Posts Tagged ‘alan wake’
Top 10 original video games of 2010
Hollywood usually takes most of the slack when it comes to criticism for lack of originality, but in fact, the video game industry is even worse at creating original content, it’s a world dominated by franchises of every kind, from sports to action games, publishers and developers are usually taking the easy and safe way: sequels. And spin offs. And remakes. Etc.
We’ve compiled a list of top 10 original games that are scheduled for release for 2010 — and it was quite a challenge: out of the 130 games confirmed for 2010 by major publishers and developers, we found 19 that were original. Just 19.
10: Brink (Spring 2010)
Brink, an FPS developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, centers around a two sides: Resistance and Security, and is a team based multiplayer shooter much like Quake Wars, which was also developed by Splash Damage. It looks promising as a multiplayer game, as it’s story based, much like Quake Wars, where one battle takes place over several maps, with a story connecting everything together.
9: Alpha Protocol (Spring 2010)
Alpha Protocol, developed by Obsidian Entertainment — developers of Star Wars: KOTOR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 — is a third person action RPG where the player assumes the role of Michael Thorton, a CIA agent who’s been betrayed and must not only fight his way through enemies, but also uncover the conspiracy that set him up.
8: Singularity (Q2 2010)
While time travel is a known concept in games, albeit underused, it’s still something that is difficult to fit in wiht the overall storyline, and the time feature never seems to be used properly. In Singularity, the player will have control over a TMD (Time Manipulation Device), a “weapon” which will be used to solve puzzles, for instance, if a door is locked, instead of looking for the key, you use the TMD and speed up time for the lock only, which will rust, and voila, door opened! Or use it on an enemy and watch him turn into a skeleton. The concept certainly seems intriguing, and offers some truly original puzzles.
7: Dante’s Inferno (February 9, 2010)
Dante’s Inferno has already caused a lot of controversy, from the fake E3 2009 protest, to gameplay elements where players can slay children. The gritty, hell based game is loosely based on the actual Inferno by Dante in The Divine Comedy, and the player assumes the role of Dante, who has to fight his way though monsters and demons in the 9 circles of hell, and decide whether he’ll be good and spare some (like children) or go reckless. It definitely looks as one of the darkest games of 2010.
6: MAG (January 26, 2010)
MAG (Massive Action Game) is a PS3 online FPS multiplayer who’s main feature is a massive 256 player online matches, with 128 players per team, divided into 8-player squads, 4 squads into a platoon, and 4 platoons into a company. With 256 players on the map, MAG is set to deliver some of the most intense and frantic combat yet, and will offer detailed stats and rankings, where higher ranked players will be able to command the battle and give orders to individual squads and platoons.
5: LA Noire (Q3 2010)
LA Noire, an open ended adventure game set in a recreated 1940s Los Angeles, which players can freely roam around, and chose to solve a number of murders around the city. The game has a great feeling of classic noir films based in LA, like LA Confidential, The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown, and draws inspiration from such works as well.
4: Rage (Q4 2010)
It’s been a while since Id Software has made an original game — actually, the last original game Id Software made was Quake, back in 1996. Id finally shows something new with Rage, a fusion between a first person shooter and a racing game set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max styled world. It’s built with the all new Id Tech 5 engine, and shows very promising visuals, to say the least.
3: Heavy Rain (Q2 2010)
Heavy Rain has been on the radar since it was originally showcased at E3 2006, and will be released almost four years later, in Q2 2010. The gorgeous looking game centers around a serial killer known as “The Origami Killer”, and players assume roles of different characters who try and solve the murders. It’s one of the most stylish and atmospheric games to come out in 2010.
2: Alan Wake (Q2 2010)
What Heavy Rain is for the PS3, Alan Wake is for the Xbox 360. Developed by Remedy, Alan Wake is a psychological thriller inspired by the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King novels, where players assume the role of Alan Wake, a writer who seeks refuge at a quiet place where he can write his next novel (much like Stephen Kings “Misery“). However, when his wife vanishes, it’s up to him to get her back.
1: APB (March 2010)
APB is not only the most original MMO game to his the stores in 2010, it’s also the most original game overall. It’s the classic cops vs. robbers gameplay, but on a massive scale, with endless customizations and options, tons of missions and weapons. Created by David Jones, the original creator for GTA, APB is hailed as everything he wanted to do wince he made GTA, and while originally trying to pitch and sell APB to Rockstar as GTA Online, it’s good that APB is on its own now, we need a great, original game. And an MMO that’s not fantasy based.
Tags: alan wake, alpha protocol, apb, brink, dantes inferno, heavy rain, la noire, mag, Multiplayer, singularity
Alan Wake premiering in May 2010
Remedy has always been secret about Alan Wake, and has been very careful not giving a firm release date on the gorgeous adventure game. Now MCV claims that a source tells them that the release date is set for the end of May on the Xbox 360, and will receive a “Hollywood-style promotion”? Does that mean we’re gonna be seeing a lot of Alan Wake merchandising? T-Shirts and cup-holders?
Tags: alan wake
Top 10 upcoming DirectX 11 games
Windows 7 is out, and with it is the latest version with DirectX — DirectX 11. The new graphics API is an evolution from DirectX 10, but it doesn’t only include more features, it’s faster than the previous version (unlike the DX9 to DX10 transition). Among the new features is Tessellation, which increases the amount of visible polygons, and multi-threaded rendering, which takes advantage of multicore CPUs a lot better than previous DX versions.
While only ATI’s 5000 series of graphics cards support DX11, Nvidia will join the club later this year, when new games which support the standard will emerge as well. We’ve picked top 10 games that are confirmed to include DirectX 11 support when released.
10: Battleforge (EA Games, out now)
Battleforge is the only game that’s currently available that supports DirectX 11. While it’s a card-based RTS with out much action to fully shocase the new visual features, the game was patched with DX 11 goodies, which provided smoother gameplay and better visuals. While it’s still not a Crysis-caliber game, it’s officially the first game to support the new API.
9: The Lord of The Rings Online (January 2010)
While LOTR: Online was released a few years ago, the game has received visual overhauls over the years, and it’s no different with DX 11 — the upcoming LOTR: Online patch will include DX 11 features, and will be developed in cooperation with AMD.
8: DIRT 2 (Codemasters, December 2009)
DIRT 2 was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 a few months ago, but the PC version was delayed until December so Codemasters could implement DirectX 11 features into the game, with an added investment into the game by AMD (makers of the only DX11 available graphics cards on the market). And it appears the wait will be worth it for PC gamers, as DIRT 2 for PC will support tessellation, delivering more fluid crowd, particle and water animations.
7: F1 2010 (March 2010)
Codemasters not only have a rally game with DX11 support, the developer/publisher is also working on a new F1 racing game, which will used an enhanced version of the DIRT 2 engine, and will include even more DX11 features. Look for F1 2010 when the new F1 season starts next March.
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20 games to look forward to in 2010
While 2009 is drawing to an end, and with all the great AAA titles only weeks away, keep in mind that 2010 is going to see more top-notch titles released than the last few years. Here are 20 games that should/will make an impact next year, and while a lot more games are coming out, we obviously couldn’t include them all — our list grew from ten games to twenty games simply because even we were surprised how many title are lined up for 2010. Here’s our 20 games for 2010, in no particular order.
Postal 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Running With Scissors, Q2, 2010)
The original Postal was both hailed and damned for its controversial content, and the sequel, Postal 2 only made it better (or worse, if you’re a politician looking for some media attention). Postal 3 will expand on the sandbox style gameplay, and will even feature director Uwe Boll (who made the 2008 Postal movie) in a cameo role.
APB (PC, Xbox 360, March 2010)
After developing Crackdown for the Xbox 360, which has since become a cult classic on the console, Realtime Worlds shifted all their manpower to APB (All Points Bulletin), a revolutionary MMO set in a huge city where players battle each other as either law enforcement agents, or criminals. A kind of GTA online, as creator David Jones (the man behind GTA) is noted saying APB is “the bastard child of everything we’ve been striving towards over the 15-20 years”.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, March 2, 2010)
Battlefield: Bad Company almost managed to perfect something no other FPS had done before: creating a fully destructible battlefield, where walls would no longer provide infinite cover — one tank shell and you better be looking to hide somewhere else. Coupled with a single player campaign and a solid multiplayer, Bad Company has been one of the most played FPS on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Bad Company 2 will bring “destruction 2.0″, taking destruction to a whole new level, this time, entire buildings and towns can be leveled to the ground.
Heavy Rain (PS3, February 2010)
Heavy Rain has been highly anticipated ever since it was first showcased at E3 2006 for the PlayStation 3, the film-noir, thriller-styled game will feature an intertwined storyline, with four playable characters, all looking for a serial killed going under the name “The Origami Killer”.
Halo Reach (Xbox 360, Q4 2010)
The next chapter in the Halo series and Master Chief’s battle against the Covenant was unveiled at E3 2009, without any further details other than the game would be the last Halo game to be developed by Bungie. Owners of Halo 3: ODST will have a chance to check out the game’s multiplayer beta in the middle of 2010, by then we should have more details on Reach.
Red Steel 2 (Wii, February 16, 2010)
The original Red Steel was the very first Wii game that was revealed, and rode a wave of anticipation until its release — as a Wii launch title — where it showed a flawed control scheme, dated visuals and uninspiring gameplay. Red Steel 2 is said to correct all those issues, and will require (and be bundled with) the Wii Motion Plus accessory, giving it a true 1:1 control input, paving the way for some great sword fights. We sure hope so.
Crysis 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Q4 2010)
The original Crysis is still bringing even the most powerful PCs to their knees, and is still hailed as the best looking game available, at least if a tropical island is what you crave. Crysis 2 continues the story where the original left off, and will use the new CryEngine 3, creating an even more immersive world. There aren’t many details of the game yet, but one thing is for sure: start saving for a new PC rig.
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Alan Wake for PC canned, becomes 360 exclusive
PC gaming is always on the decline, and today’s news doesn’t bring hope to any PC gamers. Speaking to Digital Spy, a representative at Remedy Entertainment said that a PC version of Alan Wake has been canceled, and that they are working exclusively on an Xbox 360 version.
“Our PC plans are currently open [and] therefore a joint PC/Xbox launch is not possible at this late stage,” said the representative. “Remedy has a deep heritage in PC gaming and we would love to see a PC version available for our PC followers. Ultimately, however, this is a decision that lies with our publisher.”
So, Microsoft is preventing a title from releasing on the PC themselves? Reasons they want to phase out the PC for gaming is beyond me. Alan Wake is expected to be on shelves Spring 2010.
Read (Digital Spy)
Alan Wake, an Xbox 360 exclusive?
In a new interview with Finnish game magazine Pelaaya (English for “Player, apparently), Finnish developer Remedy, developers of the upcoming and highly anticipated Alan Wake, said that the game was an Xbox 360 exclusive at the moment, and that the PC version was “up in the air”.
However, considering that Alan Wake was originally revealed at an Intel event a few years ago, showcasing the power of the company’s multicore CPUs, and stating that Alan Wake would be optimized for quad core CPUs, it’s highly likely we’ll see the game on the PC — albeit later than on the Xbox 360.