- Culture
From Sci-Fi’s Future to Japan’s Past
Mitchell Mohrhauser works as an artist at CCP, the developers of EVE Online and the upcoming Dust 514. Which means, yeah, there’ll be art from their dark sci-fi future in this gallery, but also other stuff of a more bright and cheerful nature. Well, maybe just bright. Men with guns, samurai and epic sci-fi vistas…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Your Ass-Kicking Guide to Getting a Job in the Video Game Business
Indie dev Martin Nerurkar wants to help you get your dream job in the video games business. And he’s helping by giving you a brutal dose of reality. Not everybody can, or should, be a producer, concept artist, creative designer or lead programmer. Sometimes, you just need to settle for what’s most suitable for you.…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Either Fix E3, or Kill E3
You hear it every year. OH THIS IS THE WORST E3 EVER. I usually have a little laugh to myself whenever I hear it because it’s usually said by people who can’t remember the last five minutes, let alone the last five years. But this year it’s being said a little more often, and a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedHitman Devs Sorry About Stupid Hitman Trailer
Hitman’s E3 trailer, which showed a squad of sexy ladies dressed as nuns being slowly and methodically beaten to a pulp, created a bit of stir. So much so that the developers of the game, IO Interactive, have apologised for its content. “We’re sorry that we offended people – that was truly not the intention…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedE3 is About Interesting Little PC Games Too, You Know
A Game of Dwarves is one of the more interesting PC games on my radar at the moment, mostly because it promises to be a little bit Majesty and a little bit Dwarf Fortress. Only a lot easier to play. The game’s E3 trailer is a little light on gameplay, but there’s enough of it…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Can a Video Game Accessory Teach You Not to Bite Your Friends?
As a father of a pair of twin boys addicted to musical television shows, I’m not sure the prospect of a Nintendo DS / iPhone dock alarm clock containing 30 songs from the hit children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba is a blessing or a curse. Nyko was showing off this colorful machine at their E3…
By Mike Fahey Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Amazon Knows What This Year’s E3 Was All About: Bows, and Helicopters
In case you hadn’t pieced it together, this year’s E3 had a theme. And that theme was “Bows and Helicopters”. Everywhere you looked, someone was shooting a bow, either at a helicopter or in a helicopter. And if there weren’t the two of them together, then every game had to at least feature one of…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
A One-on-One Thrashing Reveals the Helpful Teammates of FIFA 13
David Rutter, the executive producer of the highly acclaimed FIFA series for EA Sports, sought me out after a closed-doors briefing and without giving me a chance to explain how terrible I am at his game, picked up a DualShock, handed me the other, and started the game. And he took Barçelona, too, the club…
By Owen Good Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Last Of Us Dev Becomes Unwitting E3 Meme Hero
When Naughty Dog’s Bruce Straley took to the stage during Sony’s E3 press conference, he was lit up like a boss (see above). Like he was doing his best impression of the cover art for Black Ops His colleagues at the Uncharted and Last of Us developers thought it was hilarious, so much so that…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
There is Another Xbox 360-Inspired Wii U Controller
When I first saw Nintendo’s official Xbox 360-ish Pro controller I thought, “You know, I would probably like this better if it featured the same controller layout as the 360 one.” Apparently Mad Catz feels the same way. This is the FPSPro, a third party Wii U controller developed completely independently of Nintendo. In fact,…
By Mike Fahey Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Activision Might be For Sale
According to a report on BLoomberg, media giant Vivendi – which owns Activision Blizzard – is going to meet soon to decide whether to offload the publishing powerhouse. With a market value of around $13 billion, Vivendi’s top brass will mull whether to sell the company, sell part of the company or simply leave things…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Survive The Last of Us By Smashing People’s Faces In With Bricks
In the world of The Last of Us, where power grids are down and vine-covered, broken buildings are all that remind us of a once thriving civilization, ruthlessness is what prevails But as nature spills over cement, you can see beauty in the world. “It all looked lovely and managed to be gentle and brutal…
By Tina Amini Published June 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedBeyond: Two Souls is Basically Heavy Rain Meets Ghost Trick
After seeing a lengthy demo of a level from David Cage’s new game Beyond: Two Souls, that headline is more or less the best way I can describe it: The somber, occasionally stilted tone and QTE-style controls of Heavy Rain coupled with the non-corporeal hijinks of Ghost Trick. Starring Ellen Page. All things considered, that’s…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Remembering the Fallen, and the Decisions for Which They Died, in XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown reintroduces itself immediately with very familiar themes of sacrifice. In the first mission, a tutorial, I lost three squad members, and there seemed to be no way to avoid it. The game, I think, was conditioning me not so much to accept death, but to accept that it is on the table…
By Owen Good Published June 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedNintendo’s Most Important Game of 2012
The most important game for Nintendo this year is Nintendo Land. It is the launch title for the Wii U, which is perhaps the riskiest console Nintendo has ever created—yes, riskier even than the Wii. Where the Wii was built around the simple, pure idea of accessible motion-control gaming, The Wii U is designed to…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
You Can Play Warface With Russian Players Right Now, But You Might Get Slaughtered
Crytek’s near-future military shooter for the PC, Warface, is currently live in Russia, with a closed beta in China. But the game plays differently in both regions. Localization is not an unfamiliar concept. At its most basic that means the interface and dialogue/speech have to be translated so players understand what’s going on. But the…
By Tina Amini Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Why Those DMC Weapons Still Have Names
So, Capcom has been adamant about the fact that DMC is a re-imagining of their Devil May Cry mythos. That means Dante looks different, drops the F-bomb a whole lot more and adventures through a different landscape, even if the game plays very similarly to the titles of the past Why, then, do some of…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis Nutty Wii U Exclusive Blends Pixar With Pikmin
Here’s some gameplay from the new Wii U game by development studio Platinum Games, currently titled “Project P100” (although that will likely change). There’s some Pikmin in here, and a little bit of Platinum’s Bayonetta, and the whole thing looks like a Pixar movie. Check it out! (Video filmed and edited by our very own…
By Jason Schreier Published June 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Skyrim‘s Massive Dawnguard Sounds Like a Proper Old-School RPG Expansion
Yesterday at E3, I spent some time playing Skyrim‘s first big downloadable add-on, Dawnguard. Between my time with the game and my subsequent conversation with game director Todd Howard, I came away with the firm notion that Dawnguard is less a mere additional faction questline and more a full, proper expansion. Ready for some delicious…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 7, 2012