Gamer's Outpost Press (archived)

by Patrick O’Rourke

When I first saw the trailer for “Hatred”, I didn’t believe it was real game. I thought to myself, “Why would someone go through the effort of creating a game like this? It has to be a parody.” But no, Destructive Creations’ Hatred is a real video game and its all male Polish development team decided to announce their first title at what might be the worst possible time, just a day after a second female developer had to leave her home following death threats stemming from GamerGate, and popular feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian was forced to cancel a speaking appearance because of a school shooting threat.

The game’s website describes Hatred as follows: “It’s a horror, but here YOU are the villain,” says Destructive Creation’s website. “Wander the outskirts of New York State, seek for victims on seven free-roam levels. Fight against law enforcement and take a journey into the antagonist’s hateful mind. Gather equipment of the dead ‘human shields’ to spread Armageddon upon society. Destroy everything on your way of hunt and fight back when it’s disturbed…” “…just don’t try this at home and don’t take it too seriously, it’s just a game. :)” No, I didn’t add the smiley face. They added the smiley face. It’s almost like the game’s development team is trying to make light of their title’s extremely dark subject matter.

Hatred’s trailer starts off with a man who says his name isn’t important. He’s wearing a Matrix-style long black coat, his head is covered with dreadlocks and he’s assembling weapons. He discusses how the world is pointless, spouts a few horrible one-liners that feel like they’ve been pulled right out of a ’90s action movie, and then engages in his grotesque killing spree.

For decades the gaming industry has tried to defend itself against claims that video game violence inspires school shootings and, now, a group of developers is creating a game built around the idea of slaughtering innocent people. There’s no artistic justification for the violence in Hatred. Its main character has no real motivation. The game’s violence is over the top, unnecessary and offensive. Will Hatred actually inspire a mass shooting? Probably not. But does the game need to exist in an industry constantly trying to get the outside world to take it seriously? Also no.

There’s a place for violence in gaming and it can add a lot to a game’s experience. Shadow of Mordor’s crazy finishing kills are spectacular and fit perfectly into the game’s Lord of the Ring’s universe. The Grand Theft Auto franchise lets players assume the role of a criminal but the game also is an interesting commentary on North American culture. It’s important to point out that in the GTA series, players also have the ability to go on a killing spree just like in Hatred, but that’s not how the game is designed to be played and there are consequences for those actions.

Grand Theft Auto V tells a compelling story and gives players moral choices. In many ways, it’s almost satirical. Hatred is designed to be a giant people-killing simulator and nothing else. So, how does Destructive Creations justify their game’s existence? “The question you may ask is: why do they do this?” says their website, knowing we’d be here anyway. “These days, when a lot of games are heading to be polite, colorful, politically correct and trying to be some kind of higher art, rather than just an entertainment — we wanted to create something against trends. Something different, something that could give the player a pure, gaming pleasure. Here comes our game, which takes no prisoners and makes no excuses. We say ‘yes, it is a game about killing people’ and the only reason of the antagonist doing that sick stuff is his deep-rooted hatred.”

Destructive Creations says their title exists merely to be violent. There’s no artistic merit to the game and it isn’t trying to say anything important. But gaming has evolved beyond titles designed as solely entertainment and games like Hatred push the industry back to the early 90s. Epic Games, the creator of the engine Hatred runs on, has distanced itself from Destructive Creations stating, “Epic Games isn’t involved in this project,” and that the, “Unreal Engine 4 is available to the general public for use for any lawful purpose.” In response, Hatred’s creative director Jarosław Zieliński has removed the Unreal 4 logo and any Epic Games branding from the trailer.

Violence in games will always be a contentious issue and it’s something I often find myself divided on. For me, violence is acceptable if it makes sense within the game’s universe, isn’t senseless and helps a game tell its story or convey some sort of message. Hatred does none of these things. It features an angry guy who hates the world and is killing simply because he wants to. The gaming industry is better than this and has come so far over the last five years.

It’s almost as if Hatred is being created by the masses behind the misogynistic and reactionary campaign that is Gamergate. In an indirect way it seems stand for everything they believe in – maintaining the status quo old senseless games and not helping the gaming industry to evolve and tell interesting stories.

by B.M. Garrett

In November the PlayStation 4 will celebrate its first birthday (it really has been one year already) and a lot of gamers across the globe have been nothing but impressed with the new generation. But with the better games, graphics, and improved functionality has come a growing demand from gamers looking for the best PS4 hard drives to upgrade the PS4.

Gone are the days of the PS2, when a 128MB memory card was enough. Now even the 500GB HDD included with the PS4 can seem small. Installing games is compulsory and that means up to and above 50GB is taken per title. On top of that there’s also DLC, apps, music and videos. It’s now the case that 500GB is the bare minimum.

Upgrading the HDD of your PS4 to a 2TB (TeraBytes) drive is highly recommended. It’s going to provide a huge chunk of extra space that will allow you to get the most from your PS4 – plus a little extra on top of that. Here are just a handful of the reasons why you should upgrade your PS4 hard drive to 2TB.

The main reason why you need to buy a 2TB hard drive for PS4

One of the biggest reasons to buy a 2TB hard drive for PS4 is pretty obvious. Now that games can’t be played without prior installation, the stock hard drive can run out of space pretty quickly once you build up a collection of great PS4 games.

If you choose not to upgrade, the process of uninstalling a game just so you can play another can be a real pain. It doesn’t seem like an issue at first, but it doesn’t take long before the original 500GB of memory begins to fade away.

To put things into perspective, the upcoming PS4 edition of GTA V
is expected to take a minimum of 50GB. That may only be 10% of the included HDD, but when you consider the amount taken up after installing several games, a 2TB drive is 100% necessary.

Upgrading will eradicate the problems that come with a growing game collection and allow you to have at least 30 games installed at any one time with no issues.

Apps taking up space on your PS4 hard drive

For several years now, PlayStation consoles have offered more than just a gaming experience. Dozens of apps are available on the PS4, from Amazon Instant Video and Netflix to Hulu and the IGN app.

Sure, these might not take up the same amount of memory that installed games do, but once a few apps have been downloaded they start to make a difference. It’s also the case that more and more apps are being made available as Sony continues to expand their services.

Given that the new generation now offers an all-round entertainment experience, this is yet another reason to upgrade the hard drive of the PS4. Doing so is going to ensure nothing can stop you getting the most from your system.

Whether you’re streaming sports or your favorite shows and movies, upgrading your PS4 hard drive means there really is no reason to miss out.

DLC becoming more of a storage problem

Like the games themselves, downloadable content plays a huge part in choosing to expand the hard drive. DLC is no longer something that mainly appeals to the most dedicated gamers.

It’s rare now that a title will not offer some extra content, and bonus content can start to take up that stock 500GB pretty quickly. A good example is the Devastation DLC for CoD: Ghosts, which alone takes up 5GB.

A couple of downloadable extras for each of your favorite titles can quickly add up to a good portion of space on your PS4 hard drive.

Then there are all the full games that can be purchased from PlayStation Store

It’s really not worth settling for the bare minimum of memory when all this extra content – most of which is unmissable – is available. A 2TB hard drive means no more picking and choosing which content needs to be deleted to make room for more. You’ll be able to have it all.

Entertainment can easily eat up your PS4 HDD storage space

Like apps, enjoying other forms of entertainment – including movies, music, photos and more – is a great way to get more from the PlayStation 4. But these perks can also be a big drain on storage space.

For example, some 1080p HD movies can take up at least 5GB, and if you use your PS4 as a multimedia hub (as many do) space runs out pretty quick – especially when there are also games and apps using valuable HDD space.

A 2TB hard drive is now the standard for most PCs, which are often filled with media, so why should your console settle for any less?

The boost in hard drive storage will give you the edge that allows seamless gaming and entertainment, without having to worry about wiping out the space needed for everything else.

Samsung’s 2TB Seagate Momentus Spinpoint is the perfect hard drive for PS4

It wouldn’t be right for us to tell you all this without recommending a sound hard drive to max out the hard drive storage of your PS4 – and none are better than Samsung’s 2TB Seagate Momentus Spinpoint .

Aside from being manufactured by one of the most trusted brands in tech, it’s one of the only 2TB hard drives currently available for the PS4. Amazon reviews for this HDD are glowing (it’s got a five star rating from 113 reviews) and most come from gamers who’ve purchased it specifically for their PlayStation 4 console.

Currently at a price of $115, down from $150, it’s a great deal. Quality is guaranteed and this model will max out a PS4 with all the space a gamer needs in their console.

If you’re still having doubts about the need to upgrade that stock 500GB HDD, trust us, you won’t regret it.

As a PS4 owner you’re no doubt already aware of the growing demand for space and, though you may not have quite maxed out your hard drive just yet, it’ll likely happen eventually. Especially with all the PS4 games coming in the near future.

Taking the plunge and picking up Samsung’s 2TB drive will mean no more storage dilemmas. There’ll be room for dozens of games, hundreds of movies and all the apps you could need to get the most from your PS4 console. What are you waiting for?

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by Saad Dada

Since the launch of both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 last year, gamers have been talking up exclusive titles. But what most gamers forget is that exclusive titles do not always guarantee hits. Most gamers will also not buy a console solely for exclusive titles. Developers and publishers have historically preferred going multi-platform because it offers them wider sales opportunities.

When all is said and done, there is no way the Xbox One can match the success of the PS4 outside of performing a miracle. Granted it will do well as it has, recently selling 100,000 units in the first week of sales in China according to the International Business Times, but it may lose out in the long run if customers prefer multi-platform titles on Sony’s machine or opt for exclusives on Nintendo’s Wii U.

