The player controls Corvo, once a legendary guard for the Empress, who seeks vengeance against the Lord Regent who framed him for the assassination of the Empress. Corvo is not only a fine swordsman, master-at-arms, and cunning infiltrator, but also possesses great supernatural powers. The game is presented in open world format as the player can roam The Isles as well as the distant Pandyssian Continent, though the primary setting for the game is the Steampunk-esque city of Dunwall. The game is played in first-person, with an emphasis placed on stealth action and the utilization of gadgets as well as the environment to eliminate opposing forces.
Remember when you were young and by young, I mean you grew up in the late 80′s or early 90′s and remember the video game “Rampage.” If you do, get ready to love life again – if you don’t, here is what you missed out on: the game centered around “King Kong” like monsters that destroyed buildings and ate people - that’s it.
In just three days, Rovio’s new Angry Birds Space game has already been downloaded 10 million times. Everyone’s favorite Birds Vs. Pigs game is going absolutely viral and is already at the top of Apple’s Paid Apps and #2 on the desktop. So, what’s the lesson learned here: Learn Objective C and start building apps!
Who would-a thought that hurdling birds towards militaristic pigs would be the foundation for a successful game franchise – a cash cow! Apparently, Rovio (maker of Angry Birds) did and today they released the much anticipated Angry Birds Space, which is sure to be a gigantic success.
After a giant claw kidnaps their eggs, the Angry Birds chase it into a wormhole and find themselves floating in a strange new galaxy – surrounded by space pigs! Luckily the Angry Birds have super powers of their own…
Angry Birds Space features 60 interstellar levels on planets and in zero gravity, resulting in spectacular gameplay ranging from slow-motion puzzles to lightspeed destruction. With regular free updates, new in-app purchases, brand new birds, brand new superpowers, and a whole galaxy to explore, the sky is no longer the limit!
Who could resist such an adventure – I’m sold! Rovio, like many iOS devs and Android devs, has found success in the casual gamer market by thinking outside the box – in terms of gameplay and structure. This is not a new approach, not by any means. Nintendo did the same thing decades ago, when they released a game based on: Two crazy plumbers, which were on a mission to save a princess from giant evil turtles – outside the box. Want Angry Birds Space – iOS link here.
AllThingsD is reporting that online game powerhouse Zynga has bought OMGPOP, maker of the recently super famous Draw Something, for $200 Million. While there is no official press release, Zynga has schedualed a press call for 3pm EST. If the report is correct, this is yet another strategic move by Zynga to keep its online gaming dominance from being challenged. So what can we take away from the story – quit your job and learn Objective C.
Update: Done deal – Zynga agreed to buy OMGPOP for $180 Million+$30 Million for ”employee retention payouts.”
Source: AllThingsD – TheVerge
Kara is Quantic Dream’s step into more detailed motion capture, specifically face motion capture. Quantic is going where Hollywood and films such as Avatar have gone – taking CGI to the next level. The tech is built upon the cgi that was used for games like Heavy Rain, which was a cinematic breakthrough in gaming, even though the game play was a bit off. Regardless, I can’t wait to see this technology make its way into console gaming.
Source: Quantic Dream
Remember when graphics cards and frame-rates were a non-issue? Games like Mario Bros brought us all into the emerging market of home gaming and while occasionally re-visiting those crazy italian plumbers is fun to this day, it’s just not the same. So I was glad to see the guys/gals over at StabYourself.net added a little Portal to the classic Mario game – the mash-up is epic.
Two genre defining games from completely different eras: Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and Valve’s Portal. These two games managed to give Platformers and First-Person Puzzle Games a solid place in the video game world. But what if Nintendo teamed up with Valve and recreated the famous Mario game with Portal gun mechanics?
Get your copy of Mari0 by clicking here – BTW, it’s cross platform, so share with friends……even if they’re Windows users.
Source: StabYourself.net
In its ongoing campaign to recapture the handheld market it once reigned upon, Sony has released its nextgen PSP – the PSVita in Japan. While the US release is still a couple months off, it hard not to wonder that Sony is too lat to the table and with the wrong hardware. Before we talk about approach, here are the Vita’s specs:
- CPU: ARM® Cortex™- A9 core (4 core) - GPU: SGX543MP4+ - Ex. Dim: 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm - Screen: (Touch)5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544 - Rear Touch PadMulti touch pad - Cameras: Front camera, Rear camera - Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system - (three-axis gyroscope, - three-axis accelerometer) -Three-axis electronic compass - Wireless Comm: (3G) - IEEE 802.11b/g/n - Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR - Location: Built-in GPS - Wi-Fi -
Essentially, it’s bringing to the party some great specs (at a great price $249) but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a one use device (gaming). It will be directly compared to all the smartphones that will also come out in the spring, some of which will have similar specs and have multiple use functions, not just gaming.
So, is Sony going after the ever shrinking audience that wants just a handheld gaming device with better controls than a smartphone? Hard to believe, since the mobile industry is moving so heavily into smartphones as the dominent one off device. Does Sony not see this? Are they stuck in a time loop and don’t possess the leadership to see where gaming is going?
Sadly, all the diehard gaming companies seem to have fallen under this mindset, even Nintendo. Stop making the DS and releases all your franchise games on Android and iOS – evolve and turn yourself into a gaming company (not hardware).
Source: Sony
Following in the footsteps of their smash hit Infinity Balde, Epic Games has just released the long awaited sequel and in the process, has solidified the iOS ecosystem as a true gaming platform. Like the first, Infinity Blade 2 is built upon the unreal engine, making the game highly portable but also perfect for first person type control. Yet, most of all, Infinity Blade 2 shines on Apple’s mobile OS – rendering stunning looking graphics and gameplay – shockingly, this includes the iPhone 3GS. That’s right, the 3GS, iPod Touch, iPhone 4 & 4S, iPad 1 & 2 are all capable of running Infinity Blade 2 – as long as the OS is at least updated to version 3.2. Interesting in more info - check it out here!
Source: TheVerge
Duke is cursed-Period! Looks like like the mythical Duke Nukem Forever, which is made from ground up unicorn horns and elvish blood, has been pushed back until early summer. The original release date was May 3 (USA) and May 6th (World) but that has been rescheduled for June 10, 2011 (World) and June 14, 2011 (USA). The fabled game, which will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, has been in production for years, if not decades and has changed several company’s hands. For me, they might as well and put it off for 5 more years, as the hype is so large – no matter how good the game is, it will crumble under its own weight. Hope you get a break, Duke!
Source: ArsTechnica.com
And who said video games aren’t art? Dead Island’s trailer is an audio/video mix of American Beauty and The walking Dead – Enjoy.
Bigfoot, Aliens….Xperia! The Sony Ericsson Xperia is the most leaked mobile device in history and Engadget had it on stage, no more than 2 weeks ago. Anyway, let’s do this: At its core, a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor – Android 2.3 – 4-inch 480×854 display – Dual cameras (5 megapixel rear) 512MB of RAM and the all important slide down D-Pad and controls.
Build quality is a must. The slide out controls need to withstand abuse – come on, you’ve seen what kids do to these things! Release is this spring and pricing is not available but we do know that Verizon will be the official carrier. What does that mean? Well, we can guess that they’ll charge extra for every single thing you’ll wanna do on the phone. My guess, it’ll be over priced for the demographic it needs to hit. NEXT!!
Source: Sonyericsson.com
Sony’s bringing the heat! Yesterday at their Tokyo event they unleashed the PSP NGP, their next gen PSP hardware and if you see the specs, it will literally blow your mind.(List after the break) What are the key points for the NGP: The actual hardware will be available late Fall 2011 - Seamless gaming connectivity and social connectivity - WiFi and 3G connectivity – 5 inch OLED Display – Oval design & analog sicks – “Live Arena” for social gaming interaction – “Near” for geo-location info on what friends are playing – “New Game Medium” flash based gaming medium. All this is fine and good but I have one sticking point…
Oh Nintendo, you’re like a jealous girlfriend. “No you can’t go out with your friends!” ARS Technica is reporting via Wired.com that while content will be able to be transfered from the existing ds to the 3ds, once the switch has been made, it is essentially locked to that system. So what happens if the 3ds breaks or gets lost or I buy another ds or 3ds and want my content there as well? If you buy content from itunes or amazon, that said content can be placed on multiple devices over multiple times, where multiple stands for unlimited. So why is Nintendo being all bitchy about the situation – well remember the switch from the gameboy to the ds….same story and it didn’t stop them from selling a shit load of DS’s.
While the ARS’s article has been updated to say that nintendo is now stating a limited number of transfers can be made, this isn’t good enough. I know we’re still a way out from launch date but if this news gets spread across the net quickly, not good PR ahead of a major hardware release. Nintendo, our relationship can’t take this kind of insecurity, let me go out and play with my friends. NEXT!!
Source: ARS Technica / Wired.com
The Wait Is Over
Nintendo’s next handheld device will go on sale this spring, March 27th to be exact for $249.99. At todays Nintendo press conference, tons of info was released including some 30+ games that will be available launch day, special region specific video content and a new unified code system. I’m sure more info will be released as we inch closer to the release date but for me the following issues must be present:
1) Great battery life – this is a handhelp/portable device – at least 6-8 hours of gameplay
2) A strong – stable (bug free) – diverse game library at launch
3) A consistent growth in game titles for the near term future
4) Native browser+Email+Social Media Client
That said, my vote was for Nintendo to go Android. Obviously this was not going to happen but it must now compete with iOS and Android as major portable gaming platforms. Ipod touch and Samsungs new Galaxy PMP already have a 100,000+ app libray and a competitive price point. Good luck old friend. Click here for press release. NEXT!!
Source: Engadget
Well, we kind of expected Sony to try to drop the hammer or at least try to scare GeoHot and the FailOverFlow over their release of the PS3 jailbreak. No law suit has been filed but Sony is trying to have their hosted files taken down and blablabla. Sony, meet me at camera 3………(“moves to camera 3″)
Let it go, it’s a lost cause. Let the kids put linux on the PS3 and what not. The more you crack down, the harder it’s going to be and if you don’t give this dream up, it’ll kick you in the ass-hard!