[11.09.15] ‘Extra Life 2015’ continues to shatter records

Extra Life

By the end of the Extra Life 2015 official stream at 8:00 AM on Nov 8, 2015, a few more records had been destroyed. While 48,000 Extra Lifers were busy gaming and streaming away, milestone after milestone was hit and history was made. 54 Extra Life Guilds and a tiny team at headquarters worked together to benefit over 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals and more than 10 million grateful kids. When it was all said and done, Extra Life 2015 continued its trend of outpacing itself for yet another year.

Saturday, Nov 7, 2015, was the biggest day in the history of the Extra Life program. Not only that, but it pushed total funds raised past the staggering $20 million mark since 2008. With another two months still to go, Extra Life 2015 eclipsed the previous year's final contributions and reached an initial Game Day total of $6,360,566 by the end of the stream. The fundraising does not end until December 31st at midnight, so expect that total to keep rising.

There were also some special congratulations to hand out after Game Day. Participants from Austin, TX who were playing to benefit the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas won the ESA Foundation Challenge by raising the most money overall for an individual hospital. For doing so, they earned a bonus $30,000 to benefit their local kids.

Not to be outpaced, the 907 area code in Alaska also earned an additional $30,000 for the Children’s Hospital at Providence in Anchorage, AK for having the highest funds raised per capita. The ESA Foundation also granted this bonus.

Of course, things could change over the next two months, but there are currently some impressive role models sitting atop the Extra Life Leaderboard this year. Jack Patillo of Rooster Teeth is the overall leader with an impressive $205,560. Following behind him is Mindcrack Network, Geek & Sundry, and Giant Bomb. Rounding out the top five is Noah Cohen, an 8-year-old from Vermont and former CMN Hospital patient who managed to hit some incredible numbers while campaigning in his 2nd Extra Life.

If you would still like to donate and help me in my personal efforts to raise $1,000 for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, you can do so here!

For a final update at the end of the year, Subscribe, check out http://www.extra-life.org, or their official Facebook page.

[11.05.15] ‘Guitar Hero Live’ celebrates launch with free all access weekend

Activision

Since its release two weeks ago, fans of “Guitar Hero Live” have been rocking along to over 200 songs in the GHTV catalog. The first ever playable music video network features an endless playlist of songs that are available 24-7 for players to drop in and out of. Beginning today, Nov 4, 2015, Activision and FreeStyleGames are kicking off their regular updates that will be available to all players who purchased the game entirely free of charge. The already extensive library will continue to grow with plans to expand by an additional 70 songs by the end of the year.

In celebration of all of this, Activision is giving all players of “Guitar Hero Live” unlimited on-demand access to the entire GHTV catalog through the whole weekend, beginning this Friday at 4:00 AM PST.

This week, GHTV kicks off their launch with a new live show, some legendary rock songs, and a collection of classic pop songs to round out the music video selection.

Starting this Friday, three brand new songs from the Black Veil Brides will be added to the rotation of GHTV. “Heart of Fire (Live),” “Fallen Angels (Live),” and “In the End (Live)” were all recorded from performances on the Black Mass Tour in November 2014 at the legendary Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. These performances are a part of Black Veil Brides’ first live concert DVD “Alive and Burning” and will all be playable as a part of GHTV network.

Along with these live performances, several new music videos have found their way into the rotation. This includes some staples of both the rock and pop genres. “Monster” by Paramore, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy, and “First Date” by Blink-182 have already debuted on GHTV. With them comes “Chocolate” by The 1975, “Believer” by American Authors, and “Budapest” by George Ezra.

The fun does not stop there, however! In the coming weeks, fans can expect countless more songs to join the network. Both playable concert footage and music videos from a wide variety of artists will be available from the likes of Judas Priest, Iggy Pop, Bully, Leon Bridges, Biffy Clyro, Weezer, Rival Sons, St. Vincent, Alice in Chains, System of a Down, Bring Me the Horizon, and many more.

Most new music will launch as a part of premium shows before making their way into the regular rotation and on-demand catalog. During that time, players can complete in-game challenges to unlock the chance to play a premium show. After successfully performing a premium show, players have the opportunity to earn in-game prizes such as status and coin boosts, unique player cards, or note highways to show off while playing online. Once the premium show finishes, the songs will then typically be released to the GHTV channels and be available for play using on-demand tokens or passes.

To keep up to date on the latest Guitar Hero news, check out www.guitarhero.com, www.facebook.com/GuitarHero, www.youtube.com/guitarhero, or by following @guitarhero on Twitter and Instagram.

[10.13.15] ‘Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted’ officially launches on Steam

Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment

After a successful Steam Early Access run, “Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted” came out guns-blazing as it rode off into its official release today, Oct 13, 2015. Following a strong opening on PlayStation 4, Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment made the decision to bring the competitive isometric shooter to PC in a whole new way. Over ten months, the developers put together an action-packed expansion loaded with new game modes, improved gameplay mechanics, new maps, and more than double the original roster of colorful characters.

“Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted” is a wild 3v3 multiplayer experience that combines precision combat and strategic team-oriented gameplay with a breath-taking, hand-drawn, spaghetti western ambiance. The twin-stick shooter also draws inspiration from the ever-popular MOBA genre. Every shot requires a precise hand as there is no target lock or auto-aiming in sight. Instead, players will have to shoot from the hip while keeping an eye on their stamina and ammo supply during every firefight.

Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment is devoted to creating one-of-a-kind, artistic experiences and it shines through in this game. The ragtag cast of characters features ten different outlaws with unique motives, movements, and powers. Every character has an exclusive set of animations suited to their style. The Matador dances about fluidly with flair, the Wolf swiftly pounces around like a true predator, and Gordo… well, he moves about exactly how you would expect a man of his size and stature to move.

“We never imagined our game would reach this many people – we’re a studio founded by artists and musicians, working out of our kitchens and our bedrooms on the ultimate six-year passion project,” said Switchblade Monkeys’ Creative Director, Yousuf Mapara. “But with the help of countless hours of playtesting by our amazing community, we’ve managed to build something entirely unique, a game with both brains and brawn: mechanically precise, meticulously balanced, lovingly hand-drawn, savagely competitive, and (we think!) incredibly fun.”

To celebrate the launch, Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment unveiled an all-new launch trailer to help you become acquainted with the bandits. The trailer may look gorgeous, but don’t cozy up too close to anyone. These guys and gals are ruthless, and it shows in the cut-throat style of multiplayer.

“Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted” is available immediately on Steam for $14.99. Like a true outlaw, you can get it for a real steal at 25% off, but only during launch week!

[10.13.15] Extra Life 2015 raises $2 million in record time

Extra Life

In a blog post from Oct 13, 2015, current Managing Director Jeromy Adams, known simply as “Doc” on the website, proudly announced that this year’s efforts are trending at a record-setting pace. Over the holiday weekend, Extra Life 2015 managed to break $2 million in donations received without batting an eye. Around this same time last year, the total funds raised had just breached $1 million. Last year’s contributions ended just past $6 million raised For The Kids, which makes 2015 look even more promising.

As with previous years, many celebrities and internet personalities are participating. This includes the likes of Rooster Teeth, Geek & Sundry, and Noah Cohen – an 8-year-old 2-time Extra Lifer and former Children’s Miracle Network Hospital’s patient who is currently dominating in his efforts to raise money for this year. As of writing, Noah is sitting in 3rd place for total donations received. Since 2010, Extra Life has managed to raise a staggering $14 million to support CMN Hospitals all around the U.S. Every dollar donated goes directly the hospital to which it is pledged and donations are tax deductible.

This year’s celebration will take place on Saturday, November 7, beginning at 8 am CST. During this time, thousands of participants will live-stream a 24-hour gaming marathon on Twitch, a long-standing partner. The gaming marathon will include all types of games, ranging from video games and card games to board games and tabletop RPGs. The fundraising efforts continue throughout the marathon and culminate on the final day of the year.

If you would like to make a donation to Extra Life 2015, you can do so here.

If you’re interested in participating in Extra Life 2015, there is still plenty of time! You can sign up here.

Then be sure to tune into Twitch on November 7 and watch your participant play!

[09.09.15] Review: ‘Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles’

Artifice Studios

Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles

Rating:

5 Stars

Have you ever wondered what would happen to humanity if Leonardo Da Vinci had transmuted egg yolks into infinitely-powerful metamatter in the 16th Century? If you find yourself answering that question with a resounding “yes,” as you should, then fear not for the answer has arrived. “Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles” is a mashup of the popular physics-based puzzle genre and the established real-time strategy formula.

After Da Vinci’s astounding discovery, the course of history has been changed forever. Hen houses, as the source of the invaluable metamatter, have now become the most essential resource in the galaxy. As henhouses sprung up all over the world and, eventually, other planets, war followed while leaders everywhere struggled to gain control over the byproduct of the greatest discovery in history. Rumor has it that even the chickens are looking to rise up and take power, and this seems highly likely with the ongoing distraction the war provides.

As one of five lead characters, you fight to bring your forces to the top. Alongside the war comes an internal battle, one of moral struggle over eternal glory and unimaginable power. During this conflict, General Wilbur Pitbottom, Brother Octavio, Léonne d’Artagnan, Kain & Kaan, and Olympia traverse the galaxy each in a unique fleet of ships. Every protagonist takes on a wide variety of characters ranging from Hildegarde Von Chicken and Marquis de Moustache to Sheriff Drinkwater and Barron Pinkblossom. The battle rages on throughout a 21 mission single-player campaign packed full of variety and entertainment. There is also friendly and competitive multiplayer if you find yourself itching for more warfare after wetting your beak in the campaign. The real question is, does all of this add up to a blue ribbon prize or one big, rotten egg?

The Fun Stuff:

“Conflicks” is as goofy and self-humoring as they come. From the opening cinematic to the final battle of the campaign, the game never loses its identity or gives up on the comedy. Beyond the goofy premise, the game is loaded with lighthearted dialogue that deserves the occasional laugh-out-loud moment. From character names to spaceship designs, there are subtle touches everywhere that remind you of the ongoing comedy reminiscent of “Monty Python.”

In fact, this theme carries over to the visual style of “Conflicks” as well. The blend of humor, time periods, and… chickens create a unique art direction only Artifice Studio, the creators of the game, could claim. The game opens with a breathtaking cinematic which sets the overall tone of the game. The game then transitions to being told storybook style with pages that emulate the renaissance-like time period it has claimed interwoven with comic book style pop art.

Speaking of the gameplay, it is as unique an experience as the rest of the game. There are four separate factions with unique ships all perfectly balanced. “Conflicks” builds upon the standard RTS gameplay but throws a major curveball with its physics-based combat. Imagine taking the mechanics of “Angry Birds Space” and overlaying it on the battle system of “Starcraft.” If that makes any sense to you, then you should be eagerly anticipating your chance to play the game.

Once you dive in, there is plenty to experience. As mentioned, the single-player campaign spans a 21 missions. For players who may be new to the genre or find themselves confused by the RTS meets physics gameplay, there is a substantial tutorial available in the options menu which will have you feeling like an expert in no time. The campaign does an excellent job of pacing as you become acquainted with the battle system and fleet of ships available. The missions feature a nice variety of changing environments and interspersed multi-enemy battles. You can change the difficulty before each mission, ensuring you will not ever find yourself bored or dissuaded by the level of difficulty. After that, the gameplay is virtually limitless with the friendly and competitive multiplayer.

There’s also a nifty “Power Progression” system that improves your experience as you play. More importantly, it rewards you for experimenting and adding variety to your attack methods. Various ships have the ability to upgrade as you fulfill unique requirements. Some conditions are as simple as finishing one character’s chapter of the campaign. Others require a significant dedication, such as finishing 1st in 200 competitive mode matches with a particular ship. Ultimately, you end up with greater range in movement, faster cooldowns, and stronger attacks.

On a technical level, the game is flawless. Everything looks great, sounds great, and runs great. Even with a modest PC, the game does not demand much to give you the full experience. As expected, it comes with recommended setting but you can customize to fit your needs without really detracting from the experience. There aren’t excessive load times or poor textures – everything just works.

“Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles” is the rarest kind of early access game.

The Frustrating Stuff:

The greatest letdown you will face during “Conflicks” is with the visual presentation. Although everything looks great, and there is plenty of backstory to page through for each mission, it is impossible to get away from one disappointment. The game launches with an incredible cinematic that leaves you eagerly awaiting more and then lets you down by never delivering again. Although the storybook presentation is neat, it does not have the same awe factor as the beginning of the game. It is understandable for many reasons why the presentation takes this route, but you cannot help but wonder what glorious experience we could have had if the whole game received the same treatment as the opening sequence. At first glance, the mission selection scene is incredibly intimidating and confusing. Presented with a map of the galaxy, you have an abundance of things to click on and read. You can get lost in the overwhelming amount of information before becoming acquainted with the basics and realize all you actually needed to do was just press the “start mission” button to progress to the next challenge. The rest is done for you, automatically piloting your ship to the next location before pulling up the next part of the story.

From a technical level, the biggest thing “Conflicks” would benefit from is expanded camera controls. As is, they are not bad (think “The Sims” style controls). They would, however, benefit greatly from an ability to “quick jump” between different groups. Currently, the only option is to use the F-keys to jump between individual ships based on class. This means the F1 key will take you to a random patrol ship whereas F8 will jump to the mothership. Using this method requires you to remember what ships are grouped together. It also requires multiple button presses to jump between squads until you rotate to the one you were looking for.

Again, the current controls are not bad, they are just a little sluggish when you are trying to jump between grouped squads. It would be better to use keys to sort based on the number of ships grouped together. In other words, F1 would return to the mother ship. F2 would jump to singles so you could wrangle up the stragglers. F3 could jump to smaller clusters, such as the Henships (assuming you posted a few guards nearby). This continues up to F8, which would jump you to your largest group, presumably right where the main battle is taking place. Admittedly, this is not a perfect solution either, but it would provide a little less randomness to the controls.

