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PlayStation's Adam Boyes points the spotlight on diverse games
Adam Boyes connects developers and publishers to PlayStation, making their appearance on the platform as seamless and as fair as possible. There's an attempt to create equal footing for everyone, which is why it's no longer a surprise to see independent games like No Man's Sky and Abzu getting screen time and drawing applause at Sony's E3 presentation. "The thing I never want to say is, 'You're going to like this, because gaming is such a personal thing," Boyes told me after Sony's E3 presentation. Though he can cast the PlayStation spotlight on games that need a little boost in prominence, highlighting them through the storefront or PlayStation Plus, Boyes prefers not to beat a drum until people care about games outside their comfort zone. "Our whole idea is just, basically, to show you as many different things - and make the judgement for yourself."
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.
In Madden 15, defense wins championships
It's commonly agreed that Richard Sherman is the best cornerback in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks player was voted by fans as the star of Madden NFL 15 late last week, making him one of a few rare exceptions in a long line of offensive players like quarterbacks and running backs to grace the game's cover. He also may wind up being one of the most fitting cover stars. Madden is typically an offensive player's game. The football sim traditionally favors bold spins and jukes or strong-armed throws over the understated defensive player's actions, and Creative Director of Gameplay Rex Dickson knows that well. In a phone conversation with Joystiq, Dickson recalled choice quotes from fans on how playing defense in Madden was previously "boring," or that players would opt to simulate their snaps on that side of the ball.
Video preview: Crossing the thin blue line in Battlefield Hardline
Battlefield Hardline pulls players out of the military's theatre of war and puts them in the role as cops and robbers, vying for the biggest stack of cash. In Joystiq's latest video preview, Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann battles for both sides: As an officer in the world's most brutal police force (yikes) and as a criminal on the hunt for his next big score. Developed by Visceral Games – makers of the Dead Space franchise – Battlefield Hardline is coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 21. EA surprised onlookers at its E3 media briefing, announcing and launching a beta for the game on PC and PS4.
Everything in Halo: The Master Chief Collection
When the franchise shepherds at 343 Industries say they're collecting all of Master Chief's Halo games to preserve his many accomplishments on Xbox One this year, it's tempting to dress the talk down to something practical. 343's general manager, Bonnie Ross, says "it is about his past, it is about his future," but what you hear is, "Okay, Halo 5 won't be out this year, and there has to be a Halo game for Xbox One like, yesterday, so how about these old ones?" Halo: The Master Chief Collection inspires cynical thoughts at first, but from what I've seen it's one of the most comprehensive and smartly organized efforts in the realm of remakes. Here's everything you get in the package, and it all runs at 1080p, 60 frames per second, and approximately 17 covenant deaths per minute:
October 7: The Video Game Industry's $300 Day
October 7 is a popular date for the video game industry this year. In one day, five major video game releases will arrive for previous and current gen consoles and PC. While each game stands out for its genre - from sports to racing, RPG to horror - October 7 represents an expensive day for those interested in the latest titles to hit store shelves. Established franchises like 2K's NBA 2K15 arrive on that date, alongside the third game in BioWare's Dragon Age series, Inquisition. Two other games spin off from already-established sources: Creative Assembly is bringing the Alien franchise to a new genre with the horror-fueled Alien: Isolation and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series enters the next-gen action-RPG realm with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor from Monolith. The last major release of the day races in from an established developer bringing players a new franchise: Evolution's social-powered PS4 exclusive, Driveclub. With five major releases, October 7 has become the video game industry's $300 day. Will all five games stay the course, or will one or more bow out and move to a less crowded spot on the 2014 calendar?
Meet the computer that's learning to kill and the man who programmed the chaos
In Kirkland, Washington, sits a computer ready to wage war. It drains the planet's resources, amasses massive armies and prepares for world domination. "It's trying to get smarter and it is, very quickly," says the man who sits next to the computer as it calculates routes toward victory. While the warring machine sounds like something out of a James Cameron film, it's the foundation for the artificial intelligence in Planetary Annihilation, the Kickstarted real-time strategy game from developer Uber Entertainment. That doesn't make it any less terrifying.
