Mike Suszek
Articles by Mike Suszek
FIFA 15 among games blocking PS4 Share Play in US
Users are reporting a number of issues with using the PS4's Share Play feature, Sony's online pass-the-controller multiplayer service. Namely, it appears FIFA 15 is giving players fits, as visiting players are unable to view the footage shown on the host's console. Rather, one half of the Share Play tandem sees the screen above, which says, "Viewing the game screen that the host is currently playing is not allowed due to content restrictions in your country or region." In our tests between two US-based PS4 players this morning, the Share Play visitor was unable to view game footage on four separate occasions: In FIFA 15, WWE 2K15, Guacamelee and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Share Play for FIFA 15 was functional once we tested the service with our UK-based editor, Sinan Kubba (albeit with some bouts of lowered resolution and frame-dropping). However, it appears the error message being displayed is entirely inaccurate, as PlayStation noted on Twitter, adding that the support team is investigating the issues. Eurogamer's big list of Share Play-functioning games notes that FIFA 15 "works fine," so your mileage (or kilometer-age in this case) may vary at the moment. Share Play arrived in October as part of the PS4's version 2.0 update, which itself caused a number of other issues for players. Sony issued another update just this week, version 2.02, to rectify some of the console's lingering problems. We've reached out to Sony to find out what might be causing the hiccups with Share Play and which games are affected.
CoD: Advanced Warfare gets 6 million viewers on Twitch in first week [Update]
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is apparently as fun to watch as it is to play, given that players spent 5.4 million hours watching Twitch streams of the game in its first week. That figure came from Variety, which noted that over 75,000 broadcasters streamed gameplay footage of Advanced Warfare on Twitch, resulting in more than 26 million views by six million people across all videos during the week. As Twitch confirmed via Twitter, Advanced Warfare became the most streamed console game on Twitch of the year "based on launch week comparisons." The latest Call of Duty dethroned Destiny, which saw five million unique viewers during its introductory week in September. The streaming platform, which was acquired by Amazon for nearly $1 billion in August, has in fact seen better weeks: After inking a three-year deal to become the Electronic Entertainment Expo's official streaming partner in March, 12 million viewers tuned in to Twitch during E3 2014 in June. Update: As a point of clarification, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the console game with the biggest launch week of the year on Twitch based on the number of streamers, but has not been confirmed as the most streamed game of the year on the platform. We've updated the article and headline to reflect this. [Image: Activision]
Super Smash Bros. pre-loads on Wii U next Tuesday
As announced in late October, digital pre-loading on Wii U will start with the home console version of Super Smash Bros. Nintendo recently elaborated on how the pre-loading service will work for the upcoming fighting game. Starting on Tuesday, November 18, Nintendo will send a download code to those that pre-ordered the game through its online store. Redeeming the code will allow players to download most of Super Smash Bros. to their Wii U systems right away. Starting at 12:00 a.m. ET on the day of its official launch, Friday, November 21, a small update will be available to download that unlocks the game. Alternatively, players will be able to complete the same process by purchasing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U from the system's eShop directly, or by obtaining a download code from another retailer. Pre-orders for Super Smash Bros. surpassed that of Mario Kart 8 according to Nintendo, which expects "the impact on hardware will be similarly dramatic" to that of Smash. [Image: Nintendo]
PlayStation Now gets Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect 2, more next month
EA will bring games from its catalog to Sony's video game streaming service PlayStation Now starting next month. As of December 2, five of EA's games will be available to stream starting "around $1 per day," according to PlayStation Blog. The games being added to PlayStation Now are: Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 3, NBA Jam On Fire Edition and Bejeweled 3. Sony kicked off the open beta for its PlayStation Now service in July on PS4 before rolling its open beta phases out for PS3 in September, later arriving on Vita as well as PS TV in October. The streaming service will reach Europe in 2015, with the UK slated to get access to the first beta in the region. EA continues to find ways to leverage its catalog on digital platforms, as it kicked off its own subscription-based service on Xbox One in August, EA Access. Sony previously evaluated EA Access and determined that it "does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect," leading to the service's Xbox One exclusivity. [Image: EA]
