One Arrow, One Destiny

Titan Souls is a top down action game that gives you one chance to be killed or one chance to win it all. The game mechanics are simple. Find a Titan's week point and you can kill it with a single shot, but once you let loose your arrow you must retrieve it before you can try again. The game employs an 8-Bit art style that allows for very large areas. The game kinda reminds me of what the Legend of Zelda on the NES would of looked like if created in today's time. The Titans themselves act as the bosses in each area with each Titan having very unique game mechanics, strengths, and weaknesses. The game is designed to feel very rewarding similar to another "Souls" game I can think of. So don't expect it to be a walk in the park.

Titan Souls will be out Q1 2015 on the PS4 and PS Vita platforms.

From the Devs:
Between our world and the world beyond lie the Titan Souls, the spiritual source and sum of all living things. Now scattered amongst the ruins and guarded by the idle titans charged with their care, a solitary hero armed with but a single arrow is once again assembling shards of the Titan Soul in a quest for truth and power.

Gameplay Teaser:

Kill Bill Meets Mega Man in Transistor

The Process, a bio organic AI, has taken over the city of Cloudbank and the secret organization who unleashed it are also responsible for killing your love and stealing your voice. Somehow the key to stopping it all is in your hands, the Transistor. Will you seek vengeance or will you strive to set things right?

Transistor is one of the most well put together games I've ever played. The music, isometric view, the mixture of strategy and action, the overall art style, and the futuristic setting just sets the game apart. All those elements put together sets a bluesy jazzy melancholy mood that really brings you into Red's world.

Your main obstacle in the game is the Process, but your overall goal is to take down the Camerata. The lovely Sybil Reisz, the ambitious Kendrell brothers Asher and Grant, and finally the genius behind it all Royce Bracket. With each encounter you absorb their consciousness into the Transistor granting you new abilities and bringing you closer and closer to the truth.

The game is out now on PC and PS4.

From the Devs:
Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city.

The game seamlessly integrates thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience, melding responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling. During the course of the adventure, players will piece together the Transistor’s mysteries as they pursue its former owners.

Launch Trailer:

Google goes for the Games with Android TV

Google is going back into the TV fray with it's new Android TV OS and streaming box. Their last attempt at a TV operating system didn't take content owners into account and attempted to connect any content on the web with it's TV search interface overlay. This resulted in everyone blocking it's content from Google TV and pretty much making it nowhere near as useful as promised.

This time around Google is looking to create a standard TV OS and UI that leverages it's Android/Google Play relationship with content providers. With access to the standard Google Play store comes access to music, a la cart movies/TV shows, apps, and games.

In fact games is an area that Google believes is the killer difference of it's OS that it's including a controller with every Android TV streaming device sold. The controller looks like a cross between an Xbox 360 controller and an Onlive controller. Familiar enough for anyone to use, but unique enough so that you know it's an Android TV controller.

If in the future every TV sold included a controller along with a standard remote we could be seeing gaming as an entertainment medium in the living room becoming part of everyone's every day lives. Interesting things are a foot.

Android TV will be released in the fall of 2014.

Android UI:

Run, Hide, Survive in Alien: Isolation

"In space no one can hear you scream", that was the tag line of the original Alien movie. It was a science fiction horror movie that was so critically acclaimed that it changed the face of science fiction forever. However, video games based on the franchise never fared as well. They never quite captured the essence of the films instead opting for more traditional action adventure game play.   Enter "Alien: Isolation", the game takes place 15 years from the end of the first film and puts you in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley's daughter. The game is unapologetically a horror game. During Amanda's journey she finds herself in a decommissioned trading station on the fringes of space, a station that some how finds itself with a Xenomorph (Alien) in it's mist. Survive or Die! Those are your choices, because help is not on it's way. After playing thru Outlast I have high hopes for this game. Horror, when done right can be oh so entertaining.

Alien: Isolation will be out on October 7th, 2014 for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC platforms.

From the Devs: Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien.

Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.
Survive Trailer:

Neil Gaiman gets into Gaming

Wayward Manor is a puzzle/adventure game hybrid set in one of the worlds of Neil Gaiman's books. You play the role of a ghost who's after life is interrupted by your home's new residents. Learn about their lives as you try to scare them out and maybe discover the mystery of why you haven't moved on.

This is Neil Gaiman's first foray into gaming and he's partnered with The ODD GENTLEMAN an independent studio out of Los Angeles who's previous games include: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and Flea Symphony. The studio focuses on instilling humor into everything they do.

The game is set to release on Steam for PC and Mac on July 15th, 2014.

From the Devs:
Set in a 1920s Victorian Gothic pastoral estate, Wayward Manor focuses on the plight of a ghost whose hope of a peaceful after-life is interrupted by a remarkable cast of intruders. Awoken from his post-mortem slumbers, our ghost must find ever-more inventive and brilliant ways to scare them away. As the ghost learns more about the living characters, he also learns more about his own death and after-life, and the danger they are all facing.

Teaser Trailer:

Kisima Innitchuna - Never Alone

By pairing game developers with Iñupiaq storytellers, Upper One Games hopes to tell a human story via the video game medium. In Never Alone you play the role of a young girl who explores the fantastical worlds of Iñupiaq lore and tries to save her people from an endless blizzard.

Never Alone is set for release in the fall of 2014 on the PC platform and on as yet un-announced consoles.

From the Devs:
Upper One Games paired world class game developers with Alaska Native storytellers and elders to create Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa), a game based on stories that have been handed down for thousands of years. A game which delves deeply into the traditional lore of the Iñupiat people to present an experience like no other. An atmospheric puzzle platformer of wondrous adventure. A game of survival in a place where survival shouldn't be possible. A game that opens a gateway to explore what it means to be human.

Game Trailer:

Insomniac Goes Small with Slow Down, Bull

Insomniac the makers of Ratchet and Clack and Sunset Overdrive are "experimenting" on a new title developed by a group of just 4-5 team members. The game is called Slow Down, Bull and is about a bull that loves to collect delicate things but gets stressed easily. When he's too stressed he becomes a bull in a china shop. It's a mess! The game is being built on the Unity engine and will be released on PC.

If this experiment is successful we could see more companies try to copy the indie model and get smaller games out while their larger IPs take their 2-4 years to bake. We are already seeing this trend at Ubisoft with their release of Child of Light and Valiant Hearts this year. Smaller games allow these companies to take more risk and try out bold innovations.

Best of luck to Insomniac as they work to balance AAA and small game development in their future.

From the Devs:
Slow Down Bull is a small action game about a stressed out, overachiever bull named Axel. He loves collecting beautiful things, but has to overcome his innate bull nature to accomplish his goals. Axel tries very hard to be graceful and cautious while he collects, but it’s very stressful! What if he bumps into someone? What if his bull-like nature erupts and ruins everything he’s trying to collect? What if he messes up???

The trouble is, if our bull *does* get too stressed out, he *will* succumb to his bull instincts, and tantrum and trample all over that which he loves. Can you help him achieve his goals and keep his cool at the same time?

Everyone's Gone to the Rapture at E3

More details about The Chinese Room's astoundingly beautiful game has come to light. Everyone's Gone to the Rapture is an open world story driven game for the PS4 no word yet on a release date.

From the Devs:
Rapture is inspired by the fiction of John Wyndham, J. G. Ballard, John Christopher and other authors who deal with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. There’s a very particular English feel that we wanted to capture in the game, a combination of the epic and the intimate. Rapture also came from our obsession with post-apocalyptic gaming, and the simple idea that whilst we normally play as the hero, in reality, most of us would be the piles of ash and bone littering the game world. That’s an interesting place to start telling a story.

Our approach is to create a game that you can utterly immerse yourself in. Yaughton Valley, where Rapture takes place, is a living, breathing world. The world of Rapture is not just a backdrop; it’s a character in its own right. It’s great working with PS4 as its processing power makes a game like this possible for a team our size.

The game is all about discovery. It’s open-world so you have the freedom to explore wherever you like, visiting areas in an order you define, and the story is written to allow this whilst making sure every player has a strong dramatic experience. It’s a type of storytelling that is completely unique to games. The choices you make as a player have a direct impact on how you understand the story – the more you explore and interact, the deeper you are drawn into Rapture’s world.

New Trailer:

After Almost 30 Years Shadowgate Returns

Shadowgate, the beloved first person point and click adventure which was first released on the Mac in 1987 and later made its way to the Nintendo Entertainment System(NES), gets re-imagined in today's touch interface world. The new version will feature a newly illustrated castle, new puzzles, new rooms, dramatic cut-scenes, and orchestrated music.

The game is being developed for the PC, Mac, IOS, and Android platforms.  No word yet on a release date.

I have to say the game is perfect to play on an iPad or other tablet. Lets hope this is the beginning of a resurgence in point and click story driven adventure games, because I want more.