Not that we have an issue with exclusive titles, but which mega-hit game released in the last twelve months was an exclusive? Rockstar Games’ ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ was 2013’s biggest hit on previous generation consoles the PS3 and Xbox 360. Now this landmark game will make its current gen debut and expect to boost sales of both consoles.

Let’s analyze the launch titles of both the PS4 and Xbox One. ‘Knack’ and ‘Killzone: Shadowfall’ were decent launch exclusives for the PS4 but were not much better than multi-platform titles like ‘Battlefield 4’ and ‘Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag’.

Similarly on the Xbox One, ‘Ryse: Son of Rome’ and ‘Killer Instinct’ were fairly good titles but nothing worth spending $500 on a console for. Some of the upcoming PS4 exclusives do look promising such as ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’, and are expected to do well due to the fact that its previous titles were blockbusters on the PS3.

There has also been lots of hype surrounding upcoming Xbox One titles like ‘Sunset Overdrive’ but we’ll have to wait and see how well it does before dubbing it ‘one worth purchasing the Xbox One for’. A timed exclusive like ‘Rise of Tomb Raider’, according to IGN, has been labeled a ‘surprise deal’ for Microsoft. Even the racing title ‘Forza Horizon 2’ is a hit, but it is aimed at simulation racing enthusiasts. Sony will rival Forza with the release of ‘Driveclub’ this month which is already rated highly by gaming sites Polygon and Destructoid.

Microsoft will need to rely on the strength of its Halo franchise including the upcoming ‘Halo: Master Chief Collection’ and potentially ‘Halo 5’. But what about ‘Gears of War’? Even ‘Gears of War 3’ would’ve made owning the Xbox One worth it, considering the success of the last two titles on the Xbox 360.

That being said the same could be said for the PS4; that it is relying on multi-platform titles as much as the Xbox One. The question we have to ask ourselves is which console would be better for multi-platform hits? The numbers do not lie. Over 10 million units of the PS4 have already been sold and the Xbox One is definitely lagging behind. IGN reports approximately 5 million units have been sold of the Xbox One. The PS4 is a gaming console designed for gamers the way 90′s juggernauts like the Sega Genesis was for its era.

For now the console war has clearly been won by Sony. The question is who will take second place? Let’s hope for Microsoft’s sake that they come up with more than a miracle to fend off Nintendo who according to GameSpot has sold 6.17 million units so far. Otherwise, it may just be game over!

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by Steve Wright

As many gamers expected since its discovery, the infamous Destiny loot cave has been patched by developer Bungie. Fair call or not, the way in which Bungie did so is a a slap in the face to anyone playing the game.

If you’ve hit the level 20 soft cap in Destiny, you’ve discovered that you can continue to increase your level up to 30 by using armour equipped with Light. This armour will be Rare or above — so Rare, Legendary or Exotic — and at the moment is mostly obtained via in-game drops.

So, loot.

Saavy gamers found a certain cave in Old Russia that was a constant spawn source for Hive enemies. By headshotting anything that tried to come out of the cave, gamers created a nice little spot where enemies could be dispatched quickly and in a contained space. Sitting at the cave for a while meant you’d have a pocket with a couple Rare or maybe even Legendary Engrams to then redeem in an attempt to try to increase your Light score.

It wasn’t perfect; you still had to take those Engrams over to the Cryptarch and watch as he basically fucked you over more often than not, providing gear that was worse than the stuff you already had.

Anyway, that’s how the loot cave worked, now how Bungie has disrespected its players. Let’s delve into that, shall we?

In a post explaining that the cave had been nerfed, Bungie tried to do it in a jovial manner. They failed. Miserably.

“The social experience of a cave farming run is amazing: the herding to get a team of Guardians all behind the line and firing in the right direction, the rush to grab the loot, the scramble when the panic wave starts, the beckoning glow from inside the cave. The speed at which the community organized around this activity was inspiring and humbling to us.

“But shooting at a black hole for hours on end isn’t our dream for how Destiny is played,” Bungie said. “Our hope is that social engagement in public spaces is only one part of the Destiny experience. Expect changes soon which decrease the efficiency of cave farming and correspondingly increase engram drops from completing activities.”

In case you didn’t pick up on it, Bungie has just told us all that loot farming via the loot cave is wrong. We’re not meant to obtain gear in this manner. Rather, we’re meant to repeatedly play Destiny’s handful of (not-even-remotely-) story missions over and over again, hoping that we’ll get loot drops as we play. We’re meant to go and play through The Crucible, hoping for drops. We’re meant to go and play through increasingly more difficult — and still extremely repetitious — special playlists for drops. Call me entitled, but I don’t like being told how I need to play a game.

Here’s the problem, Bungie: your game is broken. I don’t want to go and play through Strikes and story missions and then find I get drops that are lower than my character can use. Or are for another character type altogether. I don’t want to slog through the Crucible, picking up the best kill/death ratio of the match, only to receive nothing post-game. I certainly don’t want to do that and find that the worst player of the entire match manages to get a Legendary Engram to boot. I can’t go and take on level 24 “Queen’s Wrath” missions by myself — because I get destroyed — and since you don’t offer matchmaking, I’m left to try to find friends that can play with me at the same time. Even then, this whole broken Light system means my friends have to hope for proper gear to get to level 24 or above or else they’re useless to me.

Hell, when two friends and I finally got to do “Queen’s Wrath” twice, I got the same damn Legendary helmet both times.

I know I can align with a faction and grind through the Crucible and Vanguard missions to buy gear, but all of the issues explained above still apply.

Everything about Destiny is frustrating at the moment, and Bungie, you have the audacity to tell us we’re playing your game wrong? I’m gobsmacked. We’ve got missions that are classified as level 28, but no real path to get to that level without things like the loot cave. But, fuck it, it’s gone cause it’s not how we’re supposed to level up.

The loot cave has already been patched, so you don’t need to “expect changes soon,” as Bungie said. That’s a huge slap in the face as well; Bungie’s quite quickly made sure we can’t use the loot cave, but haven’t addressed other pressing issues that they’ve acknowledged exist. The list of issues isn’t small either.

By your own admission, Bungie, Auto Rifles are better at ranged distances than the Scout Rifle. That’s not fixed yet.

The Cryptarch destroys engrams. That’s not fixed yet.

Strikes are “grindy” — your words, not mine. That’s not fixed yet.

If we’ve resorted to playing your game in a certain way, it’s because your game is wrong. Developers on the whole, know that it’s never a case of people playing your game wrong. To say that is to act like a child, threatening to take your toys away from friends because they’re not playing the way you like. It’s pathetic.

Developers should never scold gamers after they’ve found different ways to play their game. In fact, things like this should be encouraged! Bungie, get off your high horse and listen to what gamers are actually saying, or else you’ll find your user base will be diminished quite quickly.

by Colin Campbell

Few arrivals in gaming history have been ushered into existence with quite the same level of scrutiny as Bungie’s Destiny.

Apart from Bungie and its anxious paymasters at Activision, no-one will have watched the game’s arrival with as much interest as 343 Industries. Located just eight miles from Bungie’s offices, 343 is Microsoft’s manufactured ‘new Bungie,’ a development studio entirely created to replace Bungie, when it quit the company’s fold. 343’s job is to take over the future of Halo, the franchise that Bungie created, and that made Bungie.

The relationship between the two studios can safely be described as “competitive,” though there is an element of mutual respect and even interdependence. They are both competing in the high stakes space age first-person shooter market, and they both require the other to continue contributing to the good name of that genre.

Microsoft is readying Halo 5: Guardians (below) for a beta introduction later this year, and launch in 2015. Halo 5‘s fortunes are closely aligned with Xbox One’s fortunes. For Microsoft, there is no more important game.

If the game had been terrible, or sold badly, we might now be reading doomsday predictions about the future of space-shooters. Let us not pretend that Destiny is anything other than a successor to the original Halo games from Bungie, both stylistically and spiritually.

If the game had been a commercial and creative triumph, Halo might have quickly seemed like a thing of the past, a herald for the arrival of the true space-shooter king.

As it is, things have worked out pretty perfectly for 343 Industries…

Destiny Sold Really Well

Destiny‘s commercial success, including sales of $325 million in its first five days, is a clear sign that large numbers of people still want to play Halo-like shooting games in a sci-fi setting. This may seem like a constant given, but tastes change, especially during console transitions.

Although the console shooter has remained a favorite for a decade-and-a-half, subsets within that genre have glowed and faded. Destiny is the best market research Microsoft is likely to receive.

Hype Springs Eternal… Still

Activision showed that an expensive and carefully staged hype campaign still works wonders. Lots of people were enthused by the hype and did not wait for reviews, many of which turned out to be negative.

In reality, Activision showed very little of Destiny before its launch, made a great deal about its high-level aspirations, and reaped major benefits. Even if you do not agree with the reviewers, it is certain that if the sub-80 percent reviews had been available on day one, that $325 million figure would have been diminished. Destiny is Bungie’s lowest rated game since Oni, in 2001.

In the social media age, the ability to control messages through expensive and highly controlled marketing is still highly prized by large companies, and they don’t come much bigger than Microsoft. It is highly probable that Halo 5‘s pre-launch marketing campaign will follow the same drip-drip pattern as Destiny‘s.

Central Characters Have Appeal

One of the questions constantly put to Bungie execs in the run up to Destiny‘s launch was the lack of a central figure like Master Chief. The execs had a canned response about how the game was really about the player and his or her own identity. This is a reasonable direction to take.

