Monthly Archives: June 2015

E3 2015 – Xbox Press Conference – LIVE

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MICROSOFT E3 2015 Press Conference:

*Live blog. Please refresh*

Halo 5: Guardians

-The show starts with Halo 5 Guardians. We are playing as Spartan Locke, and are introduced to the new squad based gameplay showing squad commands.  Game is fast, and smooth. Similar enemies are shown with some new weapons.

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-Josh Holmes comes to stage, from 343 Studios stating that Halo 5 Guardians is the most ambitious title to date. We play as two different squads in this campaign, one as Master Chief and the other Spartan Locke.

-New multiplayer mode coming with Halo 5. 24 players and 4x the size of previous maps. Game mode is called Warzone. Player vs Player vs Everyone. Teams of 12 vs 12 plus campaign enemy AI in the map.

Recore

-Xbox Exclusive World Premiere – Trailer. Sandy planet. From the creators of Metroid Prime. Showing a scavenger girl and her robot dog. The dog sacrifices itself to defend of the encroaching enemies, but its energy globe remains. The spark gets put into a new robot, and the dog’s personality is back. Game is Recore. 2016. Exclusive first-party franchise.

Backwards Compatability

-The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer takes the stage.

“Xbox continues to innovate, and we have the greatest lineup of games in Xbox history.”

-Xbox continues to put out monthly updates, and the latest one right around the corner is Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility. That’s huge. Xbox 360 and Arcade games will work natively on the Xbox One. 100 titles will be supported this holiday, with more coming. Our retail discs will work. All the Xbox One framework will be supported in the 360 titles: Screenshot, DVR, Broadcast. Won’t be charged to re-play the games we already own.

-Quick showcase of the new Xbox Elite Controller

Fallout 4

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–Fallout 4 is up next. Added story trailer that wasn’t shown last night. Showcases the laser musket rifle and the power armour in action. In the streets, we come across a huge baddie that climbs out of the sewers, named Deathclaw. Power armour uses VATS as well.

–Fallout 4, with Xbox One will support the PC community mods for free. Checkout the Bethesda Press Conference for more Fallout 4 info.

Ea Access

-Peter Moore, from EA comes out and starts to talk about EA Access. Rehashes Early Access to EA titles with EA Access, and play for less. The Vault has the best of EA on Xbox One. Madden 16 will have early access, and Titanfall is going to be released in the Vault later this week, and later this summer, Dragon Age Inquisition will be available.

-Peter announces Plants vs Zombies Garden Warafre 2. Arriving next spring. Quick trailer showing some new plants and zombie. Welcome to Zomburbia.

Forza Motorsport 6

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-New GT drops drown from the ceiling and Forza Motosport 6 is on display next. Discusses the 50th anniversary of the GT and the win at the 24 Le Mans. New trailer is shown showing upgraded visuals, 24 car multiplayer, day and night races, and weather. Sept 15th, 2015 release date.

Dark Souls III

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-World premiere. BANDAI NAMCO, FromSoftware, Dark Souls 3? Desolate medievil setting. Yup Dark Souls III. Coming 2016.

Tom Clancy’s The Division & Rainbow Six: Siege

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–Ubisoft is up next to quickly discuss Tom Clancy’s The Division. I’m guessing we’ll get more info during their press conference. Laurent Detoc is on stage. Bonjour. The Division is a deep realist RPG with a personal touch. Exclusive Xbox early Beta this December.

-He moves onto Rainbow Six: Siege. Quick trailer. Coming out this October, now included in the bundle, thanks to the Xbox One backwards compatibility will be Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 for free.

Gigantic

-Windows 10 and Xbox One exclusive. Very cartoon and stylized art. Colourful. Game is called Gigantic. Free to Play arena combat style game. Choose your hero, choose your guardian.

ID@Xbox and Xbox Early Access

-ID@Xbox games showcase next. Sizzle reel of upcoming titles.. Introduction to some of the ID teams showing the exclusive Xbox games coming later this year and next year: Tacoma, Ashen, Beyond Eyes, Cuphead.

-Xbox Game Preview announced. Like Steam’s Early Access. While the game is still in active development. You get a free trail before you decide to pay for the game’s early access. 4 games available later this year: The Long Dark, Sheltered, Elite Dangerous, and DayZ. 2 titles start today for early access.

-Dean Hall – from DayZ to announce his new game. He wants a simulation MMO that explores space. New trailer for upcoming Early Access Game. ION.

riseofthetombraideroxmRise of the Tomb Raider

-Brian Horton. Crystal Dynamics. Rise of the Tomb Raider gameplay reveal. Holiday 2015. Starts with Lara in a mountain cave with a flare. similar walking mechanics where Lara braces herself against the wall. Snow traversal. Jonah from the previous game is back for the ride. Cinematic mountainside climbing. Avalanche starts and Lara books it, leaving Jonah behind. Level based destruction during running sequences similar to the previous game, but expanded. Hunting is back. Bow and arrow are back. Bigger, detailed tombs. More ambitious game. November 10, 2015. EXCITED!

rareware-4e26145007227RARE Hits Collection

-Xbox One Exclusive:

“You never forget your first game. Remember Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie, Concur’s Bad Fur Day”

–RARE. 30 hit games. called Rare Replay. Aug 4th collection. Pretty cool.

-New exclusive game from Rare. Fantastical world. Very colourful. Called Sea of Thieves. Pirate and pirate ship game.

Fable Legends

-Up next, new trailer. Adventure game. Colourful forest with fairies. Free-to-play. Fable Legends, coming this holiday. Cross-platform.

Oculus, Valve VR, and Hololens

-New relationship with Valve VR for Windows 10. Xbox partnership with Oculus. We will be able to play Xbox One through Oculus Rift. Microsoft Hololens powered by Windows 10.

-Lydia Winters from Mojang (Minecraft) comes to the stage to show up a live demo of Minecraft using the Hololens. From playing minecraft right on to wall, to having a game overview right on the table. Hololens and Minecraft look very cool. Ability to watch players in the world with an overview. Scroll the wold, pinch to zoom. Very cool technology.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition & Gears of War 4

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–Gears of War Ultimate Edition finally confirmed. Updated and modernized for the next-gen. August 2015 release. Rebuilt for 1080p 60 fps. The original trilogy.

-Xbox One World Premiere: New Gears of War trailer. It’s a night time level, like the original reveal waaay back when. With flashlights. Gears music. New weather elements and level destruction. Chainsaw gun is back. New monsters. Very dark ominous level. Feels very much like Gears. Gears of War 4, holiday 2016.

-Phil Spencer is back to rehash this years line-up, backwards compatibility, ea access, virtual reality gameplay. Announces that at Gamescon later this year we’ll have new info about Crackdown, Scalebound, and Quantum Break.

Quick sizzle reel for the biggest blockbusters on Xbox One coming later this year and next.

Microsoft press conference is over. Up next is EA’s at 1PM. Stay tuned.

-iRogan

E3 2015 – Bethesda Press Conference #BE3

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BETHESDA E3 2015 Showcase :

–Bethesda‘s first stand-alone press conference at E3 starts big, a day before E3 officially starts. It starts off with a promo video showcasing the staff and different studios under the Bethesda umbrella. It then moves onto a promo trailer showing its recent games in: Skyrim, Dishonored, Rage, Battlecry, Wolfenstein, Doom, and The Evil Within.

-Pete Heins takes the stage to epic music.

“Welcome to the first ever press conference for Bethesda Gameworks. Welcome all.”

DOOM

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-The show starts off with DOOM. id Tech 6, or id Tech 666 ;). Marty Stratton takes the stage, from id Software. DOOM based on 3 foundations: Bad-Ass Demons, Big F’n Guns, and Fast Movement. Trailer based on mars again, and the game looks gorgeous and runs smooth. We’re in a mining facility, lots of molten steel. Climbable objects, brutal melee, lots of blood. Double Barrel shotgun is brutal, blowing enemies to chunks. Boost jump, and climbable platforming – more verticality. Game is fast and smooth, and slows down, slow-motion, when switching weapons. Showcases a lot of different weapons, chainsaw being the highlight. The melee looks contextual. Body part specific melee.