Super Smash Bros community battles for respect at E3
The announcement of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Wii U invitational – an "homage to the Smash Bros community" – is maybe the closest thing Nintendo fans will get to a sequel to the 1989 Fred Savage vehicle, The Wizard. Like the film, Nintendo's tournament gives video game fanatics a chance to be among the first to ever play an unreleased game for prizes and bragging rights. Nintendo's tournament, which will take place during the week of E3 on June 10 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, further extends an olive branch from the company to fans. In 2013, the company requested the gaming tournament competition EVO pull Super Smash Bros. Melee from its streaming roster before quickly recanting that request after a fan uprising on social media channels. Nintendo and EVO have since announced Smash Bros. will be a featured franchise during its 2014 competition. In a subsequent announcement to the new tournament, Nintendo revealed the roster of Smash players that had been invited to the tournament, which has surprised those deeply entrenched in the franchise's fighting game community.
How guerrilla warfare works in Homefront: The Revolution
Not too long after Crytek UK began working on a sequel to Homefront, the developer started to get worried. Studio closures at THQ, rumors of the publisher's financial strain and whispers of the entire organization's dissolution overtook any news surrounding the company and its projects, including a follow-up to the commercially viable but critically lukewarm shooter by Kaos Studios. By the end of January 2013, THQ was dead, its properties scattered throughout the industry. But Crytek's management team belayed its developer's fears. Crytek emerged from the fire sale that ensued after THQ's demise half-a-million dollars lighter in the wallet, but owners of the Homefront franchise. Now, alongside co-publishing partner Deep Silver, Crytek finally feels at ease and sees the opportunity to create the Homefront game it always wanted to make.
Why you can't visit Soldier Field in Watch Dogs
In March, playing a preview build of Watch Dogs in Montreal, I found myself fixated on one word: Soda. In one of the random missions available to me, I spotted the word brandished on the front of a vending machine deep within a building that protagonist Aiden Pearce was assigned to invade. Something about it felt wrong. There are generally two recognized generic terms for carbonated beverages throughout North America: Soda and pop. (Texas calls everything Coke.) Based on a study by a German linguistics and philology major from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008, Illinois is primarily "pop" territory. Though Ubisoft Montreal did not set out to create a carbon copy of Chicago for its Watch Dogs setting, the developer says it worked hard to ensure the experience was authentic to its real life setting. Regional language, Watch Dogs lead writer Kevin Shortt says, was something the developer knew it had to get right. Soda would become pop. Characters would no longer say "waterfront" as it was originally written, but rather use the local colloquialism "lakefront." While Ubisoft's version of Chicago isn't a reproduction of reality, the developer feels it has captured the essence of the city's strong cultural signature, despite being forced to bend a number elements to conform to its design and budget. There's more to building a recognizable city than just getting the skyline right, as it turns out.
Video preview: Taking a blood bath in The Evil Within
The above video preview potentially contains minor spoilers for The Evil Within. Watch at your own risk. In the underbelly of a rotting asylum, a generally unremarkable corridor shifts through the fabric of reality. Unfortunately, I'm in that corridor. So I look back for companions that were there a second ago but now are gone without trace. I realize I've no choice except to forge on, but when I do reality changes again, and I'm the other side of a door I didn't open. Mere seconds later, I'm wading through a basement that's literally overflowing with blood and guts. A minute after that a hooded spirit appears, opens his arms wide, and melts into a thousand little red spheres that slither into the crimson lake and awaken a small undead army. As the zombies advance on me in this swimming pool from hell, I try to reflect on how I got here. Wasn't it only a few minutes ago that I was leisurely exploring the grounds, gunning down the odd zombie here and there? How had that light stroll transformed into the river Styx so quickly?
Video preview: Strategic use of a flare gun in The Order: 1886
After delivering a set of solid God of War PSP titles, developer Ready At Dawn is poised to unleash its first new intellectual property on the world. Set in an alt-history Victorian London filled with half-breed humans and monsters, naturally, The Order: 1886 spins a new yarn featuring King Arthur's Knights of the Round. While the game features a standard arsenal, it was the strategic use of a weapon that fired a cloud of thermite that we found the most invigorating. Painting a target with the flammable cloud and firing a flare into the dust made for some satisfying explosions of fire, raining terror onto Sir Galahad's enemies. Originally scheduled to arrive this fall, The Order: 1886 is now expected to launch for the PlayStation 4 sometime in 2015.
