Why You shouldn't Worry About The Exclusivity Of The New Tomb Raider

It was recently announced at Gamescom earlier this week that Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics' sequel to the 2013 reboot, will be released exclusively on the Xbox One. The announcement was certainly unexpected. Playstation 4 fans of the series are crying foul and have already started a petition or condemned Microsoft and the series altogether. However, one key fact you may have overlooked would go to show there's no reason to get your panties in twist.

Fortunately for PC and PS4 players, the deal Microsoft and publisher Square Enix agreed to was to release Rise of the Tomb Raider as a timed exclusive for the Xbox One. Phil Spencer broke the news during an interview with Eurogamer where he confessed, "obviously, the deal has a duration. I didn't but the IP perpetuity." This means that the game will only remain exclusive for a certain period of time. Whether the period of exclusivity will last for six months, an entire year, or even longer has not yet been revealed. So while PS4 and PC players will have to wait, they will likely see Lara raid her way onto their platforms after the exclusivity period has expired. That part is up to publisher Square Enix.

Gamers are an irksome bunch however and many are asking why the sequel to a game that was released on multiple platforms would suddenly become an exclusive. Well there could be a few reasons for that. Perhaps Microsoft and Square Enix saw an opportunity to help one another out. Microsoft's Xbox One has been trailing behind Sony's PS4 in system sales for the seventh month in a row. Nabbing exclusive rights (albeit timed) to a big franchise and a sequel to one of the highest rated titles of 2013 could certainly help tilt the scales in the Xbox One's favor. Tomb Raider also stands as a staunch contender for the Uncharted sequel which is arguably Sony's most popular exclusive. And it seems more than coincidence the very comparable adventure titles are both being released in the 2016 holiday season.

Coming in the 2016 holiday season, who will prevail?

After a rocky year in 2013 with both Hitman: Absolution and the Tomb Raider reboot not meeting expected sales, Square Enix could have also spied this deal as an opportunity to make up for some of the money they may have lost. Crystal Dynamics' Darrell Gallagher also explained via Tumblr that he believes Microsoft will be able to market the game to players more effectively and provide the support the game needs to contend with other well-known franchises.

So, in a nutshell, it all boils down to money. Microsoft wants to increase system sales and Square-Enix wants to make up the money they lost in 2013 and see Tomb Raider become a contender for big action titles like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed. And really, no one should be surprised by that; no one is getting ripped off and in the end, Square Enix and Microsoft are businesses and businesses need to make money. What's important is that it seems very likely, everyone will get to play the game on the platform of their choice, eventually.

Source: Eurogamer

Routine: An Indie Survival Horror Game

Lunar Software, an Indie game developer debuted the first trailer for their survival horror game Routine earlier this week at Gamescom.

Routine is a first person horror experience that tasks players as a cosmonaut to explore an abandoned moon base from which everyone has disappeared. The game is non-linear allowing players to explore any part of the base to uncover clues that will reveal the truth behind the strange disappearances. What adds to Routine's terrifying experience is that there is no HUD, no health packs, no lives and the game utilizes a perma death system which means when you die in the game, you're dead for good and must start all over. Routine's website states that you may even have to resort to running and hiding to survive.

Don't worry though, you will be able to defend yourself with a weapon known as a CAT or a Cosmonaut Assistance Tool. The tool was designed to perform maitnence work but doubles as a weapon. You can upgrade the CAT using a floppy drive and a 3.5 inch screen on the gun will assist you with aiming. I can already see upgrades for the screen ranging from night vision to Infrared.

Routine seems like an awesome Indie title and the trailer below shows the teams amazing work so far. The chilling gameplay is exemplified perfectly in the video. The design looks like a throwback to old science fiction horror movies like Alien with some modern influence from games like Dead Space. The perma death system is very likely to keep players on edge and the clue searching reminds me of another very popular and successful indie horror title; Slender.

So far release is scheduled for the PC sometime in 2013 and there is currently no price listed either. You can follow the Routine website here and visit the website of Lunar Software here. Keep on eye out for more updates on Routine as I will make sure to update my blog with anything new on the game.

Sony Reveals PlayStation Network game, Rain

At Gamescom yesterday, Sony revealed a new PlayStation Network game entitled, Rain. In Rain, you play as an invisible boy who can only be seen under pouring rain. The boy is not alone however and the trailer below suggests there is an entire world that rain can reveal. As the boy explores in the rain, you can see other invisible characters and even enemies. A four legged invisible creature is seen chasing the boy at one point. Sony is staying tight-lipped about the game right now so not much more is known concerning the actual story or gameplay but the concept is very intriguing. So far there is no release date but I think it'd be safe to say we can expect to see the Rain on the PS3 sometime in 2013. Keep an eye on Game Quest for future updates on Rain.

Capcom Announces Remember Me

At Gamescom today, Capcom announced a new title being developed by Dontnod named Remember Me. The game is set in the year 2084 in Neo-Paris which is much fancier, lighter and cooler looking than regular old Paris. Players will take control of Nilin, a former memory hunter who went rogue after losing her memory and now seeks the truth that has been hidden from her.


Remember Me focuses on human memories and their significance. As Nilin, you can access the memories of other people in the world through a digital disc like object located at the nape of the neck. What Nilin does is presumably not something just anybody could do. Her unique skill to tap into memories allows her to steal the memory which can reveal vital information to her mission or she can alter the memory. Altering a memory can have a variety of different effects depending on how and what is altered. For instance, in the gameplay trailer revealed, Nilin alters a man's memory to make him believe he killed his wife. When the police approach him, he panics and shoots himself. The gameplay sequence in which the memory is altered almost acts as a small minigame. It challenges players with a puzzle; you are given a set of objects to manipulate which may seem insignificant but prove to have more serious ramifications in the end. The trailer demonstrates that choosing the wrong object doesn't result in immediate failure so it poses the question of whether or no there will be a limited number of attempts. 

Other skills that Nilin posses include the ever so popular and useful art of parkour. She can scale buildings, shimmy on ledges and make dangerous jumps allowing her to get around in a variety of ways.You can catch a glimpse of combat in the announcement trailer which shows Nilin utilizing a lot of hand-to-hand melee combat against large groups of enemies.The gameplay trailer shows off some great visuals; the futuristic skyline of Neo-Paris looks stunning. as Nilin roams the streets, we get a good look at all sorts of digital advertisements, commercials and even a wanted ad for Nilin herself. The city is under heavy surveillance and Nilin is forced to evade floating security bots and other authorities. At a couple points in the gameplay demonstration, she uses some kind of scanning device which lets her identify enemies and their fields of view which are highlighted in red.

Announcement Trailer

Gameplay Trailer

Remember Me is a great concept which resonates with something similar to the story of Jason Bourne. The focus on memory stealing and alteration should also provide great plot elements as well for a story more unique to game players. As of now, I have to say that I'm impressed and personally can't wait to see more on Remember Me. The game is slated for a May 2013 release on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC as of now.

Sony Announces Until Dawn

Today at Gamescom, Sony announced Until Dawn, a survival horror title being developed by Supermassive Games exclusively for the PS Move. Additionally, Sony revealed a chilling trailer showing some tense gameplay. Until Dawn is based on cliche teen horror movies such as Friday the 13th, Scream and Halloween, so you can expect a lot of dead phone lines, sudden power outages and a hot, ditzy cheerleader.

The plot will follow a group of classmates (presumably High School) who on the anniversary of a former friends disappearance, decide to visit the last place he was seen. Strangely enough, it was a log cabin in the woods on a mountain side; it doesn't get much more isolated than that. After people in the group start turning up dead though, the teens suddenly regret digging up the past.

You'll be able to play as different characters in the party throughout the game. Sometimes you will be alone and sometimes you will have a partner as you fight to stay alive and frantically search for clues to investigate who is killing your friends. Executive Creative Director Will Byles [expects] that Until Dawn will draw you in with its characters, chilling setting and shocking, twisted story. He also suggests in his statements about the game that as you play, you will make choices which will determine which of your friends survive and what kind of ending you get.

Since Until Dawn is being developed exclusively for the PS Move, players will utilize the move controller to aim a flashlight in the darkness, examine clues and activate things such as levers. Sony promises the move controller will reflect natural movements of players in the game which will even further immerse them in the horror experience of Until Dawn.

So what do you think? Does the prospect of a survival horror title engineered for the PS Move sound intriguing or is it too soon to tell? The last motion based survival horror game, Rise of Nightmares for the Kinect definitely came up short but Until Dawn already looks like it has much more potential. The survival horror genre has been a little weak recently with very few titles or games that don't live up to the survival horror experience; so it is nice to see an original title being developed. Check out the trailer and keep an eye out here for more news on Until Dawn.

New Terrifying Trailer for Dead Space III

If you're excited for Dead Space 3 next year, this new trailer from EA Games is sure to increase that excitement exponentially. The new trailer assures that Dead Space 3 will be full of terror and intense survival situations that the series has become known for executing so well. Isaac Clarke along with partner Ellie and newcomer John Carver is still after the Markers, seeking to stop them and the Unitologists at all costs. The dialogue and visuals of coffins in the trailer implies that wherever the trio are, there seems to have been some kind of mass execution or genocide and then there's a subsequent breakout in which Isaac commands everyone to arm themselves. Who everyone is, we don't know. He could simply be referring to Ellie and  Carver or could he be addressing more people?

Luckily, the wait isn't too long from now. Dead Space 3 has an official release date of February 5, 2013 in North America and February 8, 2013 in Europe for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.