Monthly Archives: June 2016
E3 2016: New PlayStation VR Gun Controller Promises 1:1 Precision FPS
Sony took the opportunity of its E3 2016 press conference to whip the cloak off a brand new gun peripheral to use with PS VR.
While the console giant unveiled a new PS VR-exclusive shooter called Farpoint, it threw another curveball by announcing the game needed a new motion-based gun peripheral to play.
Called the PS VR Aim Controller, it’s an evolution of the old PlayStation Move Sharpshooter.
However, whereas the Sharpshooter required players to slot their Move controllers into its frame, the new peripheral is crammed with built in motion and navigation sensors.
Here They Lie Coming to PSVR
Here They Lie has been announced for PlayStation VR.
Writing via the PS Blog, Cory Davis, Co-Creative Director at Tangentlemen, explains the VR game as a “dark psychological horror experience that transports you to a terrifying, surreal world inhabited by strange and malevolent creatures.”
There’s a focus on narrative, along with the experience of dread, and Davis claims the game is “is not your typical survival horror game.”
Here They Lie is due for release this coming fall.
In case you’ve missed any of the Sony news coming out of this year’s E3, IGN has a recap of every PlayStation announcement so far.
Dead Rising 4 Feels Bigger, Bolder, and Bloodier Than Ever
There was a moment in my brief time with Dead Rising 4 where I found myself standing in a crowded intersection of Willamette, Colorado, dressed head-to-toe in a chicken costume, holding an electrified battleaxe, trying to take a selfie set against the backdrop of a hundred zombified Coloradoans.
At this moment, I thought to myself, “This is the most Dead Rising thing I’ve ever seen.”
And I sincerely mean that. From everything I saw and played, Capcom Vancouver has tapped the vein of what makes Dead Rising its own refreshingly unique take on the zombie game, and is poised to deliver another shot in the arm when the next chapter of the series launches “holiday 2016.”
It’s a playground full of lifeless cannon fodder whose sole purpose is to be there, roaming and groaning and slowly shuffling toward me when I A) figure out that I can stick dynamite in a crossbow, and B) want to see what happens when I pull the trigger. It’s a chaos simulator and this time around, from the 15 minutes I spent turning zombies into puddles, it’s been cranked way the hell up.
Sea of Thieves Hands-On: Setting Sail With a Smile
Midway through my first hands-on with Sea of Thieves, the shared-world pirate adventure that was one of the darling’s of both last year’s Xbox E3 press conference and this one, I realized that I’d been smiling the entire time. For all the great games we’re treated to in a given year, I don’t often find myself physically grinning from ear-to-ear.
I began on land with my crew of five -- Rare design director Gregg Mayles told me they haven’t settled on a final max number for your group just yet -- and together we wandered down to the shore, spotting our ship docked a short distance away. We all swam and climbed aboard via a rope ladder affixed to the side of our vessel. The boat is littered with interactive elements, from three sets of sails that can all be raised, lowered, and rotated, cannons on both sides (Rare tells me that you’ll have to load cannon balls into the cannons in the final game; in this demo they had unlimited ammo), the wheel, a crow’s nest you can climb into, a plank to walk out onto, rum to idly drink or an accordion to play (pull RT for either of those), and more.
Sony’s E3 Press Conference Review
I have always been a fan of E3’s theatricality. We all know from trial and error that E3 press conferences aren’t necessarily judged by the finished products of their many promises; rather they are judged by the finesse in which the promises themselves are made, and the momentum they’re able to generate or maintain. With this in mind, Sony delivered one of the best conferences in recent years at the Shrine Auditorium last night.
Unlike Microsoft’s conference, which was an exercise in making exactly the right statement, Sony’s conference was a nearly wordless affair. The publisher chose to let the games themselves do the talking, and the games themselves were all it concentrated on. Even the nod to its PlayStation VR hardware felt brief - it’s $399 USD, it’s coming October 13 - but more importantly, here are the games you’ll be able to play on it.
20 Close-Up Shots of the Xbox One S
Microsoft officially confirmed the existence of the Xbox One S, the smaller Xbox One model that supports 4K video. Now available for pre-order, the console will arrive later this year.
Ahead of its release, however, IGN has 20 detailed, close-up looks at the new Xbox hardware straight from E3. Take a look at the new console and its controller below:
Photos by Sean Finnegan
Microsoft also confirmed the existence of Project Scorpio at its press conference, though that upgraded console isn't planned for release until 2017.
Everything From Sony’s E3 2016 Press Conference
Sony put on one hell of a show at E3 2016, opting to focus squarely on games instead of spending time on celebrity guests and self-indulgent presentations. Here's everything they served up to us:
Sony opened the show with a bang: a full gameplay demo of a new God of War title, simply called "God of War." It's unclear whether this is a reboot or a sequel, though it does feature Kratos teaching his son to hunt. The demo ends with a fight against a huge troll.
After years of silence, Sony Bend's new game is finally out in the open. Days Gone's debut trailer was cryptic, telling of a disaster of some kind that has wiped out much of humanity. There would be a full, live gameplay demo at the end of the show.
State of Decay 2 Is 4-Player Co-op, Isn’t an MMO
Microsoft and Undead Labs' just-announced zombie-survival sequel State of Decay 2 isn't a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, according to Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain. But it used to be.
In an interview with IGN, Strain said that State of Decay 2 aims to give fans "exactly what they want," which is a new zombie apocalypse survival RPG with drop-in/drop-out cooperative play for up to four players. It does not require any online connection.
"The #1 request our fans had from State of Decay was, 'Give me co-op multiplayer,'" Strain said. "
'Let's give our fans exactly what they want.' So we took a couple of steps back and changed direction and that's what State of Decay 2 is."
Insomniac Announces Spider-Man Game for PS4
Insomniac Games is working on a Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4.
First announced with a teaser trailer at Sony's E3 2016 press conference, the Insomniac Games official Twitter confirmed that they're making the game exclusively for PS4.
"Spider-Man is one of the most iconic and well-known characters in the world, and we're thrilled to be given the responsibility to create a brand new, authentic Spider-Man story," said Insomniac on PlayStation Blog.
The developer also confirmed that the game is not based on the upcoming movie.
Hideo Kojima Announces New Game
Hideo Kojima, best known for the Metal Gear Solid series, took the stage at Sony's E3 2016 conference to reveal his new studio's debut game: Death Stranding.
The game stars Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead actor who was set to play a role in the now-canceled Silent Hills project.
In the trailer, we see a nude man on a beach (played by Reedus), surrounded by dead crab, fish, whales, and other sea creatures. A crying baby lies beside him, with what appears to be a mechanical umbilical cord attaching the two.
Platform and release date details for Death Stranding were not revealed.
Kojima Productions and Sony officially announced a partnership last year, after which Kojima spoke with IGN about the decision to partner with Sony and more about his upcoming work.