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Tag: Open World

Sable – The Verdict

Sable – The Verdict

“The world is waiting, Sable.”

I see a mustard yellow sky with stars like snowdrops as I climb. Scaling the peek, I sprint across terracotta sand to the next rise. Ascending towards an angry cloud lashed with gold lightning. Dust or ash or both tumble from the cloud. I don’t know what’s up there, but there’s lots of transparent, crystal-like forms in the area, each one percolating with gold particles. Presumably the cloud and the crystals are bonded. A sense of foreboding builds the closer I get. A similar feeling hit me half an hour earlier, as I stood beneath a set of interlocking stone platforms rotating far above the ground. Ashen ground that spewed endless plumes of smoke, dashed here and there with red.

But there’s nothing to fear. This is Sable. No evil needs vanquishing nor villain confronting in this gorgeous, cel-shaded land. Even the giant beetles don’t bite.

Just poo.

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CD Projekt RED Announces The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Celebratory Teaser Enclosed

CD Projekt RED Announces The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Celebratory Teaser Enclosed

CD Projekt Red have today announced The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, the latest in the series of games based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s best selling books. With a open world that’s 20% larger than Skyrim, CDPR aim to make this the Ultimate game in the series, with trademark decision making and the strong storytelling we have come to know and love over the past two games. They have also revealed this will be the last time the studio is to make a Witcher game.

Adam Badowski head of the CDPR studio had this to say in a statement taken from the official website:

The captivating and non-linear story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place in a rich, truly open-world environment. A world which is thrilling to explore, full of daring adventures, momentous quests, memorable characters, and unique monsters. Players will freely travel through woods, lakes, mountains, cities and villages. Each region is inhabited by distinct populations with their own customs, legends and problems. The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 30 times bigger than The Witcher 2.

Imagine playing a dark fantasy game with the same great non-linear story as in the previous Witcher titles, but now told in a world you can explore freely with no artificial boundaries. The war-ravaged world is so huge that to reach farther places you will need to ride a horse or sail a boat to get there. A world where your choices have truly epic consequences. From the development side, this goal is extremely demanding. Our team had to make significant design changes and our tech had to be rebuilt. But we believe that this will lead to a completely new level of non-linearity and a whole new, richer gaming experience. As a gamer, I would love to play this kind of RPG, and I think this is what many players are waiting for. This is our dream come true at CD Projekt RED, and we hope it will be the same for you!

People may ask if this is really going to be the last Witcher game. Yes, it is. Why? Because we believe that we should end the series on a high note. Technology has progressed to where we can finally tell the story the way we want, with the visuals we want, in the world we imagined. This will be the ultimate fantasy RPG experience, and while we’re hardly out of stories to tell, we believe it’s time for us to look to new worlds and new horizons to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can create.

CD Projekt RED have updated the Witcher website to contain new information and a news feed surrounding the announcement. They have also reduced the price of The Witcher 1 and 2 Enchanced Editions by 50% on Steam and GOG.com.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations – The Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Revelations – The Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Revelations is precisely the kind of product that makes you question if it’s worth reviewing game sequels. Even though the asking price troubles the comparison, intentionally missing out on playing Revelations would be like missing out on the latest episode of a TV drama – you’re only not going to play this game if you’re planning to rage quit on the entire series. And aside from a somewhat lacking sense of forward momentum in the series right now (and concerns that a rushed Assassin’s Creed 3 will suffer the same problems), there really is no reason to miss out on playing this game. Assassin’s Creed Revelations: buy it at some point before the next one. Review ends.

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Rose Tinted Retro – Strife

Rose Tinted Retro – Strife

A short backdrop narrative slideshow, and a difficulty screen later, and Strife quickly drops you in it: An angry machine gun totting guard and nothing but a glove with a knife attached for comfort. So far, so Doom. Two bloodied corpses later however, and the next chap you encounter seems distinctly more sedate; furthermore, he wants to talk to you. Strife was a Doom-clone with a difference.

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