Category: Stealth

The Amazing Open World and Lackluster Narrative of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the greatest action-stealth game I’ve ever played. Every aspect of the gameplay in Hideo Kojima’s farewell to the series he’s been heading up for over 25 years is tight, responsive and open to wild degrees of experimentation. So often in Metal Gear Solid 5 you’ll think up some crazy way to test the game’s systems and more often than not it will work. Extract yourself out of a hot zone by holding on to a fulton balloon on top of a shipping container? Want to use the tape of someone pooping to stop soldiers from investigating the outhouse you’re hiding in? Go for it.

The beauty of Metal Gear Solid 5’s gameplay is that nearly everyone will have a different story to tell about how they engaged with a certain mission or took down a base. This is the best feeling Metal Gear game to play by a large margin. Gone are the archaic controls and the contorted claw shapes you would have to twist your hand into to do something simple like aiming down a weapon’s sights. When you are in the open world of Afghanistan or central Africa, you really feel like you can make the legend of Big Boss come to life. Continue reading The Amazing Open World and Lackluster Narrative of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

The Visible, Violent Deaths of Sniper Elite 3

sniper elite 3

Over the weekend I put a decent amount of time into Sniper Elite 3, Rebellion’s latest foray into the realm of shooting a lot of Nazis (and Italian soldiers!) in the face and testicles in slow motion, and I have to say I’m digging it quite a bit.

I’d describe Sniper Elite 3 as a “rough diamond” of sorts. The folks at Rebellion have done a great job of making a fun stealth title and if you like sniping then this is definitely the game for you. Just be aware that there are a few hiccups that might detract from your experience. Continue reading The Visible, Violent Deaths of Sniper Elite 3

Watch a Speedrunner Beat Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes in Less Than Four Minutes

Ever since I watched the 30 minute Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain E3 gameplay demo, I’ve been on kind of a Metal Gear Solid kick. I’m interested in Ground Zeroes, the prequel of sorts to TPP, and even though I understand the game has a lot more content than it appears to have at first glance, this speedrunner beating Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes in less than four minutes with an S rank kind of belies that.

He has an almost perfect run and relies pretty heavily on the Reflex mode, but it’s still damn entertaining to watch.

Check Out 30 Minutes of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Gameplay

I know, we were all pretty down about Hideo Kojima’s latest foray into the ever-retconned mess of the Metal Gear Solid universe when we discussed the E3 2014 trailer in our most recent podcast, but this 30 minute gameplay demo of The Phantom Pain has me intrigued. There’s no uncomfortable sexual torture or ash-smearing, just Big Boss being a fricking bad-ass and infiltrating a Russian outpost to search for intel. As a bonus, we also get a glimpse of Mother Base, which, if memory serves, wasn’t an actual location in Peace Walker. The gameplay demo starts at around 41 minutes into the show, but I suppose you can watch the rest of it if you happen to understand Japanese. Don’t worry, the demo is narrated in English.

It looks like Kojima Productions have made a lot of really smart updates to the formula of Metal Gear Solid. While the “iDroid” is a little out of place for the mid-80s (which is when TPP takes place) it allows you to tackle the open world in a variety of ways thanks to waypoints and soldier-tagging. Also, Fulton-ing sheep looks hilarious. So, did this pique anyone’s interest?

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

Check Out The Official Trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight

This morning Batman: Arkham Knight got rumored and confirmed in a whirlwind of profession games journalism (hats off to you, boys) and now we have the first official trailer “Father to Son”. Rocksteady is once again taking up the cowl but this doesn’t look anything like a Silver Age Batman, which was rumored to be their next project. Batman: Arkham Knight drops this fall for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Check out the trailer below!

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

bravely default

It’s been quiet on the Western Front for the past few days, but we can blame that on the intense two-day snowstorm I experience up here in Canada-land. Seriously, I got at least six inches of snow. That’s pretty crazy for where I live.

To bring the subject back around to video games, it’s been awhile since we’ve asked you, the GamerSushi reader, what you’re playing as there’s been a ton of new games in the last few months. Personally, I’m playing the new 3DS JRPG Bravely Default and I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I haven’t reached the dreaded second half where the game apparently becomes a grindy slog-fest, but for now I’m enjoying a classic genre with some modern conveniences thrown in (seriously, a random encounter slider is a huge boon). It’s also gorgeous and has an awesome soundtrack to boot.

