Category: Sandbox

What Are You Playing: Almost Summer Edition

The Witcher 2

Hello, GamerSushi faithful, did you miss me? I know that you guys probably didn’t even notice I was gone for a couple of days, but I was off in Vancouver watching a hockey game (pause for Canada jokes). Unfortunately, this little getaway clashed with the release of L.A. Noire, and I only got to try that out last night. While I’m finding the controls a little too clunky for my liking, the interrogations are super awesome and the facial animations continue to astound me.

Besides L.A. Noire, we’ve also seen the release of the Witcher 2 on PC, and I’ve been hearing rave reviews about it both here and other places. It’s definitely on my list of “must haves”, so I’ll hopefully be able to pick that up soon. Based on the screenshot I used for this article, the game should be titillating in all the right ways.

So what are you guys playing? I know we already have a whole thing about L.A. Noire, but if you’ve got any Witcher 2 thoughts, this is the place to put them. Hit me up with those comments, son!

Roll Call: L.A. Noire

LA Noire

L. A. Noire is here, folks. Team Bondi and Rockstar have delivered the last big release before the summer drought, and now the entire world is immersing itself in the harrowing mysteries of 1940s L.A. Or at least, that’s what’s going on in my house, anyway.

I’ve only played a few hours of L.A. Noire at this point, but already it’s made a great impression on me. In the same way that calling Red Dead Redemption “GTA with horses” was a bit off the mark, calling L. A. Noire “GTA in the 1940s” misses the point as well. The game plays out like a much more polished Heavy Rain in some ways, and in other ways feels like playing through a pulp mystery novel. The investigation mechanics are a nice change of pace from other Rockstar releases, and the whole thing has already sucked me in a bit. And of course, as everyone’s saying, the facial animations are astounding. We’ll see how well the whole thing holds up over 20-30 hours.

What about you guys? Who else is playing some L.A. Noire? Roll call!

Today’s WTF: Obsidian Regrets New Vegas Bugs

Obsidian

Seriously, Obsidian?

I’m not trying to be a troll or anything, but this one really gave me a combination of laughs and head-scratching. You remember all of that fuss last year, back when Fallout: New Vegas had its buggy launch? Well, so does Obsidian, and they are none too pleased, thank you very much.

Here’s what Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart had to say about his company’s reputation for releasing buggy games in a recent article with Play Magazine.

I think it’s fair and unfair at the same time, because in the same conversation that I hear how buggy KOTOR and Alpha Protocol were, I also hear how great they were… Now in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, we made a gigantic game, and I’m proud with what we were able to do but I wish it wasn’t as glitchy when it came out. The criticisms people had are fair but it’s difficult to get a game the size of New Vegas bug free. But that’s an excuse and it doesn’t matter when someone’s paid $60 for a game. It’s something we need to work on.

He goes on to pump their new game Dungeon Siege III, but that was the meat of it. Maybe I’m reaching a bit here, but in my mind, if you’re the CEO, why don’t you do something to ensure that the games don’t go out the door with so many bugs? You’re in charge, last I checked. Delay the game if you have to, or work with your managers to get a better schedule for release so your developers aren’t cramming like crazy. On the flip side, it really is nice to see a CEO being open and honest about this kind of criticism, rather than just brushing it aside. So kudos for that.

What do you guys think? Fair or foul here? Go!

Source – NowGamer

What Should the Setting of Assassin’s Creed 3 Be?

assassins creed 3 settings

Now that we know all about Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and its place in the series as the conclusion of Ezio’s story, people are starting to wonder what the future settings of Assassin’s Creed will be. Judging by your comments on the article, we’re all a little sick of the Renaissance (and the annualization of the titles) so which time period should the games visit next?

This has been investigated a bit over at IGN, who can turn out an interesting feature when they want to. They suggest four unique settings that haven’t really been explored in the gaming space outside of a few recent titles. While a Wild West Assassin’s Creed would end up being unfavorably compared to Red Dead Redemption, a post-World War 2 (that conflict being a period the developers wanted to avoid) game focused on the hunting down of Nazi war criminals who escaped prosecution would fit rather well into the existing fictional framework as well as provide players with a relatively fresh setting to discover.

One of the most appealing things about Assassin’s Creed has always been, at least for me, the dedicated recreation of parts of our history not usually explored in video games. While I’m practically gagging for an AC game set in feudal Japan, a post-WW2 or Industrial London game would be tip top as well. What do you guys think will be the setting of the next Assassin’s Creed? Will it be another slice of the past, or will we finally get to see Desmond steal the spotlight? What would make for interesting multiplayer arenas? Go!

Source – IGN

GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

Red Dead Redemption

We’ve talked about video game endings multiple times on this site, but I just had to bring the issue back up after reading an excellent article about today by Christian Higley over at Digital Hippo about How Video Games Fail to End.

In it, Higley explores the idea that many games fail at a very basic level of storytelling: narrative structure. While stories typically have a first, second and final act, most games end the game right after the second act, before the real conclusion can actually set in. Red Dead Redemption is one of the few games I can think of that actually gives gamers a third act (and does it to great effect), in that Marston is allowed to return home, and the player spends time winding the story down before its sad but powerful conclusion.

While that’s not a new argument, the writer goes a step further by pointing out that most games are even missing the first act, choosing instead to thrust players right into the second act. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it is: games typically begin at the “inciting incident”. It’s the equivalent of starting A New Hope at the very moment Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed. Or in many cases, even after that. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

Ezio is Back for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations this Fall

assassins creed revelations

How do you guys feel about the Renaissance? I hope you’re not sick of it yet because Ubisoft just announced that Ezio Auditore will be back for another adventure this fall in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. VG247 has the whole wrap up about Revelations, but for conveniences sake here’s the juicy part of Ubisoft’s PR blurb:

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

In addition to Ezio’s award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world. The latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga also includes revolutionary gameplay, allowing players to manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future.

So there it is, fellas. Looks like Revelations is shaping up to be a Brotherhood type sequel. Not necessarily the worst thing in the world, but I think this is probably the last time that Ubisoft can get away with this. I’ll obviously play it, but as Eddy told me in chat this morning, if it has gimmicky blue and orange robes it is an automatic hate. Here’s the first screenshot of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, showing Ezio (with a grey beard?) climbing a tower in Constantinople.

So now that we know a bit more about the next Assassin’s Creed chapter, what do you guys think about Revelations? Sick of Ezio? Where do you want the series to go next?

Source – VG247

Square Enix to Publish Dead Island

Dead Island

In honor of Zombie Awareness Month (Look it up, it’s a thing), we’ve been given some undead corpse-related news from our good friends over at Deep Silver, the developers of the highly anticipated FPS/co-op with a twist of melee zombie game known as Dead Island. They’ve found a publisher and it might raise your eyebrows and the dead from their graves. OK, I got carried away with that last one.

Square Enix, the publisher of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and other games where buckles, zippers and spiked hair reign supreme, will publish the game, due out something before the end of the year, as IGN is reporting. This is pretty smart because Square Enix still knows how to market a blockbuster game in a crowded field of contenders.

But it also gives us the chance to make jokes. So, other than an emo main character who can’t remember what’s going on, what JRPG stereotypes would you like to see in Dead Island? (I realize the real answer is “none”, but just play along, OK?) Do you think Square will try to change anything before release? GO!

Source – IGN

What Are You Playing: Easter Edition

mincraft 1.5 weather

Happy Easter, everyone, hope you got your fill of chocolate and/or religious significance this weekend. As a godless heathen (aka, non-denominational well-wisher), I’ve been using this time off to play a few games like Minecraft, Portal 2 and the Gears of War 3 Beta. I might sound like a broken record on a couple of those, but what they hey, it’s not like anything is coming out until L.A. Noire hits.

