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Joystiq Weekly: Mordor's photo mode, The Evil Within review, Devolver's appeal and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. As the Smash Bros. and Halo series have taught us, stopping the action to play around with in-game cameras can be oddly compelling (and gleefully annoying to rivals/co-op partners). If The Last Of Us: Remastered and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's inclusion of similar features are the start of a trend, we'd welcome it with open shutter arms. Repositioning the camera for the perfect shot of an epic summon in Final Fantasy 15? Showcasing the full scope of a crazy moment in the time-defying Quantum Break? Yes please! There was plenty more to this week than snapping photos of an orc squadron's downfall though – Halo: The Master Chief Collection is expected to have a ~20GB day one patch, there were reviews for The Evil Within, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Bayonetta 2, and we got a full-frame perspective of publisher Devolver Digital. Check all that out and more after the break!
A City Sleeps review: Bullet purgatory
PC, Mac A City Sleeps marks a bold new direction for developer Harmonix. After spending the last several years working on the big-budget Rock Band and Dance Central franchises, Harmonix is now scaling back its internal studio culture, forming small independent teams within the company to encourage new gameplay concepts that can be fleshed out quickly. A City Sleeps is the first project to launch in the wake of this major shift for the studio. While it doesn't require any musical instrument peripherals to play, the finished product retains much of Harmonix's signature charm, skillfully implementing rhythm-driven gameplay elements in the context of a side-scrolling, arcade-style shoot-'em-up. A City Sleeps succeeds on many fronts, but its short length and uneven difficulty curve make it a tough prospect even for hardcore shooter fans.
Joystiq Weekly: Free upgrades for Destiny, Hatoful Boyfriend review, PAX Prime and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. PAX Prime 2014 ended on Monday, but we're still recovering. Not from the marathon of appointments or swimming through an ocean of people – we've got those parts down pat. If you've ever heard of the PAX Pox though, just know that it's ... definitely a thing. It seemed every morning of this week brought news of another staff member falling to Prime's crowdsourced super virus. Laptops still work on death beds, of course, so we kept churning out content from Prime while we tried to remember what clear airways and normal body temperatures feel like. You can dig through our featured content after the break worry-free though – we slathered it in hand sanitizer, so you shouldn't catch anything from going near it. There's always the rest of this week's content that wasn't staged in a biological hazard, of course. We've got good news for Destiny fans planning on upgrading hardware at a later date, release dates for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Mortal Kombat X, a review of pigeon-on-human dating simulator Hatoful Boyfriend and much more after the break!
Harmonix's A City Sleeps dreams of bullet hell
It quickly becomes apparent that the developers of Harmonix's A City Sleeps are hardcore arcade shoot-'em-up fans. Its screen-filling bullet patterns recall Cave games like Deathsmiles and DoDonPachi, and its multi-faceted mechanics draw inspiration from Radiant Silvergun and other highly regarded classics. On its surface, A City Sleeps seems like a sudden and dramatic shift for Harmonix, a studio best known for creating the rhythm-driven Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises. Snap on a pair of headphones, however, and you'll instantly recognize A City Sleeps as a Harmonix game. Exceptional sound design elevates A City Sleeps within its genre, and the pedigree of talent involved in its creation made it a standout at PAX Prime.
Joystiq Weekly: Amazon buys Twitch, Madden 15 review, Early Access feature and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. PAX Prime 2014 is already underway, but as fun as joining a swarm of people buzzing around video game displays can be, you don't even have to leave the house to get this weekend's highlights. Well, unless your house is a black hole for Internet and phone reception ... The point is, Joystiq is on the front lines of PAX Prime, ignoring sensible limitations to bring you a slew of news and previews. With this morning's proof that survival in numbers is a relative concept in Don't Starve Together and a reminder that thinking every MOBA is interchangeable is a mistake when it comes to Gigantic, the good stuff is already underway. There's always yesterday's reveal of Xbox One and PS4 versions of Saints Row 4 too, as well as a new, standalone expansion called Saints Row: Gat out of Hell. Stick with us until PAX Prime's conclusion on Monday, September 1, and in return we'll tell you all about the show's highlights without subjecting you to the dreaded PAX Pox. For now though, we've got a full recap of this week's news, reviews and features. Amazon's surprise acquisition of Twitch, Nintendo's new 3DS models, reviews of Madden NFL 15 and The Walking Dead's season finale, an examination of what makes Early Access such a valuable space to developers ... it's all arranged neat and orderly-like for you after the break!
Harmonix's dreamy PC shoot-em-up, A City Sleeps
The newest game from Harmonix doesn't involve dancing or guitar peripherals – instead, A City Sleeps is a classic, twin-stick shoot-em-up starring Poe, a dream exorcist and part of The Silk clan. Dream exorcists enter people's dreams to dispose of demons, and everyone in the city of SanLo has fallen into an endless slumber, so there's plenty of work to go around. The game is music-driven because that's still Harmonix's thing. "Level design and song authoring is done in parallel, insuring a hand-crafted and utterly unique audio-experience that only Harmonix can provide," Harmonix says. "Music drives player projectiles, enemy spawning, movement, and bullet patterns." A City Sleeps is due out for PC and Mac on October 16 via Steam, and it's available for pre-order now for $12.75, a 15 percent discount. Harmonix recommends using an Xbox 360 gamepad (keeping that Microsoft relationship alive).