Currently, if you want to zoom in for a more precise flick, you are left in the blind with your other ships. The process of zooming and panning afterward is laborious enough that your ships could easily die in the time you spend trying to get to them for a rescue. This sneak attack can be thwarted by using the Enter/Return key to engage “Tac-Chickal” mode that freezes time, but this also prevents you from attacking or moving until you un-pause. While this may save your ships, it does not cut down on the amount of time needed to navigate the camera.

This becomes exceptionally important during a couple later missions. When playing as Brother Octavio, you are given the duty of protecting your brother, Antonio. He starts under your control, but you eventually lose it if you do not launch an attack quick enough for his taste. At that point, he begins to take matters into his own hands and flies around at free will, aggressively pursuing the enemy. This would not be the worst thing in the world, except that his ship takes the “defense makes the best offense” stance. Antonio’s ship only has a large circular saw around his ship’s edge and does not feature any guns or missiles. This means he can only attack by slamming into enemy ships and sits vulnerable in between flings. Another fun mission quickly diverts into the begrudged “escort mission.” A similar process is repeated later when your brother is imprisoned, and you are racing against the clock to rescue him. These mission are undoubtedly the most frustrating in the whole game, which is why it is fortunate they only last one mission each.

Bottom Line:

“Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles” is the rarest kind of early access game. It is a substantial package, excessively refined before its release, and features an incredibly unique premise and design. This exceptional RTS game will have you chuckling, exploring, and battling to your heart’s content. If any early access game is deserving of your money, “Conflicks” is it. In fact, it does not even feel like an early access title. It feels more complete than many recent blockbusters we’ve seen! Above all, “Conflicks” feels like the next game you need to be playing.

“Conflicks: Revolutionary Space Battles” was developed by Artifice Studio. It was released in North America as a Steam Early Access title on August 20, 2015, with an MSRP of $19.99. A preview copy of this game was provided for review by Artifice Studios

[08.4.15] Review: ‘SongPop 2’

FreshPlanet

SongPop 2

Rating:

5 Stars

The original “SongPop” came onto the scene back in 2012 and took the mobile gaming world – as well as Facebook – by storm. Capitalizing on the “Name That Tune™” formula, it was difficult to imagine that anything could go wrong. That is not to say that it did not have its quirks but, then again, nothing is perfect. If success proves anything, it proves that “SongPop” was a fantastic title that people just could not get enough of it. So when the announcement came in mid-February that FreshPlanet was working on a sequel, it did not come as too much of a surprise. However, it did leave the question of: “What exactly could be done to improve the formula?” As it turns out, “Song Pop 2” could be a pretty fantastic answer to that question.

The Fun Stuff:

Everyone loves the “Name That Tune™” gameplay. Whether it be watching one of the incarnations of the television show that spanned nearly half a decade, the rare arcade game, board game, or even just playing with your friends. “SongPop” let you put that game in your pocket and take it anywhere you wanted to go. You could challenge friends via Facebook or even play strangers. It had a lot of popular songs from a wide variety of genres, allowing the music collection to appeal to a diverse audience. All in all, it was a great experience.

“SongPop 2” only builds upon that further by expanding its already massive collection to a staggering 100,000 songs. Better yet, veterans from the original title can carry over the playlists they have purchased and use them in the new game. That is what we like to call “Fan Service 101.” The music library continues to expand with weekly updates ranging from artist-specific playlists to top R&B songs of the 1990s, all of which can be purchased with in-game currency. This means you are not penalized if you do not want to shell out some extra cash.

The standard styles of play have returned and function as expected; but a new Party Mode has been added to the mix. Party Mode is kind of liking playing a standard round of the game, except you are playing against the entire world at the same time. After you finish the ten question quiz, your score gets posted on the weekly leaderboards where you can earn rewards and fight for the top spot. Also, playing daily earns you rewards – including free playlists. You get more game content free just for playing the game. If you feel like your skills are not up to par yet, you can always utilize the new Practice Mode. Practice mode allows you to sharpen your skills while playing against the computer. It also provides an excellent opportunity to brush up on the music collection.

The one thing that did receive a major overhaul is the graphics. Richard Perez, a highly acclaimed author and illustrator who has worked with the likes of Pinterest and Coca-Cola, put his signature style on the game. You may not recognize him by name, but you will instantly recognize his iconic look that every project he has his hands in receives. From top to bottom, the game is adorable, and Perez compliments the game’s addictive and fun gameplay with a perfect presentation.

It also seems safe to assume a lot of behind-the-scenes work has been done to ensure a smoother operation across the board. Most of it cannot and will not be witnessed by players. There is, however, one very subtle, yet very noticeable change that is the perfect cherry on top of this perfectly wrapped-up-game-package of an ice cream sundae. In the original “SongPop,” while taking your music quizzes, the song would start playing, and your four multiple choice options would pop on screen for you to make a choice. At face value, nothing sounds wrong there. The problem is, every once-in-a-while, you would have a bit of lag and this would delay or inhibit your choice. Regardless of the cause, that delay is frustrating in a game with a scoring system centralizing on how quickly you can answer a question. To solve this problem, FreshPlanet has made it, so the song choices pop up just a split second before your audio clue starts playing. This allows for even faster reaction times as you have already had a brief opportunity to survey your options. Now, the original “Song Pop” had already received this tweak, and it is a tiny change, but it has a massive impact that creates a lot of satisfaction while playing.

The Frustrating Stuff:

“SongPop 2” had the advantage of being built from an already solid base product. Sometimes, screws can get loose while you are making an upgrade. Fortunately, that is not the case in the event of this sequel. Structurally speaking, “SongPop 2” is solid and glitches, bugs, or force-close errors are never an issue. The game does have some faults, though.

It has come to be expected with any modern mobile game, but the constant nagging for social media integration is tiresome. While I have no qualms connecting my Facebook account to find people to play with, there are many people out there who just don’t want to do it. Asking them over and over and over again to do it will not solve the problem – it just makes them want to stop playing your game. It is fine to ask, but perhaps add the option to silence and remove those prompts at some point?

It is awesome that “SongPop” and “SongPop 2” are free-to-play. Unfortunately, the sequel takes a step back when it comes to the paid version of the game. With the original title, you can download and play the game entirely for free. If you want, you can buy coins with real world money which you can then use to get more playlists or power-ups, and that is fine.

Then there is the VIP Status. For the original “SongPop,” VIP Status: removes advertisements, bumps your simultaneous game limit to 100 games (unlimited for Facebook friends), gives you longer audio clips, higher sound quality, allows you to challenge from any profile, and see your “best match” (based off of playlist mastering) profiles’ pictures. For “SongPop 2,” you also receive unlimited chat, unlimited “best matches,” the ability to challenge your friends’ friends for free, and the ability to use a power up to challenge on any playlist. Between the two games, it is kind of like a… premium music service and music-based dating app rolled into one. This will cost you $1.99 per week, $4.99 per month, $12.99 for three months (“SongPop 2” only), or $39.99 annually. Now, to be fair, that is about ¼ the price of an annual subscription to Apple Music, Zune / Xbox Music / Groove, Google Play Music, or Spotify Premium. That being said, you can also listen to whatever you want, whenever you want with one of those streaming services. Having a subscription service for those things just really doesn’t make sense. Then again, dedicated players will buy it, so it does make sense from a business standpoint. However, the free version of “SongPop” was complimented by “SongPop Plus” which gave you all of those features, minus the profile picture, at the cost of a one-time, $1.99 purchase. “SongPop 2” does not have a comparable option, and that is too bad. But hey, they have instigated four weddings!

One huge missed opportunity is with the power-up system. This carried over from the original title and, sadly, stayed exactly the same. There is but one lone power up for the standard single-player experience. While playing, you have the option to remove two of the choices, resulting in a 50-50 chance. With the addition of Party Mode, it received its own set of power-ups; however, there are still only two from which to choose. You can receive a score boost for answering correctly within 3 seconds or receive an overall XP boost for your match.

These options are not terrible, but it would have been nice to see some more creativity across the board. Adding the score boost power up for speedy answers seems like a no-brainer for the standard single player experience. It might need to be tweaked slightly to keep the game balanced, but it does not seem far-fetched. Why stop there? Perhaps receiving a sneak peek at your answer choices for each question could be negotiated via power-ups. If you find yourself in a playlist you do not know as well, give yourself a slight edge by getting a one-second sneak peek at the audio clue before the scoring system engages. You could throw down a bulk of power-ups to overrule a playlist selection, give yourself the chance to put in two guesses for each question, slow down the song clips and timer to receive a give-and-take style power up, or even fire back at an opponent by distorting their audio or distracting them with a live-audience style feedback applied to the music. The possibilities are endless! You could even offer an additional “game mode” by having a vanilla no-power-up match alongside the all-out gauntlet of power-up-infused gameplay.

Bottom Line:

“SongPop 2” is the perfect example of a sequel done right. You do not always need to be revolutionary; sometimes you just need to focus on what you have going for you and refine that. Then, your product moves from what you actually released to what you had originally envisioned. While it suffers the same bane of micro-transactions that many other games have succumbed to; it is hard to blame any developer for participating in a trend that is becoming almost necessary for survival. Still, they are completely optional and don’t harm or hinder those who wish to avoid them. “SongPop 2” does not have anything “game-breaking” and, while it does have some minor faults, it is nothing that could not be tweaked with future updates. Even if it does not change at all, it will still be a must-have app for music and game show lovers everywhere.

“SongPop 2” was developed by FreshPlanet. It was released in North America on July 16 for free to iOS with plans for Facebook and Android versions coming at a later date. This review was based on a copy of the game downloaded on the release date.

[07.28.15] ‘Mafia III’ confirmed, official reveal teased

2K Czech

When a Facebook page hasn’t made a post in over four years, it would seem as if the page (and related product) could be considered dead. You know, like swimming with the fishes, wearing cement shoes, pushing up daisies… you get the point. Anyway, 2K Czech surprised fans with an early morning post around 7:00am CDT on July 28, 2015, on the official Facebook page of the “Mafia” series. The profile picture and cover photo were both updated to tease the worldwide reveal for “Mafia III.”

Prior to that, the most recent post dates all the way back to May 10, 2011, where an avatar item was featured in the Xbox “Deal of the Week.” That means there was a gap of exactly four years, two months, and 18 days between updates. Not only that, but it has been nearly five years since the release of “Mafia II” and 13 years since the release of the original “Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven.”

“Mafia II” was one of the more beautiful games from its generation, which makes it exciting to consider what the team will be capable of creating with the power of the current collection on consoles. The gameplay was an amazing update to its predecessor, pushing the series from the 1930s into the 1940s and early 1950s. It seems safe to assume that the threequel will continue advancing in time, possibly taking place in the 1960s and maybe even 1970s. The “Mafia” series is also known for its dedication to authenticity and attention to detail, with everything from recreations of real-world cars to authentic Playboy magazines as collectibles. Look for this trend to continue, and hopefully be expanded upon, with “Mafia III” as well.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation and no one will actually know any details until the game’s reveal trailer releases on Facebook at the same time as the initial tease on August 5.

[07.01.15] ‘SongPop 2’ launching July 16

FreshPlanet

Editor's Note: Shortly after this article was originally published on July 1, FreshPlanet made the decision to push back the release date. "SongPop 2" is being moved from a July 9 launch to a July 16 launch date. The article has been updated accordingly.

After originally revealing plans for a sequel to “SongPop” back in mid-February, mobile games publisher FreshPlanet announced yesterday, June 30, the official launch date for “SongPop 2” along with finalizing some exciting details. “SongPop 2” will continue with the popular head-to-head “Name That Tune™” gameplay style while adding in its own twists. The game will also be free to play with the option of in-app purchases to add supplementary content.

“SongPop 2” will have a catalog featuring over one hundred thousand tracks, ranging from modern hits to established classics. This includes a thousand individually curated playlists, which will be followed up consistently with weekly installments of 200 songs each. Within the game, each playlist can also be uniquely customized for each player’s preferences upon startup.

To add some excitement to the new title, “SongPop 2” features a Party Mode to provide an all-new social single-player experience. Users will compete in a ten-question quiz for a top spot on the global leaderboards. The top players will receive prizes, along with bragging rights, for their successes in the Party Mode challenge.

Helping keep things fresh, “SongPop 2” also features a complete graphics overhaul. Acclaimed illustrator and author, Richard Perez, was brought in to add his signature style to the game. It’s a bright and colorful, quirky and cartoonish design which really makes things pop. His style is visible in everything from the logo to the leaderboards and its cuteness will surely keep you enthralled for hours, as if the addictive song trivia wasn’t enough already.

Last, but certainly not least, FreshPlanet has confirmed backwards compatibility for all legacy gamers. This rewards returning users for their time on the musical battlefields of the first title while helping bolster the already massive song library with a few more tracks. All that players need to do is sync their accounts from “SongPop” and they will find all unlocked and purchased playlists waiting for them.

Mathieu Nouzareth, CEO of Fresh Planet had this to say about the launch:

“’SongPop 2’ was made with our community in mind. We created a bigger, louder and better SongPop experience that lets players enjoy the musical quiz fun on their own or with their friends – plus a slew of brand new features to fit each user’s own musical tastes.”

“SongPop 2” will be available July 16 only on iOS, with plans for an Android and Facebook Canvas version coming very soon. You can check out the official trailer here.

[06.16.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Square Enix Press Conference [E3 2015]

Square Enix

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Microsoft started off the console wars with a bang, and we’ve seen some great output from Bethesda, EA, and Ubisoft. Sony also threw some punches and Nintendo dazzled us with loads of fanfare! Now the question remains, can “Square Enix” close out the developers with a strong finish? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Square Enix Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Tuesday, June 16.

The conference jumps right into the action with “Just Cause 3.” A gameplay trailer shows off all the high-flying, action-packed, guns-blazing, explosion filled glory. Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix Americas and Europe, opens up welcoming everyone with a “We haven’t done one of these in a while.” He talks about the awesome changes the company has made over the years, adapting to changes and listening to fan feedback – a popular theme this year. He teases a few of the games that will be seen during the conference before continuing with the “Just Cause 3.”

He talks about how dedicated the community is that is still playing “Just Cause 2.” He promises for longer and better support for games moving forward, because of the incredibly dedicated community. He talks about “Square Enix Collective” and the games that it has supported so far, promising more to come. He then welcomes Roland Lesterlin from Avalanche Studios to talk more about “Just Cause 3.”

