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A remastered 'Ghostbusters' game is coming to PS4 this year
Ten years ago the original Ghostbusters: The Video Game debuted. Now, the game is being remastered for PS4, and according to the trailer released today, it should be available sometime this year.
Here's a teaser of The Crew's cinematic story
Ubisoft has been hyping The Crew as an MMO for a while now, and, like many modern MMOs, the game incorporates some sort of single-player story. An outfit called Puppetworks Animation Studio created 13 minutes worth of CG cutscenes to flesh this story out and has released a teaser drawing from those cutscenes. There's not a lot here in terms of The Crew's action driving gameplay, but there are plenty of sketchy characters and revving engine noises. See for yourself after the break.
Report: Cutscene from Halo: Master Chief Collection leaks
A cutscene from Halo: The Master Chief Collection reportedly leaked during a Twitch stream of the game. The video briefly shows a loading screen that lists The Heretic level from Halo 2 before showing Agent Locke talking to Arbiter about hunting down Master Chief. Some viewers believe the scene may bridge the original Halo trilogy with the coming Xbox One exclusive, Halo 5: Guardians, as Locke has a role in the next game in the series. Head past the break to check the video out for yourself, but act fast, as these types of leaked videos tend to disappear quickly. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will launch on November 11 for Xbox One. [Image: Microsoft]
The Daily Grind: What little things in MMOs put a smile on your face?
I loaded up Star Wars: The Old Republic for the first time in a while this week, and it seemed like BioWare upgraded its planetary approach cutscenes since the last time I played. Maybe it's just the one on Tatooine, or maybe it's always been that spiffy and I just don't remember it. Either way, it's a nice touch that tickles my Star Wars fancy. What about you, Massively readers? What little things about the last MMO you played put a smile on your face? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Have you ever come back to a game for the double XP?
I logged into Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend and came to a sad realization. I really don't want to play it any more. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so I usually find something to like about the game even though themepark mechanics and eternal gear grinds aren't my first choice. Lately I lack the desire to keep leveling, though, which is unfortunately at odds with my goal of seeing all the cutscenes for all eight class stories (again, Star Wars fan, completionist, can't help it). Fortunately for me, there's a double XP week starting July 1st, at which point I will be blasting through levels like a man possessed on as many characters as I can! I feel a sense of urgency because I doubt I'll be leveling again in SWTOR until its next double XP event. And really I'd love to just check the game off my MMO to-do list and uninstall as soon as I've viewed the stories and taken a few screenshots. What about you, Massively readers? Have you ever come back to a game specifically for the double XP, or am I sailing alone across my own personal ocean of crazy? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Microsoft: Xbox One will capture game footage at 720p even if source is higher res
One of the many uses for Microsoft's vaunted 300,000 Xbox Live servers for the Xbox One is to power the Game DVR, which lets you record, edit and re-visit your many exploits. Platform chief Marc Whitten told a panel that the resolution will be limited to 720/30p video, even if the game itself is higher resolution (Forza Motorsport 5 is 1080/60p, for instance). The console will automatically record the last five minutes of your gameplay, and can even save the last 30 seconds of action on command without interrupting play. Whitten added that all of that footage would be stored in the cloud, letting you edit and share content via Upload Studio. Games will create "magic moment" videos from such footage, which you can view from the Xbox OneGuide, your personal DVR collection and the gamer cards of other players. That sounds like a lot of footage, even for 300k servers -- which may explain why Microsoft limited the resolution to 720p.
Know Your Lore: Top 10 lore developments of 2012, part 2
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. In part one of our look back at 2012's best lore developments, we looked at the various aspects introduced to better introduce lore to those that had only a passing interest in it. While the Lorewalkers, print media and instance developments were also tremendously appealing to those that already have a handle on Warcraft lore, they also served as a method of getting the lore out to those that weren't really interested in the minutiae of mogu and mantid. And that's honestly pretty important. There are plenty of players that play the game simply to play it, not paying attention to why they are playing at all. By implementing subtle elements that introduce the lore in an unobtrusive fashion, the developers have quietly found a way to make sure that regardless of how or why you play the game, you still have some sort of basic understanding of what is going on. Cataclysm had a story, but it was so complex that it was difficult even for those with a strong grasp of lore to puzzle out exactly what was going on and why we were doing what we were doing. But the fun doesn't stop there -- and today's picks are those that are slightly less unobtrusive in regards to lore and story.
