Archive for Games

Destiny: Rebooted and Retooled

Victor / September 29, 2015 / No comments

Destiny launched to a lot of controversy. Lack of scope, maybe a lack of ambition, and a whole load of cut content and questionable design decisions plagued a launch and drew critics over the next twelve months. A couple of downloadable content chunks dropped after 3 and 6 months to keep people playing but, in truth, they did very little to address some of Destiny’s core problems.

 

But here we are, twelve months after the launch of the game, with more concurrent players than there were at the launch of the game. With the release of The Taken King Bungie have looked to “relaunch” Destiny. There have been a lot of quality of life updates that have made a big difference and have all been rolled out into the game for people even to those who don’t own the expansion.

Category: Games /

Kickstarting Sequels

Victor / September 1, 2015 / No comments

This is something I have not seen before, and was also something that I did not really expect. Following on from the massive success of Divinity: Original Sin (a recent Kickstarter smash hit) the studio behind the title, Larian, have announced that they are making a sequel; Divinity: Original Sin 2. I was excited; what a thing to announce out of the blue! The first was immense fun, especially with friends, so more of the same couldn’t possibly be bad!

 

The second game, too, will be a Kickstarter campaign, with a twist. The studio can afford to make the second game off their own backs, such was the success of the first game. They have taken to Kickstarter, though, to get the fans involved once more. If you can back high enough you’ll get Alpha and Beta access when they come online to provide feedback but also the high levels of interest will allow Larian to make additions and stretch goals they wouldn’t normally have done.

Category: Games /

Fallout 4: The Start of E3

Victor / June 17, 2015 / No comments

I love E3. The surprises, the meltdowns and sheer hype behind the marketing machine is fully on show; but I can’t help myself. This year Bethesda had the honour of kicking off the show with a presentation that happened at 3 a.m UK time. I didn’t watch it, even I have limits, but the star of the show was undoubtedly the latest entry in the Fallout series; Fallout 4. The game is set to take place in Boston and is already being talked up by the press as a possible game of the year contender.

 

The game is beautiful; using the latest edition of Bethesda’s multi purpose open world engine. The world, too, is massive; with land stretching out as far as the eye can see but, crucially, the scale isn’t just for show. This is a detailed world, full of adventure and possibilities. It’s densely packed with stories and intrigue. Coupled with some of the games newer systems then Fallout 4 is sure to be a hit when it launches in November of this year.

Category: Games /

Dirty Bomb: From the Ashes of Brink

Victor / May 29, 2015 / No comments

Brink is a dirty word around the Splash Damage offices. The game, a mash up of Enemy Territory, Team Fortress 2 and Mirror’s Edge, was pushed out by publishing house Bethesda with a slew of misleading marketing materials and then, when the release came, the publisher was suddenly silent, knowing the game they had focus tested wasn’t as good as they were billing, and they left both the game and the studio on their own.

 

It’s unsurprising, then, that the Dirty Bomb trailer mentions every other game from Splash Damage in its credits. The game is a throwback to those early Enemy Territory memories, while still having a little bit of Brink in there as well. The game is a team based first person shooter with various “roles” or “classes” for players to fill. Healers, engineers, tanks etc all provide a nice variety to proceedings while keeping the game grounded in the studios roots.

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Bloodborne: Souls for a New Generation

Victor / April 11, 2015 / No comments

The one break out sensation from the previous generations of games was the Souls series. Starting with the Playstation 3 exclusive Demon’s Souls the game wasn’t initially published in the west, with Sony seeing the franchise as “too eastern” and thought it wouldn’t appeal to western gamers. People got curious and began to import the Chinese version (which featured English audio.) The game’s cult grew and Sony eventually buckled, allowing Namco Bandai to publish the game on our shores. That also meant Sony gave up the publishing rights.


Then came Dark Souls; the first multiplatform Souls game. The game was a phenomenal success; drawing in massive sales and garnering great critical reception as well. Sony realised they dropped the ball letting it go and now we have Bloodborne. From the team that designed both Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls. And the game is wonderful; a joy of violent action, beautiful and intriguing worlds and disgusting monsters.

Category: Games /
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