Category Archives: Future Games

Fallout 3: Vegas – Ten essential additions

Posted on by

In true gaming goodness fashion and in response to reader requests, here is another top 10 list for what we all want in the next Fallout. Somewhat of a sequel to the successful Ten things Dead Rising 2 needs to have feature, lets see how succesful this one will be.

fallout3title

Bethesda have confirmed that even though Vegas won’t be a direct sequel to number 3 it will follow the exact same RPG/shooter action and will be developed by the talented people at Obsidian. A little word about Obsidian, they have become to go to guys for Dev companies which wish to flesh out their existing franchises yet don’t want to be involved in all that developing hub-up, its the gaming equivalent of getting someone else to do your work, yet you get to take all the credit. Its a formula Obsidian know extremely well after their work with sequels for both Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

A word of warning though, this list may include spoilers ranging from the subtle to the downright irresponsible so if you are still fumbling your war through Fallout 3’s campaign, you might want to give today’s feature a miss.fallout_31

1. What happened to the rest of the world?: Amazing as post apocolyptia is, it would be entertaining to see how the West Coast faired against the onslaught of Nuclear annihilation. Perhaps gamers will also get to learn what happened to the rest of the world, were we all embroiled in Nuclear War a la 1939 or has the world simply forgotten America due to the Nuclear War? Throughout the 40 hour Fallout 3 campaign these questions kept swirling through my head so hopefully some answers will be provided.

2. Blood Sports: Vegas is the centre of the world when it comes to exhibition sports, none more so than blood sports. Boxing, UFC, Kick boxing, you name it Vegas can showcase it. So it makes sense to have a great death match arena to fill the gap which was surprisingly absent in Fallout 3. Competitive combat is central to all RPGs and Bethesda’s previous game had the best of them all, Arena. This was where you could bet on either red or blue team and also participate in 1vs1 or free for all and win cold hard cash. In a world full of death and violence perhaps there is no better way to cool off than to watch two participants squeeze the life out of one another.

3. Comedy: Some of the most memorable activities in the wasteland were when you were dealing with deeply troubled survivors and their inability to deal with their depressing reality. But as tragic this was it was also incredibly funny, for example taking part in the super hero war between Ant-agonizer and the Mechanist, visiting the Republic of Dave and tolerating the lovely little devils of Lamplight. But no matter how great these side quests were there wasn’t anywhere near enough of them, especially when compared with Oblivion. In a world where the majority of the population has been nuked to near non-existence, a little light comedic relief can go a long way.06_fallout-3_023

4. Choice: There was one story which became synonymous with Fallout 3, the choice to nuke the settlement of Megaton or not. It was a great addition to the game which forced the player to make tough choices on whether they wanted to see some irradiated fireworks or save almost one hundred NPC’s. It sounds an easy choice to make on paper but in the game even usually sadistic players went for the more karma friendly option. Choices which genuinely impact gameplay are something most RPG’s allude but rarely deliver, Fallout 3 constantly delivered throughout the whole story and with Obsidian’s history, they will undoubtedly build on this dynamic.

5. Gambling, Gangsters,Vice and Death Sports: If we all know anything about Vegas its the following; gambling is plentiful, gangsters love money and vice is plentiful. These attributes are key a to Vegas experience albeit in the future or in a wasteland and what better way to combine all these things than death sports arena style. Its incredible to think how central blood sports are to pretty much all RPG’s and Bethesda’s previous game had the best of them all Arena. This was where you could best on either red or blue and also participate in the sports yourself. In a world full of death and violence there is no better way to cool off than to watch two participants squeeze the life out of one another.dog

6. A dog that everyone can find: I don’t know about you but I have completed Fallout 3 twice now and still haven’t found the illusive ‘Dogmeat’. Obviously this kind of quest is what makes the ‘Bethesda’ technique so intriguing, one players experience will always be different to another and the fact that quests can sometimes seem to happen randomly is actually pretty impressive. But it can punish some players or prevent them from progressing if critical NPC’s wonder off or disappear from an area which you can usually find them. The dog quest is a great example of this and hopefully Obsidian will be a little kinder.

