Dark Souls II isn't far off from release and before today, there were only a couple of trailers to show off the majesty of this upcoming title. The trailer also takes plenty of time to show off all the ways it will crush your soul and frustrate players as they traverse through a land filled with a new collection of horrible monsters including giant spiders, a giant lava demon and another giant composed of bound-together undead bodies.
However, the more intriguing bits of the trailer shed some light on the mysterious plot of the game. The voice of an old woman, similar to the voice from the opening of the first Dark Souls, narrates the pre-rendered cinematic which is breathtakingly beautiful. Players will take control a cursed hero who travels to a legendary forgotten kingdom by the name of Drangleic (spelling credit goes to IGN). The kingdom of Drangleic has some resemblance to Anor Londo of the first Dark Souls game, except it looks a little scarier, especially with all the dragons flying around it. The game's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki has made promises the game will be more challenging and this trailer does a fine job of showcasing what players will be up against. What do you think? Will you muster your courage and get Dark Souls II or would you rather avoid difficult and frustrating games?
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.
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.
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.
AMC's critically acclaimed thriller, The Walking Dead, will be airing its third season in October; if a few months is a little too long to wait, you can check out this awesome trailer full of zombie killing action to hold you over. The trailer shows off a generous amount of footage and reveals some of the new plot points of the third season. Rick Grimes, his family and other survivors discover a possible safe haven in a nearby prison but they find making the facility safe is more difficult than they assumed. Their struggle to survive is exacerbated by a nearby colony of survivors led by a violent man who some will recognize as Philip Blake, or by his title, The Governor.
The trailer also highlights newcomer, Michonne played by Danai Gurira, who makes her debut in the third season of The Walking Dead. The Katana wielding loner seems to be teaming up with Andrea who was left behind by her group. Also joining the cast, or perhaps rejoining is Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon, brother of Daryl Dixon. It should be interesting to see how he fits into the mix of things.
After watching the trailer, October cannot come soon enough. The Walking Dead looks better than ever and is sure to be the most intense season yet. Be sure to tune into AMC on October 14th to rejoin Rick Grimes and the other survivors this fall.
An all new zombie outbreak has spread globally in Resident Evil 6 which Capcom showed off some awesome footage of at E3. Resident Evil 6 will be a new experience that Capcom promises, will stand out greater than any past entry in the series but will still resonate with long-time fans of Resident Evil.
Instead of following a single character, Resident Evil 6 follows the treacherous adventures of three different heroes. Fans of the series will notice a handful of familiar faces and Resident Evil 6 will also introduce some new characters as well. Two fan-favorite veterans, Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield will each have their own story-line and newcomer Jake Muller, son of Albert Wesker will have an adventure of his own. Capcom has stated that each character's story-line amounts to the length of a full game; with an average of 10 hours to complete a game, Resident Evil 6 could very well be stretching past the 30 hour mark.
The campaign for each character features a different style of gameplay. Fans of the early Resident Evil games will enjoy playing as Leon in the fictional American town of Tall Oaks, where an outbreak occurs and even the President is infected. Leon is still part of the Secret Service and it was his duty along with his partner, Helena Harper to protect the president; however, after the president's infection and death, the blame is put on Leon and Helena themselves. Leon's campaign will feature more traditional zombies and will build suspense and tension with a slower paced play style. Ammo and supplies will be harder to come by and you'll need to conserve as much as you can during Leon's campaign if you're going to survive.
Chris' play style will surely appeal to newer fans of the series as it will follow the formula used In Resident Evil 4 and 5. Chris is still part of the BSAA and has been sent to fictional Chinese city, Lanshiang to aid in another recent outbreak with his companion Piers Nivans. Playing as Chris, you can expect a more intense, fast-paced action experience. Along with traditional zombies, Chris will face the J'avo as well; a direct result of the new C-Virus, J'avo are able to communicate, plan attacks, use weapons and even heal themselves. They also have increased agility and strength and have a regenerative mutation ability which will make them a formidable enemy.
As for the newcomer, Jake Muller, Capcom has created a unique play style. Jake will feature a mix between the play styles of Leon and Chris but adds a heavy emphasis on melee combat. Jake, son of Wesker is immune to the virus strands and thus has nothing to fear by engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the infected. His techniques and maneuvers are reminiscent of his father's. Jake is accompanied by Sherry Birkin, daughter of William Birkin who worked alongside Wesker; she will aid Jake as they evade authorities across Eastern Europe and fight through hordes of zombies and the J'avo. Fans of Resident Evil 3 will especially enjoy the Jake's campaign due to the fact he is constantly hunted by a creature known as, Ustanak.
Ustanak operates similarly to Nemesis in that he is constantly hunting you down. He is equipped with an interchangeable mechanical arm. In the trailers we see a claw like arm and another with a whip attached to it. It seems his main purpose is not to kill Jake but capture him, possibly for his unique blood. At one point in the trailer, you see Jake escaping from a cage fixed to Ustanak's back. Ustanak is sure to provide for some intense chases and punishing fights.
Resident Evil 6 will support co-op play whether it be split-screen or over the internet with a friend. Each companion of the heroes listed above is playable. Playing over the internet finds you someone who is at the same part of the story so that you or other players don't have the game spoiled for you.
Capcom has also decided to interject new features into Resident Evil 6. New tweaks will allow players to shoot and move simultaneously for the first time ever in a Resident Evil game. No doubt long time fans won't be crazy about the idea but it does make sense to be able to move and shoot at the same time. Additionally, you can now utilize a cover and shoot system and employ dives and rolls into the zombie fighting action. At one point during the gameplay demonstration, Leon almost seems to be wielding two handguns too. Melee combat will play a larger role; one video shows Leon hacking zombies up with an ax and Jake Muller relies heavily on melee based fighting. Inventory management has been improved too, allowing players to assign weapons to hot-keys and heal themselves on the fly with the push of a button.
The trailers reveal some details of the story but also leave us asking questions; one in particular, who are the people that have captured Helena Harper and why have they abducted her sister? I'll leave readers to come to their own conclusions but I have a few guesses. More familiar faces such as Ada Wong and Leon's link to the Department of Security relations, Ingrid Hunnigan, make a return in Resident Evil 6 as well. Hunnigan seems to be helping Leon in secret due to the fact that he and Helena have been blamed for the death of the President.
The trailers also reveal a very troubled and more somber Chris Redfield. It seems his involvement in the attacks become more personal after he helplessly watches his comrades become infected and is forced to kill them. Chris is seeking vengeance against Ada Wong, who he believes is behind the attack. Ada is now working for Neo-Umbrella who is responsible for the bio-terrorist attacks but the corporation itself is still shrouded in mystery. The story lines of the characters seem to cross as well as the trailers show Leon and Jake fighting alongside one another and Chris meeting Jake for the first time and realizing a resemblance of Albert Wesker in him. With all the different story lines, seeing how they relate and differ from each other should make them very engaging.
I felt the Resident Evil 6 may have strayed too far from the series' original formula but seeing the new footage and getting the details on the gameplay have re-instilled my faith in Capcom and their ability to make a successful sequel to this loved series. The gameplay looks solid so far with great visuals, intense action and exciting set piece moments. What do you think of Resident Evil 6 so far? Is the series no longer what it used to be or are the addition of new features and a heavier focus on action a good idea? Look for Resident Evil 6 on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on October 2, 2012.
Microsoft made it clear that Sam Fisher is still a badass when they revealed Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Sam is making a comeback after the President of the United States assigns him to a 'black than black'
special ops team. The team is formed after a group of hostile nations composes a list containing plans for terrorist attacks to be carried out if U.S. troops are not evacuated from their countries.
A cinematic trailer reveals that Third Echelon has been shut down as Sam Fisher hitches a ride into a Middle-Eastern terrorist compound crawling with goons. Sam uses his impressive, yet deadly skill-set to infiltrate the base and take out some unfortunate guards. It's obvious he hasn't lost his edge after he swiftly kills a group of terrorists in the blink of an eye. The action is amped up when Sam rappels down the side of a building and makes quick work of some more terrorists. A man being held prisoner by the terrorists is freed by Sam and given a gun. The two head into the hallway of the building and engage in a fierce fire fight while Sam's partner provides cover fire with a sniper rifle from a nearby building.
Sam and the man reach the roof and are momentarily clear of the action. The man asks Sam what agency he's with in which he receives the reply, "Welcome to Fourth Echelon."
While the cinematic trailer is great, we see the true brilliance of Blacklist in the gameplay demonstration (posted below). The trailer begins with Fisher using a disguise to gain access to an Iraqi terrorist camp where we see an improved mark and execute system. Sam uses his iconic goggles to survey the camp yard and tracks about seven terrorists. He tags the three closest and exits the tent in which he was hiding. The game enters bullet time and Fisher delivers one bullet to each of the three men while running toward a fourth. The game re-enters real time and the fourth man gets a knife in the neck as Sam marks the last two enemies. He slides over the hood of a pickup and violently executes the last two.
The whole sequence is stunning as Sam flows seamlessly from kill to kill. It all looks so clean and happens so fast, that when Sam had killed the last enemy, the guy was just reaching for his gun. Sam goes on to fight through the camp where he encounters a mounted machine gun and more terrorists. At one point, the player uses a voice command with their Kinect to call in an air-strike which disposes of the machine gun. The action of Splinter Cell has definitely been turned up a notch but still features plenty of stealth opportunities for player who prefer to keep things quiet.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is slated for a Spring 2013 release as of now. What do you think of Blacklist? Is Fisher too old to still be doing this or does age not even matter at this point?
