E3 2011: Journey

Shown at E3 2011, Journey is the third outing from the Thatgamecompany studio, whose previous works present some of the best examples of the "video games as art" argument being made by gamers and industry members alike today: flOw and Flower were games that were more appropriately designed and labeled as "relaxation exercises", getting rid of menus and even buttons in lieu of Sixaxis control. This year's showing was the first public demo this Playstation Network-exclusive title has received, and it didn't disappoint. The animation and attention to detail being given to this game is astounding; if you do not believe me, just look at the sand and the character model!

At its heart, Journey is a very simple game with a simple goal: you are a wanderer, making your way towards the mountain in the distance (the pillar of light shown in both of the videos I am posting). While there is co-operative play in this game, there are no user names or voice chat of any kind, simply a basic "shout" you can issue to other players, and they can only respond with their own shout. This lack of interaction is meant to connect you to others through your mutual exploration of the desert, without ruining the experience by having an obnoxious thirteen year-old listening to loud rap music on the other end of the voice chat - somehow, voice cracks and epic quests just do not quite go together.

For you readers, I have included the Gamespot E3 demo (posted above) and the IGN demo, which I will post below. With an expected release date of late 2011, after its closed beta finishes this summer, we still have a few months until this game comes out, and what a long few months they will be: I've been excited about this game since they first announced it over a year ago. Now if I could only just get into the beta... Guess I'm going to have to wait to play it!

Review: Brink

Brink is the first in-house outing for the Splash Damage studio, known previously for contributory work on the Quake Wars and Wolfenstein brands. A title based solely in online play (the single-player campaign is merely the multiplayer offering, with AI teammates instead of human players), Brink is a class-based shooter based in a dystopian future in which two factions, Security and Resistance, battle for control of the Ark, a floating, nigh utopian city originally developed as a self-sustaining and environmentally conscious living space that becomes the home of its creators and thousands of people displaced from their homes due to globally rising oceans. With a class system reminiscent of the Team Fortress titles, a parkour-inspired movement system for players, and a unique art style, does Brink stand above its competition, or does it buckle under the weight of its promises?

The Good:
The Art Style - The very definition of a "risk", the characters have a very cool, semi-animated look to their appearances, with elongated faces and very muscular bodies; however, due to the slender character models, this seemingly "human" conflict that is the central focus of the game is lost on the player, as the whole thing just ends up looking like a war of the Gumbys (click here if you don't know who Gumby is).

The Class System - A common affliction of first-person shooters is everyone acting in a self-centered manner; everyone is working to get the most kills, often to the detriment of their teammates. This game approaches this differently, by having objectives throughout multiplayer that only specific classes can complete (for example, an operative hacks a database or an engineer fixes a crane) and by having each class perform specific functions during battle: you can have an engineer setting up a turret while a medic improves his health and a soldier provides him with extra ammunition. Team Fortress and the Battlefield games approach this similarly (if only in class function), and it adds a much needed change of pace and depth to the experience.

The Conflict - While the story is not the best ever seen in a game (by a long shot), I very much enjoyed being given the opportunity to play as either side in a conflict; for a missions where I was trying to bomb a wall as Resistance, I would be tasked with holding down that area as a Security member.

The Bad:
Glitches - The first day I got this game, it was nearly unplayable online; massively slowed-down servers brought gameplay to a standstill and every game ended with my quitting back to the main menu leading eventually to just playing with bots for the first few days. This experience is fairly indicative of the final product, which just feels entirely rushed. Texture pop-in is to be expected in the majority of the matches you will play and the parkour-inspired movement system is a glitchy mess the majority of the time. To be frank, unless you are playing on a very stable internet connection, expect frustration, and lots of it.

Storyline - With one-dimensional characters and conflicts that are fairly self-explanatory, this is a very paint-by-numbers game when it comes to the story. Each side fights for control of an island - that's all you really need to know. Everything else is just gravy, most of which goes mostly unexplained.

Security/Resistance Campaigns - When this game was in development, Splash Damage would often talk about how there would be two campaigns: that of Security, and that of Resistance. What they neglected to mention was that they are exactly the same thing. For each mission where you play offense as one side, the other side's mission will be defense, and vice versa. While it makes sense and is fun to play as both sides in a conflict, us gamers as consumers are essentially given fifty percent of the product that we expected to receive; it would have made more sense to have each faction with its own storyline, and players have the option to either play as the opposition to one faction or to play their own storyline.

The "Why?"
Multiplayer Lobbies - This is what I still do not understand: there are games out there that, despite the success and ease of the multiplayer lobbies found in titles such as Call of Duty or Halo, still release their products with a lobby that is either convoluted or simply counter-intuitive to the point of making any multiplayer match a chore (if you can even get into a game). Brink is one of those such games, with several different menus for each mission you can embark on, requiring the player to back out of a menu and find another mission just to go through the menu system all over again. It gets the job done, I suppose, but there were much more elegant and simple solutions to the problem that Splash Damage either chose to ignore or simply was incapable of executing.

My Score: 5.0/10
Once one of my most anticipated titles of 2011, Brink was a huge disappointment. From a multiplayer system crippled by glitches to mission structures that were flat-out unenjoyable, this is a game that completely squandered its potential. The SMART system (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain, or parkour) is the most enjoyable aspect to the game, and even it is functional only about 75% of the time. While this game borrowed heavily from the big names in the first-person shooter industry, namely the Battlefield, Call of Duty, and Team Fortress franchises, it relies mostly on its gimmicks to get by, not learning the lessons that its predecessors have to teach when it comes to crafting an enjoyable online experience. If you want parkour, check out Mirror's Edge. If you want class-based combat, your best bet is Team Fortress 2 or Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It is not a horrible game; it just falls short.

My recommendation: Avoid it.

E3 2011: Overstrike

Announced at E3 2011, Overstrike is the first cross-platform (read: not a PS3 exclusive) game to be developed by Insomniac Games, who you may know as the developers of the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series. While not a lot about this game is known, short of the small blurb featured on Kotaku, this game seems to be focusing as much on humor as it does on action (or at least the trailer is), something that really has not been a major player in a video game since the Timesplitters series.

And did anyone else love the response to the "collateral damage" line as much as I did?

 The four team members: Naya Deveraux (Interpol's most-wanted thief), Dalton Brooks (the ex-mercenary), Isabelle Sinclair (the scientist), and Jacob Kimble (the detective).

Again, I know nothing about this game short of what is seen in the trailer, but I can imagine, based on past Insomniac games, that this will feature co-operative play (likely four people, given that there are four squadmates) and will be an absolute blast to play; really, Insomniac's credentials speaks for themselves.

With a likely release date somewhere in the late 2012 months, it will be quite some time before us gamers get our hands on this title, but if the trailer is any indication of what we have to expect from the final product, color me excited!

E3 2011: Halo 4

In a surprise move by Microsoft this year on the 10th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved's release, a teaser trailer was shown at the end of their press conference at E3 2011 officially announcing Halo 4, a game often asked for by gamers but expected by very few. Although details were sparse at the event, and very, very little is revealed in the teaser trailer for this new game, we do know that this is the first game of another planned trilogy for the franchise, and it will be released around the 2012 holidays. While this is not much to go on, it is good to know that we will be learning more of Master Chief's story for many years to come!

Review: Infamous 2

Infamous 2 is the sequel to the smash 2009 hit Infamous, in which an ordinary bike messenger is given electricity-based superpowers after he survives an explosion that levels several city blocks. While the original focused on Cole adapting to his new abilities, making a (positive/negative) name for himself in Empire City and combating the various forces that were trying to overrun the city, the events of the beginning of Infamous 2 force Cole to leave the city and flee south. This game has Cole arriving in New Marais (which is Sucker Punch's version of New Orleans, much like Empire City was a variation of New York City) in the hopes of acquiring new abilities to combat the Beast, a superhuman entity without equal that Cole is required to stop. It is in this city that Cole not only discovers superhumans like himself, but discovers the nature of The Beast and its ultimate purpose.

Over the course of this review, I will focus only on the single-player experience of Infamous 2, mostly because the experience you have online with the Mission Creator and missions created by other users will depend entirely on what you find and is not indicative of the game as a whole.

The Good:
Cinematics - While the first game had many comic-book styled cinematics, which were mostly still frame, Infamous 2 puts equal emphasis on comic book cinematics and in-engine cutscenes, which make interesting use of the camera and help the characters feel a little more flushed-out in human - it's hard to sympathize with a character if they are just a series of drawings when you are not playing as them.

Graphics - This game is much better-looking than its predecessor: particle effects are excellent and have been entirely redone (explosions and electricity drains especially), there is more attention to detail on buildings and character models, and the in-engine cutscenes look fantastic - a big step up from last game, which had every character looking pan-faced and constantly surprised.

Melee - The Amp, the weapon designed for you by Zeke to basically use as an electrified baton, makes the hand-to-hand combat much more viable in this game, and much more useful - I found myself using it quite often, and it never felt watered down or boring. While I do miss backflip face-kicks, the finishing moves add a much-needed flair to what could have easily been a very drab and dull rinse-and-repeat method of fighting.

Supporting Characters - While Nix felt a little under-utilized (but that could just be because I played as a good character), Kuo was a very interesting inclusion, especially after her abduction. You occasionally have to choose sides between the two characters, and the way they react to your decisions will not always be what you would expect from them. I do wish they had delved into the characters a little more though - they were interesting enough to justify it, and it would have greatly improved the story to focus on what they had both been through and how they handle it.

The Bad:
Story - This game, already with a premise that promises to have incredible knock-down, drag-out fights, unfortunately does not deliver. Don't get me wrong - this is a fun game, and you'll enjoy throwing large electric tornadoes at your enemies. But the game never feels... right. It feels like a song with the metronome off by just a little. The build-up to the finale falls a little short, bad things happen to allies just a little too quickly, and there are several repercussions from Empire City that are touted as "awful events" that you really just do not feel the impact of. Near the end of the game, you are left with a decision that will have huge consequences, and it just feels so lackluster. And to be honest - of all the types of villains they could have gone with for the game, Bertrand was a particularly lame one; it never truly feels like there is any conflict between you and him, but you fight him anyway.

The Beast - He just seems like the most interesting pieces pulled from other sources (take Dr. Manhattan and mix him with Magneto) and applied towards this terrible ongoing event in Infamous 2 that you really do not hear about until much later in the game. Really, Sucker Punch? You guys usually know what you are doing, but this feels like your Force Unleashed 2. Awesome game, lacking story. The Beast never feels like the world's greatest threat - even though you do not win your first fight, he certainly never feels invincible. I feel like they should have shown footage of him leveling a city to really drive the point home. However, I will say this: the Beast is freakin' cool.

The "Why?"
Your Powers - Most of your powers are cool, yes. But since the events of this game occur not long after the end of the first, one would assume you would still have all your superpowers, as it does not make sense to "neuter" your character, right? Wrong - while you still have grenades, basic bolts, and static thrusters, it takes a while before you are able to unlock your polarity shield, missiles, precision bolts, and lightning strikes. Much more troublesome is the complete lack of explanation given for this, and that ties back into my issue with the story. Additionally, later in the game you acquire a new means of traversing your environment, one that is given to you so late in the game that it makes no sense - you are barely given enough time to use it before the final boss fight occurs.

My Score: 8.5/10
Infamous 2 is a fun game - there is no denying that, and I had an absolute blast playing through it. The gameplay mechanics are fun and much better than the first game, you can still climb and glide everywhere, and throwing tornadoes really never gets old - there is nothing like being cornered in an alley and then sending an entire platoon sky-high. However, my issues with the story and the conflicts in the game keep it from getting a higher score - while I very much enjoyed the game, the pacing was very inconsistent and there was no real emotional weight to anything that happened except for your final decision, and even that felt a little off. That being said, it is definitely an enjoyable story, and with the ability to experience two drastically different stories (depending on whether you play good or evil) as well as an unlimited number of missions to be played online in the form of user-generated content, this is definitely a game worth checking out.

My recommendation: Buy it.

