Knieval
By Jim Rossignol on May 24th, 2013.
Guildford-based developers Hello Games have spent the past few years crafting the delightful Joe Danger, but only for those console things. Now, though, they’re bringing their colourful stuntman to PC, and they’re promising a PC version with shiny knobs on.
We spoke to Hello’s Sean Murray to find out more.
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Lend Me Your Ear... Wait, No!
By John Walker on May 23rd, 2013.
There’s a saying, quoted by the late socialist and storyteller Utah Phillips, that goes:
“Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free.”
In light of various confusions and controversies in the wake of the Xbox One announcement, and the many other matters similar to it in this industry, do we really have any notion of freedom in game ownership, and our right to share?
"a game that is circumstantial for everybody"
By Jim Rossignol on May 22nd, 2013.
TUG is an interesting proposition. A game of exploring and building, a multiplayer thing that encompasses lots of what has excited us about games over the past few years – dynamic, procedurally-produced environments, exploration, collaboration. It’s also a platform that will be exposed as much as possible to modding, and the Kickstarter explicitly supports creating tools to make that easy. It also claims to be using science and academia in its development. How can such mad alchemy be possible? It was time to ask Nerd Kingdom‘s handsomely bearded academic, Peter Salinas.
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A Holding Pattern
By Jim Rossignol on May 21st, 2013.
Sanctum was something of a rocket out of left field. There’s nothing unusual about tower defence, of course, and the “action” tower defence genre is now setting itself up as a thing, but Sanctum’s tight sci-fi world and solid feel set it apart from either tower defence games or FPS titles. That meant popularity, and a lot of players. Sanctum 2, meanwhile, attempts to place a fresh turret on top of previous successes, and use a flamethrower on the opposition. I spent some time with it. Here’s Wot I Think.
What's In The Box?
By John Walker on May 21st, 2013.
In the second instalment of our Twenty Bucks series (because we’re made of money), John looks at what President Jackson can buy you within the free-to-play halls of Neverwinter. Is it riches beyond your wildest dreams? Or imaginary trinkets that elude your touch. Read on, brave adventurer.
Must be a British Summer
By John Walker on May 20th, 2013.
Grim Dawn may still be a good few months away (currently perhaps at the end of August), but I’ve had my hands on some early alpha code to get an impression of this furrow-browed, grimly serious action RPG from the former Titan Quest developers. You can see my thoughts below.
an elaborate shooting
By John Walker on May 20th, 2013.
While it’s the fourth game in the Call Of Juarez series, Gunslinger is not directly connected to its preceding brethren. A Western that tells the unreliable memories of cowboy bounty hunter Silas Greaves, through first-person shooting, for a remarkably low £12 pricetag. Should it climb atop a horse for dairy consumption, or might it be the sheriff of this here town? Here’s wot I think:
Light Sensitive
By Jim Rossignol on May 20th, 2013.
4A’s sequel to their widely-enjoyed post-apocalyptic shooter Metro 203 appeared last week, and I’ve been waving my Geiger counter of critical analysis over its glowing innards. Will Metro: Last Light be remembered as a worthy sequel, or as a the point where 4A’s filter finally failed? Here’s wot I think.
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"Clementine Will Remember That"
By Nathan Grayson on May 17th, 2013.
Yesterday, I put on my fuzzy-eared detective hat and grilled Telltale president Kevin Bruner about his company’s next big, hopefully not bad thing, The Wolf Among Us. The Fables-based caper sounds like a worthy (though unexpected) follow-up to The Walking Dead, but it’s hardly the only story being writ large by Telltale’s ostentatiously oversized quill pens. The developer also regularly creates experimental prototypes involving AI, story structures, the way players communicate with characters, and tons more. Fittingly – given the developer’s love of episodic stories – they call it the Pilot Program. Some of these “weird” ideas make it into games, but many of them don’t. Ultimately, though, this is Telltale’s way of paving a path to its own future. I quizzed Bruner about the good, the bad, and the ugly of his company’s experiments, as well as a couple other loose ends like King’s Quest. It’s all after the break.
By John Walker on May 16th, 2013.
The ongoing adventures of a man finding he’s been sucked into an MMO for the first time in years. Parts one and two are there.
So I guess I’ve finished Neverwinter. I’ve not reached the end of its content, but I’ve hit the limit of what it seems I’m going to be able to play.
Good Cop, Bad Cop, Wolf Cop
By Nathan Grayson on May 16th, 2013.
To hear Telltale tell the tale, The Walking Dead wasn’t built to be a wildly acclaimed game of the year award magnet. A good game? Yes. A great story? Clearly. But not a bowling ball catapult into zombified super stardom. With all eyes suddenly on the once-unassuming developer, “that Fables game” has an incredibly tough act to follow. But The Wolf Among Us is a) about a gruff, nicotine-addicted werewolf detective and b) not about gazing sullenly out the window while protesting, “No, it’s just the rain/my allergies/this waterfall we’re standing under.” It takes place in a mad fantasy reality where anything can happen – except, um, the undead apocalypse. It’s maybe a bit different. So, where does Walking Dead’s DNA end and Wolf Among Us begin? What about Fables-specific issues like mystery-solving, a pre-established main character, wolfed-out combat, and a somewhat controversial creator? I spoke with Telltale president Kevin Bruner about all of that and more.
