Category Archives: Gaming

Darksiders II Launch Trailer

Posted on by Arleigh

One of my most anticipated game titles is just hours away from release. The game is the sequel to the surprise hit of 2010, Darksiders, and where that first title had the Horseman of the Apocalypse War as the playable character this time around it’s his brother Horseman Death who players get to control.

Darksiders II is set to occur concurrently to the events of the first game. Where War tried to figure out who framed him for starting the Apocalypse prematurely thus causing mankind’s extinction, this time around Death tries a different tack while War goes on his quest. Death is not as honorable as War and will do whatever it takes to prove his brother innocent of the crime he’s being accused of even if it means rebooting reality, so to speak.

August 114, 2012 will see the release of this title and for myself and those fortunate enough the video above will be something we would be doing in the next couple days with huge grins on our faces. I may have to wait a week or two before playing with my move to a new apartment taking precedence, but I shall play this game. Oh yes, I shall play this game.

First Impression: Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Episode 2 “Starved For Help”

Posted on by Arleigh

Telltale Games released the first episode in their adventure game The Walking Dead months ago. Due to some of their past titles not panning out despite hype from the studio this time around it seems like Telltale may have finally found their groove with this game set in the zombie apocalypse world created by critically-acclaimed comic book author Robert Kirkman. With the first episode, A New Day, the company was able to capture the chaos and danger of the early days that was only hinted at in the comic book and in the AMC tv series.

That first episode introduced gamers to the two main characters that would be the focus of this horror-adventure title. Lee Everett and Clementine were characters rare in licensed video games in that they’re original to the title and also one of the better written and realized fictional characters in gaming. The first episode did a great job in setting up these two characters and the world that some thought the problems that has plagued Telltale Games with their episodic titles would pop up once more: great beginnings that would fizzle out with each new episode.

I’m happy to say that episode 2, Starved For Help, doesn’t fall in Telltale Games’ past pattern. In fact, this latest episode in the game actually builds on the strength of the first episode and improves upon what made it fun and very good while minimizing some of the flaws with that initial episode. We find Lee, Clementine and the survivors of the first episode (how a player made their decisions on who lives or dies in the first episode will determine the roster for episode 2) still at the motel complex from the first episode. They’ve been largely kept safe at their makeshift haven but the prospect of dwindling supplies has forced Lee and the group to venture out into the surrounding forest to forage for food. It’s during one such foraging mission that the group comes across another group that would kick-off the story for Starved For Help.

Telltale Games doesn’t try to recap too much of the first episode in this follow-up, but does let the dialogue between Lee and others remind gamers about their decisions in the first episode and how it has affected the situation Lee and his group has itself in. The addition of some new members to the group doesn’t feel forced but actually feel quite welcome as it helps keep the growing rift between two factions in the group from becoming too static. In fact, this episode actually makes some of the decisions made by characters we initially found to be on our side to be counter-productive and dangerous while those who came off as too rigid and confrontational end up being more sympathetic.

It’s during these dialogue sequences where players once again have a timed-limit to make their dialogue choices and decisions that The Waling Deadcontinue to impress. Once again players must make their dialogue-choices from four choices that doesn’t really come off as evil, good, indifferent, etc. It’s up to the player to determine just exactly which dialogue answer best fit the sort of game they’re playing. I’ve played through both episodes trying out myriad of choices available to me and with each and every different choices the game plays out much differently, but still continues to straddle the grey area. There’s no good or bad decision and it’s what makes this game’s dialogue-mechanic so much better than most games that use something similar.

The action part of the episode has some tweaks to QTE (quick time event) combat mechanic that makes targeting a tad better than what was available in the first episode, but this part of the game still remains the weakest link in what has so far been a stellar game. After just two episode I wouldn’t be surprised if most fans of the title just wish for the QTE’s to go away and let actions in future episode be determined by dialogue choices. It would definitely help keep the gamer’s from being pulled out of the narrative immersion they find themselves in.

Starved For Help is a great example of how a studio can learn from it’s past mistakes and improve on the template they’ve decided on from the beginning. Even the story that unfolds in episode 2 is a huge improvement from the first episode that was very good to begin with. We see Telltale Games handle the themes of survival vs living, moral grey areas in an apocalyptic world and survival at the cost of others with deft hands that best exemplifies what has been great about the comic book series. There’s been times when the narrative in the game actually comes off as more subtle and less exposition-heay than Kirkman’s own writing which for some is an improvement in itself.

