Joystiq

Latest Rainbow Six: Siege trailer nearly blows the roof off

Earnest Cavalli — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:30:00 EST

Ostensibly a showcase for E3 hype, this Rainbow Six: Siege trailer depicts all the neat ways in which police can wreck a suburban home in the pursuit of truth, justice and a few more points on the multiplayer leaderboards.

[Image: Ubisoft]

Latest Rainbow Six: Siege trailer nearly blows the roof off originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evolve wins E3 Game Critics Awards, PS4 leading platform

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 17:30:00 EST

As voted on by 29 publications, here are the winners of the Game Critics Awards: Best of E3. Spoilers: Evolve won quite a few, along with No Man's Sky and Smash Bros...

Continue reading Evolve wins E3 Game Critics Awards, PS4 leading platform

Evolve wins E3 Game Critics Awards, PS4 leading platform originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Jul 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Natural selection: Evolve leads E3 Game Critics Awards nominations

Sinan Kubba — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 07:15:00 EST

Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve notched six nominations in this year's E3 Game Critics Awards, including Best Online Multiplayer and Best Action Game. The four-versus-one shooter is also up for the prestigious Best of Show award, where it's competing with No Man's Sky, Alien: Isolation, Batman: Arkham Knight, Shadow of Mordor and Rainbow Six: Siege.

After debuting at E3, Rainbow Six: Siege tied second for most nods from the judges. Both it and Destiny picked up four nominations, while No Man's Sky was one of several games up in three categories, including Best Indie.

Continue reading Natural selection: Evolve leads E3 Game Critics Awards nominations

Natural selection: Evolve leads E3 Game Critics Awards nominations originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo CEO to miss shareholders meeting following major surgery

Sinan Kubba — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 06:00:00 EST

Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata underwent surgery last week to remove a bile duct growth, and as a result he will miss the company's upcoming annual shareholders meeting. In a letter published on Nintendo's site, the 54-year-old explained the growth was fortunately detected early and he made it through the procedure successfully.

"I was counseled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option," Iwata said. "Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well as predicted."

"I have already resumed business by email and other means, but it is anticipated that a little more time is needed for me to return to my regular work schedule."

Continue reading Nintendo CEO to miss shareholders meeting following major surgery

Nintendo CEO to miss shareholders meeting following major surgery originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jun 2014 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Playing virtual beer pong with Control VR

Mike Suszek — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 21:30:00 EST

Virtual reality in video games is all about new technology that places players within an interactive digital environment. By now, most know about Oculus VR, Sony's Project Morpheus or augmented reality specs like Google Glass and CastAR. But what do you do with your hands while using these headsets?

Continue reading Playing virtual beer pong with Control VR

Playing virtual beer pong with Control VR originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suda51 and Let It Die's carousel of death

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:30:00 EST

From the sound of it, GungHo Online and Grasshopper Manufacture's PS4 exclusive Let It Die is some sort of giant death recycling program. As we detailed last week, Let It Die stores every player death on its servers, and those dead players repopulate the games of other players as AI enemies.

If you were gong to classify it, according to executive Kazuki Morishita, "Let It Die is a survival crazy action game." Also on board is Goichi Suda, best known as "Suda51," who says that coming up with the concept of storing death data was a key point in the development of Let it Die (formerly Lily Bergamo). "We all agreed the idea was good, so we decided to focus on this idea, thinking it would be a great new challenge for us." Suda is also in charge of creating the game world itself, as already evidenced by the figure of Death riding a skateboard in the announcement trailer.

And before you ask, yes, Suda's shoes are amazing (as always), and yes, we did get a shot of them.

Suda51 and Let It Die's carousel of death originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can't cover your eyes in Oculus Rift, a study of Alien: Isolation

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 13:30:00 EST

With Oculus Rift dev kit 2.0, the world of Alien: Isolation appears more real than ever before - you peer around dark corners by tilting your actual head, you can almost feel the cold metal walls of your busted ship, and you cling desperately to the motion tracker, hoping that little green dot never appears. Because when it does, you're dead.

Thankfully, dying in Oculus Rift doesn't equate actual death - this isn't Stay Alive, people - but it certainly feels real, if only for a second. This is my excuse for squealing like a piglet while playing Alien: Isolation on Oculus Rift at E3. It might be flimsy, but it's all I have.

Alien: Isolation was one of Joystiq's official game selections of E3 2014, and we discussed how the Oculus version went down, in text form, here. But, of course, seeing is believing.

You can't cover your eyes in Oculus Rift, a study of Alien: Isolation originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello Games wants No Man's Sky to surprise you

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

We still don't know much about No Man's Sky, but after seeing a live demonstration we can say it was one of the most intriguing projects on display at E3 this year. So far, we know that it allows players to explore a full, unique universe, every bit of which is procedurally generated - planets, plants, animals, spaceships, buildings, everything. It's still difficult to tell what will drive players to explore that universe, but Hello Games founder and managing director Sean Murray says some of the game's key factors are surprise and discovery. In one moment, you might be naming a new species of dinosaur, in another you might be engaged in a space dogfight with a hostile alien race.

"I really like that when I play the game, those things naturally happen, naturally emerge," says Murray. "And sometimes you're just not sure why, and you have to start to learn a little bit more about the universe." Video game players have become inundated with information, he says, which makes it hard to be surprised by a game.

"I think we've become really good at telling you everything you need to know about a game before you play it, to the point where you pretty much know how it starts, you know where you'll be in the middle, and you know how it'll end. I mean, I played Watch Dogs, and I actually really enjoyed it, but I had watched like 13 different videos about it before I played it, and there was so little surprise left for me," says Murray. "And I think we want to leave that a little bit for the player. This is a game about exploration, not in a kind of ambient way, not in a way that is just laid back and boring, [but] in a sci-fi way, which is kind of adventure and discovery."

Hello Games wants No Man's Sky to surprise you originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain's E3 demo

Sinan Kubba — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST

Snake? Yo, Snake? Snake!

Oh, there you are.

Hey Snake, check it: You've read our E3 preview of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and its animal-ballooning hijinks. Now watch all 30 minutes of the E3 demo for yourself in this recorded Konami stream.

[Image: Konami]

Watch Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain's E3 demo originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity looks old, and that's good news

S. Prell — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 09:00:00 EST

Pitched as a return to the days of games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment - isometric RPGs developed on BioWare's Infinity Engine - Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian is decidedly old-school. Where other games may tout streamlined gameplay and accessibility, Pillars holds its stats-based and number-heavy head up high as it walks through environments befitting a medieval fantasy world.

This isn't a revolution or new beginning for the genre, but a return to form.

Continue reading Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity looks old, and that's good news

Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity looks old, and that's good news originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Conan 'Clueless Gamer' O'Brien luges through E3

Sinan Kubba — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 07:30:00 EST

Conan O'Brien may have not been the only clueless gamer at E3, but the TV star's take on gaming's annual LA-palooza is always worth a watch. After talking and playing Entwined, Forza 5, Sunset Overdrive, Project Morpheus and Kevin Spacey In Your Face, things get a bit creepy when 100 Nintendo ladies watch Conan firestorm Hyrule Warriors.

There's more Clueless Gamer below the break with Conan playing Super Smash Bros Wii U.

Continue reading Conan 'Clueless Gamer' O'Brien luges through E3

Conan 'Clueless Gamer' O'Brien luges through E3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crystal Dynamics sheds light on Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:00:00 EST

During E3 last week, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix came out of left field by announcing not only a new Tomb Raider, but also a new Lara Croft game. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris returns to the cooperative, isometric, puzzle-solving action first introduced in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, upping the ante with improved visuals and 4-player co-op (though thankfully not fixing what isn't broken).

"We get to expand our puzzle space as we gain more and more players," says senior designer William Kerslake, noting that Temple of Osiris allows new dynamics for puzzles, depending on how many players are participating. As for when Crystal Dynamics will finally serve up a proper sequel in the Legacy of Kain series, that remains a mystery.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is coming "soon" to PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Crystal Dynamics sheds light on Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snooping brought Grim Fandango to PS4 & Vita

Xav de Matos — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST

One of the most pleasant surprises at E3 2014 was the announcement that LucasArts' beloved adventure game Grim Fandango is coming to PS4 and Vita.

How did it happen? PlayStation VP of Publisher Relations Adam Boyes explains it all came about when the game's original project leader, Tim Schafer, caught him snooping around the (intellectual) property.

Grim Fandango's resurrection is being helmed by Sony's third-party production team and developer Double Fine, maker of other fine adventure-based products. No timeframe for the remastered game's release has been announced, but we can confirm that it's not soon enough.

Snooping brought Grim Fandango to PS4 & Vita originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Man's Sky: Name your own dinosaur, get eaten by it

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST

A 10 minute, hands-off demonstration is not enough time to take in No Man's Sky. I know that because 10 minutes is about all I've seen, and I still don't quite know what to think. At the very least, I can confirm everything we saw during Sony's E3 2014 media briefing. Played from a first-person perspective, No Man's Sky can take you from the surface of an alien planet teeming with life into outer space, where you can engage in zero-G dogfights, and then down to the surface of another planet, all without a single loading screen. Take a moment to comprehend the scope of that: Terrestrial exploration, interplanetary travel, space combat - all of it seamless and procedurally generated.

It's impressive to watch, and gorgeous to boot, but I still can't nail down what drives players to do it all. Like ten minutes of out-of-context Minecraft, my demonstration was fascinating but a little inscrutable. Please understand, that's not intended as a criticism, it's just that what Hello Games is promising is so big that I'll have to see a lot more of it before I can form any concrete impressions. For now, let's talk about that promise.

Continue reading No Man's Sky: Name your own dinosaur, get eaten by it

No Man's Sky: Name your own dinosaur, get eaten by it originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sherlock Holmes and The Case for Trying New Games

S. Prell — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST

Walking the show floor of the LA Convention Center, you see games that take you by surprise. Maybe these games didn't have the budget to promote as vivaciously as another company, or maybe they promised a slow-burn experience - something difficult to demonstrate when press meetings usually last 15 to 30 minutes - or maybe they were simply tucked into a corner, away from the hustle-bustle foot traffic that a crowd of 48,900 people brings.

Whatever the reason, these E3 participants get passed on, skimmed over, or ignored in favor of the bigger flashier games with the recognizable names. I realized, on that show floor, if we want new experiences, we have to step outside the comfortable, the mass-marketed. Take a chance once in a while. I will, because Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments convinced me to take one.

Continue reading Sherlock Holmes and The Case for Trying New Games

Sherlock Holmes and The Case for Trying New Games originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Night in the Woods' snappy dialogue inspired by Twitter

Mike Suszek — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:30:00 EST

The protagonist of side-scrolling adventure game Night in the Woods is a cat named Mae. Like the other characters in the game, Mae acts more human than feline, a 20-year-old college dropout that's coping with both her and her friends' gradual transitions to adulthood. After the PC, Mac and Linux game earned $209,375 on Kickstarter in November, developer Infinite Fall announced a PS4 version earlier this month, which was playable at E3.

Writer and art director Scott Benson's work to provide ambivalent quips and behaviors for Mae that complimented the cynical cat's inner dialogue was immediately apparent in the game's E3 demo. It started with Mae contemplating what news reports would sound like if she chose to burn her room down with her in it. After bounding down the stairs, Mae's mom called her to the kitchen to see if she would be home in time to watch an awful made-for-TV movie about a man that kidnapped his wife. There's an open chair, but Mae sits on the counter while the mother and daughter discuss the film's premise at length (providing players choose to keep the conversation going). The to-do list in Mae's diary then updates: "Watch misery porn with mom."

Benson, a seasoned animator and illustrator from Pittsburgh that is crafting Night in the Woods' story with his wife Bethany, admitted to Joystiq at E3 that drafting lines for a video game is new to him: "I've never written fiction or characters really before," as his previous animated shorts tended to be of the silent type. Benson had an interesting source of inspiration for his witty one-liners, then: Twitter. As he explained, the social media channel "has the same kind of cadence and kind of vague feelings" as Mae and friends display in Night in the Woods.

