Dead Space 3 Does Co-op Well

dead space 3 coop

A common concern with horror games is that adding another person into the mix will negate the scares, kind of like watching a scary movie with a friend and making fun of it to lessen the tension. While Dead Space 3 might seem like more of an action game with two players tearing up necromorphs together, there are a couple neat tricks that developers Visceral Games pulls to make the experience a little more frightening.

Throughout the game, the co-op partner playing as second banana John Carver will experience hallucinations that the person playing Isaac Clarke won’t see. It’s up to Clarke to protect Carver as he works through these visions. This is a pretty cool way to make co-op a bit more difficult as during these moments players can’t help each other defeat the enemies they are fighting, meaning that Isaac needs to hold off the hordes by himself while Carver does the same.

Communication is key during these parts, and this is one of the many ways that co-op feels integral to Dead Space 3. While there are the standard puzzles like holding a piece of equipment down while one player climbs up or re-routing computer programs simultaneously, going through Carver’s co-op exclusive missions make the co-op campaign of Dead Space 3 that much more enticing.

Has anyone played Dead Space 3? Are you doing it co-op, or are planning to do so?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 60: The One After 59

dead space 3

We’re back with another one of our block-rockin’ casts, bringing you all that hot gaming discussion we know you love. Nick even makes a cameo appearance on the cast, so fans of his bearded tones get a little treat this week.

This is one of our longer casts as we get into discussions about the newly announced Assassin’s Creed 4, Dead Space 3 and microtransactions, Ni No Kuni, racism and Borderlands 2, the next generation and the possibility of the Wii U being DOA. So yeah, there’s a lot of gabbing going on here.

Listen, rate, comment; we’re all old hands at this, but I like reminding you anyways. Enjoy!

Hotline Miami trailer

0:00 – 7:37 Intro
7:38 – 13:18 Assassin’s Creed 4
13:19 – 19:08 Games getting better or worse with time
19:09 – 30:48 Dead Space 3
30:50 – 43:33 Ni No Kuni and JRPGs
43:34 – 55:59 Tiny Tina, Borderlands 2 and racism
56:00 – 1:07:14 PlayStation 4 and the Next Xbox
1:07:15 – 1:10:25 Rayman Legends goes multiplatform
1:10:26 – 1:18:26 Outro

Closer to Next Gen: Next Xbox and PS4 Rumors Surface

next xbox no used games always online

It’s “Stop the Presses” Thursday, coming at ya!

Hot on the heels of Sony’s announcement of a press conference on the 20 of February said to be a PlayStation 4 reveal, more rumored specifications about the Xbox 360 successor leaked out thanks to Edge.

The next Xbox will be always online, won’t play second hand games, will have games that ship on 50GB Blu-Ray discs and will utilize an upgraded Kinect. The always-online, no second-hand rumors have been floating around for a while, and it looks like games will be packaged with an activation code that renders the disc useless beyond the purchaser.

As for hardware, the system specs of the next Xbox look like this: AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, a D3D11.x 800MHz graphics solution and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. The system architecture of the next generation consoles, PS4 included, are apparently really close to the inner workings of a PC.

In contrast, the rumored specifications of Sony’s PS4 are a bit more beefy on paper, with developers apparently saying that the PS4 is easier to work on, as well as featuring an operating system that’s less stringent than Microsoft’s next console.

This “no used games” thing keeps popping up, so what do you guys think? Does the next Xbox actually have all this stuff? Will Sony reveal the PlayStation 4 on the 20? Go!

Xbox Source – Edge
PS4 Source – Edge

Review: Paper Mario: Sticker Star

paper mario sticker star review

While the main Mario games may be getting a bit stale, the mustachioed plumber has a great stable of spin-off titles in other genres. Paper Mario wasn’t our hero’s first foray into RPGs, but the series became known more for its art style and humor as opposed to any stat-based hooks.

Armed with his trusty book of stickers and a new companion, can Paper Mario: Sticker Star bring the series’ trademark charm to the 3DS? Continue reading Review: Paper Mario: Sticker Star

The Hits and Misses of the Crysis 3 Multiplayer Beta

crysis 3 multiplayer impressions

Crysis 3’s multiplayer beta opened up last week and I spent a little time leaping around as a nanosuited operative, trying out the two availible game modes: Hunter and Crash Site, the latter of which returns from Crysis 2.

