Phantasy Star II -- Part Two

post from 8-Bit City on 04 June 2011 11:30:40 PM. © 8-Bit City

I'd been assigned to gather some information on the Bio Lab. My commander suspected something was wrong with Mother Brain. A highwayman named Darum, however, was robbing everyone who crossed the bridge and killing most as well. He'd already tried to killed Nei a few months back. After gathering info in the small, dynamited town of Arima, I found a key and some dynamite in Shure dungeon.

I used this key in the next dungeon, Nido tower, and found Darum's daughter, Tiem. She asked to be taken to her father, after we showed her a letter we had found. The letter was ransoming Tiem, and she is horrifying to discover that her father became a murderer because of her. Tiem hides her face with a veil, and tries to tell Darum that killing is wrong, but, instead, he kills her. In a fit of grief, he blows himself up, ending the first story arc in a brutal murder-suicide.

But Rolf and co. press on to another town, Onita, and, finally, the BioLabs themselves. The experience and money is fantastic, and I'm able to buy several ceramic knives, good armor, and have decent gear for the dungeon. Unfortunately, Amy dies about halfway in, and I decide to press on. I almost make it to the recorder, but then Rudo dies as well and I have no choice but to warp back to town and try again -- this time I succeed and head back to Paseo!

My commander's suspicions are confirmed: Mother Brain fucked up, but currently HQ's best theory is that someone tampered with the programming, which sounds pretty reasonable. They've got some graphs to back this shit up too. My boss gives me a key, and I'm free to explore a lot of the world.

I traveled to two new towns, but not much happened. That means 2 new party members. However, I'm enjoying my current party, and think I'll stick with it. In part three I'll detail the next 2-3 dungeons and describe the two new towns, the garbage heap, and the developing story of Phantasy Star II.

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E3: Insomniac to unveil multiplatform game on
Monday

post from Destructoid on 04 June 2011 10:26:10 PM. © Destructoid

E3: Insomniac to unveil multiplatform game on Monday screenshot

Oh boy, it's one of these stories; I blame your rampant thirst for knowledge. (And mine too.) During EA's E3 2011 press conference, Insomniac Games will announce its latest title, which so happens to be an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 affair.

Interestingly, the studio is saying this game has a new universe. Makes sense, considering the relationship with Sony. What's the next step for the team behind Resistance and Ratchet & Clank? We will find out soon enough -- EA's conference kicks off tomorrow at 12:30 pm PDT. Catch it on Spike TV or online.

I'd also like to point out that some Internet-going folks are angry that Insomniac is reaching out to a larger audience with this project. The eff is wrong with you guys? Can't we all have nice things?

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E3 2011: Soul Calibur V Trailer Slices and Dices

post from GamerCenterOnline on 04 June 2011 09:52:39 PM. © GamerCenterOnline

Two mystical blades clash in an ultimate battle of both souls and swords.

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New F1 2011 screenshots are slippery when wet

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 June 2011 09:43:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Charles Husemann
NEWS - Here's the newest batch of screenshots from F1 2011 that show off some of the F1 cars racing around in the rain. Codemasters is focusing on the multiplayer portion of the game with a new co-op championship mode and some improvements to the "Be the Driver, Live the Life" mode that was introduced last year.

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Preview: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360)

post from Destructoid on 04 June 2011 09:06:06 PM. © Destructoid

Preview: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360) screenshot

This is the part where I’m supposed to speak, generally, about other Deus Ex games and say things like, “Deus Ex is the greatest game of all time and you’re stupid if you didn’t like it.” Then, I would smoothly transition to the subject of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and mention that Eidos Montreal is attempting to re-establish the series as an all-time great after the creation of the laughable Invisible War.

Maybe I’d also tease you with a line suggesting that Human Revolution appears to be well on the road to picking up the pieces of the series that Invisible War left behind.

For now, I’d like to just say that my sessions with its short, one-mission preview build were phenomenal. It was entertaining, the shooting was surprisingly sharp, the choice presented to me as cool, and the stealth was forgiving and satisfying. I’d say that this is well on the road ... oh-ho, caught myself.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Release date: August 25, 2011

In the opening hours of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a political war is morphing into an open, organized, and violent one. Cutting edge human augmentation that melds man and machine is on the verge of becoming attainable to all. For the Purist movement, this is a revolution that demands blood in order to stop. Science, then, must coddle its invention and defend it against these puritanical aggressors.

We see shades of the intellectual part of this fight in our actual world. Science can now fix man with screws, plates, and cadaver meat. Someday, it will be able to address woes on a genetic level, and perhaps, even enhance the human experience. For some there’s a real fear that these next level discoveries are stumbling into creation territory, and we see and hear the discussion between figureheads, political animals and others all around us.

It’s much more complicated than that, but suffice it to say that there are multiple levels of discourse and several ‘groups’ out there vying to be heard. For better or worse, Human Revolution cuts to the marrow by featuring just two teams, one of which is bad and the other a bit better: the Purists and science -- specifically Sarif Industries in the opening.

I didn't get a great sense of this in my hours spent with Human Revolution, but it appears as if it wants to say something through the medium. Whether any kind of commentary will happen remains to be seen, but I like the setup and the ideas swirling around.

You play as Adam Jensen, a futuristic sell sword living in the game’s world of 2027. In the initial hours, you get a sense that Jensen is an asshole with a checkered past. He was a SWAT officer once. Now, he’s gruff contractor working for Sarif Industries as the world implodes around it. Sarif is the creator and apparent driver of this augmentation junk.

Just beyond the introductory cinematic revealing that some sort of conspiracy is afoot surrounding the announcement of this science, you tour Sarif as it tests. Soon after, you’re in the shit as a group of bad dudes augmented to hell invade the plant and put the boot to the white coats and set fire to the labs.

It’s of note that during this section Jensen is normal. He doesn’t have cyber shades or the other augmentations you’ve seen in teaser footage. The HUD and feedback systems are limited, so you’re given an up-front taste of the combat as a naked dude.

Human Revolution reminds me of modern Rainbow Six joint. It’s presented in a first-person perspective, but most of the action is spent in third-person behind cover. It’s made clear from the get-go that it’s unwise to go gun blazing; bullets in Human Revolution hurt as much as they do in a simulation shooter, so after a couple of shots you’ll go down. The same can be said for the enemies you’ll face.

The AI is smart in addition to brittle. Like in the FEAR series, enemies map out their immediate surroundings and take advantage of flanking positions. Sliding between pieces of cover, then, is a necessity as much as a clear head and good aim are.

After these moments, Jensen is murdered, or at least, maimed to the extent that he needs to be reassembled and refitted. Sariff takes it upon itself to augment Jenson with its tech, stripping out some of the remains of his flesh and adding machine parts.

For you, this means you now have access to a generous HUD that holds vital information, a generous mapping system, and other useful information-gathering elements. Jenson’s body can now be fitted with upgrades, too, when he earns enough experience points from killing and hacking to do so.

In these first few hours, I was hopeful that I could get a sense of what Jenson thought of his new machine-laden body, but there was no discussion of it. I also wanted to be able to give upgrade system a spin, but I never earned enough points.

There are, however, a bevy of upgrade paths and options, the majority of which seem to serve the two key action components of the game: stealth and assault. I’ll also note that you can upgrade whatever, as Human Revolution doesn’t lock you into a “class.”

But it’s obvious that assault people will want the armor and strength upgrades, while the stealth-minded folks will want to focus on hacking and enhancements on the legs which can, say, remove the sounds of footsteps and such.

Each upgrade seems to add a power to the mix of action. Armor fixes, for example, can add catastrophic area of effect attacks. A hack upgrade can add to the utility of virus injections. Since I didn’t get to see how meaningful these actions are, though, I’ll hold my tongue for the moment.

Six months his operation, you take control of Jenson again who is still under the employ of Sariff Industries. Your first mission is to... investigate some bad shit going down at a plant owned by the company. A group of Purists have invaded and taken prisoners.

In the plant, you get a good sense of the alternate ways you can approach combat. You can, if you desire, go head-on with the foes patrolling the hallways. If you go this route, you’ll encounter a lot of enemy conga lines. A dead dude triggers a response from others and people tend to pile up around the first kill if the environment is tight. There are a few set piece firefights, though, that keep the action fresh.

There’s also a surprising amount of stealth options that can be made, as the plant is riddled with ducts and multiple pathways to be explored. Oddly enough, I came away thinking that this specific mission was more fun to do in stealth. The mapping system is generous, so you’re always plugged into updated enemy movements, which kills the big bugbear I have with stealth in general, the accidental discovery when I round corners.

It’s hard for me to reign in the anticipation that I have for Human Revolution after this demo. I think the shooting mechanics, which rival a lot of simulation FPS games, is perhaps the key reason. If you play smart, you’ll live. If you blow a hole in dude’s face, he dies. That’s simple stuff, but satisfying.

I also think the dialogue system and the story have a lot of potential. When you talk to people, a Mass Effect scroll wheel pops up, allowing you to be a space jerk, sentimental, or intelligent about a topic. This wheel also crops up in situations that can alter how a plot point shakes out. In this plant, for example, I was given the opportunity to kill a Purist, save the hostage he was holding, or attempt to save her. I chose the former, but regardless of what you choose, that’s a meaningful choice that could, I hope, have some bearing on who Jenson is and how the narrative shakes out down the line.

I get the feel, regardless, that Jenson isn’t a ‘good guy,’ but rather a dude who sits in grey area about what’s going on around him despite his augmentations. If this is an accurate takeaway, then Jenson has the chance to be a compelling character. A lot of the people I encountered seemed to have dual-interests and differing intentions, so I think that’s a valid bit of speculation on my end.

Feel free to revoke my nerd card, but I never finished the original Deus Ex or its, by all accounts, terrible follow-up. But I’d like to add, based on these limited experiences, that Eidos seems to be doing this franchise right by demonstrating a reverence to the source material while iterating on a lot of the outdated design. Deus Ex is only, like, one of the greatest games of all time, so no pressure or anything, guys.

But, seriously, if the full game is as sharp as this two-to-three hour slice was, I don’t think we’ll be lamenting the fact that this was yet another failed game in the series. There, I said it.

Human Revolution hits stores on August 25, 2011 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

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Visually Impressive El Shaddai Releases July 26th

post from MonsterVine on 04 June 2011 08:35:41 PM. © MonsterVine

Not since Okami have I seen a visually impressive, art focused game until now. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron looks to capitalize on the how much can this game make your jaws drop by staring at it like a piece of painting. The game now has a release date: July 26, 2011 for Xbox [...]

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Skullgirls Art Documentary Trailer

post from MonsterVine on 04 June 2011 08:17:29 PM. © MonsterVine

The Konami Pre-E3 event Thursday showed off a mix-n-mash of various downloadable titles coming from the publisher. Skullgirls from Autumn Games was the one that really caught our crew’s attention. Now, a trailer released from the developer shows the hand-drawn 2D artwork narrated by the creative, lead designer Alex Ahad.

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Jigsaw Killer Reborn

Jigsaw Killer Reborn Escape is the 100th escape game of games2rule and First time there are two ways to escape from one game. Jigsaw killer-reborn is new type of point and click escape game from Games2rule. This time, you have to escape from the trap set by new Jigsaw killer. Jigsaw killer is reborn to make a trap in which you will have to escape from the building. There are two exit door in this

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Hidden Numbers - Kung Fu Panda 2

Hidden Numbers-Kung Fu Panda 2 is point and click hidden objects game from Gamesperk. Analyze your observatin skill by finding out the hidden numbers in the Kung Fu Panda 2 pictures. Good luck and have fun!Play Hidden Numbers-Kung Fu Panda 2

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E3: The rubbish MS will announce for Xbox 360

Microsoft has been pretty quiet in the run to E3, and it was speculated (by me) that we'd a lame press conference from the Xbox 360 maker, for the third straight year. According to the list of games it's due to announce, the speculation is dead-on.

Dance Central 2
KinectFunLabs
XCommerce
Kinect Sports: Season 2
Fable: The Journey

Like last year, Kinect seems set to be the main focus, with at least three of the five titles being connected to the devices (and XCommerce is likely going to involve it too, whatever that is). While Nintendo and Sony gracefully step away from motion control and the gimmick finally starts to fade, you can count on Microsoft to try and beat a dead horse.

The only game of note so far is Fable: The Journey. Of course, this is not a final list, so better announcements could be in the works. So far it's looking like yet another humdrum showing for the Xbox, unless Microsoft's got something really special hidden under its hat.

@supererogatory [Twitter]

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