol’ street racing. The only time that there is a transition is when you complete all of the races for an area, thereby moving onto a new US location. Although we didn’t see any cut-scenes during our time with the game, these transition periods will flesh out the game’s story and characters.
The game was polished to show-floor condition, but we need to spend more time in the interior and take a longer test-drive to pass a full verdict. Look out for our review of Need for Speed: The Run as we race toward its November 15th release date.
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Syndicate (2012) - Preview
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Forget everything you know about the 1993 cult PC hit, the original Syndicate. The new Syndicate is looking to carve out a name for itself rather than live in the shadow of past success. Appropriately set to the futuristic sounds of Skrillex, Syndicate takes place in a corrupt corporate-run future, where business is war and the population is the casualty.
Like the original, there are deep-rooted themes of espionage and corruption, but that’s where developer Starbreeze Studios is drawing the line. Syndicate is a fast-paced first-person action shooter. But unlike most FPSs, the game isn’t about running and gunning your way through the game. The AI opponents are far too smart for that, which could be thanks to their brain-embedded microchips. Lucky for protagonist Miles Kilo, he’s got one too—but his give him “Breach” abilities.
Using his Breach abilities, Miles can take control over the minds of enemies, resulting in them turning against their own or committing suicide—talk about a mindfuck. Breaching is paramount to survival; otherwise, the AI can and will overwhelm you. Miles can also breach devices and other security measures. But only these lower-level breaches can be used practically at will. The others, like suicide and persuasion, are only available when his adrenaline meter is full.
Miles’ advanced Dart-6 brain chip gives him another advantage, a Batman: Arkham Asylum-esque detective mode in which the area is analyzed, important points are highlighted, and enemies can be viewed through walls to plan pre-emptive attacks and strategies. There’s no doubt that it’s useful, but it shouldn’t be abused—it can run out and won't be replenished until Miles gets into adrenaline-fueled shootouts.
The fast-paced shooting is only one highlight in Syndicate. It’s also a deep story of corporate corruption... and lies. During my “Executive Search” mission playthrough, Miles' goal is to retrieve info from West Meld Solutions. Unfortunately for a man named Gary Chang, this info is in his brain chip, which Miles must “extract” through any means possible. When Miles finally finds Chang, he isn’t willing to give up the info and instead blows his brains out. Miles gruesomely uses a device to pry it from his brain… through his ear.
The game is a bloody mess, but not in a bad way. It helps to paint a blood-red picture of just how little human life is valued. I’m not bothered by gore, but a few scenes had even me cringing… only to stare as the blood realistically trickles down the wall as it drips from an open wound in the back of an enemy’s head. This same enemy didn’t actually fall victim to my gun, but the gun of the other enemy in an interrogation room, whose brain chip I breached to have him kill everyone else in the room and then himself.
As an action-adventure FPS taking place in a future where corporate greed and augmented humans are commonplace, Syndicate has more than several similarities to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. But where Deus Ex is stealthy, slow, calm, and collected, Syndicate is fast, furious, and tackles enemies head-on—literally, by using embedded microchip-breaching technology. It’s also less of an RPG, though you can upgrade Breach abilities as you progress.
The developers at Starbreeze mentioned that there was some outcry from fans of the original Syndicate being upset that the game had been changed to a FPS from a RTS. From the time we spent with the game, it’s safe to say that this will be easily forgiven and forgotten once they get their hands on it. Syndicate releases on February 21, 2012.
Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update Preview Leaks
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A short two-minute long video has leaked out showing the Xbox 360's Fall dashboard update in action. The update--due on November 15th--features Kinect voice control. For those of you without Kinect, it's also said to improve the controller experience as well. Whatever that means.
The menu text is in French, hence our clever sub-title on the homepage asking you if you spoke French. It's also set to some soothing Reggae music, so get your blunts ready.
