GamerSciz

Alien Rage Announced – Teaser Video and Screens

2013-05-17T19:53:21Z

CI Games has released the first gameplay trailer for Alien Rage, a challenging sci-fi first-person-shooter coming to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC this fall. Alien Rage puts the challenge back into FPS gaming, setting players in a remote planetary mining facility where they must fend off and destroy an unforgiving and seemingly endless stream of bad-ass alien forces.

OVERVIEW
Alien Rage puts the player in the role of a highly trained elite commando on a mission of sabotage. Featuring non-stop, visceral run-and-gun action in an explosive environment with meaningful co-operative gameplay and using proven Unreal 3 technology, Alien Rage sets a new standard for digitally distributed XBLA and PSN titles.

VISCERAL GUN COMBAT
• Strong thru-the-gun experience – impressive visual effects, satisfying physical impacts and great gun animations make gun play a whole damned lot of fun;
• Fast-paced, close quarters combat – the action moves fast, enemies are always advancing, and you never, ever have to look back;
• Solve all your problems with a gun – don’t look for keycards, don’t push on buttons, just point your gun and pull the trigger, demolishing the environment as you go;
• A veritable arsenal of weapons – nine unique guns that don’t just differ in looks, but have different effects, abilities and functionality.

CO-OP EXPERIENCE
• Co-operative environmental puzzles –challenges that require team work to alter the physical environment in order to proceed or complete objectives;
• Impactful choices and rewards – compete cooperatively to gain a better individual score, but beware, you will lose points if you let your teammate fail;
• Co-op centric mechanics – work together to breach open doors, gain access to areas that are otherwise unreachable, and provide medical support when your teammate is down.

ADDITIONAL KEY FEATURES:
• Good things can come in small packages – the game is designed to fit within the size limitations of XBLA and PSN while maintaining the quality of a full-scale high quality title, made possible by the use of Unreal Engine 3;
• An immersive sci-fi experience – visually stunning, large-scale environments with impressive long-range vistas and expressionistic lighting.

It has been confirmed that there will be a hands-on demo at this year’s E3 so stay tuned for more information and gameplay videos.

Gran Turismo 6 Announced – New Trailer and Screens Inbound

2013-05-15T21:10:21Z

Sony and Polyphony Digital announced today the official unveiling of Gran Turismo 6. At the event Kaz himself proudly announced the next iteration in the Gran Turismo series and confirmed that it is coming to PS3. No word on a PS4 version but we do have DriveClub as a launch title which will fancy us for a driving game. Be that as it may we learned a lot of new information and our friends over at GTPlanet have all the info you need. Below you can find the announcement trailer as well as tons of new screenshots taken from GT6. It is to be released this holiday around the same time as PS4 it seems.

To check out the full gallery click here.

God of War: Ascension Review

2013-05-13T15:30:26Z

Kratos has become one of the more iconic characters of playstation present. The franchise has had a total of 5 games on multiple video game consoles yet it remains to be exclusive to Sony because it is in fact done by a 1st party studio. Sony Santa Monica are the geniuses behind this very popular and successful franchise known as God of War. Heavily based off of Greek Mythology this series has taken us to hell and back multiple times, literally. This entry, God of War: Ascension, in the franchise is in fact a prequel helping explain what Kratos had to go through in order to be rid of the imprisonment by “The Furies”. The question is, has Kratos overstayed his welcome or is this entry helping keep the franchise alive? Read on for the full review after the jump.

What We Liked

In past God of War games we have learned that this is a hack n’ slash game with some puzzles thrown in for good measure and pacing. God of War: Ascension is no different in that there is plenty of hacking n’ slashing to do throughout the whole game and there are some puzzles that might just make you think about checking out a walkthrough as you might get stumped. Both of these aspects which are the core of the God of War franchise are done well minus one gripe which I will mention later on.

In God of War: Ascension the puzzles that are there are for the most part pretty straight forward. It seems that over time the puzzles have gotten easier. There are a few that may leave you scratching your head but nothing like past God of War games. However, the scale and design of the levels are probably some of the best I have seen this generation and definitely the best within the God of War franchise. Some levels have you riding snakes to head towards a temple whereas others have you putting back together an incredibly large statue over about 6 or 7 stages in total. From beginning to end there really is no poor level design and the puzzles are fun but nothing too difficult.

Graphically speaking God of War: Ascension is the best looking God of War game to date. While God of War 3 had amazing graphics and was the first God of War game on the PS3, Sony Santa Monica seemed to figure out a way to improve their graphics even more from the level design, enemies, and even Kratos himself. Even the graphics for multiplayer are by all means impressive considering this is the first God of War game to ever feature multiplayer.

Speaking of multiplayer I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it for a brief time. Not sure how long I will continue with it but it’s definitely something with potential and promise to take God of War to the online realm. Multiplayer has only a few modes and a few maps but the balancing part comes into the god that you choose to “worship” and ultimately level up your character gaining powers from that respective god.

What We Disliked

We see the return of mutiple powers from different gods but they are done in a different not as satisfying way. God of War 3 did a much different “god powers” but in a better way. In God of War 3 you earned the powers of the gods once you defeated them. This was not only satisfying but rewarding as well. In GOWA you only end up coming to places in different parts of the game where you “learn” a new power and there’s not a whole lot of relevance to it. It doesn’t feel nearly as rewarding or satisfying.

The, now infamous, “Trial of Archimedes”. Now before you go and say “You suck if you can’t beat it after a couple tries”, I just want to say that after I did finally beat it I felt an appreciation for what it is. However, that is no excuse for the sheer fact that in midst of everything it just threw off the pacing of the game entirely. Even if you were to play through it and beat it on the first time it was unlike anything else in the game you encountered and just felt out of place. Not to mention I personally feel like you were not well prepared for the match as a whole. I wish that it would have had better tutorials throughout the game to teach me to block, and use my powers that I have learned.

The one and only other gripe that I had as a whole was this felt more like an expansion from God of War 3 rather then an entirely new game. Other then some new skin textures and definitely improved graphics, the same enemies were recycled often. I would say 80% or more of the enemies were not new but instead just re-skinned to look better. This makes me think that perhaps (considering GOWA didn’t sell great but not bad) it would have been better to build a new engine and have the next God of War game release with the launch of PS4. It’s hard to say if that would have been the better route and we will never know now but one can only hope to see Kratos or at least the God of War world on PS4.

Final Thoughts

God of War Ascension seemed like it was a little rushed but it didn’t seem to hurt the franchise as a whole. Gamers still enjoy Kratos and his story but at this point it seems like there isn’t much more to talk about. This may in fact be the last Kratos inspired God of War game but you never know. That being said, I feel that God of War 3 would have been a much better game to end the series on but this comes as a close second as far as overall gameplay and fun factor. This game makes you think, use everything you’ve learned, and tells a story that helps link together why Kratos did what he did to become the God of War.

Be the Rider: Will MotoGP 13 be the Most Realistic Motorcycle Sim Ever?

2013-05-10T16:17:45Z

Wind-whipped and racing at exorbitant speeds, you ride your motorcycle around the corner of the track clinging to the throttle. The turns are so severe your elbow is mere inches from the asphalt. And the engine sustains a relentless roar. This realistic racing experience is what developer Milestone Studio aspires to achieve in its newest game, “MotoGP 13.” The goal is to give players an authentic experience — as if the gamer would be behind the visor of a real MotoGP racer.

“There’s one main concept which we wanted to carry throughout the whole game, a simple concept, but a very important one,” game director, Michele Caletti stated, “’be the rider.’”

Features

For the latest gaming incarnation of “MotoGP,” Milestone developed a new engine, enhanced graphics and improved the physics, environmental models and bike handling, according to Computer and Video Games (.com). This motorcycle simulation is the official video game of the “MotoGP,” “Moto2” and “Moto3 2013,” and the developers have stayed true to the inception with photorealistic graphics and a TV-style interface.

Fans have much to look forward to: official riders, motorcycles, tracks, and teams will be included. In addition, a MotoGP personality (who has yet to be revealed) will provide official commentary, according to Now Gamer.

Game Mode

Here are the following six different game modes, according to Gaming Bolt.

Career mode: Construct your very own racing career following a trajectory of success from your first rookie race to the MotoGP World Championship. Before races, players can customize their riders with motorcycle accessories and the elements of career mode. With the help of your personal manager, you’ll gain constructive performance feedback and be assigned objectives. Unlock new teams and deals as your reputation grows.

Grand Prix mode: Choose your rider and team, select a track and get racing. Options for customization are many from controlling AI difficulty of challengers to specific weather conditions.

World championship mode: Race to become the champion by completing the MotoGP 2013 World Championship in “Moto3,” “Moto2″ or “MotoGP.” Extensive customization allows the player to select sections of the championship, the tracks and the order in which you want to complete the tracks.

Online multiplayer mode: Challenge friends online in the Grand Prix or World Championship modes.

Time attack mode: This classic mode lets the player race against time. Players can also adjust bike settings and partake in performance-enhancing technical meetings.

Real in-game events mode: Further tying the game to the 2013 MotoGP season, a constantly online-updated feed of events inspired by the actual races.

Point of View

Third person: As the default-riding viewpoint, the third-person perspective is fixed behind and above the rider as most seasoned racing gamers are used to. The “camera” lightly shakes and the sounds of rushing wind add to the authenticity.

Cockpit: The cockpit viewpoint is similar to a first-person POV with the camera directly in front of the rider.

Helmet: The helmet view allows the player to experience the game as the motorcycle racers would be. See the track through the rider’s eyes for an authentically satisfying racing challenge.

“MotoGP 13” is due for release in June. Amazon.com states the list price as $29.99 for digital download. It will also be available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and Xbox 360.

Killzone 3 Review

2013-05-08T04:06:03Z

*Note this is the old type of review with criteria

Killzone 3 came out this past Tuesday for most of the world. A few other regions are waiting until today actually. Regardless most of us who wanted to get our hands on this game have done so. This review may seem a bit late but being a gamer like you, I don’t get the game any earlier so it took me a couple of sessions to actually beat the game. I have only played through it once and just on the normal difficulty but already I can tell some large differences from Killzone 2 to Killzone 3. Some I like and others I am not too fond of. I will be breaking down the review in terms of Graphics, Gameplay, Story, and Controls alike. Mutliplayer will have a completely separate review as it is HUGE!

Graphics

The graphics in Killzone 3 are nothing short from amazing. However, as much as graphics are nice to look at, the gameplay and pacing is what really makes a game but we will talk about that later. Back to the graphics, as I said they are amazing but there are definitely areas in which you can tell GG spent less time polishing. In comparison with KZ2 the graphics are an improvement overall but to be honest some areas in KZ2 still look better then others in KZ3. This can be argued with the fact that in KZ3 the maps are much much larger then KZ2. Still though I would have liked to see GG maybe spend a little more time polishing but again graphics don’t really do much more then give you something pretty to look at. Overall I would rate the graphics an 9 out of 10.

Gameplay

Before I rant about the gameplay I want to state that this is simply my opinion and based solely on the single player campaign. From beginning to end the overall gameplay was fun and decently paced but after beating the game I feel that there are some issues with the pacing at times. One large issue you can tell right away is how many scenarios there are that are “on-rails”. For those that don’t know that means the times where all you are doing is aiming to shoot but the camera is set to a pre-determined path. From the top of my head I can recall 5 or possibly even 6 scenarios that this is the case. Now I can understand from a dev’s standpoint that in order to push the PS Move that these on-rails parts are very welcoming. However at the same time, this being an FPS, the PS Move is compatible throughout the game and there’s no real reason to push that many on-rails scenarios on the gamers. The problem with having so many is it throws off the pace of the game itself. The pacing in KZ2 was pretty much fun from beginning to end. The pacing in KZ3 though had times where I was just simply wanting to get to the next part and wasn’t having as much fun as I would have liked. Keep in mind I played the game on normal and one thing I can say for sure is that the “Normal” difficulty setting in KZ3 is way above the “Normal Difficulty” setting from KZ2 but still below the “Elite” setting. Ironically enough I died with the on-rails shooter parts more than anything else. Regardless the overall gameplay was fun but I feel the biggest issue was the pacing of the game. Especially the ending where it kind of just…ends. I would rate the gameplay an 8 out of 10.

Story

After reading a ton of reviews and seeing “Story” being the most mixed I can now see why. The story in KZ from Killzone through Killzone 2 has been good, especially for an FPS. However since this series is an FPS I don’t much expect a fantastic engulfing storyline like that of the Uncharted Series. From reading other reviews you can tell who really is comparing this storyline to other really well written games rather then comparing it to other FPS out there. So for my sake I am comparing it to other FPS such as CoD: Black Ops or BF: Bad Company 2. The pacing of the game and the story are related in that a good story usually makes for good pacing and vice versa. In the case of Killzone 3 I have already talked about how the pacing is off and in turn the story is just ok. Besides being pretty darn predictable, excluding the cliffhanger ending, the story is just not paced well. At times you are excited and on edge with a lot going but still being able to follow everything. At other times you are almost to the point of bored of seeing two men argue (Rico and Narville). As far as being predictable, well multiple times you hear either Narville say leave that squad/person behind or we have to give up etc. However we all know that Sev is a good guy at heart as well as Rico and that the humans can’t give up or else their would be no Killzone 4…So after beating the game and seeing the storyline for myself I can see why some people like it and others hated it. For me I would rate the story an 8 out of 10.

Controls

Well one can tell that from beginning to end with all the on-rails scenarios that the controls are pushed more towards motion control rather then the DS3. However the DS3 still works just fine and is tweaked a bit differently from KZ2 to KZ3. In KZ3 the weapons are a lot less “sluggish” then KZ2 but in my opinion I never felt KZ2 were ever too sluggish to begin with. Regardless the gaming community had an issue with that so GG decided to make KZ3 less sluggish and in turn a little bit faster paced. They do offer the option to have a couple of different kind of control schema/setups but you can’t map every button individually. This is something very common within console games and it’s something I feel being a large PC gamer as well that I feel a bit upset why it hasn’t been adapted to console games just yet. Even still the options you are given either allow you to have it be practically identical to KZ2 or more like the console versions of CoD. So for those who keep saying KZ3 is nothing like CoD, your argument is void considering GG is mapping their buttons just like CoD to cater to those players. Overall the controls are good but maybe a mix between Kz2 and KZ3 would be a great happy medium. I would rate the controls an 9 out of 10.

Portal 2 Review

2013-05-08T04:11:05Z

*Note this is the old type of review with criteria

Portal 2 is the sequel to the highly acclaimed Portal, originally released in the The Orange Box for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on October 9, 2007, and for the PlayStation 3 on December 11, 2007. The Windows version of the game is also available for download through Steam and was released as a standalone on April 9, 2008. Now 3 years later Valve has given us Portal 2 which is more mind-numbing, longer, more story driven, and better looking then the first one. Also, Portal 2 now supports full Co-op which is tons of fun. Before I go on, if you have Portal 2 and haven’t done the Co-op yet go now and do it. Team work is forced but in a very rewarding way. Not to mention there are already DLC skins that you can get for those cute robots. That’s neither here nor there though, on to the review.

Graphics

While some may think that the “Source” engine is out of date and showing it’s age, Portal 2 begs to differ. Below is a comparison screenshot from Portal vs Portal 2.

As you can see, Portal 2 added a lot of new dynamics such as the repulsion gel (seen above) and greatly improved on the lighting. The Portal gun looks pretty much the same however in Portal 2 it seems a bit more “beat up” via the textures. On top of that, one large difference between the two is that Portal 2 starts off similar in very closed confined yet puzzled spaces. However, not too long into the game do you realize just how massive some of these set pieces are. Portal 2 takes you through Aperature Science in a totally different way then Portal. If you remember from the first one towards the end where you are going to be “killed” but instead you sort of escape into the Aperature Science labs. Well Portal 2 is similar in terms of design to the end of Portal except it has Aperature Science labs falling apart at random times and is a good 10x larger than that of Portal.

Gameplay

Portal introduced us to some neat aspects of gameplay from simply using two portals to get to our goal to using correct timing in certain sequences and of course using our trusty companion cube. Well Portal 2 takes what Portal did right and improves upon it by adding multiple types of companion cubes. In fact, while on the topic, let’s list all of the new features added to the game. There are:

Pneumatic Diversity Vents – a series of transport pneumatic tubes, through a set of portal openings to push a turret over or to draw objects into the suction.
Excursion Funnel tractor beams – can be placed through portals to get to places otherwise inaccessible
Propulsion Gel(orange) – boosts Chell’s speed as she crosses a surface
Repulsion Gel(blue) – allows her to jump from a surface
Conversion Gel (white) – allows any surface coated with it to accept portals
Weighted Storage Cube crates – standard from Portal
Redirection Cubes – have mirrored like surfaces that can reflect laser beams to solve puzzles
Aerial Faith Plates – when stepped on they will launch you in the direction show by the arrow on the faith plate (also launches objects)
Weighted Storage Balls – standard from Portal (made an appearance late in Portal)
Hard Light bridge – can be crossed when lit, and can be extended and redirected through portals (also good to block bullets)

What Valve does right is use all of these in very creative ways that create some of the craziest puzzles that can be solved in multiple ways. As far as a fun factor goes the game is fun pretty much start to end. Of course the beginning is very introductory and tutorial-like but it lasts just long enough to get your mind thinking and ready for the real puzzles. Overall the balance and pacing of the game was very well done.

Story

In comparison to the original Portal, Portal 2 has a very twisty, semi-predictable kind of story. However it has a nice balance of focusing on the core gameplay and puzzles and mixing a decent story into it at the same time. While not giving away too many spoilers I will say that the ending boss fight was a little disappointing due to how it claims to not be similar to Portal’s ending as far as mechanics go but truthfully it will only take you a few moments to figure out how to defeat the end boss. Regardless, the main storyline deals with a new character named “Wheatley” who for the most part is trying to help you escape as he feels the humans have been mistreated. In fact right in the beginning of the game you learn the bigger picture of Aperature Science laboratories. The bigger picture is simply that a ton of humans had been running through these “tests” of whits and what not but now they are all dead besides yourself. This is why “Wheatley” wants to help you escape as he doesn’t know any better but thinks your safety is important to his survival as well. Not too long into the beginning of the story do you run into your arch nemesis you thought you killed, GLaDOS. She has apparently come back from the dead to put you through the most grueling tests yet. There is still one person, and I do mean actual person, that you hera from later in the game who is known as Cave Johnson. Apparently he is the guy who runs the joint (Aperature Science labs) and he runs you through the more advanced tests largely including the newer gameplay features such as the gels, light bridges, and excursion tunnels. Overall the story is definitely much more engaging and has kind of an eery feel to it at times. You might be on the edge of your seat either scared, surprised, or simply just wondering what is going to happen next.

Multiplayer/Co-op

I have yet to truly delve deep into the Co-op mode but I feel with the 2 or 3 hours I have spent on it I can safely assume that it is simply a blast to play. You can easily jump in to Co-op with a friend via Steam Friends or if you have the PS3 version you can use Steam or PS3 friends. This helps close that gap between PC and Console players not being able to play with/against each other. This feature alone is a reason to buy Portal 2. Getting back to Co-op, the gameplay is very similar to SP except the complexity is much larger. With 2 people and 2 portal guns you have a total of 4 portals you can create. In some cases you have to create a portal on either side of wall to make a “hole” through it for your partner to pass through and help get you up afterwards. It is a very team-oriented game and the surprisingly the microphone volumes and quality is good. So no need for Ventrilo or Teamspeak. All in all I still have more to experience in the Co-op not to mention there is DLC as of Day 1. Currently I only have a hat and a flag unlocked from beating the game but full on skins are available for download through Steam.

Motorstorm: Apocalypse Review

2013-05-08T02:49:30Z

*Note this is the old type of review with criteria

Motorstorm Apocalypse is now the third game in the Motorstorm series. The first MotorStorm had us on the edge, literally, with cliff sides and a few variances in vehicles and terrain. The second one, MotorStorm Pacific Rift, brought us to an island of paradise where trees were not your friend. Well this third game has us in a city with a ton of new vehicle types but not many large variances in terrain. This game looks like Motorstorm but it doesn’t really feel like it anymore.

Graphics

The original Motorstorm was supposed to be a direct launch title for the PS3 but instead it came out shortly after the launch. However it showcased some impressive graphics and was one of the first console games to use the Havok physics engine and show off some truly next gen type of stuff. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift gave us even more beautiful graphics showing amazing water physics and rendering as well as luscious trees and jungle type of areas. Well Motorstorm: Apocalypse follows the same path and once again has some amazing graphical features. However in this installment the graphics is not so much of everything looking beautiful but more so everything that is going on at once. While driving you will see objects flying around, paper flying through the air, buildings collapsing, and of course cars crashing. All of this is happening around you the whole time without but a hiccup here or there in the frame rate. All in all the graphics in this one you can tell really push the PS3 simply with the amount of things interacting with each other on screen at all times. Not to mention this is all rendered beautifully in 3D. Having dirt, water, and random pieces of buildings and debris and car parts flying at your face, makes for one wild ride.

Gameplay

Let me start by saying that gameplay wise this is very different from the other two Motorstorm games. This game is the craziest and also most difficult of all them. I say that because everything has changed which is why I question if it feels like Motorstorm anymore. Some big gameplay features that were added was the ability to cool your engine by letting off the gas in midair. This is incredibly useful considering taking jumps is usually slower then staying on flat ground. So it is very strategical to take the jump when necessary in order to cool your engine to use your boost again. Another welcomed feature is not necessarily an addition to gameplay but rather your HUD. In MS: Apocalypse you when you press pause you can easily use R1 and L1 to change the choice of music, as well as take a photo at resolutions greater then 1080p. Not to mention while playing the game if you do something that is work towards a trophy then a little menu pops up on the bottom showing the number you have out of the total number needed as well as the % of the trophy finished. For example one trophy is to take out 10 people using L1/R1 to knock a vehicle out the way. While doing so you will see on the bottom how close you are to finishing that trophy. This is something that should be in EVERY game as it is very appreciative to know just how far you are along with the trophies. Another small addition is the Motorstorm Cards. These are hidden items within every level, totaling to 150. I found most of mine simply on accident by taking a new path and often times crashing, which happens a lot in this one, crashing that is. The AI is very random. At times they will be incredibly smart and gang up and take you out and at other times they will barely notice you are there. One thing to note is that from the original Motorstorm to this installment gameplay wise very few if any features have ever been subtracted but many have been added from game to game.

Story

Let’s start by saying that not many racing games have very engaging stories and in this case that hasn’t really changed. Not that the story is bad but the motion comic cutscenes don’t exactly grab your attention and hold it. The story is also broken up into three side stories. Each story represents a difficulty. In the beginning you start off as Mash, a newbie, and you just do some simple races to earn your right into the Motorstorm group. Next story is you playing as a guy named “Ty”. Now Ty is known around Motorstorm as a heartthrob who doesn’t like to lose and isn’t afraid of a fight. Being the next difficulty up the races have gotten a bit harder the story is much more dramatic. The last story has you playing as Big Dog, the head honcho of the Motorstorm crowd. His storyline is even more dramatic and the races are very difficult. The only other addition to the storyline is that each race is showing the landscape crumble around you more and more. Not to mention at the end of each mini-campaign there is a race that is more like a boss fight kind of race. This is a nice feature to add to the story line but it’s still just not very engaging.

Controls

I wanted to have a separate excerpt to talk about the controls considering how much they have changed. From Motorstorm to Pacific Rift the controls differed a little but there wasn’t a significant change. By adding new vehicles and new terrain the controls were naturally going to change some. However in this third installment the controls, camera, and just overall gameplay is vastly different in comparison to the other two. To start the controls for each car is very unique and often times difficult. The camera angle change doesn’t help either. When making a turn the camera angle will stay static for a moment and screw up your overall point of view to see where you are actually facing. This is very noticeable when driving a superbike considering how agile and how fast they are. The camera angle is also affected by when you boost it keeps it static as well even when trying to turn while boosting. To me this is an interesting idea but it just doesn’t work with the windiness within the race tracks. So many twists and turns and jumps that one wrong move can cost you the race. Not to mention in this game you crash, a lot. I don’t care how good you think you are or were at MS or Pacific Rift. These controls combined with the wonky camera angle and mayhem on the race tracks makes for a very difficult but sometimes entertaining game. Simply put the controls were fine before so why change them so drastically?

Kartuga Shows Off the Art and Design Concepts

2013-05-06T21:05:09Z

InnoGames just released additional information regarding Art and Design of the 3D action game Kartuga. The graphics of the browser game, which is based on Unity technology, are balanced between a naturalistic experience and abstract comic graphics. The focus on stylized worlds, which are still emotionally believable, allows players to heavily immerse themselves into the game world. The richness of Kartuga’s surroundings can also be seen in this area introduction trailer.

“We started by creating a world that contains believable historical characteristics, stylizing core elements of those characteristic, and adding colour, contrast and rich, deep textures”, Kartuga Art Director Mathias Lorenz explains. “The result is neither naturalistic realism nor surreal fantasy, but well-staged, immersive environments that are still recognizable as well as detailed.” Working with the Unity-engine allows those environments to be presented in high-resolution 3D, while still being playable in a browser, without having to download an additional client.

Kartuga is currently in Closed Beta. Players interested in a beta key can register on www.kartuga.com.

The action-packed MMOG Kartuga is based on Unity 3D and focuses strongly on cooperative PvP (player versus player) gameplay with several role-playing elements. As a purely free-to-play online game, users only need a Unity 3D plugin, which is available for all current browsers. Kartuga is InnoGames’ first partnership with its subsidiary company, Ticking Bomb Games, who is responsible for the development of the title.

Tomb Raider Review

2013-05-10T17:46:59Z

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure platform video game. Published by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics in the Tomb Raider franchise. As the first entry in a new Tomb Raider continuity, the game is a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the lead character Lara Croft. This Tomb Raider takes us places we haven’t been before but is this tomb really worth raiding? Check out the full review after the jump.

What We Liked

Having been a fan of the original Tomb Raider franchise back during the playstation era, I can honestly say that this game really helped give a semi-believable back story as to how Lara Croft became, Lara Croft Tomb Raider. This new Tomb Raider from Square Enix is one of my favorite Tomb Raiders to date. That is due to the fact that the combat, traversal of the environments, and just the overall gameplay is fun and entertaining. One really nice feature was that you have this “survival instinct” mode that allows you to stand still and see the environment in black and white where important objects are highlighted automatically. The nicest thing about this is if you get lost, there is a small compass that helps point you in the right direction.

You can choose to be more stealthy (the route I took most the time) and use the bow for the silent, but very deadly kills (headshots are rewarding, literally you get more XP for getting headshots). The bow is by far the most useful weapon because not only is it a stealthy kill but you can also use it later on to create zip lines of sorts using rope. This helps makes traveling through many cliff sides and rough terrain much easier.

I also liked the story for the most part. I say “for the most part” because, without spoiling things, the story feels very pushed along at times. It reminds me of Arkham City in that you can play through just the story itself and only be done with maybe 50% of the game. However the flip side is it is very similar to Far Cry 3 with the ability to learn new skills, traverse the environment pretty freely, and even hunt for food. Once you finish the game you can go back and raid any unseen Tombs and roam the island just like Far Cry 3. Plus all of the camp sites you have discovered can be used for “fast travel” just like Far Cry 3. This is truly a believable back story for Lara Croft as to how she came to be. She was always an explorer but this is what made her a true adventurer and I for one enjoyed that adventure.

What makes the adventure that much more fun is even on the outdated consoles this game looks pretty darn good. Graphically speaking the draw distance, water, foliage, and Lara herself help really to sell the pain and suffering that Lara endures throughout the game (especially the beginning). I am curious to see it on PC and see how much better it truly is and by no means is this the best looking game but it is definitely up there with the Uncharted series within the 3rd person shooter action/adventure games. Speaking of Uncharted, this Tomb Raider (unlike any other) plays very different compared to the older ones and in fact plays a lot like Uncharted whereas the large difference is when Lara gets close to cover she automatically ducks down rather then you having to push a button. This actually makes the gameplay feel that much more fluid.

What We Disliked

Tomb Raider definitely is a fun adventure with good looking environments and a decent story. However, there are also a few things I didn’t like. While handling the bow was tons of fun, especially when it got upgraded to a much better, faster, and more accurate one, the shooting never felt right. I am not sure if it was the way the guns felt, the recoil, or the lack of my aim but the shooting was off. Now unfortunately this Tomb Raider looked and played A LOT like the Uncharted series which is different then past Tomb Raiders. However, Uncharted’s gun gameplay feels pretty good especially with the variety of weapons. Whereas in Tomb Raider you can tell Square pretty much just wanted you to use the bow except towards the end where you are forced to use guns. Plus, since the guns felt fairly weak especially compared to the bow which usually only took 2 shots to kill someone. This just made the game feel a bit unbalanced.

Not to mention the enemy AI at times would take cover but that was about the extent of their knowledge. Often times the AI would simply rush you, regardless of what weapon you were carrying or they be behind cover but still plenty exposed (especially their head) which made for easy kills. What was nice was that a lot of cover could be destroyed and this would cause the AI to move cover unless of course they just decided to rush you. The boss and mini-boss fights seemed to have better AI but it was more the fact that they had armor and you couldn’t just shoot them dead on. Still they were entertaining for the most part but by no means the most memorable boss fight.

I may have forgot to mention but the game does in fact have a multiplayer mode, well sort of. It’s technically multiplayer but you should not judge the game based off of it because if you did you would hate this game. The multiplayer has only a few modes, some of which feel one team has a large advantage over the other one and others that just don’t work with the environments and gun play. Remember how I said the shooting in SP felt off, well multiplayer is no better, in fact it may be worse because the frame rate was not smooth on the PS3. The graphics are dumbed down a lot for the MP and worst of all, it just wasn’t fun. The only good thing about the multiplayer is that there is no online pass but that’s about the only positive thing.

Final Thoughts

Overall the single player experience is not bad as it will keep you entertained for a good 10 hours or so depending on how many tombs you want to raid and how many side missions you want to try and do. The game takes you for a great ride the frist time through but there isn’t much motivation to play through it again. The story is a good back story for Lara Croft but you won’t much care about the other side characters. The gameplay is fun and addictive from beginning to end. It’s nice to have the choice of being stealthy or just running and gunning but you can tell that they definitely want you to use the bow more often then not. The leveling system is a neat aspect ala Far Cry 3 as it is nearly identical but not as robust. The AI could use a bit of work but that is just a minor complaint. The multiplayer should have been left out. In the end, the story will keep you entertained, and Lara Croft is looking as good as ever especially with cuts, scrapes, and dirt all over her. The only thing missing from this game is the iconic dual wielding pistols, well sort of. Be sure to pick up this game and play it for yourself, but it’s probably more of a rent then a buy.

Updated Site Information and Upcoming Reviews

2013-04-05T16:59:27Z

Hi everyone,

I wanted to update anyone who does currently check out this site on what has been going on and what will be coming in the future. A few things are changing but we hope it’s for the better.

Real quickly I wanted to let everyone know that I run this site alone and as a hobby on the side (which is why it’s not updated multiple times a day like larger journal sites). On top of that it was also started by me to try and help give the true “gamer’s opinion” vs. the paid journalist. In other words, I do all this free and while I have made some PR contacts, I don’t get any games for free (hopefully down the line I do though because getting games for free to play them would be awesome). That being said, I am trying to take this more seriously and that has included the following:

1. Youtube channel is sponsored by Machinima (I plan to get more unique/exclusive content up in the future rather then just trailers)
2. When I started this site I was over ambitious and realized it’s hard to work full time, have a social life, and run a content-heavy gaming blog/site.
3. By learning from trial and error some changes are going to be made to the site.

Changes

1. Unfortunately due to time constraints the “podcast episodes” will be postponed indefinitely.
2. The original plan was to have a “points” system implemented that would result in users being entered into giveaway contests. This too will probably not happen as right now it’s just not practical. However, in the future this could definitely be possible and I promise to keep you up to date.
3. Review process is changing (for the better that is). Reviews will vary in length as always however instead of basing each game off of the same criteria (currently “gameplay, graphics, design, sound, and replayability) each game will simply be broken down into what “we liked” and what “we disliked” with a final score of 1-10 at .1 increments. We think this will help give a more well rounded opinion rather then forcing each game into the same criteria. Plus rather then doing an even 1-10 score we want to show that some game might be better then another so an 8.7 is just slightly better then an 8.6 as an example.

Upcoming

Coming in the near future is the reviews for God of War: Ascension and Tomb Raider 2013. I recently purchased the Blue Yeti in order to have professional sounding audio. This in turn is what will bring about my first 2 video reviews for my youtube channel so stay tuned and be sure to subscribe.

That is all for now. Keep in mind we are always welcome to guest posts, just contact me through the “Write for Us” page.