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The Elder Scrolls Online Revealed

TESO3

With Skyrim recently continuing the trend of giving Bethesda the Game of the Year award it makes sense to assume that The Elder Scrolls franchise really has what it takes to produce some truly amazing games. The single player RPG world has captivated players since Arena, taking you into a deeply immersive world of Tamriel. While The Elder Scrolls series is one that has been a smash hit as a single player game, the question always came up about how it would fare as an MMO, leaving some fans drooling over the prospects of exploring the lands with a party of their best friends. Well today it’s official, Game Informer has released an article teasing readers about the June cover article which features a first look at The Elder Scrolls Online.

The game is being produced by Zenimax Online Studios with MMO veterans such as Matt Firor, whose previous work included Dark Age of Camelot. The game is set a millennium before the events of Skyrim, and players will deal with the Daedric prince Molag Bal trying to bring Tamriel into his realm in Oblivion. Matt Frior told GameInformer:

“It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years, the entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made ā€“ and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.ā€

Tomorrow morning there will be a trailer from Zenimax and Bethesda Softworks, with screenshots coming later in the evening. All of the information going onward can be tracked at Game Informer’s own Elder Scrolls Online hub, which will be giving out exclusive content multiple times a week.

As a major fan of The Elder Scrolls series, I meet this news with an open mind, but a cautious approach. I have always wanted a way to play around the world of Skyrim or Cyrodiil with friends, but the full-blown status of an MMO is something I have debated before. This could spell great success for the series, but a different production studio and a new feel to a game that has made all of its success as a single player RPG could spell trouble. I’ll wait to see more information before I give final judgment, but this news has to have many gamers foaming at the mouth. So what do you guys think? Is it good that The Elder Scrolls is going online? What’s your opinion on the game being produced by Zenimax? Lets hear it!

Source – Game Informer

BioShock Infinite Steps Up the Difficulty with 1999 Mode

BioShock Infinite 1999 1

Some of the other writers here at GamerSushi may fall into the category of gamers who would agree that developers “just don’t make ā€˜em like they used to.” With plenty of respectably aging gamers out there who grew up on games that made today’s “Veteran” difficulty look like child’s play, it’s no wonder a change was bound to happen. The crew over at Irrational Games, makers of the BioShock series, is introducing a new level of difficulty in BioShock Infinite with “1999 Mode.” This mode is designed to ā€œchallenge players in a variety of ways ā€“ each requiring substantial commitment and skill development.” But what does this mean exactly?

Iā€™m an old school gamer. We wanted to make sure we were taking into account the play styles of gamers like me. So we went straight to the horseā€™s mouth by asking them, on our website, a series of questions about how they play our games. 94.6 percent of respondents indicated that upgrade choices enhanced their BioShock gameplay experience; however, 56.8 percent indicated that being required to make permanent decisions about their character would have made the game even better.ā€ ā€“ Kevin Levine, Creative Director

The idea behind 1999 Mode is to make players think much harder about the decisions they make while playing the game. Gone will be the day of rushing in like Rambo without thinking. Players will have to deal with each and every one of their choices – sometimes permanently. This new game mode will also force the player to pick specializations and focus on them. The new mode will also have “demanding” stat requirements including health, power and your weaponry. Respawning will also be much tougher, with players experiencing the old school “Game Over” screen if they donā€™t have sufficient resources to get back into the action.

So what do you guys think of this new game mode? With games like Call of Duty, where players can charge through recklessly, will BioShock Infiniteā€™s new approach change the way we approach single player campaigns? I can certainly see this sticking with certain types of games. How about you guys? Will we see more of this in games, or can today’s youth not handle the challenge?

Source ā€“ Business Wire

Today’s WTF: Call of Mountain Dewty Double XP

CoDSome of you may have heard about the new Mountain Dew Call of Duty promotion giving away in-game Double XP time for buying their products. Stuffing your face with bags of Doritos and washing it down with a can of the green can give you up to 90-plus minuets of in-game double XP. Codes on the products can be entered to give you a rank-up edge in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.

Now I don’t know how many of you feel about companies giving in-game goodies for pre-orders or buying the more expensive edition of a game, but this one really takes the cake. Check out the official rules at the link from the top to view the official rules and a table of the time-to-drink ratio.

