Category: PC

Rumor: Fallout 4 is in Development, Set in Boston

fallout 4 casting documents

While the article about this over on Kotaku reports this leak as legitimate, given what happened with Survivor 2299 and the fact that Bethesda has declined to comment, I’m going to firmly declare this as a rumor until we hear something official.

A series of casting documents obtained by Kotaku apparently confirm the existence of a game codenamed Institute (which if you remember from a Fallout 3 sidequest is the in-universe name for what was once MIT), which you might know better by its proper name, Fallout 4. The word Fallout doesn’t appear in any of the scripts, but it points to Fallout 4 being set in Boston, which makes sense given its codename. The casting script also details the opening monologue (in which the classic “war never changes” line is read by the player character instead of series regular Ron Pearlman) and a few side characters such as Sturges who is apparently a cross between Buddy Holly and Vin Diesel.

While I wish Fallout 4 is real as much as the next person, the rash of hoaxes surrounding the next game in the series over the past few months has made me very skeptical. Although I wouldn’t mind a Fallout game set in Boston and centered around the Institute, the information in this casting document, even if it is real, is subject to change so a lot of what is in there might not even be in the final game.

What do you guys think? Is this the real deal, or yet another hoax?

Source – Kotaku

Samurai Gunn Trailer Shows off Four-Player Bushido Action

If you’re familiar with the card game for horrible people, Cards Against Humanity, then you may be familiar with Max Tempkin. You may also be familiar with his tumblr, Maxistentialism. But, did you know that he also published a game recently? The four-player brawler Samurai Gunn by Teknopants, in which you have a slash attack and three bullets to outwit and dice your foes, came out recently and hot dang does it look like a good time. Check out the launch trailer below!

You can buy Samurai Gunn right now and Steam and it’s 20% off! What do you guys think of the trailer? Is this something you might pick up?

The VGX Round-Up

VGX

I have to admit, as much as I generally loathe the production of any gaming television that finds itself in the mainstream, it’s still hard not to get excited about them when you know you’ll be seeing all kinds of new reveals and information. This year, Spike’s Video Game Awards show saw a bit of rebranding as VGX, a streaming only, more quiet affair that ditched the dude bro appeal in favor of something resembling, you know, something gamers might actually care about.

Whether they succeeded or not is another question entirely. While I found the show to be passable, there was no doubt the usual Twitter snark directed at Joel McHale, who really looked like he would have rather been anywhere else as he delivered poorly written jokes. Personally, I tuned in for the video reveals and ignored everything else.

And trust me, there were plenty of those to be had. Continue reading The VGX Round-Up

GamerSushi Asks: Your Ideal Holiday Break Game

winter gaming

There are three things I really enjoy about the Holiday season: doing Christmas things with loved ones, the Granville Island Brewing Company’s Lions Winter Ale and the ability to have a few days off to just wrap myself up in a toasty blanket and play some video games.

While any type of video game is a good time, there are certain genres and titles that I feel are ideal for this sort of situation. Long, free-form open world games with a ton of collectibles tend to be my go-to; something that I can just wander around in doing what I please. Skyrim was the perfect game for this a couple of years ago, doubly so because it had the wintery atmosphere to go with it.

I also like a good first-person shooter multiplayer with a ton of unlocks and progression for when I need something a bit more action oriented. What about you guys? When the weather gets colder and you have a few days off, what are the types of games that you like to play? Go!

EA/DICE Stops Work on Future Projects to Solve Rampant Battlefield 4 Issues

battlefield 4 issues

While I’m enjoying Battlefield 4 a lot, I’ll be the first to admit that the game is broken. While DICE has brought out 13 server-side updates and two-client side patches (with more to come) since the October 29 release date, their next-gen shooter is in a sorry state of disrepair.

Even though China Rising just launched this past Tuesday, work on Battlefield 4’s remaining expansions (and other DICE projects, presumably the Mirror’s Edge prequel and Battlefront) have been halted until the majority of the issues with the game have been sorted out. While the previous client-side patch solved the Commander EMP blur effect and the sound bugs on maps like Golmud Railway, there continues to be a large array of problems on every system.