However, Destiny‘s story, and the characters introduced throughout the game, were pretty yawn-inspiring. This was a surprise, given Bungie’s pedigree with Master Chief whose stories, while convoluted and confusing, have always seemed appropriate to their setting and enjoyable in the moment.

Microsoft’s 2014 play with the Halo franchise is a re-issue of the games associated with Master Chief, a reminder of the rich fictional world underpinning the franchise. Bungie tried to co-opt some of this heritage by talking up the Destiny narrative setting as a classic in the making, but the reality felt flat and empty. When it comes to personality, Halo still has a significant lead over Destiny.

Bold New Ideas, Ripe for Revision

Despite its flaws, Destiny was an impressive creation, especially in terms of its world-building and the ways in which its designers sought to integrate single-player and different kinds of multiplayer experiences together.

There were other bold ideas that entwined role-playing elements into emergent character creation, all wrapped up with enemy loot drops and mission choices. Some of these ideas worked out better than others, but few were decisively brilliant.

343 can make use of Bungie’s innovations and shape them to their own designs, without looking like they have basically copied their rival’s ideas. Destiny has innovated, but it has not innovated so far as to change the entire landscape of shooter design. No-one is really saying, ‘how the hell is 343 going to top this?’

Destiny has Failed to Rewrite the Rules

Most of us who like video games tend to cheer for new properties. We want to see something other than sequels, and so we root for the new guys. Games companies make use of this laudable instinct, by affirming our desires with promises that, frankly, turn out to be untrue.

343 will consider Destiny’s launch, its successes and its failures, to be a win

When I went to a Destiny press day a few months ago, I expressed my disappointment that so little of the actual game was being shown, while journalists were assailed with a constant stream of interviews all saying much the same thing; that Destiny was a new kind of game that would make everything before it seem smaller and lesser.

Bungie is not the only company to do this. Witness the contrast between Watch Dogs‘ ludicrously overblown arrival in 2012, with its actual launch in 2014. The media and consumers must take some responsibility for the continued success of these strategies.

Both these games have created enjoyable entertainment and, in their own ways, have progressed the idea of what video games can do. But the level of their progression is not so significant that developers working on other games have been caught unawares.

343 is a fairly new studio, and none of its work to date had come close to the demands placed upon it by Halo 5. But the 343 team members working eight miles down the road from Bungie should consider Destiny‘s launch, its successes and its failures, to be a win for their own project.

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by Daniel Kline

September 24, 2014 | Comments (1)

Sony (NYSE: SNE ) has had very little to be happy about in recent years, but its games division has been a rare bright spot in a sea of disappointments. PlayStation 3 was a huge success and now PlayStation 4 has gotten off to a strong start, which has led the company to increase its efforts in gaming with new initiatives planned involving streaming video games, a $99 PlayStation TV, and the Morpheus Virtual reality headset.

Though Sony has been losing money and recently increased its forecast for how much it expects to lose in the current fiscal year to $2.12 billion, the company plans to increase its investment in gaming. That makes sense because sales in the company’s Games & Network Services division increased 95.7% year over year in the most recent quarter, driven in part by the sale of PS4 hardware, the company reported in its most recent earnings release.

Games have been good
The division even eked out a profit of $43 million for the first quarter, which is impressive because consoles themselves are essentially a break-even proposition that lead to future sales opportunities for games, apps, and other software. The November 2013 launch of PS4 actually helped Games and Services reverse its fortunes as its revenue had slipped and profits had dropped from 29.3 billion yen in 2012 to a barely there 1.7 billion yen in 2013. The games division contributed only 7.8% of sales for 2013, but it’s clear that there is an opportunity to grow games’ contribution and use games to help other areas of Sony.

Better yet, the best appears to be ahead of the division. While Sony was increasing its overall expected loss forecast, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House told Reuters earlier this month that he “hopes he can again raise the division’s profit forecast for the year to end-March. Sony pushed up that forecast in July to 25 billion yen ($230 million) from 20 billion yen,” the news service reported.

With Sony’s mobile division facing huge losses and massive cuts, and the company already exiting the PC business, it seems increasingly likely that gaming and the PS4 will play a major part in whether Sony survives at all.

What’s next for Sony games?
Because of the success of the PS4, House told The Wall Street Journal that the company plans to create a service to stream video games onto smartphones, tablets, and other devices. Those devices would not be limited to ones made by Sony.

“A streaming-based approach needs to have a very wide funnel of devices, and that inherently means a broad- and manufacturer-agnostic approach,” House told the paper without giving a timetable for its launch.

The company also plans to build on the success of PS4, which, at over 10 million consoles sold, has doubled sales of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT ) rival Xbox One. (My fellow Fool Andrew Tonner broke down the sales difference in a recent piece titled “The Sony PlayStation 4 Continues to Put the Microsoft Xbox One To Shame.”)

