We took a look at the Infected in our first video in The Last of Us Development series. We then explored the game world and nature’s reclamation of civilization as we know it in our second video, Wasteland Beautiful. Our third video, Death and Choices, investigates what it means to be a survivor in the world of The Last of Us and how Joel and Ellie cope with the harsh realities of post-pandemic society.
Survival is moment to moment in the world of The Last of Us. There are stark consequences to every decision that’s made and if Joel and Ellie want to survive they’ll need to scavenge the environment for every possible advantage. Learning to craft more potent weapons from makeshift materials or take defensive precautions using found objects will be critical to their continued survival.
Up next, our penultimate video in the series will spotlight the combat mechanics and the intimate nature of conflict in The Last of Us. The in-depth documentary we have been creating grew so large that we are currently seeking a unique way to distribute it. We’ll have details about how you can get the feature-length documentary of the making of The Last of Us in the coming months. The Last of Us will be available 14th June 2013.
I’m ready for “The Last of Us”. This morally grey gem from the brilliant minds at Naughty Dog combines exploration, scavenging, and brutal hide-and-seek combat against hordes of deadly Infected that prowl the remains of a ravaged United States. June 14th can’t come soon enough!
Not long ago, we asked “The Last of Us” Creative Director Neil Druckmann and Game Director Bruce Straley to give us an intimate tour of the game’s sights and sounds. Among many other topics, our new interview details the disturbing origins of the game’s Infected, an idea which sprouted from nature documentaries. Our discussion also plunges deeper into the turbulent but vital relationship between Joel and Ellie, as unlikely a pair of game protagonists as you’re likely to find.
Please watch, and then leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Two weeks ago, Oscar-nominee Willem Dafoe was added to the cast of “BEYOND: Two Souls”, and we announced pre-order bonuses for North America. Today, we’re talking about how “BEYOND” is blurring the lines between film and gaming – “BEYOND” has been chosen as an Official Selection by Tribeca Film Festival, the first such selection of this kind for a video game.
On April 27th, we will be hosting a screening at the festival where we’ll show a new one-hour scene from the game, debuting a major trailer and a new behind-the-scenes look, alongside a Q&A panel with Ellen Page and director David Cage discussing the way “BEYOND” is pushing the boundaries of storytelling. The entire team here is hugely excited that Tribeca is recognizing the powerful story of “BEYOND”, its star-studded cast, and the stunning visual technology that have contributed to the game’s uniquely cinematic experience. We’ll also be live-streaming the event right here on PlayStation.Blog (US PS Blog).
Earlier this week, 100 journalists from around the world visited Quantic Dream’s studio in Paris for an exclusive “BEYOND” event. In the surrounds of the very motion capture room where Ellen’s and Willem’s performances were recorded, writer and director David Cage showcased several new scenes from the game, featuring both the Jodie and entity gameplay.
Press were shown the Aiden entity gameplay in a scene featuring a young Jodie taking part in a scientific experiment under the watchful eye of her mentor Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe). And then they were treated to a full playthrough of what promises to be one of the most powerful scenes in gaming, which sees Jodie living on the streets, fighting for her life and those of the homeless people around her. David Cage also unveiled the brand new in-game user interface, which provides an even more immersive and seamless experience than the game’s predecessor “Heavy Rain”.
The new user interface allows for promptless contextual control in both general navigation and action sequence controls, while increasing the level of direct control the user has and opening the door for far more exploration than players experienced in “Heavy Rain”. To end the day, press were invited to be the first to play the game, and try out the new UI and gameplay for themselves.
All of the press write-ups should be going live, so keep an eye on the web for their reactions to “Beyond”’s new gameplay from this event.
With less than a week to go until God of War: Ascension launches, it’s time to drop the curtain on our fourth Multiplayer mode, Trial of the Gods, and our next God allegiance reveal -- the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon.
In Trial of the Gods, the first two-player God of War co-op time trial mode, you and a friend will tag-team with your Champions to face five increasingly hard waves of mythological beasts, whilst surviving against the hourglass of Olympus.
Over 15 types of enemies await you, including Satyrs, Cerberuses, Cyclopes, Gorgons, Juggernauts, and more deadly creatures. You will start with a set amount of time on the clock, and win time back with every beast you slay. Decimate a wave and you will be granted a Bonus Time Tiered Award (gold, silver, or bronze) based on how fast you cleared the wave. If you die or run out of time, you'll have to start over again. If you reach the end of the fifthround, an epic boss awaits.
At launch, Trial of the Gods will be available in the following maps: Desert of Lost Souls, Forum of Hercules, and Rotunda of Olympus, with more arenas planned for later!
With Trial of the Gods, we wanted to help bridge the single player and multiplayer experience, giving players a chance to work on their skill-set and gain valuable experience points with a friend, before jumping into the competitive arena. Playing Trial of the Gods is also a great way to grind some extra experience between competitive games, test newly acquired weapons and abilities, or even try a new allegiance. Any experience gained in Trial of the Gods will go towards upgrading your Champions across the entire multiplayer experience.
What happens if you don’t have a friend to play co-op with, or you don’t want to team up with a stranger? No worries -- you can play Trial of the Gods solo too!
God of the Sea and brother to Zeus, Poseidon’s realm is almost as great as the sky itself, and his power is second only to Zeus because of it. Poseidon grants his loyal sentinels unique support capabilities: a large pool of health, the ability to fortify allies, and command over water and ice. Unleash freezing attacks to obliterate an enemy’s defense and agility or boost your own team’s elemental defense and health. The wise warrior knows how to control a large area of space and can keep multiple enemies at a distance. For more on aligning with Lord Poseidon, check out his strategic profile in our God section at GodofWar.com.
Whether you pre-order at any retailer supporting our programs, you will also receive our Mythological Heroes Pack. You will adorn the armor of four of the most legendary heroes in Greek Mythology – Perseus, Orion, Odysseus, and Achilles.
Last year at E3 we announced the much anticipated title from Quantic Dream, the makers of “Heavy Rain”. “BEYOND: Two Souls” is a psychological action thriller starring Oscar nominee Ellen Page (“Inception”, “Juno”) in the lead role of Jodie Holmes.
“BEYOND” tells the story of Jodie, a young woman who’s known since birth that she is different from everyone else. She possesses supernatural powers through her psychic link to an invisible entity she calls Aiden, and this gift has changed her life forever. In ”BEYOND” you’ll play through 15 years of Jodie’s story, experiencing the most striking moments of her life, in what promises to be one of the most thrilling and emotional journeys on PlayStation®3.
Today we’re very pleased to announce that Ellen will be joined by another Oscar nominee in Willem Dafoe (“Platoon”, “Spider-Man”) who will star as Nathan Dawkins, a government scientist who works with Jodie to analyse her powers.
At a later stage we’ll have lots more to reveal on the interplay between Nathan and Jodie in the game (no spoilers today!), but suffice to say they form a compelling bond and together deliver some of the most unique and powerful scenes yet seen in gaming.
We’ve got a gameplay trailer for you today showcasing an early scene from the game in which Nathan first meets a young Jodie (played by a child actress, not Ellen), and including some sneak peeks at other scenes from the game:
And we’ve got an interview with Willem talking about his role in the game:
Willem’s exciting inclusion in the cast is just the tip of the iceberg for our announcements today though, as we are also pleased to announce that “BEYOND” will be coming to PS3™ October 2013.So we’ll have plenty of news and videos to share with you in the coming weeks and months.
A few weeks ago we revealed the Infected and let select media get some hands-on time against these unpredictable, fungus-infested humans. The responses were tension-filled and fantastic. We’re excited to share more information with you about The Last of Us and the Infected.
Starting with this video we’re kicking off a series that will pull back the curtain on our design, our technology, and our ideas that shape The Last of Us. We want to give you a straightforward look at our development process and the work we do here at Naughty dog. We invited Area 5 to visit the studio and capture the development process. Along the way we’ll be unpacking the many different aspects of the game and its development with a documentarian’s approach.
This first video is just a taste of what’s upcoming. Extended cuts of these videos will be available via the game disc. We’ll have more behind-the-scenes access and content as we march toward June 14 and the launch of The Last of Us.
In just a few short months, “The Last of Us” will launch and put the fate of Joel and Ellie into your hands, as they embark on a brutal journey across a post-pandemic United States.
May 7th, 2013might seem like a long way away, so to help assuage the excruciating wait we’re announcing today that players who pick up “God of War: Ascension” (http://www.godofwar.com/en-us/preorder/) will be able to play an exclusive demo of “The Last of Us” (http://thelastofus.com/) when it becomes available at a later date.
We teamed up with the development crew at Santa Monica Studio (https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica) to include access to a chapter of “The Last of Us” in every copy of “God of War: Ascension”, so you won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on two of the biggest games of the year. Just load the “God of War: Ascension” disc into your PS3™ and find “The Last of Us” listing on the main menu. There, you’ll find details on how you can obtain “The Last of Us” demo for free as soon as it becomes available.
We hope you’re as excited about this news as we are, and we know what’s likely on your mind now -- what will you be able to play? We’ll have more news about what’s in store for you after “God of War: Ascension” launches in March. We hope your wait just got a little easier!
Six months have passed since Kratos stood over the bodies of his wife and daughter, his hands stained with their blood – tricked by Ares into murdering the only people he ever loved. Swearing to avenge them, Kratos broke the blood oath that bound him to Ares, but oaths to Olympus are not so easily broken. This is where your journey in the story of God of War: Ascension begins…
…It has been well over six long, enduring months you’ve waited since your first look at our Ascension single-player campaign at E3 last year. So, as we have closed our multiplayer beta early next week, the time has come to focus on where Ascension and its story will take you this March. Here’s your first glimpse:
The trailer above is only a quick taste. You didn’t think Ascension was only 30 seconds long, did you?! We have more single-player details to unravel and showcase as we rage towards our launch on March 12th. Most importantly, in late February, we’ll be bringing you a full-fledged single player demo! We’ll be announcing details in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Yo! I’m excited to finally announce that our first wave of DLC will be available February 13th. Here’s what to expect.
Kat is finally gracing PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale with her presence! Kat is an up-close melee fighter that utilizes her ability to manipulate gravity to turn the tide in battle. Players who enjoyed Gravity Rush on the PS Vita know that Kat loves to bend gravity to allow her to dash, slide, and fly from one place to another, and her All-Stars incarnation is no exception. Those who enjoy AP burst combos and varied mobility will definitely GRAVITATE towards Kat.
Emmett Graves from Starhawk joins the fray! He brings his signature “Build & Battle” style from Starhawk, calling down different structures to aid him in battle including Rift Extractors for AP and Flak Turrets that fire at will. Aside from his default rifle and pistol, Emmett can also call for additional weaponry in the form of shotgun and rocket launcher loadouts, allowing him to adapt to any situation. These loadouts will also change his level 1 super, giving him a total of 5 supers to choose from!
Rest assured that these DLC characters will be getting the same treatment the rest of our cast was given, including updated official website pages with moves and bios, alternate costumes, Arcade Mode cutscenes, Trial Modes, and more.
Our newest level Fearless, a mash-up between Heavenly Sword and Wipeout, will also be available to purchase in February. Please note that purchasing Fearless will allow you to select the stage offline and in non-ranked lobbies, while those who choose not to purchase it can still enjoy it in ranked games online.
Kat and Emmett will be available to download February 13th and will be free for the first two weeks, so mark your calendar and get them as soon as possible! We’re not stopping there though. We still have some more “All-Stars” on the way, so keep your eyes peeled in March for more info!
It’s been an exciting December full of fresh “The Last of Us” news. If you haven’t watched our brand new “The Last of Us” story trailer, you’re missing out on some huge reveals. One of these reveals is a new character seen here – Joel’s partner, Tess. Read on to learn exactly who she is.
Strong, smart, and street savvy, Tess is a pivotal character in the world of “The Last of Us”. Tess is voiced and played by AnnieWersching (http://twitter.com/Wersching). You might recognise Annie’s voice from her work on the hit TV series “24”. For our in-game cinematics, Annie’s performance of Tess involved many long, intense hours on our mocap stage. To see how Annie’s performance was captured and certain scenes from it were put it into our story trailer, check out this process video:
Pretty cool stuff, right? We spoke about the making of a cinematica few months ago, and we’re very happy with how the game and all the cinematics within it are shaping up.
Now that we are in the heart of winter here in the US, we wanted to reveal one more new screenshot from the game. Here’s a look at one of the more familiar, strong survivors who inhabits the world of “The Last of Us”: (http://thelastofus.com/)
It has been a big weekend for us here at Naughty Dog. We revealed a brand new trailer for The Last of Us at the Spike Video Game Awards 2013 on Friday along with the most important news for any fan – that The Last of Us will be released on May 7, 2013!
This is our second trailer release and our first since announcing The Last of Us at last year’s VGA show. We’ve tried to keep the trailer as spoiler-free as possible, while giving you some hints at the tense, emotional narrative the development team has crafted for The Last of Us. Enjoy!
Yes, We recently confirmed that we are working on including multiplayer in The Last of Us. We’re still not quite ready to talk about it yet, but stay tuned as we’ll be revealing more details on multiplayer before The Last of Us is released on May 7, 2013.
The team here is pumped to head into the home stretch to finish The Last of Us. We can’t wait to show you more in the coming months!
Becoming a Champion of the Gods in our new “God of War: Ascension” multiplayer mode requires a Warrior's knowledge of the strengths, weapons, armor, and magic of the God they align with, knowing the depths of your strategic options, and executing them on the battlefield. Don’t expect to just hack and slash your opponents.
You've had a tasteof what the Warriors of Zeus are capable of, but now it’s time to divert your attention, and consider aligning with the God of War himself.
If sheer offensive strength is your preferred style of play, harness the ferocious might of Ares! We have debuted his trailer on SPIKE TV, if you missed it, then don’t miss it now.
Warriors who align with Ares are brute force tacticians dealing a devastating array of up close attacks. These Warriors will also harness magic abilities that unleash a fiery rage, great for close quarters combat. Warriors of Ares are juggernauts who excel in close-range combat and employ powerful items that can boost their attacks, or cripple the defensive capabilities of surrounding enemies. In other words, if you like “jumping into the fire”, then aligning with Ares should be your first step.
In “God of War: Ascension”'s Multiplayer, it’s crucial to combine the right weapons, armor, magic, and items bestowed from the God you align with, to find your best strategic play style.
Here are a couple key strategic tips for Ares' warriors to refer back to during our upcoming Beta:
Find two or more enemies in a concentrated area. Use Ares' inferno magic to leap sky-high and slam down with [R2] to knock them into the air. The moment you land, wield your weapon immediately with a series of brutal combo attacks on your enemies while they are stunned to earn a quick victory.
Ares' War Hammer is great against groups of enemies as well. The weapon’s special attack executes a long range wave of fire that will knock back every enemy in its path, and also has an area of effect slam to knock everyone nearby up into the air. A great tactic is combining these two attacks for some wicked air juggle combos.
Finally, the more XP you earn in Multiplayer, the more opportunity you will have to purchase and upgrade powerful Relics. Relics will enhance your weapons and armor, and generally improve (and reward!) your mastery over close-quarters combat. Replenish your health after a successful throw, or increase your damage after every brutal kill. Choose Relics that reward your style of play to become a true warrior of Ares.
You heard correctly: “LittleBigPlanet Karting” is finally launched! All of us atUnited Front Games and Sony San Diego Studio have been hard at work on this game for nearly two years, so we’re very excited to finally see our fans get their hands on Sackboy’s new karting adventure.
In “LittleBigPlanet Karting”, visitors known as the Hoard have arrived from far, far away on speedy go-karts and seek to steal Craftworld’s most precious prizes. Now it’s up to you to hop in a kart, beat back these otherworldly invaders, and reclaim Craftworld once and for all! Before you take the wheel, though, we have some launch goodies to share with you.
In celebration of “LittleBigPlanet Karting”’s launch, we have a brand new trailer we’re ready to show off. From a new single player journey, to racing and battling online in the multiplayer mode, to creating and customizing your own levels with an expanded set of unique creation tools, it’s clear that “LittleBigPlanet Karting” offers players a virtually endless set of gameplay possibilities. Not to mention, for the first time ever in “LittleBigPlanet”’s history, Craftworld is now expertly re-created in a stunning 3D world. Don’t take our word for it though; check out the trailer to see for yourself.
Urban dwellers lead a busy life- they have irregular dining habits and suffer from stomach unwell; they also don’t have the time to meet up with friends and family. On weekends, you can choose not to lock up yourself inside the room to play online shooting games, but instead take a step out to the living room to play a video game that is for all ages with your family.
The freshly-released “Toy Story Mania 2” sees a collection of cute characters and is packed full of simple, fun games. PlayStation®Move is also supported, so it’s perfect for her who is yet to be able to tell the difference between the square, triangle, R1 and R2 buttons. With patience and guidance, success is just around the corner and your future lies right in your hand!
Don’t mix up- this title is not the action-puzzle “Toy Story 3” released two years ago, which is more difficultfor female beginners. “Toy Story Mania 2 retains the features of the prequel with loads of spoof and interesting mini-games. Based on Pixar animation “Toy Story”, you’ll see beloved characters from the movie such as Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head and Slinky Dog. As the distant release date of the 4th movie is yet to be known, why not convince your girlfriend to relive the story with this fabulous game and control the group of familiar toy friends in her own hands? Of course, not only female gamers, this title would appeal to guys who love mini-games, too.
With mini-games as its core, “Toy Story Mania 2” has a touch that is anything but totally carnivalesque. The controls are simple and puzzle-related to test your reactions; and you feel like you were inside a theme park. Next time if someone’s nagging about going to Disneyland, inviting her to game at home would be a more manageable way. The in-game background is our familiar theme park, with some parts based on a real theme park. Some are original landmarks of the game, including the Army Challenge Zone, Balloon Park Zone, Animals & Friends Zone, Space Galaxy Zone and Wasteland Pioneer Zone.
Both single and two-player modes are supported. If you win in the mini-games you play, you can obtain different awards- though virtual; it’s still an award to appreciate your achievement. The games made especially for PS Move are not to be missed- they are perfect for non-core gamers. Simply hold the PS Move controller and move the way you want to embrace yourself for the game world without breaking a sweat, as well as taking your first step towardsbecoming a game lover.
Still remember when you wanted to game with your friends 10 or 20 years ago, you needed to agree on a time and place, go to someone’s home, and have fun while each held a controller in their hands? Now when you want to play co-op with your friends? Or want to battle against your enemy? Simply switch on the console and TV and go online. Yes, it’s convenient. But you can only hear your friend’s voice at most. The joyous scene of playing with your friends face-to-face and laughing at each other’s stupid moves is something of the distant past.
The already-released “Sports Champions 2” sports game is aimed at gathering your family, friends, relatives and lovers to experience again the joy of having fun together. And also to wipe out the loneliness of gaming… what? You’ve got no friends, family nor girlfriend? Hmm… go for boxing then. Box till you are tired and go to bed earlier.
Several years ago, family console began to catch the attention of some non-hardcore gamers, who grab their PlayStation®Move Motion controllers, move their bodies at home doing exercise. The volume of exercise is less than real sports, and there is a lack of outdoor sunshine and nice weather, but the most important thing is that families and couples find a convenient pastime. “Sports Champions 2” is now released 2 years later as a sequel, bringing various new sports, including skiing that is only possible under freezing conditions; bowling, tennis and golf that require specific venues; and boxing that is prone to injury. Adults, kids or the elderly can enjoy the fun of sports anytime they want at their home in a sub-tropical city or a city crowded with people and cars.
After playing so much shooting, killing and zombie fighting games, we need to exercise a bit to balance your mind and body. Apart from newly-added sports, the game system is also improved – players will not need to calibrate each time they enter the game, meaning saved time and maximized fun. The archery experience from the prequel is now enhanced with more ways to play and higher accuracy. You will not only be shooting targets, but also fruits, balloons and glass bottles. In the previous title, the marks were calculated each round to determine the winner; this title is taking a fairer approach- the total mark is calculated after three rounds and the player with the highest mark wins.
There is also a new single-player Cup Play mode and a Free Play mode for you to set your own practice; a Party Play that lets you play various sports in one take. Exercise and warm up your body in autumn and winter and you’ll feel less cold…
It’s a pity that this title does not support online battle yet…well, but I have said it already- the most fun and exciting way is to gather all your friends and take turns to show how sportive you all are!
But what, ladies and gentlemen, Spartans, warriors and champions, reigns supreme as the #1 most epic “God of War” moment of All Time?
If you ever doubted Kratos’ ultimate arch-nemesis, the true evil that propelled him into an unstoppable rage, the original “God of War” — who emblazoned the Blades of Chaos upon Kratos, as he swore an oath to serve his new master — then by the Gods, this moment is bound to get you fired up.
The release of a new mainline “Resident Evil” game is one of those events where gamers the world over prepare to bunk off school/work (PS Blog can condone neither action!) and devote their every waking hour to the noble pursuit of zombie slaughter.
The sequel to 2009’s Africa-set “Resident Evil 5” is an absolute beast of a game, offering one of the largest single player campaigns in recent memory. We caught up with executive producer Kobayashi-san, director Sasaki-san and producer Hirabayashi-san earlier at Tokyo Game Show, to find out how Capcom went about creating such a mammoth title.
Fred Dutton, PlayStation®Blog Europe Manager: What makes “Resident Evil 6” stand out from its predecessors?
Sasaki : I think it’s the human drama that we really wanted to convey. The script is just so packed with stuff. Trying to blend everything from the script with the game design and make that come together was really a challenge. What we tried while writing the script was to incorporate the level design and the design of the game itself so they blended seamlessly together. That was the toughest part.
PSB : At the beginning of development, do you start out with a story, or do ideas for gameplay and set pieces come first?
