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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
GODUS empowers you in the role of a god, allowing you to sculpt every inch of a beautiful world that you look down upon, on which a population of Followers settle and multiply. As you mould every aspect of your unique utopia, a civilisation will blossom across your land and offer you their belief. The more Followers that believe in you, the more powerful you will become.
Whilst you are free to lose yourself in this tranquil experience, other gods reign outside of the ever-expanding reach of your influence. If you so wish, you may challenge other gods and their civilisations to epic multiplayer battles that involve hundreds of Followers fighting in your name whilst you cast devastating god powers from the skies above. As you conquer more lands, your powers will grow allowing you to nurture the advancement of your own Followers.
Obviously GODUS was the release from Peter Molyneux’s Curiosity experiment earlier this year (a mobile “game”, where you chipped away at a maHOOsive block with other gamers and the final block being removed gave the person that did it some control over GODUS when it releases)
Now GODUS has ALREADY been up on STEAM since the 13th Sept on the Early access system, so this won’t be much of a preview, as its already out, technically, however, Early access games are essentially open beta’s at a cheaper price (sometimes… *cough*Planetary Annihilation*cough*), in this instance, £15. But when you buy the GODUS Beta in Early Access (available 13th September, 2013), you will get any subsequent updates plus the finished game completely free. So yeah, you can play now, bugs and all
Now from the game play they showed on stage, there are a few important things to talk about, firstly the god controls, this is a typical RTS, put a way point for your people and dependant on the place you put it, depends what they will do, build a village, attack enemies, etc etc
The difference here is, as a god, you can actually remould the terrain, meaning you can give your followers an advantage and the enemy obstacles, of course there are also other things, like the meteor shower, that looks fun, but what most people will probably do, is enjoy using the finger of god to swash enemy towns and villagers or even fling them across the map. Seriously, I just bought the game myself to squish people with my God Finger 😀
One of the other items they showed in the dev chat was how quickly they can change aspects of the game based on player data, it’s all in a basic spreadsheet D:
Also, evolution, when a red head appears, do you let him stay in your village to add red heads to the population, or kill him straight away to keep the population ginger free? hmm… decisions, decision…
I’m very interested in this, so I’ll leave it at at and go play it 😀 you should too!
The AMD GPU14 Tech Day Event, held in Hawaii on the 25th, was all about the new series of graphics processors from the technology company. Unfortunately, this was more of a large announcement instead of a full showcase or release event. In fact, there wasn’t even an exact release date given! Still, the show had some interesting takeaways.
One of the cooler points was the progress AMD has made over the years with their GPUs, specifically with regards to the teraflop barriers they have broken:
– In 2008, AMD was the first to cross the 1 TFLOP barrier with the Radeon 4000 series.
– In 2009, AMD was the first to cross the 2 TFLOP barrier with the AMD Radeon 5000 series.
– In 2011, AMD was the first to cross the 3 TFLOP barrier with the Radeon 7000 series.
– In 2012, AMD was the first to cross the 4 TFLOP barrier with the Radeon 7970 Ghz Edition
What are they bringing to the table in 2013? A GPU that will cross the 5 TFLOP barrier!
AMD Radeon R7 and R9 Series
AMD announced a set of five GPUs to appeal to PC gamers with various preferences and wallet sizes. The R7 series includes GPUs for those who don’t wish to spend too much on PC hardware, and the R9 series includes GPUs for big-budget hardcore gamers. The information for each GPU only highlighted the amount of memory it had, the price point, and the score it received in 3DMark Firestrike. For reference, Nvidia’s Geforce GTX Titan and GTX 780 sport scores between 5,000 and 15,000 (The Record).
As you can see, full specs were not available for the R9 290X, AMD’s next top-of-the-line GPU. According to the chart they were showing off, it should have a score above 8000 on 3DMark Firestrike. There are also a number of rumors going around that it will cost $599, have a 512-bit memory bus, and possibly beat Nvidia’s GTX Titan in performance.
As far as prospective release dates, many believe these GPUs will be available sooner rather than later. A special pre-order bundle will be available starting on October 3rd for the AMD Radeon R9 290X. This special Battlefield 4 Edition will include the game at no extra charge, and seeing as the game is currently slated to release on October 29th, it should be safe to assume the 290X will release sometime before then.
The event went into further detail on AMD’s ace-in-the-hole. Here’s the rest of what they had to say:
– It’s enhanced to support DirectX 11.2
– It has more than 6 Billion Transistors
– It has over 300 GB/sec Memory Bandwidth
– It can compute over 5 TFLOPS
– It can render more than 4 Billion Triangles/sec
This new GPU will also support Ultra HD 4K Monitors and multi-monitor displays. Most of the time, setting up your GPU on high resolution monitors must be done manually. However, AMD’s Catalyst Drivers will perform automatic configuration on select popular displays. The Panasonic Viera will be one brand to support this standard out-of-the-box.
AMD TrueAudio Technology
The GPU14 Tech Day Event didn’t focus solely on graphics. AMD has been working hard on a new tech called “AMD TrueAudio.” This is a fully programmable audio engine for developers to play with, similar to programmable shaders in graphics. It will allow players to hear more real time voices and channels in-game. It’s designed to work great with both 7.1 channel surround sound systems and 2.0 audio channels for those with headphones or simple stereo speakers. AMD TrueAudio Technology will be available on the R7 260X, R9 290, and the R9 290X.
Mantle
Another technology that was showcased was something called Mantle. Mantle is a new low level application programming interface for PCs. It serves two main purposes:
1. Optimizing games to run on AMD Hardware. This is a bit of a simplified explanation. It will allow games to have better access to the hardware (CPUs and GPUs) to run better and faster.
2. Assisting game developers when porting games to other platforms (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
AMD Gaming Evolved App
The final tidbit was the new AMD Gaming Evolved App powered by Raptr. It can be downloaded right now at Raptr.com/AMD, and has three basic functions:
1. The app supports 28 select games for auto-optimization based on your current PC rig, with more games coming soon.
2. You will be rewarded just for playing games with this app, just like when using Raptr to play console games.
3. You can broadcast live video via Twitch, watch streams, take screenshots, and share them on Raptr, Facebook, and Twitter without ever leaving your game.
Several games built on AMD technology were also played throughout the show, including Battlefield 4, Thief, Lichdom, and Star Citizen. If you haven’t heard of any of them, I suggest checking them out today!
It’s really not as stupid as it sounds – but you still probably won’t want to buy one.
When I heard word Nintendo were due to release a version of their popular 3DS console that didn’t have 3D, I thought I was just hearing crazy rumours and it couldn’t possibly be real. Yet that’s exactly what Nintendo chose to reveal this 29th of September. “Why release a version of a console whose whole gimmick is a glasses-less 3D experience; and remove the 3D? Are they MAD?!?” But then when I thought about it, I realised actually, it makes sense after all – for a certain market, that is.
The Nintendo 2DS is, like the name implies, a new alternative to the 3DS which forgoes the 3D effect. It’s functionally equivalent to the 3DS and plays both 3DS and DS games, so it’s wrong to call it a “new” handheld console – like the Wii had the Wii Mini, this is effectively a trimmed-down redesign of the original concept. For the first time since the original DS in 2006, the new Nintendo 3DS foregoes a clamshell design and goes back to being a single, solid surface not unlike a tablet computer. Rumours suggest that to save costs, the dual screens that define the “DS” part of the entire line are in this console a single touchscreen, with the output of both screens carefully positioned onto separate segments. The plastic bevel hides the unused screen areas giving the illusion of two screens; while also disabling touch for the upper section as only the bottom screen of a DS/3DS has ever supported touch. Other changes include: L and R buttons with a more rounded profile so they can be easily reached (given your hands will have further to stretch); a Sleep switch on the bottom right replacing “closing the lid” on the previous handhelds; and the controls repositioned to the centre of both sides where the screens separate – a change that, unfortunately, has led to the removal of the right speaker from the console, though Stereo output is still possible via headphones.
So, it’s a bulky, flat device with less speakers and reduced portability. Why would you ever want that?
I’ll give you the one reason the 2DS makes sense: Kids playing 3D games. Until now, Nintendo has had real difficulty touting 3DS games and consoles to younger children, a market it has always excelled with before. This is because of the 3D effect itself. Due to the potential of eye strain from watching two images merged together (which is, in basic terms, how stereoscopic 3D works), children under 7 are not advised to use the 3DS with the 3D effect on, for their own health. The problem is, while parents can avoid buying games that use the 3D effect; or can switch it off with the slider on the console’s side, the console’s own built-in software uses the 3D effect and turning it back on is just a case of sliding the switch back up – so a younger child, who probably won’t understand the health risk, can easily be exposed to the unsuitable 3D effect. Therefore, Nintendo can’t target the console or its games to young children, closing it off from one of its best markets – parents buying games for kids. With a new handheld console, with the same features of the 3DS but without the 3D effect as a rule, Nintendo finally make this market their own once again.
Additionally, the lack of hinges on the 2DS, by making it a flat, single surface device, make it less fragile – and we all know how children are with electronics, always dropping them. (On the downside, as the device is permanently open, the screens are always exposed to damage – which Nintendo is resolving by proposing owners also purchase a carry case for the device or screen protectors.) The October 12, 2013 release date of the 2DS – the same day as Pokémon X and Y launches globally – cements the fact that this is a console for the younger children.
The clincher? You can get the new console for just £110 from many UK retailers – significantly less than any 3DS version currently available.
However, those older players like myself – who can take advantage of the 3D effect and which don’t find it causing headaches for them – yet don’t have a 3DS already, might just find the 2DS a bit of a hard sell. While it may support the same games; have the same two internal cameras; the same features; wireless capability and so on, the chunky, non-portable build and the stretch it will cause to press the L and R buttons may be a turn-off, as well as the single speaker; and 3D DOES help to improve the graphics and playability of a fair few titles.
Unless you’re money-conscious, a young child, or concerned about the 3D effect, the Nintendo 2DS is probably best avoided. But if you ARE any of those, you now have an option. And THAT is where the logical insanity of Nintendo makes sense. You’re always welcome at the Sanitarium, Nintendo 😉
