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>Bloodborne PS4. While it may seem like just another Souls game to anyone taking a casual glance, it struck me as being similar in spirit, but quite different in terms of how it felt. The immediate thing to notice is that there are no shields, so the player must constantly roll and dodge to deal with enemies. That in itself is quite a difference, but according to the representative standing nearby, every weapon loadout will have a projectile component, or an alt mode which turns it into a projectile. For example, I started with an axe and a gun, but I could combine the two to make a huge axe. The other set available to try (seen in early videos) was a gun in one hand and a blade in the other, and the blade unfolded into a much larger scythe-type weapon. The graphics step-up was immediately noticeable, as well. Everything looked detailed and sharp, and the street filled with a mob of angry undead (?) citizens was horrifying. 




>The Order: 1886 PS4. The demo for this one was brief, but impressive. Although I don't know much more about it other than it's a sort of Victorian-ish game featuring secret agents with steampunk weapons fighting maybe-werewolves, it's got a solid third-person cover shooter base and the level of graphical detail was incredible. I even had one of those moments when I didn't realize that a cutscene was over and I was back in the game because the visuals were so refined. The gun my character had was a neat thing that shot clouds of flammable spoke with a flare launcher as the alt, but the thing that really stuck with me was when my character picked up a note on the table and actually picked up the note and examined it before turning it over to look at the back. It sounds like a small thing, but seeing that represented in-game instead of getting the usual clean text popup/overlay was kind of mindblowing.

Moving on, the indie presence was quite strong in Sony's booth, and that was great to see. There were a number of smaller games on display, and I'm looking forward to nearly all of them…




>Axiom Verge PS4/Vita. This one is an obvious love letter to NES era, showing clear inspiration from/homages to Metroid, Castlevania, Contra, and other classics. It's a passion project from developer Thomas Happ, and it shows.




>Escape Goat 2 PC/PS4. from developer Ian Stocker was looking fantastic on PS4, and apparently the release date is imminent. This one is a true favorite of mine, combining precision platforming with often-deadly puzzles. Also, a goat. 
>Murasaki Baby Vita. a bizarre Burton-esque game where the player guides a creepy little girl across a hellscape. I suspect it’ll end up being too shallow, but my eye is on it.
>Helldivers PS4/Vita. is a pretty intense top-down shooter that seems to be along lines of a Space Marines type of thing, but not only is the action sharp-looking and frenetic, friendly fire is always on, which means that players have to really pay attention and use their heads in order to get through the skirmishes. I guarantee this one is going to be known as the "shit, sorry dude" game.

There were a bunch more games on display; too many to go into any great detail… It's pretty clear that Sony has gotten themselves back into a good headspace and are revisiting the era when they offered an incredibly wide variety of software for folks (like me!) who crave such.

Moving on, I tried to hit Microsoft before the crowd started rolling in, but the booth wasn't ready to go and things seemed quite disorganized. By the time they had their ducks in a row, people started flooding the place and queues immediately materialized. As such, I didn't spend a lot of time in the booth, but I did check out…
>Sunset Overdrive XBO. was quite popular at the show, with lines ever-present… Although to be fair, it did seem like MS was trying to artificially heat it up by requiring that players be at least 17 and erecting a little barrier that created a line where there really didn’t need to be one. ANYWAY, I did watch it for quite a while and it seems like a modern reincarnation of Jet Set Radio, only with guns and zombies. Characters effortlessly grind over any vertical rail or wire, rapidly zipping around the city while raining gunfire down upon the creeps below.




>Below XBO. Now, this is something that strongly motivated me to consider buying a One. Capy Games is one of the most solid, consistent developers out there, and I am a sucker for their stuff. This one grabbed me right away with an intensely lonely vibe and a clean, concise art style on display. It's almost as if Journey was turned into a subterranean roguelike… It looks fantastic and I can't wait to play more of it.

Dragon Age: Inquisition was the only other thing of note at the Microsoft booth, but like most of the other titles there, the queues were too long and I was content to check it out from a distance. I didn't see anything other than what you can already find on any of the videos or trailers available on YouTube, so I moved on.

From that point, I went to check out the indie megabooth, which was mercifully easier to navigate then it was last year. I'm not sure whether the booth was set up differently (didn't appear to be) or there were less people, but I was actually able to get through there without too much trouble, and that was a good thing since there was plenty of good stuff in there.




>Magic Circle PC. was an absolutely bizarre, psychedelic project which seems to be partly a fantasy exploration game, and partly a meta-approach with software development tools… It's hard to describe, but players were able to toggle different states on items in the environment, as if they were on a fantasy adventure and then could pop into a debug menu. Mindbending.