–DOOM multiplayer, fast paced arena mode, showcasing power-ups and vertical levels. Quick trailer shows what the DOOM multiplayer will look like.

-Next quick trailer announced DOOM Snapmap. Community in-game mod tools allows players to create their own maps and game types that can be shared to the online community. Shared across all platforms.

-Before Marty leaves, we’re back into the single player mode, in Hell. A couple new guns are shown, with difficult combat with new baddies, and the boost jump-stomp. The enemies get highlighted in either a blue or red coating which means melee is an option, not sure what the difference between the two colours mean. Final stand-off between the main guy and a HUGE bad guy where the BFG is brought up and fade-to-black. DOOM is announced for Spring 2016 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

-Pete Heins is back on the stage talking about DOOM Snapmap. He announces the network background for all their current games, and game in the future: Bethesda.net. This is where content creation will be housed.

Battlecry

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-Team Fortress style game is showcased, showing the work that’s been done of the past year. Cartoony art style showing lots of different characters and attacks. Sign-up for the global beta is open now.

Dishonored 2

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-Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantonio directors at Arkane Studios on the stage to talk about Dishonored. FPS, stealth based story. Trailer for Dishonored 2: Pre-rendered video showing the new world, new powers, new bad guys, new hero? A new female protagonist. And a brief glimpse at the original mask. Fade.

-Two optional playable characters this time.

-Lastly, Dishonored Definitive Edition, HD remake with DLC – available this fall.

Elder Scrolls Online

-Now available on the consoles with the latest update Tamriel Unlimited. Quick trailer showing the new content.

Elder Scrolls Legends

-Strategy card game – with the Elder Scrolls heroes and history. Free to play, on PC and iPad.

Fallout 4

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-Pete Heins jokingly says the conference is over, much to the crowd’s chagrin. Heins gets confused at the crowd’s dismay, and the fans chant Fallout 4. He quickly remembers why everyone is here.

–Bethesda has won 3 consecutive Game of the Year awards with Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim.

-Todd Howard is introduced and comes to stage. Howard says the E3 is the best week of entertainment ever. Games are the best form of entertainment.

-The team started designing Fallout 4, after Fallout 3 back in 2009, but obviously had to do so slowly, as they were working on Skyrim. Discusses the teams attention to detail, showcasing the concept art of Fallout. Quick art reel.

–Fallout 4 starts in the world, before the bombs start falling. Player creation starts. Option to play as a female. Quick tour of the house and the world before the bombs. References to the past game’s notables, with Nuka Cola, or Sugar Bombs. Next up, registration for the Bomb Shelter, where you set your vital stats. The city sirens start blaring and everyone is running towards the vault, when the atom blast detonates.

-Skip ahead, 200 years later, sole survivor of Vault 111. Introduction to the wasteland. Enormous dynamic world. Create who you want, go where you want, do what you want. Player freedom is priority #1.  Dynamic volumetric lighting is shown. Conversation system still a mainstay. Conversation are dynamic, and the game can be played in first person or 3rd. You can walk away from a conversation whenever you want.

-Introduced to the dog, Dogmeat, and dog commands. Everything is contextual.

-VATS is back, and shows slow-motion bullets.

-Game is based in downtown Boston. Quick reel of the many different locations that can be visited.

-Introduction to the new Pip-boy. Showcases layered armor system. Mini-game options in the Pip-boy. Real edition of a Pip-boy that supports a cell phone available in the collector’s edition, and has a pip-boy app as a second screen experience.

Fallout Shelter – iPhone Game

-Vault micromanagement game based in the Fallout world. Vault dwellers can level up, and can be sent out to the wasteland to gather resources and collect items. Vault can grow with new additions.

-Game is free. No timers, no internet connection required. Available tonight.

Back to Fallout 4

-Player can rebuild the world, in-game, in real time. People will arrive to your settlement. Can build crops, and power generators. Can run wires to terminals and lights, and defenses. You can build your own little settlement and community. Need to build defenses as the settlement will get attacked by raiders.

-Many settlement sights are available throughout the world that can be grown and built up. Completely optional.