Other than that I’ve been playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist, having picked it up for super cheap last month. So far I’ve only tried the co-op, but Blacklist allows you to play in one of three styles: Panther (in the vein of Conviction), Ghost (for us Chaos Theory fans) or Assault if you just want to play a third-person shooter. While I prefer my Splinter Cells stealthy, having the option to play loud and lethal and balancing it for some very different play-styles makes for a tricky act but Ubisoft pulled it off this time around.

So, what are you guys playing? Something old, something new? Are you waiting on bated breath for Titanfall, Dark Souls 2, or one of the other million games hitting in March?

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Trailer Showcases a Rad Game

Until yesterday I’d never heard of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith’s new game that shows you what happened inbetween The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In this game you’ll play as Talion, a ranger of Gondor who gets possessed by a wraith and then uses his new found powers to systematically assassinate a variety of orcs and Uruk-hai. This gameplay trailer for Shadow of Mordor shows off some cool abilities you can use and details the nemesis system which sounds too crazy to actually be true. Give it a watch!

For a game that I didn’t even know existed until recently, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor looks like a guaranteed fun time. What do you guys think about this trailer? Are you on-board for some orc killing?

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

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

Pixel Count: Prequel Passions?

Prequels are all the rage these days. A word that used to hold little meaning before Star Wars made it commonplace in the 90s, prequels now span every medium of entertainment, from movies to video games and TV. For every Breaking Bad, there’s a Better Call Saul, for every Deus Ex, there’s a Human Revolution, and so on.

With Batman: Arkham Origins dropping next month, one of the more popular video game franchises in recent years is getting its own prequel treatment, putting us in the shoes of a younger, less experienced Dark Knight. While I’ve no reason to be suspicious of the game at all, I admittedly find it hard to get excited about not taking a step forward in the mythology, seeing as how I love where the story seemed to be heading with Arkham City. Likewise, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, while looking mighty impressive, sort of kills my desire to see its story unfold since we’ve already seen how the whole thing ends — and let’s not even mention that there’s a new voice for the iconic Snake.

So today’s Pixel Count focuses on prequels. Do you love them or hate them? Are you indifferent? Go!

What do you think of prequels?

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GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

Saint's Row 4

Sushians! The dreaded fall abyss approaches.

You know, the one that we’re all going to disappear into while we’re busy playing games. The first harbinger of doom comes in the form of one Grand Theft Auto V, which somehow is only a few days away. I’m not really sure how that happened, but I’m not complaining about it. After that, we’ll have games like Watch Dogs, Batman: Arkham Origins, AC IV, Battlefield 4 and then some.

But before all that, what are you guys playing right now? To prepare myself for battle at the moment, I’ve been diving into Saint’s Row IV, trying to finish it in a mad dash just in time for GTA V. I’m also trying to wrap up Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and hope to knock out Call of Juarez: Gunslinger sometime in the near future as well… but my eyes are often bigger than my stomach when it comes to gaming.

So what about you guys? What are you playing while you await the inevitable fall madness? Go!

The Confusing Heists of Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine

monaco coop

There’s something sad about looking forward to playing a game with friends only to have that hope crushed in front of your very eyes. Such was the case last Friday when four of the GamerSushi crew sat down in front of our PCs to play Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine, the recently-released top-down heist game by Pocketwatch Games.

After navigating through the game’s menu, which included having to disable Big Picture so Jeff could actually invite us to the game, we attempted to play Monaco for about a half an hour before giving it up. Between the small levels that aren’t really built for more than one person, the vague goals and the confusing visuals, we were rather disappointed with our experience.

I suppose that it can be said that we didn’t give the game a fair shake, but to be honest I have no interest in going back to it. I’m sure Monaco appeals to a certain person, but that just isn’t me.

Has anyone else played Monaco? What did you think of it?

The GamerSushi Power Rankings: August 2013

Dark Souls

Another month, another update to the rankings. This time, we’re seeing not only movement in our backlogs, but movement in a few games that we managed to stick with from one month to the next. Imagine that! Continue reading The GamerSushi Power Rankings: August 2013

Minerva Help Me, This New Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Trailer is Awesome

I think that I’ve been pretty vocal in my condemnation of Assassin’s Creed 3 over the past year. I thought it was barren, janky, scatterbrained and didn’t fit the mold of what I’ve come to expect from an Assassin’s Creed game. In short, it left me wary of future installments in the franchise.

Since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was announced a few months ago, I’ve been rather lukewarm about it. Sure, it capitalizes on the best part of AC3, the naval battles, but being a successor to that game would it travel the same dark road? This new gameplay video narrated by game director Ashraf Ismail shows how closely Assassin’s Creed IV is hewing to the older games and what’s changed for the next adventure.