7. Enemies other than Super Mutants: The Super Mutant storyline in Fallout 3 was fantastic, and without spoiling to much they were much more than simply a product of their environment. But after killing a few hundred of these people catching mofo’s it would be great to be met with another set of enemies other than mutated or normal man. Perhaps a giant poker chip or maybe something special happens when the EMA strain mixes with a particular set of STD’s? Just a horrific idea which shows why I should never be in charge of a R&D initiative.

8. Vehicles: As Vegas is mostly desert once you get outside of the main city it would be nice to be able to be able to travel the post apocolyptic wasteland in style, a Harley perhaps or even a nice futuristic car. They wasn’t a shortage of cars being able to explode around you in last years game, surely there is a mechanic around to fix these dormant motors? Of course who needs fast travel when you can zoom around the map instantaneously with the insta-map, but there isn’t any style in that.

9. More Radio Stations: I’m not talking GTA here, it would just be a bit more varied if there more than just two jabbering disc jockeys in the post apocalypse. Lets mix it up with a female DJ as long as we can keep the atmospheric circa 1950’s soundtrack, and maybe even a Straydog sound-alike, c’mon you know you liked him.

10. A city less devastated: Washington is important, the world headquarters of gambling not so much. As the nuclear was a result of a Chinese invasion of American soil its a likely assertion that Vegas wouldn’t sit very highly on the list of’ ‘Places we must invade.’ Washington was completely toast in Fallout 3 and that’s fair game it is the nations capital and the centre of the nations military but perhaps Vegas has fair-ed slightly better in the post apocalypse than its esteemed cousin.

It's an easy choice.

It's an easy choice.

Marvel vs Capcom 2: On XBLA and PSN this Summer!

Posted on by

When it comes to fighting games there really isn’t any bigger news than this, Marvel vs Capcom 2 will be released this summer on XBLA and PSN. With a fully working online mode borrowed from SF2: HD Remix and upgraded graphics this really is a day which many fighting fans the world over have been waiting for.  No hard date has been confirmed yet only the vague Summer announcement, but the important detail is that the game code is based purely on the Dreamcast version, not the arcade. The trailer is below confirms the appearance of the tag team combat, full roster of 56 combatants from both Marvel’s and Capcom’s most memorable franchises.

Both Ryu and Wolverine look excellent and it will be interesting to see how good other characters look.  There are rumours flying around that gamers may see a demo as early as the end of this month due according to el33tonline and kotaku but that would shock the majority of fans to have a demo appearing so soon after an initial announcemt. As hunches go many would be surprised if there any further announcements until the start of E3 on Tuesday, June 2nd. We will keep you posted, sweet lord am I excited!

Hands up if you are drooling already?

Hands up if you are drooling already?

Virtual-On: A Mech game you can trust

Posted on by

This Wednesday Sega are releasing the arcade classic Virtual On. Its full title, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, focuses on arcade Mech combat which is fast, fun and is the perfect fit for short action packed gaming segments.

Look at the dual sticks!

The whole mantra behind this under appreciated gems gameplay is that big stomping robots don’t have to play like, well, big stomping robots. They can be fast, nimble and indeed gracious when zipping around levels during absolutely epic battles. It feels a lot like a brawler with different move sets and certain mobile suits will be more favourable to your personal playing style than others.

It is a very good move for Sega to bring this arcade classic to modern consoles with HD visuals and maybe even a few gameplay tweaks here and there.

The only unfortunate aspect of this Wednesdays release is the price, 1200MS points. Sure this used to be in the arcades and made an appearance on the Dreamcast but surely Sega doesn’t really think that £10.28 is a far price for this game. I know its the ten years anniversary of the Dreamcast’s release in the Western territorys, but still nostalgia can only be pushed so far! Who are are we kidding? We will at least give it a shot.

Bioshock 2: A Sequel you don’t need to worry about

Posted on by

Sequels have become as common in gaming as they are in Hollywood and for some titles there is always a sense of unease and trepidation. But worry not readers there is one sequel on the horizon which is guarenteed to succeed, Bioshock 2.

7-fortfrolic2

Brilliant

Ken Levine seemed to be the driving force behind Bioshock, all the keynotes,  demos and public appearances before it was released all included Mr Levine. He had a huge influence on the story of Bioshock and many attribute him to the be the driving force which made Bioshock so entertaining and important. So the fact that he won’t be involved in the sequel was deemed to be a big loss when the game was announced at the beginning of March. Step in creative director Thomas Jordan, credited with the perhaps the greatest level to ever grace gaming with Thiefs 2 Cradle and much more importantly he directed Fort Frolic from the original Bioshock.

