gameplay
Latest
WildStar Wednesday shows off the telegraphs of combat
It makes sense that in the space western atmosphere of WildStar you'll have to worry about telegraphs. But these aren't the sort of telegraphs that communicate a message over long distances. No, these are combat telegraphs, the red areas that show up on the battlefield to let you know that something is about to happen. In this week's WildStar Wednesday, executive producer Jeremy Gaffney narrates a video showing off the telegraphs in the wild. While the telegraph system is universal in notifying players that something is about to happen, every warning requires a different response. Some are attacks that can be dodged by a quick sidestep, some require fast movement, and some require unorthodox movement by jumping behind the monster. Gaffney also shows off how environmental triggers can be used against enemies by luring them into one another's attacks or into unsafe areas, creating a dynamic combat environment. Take a look at the full video just past the break to see just how the telegraph system gets the message across to players in the game.
How Ubi is selling Assassin's Creed 3 to the general public
Ubisoft debuted the above commercial for holiday blockbuster Assassin's Creed 3 alongside the opening of the NFL season this week, prompting one Joystiq editor's father to call the game "impressive." For us, it serves to highlight how we've become snobs about the music Ubisoft uses in its trailers. Hey, when you set such a high precedent, it's hard to shrug off just some boring old song, you know?
Try to ignore the dialogue in this exciting Remember Me clip
We really dig the art style and gameplay of Remember Me, but good lord what is with that dialogue? Keep an ear out for "Stay frosty" around the seven minute mark. Or actually, don't. Maybe ignore all the dialogue and just focus on the snazzy combat and platforming. You'll thank us.
Marvel Avengers Initiative brings Infinity Blade hack-and-slash to the world of the Avengers
Marvel (and its games division) has unveiled a brand new game for iOS called Marvel Avengers Initiative. This game has been teased for a little while now, and TUAW was lucky enough to see an in-progress version a few weeks ago. In just a few words, you can call this one "Avengers Blade." It's an Infinity Blade-style action RPG, set in the world of the super-popular Avengers superhero team. The game will consist of a series of episodes, the first of which will be available at launch. Wideload Software (originally started by Halo's Alex Seropian, but more recently acquired by Disney -- which explains why it's working on a Marvel game) has put together the first episode featuring Hulk. Given that the title is so closely based on Infinity Blade, you can imagine how it works. You move from point to point around a game world, collecting currency where you can find it, and fighting big foes by swiping and tapping the screen when prompted. Wideload has even brought Infinity Blade's XP and equipment system over, giving Hulk various stat and costume upgrades that not only make reference to classic comic appearances, but also can give bonuses to XP or certain attributes. Marvel's TQ Jefferson tells TUAW that in the company's video games division, he and his team have come up with three main principles to include on big releases. First, they want each game they release to have fun, engaging gameplay, which is really a no-brainer in the crowded market these days. There also has to be a story, and Avengers Initiative begins with the story of Hulk, fighting a battle across the Avenger's floating fortress of a home base. Finally, Marvel games should have "true-to-character experiences," and that's really what Marvel is going for here. Yes, admits Wideload's Patrick Moran, the gameplay in Avengers Initiative is very similar to Infinity Blade, but the team worked to make all of the moves in this first episode feel very true to Hulk as a character. Moran says that "only a small percentage of our players have ever played" titles like Infinity Blade, which doesn't really seem possible, given the popularity of Chair Entertainment's series. But even if so, Jefferson and Moran both say that the Avengers franchise is hugely popular right now, and they're convinced that Avengers fans of all kinds will be interested in this kind of gameplay experience on the App Store. Avengers Initiative will be out on September 6 (along with the other usual app releases across the world) for the premium price of $6.99. Wideload wants to make sure users know that future episodes of content will be released for free, so there's plenty more game to come. While chatting about the new game, I also was sure to ask Jefferson about a possible iOS version of the very popular Facebook title Avengers Assemble, and he agreed with me that such a thing "would be a very good idea." That's not exactly a confirmation that the company is working on bringing its great game over to iOS, but stay tuned -- we may hear about something else like that soon. For the time being, we'll have to see if Wideload's gamble on this Infinity Blade-style gameplay pays off with users in the way they hope.
Drive whatever car you fancy in Need for Speed: Most Wanted ... if you can find it, that is
As if driving through pictures of your friends on billboards weren't enough to get you exploring the open world of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, perhaps finding lavish sports cars will sway you. Criterion's betting on exactly that, as seen in the latest trailer.
Luftrausers probably doesn't cost $5,000 (it might!), but it's definitely launching on PC/Mac this year
Vlambeer, the folks behind hyperaddictive rage inducer Super Crate Box, have another game on the way, Luftrausers, and it's coming out pretty soon. "Luftrausers is set to release on PC and Mac in late 2012," says newly announced publisher Devolver Digital. Devolver previously worked with Vlambeer on the Serious Sam 3 spinoff game, "The Random Encounter.""But what's a Luftrauser?" you ask? Well, it's a fictional warplane created by the Vlambeer dudes, and it comes in a bunch of different varieties ("125 deadly combinations," says the PR). In practice, this means you spawn with a trio of settings for your plane and you've gotta survive as long as possible (while destroying enemy ships, planes, etc.). Mastering each combination and learning your favorite should help add plenty of depth to the basic spawn/shoot/die/respawn loop.In a few rounds I played during GDC Europe, it was quick to pick up and hard to put down. The concept of playing it with an actual gamepad makes Luftrausers' core gameplay all the more thrilling – I was playing on a laptop keyboard with WASD, which worked surprisingly well, but I'd prefer a pad. Moreover, the soundtrack is delightfully retro-sounding with modern influence – think 16-bit era midi with dubstep influence.Luftrausers arrives later this year on both PC and Mac, "with a price point set at $5,000." Of course, the phrase "release date and price subject to change" is attached to that hilariously high price, so don't go expecting to pay that much when the game launches.
Sea Assassin's Creed 3 naval battles with creative lead Alex Hutchinson
When Assassin's Creed 3 launches later this year, Connor's gonna have more than Red Coats and wolves to contend with – he's also the captain of a colonial warship, naturally. If you thought the myriad systems of past AC games were insane, take a look at the video above and see how truly insane they can be.
Here, watch this hour of XCOM gameplay
Were you looking to watch an overabundance of new XCOM footage? 2K Games and Firaxis are sure hoping so, as the two companies took to Twitch.tv yesterday afternoon for just that – an entire hour of XCOM: Enemy Unknown hosted by Firaxis' Jake Solomon and Garth DeAngelis.What's that? You want even more XCOM coverage? We've got this handy, international-flavored podcast with the aforementioned Firaxis devs right here. You can almost taste the Gaffel Kölsch!
The planes, trucks, and helicopters of Grand Theft Auto 5
For the third time this week, Rockstar Games lifted the lid on a small handful of Grand Theft Auto 5 screenshots. Like previous releases, these screens depict just some of the things you'll be doing in Rockstar's next big GTA entry. For instance, jumping onto a moving truck while police trail behind. Or flying a propellor plane. Naturally!%Gallery-163291%
Citizens! Rise up against the alien scum by joining XCOM!
The time is now: war is upon us, and the alien invaders must be beaten back. Luckily for us, the aliens operate on a turn-by-turn basis, so there's plenty of time to decide how best to defend Earth. The XCOM awaits, soldier. The enemy, however, remains unknown.
Learning how to creep in Dishonored
Creeping up on your enemies and offing them is a crucial part of Arkane's Dishonored. Protip: Don't walk in through the front door.
