All this and more on today's gaming headlines.
Game Critic Award Nominees for this year's E3
With E3 2010 over and done with, and a glut of outlet-specific honors dispensed, it's time for the annual Game Critics Awards to reveal its list of nominees. Culled from the selections of "31 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry" (not including VGH :( ), the Game Critics Awards represent something of an industry consensus on The Big Show. This year, id Software's upcoming post-apocalyptic-'em-up Rage took home the most nominees, scoring five including Best of Show. Sharing the Best of Show nominee space are Disney's Epic Mickey, Dance Central, and Portal 2, each of which received four nominations across the boards.
Best of Show
- Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii)
- Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo)
- Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Bulletstorm (People Can Fly/Epic Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Child of Eden (Q Entertainment/Ubisoft for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii)
- InFamous 2 (Sucker Punch/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- Kirby's Epic Yarn (Good-Feel/Nintendo for Wii)
- Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Ghost Trick (Capcom for Nintendo DS)
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready at Dawn/Sony Santa Monica for PSP)
- Okamiden (Capcom for Nintendo DS)
- Super Scribblenauts (5TH Cell/WBIE for Nintendo DS)
- Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Sega for PSP)
- Civilization V (Firaxis/2K Games)
- Crysis 2 (CryTek/Electronic Arts)
- Portal 2 (Valve)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA)
- Kinect (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Move (Sony for PlayStation 3)
- Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo)
- Rock Band 3 Pro Guitars (Harmonix/MTV Games/Mad Catz)
- Rock Band 3 Keyboard (Harmonix/MTV Games/Mad Catz)
- Bulletstorm (People Can Fly/Epic Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (TreyArch/Activision for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Game/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Halo: Reach (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii)
- Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal/Square-Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Fable III (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for PC and Xbox 360)
- Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian/Bethesda for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA for PC)
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (CD Projekt RED STUDIO/Atari for PC)
- Gran Turismo 5 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- MotorStorm: Apolcalypse (Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Test Drive Unlimited 2 (Eden Games/Atari for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom for PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm/WBIE for PS3 and Xbox 360)
- WWE All Stars (THQ San Diego/THQ for PS3 and Xbox 360)
- EA Sports MMA (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Madden NFL 11 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- NBA Jam (EA Canada/EA Sports for Wii)
- NCAA Football 11 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- NHL 11 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Civilization V (Firaxis/2K Games for PC)
- Company of Heroes Online (Relic/THQ for PC)
- End of Nations (Petroglyph/Trion Worlds for PC)
- Shogun 2: Total War (The Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
- Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- DJ Hero 2 (FreeStyle Games/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Kinect Adventures (Good Science Studio/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Rock Band 3 (Harmonix/MTV Games/Electronic Arts for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Child of Eden (Q Entertainment/Ubisoft for PS3 and Xbox 360)
- Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Socom 4 (Zipper/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii)
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360 )
- Halo Reach (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Medal of Honor (EALA/DICE/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA for PC)
VGH's Exclusive look at "Singularity"
Graphics: It doesn't look as sharp as other games of this generation, and since the major inspiration for this one is undoubtedly "Bioshock", I believe this game is much darker than 2k's masterpiece, which translates to an overall lesser experience, eye-candy wise, but awe-inspiring nonetheless. Besides, it relies more on horror than anything else, kinda like dead space, so the darker tones and colors do bring a feeling of desolation and anxiety all too fitting. Having said that, let's just put it like this: it looks good enough. Plus, as I've read somewhere, the unreal engine, which was used in this game, is starting to show its age, and judging from Splinter Cell: Conviction, I believe that to be true. Story: For the first half hour I was playing it, I wasn't impressed. It just felt and looked so much like Bioshock. The overabundance of audio logs and written notes, messages, and videos were all too familiar. There is this little history contextualization in the beginning, then an explosion, then you are stuck on an island in the middle of the pacific called Katorga-12. The Russian had been tampering in the 50's with a new element that led to the development of things like time traveling and such. But things go wrong and hello time-traveling zombies! So you actually travel through time, right from the beginning. It all has to do with the "singularity", apparently a place full of machines/ time machines?, I haven't figured it out yet. I haven't played long enough to get the bioshock-like powers of time manipulation, but I will get to it soon. I've gathered e-99, the name of the element, but no power yet. Just guns. Big as* guns. And that's when we get to game play.