Sasaki : I try and get a bunch of different situations in my mind – things that I want to see happening in the game – and they’re usually not connected at all. It’s independent of any story at that stage. For example, with this game when we started, the image I had in my mind was the one of Chris and Leon pointing their guns at each other. That was a cool thing that I wanted to see, but I hadn’t even thought about where the story would be at that point. I just thought that’s a cool thing I wanted in the game – how do we make that happen? How can we make a really cool story around that, and add horror elements and make it work?
PSB : The “Resident Evil” series is famous for its hammy dialogue, catchphrases and visual memes. Do you consciously try and work those sorts of things into the script?
Sasaki : We are aware of those things but that doesn’t mean we go out of our way to create those situations. When we’re making the story we try to come up with lines that reflect the situation that is happening in the story. Everything has to match the story. I personally have lines which I’m a fan of – and the fans have their favourite lines as well – but we don’t say to ourselves “let’s put this line in the script and everyone will like it and it will become a meme”. That’s not something we try to do; I think it’s something that’s born out of people’s experience with the game.
PSB : “Resident Evil 6” is an enormous game – are you worried that some players won’t have the stamina to make it all the way to the end?
Sasaki : Yes, just a little worried about that. But because of that we developed this new service that ties into “Resident Evil 6” called REnet. We hope this service will really motivate people to keep playing the game. It’s for you and your friends – it will help keep all of you connected and looking forward to clearing the game.
There are lots of different aspects that will allow that. One of the basic elements is you’re going to be able to check in on your friends’ progress and see how they’re progressing. Conversely they’ll do the same with you, so it will be a challenge for both of you to see how far you can get, and see who is doing better. There are a lot of ways you can compare your progress with that of your friends. It’s compatible with Twitter and Facebook so you can get push notifications from friends. It should spur people to continue playing and make it to the end.
PSB : “Resident Evil 5” saw some great PlayStation®Move support. Do you have plans to offer anything similar with its sequel?
Sasaki : Right now, we don’t have plans for that.
PSB : And can you tell us any more about your plans for post-launch support?
Sasaki : We can’t talk about the DLC we are preparing for the game, but in the near future we will be making an announcement about additional content for “Resident Evil 6”. But the main portion of the game is so loaded with stuff that it should take people a long time to get through this game before they are even ready for DLC.
PSB : I know the PlayStation® community would love to see “Resident Evil”. come to PlayStation®Vita. Any plans you can discuss?
Sasaki : First of all I’m glad there is a clamouring for something like that. That’s something we will have to look at. If there are enough people clamouring for “Resident Evil” on Vita that’s definitely something we’ll have to do.
PSB : The “Resident Evil” fanbase is a particular passionate one and isn’t afraid to voice its concerns when it doesn’t approve of the direction you take with a game. Is it frustrating trying to keep them happy?
Kobayashi : The way I always think of it is that if “Resident Evil” represents a child, then the fans and us as creators are the two parents. The resulting games are like the children that are born between both of us. And just like real parents, you’re not always going to agree on what is best for raising that child.
Now, we do always have our ear to the ground and listen to what the fans are saying and we try to take that into account when we’re making the game. But it’s our job to create a new gaming experience and to offer them something that’s fresh and challenging. We want to make sure that what we do pleases them but the initial reaction might not always be positive. We do listen to the fans but we can’t be beholden to them at every turn or I don’t think we’ll ever make progress in terms of the series’ development.
PSB : The zombie genre is getting increasingly crowded these days. Do you think there’s still room for innovation?
Hirabayashi: I still think there is room for innovation with the zombie genre. We have to think about what we do next, but at the core of it the zombie element is almost like its own genre now. There are so many things you can do with them. For us, the challenge for the next “Resident Evil” outing will be sitting down together and thinking what can we do that we haven’t done before.
PSB : After so many years working on “RE6” doesn’t the thought of getting started on the next one fill you with horror?!
Hirabayashi : If there are any discussions about furthering the series, yes, the first feeling I would have would be one of fear! But right now we’re so far from that stage – everything is focused on “Resident Evil 6”.
If “God of War” were “Game of Thrones”, then the House of Kratos would be absolutely decimated by now…not counting our fearless Spartan, that is (though that’s debatable at the end of “God of War III”). Aside from being deceived into tragically murdering his wife and daughter in a moment of uncontrollable rage (“Ares!!!!”), Kratos has quite literally destroyed every bit of his lineage: Cronos (grandfather), Zeus (father), Callisto, (mother), Athena (sister). And, in what is our #2 most epic “God of War”moment of all time as voted by the “God of War” Facebook community, his brother Hercules.
The battle with Hercules in “God of War III” was not about a titan-sized boss encounter. However, you can’t deny the crushing blows and empowering strength you felt as Kratos pummeled his brother in his own arena. “God of War” is as much about power as it is about scale and spectacle, and this moment had it all. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below.
If you missed the previous epic moments, hit the links from the list below.
At current count, Kratos has decimated 23 of Greek mythology’s most important gods and people. And so far, the “God of War” Facebook community has voted three of those from Kratos’ “Olympian Hit List” (Zeus, Cronos, and Thanatos) on to our “God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments” list. What’s the trend? The most epic moments in the “God of War: Saga” are always when Kratos is fueled by revenge, moving mountains, and defying impossible odds to destroy any mythological super power that gets in his way.
We’re on to our #3 greatest epic moment — this boss battle is arguably the grandest of them all. The word “epic” doesn’t always mean large in a physical nature, but the battle at the beginning of “God of War III” personifies the term handily. When I think of “God of War III”, I always remember the first 45 minutes of the game before anything else because of this epic boss battle. What about you? I dare you to disagree with me…
If you missed epic moments #4 and #5, hit the links from the list below.
With American rapper Jay-Z as its executive producer and the gameplay content re-interpreted, more groundbreaking creativity can be expected from the music and cutscenes of “NBA2K13”. For instance, you will see Jay-Z giving an introduction as you enter the game, accompanied by the music produced by him, slam dunks and shoots by numerous NBA stars, all of which form an intro with a rather rich Hip-Hop flavor. Apart from this, MVs of Jay-Z are played as loading cutscenes before the start of each game mode, showing the executive producer’s existence in almost everywhere in the game.
New Controls
What’s surprising is the player default control, which consolidates all common actions such as “spin move” and “penetrate” to the right control stick; and just a single square button to intervene/shoot. This may be hard to get used to at first for longtime players who are accustomed to using the right stick to do fake shots, but the situation would improve after playing for a few dozens of minutes. As the producer said, “This can let players use quicker, more direct and accurate controls to perform all kinds of extraordinary moves.” If you do not wish to achieve a better performance with the new control system, you can still return to the old controls in game settings.
All-new My Team Mode
The newly-added My Team mode satisfies those who love collecting basketball players or prefer forming a Dream team. With the brand-new game currency “VC” (Virtual Currency), you can purchase player cards and item card bundles. These cards are divided into three classes; as long as you have enough VC in your account, you can go for the player card bundle of the highest class. Gamers may even get a chance to get player cards that NBA fans long to own, such as Michael Jordan and Karl Malone.
Launched as Chinese and English Version
The PlayStation®3 version of “NBA2K13” will be in Chinese and English, instead of a Chinese version released through update like “NBA2K12”; so gamers who can’t read English can directly set the game language as Chinese.
Here is also an interview video of the producer of “NBA2K” series. Apart from telling us how he feels about the production of this title, he also explored the “Linsanity” phenomenon (The fame of Jeremy Lin) in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Hey Vault Hunters, the wait is nearly over! You’ve seen all the gameplay videos, you’ve read all the previews, you’ve possibly even played our demo at PAX, now it’s time for you to finally get your hands on Borderlands 2 for PlayStation 3 when it hits store shelves everywhere and PlayStation Network in Asia Thursday, September 27th! The development team at Gearbox Software has worked tirelessly over the last few years to make this game live up to the mantra “bigger, better, and more badass,” and we’re all so excited for you to experience the shooting and looting mayhem for yourself.
Borderlands 2 has 870 bazillion guns! According to our team’s math wiz, that’s approximately 800 bazillion more guns than the 17,750,000 that the Guinness Book of World Records said was in the first game!
From everyone at Gearbox Software and 2K Games, we’d like to thank you for your support, enthusiasm and encouragement while we developed this game. It’s been a wild ride and this Tuesday the mayhem begins — bring some friends!
Every “God of War” fan remembers the first time they unleashed the Blades of Chaos. Amidst a catastrophic storm on a ship sailing on the Aegean Sea, players led Kratos toward the Gates of Athens, where he would begin his journey to seek out and destroy the God of War, Ares. It was in these first minutes of the original “God of War” that Kratos encountered the Hydra — a gargantuan sea serpent that exploded through the ship, wreaking havoc for Kratos with every step. Not on this day. Kratos utterly beat the crud out of the Hydra in a series of epic clashes, culminating with a journey into the Hydra’s throat to retrieve the Captains Key. That’s “God of War”, and that… was the first of many unfathomably epic moments experienced in the “God of War” franchise.
We recently asked our God of War Facebook fans (https://www.facebook.com/godofwar) “What is your favorite God of War epic moment of all-time”, in an effort to establish “God of War”’s top five epic moments, as determined by the fans of the series.
The Hydra battle in the first “God of War”, Kratos’ many trips to Hades, getting impaled by Ares from a mile away in Pandora’s Temple, the Colossus of Rhodes battle in God of War II, chasing Hermes in God of War III… these are all epic moments that almost made the top five, but just missed the cut.
Earlier in Gamescom in August, we revealed a new trailer for The Last of Us, which we edited specifically for Gamescom. Set to a fitting and haunting track by Hank Williams, Sr., this new trailer mixes previously seen content along with some brand new cinematic and gameplay footage, to provide more detail of the beautiful environments and dangerous opposition Joel and Ellie will face on their journey across the United States. Take a look.
I’ve beenin Gamescom for a couple days with Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who play Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us, as they revealed more about the acting process to press from all over Europe.
One of the best things about working with a vibrant and productive community, such as the one attached to the “Hitman“is that you can learn a lot by just watching people play. Going back to the previous games in the “Hitman” series, we’ve always enjoyed watching videos of how the fans tackle the different levels; both in terms of strategy and approach to the emergent systems within the game but also in terms of how they change the rules by going against the core of the level.
A great example is when we see people trying to set up mission parameters all by themselves. The previous games didn’t really support this – you were supposed to play a level in one of several different ways but targets always remained the same – but the fans pretty quickly started setting up conditions for completion themselves. Kill everyone with a particular weapon. Don’t get spotted by anyone. Only wear the chicken outfit. Kill that waiter in the bar at the Meat King’s party. Sometimes these conditions would be extremely hard to fulfill but equally satisfying when they did get completed. So for “Hitman: Absolution”, we decided to formalize a lot of that. The result – Contracts mode.
In Contracts, players get to create challenges for themselves and others through the creation of custom hits. All a player needs to do is choose a level, an outfit and a load-out, and, as he or she plays through the level, tag and assassinate up to three different targets – chosen from anyone within the level. The player is free to use any weapon or disguise brought in or found in the level but he must be able to complete the contract himself in order to save it and share it with the world. Contracts, then, is first and foremost a play to create experience where a player can play, create and share a hit and enter into competitions and tournaments (official or unofficial). Players can continually try to one-up their rivals and fight for the top slot on the global, local or friend leader boards attached to each individual contract. Because it’s asynchronous, Contracts can be enjoyed across time zones, and it isn’t dependent on having friends online.
By playing and completing contracts, players will earn in-game currency (amount depending on performance in each individual contract), which can be used to unlock more disguises, weapons and upgrades for specific weapons. IOwill set up a number of featured contracts, select ‘best of the week’ contracts and feature those through the in-game notification system, and drop in once in a while to create some fun IO-made contracts as well. But what we’re really excited about is seeing the flood of user-made contracts as people start to wrestle the systems in “Absolution” to bring out some real brain teasers for us all to enjoy.
So, we’ve basically sat down and looked at how players were crafting new missions out of the ones that already existed in the game, and we’ve built the tools to let them do this in a formalized, organized and rewarding way. It’s going to be a grand experience seeing how much creativity the players can inject into the game once it comes out.
To celebrate Gamescom in Cologne, Germany this week, we’re giving fans an in-depth look at the breathtaking naval combat in Assassin’s Creed III! Submerge yourself in our latest trailer below…
Let’s get in to what you just saw in that trailer, because there are a ton of little gameplay nuggets hidden inside it. First off, check out the attention to detail on the crew and their activities on the deck of Connor’s ship, the Aquila… we really wanted to convey the buzzing hive of energy that a ship this size requires just to keep it moving, let alone enter combat. And when the weather gets rough, Connor may need to put his deft Assassin acrobatics to use, climbing around the rigging and ensuring the sails are properly maintained and operational.
Enemy ships aren’t the only threat you’ll face along the Eastern shores of North America. Fortunately, you’ll have deck guns capable of rotating to remove stationary threats like mines, or even some of the smaller ships that threaten the Aquila. For the really heavy ships, however, you’ll want to use the combined might of your broadside cannons, which you can load with a wide variety of different ammunition. A few types of ammo you’ll put to use: grape shot (for taking out enemy crewmen), chain shot (shatters masts leaving hostile ships ripe for boarding) and even hot shot (heated cannon balls that turn splintered deck planks into blazing tinder).
Assassin’s Creed IIIwill truly demonstrate the astounding breadth of combat in the American Revolution!
But the sea is not the only setting of the War for Independence, and Connor is not the only Assassin hero of the era…
By now you have probably met our newest Assassin, appearing only on PlayStation® Vita: Aveline de Grandpré. Born of mixed French and African ancestry in New Orleans, Louisiana, Aveline grew up among the trappings of luxury afforded by her father’s station as a wealthy merchant. She joined the Assassins after becoming aware of the stark contrasts between societal classes, which spurred her to fight on behalf of those who could not defend themselves. Let’s get to know a little more about how Aveline will operate as an Assassin by watching the video below…
The first tools you see Aveline employ are the Blowgun and the Sugar-Cane Machete. While the Machete functions similarly to a sword or axe, carving up Templars with heavy swings, the Blowgun is a much more stealthy and subdued weapon. Its silence makes it undetectably lethal, even at long range.
Taking full advantage of PS Vita’s touch-pad functionality, Aveline can execute devastating chain kill combos, illustrated in the video as the “Touch To Kill” feature. Once Aveline has satisfied certain combat requirements, she can use her superior Assassin senses to fell multiple assailants in one fluid movement. Taking PS Vita’s unique hardware features even further, some navigation will also be facilitated through “Touch To Move” sequences.
If you’ve been paying close attention, you may have picked up a hint at the Persona System — a skill Aveline employs in order to move seamlessly and stealthily between the various social strata of the time. This is just a tiny taste of what we have in store, but we’ll take a more detailed look at this innovative new feature in future PlayStation.Blog entries!
(And, yes, you did see Aveline wrestle a ‘gator… that happened.)
Blood will be shed, sacrifices will be made, but the idea we all fight for will live on forever.
“Assassin’s Creed 3” shows us that the smallest action can spark the flame that ignites the revolution: a soldier fighting for his country; a priest struggling with his faith to follow his beliefs; a mother willing to kill to protect her children; a lone assassin, fighting for freedom and justice.
The strongest weapon against tyranny is the will of the individual… it’s time to RISE.
At E3 2012, Capcom offered a glimpse of the three different scenarios we’ll be playing in “Resident Evil 6”. Players could enjoy a co-op between Leon Kennedy and newcomer Helena Harper in classic survival-horror style in a Tall Oaks full of zombies, face a boss battle with Jake Muller (son of longtime series baddie Albert Wesker) and Sherry Birkin (aka the little girl from RE2), or battle across the rooftops of China with Chris Redfield and his partner Piers Nivans. But the company also revealed a new feature behind closed doors: the Crossover system, an evolution of the dual-threaded Scenario mechanic from “Resident Evil 2”, this time not only intersecting the story of different characters but also bringing their gameplay together in four-player co-op situations.
To demonstrate Crossover, Capcom’s developers played a scene where Leon and Helena meet with Jake and Sherry in China. En route via airplane, the US agents are attacked by a B.O.W. (that’s Bio-Organic Weapon for the uninitiated) and crash. Wesker’s son and his young partner are already on the ground when they cross paths with the crash survivors, and the four of them are then attacked by a huge creature known as Ustanak. Each of the four characters is controlled by an online player, and they must cooperate to take down the beast, which can hold and punish a character with his claw and hold another one at the same time in a cage on his back.
Eventually, the pairs get separated and switched, and players are stuck with a different partner – Leon is thrown with Sherry to one side of a wall, and Jake has to cooperate with Helena on the other side as the battle with Ustanak rages on.
Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi tells us that the Crossover system brings together random pairs of friends who are simultaneously getting to the same section where different scenarios crosses in the storyline. Sounds like an unusual concept for online co-op matches, so we took the opportunity to get more details from Hirabayashi-san about this new feature of “Resident Evil 6”, which is coming out for PlayStation®3 this October.
Interview with Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi
PlayStation.Blog: So Crossover randomly pairs players around the world playing at the same part of the game and at the same time? So we can’t just invite friends to get through a specific crossover section?
Yoshiaki Hirabayashi：Yes, that’s exactly how it works….The concept of this feature is to have people joining you in real time and seamlessly, so whenever you happen to be at a point where you get to China as Leon, for example, somebody else in the world who’s playing roughly at the same time and they’re also about to get at that point or they’re already there as Jake, he or she will join you. So the idea is more to have a surprise about who’s going to play with you. If want to play with your friends, we recommend, first and foremost, playing with them within the storyline on the co-op, so you’ll be Jake and your friend is Sherry, or you’ll be Leon and your friend is Helena.
Of course, if want to play with friends there’s a setting for it, so whenever you come to a chapter or a story section where there’s going to be a crossover, you get a little prompt before that section asking if you want live players joining your game at this point. If you feel like playing on your own or you don’t want to play with a guy you don’t know, you can go with the AI and it’ll be you and three other AI-controlled characters. You can also choose between letting anyone come in or only friends. Of course, because you’re playing in the storyline, it means you’re not going to have a lobby as in a deathmatch, you’re going to get in touch with your friend and tell him to play the same section at the same time with the specific characters, and both will have to set the online co-op to “friends only.”
We see the concept of this feature as not necessarily being “get your friend on the other side of the crossover”, but “get your friend at the same side as you”.
PSB：What about a chapter selection feature after you finish certain sections? This could help if players really want to set up crossover play with friends.
YH：Yes, you have chapters and, if you pick a specific one and tell your friend to play at the same one, you can increase the chances of getting your friend in there. So let’s say both of you only have each other as their only PlayStation®Network friend and the setting is to play with friends only, then it’s a 100% chance you’ll be playing with each other [laughs].
But let’s say we both are popular and have 100 PSN friends each, and we both choose to play with friends only; there’s still a chance we’re going to play together, but the idea of the design is meant to this kind of scenario. You can manufacture a situation to play with a specific person, but we don’t see it as the main idea behind the Crossover concept. If players want to play with friends, they can do it in Resident Evil 5-style: two friends playing a scenario in co-op.
PSB：In order to see every side of the story, we’ll have to play multiple times, each one with a different character, right?
YH：Yes, there’s three separate storylines with two characters in them each. You could see every aspects of it yourself, but you’ll also have the chance to join someone else who’s already seen the other side of the storyline, maybe before you’ve seen it or maybe after you’ve seen it.
Let’s say you start as Leon. At some point you cross over with Jake, and then, once your crossover is done, you’re back to Leon, and then start another crossover with Chris. Then you decide “Okay, I’ve seen enough of Leon’s story” and start with Chris from the start, and you see his missions and then he crosses over with Jake separately, and later on he gets to the Leon crossover – you’ve already seen it from the Leon side, and now you see it from Chris’ side.
PSB：So in terms of replayability, how much content will the game offer?
YH：If you play all three storylines all the way through, you’ll see everything you can see from every side in terms of story, and you’ll obviously have the chance, depending on the settings of the lobby, to have people joining you in these crossover intersections. It’s quite a lot of volume: we estimate that each one of these storylines is probably around 70% to 80% of the volume of the whole game in Resident Evil 5. So with three separate storylines, there’s plenty to play here.
PSB: We noticed you were switching between a lot of guns and equipment in real time. Does Resident Evil 6 do away with the inventory management?
YH：It’s just a demo for the E3, but yes, as you’ve seen, with the weapons and items, it’s all in real time. That’s not to say that you’re going to have plenty of bullets for a hundred different weapons. It’s still survival horror, you need to have those limits in order for the game to work. You’ll have to manage your resources in terms of having guns and ammo, but you won’t be popping in and out of a menu like you’ve seen before. It’s much more fluid.
PSB: This section you demoed is more action based, but you said the game is still a survival horror. How are you balancing the pace of the game in that sense? Will we have scenes more based on tension and fear like in the earlier “Resident Evil” titles?
YH：First of all, we’ve tuned this demo to show how the Crossover works, to show an enemy so strong that it needs four players coordinating to take it down. So you have lots of action, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be all like that during the whole game. Also, we’ve set it so people don’t keep dying in the middle of the demo, so it has plenty of guns and plenty of ammo. That’s not how it’s going to be when you come across the Ustanak in the final game – you’ll still have Resident Evil-style situations where you have a shotgun with only two shells in it and you have to make sure you make it counts. Those elements will come into play in the real flow of the game when you get to this point, and we think that’s what survival horror is all about. “Can I live through this situation with the resources I have at hand?” You should feel like that, like you’re playing a Resident Evil game.
As we begin the journey to the launch of God of War: Ascensionon March 12, 2013, we want to further explore all aspects of the God of Waruniverse to give you deeper insight into the creation, lore, design, and gameplay that’s being poured into the game. Welcome to our first “Monsters of Ascension” feature.
In God of War: Ascension, we are introducing an epic, unprecedented multiplayer experience. You will become a Champion of the Gods, but not before you encounter and conquer one of the biggest Titans seen in the entire God of War series — Polyphemus.
The Titan cyclops Polyphemus — the gargantuan one-eyed son of Poseidon — is a brutal boss on our desert multiplayer map. He will literally crush you and your foes (repeatedly) until you earn enough favor from the Gods to be granted the Spear of Olympus — the only known weapon that can destroy Polyphemus.
I sat down with Izzy Medrano, Lead Concept Artist for God of War: Ascension, to discuss his contributions to the game.
Aaron Kaufman: What inspired your visual creation of Polyphemus? Any other particular monsters, movies, comic-book villains, a recent to trip to Mesopotamia, or perhaps a particular dev team member? He’s a beast!
Izzy Medrano:Ironically, I pulled a little bit of of his body type from myself and similarly shaped guys. I’m pretty barrel chested and sport a proper tummy. Someone else noticed the similarity so I even painted a quick version of Polyphemus with my trademark curls, spiral earrings, and a hoodie – it got some laughs in the review!
I find with a lot of these sort of classic Greek monsters, I’ll mix something really traditional with something highly unusual. In this case horns came up pretty early as a nod to the old Harryhausen Cyclops, and Polyphemus’ restraints came from a sort of modern bondage / piercing angle.
The other thing I brought into his shape was the knowledge that the original myths of the Cyclops are said to come from early Greeks encountering ancient elephant skulls. It wasn’t until way later in the days of Hannibal that elephants became known to the culture at large, so it was likely that they invented the Cyclops taleto account for these massive fossils. With that in mind I added some short tusks to the character’s jaw line, and added just a bit of an elephant texture to his skin. There may be an underlying tone of “elephant” throughout God of War: Ascension because of me. Just sayin’.
AK: How do you feel about Polyphemus being a featured boss in multiplayer instead of traditional single-player epic bosses that you’re accustomed to creating for God of War?
IM:I am really content with Polyphemus’ role in multiplayer. He’s the first God of War multiplayer boss ever created, and in many ways has to break a lot of new ground. Not the least of which is on the technical side. This is a full-blown God of War Titan boss that players are accustomed to seeing in single-player, but now in eight-player multiplayer mayhem. It’s incredible! He may not be what I’ve become accustomed to, but he iss definitely a monster all his own,like a boss.
AK: Tell me what’s bad-ass about Polyphemus.
IM:If you pay attention to the piercings on our big, dour friend, you’ll notice that there are three gigantic piercings holding him in place. Two are impaling his arms. They separate his biceps from the humerus bone in what could be considered the most intense body modification ever. The pain of constantly having your muscles tugged from the bone must be incredible. Yet he pulls against his bonds with all of his giant’s might to destroy the measly humans at his dinner table.
With Euro 2012 getting underway and the latest version of the beautiful game on PlayStation®3 mesmerising crowds at E3 2012, it was the perfect time to catch up with EA Sports “FIFA 13” producer David Rutter. Here, he explains how this year’s online offering is second to none.
David Rutter: The Precision Dribbling 2.0 – that’s the glamorous name for it – did owe something to that game, yes. We were looking at improved dribbling overall as a big holistic feature, we wanted the ability to move in 360 degrees, we wanted fidelity of distance and we also wanted face angle. That was a big thing for us, the ability to have the player’s face pointing in the right direction no matter which way they’re going.
After that was achieved it became obvious that another cool part of it would be the ability to take defenders on using skill moves. We’ve had some skill moves in FIFA before, but the key lesson we learned from the FIFA Street guys was that level of immediate control on the ball. It was really fun, something we thought would fit in nicely with what we were trying to achieve. They’re our sister team so we brought their code into our game, messed around with it a bit and we now have an equivalent feature in our game.
Is it a conscious decision to make each iteration more attacking or defensive in scope?
David Rutter: Not at all. What happens is we have a long list of things we want to do, like adding a defender to the defensive wall – that’s been on the list for a few years – but the idea that we’re consciously walking this five-year roadmap of “this year is dribbling, this year is defending” and so on, it doesn’t exist.
What ends up happening is, to give you last year’s example, we realised we need to work on, say, homing missile defenders. We felt that particular feature ended up not meaning anything. So what could we do? Well, we came up with a system that changes defending completely. And then we spoke to the fans and the community and we watched people play, and it dawned on us that the attacking play in the final third of the pitch was a bit lame. We had to enliven the action there.
How do you react to things like online players finding early exploits?
David Rutter: We get the most feedback from our demo. That has near final gameplay going into it, it goes from the development team to the testers and from many hundreds of our guys playing it, millions of people then get in on it. At that point you take a big gulp and see videos popping up of things like player impact engine bugs and then it’s a scramble to fix things. There was an issue a few years back where there you could score a goal every time from the halfway line, for instance.
So the game we release is solid, but things crop up. This year we have significantly more post-launch support than ever before. EA Sports Football Club has been releasing weekly, sometimes twice weekly scenarios for the game and that’s a big drive towards what we’re trying to achieve.
Last year in “FIFA 12” there was a flurry of people adopting the tactic of overloading the front of their team and pumping the ball down to the wings. Is there a temptation to redress the balance in favour of certain styles of play?
David Rutter: One of the worst exploits last year, which we immediately fixed because it was really annoying, was being able to switch to the goalkeeper at any time in play. I mean, why wouldn’t you want that? It’s a great idea. But when some players lost possession they’d switch to the goalkeeper and let the AI control their defence for them – the AI was better than some people. And you’re like, d’oh! A quick update later and we had to take that out, which spoilt a really nice feature.
The second part of this is that people tinker with their line-ups and formations. We could limit the number of formations to counter the tactic you mentioned. One of the reasons there are all those squad update checks and spinning wheels is because we’re making sure you haven’t hacked your squad files before playing online. All of that kind of stuff we spend an inordinate amount of time each year trying to plug. Yet the simple fact is the humans that play our game are amazing. I’m confident that this year’s game will go out, and it will be brilliant.
The all-time popular PlayStation®3 shooting game “Starhawk” is rolling out its official app for iOS and Android devices!
With the Starhawk Uplink app you can easily check out detailed player and clan stats while staying current on the all of the latest “Starhawk” announcements and community news/events, all on the go, anytime, anywhere. That’s just too cool!
Once you’ve downloaded the Starhawk Uplink to your mobile device, you’ll find a wealth of information available on all of the player weapons, Hawk weapons, and Build & Battle structures.
Even if you haven’t bought “Starhawk” or haven’t tried it though you have heard about the credits of this title, you can still download this app and be one of the first to and learn more about the game and the exciting community of Starhawk followers.
Here’s a look at our Starhawk Uplink trailer…
Features of Starhawk Uplink app:
◆ Access to clan information
You can view your clan invitations, clan leaderboards and statistics, and search for new clans to join or challenge.
◆ View player and weapon stats
You can view your player and weapon stats from all of your online action in Starhawk.
◆ Track other players
Want to see how your stats compare? Look at stats for your PSN friends, clanmates, and other players you meet online.
◆ View the Starhawk leaderboards
See how you rank against your friends, clanmates, and the rest of the Starhawk community.
◆ Access Starhawk community strongholds
You can link to various Starhawk social sites, as well as directly link to gameplay videos and other Starhawk community-driven sites.
◆ Browse The Armory
An encyclopedia of information on all troop and Hawk weapons and Build & Battle structures.
◆ Stay up to date
Our news ticker and game announcements section ensure that you are completely up to date on all the latest and greatest Starhawk news.
The Starhawk Uplink runs on the following devices:
iTouch, iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S, as well as all versions of iPad and Android devices, including the Sony Tablet S and Sony Xperia Play mobile phone and all Gingerbread Android devices. Kindle Fire support is coming soon.
Go download the free Starhawk Uplink and an edge over your fellow Starhawk players! Lastly, we just deployed another great balance update on PSN for our “Starhawk” fans around the world! To see all of the great stuff included in this week’s release of update 1.02.002, check out our latest LightBox Interactive developer blog here.
New from developer United Front Games in conjunction with Square Enix London Studios is “Sleeping Dogs”, the stylish tale of undercover cop Wei Shen and his journey through the murky world of the Hong Kong Triads. Executive producer Stephen van der Mescht of United Front Games took time out at E3 2012 to explain how Bruce Lee and PlayStation®2 classic “Bully” have helped shape this extremely promising title, and why we’re seeing gaming leave its teenage obsessions behind.
Interview
Q：What is it about Hong Kong that inspires?
Stephen：So many things. Its history in cinema, in martial arts, kung fu, everything as far back as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, John Woo. What’s interesting for us is seeing those older action movies and the new wave of Hong Kong cinema like “Infernal Affairs”and that shift towards more serious story telling.
There’s such a richness there and, from a gameplay standpoint, you think about doing it in an open world where there are so many possibilities. And then there’s Hong Kong itself. Geographically it’s a very interesting place, especially Hong Kong Island, which is where our game focuses. The different neighborhoods are so unique and distinct, there’s a rich mix of tradition and technology. It really lends itself towards different gameplay styles, such as street racing and free-flowing combat. That’s what really attracted our attention.
Q：So it’s open-world?
Stephen：Yep, sandbox gameplay, go wherever you want, in whichever order. There’s a whole narrative drive and lots of side quests, favors that you do for people, mini-games, even things like cockfighting, which is part of the world we’ve created.
Q：How faithful were you to Hong Kong’s city planners?
Stephen：We took 35,000 to 40,000 reference photos and hour upon hour of video footage, but it’s not a street for street depiction. It was important for us to capture the essence of city. Lots of the landmarks are there, many of the names are similar yet, first and foremost, we wanted to make that space fun to navigate around.
Q：How do you research each aspect of such an expansive game?
Stephen：There’s a lot of literature around on Triad hierarchy and structure. We wanted to be as authentic to that as possible. We weren’t interested in doing caricatures and stereotypes. We were fortunate enough to have a few contacts in Vancouver, where we’re based. There’s a big Chinese community there, lots of people from Hong Kong, and we managed to talk to the former head of the Hong Kong police force’s organised crime bureau. He’d been there 25 years orchestrating undercover operations so he knew the ins and outs of the local Triads, from the pettiest crimes all the way up to the high scale stuff.
There was also someone we became chatty with who gave us insight into how Triads work within their stamping grounds. It’s not how you imagine it, Triad culture. They’re not always thugs who hang out causing trouble. They’re well integrated into their local communities, and to summarily remove them would cause those local societies to crumble.
Q：What has the expertise from former “Need For Speed” developer Black Box Games brought to United Front Games?
Stephen：The core of the studio was set up by those guys. We’ve been in operation now for five years, and there’s obviously a strong driving pedigree running through the game. We’ve taken a lot of time to optimise our vision of Hong Kong for driving around at stupid speeds. We have these high speed road networks that fit into the city very organically.
We also pulled in a lot of people from Rockstar who’d been working on PlayStation®2 game “Bully” as well as guys from Radical, so there’s a whole bunch of expertise there. Open world games are hard to develop and from the very start we wanted all of our bases covered with the talent we have. Our strategy’s been quite simple – we wanted to create a game where it felt like the core mechanics could stand up on their own.
If you try the combat system, it’s quite deep for an open world game. The ability to seamlessly move from that into gunplay and crazy fast driving maintains that sense of big screen action. You can jump off the back of a car or a bike, so you can see we’ve tried to maintain that cinematic action movie feel.
Q：How closely do you look at similar, rival games like the “Yakuza” series and “LA Noire”?
Stephen：We always look at competitors and try to figure out what we can learn. For us, we looked at those kinds of games, but to be honest we paid more attention to Hong Kong cinema for our fighting styles and to nail that reactive sensation. It’s a number one priority of ours to try to make something feel different from games that might occupy a similar space.
Q：Was PlayStation®Vita integration something you considered?
Stephen：Sure, we thought about it, but we didn’t want to do it for the sake of shoehorning an extra feature into the game. I feel you really need a strong idea to really tie different devices together, with a unique experience delivered on each of those devices. I don’t like it when people try to fit a PlayStation®3 experience into PlayStation® Vita. I like the idea of a different take that feeds back into the main experience.
Q：Did you look to any particular cases or storylines from your research to include in the game’s narrative?
Stephen：Well, the plot was built from scratch but we were heavily influenced by a lot of references. Look at movies like “The Departed” and “Donnie Brasco” – they both had an element of truth in them, which came from the stories they discovered by talking to people who were actually in those situations. The important thing for us to get across was that dual world of a cop pretending to be a gangster, and the stresses that come with that, of having to live this lie.
In terms of specifics, we referenced a lot of Triad crimes using newspaper cuttings. The game follows this guy becoming more intertwined with this world and we see his morality line get blurred. So yes, there are direct references to stories we discovered from the research we did.
Q：Were there any ideas that you had to filter out?
Stephen：That’s one of the constant processes that you go through. There’s always iteration and from that some ideas fall by the wayside. Some things don’t make sense, but the general themes for us seemed to fall into place quite naturally. Women for example are a strong theme throughout the game. The principal character loses his sister at a young age. He’s grown up with just his mother around, and it’s interesting to explore how he interacts with women. There’s no love interest though, funnily enough.
There’s a big loyalty riff throughout the game as well. He’s a cop but he actually starts befriending some of these gangsters, he starts to actually like these guys. I guess it’s like “Stockholm syndrome”. He even helps to plan one Triad’s wedding.
Q：With a game like this, which has a very strong plot along with defined gameplay elements, what leads – story or mechanics?
Stephen：It’s a very organic process. Those two standpoints grew together, although at the very start we focused mainly on mechanics. They can be fun, there’s a lot of opportunity and then you think, “Well these parts could all lend themselves to something set in the criminal underworld”. A lot of the time while we were writing the story we were picturing scenes, the situations we wanted gamers to see. For instance, we wanted to have a big Chinese wedding, so that led to us then working out a way of blending the right gameplay segments into the scene.
I imagine it’s a little like writing a song. Sometimes the tune comes first and you drop some lyrics in, while other times the words come first and a tune naturally builds up around them.
What I don’t like is making a game to fit a story. The two elements have to grow and feel right together, and that takes time. If you start to come up against a barrier, it’s probably time to try a different tack. Some ideas pan out, some don’t. That’s the thing about developing games: sometimes you’ve got to walk away from ideas that look great on paper but don’t quite work.
Q：Do you think that with the technical challenges of building games overcome, more resources can be poured into pushing content in new directions?
Stephen：I definitely think so. You look at “The Last of Us”, “Beyond” and the “Uncharted” series and they are the result of developers wondering how to get the best out of all this technology. Also, people are looking to be entertained on a different level now. The average age of gamers is creeping up, and you see life being reflected in these games now. You could almost call this hardware cycle the adolescent phase – it’s maturing, broadening its horizons and becoming aware of adult issues. There’s been a phase – and this is no fault of the industry, it’s just the way business works – of repeating successful games. But there’s no mistake, we are definitely seeing games, the stories they tell and the experiences they deliver evolve faster than ever before.
We have a nice chat with Lollipop Chainsaw Creative Director SUDA51 before the game launched!
Interview
SUDA51
PS Blog：Please say a few words to our Asian gamers
SUDA51：This is SUDA51 from Grasshopper Manufacture. I am a game designer and CEO, as well as the Creative Director of "Lollipop Chainsaw"
I have a number of representative works until now. Among them, “No more Heroes” and “Shadows of the DAMNED” should be those you all know about
PS Blog：Please tell us about the stage, inside stories and addictive elements of this new title"Lollipop Chainsaw"
SUDA51：The game is set in a school called San Romero High School. Asian gamers will be familiar with “Romero”, which is a popular zombie gamer in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan. The heroine is Juliet, a cheerleader and a zombie hunter. She is a descendant of a family that fights zombies with a chainsaw. One day, San Romero High School becomes infested with zombies. The entire school is thrown into huge panic. So Juliet steps forward with her chainsaw to defeat the zombies in order to save everyone and the town. This zombie game has a very pop and bright tone. It's not a horror game. No, it is, It’s a horror game but it is not horrible. It’s made as a zombie game that does not terrify.
Inside Story During development
There is a lot to talk about regarding inside stories. All the staff, including me, loves zombies. That’s why this game is packed with familiar zombie elements in character names, stages, namings as well as the zombies. Juliet is after all the most interesting inside story. As the heroine of this game,
she brings out the charm of this game, including on PR matters hat’s why everyone makes an endeavor to make Juliet a heroine, a superstar in the gaming industryas well as a next-generation Lara Croft. Everyone takes very good care of her to nurture her into a star. And here is the top secret inside story…
One day, staff from KADOKAWA Games, Warner Bros and GRASSHOPPER gathered and discussed about how big Juliet’s breasts should be. Would that be big or too big? No that’s too small, it should be bigger. Or should we make it smaller and more compact? There were all kinds of comments. At first we made it as E cup, but at the end of a heated debate I don’t remember what concluded the debate but we agreed on D cup. So you can see everyone was serious even about a bust of Juliet. The adults, well, only men I should say, got very excited over the discussion. This is how we decided the bust size in this project
Addictive elements
Well first of all in this standalone title, there are loads of costumes. The copyright belongs to KADOKAWA. And then there are also characters from animation and light novels. There are also costumes produced by Warner Bros so don’t limit yourself to one round, as there are loads of elements for you to come back for a second or third round. Talking about addictive elements, you can collect Zombie Coin to strengthen or expand your combos into combo tree. There are multiple endings in this game
As a result, if you want to see a real happy ending, there are loads of hurdles to be cleared. Even if this game is not exactly a lollipop,you can enjoy it like having a few light licks of a candy. And this game is full of attractive elements for you to keep on “licking” it.
PS Blog：In terms of character setting, how did you come up with a cheer girl running around slaying zombies?
SUDA51：I have always wanted to make a zombie game. There are many horror games and horrible zombie games in the world, and there are a lot of quality zombie games. Among various games of such kind topped by Bio Hazard (Resident Evil), I wonder what could I make in terms of a new rookie zombie game. Then I thought I would like to make a lively and colorful zombie game. I have been thinking that a very cute zombie game works in which the Zombie is a character that is not horrible at all and is much loved by people around the world. It occurred to me one day that a cheerleader
holding a chainsaw looks cool. Actually I was in the toilet at that time. Interesting!
This character is nice! I thought. And I thought that it would be interesting to make it into a zombie game. This was what popped up inside the toilet on one night, and that was the moment"Lollipop Chainsaw" was born I usually come up with such projects in the toilet. And the cycle of my production usually goes like this: The moment when something comes out, an idea comes with it
PS Blog：Is there anything special that has left you impressed during production?
SUDA51：This title was co-produced by KADOKAWA Games, Warner Bros and GRASSHOPPER. A number of miraculous incidents happened during production. First of all Warner Bros appointed James Gunn as the script directorgiving me the chance to work with him. He completely rewrote the English version script for us. In other words, he has made it into a world of James Gunn. At KADOKAWA games, all the cut scenes of this title are directed by YU-DIE YAMAGUCHI. He is a super famous figure in the Japanese zombie movie scene. So we can say that this game is made under the hands of third generation leading star directors of US and Japan Zombie industry. It really impressed me to see things happening only because we have this collaboration
They represent the zombie industry, so of course they harbor tremendous love towards zombies. That’s why they took up the job. Their love for zombies exceeds the level of a job. They have really committed themselves to the production of this title like James Gunn doing the castings for all voice actors. He was also present at the voice recording session to give directions. In Japan, Director Yamaguchi oversaw the entire motion capture process. The movie production team participated on site in the game production. That really impressed me. That’s why this is a real zombie game.
PS Blog：Finally, please say something to Asian gamers
SUDA51：Hi Asian gamers,"Lollipop Chainsaw" is finally released around Asia. This game is about high school, zombie, entertainment, scuffle, school, panic…There are loads of words for it, but it's a really pop, cute and fun zombie game. Please enjoy it at home with a coke, or whatever carbonated, pizza, hamburger…what else? Popcorn! Get them ready and play, till your controllers get sticky. This has been made into a game to be played in a very casual atmosphere. Juliet loves Korean stars and movies, and also Hong Kong movies. Juliet maybe a big fan of Jackie Chan, and me too. This game is packed full of Asian cultural essence. There is a character called Morikawa, which is actually a parody of a karate movie. So Kung Fu movie lovers must be able to tell who this Morikawa is.
In this way, this game is not only American, but also contains traces of Hong Kong movies. Everyone please support "Lollipop Chainsaw". Thank you.
I admit that I have the characteristics of an “otaku”- I like watching zombie movies, love following zombie stories and am crazy about playing zombie games! That’s why when “Lollipop Chainsaw” was first announced, I found it…outrageous! How can a sexy cheerleader be the heroine? Then when I saw that Jessica Nigri from US, Mayu Kawamoto from Japan and Jessica C. from Hong Kong have cosplayed as Juliet, I could hold no longer…I dashed out of home and ordered it!
Deluxe Content with Voice Actresses Duet
Don’t get me wrong- I am not a shallow guy who is simply attracted to a heroine in a mini-skirt. In fact this title is star-studded –it sees the unprecedented co-starring of voice actresses Yoko Hikasa and Eri Kitamura. The heroine, Juliet also has costumes based on various mangas and animation, including Haruna from Is this a Zombie?, Rei Miyamoto and Saeko Busujima from Highschool of the Dead, Shiro from Deadman Wonderland and Manyu Chifusa from Manyu Hiken-cho. Is there a reason not to buy such a title of grand volume?
American Comic Style and Delightful Pleasure
But after all, the point of playing action titles is getting that exhilarating kill-and-slash feeling when you pick up your controller! Right, I was tempted by beauty and overlooked the gameplay when I ordered this title. But luckily it wasn’t a trap. When I first played the title, I found that the American comic style and hunting storyline have really taken on the style of “No More Heros”, the previous title by the same developer. This zombie game co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Kadokawa GAMES is even more bloody and stimulating to your senses. No worries for faint-hearted female gamers and innocent children, there is a KIRAKIRA Mode which transforms bloody scenes into rainbow and sparkling stars, a cute style that is unprecedented in zombie games!
In terms of addictive gameplay elements, the signature chainsaw can be modified into powerful weapons such as blaster. Bosses of each level have their own rock n’ roll “never die” style, and you will need different statics to slash your way through to the next level. And there is one level in which you can drive acombine to knock down hordes of zombies! Once you start the game, you will find yourself grinding your teeth with excitement in one moment and bursting into laughter in another.
In 1986, James Cameron’s Aliens hit theaters, instantly becoming one of the most iconic science fiction movies in cinematic history. This movie was a huge success and was nominated for seven Academy Awards. The film that had so many great elements to it: blistering action, Marine camaraderie, creeping tension, and of course, the xenomorphs.
When people ask me what it is like working on a game based on Aliens, a game that is the actual sequel to the movie Aliens, it is tough to put the experience into words. First of all, “passion” is a key word in the development of this game. The team at Gearbox is very passionate not only about Aliens but storytelling and the game experience. It is so important to all of us to do this game right -- the Aliens franchise deserves an awesome video game. Another key word is “intimidating,” because Aliens is a revered franchise with fans all over the world. I have been lucky enough to show Aliens: Colonial Marines to fans at PAX, E3, Gamescom, Igromir and more. And I have found that people all around the world, people of all ages, love Aliens. When fans see our demo they tell me that it’s looking great...but then warn us not to “mess it up.”
Today we have released our new trailer, which we have dubbed “Suspense.” Our earlier ACM demos and videos showed some of the action in the game but a big part of the Aliens world is also tension and suspense - the universe of Aliens is a scary place. In Aliens: Colonial Marines you get to play the part of Winter, a Marine on the ship Sephora responding to the rescue beacon that was sent out in the movie Aliens. You might remember this scene from the movie:
Ripley: How long after we're declared overdue can we expect a rescue? Hicks: Seventeen days. Hudson: Seventeen days?! Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last 17 hours!
Now, 26 years after the release of the movie Aliens, you are part of that rescue mission – returning to LV-426 17 weeks after the beacon was sent out. But during those 17 weeks, Weyland Yutani has been busy: They found the Sulaco, brought it back to LV-426 and have restarted their operations to capture and control the xenomorph. That is, as you know, easier said than done. Chaos ensues.
One of the very exciting parts of this new trailer is that we are also firmly announcing our street date: February 12th, 2013. All of us on the development team see the end of this project coming closer, and this cycle of development is always very exciting. Everyone involved with ACM wants to make an Aliens game that does justice to a vision James Cameron started so many years ago. We want to make a game that all of us can be proud of.
I hope you enjoy the trailer. We will continue to release more information about the game in times to come. In the meantime, back to work for me. I have a game to finish.
Warheads! Last Tuesday, May 8th, LightBox Interactive and Santa Monica Studio released Starhawk into the wild. Getting here was a real &*#%^# at times, but it sure as hell has been a fun ride! If you’d like to peek behind the curtains look at the final days of Starhawk’s development, check out this video. We shot it a few weeks before release and it’ll give you a nice glimpse into the inner workings of a game developer in crunch mode.
We’ll also be able to tell you more about some great downloadable items soon, including our first free map…Cypress. Stay tuned for details!
This is the final installment in our four-part series about the making of Sorcery. In this video members of the development team describe what went into the invention of the universe where Sorcery takes place. We discuss the creative decisions behind the look of the different magical realms and the dangerous creatures that inhabit them. How do you go about making a fantasy world feel fresh and strange? What's the backstory behind places like the Endless Stair and the Faerie Forest? And why is the prettiest character in Sorcery one of the most dangerous?
It’s back! We are very excited to unveil patch 1.11 for UNCHARTED 3, which will be live for download by the end of May. First of all, we can hail the long anticipated return of the Lab. However if your memory is fuzzy about what the Lab is, we first introduced it inUNCHARTED 2 multiplayer. The Lab is a playlist featuring a unique series of multiplayer game types that our designers have concocted that focus on, above all, being fun. We’re kicking things off with a T-bolt and Pistole only map. So once the patch drops later this month, log onto UNCHARTED 3 multiplayer and give it a whirl. Let the experiments begin!
As for other changes happening in patch 1.11 UNCHARTED 3’s Lead Multiplayer Designer Robert Cogburn and Game Director Justin Richmond have something to say:
Or if you’d rather read everything in list form here is the full rundown of changes for 1.11:
- The Lab returns and we begin the playlist with a T-bolt/Pistole-only map. We will be rolling out other game types as the year progresses.
The Lab will contain treasure drops from whatever the base game type is (the T-bolt/Pistole map is considered Team Deathmatch)
- Elimination Mode has been added.
Elimination mode will contain treasure drops from Team Deathmatch
- Message of the Day returns – a daily message will pop up with news, tips, and other information.- The following custom game settings are now available via a menu in Custom Game mode called “Advanced Settings.”
- If you leave a game, disconnect, or turn off your PS3 mid-game, it will be counted as a loss.
- Kill and deaths no longer count towards your career stats in Plunder and Team Objective modes
- In Team Deathmatch mode the Airstrip and London maps now are listed with “No Intro” variations. If these variations are selected you’ll start those maps with no convoy events.
- The Long Ranger Medal can now be earned by achieving 3 kills at 50 meters in a match instead of 3 kills at 70 meters.
Very important note:
Similar topatch 1.09, all cinema files created pre-patch 1.11 will no longer work once patch 1.11 is released. Therefore if you want to preserve your cinema files please be sure to upload them to YouTube BEFORE downloading and installing patch 1.09. Do it now!
If you’re curious as to why we jumped to 1.11 and the last patch we talked about was 1.09, well, 1.10 had minor fixes so we kept rolling up the changes so we could get 1.11 out for you. We’re thrilled to open the Lab for UNCHARTED 3 and can’t wait to see you online! Be ready for more information about The Lab and future UNCHARTED 3 multiplayer plans in the coming weeks.
It’s been nearly six months since we announced The Last of Us and development has been a beehive of activity. If you have seen any of the coverage, you might have read about Joel and Ellie’s time spent in an abandoned city they have driven to. We are excited to share a fresh video with you today. This video should answer some of the questions you had after reading the stories about what went down inside those city walls. You’ll get a glimpse into the lethality of the world Joel and Ellie are surviving in and what being a survivor in that world truly means.
Joel and Ellie won’t have an easy road ahead on their journey across the U.S. Their path will intersect with other remaining survivors, some of whom won’t be so friendly. In this scene Joel and Ellie continue the journey west in a salvaged pickup truck. The sombre tune of Hank Williams Sr. echoes the desolation of the world of The Last of Us. As they drive towards the next destination on their route, really just another place to find resources that will help them survive, they run into some hunters. What happens next is something you have to witness to understand. Check it out:
What you watched here is only a peek into how alone and forsaken the world has become. Our world is a brutal, lethal place in The Last of Us. Be ready for things to get much worse.
We can’t wait to share this genre defining game with you. The hounds have started to bay. Get prepared for the coming months and look out for more information at E3.
In this installment of our “Making of Sorcery” video series, we turn our attention to the music and sound design in this upcoming PlayStation®Move title. It was very important to have a Celtic inspired score for thisgame, but we wanted to do something a bit unusual with Celtic music, almost stretching the use of the instruments where possible in an effort to give the world of Sorcery its own unique sound. As you'll notice, we have drums, flutes, and other instruments that give the music somewhat of a medieval feel, but at the same time we didn't want to be limited to that.
We wanted to bring in as many other sounds as possible to create a wider palette. The result is a fusion of traditional Celtic music with more contemporary instrumentation and sound effects that boost the feeling ofimmersion you get by casting spells with the PS Move controller. Here's a look, and don't forget Sorcery will hit stores in Hong Kongon Tuesday, May 22nd!
In this installment of our "Making of Sorcery" video series, we take a look at the fantasy surrounding the spell-casting gameplay and tap a few members of the development team (including myself) to discuss the origins of the story. Our key leads at The Workshop and our Santa Monica Studio were able to provide some great insight into the relationship between the main characters, the motivation of our villain, and the inspiration for the world we created. As you know, Sorcery brings the world of magic and wizardry to life using the PlayStation®Move motion controller. To give you a quick refresher on the story and gameplay...the Nightmare Queen has broken the ancient pact with mankind and threatens to cover the land in eternal night.
As a young sorcerer's apprentice, it is up to the player to master the arcane arts and fight back the foul creatures of this magical realm. Sorcery puts the power in the players' hands letting them conjure and command powerful magic as they brave the dark world of the Faerie Kingdoms. On their journey, players will encounter a multitude of enemies, solve ingenious puzzles, learn powerful spells, and craft strange potions with the in-game alchemy system. With over eight spells that can be used in various combinations and countless items to discover and collect, Sorcery immerses players in a unique fantasy adventure like never before. Enjoy!
One of the coolest things you can do in Starhawk, LightBox Interactive and SCE Santa Monica Studio's third-person shooter, is to crush an enemy tank by calling for a heavy structure - mobile barracks, giant steel wall, etc - to be dropped right on top of it.
As you might expect, this flattens the tank like a pancake, destroying it in one fell swoop.
Or - as I like to say - the tank's been turned into "roti prata", which is a delicious Indian pancake that's served with a hot plate of curry at many coffee shops across Singapore (where I live) and Malaysia.
Why go with a roti prata metaphor when the simple pancake one would suffice?
So that when I inevitably pull off the variant to this maneuver - crushing an enemy tank not by dropping a heavy structure, but by landing on it in a drop-pod - it'd make sense to say that "revenge is a dish best served with hot curry."
Every time you die and respawn in Starhawk, you're inserted back into the battlefield via a drop-pod from outer space.
As you enter the planet's stratosphere, you can steer the drop-pod and, with good aim, crush the enemies who killed you with it.
Those are just two of the many ways you and your clan buddies can dispatch enemies with when the game comes out on May 8. There's plenty of reason to be excited about Starhawk, if you're a fan of team-based shooters.
(Even if you're not, LightBox Interactive is promising a solid single-player campaign that won't simply serve as a series of tutorials for the multiplayer component).
Please watch the overview trailer of STARHAWK,
In the futuristic universe of Starhawk, mankind has entered the space-faring age, colonising numerous planets across the galaxy and discovering on them the existence of a valuable vapour-like resource they call "rift energy".
Though valuable, rift energy is extremely dangerous. Too much unprotected exposure to it turns human beings into Outcasts - a breed of mutants who do not want to see rift energy harvested.
