By Alec Meer on April 8th, 2009.
It’s Splinter Cell if Sam Fisher wasn’t such a gigantic pussy. Escape From Butcher Bay if Riddick was more than a shiv-wielding, growly thug. Gears of War with something like brains. Metal Gear Solid, as written by someone with a mental age of more than 14. Call of Duty: Far Future Warfare. So: why wasn’t 2006 tacticalish shooter Rogue Trooper massive?
Read the rest of this entry »
By Kieron Gillen on April 8th, 2009.
After my first impressions post, Eurogamer totally paid me to write more words for them. I just can’t say no to their shiny gold pieces. Anyway, I take apart Drakensang for ‘em by starting like so…
There’s an annoyance I have to deal with when playing Drakensang. The annoyance is that whenever I get down to a deep, involving tactical session of balancing my team’s abilities, wondering whether some on-the-fly-XP tweaking is required to beat back this oppressive wall of undead, my girlfriend sticks her head around the office door and asks me if I’m still playing Shrek.
And continuing ever-onwards. Yays.
By John Walker on April 8th, 2009.
Oh videogames, when will you ever learn that you’re not supposed to be about things? Your restrictions are thus: jumping on mushrooms, hitting a ball, and racing. But not racing to anywhere or from anything. Will you please control yourselves?
Six Days In Fallujah is Konami’s gaming interpretation of the gruesome 2004 battle in which 38 US troops, and 1200 insurgents were killed. Made by Atomic Games, most recently known for the Close Combat games, it’s a squad-based tactical third-person game, designed to recreate the atmosphere and experiences of the soldiers who fought there four and a half years ago. Please welcome The Daily Mail.
By Kieron Gillen on April 8th, 2009.
We’re taken aback. It’s not often that The Onion breaks videogame stories. I mean, satire is their thing, yeah? Which makes it all the more impressive when they break the story on Close Range, a videogame which consists solely of shooting people in the face, at close range. The game itself features a demo online, which we’ve played with mounting fury at what can only be described as the foulest of murder simulator. We’re horrified. In fact, so horrified we’re going to present a gallery of head-shots so we can examine the depth of our outrage.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Jim Rossignol on April 7th, 2009.
Where do you go after Conan The Barbarian? To a contemporary conspiratorial supernatural setting with a cute girl and a horrific monster, of course! “A world where magic is real and monsters roam…” Funcom’s next MMO is The Secret World, and it is revealed in a whirl of internet magic beyond the jump. Not revealed by us, of course, because we’re too wee, but by the all-seeing eye of GameTrailers. There’s two bits, so watch the first one first, as it’s got the beautiful Ragnar “Dreamfall” Tornquist talking about his creation. “Fight rising darkness!” Anything for you, Ragnar. “This is an MMORPG without classes, without levels, this is completely skill-based,” Ragnar, now you are teasing us! You naughty beast!
By Jim Rossignol on April 7th, 2009.
The ultimate battle! Or at least a strange cosplay dance and a fairly rich conversation – orchestrated by Offworld’s peerless documentary GDC coverage – which covers “hacking” player behaviour, developer responsibility, humiliation, secret dance offs, the future of interactivity, programmable realities, the “game movement” and the overall importance of gaming in modern life. If any of that sounds intriguing you should go and watch below, and visit Offworld because Brandon is a blog-wielding hero of our time.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Alec Meer on April 7th, 2009.
I recently found myself rereading a whole load of Judge Dredd strips I’d eagerly devoured as a violence-crazed teenager. I’d not questioned the politics or attitudes of them at that age – I’d just cheered when Dredd killed a guy. Coming to it now is fascinating, trying to spot the dividing line between satire and the disturbing inherent implication that a police state is a-ok so long as the police are moral and honest actionmen. Of course, it also made me want to go shoot some perps.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Jim Rossignol on April 7th, 2009.
VG247 have been talking to shy and reclusive game developer Peter Molyneux about Lionhead’s ambitions. They want to tell the greatest story ever. The developer said:
“The greatest story ever told? I think it’s going to be in a computer game. And I think that if I play the greatest story ever told in the same game as you play it, your greatest story is going to be different to my greatest story. And that is power.”
Blimey. I hate stories, me. Just give me a box of toys. But what about you?
By Jim Rossignol on April 7th, 2009.
John Romero has posted some long-lost video of Id Software in the days just before the release of Doom. It’s a good half hour long, and you can hear various people from Id, as well as the film-maker, commenting in awe at deathmatch in the early FPS. It’s embedded beyond the click. (Thanks to Tim for the tip.)
Read the rest of this entry »
By Alec Meer on April 7th, 2009.
As revealed by an accidental nose at Steam’s folder structure. Could be anyone’s fault really, but giggles are go nonetheless.
By Kieron Gillen on April 7th, 2009.
Jason Schklar and I started talking after I linked to his piece on Left 4 Dead as a proof-of-concept for a DungeonMaster game in a Sunday Papers. We ended up deciding that since what Jason does isn’t exactly what gets brought before the general gamers’ eye that much, an interview would be interesting. Because after working at Big Huge Games and Microsoft Game studios, he’s become a freelance usability and playability specialist. As in, he looks at the absolute fundamentals which makes games easier to get into and harder to put down. That’s unusual, thinks I. Let’s see what that actually means…
Read the rest of this entry »