Fort Frolic was brilliant, it had some of the most imaginitive set pieces and was one of the highlights of Bio-shocks excellent campaign. It was also the levels architecture, puzzle design and characters – who could forget demented Sander Cohen and his artistic temperament. It was also this level which gave the player the most opportunites to set up specific traps before an onslaught of Splicers, calm before the storm based gameplay.

Big sisters are also new to the Rapture equation and has been revealed as the grown up little sister shown in the earliest Bioshock trailers. She is a tour de force in the sequel and constantly stalks the player throughout the experience, watching and waiting for her chance to attack. Its an interesting continuation of the originals premise that you are constantly being watched by the founder of Rapture Andrew Ryan. She is great example of  arresting character design, faster and seemingly more human than the Big Brothers it certianly provokes anticipation on what her motivations could be.

But all these things are null and void because the latest video released from 2k Marin shows what we should expect come October, more of exactly the same which, funnily enough, is exactly what we want. More plasmids, more tortured survivors, more little sisters, more Rapture and definitely more hacking mini-games which have absolutely nothing to do with Pipemania. Bioshock was my game of the year in 2007, it providing gaming with the first mass market ‘Sixth Sense’ moment and changed expectations of what console gaming could be. Well at least the first half did, what happened afterwards was only an anti-climax after a steller beginning.

Moody

Moody

It all seems familiar yet different enough to provoke intrigue and anticipation to shoot right up the Most Wanted charts of 2009, I’m sure with a movie in the works and perhaps more sequels 2k will be hoping to pull out all the stops for this one.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2- Let the Coverage Commence

Posted on by

The post easter gaming calender is always quiet, most companys have released what they want to already and are saving the good announcements and anticipated releases for the next business year. But when the gaming world awoke this morning there seemed to be a smattering of coverage devoted to a title which, lets face it, only appeals to the smallest of a niche audience. Gundam fans are strange creatures which lust over large ‘Mecha’ (pilotable robots to you westerners) and they seem to buy the games in their droves if the consistancy of game realeases dedicated to the long running Gundam series indicates anything.

freedomdestinyhu9

Pretty much somes up 30 years of the series.

But I hasten to add that I am one such Gundam fan which frankly can’t wait for Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2. Even though it will inevitably be very similar to the original, the promise of more suits to use, unlock and upgrade will be exactly what the existing fans will be looking  for when the game gets released at the end of this month. Fan service has almost become a dirty word in modern gaming but if a fan-base is big enough for your product to be profitable then whats the problem throwing them a bone or two, the likelihood is they probably deserve it and boy do Gundam gamers deserve it. Many of the previous Gundam games have resembled the proverbial dog turd, none more so than the absolutely dreadful Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Site which was a PS3 exclusive launch titles, perhaps because no other console would suffer that ugly stall-a-thon. But there have some excellent titles which have taken advantage of the excellent combat from the various series which lead to some excellent combat focused games including Gundam Seed: Battle Assault for the GBA and Gundam Wing: Endless Duel which were both excellent beat-em-ups for their generation.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Dynasty Warriors Gundam series is they amount of subject material they can draw from, over thirty years of anime action which draws from twenty five different movies and series. That number alone proves how big this series is the world over, particularly in Japan and Europe. Each series is different enough that you will never meet a fan who likes every single series, some like the grittier action of Victory Gundam, while others favour the meatier Zeta series and the ‘Johnny come latelys’ prefer the teeny boop recent series of Gundam Seed and Wing.

Okay so Dynasty Warriors games are button bash brawlers which rely more on your patience than skill, when dispatching hundreds after hundreds of enemies on screen but this formula suits the premise of the anime series and at times, make you feel like a mechanical god! A guilty pleasure of mine which I am more than happy to admit to the world, I cannot wait for DWG2 and if your interested please check out Koei’s dedicated  website and when you get a chance, at the very least try the demo.

0002

The reason why you should be excited

 

Onlive – Will you will never need a console or PC again?

