Happy Gaming My Friends!
Friday, May 31, 2013
GTA 5 Pre Order Special Edition
If you pre order Grand Theft Auto 5 at Gamestop you get access to fly a blimp in game. So go pre order the SPECIAL EDITION and get your Hindenberg on!
Special Edition is $150.00, hefty price but comes with lots of goodies.
Happy Gaming My Friends!
Happy Gaming My Friends!
Opinion: Is the Violence in Video Games Issue Just A Scapegoat for Bad Parenting?
The controversy surrounding violence in video games rears its ugly head every so often. It seems that a kid in Oregon recently got busted outlining plans to firebomb and shoot up his school, all to the soundtrack of the controversial "No Russian" mission from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. In this article we will take everything we can into account to find out why things like this happen?
I hate to open with such a cliche statement, but this is America. We have the freedom here to express ourselves in many ways. Creating a video game that depicts acts of violence is not depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property. Sure, one could argue that it gives kids the idea to go and kill other people, but one would be missing out on a really big point. These games are not made for children. Clearly marked M for Mature on the box, these games are intended for ages 17 and older.
We can hardly start to blame the developers for the content they include in video games. Sure, it was a pretty gutsy move by Infinity Ward to include the "No Russian" mission in MW2, but there was an option right at the beginning of the game to skip that mission if you felt it was inappropriate. Are some developers pushing the boundaries just to offer the biggest shock value though? It is possible, and in doing so it makes their games popular, especially amongst kids.
Any parent that lets their young kids play M rated games needs to make sure they are doing a few things before letting them play the games. Look for the ESRB rating on the game. Every game has one and they are located on the front and back of games. The back has more information by the rating, telling the consumer why the game has the rating. I have a copy of Fable 2 sitting right here and it is rated M for Blood, Language, Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, and Violence. It is quite literally spelled out on the box. Secondly, ask around, the people at your local game retailer can offer lots of information. You'll find that most of the people that work at those stores have experience with a lot of the games (especially the most popular ones). Do some internet research. Find some gaming websites and read their reviews. These reviews will often times go very in depth and you can learn a lot about a game by reading an article. Watch the trailer for the game. You can learn much about it just by seeing it in action. Supervise your child when they play the games. That way if you seen something inappropriate, you can make a decision as to what to do.
My advice would be that after you find out what is in certain games, share that information with other parents. When you present a unified front to your children it can be to their benefit.
It seems that the need for taking violence out of video games sings more to the convenience of the parent than anything else. If they know there is no violence in the games, they won't have to do any research, or be involved in decision making about whether or not to let the child play the game. This is not the answer. Invest some time and effort into your child, they are worth it. No one wants to be the parent that gets the call "your son/daughter was just involved in a school shooting", let alone come to find out that their child was the one pulling the trigger.
Having worked at a game retailer myself, I have seen parents just buy their young children any game they want. I remember when GTA San Andreas came out. A 9 year old child was at the store with his grandmother to pick up the game. The sales clerk asked her "are you sure you want him to play this?", offering no other insight to the game's content. The grandmother asked the child "is this the one you want?". "Yes Grandma" was his reply. Sale complete. That kid was on his way home to play a game that lets you slaughter innocent people whenever you want, have sex with prostitutes, kill police, etc. At the young age of 9.
We have to snap out of the mindset that video games are "toys", because they are not. In this day and age the content is more mature and aimed at the 18 - 40 market. With story lines ranging from organized crime (GTA, Saints Row), to science fiction sagas in which forging sexual relationships with the cast is part of the game (Mass Effect), to games that offer nudity as part of the experience (Dante's Inferno, The Saboteur, God of War). Parents must face the fact that these games were made with the intent on selling to a mature audience.
Part of the problem is that the term "game" is often associated with things like "Operation", "Twister", "Clue", and other board games, and the term "video game" is associated the likes of "Super Mario Bros", "PacMan", "Donkey Kong", and other such titles. Modern video games are so much more than that, they are often times "realistic interactive experiences".
With that in mind I think it is time for parents to stop trying to blame the industry and start stepping in to be involved in their children's lives. Don't let a video game be your child's primary source of influence when it should be you that is teaching them the ways of the world.
Let us know your feelings in the comment section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
I hate to open with such a cliche statement, but this is America. We have the freedom here to express ourselves in many ways. Creating a video game that depicts acts of violence is not depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property. Sure, one could argue that it gives kids the idea to go and kill other people, but one would be missing out on a really big point. These games are not made for children. Clearly marked M for Mature on the box, these games are intended for ages 17 and older.
We can hardly start to blame the developers for the content they include in video games. Sure, it was a pretty gutsy move by Infinity Ward to include the "No Russian" mission in MW2, but there was an option right at the beginning of the game to skip that mission if you felt it was inappropriate. Are some developers pushing the boundaries just to offer the biggest shock value though? It is possible, and in doing so it makes their games popular, especially amongst kids.
Any parent that lets their young kids play M rated games needs to make sure they are doing a few things before letting them play the games. Look for the ESRB rating on the game. Every game has one and they are located on the front and back of games. The back has more information by the rating, telling the consumer why the game has the rating. I have a copy of Fable 2 sitting right here and it is rated M for Blood, Language, Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, and Violence. It is quite literally spelled out on the box. Secondly, ask around, the people at your local game retailer can offer lots of information. You'll find that most of the people that work at those stores have experience with a lot of the games (especially the most popular ones). Do some internet research. Find some gaming websites and read their reviews. These reviews will often times go very in depth and you can learn a lot about a game by reading an article. Watch the trailer for the game. You can learn much about it just by seeing it in action. Supervise your child when they play the games. That way if you seen something inappropriate, you can make a decision as to what to do.
My advice would be that after you find out what is in certain games, share that information with other parents. When you present a unified front to your children it can be to their benefit.
It seems that the need for taking violence out of video games sings more to the convenience of the parent than anything else. If they know there is no violence in the games, they won't have to do any research, or be involved in decision making about whether or not to let the child play the game. This is not the answer. Invest some time and effort into your child, they are worth it. No one wants to be the parent that gets the call "your son/daughter was just involved in a school shooting", let alone come to find out that their child was the one pulling the trigger.
Having worked at a game retailer myself, I have seen parents just buy their young children any game they want. I remember when GTA San Andreas came out. A 9 year old child was at the store with his grandmother to pick up the game. The sales clerk asked her "are you sure you want him to play this?", offering no other insight to the game's content. The grandmother asked the child "is this the one you want?". "Yes Grandma" was his reply. Sale complete. That kid was on his way home to play a game that lets you slaughter innocent people whenever you want, have sex with prostitutes, kill police, etc. At the young age of 9.
We have to snap out of the mindset that video games are "toys", because they are not. In this day and age the content is more mature and aimed at the 18 - 40 market. With story lines ranging from organized crime (GTA, Saints Row), to science fiction sagas in which forging sexual relationships with the cast is part of the game (Mass Effect), to games that offer nudity as part of the experience (Dante's Inferno, The Saboteur, God of War). Parents must face the fact that these games were made with the intent on selling to a mature audience.
Part of the problem is that the term "game" is often associated with things like "Operation", "Twister", "Clue", and other board games, and the term "video game" is associated the likes of "Super Mario Bros", "PacMan", "Donkey Kong", and other such titles. Modern video games are so much more than that, they are often times "realistic interactive experiences".
With that in mind I think it is time for parents to stop trying to blame the industry and start stepping in to be involved in their children's lives. Don't let a video game be your child's primary source of influence when it should be you that is teaching them the ways of the world.
Let us know your feelings in the comment section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
This Just In: Sony To Split Off Entertainment Division & Go Public
Internet sources have apparently confirmed that Sony is working with Morgan Stanley and Citigroup on splitting the entertainment division away from the overall umbrella of Sony. This would include the Playstation brand.
The move is reportedly being made to strengthen the company by mitigating some of the its debt and giving it extra needed capital. We will stay on top of this story as it develops.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
The move is reportedly being made to strengthen the company by mitigating some of the its debt and giving it extra needed capital. We will stay on top of this story as it develops.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
Deal Alert: Devil May Cry and All DLC 40% Off On Steam
If you've yet to pick up Devil May Cry or any of its DLC now is the time to do it, seeing how they're having a 40 percent off sale on Steam.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Limbo Coming to Playstation Vita on June 4th.
The shadowy platformer Limbo is coming to the Vita for $15 on June 4th. Be very excited!
Upcoming Games: June 2013
Games Releases for month of June
June 2
Remember Me (360 and PS3)
June 4
Limbo (Playstation Vita)
June 9
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo 3DS)
June 11
Dark (360 and PC)
Also E3 starts
June 14
The Last of Us (PS3)
June 25
Company of Heroes (PC)
Lost Planet 3 (360 and PS3)
Muramasa Rebirth (Vita)
The Sims 3: Island Paradise (PC)
Deadpool (360 and PS3)
Borderlands 2 Tiny Tina Assault on Dragon Keep DLC (360, PS3 and PC)
June 30
Lego: Lengends of Chima (Vita and Nintendo DS)
Happy gaming my friends!
Incoming: Borderlands 2's Last DLC For Season Pass Holders
This is the last season pass DLC offered for the excellent Borderlands 2. In this download we take a break from Pandora and enter a fantasy world created from the mind of Tiny Tina. Tina and the original vault hunters are in Sanctuary playing a roll playing game much like D&D called Bunkers and Badasses. The game starts with the foul mouthed thirteen year old explaining the rules to the players. As the cut scene ends you are transported into the fictional world of Bunkers and Badasses, entering a place called Flamerock Refuge. Upon entering, the gamer sees rainbows and pretty flowers as Tina narrates the plot. One character asks why the world is so pretty if a wizard had destroyed it. Tina takes back the comments of rainbows and beauty and the world transforms to darkness and despair. Gearbox has stated the narration by Tina will change the world around at certain moments. Her scatter brain will dictate what bosses you fight, what terrain you will travel and promises to break the fourth wall over and over again.
This new DLC offers completely new areas, new enemies in the form of fantasy monsters and lots of loot. Gearbox has listened to gamer feed back and has created a new means of spending Eridium. There will be Tiny Tina slot machines that only take the purple stones. Also you can spend eridium at shrines you find along the way to give boosts to health, speed, ammo, etcetera. It's unkown whether these boosts will be indefinite or temporary.
Coming June 25th this latest installment should give fans plenty reason to jump back into their vault hunting boots and explore a fantasy world Borderlands style. If you have the season pass it will be free, if not you can purchase this on Xbox, Playstation and PC for ten (800 ms points) bucks. Not a bad deal for a brand new chapter in the phenomenal play ground that is Gearbox's Borderlands 2.
Happy gaming my friends!
This Just In: Several of EA's Online Pass Content Go Free on XBOX LIVE
Here is a list of online pass content that is now free on the XBOX LIVE Marketplace.
American McGee's Alice
Bad Company 2 VIP
Bulletstorm Online Pass
Dragon Age: Origins - The Stone Prisoner
The Black Emporium (Dragon Age II)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Online Pass
Cerberus Network (Mass Effect 2)
Medal of Honor Online Pass
SHIFT 2 Unleashed Online Pass
Skate Share Pack (Skate 3)
No word from EA on whether or not this content will also be free on PSN. More news as it develops.
American McGee's Alice
Bad Company 2 VIP
Bulletstorm Online Pass
Dragon Age: Origins - The Stone Prisoner
The Black Emporium (Dragon Age II)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Online Pass
Cerberus Network (Mass Effect 2)
Medal of Honor Online Pass
SHIFT 2 Unleashed Online Pass
Skate Share Pack (Skate 3)
No word from EA on whether or not this content will also be free on PSN. More news as it develops.
Microsoft To Invest 1 Billion Dollars in XBOX ONE Games
Microsoft announced yesterday that it plans on dropping 1 Billion dollars towards developing games for its upcoming XBOX ONE console. Don Mattrick explains that the XBOX ONE is absolutely developed with the gamer in mind. Here's a quote from Mattrick:
“We want to be about serious fun,things that people are really passionate about. Things that they love. Things that they can't wait to get home to experience and to use. That's what the Xbox brings about. So, we're in the serious fun side of the house. You can call us the, you know, five to nine section if you want."
I don't know that the quote makes all that much sense as Mattrick awkwardly tries to explain that the console is going to be centered on having fun and creating fun experiences.
We expect that the billion dollars is going to be wrapped up in popular exclusive franchises and new exclusive IPs, as well as securing exclusive window (exclusive first on XBOX) content.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
“We want to be about serious fun,things that people are really passionate about. Things that they love. Things that they can't wait to get home to experience and to use. That's what the Xbox brings about. So, we're in the serious fun side of the house. You can call us the, you know, five to nine section if you want."
I don't know that the quote makes all that much sense as Mattrick awkwardly tries to explain that the console is going to be centered on having fun and creating fun experiences.
We expect that the billion dollars is going to be wrapped up in popular exclusive franchises and new exclusive IPs, as well as securing exclusive window (exclusive first on XBOX) content.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Incoming: Batman Arkham Origins
BAM! BOFF! BIFF! Batman is coming back to the console realm in an outing that will not be sequential to the series. We get to go back to a younger Batman, sometime during the first or first years of the Caped Crusader's career. The Dark Knight has made enemies both in Gotham's seedy underbelly and GCPD.
As I gleamed information around this much anticipated title I found that Rocksteady will not be at the helm. The game was handed of to a new company Warner Bros. Games Montreal. This has made me a little hesitant to see the new title but I will remember People Can Fly did a decent job with Gears or War Judgment, Ninja Theory kept everything good about the Devil May Cry series and 343 Studios know how to make a Halo game. With this in mind maybe a departure from the creator could be a good thing. Warner Bros. Montreal will in no doubt try to mess up the mix in a way to change up the regular game play we Batmanians have come to expect.
Whats new?
Now Batman can be countered by the army of thugs this time around much the same way as you countered various villains in the series. This could make for some interesting combat, having to really come at fights like you are playing a fighting game. As long as this counter system does not set you up over and over for cheap blows I will enjoy toe to toe encounters as a "greener" Batman.
The next new tool will be used during detective mode, letting you set up a crime scene and recreate a shooting. Computer simulation will show where assailants have attacked from or where they escaped to after the crime. Using a scrub tool WB Montreal said you can watch, rewind, pause and scrub the motions in the screen to find much needed clues. This sounds great, I'm looking forward to the detective skills in this game. However I do wonder why they would use such a vastly different means of detective work. This app Batman will use seems like better tech than in old games. Maybe he struck it later after his skills developed better. Maybe he needed the space on the computer for Wu-Tang albums.
New enemies are Black Mask, Death Stroke and a corrupt SWAT officer named Branden who should be known by avid comic fans. I also saw penguin with out the glass bottle shoved in his eye. This leads me to believe that Joker will not appear in this title betting it's before the Clown Prince of Crime showed himself to Gotham.
**EDIT** Joker was Indeed seen in the trailer for the game. My Bad.
The story thus far
It's Christmas time in Gotham and it's present to Batman is a price on his head. Roman Sionis (Black Mask) has had enough of The Dark Knight and has hired every goon with a gun to kill the Bat on sight. WB Montreal has promised a Rogues Gallery in the terms of villains.
At the same time Batman has yet to prove to the police he is a force for good and he most probably has a few arrest warrants over his head. I've heard the story centers around Christmas night with The Caped Crusader working against the clock to save the day this time. I won't go much further with the story, it's always been a strong suit with the series and to give away too much would just take away from the experience.
With a release set for fall 2013 I will bide my time somewhat anxiously until I can once again adorn the mantle of the bat. Bring you more news as it comes in.
Happy gaming my friends!
As I gleamed information around this much anticipated title I found that Rocksteady will not be at the helm. The game was handed of to a new company Warner Bros. Games Montreal. This has made me a little hesitant to see the new title but I will remember People Can Fly did a decent job with Gears or War Judgment, Ninja Theory kept everything good about the Devil May Cry series and 343 Studios know how to make a Halo game. With this in mind maybe a departure from the creator could be a good thing. Warner Bros. Montreal will in no doubt try to mess up the mix in a way to change up the regular game play we Batmanians have come to expect.
Whats new?
Now Batman can be countered by the army of thugs this time around much the same way as you countered various villains in the series. This could make for some interesting combat, having to really come at fights like you are playing a fighting game. As long as this counter system does not set you up over and over for cheap blows I will enjoy toe to toe encounters as a "greener" Batman.
The next new tool will be used during detective mode, letting you set up a crime scene and recreate a shooting. Computer simulation will show where assailants have attacked from or where they escaped to after the crime. Using a scrub tool WB Montreal said you can watch, rewind, pause and scrub the motions in the screen to find much needed clues. This sounds great, I'm looking forward to the detective skills in this game. However I do wonder why they would use such a vastly different means of detective work. This app Batman will use seems like better tech than in old games. Maybe he struck it later after his skills developed better. Maybe he needed the space on the computer for Wu-Tang albums.
New enemies are Black Mask, Death Stroke and a corrupt SWAT officer named Branden who should be known by avid comic fans. I also saw penguin with out the glass bottle shoved in his eye. This leads me to believe that Joker will not appear in this title betting it's before the Clown Prince of Crime showed himself to Gotham.
**EDIT** Joker was Indeed seen in the trailer for the game. My Bad.
The story thus far
It's Christmas time in Gotham and it's present to Batman is a price on his head. Roman Sionis (Black Mask) has had enough of The Dark Knight and has hired every goon with a gun to kill the Bat on sight. WB Montreal has promised a Rogues Gallery in the terms of villains.
At the same time Batman has yet to prove to the police he is a force for good and he most probably has a few arrest warrants over his head. I've heard the story centers around Christmas night with The Caped Crusader working against the clock to save the day this time. I won't go much further with the story, it's always been a strong suit with the series and to give away too much would just take away from the experience.
With a release set for fall 2013 I will bide my time somewhat anxiously until I can once again adorn the mantle of the bat. Bring you more news as it comes in.
Happy gaming my friends!
This Just In: Amazon Sites Listing Mirror's Edge 2 Exclusively for XBOX Consoles
It seems there are some European sites out there listing Mirror's Edge 2. Many of you may remember the first parkour style game from several years back. It was a really fun game and I hope there is going to be a new game in that series!
A former EA employee tweeted "It is general knowledge in the Stockholm (Sweden) dev scene that Mirror's Edge 2 is in production at DICE".
More info as it comes in.
 |
| Mirrors Edge 2? |
More info as it comes in.
Aisha Tyler to Make Return Appearance As Host of E3 2013
Apparently Aisha Tyler is hosting E3 again this year. This will be her second time doing so. For those that were wondering, there you go! Can't wait until E3, we won't be there but we'll be providing information as it comes in.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your gaming news! Thanks!
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your gaming news! Thanks!
Opinion: Are Console Companies Giving Us What We Want?
Recently I was watching a video that was talking about the XBOX ONE. The video was a live Google + hangout and the question was "How did the reveal of the XBOX ONE make you feel". Most of the people offered standard answers, either praising or completely hating the console. One gamer said something pretty profound.
"Instead of giving us what we want, they (Microsoft) are telling us (what we want). They are telling us that we want an always online experience... they are telling us that we don't care that much about taking our games to our friends house and playing them... and they are probably going to charge us 500 bucks for this thing".
I didn't really look at the XBOX ONE reveal in that light, but what this gamer said was totally true. When I go back and watch the reveal again, it really is Microsoft telling us what we should want. Part of that strategy could be based around that if they can convince everyone that always online is something they want, then there won't be negative repercussions from it.
In our "Who is Microsoft's Target Audience" article, I mentioned that it doesn't matter to me all the extra stuff the XBOX ONE does, as long as it plays games. That is a statement that I still stand behind. But lets look at what gamers want vs what the console companies are going to give us.
What We Want
We want an online experience when its appropriate. We don't have to be connected to the internet to play a single player experience. Drop in drop out co-op is always nice, but just make a co-op lobby where we can find people to play with if we want to. It isn't necessary for our consoles to be always online. When the internet goes out, we want our consoles to remain functional. We want to have LAN parties where no one is connected online, but instead are connected in the living room.
We want to be able to borrow games from our friends and play them without licensing fees. We want MORE DEMOS! In this day and age when games are $60+ we need to try before we buy! We want less hype and more substance! We want to be able to trade in games that we don't play anymore to help pay for new games that we want.
We Don't Want or Don't Care About
Watching TV. Most of us buy consoles to play video games. We have our Netflix and Hulu Plus accounts which already work on our consoles if we want to catch up on TV shows. We don't care about live TV! Most of us don't even have cable TV anyway! Watching Dancing With the Stars on our consoles is not that important!
We don't want crippling DRM. We understand wanting to cut piracy but don't punish the people that are actually buying your games in the process. We don't want a console that won't work without an internet connection. While myself and people like me don't care if we have to be online because our consoles are always connected, we don't like the thought of our console not working if our internet goes out, or if we take it to the cabin for the weekend where there is no internet, or if we move and can't get internet turned on right away, or have something happen in our lives and have to tighten the belt by getting rid of internet for a few months.
These are the things we want, and more importantly don't want. As console manufacturers and game developers, please don't lose sight of the things that are important to US. We're not saying to abandon the things that are important to you, but lets meet halfway on this stuff. Don't forget about us or we may forget about you.
Let us know your feelings in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
We want to be able to borrow games from our friends and play them without licensing fees. We want MORE DEMOS! In this day and age when games are $60+ we need to try before we buy! We want less hype and more substance! We want to be able to trade in games that we don't play anymore to help pay for new games that we want.
We Don't Want or Don't Care About
Watching TV. Most of us buy consoles to play video games. We have our Netflix and Hulu Plus accounts which already work on our consoles if we want to catch up on TV shows. We don't care about live TV! Most of us don't even have cable TV anyway! Watching Dancing With the Stars on our consoles is not that important!
We don't want crippling DRM. We understand wanting to cut piracy but don't punish the people that are actually buying your games in the process. We don't want a console that won't work without an internet connection. While myself and people like me don't care if we have to be online because our consoles are always connected, we don't like the thought of our console not working if our internet goes out, or if we take it to the cabin for the weekend where there is no internet, or if we move and can't get internet turned on right away, or have something happen in our lives and have to tighten the belt by getting rid of internet for a few months.
These are the things we want, and more importantly don't want. As console manufacturers and game developers, please don't lose sight of the things that are important to US. We're not saying to abandon the things that are important to you, but lets meet halfway on this stuff. Don't forget about us or we may forget about you.
Let us know your feelings in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
Deal Alert: Irrational Games One Year Anniversary Sale
Get some Irrational Games and Bioshock swag over at their online store. Link provided!
https://store.irrationalgames.com/Category.aspx?c=Apparel&utm_source=IG&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=memorial
YOLO! LOL!
*EDIT*
It's not the one year anniversary of the studio, it's the one year anniversary of their online store!
https://store.irrationalgames.com/Category.aspx?c=Apparel&utm_source=IG&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=memorial
YOLO! LOL!
*EDIT*
It's not the one year anniversary of the studio, it's the one year anniversary of their online store!
This Just In: Ubisoft E3 Lineup
Here are the games we expect to see from Ubisoft at E3.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell Blacklist, South Park: The Stick of Truth.
With E3 just a little while away, things just got a lot more exciting! Can't wait to see Watch Dogs and Southpark: The Stick of Truth!
Let us know what games you are looking forward to at E3 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking game news! Thanks for reading!
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell Blacklist, South Park: The Stick of Truth.
With E3 just a little while away, things just got a lot more exciting! Can't wait to see Watch Dogs and Southpark: The Stick of Truth!
Let us know what games you are looking forward to at E3 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking game news! Thanks for reading!
Sony to Possibly Require Devs to Include Remote Play For Vita
The rumor mill on the web says that Sony is contemplating making remote play for Vita a requirement for all PS4 games. For those unfamiliar with remote play, this would enable your game to be ported from your PS4 console to your Vita. Maybe you are playing Uncharted 4 and your girlfriend needs the TV. Just fire up your Vita and transfer your game over! I don't think it is set in stone yet, but we'll confirm when we can.
Hit us with a comment in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your daily gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Hit us with a comment in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your daily gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Incoming: Destiny
The gaming community has been waiting with baited breath after the release of Halo Reach to find out what developer Bungie had in store for them. Though the veil on Destiny has been lifted for a while, we're still vague on the details of what Destiny really is. In this article we will focus on what we know, as well as what we hope may be in store for us later when Bungie drops its next SciFi adventure.
What We Know
The gaming news community just LOVES to throw around the word MMO with Destiny. Reason being that before anyone knew what Bungie was going to do it was speculated that they would do a fantasy MMO. Since everyone was DEAD WRONG about that, they have been trying to be "half right" about the MMO part by insisting that Destiny is at least part MMO. Which it is not.
Then what is Destiny? Coined by Bungie themselves the game is a "shared world shooter" meaning that the world you play in is shared with other people from your friends list, and beyond. Beyond could mean people from your region, people of similar skill, or just flat out "other people". Bungie has not offered details though on how many people you will share your world with. It could be 8, 16, or 32 or more. It could also end up finding people based on what mission or part of the game you are on, or what part of the universe you are exploring. There just aren't enough details to speculate on this without having to backpedal for being wrong about it. But the allure of it is fascinating.
We also know that there are at least 3 different classes of characters in the game. You can play as either the Titan class, the Hunter class, or the Warlock class, each offering differences in play style. Want to be a juggernaut? The Titan class could be for you. Want to use neat magic like abilities, sign up for the Warlock. I refuse to use the old addage "there is something for everyone" but there appears to be something that could appeal to most shooter fans playstyles here.
The universe this time around is based on our galaxy, our solar system. You will see Earth, Mars, the Moon, Venus, and perhaps more over the course of Bungie's 10 year plan with Destiny. All that is known about the story is that humanity has seen a great enemy and would have been wiped out if it weren't for "the traveller", a haunting, large, somewhat decayed sphere suspended over Earth's last remaining populated city. The player fills the shoes of not an iconic series hero, but as one of many "guardians" tasked with helping keep the last city safe and perhaps branch out into the universe again.
Travel between Earth and the other galactic destinations will take place via your own customizable spacecraft. It is not know at this time if you will have to manually fly to Mars from Earth or if a cutscene will see you off to a distant location. As far as we know nothing about space combat has been mentioned by Bungie, so we'll have to wait on confirmation for that.
So who is the main enemy? Well in Destiny, it seems like "enemy" has been replaced with "enemies". Not in the classic Halo sense of different species all conspiring to see your demise, but different species, with different reasons for wanting you out of the way. I'll be excited to see if different enemy factions war with each other as well as with Earth dwellers. So far we have seen the Hive, which seems to be kind of a flood-like enemy race, the Vex are time traveling killer robots, the Cabal which are a juggernaut and powerful class, and the Fallen, a species of aliens that were "once noble houses now scattered to the wind". There is a rumored 5th species, right now known as "the Glimmer", but not much is known of them at this time. We are hedging our bets that this will be revealed at E3 2013. Here is a link to the wiki for Destiny which is filled to the brim with great info.
To depart from "what's in Destiny" and get back to "what is Destiny", the game seems to me at this time to be kind of a "Halo meets Borderlands" kind of experience. There has been talk about loot and bosses and things of that nature. Co-op has a big roll and seems to be a huge focus for this game. Bungie has also said that adversarial multiplayer will make a return as well, meaning that long after we've completed the game we can still get our Destiny on.
There will be special loot items and mass customization options in Destiny. I'm really hoping for unique items that are really rare and could even possibly be only one of in your shared world. That would make some finds really great. Bungie says that your character could become somewhat of legend in the game. The customization in Destiny promises many options to really make your character unique in the universe.
If you've seen the first ViDoc "Pathways Out of Darkness" then you've seen the menu bit that shows an option called "Raids". Not much is known about this but it does sound like a mode in which you could gather a party of people and delve into a kind of "dungeon", if you will. Maybe this is why everyone is so adamant about calling Destiny an MMO, but to me this seems like it will be a dungeon dive that could end in some awesome boss battles and some awesome loot drops!
There will also be a staging area, an area in which you can rest easy and hangout with friends and party members before missions. There was information dropped I believe by Bungie themselves that in this safe area, your first person view will pull out to 3rd person so that you have a chance to admire the aesthetics of your character. That was one of the things about Halo is you could make your Spartan look awesome, but you really never had any opportunity to look at him/her while in action. This seems a little bit trivial, but little details like this are what pushes a game outside of the normal expectations.
Bungie explained the matchmaking with a bit of whimsy. They said that you could launch the game and be solo for awhile during a mission. You get into the thick of a firefight and suddenly a fellow guardian jumps in to help you. They talk of these kinds of experiences as special. Moments were you are like "wow, there is another guy!". Maybe you party up and adventure on afterwards, maybe not. Maybe the guy that helps you just grabs his portion of the loot and bids you good day. Maybe the guy is on your friends list, maybe not. The way it works right now is mysterious, but Bungie talks of the experiences as though they will be seamless and that is why another guardian showing up will make you say "Wow!".
Just think of the roles being reversed. You are making your way back to your ship or something and you happen upon a poor guardian in the middle of a firefight. You have an excellent flanking position so you just start laying down the fire. Win/win. You got some great action and a person that was fighting hard got some much needed help. Experiences like this are what have me yearning for Destiny.
What We Hope For
We hope first and foremost that Destiny will be a shooter of the likes we have come to expect from Bungie. Tight shooter controls coupled with awesome story delivery and a multiplayer aspect that keeps you returning night after night. The "thirty seconds of fun" that Bungie is known for is something we hope returns too. In the Halo series, the studio really showed that they had a knack for crafting encounters. Even when you are faced with ridiculous odds, you just know that with hard work and perseverance, you can overcome anything.
The sad part of Destiny is that we've probably seen the end of LAN parties in a Bungie game. Destiny touts an "online only" tag. That's alright though because if this game is done right, that may be a feature we don't even miss at all.
If Destiny has great shooter controls, fun encounters, a great story, and a well put together co-op and multiplayer mode, we should be set for a long time. Part of Bungie's plan with Destiny is to make sure there is fresh content every year from the launch through the next 10 years. So if the company can deliver on that kind of schedule, we should be in for one hell of an exciting ride.
The game is coming out for PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, and XBOX ONE. There was speculation that the game could hit holiday 2013 (and might for the current gen systems) but the rumblings as of right now say a 2014 release. Regardless of when it is, I know I am ready to forge my Destiny.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for news on upcoming titles like Destiny. Thanks for reading!
There will also be a staging area, an area in which you can rest easy and hangout with friends and party members before missions. There was information dropped I believe by Bungie themselves that in this safe area, your first person view will pull out to 3rd person so that you have a chance to admire the aesthetics of your character. That was one of the things about Halo is you could make your Spartan look awesome, but you really never had any opportunity to look at him/her while in action. This seems a little bit trivial, but little details like this are what pushes a game outside of the normal expectations.
Bungie explained the matchmaking with a bit of whimsy. They said that you could launch the game and be solo for awhile during a mission. You get into the thick of a firefight and suddenly a fellow guardian jumps in to help you. They talk of these kinds of experiences as special. Moments were you are like "wow, there is another guy!". Maybe you party up and adventure on afterwards, maybe not. Maybe the guy that helps you just grabs his portion of the loot and bids you good day. Maybe the guy is on your friends list, maybe not. The way it works right now is mysterious, but Bungie talks of the experiences as though they will be seamless and that is why another guardian showing up will make you say "Wow!".
Just think of the roles being reversed. You are making your way back to your ship or something and you happen upon a poor guardian in the middle of a firefight. You have an excellent flanking position so you just start laying down the fire. Win/win. You got some great action and a person that was fighting hard got some much needed help. Experiences like this are what have me yearning for Destiny.
What We Hope For
We hope first and foremost that Destiny will be a shooter of the likes we have come to expect from Bungie. Tight shooter controls coupled with awesome story delivery and a multiplayer aspect that keeps you returning night after night. The "thirty seconds of fun" that Bungie is known for is something we hope returns too. In the Halo series, the studio really showed that they had a knack for crafting encounters. Even when you are faced with ridiculous odds, you just know that with hard work and perseverance, you can overcome anything.
The sad part of Destiny is that we've probably seen the end of LAN parties in a Bungie game. Destiny touts an "online only" tag. That's alright though because if this game is done right, that may be a feature we don't even miss at all.
If Destiny has great shooter controls, fun encounters, a great story, and a well put together co-op and multiplayer mode, we should be set for a long time. Part of Bungie's plan with Destiny is to make sure there is fresh content every year from the launch through the next 10 years. So if the company can deliver on that kind of schedule, we should be in for one hell of an exciting ride.
The game is coming out for PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, and XBOX ONE. There was speculation that the game could hit holiday 2013 (and might for the current gen systems) but the rumblings as of right now say a 2014 release. Regardless of when it is, I know I am ready to forge my Destiny.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for news on upcoming titles like Destiny. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Blizzard Cuts Titan Team
It appears that Blizzard has cut their team working on new MMO "Titan" down to 30 people from 100. The project may be going back to square one. More info soon.
Opinion: Does Gaming Journalism Invent Scandal Just For Views?
Looking at my twitter feed sometimes disappoints me. So does facebook. Why? Because the twitters and facebooks (and websites for that matter) of many of the "credible game journalism sites" seem to drum up controversy where there really isn't any.
I saw an article called "Will the Kinect save the XBOX ONE"? The new XBOX needs to be saved? I wasn't aware of that, I better click on that article right away! There was one I saw today called "Will the XBOX ONE Be Region Locked?", like that is some kind of scandal. I don't care, this is not good journalism, its a pathetic attempt to keep the attention of the gaming community.
There is also a whole lot of articles that are "6 things you need to know about Game X" or "Top 10 gaffs at XBOX ONE reveal". People writing trash articles about things they have no information on in an attempt to keep an audience. I find this practice annoying because it crowds news and twitter feeds and makes the actual news harder to find. Do we really need a 12 page article on the new Destiny trailer? Do we really need a top 10 list of things from the new GTA V screenshot?
It seems the more controversial the article name the better these days too. "Is Kinect Spying On You?", "Does Microsoft Want To Destroy the Used Game Market", and other stuff like that are just catchy titles to get views. If you spend an hour online researching next gen consoles (XBOX ONE and PS4 for example) you will most certainly find your share of trash articles.
We here at Big Ups Gaming are trying to deliver news worthy news to gamers. We are not here to be the speculation train or the rumor mill. That isn't to say that rumors won't come up in articles but we will certainly let it be known that it is a rumor. In opinion articles we will talk about things we'd like to see in a game or in gaming in general. We do not believe in drumming up doomsday articles about your favorite games, platforms, or developers.
Let us know how you feel about this topic in the comments section below. Please stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all of your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
This Just In: Kinect News
It seems that while the Microsoft XBOX ONE will require the Kinect 2.0 to be connected to the system you will be able to turn it off. Article from IGN says "Kinect can be turned off, despite needing to be connected in order for the console to function".
The article is about a German Privacy Officials response to the XBOX ONE Kinect. It seems to me a bit of a paranoid response, but there are a few valid points made in the article.
I think it is a bit ridiculous to think that Microsoft really wants to "see into your living room". How much fun is it going to be to watch people play Dance Dance Revolution or Kinect Sports? And to what end? Would Microsoft really gamble the fate of its XBOX division (or possibly its company image period) on being able to watch you in your living room?
Here is a link to the IGN article. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/28/german-privacy-official-xbox-one-is-twisted-nightmare?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
The article is about a German Privacy Officials response to the XBOX ONE Kinect. It seems to me a bit of a paranoid response, but there are a few valid points made in the article.
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| Kinect 2.0 |
Here is a link to the IGN article. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/28/german-privacy-official-xbox-one-is-twisted-nightmare?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Win a Nvidia GeForce GTX660
Hit the link below to register to win a GeForce GTX660 and a copy of Metro: Last Light.
http://www.gamesradar.com/nvidia-graphics-card-giveaway/?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=emp
Contest ends June 14th 2013.
http://www.gamesradar.com/nvidia-graphics-card-giveaway/?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=emp
Contest ends June 14th 2013.
Deal Alert: Playstation Plus Deal
Get a free $10 PSN code when you buy 1 year of Playstation Plus from Gamestop. Offer expires 6/2/13
http://ht.ly/lnNtJ
Let Big Ups Gaming be your source for gaming deals news!
http://ht.ly/lnNtJ
Let Big Ups Gaming be your source for gaming deals news!
This Just In: Microsoft Chimes In on Indie Games
Don Mattrick said on the Indie Games question, "We're going to have an independent creator program, we're going to sponsor it. We're going to give people tools. We're going to give more information."
So it looks like we can put the Indie Game issue to rest, but as of right now "details pending".
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news!
Wolfenstein The New Order To Bring "Retro Shooter Mechanics to Modern Gaming"
Here we look quickly at Wolfenstein The New Order to see what is boiling up with the new shooter in the Wolfenstein lineage, brought forth by developer Starbreeze.
The new Wolfenstein promises retro shooter mechanics in a modern game setting. This does not seem appealing to me because when I think of "retro shooters" I think of things like gaming before mouse support was added to games or side scrollers like Contra that were super hard to play.
The new game will be set in an alternate reality in which the Nazi regime won WW2. The game promises to be both intense and moody at times, then bordering on ridiculous at others. What this means for the game we don't really know. If it is done properly (which no game in the series has done so far on any level, mostly feeling like past gen gameplay with a modern graphical coating) it could really give the franchise the boost it needs.
The only thing I could dig up as far as retro gameplay is concerned is that the main character's (BJ from all the other games) health will only regenerate to 20%. If you want to replenish his health or armor you will have to pick up the health and armor packs off the ground. I can't say that I've been longing for this mechanic to return to gaming, but we'll see how it shapes up.
As always feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
The new Wolfenstein promises retro shooter mechanics in a modern game setting. This does not seem appealing to me because when I think of "retro shooters" I think of things like gaming before mouse support was added to games or side scrollers like Contra that were super hard to play.
The new game will be set in an alternate reality in which the Nazi regime won WW2. The game promises to be both intense and moody at times, then bordering on ridiculous at others. What this means for the game we don't really know. If it is done properly (which no game in the series has done so far on any level, mostly feeling like past gen gameplay with a modern graphical coating) it could really give the franchise the boost it needs.
The only thing I could dig up as far as retro gameplay is concerned is that the main character's (BJ from all the other games) health will only regenerate to 20%. If you want to replenish his health or armor you will have to pick up the health and armor packs off the ground. I can't say that I've been longing for this mechanic to return to gaming, but we'll see how it shapes up.
As always feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Incoming: Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is probably one of the most anticipated games of 2013 and though it hasn't been released yet, it is sure to be among the front runners for GOTY. Lets dig into Rockstar's newest creation and see what there is to get excited about!
GTA V is a massive game! How massive is massive? Try 3.5 times the size of the playable area of Red Dead Redemption (5x the size if you count the new underwater areas). With all of the innovations that Grand Theft Auto 4 made we expect traversing this gargantuan landscape to be a breeze.
Next is the a piece of information that is probably the most well known tidbit about the game so far. GTA V will feature 3 playable characters which you will be able to take control of at any time in the game (most anytime at least, not sure if you can switch between characters in the middle of a mission). Rockstar made a comment at one point saying (I'm paraphrasing) "you never know what a character may be in the middle of when you take control of them". Sounds pretty interesting. To touch on the swapability during missions, it would be kind of cool if there will be missions with 2 or more of the lead characters where you have to swap between them to finish the mission. I'm interested to see how the game innovates in this area.
Who are these characters?
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| L-R Trevor, Franklin, and Michael. |
One of them is a rich guy named Michael. Michael is a former bank robber that is presently in the witness protection program. He lives the life of a bored rich man who seems to be longing for the excitement of his former life.
Next up is Franklin. He is a repo man who could be an active or former Grove Street gangsta. The impression I got of him from the trailer is that he might be trying to get out of the "gang banger" lifestyle.
Finally, we have Trevor. He is a borderline insane drug dealer who seems to get himself involved in endless amounts of "how the hell did this happen" situations. From his trailer alone I saw him kick someone out of a flying helicopter, smash a guy in the head with a baseball bat, blow up a monster truck that was seemingly trying to run him over, and much more. There was also a scene of him climbing over a railing near a river or lake, in his underwear.
Along with each character comes a unique special ability. Franklin can slow down time while driving, making him the ideal wheel man. This will make outmaneuvering the cops much more exciting! Michael basically has "bullet time" or the ability to slow down the action during firefights. This will be valuable when trying to shoot your way out of sticky situations. Finally, Trevor has a "rage mode" where he can dish out extra damage, soak up more damage, and offer a special melee attack. Each ability is sure to come in handy throughout your adventures.
There have been multiple upgrades to the games systems as well. The AI of the police and of the people of Los Santos have been polished to levels the likes we haven't seen in a GTA game yet. The way you lose the cops is different too. You won't just be driving out of a circle anymore. Now you have to find a good hiding spot and hope the cops don't find you. That could make police helicopters a game changer.
On top of that, the old minimap system has received an overhaul. Rockstar is reportedly still working on the overall design of the new system, but promises it will be the best map to date.
The game is rumored to have a massive amount of content. From mini games to side mission, you'll be hard pressed to find an area that doesn't have something fun to do in it. We mentioned that "under water area" earlier but we haven't expanded on that yet. There is a large area (off the coast, maybe some lakes too) where you can explore underwater. Exploring these areas starts with you obtaining a boat. Most (if not all) boats have scuba gear on board, allowing you easy means to get to the underwater parts. Not much is known about the underwater bits right now, but my imagination runs wild with all the things that could happen down there.
Along with the regular mission structure we've come to know and love in the series, the 3 main characters will focus on the new "heist" mechanic which are missions that are multi-part and have many different options for completing. Maybe in one large heist you need to steal some art or something. You could opt to just kick the doors in and kill anyone that offers resistance, or you could scope out some alternative entrances or even pay for some useful information for your operation. Choosing a disguise for the mission seems to be an option too. Dress up like an exterminator to gain access to a building, or figure out what masks to wear to knock off a bank. The possibilities are exciting and I can't wait to see it in action.
That about covers all the major parts of GTA V. September cannot come quickly enough, but I'm concerned that since it appears to be developed for XBOX 360, PS3, XBOX ONE, and PS4 that I may not be able to wait for the new generation of hardware before I buy this game.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Opinion: Is Always Online The Future of Gaming?
Lets tackle this hot topic in this article by looking at "Always Online" as a requirement for systems (henceforth known as AO) and the reasoning behind it as well as the pros and cons of it.
There was speculation at one time that the new generation of consoles would require an always on internet connection to function. The XBOX ONE is looking like it will need to access the internet at least once every 24 hours or it could interrupt the consoles functionality. Sony on the other hand said that they "didn't consider" an always online requirement. Here is a link to the article on NBC NEWS.
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/sony-didnt-consider-always-online-requirement-playstation-4-1C9849762
So we know going into this generation that there is going to be an AO requirement on one of the systems but not the other. Lets take a look at AO and investigate why it could be a good or bad thing.
The Pros
The pros of having a console with an AO requirement (and keep in mind that Microsoft though requiring an internet connection does not mean that if your internet goes out that you console will cease to work) means that your game software and console operating system (OS) will always be up to date. AO also means that the console could do this while you are not using it provided that when you turn it off it remains in a low power consumption (or standby) state.
Another pro, and not necessarily for gamers, is that it can provide online DRM (Digital Rights Management) to help counter software piracy. Countering piracy helps the game devs make the money they need to keep their business going and rewards them for their innovation and success. This can actually be counted as a con too, but we'll get to that.
Its ready to go when you are. Turning your console and not having to wait for it to connect to the internet will get you to the online gaming faster.
Background downloads are another convience of AO. Imagine being able to queue up a couple demos, videos, and apps before you go to bed and have them waiting for you in the morning when you wake up or the next time you turn on your console.
The Cons
There are several cons to an AO requirement. First and foremost is low income gamers. When money gets tight, internet is usually one of the first services to get cut. If your console won't work without an internet connection, you could be left with a several hundred dollar paperweight.
Second, if you don't have internet due to moving, an outage, or any other reason your service could stop functioning it could leave you without an option for entertainment.
To touch on what I was talking about earlier, DRM could be considered a con if it is used to lock games down completely. What does that mean? If you buy a game and you let your friend borrow it, when he puts it in his/her system, he/she could be prompted to buy a license to be able to play the game. How does the console know that that disc is owned by someone else? Online DRM from an AO required system.
Now that we've got some pros and cons out there, lets try to talk about how AO can help or hurt the industry.
Immediately what comes to mind about AO is that it alienates people that don't have internet or can't afford internet right off the bat. I had mentioned in the article about who Microsoft is trying to market their console to that at least 60% of their consoles have never been connected to the internet. Just by looking at that number you should be able to see why AO could have a negative response. Sure, some people will just suck it up and get internet, but others will look for an alternative to the AO product.
AO will help discourage and possibly even end piracy. There are many people out there that don't like this because they feel that games should be free. When games get downloaded and played for free, developers end up losing out on money that they can use to make future games. The "free to play" model is developed as an alternative but that is for another article.
There are some people out there that do have internet and are still opposed to the idea of AO. I'm not quite sure why that is but maybe they just don't like the idea that the console might not work if the connection to the internet is interrupted for any reason. I certainly have my concerns about it. Will I still be able to have LAN parties where no one is hooked up to the internet, but instead hooked up to a switch?
That leaves me to wonder if there is a contingency in the case of Microsoft, that if AO turns out to be something that hurts the console, could they "undo" it? AO is not going to turn me away from any console as of right now. If it turns out that it cripples the system or causes undesirable situations, I'll rethink my options then.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
There was speculation at one time that the new generation of consoles would require an always on internet connection to function. The XBOX ONE is looking like it will need to access the internet at least once every 24 hours or it could interrupt the consoles functionality. Sony on the other hand said that they "didn't consider" an always online requirement. Here is a link to the article on NBC NEWS.
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/sony-didnt-consider-always-online-requirement-playstation-4-1C9849762
So we know going into this generation that there is going to be an AO requirement on one of the systems but not the other. Lets take a look at AO and investigate why it could be a good or bad thing.
The Pros
The pros of having a console with an AO requirement (and keep in mind that Microsoft though requiring an internet connection does not mean that if your internet goes out that you console will cease to work) means that your game software and console operating system (OS) will always be up to date. AO also means that the console could do this while you are not using it provided that when you turn it off it remains in a low power consumption (or standby) state.
Another pro, and not necessarily for gamers, is that it can provide online DRM (Digital Rights Management) to help counter software piracy. Countering piracy helps the game devs make the money they need to keep their business going and rewards them for their innovation and success. This can actually be counted as a con too, but we'll get to that.
Its ready to go when you are. Turning your console and not having to wait for it to connect to the internet will get you to the online gaming faster.
Background downloads are another convience of AO. Imagine being able to queue up a couple demos, videos, and apps before you go to bed and have them waiting for you in the morning when you wake up or the next time you turn on your console.
The Cons
There are several cons to an AO requirement. First and foremost is low income gamers. When money gets tight, internet is usually one of the first services to get cut. If your console won't work without an internet connection, you could be left with a several hundred dollar paperweight.
Second, if you don't have internet due to moving, an outage, or any other reason your service could stop functioning it could leave you without an option for entertainment.
To touch on what I was talking about earlier, DRM could be considered a con if it is used to lock games down completely. What does that mean? If you buy a game and you let your friend borrow it, when he puts it in his/her system, he/she could be prompted to buy a license to be able to play the game. How does the console know that that disc is owned by someone else? Online DRM from an AO required system.
Now that we've got some pros and cons out there, lets try to talk about how AO can help or hurt the industry.
Immediately what comes to mind about AO is that it alienates people that don't have internet or can't afford internet right off the bat. I had mentioned in the article about who Microsoft is trying to market their console to that at least 60% of their consoles have never been connected to the internet. Just by looking at that number you should be able to see why AO could have a negative response. Sure, some people will just suck it up and get internet, but others will look for an alternative to the AO product.
AO will help discourage and possibly even end piracy. There are many people out there that don't like this because they feel that games should be free. When games get downloaded and played for free, developers end up losing out on money that they can use to make future games. The "free to play" model is developed as an alternative but that is for another article.
There are some people out there that do have internet and are still opposed to the idea of AO. I'm not quite sure why that is but maybe they just don't like the idea that the console might not work if the connection to the internet is interrupted for any reason. I certainly have my concerns about it. Will I still be able to have LAN parties where no one is hooked up to the internet, but instead hooked up to a switch?
That leaves me to wonder if there is a contingency in the case of Microsoft, that if AO turns out to be something that hurts the console, could they "undo" it? AO is not going to turn me away from any console as of right now. If it turns out that it cripples the system or causes undesirable situations, I'll rethink my options then.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
This Just In: XBOX ONE Game Cases
This isn't a huge bit of news but I pulled it from a twitter feed. If anyone cares, here is what XBOX ONE game cases should look like.
While this info may seem trivial to some, others will find it cool. Sometimes the smallest bit of information can seem monumental to someone that is hotly anticipating something.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for news as we get it. Subscribe and feel free to comment in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
 |
| Forza 5 for the XBOX ONE |
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for news as we get it. Subscribe and feel free to comment in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
Opinion: Is All-In-One Also One-For-All?
Time was a video game console was a device to play games. It wasn't a radio or a video player, it wasn't a means to store and search information nor was it a social networking device. It was simply a box that plugged into the t.v and allowed us to play the games developed for the system.
With this being said is it necessary for a gaming console to provide entertainment beyond playing games?
Will these applications sway a GAMER to buy one machine over the other?
Will this machine cause us to replace existing tablets, laptops, PCs, Macs, Video players and stereos for an all in one device?
I see the allure for console developers to get non gamers to buy their product: More money. Get the sports fan to buy because apps will allow to follow fantasy leagues during live sports events. Get the film buff to use it as a medium for viewing favorite and new movies or t.v series. Same with music and digital networking users. But are these things taking time and resources away from the very reason the game console exists?
Perhaps.
In my twenty three years of gaming it's safe to say a vast majority of my time on a console was dedicated to games, not movies, music and social networking. The problem I have with all the new bells and whistles is as follows:
Is the integration of these apps pushing the price up?
It would seem to me it would take a substantial amount of money to have the console play games as well as do everything most modern PCs do already. Surely this will factor into the final retail and it seems like a waste of consumer money if we don't want all the rest.
That's all I have to say on price points.
Moving on I feel like an all-in-one device is not needed with a system I bought for playing games. I will explain this best with an discussion about reading devices I had with some one.
The Kindle was just about to be mine. I was giddy with the thought of downloading the books I love and easily storing them in the palm of my hand instead of the heaps of heavy books crowding my small bedroom. This appealed even more after moving a small library of books nine times, from place to place, in a four year period. While pondering what Kindle I would purchase I spoke about it with my father-in-law. I told him I wanted the color version to also switch my magazine subscription over to digital compared to having mountains of paper cascading down the back of my toilet. He responded by telling me to get a Kindle Fire. "It does internet and movies and books and pictures and stuff!"
What?
It's a digital book reader that now plays movies?
Why? When I sit down to read I simply read. I want to lose myself in the pages and soak up it's words. I felt like all this other stuff would get in the way. So I didn't buy one at all. It had become something not appealing to me. With all that other stuff, additional applications, it begins to complicate things. Not in a sense of being hard to use, just it's not right there doing what it was made to do. Would I have to scroll through additional menus to get to the reading? Will I opt to mess around on the internet instead? Screw the book, watch the movie? They forgot the reason it was made. I could say this about most of the electronic devices we use today.
The same goes for the game consoles. I want GAMES. GAMES GAMES GAMES. I want to play them with friends, I want to play with random people, I want to play them on couch with my kids or wife and I want to play alone. Now all this other stuff is taking up space when I log on. My friends may be surfing or watching a movie or a bevy of other things that is not gaming. So now I turned it on to game and I might not be able to online because all my friends are doing something not game related. Sometimes we have different devices because a phone is for making calls, a video player is for playing videos and the game console is about playing games. We can't surf, play and watch at the same time, can we?
Maybe when the new systems come out I will eat my hat. I will fall to my knees shouting "Ye developer Gods be praised, for you answered all my entertainment needs all at once!" I could only hope and excitedly so. I just hope the implementation of all these things do not take away from Xbox/Playstation/Nintendo"s reason why we love them. THE GAMES!
Before I go I would like to explain why I feel this way going into the next generation. The emphasis on games is why I buy a console. Does it matter if these developers bring in an audience that would normally have not bought the product. I can't imagine that these non gamers would help the company give the gamers what they want. If this is what we want as gamers I guess we are being heard. The only thing I can say is games live or die by the perception of the people who play. Shouldn't this also be the same for the consoles we play games on. It seems to me no matter the fan base a game will do well if it is a good game. A game, no matter the licensing or content, will flop if it's not fun to play. I could use Iron Man games as example. Lots of people like the Iron Man movies and comics but the games did not do well because of flaws. So won't the Console do well by catering to gamers instead of those who aren't?
All this extra dressing around the games seems nice as long as it does not take precedent over games and gaming.
Happy gaming my friends. Man I said game/gaming/gamer a lot in this.
With this being said is it necessary for a gaming console to provide entertainment beyond playing games?
Will these applications sway a GAMER to buy one machine over the other?
Will this machine cause us to replace existing tablets, laptops, PCs, Macs, Video players and stereos for an all in one device?
I see the allure for console developers to get non gamers to buy their product: More money. Get the sports fan to buy because apps will allow to follow fantasy leagues during live sports events. Get the film buff to use it as a medium for viewing favorite and new movies or t.v series. Same with music and digital networking users. But are these things taking time and resources away from the very reason the game console exists?
Perhaps.
In my twenty three years of gaming it's safe to say a vast majority of my time on a console was dedicated to games, not movies, music and social networking. The problem I have with all the new bells and whistles is as follows:
Is the integration of these apps pushing the price up?
It would seem to me it would take a substantial amount of money to have the console play games as well as do everything most modern PCs do already. Surely this will factor into the final retail and it seems like a waste of consumer money if we don't want all the rest.
That's all I have to say on price points.
Moving on I feel like an all-in-one device is not needed with a system I bought for playing games. I will explain this best with an discussion about reading devices I had with some one.
The Kindle was just about to be mine. I was giddy with the thought of downloading the books I love and easily storing them in the palm of my hand instead of the heaps of heavy books crowding my small bedroom. This appealed even more after moving a small library of books nine times, from place to place, in a four year period. While pondering what Kindle I would purchase I spoke about it with my father-in-law. I told him I wanted the color version to also switch my magazine subscription over to digital compared to having mountains of paper cascading down the back of my toilet. He responded by telling me to get a Kindle Fire. "It does internet and movies and books and pictures and stuff!"
What?
It's a digital book reader that now plays movies?
Why? When I sit down to read I simply read. I want to lose myself in the pages and soak up it's words. I felt like all this other stuff would get in the way. So I didn't buy one at all. It had become something not appealing to me. With all that other stuff, additional applications, it begins to complicate things. Not in a sense of being hard to use, just it's not right there doing what it was made to do. Would I have to scroll through additional menus to get to the reading? Will I opt to mess around on the internet instead? Screw the book, watch the movie? They forgot the reason it was made. I could say this about most of the electronic devices we use today.
The same goes for the game consoles. I want GAMES. GAMES GAMES GAMES. I want to play them with friends, I want to play with random people, I want to play them on couch with my kids or wife and I want to play alone. Now all this other stuff is taking up space when I log on. My friends may be surfing or watching a movie or a bevy of other things that is not gaming. So now I turned it on to game and I might not be able to online because all my friends are doing something not game related. Sometimes we have different devices because a phone is for making calls, a video player is for playing videos and the game console is about playing games. We can't surf, play and watch at the same time, can we?
Maybe when the new systems come out I will eat my hat. I will fall to my knees shouting "Ye developer Gods be praised, for you answered all my entertainment needs all at once!" I could only hope and excitedly so. I just hope the implementation of all these things do not take away from Xbox/Playstation/Nintendo"s reason why we love them. THE GAMES!
Before I go I would like to explain why I feel this way going into the next generation. The emphasis on games is why I buy a console. Does it matter if these developers bring in an audience that would normally have not bought the product. I can't imagine that these non gamers would help the company give the gamers what they want. If this is what we want as gamers I guess we are being heard. The only thing I can say is games live or die by the perception of the people who play. Shouldn't this also be the same for the consoles we play games on. It seems to me no matter the fan base a game will do well if it is a good game. A game, no matter the licensing or content, will flop if it's not fun to play. I could use Iron Man games as example. Lots of people like the Iron Man movies and comics but the games did not do well because of flaws. So won't the Console do well by catering to gamers instead of those who aren't?
All this extra dressing around the games seems nice as long as it does not take precedent over games and gaming.
Happy gaming my friends. Man I said game/gaming/gamer a lot in this.
Max Payne 3 & Red Dead Redemption Triple XP Weekend Underway
Earn triple XP in Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption now until Tuesday!
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| Max Payne 3 |
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| Red Dead Redemption |
New Poll On Our Sidebar
If you get a chance as you are exploring the blog, answer the sidebar poll about the XBOX ONE.
Its over there ----->
You probably won't see it on mobile.
Its over there ----->
You probably won't see it on mobile.
Full Review: Gears of War Judgement
Gears of War Judgment is the fourth and probably last installment of the series for Xbox 360. This title took some small departures from the first three and introduced new controls and game modes. Being the first outing of the Gears series by People Can Fly all I have to say is it's a mixed bag for sure whether this is the best of the series. I know some people loved it and some people (my wife) hated on it a soon as it was known that they would change a few things.
In the beginning we see Damon Baird and company in hand cuffs being hauled into a COG courthouse among the wreckage of a city we can only assume was steamrolled by the grubs. Kilo squad messed up for sure and bad enough that a death sentence is being considered. The story plays out as each member of Kilo tell their story of what happened and why they chose to use the light mass missile against strict orders not to. It starts with Baird's testimony and moves to each member in turn.
Gears of War Judgement at it's core is much like the rest of the series: intense gun fights, amazing visuals, tight controls and sound that is expected from the guys at Epic Games. There are some changes to the controls, however, that I feel were for the best. No longer do you switch between weapons with the d-pad clearing up some of the "Whoops, wrong gun" moments in previous games. The Y button swaps between the two weapons you can carry.This is a nice change but not at the expense of no longer carrying a side arm as a third weapon.
My favorite change to the control is no longer having to equip a grenade as a weapon before you can aim and throw. This is now done by holding LB and releasing after proffered targeting is achieved. A quick tap will blind throw the grenade to great effect if used on large groups in close proximity to your character. Also you can grenade tag walls and enemies by holding the button and pressing B. It merits to note that the tac/com is now the D-pad.
The visuals as I said are about on par for the series with a few smoother textures and characters models that look sharp. I have noticed that the overall character design is slightly different from Gears 3 but not much to complain about. It's nice to see the continuation of more vibrant colors and vastly different set pieces from scene to scene. But coming from Unreal Engine how wrong could they go with the leaders of gaming engines. The sound is great in Judgment, from the fowl mouthed shouts to gun fire. Everything sounds believable and the louder the better. I will say I did not enjoy the soundtrack as much as in previous titles.
In my tour of Judgment I fought chaotic battles that really made you think on the fly and use tactics that vary from shoot and run, cover your butt and adapt to unconventional battles as far as the norm for the series. You fight from roof tops to city streets and everywhere between. I was relieved to not find myself underground in this title feeling like they have fully explored that before extensively. In the game you will come across declassified missions that you can opt to challenge or avoid. Accepting these game changers award you with higher scores for your kills unlocking characters and weapon skins to use in multiplayer. I felt like the game shined during these parts when it was utilized to it's fullest. One particular Declassified mission had you fight mostly melee class grubs while the room was filled with sight limiting smoke. Forget shooting and break out those chainsaw bayonets. The blood will fly and fun will be had. I died a lot at parts like this.
This leads me to my next favorite thing about Gears of War Judgment: the spawn system for enemies. No longer will you be fighting the same group of enemies at each encounter. This is done similarily to the Director from Left 4 Dead. Enemy types will change each time whether you are reloading from death or playing through again. I think this type of game play should be the norm from now on in the series, keeping things fresh and changing up tactics every time you play. The only time the same adversary will pop up is if it's scripted or specific to the Declassified.
Gears of War Judgment is far from a bad title or even mediocre, but there is something to be desired from this newest outing. Where is the vehicle segment, the on rails segment and why is there no horde mode? These things held the title back from the excellence the series has achieved. This was also reflected in the sales of the series, the game selling far less than it's predecessors. All in all though, there is fun to be had with Judgment, the minor hiccups of story or depth shouldn't turn you away if you like shooters or if you are a long time fan. I give this game an 8 out of ten.
Multiplayer review to come. Happy gaming my friends.
Incoming: Deadpool
Coming June 25th is High Moon Studio's Deadpool published by Activision. This game is on the radar of the loyal fan base of Deadpool and most comic fans that also love games. The best part is this game is being made by the people who did a great job with Transformers War for Cybertron and the sequel Fall of Cybertron. I have high hopes for this one in regards to the titles they have already put much effort into. Also the nifty fifty dollar price point doesn't hurt.
I personally can't wait for this title. I had it paid off before a street date was ever known. I've heard the game play is akin to Devil May Cry, using melee and long range (guns) in tandem to make combos. I've so far seen Deadpool silently kill as well as hack and slash his way through levels. As long as the controls are tight and the focus on humor is done correctly I don't see how High Moon could go wrong with this one.
I will be doing a full review on this title after it's release so stay tuned to find out.
Happy gaming my friends.
I personally can't wait for this title. I had it paid off before a street date was ever known. I've heard the game play is akin to Devil May Cry, using melee and long range (guns) in tandem to make combos. I've so far seen Deadpool silently kill as well as hack and slash his way through levels. As long as the controls are tight and the focus on humor is done correctly I don't see how High Moon could go wrong with this one.
Happy gaming my friends.
Opinion: A Gamer's Perspective of What Makes A Game Great
All video games have a few things in common. Graphics, controls, story, sound and content. Content for me is what the game offers such as rewards, secrets and items/weapons that are used in the game. When all these things come together it makes a game, when done amazingly it creates an experience.
All these things are paramount to the gaming experience, but after the beautiful graphics, the awesome sound, the satisfying story and great game play what is left? An ending screen with congratulations? That's not enough for me. Not by a long shot.
What I think is important is the duration of the game and whether or not I will play through again. Will I keep picking up the controller to shoot my friends in the face? Will I truck through that story or campaign again? Will it be worth it to do over and over? Sometimes yes and most times no, for me at least.
Giving me a harder difficulty is not enough for me to go again, nor is the achievement that is attached to said difficulty. I want rewards, I want new loot, new levels, new skins. I want more. Some games give us this. Borderlands 2, Bayonetta and Halo Reach/4 are all good examples. These I will use, I don't have the time to include them all. If you think of another, comment and share your story, tell me what was awesome. Maybe it will be the next game I play and truly enjoy beyond the regular experience.
In Borderlands 2 once you beat the game you unlock True Vault Hunter Mode. This mode sports new enemy variants as well as stronger versions of weapons. Then after that you get Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. Which boasts not only tougher enemies and better loot, but new loot for the missions you finish. This gives me reason to keep searching the Borderlands. Always unlocking new weapons and skins, finding something new, tackling a new enemy variant, this all makes it fun to come back.
Bayonetta was another one that astounded me. Every difficulty finished (From normal on up) rewarded you with a new weapon. There was always a new costume to unlock or move to purchase. The staggering amount of weapons alone was enough for me. But it didn't end there. You can unlock two other playable characters who have weapon variations, different mods for the default costume, mini games and secret boss fights. It's like the game never really ended after the story concluded. Not only did you have the weapons that you kept in your inventory but there was a good amount of limited use weapons that you pick up from dead enemies. All this made me come back for more. I have maxed the timer out on the game, it reads 99:99 And I bet it would have done that twice by now.
Halo Reach and 4 also gave me more reason to come back. The character building in that, all the helmets, chest pieces and shoulder pads you can unlock. I would kill fellow Spartans by the genocide load to get that Emile helmet.
All these things I have discussed should be the precedent for video games. There should be more to replay value than just the multiplayer or difficulty levels. Bayonetta did all this with no DLC so a developer should keep this in mind with the core game or later DLC expansions and updates. I hope this will help someone look at games differently, maybe some one getting ready to build their own. And hopefully we will have more titles that go above and beyond the reward of playing.
Happy gaming my friends
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| Halo Reach Armory |
What I think is important is the duration of the game and whether or not I will play through again. Will I keep picking up the controller to shoot my friends in the face? Will I truck through that story or campaign again? Will it be worth it to do over and over? Sometimes yes and most times no, for me at least.
Giving me a harder difficulty is not enough for me to go again, nor is the achievement that is attached to said difficulty. I want rewards, I want new loot, new levels, new skins. I want more. Some games give us this. Borderlands 2, Bayonetta and Halo Reach/4 are all good examples. These I will use, I don't have the time to include them all. If you think of another, comment and share your story, tell me what was awesome. Maybe it will be the next game I play and truly enjoy beyond the regular experience.
In Borderlands 2 once you beat the game you unlock True Vault Hunter Mode. This mode sports new enemy variants as well as stronger versions of weapons. Then after that you get Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. Which boasts not only tougher enemies and better loot, but new loot for the missions you finish. This gives me reason to keep searching the Borderlands. Always unlocking new weapons and skins, finding something new, tackling a new enemy variant, this all makes it fun to come back.
Bayonetta was another one that astounded me. Every difficulty finished (From normal on up) rewarded you with a new weapon. There was always a new costume to unlock or move to purchase. The staggering amount of weapons alone was enough for me. But it didn't end there. You can unlock two other playable characters who have weapon variations, different mods for the default costume, mini games and secret boss fights. It's like the game never really ended after the story concluded. Not only did you have the weapons that you kept in your inventory but there was a good amount of limited use weapons that you pick up from dead enemies. All this made me come back for more. I have maxed the timer out on the game, it reads 99:99 And I bet it would have done that twice by now.
Halo Reach and 4 also gave me more reason to come back. The character building in that, all the helmets, chest pieces and shoulder pads you can unlock. I would kill fellow Spartans by the genocide load to get that Emile helmet.
All these things I have discussed should be the precedent for video games. There should be more to replay value than just the multiplayer or difficulty levels. Bayonetta did all this with no DLC so a developer should keep this in mind with the core game or later DLC expansions and updates. I hope this will help someone look at games differently, maybe some one getting ready to build their own. And hopefully we will have more titles that go above and beyond the reward of playing.
Happy gaming my friends
This Just In: Microsoft to Support XBOX 360 For At Least 5 More Years
News coming in about Microsoft not willing to abandon the XBOX 360 even though the XBOX ONE is slated to hit stores this fall.
Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi says about the five year plan, "That's something we're shooting for, it's not a financial plan as such, it's just rough numbers if you will, To sell another 25 million, half of those will probably come from replacements, but half will come from new buyers."
That leaves me to wonder how much developers will support the XBOX 360 once the new console is released. If the devs continue to release games for it, I could see the XBOX 360 lasting quite a while into the future, but a lack of support from devs could cause it to flicker out.
Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section below.
Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi says about the five year plan, "That's something we're shooting for, it's not a financial plan as such, it's just rough numbers if you will, To sell another 25 million, half of those will probably come from replacements, but half will come from new buyers."
That leaves me to wonder how much developers will support the XBOX 360 once the new console is released. If the devs continue to release games for it, I could see the XBOX 360 lasting quite a while into the future, but a lack of support from devs could cause it to flicker out.
Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section below.
Deal Alert: Halo 4 For $25.00 From Amazon Today!
The folks over at Amazon have a Saturday Deal going on that offers Halo 4 for a low low $25.00. If you don't already own a copy of the latest Halo game, there has never been a better time to buy! Head on over by clicking this link! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050SYX8W?tag=-10-15-20
Where are Final Fantasy Versus 13 and Kingdom Hearts 3?
Final Fantasy Versus 13 and Kingdom Hearts 3 have to be 2 of the most highly anticipated games in the fantasy series for the PS3 and they have been in limbo for quite some time. Lets take a look at the state of these games and when we may expect them to be coming.
We know just from the information out there that FFVS13 has been in a playable state for a long time now. As of an April, a statement from Tetsuya Nomura says this:
"We've been silent for the past year, but we've already picked a day to announce specific info. Bit by bit, we are in the process of getting ready for that."
Is he talking about E3? Perhaps.
FFVS13 was announced in May of 2006 and the game is still not out a full 7 years later. That begs the question of whether or not it will ever see the light of day. I think it is probably safe to say that if we do not hear about a release date for the game at E3 this year that it means that FFVS13 may be pushed back for release on the PS4. Lets hope that isn't the case. There is really no excuse for a 7+ year dev cycle and no concrete date for release.
Moving on, the next order of business is Kingdom Hearts III. From everything I've been able to garner from the internet, SquareEnix has not even started development of this title yet. There were multiple interviews with Tetsuya Nomura that say that Disney has approached them about KHIII, but he is unable to start work on the game until FFVS13 ships.
So the long and short of Kingdom Hearts III is that you shouldn't hold your breath. It will almost certainly be a PS4 title when and if it even gets developed. I really hope they do make Kingdom Hearts 3 and the fact that Disney as acquired Star Wars makes the thought of a KHIII even more appealing. Here's to hoping that we see that in the upcoming generation!
Let us know what you think about the delay of Final Fantasy Versus 13 and the potential for a Kingdom Hearts 3 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this! Thank for reading!
We know just from the information out there that FFVS13 has been in a playable state for a long time now. As of an April, a statement from Tetsuya Nomura says this:
"We've been silent for the past year, but we've already picked a day to announce specific info. Bit by bit, we are in the process of getting ready for that."
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| Final Fantasy Versus 13 |
FFVS13 was announced in May of 2006 and the game is still not out a full 7 years later. That begs the question of whether or not it will ever see the light of day. I think it is probably safe to say that if we do not hear about a release date for the game at E3 this year that it means that FFVS13 may be pushed back for release on the PS4. Lets hope that isn't the case. There is really no excuse for a 7+ year dev cycle and no concrete date for release.
Moving on, the next order of business is Kingdom Hearts III. From everything I've been able to garner from the internet, SquareEnix has not even started development of this title yet. There were multiple interviews with Tetsuya Nomura that say that Disney has approached them about KHIII, but he is unable to start work on the game until FFVS13 ships.
So the long and short of Kingdom Hearts III is that you shouldn't hold your breath. It will almost certainly be a PS4 title when and if it even gets developed. I really hope they do make Kingdom Hearts 3 and the fact that Disney as acquired Star Wars makes the thought of a KHIII even more appealing. Here's to hoping that we see that in the upcoming generation!
Let us know what you think about the delay of Final Fantasy Versus 13 and the potential for a Kingdom Hearts 3 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this! Thank for reading!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Call of Duty Black Ops II Revolution Map Pack Free Trial Weekend!
In an email from Call of Duty devs I was told I could preview the new Revolution Map Pack for free from 5/24 to 5/28.
If you are interested in doing this, just pop in your copy of Black Ops II and go to the in game store and select "Revolution Free Trial" and it will allow you to download the map pack free of charge so you can start playing now and it will last until Tuesday 10am PST.
If you were looking for something to do this weekend, maybe Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is an option!
We're glad we could bring you this news, stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming because you never know what kind of cool stuff you can find out! Thanks for reading!
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| Call of Duty Black Ops II Revolution |
If you are interested in doing this, just pop in your copy of Black Ops II and go to the in game store and select "Revolution Free Trial" and it will allow you to download the map pack free of charge so you can start playing now and it will last until Tuesday 10am PST.
If you were looking for something to do this weekend, maybe Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is an option!
We're glad we could bring you this news, stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming because you never know what kind of cool stuff you can find out! Thanks for reading!
XBOX ONE Controller Buttons
Since the XBOX ONE reveal event on Tuesday there have been questions about where the "START" and "BACK" buttons have gone and what these strange new buttons are. Microsoft has broken the silence on what these buttons are called and what they do.
The button that has taken place of the "BACK" button is going to be known as the "VIEW" button. This button will likely be used to swap between multi-tasked programs, and could also be used to open a map in game, or anything else a developer should program it to do. The context of this button will depend greatly on what you are using at the time.
Next is the "MENU" button, which resides where the old "START" button used to. This button will be largely contextual and can function to bring up menus, controls for functions you are using, etc. This button will likely be programmable by devs as well to serve different functions in their games.
Now that these buttons have been explained (kind of) we have that much more knowledge of what the new XBOX holds in store for us.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your gaming news! Thanks for reading!
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| XBOX ONE Controller features "View" button on the center left and "Menu" button on the center right. |
The button that has taken place of the "BACK" button is going to be known as the "VIEW" button. This button will likely be used to swap between multi-tasked programs, and could also be used to open a map in game, or anything else a developer should program it to do. The context of this button will depend greatly on what you are using at the time.
Next is the "MENU" button, which resides where the old "START" button used to. This button will be largely contextual and can function to bring up menus, controls for functions you are using, etc. This button will likely be programmable by devs as well to serve different functions in their games.
Now that these buttons have been explained (kind of) we have that much more knowledge of what the new XBOX holds in store for us.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for your gaming news! Thanks for reading!
This Just In: Microsoft Testing Siri-Like Feature For XBOX ONE
It appears that Microsoft is developing a feature for XBOX ONE that is like Siri for iPhone. In other words, your XBOX ONE may be able to talk to you. A tweet from Gamespot was the source for this news. How it will work and in what capacity remains to be seen, but the news is intriguing.
In other news, Microsoft also says that they are working on a function that will enable your to hand the controls of your game off to another online friend. This could come in handy if you can't pass a certain part of a game and your friend volunteers to do it for you.
Neither of these features are confirmed, but it is known that they are being tested at this time.
Source from tweet from Gamespot.
"The Xbox One can talk, has option to allow friends to take over gameplay - Report. http://www.gamespot.com/6408871 "
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
In other news, Microsoft also says that they are working on a function that will enable your to hand the controls of your game off to another online friend. This could come in handy if you can't pass a certain part of a game and your friend volunteers to do it for you.
Neither of these features are confirmed, but it is known that they are being tested at this time.
Source from tweet from Gamespot.
"The Xbox One can talk, has option to allow friends to take over gameplay - Report. http://www.gamespot.com/6408871 "
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
This Just In: Sony Confirms 2013 Launch For PS4 In The UK
A statement from metro.co.uk states:
"Now is the time. The world’s greatest players are going to entertain, create and amaze on the ultimate stage. This year a new generation will push the boundaries of play and share in moments of wonder. This year players will become legends."
This is good news for the UK and probably for Europe as they were left to wonder if the PS4 would hit shelves this year.
Here is the source. http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/24/metro-confirms-playstation-4-is-out-2013-in-the-uk-3807336/
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
"Now is the time. The world’s greatest players are going to entertain, create and amaze on the ultimate stage. This year a new generation will push the boundaries of play and share in moments of wonder. This year players will become legends."
This is good news for the UK and probably for Europe as they were left to wonder if the PS4 would hit shelves this year.
Here is the source. http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/24/metro-confirms-playstation-4-is-out-2013-in-the-uk-3807336/
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking gaming news! Thanks for reading!
This Just In: Microsoft Chimes In On Used Games
This quote is coming directly from www.majornelson.com and reads as follows.
"The ability to trade in and resell games is important to gamers and to Xbox. Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games. Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future."
This certainly changes things, but how exactly is still a mystery.
Read the source material here. http://majornelson.com/2013/05/24/xbox-one-and-used-games-2/
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for breaking news like this! Thanks for reading!
"The ability to trade in and resell games is important to gamers and to Xbox. Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games. Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future."
This certainly changes things, but how exactly is still a mystery.
Read the source material here. http://majornelson.com/2013/05/24/xbox-one-and-used-games-2/
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Opinion: Is Final Fantasy Due For A Reboot?
The Final Fantasy series is one of my favorite series of games of all time. The stories up to about FFX were really good, the gameplay was great, and the characters were amazing. Somewhere along the line SquareEnix lost a bit of what Final Fantasy (or FF) is.
I didn't get in on Final Fantasy from the first game like many people have, but I go back quite a fair bit with that game. There was one that I played on the Super Nintendo, but I don't remember which one it was anymore. I do remember that it was really fun though.
Final Fantasy really evolved into something special with the release of FFXII on the Sony Playstation. Never before had I had a gaming experience like it, the story was so robust, the characters memorable, and the world fantastic. The battle system was all about strategy and weighing your options; Can I attack one more time or should I heal now? I know this guy is almost dead, should I hit him again or resurrect my fallen teammate? These situations are what really added the fun to the game.
FFVIII was a little bit weird. The characters were cool but they were made to be much more realistic which I find to be a little inappropriate for the FF series. It is a fantasy game and I really like it when the developer latches onto that with the whimsical characters and lands. The magic system kind of turned me off as well because you had to use the "Draw" feature to stockpile magic from enemies, but the reasoning for that was how the junctioning system worked for developing your characters throughout the game.
Then FFIX came out (FF9). This is by far my favorite of the entire series because for me it had the best story, best characters, and I had the most fun of the 9 FF titles I've played. Every system in the game was well thought out and executed. The end boss battles of the game get a little weird but I thought the actual ending of the game was the best of the series also.
At this point I could continue breaking down every single game as they go, but instead I will just tell you about things I thought worked and where I think SquareEnix is getting it wrong.
The battle system in FFX was the most perfect battle system ever. It let you swap weapons, armor, and party members out during combat, it didn't have the ATB (Active Time Battle) system but instead had a true turn based system. You could see along the side of the screen (see picture below) the order of turns and could plan your moves accordingly.
I didn't get in on Final Fantasy from the first game like many people have, but I go back quite a fair bit with that game. There was one that I played on the Super Nintendo, but I don't remember which one it was anymore. I do remember that it was really fun though.
 |
| Final Fantasy VII |
Final Fantasy really evolved into something special with the release of FFXII on the Sony Playstation. Never before had I had a gaming experience like it, the story was so robust, the characters memorable, and the world fantastic. The battle system was all about strategy and weighing your options; Can I attack one more time or should I heal now? I know this guy is almost dead, should I hit him again or resurrect my fallen teammate? These situations are what really added the fun to the game.
FFVIII was a little bit weird. The characters were cool but they were made to be much more realistic which I find to be a little inappropriate for the FF series. It is a fantasy game and I really like it when the developer latches onto that with the whimsical characters and lands. The magic system kind of turned me off as well because you had to use the "Draw" feature to stockpile magic from enemies, but the reasoning for that was how the junctioning system worked for developing your characters throughout the game.
 |
| Final Fantasy VIII |
Then FFIX came out (FF9). This is by far my favorite of the entire series because for me it had the best story, best characters, and I had the most fun of the 9 FF titles I've played. Every system in the game was well thought out and executed. The end boss battles of the game get a little weird but I thought the actual ending of the game was the best of the series also.
 |
| Final Fantasy IX |
At this point I could continue breaking down every single game as they go, but instead I will just tell you about things I thought worked and where I think SquareEnix is getting it wrong.
The battle system in FFX was the most perfect battle system ever. It let you swap weapons, armor, and party members out during combat, it didn't have the ATB (Active Time Battle) system but instead had a true turn based system. You could see along the side of the screen (see picture below) the order of turns and could plan your moves accordingly.
In FFXII (we'll skip 11 because it was an MMO game and not really part of the series), they tried to take this automated approach to the battle system. I still played the entire game but I have to say that the actual battles were less fun than in previous games. The "Gambit System" was kind of fun to set up, it was the system in which you could issue and prioritize the actions that your characters would take in battle, but overall it made me wish for the old battle systems from the past games.
FFXIII (13) introduced this new fangled ATB system that was just weird. Don't get me wrong though it was plenty functional but they took the emphasis off of thinking about what you were going to do and placed it more on doing things quickly without much thinking. This turned off many fans of the franchise including myself. I still played through it and beat it, but had considerably less fun.
Another thing that irritated me about FFX and FFXIII were that the game just felt like it was on rails. There was absolutely no real sense of exploration. Granted, there is really no such thing as an "open world" FF game, you still have to do everything in order, but with FFX and FFXIII I felt like I walked down an endless hallway to the end of the game. In FFVII (7) through FFIX (9) and including FFXII (12) to some extent, I felt there was a sense of exploration. Yes, there was only one place you could go to advance the story, but you had to look for it. That is part of FF that I miss right now.
One other area that SquareEnix has been driving me crazy is in the story department. FFXIII is a disjointed weird tale that I never really grasped at all through my 40 hour playthrough. FFX had some strange bits too, but overall the story made sense. It seems to me that the mantra at SquareEnix is that the story no longer has to make sense as long as it seems all deep and philosophical.
So how can SquareEnix make the FF series better going forward?
First of all they can focus on bringing a well told story to the table again. I will never forget how I felt about the stories of FFVII and FFIX. Those were some of the best stories in gaming ever from my perspective.
Secondly, they can reevaluate the battle system. I know that peoples tastes change over time but I really think that the strategic element is something that most people would find attractive in the game.
Third, the character development systems need some work, the sphere grid and the weird board things are confusing and not really much fun to work with. I really enjoyed the system from FFIX where each weapon, armor, and accessory could teach you skills and magic just from wearing it, of the FFVII materia system which was an absolute masterpiece.
If SquareEnix takes a look back at what all the FF games did right and what all the fans really loved, and concentrated on that going forward I think they could breath life back into a franchise that seems lost at the moment. Also, they should probably stay away from direct sequels because FFX-2 and FFXIII-2 were both pretty bad.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one! Thanks for reading!
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