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Nihilistic becomes nStigate, steps away from retail game development
Black Ops: Declassified and Resistance: Burning Skies developer Nihilistic Software is reorganizing and reforming, with a focus on moving from retail game development towards downloadable, online, and mobile markets. The California-based company today announced it's renaming itself as nStigate following a reorganization that won't see any "planned layoffs," but will see its staff base shrink across the coming months.Founded in 1998, Nihilistic debuted two years later with the macabre RPG Vampire: The Masquerade. The studio more recently came into prominence on PlayStation Vita, releasing Burning Skies and being hired by Activision to develop Call of Duty for Sony's new handheld. Black Ops: Declassified releases next month and Nihilistic assured gamers on Twitter the coming transition won't affect any current projects.[Thanks, Ethan]
Sony: 'No definitive plans' for Resistance series, no games currently in the works
The folks who created the Resistance series, Insomniac Games, are no longer working on it. This much we know. But what of Sony? The Japanese publishing giant owns the intellectual property rights to the Resistance series – as evidenced by the recent release of Resistance: Burning Skies on Vita, developed by Nihilistic – but is it planning on any more series entries? "We have no definitive plans," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe producer Daniel Brooke said in a recent interview.That isn't to say the series is done, of course. Brooke's full answer was, "The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on, but as for the future we have no definitive plans," which sounds an awful lot more couched to us than straight up saying the series is done with. Considering Sony's five games deep on the franchise and the latest entry was billed as a sell-point for the Vita, we're not counting out Resistance just yet. After all, those Chimera are awfully dexterous.
Resistance - Burning Skies review: Hot air
Sony hears you, loud and clear. You want to play a proper first-person shooter on the go, with real controls and everything – none of that virtual thumbpad shit. Well, Resistance: Burning Skies is certainly that. It's a recognizable part of Sony's sci-fi franchise, which sees 20th-century history diverted and converted by a snarling platoon of alien origin, and it counts as a traditional shooter that takes advantage of the Vita's twin directional sticks. Consider those goals dutifully met yet not exceeded, and realize that Nihilistic's spin-off is worth discussing only for that context, not its content.Burning Skies is supposed to represent the worst day in a New York fireman's life, but its gauntlet of peril barely registers as lukewarm. As Tom Riley, you join the military's panicked push back against the Chimeran invasion, and eventually juggle an entire wheel's worth of alien weaponry. Firing them doesn't convey much kick or fury, and the impeccable presentation and orchestrated encounters of Resistance 3 are missing here, but at least the franchise's playful variety in offense is preserved.Moving and aiming with the Vita's shallow sticks takes some practice and finesse (and a few trips to the options screen), but soon enough you'll find that headshots are well within reach. However, the lack of fine-tuning via the accelerometer, used to great effect in Uncharted: Golden Abyss, is odd – especially when considered alongside some of the other Vita gimmicks you have to caress and couldn't care less about.
PSN Tuesday: Resistance: Burning Skies, Gravity Rush demo, Rayman Origins
We hope you've kept your Vitas charged, because this week, there's stuff you can do with it. Resistance: Burning Skies is available on PSN, as is the demo for Gravity Rush. Try it and see what we were talking about!Speaking of excellent games, Rayman Origins is now available digitally on PS3 for $29.99. It's joined by the PS2 party game Rayman Arena, which is ... maybe not quite the classic Origins is. See everything that's out today on the PlayStation Blog.
Resistance: Burning Skies has a disease for your Vita
When Resistance: Burning Skies arrives later this year on the PlayStation Vita, it brings with it a virulent infection. Moreover, said infection passes easily via the Vita's Near functionality, as explained in a recent interview featured on the US PlayStation Blog.
Resistance: Burning Skies trailer shows off multiplayer
The Chimera's out of the bag now, so enjoy this Resistance: Burning Skies trailer showing off some of the features in what looks to be a comprehensive multiplayer offering.
Resistance: Burning Skies multiplayer page revealed, removed
What's that, PlayStation Vita owner? You want to know more about multiplayer in Resistance: Burning Skies? Unfortunately, it seems that Sony isn't ready to share that info quite yet. After updating its game page with scant details on the game mode – Wi-fi-based "8-player online multiplayer across six unique maps and three modes" – Sony later removed said info.Presumably the details were meant for a coordinated marketing push ahead of the game's May 29 launch date, but, uh, well, here they are! We've reached out to Sony for more info, but don't expect to hear much until the stars align (and Sony is good and ready to say its piece).[Thanks, Knives Chau!]
Resistance: Burning Skies trailer pulls out the big guns
New York City fireman Tom Riley has plenty of weapons at his disposal in Resistance: Burning Skies, which launches on the PlayStation Vita on May 29.
Resistance: Burning Skies on PS Vita May 29
What better way to compliment your seasonal barbecues than with some nicely roasted Chimera? Nihilistic Software's Resistance spin-off, Resistance: Burning Skies, is gearing up for an early summer launch on PlayStation Vita. May 29 marks the fifth coming of the Chimera in New York City.Resistance: Burning Skies takes place during the fictional Chimera invasion of the American eastern seaboard back in 1951. Players assume the role of Tom Riley, an everyday firefighter from New Jersey. We got to check out the game back at E3 -- check out our preview for more.
Defend George Washington's good name in new Resistance: Burning Skies clip
Beyond associating New York City's George Washington Bridge with exorbitant toll fees and the inanity of driving in Manhattan, we can't think of the bridge without respectfully recalling our country's first president. Well, that and the Chimera's first East Coast push into the US, obviously.
Resistance: Burning Skies screens get down and dirty on Vita
These screens out of the Sony EU preview event show off the gritty, gun-toting graphics of Resistance: Burning Skies on Vita -- and we do mean gritty. And gun-toting. Otherwise we wouldn't have said it. There really are graphics, too.
Sony's Yoshida 'very aware' of how much we hate firmware updates
"I agree, it's very annoying when you only have one hour in your busy life to play a game, and when you have to spend 30 minutes out of that one hour to update the hardware." Shuhei Yoshida gets it. Speaking to Game Informer, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios concurs that both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable have made an intrusive habit out of firmware updates. And though the upcoming Vita "will be fortified" with regards to security, Yoshida hopes that updates will be reduced in footprint, if not in frequency. "So it's not necessarily the frequency of how we update, it's like you said – intrusiveness - of the current processes that we have on PS3 and PSP," says Yoshida. "I cannot talk about specific plans, but we are very aware of the issues, and we'd like to address those issues on PS Vita going forward." In the same interview, Yoshida elaborates on other lessons learned from the PSP's lifespan. Consistent, post-launch software support is crucial, he says, as is more distinct separation between portable games with console-level production values, and regular PlayStation 3 titles. "We had many products on PSP, but most of these games like God of War [Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta] came from the console. Basically, you can play a bigger, better version of these titles on PS3." Yoshida says Vita games must leverage traits unique to the portable system, so as not to simply reproduce franchises (including Uncharted and Resistance) that can be found in superior format on console. So, are touchscreen and tilt controls really enough to distinguish a game like Golden Abyss? Sony knows this is the kind of game you like to play; it just needs to convince you that it's the kind you also want to play on the Vita.
Resistance: Burning Skies preview: One axe, two sticks
Resistance: Burning Skies protagonist Tom Riley is having a rough day. He awakes at Ellis Island to find himself alone in a stretcher, an IV still embedded in his forearm, while a massive alien attack wages on all around him. Other than his handy fire axe and helmet, Riley's ill-equipped to take on enemies, nonetheless a swarm of Chimera who are hellbent on recovering their stolen technology from the human resistance. But this is a game, after all, so I pilot Tom towards the nearest exit -- a planked up doorway which looks ripe for the axing. Success! I couldn't help but notice in my exploration of Resistance: Burning Skies' opening room that the game looks much improved over the series' previous portable spinoff on PSP. Textures are more detailed, colors are more varied, and environmental effects actually exist. While the game is certainly early (Chimeran faces resemble little more than goofy flat paper masks at the moment), it showed a lot of promise. And maybe more importantly, it demonstrated to me that the PlayStation Vita's twin analog sticks are more than sufficient at delivering shooters on the portable.%Gallery-130818%
Resistance: Burning Skies set to engulf PlayStation Vita
Sony has announced at its Gamescom 2011 press conference details about Nihilistic's Resistance entry on the PlayStation Vita. Subtitled Burning Skies, the title (which serves as an immediate prequel to Resistance 2) casts you in the role of Tom Riley, a fireman who watches the destruction of the United States from ground zero. That task is made a lot more palatable thanks to Riley's proclivity for toting a wieldable fire axe at all times. We guess it's fortunate he decided to take his work home with him! A brief demo showed off familiar Resistance action, with a few neat uses of the Vita's touchscreen -- for instance, some weapons' alternate fire modes are controlled with a single touch. That sounds like the kind of power we can get drunk off of.
Resistance NGP being developed by Nihilistic, isn't a port
Insomniac Games, creator of the alternate-history FPS Resistance for PS3, tweeted its congratulations to Nihilistic Software, the apparent developer of the series' NGP incarnation (which was revealed in a promo reel of in-development games for the handheld during PlayStation Meeting 2011). Insomniac confirmed in a followup tweet that the title would be a "brand new Resistance game. Not a port." While Insomniac has handled all of the Resistance console iterations, including this September's Resistance 3, the well-recieved 2009 PSP spinoff, Resistance: Retribution, was developed by Sony Bend. With Bend currently linked to the Uncharted NGP game, however, it seems Nihilistic got the call to carry on the Resistance for the PSP successor. Little else is known about the title, aside from what can be inferred from the brief clip (pictured) in the promo reel -- which does seem to indicate that, unlike Retribution (a third-person shooter), Resistance NGP will be a first-person shooter. Nihilistic is perhaps most (infamously) known for being the original developer of the failed StarCraft: Ghost project, before going on to complete Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (EA), Conan (THQ) and the downloadable Zombie Apocalypse (Konami). The studio is currently finishing up PlayStation Move Heroes, published by Sony. [Thanks, Brian]
Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, LBP ... and Little Deviants among 'NGP' games in development
Sony's bringing out its biggest guns for its new little game machine, the device currently known as "NGP." A slide revealed franchises currently in development for the newly announced handheld, including familiar names like Hot Shots Golf, LittleBigPlanet, WipEout, Killzone, Resistance, and PS3 showpiece Uncharted. Sony's Shuhei Yoshida showed off the Uncharted game, and revealed some controls new to the series: you can touch the screen (or press X) to jump, swing the NGP back and forth to swing on vines, and climb using the device's rear touch panel "as if you're climbing a vine with both hands."The new IPs sound a bit more, um, eclectic: Gravity Daze, Reality Fighters (an augmented reality title), Smart As, Broken, and the delightful-sounding Little Deviants. Update: PlayStation Blog confirms the complete list of game franchises noted at PlayStation Meeting 2011 with NGP iterations in development: Call of Duty Broken Gravity Daze Hot Shots Golf Hustle Kings Killzone LittleBigPlanet Little Deviants Reality Fighters Resistance Smart As Uncharted WipEout
