General gaming |
- Jet Set Radio Vita is Jet Set Radio on the Vita
- Will Moderation Render Wii U's Miiverse Ineffectual?
- Beyond: Two Souls Displays David Cage's Disrespect for Narrative
- Interview: Modern Star Trek, Modern Star Trek Game
- Dark Souls PC Port Underwhelms From a Technical Standpoint
- Keiji Inafune on Soul Sacrifice's Difficult Decisions
- Aliens: Colonial Marines Multiplayer Follows in the Footsteps of a Classic Multiplayer Series
- DmC Works in Plenty of Action, Combos, and F-Bombs
- The Surprising Sophistication of Gears of War Judgment
| Jet Set Radio Vita is Jet Set Radio on the Vita Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:55 PM PDT Sega's recent announcement of Jet Set Radio's digital return sparked quite a bit of excitement across the 1UP staff, and the news that it would also be available on PS Vita only sweetened the news. After spending some quality time with the Dreamcast classic, I can safely say that Jet Set Radio Vita plays exactly like you'd imagine Jet Set Radio playing on the Vita, and that is in no way a bad thing. There's something that's been on my mind for quite a while, but it wasn't until i got my hands on the game -- I prefer to use my handhelds as a sort of video game time machine. Instead of playing original titles made for the device, I would much rather use it to revisit my favorite games of yore. The GBA was my own personal SNES that I could keep on me at all times, and now the Vita is shaping up to be the handheld that harnesses all the titles I loved through the late '90s and early aughts. Through games like this as well as Sony's announcement that PS1 titles will soon be playable on the Vita just solidifies the handheld's role as a preservation unit. |
| Will Moderation Render Wii U's Miiverse Ineffectual? Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:47 PM PDT Nintendo has largely avoided discussing the subject of online when it comes to Wii U; we're still in the dark on details regarding the presence of friend codes and other things that have hampered the online experience for owners of Nintendo's previous consoles. The one exception to this has been Miiverse, which has the potential to connect Wii U owners with each other in a new, interesting way. There is, however, at least one issue that stands in the way of it being a major success (aside from Wii U itself selling well), and that is Nintendo's desire to provide a safe environment for younger gamers. Miiverse allows Wii U owners to share messages with others both inside and outside of games; New Super Mario Bros. U demonstrated this week how players' messages can be shown on the level select screen or following Mario's death. Messages can be either typed out or hand-drawn. Either way, the potential for spoilers or inappropriate messages to be shared through these channels is great, and Nintendo has several ways of ensuring those undesirable messages are seen by as few people as possible. |
| Beyond: Two Souls Displays David Cage's Disrespect for Narrative Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:06 PM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 I n fiction, even the most fantastic of worlds need rules. There's a reason why The Matrix didn't end with Neo morphing into a t-rex and chomping down on Agent Smith; while the Wachowskis created a reality far different from our own, they also established limits to what their characters could and couldn't do. Without these rules, narrative doesn't differ much from the likes of Axe Cop: the product of a disorganized and enthusiastic mind unconcerned with consistency. David Cage's newest project, Beyond: Two Souls, sets up a world in dire need of structure. Quantic Dream's latest project centers around a girl named Jodie (played by Ellen Page), and her constant poltergeist companion Aiden, who only she can communicate with. Beyond's behind-closed-doors demo featured a prolonged escape scene as Jodie found herself chased off of a train by policemen, and pursued into a small town for a battle against a heavily armed SWAT team. As expected, the Jodie sections of the game played very much like Heavy Rain, with highly scripted set pieces and QTEs a-plenty. The areas of Beyond where the player controls Aiden, however, showed that Quantic Dream might finally go beyond the smoke and mirrors of their last title -- until, that is, I found all of my hopes for Beyond dashed as soon as one very disappointing sentence left Cage's mouth. |
| Interview: Modern Star Trek, Modern Star Trek Game Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:48 PM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 I had the opportunity to check out Digital Extremes' Star Trek for the first time this week. Having been a Trek fan -- including the recent movies -- I've been warily interested in the upcoming title. I'm not entirely sold on the notion of Trek as a cover-based shooter, but the emphasis on cooperative play (featuring Kirk as the dominant shooter and Spock in a technical support role) goes a long way toward emphasizing the essence of classic Trek: Namely, the duality of its two leads. I spoke briefly with Sheldon Carter, creative director at Digital Extremes and Brian Miller, senior vice president and game producer at Paramount Pictures, about the philosophy with which they've taken the franchise into modern core gaming. 1UP: What has been the most important thing about bringing Star Trek into video games? There have been Star Trek games before, but it feels like there's more riding on this one than past titles. |
| Dark Souls PC Port Underwhelms From a Technical Standpoint Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:49 PM PDT The PC port of Dark Souls was a product of fan demand -- a petition urged Namco Bandai to make it happen, and the publisher answered by announcing the Prepare to Die Edition for PC in April. Following the disappointment that emerged when it was announced Games for Windows Live is being used (as opposed to, say, Steamworks), there is another reason to temper excitement over the PC debut of the Souls series. Among 1UP's editors, a common hope for the game's transition to PC was that it would see some of the technical issues taken care of. Blighttown, in particular, proved to be an especially problematic area in the game on consoles, and exemplified the framerate issues Dark Souls suffered from. With consoles far outclassed in terms of horsepower by PCs, there is no reason this can't be dealt with -- and while the developers are it, they could improve the framerate at all times and sharpen up the visuals. That was the hope, at least. It became apparent shortly after the Prepare to Die Edition was announced that improved graphics would not be happening, and now From Software is making it clear we shouldn't expect any of those framerate issues to be absent from the game on PC. |
| Keiji Inafune on Soul Sacrifice's Difficult Decisions Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:38 PM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 A few months back, I listened at GDC as developer Keiji Inafune outlined his grievances against the Japanese games industry and its slide into stagnation. He promised to develop new ideas and do his part to keep games feeling fresh. The first fruits of his efforts showed up this week at E3: A Vita title called Soul Sacrifice. I don't know that Soul Sacrifice is a particularly radical video game concept -- it plays out as a third-person action game with melee combat and magic spells -- but the skill system powering the action definitely stands apart. In Sacrifice's world, everyone is a sorcerer, and spells can only be cast by sacrificing objects. When a fighter runs out of objects to trade for power, their only recourse is to sacrifice their own body -- blood, limbs, and more. |
| Aliens: Colonial Marines Multiplayer Follows in the Footsteps of a Classic Multiplayer Series Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:21 AM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 T oday at E3 2012 I got a chance to play a multiplayer match of Aliens: Colonial Marines, a first-person shooter that both 20th Century Fox and developer Gearbox consider a canon sequel to the iconic film, Aliens. I first played ACM's multiplayer a few months ago, but had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. The core conflict pits Colonial Marines against the deadly Xenomorphs of the film, which is expected, but Gearbox takes a smart approach to multiplayer through the use of different gameplay perspectives for each side. ACM's multiplayer is based around an asymmetrical gameplay style similar to the one used in Spies vs. Mercs mode from the Splinter Cell series, and that inspiration lends an interesting dynamic to the game itself. Colonial Marines pack powerful weapons like the pulse rifle and grenades and play from a first person perspective. They use motion trackers to locate enemy positions, but using them leaves a Marine vulnerable to attack. Marines have a distinct advantage thanks to their emphasis on ranged attack, but a nimble Alien can sneak around them and dismantle an unaware soldier up-close. Xenomorphs are nimble, faster, and tougher; they hit harder, stick to surfaces, and have the ability to track players through walls, but enough hits from a pulse rifle will make short work of them. |
| DmC Works in Plenty of Action, Combos, and F-Bombs Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:06 AM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 F rom day one Capcom's DmC -- a reboot of the acclaimed action series Devil May Cry -- has faced a tumultuous load of feedback and criticism from fans of the series. As someone familiar with the previous Devil May Cry games, I've stood on the sidelines of this debate and tried to remain impartial. To me, any game, even a reboot of a beloved series, deserved some optimism and time to potentially prove itself. I played DmC for the first time today and learned to appreciate the game for what it is -- a solid addition to a franchise that didn't enter this console generation gracefully, and a game that works on its own merits. Switching up attack styles and setting up dizzying melee combos appears to be the focus of DmC, with trigger buttons on the Xbox 360 controller serving as a medium for players to transition between combat styles named Devil and Angel. I learned today that both Devil and Angel styles use a variety of special weapons that players will unlock in the final game, but up until this point, developer Ninja Theory has only shown two of them -- Dante uses a slow, but powerful axe in Devil mode and switches to a much faster scythe in Angel mode. The different combat styles also effect Dante's ranged weapon. In Devil mode, he can pull enemies in to continue his combos. In Angel mode, Dante's hook pulls himself toward airborne enemies. Combat in DmC includes a surprising amount of depth that empowers players to develop a unique style in combat. The added flexibility and ease of transitioning between the two styles by using the trigger buttons makes DmC's combat fluid, improvisational, and effortless. |
| The Surprising Sophistication of Gears of War Judgment Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:31 AM PDT 1UP COVER STORY 1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JUNE 4 | E3 2012 G ears of War! The poster child for this generation's steroid-ridden shoot-em-ups, filled with hokey action movie dialogue spouted by dudes whose limbs look like giant veiny tree trunks. The game where the heroes slapped chainsaws on the ends of their guns because bayonets weren't badass enough. The game whose next installment comes to us courtesy of People Can Fly, the studio responsible for Bulletstorm. Bulletstorm! Where f-bombs flew as fast as bullets and players got special Achievements for killing enemies with anal damage. Sounds like a recipe for stupidity, right? But no. The truth is that beneath its musclebound appearance, Gears has always been a smartly designed series defined by inventive mechanics -- mechanics that may have become fairly rote by Gears 3, but which helped define the past generation of action games. Similarly, Bulletstorm buried some devastatingly inventive game design beneath a patina (more like a thick, armor-like layer) of frat boy posturing and crass idiocy. The collision of Gears and People Can Fly opened two possibilities: A fusion that made real their shared pretense of stupidity, or a work that would bring all those clever ideas together into a satisfying whole. |
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