e3-2014
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Dead Island 2 turns its frown upside down
It's not the "world's first motion-captured cat," nor the lovely, gory graphics that should attract players to Dead Island 2. Instead, it's that developer Yager is proudly crafting a game that lets players live out their gory dreams of surviving amidst the zombie apocalypse with the core goal of using hordes of the undead as so many blood-filled stress balls. Those hoping for a drastic departure from the original Dead Island gameplay formula are likely to be disappointed by Dead Island 2. The focus remains on dispatching zombies with as much brutality as possible, using makeshift weaponry, vehicles and the occasional environmental aid. The game's tone, however, is moving in an entirely new direction. Contrast the above trailer with the much-lauded Dead Island debut cinematic which saw a family being (literally) ripped apart to a particularly maudlin tune, and you'll understand what Yager is going for here. This is a game that revels in its destruction of the undead, and wants you to have as much fun as possible at the end of the world. [Image: Deep Silver]
E3 2014: FFXIV's Yoshida on 2.4, 3.0, new classes, and more
After the recent E3 2014 announcement that Final Fantasy XIV was getting a new class and a marriage system, fans have been understandably eager to learn more. And the best way to do that is go to the source! We sat down with producer Naoki Yoshida to discuss the content slated for upcoming patches and expansions. Before delving into the new, Yoshida spoke about the old. He noted that since last year's expo, FFXIV has enjoyed a successful relaunch, added a couple of major updates, and given millions of gamers around the world the opportunity to play. He then led into the new by saying, "We want to continue to grow the game from here. We have a lot of exciting content building up to 3.0." Part of said growing includes expanding the availability of the game by getting it into even more regions; this summer, for example, FFXIV will launch in China. Another part of the growth process is expanding the content and introducing new features, which is where patch 2.4 and the 3.0 expansion come in.
Lara seeks professional help in Rise of the Tomb Raider reveal
If you finished the (quite excellent) reboot of Tomb Raider, you know that Lady Croft has some post-traumatic issues to work out. Apparently, so does the audience in their interpretation of the issues presented in the new Tomb Raider.
Alienware to launch SteamOS-less Steam Box this year
Alienware Alpha is a small gaming PC designed for the living room, and it launches this holiday for $550. It's Windows-based and ships with an Xbox 360 controller, plus a dongle that supports up to four Xbox 360 controllers, and it will be able to run all games in 1080p and at 60fps. This is Alienware's Steam Machine in every way except technically: It won't ship with a Steam controller and it won't ship with SteamOS. These are the two things that make a Steam Machine, according to Valve. "It's absolutely Steam-ready," Alienware Global Marketing Director Bryan de Zayas told Joystiq on the E3 show floor. "It's not that we're bypassing Steam. It's critical. They have the majority of the digital downloads."
One moment for two minutes with Devil's Third
The path Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third is taking to launch is strange and unusual. Once you watch this trailer you can't imagine it having an existence that would allow for the mundane. Itagaki also spoke with us this week at E3 about the over-the-top game's strange path from defunct publisher THQ to Nintendo.
Seen@E3: Da-nanananananana Batmobile
Alright, this has to violate ... we don't know, at least 12 different health, fire safety and traffic laws. No wonder the villains in Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Knight are so angry with Gotham's Dark Knight: he's totally inconsiderate of where he parks his car! Sorry Bats, but we're gonna have to write you a ticket for, let's say $1,000. We know that's a lot, but hopefully it'll teach you a lesson: you either park your car in an approved space or live long enough to see yourself handed a parking violation. [Image: Joystiq]
Seen@E3: Making Marios
Mario Maker is as super simple to use as it looks. Paint objects into the level, drag pipes to stretch them, tweak things like changing the direction of moving platforms, and then press play to, well, play. The only hard bit is trying to get through the absurd level you just made. Even in the E3 demo, which Nintendo plans to add to, there was an appreciable level of customization. There are little things like giving wings to the goombas and koopa troopas or putting piranha plants into pipes, but also the major mechanic of being able to switch your level from old-school Mario to the New Super look in just one click. The issue I had was the amount of available space, which seemed a bit short; negotiable without obstacles in seconds rather than minutes. Again, maybe that's just the limitations of the E3 demo. We'll all get to meet our Mario Maker when it comes to Wii U next year.
Crytek's Arena of Fate is a MOBA for people frustrated by MOBAs
Imagine a first-person shooter game without a sprint or jump button - moment to moment you're still fragging your friends or foes, but the experience is just a touch more streamlined. Now imagine the same principle applied to a MOBA: The store is gone, getting the last hit on a minion doesn't matter, matches operate on a 20-minute countdown, and the first team to 10 points wins. In other words, a MOBA without many of the features that make ... well, a MOBA. Meet Crytek's Arena of Fate, a 5v5 MOBA which has been designed to reduce the conflict players experience not only with each other, but with the game itself. In the words of Crytek Publisher Producer David Bowman, AoF places strategic decisions into the metagame while pushing tactical decisions into immediate gameplay. Non-MOBA translation: Less homework, more crushing your enemies.
Seen@E3: Persona art director Soejima puts pen to posters
Lucky Persona fans have been waiting patiently at E3 to get posters signed by Shigenori Soejima, the art director and character designer for games like Persona 3, 4 and Q. If you love the art in Persona - like any sane person should - Soejima is the man to thank.
Devil's Third on Wii U asks: 'What does it mean to live?'
Tomonobu Itagaki has been away for a long time. After finishing Ninja Gaiden II for Xbox 360 back in 2008, the man behind some of gaming's most flamboyant creations broke from his team at Tecmo to go independent. He founded Valhalla Studios in 2008 and announced Devil's Third in 2010. Shifting from the martial arts pyrotechnics of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, Devil's Third would be a third-person shooter of all things. After delays, disappearances, and the death of its publisher THQ, Third re-appeared at E3 2014 under an unlikely banner: the Nintendo Wii U. "We developed the game up to an early playable version at THQ but then there was the unfortunate end of that company," Itagaki said via a translator. "Then, when we went looking for partners and found Nintendo who really supported my vision. I'm not really sure if it would have been possible ten years ago to be honest, but I've had a long relationship with Nintendo going back to the Nintendo and Super Nintendo. Once I went independent, I definitely went over to Nintendo to say hello." It's been a long time since he went independent, though. Just like his games, Itagaki was alternately stoic and funny discussing how his development process has changed as he faced myriad challenges to get his game made. "I like to think of myself as a warrior," said Itagaki.
Nintendo's new IP pits Abraham Lincoln against aliens
Nintendo's newest IP is a turn-based strategy game for 3DS set in the steam age in London, and has players join an elite force created by Abraham Lincoln to battle an alien invasion. No, really. It's Code Name: STEAM, it's developed by Intelligent Systems, and it's due out in 2015. Even though it's a turn-based strategy game, it's set up like a third-person shooter: Moving and shooting takes away from your turn points. The concept was to make turn-based games accessible and bring the camera down to the level of individual units. Each fighter in Code Name: STEAM runs on steam – they all have boilers and draw from a set amount of steam to execute attacks. The main characters have animal motifs that impact the designs of their weapons, and some of the original aliens are riffs on Lovecraftian monsters. There's no overhead map – everything is from the perspective of your units. Think steampunk XCOM with real-time elements. The game is done up in comic book-style art inspired by American artists Jack Kirby and Bruce Timm. Also, "STEAM" stands for "Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace."
How Kingdom Under Fire 2 survived a shifting game market for 7 years
Kingdom Under Fire 2 is a survivor. Many games die on the vine as production passes the three-year mark, but Blue Side's MMO sequel to the oddball action-strategy hybrid is now well into its seventh year of development. Enduring false starts, major changes to the fundamental design of the game, the rise and fall of consoles, and the wild transformation of the MMO market worldwide, Kingdom Under Fire 2 remains and its coming to PlayStation 4 and PC in the near future. Barring any sudden changes of course. Sang Youn Lee, the producer and Blue Side CEO who's stuck with the game over the years, doesn't need any more sudden changes. The game is, finally, right where he wants it. Guiding a demo of the game E3, Lee demonstrated how Kingdom Under Fire 2 plays in 2014, so long after it was first conceived. In large missions, it looks very much like Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, Blue Side's original Xbox game. You control a big, flashy hero wielding a sword and command legions of troops on a field, a more intentional and less wantonly chaotic spin on Dynasty Warriors' massive conflicts. It's been modernized of course. The troop customization and commands relegated to text-heavy menus back in 2004 is now done on the fly through simple button or keyboard commands. Surrounding that formula are the trappings of an MMO. Cities like Accolade where you can pick up quests, an open field for wandering and getting in small skirmishes, and big mission areas. It's all very pretty,generically high fantasy but also lovingly detailed. Nothing about it looks like a game that's been struggling to release for nearly a decade. What happened?