Posted on by

The GDC always throws up the odd surprise but todays accouncement could be perhaps the biggest the event has ever had, Onlive and the potential of stream based gaming. It is being first demo-ed at this years GDC, Onlive represents a type of gaming revolution where players would never need hardware upgrades or most devestatingly, to purchase new consoles ever again.

Brainchild of Mike McGarvey(of WebTV and Eidos fame), the service can stream games to a desktop, entry level laptop and even a TV as all the calculations and gaming grunt are all being performed server side – by what could only be described as one behemoth of a gaming setup. All gamers have to do is purchase a device which records inputs and sends a signal to the server in Gaming HQ where the individual in turn recieves a video of what he has just performed in game. As long as individuals have network speeds of 1.5mb and over the service is claimed to be stable and can operate at tolerable latency speeds (under 75ms) which is a must any competitive online games. There are much more detailed summarys of Onlive all over every self respected game enthusiast site at the moment, one of the best can be found on IGN with detailed specs and a exclusive hands on can be found here

onlive

Its pretty sexy, you have to admit.

Obviously the level of scepticism is through the roof at the moment which can only be matched by the amount of excitement surrounding this device, which could be out as early as this winter. Games from EA, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Epic, Atari, Codemasters, Warner Bros. and Eidos will be avaliable on the service which include titles such as Crysis, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Burnout Paradise. Nothing has been confirmed regarding pricing for both the necessary hardware and online game service with the elimation of piracy from the service I would think many publishers would be suprisingly mercyiful with their pricing structure.

If – and its a big if- Onlive does become even an understated sucess it sends a huge message to everyone involved in the sale of games and hardware, not so much the publishers but the manufacturers and retailers who have made interactive software central to their business model. Most publishers view the online distribution model as benificial t0 the classical methods of physical media and retail and the if adoption rates of Onlive were high enough it wouldn’t be too long before it become the primary method of distrubution. But there is also other factors which Onlive would be solved, the classic conundrum of second hand games being sold at retail would also go away, as well as the ever present problem of piracy which causes the industry to lose millions (perhaps billions?) each year. Let alone the consumer implications with most gamers already using 2-5mb setups already in their homes which are also getting pretty sick of shelling out on new hardware every three to four years on new consoles.

Okay, the UI needs some TLC.

Okay, the UI needs some TLC.

Its all very pie in the sky at the moment isn’t it folks, and I have to admit perhaps my own excitement for this new device has got the best of me but the implications(you have to admit) are pretty radical for the industry even if its a moderate sucess. But perhaps what will be the most interesting for us gamers is to see how Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo react to this news will they acknowledge its existance or merely put their PR into overdrive and talk about what a inferior product the Onlive may be on release. Who knows at this point but I suppose whatever happens it sure will be interesting over the coming weeks and months, especially with E3 round the corner.

N.B: This post can also be found on Gamespot UK. My most recent review of Halo Wars and the upcoming review of MadWorld can be found on Citizengame, you can also post your thoughts on the Onlive in our forums here

Mass Effect 2: Now we are all Confused

Posted on by

masseffect2

Preview trailers are released to the gaming public for one reason only, to get people talking about their franchise, and the Mass Effect 2 trailer has certainly done that.

Now the biggest question of all is how on earth you can play as the great Mr or Miss Sheppard if you have sadly deceased. Most of all it completely conflicts with Biowares early statement that you will be able to play Mass Effect 2 by continuing from your original character. The mind certainly does boggle but if anyone knows what they are doing its the amazingly talented people at Bioware, and since when did the Geth shoot from their eyes?

Ten things Dead Rising 2 needs to have:

Posted on by

dead_rising_2_logo

So the super viral video released from Capcom on Febuary 6th either through a leak or some clever marketing has hit the Internet and Capcom USA have confirmed the existence of a sequel to the 2006’s (wow its old) Xbox exclusive title. But with the somewhat odd history of Dead Rising 2 with the Blue Castle development rumours being  discussed months ago and the guarantee that the title is set in a Vegas-esque environment, here is what needs to be in the sequel:vegas

Same Save System: Dead Risings save system was broken, mean and absolutely hated the player with a detestable amount of evil, and that made it awesome. Survival games shouldn’t be accommodating, they should be ballsy hate fests encouraging the player to make mad dashes through legions of zombies with little to no health in a vein hope of reaching the games few save points. If you can easily save a point of progress you immediately lose the tension of which a horror game thrives on, if nothing else if there should be no quick save option at the very least.

Free play mode: On completion of Dead Rising a mode unlocked which was effectively a free play option but restricted with dimishing health which led player character Frank West to scoff down food every couple of minutes in order to sustain himself. This is NOT a free play mode! Free play modes are when you can mess around with the games engine within a somewhat indestructible context, not being even more vulnerable than the story mode made you.

Zombie Strippers: Judging by the press release assets it seems as though these are definitely in, but what this game is crying out for is multiple strippers. Vegas is known for all things seedy and wrong so every spectrum of the adult entertainment sector needs to be represented- midget, S&M, male, female, she-male, black, white, red, brown, blue. Maybe even some of the creepy guys that come out after eight to hand out prostitute catalogues to everyone that passes by, pretty sure Vegas has though TM’ed though.

More Capcom Stuff: We all love Megaman but you know what western audiences love more, every other Capcom franchise. It would be amazing to see some Resident Evil paraphernalia, like an Umbrella Cooperation t-shirt or a Lost Planet Mech which you could decimate entire populations of Zombies in one of Vegas’ many car parks.

Multiple Casinos and their respective theme parks: Vegas is the perfect setting for a Dead Rising sequel, not only in subject matter but also in the location and the over abundance of source material which Blue castle can source locales from. Imagine venturing to the top of Stratosphere and being able to zoom in on the carnage down below with your camera. Alternatively imagine stumbling into the Caesars Palace Arena and having to fight a Zombie boxer and his support crew in the ring, or maybe being able to punch Carrot Top in the face at the Luxor stage, or just fend off armies of strippers from the strips multiple strip joints. Vegas also has a ton of ridesnfw as well, all of which would be absolutely fantastic in a game, here’s hoping New York New York gets its coaster in there. Obviously it would be impossible to get any permission to be able to use all these designs directly as I’m sure the owners of all these trademarks wouldn’t be impressed with their intellectual property being savaged by the Zombie horde. But Capcom haven’t shy-ed away from direct emulation before and paying homage to Vegas’ best would be incredible.

Less Load times: The first Dead Rising was effectively a launch title, only being released a few months after the 360 was launched so it wasn’t optimised to maximise the hardware. As a result the load times between sections of the mall were terribly often stopping for a minute or breaking up the action in a jarring way which often broke the experience. Dead Rising 2 will be multi-platform and will be fully utilised to use all of this generations power, so hopefully the new areas will be without significant load times, more Zombies and bigger areas.

Uploadable Pictures and Video:  The first games protagonist was a photo journalist, why can’t the second game have the same motif but compliment it with Video. Watching friends play Dead Rising is almost have as much fun as playing it, so including the option to upload and watch other peoples video from your console would be an excellent addition.

More Social Commentary: Zombie media is built for social commentary usually concerning rampant consumerism and the evils of modern life. The first Dead Rising was perfect for this as it was set in a mall – a la Dawn of the Dead. But what better way to match this capitalist setting than the sequel being based in Vegas, the worlds centre for the infamous ‘money talks’ sensibility. Any sort of social commentary in games is rare and it was Dead Rising 2 should honour its Zombie lineage by stuffing it full with complicated survivors and bosszicon_zombie_narrowweb__300x5870 characters dripping with political satire.

Frank West: I really like Frank West- he was funny, bulky and he leant the original Dead Rising a gravitas and identifiable human side which complimented the players experience completely. But judging from the latest screenshots the new protaganist is some blond dude with a love of motorcycle jackets and guitars. Its rare to judge anything important with press shots by the lack of Mr West is a bit dissapointing, lets all hope he is a support character or a grizzled survivor who has gone through it all before.

Impossible Achievements/Trophys: Dead Rising was known for its absolutely mental achievements! Many friends of mine have risked bricking their already temperamental 360’s in pursuit of the 5 or 7 day survivor achievements, which needed the 360 to be left on for over 24 hours and gamers had to keep playing the game throughout that time. All this effort and potential money wasted through overheating consoles just for 20 gamer points. Capcom is crazy they make games for absolutely die hard fans, its time to push those fans even further.