China Rising was apparently too far along to postpone (no word on Second Assault which is an Xbox One timed-exclusive) which is why it stuck to its original release date. DICE recently held a double-EXP event and gave players a 3.4x scope for the 1911 pistol which was formerly a developer-exclusive attachment as a way to make up for the issues that have been plaguing the game.

To editorialize a bit here, I’m a massive Battlefield fan, but the sorry state of Battlefield 4 (and the fact that EA put it on sale for $30 on Black Friday/Cyber Monday) has made me really wary of pre-ordering Battlefield games in the future. I have a huge amount of respect for DICE, but every Battlefield game has been messed up on launch to varying degrees. While DICE has demonstrated that they are working hard on these issues, and postponing work on future projects and DLC is a good move, the fact that we’re over a month after launch and the game is potentially just as, or more, messed up now as it was on day one is a pretty big black mark on their record.

Has anyone else been playing Battlefield 4? What do you think of this move by DICE/EA?

Source – Polygon

Valve Launches Steam Reviews

steam reviews

You have to admire Valve, they really think out of the box. Between XP, trading cards, everything going on with Dota 2 (thanks Volvo for Diretide), they’re turning Steam into not only the premier digital game delivery service on the Internet, but also some sort of weird crowdsourced laboratory.

Take this recent move as a prime example. Steam users will now be able to leave reviews on games they have launched via Steam (purchase not required) without having to recommend it, which was the previous method of doing user reviews (indeed, any previous recommendations will be upgraded to reviews).

The user reviews will exist alongside the Metacritic scores on Steam. I think this is a really cool move for Steam, and I’m eager to copy/paste some GS reviews in there to see what happens (kidding!). What do you guys think about this? Have you written any reviews yet?

Source – Steam

Getting Back to the Basics with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

assassins creed 4 black flag

Much like my fellow GamerSushi editors who have made the jump to the next-gen, I’ve been sinking my teeth into the latest Assassin’s Creed game, Black Flag, over the past few days, although I am playing the PC version.

While the mouse and keyboard controls took a little getting used to, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag looks amazing on PC and is a spectacular return to form that the series needed after 3.

While I was originally pretty down on the meta-narrative for AC4, in which you are a game designer playing through Edward Kenway’s memories to turn them into a video game, it’s actually a good way to get players to stay inside the Aniumus for as long as they like without breaking them out periodically to remind them that there’s another story going on. Sure, playing through Edward’s memories because of Desmond Mile’s “generous” donation of his genetic lineage to turn them into a video game is pretty goofy, but it serves its purpose for getting you into the Animus and letting you stay there as long as you like. Continue reading Getting Back to the Basics with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

super mario 3d worlds

Now that the Xbox One is finally out in the wild, I thought I would ask what all of you GamerSushi peeps will be up to this weekend.

Are you playing a shiny new Xbox One, or are you perhaps gaming with a PlayStation 4? Personally I’ll be checking out Super Mario 3D Worlds and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds this weekend, both of which have been getting sterling reviews.

I also tucked into some Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag last night and I’m already enjoying it much more than AC3. While I can kind of tell that Edward will end up being a character that is ultimately fairly forgettable, the world and the sheer amount of piratey things to do really speaks to me.

So, what are you playing? Go!

Rumor: Telltale Working on Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

There really aren’t enough words to describe the affection I have for Telltale Games at the moment. The guys absolutely knocked me off my feet with their astounding take on Walking Dead, and I hear they’ve actually managed to raise the bar with Wolf Among Us. So count me ecstatic then, given the current rumors surrounding the studio.

Today, IGN reports that Telltale is working on none other than Game of Thrones, the HBO series based on The Song of Ice and Fire books by George R. R. Martin. Of course, this is speculation at the moment, as IGN is citing multiple anonymous sources, and Telltale has offered no official comment.

But we can dream, can’t we? If you ask me, Game of Thrones is one of the perfect franchises for Telltale to lend their talents to. What other universe is full of so many great characters, such emotionally charged decisions, so much danger and betrayal. Imagine saying the wrong thing to the wrong family, and have it come back to bite you in a big way games down the road.

So yeah, I am dying to find out if this is true. What do you guys think of this rumor? Yay or nay?

Source – IGN

Rethinking Tutorials

Assassin's Creed IV

Hello, Sushians. I’m writing you guys from the future. Or rather, from the next generation.

Having received my PlayStation 4 last weekend, I’ve been enjoying my fill of it over the last several days. I’ll write something a bit more extensive at some point in the near future, but right off the bat I’ll have to say that I love the machine, and am incredibly impressed with how it does everything promised. It’s quiet, it’s easy, and it just works.

Gushing about the PlayStation 4 aside, however, one of the games I purchased, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag has given me some food for thought. While I’m loving this game much more than I did its predecessor, the let-us-not-speak-of-it Assassin’s Creed III, I can’t help but wonder if game tutorials have gotten too ridiculous. Continue reading Rethinking Tutorials

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 78: Thanks, Assassin’s Creed

the gamersushi show ep 78

It’s a new episode of (presumably) one of your favorite video game podcasts. We’ve got a full crew this week because Nick is jobless and that’s what you do when you don’t have to work. Podcast and play video games.

In case you haven’t heard enough about it, we talk GTA 5, including Nick’s impressions of the single player game and some online anecdotes. Then we talk Assassin’s Creed IV’s meta-narrative, some fields of battle, the newest Call of Duty and some next-gen stuff. It’s a pretty good show.

So, you know what to do. Listen, rate and don’t do anything we wouldn’t do. See you next time!

0:00 – 1:29 Intro
1:30 – 17:27 GTA 5
17:28 – 27: 20 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
27:21 – 36:44 Battlefield 4
36:45 – 46:13 PlayStation 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts
46:14 – 48:29 The Walking Dead: Season 2
48:30 – 57:41 The Stanley Parable
57:42 – 1:00:47 Outro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

The Rough Launch of Battlefield 4

battlefield 4 launch issues

Battlefield 4 launched last Tuesday on current generation consoles and the PC and it’s been kind of a bumpy ride. There are things I really love about the game that will still persist after all of the instability has been patched, so let’s cover the bad stuff first.

When Battlefield 4 came out last week, it was virtually unplayable, and that didn’t change until the evening of November 3. To start there were severe rubberbanding on every server and more often than not the servers or the game itself would crash. This is frustrating considering that Battlefield 4 has a very deep unlock/ranking system, even compared to the previous games in the series. When you lose essential unlocks like the defibrillator and have to unlock it five more times before the game actually lets you complete a round and save your stats, it gets pretty annoying.

Fortunately, that has pretty much been ironed out. The netcode is still wonky, what with enemy players killing you while you’re behind cover or even before they round a corner and the rubberbanding still persists when flying air vehicles. In short, DICE and EA are continuing their sterling legacy of making every Battlefield game virtually unplayable for about a week. Even though they’re working hard on it (there have been about six server-side patches in the last week with more to come) having to wait a week to play a game is always a demoralizing experience. Continue reading The Rough Launch of Battlefield 4

GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Always Need to Innovate?

batman arkham origins

With the release of Batman: Arkham Origins yesterday, the series, which has smashed all of our pre-conceived notions of what a licensed game should be, saw its first release away from the careful hand of Rocksteady, the developers of the first two titles. While the general consensus in the reviews is that the game more or less matches the quality of Asylum and City, Warner Bros. Montreal didn’t do enough to innovate this time around, and the game was docked points for that in some outlets.

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City were both fantastic games, one of which will probably rank among the greatest games of the past generation. Since Arkham Origins hews so closely to the previous games that it’s more or less indistinguishable from Rocksteady’s work (for the most part), should Warner Bros. Montreal get flack for not innovating? This is a series with sky-high expectations by this point, throwing a new developer into the mix and asking them to completely rethink the Arkham series while at the same time trying to live up to Rocksteady’s work is quite the herculean task.

While innovation in some games is necessary, the Batman: Arkham series is about as close to perfect as games come, for the most part. Should Warner Bros. Montreal have been expected to think outside the box, or were they well within their rights to take as many pages out of Rocksteady’s book as possible? Should all gaming sequels be innovative, or is it OK to just have more of the same every one and a while?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 76: Much Doge Delay

the gamersushi show ep 76

We’re back with an on-topic cast as the crew gather to talk all the video game news that’s fit to print…or talk about. Whichever.

Leading off, Eddy gets sad about Watch_Dog’s delay (much disappointment), Anthony bemoans the current direction of Final Fantasy, I talk about Ryse: Son of Rome’s crunch, Jeff soliloquizes about The Wolf Among Us and we close with some Grand Theft Auto 5. So, it’s a pretty full cast.

Listen, rate the podcast (it’s very important that you do this since we lost all our previous ratings) and enjoy life. We’ll be back soon with another episode.

0:00 – 2:48 Intro
2:49 – 12:24 Watch_Dogs Delay
12:25 – 21:03 The Death of Final Fantasy
21:04 – 33:14 #RyseFacts Crunch Tweet
33:15 – 43:06 The Wolf Among Us
43:07 – 1:05:48 Grand Theft Auto 5
1:05:49 – 1:09:34 Outro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Sad News: Watch Dogs Delayed Until 2014

Watch Dogs

Ugh. In what I’d call more of a gut punch than actual news, Ubisoft announced via its blog yesterday that Watch Dogs, slated for a release this fall, will be pushed back until Spring 2014.

The reason? They want to make the game better, and to deliver more of a truly next gen experience. From Gary Steinman, Ubisoft’s community manager:

Why now? We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune each detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.”

So, yeah. This is pretty disappointing for me, as Watch Dogs was the one game I really wanted play on my PlayStation 4 this fall. Now, the thing may just be a paperweight until February, when InFamous comes out. Unless I *shudder* decide to play Assassin’s Creed 4 instead.

Who else is bummed by this? What games will you be playing this fall? Go!

Source – UbiBlog

Mini-Review: The Wolf Among Us, Episode 1

The Wolf Among Us

Telltale Games just released the first part of their follow-up to our favorite game of 2012, The Walking Dead, and I think it’s safe to say they’re still in the zone and only getting better. The Wolf Among Us is a prequel to Bill Willingham’s long-running Fables series, which focuses on the lives of creatures from fables, stories and legends who escaped from their home world into the “real world” and are hiding their true identities from the “mundies” around them. The main character of the game and comics is Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf, now reformed and working in human form as sheriff for the Fables community. He’s gruff, dangerous, and chain-smokes his way through the entire game.

Knowledge of the comics isn’t necessary to enjoy The Wolf Among Us, but reading them will help you catch a few references here and there. Readers of the comics may also be interested to know that the game is considered canonical. The first episode sets up a noirish murder mystery occurring about twenty years before the start of the comics, in the sleazy, neon-filled 1980s. The art style and music are pitch-perfect for the material; as soon as the game loaded up, I already knew I was going to love the music, and by the end I was ready to drop money on a soundtrack album (not that one exists right now, of course). It took me just over two hours to finish the first episode, and I’m already considering replaying it so that I can try different options.

In some ways I think I might actually prefer this first episode of The Wolf Among Us to The Walking Dead. Shocking, I know. Part of it is that The Wolf Among Us builds on and refines the style first perfected in the previous game. The same tense dialog choices are there, as are the split-second decisions and visceral quick-time events, but the art and music are even better, and the world of Fables is far weirder than anything in The Walking Dead. That extra bit of oddity piled on top of a gritty mystery is right up my alley. Several reviews I’ve read call out the fact that Bigby doesn’t have a moral compass like Clementine to influence his decisions, and it’s definitely true that this makes Bigby’s world that much more of a moral grey area. If you liked The Walking Dead, you should definitely check out The Wolf Among Us.

Pixel Count: Games without Release Dates?

The eve of a new generation is a strange time for gamers. We’re so used to having our calendars planned out at least a year in advance, knowing all of the big blockbuster releases that we intend to snatch up day one. But when a new generation dawns, all bets are off, and release dates become a nebulous, free-form sort of thing, hidden in shadow.

Which kind of sucks.

At the moment, this seems to be exactly the case for 2014, with tons of titles announced, but no clear idea on when we’ll really be able to play them, beyond vague “quarter” references meant primarily for stockholders. But none of that really means anything to gamers, especially when it comes to us saving money and figuring out what we’d like to buy. Even though I can’t wait for my PlayStation 4, I’m admittedly a bit bummed that I have no real idea when I’ll be playing some truly spectacular next generation games once we move over to 2014.

With all that in mind, I put together a list of the most anticipated games that don’t have true release dates yet, and wanted to see which ones you guys were most excited about. Go!

Which game without a release date are you most excited about?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

GamerSushi Power Rankings: October 2013

Gta 5 banner

A new challenger arrives!

Several new challengers, actually. Now that the fall is rolling out like AutoBots, it’s safe to say that our Power Rankings chart is going to undergo quite a few transformations of its own, month-to-month. See what I did there? References!

This month sees several new contenders making a debut on the rankings, from mobile games to indie titles and to arguably the biggest blockbuster of the entire year in Grand Theft Auto V. Yes, this venture into Los Santos and San Andreas has stolen our hearts, making us forget all of the abuse that Rockstar dished out in Grand Theft Auto IV. We’re fickle beasts.

So, without further ado, here are the top 10 games we’ve been playing over the last month. What do you guys think of this list? What are you playing? Go! Continue reading GamerSushi Power Rankings: October 2013

The Highs and Lows of the Battlefield 4 Beta

battlefield 4 beta

Last week the Battlefield 4 beta launched, featuring the map Siege of Shanghai with the modes Conquest and Domination. Being the outspoken Battlefield advocate that I am, I selflessly took it upon myself to dive headfirst into the beta and bring you a report from the dust-choked battleground of Shanghai.

I’m playing the beta on PC, and thankfully I haven’t been impeded by the weird technical errors that seems to have stymied some users. Battlefield 4 looks absolutely gorgeous on a decent rig as DICE has done away with most of their weird aesthetic choices from Battlefield 3 (like the super-nova sun and the blue tint). The war torn streets of Shanghai have a lot of interactive features as well, like the ability to close store shutters to keep enemies out or raise bollards to stop a tank from rolling across a bridge (at one point I was able to use a blinking metal detector to locate an enemy that had rounded the corner and escaped my line of sight).

Continue reading The Highs and Lows of the Battlefield 4 Beta

I Totally Asked for This: Deus Ex: Universe Announced

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

A couple of years ago, Deus Ex: Human Revolution proved to be both a worthy follow-up to a storied franchise, as well as a great introduction for new players. It combined stealth, awesome powers and a moody, sci-fi atmosphere ripped right Blade Runner in the best way possible.

Fortunately for all of us that loved Human Revolution, Eidos Montreal loves money enough to promise not just one, but multiple follow-ups to the Deus Ex series with the announcement of Deus Ex: Universe yesterday. Deus Ex: Universe is not simply a sequel, however — it’s a collection of titles that spans multiple forms of media, including PC and next-gen console games, tablets, books, graphic novels and more.

While I could leave some of the other stuff behind, I do have to say the promise of more Deus Ex games is something worth getting excited about. Human Revolution was a breath of fresh air, one that I look forward to filling my lungs with again in the near future. Who else is excited about this? Go!

Source – PC Gamer