Game play: No powers yet, but the gun play is really satisfying. That is where the similarities with Bioshock should start to fade away. You shoot monsters in the face. Fast moving zombie-like monsters. At times, though, it feels like they hadn't decided which game they would really try to make, so you have got modern warfare moments like when you meet up with the rest of your crew (one guy) and fight the horde of monsters together only to get to a hut full of ammo where you will fight the Russian military using rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles. You run with your buddy as in co-op, but you leave him alone because you need to hear an audio log. While you listen to it, he is just waiting there. Then you go near him and it's "run for your life" as if a helicopter was hovering around and you had to jump onto it, escaping just in the nick of time under heavy fire. It is amusing to see how the game play changes drastically from fighting zombie to fighting human. Through the zombie hunting (you) sections, the ammo is never scarce, but the pistol doesn't hold that much of it, leading to a moment when you will run out and a message, "out of ammo", will be your new reticule. Few seconds later you will find a rifle, plenty of ammo, and the zombies become paper, easy to shred. Then a shotgun, making it even easier. Ammo, lots of it and a sniper rifle. When the military attack, you understand the reason for all of that. So they stripe you of your wepons, you have another modern warfare moment running away from the bad guys, and it's back to fighting the monsters with a pistol. That is where I am now. Fighting time-traveling monsters with a pistol, and running out of ammo. Did I mention the rip off of the dead space weapon upgrade booth? No? I thought I did...
(This change of pace is actually welcome, it keeps things fresh and nice all the way).
Sound: Fluctuates from dead space-like scaring sound of zombies nearby (very effective) to cheesy pointless music; but overall it is very good. The monsters do scare, the silence at times does bring a unique feel of desolation, the sound of the rain is light and in the distance, the explosions are ok.
Presentation: The game takes itself too seriously, so you gotta laugh sometimes. Even the videos you find scattered around in projectors are laughable. You could never in a million years imagine the Russian military producing such a bioshock-inspired video. Cartoons showing the evil America trying to control the east are really funny. The way they infantilize the whole thing, it is really good; but no connection whatsoever with reality. Stalin would get his zombie as* out of his tomb and kill the developers if he ever heard about it. And, judging by the first contact you have with the game, the videos contextualizing you historically, it just surprises you with the level of nonsense it can reach. It is simply silly. Then again, time traveling: you can never take it too seriously, even if you try very, very hard.
Well, to sum up, if you can have a laugh with a scare and still enjoy yourself, if immersion was always something more connected to interesting game play than intelligent storytelling for you, I believe you will have a blast. Otherwise, stay clear of it. I don't know about the multiplayer yet, and the powers are only a prospect this far on the game play, so don't take my rate into consideration just yet. As for me, I feel I am already hooked. I am going to try to finish the game. Then I can update my review.
Game play: No powers yet, but the gun play is really satisfying. That is where the similarities with Bioshock should start to fade away. You shoot monsters in the face. Fast moving zombie-like monsters. At times, though, it feels like they hadn't decided which game they would really try to make, so you have got modern warfare moments like when you meet up with the rest of your crew (one guy) and fight the horde of monsters together only to get to a hut full of ammo where you will fight the Russian military using rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles. You run with your buddy as in co-op, but you leave him alone because you need to hear an audio log. While you listen to it, he is just waiting there. Then you go near him and it's "run for your life" as if a helicopter was hovering around and you had to jump onto it, escaping just in the nick of time under heavy fire. It is amusing to see how the game play changes drastically from fighting zombie to fighting human. Through the zombie hunting (you) sections, the ammo is never scarce, but the pistol doesn't hold that much of it, leading to a moment when you will run out and a message, "out of ammo", will be your new reticule. Few seconds later you will find a rifle, plenty of ammo, and the zombies become paper, easy to shred. Then a shotgun, making it even easier. Ammo, lots of it and a sniper rifle. When the military attack, you understand the reason for all of that. So they stripe you of your wepons, you have another modern warfare moment running away from the bad guys, and it's back to fighting the monsters with a pistol. That is where I am now. Fighting time-traveling monsters with a pistol, and running out of ammo. Did I mention the rip off of the dead space weapon upgrade booth? No? I thought I did...