I’ve got to admit, Black Flag is looking pretty solid. The naval combat has had a tactical layer added on to it with the spyglass, and the return of free-form assassination contracts rubs me in all the right ways. So what do you guys think? Does Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag look like it has some promise, or are appearances deceiving?

Klei Introduces its Tactical Espionage Game, Incognita

Incognita

Anyone that’s played Mark of the Ninja or Don’t Starve by Klei knows that these guys are some talented developers with a knack for creating some crazy fun games. Mark of the Ninja, a 2D stealth game, is one of the more creative titles I’ve played in years — and probably some of the best stealth gameplay in this generation. And while I haven’t played Don’t Starve, I’ve heard the alpha access, community building and the fun take on survival gameplay made the title an interesting experiment that’s worth taking part in.

Klei’s newest game, Incognita, announced yesterday, sounds just as ambitious as their previous titles — with a brand new take on stealth. Taking inspiration from XCOM, a game that I fell in love with, Klei is aiming to make Incognita a turn-based tactical espionage game, where information is power. Continue reading Klei Introduces its Tactical Espionage Game, Incognita

The Last of Us Reviews Explode Onto the Web

the last of us reviews

Man oh man, if there’s one game for the rest of this year that might be able to topple BioShock Infinite off of its lofty perch, it’s The Last of Us. Sure, everybody might have their own personal Game of the Year (come on, Battlefield 4), but I predict that those two giants will be slugging it out for that prestigious award come December.

What makes me say that, you ask? Well, in case you missed it yesterday, the review embargo for Naughty Dog’s fungal-fueled post-apocalyptic title lifted and there are some fantastic reviews out there. Here’s a round-up of what some outlets are saying about it:

Pretty much unanimous across the board, except for Polygon’s review which highlights a few inconsistencies with the shooting mechanics. The multiplayer is of particular interest to me, especially considering I kind of forgot that The Last of Us even had this mode.

The game is out next Friday, so what do you guys think about these reviews? Are you getting excited?

Going Through the Motions with Blood Dragon

Blood Dragon

I’ve got a confession to make: I don’t love Blood Dragon.

After being so excited about Far Cry 3’s far-out DLC with a cheesy sci-fi bent, it turns out I’m just not that into it. The atmosphere of the game, full of reds, purples and neon colors, actually makes it kind of hard to pull of Far Cry 3’s refined, excellent gameplay. You can’t see enemies very well, you’re so superpowered that stealth barely matters, and with all the colors you rarely have any idea of where enemy fire is coming from.

But more than anything it just makes me want more of the real game. I’m not sad that I purchased it — I think DLC like this should be made more often — it’s just not really floating my cyber-boat. I find that I’m having to force myself to play the game, even after bumping it down to Easy to make it pass more quickly.

With gaming, I tend to muscle through most of the time and finish titles, even if I’m not 100 percent feeling them. But sometimes, I run into a Blood Dragon, where I legitimately do not even want to play it anymore, but feel like I should. So my question for you guys is this: when do you decide to cut the cord on a game? And what’s the last game you decided to stop playing? Go!

Monaco: Cutting Down the Trolls

Monaco

For a game I haven’t even played yet, I’m a bit obsessed with Monaco. My backlog is preventing me from springing into a new game just yet, but soon I hope to be plunging the depths of Monaco’s heist-based, co-op driven goodness. With friends, of course.

One of the more fascinating things I’ve read about the game recently has to do with its community design. The creator of the game, Andy Schatz, faced an interesting challenge — how do you promote good behavior from your online community? While most online games do excel with a bit of proper teamwork, co-op based multiplayer always has a bit of a risk. Once players stop working together, the game breaks down. That’s why most games offer a bit of a chance for players to become a lone wolf, running and gunning as they see fit, with no care of what their team is doing. So how did Schatz address this issue in a way that few have accomplished before? Continue reading Monaco: Cutting Down the Trolls

Review: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

far cry 3 blood dragon review

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon seems like one of those games that never should have happened. After the main game went out the door, a small team at Ubisoft was given the basic framework of Far Cry 3 and a very short time frame to turn in an expansion pack.

What we got out of that is a mishmash of every single 80s movie staring Michael Biehn and featuring giant lizards that shoot lasers out of their eyes. Roll your D20s, nerds, it’s time to review Blood Dragon. Continue reading Review: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon