Video Game News

[Skynet]

So I figured instead of making a separate thread for each happening in the game industry, be it a new release, a designer getting in KickStarter trouble, or whatnot, I'd make a news thread of sorts.

And even within the last few days quite a bit has happened.

And just to head it off, discussion about GamerGate, sexism/LGBTphobia and the like in gaming culture may be best suited to the PROC subforum, although I wouldn't mind sharing links and such here provided it doesn't dominate the discussion.



It turns out that Konami actually banned Hideo Kojima from showing up at a game awards ceremony.

It seems that so much news about Konami and Kojima these days is a never-ending spiral of badness.  I can only hope that the fellow gets to another publisher that will respect his talent, or start his own.  Lord knows there will be plenty of devoted fans to support him as an indie developer.



The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wins Game of the Year.


I'm not surprised, considering that the series is well-regarded, and they had one of the best policies for DLC I've seen in games these days.  I only have to finally start playing the first one in the series again.  Yeah, I can't multi-task when it comes to RPGs. ::)



A side-scrolling Metroidvania game from 2009, Shadow Complex, has a remastered version out now for free on the PC, Xbox, and PS4 up until December 31st!

Apparently the linked site's taking a long time for me to load, indicating a lot of people are flocking there.

I've already played Shadow Complex quite some time ago.  I found it to be quite fun at the time: the gist of the game is that you're an ex-military guy going on a woodlands drive and spelunking with a lady, in the backdrop of a USA embroiled in a civil war between liberals and conservatives (this takes place in the same universe as the book Empire by Orson Scott Card).  Said woman gets kidnapped by soldiers of the Restoration, who are using said caves as a hideout for one of their major military bases.  In the process of trying to rescue her, you run and gun your way through a side-scrolling action game, discovering new equipment both contemporary and science fiction, and fighting mechas too!

I'll just say right now that the game's better than the books.



Back in 2004 Psychonauts was a very good, yet underrated game by Tim Schafer.  Now there's a Psychonauts 2 in the works, but Tim Schafer wants to crowdfund it.

Unfortunately, Schafer had some crowdfunding troubles for his last project.  His Broken Age game received over three million dollars, but the one that came out was rather short and lackluster and contributing no small amount of contention over this.

As a fan of the first game, I want to see a Psychonauts 2, but I'm kind of worried in regards to the mans' management.



Also, some gameplay footage of Far Cry Primal came out.  I've never been so interested in playing as a caveman with animal control powers!

Angry Joe had an interesting interview/Let's Play where he and one of its developers talked about the game's features in media res:

[CaptainNexus616]

Pscyhonauts...funny you should mention it because I found out about it like ten minutes ago lol. I'm excited over this and I agree I hope this game does well but I do have my concerns. Hopefully the sequel will be made with the same love that made the first one so great. I still have my copy of the game.

[Skynet]

Just Cause 3 is out now for 3, and it's getting very low user scores on Metacritic.

Much of the blame lies on poor optimization for the PCs, as even with high-end modern hardware the framerate sucks.  People also experience server issues for online play, and say that the repetitive nature of missions is boring.

As a fan of the second game, it's a shame to see this.  It just came out, so hopefully the optimization issues are fixed; maybe that will make up for a lot of the mistakes.

[CaptainNexus616]

Just gonna leave this here for everyone :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3sBZ5Nr4hc&feature=player_detailpage

[Skynet]

This looks very cool.  I notice that the combat seems live-action instead of turn-based.  Sort of akin to Crisis Core, maybe?  I haven't played that, so I can't comment if it seems entirely new or based off an existing game.

Still, I'm excited for it, yet tinged with skepticism as the new Square-Enix isn't the old one in terms of workers and designers.

Also, Barrett with sunglasses.  Do want.



The unthinkable has happened: Shaq Fu's getting a sequel!

Shaquille O'Neal is interviewed by IGN about it, the original game, and other things.  I really like his responses!

[CaptainNexus616]

I have personally played and still own Crisis Core. I have to agree that is what it made me first think of when it came to combat. However some people are concerned that it will be more FF XIII (which left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths it would seem.) I have personally not played it but who knows.

To my understanding they have a good bulk of the original FFVII crew together. They said they wouldn't do a remake till they had the band back together so here's hoping.

[Revelation]

From an interview that was released yesterday, Nomura said that the ATB/Active Time Battle from 7 is still present in some form, and that combat is being modeled in a way similar to Dissidia/kingdom hearts.

[Skynet]

Link to the interview in case anybody's interested.

It's a rough translation from the original Japanese article.



Edit:

Also, a collection of developer reactions to Kojima's barring from the Game Awards Show.

It's nice to see this solidarity, even more so seeing Kojima himself thanking people's well wishes.

I liked this fanart someone made, too (Twitter user):

[Skynet]

The latest game in the Hitman series goes back to the beginning, when Agent 47 first joined the ICA.

Betas for the PlayStation 4 and PC will come around February 2016.  After the letdown that was Absolution, I'm hoping they go back to the open-ended variety and objectives which made the series so good.

And a teaser trailer:

[Skynet]

More Konami fracas as the former boss of Square Enix calls out the company, saying that their treatment of Kojima was cruel.

The original FB post in Japanese.

[Skynet]

As part of a marketing partnership, a new costume in Super Mario Maker allows you to play as Mario driving a Mercedes Benz.

Hey, at least you get it for free.



Valve recently announced that as many as 77,000 accounts get hacked per month, and are planning features to upgrade security, such as trade holding.

Ugh, stuff like this makes me worry.



Also, one of the developers of the Witcher 3 released a "find the Man in Glass" challenge for fans, which managed to stump even devoted players (yes, spoilers for the DLC).

The more I read about the Witcher 3, the more I want to play it.  But I feel like I should beat the first 2 games beforehand, which I have not yet done. :-(



Also, XCOM 2 is coming out in early 2016, and right now a 60 minute video of gameplay released with developer commentary.  I haven't watched the whole thing yet.

I'm a big fan of the 2012 predecessor, and this one's a "what-iff" scenario set 20 years after the first game when the united Earth defense forces lose and surrender to the aliens.  You're playing as an underground resistance movement in a sleek and shiny yet disturbingly-altered alien-dominated Earth.

Also, the first half hour is base management, so if you want to see the action skip to the 27:40 mark.

[Revelation]

I am so excited for Xcom 2 it's gross. But I am trying to remain as blind to it as I can so I can just dive in nakedly. I already had one new alien totally spoiled, which would have been fun to see in game for the first time.

[Denivar]

Valve recently announced that as many as 77,000 accounts get hacked per month, and are planning features to upgrade security, such as trade holding.

Ugh, stuff like this makes me worry

Don't worry,  do something about it!

The actual article is about how Valve wants you to enable two factor authentication on your account (aka steamguard). This is super easy to do and will make your account very secure.  So do it from your steam Preferences.  While you're at it,  do it on your google account,  facebook account and every other account that is important to you.

[Skynet]

In 4 days Final Fantasy VI is coming to Steam.  However, it's using the art design from the mobile phone version, which many people do not like.

I don't feel strongly about this, although I do prefer the SNES/PlayStation art style.  Sabin's bicep in his character portrait looks overblown.

Here's the page.

[DudelRok]

Don't worry,  do something about it!

The actual article is about how Valve wants you to enable two factor authentication on your account (aka steamguard). This is super easy to do and will make your account very secure.  So do it from your steam Preferences.  While you're at it,  do it on your google account,  facebook account and every other account that is important to you.

As someone who doesn't have a Smartphone, the new Valve protection comes really double edge sword to me. Thankfully I don't do much trading, so it wont affect me very much, but the times it does affect me will be very super aggravating, for sure.

[Skynet]

Hideo Kojima officially left Konami as of today, and is now forming his own studio.

Good for him.  He should be able to do more things now that he's out from under their thumb!



Microtransactions are coming to CoD: Black Ops 3.

I don't have any comment on this one way or the other, but thought it might be of interest to some folks here.

[CaptainNexus616]

Is he taking the Metal Gear franchise with him? I know the creator for Assassin's Creed was forced to leave that franchise with Ubisoft after they fired him :/

[Skynet]

Konami still owns the rights to Metal Gear, and I doubt they're going to give up that cash cow without a princely sum; a sum I doubt one will be able to pay unless they're the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.



A US Congressman is a big League of Legends fan, and talks about it as part of an ad for the game.

This causes an ethics committee investigation, but later decided that nothing was amiss.

I guess it goes to show how far we've come when a member of Congress (predominantly made up of old guys) is now seeking support from video game players. :P

Edit: Made a mistake, this video was not a campaign ad, but a LoL Community ad.



The President and Global CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment has plans for a partnership with Hideo Kojima:

[Somnifera]

But good lord, what of Silent Hills? The gaming tragedy of the year, as far as I'm concerned. Learning that Junji Ito was on the team was twisting the knife.

Meanwhile, has anyone heard of the supposed submitted patent from Nintendo from what's speculated to be their next console controller? I can't stand it. But I'm also not a fan of the WiiU controller. It's a decent idea but the whole 'look down at your hands then back up also there's a light glaring under your face" thing is definitely a step backwards in gaming, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm going to be very upset if that's the controller I'd have to play the new Zelda game on, next year.

[Oniya]

But good lord, what of Silent Hills? The gaming tragedy of the year, as far as I'm concerned. Learning that Junji Ito was on the team was twisting the knife.

Wait - Ito is involved in making a game?  Mister 'Body-Horror' himself?

[Somnifera]

Oh sweet summer child...

A couple weeks after del Toro and subsequently Konami leaked that Silent Hills had been scrapped because of all the drama, it was revealed that not only were del Toro and Kojima working on this, which was going to be fucking amazing, but that yes, Mr. Body Horror himself had been part of the team.

As if the news couldn't have gotten any worse, now we know that the game would have been the best Silent Hill game and one of the top horror games ever made.

Friggin' hell.

[Somnifera]

So Sega isn't giving up on dreamcast... http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Sega-Dreamcast-2-Wants-Answer-PC-Gamers-Wishes-106737.html

[Skynet]

Rare (gaming company) released an interesting video on the history of Banjo-Kazooie.  Notably that it first began as a game called Dream for the SNES, along with footage:

[la dame en noir]

All I care about is seeing more information about Mass Effect Andromeda.

[HairyHeretic]

Steam is doing strange things at the moment. It seems they were/are being DDoS'ed, and whatever is going on, it's causing people to see private information on others accounts.

[Skynet]

Steam is doing strange things at the moment. It seems they were/are being DDoS'ed, and whatever is going on, it's causing people to see private information on others accounts.

Yup, looks like some big screw-ups.

Steam DB (not affiliated with Valve) said that attempts to log in and alter/remove credit card and PayPal info is not recommended, in that the cacheing would put one at risk instead.

It seems the best thing right now is to treat Steam like the Arc of the Covenant: don't look or go to any URLs, wait and see what happens.

[DudelRok]

Yup, looks like some big screw-ups.

Steam DB (not affiliated with Valve) said that attempts to log in and alter/remove credit card and PayPal info is not recommended, in that the cacheing would put one at risk instead.

It seems the best thing right now is to treat Steam like the Arc of the Covenant: don't look or go to any URLs, wait and see what happens.

Steam fixed it sometime last night/this morning and gave an "official response" to a few websites.

http://kotaku.com/steam-goes-nuts-offers-access-to-other-peoples-account-1749718979

Steam is back up and running without any known issues. As a result of a configuration change earlier today, a caching issue allowed some users to randomly see pages generated for other users for a period of less than an hour. This issue has since been resolved. We believe no unauthorized actions were allowed on accounts beyond the viewing of cached page information and no additional action is required by users.

[Skynet]

And yet several hours ago Steam Community went down, so I'm still skeptical that Valve might be trying to sweep this under the rug to not disrupt holiday sales...

[Skynet]

Freedom Planet 2 is announced.

As a big fan of the first game, I'm looking forward to this one! ;D

[Revelation]

the senior director for the new mass effect game left mid development. Take what you will from it, but usually when I see this happening I don't see it as a good sign for the game involved.

[Skynet]

Yesterday Nintendo unveiled the plans for their newest console at E3, the NX.

Other than this there's not much else.

[Inkidu]

Yesterday Nintendo unveiled the plans for their newest console at E3, the NX.

Other than this there's not much else.

Is there anyone rich enough to keep up with Nintendo anymore? :P

[Skynet]

Looks like Sony is trying to trademark the very concept of Let's Play.  I doubt they'll get far.

[CaptainNexus616]

Looks like Sony is trying to trademark the very concept of Let's Play.  I doubt they'll get far.

As far as mods costing money and SOPA becoming law.

[Mathim]

Still can't believe how little news there is for this game...it should have way more hype to justify frequent updates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB6P5gpNan0#password

[Skynet]

The new Hitman game is planned to be released as a series of episodes.

I heard a lot of negative press about it, described as a way to sell a game before it's finished and to milk more cash from consumers.  I'm aware that games such as Life Is Strange have done this before, so I guess my main concern is more how Square-Enix will do it.  As a AAA publisher in the industry and its previous installments released as whole games, I don't think it's due to budgeting issues.

[Skynet]

I know that this is 6 days old, but better late than never.  John Romero released a new level for Doom.

[Skynet]

Mighty No. 9 gets delayed again.

I feel bad for all the backers.

[DudelRok]

Mighty No. 9 gets delayed again.

I feel bad for all the backers.

Yeah... I see each time it gets delayed and go, "Glad I didn't give them money." o.0

[Skynet]

It's not just for video games anymore!  You can now preorder mystery food from Taco Bell and eat it 2 days earlier than anybody else!

I sincerely hope that the restaurant industry doesn't follow our mistakes...

[ChefofDreams]

Is any one excited for the new doom game?

[Skynet]

Is any one excited for the new doom game?

Afraid this is the first I've heard of it.  I never got into the franchise, so I'm not very hyped, but hope it's a good game.  Apparently it has a May release date.



Someone remade one of Undertale's most iconic battles in Super Mario Maker.

[Inkidu]

Mass Effect: Andromeda's Lead Writer Leaves BioWare for Bungie

[Inkidu]

Mass Effect: Andromeda Most Likely Being Pushed to Early 2017

Did anyone not see this coming? I knew there was a reason I wasn't anticipating this game in 2016. XD

[Haymitch]

No Man's Sky release date was announced today!

Looking forward to this game!! June 21st

[Oniya]

No Man's Sky release date was announced today!

Looking forward to this game!! June 21st

What's it about?

[Haymitch]

What's it about?

Sci-Fi exploration/survival game with MMO-lite features. They have a large number of systems(18 quintillion, apparently) and each of these systems is procedurally generated. Which is usually code phrase for 'boring, bland, unorginal' buuuutt... I've been following closely and I was sort of caught off-guard by how plausible some of the procedurally generated planets/systems are, some of them are quite imaginative and I started to like the game. I haven't actually played it, but I do know the basics - while it's a great big sandbox you share with other players, the entire point of the game is to survive and make it to the center of the universe - you do this by collecting resources, upgrading your ship, suit, etc. Naturally it's not as easy as it sounds, but the other big draw for me is how it's all seamless transition from space to atmosphere and back.

I'd link a few videos or even the announcement link, but I can't until I'm approved. Polygon has a few good articles or even GameInformer has a pretty well rounded preview of the game.  I'm sure a lot of other sites do as well, just two I frequent.

[Dice]

Time to dust off the Warthog it appears. Nice. Lets hope it is more engaging over the long term than Elite is.

[Haymitch]

Time to dust off the Warthog it appears. Nice. Lets hope it is more engaging over the long term than Elite is.

I was not a big fan of Elite, I think I put maybe two hours in and decided that game wasn't for me. I would consider this lighter and more forgiving in term of mechanics. The only game of this scope on my radar is Star Citizen, so hoping this will feed the need.

[Inkidu]

I think Star Citizen is... to big to be viable. If that makes any sense.

[Haymitch]

I think Star Citizen is... to big to be viable. If that makes any sense.

Absolutely! I have my own reservations concerning the scope of the game itself, but full disclosure, I have backed the project. Essentially what I want and am hoping I get is something similar to Wing Commander/Privateer, the single player seems to be shaping up nicely, the Privateer side I don't know. So that makes complete sense really, with as grand as the vision is and how much money is behind it, I just don't see it hitting all of it's intended targets, as long as it hits those two for me though,  it'll be worth it.

[RubySlippers]

Wargaming ,yes that company the creators of the "World of" games, did their early release of Masters of Orion and its available on Steam. I know I'm normally wary of early release games but this is WARGAMING a gaming power player and their first game not a MMO. I have to admit its fun and the packages has all the versions of the earlier game to download with it from the 90's.

[LoosCannon]

Did you get MOO?  I've seen it but the reviews aren't that hot so I've been hesitant to pull the trigger.

[Haymitch]

Did you get MOO?  I've seen it but the reviews aren't that hot so I've been hesitant to pull the trigger.

Been a bit hesitant myself after seeing the Steam reviews, I did watch a few youplay videos as well and wasn't enough to get me over the fence - I have GalCiv, how does this pair up? Or even say Sins of a Solar Empire? If it's about in-between the two, I'd snap it up.

[Inkidu]

Really, only about a fifth are negative. It still has a mostly positive rating by way of Steam. Seemed to come out of the gate pretty strong from what I see.

[LoosCannon]

Get Sins. Even if not for the base game (which is awesome) the mods people have made for that are amazing.

[Haymitch]

Get Sins. Even if not for the base game (which is awesome) the mods people have made for that are amazing.

I've got Sins already, loved every minute I've played. Over a hundred hours on Steam alone haha. Gonna pick up MOO once I'm feeling better, hopefully tomorrow or Monday.

[CaptainNexus616]

So anyone else here excited for Uncharted 4?

[LoosCannon]

I did pick up MOO and it's actually pretty good. Obviously still early on, but it's a fun romp.

[Dice]

I was not a big fan of Elite, I think I put maybe two hours in and decided that game wasn't for me. I would consider this lighter and more forgiving in term of mechanics.

I loved the customisation of Elite. I can do so much in that game it is nuts. Turning on and off Flight Assist, sometimes mid combat so I am flying diagonally and shooting as I go to cycling though weapons systems and trying my dam hardest to not have my canopy cracked open... again. I actually find, when it is all said and done, Elite does not give me enough freedom. I wish I could turn the engines off when I land, I wish I could use independent throttle controls for the thrusters, I wish the game was less forgiving then it is and I know I am not really in the majority here.

If NMS turns out to be a step back in what I can do with my ship, I likely will not stick around. I do not mind if it is made so that others do not have to remember to turn their engines on before they lift off, but I want that option open to me.