In Hunter mode, a team of ever-dwindling CELL soldiers has to survive against invisible, bow-wielding predators, and every kill the Hunters get adds to their own ranks. While this may sound like it makes for a tense multiplayer mode, the rounds are fairly short and the Hunters seem a little too over-powered, considering they’re invisible and the new bow is a one-hit kill. At one point I went on a five-kill streak with the bow when I was standing about ten feet from a group of enemy players, so oblivious were they to my presence. While the CELL team gets motion trackers and EMP grenades, the abilities given to the Hunters more than outweighs this puny advantage.

Crash Site, for those of you who didn’t play Crysis 2, is a territory control game type, where alien pods will land somewhere on the map and one team has to hold down that location to gain points. While this mode is a lot more fun than Hunter, there are several balance issues that need to be worked out before release. Continue reading The Hits and Misses of the Crysis 3 Multiplayer Beta

GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Muscle Memory

water temple

Welcome to “GamerSushi Asks Friday”.

Like a lot of you guys, I’ve played many, many video games throughout my life, but no matter how many more I play or how much time has passed since playing certain games, there will always be aspects I can remember once I get my hands on a controller.

Recently I was watching my girlfriend play through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D when she got to Jabu Jabu’s Belly and got stumped at some point. Having played Ocarina of Time quite a bit I thought I could tell her how to get passed the puzzle, but unless I am holding the game in my hands, I can’t remember. If I’m playing the game, then I have no problem. The same thing happened recently when I was feeling a little nostalgic and put in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3: I could recall where every SKATE letter was and where all the secret tapes were, and I had no problem chaining together massive combos.

I guess it’s kind of like riding a bike in that you brain just never forgets when something is ingrained into your memory like that. Do you guys have any games where no matter how many years it’s been since you last played, you can pick up the controller and instantly be a pro at it?

Bringing Back Space Combat with Strike Suit Zero

strike suit zero

Welcome back to “What We’re Playing” Monday here on GamerSushi!

I grew up playing the old X-Wing game for the PC and it’s been sad for me to see that genre fall out of favor with gamers at large. True, that game was perhaps a little too complicated, but even simple space combat games have been few and far between the last couple of years.

Born Ready Games, with a Kickstarter backing, has decided to reboot the space combat genre and bring us Strike Suit Zero, a game for the PC that has not only spaceship dog-fighting but also lets you pilot a kick-ass mecha. Yes, you read that right: about an hour and a bit into the game, you get access to a Strike Suit, a prototype fighter that has the secondary function of transforming into a giant robot.

The controls for the game a pretty straightforward: as a fighter you get plasma cannons, a machine gun and a variety of missiles. Using the machine gun to strip the shields of enemy fighters and finishing them off with your plasma cannons keeps your fingers busy and doesn’t make you reliant on one weapon as the plasma guns tend to drain fast, especially when they’re linked. Once you get the Strike Suit, a simple tap of a button (or key, but I really recommend playing with a controller) turns your snubfighter into a death-dealing, missile spewing machine. Continue reading Bringing Back Space Combat with Strike Suit Zero

GamerSushi Asks: Favorite Video Game Shotgun?

favorite video game shotgun

It’s GamerSushi Asks Friday!

One of the most important aspects of a shooter is the weaponry, but beyond that, having a powerful, satisfying shotgun in your virtual arsenal is key. Sometimes a shotgun can make or break a game, so we’d like to ask you what your favorite video game shotgun is.

Personally, I just can’t think of a better shotgun than the M90 Close Assault Weapon System from Halo: Combat Evolved. The first time you find this beastly firearm, you’ve just encountered the Flood and are hoping for a weapon that will put down the larger combat forms in one hit. The M90 CAWS is the answer to that prayer and for the rest of the game, this scattergun will occupy one of your two precious weapon slots whether you have ammo for it or not.

Runners up would be the Gnasher from Gears of War, which can turn you into a living meatgrinder in multiplayer if you can get the hang of it, or the SPAS-12 from Battlefield 3. I recently discovered that equipping slug rounds on the SPAS-12 turns it into a one-hit kill weapon at medium range, and it requires a bit more skill than the other full-auto weapons availible.

I may be skewing kind of modern here, so I’ll pose the question to you guys one again: what is your favorite video game shotgun?

Dead Space 3’s Workbench Will Have Microtransactions

dead space 3 microstransactions

Dead Space 3 will be hitting our screens very soon, but some news about the game dropped this week that may sour your anticipation. According to Eurogamer, Dead Space 3’s new workbench, where you can custom-make your weaponry, will include a microtransaction store for buying some additional resources.

While players will still be able to scavenge the materials for themselves or use scavenger bots to gather crafting resources in-game, real-world money can always be used to circumvent the collection process. This doesn’t mean that eager players can drop a ton of cash at the beginning of the game and get all the top-tier weaponry; they still have to wait for those guns to be unlocked as part of the narrative progression.

Even though this is the first instance of microtransactions in Dead Space, giving quick boosts for cash is nothing new in EA titles. Mass Effect 3 had this, as did Battlefield 3 and I wouldn’t be surprised if SimCity has something similar. What do you guys think about this? Is this a harmless addition for those of us flush with cash but strapped for time? Is it a foul on EA’s part to try and get their mitts into your wallet after you’ve already bought the game?

Source – Eurogamer

Review: Far Cry 3

far cry 3 review

If you’re captured by pirates on a tropical island halfway around the world, what do you do? According to Far Cry 3, you get some sick tribal tattoos and start stabbing. Far Cry 3 doesn’t waste much time before dropping you into an island paradise full of dangerous predators and even more dangerous pirates and mercenaries and allows you to go about your business as you see fit.

Want to be a master of stealth and roll around with a bow and a machete? Go for it. Want to trundle in with a flamethrower and a bunch of rocket-propelled grenades? Perhaps you’d like the local wildlife to do your killing for you. Far Cry 3 has so many ways to interact with the environment and your enemies that it’s almost insane. Oh, did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Continue reading Review: Far Cry 3

One Man Fools Games Journalists with Fake Xbox 720 Email

xbox 720 fake email

“Don’t believe everything you read” is the lesson being learned by a few gaming websites today as one man comes out as the instigator of a faked email “leaking” specifics behind the Xbox 360 successor and something called the “X-Surface”.

In the anonymous email, our trickster pretends to be a Microsoft employee on the Xbox team, when in reality he doesn’t work for the software giant. The email about the X-Surface contains just enough information about the Xbox 720 to appear legit, and several sites ran with it, including VG247, NowGamer and Venturebeat. While all the sites have updated their original posts acknowledging the hoax, it still points to the “post now fact check never” mentality that some sites have.

I understand that in an industry dominated by pageviews, being first with a hot piece of news, especially about the upcoming consoles, is a priority, but sometimes this can backfire. Gaming websites are so hungry for hits that they’ll gobble up fake news and spit it back out without a second thought. If you’re looking for a response from someone on the inside that isn’t all about shaming journalists, Ben Kuchera over at the Penny-Arcade Report has a thoughtful comment about this whole hubbub.

So what say you about this whole charade?

Source – X-Surface

Skyward Sword and the Middle of the Road

legend of zelda skyward sword

So for this week’s “What We’re Playing” Monday, I’m taking us back to the Before Times, the Long-Long Ago, to November 2011 and the world of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Because the release schedule between December and now is a bit dry, I decided to go back and actually try and beat the latest entry in Nintendo’s fantasy series. While reviews for Skyward Sword were pretty phenomenal across the board back in the day, I’m finding the game to be a rather middling experience.

That’s not to say that Skyward Sword is bad, per se, and it’s certainly a small step up from its predecessor, Twilight Princess. While the motion controls do work well on occasion, most of the enemies are a little too stalwart in their defenses with very little room to get a strike in, leaving you waiting for an opening that you won’t hit if the controls decide to go wonky on you. The boss monster design is pretty comical, especially the man-boobed tentacle monster, which is a shame because Zelda bosses have typically been memorable and intimidating. The secondary bad guy, Ghirahim, seems to indulge in certain design tendencies that Zelda has previously managed to avoid. Perhaps one of the most annoying small things the game does is to do the introduction of crafting items every time you pick them up when you load a save. Continue reading Skyward Sword and the Middle of the Road

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 59: Rude Cast

gamersushi show ep 59

The GamerSushi Show is back for your listening pleasure two weeks in a row! Crazy, right? Unfortunately neither myself or Nick could make the cast this week, but that doesn’t mean that Eddy, Anthony and Jeff didn’t have enough to talk about on their own.