-Crafting works on weapons too. 50 base weapons and over 700 modifications for those weapons. Can even modify our own power armor.

-Play how you want: FPS, 3rd Person, or through VATS. Quick video showing the variety of the game, weapons, and characters. Play how you want.

-Thank you to all from Bethesda to all the fans. Thank you for the patience. Game will be released November 10th, 2015, to much applause.

-Pre-E3 over and done with Bethesda.

-Up next is Microsoft’s at 9:30am tomorrow morning. See you in the morning.

-iRogan

iReview – SNIPER ELITE III – Sniping is Not a Co-op Activity

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I heard you like sniping snipers? Good luck.

Title: Sniper Elite III
Developer: Rebellion
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC
Publisher: 505 Games, Rebellion
Reviewed on: Xbox One

Sniper Elite III is a tactical shooter that takes place in Northern Africa, and follows our hero, Karl war-hero blockhead during a conflict in the setting of World War II. Sniper Elite III, the follow-up to Sniper Elite V2, is actually a prequel, and takes place many years BEFORE the events of its predecessor? Time Paradox if you die I guess?

“2 lines you should never cross….horizontal and vertical”

You play a sniper, if that wasn’t evident by the game’s title. The same gameplay mechanics from V2 have been retained. We’re dropped into a very large battlefield with a set of objectives, and we essentially make our way from point A to point B to point C, silently eliminated enemies along the way. The game is played as a long range shooter, where our primary weapon is the sniper rifle, and we have a handy back-up rifle and pistol if things get up close and hairy. Included in the inventory are a few grenades, bandages and health packs, mines and trip wires for defense, and rocks for distraction.

THE GAME SHOWCASES A SLOW-MOTION SEQUENCE WHENEVER THE SNIPER RIFLE IS USED

The main objective, as a sniper, is to quietly eliminate the enemies. Once a comfy nest is found, the handy binoculars can be used to tag enemies, and then using the trusty sniper rifle, can then be easily picked off one by one. Then we need to pick ourselves up and relocate before they find out where we’re shooting from. We are Jack’s ghost.

My biggest gripe with the sniping mechanic is that you can’t actually tag enemies using the sniper scope. The tagging mechanic is the sole reasoning behind burdening the player with the binoculars, fumbling with the controller to switch between the two.

“A sniper is the worst romancer, they never make the first move”

Strictly sniping everyone isn’t even necessary, but it does make things easier, if not slower. Once spotted and the alarms raised, the enemy just runs your way. All the enemies. This will give you ample opportunity to bring out the faithful assault rifle and shoot all the ducks in a row, as they waddle around the nearest corner in a neat line-up. Unless you’re achievement hunting, this is a sure way to clear the area.

They do make the sniper rifle fun. The game showcases a slow-motion sequence whenever the sniper rifle is used, as the camera follows the bullet across the map, into, and through the body cavity of our enemy, occasionally showcasing a Mortal Kombat-like X-Ray view of the body, as the bullet destroys organs and bone alike.

HUNDREDS OF ENEMIES THAT SWALLOWED MY BULLETS HAD NO IDEA OF MY PRESENCE

After a couple completed primary and secondary objectives and we’ve taken out our primary target, the end of each mission usually tapers out to a tank boss fight, and you’d better hope you still have some mines left. Sadly, nearly every mission ends this way.

Also, good luck finding any of the enemy snipers before they find you. 1. They look like the environment. 2. These sneaks spawn only when the player is in visible range, and give no warning of their presence. We’d have to be omnipotent to know their tactically pre-placed advantages. I can’t truly complain though, that would be hypocritical. The hundreds of enemies that swallowed my bullets had no idea of my presence either.

“One man’s fate comes from another man’s wait”

The story is forgettable, and told through illustrated cut-scenes between missions. The plot follows Karl who was sent on a mission to assassinate a high ranking general. We find plans of a secret project, and proceed through the next missions locating high value targets and more plans for a Supertank. Yay, more tanks. Predictably we find our final target and the Supertank factory, murdering everything along our path and win the day. The upside to the game is that it can be played in its entirety, in co-op. Rejoice, someone to share the pain.

I WOULD ARGUE THAT THE FASCINATION WEARS OFF AFTER ONE LEVEL

The co-op is a nice edition, but there’s no bonus for taking advantage of this feature. No co-op paths or bonus for dual sniping (not that that would even need to be a thing). All co-op is good for is getting caught by the enemy that much quicker, when your friend messes up. I don’t mess up. Not ever. I’m perfect. Segue to my short story that takes place within Sniper Elite III, and tells a tale of joy when co-op sniping.

Sniper Elite III, after the slow-motion gunshot appeal wears off, and the enemy spies your location for the umpteenth time because your co-op friend slipped up, gets very boring and tedious. Each level is loooong, and the sneakier you are, the longer it takes to complete. The game itself houses only 8 levels, but through enough grinding and trial and error, it’ll start to wear the patience thin. Each Sniper Elite level refuses to introduce any new mechanics, only a different locale, and a switch to the day and night cycles.

There seems to be some love for the sniper type, maybe because the typical shooter has de-saturated the typical modern war shooter appeal, as we see THAT game year after year. Sniper Elite III has tried to make the role more interesting. Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater did it right, needing only one level, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 did it right, needing only one level. I would argue that the fascination wears off after one level in this case as well.

Since I like chronology, I’ll go subject myself to Sniper Elite V2 now, thanks.

For those who like snipers, sneaky boring gameplay, or getting sand everywhere.

Notable Achievements:
Through the looking glass (killed 10 snipers before they see you) – 10G
Charlie’s Challenge (get a testicle shot from 100M away) – 5G

-iRogan

WHAT I’M PLAYING – Splinter Cell: Blacklist

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Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the direct sequel to Conviction. It’s the seventh installment in the series, if you include the PSP Essentials, and best yet.

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Gets Older. Moves Faster. Looks Younger

With 2010’s Conviction, the Splinter Cell series re-discovered its stride. It introduced quicker gameplay with fast take-downs, both lethal and non-lethal, and a spontaneous execute feature, where you can tag 3-4 enemies and shoot them all in a slow-motion, uninterrupted sequence. It did, however, sacrifice a lot of the Splinter Cell staples, such as the ability to move bodies.

Blacklist brings these series staples back, and then some. It is the full product. Back is the Echelon suit with goggles and light sensor, lethal and non-lethal take-downs, mark-and-execute, and Spy vs Mercs. You will notice one change: Sam Fisher’s voice.

The story is set around the events of a blacklist being revealed, where key targets will be killed off every few days if the terrorists don’t get their way. The Fourth Echelon team is tasked with preventing these assassinations, so each mission stands alone in a larger arc.

After each mission, we get graded on our performance into three categories: Ghost (silent non-lethal), Panther (silent lethal), and Assault (full combat, loud and violent). Each mission can be replayed in whatever style the player chooses, and each character in the team will have their own story missions available to Sam. These can be played solo and co-op.

The co-op missions vary in design, some are infiltration and extraction – strictly silent, another is elimination of the enemies, and a 3rd is a wave based survival.

Each mission nets you an income, and you use the money to buy upgrades for your suit, weapons, and even the Fourth Echelon plane. One of the newest additions to the load-out is the tri-copter, introduced in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. You can fly it around silently and scope out the area ahead and tag enemies. It even has a knock-out gas feature, and sticky shocker for security surveillance.

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The game is the best of the series, and is a blast to play. Visually, it’s a minor step-up on Conviction, but it does showcase some smooth animation for the take-downs, utilizing motion capture, larger level design, and some epic escape moments with level destruction.

Splinter Cell Blacklist marks the last 360 title on my shelf left to be played, and I’m not sure why I waited so long to play it. I’m hoping Illestrader will pick up a copy so we can play it in co-op.

Expect a full review upon completion, but due to the age of the game, I don’t expect I’ll be able to test out the Spy vs. Mercs multiplayer mode.

I’m going to try to get an iReview out before the end of the week, and Achievement of the Week is on Sunday.

I’m also thinking about ideas for an opinion column.

-iRogan