Continue reading Night in the Woods' snappy dialogue inspired by Twitter

Night in the Woods' snappy dialogue inspired by Twitter originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monster Hunter reaches new heights with bug-shooting pogo stick

Mike Suszek — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 08:00:00 EST

To some, each subsequent version in Capcom's Monster Hunter series only adds a few new beasts, weapons and gear while maintaining one core concept: Slaying large, ferocious creatures in lengthy quests. As series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto told Joystiq at E3 last week, "you have to keep the key elements intact but you also want to innovate, you also want to add some freshness."

"Freshness" means more than just Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's four new monsters and weapons (two apiece), but indicates Capcom's drive to improve the ways players explore and interact with the game's environment. "We tend to, on the design side, just think of things that we as players want to do in these worlds but are unable to do in the current state," Tsujimoto said. Looking back at the last game to launch in the west, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, the developer opened up the game to underwater sequences, introducing beasts like Gobul to spotlight submerged battles.

Continue reading Monster Hunter reaches new heights with bug-shooting pogo stick

Monster Hunter reaches new heights with bug-shooting pogo stick originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Midnight Star is a mobile FPS that works (no, really)

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:00:00 EST

From the mind that co-created the Halo universe, Midnight Star is a robust, alien-infested first-person shooter - for mobile devices. Wait, where are you going? Hang on! Just - hang on.

Midnight Star is a good mobile shooter.

The game comes from Alex Seropian, the man behind Halo, and Tim Harris, a former comic store owner and co-founder of game studio Seven Lights. Together at Industrial Toys, Seropian and Harris have been promising Midnight Star as a mobile shooter with innovative controls that make sense for the touchscreen platform, something the jaded mobile masses can believe in.

And so far, Midnight Star delivers.

Continue reading Midnight Star is a mobile FPS that works (no, really)

Midnight Star is a mobile FPS that works (no, really) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sports-platformer #IDARB takes Twitch chat trolling to a new level

Danny Cowan — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST

The last thing I expected to see during my playthrough of Other Ocean's #IDARB at E3 last week was an airbrushed Rick Astley strolling across the screen, but that's exactly what happened, ruining a likely goal for my chicken-and-duck team. Shortly afterward, the background swirled and all players on the field turned into clowns -- accompanied, as if by contractual requirement, by Entry of the Gladiators.

Other Ocean's competing sportsman Frank Cifaldi triggered these concentration-rattling effects by typing commands into a Twitch chat window during the match, altering the game's momentum in his favor. #IDARB's retro-styled, side-scrolling approach to the sports genre is at once simple and ambitious, and inventive features like Twitch chat integration make it one of the most intriguing games to earn the support of the ID@Xbox program.

Continue reading Sports-platformer #IDARB takes Twitch chat trolling to a new level

Sports-platformer #IDARB takes Twitch chat trolling to a new level originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Far Cry 4 is Far Cry 3's worst enemy

Ludwig Kietzmann — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:45:00 EST

In Far Cry 3, you are the savior that fell from the sky. Unfortunately, you are also Jason Brody, the rich white kid diving out of an airplane joyride, and ultimately rescuing a tribe of Pacific islanders from vicious pirates. As fun as Far Cry 3 was in the midst of a gunfight, its story was rooted in problematic themes and hung around the necks of air-dropped outsiders.

That's set to change significantly once you tread the Himalayan footpaths of Far Cry 4, says narrative director Mark Thompson. The game's opening moments see new protagonist Ajay Ghale persecuted in his former home of Kyrat, barely escaping an encounter with a vile, sacrilegious despot named Pagan Min. Ghale is a returning native, while Min, an elite figure from Hong Kong's criminal underworld, is the outsider casting the shadow of monarchy. The story of Far Cry 4 clearly hinges on the history of Nepal and its bloody turn from monarchy to sovereign state, but it also reflects on Far Cry 3's sham of a hero.

Continue reading Far Cry 4 is Far Cry 3's worst enemy

Far Cry 4 is Far Cry 3's worst enemy originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 Years Gone: Today is Joystiq's most decadent birthday

Anthony John Agnello — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST

Shunted out of the Los Angeles sunshine and E3's all-encompassing embrace, the Joystiq crew returned to their respective homelands over the weekend, finding solace on both sides of the Atlantic. They returned to loved ones, frequently photographed pets, and much-needed rest. Today, the crew celebrates completing not just another E3 but an altogether more momentous occasion: JOYSTIQ IS TEN YEARS OLD, Y'ALL!

It was on June 16, 2004 that the little ol' website known as Joystiq was born. Appropriately, it was E3 2004 that demonstrated a need for Joystiq in the first place. Our sibling site Engadget, overwhelmed by covering the show that year, realized that maybe there was something to these video game things and so Joystiq was created to cover that wide realm. We've expanded and contracted over the years, ballooning out into blogs like Xbox 360 Fanboy and others, with myriad podcasts and shows created along the way. Ten years on, we're at our most focused, entertaining and potent, with the Super Joystiq Podcast, Joystiq Streams, and the kind of daily writing that makes grown men and women weep with joy.

We're going to be celebrating our Tin Anniversary with all kinds of special stories, including a massive look back at our favorite games of the past decade. Stay tuned for those over the next few weeks, and stick around for the next ten years.

10 Years Gone: Today is Joystiq's most decadent birthday originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Persona's demon designer wants your opinion

Susan Arendt — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:45:00 EST

Shigenori Soejima is the man behind the distinctive look behind super stylish games like Persona 4, Persona 5 and Catherine. Yes, he's the man you thank for the nightmare-inducing Immoral Beast, but he's also the one who gave us Chie, Teddie, Kanji, Koromaru as well as the bevvy of fascinating demons that populate the games of the Persona universe.

Soejima was on hand at E3 for a rare autograph signing, and fans lined up for hours to meet him and thank him for his work on the art of the Persona games. I asked him, through a translator, how he felt about the outpouring of appreciation, and his answer was both humbling and surprising:

"He was very happy to be able to come into contact with such fans but to be honest, he wanted to talk to them more. Because he's Japanese and he can speak to the Japanese fans, he knows what kinds of things that they think about his artwork, versus, he's not sure what foreign audiences think, because he can't speak with them. He wishes he had a little bit more one-on-one time and could ask each of the people what do you like about it, what is it that draws you to my artwork? So because he wants to know that, he says for your readers to actually write to him, he would love to hear from your fans."

We confirmed with Atlus that this offer is completely legit, so if you've ever wanted to let Mr. Soejima know what you thought about his work - or to ask what the real deal is with Teddie - now's your chance. We'll collect the comments below and send them off to Atlus for translation so that they can be passed along to Soejima himself.

First question: Mr. Soejima, have you ever considered a micropig sidekick for Persona 5? Just something to think about.

[Image: Atlus]

Persona's demon designer wants your opinion originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cartoonish Cuphead fills up on new trailer, has hopes for Master System port

Mike Suszek — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:30:00 EST

Cuphead, the first game from StudioMDHR, received a stylish new trailer and screens last week that puts its 1930's-inspired design on display. The "run and gun action game" was pushed back to 2015 thanks in part to the developer's decision to switch from the XNA framework to Unity. It also "totally scrapped the original world map in its rough state" and began re-envisioning a more minimal GUI to focus on Cuphead's classic cartoon feel.

When the game was announced in January, it was originally planned for PC. That's since changed, as the developer now expects to launch Cuphead on Xbox One as well as Steam. StudioMDHR also mentioned a "dream idea" in its latest press update: The developer hopes "we can at least be successful enough to port it to Sega Master System with cartridge, instructions and box" one day.

[Image: StudioMDHR]

Continue reading Cartoonish Cuphead fills up on new trailer, has hopes for Master System port

Cartoonish Cuphead fills up on new trailer, has hopes for Master System port originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2014 had more attendees, fewer exhibitors than last year

S. Prell — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:30:00 EST

While we've already covered some of the weirdest stories from E3 2014, here's another eyebrow-raiser from this year's big video games conference: while there were more attendees at E3 2014 compared to last year, there were fewer exhibitors.

The Electronic Software Association counted 48,900 heads this year compared to 48,200 last year, and 200 exhibitors compared to 230. And while those numbers are nice and all, they only tell a portion of the story. Ever wondered about the hotel situation when nearly 50,000 people travel from across the world to descend on the city of Los Angeles?

The ESA claims in a related press release that attendees "secured more than 28,000 total hotel room nights and generated nearly $40 million in revenue" for Los Angeles. We may have contributed our own fair share of quarters to that number.

[Image: Joystiq]

Continue reading E3 2014 had more attendees, fewer exhibitors than last year

E3 2014 had more attendees, fewer exhibitors than last year originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The next Adventure Time game is a link to the past

S. Prell — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:30:00 EST

Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom will be the first in the WayForward-developed series under publisher Little Orbit, and a new name means a new direction. Whereas the previous game, Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! was ... well, a dungeon-crawler, Secret of the Nameless Kingdom takes its inspiration primarily from a Nintendo franchise: The Legend of Zelda.

Continue reading The next Adventure Time game is a link to the past

The next Adventure Time game is a link to the past originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2014 round-up: Weird tales from Los Angeles

S. Prell — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

Had you been on the floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center this year, you would have heard one question, echoing from journalist to journalist: "This year feels a little ... weird, don't you think?" It's hard to put a finger on exactly why E3 2014 gave off a strange vibe, but darn it all, we're gonna try.

Here are some of the most eccentric, the most peculiar, most "hmm"-inducing stories of E3:

Continue reading E3 2014 round-up: Weird tales from Los Angeles

E3 2014 round-up: Weird tales from Los Angeles originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oculus CEO: 'We invited' Sony to see Oculus prototypes

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST

Oculus VR isn't threatened by Sony's rival virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus, and Oculus even invited Sony to check out its own internal prototypes, CEO Brendan Iribe told Joystiq at E3. Sony then returned the favor and invited the Oculus team to see Project Morpheus. See? We all can be friends.

Oculus made headlines recently when Facebook acquired the company for $2 billion. Iribe said that even though the deal was a surprise to most people, it made perfect sense to Oculus founder Palmer Luckey:

"Many people, I still think, don't really understand or know that Palmer was the most excited about this partnership. Because he felt like, from the beginning, we got into this to make VR work and make it for the masses, and make it work at a scale and a comfort level that could hit the entire population."

Oculus CEO: 'We invited' Sony to see Oculus prototypes originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Farming Simulator devs go against the grain

S. Prell — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:00:00 EST

When you think about games with an active modding community, you likely think of heavy-hitters like Skyrim, Counter-Strike and the like. Dig a little deeper and you'll strike the root of something else entirely: Farming Simulator.

In an industry of space marines, monsters, aliens and assassins, the Farming Simulator games choose a different course - one drawn and directed not just by them, but their players.

Continue reading Farming Simulator devs go against the grain

Farming Simulator devs go against the grain originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evolve's new Kraken monster is a 'flying squid magician'

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 18:00:00 EST

When I played Evolve during PAX East, I lost. I was playing as Goliath, an aptly named brute of a monster, well-suited for up-close-and-personal attacks. Alas, I was killed by my opponents, four human-controlled hunters (much more quickly than I care to admit). At E3 this week, I tried my hand at the monster again, only this time I tried Evolved's new beast, the Cthulhu-like Kraken. Senior producer Michael Boccieri describes Kraken as a "flying squid magician," capable of dealing a lot of damage from a distance - and yes, he can fly.

I probably shouldn't spoil the rest of this article, but I totally won.

Continue reading Evolve's new Kraken monster is a 'flying squid magician'

Evolve's new Kraken monster is a 'flying squid magician' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dreadnought: This ain't your daddy's Battlestar

Earnest Cavalli — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST

The free-to-play shooter market is quickly growing crowded, but developer Yager has a novel take on gunplay involving giant ships, big guns, and nuclear weapons that shake the pillars of heaven and earth.

Describing Dreadnought as a "shooter" isn't quite accurate. Though it features the control scheme that's been standard since the days of Quake and pits teams of players against one another in a rush to see who can rack up the most kills, these opposing forces are not populated by your typical hyper-macho space marines. Instead, you pilot spaceships. Huge spaceships. Battlestar Galactica-scale spaceships. The result is a shooter that's equal parts Team Fortress 2 and three-dimensional naval warfare.

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Dreadnought: This ain't your daddy's Battlestar originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joystiq's E3 2014 Selections

Joystiq Staff — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST

With E3 2014 in the books, Joystiq's writers look back at their favorites from the show. With the only stipulation being that the game must have been playable to qualify, the team presents its selections for favorite games of E3 2014.

From independent gems to major releases from powerhouse publishers, Joystiq's list represents the variety of experiences available to video game fans worldwide.

Here are Joystiq's first annual "E3 Selections."

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Joystiq's E3 2014 Selections originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forza Horizon 2: Blame it on the rain

Earnest Cavalli — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST

During my earlier meeting with Forza Horizon 2 devs Playground Games, they put a heavy emphasis on the racer's new dynamic weather system. Raindrops spatter windshields, turn roads into soggy slicks and reduce visibility. At the time I wasn't able to experience the effect for myself, but after a bit of hands-on time, I've learned one crucial point: Summer showers turn exotic supercars into missiles with all the guidance of a blind penguin.

The key thing to remember is that all weather in Forza Horizon 2 is actually dynamic. A given race may be bathed in sunshine, while the same race, later in the game, might feature a sunny start, followed by a momentary deluge, then a bone-dry race to the finish. In most racing games, weather has a less than realistic effect, but in the case of Forza Horizon 2, a sudden downpour translates to cars sliding off the road at 160 miles per hour. Once the rains come, you should be prepared to drive as cautiously as possible, lest your expensive ride turn into a rolling hunk of scrap.

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Forza Horizon 2: Blame it on the rain originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndieCade at E3 is full of hugs ... and games

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

The IndieCade booth at E3 showcased 30 games that might be highlighted at the actual IndieCade festival in October, including Asher Vollmer's Close Castles, Nova-111 from Funktronic Labs, Elegy for a Dead World from Dejobaan Games and Popcannibal Games, Sportsfriends, Bounden, Hotline Miami 2, 6180 The Moon, Fract OSC, Bloom, and so many more.

Mostly, though, the booth was filled with hugs.

[Image: IndieCade]

IndieCade at E3 is full of hugs ... and games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seen@E3: A visual history of Metal Gear

Xav de Matos — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:00:00 EST

The walls outside the theater of Konami's E3 2014 detail a visual history of one of the company's most famous franchises. One poster showcases the evolution of Snake from his days as a bundle of pixels on the MSX to the gruff, high-res hero in Kojima's upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Another poster gives players a history of its various weaponized tanks, the titular Metal Gears. A third poster breaks down the environments Snake has infiltrated over the years.

For fans, it's a wonderful display of the stealth-action franchise's history and something we had to try very hard not to steal to put on our walls at home. Thankfully, Konami released high-resolution images of each poster. Time to go to the printer!

Seen@E3: A visual history of Metal Gear originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Same sex marriage in Harvest Moon: 'We know what the fans are looking for'

Susan Arendt — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST

Marriage is an intrinsic part of long-running life sim series, Harvest Moon, but to date same sex marriage hasn't been possible. The newest game in the series, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley for 3DS, won't change that trend, but future games might, if that's what the fans really want.

When I asked the question as to whether Natsume had considered including same sex marriage in a Harvest Moon game, Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations, said, "It's obviously something that we're going to look into as we continue the Harvest Moon series. We're going to look into all aspects of it." He started to express the idea that it's not a cut-and-dried issue, but Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume cut him off.

"We always listen very carefully to fans' voices," Maekawa said. "Fan voices, media voices. We know what the fans are looking for. We are always carefully listening to fans' voices."

Maekawa says he is very appreciative of Harvest Moon's fans, who have kept the game alive since its inception on Super Nintendo in 1996.

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, which "innovates in a way no other Harvest Moon game ever has," will be out for 3DS this fall.

Same sex marriage in Harvest Moon: 'We know what the fans are looking for' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let It Die explained by a diagram ... of death!

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 09:30:00 EST

Have you seen the trailer for Grasshopper Manufacture and GungHo Online's PS4 exclusive, Let It Die? Did it leave you wondering just what the hell was going on? Fear not, because I have the explanation from none other than Let It Die executive producer Kazuki Morishita - in handy diagram form.

Need a little help? See, when players die, their dead selves are uploaded to Let It Die's servers (into what I'm calling the "Death Cloud"). From here, your dead hero is downloaded to other players' Let It Die game, where your character becomes an enemy. Likewise, your own world is populated by the dead characters from other players' worlds.

And the little figure of Death riding a skateboard in the Let It Die logo? That's not just for show, says executive director Goichi Suda (best known as Suda51). Death is a character in Let It Die, and he does ride a skateboard, presumably because he's so busy reaping the souls of its poor, poor players.

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Let It Die explained by a diagram ... of death! originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitman Sniper studio can cherry pick from Square Enix's series

Anthony John Agnello — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 22:00:00 EST

Square-Enix Montreal, the studio behind this spring's critical success Hitman Go, is showing off its second game at E3 2014. Hitman Sniper, a free, competition-focused spin on the series, will be released later this year. With both games coming along so close to one another, it would seem that Montreal's sole task in the Square-Enix machine is revivifying IO Interactive's assassin series.

The studio's actually not shackled to Hitman by corporate mandate, though. If Square-Enix Montreal wants to make a Tomb Raider game, it's more than welcome to. Its studio philosophy and design concepts are what dictate which series it tackles.

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Hitman Sniper studio can cherry pick from Square Enix's series originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Falling Skies: The Game hopes you liked XCOM

S. Prell — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:00:00 EST

Falling Skies: The Game from Little Orbit may be based on TNT's sci-fi drama television series of the same name, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a spin-off of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from 2K Games and Firaxis. Human squads vs. aliens in turn-based battles and a base from which to manage your units and resources?

"Deja vu" would be an understatement.

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Falling Skies: The Game hopes you liked XCOM originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lords of the Fallen remains enigmatic just months from release

Anthony John Agnello — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST

Lords of the Fallen, a methodical action RPG with more than a few similarities to a game whose name rhymes with Bark Voles (Snark Bowls?), was one of E3 2013's quietest contenders. Amidst the many sequels, reboots, and other familiar faces accompanying PS4 and Xbox One's debuts, it was one of the only games for those boxes at the show that was not only original but felt fully formed. There are more than enough medieval fantasy games out there, but even with its somber story about a world where men toppled their own god Fallen stood out.

The guided demo through a crumbling castle and through its snowy courtyards, hosted by a clearly passionate executive producer Tomasz Gop, just sang. Here at E3 2014, Lords of the Fallen is fully playable on PlayStation 4, and while it felt fine to guide the demo's paladin through a gauntlet of vicious beasts, swinging a swift staff in steady combos, CI's game feels more unknowable now than it did last year.

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Lords of the Fallen remains enigmatic just months from release originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2015 lands in LA June 16-18

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:45:00 EST

Set the countdown clocks for 369 days, starting ... now. E3 2015 will officially take over the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 16 - 18.

The ESA organized E3 each year and it's contractually obligated to hold the convention in Los Angeles through 2015. In 2016, the show may move elsewhere. At an E3 dinner this week, ESA President and CEO Michael Gallagher said that he was considering other top-tier US cities for the show.

Wherever E3 is next year, we'll be there. In the meantime, see all of the news, previews and Vines from E3 2014 right here.

E3 2015 lands in LA June 16-18 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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