Deals with Gold: Catherine, EA Sports UFC, Fallout
Deals with Gold isn't fooling around, as five Xbox One games and eight Xbox 360 games are discounted this week. Of the bunch, one game is on sale for both Xbox Live Gold and Silver members, as all Xbox One players can download EA Sports UFC for half-off. The other four Xbox One games on sale for Gold subscribers are Stick it to the Man, KickBeat Special Edition, Divekick and CastleStorm's Definitive Edition, each for 30 percent off their respective prices. As for Xbox 360 players with an Xbox Live paid subscription, both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are 67 percent off this week through Games on Demand as well as Catherine, which is 60 percent off. Serious Sam Double D XXL and Serious Sam 3: BFE as well as the latter's Jewel of the Nile DLC are 67 percent off on XBLA. Rounding out the group is Foul Play, Pool Nation and How to Survive, each discounted by, you guessed it, 67 percent. The deals are good through Monday, November 17. [Image: EA Sports]
Destiny going offline on Thursday to prep for updates
Bungie is temporarily pulling Destiny offline on Thursday to prepare the game for future updates. The first-person shooter will be inaccessible starting around 8:00 a.m PT (11:00 a.m. ET). Tomorrow's maintenance is scheduled to end by 12:00 p.m. PT (3:00 p.m. ET), at which point players can resume sparrow surfing. While the developer said that Destiny players won't see any changes to the game as a result of the planned outage, the back-end work will "pave the way for the progress" discussed in a recent update blog. Bungie plans on adding new exotic weapons and legendary gear as well as "that which waits in The Dark Below." The developer is also considering a "more generous Cryptarch" in the game, adding that "he'll still be sort of a bastard." [Image: Activision]
Metareview: Assassin's Creed: Unity
As Assassin's Creed: Unity leapt down to PC, Xbox One and PS4 today, it was met with a mixed critical response. Our review of the game got hung up on plot issues and buildings, the latter in a very literal sense, with a middling score that plunged through the floor much like our hero Arno did during our time with the game. "Assassin's Creed Unity is the best and worst of Assassin's Creed," Weekend Editor Sam Prell discussed in his take on the game. "It's hard not to appreciate everything that it gets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where Unity falls tragically short." For a sampling of the varied opinions from other reviewers, head past the break.
Towerfall expands into the Dark World on PS4 in 2015
Towerfall Ascension's forthcoming Dark World expansion will arrive on PS4 early next year, developer Matt Thorson revealed via PlayStation Blog. The update adds new playable archers, four levels, power-ups and more to the archery combat platformer. The developer also upped the number of team deathmatch levels per tower to five in the expansion. Thorson announced the Dark World update in September, and has since detailed several improvements to the game via his blog. Dark World will add the Vainglorious Ghoul red archer to the game's roster along with her ghostly ship as one of the levels, The Amaranth. The final tower of Towerfall's expansion, known as Cataclysm, features procedurally-generated levels to keep the action fresh for multiplayer bouts. Dark World will also include power-ups such as Prism Arrows and Trigger Arrows, the latter behaving like remote mines. [Image: Matt Thorson]
Metareview: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Yeah, we know. "Nobody expects the Dragon Age: Inquisition" and all that. News Content Director Alexander Sliwinski gave the game five stars, explaining that Dragon Age: Inquisition is "BioWare's reaffirmation of what it's capable of delivering," and that players in it "aren't just exploring a new world, but helping shape it at various levels of society. Inquisition sets the bar for what a blockbuster RPG should be." Other critics around the web were largely impressed by Dragon Age: Inquisition as well. Head past the break for a glimpse at other reviews. BioWare's latest will arrive on Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC next Tuesday, November 18. A six-hour trial of the game will reach Xbox One's EA Access service on Thursday.