From the Devs:
“The last thing that you remember is standing before the wizard Lakmir as he gestured wildly and chanted in an archaic tongue. Now you find yourself staring at an entryway which lies at the edge of a forest.”

So begins the legend of Shadowgate – the granddaddy of all ‘point and click’ fantasy adventure games and NES FAVORITE! This unique adventure paved the way for a host of adventure games to follow, sold millions of copies and has been ported to nearly 10 different platforms!

Zojoi, the creators of Shadowgate, are proud to announce the RE-IMAGINING of Shadowgate!

Storyline Trailer:

Vane from Friend & Foe

Vane is brought to you from Friend & Foe, a newly created independent game studio who's founders include artist and programers that have worked on some big titles such as The Last Guardian, Battlefield 3, Bionic Commando & Killzone. The studio is based out of Japan with Vane being one of it's first titles. It's being developed for PC first. Then possibly ported to other platforms.

From the Devs:
A child with an odd ability stuck in a strange land. A dangerous natural environment inhabited by a strange civilization. Vane is an open-world adventure game based on mystery and exploration.

Vane is a single-player game being developed by a few ex-members of The Last Guardian team. The game focuses on unraveling the mysteries of an unknown land via exploration, puzzle-solving and other features yet to be revealed, in an atmospheric and powerful setting.

Spirited Away Inspired Platformer Shines at E3

Beautifully captivating platformer "Ori and the Blind Forest" looks like something straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. While a platformer the game will incorporate some RPG elements and will have a strong focus on storytelling. This game was one of my favorite highlights from Microsoft's E3 press conference.

Ori and the Blind Forest will be out this fall on the Xbox One platform with a later release on the XBox 360.

From the Devs:
Ori is a bit of a coming-of-age story. The player is put into the role of a forest spirit, who – over the course of his journey – has to find out more about his role within the world he’s living in. We tried to create memorable characters in an atmospheric world and to craft a story that players will truly care about!

E3 Trailer:

Forbidden Love Becomes Entwined

Two souls in love who cannot be together set out on a path that crosses 9 life times to overcome all odds. That's the premise for Pexelopus's newest game, Entwined. The two souls are represented by a fish and a bird. The unique art style really makes this game stand out. The gameplay has you controlling both souls as they set out on this love torn journey. Published by Sony for the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita platforms, the game made it's debut at E3 during Sony's conference. It was subsequently released digitally on the same day.

From the Devs:
Entwined for the PS4, the PS3 and PS Vita systems. It’s a beautiful, addictive and abstract action/arcade game about two souls who are in love but that can’t be together. These souls are represented by a bird and a fish, which you must learn to control simultaneously. Over the course of nine lifetimes you will help these two characters come together with the eventual goal of uniting them for eternity. This story was inspired by an ancient Chinese myth, and the theme of reincarnation lives in our level structure.

Within each of these varied lifetimes you will earn the opportunity to bring the two souls together, and at that moment they will turn into a soaring dragon. This empowering transformation was designed as a moment of liberation and pure gameplay reward to celebrate this important moment in each lifetime. The freedom and joy of flight soon leads to the ability for players to ‘skywrite’ using glorious trails of light and living paint across the sky. We hope that players will enjoy this ability to create their own aerial sculptures, and on the PS4 system they can share what they make with their friends through the Share button.

Entwined Launch Trailer:

Ubisoft Pulls Heart Strings With Valiant Hearts

At E3 Ubisoft presented a game based on the letters sent from soldiers during World War 1. Valiant Hearts: The Great War is built with the same engine used to create Rayman Legends/Child of Light and is set to pull some major heart strings.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War will be available this year on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One. No word yet on a specific release date. Releases on June 25th, 2014.

Update[1]: Release Date Added
Update[2]: Added Launch Trailer

From the Devs:
Valiant Hearts tells the tale of three strangers coming together on the battlefield to help a young German soldier find love in a story about survival, sacrifice and friendship.

Solve puzzles and sneak through enemy lines while doing your best to stay alive. Each of the four playable characters (including the lovelorn German soldier) work alongside the same faithful canine companion at different times, all trying to survive in the trenches while doing their best to hold onto their humanity in the face of loss and tragedy. Though it’s set during a dark time in history, there are lighthearted (and even comical) moments spread throughout the game.

E3 Trailer:

Launch Trailer:

Cross-Play Your Way to Hell with Helldivers

Four player bug squashing goodness comes to the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. Helldivers is a top-down squad based shooter that allows anyone with a PS4, PS3, and PS Vita to play together regardless of what platform they own. You have a PS4 and a friend doesn't, but has a PS3? No problem. Another friend only has a PS Vita? No problem. Cross-Play and all can join in on the fun. This is a feature that more and more titles need to implement.

From a developers point of view they still have to make 3 builds of the same game and those 3 builds need to inter-operate. It's a tremendous challenge. I believe as services like PlayStation Now mature the ability develop a title once and play from any device becomes an asset to developers and a pleasure to consumers. The speed of development increases and the cost of developing for multiple platforms evaporates. I'm hoping to see more cross-play titles in the coming years and write once play anywhere becoming a possibility in the future.

Helldivers has no firm launch date but is slated for release in 2014.

From the Devs:

HELLDIVERS™ is a top-down squad shooter set in a dystopian future where mankind is ruled by a managed democracy. As part of the elite unit called the HELLDIVERS, players must work together to protect Super Earth and defeat the enemies of mankind in an intense intergalactic war. Coming exclusively to PS4™, PS3™, and PS Vita systems in 2014, HELLDIVERS™ features cross-play and cross-save.

Trailer:

Sony’s Big Ambitions For It’s Little Service

Update[1]: PS Now is in Open Beta as of 7/31/2014.

Sony's PlayStation Now service streams highly interactive, console quality games to any device at any time. At least that's the goal, to be the Netflix of gaming. The service is entering Open Beta on July 31st on the PS4 console in the US and Canada before moving on to the PS3, PS Vita, PlayStation TV, and Bravia TV. Plans to expand further beyond the US and beyond the listed devices have been suggested.

With this move Sony looks to expand console gaming to the masses like never before. Are you a big Walking Dead TV Show fan and want to experience the critically acclaimed Telltale Walking Dead game, but don't own a console? No problem play it right off your TV. Heard your friends talking about the latest multiplayer game and want to jump in with them for a session? No problem jump in from your PC while they are on a PS4, Set-top Box, or TV. When we get to that point the device no longer matters the service is everything and for everyone.

Of course these possibilities are a bit off into the future. Before everyone is jumping in Sony needs to get a few thing right. The service needs to work, pricing needs to be right, the games need to be there, and the device list needs to grow and grow and grow.

For now lets assume the service works and skip that factor and focus on price. The revenue model that Sony has selected to start the service is 100% rental. You buy a block of time for a particular title and you get 100% of the game for that allotted time. The blocks at the moment are as follows: 4 Hours, 7 Days, 30 Days, 90 Days. Pricing for the blocks for most titles will range from $2.99 to $19.99.

While at first glance the pricing looks a bit steep, but if you take into account that 80% of games are never completed by players that buy the title the 4 hour or 7 day lower priced options start to look good. Why buy a title that I’m not going to finish when I can just instantly rent it at a much lower cost and have fun with it for a week. I think anything higher than the $3 - $20 price range is going to be a really really hard sell. The service is new and prices will be adjusted over time. I think more importantly Sony needs to lower their costs for running the service as soon as possible without sacrificing performance or scale. If they can succeed in doing so they will have to worry less about pricing and more about what engages the public the most, and that’s games.

The service will start with 100 games. That is not a lot. It’s less than 7% of the PS3’s current catalog of 1485 titles. In order for the PlayStation Now service to succeed consumers need choices. They need to be able to find something they want to pay to play. The complete existing catalog really needs to be there and new title need to be there as well.

With publishers focusing on the PS4 for new titles and the PS Now service locked for PS3 hardware driven games, will PS Now be a graveyard where games go to die or will it be a viable service with new exciting and unique experiences? Netflix pushes for original content to keep it’s customers coming back. Will we see original content specifically for the PS Now service? If there’s one part of the PS Now service that I feel seems a bit worrisome it’s the content. Lets see how the platform grows and addresses these concerns.

I believe PlayStation Now is Sony’s most ambitious product in gaming since they released the PS1. It could revolutionize everything and get the whole world to play. To accomplish this the service needs to expand outside the PlayStation family of products. If it can get the pricing, content, and devices right it could be a winner, but like Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios says the service needs to walk before it runs. Here’s looking forward to July 31st.

PlayStation Now Promo:

PlayStation Now Open Beta Walk Thru:

The Lack of Leaping Can't Hold Captain Toad Back

No longer content with being Mario's understudy, Toad sets off to play the leading role in his own adventure.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker puts you in the shoes of Toad as he sets off for treasure. While he can't jump, he can pull roots, which reveal turnips that can be thrown, pickaxes that let him plow thru enemies, and if attacking isn't working out he can dash for a short time. The stages are set in gorgeous diorama fashion which makes the game a real treat to behold.

The stages, puzzles, and treasure capturing nature of the title reminds me of another Wii gem, Zack & Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros Treasure from Capcom. Let's just hope Captain Toad isn't as under appreciated as Zack & Wiki was.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is set for release in the fall of 2014 and will support amiibo figures.

From the Devs:
The intrepid Captain Toad sets off on his own adventure for the very first time through a wide variety of tricky, enemy-infested, maze-like stages to find hidden gems and nab elusive gold stars.

FEATURES:
Equipped with nothing more than a neck scarf, backpack and oversized head lamp, Captain Toad finds hidden gems, coins and power-ups on his way to the gold star at the end of each tricky, trap-filled stage.

• Captain Toad isn't particularly fast or strong. He can't jump and he has no super powers. But he knows that sometimes, it's all about wits and perspective.
• Twist the camera to reveal hidden locations and other secrets. The Wii U GamePad offers a closer view of the dangers and hidden items in each maze, and its gyro controls can also be used to peer around.
• Captain Toad's world is brimming with life, with dangerous enemies, tricky platforms, nasty traps and secrets to uncover. Each stage is its own puzzle to solve, and littered throughout are hidden items in hard-to-reach places. Can you help our tiny adventurer survive to find them all?

Announcement Trailer:

A Puzzler About Life and Loss

A beautiful puzzler about life and loss is making it's way to the PS4, PS Vita, PC/Mac this fall. Road Not Taken has you navigating a blizzard swept forest to make your way back home. The game's main mechanics revolve around your ability to lift objects and repel them across the board. Solve the puzzle, assist others, and get back home.

Update[1]: Launch on PS4 set to August 6th, PS Vita set for Autumn

From the Devs:
Road Not Taken is an original puzzle game about life’s surprises that is currently in development for the Playstation 4, PS Vita, PC and Mac (via Steam). Adventure through a vast, ever-changing forest in the aftermath of a brutal winter storm. Will you find your way?

Teaser Trailer:


Gameplay Example: 

G+ Photo Gallery

A Little Tim Burton Like Magic Makes It's Way To The Vita

The hand drawn, deeply emotional and Tim Burton like stylized adventure Murasaki Baby is making it's way to the Vita. This title follows a young girl trapped in a world of children's nightmares. You must help the little girl get home by motivating her emotions and clearing out her fears. You do this by changing the color of the background, teaching her to traverse chasms, and keeping her purple balloon safe. The game fully takes advantage of the PS Vita's rear and front touch capabilities to help you quickly interact with the little girl.

Murasaki Baby is slated for release September 2014.

From the Devs:

WHERE IS MOMMY?
Murasaki Baby tells the story of a little girl who wakes up in a weird world, populated by children’s fantasies and fears. Holding a purple, heart-shaped balloon in her hand, she feels lost, homesick and vulnerable. She wants her mommy.

Announcement Trailer:


Picture Gallery: https://plus.google.com/photos/102118836219664355836/albums/6026230725136964865

A Crafted World Comes to Life

Puzzle Adventure Game Lumino City is a hand crafted master piece. The game's assets come directly from a single hand crafted city model. All the angles, all the areas of the game come directly from filming the model. The result are to say the least amazing.

No word yet on a release date or platform.

From the Devs
Lumino City is a puzzle adventure game coming soon from State of Play. Three years in the making, it's handmade entirely out of paper, card, miniature lights and motors.

Sequel to the award-winning game Lume, Lumino City begins where that game left off. Begin by exploring the city, and using your ingenuity piece together all sorts of puzzling mechanisms to help the people who live in its unique world. Discover gardens in the sky, towers marooned high on an immense waterwheel, and houses dug precariously into cliffs.

To create the environment, a ten foot high model city was built by hand and by laser cutter, with each motor and light wired up individually, bringing the scenes to luminous life.

My Top 3 at E3 2014

Here are my Top 3 games to come out of E3 2014. There were so many great games shown this year that it was tough to pick just 3. So I picked the games that generated the most excitement in me. The games that I could not wait to get my hands on them.


#1 No Man's Sky

The infinitely procedurely generated Science Fiction exploration game. It's everything I've ever wanted in a sci-fi game.

#2 Bloodborne

Demon's Soul's darker spiritual successor. This action RPG is made by the same team that created Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1. I have a fever and the only cure is more souls!

#3 Legend of Zelda

An Open World Zelda game. There's not much else to say the game speaks for it's self.

What were your Top 3 at this years E3?