One way it’s doing that is last week Sony made available software that allows game developers to more easily create titles for PS4, which should increase the amount of games available. The company also used the recent Tokyo Game Show 2014 to show off its Morpheus virtual reality headset, which has been in development since 2011 but now looks closer to an actual release. Morpheus will originally target heavy gamers, but the Journal said Shuhei Yoshida, who is in charge of the project, hoped it would deliver “whole new experiences” for non-gamers.

On Monday, Sony also set an Oct. 14 release date for its previously announced PlayStation TV. The small console costs $99.99, or $139.99 with controller, and should serve as a competitor to Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ: AMZN ) Fire TV as well as Nintendo’s (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY ) original Wii. It launches with nearly 700 games available, including a number of well-known titles, giving Sony a viable option for people unable to spend $399 on a gaming system.

The company is also leveraging the success of PS4 to attempt to find some audience for its Xperia Z3 tablet (as well as other Sony-made tablets) and help the fortunes of the company’s reeling mobile division. The Z3 will offer the ability for gamers to access their PS4 console via home Wi-Fi to play actual PS4 games on the tablet using the console’s controllers. It’s a bit of a gimmick, as the user is already home, and playing on a big screen is a better experience, but offering the service exclusively on Sony tablets could raise interest in those devices. The tablet has been on sale since Sept. 4, but the PS4 integration does not launch until November, according to ZDNet.

Games are Sony’s future
Sony is in trouble and the foundation being built with PS4 could give it stability and allow the company to launch some new, profitable products and services. With a lineup that includes a high-end console, as well as an inexpensive one, the company is positioned to offer something for everyone.

The PSTV could ultimately serve as a stepping stone product that leads people to PS4 but even if it doesn’t it puts Sony’s online store into even more living rooms. Games alone may not save the company, but they certainly will be a big part of any turnaround.

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by Alessio Palumbo

I’ve been able to get my hands on both Bloodborne (the highly anticipated new IP by Hidetaka Miyazaki, revered creator of Demon/Dark Souls) and Lords of the Fallen, a new project led by Tomasz Gop, who was Senior Producer on The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.

Both games clearly fall within the same genre, being action roleplaying games with a focus on 1-vs-1 combat, fairly small environments and a high degree of challenge. While Bloodborne seeks to distance itself from the Souls series mainly through a different setting (it takes place in Yharnam, an ancient city overrun with a horrifying curse) and a more aggressive combat system compared to the defensive one favored by the Souls games, Lords of the Fallen draws as much from the games developed by From Software as they do from the traditional Western RPG.

In Lords of the Fallen, the main character is Harkyn, a convicted criminal who turns out to be humanity’s last hope against the return of a Fallen God. Unlike Souls games (and probably Bloodborne), players will able to make pivotal decisions during dialogue which supposedly change the plot’s outcome, leading to very different endings.

While playing the game, the influence of Miyazaki’s masterpiece is undeniable. However, there are a few differences; while Gop and his team want Lords of the Fallen to be challenging, they also want to alleviate some of the unnecessary discomfort which translates in frustration. As a result, there are checkpoints nearby bosses, and I cannot stress how happy this made me; by the way, in case you think this makes the game “easy”, let me assuage your fears.

It doesn’t. In my 30 minutes hands-on, I spent about 10 minutes making my way towards the demo’s final boss and about 20 minutes trying to kill it; I didn’t even get past half of its Health Points. Jan Klose, Creative Director at Deck 13 Interactive (working on the game alongside CI Games) was giggling on my left side, saying that it was normal for someone who isn’t experienced with the game to be failing this much, and I was actually doing nicely compared to the rest of the press. This didn’t really do much for my self-esteem, though in my self-defence I’ll say that this was a high level area, where supposedly players will have gathered more gameplay experience than I had.

The boss was not only hard-hitting (he could kill me in four or five hits, despite my character being fully decked in plate armor and using a massive shield as a Cleric), but also quite fast for its size, not to mention that he summoned a stream of fireballs coming from all sides that required perfect dodge timing. Perhaps a Rogue character would have had less issues; it will be interesting to try different classes, weapons and skills.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Lords of the Fallen is its graphics, though. I played on PC (with an Xbox 360 controller) and the game looked fantastic, with (almost) perfect image quality, high resolution textures and stunning fire/snow & spell effects. I’m not quite sure of the system configuration, and obviously the PlayStation 4/Xbox One versions might be slightly inferior (speaking of which, it was confirmed yesterday that it will run at 1080P on PS4 and 900P on XB1), but what I’ve seen is certainly impressive, and way more so than Bloodborne.

The PS4 exclusive, which had a way shorter demo on display, didn’t look like it was using Sony’s hardware to its fullest (like Infamous: Second Son or Killzone: Shadow Fall, for example); there was a lot of aliasing on the scene, and the textures seemed to be similar in quality to those in Dark Souls II. There were a few frame rate issues as well, although it should be noted that the game is coming out in early February, so they definitely have time to smooth this.

