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Keiji Inafune’s spiritual Mega Man successor game, Mighty No. 9, has rode the hype train rather conservatively since its phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign, with leaks of new info perfectly timed for just when people may have forgotten about the project while its development continues apace; and until now, not very much is known about the game at all. Today however, as part of a talk given at GDC this year, Keiji Inafune revealed a short gameplay trailer for Mighty No. 9 which fleshes out the game’s details a reasonable amount.
After previous screenshots showed hero Beck redesigned in a 2.5D graphical style and standing on a 3D stage, the latest trailer reveals that the entire game is now being developed in a 2.5D viewpoint not unlike the Classic Sonic stages in Sonic Generations. Also seen in the trailer is some new Action mechanics including what looks to be some combo attack possibilities; as well as some more platforming action. We’ve even got some new animations being shown off – the “hanging from a ledge” animation at 1:28 is particularly adorable. But perhaps the biggest news is we’ve got concept art and basic biographies for all of the other eight “Mighty” robots Beck will encounter in the game; and even hints towards a rudimentary storyline:
Epic Games has announced at the Game Developers Conference that they are planning to make the popular next-generation version of their game engine, the Unreal Engine 4, available to the public in a subscription-based model that will involved a 5 percent royalty agreement in gross sales that come from games made using it.
AAA devs have had access to Unreal Engine for a while now but now Epic Games have decided to make it available for smaller developers to use too, with the subscription set to be around $19 a month. The agreement to take 5 percent gross sale royalties also applies to free-to-play games that include micro-transactions but not to games that are totally free and for fun. Previously larger devs would be in negotiations that took weeks or even months and involved many millions of dollars but Epic’s desire to make their engine more accessible to all has required them to draft the entirely new business model they have presented at the GDC.
“You get access to everything: the unreal editor, for PC and Mac, and on those platforms you can then deploy to iOS and Android. All those platforms stay and more are coming in the future,” Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games said during the presentation.
The source code of the Unreal Engine 4 is also being released in the hopes that it will encourage tinkering and optimisation of the code by the gaming community to further improve the engine’s performance and use for better, smaller games made within it. Already it’s been demonstrated that changes to a game can be made in real-time either during test play or simulation mode.
It seems with the face of the gaming industry steadily becoming one where free-to-play, mobile and indie gaming is quickly becoming a very profitable and notable market, Epic’s bold move could be seen as their attempt to get a piece of the action through their simple but all-encompassing royalty agreement tied to the new public licensing of their engine. It is also their attempt to stay relevant in an industry where competitors such as Unity offer multi-platform engines that cover everything from HTML5 browser games all the way up to AAA titles.
Sweeney described the new business model as a “bold, new move” for Epic Games, and it’s certainly one that will get the attention and praise of many a small developer looking to make their ideas a reality.
Titanfall is here. If you haven’t heard of this game, you’ve been under a rock for the past three months. But, just to be thorough, I’ll go ahead and break it down for you.
Titanfall is the first game by developer Respawn Entertainment. Founded by former members of Infinity Ward, the team responsible for the modern Call of Duty franchise, the team has been creating the first killer app for the XBOX One. The hype has been intense leading up to Titanfall’s release. But does the game live up to the colossal expectations or is it the victim of a hype train headshot?
Happily, Titanfall delivers in almost every way. Placing you in the shoes of agile pilots fighting in and around towering mechs called Titans, the game is a sheer joy to behold. Make no mistake, this IS a true next generation game. On XBOX One, it looks fantastic. Launch it on a high end gaming PC and it just gets prettier. Once you drop into a match, the sheer scope of the levels is breathtaking. Fleets of spaceships fight overhead, strange alien creatures swoop and dive in the skies and colossal beasts stride across the background. Couple this with the attractive, intricate level design and the slick animations of the pilots and Titans, and Titanfall is a graphical powerhouse with few rivals.
Thankfully, the game plays just as wonderfully. Controls are intuitive. The major readjustment to Titanfall comes from scrubbing the level traversal lessons of ten years of Halo, Call of Duty and Battlefield from your mind. Titanfall plays at a speed not seen in shooters since the days of Unreal Tournament. Your pilot is FAST. Add to that the freedom of movement your jump gear gives you, and Titanfall redefines the way you move through a FPS play space. Almost every surface you can see is a playable surface. Want to reach the top of a building? Run up the wall, double jump up to a ledge and continue on. See a handy zipline? Leap up and ride it across the level, firing as you go. Even Titans become stepping stones to loftier heights as you latch on, pull the cover off to blast at their insides and then leap away.
Herein lies the wonderful balancing act that Respawn has crafted in Titanfall. As fast and fluid as the pilots are, the lumbering Titans are slow and more cumbersome. Strap into one of these walking tanks and your paths through the levels are inherently more limited. Titans can move at speed, particularly the speedy Stryder class, but the don’t have the same vertical range as the squishier pilot. What Titans lack in mobility, they make up for in sheer power. Pilots are swatted like bugs when you are in command of a Titan. Shooting, punching or even stepping on a pilot gives you an immense feeling of power. The massive weapons and tactile recoil you get from firing them are wonderfully crafted. Titan battles are less about the free-running glee of a pilot and more about careful tactical decisions. Using a vortex shield to catch incoming enemy rounds and fire them back requires precision timing. And while Titans are powerful, the aren’t unstoppable juggernauts. A pilot with a anti-Titan rocket launcher can end your joyride very quickly, making you focus your attention on getting the most out of your Titan’s inevitably short lifespan. The constantly shifting flow of Titan and pilot fights give a hectic, raw feeling to matches in Titanfall, leaving you with little time to do anything but react to the sheer madness and spectacle taking place.
This also shines a light on one of the only weaknesses of Titanfall. The game’s story is told through a multiplayer “campaign”. In reality, this boils down to scripted audio heard while waiting in match lobbies and video windows and radio chatter that pop up during matches. The main problem with this is that you don’t have much time to pay attention to the story being delivered in match. While a character may be explaining why it’s imperative that you get to this particular hardpoint and hold it for story reasons, you might be fleeing from an enemy pilot, dodging a Titan and trying desperately to reload. It’s a poor way to deliver a story and an odd choice on Respawn’s part. Add to this the fact that to unlock all the available Titans for your custom load outs you have to beat the campaign twice, and the story mode of Titanfall is probably one of the only things in the game that I found disappointing.
There are a few other nitpicks I could make with the game, such as the total lack of private match lobbies, no option to vote on map rotation, and the inexplicable choice not to allow custom names for custom loadouts. But really, all they are are nitpicks. The death match based Attrition, capture and hold Hardpoint Domination, Capture the flag and Last Titan Standing modes are all great fun. Loadouts are fully customizable to any situation for both your pilot and Titan. And, if you need an extra boost “Burn Cards” can be played on respawn to give you enhanced weapons or more XP for mowing down enemy AI. All in all, Titanfall is a stunning game and one that has incredible gameplay mechanics. It may just redefine online First Person Shooters.
Love it or loathe it, you can’t deny that as a franchise Angry Birds has been quite successful for company Rovio. Now a new spin-off game has been announced that removes the bird-flinging mechanic that the game is most famous for and replaces it with a story, quests, items and a customisable character build. That’s right – Angry Birds is getting an RPG.
The new game entitled ‘Angry Birds Epic’ will involve turn-based battle and a crafting system for armour, potions and weapons which can be made from resources picked up during the game or purchased for real money via micro transactions. There will be a story-driven campaign mode as well as endgame content to play after you’ve fought your way through the waves of Bad Piggie-based enemies to complete the main story.
A soft release of the game is coming to the Apple App Store this week in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as a way to introduce players to an early version of the game which Rovio say will be tweaked and refined before the full version is launched although no world-wide launch has been announced yet, although Rovio hope to make the game available soon. The game will also probably be available on Windows Phone, Android and iOS when the full launch goes ahead.
So, has the idea of an Angry Birds RPG gotten you fired up or do you just wish the franchise would vanish already? Let us know in the comments below!