E3 2011: Prey 2

I figured it was best to, after an unexpected two-week hiatus from the blog, lead into all the new information and gameplay videos from E3 2011 by devoting the first article to a game that completely and utterly blew my expectations away: Prey 2. For those who have not played the Prey series before (or just Prey, as the "series" consists of one title), the original game was about a Native American man, uninterested in the heritage of his ancestors and just trying to make his way in the world with his girlfriend Jen, is abducted by a race of aliens looking to harvest Earth's living organisms to power their starship, a large craft known as The Sphere. The story is not just a simple abduction story, however, with a heavy emphasis placed on Tommy's ability to walk in the spirit realm of his ancestors and the use of portals to solve puzzles and progress through the game (I would not be surprised if this game influenced the original Portal). During the course of the game, while in the Sphere, you see an airplane, recently teleported, crashing in the Sphere, many miles above the Earth. While not a large event from Tommy's perspective, as it functioned more as an "where the hell am I?" moment, that is where Prey 2 begins.

In Prey 2, you play as Killian Samuels, a US Air Marshall on board that same crashing plane that you witnessed as Tommy in the first game. While this is where the game starts, you do not spend much time on the plane itself - instead, the game fast-forwards to some time later, where you have been taken to the planet Exodus and have found work as a bounty hunter. Don't worry - I thought this sounded incredibly stupid at first, as well.

After watching the gameplay demos and hearing the game explained by its developers, I have completely changed my tune about it - this game looks incredible (and you will encounter Tommy in the game - you just won't play as him). It is a beautifully realized world, looking like a cross between the cityscape found in Blade Runner and that of Coruscant (from the Star Wars films). This is an absolutely incredible game, visually speaking - neon signs, metal walkways precipitated with moisture, and a very cool use of ambiance and lighting. But that pales in comparison to the gameplay - it is being touted as "alien noir meets Red Dead Redemption" (Kotaku.com). The game seems to take all of its best qualities from other games, with a parkour ability that seems to be an evolved (and much better) version of Brink's, an anti-gravity mine ability similar to one of Commander Shepard's abilities in Mass Effect, and a shield ability similar to Gears of War's self-proclaimed "meat shield". While it may seem like it is taking some very good ideas from other games, I do not think that is an issue here - if it isn't broken, why fix it? These are all very fun gameplay elements, and Prey 2 puts its own spin on them. Plus, to be fair, in Prey 2, you have a radar that outlines targets for you and hover boots.

Yes, hover boots. They look awesome.

As fascinating as all of that is, I'm sure all of you are saying "blah blah blah, show us the videos already!", so I will oblige you. Embedded below is the cinematic trailer for this game, as well as a lengthy demo from Gamespot's E3 2011 coverage. Keep visiting the blog for many more updates from E3, including the coverage of Nintendo's newest console, footage of Bioshock Infinite and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and information on all the big games of the next year. Have a great weekend!

Cinematic Trailer:


Gamespot's E3 2011 Gameplay Demonstration:

Should You Buy: Infamous 2

After having played the demo for Sucker Punch's Infamous 2 several times (it is currently up on the Playstation store - gasp! It works now!), I have decided to create a guide to help those still on the fence trying to figure out whether or not to buy this game (warning: this may be biased by my undying love for people with superpowers). This is not a review - just added information for people still unsure.

Did you love the first game? If you did, then this game is absolutely for you. It sticks to its strengths and seems to have improved on most, if not all, of its weaknesses.

Do you love throwing cars like guided missiles? Honestly, who doesn't? But even though that is the only new power of Cole's shown during the demo, it is absolutely awesome and worth the price of admission. Melee has also been tuned up to actually be fun in this game (although I did love the kick-to-the-face backflip from the original).

Did you play the first game? Although the opening cutscene explains a lot of what happened in the previous game, if you still have yet to get around to playing the original, maybe you should get that first to get your feet wet (from a story standpoint - combat is fairly straightforward).

Do you like sandbox games? Games like Grand Theft Auto are "sandbox" games - games that allow you to explore the environment instead of guiding you from mission to mission. If that is not your type of game, then Infamous 2 will not be for you. For those of you who love them, myself included, you will enjoy this.

Do you have a soul? Well, do you? If you do, get this game. If not, get this game so you can suck the souls and life energy out of pedestrians and street performers (yeah - you can do that in the game).

If you answered "yes" to any and/or all of the above questions, then this game will be for you - look for my review of the game the week after E3!