Nero has a sense of duty, not a call
Nero is a spiritual exploration and first-person puzzle game set in a world of floating robed figures, glowing orbs and skeletal ghosts. It's filled with dark, dense vegetation and crumbling ruins with slivers of neon light lining their edges and curves. Jellyfish float through the streams along the pathways. It's a game about love, sadness and a sense of duty, Producer Giulia Carlotta Zamboni said during a hands-off Xbox One demo at E3. The game comes from Italian studio Storm in a Teacup. Nero is in alpha now, but already it presents a beautiful, mysterious landscape. Though there are plenty of puzzles to solve within the game, it's truly about the story and the characters, Creative Director Carlo Ivo Alimo Bianchi added. "What are you willing to sacrifice for someone you love?" he asked, presenting the game's premise. Nero is due out in Q1 2015 for Xbox One, PC and possibly other platforms. [Image: Storm in a Teacup]
Seen@E3: Capcom's display loot in six seconds
Sure, Capcom has some games at E3, but it also has lovely, lovely loot. Admittedly, I wasn't able to fit all of what was on show into six seconds. Also, I'm pretty sure I was intruding on Ryu and Chun-Li's alone time. [Image: Capcom]
E3 2014 So Far: The future of gaming from Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Oculus
E3 2014 is an overwhelming onslaught of the new. Literally hundreds of games booming from all sides of the Los Angeles Convention Center, with thousands and thousands of ravenous, devoted fans and curious newcomers alike jostling for a chance to play a little piece of the future. From the outside, it doesn't look dissimilar to any E3 of the past twenty years. Many of the same icons loom large. There's Mortal Kombat's ridiculously violent theatrics, Tomb Raider's Lara Croft has risen again, and even elder statesman Pac-Man made a splash. What's remarkable about this E3 in particular, though, is that beneath the deluge we see the major players of the gaming industry diverging in strange ways. Here's a look at how Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Facebook's billion-dollar baby Oculus VR are choosing their paths.
Metal Gear Solid must reflect the era in which it's made, Kojima says
Following a demo of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, prominent game designer Hideo Kojima told Joystiq, through a translator, that it's important for media to reflect the era in which it is developed. Games with authorship tell a story beyond what appears within the product's narrative, he said; they give players a perspective on the state of the world at the time of a game's development. Some games lack that authorship, he said.
Metroid meets Super Meat Boy in 'Ori and the Blind Forest'
When Moon Studios began creating Ori and the Blind Forest, founder and CEO Thomas Mahler tells me, the team set out to make a game that recalled the early 90s era of Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is his favorite game, says Mahler, though Ori owes a lot more to Super Metroid. The beautiful, heart-wrenching trailer Microsoft showed during its E3 2014 media briefing (embedded below) only hints at Ori's overarching, exploration-driven structure. Like Metroid and other platform adventure games, Ori has players leaping across pits and doing battle with evil creatures, all while slowly accruing new abilities that allow the game's titular, rabbit-like protagonist to reach new areas. What sets it apart from similar games, however, is its sense of speed and precision, which Mahler says was inspired by something a little more recent: Super Meat Boy.
Massive Chalice runneth over onto Xbox One
Massive Chalice, Double Fine's turn-based strategy game, is coming to Xbox One as a console exclusive in early 2015. The added Xbox One launch will not impact the game's scheduled PC release – for Kickstarter backers first. "We thought we'd kick out a quick update to clear up any confusion that this might cause," Double Fine writes in a Kickstarter update. "Nothing has changed with our plans to bring Massive Chalice to the PC and to make it available for our backers first. YEAH! During this time we'll be porting the game to the Xbox One."
E3 2014: Destiny gameplay trailer sells you on the experience
Bungie might have your attention with its upcoming Destiny shooter, but what is it really? For those still a little unclear what this title will have to offer, the team's put together a seven-minute trailer for E3 that covers the gamut of story, features, and sweet hoverbike action. It's not just eye candy (ooh, reflective water puddles!); it's informative as well. We've got the full trailer after the break, so what are you waiting for?
The Order: 1886's cinematic look is more than meets the eye
To 1080p or not to 1080p: that is not the question for Ready At Dawn's PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886. Running at a 1920x800 resolution in 2.40:1 aspect ratio, the game is presented like a film, with horizontal black bars running across the top and bottom of the screen. In an age where resolution is a selling point, is Ready At Dawn selling themselves short by giving up valuable real estate? The short answer: No. The longer answer: In fact, it may even be better.