With two episode now released it’s going to be interesting if Telltale Games can continue their new found groove of keeping things consistently good to great which their past games didn’t seem to have. Now three episodes remain and from the ending of episode 2 the group has found a new reprieve from their dire problem of low supplies, but at a cost that may come back to haunt Lee, Clementine and others.

Episode 1: A New Day

SDCC 2012: “Forward Unto Dawn” Trailer (Halo 4 Live-Action Series)

Posted on by Arleigh

Halo 4 looks to be another mega-blockbuster hit for Microsoft and the Xbox 360. Every sequel in this critically-acclaimed video game franchise has always had some very well-made (award-winning as well) live-action tv spots and trailers to help market each title weeks prior to it’s release. For the 4th sequel to the series things haven’t changed and Microsoft looks to expand on their popular live-action shorts by financing a mini-series of live-action shorts that tells the events that will lead up to the story of Halo 4. The mini-series will also introduce a character that will tie-in to the game.

Forward Unto Dawn is the name of this live-action mini-series and will air weeks before the release of the game on both Machinima.com and Halo Waypoint on the Xbox Live.

It’s one thing to create a couple of live-action trailers, but this latest marketing blitz by Microsoft Game Studios looks to take things to a whole new level. Fans of the franchise are still nursing the disappointment over the cancelled attempt to create a Hollywood blockbuster film-adaptation of the Halo series. A film adaptation that had some major heavy-hitters in its corner from Peter Jackson, Neill Blomkamp and WETA Studios. Forward Unto Dawn (depending on its overall quality and how well the public receives it) may help bring new interest in finally getting the live-action film-adaptation up and running again.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Gaming!

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Unfortunately, this particular editorial can’t pass without some background information being passed around first. The story is a sad one at times, but I think you’ll find the resolution as satisfying as I have! Do let me know!

Some of you may have heard of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade. A much smaller chunk of you are probably familiar with the two games that Penny Arcade released in the year 2008, parts one and two of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness… a story which blended Penny Arcade’s unique style of humour and its unique visual style with a modern RPG engine to create a new gaming experience. Most of you who bought the first two games are further familiar with the catastrophic announcement in 2010 that Hothead Games was going to proceed with the Deathspank franchise over producing the third title in the Penny Arcade series… and that… the Penny Arcade series was cancelled.

Ouch.

Double ouch to people who really enjoyed the first two titles, and were looking forward to the conclusion of the story of Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel.

But then in 2011, a ray of hope emerged. Zeboyd Games, producers of such titles as Breath of Death VII: The Beginning and Cthulu Saves the World, had signed on to the project. In development? Rain-Slick 3. Only now, instead of using Penny Arcade’s comic book visual style and a more modern RPG engine, we were going to experience a fully pixelated 16-bit treatment of the story and the world, and it was to be released in a more Indie fashion.

Fine by me!

Now, in mid-2012… the new game is here. I have played it. And I would like to tell you all about it.

Rain-Slick 3 continues the story immediately after it left off at the end of Rain-Slick 2. Our heroes Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel, of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, have slain two Gods, and by a prophecy spoken by Tycho’s own father, this has brought the world to the brink of oblivion. Unfortunately, it seems, we must balance that against the fact that the ongoing presence of these ancient Gods has infused a great amount of evil into the world, from wicked hobos and rampaging mimes to the occurrence of ghosts, ghouls, and other supernatural critters. Railing against this destiny, Tycho and Gabe enlist the help of a head in a jar and a mysterious woman detective who shares a past connection with Tycho, in an effort to halt the ongoing conflict before it spirals out of control.

The gameplay is pure 16-bit RPG. Characters use a job system which is not unlike a pared-down version of that used in any Final Fantasy game, with jobs having certain special abilities gained as they level up. However, Rain-Slick wants to be fun for the player, and actually doesn’t allow you to grind (enemy groups disappear when defeated, and do not return!), so un-used jobs level up concurrently with those currently equipped, albeit at a slower rate, and your characters can equip multiple jobs with no penalty. Combining a useful suite of skills can create truly devastating fighters, so there is definitely a strategic aspect to how you equip your jobs, and how you choose equipment which can either cover weaknesses or heavily accent strengths. It gives a decent feel of customisation to the player, which is otherwise somewhat lacking as the player’s own avatar is absent from the game’s cast of characters (although referenced several times as having participated in previous events) and the game plays like a traditional RPG – there are no Mass Effect style conversation wheels to be found here.

The game’s charm is in its simplicity, and its storytelling. Although the story is predictably broken up by long chunks of combat-heavy dungeon, it remains infused with the humour and ability of the guys from Penny Arcade – not insubstantial! – and hints of that artwork style, used for character portraits and enemy models. Of particular amusement value are the names of enemies, always accompanied by a short description, which really rekindle the feel of the first two games. Zeboyd has done a marvelous job in continuing the saga, even though the game plays absolutely differently from the original two titles.

If you still have any interest in this series, I highly encourage a purchase! Rain-Slick 3 is available on Xbox Live Marketplace or Steam, or through the Penny Arcade store. The official site also notes that it should become available for iOS and Android in the future, and Penny Arcade notes the possibility of free updates to expand upon the core game. For a pittance of $5, this game is likely to do nothing but impress you from start to finish.

Song of the Day: An End, Once and For All from Mass Effect 3 (by Clint Mansell & Sam Hulick)

Posted on by Arleigh

Earlier this year we saw the release of the final entry in BioWare’s epic space opera video game series with Mass Effect 3. The initial response to this game was a near-unanimous critical praise and acclaim. Yet, as people finished the game a very vocal group of gamers and fans of the series were more than just a tad disappointed with how their favorite series came to an end. The venom and hate that poured from an ending that didn’t seem to cater to how these gamers thought the series would end became so loud that BioWare did something unexpected. The company, especially it’s founders and head honchos, decided to amend the ending to the game with a downloadable content that just came out in the last week or so. It was content that expanded on the ending to the game. It wasn’t enough to placate and satisfy those who felt betrayed by BioWare, but for some who did complain the ending was a good enough expansion to the game’s original ending that, while not all was forgiven, BioWare helped themselves in repairing the rift which grew between company and fan-base.

Let’s just say that I wasn’t one of those who complained about the ending. I thought it was sublime and the ending I chose fit in well with how I saw the game ultimately should’ve ended with how I had chosen my character to act, talk and behave throughout the three games in the series.

It’s from the recent Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC that I pick the latest “Song of the Day”. It’s the song the piece of orchestral score which plays through all the three original endings but extended beyond the original version of the score that ended abruptly. “An End, Once and For All” extends in this new version for a much more dramatic and satisfying end to a series that I consider one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had in over three decades.

I give much thanks to the game’s two orchestral composer in Clint Mansell whose contribution could be heard in the beginning of this chosen score. Sam Hulick adds his own voice to the score as the music moves toward an epic crescendo which finishes the song.

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

If you want to witness why I thought the Synthesis Choice was the ending that made sense then watch the video below.

The Magic of Duels of the Planeswalkers

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

 

A couple of years back I was bored one afternoon and browsing the XBox Live Marketplace. I didn’t have any real expectation of finding a game that would get me through the afternoon, let alone something that would have real staying power for me, and I would revisit time and again. When I saw that there was a Magic the Gathering game, it was suspicions that became aroused, not interest. Out of a kind of morbid curiosity I selected the game and read a little more into it, saw that a couple of my friends had played it, and that it seemed to be a self-contained engine of a game, and not simply another attempt to sell me Magic the Gathering Online in a repackaged form (don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against MTG:O. In fact, it’s a clever idea to reach people who either don’t have an active local Magic scene, or hate their local Magic scene, but if I had money to waste on Magic, I personally would do it at my local comic store).

But, oddly, the complaint that I keep hearing from people about Duels of the Planeswalkers (aside from some more quantitative complaints, which I’ll get into) is that it’s a self-contained thing, not a beautifully rendered amalgamation of all Magic ever.

…Well, duh.

You may bring whatever expectations you wish into your gaming experiences, but I find it’s better to try and keep things a little bit in perspective. For a $10 XBox Live Arcade title – a game that by definition is not a full retail game – you are expecting a full pool of Type II cards, a fully operational deck builder, and carte blanche to build as many decks as you like and play them against other humans? How much money does that privilege cost in real life? If some quickly-researched netdecking can be believed, a couple hundred bucks will buy you a top end deck in the current meta (and someone bought those cards at $4 for each randomized pack or whatever at retail, let’s not forget). Let’s say each ranked DCI event costs another $7 as an entry fee. So for one singular deck, you must expend hundreds of dollars, and much of that income reaches Wizards of the Coast. Then, if you wish to change decks, you’re likely to need more cards. Wizards will release new expansions, and you will need still more cards. All of this generates revenue for the company that is printing the game (and all of the creative people behind its design, etc.) and you honestly approach Duels of the Planeswalkers with the expectation that it’s going to just replace the CCG model forever?

Come on.

So now that that soap box moment is out of the way, let’s talk about the game. 2013 is the latest upgrade to the now-yearly franchise. Much like regular Magic’s Type II environment, DotP can be seen as a sealed ‘block’ of decks of cards, and it evolves year by year. The game-play improvements in 2013, then, are very slight, since the game of Magic hasn’t changed much. The most meaningful one is the long-awaited ability to manually select your own lands to tap for Mana instead of letting the CPU select them for you (the CPU attempts to do this intelligently, but unfortunately, the CPU has no idea what it’s doing). The main difference is, therefore, the entirely new pool of decks that players can customize and compete with. The game launched with 10 available decks which come with a basic pool of 35 cards (plus the necessary land to make the deck function of course) and an additional 30 unlockable cards. The cards are unlocked – unfortunately – one by one, by winning duels, or if you’re lucky enough to be playing the console versions, by the purchase of Deck Keys (those cost about $1 of your real money each) which completely unlock the deck in question. This represents a large increase in possible customization over the selection offered by 2012.

The decks themselves are primarily monochrome, which is a shame. I understand that Wizards probably sees DotP as a tool to draw people into the world of Magic: The Gathering either on or off line, hoping to gain more lifetime players who are eager to experience the full game. However, many players do want to enjoy DotP as a game in its own right, and while monochrome decks are easier to play and make a decent introduction, the truth is that the Magic decks you’re going to see even at a local Friday Night Magic tournament are going to include a lot of paired colours for a simple reason – each colour is deliberately designed with shortcomings. Black has access to many easy fire-and-forget creature destruction spells and no enchantment removal at all. White has only a tiny splash of creature removal (and each of their ‘removal’ cards has a drawback printed on the card!) but many good cards for destroying enchantments or artifacts. If you combine the two, you can have both of those strengths, and cover for the weaknesses, at the expense of a deck that can be less reliable (since you must now possess two different colour resources) and harder to play. The trade-off is almost always worth it.

Hopefully DLC (it’s already in the works, of course!) will expand a little bit on this, and throw in some more two-colour decks (and a few fewer absolutely atrocious 3-colour decks. Please?).

As for the Planechase mode, I haven’t got much to say. I’ve never liked Planechase because it can really take a long time to play a single game of it, so I’ve avoided testing it extensively. I can say that it works just like I remember it working in real life, and it can definitely be fun if you have the patience to stick with it. The unpredictable and powerful effects of the different twisting Planes can really throw a traditional match-up on its head. Combined with the inevitable chaos of FFA multiplayer, and you definitely have a format with legs – no two games of Planechase will ever be exactly the same.

I suggest that you think of Duels as a Magic format much like Captains or, frankly, Type II… and enjoy it for what it is; a closed Magic experience that doesn’t cost you a lot of cash out of pocket to play. The added levels of customization (regrettably, still not the ability to pick how many lands your deck has in it. Grrr!) make the environment more varied than ever (mind you, I did not suggest the environment was balanced. It’s much too early to speak on that) so it’s definitely a game that’s got some depth if you’re willing to take the time to learn the format and delve into its own quirks and strategies.

The game reportedly suffers from numerous bugs. I have not encountered any that are more severe than the ‘mild annoyance’ variety, but I suspect there are uglier ones to be found in those innumerable lines of code somewhere. I wish I could say this was uncommon for releases in 2012, but I try to remain honest when I write these columns.

So there it is. I find Duels to be a fantastic addition to my summer, and I’m more excited than ever to waste countless hours trying to determine the best combination of 60 cards in the fixed pool that makes up my blue deck that will best let me control the decks I’ve seen people playing this week. Oh, and if you pick it up, do try it out with a friend in Two-Headed Giant at least once. It’s riotously fun.

E3 Trailer: The Last of Us (Gameplay Demo)

Posted on by Arleigh

I’ll fully admit that the PS3 I bought hasn’t seen much action since I purchased it. I still use it to watch Blu-Ray films, but it’s gaming side I rarely touch. Most of the games that I would play on the console I already own and play on my Xbox 360. Once in awhile a game that’s exclusive for the PS3 comes out or gets announced that makes me rethink my non-gaming of the console. At Sony’s pre-E3 press conference on Monday I saw one game whose gameplay demo has convinced me that I need to get this game and dust off the Ps3 controllers.

The game is Naughty Dog’s latest title called The Last of Us and it’s a post-apocalyptic title that’s set in a world that has succumbed to some sort of viral infection which causes those infected to turn homicidal and searching out those still uninfected. Unlike other post-apocalyptic games this one sets the game in a world still reeling from the end of the world as we know it and with survivors doing just everything possible to survive the cities and infrastructures we take for granted has slowly been reclaimed by nature.

The game follows two characters in Joel (the one the player controls) and a 14-year old girl named Ellie (controlled by the game’s AI) who have a sort of father-daughter relationship despite not being related with they being survivors their only common link. The game touts a robust AI that allows the enemies in the game to adjust how they come at the player depending on the player’s mode of fighting. The game also does make use of the post-apocalyptic setting by making scavenging for supplies and ammo a high-priority.

The game is still in development, but if the gameplay demo shown at Sony’s presser is any indication then this game is a must-buy for me and probably for many others.

The Last of Us has a tentative release date of Late 2012/Early 2013.

E3 Trailer: Resident Evil 6 (Official)

Posted on by Arleigh

Another game which seem to have gotten a huge positive reaction from the pre-E3 pressers on Monday was Capcom’s latest entry in its very popular and lucrative survival-horror series, Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan). This is a series that goes back over a decade and through several console lifetimes and still remains as popular now as when it first began.

The game looks to bring back several well-known faces from the previous games in the series like Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin. One thing the latest game brings back that’s been missing in the last two games was the main antagonist that started it all and that’s the Umbrella Corporation. The game also looks to expand the locales where the game takes place in. In previous titles in the series the location tend to be very localized with some international jet-setting here and there, but from the looks of the trailer it seems that Resident Evil 6 will be going global.

I haven’t played a Resident Evil game in years, but it looks like this cold streak may just end with Resident Evil 6.

Resident Evil 6 is set for an October 2, 2012 release date.

E3 Trailer: South Park: The Stick of Truth

Posted on by Arleigh

Another title which caught my attention during Microsoft’s pre-E3 press conference is the latest game for South Park which also happens to have both Matt Stone and Trey Parker (creators of the show) working hand-in-hand with the developers of the game, Obsidian Entertainment, to get the look and feel of the show translated to the game.

The game is South Park: The Stick of Truth and it’s a role-playing game which makes use of the four boys dressed up as fantasy role-play characters from the episode “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers”. This time around instead of controlling one of the four boys the player will actually be the hero hat Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny turn “to undo what has been did” as Cartman mentions in the trailer.

Just from the trailer alone it looks like Obsidian has been doing it’s best to replicate the look, feel and sound of the tv series. It helps that both Matt Stone and Trey Parker are doing the voices to the game’s characters and also writing the game’s story. From snippets heard in the trailer it looks like the game will have crab people, hippies, vampire kids and underpants gnomes as enemies just to name a few. We even get glimpses of gun-toting Jesus and Mr. Slave.

What I’ll be interested in finding out is whether the game will be rated T for teens or get rated M for Mature. I hope it’s the latter because if there’s anything about South Park it’s that it definitely pushes the boundaries of mature audience entertainment.

South Park: The Stick of Truth is set for a March 5, 2013 release date.

E3 Trailer: Halo 4 “The Commissioning” (Live-Action) & Gameplay “Light Gun and Scattershot”

Posted on by Arleigh

It’s E3 week in Los Angeles (in a couple week it’ll be Anime Expo so as Lisa Marie would say, “Yay!”) and that means a load of announcements for new games and other gaming-related stuff. If there’s on game I’m really interested in checking out it’s the latest in the Halo series. Bungie has moved on but Master Chief and all remained with Microsoft Game Studios. Taking over Bungie’s development duties is an in-house studio created by Microsoft to continue the Halo franchise after Bungie Studios’ departure.

343 Studios has big developmental shoes to fill since many fans of the franchise equate the series with Bungie Studios and no one else. Microsoft and 343 have done a good job of preparing fans of the franchise for the change in studios which has been several years in the making. Their first title is suppose to add new life to the Halo series while making some necessary changes to keep up with the “Jonses” so to speak.

Halo 4 takes place four years since the end of Halo 3 and, from what the two trailers unleashed on the masses during Microsoft’s pre-E3 press conference, we see the familiar Covenant enemies but also a brand-new race that seem to have Forerunner technology. From the gameplay video shown below the first-person HUD series fans were so familar with has been tweaked to make it look like the player is actually looking out of the Spartan helm. I’d say this is 343 Studios trying to replicate the look and feel of Tony Stark looking through his helmet, but this time in a first-person point of view instead of the outside view we see in the films.

One thing that’s always a wonder to watch is what kind of live-action trailer Microsoft has come up with to help announce the game. Like their previous live-action trailers which behaved like short films, the one for Halo 4 just ups the epicness from the previous ones. Sci-fi fans may even recognize the actor playing the captain of the UNSC Infinity as Mark Rolston who played the doomed Pvt. Drake in James Cameron’s Aliens.

Halo 4 is set for a November 6, 2012 release date.