Xbox LIVE Arcade's Summer of Xbox is a nice little seasonal shindig where the service promotes the hell out of some the year's best Arcade games. Last year's line up housed some pretty impressive names such as Hard Corps: Uprising, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Limbo, and Monday Night Combat. This year is shaping up to be no different. The lineup includes a few hotly anticipated titles, namely Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and From Dust. Oh yeah, and Bastion.
I know, I haven't mentioned Bastion since I got some hands on time at PAX East 2011, but that all changes right about, wait for it.. Now! As the first title to kick off this year's Summer of Arcade, Bastion will surely be setting the standard high for the downloadable titles to follow. A silky smooth narrative of The Kid and the world that springs up below his feet seems as compelling as the environments are beautiful. 1200 Microsoft points is a small price to pay for throwback action-RPG three-quarter view deliciousness; something that is always welcome in my console. What better way to deflect the sorrow of not being at one of geek cultures premiere events?
Good news for the PC loyalists out there: Bastion will be available on your platform later this year. In the mean time, Xbox-heads can hack, slash, shoot, and yuck it up next Wednesday.
I say it all the time: I'm a sucker for lo-fi art and fast-paced action. Release something along those lines and you will instantly have my money in your hands. Do you see then, why I am ready to throw my digital cash at They Bleed Pixels?
According to developer Spooky Squid Games, "They Bleed Pixels is a fast-paced, gothic lo-fi, platforming beat 'em up that drips, gushes and flows." It's like they invaded my mind, discovered exactly what I'm willing to funnel money into, and created it. Crafty sonuvabitches, them.
It looks like Super Meat Boy,League of Evil, and N+ rolled into a cute package that is shredded apart by an equally cute vampire lolita. You jump, you float, you avoid spikes, and you beat the undead hell out of anyone dumb enough to enter your proximity. It looks and sounds joyous. The more stylish the kill, the quicker you fill up your checkpoint meter, and are able to spawn at your point of choice. Innovative mechanics are always a nice addition.
Pixel gore and chiptunes on your Xbox LIVE Arcade Indie Games portal this Summer. What more could you want? Read more at They Bleed Pixels.
BioShock: Infinite looks fucking stupid. And I mean that in the best way possible; I just can't think of any other way to put it. After watching a 15 minute clip from Irrational Games' latest, I can see why it received the ungodly amount of praise it did at E3. The game must be seen to be believed. But be forewarned, it is not easy to watch. My body experienced a range of sensations and emotions through the 15 minutes of madness enclosed within.
Until now, Infinite has been a disassembled puzzle of promise to me. Pieces lay scattered; a handful of screenshots here, a two minute gameplay clip there, and a Ken Levine interview somewhere in between. And yes, it all appeared to look good, however each bit felt so detached from each other, and the bigger picture. How are these cryptically explained gameplay elements going to fit together? Will the story of this Americana-inspired-floating-city-gone-awry capture our imaginations as Andrew Ryan's dystopia did? To be honest, I'm still not sure. I do feel however, after watching a quarter-hour of the game in motion, any doubt I may have had, any anxiety I've harbored, has been violently whipped away on a skyrail and thrown into the burning carcass of a sinking zeppelin.
Watch in fullscreen, 720p - you'd be doing yourself a disservice otherwise
Infinite's art style, decidedly that of a cartoon, was one of the things I thought could malign the title in the public eye. In an age where it's hyper-realistic war shooters or bust, could this exaggerated animated style succeed? As soon as we see the emotion in Elizabeth's eyes throughout her interactions with Booker, it's immediately clear that this style is absolutely perfect for Infinite. Sure, it could have been pulled of with photo-realism, but when I saw the fear and sincerity in Elizabeth's eyes as she mimed her own asphyxiation to steel Booker's resolve, I couldn't see this game illustrated any other way.
BioShock was haunting and beautiful, a water-painting of deep sea hues offset by industrial textures and sheen; the perfect place to breed madness. And breed it did, with the cast multiplying in insanity as the tale unfurled and Rapture unraveled. In contrast, the airborne city of Columbia is bright and colorful, floating amongst the sunlit clouds like a tale of blissful ignorance. If the sample we've seen is anything to draw conclusions on, Columbia will probably make Rapture look as soft as baby thighs. Degenerates abusing innocent bystanders as their lookouts harass onlookers, bodies piled under American flags, screaming madmen whirring along suspended railways - the imagery is disturbingly brilliant.