Watch Dogs Review: A Wizard Did It
The advanced technology in Watch Dogs is not just indistinguishable from magic – it IS magic. The game would have you believe you're the world's most powerful hacker, bending surveillance cameras, traffic control and all manner of personal electronics to your one-touch whims. But in this paranoid vision of the future, in which every mundane device is grafted to the same computerized skeleton, the right software might as well be an all-powerful wand. Wouldn't you like to be the wizard?
Video preview: Socialized racing in PS4's Driveclub
After deciding to go a few more laps to ensure its social features functioned as envisioned, Evolution Studios is ready to unleash its delayed PS4-exclusive racer Driveclub onto the world. Launching on October 7 in North America, the racing game finds its place between the hardcore simulation style of a Gran Turismo and the arcade action of a Need for Speed. In our video preview, we discuss the game's look and tactility, marvelous sound design, microtransaction concerns and where the game's PS Plus version fits into the mix.
Meet the new monster hunters of Evolve
The snarling villain of Evolve, an enormous monster that attempts to thwart and smash four hunters trying to turn him into a trophy, isn't going to like this. The four-versus-one shooter is getting a new set of hunters, each one lugging unique weapons to match the monster's ferocious power and bring him down by the end of the match.
Why a TV star gave up acting and wrote a book about Earthbound
From 2008 to 2013, Ken Baumann played the role of Ben Boykewich on ABC Family's drama series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The Texas native also guest-starred on shows like Castle and Eli Stone, and appeared in several feature and TV films. At 24 years of age, Baumann recounts his upbringing and familial relationships – along with tidbits about acting, struggles with illness, and more – in his new book, Earthbound. Yes, that Earthbound – Nintendo's Earthbound (known in its native Japan as Mother 2), released for Super Nintendo in 1995. Baumann's book Earthbound is the first entry in the Boss Fight Books series, which profiles games of personal significance to each author, with Galaga, Jagged Alliance 2, and others on the way. Baumann's Earthbound is as much an exploration of the creation, content, and legacy of the role-playing classic as it is a self-reflective deep dive into the author's own psyche and past – so much so that it's difficult at times to tell where one half of the narrative ends and the other picks back up. That's because, as Baumann explains, he can't separate his own story and that of the game.
The untold history of Godzilla
A new Godzilla movie has arrived, ready to terrorize moviegoers (and Bryan Cranston). The King of the Monsters has a long history in cinema, but he's also no stranger to video games. The giant lizard is tailor-made for video games, really. He's adept at smashing buildings and fighting monsters, he's got atomic breath and, perhaps most importantly, he's a giant lizard. Godzilla's a superstar, alright, but we wanted to celebrate the unsung heroes of any encounter with the mighty Gojira: the city municipal workers. After all, someone has to deal with Godzilla's mess, right?
Video preview: Sunset Overdrive grinds out its own rules
In the chaotic world of Sunset Overdrive there are virtually no rules: Realistic physics are merely a suggestion, weapon designs were likely first scrawled in a composition notebook by a madman, and returning to the battlefield after death is a mashup of nostalgia and insanity. All of these are positive points. Insomniac's Xbox One-exclusive third-person shooter is set to launch this fall. For a more detailed look at the game, make sure you read Joystiq Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann's preview. To see the game in action, watch Joystiq's video preview above, lovingly crafted with as much irreverence as the upcoming Microsoft-published title. [Image: Insomniac]
How to make an entrance in Sunset Overdrive
Respawning after death is a given in many video games across genres, but never has a game seemed to have so much fun with the idea. In Sunset Overdrive, the upcoming Xbox One exclusive from developer Insomniac Games, your character returns to the action by way of spaceship, Bill & Ted homage, magical sarcophagus and more. Check out a few examples of in-game respawn animations – in hypnotic GIF form! – after the break.
What our moms think about video games
On Sunday, moms, mothers, mums and at least one half of the pop group responsible for California Dreamin' will be celebrated for Mother's Day. Since our moms taught us everything we know (or so they tell us, anyway) the Joystiq staff wanted to celebrate by asking them what they thought about the industry, whether or not they partake in the favorite hobby of their sons and daughters and quiz them about what it is their children do for a living. From all of us at Joystiq, we wish all moms a very happy mother's day!
