There’s n’ateing to it How do you end a series after it’s defined a platform for nearly 10 years, where do you take those characters? Uncharted 4 attempts to solve these questions and does so by delivering a narrative that grounds itself on human relationships and knowing when to show restraint. It’s a showcase of …
‘Dark Souls III Developed by: FromSoftware, Inc. Published by: Bandai Namco Entertainment Available on: PC via Steam (reviewed), PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One Release Date: April 12th, 2016 The Dark Souls franchise essentially began with the seminal Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 3 in 2009, and quickly became a larger-scale cultural phenomenon than anyone would have expected out of FromSoftware, …
*Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite.* The BioShock franchise is one of the most beloved in the modern era of gaming, being a model for storytelling and world-building to developers and creators across the industry. With the rumored existence of a BioShock collection for the Xbox One and PS4, …
March 28 marks ten years since the release of Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts II, the second entry in the beloved RPG franchise. Although there have been other releases since on handheld platforms, this year’s upcoming release of Kingdom Hearts III will mark the franchise’s long-awaited return to consoles. Because of its lengthy development time, the …
Before I explain why Heavy Rain’s PS4 remaster is a blatant attempt to rake in some cash under the pretense of archaic and borderline unethical PR sleight-of-hand, let me first admit that I love Heavy Rain. I think it holds up to this day, not just visually, but also mechanically. Even despite the plethora of negative …
So, Sony’s PlayStation Experience event just happened, and the biggest take away was a new trailer for the much anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake, which featured our first glimpses of gameplay. As someone who holds FFVII in extremely high regard, and someone who’s been an avid supporter of a potential remake for many years, I …
With the release of any DLC, the first question that comes to mind is almost always of the same nature: is it worth it? It’s a valid question, particularly for those who have already plunked down their cash on the full retail value of a game to begin with.
This week on Open Source, John discusses his time playing Fallout 4 – disappointing entry or stellar sequel? Also: what’s the reason behind Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s lacklustre sales – Microsoft exclusivity or simply a hectic release window? And what does 2016 hold for gamers, both good and bad? Thanks for listening! Follow Tariq on Twitter Follow …
The titles of From Software have always been known for their staggeringly difficult boss battles. From Demon’s Souls’ False King Allant, to Dark Souls’ Ornstein and Smough, to Dark Souls II‘s dreaded Sir Alonne, each of From’s pitch black action-RPG sagas have been rife with a bevy of controller-smashingly relentless encounters. However, From may have outdone themselves this time. The …
Divinity: Original Sin is a fantasy role-playing game developed by Larian Studios and published by Focus Home Entertainment. It has a single player campaign, but, and this is something I believe is missing from many games these days, it also has the ability to play local multiplayer. In addition, it allows you to choose your ‘style’ of adventure. Are you more focused on story and exploration? Try ‘Explorer’ mode. Like combat? Choose the ‘Classic’ mode. Looking for something more hardcore? Take the challenge of one death with the ‘Tactician’ mode. Finally, the ‘Honour’ mode caters to the MOST hardcore of fans, combining the ‘Classic’ mode with the ‘Tactician’ mode.
SOMA Developed by Frictional Games Published by Frictional Games Available on Windows, OSX, Linux, PS4 Exploring the mechanics of horror seems to be Frictional’s mission given the almost complete stylistic backflip they have taken with their latest game, SOMA. The majority of SOMA is set in and around the futuristic underwater research facility PATHOS-2 after …
Sony has a service for Playstation 3, 4, and Vita called PlayStation Plus, wherein you can download, on average, 2 free games every month. You can play these games for as long as you’re subscribed to the service. At $10 per month, that’s not a bad deal. I picked up Rocket League, a game available …
Standing in the crowd before the expo halls open, you can feel the anticipation. It’s contagious, and its hard not to get as equally stoked when waiting to enter PAX. The wait is certainly worth it. With so many games to play, it’s hard to be disappointed in PAX Prime 2015. And yet, as soon …
Bloodborne is almost certainly going to remain the best video game release of this year whenever the final days of December roll around. Complete with its always challenging, rewarding combat, its gorgeous, arresting, unrelenting gothic horror atmosphere, its expertly designed environments that cohesively form a single, breathing world, Bloodborne is exceptional. Only now, around five …
You’re a piece of bread. Well, one slice of bread in a loaf. However, you are special. You have a quest, like no other piece of bread. You’ve always been a ‘do-it-yourself’ individual, even when you were just a single grain (work with me here, I know bread doesn’t grow from a single grain). So while most other pieces of bread would be happy to let the people do all the work, you’ve taken it upon yourself to become toast.
Sometimes an experience is all something offers and in the end it’s all something needs to offer. This has been the trend with story-driven indie game walking simulators for the past few years. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter attempts to tell its story in a similar fashion while surpassing its contemporaries in certain aspects and, conversely, failing at being something more than it ought to.
As regular listeners to our gaming podcast Open Source will attest, the ongoing rivalry between Sony and Microsoft is oft-discussed. John perhaps said it best in last week’s episode – competition is good for the industry; without it, companies become complacent and lazy, and innovation dries up. As consumers, there’s nothing worse than one side …
In the many, many (many) retro throwbacks that have appeared over the last decade, there have been a lot of things that have consistently worked toward a titles success, from the deliberate nostalgic touches, to the grueling difficulty curves, to the catchy music that has become such a staple of these type of games. Tembo the Badass Elephant does indeed bring these three standards to the forefront, as expected, but where it really shines is with the sense of joy and silliness that it uses to present itself.
With traditional pinball falling more and more toward the wayside over the last decade, along with the arcades which once housed these fabled tables of fate, Zen Pinball and its sequel have managed to carve a clever little niche in the digital market for nostalgia hounds who grew up blasting off that little silver ball with each lucky quarter.
It was a great many years ago when most of us entered the bustling metropolis of Midgar and first encountered the virtual version of a living breathing post-apocalyptic nightmare. It was a place of steaming machines, surreal emerald lighting, and an omni-present police state operated by the most powerful corporation in the world, all perched …
All In explores the rewarding, ego-gratifying and often tedious journey to reach a Platinum, 100% a game, or otherwise achieve every major task in a title. It’s a series that I’ll be spear-heading solo for the foreseeable future but guest writers may take up the mantle as time passes. When it comes to the notion …
Toren is a great example of what can happen when a creative team over-reaches, and Brazilian developer Swordtales has clearly over-reached with their first major release.
From Verdite to Boletaria and from Lordran to Drangleic, death and curses have been prevailing themes of the universes created by Japanese developer From Software. From returns to Sony exclusivity with Bloodborne, the spiritual successor to the Souls series; the same series that made it fun to die over and over again.