Playstation 3

Dust 514 Attempts to Take Epic Scale to Epic Levels

If you haven’t already heard about DUST 514, it’s a new FPS that takes place in the universe of EVE Online.  EVE Online is an MMO sci-fi game with its own economy of corporations and populations spread throughout.  The premise of DUST 514 is that corporations will literally battle over  important worlds, handing out contracts to DUST mercenaries to do their  dirty work. 

DUST 514 offers a unique gameplay hook.  The skirmishes and battles players take part in will actually have an impact on the world of EVE Online.  Planet side battles can be influenced by players in EVE via support roles.  An EVE player with a warship can provide orbital strikes to opposing forces and swing the tide of battle.  If the EVE player gets distracted though, his allies on the ground could be overwhelmed instead.  It’s a brilliant idea and developer CCP thinks DUST 514 will be a less intimidating and more accessible entry into the EVE universe.

Long Live Play Goes Next Level

Think you have HOP potential?  Sony thinks you do!  Today, the next phase of the Long Live Play campaign rolls out with the Hall of Play.  An obvious pun on Hall of Fame, the Hall of Play is an online lounge designed for gamers.  Announced on the PlayStation blog by Scott Steinberg, Hall of Play also includes a Facebook app that will enable you to create your own “To Michael!” video that has been well received as Sony’s new ad campaign starts to get under way.

Get the PS Vita a Week Early if You Pre-Order

Those who are especially excited to get their hands on a PS Vita are in for a rare treat.

Starting today, anyone is able to pre-order Sony’s next handheld, slated to be released February 22 next year.  Do so, however, and you will get yours a full week sooner than everyone else (on the 15th) which is pretty awesome, I have to say. Of course, the craziest of Sony fans will probably just import a Japanese model Vita in December.

4 New PSN titles coming from Ubisoft

Ubisoft has four exclusive games coming to PlayStation Network in the coming months.

The titles in question are: I Am Alive, Shoot Many Robots, Babel Rising and Project Haste.  I Am Alive in particular has generated interest as it is a somewhat unusual and new type of survival game.  Rather than be centered around horror, as such games usually are, it follows a cataclysmic event that turns the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and the player must find ways to stay alive in the harsh environment.  Finding food, collecting water and traversing hazardous landscapes are all central to the game’s overarching experience.  I Am Alive has been in development for some time, having been rumored to be canceled on more than one occasion, but after the latest trailer showcasing the Uncharted-esque climbing and combat, the game seems to be well on track to be released.

How Batman Made Me Realize That Superhero Games are Dead

I just finished Batman:
Arkham City last night, and after completing it, I can easily say that it
is one of the most enjoyable experiences that one can have on a platform.  But throughout my playthrough, I
continually wondered what it is that Arkham
City does right that superhero games up to this point haven’t been able to
do.  True, there have been a few
good superhero games that have been released (the Spiderman games of the PS2
era come to mind), but for the most part, many of the releases that were tied
to superheroes were just uninteresting. 
After finishing the game, I started to realize what makes the Batman
games (especially the ones made by Rocksteady) so intriguing.

One of these realizations was the fact that Batman is
essentially just a smart guy that just happens to have cool gadgets and a way
to self fund new ventures.  Because
his powers come from his tools and intellect, Batman lends himself very well to
a progression based game, such as Zelda,
where he can get another weapon in his arsenal at a set period that opens up
much more of the world.  Yet even
when he does have something like the line launcher, he still feels powerful
enough as to where he is fun to play as. 
Also, because he is a regular guy, the dynamics of the game can be much
different.  Throughout Arkham City (and even in Arkham Asylum), the bosses are tough to
beat, but the much more difficult battles are when you find yourself fighting a
group of 12 different guys.  Unlike
someone like Superman, Batman can fairly easily go down to a group of 12 guys
if you do not keep your guards and counters up.  Rocksteady was able to realize that this was the case,
developed accordingly, and made an exciting experience from it.

Batman: Arkham City Review

Night.  Helicopters patrol the air overhead, their searchlights tracing a  meandering path, no particular prey in mind, but keeping an eye out for  any potential problems.  Someone in an empty alley screams for help  while being held against a wall.  He’s done nothing wrong, just worked  at the wrong place at the wrong time.  No one comes.  The only other  people around laugh and continue on by, shaking their heads.  The  knife-wielding thug calmly explains, “I told you to find food and bring  it to me.  This is your own fault.”  He slowly begins to press the knife against the whimpering man’s throat.  Unbeknownst to both parties, a  dark shape has dropped to the ground from the roof overhead, black wings slowing his fall.  The silent hero purposefully approaches from behind  this gorilla of a man, quickly wraps one arm around the assailant’s  neck, clamps the other hand over his mouth and nose, and holds him still until he passes out.  The political prisoner scuttles away and  breathlessly calls a “thank you” behind him, but the Batman has already  fired his grapnel gun into the air and launched himself away.  Arkham  City is vast and there’s a lot of work to be done if it’s to be shut  down.

Moments like this are what give Batman: Arkham City the feeling of a legitimate environment where other characters and  people are going about their own business.  You’ll be gliding along and  one of several moments will draw your attention: a lone gunshot in the  night, a body missing its face on the street, a mysterious figure  watching you from the rooftops, or a man calling out for help as he’s  mercilessly beaten. All of these things and more, will happen as you  traverse the world of Arkham City.

Ezio Becomes Newest Addition to Soul Calibur V Cast

Whether you have played any of the Soul Calibur games or not, chances are you probably know that sinceSC2, one of the quirks of the franchise has been the use of recognizable special characters, starting with the inclusion of Link, Heihachi Mishima, and Spawn in the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox versions of Soul Calibur 2, respectively.  Well, those looking forward to the January 31^st, 2012 (or February 3^rd in Europe) release of Soul Calibur V who are curious about new guests to the roster need wait no longer, as screenshots were leaked last week that show Ezio Auditore da Firenze of Assassin’s Creed 2 fame as one of the secret characters.