Overall, gameplay felt like a rehashed version of Dark Souls II; it was a bit disappointing to see that, with the notable exception of the main character’s cloak, environmental physics and animations weren’t improved. Bloodborne’s strongest point is clearly its dark, brooding atmosphere, which gives the city of Yharnam a unique and eerie feel; if the story will be able to match the setting, then the game could still be something special.

Another area where Bloodborne might outshine Lords of the Fallen is longevity. Klose told me that LotF will last about 20 hours (although there’s a new Game+ mode, collectibles etc.), and since games in the Souls are known for their massive longevity, it’s fair to say that Bloodborne should easily surpass 20 hours.

Still, I’ve personally always favored quality over quantity and I can’t help but be more impressed by Lords of the Fallen at this stage of development. At any rate, fans of this peculiar RPG niche will have two great games, and they might be surprised when it will come to choosing a favorite.

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by Matt Whittaker

There’s no doubt that Destiny is the biggest game of 2014. It’s captivated the gaming ecosystem, essentially forcing the world to pay attention to its offerings. However, while Destiny’s gun-play is some of Bungie’s best, and its RPG elements are downright addictive, this shared world shooter is not without its flaws. The MMO elements can be an annoyance, the menu navigation system is immersion-breaking, and let’s not even get started on that story. Yes, Destiny is a great game, but if you have sixty hard-earned American dollars in your pocket and a shiny new PlayStation 4, you can certainly get more value elsewhere. Here’s a better way to spend $60 on your PS4 without buying Destiny:

Transistor – $20

Transistor, the sophomore effort from Bastion-creator Supergiant Games, is beauty in motion. Boasting one of the most captivating narratives of 2014, this unique RPG has the power to capture players’ hearts as well as their minds. Those who fully commit to Red’s story will find it nearly impossible to tear themselves away from their televisions. Transistor’s unique combat system, which combines real-time action with time-stopping turn-based elements, is nothing short of gripping. Add the fact that experimenting with its highly customizable ability system enhances both the gameplay and the story, and you have a bona fide winner. For one-third the price of Destiny, you can have access to one of 2014’s best games.

Resogun – $15

One feature Destiny certainly lacks is the ability to play through the entire campaign as Laser Beam Jesus. All custom ship jokes aside, Resogun, Housemarque’s PlayStation 4 launch title, remains one of the best games on Sony’s newest console. In a world where an increased emphasis is placed on narratives and cinematic elements, Resogun reminds us that excellent gameplay still reins supreme. Save all of the humans, go for a new high score, or simply create ridiculous ships for the world to download and enjoy. It’s easy to spend dozens of hours in this cylindrical world, especially if you’re willing to go the extra mile and try for Resogun’s challenging Platinum Trophy. The best part? Resogun will only set you back fifteen dollars, one fourth the price of Destiny.

Child of Light – $15

It wouldn’t be that outrageous to argue that Child of Light is best-looking video game of all time. Think of its art-style as the best watercolor painting ever done with the charm of a Roald Dahl book cover sprinkled on top. Likely the best title to come out of the much-heralded UbiArt Framework, Child of Light is essentially a playable fairy-tale. With a surprisingly emotional story and unique dialogue told in iambic pentameter, it’s shocking to think that this was published by the same company as Assassin’s Creed. Oh, and the Grandia-style battle system inserts a bit of energy into the generally slow-paced world of turn-based combat. You could buy a new copy of Destiny, or simply download Child of Light and keep forty-five dollars in your pockets.

Hotline Miami – $10

If you haven’t at least given Hotline Miami a shot, you’re doing video games wrong. While its right at home on the PlayStation Vita, the recent PlayStation 4 port gives players the chance to play this outstanding title in a current-gen setting. This psychological top-down action game, set in 1980s Miami, is easily the PlayStation 4’s most masochistic title. Enemies will die. You’ll die. EVERYTHING WILL DIE. For all of it’s rage-inducing challenge, there’s a real sense of accomplishment that comes with each perfect run. With the highly anticipated Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number on the horizon, there is no better time than the present to play the original. For a meager Alexander Hamilton, this is an absolute steal.

Total Amount Spent – $60

So there you have it folks. For the same price as Bungie’s high-budget hit, you can have an eclectic mix of phenomenal games, each of which is better than Destiny. We, as gamers, have more options than ever before, so why not take advantage of them? Can you come up with a better way to spend $60 on PlayStation 4 software? Let us know in the comments below.

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by Andrew Webster

It’s an exciting time for Legend of Zelda fans. Following the release of last year’s brilliant A Link Between Worlds on 3DS, Nintendo is working on a brand-new, open-world Zelda that’s shaping up to be Link’s most exciting adventure in years. But while Wii U owners anxiously await that game’s 2015 release, Nintendo is launching something a whole lot weirder this month: Hyrule Warriors, a game that blends the Zelda universe with an obscene amount of action. It’s not what you’d expect from the series, but it can be a lot of of fun.