These two factions - Rift harvesters ("Rifters") and Outcasts - now fight over the alien source of energy, going after each other's throats with an assortment of weapons and advanced machinery.
Think "Wild West in space". Except instead of riding on horseback, these cowboys mount Sidewinder jet bikes.
Other vehicular options include the two-man Razorback combat jeep, Vulture jet pack, and the Ox heavy tank.
Then there are Hawks, which rightfully belong to a class all of their own: these high-speed fighter jets can transform into a bi-pedal mech when they need to engage in ground-based combat, similar to the Valkyrie Fighters in Macross (Japanese anime).
And unlike in most other shooters, you won't need to share vehicles with your team mates, or make a scramble for the nearest one the moment you start the game. If you want to fly a Hawk, all you have to do is call for one through a Build & Battle menu, accessible by hitting the Triangle button.
Build & Battle lets you call in vehicles and an assortment of battle structures - barracks that provide you with weapons and ammo, walls to keep vehicles out - at the cost of rift energy. You build up rift energy as long as you stay within your team's headquarters.
This gives Starhawk a unique gameplay element that hasn't really been seen very much in other team-based shooters. At the beginning of a match, you'd ideally want to coordinate your plan of attack with the rest of your team, and build the right structures accordingly.
You could just storm off on your own, sure, and many snipers do in fact go at it like lone wolves, calling in a Vulture jet pack or a Hawk so that they may fly off to a cordoned area of the map with a good view on the action.
But if you choose to coordinate with your team, you could pull off stunts like storming into the opposing team's base with an entire armament of Razorback jeeps, or constructing a trap for your enemies to walk into.
The great thing about Build & Battle is that you can use it even while you're in a vehicle. So, if your team wanted to, you could send a squadron of Hawks into the enemy base, drop off a bunch of Beam Turrets - sentries that automatically target enemy vehicles - to stall them while you build up even more rift for your next phase of attack.
A number of proven tactics has already emerged from the multiplayer beta tests for Starhawk held late last year and earlier this year. That said, the game has since been tweaked for better balance, so we'll see yet as to what works in the final version.
Regardless, on Starhawk's launch day my multiplayer shooter buddies and I will be competing to see who among us can make the most roti pratas in a match - even if it isn't really much of a viable tactic.
So if you'll be picking up Starhawk on day one - and trust me, this is one multiplayer experience you won't want to miss out on - make sure to check the skies every now and then.
Who knows? You might just spot me swooping around in a Hawk, dropping off walls and other structures at random, trying to turn other players - and you, if you happen to be in the opposing team - into a delicious Indian pancake.
And really now, how could you say no to (being turned into) such a tasty treat?
This is the first post in a four-part series from the development team about the making of Sorcery. In this video we talk about how artists, engineers, and designers at The Workshop designed the game to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Move controller in order to create a completely original spell-casting experience.
While some motion-controlled games feel like you’re playing “Simon Says”, the gestures in Sorcery are fluid and organic. Aiming spells and chaining them together into powerful combos requires both creative thinking and quick reflexes. Here’s a look…
Sorcery will be available in stores in North America on Tuesday, May 22nd.
From the depths of crunch-time, I emerge to share with you and all other “nodes” on the internets a wonderful tale. A tale of a game with hot multiplayer action yet, unbeknownst to most players, a fun-as-hell solo campaign as well. So peel back your eyelids and let the video below impregnate your brain! (Yes, your brain can get pregnant!)
The team has been working all hours at Santa Monica Studio and here at LightBox Interactive to finish up Starhawk and we wanted to take a bit of time to share our latest Singleplayer trailer. Most people out there really only know Starhawk for its online multiplayer, which totally kicks ass and was certainly our team’s focus. But the fact is that Starhawk has a very fun and unique solo campaign too… and NO, it’s not just an MP tutorial with bots!
Starhawk’s Build & Battle mechanics are fully supported by the Universe we’ve created. The war between the Rifters and the Outcast. The conflict between Emmett and Logan. Even humanity’s rush for “blue-gold” that spans the Frontier. The Starhawk solo campaign puts you right in the middle of it and I can’t wait for you guys to get your hands on it when it drops here in North America on May 8th!
Oh, and if you haven’t yet… GO PRE-ORDER THE GAME! And if you do it at GameStop you’ll get upgraded to the Limited Edition for free!… Go…. pre-order…. game…. must…. generate… sales….. numbers…
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So yeah, keep tabs on www.StarhawkTheGame.com and the Blog for the latest Starhawk deats. Sorry I can’t write more but I gotta get back to work! Rock on!
By Sid Shuman // Senior Social Media Specialist, SCEA
Though legions of bloodthirsty PSN warriors have plunged into Starhawk’s multiplayer beta, the single-player campaign has remained stubbornly cloaked in shadow. Until now: At a media event in New York City this week,Lightbox Interactive finally gave a peek under that cloak, showcasing a series of frantic battles and lush cinematic sequences from the game’s story-driven campaign. As Emmett Graves, an interstellar mercenary infected by a priceless but mutagenic resource dubbed “Rift energy,” you’ll use the game’s dramatic Build and Battle combat system to call down turrets, walls, vehicles and structures from outer space. Your objective is to defend the frontier town of White Sands from marauding Outcast invaders — including your Rift-possessed outlaw brother Logan.
Starhawk’s Western-tinged story is told through lavishly illustrated cut-scenes that weave in and out of the gameplay, seamlessly connecting the action sequences and, better still, cutting between-mission load times to the bone. I sampled several minutes of the campaign and was pleased to discover a fast-paced yet strategic sandbox shooter that grants the player an unusually wide array of options. In one mission, Emmett’s partner Cutter directed me to commandeer a nearby tank in order to flush out several nearby mortar emplacements that threatened the town of White Sand. I demurred, preferring to remain on-foot and rely on my trusty laser-guided rocket launcher to peg the enemy vehicles from a distance. It was a somewhat foolish decision but I appreciated having a choice.
I wish I could detail everything I saw (hint: I saw an awful lot), but Lightbox Interactive is understandably sensitive about spoilers. Suffice it to say that the game’s campaign appears to be a meaty experience, serving up far more than a weak-kneed warm-up for the obligatory multiplayer modes. I spoke with Lightbox Interactive President Dylan Jobe to try and pry out details in advance of the game’s May 8th launch. And this is just the beginning — Jobe has even more to say in his interview on the latest PlayStation Blogcast. Read on and leave your questions in the comments!
PlayStation.Blog: Lightbox Interactive has been fairly secretive about Starhawk’s single-player campaign. What sparks Emmett Graves’ quest? Dylan Jobe, President, Lightbox Interactive: It doesn’t start out as a quest for Emmett — it starts off as a job. Emmett is a Rift energy salvager, and he’s good at what he does. He and his partner Cutter go into the frontier, find claims that are under attack by the Outcast, and defend them.
But it just so happens that Emmett’s latest job is back on Dust, in his hometown of White Sands. And because Emmett and his brother Logan went separate ways many years ago – Logan to the Outcast, Emmett staying with humanity — Emmett takes the job in order to bring his outlaw brother to justice. The whole single-player game is about Emmett confronting his brother and protecting his hometown.
PSB: Starhawk’s Western themes seem to extend beyond the art direction – they’re much deeper than I expected. DJ: The Western theme influenced not only the things you’d expect, like the visuals. It influenced the music composition, the structure of the narrative, the open vastness of the frontier, the expansion and building, the Gold Rush…even the intimate story between Emmett and his brother Logan. The Western themes seeped into all aspects of the game.
PSB: Starhawk’s campaign battles give the player an unusual amount of freedom. Have shooters become too cut-and-dried? DJ: First and foremost, we want this game to be unique. The shooter genre is packed with mega-juggernaut great games, but shooters are also due for a twist. In most single-player shooters, you play a linear experience: event, event, event, set piece, event, event, event, set piece. With Starhawk, we wanted to give the player a combat challenge: Here’s what’s going to attack you, here’s when it’s going to attack you, and here are the tools you can use. Now play it however you want!
This approach is easier said than done because it introduces a lot of bugs during the design process, but it’s exciting because different players will stumble across many different strategies for success. You might love flying the Hawks and want to use them as many scenarios as possible, and that’s perfectly fine.
PSB: The co-op mode seems to push that sandbox philosophy as far as it will go. How does it work? DJ: Co-op teams up you with up to three other players, and you’re defending a Rift claim. The system will randomize the encounters – say a wave of snipers or waves of different vehicles – and force you to adapt using the Build and Battle tools. Co-op is a fun way to play the game, but it also helps you learn how to defend your base in multiplayer, with the random encounters helping to simulate the randomness of humans you’ll fight online.
PSB: When I went hands-on with the campaign, I found myself battling enemies I never saw in the multiplayer mode – we’re talking radically different stuff here. I know you’re being tight-lipped, but what can you tell us? DJ: In some respects, they’re similar to unit types you might find in an RTS game. You’ll encounter swarm-type characters, big brutes….they all have a different texture and impact the combat in different ways. I can’t go into a ton of detail, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the single-player, because you’ll find a ton of enemies and encounters you won’t find in multiplayer.
The campaign isn’t based on the multiplayer maps, either. This is a narrative-driven single-player experience, with unique maps and encounters all the way through the game. They range from small battles in the desert to huge space battles around capital ships to defending this huge space train to the epic confrontation with Logan — it’s quite diverse. A journalist I spoke with earlier watched me play two missions, and told me it was like two games worth of content. There are a lot of toys in this toolbox and you’re going to get your 60 bucks worth.
PSB: Rift energy is central to the game’s universe, it’s sort of like “blue gold.” But what is it, exactly? DJ: There are hints about it, but we don’t want to pull a midichlorian [laughs]. You’ll learn more about the origins of Rift energy if you’re observant. But the important part is, Emmett is a ticking time bomb. He’s been infected by Rift energy and he’s wearing this regulator to buy time. His partner Cutter is trying to keep him from turning in an Outcast, but Emmett knows that some day he will turn. He’s effectively part human, part Outcast…and so he’s something of a dark hero, which is a classic component of Westerns.
When Lightbox Interactive’s President Dylan Jobe came to us to discuss the musical score for Starhawk, he had one of the best quotes I've ever heard from a game director: "The music should not simulate combat; it should remind you what you're fighting for."
It is rare for so many things to come together on a project, but Starhawk has proven to be a perfect storm for creating a truly inspirational score. With a great story, a visionary developer, a brilliant composer, The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, and a fantastic collection of soloists, we knew that this score would be something really special.
Chris Lennertz's score is bursting with character and memorable themes. Lyrical melodies soar through the orchestra, juxtaposed against feral percussion, gritty guitars, ethnic vocals and an eclectic mix of exotic wind instruments, each contributing to a score that is as memorable as it is unique.
At its core, the story is a classic western tale of two brothers torn apart by a tragic event. Chris composed a theme for the brothers, which you can listen to right here.
*Video contains infomation of "pre-order" for Europe/US regions
