By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 11:40 pm
Blizzard's free-to-play card game Hearthstone is adding its first new hero since launch. Rather than functioning as a new class, this $10 hero serves as a cosmetic replacement for an existing one.  Dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard is coming to Hearthstone to take the place of the existing Warrior class character, Garrosh Hellscream. Like other new heroes on the way to Hearthstone, Magni costs $10 and provides you with several ways to distinguish yourself in-game without impacting gameplay. Blizzard makes it clear that new heroes don't offer new cards or hero powers, and thus "are not considered new classes." Instead, playing as a new hero replaces your hero portrait, as well as your hero power animation. They also add new emotes, voices, themes for the play area, and a unique card back, the latter of which can be used with any deck. Magni's hero power animationA release date for Magni was not announced; Blizzard simply stated he'll be "coming soon." There's also no word on how soon we can expect the next hero, or whom that might be. Based on the switch from a Horde character to an Alliance one, we might also be seeing similar switches for other heroes in the future.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 11:38 pm
 Watch extended gameplay footage from Magicka 2 featuring the Giant Bomb crew.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 11:13 pm
Surgeon Simulator developer Bossa Studios is bringing its wacky bread simulator I Am Bread to PlayStation 4, the London-based studio announced today. The game is set to launch this summer. Accompanying Bossa's announcement today is a funny parody of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song because....well, we're not sure why. Bossa isn't developing the PS4 edition of I Am Bread itself, as development duties have been handed over to Gravity Crash and Oddworld developer Just Add Water. The PS4 edition of I Am Bread will be playable at Sony's booth at E3 later this month. I Am Bread tells the "beautiful story of one slice of bread's epic and emotional journey as it embarks on a quest to become toasted." The game is currently available on PC for $13, while mobile versions are also in development. The game has not been announced for Xbox One. GameSpot gave I Am Bread a 5/10 review score. "Ultimately, it's a game for the same folks who still cackle with glee whenever there is a new Sharknado, or that still watch Snakes on a Plane," reviewer Justin Clark wrote. "The joke is in the premise, in the title, and it won't stop winking and snickering with you for hours on end. But all it takes is one moment of clarity, one second-guess 'why was I laughing' for the whole thing to fall apart. And in this game's case, all it has to do is remind you of how irksome it can be and often is to go from being a goofy joke to a serious headache in a flash."
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 11:04 pm
Following yesterday's unveiling of Fallout 4, Bethesda today shared a handful of 1080p screenshots from the trailer, which you can find below. There's not necessarily anything new to glean from these images, but they're higher quality than grabbing screenshots of the paused video. As such, it should be easier to hunt down any lingering secrets that might still be hidden in them. Very little has been confirmed about Fallout 4, which is coming to PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Multiple retailer listings have suggested it will be out later this year, but that remains unofficial.          Based on the trailer, we do know that a dog will apparently play a significant role, and that familiar Fallout trappings like Vault-Tech, bobbleheads, and the iconic "war never changes" line are all here. It also looks as if Boston will be the game's setting, and as you can see in one of the screenshots above, the Mysterious Stranger appears to be making a return. For more, check out our trailer breakdown in the video below.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 10:28 pm
Valve today announced the launch dates for the first official Steam Machines, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link. You can now preorder all of these devices, and by doing so, you can potentially get your hands on them early. All of this will arrive on November 10 in the United States, though you can begin placing preorders today. For a limited time, if you preorder through Steam itself or GameStop, you'll be able to get Alienware's Steam Machines, the Steam Controller, or the Steam Link on October 16. In Europe and Canada, you'll be able to get the controller or Link early by preordering through Steam, GameStop, EB Games, Micromania, or GAME UK. Steam Machines are essentially living-room PCs, meant to offer the PC gaming experience without having to worry about building a traditional computer. While Alienware's offerings are being highlighted as the ones you can get early, there are a number of alternatives that will also be available come November. These include boxes from Asus, iBuyPower, and Origin, with all of them ranging in power and price from $450 up to a whopping $5,000. Alienware's Steam MachineSteam Link ($50) is designed as a way of allowing you to easily stream PC games to a TV over a local network. The Steam Controller ($50), meanwhile, aims to make it possible to play PC games with a controller that were only designed for a keyboard and mouse.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 10:11 pm
The first trailer for the upcoming movie Macbeth has arrived, giving us a first look at Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in their lead roles. It's a powerful trailer. I've watched it twice so far.  Based on the trailer at least, Macbeth seems like it will feature all the treachery and pain you'd expect from an adaptation of Shakepeare's classic. Don't expect to leave the theater with a smile on your face after watching this one. Macbeth has significant ties to the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie, as Fassbender and Cotillard will star in that film. What's more, Macbeth director Justin Kurzel is also directing the Assassin's Creed project. The Assassin's Creed movie starts filming in September. It is due to hit theaters in December 2016.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 09:36 pm