Hyrule Warriors is actually a mash-up of two different games. It’s part Zelda, and part Dynasty Warriors, an action series that dates back to 1997. What’s most surprising about Dynasty Warriors’ lasting appeal is that all of the many, many games are basically the same, and they feature some of the most simplistic combat around. In most cases you can just mash the attack button without actually thinking about what you’re doing. What makes the games interesting, though, is their sense of scale; Dynasty Warriors is basically a game version of those insanely huge battles from the Lord of the Rings movies, except you play as a massively overpowered character that can take out dozens of enemies in a single move.

This remains unchanged in Hyrule Warriors. To give you a sense of just how crazy things get, in my very first mission, less than 15 minutes into the game a pop-up appeared announcing that I had already defeated 1,000 enemies. I hadn’t even faced off against the first boss yet. The combat is simultaneously thrilling and tedious, but it’s helped along by some light strategies that force you to take over different areas of the map before you’re completely overrun by bad guys. There are also some cool — and, of course, gigantic — boss creatures that require you to do things like aim and dodge instead of just mashing a single button.

If this doesn’t sound anything like a Zelda game, that’s because it isn’t: Hyrule Warriors is developed by the team behind Dynasty Warriors and features virtually identical gameplay. What makes it Zelda is all of the fan service thrown in. There’s a huge line-up of characters you can play as, from Link to Sheik, and you’ll be battling across iconic Hyrule landmarks like Death Mountain and those colorful floating islands from Skyward Sword. You’ll even hear the all-too-familiar “hey, listen!” to alert you to action happening elsewhere in the level. It’s little more than a Zelda-themed coat of paint, but it’s surprisingly effective: I’ve always found the Dynasty Warriors games to be bland and tedious, but it’s a whole lot more interesting when you’re playing as Princess Zelda and wielding familiar weapons like bombs and boomerangs.

Nintendo has a very spotty history when it comes to letting other developers handle its properties — Other M is definitely not the Metroid game I was hoping for — but Hyrule Warriors is a surprisingly good use of the Zelda license. It’s not a particularly deep or challenging game, but it’s mindless fun with plenty of moments and details that longtime fans of the series will pick up on. It’s crazy, sure, but crazy enough that it works. Hyrule Warriors is coming to the Wii U on September 26th.

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by William Usher

It’s often debated that a game’s brand worth and the development studio behind it are determined by the Metacritic score – an aggregate of reviews from a collection of websites. This hotly contentious subject has become a topic of discussion recently due to all the middling and less-than-enthusiastic reviews that didn’t quite line-up with the hype surrounding Destiny.

Game Planet makes the observation that Destiny’s current Metacritic ranking and Gamerankings score are not good, relative to what they needed in order to secure post-launch bonuses.

Over on Gamerankings. the Xbox One version of Destiny sits at 78.42%, with the PlayStation 4 resting comfortably at 76.03%. Over on Metacritic, the Xbox One version of Destiny carries a 79 out of 100 and the the PlayStation 4 version has settled in at 76 out of 100.

The reason this is brought up is because back in 2012 a contract had leaked between Bungie and Activision discussing what sort of conditions the development studio would have to meet in order to payout bonuses. As mentioned in the article from two years ago…

“Bungie has to make good on each release and if they do they will be contractually granted an additional $2.5 million dollar bonus if the game gets a 90 or above on Metacritic. What’s more is that another stipulation for Bungie is that Destiny has to move at least 5 million SKUs in its first six months otherwise Activision can void the entire contract and walk away Scot-free. “

Interestingly enough, I don’t think that the five-million SKUs will be a problem for Bungie or Activision. Ubisoft had an internal estimation for Watch Dogs needing to push six-million SKUs before the next fiscal year, and they cleared that number by a sizable margin. A lot of those trumped up figures has to do with the fact that these games with large sales estimates are being released as cross-generational titles, so even if Destiny only sold a million copies on each platform (e.g., Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4) they would just need to shift an extra million to hit that margin. Given that they’ve already sold-in $500 million worth of Destiny copies to retailers, I don’t doubt that they’ll hit their goal within six months.

However, hitting 90 on Metacritic just isn’t happening. It would take quite a few 100/100 entries across the board to boost up the score from where it currently resides.

The likelihood is that Bungie may be out of their $2.5 million bonus from failing to hit the Metacritic target. Of course, it should be noted that depending on how the money was actually distributed to Bungie could determine how stable the studio is for the long haul. The lack of a bonus payout to Obsidian for Fallout: New Vegas for being 1 point off their Metacritic target forced them to layoff staff.

However, if sales are good then it’s likely Activision will stick with the brand – they already made back their $500 million investment and it’s not unlikely that they have a long roadmap of DLC planned, along with some sequels down the line. I mean, if you break even the first day with sell-ins on a brand new IP, why not milk the brand for everything it’s worth?

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