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”

March 2016

You are browsing the archive for March 2016.

Good Old Games Adds 2K's Lineup

March 30, 2016

One of the very few games that I actually still play from the original Xbox era is Sid Meier's Pirates. It's a fun little title, full of cruising around the Caribbean, blasting ships, fighting captains, engaging in political intrigue and more. It's now part of the lineup at Good Old Games, and it's joined by a host of other games from 2K.

On hand are several X-COM titles, in a complete classic bundle including titles like Terror from the Deep, UFO Defense, Interceptor, Apocalypse and Enforcer. That's a fine start, but Railroad Tycoon 2 and 3 are on hand, and bundled with Sid Meier's Railroads as well.

Brace Yourself for GTA 6

March 29, 2016

Yes, it's true, at least at last report; Grand Theft Auto 6 has already started development, and we're poised to get another round of ultra-violent criminal action on the streets of yet another new and interesting location.

Interestingly, this comes out at the same time as reports that there was one target in mind for the Grand Theft Auto series, and that was Tokyo. The plan was scuttled, ultimately, because the city streets of Tokyo were entirely too narrow for a proper staging of GTA. Had it gone to plan, however, it might ultimately have replaced Vice City, or just came out alongside it.

A Third Round of Two Worlds?

March 28, 2016

Two Worlds was, depending on who you talk to, an underappreciated gem or a colossal waste of time. The second Two Worlds, meanwhile, was somewhat better received. With this pair of examples in play, it's easy to see why a third wouldn't be out of line, and this title may be ready to break into the next generation console market fairly soon.

The report from Topware Interactive says that Two Worlds III is currently undergoing development for a future release. What's more, last-generation title Two Worlds II will be getting not only new content--fresh DLC--for a game that turned five years old about two months ago.

Wii U, RIP

March 23, 2016

And so, that's it. One of the shortest hardware generations of all time has kicked off the beginning of the end, such as it was. The Wii U is done, and already, some are talking about the Nintendo NX and just what will happen with this new system...and other developments.

Word from the Nikkei newspaper in Japan spelled it out; production has officially shut down on the Wii U, or at least some of its accessories, with others--including the system--to follow. Nintendo will then refocus its efforts on mobile games and the new Nintendo NX device, reports suggest.

The Wii U suffered difficulty on several fronts, starting with an unusual design and followed up by a drought of games so marked there would be lengthy lags between single releases in some case.



A Big Event for Deep Silver at E3 2016?

March 22, 2016

While we've heard a lot about E3 2016 lately, it's usually been in terms of who's not coming. One new addition to the lineup of who's actually showing up at the big show is Deep Silver, who's planning to have a big presence on hand but also planning to show off some exciting new material.

Granted, we haven't heard much out of Deep Silver lately, so the potential for most anything could be on hand. We haven't seen a Metro release from them in some time, and the last time they had anything to say about Saints Row was when the re-release of Saints Row IV came out along with the DLC and the Gat Out of Hell expansion pack.

However, the dark horse of the event was a little thing called Dead Island 2, the last word of which we saw out of E3 2014.



The Division: Satisfying Yet Annoying

March 21, 2016

This was a piece I'd hoped to have written last week, but after some unexpected incidents, it wound up delayed to today. My first weekend with The Division went about as I'd expected it to, with some parts that were less than enjoyable. But read on, good friends; read on and see my first weekend with The Division.

Having played through several levels, reaching level eight, I can say that I had a pretty fine time of it. Wandering the post-virus streets of New York, blasting thugs with a progressively more-powerful set of arrow comparisons--otherwise known as weapons--and ultimately learning that much more about the horrible yet all too plausible plague that one day may well hit the real New York, was a surprisingly exciting time.

Oh, it wasn't all sunshine and dead thugs.



GDC 2016: 2Dark Offers a Serial Killer Dust-Up

March 16, 2016

Horror gaming has been a bit on the outs lately, and while we've had some interesting new titles crop up like Oxenfree and Pony Island come out, it's been a fairly light season for the last couple months. However, recent word from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2016 event brought out a trailer for a new and rather exciting piece called 2Dark.

2Dark takes us out to Gloomywood, where you--playing a gent with the almost clear alias of "Mr. Smith"--are out to recover the town's supply of children, recently stolen by a coterie of serial killers who may or may not be working together. Mr. Smith will plunge through a series of deeply unpleasant places to find the lost tykes and return them unto their waiting parents.

With limited uses of light sources, and a game dynamic that actually encourages you to stay in the dark as long as possible--the light gives your position away to the child-killing maniacs--while also making as little sound as possible, the end result is a whole new level of stealth gaming that requires careful planning and equally careful execution to survive. Worse, some kids have actually developed Stockholm Syndrome, and aren't interested in leaving their captors.



Fallout 4's First DLC Trailer, Automatron, Emerges

March 15, 2016

A big day recently as not only did we get a look at the first new content for Fallout 4 for some time thanks to the release of the first downloadable content (DLC) trailer, Automatron. It also brought out a release date of March 22, so we'll have a chance to play this sooner than expected.

This trailer brought some rather exciting concepts forward; while it's well-known that part of Automatron ensures we'll be able to play some good old-fashioned robot construction games, it also looks like we'll have a good solid storyline in play as our old friend the Mechanist returns.

After watching the trailer, all I could think was that this was the old spirit of Fallout come back, a game with a definitive ending, but one that could carry on even afterward, just like the older games. When I took down Ashur in The Pitt or the Think Tank in Old World Blues, I got not only a satisfying ending, but I could carry on after that. That was one of the biggest problems of Fallout 4; the lack of that definitive ending point.



Dead Island 2 Not Dead Yet Thanks to Sumo Digital

March 14, 2016

Dead Island 2, still set to be released later this year, seemed like a completely dead project, optimistically kept alive by a lack of updated information. A new report, however, suggests that Dead Island 2 may not be as dead as its name implies.

The new word is that Deep Silver, owner of the Dead Island franchise, has found a new developer in Sumo Digital, taking over for Yager, which filed for insolvency back in 2015.

Deep Silver's parent company, Koch Media, noted that Sumo showed "...so much understanding of the brand," and "creative ideas" sufficient to help drive the brand forward.

Good news, of course, but is this going to be enough to get a game in play by the end of 2016, as projected in several previous reports? Maybe.





Fable Legends Halts Development, Closures Considered

March 9, 2016

While Fable Legends wasn't exactly well-regarded by the gaming community as a whole--its substantial deviation from the norm didn't sit well with some--some were looking forward to seeing how well it all worked out. Sadly, they'll never find out--nor will any of us--as Microsoft has not only canceled Fable Legends, but also Project Knoxville.

The cancellations aren't good news by themselves--Fable Legends was said to be only a couple months off from release--but it gets worse. There's also discussion afoot about shutting down Lionhead Studios. Meanwhile, Press Play Studios is likewise shut, taking Project Knoxville with it.

Microsoft, for its part, attempted to be upbeat, thanking the newly fired for their service and noting attempts to transfer the employees elsewhere, or at least get them jobs in other companies.

Cancelled games and closed studios are, sadly, nothing new.





The Rumors of a New Alan Wake Game are Greatly Exaggerated

March 8, 2016

The notion of a new Alan Wake game likely left fans of third-person action horror gaming--like myself--very happy indeed. That notion, sadly, was quite dashed as recent reports from Remedy revealed that what many thought was a new Alan Wake game was something completely different.

The hopes began to build with the revelation of "Alan Wake's Return," a trademark spotted just last month. That made many think a new Alan Wake game was in the making--why register a trademark for something that won't be used?--but that wasn't the case at all, as publisher Remedy revealed.

What "Alan Wake's Return" actually represented, reports noted, was an in-game live-action video series featuring Sam Lake. Sam Lake was Remedy's creative director, and so it was really just a matter of getting creative ducks in a row.

Though admittedly, Lake didn't kill the hope of new Alan Wake altogether, noting that the company was "exploring possibilities" and "concepting different things," which is approximately weaselspeak for "we have pretty much nothing and that's likely to continue for the foreseeable future."

This is, of course, a shame.







The Division Gets One Major Leak Thanks to its File Structure

March 7, 2016

While there are still plenty of questions to answer when it comes to The Division--it's coming out tomorrow, in fact--a closer look at the game's files shows just where this game is going. It's going into some very big places, and those who get in on the action should have a lot to look forward to.

A Redditor who took a fine-toothed comb to the game's files over a 21-hour period revealed that there was a lot going on under the surface, noting that the game itself would start with at least 26 missions immediately. That's no small quantity of missions, but that was just the start. Also contained in the data mining's results was information about missions set in Brooklyn, a development that some will be more than happy to see come to pass.

Better yet, there will be some other material that might show up in the game, including vehicles like waterplanes and a helicopter that may come with a machine gun, along with a slate of 139 weapons, not counting modifications therein.



Another Delay for Uncharted 4?

March 2, 2016

Game delays are rough on just about every gamer. The anticipation to play that special new title builds, approaching its inevitable conclusion...and then suddenly the whole process has to start over again for any of a hundred different reasons. It may be what Todd Howard had in mind a few months back, but this time, it's hitting a game Sony fans have been dying for a crack at.

This time, it's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and that's got to hit hard as the game has already been delayed twice. From March 2016, to April 2016, the game is now expected for launch on May 10.

Activision's Unexpected E3 Plans

March 1, 2016

Here's a strange mix of circumstances for you; reports have emerged about Activision's plans for E3, and it's a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that Call of Duty will be making a comeback at the big show. But the bad news may be an even bigger, albeit nastier, surprise.

Activision noted that it would be "showcasing gameplay from Infinity Ward's ambitious new game." There would be details about the next Call of Duty game, and the company would be working with Sony to show off the game itself. All fairly straightforward, but then the strange part hit.

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