Looking into the world of Carmack's Doom through the Oculus Rift
"When people have sort of hacked together first-person demos with head mounts before, they usually have to wind up pretending they're a mouse, which gives you this very limited interface," master of the Doom franchise John Carmack told me in a meeting during QuakeCon 2012. "It's like using it as a ...
Unleashing ludicrous gibs in the Rise of the Triad revival
By the late 90s, Apogee Software – the legal name of 3D Realms – was a household name for hardcore PC gamers. The Texas-based studio was responsible for franchises like Duke Nukem and published some of id Software's earliest hits such as Wolfenstein 3D. Years later that partnership ...
Dishonored's chaos, morality and potentially over-powered hero
Many elements of Dishonored – from its original setting and art style to the protagonist's arsenal of special powers – have made the game subject to a great deal of attention. But with great power comes a great fear: Will the game lack any sort of challenge? Where is the difficulty in ...
A game of murder in Arkane's Dishonored
What I learned from playing Arkane Studios' anxiously awaited Dishonored is that playing it like a standard action game isn't the best course of action. You may succeed, but you're more likely to fail or stumble disappointingly to the end of a mission – a far cry from those playing with ...
Rise of the Triad's return will cost $14.99; free DLC planned
The return of the PC classic Rise of the Triad from developer Interceptor Entertainment will be sold digitally for $14.99 and offer all post-launch DLC for free, the dev announced during QuakeCon 2012. Marketing director Dave Oshry told Joystiq the priority was being faithful to the original Rise ...
Get your nostalgia to Mars in Doom 3 BFG Edition
It has been a long time since I last visited the imperiled Mars research facility featured in id Software's 2004 shooter, Doom 3, but playing the upcoming HD revamp, Doom 3 BFG Edition, I felt like I hardly ever left. While not as highly regarded as its predecessors, Doom 3 was an enjoyable (and, ...
The Splatters review: Slip, slide, splat
Physics-based puzzle games can be a little hit-or-miss – sometimes literally. While the element of unpredictability can be addictive in games about knocking down structures with furious birds, it can also lead the way to frustrating trial and error when the physics refuse to cooperate. The ...
Aliens: Colonial Marines multiplayer, or 'How Gearbox played as Xenomorphs and dissected its guests'
At a recent preview event for Aliens: Colonial Marines, developer Gearbox didn't let us play through the single-player portion of its upcoming shooter, but gave us a shot at commanding our own marine in multiplayer. Playing Team Deathmatch, journalists took the reigns as marines, while a group of ...
The acid-blooded devil is in the details for Aliens: Colonial Marines
"You can see this pocket on the pants," Brian Burleson, senior producer of Aliens: Colonial Marines says as he points to a promotional image behind him. It shows one of the Colonial Marines standing over a Xenomorph while another alien leaps at him from behind. "When we released this [image], ...
Gearbox boss says impressive Wii U 'a really nice bridge' to the next generation
Nintendo's Wii U demo reel at E3 last year contained a clip of Aliens: Colonial Marines, but we haven't heard much about the version since then. Speaking with Gearbox President Randy Pitchford, we tried to surgically extract a viable specimen of information out of him, but he refrained from getting ...
