Warner Bros and TT Games have recently launched the first official gameplay trailer for LEGO Jurassic World, which will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360, on an as yet unspecified date in June.
LEGO Jurassic World will consist of scenes and storylines from : Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Jurassic Park III and the upcoming Jurassic World, with the addition of some critically acclaimed TT Games humor.
Details from the trailer also revealed that the movies main settings of ,Isla Nublar, and Isla Sorna will be fully explorable.
Putting your hands in LEGO poop is still disgusting.
Also revealed today were key art and the first screenshots for LEGO Jurassic World which you can see below. The game will be launched in the same month as the new Jurassic World film being distributed by Universal Pictures.
Our Walk Through the Gaming Bucket List Starts with a Quantic Dream Masterpiece
Being in my position, I often get the opportunity to make suggestions about games people might enjoy playing. With my friends, I’m always careful to tailor these suggestions to things I expect people will like.
I’m not going to ask my boyfriend to play Mortal Kombat, for instance – he’s a Minecraft kind of guy. Every so often, however, a game comes along where I simply need to sing its praises and get everyone I know to have a turn.
Heavy Rain is one such game. A breakout PS3 title, it’s only just turned five years old. It was one of the first games I bought when I finally got a PS3 and it sat on my shelf for some time. With such a dry opening chapter and relying largely on interactive drama, Heavy Rain wasn’t something I was expecting to have such a tremendous impact on me.
But I played through and have since annoyed all my friends by forcing them to experience the same adventure.
Interactive Drama Needs a Powerful Story and Heavy Rain Delivers
When your entire game is trying to tell a convincing story, you need the plot to be both compelling and driven. I can’t simply skip through cutscenes to play the action sequences like I can with other games so if there is a moment where someone falls off the Heavy Rain wagon, they’re gone.
Hence why getting over the slow initial proceedings of the game is such a challenge. Once the plot starts to get into gear, the game is almost impossible to put down. Many a day was I at university, tired, because I couldn’t stop playing Heavy Rain.
Its story is salient for a number of reasons. Grounded in the gritty noir realism of the surrounding world, the stories of the four characters are fleshed out and very easily enrapture players.
I remember when two of my more macho friends were watching another friend play. In typical blase fashion, they were making crude jokes and whatnot but when the tension spiked and ‘The Chase’ started playing, they too were shouting advice.
A Musical Score to Match
There’s nothing else I can say except that Heavy Rain‘s score is triumphant. It is everything it needs to be: bombastic, poignant, and emotive when it needs to be. Sadly the composer, Normand Corbeil, passed during the production of Quantic Dream’s next title, Beyond: Two Souls.
His work was astounding and a few tracks stand out amongst the rest. Painful Memories; The Chase; and Ethan Mars’ theme, to name a few. It’s a tragedy that we will not be able to hear his work in future titles.
Personally, I cannot fault the soundtrack for this game. Without it, I’m certain the story, while interesting, would not have been told in such an enamouring, vivid way. It perfectly embodies the tension, the despair, and every up and down of the characters’ roles within the plot. For all the things Heavy Rain gets right, the music is the best of them all.
Something to Share
Another of my favourite things about Heavy Rain is that each person’s experience with the game is unique. Anyone who has heard me talk about horror games knows that the reason I love them is that we all feel them and that shapes our play through of the game in their own individual way.
Heavy Rain might not share the scares but its visceral approach to tension and storytelling put it in the same vein.
I know that on many occasions, what happened to each character and how we approached certain scenes was a talking point amongst friends. Heavy Rain is a game that we can share, even though not in the traditional sense. To this end, its reliance on quick time events is a good move.
I’m not going to pretend it didn’t get tedious after a while but it at least made the game more accessible to those who maybe enjoyed a good story and weren’t avid gamers (yet). Interactive drama is a good medium for people to whet their appetites for games.
In the end I don’t want to sit here and say Heavy Rain is faultless. It can be a bit slow at times and if your characters die, you can find yourself missing out on important information, leaving the game a little dry.
Interactive drama isn’t going to be for everyone, obviously. But I’m finding more and more people are asking me what are my favourite games or what games should they play. My response almost always references Heavy Rain in some way or another. The reason is that the game is simply fantastic. If you can’t stomach horror enough to learn how games can affect us in a very real way, Heavy Rain is an amazing substitute and tells a story you won’t forget.
Do you have any games that you just have to get people to play? What are your games to play before you die?
Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment introduced the Cage family – Sonya Blade, her ex-husband Johnny Cage and their daughter Cassie Cage – in a brand new Mortal Kombat X video that shows off some more of the story, including their turbulent and entertaining relationship.
Of course story is nice, but the important thing is seeing these combatants in action. The trailer shows off some of the combat style of these three fighters.
Brings guns to a fist fight.
Born from the blood of champions, newcomer to the franchise Cassie Cage is limber, strong and wielding dual pistols. As seen in the video above, she uses these pistols in her X-Ray moves.
Franchise favourites Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, now revealed as playable characters in Mortal Kombat X, return to the series as protectors of Earthrealm once again despite their tumultuous past.
Earlier this year we showed off some of the other playable characters such as Ermac and Reptile for Mortal Kombat X.
Peekaboo!
Mortal Kombat X is set for an April 14th release date on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS.
Nintendo Australia has confirmed Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush will be available for Wii U this May.
The latest in the Kirby franchise is largely single-player, but supports three other players who’ll be tasked to support Kirby.
The game also supports amiibo functionality; each one read via the Wii U’s GamePad will provide Kirby with support items once per day.
More Details
In a control style similar to the touch controls of Kirby: Canvas Curse for Nintendo DS, players guide and guard Kirby by drawing lines on the Wii U GamePad touch screen using the stylus. These drawings become Rainbow Ropes that Kirby rolls along, used for navigating obstacles and defeating enemies.
Drawing Rainbow Ropes in creative ways like a loop will give Kirby a quick speed boost and they can also be used to protect Kirby from enemies and hazards, as well as to solve puzzles.
Yarn, Ropes and Clay
For instance, using a well-drawn rope can block a waterfall or uncover a hidden area. Re-modelling the traditional Kirby format further, Kirby’s transformations into a tank, submarine and rocket in this game all come with their own distinct twist on the touch screen controls.
Co-op Waddle Dees
The main player who controls Kirby draws Rainbow Ropes on the GamePad, while other players use Wii Remote controllers to play as friendly Waddle Dee characters tasked in assisting Kirby and help discover the game’s numerous collectibles.
Or ‘Waddle Dumbs’ if you’re feeling cruel
Amiibos
In terms of amiibo functionality, the Kirby, King Dedede and Meta Knight amiibo can each be used once a day, per stage, to power up Kirby with special abilities.
So only one of these
By tapping a Kirby amiibo to the Wii U GamePad, players receive an unlimited Star Dash within a stage, which otherwise can only be activated by collecting 100 stars.
A King Dedede amiibo outfits Kirby with a hat that grants him six health bars instead of the normal four, and the Meta Knight amiibo gives Kirby a mask that lets him use a fast dash that blasts right through weaker enemies.
It’s unclear currently if any data from Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush can be written onto the Amiibo for use in friends’ games.
Keep Rollin
Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush launches for Wii U on 9th May and will be available for purchase at retail and on Nintendo eShop for Wii U.
Bandai Namco’s long awaited racing sim, Project Cars has been unavoidably delayed until May. This follows a previous delay from March to April.
However, the games developer has profusely reassured restless fans that their wait is not in vain. Here is the official statement:
“Despite our long heritage and pedigree in making critically-acclaimed racing games, Project CARS is by far the grandest and most intricately detailed of them all.
Despite therefore the game being 99.9% complete, the remaining 0.1% attending to small issues and bugs has been tricky to anticipate. We’re absolutely dedicated to delivering a ground-breaking experience and by targeting mid-May fans can be assured that’s what they’ll receive” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios.
“Again, we want to thank our fans for their support and patience on this matter. There’s a high expectancy from racing fans around the world that Project CARS is going to be an exciting new contender in the simulation racing space and we firmly believe gamers deserve it to be in its most complete and polished state when they come to play it on day one.
And since the gaming community is our primary focus and has always been at the heart of the project during development, we would like to offer some free content to all players as compensation for this short delay and as acknowledgement of how grateful we are. This gift, that we’re sure is going to excite fans, will be available from day one and revealed shortly. Keep an eye on our website for more info.”
This year Total War joins some of the longest-running gaming series with its 11 titles spanning over 2000 years of historical warfare.
Empires have risen, and many a brave warrior has fallen with an estimated 4.8 billion battles waged in the last 15 years.
The Total War series started with Shogun: Total War which was first announced in early 1999. The game focused the Sengoku period of Japanese feudal history, and upon its release in June 2000 it was met with critical acclaim.
According to the press release, over 1 million people play Total War every month now, spending an average of 104 hours apiece in each game.
Sega and Creative Assembly have announced that they hope 2015 will be their biggest year yet. The release of this trailer is supposed to look back at the roots of the series and hint at what’s to come. Digital and tablet title Total War Battles: KINGDOM, 10v10 team strategy in Total War: ARENA, and more.
To celebrate the 15 years of Total War, Creative Assembly will be at the EGX Rezzed show in London this weekend with some retro and modern gaming on all their titles, plus a huge Total War prize giveaway.
Last year I officially became a fan of Omega Force’s Warrior series. I was lucky enough to review Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate and Samurai Warriors 4, win a copy of Dynasty Warriors 8 Extreme Legends and plug more than 200 hours into my copy Hyrule Warriors.
The hack-n-slash simplicity of those games was so cathartic, I now basically look forward to anything from that development team.
However, as much as I enjoy the Warriors games, Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires is a title I find both disappointing and extremely frustrating given that I had to force myself to play for 5 hours before starting to enjoy myself.
Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires forgoes the relatively straightforward gameplay of Dynasty Warriors 8 both in the narrative and the gameplay to create a more customised and varied experience.
Rather than having players progress through a number of linear story modes using predetermined characters for every mission, Empires allows the player to choose from a number of pre-set scenarios based on different time periods with the goal of uniting China beneath one banner using whatever methods they see fit.
They even allow you to create your own custom scenario to dictate who and where your enemies will be when you start a new game.
Time to start shipping!
Players are able to choose from the pool of established officers seen in Dynasty Warriors 8 or create their own uniquely crafted character and assume control of their lives.
The character creation is quite good in Empires since it not only allows you to customise your appearance with a surprising amount of freedom (although more clothing colour options would have been nice), but allows you to choose individual musou attacks, rage modes and EX attacks. This means you’re free to blend up to 5 different attack styles to create your own perfect avatar.
Turns out Zhang Liao isn’t the only pirate in ancient China
In Empire mode, each officer can start from a few different positions within (or outside) of a nation’s military. For example, a free officer can move anywhere on the map and even start a new nation from scratch, but will start with no resources and cannot influence a nations policies until they progress further.
An officer in an army can climb the ranks of the military, at first simply following orders to defend or invade countries but eventually gaining enough influence to rule small regions, then being as loyal or treacherous as you like.
Finally, you can start off as a territories leader and choose how best to run your nation, whether you concentrate on expanding your territory or improving the happiness of your citizens while fending off attacks and recruiting the best officers for your army.
While battle is important in the game, it is far from the only thing you will be doing. While battles range from taking part in quests to strengthen relationships or raid nearby enemy territories to weaken their hold on land, you will be spending just as much time building new facilities, donating or stealing funds from citizens or forming alliances with other nations to assist you in defensive battles.
You also must manage your relationships if you wish to get married or form sworn brotherhood bonds though I am not clear if this gives any noticeable benefits besides children joining your army later in the game.
Sometimes your kids turn out looking nice (seen above). Sadly my daughter was hideous 🙁
All of these features sound very fun to me personally and I will admit that I eventually did take a lot of pleasure and satisfaction while I slowly conquered more land and improved the quality of life for my citizens. However the joy I found arrived 5 hours into the game because…
How do I even play this game!?
Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires is possibly the most poorly tutorialised game I have EVER played and is the direct reason this title is a major disappointment and will leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths. I mentioned in my Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate review that it fails to explain basic controls during the game but DW8 Empires somehow made it much worse.
All the features mentioned above, from choosing your officer, what each role entails, and what political manoeuvres you can perform per month are explained in only the most minimal detail possible. It fails to really explain what the responsibility of each military position is for instance, or what your various options will achieve. The game even fails to tell you what your goal is and simply assumes you’ll know to unite China.
The status menu is reasonably complicated too with a large number of symbols and numbers littering the screen to denote things such as your merits (only briefly explaining merits replace experience points to level up), the happy face denoting your virtue (still not entirely sure what virtue affects since many people still don’t trust me despite having maximum virtue), the happiness levels of each territory (I assume this means citizens will revolt when unhappy but again, not very clear) and much more.
…WHAT DID I JUST DO!?
Worst of all, your character can suffer from exhaustion that increases the more you battle (and possibly while doing other things) and it appears there is now way of telling how tired officers are. And given that being well rested can be the difference between doing heavy damage to the enemy and no damage at all (which is what occurred to me in one battle), this is unacceptable.
As impressive as this attack might look, those enemies just took no damage…
For the first few hours of play, I was constantly stressed since I didn’t know what information was relevant or not and resented the game for not properly explaining anything.
Better Know What You’re Doing
The battles also fail to account for anyone unfamiliar with Dynasty Warriors combat and simply assumes players already know how to control their officer. In fairness, this is probably accurate since all the controls are the same. Unfortunately, Empires also introduced the new element of stratagems to battles, so even a veteran player like me was completely lost.
Stratagems essentially work like magic spells, allowing your officer to heal allies, directly attack enemies with the elements or even set up surprise attacks using your fellow AI controlled officers to turn the tide of battle. This is a nice addition to the game since it adds extra strategy as you attempt to perform more complex manoeuvres or cancel out enemy attacks before they can cripple your army.
But for the first hour of play, I had no idea how to use them which meant battles were equally as frustrating as managing the world map.
I once died because I didn’t know how to heal…
Hide And Seek With The Instructions
And in a final baffling design decision, the creators of Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires hid the electronic manual in an obscure place. Rather than being on the PlayStation 4 dashboard like most other games, the manual can only be accessed from a specific battle preparation screen and pressing a the “option” button. This is so easily overlooked, I can’t fathom why they would put something this essential in such an unusual place.
Graphically, the game looks quite nice but since it recycles the models and maps from Dynasty Warrior 8, they are not as visually impressive as Samurai Warriors 4. There also seems to be a reduction in frame rates so players used to the smoother visuals offered by other Omega Force games will be left disappointed.
Fans should also note that since this game aims to be much more customisable than Dynasty Warriors 8, the story seen is not particularly strong. This is not necessarily a problem if you play games such as Civilisation 5 but anybody hoping to see a good story would be MUCH better served purchasing Dynasty Warriors 8 Complete Edition.
I personally enjoyed the fact that I could change the course of history, allowing my favourite military leaders to survive while executing the people I hated.
Just waiting for a chance to stab that fat wretch in the back!
Final Verdict: 6/10
{rating}
While Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires offers a decent level of enjoyment through a player orientated experience that can be customised to suit most tastes, Empires suffers from a terrible tutorial that fails to convey how to make the most of the experience.
Its visual presentation may also be dated for some gamers, especially due to frame rate issues. The lack of a true narrative may turn off some players but will be enjoyed by those who prefer to craft their own story
I can only recommend this title to Dynasty Warriors fans looking for a fresh way to experience the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but be warned that fan made FAQs and Let’s Play videos may be a necessity to enjoying the game.
Most customers would be better served playing just about any other Omega Force game, but especially Samurai Warriors 4 and Hyrule Warriors.
Following the release of various hints, Harmonix has confirmed that the critically acclaimed Rock Band series will be making its début on current gen consoles later this year.
This long-awaited reiteration of the series will be available on both Xbox One and PS4. However, despite its current gen migration those who have previously purchased instruments associated with the game will be able to use them throughout their play-throughs.
As well as the ability to use previously purchased items, this reiteration will also allow backwards compatibility for DLC.
Alongside returning features, Rock Band’s current generation game will posses various new and unique instruments, as well as new controllers that vastly capitalise on the success of their predecessors.
“The landscape has changed a lot with respect to what a developer can do. It’s the logistical stuff – title updates are easier than they were in the last generation,”
said product manager Daniel Sussman.
“We feel very strongly that making Rock Band 4 should be fun for us, and we had to think a lot about what’s the game we would want to work on and that we would want to play. And where we arrived is that we want to build on and evolve the Rock Band experience that people love.”
“There’s a lot of platform-level work that frankly is our priority right now… This is the way that a lot of people interact with music and get to know new music, and we’re thinking about elements of the experience that feed into that – the DLC library, the simulation at its core. Rock Band is so much about guitar, drums, bass and vocals and that social play experience.”
However considering the game is in early development it will not be showcased in the near future, Sussman has profusely reassured fans that this long awaited reboot will no be a revamped version of a previous title in the series.
“On the one hand we don’t want to tinker with a core mechanic that has been very successful, on the other hand we want to push the envelope with regards to what people expect.
We have a lot of really cool things up our sleeves, things that we’re excited to show in the E3 time frame.”
Wasteland 2 will be making it’s debut on PlayStation 4 this summer, in the form of a Game Of The Year Edition that will feature new customization options, vastly upgraded environments, and improved character models.
A recent post on PlayStation Blog reads : In this hardcore RPG, you take control of a squad of four Desert Rangers — plus any followers you pick up along the way — to keep peace in the post-apocalyptic Arizona desert. But a larger threat looms on the horizon, and it will fall to your team to deal with it… or die trying,”
Wasteland 2 was originally funded via Kickstarter and made it’s début on PC in September 2014. The Game Of The Year Edition will act as a remaster of the critically acclaimed title.
This Game Of The Year Edition will feature various upgrades of the original, from new and realistic lighting effects, to new visual effects, and new voice actors.
Changes have also made their way to gameplay with players now having the ability to fully customize their squad’s perks, as well as precision strike mode which allows you to take aim at any part of your foe’s body.
Resident Evil returns as the latest remake; Resident Evil HD Remaster hits the digital shelves
Resident EvilHD Remaster
Developer/Publisher: Capcom Director: Shinji Mikami Price: £15.99 (PSN) Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One
What’re ya buyin’
Exploding heads
Resident Evil HD Remaster is essentially a remake of the 2002 GameCube remake of the original Resident Evil. If you’re wondering “why so many?” then play any version of the game and you’ll see why.
More recently I’ve played through Resident Evil 5 and 6 and enjoyed both games, despite there being a large focus on action over horror. Playing the games using co-op also added to the enjoyment of the experience, yet elements of the original do shine through.
Resident Evil HD Remaster follows S.T.A.R.S agents Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they and Alpha Team investigate a series of strange murders at a mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Expect classic survival horror as you combine items, solve puzzles and of course shoot zombies, all while making use of the tank controls.
You da man, Chris
Play It Again?
Resident Evil also has replay value, something which is sadly disappearing in modern titles, as there are new costumes to get and wacky unlocks (such as invisible enemy mode).
This is nothing new to the series however and what the game may lack in length, it more than makes up for in secrets, unlocks and modes.
Overall
The game also looks great remastered on the PlayStation 4, and from what I have played this far it is looking like an enjoyable experience. I’m just waiting on a Silent Hill remaster for the PS4 now, or maybe I’ll pick up the new one… then again after P.T. maybe not.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is also available on most platforms, and will be released gradually through episodes.