Hyperspace Beacon: Six things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other
As I'm sure most of you can guess by the title of this piece, I spent a little time in another MMO this weekend. That doesn't mean that I will be trading in my Jawas and Wookiees for Asura and Charr. However, I will admit that Star Wars: The Old Republic does not contain everything I want from an MMO. That's also not say that Guild Wars 2 has all those missing elements. But I believe there are quite a few things that both of these great MMOs can learn from each other to make the overall MMO experience better for everyone. Before I begin this breakdown, I should state that this is not a comprehensive list of everything that I liked and disliked from either game. At the same time, I want to also state that, besides the 20 or so minutes at trade shows I had with the game, this weekend marked the first time I've spent any serious time in Guild Wars 2. My opinion here is far from complete, and my experience is really based on the first 10 levels of GW2. Lastly, I'd like to say that Wookiees will always be cooler than Charr!
The Soapbox: The inevitable Mass Effect MMO
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I don't know about you, but I've yet to play Mass Effect 3. This is not by choice, mind you, and now that I've returned from the wilds of last week's GDC, it's time to settle in for another 30-hour tour with Shepard and company. What does this have to do with MMOs? Well, nothing really, except that BioWare hasn't exactly closed the door on a Mass Effect title. On the contrary, the company's dynamic doctor duo have hinted at the fact that this, ahem, theoretical game would need to be somewhat different from the firm's maiden MMO voyage. At this point I think an ME MMO is inevitable, so join me after the cut to discuss whether BioWare can really break the mold with its second effort as well as what that effort could look like.
SWTOR Senior Community Manager responds to high-res texture concerns
Many keen-eyed Star Wars: The Old Republic players noticed that, while there were "low," "medium," and "high" options for the game's texture quality settings, there seemed to be only two different sets of textures, and neither of them includes the high-resolution textures seen in the game's cutscenes and conversations. As it tends to go with the MMO community, the forums were soon filled with cries of "WTFM8?" And thus did BioWare's own Senior Community Manager Stephen Reid appear on the scene to clarify what exactly was happening. The low-medium-high texture quality scale is, he says, a bug, and the medium choice was never supposed to exist. So yes, the game has only two sets of textures, low- and high-resolution, but even the high-resolution textures don't look as shiny as the ones featured in SWTOR's cutscenes. And so the chorus repeated, "WTFM8?" Reid drops a ton of technical information to explain why players can't run around with conversation-quality textures 24/7, but the fact of the matter is that an MMO could potentially have anywhere from one to who-knows-how-many people on-screen at any given time, and BioWare "discovered that using [...] 'maximum resolution' textures on in-game characters during normal gameplay could cause severe performance issues, even on powerful PCs." That's the short of it, but if you'd like the full, unadulterated technical breakdown, just head on over to the official forum post for more info and screaming.
The Soapbox: Adding story to SWTOR
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I'd like to take a few moments this week to prognosticate about story in The Old Republic. I'm not talking about the story that's already there, mind you, as I've barely scratched the surface (a 20 Sage, a 15 Gunslinger, and a beta-flavored Trooper are the extent of my experience thus far). No, what I'm more interested in talking about is what's going to happen story-wise when I get to level 50 on one of these guys. The easy answer is, of course, roll an alt! There are seven other classes after all, each reportedly featuring 200 hours worth of single-player story content. What happens if I were to get to level 50 on all eight classes, though? Is The Old Republic's gameplay still going to revolve around the heavily hyped story angle at that point?
Poll: Which is your favorite in-game cinematic?
After Blizzard's machinima team stretched its wings with the inclusion of WoW's first in-game cutscene, The Wrathgate, players have expressed their praise and hope that more cinematics would be included in Warcraft in coming expansions. With the success of The Wrathgate, Blizzard included Arthas' end in cinematic form after his defeat on Icecrown. When Cataclysm released, both the goblins and worgen were treated to cinematics that transitioned the player from starting zone to a larger world with an epic cutscene and story. Now, the Dragon Soul raid and the ending of Cataclysm are marked with story cutscenes showing off Deathwing's anger, Thrall blasting Deathwing out of the sky and parachuting onto Deathwing's back. Even Cataclysm's twist ending got a cinematic. Which cinematic was your favorite? The betrayal of the Forsaken at the Wrathgate still holds a very special place in my heart since it was the first time cinematics were done in WoW. It was a home run from the start. Watching Sky Captain Swayze and Ka'anu jump out of the Skyfire, along with my raid, also ranks high on the list of cutscenes for me, even if it's only a few seconds long. What do you guys think? Vote! %Poll-71855% Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Flameseeker Chronicles: The news doors haven't shut... yet
More news! More updates! Be still my heart! No, seriously. It does my fangirl heart such good to see all of these cool updates and details about Guild Wars 2 over the past few weeks. Between the animation updates, the skill updates, and the earnings call, there's plenty to discuss. I was so excited to see the updated cutscenes, although I couldn't stop giggling at the male character shifting from foot to foot -- I kept waiting for him to ask the Priestess of Dwayna where the bathroom was. That's not a reflection on ArenaNet's design team so much as a testament to my years as the mother of a boy. It's all about the bathroom humor around here. The new skill acquisition system was great in my book, and the news from the earnings call... well, why don't you follow along after the cut and we'll delve into all of that more deeply.
Leaderboard: SWTOR vs. GW2 cinematic cutscenes
OK, you knew that sooner or later there'd be a face-off between Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 in this column, although today's poll might not be what you were expecting. Instead of getting into "Which game that hasn't released is better than the other game that hasn't released?" let us examine each title's approach to cinematic cutscenes. Both titles plan to pull players out of the game world proper and put them into a personal dialogue session, but that's where the similarities end. SWTOR uses BioWare's patented movie-style approach, where the camera angles change dramatically and often during the conversation. Guild Wars 2, however, looks to have more of a stylized throwback to older RPGs where the characters are sliced out of the world and placed on a conversation window for a private one-on-one. It's almost as if SWTOR is 3-D while GW2 is 2-D, but not quite. So which is more effective as a storytelling device? Which do you think will tug at your heartstrings and beckon you to lean in and pay attention? Only your vote can tell us how you truly feel, so hit that jump like you mean it!
Choose My Adventure: Story time!
Welcome back, Choose My Adventurers! Last week I took you on a leisurely stroll through my beginning days in Final Fantasy XIV's Limsa Lominsa and asked you lovely folks to choose what I should do next. Wouldn't you know it, you told me to go and finish up the storyline. So that's exactly what I did! This week, however, by popular demand, I'm going to be doing less play-by-play re-enactment and giving more of my impressions on whether the game is... you know... good. So strap yourselves in and head on past the cut and let's see what Eorzea had in store for me this week.
Blade & Soul closed beta phase reviewed
If you weren't fortunate enough to get into Blade & Soul's recently concluded Korean closed beta event, Steparu has the next best thing in the form of a lengthy review supplemented by several hi-definition gameplay videos. While it's worth noting that some of this information may change prior to release -- to say nothing of the differences between the Korean client and what we're assuming will be a localized Western version -- there's still lots of interesting info to digest. There's the good (visuals, combat), and the not-so-good (linear exploration and lots of zoning), and the review is one of the more comprehensive hands-on pieces covering NCsoft's upcoming martial arts MMO. Head past the cut for a couple of videos and then click over to Steparu to read the author's impressions.
