DmC Devil May Cry Demo Impressions

The demo of the new Devil May Cry game (spelled as "DmC") with the new emo Dante just came out this week and I tried it out.

The demo includes a short campaign segment called "Under Watch" where in the game teaches you how to pull off attacks and demonstrate Dante's new platforming tools to go about the environment. I like the combat in this game. It still stays true to the whole "make your own combo" asthetic that made the older Devil May Cry games so fun. Comboes are easier to pull off than in the older games but is complex enough for you to put in a bit of effort if you want to keep the combo going. Aside from the standard sword and dual pistols, Dante has access to two weapons. The Osiris (scythe) and the Arbiter (axe/hammer) which are mapped to the L2 and R2 buttons respectively. Dante doesn't switch with the two weapons but instead, the buttons act as a sort of move modifier. The Osiris acts as the "crowd control" weapon, dealing multiple hits while covering a wide horizontal space. The Arbiter acts as the hammer type weapon, with earth shaking strike powerfull enough to break shields or launch enemies in the air. You can switch between all 4 weapons (sword, guns, scythe and axe) at any point during move strings which lets you mix and match and create your own combos. And yes, the guns do keep opponents airbourne ala the first Devil May Cry.

Aside from that, the demo also includes one boss fight in a mode called "Secret Ingredient" which pits you against a large larvae like creature that knows how to drop the F-bomb. There's actually a challenge room to the left of the area before the boss that asks you to defeat a wave of enemies before the timer runs out. The twist being that the enemies only take damage when they are above the ground. It's a good little way of telling the player that thinking of creative ways to combo enemies can benefit you instead of just hammering away at the attack button.

I have to say that I liked the demo. Combat is fun, the environments look nice, and even though the punk "I can swear in a video game" theme doesn't rub me the right way at the moment, I have to say that DmC will surely be one of my game purchases in 2013.

I played on the "Devil Hunter" difficulty which I'm guessing is the normal difficult level. The game offers your 4 difficulty levels, with the 4th (Son of Sparda) being initially locked. At the end of each game mode (after the game trailer plays out) you are given a rating on how you performed in combat. I don't know what the required rating is to unlock the Son of Sparda difficulty but I believe I got rank B in both Under Watch and Secret Ingredient and got access to Son of Sparda in both modes.

If any of you are on the fence about the new DmC, then by all means try the demo out and remember, Dante's new look does not define the game, gameplay does.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8V_6dFprU4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjYiXFWaEWc[/youtube]

Skyrim Challenge: self-applied rules to spice up my new playthrough

A couple of days ago, I posted my Diablo 3 Hardcore playthrough without using the AH. Well that's a bust, not because I died or anything, but because my graphics card died. So, until I get a replacement, I have no choice but to put my Hardcore progress on hold. I loved the idea of adding extra rules to give a challenge, so I decided to play Skyrim on my Xbox 360 again with a set of rules to spice things up a bit.

I've played through the game twice at this point with different builds and I don't think I have another normal playthrough in me. So I decided to do this which brought back the fun in this game.

Here's my set of rules for the challenge playthrough I just started yesterday:

1) No fast travel - Might sound a bit painful to some but it's actually not that bad. If you make use of the other forms of travels in the game like horses and caravans(which was considered useless right after you figure out how to fast travel), moving from point to point isn't so bad. Plus you get to explore new locations that you most likely missed thanks to fast travel.

2) No crafting and enchanting, only alchemy allowed - Everybody that has finished Skyrim knows that the best gears in the game can be crafted, making you overpowered for some content of the game. By restricting yourself from ever using these skills, items and gear you earned through chests and exploring the world in general comes out more satisfying. When I first played this game, nothing I found in the chest was ever helpful since my crafted gear always came out better. If I did find something good, I improve it even more with crafting.

3) One save file for the playthrough, can only save in inns or owned houses - This rule is to eliminate those constant saves before dungeons for when you die or make a mistake. With this, the game is a bit more intense too since you know you will restart back to the inn if you die. This also gives inns some sort of purpose at the start too.

4) Play on master difficulty - The max difficulty of the game. Beware of the two-handed bandit chiefs.

5) Never use any restoration spell - This was a bit too much I think. I noticed that the restoration school is always the go-to place to get health back, which results in me wasting experience on this school. This also makes health potions very valuable in this playthrough. My past playthroughs, regardless of what build I was going,I always had the restoration school up because I needed a heal now and then. I'm still considering this, but so far the game isn't so bad with this restriction.

6) No waiting, only use if required for a quest - This is to avoid an easy way to heal your character. When you wait in Skyrim, or any Elder Scrolls game, you regenerate your health, mana, and stamina. Usually, waiting for 1  or 2 hours would fill your bars.

That's the set of rules for my Skyrim challenge. A different spin on the game, which I'm hoping isn't too difficult as I get farther in, but enough to make it challenging, fun, and possible to progress when I sit down to play. A bit too early to tell, but this could make the game better. I could go overboard by saying if I die once, it's game over for good, but that's way too much. I'm not that crazy.

My character for this playthrough will be built as a stealthy ranger since I've always wanted to play this game with a bow as my main weapon of choice. As I write this, I just started and I'm now at level 6 and finding some bandit camps to raid to get stronger. The first dungeon in the main story is impossible at the moment (died twice already) so I'm going to save that for later. I played a couple of hours and it's doable....so far.

If you plan on playing the game again try it yourself if you want a different take on Skyrim, or apply your own set of restrictions and see how it goes.

So what do you think? A bit too much? Have any suggestions? Hit the comments below.

Steam Autumn sale has started, day two offering Max Payne 3, Sleeping Dogs sales

It's that time in Steam again. The Steam Autumn Sale has begun and just like past sales, they will offer different deals each new day until the 26th of November. Currently at day two, you have titles like Max Payne 3 at 75% off and Sleeping Dogs at 50% off. If you plan on getting a game for your PC, now is the time.

Today's deals are (also shown above):

• Max Payne 3
• ArmA 3 (required for the free Day Z mod)
• Portal 2
• Awesomenauts
• Prototype 2
• Sleeping Dogs

If today's deals are not the games you're looking for, check back tomorrow for a whole new list of deals, or you can check the flash sales that last for a couple of hours.

And just in case you missed out on past daily deals, Steam keeps it up for a few more hours to give some gamers a chance to not miss out.

Login your Steam accounts now to check out the sale, or you can see them at their website.

I might miss out on this one since the Holiday is coming up and Steam will definitely have a Holiday sale just like last year, so I'll save whatever money I have left for that. But you never know, I might just find something interesting during this sale.

Player plays Black Ops 2 for 135 hours straight, setting new world record

The addiction of Call of Duty is crazy. Every year we get a new game, and just like clockwork we see millions of gamers ready to buy it. It's great, it's addicting, it's fun, but would you play the game for 7 days straight? Well, one guy did. Australian gamer Okan Kaya played Black Ops 2 for 135 hours straight setting the new Guinness World Record for longest gaming marathon ever recorded. Don't worry, the guy is fine. 

Kaya was given breaks between hours though, so it's not completely 135 hours of eyes on the screen. Guinness rules allows players to take 10 minute break each hour, and may choose to stack and save those 10 minutes for longer breaks to the basics like eat or sleep. This is quite an amazing feat, and at the same time a dangerous one. Everybody loves a good gaming marathon every now and then, but to push your whole body for a whole week is pretty risky if you ask me.

But he succeeded with no harm on him so congratulations on setting the new world record Okan Kaya.

Sadly, with a marathon like that, you'd think he would be at least top 10 in global leaderboards. Apparently not. GameInformer posts that he is currently 37 in the global charts, which means there were still 36 players ahead of Kaya. Did they play just as long as Kaya? maybe not, but they definitely played the hell out of that game nonstop.

Photo credit: (4Cabling/Facebook)

[ Source: Yahoo]

Planetside 2 has now gone live!

Sony Online Entertainment's Planetside 2 has now opened its servers to the world. This game offers an FPS experience on a grand scale. We are talking about thousands of players joining three factions, and fighting it out for map control. The game is Free-To-Play and I suggest you start downloading and form ranks! Oh, and you can check out the launch trailer below too.

I've had my time with the game a month ago during the closed beta and it's crazy on how massive this game is. It's battlefield in a whole new level. The game looks amazing, and in regards to how well the shooting is in this game, it's in par with modern triple A shooters out now, which is a surprise since this is a free game.

If you are looking for a game that would really provide you with an all-out war experience, this would be perfect. Head over to Planetside 2's official website to sign-up and start downloading. Friendly warning, this game requires a lot of space to install. See you all on the battlefield!