- By Ash
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LA Noire is these days synonymous with development hell, and even though the team behind it had the best of intentions the end result was a rushed, buggy mess that didn't even begin to scrape the potential of the initial premise. While LA Noire ended up being a mediocre game, hopes were risen high when Team Bondi announced that they are working on a spiritual successor, Whore of the Orient, that would take all of the good stuff from LA Noire and then further improve upon it.
This was all the way back in 2012, however, and unfortunately it seems the Whore of the Orient will not be seeing daylight as the whole project seems to have been canceled. As spotted by the aptly named Finder.com.au, a producer at Team Bondi recently did a podcast interview over at Gamehugs where he essentially confirmed the project's cancellation. Here's the full quote:
- By Ash
- in News
The standard life cycle of a total conversion mod usually consists of a few weeks of pure hype, followed by the creation of a single-page website with two pieces of concept art, and then a couple of months of silence as the developers slowly realize the gravity of the task before them. In other words, creating an expansive and ambitious mod is an extremely hard task, one that requires both dedication and experience, not something many are able to offer up.
With this in mind, you can now hopefully appreciate how impressive it is that the folks over at SureAI have managed to construct Enderal, an entire new world within the Skyrim engine. It features new and unique landscapes, different gameplay mechanics and abilities, and unlike Skyrim, a heavy focus on storytelling. Here's the recently posted trailer, and while it is in German there are embedded subtitles, so you should still have a grasp on what's going on:
- By Ash
- in News
The fourth day of the Steam Summer Sale has rolled on by, and already the value of those silly trading cards has gone down straight through the floor. Oh how I long for the Steam Sales of old where you actually had interesting mini-games and prizes to look forward to, rather than a pointless little badge you won't even look at until the next Summer Sale.
Slight rant aside, its time to once again dive into the cavernous depths of the Steam Store and see which games are worth grabbing on Day 4. As always, my recommendations are based on the game's quality and the depth of its discount, while the order is completely and utterly random:
- By Ash
- in News
As you've most likely heard by this point, Mass Effect: Andromeda will be taking place centuries after the events of Mass Effect 3. Usually this wouldn't be much of an issue, but Mass Effect 3's endings offered vastly different ways of handling the situation, with each one presenting you with far-reaching consequences that could directly shape the course of the universe.
So how do you go from a potential unity between man and machine, to Mass Effect: Andromeda where humanity is searching for a new home amidst the stars? While I personally don't have the answer, we will be able to find out through a newly announced series of Mass Effect novels that aim to bridge the story gap between Mass Effect 3 and Andromeda.
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[Update]: After nearly seven years in development, the System Shock Remake will finally be launching in March 2023!
System Shock is by all accounts an excellent game, but due to technological advances in both graphics and gameplay its not the most... pleasant thing to play these days. This is where Night Dive Studios and their plans for a Remastered version come in as they are offering improved gameplay mechanics, impressive visuals, and a bunch of new features to make playing System Shock a fresh and enjoyable experience.
The Remastered version, now known simply as System Shock, is set to arrive next week, June 28, on Kickstarter along with a playable demo showcasing the team's progress so far. If you're wondering what the demo might look like, here's a gameplay trailer featuring pre-alpha footage from about 3 months ago:
- By Ash
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The original Pac-Man: Championship Edition released all the way back in 2007, and much to my surprise it ended up being one of the best Pac-Man games I've ever played. With that in mind, I'm glad to say that there seems to be a sequel in development.
As noticed by Eurogamer, the Korean ratings board has been updated with a listing for Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2. The current release platforms are PC, PS4, and Xbox One, though unfortunately there is no estimated release date or even a brief description of the gameplay features.
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We're currently on Day 3 of the big Steam Summer Sale, and I hope you are prepared for the things to come as there is still more than week of non-stop discounts and card-induced madness to go through.
As before, here are my humble recommendations on which games to grab during today's Steam Sale, all chosen based on their quality and the depth of their discount. The order is, once again, completely random:
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After much virtual bloodshed the 2016 Heroes of the Storm Summer Championship has now wound down to a close. Tempest has been crowned as the victor, and in order to celebrate an exciting series of matches Blizzard has decided to extend the festivities to all players.
Every single character is currently available for free to all players in all regions, so if you ever wanted to check out a hero or two without spending your hard earned gold, now's your chance. The free hero event will last until June 28, though no specific hour has been given just yet.
- By Ash
- in News
Oculus has garnered a lot of criticism over the past few months due to their insistence on DRM that locks away Oculus applications from being played on anything other than the Rift. This was eventually cracked, as you would expect, but the idea of trying to stifle their competition in such a way didn't go favorably with the general public, especially given the young and vulnerable state of VR gaming.
In a bit of an unexpected twist, however, the DRM has been quietly removed as a part of the recent Oculus June update, and the various pieces of Oculus software no longer preform their hardware checks when starting up. While there is no official set of patch notes to confirm that its indeed gone, an Oculus representative recently sent a message to Motherboard confirming that the DRM has been completely removed, and that it won't be coming back again. Here's the full quote:
- By Ash
- in News
Day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale has rolled on by, and with it the money from my Steam account, but its all for a good cause! I'm sure I'll get the time to play all of these games I've bought within the next decade or so.
Continuing on with the grand tradition set yesterday, here are my recommendations on which games to grab during Day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale. As before, I'm focusing on quality games with deep discounts attached to them, with the order being completely and utterly random: