Mass Effect 3 video interview discusses RPG elements, animation and the Reaper threat
At Gamescom this year CVG had a chance to sit down with associate producer Mike Gamble to talk about Bioware’s plans for Mass Effect 3. Gamble says the third game will “bring back the RPG” elements that some felt were missing from Mass Effect 2. Character skill paths will now have six branches instead of just two. Also discussed: improved facial animation systems, Return of the Jedi and why Shepard is such an important part of humanity’s fight for survival against the Reapers.
Rage trailer takes on the Gearheads
It looks as though every underground lair in Rage will be its own hyper-detailed underworld, rife with hissing pipes and droves of post-apocalyptic detritus. The baddies within will differ, though. The latest trailer shows the Gearheads, a tougher sort than the mutants we’ve seen so much of, with better technology, armour, and their own spiderbots. The player in this clip has the perfect solution: more spiderbots! We’re itching to play Rage, but it’s not out until October 4 in North America, and October 7 in Europe. We’ll have to settle for the dozen or so new Rage trailers we’ll probably see before then.
Scoregasm demo dishes out neon hyper-death
It’s a fact that if you create a kaleidoscopic shooter and call it “Scoregasm” a certain number of people will click on it in principle. I know, because I am one of those people. If you’re not too busy being hypnotised by the blaze of colours and explosions in the trailer above, you might be interested in the brand new Scoregasm demo, which you can download right now from the Rock Paper Shotgun. It provides 30 to 60 minutes of explodey action for a 48 megabyte download.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive trailer reveals cross-platform play, Valve to host official servers
The first trailer for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has landed on Gametrailers. In between messages mentioning the new weapons, maps and game modes, one pop up confirms that CS:GO will have cross platform play, giving us an opportunity to playfully shoot Playstation 3 and Mac players in the face.
Kotaku have spent some time with CS:GO, and can confirm a few new facts. Global Offensive will have a “casual mode” which will give players funds to buy whatever they like between rounds. This mode will also support cross team chat and let you spectate enemy team members. “Competitive mode” will provide a more traditional Counter-Strike set up.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution documentary meets the cyborgs who live amongst us right now
“I wanted to find out how far off we are now from Adam Jensen’s prosthetic technology,” announces the narrator of this Deus Ex: Human Revolution documentary. Sadly, he doesn’t find a superhero capable of jumping off skyscrapers without even bruising his ankles, but that’s not to say there aren’t cool augmentations out there right now that are almost as useful as the Typhoon…
In related, but slightly less impressive news, Square-Enix has apparently joined forces with a Cornish cafe called Loading to create a Deus Ex themed cocktail called Deus Ex On The Beach. That is a pathetic pun, and I’m sure we can do better. Jensangria? Tong and Tequila? Harvey Wallpuncher? And of course, the “I Never Asked For This” cocktail, a delicious blend of chilli, creme du menthe and stale biscuits, lovingly augmented with the bartender’s very own slobber. Mmm. Cyber.
As for the game itself, it’s finally out everywhere now. Check out our review to see why you want it.
PC sales down, but high end graphics holds steady
With summer already approaching its end, it’s Q2 reporting season already and time for naysayers of the world to unite around statistics. We’ve seen a few quarterly snapshots which have made glum reading for PC fans already.
Gartner’s analysis, for example, that PC shipments in Western Europe were down by nearly 19% was bleak indeed. Acer was especially badly hit, losing over a third of its sales compared to last year.
XCOM video walkthrough brings 22 minutes of joy/heresy
Here’s 22 minutes of XCOM, using footage shown as part of this year’s E3 demo. The video was posted with a written introduction from narrative director, Jordan Thomas, which 2K invites everyone to read before watching. He describes how the original iteration of XCOM was “way too much within our creative ‘comfort zone,’” saying that “it just wasn’t “XCOM” enough.” The team have since gone back to the drawing board, and made a number of “aggressive design changes” to make XCOM a more tactical experience. Click “read and comment” below to see the whole message.
It’s may not be the turn based strategy game fans wanted, but could 2K Marin’s take on alien hunting be an awesome game in its own right? The video comes with added narration from Jordan Thomas (writer of the very underrated Bioshock 2) and producer Harvey Whitney. Skip to 1:30 to look at the base, 3:30 to meet some of the agents you’ll be getting shot in the face when aliens attack, and 7:30 for shooty action. Then, check here for our impressions.
Wonderputt breathes a little magic into Friday
Gamescom last week, Deus Ex: Human Revolution this week… things have been very hectic of late. Why not calm down with a little mini golf? If your answer was ‘because mini-golf is boring’, prepare to meet Wonderputt. It’s mini-golf like only a computer can do, with terrain exploding out, trick shots involving space warping and the devil, and much more. When you’ve finished the holes, you unlock a second mode that’s a little more challenging – but really, the challenge isn’t the point and it’s relatively easy to finish the course only (cough) reasonably over par. Check it out at Kongregate.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution patch nerfs zig-zags, improves loading times
Have you been playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution this week? Have you noticed how Adam Jensen plays like a twitchy, zig-zagging maniac? No, nor have I. Nonetheless, the first patch has reduced Jensen’s diagonal movement speed, and lowered the default levels of mouse sensitivity. He’s less like a bishop, and more like a sturdy, straightforward rook. In truth, he’s flexible. Like a queen with a pointy beard and robot arms.
Start up crashes and loading times have also been fixed and improved respectively. You’ll find the Steam patch notes below.
No US podcast this week; come see us in person at PAX!
Alas, there shall be no podcast from the US crew this week, fair listeners – but fear not! Your intrepid hosts have but ventured into the crazy lands of PAX in Seattle to revel with our fellow nerds in all of gaming’s goodness. They’re on an epic quest to bring you something far more exciting that will quench your thirst for the latest gaming news, and it’ll be posted early next week.
If you’re attending PAX as well, be sure to come see our panel, The PC Gaming Press Conference, on Friday at 12:30 PM in the unicorn theater.
At PAX? Come to our PC Gaming Press Conference!
We’re at PAX! And we’d be delighted to see you at our presentation tomorrow. We won’t be podcasting this week, but look forward to a surprise on Monday.
And in other PC gaming news…
A beard competition you say? Well PC gamer comes prepared for that, and while I myself may have recently shaved, my hirsute companions will give even Blizzard a run for their money. Perhaps we should start a PCBeard contest? No shaving until the giant sized issue 232 is out. The reader with the most impressive beard on that day will win a free game from Tom’s Wonderful Drawer of Left Over Competition Prizes. Get growing lads!
Check inside for luxurious, flowing PC gaming news.
Portal: No Escape breaks out the drama
Further proof that, in the best possible way, Valve really does have the fans it deserves. This short Portal movie is a little unusual, throwing out the usual jokes and cake references in favour of a rather more totalitarian view of Chell’s imprisonment in Aperture. Easily one of the most impressive implementations of the portal effects though, and an intriguingly moody alternate universe take on the games.
Fallout: New Vegas – Lonesome Road gets release date and first screenshots
The last New Vegas DLC pack, Lonesome Road, finally has a release date, with September 20th marking the weary Courier’s final delivery to the Mojave. This pack promises to answer the long-hanging question of why you were the one sent to deliver Mr. House’s Platinum Chip, courtesy of a trip into the Divide from which no-one ever returns and a much-anticipated meeting with the mysterious “Ulysees”. The pack boosts your maximum level by 5, but still doesn’t let you continue wandering after the end of the story. Expect it for £7.49 / $9.99, along with two new packs of pre-order DLC and extra guns to play with.
So far, the New Vegas DLC has been up and down. Dead Money was a fun premise but not particularly great, Honest Hearts finally introduced a certain celebrity but was otherwise fairly forgettable. The most recent pack, Old World Blues, was excellent though, taking you out of the desert and into a comedy world of mad science and just regularly angry science. It picked up 83% in our most recent issue.
You’ll find the first screenshots of Lonesome Road arranged below, featuring rockets and rocket launchers.
