Category: Videos

E3 Recap Day 3 – E3 is my Destiny

On By RicoIn Games, News, VideosLeave a comment

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You know the saying that they save the best for last? Well that pretty much sums up my last day. I saw a lot of games and a lot of sweet surprises I didn’t expect. To start the last and biggest day of course I started at the Activision booth and Call of Duty Dog, I mean Ghost. The best part of the demo was the theater it took place in, full leather recliners and mega surround sound. Call of Duty looks great but they just showed the same game play areas that they revealed at their Sunday event so nothing really new was unveiled. Honesty after seeing the new mechanics that Titanfall and Destiny bring to the shooter genre I can’t help but feel like Call of Duty is really looking like an old dog, that needs to be taken out to pasture. I did get a cool T-Shirt though and sat with super space pimp Cheapy D.

Destiny is the new franchise from Halo creators Bungie and it looks like it may be my game of show edging out Titanfall but only by a hair, things can change as these games get closer to launch. Whats not to like, Destiny is a class based MMO shooter with dynamic world events, quests, mounts and of course epic loot. Destiny was demoed on PS4 by a group of devs and looks to be pretty far along as they actually allowed me to film the demo and they usually don’t let you unless they’re pretty confident in the final product. The reason Destiny may be my game of show is that it  has the most replay-ability and of course the multiplayer looks wicked. Watch my video and see for yourself.

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Next up was Ubisoft and they definitely had one of the strongest line ups they’ve ever had. A big surprise up their sleeve was Tom Clancy’s The Division, an open world RPG, 3rd person, MMO shooter that is visually stunning and doing something we’ve never seen before. You can watch the demo I was basically shown HERE but we were treated to an extended demo of real time game-play. In our demo a 3rd player dropped into the game via an app on their tablet and was controlling a support drone that could tag targets, heal and even battle with the party. This feature is pretty awesome as you can still play with your friends if you were on the road and earn experience even when you aren’t at your console. The Division is a title to keep an eye out for and from what I saw it’ll definitely be on my radar.

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Next up was South Park the Stick of Truth, the new RPG from Obsidian entertainment who most recently brought us Fallout New Vegas. South Park the Stick of Truth is an RPG in a style reminiscent of the Super Mario RPG games. You’ve got an open world with traps, enemies and puzzles but when contact is made with an enemy the game switches into your classic Japanese style turn based battle system. South Park the Stick of Truth is literally a playable version of the South Park show with all the wit and banter expected from your favorite characters. The demo had one of the longest lineups at E3 and it didn’t disappoint, I usually don’t laugh out loud at video games but I was busting a gut every time Cartman opened his mouth or dropped the F-bomb. Unfortunately when I asked about a release date all I was told by the devs was that it would be available some holiday season and they really got a kick out that smart ass answer.

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A definite highlight of the Ubisoft booth for me was getting a private demo of Assassins Creed Black Flag from the game’s lead designer Sebastian Berton, he was the guy responsible for the new Naval battles introduced in AC3. Behind closed doors I was shown a demo with the main character Edward Kenway accepting an assassination mission and having to track down his target on a small secluded island. Quickly though a simple assassination turned into the target fleeing onto his ship and Kenway having follow for some good ship to ship combat. After the target’s ship was disabled we were then able to board and take out our contract, resulting in a nice reward and a new ship to add to our fleet. A cool new feature that seems to be the trend was that we could use a tablet for displaying a real time map, sending our fleet out on missions and much more. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any footage or pictures but the developers definitely are taking good advantage of second screen functionality. The world in Black Flag is huge, filled with side quests and dynamic missions. For example after our victory we came across a small island with a ship wreck, after closer examination we found a corpse clutching onto a treasure map. So then we were off searching for some pirate booty (sorry I couldn’t resist) on a small island with ruins and a Spanish expedition party. In typical AC fashion we were treated to some nice environment traversal to the location shown on the treasure map, BTW we had the map displayed on our tablet the whole time so no fumbling in menus which I might add is pretty nice. Meanwhile as we reached the top of the ruins an optional mission occurred where the Spanish were holding 2 pirates captive, after stealthily taking care of the guards we now had 2 extra bodies in our army and a nice treasure to boot. I won’t lie I’m a huge Assassins Creed fan and from what they showed it looks like they are definitely listening to the fans and fixing many of the wrongs from AC3. All in all I had a really good time checking out the Ubisoft booth and I can already feel my wallet hurting. I did also check out Watch_Dogs but there wasnt anything diffrent than what was shown during the Sony Press Conference.

After Ubisoft I went to check out Disney Interactive’s booth where I saw Fantasia Music Evolved and Disney Infinity. At first I was pretty skeptical of Fantasia, Harmonix released a trailer that was pretty terrible in my opinion and left people wondering what the hell is this game? Well after my demo I can say that we might have another fun music game to get our hands on, figuratively speaking. Fantasia takes advantage of the new Kinect on Xbox One and the motion tracking is definitely improved from the original Kinect. Fantasia allows you to conduct the music and remix songs using the motion of your arms like Mickey did in the movie Fantasia and that’s where the name and influence come from. Check out the video above of Queens Bohemian Rhapsody being played live and demonstrating the game play. Finally I got an extended demo of the toy box mode from Disney Infinity, Disneys answer to the Skylanders franchise. Using the Disney Infinity base you can bring your toys to life, now you can play with your favorite Disney characters in story mode and the limitless toy box mode. Check out the extended demo I got below, I safely say that you’ll probably want to hide this one from the kids or your going to be stuck buying a bunch of new Disney toys.

At this point my final day was almost over and I was was pretty much wiped, fortunately I had my fill of E3 and felt like I got to see everything I was looking forward to. Over the coming weeks I’ll do more write ups on games I played and saw. I’ll also do a breakdown on the new consoles and offer my opinions. I can say right now though if I had to only buy one system I’m definitely leaning towards the PlayStation 4. I will buy both consoles of course but Sony is just killing it and doing so much right with the development of the PlayStation 4. With that we end another E3, next up is PAX in a couple months where we’ll get to see more of these titles again and get even more hands on time. Thanks for reading and feel free to message me if you have any questions regarding E3.

Check out my gallery below and follow me on on Twitter @RicF, also check out our YouTube Channel for more videos.

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

E3 Day 2 Recap – Nintendo and the Witching Hour

On By RicoIn Games, News, VideosLeave a comment

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Its a me, Rico! and here we are with day 2. If you couldn’t tell already I was at Nintendo’s booth for a good portion of the second day. My experience at Nintendo had me giddy as a child on Christmas morning and utterly disappointed when I realized that I didn’t get the presents I was asking for. Nintendo had some great games on display but they forgot the major franchises at home in Japan. I guess Nintendo is cool with showing up to a gun fight with a kitchen knife. That being said though I did play both of the new Mario titles, Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8. I can easily say that these are must have games for the Nintendo fan. Super Mario 3D World is pretty much what you’d expect, its an HD version of the excellent 3DS title with a much larger scale. For starters Nintendo has added 4 player co-op like New Super Mario Bros and that each character has unique abilities, for example Peach’s floaty jump is back. Another new addition is the cat suit that allows characters to attack enemies with a scratch attack and the ability to climb walls, flag pole included. Nintendo was only demonstrating the new cat suit and co-op functionality but I’m sure there will be other abilities and power ups. Mario Kart 8 was the other major Nintendo title on hand that I spent a decent amount of time with. The new addition besides the beautiful HD graphics was the ability for the carts to transform into anti-gravity karts and literally drive up the walls changing the dynamic of the courses and adding new more course options. It wasn’t ground breaking but when I was playing Mario Kart in HD I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face.

Unfortunately though some huge games were missing, no Pokemon XY or Smash Bros. which quite honestly both games should have been showing and playable. A big problem the Wii U has is a lack of games and Nintendo didn’t do much to comfort Wii U owners, Mario Kart and Smash Bros don’t even come out until next year. As we all pretty much know the Wii U has just become another Nintendo box and I guess that’s OK but it would be nice if they could get some other major titles and fast. Another highlight of hanging out in Nintendo’s booth was a random Conan O’Brian sighting and he was super effective, at creating crowds.

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With Nintendo and the kids games out of the way it was time for some adult action. (I kid, I kid or do I?) Anyways, Square was kind of a let down as I couldn’t get into their demos because they were super busy and shit the bed with organizing their press appointments. Not to be totally disappointed though most of what they were showing was at PAX East or simply a trailer that everyone at home could see, so I don’t feel like I really missed anything. The real highlight of their booth was Saints Row IV and of course it was off the hook. Imagine GTA plus crazy and you’re still not even close, now you have super powers and a fricken dub step gun, nuff said.

After the disappointment of the Square booth, EA surprisingly came to my rescue or my money I’m not sure. EA has at least two new IP’s with Garden Warfare and one of my favorite games of the show Titanfall. I mentioned Garden Warfare the other day and I got to see another demo of what looks to be a garden fresh take on the shooter genre.

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Titanfall is definitely one of my favorites from the show, behind closed doors they showed us an extended multiplayer match. Between this and Destiny next year will see some awesome new shooters that do more than the genre is currently. If this game was available at launch the Xbox One would have a killer app but unfortunately it isn’t going to be available until March 2014 and I have my doubts about that.

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After I was done with EA I moved on to the Witcher 3 and got to see an extended behind the scenes demo. CD Projekt Red looks to deliver one of the largest and most dynamic open world RPG’s with the Witcher 3. Gone are the problematic boss battles from Witcher 2 in fact there are no bosses battles per say but giant monsters that can be randomly encountered in the world, or your quests. CD Projekt promises that there over 80 unique creatures in the world to hunt down and battle with their own strategies and abilities to make them very distinct. The dialogue system is also being reworked to add more character and life to the game. Another system added are dynamic side quests that can have world impacting repercussions that can come back to haunt you later depending on how you resolve them. All in all the Witcher 3 looks to be a wicked evolution to the franchise and will probably end up being next years best RPG from what I saw.

I also had a chance to check out the Nvidia Shield and Ouya but I’ll try to do a separate write up on those another time and with that we end day 2.

Check out my gallery below and follow me on on Twitter  @RicF, also check out our YouTube Channel for more videos.

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

E3 Day 1 Recap – Next Gen Sure is Pretty

On By RicoIn Game Videos, Games, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Tech, VITA, Xbox 360, Xbox One2 Comments

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Hey guys and gals, sorry this update has taken so long but its been pretty crazy here on the show floor. Obviously both Sony and Microsoft booths are standing room only as everyone is eager to get a glimpse of the next generation of console gaming. I started my day by hanging out in the Sony booth and played most of the confirmed launch titles for the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately Watch Dogs, and Infamous Second were only theatre demos and no recording was allowed. However I did get a chance to play Killzone Shadow Fall behind the scenes with the Lead Designer of the game. I was impressed, obviously it looks stunning and learning from the competition Killzone has adopted new methods of traversal and enemy takedowns that break up the monotonous gameplay that has hampered many shooters lately. Also the environments have been opened right up with multiple side objectives that help alleviate the feeling of alway being in a corridor or shooting gallery. Killzone also introduces a new drone sidekick that you can use to setup up zip lines accross the environment, hack computer terminals or simply attack your enemies, just to name a few of its abilities. I can easily say that Killzone Shadow Fall will be a day one purchase for me. I also had a chance to try out the Vita version of Killzone Mercenary and I can say that Vita will finally be getting the quality shooter we’ve been looking for. Tearaway for Vita was another stand out title that I got to spend some time with and it looks to be a great little adventure platformer.

 

After spending a better part of 4 hours playing around in the Sony booth I moved onto Microsoft and the PR mess that is Xbox One. Honestly I’m pretty excited for Xbox One regardless of some terrible choices they’ve made in terms of DRM, I’m sure the Xbox will have some great features and of course exclusive software. Unfortunately Microsoft didn’t want to talk about anything but games so little was learned about the console itself that we don’l already know. In their booth I got play RYSE, Forza 5, and Killer Instinct. I had a blast playing Killer Instinct except that I couldn’t combo worth shit, but it was still great. I uploaded a video and you can for yourselves, a nice side effect of all the power in these new consoles can be seen in all the lighting and particle effects.

 

Forza 5 looked pretty impressive as well but I’m not much of a car guy so I can’t really speak to any of the improvements. A cool feature Forza demoed though were the new triggers in the Xbox One controller which have rumble built in. With this extra level of rumble added  things as simple as starting the engine or the skidding of the tires added a new dimension which was pretty neat. We also got to see the Mclaren P1 which was pretty sweet, now wheres that extra million I had hidden away?

 

Finally I ended my day with a pretty lengthy play through of the RYSE demo aka QTE the video game. All jokes aside, RYSE is still pretty sweet and had a real gritty feel. the combat system was very similar to the most recent Batman games with parrying attacks and building up chains. The graphics were unbelievable and I felt like I was killing with the best of the Spartans though it remains to see if much is added otherwise it could probably get pretty repetitive. So thats about it for my late day 2 recap, things have been pretty crazy and I”l be back with more soon.

 

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

Ubisoft unveils new next gen, open world RPG.

On By AnjelIn Game Videos, Games, PlayStation 4, Tech, Videos, Xbox One2 Comments

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During Ubisoft’s E3 press conference yesterday, they announced a new open world action RPG called The Division. It appears to be a 3rd person action RPG set after the effects of a bio terrorist event has gone off. It is looking crazy good. Take a look at this gameplay video and screens to see what i mean.

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The Division will be coming to next gen consoles, no release date has been given yet.

By Dayne “Anjel” Cody
@DayneCody

E3 Day 0 Recap – Sony Drops the Bomb

On By RicoIn Games, News, Tech, VideosLeave a comment

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Wow, would simply be an understatement for the opening day of E3.

Xbox came out swinging by revealing games, games and more games. Not only did Microsoft show a suite of excellent exclusive games, they opened their conference with the first gameplay trailer of Metal Gear Solid V a move that would certainly make any core gamer happy. Little time was spent on anything but games however Microsoft did reveal their exclusive partnership with Twitch for video game streaming. Unfortunately the conference was marred by a couple technical glitches, and a poor sexist joke that probably should of been kept at home with the boys. That being said though there were some great reveals by the Xbox Camp, most notible would have to be Titanfall from Respawn Entertainment. Respawn are the original creators of the Modern Warfare franchise and this game looks awesome. It’s a fast free running shooter with mech combat all rolled into one, and it looked stunning. The Titanfall reveal was definitely the high point of the conference which was a good one regardless of the missteps.

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Next stop EA, sports sports sports naw just kidding they had celebrities too! Seriously though EA had a great conference without any technical glitches. The usual suspects that fill EA’s coffers were all on display, new Madden, NBA and FIFA games were displayed as expected. Surprisingly though Garden Warfare was a new franchise reveal, from a company that isn’t known for doing anything but the usual yearly fare. Garden Warfare is a multiplayer first person shooter based in the Plants vs Zombies world, that looked like a fun new take on the genre. Of course other EA work horses Need for Speed and Battlefield 4 showed great demoes as well. In what seems to be another move to win back the hearts of gamers EA also revealed their biggest surprise a new Mirrors Edge game that fans have been demanding since the originals release.

The clear winner of the press conferences though had to be Sony. Sony’s conference was long and dragged at times but they came with the bombs and shot the opening salvo in this next round of the console war. Sony had 10 stations on stage where games were being demonstrated live during all points of the conference and showed drop in and drop out multiplayer in titles that supported it. Sony definitely delivered when it came to reveals with new exclusives from Square we saw Final Fantasy,  and Kingdom Hearts which are sure to satisfy the hardcore. A new title from Ready at Dawn called The Order 1886 is a Victorian Era multiplayer survival shooter that looks to show a lot of promise. A definite highlight of Sony’s show was the exclusive gameplay reveal of Bungie’s new title Destiny. Destiny looks to blend the world of fast paced multiplayer shooters with those of Loot driven MMO’s to breath some new life into what some may call the tired shooter genre. With that said though the real news of the conference came in the form of several megaton bombs that Sony dropped directly aimed at their competitors. Firstly the news that PlayStation 4 supports used games just like any other system released to date was huge. Microsoft has been severely criticized over their policies and the fact that they are still unclear have gamers in outrage and Sony obviously decided to side with their consumers on this issue. Next was news about DRM and that PlayStation 4 has no authentication that requires you to be connected online, period. Finally the last surprise was that the PlayStation 4 will be available this winter for $399 and with that Sony literally dropped the proverbial mic. I was 4 rows from the front of the venue and with each of these announcements the crowd went wild. There was a definite energy in the air of excitement for the next generation and Sony might have won a huge battle before the systems are even released.

I’ll try to do a roundup each day but things are pretty crazy here, just watch the Facebook page and here for any news. Check out some pics and video from day zero and remember to follow us on twitter @RicF

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

Sony anounces used games strategy.

On By AnjelIn Game Videos, Games, Games, News, PlayStation 4, Tech, VideosLeave a comment

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Today, in a shocking E3 reveal, Sony announced its used game policy and created a video to show you how exactly this will work.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, It will work the exact same way it works now. No online checks, no needing to call home every 24 hours, your disk based games work exactly as they do right now. If you want to trade in your games, trade away my fellow gamers.  They also stated that unless you’re playing a MMO (Massively Online Game) you will not need to be connected to the Internet. So, for those of you out there who don’t have your consoles connected online, breathe easy my friends, Sony has you covered.

Hands on with Divekick

On By RicoIn Game Videos, Games, News, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, VITA1 Comment

diveKickLogoWhat started out as a joke has turned into a hilariously successful take on the fighting game genre. Divekick is simple, gone are the complex combos and impossible special moves. Divekick simply has 2 buttons: dive and kick. Unlike conventional fighters anyone can play Divekick, each round is a one-hit knockout and the strategy comes from outmaneuvering your opponent. I played Divekick at PAX East and it was a blast, I’ll definitely be picking it up for our games night. Check out some screens and the trailer below.

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At PAX East, Iron Galaxy set the game up with custom Divekick controllers, hopefully these controllers will become available for purchase in the future.

Divekick will land on PC, PlayStation 3 and Vita this summer.

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

Scrolls is the latest game from the creators of Minecraft

On By RicoIn Game Videos, Games, PCLeave a comment

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You use the power of creatures, spells, and ancient machines to gain the edge in battle, deploying your forces by using scrolls: some rare, some common, some brutal, some tactical. Over time you’ll develop a unique army and the skills to manipulate it. Eventually, you’ll face off against other players, proving your might on the battlefield.

For the latest updates on Scrolls, check the official website at http://www.scrolls.com.
Scrolls will be available for PC.

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via Official Scrolls Launch Trailer – YouTube.

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF

A very interesting way to look at the used game issue.

On By AnjelIn 3DS, eShop, Game Videos, Games, Games, News, Online, PC, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Network, Steam, Videos, VITA, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox OneLeave a comment

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The issue of used video games is a big one right now. Everyone is up in arms about it, due to the fact that the new generation of consoles is right around the corner, and they have yet to announce how this is going to work. I came across this video earlier and I thought it brought up some very good points. While I am not sure if I agree with all of it, I think the author pretty much nails it on the head, in explaining why, when it comes to video games, used games are a real issue. Take a look at this video below and feel free to tell me what you think in the comments.

By Dayne “Anjel” Cody
@DayneCody

Pacific Rim Trailer (Holy Sh*t this Movie looks Insane)

On By RicoIn Entertainment, Movies2 Comments

pacificrimGiant Robots… ✓
Giant Demons from another Dimension… ✓
Total Badassery… ✓

From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes “Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim.”

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Pacific Rim hits theaters July 12th.

via Pacific Rim – Official Main Trailer [HD] – YouTube.

By Ricardo “Rico” Ferreira
@RicF