(This change of pace is actually welcome, it keeps things fresh and nice all the way).
Sound: Fluctuates from dead space-like scaring sound of zombies nearby (very effective) to cheesy pointless music; but overall it is very good. The monsters do scare, the silence at times does bring a unique feel of desolation, the sound of the rain is light and in the distance, the explosions are ok.
Presentation: The game takes itself too seriously, so you gotta laugh sometimes. Even the videos you find scattered around in projectors are laughable. You could never in a million years imagine the Russian military producing such a bioshock-inspired video. Cartoons showing the evil America trying to control the east are really funny. The way they infantilize the whole thing, it is really good; but no connection whatsoever with reality. Stalin would get his zombie as* out of his tomb and kill the developers if he ever heard about it. And, judging by the first contact you have with the game, the videos contextualizing you historically, it just surprises you with the level of nonsense it can reach. It is simply silly. Then again, time traveling: you can never take it too seriously, even if you try very, very hard.
Well, to sum up, if you can have a laugh with a scare and still enjoy yourself, if immersion was always something more connected to interesting game play than intelligent storytelling for you, I believe you will have a blast. Otherwise, stay clear of it. I don't know about the multiplayer yet, and the powers are only a prospect this far on the game play, so don't take my rate into consideration just yet. As for me, I feel I am already hooked. I am going to try to finish the game. Then I can update my review.
THQ: Metro 2033 Sequel in Development
Publisher confirms a sequel is on the way, and it will be in 3D.
Metro 2033's magical run continues. The novel by Russian writer Dmitriy Glukhovskiy began as an online experiment in 2002. By 2005, the book had an established printer and would go on to be sold in more than 20 countries. THQ launched the multiplatform videogame in March, and according to the publisher's VP of core games, a sequel is now in the works.
In an interview with CVG, Danny Bilson revealed that Metro 2034 is being developed by 4A Games in Kiev. Like Metro 2033, the videogame sequel is inspired by Glukhovskiy's follow-up novel, Metro 2034. And according to Bilson, the game will be in 3D.
"We're going to be doing a 3D version of that on Metro 2034 -- the sequel. And there will be some engineering costs there, but that's in our lowest cost center in the world."
Metro 2033 received strong critical reception, with a Metacritic score of 81 for the PC version of the game, and did well as a debut title in the crowded FPS market, selling nearly 1 million copies worldwide.
As the title suggests, Metro 2034, the book, takes place a year after the events that transpire in Metro 2033, and continues to tell the tale of survivors of the apocalypse in the Moscow subway system. Bilson did not reveal any further details on the game.
In an interview with CVG, Danny Bilson revealed that Metro 2034 is being developed by 4A Games in Kiev. Like Metro 2033, the videogame sequel is inspired by Glukhovskiy's follow-up novel, Metro 2034. And according to Bilson, the game will be in 3D.
"We're going to be doing a 3D version of that on Metro 2034 -- the sequel. And there will be some engineering costs there, but that's in our lowest cost center in the world."
Metro 2033 received strong critical reception, with a Metacritic score of 81 for the PC version of the game, and did well as a debut title in the crowded FPS market, selling nearly 1 million copies worldwide.
As the title suggests, Metro 2034, the book, takes place a year after the events that transpire in Metro 2033, and continues to tell the tale of survivors of the apocalypse in the Moscow subway system. Bilson did not reveal any further details on the game.
Henchmen Thoughts: Great story. The book and its sequel are still available for free online, and word is that Hollywood is now working to acquire the film rights.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
I am sooooo happy to hear this. I loved the first one, but it definitely had its issues. I hope they use this opportunity to improve on an already stellar foundation.
I remember IGN wasn't too fond of it, but this was kind of a strange title, so I'm glad people decided to try it out for themselves
I am sooooo happy to hear this. I loved the first one, but it definitely had its issues. I hope they use this opportunity to improve on an already stellar foundation.
I remember IGN wasn't too fond of it, but this was kind of a strange title, so I'm glad people decided to try it out for themselves. [-] Minimize Comment