Anyone ready for PlayStation 4?

On February 20th, Sony held a press conference to show off the new goodies that they have for us. The main reason for the conference? To unveil the PlayStation 4. One second, I'm going to nerd out for a second.

What else can I say? Heck yes! It's been confirmed, it's set in stone. It's.....awesome.

Rumors have been spread and spread about the new console generation. The Xbox 720, the Wii U, the PlayStation 4. Though we still have nothing on the 720, which is still just a cache of rumors, Nintendo already released the Wii U, and Sony has confirmed the PS4. It's not looking good for Microsoft. By that, I mean their fan base.


But on with the conference!

In this conference we were mainly told how Sony is pushing the barriers of gaming and how they could do that with the PS4. Now remember, most of conference was talking (not showing) and explaining the new console. But I'm going to skip over it just for you.

We were shown the new controller, the DualShock 4. Now you are going to see differences in this controller compared to the DualShock 3. For one thing, there's no Start and Select button. Instead, there's a touch pad and two new buttons, the share button and options. Let me say this now, I love having my start and select buttons. So this is kind of heart wrenching for me. To know that they aren't there... It makes me feel like my two children are gone. It brings a tear to my eye.

Alright, I was faking it; but really, I miss them. The share button brings you to a new level of showing your friends a game. How? You can livestream to video streaming sites like TwitchTV, Livestream, and UStream. You can quite literally bring the game to your friends. They can even watch you and chat through the PS4. The options button; I have no clue what it does. Sony didn't elaborate on any of it's functions. My best guess? It's the start and select button combined, it holds controller options and whatever else they moved to that small button. The rest of the controller is dynamically the same in terms of structure. It holds the same basic shape of the Dualshock. The thumb sticks have been redesigned slightly. They now have an indent, which probably helps with your fingers slipping. The wings of the controller apparently have their own rubber grips, as seen from looking at it closely. Triggers and bumpers are now more curved. Instead of an IR set of lights for the controller, it now has one light bar. Normally it is blue to signify 1st player, but their colors change depending on what port. It also flashes when low on battery. All in all, I love the new look, but I'm not too keen on the touchpad and no start and select button.

On to the next segment of the conference; the game trailers. Good Lord, those trailers were great. Let's start with one of the first ones they showed off, Knack.

Knack is the first confirmed PS4 game and it's one that shows off how many polygons can be shown onscreen. They did this using the actual character; Knack. Knack is a small robot that is powered by mythical gems in his body. He can assemble himself with anything around him. Thus, he can make himself larger and more powerful. If he wants to be quick on his feet, he can create long legs for speed. And at the end of the day, you can't help but wonder how a tiny, cute robot could be so destructive. That's the name of the game; destruction. You can watch the smallest of fragments among a huger set of particles.

The next trailer, or tech demo, was made by Quantic Dream. Quantic Dream has been known to make really immersing games: Indigo Prophecy(Fahrenheit in the UK), and Heavy Rain. These games make you feel emotion, and draw you in with the characters they create. Well, with what they showed us at the conference; they are really showing you what the PS4 can do with graphics. Just look at this old man. Think he is really there? A live person? Wrong. That is what the PS4 can do with their graphics. This guy looks so realistic, no miscounted polys, no character clipping. Over 30,000 polygons moving to create movement and emotion. Quantic Dream showed us how amazing they made this old man look. He breathed, blinked, and had the texture for it. You could see his wrinkles, his temples and the veins on the top of his head. All of it looked breathtaking. Quantic Dream; we love you.

The next trailer made my day. Let me introduce you to InFAMOUS: Second Son. Now this is coming from a die hard fan of the Infamous series. I LOVE these games. And the trailer just makes me want to see more. The game is suppose to take place seven years after Infamous 1 and 2's story. The new location is the military state of Seattle, Washington. The entire state is in a lock down and is constantly monitored for good reason. DUP(Department of Unified Protection) does not want anything like what happened in the first two games to reoccur.

Thankfully, our main protagonist can stop such a thing. Gifted with conduit-like powers, Delson Rowe, seeks to stop the oppression. Already, I love the trailer's graphics and Delson's attitude. He's cocky, kind of lovable, and has the looks for his character. That being that he sort of looks like a college dropout, or a survivor, both just like Cole. And I love that beanie he is wearing.

And finally, the last big thing about the conference; Watch Dogs. Oh man. I have been waiting for this game for a long time. The concept is amazing. Every major city is connected to a central CPU hub. And every electronic scrap of data is connected to the that hub. Now imagine you had the access to that data. Everyone's personal information to tied to it, and the power to control any electronic devices is open too. Sound amazing yet? It just gets better.

You are Aiden Pearce, a hacker and turned vigilante with access to this system. You have the brains for the job, but you don't just do this for fun. You have access to everyone's personal data, and, don't forget, you aren't tied down by the story-line. It's an open world game, filled with parkour, GTA car physics, and side quests. Your family is being hunted, thanks to your history. But you aren't going to back down easily. With your skills, you fight back and stop your enemies, but not just them. You can help anyone in the city that requires it, becoming the de-facto "masked crusader" of Chicago. The graphics look stunning, really making you feel like the city is alive with people and events. Everything is dynamic, from the lighting and time swapping, to the people's day to day life. They aren't just faces with voices, you know their past and their medical history, making you feel kind of bad that you ruined their day with a high speed police chase. It's amazing to watch, to walk around, and just think of the possibilities with Watch Dogs. It can't come any sooner. And as soon as I know a price for the PS4, I'm picking this game up the first day of release.

And that is the conference! It was just eye candy to see all the amazing games Sony is bringing us. The system? It's graphics are an amazing step up, surprisingly. I didn't think you could get better, but hey; I'm impressed. I still don't know what it looks like, but I'm sure it'll impress somehow. And still no price, sadly. When I know it, I'll really think about it. Sony hasn't let me down yet with any of their consoles. The controller? Can I just have my start and select buttons? But enough gushing; I really hope you enjoyed the post, this is my heart you're reading right now. Keep on gaming everyone!

Every one of these images were found at their own wiki.
watchdogs.wikia.com
Knack.wikia.com
Infamous.wikia.com
Ign.com
I do not own ANY of these products. PS4 and any other related symbol is owned by Sony.
The rest can be said with the games.
Don't sue me, guys, I love your stuff!

Hail to Dead Space 3

Get ready to be scared, hated, and disliked by alien recombinants everywhere. What I mean by this is simple; welcome back to the galaxy known as Dead Space.

With numbero tres of the game's series on the horizon, I think it's time for another history lesson. Granted, I already talked about this game in the past; I think it's time for a little revisit.With that, let me gush over this until the keyboard stops working.

Dead Space 3 takes place two years after the events of Dead Space 2, this time on a very wintery planet that looks a lot like Hoth from the Star Wars series. Isaac is here on the planet in hopes of ending the marker's existence. It's said there was a government base there over 200 years ago, but it was eradicated by a necromorph outbreak. When Isaac first arrives, he doesn't even land as his ship is overtaken by a snow storm. When he awakes, his entire face is covered in frost and without a helmet. Once  he breaks from his jammed seat belt, he embarks on a journey into the unknown, not just to find out what happened to his crew; but to also find Ellie, his wife. With the new planet, you need to take into consideration how difficult it can be to see anything. And the game does just that. You can barely see five feet in front of you. With snow and ice flecking the screen; it gives a sense of how cold it really is. The elements that stick to Isaac's suit give amazing detail.

Let's talk about the details actually. Dead Space 3 is running on a completely revamped Visceral Tech Engine. It's been added with smoother controls, more polygons for extra detail, weather elements and weather effects on objects. Best of all, they've included a weapon crafting station. This is where you can modify or even create entirely new weapons for your enjoyment. Another additive is a drop in-drop out co op. This means someone can come in, or you come in, and then just leave, without interrupting the game. But if you don't want this, you can just turn the online feature off.

But have no fear, even with all of these features. This game is still pretty scary. The jump scares can happen anywhere. Not to mention, thanks to the frozen cold and limited visibility, you still feel alone on this world. A world, my friends. An entire planet just waiting to be seen by your own eyes. Isolation is what makes horror scary, and that, is what you need. And don't worry past Dead Space fans, you'll still float around in space. With the revamped engine, you'll go farther than before.

Dead Space 3 is hitting our shelves February 5th. Be sure to check it out. It looks beautiful, scary, and saddening at the same time. I hope you enjoyed the post. Keep on gaming, and have a great day.

Dead Space and any other related symbols are owned by Visceral Games, which, in part, is owned by EA Games. All images were found by using a basic Google Search. Don't sue me, guys!
Dead Space logo image found at thecontrolleronline.com
Image number 2 found at www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk
Image three zombiegamer.co.za
Image 4 courtesy of gotgame.com
Final splash image courtesy of gamingbolt.com

Grand Theft Auto Retrospect

If you are one for just sitting down and relaxing with a nice video game, not caring what the media says about it. Congrats, you are an upper minded person. Sadly though, the media likes to call any video game of questionable integrity "Bad", "Unlawful", "Terrible for the children" or even "turning our kids into killing machines.

All of these ideas are completely ridiculous, obviously... But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain. There was a time where "violent" games weren't thought of. Then Rockstar Games shocked the world with a game simply titled "Grand Theft Auto". By the title, it seems interesting. And, to be honest, it was. In police terms, grand theft auto basically means a stealing of a car. So..cars in a video game. Doesn't sound big today, but back then; cars, fully functional cars, were huge. And what you could do with those cars, well that depended on you. Drive to the store like a normal person, or run over innocent bystanders and massacre prostitutes.

Speaking of prostitutes, yeah, prostitutes. The lush ladies of the night. The people who sell themselves for money. The people of questionable hygienic nature. So, pretty different compared to these days? No.. But remember, no game was like this back in 1997. So people freaked out. And it was a video game, and kids like to play video games. So parents flipped their lids. Saying this game is "death simulator".

 This is obviously just parents being scared for their children, but the game is mostly harmless. Now that I have that whole "Video Games are bad, mkay argument" Let me get to the whole story of Grand Theft Auto. GTA (which many fans refer to the series as a shortened phrase) is a whole universe based on our own with a few tweaks. Businesses have slightly different names, entire cities have different names, violence is even more common. And drugs, drugs are legal, also animals are extinct. Go figure. But the first GTA game was made before Rockstar was even a legitimate company. So it was sort of sub par compared to what their games are like now. Sure, back then, it was crazy. But the game was in a top-to-down perspective. Sprites looked kind of wonky, and the story was almost hard to understand. Soon after GTA1, Rockstar made GTA2 and it was a huge improvement. Graphics weren't a slight bit of a mess, story was actually there, and the gore factor was upped a ton. But still it was slightly sub par.


Then, Grand Theft Auto 3 hit the shelves and it was a hit. This is when the games took a turn in the right direction. No longer were you in a city that didn't even have a name, you were in Liberty City (Based off of New York City), the story was interesting, (You were a bank robber with your girlfriend, Catalina, who double crosses you and you are sent to prison. The convey goes wrong and you escape, wanting revenge.) And, best of all, 3D! You can walk around the city and see the sights. You had a name and a face finally. Claude Speed, a guy who is mute and brutal. One that you'll see more than once in the GTA universe.

And Liberty City, the eye of the world, as said in the game, is huge! And best of all, an open world. You could go anywhere in this game, and do anything as long as you knew the code. This was also the first time cheat codes could be used in the game, something that would never change. With this came story missions that made the game memorial. How many games can you start as a small time criminal and in the next two hours you are stealing a tank from a military base and plowing through the streets? Combine the city with many characters of different backgrounds, morals, and way of life. And you have the entire criminal underground of Liberty City. Such a nice place to call home, right?

Well with all the trouble that the unsavory people cause you would think that the police kind of suck at their job. Wrong. The LCPD are tough and very hard on people. You jaywalk across the street and expect a bullet in the face. These guys don't mess around. And since the game is a free roam city, you can make your wanted level so high they will send the military against you. You. One guy really can get under their skin.

GTA3 was amazing in it's story and graphics at the time. And people thought. What could you do next? How about the cocaine induced 80's Florida? The game had a location but what was it called in Rockstar terms? Vice City. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City hit hard and made a staple in video game markets. The game was even bigger and better than GTA3. And, it had an all star cast. We had a new protagonist and a new story. Say hello to Tommy Vercetti. Tommy is an Italian-American that had humble roots. But sometimes life takes you through the loop and somehow you end up being in the Mafia. Oops. Tommy is brought to Vice City to escape Liberty City prison and the bad deeds he did there. Here, it's a new start with old friends. In the span of the game. Tommy goes from working in a family to making his own mafia. The Vercetti Crime Family and making the big money in the drug scene. This is also the first game where the main character actually had a personality more than a roast beef sandwich. Also, if it hasn't sunken in yet. Vice City, means Sin City. This sort of shows the humor Rockstar has, as you'll see when they name certain businesses and places. And yes, because it's the 80's and drug cartels were mentioned and seen in game. It stirred up some trouble in the media. Things never change.

But after this, little did we know that Rockstar would make possibly the best Grand Theft Auto game for a long time. One year later, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas shook the video game world. This game was what Vice City was on crack! It's story and gameplay was one to be rivaled in sandbox games. And, not to forget, this game was HUGE. This game takes place in the entire San Andreas state (the name is a spoof of the San Andreas Fault Line. Which goes through the state of California and Nevada. This is where the game happens. But it's all one state in the GTA universe.) You have three giant cities and with wilderness surrounding them all. With a new game comes a new protagonist. Meet Carl Johnson (CJ for short). CJ was once part of a gang called The Grove Street Families. But he left for Liberty City to put all of it behind him. Five years later he's back and he now has to help the gang and the entire state. The game starts in Los Santos, which is based on Los Angeles, more specifically downtown LA.

Once out of LS you hit Flint and Red County. The wilderness surrounding all of the cities are gigantic. You could spend maybe twelve hours just running around looking at the sights, sadly though, no animals. If you don't know how I'm getting around to saying the entire state of San Andreas just look at this map. It's CRAZY. So many things you could do in this game. And, with cheat codes, you will have even more hours of fun. San Andreas was a rave with everyone. It topped every game in sales in under a month. But with success comes bad things to have talked about. Everyone has heard of the "Hot Coffee" mini-game  Basically, this is for people of a mature mindset, "Hot Coffee" came into play with this game. In San Andreas you can date a certain number of people in the world. After dating them for a certain time, you can have -bleep- with them. This is said by asking them if you can come inside for coffee. And, when the game first came out. It had the "Hot Coffee" mini-game  And it was very  explicit, showing EVERYTHING save for a few body parts. This made the media flip their lids to no end. Rockstar had to take the game down and take it out. And, save for a few other issues, the game did amazing. Making Game of The Year 2004 and 2005. You begin as a nobody with just a few hundred dollars in your pocket. By the end you are a multi-millionaire relaxing in Las Venturas (Las Vegas in real life)

After the craziness of San Andreas Rockstar left the next game in the dark for some time. Having people guess where it could happen next. Hong Kong? China? Washington DC? Canada? Rockstar wouldn't tell anyone even a sliver of information. After two years, they showed one picture that got everyone hyped. IV. It got people guessing even more. At E3 2006, Rockstar showed us all a trailer for the game. The audience went nuts and they gave a standing ovation. People wanted more, a lot more. The trailer showed off amazing visuals and awesome sights of the city. Speaking of the city. We finally had a location. Liberty City again. Only this time they had the technology to make it look amazing. This Liberty City looks like a near match to New York City. With this came the updated physics in the form of rag-doll. Which, to me, makes a game even more fun. But, I digress. The graphics and skyline of the new Liberty City looked stunning and gorgeous. Another city comes another main character. Enters Niko Bellic. Niko is the first protagonist in GTA that isn't American. He's from Serbia, and he really hasn't had a great life.

Niko grew up in a bad place, and you make bad decisions. Niko fought in the Yugoslav Wars, and he was betrayed by someone in his team group. Niko soon comes to Liberty City, knowing that on of the three survivors (including himself) lives there. It's revenge for everyone who died and to "close the book" and to move on with his life. Niko is an amazing character, feeling like the most realistic protagonist in any GTA game so far. He has his strengths and his faults, something that is noticeable in real life. He served in a war, which explains his usefulness in gun fights. He can fly a helicopter, something else he did while in Europe. His emotions and depression from serving in the military is understandable considering what he's been through.

Though Liberty City isn't as big as San Andreas, there still is a lot of stuff to do. Combine that with the DLC The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Grand Theft Auto IV is an amazing time waster and worth whatever money you paid for it,

And now, since I kept you waiting for so long. Let me talk about Grand Theft Auto V. Now, let me clarify. If you actually read the entire post. You would know that I LOVE Grand Theft Auto, hence why I wrote so much. but if you didn't, I don't know what to say. Why are you still reading?

But, GTA V. Wow. Just wow.The trailer showed no gameplay, just a mellow voice telling us his story while we watch the scenery. The first trailer showed off everything just to get you wanting to know more. Who is this guy? Why did he move to Los Santos? Why is he rich? And what is that magic he's speaking about? So many questions! That is what I like in a video game. It makes you question until you get information. It makes you sort of make up back stories until you get the actual back story  And that was only the teaser trailer. We didn't get anymore insight until November 14th with the release of trailer number 2.

We have not one, not two, but three main protagonists for GTA V. The first one, Michael, is the slightly aged man in the suit that you saw in the first trailer. He is possibly my favorite out of all of them. Simply because he's aged and in a world of young people in a different time. I can't describe the certain humor they have for him. But I love it. It's old world against new world. He moved to Los Santos with his family to retire from his life of crime and live "like those families on TV". That doesn't happen. We find out in the second trailer that his family is disorganized. His daughter is bratty and spoiled. His son is a lazy slacker that tries to be like his father, using the term "Let's bounce." Which Michael returns with a look and says, "Bounce? We're bouncing now?" And his wife has a certain relationship with him, sort of like a love/hate scenario.

The next person is Trevor Phillips. Trevor is crazy. Literally. In the trailer he beats a guy to death, blows up a house with gasoline and a Molotov, and then jumps off of a moving train while it collides with another one. I expect we'll be getting more of the crazier missions with him. He is a total psychopath, yet he's funny in a morbid way. We do know that Michael and Trevor are old buddies. So far, that's all we know about him.

The final character is Franklin. Franklin is a gangster that doesn't like how the world is going. He wishes that the time of gangsters went back to the 80's when it actually meant something. He seems to have a girlfriend or wife that doesn't want him to be a gangster anymore. Trevor also has a friend in the same trade, but thinks that the new ways are gold, while Franklin says "Slinging dope and throwing up gang signs" isn't what it's all about. But, at the end of the trailer, they all meet to together with Michael introducing Franklin to Trevor. Michael says, "That's Trevor, my best friend. And that's Franklin, the son I've always wanted." Trevor then just looks at them all and says, "Your therapist has A LOT to answer for," thereby ending the trailer.

The trailer, amazing. That's all I can say. Everything in it is spot on, it hits every note just right. My advice? Look up anything you can find about Grand Theft Auto V. And as a treat, play some of the older ones. But if you want to start your GTA quest and want a new look. Do it with GTA V. Pre-orders are able to be made and it's release is sometime in the last part of 2013. I hope you enjoyed the post, if not, at least like the pretty pictures. Have a great day everyone, and keep on gaming.

All photos found by a basic Google Search. Grand Theft Auto and any GTA related symbols or names are copyrighted and owned by Rockstar Studios. Please don't sue me, Rockstar. 

Okami HD Release

Okami, Okami, Okami.

What is Okami? Well, Okami was a PS2 game that was a heck of a lot different from anything else on the market during it's time.
How so? Well your main character is a dog. And don't think it will damage gameplay, because our main character, Amaterasu, is called when a dark evil has risen back to life, ready to destroy the world. Amaterasu is a sun goddess, and with it she is very powerful. Capable of defending herself against the forces of darkness.

Gameplay is very linear, but sometimes you can opt for a sidequest; like feeding wild animals you come across in the wilderness or making a tree bloom from the ground. An addition to this is that you can paint into the world items you need to progress. Like a bridge over a ravine, or making stairs and handholds appear to scale a mountain. The art style is awesome. It has the cell shaded look that I love for any game. But it also has a feel of old Japanese wood cut/water color, art. Giving a a huge unique feel.

Sadly though, sales weren't very large, mainly because Okami was released right before the release of the PS3. Though this severely hit sales, those who did play the game, gave it a huge following. With this, Sony has finally given the okay for an HD release.

This brings a lot of advantages:
Improved framerate
Sharper image
Better motion blur on HD TVs
And, not to forget, let people see the game in all it's glory that a lot didn't see back in 2006.

But from my experience with it. Okami is a nice little game that has a huge background to it. It's fun and enjoyable. It's a game that you can just kick back and relax with. Combine that with the art style and soothing soundtrack; you have a great game to spend a few hours on.

However you feel, pick up Okami. It's an awesome unique game that will have you enjoying every colored moment. Hope you enjoyed the post, have a great day and keep on gaming!

All Okami and related symbols are owned by Cloves Studios. Images were found by using a basic Google Search. Please don't sue me, Cloves.

Assassin's Creed III DLC already?

This week for video games is an interesting one, something that I am already all for. If you already know, I am a die hard Assassin's Creed fan, and Ubisoft has already announced a DLC for their game that isn't even out in stores yet.

Assassin's Creed III takes place during the American Revolution. That said, the DLC isn't about expanding the story of it in, say more missions about the battles we know. The whole DLC is a huge "what if". What if George Washington wasn't supporting the Continental Army? What if he was on the British Side of the whole ordeal?

That is what the DLC wants to tell us. George Washington is a king of England instead of a high general in the Army of America. He is mad with power and wants to crush the colonies, the same as George the third of England tried to do.

So now it's up to Connor (The hero and main protagonist in Assassin's Creed III) to stop him and restore peace for the young and scared America.  So why is Ubisoft changing history? Because, it's what they do! They love history, as they say "History is our playground" and by that it means history can be whatever it is. Even if it is not true, that doesn't mean they can show what could have happened if Washington was power hungry. Assassin's Creed III hits shelves on October 30th, and I am definitely getting the first day. The DLC does not have a release date, but it could come out a month after the game is out. So don't worry, it'll be here soon, but I so wish it was sooner.
I could go on for hours about AC III, but it's a blog post, not a book. So, I hope you enjoyed the post, keep on gaming, and have a great day.

All images found by a basic Google search. Any Assassin's Creed related symbol belongs to and is trademarked by Ubisoft. Please don't sue me, Ubisoft