In talking about the Splinter Cell franchise, fans are quick to bring up the Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer mode, and for good reason -- it rocks! Players are either a spy presented in third-person view or a first-person, gun-toting mercenary. It's a winning formula that's worked well previously and should still be a great deal of fun in Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
This trailer runs down the basics should, for some curious reason, Blacklist be your entry point for the series. Be warned: some people are alarmingly skilled at this mode.
Beginning this summer, crowdfunding site Kickstarter will allow people living in Canada to directly submit their own projects without having to go through U.S.-based banks, among other hurdles. Interested parties can sign up on this page by providing an email address.
Given the overwhelming popularity of the platform, you'd think this would have happened much sooner, though the logistics involved were likely nightmarish. For better or worse, Kickstarter has had a noticeable impact on the games industry and this is certainly a step forward.
Earlier we reported that Atlus parent company Index Corporation entered "civil rehabilitation proceedings" -- which seems similar enough to American bankruptcy -- amid debt of 2.45 billion yen and a fraud investigation. There's no immediate cause for concern in terms of the proceedings impacting upcoming releases (Dragon's Crown, Shin Megami Tensei IV), but the future of the company, as well as its USA branch, is tenuous.
In a statement issued to Kotaku, Atlus USA head Naoto Hiraoka had this to say:
Currently, Index Digital Media, Inc. and the ATLUS brand are unaffected by the Index Corporation proceedings in Japan. We’re carrying on day-to-day activities, business as usual. Shin Megami Tensei IV and Dragon’s Crown are still releasing on July 16 and August 6 respectively, and we’re licensing and publishing third-party titles such as R.I.P.D: The Game and Daylight. We want to thank all of our fans for their outpouring of support.
As for the future, Index is looking for a viable financial partner in the restructuring. Also on the table is Atlus being bought outright before being impacted by the restructuring. Index's game division is perhaps its most valuable, so it would make sense to sell it off quickly while trying to right the company before that division's worth plummets because of the chaos. A purchase by Sony could make sense here, if it can afford it.
It would be nice for this to be resolved swiftly before peoples' livelihoods are severely impacted and my hopes for Persona 5 become a fevered dream. Obviously that last part is less important.
Atlus USA Says They're Currently 'Unaffected' By Financial Troubles [Kotaku]
Home consoles have been losing some ground in recent years to mobile and PC development as developers have found more cost efficient ways of producing and promoting their work, while new models like free to play have captured entirely new audiences as consoles play catch up. Sony's President of Worldwide Studios, the affable Shuhei Yoshida, believes recent waning success of consoles to be a result of the lengthy console generation, not the end of days for the home console.
"After you see sequels to the same three games people feel like they've seen everything before. That's natural, but that's nothing like the end of the consoles," Yoshida told GamesIndustry International. He has a point. Developers are working on seven year old tech with significant restrictions -- Yoshida mentioned lacking the PS3 lacking enough memory for cross game chat. The big names are mostly iterating while the most interesting games of late are coming from smaller, indie studios.
Sony's recent push towards a great working relationship with indie developers is just one example of changing strategies that will tail into the next generation and offer some invigoration. The PS4's support of true free to play titles that won't require PS+ membership for online play is another.
I still dig the notion of dedicated home consoles. I hope they don't go away any time soon.
Just when I start thinking to myself that Steam Greenlight sure has gotten quiet, something like Strike Vector appears. This multiplayer-centric aerial combat game can sell itself better than my words will be able to, so do watch the trailer. Vector's four-person team is hoping to achieve a "distinct old-school feel, reminiscent to games such as Crimson Skies and Quake 3."
The customization component looks promising on top of the combat itself, a mix of first- and third-person flying. Ships have two movement modes, one that allows strafing in all directions, another that lets you go real fast while hopefully not crashing into debris. I know I will!
Ubisoft's approach with games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and, surprisingly, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is one I'd like to see fully embraced. It's not every day I can drop a full $60 -- or even half of that, to be frank -- on a videogame. Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company is "very happy" with the sales of both titles to the point where further scaled-down games in this vein are being explored.
We know that Blood Dragon was a chart-topper on PlayStation Network and although specifics for digital sales aren't frequently given out, Guillemot shared that it sold 500,000 units in under two months and resulted in a sales spike for Far Cry 3. Based on that info, yes, I do think we'll be seeing much more of this. It's Ubisoft, after all.
Xbox One policy changes get thumbs up from Ubisoft [GamesIndustry International]
Oh, Microsoft. Again you open the floodgates of charity and let the waters of value drench your consumers until they're to the point of drowning in hot deals and fun times. It's no surprise that the people, your people, have gathered en masse to sing the praises of your generosity.
Not long ago, you benevolently declared that the Xbox One "overdelivers value," but apparently it doesn't stop there. Oh, no! Now you've bestowed upon us a free Avatar t-shirt that sports the radiant logo of your upcoming wondermachine? Thanks for throwing us an (X)bone; we're not deserving of this sort of philanthropic gesture.
Free Xbox One Shirt for your Xbox 360 Avatar [Major Nelson]
While I'm not entirely sold on where The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is headed, so far so good. We got an excellent, traditional turn-based title in Enemy Unknown , which has me more open to what 2K Marin is attempting to pull off here.
This trailer focuses on the Battle Focus ability that slows down real-time combat to the point where you can safely order agents around the battlefield. That is, until they get shot because you didn't fully plan out your move and, oh god, I'm so sorry. Gone forever.
Back in January, we heard that the fantastic puzzle/strategy/role-playing game Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes would be coming to mobile platforms, with the iOS versions showing up immediately after the announcement and the Android versions releasing "some time later."
Well, it's time to strap on your elven boots, round up your colorful minions, and get ready to stack them so hard that turn into stone walls, because "some time later" is today. Unfortunately, the Android version is missing online multiplayer, despite the feature being present in the iOS release. Still, one of my favorite games ever is now out on my mobile platform of choice; that is reason enough for at least a little bit of celebration.
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes can be purchased for Android devices on Google Play.
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes lays seige [sic] upon Android [Joystiq]
Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 item creators can now give back to the folks who helped them create content for the Steam Workshop. It's pretty straightforward: when submitting to either game's Workshop, they simply choose from a list of companies, organizations, and individuals they'd like to get a portion of revenue earned from sale of the item.
Valve says it got feedback from creators who were "looking for a formal way of recognizing and rewarding the toolmakers and service providers that have helped them," hence the new option. The company also wants input on who else should be added to the revenue-split list, which features the likes of Blender, Polycount, and individual tutorial creators. Very cool.
And, to be clear, "The contribution will be made from a set percentage that is redirected from Valve to the toolmakers, not taken from the item creator's royalty."
Apparently, Plants Vs Zombies 2 will not be making its July 18th release date after all. You know who that disappoints the most? MY WIFE. She is constantly playing it on her Android phone, and has beaten it at least 30 times, and still plays it over and over. She even attempted the Facebook version, but that keeps crashing, so to say she needs the new version is an understatement. She'll just have to wait a bit longer.
In other news, Gran Turismo 6 gets a demo next week, Jim reviewed Ride to Hell: Retribution (here's a hint: he didn't like it), the lead voice actors of The Last of Us discuss their characters, Conan O'Brian visited E3, and more things did stuff today. Yup.
Destructoid Originals:
Live show: Game & Wario and Gal Gun
Community:
Community blogs of 6/26
Forum thread of the day: The Last of Us
Contests:
Post a comment for a chance to win a Loot Crate
Reviews:
Review: Ride to Hell: Retribution
