Tag: ps4

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Horror Spotlight

Alien: Isolation is a video game being developed by The Creative Assembly and being Published by Sega. The game is based on the franchise of the same title and if any of you reading this are at all familiar with the last Alien franchise based video game to be released you are probably cringing at the very thought of playing another game within this universe. Let it be known that I am one of those who did get burned by the Gearbox debacle. As such I am definitely hesitant of a new game based in the Alien universe. One major reason so far to exhale is that Gearbox doesn’t seem to have any thing to do with this game.

 

There are already some gameplay demos out for Alien: Isolation and I will make sure to include something so you can check it out for yourself. Right off the bat what is very striking about this game in comparison to Aliens: Colonial Marines are the visuals. From what I have seen the graphics really do seem next gen and the lighting really looks good. The next thing of major contrast to A:CM is that you are definitely not a soldier in this game or any kind of formidable combatant for that matter. You play as Amanda, Ripley’s daughter 14 years after the events of Alien and the game is strongly influenced by Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror classic and not James Cameron’s action heavy 1986 sequel.

 

From what I have seen Alien: Isolation is the polar opposite of A:CM. Instead of fighting droves of mindless enemies there is supposedly only one Alien. Armed with the classic handheld radar from the movies you slowly creep around a seemingly abandined ship gathering tools to help your escape all the while being stalked. In an interview I heard on IGN about this game they said that the people at The Creative Assembly have put a major emphasis on staying true to H. R. Geiger’s original design of the Alien and even pointed out details of the monster in still shots from the game that include the humanoid skull that is supposed to be visible beneath the creatures frontal lobe.

 

My impressions from the actual game play are that this game has the potential to be pretty scary. Even in just the first few seconds of the demo the atmosphere is effective in conveying a sense of tension. Navigating in the first perspective the sense of being alone is amplified by an uneasy quiet and the knowledge that their is at least one other very hostile presence on board with you. Your obvious first response is to never let go of your handheld radar but doing so partly obscures your vision and distracts you from possible danger because you are looking down at the radar instead of monitoring your surroundings.

 

You must consider the consequences of your movements. While it may be tempting to just make a B line for a possible escape route, your heavy footsteps will alert the Xenomorph to your location so it is imperative to plan your actions wisely. Instead moving slowly and choosing your path meticulously will likely award a more prosperous journey, although it will be no less daunting.

 

When researching this title the people from Outside Xbox mentioned that given that Colonial Marines was so negatively received publisher Sega likely would have scrapped Alien: Isolation if wasn’t for A:CM being pushed back from its initial release so many times. By the time A:CM finally came out A:I was too far in production for Sega to consider scrapping it so maybe something good can still come out of that disaster.

 

Alien: Isolation is slated for a Q4 2014 release on PS3, PS4, XBOX 360 and XBOX One. While what has been shown so far is promising it will be interesting to see how the game ultimately executes on that promise. For obvious reasons its hard to whole heartedly believe in this game but I am hoping that this will finally be the Alien game that we can legitimately be excited for. In the mean time here is a link from the CommunityGame YouTube channel which not only shows a trailer using actual game play but also contains a brief behind the scenes segment with the developers so you can form your own opinions.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Next-Gen News

I had a quick paragraph prepared about how both PS4 and XBOX One have sold over 1 million consoles in their first 24 hours of availability. Their is also this strange thing where both Sony and Microsoft congratulated each other on their respective console launches via twitter. I was then just going to make a comment about how it looks like both consoles are off to a good start and it looks like another great era of gaming has begun. That was pretty much all I was going to write, however there is just one small detail Microsoft neglected to mention. Yes they did sell over 1 million consoles in the first 24 hours of the XBOX One’s launch marking the biggest release ever for a Microsoft console but what Microsoft didn’t mention was that their console launched simultaneously in 13 different countries including the U.S. and Canada while the PS4 has only launched in the U.S. and Canada thus far. While both Sony and Microsoft had record sales for day 1 console launches Sony still has the rest of the world in which to launch the PS4. It will be interesting to see how the consoles fair at the end of the holiday season of this year but if I were a betting man I would say it looks like Sony might have a strong lead in console sales at the end of this year anyway. For more on all things Playstation and XBOX bookmark SonicMercury.com.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Horror Spotlight

