The Replacers are back and it looks like we’re about to get ourselves from new Call of Duty DLC for Black Ops II! The new DLC is called Uprising and it will arrive for Xbox Live users (sorry PS3 and Wii U peeps) on April 16th which means not only are we being treated to a double XP weekend, but we’re getting a new Replacers ad with the always looking for a job Peter Stormare. Looks like he brought along a new friend, Mr. J.B. Smoove from Curb Your Enthusiasm amongst other things. While not as great as the first one (if anything because that one was brilliant in that we didn’t know what to expect), it’s still a funny ad to check out. Naturally, it’s embedded just below for your enjoyment:
Alright, onward with the DLC news. We are getting four new maps called Magma, Studio, Vertigo and Encore. Magma takes places in an Asian village that is being overrun by an active volcano. This introduces the element of lava bearing down on the people and some short and long-range points of attack. We also get Encore which takes place in an amphitheater that is wide open with the center stage being touted as the best position. Personally, this will probably be a sniper haven because of its wide open space so we’ll have to see how it all goes down. Vertigo follows as it’s a skyscraper level and it instantly reminds me of more dangerous Hotel combined with the Die Rise zombie map from the last DLC for Call of Duty. I like the idea of having to jump from space to space and it’ll probably be hilarious to see one Brian Kronner fall off the map repeatedly. The next map, which is destined to be my favorite one judging from how they are selling it, is called Studio. It takes place at a movie studio back lot where all the sets are up from the various genres of movies. But did catch my eye was it’s reference to Firing Range, that awesome level from Call of Duty: Black Ops. Seems to be a good one to check out for sure.
Of course we have to mention the zombie map Mob of the Dead. This map will actually take place in a prison from the 1950s that resembles (if not, an exact replica) of the famous Alcatraz prison. It will also feature four actors portraying old school gangsters like Michael Madsen, Ray Liotta, Chazz Palminteri and Joe Pantoliano that were planning to escape, but get the unfortunate luck of having to blast a few zombies on the way out of the prison. There will be a storyline involved with building a plane out of parts to help escape the island so could we actually get an ending for once? Time will tell but I’m already excited at the prospect of playing this map. There’s also a new mode called Afterlife that is being introduced to where if your character dies, they can see through walls and interact with objects your living teammates cannot touch. Also you get to fire electricity from your hands to battle zombies as well as powerful some perk machines. So this should get interesting…
All in all, this should be good times and you can check the below video to get more details on the Uprising DLC. Until then, we shall see you on April 16th, 2013 on Xbox Live. I guarantee you’ll see the Grizzly Bomb team online and swearing and throwing controllers complaining that was effin’ BS whenever we get killed.
For the past several days the internet has been aflutter with anticipation for Sony’s press conference, which promised an announcement to excite the masses. Sony had been pretty outspoken about letting Microsoft take the first step in announcing a next-gen console so when they dropped word that they’d be leading the race, hosting a major reveal event tonight, it came as a happy surprise. I’ve frequented the PS4/Xbox 720 rumor mills over the past couple months and considering they’re slated to hit stores in an estimated 8 – 10 months, I feel like we’re entitled to some cold hard facts and previews to drool over. At 6:00 PM this evening (EST), Sony was kind enough to acquiesce. Here is a recap of the Sony Meeting 2013.
Defying all expectation, the meeting actually began right on time kicking off with the typical video montage fanfare before our emcee, Sony President Andrew House, took the stage. Taking no time at all for formalities, House immediately began talking about the PS Vita and its mobility and flexibility. He went on to stress the importance of cross-play and being always connected. Following a brief recap of Playstation’s success and failures leading up to present, House indicated that the current state of connectivity and cross-platform interaction demanded a new console. This new console, of course, is the PS4.
At this point I’m feeling a little anxious – talk of mobile gaming and ‘always-on’ systems typically means Facebook integration and the sort of added features that become more irksome peripheral ideas than anything else. Being able to post my new platinum trophy on a friend’s wall is a nice little gimmick, sure, but I don’t want this to be the focus of my Playstation 4. My first impression is one of tentative concern. This could be a positive way of telling us all use of their games requires online connectivity – a verification process that could cause whole experiences to be ruined by a lapsing internet connection.
