Remember a year or so ago when we were shown a trailer of a group of people parkour-ing it all over the place while evading zombies, and in the end, that group became one guy who was than bashed in the skull with a rock or something? Well, that was Dying Light, Techland's newest game (makers of Call of Juarez and Dead Island, as well as others).
In case you STILL don't remember, Dying Light is an open world, zombie survival game (Dead Island like) where you, the player, must scavenge supplies and other goodies while fending off zombies.
"No problem." You say? Well, at night, the scarce zombies become hordes, giant groups of nasty, ravenous flesh rippers. Think Dead Rising type hordes. Do you have what it takes to survive until dawn?
In case you need a refresher, here is the teaser trailer.
And here is their new trailer, to build the hype.
Want those release dates now? January 27th for USA, January 28th for Australia and New Zealand, and January 30th for Europe and Asia on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.
Dying Light is currently available for pre-order. If you secure your copy early, you will be granted access to a free DLC mode called "Be the Zombie", allowing you to invade other players' games as a super-agile "Night Hunter".
In what appears to be a continuing trend, the upcoming Resident Evil Revelations title will not be one entire game at launch. The sequel to Revelations will be featured in four episodes, each listing $5.99 as they are released in a weekly. If you get the Complete Season you will also get additional content on top of the episodes. If you're patient though you can get the entire series on a retail disc. This version includes even more content on top of the additional content offered in the Complete Season deal and will go for $39.99 retail.
Capcom has stated that the game's storyline will take place between Resident Evil 5 and 6. Capcom also released a statement that Revelations 2 will include additional gameplay modes within the episodes aside from the story (here's hoping Raid Mode returns).
Become Legend, or at least a pretty cool space wizard.
Destiny is the hot new release from Bungie, the folks that brought us Halo and I'm sure a few other games, but mostly Halo. But how does it stack to previous games released by Bungie and other popular games?
Day One sales for Halo and other popular games
As you can see, Destiny is Bungie's best selling game, and one of the highest sellers this year. It should be noted that Activision did spend roughly $500 million in adverts and development for the game as well, so this isn't all net profit, and sales are TO the retailers.
So while the numbers aren't in fully (this takes in to account only US, not worldwide), Destiny is shaping to be a big hit, at least sales wise.
Story
I'm a little lost on the story, however what I take from it is you are a Guardian, a member of a group dedicated to preserving the last remnants of humanity from The Fallen and The Hive. The Fallen are what we would consider mercenaries, and are divided amongst Houses, who are as hostile to each other as they are to humans, adapting a 'survive at all costs' lifestyle, to everyone. The Hive are an ancient species that seek conquest and expansion, having lived for thousands of years, they have been at war with humans and Fallen in their quest for domination (honestly, they remind me of Flood from Halo).
The Guardians must protect the last human stronghold and keep peace at all costs.
Graphics
Graphically, Destiny is gorgeous, the environments are lush and detailed. Characters, enemies and other environmental objects all interact with each other and don't seem to have any AI issues (i.e. clipping). Special abilities have nice special effects, as do weapons and vehicles.
Hunter in the field
Destiny PvP
Objects in the distance also look crisp, versus poorly rendered like some games have had, where they only load if you approach them. Specifically, I like the shadowing from the star in the PvP shot above.
Even the last gen graphics look good, not as good, but still impressive.
Controls
I've you've played Halo: Reach or Halo 4 (or ANY shooter really), the controls are pretty much the same, a few minor tweaks (such as the shoulder being used for grenades vs the trigger). The directional pad is used for 'emotes', these include 'wave', 'dance', 'point' and sitting down, I'm not sure if there are more than those, I've not really used them. The controls are tight and respond quickly, I've had only a few issues where I swear I pulled the trigger after a melee, but that could just be the game mechanic to not allow you to spam the two.
Xbox One Layout
PS4 Layout
So it shouldn't take FPS fans long, or even those who have casually played an FPS, there's almost no real variation. These are, of course, the default controls, you can adjust them as you see fit.
Audio
The game sports a very nice cast of VO, including the loved Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones, as well as many other names who may be familiar to those who like The Walking Dead (the show), The Matrix, Bleach and others.
The music has a very Halo-like feel, so fans of the series when Bungie was in charge should enjoy it very much. The sounds of gun fire, enemy communications, footsteps, explosions and everything else are very well done and varied.
Other
Destiny can only be played online, as indicated on the front of the box, it is an MMOFPS (w.RPG elements). Players explore various planets on a medium sized map, where other players may also be exploring and doing missions. You can team up with them or ignore them altogether, it's up to you.
You can also customize your character with new armor, colors, hair style, race, skin color, gender and even a few different species. (see Destiny: First Impressions)
The game also has a central Hub known as 'The Tower', where you can buy gear, for parties or just BS around. It is very reminiscent of the Mass Effect series when on the Citadel.
I've only played a few games of PvP, but it's pretty much like most MP games out there, you are on a team of up to 6 (at least in Control) and score points to win. Players bring their own gear in, so a low level player can be at a disadvantage, but if you are good, you can make up for it. Upon completing a PvP match, you earn exp, money, and PvP currency that can be used to buy PvP gear.
The game offers a clan feature as well, I'm not to sure what this means, as I've just started getting involved, but I believe there are in-game bonuses to be had for joining. If interested, and on the Xbox One, feel free to join ours. (The Blood Alliance)
Players can take on 'dungeons' as well, these are longer than normal missions, and can be rewarding. They pit you against tougher enemies, but with a team of 2 other players, so getting a team together before, or getting randoms, is an option.
First dungeon boss
Players also have a special killer move, this move causes MASSIVE damage and kills most things instantly, if it doesn't kill them, it brings them to the brink of death. The video below shows the Warlock special ability, check it out.
The game also has grimoires, which are somewhat like in-game achievements or challenges. You earn them by fulfilling various requirements (i.e. kill X amount of Hive, X amount of Fallen, get X kills with precision, etc), what these do, beside increase you grimoire score, I don't yet know. You can find some exclusive grimoire codes here: Destiny Grimoire Codes
Overall
Destiny is shaping up to be a great game, the variety from main missions to side, PvP and exploration, there's a lot to do. Character customization is great and varied. With expansions on the way, I'm hoping for more awesome content. The only downside is that missions aren't terribly long and going back to the tower to complete them, only to go back to the same world is annoying
If you'd like, I recorded a short series of clips to show the various parts of the game.
9.0/10.0 Pros
- Looks beautiful
- Playing with others is a blast - Dungeons offer a challenge and are rewarding (usually) Cons - Feels tedious to go back and forth between the Tower and worlds so much - Missions could be longer
If you're a fan of the Resident Evil series (for what it is or was), you may be interested in knowing that the new Revelations game will star our old friend Claire Redfield, who was last seen in the Arctic back in 2000 in Code Veronica. But that's not all, a new face will be joining the fray as well, if you don;t already know, see if you can guess who she is:
Moira Burton
Yep, you read that caption right, Moira Burton, daughter of Jill Sammich lovin' Barry Burton.
Not much detail has been released about the game, but the devs are aiming to create a game that is more horror based than it's predescor (whether they are referring to JUST Revelations or the series has a whole is not known), and it will feature co-op play as the previous game did, so if you were hoping for more Resident Evil 2 and less Resident Evil 5, well, sorry.
‘I want this to be both a game that doesn't lose what made its predecessor great, while also bringing something new and exciting to the Resident Evil series, achieving that lofty goal by bringing together past and future will make this an itchy-tasty prospect indeed.’
Okabe, the games producer, has stated that the two play different roles, Claire, being the badass veteran she is, is primarily focused on combat, where Moira is 'support', how that will effect co-op is not known.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 will release on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC early next year.
So, aside from seeking shelter from humid weather, we were able to get in some playtime with the final episode of Season 2 in The Walking Dead, if you continue, please be aware that THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!!!
Andrew
Spoiler for Episode 5 below
Episode 5 - Finale
After the firefight, which leaves Luke injured, we took Arvo and continued on after being promised shelter and food. The group, after fighting about how Kenny was treating Arvo and a night at a powerstation, the come to the house, only problem, it is on a small island and it would take too long to go around, so the group must cross.
After everyone is across, they notice that Luke is stuck, the ice beneath him cracking. Bonnie tries to get close and causes him to fall through, you are given a choice, cover Luke from the Walkers so he can get out, or try to rescue him. I choose to cover, as instructed by Luke, but Bonnie went after him, causing both to go down in to the cold water.
I heard a thumping on the ice, it was Luke. I tried to shoot an opening but this resulted in Clem falling in as well, while under, she sees a lifeless Luke, sinking to the bottom. Luke is dead.
After getting out, Kenny begins to beat Arvo savagely, like Carver did him, for causing Luke to die, and for leading them to a half built house, until he is stopped and leaves. Clem warms up and is later asked to help Kenny with a truck he found, after helping get it started, Kenny tells Clem they should just leave, with the baby, that the others don't want to care for him, can't care for him. That he would do anything to make sure the baby survived, at long last, the old Kenny we knew seems to be back. Kenny deicdes to sleep on it.
At night, Clem hears something and goes to investigate, Mike, Bonnie and Arvo are loading the remaining supplies in to the truck, at gunpoint, they say they are afraid of Kenny and want to leave. Mike tries to convince Clem to drop the gun, but when she does, Arvo shots her, causing Kenny to run out and begin shouting until Clem fades.
Clem wakes up in the camper, with her head on Lee's lap. She tells him about Duck being bite, and wondering if leaving Lilly (if you did) was right. To which Lee responds that growing up means doing whats best for them, even if it hurts someone else.
Shes wakes up again, which is good as I thought it was all a dream and I would have been angry. In the truck with Kenny, Jane, and the baby. Both relieved Clem is okay. Jane begins yelling at Kenny, about how everyone is afraid of him, including his family, Jane and Clem, which causes Kenny to threaten her life if she doesn't shut up.
The group comes to a bunch of vehicles stalled and Kenny goes out to look for fuel, telling Clem to go drive away if he doesn't come back. After a small discussion about how Kenny is dangerous with Jane, gunshots are heard and Walkers begin swarming the truck. Clem floors it until they crash, causing the duo to separate and flee.
Eventually, Clem finds a small shelter, where Kenny has made it. He frantically asks about the baby, and Clem says he is with Jane. Kenny runs out to look for Jane, who is seen in the distance approaching, out of Kenny's sight.
Jane tells Clem to just watch, and not intervene, that she is tired of Kenny and wants nothing more to do with him.
Kenny comes back, and, well, I'll include my poorly recorded video, may need to turn up the volume.
This was my second playthrough, the first had me agreeing to stay after Kenny begged and pleaded, saying this is the best chance they got to live a normal life. Kenny thanked Clem and gave her his hat, much like her father did before he left. As Clem entered Wellington, Kenny stopped for a brief second, trying to not look back, as Clem entered the gates, they slowly closed, showing Kenny walking off into the distance. Alone.
I was pretty damn sad when Luke died, he was a cool guy, I wish I could have saved him.
I already hated Arvo, so him shooting Clem made me want him dead, sadly, that is not the case, Mike, Bonnie and Arvo ran off, leaving Kenny, Jane, AJ and Clem with the truck.
The fight between Jane and Kenny, wow, I already had decided I was Team Kenny no matter what, it would have been hard if it was Kenny against Luke, like I thought, luckily that didn't happen. I didn't like or dislike Jane, so it made it easy for me to let her die. Jane said Kenny was becoming Carver, I can see how she thinks that, but I don't believe it. Carver cared only for survival, not anyone in particular, Kenny was different, he cared about Clem and AJ, going as far to kill Jane when he thought AJ was dead, begging, crying for Clem to stay at Wellington. Any concerns I had about Kenny were erased, he is a lone man, trying to protect those close to him, whether misguided or not, I couldn't help but think he was a good guy again.
How did you feel about the last episode? Let us know.
Ahh September, kiddies going back to school, the nip in the air, trees (depending on where you are) start changing, and only a few months left to buy useless crap for the Holiday, a fantastic day for capitalism!
Welcome friends, we have a new set of free games, if you're a Gold member.
Xbox 360
From September 1st through the 15th, Gold members can download Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine
From September 16th through end of the month, Gold members can download Halo: Reach.
Xbox One
Gold members can download Super Time Force (which is replacing Strike Suit Zero) and Crimson Dragon through the end of the month.
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