A newly discovered Witcher 3: Wild Hunt glitch is one of the best yet. YouTube user koalas4life1 (a most excellent account name) has published a video that documents a Witcher 3 bug that causes Geralt's sword to vanish from his hands. It looks especially strange and funny when Geralt performs his regular routine of stabs and pirouettes without his trusty blade. But add in a metal track and Geralt becomes a one-man moshing machine. Look at him go! The song is "Indictment" by All That Remains. For the sake of comparison, here is a video of real people moshing to that song. Via: Kotaku
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 08:55 pm
Back in April, Square Enix confirmed Final Fantasy XV would skip E3 for Gamescom, but the developer was still hoping to release a short trailer at the June event in Los Angeles. Now, those plans have been scrapped entirely.  "After internal discussions, we decided not to create an E3 trailer," Square Enix marketing manager Akio Ofuj said during a livetsream today. "Sorry for lying." "It's unfortunate," Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata added. "We said we'd have something at E3, and there's nothing." You're not missing much, however, as Ofuji said this trailer was going to contain old footage that would serve more as a segue of sorts for a bigger reveal at Gamescom. Looking ahead to Gamescom in August, Ofuji teased that Square Enix is planning to show off "new, never-before-seen" gameplay footage during the event, which runs August 5-9 in Germany. In addition, Tabata shared the piece of concept art you can see below. He says it's related to some kind of announcement Square Enix is planning to make at the event.  In other Final Fantasy XV news, Square Enix has announced the release date for Episode Duscae 2.0, the updated version of the RPG's demo for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 08:35 pm
Marvel: Contest of Champions developer Kabam has announced Star Wars: Uprising, a mobile game set in between Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars: Uprising is pitched as an RPG that allows players to create a unique character and embark on missions to develop skill while collecting gear. Although the studio has released a teaser for the game, there is no actual gameplay in the video. It is currently unclear what the gameplay entails, though a very small screenshot on the game's website seemingly suggests it will be a Diablo-esque action game. Players will also be able to gather a crew and cartel to partake in "large-scale sector-wide battles that dictate the future of the game universe." Real-time co-op will also be available. "Star Wars: Uprising will introduce a new chapter of the Star Wars universe that will illuminate dramatic events in the Anoat Sector, inclusive of Hoth and Cloud City, following the Battle of Endor and the death of the Emperor," its developer explains. Among the available playable classes are Smuggler, Bounty Hunter, Rebel Guerilla, Diplomat, and Gambler. The game's official website is accepting pre-registrations for access. Kabam is a prolific mobile development studio and has worked on tie-in games for a number of large properties including The Hobbit, Fast & Furious, and The Godfather. In more concrete Star Wars game news, EA is expected to show off Star Wars: Battlefront at E3 on June 15. The Star Wars: Battlefront release date has been confirmed as November 17 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Those who preorder will receive access to the free Battle of Jakku expansion on December 1, while everyone else will get to play it on December 7. This content is themed around upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 08:30 pm
 Fight the evil forces of the Empire in Star Wars: Uprising for iOS and Android.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 07:30 pm
 Out with John Malkovich and in with Bruce Campbell. Join Rob & Erick as they explore the latest zombie map for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
By Anonymous on Jun 04, 2015 02:51 am
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is an absurd game in the most literal sense of the word. Between explosive assaults on a circus of demonic clowns and trading Monty Python references with a Minotaur, at times it's hard to say what drives this frenetic adventure. You find the same over-the-top action, pop culture quips, and touches of gothic horror here that you do in the previous games in this series. Thematically, however, the series has grown. Underneath bursts of raucous action and tongue-in-cheek winks to the audience, there's an earnest, albeit haphazard attempt at character drama that works because the rest of the game is so ludicrous. Until now, the Van Helsing series has played out as something of a comedic parody of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein stapled to the kind of quick-firing comedy that made the Banjo-Kazooie series stand out in its day. The comparison holds up well partly because you don't play as the eponymous Van Helsing, at least not completely. You're also paired with his companion--the ghost of Lady Katarina. Because this is a role-playing game, there are plenty of stats and skills to tinker with, but when Van Helsing levels up, she does too. You can create joint strategies and tactics to play her strengths off your weaknesses and vice versa. This major ludic twist reinforces the bond between these two characters and as I played, that's what I kept settling on. The action that has been at the heart of the series for two years now is still strong.After three games, I saw Van Helsing and Katarina develop their own brand of snark. Helsing is flippant and dry, often settling things with a pithy remark and an endearing one-liner. Katarina is more direct. She says what she feels and verbally mixes it up with demons and mad scientists alike--all while maintaining a defensive air of detachment. The two have a charming dynamic, which has been a vital element of their adventure so far. After all, what's an epic journey to cleanse the world of demons and vampires without relatable characters to anchor that quest? The notably non-romantic relationship between Van Helsing and Katarina accomplishes that with deft skill, particularly in this third arc of their tale. At one point, for example, Katarina opens up about the circumstances of her death--an event often hinted at but never fully explored throughout the series. It's an arresting, personal moment for both of them--that happens to be punctuated with spurts of spastic violence and gratuitous gore. It's not a masterful moment by any means, but it's honest and touching all the same--particularly given the context of the other two games. In exchange for narrative closure, almost everything else has been copied and pasted from its previous iterations.
