New "Grand Theft Auto V" Gameplay Trailer

Amidst the turmoil, three very different criminals plot their own chances of survival and success: Franklin, a street hustler looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con whose retirement is a lot less rosy than he hoped it would be; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and the next big score. Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life.

MACHINIMA

LEGO Batman 2 Review or Why is every LEGO game filled with bugs?

With all the recent talk about how Superman deserves his own game on the level of the recent Batman games, I thought this would be fun to share.  I wrote this review a while back, when the game was first released.  Sadly, we are still waiting for that great next-generation Superman game.

Here’s the thing about Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes; it’s broken.  Travellers Tales have released a game with so many glitches and bugs, that it’s hard for me to say with a straight face that this is one for my collection.

To be honest, my expectations weren’t that high, as I’ve played previous Lego games before and I knew the gist of what I was getting.  However, the ability to finally fly as Superman in a current generation game is what pulled me in.  I rate the game probably a little higher than it deserves based on this alone.  Flying with Supes, whether it be in the story mode, or in the open-world Gotham City, which acts as a hub between levels, is a lot of fun.  The controls are easy to master and there is no need to switch suits every ten seconds like is necessary with nearly every other character in the game.  I know that needing different suits to be able to pull off different abilities is a big selling point for these games, but I’ve always found it tedious.  

The flying is also a welcome change from the very sensitive driving controls.  Yes, being able to drive the Batmobile is a cool inclusion, but what is the point when it’s no fun to do so?  That said, I do love how the game resembles Tim Burton’s Gotham.  I’ve always had a soft spot for those films and being able to hear Danny Elfman’s theme as I run around Gotham is very cool.  When it comes to being Batman in the game though, I don’t find it very fun.  It’s “walk over here, hit this switch, zip up here, change into this suit to solve this puzzle.”  Rinse and repeat.  Again, I know that is the same core mechanic that has been a part of every Lego game since the first.  I’d just like to see some evolution in the gameplay.

Also, I should mention that there are a myriad of other characters to unlock within the game, including Green Lantern, The Flash and Wonder Woman as well as every villain you can think of.  It’s a cool inclusion, but many will not unlock until after you’ve beaten the game.  Just a word of warning to anyone hoping to play as Superman, Green Lantern etc right out of the box..

At the end of the day though, I am not the game’s core demographic.  If it wasn’t for the ability to fly as Superman, use his freeze breath and heat vision, and hear the John Williams Superman theme every time I take to the skies, (the best part of the game in my opinion), I wouldn’t have bought it in the first place.  If you enjoy the original Superman or Batman films and can look past obvious gameplay glitches, pick this up.  There is a fun game here, it just get’s bogged down by Mr. Freeze and his henchmen every now and again.  Let’s hope there’s a patch incoming to fix these issues, but I’m not holding my super breath.  

Review: The Last of Us

Now, I know the words "cinematic" and "perfect" and "visceral" get thrown around a lot when describing AAA Games, and especially this one. I'm not getting into spoilers; but the last of us is not the "CITIZEN KANE" of gaming. I'd compare The Last of Us to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE of gaming.
I say WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE; because The Last of Us is so heavy and so beautiful that I never want to play it again.

It's an emotional experience unlike almost anything I've ever felt. The characters are so real, so flawed, so painfully human, that from the game's gut-wrenching opening to it's haunting ending, you truly feel like these are real people. Not ones written on the page or animated.

Troy Baker, who recently starred in Bioshock: Infinite as Booker DeWitt, gives the performance of his career so far; as does Ellen Paige Ashley Johnson who steals the game as Ellie, the young girl you escort across the country. 

The game-play is tight and weighty. The guns pop, the punches connect, and the brutality is a sickening mix of satisfaction and duty- all stemming from an emotional core of the game, which is survival and protection. The "crafting" system does not feeling gimmicky or like it's forcing you to level up, you can go the entire game without doing it; but the upgrades are easy to craft and the item making system is superb. I found myself often in the heat of battle or trying to stay quiet around a group of enemies; trying to thoroughly plan out attacks and decide if I should use my items on a health-kit; or make a cock-tail bomb. To craft a shiv to silently kill my foes; or create a nail-bomb to take them out at once.

The environments are jaw-dropping and beautiful, while also haunting and deeply sad in a way you have to experience. More often than once, I'd find myself slowly walking through the world, crushed by the weight and depression of the fact these were once homes and offices, buildings that people worked and had lives in. Suitcases still on the floors, bags packed, rotting corpses hang from cars on the highway, and I just sat there imagining all of this calamity during the evacuations. Never has a world so "empty" and desolate of life felt so very alive and breathing.
An atmosphere so heavy and choking I had to pause the game quite a few times.

The game's only flaws are slightly odd AI at the beginning, and some slight hiccups graphically; and only happened once or twice, mainly when the AI would tell you to "be quiet" around the Clickers, the blind enemy in the game that reply on sound and will kill you instantly, and the characters literally run circles around it trying to get to cover; but if you, the player, do that then the whole swarm decends on you.
Slightly immersion breaking; but only for a minute before you're sucked back in.
These flaws, however, are mere specs of dust on a priceless work of art.

The Last of Us is the PlayStation 3's swan-song, and it is the most beautiful melody I have ever heard.
It is a game that leaves you a hollow shell; and all you can do is think of how bittersweet and gorgeous what you just experienced was.

E3 2013 Reveals Pricing for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo captured the attention of media experts, gamers, and average joes all-over as it kicked off today, giving us glimpses of upcoming titles like "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain", "Halo", "Kingdom Hearts 3", "Destiny", "TITANFALL", "Star Wars: Battlefront", and "Mirror's Edge 2"

Behind all the big game announcements from Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, and EA, prices were revealed for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, making sure people readied their wallets for holiday 2K13. 

Microsoft's Xbox One will launch for $499, while Sony unveiled later on last night that the PlayStation 4 would launch for $399.
Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton also dropped a bombshell on the audience, letting them know that they would not be restricting players with DRM, constant internet connections, and doing away with used games.

Along with that, Tretton also showed off what the PlayStation 4 would look like.

New Trailer for "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2"

At today's Konami Pre-E3 conference, a new trailer for "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2" was released. The game is a direct sequel to 2010's Castlevania reboot. "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow".

"Lords of Shadow 2" takes place in an open-world setting, and will also take place both in Dracula's castle, and a modern city. Enric Alvarez of Mercury Games also described "Lords of Shadow 2" to be much darker, and "almost cruel", saying the plot will be defined by it's intense and contradictory feelings. 

"Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2" is set for a Winter release.

Just In Time For D-Day AND E3, New "WOLFENSTEIN: The New Order" Trailer

The people over at Bethesda Softworks have unveiled a new trailer for the newest installment in the first-person shooter franchise that started back in '81.

This trailer shows exactly what happened in this dark alternate future where the Nazis won WWII...

As a huge fan of alternate history (and a huge fan of the Wolfenstein franchise), "Wolfenstein: The New Order" is looking to be a real treat. 

The New Order is set in 1960 after the Nazis won World War II. Gamers play as the familiar American war hero B.J. Blazkowicz and are tasked with launching an "impossible counter-offensive" against the Nazi powers that have taken over the world.

Set in Europe, The New Order will have players infiltrating Nazi strongholds and battling legions of enemies, while taking control of "super weapons" that the Nazis have used to dominate earth--"and beyond," Bethesda teased.

Arkham Origins Full Trailer

Developed by  Warner Bros. Games Montreal, Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline occurring several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City's most dangerous villains and assassins, the game showcases a young, raw, unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, witness identities being formed and key relationships being forged.

Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for the Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on October 25, 2013.

Cover Art For Activison's Deadpool

Developed by High Moon Studios and written by Daniel Way; arriving June 25 for or PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, Deadpool is a third-person shooter in which the character — like his comic-book counterpart — breaks the fourth wall to interact with players, in between combat focusing on guns, twin swords and an expanded arsenal that includes lasers and giant hammers.

DC Comics Edition Of Scribblenauts Unmasked

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces Scribblenauts Unmasked - A DC Comics Adventure, a new game that melds the boundless creativity of the award-winning video game franchise with thousands of DC Comics™ characters and objects across DC Comics worlds -- all drawn in the classic Scribblenauts art style. Created and developed by 5TH Cell, the game will be available for the Wii U™ system, Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system and PC in North and South America and Australia this fall.

Scribblenauts Unmasked features a story where players embark as protagonist Maxwell on an imaginative and comical quest, taking them through GOTHAM CITY™, METROPOLIS™, ATLANTIS™ and other iconic locales from the DC Comics universe. In the game, Maxwell comes to the aid of BATMAN™, SUPERMAN™ and the rest of THE JUSTICE LEAGUE™ as they face the mightiest DC Comics Super Villains, such as THE JOKER™, LEX LUTHOR™ and SINESTRO™. Fueled by the player's imagination, Maxwell must use his magic notebook to put a stop to the villains' evil schemes and save the day!

Expanding on the video game franchise's innovation, Scribblenauts Unmasked features for the first time dynamically created puzzles called Heroic Feats that increase the game's replayability by continuously generating original scenarios requiring different solutions with each visit.

 

"Scribblenauts Unmasked includes action-packed missions with fan favorite DC Comics Super Heroes adding to the players' puzzle solving experience as the beloved Maxwell," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Challenges in the game encourage broader player choices all set in well-known locations of the DC Comics universe, interacting in new and inventive ways with a wide range of popular DC Comics characters."

 

"Fans of both DC Comics and Scribblenauts can really let their imaginations run wild with the Super Hero Creator in Scribblenauts Unmasked," said Jeremiah Slaczka, C.E.O. and Creative Director of 5TH Cell. "Players will be challenged to craft new and never-before-seen characters such as Wonder Joker or Bane Lantern and use them to solve puzzles or share them with friends."

 

A new Super Hero Creator tool available on Wii U and PC elevates the game's creativity by giving players the ability to produce their own Super Hero or Super Villain using any item from the DC Comics universe and then setting properties for how it behaves, changing its appearance and powers. Players can then share their creations with the community and download others.

 

LEGO Batman: The Movie Clip Released

When Bruce Wayne receives the man of the year award, fellow billionaire Lex Luthor becomes jealous and decides to run for President. To create the atmosphere for his type of fear-based politics Lex recruits the Joker to perfect a Black LEGO Destructor Ray which wreaks havoc on Gotham. As Lex destroys Batman's tech, Batman reluctantly turns to Superman for help!

Set for release on May 21, 2013.