SOMA is a survival horror title being developed and published by Frictional Games and is slated for a 2015 release on PC, MAC and PS4. Frictional Games most famous game up until now is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. SOMA has been secretly in development since 2010. The first official gameplay trailer was released early this passed October and since then a few live-action trailers have surfaced as well. SOMA and The Evil Within are both going to be games within the survival horror genre and while The Evil Within looks to be a promising new horror title that I am excited to play, it is the game mechanics that I am ultimately drawn to. SOMA on the other hand looks to be potentially a catalytic explosion in the horror world. The gameplay trailer alone is enough to give you goosebumps of depraved joy at how unabashedly demented it is and their is a certain uneasy undertone to the live action trailers that give a hint of SOMA possibly being something truly horrifying.

 

The world of SOMA is sort of like if the legendary artist H.R Giger of Alien fame was crossed with influences of Hellraiser and placed in a cold futuristic setting where it appears robot technology is common. The goal of the game according to Thomas Grip Creative Director of Frictional Games in his own words according to his blog entry on Playstation.com states that. “SOMA is meant to chill you to your core, and confront you with questions about your very existence.” The stark setting of the game paired with the commitment to exploring futuristic sci-fi theories and philosophies definitely has my attention as an experience that could possibly stand out as more than just a good horror game and be something truly special that none of us will soon forget. 

 

My impressions of everything I have read and seen so far of SOMA reminds me of a post-apocalyptic short story published in 1967 that was later turned into a 1995 computer game called “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.” The story is fairly disturbing about a self-aware supercomputer that engineers mass genocides around the world until their are only 5 survivors left in the whole world. The survivors live in a vast underground complex but the supercomputer holds great hatred towards humankind and thus makes the 5 remaining humans borderline immortal so it can torture them for all eternity. Although there is little evidence that the two narratives will be in anyway similar I just get the feeling that very bad things are going to happen to the protagonist in SOMA. Furthermore the Creative Director went on to say that the player will not take control of a space marine fighting his way out but rather a regular person finding their way through.

 

Three years in development and only a little over a month out of secrecy it seems unfair that we will have to wait until 2015 to get our hands on SOMA. Here is a link to Creative Director Thomas Grip’s blog on Playstation.com so you can read what the game is about in his own words as well as check out the official gameplay trailer which is included on his blog page. Please note as with most horror related media the trailer on Thomas Grip’s page does include some scenes of gore and violence. I have also include links to 2 of the live-action trailers for SOMA posted on Frictional Games official YouTube page here entitled “Vivarium” and “Mockingbird.” Bookmark SonicMercury.com for updates on SOMA and all things horror related.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Horror Spotlight

Survival Horror

The Evil Within is an upcoming new horror videogame that will appear on both current-gen and next-gen consoles in 2014. The game is being developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game centers around antagonist Detective Sebastian Castellanos. Sebastian wakes up in a gruesome world where violence and death are all around him after he and his partners investigated the scene of a mysterious mass murder. Now its up to Detective Sebastian Castellanos to traverse this decrepit world and discover the mystery as to why all this horrible stuff has been occurring.

 

At first glance it sounds like a typical horror game. Here’s why its not. The director of The Evil Within is Shinji Mikami a name we should all know as he is the creator of Resident Evil and creative lead for every subsequent Resident Evil title for many years. Resident Evil 4 was the last game in the series that he created. The Evil Within is Shinji Mikami’s return to the survival horror genre. Mr. Mikami has been quoted as saying about his new game that this will be a “true” survival horror game in response to his disappointment with current games of the genre he says this game will be, “one in which the player confronts and overcomes fear.”

 

The original Resident Evil series is a masterpiece. The first RE set the bar as to what survival horror could be on home consoles, the second RE far exceeded that bar introducing Claire Redfield and fan favorite Leon S. Kennedy into the horror of a familiar suburban setting in a chaos storm of monsters and zombies, the 3rd RE polished and refined elements of the first two games with smoother menus and action animations as well as detailed ammunition creation options. The 3rd RE also introduced the walking fear-bomb Nemesis who could go through doors and walk up stairs something previously impossible by RE foes instantly cranking up the tension of this entry. Finally RE 4 redefined the genre all together. Everything in the series had been overhauled for RE 4 new combat system, revamped menus and more cinematic presentation. Everything in RE 4 felt bigger and grander. From the story rife with plot twists and strange characters/creatures to the mysterious girl that Leon must rescue, RE 4 was a stout message to the Resident Evil fans and survival horror fans in general that nothing would be the same.

 

The graphical leap combined with the directorial decision to make the camera a 3rd person over the shoulder view that follows the player instead of set camera angles proved a very immersive experience. The visuals were gorgeous for a console game at the time. While I truly did enjoy Resident Evil 4 and had hours and hours of gameplay in the various survival modes alone some of the changes in the game were implications to me as to where this franchise was heading and for me I knew that Resident Evil 4 might be the last that I purchase. As I stated it’s not that RE 4 was a bad game in anyway. I felt Nintendo’s influence on the franchise was obvious however. The further I got into the game the more it reminded me of Zelda. The way items were highlighted in colorful columns and the change sound the game made every time you picked one up. The constant search for treasures paired with the more fantastical creatures versus horrible monsters created by viruses and the constant smashing of boxes and or pottery. Blood seemed minimal. The weird guy you bought items from who always greeted you with the same gruff voice, “Hello stranger.” The fantasy influence combined with the treasure hunting elements were just enough of a departure from the original 3 games for me to long for the old days of running through Raccoon City battling T-Virus zombies and not “Las Plagas” drones sent forth by the ghost of Napoleon’s inner child.

 

Needless to say I was more than a bit wary of the next installment of Resident Evil and my suspicions were confirmed as soon as I saw the trailers for Resident Evil 5. I thought the setting looked boring with lots of muted colors and the focus was obviously action based. Super fast infected people. I really wasn’t that turned off by the two player element that was introduced as I thought it could definitely work if implemented correctly. I played some of it and it just didn’t feel anything like the Resident Evil that I had grown to love. I guess with the success of the highly action based Resident Evil movies starring Mila Jovovich as a superhuman zombie slayer, which by the way undermines the entire genre of survival horror I mean how are you supposed to be scared when Supergirl fights a bunch of monsters that is an entirely different movie than what Resident Evil should be about but I digress, I guess the game developers thought this an appropriate direction for their game.

 

Then their was Resident Evil 6. Featuring 4 separate but intertwining campaigns. After all the hype it got and the promise that it would at least include Leon in one of the campaigns I decided to give it a shot. Originally 3 of the 4 campaigns were co-op until players made it clear to Capcom that it made no sense to have your game be primarily co-op only to offer the final campaign as a strictly single player experience. The 4th campaign was made co-op and available from the start of the game instead of an unlockable campaign made available after completion of the 3 other co-op campaigns. Each of the 4 campaigns had their own specific characters with their own story pertaining to the same global event. I really enjoyed most of Leon’s campaign quick time events aside. It had zombies in a dark creepy atmosphere genuinely conjuring fearful moments at times. The co-op actually worked great here, even with a friend the tension was still high. It felt like a proper evolution of Resident Evil. The rest of RE 6’s campaigns have their moments but they feel superfluous, like other ideas for Resident Evil games sliced and diced from their games and spliced together to create a grotesque Frankenstein of one game. At the end of the day RE 6 is more like 4 separate games under one title.

 

Now Capcom is in financial turmoil and the likelihood of a new Resident Evil from the company is uncertain. Just how bad a state Capcom is really in is debatable but information is surfacing that Capcom barely has enough cash to develop one more feature game. In other words if Capcom pays to develop one more game they could go bankrupt. Something to support this belief that Capcom is on dire straits is that when game producer Yoshinori Ono the producer of Street Fighter IV was asked by a fan on twitter if SF IV would be coming to the next gen Ono responded that Capcom lacked the resources to port the game to next-gen consoles although he expressed that it would be “sweet” to bring SF IV to the next-gen. Porting Street Fighter IV to next-gen consoles doesn’t require nearly the team and resources creating an entire game would. If Capcom can’t even port a fighting game to the PS4 and XBOX One how can any of us expect them to create a whole new Resident Evil?

 

With the most recent entries of Resident Evil 5 and 6 being disappointments for long time fans of the series because of their departure from the initial survival horror genre that Resident Evil helped to define The Evil Within might be just the gloriously gruesome return to the survival horror roots we all grew to love. Shinji Mikami has state that this will be the last game that he ever directs. Let us all hope that Mr. Mikami goes out on a high note helping to create a new chapter of survival horror, one that we can all look upon with fond memories and pass on a new legacy of horror to future generations. I have included a gameplay trailer for The Evil Within here courtesy of Bethesda Softworks YouTube page. Fair warning their is some extreme violence and gore. Bookmark SonicMercury.com for more on other upcoming horror titles in all media.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Playstation 4 News

The Playstation 4 has arrived, and in high demand. Sony had reported record pre-orders for the new console and the official U.S. release of the PS4 looks to be record breaking as well.  More than 1 million Playstation 4’s were sold within the first 24 hrs of its release last Friday November 15th. The PS4 will be the only next-gen console on the market until the November 22nd release of the XBOX One. It will be interesting to see what kind of sales momentum the PS4 will maintain after the release of its main competitor. In the meantime the PS4 still has the rest of this week to enjoy its moment in attempting to shatter record breaking sales in the United States. It is important to note the console has yet to release in any other region as of this posting.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Nintendo News

Nintendo has announced the Wii mini, a miniature version of the Wii will be available to the U.S. this holiday season and should retail at about $99. The Wii mini is a bare minimum of the console offering no online functionality it does however come with a copy of Mario Kart Wii in the bundle at no extra charge. The Wii mini is part of Nintendo’s plans to promote “low cost gaming.” Most likely the Wii mini arriving in the U.S. has a lot to do with the less than stellar performance of the Wii’s “next gen” successor the Wii U. No doubt that Nintendo is promoting the Wii mini, which was already made available in Canada in last year, to help absorb some of the losses Nintendo is taking on the Wii U. When I last reported sales of the Wii U the tally was about 3.6 million units worldwide. That number is measured from the November launch of the Wii U to June 30th with only about 550 thousand units sold between December 31st 2012 to June 30th 2013. In contrast the Nintendo Wii had sold about 9.3 million units in the same amount of time with the Wii selling just over 6 million units worldwide in the same amount of time.

 

The Wii U sales numbers have finally been reported for the time between June 30th and September 30th of this year. In this time Nintendo has sold roughly 300 thousand Wii U’s. This brings the grand total of Wii U’s sold to just over 3.9 million units worldwide as opposed to the 13.17 million units the Wii sold in the same amount of time. I have heard from various sources as well as read on multiple sites that Nintendo has projected sales of over 9 million units sold for the Wii U and will not waver from this projection. The reality is that quarter 3 or Q3 for the Wii U is in the books and in the last 9 months Nintendo has only sold about 850 thousand units. Analysts are predicting sales at about 550,000 units for the Wii U this holiday season. The bottom line is Wii U sales coming in at less than half of projection for its launch year can not be good news for Nintendo and its future in the home console market.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Rumors and GTA V News!!

