Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
| The video game industry has gone from a mole hill to a mountain in no time flat, Chris DiMarco is your Sherpa as you endeavor to scale Mount “Everquest”

December 2015

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2016 in Gaming: The Look Ahead

December 30, 2015

Here we are once again, gamers...it's almost the end of the year--hat tip to our boys Sifl and Olly, God rest their insane argyle souls--and as such, it's time to take a look at the games and other developments that have me on the edge of my seat ahead of 2016. It's looking like it'll be a bang-up year in gaming, so settle in, because we're going to check out some exciting stuff to come.

VR

Man, if this wasn't the biggest sack of news to slam into us this year. With the Oculus Rift finally poised for a 2016 first quarter release, it's only a matter of time until all the other biggies like PlayStation VR arrive as well. While we're still not a hundred percent sure on exactly when or for what systems, its arrival on the gaming scene will fundamentally alter gaming as we know it.



2015 Year in Gaming Review

December 29, 2015

Well, this is just about it for 2015, and man, it was quite the year. We had some big name material come out, and some very strange things in general happen. So with 2015 drawing to a close, I figured I'd take a look back at the year and point out some of the nifty, some of the weird, and some of the things I'd rather not have seen this year.

Konami

You can't talk about a year in gaming without talking about Konami, a company that reports suggest is run much in the same way some prisons are run that decided it was a smart business decision to alienate and humiliate its biggest creative force. From its dustup with Hideo Kojima that lasted most of the year--with a crowning point hitting at the 2015 Game Awards show when it refused to let Kojima accept the award for the game he had a huge hand in developing--to the revelation that it didn't have much in the way of titles in the pipeline and were likely to be putting more attention on the pachinko machines and other gaming properties.



The Fallout Development Cycle: Is Bifurcated Best?

December 23, 2015

Recently I saw a video online from a gent named Mr. Matty. His channel, Mr. Matty Plays, advanced the notion that maybe Bethesda should stop developing Fallout games. While he wasn't exactly in favor of this notion, I found some value in it...if only on a limited basis.

Stick with me on this one, folks, because it's kind of a doozy. There's one thing I've noticed about the most recent round of Fallout game development.

When Gaming Goes Too Far: The Russian Fallout 4 Lawsuit

December 22, 2015

Today, I spotted yet another piece of news related to Fallout 4, but a piece that wasn't about the game itself. Instead, it was about one man's reaction to Fallout 4, and one that illustrated specific matters in gaming itself.

The man in question--a 28 year old man from Krashnoyarsk--noted that Fallout 4 proved to be so addictive that he lost his job, his wife, and his friends all thanks to his play. He picked up the game not long after launch, planning to play a little bit each week, a couple nights or so. This plan quickly went by the wayside as the man found himself on a three-week bender that got him fired from his job, prompted his wife to leave him, and even gave him a few health problems related to his not eating or sleeping as he should have.

That's All He Can Stands: Kojima Ready to Open New Studio

December 21, 2015

And just like that, Konami's less than professional behavior comes back to bite it as it gets a new competitor. Hideo Kojima, easily one of the most put upon game directors out there, has formally exited Konami and started his own studio, with its first development target being no less than Sony itself.

The new studio will be staffed by an as-yet-uncounted number of Kojima Productions staffers, and Sony is already in talks with the new studio to start getting product on its systems. Sounds like a great plan, though I'm not sure why Kojima is effectively ignoring a hefty chunk of the game market by not having similar talks with Microsoft. At least, not yet; those talks could well be forthcoming and we just haven't heard about them yet.

This whole thing has been a mess right from the word go, and I'm glad to see it reach this point if for no other reason than it's no longer a catastrophic mess.



The Easiest Way to be a WWE Wrestler Ever

December 16, 2015

Have you ever harbored secret fantasies of being a WWE wrestler? If you have, you're likely not alone, but the thought of bulking up to that degree and learning that much about stunt work and drama likely puts it out of the picture for most of us. At least, until WWE 2K16, which allows you to physically, literally, insert yourself into the game...if only your face.

WWE 2K16 comes with a Creation Studio app that allows users to take a picture of themselves and insert that picture into a game to use on a wrestler template. A logo capture function allows for the introduction of things like specific billboards, show logos, tattoos, arena decals and more.

DOTA 2 Frankfurt Tourney Commands Hefty Live Price Tag

December 15, 2015

It's the biggest DOTA 2 tournament in Europe: the ESL One Frankfurt DOTA 2 tournament. The third such tourney is about to be held this coming June, and word about the tourney's specifics is already starting to come out. You won't believe the prices to catch this live, but even if you don't have that kind of cash, worry not; options for seeing DOTA 2 in action will abound.

First, the prize pool; this year, the prizes add up to a not-insubstantial $250,000, which is well worth it for anyone in on the action. Those interested in catching the event will be able to shell out 29 euros for tickets starting December 17, which will be an as-yet-undetermined amount in US dollars as exchange rates fluctuate semi-minutely.

Ready for Ark: Survival Evolved on Xbox One?

December 14, 2015

Ever since I heard about this, and saw plenty of Let's Play footage and other such images show up online, I've had a clear hankering for Ark: Survival Evolved on Xbox One. It's no Fallout 4, but this interesting combination of Minecraft-style building and first-person shooter glee should be quite the ride. New details have recently emerged about when this will be coming out, and when it will be out just a little early.

The final versions for console and PC alike are due out in June 2016, but there was already plenty of early access treatment for PC gamers. Xbox One, meanwhile, will also be getting an early taste, and a lot sooner than expected. Get out your wallets, those of you who aren't broke from Christmas shopping, because you'll be able to get in on the mining, dino riding fun starting December 16.

Fallout 4's First Patch Arrives

December 9, 2015

Good news for Fallout 4 fans who are still enjoying the game as much as I am; the first patch has emerged, and it won't even be particularly demanding on the download front. So far, said patch weighs in at 505 megabytes, a reasonably hefty half-gig that will bring a slate of benefits along for the ride. When I downloaded it it came in at 464 megabytes on Xbox One, so sizes may vary.

The patch in question offers several fixes; anyone who's been getting stuck in terminals will welcome this one, as well as anyone who had troubles jumping in water, or playing the "When Freedom Calls" quest. Other "general memory and stability improvements" are on hand, giving players just a little smoother experience than without.

The patch first arrived on PC, and then migrated to PlayStation 4, with the Xbox One version following.



A Look at Konami's Baffling Game Awards Behavior

December 8, 2015

It may have been perhaps the lowest blow seen in the Video Game Awards, but word from Video Game Awards host Geoff Keighley is that Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima was required by Konami to not only not accept any awards for "Metal Gear Solid 5", but also to not attend the awards show at all.

Keighley managed to point this out during the event, noting that Kojima had planned to attend, but was instructed not to by a lawyer representing Konami. Keighley noted that Kojima was still under an employment contract, and though this was "disappointing," it was what it was. Keighley then directed those watching his presentation of the Video Game Awards to instead send love via Twitter, which by some reports, was done in large numbers. Fans also, according to video of the event, roundly booed Konami for this move, as Keifer Sutherland accepted instead, doing so "on Kojima's behalf."

A tweet from Konami congratulating Kojima, meanwhile, turned into a river of flame directed at Konami itself.



2016's Xbox One Lineup To Be Huge

December 7, 2015

With December now about a week down and Christmas approaching--surely the JibJab Year in Review can only be a few days away!--it's about time to start looking back at 2015 and forward to 2016. We'll do both right now after word from Microsoft's marketing department personified by Yusuf Mehdi.

Mehdi--while at the Credit Suisse Technology Conference--offered up some interesting word about Microsoft's 2016 in games. Mehdi called 2016's lineup the "best lineup" that would be seen, though admittedly, Microsoft hasn't had any shortage of winners lately. Halo 5, Fallout 4, Just Cause 3...these are just three of the heavy hitters we saw in 2015, and 2016 will, by Mehdi's figures, be better still.

That's a tall order.



Three Killer Fallout 4 DLC Locations

December 2, 2015

So we're all wondering just what the downloadable content (DLC) for Fallout 4  will be, and given that the word is that Fallout 4's DLC will be shaped by fan input, I'll go ahead and put up my own input in terms of where we should be going in Fallout 4's DLC. I've got three nifty ideas that should spark some interest, so have a look and see what you think.

1. Ronto. We've heard enough about Ronto--the bastardized Fallout version of "Toronto" from the same people who turned a motel into a small settlement by calling it Novac based on "No Vacancy"--to not only know it's there, but to know that there's a lot going on.

More BioShock to Come? Almost Certainly, Say Reports

December 1, 2015

Exciting news out of the recent MKM Partners Investor conference, which featured new word about the BioShock franchise. While we haven't seen anything about the genre-busting alternate history series of late, the newest word to come out suggests that the idea of fresh BioShock is more likely than expected.

Word came out of Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, who noted that Bioshock was to be considered "unquestionably a permanent franchise", and also one that the company believed in. Zelnick also offered word that Irrational Games co-founder--and BioShock's creator--Ken Levin was also engaged in some current work, with Zelnick noting that the projects were "something highly creative and innovative."

Given that BioShock Infinite last came out in 2013, it may be that we're about ready to hear some fresh BioShock news. A three-year lag runs about standard for each installment, with BioShock 2 hitting in 2010, and in 2007, BioShock itself making its arrival.



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