[Haymitch]

I loved the customisation of Elite. I can do so much in that game it is nuts. Turning on and off Flight Assist, sometimes mid combat so I am flying diagonally and shooting as I go to cycling though weapons systems and trying my dam hardest to not have my canopy cracked open... again. I actually find, when it is all said and done, Elite does not give me enough freedom. I wish I could turn the engines off when I land, I wish I could use independent throttle controls for the thrusters, I wish the game was less forgiving then it is and I know I am not really in the majority here.

If NMS turns out to be a step back in what I can do with my ship, I likely will not stick around. I do not mind if it is made so that others do not have to remember to turn their engines on before they lift off, but I want that option open to me.

I do think No Man's Sky is going to be a let down in that regard. If I had to rate this between casual(Star Citizen) and Hardcore(Elite, Orbiter) I'd put this more into the casual category with Star Citizen. Again, I haven't played it, but I have followed it fairly closely and they don't seem to have the level of customization or freedom that Elite allows. My problem with Elite was that it tried to be Orbiter without giving me the chance to learn anything without being hassled. Docking is a fairly simple process for example and yet even in the tutorial I'm being hassled for not doing it quickly enough - just let me dock once, see the procedure all the way through without rushing me, accuracy first, speed second. It's not a bad game, I just realized the game was far too impatient with me and that wasn't going to come to a good conclusion.

[LoosCannon]

The other problem with Elite is that there just isn't much to do. Your Sidewinder is going to be inferior to pretty much everything. The various ships don't really have roles (aside from those which have more cargo and are therefore your trading ships). Get bigger ships, do more missions to get more money to get bigger ships, etc.

Although I do need to check back in. They seem to be releasing new features.

[Dice]

I do think No Man's Sky is going to be a let down in that regard. If I had to rate this between casual(Star Citizen) and Hardcore(Elite, Orbiter) I'd put this more into the casual category with Star Citizen. Again, I haven't played it, but I have followed it fairly closely and they don't seem to have the level of customization or freedom that Elite allows. My problem with Elite was that it tried to be Orbiter without giving me the chance to learn anything without being hassled. Docking is a fairly simple process for example and yet even in the tutorial I'm being hassled for not doing it quickly enough - just let me dock once, see the procedure all the way through without rushing me, accuracy first, speed second. It's not a bad game, I just realized the game was far too impatient with me and that wasn't going to come to a good conclusion.

Docking is fun. When docking in a Python that is powered down, dropping heat sinks and going at a speed that is not at all safe (Smuggling) that's when the game is most fun. I wish there where more situations that put your flying to the test but sadly that is about the only real time.

[Haymitch]

Docking is fun. When docking in a Python that is powered down, dropping heat sinks and going at a speed that is not at all safe (Smuggling) that's when the game is most fun. I wish there where more situations that put your flying to the test but sadly that is about the only real time.

I really can't think of any game that really pushes flying skill/ability other than the various simulators out there. I've played a few of them, Orbiter is the only one I've stuck around with though.

[Inkidu]

Lionhead Studios Likely to Close, Fable Legends Cancelled

Ouch...

[Inkidu]

Mass Effect Andromeda Loses Senior Editor

[LoosCannon]

Not surprised by Lionhead to be honest. They really never recaptured the magic of Fable. Andromeda, though, that does worry me.

[Inkidu]

Not surprised by Lionhead to be honest. They really never recaptured the magic of Fable. Andromeda, though, that does worry me.

I know the senior editor probably didn't leave the industry over Andromeda, but I still can't help but think this ME game is the sinking ship to so many rats. :P

[Laughing Hyena]

Editors fortunately aren't writers. So there is still some measure of hope.

But yeah Peters ship was sinking fast after such debacles.

[Inkidu]

Editors fortunately aren't writers. So there is still some measure of hope.

But yeah Peters ship was sinking fast after such debacles.

A good editor is worth like three good writers. If they'd had a little more supervision 3 might not have needed an extended ending. Protection from editors does no one good.

EDIT: Plus they already lost their head writer.

[Laughing Hyena]

A good editor is worth like three good writers. If they'd had a little more supervision 3 might not have needed an extended ending. Protection from editors does no one good.

EDIT: Plus they already lost their head writer.

So a couple of red flags got thrown up eh? Considering how hard Hudson pushed for ME3's ending I agree. A good editor is worth the weight in gold. But I also know that an editor can be just as bad. Editorial mandates can kill a story just as badly as an unchecked writer.

[Inkidu]

So a couple of red flags got thrown up eh? Considering how hard Hudson pushed for ME3's ending I agree. A good editor is worth the weight in gold. But I also know that an editor can be just as bad. Editorial mandates can kill a story just as badly as an unchecked writer.

And they've done and gone fired a writer and an editor. :P

Not good.

[Haymitch]

I don't really see this as a net positive or a net negative as far as Andromeda goes. As far as Bioware bleeding talent, yes they are losing senior figures. Time for the less senior figures to rise. Bioware promoted the departed folks from within their own ranks and they achieved great things. I'm willing to withhold judgement, it is worrisome sure, but Andromeda likely already has the story set and edited, they've got a year to fix whatever went wrong(likely a game play issue, not a story issue, I'll confess, I'm assuming here, but it would be truly odd if the story was suddenly rewritten this late into development - look at Destiny for how that turns out.)

I'll get Andromeda day one, I don't think I'll be disappointed, but then Dragon Age 2 did happen, so it's within the realm of possibility, just not a realm I choose to believe exists because an editor and a lead writer left - if they're professionals, they would've left after their job was done. Which I wholeheartedly believe these individuals are.

[Skynet]

Recently a game on Steam called Bear Simulator came out.  It was the result of a successful $100,000 KickStarter campaign. Kotaku Link.

However, PewDiePie recently did a video on it and did not like it at all.  This resulted in quite a bit of drama, culminating in Bear Simulator's developer calling it quits.

As much as I'm not a PewDiePie fan, apparently there's been problems with the game and lack of communication/content.  Beyond that, watching videos of the game made it seem very bare-bones, yet rather impressive for one's first game.  Still, naming your game "_____ Simulator" on Steam these days is asking for trouble due to the huge amount of shitty undeveloped ones sharing a similar title. This will negatively predispose people to your work before picking it up.

[Inkidu]

Recently a game on Steam called Bear Simulator came out.  It was the result of a successful $100,000 KickStarter campaign. Kotaku Link.

However, PewDiePie recently did a video on it and did not like it at all.  This resulted in quite a bit of drama, culminating in Bear Simulator's developer calling it quits.