[Source]
Core Blaze - Preview
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After 72 hours of media touring and five game demos (not to mention obscene amounts of alcohol), things start to blur together. Core Blaze, Gamania’s flagship title for their 2012 lineup, was presented last to the US journalists at the Gamania Game Show. But even in the haze of an MMO-saturated few days, it still managed to leave a strong impression—which, I suppose, is why you save the heavy-hitters for last.
In the greater scheme of things, that haze is also indicative of the MMORPG market as a whole. It’s become so saturated, especially in Asia, that making a game unique becomes more and more difficult by the minute. Action MMOs are now on the rise, with games like Tera and Vindictus looming. And with three of the four big titles that Gamania showcased this year featuring action-oriented gameplay, it’s clear that the traditional MMO gameplay is giving way to a new wave (a sentiment echoed by Gamania CEO Albert Liu in our interview with him—but that’s a discussion for another time).
It’s in this environment that Core Blaze is aiming not only to succeed, but to also lead the charge into the Western market. They have the first part of that down already with the controls—unlike the other games featured at the show with gamepad options, Core Blaze was clearly designed first and foremost with a controller in mind, despite being a PC game. Rather than utilizing the typical MMO action bars, there is very little UI present on the screen, with normal and special attacks relegated to particular button combinations.
The pace and strategy of combat varies greatly depending upon your chosen weapon, but it’s all based squarely in the hack-n-slash realm. We could choose between four weapon types: greatsword, dual blades, long bow, and sword ‘n shield. Core Blaze doesn’t appear to have classes in the traditional sense; each character’s style and abilities are dependent on their weapon, which can be changed before heading into a dungeon.
Holding a shoulder button, you can also flip through a dozen item shortcuts in battle. The developers stressed that combat in Core Blaze can be whatever you want it to be. You can load up on bombs and other offensive items ahead of time and use them as your primary form of attack, or use support items to keep buffs up and heal, or—like most of us—just run in sword a’swinging and roll some heads.
The sword and shield does allow for a tank (though threat mechanics were unclear in our demo run), but I found it particularly interesting that there’s no healing class. In fact, aside from one long cooldown that the tank has, there are no healing abilities to speak of. We only healed ourselves through the use of items, giving everyone an equal opportunity to kill legions of cave monsters.
As a result, most of the time you handle damage preventatively through dodging and positioning, rather than reactively with healing spells. This aspect of the gameplay is what contributes mostly to Core Blaze feeling like a hack-'n'-slash console game, à la God of War or Devil May Cry. The double jumping, platforming, and climbing also add to that impression.
Our demo culminated in a boss fight against Liang Qu, a huge ice-breathing panther. Liang Qu had a number of targetable body parts, which can affect the fight dynamically if you do enough damage to them. We didn’t do it this way, but I expect if you smashed his legs enough, it would hinder his ability to jump around so fast. You might also be able to activate “hard modes” in this way—we’re told that if you break his fangs with a greatsword he goes into a berserk mode that significantly increases his difficulty. [I just shot him with a bunch of arrows from the cliff. I'm devilishly smart that way. ~ Ed. Nick]
It’s patently obvious why Core Blaze is Gamania’s flagship title next year: It looks extremely good for a free-to-play, sports console-like controls that are unlike anything in any other MMO, has dynamic environments and encounters, and allows you to approach a battle the way you want to and not the way the developers dictate it. We fully expect it to appear in the US soon after it debuts in Eastern territories in the second half of 2012.
Battleblock Theater - Preview
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No experience sums up my time at PAX Prime this year like Battleblock Theater. The Behemoth have followed up Castle Crashers with a game where killing your friend isn't just fun, but harmless and hilarious. I brought Cameron Teague from PlayStation Lifestyle with me to The Behemoth's booth, and amid all the fans picking up swag, there were several tricked-out, double-wide arcade cabinets to play on.
Next to the four-player Castle Crashers cab, Battleblock Theater stood all shiny and new. Saddling up to the controls, Cameron and I were greeted by a voice that introduced us to the game. I loaded my character up with a top hat, mustache, and square head. Cameron went the bearded route.