He emphasizes the desire to create a huge, open-world game and redefine the open-world genre with “the greatest game in the franchise.” Lesterlin talks about what has been added, such as the additional grapple lines, and what has been brought back, such as the wing-suit, to create the ultimate sandbox game to entertain players. He then announces the worldwide Dec 1, 2015 launch date is revealed for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. A new cinematic trailer shows off more of the over-the-top action signature to the series. It says the map has over 400,000 square miles to explore. A narrator discusses the story line about an evil dictator bent on world domination and Rico is going to save the wo- OK, seriously though, you get to blow stuff up. Jetpacks, parachutes, grappling hooks, wing-suits, rocket launchers, hand grenades, rifles, and unlimited C4. Everything you ever wanted to chain together awesome kills.

The vehicles are very detailed in models and features a lot of individual parts, crumple zones, and explosive areas. Combine this with the enhanced physics engine around other explosive items and you get “amazing moments of unpredictable chaos.” The world is packed with all kinds of side activities – such as wing-suit races – and littered with collectibles. Rico will have unlocks and upgrades. Basically, this game is everything you ever wanted from a “Just Cause” game.

Yosuke Saito, Business Division VI Director, takes the stage to reveal a new work-in-progress title. It’s early in development and the trailer is supposed to be just to reveal the artwork. It’s developed by Platinum Games, the team behind “Bayonetta.” The team is also packed with loads of other talent who have worked on games from “Tekken” to “Metal Gear.” It’s then revealed that it is going to be “Nier 2.” The whole trailer was cinematic, so not much was revealed, but more details will be announced fall 2015. It looks beautiful, but development has “just begun, so don’t expect it to launch any time soon.” They’re only calling it “Nier New Project” for now, obviously a working title.

Platinum Games says they never imaged such a game would be possible, but that they were instilled with “new strength” after being asked by Square Enix to work on the game. The staff is full of fans of the first game, and they are thrilled to work on the game. We’re reminded that “it will take a while before it’s ready,” so it’s obviously going to be a few years away.

Time to switch gears to “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” Although some details have already been revealed, more gameplay is shown in a trailer. It focuses on more of the puzzles and exploration elements. It also gives us a much better look at the world we’ll be exploring, compared to the almost exclusively snow-filled are shown yesterday. Brian Horton, Game Director, takes the stage to talk more about the game.

He talks about how they want to make Lara seem as “human and believable as possible.” Crystal Dynamics have built Lara from the ground up, focusing on details as small as pores and eyelashes, and how particles would interact with those elements. They even have added scars from the previous game, to enhance the detail. She’ll get muddy when it’s wet out and snow will actually accumulate on her jacket when it’s falling from the sky. “At Crystal, we look at every granular detail to deliver a believable lifelike Lara.” Horton talks about how they’re focusing more on the “Tomb” of “Tomb Raider” and promises more announcements coming in the following months.

Patrick Naud, Head of Studio in Montreal, takes the stage talking about “Hitman Go” and “Hitman Sniper.” He then switches gears and says this mobile concept is being brought to a new franchise – “Tomb Raider.” The art style is more cartoony than “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” but it looks adorable and has a nice soundtrack. “Lara Croft Go” appears to take a lot of inspiration from the “Hitman” game of the same name, and it’s being released “soon” for tablets and mobile.

A quick montage of Square Enix games showcasing everything from “Final Fantasy” to “Dragon Quest,” and it’s time for “Kingdom Hearts?” Unfortunately, the translation didn’t work at this point; but Shinji Hashimoto, a Square Enix Executive, introduced a trailer for “Final Fantasy Remake,” confirmed for “PlayStation 4.” It’s the same trailer that was revealed yesterday, promising “More to Come This Winter” and that you can “Play It First on PlayStation 4.” Hashimoto returns to say that more detailed information will come in the future. Also, the original “Final Fantasy VII” PC release is delayed, however it is coming to iOS this summer, as well. OK, now it’s time for “Kingdom Hearts.”

It looks like it’s going to be a “Kingdom Hearts” mobile game – makes sense, continuing with the trend of games just announced, but it probably isn’t quite what everyone was expecting. It looks great, features a completely different visual style from the other “Kingdom Hearts” games, obviously because of its mobile platform. No release date revealed, just a message that it is “now in development.” “Kingdom Hearts Unchained Key” was released in Japan and is now being brought to North American markets.

Finally, “Kingdom Hearts III” is announced with a special message from the Walt Disney Animation Studios. They talk about the partnership between Disney and Square Enix to create an exceptional product. It sounds like “Tangled” is going to be joining the cast, meaning we’ll likely see other new Disney characters as well… could this mean “Star Wars” in “Kingdom Hearts III.” A cinematic trailer rolls, introducing the story before transitioning into gameplay. This is the “Kingdom Hearts” everyone is familiar with, and it looks stunning. Awesome action adventure, exhilarating soundtrack, and lots of Disney-infused goodness. “The future, it’s already been written.” “Who’s to say I can’t change it?” No release date again, just “now in development” for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

One more project to discuss from Hashimoto, “World of Final Fantasy” which was introduced yesterday during Sony’s E3 Briefing. The trailer plays, showcasing the very different visual style. It’s kind of like “Final Fantasy” meets “Animal Crossing.” It takes place in a completely new universe which no other “Final Fantasy” game has been in. Hashimoto then introduces Hiroki Chiba, who will be the Game Director. Chiba says the game will be accessible to people of all ages. He discusses new game mechanics and how the players and creatures in game work together to create “towers” which players will use to defeat enemies and solve in-game puzzles. The game will launch in 2016.

Christian Elverdam, Creative Director at IO-Interactive, takes the stage to talk about the new “Hitman” game, simply titled “Hitman.” It looks like this will be a reboot. The game releases December 8 with the tagline “Enter the World of Assassinations.” Elverdam talks about how it will be filled with new experiences, such as targets that will be limited to real-world time frames. He says that Hitman players will have to work together to figure out these puzzles. It will take place in various locations, such as Paris, Italy and America.

Everything will be completely open to the player – how to strike, when to strike, where to strike. A sneak-peek trailer plays. It’s cinematic, but certainly looks breathtaking. Agent 47 is the “world’s premiere assassin” and “no target is safe.” 47 is shown planning his takedown on a prime villain target name Viktor. It shows off various methods of execution, including brutally murdering him with an axe in the middle of a dance floor, dressed as a fireman, or poisoning him while disguising yourself as the bartender. It leads into the advanced Contracts mode, where players can mark their own targets and share them with players online. It’s releasing Dec 8 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Another game montage including the likes of “Hitman Sniper and “Final Fantasy” again before a reveal for a new Square Enix & Tri-Ace project. It looks like a teaser for “Star Ocean 5.” It’s discussing the history of other “Star Ocean” games, hinting at a “new entry” complete with “unexpected encounters and heart-wrenching farewells.” “Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness” has already been announced for Japan, but is now being confirmed for North American release, as well. The announcement is followed by a gameplay trailer which showcases the new location and enhanced graphics. It also shows a lot of an already-familiar battle system, although it’s later warned that it’s just a work in progress and could change. The trailer then reveals a 2016 release window for North America and Europe. It’s being referred to as an “old-school Japanese RPG.”

Now it’s time for some “Deus Ex” news from Eidos Montreal. “We’re not compromising on quality, and are striving to meet the expectations of fans.” The game takes place two years after “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” and the world has changed greatly. Those enhanced are mostly shunned, living in the ghettos. Task Force 29 is created, and Adam Jenson joins them. He works as a double agent, teaming up with “hacktivists” to take down the Illuminati, believing they are behind the creation of Task Force 29. Players will have a range of new tools to use in the game, and the choices’ consequences are “at the heart of the experience.” The first in-game trailer for “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided” begins, looking beautiful. It introduces the story and environment, which is full of drama and chaos. A lot of new augmentations are shown off as Jensen exterminates enemies left and right. It’s releasing early 2016 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

President and CEO, Yosuke Matsuda, takes the stage to thank everyone for coming. He then introduces the “Final Fantasy Portal App” coming this summer. It’s going to be the main resource for everything “Final Fantasy.” But wait, there is one more announcement. Matsuda is talking about Square Enix’s partnership with past developers, and announces a new project by a “re-established studio” The studio is called “Tokyo RPG Factory.” A bunch of concept art is shown off, featuring lots of small villages, covered in snowfall. It’s called “Project SETSUNA” and it’s already in development, although not much else can be shared. It will launch sometime in 2016.

Matsuda recaps the conference, recognizes partners, promises a strong future, and thanks everyone again. A montage of everything revealed today plays as everyone who was represented today is invited back on stage. One more thank you, and everything is wrapped up.

[06.16.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Nintendo Direct Conference [E3 2015]

Nintendo

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Microsoft started off the console wars with a bang, and we’ve seen some great output from Bethesda, EA, and Ubisoft. Sony also threw some punches, but now it’s time for Nintendo to dazzle us! Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Nintendo Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Tuesday, June 16.

The conference kicks off with all of the Nintendo executives… in Muppet form? Suddenly Miyammoto (Muppetmoto?) transforms into a fox Muppet, hinting at a “Star Fox” title? Reggie transforms into Falco, and it’s pretty much confirmed.

A gameplay trailer for “Star Fox Wii U” is shown off, followed by a small vidoc where Miyamoto discusses his inspiration for “Star Fox.” The TV screen will be used for a more cinematic view during dogfights, while the GamePad will utilize an in cockpit view for enhanced precision. It’s also revealed that you can seamlessly transform between the R Wing and a walker with the press of a button. Miyamoto says they “Decided to make the game ‘Star Fox Zero’ because the kanji character for Zero looks cool.”

Reggie says more Amiibos are on the way and will be showing up in a “totally unexpected way.” This coincides with an Activision tie-in reveal for Skylanders and Amiibos, featuring a turbo-charged DK and a huge Bowser, both of which have vehicles. They work as a Skylander character or an Amiibo, and can be switched by twisting the base. This character, however, is exclusive to Nintendo’s version of “Skylanders.”

The Nintendo Muppets return briefly, dancing to music, and it looks like it’s time for Zelda. “The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes” is announced, a co-op dungeon crawler/puzzler for the 3DS. It has a great soundtrack, as expected, and looks pretty awesome. A vidoc plays, discussing the development of “Triforce Heroes.” They wanted to shift the focus of Zelda multiplayer to a cooperative gameplay. It includes a thing called the “Totem Mechanic” where you can jump on top of each other’s shoulders to reach higher places. It also includes a fashion element.

“Zelda” is also coming to 3DS with a special version of “Hyrule Warriors.” “Hyrule Warriors Legends” It will contain all of the DLC from the Wii U version as well as additional unique features. No release date was announced. I brief trailer shows off gameplay and various characters. It’s then revealed that it’s coming first quarter of 2016.

The Nintendo Muppets briefly return before a new trailer starts playing. “Metroid Prime Federation Force” It’s a 4 player co-op 3DS game that will also include “Metroid Prime Blast Ball” available 2016.

A classic Mario shows up, but then suddenly changes into a “Fire Emblem” character. A cinematic trailer plays introducing “Fire Emblem Fates.” Look like standard “Emblem Fare,” possibly continuing the previous story line. It will release sometime in 2016.

Now a trailer for a new Atlas game plays. “Mirage” is packed with anime characters, bright colors, and over-the-top visuals.

Back to the Muppets briefly followed by another trailer reveal. The main characters are “marooned” on a foreign planet. It looks like another RPG where massive monster are going to be fought. Throw in some robots and a lot of futuristic vehicles, and you have yourself “Xenoblade Chrnoicles X” coming December 4, 2015.

Mario appears in a water level and it transitions into a reveal for a new “Animal Crossing” 3DS game. It looks like a great upgrade to the previous “Animal Crossing” title, mostly because of the new easier placement of items. “Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer” is revealed to be the title with a Sept 25, 2015 release date. It’s hard to tell if it will be just a home design tool as the name suggests or if it will actually be the next title in the series.

More “Animal Crossing” appears, now in the style of a “Mario Party” game. It also appears as if it’s going to require Amiibos to play the game. Other than that, it’s almost identical to “Mario Party.” “Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival” releases holiday 2015.

Switching gears to “Yoshi’s Wooly World,” a behind-the-scenes documentary talks about the making of the game. It’s packed full of adorable real-world yarn Yoshis, among many other characters. This was actually the inspiration for the game, leading to everything being designed from yarn in the game. The game is easy to play, but can be as difficult as you want it to be, especially if you want to 100% the game. It ties in with Amiibos, and looks like you can use them to reskin Yoshi to create a Mario or Samus Yoshi. The game will also be co-op. Oct 16, 2015.

More Nintendo Muppets and we move on to a trailer for “Yokai Watch” coming Holiday 2015. Another catch-em-all game. It’s basically like “Pokémon,” but with a lot more ghosts and a fancy watch replacing Pokéballs.

New “Paper Mario” 3Ds game is shown, and it’s time for worlds to collide. The world of “Paper Mario” is being merged with the 3D Mario in another RPG adventure. It looks pretty awesome, and seems to incorporate a lot of new design elements “Mario & Luigi Paper Jam” is coming Summer 2016.

Mario keeps going with a new “Mario Tennis” title. “Mario Tennis Ultra Smash” looks to incorporate power-ups into the classic “Mario Tennis” game. It’s coming Holiday 2015

“Super Mario Maker” now takes the stage while Miyamoto discusses the creation of the original game. He talks about how they used to hand draw levels on graph paper. It shows off even more features of the game, like how you can combine elements from the various Mario titles and put things where they normally wouldn’t go – like Goombas under water. You can use Amiibos to transform Mario into a costume version with a mushroom power up, They’ll be displayed in all the 8-bit glory. It turns out, this is what all the cut scenes have been hinting at throughout the presentation. They’re also releasing a commemorative 8-bit Mario Amiibo, which will cause an even larger version of him in the game. He’ll function just like other Amiibos, as well. They also talk about how they created the original 1-1 to be a tutorial level – a fact that is well known. It ends with a September 11, 2015 release date.

