Dragon's Crown Scheduled For 2013 Release

 In a press release received minutes ago from ATLUS, Dragon's Crown has been announced for the 2013 calendar year (even thought the website notes a 2012 release). The only details that we have so far is that it will be a 2-D co-op action RPG that will be released on the PS3 and Vita platforms. Feel free to check out the website yourself!

Click Here To View Dragon's Crown's Website


What do you think? Leave us some comments below!

Throwback Review: God of War III

Covered in the white ashes of his slaughtered family, Kratos is back for his forth blood bath in God of War III. The 4 part saga is coming to an epic close, but is this epic worth the price of admission? Santa Monica Studios sure hopes so. The stakes have been raised, but is it to the height of the expectations that have surrounded God of War 3 for the past 3 years? You may just have to follow Kratos up Mount Olympus to find out.

Presentation:

The boost in presentation will be the most significant change that is noticed in the new God of War III. The presentation is nothing short of gripping. Within the first fifteen minutes of game play you get a sense of what type of scale this battle is waged on. As you make your assent up Mount Olympus everything carries its weight well. The climb is grueling. Gyia provides an interesting vessel as you make your way around her rocky exterior to fight off numerous combatants. Where God of War 3 really sets the tone is with the first god that you face. Epic only begins to explain the size and type of this battle. This feeling is not only consistent throughout the game, but only grows the deeper into the playing experience you get.

Graphics/SFX:

While there was some worry that God of War III would only be playable in 720p I am happy to say that statement is not true. The game can be viewed on a glorious 1080i scale. That is truly where the beauty of this game lies. It was stated that God of War III only used 50% of the PS3’s power, and I can say without question that this is graphically the most beautiful game I have seen. Kratos has never looked more defined, every detail has been looked over with a fine comb to make sure that the player feels deeply entrenched with the character. The set pieces are also beautiful, but during some of the transitional phases from one set piece to the next I felt like I was looking at subpar texturing to the point I was having PS2 flashbacks.

The Sound FX in God of War III are spot on. The cracking of bones, ripping of flesh, and scream of burning victims is nothing short of authentic. The FX accompanied by the orchestral backdrops during large scale battle makes you feel like you are in the center of a large budget motion picture. The voice acting is over the top, which in this genre can be expected.   

Gameplay:

As much of a cliché the line, “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” is, there is really no other way to describe it. Instead of looking to take other routes with the fighting system or completely trying to overhaul it Santa Monica Studios took what they had and shaped it to be an even smoother fighting/action experience. Now different magic is linked to the different weapons, making for a more fluid transition between using the two. A gripe I have is the difference in the weapons. The core weapons come off as being almost identical to the “Blades of Exile”. They have very little aesthetic difference and play very similar to one another. The most notable difference of course is the Cestus (two lion heads). A nice thing about the weapons is the ability to change them “on the fly”. In the midst of battle you can change from on blade to the next seamlessly, creating a symphony of blood in which you are the conductor.

Kratos also has learned a few new tricks. The addition of being able to pick up an enemy and barrel through dozens of others is a gimmick that does not grow old. This linked with the multiple ways to mutilate a body will leave you giddy with joy on how you will take apart your next victim. The QTE, (Quick Time Events) are still a large stable in God of War III. This time they have been taken to a new level and made a bit too easy for my liking. Instead of the buttons showing up near the action on the screen, they show up in the areas of the screen where the button is located on the controller (Square appears on the left side, circle on the right, ect.) making it rather easy for anyone who is even slightly familiar with a Playstation 3 controller to pull off these incredible feats. Overall you are getting what you expect and a little extra from the game play in God of War III.

Value:

The Value is, and always has been the story campaign. Making your way through the tragedy that is typical of Greek plays is what’s to be expected. This is a story about loss, pain, suffering, and revenge, all through the eyes of a man who became a god, and now again reduced to mortality. If you can’t appreciate the direction that this franchise is taking then I question why you picked up the second one of the series. The story telling is not as crisp at times with God of War III, but it doesn’t ever fall to the point of not being comprehendible. Don’t be surprised if the ending leaves you wanting more.

VERDICT

In Closing…

I didn’t want to like this game as much as I did. I constantly asked myself, “How in the world could this game live up to the hype?” My questions were answered no sooner than fifteen minutes into the game. The rest of the journey became more enjoyable as I progressed and I strongly recommend God of War III for your Playstation 3 collection. Giving depth to a “button masher” is difficult, but Santa Monica Studios has prevailed.

Throwback Review: Saints Row the Third

Sandbox games are a mixed bag for me.  The freedom in the actions that you have to choose from is fresh and exhilarating, but the missions that further the story and open up more options are a little too boring, blah and formulaic.  There was never really any reason for me to trudge through the story.  Grand Theft Auto is a perfect example of this.

An average playthrough of GTAIV consists of getting into pointless scuffles with the police, wasting ammo, almost dying, then finally getting to a destination where the missions are just... ok... and then starting it all over again.

Granted, I could mix it up by "going to see some teeeeeeeeties" with my cuuuuzzin, play darts, bowl, or even watch some television... but after that, I have to get to the story to open up more options.

Saints Row III showed me just how crazy that formula could be shaken up.  Watching ads for previous installments, I always thought that the games were a little more focused on gangbangers.  I'm really not interested in working the 'thug life'.  You can do that again in Saints Row III, or...

you can just turn the game upside down and have an absolute blast!


The Story:
The Third Streets Saints are looking to expand.  Deciding to take over the city of Steelport, however, was a poor business choice. The local gang, the Syndicate, doesnt appreciate the competition, and does a pretty good job of removing you as one.  Its now your job to build up your empire from the beginning all over again. Simple premise that won't win any awards, but it does it's sandbox job.  See, building up your empire is pretty much entirely up in the air.  Do you want to steal a penthouse from one of your rivals?  Thats great, lets parachute into their rooftop pool.  Now you have a base of operations.  The set up allows the creators to be a crazy as they want.
This completely removes the monotony of the genre and all the problems that I ran into with similar games!
One of the early missions has you tearing through a sex-slave house, freeing hookers and trying to help a pimp named Zimos out of captivity as a... how do I put this delicately... pony cart worker that will... entertain you for "eighty an hour".  This is a main story mission and one of the most tame in the game.  They become more ridiculous as you go on.  These are the missions that I was more than happy to play through to get to the rest of what SR III has to offer.


What else can you do exactly?

Well, you can just drive between missions a la GTAIV, you can fly a hoverjet, or you can hijack a moped and pimp it out (my particular favorite ride was an ATV with green under-glow and spikes that popped out of the tires).  There are 500 stunt jumps hidden throughout the city, I saved up enough money to make my gang all wear hot dog costumes, threw 'fart in a jar' grenades to make my opponents puke, and then finished them off by beating them up with a giant dildo.


All of this, plus much more is way more satisfying to discover as you drive around the city of Steelport.
Side missions have their own flair to it as well, where you are slowly trying to take over the city by accomplishing tasks.  Maybe you will commit insurance fraud by throwing yourself repeatedly in traffic.  Sometimes you will take part in Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, a murderous game show where you make 'ethical kills'.  All activities give your gang clout, and more importantly, money.

The customization doesn't end with your gang and your rides.  Your character can basically be whatever you want it to be.  I ran through my first play through as zombie Hitler.  Yup.  With green scarred skin, blue eyes, and even a zombie voice to accompany it.  There are chrome skins available, hooker outfits, mascot faces, even a giant toilet form if you wish.


So the answer to that question earlier really is: anything you want.  You can do anything.

So what could possibly be bad about a game such as this?

Once you get to fly one of these babies, you will never need
another car.  Ever.

If you are savvy about what to buy in what order, say, saving pennies until you can buy the highest earning properties first, and then whittling down the rest of Steelport with your vast riches, you can easily earn a hefty sum of money.  With this money, you can buy upgrades to your character, eventually enabling it to withstand any damage at all.  The game almost breaks itself with its 'do what you want to' attitude.  This may be late in the game, but knowing that you will become so powerful the game becomes less fun.
The difficulty curve is a bit extreme as well.  The game starts out OK with the first mission, making sure you are well equipped and ready, but when you are taken down a peg, the difficulty spikes.  You really do feel like you've lost everything, and it takes a few missions to get back on your feet. This all goes away though, once you do.

This game is immensely fun. The characters, story, and game play provide such a unique blend. After sinking hours into it, I can honestly say it's an experience that I've never had with any other game. I can't recommend Saints Row the Third more. This is definitely a buy and one that just can't be passed up.

Demon's Souls to be taken off PS3 servers

Just this week ATLUS announced that Demon Souls (the game that catapulted their name from just "the guys who published Persona" to a full fledged, awesome game publisher) will be closing it's PS3 online doors.


Created by From Software, the prequel to Dark Souls, Demon's Souls is a game that denied classical genre classification. A brilliant game that had aspects of RPG character creation, strategy game planning, action game reflexes, and old school gaming difficulty.  I mean, really old school.  The game is so difficult I had to stop myself from throwing my controller on numerous occasions.  One thing that really kept me going though, were the interactions I got from fellow players.

Nothing felt cooler than non-verbally celebrating a tough battle together.

The game was excellent at making the player feel alone.  Very alone.  You had to survive on wits, instinct, and a little smart planning if you wanted to keep playing.  But, if you so chose, there were little messages written on the ground from players who had been there before you, and you could also see visions of the last breaths and actions of others before their inevitable deaths.  These slight interactions with others not only showed you that others were playing and having the same difficulties you were, but also showed you that others were dying all around you.  Occasionally you could be visited by other players (some to help you, some to hunt you down), but these were only brief non-chatting interactions. In the end, when you have to remember where all the traps were and how to take down that monstrous boss, you were alone.


Well, players of the game should really start getting used to that feeling. Since being released in October of 2009 the game's PS3 online servers will go offline for good on May 31st, at midnight.   This does not kill the game, and you can still enjoy it.  Just not to it's fullest extent. The game will get punishingly hard for those who need the help from the messages on the ground and ghost glimpses, but I'm sure that you will be able to find solace from those on the internet.


So why did this have to happen?
Well, ATLUS is not a giant publisher akin to the likes of Activision or EA.  Hosting a server that houses hundreds of thousands of daily interactions is not cheap.  The answer is simply this:  They ran out of money to host it. Coming directly from the press release: 

"It was also of the utmost importance for us to sustain the game's online experience as long as possible, even beyond the point at which sales could help to offset the expense.  Regrettably, the online servers cannot be sustained forever and now the end draws near."

With a sequel that they are focusing on, Dark Souls, and other game desires, they couldn't keep it open any longer.  There are petitions open and demands for a kickstarter to be, ahem, started, but I doubt that these will work.
In December of 2010 the admins of ATLUS' forums were talking about how overjoyed they were that they could afford an extension of the life of their servers for the game, a mere year after the game was released. 
So can someone else help out?  I doubt that other publishers will be willing to fund the bill for one of their competitors.  Maybe someone that directly benefited from the game's release?  Maybe Sony, the home of the exclusive title? Well, after the recent news that Sony has revised their loss projections to make out for a $6.4 billion dollar loss, I really don't think that they can foot that bill either.

'Sorry Demon's Souls fans, we're kinda in a hole here too!'

So what can you as a player do?  Enjoy the product to it's fullest while you can, and continue to show support for ATLUS to make them a bigger company.  It was their creative genius that brought us the game, lets show them that we love them for it.  Buy their other games new, be active on their game's forums, and support them.  
You have till midnight on May 31st to get your slaying on, get to it!

"It has been a tremendous honor and privilege for all of our staff at ATLUS to have been involved with so innovative and groundbreaking an interactive entertainment experience.  We poured our heart and soul into every facet of our involvement with Demon's Souls..."

 -ATLUS Development Team (taken from official press release)

*sniff*

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Crysis 3 is on it's way...

This morning EA released information on the new installment of the Crysis series. It looks to be set in a New York jungle like area. Listed below from the press release are the different perks for pre-ordering the “Hunter Edition”. Also shown are screen shots and box art. Crysis 3 will be available spring of 2013

·        Stalker Pack – Includes the base game, all Hunter Edition content and the following early multiplayer unlocks: for players who like to stalk their prey from the shadows the Stalker Pack provides early multiplayer access to the deadly semi-auto Jackal shotgun. This powerful, close-range shotgun comes with a unique silencer attachment, custom weapon skin and two exclusive themed in-game dog tags.

·        Overkill Pack – Includes the base game, all Hunter Edition content and the following early multiplayer unlocks: the Overkill Pack features early multiplayer access to the Typhoon assault weapon and skin. Spewing 500 rounds a second, the Typhoon gives players the ability to go guns blazing to take back the Liberty Dome. Also included are two exclusive Overkill themed in-game dog tags.

·        Predator Pack – Includes the base game, all the Hunter Edition content and the following early multiplayer unlocks: the Predator Pack delivers early multiplayer access to the Feline submachine gun and exclusive camo. With an extremely fast rate of fire and a 60 round magazine the Feline is highly effective and deadly, at short range.

Bargain Bin Reviews (April 15-21)

Hello and welcome again to the Bargain Bin Reviews! This is the feature where we take time finding the good games on the cheap so you don’t have to! This week we have turned our focus more on one title apiece so you could gain a bit more insight. As always feel free to pick up any of the games we talk about by clicking on the Amazon link to the right.

Steve’s Pick

Just Cause 2

The point of these Bargain Bin Reviews is to inform you, the buyer, of cheap games that are more than worth your money. They are also designed to introduce you to games that could be considered hidden gems. If you are looking for a good story then Just Cause 2 might not be for you, but if your goal is to run around an island while blowing up as much stuff as you can then you are set. Bad guy driving you crazy? Grapple him to the back of your car, and drag him around. Need to catch a ride on a helicopter? Grapple on to it and hold on. Falling from the previous helicopter? Don’t worry just grapple on to the ground. “Why does that work,” you ask? Just Cause (2).

Tanner’s Pick

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Splinter Cell's 2010 reboot is everything that I love about modern gaming. All of the important information is projected on the environment rather than cluttering up your HUD, and the game cleverly alternates between color and black-and-white to let you know when you are hidden. You can exploit the enemy AI by luring them to the last position that they saw you, and mark and execute all of the fools in a room if you're good. Besides a compelling single-player story, the game also has a separate co-op campaign as well. Nothing is more fun than setting up ambushes with your buddy or simultaneously performing silent kills to keep a low profile. This game has a ridiculous value for $20.

Matt’s Pick

Darksiders

If you want to talk about games that came in “under the radar” in 2010 Darksiders has to be towards the top of your list. Imagine for a second that I told you about a game that took the best elements from the Legend of Zelda series and the best elements from the God of War series…awesome right? That is exactly what you have with the game Darksiders as you take control of one of the four horsemen during a time of chaos. Make your way though dungeon upon dungeon, upgrade your weapons and abilities, and hack and slash your way through some rather creative enemies. With the sequel on its way Darksiders is a no-brainer to pick up for under 20 bucks. 

Kory’s Pick

House of the Dead: OVERKILL Extended Cut 

I love ridiculous games.  This one is ridiculous on a cocktail of speed and steroids.  A classic feeling light-gun game with fast action and even more over the top language (this game has literally set the record on total swearing in a single game), coupled with the option of Move capability and you've got a recipe of bargain bin gold. As the cherry that’s on top of this already delicious sundae of a game, this is the extended cut edition, meaning more guns, more levels, and even more zombies to blast! Pick this up while its on sale at Amazon!

David’s Pick

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Explore a mysterious and mind-bending mental maze armed only with an oil lamp and your lack of sanity, constantly being pulled in by the fascinating nature of the story that lies buried.  Frictional games really take the tension and dread of weapon-less survival horror to a whole new level, leaving the player with a masterfully designed soundscape and some frighteningly unlockable doors to hide behind.  Sometimes you'll want to leave and never return, but the game's world is so fascinating that you will want to keep discovering, keep playing.  If you've ever wanted to be completely sucked into an experience, if you've ever wanted to over stimulate your fight or flight response, or maybe if you've ever wanted to be strangled to death by your own fear of pixels and code, then you
owe Amnesia your time.

Juan’s Pick

Prey

Inspired by a previous article by one of +10Damages own, I had to recommend Prey. If the mind bending, fast action shooting doesn't sell you than maybe one of the best opening sequences in all of gaming will. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't played it, but it's definitely worth the 15 bucks just for the first 10 minutes of this game. Add some solid visuals, gravity defying weirdness, as well as some solid fast paced multiplayer and you will  be checking the corners and ceilings in no time.

Square Enix Releases New Info about "Sleeping Dogs"

Today Square Enix's European division released more information about the open-world police title, Sleeping Dogs, while also serving up some pretty interesting screen shots. This title will also be released along side a "limited edition" of the game. The information below reflects the UK version of the game. The limited edition contains the following according the the Square Enix press release...

‘George St. Pierre (GSP)’ content:
·         GSP’s signature “flying punch”
·         Exclusive GSP outfit including T-shirts, headband and shorts
·         The GSP outfit unlocks the “flying punch” and increases grappling and throwing damage

 ‘Police Protection’ content:
·         Exclusive “High Speed” Mission
·         Exclusive HK Police SWAT Outfit
·         Exclusive assault rifle
·         Exclusive SWAT Police Vehicle


At this point we are not quite sure what George St.Pierre's involvement in the game will be, but feel free to take a look at some of the screens courtesy of Square Enix and Gamespress.com. Sleeping Dogs will be avalible state side August 14th  Feel like it's just going to be GTA from the other side of the law? Let us know in the comments!

Annualization of Games

     It seems like one of the hot new trends in games these days the tendency to make sequel installments an annual affair. I lose track of all the sequels that are churned out of the fun factory every holiday season, and one can quickly become cynical in regards to glut of incremental sequels every year. So, let's do an autopsy on a few examples of franchises (alive and dead) with annual installations, and see what we can learn.

Case One: Guitar Hero

     There's no arguing that the influence Guitar Hero was a very important event in this cycle of consoles. What started out as a novel party game where the player pretended to be good at music became a shambling corpse of its former glory with each new iteration. Not counting the mobile versions of the game, between 2005 and 2010 there were twelve installments in the main series of the game.

Open your eyes! You're not even on the buttons!

     Naturally, people got fatigued of drinking the stale milk from one of Activision's many cash cows, and eventually critical opinion and sales numbers began to favor the fledgling Rock Band series, until people stopped caring about plastic instruments almost altogether. So what spelled the death knell for the most successful rhythm-action games ever?
     In my interpretation of events, the reason that people started to drift over to Rock Band was because of Guitar Hero's failure to innovate. Rock Band brought a unique social element to the rhythm-action genre that Guitar Hero could never quite catch up to. No matter how many technically demanding, face-melting, steel-shredding guitar solos the game could muster up, Rock Band would eventually prevail as the leader in the Great Plastic Instruments Race for one reason: playing with toy instruments is a lot more entertaining in a group setting than trying to memorize the intro to Cliffs of Dover on a Fisher-Price toy in solitude and sadness.

Case Two: Call of Duty

     Don't get me wrong: Call of Duty games are fun. They are the best approximation to a Hollywood blockbuster thrill-ride that video games can accomplish. They have big, dumb characters, big, dumb cinematic setpieces, and big, dumb guns and explosions. And at the end of the day, like any Transformers or superhero movie, it's all about turning off your brain for a few hours and having fun by watching gratuitous amounts of violence.

AGH GOD MORE JELLY

     So why all the hate? Again, like Guitar Hero, it all comes down to the fact that there isn't enough innovation to keep many hardcore gamers satisfied. I played Modern Warfare and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also played World of Warcraft for two years and enjoyed it. But will I ever go back to them?
     In a word, no. I played both games to death, and while I enjoyed my experiences with them, I played them to death. From what I see, new iterations on Activision's swollen, gushing cash cow aren't different enough from one another to generate interest to me and many others. The series enjoys incredible sales numbers to be sure, but it comes from the same people that only buy the yearly installments of Madden and Call of Duty every year.
     But this doesn't explain the extreme backlash that the series feels. There are plenty of franchises that iterate on an annual basis, like every Madden, FIFA or MLB. So why do gamers erect the Modern Warfare games as their lightning rod of hate?
     Because it's popular, of course. You can't escape the marketing assault that surrounds each game. It's everywhere from your Mountain Dew bottles, to your TV commercials, and to your YouTube ads. Call of Duty's success and criticisms both come from the prevalence of advertisements that are experienced around the games, rather than the merits of the game's quality (or lack thereof).

Case Three: Assassin's Creed

     Assassin's Creed has been an annual series since 2009, and has garnered equal amounts of praise and criticism for doing so. On one hand, people soon get fatigued from Ubisoft's largest revenue generator. In contrast, many gamers (including myself) look forward to every year's chapter in the epic conspiracy story that Ubisoft has created.

Pictured: History

     The reason Assassin's Creed holds a special place in my heart is because of its originality.  The setting uses times and places no other games come near to exploring, and the gameplay combines an open-world philosophy to conventional stealth, action, and platforming.
     If this was all the games offered, however, they would not scratch the itch of the gaming community. They blend the emergent gameplay opportunities with a story arc that spans centuries and pulls on strings that don't go unappreciated by history nerds like me.
     Everything in world history is a complex conspiracy that traces its history back to Templars, Assassins, and aliens. Normally this kind of pseudoscientific drivel belongs on Ancient Aliens, but Ubisoft blends these themes with the interpersonal character stories that we associate with more often. In this way, Ubisoft makes me look forward to the annual installation in the series, rather than dread hearing about it every fall.

The Verdict

     So, what have we learned? In my opinion, annual games need to do a few things to make me care about them. They need to iterate on the core gameplay each game, rather than let the games spiral into monotony and repetition. They need to make the different games easily recognizable from one another, and take risks with each franchise instead of rehashing the same tired story, skeletons, and gimmicks.
     At the end of the day, if you are against these annual games, vote with your dollar and simply don't buy them. It's more productive than making petitions or complaining on message boards.

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