While 15 minutes of double experience for drinking a 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew isn’t going to skyrocket you to 15th Prestige, the concept of this promotion is still a giant facepalm to me. With companies like Best Buy and GameStop already doing absurd promotions this new concept seems to be pushing that idea too far. What do you guys think? Is Mountain Dew hitting on a goldmine? Or is this a joke of a promotion? Give me your thoughts!

Source – PC Gamer

GamerSushi Asks: Call of Duty and Videogame Vampires?

Game Vampires

While reading Game Informer issue 220, I ran across a section called ā€œFeedback.” In here they list responses from readers and one in particular caught my eye. The response was entitled ā€œCall of Duty: Time Vampire.” What follows is the entry and Game Informerā€™s response.

ā€œThis letter is coming from a previously avid Call of Duty online player. Recently, Iā€™ve begun to actually think about what Iā€™m wasting all these hours of my life on. I decided to pop back in my copy of CoD: WaW, and after getting shot up quite a bit, I quit in frustration. Then I moved back into my comfort zone with my usual gaming selection: Black Ops. I played for a little while and suffered more than my share of frustrating deaths. Then I rage quit and walked outside, thinking about what I had just endured. I asked myself, ā€œArenā€™t video games supposed to be fun? Why am I wasting hours upon hours of my life on such a meaningless and even disturbing experience? Why does my kill/death ratio even matter?ā€ I then stepped back and realized that Call of Duty is just a massive waste of time. I went into the barracks option and looked at the amount of time played. It read 10 days, 18 hours, and 34 minuets. Call of Duty, you were like a leech, sucking away at me and my time. Iā€™m glad to be rid of you.”

Matt Bernsdorf
via email

Then GI responded with this:

ā€œSo weā€™re guessing you donā€™t plan on subscribing to Activisionā€™s new monthly Call of Duty: Elite service?ā€

So the article hit me in a way that may surprise some people. I felt like this letter was totally worthless, as was the response from GI. I talked about it with my girlfriend and she agreed that the article seemed pointless. Games within themselves are just that, ways to waste time. They are for entertainment, like a movie or a book. They are for you to spend your free time and have fun, two things that the author seems to be re-thinking.

I have spent 8 days 2 hours and 31 minuets playing Black Ops alone. I have had horrible games and been frustrated, but I never consider it an absolute waste of time. I play with my friends and I have fun. To me it seems the author of the letter is not having fun, which leads him to believe that said games are a waste of his time. What I find interesting is that this can be taken to more than just the Call of Duty series and FPS games. I guess MMOs and RPGs are all wastes of time, too. Whatā€™s the point? Why should I go for the best weapon or armor? Why should I level up?

I find that it defeats the whole purpose of gaming all together. Perhaps he has grown out of videogames, but I feel he is just being a bad sport. So what do you guys think? Is Call of Duty a total waste of time? Are videogames in general worthless vampires that suck away at us? Give me your thoughts!

Source – GameInformer

PSN Returning with Two Free Games

PSN LogoIn case you didn’t notice, Playstation Network has begun its return. It seems that the resurrection of the downed PSN kicks off with a Customer Appreciation program leading the way. Once the PSN Store is back up and running you can snag yourself two free games from a list of several titles (within the first 30 days) such as Little Big Planet, inFAMOUS and Super Stardust HD. I personally will pick up Little Big Planet and inFAMOUS. You can check out more Q&A about the PSN restoration here.

There are some other bonuses too, including some “on us” movie rentals, and some PSN Plus time as well. It’s all a fairly gracious package from Sony to try to smooth things over, but there are obviously going to be people that come down on both sides of this. Does two free games and a ā€œweā€™re sorryā€ make up for the time lost and possible personal information damage? What are your thoughts on the whole issue? Still trust Sony?

Source ā€“ Playstation Blog

Modern Warfare 3 Massive Info Leak (Spoilers)

MW3 LogoBefore you click on the link I supply, there are spoilers. It ranges from basic information like map numbers, mission locations, to story plot details. Thatā€™s your spoiler warning.

It seems KotakuĀ got its hands on some juicy details of the upcoming third installment to the Modern Warfare series. Details about the game range from the number of multiplayer maps to spoiler details of the storyline itself. The article over at Kotaku’s website reveals a lot about the upcoming game. Some of the non-spoiler details include information such as the game having 20 multiplayer maps, though its unclear if this is before or after DLC map packs. Other information confirms the game will take place where Modern Warfare 2 left off and will consist of multiple locations across the world. The article also includes some early views of the game and a release date: November 8, 2011. A big question to be raised from this leak is whether a leak of this magnitude is acceptable.

This information could be potentially damaging to the game and to its players. For a game franchise that has been very hush hush about its upcoming heavyweight, this plethora of information could spell disaster for the title. With serious competitors like Battlefield 3 looking to take away Modern Warfares crown, this information could hold consequences. Check out the article and tell us what you think. Do you think this information should have been shared to this magnitude? Does this leak dull that excitement or build it up?

Source – Kotaku

Skyrim for Console Could Include Mods

CE LogoThe biggest reason I would never get an Elder Scrolls game for a console may be going out the window with the upcoming installment, Skyrim. This news is huge and is something that would change console games dramatically. Todd Howard, Bethesdaā€™s executive producer, was spotted as saying user created content may come to the consoles.

The Creation Kit, part of the development engine used to make Skyrim (Much like the Construction Set used for Morrowind and Oblivion) will be available to users on the PC to create their own content. This feature allows users to mod the game and extends gameplay beyond what even DLC can do. Todd Howard was quoted with the following

ā€œIt works on all the consoles,ā€ he said. ā€œAs far as the 360 and PS3, right now thereā€™s not an avenue for us to make that available, but weā€™d very much like to find a way. We have talked to Microsoft and Sony, and so there’s a chance it might happen one day, [but] I don’t see it happening for release.ā€

He also makes mention that there is no problem with content made on the PC running on consoles. Apparently 90 percent of Elder Scrolls gamers use consoles; meaning only 10 percent gets to see the wonder of modding. Hopefully this will be a feature that is extended into Skyrim and will allow the console world to enjoy the extended gameplay that the Elder Scrolls series has to offer. So what do you guys think about this news? Are you worried this will blur the line too much? Does this change what platform you will get Skyrim on?

Source: Next-Gen

Hawken Gameplay Is Stunning

Today I got a treat of something that that seems to be circulating around the internet. An indie company called Adhesive Games is working on a new project called Hawken. Adhesive Games’ upcoming indie title will be Mech Combat FPS, something I havenā€™t seen done well since Phantom Crash. The game looks absolutely stunning in two of their early game footage videos featured below. First we have a look at the beautiful world of Hawken in their unofficial trailer followed by some stunning gameplay. Hit the jump to check out the gameplay trailer!

Hawken Trailer:

Continue reading Hawken Gameplay Is Stunning

Evolution of the Digital Man

Doom ManSaw this while browsing Maximum PC the other day. Itā€™s a quick look at some essential games with 3D characters from the last 19 years (gosh I feel old now) The focus is on a picture system starting with Wolfenstein 3D from 1992 moving up to todays big hitter of Crysis 2. Itā€™s a cool history of how 3D characters have changed over the years, giving you a good look at the evolution of character graphics.

33 Key Stages in the Evolution of (Virtual) Mankind

Just wanted to share this with the community. What do you guys think of this change over time? Any thoughts or complaints on how designs have changed?

Source – Maximum PC

Eclipsing the World (of Warcraft)

BlizzardItā€™s hard to believe that anyone could try and out-do the mammoth MMO that is World of Warcraft, even Blizzard itself. But already Blizzard COO Paul Sams has been quoted, saying they are going to do just that with their new MMO codenamed ā€œTitanā€.

“I believe it’s the most ambitious thing we’ve ever attempted, and I feel like we have set our company up to succeed on that. We have some of our most talented and most experienced developers on that team. Many of the people that builtĀ World of Warcraft are full time on that other team.”

While this doesnā€™t spell the death of World of Warcraft it does lead to some questions as the highly experienced and talented staff that created the most successful MMO gears forwards on its new project. Samā€™s also said that World of Warcraft still has an experienced staff watching over the game, just key members were moving on to the new project. The quote that really interests me is this next one… Continue reading Eclipsing the World (of Warcraft)

Hydro Thunder Hurricane Review

HTH RaceHYDROOO THUNDERR!! That hyper-loud voice should be familiar with anyone who was a fan of the original Hydro Thunder game, part of Midwayā€™s series of ā€œThunderā€ racing games. Well after 10 years from its first release, the sequel is out from a company calledĀ Vector Unit who brings back the insane boat racing action in the form of Hydro Thunder Hurricane. The game is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points and the thrills of the adrenaline packed racing series with crazy transforming boats comes back with a new look. But can it hold up to its predecessor? Hit the jump to read the rest of the review. Continue reading Hydro Thunder Hurricane Review

Skyrim Official Gameplay Trailer Released

I donā€™t know about you guys but Skyrim has me excited. As some people around here anticipate some of the upcoming titles like Battlefield 3 you may notice some of us even talking about PC upgrades already, 8 months before the titles are set for release. Skyrim now has its official trailer released with in game footage. You can find the video embedded below or check it out at The Elder Scrolls website.

Wow. All I can think about is everything I see in there that has been talked about by the developers. From the stunning new graphics and world to the death moves and dynamic new gameplay. The trailer shows off enough for me to already be impressed with the look and feel of the game.

So after seeing the official trailer for the game, are any of you more stoked about Skyrim? With a taste of the gameplay are you planning on console or PC?

Source – The Elder Scrolls Official Site

Sony Claims PSP2 as Powerful as PS3

PSP2 ConceptWith all the hype about Nintendo’s new 3DS – due out on the market March 27thĀ  (Feb 26 for those in the land of the rising sun) – it would be hard to look at any other handheld consoles, especially with Nintendoā€™s success.Ā  But recently an article appeared in MCV Magazine quoting Sony as saying that their new handheld, the PSP2, is ā€œas powerful as the PlayStation 3ā€.

With the world of 3D gaming barely breaking upon us and the thoughts of the next generation consoles far in the future, a portable gaming system with the power of a console may be a big deal. While many eagerly await the 3DS and its glasses-less 3D style of gaming, Sony is apparently taking a different approach: power.Ā  While the PSP hasn’t been a very strong competitor in the handheld market and with other devices such as the iPhone bursting into the scene, the PSP2 may be a serious competitor.

As a PlayStation 3 owner, I know what the system is capable of and this could be a huge move for Sony. If I can get the same quality as my PS3 on a handheld, it could change how and where I play games. So what do you guys think? Are you going to pick up a PSP2 if it runs with the power of a PS3? Or will you stick to your ways and maybe go the route of the iPhone or Nintendoā€™s 3DS? What are your thoughts on this news?

Source – MCV

Today’s WTF: Virtual MMO Real Estate SOLD for $335,000

Club Neverdie Entropia

Some people may have too much time on their hands. Some may have too much money. Some guys, like Jon Jacobs, have a little bit of both; or at least now he does. Jon Jacobs sold his in-game property for a whopping $335,000 dollars. The property was in the Swedish-made MMORPG Entropia Universe3, a game which looks like a clash of Second Life and Star Wars Galaxies where avatars can go around and do pretty much anything.

The property is one which Jacobs had been managing for over 5 years. Jacobs bought Club Neverdie in 2005, taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his home. The club sits on an asteroid around Entropia’s first planet, Planet Calypso. Club Neverdie hosts in-game shopping, clubbing with live DJs, hunting, real cash prizes and more. The thing about Entropia Universe is that it runs off a real cash economy, where players can buy in-game currency (PED – Project Entropia Dollars) with real money and then redeem it back into real world funds at a fixed exchange rate. Jacobs’ business brought him an annual income of around $200,000 a year, allowing him to live comfortably with his family. Pretty sweet set up – he even has his own theme song.

The sale of the property netted him just over half a million in cash, with the largest chunk being sold to an avatar named John Foma Kalun, who paid $335,000 for it. This tops the previous largest virtual transaction, which was the sale of the Crystal Palace Space Station for $330,000 back in 2009.

So who’s the guy who deals out $335,000 big ones for fake real estate? A man named Yan Panasjuk, who had this to say for himself… Continue reading Today’s WTF: Virtual MMO Real Estate SOLD for $335,000