e3-2013
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Battlefield 4 and the unstoppable helicopter
As sprawling as the skirmishes in Battlefield 4 can get, I found myself most fascinated with a helicopter that was able to murder me many times during my E3 multiplayer session. In the Siege of Shanghai map, a massive downtown location of skycrapers and bridges forming ample choke points across a bay that cuts the city in half, players can bring down a massive building by destroying pillars at its base. While destroying the environment is central to the Battlefield experience, destroying this building will cover the entire map in a thick coating of dust, hampering visibility. This is where the helicopter became the bane of my existence.%Gallery-190958%
Titanfall's contrast between agility and agitation
There is a stark contrast between pilots and titans in Titanfall, the new multiplayer-centric shooter from Respawn Entertainment. As a footsoldier, players are mice – hard to hit and scurrying from one crumbled hovel to the next. The titans stand tall, lumbering death dealers in a constant sense of agitation, ever at the ready and percolating with malevolent intent. It makes for a very interesting multiplayer dynamic, adding to the overall sensory overload and chaos of multiplayer in Titanfall.%Gallery-190953%
Looking for that song from the Assassin's Creed 4 'Horizon' trailer?
If you enjoyed the song from the Assassin's Creed 4 "Horizon" trailer, it's called "Full Circle" by Half Moon Run. We've grabbed iTunes, Spotify and YouTube links if you'd like to pick it up through non piratical means.
Hotline Miami 2 is in some kind of playable form at E3
Hotline Miami 2 is well on its way through the brutal development process, and it's playable at E3, a tweet from Devolver press agent Stephanie Schopp revealed. We spoke about Hotline Miami 2 with developers Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin at GDC this year, and they said the sequel will focus on the emotional aspects of life in the 90s, with parallel plots spawned from events in the first game. Söderström and Wedin said Hotline Miami 2 was in development for PC, though it could ship same-day on Vita. The main character in Hotline Miami, "Jacket," has a minor role in the sequel but won't be playable. Wedin called Hotline Miami 2 "the grand finale."
The brutal, proactive combat of Ryse: Son of Rome
When I saw Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome demonstrated during Microsoft's E3 press briefing, I was worried. The once Kinect and now controller-driven game, apart from being visually impressive thanks to an Xbox One upgrade, looked pretty generic. When I sat down to play it at an event later that night, I learned something that improved my outlook dramatically: Ryse has no block button. It's still too early to tell whether or not Ryse's hack-and-shield-bash combat will hold up over the course of an entire game, but this one simple fact is enough to give me hope.%Gallery-191091%
Call of Duty: Ghosts exorcises several gameplay videos
Get the behind-closed-doors E3 experience with these gameplay videos for Call of Duty: Ghosts. We say that, because if you go to check out the game at the show, these videos are what you're going to see. And you get to do it without the cacophony of show floor noise and with the luxury of doing it in your pajamas to boot. Lucky! Above is the underwater gameplay of "Into the Deep." If you've got any drowning issues, it's probably best to skip that one. After the break we've got next-gen dog attack technology in "No Man's Land," along with the 28-minute Call of Duty: Ghosts presentation from Sunday night. The only video exclusive to E3 at this time is "Federation Day," which finds a squad of soldiers infiltrating a building by rappelling down it and then attempting to escape as the skyscraper collapses, but that should be available sometime after the mega convention concludes. %Gallery-190819%
Visualized: SpaceX Dragon capsule at E3
There's plenty to look at around the E3 show floor this year, but few if any of the shiny new products have actually been to space. Pretty sad, if you ask us. Thankfully, SpaceX was on hand, showing off one of its Dragon capsules in the parking lot of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The unit that was on display was the first to reach the ISS, bringing along some sundries for the crew, but nothing particularly vital -- after all, it was a sort of test run. All went well, and the unit landed in the Pacific Ocean, within five kilometers of the company's calculations. Not too shabby. Of course, the thing burnt to a crisp in the process, with a marshmallow-like blackening of its edges (which is pretty evident in the gallery below). We couldn't get too close, sadly, due to the protective ropes bearing a "Don't Pet the Dragon" sign. After all, we don't want any showgoers turning into the Fantastic Four.%Gallery-191161%
New screenshots released for Black Desert
Fantasy sandbox MMO Black Desert has graced the internet with 13 new screenshots showing off the game's gorgeous environments, characters, creatures, and more. As discovered and translated by Steparu, these screenshots originally appeared on the Korean gaming news site inven.co.kr. Steparu says that these shots are from E3 and the game is set for closed beta testing next month. Keep your eye on Steparu for hi-res versions coming soon.%Gallery-191201%
Getting touchy-feely in Doki-Doki Universe
Doki-Doki Universe, from ToeJam & Earl creator Greg Johnson and HumaNature Studios, is a game about a robot endeavoring to become more human. As Sony executive producer Alex Lee tells us in this E3 demonstration, it's also a game about self-discovery, stealing hugs from widows and sending bizarre text messages featuring adorable, animated sushi. Yeah, you'll really just have to see it for yourself. Doki-Doki Universe is slated for PS3, PS4 and Vita this year.%Gallery-187739%
Battlefield 4 ups squad count to five, DICE explains why
Battlefield 4 will feature five-man squads over the series' staple four-man grouping. "They've been asking for bigger squads," DICE producer Aleksander Grondal told Joystiq at E3, referring to the Battlefield community's insistance on larger squad counts. "We believe five is a good figure. It allows for more team-based gameplay, basically. You have more options and you can spawn in more places." In previous Battlefield games, DICE made a purposeful design decision to limit the number of players per squad. "It was a design choice back then – forgive me, I don't exactly remember why it was chosen four. You know, it feels like light years ago from previous games," Grondal joked, rubbing the tired from E3's first day out of his eyes. "But five is a little better; it gives a bit more flexibility and more interesting choices." Battlefield 4 launches on October 29 for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Pokemon X and Y's online features feel like a true evolution
Presiding over an audience of devoted Pokemon fans during an E3 2013 roundtable session, Tsunekazu Ishihara and Junichi Masuda of The Pokemon Company dropped some interesting new facts about the upcoming Pokemon X and Y, releasing October 12 for the 3DS. The games' new online functionality, known as the Player Search System (or P.S.S.), taps into the power of the 3DS by allowing players to switch between local wireless communication and full-fledged Internet connectivity with the push of a button. During play, the bottom screen of the 3DS will display confirmed friends – fully integrated with the 3DS' Friend List (meaning friends you add before the game's release will appear there) – as well as people in the area who happen to be playing. Battling someone from the latter group will add them to an acquaintances list, and after a few battles, X and Y will establish a friendship between the two players. True to the series' focus on multiplayer from its very first generation, X and Y has made it easier than ever to smash your pocket monsters into friends' far and wide. One important question, though, left some lingering disappointment in the room: when asked if previous generations' Pokemon can be imported into X and Y, Masuda could only offer "we're working on it," citing the problems in communicating data between the DS and 3DS. Hopefully, you won't have to take your current stable of Pokemon out behind the woodshed come October.
The Last Guardian is 'alive,' with no release in sight
There have likely been more articles devoted to the constant reaffirmation of life in The Last Guardian than to detailed description of its contents. The latest round comes from PlayStation's Scott Rohde, Software Product Development Head for Sony Worldwide Studios America. "So, we're not talking about when The Last Guardian is coming out, but it is still a game that there's a lot of love for inside PlayStation walls, because everybody sees how emotionally driven that the entire fan base of PlayStation always responds with when we talk about The Last Guardian," Rohde said in an interview on Tuesday. "That's something that's very important to all of us, but we're not announcing any details on it." The exact status of The Last Guardian has become a mystery, exacerbated by a leadership shakeup and a long, unprompted absence from the public eye. Sony America CEO Jack Tretton was recently quoted as saying the game was on "hiatus," which Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida countered, saying it was "in active development." Meanwhile, Scott Rohde puts it in simpler terms: "It is alive."
Super Joystiq Podcast Special: E3 2013 Day 1
It's E3 2013 Super Joystiq Podcast Special time. A lot has happened, but in the interest of making it through the rest of the week, it's all about the games for now. Richard, Ludwig, Jordan, and Mike Suszek revolt against their bodies' need for sleep to deliver some impressions of actual next-gen games from the first day of the big show. A trio of driving games is up first: Drive Club, Need for Speed: Rivals, and Forza Motorsport 5, and then it's on to Dying Light, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Crimson Dragon. Stay tuned for a full recap and commentary on the press conference news bombs later on in the week, along with plenty more impressions of games from the show. See you back here tomorrow! Listen to the Super Joystiq Podcast: Subscribe to the Super Joystiq Podcast in iTunes Add the Super Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator Download the MP3 directly Details about each segment are available after the break.
Seen@E3: The Saints go with the flow
Saints Row 4 is being shown at E3 and if there's anything those rascally Saints know how to do it's self promotion. These two thespians of marketing pictured were seen on the show floor promoting Saints Flow, the energy drink available at your local Steelport convenience store and Planet Saints.
Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 4D headphones ears-on
In keeping with its propensity toward acronymed products, Mad Catz today showed off its F.R.E.Q. 4D headphones. The peripherals are notable for a couple of reasons: first is that the company dumped the line's mic arm for an internal version -- without, the company promises, sacrificing sound quality. Even more notable are the included ViviTouch actuators, which bring rumbling feedback directly to your ears, so you can feel those explosions where it really counts. We tried the headphones on, and while they were pretty comfortable, we can't say that we were particularly impressed with the promised rumbling delivered via a bass test. Perhaps it was the sound being used -- or that the headphones are still in beta -- but ultimately we didn't feel all that much. We're sure Mad Catz will have that figured out for the final version -- if not, however, they may just serve as cool-looking head massagers.%Gallery-191133%
Nyko's Smart Clip brings the second screen to your controller (hands-on)
With Microsoft and Sony making big pushes toward a second screen experience via smartphones and tablets, yet another space is opening up amongst third-party peripheral manufacturers. After all, supplemental information is great and all, but how to access it while gaming? Nyko thinks it's got a solution in the form of the Smart Clip. At first glance, the device looks a fair bit like those bluetooth gaming controls we've already seen en masse. Instead, the add-on clips your phone to your controller so you can, say, check out a map via Smart Glass or the PlayStation App without fumbling for your phone. We played around with the clip a bit, and while if folds in quite nicely, the prototype still has a ways to go, a gentle jostling knocked the Nyko rep's phone right out. Sorry about that. The rear of the arm has an adjustable device, so you can attach all manner of handsets to your controller. There are also two knobs on the bottom to tighten the arm in place -- nice, as it was a little bit wobbly when we first picked it up. Naturally, Nyko plans to have all the kinks worked out when it launches the Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions later this year for $14.99.%Gallery-191142%
Virtuix Omni VR treadmill shows up at E3, we go feet-on (video)
I'm a little nauseous and a bit sweaty. This was my first time using the Oculus Rift. It's the sort of thing you've got to ease into, really -- sitting stationary, letting your brain adjust to the whole experience. Or you could just pop the thing on and run in place on a treadmill in a downtown Los Angeles hotel suite. Your call, really. Just don't come crying to me when you're having a bit of trouble standing up straight, as you attempt to step down from the slippery surface at the end of your session. Have I seen the future? Hard to say, of course, but whatever it was that just happened was neat -- and if you were one of the 2,000 or so folks who got in on Virtuix's Kickstarter, it'll be heading your way in January. The company's CEO, Jan Goetgeluk took me through the paces of the system, a stationary design he settled on after toying around with a more traditional treadmill model. The Omni is really quite a simple thing at its heart, a concave, slick surface attached to two bars that converge in a circle. The company's designed special soles, as well -- plastic pieces raised at the heel and ball of the foot, with a fabric friction surface on the toe. Walk around and your feet slip. That's about it, really. Of course, it takes some getting used to, and Goetgeluk stood aside as I learned to walk again: lean forward, step down on the heel and let the rest of your foot slide with it. It took a few minutes, and I'm still not exactly an expert %Gallery-191176%
Seen@E3: A console war joke, in Wi-Fi form
(To be fair, both networks were closed to the public.)
Ubisoft's E3 2013 conference details The Division, Rabbids Invasion, The Crew
Ubisoft had a few surprises in store during its 2013 E3 press briefing, teasing a bold new direction for its Rabbids series and introducing the post-pandemic online RPG, Tom Clancy's The Division, among other notable announcements. Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell kicked off the conference with a guitar-shredding demonstration of Rocksmith 2014's Session Mode, in which budding guitarists can customize backing music tracks in real-time using voice commands. A trailer for the online PC RPG The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot followed; afterward, Ubisoft revealed that it is accepting signups for a closed beta. Ubisoft assured that Obsidian Entertainment's RPG South Park: The Stick of Truth is alive and well, narrowing down its release date to Holiday 2013. Ubisoft previously acquired the project from THQ following the troubled publisher's dissolution late last year. Ubisoft Reflections and Ivory Tower's The Crew was up next, showcasing its unique brand of destructive multiplayer racing across a persistent online world. A release is planned next year for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC platforms.
E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV's A Realm Reborn returns the game to its roots
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn stays true to its name and its lineage: What was originally a failed title, at least according to some players, will soon be revamped into an MMO that harkens back to its hardcore Final Fantasy roots. At this year's E3, Massively nabbed a hands-on experience of the game's reboot in the Square-Enix booth, and as the owner of those very hands, I can say it was a thrilling experience. My demo allowed me to choose between DPS, tank, and healer units. I myself am a lumbering tank in real life, so it felt natural to refill my virtual shoes in an epic battle against Ifrit. Action was quick, incredibly responsive, and a treat. Unfortunately, Ifrit rose into the sky and torched us all, but that's not the end of the story.