The Game Awards 2014 debuts December 5
The Game Awards 2014, a new independent video game awards show, will take the stage in December. Produced by former Video Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, the show will debut on December 5, airing live from the AXIS Theater in Las Vegas. The Game Awards 2014 will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT) and will be livestreamed globally "across a record number of gaming devices, platforms, media partners and services." The ceremony will include "world premieres, musical performances, and appearances by game developers, eSports players and online content creators" in addition to shiny awards for some of the year's finest works in the gaming world. The Game Awards' advisory board includes Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime, Ubisoft Co-Founder and CEO Yves Guillemot, EA COO Peter Moore, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Shawn Layden and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. Tickets to The Game Awards 2014 start at $45 and will go on sale through Ticketmaster at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT) tomorrow. [Image: The Game Awards]
Citizens of Earth delayed, taking office in January 2015
The launch of Citizens of Earth has been delayed to January, Atlus announced today. The game will now enter office on January 20, 2015. Citizens of Earth was previously expected to arrive in September, then set a date for this month before its delay this week. Developed by Eden Industries, the game incites memories of other quirky, lighthearted RPGs such as Earthbound. In Citizens of Earth, the Vice President of the World investigates strange happenings in his town while recruiting 40 different citizens as battle party members, delegating his team to fight in his place. While Citizens of Earth fell short of its $100,000 CAD ($91,600 USD) goal on Kickstarter in October 2013, Atlus picked up publishing duties for the game this past April. The game will cost $14.99 (€11.99) and will be available on PS4, Vita, 3DS, Wii U and PC. [Image: Atlus]
Next Mass Effect snags Halo 4's lead writer, gets concept art
The next Mass Effect game from BioWare is being written by Chris Schlerf, the lead writer of 343 Industries' Halo 4. BioWare revealed Schlerf's role for the game today in a blog that introduced a few members of the its development team. The lead writer for Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, Mac Walters, is staying on for the next installment as the game's creative director. Schlerf joins the team as lead writer following the departure of the series' creator and executive producer back in August, Casey Hudson. In celebration of "N7 Day" today, BioWare hosted a developer roundtable via its Twitch channel to reveal pieces of concept art for the upcoming game and discuss the developer's visions and ambitions. Shying away from calling it "Mass Effect 4," the next game will emphasize space exploration and features the return of the series' much-maligned vehicle, the Mako. The team also noted that the game's protagonist will not start the adventure with "legendary status" like the previous hero, Commander Shepard. Check out our slideshow of the concept art shown during the livestream below, which certainly beats the teasers shown by BioWare last year. [Image: BioWare]
Elite: Dangerous blasts off in December
Elite: Dangerous will reach PCs on December 16, Frontier Developments announced via press release. The fourth game in the Elite series is the first to launch in many years, as Frontier: First Encounters arrived in 1995. Elite: Dangerous puts players in the cockpit of a spaceship, exploring the open galaxy in both single-player and massively-multiplayer online modes. The Mercenary Edition of the spacefaring game is still up for pre-order via Frontier's online store for $50 (£35 / €40), slashing a cool $10 off the final $60 (£39.99 / €49.99) price tag. Access to the game's ongoing beta is priced at $75. Elite: Dangerous began as a Kickstarter project, earning £1,578,316 (roughly $2 million) in January 2013 to fund its creation. [Image: Frontier Developments]
Lords of the Fallen heads to the library in winter DLC pack
The first expansion to Lords of the Fallen will arrive this winter, developer CI Games announced. Going by the name Ancient Labyrinth, the downloadable content will focus on puzzle-solving in a new location known as The Library, which includes the history of the hero Harkyn's world as well as a magical power-shifting Lord to battle. Without getting into specifics, CI Games also revealed that Ancient Labyrinth will feature new NPCs to interact with, side-quests to complete and gear to equip. Since its late October launch, Lords of the Fallen sold over 200,000 and shipped 700,000 copies to retailers, executive producer Tomasz Gop told Eurogamer. The developer also noted that it needed to ship half a million copies in order to break even on its 42m Polish zloty ($12.3 million) development costs. Our review of the Dark Souls-like game did find the game tedious after some time, though there was "definitely satisfaction to be had" with the game. [Image: CI Games]
Nintendo discusses cheaper Amiibo figures, trading cards
