Prey 2 Ditches the Native American in favor of Boba Fett

Shortly after the release of the surprisingly well received Prey, it was announced a sequel was already in development by Human Head Studios. After the announcement, Prey seemed to have gone dark, until earlier this year when a live action viral was released to stir up some interest in the series. With E3 in full effect, you better believe we have a trailer and gameplay. 

Prey 2 does away with some of the staples from the original; portals, the Native American influence, and protagonist Tommy. You play as former Air Marshall Killian Samuels, a bounty hunter with access to an impressive amount of alien tech and weaponry, to be employed while tracking bounties, both dead and alive. The world is a beautiful neon-soaked piece of the future, with terrain that's as tricky as it is modern. Navigating via parkour is your second best friend, right behind your armaments.

As of now, Prey 2 looks like just another first person shooter. The aspects that made the original so unique have seemingly been stripped from the sequel, so I'm unsure about what will make it stand out from the crowd. Regardless, the art and weapon design look to be getting things right, which is a step in the right direction.

Like Most Spies, Overstrike is Smart, Sexy, and Stylish

I know it's just another CGI trailer, but at least it offers more than just pretty colors! Overstrike is Insomniac Games' first dealing with a multiplatform title. It's based on a team of four super spies with over the top style and over the topper gadgets. The characters seem well thought out and smart. Cool weapons are on display, as well as cool senses of humor. That's about all I can gather.

If I were a gambling man, I'd say Overstrike will end up being a four player online cooperative first/third person shooter with a strong focus on team tactics. In addition to having their own unique personality, each character will have a unique set of skills that will help get the ahead in increasingly hairy situations. Maybe there will be some sort of skill tree where you can assign experience points to unlock new skills depending on how you want to play one of the four lively characters. You would play this type of game, right?

Or it could be a browser based 8-bit platformer. Who knows. Either way, if the trailer is anything to go on (which it shouldn't be, but we don't learn our lessons), Overstrike is one to keep your eyes on. 

Ninja Gaiden 3 is a Celebration of Blood and Guts

I thought Ninja Gaiden 3 was supposed to show more of Ryu Hayabusa's feelings, to give the player more insight to the remorse the character feels after killing an enemy? If the video is worth anything, that ain't the case at all. Ryu clearly gives a flying ninja fuck as his cold blade pierces enemy after enemy. 

The teaser images we've seen up to now haven't really done anything for me, aside from getting my hopes up for another Ninja Gaiden game. With E3 comes some gameplay videos, which in turn gets me kind of excited. Though Itagaki may no longer be with Team Ninja, Ninja Gaiden 3 looks like more of the same, which is good. Of course, Team Ninja has found ways to enrich the experience, such as 'Steel on Bone' sequences, which are sort of quick time finishers, meant to give the player true feeling of disemboweling an enemy. Ninja Gaiden 3 aims to immerse the player, and give a true feeling of being in Hayabusa's super ninja shoes. So far so good, but where are the huge breasted females at?

Lara Croft gets all Cast Away in Tomb Raider

Lara Croft makes Tom Hanks look like a little bitch. She doesn't need a volleyball to keep her sane, her injuries and crafted bow and arrow are doing the job just fine! Here's our first cinematic look at the Tomb Raider reboot, where Lara Croft sets off on her first adventure and gets her ass kicked by the elements in the process. No one said being a treasure hunter would be easy, babe.

What are you all thinking about this one? I haven't cared for a Tomb Raider game for years, maybe it's because Lara's boobs keep shrinking? Seriously though, gameplay makes it look as if Tomb Raider is learning toward adding some survival horror elements into the tried and true action adventure genre. I'd be all aboard for that. The videos are not much to go on, therefore the jury is still out until I can see a little bit more of what Tomb Raider is all about.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Continues to Impress

Every time I watch a Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer, I'm left with chills. The latest spot from this year's E3 is no different. This title looks like it has everything going for it; lovely visuals, atmosphere inspired by Blade Runner, hauntingly beautiful music, a story of deceit and betrayal, and different pillars of gameplay. How will you play Adam Jensen? Will you move in silence, using subterfuge to avoid physical conflict by handling tasks quickly and quietly? Or will you overcome enemies guns ablaze, grenades aloft with arm-blades flailing like a (not so) typical third person shooter? 

Rooted in the sensibilities of the original Deus Ex, a game that many consider amongst the best ever made, I would be surprised if Deus Ex: Human Revolution is anything less than an overwhelmingly incredible experience.

Xbox LIVE Updates, Moves to Outer Space

Well, not really outer space, but close. Microsoft has chosen to take Xbox where many companies have been going as of late; to the cloud! During Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference, it was announced that Xbox LIVE will begin implementing cloud features such as game saves and profile recovery. This means traveling with your Xbox LIVE profile will be easy-peezy, and much less of a hassle than either dealing with the dreadful 'Gamertag Recovery' or saving your profile along with all of your game data onto a dedicated USB stick.

I'm loving this direction, as I have two Xbox consoles in my house I play on, and carting profiles/saves back and forth is a huge pain in the red ring. Also, friends will now have easier access to their accounts without junking up my consoles USB ports with portable media. Everybody wins!

In addition to the knockout cloud announcement, Microsoft was getting busy in other ways. Like introducing another dashboard update?! That's right kids. It seems like Xbox LIVE gets a visual makeover every year, so why not another this fall? Long gone are the days of the blade, replaced now with a nice and simple interface reminiscent of the Windows Phone OS or the newly announced Windows 8 look. Microsoft seems to be following the footsteps of Apple by creating one unified look across all of its platforms, which ain't a bad thing, especially considering that this new look is actually quite snazzy.

Also announced are Xbox Live Beacons. It's an odd sounding feature that lets your network know what game you want to play. Then, you'll receive an instant notification when one of your friends has fired that game up. Sounds kind of silly, but sure, whatever. Must be useful if your friend list is at max capacity. Then again, if you're maxed out on XBL friends, you're probably exclusively playing one of either Halo, Gears of War, or Call of Duty. Beacons don't sound as awesome as bacon, but really, what does?

Expect more, such as YouTube and Bing search (through Kinect voice commands), increased Kinect support, and many more additions that have either flown under the radar, or I don't feel like writing about. Don't judge me, I'm pressed for time dammit. The latest Dashboard update will go live later this year, giving you plenty of time to save up for a Kinect.

REVIEW: L.A. Noire (and Free Swag Giveaway!)

Since the release of L.A. Noire two weeks ago, people have been constantly asking me what I think of the game, and where my review is. L.A. Noire is a vast universe of exploration and interrogation that I needed to play in full before even attempting to put my thoughts together on paper. With all there is to see and do, you can easily lose yourself for 40 hours. So the review is a little behind schedule, but to make up for it, our friends at Rockstar have given us some free stuff to give away. Read on to find out if L.A. Noire is worthy of your time, and to win free shit!

Click to read more ...

REVIEW: Brink

Brink is a game that I've been waiting to spend some extended time with. I'm talking about having the itch; sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently, and scratching my neck. Something about a fast-paced arcade shooter that puts heavy emphasis on parkour does it for me. The game impressed in short preview sessions, and was heavily marketed to give itself a nice pre-release buzz, though it seems as if some quality assurance blues put a damper on Brink's attempt at revolutionizing the genre.

Click to read more ...

Don't Get Sharked in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Have a look at your primary dog fighting opponent in the upcoming ballet of missiles, vulcans, and shredded fuselages, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. His name is Markov, also known as The Shark. If you're lucky, you'll notice him on the battlefield by the shark teeth painted on the front of his fighter jet. Though it's more likely that The Shark will shoot you down before you even realize his sights are locked onto you. Step your game up, kid!

I've been looking forward to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for some time now, if only for the intoxicating action and camera work, something I've always loved in the Ace Combat series. While that has always been a calling card of the franchise, the story has attempted to stay equally interesting, but most times it's come up a little short. Project Aces is looking to change those fortunes by recruiting New York Times’ bestselling military author Jim DeFelice. Honestly, dog fighting is the crack. Whatever story brought to the table is supplementary to the ratatatatatatating.

Take to the skies on October 11 of this year.

Dark Souls: Welcome to Die

The title for the latest Dark Souls trailer is 'Prepare to Die'. For any other game I'd be all like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, you can't kill me! But this is Dark Souls, the successor of Demon's Souls, so I will swallow my pride and accept that I will die horribly on numerous occasions. 

The trailer is mostly a montage to some of the many deaths that will befall you, should you be brave enough to challenge Dark Souls. And when it's not quite showing the player dying, it's showing something that will most likely end up killing you very shortly. Demon's Souls was a game for masochists, and Dark Souls is picking up right where the predecessor left off.

Dark Souls will release this October, and in the event PSN is still down at that time, fear not! For the first time, the controller-breaking difficulty of From Software's role-playing series will be available on Xbox 360.

Also comes the news that a preorder will bump you up from standard to the collector's edition for no extra charge. The $60 entry fee nets you a metalbook case, art book, digital download soundtrack, behind the scenes development video, and a mini strategy guide. Trust me, you'll want to preorder if only for that strategy guide alone. Demon's Souls was an incredibly nuanced and complex game, with tons of secrets and strategies that one cannot discover on his or her own. You will need all the help you can get.