As much as I'm not a PewDiePie fan, apparently there's been problems with the game and lack of communication/content.  Beyond that, watching videos of the game made it seem very bare-bones, yet rather impressive for one's first game.  Still, naming your game "_____ Simulator" on Steam these days is asking for trouble due to the huge amount of shitty undeveloped ones sharing a similar title. This will negatively predispose people to your work before picking it up.

There's also a problem with small to one-man dev teams not being able to take any amount of criticism anyway.

[Haymitch]

Anyone else playing the Division on PC?

[SinXAzgard21]

Anyone else playing the Division on PC?

I am as well as Outlaw_Fallen.

[Haymitch]

Draguzul is my tag. I don't play as much as I want to play... lol

[Skynet]

The newest Star Fox games are offering an invincible mode triggered a lot of negativity. It's optional.

I don't have strong opinions, but I recall a similar option and reaction over the White Tanuki suit in Super Mario 3D world.

[Skynet]

Haven't updated this thing in a long time, wow!

Anyways, March 30th Square Enix had a big event for Final Fantasy. It's a long video and I haven't watched the whole thing, but here it is (video proper begins at 5:50 mark).

Skip to 1:02:38 to the presentation proper.

[TotesRider]

Uppers isn't canceled and Takaki has stated his wishes to localize it in the west.
LONG LIVE BEAT EM UPS!!!

[Skynet]

Also, the largest vanilla server for World of WarCraft has been shut down by Blizzard today.

A vanilla server is basically playing World of WarCraft how it was back in the early days of 2004, without all the expansions. Blizzard hasn't been very fond of this in spite of its popularity of 150,000 active players strong. Since the people running it aren't making money off of it, this decision hasn't left a good taste in the mouths of many people.

[Far eyes]

They do that sporadically, it almost seems like its something they do every time somebody wakes up and goes "oh wait whats the date"

[Revelation]

I know a couple of people utterly outraged over the nostalrius shutdown. I don't think it was wrong of blizz to shut them down - it is in their legal rights and they are obligated to protect their IP. Still, the server lasted for over a year and it was quite huge.

[Skynet]

Final Fantasy IX is now for sale on Steam.

It's pretty good so far, and doesn't feel like the hatchet job that previous FF games on Steam were (see III's reviews for a good example). Right now I clocked 5 hours into it, and so far I've not encountered any bugs, crashes, or playability problems. They also implemented new features, such as an alternate character naming screen which looks nice, and a mouse-based movement mode where you click on an area and Zidane goes to it.

Being one of my favorite Final Fantasies, I'm really happy to see that Square-Enix didn't fuck this one up.

[TotesRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLpMVqRYxHA

A really interesting game showed up on Greenlight. Basically like a third person version of For Honor but with what what looks like Character Action type mechanics. Color me impressed. And with it being an Asian group, I can hope it doesn't have Arkham style combat. Yes apparently i'm one of the few that doesn't like that style of combat that much <~<

[TotesRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHqhxGE-IyA

MIRA TRAILER!

[CaptainNexus616]

You know I haven't really been excited for an FF game besides VII in a long time? X was my second favorite and I never bothered with XIII but....I played the demo for XV...

I

Am

Hyped

It was really fun and the graphics really feel like what I have been waiting for to see appear on my PS4 since I bought it.

It played like a Kingdom Hearts game

The story while a classic cliche scenario seems to have a solid and good base to work with.

Plus I really am excited to see what it will be like travelling the world in the Regilla car in this game.

[Oniya]

https://www.vg247.com/2016/04/27/dark-souls-3-director-already-working-on-a-new-ip/

Dark Souls 3 will be the last of the series.

[Zekromnomnom]

I haven't been following many big games much lately, but I have kind of checked in on FF XV every once in a while. But I apparently didn't look for quite a bit because the one trailer with all the driving? Pretty surprising to me. But KH-like battles sounds right up my alley. I thought that was a more natural direction to go for the series than whatever XIII did. That felt like they were trying to be real time without actually doing it, you know?

But I probably won't have a PS4 for another year at least.

[Oniya]

Nostalrius admins invited to meeting with Blizzard.

Not my wheelhouse of gaming, but I thought others might be interested.

[Inkidu]

New 40K Dawn of War to be revealed tomorrow

In the grim, dark future of May 3rd, there will only be war!

alt:

For the Emperor, one more time!

alt:

'Ere we go! 'Ere we go! 'Ere we go!

[TotesRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKZtJmt85ns

New Persona Trailer showing off some new playable characters. I CAN'T GOD DAMN WAAAAAAIIIIIIT!!!

[Revelation]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKZtJmt85ns

New Persona Trailer showing off some new playable characters. I CAN'T GOD DAMN WAAAAAAIIIIIIT!!!

The wait for it is going to be so damn agonizing!

[HairyHeretic]

New Battlefield is going to be a WW1 setting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7nRTF2SowQ

[Lustful Bride]

New Battlefield is going to be a WW1 setting

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7nRTF2SowQ

Call of Duty went to the future while Battlefield went to the Past.....fascinating.


I personally was hoping the next game would have been set during the Korean War.

(I heard a rumor that it could have involved the 65th Infantry Regiment, the last unit to sucesfully make a Bayonett charge in history. Their story alone is an amazing last stand, that had an unhappy ending with them being mass court martialed due to "cowardice" and possibly from racism in the superior ranks.)

[HairyHeretic]

I was watching the stream of it. There'd been rumours for a while it was a WW1 thing, due to an accidental bit of info leaked on some game store. I can't remember exactly what it was now. Game is out in October.

I saw the CoD trailer the other day as well, and it looks interesting.

[Lustful Bride]

Apparently the man from the Battlefield 1 trailer wearing the amazing cape is going to be part of a future planned DLC involving the Harlem Hellfighters.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

UghI hate how so much Good content gets cutout and made into DLC to squeeze more money out of you. I already bought the game, just give me the full thing! We should only have to pay chump change for cosmetic stuff and pay a lot of money for Expansion packs. I don't usually complain about this kind of stuff but im starting to get real sick of their cheap money grubbing tactics.

[Excelsior]

I'm sort of sick of how this generation and the past number of years have been all about futuristic junk. COD: Infinite Warfare doesn't seem much different than Blacks Op 3, just going out in space (which I agree seems interesting watching the trailer, space combat that is) but I been dying for a revisit to WWII (or at least some historical conflict). Mainly because I gotten sick of a lot of the gimmicky combat in Multiplayer that is just short of  ripping off Halo. This is funny because about a decade or so ago, I was complaining how I'm sick of seeing how these WWII FPS and wanted more modern. Now I'm complaining I'm sick of seeing all these high-tech FPS, go figure.

But this is actually my biggest wish come true when it comes to FPS. I been dying for a legitimate A+ Title that is WWI FPS. Watching that Battlefield Trailer, I know what game I'm getting in October. WWI is such a fascinating war. The war came at a time where killing efficiency of weapons outpaced the development of tactics and medicine. WWI is more than just trench warfare, because outside the Western Front, there was a lot of cavalry battles and movement in other theatres.

Hopefully the combat comes down to more skill based and straight shooting  that I have come to miss from the genre as of late.

[Mathim]

Don't know if anyone else here plays, but it seems like the Paper Mario franchise might be irreparably warped by Nintendo. Instead of getting back into its roots, the newest entry, Color Splash, is going to be more of a sequel to Sticker Star rather than a return to form. But then, it's on a handheld and not a console, so maybe the next one they put out on the Wii U or the NX will be a true Paper Mario 3. But I won't hold my breath.

[Inkidu]

I always wanted an Assassin Creed game set in World War I.

I would love to see more FPS that deal with the Cold War.

[Far eyes]

So i have to say i have no horse in this race, i dont really care about CoD i dont play it and i kind of burned out on FPS some place around when CS 1.6 was new and i tried being something like half professional in it. If you ever want to hate a game, thats a good way to do it for me it killed the whole FPS thing even. But off topic

So apparently today the new CoD trailer hit over 1mill dislikes, making it one of the most disliked videos on youtube. I am going to go out on a limb and say people are not digging it? 

[Inkidu]

So i have to say i have no horse in this race, i dont really care about CoD i dont play it and i kind of burned out on FPS some place around when CS 1.6 was new and i tried being something like half professional in it. If you ever want to hate a game, thats a good way to do it for me it killed the whole FPS thing even. But off topic

So apparently today the new CoD trailer hit over 1mill dislikes, making it one of the most disliked videos on youtube. I am going to go out on a limb and say people are not digging it?

How many likes does it have? I bet the million is just haters hatin'.

I mean I don't have a horse in the CoD race either (I'll buy them for around 12 bucks because I know I'm not getting a whole lot out of them single-player-wise), but I think it's just auto-hate.

I bet the CoD people are laughing all the way to the bank every year.

[Far eyes]

Let me actually check right now

Like: 259,382  Dislike: 1,189,666

I would normally agree, but dont know it has to at least worry you as a company if you go "And this is our new thing" and the reaction is a massive "BOOOOO"

[Inkidu]

Let me actually check right now

I would normally agree, but dont know it has to at least worry you as a company if you go "And this is our new thing" and the reaction is a massive "BOOOOO"

I bet a lot the booers are buyers too.

[Far eyes]

And they have been to some extent, i actually do not disagree wit you but this feels like it might be more then the usual "Well i am not going to buy it" I just find it interesting but honestly i want to see what happens with the actual sales numbers when it comes out.

[Oniya]

Activision has something to say about it all.

Apparently, something similar happened with Black Ops II, which went on to become a best-seller.

[Far eyes]

And thats why i dont pay much attention to this kind of "Will not buy it" normally but i found it kind of interesting to watch when it comes out, if its real or if its one of those things that evaporates. Just because the negative reaction seems large enough that if there is any substance to it it should be a noticeable effect

[Revelation]

It just makes me think of what happened the last time people said they were going to boycott a Call of duty game en masse

[Far eyes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXqZdx7RvZU

He funny on the timing

[JoanieSappho]

Well, I'm fuller of hype than I have been for a Pokemon game in a while. November can not come soon enough!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r0_F-_ClcQ

More indepth/spoilery trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn25hijDL7c

[Skynet]

Sounds like they ran out of colors for their titles!

Still, Sun & Moon are nice names for the new games.

[Swordsman18]

http://www.polygon.com/2016/5/10/11650222/mass-effect-andromeda-delay-early-2017
Polygon
Samit Sarkar
Mass Effect: Andromeda now set for early 2017 launch
A few months longer

http://www.polygon.com/2016/5/10/11649244/stellaris-record-breaking-launch-sales-paradox-interactive
Polygon
Allegra Frank
Stellaris becomes Paradox Interactive's fastest seller ever, one...
The company celebrates record-breaking release day

http://www.polygon.com/2016/5/10/11648260/final-fantasy-10-pc-final-fantasy-10-2-pc-steam-release-date
Polygon
Allegra Frank
Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2 are coming to Steam this week
Tidus to laugh up a storm on PC for the first time

[Inkidu]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/05/10/disney-appears-to-pull-plug-on-infinity-series-costing-company-147-million.aspx

Disney Infinity is no more and cost them 147 million USD.

I thought it was a a fad. Toys you couldn't really play with, and a game with expensive add ons. Just didn't seem to work. Wonder if the others are set to follow.

[Skynet]

Final Fantasy X and X-2 is coming to Steam in a mere 2 days.

I'm very excited, but as usual I'll wait a week or so to see the reviews coming in and if the PC version's any good or not.

[Swordsman18]

Not to be a spoil sport but I posted that two posts ago...

OT: All of the MMO News from the past week
http://massivelyop.com/2016/05/08/mmo-week-in-review-the-star-trek-online-expansion-schism-may-8-2016/

[Skynet]

Not to be a spoil sport but I posted that two posts ago...

OT: All of the MMO News from the past week
http://massivelyop.com/2016/05/08/mmo-week-in-review-the-star-trek-online-expansion-schism-may-8-2016/

Sorry, I guess I missed it over the other links.

[TotesRider]

http://www.destructoid.com/ea-pegs-titanfall-2-for-a-2016-release-360410.phtml

Titanfall 2 releases this year around fall. I rather enjoyed the first game (I love robots...) but there's definitely some neat things you could add onto the gameplay. Like giant swords for the robots... that shit is mad hype.

[TotesRider]

And in crowd funding news, a little project has popped up called Rotten Core which is based around a couple original characters made for MUGEN (for the non fight game peeps, it's basically MAKE A FIGHTER). They put up a  trailer with some gameplay and while it does look very mugeny (the hit sparks and SNKish sound effects are big hints), apparently one of the big goals is to work with another team to put the characters in a new engine.

