Lost Planet 3 gets a new trailer, also a release date
Lost Planet 3 shows itself yet again with a new trailer finally announcing a release date. It's coming on June 25 in NA and June 28 in Europe for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Check the trailer below.
I'm not too sure about this game at this point. With a fairly unknown developer called Spark Unlimited working on this game instead of Capcom, I have a feeling that it will come out as a generic third person shooter. So far, nothing appealing has popped up. It's obviously more story-driven this time around compared to the second game, but that's about it. It'll be sad if it turns out to be just as bad as the second, because the first game had a lot of potential thanks to the game's setting.
Pick 5: Reasons why I've lost faith in Resident Evil
Resident Evil is considered the franchise that started it all. The survival horror genre was born when that iconic cutscene of the very first zombie was seen and Capcom knew they had something special. From 1998 to present, we have seen this survival horror franchise spawn numerous titles, sequels, and prequels. It even has a movie franchise that now has a total of five movies released. It's definitely a success, but as the series progressed, it slowly lost it's identity and eventually evolved itself into something we see all too much in either movies or games. I love Resident Evil, but at this point, I have lost all faith.
Resident Evil 2 was my introduction to the survival horror genre. When I was in grade school, I experienced Resident Evil 2 for the first time and from there on, I became a fan. I can still remember the first time I encountered the Licker in the Police Station - As it shows it slowly turns it's head to reveal its long tongue, it then detaches itself from the ceiling to engage you. I was scared, but definitely hooked and determined to see it through. The whole concept of treading lightly and saving valuable consumables and ammo for future use kept the game intense and most of the time frightning. Not anymore though, as the story moved forward, the series changed and turn out to be less appealing after each release. Here's are some reasons why.
Hollywood Movies
The first Resident Evil movie was released in 2002. From there, it spawn 4 sequels. The movies weren't all that bad. The action was good, and the Story was expected to be horrible since..well. the whole story of Resident Evil is a big mess to begin with. My big problem with the hollywood infused Resident Evil series approached this as an action movie, and to top that all off, they add a leading protagonist completely made up just for the movies. Not only do most generation gamers and non-gamers now consider Resident Evil a monster slaying flick, we have all those memorable characters like Claire, Chris, and Leon taking completely useless roles in the movie, only placed for fan service. It completely changed the image of Resident Evil, and the games for some reason eventually followed suit with all the action.
Removing unique game mechanics
The evolution to what the franchise is right now began with Resident Evil 4. For the first time, Capcom has scrapped the still camera seen in previous games, and placed the camera over the shoulder. They removed the perspective mostly used in survival horrors.(Silent Hill, Fatal Frame) I did have a great time with the 4th game I won't lie, but it didn't feel the same anymore. At the time, the change was welcome, but the changes kept going as the number beside the title went up. Once they revealed RE 6, it was actually unrecognizable. They removed yet another gameplay mechanic - being unable to shoot while moving. Staying still in order to shoot added tension, when they took that out, it was hard to call it an RE game anymore, especially with all the rolling and dodging.
Action Adventure > Survival Horror
This is the franchise that started the whole survival horror, but also the one that abandoned it in the end. Back to RE4, it slowly turned out as more action-oriented, but still more about running away and picking your fights. Only during the 5th and 6th, even Operation Raccoon City(completely shit game by the way), did it really feel like a third person shooter, making me do mindless shooting to no end. RE5 was still tolerable, but RE6 went all out.
Cooperative Play
Co-op. First introduced in RE5, coop destroyed any form of tension or fear. It made it a bit more linear, and eventually felt like a great coop game with a friend. I had a blast playing it with a buddy, but it felt wrong getting that kind of impression from a franchise I once got goosebumps when playing it.
Resident Evil 6/ Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
When Resident Evil 6 was released, the evolution was complete. Everything that made the franchise great is now gone. What replaced it was hollywood explosions and mindless gunfights. The only thing that made it Resident Evil was the characters and the herbs still used as a healing item. It became a third person shooter, plain and simple. It lost it's edge, and it was hard to swallow, since other games that bring the same thing can do better. We then have Operation Raccoon City. A game that I thought would be an amazing game, turning out to be the worst game of that year(for me). There was so much wrong in that 4-player coop that to this day, I still regret buying it on day 1. Both of them came out the same year, and I was really hoping for a good RE game.
In a business standpoint, yes, making it more action than scary would reach a bigger market. But when you slowly do a complete makeover, that's a whole different story. It made a divide in the fan base; People that love when it was a survival horror, and people that enjoy how it is now. It's hard to see how Resident Evil would be in the coming years. Not even sure If I want to know. Will it Capcom continue to move forward as is, or take a few steps back and bring back elements that made the games great? My guess is that they will just keep moving forward with what they have. If that does happen, I'll just accept it and keep praying for some kind of reboot.
What do you think about the Resident Evil as a whole?
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag details, release date set
As promised, Ubisoft blows up the start of the week with tons of details regarding Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Set before the events of the third game, Edward Kenway is the new assassin and is set to sail on October 29 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and next-gen consoles.
In a preview article by Joystiq, The development of Black Flag started in 2011, which suggests they have quite a ton of developers working on just one franchise at Ubisoft. Revelations was released in 2011, meaning they had three Assassin's Creed titles in the works that year(including Assassin's Creed 3). This definitely isn't a rush job, but how many more games like this can we take in?
But enough of the history lesson. Black Flag is embracing a highly praised feature that debuted in the last game - Naval battles. But it's not just the combat anymore, they expand on that concept further. Edward Kenway commands the ship called the Jackdaw, which seems to be the focus of the game's exploration. The game will have around 50 locations like Cuba, Bahamas, Nassau, and South Florida to visit. Including islands, cities and ports such as Havana, Kingston and Nassau. There will also be hidden paths to explore, quiet fishing villages, ship wrecks, plantations, dense jungles, islands, an underwater ship wrecks.
This is going to be pirate game in it's core, wrapped around that assassin's hood, which means boarding ships, plundering, finding lost treasure, and freedom to explore the open sea awaits when it hits this October. The sea exploration won't be restricted with artificial barriers, but you can't explore the whole world too, there will be ship upgrades to do, and some are required for you to progress.
Black Flag will have an absent Desmond this time. Ubisoft stated that the third game will conclude his story, and they are sticking with it. It's still not certain if Black Flag is a straight up history lesson, with no modern day sections of us exiting the Animus with a new character. But if you ask me, it's a step to the right direction if they remove it completely.
It was just four months, and already Assassin's Creed 3 has been pushed out of the spotlight by a new numbered sequel. Ubisoft's attempt of releasing a new title every year might be exciting for the hardcore of fans, but it makes me wonder if this healthy for a blooming franchise. I'm sure many players is still trying to find time to experience Connor's journey, and some might get sick of the franchise thanks to the annual release.
Check out the released trailers and screenshots so far for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag below.
Announce Trailer
Edward Kenway trailer
Monday Impressions: FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light is a Strategy Simulator for the PC. An addicting game that you could find yourself playing for hours. You command your own spacecraft and crew through dangerous territory. It's a concept that should have been tackled before. I have no idea why I held off buying this game, but I'm thankful I caved in the end.
You are given the simple task of bringing vital information to the allied fleet. With the rebel fleet behind you, you have to jump from sector to sector to avoid engaging the rebels. Each playthrough can clock from 1 -2 hours. But don't let this disappoint you because it's not about how long the journey is, it's how you got there and how you survived. The game is tough, which leaves me still trying to beat it on normal difficulty after 22 hours spent in just a week. yes, it's tough to the point were I spend countless playthroughs trying to reach the end. With this game, once your hull life goes zero, it's over.
After all those hours spend, I'm surprised that I don't find any sense of repetitiveness in the gameplay. The replay value really makes the $10 price tag worth the buy because each new game is different from the rest. Moving from sector to sector, you are given different results, making each encounter and event pretty random and unpredictable.
The gameplay will also make any Star Trek, or any sci-fi series that involves a ship happy. You are in charge of everything on the ship; which crew member man's what, how to distribute ship power between systems, and order your men to either board enemy ships, extinguish fires and repair broken parts in the ship, it looks simply but actually crazy. It can go out of control so fast that I appreciate the pause feature that lets me analyze and plan my next move.
This game can be pure addiction. The day I purchase the FTL on Steam, I download the game, which is only 157MB big, and lost my whole afternoon in a blink of an eye. It's a great strategy game and has a unique gameplay. It makes me wonder why no big developer has bothered to make something like this. FTL: Faster Than Light happened thanks to Kickstarter, and all the supporters that backed the project. It was released last year and I understand now why people were giving so much praise.
The soundtrack is also worth hearing. I'm really not into soundtracks, especially in video games,but FTL's music got me humming every time I play. The sound effects also fit well with the soundtrack, so it's a treat for the ears. For me, It's not everyday you get to play a game and give the music big praise. I honestly can't remember when's the last time I loved a game's soundtrack.
This game is special, a game that's worth more than the price tag placed on Steam. I would love to give this game a full review and talk about other aspects of the game, but I'll hold off for now because I still have to experience other ships you can unlock and actually finishing the game. I'm still very determined to finish the game, even with Normal difficulty kicking my ass every single time. But I love the challenge. I could easily finish the game on easy, but I stopped and really want to get my first win on normal. I'm just stubborn that way. If you got some spare change and want a game that is a definite time sink, get FTL: Faster Than Light. Only regret so far is that I didn't buy it earlier.
Trailer
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PS1)
Most people disregard games based on movies as they are usually low budget, rushed developed, cash grabbers to tie in with the movies that they are associated with. Which is true for the most part. However, there are some gems out there that are quite good or at least decent.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was one of the few movie tie-in games that I remember liking a lot back in the day. Even though this is an obvious movie tie-in, it appears as if the game took more from the books than the actual movie. Riddled with Zelda like controls, simple platforming, mini games, and a sort of sandbox world/castle, this is a game that was obviously made for a youngr audience but still provides a good enough challenge from time to time to be entertaining.