Gaming Today |
- Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Hands On Impressions
- F.E.A.R. 3 E3 2010 Demo Impressions
- Impressions of THQ’s E3 2010 Homefront Demo
- Killzone Trois Box Art
- Karaoke Revolution: Glee Actually Exists
- A Thought on the Move
- Dead Space 2 Eyes On Impressions
- Digging into the Playstation Plus
- Gygan File Transfer Utility Review
- Move Pricing ’round the World
- Think You Can Run Final Fantasy XIV? Well Prove it with this Benchmark Tool
| Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Hands On Impressions Posted: 17 Jun 2010 12:52 AM PDT
I visited the Bethesda booth at E3 today, and took Hunted: The Demon’s Forge for a spin. Developed by InXile Entertainment, the game is basically a souped up, co-op dungeon crawler with some pretty impressive production values. It’s not trying to invent a whole new genre, which is totally fine. HTDF (I can’t write that out more than once) is instead attempting to update the hack n’ slash games of old–like Diablo, or even Gauntlet–with a shiny new face thanks to Unreal Engine 3, and some modern action. Does it work? So far, so good. Hit the jump to find out why. You can play as either E’lara, a hot female elf specializing in ranged combat and magic, or Caddoc, a brawny warrior dude. During most of the demo, I played as E’lara. We started out in an outdoor environment, and were immediately overrun by skeletons. For ranged combat, E’lara can use her bow and arrow, and to good effect. You use LT to raise the bow and aim, and RT to fire. It only takes a couple of hits for the skeletons shatter. You can also expend some manna and charge her arrows with ice, which was pretty cool. Also, at any time you can switch E’lara’s weaponry over to a standard melee sword-and-shield combination. The Bethesda rep informed me that since E’lara is a ranged magic user, she can use melee weapons, but she cannot level up and gain new melee abilities. She can only proceed up the ranged/magic skill tree. Still, melee is a good option to have for a mage, especially if things get sticky. When E’lara switches over to magic attacks, her stance changes and her hand glows. She can emit these powerful bursts of energy that destroy skeletons pretty fast. And they should, because her mana drained pretty rapidly. When you’re out of mana, your best bet is to make your way over to a special blue bulbous plant, which replenishes your mana when you smash it open. Then you’re right back in the action. As you progress through the game, you’re bound to find potions, and also scattered weapons and armor like shields, axes and spears. I was told there is actually no inventory management in the game, so if you find something, it’s hand-to-mouth. This seemed pretty cool actually, and helped keep the pace and sense of urgency up. We made it to a character switching station, which will allow both players to swap characters if they choose. I swapped over to Caddoc and gave him a shot. Melee attacks are executed with the X and Y buttons. X is for weak combos, and Y if for strong combos. You can mash either one down to pretty good effect, or you can alternate them to string together more fluid motions. It was pretty intuitive and felt good to smash through skeletons this way. In addition to normal hack n’ slash kills, you can also trigger “executions” if timed properly. If you see a “B” button prompt come up, press it and you’ll be treated to a brutal fatality. For instance, I triggered one of Caddoc’s executions while he was carrying an ax. It was a gruesome closeup pull-in impalement. The one definite rough spot I found in the game was the running mechanic. You tap “A” to run. Oddly, if you start running, you’ll be locked running in that direction and can’t steer. This wasn’t too big of a deal though, and it’s very early. So far, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is definitely accomplishing its goal. It’s a fun, fast paced action game that looks great and will remind you of classic dungeon crawlers. It definitely has my attention, and we’ll keep you up to date with it as we hear more. Share and Enjoy:    
|
| F.E.A.R. 3 E3 2010 Demo Impressions Posted: 17 Jun 2010 12:27 AM PDT
What sort of a family has a dead brother and a mother that’s pregnant by her own son? Yours does, when you’re playing F.E.A.R. 3. You’re back in the role of Point Man, the still unnamed soldier who’s been in the franchise since its inception. If you haven’t played F.E.A.R. 2 yet, you should know that Point Man gets raped by Alma (who provided the genetic material he was created from) at the end of that game. Now Alma’s pregnant, and what she gives birth to could destroy the world. Point Man’s brother, Paxton Fettel, has returned from the dead, and he’s refusing to leave Point Man’s side. He’s even asked for help to get back to Alma, although his motive is unclear. As we started the demo, we were told that cooperative play was the focus of the development team in F.E.A.R. 3, and that’s evident in the gameplay we saw today. In the coop, one player played as Point Man, and the other as Fettel. While anyone who’s played the previous games in the series is familiar with Point Man (who retains his bullet time mechanic), Fettel is a whole new animal. You see, Paxton Fettel is dead. Now, he’s come back, and he’s got a whole array of supernatural powers. He can levitate enemies, as well as possess them. When he possesses an enemy, he takes full control of them, and can use their weapons. He also causes them to emit a red glow that can be a bit unnerving. One of the interesting coop functions is that whenever Point Man uses his bullet time, time slows for both players, not just Point Man. This led to some interesting combination of powers that allowed the pair to deal with multiple enemies with relative ease. Mechs also return from F.E.A.R. 2, and they remain just as insanely powerful as they were then. The mechs actually provided my favorite moment from the demo today, when the player was setting trees on fire to drive his enemies out of cover. Walls were blasted, many enemies were dispatched, and the mechs were eventually abandoned. F.E.A.R. 3 will also support jump-in, jump-out co-op, allowing you to join a friend who is playing singleplayer at any time, and to leave at any time. As of right now, the singleplayer version of the game only supports playing as Point Man, although there were some vague mentions of incorporating the ability to play as Fettel in the future. The problem I had with F.E.A.R. 3 is that it really didn’t feel like F.E.A.R. Much like the second game in the series, F.E.A.R. 3 is lacking the visceral suspense and surprise that the original title had. When asked how they would re-create that feeling in F.E.A.R. 3, our presenters told us that the competition between the players, as well as the points that reward players for advancing in the game, would help to provide that tension between the players. I’m not sure I buy into that, but whether or not it will work remains to be seen. After all, we’re not going to see F.E.A.R. 3 on store shelves until this fall. I’m not saying that this will be a bad game. In fact, I hope this game is excellent, as we can never get enough cooperative games. However, I don’t think that this will be a game that lives up to the high bar that the first title in the series set. However it turns out, it’s likely I’ll be playing on my couch with a buddy later this year. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Impressions of THQ’s E3 2010 Homefront Demo Posted: 16 Jun 2010 11:03 PM PDT
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if the United States was occupied by a foreign power? Kaos Studios has, and now they’re going to show you how they think that might play out. Homefront presents a very uncertain future. According to the back story, North and South Korea unified in 2012 under the leadership of Kim Jong-Il’s son, who took power when his father died. Before long, the new unified Korea has conquered Japan and a few other countries, and they launch an attack on the US. When the demo we saw began, the player was waking up from an incident that wasn’t really detailed. Now you’re part of a resistance group that is trying to preserve the American way of life. The hidden enclave where your group resides is hidden from the Koreans by burned-out buildings and camouflage netting. You head out of here to undertake a dangerous mission: attacking the Korean army at an old lumber store they have fortified. After sneaking into a good position, a white phosphorus rocket starts the attack. As you provide sniper cover, a team of your allies move in to assault the position. Everything goes well until a misfire drops a rocket on your position, knocking you from your perch. The fight continues as you gain control of the Goliath, a six wheeled attack vehicle that you direct using a pair of binoculars. Once you lock onto a target with the binoculars, the Goliath directs fire on it until it is destroyed. With the assistance of the Goliath, you rout the remaining Koreans, who retreat as you claim lumber superiority. The story of Homefront was written by John Milius, who also wrote Apocalypse Now, and wrote and directed Red Dawn. The parallels with Red Dawn are evident, with the Koreans taking the place of the Soviet Army. The contrast between the idyllic haven that your group has carved out inside the walls and the war-torn areas outside is striking, and gives the game an almost post-apocalyptic feel. While we haven’t seen a ton of information outside this demo, and we didn’t get a chance to get our hands on it at E3, I am really optimistic about Homefront. The game looks nice, and the concept is interesting. If you’re into shooters, and you like the idea of defending your homeland against occupying invaders, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on THQ’s Homefront. Stay tuned to FileFront for all the news that we can find on it. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Posted: 16 Jun 2010 04:45 PM PDT
Stay frosty, indeed, Killzone 3. I hope that pun gets used in the game. Really, though, that looks pretty cold. Being from the South, I’m not sure I want to venture into that kind of environment. Also, that “3D Game” icon reminds me of the old “3D Accelerator Required” sticker on PC games in the 90s. Those were the days, man. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Karaoke Revolution: Glee Actually Exists Posted: 16 Jun 2010 03:26 PM PDT
You’ve got regular dickin’ around mode, which is what most people will do since 97% of the time, Karaoke Revolution, and karaoke in general really, is played while drunk. There’ll be 35+ songs to sing, meaning they’re going to include as many songs as possible that were featured during Glee’s first season. But for that other 3% of the time, you’ll have story mode. In this mode you’ll sing your way through the first season, and as you sing each track, clips from that episode will play. Yay. Now, I’m sure some of you macho-ass straight dudes are scoffing at this, but let me tell you something. This game will be the easiest way ever to get an attractive lady to think positive thoughts about you. Just some food for thought. You can sing along with that hot cheerio this fall only on the Wii. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Posted: 16 Jun 2010 02:05 PM PDT
Look at the Move starter pack. In North America, it includes one Move controller, a Playstation Eye, which is absolutely required for the Move to work, and a copy of the Move-oriented Sports Champions. That package is odd, because at least one of the activities in Sports Champions, Archery, requires two move controllers to play. Nice work, Sony. On top of that, if you’re going to spend a lot of time Move-ing, you’ll also need the navigation controller. If you buy the bundle, and extra controller and the navigation controller, you’re looking at $180, more than the $150 Kinect has been rumored to cost. And that’s the minimum you’ll need to buy for a single person to get the most out of the Move. Contrast that with Kinect, which is everything you’ll ever need for as many players as each game will support. Just a thought, folks. But it’s worrisome nonetheless. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Dead Space 2 Eyes On Impressions Posted: 16 Jun 2010 01:51 PM PDT
The demo we saw started Isaac out (wearing his standard mining suit) deep within the halls of the Church of Unitology. As Isaac made his way through, he started killing necromorphs–and some new enemies–like a son ova bitch. This is when our jaws kind of hit the floor. What follows is a description of the different gameplay elements we observed. Enjoy it, and join us in sadness that Dead Space 2 won’t be out until 01/25/2010. Telekinetic Limb Killing Puker Enemy Telekinesis to Solve Puzzles Zero Gravity Gameplay Looks Way Better New Mining Suit New Enemy: The Tripod New Weapon: Impaling Arrows New Enemy: The Pack New City: The Sprawl Dead Space 2 appears to be heading in a very welcome direction: exponentially more gore, a quicker pace and some new weapons that look awesomely fun to wield. We’ll definitely keep an eye on Dead Space 2 this year. And now, I have to try and sleep and not think of a pale demon baby scrambling at me. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Digging into the Playstation Plus Posted: 16 Jun 2010 01:30 PM PDT
Yesterday we brought you the info on Playstation Plus provided at Sony’s E3 presser and the Plus website. Now we have much more to offer. The list:
Now, here’s what the US Playstation blog says about what’s coming the first month: “At launch, PlayStation Plus will offer subscribers the full PlayStation Network game WipEout HD, full game trial of inFAMOUS, PSP minis and PS One Classics such as Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies and Rally Cross, as well as premium avatars, themes and DLC levels and map packs.” There you go. Think about it long and hard. Plus goes active June 29 all over the damn world. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Gygan File Transfer Utility Review Posted: 16 Jun 2010 10:52 AM PDT
Gygan is a file transfer that advertises faster download speeds than bittorrent, IRC or P2P. The program recently entered beta and we had a chance to give it a spin and see if it measured up too the claim. Gygan is a Windows based thin client that features search as well as upload functionality. The service uses a premium pricing scheme which determines the size of the data per month you can download through the service. Free or paid users however have unlimited bandwidth for uploading to Gygan while downloads are capped at 4GB per month for the free side and those who subscribe to the service for $5 a month gain an additional 6GB of capacity – up to 10GB a month. The application supports upload of any type of file and files of apparently any size. I tested the application using a free trial copy. The client itself is fairly lightweight and while it was running int he background under Windows 7 it did not take up an appreciable amount of system resources even while downloading multiple files. Once I had the program installed I noticed that there was a search feature so I typed in a subject at random and Gygan displayed a number of results.