Every since the 1.5 update of Minecraft, I’ve been getting back into that game in a big way. I’ve been playing cooperatively with my buddy and it’s been going rather well, except for the two occasions where he lured a Creeper into my tower and demolished my ground floor. Oh, and there was that instance where he built a giant pyramid but forgot to stock the inside with torches, so all the monsters spawned inside the darkened interior and we had to flood it with lava to kill them all. Good times. The weather effects are also pretty neat, and I’ve witnessed a couple of decent thunderstorms. Even though you spend most of your time underground, coming up to a different atmosphere is a nice change of pace.

What have you guys been up to these past few days? Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, or polishing off the backlog? I’ve told you what I’ve been up to, what you got?

The Making of AC: Brotherhood’s Multiplayer

AC: Brotherhood Multiplayer

As much as I still love a good old-fashioned bout of death match and the ever-exciting game of capture the flag, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer mode was something fresh and new to sink my teeth into. It took the normal humdrum affair of online play and flipped everything on its head. You weren’t a super assassin out killing other super assassins – you were being hunted and could only defend yourself long enough to run away, rather than engage. You couldn’t just run through a match killing everyone in sight – you gained points for the more methodical, well-placed kills. All of these things enthralled me as I played, and I hope to see more out of it in the franchise in the future.

It’s because of my love for this multiplayer mode that I was excited to see a feature about it up on CVG about how AC: Brotherhood’s multiplayer was made. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was the team behind Splinter Cell’s fantastic multiplayer mode, the beloved Spies versus Mercs game mode that was so spellbinding at the time of its release.

If you’re banking on being a game designer of some kind in the future, I’d highly suggest reading this. I love their breakdown of the design process and just how the mode progressed over the course of several years (yes, years).

So what are your thoughts? What other types of multiplayer modes do you wish we’d see more of? Personally, I’d love to see better variations of CTF, or perhaps something more along the lines of a super-powered Juggernaught mode that we find in Halo. Go!

Source – CVG

April Fools: Grand Theft Auto V Takes Place in Space

GTA5

Well, for weeks now, speculation has been running rampant about Grand Theft Auto V: when it’s going to be announced, who’s going to be in it and what parodies we can expect. However, one of the biggest questions still remaining about the next iteration of Rockstar’s landmark series is where it’s going to take place. It seems that Rockstar has finally silenced the masses with a press release that went out yesterday. The next GTA is going to take place in space.

Yeah, you read that right. Here’s what Rockstar’s VP of Product Development Jeronimo Barrera had to say about the new game’s astounding direction:

We just felt that we’ve “been there, done that” in regards to various other settings in previous Grand Theft Auto games and other Rockstar properties. I mean, we’ve done the 80’s, the 90’s, the Old West, the 1950’s in the upcoming L.A. Noire and even a modern-day post 9/11 America in GTA IV. Space is, quite literally, the Final Frontier in terms of where Rockstar’s games could go. It should be new and exciting for fans of our current games, just like it is for us.

The press release was shy on details, but here are a couple of things that have come to light about the way Grand Theft Auto (or should that be Shuttle, now) is going to play.

  • Multiple cities on various planets
  • Hijack button will dock you with a spaceship, mid-flight
  • Weapons will be futuristic, although some “antique” shops will have good old-fashioned rocket launchers
  • The main character is Max Rifle, intergalactic pirate extraordinaire
  • Earth will be playable, specifically a nuclear radiation infected Vice City

So, that’s quite the bomb to start the weekend with. What do you think of Rockstar’s bold new direction for the series?

Source – Rockstar Press Release

Batman: Arkham City Trailer Swoops in with Gameplay

Oh man. My love for Batman: Arkham Asylum has been well documented on this site. It combined the best parts of Metal Gear Solid, Metroidvania structure and just feeling like a badass and churned out perhaps one of the best licensed games to ever grace our screens. For months, anticipation has been building about the follow-up, Arkham City, and I’ve been waiting anxiously to see some kind of gameplay after all of those tantalizing yet empty pre-rendered trailers.

Fortunately, the first Arkham City gameplay trailer has arrived, and it’s something to behold. If Arkham Asylum was the Batman game I’ve always wanted, Arkham City looks like the one I’ve always dreamed of. Check it out.