Future iterations of Nintendo's Amiibo figure line will include cards, the company revealed during last week's investor Q&A. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and longtime designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the company's near-field communications initiatives, Miyamoto stressing that Amiibo "can take forms other than figures." Miyamoto offered Amiibo-style cards as an example, hypothesizing a game that would require players to pass "several cards over the NFC reader/writer" in the Wii U Game Pad. "I cannot discuss any of the details today, but Amiibo has the potential to propose new ways to play card games," Miyamoto said. The designer also brought up Animal Crossing as an example of a brand that could receive Amiibo compatibility in the future. Miyamoto noted that Nintendo plans on launching "smaller and even more affordable Amiibo figures in the future." The first set of Amiibo figures, available for pre-order now, will launch on November 21 alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. All of the initial Amiibo figures will be compatible with Hyrule Warriors, and Nintendo just confirmed that Amiibo support will arrive in Mario Kart 8 soon. [Image: Nintendo]
Far Cry 4 PC system requirements
PC players gearing up for the launch of Far Cry 4 in a few weeks will need an Intel Core i5-750 (2.6 GHz) or AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2 GHz) processor and 4 GB of memory. The game also required 30 GB of hard drive space and a video card at least as powerful as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD5850 (1 GB of VRAM). For optimal performance, Ubisoft recommends either the Intel Core i5-2400S (2.5 GHz) processor or the AMD FX-8350 (4.0 GHz) or better, as well as 8 GB of memory. The game will perform better with at least a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon R9 290X or better video card (with 2 GB of VRAM). Far Cry 4 will also launch on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3 in addition to PC on November 18. [Image: Ubisoft]
Square Enix reports year-over-year increase in sales, income
Square Enix reported 35.4 billion yen ($308.6 million) in net sales for the second quarter, ending September 30. While that represents a 6.3 percent drop from the company's first quarter results, its six-month net sales of 73.1 billion yen ($637.9 million) is an 18.6 percent boost year-over-year. As for Square Enix's digital entertainment and gaming division, it saw 43.8 billion yen in net sales ($382 million) for the six month period, a 43.1 percent increase year-over-year. The publisher's net income also dropped 32.7 percent for the quarter to 2.3 billion yen ($20 million). Its half-year measures for net income reached 5.7 billion yen ($49.7 million), a 118.8 percent increase over the same six-month period last year. Square Enix is projecting between 150 billion and 160 billion yen ($1.3 billion - $1.4 billion) in net sales for the full year, ending in March 2015, and between 7 billion and 10.5 billion yen ($61 million - $91.6 million) in net income. [Image: Square Enix]
Red Faction: Guerrilla opens Steamworks public beta
Red Faction: Guerrilla is the latest game to completely shed its Games for Windows Live coat, and will now begin testing full Steam support features, Nordic Games announced. The publisher invited players to participate in a public beta of the game's new Steam-based functionality, which includes matchmaking and multiplayer support via Steamworks. The game's public beta will also feature leaderboards, voice chat and achievements via Valve's PC gaming service. Those interested in participating in the beta are instructed to follow this guide, selecting Red Faction: Guerrilla in step one and using the password "nordicrfgbeta" and the beta branch "publicbeta." First launching in 2009, Red Faction: Guerrilla was part of the $4.9 million set of intellectual properties purchased by Nordic Games in THQ's liquidation auction in April 2013, seeing itself as a "middle man" for potential sequels in its new series. The publisher told Joystiq at Gamescom in August that it's "not the right time" for Red Faction: Guerrilla 2. [Image: Nordic Games]
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition hits PS3, Vita in January
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition will launch on Vita and PS3 in January, Devolver Digital announced via Twitter today. The game will arrive in North America on January 13, 2015 and in Europe the following day. The port was revealed in August 2013, months after its launch on Steam in March. The PC, Mac and Linux versions of the Megaton Edition includes the core game as well as three DLC packs, and is still available for $10. It also received competitive and co-op multiplayer gameplay modes in a January update, allowing up to eight player to duke it out across the three platforms. The PS3 and Vita versions hit a few bumps since Abstraction Games took on the porting duties; the games were submitted to Sony in May and ran into "lots of certification issues" as of September. [Image: Devolver Digital]
Duck Hunt tracking down Wii U Virtual Console
Following a trailer for the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. that showed the infamous chuckling dog from Duck Hunt in action (seen above), today's Nintendo Direct livestream revealed that the classic lightgun game is also on the way to the Wii U Virtual Console. Given that it made its debut in 1984 on NES, Duck Hunt just celebrated its 30th anniversary. While Nintendo didn't reveal an exact date for its launch, the game will arrive "soon" on the eShop and will require a Wii Remote controller to play. [Image: Nintendo]