>Assault Android Cactus PC/PS4. A top-down arena shooter I've heard a lot about. It seems solid enough, but the action was so incredibly overwhelming that it was overkill… Blowing up 100 robots in a ring might be a good time for a little while, but killing 10,000 was a bit much. Hard to follow visually, too.




>Dead State PC. is a turn-based zombie apocalypse game, but the developer was quite clear in explaining that play hinges on the survivors, not the combat. In fact, he said there was no experience awarded for combat at all -- apparently the only bonus is that you survive and you might scavenge a few items off of them. Players will have to manage a group of the living while fortifying a base, and there is an actual script and story-based campaign to get through. (Yay!) As someone who likes the idea of zombie games but is happy to explore other avenues of play besides combat, this one looks quite good.




>Titan Souls PC/PS4/Vita. Expect to see this one on the Vita soon. (Speaking of which, I was surprised at how many any developers in the megabooth told me they were getting into bed with Sony. It's great news!) In any event, this is a boss rush game where the player has only one hit point and one arrow that can be recalled and re-fired. It looks elegant and challenging.




>The Road To Beta PC. This one was extremely early, but it's a top-down combat game where each character represents a different type of game developer -- programmer, artist, QA, and so on. As a player goes through the game, each area represents a different stage in game development, so an early part will have a lot of whiteboards and sketches, and boss levels will be something like getting approval from your supervisor (via combat) for example. I love the concept and it seems on the right track. Going to check back in with this one and another six months or so.




>Sentris PC. A tough one to describe, it's a music/quasi-puzzle game (not really) where the player moves sections of a spinning circle in order to create beats and change the sound of the game… It's difficult to understand at first, but there's definitely a strong Zen vibe.




>Hand of Fate PC/PS4. This one is also quite hard to explain, but it was one of my favorites at the booth. The game gives the player a customizable deck of cards full of challenges and equipment. A fortuneteller deals these cards out onto a virtual table, and that’s the playfield. The player then navigates through these cards one by one, and when an enemy is encountered, the game goes into third-person action to settle the outcome. I'm doing a terrible job of describing what a fascinating game this is, but it’s on my must-play list.
>The Evil Within Multi. This is a very ‘classic’ Resident Evil-ish experience (think along the lines of RE1) coming from Shinji Mikami , so for anyone who's ever wanted that, this is it. The graphics were (as is becoming the norm these days) pretty amazing as I walked through a creepy mansion picking up ammo, money, text logs and (i'm pretty sure) weird-object keys. The approach to enemies is a little different here… apparently most of the enemies don't stay down unless they're burned, and matches are pretty scarce, or so I'm told.  There also seems to be a very Lovecraft kind of vibe with the player experiencing some insanity effects and twists in the game.
>Evolve Multi. I've heard people raving endlessly about this one, but after playing it for about an hour, it didn't click with me. It's an asymmetric online team-based game where one side takes control of a huge monster, and on the other side are four players of various classes who work together to take the beast down. It's a pretty cool idea, but I’m concerned that it might get boring too quickly… The game is apparently shipping with 3 monsters and 12 characters, which seems like not a lot to me. I don't go in for these kinds of games for more than a weekend in general though, so perhaps others will get more out of it than I might. As far as how it plays, the monster I had (Kraken) was tough to control and didn't feel very powerful, and the characters felt like standard first-person action dudes plus jetpacks. I played two of the four classes and thought they were fine, but a lot of time was spent running around the level with everybody asking “Where’s the monster?” over and over. I’m still interested, but it didn't clear the wow-factor bar for me.

Yesssssssssssssssssss

Planning to do at least one podcast from the show with @RichardNaik, but we'll see how it goes. Any requests for me to check out a specific game, hit me up here or on Twitter and let me know!
Rather than being divided into squares or hexes, each area is divided up into zones which can hold a certain number of characters. (Four normal size humans/two large orcs, etc.) This works in tandem with a system where characters are able to support each other if they’re positioned correctly, so if attacks are focused on one person from teammates in the same zone, then the team-up gives multiple bonuses and power-ups. Poor planning gets characters killed in a hurry, and smart planning wipes enemies out with surprising efficiency. The design of the system is actually quite interesting, and requires a player to think more strategically then the average title of this type, at least so far.

Supplementing the team-ups is a system where the player can interrupt the order of enemy turns by killing the enemy who’s next to go. Furthermore, slower characters can take extra turns if they team up correctly with teammates who have higher speed. It's still a bit murky for me at the moment since the game doesn’t spend much effort on tutorials, but the structure is easy to pick up on. I’m missing some of the nuances, but what I've dipped into has been quite intriguing.