House then introduced Mark Cerny, the ‘lead system architect’ of the PS4, to talk about the Playstation 4’s inner workings. The Playstation 4 is very definitely a powerful machine, what Cerny described as a ‘super-charged PC’. The specs listed exactly as spoken:
CPU: x86
8GB RAM
CPU almost 2 Teraflops
System memory GDDR5
Highly enhanced PC GPU
Shortly after going over the innards of the next Sony console, Cerny revealed the brand new Dualshock controller, which closely matched some concepts that have been floating around the internet recently.
Photo: playstationgang.com
This is purely an aesthetic nitpicky thing, but I’m not a fan of the new controller. The raised edges on the analog sticks are ugly, as is the touchpad, and anyway I’ve always loved the consistent model for the Dualshock. I’m sure after 4 months of owning one the Dualshock 3 will look like a sad piece of archaic technology, but to fresh eyes this is a visual step down.
Cerny then gave a superficial demonstration of the tech by showing off a real-time demo of the new Unreal engine, which featured two immense demons causing large-scale destruction in a snowy environment. The visuals don’t immediately stand out as a leap forward, but if you know where to look you can tell the graphics are definitely improved.
And shortly after he revealed his next title, a new IP called Knack which, despite its cartoonish, simple visual style showcased an impressive amount of fluid, moving objects (The protagonist himself is made up of several dozen of these).
Cerny continued to talk about the power behind the PS4, mentioning there will be virtually zero time between boot-up and game start. Similarly, downloads, streaming and sharing content will supposedly be nearly instant on the PS4’s system. In fact, Cerney stated demos can be started even before the download is complete.
The kind of speed and power indicated seems far beyond anything I’d expect from a console gaming platform. Beyond what I’m willing to believe as well, until I can see it in action (at least this is what I’m trying to tell myself between squee-ing).
The next speaker brought on stage was Dave Perry, one of the founders of Gaikai. Perry began by saying that Gaikai will be the catalyst for Sony’s new all-encompassing social structure. Facebook and Ustream will be integrated into this system, and additional features will include spectating or even taking control of a friend’s games. Reinforcing the idea of always-on and persistent play, Perry talked about reducing latency between the system and controller, and furthermore between the console and the Vita – that’s right, there will be remote play between the PS4 and the Sony handheld. Perry also revealed that in the future Gaikai will hopefully be used to stream older games, all the way back to the PS1, effectively serving as all backwards compatibility for the PS4.
Some of these social features are actually very cool. The Dualshock 4’s ‘share’ button makes it very easy to record video and share it with the friends, and spectating/joining games is something that has always been looming somewhere in the future of online play. I doubt I’ll ever do much with this stuff, but I think it’s neat, and hopefully it’ll do a lot to strengthen the PS community and brand.
After Cerny left the stage, the game demos began. The first official debutwas Killzone: Shadowfall and I think I summarized it pretty well on Facebook while watching it live:
Killzone is one of the titles we always see at Playstation announcements and while each game does a fantastic job showcasing the power of the console, the franchise is unavoidably boring. I’ve tried on multiple occasions to try to get into the series and never once enjoyed myself. That being said, despite immense levels of indifference coursing through every fiber of my being, the trailer looks gorgeous.
Next up was Evolution Studios who announced a new driving game called Drive Club. The game looks like it will take full advantage of PS4’s social features to take Need For Speed’s Autolog to a much higher level. Additionally, the amount of detail and care that has supposedly gone into the car models is near Peter-Jackson-Lord-of-the-Rings level stuff. All in all, though I’m not a racing game fan, this looks like a great direction to take the genre.
Following that, Sucker Punch showed the trailer for Infamous: Second Son. Infamous is another series that, for the life of me, I can’t get into. Friends of mine and critics I respect all like this series but I found the first game very generic and never could convince myself to play (Admittedly, I hear it’s far superior to the first one). The intro from Sucker Punch’s speaker sounded intriguing and actually reminded me a lot of Watch Dogs, however the teaser was just a lot of super powered fighting and douchebaggy protagonist mugging in front of the camera. Like Killzone: Shadowfall, the trailer looked great and I’ll probably never play it.
For the sake of length here, I’m going to list some of the other announcements and move on:
Jonathan Blow’s new game following Braid. The Witness.
David Cage came on stage (My cue to take a break) and showed a tech demo from Quantic Dream.