Assassin's Creed 3 gets its own Ken Burns-esque video series, and here's part one
Not that we needed any reassurance from real historians, but Assassin's Creed 3 protagonist Connor is very good at killing Red Coats. Sure, it's more than a little weird when Sons of the American Revolution rep Gary Bohannon says, "If George Washington had had Connor on his team, he wouldn't have needed many other people," but Ubisoft has to establish the seriousness of its historical experts, right?All kidding aside, the first episode of AC3's video series features tons of great in-game footage paired with marketing-heavy missives from the Ubisoft Montreal creative leads. Try your best to ignore the lofty, generic statements while enjoying the footage. You can totally do it.
Shoot and hide cooperatively in Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel screens
A new duo of masked bros debuts in Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel. See as the two bros shoot stuff, hide from other bros shooting stuff, and shoot even bigger stuff while manning a turret. Shooting and hiding has never been so cooperative.
15 minutes of Ni no Kuni footage straight from Gamescom (bonus: British hosts!)
The Gamescom demo of Ni no Kuni was hands-on and, as expected, full of adorable moments. GameSpot UK's editor supreme Guy Cocker narrates the proceedings alongside Namco's Hollie Bennett, which can be seen above.
More Dance Central 3 tracks than you can shake a leg at
Ready to stomp out rhythmic crimes across several decades with some stylish dance police? Yes, Dance Central 3's bizarro storyline is ... well, bizarro, but that just makes us all the more interested in it. Several Harmonix devs are happy to explain the game's kooky story in the latest trailer, revealed alongside several tracks for this fall's DC entry (listed after the break).In total, there are nine new songs revealed, but let's not kid ourselves – the one we're concerned with is Daft Punk's "Around the World." The fact that we've had two Dance Central games without it is the real dance crime.
Sleeping Dogs and the amazing disappearing woman trick
Sleeping Dogs protagonist Wei Shen is the Vegas magician of Hong Kong. He can make women disappear by placing them in bathrooms ... the only problem is making them reappear once the trick is over. Shen likely picked up the trick visiting Saints Row 2's town of Stilwater.
Ten whole minutes of Splinter Cell: Blacklist gameplay
Allow Splinter Cell: Blacklist creative director Maxime Beland (and his soothing accent) to walk you through 10 full minutes of Blacklist gameplay, as Sam Fisher infiltrates a terrorist cell on the Iraq/Iran border.
Natural Motion on track to make $12 million a month with CSR Racing, acquires dev team Boss Alien
NaturalMotion started off working on a state-of-the-art physics system for consoles, but the since company moved to iOS, it's found a lot more monetary success, putting out seven top-grossing games. Now the company has reportedly found a bonafide hit. CSR Racing was released on the App Store on June 28, and NaturalMotion says it's been making $12 million a month since -- all from in-app purchases. To celebrate, NaturalMotion has bought the game's developer, BossAlien and says it's planning on going even bigger with mobile games like this in the future. Unfortunately, this isn't all good news for players. I haven't sat down to play CSR Racing yet, but many of the iTunes reviews say that the game is extremely restrictive with its microtransactions. One look at the offerings on display shows that they're relatively high priced. That might generate a big revenue stream, but it doesn't build longevity, and it certainly doesn't win the company any long-term fans. NaturalMotion might have a hit here, but to keep that growth going, they'll have to nail down good, solid gameplay and not just depend fleecing as much money out of players as possible.
Get your sea legs on with Assassin's Creed 3's Naval trailer from Gamescom
Who's that dashing sea captain with the ragged hair? Ah, of course – it's the half-Native / half-British protagonist of Assassin's Creed 3, Connor. And wouldn't you know it, he's got his trusty tomahawk aboard that colonial era ship. Take a peek at the leaked footage above before Ubi pulls it!Update: Ubisoft has officially released the trailer, after pulling it earlier today with a convenient copyright claim. Celebrate your freedom to watch it now.%Gallery-162449%
Take another look at Star Wars 1313's very pretty underworld
Would you like to see a quick cut version of all the Star Wars 1313 footage we saw at E3? Good, because we've got just that, care of IGN.
