The Dork Knight Rises in Watch Dogs

Aiden Pearce Dork

Aiden Pearce is a dork. He’s also “The Vigilante”, the hacker who takes matters into his own hands on the streets of Chicago in Watch Dogs, the new hit from Ubisoft. Watch Dogs is a fun, enjoyable take on the open-world genre, even if it lacks in genuine originality or innovation. But the more I’ve played, the more I’ve enjoyed my time in our newest digital sandbox.

Except where Aiden is concerned. The gameplay of Watch Dogs is pretty damn good, but the story and Aiden’s character are pretty horrendous. Slight spoilers for Watch Dogs ahead: Continue reading The Dork Knight Rises in Watch Dogs

Get Wild With This New Trailer For The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Just because nobody seems to even care about waiting for E3 anymore, CD Projekt RED drop a metric ton of info about the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt earlier today, including this awesome trailer. It’s actual in-game footage (albeit with fancy cuts) as opposed to the CG-only trailer from last year. It has everything you’d expect from a Witcher game and it also looks super rad. I know CD Projekt RED said they’re drawing some inspiration from Skyrim this time around and I can definitely see that. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will come out on February 25, 2015 and will be available on the PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One.

Battlefield 4 Getting “Netcode” Patch on All Platforms

After weeks of testing in the CTE (Community Test Environment) the Battlefield 4 “netcode” improvements are being rolled out to every version of the game today in a patch according to a new post on Battlelog. The “netcode” patch improves (among other things) the server tick-rate, or how often you computer receives new information from the server. Battlefield 4 previously had a tick-rate of 10hz, or ten updates a second (industry standard for FPS games is 30-60).

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 92: Transistor Resistor

gamersushi show ep 92

Oh, hey.

The GamerSushi Show makes a glorious return after an unintended week break, shortly before we take a longer, intended break. As we remind you in the cast our post-E3 vacation is coming up, so you will have only one or two more episodes to sooth you in the hot weather. We’ll be back come September, though, as Destiny beckons us to Become Legend™.

In this particular cast, we talk about a bunch of stuff like Transistor, the fact that I bought a PlayStation 4, the life-ruining addictiveness of Hearthstone and a couple recent game announcements.

Download, stream, listen, rate and we’ll see you next time!

0:00 – 1:46 Intro
1:47 – 6:15 Transistor
6:16 – 12:36 Mitch gets a PlayStation 4
12:37 – 20:24 Hearthstone
20:25 – 23:19 Battlefield: Hardline
23:20 – 28:11 Halo 5: Guardians
28:12 – 32:39 Console Wars book
32:30 – 34:58 Outro

The Eternal War: A Look at the Repeating Console Cycle

Sega Logo

I’ve been reading Console Wars, a new book by Blake J. Harris that chronicles the rise of Sega during the 90’s. It’s a delightful book, full of endlessly fascinating details, such as how Target’s lenient return policy allowed customers to return years-old NES’s in order to get credit towards a SNES. Needless to say, this didn’t sit well with Nintendo and it led to Target pulling Nintendo products from the stores for a time. I lived through this era and reading the behind the scenes drama that went on has been very enjoyable. My nostalgia bones are all tingling right now. Continue reading The Eternal War: A Look at the Repeating Console Cycle

Battlefield: Hardline Revealed in Battlelog Update

battlefield hardline

Update: Yep, Battlefield: Hardline is real.

Battlelog, DICE’s browser-based interface that they’ve been forcing on the gaming public since Battlefield 3, received an update this morning. Instead of the assignments for the upcoming expansion pack Dragon’s Teeth, an entierly different kind of surprised was included.

While digging through the source code of Battlelog, denizen of the Internet Koen Vlaswinkel found a whole bunch of information about Battlefield: Hardline, including weapons, vehicles, classes, gamemodes and who’s developing it. From the images Battlefield: Hardline looks like it will be SWAT vs Thieves on a variety of urban maps with gamemodes such as Heist and Blood Money, giving it a very Payday feel. Continue reading Battlefield: Hardline Revealed in Battlelog Update

Get Your Watch Dogs Review Score Round-Up

watch dogs review scores

Ubisoft’s long awaited open-world hackathon Watch Dogs is finally upon us. The embargo lifted late last night and a torrent of reviews flooded in from all over the Internet. It seems that Watch Dogs is getting fairly positive scores across the board, mostly being criticized for some funky driving mechanics and for not really being that unique of an open-world game outside of the hacking abilities.

Here are some review scores from some other websites you may have heard of:

I’ve got Watch Dogs sitting on my PC right now but InFamous: Second Son is currently taking up most of my gaming bandwidth (along with Battlefield 4 and some Company of Heroes 2) but I expect to get to it soon. I hear there’s an interesting glitch right now where taking to the river will cause you to lose your police pursuit as the Chicago PD of Watch Dogs doesn’t have a maritime presence.

Has anyone here played Watch Dogs? What are your initial impressions?

