This past weekend was WrestleMania, the grandaddy of them all, the showcase of the immortals and an event which had a few BIG moments and (spoiler alert), the biggest of all was the moment Brock Lesnar pinned The Undertaker, a legend who had been previously undefeated in 21 WrestleMania matches.
It was a shocking moment, it left me gob-smacked and the arena in New Orleans dumbfounded. Where are those moments in games these days? …
I am odd. A rare flower in the game-journo garden of cynicism and critique – I actually liked Bioshock Infinite. Oh, I’m fully aware of the myriad of reasons people had issues with the game, but none of that stopped me enjoying its quirky, broken and in some places utterly bonkers plot, its enjoyable combat system and the beautiful flying city of Columbia. Burial at Sea is Infinite’s latest DLC, set in the far more popular underwater locale of Rapture. It’s fun, confusing and criminally short.
The slightly puzzled verdict that follows is slightly spoilery of Bioshock Infinite, you have been warned…
The Brothers Rapture is a fan-made short film set in a world stemming from the original Bioshock game. Filmed on a tight budget and with little time to spare, the producers have created their own story following two artists who have come to rapture to start a new life.
The Brothers Rapture was dreamt up by students at the Vancouver Film School in Canada, as a project for their final year. Funding was gained through a privately run indiegogo page, whilst permission to create the film was gained through direct contact with 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive who have full creative control of the Bioshock game.
Running at just under 18 minutes long the short film shows great potential for a much larger story arc. Considering it has been made on such a tight budget and with such little time to spare, what is there is impressive and engaging. The full video can be found below.
BioShock is one of those game series’ that you really must play, you might not like every aspect of the game, but there is always something about them worth having a look at. The latest title is set in Columbia, the city in the clouds. There has been some very valid criticisms of the title, Leigh Alexander’s piece being a must read while I for one really quite enjoyed it despite the issues. After the break you can read the thoughts of a few of us here from The Reticule. …
When I started playing BioShock Infinite I was quietly impressed with the opening hours, things slowly started to draw me in, but I wasn’t blown away. A lot of questions about Columbia and why Booker was there were raised in the opening sequences and I was intrigued, but certainly not enjoying it as much as I thought. Then I met the crown jewel of the game, Elizabeth. Upon my first glimpse of Elizabeth I knew that things were going to get good, and when you finally meet her, things take off with quite a bang. If it wasn’t for Elizabeth, this would still be bloody good game, but her addition tips this into a genuine Game of the Year contender. …
When you read this, all being well I will be celebrating Easter by watching sweaty grown men grapple in the squared-circle. I am talking about a bit of wrestling with top notch UK company, Progress Wrestling. If you are into wrestling at all, I implore you to check this company out. Anyway, GDC has come and gone, Journey won some IGF awards, Epic showed off their new engine, Battlefield 4 was shown off and I’m sure there was some other stuff. My feeling from what I have seen is that indie games are still rocking and rolling and proving to be more interesting experiences in the large part than AAA games. Apart from BioShock Infinite which launched this week and is pretty decent. As it is Easter, grab yourself an egg and read about Our Week in Games.
Chris
Oh boy I am really starting to enjoy StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. I have talked about it already, but I just want to re-iterate the fact that this is one serious good RTS. In a world where the RTS is becoming a bit of a minority, even on the PC, it is refreshing to see a title of such brilliance arrive. I’m still making progress in the campaign, and am I well and truly hooked into Kerrigan’s story. Whether I venture online any time soon is another story entirely, it certainly won’t happen any time soon.
Why won’t it happen any time soon? BioShock is why, I don’t know how far into this gem of a game I am, but I am loving it. I wasn’t blown away at first like I was with the first title, but I found things gradually came together until the point when I met Elizabeth and things just took off. I don’t think I have come across a character quite like hers in a video game just yet. Small things like taking a seat while I root around looking for supplies or screaming in horror when performing a particularly gruesome melee attack. When you add Elizabeth to a world which raises more and more questions the more you explore and you have quite a game. I just hope things carry on as they have done so far. I can’t wait to finish it.
Edcrab
BioShock Infinite is a hell of a game. I look forward to seeing what the rest of The Reticule team made of it but damn, I’m not even sure what I made of it.
It’s vibrant and colourful and cartoonishly violent at times, and I can say I never found it boring. The environments are quite varied, to the point that sometimes I forgot it’s ostensibly set in a flying city, and Normal difficulty was enjoyable without being simplistic.
So with the gameplay part of, uh, playing a game out of the way the story is… less clear cut. Not that that’s necessarily a complaint. There are many potential interpretations of theme and narrative and I’ll say that, perhaps due to the very nature of the story being told, certain happenings (and maybe even the setting itself) are rendered almost arbitrary.
But hey, if a story could’ve been told anywhere, why the hell not tell it in a flying city with a distinct aesthetic and a liberal sprinkling of bottles of magic juice that give you really terrible skin conditions? I’m less sure of the significance or necessity of the underlying story of racism and revolution, but it shows more imagination than another tale set in industrial zones with chest-high walls.
BioShock Infinite is memorable: people will likely be talking about it for a while, and it deserves that attention. But I refuse to call it Binfinite. That sounds like a garbage simulator in an endless procedurally generated bin.
Nick
This week I’ve finally, finally started playing XCOM. I know I’m well behind everyone else when I say this, but it really is an incredible game. In the space of just a couple of hours I’ve already experienced a story of lucky long-range shots saving the day and terrors unimaginable. Although the larger aliens are only just beginning to put in an appearance, I’m enjoying myself immensely.
The original Microprose X-Com: Enemy Unknown has sat proudly alongside Doom and Ultima 7 as permanent fixtures of all my gaming PCs. I was always concerned that any revival of the series would completely miss the point of what makes X-Com such a brilliant game, especially after seeing plans for an FPS carrying the name.
However, someone out there clearly saw sense. Sightings of the XCOM FPS dwindled to next to nothing, and in its place we’ve ended up with a refreshed but faithful turn-based strategy that we always wanted.
One more thing. When I first saw the redesign of the Chryssalid months ago, I was a little unconvinced. How could that scuttling purple spider-thing possibly resurrect my feelings of horror from the original game. But now I’ve seen it in motion, tearing heads from shoulders and corrupting the fallen into shuffling shells of their former selves. I was beginning to think I was tired of zombies, but these things that the Chryssalid creates, well, they’re just not right.
Another trailer has fallen from the city in the sky known as Colubmia for BioShock Infinite. This new video shows off a big new enemy, plenty of sky-rail action and a bit of Elizabeth kicking-arse. As ever, you might find it a bit spoiler-ish so if want to keep the game pure for when it launches later this month, it might be worth skipping this one. Otherwise, hit the jump and enjoy. …
A new trailer has been released today for 2k Games’ BioShock Infinite and it looks absolutely stunning. It provides a lot of hints towards how the story is going to evolve during the game. If you want to avoid any potential spoilers I would recommend you avoid watching this one, however I have also embedded the second part of the ‘Colubmia, a Modern Day Icarus’ video after the break which is slightly less spoilerish. …
So here it is, the final four in our countdown to 2013’s most anticipated games. This year is certainly jam packed with some brilliant releases, but with so many which are the top games to look out for? Read on to find out our final four countdown of the ‘Top 10 Games To Look Forward To In 2013’.
4. Bioshock Infinite
The game environment of Bioshock Infinite just looks utterly stunning. Columbia may be floating in the sky but still has all the trademarks of any large city. Towering sky scrapers protrude through the clouds, dozens of giant hard carved statues can be seen on buildings and in parks and even shops are visible on the cobbled streets. All this is amplified by the fact that below each towering building, every street and cinema there are hundreds of meters of air and a very long fall to your death.
Bioshock Infinite leaves the cramped surroundings of Rapture and explodes into the open air of Columbia with all the intricate design and originality that made the first game so brilliant. An entirely new array of enemies have been developed, new characters and a seemingly in depth story and dialogue to rival that of the first Bioshock.
3. Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs took everyone by surprise at E3 2012. Ubisoft took the choice to gamble on a new IP when almost everyone else was creating sequels to previous games or at the very least playing safe in a genre they were known for. Along side the announcement at E3 was a gameplay trailer which showed the stunning visuals of a city that looked very much like New York and a setting that rings true to the modern day lives of the average person.
In the world of Watch Dogs people are becoming ever more dependant on the technology that they use without ever really knowing who controls the information they input into certain devices and the accessibility to it. All it would take is one person who knew their way around that technology and a lot of disruption could be caused with relative ease. In the trailer Aiden Pearce, the stories antihero, can be seen blocking mobile phone signals, hacking traffic lights and listening in to peoples phone conversations and also seems to be pretty handy with a gun.
2. The Last of Us
The last of Us is a post apocalyptic city based adventure epic set in a world where living is a daily struggle to survive against the odds. From the media released so far by developers Naughty Dog, it’s clear to see the game world has been very well designed and is so intricate that it makes me believe that every building is accessible and has an elaborate interior of crumbling brick, usable tools and all the basics needed to survive just that little bit longer.
While the list of post apocalyptic games, especially those set in large cities is certainly not on the short side, what interests me about The Last of Us is the possibility for unique interactions between you the player (playing as Joel) and your AI controlled partner (Ellie). Solving puzzles, dealing with combat situations and exploration could all be made a lot more interesting under these circumstances.
1. Grand Theft Auto V
The fact that Rockstar have released very little information about Grand Theft Auto V, yet it seems to be one of the most talked about games among my friends and fellow gamers shows just how big this game is going to be come release day. The slow drip feed of screenshots that have been released recently are all that’s needed to whip people up into an excited frenzy over the smallest detail and possibility of what might be included. I think I would be fair in saying that when that first trailer was released on November 2nd the internet almost imploded.
In Grand Theft Auto V the player will be able to take control of three characters with heavily interconnected storylines, much like GTA IV did with its Ballad of Gay Tony and Lost and Damned DLC packs. This time however, the characters stories will be heavily influenced by each other instead of just passing connections.
There are many details that can be speculated about from the released media but one things for sure, GTA V looks downright beautiful. And with a game world larger than Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV and San Andreas combined Rockstars well earned credentials will no doubt fill this virtual space with masses of quality content.
2013 looks like it’s going to be another great year to be a gamer. Next gen consoles are arriving and the biggest and most renowned developers are creating a string of new games and sequels to some of the best series around. But with so many great games being released which, in our humble opinion, are the ones to look out for? This is part one of the countdown of ‘The Top 10 Games To Look Forward To In 2013’. …