On a personal note... I dig the artstyle, that sort of grimey punk rockish look. Aaand it looks like they have some interesting mechanics in place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX2UwF1KdjU

[Revelation]

http://www.destructoid.com/ea-pegs-titanfall-2-for-a-2016-release-360410.phtml

Titanfall 2 releases this year around fall. I rather enjoyed the first game (I love robots...) but there's definitely some neat things you could add onto the gameplay. Like giant swords for the robots... that shit is mad hype.

There actually are electro machetes in titanfall 2.
I am interested in the new pokemon game but I will wait until word of mouth from players. I was kinda disappointed by XY, but maybe that was just due to them being the first of the lot on a new handheld? The full models instead of chibi style look nice, I will admit.I'd kill for a hard mode for the game though, something you can opt into at the start!

[TotesRider]

There actually are electro machetes in titanfall 2.

... Metal...

[Revelation]

The big thing I think titanfall suffered from was a lack of content. Lack of mecha, 6v6, map packs initially fragmenting a small player base, and lack of things to really get in the game. I think if they give the players more things to get, the game should be more popular. I just don't want them to pull another Battlefront since apparently that tanked.

[Far eyes]

No idea Titan Fall 1 was a thing for like... a week it felt like... it was probably at least a month

[TotesRider]

So I just now found out about Disney's whole Licensing deal and their game publishing stuff...
My heart goes out to the peeps who lost their job on Disney Infinity but at the same time....

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 4 *clap clap clapclapclap* MARVEL VS CAPCOM 4 *clap clap clapclapclap*
Please please let this be a reality later on down the line! Like when Infinity War part 2 is about to release, that'd be like the PERFECT time!

[Oreo]

For those who may have missed the announcements:

https://youtu.be/ezJgYb7pvCs

*headdesks* I changed my preorder from Day One edition, to Delux just to get the Kingsglaive CG movie.

[Skynet]

Trailer comes out for Deus Ex: Mechanical Apartheid.

Zero gameplay footage, seems more appropriate for a movie.

[Skynet]

Mighty No. 9 comes out with the cringiest trailer yet:

[Skynet]

Lots of Overwatch porn is being hit with DMCA takedowns on various major websites.

In one case one of the animators received a notice from PornHub of this, where the DMCA was requested not from Blizzard but Irdeto, a digital security company which works with various corporations. PC Gamer alleges that Blizzard is in fact responsible for Irdeto's actions, primarily because a lot of the animations use models ripped directly from the game as opposed to replicas.

Now intellectual property isn't my strong suit, but it seems counter-intuitive. I guess the real question is if said animators are making money off of it. To my knowledge in-game models can be copyrighted, which may be the reason for the DMCA takedowns.

Either way I think it's a futile effort; like the Streisand Effect this will only spur on more porn as a counter-attack.

[Skynet]

Trailer for Pokemon Sun and Moon set in a Hawaiian Islands-inspired region.

Pretty interesting. It seems that the last series of games are exploring more diverse locales. X & Y was inspired by France, Black & White New York City, and so on.

[TotesRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LSBQngBLb0

Dragon Quest Builders is coming westward for PS4 and Vita (SQUEEEEE). I played a bit of my friend's Japanese copy and honestly i'm liking it alot more than actual minecraft.
Noooooow can we please get Heroes 2 for PS4 and Vita square? Pweetty pwease with cherry on top?

[TotesRider]

https://www.destructoid.com/looks-like-xseed-is-localizing-another-akiba-s-game-366154.phtml

XSEED is apparently going to localize the next Akiba's game. While I loved Akiba's Trip (the last one they Localized for PS3, Vita and then PS4 and Steam) i'm not super sure about the change in direction. Call me a perv but I loved the whole clothes stripping combat and using common household items as weapons. It was just super goofy fun

[Skynet]

https://www.destructoid.com/looks-like-xseed-is-localizing-another-akiba-s-game-366154.phtml

XSEED is apparently going to localize the next Akiba's game. While I loved Akiba's Trip (the last one they Localized for PS3, Vita and then PS4 and Steam) i'm not super sure about the change in direction. Call me a perv but I loved the whole clothes stripping combat and using common household items as weapons. It was just super goofy fun

I've been debating whether or not to get that on Steam, but the major things holding me back are

1.) my friends will see it in my Library

and

2.) I heard mixed things about the gameplay elements. The game may be funny, but I want to have fun playing it too.

[TotesRider]

Never fear... my friends know full well i'm a massive Weeb.

As for the gameplay elements, they're a bit tricky and stiff at times when it comes to the combat but once you got it all figured out then it's pretty fun.

[Revelation]

http://gematsu.com/2016/06/final-fantasy-xii-zodiac-age-announced-ps4

A redone, remastered FFXII Zodiac job edition is coming out for the PS4.

[TotesRider]

Couple of neat-o (in my opinion) Pre-E3 stuff

1. http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/06/e3-2016-saints-row-developer-announces-agents-of-mayhem-a-ign-first
Volition announces Agents of Mayhem. There isn't much gameplay to be seen outside of screen shots but i'm a big lover of Saints Row and their style of Open World games so color me interested.

2. http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/6/11868180/dead-rising-4-leak-images-e3-2016
Dead Rising 4 has been possibly leaked and apparently stars (MAH BOI) Frank West. There's a couple rumors going around as well such as it taking place in Willamette Mall (where the first game was set) meaning it could be a remake of the first game. But if that is true then more than likely it'll be an Xbone exclusive unless somehow it gets to come to PS4 and possibly Pc... even with how Disastrous the PC port of 3 was...
And now the Frank West Rap because I fucking LOVE this series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwuIkswwOTg

[Oreo]

http://gematsu.com/2016/06/final-fantasy-xii-zodiac-age-announced-ps4

A redone, remastered FFXII Zodiac job edition is coming out for the PS4.

*has a freak out attack* This is going on pre-order as soon as they allow. I was hoping they would do this. ;D

[Revelation]

Persona 5 finally has a release date for the US: Valentines day, 2017

I'm both super fucking excited for a release date and super sad that it's not 2016.

[TotesRider]

Persona 5 finally has a release date for the US: Valentines day, 2017

I'm both super fucking excited for a release date and super sad that it's not 2016.

Super pumped but mad butthurt
Preordering that collector's edition as soon as i can

[Formless]

http://kotaku.com/jon-snow-is-the-pouty-face-of-the-enemy-in-call-of-duty-1781812434

We'll be fighting an enemy that knows nothing ...

[Oniya]

http://kotaku.com/jon-snow-is-the-pouty-face-of-the-enemy-in-call-of-duty-1781812434

We'll be fighting an enemy that knows nothing ...

That should make it easy.  But remember to pack a sweater.

[Deamonbane]

Ubisoft is going to release a non-fantasy medieval hack and slash called For Honor.

I don't know. Ubisoft has had some bad releases before, but this looks really interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1HkuGUaNBY

[Formless]

That should make it easy.  But remember to pack a sweater.

Haha, Indeed. I just hope he doesn't have any red priestesses around.

[Skynet]

All this Game of Thrones talk makes me feel left out of the loop. :-[

Anyway, dumping a load of E3 trailers here. You can see the rest at this link. I picked the ones of prime interest to me:

Injustice 2

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Gwent: the Witcher Card Game

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8

EA Star Wars

Final Fantasy XII: the Zodiac Age

Dishonored 2

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Mathim]

This is the only one I cared about:

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

[Inkidu]

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/resident_evil_7_biohazard/b/playstation4/archive/2016/06/14/resident-evil-7-biohazard-screens.aspx

RE 7! :D

[Oniya]

All this Game of Thrones talk makes me feel left out of the loop. :-[

If it makes you feel any better, I work almost entirely from memes. The last GRRM work that I indulged in was a movie called 'Nightflyers'.

[Skynet]

Spider-Man

Insomniac makes some good stuff, so I have faith for this game.

[Inkidu]

Mighty No. 9 seems to be crashing and burning. Not everyone hates it of course, but it's not doing anywhere near well.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/06/21/mighty-no-9-backers-struggling-with-broken-codes-and-three-years-of-disappointment.aspx

[Skynet]

A demo for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is out for KickStarter backers.

Looks fun.

[Skynet]

Two YouTubers running a gambling channel for Counter Strike: Go are in some hot water for shady acts.

They both promoted it while pretending that they're unaffiliated.

It's also bad because apparently a huge base of said gambling site are underage players. Legally speaking it's not gambling because direct money isn't being exchanged, they're still making a profit off of it.

And Steam may be in trouble for allowing it to occur on their platform.

[Skynet]

Valve is banning gambling sites from using items from games they sell on their stores.

Semi-related, Warner Bros got hammered by the FTC when they paid several prominent YouTubers to give positive reviews for Shadows of Mordor without adequately disclosing said arrangement to viewers.

Regarding PewDiePie, he did put a disclaimer in the description section of his YouTube video, but such disclaimers will not appear when said YouTube video is put on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites.

[Oniya]

Valve is banning gambling sites from using items from games they sell on their stores.

I wonder if this is in reaction to the Counterstrike: Lotto thing that just blew up this month.

[Skynet]

I wonder if this is in reaction to the Counterstrike: Lotto thing that just blew up this month.

I'm definitely sure about this. h3h3's takedown of the whole thing managed to reach major news websites; a lot of scrutiny was going to go Valve's way as well as Tmartn and the other YouTube owner of the lotto.

[Oniya]

(Added link to my earlier post so people know what I was talking about.)

[TotesRider]

Lesbian Soul Eater aka Valkyrie Drive is coming westward this september

http://www.siliconera.com/2016/07/14/valkyrie-drive-bhikkhuni-release-north-america-europe-september-16-2016/

[TotesRider]

New King of Fighters 14 trailer. This time featuring Team South Town (Billy Kane, Heine and Geese)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riv38qJteXI

[Markus]

Any Deus Ex fans here? I'm looking forward to the latest game in the series, Mankind Divided releasing in August.

[Skynet]

Yooka-Laylee's pre-Alpha Toybox came out recently.

[Skynet]

In the offices of Konami Headquarters...

Shareholder: "Oh shit, the fan outrage at Metal Gear Pachinko is breaking the Internet!"

CEO: "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Consult the Idea Machine!"

CEO grabs a baseball bat and opens the trapdoor in the ceiling. The bloated, rotting carcass of a horse descends by rope.

With a strong swing a paper envelope falls from the horse's mouth.

Letter: "Lay the franchise to rest."

Shareholder: "No that's horrible advice! Beat it harder!"

CEO savagely swings at the dead horse again and again. For a while, nothing comes out. Then a single, piss-stained envelops falls to the ground.

Letter: "Zombie Survival Spin-off."

The CEO and Shareholders throw up their arms in celebration, dancing about the studio. The camera pans outside to reveal that the office is a single-story featureless building between a gas station and liquor store. A homeless man warming his hands by a trash can fire looks through the window, shaking his head and saying how this used to be a nice part of town

[Lustful Bride]

In the offices of Konami Headquarters...

Shareholder: "Oh shit, the fan outrage at Metal Gear Pachinko is breaking the Internet!"

CEO: "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Consult the Idea Machine!"

CEO grabs a baseball bat and opens the trapdoor in the ceiling. The bloated, rotting carcass of a horse descends by rope.

With a strong swing a paper envelope falls from the horse's mouth.

Letter: "Lay the franchise to rest."

Shareholder: "No that's horrible advice! Beat it harder!"

CEO savagely swings at the dead horse again and again. For a while, nothing comes out. Then a single, piss-stained envelops falls to the ground.

Letter: "Zombie Survival Spin-off."

The CEO and Shareholders throw up their arms in celebration, dancing about the studio. The camera pans outside to reveal that the office is a single-story featureless building between a gas station and liquor store. A homeless man warming his hands by a trash can fire looks through the window, shaking his head and saying how this used to be a nice part of town

*Laughs madly* Oh God that is hilarious!

[Crixus]

Sony is increasing the price of PlayStation Plus Next Month

Personally I haven't been too happy with PS+ for awhile now, especially with my slow transition into PC gaming, and this price increase isn't really sitting well with me. Might just let my subscription run out when the time comes

[Inkidu]

Any Deus Ex fans here? I'm looking forward to the latest game in the series, Mankind Divided releasing in August.

Pre-release reviews (well not now as it came out today) are not hot.

It's not bad, but it's not even as good as the very flawed gem of Human Revolution. A heavy-handed story, dumb AI, and a stealth focus without actually having to get Stealth upgrades are some common issues.

Also somehow whatever passes for boss fights is worse than pre-Director's Cut Human Revolution.

[Skynet]

Swords, apparent time travel, shrinking...and what appear to be monsters. Unless these are non-canon maps or something, has Call of Duty gone full sci-fi/fantasy now?