Killzone 3 contains over an hour of cutscenes
The "3" in "Killzone 3" might as well stand for the quantity of cinematics in Guerilla's latest shooter -- three times the amount employed by Killzone 2. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) said in its bestowing of an "18" (mature) rating on the game that its cutscenes total 70 minutes. Its predecesor, by comparison, contained 25 minutes worth of story sequences, according to the BBFC. Let's see: We know that characters voiced by Malcolm McDowell and Ray Winstone will be chewing up the scenery for a good chunk of that hour and 10 minutes; the rest will therefore be composed of shouting space marines and other guys who are also shouting but have red "eyes." Someone get Michael Bay on the phone!
Massively's tour of Final Fantasy XI's March update
Eight years doesn't sound like a very long time unless you're talking about MMOs. Then it's the equivalent of dog years, only larger. But Final Fantasy XI has been running for all that time, and the game is still running strong -- and more to the point, bringing out a number of updates, improvements, and other positives for the game. Even as a veteran player, I haven't seen all of the content that's out there -- really, I'd be surprised if I've done much more than scratch the surface. I was given the lucky opportunity to get a guided tour of all the improvements and new content that the game had added with the most recent update, and it's certainly one of the more impressive drops the game has seen. Two entirely new summons, a new quest type, the penultimate missions in Wings of the Goddess, new Notorious Monsters, new areas... it's dwarfing to even consider it. I only had a chance to hit the highlights, and even then it was a lot to cover. So jump on past the cut, and see what's there to be seen.
Jeff Kaplan on WoW development: "We debate like crazy"
Our buddy Phil Kollar of Game Informer (who was on the podcast recently) got a chance to talk to Jeff Kaplan about the World of Warcraft, and while Kaplan repeats a lot of what he's said before, the interview is worth a read for a look inside Blizzard's design process. What's probably most interesting is that it's very fluid and very dynamic -- just as much as we're arguing on this site and on the forums about how Blizzard should do things, they're also arguing and going back and forth behind the scenes. He does talk specifically about cutscenes, saying that the Wrathgate scene was an experiment that paid off well, and we should expect some more of that kind of storytelling even as soon as in patch 3.3 (you may have seen it before if you're checking spoilers). And he does talk about raiding sizes and accessibility -- Blizzard has always wanted to do smaller raids, both for the feel of them and for the tuning, but it apparently took them a while to bring 40 down to 25 and then down to 10 correctly. Finally, he doesn't reveal anything about the new MMO, but he does say that singleplayer gaming will always have a place at Blizzard's core -- even when you're playing a multiplayer game, the singleplayer experience should still feel right. True enough, good interview.
Top 5: Worst. Cutscenes. Ever.
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Worst_Cutscenes_Ever'; According to Activision (and after all, they made Pitfall!), video games will "eclipse" all other forms of media. Head honcho Mike Griffith went on to say that "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors." I'm not sure how much I agree with that statement. Strictly in terms of cash flow, it's already happening. Gaming is a fairly pricey hobby, and it's been outpacing the other forms of media for several years (in terms of growth). Yet I have a difficult time imagining a time where video games are everyone's preferred form of escapism. Although their respective industries may see drastic changes with direct, indirect, or unrelated connections to gaming, music and film will always have a place. As much as I love gaming, it's not rare that I find myself preferring to zone out with TV or just listen to music and read instead of playing a video game. What I do see is a further merging of the three into ubiquitous, all-purpose media devices. Microsoft and Sony currently do this, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo catches up. While most households currently don't rely on gaming consoles as their sole provider of film / TV and music, I imagine that this will change. Perhaps the mediums will start to bleed into one another. With Metal Gear Solid blurring the lines between game and film and Audiosurf doing the same for games and music, perhaps media will merge and propagate a completely new and unique form of entertainment. Interesting stuff. What was this Top 5 about, again? Oh, right: cut scenes. A lot of them stink. Here's the 5 worst ones. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