If you've noticed that I haven't commented much about how the game is played, that's because Van Helsing III is almost identical to the second game in the series. This entry includes a couple more classes, bringing the total up to six, which range from gunslingers and swordsmen to the more exotic exo-skeleton-bound phlogistoneer. They're all distinct enough, with unique skills and abilities that complement those of Katarina, but none feel like they expound on the play in the second game. That entry introduced two additional skill slots and two extra classes, which gave the combat system substantive depth. Now there's clear distinction without a meaningful difference. If anything, the biggest improvement here is the pacing. Whereas the first entry hadn't found its footing and lacked confidence, the second entry took a few hours to get going. The third Van Helsing opens up right away with a short tutorial and a bevy of side quests. It assumes that you're familiar with the basics of how some of the ancillary missions work, but there's enough guidance for new players to keep them from feeling too lost--at least in terms of play. From a big-picture perspective, most of the context for Helsing and his resistance movement will lack context, but the experience is better for it nonetheless. Veterans won't have their hands held for long, while newbies can immediately understand the scope of this massive campaign. Pro: Base management minigames are available much earlier in the game. Con: There's not nearly as much to do with them as you could before. From the beginning, you have access to potion and equipment crafting as well as adjuvant missions for your pet chimera and your army of resistance fighters. All of these are here to help you either make money or spend money to create the best possible gear. It takes a few hours to gather up the resources to begin investing, but when you do, the process yields very little. As with any game in the Diablo lineage, Van Helsing is meant to be played in one of two discrete ways. You can play through a standard game, only gathering and selling the loot you find naturally. You won't need to run side quests or devote much time to managing your base at all. In contrast, dedicated players can utilize the large rabbit hole filled to the brim with options to customize and precisely manage your character and your companion--or at least that's what Van Helsing II had. Here, there's little of substance beyond the base game. Even worse is that all that extra content was originally intended to help support a robust set of online modes, but most of those have been cut down. For example, the Neverending story mode, one of the biggest replayability features, is all but gone. When added to the game's decreased level cap (30, down from 60), the exclusion cuts down on the long-term potential of a game that once thrived on post-campaign play. Absurd jokes still give the game a sense of levity. These unfortunate oversights hint at the biggest problem with Van Helsing III--in exchange for narrative closure, almost everything else has been copied and pasted from its previous iterations. Potions, a quick pick-me-up staple in almost any action RPG, have been cut, but the user interface still has buttons corresponding to where the potion displays were in the last game. Furthermore, some skills explicitly upgrade the functionality of potions that don't exist. Many textures, enemies, and missions are almost identical as well. Adding to that are some pernicious bugs that can cause all manner of issues, from game crashes to quests that cannot be completed. There's nothing game-breaking, but it's still sad to see. This was a series to which I, and many others, had become quite attached. It was a refreshing take on a modern myth and a rote genre. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is like visiting your hometown after years of absence. Everything's the same, yet off somehow. As you visit all the same places and exchange words with old friends, you're faced with an uncomfortable duality. On one hand, you get the closure of knowing how it all turned out, but on the other, you wonder what could have been, making you simultaneously satisfied and unsettled by the reality that this is the end.
Recent Articles:
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment