Xbox Reveal... Underwhelming

So the live-blog thing didn't quite go the way I wanted it to, primarily because the reveal is underwhelming. I am strongly considering just turning it off. There is far too much focus on turning the Xbox One into some kind of Hub-like One-stop-shop for everything in your living room. I wouldn't be having one in my living room! It's all been TV and sport so far. Very little mention of games.

We will bring you a complete update tomorrow at some point, after all the dust has settled but for now, I really cant bring myself to keep going with the One reveal.

Update: Tomorrow Will Be A Busy Day

We are sorry for a massive lapse in content again everyone, but honestly neither me nor Sean have found anything worth reporting, that hasn't already been reported on in a greater amount of detail in other places. There are big things on the horizon though, don't worry. From me there will be a Bioshock Infinite DLC review as soon as it comes out and I get my grubby little mitts on it and Sean has some plans that I'm not too sure on, you would have to ask him, I'm afraid.

But tomorrow, tomorrow is a big day for 360 players such as myself, the Next Box, Durango, 720, Xbox Infinity... whatever you want to call it is being announced all across the world on 360 and Xbox.com, and I for one will be watching on the 360's Live Events Player at 6pm GMT. I will also be live updating a special blog post as the conference goes on to try and keep you up to date with all the ins and outs.

We are too nice to you.

June: The Warmup To Our Gaming Summer

So, everybody knows about E3, the place for the very latest in modern gaming. New titles, new consoles and don't forget those gaming babes....It's like mana from Heaven for the digital generation. The new Xbox, the Playstation 4, whatever magic Nintendo has in store, the curtain lifts on June 11th-13th. If that hasn't got your fingers twitching, I don't know what will. But amid all of this excitement, I fear we're going to forget some cracking titles that have already featured on the Internet. Ones that we are likely to see playable demos for at E3. Curious? Good. Let's tuck in.

Let's get the ball rolling with Remember Me, a game that can only be described as a blend of several existing titles. It's got a Mirrors Edge future setting, with an Assassin's Creed style set up with a little bit of Grand Theft Auto chucked in for good measure. The entire screen seems to be your HUD, with current objectives being displayed either on building walls or in holograms. It's being described as part 'stealth, exploration and melee combat'. The heroine is on a quest to retrieve her memories from her former employees, while manipulating other peoples' memories to make it possible. This one sneaked under my radar, but now it can't escape my elf eyes. You can purchase this beauty on 7th June, on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Next up is a pair of games that couldn't be more different if they tried, both released on June 14th: Animal Crossing New Leaf for the 3DS and The Last of Us for the Playstation 3. Let's start with Nintendo's offering, which has been incredibly popular in its native Japan. In this installment of the cartoony quasi-life simulator, you play as the mayor of a tiny town. Your job is to improve on your little haven, upgrading from the humble tent you live in to a great mansion. Of course, there is a lot more to this but it's a series you must play to really understand its appeal. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Last of Us has been flagged on the site as a huge point of interest for me, and not just because it's a zombie game. It genuinely seems to incorporate a proper survival element and turns the attention away from brain-blasting to skin-of-your-teeth sneaking. You have to protect your charge, a young girl whose parents are missing(dead, I fear), and it seems to be very much a character-driven story. No trying to find a cure, just plain survival from both infected and fellow humans. Gameplay and stills both look mouth-watering, not to mention that this particular case of infection is based on an existing strain of fungi that actually causes zombie-like behaviour in rats. Gotta love science.

The gorgeous visage of biology.

Deadpool is the last contender on my list of June insanity, and what a round-off. In case you're unaware, Deadpool is a mercenary mutant from the Marvel universe, with a wicked sense of humour and the ability to break the fourth wall. That, for the uninitiated, means that he knows you're reading his comic strip. He knows he is a character in a story. Oh, and he's completely coco loco. The trailer for his own game shows both sides of his psyche: The well-spoken English scholar and the ADHD suffering child, along with hilarious violence, culminating in him screaming 'pow, pow' while he shoots his targets. It does look like a button basher, I will admit, but what a button basher. It's like if Postal went, well, postal. You can insert the insanity  on June 28th on your PC, Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

So there you have it, those are my warmup games and what crackers they are, if I do say so myself. Of course, there are greater games to come but this will more than whet my whistle for the time being. No doubt demos and further footage will become available after E3, so watch and wait for that. I know I will!

Did I miss anything? Are there other titles that have you on the edge of your bean bag? Then leave a comment! Until next time! 

Scribblenauts Sued Over Cat Memes!?

Will the world never stop being absolutely and utterly stupid? As you may have guessed by the title, Scribblenauts creators, 5th Cell are being sued over the use of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat by the people who created them. My brain can't even... WHAT IS THIS!?

Kotaku dug up the lawsuit, which I found on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and it reads as follows:

“Plaintiffs accuse Warner Bros and 5th Cell of including, without any licenses or authorizations, the Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat characters in their original Scribblenauts videogame released in 2009, the 2010 Super Scribblenauts, 2011 Scribblenauts Remix, and the 2012 Scribblenauts Unlimited.”

“Defendants are accused of shamelessly using identifying ‘Nyan Cat’ and ‘Keyboard Cat’ by name to promote and market their games. Plaintiffs claim that Warner Bros and 5th Cell’s trademark infringement was willful and intentional and are requesting an award of treble damages and requesting the case be deemed exception under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a), thereby entitling Plaintiffs to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees.” 

Warner Bros. and 5th Cell are of yet to make a statement, but this lawsuit comes at a really strange time considering the memes in question have been Easter eggs in various Scribblenauts games for years. But maybe they weren't copy-written until recently? Who knows, not me. We will try to keep you posted as this story unfolds.

I, for one, hope nothing comes of this because I absolutely love Scribblenauts, and everyone else should!

Gamer's Pick: My Ultimate RPG

So, earlier on today you clever folks were given the choice between two articles on our Facebook page: My ideal role-playing game, or my perfect survival game. Left in your very capable hands, you elected the RPG for the focus of this article. I will be making references throughout to various RPGs(both Western and Japanese), cherry-picking my favourite parts from each to construct what is, in my aged eyes, a gem of a game. Anyway, enough dilly-dallying! Let's rock this bad boy!

The first, and most crucial, aspect of an RPG is that of story, as well as character background. It should be meticulous, engaging and thought-provoking, as well as tugging at the old heartstrings. In my decade or so of exploring fantastical new worlds and slaying great beasts, I have never come across a story as well-crafted as that of Lost Odyssey. Even on its surface, the tale of a group of immortals piecing together fragments of their past while trying to save their future is a brilliant one. But there is a wealth of extra memories that can be found and triggered across the game's story, revealing some true heartache that left me feeling moved and genuinely touched. This is a facet of an RPG that must be nailed on the head. A poor story will result in a poor RPG, every single time.

Second on my checklist is that of art style. Any old designer could go with the Final Fantasy-esque skin, but that particular horse has been beaten well beyond the point of redemption. A true role-playing game should always bring something fresh to the table, present the realm of fantasy in a manner that is new yet familiar. For a master class in this, I highly advise you check out Bastion. This game ticked so many boxes for me, and its art style was one of the largest. A winning blend of Eastern and Western styles, it transcended all kinds of barriers and will forever sit upon my 'Top 5' shelf.

I believe this makes my point.

Music sits in joint second with art, and again Bastion takes the cake on this one. It's just fantastic, honestly. It's candy for the ears and nectar for the soul. I have the soundtrack, it's that good. It should also evoke memories in the player, and set the mood for a battle or an area. A perfect example would be that of Pokemon's Lavender Town. Never before has a simple, looping bleating put so much fear in my heart. Even now, hearing that music takes me back to creepy Mediums and a dead Marowak. That's how it's done, developers. Take note.

Gameplay really takes the last seat, in my personal opinion. If it's bad enough, it will break a game. But in that same vein, it doesn't make the game either. RPGs contain a wide variety of playing forms, from the tradition turn-based to real time. I have always been a huge supporter of turn-based combat and will defend it to my dying breath. So, with that in mind, I would like to call on the Golden Sun series for reference. The first two were a huge part of my childhood, and shaped my RPG experience as a gamer. Ever since those days, turn-based has been my preferred path, and it was that series that converted me. The wonderful Shining Force also influenced me, the first stepping stone on my path to role-playing enlightenment.

Smacking people down with the elements never gets old.

So, with these factors in mind, my article draws to a close. What we need, no, what we deserve is a role-playing game where the characters move beyond that of polygons and pixels and become genuine beings. We should take their place in their world, walk in their shoes, fight in the battles and, most importantly, feel their pain. We should forget the reality around us, engulfed by luscious music and wondrous artwork. And finally, we should take to the gameplay as easily as a fish does to water. It should be fluid, natural and uninhibited. It's these factors that craft my perfect RPG.

What makes your ideal role-playing game? Disagree with any of my points made? Feel free to leave comments in the section below! Til next time!

Rusty Hearts Online - Weird Name, Great Game

Over the course of the last week I have gotten back into PC gaming and there is one game I found in the course of my searching for new games to play that has had me more hooked than any other. This game is the ludicrously titled "Rusty Hearts".

Developed by Stairway Games and published by Perfect World Entertainment, was released way back in 2011, with the first expansion Rusty Hearts: Reborn dropping in July 2012. Even though the game its self is a couple years old now I still felt compelled to review it and give it some exposure because this game is mind blowing.

Rusty Hearts is a free to play anime inspired hack and slash MMORPG, taking influence from games such as Castlevania, Persona and to a certain extent, Diablo. Personally I feel like the games biggest influences are the newer Castlevania games and the Stylish system from Devil May Cry, as each area you fight through is scored on a style rank from F to SSS.

I can only speak for one character, Frantz - The Vampire Knight, in this review so if you have played RH:O and think I am covering something wrong or with not enough depth, that's probably why. I should also note that I haven't been paying too much attention to the story but then again, I wasn't planning on writing this article and I was just enjoying the combat sections so much.

Controls: Movement is done with either the arrow keys or clicking with the mouse. I don't know if you can click to move in the dungeon sections as I haven't tried, but you can in the over world. Your combat skills are bound to A,S,D,F,G and H and X is standard attack. Z is guard and C is grab. Consumables such as potions are used with the number keys. The keys are fully configurable in case you fancy trying something different.

The Combat: I only really have one word for the combat in RH:O and that is "Yes." RH:O absolutely nails combat, it's fast and fluid and the combos you can pull of using the skills at your disposal are amazing. I'm not that great at it and I'm using a keyboard and mouse (partial game pad support is available) but I can still clear dungeons on the Very Hard setting pulling off 80 hit combos without even trying, and as the enemies level up and can withstand more damage that number will only get higher.

Rusty Hearts provides a reasonable challenge but there are some quests that have you retrace your steps. It never feels grindy and there is always something to do. If you like hitting things fast and lots with swords, scythes, gauntlets or guns then Rusty Hearts could very well be for you. Don't let the age put you off, it still looks gorgeous, as gorgeous as an anime game can be. The controls are tight and the combat is nearly perfect. What are you waiting for? Kick some ass.

Rusty Hearts can be found on Steam or here. 

Playstation 4 Share Button Will 'Have Limitations'

When the Dualshock 4 controller was unveiled earlier in the year, my pants hit the ground so hard they're halfway to China. The miniature touch screen, the thumb grooves in the analogue stick and, more importantly, the dedicated share button. We were told that we could upload videos, screenshots and more instantly to Facebook, Twitter etc with a simple click. But now it seems that we only got half the story, and that there is a worm in this shiny new apple.

The creators of games will have the ability to lock down certain sections of their games(most likely spoilers and boss battles) during recording and screenshots, so that limits what players can truly do with this technology. I, for one, was excited for sharing videos with friends of epic battles and perfect moments but it is not to be. In what seems to be a rapidly-constricting gaming market, our options are being limited further by developers.

What are your thoughts on this announcement, or even the idea of sharing in general? For or against, we'd love to hear from you!