Uploading files into the Gygan network is simple using the client. Simply clicking on upload files I could then drag the files I wanted to publicly post into the window on the client, fill out some information and then I simply told the program to execute and I watched as the file populated to Gygan. A typical green progress bar told me how progress was going and in about 1:50 I had uploaded a 60MB Photoshop file. Once the file was uploaded to the network Gygan displayed it in my “uploaded files” for quick recall and offered a link button so I could copy the text to my clipboard and point others to it quickly. Uploading to Gygan was pretty smooth and simple compared to some of the other clients I’ve used and the prominent link button is a nice feature as well.
Obviously Gygan is just another tool and is not encouraging illegal behavior but that fact aside it does work very well as a method of sharing large files with others. I am likely to use Gygan with my raw podcast audio and video in the future and its a good way to bundle and share home-made videos and images that you don’t necessarily want in the public space. I’m not sure I’d use it enough to buy the subscription service but the monthly charge is reasonable for 10GB of downloads. PROS:
CONS:
Verdict: Use It!Share and Enjoy:
|
| Posted: 16 Jun 2010 10:32 AM PDT
In Europe, the Move controller will cost €39.99, and in the UK, Amazon has it listed at 39.99(the EU Playstation blog doesn’t say what the price in pounds will be for any of this). The navigation controller, then, will cost 2,980 yen, €29.99 in Europe and 29.99 in the UK. The Move “starter pack,” which includes the Move controller, the Playstation Eye and a game (a “starter disc” in Europe and something tentatively titled “Sing and Draw” in Japan) will run you: €59.99 in Europe and 5,980 yen in Japan. The UK pricing for the starter pack is tricky. Play.com has it listed at 49.99, but Amazon says it’s 59.99 (Thanks, gamesindustry.biz). And those peripherals? The charge stand and fake gun will come in at: €29.99 and €14.99, respectively, in Europe; 2,480 and 1,480 yen, respectively, in Japan; and, according to Amazon, 29.99 and 14.99, respectively, in the UK. Whew, that was tiring. The Playstation Move and all that other stuff will be released on September 15 in Europe, September 19 in North America and October 21 in Japan. Share and Enjoy:
|
| Think You Can Run Final Fantasy XIV? Well Prove it with this Benchmark Tool Posted: 16 Jun 2010 07:28 AM PDT
Measuring your system and getting a nice little look at some of the races and locations of the upcoming game combine thanks to the Final Fantasy XIV Official Benchmark tool. Players can download the 178MB archive, unzip it, choose a character and some basic settings like screen resolution and language then sit back and watch the movie as the tool analyzes your system for compatibility and performance. Share and Enjoy:
|
Hey, can you believe this? At E3, Konami showed off Karaoke Revolution: Glee, and everybody was, well, gleeful about it. Yeah, yeah, 
This is one of those posts in which I just bitch, so I’ll keep it short. We’ve gone over the price of the Playstation Move in a couple posts now, and I initially thought the Move had a decent-enough price point. But I was wrong. Very, very, very wrong. After actually thinking about it, I remembered that not-so-expensive things can end up being expensive if you have to buy a lot of them.
We had a chance to see a behind-closed-doors presentation of Dead Space 2 at E3 today. It blew our faces off. It is faster, thrashier even. Hit the jump for a few details on new weapons, enemies and our jaw-dropped reactions.
Man, this Playstation Plus thing is confusing, right? Well, be confused no more, because right here you’ll find the full rundown, with all the details we know about it so far, on how the PSN’s new premium service will work in North America, Europe and Asia.
We know how much the Move and its bundles 
| You are subscribed to email updates from Gaming Today To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Gaming Today Part 1
Gaming Today Part 1
Gaming Today Part 1
Tags: Gaming Today, Gaming Today watch online, full Gaming Today video, Gaming Today download, Gaming Today torrent, free Gaming Today, Gaming Today megavideo, Gaming Today full, Gaming Today eng sub
0 comments:
Post a Comment