Reggie – real Reggie, that is – comes back to talk about everything they have shown off so far. He also announces the “Nintendo Access” program through Best Buy where you’ll be able to play “Mario Maker.” More details at E3.Nintendo.com

He closes by reflecting on the impact Mario has had on the company, not just as a character or mascot, but the effect he has had on everyone who has played with him. The conference ends on a montage of Mario games and a celebration of the 30th year of Mario.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 PlayStation Experience [E3 2015]

Sony

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Microsoft started off the console wars with a bang, and we’ve seen some great output from Bethesda, EA, and Ubisoft, but it’s time for Sony to come back swinging. Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 PlayStation Experience, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.

Like many of the other conferences, Sony launches with a montage video showcasing a wide variety of games from the console. Shawn Layden, President & CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, takes the stage with the obligatory welcome and thank you message. He instantly gets down to business, proclaiming that PlayStation will be “the best place to play.” He promises “a reality where games are the cultural zeitgeist.”

The very first game is a highly anticipated PlayStation exclusive, and the crowd goes crazy instantly knowing what’s coming. From Sony Japan Studio, directed by Fumito Ueda, “The Last Guardian” finally makes an appearance and years, and it looks as beautiful and epic as one would expect. The character, a young boy, directs his cat/bird/dragon-like animal to hop across to a broken bridge. He then works his way to the edge, and takes a leap of faith, being rescued by his pet. The boy then proceeds to work through a puzzle, which begins to tear about the platform he is on. Once again, he takes a leap of faith – only this time, the pet misses. Fortunately, the boy lands on his tail, and his pet takes off climbing a nearby building with him on his back. After safely making it to the top, they relax and the trailer comes to an end. “The Last Guardian” coming 2016.

Shuhei Yoshida is on the stage, ecstatic that he can finally reveal this title. He then introduces Fumito Ueda, who stands up in the audience to cheers and cat calls. Yoshida then introduces Hermen Hulst of Guerilla Games.

Hulst unveils a brand new IP with a trailer of in-engine footage. It looks to be another post-apocalyptic game, where the survivors have reverted to a more tribal-like state. The cities have been overrun by nature and are now considered to be monuments of the previous civilizations. A female protagonist talks about her tribe’s history, as she is shown hunting or battling some robotic animal-like creatures. A much larger enemy appears and a boss-battle ensues. The protagonist relies on a high-tech bow to fight, while her enemy uses lasers and explosives. She lands a killing blow by shooting an explosive arrow into the “heart” of the enemy, then stabbing it after it falls to the ground. “Horizon Zero Dawn” is the name of the new game, but no release window is mentioned.

Square Enix’s logo flashes and Agent 47 is mentioned. This could only mean one thing: a new “Hitman” game. The trailer appears to be full CGI and is rather sporadic. It frequently cuts between Agent 47 training by running through snowy woods and various scenes throughout town. Regardless, it gives of a pretty exciting vibe, even though it doesn’t really reveal much about the game.

Asad Qizilbash takes the stage to discuss the new “Hitman,” which will be “the most ambitious ‘Hitman’ ever created.” The player can travel to a multitude of environments and will take on a wide variety of tasks. It will also feature a PlayStation-exclusive Beta (via preorder) as well as six console-exclusive missions. He then immediately moves on to a console exclusive title, “Street Fighter V.”

The trailer is pretty standard fair for the “Street Fighter” series, and the first public beta will start July 23, exclusive to PlayStation 4 gamers. The final launch will be on PlayStation 4 and PC.

Qizilbash passes off to Sean Murray of Hello Games to show off “No Man’s Sky,” which was previewed at E3 last year. “This year,” Murray says, “I guess I just wanted to show off gameplay.” The demo proceeds with him in a spaceship battling in space. Battles will span the entire universe, literally across multiple solar systems. Each star he shows on a map actually represents a sun, each sun has a solar system with planets. He begins to zoom out to show off the size of the universe and it is impossibly massive. “Many of the planets in ‘No Man’s Sky’ have never been visited, and many of them never will be.” That’s how unbelievably large the game is.

Murray spawns into a new solar system, one that has likely not been visited yet, and continues to show off gameplay. He lands on a planet, tracking down a beacon to upload a discovery. He deems the world, “Planet E3” and proceeds to mention say that every planet in every solar system is fully destructible. A sentinel then shows up to protect the planet he was destroying. He dives under water, where there are fish swimming around, and continues his search for the beacon. No release date is announced, but he promises it will be soon.

Qizilbash transitions to a new game by Media Molecule. With a brief teaser, Alex Evans takes the stage to present his studio’s new game. Much like “Little Big Planet,” “Dreams” looks to build upon a game inspired by creativity. Evans shows off a demo where things are sketched or molded using the controller. The demo creates an entire person, sitting in a chair, and then adds a piano and an entire environment around him. He proceeds to move the guy around like a puppet, also using just the movement of the controller. Evans closes out by saying that more will be revealed at Paris Game Week and leaves us with a trailer demonstrating the capabilities of “Dream.” It’s basically an animation studio on the PlayStation 4. You really can make anything your mind comes up with.

Qizilbash returns to the stage again to introduce “Firewatch” on PlayStation 4. “Firewatch” is about a new park ranger who has to survive using only a radio to communicate with others. It’s way more interesting than it sounds, and this brief teaser doesn’t do it justice. It’s a story-driven experience, definitely worth looking more into.

Adam Boyes takes the stage to discuss the future of “Destiny.” He introduces a teaser for the next expansion, “The Taken King.” It reveals the plot, but no other details beyond a release date of Sept 15. Boyes then reveals there will be more exclusive content coming to PlayStation 4 with the launch of “The Taken King.”

Moving along quickly, Boyes introduces “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.” The trailer focuses on Evie Frye and is narrated by her brother, Jacob. It shows off her skills and weapons of choice. Boyes also announces “The Dreadful Crimes,” an exclusive set of missions available on PlayStation 4.

He wastes no time jumping to “Final Fantasy,” revealing the next PlayStation exclusive in the series. “World of Final Fantasy” is very unique take, exclusive to PS4 and Vita coming 2016. It has a very… different take on the world of final fantasy and takes on a unique art style.

Keeping on the trend with Square Enix, Boyes teases another favorite franchise from the company that is finally making its return. “Final Fantasy Remake” will be a completely updated “Final Fantasy 7” launching exclusively on the PlayStation 4.

He then jumps to Devolver Studios to quickly cover 4 games coming exclusively. Ronin, Eitr, Mother Russia Bleeds, and Crossing Souls are all indie games featuring a retro style.

Boyes is all over the place, now talking about the success of Kickstarter projects of the past. He teases an announcement of a recent project which he “wanted to be revealed on their stage.” Available to be backed now, “Shenmue 3.” Boyes introduces Yu Suzuki, the creator of “Shenmue,” to countdown the launch of the Kickstarter page.

After Suzuki leaves the stage, Boyes recaps all of the announcements. He then prepares for another big reveal as a trailer rolls. A collection of industrial images is shown off, eventually leading to a grizzly image of The Joker being cremated. The Batman logo, engulfed in flames, flashes on the screen. “This is the death of the Batman.” A vintage-style Gotham is shown as the camera transitions to the first-person view of a police officer, “Officer Owens,” entering a diner. The officer is informed of a man who is smoking by another restaurant patron, but things start to go crazy as thanks to smoke that is actually fear venom. The diner is suddenly full of demons and the officer unloads his clip until finally being overwhelmed. “Batman Arkham Night” will have 3 exclusive Scarecrow on PlayStation 4.

Hilmar Veigar takes the stage to discuss Project Morpheus. A montage of various Morpheus games is shown off, reformatted to be shown off. Veigar discusses the future of Morpheus, promising it will be the premier location for VR. He introduces some new IPs and talks about the life cycle of the system. He also discusses the introduction of Spotify and its quick adoption. “PlayStation Vue,” the cable-like service, is launching tonight in san Francisco and Los Angeles. Later this year, it will offer an a la cart system nationwide, as the only service of its kind. PlayStation Plus members will also receive a discount on their subscription prices. He then announces a partnership with Activision to bring content first to PlayStation 4.

Mark Lamia of Treyarch takes the stage to make the official worldwide debut of “Call of Duty: Black Ops III.” A four player demo is shown off in Cairo. The game features more of the futuristic weapons and equipment that have become a signature of the series. The weapon load-out selection screen appears to actually be a loading screen. The mission is underway and things start out rough. A fellow soldier has been impaled and the main character tries to rescue him. The cockpit then begins to fall off to the ground, and it’s revealed that the pilot didn’t make it. An all-out battle ensues on the ground, showcasing the cooperative elements while they battle a large robotic enemy and multiple other soldiers. The demo switches rapidly between multiple different players’ viewpoints to showcase a variety of weapons, abilities, and enemies. Finally, the enemy is taken down and a brief campaign teaser plays, showcasing the Michael Bay-esk action.

David Vonderhaar, of Treyark, now introduces another trailer for the game, describing it as fast paced and “visceral” – a popular buzz word this year. The game starts to look very much like “Titanfall,” with lots of wall running taking place. It’s still infused with plenty of “Call of Duty,” though. This trailer is a non-stop montage of multiplayer highlights with added hype from an upbeat soundtrack.

An unnecessarily huge montage of PlayStation Vita games, some PlayStation exclusive and some not, is shown off to add hype.

Shawn Layden returns to introduce “Star Wars” with John Vignocchi from Disney Interactive. “Star Wars” is coming to “Disney Infinity 3.0” this fall. A limited edition PS3 starter pack will feature new “Star Wars” figures and content one month earlier than other platforms. Plenty of fan-favorites show up in a trailer for “Rise Against the Empire” and it’s revealed that Boba Fett can only be played on PlayStation 4 before the holidays.

Layden moves to “Star Wars Battlefront,” releasing on Nov 17. Patrick Bach of DICE takes over to reveal more information about “Star Wars Battlefront.” He references many popular characters, such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Admiral Ackbar is also there, barking orders. A brief gameplay trailer is shown off, echoing content revealed earlier in the day during EA’s conference.

Layden teases one more final announcement, meaning it’s problem time for “Uncharted.” After a brief thank you to those in attendance, an unintroduced trailer begins, with “Only On PlayStation.” It’s immediately apparent, from the first image, that it’s “Uncharted 4,” confirmed by the Naughty Dog Logo. Nathan Drake and Sully bust through a door into… an active, overcrowded city? A gameplay demo then looks like it should be beginning, but never actually happens.

The demo reboots, as Nathan and Sully reenter the city again. After pointing out Sam’s tower for a second time, the gameplay demo successfully begins and Nathan works his way through the crowd just behind Sully. Suddenly, gunfire erupts and the citizens scatter. Immediately, Nathan and Sully engage the enemies and work their way through the town. Nathan enters a brief hand-to-hand combat section, then takes cover from a vehicle and blind fires to kill a few enemies. He works his way around and continues to engage in a storm of bullets. He bust through a war and engages in more melee combat, punching an enemy through an environment. A brief parkour session happens and they drive away in a jeep.

The game is as action-packed as ever and looks beautiful, as is expected. Nathan and Sully tear up the town like it’s a game of “Crazy Taxi” as they try to avoid the enemy vehicles. After cutting through a market, they continue to weave through town and then decide to do some serious off-roading. Finally, they’ve shaken the enemy and Sully declares, “we can never, ever come back to this city.” They’re cut short by a construction site and have to drive around, going off-road again. Thinking they’ve escaped, their hopes are crushed as the enemy vehicle shows up again. Now they off-road onto the rooftops of the village and through some gardens, a pipe, and a small pond. Up the side of a mountain, through a marsh, across a creek. Nathan throws a hook onto a train and the trailer cuts as he’s about to smash into a wall. With that, the “PlayStation Experience” is over.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Ubisoft Press Conference [E3 2015]

Ubisoft

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Bethesda kicked off E3 as the first developer conference, and it was spectacular. Microsoft followed up with an unbelievable conference of their own. Returning to the developers, Electronic Arts had some exciting announcements of their own. With Ubisoft in line next, will the third time be the charm for them? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Ubisoft Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.

The conference kicks off with a trailer for a new “South Park” RPG, following up on “The Stick of Truth.” Cartman and everyone is back with their respective outfits, only this time, Butters is the villain as “Professor Chaos.” It looks to be packed full of all the goofiness of the previous title. “South Park: The Fractured But Whole” –read that out loud. Aisha Tyler comes out to introduce Matt Stone and Trevor Parker. Despite claiming, they were not going to make another game after the previous, they decided the last one helped them learn that they could do another, so they decided, “F*** it, let’s do it.” Stone promises to get deeper into the backstory. No release date is announced, though, and Stone and Parker leave the stage.

Tyler thanks everyone for attending and welcomes everyone to the Ubisoft event. Much like EA, Tyler emphasizes Ubisoft’s desire for fan feedback. She then makes way for Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.

Guillemot expresses his love for the creators and players of games. He claims that Ubisoft has always taken risks, and insists that they will continue – starting with a new IP in a new genre, out of Ubisoft Montreal. It leads with lots of medieval characters with era-appropriate weapons, destroying each other. The camera moves all around the battlefield, focusing on all kinds of different combat, ranging from one-on-one melee to some larger scale encounters. It’s brutal, gritty, but not excessively gory. “For Honor” displays an impressive, but entirely CGI trailer for its debut.

Jason Vandenberghe, Creative Director for “For Honor,” takes the stage. He describes a first-person experience in battle, describing it as “visceral.” It’s a 4v4 melee-focused battle game. They transition to a gameplay demo, which showcases four player-controlled knights surrounded by a plethora of AI-controlled characters, charging into battle. We see a 2v2 battle take place, and shows off a little more brutality here. It feels like a more focused, team-oriented “Ryse: Son of Rome.” The AI battle in the background while the players have a defensive-heavy battle by themselves. Vandenberghe announces the demo will be available to play tomorrow morning at E3. You can register at ForHonor.com to get more information and be among the first to play.

Tyler returns to the stage, to talk about more fan-feedback inspired projects. She talks about an upcoming expansion to “The Crew” which shows off dirt bikes, monster trucks, rally cars, and drag racers. “The Crew: Wild Run” is coming Nov 17.