We had to make it over the typical platforming schlock at first—blocks that disappear, spikes, ice blocks that made us slide all over the place. At first it might seem a little boring, but Battleblock Theater challenges you to work cooperatively with your partner, all while tempting you to let them fall to his or her death. That said, I killed Cameron by stepping off a switch that controlled a disappearing platform more than three times in a row. (And then once more again.)
And both of us loved it. Once my partner made it across, I died by accident before reaching the next checkpoint, leaving me at his mercy on the same disappearing platform. Cameron cackled evilly, knowing full well what kind of position I'd gotten myself in. Oh, Little Big Plans...
With The Behemoth adding more and more levels before release, I can't wait to hop back into another one of their zany, cartoon worlds. As much as I love Castle Crashers, Battleblock Theater seems like the gameplay will be sharing the spotlight with animation, humor, and couch co-op antagonism.
asdf
Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Preview
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We're hotly anticipating the fourth entry in the Assassin's Creed series from Ubisoft, and I can't help but spoil the ending of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for everyone I meet. What the hell is wrong with me?
No.
What the hell is wrong with you? Why haven't you finished the excellent continuation of Ezio's story? You'd better hurry because Revelations is about ready to wrap up the loose ends left behind by the Auditore clan. At PAX, Alexandre Amancio walked us through the Gamescom demo of the game. He dispatched guards by planting bombs on dead bodies, by throwing bombs directly at would-be pursuers, and by lobbing bombs like grenades.
Amancio quickly dismantled some bombs he had already constructed and used the materials to create new hand grenades that he could drop in the middle of a chase to slow down pursuers. The crafting menus loaded quickly and materials fluidly moved between one type of bomb to the next.
The Gamescom demo allowed Ezio to hunt and kill a Templar agent, though Amancio said that the particular Templar underneath Ezio's blade was brought forward simply to show off an Altaïr section of the game. Ezio is hunting these Templar and historical artifacts to experience pieces of Altaïr's life.
Multiplayer mode improvements aside, Assassin's Creed: Revelations seems to refocus on the story, bringing several loose ends to a close, all while setting up the next in the fan-favorite Ubisoft series. You can preorder now and pick the game up at retail on November 15th, 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
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Blacklight Retribution - Preview
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That was the advice I got from a Blacklight: Retribution developer while I was playing their upcoming free-to-play, first-person shooter. I quickly equipped a flamethrower, burned the pilot of a nearby mech suit alive while he was still in it, and stole it with his teammates watching. The mech's gatling guns could not have perforated my enemies faster.
While I didn't repeat that magical play in my second game of Blacklight: Retribution, it stuck with me throughout the rest of PAX Prime. The thought that a free-to-play shooter could be so fast, strategic, and memorable never occurred to me. Still, here was Perfect World and Zombie Studios inviting gamers to showdown in teams of three.
These powerful tools aren't instantaneous. While you're at a terminal, you're vulnerable to enemy fire. Luckily, you can see through walls, at the expense of your weapon use, to scan your surroundings. Calling down the mech suit in an open area takes a considerably long time, so it's best to communicate with teammates lest you be killed and your suit stolen.
The game has a definitive rock-paper-scisors style dominance to it. The mech suit isn't invulnerable. It turns slowly and specific weapons can penetrate its armor. It has a large amount of health, but a coordinated team can distract it, set it on fire, and steal it for its side. That's how I accomplished the miraculous feat I described in the first paragraph. In fact, I found more success stealing suits than I did calling in my own, but that's just my playstyle.
Perfect World, as is their usual, will be offering a beta before the game is launched, and even after that, this modern shooter will be free-to-play, with micro-transactions paying the bills. Retribution was impressive, inventive, and balanced, all of which the first-person shooter market is prone to miss. Keep an eye out for it in the coming months.