Thoughts? Drool? Go.

User Created Missions Will Make You Infamous 2

infamous 2

As if the excitement for Infamous 2 isn’t palpable enough, Sucker Punch decided to…well…sucker punch us with the news that the sequel to the popular super hero/open world game will have user-made missions, as reported by 1UP. That’s right, you can devise all kinds of crazy ways to put Cole through his paces and piss your friends right off.

The missions can be uploaded online and will actually appear in the game world on the map, though user-created content will be marked by a different color and also display the creator’s username. The levels range from races to puzzles to regular missions where you kill lots and lots of enemies. There appears to be quite a bit of options, including action triggers and enemy placement.

I was already pretty pumped about this, but now I think Infamous 2 might be in my top 5 most anticipated games of 2011. Does something like this interest you? Do you think more open world games should incorporate features like this? Sound off!

Source: 1UP

inFAMOUS 2 Duality Trailer Tears It Up

It’s been a week for excellent trailers, it seems. While Skryim is definitely the best of the bunch, I do have a soft spot in my cold, jaded gamer heart for inFAMOUS 2’s Duality trailer, which shows off some more gameplay along with the two warring sides of Cole’s psyche. This time around, the good and evil parts of Cole are personified Kuo and Nix, who will tempt Cole into assisting them to further their own goals. Check out the trailer embedded below:

I’m very much looking forward to inFAMOUS 2, which has been confirmed for a June 7 release. The original was one of my favorite games of 2009, so I can’t wait to see how developers Sucker Punch have juiced up the sequel. What about you guys, excited about inFAMOUS 2?

Dead Island Resurfaces With the Best Trailer Ever

As a group, we gamers are prone to hyperbole. Games are either the best thing ever, or they totally suck. We either have our minds blown or relegate the offender to the bargain bin of history. I’m adding this little forward because, as much as the title of this post might seem like exaggeration, the new announcement trailer for Dead Island has left me breathless. Yes, it’s another zombie game, but screw that. Take a look at the trailer, and try to see if you can keep your head from exploding.

This game has been off the radar for a number of years, but the basic premise is that you’re a guy trapped on a tropical island surrounded by zombies. The game makes big use of localized damage, which means that zombies won’t get hacked apart a la Dead Rising; rather, you’ll have to specifically aim your blows to get decapitations and head-shots. Now that the game is back amongst the living, I can say I’m officially hyped. What say you?

Why Your Multiplayer Needs Soul

There are those certain types of games out there, the ones that have you discussing for days or weeks on end how you totally stomped your opponents, or some random happenstance that blew your mind. These are the games that get you back together with your friends on a nightly basis to trade blows and throw grenades, striving to be the best, to get the next unlock, or just compete for bragging rights.

Just by imagining these scenarios, you probably conjured up a list of your favorite experiences and the games they were connected to. Whether its the exact right combination of tight mechanics and engaging gameplay, or just the fact that you can destroy your environments in real time with your friends, there are multiplayer experiences out there that stick with us through different consoles and generations. Conversely, there are certain ones that, no matter how much they try to emulate the successful models, just can’t achieve that level of notoriety. This is a sort of nebulous aspect about multiplayer games, a “soul” for lack of a better term. Which games have it, and which games don’t?
Continue reading Why Your Multiplayer Needs Soul

Orient Yourself With the New L.A. Noire Gameplay Trailer

L.A. Noire, the upcoming 1947 crime thriller, certainty looks nice, but people are naturally concerned about the lack of gameplay seen so far. Since the game is coming out on May 17 (May 20 in the EU), publishers Rockstar Games and developers Team Bondi decided to release a series of trailers depicting the gameplay of L.A. Noire. The brand-spanking new trailer, called ‘Orientation’, details the detective work, interrogations and shoot-outs you’ll be undertaking.

While the gameplay does bare some resemblance to GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption, the detective work and interrogations do look really, really fun, and are things we rarely do in gaming. While it’s the natural inclination of games to shoot for the starts but fall a bit short, watching faces for cues may not work as well as the trailer shows. I’ve been wrong before, though. Overall, I think L.A. Noire looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to try it out. What do you guys think? Are you excited now that you’ve seen some gameplay?

Little Big Planet 2 Meets Real Life

If the gameplay of LittleBigPlanet 2 does not put an immediate smile on your face, you might have no soul. OK, that’s a bit harsh, but still, the game is great and I love the creativity that both Media Molecule and the community at large have poured into it. I spent much of Friday night playing through the game co-op with Jeff, and then we spent an hour or so just sampling multiplayer levels that others had created.

But what does LBP2 in real life look like? The guys over at the Show About Games Show at the Escapist have taken their stab at it, and the results are just as charming (a word I will overuse when discussing this game) as the title itself.

GamerSushi Asks: When Are You Finished with a Game?

Little Big Planet

December and January have been spectacular for me in terms of clearing out my gaming backlog. I’ve commented on it in posts before, but there’s something really satisfying about playing games and knocking more of them off the list, finally getting to experience games I’ve been dying to play.

Whenever I tackle gaming backlogs, I tend to shoot for low-hanging fruit first, unless there is some stellar title that I am just dying to play. This means I normally go for games that I hear are shorter (or easier) and won’t delay me as I try to move through the rest of the list. Playing through these is rather simple, since there’s a clear beginning and end to the experience. I tend to run into problems, though, when I get to games like the three I’m dealing with right now: NBA 2K11, Gran Turismo 5 and Little Big Planet 2.

As two of them are expanding sports titles with deep pools of gameplay and one is a charming (and really awesome) sandbox extravaganza, it’s going to be hard to determine when I’ve hit the “end” of those titles for me. I’m fairly certain I’ve had my fill of NBA 2K11, even though there are plenty of things in the game I’ve yet to sample, but I’m not sure.

So what do you guys think? How do you normally tackle these large games that never end? When do you finally set them aside for another game? Do you do it when you’ve sampled everything? When you’re tired of the game? Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather, 2011 Edition

It’s a brand new year, so it’s time for a brand new edition of Would You Rather, that game where you answer questions and give us awesome rants and diatribes about life, gaming and what you had for dinner.

It’s been some time since our last WYR (November), so I think everyone should be recharged and ready to give us some good responses. Since we’re in a bright shiny new year, I thought it would be pertinent to come at you, bros, with a salvo of 2011 gaming-related queries. I know, I know, the 2011 thing is already getting old, but you’ll probably stop being told that it’s a new year on every site in the world sometime within the next week. That’s just how bloggers roll, I guess.

For the Would You Rather virgins out there, the game is simple: I ask questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

But don’t let your answers suck. In previous years, we’ve threatened violence and humiliation for having bad bouts of WYR responses. This year, we are going to be more civilized, and instead threaten verbal assaults on your immediate family. After all, you can’t come back to the site if we’ve broken your hands. Anyway, answer away, gents.

Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather, 2011 Edition

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing, 2011 Edition

Back to the Future PSN

Time to check in, folks. We are officially done with our break.

January is already underway, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to slow down on playing games. In fact, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been playing more games lately than I’ve played in awhile. It’s been a total blast getting to spend time on the games I got for Christmas, and I’m really excited about some things that are coming up.

For me, I’ve been playing Red Dead Undead Nightmare, and am about to finish that tonight, actually. I’ve also been playing some Halo: Reach mutliplayer, Lost Odyssey, and I finally jumped into “My Player” mode on NBA 2K11, which is some of the most addicting sports play I’ve ever experienced. Seriously, even if you don’t like sports games, you might want to check it out. In the immediate future, I have plans to knock out Final Fantasy VI on the GBA, and I’m probably going to grab Call of Duty: Black Ops this weekend as well as the Back to the Future PSN game.

What are you playing these days? Have you finished those Christmas games? Are you trying to clear out the backlog to get ready for 2011’s steady stream of great releases? Go!