To me, one of the most underrated aspects of game design is the attention to audio. This is where I feel many games tend to lack, be it voice acting or ambient sound. It's an art that requires subtle perfection, something many studios are unwilling to offer. Infinite hits it on the head, in the first five minutes it is very clear that Irrational has put a very distinct focus on sound design. I felt chills down my spine as the unseen Songbird howled its song of sad scorn for Elizabeth, and I would call you a liar if you didn't say the very same. The sound of the city's continuing downward spiral includes domestic abuse culminating in spousal murder, brawls spilling onto the street through shattered windows, and lots of gunfire. But in the end, I cannot shake the memory Songbirds woeful cry. A skillfully composed score would only be icing on the cake at this point.
Don't even get me started on the tears. I have no idea where those Irrational boys plan to take the story and gameplay with the addition of alternate universes, but it can be either an excellent idea, or a complete cop out. I want to side with the former, but I'll refrain from doing so just yet. But knowing that Elizabeth can tear the universe a new one and relocate herself and Booker to the modern day, if only for an instant, could have incredible purpose if utilized correctly. Big emphasis on 'if'.
The original BioShock, to this day, rates as one of my favorite games of all time. A game that I can recommend to friends and family as a must-play four years after it's release, and will continue to do so for long after, I'm sure. Much as BioShock crept up and absolutely blew me away, BioShock: Infinite looks like it will do the same on a previously unattained level of downright stupidity.
Have you ever wondered how much action can be crammed into 30 seconds of gameplay? If so, Marvelous Entertainment has you covered, with the belief that a half-minute is more than enough time for an enjoyable RPG experience. Say hello to Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax, but be quick about it!
When the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta dropped on PSN for PlayStation Plus users (see: everyone) last week, I cleared my schedule to assure I'd have time to spend with an early look at Naughty Dog's upcoming opus. While I thought I would take Drake and Sully against groups of human controlled mercenaries, in actuality the battle was against constant lag, frequent freezing, and frustrating system reboots. After hours of fruitless attempts, I gave up and my schedule viciously repopulated, leaving no time for treasure hunts and fragging. Though as the greater United States spent the weekend celebrating the independence of our country, I chose to celebrate the independence of my SIXAXIS controller from wires. With network integrity restored and a stable run of the beta queued up, I had an explosive time with Uncharted 3.
+ Deep: Several play modes offer great variation + Unlocking customization pieces is not as easy as ranking up + Active maps offer dynamic, cinematic action + Power Plays to assure no match is a lopsided blowout + Two player split screen and in game party system + Buddy system literally rewards team play - Inability to change base clothing on Drake and Sully models - Characters lacking Uncharted's signature personality
The beta is available to the entirety of PlayStation Network as of today, so why not give it a shot yourself? Though the retail release is still 4 months out, Naughty Dog has sculpted an enjoyable experience thus far. A little tweaking, a lot more weapons, boosters, and kickbacks, and we have what may be the sleeper multiplayer title of the year. And though I'd like to see more writing and personality in the multiplayer (of story characters specifically,) that wont make or break the game I'm sure to have in heavy rotation, even long after the campaign has been completed.
Bullet Points is a stripped down review of a stripped down release, usually in demo or beta. Why spend precious moments reading about what you should be out there playing?
You will discover what Drake's Deception is all about on 11/11/11. In the meantime, experience first hand how Drake, Sully, and an army of nameless mercenaries go about fragging each other, as early as June 28!
That's right folks, today is the big release of Uncharted 3's multiplayer beta, available only to owners of Infamous 2 and PlayStation Plus members, which is just about everyone, innit? After the PlayStation Network debacle, free PS Plus was liberally handed out to all parties affected by the outage, and thus Uncharted 3 multiplayer is about to face one of the greatest first day stress tests a beta has ever come up against. For the general public without PlayStation Plus or Infamous 2, your time will come on Tuesday July 5. The beta will conclude on Thursday July 14, so make the best of your time with Drake and friends while you can!
If you, like me, have been waiting all day for your fix of Uncharted 3, your patience is about to pay off. The beta will hit PSN for download at 2pm Pacific, 5pm Eastern; aka the only time zones that matter. If you're somewhere outside or between the two, Naughty Dog's Twitter will let you know when its baby has gone live.
You can find much more detailed info about the Uncharted 3 beta at PlayStation.Blog, which I suggest you hit up so you know exactly what to be prepared for. Rotating maps and gametypes, stereoscopic 3D support, split-screen with a friend, and rank up to the max level of 25 to secure some nice bonuses!
