By John Walker on August 23rd, 2011.
Oh now this is special. Properly special. Extraordinarily talented map creator Douglas “TopHATTwaffle” Hoogland was commissioned by one Gary Hudston to create a very particular series of Portal 2 levels. Working with Rachel “Miss Stabby” van der Meer, he set about creating some truly spectacular Portal 2 puzzles that lead up to, well, something of a proposal.
By John Walker on August 22nd, 2011.
Well blimey, here’s a thing. After Ubi’s frankly dreadful performance over From Dust, there appears to be a degree of capitulation afoot. On the From Dust forums (which now appear to be the only way to learn such news from the publisher) it has been revealed that the team are working on a patch that will remove online authentication DRM entirely. Which would be, well, brilliant!
By Jim Rossignol on August 22nd, 2011.
The project lead on Men Of War: Vietnam, Nikita Altman, has a fascinating taste in shirts, as you can see from the developer diary I’ve posted below. In this dubbed interview, he explains why his team were interested in the setting, and how historically accurate its portrayal of the conflict might be. There’s a bunch of game footage to illustrate all this. Even more interesting is that we have review code, which I will soon be playing. You can read my early impressions of the game here. Will it live up to the legend? I’ll soon find out. And then tell you, I suppose. Mm.
By Adam Smith on August 22nd, 2011.
Here’s a cute little game that popped up at GDC Europe. It’s an action-puzzler with a rather nifty retro future vibe to it. The tongue-in-cheek, self-referential trailer raised a smile and the actual gameplay doesn’t look half bad either. From what I can gather, it’s a little like Pipe Mania, which you may know as the hacking game from Bioshock if you’re not an old fart. The difference here is that you actually control Tom, the virus, and must run around the grid switching connections around rather than simply clicking on them with a pointer. And it has co-op and competitive modes. Take a look.
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After the Revolution
By Alec Meer on August 22nd, 2011.
Following a demo showing of Arkane’s remarkable retro-future, supernatural stealth/action immersive sim Dishonored (as described here), I roped co-creative directors Harvey Smith (one of the minds behind Deus Ex and System Shock) and Raphael Colantonio (co-creator of Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah) into a chat.
A chat about what? About choice, about avoiding compromise, about making rats believable, about possessing fish, about how they’re “hell bent” on creating first-person games with depth, about building a developer supergroup to make this, about arguing with art directors about chairs, about why publishers are getting behind immersive sims again, about how to make sure mainstream audiences play them, about Deus Ex, and why this is the most liberating project Harvey’s worked on since that game…
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God In The Machine?
By John Walker on August 22nd, 2011.
There are very few games that all of us at RPS find ourselves all anticipating so hotly, and this week Deus Ex: Human Revolution is finally with us. Copies should unlock in the US at midnight tonight, while other parts of the world (needlessly) have to wait another four days. Are our anticipations met? I’ve finished the game and will do my best to tell you Wot I Think.
By Jim Rossignol on August 22nd, 2011.
Somewhere. I am presuming North American Steam accounts can see it and download it and play it, if they have pre-ordered, due to this post on the main site. The Space Marine page is not visible here in the UK at all. I contacted THQ to ask why that would be quite some time back, but we’ve yet to get a response. Our guess is that it’s related to a retail distribution deal in the UK, but we’re just speculating. Anyway, Relic have announced that signing up to this Honor Guard thing will give UK users access to the demo on August 22nd, somehow. The demo apparently gets a general release on the 23rd, but I am not totally clear about that.
Anyone played it yet? The game is due out September 6th in North America and September 9th in Europe.
By Adam Smith on August 22nd, 2011.
Interactive experiences in which tiny little people dig into the ground and build stuff with the things they find there are the only game in town. And when I say ‘town’ I mean your town as well as mine. When given the choice between fighting in a modern war or building a house made out of dirt, today’s gamer will reach for his trusty pickaxe every time. Well, most times. Some times. Minecraft continues to be a phenomenon and Terraria has been a massive success. Scuba, a flash game from Louissi posted on Armor Games, certainly has more in common with Terraria than Minecraft. It’s a sidescrolling dig ‘em up with a twist. Guess what the twist is. The clue is in the title.
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By John Walker on August 22nd, 2011.
I Am Alive has been kept hidden in Ubisoft’s cupboard for years. First announced in 2008, with this trailer, it’s been through a bit of a journey. The original developers, Darkworks, left the apparently almost complete project after a “mutual decision”, with duties taken to Ubisoft’s own Shanghai studio. Come 2009 screenshots were leaked, but little more was heard. The last time Ubi set a release date was for last year, and rumours of something happening by the end of this Summer have proven unfounded. And now a leak has happened again, this time a slightly unfinished trailer. Which you can see below.
A dark project
By Alec Meer on August 22nd, 2011.
Arkane co-founder Raf Colantonio is playing his new game all wrong. This is the first time I’ve had a first-hand look at Dishonored, the immersive sim from folk who’ve worked on the likes of Deus Ex, Half-Life 2 and Dark Messiah: Might & Magic, but I can tell you, right now, that one of its creators is playing it wrong. At least, that’s what my brain’s screaming at me. And I, too, am wrong.
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By Adam Smith on August 22nd, 2011.
The signup for Blacklight: Retribution‘s closed beta is ongoing and another trailer has emerged for your viewing pleasure. It shows off some shooting, some explosions, some vehicles and a mech with strangely chubby legs. But don’t take my word for it – see below and attempt to spot all those things for yourself! Perhaps make some form of checklist. That way the trailer is a game in itself.
