‘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, …
A Wake to a Time Break Remedy games have a reputation of providing great action, striking styles and engrossing narratives. For the third time Remedy have delivered on these core strengths even if the overall package is shakier than Alan Wake after drinking from the 100th coffee thermos. While Max Payne took on a noir …
Not many people were disappointed in the failure that was Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. It’s hard to disappoint fans when we expect failure. Before we can be disappointed, first we have to believe in the product that you’re selling to us. Below is not a list the worst games of 2015, but 5 games …
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 …
Rise of the Tomb Raider continues Lara Croft’s adventures from the previous game and moves the franchise into the future. As with Crystal Dynamics’ 2012 re-imaging of Lara Croft, this latest title follows the same formula of scripted action sequences interspersed with an open-world.
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.
Halo 2 and Halo 5: Guardians have a lot in common. Both have split narrative campaigns. Halo 2’s boasted the return of Master Chief and gave fresh perspective by allowing players to play as the Arbiter, previously a Covenant enemy. Halo 5 has players playing as Master Chief and his Blue Team, while following the path of Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris who’ve been tasked to track him down. Both games feature strong player versus player arena multiplayer modes, which went on to shape the future of the series in the case of 2, and is certain to do so again in the case of 5.
The open beta for DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront is currently available for download on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The beta will last 5 days (ending October 12th), and includes 2 different multiplayer modes, as well as a singleplayer/co-op mode. The first multiplayer mode is called ‘Drop Zone’, it’s an 8 vs 8 mode with …
FIFA 16 Developed by EA Canada Published by EA Sports Available on Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One As someone who hasn’t played EA’s FIFA franchise regularly for nearly a decade, FIFA 16 makes me feel like the series has taken several long strides forward over the last 10 years. From a …
NHL 16 Developed by EA Canada Published by EA Sports Available on PS4, Xbox One EA’s previous venture onto the frozen pond wasn’t an outing to remember, as they attempted to cater to both last-gen and current-gen consoles, but ended up satisfying neither audience. NHL 15 suffered from a severe lack of content and the …
Sometimes in order to do something right there is a need to go back to basics. Survival games have long tried to innovate with varying success and it can be difficult to find something refreshing.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Developed by Asteroid Base Published by Asteroid Base Available on Xbox One, Microsoft Windows I’m a sucker for a cooperative game, but too few truly demand cooperation. While it is always fun to play alongside a friend or loved one, it is rare to find a game where coordination, synchronization, …
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 …
With Girl Power in Gaming, we’re exploring the role of females in our favorite hobby for the month of September. The series will attempt to explore gender dynamics, pre-assigned roles and both positive and negative examples of female characterization in the digital world. The history of Lara Croft as a character is something that has …
Conker’s Bad Fur Day Developed by Rare Published by Rare Available on Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, Xbox One The gaming scene in the 90s was filled to the brim with company mascots competing for market share in their own platformers, from the days of 16-bit side-scrollers into the birth of the 3D platformer. Calling the market saturated …
Kenji Inafune launched his new business venture, Comcept, as a way of escaping the big bad publisher Capcom. His ideas seemed simple enough, launch a Mega Man clone and dovetail that into a successful entity. With the promise of Kickstarter, even if the publishers laughed at making a 2.5D side-scrolling adventure game in 2015, he would be …
The spectacularly received Divinity: Original Sin is headed to consoles and isn’t satisfied with any simple port. Celebrating Gamescom 2015, Larian’s Studios unveiled the newest trailer of the Enhanced Edition, which will be coming to PS4 and Xbox One this fall. In a first for the current console generation, Divinity: Original Sin is bringing couch co-op …
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.
Cuphead was the Xbox One’s most creative and artistically ambitious title presented at E3 and its presence on the showfloor helped solidify its place as one of Microsoft’s mainstays. Cuphead’s most drawing feature is its art style. Based on 1930s era American cartoons, Cuphead replicates these old animations almost effortlessly. The developers, Chad & Jared …
With a new Mass Effect and Star Wars: Battlefront also getting new trailers , EA and DICE continued to give the people what they wanted with a taste of yet another highly anticipated sequel at their 2015 E3 press conference, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst.
Valve usually holds their IPs close to their chest but in a rare move, they have decided to loan out Portal to the talented team at Zen Studios to create Portal Pinball. Portal Pinball for Zen Pinball 2 brings a lot of the expected charm, laughs, and unique touches Zen has been known for with their tables, but it also provides one of their most solid experiences in regards to digital pinball.