Even the Odds With a Batman: Arkham Knight Gameplay Trailer

We you perhaps hoping for a little gameplay footage from the upcoming current-gen only Batman: Arkham Knight today? Well, you’re in luck because we have exactly that for you. “Evening the Odds” shows off a bit of everything from Knight, including the Batmobile, gliding, and transitioning from the Batmobile to gliding. It all looks pretty great, too. Have a watch:

Batman: Arkham Knight is a very pretty looking game, no doubt helped along by the fact that it isn’t cross-gen. What did you guys think of this short glimpse of Arkham Knight gameplay?

Far Cry 4 Coming November 18 2014, Takes Place in the Himalayas

far cry 4 reveal

Do you know what the definition of insanity is? Not getting a sequel to 2012’s stellar hit Far Cry 3. In a surprise leak/announcement today, Ubisoft officially unveiled Far Cry 4 which will be coming to the (deep breath here) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 18, 2014.

Not much is currently known about Far Cry 4, other than that it takes place in a fictional region of the Himalayas called Kyrat and you’ll be fighting the reign of a self-appointed king. You can feast your peepers on the box art for Far Cry 4 by clicking the previous words. Looks more like a Pink King than a Yellow King to me, but maybe we’ll go to Carcosa in Far Cry 5.

Far Cry 3 was one of my favorite games of the last generation and if Ubisoft can turn around some of the less appealing aspects of that game (nonsensical “white savior” story and a rather bland second half) then we’ve got a huge hit on our hands. If the logical progression from flamethrower dubstep is elephant-riding RPG madness, then consider me sold.

Who’s on board for a little more Far Cry when it hits every consoles except the poor Wii U this November?

Source – UbiBlog

Valiant Hearts Trailer Brings 2D Adventure to World War One

Built on the same UbiArt engine as the recently released Child of Light, Valiant Hearts is an upcoming 2D adventure game by Ubisoft Montpellier where you control four different characters and their faithful dog through several puzzles set during the first World War.

World War One is not a setting that gets explored a lot in video games, but Valiant Hearts looks like it will use that dark time in history to tell some pretty heart-breaking stories about love and sacrifice. Take a look at the trailer below:

How does this look to you guys? Are you on board? Did you try Child of Light? Valiant Heart releases on June 25 via the PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE and various PC digital distribution platforms.

Bungie’s Destiny Will Cost Activision $500 Million

bungie destiny

According to a story published by Reuters, Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi shooter RPG thing Destiny could wind up costing Activision Blizzard $500 million in development and promotional costs when all is said and done.

The next game out Bungie in their post-Halo days is no doubt a big deal, but I don’t think anyone’s leaning on its potential success quite as hard as Activision. With Call of Duty: Ghosts’ weak showing last year, Activision is no doubt hungry for their next hit shooter. $500 million could wind up making Destiny the most expensive video game in history, which is a significant gamble for a company that often seems like it likes to play it safe.

$500 million is quite an insane number to be spending on development and marketing, but a lot of that is going towards the development of Destiny’s next-gen engine (which is in-house, a tradition for Bungie) and a lot of back end infrastructure costs. I don’t know about you guys, but with $500 million behind it, Destiny’s servers better not crap out on launch day.

What do you guys think? Is Destiny worth this price tag? Are you going to pick up the game on September 9, and for what platform?

Source – Reuters

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Trailer Will Topple Your Expectations like a House of Cards

Originally the plan was for the newest Call of Duty game, made by Modern Warfare 3 collaborator Sledgehammer Games, to be revealed this coming Sunday, but you know how the Internet works. The official trailer for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is out now and it features Kevin Spacey (who is a Southern accent away from portraying Frank Underwood), drones, exoskeletons, hover bikes and much much more. If you thought Black Ops 2 was futuristic, wait until you get a load of this:

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare certainly looks nice, but there are also a lot of signs that point to it being on an upgraded version of the same old engine (I swear, I’ve watched the same running animation for the soldiers in slow-mo since 2007). What do you guys think of this reveal? Back on the Call of Duty hype-train? Can Advanced Warfare pick up after the post-Ghosts slump? According to the trailer, the release date for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is November 4, 2014. No consoles were specifically listed, except for the Xbox One version which provided the footage for the trailer.

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 90: Alan, Please Add Title

gamersushi show ep 90

After an unexpected week break we’re back in your digital media player with an episode of the GamerSushi Show. I couldn’t think of a clever title this week, but Jeff, Anthony and I talk some video game news and give thoughts on what we’re playing. You know, the usual deal. We also find time to bust out a few impressions at the end.

Just in case you forgot, this is how it goes: listen, rate and we’ll catch you next time.