After going over a couple of 2012’s late entries, the guys talk about the upcoming games of 2013 and whether or not we’ll actually see the next gen this year (signs point to yes). There’s much more nerdery in the podcast proper, so what are you waiting for? Listen, rate, comment. You know the drill.

0:00 – 2:06 Intro
2:07 – 10:28 Hotline Miami
10:29 – 16:10 GamerSushi Schedule
16:17 – 21:46 Far Cry 3
21:47 – 27:55 GS Staff Personal Top 10 of 2012
27:56 – 31:50 Ni No Kuni
31:51 – 36:26 2013 and the Next Gen
36:27 – 48:58 The Games of 2013, January to May
48:59 – 52:21 Outro

Star Wars: The Old Republic Confines Same-Sex Romance to One Planet

star-wars-the-old-republic-makeb

The hits just keep on coming for BioWare and EA’s ill-fated Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic. After a less-than stellar launch and a much maligned move to free-to-play, the game is getting its first major expansion in the form of the Rise of the Hutt Cartel, which will feature, of all things, a planet where same-sex romances are permitted.

This might not seem too strange to people who haven’t played The Old Republic, but Makeb, as the planet is called, is the only place in the entire game where player characters can engage in same-sex romances with NPCs. This doesn’t turn previous companions into romance options, or even add new companions with this feature (because that would be “too difficult” according to the developers), but rather places new characters exclusively on Makeb.

As if that wasn’t strange enough, making this part of the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion means that same-sex romances are available only after paying for it. Putting SGR (same-gender romance as the TOR forums call it) on a single planet behind a paywall just smacks of not only laziness, but a lack of respect for customers looking for that kind of content. Continue reading Star Wars: The Old Republic Confines Same-Sex Romance to One Planet

Dead Island Riptide’s Zombie Bait Bust Flop

dead-island-riptide-zombie-bait-edition-statue

Welcome to “Stop the Presses” Thursday here on GamerSushi where we collect the biggest news stories of this week so you can give us your thoughts on them. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Just when you think the game industry couldn’t dig themselves any further into a misogynistic hole, out comes Deep Silver with their Zombie Bait Edition of Dead Island Riptide, boasting a bust of a zombified woman in a bikini. When I say bust, I mean bust: this is just a woman’s torso with no head or arms, and a Union flag-emblazoned bikini barely covering her breasts.

Special editions of games are no strangers to large, tacky statues, but I can’t think of anyone with half of a social life who would want to proudly display a severed torso in their living room. The bust is 31cm high, which means that this is one prominent piece of tawdry memorabilia. According to Deep Silver’s press release, the statue is meant to call to mind a grotesque version of a classic Roman torso sculpture. Continue reading Dead Island Riptide’s Zombie Bait Bust Flop

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 58: PC Master Race

gamersushi show ep 58

Happy New Year, Sushians! Your glorious GamerSushi crew is back from our protracted holiday break, bringing you the first podcast of 2013! I know you’re excited.

Something strange happened to our staff over the break as everyone dipped pretty heavily into the PC gaming inkwell, and as such we talk exclusively about everybody’s favorite gaming machine. True, most of the titles we played were multiplatform, but Jeff does gab for a bit about Hotline Miami.

In addition to that we also spend some time talking about the new Steam Box and the Steam Winter Sale, which ruined more than a few wallets. Since it’s been just over a month since our last cast, here’s a quick refresher on how this goes down: listen to the podcast, rate the podcast, and comment on the podcast.

0:00 – 4:32 Intro
4:33 – 9:51 Sleeping Dogs
9:52 – 25:27 XCOM: Enemy Unknown
25:28 – 34:13 Far Cry 3
34:14 – 36:41 Torchlight 2
36:42 – 43:38 Dishonored
43:49 – 54:33 Spec Ops: The Line
54:34 – 1:00:30 Hotline Miami
1:00:31 – 1:07:13 PC Gaming and the Steam Sale
1:07:14 – 1:15:50 Steam Box
1:15:51 – 1:18:14 The Witcher 2
1:18:15 – 1:21:48 Outro

Dragon Age Writer on Forums as Toxic Environments

dragon age 2 writer fandom toxic environments

If there’s one place I tend to avoid when I’m browsing the Net, it’s the community forums for any type of video game company. While they all have their share of trolls and ne’er-do-wells, the BioWare Social Network has become pretty infamous over the past little while thanks to that studio’s downfall in the public eyes.

I’m not really interested in rehashing Mass Effect 3’s ending, or Dragon Age 2, or Star Wars: The Old Republic unless it’s in a polite, civilized way, but rather the whole attitude of forum goers at large. One of Dragon Age’s lead writers, David Gaider, posted a short thought on his blog about dealing with fanboys and the toxic environments on forums and how he sifts through the vast amount of negativity it can generate.

It’s good to know that developers don’t take everything said on the forums at face value. One of my favorite things in the article is how Mr. Gaider points out the differences between online and real-life interaction and much more polite and reasoned people are face to face. It’s something that we already know for the most part, but it just goes to show that polite reasoning, even about a mechanic or part of a game you dislike, always goes a lot further than just spewing vitriol.

What did you guys think of David Gaider’s post? Are forums becoming little more than a dumping ground for haters? Is there even any use for them anymore?

Source – The Bittersweetest Thing

GamerSushi Votes 2012: Biggest Disappointment

It’s a sad fact that when you have the highs of a year, there will unfortunately be lows. With so many big name titles getting their next iteration last year (and in some cases, wrapping up a planned trilogy) it was inevitable that gamers at large would be let down by some of them. Not saying that these games were bad across the board, but when you wait fifteen plus years for something, well, expectations tend to be a little inflated.

So, here’s a list of games I’ve put together that generated the most stink during 2012. This isn’t me saying that I think these games are awful, but rather these are the games that critics and players won’t stop bashing. Let’s put it to rest once and for all. What was the biggest disappointment in gaming for 2012?

Biggest Dissapointment of 2012

View Results

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Nintendo Announces Pokemon X and Y for 3DS October 2013

Well, Nintendo has officially erroded my will when it comes to the 3DS by announcing a new pair of Pokemon games, due out this October. Pokemon X and Y, as they are being called, will be a big change from the games of the past, moving the camera into a sort of third-person perspective as opposed to an isometric view. I always wondered how GameFreak was going to progress the franchise if they ever brought it to the 3DS, and this seems like a logical step. There’s even a trailer, which points to a European-styled setting (earlier Pokemon games were based on Japan while Black and White were inspired by New York City).

Expect me to be toting a 3DS by the end of the year, catching ’em all. I can’t decide between the new starters because unlike previous generations, there isn’t one single Pokemon that I don’t find incredibly stupid. I’ll probably roll with the Grass-type, as that one seems to be the least offensive to my tastes. Is anyone else chomping at the bit for a 3DS Pokemon title? Y or Y not? Will you X this off your list? Should I keep making these puns?

What’s Happening with the DayZ Standalone?

dayz-standalone

DayZ, one of the biggest breakout mod hits of 2012, was slated for release as a standalone version by the end of that year. Now that we’re in 2013 with no DayZ solo project in sight, Dean “Rocket” Hall has made a rather large post on the DayZ Devblog, detailing what’s happening with DayZ and some of the features that are being added.

One of the reasons that the DayZ standalone has been delayed is because Rocket and his team decided to increase the scope of the project a fair bit. According to the blog post, the game was supposed to be a polished version of the mod, packaged and sold as its own entity. The opportunity to completely redo the existing game was a little too tempting, however, so the developers decided to rework a whole host of systems, from the game engine to the UI and the scavenging.

The inventory has been rebuilt from the ground up, and will “fundamentally change” the DayZ experience, if the post is any indication. The new system allows for enhanced scavenging, or different items stats like if you shoot someone with night vision in the head, the night vision goggles will be damaged when you pick them up. This also applies to disease tracking, so you can leave cholera-infected items around for poor scroungers to find.

Another factor holding up development is that the designer of the original Chernarnus map, Ivan Buchta, is still imprisoned in Greece on espionage charges. This means that the DayZ team is having to get input from him via letters, stalling forward progress on their retooling of the landscape.

So it seems that Rocket allowed DayZ to blossom under his newfound development position, and Bohemia Interactive are letting him run with it. I’m all for a new UI and updated mechanics in DayZ, because the ARMA 2 interface is a little cumbersome, especially for a survival-type game.

What do you guys think about this new development? Excited for the prospect of “DayZ 2”, as it were?

Source – DayZ Developer Blog