WH40K: Space Marine: A Solid Shooter/Brawler FOR THE EMPEROR!
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is a grimdark place, where a corrupt, crumbling empire rules over millions of worlds, endlessly warring with aliens, demons, and other nightmarish creatures (and said empire is the only "good" faction, save for the psychic space elves of the Eldar). Life is short, brutal, and often meaningless except as fuel for the for the Imperial war machine. Few aspects of this setting are as emblematic as the Space Marines: immortal, genetically enhanced, psychotically xenophobic super warriors clad in power armor and charged with defending humanity from terrible threats both without and within. As such, it's no surprise that an action title featuring Space Marines prominently would appear at some point, especially after nearly every sci-fi shooter since Doom has effectively involved less badass versions of them. Relic and THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is the game fans have been waiting for, since it finally puts them in the power armor of an actual Space Marine.
Space Marine is a third person action title that follows Captain Titus of the Ultramarines as he attempts to secure a valuable strategic asset on a world ravaged by Orks. The greenskin horde has shattered the planetary defenses and what few defenders are left are fighting a desperate, losing battle for survival. Players are immediately thrust into the action with little exposition, starting with Titus' arrival to Forge World Graia.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a Stealthy Shooter Triumph
When I first heard that there would be a new Deus Ex game, I was uncertain. It was going to be a prequel. It was going to be made with no input from Warren Spector. It was going to have cover-based shooter mechanics. It sounded like a recipe for worse disaster than Deus Ex: Invisible War.
I was wrong. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Capcom Kicks Off Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City AR Game
If you're a Resident Evil enthusiast who's stoked about Operation Raccoon City and looking to kill some time, then Capcom's serving you up some interactive teasing in the form of an AR game (brought to my attention by Eurogamer). Click around for a few seconds on Umbrella Sciences recruitment site, and you'll find all is not as it seems at first glance. But then again, to any Resident Evil fans, it's no surprise to discover a seemingly typical pharma giant has its tentacles in all kinds of conspiracies, shady dealings, and mad science.
Anyway, you'll soon be funneled to the website run by an anti-Umbrella activist group, from where you'll be tasked with an internet scavenger hunt for clues that result in codes, which you take back to the heroic...uh...hackers? As the good citizens of the internet uncover clues, tidbits and info about Operation Raccoon City will become viewable. There are also vague promises of future prizes for diligent detective work. So stop pretending you're actually getting work done at the office right now, and get started on something that's important. The Internet needs these game details, damnit.
Microsoft Gets 30-Day Exclusivity for Skyrim DLC
A press release sent from Bethesda today has revealed that "The first two add-on content drops for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be releasing exclusively on Xbox 360, 30 days before it's available anywhere else," (check out Joystiq for the full PR text). The developer has a track record for extensive post-launch DLC content, and the scope and scale of DLC for Skyrim look to be the hugest yet (Todd Howard's interview with AusGamers sheds some light on DLC plans).
So all you PS3 and PC Elder Scrolls fanatics who just gotta have the DLC now now now are SOL. I would be very interested to see sales statistics for moves like this, and how many multiplatform owners choose to get the 360 version instead of the PS3 or PC version, just so they can get the DLC right away. Are there really that many multiplatform owners for that to make a difference? It's doubtful that many people who weren't already in the market for a 360 are going to jump up and buy one just for this deal. And if the numbers don't really yield all that much competitive advantage for the 360, then it just seems like kind of a dick move on Microsoft's (and Bethesda's) part.
Seems to be a lot of that going around right now.
Epic Threatens to Ban Users who Leak Gears 3 Spoilers
Like death and taxes, it's inevitable that when a fan group of some storyline gets large enough, some social prankster will try to get their lulz by revealing plot spoilers before the fans have had a chance to consume the story for themselves. I don't understand this stunt. It's very unlikely that the prankster will get to actually see the fruits of his labor - the anguish or frustration of his victims. Isn't that what lulz are all about? Witnessing the reactions? This is like putting a whoopee cushion on someone's chair and then leaving the building.
So now along comes Epic to feed the trolls, and shout hilariously out the window at the pranksters who are now a block away "Damn you kids! You and your whoopee cushions! We'll just see who's laughing come September" After an unfinished version of Gears of War 3 was leaked and revealed some plot spoilers (NeoGAF via Joystiq), the company vowed "repercussions," with executive producer Rod Fergusson ominously commenting in an interview with Edge "I don't think everybody's aware of the potential repercussions of those types of actions."
The planned repercussions have taken some shape. Speaking to Eurogamer, Fergusson said "We have a banning system built into our stuff so we can go in and identify certain people. Some people aren't smart about what they do. They'll be disappointed on 20th September when they can't get in and can't play. They may be banned." Does this seem like a bluff to anyone else? I'll bet it does to the people who threw the Gears video up on YouTube, or the guy who tried to crash Fergusson's video chat with fans to ALLCAPS the spoilers in front of an audience. If Epic can really track these folks down, wouldn't they be pressing criminal charges as promised? Are they just going to ban the YouTube commenters who talk about the spoilers and say "Oh, by the way, my gamertag is GearsFan6969"?
Epic, your rage is only feeding your trolls' glee. Best case scenario, you actually manage to identify and ban some aspiring social terrorist, who then wears that ban as a badge of honor and goes and plays Halo 4, Battlefield 3, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for 2012. Brandishing the banhammer is just giving them what they want - a passionate but ultimately impotent reaction. If you feel you need to ban, do it without warning, and explain it to those who complain afterwards. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Gearbox confirms Borderlands 2
Now, I'm not saying Gearbox was desperate for a win, but they probably weren't feeling so great after taking it on the chin a bit over Duke Nukem Forever. Great timing, then, for a tweet and new website confirming the development of Borderlands 2. Scheduled for April 2012, the "sequel to the extravasplosive breakout hit, Borderlands™" returns to the planet Pandora and "features all new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story." I hope that doesn't mean all the former treasure hunters will get completely scrapped. Sci-fi Captain Ahab up there has got nothing on Brick if he can't go BLAAAAUUUUUURRRRRRGGGHHH! and punch the hell out of everything.
If you're in the respective areas, Borderlands 2 will be featured at both Gamescom 2011 and PAX Prime. Also, since I now have stuck in my head the Cage The Elephant song that will forever and always remind me of Borderlands, I've decided to inflict it on all of you as well. Ain't no rest for the wicked/money don't grow on trees...
Catherine: A Strange Brew of Puzzles, Nightmares, and Sex
Catherine has been a surprise since it was first announced. I was impressed first to find out that it was coming stateside, but also with the relatively high profile marketing and buzz of curiosity it got. With its M rating and suggestively disrobing anime chicks with come-hither eyes on its posters and cover art, it's the sort of title that usually gets relegated to Japan. There, in Catherine's native land, sexual repression collides with WTF fetish hard enough for there to be a whole market for weird games about sex. Here in the U.S., on the other hand, it represents something different, new, and ballsy: a simple action-puzzle game dropped into the context of a very adult, very Japanese, creepy, sexy thriller story.
This game is not for anyone who quickly grows impatient with non-interactive dialogue and slow-moving plot, or easily gives up when stuck on a time-sensitive puzzle that might require many attempts to complete. Hell, I'm actually not really sure it's for me. But that's the weird thing about Catherine. Like the titular character, it's a new and refreshing seductress that keeps you coming back, if only for what a unique experience it is.
Dungeon Siege III preview
It's been awhile since since a Dungeon Siege title hit the scene. This one marks the franchise's first foray into the console market, and Obsidian Entertainment has taken the helm for this transition over from original developer Gas Powered Games (with Square Enix taking over publishing duties from Microsoft Game Studios). If that makes fans of the PC series wince, I'm here to tell you that while Dungeon Siege III preserves much of the concepts of its forebears, I couldn't shake how strikingly similar the game "feels" to X-men Legends and its successors, only with fewer playable characters and more equipment tinkering. That's not a negative criticism at all - I loved those games - and it's certainly a well-executed, solid, basic, co-op centric dungeon crawler that will satisfy you if you're having a major craving for isometric swords and sorcery. But otherwise, I find myself balking at the idea of dropping a full $60 on it.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to include Kinect functionality
According to some leaked box art, the next edition of Ubisoft's Ghost Recon series, due in 2012, will be Kinect enabled - "better with Kinect sensor," to be precise (Xbox360Achievements.org via That VideoGame Blog). This juicy info confirms some rumor-mongering from last year, that the Kinect functionality would be optional, used for things like hand signals that would translate into game commands.
This seems to me to be an excellent use of the Kinect's impressive technology to augment the player's relationship with the controls, a way to sort of combine the precision of buttons and sticks with the added dimension of body movement. There's no reason the Kinect can't be used with a game that still requires a player to hold a controller. In fact, I could see that being the future of this technology. For now, I can imagine a seated player using arm signals to command AI allies, or perhaps to avoid the need to speak via headset in multiplayer, something they could design to be audible to nearby human opponents.
In the future, I can see how a game could operate with a player standing and using entire body motions, while still operating buttons, thumbsticks, and triggers in each hand like the Wiimote + Nunchuck or the PlayStation Move stuff. This advancement would seem to me to be a necessary one, since Kinect's full abilities - while technologically impressive - are hard to extrapolate into games beyond the minigame compilations currently available.
Portal 2 Now Just $30-35
You haven't played Portal 2? You need to play Portal 2. The full review of the single player campaign comes later this week, but here's a preview: without the co-op mode, purely based on the gameplay, writing, voice acting, and graphics of the single player mode, Portal 2 is excellent. Stephen Merchant and JK Simmons steal the show as Wheatley and Cave Johnson, the game is easily twice as long as the first Portal, and it's even funnier and darker. For that experience alone, the game is worth the $50 it goes for on PC and $60 it goes for on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Well, went for $50/60. Amazon just dropped the price like a rock
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