A new trailer starts showing horses and bullets, beautifully rendered. It then reveals a cat riding on the back of a unicorn, teasing “Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max.” It’s a DLC coming out July 14 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. “You’re a cat riding a fire-breathing unicorn,” what more convincing do you need?

Tyler proceeds to discuss “Tom Clancy’s: The Division,” one of the most highly anticipated Ubisoft games to date. Ryan Barnard, Game Director for “Tom Clancy’s: The Division,” takes the stage to introduce “The Dark Zone.” He emphasizes the team-oriented experience, and shows off a gameplay demo. It looks to be Time Square on New Year’s Day, virtually abandoned outside of the operatives wandering the streets. The players hop a fence and slowly investigate the new area. The road is littered with corpses and abandoned Army Vehicles as a voice in the background mentions something about a “Quarantine being in effect.”

They come across some enemies and begin to plan out their attack before being ambushed from behind. A gun battle ensues, and they fight their way towards a crate, in which they find an LMG. The operatives also show off some fancy gadget along the way. The “players” continue an unnatural conversation, discussing plans to avoid some tough enemies and call for an extraction. They then have to hold off for 90 seconds, and a helicopter arrives. The original players decide to take out those who joined them, but then one agent assassinates everyone and runs off with the loot. “Huge dick move,” Tyler says as the demo comes to a close.

“Tom Clancy’s: The Division” is available at E3 now, and the beta will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC early next year – coming to Xbox One first. The game will release March 8, 2016 on all platforms simultaneously.

A new game trailer for the “critically acclaimed city builder” begins. It shows off a beautifully rendered, modern cityscape. A futuristic vehicle flies in, and then the trailer cuts to a moon-like environment. As the vehicle crests over a hill, a tremendous moon base is reviled. The camera pans out to reveal the massive scope of the environment, then cuts to a close up of a spaceship launching back to Earth. “Anno 2205” coming Nov 3, continues on with a gameplay demo. It looks very much like a futuristic “Sim City,” only with space travel and slightly more majestic environments. Lots of cliffs, oceans, and islands are shown off, before again teasing the space-travel and moon base. The game looks extremely pretty.

Tyler is now in the crowd, talking to Jacob Frye,” from “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.” After an awkward exchange, she then talks to Jason Altman, Executive Producer of “Just Dance 2016.” Altman announces that the “biggest music game franchise of all time” no longer requires a camera to play the game. A cellphone app will allow players to connect to their console and use it as a controller, presumably like a Wii Remote. Jason Derülo then comes out performing his latest hit single, “Want to Want Me,” indicating that it will likely be in the latest installment. Tyler discusses Derülo’s success and Derülo talks about being a fan of the franchise. Tyler confirms the single will be in the game when it releases this October on Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Along with the launcher, users on the latest generation get the unique “Just Dance Unlimited,” a streaming services that will feature over 150 tracks. No pricing details were revealed, but it is subscription based.

A new CGI trailer starts up, with a woman talking about attacks all over the world. It’s probably a “Rainbow Six Siege” teaser. It shows the “unknown” enemy crafting some sort of biological weapon, before the woman declares the reactivation of her force created from the world’s elite operatives, confirming that it is, in fact, for “Rainbow Six Siege.” Tyler starts to introduce the game, emphasizing the fully-destructible environments packed with close-quarters combat. She introduces Angela Bassett, who plays “Six,” the head of the counter-terrorism unit. Bassett discusses the experience of playing a video-game character. Bassett leaves the stage, and Tyler hints at more details on the single-player experience.

Genevieve Forget, Community Developer for “Rainbow Six Siege,” takes over to discuss more about the single player and co-op experiences. Terrorist Hunt is back as Terror Hunt, with the most advanced AI in any “Rainbow Six” game to date. A live gameplay demo takes place, where they’re trying to disarm some explosives. They start out by surveying the area together, then deciding to scale the building and head to the room top. Some of the characters are utilizing shields while others are picking of enemies with their silenced pistols. They send out a recon drone that drives around to scout out the location of the explosives and terrorist locations.

The team busts through a wall with a sledgehammer to create a new flanking route. An explosion downs a teammate and they revive him. They move into a hallway, using a riot shield for cover, and unload on a group of enemies. They begin to divide and conquer to finish clearing. They start to defuse, but have to hold off enemies coming from everywhere, including behind the players. After another intense battle, the bomb is disarmed and the demo ends.

Forget announces that was just one of four Terror Hunt modes that will be in the game, including Terror Hunt Classic (which will likely be purely enemy elimination). It's available now for E3 and the Beta starts on Sept 24, available on all platforms, with both PVP and Terror Hunt.

Tyler returns, emphasizing that was the first time she’s actually seen the team win and that it’s real gameplay. She then discusses Classic Arcades, and moves on to “Trackmania Turbo.” A preview for the game shows off a very colorful environment. A helicopter drops off a racecar which lands on the racetrack and takes off in stride. It hints at four-player split screen and the trailer ends with a bang. Francois Alaux and Tommmy Francois take the stage to discuss the game and play through a demo. Alaux races through a level against ghosts, switching freely between first and third-person views. He easily gets a gold medal on his first try. There are 5 difficulty levels, over 200 tracks, and a track builder mode which randomly generates tracks on the fly with the press of a button. He immediately plays the new track, this time not doing quite as well. The demo also shows off a new environment, “Rollercoaster Lagoon.” They also announce there will be a VR demo at E3.

Tyler comes back to announce “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.” It starts off with a CGI trailer, cutting between shots of a bird flying above London and shots of alleyways and streets around the city. “Devils Acre 1866.” We see Jacob Frye – in game this time – spying on someone from atop a building, with some friends. He pulls on his hood, jumps down onto a carriage, and hijacks it. He chases down another carriage and abandons his previous one. He then bails off a bridge, rescues himself, and hops onto a train to continue his pursuit. More shots, this time indoors, are shown in some sort of steel factory. He sets a man on fire, chains him up, and walks out as his crew comes in to take on the other thugs.

Cut to a tavern, and Frye walks in to talk to enemies. They refuse to join his cause, so he begins beating them up in a very un-fair bar fight. He uses his hidden blade to slice-and-dice, then spares one as he walks out with his crew. A crow flies off and the trailer ends.

Marc-Alexis Côté, Creative Director on “Assassin’s Creed Sydicate” takes the stage to talk about the game. He confirms the London location during the Industrial Revolution. He also confirms the ability to play as both Evie and Jacob Frye.

Guillemot returns to the stage for one final announcement, talking about a revolutionizing a franchise. A group, which has been working in secrecy, has been developing the game. A trailer begins with a skull and a voiceover talking about fighting an enemy that doesn’t fear death. Blood drips down the table and a helicopter is heard. It cuts to a guy parachuting over a huge valley and mountain. A few more join him as they head down the mountain. One pulls out a sniper rifle and they begin to scope out the area, suddenly taking out a target. They start a chase down a dirt road, mentioning that they’re chasing after a truck of cocaine.

Now the mission completely changes to something more stealthy, but close-quarters. A drone is shown flying around, then the voiceover returns briefly in the same environment. He smashes a bottle over a guy’s head, and it cuts to a third mission. This is outside in the daylight, and quickly cuts between, what appears to be, multiple approaches for the same mission. A cinematic begins with a man who’s pinned to a table by knives, being tortured by some guy covered in tattoos. It features a massive open world with a large variety of environments, and players traversing all of them as while as fighting battles throughout. “Tom Clancy’s: Ghost Recon - Wildlands” is revealed, no release date, and that caps off the show.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 EA Press Conference [E3 2015]

Electronic Arts

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Bethesda kicked off E3 as the first developer conference, and it was spectacular. Microsoft followed up with an unbelievable conference of their own. Electronic Arts made a brief appearance on stage with Xbox and had an early reveal with “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst,” but they promised a lot more to come. What could it possibly be? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Electronic Arts Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.

Unlike the other conferences, Electronic Arts forgoes the montage of games in favor of a teaser trailer. It looks like the exciting reveal they promised at the start of the conference is the next “Mass Effect,” based off of the teaser “Discover a new galaxy.” The trailer continues with a breathtaking, albeit completely CGI trailer, revealing “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” coming holiday 2016.

Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, takes the stage and welcomes everyone to E3. He promises an “action-packed show, full of games you can play either this year or the next.” A nice promise, although technically not out of the realm of everything announced so far. Wilson promises over a dozen new experiences, three new IPs, including one which Wilson promises will be “completely unexpected.” He also teases more “Mirrors Edge Catalyst” and, the grand finale, “Star Wars: Battlefront.”

As Wilson exits the stage, the return of “Need for Speed” is shown through a new trailer. It shows off stunning visuals, which have been shown off in screen shots over the past week. The atmosphere of the game is an obvious return to the “Need for Speed: Underground” series. Marcus Nilsson, of Ghost Games, promises it to be the “definitive ‘Need for Speed’ experience.” It will feature the richest customization seen in any “Need for Speed” game. It will also include an open world environment and all the wonderful running-from-the-law, drifting, NOS-filled, adrenaline rush that fans have been asking for.

Another trailer for the game, showcasing the live-action cut scenes plays, hinting briefly at the generic story. It then seamlessly transitions to the photo-realistic visuals we’ve come to expect from “Forza,” but never “Need for Speed,” until now. The trailer shows off the customization suite, showing that virtually any cosmetic change you want can happen. The game then moves to the streets, in a night filled with neon and street-racing glory. The gameplay should be familiar to anyone who has been keeping up with the series, but focuses on the best parts from games dating back to “Need for Speed: Underground” and “Need for Speed: Carbon.” The new “Need for Speed” is coming Nov 3.

“Star Wars: The Old Republic” takes the stage, but it’s not a new game. It’s “Knights of the Fallen Empire,” the next expansion for the MMO, and it will be free to all subscribers. The trailer is impressive, but completely CGI. It shows young Jedis in training and progressing into battle. It’s packed with action and a variety of characters, and looks all-around exciting.

EA Executive Vice President, Patrick Soderlund, heads to the stage to talk about what’s next. He discusses EA’s “player-first” mantra and stresses the importance of community feedback. He promises more betas for EA games this year, in an effort to make their games even better.

He moves on to discuss one of the new IPs. “It’s an experience that is emotional and deeply creative,” and it goes by the name, “Unravel.” The teaser doesn’t show much, but makes it clear that it will incorporate yarn as a primary element. Martin Sahlin, one only 14 developers working on the game as Coldwood Studios, takes the stage to talk more about the game. It’s a puzzle game, featuring a character made of yarn who gradually unravels as he progresses. The game looks absolutely adorable and incredibly creative. It’s all physics-based, having to overcome obstacles utilizing your yarn trail, such as swinging across a cavern with yarn. A longer trailer begins, showing off the physics puzzles. The graphics are bold and cartoonish, like something out of a Dreamworks picture. The trailer ends on logo, but no release date.

Next, a zombie super hero walks on stage – yes, you read that right – which could only mean one thing, “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.” Jeremy Vahoozer of PopCap Games, kicks him off stage to talk about the success of “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare,” which was played by over 6 million people. For the first time ever, the plants are on the attack, fighting through “Zomburbia.” There are six new “crazy” character classes. One of the new maps are shown off, which is a giant factory where robot zombies are built.

It transitions to a live gameplay demo, featuring the new four-player zombie co-op mode, “Graveyard Ops.” One of the new characters, Liam, is shown off. He’s fast, and likes to blow stuff up. Super Brainz is shown next, the zombie super hero which was previously kicked off stage. He’s the first melee class. Captain Deadbeard is revealed, the first sniper class for the Zombies. They then have to face off against a boss battle. Everything definitely represents the over-the-top theme EA promised. In addition to the multiplayer, a new “single play” mode will allow you to play any game mode with AI controlled characters or a friend on the couch via split screen. All players of “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” will be able to transfer the characters at launch. EA also promises continued support via free content updates. A brief montage trailer closes out the reveal, and “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2” will be available Spring 2016.

A hype trailer for “NHL 16” begins, showcasing the awesome visuals, specifically the enhanced crowd. There’s a bunch of slap shots and ice particles flying everywhere. Matt Bilbey of EA Sports, takes the stage to discuss “NHL 16” and its new team-oriented design. “Play Together, Win Together” is the new mantra, and this carries through all of EA’s titles. “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” releases this July as the first game built in the Frostbite engine, allowing the ball to be played anywhere and cut out load times between holes. EA Team is revamped, with double the content compared to previous years. Ultimate Team will be available across many games and promises to be secure and fair for everyone. EA games also want to help bring in new players, providing real-time feedback

Sean O’Brien, Executive Producer on “NBA Live 16,” takes the stage to talk about the new game. He also emphasizes EA’s willingness to listen to feedback. He announces the new Gameface HD Scanning app, which will put your face right into “NBA Live 16.” It will be available prior to launch.

The team has spent two years bringing in thousands of new player animations, so “you won’t feel like you’re stuck in an animation.” Hand offs, passes, and the pick-and-roll have all been revamped with better controls. There’s also a brand new shot system, giving you complete control of the release of your shot. The longer you hold the button, the later you release. Simple, straight-forward, and beautiful. O’Brien also teases the announcement of a new game mode, coming later this year. It caps off with a trailer in-game footage. The trailer is essentially just a NBA highlight reel.

Samantha Ryan, EA’s mobile executive, takes the stage to discuss the success of mobile gaming. She highlights recent EA games on mobile. She then announces “Star Wars Galaxy Heroes,” a new collectible card game in the “Star Wars” universe. Mike Rasmussen then takes the stage to discuss a new Minion game, “Minions Paradise.” It’s full of the light-hearted humor and charm that makes the Minions such as success. It transitions into a gameplay demo, showing off the main hub of the game – the Tiki Lounge. It acts as the location to get quests for the games. You send off Minions to collect resources and perform various tasks, all in the hilariously imperfect Minion way. The island can be upgraded and customized and there are multiple activities all over the island.

An inspirational trailer for “FIFA 16” stars Pelé, suggesting he’s going to be deeply involved in this game (Think NBA 2K11 and Michael Jordan). Pelé himself takes the stage with David Rutter, who is working on “FIFA 16,” and they conduct a brief interview, discussing how Pelé coined the term “the beautiful game,” for soccer. Pelé says it was because soccer is a more intelligent, skill-based sport. Pelé discusses the different experiences of watching the game and being in the game. A bicycle kick is more flashy, but he finds penalty kicks to be more exciting. After more reminiscing, Pelé finally exits the stage to standing ovation.

Rutter discusses innovations in this year’s game. This includes new defensive agility to help you track players on the defense. The midfield has enhanced control, including interception intelligence and more purposeful and direct passing. More motion tracking was done to help create those “moments of magic” in the final third of the pitch. “FIFA Trainer” is a new system that helps you improve your game, regardless of skill level. For the first time ever, women’s teams have made their way to “FIFA.” The team spent years to ensure the most authentic experience, with the inclusion of the new women’s teams, and across the game as a whole. All “FIFA 15 Ultimate Team” players are receiving a “special reward,” likely Pelé, as Rutter mentions it’s to “commemorate his moment.” More on “FIFA 16” information will be coming this summer. A final trailer plays, showing off a highlight reel of incredible shots and team celebrations. It closes with the tagline “Play Beautiful.”

Sara Jansson, from Dice, takes the stage to talk about “Mirrors Edge: Catalyst.” It’s a “revolutionary action adventure game” that delves into the origins story of Faith. It’s built on the latest Frostbite Engine, like the new “Need for Speed” and “Battlefield.” There are many story missions and time trials. There aren’t, however, any levels or loading screens. It’s completely open-world. “Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst” is playable at E3. A fully CGI trailer teases the game’s story and atmosphere. It shows her putting a serious beat-down on bad guys, all without the need for any guns. The world is bright and colorful, accented by a few bold reds, yellows, and blues – something that should be very familiar to fans. “Mirrors Edge: Catalyst” is coming Feb 23, 2016.

A teaser for “Madden NFL 16” starts up, followed by Sean Graddy, the Senior Producer for “Madden NFL 16” and Robert Flores, host of ESPN 2’s Fantasy Football Now, taking the screen to talk about the game. They introduce “Draft Champions,” a new game mode coming to “Madden NFL 16” that promises to bring the draft experience home, every single day. You pick three players each day to compete against your friends. You can then play with your teams to take on other players, either solo or online, and then head back afterwards to do it all over again.

“Madden NFL 16” puts the focus on Quarterbacks, Receivers, and Defenders in Coverage. There’s better options to refine your throwing as the play-caller. With the receiver, you can choose between three new catch types – possession, run-after-catch, and aggressive catch. As defenders, you can play the receiver instead of just the ball. This will let you enact devastating hits to knock a player down after possession or try to knock the ball loose. The official “Madden NFL 16” trailer plays, essentially as a highlight reel like all the others.

Peter Moore, the CFO of EA, finally takes the stage to introduce “Star Wars: Battlefront.” He describes it as a dedicated passion product for DICE, and it will run on the Frostbite engine. Moore also hints that it will be at the core of multiple future games, and possibly even VR. He also suggests that, while impressive, what we’ve seen so far is only the beginning of what Frostbite can do.

Sigurlína Ingvarsdottir, Senior Producer on “Star Wars: Batlefront,” takes over to discuss her memories with “Star Wars.” She promises an “incredibly authentic, visually stunning universe.” In partnership with “Lucas Arts,” they were able to look over many of the props from the original trilogy to make sure they are represented in game as realistically as possible. It offers 8-40 player multiplayer game modes as well as split-screen Missions. The game will “Fulfill the Battlefront fantasies you’ve always dreamed of.” Finally, gameplay is revealed. Both the Empire’s and the Rebel’s perspectives are shown. The footage is pre-alpha, but it still looks incredible. It is, most definitely, “Star Wars” meets “Battlefield,” and it is beautiful. You can switch freely between first and third person, both in vehicles and on the ground. Lots of vehicular gameplay is highlighted, showcasing many different vehicles from the “Star Wars” universe. After taking down an Imperial Walker, a TIE fighter battle takes places. Darth Vader makes a brief appearance, using the Force, followed by Luke Skywalker. They’ll be available as special unlockable characters. The game is coming Nov 17.

Wilson returns to wrap the show and thanks everyone for coming. There will be more information in the coming weeks.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Xbox Media Briefing [E3 2015]

Microsoft

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. After a great E3 kick-off courtesy of Bethesda, Microsoft starts off the console wars with their incredible lineup of announcements, and here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Xbox Media Briefing, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.

The conference begins kicks off with a montage of games, including Tomb Raider, Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and many other games. Bonnie Ross, Studio Head at 343 Studios, welcomes everyone to the conference. She starts off with, none other than, “Halo 5 Guardians.”

A new reveal trailer plays, featuring voice-overs from many characters. It introduces the storyline from many different angles, including Master Chief’s, Buck’s, and even the Covenant. It then moves into a gameplay demo. The player is playing as part of the ONI team, fighting off the covenant. Taking the role of Spartan Locke, they gather intel on the area, finding Master Chief’s assault rifle. Lots of explosions, running through the facility – everything is very much “Halo,” just prettier. The player shows off the ability to command other team members to attack a covenant ship followed by the Spartan’s new unique abilities.

Some new characters are shown, including a soldier version of the Promethean race and the gameplay demo ends. It then returns to a montage of game highlights, including a brief glimpse at the new bosses. The launch date of Oct 27, 2015 flashes on the screen and Josh Holmes takes the stage.

Holmes says this is the most ambitious “Halo” game yet. A massive, two story campaign and multiplayer maps 4 times the size of anything previous. “Halo 5” multiplayer goes by a new name – “War Zone.” The multiplayer demo will be on the show floor this week and looks to be a much larger scale team game, 24-player possibilities.

Now it’s time for an Xbox Exclusive World Premier. From Keiji Inafune and the makers of “Metroid Prime,” a unique looking adventure game. A desert environment is shown and the protagonists has a robot dog following it around. It has a very Pixar-like style. The female protagonist and her dog face off against some robot spiders, and the dog detonates himself to save the girl. All that is left is a crystal power core, which she then places in another dormant robot, bringing it to life. She possibly indicates it’s the same “dog” she just had, but in a new body. The title “Recore” is revealed with a Spring 2016 launch window. It will likely be an Xbox exclusive

Phil Spencer takes the stage, confirming that “Recore” will be an exclusive, new, first-party franchise for Xbox One. He discusses the vision for Xbox One and how Xbox continues to invest in delivering the best experience for Xbox gamers. He’s also wearing a shirt under his jacket which is just barely visible. He then reveals Xbox One has backwards compatibility! Something that wasn’t previously thought possible, now available Natively on the Xbox One. It’s part of the vision for creating the largest game library on Xbox One.

Mike Ybarra, Head of Platform Engineering, shows off backwards compatibility, including over 100 titles coming this holiday. It will support both digital downloads – which should automatically start showing up soon – as well as retail games. He then plays “Mass Effect” on Xbox One, showing that the game plays like the Xbox 360, but will utilize Xbox One features – such as screenshots or game streaming and DVR. It’s available immediately for preview members and will be available this holiday for others.

Spencer returns to the stage to talk about the “Xbox Elite Wireless Controller” coming this fall. It will have “swappable” components and “limitless customization,” essentially creating the ultimate first-party “pro” controller designed for Xbox One and Windows 10. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Todd Howard, Bethesda Game Studio’s head, takes the stage, yes on Xbox’s conference. Howard is discussing “Fallout 4,” possibly hinting at exclusive content? He’s discussing the importance of freedom in the game and is revealing more gameplay content. He goes over much of the information revealed at Bethesda’s conference, just more summarized. He also reveals a new weapon, a type of musket, and more survivors are discovered. It gives off a very “Walking Dead” kind of vibe… only futuristic and with powersuits. Howard calls it the “most ambitious game-world we have ever created” while a montage of action sequences and environments are shown off. Howard than teases a big announcement, revealing that PC Mods can be shared and played, for free, on Xbox One.

Peter Moore, COO of EA, takes the stage, mentioning his happiness with backwards compatibility and then talking about EA Access, the $5/month service only on Xbox One which gives you early access, and many games for a low price. Like always, EA titles will be released early for members and games in the vault will be rotated and can be played unlimited, and players will get discounts. All of this is repeat news. Moore announces that “Titanfall” is coming at the start of summer, “Dragon Age: Inquisition” will come later this fall. This week, All Xbox Live Gold members get free access to EA Access, only have to download the free app.

Moore than announces “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.” He promises “this will be the funniest, craziest, most over the top shooter experience you’ve ever played.” After revealing it’s coming next spring, a trailer begins. It looks like the zombies have taken over and the game will now be in “Zomburbia.” A multitude of new plant and zombie characters are revealed, although the entire trailer is CGI. This time around, it looks like the plants are coming to the zombies’ house to invade.

A teaser for “Forza 6” begins, and the new GT is lowered onto the stage form the ceiling. Henry Ford III takes the stage with Dan Greenwald of Turn 10, introducing a trailer for “Forza 6.” The game looks beautiful as ever. There will now be 24-car multiplayer and it’s coming Sep 15.

Another world premier begins, from Bandai Namco and From Software, Inc. A dark and dreary environment with lots of monstrous characters is shown, and it looks like a new “Dark Souls” game is coming. A massive titan guard with a giant sword is shown, and “Dark Souls 3” flashes, with an “early 2016” release window. It will not be an exclusive

A premier trailer for “Tom Clancy’s: The Division” is shown, re-hyping what is already known about the game. It shows off, what appears to be, lots of in-engine graphics and the game looks great. It appears to take place in the heart of New York City and will require lots of teamwork. There’s plenty of explosions and awesome guns, as is expected from a Tom Clancy game.

Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft Americas, takes the stage to talk more about it. He reveals that it does take place in New York, and will feature a variety of special operatives. He then reminisces on Ghost Recon’s initial launch on the first day of Xbox Live launching. He reveals that the beta will be exclusive to Xbox One, before moving on to “Rainbow Six Siege.”

Detoc emphases the destructible environments of “Rainbow Six Siege” and reveals that “Rainbow Six Vegas” and “Vegas 2” will come free with “Rainbow Six Siege,” all playable on the Xbox One (thanks to the backwards compatibility). A gameplay trailer then begins for “Siege.” Again, it’s nothing revolutionary for the game, but does appear to be mostly in-engine, as well. It actually feels very similar to “The Division,” but in a less post-apocalyptic environment.

An Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive from Motiga is revealed, and it appears to be the long-forgotten “Gigantic.” The trailer reveals a variety of characters as well as gameplay features. It’s an arena shooter which appears to focus on battling large “guardians.” The beta will launch this August and will be free to play, like the game.

A montage of indie games begins, including a momentary tease of the also-forgotten “Cuphead.” It shows off some other original titles and some already-released titles, like “Goat Simulator.” It’s likely this is a lead in for the ID@Xbox program. Logo at the end of the trailer confirms.

Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox, takes the stage to discuss the program. Over 1000 indie developers have been making games for the ID@Xbox program, and it’s “really only the start.” Steve Gaynor of Fullbright takes the stage to discuss and preview Tacoma, coming 2016. Derek Bradley, from Aurora44, is next to discuss “Ashen,” a survival game and Xbox console exclusive. It looks like it will have a lot of emphases on exploration, puzzle-solving, and a dash of horror. Sherida Halatoe, of tiger & squid, enters to discuss “Beyond Eyes.” It’s a very unique experience, coming first to Xbox One and PC. It also appears to be a unique exploration/adventure game, and it releases this summer. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer of MDHR take the stage to discuss “Cuphead” – finally, it’s returning! They talk about their vision for a classic 1930’s cartoon that controls like a classic, 16-bit platformer. As a trailer plays, one thing is obvious – they nailed the style they were going for. The game looks incredible and the gameplay looks extremely fun and challenging, as would be expect from both the era’s the game takes influence from. It’s coming 2016 exclusively to Xbox One.

Charla takes back over announcing an early release program, similar to what’s on PC. The hook is that the games are required to give a free demo first, so you can decide whether or not you want to pay in. Starting today, both ”The Long Dark” and “Elite Dangerous” are available today for Xbox One Game Preview.

Charla hands off to Dean Hall, the creator of “Day-Z” to introduce a new IP coming to PC and Xbox One. It will make use of Xbox One Game Preview and PC access, and players will “be able to shape the destiny” of the game. The game takes place in space, but not much is revealed, other than the name “Ion.” It has a “Gravity” vibe to it.

Brian Horton, Game Director of Crystal Dynamics, demos the world premier gameplay of “Rise of the Tomb Raider” coming holiday 2015. A very beaten and tattered Lara lights her way through a cave with her signature torch… which is then blown out by a snowstorm. Suddenly she’s wearing full winter climbing gear and working her way up a mountain. The climbing mechanics are very familiar, only now she has Jonah tethered to her. Ice starts falling and she makes a leap across the cavern. She’s taking lots of risks while climbing, but makes her way to the top. She loses her grip and falls, saved by Jonah. He struggles to pull her back up and she swings over to the ice to regain her grip. The ice gives way, but she narrowly makes it to the top as an avalanche begins. She tells Jonah to return to shelter and continues her ascent. Non-stop action spliced with quick time events, it’s all very familiar – and very welcome to return. A montage of various game shots is tagged with a “Xbox Exclusive” banner, possibly indicating it’s no longer a “timed release” but a full exclusive? Then the hard release date of Nov 10, 2015 is finally revealed.

Another Xbox One exclusive begins, and it looks like a collection of games from “Rare” as Banjo and Conker both made an appearance, among others. “Perfect Dark, “Viva Pinata,” and Battle Toads” are just a few of the 30 games included in this 10,000 gamerscore collection. “Rare Replay” available August 4, 2015. Craig Duncan, Studio Head at Rare, takes the stage to announce this exclusive collection in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the studio.

He’s also announcing a new title from the company, “by far the most ambitious game Rare has ever created.” It begins in first person with Rare’s signature cartoony graphics. It takes place on an island, complete with tropical birds and… pirate skeletons. A sea shanty begins playing and a character runs out onto a beach where a pirate ship is waiting. Many characters have, what appears to be, gamertags over their heads, indicating what could possibly be a pirate themed MMO? “Sea of Thieves” is the title, no release date indicated.

Another Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive trailer begins, which looks very much like “Fable.” It has the same art style and appears to be an RPG. It will be free to play on both Xbox One and Windows 10, and likes to use the word “legends” a lot. “Fable Legends,” it is.

Kudo Tsunoda, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Studios, takes the stage to talk more about the title. The game will run seamlessly between the two platforms. Anything bought will transfer between the two, and the game will also feature cross-play between PC and Consoles.

He then announces a new partnership with Valve VR, making Windows 10 the best platform with VR gaming. He mentions the previous announcement that an Xbox One controller will be included in with every Oculous Rift. It sounds like Microsoft is trying to lock down the VR market, including their previously announced HoloLens. He then introduces Lydia Winters, Brand Director from Mojang.

As she discusses the history of the studio, “Minecraft” is displayed behind her. She talks about Minecon 2015 and hints and an announcement there. She then introduces Michael Saxs Persson from Microsoft studios, to reveal a new version of Minecraft on the HoloLens. They play a live demo, and she is able to join in from her Surface. Persson then moves the game world onto a table and he can overlook the world in a type of “god mode.” He can follow around Winters throughout the world from the recessed perspective. It’s like playing with a real miniature model of your “Minecraft” world. He can also manipulate the world to discover what is underneath and map it for the other player. The whole environment can be controlled with gestures and even voice commands. Persson is able to detonate some TNT and Pigs by saying “lightning strike,” causing the TNT to explode and the pigs to turn into zombie pigmen.

Rod Fergusson, Co-Creator of ”Gears of War” and Studio Head at The Coalition, takes the stage to announce the “Gears of War Ultimate Edition.” It’s an HD remake of the original “Gears of War,” complete with multiplayer. The multiplayer beta begins today, exclusively on Xbox One.

He then begins revealing a new “Gears of War” game with a gameplay demo. New COG soldiers are shown off traversing a very dark environment. A storm is destroying the city they are exploring, literally crumbling the environment around them. The new character is referred to as “JD.” They enter a building and there is a new monster revealed. Something gooey and glowy, which JD is advised not to touch. He does anyway, and his flashlight is shorted out. Fortunately, he’s glowing – possibly imulsion? This form extends well beyond the room they were in and all over the outside environment. They follow it into a courtyard where more glowing pods (don’t touch!) are at. As they try to exit the courtyard, another new enemy type is revealed. It’s somehow similar, yet different to the locust. As JD becomes overwhelmed, the trailer cuts to a close. It’s “Gears 4,” coming Holiday 2016.

Phil Spencer returns, now revealing the shirt he was hiding was a Rare Shirt. Could this be another Rare announcement or is he just celebrating their accomplishments? He discusses and recaps all of the new experiences revealed today and reasserts the commitment Microsoft has to the community and Xbox Live. He then hints that here are “more surprises in store this week.” There will be reveals on the Xbox Daily Show, including “Quantum Break,” “Scalebound,” “Crackdown,” a new Xbox One interface, and new first-party games. He wraps up the conference (no more Rare, looks like it was just a celebration) by thanking everyone. The conference ends with another game montage, recapping everything revealed today.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Bethesda Press Conference [E3 2015]

Bethesda Game Studios

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Bethesda kicks off E3 as the first developer conference, the first conference this year period, and their first E3 appearance ever. Now that “Fallout 4” is already out of the bag, what else can we expect? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Bethesda Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Sunday, June 14.

The conference launches with a brief montage of Bethesda’s hits, including “Dishonored,” “Fallout,” “Skyrim,” “Doom,” and some others – likely a hint as what’s to come. Following the video, Vice President of PR and Marketing, Pete Hines, takes the stage with some Skyrim Music. He takes a moment to thank everyone who is in attendance and thank everyone who’s worked at Bethesda for all their hard work. Now it’s time for the details.

Hines hypes the audience with a discussion on the original “Doom.” The first big announcement comes with that talk of a brand new “Doom” game. Hines introduces Marty Stratton, Executive producer at id software, to talk about the new game. This new title will be built on the idtech 6 engine and looks for great influence from the original “Doom” games. Stratton promises “Badass demons, big effing guns, and moving really, really fast” – otherwise known as the keys of a great “Doom” game.

The trailer starts with a first-person perspective of a soldier putting on a helmet and entering a futuristic-looking-yet-very-industrial-and-firey factory. Stratton indicated that you’ve been “activated on Mars to kill demons.” Enemies start popping up from everywhere and anywhere while the soldier goes to down with a shotgun. Things become even more close-quarters with a bloody punch, followed by the soldier ripping off a demon’s leg and smashing his head in to blood and brain matter. Everything he shoots burst into pieces. Demons explode in to bits and pieces while barrels explode into sparks and a fiery blaze. He then enters a room with massacred soldiers and picks up a sawed-off double barrel shotgun from one. This is equally effective in its smattering capabilities. After destroying many more demons through bullets and punching, the soldier picks up a new rifle that shoots bursts of lasers. He then comes up on an enemy from behind and rips his jaw off of his head. Finally, things slow down as he interacts with a few screens. He then picks up a hologram device which brings back the violence, likely revealing what happened to the slaughtered soldiers. Upon discovering the actual victim of the hologram, he rips off the arm and uses it to open a security door. More things are shot and then a chainsaw is found, embedded in a victim. It brutally slices enemies in multiple different sections, showering the screen with blood. He then runs up to a demon, embedding his thumbs into the eye sockets of the enemy, and rips his skull in half. Immediately afterwards, a new enemy flies over, lands on the soldier, and starts ripping your arms off right in front of you. It then cuts to a “Doom” logo and ends the single-player reveal.

Stratton returns to the stage, mentioning the importance of single player, and initiating a discussion on multiplayer. It will be fast-paced and true to many of the classic FPS. A brief multiplayer trailer plays, showing off many other weapons, including a rocket launcher and jetpack with guns. There are also power-ups, plenty of blood, and plenty of explosions. It also appears as if you can play as both soldiers and demons. Stratton closes out the multiplayer tease by promising more information on multiplayer in the coming months.

That still isn’t it. “We wanted to provide more, and allow our fans to do more. What if every player, regardless of platform or past experience, had the ability to build and instantly share their creations?” It then shows multiple user-created game modes, including a horde-style game mode and custom multiplayer slayer-style games. Stratton reveals “Doom Snapmap,” a feature that allows players to easily create and share custom maps, gameplay, and even how the game operates.

To top it off, the conference returns to single player and explores “hell.” Although it’s not industrial, there is still plenty of fire everywhere. There’s also lots of demons running around and, again, brutally being blasted into pieces. This time, it’s more about showcasing the details of the experience, such as the minimal HUD and a weapon-selection wheel which drastically slows down the gameplay while you pick your weapon of choice – similar to “Mass Effect.” The preview shows off the wide variety of weapons in the arsenal, but also makes the enemies seem… relatively incompetent, perhaps relying on sheer numbers and power rather than smarts. It then comes across a classic mini-boss who takes a lot of damage without going down. The enemy is finally defeated by ripping out his own heart and feeding it to him. More explosions, brutal executions, and the return of the fan-favorite rocket launcher. An enemy shows off his stealth capabilities and the demon that made the final kill in the first trailer returns, this time being blasted out of the air easily, with a shotgun, while he floated on a jetpack. There’s a brief peek at a huge boss and the teaser ends with a cut to the “Doom” logo again.

Hines makes a return to the stage and announces a new digital platform called “Bethesda.net,” which will be the home for all Bethesda games as “one seamless experience.” This will support things like “Doom Snapmap” and is already being used to support “Elder Scrolls Online.” It will also have forums, news, and other features.

Battlecry Studios is now taking the stage, via a pre-recorded video, as design director Lucas Davis talk about their self-titled debut, “Battlecry.” It’s an online action game focused on team-based combat and intense tactical warfare. It has an art style somewhat reminiscent of “No More Heroes.” The alpha has already been underway, but you can sign up for the global beta now at battlecrythegame.com. If you sign up before June 18, and you’ll receive priority access and a special in-game reward. It follows with a trailer which emphasizes its cartoony style. It also shows off the classes, such as gadgeter and infiltrator, and their differing abilities. It will be playable is playable at E3.

Arkane Studios flashes on the screen, followed by Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantonio, Co-Creative Directors, taking the stage. Colantonio is wearing a “Dishonored” t-shirt under his jacket, likely indicating the reveal that is about to take place. After jokingly starting off in French, they briefly talk about the history of the studio and how great of an experience “Dishonored” has been, followed by a thanks to the fans. A trailer begins, showing a skull falling into the water and a very Dishonored-esk locale. The protagonist, referred to as “Emily,” is shown working her way into the apparent villain’s fortress, which shapeshifts as she enters. She freezes times and shoots off an explosive crossbow weapon. She then gets into a sword fight with one of the robot enemies. As the villain thinks he has her beat, his robot henchmen falls into a trap placed by Emily. He then escapes and the logo for “Dishonored 2” appears. You can play as Corvo or Emily, the new character, each with their own unique style. Like the previous game, you can play how you choose: guns blazing or without ever firing a weapon. They briefly state that it will be coming to PC, Xbox One, and PS4 before saying more details will be coming soon. No release date was mentioned. Until then, “Dishonored Definitive Edition” will be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, including all of the original content, DLC, and enhanced graphics – standard fair for these “definitive editions.” It also indicates it will be a while before we see the sequel.

Next up is a brief, pre-recorded video update on the recently launched “Elder Scrolls Online.” It includes a few new locations, Imperial City and Orsinium – a real of the orcs. The trailer is largely just wide-angle shots of the new environments with various quick close-ups of random actions which aren’t really important to the gameplay, such as a character taking a drink and an animal roaring.

Hines returns again to introduce an all new game based on the “Elder Scrolls” universe. Building upon the legacy of “Skyrim” and “Elder Scrolls Online,” “Elder Scrolls Legends” is a strategy card game that will be coming to PC and iPad later this year. The trailer was completely CG, but showed off various races form the universe which will likely be key elements in the game. It will also be free-to-play.

Joking that the conference is over, Hines beckons the crowd to groan and scream for more “Fallout” information. He then introduces Todd Howard, Bethesda game director. Howard discusses his origins at Bethesda, beginning 21 years ago, and how E3 wasn’t even a thing. He then discusses the unique opportunity games have, delivering content in a way no other media can.

“Fallout” flashes on the screen and Howard mentions that development for “Fallout 4” began in 2009, immediately after “Fallout 3,” coinciding with “Skyrim” development. A ton of concept art is shown, ranging from environments and vehicles to characters. Howard shows the level of detail with which each texture in the game was created. The dog is also shown along with various spaceships and armor – many things which were shown in the reveal trailer.

Howard announces that “Fallout 4” begins prior to the nuclear war, something completely different for the “Fallout” series. It begins with a man looking into a mirror, talking to his wife, and he reveals that this is the character creation screen. You simply drag and drop, add and adjust elements, and sculpt anything directly on the face without using sliders. You can also swap places and edit the wife, dictating which character – male or female – you play as, based off of which character you leave the mirror as. Howard also reveals that, if you sculpt both characters, the game even creates a baby based off of the parents.

After leaving the mirror, you walk into the kitchen and talk to a robot, Cosworth. You check the fridge – stocked with Nuka Cola, of course – and find some Sugar Bombs on the table. The doorbell rings and a Vault-Tech representative is at the door, attempting to sell you, what else, but a vault. This leads to you customizing your stats, such as intelligence, luck, and strength. You shut the door in his face before he can even finish talking and you hear a baby cry. Cosworth says “Mr. Howard,” followed by a reveal that they have recorded over 1,000 of the most popular names to include in the dialogue.

We then hear a baby crying – the baby that should be created based off of the parents’ likenesses, and then the TV reports nuclear strikes in New York and Pennsylvania. Everyone leaves the house in a panic, running towards the recently acquired vault. You emerge 200 years later as the sole survivor of Vault 111. As your character exits the vault, he’s overwhelmed by light and color. The environment is so much more vibrant than any other “Fallout” game, courtesy of the next-gen version of Bethesda’s creation engine.

The demo flips between both first and third-person views. Codsworth shows up and apparently recognizes you – likely be voice, which is, by the way, new for “Fallout” as well. You’re given four dialogue options represented by the action buttons on the controller. Dialogue is completely dynamic, meaning you can end the conversation at any point, by walking away or even shooting the person in the face. The player then finds the dog shown in the trailer. After petting him, the dog decides to follow along. You can give him commands by pointing towards the environment. Everything is determined based off of context, such as fetching a nearby item. The player shoots some mole rats, before popping into the VATS system, which makes its return in the classic style. This includes “bullet time” slow-mo shots and, of course, the hit selection.

Next, the video cuts through various environments from the game, featuring all sorts of different areas of Boston. Much of this was in the reveal trailer. There are also more shots of the dog and the main charater.

Howard says “Now to the cool stuff,” and shows a “photo from the future” of the invention of the Pip Boy. It then shows the new version in “Fallout 4,” beginning from where you find it when you leave the vault. He mentions that they put a lot of work into the system, making it more entertaining since the player spends a lot of time looking at it. The Pip-Boy even has games within the game that you can play. He then reveals a real life version of the Pip Boy and announces it comes with the collector’s edition. The “Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition” will fit your phone and has an app with it that will create a second screen experience for the game. It has the same interface as the in-game Pip-Boy. The app will be available for iOS and Android, even for those who don’t order the collector’s editon.

Howard announces they’ve made something else for phones as well, a “totally new game.” It’s an FTL and XCOM-inspired 2D game where you can build your own vault, called “Fallout Shelter.” The vault has its own inhabitants you control, who can level up and be given their own unique gear before being sent out to retrieve resources. You get rewarded with loot in lunchboxes and can even build in-vault relationships. The game will be completely free, requires no internet connection, and won’t have any paywall timers. When you build something, it’s instantly built. If you wish, you can purchase lunchboxes of loot, though. Best of all, the game is available now, although only on iOS.

The discussion returns to “Fallout 4” where Howard shows off the ability to rebuild parts of the world. You can use scrap material from elsewhere to assemble anything you want. The player is shown building a two-floor hut and placing furniture inside of it. He also creates a dog house, generators, and lights. Traders will show up with which you can trade food you’ve grown, extra water, or even excess generators. You can also set up gun turrets, which is useful as your village will be acted by raiders. All of this is completely optional, though.

The crafting system, however, carries over to other parts of the game. You can construct scopes for a gun, gathering the parts from various items throughout the worlds – such as an alarm clock or duct tape. Weapons will have over 700 modifications available, including bayonets and different barrels. You can even modify your own power armor. There is a montage of action sequences, some involving the dog, and it looks like your power armor can be modified to have a jetpack. There are helicopters, a fight-club type environment, and plenty of wasteland to explore. The reveal caps with a date announcement, “Fallout 4” is coming Nov 10, 2015.

Hines returns, thanking everyone and bringing the conference to a close.

[06.12.15] YouTube officially taking on Twitch

YouTube

“A new player has entered the game.” – the very first tweet at 12:30pm CDST on June 12 from a new [verified] Twitter account, @YouTubeGaming. Slowly but surely, more tweets are being dropped by the minute hinting at, what aims to be, the biggest development from YouTube in years. After being rumored to purchase Twitch prior to Amazon’s acquisition, Google is finally launching a version of YouTube specifically for gamers, and they are hoping to take down the streaming giant with YouTube Gaming.

“Our brand-new user experience puts games front and center, including live gaming.” This means one central hub for Let’s Plays and Live Streams, something that will put YouTube one step ahead of its competitor, seeing as Twitch primarily focuses on the latter. While Twitch has the option to cut highlights and have archives, all of this is done around the live stream content. YouTube specializes in the opposite, uploading pre-crafted content, and while it only recently got into the streaming business, it certainly has the infrastructure to support it without much cause for concern.

Content will be broken into three separate categories: Games, Feed, and Channels. Reportedly, more than 25,000 games will have their own landing pages for related videos, alongside the familiar Channels from gaming companies and YouTube creators. For content creators, the organization system will be relatively similar to the YouTube channels. Don’t let that confuse you, though. YouTube Gaming will be a separate experience from YouTube. “You can search with confidence, knowing that ‘call’ will show you ‘Call of Duty’ and not ‘Call Me Maybe.’”

From the user-end, this difference comes in the way you receive content. While you obviously can follow channels just like on YouTube, you can also tell the system what your favorite games are under “My Games.” This will bring in a stream of content all related to that specific title, alongside all of your favorite content creators. It will also be an easy way to find those currently live streaming the game.

The live streaming is getting a nice upgrade too, which will be familiar to Twitch users. YouTube promises and upgraded Live system, including the recently released 60fps HD video streaming, which will feature improved chat latency and moderation. Now you can interact with your favorite YouTube Creators unlike ever before. It really turns the whole YouTube experience on its heading, switching from a passive viewing experience to a two-way street. This experience will extend from the web to mobile and tablet devices on iOS and Android, allowing you to interact with your favorites virtually at all times.

While it hasn’t launched yet, you can currently signup for more information on the site’s landing page:http://gaming.youtube.com

To stay up-to-date, you can also follow @YouTubeGaming on Twitter.

[06.10.15] Former ‘HAWKEN’ developers announce new tactical shooter, ‘Burstfire’

Free Reign Entertainment

Move over “Halo,” “Call of Duty,” and Battlefield”; there are some new developers in town who want to bring back a slower-paced, tactical shooter in place of the modern run-and-gun trend and they’re not just blowing smoke, either. As Free Reign Entertainment and Nacho Games, these developers know a thing or two about first person shooters. Comprised partially of the team that brought you “HAWKEN,” these studios are hard at work on a 5v5 competitive first person shooter which rewards a more tactical and team-oriented gameplay style. In a press release from June 9, Free Reign Entertainment and Nacho Games proudly announced “Burstfire.”

“Burstfire” is a slow paced, objective-oriented first-person shooter built around deep strategy. Unlike most modern shooters which implement a class-based system, “Burstfire” allows players the freedom to equip any combination of weapons and tools they see fit. There will be dozens of weapons available, with optional attachments and cosmetic changes, along with plenty of tools and tactical gear. The game experience rewards patience, careful planning, and teamwork. Players can take a more defensive approach, setting up traps on defense or taking the time to scout out the enemy team while on offense with an initial preparation stage. Afterwards, it’s time for bombs to drop and bullets to fly; however, teamwork still plays a crucial role throughout the match. Each round of “Burstfire” is sudden-death combat, and even one teammate’s death can tip the scales and cripple a team’s effectiveness. Anyone who has played older “Rainbow Six” titles knows that this type of strategy-first gameplay creates high intensity matches that can’t be matched by even the most exciting 360-no-scope in “Call of Duty.”

With both studios being founded in 2014, it’s likely you may have never heard of Free Reign Entertainment or Nacho Games, but you have very little reason to doubt their pedigree. Free Reign Entertainment is a branch of Arktos Entertainment Group, the company behind War Inc. They specialize in original IPs with massive, immersive worlds and games which are heavily influenced by the community. Nacho Games is an independent game studio based in Los Angeles. They’re comprised of several former members of Adhesive Games, the studio behind the award-winning“HAWKEN.” They’re led by Adhesive co-founder and lead gamer designer, Dave Nguyen, who is a veteran of the PC gaming community.

In essence, “Burstfire” is purely a passion product of the best kind. To reinforce this, Nacho Games has committed to full support after launch, including new maps and new items. Most importantly, “Burstfire” is a “pay once, play forever” game – a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by Free-To-Play games, Pay-To-Win games, and games destroyed by microtransactions. Nacho Games promises that all future updates and DLC will be free.

If this sounds like the kind of game you could get behind – and it should – you can sign up now for an invitation to the closed Alpha on their website. The full game will launch in Summer 2015.

[06.09.15] ‘Guitar Hero Live’ E3 preview

It’s been almost a month since the exciting announcement of the return of “Guitar Hero.” Since then, a steady stream of songs has been released to help tease the excitement of the game. Included tracks have spanned the likes of Killswitch Engage, Ed Sheeran, Tenacious D, Anthrax, and Skrillix, to name just a few. We’ve seen some returning favorites, some highly request tracks, and some wonderful surprises as well. Any fan should be able to be able to find something they love and should, hopefully, discover something new along the way as well. If you haven’t yet, don’t fret, as there’s still plenty to come. It should be time for another #TrackListTuesday on this Tuesday, June 9; however, E3 is less than a week away, so instead of a track list, it’s time for some more exciting announcements!

During the initial reveal of “Guitar Hero Live,” the new GHTV was also unveiled. GHTV brings the popular trend of recent music streaming services, such as the newly revealed Apple Music, to the “Guitar Hero” experience. In essence, GHTV will be the very first playable music video network. It will be constantly updated with a bevy of new tracks, including old favorites and, again, hopefully plenty of new music for players to discover and love. So far, over 54 artists’ songs have already been confirmed for the game’s library. GHTV will be online 24/7/365, with a nonstop playlist, meaning players will probably be able to drop in and out freely, much like the “party mode” of previous “Guitar Hero” games. Exact details on this as well as additional information on the service will be covered during E3 next week.

Speaking of E3, Activision and FreeStyleGames also confirmed today the “Guitar Hero Live” will be available to play at E3.

“We’ve been working super hard on ‘Guitar Hero Live’ for years, so we’re so stoked to show people more of the game every chance we get and to give fans a chance to play it themselves,” said Jamie Jackson, Creative Director and Co-Head of FreeStyleGames. “Five years is a long time. Not only has technology changed, but we’ve had years to think about what makes Guitar Hero so much fun to play and also to talk to fans about what they loved most about the original game. We’ve developed an awesome new experience built from the ground up and we are integrating new technology and techniques that just weren’t possible back then. GHTV is a huge part of that and comes with a bunch of new songs, of which we’ll announce more next week. See you at E3!”

“Guitar Hero Live” launches Fall 2015 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, and select phone and tablet devices. If you missed the initial announcement, you can see it – along with the reveal trailer – here.

In case you’ve missed any or all of the #TrackListTuesday announcements, here’s a rundown of the complete set list so far.

June 2, 2015

Queen – “Tie Your Mother Down”

Alice in Chains – Stone”

Bullet For My Valentine – “Temper Temper”

Deap Valley – “Lies”

Wolfmother – “Sundial”

Weezer – “Buddy Holly”

Angus & Julia Stone – “A Heartbreak”

Catfish and the Bottlemen – “Kathleen”

Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”

New Politics – “Harlem”

May 26, 2015

Halestorm – “Love Bites (So Do I)”

Tenacious D – “Tribute”

Beartooth – “I Have a Problem”

Pearl Jam – “Mind Your Manners”

Rise Against – “Tragedy + Time”

Soundgarden – “Been Away Too Long”

Anthrax – “Got the Time”

Architects – “Gravedigger”

Chevelle – “The Clincher”

A Day To Remember – “Right Back At It Again”

May 19, 2015

Royal Blood – “Little Monster”

Marilyn Manson – “Disposable Teens”

Killswitch Engage – “In Due Time”

Marmozets – “Move Shake Hide”

Of Mice & Men – “Bones Exposed”

Deftones – “Diamond Eyes”

Vista Chino – “Sweet Remain”

Bring Me the Horizon – “Shadow Moses”

Mastodon – “High Road”

Trivium – “Strife”

May 12, 2015

Rage Against The Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”

The Killers – “When You Were Young”

The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”

Skrillex – “Bangarang”

Sleigh Bells – “Bitter Rivals”

Ed Sheeran – “Sing”

Blitz Kids – “Sometimes”

ALT-J – “Left Hand Free”

Broken Bells – “Leave It Alone”

The Black Keys – “Gold on the Ceiling”

The War on Drugs – “Under The Pressure”

Garry Clark Jr. – “Don’t Owe You a Thang”

My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”

Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground”

Pantera – “Cowboys from Hell”

The Pretty Reckless – “Going to Hell”

System of a Down – “Chop Suey!”

Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)”

The Rolling Stones – “Paint It Black”

Green Day – “Nuclear Family”

Alter Bridge – “Cry of Achilles”

Black Veil Brides – “In The End”

Judas Priest – “Breaking the Law”

Pierce The Veil – “King for a Day (Feat. Kellin Quinn)”

[06.09.15] Microsoft unveils new console, controller, and wireless adapter

Microsoft

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is still roughly a week away, but that hasn’t stopped the countless stream of exciting reveals. From “Fallout 4” to “Lego Worlds,” it begs the question, “What exactly is left to reveal at E3 this year?” Well, that question just became even more difficult to answer. Early this morning, on June 9, Major Nelson revealed that Microsoft has a new console, new controller, and new wireless adapter coming later this year.

First off is the new console. With fans begging for more storage space to be included inside the Xbox One, Microsoft finally listened. Coming June 16, the Xbox One will begin shipping to retailers with a 1TB internal hard drive. This edition of the Xbox One has a new matte finish for the console and will include “The Master Chief Collection” for a limited time. Beginning immediately, all 500GB models will receive a permanent price drop to $349 in preparation for the 1TB model to launch at a $399 price point. That means, for only $50 more, you can get twice the storage space, a $60 game, a unique console, and the brand new Xbox One controller as well.

While the new controller looks almost identical to the original incarnation, it actually has a slew of updates coming. The only visible one comes in the form of a 3.5mm stereo jack. This will allow users to directly plug headsets into the controller. It will also allow users to custom mix the headset volume, mic monitoring, and voice and game audio balance through the Xbox One settings menu. From a gaming standpoint, the bumpers on the controller have been fine-tuned. Most exciting of all, the new controllers will be able to wirelessly receive firmware updates, eliminating the painstaking process of manually connecting each controller via USB cable to receive an update. The new controller will be available for $64.99 in traditional black and a silver and black version of the Xbox One Special Edition Covert Forces wireless controller.

For those who enjoy the Xbox One controller but want to migrate some of their gaming experience to the PC, Microsoft has news for you too. Beginning this Fall, the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows will launch, allowing users to wirelessly connect their Xbox One Controller to any Windows 10 PC, laptop, or tablet. While this may sound limiting, keep in mind everyone with a copy of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 will be receiving a free upgrade to Windows 10 when it launches July 29 (even those with unlicensed copies!). The Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows will launch at a standalone $24.99 price point and will be bundled with an Xbox One Wireless Controller for $79.95, saving you about $10 if you purchase them together.

Will all of this being announced now, this should hopefully mean Microsoft has something very exciting up their sleeves for E3 next week.

Via Xbox Wire

[06.06.15] Mattel brings ‘Apples to Apples’ to mobile

Mattel

It’s a staple of many a family gathering and party since 1999, selling over 15 million copies, which has also garnered countless imitators. While many of them are fantastic, originals always have a unique appeal to them. “Apples to Apples” has been out for 15 years, which means it’s probably due up for a serious overhaul. As it turns out, Mattel thought so too. What better way is there to bring “Apples to Apples” up to speed than with an official iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch app? Best of all, it’s already available, after being announced on Jun 4, 2015.

“Apples to Apples has been bringing fun and laughter to friends and families for many years,” said PJ Lewis, Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing and Design of Mattel. “With more players utilizing their smartphones to play games, this is a great time to re-imagine the game.”

The mobile app still features the classic card-matching gameplay that players are already familiar with; however, it also has many new great features which cater to the modern, mobile world. The original gameplay has been optimized for a mobile device with beautiful and colorful graphics. Players can simultaneously challenge up to four other friends or family in real time. “Apples to Apples” also features Facebook integration, allowing players to send each other gifts, easily find friends to play with, or even share their favorite silly card combinations. To add to the social aspect, the community can vote on their favorite card combinations, and the top trending sets will be featured on the main menu of the game. Much like the real world game, players will have the option to customize their experience with a wide variety of card packs and categories, including geography, animals, desserts, and more.

“Apples to Apples” has already won awards and entertained millions of families in its physical form. Now that it has been brought to mobile platforms, it’s unlikely the momentum will slow down.

Download “Apples to Apples” for free from the App Store, find out more on Mattel’s website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.