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If there’s one thing I both love and hate Nintendo for personally, it’s Nintendo Directs. I hate them because they spring up suddenly, often with very little advance notice; and the pace of reveals in them can go from sedate to break-neck making it often hard to keep up. Yet, I love them BECAUSE they’re surprising, exciting and often have a lot of cool stuff to show off. Conducting a Nintendo Direct at 3pm Yesterday, a 29-minute conference proved exactly my point, showing off tons of new information about multiple upcoming 3DS and Wii U titles.
First up was news about Super Mario 3D World, for Wii U. A two-minute trailer shows Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess taking a midnight stroll watching shooting stars. But their attention is soon drawn to a transparent pipe that is half-buried in the middle of the path. All of a sudden, it straightens and a fairy-like character emerges from it. But before it can speak, Bowser pops out from the same pipe, catches it in its large hands and places it in a jar, taunting the gang. The gang follow Bowser down the pipe and a new adventure begins…
What also begins is a series of scenes showing off whole new features coming to the game. Naturally, Cat Mario takes most of the spotlight, Mario even picking up the Bell Mushroom that triggers the transformation from the floor of the level in a very early scene (which itself also confirms power-ups won’t JUST be in ?-blocks). Over the next few minutes we see even more of Cat Mario’s special abilities, such as touching grabbing an end of level flagpole. Instead of triggering it there and then, Mario climbs UP the flagpole and handstands on its top, triggering it at its very highest point and earning a 10,000 point bonus. Now, THAT’S a way to rack up the score! We also see Cat Mario jump against a Thromp and climb up its face, eventually finding himself atop it and able to ride it without taking any damage.
But hold on? Did we just see NEW Powerups? Why, yes we did! Collectable cherries in some levels see the collecting character (which Satoru informs us can be any of the players) split into two copies of themselves; and additional cherries adding one more. One scene shows four Mario firing a barrage of fireballs together, with some on higher ground and some on lower – though the mechanics aren’t made clear.
Also of interest is the return of Coin Block Mario. Once again it will be possible for Mario to wear a block on his head and have it shower him in coins as he runs, jumps and falls through the level. But it’s not the only headwear Mario will be sporting this time! Further scenes show off two other blocks worn on Mario’s head – a Cannon block that fires cannonballs in direction he faces at the time of firing; and the return of Propeller Blocks as wearable on-head objects. While we’re talking about Coin Showers – one level sees a geyser of coins falling through the centre of the level and Mario jumping through it to collect as many as possible. Oh Mario, has your anti-hero Wario’s greed rubbed off on you now? (Anyone who’s played New Super Mario Bros. 2 will probably say yes to that.)
And that’s not even the end! Further scenes see Mario riding through an Ice level in what appears to be an ice-skate version of the Kuribo’s Shoe (last seen in Super Mario Bros. 3); a Goomba Suit allowing Mario to look like a Goomba and enter a room filled with them without drawing attention. There will also be bombs in some levels that can be picked up and thrown, not just to blow up enemies; but also to trigger nearby POW blocks for chain explosions. We even see Mario holding a plant pot containing his own Piranha plant, which proceeds to eat any enemy within reach.
And then we get to the game world itself. The In-game Map sees levels referred to by both number and name; walking to World 1-3, we see the top-left corner of the screen refer to the level as both “World 1-3” and “Mount Beanpole”. Once in a level, each one seems to introduce a new touch to the proceedings. A level with a river flowing over part of the path sees Goombas floating around on life rings; while a Ghost House level sees Mario grab a fake flagpole that reveals itself to be an illusion created by several Boos. Elsewhere, a lava level sees Mario walk across a winding path that keeps disappearing but reveals itself with butt-stomps; while one level is played in the shadows of an unseen environment.
Driving towards the screen in a car decorated with several spikes, Bowser rounds off the Trailer by taunting us in front of his castle. Wait a minute… in a CAR? This isn’t Mario Kart…
Satoru Iwata rounded off the proceedings by informing us that while much focus has been on Super Mario 3D World being the first 3D Mario to allow co-operative multi-player, the game will also have a solid single-player campaign for those who prefer to take the challenge solo. Finally, as a special promotion, Mario and Luigi-branded Wii Remote Plus controllers will be made available in stores from November 1. These controllers are coloured either Red or Green with the appropriate Brother’s logo emblazoned on them, and yellow + and – buttons.
Julie Uhrman, CEO of Ouya, took the Eurogamer stage at 3pm today in the fourth day of the Expo, to talk about how the Ouya console has a future and plans for it going forward. If you’re one of those people who believes the success of a console depends on how well it sells, or how many games it has, then like much of the internet, by now you might be calling the Ouya a colossal failure and wondering how long it will take before it disappears from the market. You’d also be missing the point. Sure, Ouya may not have the same catalogue of games as major consoles like those from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo; nor is it as widespread. But Ouya was never intended to compete with those.
The REAL focus of Ouya, Julie explained, is to open up the television and free up developers to build their indie games on the TV, rather than on devices that don’t have the presence of a traditional games console, in order to bring those games to wider attention. What’s more, Ouya is designed to allow anyone to become a game developer, regardless of the size of their team or whether they’re a big studio or just one person in their bedroom. “Ouya is the only console that’s open to everyone. It’s great that the price point is coming down and the barriers to entry are simplifying; but the important thing is with Ouya, anyone can develop and get involved.”
The future of Ouya truly lies in the 24,000-plus developers developing for the console, all of which are supported through advice and tools by Ouya. With the Free The games campaign, Ouya is taking steps to support these developers even more. Any game project for Ouya that uses Kickstarter to raise funds, can get extra financial support from Ouya if there’s clear support for the game. With a fund of $1 million to give away in a year, Kickstarted Ouya games that raise over $10,000 can apply to have their funds matched by Ouya themselves, thus doubling the cash available for them to take the game further and get it out on the Ouya – with the caveat that there has to be 100 or more backers providing the funds. This caveat is to prevent cheating, which occurred in the early part of the campaign’s life; and because Ouya want to see the community truly get behind the games they care about. What’s more, Ouya have no intention to act as gatekeepers for their own console. “We believe in being open. We don’t want to lock you into developing for just our console … nor do we want to say, ‘only these games are getting on the Ouya’.”
With every Ouya console being its own development kit; and tools being available for free online to further help develop Ouya games, developers can get their games to the public easier and quicker as well. “We want your game live just as soon as you get it live. So we have a fast review process – most games take just 24 to 48 hours to be accepted or rejected.” Julie was joined by a group of developers from Fayju games – one of the Ouya’s “Elite” backers – who themselves added: “Holding your newly-developed game in your hand and realising the means are right there to release it is empowering.”
Fayju also explained how they found the console’s Tegra 3 processor surprisingly powerful; and how the compact size and better cooling of the console – with fans right over the processor – allowed them to utilise more of the processor’s power without worrying about the overheating problems that plague other devices. The company presented two of their own games – “The Awesome Frog?” and “Cascade” – as examples of what they could do with the console, even going as far to add that Ouya was the catalyst that finally allowed Cascade – a game based on the Analogue Cascade Hypothesis and research into Alzheimer’s effects on the brain; and designed to raise awareness of brain diseases – to happen.
Julie also revealed that the Ouya itself will not be standing still. First of all, the console is about to hit new markets, with an expanded distribution network in Europe. As part of this, Ouya consoles will soon be updated “with localisations to support French, Spanish and German languages … and Pound and Euro currencies.” Additionally, next year, new builds of the Ouya console are planned to be developed and sold, with “faster, better, more up-to-date chip sets” for even more powerful gaming.
So what are the final words on Ouya’s future? “For us to be successful, we need you guys. Your time is now.”
“Ouya is still the only fully open console on the market. That’s why we win.”
When Ronan O’Connor, a detective with a chequered past, gets caught up in a burglary, his life is brought to an untimely end by a brutal and relentless killer.
Shocked to find himself in the afterlife, his only escape from the limbo world of ‘Dusk’ is to uncover the truth behind his killer, track him down and bring him to justice using new-found supernatural abilities.
As Ronan, you have freedom to explore the town of Salem: its wooden houses, narrow streets, gothic churches and mental asylum for clues. Battle demonic spirits to save your soul and uncover the shocking revelations about who is responsible for your death.
During the dev chat, the developer played the first “mission” and commented over the top of the gameplay
The game looks great, and the idea is amazing (I wish I’d had time to check out the booth at the expo)
Basically, you start off having to solve your own murder. Going through the evidence and crime scene as a ghost. Which has upsides and downsides of course. Downsides, you can’t pick up and touch evidence and actually get a sense of it, upside, you can possess people, see through their eyes, hear through their ears and generally get a sense of the world and things around you
The game is set in Salem, Massachusetts, so every building is warded against ghosts (as you do), so outside Ronan can walk through people and objects, however to get into buildings, a door or window needs to be open to allow entry/exit (useful for loading areas huh? very clever)
Being a Ghost, you have a number of talents that will be upgraded as the game progresses…
– You can see flashbacks of scenes that happened, playback the scene to get insight into what happened, these are called memory residue, to aid the investigation “Real World”, like turning on a cooker hob to distract people, this allows for puzzle elements later on in the game
– Possession can also be used as a tactic against the Demons, human spirits that are tormented and think that devouring other human spirits will turn them into regular spirits again so they can lay to rest, like possessing a cop so you can get close without being noticed and jumping into the demon to rip it apart
– Also ghost side quests and investigations will unlock new info and generally make you feel better about yourself, like helping a young lady who was murdered and buried by an old couple in the block
The game is shaping up very nicely, it looks great on current gen (it’s due for release early 2014 on PC, PS3 and XBox 360)
Garrett, the Master Thief, steps out of the shadows into the City. In this treacherous place, where the Baron’s Watch spreads a rising tide of fear and oppression, his skills are the only things he can trust. Even the most cautious citizens and their best-guarded possessions are not safe from his reach.
As an uprising emerges, Garrett finds himself entangled in growing layers of conflict. Lead by Orion, the voice of the people, the tyrannized citizens will do everything they can to claim back the City from the Baron’s grasp. The revolution is inevitable. If Garrett doesn’t get involved, the streets will run red with blood and the City will tear itself apart.
This is actually the most interactive of the Eurogamer dev chats so far, not only did we get a full on play through of the game, but the dev on stage actually took the time to speak to people there and asked their names for the Q&A, much respect to him on that one
Ok, onto the actual gameplay. The new Thief game is paying a LOT of homage to the original, while at the same time, making it more “realistic” and more technical, compared to games that have gone before (hopefully no undead this time)
First thing you notice, the game is polished, VERY polished, it looks smooth and beautiful, however it was mentioned the next gen versions will have better textures, quicker loading times, etc, but where the PC version will sit is unknown right now.
In a nutshell though, you play as Garret again, this time as a “silent partner” to Orion in his revolution against the Baron.
During the Demo-
Arrows aren’t just for killing, the examples shown were the water arrow for snuffing out torches and fire to remove light sources to stay in the dark, and obviously the rope/grappler arrow to make escapes
Lock picking and frame checking (running your hands round a painting frame for secret switches) is now a quicktime event, not only using the on screen indicator, but also the controllers rumble function for feedback (love that idea, very clever use of force feedback)
Maps are a clear reference tot eh original aswell and the map usage is smooth and simple UI improvement
It was asked in the Q&A if you could Ghost the game (basically doing as much as possible of the game without doing any kills or enemy takedowns and it was confirmed it is possible. Hopefully that will be a super hard, but worth getting achievement
Gameplay will change depending on how gun ho you play the game, if guards are after you, running into the dark won’t make them lose you, the AI will follow you (although this may also used as a fun trap, drag a guard into the dark for a take down)
Thief is out 25th feb 2014, but its already available to preorder on STEAM