I was going to write about this rumor that the PS4 is 50% more powerful than the XBOX One. Many credible sources like IGN have even weighed in on this rumor all stating that the anonymous developers who are reporting this considerable discrepancy in performance seems legitimate. The problem though is that even if this rumor is completely true about the difference in performance between the XBOX One and the Playstation 4 no one making these claims has worked with the official consoles yet. All this info is coming from people using dev kits designed before the finalized versions of the consoles were put into production. Another point made by The Red Dragon over at N4G games is that many non-anonymous developers have stated that the graphics drivers for the PS4 and XBOX One have yet to be optimized. This has been frustrating for developers as it makes it hard for them to optimize graphics if the drivers are not tuned to their peak performance. It does not matter how powerful a graphics card is if the drivers are not properly set. Another point to consider is even if one console does have considerably more power, whatever that power may be graphics/processing, it is not in multi-platform developers best interests to invest money into making a game look or perform better on one console over the other, its just not cost effective.

 

The question is will one version of a multi-platform game be downgraded to match the look and performance of the game on the weaker console. The answer is no because the developers will instead look for a happy medium between the two consoles where they know that the game will perform more or less identically to each other. The games will be optimized by developers within those constraints to make sure that the game plays properly by utilizing the different hardware of the PS4 and XBOX One but the goal of developers will never be to max out hardware performance. This revelation kind of sucks but to be honest we probably should have already guessed this is how it works. We will have to look to exclusive titles if we want to get an idea of what the true performance extent is for the Playstation 4 and the XBOX One. At the end of the day though its always the console with the best games not the best specs that has the most success.

 

OK I put in my two cents on that topic now on to what’s really on your mind. Grand Theft Auto 5 comes out tomorrow. Yes the highly anticipated blockbuster series latest installment releases tomorrow! September 17th. If you want to get preorder perks today is your last day, otherwise wait til tomorrow I am sure every retailer has packed inventory to the max for this title. Rockstar developers have made an announcement today though for XBOX 360 users, they said that for optimum performance on the XBOX 360 only install the first disc for GTA V. There is an option to also install the play disc on your 360 but don’t do it as Rockstar has stated GTA V will perform best if you only install the disc designated for installation on you XBOX. Alright I hope that is clear for you. Tomorrow is GTA V day and I just want everyone to have a good time because being a gamer isn’t so much about the console but the great games we play on them. Here is a link to the review for GTA V on IGN so you can see what they think about the game before you pick it up.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Playstation News

Sony’s newest revelation is the PS Vita TV. Essentially its a Playstation Vita that lets you play Vita games on your TV screen. The device is about as big as a deck of cards and has inputs in the back of it for HDMI, Ethernet, USB, and has slots for memory cards as well as the actual Vita games. PS Vita TV can be used to stream movies from Sony specific services as well as other online content providers. Currently the device can only be controlled by a Dualshock 3 controller, with a patch coming early 2014 to allow control by a Dualshock 4 controller. Many Vita games utilize touch functionality and it is unclear how different input functions would be adjusted to Dualshock settings. Sony did say that some Vita games will not work on Vita TV.

At $100 the PS Vita TV is looking like a very affordable option to videogame fans on a budget. Much of the PS Vita library is highly acclaimed and rated favorably. With Sony’s strong relationship with indie developers and the release of triple A titles like Killzone Mercenary the Vita library of first class games continues to grow. Vita games max out at about $40 unless you are buying special bundles. If you buy the larger PS Vita TV bundle that comes with a Dualshock 3 controller and 8 gigabyte memory card it will cost you $150.

Another interesting feature of the PS Vita TV is the ability to stream the PS4 to any TV in your house. The example shown in the commercial shows a group of friends coming home to play videogames but someone is already using the PS Vita TV to watch a movie so one of the kids powers on the PS4 and hits a button on the PS Vita TV and he and his friends just go to a different room with a TV and play a PS4 game with a PS4 controller while the people in the other room continue to watch their movie uninterrupted. Not going to lie, if it works as advertised with no latency that is pretty awesome. Sony is also promising that a large portion of PS One classic games will also be available to download and play on PS Vita TV.

To be honest this was a slightly unexpected move by Sony. The recently announced more affordable $200 PS Vita redesign was expected but I doubt many predicted PS Vita TV. Even the larger $150 bundle is still half the price of a Wii U. Any ground the Ouya may have gained with the casual market has just been swiftly ripped out from under them. Sony just stepped into the Ouya’s ring and has told them to go home they just bought the venue. This is a smart move by Sony. PS Vita just became so much more integral to the Playstation ecosystem. If all the features work as advertised PS Vita TV is a very exciting hardware edition to any gaming fan. Here is a link to the commercial so you can check it out for yourself. Offering the PS Vita as a home console instantly grows its install base making the hardware more appealing to developers who might have otherwise been on the fence about the Vita. This means that the PS Vita’s already rich and growing library will likely gain more support from all developers, promising a bright and healthy future for the hardware full of new and exciting experiences.

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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For the Fans!

Hey everyone the feedback has been amazing lately. I greatly appreciate the level of passion followers have. I wanted to thank everyone for supporting Sonic Mercury. When I started I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I think that I quickly found my voice. Clearly videogames have been at the forefront of my updates lately. I promise more metal and horror related articles will be included on the site to help diversify content in the future. I am thinking a top ten 80’s horror movie list is in order.

 

Gamescom was huge! So much stuff was shown off their it really was hard to break it down. Here is a quick overview. Someone at the Sony conference said something like “unlike others, we have had a clear path for our new console.” There was outrage. People were like “Cheap shot!” “ohhh Sony slams Microsoft again!” “Scandalous!!” Honestly at this point who cares? Microsoft messed up really bad and burned a lot of bridges with gamers around the world. Whats done is done. Lets get on with what we all really care about, the shiny new consoles and their respective videogames. Nonetheless people definitely tried hard to make this one comment in a 90 minute presentation a big deal. Seeing the comment in context it sounded to me like the speaker was just saying that they have been focused with the PS4 and the path Sony was taking with their new console. Anyone who saw this as a major jab at Microsoft was reaching.

 

The PS3 slim model will have a limited edition model available next year in the color blue. Special Microsoft employee  only editions of the XBOX One were shown off and they will be white. What is it about videogame consoles in different colors that makes them more desirable? Is it that we actually like the other colors or is it more just owning something that others don’t? “I have a new console!” “That’s cool, I have it to but mine is blue.”

 

Lets see other news from Gamescom. Battlefield 4 reportedly looks a lot worse than expected in the port from high end PC’s to the PS4 and XBOX One editions. This is very disappointing news considering the game is highly anticipated and every demo of the game up until the Gamescom hands on demo were visually impressive.

 

The new revamped Dualshock 4 controller for the PS4 received positive feedback at Gamescom with many FPS fans saying they would now be more likely consider playing first person shooters on the PS4 in the future.

 

Lots more happened at Gamescom but there are some highlights for you. Thanks again to everyone who has been following Sonic Mercury and I promise plenty more content on the way. Look for more info on Sonic Mercury’s new YouTube channel SonicMercuryTV in the next few weeks. Bookmark SonicMercury.com for more unique perspectives on videogames, horror, and heavy metal.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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PS4 News

Sony at Gamescom 2013 showed off new color schemes for the new PS4 controller. Look for “Magma Red” and “Wave Blue” dualshock 4 controllers sometime next year. The question now is will they be making PS4 systems that match these brightly colored controllers.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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PS4 News

Mark your calendars everyone multiple sources are reporting the PS4 launch date has been announced. Fans of the Sony console can reportedly pick up their new hardware on November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe. This date directly contends with Microsoft who are also slated for a November launch. Sources are reporting that Sony has had over 1 million PS4 pre-orders worldwide and that the console is polling with over 75% favorability among gamers worldwide.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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gamescom 2013

Tomorrow, August 21, is the start of this years gamescom. The event has been held annually in Cologne, Germany since 2009. E3 is a big deal but Gamescom is the worlds largest gaming event. Gamescom is different than E3 because it is open to the public where as E3 is closed to the general public and is an industry only event, although if you apply early its not unlikely that a regular person could get a press pass to E3.

 

Obviously there is a lot of excitement for Gamescom this year. ( By the way really struggled with how to write it, Gamescom or gamescom because the official logo is stylized with a lowercase G. ) New consoles have been announced and their launch window is only a few months away. For Sony and Microsoft this is election year. E3 is where our potential candidates make their opening statements and this year the statements were very loud and polarized the entire gaming nation. Gamescom is like the next big debate for which console we should vote/pay for.

 

Sony to their credit really only revealed one completely new title ( The Order 1888 ) at E3 and still succeeded in one of the most exciting E3 conferences of all time with their announcements of consumer friendly policies. Microsoft on the other hand has been in a state of constant tailspin since the reveal of the XBOX One before E3. Mandatory Kinect functionality, restrictive DRM policies, poor explanations for XBOX One features and just plain arrogance on the part of former head of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment Don Mattrick did substantial damage among new and longtime gaming fans alike. Since E3 Microsoft has fought a steep up hill battle trying to win back the gaming community however recent consumer polls have shown that roughly 80% of those considering a new gaming console are in favor of Sony over Microsoft.

 

Their is plenty to look forward to this year at Gamescom. Which from the description sounds like its more like a videogame festival with rock and roll concerts and other entertainment throughout the event. Electronic Arts has promised a big announcement in regards to Europe’s largest sports franchise, so basically a FIFA 14 announcement. Earlier this summer president of Sony Entertainment Europe Jim Ryan commented when asked by a member of the press about Sony’s somewhat smaller showing of new games at E3 for Playstation hardware compared to rival Microsoft that its a long year with lots of gaming events and that Sony has a lot going on but had to hold some stuff back saying that they would still need some new stuff to show at Gamescom. Jim went on to say that the president of Sony Worldwide Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment alone currently has 30 titles in development, 12 of which are brand new Intellectual Properties and overall 20 of the 30 titles in development will be shipping in the launch year of the PS4.

 

Meanwhile Microsoft interpreted the negative response to the XBOX One unveiling as having something to do with the fact that they mostly only showed the TV capabilities of their new system and not a lot pertaining to actual games. The backlash resulted in Microsoft showing a huge amount of games at E3, even the segue between game announcements had commercials for other games. Since the negative response to the XBOX One had a lot more to do with the horribly restrictive and poorly explained policies of the new system and not so much to do with the lack of games shown at its unveiling, the plethora of games shown at E3 combined with Sony really sticking it to Microsoft by announcing more consumer friendly policies and a $100 cheaper price tag, did very little to improve Microsoft’s image with consumers.

 

If Microsoft continued on the original path they had in mind for its new system it is likely that the XBOX One could very well have been known as the Damien of gaming. ( See the Omen ) Anyway Microsoft did what they did and the damage has been done. ( I still can’t believe Microsoft sent employees to BestBuy’s around the country to discourage customers from buying the Wii U. ) Policies have been overturned and management has changed. They say necessity is the mother of invention, I would have say its pretty necessary for Microsoft to show the world that they really have changed for the better and they still have great things planned.

 

Gamescom this year promises to be really memorable. Developers will be showing off their latest and greatest software. Sony will try to continue the awesome momentum it has had this year. Microsoft no doubt will try to redeem itself. One of the most interesting parts of Gamescom is that this will be the first event where regular people who aren’t press related will be able to go hands on with the PS4 and XBOX One. We will get honest feedback about how these systems really operate from people with first hand experiences. I for one can not wait to hear what they have to say.

 

There is no doubt that Gamescom is primed for some exciting announcements. I will give highlights so keep coming back to find out the latest about the greatest things from Gamescom 2013.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

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Video Game News

The impact of The Last of Us is getting larger as developer Capcom says that the popularity of Naughty Dog’s newest title is an implication of what kind of zombie game the fans want. The Tomb Raider reboot was also given a nod for its success with a more grown up and adult approach to the franchise. A representative from Capcom further stated that Resident Evil 6 was a mixed bag garnering mediocre reviews with fans stating that the overall game “felt bloated.” The Leon missions were widely accepted in Resident Evil 6 as the most popular part and Capcom is stating this will help inform Capcom where to take Resident Evil 7 and they are promising a return to their survival horror roots.

 

This is exciting news for longtime fans of the Resident Evil franchise as many ( myself included ) have felt the series as drifted pretty far from the original gameplay style that had made the games so appealing in the first place. Admittedly it is with caution that I anticipate Resident Evil 7 because of Capcom’s recent track record with the franchise. I am wondering if Capcom can recapture that survival horror magic that made Resident Evil a household name. Capcom definitely has the resources. Let’s hope Resident Evil 7 is a return to form and that we get a solid/finished game without any DLC or patches to “fix” the gameplay. I for one would welcome an old-school style Resident Evil updated for this generation. Playing Resident Evil 2 are some of my fondest memories playing videogames and for me it is very exciting to here Capcom tease the possiblitly of the franchise returning to those old survival horror glory days.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

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GTA V News

Grand Theft Auto is a title that seems to only build more hype with every iteration. GTA V is no different. With every new entry in the series anticipation only seems to grow and the media response is always very loud when a new GTA is released. When mainstream media mentions a new GTA game its rarely, if ever, in a positive light and often media attention for GTA is negative. Grand Theft Auto is not the first series to have adult themes and violence. The attention the media gives to GTA has more to do with the popularity of GTA. Grand Theft Auto III and IV are two of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time and yet the news always has something bad to say about the series. Rockstar North the main developer for GTA couldn’t ask for more free publicity for their games. Every time mainstream media says something bad about GTA or creates a controversy over content in the game its like creating a giant neon parental advisory sticker in everybody’s head that screams BUY ME! BUY ME!! BUY ME NOW!!! If mainstream media had such a problem with GTA they would be better off saying nothing at all.

 

Are you hyped up yet? GTA V has premiered the first video detailing its online features. The online mode looks incredibly fleshed out compared to GTA IV although many of the online modes from IV appear to still be available like death matches and that sort of thing. GTA V online promises a much more immersive experience. Although Rockstar never mentions exactly how many players can exist together online the trailer makes it seem like quite a few people can exist together in GTA V’s online experience. The trailer explains the online mode as a “persistant and continually expanding living online world with multiple players, just what you choose to do in that world is up to you.” One of the first things touted in the trailer is how the combat has been completely overhauled to make a more pleasurable experience and I can say that it definitely looks much more fluid and satisfying than combat has been in previous titles.

 

What is really exciting it that it appears that you basically can have a full GTA experience online. Their are actual missions to do and characters to meet just like in single player story mode. If you want to go skydiving with your friend go ahead, rob a bank knock your self out, feel like racing some buddy’s on jet skis down by the pier have at it. Another really exciting feature is the ability to customize your online character. As you progress in online mode you can make cash that will allow you to upgrade and customize clothes, weapons, cars, garages and even apartments to furnish and invite fellow players to come check out. You can make friends on your journey online as well as enemies and you will also have the ability to make your own crews for whatever mischief you feel like getting into.

 

Grand Theft Auto V looked pretty interesting on its own with the 3 playable characters dynamic that can be switched at anytime whether you are in mission or not. Combined with this freshly unveiled online mode Rockstar North looks like they are aiming to have Grand Theft Auto V be the swan song everyone remembers as they graduate from their current consoles to the next generation. Check out the trailer here and decide for yourself.

 

 -Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury