LEGO Dimensions represents the latest attempt by a company to get into the increasingly crowded toys-to-life space. It features tons of popular properties, including Portal, Lord of the Rings, and Batman, and it can be expanded even further with additional toy packs.
Aside from the intermingling of its many different IPs, Dimensions also distinguishes itself from the competition by having you build actual, physical LEGOs, which are then placed on a platform that brings them into the game world. It's certainly a unique approach to the genre, but how does the game itself play? We've gathered up some of the first reviews below to give you a better idea of what to expect.
"In the first few hours of LEGO Dimensions play time with my six-year-old son, almost half the time was spent on playing with blocks. We built the portal together. We built the Batmobile, and then opened up a Scooby Doo pack and built the power-up Scooby Snack and Mystery Machine located within. We then hit the Wizard of Oz world, with Batman's head comically poking out the top of the Mystery Machine. In any game within the toys-to-life genre, there's sometimes an unspoken question: is this also a great toy or just a great game? In LEGO Dimensions' case, the answer is easy: it's both." - Randolph Ramsay [Full review]
Game Informer -- 8.75/10
"Despite the extraneous content, LEGO Dimensions is a hit. I haven't laughed this much playing a video game in a long time. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next, and my wife even sat in to watch the story unfold in crazy ways. Whether you just purchase the core set or go bonkers purchasing figures, LEGO Dimensions delivers big thrills and fun playability both in the game and on your living-room floor." - Andrew Reiner [Full review]
VideoGamer -- 8/10
"LEGO Dimensions is the most fun I've had with a LEGO video game since the whole idea was new back on the PS2. It's full of cool new ideas and a story rammed with iconic references and witty humour--something that adults will enjoy perhaps even more than young children. The move to a toys-to-life model will be amazing for some but annoying for others. As a standalone entity the Starter Pack is at once really rather lovely and also a clear gateway drug into a very expensive world. You've been warned." - Tom Orry [Full review]
GamesRadar -- 3.5/5
"Overall, the starter kit is a qualified recommendation. Even as a self-contained game, it's delightfully bizarre in a way few will expect but many will appreciate, and the use of the portal is genuinely clever throughout the core gameplay. But, on the flip side, if you don't want to commit to any other purchases, know that throughout your adventure you'll suffer a disappointing pattern of spotting cool, exciting new stuff only to find that you're resolutely locked out of it... and that will grate more than the eye-watering initial price." - Ben Tyrer [Full review]
Ubisoft is no stranger to making shooters, having produced games in the genre since the 90s. With the upcoming Rainbow Six: Siege, however, developer Ubisoft Montreal has a different take on the genre that places as more importance on teamwork and strategy than it does skill. I played an early build of the game for two hours and spoke to Rainbow Six: Siege level designer Benoit Deschamps about why the studio has developed such high hopes for the game.
My introduction to Rainbow Six: Siege placed me in matches against the AI with four other teammates. While completing mission objectives in this scenario was well within our abilities, it wasn't until we were pitted against another team that I felt the game truly tested us. Rainbow Six: Siege features friendly-fire and permadeath by default, and the combination of the two made sure I was fully focused for the entirety of the playthrough. Every position I took up was crucial, and every bullet fired had to be accurate, lest I blast my teammates out of action and onto security camera duty.
As we booted up the final round against our human opponents that would make or break our victory, my palms tingled--a tell-tale sign of the sweat that was beginning to prickle in my hands. It was a feeling that I had not experienced since my early competitive match-making days in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a comparison Deschamps also acknowledged.
"We think we have something good that's going to appeal to Counter-Strike or other first-person shooter gamers. The level designers on the team, we're all fans of Counter-Strike, and the first time we ever played [Rainbow Six: Siege] we had just the same kind of feeling. But then we focused on making the game more unique, more appealing to the fantasy of a counter-terrorist unit," he said.
Like in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's competitive mode, Siege accounts for body collision in addition to friendly-fire and permanent death. The similarities veered away from there, however. For all my experience gained from fragging in CS:GO, it quickly became apparent that skill played second fiddle to strategy and teamwork in Siege.
The game makes it very clear when a teammate falls.
"First-person shooter skill, in this game, doesn't really matter that much," Deschamps had warned me before we started, "It's really about organisation, and teamplay. The way you have such little time at the beginning and you're like okay, what's going to be our strategy? You have someone think about it, and the other person to apply it, and you have to remember small rules, and exceptions, and little things here and there. The people who play that well, they will win. Of course, if on the other side you've got this awesome, first-person shooter pro lightning-reflex team, they've got an edge with their guns, but that's it. But if they ignore the other details of the game they will be handicapped, and I'm sure the organised team will win, even if they are not super awesome at first-person shooters."
Fortunately, communication was a strong point in the team I was playing with. Most of us were familiar with each other and had little hesitations in speaking orders and providing status updates over the microphones. The constant back and forth made all the difference, as we timed simultaneous wall breaches and flanked our opponents like the well-trained counter-terrorism unit we were playing as to secure victory.
Teams cannot double up on classes, which means each group of five possesses a variety of abilities. Even for players where shooting wasn't necessarily a strong suit, there was plenty to do; from laying down barbed wire, reinforcing walls, setting up traps, to planting explosive mines, Siege's assortment of classes each come equipped with different ways to contribute to the game. Outside of using abilities, there is value in providing strategic insights to the team, too.
"At E3, I saw what you could call casual players. I saw a girl who played and maybe she wasn't good at shooter games, but she was good at strategy games. In just one session, she learned all about the rooms and the landmarks and because of that, she could buff her team to kill the other one so many times. Just because she was the head of the team, it worked so well," Deschamps said.
Even blowing up walls needs to be done carefully, as friendly fire extends to explosives.
The appeal to an audience that extends outside of the most hardcore of FPS players is part of why Ubisoft hopes that the game will become it's highest-selling shooter. Earlier this year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot dubbed Siege as having the potential to be more successful than Far Cry 4, which has sold more than seven million units. When asked about the high expectations set for Siege, Deschamps agreed with Guillemot's sentiment.
"When you think about all the good shooters we make at Ubisoft, including Far Cry, which I worked on, it's a great game. We have fun playing it. The thing is, for [Rainbow Six: Siege] we've got 5v5 for our game, which we hope will gather a lot more people. We hope everybody will want to become the best in a competitive league together, that they'll want to achieve that together.
We think that people will look at that and be like, oh man you play that game, oh you're good? I want to be a part of that team, I want to be with you. This way, the game is going to grow by itself, and we really think there's big potential there. So that's why we think Rainbow Six: Siege might be able to beat the other shooters we have."
Based on my experiences with the game, it's an expectation within reason. Siege's class-based gameplay and hardcore mechanics have left me curious to play more. I look forward to seeing how well I fare online when the game launches in December this year for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
During an appearance today at Europe's EGX gaming event, PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida made comments that suggest a successor to the PlayStation Vita may not be in the cards. Asked about a PlayStation Vita 2, Yoshida said the current video game climate is "not healthy" for such a platform to exist due in part to the rise in popularity of gaming on smartphones and tablets.
"That's a tough question," he said when asked about a potential PlayStation Vita 2, as reported by Eurogamer. "People have mobile phones and it's so easy to play games on smartphones," Yoshida said. "And many games on smartphones are free, or free to start. I myself am a huge fan of PlayStation Vita and we worked really hard on designing every aspect. Touch-based games are fun--there are many games with really good design. But having sticks and buttons make things totally different."
He added: "So I hope, like many of you, that this culture of playing portable games continues but the climate is not healthy for now because of the huge dominance of mobile gaming."
Also during the talk, Yoshida was asked about the possibility of a new Wipeout game coming to market. Though developer Sony Liverpool is closed, Yoshida said Sony has a "never say never" attitude about bringing Wipeout back someday; the same can be said for other dormant Sony properties, he said. Another fan asked about the possibility of a Killzone remastered bundle for PlayStation 4, not unlike Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. He didn't rule it out, but said Sony would need to find the right partner to make it happen, if it ever does.
He also estimated that only about half of current PS4 users owned a PlayStation 3. Remastered bundles are a good way to catch them up with franchises they may never have played, Yoshida explained.