In terms of pace, the levels are fairly long… Although I've seen pictures of the game running on PS4 and it does look better, I think I was wise to choose it on the Vita. Knowing my play habits, I'm more likely to chip away at lengthy levels on a handheld, rather than sitting down for marathon sessions in front of my TV, especially with something like this where the attraction is in the strat and not the bells and whistles. The tradeoff of graphics for convenience was a smart move, I think.

Thanks for all the good times, guys. You'll be missed!

Aksys Games is proud to announce that Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late, a stylish 2D fighting game set to bring explosive effects and fast-paced fighting to thePlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, is now available for pre-order!Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late was created by a combined effort of Arc System Works, whose BlazBlue and Guilty Gear series are world renowned, and French Bread, which has rightfully earned its place amongst fighting game fans! Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late brings beautifully hand-drawn sprites straight from the arcades of Japan to your home console in 2015!

August 19, 2014 Torrance, CA – From Aksys Games, the publisher that brought the Zero Escape series to the West, Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is a visual novel with compelling strategy RPG combat, now available to pre-order for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system! Take on the role of a ghost hunter, and feel the thrill of exploring eerie locations, uncovering the mystery of those who now wander as spirits! In Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters, you decide who joins your intrepid group to brave the unknown!

Today Tin Man Games, the company best known for its Gamebook Adventures and Fighting Fantasy adaptations, has released Steve Jackson’s classic superhero gamebook, Appointment with F.E.A.R.,  in a new and exciting digital comic book format where the player gets to choosethe path of the story. Designing their own super-powered defender of justice in Titan City, the player makes choices that guide them towards new villains, super dilemmas and, ultimately, the Titanium Cyborg and the F.E.A.R. meeting. Unlike the nearly thirty year old gamebook, players can now customise their character choosing superpower, gender, looks, costume design and, most importantly, their supername! The interactive graphic novel also allows the player to collect F.E.A.R. cards by defeating supervillains and being awarded hero points for acts of valour. If an iOS or Android player has multiple copies of a card, these can be swapped with other friends via Facebook. By making clever decisions during the adventure the reader also increases the possibility of getting rare cards. The Steam version of the game features Steam Trading Card support. Appointment with F.E.A.R. follows the life of the superhero across a handful of days as they deal with their everyday normal life, whilst saving the citizens of Titan City from over thirty supervillains using narrative based combat, which unfolds as the combatants trade quips. The aim is to collect vital clues and information that lead to the arrest of these villains and discovering the location of the F.E.A.R. meeting. The game also features a dyslexic-friendly font to make it more accessible. Players can choose the ‘OpenDyslexic’ typeface which increases readability for players with dyslexia. Appointment with F.E.A.R. is available to buy for $2.99 (USD) on the iOS App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. It is also available to buy for PC, Mac and Linux on The Humble Store and Steam for $5.99, launching with a 20% reduction for one week. The Gamebook Adventures website can be accessed at www.GamebookAdventures.com and Tin Man Games also runs a developer blog at www.TinManGames.com.au. *

Take This is pleased to announce it will be returning to PAX Prime with the "AFK Room," mental health awareness training for volunteer "Enforcers" and a panel on how to be a friend to people suffering from emotional disorders. Attendees who find that the hustle of the show is "damaging their calm" will find relief at the Take This AFK Room. The room will be staffed with volunteers and mental health care clinicians who can provide empathy and support for those in need, or information on how to help friends and family who are dealing with mental health problems. The Take This panel will also be returning to PAX Prime. "Take This: How to Be a Friend" is scheduled for Friday, August 29th at 3:00pm in the Wombat Theatre. It is aimed at friends and family of those struggling with emotional issues. Friends and family are the first line of support, but don't often know how to broach sensitive subjects, or how to help those in need. While there is no one right technique for every situation, the members of Take This will offer some strategies that can help anyone be a better friend. Take This will again provide mental health care and awareness training for PAX's volunteer "Enforcers," and will continue to work with the PAX organization to help increase awareness and empathy for mental health and other wellness issues throughout the show. PAX Prime 2014 will be held August 29 - September 1 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA. For more details about PAX, please visit the PAX Prime website:  prime.paxsite.com *

 

Sweden based game development studio Night Node have released their first game Orbital Gear on Steam. Orbital Gear is a fast paced shooter, where gravity defying mechs fight each other in a multiplayer mayhem! You slingshot yourself using the gravity of planets and try to aim your movement towards the enemy, in an attempt to destroy their base. Once you have destroyed enough buildings or defeated enough enemies and stolen their energy cores you quickly manoeuvre yourself away from the enemy fire and leave the energy cores in your main base, charging your super weapon and obliterating your opponents once and for all! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fptORpYr6cM * Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45588301/woolfe-the-red-hood-diaries * Dying Light has a new trailer!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbeftjTF9UA *