Boarding a ship in Assassins Creed IV Black Flag

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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Review

How far can you stray from home before it's impossible to ever return? That's the question at the heart of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It's something that plagues Edward Kenway, the game's roguish hero, as he explores the Caribbean in search of wealth and the dream of returning to England a more respectable man. But for as much as Kenway longs for the day he can leave the pirate life behind, the freedom of the open sea is a difficult thing to resist. And who can blame him? Because after this stunning and beautifully realized tale of adventure on the high seas, it's hard to imagine the Assassin's Creed series returning to its landlocked roots

The world of Black Flag is nothing short of remarkable. This is the most expansive setting in the history of the franchise, a virtual rendition of the West Indies that encompasses all manner of burgeoning colonies, Mayan ruins, and deadly jungles. Cities like Havana and Nassau reflect the series' trademark attention to detail, from the stonework cathedrals of the former to the ramshackle taverns of the latter. Then there are the remote islands inhabited by nothing more than crabs and sea turtles, underwater shipwrecks waiting to be explored, and vast stretches of sparkling Caribbean waters that are every bit as deadly as they are gorgeous.

Indeed, what makes Black Flag so special is the way it captures the thrill of sailing the open sea. It's more than the spectacle of a humpback whale leaping into the air and spraying the deck of your ship, or the sound of your crew breaking out into a sea shanty just as the sun is beginning to set across the horizon. It's the feeling that there's always something out there to be discovered, rewards waiting to be captured no matter who's standing in your way.

Simply sailing into the sunset is a delight in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

What began as a series of isolated side missions in Assassin's Creed III has exploded into a full-fledged means of exploration, discovery, and combat. Early into Black Flag, Kenway takes the helm of the Jackdaw, a pirate ship that has clearly seen better days. From there, it's your charge to build the Jackdaw into a vessel capable of taking on the most powerful warships in the Caribbean. After all, that Spanish gold isn't going to plunder itself.

Taking on naval superpowers seems like a tall order early on, but pushing yourself to improve your once-rickety ship is a process that Black Flag makes incredibly rewarding. This is a game that gives you an absurd number of ways to acquire the coin and resources needed to hold your own at sea. You might run off in search of buried treasure using nothing more than a crudely drawn map, or silently infiltrate a military storehouse to collect the wood and metal needed to bolster the Jackdaw's hull. That bit of flotsam floating in the distance might be a crate of rum you can sell to make up the difference on your new mortar upgrades, or it might be a stranded sailor you can rescue to expand the size of your crew. Black Flag doesn't just present a beautiful world; it gives you a mountain of reasons to run off and go exploring.

Black Flag builds on ACIII's naval side missions to create an experience every bit as important as running around on dry land.

Upgrading your ship is critical because Black Flag places a huge emphasis on naval combat. Both the storyline and side missions are full of tense sea battles, where strategic positioning and explosive cannon fire come together in exhilarating contests of naval supremacy. It's a system that allows for a variety of tactics while never getting bogged down in overly complex controls, whether you're picking off enemies from afar with a well-placed mortar strike or dumping explosive barrels into the path of an unsuspecting foe. Whatever approach you take, managing sea battles is an absolute blast.

It's not just wanton mayhem, either. Black Flag encourages you to take pause and survey the landscape before charging into a fight. With the help of your spyglass, you can scout another ship's cargo to decide whether the resources onboard match your current needs, as well as scout out how much money you'll be able to loot. This same tool also reveals an enemy's overall combat level, letting you know if you should warm up against a few more level-8 schooners before taking on that level-20 frigate. All this reconnaissance makes naval combat that much more satisfying; success comes not only from how accurately you lob your cannons, but from how adeptly you measure the risk versus the reward.

These naval battles often lead directly into more traditional Assassin's Creed swordfighting, and it's in those seamless transitions that Black Flag fuses its two halves into one cohesive whole. Destroying a ship outright rewards you with only half its cargo, so you need to board these vessels and wear down their reluctant crews to reap the full reward. That means swinging acrobatically from one ship to another, exchanging sword strikes with enemy sailors, and watching your crew erupt in cheers once those enemies have surrendered. A similar transition occurs during the game's numerous fort takeover missions, where you bombard the defenses of a seaside fortress by ship before charging into the ensuing chaos to assassinate its officers amid a storm of fire and smoke.

Black Flag doesn't just present a beautiful world; it gives you a mountain of reasons to run off and go exploring.

That these acts of naval piracy continue to be so exciting so deep into the game's lengthy story campaign is a testament to just how excellent Black Flag's progression loop is. Raid an enemy gunboat, and you can scrap it for parts or send it on trade route missions to earn more money on the side. Overtake a fort, and you'll unlock dozens of new activities on the map, whether they're the location of great white sharks whose skin you can turn into improved armor or an underwater shipwreck you can explore once you've saved up enough for that diving bell. No matter where you go or what you do, it's virtually impossible to feel like you're not advancing in some way.

And it's a quick game to advance, too. Assassin's Creed III's crawling preamble and frequent pacing issues are nowhere to be found here, as Black Flag wastes no time throwing you into the life of a pirate. The story revolves around the aforementioned Edward Kenway, a charming troublemaker from Bristol by way of Swansea. If his name sounds familiar, it should: Edward is the grandfather of ACIII protagonist Connor Kenway. The elder Kenway's backstory is rooted in a fairly standard trope--a peasant off in search of wealth to build a better life back home--but it's his unique place in the series' overarching fiction, and the universal themes the story explores, that makes the narrative shine.

Storms have a way of catching you off guard in Black Flag.

At the game's outset, Kenway is neither assassin nor templar. He's a man whose only allegiance lies with his ship's crew, playing both factions against one another for his own gain. But as the years wear on, the luster of youthful indiscretion fades away as Kenway wrestles with a desire to find some greater purpose and a longing to do right by his estranged wife back home. It's a story that explores the human side of pirates, painting larger-than-life figures in a light that even manages to turn Blackbeard into a sympathetic character.

The narrative grows a bit unwieldy toward the end, but finds its footing just before a credit sequence that is far more touching than any story about pirates has a right to be. An eclectic cast of side characters briefly dance with but never fully tackle more powerful themes like race and gender in the age of colonialism, but such narrative flirtations are one of the few shortcomings in an otherwise terrific story. Even the modern-day chapters--brief and innocuous as they may be--manage to add a refreshing and occasionally humorous take to the Abstergo story arc.

Despite the presence of pirates and scoundrels, the world of Black Flag is a consistently gorgeous one. The Assassin's Creed series has always had a knack for establishing an engrossing sense of place in its dense urban landscapes, and Ubisoft hasn't missed a step in applying that same level of craftsmanship toward the islands and jungles of the Caribbean. Black Flag looks especially impressive on the PlayStation 4, where improved lighting and a greater resolution bathe the world in a terrific level of visual fidelity and artistic flourishes. You're better able to notice the little things, like the way foliage gives way to Kenway while he sneaks through the bushes, or the realistic flutter of fabric on your sails when a strong wind sweeps across the sea. The current-generation versions of Black Flag still look terrific, but all those little details in the PlayStation 4 version draw you into the world that much more.

Cities like Havana echo the classic environments of previous games.

Kenway's adventures on dry land don't amount to the same wholesale reinvention of the series that his time aboard the Jackdaw does, but these portions of the game have hardly been ignored. Ubisoft has borrowed a number of concepts from Far Cry 3, and they improve the on-foot experience immensely. Crafting animal hides into better equipment is a far greater incentive to hunt wild animals than it was in ACIII, while the ability to sabotage alarm bells in an enemy base adds more flexibility to the stealth experience. But once a fight breaks out into a full-on melee, Black Flag begins to feel much more like its predecessors: swordfighting is as fluid and lively as ever, but lacks any substantial refinements over previous games.

Where that sense of deja vu hits Black Flag the hardest is in its overuse of eavesdropping missions. Throughout the main story, the game asks you time and again to tail your targets (but not too closely!) and eavesdrop on their conversations (but not too obviously!) before finally letting you decide what to do with them. These types of missions--a staple of the very first game in the series--had already begun to show their age in recent Assassin's Creed installments, and time hasn't done them any favors since then.

Not all treasures are above water in Black Flag.

While less glaring, a similar lack of advancement can be found in Black Flag's multiplayer. The cat-and-mouse nature of Wanted and the co-op chaos of Wolfpack are still tremendous fun, but outside of a new story-driven tutorial mode, there aren't any substantial additions. Even though Assassin's Creed multiplayer has always occupied something of an "icing on the cake" role, it's a shame this part of the game hasn't enjoyed the same creative renewal that its single-player portion has.

But these moments of stagnation are isolated events in what is, ultimately, a massive and highly ambitious game. Black Flag presents a world full of adventure and opportunity, where treasures scavenged in a remote jungle can be used to turn the tide in a massive naval battle against mighty Spanish warships. It's a game where you can sail the seas for hours at a time, either hunting great white sharks or simply listening to your crew sing one infectious sea shanty after the next. There's an incredible scope to what you can do in Black Flag, with a level of harmony between its component parts that encourages you to try it all, and a story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing. If there was ever any question that Assassin's Creed needed something ambitious to get the series back on track, Black Flag is that game and then some.

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Nintendo taps Wayne Brady for new Wii U commercials

Nintendo has brought on comedian Wayne Brady (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) for a series of new Wii Party U commercials released today on YouTube.

Check out all three videos below. It is not clear if Nintendo plans to release the commercials on traditional TV.

Wii Party U was released last week exclusively for Wii U. The multiplayer-focused game features more than 80 minigames and is a sequel to 2010 Wii game Wii Party.

Nintendo has worked with various celebrities in the past for marketing campaigns. The company brought on actor Robin Williams, whose daughter is named Zelda, for a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D commercial. In addition, Nintendo worked with singer Beyonce Knowles to promote Nintendo DS game Rhythm Heaven.

For more on Wii Party U, check out GameSpot's review.

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WWE 2K14 Review

Who's the greatest showman of the 20^th century? Michael Jackson? Harry Houdini? Or maybe you're partial to Ted Danson. These are all fine choices, if you like going the obvious route. How about someone who transformed the flashy fisticuffs of professional wrestling into an art form? Enter Randy Savage. No one else could have made sequined robes seem like the perfect attire for a burly man. And it's not like my high opinion of Savage is because of my hazy memory. His gruff, stilted speech and deliberate mannerisms enthrall me just as much today as they did so many years ago. The Macho Man was a theatrical genius, and the embodiment of everything that makes professional wrestling so compelling.

When the wrestlers of my youth faded into the sunset, so too did my interest in the WWE. But the nostalgic flame of yesteryear still burns inside me. All of those old feelings were rekindled in WWE 2K14. There's a mode called 30 Years of WrestleMania that focuses on the history of wrestling's Super Bowl. I got a warm glow in my chest when I replayed some of these classic matches. Remember when The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan exchanged clotheslines in the center of the ring? Oh, how thrilling it was to see these two titans go toe-to-toe to settle whatever feud they had. By the end of the fight, Warrior's face paint had chipped away, and we could finally see what the real man looked like. And then there was the time Andre the Giant callously tossed hundred-dollar bills after triumphing over Big John Studd. Such a blatant and hilarious disregard for money!

Randy Savage will always be a champion.

WWE 2K14's celebration of its prestigious history is very well done. We expect entrance themes and costumes to be ripped from the archives, but the game goes even further than that. By completing historical objectives within each match, brief cutscenes are cued up that mirror what happened in real life so many years ago. Have Hulk initiate a grapple outside of the ring against Andre the Giant, and watch the galoot from Grenoble headbutt the ring post just as Hogan ducks away. These scenarios are so expertly crafted that they drew me in completely to the main event. And even when I had never seen the match in the first place, I was still roped in to the drama because of how well it's presented.

By the end of the fight, Warrior's face paint had chipped away, and we could finally see what the real man looked like.

Before I realized that wrestling was scripted, I would recoil when one of my heroes would take a chair to his back or have his head forcibly slammed into the ground. But even once I knew their tricks, I would still wince. My emotions would overwhelm my senses, and I would think how much it would hurt to be thrown to and fro. Have you ever slammed your elbow into a ring after missing a flying leap off the top rope? It must be at least a little painful. WWE 2K14 communicates the dramatic punishment of professional wrestling. Most hits have serious impact, so much so that you wonder how someone could possibly survive some of these moves. Thunderous sound effects and elaborate wind-up animations make you grimace despite yourself.

If only strikes carried as much weight as other moves. When WWE 2K14's wrestlers mimic bar-room brawlers by throwing haymakers, the game's relationship to reality crumbles away. The wrestlers punch and kick so quickly that there's no weight behind them. And considering how often you perform these moves, there's an odd separation that makes matches feel imbalanced. Furthermore, the core action is so reliant on counterattacks that it's closer to a sequence of quick-time events than a body slam ballet. Instead of rewarding positioning or smart tactics, victory goes to the wrestler who taps a button first. This strips away much of the appeal of competitive matches because the same tactics can be used to win, no matter who you are or who you play against. After participating in one clunky, awkward match after another, I longed for the fluid choreography of the real thing. Absent WrestleMania's finest moments, the matches are dry affairs that do little to spark the imagination.

Such issues cut even deeper when more than two men enter the ring. The utter chaos of multi-man bouts never comes close to being captured in WWE 2K14. What should be satisfyingly crazy turns into a series of clunky one-on-one battles with no one quite sure what's expected of him. Really, all of the non-traditional fights lack the excitement that should exist when rules are shaken up. Escaping a steel cage, for instance, requires you to tap a button at the optimal position to go faster. Cramming your main objective into a simple minigames is oddly disconnected from the core action. And if you should climb to the top of a Hell in a Cell cage, don't expect to be able to recreate the infamous match between Mick Folley and The Undertaker. You can neither toss your opponent off nor fall through the cage, and the awkward animations preventing such disasters look hopelessly cartoonish. Stick to traditional fights in WWE 2K14 unless you want to see just how limited the combat is.

An abomination only possible in the character creator. You should see his feet.

If you ever wanted to be Vince McMahon (minus the ridiculous walk), Universe mode lets you tinker with the behind-the-scenes drama. Create feuds between wrestlers who used to be best friends and shake up the calendar if you've ever wished that Raw would air on Tuesdays. Universe mode is certainly interesting if you've ever dreamed of crazy scenarios, but it doesn't make up for the lackluster wrestling once you step back in the ring. At least there's one element outside the ring that anyone could enjoy. Creation mode let's you design an unholy monster to be your champion, which is absolutely riveting if you have a maniacal disposition. Make someone with teeny, tiny legs and cross your fingers that his femur doesn't snap in the middle of a bout. Or maybe you want his bones to break. Whatever floats your boat.

It's a shame the wrestling isn't up to par in WWE 2K14 because the elements surrounding it are so interesting. Though not nearly as captivating as Randy Savage, The Undertaker has a mode dedicated to his undefeated record in WrestleManias. You have the option to knock him from his lofty perch with a willing participant, or fend off everyone clamoring for your throne as The Undertaker. It's a neat mode that embraces one of the iconic personalities in the sport, but none of these activities have lasting appeal because fights are so dreary. When WWE 2K14 does work, its because of its recreation of history. For anyone who grew up loving professional wrestling, be prepared to be swept away in a tide of nostalgia. If only the core action could have been as compelling.

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Sim City: Cities of Tomorrow Preview

Posted by Dan Mihoerck | Oct. 28, 2013 6:00am

Kevin VanOrd is joined by Jason Haber from Electronic Arts to show off some gameplay from Sim City: Cities of Tomorrow.

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DICE is "looking into" allowing console players to customize Battlefield 4 controls

Battlefield 4 executive producer Patrick Bach has said the studio is looking into allowing users to fully customize their own Battlefield controls. "We have looked into it and there is quite a lot of complexity involved in that due to first-party certification issues," said Bach in an interview with Game Informer. "There is a reason you almost never see this on console games. With that said, we are looking into how we could look into this for the future."

Battlefield 4's control scheme has been modified from Battlefield 3, with one change moving team communications to a bumper button and meaning commands such as melee and vehicle countermeasures have had to be moved to elsewhere on the controller.

"When we looked at controls in Battlefield 4 we placed the team play aspect of our controls as the highest priority. We wanted players to be familiar with using spotting and the communication rose in multiplayer as well as the engage and tactical visor in single player," said Bach.

"To accomplish this we needed a button that allowed players quick access while also enabling the player to still perform all the necessary functions of Battlefield, like shooting, aiming, moving, and melee. We also know that players require consistency, especially players who will want to move from a PS3 to a PS4 or a Xbox 360 to a Xbox One. With this in mind, we moved our teamplay functions to a bumper button, which required us to make additional changes, all to highlight one of Battlefield's key strengths. It also enabled the use of the communication rose with a controller."

Explaining the decision further, Bach said that "Our default layouts are designed to be accessible and familiar to new players, while keeping teamplay and social features close at hand."

"For people who don't like these new controls [DICE is] offering a Veteran scheme that basically returns the controls to the Battlefield 3 standard, with one major difference--the [Communications] Rose is still married to the right bumper whether you are on foot or in a vehicle, which moves countermeasures and melee attacks."

PC players are still able to freely customise their Battlefield 4 controls.

Battlefield 4 will be released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on October 29. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will follow at launch.

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Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Review

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate should, in theory, be amazing. The recent pair of Batman games from Rocksteady Studios are the best featuring the caped crusader in years, if not decades, and mixing the constants of the Arkham games with a bit of Metroid-inspired design sounds like a winning formula. The prequel to Arkham Asylum, set after the console version of Arkham Origins, pits Batman against three familiar faces: Joker, the Penguin, and Black Mask. Each villain has taken control of a section of the Blackgate prison, amassing small armies along the way. Of course, only Batman can quell the uprising, but not without a little help from Catwoman, whose inside info is the key to identifying important locations within Blackgate. After the two penetrate the front lines, you're off to the races, free to tackle the three sections of the prison in any order you wish.

Blackgate does have a lot in common with its older siblings, but everything is presented in 2.5D rather than full 3D. Despite the change in perspective, close-quarters combat remains fluid and simple; relentlessly attack enemies, and press the counter button when a warning icon flashes above their heads. It's a straightforward dance that's effortlessly strung together in a simple but satisfying way. You aren't controlling every facet of the action, but you are performing complex combo attacks and acrobatic takedowns with ease. Occasionally, advanced enemies with weapons or increased defenses appear, and you may have to stun them with your cape or leap over them to attack from behind, but overt button prompts make it easy to keep things moving right along.

Solomon Grundy wants love, too!

Unfortunately, it's not all good news. One of the few problems with combat occurs when you're dealing with a variety of enemy types. Quite often, fights take place on two planes, but you don't have control over which plane you're fighting on. Instead, Batman attacks the closest enemy regardless of whether the opponent is in the foreground or background. Following the simple attack and counter formula works well enough when against common enemies, but that which makes multi-plane combat easy, however, breaks any attempt at strategy when fighting complex enemies. Stunning one enemy, only to attack a different enemy on another plane by accident, for example, is an all-too-common occurrence.

As you might expect, you eventually encounter well-known villains from the Batman series, and these boss fights come in two flavors. Mid-boss encounters, such as Bronze Tiger and Solomon Grundy, largely stick to the pattern of counter and attack found in typical fights, but the three big bosses are puzzle oriented in nature. These somewhat complex scenarios typically have strict conditions for success and extreme punishments for failure. A single misstep against Black Mask or the Penguin leads to near-instant death. Tackling these puzzles requires a trial-and-error approach, which doesn't work well with near-instant deathblows. Worst of all, you have to wait through an extended loading screen and start over a room or two before the boss fight. Until you know exactly what to do, it takes longer to get back into a boss fight than it does to fail.

When you aren't fending off clowns and thugs, you spend the majority of your time exploring the prison depths in search of the villainous trio. A sprawling map, filled with hidden passages, dangerous obstacles, and encrypted security panels, represents each of the game's three sections. Catwoman points you in the right direction, but once you're inside, you have to rely on the map and Batman's detective vision to find your way around. Entering detective mode by tapping the Vita's touchscreen reveals an X-ray-like representation of your surroundings. Perches, enemies, and other common elements are highlighted to stand out, and you can analyze each object's properties by touching them for a few seconds. It's important to search the screen for hidden objects that weren't immediately recognized in detective mode, and it's the most common way to not only discover solutions to environmental puzzles, but also the locations of secret rooms and items.

I don't know about you, but I prefer maps that don't keep track of where I've been.

With mostly enjoyable combat and the discovery-driven model of exploration, Blackgate looks great on paper. However, the implementation of the latter feels rushed and chaotic, often leading to frustration with the level design, and most critically, the map. This is, for the most part, a side-scrolling experience, but you're often driven into an air duct in the background, around a corner, or onto an elevator, deviating away from the typical side-on perspective. This shouldn't be a problem, but thanks to the top-down map, and a constantly-shifting relationship with your surroundings, it is.

The map is, by far, the most frustrating element of Blackgate, because it fails to provide the kind helpful information you'd expect to find. In a multistory environment with complex webs of air ducts, grapnel points, and hidden rooms, a map that fails to indicate what floor you're on is next to useless. Quite often, you're told to go to a specific room, but even if it appears that you're within the boundary of said room according to the map, you may in fact be floors and a complicated journey away. You may even need to come from an entirely different entrance to the building, but you won't figure any of this out until you spend lots of time analyzing every inch of your environment, chasing trails that lead to dead ends, and eventually stumble upon a hidden path that doubles back to the goal, albeit a floor above where you started. Then, nine times out of 10, when you finally make it to the goal, you have to head to yet another far-away location to briefly interact with an object to restore power to a generator, disable a security device, or something similar.

Essentially, your journey is as follows: make your way from point A to point B, fight some enemies, head to point C to interact with an object, then return to point B to fight a boss. This pattern is common, and it's also frustrating, due in no small part to weak pathfinding and an utterly confusing map.

Prepare to analyze everything in sight, constantly.

When you've grown tired of the typical mission, you have plenty of opportunities to seek out hidden objects, represented by a question mark on the map. Most of these are out of reach until you've acquired the proper tools: the batarang, line launcher, gel launcher, and batclaw. All of these tools are used to interact with objects and, with the exception of the line launcher, act as variations on the same principle: impact another object and apply some kind of force upon it. With the line launcher, you can create zip lines that allow you to fly across the environment, and even use it as a tightrope to reach areas overhead. Since Batman can't jump, the line launcher and the starting grapnel gun are your only means of vertical movement.

The Metroid-inspired world design, where tools are the key to reaching certain areas, is a welcome element, but the rewards for your explorative efforts are deflating. Most of the time, the items you find are one component of a four- or five-part object. It's a disappointing experience after struggling with the inadequate map and the need to endlessly analyze your environment. If you could analyze your environment while on the move, maybe the process wouldn't feel like such a chore, but as it is, you have to stand still to scrutinize your surroundings. In all, you spend far too much time stopping and starting, when all you want to do is solve puzzles, fight, and grapnel your way through the world.

And this is the major conflict within Blackgate's design. When you're making forward progress, interacting with your environment, and occasionally fighting, it's a simple but enjoyable gameplay experience, but once you're forced to wrestle with the map while backtracking, and attempt to collect enough pieces to assemble a new batsuit, things start to fall apart, and Blackgate becomes a slow and frustrating slog. There is a New Game Plus option to explore after beating the game, in case you want to tackle the main villains in a different order, but there are too many frustrating elements to make that an attractive option. The first few hours of Blackgate provide an exciting glimpse of what might have been a great game, but it slowly falls apart, hour by hour, villain by villain.

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Top 5 Skyrim Mods of the Week - Halloween Special!

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Dark Souls II PS3 network test delayed

Namco Bandai has indefinitely delayed the Dark Souls II network test in North and South America, the developer wrote on its Facebook page earlier this morning.

"Due to unforeseen issues, the North and South American PS3 Dark Souls Network Test has been indefinitely delayed," Namco wrote. "We thoroughly apologize for the inconvenience and will be rescheduling the test so that everyone who downloaded the client can participate for the full duration."

"Again, we are very sorry. We'll know more about the next test soon and will post updates here."

Dark Souls II launches for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in March 2014. The beta testing period has been announced only for PS3. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Dark Souls II.

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 26 Oct 2013 07:39:13 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ Splash Damage Creative Director Alastair Cornish gives MANvsGAME host Jayson Love some tips for success during a multiplayer session of Batman: Arkham Origins. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ <p style="">In spite of the fact that it was "Unofficial Batman Week" around the GameSpot offices last week (MANvsGAME's Jason Love ran a marathon livestream session of the three console Batman games, Batman t-shirts abounded and a small canine in a Batman costume wandering around…), the Marvel universe has my attention at the moment. Lego Marvel Super Heroes has arrived.</p><p style="">And it shipped with a free Loki keychain.</p><p style="">You can't argue with a free Loki keychain.</p><p style="">While a full review is in progress for Monday, I've been playing the game for the past couple of days and having a great time, TT Games having lovingly crafted a sumptuous meal for Lego and Marvel fans alike. With roughly 150 characters to unlock and play as--including side characters such as Aunt May, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and pop culture tropes such as Howard the Duck (who comes equipped with a rocket launcher)--there appears to be something for everyone here.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">This, and the pleasure of exploration, make for the joy of this game. Granted, this isn't the brainiest title you'll pick up this year, nor will it be regarded as subtle or nuanced (the game's relatively simple plot centers around preventing Doctor Doom and cohorts from collecting cosmic bricks to build Doom's Doom Ray of Doom), there's an undeniable joy in what can be called the "Lego Formula." In the Lego Formula, you'll readily jump into the level, smash or blast everything destructible around you, battle your enemies, see what Lego pieces can be picked up, what machines can be assembled or what superpowers can be used to solve the on-screen puzzles and move on from there. Yes, it's an established method and the Lego franchise has long done this, but you're fully immersed in the Lego-ized Marvel universe as you do this, unlocking more and more content in the process, and it's still as rewarding as it ever was.</p><blockquote data-align="center"><p style="">Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book.</p></blockquote><p style="">Where Lego Marvel Super Heroes truly shines is in its warmth and attention to detail. The game's humor is light, playful and genuinely fun, the writers reveling in the implied cheesiness of the comic book genre and the super hero characters therein and hamming up the dialogue to make the cutscenes enjoyable. Background jokes such as Lego workers trying to sweep up the destruction from the last level's epic battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson constantly bringing Nick Fury and other heroes snacks and the Hulk growing frustrated with a computer that he winds up smashing, keep the mood where it needs to be. Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book (such as the Helicarrier, Asteroid M, downtown Manhattan, etc.), there's usually a Lego version of it that catches your attention and proves fun to explore.</p><p style="">It's been fun to see the Lego games grow over the last decade and Lego Marvel Super Heroes is no exception. Improved modeling, lighting and details make the game visually inviting, responsive controls make the simple act of moving around enjoyable and improvements in the combat engine have turned what seemed to be two Lego figures slap-fighting in the early Lego games into a genuine fight between the two characters being shown on screen.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Unfortunately, a few glitches have interrupted my fun. A small, unexplained black square briefly appeared above my characters' heads towards the end of the game and a graphical glitch showed both the dead and alive versions of the Thing on screen simultaneously, the protocol calling for a dead character to explode in a shower of Lego bricks, disappear and come back again a moment later.</p><p style="">Between the visceral joy of pounding your opponents into dozens of exploding Legos, unlocking every character you can and taking down a set of flying Hulkbuster armor via the Iron Man 3 "House Party" protocol (wherein half a dozen Iron Man suits fly in to assist you), there's always something fun to do in Lego Marvel Super Heroes. This is the blend of Lego and the Marvel universe you've been waiting for, a joyously geeky concoction worthy of your attention.</p><p style="">I'll have the full review come Monday.</p><p style="">Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Lego version of Carnage to unlock and frighten a metropolitan populace with…</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 17:48:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/ <p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate should, in theory, be amazing. The recent pair of Batman games from Rocksteady Studios are the best featuring the caped crusader in years, if not decades, and mixing the constants of the Arkham games with a bit of Metroid-inspired design sounds like a winning formula. The prequel to Arkham Asylum, set after the console version of Arkham Origins, pits Batman against three familiar faces: Joker, the Penguin, and Black Mask. Each villain has taken control of a section of the Blackgate prison, amassing small armies along the way. Of course, only Batman can quell the uprising, but not without a little help from Catwoman, whose inside info is the key to identifying important locations within Blackgate. After the two penetrate the front lines, you're off to the races, free to tackle the three sections of the prison in any order you wish.</p><p style="">Blackgate does have a lot in common with its older siblings, but everything is presented in 2.5D rather than full 3D. Despite the change in perspective, close-quarters combat remains fluid and simple; relentlessly attack enemies, and press the counter button when a warning icon flashes above their heads. It's a straightforward dance that's effortlessly strung together in a simple but satisfying way. You aren't controlling every facet of the action, but you are performing complex combo attacks and acrobatic takedowns with ease. Occasionally, advanced enemies with weapons or increased defenses appear, and you may have to stun them with your cape or leap over them to attack from behind, but overt button prompts make it easy to keep things moving right along.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg"></a><figcaption>Solomon Grundy wants love, too!</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Unfortunately, it's not all good news. One of the few problems with combat occurs when you're dealing with a variety of enemy types. Quite often, fights take place on two planes, but you don't have control over which plane you're fighting on. Instead, Batman attacks the closest enemy regardless of whether the opponent is in the foreground or background. Following the simple attack and counter formula works well enough when against common enemies, but that which makes multi-plane combat easy, however, breaks any attempt at strategy when fighting complex enemies. Stunning one enemy, only to attack a different enemy on another plane by accident, for example, is an all-too-common occurrence.</p><p style="">As you might expect, you eventually encounter well-known villains from the Batman series, and these boss fights come in two flavors. Mid-boss encounters, such as Bronze Tiger and Solomon Grundy, largely stick to the pattern of counter and attack found in typical fights, but the three big bosses are puzzle oriented in nature. These somewhat complex scenarios typically have strict conditions for success and extreme punishments for failure. A single misstep against Black Mask or the Penguin leads to near-instant death. Tackling these puzzles requires a trial-and-error approach, which doesn't work well with near-instant deathblows. Worst of all, you have to wait through an extended loading screen and start over a room or two before the boss fight. Until you know exactly what to do, it takes longer to get back into a boss fight than it does to fail.</p><p style="">When you aren't fending off clowns and thugs, you spend the majority of your time exploring the prison depths in search of the villainous trio. A sprawling map, filled with hidden passages, dangerous obstacles, and encrypted security panels, represents each of the game's three sections. Catwoman points you in the right direction, but once you're inside, you have to rely on the map and Batman's detective vision to find your way around. Entering detective mode by tapping the Vita's touchscreen reveals an X-ray-like representation of your surroundings. Perches, enemies, and other common elements are highlighted to stand out, and you can analyze each object's properties by touching them for a few seconds. It's important to search the screen for hidden objects that weren't immediately recognized in detective mode, and it's the most common way to not only discover solutions to environmental puzzles, but also the locations of secret rooms and items.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg"></a><figcaption>I don't know about you, but I prefer maps that don't keep track of where I've been.</figcaption></figure><p style="">With mostly enjoyable combat and the discovery-driven model of exploration, Blackgate looks great on paper. However, the implementation of the latter feels rushed and chaotic, often leading to frustration with the level design, and most critically, the map. This is, for the most part, a side-scrolling experience, but you're often driven into an air duct in the background, around a corner, or onto an elevator, deviating away from the typical side-on perspective. This shouldn't be a problem, but thanks to the top-down map, and a constantly-shifting relationship with your surroundings, it is.</p><p style="">The map is, by far, the most frustrating element of Blackgate, because it fails to provide the kind helpful information you'd expect to find. In a multistory environment with complex webs of air ducts, grapnel points, and hidden rooms, a map that fails to indicate what floor you're on is next to useless. Quite often, you're told to go to a specific room, but even if it appears that you're within the boundary of said room according to the map, you may in fact be floors and a complicated journey away. You may even need to come from an entirely different entrance to the building, but you won't figure any of this out until you spend lots of time analyzing every inch of your environment, chasing trails that lead to dead ends, and eventually stumble upon a hidden path that doubles back to the goal, albeit a floor above where you started. Then, nine times out of 10, when you finally make it to the goal, you have to head to yet another far-away location to briefly interact with an object to restore power to a generator, disable a security device, or something similar.</p><p style="">Essentially, your journey is as follows: make your way from point A to point B, fight some enemies, head to point C to interact with an object, then return to point B to fight a boss. This pattern is common, and it's also frustrating, due in no small part to weak pathfinding and an utterly confusing map.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg"></a><figcaption>Prepare to analyze everything in sight, constantly.</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">When you've grown tired of the typical mission, you have plenty of opportunities to seek out hidden objects, represented by a question mark on the map. Most of these are out of reach until you've acquired the proper tools: the batarang, line launcher, gel launcher, and batclaw. All of these tools are used to interact with objects and, with the exception of the line launcher, act as variations on the same principle: impact another object and apply some kind of force upon it. With the line launcher, you can create zip lines that allow you to fly across the environment, and even use it as a tightrope to reach areas overhead. Since Batman can't jump, the line launcher and the starting grapnel gun are your only means of vertical movement.</p><p style="">The Metroid-inspired world design, where tools are the key to reaching certain areas, is a welcome element, but the rewards for your explorative efforts are deflating. Most of the time, the items you find are one component of a four- or five-part object. It's a disappointing experience after struggling with the inadequate map and the need to endlessly analyze your environment. If you could analyze your environment while on the move, maybe the process wouldn't feel like such a chore, but as it is, you have to stand still to scrutinize your surroundings. In all, you spend far too much time stopping and starting, when all you want to do is solve puzzles, fight, and grapnel your way through the world.</p><p style="">And this is the major conflict within Blackgate's design. When you're making forward progress, interacting with your environment, and occasionally fighting, it's a simple but enjoyable gameplay experience, but once you're forced to wrestle with the map while backtracking, and attempt to collect enough pieces to assemble a new batsuit, things start to fall apart, and Blackgate becomes a slow and frustrating slog. There is a New Game Plus option to explore after beating the game, in case you want to tackle the main villains in a different order, but there are too many frustrating elements to make that an attractive option. The first few hours of Blackgate provide an exciting glimpse of what might have been a great game, but it slowly falls apart, hour by hour, villain by villain.</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 26 Oct 2013 07:39:13 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ Splash Damage Creative Director Alastair Cornish gives MANvsGAME host Jayson Love some tips for success during a multiplayer session of Batman: Arkham Origins. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ <p style="">In spite of the fact that it was "Unofficial Batman Week" around the GameSpot offices last week (MANvsGAME's Jason Love ran a marathon livestream session of the three console Batman games, Batman t-shirts abounded and a small canine in a Batman costume wandering around…), the Marvel universe has my attention at the moment. Lego Marvel Super Heroes has arrived.</p><p style="">And it shipped with a free Loki keychain.</p><p style="">You can't argue with a free Loki keychain.</p><p style="">While a full review is in progress for Monday, I've been playing the game for the past couple of days and having a great time, TT Games having lovingly crafted a sumptuous meal for Lego and Marvel fans alike. With roughly 150 characters to unlock and play as--including side characters such as Aunt May, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and pop culture tropes such as Howard the Duck (who comes equipped with a rocket launcher)--there appears to be something for everyone here.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">This, and the pleasure of exploration, make for the joy of this game. Granted, this isn't the brainiest title you'll pick up this year, nor will it be regarded as subtle or nuanced (the game's relatively simple plot centers around preventing Doctor Doom and cohorts from collecting cosmic bricks to build Doom's Doom Ray of Doom), there's an undeniable joy in what can be called the "Lego Formula." In the Lego Formula, you'll readily jump into the level, smash or blast everything destructible around you, battle your enemies, see what Lego pieces can be picked up, what machines can be assembled or what superpowers can be used to solve the on-screen puzzles and move on from there. Yes, it's an established method and the Lego franchise has long done this, but you're fully immersed in the Lego-ized Marvel universe as you do this, unlocking more and more content in the process, and it's still as rewarding as it ever was.</p><blockquote data-align="center"><p style="">Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book.</p></blockquote><p style="">Where Lego Marvel Super Heroes truly shines is in its warmth and attention to detail. The game's humor is light, playful and genuinely fun, the writers reveling in the implied cheesiness of the comic book genre and the super hero characters therein and hamming up the dialogue to make the cutscenes enjoyable. Background jokes such as Lego workers trying to sweep up the destruction from the last level's epic battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson constantly bringing Nick Fury and other heroes snacks and the Hulk growing frustrated with a computer that he winds up smashing, keep the mood where it needs to be. Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book (such as the Helicarrier, Asteroid M, downtown Manhattan, etc.), there's usually a Lego version of it that catches your attention and proves fun to explore.</p><p style="">It's been fun to see the Lego games grow over the last decade and Lego Marvel Super Heroes is no exception. Improved modeling, lighting and details make the game visually inviting, responsive controls make the simple act of moving around enjoyable and improvements in the combat engine have turned what seemed to be two Lego figures slap-fighting in the early Lego games into a genuine fight between the two characters being shown on screen.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Unfortunately, a few glitches have interrupted my fun. A small, unexplained black square briefly appeared above my characters' heads towards the end of the game and a graphical glitch showed both the dead and alive versions of the Thing on screen simultaneously, the protocol calling for a dead character to explode in a shower of Lego bricks, disappear and come back again a moment later.</p><p style="">Between the visceral joy of pounding your opponents into dozens of exploding Legos, unlocking every character you can and taking down a set of flying Hulkbuster armor via the Iron Man 3 "House Party" protocol (wherein half a dozen Iron Man suits fly in to assist you), there's always something fun to do in Lego Marvel Super Heroes. This is the blend of Lego and the Marvel universe you've been waiting for, a joyously geeky concoction worthy of your attention.</p><p style="">I'll have the full review come Monday.</p><p style="">Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Lego version of Carnage to unlock and frighten a metropolitan populace with…</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 17:48:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/ <p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate should, in theory, be amazing. The recent pair of Batman games from Rocksteady Studios are the best featuring the caped crusader in years, if not decades, and mixing the constants of the Arkham games with a bit of Metroid-inspired design sounds like a winning formula. The prequel to Arkham Asylum, set after the console version of Arkham Origins, pits Batman against three familiar faces: Joker, the Penguin, and Black Mask. Each villain has taken control of a section of the Blackgate prison, amassing small armies along the way. Of course, only Batman can quell the uprising, but not without a little help from Catwoman, whose inside info is the key to identifying important locations within Blackgate. After the two penetrate the front lines, you're off to the races, free to tackle the three sections of the prison in any order you wish.</p><p style="">Blackgate does have a lot in common with its older siblings, but everything is presented in 2.5D rather than full 3D. Despite the change in perspective, close-quarters combat remains fluid and simple; relentlessly attack enemies, and press the counter button when a warning icon flashes above their heads. It's a straightforward dance that's effortlessly strung together in a simple but satisfying way. You aren't controlling every facet of the action, but you are performing complex combo attacks and acrobatic takedowns with ease. Occasionally, advanced enemies with weapons or increased defenses appear, and you may have to stun them with your cape or leap over them to attack from behind, but overt button prompts make it easy to keep things moving right along.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg"></a><figcaption>Solomon Grundy wants love, too!</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Unfortunately, it's not all good news. One of the few problems with combat occurs when you're dealing with a variety of enemy types. Quite often, fights take place on two planes, but you don't have control over which plane you're fighting on. Instead, Batman attacks the closest enemy regardless of whether the opponent is in the foreground or background. Following the simple attack and counter formula works well enough when against common enemies, but that which makes multi-plane combat easy, however, breaks any attempt at strategy when fighting complex enemies. Stunning one enemy, only to attack a different enemy on another plane by accident, for example, is an all-too-common occurrence.</p><p style="">As you might expect, you eventually encounter well-known villains from the Batman series, and these boss fights come in two flavors. Mid-boss encounters, such as Bronze Tiger and Solomon Grundy, largely stick to the pattern of counter and attack found in typical fights, but the three big bosses are puzzle oriented in nature. These somewhat complex scenarios typically have strict conditions for success and extreme punishments for failure. A single misstep against Black Mask or the Penguin leads to near-instant death. Tackling these puzzles requires a trial-and-error approach, which doesn't work well with near-instant deathblows. Worst of all, you have to wait through an extended loading screen and start over a room or two before the boss fight. Until you know exactly what to do, it takes longer to get back into a boss fight than it does to fail.</p><p style="">When you aren't fending off clowns and thugs, you spend the majority of your time exploring the prison depths in search of the villainous trio. A sprawling map, filled with hidden passages, dangerous obstacles, and encrypted security panels, represents each of the game's three sections. Catwoman points you in the right direction, but once you're inside, you have to rely on the map and Batman's detective vision to find your way around. Entering detective mode by tapping the Vita's touchscreen reveals an X-ray-like representation of your surroundings. Perches, enemies, and other common elements are highlighted to stand out, and you can analyze each object's properties by touching them for a few seconds. It's important to search the screen for hidden objects that weren't immediately recognized in detective mode, and it's the most common way to not only discover solutions to environmental puzzles, but also the locations of secret rooms and items.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg"></a><figcaption>I don't know about you, but I prefer maps that don't keep track of where I've been.</figcaption></figure><p style="">With mostly enjoyable combat and the discovery-driven model of exploration, Blackgate looks great on paper. However, the implementation of the latter feels rushed and chaotic, often leading to frustration with the level design, and most critically, the map. This is, for the most part, a side-scrolling experience, but you're often driven into an air duct in the background, around a corner, or onto an elevator, deviating away from the typical side-on perspective. This shouldn't be a problem, but thanks to the top-down map, and a constantly-shifting relationship with your surroundings, it is.</p><p style="">The map is, by far, the most frustrating element of Blackgate, because it fails to provide the kind helpful information you'd expect to find. In a multistory environment with complex webs of air ducts, grapnel points, and hidden rooms, a map that fails to indicate what floor you're on is next to useless. Quite often, you're told to go to a specific room, but even if it appears that you're within the boundary of said room according to the map, you may in fact be floors and a complicated journey away. You may even need to come from an entirely different entrance to the building, but you won't figure any of this out until you spend lots of time analyzing every inch of your environment, chasing trails that lead to dead ends, and eventually stumble upon a hidden path that doubles back to the goal, albeit a floor above where you started. Then, nine times out of 10, when you finally make it to the goal, you have to head to yet another far-away location to briefly interact with an object to restore power to a generator, disable a security device, or something similar.</p><p style="">Essentially, your journey is as follows: make your way from point A to point B, fight some enemies, head to point C to interact with an object, then return to point B to fight a boss. This pattern is common, and it's also frustrating, due in no small part to weak pathfinding and an utterly confusing map.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg"></a><figcaption>Prepare to analyze everything in sight, constantly.</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">When you've grown tired of the typical mission, you have plenty of opportunities to seek out hidden objects, represented by a question mark on the map. Most of these are out of reach until you've acquired the proper tools: the batarang, line launcher, gel launcher, and batclaw. All of these tools are used to interact with objects and, with the exception of the line launcher, act as variations on the same principle: impact another object and apply some kind of force upon it. With the line launcher, you can create zip lines that allow you to fly across the environment, and even use it as a tightrope to reach areas overhead. Since Batman can't jump, the line launcher and the starting grapnel gun are your only means of vertical movement.</p><p style="">The Metroid-inspired world design, where tools are the key to reaching certain areas, is a welcome element, but the rewards for your explorative efforts are deflating. Most of the time, the items you find are one component of a four- or five-part object. It's a disappointing experience after struggling with the inadequate map and the need to endlessly analyze your environment. If you could analyze your environment while on the move, maybe the process wouldn't feel like such a chore, but as it is, you have to stand still to scrutinize your surroundings. In all, you spend far too much time stopping and starting, when all you want to do is solve puzzles, fight, and grapnel your way through the world.</p><p style="">And this is the major conflict within Blackgate's design. When you're making forward progress, interacting with your environment, and occasionally fighting, it's a simple but enjoyable gameplay experience, but once you're forced to wrestle with the map while backtracking, and attempt to collect enough pieces to assemble a new batsuit, things start to fall apart, and Blackgate becomes a slow and frustrating slog. There is a New Game Plus option to explore after beating the game, in case you want to tackle the main villains in a different order, but there are too many frustrating elements to make that an attractive option. The first few hours of Blackgate provide an exciting glimpse of what might have been a great game, but it slowly falls apart, hour by hour, villain by villain.</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/

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http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:38:48 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sklanders-swap-force-wii-u-bundle-revealed/1100-6415782/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354896" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354896"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the lead-up to the holiday shopping season, Nintendo today announced an all-new Wii U bundle featuring Activision's <a href="/skylanders-swap-force/" data-ref-id="false">Skylanders Swap Force</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Launching November 15 for $300, the bundle includes a white 8GB Wii U Basic system, a Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack (featuring the game, a Portal of Power, and three Skylanders figures), and a copy of <a href="/nintendo-land/" data-ref-id="false">Nintendo Land</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A collector poster, trading cards, and sticker sheets are also included. Nintendo <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-getting-price-cut-september-20/1100-6413745/" data-ref-id="1100-6413745">discontinued the 8GB Basic Wii U model for general availability</a> in September.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Skylanders Swap Force Wii U bundle is not the only bundle Nintendo will offer this holiday. Earlier this week, Nintendo announced a new <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-wii-u-bundle-adds-mario-and-luigi/1100-6415733/" data-ref-id="1100-6415733">32GB Wii U pack</a> that will include <a href="/new-super-mario-bros-u/" data-ref-id="false">New Super Mario Bros. U</a> and New Super Luigi U for $300. In addition, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-getting-price-cut-september-20/1100-6413745/" data-ref-id="1100-6413745">special Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD bundle</a> is currently available for $300.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Skylanders Swap Force is the latest entry in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/skylanders-series-sales-rise-to-15-billion/1100-6412395/" data-ref-id="1100-6412395">Activision's $1.5 billion toys-to-life series</a> and was released earlier this month on Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and 3DS. The game allows players to mix and match the top and bottom halves of 16 characters, for a total of more than 250 combinations. All toys from the <a href="/skylanders-spyros-adventure/" data-ref-id="false">original Skylanders</a> and <a href="/skylanders-giants/" data-ref-id="false">Skylanders Giants</a> are compatible with Skylanders Swap Force.</p><p style="">The Wii U version of Skylanders Swap Force supports off-screen play, allowing users to play the entire game on the GamePad.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415623" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415623/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sklanders-swap-force-wii-u-bundle-revealed/1100-6415782/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/xbox-one-invitation-trailer/2300-6415749/ Microsoft invites you to join the 'new generation' in the latest Xbox One trailer. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:35:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/xbox-one-invitation-trailer/2300-6415749/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-review/1900-6415506/ <p style="">Batman has a long history of escaping from some of the deadliest, most elaborate traps a brilliant criminal mind can devise. In his bat-utility belt is a gadget to get him out of nearly any predicament. But in Batman: Arkham Origins, there's one trap Batman can't escape from: the trap of expectations. By now, there are two things that define action in the Arkham series: rhythmic, free-flow combat and stealthy predator rooms. Arkham Origins has those elements in spades. But it doles them out in a straightforward, predictable fashion that lacks the inspiration of the earlier Arkham games.</p><p style="">The most noteworthy difference between Arkham Origins and its predecessors is a significantly larger open world. But that larger world has little meaning when the things you're doing in it are the same things the smaller world of the previous game accommodated perfectly well. Grappling up to rooftops and gliding through the air still feel great, but they don't feel any better here just because you have more rooftops to leap from. And there are side quests that have you doing things like racing to and fro to disarm bombs set by Anarky, which is much like racing to answer Zsasz's ringing phones in <a href="/batman-arkham-city/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham City</a>. </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354337" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354337"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg"></a><figcaption>Are you a bat enough dude to counter all of Deathstroke's attacks?</figcaption></figure><p style="">The city is bigger just for the sake of being bigger, and while these side quests make interesting use of characters--Anarky's willingness to go to any length to liberate the downtrodden from the oppression of the rich and powerful makes him a fascinating figure, for instance, and the game gives him his due--the things you're doing are exactly the same as the things the previous game had you doing in its open world. Even the crimes in progress, events you can choose to respond to or ignore that come up on the police radio, aren't a chance to protect hapless citizens of Gotham from criminal elements, but just to fight more groups of thugs, something you do plenty of anyway.</p><p style="">Free-flow combat is unchanged from earlier Arkham games, aside from the fact that there are a few new enemy types in the mix, most notably a martial artist who has an attack you need to counter twice rather than once. The animations are still excellent, and getting into a rhythm where you're dishing out punishment while perfectly countering every enemy attack still feels good, but it also feels exactly the same as ever. At a certain point in the game, you acquire shock gloves that make your punches more powerful, but this doesn't prevent punching dudes in the face from feeling routine.</p><p style="">Predator rooms are also what you'd expect them to be, no less and no more. Of course it's still satisfying to sneak up on a goon and take him down silently, or to be perched on a gargoyle, waiting for a clueless criminal to walk right under you so you can do an inverted takedown. But it's also starting to feel rote. By this point, the mechanics governing these systems have become apparent, the process of sneaking up on enemies or of countering attacks overly familiar. You and Batman and the game he's in are all just going through the motions.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354352" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354352"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg"></a><figcaption>Batman's true passion isn't doling out justice. It's ogling gadgets.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Arkham City built on <a href="/batman-arkham-asylum/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham Asylum</a> by putting the mechanics in an exciting new context. Arkham Origins lifts them from City and puts them in the same context again, complete with all the same sorts of environmental problem-solving. You still toss grenades into water to form makeshift rafts (glue grenades here, not ice grenades!) and use the batclaw to pull yourself around. You still power up fuse boxes by guiding remote-controlled batarangs through fields of electricity. The occasional encounter with something fresh and exciting could have gone a long way toward making Origins' reliance on these familiar mechanics welcoming. But because nearly everything you do is a straight, wholly unsurprising replication of something you do in the earlier Arkham games, welcome familiarity gives way to an inescapable feeling of predictability.</p><p style="">There is one new mechanic in Origins: a significantly overhauled case file system. As someone who has always been fascinated by the detective facet of Batman's character, I had high hopes that this would make investigating crime scenes an involving process that would test my intellect. Unfortunately, it doesn't. You scan evidence to reconstruct the events of a crime and have to scrub back and forth through the reconstruction to track down more evidence to scan. There's some CSI: Gotham City entertainment value in watching the pieces of the reconstructed crime come together, but your role in the process is minimal.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="">In the absence of new elements, the tried-and-true free-flow combat and predator mechanics feel routine rather than inspired.</p></blockquote><p style="">The one area in which Batman: Arkham Origins delivers occasional flashes of inspiration is in its story, which establishes where Batman's adversarial relationships with the criminals who loom large in the Arkham games began, and how he forged an uneasy alliance with James Gordon, a good cop in a police force plagued by corruption. It dabbles in questions about whether Batman's presence only ends up fueling the fires of criminal activity in Gotham, and in its best and most genuinely surprising moments, explores how Batman and the Joker are two sides of the same coin. As Batman, new voice actor Roger Craig Smith is a bit flat, but as the Joker, Troy Baker fills Mark Hamill's clown shoes admirably.</p><p style="">Batman's eventful Christmas Eve begins, however, with a less outlandish criminal. The organized crime lord Black Mask, tired of the pressure Batman has been putting on his operations for the past few years, puts a bounty on Batman's head, calling eight world-class assassins to Gotham, including the muscle-bound Bane, the poisonous Copperhead, and the efficient Deathstroke. Boss fights with these and other characters have an elevated sense of drama because of the personalities involved, but mechanically, they aren't much different from fights with other enemies. Defeating Deathstroke requires good countering. Against Bane, you use stuns and beatdowns. And so on.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354360" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354360"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg"></a><figcaption>The world of Arkham Origins is bigger, but in this case, that doesn't translate to better.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins also includes a competitive multiplayer mode in which eight players are split into three teams: Bane's thugs, Joker's henchmen, and the dynamic duo. The Bane and Joker teams aim to eliminate each other, while Batman and Robin strive to take out enough criminals from either side to disrupt their operations. This unusual structure has potential; as a criminal, the need to be vigilant against heroes swooping out of the shadows while also trying to pick off opposing criminals should keep you on edge. But in practice, it all feels sloppy. Weapon accuracy is all over the place, and being able to sprint only a very short distance makes criminals feel weak and inept. Meanwhile, as the heroes, combat lacks the rhythm and impact that makes it empowering in single-player, and you go down so quickly to enemy attacks that you feel more like a Gotham City impostor than a real hero.</p><p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins is a deeply predictable game. It gives you exactly what you'd expect in another Arkham game, without doing anything to push the series forward. In the absence of new elements, the tried-and-true free-flow combat and predator mechanics feel routine rather than inspired. Origins is worth experiencing for the way it sets the stage for the events of the other Arkham games, but it also resides squarely in their shadows.</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-review/1900-6415506/

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:38:48 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sklanders-swap-force-wii-u-bundle-revealed/1100-6415782/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354896" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354896"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2354896-skylandersbundlewiiu.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the lead-up to the holiday shopping season, Nintendo today announced an all-new Wii U bundle featuring Activision's <a href="/skylanders-swap-force/" data-ref-id="false">Skylanders Swap Force</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Launching November 15 for $300, the bundle includes a white 8GB Wii U Basic system, a Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack (featuring the game, a Portal of Power, and three Skylanders figures), and a copy of <a href="/nintendo-land/" data-ref-id="false">Nintendo Land</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A collector poster, trading cards, and sticker sheets are also included. Nintendo <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-getting-price-cut-september-20/1100-6413745/" data-ref-id="1100-6413745">discontinued the 8GB Basic Wii U model for general availability</a> in September.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Skylanders Swap Force Wii U bundle is not the only bundle Nintendo will offer this holiday. Earlier this week, Nintendo announced a new <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-wii-u-bundle-adds-mario-and-luigi/1100-6415733/" data-ref-id="1100-6415733">32GB Wii U pack</a> that will include <a href="/new-super-mario-bros-u/" data-ref-id="false">New Super Mario Bros. U</a> and New Super Luigi U for $300. In addition, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-getting-price-cut-september-20/1100-6413745/" data-ref-id="1100-6413745">special Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD bundle</a> is currently available for $300.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Skylanders Swap Force is the latest entry in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/skylanders-series-sales-rise-to-15-billion/1100-6412395/" data-ref-id="1100-6412395">Activision's $1.5 billion toys-to-life series</a> and was released earlier this month on Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and 3DS. The game allows players to mix and match the top and bottom halves of 16 characters, for a total of more than 250 combinations. All toys from the <a href="/skylanders-spyros-adventure/" data-ref-id="false">original Skylanders</a> and <a href="/skylanders-giants/" data-ref-id="false">Skylanders Giants</a> are compatible with Skylanders Swap Force.</p><p style="">The Wii U version of Skylanders Swap Force supports off-screen play, allowing users to play the entire game on the GamePad.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415623" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415623/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sklanders-swap-force-wii-u-bundle-revealed/1100-6415782/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/xbox-one-invitation-trailer/2300-6415749/ Microsoft invites you to join the 'new generation' in the latest Xbox One trailer. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:35:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/xbox-one-invitation-trailer/2300-6415749/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-review/1900-6415506/ <p style="">Batman has a long history of escaping from some of the deadliest, most elaborate traps a brilliant criminal mind can devise. In his bat-utility belt is a gadget to get him out of nearly any predicament. But in Batman: Arkham Origins, there's one trap Batman can't escape from: the trap of expectations. By now, there are two things that define action in the Arkham series: rhythmic, free-flow combat and stealthy predator rooms. Arkham Origins has those elements in spades. But it doles them out in a straightforward, predictable fashion that lacks the inspiration of the earlier Arkham games.</p><p style="">The most noteworthy difference between Arkham Origins and its predecessors is a significantly larger open world. But that larger world has little meaning when the things you're doing in it are the same things the smaller world of the previous game accommodated perfectly well. Grappling up to rooftops and gliding through the air still feel great, but they don't feel any better here just because you have more rooftops to leap from. And there are side quests that have you doing things like racing to and fro to disarm bombs set by Anarky, which is much like racing to answer Zsasz's ringing phones in <a href="/batman-arkham-city/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham City</a>. </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354337" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354337"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2354337-ci-100830203230331141.jpg"></a><figcaption>Are you a bat enough dude to counter all of Deathstroke's attacks?</figcaption></figure><p style="">The city is bigger just for the sake of being bigger, and while these side quests make interesting use of characters--Anarky's willingness to go to any length to liberate the downtrodden from the oppression of the rich and powerful makes him a fascinating figure, for instance, and the game gives him his due--the things you're doing are exactly the same as the things the previous game had you doing in its open world. Even the crimes in progress, events you can choose to respond to or ignore that come up on the police radio, aren't a chance to protect hapless citizens of Gotham from criminal elements, but just to fight more groups of thugs, something you do plenty of anyway.</p><p style="">Free-flow combat is unchanged from earlier Arkham games, aside from the fact that there are a few new enemy types in the mix, most notably a martial artist who has an attack you need to counter twice rather than once. The animations are still excellent, and getting into a rhythm where you're dishing out punishment while perfectly countering every enemy attack still feels good, but it also feels exactly the same as ever. At a certain point in the game, you acquire shock gloves that make your punches more powerful, but this doesn't prevent punching dudes in the face from feeling routine.</p><p style="">Predator rooms are also what you'd expect them to be, no less and no more. Of course it's still satisfying to sneak up on a goon and take him down silently, or to be perched on a gargoyle, waiting for a clueless criminal to walk right under you so you can do an inverted takedown. But it's also starting to feel rote. By this point, the mechanics governing these systems have become apparent, the process of sneaking up on enemies or of countering attacks overly familiar. You and Batman and the game he's in are all just going through the motions.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354352" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354352"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2354352-ci1209796830331142.jpg"></a><figcaption>Batman's true passion isn't doling out justice. It's ogling gadgets.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Arkham City built on <a href="/batman-arkham-asylum/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham Asylum</a> by putting the mechanics in an exciting new context. Arkham Origins lifts them from City and puts them in the same context again, complete with all the same sorts of environmental problem-solving. You still toss grenades into water to form makeshift rafts (glue grenades here, not ice grenades!) and use the batclaw to pull yourself around. You still power up fuse boxes by guiding remote-controlled batarangs through fields of electricity. The occasional encounter with something fresh and exciting could have gone a long way toward making Origins' reliance on these familiar mechanics welcoming. But because nearly everything you do is a straight, wholly unsurprising replication of something you do in the earlier Arkham games, welcome familiarity gives way to an inescapable feeling of predictability.</p><p style="">There is one new mechanic in Origins: a significantly overhauled case file system. As someone who has always been fascinated by the detective facet of Batman's character, I had high hopes that this would make investigating crime scenes an involving process that would test my intellect. Unfortunately, it doesn't. You scan evidence to reconstruct the events of a crime and have to scrub back and forth through the reconstruction to track down more evidence to scan. There's some CSI: Gotham City entertainment value in watching the pieces of the reconstructed crime come together, but your role in the process is minimal.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="">In the absence of new elements, the tried-and-true free-flow combat and predator mechanics feel routine rather than inspired.</p></blockquote><p style="">The one area in which Batman: Arkham Origins delivers occasional flashes of inspiration is in its story, which establishes where Batman's adversarial relationships with the criminals who loom large in the Arkham games began, and how he forged an uneasy alliance with James Gordon, a good cop in a police force plagued by corruption. It dabbles in questions about whether Batman's presence only ends up fueling the fires of criminal activity in Gotham, and in its best and most genuinely surprising moments, explores how Batman and the Joker are two sides of the same coin. As Batman, new voice actor Roger Craig Smith is a bit flat, but as the Joker, Troy Baker fills Mark Hamill's clown shoes admirably.</p><p style="">Batman's eventful Christmas Eve begins, however, with a less outlandish criminal. The organized crime lord Black Mask, tired of the pressure Batman has been putting on his operations for the past few years, puts a bounty on Batman's head, calling eight world-class assassins to Gotham, including the muscle-bound Bane, the poisonous Copperhead, and the efficient Deathstroke. Boss fights with these and other characters have an elevated sense of drama because of the personalities involved, but mechanically, they aren't much different from fights with other enemies. Defeating Deathstroke requires good countering. Against Bane, you use stuns and beatdowns. And so on.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2354360" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354360"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2354360-ci55477796830331142.jpg"></a><figcaption>The world of Arkham Origins is bigger, but in this case, that doesn't translate to better.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins also includes a competitive multiplayer mode in which eight players are split into three teams: Bane's thugs, Joker's henchmen, and the dynamic duo. The Bane and Joker teams aim to eliminate each other, while Batman and Robin strive to take out enough criminals from either side to disrupt their operations. This unusual structure has potential; as a criminal, the need to be vigilant against heroes swooping out of the shadows while also trying to pick off opposing criminals should keep you on edge. But in practice, it all feels sloppy. Weapon accuracy is all over the place, and being able to sprint only a very short distance makes criminals feel weak and inept. Meanwhile, as the heroes, combat lacks the rhythm and impact that makes it empowering in single-player, and you go down so quickly to enemy attacks that you feel more like a Gotham City impostor than a real hero.</p><p style="">Batman: Arkham Origins is a deeply predictable game. It gives you exactly what you'd expect in another Arkham game, without doing anything to push the series forward. In the absence of new elements, the tried-and-true free-flow combat and predator mechanics feel routine rather than inspired. Origins is worth experiencing for the way it sets the stage for the events of the other Arkham games, but it also resides squarely in their shadows.</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-review/1900-6415506/

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 24 Oct 2013 07:17:38 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-explains-what-open-world-means-to-metal-gear-solid-v/1100-6415759/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042806" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042806"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has explained what exactly "open-world" means to <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a>, the first open-world game in the series.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the term 'open-world' has taken on a life of its own and caused misunderstandings," Kojima said in an interview with <em>Famitsu</em> (via <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/23/4946718/kojima-discusses-metal-gear-solid-5-open-worlds-and-the-need-for-the" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a>). "Of course it's not going to be a game where Snake fishes all day or changes jobs and pursues a different life."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Kojima explained while players will be able to freely explore the Metal Gear Solid V gameworld, there will be some semblance of direction.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The game map is an open world and you have freedom in that way, but in MGS5, it's clear what you're doing," Kojima said. "That may be 'I have to help someone' or 'Destroy this thing' or 'Go gather intelligence at this spot'. Some missions will have time limits, too."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Kojima Productions studio head further explained that an open-world Metal Gear Solid game has been overdue.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"With MGS up to now, we could only build the interior of wherever you were infiltrating. How you got there was shown in a cutscene, and the player would just suddenly be in front of the entrance," Kojima said. "Once you finished the mission, there'd be another cutscene, a helicopter or whatever would come by, and you'd escape."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's not that linear games are bad [...] but really, it'd be fun if you were the one thinking about how and where to infiltrate, what sort of equipment to bring, and how to get out of there," he added.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also in the <em>Famitsu</em> interview, Kojima said open-world games represent the future of video games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I feel that games are interactive media, and the rush comes in being able to use what you're given freely to play," he said. "Open worlds create that for you, and I think the future of gaming lies in them."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Before <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a> was released in September, Kojima said he was "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hideo-kojima-depressed-by-gtav/1100-6411295/" data-ref-id="1100-6411295">depressed</a>" by Rockstar Games' open-world game because he did not think Metal Gear Solid V could match it.</p><p style="">Metal Gear Solid V is currently in development for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. No release date has been set yet.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409824" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409824/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 24 Oct 2013 06:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-explains-what-open-world-means-to-metal-gear-solid-v/1100-6415759/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies-review/1900-6415498/ <p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">In the dark age of the law, truth has no place within the confines of a courtroom. Reality is nothing more than an unreliable recollection of events by a flawed person. How can we trust memories that are tempered by emotions, undermined by biases, and torn apart by baseless assumptions? Truth and lies are much closer than people would want to believe, and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies explores the twisted path of the judicial system. When the end is the only thing that matters, the means you use to arrive at that point isn't important. Or is it? The moral quagmire of the law is a difficult road to navigate and Dual Destinies weaves a clever analysis of this fascinating process.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Apollo Justice has sworn to protect those wrongly accused of heinous crimes, but an attorney has only so much power to right injustices. When one of his friends is accused of murdering another, his duty to seek justice goes much further than a mere courtroom could allow. Such dramatic events are interspersed with comedic jabs so you're never burdened by these lofty themes. Cutting insults hurled at the buffoonish judge by prisoner-turned-lawyer Simon Blackquill inject levity within the heated debates, and spirited newcomer Athena Cykes displays an energetic naivete while she deconstructs the emotions of those who take the stand. Dual Destinies expertly balances two narrative extremes, using off-the-wall dialogue at key moments to keep the mood light even when the characters are grappling with their own limitations.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2308164" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2308164"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Meet Athena Cykes, a woman who turns her back on floating spaghetti.</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Practicing law within the Phoenix Wright universe requires a cleverness better suited to authors of courtroom drama than to actual barristers. While scouring a crime scene, you may find a trinket seemingly unrelated to the facts of a murder, but you tuck it in your inventory without question, in case its importance becomes known during the court proceedings. Pretrial investigations push you from one disorderly scene to another, and you interview potential witnesses to slowly piece together what actually happened. Such activities are performed by rote because there's little variance in what's expected of you. A checklist chronicles exactly what you must accomplish before the next event is triggered, so although the occasional eureka moments stamp exclamation points onto your actions, you're so rarely asked to think beyond the basics that you're left going through the motions until court is in session.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Off-the-wall dialogue at key moments keeps the mood light even when the characters are grappling with their own limitations.</p></blockquote><figure data-ref-id="1300-2305181" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2305181"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg"></a><figcaption>Apollo seeks justice no matter what the cost.</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Verbal sparring within the courtroom rises above the pleasant predictability of the investigative process. Witnesses provide testimony tinged with contradictions, so you must scour your evidence to find the piece that proves they're lying. Following the breadcrumb trails of lies to an ultimate truth gives weight to every objection you utter. Although the committed crimes are incredibly complex in how they were performed, there's an underlying plausibility that makes it easy to accept the outcomes. From motivations to opportunities to the method for covering up his or her actions, the perpetrator's thought process is eventually unraveled and displayed in detail. To succeed within the stressful back-and-forth swings is to discover the very essence of truth, and the game masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the surface.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Trust is often the only thing that keeps Phoenix Wright and his colleagues afloat when odds seem stacked against them. The bonds of friendship run so deep that even when every piece of evidence is screaming that the defendant's hands are covered in red, the unwavering belief in his or her innocence keeps the attorneys pushing to explain how the crime actually transpired. And though such loyalty is admirable, it creates situations that border closely on the dangerous adage "the end justifies the means." This phrase is uttered by those who have ushered in the dark age of the law, ignoring truth for the greater good, and though Phoenix strongly disagrees with that theory, he is forced to use creative means to avoid guilty verdicts. Concocting questionable alternate theories eventually brings Phoenix to the truth, but he tears down the wall separating fact from fiction to come to those conclusions.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">The game masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the surface.</p></blockquote><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Because of the dance both the defense and prosecution must perform, Dual Destinies presents both sides of the coin in the the ongoing discussion about achieving justice while working within a flawed judicial system. As much as Phoenix's team members deny the benefits of lying to further their goals, they are guilty of the same actions, so you understand why someone would twist facts for their own purpose. It's fascinating to see these scenes play out. A witness may lie because he's covering up his own despicable actions, trying to hide that he is really guilty of a murder most foul. But other times, lies surface only to protect a loved one. Would you testify if you knew your words could send your friend to prison? Dual Destinies shows just how scary the truth can be, so you sympathize with those who turn their backs on it.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0"> </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2305183" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2305183"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Phoenix Wright is never wrong! Well, never is a strong word. Rarely?</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">There are times when someone changes reality to fit their own needs, but those aren't the only lies that exist in Dual Destinies. Words are empty to Athena Cykes. As a trained psychoanalyst, she knows that people can say whatever rushes into their heads, but their emotions are unfiltered. When Athena discovers discord, she analyzes the emotions of whoever is on the witness stand to figure out what he or she refuses to say out loud. Why would someone be happy when a ceiling crumbles upon them? Or sad when they don a cloak adorned with shining constellations? This simple mechanic reverberates beyond the courtroom proceeding. I started to think about my own emotions that surface when I wish they would stay hidden. Even when lying would make my life so much easier, the truth still finds a way out, and I realized while calling out witnesses on their contradictory feelings just how pointless it is to hide from who you are.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Dual Destinies dives deep within the psyches of those involved in crimes--from the attorneys to the perpetrators and everyone else associated with the events--and such ruminations give you a better understanding of human motivations. The manner in which you investigate and argue is unchanged from previous iterations, and the exaggerated personalities of the characters hit the same notes as before, which does lessen the mysterious appeal of a courtroom drama. However, Dual Destines is more than just another retread. Themes of friendship and trust make you appreciate the depth of relationships, and the omnipresent question of the necessity of truth provides a compelling backdrop. Phoenix Wright's return to the courtroom brings with it an impressive blend of comedic sensibilities and philosophical examinations that make you question how any judicial system can determine guilt when the relationships people have with the truth are so complicated.</p> Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies-review/1900-6415498/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/a-gutsy-story-changes-your-perspective-of-killzone/2300-6415717/ Shadow Fall looks to be a worthy launch title for the PS4. Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/a-gutsy-story-changes-your-perspective-of-killzone/2300-6415717/

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 24 Oct 2013 07:17:38 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-explains-what-open-world-means-to-metal-gear-solid-v/1100-6415759/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042806" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042806"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/2/8/0/6/2042806-681794_20130611_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has explained what exactly "open-world" means to <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a>, the first open-world game in the series.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the term 'open-world' has taken on a life of its own and caused misunderstandings," Kojima said in an interview with <em>Famitsu</em> (via <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/23/4946718/kojima-discusses-metal-gear-solid-5-open-worlds-and-the-need-for-the" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a>). "Of course it's not going to be a game where Snake fishes all day or changes jobs and pursues a different life."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Kojima explained while players will be able to freely explore the Metal Gear Solid V gameworld, there will be some semblance of direction.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The game map is an open world and you have freedom in that way, but in MGS5, it's clear what you're doing," Kojima said. "That may be 'I have to help someone' or 'Destroy this thing' or 'Go gather intelligence at this spot'. Some missions will have time limits, too."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Kojima Productions studio head further explained that an open-world Metal Gear Solid game has been overdue.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"With MGS up to now, we could only build the interior of wherever you were infiltrating. How you got there was shown in a cutscene, and the player would just suddenly be in front of the entrance," Kojima said. "Once you finished the mission, there'd be another cutscene, a helicopter or whatever would come by, and you'd escape."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's not that linear games are bad [...] but really, it'd be fun if you were the one thinking about how and where to infiltrate, what sort of equipment to bring, and how to get out of there," he added.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also in the <em>Famitsu</em> interview, Kojima said open-world games represent the future of video games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I feel that games are interactive media, and the rush comes in being able to use what you're given freely to play," he said. "Open worlds create that for you, and I think the future of gaming lies in them."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Before <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a> was released in September, Kojima said he was "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hideo-kojima-depressed-by-gtav/1100-6411295/" data-ref-id="1100-6411295">depressed</a>" by Rockstar Games' open-world game because he did not think Metal Gear Solid V could match it.</p><p style="">Metal Gear Solid V is currently in development for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. No release date has been set yet.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409824" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409824/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 24 Oct 2013 06:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-explains-what-open-world-means-to-metal-gear-solid-v/1100-6415759/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies-review/1900-6415498/ <p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">In the dark age of the law, truth has no place within the confines of a courtroom. Reality is nothing more than an unreliable recollection of events by a flawed person. How can we trust memories that are tempered by emotions, undermined by biases, and torn apart by baseless assumptions? Truth and lies are much closer than people would want to believe, and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies explores the twisted path of the judicial system. When the end is the only thing that matters, the means you use to arrive at that point isn't important. Or is it? The moral quagmire of the law is a difficult road to navigate and Dual Destinies weaves a clever analysis of this fascinating process.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Apollo Justice has sworn to protect those wrongly accused of heinous crimes, but an attorney has only so much power to right injustices. When one of his friends is accused of murdering another, his duty to seek justice goes much further than a mere courtroom could allow. Such dramatic events are interspersed with comedic jabs so you're never burdened by these lofty themes. Cutting insults hurled at the buffoonish judge by prisoner-turned-lawyer Simon Blackquill inject levity within the heated debates, and spirited newcomer Athena Cykes displays an energetic naivete while she deconstructs the emotions of those who take the stand. Dual Destinies expertly balances two narrative extremes, using off-the-wall dialogue at key moments to keep the mood light even when the characters are grappling with their own limitations.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2308164" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2308164"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/8/1/6/4/2308164-939946_20131001_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Meet Athena Cykes, a woman who turns her back on floating spaghetti.</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Practicing law within the Phoenix Wright universe requires a cleverness better suited to authors of courtroom drama than to actual barristers. While scouring a crime scene, you may find a trinket seemingly unrelated to the facts of a murder, but you tuck it in your inventory without question, in case its importance becomes known during the court proceedings. Pretrial investigations push you from one disorderly scene to another, and you interview potential witnesses to slowly piece together what actually happened. Such activities are performed by rote because there's little variance in what's expected of you. A checklist chronicles exactly what you must accomplish before the next event is triggered, so although the occasional eureka moments stamp exclamation points onto your actions, you're so rarely asked to think beyond the basics that you're left going through the motions until court is in session.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Off-the-wall dialogue at key moments keeps the mood light even when the characters are grappling with their own limitations.</p></blockquote><figure data-ref-id="1300-2305181" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2305181"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1197/11970954/2305181-939946_20131001_001.jpg"></a><figcaption>Apollo seeks justice no matter what the cost.</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Verbal sparring within the courtroom rises above the pleasant predictability of the investigative process. Witnesses provide testimony tinged with contradictions, so you must scour your evidence to find the piece that proves they're lying. Following the breadcrumb trails of lies to an ultimate truth gives weight to every objection you utter. Although the committed crimes are incredibly complex in how they were performed, there's an underlying plausibility that makes it easy to accept the outcomes. From motivations to opportunities to the method for covering up his or her actions, the perpetrator's thought process is eventually unraveled and displayed in detail. To succeed within the stressful back-and-forth swings is to discover the very essence of truth, and the game masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the surface.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Trust is often the only thing that keeps Phoenix Wright and his colleagues afloat when odds seem stacked against them. The bonds of friendship run so deep that even when every piece of evidence is screaming that the defendant's hands are covered in red, the unwavering belief in his or her innocence keeps the attorneys pushing to explain how the crime actually transpired. And though such loyalty is admirable, it creates situations that border closely on the dangerous adage "the end justifies the means." This phrase is uttered by those who have ushered in the dark age of the law, ignoring truth for the greater good, and though Phoenix strongly disagrees with that theory, he is forced to use creative means to avoid guilty verdicts. Concocting questionable alternate theories eventually brings Phoenix to the truth, but he tears down the wall separating fact from fiction to come to those conclusions.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">The game masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the surface.</p></blockquote><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Because of the dance both the defense and prosecution must perform, Dual Destinies presents both sides of the coin in the the ongoing discussion about achieving justice while working within a flawed judicial system. As much as Phoenix's team members deny the benefits of lying to further their goals, they are guilty of the same actions, so you understand why someone would twist facts for their own purpose. It's fascinating to see these scenes play out. A witness may lie because he's covering up his own despicable actions, trying to hide that he is really guilty of a murder most foul. But other times, lies surface only to protect a loved one. Would you testify if you knew your words could send your friend to prison? Dual Destinies shows just how scary the truth can be, so you sympathize with those who turn their backs on it.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0"> </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2305183" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2305183"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1197/11970954/2305183-939946_20131001_003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Phoenix Wright is never wrong! Well, never is a strong word. Rarely?</figcaption></figure><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">There are times when someone changes reality to fit their own needs, but those aren't the only lies that exist in Dual Destinies. Words are empty to Athena Cykes. As a trained psychoanalyst, she knows that people can say whatever rushes into their heads, but their emotions are unfiltered. When Athena discovers discord, she analyzes the emotions of whoever is on the witness stand to figure out what he or she refuses to say out loud. Why would someone be happy when a ceiling crumbles upon them? Or sad when they don a cloak adorned with shining constellations? This simple mechanic reverberates beyond the courtroom proceeding. I started to think about my own emotions that surface when I wish they would stay hidden. Even when lying would make my life so much easier, the truth still finds a way out, and I realized while calling out witnesses on their contradictory feelings just how pointless it is to hide from who you are.</p><p style="" data-right-indent="0" data-left-indent="0">Dual Destinies dives deep within the psyches of those involved in crimes--from the attorneys to the perpetrators and everyone else associated with the events--and such ruminations give you a better understanding of human motivations. The manner in which you investigate and argue is unchanged from previous iterations, and the exaggerated personalities of the characters hit the same notes as before, which does lessen the mysterious appeal of a courtroom drama. However, Dual Destines is more than just another retread. Themes of friendship and trust make you appreciate the depth of relationships, and the omnipresent question of the necessity of truth provides a compelling backdrop. Phoenix Wright's return to the courtroom brings with it an impressive blend of comedic sensibilities and philosophical examinations that make you question how any judicial system can determine guilt when the relationships people have with the truth are so complicated.</p> Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies-review/1900-6415498/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/a-gutsy-story-changes-your-perspective-of-killzone/2300-6415717/ Shadow Fall looks to be a worthy launch title for the PS4. Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/a-gutsy-story-changes-your-perspective-of-killzone/2300-6415717/

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