Watch the full interview below, which also dives into the past 20 years of PlayStation.
Ubisoft has announced the complete soundtrack for Just Dance 2016, the Assassin's Creed publisher's latest entry in the blockbuster dancing franchise. There are more than 40 tracks included this year, including famous pop songs like "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass."
Also featured are some famous movie songs like "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid and "You're The One I Want" off the Grease soundtrack. Check out the full lineup of songs below the video.
Just Dance 2016 launches on October 20 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii, and Wii U. This year's game also features support for the new Just Dance Controller mobile app, which lets players (on current-generation consoles) to use their smartphone to play the game.
Just Dance 2016 Complete Tracklist:
"Heartbeat Song" by Kelly Clarkson
"Teacher" by Nick Jonas
"Chiwawa" by Wanko Ni Mero Mero
"Copacabana" by Frankie Bostello
"This Is How We Do" by Katy Perry
"Drop The Mambo" by Diva Carmina
"Hit The Road Jack" by Charles Percy
"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by The Girly Team
"Irish Meadow Dance" by O'Callaghan's Orchestra
"Junto a Ti" From Disney's "Violetta"
"Kaboom Pow" by Nikki Yanofsky
"Kool Kontact" by Glorious Black Belts
"You're The One That I Want" From The Movie Grease
"The Choice Is Yours" by Darius Dante Van Dijk
"Under the Sea" From Disney's "The Little Mermaid"
"When The Rain Begins To Fall" by Sky Trucking
"You Never Can Tell" by A. Caveman & The Backseats
"Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars
"All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor
"Animals" by Martin Garrix
"Hey Mama" by David Guetta Ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, & Afrojack
The Fallout 4 Xbox One product page has been updated, revealing the role-playing game's file size on Microsoft's console: 28.12 GB. As people are saying, that seems fairly trim for such a large- and ambitious-sounding game. But compression is likely keeping the overall file size down.
File size details for the PlayStation 4 and PC editions of Fallout 4 are not yet available. We have followed up with Bethesda in an attempt to confirm details about Fallout 4's file size.
Xbox Boss Finds Console Wars Debate "Distasteful":Phil Spencer continued to be one of the most likable gaming executives out there this week with his comments about the Xbox One vs. PS4 battle and why it's not really in the best interest of anyone.
Hitman Delayed Into 2016:Another Big 2015 Game is now a Big 2016 Game, as IO Interactive's new Hitman was pushed to next year. Click through the link to learn why.
Video Game Voice Actors May Go on Strike:If 75 percent of the video game voice actors in the SAG-AFTRA union vote to strike, then it will happen. Head to the link to see their list requests.
THE OTHER STUFF:
Roblox, which is described as the Internet's largest user-powered game creation, development, and gameplay platform, is expanding. It's coming soon to Xbox One, starting in December, marking its console debut. There will be over 20 games in the app at launch, with more coming later. Read more about how this exciting-sounding user-generated content platform works at the Roblox website. Some images of the available games are below.
Eurogamer has a great, in-depth interview with the folks behind the upcoming no-fantasy RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Among other things, the studio reveals the game will take you at least 50 hours to complete. Read the full interview here.
NOPE NOPE NOPE. That's the message conveyed by one member of the first Destiny fireteam to take down the game's new King's Fall raid. Watch the funny video below, but be warning, there is a lot strong, loud language.
Ever wonder what Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would look like as an 8-bit game?Wonder no more!
Fallout 4 is out now, kind of. Check out this nice Fallout 4 mod in GTA V. Just a couple more months until the game arrives. Hang in there.
Another Final Fantasy game was released on Steam this week. You can get Final Fantasy V right now for $16, but be warned, reviews right now are "mixed."
The Guardian has a nice, in-depth feature about Destiny's first year and some of the challenges that Bungie faced. Among other things, Bungie frankly acknowledges about the much-criticized story, "We definitely didn't get that right." Read the full interview here.
GameStop is rolling out a number of Batman Day deals today only, September 26. Here's a rundown of all the deals.
$20 off Batman: Arkham Knight (September 26 only)
A limited edition comic book with GameStop exclusive cover will be free to customers with no purchase necessary
50% off GameStop exclusive Prop replica Batarang
Various POP! Vinyl Batman figures- $10.99
GameStop exclusive Batman Damage figure- $24.99
50% off Batman watches
Oh Hell Yeah! Here's an awesome new gameplay trailer for 2K's upcoming wrestling game, WWE 2K16. Check it out.
The United States Marines announced this week that they are testing robot dogs for future warfare. No, really. Get the full story here.
A Super Mario Maker invincibility glitch? Yes, please. Watch it in the video below.
It's not easy to show off how virtual reality works. But Sony has done a nice job, as you can see in this new video from the Tokyo Game Show.
Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked troves of NSA documents, has a theory for why we maybe haven't made contact with alien life just yet. It has to do with encryption.
343 has published a detailed overview of how Halo 5's new CTF mode plays and how it compares to Halo 4 and other games in the series. Read it here; it's packed with awesome insight (and GIFs!) for hardcore players.
ArenaNet has released the launch trailer for Guild Wars 2's first expansion, Heart of Thorns, which launches in just under a month on October 23. Check out the video below, which appears to use in-game assets instead of a more Blizzard-style CG approach. Whatever the case, people are loving it.
As previously announced, Heart of Thorns adds a new Maguuma Jungle zone, an expanded progression system, more abilities (such as hang-gliding), a new Revenant profession, guild halls, and a new PvP Stronghold mode, among other things.
The base Guild Wars 2 game recently became free, but Heart of Thorns is a paid expansion available by itself or through various bundles. Pre-purchasing any version of Heart of Thorns grants you guaranteed access to all beta weekend events leading up to release.
Originally slated to launch in 2015 before being pushed to 2016, Mega Man and Dead Rising designer Keiji Inafune's platformer Mighty No. 9 now has an official release date. Publisher Deep Silver and developer Comcept announced on Friday that the game will launch in the Americas on February 9, 2016 and in the rest of the world on February 12.
That release date applies to the physical and digital versions of the game for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U. The game will be available digitally only for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Digital versions of the game for PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS are also in the works, but are without release dates.
A demo for Mighty No. 9 was supposed to be available for backers on September 15, but it has been delayed. Comcept has apologized for the delay, but has not announced a new release date for it. The developer has, however, confirmed that the demo's time limit has been dropped.
In a new interview today, Destiny: The Taken King creative director Luke Smith talked about some the challenges that the shooter faced in its first year. Specifically, he acknowledged that Destiny's original leveling system was flawed right from the time the game launched in September 2014.
Smith tells Kotaku as part of a wide-ranging interview that Bungie started working on the new leveling system that would be introduced in The Taken King as early as September/October of 2014.
"The original Light system, when that went out the door, we were not thrilled with it," Smith said. "We knew when that went out the door that we were going to need to revisit it. So that work basically began in earnest probably September or October [of 2014]. We had already started to work on a new proposal, the proposal that would become the Light 2.0 that's in the game now. We were working on that as early as last fall."
Smith and his team devised the new leveling proposal that would eventually be delivered in this month's Taken King expansion. But it couldn't be implemented in the game until now due to some compatibility issues with previous expansions The Dark Below (December 2014) and House of Wolves (May 2015).
"We had to look at DLC 1 [The Dark Below] and DLC 2 [House of Wolves] and say, 'OK, well, how can we set those two DLCs up to allowing for this [leveling] pivot?' So in DLC 2, that's why you see the introduction of the Etheric Light mechanic, because we were trying to get players to converge quickly at a single, common level because we knew where we were going to take them next."
Kotaku's full interview with Smith, available by audio only here, is a great listen, featuring interesting and frank insight into Destiny's development and where the game is headed next.
FIFA 16 launched this week, and players didn't need very long to rack up some amazing goals. EA Sports has now published the first "Best Goals of the Week" video, highlighting some stunning strikes.
Watch the video below to see these in action. My favorite is probably the Navas score at :45. You can submit your own goal for next week's highlight reel here.
