SOE Shines Bright In The Middle Of Boringness
July 18, 2008 at 7:38 am | In Game Preview, Industry News, Show impressions | Leave a CommentTags: DC Universe Online
by Lauri Hong
Finally, I come across a company that has something decent… no better than that!!! Take a company that has known the MMO world for well over a decade, and take a giant in the comics industry. Now put them into a blender and what do you get? DC Universe Online! Okay, honestly at first I was thinking… oh great where have I seen people in colored tights before. Hmmmm for some reason a company called NC Soft and their oh so great games City of Heroes and City of Villains come to mind. Anyways, instead of those static mobs that we always love to seek out in order to get any type of enjoyment, SOE has decided to rethink the general idea of the comic and MMO world focusing on the constant amounts of action moment to moment. Okay, before you go deciding which hero or villain you want to be, I hope you realize we can’t have thousands of Batmen or Jokers running around all at once. Instead, you’ll be working along side with these heroes or villains to help them with the city or work on a quest. Huh, working along side with Superman, how awesome is that? For those hard core comic fans, you’re probably thinking… BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STORYLINE?!?! Or what about the super heroes or villains? Or how about the details of the city? Don’t worry your crazy fanboy/fangirl head of yours. DC and SOE will be feverishly working close together to assure the game sticks true to the comics as much as possible. And of course, with all those different stories of each character out there, your next question will be, “well how are they gonna pick and choose what story to incorporate into the game?” Jim Lee and the rest of his Wildstorm team will be assisting them with not only picking out the stories that will flow through the game but also creating a separate story for the game itself.
Hmmm, I foresee possibilities of new characters being introduced into the comic world through this game, don’t you? According to SOE, they have leased over 140 characters from DC Comics to help create their illustrative world. With all these characters involved, players will of course have to make a very important choice in their growing career in tights… do I join the Justice League, do I join the Legion of Doom, or…… do I make my very own guild?! Well, SOE has just scratched the surface of this game. Be sure to tune in for more at the San Diego Comic Con!
Sony Press Conference at E3
July 16, 2008 at 6:45 pm | In Game Preview, Industry News, Show impressions | 1 Commentby Angie Quidim/Additional coverage by Adam Hartley at Techraider.com
This year’s Sony conference was held at the famed Shrine Auditorium and it was packed.
Resistance 2: They talked about tis game alot and the graphics for this game are nothing less than stunning. But is it the same old game with just more stuff to kill? Ted Price the President of Insomniac games pretty much made statements regarding the 8 player online co-operative play and the 60 player online multiplayer mode. This game is defintely brilliant no browns and not too much gray. Can FPS’s start to see the light of day? the feel is like a vintage 50’s game kinda like Bioshock.
Little Big Planet :It’s social gaming and networking at its best. “Play, Create and Share!” Take the Mii creatiion from Nintendo and the Live network from Microsoft and you get this game. Although it’s characters look sugary sweet, that doesnt mean that these characters dont have a fun sadistic side.. But its fun for the whole family. This game promises to bring in more of a non gaming audience than the typical target market of male core gamers.
I won’t bore you with the sales statistics since each company seems to alter the numbers their way to make their company stand out as the best gaming company of the year. Can’t blame them as their stockholders are watching these conferences closely.
I was unable to cover the rest of the conference this year but here is a rundown from techraider.com’s Adam Hartley what happened the rest of the time.
“The PlayStation brand is really hitting its stride,” said Tretton, warming to his theme at an E3 conference in which Sony announced, among other things, God of War III, a DC Universe MMO and a new 256-player Massive Action Game (yes, that’s the title!) for PS3, as well as new handheld titles Resistance Retribution and Super Stardust Portable for PSP.
PlayStation Network, new Ratchet
As of later this autumn, all PlayStation Network users will get a single sign-on, announces Tretton, adding that over 180 million pieces of content have been downloaded from PSN since the PS3 launched back in November 2006 in the US and Japan.
The next new game announced at E3 by Sony is Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty – described by the game’s producer as “a shorter game at a lower ($14.99) price” and by Tretton as “great entertainment for about the cost of a movie ticket.”
A number of other new and already announced downloadable games are also briefly demoed including titles such as Crash Commando, the (ludicrously un-PC) Fat Princess, PixelJunk Eden, Pain: Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse and RagDoll KungFu: Fists of Plastic.
Gran Turismo TV, Home, Movies
Petrolheads in the audience were clearly thrilled to hear that Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo pay-per-view TV service will be launching on 1st August, announced with plenty of footage of feted GT producer Kazunori Yamauchi racing Ferraris and suchlike.
No release date was forthcoming for PS3’s Home service, but Tretton at least thanks gamers for being patient, as he demos some of the game-themed spaces in Home.
Quickly moving on, Tretton is happy to announce that studio partners for PSN’s video download service already include Sony Pictures (obviously) Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner and Funimation.
Standard and High-def are now available for rental or sell-through TV starting from $1.99 for movie rentals up to $14.99 for purchases. Once downloaded you can seamlessly shift your TV or movie content from your PS3 or PC over to your PSP to watch on the go.
“The video store will be available tonight!” Tretton is clearly happy to announce.
PlayStation Portable, Resistance Retribution
As of this October Sony plans to offer a new PSP bundle, made up of the popular game Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, a silver PSP, 1GB Memory Stick, a UMD copy of movie National Treasure 2 and a voucher for the stylish puzzler Echochrome all for $199 (£100).
A genuine new PSP exclusive, Resistance Retribution is also announced, due for a spring 2009 release. Also announced was Patapon2 and Loco Roco2.
DC Universe online, 40GB PS3 scrapped
Jim Lee, director of the promising PS3 MMO DC Universe Online enthuses about his project, a game that features every DC superhero, winning the affection of the crowd as he tells them:
“This is really a dream project for me. When I was a kid, my parents wanted me to become a doctor and follow in my father’s footsteps. Meanwhile, I wanted to read comic books.”
Sony then announces that the 80GB PS3 – with the same functionality as the current 40GB model – is set to retail for $399 (£200), which can only mean that the current 40GB SKU is set to be phased out in future.
Jack Tretton follows this news by talking more about the “tremendous amount of support” SCE gets from its development partners and stressing that SCE’s own worldwide studios gives the company a competitive advantage with 23 PS3 exclusives (10 on Blu-ray disc and 13 on PSN).
God of War 3, Infamous, MAG
God of War 3 is announced for PlayStation 3 which, while not a major surprise, still manages to wow the gamers in the crowd. Following this well-received announcement, developer Sucker Punch’s open-world superhero title Infamous is demoed, with a release date of spring 2009 announced.
The final announcement at Sony’s E3 press conference comes from developer Zipper Interactive (of SOCOM fame) who present a game called MAG (Massive Action Game) set to feature 256-player battles.
Zipper’s Andy Beaudoin describes this PS3 exclusive: “MAG will deliver a sweeping battle experience using only real players… the game will be organised into 8-player squads, lead by people who are “proven” to be good leaders,” and is to feature a character advancement tree for gameplay longevity and character development. It’s an intensely ambitious game, which, so Sony assures us, could only be attempted on the PlayStation 3.
“If this is what year 2 of the PS3 lifecycle looks like, imagine what years 3 and beyond will look like,” says Tretton, as he closes Sony’s E3 2008 press conference.
Rock Band 2 means release the inner musician
July 16, 2008 at 6:14 pm | In Game Preview, Show impressions | Leave a Comment
I just returned from the Rock Band 2 demo from MTV games and I have to tell you it is truly the game that unites casual gamers and hardcore rockers. Rock band the initial game was a new innovation released for gamers to show off their skills and play with people online. Rock band 2 is now a game that Harmonix intends to improve upon based on the people that count; the fans. You have been ranting and they have been listening.
First off, we will go through the hardware. That has been a main concern for the gamers… having to mod or get a new set is lame.. Don’t worry you wont have to “figure it out” anymore. Harmonix and some third party companies are releasing some new hardware such as:
Madcatz releasing a custom base with improved strum bar and buttons. The device is wireless and autocalibrates with an electronic photosensitive eye and mic. No more countless hours of recalibrating. The drum sets come in different flavors and are more sensitive. There is the new drum kit with expansion ports so you can plug in the new cymbal expansion coming out. You also have the ability to plug in drum machines or electronic pads if you need a more realistic feel. There is also a drum kit from Ion, a subsidiary of Alesis (makers of fine keyboards and other musical equipment) which is full size real electronic drum kit. Retailing for $299, this device will make even the beginning student feel like a rockstar.
There is also a new controler with a mic built in so you don’t thrash your rock band mic when you have to hit it for the tambourine or cowbell parts.
But what about the actual game you ask? Well besides a countless song list that you can see in an earlier post, you have masters. No more covers. There is also more variety. So there is pop (GO GO’s) and Rap (Whatya Want by the Beasties) and good old rock (AC DC). This is not the only features they have added. Better selection searches, the ability to create better set lists, daily online challenges, a real honest battle of the bands mode (you compete locally and then you go big time), are just some of the things they offer. Later on this week we will have an interview with the devs to get some of your questions answered.
I am really excited about this game and can’t wait. I might even throw a TME rockband event in San Diego. Either way you must get this game.
Tomb Raider: Underworld
July 16, 2008 at 2:47 pm | In Game Preview, Show impressions | Leave a CommentTags: Lara Croft, Tomb Raider Underworld
by Angie Quidim
Lara Croft has been in the history of gaming since I was a wee lass. She was an icon than men drooled over and women looked up to. These days Lara has a new look to her… a realistic look. The game of Tomb Raider has become more sophisticated as you can see below.
Lara’s movements have been motion captured for this game to give a more realistic movement. The environment around Laura is fluid and fully interactive based on real world physics. (i.e. 9mm bullets don’t go very far in water but a spear from a spear gun will). The video doesn’t seem to do the game much justice but i can guarantee you that this game seems much better than the previous one. There are rewards for fans who are die hard followers of the series. Questions will be finally anwered for them. However the game does not require you to play the previous ones so you won’t be left out. As for the beasties and the puzzles, well lets just say her opponents don’t just sit there and poke or bite. They have a bit more style and movement that will make it more difficult to beat and the camera will still assist you as a compass but will allow more views to figure out puzzles. All in all this one is worth a look when it comes out.
Deep Silver and Apogee sign a co-publishing agreement
July 15, 2008 at 6:42 pm | In Current Events, Game Preview, Industry News | Leave a CommentYes folks…
They are back Apogee, the makers of Duke Nukem have agreed to re-release
the popular trilogy under the Deep Silver label. These games will be released for the
Nintendo DS as well as the Sony PSP. According to a recent press release the Trilogy is
comprised of three new episodes, released sequentially, beginning in the Summer of 2009
Critical Mass ™, Chain Reaction(tm), and Proving Grounds(tm). The Trilogy is being produced
by Apogee under an exclusive license agreement with 3D Realms Entertainment and
MachineWorks Northwest LLC, and will be released by Deep Silver, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch
Media.
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