These are the biggest PlayStation games at E3 2014
The launch window is over. The PlayStation 4 is, for now, leading the sales charts and the best way for Sony to keep driving that momentum this generation is with — what else? — compelling games. This year’s showing at Sony’s E3 booth is no different than the last: You’ve got your smattering of indies, AAA titles and downloadable content. So what should you expect to add to your growing collection in 2014? We took a tour of Sony’s booth to find out.
The Order: 1886
Developer Ready at Dawn’s third-person shooter is set in an atmospheric London during the Second Industrial Revolution and pits the knights of the order against half-breeds — supernatural-like figures. You play as the quasi-immortal knight Galahad in an attempt to strike down the rebels trying to overtake the monarchy, as well as creatures like the lycans (that’s fancy for “werewolves”).
The playable demo on the show floor focused mostly on the game’s rote shooting mechanics, and stayed far away from The Order‘s promised supernatural element. But Sony also let us into a closed-door session that teased a protracted fight between Galahad and an impressively detailed lycan that shifted seamlessly between in-game cinematics, (dreaded) quick-time events and good ‘ol shooting. If there’s anything to praise The Order for, it’s that dynamic shift between real-time events and cut scenes. Sure the studio spent a fair amount of time researching London to get the surrounding landscape and in-game objects just right, but it’s still just another shooter, no matter how pretty it’s been dressed up.
LittleBigPlanet 3
Sackboy is back and, thankfully, much easier to control in this PS4 debut for the LittleBigPlanet franchise. For LittleBigPlanet 3, Media Molecule paid attention to fan feedback and made sure to tighten up Sackboy’s platforming controls, making his movements more precise and less slippery. The title also adds in three new helpers: Toggle for heavy lifting/speed, Swoop for flight and Oddsock for agility. Each of these new characters offers players unique abilities to tackle the multi-layered world’s many puzzle elements in the single player story mode or during level creation. And speaking of layers, the studio’s bumped the game’s level of depth to 16 layers, a massive increase from the previous title’s three. LittleBigPlanet 3 is absolutely gorgeous on the PS4 and with a vast library of user-generated levels available for download, it should make for an enticing, if not familiar addition to your PS4 library.
Entwined
If you’ve ever played Rez on the PS2, you’ll feel right at home with Pixelopus’ Entwined. There are no bad guys to take out, but the core flying mechanic through a trippy visual space is much the same. Players take on the role of two separated lovers — a frog and a bird — trying to reunite (into dragon form) as they fly through color-coordinated goals and gain power-ups. Entwined moves along on a rail and forces the player to control each character (and each side of their brain) simultaneously using the left and right analog sticks. The graphics are simple, yet brilliant and the game’s intoxicating score lends to its Zen vibe. And it’s already available on PSN. So gamers looking for an alternative to the kill kill kill mechanic we see so often shouldn’t hesitate to pick this relaxing title up.
CounterSpy
The two superpowers of the world are in a race to blow up the moon (yes — “blow up”) in CounterSpy and it’s up to you to foil their plans. This Cold War-inspired effort — the first from Dynamighty — adheres closely to the stealth genre with some first-person shooter twists that keep the 2.5D side-scrolling action from wearing thin. It’s not only a fun romp through a Bond-esque world, but it’s also beautifully designed. Which isn’t all that surprising considering the studio’s creative director is a former Pixar employee. CounterSpy will be available across PlayStation platforms, so you’ll have your pick when it hits this summer.
Driveclub
You might remember this one from last year’s E3. Driveclub was supposed to be a PS4 launch title, but developer Evolution Studios wasn’t quite happy with the game’s social framework. And with the blessing of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, the game got pushed back to a release this fall.
So what’s new? Well, for one thing, that longer development time means the game’s graphics are that much prettier, though it still runs at 1080p30. Small details like the deep draw distance, lighting effects, car damage and the ability to see into the driver’s dash in bright sunlight ensure the game’s status as a true next-gen title. But don’t go thinking this is a driving sim; controls for the various cars may be realistic, but Evolution Studios has layered on mini-challenges to keep you immersed in the fun even if you’re racing in dead last place. That said, the game really shines when you’re engaged in a friendly club vs. club networked multiplayer.
Helldivers
Swedish developer Arrowhead Games’ top-down shooter is the type of game that’s made for local multiplayer. Helldivers lets up to four players control delinquent space cops as they explore procedurally generated worlds and mercilessly slaughter hordes of alien enemies. The game leans heavily on co-op play, but there’s an interesting mechanic baked in that gives Helldivers added tension and difficulty: Players can wield a rich arsenal of weapons and exosuits to help clear out a level, but accessing each of them involves frantic sequenced button pushes (e.g., ‘down, down, down, down’ gets you a rifle). It’s maddening in practice, but we mean that in the best way possible.
[Image credit: Sony PlayStation]
PlayStation TV coming to the UK this autumn for £85
You may have heard that Sony is finally launching the PlayStation TV (or Vita TV as it was previously known) outside of Japan. We know that the mini-console will be priced at $99/€99 in North America and Europe respectively, but we were left in the dark over how much it would cost in the UK. Until now. Eurogamer reports that when it arrives in the autumn, the PlayStation TV will retail for £84.99. That’s a significant bump over the £60 (plus taxes) it would set you back if you went out to the US and bought one direct. To make matters worse, Sony won’t offer UK customers the PS3 DualShock controller bundle like it does in the US and Asia. That said, it’ll still mirror your PlayStation 4 screen and you’ll still be able to play lots of Vita games, PlayStation games and stream video content, as well as music and video from Sony’s own store.
Source: Eurogamer
Here’s what made Grim Fandango a legendary adventure game
When Double Fine said that it was reviving Grim Fandango for PlayStation systems, you may have been left scratching your head. Why remake a nearly 16 year old adventure game that many of today’s players would have never seen? Well, some of the original developers are more than happy to explain through a new mini documentary. They argue that the title was full of creative and technological breakthroughs. The setting was a unique fusion of Mexican folklore with film noir, and it was one of the first adventure games to embrace the possibilities of 3D. Rather than rely on an obvious point-and-click interface, it included then-novel concepts like using head tracking to point out interesting objects.
The company also had some practical reasons to push for a remake. Simply put, older disc-based games like this are increasingly unplayable; you may have to bootleg a copy and hack it just to play at all. Disney (which got the Grim Fandango license after buying Lucasfilm) wasn’t using the property, either, so there was nothing to lose by modernizing it. The retrospective may not get you to fork over cash for the PlayStation port, but it might give you a sense of why the Double Fine crew would resurrect a title that could easily have faded into history.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Sony
Source: PlayStation Blog
Engadget Daily: the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Tesla opens Supercharger patents and more!
Today, we dive into day one of the Electronic Entertainment Expo and pore over a load of new games like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Forza Horizon 2, learn about Tesla’s plan to expand the EV market and ponder the applications of an Arduino-equipped hoodie that can send text messages. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
What you need to know about the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)
Earlier today, we joined thousands of developers, publishers and video game fanatics in Los Angeles, California for one of the biggest industry trade shows in the world: the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Read on for everything you need to know about this gigantic three-day event.
All the games from Microsoft’s E3 event
Xbox’s Graeme Boyd told us to expect plenty of games during day one of E3, and that’s just what we got. Continue reading for a complete rundown of the announced titles, including new additions to the Call of Duty, Forza and Halo franchises.
Tesla will open up its Supercharger patents to boost electric car adoption
We knew Elon Musk was up to something, but now we know exactly what the hints were about. In a bold effort to set an industry standard and boost electric car adoption, Tesla Motors will share designs for its Supercharger system with other EV manufacturers.
This smart hoodie lets you message friends on the sly
What you’re looking at is the combination of a cellular-equipped Arduino board and a regular ole’ hoodie. What does it do? This garment let’s the wearer send messages by simply rolling up a sleeve.
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Filed under: Misc
The adventure game classic Grim Fandango is coming to PS4
Just because LucasArts as an active game studio is no more doesn’t mean that some of its original franchises are going the way of the dodo — far from it. Double Fine’s Tim Schafer has revealed at Sony’s E3 event that the classic 1998 adventure game Grim Fandango will be re-released on the PlayStation 4. Details of the remake aren’t available just yet, but it’s safe to presume that some visual upgrades are coming to Manny’s journey through the Mexican Land of the Dead.
YouTube headed to PlayStation 4 ‘later this year,’ adds one-click sharing
Sony Computer Entertainment’s new head, Shawn Layden, confirmed that YouTube is on its way to the PlayStation 4 “later this year.” Layden tossed out a few stats about the PS4′s social reach with gamers, citing the over 95-percent of PSN connected consoles and heavy use of the DualShock 4′s Share button — it’s been pressed over 220 million times. To enhance the ease with which gamers can share via social, the dedicated YouTube app will allow for easy video uploads with a click of the Share button. Layden also followed up on last year’s promise that PS4 gamers would be able to join a friend’s broadcast session, saying that interactive ability will be added to PS4 soon.
Sony’s next update for Playroom will bring custom AR broadcast sets
Sony’s odd augmented reality demo / broadcasting tool Playroom is getting some new features. At its E3 2014 event, Sony announced the PlayStation app will be updated with custom broadcast sets, just in time for the addition of YouTube. That could help your trip to broadcast stardom, unless you choose to take a slightly less savory approach to content, which helped get the app banned from Twitch.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony, Microsoft
‘Grand Theft Auto V’ is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC
If you’ve long suspected that Grand Theft Auto V would reach next-gen consoles and the PC, you were on the mark — Sony and Rockstar have confirmed that the open-world crime saga is coming to the PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One this fall. Moreover, any progress you’ve made in Grand Theft Auto Online on the PS3 or Xbox 360 carries over to its next-gen equivalents. How nice is that? There isn’t much more to say at this point, but Rockstar promises that these ports will “take full advantage” of the more powerful hardware.
Source: Rockstar Games (YouTube)
Destiny Beta coming to PlayStation 4 on July 17th
Sony’s Andrew House just kicked off the company’s E3 show by announcing an open beta for Bungie’s Destiny on July 17th. But gamers won’t have to wait until later this summer for a crack at the massively multiplayer online title; House also mentioned that the open world title would be available this Wednesday as an alpha build for those of you that like works-in-progress. And to make the pot even sweeter for interested parties, Sony’s releasing an exclusive bundle that comes with an all-white — sorry, that’s “glacier white” — PlayStation 4 and free 30-day trial to PS Plus, Sony’s network service, on September 9th. So, it’s confirmed: Destiny’s launch marks the beginning of the many colored PS4s to come.
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