You have about an hour to catch up with what you need to know before you can queue up the near-two gig download. And after that, you'll have another hour to say your prayers while the download completes. I'm gunning for you, sucka!
Eyes. Who needs em? Mortal Kombat cares very little for eyes, as evidenced by attacks such as Reptile's and Baraka's X-Rays. But what good will those attacks do to a character to has no optics in the first place? Yup, here comes Kenshi.
A blind monk who whips around a bitching sword with telekinetic ease, Kenshi is on deck as your next kombatant. Netherrealm promised a full slate of four fighters this summer, and after last weeks release of Skarlet - who is bloody fantastic - Kenshi hits the tournament next Tuesday, July 5. Two weeks between the first two downloadable characters, and I hope this pace keeps up. I'd love to bring the fatalities with Rain and the yet unannounced mystery character by time early August comes around. I hope Capcom is taking note with their handling of Marvel vs. Capcom 3's characters.
Will Kenshi justify the $5 buy in? Decide for yourself after laying your precious little eyes on this trailer.
That's what I gather from this prologue trailer for Captain America: Super Soldier. And while the trailer is entirely CG movie, I can attest firsthand that the gameplay feels almost exactly like what Cap is pulling off in these cinematics.
I'm kind of surprised at the lack of buzz that Captain America: Super Soldier has generated so far. I can only imagine this is due to the quality of Sega published movie tie-in games of the past. Thor: God of Thunder says hello. But let us not judge Super Soldier on the failures of the past because it looks pretty damned good. Sure the action is almost a straight jack of Batman: Arkham Asylum, but you can't really complain about that. The freeflow combat thing is a joy to be in control of, whether you're Cap, Batman, or Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Captain America: Super Soldier drops in under a month, on July 19. That's right around the corner, so come on people. Let's get excited and make some noise for a movie tie-in that may not be complete trash!
Watch Shadows of the Damned protagonist Garcia Fucking Hotspur (his words, not mine) challenge a massive demon bird in this boss battle gameplay clip.
I come away from this chunk of action really loving the music, but this is the work of Akira Yamaoka, so of course the beats are fresh. That may be about it, as the rest of the battle is a yawn-inducing strafing and shooting affair. I was hot for Shadows of the Damned early in it's marketing cycle - mostly because of the killer combination of Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, and Yamaoka - but have since cooled on the third person action title. Not to say it doesn't have some good things going for it, because it certainly does. The light/dark gameplay mechanic sounds cool, but I could see it becoming easily tiresome. There's a nice selection of dynamic weapons housed within a shapeshifting skull named Johnson. And there's plenty of ridiculous and dirty humor being tossed around, if that's your thing.
What's the consensus on Shadows of the Damned, readers? If you're thinking it's a buy, it may be worth the preorder to secure a free copy of Yamaoka's superbly scored soundtrack, something that rarely comes up short. You better act soon though, Shadows releases this coming Tuesday, June 21.
Mortal Kombat is steadily solidifying itself as the best fighting game of the year thus far. Why? Post-release support that moves as quickly as Marvel vs. Capcom 3's entire cast of characters combined. Burned!
IGN has confirmed the much-teased female ninja Skarlet will officially join the tournament's kombatants next week, June 21. The perpetual menstrual cycle uses the blood of fallen warriors and some wicked-sharp kunai to put her enemies to shame. Sorry, was that period joke in bad taste? Well it fits perfectly, so I don't care what you think!
Skarlet will run you a $5 buy in, as will be the case with each following DLC. You bet your ass, more downloadable characters! Following the blood-ninja-with-boobs will be Kenshi, the blind swordsman. And after Kenshi comes Rain, ninja-prince of his realm, who dons the color purple. The correlation never occurred to me until about 5 minutes ago. Oh Ed Boon, your sense of humor never fails me! One last fighter for the summer has yet to be revealed. Any bets on the identity of this mysterious kombatant? I'm drawing a total blank, though Mortal Kombat lore is not my strongest suit.
Now you may be asking, how will online play work with these characters? Simple: each paid DLC will release alongside a free DLC which will not only patch the game - allowing you to play online against anyone who has purchased a character - but will also include a free set of character skins. The free patch releasing alongside Skarlet's update will bring Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 skins for Cyrax and Sektor. No word on who gets the new skin treatment with Kenshi and Rain, but as long as those packs keep being free, I'll be a happy gamer.
PS. Try not to take offense to the period quip, wimp.
Friday, July 15, 2011 at 3:39PM 
