Category: Reviews (Page 4 of 24)

      “Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time” Just Became a Real Steal

      January 10, 2013 /

      If you ever hear someone drone on longingly about the “Sly Cooper” series, understand that it is because it’s one of “those games”. There wasn’t much hype around the first game, so anyone that played it usually did so under unique circumstances, and were met with a title that was simply charming. It may have been rough around the edges, but the mounds of charm that emitted from the title combined with some great stealth-lite gameplay to produce something that made you want to scream its praises to anyone within earshot

      It’s that type of reaction that led to a continuation of the series, that will carry on with the upcoming “Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time”. Until recently, the only good reason you needed to be excited for Sly 4 was Sly 1-3. However, there’s now an even better reason to snatch up the game like a thieving raccoon, considering that it will now only cost $39.99 for the PS3 version and $29.99 for the PS Vita. We also know that the PS3 version will include a downloadable copy of the Vita version as part of Sony’s “Cross-Buy” initiative.

      Clearly, that makes this a hell of a deal. In fact, considering that all we hear about is the rising costs of video game production, some are considering this usually joyful announcement of a cheaper AAA video game to be suspicious. The concerns are that this will somehow lead to a very short game, or one that the developers are somehow worried about going over well. This has led to a marketing manager at Sony assuring people that this is not a cover up or ploy, but rather a way to make sure as many people as possible get a chance to play the game.

      Of course, even if it is somehow true that this price cut is a preemptive measure for something the developers know that we don’t, this is still a generous move that all PS3 gamers should take note of when Sly 4 is released on February 5th in North America.

      Reviews

      Blizzard is Abandoning Diablo III’s Team Deathmatch Mode

      December 27, 2012 /

      Game developers have had to apologize for a lot of things over the years, from content to characters to endings, and in the case of the recent “War Z” debacle, pretty much the fact that their game even exists.

      Now it’s Blizzard’s turn to taste humble pie, as they are admitting defeat, and yanking the imbalanced and unpopular team deathmatch mode from “Diablo III”. Citing numerous shortcomings, Blizzard admits they just couldn’t find a way to get the mode to work, and will be removing it, ultimately, because it wasn’t really any fun.

      However, they are working on a temporary mode that will still allow for player duels which should arrive with the next patch, and are also apparently designing an entirely new mode that will replace, and hopefully surpass, team deathmatch. The only details know about this new mode is that it will be a free addition to the game, available sometime in the new year.

      Considering the numerous failures surrounding “Diablo III” at its release, it’s easy to look at this news as a further embarrassment, or a little more dirt on the grave. However, Blizzard is spot on that the mode just didn’t work in any entertaining or creative way, and even though the work on implementing team deathmatch apparently took up a sizeable amount of the development time leading up to “Diablo’s” release, its best that they admit their failures now and improve them, rather than skirt the issue entirely and rest on the laurels of some sizable sales figures. It’ll be exciting to see what they come up with instead, now that they have some more perspective on what works, and what definitely doesn’t.

      Reviews

      Ubisoft is Interested in Buying THQ

      December 21, 2012 /

      The ongoing financial situation plaguing THQ Games has been well documented, and recently resulted in such actions as the company hosting a prolific, and somewhat successful, humble bundle sale, but still ultimately filing for bankruptcy and selling their assets to the Clearlake Capital Group for $60 million. It’s a sad situation not only for the employees of THQ, but for gamers as well, as THQ still has quite a few high quality franchises to its name, including “Metro”, the WWE games, “Darksiders”, “Company of Heroes”, “Warhammer”, and “Saints Row”. Now, though, the future of those titles, and more, is cast in serious doubt even as THQ seemingly remains active for the moment.

      However, some hopeful news has emerged from the whole matter recently, as there is a rumor that Ubisoft is seriously interested in buying the properties of THQ. While the early reports suggest they will be waiting until THQ is a little more certain (and, frankly, desperate) that they will be selling their properties in order to get a better price, Ubisoft has been clear with their interest in the assets should they have the opportunity.

      “We are always interested in good brands.” Says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, “For sure, it’s something we can consider, but I can’t tell you more.”

      While the option is out there for Ubisoft to snatch certain titles, it’s looking more likely they will be eyeing the entire line up. From an outside perspective, this would be a real win, win for all parties if the buyout happens, as it would not only save the reeling developer, but Ubisoft would add some substantial games to its already stacked repertoire. For gamers who are interested in THQ’s titles, there couldn’t be a better interested buyer than Ubisoft, as the two company’s philosophies concerning quality development are very similar, and Ubisoft has proved to be one of the most consistent developers and publishers of the last decade.

      As bad as this whole ordeal has been for THQ, it’s good to know that it may not be game over for the company just yet.

      Reviews

      A Shocker, but Crysis 3 Apparently Looks Really, Really, Good

      December 11, 2012 /

      Every developer naturally hypes up their releases. Most of the time though, the hype is just that, and ends up being completely unjustified (see Molyneux, Peter).

      When it comes to the developers of the “Crysis” series hyping the graphical prowess of their next title though, you can usually take that guarantee to the exceptionally well rendered bank, as the series continues to produce the most jaw dropping titles available. True to form then, Crytek’s CEO Cevat Yerli is promising that “Crysis 3” is going to be stunningly beautiful. How good looking? Apparently they have maxed out the capabilities of the current generation of consoles, and are promising that no game released in the current gen will look as good as “Crysis 3”. He goes on to stay that the consoles will still have nothing on the PC version, which at max specs will supposedly rival or exceed the early batch of next gen titles for graphical prowess.

      Do we believe these impressive claims? Well considering “Crysis 2” is over a year old and looks like this:

      I’d say they have a pretty good chance. And while it would have been more intriguing if we were promised the most incredible gameplay of the generation, I can’t wait to see what the peak of the current hardware looks like in motion, and maybe even a preview of what to expect from the true debut of the next generation.

      Oh, ummm….Sorry Wii U

      Reviews

      Valve’s 400 MB Sized Problem

      December 1, 2012 /

      So Valve has been busy updating some games recently to include support for their “Big Picture” mode that will allow Steam to be used on TV. It’s a welcome update for those with the capabilities and, for most games, is taking nothing more than a 70 MB update to help incorporate.

      Except for one game though. For some reason “Half-Life 2: Episode 2” is requiring a 400 MB update. This being the internet, suddenly everyone started having a theory of how this would lead to “Half-Life 2: Episode 3” or even “Half-Life 3”. Nobody has any real idea about how this works, but hey, since 400 is a way bigger number than 70, it can only mean the release of one of the most anticipated games of all time right? The madness surrounding the update is so consuming, that a completely unrelated video from Machinima featuring  a series of binary code, and vaguely “Half-Life” music playing throughout, was thought to be part of the conspiracy, and players are now feverishly scouring “Half-Life 2: Episode 2” to find any changes.

      The “Magic Bullet” Of the “Half-Life 3” Conspiracy

      Of course, the whole thing is nonsense to the sane mind, but it does bring up a very real problem for Valve, in that the next “Half-Life” (in whatever form it may take) is slowly reaching some pretty unrealistic expectations. Whenever an extra 330 MB of unspecified, probably insignificant data can bring the entire PC gaming community to a furor, the hype meter has definitely spiked, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

      Valve’s exhibited an uncommon level of craftsmanship over the years, but even they are setting themselves up for a scenario where gamers are having years to craft their own game in their minds that even Valve might not be able to match. While this doesn’t mean they should rush the development of a game, it may be time to give gamers something (anything) regarding the next title in the beloved series before the hype machine claims another victim ala “Diablo III”.

      Or….Well You Know

      Reviews

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