Archive for the ‘Game Talk’ Category

The upcoming tie-in gets limber with its new spider-line zipping, time-stopping mechanics.

It looks like developer Beenox will be drawing on some of their experience with previous Spider_man titles for the upcoming console versions of the summer movie tie-in. Specifically, the new "Web Rush" feature which seems to combine Peter Parker's spider sense with navigation.

It looks a little like Edge of Time, last year's time-tripping, double Spider-Man adventure from Beenox which focused a lot more on the bullet time brawling than anything else, although the slowed-down time for the line-zip from one location to the next is a little curious.

We'll see how it plays out when Amazing Spider-Man is available on June 26th for all consoles.

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By Jeffrey Matulef

Russian indie developer Owl Game Studio has announced their S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-inspired Crysis mod, CryZone: Sector 23, will be made into a full game using CryEngine 3.
CryZone: Sector 23 will be set in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe. The plot concerns a grief-stricken father journeying into a forbidden zone full of derelict electrical equipment and mutants in hopes of finding a "Wishmaster" who may be able to resurrect his son. Owl Game Studio intends to enhance the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe by featuring new locations, mutant types, and weapons. The game will also feature destructible environments and a Far Cry 2-like healing system.
Despite being a full game, CryZone: Section 23 will not be a commercial product, as Owl Game Studio is open about the fact that they're using "resources and settings" from the now defunct S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer, GSC.
Early screenshots look absolutely gorgeous in a nuclear fallout sort of way. No release date has been announced, but given the ambition of the project I wouldn't expect it anytime soon.
[Source: Mod DB via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
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Dead Island Dev's Off-Road Racer 'Mad Riders' Coming May 30th--
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By Jeffrey Matulef

Sony has announced their upcoming stealth/platformer Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (That's Sly 4, for those keeping track) will be coming out for the PS Vita alongside its PS3 release later this year. The game is being developed by Sanzaru Games, who handled the HD conversion of the Sly Cooper Trilogy.

The PS Vita version of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will include gyroscopic controls for certain sections. Based on the announcement trailer, this didn't look gimmicky like Nathan Drake standing in front of a curtain for several seconds until players could painstakingly slash an opening in the fabric (ugh).

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Vita will feature a cross-save feature where you can transfer (or transfar if you're Hideo Kojima) your data between the portable and console versions of the game. It's unknown if buying one version will grant access to the other, but given how much of the Vita's library is simply overpriced ports, we wouldn't hold our breath on that.

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By Jeffrey Matulef

Dejobaan Games, the Massachusetts-based developers behind, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, are now making Drunken Robot Pornography.

They're also making a game called Drunken Robot Pornography. The game will be a first-person shooter where you play as a human with a jetpack and a gun tasked with obliterating a colossal robot centerfold called a Titan. As the Titan demolishes the buildings you're standing on, you can disassemble it piece by piece by removing its armor, cannons, and claws. You'll also have the ability to erect force fields as makeshift shields.
Beyond simply fighting Titans, you'll be able to construct your own and unleash them on other players. "Start with a skeleton of titanium girders, then mount pulse cannons and shielding over hard points. Add actuators so your Titan can flex its arms or tentacles, and jets for locomotion," the press release explains. "Pick your materials carefully — an aluminum finish may be pretty, but graphene armor will better withstand attack. Finally, fuel it up with isopropanol for speed, methanol for strength, or ethanol, if you just want your Titan to end up really, really angry."

Conceptually, it sounds a bit like a zany Shadow of the Colossus with a stronger action vibe and no exploration. Or maybe it's more like the giant robot bosses in Binary Domain crossed with the jetpacking daring-do and general goofiness of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon. These are all things I love, so this sounds all sorts of amazing.

Drunken Robot Pornography is due later this year on PC and Mac. In the meantime, check out some screenshots at the official site.

[Source: Dejobaan Games]

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Dead Island Dev's Off-Road Racer 'Mad Riders' Coming May 30th

By Jeffrey Matulef

Ubisoft has announced their upcoming off-road arcade racing game 'Mad Riders' developed by Techland (of Dead Island fame) will be released May 30th on XBLA, PSN, and PC. The game will cost 800 Microsoft points ($10) on XBLA, and while no North American price has been determined for the PSN and PC versions, they'll be £7.99 in the UK, which comes out to about $12.50, so one can assume it will be in that price range.

According a recent press release, Mad Riders "will see players performing amazing aerial stunts and racing on over 45 stunning tracks from all over the world, at breathtaking speeds." There will be a major emphasis on filling up your boost bar by completing stunts and going through rings suspended in the air. You'll also be able to customize your vehicle and character with a large selection of Buggies and ATVs. The game will support up to 12 player multiplayer across three game modes.

Techland is no stranger to the genre, having released the similarly off-road racer, Nail'd in 2010. For a greater idea of what to expect from Mad Riders, check out the announcement trailer.

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Airtight Games takes the new Interdimensional Shift Device (IDS) out for a spin.

Looking a lot like a missing scene from the UK series Look Around You, this video from "Quadwrangle Productions" invites you to "say goodbye to the laws of physics." Besides the brief, goofy examination of time, we get some in-game footage at the end, showing off the physics-bending functions of the IDS.

Here's the synopsis for the summer downloadable release:

In Quantum Conundrum, players take on the role of a kid dropped off on his uncle's doorstep for the weekend; his uncle just happens to the be the brilliant, eccentric inventor Professor Fitz Quadwrangle. Upon entering the Professor's vast manor home retrofitted with crazy technology to test his hypotheses, players quickly realize their uncle has gone missing. Fortunately, players gain access to Professor Quadwrangle's latest invention, the Inter-Dimensional Shift Device which at the press of a button will shift the world around them to an entirely new dimension. To find him, players must use the newly-found IDS device to dynamically change the world to and from a variety of different dimensions to progress through the complicated Quadwrangle Manor.

Quantum Conundrum will be available this summer on PSN, XBLA, and on the PC.

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Max Payne is not a good guy and he’s a pretty rotten cop. He’s a pretty miserable excuse for a person, too. But if there’s one thing Max does well is kill. Well, kill and drink. And swear. We find him several years older, and looking worse for it. Max Payne is an old killer drinking away the demons of the past hoping for a quick end. Funny, that a man without a want or need to live, is often the best person for the kind of work Max gets hired to do.

It’s been over 8 years since hard boiled cop, Max Payne, has been dragged out of the bar and back into the harsh light for one more job. After such a long hiatus, is it worth another round of shots or does Max need to pay his tab before closing time at the bar?

Story wise, Max Payne 3 follows a Hollywood style action flick filled with explosive displays of violence and gunpowder. After finally turning in his shield and becoming a full-time barfly, an old acquaintance offers Max a chance for the easy life- a simple body guarding gig in South America. Of course nothing as simple last for long and Max finds himself embroiled in inter-gang warfare, political sabotage, and shocking inner-city violence. Seemingly always a step behind the truth, Max grinds onward and downward one empty shell casing as time as he trips over each body that gets in his way.

As I mentioned in my first impressions, controlling Max is fairly intuitive for third-person shooter enthusiasts, and if you’ve played any TPS in the last few years you’ll feel right at home. However, Max is getting up in years and at times isn’t as spry as I would like, so I would definitely bump up the x and y speeds for the sticks. Once, adjusted to my personal presences, Max moved fluidly and everything from shooting to dodging to shootdodging performed admirably. My only real complaint is the somewhat dodgy cover mechanic, where Max seemed to want to stick in some cover and other times would refuse to transition from place to place. It wasn’t particularly game-breaking just a bit frustrating when Max was getting chewed up and he needed a quick respite in cover.

For as rough and leathery as Max seems, he’s pretty fragile and can’t absorb a whole lot of damage. I played on the default settings (medium difficulty and soft lock for targeting) and overall didn’t seem to pose too much trouble slugging it through the campaign. Veteran shooters could probably kick it up to hard or even try out free aim for a bit of more challenge. The checkpoints were generous enough during the 10 hour or so playtime, so I expect if you’re really into these types of games you’re more than ready to take on Max Payne 3.

The newest addition to the franchise is multiplayer and I was at first a little worried about how Rockstar would handle transition from ingle player to multiplayer. You have your standard Deathmatch modes as well as a few objective modes like Gang Wars, where teams will battle over 5 rounds, each with a different target such territory capture and assassination missions. There’s a basic leveling component, whereby you gain access to newer and better weapons for purchase as well as gear to help get an edge over the competition.

The key unique thing with multiplayer is bursts and bullet time. Bursts are powerful abilities activated by adrenaline earned through killing and completing objectives. They can increase firepower or reveal enemy locations or even confuse opponents by highlighting everyone as an enemy.

Bullet time brings out a little bit of Max in everyone. As with bursts, bullet time is activated with adrenaline and using the shootdodge ability. The fun thing is that this slows down everyone who has a line of sight with anyone affected by the slowdown. It all sounds very complicated but once you’re in the fight it really comes together and differentiates from other shooters.

The Highs

Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?

The animations do a really great job of showing off the high intensity action whether Max is taking aim or flying through the air over cover, both barrels blasting. The signature shootdodge will be your go to move when all else fails and more often than not it gives you the edge you’ll need to live another day.

Voice acting at its finest.

James McCaffrey once again pulls Max out of the gutter and into the firefight as Max Payne, bringing him alive in both voice and movement. Max feels like a real guy and the direction of the story brings a certain larger than life element to cement over-the-top action

Cops and robbers

Looking back on previous games like GTA IV and Read Dead Redemption, Rockstar seems to be ironing out some of the kinks with multiplayer. I never really felt the shooting in either of those games was particularly great but Max Payne 3’s quick response, soft lock and free aim options and character loadouts offer up so much more than run-n-gun. Modes such as Payne Killer and, my favorite, Gang Wars offer engaging multiplayer along with the basics like team deathmatch.

Bang, bang, bang

Sound design is so important in games like this. Each weapon has strong reports and punchy, hard-hitting pops. Enemies groan and yell with each slug taken or given. Explosions give off a nice loud boom. If it’s action you’re looking for, the sounds certainly make you feel in the thick of it.

The Lows

Actions speak louder than words.

If I had to knock anything down about the story is that it seemed a little formulaic with few unexpected twists here and there. It’s a not a bad story and it’s told well, it’s just a little basic. The self-deprecating dialogue certainly outshines whatever contrivances to further the plot.

From my cold dead hands

This is a minor complaint so please take it with a grain of salt; but because each cutscene was design around Max holding a pistol or other one-handed firearm, I often found myself having to switch back to my rifle or shotgun when returning to action and would end up not being prepared for battle, taking several hits before returning fire. Just a little frustrating on my end but pretty low on the whole of the bad side.

Verdict

If you’re a diehard Max Payne fan or just looking for another shooter, Max Payne 3 certainly offers a quality title that with a solid single player and multiplayer that should be as fun now as several months later.

[Copy of Max Payne 3 provided by Rockstar. Played on the Xbox 360]

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The invite-only beta for the PS3 and 360 will be available to gamers who purchase Ghost Recon Future Soldier. Sorry, PC gamers, no beta for you.

You'll get to take Far Cry 3's class-based multiplayer for a spin this summer with up to 16 players—that is, after you pick up a copy of Ghost Recon Future Soldier from Gamestop and you have to be a member of the retailer's PowerUp Rewards program. After all that, you'll receive a code that can be entered at http://www.gamestop.com/code, and when the beta is live, you will receive the code to access it.

Alternately, if those seem like one too many hoops to go through, Ubisoft is giving away 500 beta keys through their Facebook page.

The beta promises to allow gamers to check out the shooter's six playable classes as well as the new gameplay modes including Firestorm. This is my favorite part from the release: "Zip-lining, combat sliding, psyche gas and barrel bombs are just some of the gameplay elements that can be experienced when playing." Seriously, what's going on in Far Cry 3? It sounds a little like Gotham City Imposters.

Far Cry 3 will be available on September 4th for the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360.

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The HD ports of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater have been cooking over in the Konami labs for a little while now, with the publisher holding off on announcing an official date for the game until seemingly the last minute (three weeks out, to be exact). This is after both games were ported to the PS3 and 360 last winter, that release containing also including a port of Peace Walker, the 2010 PSP game.

The last major port from the publisher, Silent Hill HD Collection wasn't especially well-received, plagued by performance issues and bugs, so hopefully the extra time to get MGS HD onto the Vita has been put to good use.

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In the wake of Diablo III's somewhat rocky launch, news site Slate put together the video above which they describe as "a more accurate trailer based on [their] gaming experience." Billing it as a "realistic presentation of online gamers’ experiences this week," Slate has a little fun at Activision Blizzard's expense.

Meanwhile, over at Cracked, John Cheese writes up a piece called "5 Reasons Diablo III Represents Gaming's Annoying Future," which takes the launch issues for the highly-anticipated game and extrapolates how persistent connected experiences, and aggresive copyright protections (among other things) could in some ways de-fun the future of PC gaming. Besides being funny, it's a pretty insightful read.

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Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter and be sure to "like" us on Facebook for the best geek news about comics, toys, gaming and more! And don’t forget to follow our video gaming and TV writer @TheCharlesWebb.