"FIFA needed a year like this. Without serious competition from Konami's PES in the past few years (until now), and with Ultimate Team keeping players playing and paying all year round, there's been no pressing motivation to ring the changes," we wrote in our review. "Annual titles will always evolve gradually, but recent progress has felt glacial. FIFA 16 can be stubborn and stifling, but it feels gloriously new, and having to learn fresh strategies and nuances in a game series like this is an almost-forgotten pleasure."
For more on the critical reception to FIFA 16, check out this review roundup.
The NFL on Friday announced a partnership with EA Sports to develop a new video series that will air every week on digital platforms. The show is called EA Sports Madden NFL Live, and it will air on a weekly basis through NFL.com and Twitch (yes, the NFL has its own Twitch account) every Friday at 12 PM EDT.
Reruns can be seen on the NFL Network on Fridays at 4 PM EDT. You'll also be able to watch clips from the show on NFL.com, the NFL mobile app, and Twitch.
EA Sports Madden NFL Live is produced by the NFL's internal NFL Media team. The show aims to be the "premier destination" for everything you'd want to know about EA's Madden series. Hosts will talk about new in-game content for Madden Ultimate Team and give you pointers on how to play better.
The show will also include a SportsCenter Top 10-like segment of the best plays of the week and provide the latest details on in-game player ratings. There's also some synergy going on here, as the show will air recaps and highlights from real-world NFL games "through the lens of Madden NFL 16."
The EA Sports Madden NFL Live hosts are writer Adam Rank and former Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Popular Twitch sports game streamer Scott "Coltrane" Cole also appears on the show, while a different guest--a current or former NFL player or celebrity--will join the regular hosts every week.
With all of the original living Ghostbusters set to appear in the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot, Sigourney Weaver will also be appearing in the movie.
This was revealed by director Paul Feig on Twitter today, where he wrote, "Gang, trying to keep surprises but this is about to leak, so I'll tell you myself: the awesome Sigourney Weaver is going to be in our movie!"
She's excited.
Weaver starred in the first two Ghostbusters films, in which she played the role of Dana Barrett.
That leaves out only Rick Moranis (Louis Tully in the first two movies), who hasn't appeared in a movie or TV show in close to a decade. Earlier this year, he took part in a rare interview, telling Empire he wasn't necessarily opposed to being in the new movie. "I haven't talked to Danny [Aykroyd] about it," he said. "Somebody he's associated with called me and I said, 'I wouldn't not do it, but it's got to be good.' You know, I'm not interested in doing anything I've already done, and I thought the second one was a disappointment."
The new movie--simply entitled Ghostbusters--is due out on July 15, 2016.
Divinity: Original Sin 2's Kickstarter campaign has nearly reached its end. Before the crowdfunding comes to a close, it's met yet another stretch goal, and developer Larian Studios has also announced that a veteran RPG developer will be working on the game.
In an update on the Kickstarter page today, Larian revealed that Chris Avellone "has agreed [to] develop and write at least one of the playable origin stories in the game." Avellone has an extensive history in the RPG space, having worked on Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment before founding Obsidian Entertainment, where he contributed to games likes Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and Fallout: New Vegas. More recently, he got a taste of what it's like to work on a Kickstarter project with Pillars of Eternity.
The partnership with Larian came about as a result of fan feedback. Prior to the Kickstarter kicking off, Larian asked fans what kind of backer rewards they wanted to see, and the idea of Avellone being brought on proved to be extremely popular. While not something that could be offered as a reward, this led to Avellone and Larian founder Swen Vincke meeting at PAX in August.
"This is the first time I think the community is responsible for bringing two developers together who might not have crossed paths... and especially for such a great project," Avellone said about today's news. "I have a lot of respect for Larian Studios, Swen, and Divinity: Original Sin; it's one of the best game Kickstarters ever. I met Swen at PAX Prime, talked about RPGs for hours, and at the end of it, it was clear we were on the same page. Now? We're primed to do something great, and I'm proud to be part of it."
There are now just over four days left before the Kickstarter comes to an end on September 30. Backers have now pledged $1.658 million, and as noted above, that means another stretch goal has been reached. Original Sin II will now offer dedicated mod support; a team will be hired to work exclusively on improving and streamlining the included editor.
No comments:
Post a Comment