0:00 – 3:06 Intro
3:07 – 18:53 Watch Dogs multiplayer video (and other stuff)
18:54 – 30:10 Dark Souls 2 and Trials: Fusion
30:11 – 37:41 Marty O’Donnell terminated by Bungie
37:42 – 40:10 Snoop Dogg Call of Duty: Ghosts announcer pack
40:11 – 42:54 Outro

Watch Dogs Walkthrough Video Shows off Competitive Multiplayer

Watch Dogs will be upon us very soon, and as such Ubisoft is rolling out walkthorugh videos detailing what you’ll be doing in the game come May 27. The most recent video showcases the multiplayer modes, which range from asymmetrical mobile app versus in-game combat (which I saw at last year’s PAX Prime) to a four-on-four objective-oriented mode. Check out the multiplayer offerings of Watch Dogs below:

Is it just me or does Competitive Decryption Combat look like a ton of fun? What do you guys think about this glimpse at Watch Dogs’ multiplayer modes?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 89: Super Sushi Bros.

gamersushi show ep 89

Fans of Patrick‘s last appearance in the days of yore of the GamerSushi Show (well, episode 83 actually) will be overjoyed to learn that the site’s most Easterly Canadian is back for another go.

Given Patrick’s stance as a Wii U supporter, it’s fortunate that we brought him in to discuss the massive Super Smash Bros. info-dump that came out this week. We also talk about out impressions of the Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number trailer and break down the beneficial changes Blizzard has brought to Diablo 3 for the new expansion, Reaper of Souls.

So listen, rate, give us five stars on Twitter and we’ll be back in your ear holes soon!

0:00 – 1:06 Intro
1:07 – 13:19 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct
13:20 – 17:49 Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number trailer
17:50 – 26:07 What we’re playing
26:08 – 37:05 Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
37:06 – 39:50 Jeff’s Titanfall obsession
39:51 – 42:10 Outro

Hotline Miami 2 Lays Down the Beating

Hotline Miami 2 now has a trailer, and my god, it’s beautiful. The first game was one of my favorites, and it looks like the sequel is upping the ante with some ridiculously cool additions.

Dat dual wielding in multi directions, tho.

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 88: Come on Baby, Light My Fire

gamersushi show ep 88

An unusual three-man assortment of Anthony, Jeff and Nick head up the GamerSushi Show this week as Eddy and I were off discussing shirtless Henry Cavill, because really, why wouldn’t you?

Despite wavering for a moment in to Extra Bytes territory, the gang rights the Sushi ship and talks about Amazon’s recently unveiled Fire TV, some Dark Souls 2 and Nick’s experience with his new PlayStation 4.

Show these guys some love by listening, rating and coming back next time. Auf Wiedersehen!

0:00 – 1:06 Intro
1:07 – 22:05 Amazon’s Fire TV
22:06 – 26:22 Dark Souls 2
26:23 – 47:12 Nick buys a PlayStation 4
47:13 – 49:33 Outro

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 87: You Got the Trollin’ in Me

gamersushi show ep 87

The break may have been a week longer than we intended, but a trio of GamerSushi editors took to the mic this week to bring you a new installment of your favorite podcast (or one of you favorites at any rate).

Because Eddy has a backlog of trolling he’s in fine form this episode, but despite that we still manage to yak about Titanfall and out experiences with the live version, Eddy’s dislike of InFamous: Second Son, some random bits of gaming news and the big deal of this week, Facebook buying Oculus.

I’m sure you know how it goes, but I’m going to remind you anyways: listen, rate and treat yo’self. See you next time!

0:00 – 2:03
2:04 – 20:52 Titanfall
20:53 – 27:46 InFamous: Second Son
27:47 – 29:51 Upcoming 2014 games
29:52 – 33:04 Assassin’s Creed: Unity
33:05 – 34:44 The Last of Us on PS4
34:45 – 37:44 EA giving Star Wars the “Batman Arkham” treatment/Telltale’s GoT game
37: 45 – 49:11 Facebook buys Oculus
49:11 – 52:12 Outro

Alien: Isolation Sounds Like a Great Game I Will Never Play

Polygon has a fantastic write-up about Alien: Isolation, a first person horror attempt at bringing the Alien franchise back to its roots. While most games try to emulate the space marines feel of James Cameron flick, Isolation plays with your expectations and pits you against one single-minded killing xenomorph.

I will never play this game because I am a wuss, but it sounds awesome.

Review: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

assassins creed 4 black flag review

After 2012’s less-than-stellar entry, the Assassin’s Creed series seemed poised to spend the last few years of its life cycle fighting irrelevancy. While Assassin’s Creed 3 might have sold well, it turned off a lot of people, myself (an admittedly hardcore fan of the franchise) included. Half-baked mechanics, buggy presentation and a bland protagonist were all parts of the gumbo of disappointment that was AC3.

Not long after that game released, Ubisoft announced a follow-up that would take place in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. The new protagonist would be Edward Kenway, father and grandfather to the Assassin’s Creed 3 playable characters Haytham and Connor, respectively. With a game poised to take advantage of the naval combat introduced in AC3, could Black Flag right the ship? Continue reading Review: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag