Vanquish is Platinum Games’ fourth game in a four game deal with Sega and is being directed by Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame. The previous three games have had mixed results in terms of critical and financial success, but Vanquish looks to end the arrangement with a certifiable hit. Set in the future in a war for natural resources, you play as Sam Gideon, a soldier outfitted with technologically advanced battle armor referred to as the ARS.
The gaming calendar up until this year has typically played out as one long drawn out crescendo starting at January and culminating into the holiday season. It’s during the holiday season were top publishers and big name developers release their blockbusters to the world, in what inevitably turns into one big “great, now my back account is empty” situation.
That really hasn’t been true for 2010 however as early on this year we got several titles that were pushed out of 2009 due to the behemoths of Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3: ODST, perhaps you’ve heard of those. And the result has been interesting. While we’ve hit a bit of a slow period at the present moment, most of 2010 has been steady gaming, all the time. And not just for the PlayStation 3 of course. All platforms in fact have played a part in making the first half of 2010 a memorable one.
When it was first revealed that EA’s modern day reboot of Medal of Honor would take place in Afghanistan rather than some fictional Middle Eastern country like Activision’s Modern Warfare, it got me more interested in the game. The fact that they weren’t hiding behind a made up name so they could get away with controversial subject matter struck me as brave. But when I found out this would extend to the online multiplayer, with one side as American soldiers and the other playing as members of the Taliban, I knew it was only a matter of time before this became a public controversy.
Back in 2006 when we first got our hands on the shiny new Playstation 3 Sony released two models, one premium model and one basic. The basic model missed out on WiFi, it had a smaller hard drive, and it didn’t have a multi card reader like the premium did. But other than that the two models were actually very similar. They both had 4 USB ports compared to the 2 you get on all models now and, crucially, in the US both of the launch versions had PS2 backward compatibility. This means that at the time Sony thought backward compatibly was important enough to even fit on the base model.
A PS3 exclusive where aliens are invading our planet and humankind is on the brink of extinction from an enemy that has us outmatched and outgunned, okay… now the question is am I talking about Killzone or Resistance? That’s the problem with Sony publishing both of these games. To take a step back, after E3 it struck some people as a bit odd that Sony showed off Killzone 3 before a Resistance sequel. Mainly due to the fact that Resistance 2 came out before Killzone 2, so logic would dictate that Resistance 3 would release prior to Killzone 3. Especially with Resistance developer, Insomniac Games, development schedule of alternating between releasing a Ratchet and Resistance game every year.
Ready… set… con! Right on cue, at 6pm PST, the doors to the convention hall opened and the crowds charged in, ready to immerse themselves in games, comics, television, movies, collectibles, and general sensory overload. Even preview night, open to those holding four-day passes, now feels just as packed as the rest of the festivities.
The Playstation booth was a haven of relative calm–like a save point–moderately crowded, with just a select handful of games being demoed. There was actually room to get in and play a game or watch others play with minimal smashed toes and b.o. levels.
This writer first discovered Dragon Age: Origins by stumbling upon a preview demonstration at the Hilton hotel just outside Comic-Con last year. While Dragon Age 2 was announced recently, little about the game has been revealed, so the eight-foot dragon statue outside the Hilton during the 2010 Con was cause for excitement.
Bioware was back, showcasing two much anticipated sequels, Dragon Age 2 and Dead Space 2. The atmosphere was filled with as much glitz and anticipation as at any other Comic-Con event. Lines stretched out the double doors of the preview rooms, and participants happily signed agreements not to take photos or record anything once inside. This year’s set-up was a bit more formal than last year’s. In 2009, players would wander in, go to stations and play at their own pace. A Bioware representative was on hand at each console to explain what a Grey Warden was, and give game play tips. This year, players were brought into the curtained-off as a group of 20 or so. Lead Developer Mike Laidlaw introduced Dragon Age 2, gave some background on the title, and then demoed it.
The demo allows for roughly ten minutes of the single player campaign through the eyes of Lynch and a sample of the new multiplayer mode “Fragile Alliance.” The campaign opens with Kane and Lynch rolling over a Chinese restaurant counter dodging a barrage of machine gun fire. Bullets spray overhead as Lynch finds his bearings and stands up. It is difficult to tell the difference between in-game cinematic cut-scenes and actual gameplay. The entire game is rendered with a highly stylized lens that looks as if someone is following these guys with an old cell phone camera complete with hazy distortion and periodic discoloration. There is a huge difference between playing a game that looks like a movie versus watching a movie with game elements. Dog Days strikes a remarkable balance between the two with the camera effect which is surprisingly engaging. The shaky camera can be disabled, but this feature gives Dog Days its own unique feel and cutting it out reduces the game’s identity significantly. It feels like you are playing a cut-scene, but in a good way; that cinematic flair continues to maintain itself during the rest of the gameplay.
A little over a year after its predecessor, Dragon Age 2 will hit the shelves, quenching gamers’ thirst for blood and adventure. The fan community is bubbling over with thoughts on what the game may or may not entail, with confirmed details few and far between.
Dragon Age appealed both to the passion for slaying things with swords and the appreciation of a great story. The writers went to great lengths to develop a history for the lands of Thedas, and complex relationships amongst its peoples. Politics, religion, and war weave together to form a rich back story. It remains unclear exactly where and when the new game will be set. It is said to take place in a new part of the world and span a decade.
Flipping through the titles in the Playstation Store, I couldn’t help notice some downloadable games with the word “FREE” written beneath them. Each of these titles had a tiny gold plus symbol hovering just above their right sides. I realized that these offers were only for Playstation Plus subscribers and found myself oddly drawn to useless content I had never wanted or cared about before. For fifty dollars I could secure a twelve month subscription. As an added incentive for early adopters, an additional three months would be tacked on for taking the plunge from the outset of the service. During a weak moment of greed and acute heat exhaustion, I had become a Playstation Plus member.
