Naughty Dog Teases UNCHARTED; The Last of Us 2 for PlayStation 4

After a "Thank You" Event for fans of Naughty Dog's colorful resume where the community voted on the Top 10 Questions asked by fans all around the world on Facebook, the developer of such break-out hits for Sony Computer Entertainment like Uncharted, The Last of Us, Jak & Daxter, and Crash Bandicoot answered the fans questions and even dropped some hints for the future of 2013's critically acclaimed PlayStation 3 exclusive, The Last of Us as well as UNCHARTED which was announced on the PlayStation 4's launch-day, November 15.

After the success of TLoU, has there been any talk of making a sequel as we move into the next console generation? What factors would contribute to whether that happens or not?

“The success of The Last of Us was definitely welcome and we’re very grateful for it. However, as far as future projects go, everything is still TBD. The Last of Us team is hard at work on The Last of Us: Left Behind, which is our first ever single player DLC, right now. As for what happens after the next TLOU DLC drops, we recently teased UNCHARTED for the PS4 and have multiplayer TLOU DLC coming. We’re working on revamping our Naughty Dog engine to be running smoothly on the PS4. Future projects will take shape once that’s ready to go.”

And on the subject of UNCHARTED, the follow-up to 2011's Drakes Deception: 

Can you give us any indication of when we will be getting some more details on the upcoming Uncharted game you guys are working on for the PS4? Or are there any little morsels of information you could give us here? Please don’t just say ‘Soon(tm)’!

“It’s got a guy with a really cool voice in it. He’s in the teaser. A lot of people missed it but that’s Todd Stashwick ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823693/ ). Go follow him (https://twitter.com/ToddStashwick ). Also, read the map. “

The Sixth Axis has a really well-though analysis of the map we see in the trailer, possibly alluding to a prequel set a long, long, time ago.

Also for fans of The Last of Us, Naughty Dog might have dropped a hint to some potential future story-DLC, or maybe even a prequel game:

What is Joel and Tommy’s background story like before the outbreak and during the 20 years leading up to the events in The Last Of Us? Why didn’t you put more dialogue about it in the game?

“There’s not more dialogue about it in the game because it’s something we haven’t fully fleshed out yet. You can gather bits and pieces of their personal history, such as what Joel does for a living, by listening to the dialogue closely. Maybe someday we’ll fill in those back stories a little bit more.”

You can read my review of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, here.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Will NOT Be Heading to PC; Full FAQ

Speaking in a FAQ published on their official website, Eidos and Square Enix adressed today a full run-down of this month's next-gen re-release of last year's Tomb Raider reboot (that sentance hurt my head to type), titled Tomb Raider: Definitive Editon  for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One stating that "At the time, a PC update is not planned".

Other highlights from the FAQ included a full-list of what to expect in this next-gen title that was previously announced at the Spike Video Game Awards just last month:

New game content:

The core action and story of Tomb Raider remain intact, but we’ve added all post-launch DLC, as well as a few bonus offerings that let you dive deeper into Tomb Raider’s development. Here’s what you can expect:
· The fully rebuilt game for next-generation consoles
· The Tomb of the Lost Adventurer
· Eight DLC multiplayer maps
· Six DLC multiplayer weapons
· Four DLC multiplayer characters
· Six alternate outfits for Lara
· Dark Horse digital comic book “Tomb Raider: The Beginning”
· Brady Games digital art book “Tomb Raider: The Art of Survival”
· “The Final Hours of Tomb Raider” documentary series

Bug Fixes:

Yes. All of the title updates rolled into the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of Tomb Raider have been included in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.

And as to what truly makes this game "next-gen":

Yes, we think the graphical improvements are pretty great. The team didn’t just up-rez the game. They pulled it apart and rebuilt it with new technology, finally allowing us to reach the vision for Tomb Raider that we always wanted.

You can see the sweat, mud, and blood on Lara. Her eyes are much more expressive and her hair realistic. We also improved gear movement in Definitive Edition – her axe will sway and necklace will react to movement as Lara traverses the island. The Endurance crew has been spruced up, too.

As for the island, we’ve added weather and lighting effects, extra vegetation, improved physics, reactive water surfaces, and more. Yamatai is now alive with motion. When Lara stops, the world keeps moving. We didn’t just improve the rain; we reworked it until it felt torrential – like another enemy out to get Lara.

If you want to get geeky, our gameplay is now in full 1080p, we have subsurface scattering on our characters, real-time particle lighting, Tress FX support for Lara’s hair, upgraded reactive water, full world simulation, and more. We’ve also completely rebuilt Lara’s head and face model from the ground up with a denser topology giving improvements on features for eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, etc. All of her textures are higher resolution as well.

As for other next-gen additions, The Xbox One allows you to use Kinect to change weapons, attachments, and navigate the menu with your voice. You can also rotate and inspect relics with hand gestures, and find new viewpoints by leaning into the world. The PlayStation 4’s Dualshock 4 controller lights up red and orange when using the torch, and quick flashes when Lara is shooting. The PlayStation 4 version also allows you to stream Tomb Raider to the PlayStation Vita.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition released Jan 28.

For more, read my review of the game here.

Sony Announces 'PlayStation NOW' Video-Game Streaming Service

At the Consumer Electronics Show today in Las Vegas, Sony has unveiled their newest feature that will finally be utilized on Sony devices such as the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation VITA, and Bravia TV Sets, phones, and tablets.

PlayStation NOW, powered by Gaikai, a subscription-based streaming service Sony acquired in 2012 for the hefty tag of $380 million, will act as a glorified Netflix for video-games, allowing gamers to instantly play the most updated version of any game listed, with no download or wait required, all that will be needed is a solid internet connection and a subscription, which has yet to be announced.

According to GamesBeat:

PlayStation Now will enable players to rent games one at a time, but it will also feature a subscription model that will likely give players access to a huge library for a monthly or annual rate. Sony did not provide pricing info at the presentation.

The company plans to start a closed beta of PlayStation Now in the U.S. by the end of this month. It will roll out the service in full this summer. At first, the streaming program will only feature PlayStation 3 games, but Sony could add older works in the future.

This feature was teased at E3 over the summer, to much praise as this will effectively be the first of it's kind for consoles, exclusive to Sony devices.

Sony also announced that 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles have been sold as of now from it's November 15 launch-date.

ALIEN: ISOLATION. In The Next Gen, No One Can Hear You Scream.

 

After the shocking disappointment that was last year's Gearbox/SEGA joint Aliens: Colonial Marines, it appears something big has been cooking up the whole time for a new generation of pure survival horror on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

David Houghton of GamesRadar has the hands on:

This is something you've never seen before. It's a brutal, intense, harrowing, densely crafted triple-A experience, going right back to the original 1979 source material to create something utterly true to Ridley Scott's Alien. And from what I've played and seen so far, it looks very, very, very good indeed. In fact the last time I previewed a licensed game that looked this faithful and this high of quality, it was Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Houghton stressed the pure survival horror nature of the game:

You are not going to be fighting Aliens in Alien: Isolation. You are going to be going up against one Alien at a time, in unscripted, unpredictable encounters in dark, oppressive, cramped conditions. And the only win to be had will be escape. Try to take on a Xenomorph, and you will die. Try to outrun a Xenomorph, and you will die. Be seen, heard, sensed or suspected while too close to a Xenomorph, and there’s a very high probability indeed that you will die. Within seconds. Almost without warning. And you will die terrified.

Houghton then went on to talk about the ammount of AI work that went into the Xeno, saying that is is a truly living, breathing, fluid creature that moves in ways that gamers have never seen before and that "I’ve never faced a scarier creature in a video game. Ever."

I'm sure your thinking well if this game is so damn terrifying and survival-horror based, what can I use to fight the Alien? Surley I have someting?

You do. A Motion tracker.

The only consistent tool you’ll have in “combating” the Alien’s advances will be a hand-held motion tracker. That’s it. And even within the pantheon of video game motion trackers, it’s hardly the most effective weapon of choice. It works on a two-tiered system. Large blocks at the edges of its display will light up when the Alien is on the move at a distance, but all they’ll really tell you is from which of four rough directions death is likely to be coming. No handy radar blip. Not even any indicator of distance.

There will be items to be crafted, however, much in the vein of Naughty Dog's gripping PlayStation 3 exclusive, The Last of Us, Houghton says:

There will be helpful equipment to find along the way, but in the tradition of the Nostromo crew’s desperate, bodged-together, homemade anti-Alien equipment, it looks like you’ll be wrangling tools rather than weapons. Along the course of our knuckle-clenching crawl through the station, we found multiple bits of scrap and a few sources of fuel for an--at the time--unavailable crafting system. Though few details are available at the moment, I’d bet real dollar-pounds on this bringing a limited array of misdirection and evasion tools into play by way of frantically salvaged raw materials

Who will you play as though? Ripley; but not the one you're thinking of. You'll be assuming the role of Amanda Ripley, the daughter briefly mentioned in the beginning of James Cameron's ALIENS Director's Cut; which struck as one of the saddest moments in that entire film, where Sigourney Weaver shows fantastic range in how awful she feels that she out-lived her only daughter...

You see the way that Alien: Isolation crafts its story and weaves Amanda into the Alien mythology just makes total sense. It’s 15 years after the Nostromo went nuclear and Ripley went missing. The ill-fated tug-boat’s black box has finally made its way back to civilisation, salvaged by the crew of a once prosperous but now dilapidated trading station. Amanda, having followed in her mother’s footsteps and joined the space corps, volunteers for the recovery mission.

 

Houghton spoke at great lengths regarding the sound design, level design, and aesthetics of the game that make it appear to be the most authentic ALIEN experience just short of actually flying into space and working on the Nostromo.

There is no set release date for ALIEN: Isolation yet; but there is actually gameplay and interviews with Creative Assembly and SEGA.

While I'd recommend being cautiously optimistic about this after the devastating pile of shit that was Aliens: Colonial Marines; it's hard not jump up and down at the thought that this franchise will finally live on in video-game form as a purely terrifying experience brought to life with accuracy, care, and respect for it's universe.

Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance. As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.

Activision Pulling Digital Versions Of Marvel Video Games

On January 1st 2014 at midnight EST, Deadpool mysteriously disappeared from Steam despite being on sale multiple times during the Steam Holiday Sale. NeoGAF later discovered that the game had been pulled from Xbox Live and Playstation Network as well.

Game Informer went searching for answers from Activison, and whilst they didn't explain why the game had disappeared, Activision confirmed that Deadpool, Spider-Man: Edge Of Time, Friend or Foe, Shattered Dimensions, Web Of Shadows, X-Men: The Official Game, X-Men Destiny and X-Men Origins: Wolverine have all been permanently removed from digital channels such as Steam, Xbox Live and Playstation Network.

The only plausible explanation for these video game removals is because of a license expiration as all of Activision's 007 James Bond games were removed from digital channels shortly after the negative-reviewed 007 Legends was released.

PlayStation 4 Review: KNACK

 

When KNACK was first revealed at the Sony PlayStation "See The Future First" Event earlier this year, many had hoped the game would be a cute, light-hearted, colorful return to Sony's platforming prime such as the Jak & Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, and Crash Bandicoot days.
KNACK promised a colorful world with the unique gameplay advantage of a character that morphs and grows as he absorbs more "relics" to power him, while also acting as a tech-demo of the PlayStation 4's processing power, able to manage all of Knack's thousands of moving pieces in real time.

The actual game, however, delivers a colorful, bright, and aesthetically detailed finished product; but lacks any depth and real heart to it.
To put it simply, KNACK is beautiful little mess that never really lives up to it's own potential, or the high standard Sony's previous platformers have been held up to.

Knack's story takes place in a world where Goblins and Humans have had an uneasy truce after the humans discovered the Sun-Stones and "ancient relics" from Goblin mines, which have become the new energy source for our cities and industry. When the Goblins start attacking human settlements with more advanced weaponry than just bows and catapults, the Governments of the world seek the aid of a billionare industrialist, a renowned explorer and Goblin expert, a lab assistant, and his professor who holds the key to it all, a cute little creature named Knack.

 

While the plot is somewhat unique and isn't actually as predictable as one would think initially, sans the painfully obvious "secret badguy", the writing is very bland and while the game is light-hearted, it is almost devoid of humor entirley.

KNACK's gameplay is a platformer beat-em-up which never truly succeeds at being either until very late in the game when the platforming segment becomes an actual challenge, and while the combat is fun, there are never any new ways to play it, despite having a character that could be used in countless fun gameplay types.
Knack realizes later in the game that he can absorb other elements other than the relics which power him, which leads to Wooden Knack, Ice Knack, and Metal Knack, which do absolutley nothing to the gameplay other than give Knack a new color-scheme depending on which of the three he absorbs, which is sad because it chalks up to the game's "Wasted Potential" category, aside from one high-light moment where KNACK takes after a giant rampaging monster film, tearing through the city fighting tanks and jets from the Goblin army, and then at the game's climax when all hell breaks lose and you find yourself fighting monstrous gollems and creatures unleashed from an ancient world.

 

The levels are very pretty to look at, all look lush and vivid, but sadly lack any great design to them.

The game does actually become a challenge, and for a single-player game that clocks in at around 10 hours, the challenge is nice both to keep you on your toes, as well as to remind you games can still be "hard on Normal Difficulty in a world of regenarting health and hand-holding.

KNACK also features a Co-Op style similar to the Lego games of drop-in/drop-out gameplay, which comes in handy as the character is faced with some truly challenging odds and enemy types as the game progress. The game is also good for trophy hunters seeking an "easy Platinum" if you're a skilled gamer who doesn't mind honing his skills for the game's speed-runs.

The PlayStation 4's library is small now, with only shooters, sports games, and a racing game; but KNACK is worth a purchase for those who want a comfy little mindless action; but don't mind the fact KNACK really ever brings anything unique or innovative to it's genre.  

All things considered, KNACK is a beautifully made mess that doesn't live up to the high standards Sony platformers are known for; but it does give a nice glimpse into future installments of Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper as well as showing off that there are still adventures that can be shared between all ages, with enough challenges for all parties to enjoy.

"Dark Souls 2" Live Action Trailer

Face the challenge once again in this sequel to the hardcore action RPG. Dark Souls II features a new hero, a new storyline, and an unfamiliar world for players to survive in while delivering its signature brand of unrelenting punishment that players hunger for. Epic battles with gruesome enemies and blood-thirsty bosses await adventurers as they traverse through a devastated world filled with death and despair; only those who are strong willed or cunning can survive this journey to achieve great glory. Players seeking to share their experience will discover a revamped server-based multiplayer mode that puts a distinct Dark Souls II twist on the concept of playing with others.

GAMERANT

"Rambo: The Video Game" Trailer

Veteran soldier John Rambo relives the nightmares that keep him sharp in this HD video game release based on the classic film series. Rambo: The Video Game is a fixed-perspective, first-person shooter allowing players to fill the combat boots of John Rambo on a violent journey through iconic action sequences from the original three legendary Rambo movies. First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Rambo III form the basis for authentic Rambo gameplay comprising shoot-outs, stealth killings, demolition, knife-play and more. The game leverages action gaming elements such as destructible terrain, cover-based shooting and rag-doll physics to deliver the high-impact Rambo action fans around the world expect.

Live Action "LocoCyle" Trailer Featuring Freddy Rodriguez & James Gunn

This is the Official Live Action Trailer for Twisted Pixel's up coming Xbox One launch title, LocoCycle. LocoCycle tells the heartwarming tale of I.R.I.S., a newly self-aware, weaponized, and artificially intelligent motorcycle. Stuck together with her engineer Pablo, she rides across the countryside looking to escape her creators: the evil Big Arms weapons dealer and their murderous, sociopathic A.I. motorcycle S.P.I.K.E.

"Ryse: Son Of Rome" Combat Footage

Take a tour of Ryse's combat mechanics, combo system, and its ever-changing Colosseum. We will walk you through the art of the execution, including how we designed for emotion, mastery and flow.