Category: Video

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Dev Diary is Heavy on Melodrama

Coming out just one short year after my official Game of Forever, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (or Assassin’s Creed: ODST as it is nicknamed around these parts) tells the story of Ezio’s formation of the Assassin Order after his victory in the second game. According to the video, this game is all about Ezio’s evolution as an assassin and his journey into the next part of his life. The game is focused entirely around the city of Rome, which players visited for a short time in Assassin’s Creed 2. Give the diary a watch, why don’t you:

While I’m a bit worried about the short turn around between two and this one, the developers speaking in the video clearly recognize how well received their previous game was, and are striving to keep that level of quality. On another note, those are some really awesome hoodies the dev team are wearing. What do you guys think? Is Brotherhood on your radar?

Black Ops Multiplayer Trailer Teases Replays

Another year means another Call of Duty and this time Treyarch is back in the driver’s seat. Following up on Modern Warfare 2’s massive success, it doesn’t look like the franchises’ B-studio is taking any chances with the formula. Judging by the gameplay it looks to be largely the same, but with a few graphical tweaks and a remote control car bomb. The big news this time, though, is the inclusion of replays to the game, allowing you to go back and watch old matches. If the few moments it appears in the trailer are any indication, it looks to be similar to Halo 3’s Theater mode where you can break the camera out and rotate it around. No word on whether or not you can share the films, but I don’t think that’s out of the question. Take a look at the video:

Ever since Treyarch announced that Black Ops would have dedicated servers on the PC, I’ve been slightly hopeful for this new Call of Duty. If Treyarch brings us more cool stuff, I may consider sinking money into this iteration. What about you guys? What’s your opinion on this video reveal?

New Vanquish Trailer is a Blur of Gunfights and Mech Punching

Platinum Games, the same people behind the sleeper-hit Bayonetta, are coming at us again with a new game to be released later this year called Vanquish. I’m not sure if we’ve ever mentioned this game before, but the basic premise is you’re a man in a super suit sent to fight Russians in space. I’m pretty sure the McGuffin of the game will be an EMP device because that’s how things seem to be going these days. A new trailer came online recently, and it does a great job of showcasing the game’s frenetic cover-to-close-quarters combat. The game seems to play like a cross between Gears of War and Devil May Cry, so if that piques your interest, give the trailer a watch.

One thing’s for sure, Steve Blum must be very tired after recording every single male voice in the game. What do you guys think? Does this look like your kind of game? Let us know in the comments.

Halo Reach Multiplayer: Remakes, Outer Space and Aerial Assaults

Even though the Reach Beta is far behind us, my mind is still consumed with thoughts of running around Boneyard and Powerhouse, throwing mini-nuke grenades and Lock Blocking some fools. Needless to say, I’m greatly looking forward to the game’s release on September 14, and I’ve even taken a couple days off of work to fully absorb it (that and go to a wedding, but we know which is more important). Bungie recently played host to a variety of media outlets – while snubbing my tear-filled pleas to be invited – and the fruits of those visits are finally hitting the internet. IGN got to take a look at three of the maps being shipped with Reach, and two of them should be familiar to Halo 2 veterans.

It all looks pretty good to me, especially the prospect of flying Falcons in multiplayer. How is it looking to you guys?

Hulu: Plus… or Minus?

Remember me? I know I haven’t posted here in a while, but I thought I’d pop my head in and share my experiences with the newly launched Hulu Plus on the PS3. For those of you outside the US… I think Anthony wrote something humorous about a videogame!

Weaning myself off of an expensive dependence on cable TV has been a dream of mine for a while now, but the sticking point has always been that I absolutely rely on my DVR. As soon as the Hulu Plus service was announced, I knew that I had to check it out, and I decided that paying $20 for three months of PSN Plus was a worthwhile trade off – it’s still cheaper than what I was paying for cable.

My previous experiences with Hulu on my TV have been thanks to a handy adapter cable and my MacBook. It’s not pretty, but it works. It’s just kind of a pain in the ass to set it up each time. Still, I think it’s fair to compare that setup with the PS3 implementation. After the jump, I’ll run down each method’s convenience, show availability, video quality, and interface.

Continue reading Hulu: Plus… or Minus?

Proof That the Dance Command Can Go With Anything

Blizzard sure loves to slip little jokes into their games, and StarCraft 2 is no exception. I’m making my way through the campaign at the moment and I’ve already spotted a few, such as the Night Elf dancing in the cantina and the Metroid cameo. One of Blizzard’s other successful games, World of Warcraft (you may have heard of it) features a fun little command called /dance where you can make your in-game avatar do a few slick moves depending on your species. Looks like the company’s sci-fi RTS isn’t immune either. The marines are jacked up and good to go, and some user captured them doing their routine:

Pretty hilarious, and very in keeping with Blizzard’s sense of humor. Like I mentioned, I’m making my way through the single-player game and I’m finding it solid so far, even if the mission designs are a little vanilla. How about you guys? What’s your StarCraft experience like so far?

Halo: Reach Campaign Trailer Debuts

Your resident Halo fanboy is back, this time with the campaign trailer for Bungie Studio’s upcoming Halo swan song, Halo: Reach. You can debate whether this game is actually the most anticipated title of 2010 (please don’t), but there’s no denying that the excitement for Reach is building to a fevered pitch. With Firefight 2.0, Forge World and a swath of player customization options, it looks like Bungie’s last Halo game will be very fine indeed. Check out the trailer below:

Very nice in my opinion, if a little reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2 in some parts. Like all of Bungie’s trailers, this stuff is all in engine, and damn if it doesn’t look sublime. What do you guys think? Any more excited, or are you like me, veritably bursting at the seams with apprehension?

Red Dead Redemption’s Soundtrack is as Authentic as it is Beautiful

One of the stand-out things in Red Dead Redemption is, for me, the incredible soundtrack. Invoking the classic feel of Western films and composers, Rockstar’s latest opus had an incredibly nuanced creation process involving the use of several antiquated instruments and a unique method of composition. While “Far Away” by Jose Gonzales is the stand-out track in the game, the rest of the score is no less moving or powerful. Rockstar put out a video detailing the process, and it’s an informative watch.

I found that really cool, especially how the composers layered the “strands” on top of one another depending on what the player was doing. I enjoyed the ambient music in Mexico myself. What about you guys?

Machinima: Gears of War 3: What Have I Become

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: TheDuoGroup makes some of my favorite machinima out there. Their new piece, a trailer created for Gears of War 3 titled What Have I Become, might be some of their best work. It was created in collaboration with Dave Tyner of Treadster Media.

Anyway, I don’t watch too much machinima these days, but I’m sure to catch everything these guys put out. Honestly, this got me more pumped for Gears of War 3 than anything else has to date. Give it a watch!

StarCraft 2 Finally Launches Today

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for since what feels like forever; the day that Blizzard deigns to grace us with the most hotly anticipated Real-Time-Strategy game in recent memory, StarCraft 2. Well, to be accurate, the first part of the StarCraft 2 trilogy, the Terran-centric Wings of Liberty campaign. I won’t split hairs though, because this is a monumental occasion for gamers of all types. More than any other game I know, StarCraft has a fervent legion of followers; even self-professed “non-gamer” friends of mine have been looking forward to this. Now that the game is finally out, how many of you are playing, and how many of you are waiting patiently for your copy to download? In celebration, check out the beautiful Ghosts of the Past trailer:

So, what’s your first stop: campaign or multiplayer?

Bungie Introduces Forge World for Halo: Reach

If you listened to the totally sweet new podcast, then you’ll know that we geeked out for awhile about mods and how awesome the gaming community is at creating cool new content for our most beloved games. While this mostly happens on PC, one of the primary examples of this done well on a console is the variety of custom content produced by Halo 3’s avid Forge community. Even years later, they are still pumping out cool new game types that are totally worth playing.

Which is why Bungie has kicked it up a notch for Halo: Reach with the introduction of Forge World. There’s not really a whole lot I can say about this other than implore you to watch. Because seriously, wow… I am so excited about the possibilities that the team at Bungie is creating for this. The fact that they are even shipping some maps built in Forge World to show what all it can do is sure to inspire.

Who else just got even more excited for Halo: Reach because of this video?

Jose Gonzalez Performs Far Away From Red Dead Redemption

If you’ve played Red Dead Redemption, then you are familiar with the song Far Away by Jose Gonzalez, which plays at one of the most iconic moments from the game. This moment is easily one of the best examples of exactly when to play music and let the game sound fade away. I’m also not afraid to say that it instantly made the list of my favorite gaming moments of this generation.

In this video, Jose Gonzalez performs the song on the roof Rockstar in New York. And it’s just as awesome as that sounds. Give it a watch.

Without giving too many spoilers, who else adores this moment in Red Dead Redemption?

Valve Dishing Out Alien Swarm Free Today on Steam

Today, Valve is releasing something special that many PC gamers are sure to freak out over. I have to admit, I am not one of the rabid denizens of the Unreal 2004 community that played the junk out of the now famous mod known as Alien Swarm, but I’ve heard all about it from friends of mine who swear that it is one of the most fun multiplayer co-op games that they have ever experienced.

If you don’t know of the history behind it, Alien Swarm was a top-down mod for UT 2004 that allowed 4 players to battle it out, Diablo style, against legions of aliens with totally awesome weapons. Valve then hired the team behind its inception to help them build Left 4 Dead. Apparently the team has had some free time on its hands these days, and have produced a good and proper Source engine version of their beloved classic, which releases today on Steam.

The best part? It’s absolutely free. I’m going to be playing this tonight for sure. Who’s with me?

Did any of you guys play the original? Go!

Rumor: Mysterious Video Points to Modern Warfare 2 Subscription Plan?

On the internet, everything must be taken with a grain of salt, which is why Wikipedia is no longer a valid source for information when writing a paper for school. Simply put, there are too many untrustworthy people who are much, much smarter than the vast majority of us, and they use their talents to disguise erroneous facts as the truth. This video, though, seems to be pretty legitimate to me. Apparently an X-Box LIVE user attempted to connect to a friend’s game, only to be bounced to a Marketplace page that announced that a Membership plan was necessary, but not available yet. Take a look at the video and decide for yourself.

The top of the screen clearly has the beginning of “membership” before it is cut off by the size limitation. What do you guys think? Will Modern Warfare 2 follow a WoW-based route, or is this for something different? Treat this as a rumor for now until we have official word from Activision. It wouldn’t surprise me, though.

Gorgeous Red Dead Redemption Time Lapse

If there’s anything to say about Red Dead Redemption besides its great story, gameplay and endless fun diversions, it’s that the game is simply beautiful to behold. Once you’ve played it, it’s hard not to admire the stunning vistas, the sweeping landscapes and the wonderfully detailed terrain. The guys at Rockstar really put together one fantastic world.

Which is why it’s so exciting to see that Eurogamer has put together this excellent Red Dead Redemption time lapse video. Apparently, if you leave your controller alone for several minutes, the game slips into an awesome afk mode, which then presents you with some preset camera angles. They recorded several days of game time from these and then produced something wonderful. It shows just how gorgeous the game really is to look at, and I still can’t help but marvel at it, even when I play.

Give it a watch!

If you want to know more about the process by which this whole thing was put together, head over to Eurogamer. They’ve even got some examples from other open world games like Crackdown, Assassins Creed 2 and Fallout 3.

The Curse of Fat Sonic 2 XL

OK, I’ve seen a few bizarre mods and hacks to videogames in my day. Some of these range from funny to weird and ridiculous to just plain awesome. This one for Sonic 2, dubbed “Sonic 2 XL“, actually might cover all of those categories, while smashing a few new ones all its own.

The hack basically puts a new spin on the Sonic franchise: namely, that rings transform our favorite speedy hedgehog into a morbidly obese blob that can’t move, and thus, dies. Like I said, it’s weird but also manages to be hilarious to look at. I laughed out loud at fat Sonic trying to outrun the explosions towards the end of the game.

What do you guys think of this? And what are some of the cooler mods you’ve seen to games? Also, this makes me want to go and play the real Sonic 2 quite badly.

Dastardly to the 19th Degree

I’m sure by now we’ve all heard of the Dastardly achievement in Red Dead Redemption, which awards you 5 shiny new gamerscore points for the act of tying a woman to railroad tracks and then watching her get run over by a train. While I’m quite the bastard in terms of video game morality, this scratches even the extents that I’m willing to go, so I have yet to pull this off, but I’ve always got my eye out for the opportunity.

However, it’s never occurred to me to tie 19 folks to the train tracks all at once. This fellow deserves a medal.

I just finished Red Dead Redemption the other night, and now I’m in the process of achievement plundering, myself. Has anyone else nabbed this one?

InFamous 2 Gameplay Trailer is a Whirlwind of Excitement

It’s no secret that I really enjoyed the first inFamous, it just had a nice feel to it that you don’t get with a lot of open-world games these days. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but it won me over enough to play it through two times to experience the game from both sides of the morality coin. Since Sucker Punch is hard at work on a sequel, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for anything that pertains to the game, so this new gameplay trailer fits the bill just right. There’s plenty of neat stuff in here, including some very cinematic close-quarters combat, so take a look and tell me what you think.

The game itself is looking pretty hot, but I’m still not sold on Cole’s redesign. I think the voice is the most jarring change, and I don’t know if replacing the old gravelly-voiced Cole with the new one will be favorably received. What do you guys think? Ready to ride the lightning once more?

Four More Portal 2 Gameplay Videos

Well, who knew that when we posted those Portal 2 gameplay videos the other day, that even more of the big E3 demo was going to be hitting the Web shortly? Parts 2 through 5 (of 7 total) are now online for Portal fans to gobble up, with the next 2 parts coming out tomorrow.

Honestly, the glimpses I’ve seen of the game so far are an absolute blast, and it really looks like they’re taking things to crazy heights in terms of the puzzling and platforming. I love the leap of faith mechanic, and they’ve got some cool new stuff to show off in these videos as well.

Parts 4 and 5 are after the jump! Continue reading Four More Portal 2 Gameplay Videos

Portal 2 Gameplay Videos

As cool as the reveal of Portal 2 was at the Sony E3 press conference, I’ve been looking forward to seeing something more than the brief teaser trailer we got. From the sounds of things, the story is going to be a much bigger deal this time around, and there are going to be lots of new gameplay elements as well.

That’s why I’m excited that these two new Portal 2 gameplay videos have hit the Web, with Valve showcasing what the next game has to offer for all of the franchise’s many adoring fans. In the first video, we get to see a bit about the set up of the game, which apparently takes place many years after the first. The second video highlights some of the new gameplay additions we’ll be seeing. Personally, I think these awesome. I’m assuming you will agree.

Hit the jump to see the second video! Continue reading Portal 2 Gameplay Videos