E3 2011: Konami's Pre-E3 Press Conference News

Released online Friday night, Konami offered gamers a look at news and games to look forward to next week in the form of a one-hour long promotional video; the video has been uploaded to Gametrailers and can be found here. Detailed below are information and games to be aware of come next week:

Metal Gear Solid: Rising A No-Show

Confirmed by Hideo Kojima in the video, he states that the game is looking at a "2012" release window (that sounds specific...) and did not mention it further - due to the large popularity of the game, I am very surprised that Konami will not be showcasing this at E3 - seeing as the title was announced two years ago, it should be nearing a release date, and the lack of any type of showing for the game for the majority of the past year seems like it would hinder rather than help the building up of hype for this game.

Metal Gear Solid/ Zone of the Enders HD Collections

Also confirmed in the video is the upcoming releases of two new HD collections for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 (which is a first - the past HD remakes, such as Prince of Persia and Sly Cooper, have been Playstation exclusive) - the Metal Gear Solid games and the Zone of the Enders games (the first one ranking fairly significantly in my top ten all-time favorite games). The Metal Gear Solid Collection will featured MGS 2, 3, and Peace Walker (one of several releases for the Playstation Portable) and will be released in November of this year. The Zone of the Enders collection will feature both games, 1 and 2, and will be released sometime in 2012 - a specific date has not yet been set. Also likely but unconfirmed is the possibility of Zone of the Enders coming to either the PSP or the forthcoming Playstation handheld.

The "Fox Engine" Unveiled

While details are sparse during the course of the video, Hideo Kojima showed off a little of his multi-console-spanning game engine that will power his next project (read: not Metal Gear) in the press conference video. The engine, demonstrated at the 51 minute mark in the press conference video, looks very impressive, especially with the attention to detail; the foliage and lighting as especially excellent eye-candy.

Also in the video:

-footage of Konami's upcoming soccer game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
-Silent Hill: Downpour announced for the forthcoming Playstation handheld
-teaser footage of a new Contra game
-footage of the upcoming Konami game NeverDead
-information on Metal Gear Solid's 3DS outing

Confirmed: The Witcher 2 Coming to Xbox 360

The Witcher 2 is an RPG released approximately two weeks ago for the PC. You play as Geralt of Rivia, one of the last remaining Witchers in the world; Witchers are people who have been trained since birth to fight monsters. While there had been much speculation that a console version of the game was being developed as the same time as its PC brethren, these rumors looked to be false when no announcement was made prior to launch. Today, however, all that changed when CD Projekt Red, the game's developer, announced that they have been, in fact, developing The Witcher 2 for consoles as well, and the game will be demonstrated live at E3 2011 next week.

The PC release for The Witcher 2 is a critic's darling, earning an average score of 89 on Metacritic after 49 reviews (that's VERY good). This is a franchise I have been interested in ever since the first game came out, but, given that I have a laptop, I was not able to handle the game and was forced to wait for a console release - I'm glad one is finally coming!

I've included some gameplay and an official trailer to give you readers an idea of what to expect from this action RPG franchise:

News: Catwoman Playable in Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is the follow-up to the smash 2009 hit Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first video game to truly do justice to the titular character. While it was originally thought (unsurprisingly) that you would only be playing as Batman in the upcoming game, you will be able to play as Catwoman as well, demonstrated in a trailer and gameplay write-up released earlier today on Gamespot's website. It is being said that her story/playing time will run for about 10% of the full game.

Her style, as demonstrated in the trailer, is much different than that of Batman's. Her combat is more acrobatic, and she has her own set of gadgets and special moves to pull off (including her "kissing" distraction - hope she brought a mint!). Additionally, if the trailer is any indication, she has her own method of traversing the buildings of Arkham City, which looks to be a mix of free-form climbing and a whip to swing from. She is still very much a thief, however; for those not familiar with her character, she is both an ally to Batman and a criminal, but not like Two-Face or the Joker. Instead of Batman's "detective mode", she is reported to have a thief version that shows her what she's going to steal. It is not yet clear whether the Catwoman missions will take place all at one time or will exist as side quests.

I will update this blog with an embedded trailer as soon as one is made available online. Keep your eyes peeled!

Update: here is the trailer, as promised. Enjoy!