Media Molecule showed off something with PS Move and puppets?
Capcom announced they’re working on a new engine and showcased a work in progress, tentatively titled Deep Down. Looks insane.
Square Enix showedAgni’s Philosophy and announced a new Final Fantasy game is under development.
Following all of that, Ubisoft took the stage and showed a new trailer for the much anticipated Watch Dogs. This was not explicitly focused on any kind of narrative aspect, as we saw in the initial gameplay reveal in 2012 which featured a shootout outside a nightclub, but rather seemed to be a much smaller, more incidental interaction with some NPCs in the open world. And while I’d say this demo isn’t as exciting as that other one, I think it reveals a lot more about the potential this game has to blow the doors down on the limits we’ve grown accustomed to in video games.
Next, Blizzard made an appearance to announceDiablo III will be ported to PS3 and PS4 in the future, and finally Bungie rounded out the night with a brief look at Destiny, making it clear that now that they’ve achieved their independence from Microsoft, they will support Sony just as strongly as their previous overlords.
With that, we got a closing and a holiday 2013 release and that’s all for the Sony Meeting 2013!
I went into this press conference expecting long-winded PR nonsense interspersed with some mind blowing game previews, and instead I got pretty much the opposite – some really amazing tech was described and shown, Sony made very clear they’ve made a conscious effort to make it easy to develop games on the PS4 (The PS3 was notoriously difficult to work with for developers) and they are still dedicated to making real games rather than peripherals. Meanwhile the games revealed, for the most part, met expectations on the level. Still a mystery? Pricing and what the goddamn thing even looks like.
With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 almost certainly hitting stores by 2014 and a whopping seven years since the beginning of this console generation, you’d expect Microsoft and Sony to be limping toward the finish line, cranking out shovelware to pad time until their flashier, youthful replacements can take their place. However, 2013 is looking like a banner year for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles, despite the fact that if they were people, the 360 and PS3 would be playing bridge at the community center and forgetting the names of their grandchildren. Against all odds, developers are squeezing amazing potential out of these old machines, doing things we didn’t think were possible with current technology. We’ve only hit mid-February and already been treated this year with games like DmC: Devil May Cry, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Dead Space 3, but there is a lot more in store for 2013. We at Grizzly Bomb can’t believe the wealth of upcoming games that are rounding out this almost decade-long run, so here is our list of our most anticipated games for 2013.
Bioshock is often brought up in cases supporting the argument that video games are art. Irrational Games struck gold when they created Rapture, a sorrowful undersea dystopia which succumbed to the hubris of modern science. But the game reached beyond the scope of the world it inhabited, turning gaming conventions on their head to make a pointed commentary on the role of the player in a video game. How much control do you really have in a game, and how easily do you do what you’re told? Nothing had ever challenged us in such a way on this large a scale before. It opened the door for future titles to take their subject matter more seriously and ask even more questions about why we play games. Bioshock Infinite is Irrational Games’s spiritual successor to the first game, replacing the ocean floor with open skies.
As former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, the player is tasked with rescuing a girl named Elizabeth, who has been held captive in Columbia for twelve years. The floating city features its own unique set of aesthetics and steampunk mechanisms, but it is certainly loosely tied to the world of Rapture. The combat seems to be made up of the same general format; vigors replace tonics and a giant eagle-like creature replaces the Big Daddies, but at the end of the day you still have a gun in the right hand and a magic power in the left. Not that that’s a bad thing – if Infinite can capture half the rich atmosphere and frantic gameplay of the previous games it will be leagues ahead of many shooters. Yet the focal point for me rests on the AI partner Elizabeth, who seems more interesting than the NPC companions we’ve come across before. Irrational is quick to mention that she is far from the silent, robotic and frankly useless tagalongs seen in previous games, and everything we’ve seen in demos supports that. Bioshock Infinite just may be the start of smarter, more capable and satisfying AI.
I remember watching an interview with Deadpool: The Game lead designer Terry Spier in October of 2012 and thinking they just might have the savvy to pull this off. He was quoted as saying it will have “Everything you could want in a Deadpool game.” Considering he’s one of the most intriguing comic book anti-heroes, there is a lot to be said about that statement.
Deadpool: The Game will be a 3rd-person action brawler to include the use of Deadpool’s extensive arsenal. It will be a unique adventure not tied to any previous story line, but rather will be mission based. Spier truly believes they have nailed his personality. That being said, the game should fully deliver the fourth-wall breaking Merc with a mouth that we all love.
Could anyone else go for a chimichanga?
Release date: Unspecified
The Last of Us
Daniel Woizinski
Uncharted is one of the most lauded and beloved series of the past decade, but even before that Naughty Dog was making waves with games like Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. While the majority of successful games have gone the open-world route and allowed the player to enjoy a build-your-own-adventure playstyle, the studio has been fine-tuning the linear single-player campaign to near perfection. The Last of Us looks to be taking that even further with another third-person action game a la Uncharted, only this time there’s a dedicated focus on emotion, character and story. Joel and Ellie are two survivors trying to find the coast in a wasteland of roving bandits and infected horrors. The violence is brutal, the landscape overgrown, the characters desperate. This is Cormac McCarthy’s The Road with a controller.
I haven’t felt the kind of excitement I have for The Last of Usin an extremely long time. The Uncharted series, particularly Drake’s Deception, achieved an almost effortless sense of character and atmosphere. Its cinematic moments are some of the most breathtaking scenes I’ve come across in all the games I’ve played. All of this is despite the fact that, at its core, the story is fairly hollow and the gameplay is far from special. From everything I’ve seen, The Last of Us looks like it will boast all the same qualities that made Nathan Drake one the most iconic characters in video games, and ground it all on something thrilling, emotional and satisfying.
What you’re reading is a bunch of games that bring excitement and/or nostalgia to the staffers here at Grizzly Bomb. Video games have come a long way in terms of storytelling and the immersion the gamer has into the new world. Grand Theft Auto III led the way into the non-linear world where you can do as you please and interact with the objects in your environment to aid in whatever you chose to do in the world of Liberty City. Ubisoft, the people behind the Assassin’s Creed series, have helped usher in a revolution in gaming in terms of the control and open world environments. It looks like they are about to up the stakes and expectations in the video game world one more time with Watch Dogs.
I remember watching the 2012 E3 trailer for this game and being blown away. Then I watched the gameplay demo, that I have embedded below, and it completely blows my mind. The idea of ‘Big Brother’ has been along for awhile but never been totally explored in the video game world. At least not in a world where you can play ‘Big Brother’. In this game, as you navigate a beautiful rendering of Chicago, you control all the electronic devices in your area and in the demo, you can hack or control the electronic airwaves. So walking by someone, you can see what their income is, whether they’ve been charged in a crime, or even see if they carry a disease unknown to the public around them. It’s a scary proposition that someone could view this information off of your ‘digital shadow’. Basically, the world is run by a supercomputer that processes all the information in order to safe guard against any attacks and keep things regulated in the world. However, if someone were to gain control of that access, imagine what they could do with that information. I honestly cannot do the game justice explaining it in two paragraphs. Just watch the gameplay trailer below and be amazed. You can thank me later.
Release Date: Unspecified
Grand Theft Auto V
Daniel Woizinski
Rockstar Games is a studio with an almost immaculate track record of late. They’ve had major success with their smaller titles (size is relative here) like Max Payne and L.A. Noire but they are revered and highly esteemed for their work on their flagship series, Grand Theft Auto. GTA V is taking fans back to Los Santos for the first time since San Andreas, and much like they had done with Liberty City in GTA IV, the tri-city area has been redesigned from the ground up. We don’t know all that much about the game’s story but we can expect more of the violence, gunfire and criminal activity that has made the series a favorite target for the mainstream media.
There aren’t many companies I trust as implicitly to deliver a satisfying experience as Rockstar Games. They just make good content. It’s easy in the years between titles to forget that there is more to the Grand Theft Auto series than indulgent sex and violence. The truth is, the sandbox of GTA is great for so much more than that. Racing, hunting hidden items, finding secrets…hell, even walking down the street in Rockstar’s cities is always full of surprising, entertaining moments. It’s also worth mentioning that Grand Theft Auto is one of the best satires of American culture out there today. But what makes me most excited for GTA V is the fact that this will be the first game in the series to come out since Red Dead Redemption, a game that introduced plenty of new innovations to the 3rd person sandbox, and quickly became one of my favorite games. If they implement any of the same ideas into the new Grand Theft Auto, it should be a fantastic next chapter in the series.
This could possibly be my favorite Call of Duty video of all time. I’ll get into the rest of the article you view the video but I give props to Peter Stormare, he made this video awesome.
“Now you go pick up my sh*t.”
Obviously it’s not the official trailer of the map but just a fun promotional bit. Luckily there is another trailer for what to expect with the new Revolution DLC, coming out on January 29th first on X-Box Live. It boasts four new multiplayer maps, a new zombies co-op map, a new game mode for zombies, and a new multiplayer weapon called the Peacekeeper that is exclusive to the game mode. There’s more in the video below, which serves as the actual trailer and preview for the new DLC.
Hydro seems like a cool map and having the spillway used to flood and flush out people seems to be a cool element, a la the train in Express. Grind is just going to be a giant chaos map with no real place to hide or hug walls although I can imagine it being a sniper’s haven to like Carrier, which would annoy the living crap out of me. I know Downhill will be a big hit because of people of the white stuff…the snow I mean, not cocaine. Mirage looks cool too because it seems to incorporate wide open space and claustrophobic environments to satisfy everyone involved…unless you’re on the losing end of course.
Die Rise is the new zombie map that takes place in a skyscraper and I’m looking forward to this map because I haven’t gotten into zombies that much in this iteration of CoD but this somewhat reminds me of Die Hard in the high rise so if it provides that type of element to it, I’m sure we’ll play it non-stop. With that, comes the new game mode called Turned, where this time, you take control of the zombie and hunt down the lone human player. If you’re successful at doing so, you then become the lone human player and take turns killing others and the one with most kills as the human player seems to be the winner. At least that’s my assumption looking at the video itself. Regardless, it’s about time we get to see the other side and stalk our human compatriots and make their life hell.
Lastly, we have a new gun called the Peacekeeper coming to multiplayer exclusively. The gun is a hybrid between a submachine gun and assault rifle so you get a bit of the stopping power of the assault rifles, with the versatility of the SMG. Overall, I think this will be a giant success and am looking forward to the new DLC dropping on XBL on January 29th. Too bad for the other systems though because they don’t get the map packs until later but hey, pick up a 360 and join some of the Grizzly Bomb people. I guarantee you’ll be way better than us.
Last year I watched the Video Game Awards for the first time ever and reacted pretty harshly to the show. To summarize the article, I found the 2011 VGA’s to be immature and pandering. Some of the most memorable moments of the awards perpetuated the worst stereotypes of an industry that is still plagued by issues of sexism and sexuality. And even disregarding that, recognizing the work of the medium’s most talented artists and writers took a back seat to celebrity shills cavorting about on stage.
I don’t think I have lofty expectations for these awards. I said in last year’s recap:
[box_light]”I understand that the show is a vehicle for game trailers and commercials. I don’t expect or want the grandeur and extravagance of the Oscars. All I want is for the producers to treat the fans, and more importantly the game creators, with respect and at least pretend to care about our medium.” [/box_light]
And this year the Video Game Awards did exactly that. The turnaround that Spike TV made between 2011 and 2012 is admirable. This year’s awards excised a lot of the superfluous nonsense, like the augmented reality stuff (Which I genuinely enjoyed, but admit in hindsight was a waste of use) and the weird Nickelodeon game show-style contests going on in the periphery. The 2012 VGA’s focused instead on the games, and while some of the sketches and performances fell flat, the entire night was without question a show for gamers, about games.
The awards opened with Eric Cartman beating Bilbo Baggins to death with a cane. Of course, this was a shameless tease for South Park: The Stick of Truth, but it was an entertaining introduction to the show (It’s also one of the more anticipated games of 2013) and succinctly opened the night. Samuel L. Jackson took the role of host this year and did a pretty good job with what he had. I’ve gained a lot of respect for award show hosts since hearing Louis CK explain how much of a nightmare these things can be, so I can’t even fault Jackson or his writers for the lackluster jokes. The running gag throughout the show was ‘Sam Jackson Mode’, a gameplay tweak that added Jackson into all types of games and had him use his iconic badassery and curse words to get results. It heralds back to those old MTV awards skits that superimposed celebrities into movies.
I thought this was pretty clever. Far more entertaining than any of the gimmicks from last year’s show, at least. These moments also served to highlight the different games nominated this year, which fall all over the spectrum in terms of genre, scope and play-style. Regardless of what can be said for the VGA’s in years past, they seem to always do a stellar job nominating games that deserve to be recognized. This year took that concept even further, almost to the realm of controversy, by including smaller, independent games in the Game of the Year category. It’s sparked a lot of debate over what constitutes a “Game of the Year” or even a video game for that matter, A challenging discussion, and one that merits a lot of thought. I’m at odds with myself on the matter. I think Journey is easily one of the most worthwhile experiences in gaming this year, but to compare it to something like Assassin’s Creed III, which nearly takes up all of Journey’s playtime before even introducing the protagonist. It’s hard to put them on equal footing. As I did last year, I’ll list the nominees, the winners and my picks below.
Before I do that though, let’s talk reveals. There were some startling trailers last night that caught a lot of people by surprise, and some that were expected but nonetheless welcomed with excitement. The VGA’s premiered new trailers for Tomb Raider, The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, which the community already knew about, but continue to look impressive. We were also treated to announcements for Dark Souls II, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 and, the steal of the show, a mysterious game called The Phantom Pain.
This trailer was announced with very little explanation, and it credits only a previously unknown team, Moby Dick Studio, for development. Now, there are pages and pages of speculation, theorizing and educated guesses pointing to the idea that this is either a new teaser for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid 5, or a similar Hideo Kojima game. I will err on the side of caution and say that this looks like a very interesting new IP, I look forward to hearing more about it, and that you should immediately go and read this NeoGAF page on the subject.
Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance were both noticeably absent from the awards, as was The Last Guardian once again, to my chagrin. GTA V was nowhere to be seen either, but I expected this with their newest trailer released so recently. Rockstar marches to the beat of its own drum, Video Game Awards be damned.
Alright, now for the nominees and winners. Like last year, winners will be in bold and I’ll mark my picks with an arrow (
[box_light]
Game of the Year:
The Walking Dead: The Game
Assassin’s Creed III (Review)
Dishonored (Review)
Journey
Mass Effect 3 (Review)
Studio of the Year:
Telltale Games
343 Industries
Arkane Studios
Gearbox Software (
Best Xbox 360 Game:
Halo 4 (Review)
Assassin’s Creed III (
Borderlands 2
Dishonored
Best PS3 Game:
Journey
Assassin’s Creed III (
Borderlands 2
Dishonored
Best Wii/Wii-U Game:
New Super Mario Bros. U (
The Last Story
Xenoblade Chronicles
Zombiu
Best PC Game:
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (
Diablo III
Guild Wars 2
Torchlight II
Best Shooter:
Borderlands 2 (
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Halo 4
Max Payne 3
Best Action Adventure Game:
Dishonored
Assassin’s Creed III (
Darksiders II
Sleeping Dogs
Best RPG:
Mass Effect 3 (
Diablo III
Torchlight II
Xenoblade Chronicles
Best Multiplayer Game:
Borderlands 2 (
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Guild Wars 2
Halo 4
Best Individual Sports Game:
Hot Shots Golf World Invitational SSX (
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
WWE ’13
Best Team Sports Game:
FIFA Soccer 13
Madden NFL 13 NBA 2K13 (
NHL 13
Best Driving Game:
Need For Speed: Most Wanted (
Dirt: Showdown
F1 2012
Forza Horizon
Best Song in a Game:
“Cities” by Beck – From Sound Shapes “Castle of Glass” by Linkin Park – From Medal of Honor: Warfighter
“I Was Born For This” By Austin Wintory – From Journey (
“Tears” by Health – From Max Payne 3
Best Original Score:
Journey (
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Halo 4
Max Payne 3
Best Graphics:
Halo 4 Assassin’s Creed III (
Dishonored
Journey
Best Independent Game:
Journey (
Dust: An Elysian Tale
Fez
Mark of the Ninja
Best Fighting Game:
Persona 4 Arena (
Dead or Alive 5
Street Fighter x Tekken
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Best Handheld/Mobile Game:
Sound Shapes (
Gravity Rush
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Best Performance by a Human Female:
Melissa Hutchison as Clementine – The Walking Dead: The Game Emma Stone as Amanda Cartwright – Sleeping Dogs
Jen Taylor as Cortana – Halo 4
Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard – Mass Effect 3 (
Best Performance by a Human Male:
Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack – Borderlands 2 (
Dave Fennoy as Lee Everret – The Walking Dead: The Game
James McCaffrey as Max Payne – Max Payne 3
Nolan North as Captain Martin Walker – Spec Ops: The Line
Best Adapted Video Game:
The Walking Dead: The Game (
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Transfomers: Fall of Cybertron
The Walking Dead: The Game
Fez
Journey (
Sound Shapes
Best Social Game:
You Don’t Know Jack
Draw Something (
Marvel: Avengers Alliance
Simcity Social[/box_light]
And that was the 2012 Video Game Awards. If you missed the show or want to see it all again, the entire thing is available on Game Trailers. I was so happily surprised with the show this year, and I’m glad I decided at the last second to watch. Here’s to a great 2013, whose first quarter looks to be a massive wallet drain!
Is anyone planning to get the new Nintendo console that just came out? Sure, but which one are you talking about? Only last year Nintendo released the Wii Family Edition. Essentially what “Family” means is that you can no longer play Gamecube games, and the unit lays flat instead of up on its side. Most recently, we have all seen, heard about, and maybe even gotten our hands on the Wii U. This is the legit new console offered from Nintendo. Parents beware. If you go to the store and ask for the new Wii console, a third has been thrown into the mix. December 7th, a day that will live in infamy, will also foster in the Canadian release of Nintendo’s latest installment, the Wii Mini.
The Wii Mini will have a stellar price tag of $99, but will severely cut back on features. Not only has backwards compatibility with Gamecube games been eliminated, the unit will no longer support internet access. This means the glorious Virtual Console will not be accessible. The two things that could have suckered me into purchasing the 6 year old system will now be void.
At first I was intrigued, but now I am just disappointed. That was until I looked over to my television set and saw a blast from the past known as the SNS-101, aka the Super Nintendo Mini. Nintendo isn’t doing anything differently here. Production will soon cease of all first party Wii games to make way for the new Wii U. Respectfully so, the classic Wii game is a dying breed. So it makes sense to come out with an affordable unit capable of playing their most recent over saturated market of games. The holidays are the perfect time to snag even the Scroogiest of McDucks that STILL haven’t purchased a Wii console. The SNS-101 was released in 1997 for $99 right when the Nintendo 64 was introduced. This is a classic move straight from the Nintendo playbook, and the craziest part is that it will probably work. Nintendo marketing has done an exceptional job over the last 30 years. They wouldn’t still be relevant if they hadn’t.
So who is the Wii Mini for?
I recommend this as a family oriented gaming system, especially if you have young children. Few would disagree that the Wii game library targets a younger audience. Sometimes I find myself in this market. Though I am tech savvy, I rarely participate in online gameplay. I just like to put in a game and play. It’s just me and the box. In that regards, I actually kind of like the Wii Mini. Regardless of features, a $99 price tag should prove somewhat appetizing to those that have resisted the Wii madness the past six years. That being said, I say once again “Bravo” to Nintendo marketing. The release of the Wii Mini will initially be limited to Canada. If it succeeds, which I am projecting it will, I am sure it will find its way to all North American and European markets. So if you bring this one home for the holidays, be safe. Wii related incidents can be common, and are most definitely hilarious.
Alright, onward with the DLC news. We are getting four new maps called Magma, Studio, Vertigo and Encore. Magma takes places in an Asian village that is being overrun by an active volcano. This introduces the element of lava bearing down on the people and some short and long-range points of attack. We also get Encore which takes place in an amphitheater that is wide open with the center stage being touted as the best position. Personally, this will probably be a sniper haven because of its wide open space so we’ll have to see how it all goes down. Vertigo follows as it’s a skyscraper level and it instantly reminds me of more dangerous Hotel combined with the Die Rise zombie map from the last DLC for Call of Duty. I like the idea of having to jump from space to space and it’ll probably be hilarious to see one Brian Kronner fall off the map repeatedly. The next map, which is destined to be my favorite one judging from how they are selling it, is called Studio. It takes place at a movie studio back lot where all the sets are up from the various genres of movies. But did catch my eye was it’s reference to Firing Range, that awesome level from Call of Duty: Black Ops. Seems to be a good one to check out for sure.
Grizzly Bomb 