Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn looks like the is a in which players take control of Aloy, a hunter and archer, as she progresses through a post-apocalyptic land which is ruled by mechanized creatures, such as robotic dinosaurs. I saw some stealth elements, farming for resources, nice variety of combat and weapons.  Graphically it reminds me of Heavenly Sword.  

Players can use a variety of ways to kill enemies, such as setting traps like tripwires, shooting enemies with arrows, utilizing explosive and melee combat, or performing silent takedowns. Players can also craft new items by collecting materials and machines parts found in the world. The game also features an open world, which can be explored by players when they are not completing missions.  A dynamic day-night cycle and weather system will also be featured as well. Guerrilla Games also promised that loading screens will not be included in the game.  The release date for Horizon Zero Dawn is 2016.

For Honor

Preview materials for For Honor depict skirmishes between Knights, Vikings, and Samurai in large-scale engagements. Centered around a system called the "Art of Battle," For Honor depicts a brutal melee combat focus with a series of stances and authentic close range weapons appropriate to the warrior and period.

Characters in For Honor are assigned to color-coded teams and participate in large-scale battles alongside and opposed by AI and human characters.

Overarching factions include Knights (The Legions), Vikings (The Warborn) and Samurai (The Chosen), each with their own combat specialties.

Players will be able to choose between both male & female characters, and the game will feature named characters with personalities.

There will be a variety of multiplayer modes similar to common FPS modes.

Map cycling is based off of popular First Person Shooter games, with constant team rotations and map changing along proven systems.

The only currently known mode is Control. Two teams of four heroes must fight to control 3 points on the map, one of which is usually the main focal point of both armies' NPC fighters. A team gains points for as long as they control a point, and the point must be clear or enemy players, or have routed the NPC army. 

If a team can capture all 3 points, the enemy team will no longer be able to respawn. It is up to the team with the control points to defeat the remaining players before a control point can be re-taken.

There isn't a lot of marketing for the game For Honor which is odd.  Makes me believe it's not finished.  There isn't a release date either.  Game is in alpha testing so as it develops hopefully there will be more information. 

E3 2015 Hidden Gems

E3 2015 had the return and sequels of a lot of popular franchises like Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Final Fantasy or Mario Bros, but I want to shine the spotlight on some new franchises that made an impact and caught my eye this E3.

The first game I want to play is Horizon Zero Dawn.  It looks like the is a in which players take control of Aloy, a hunter and archer, as she progresses through a post-apocalyptic land which is ruled by mechanized creatures, such as robotic dinosaurs. I saw some stealth elements, farming for resources, nice variety of combat and weapons.  Graphically it reminds me of Heavenly Sword.  The release date for Horizon Zero Dawn is 2016.

The second game that caught my eye was For Honor.  Preview materials for For Honor depict skirmishes between Knights, Vikings, and Samurai in large-scale engagements. Centered around a system called the "Art of Battle," For Honor depicts a brutal melee combat focus with a series of stances and authentic close range weapons appropriate to the warrior and period.  There isn't a lot of marketing for the game For Honor which is odd.  Makes me believe it's not finished.  There isn't a release date either.  

Super Mario Bros 30th Anniversary E3 2015

For Super Mario Bros' 30th Anniversary, Nintendo wants you to visit www.letssupermario.com and post a fan video to the site celebrating the game.  

Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo will make a donation to the non-profit group Operation Smile.  Let's have fun and a support a great cause.

Star Wars BattleFront

The long awaited gameplay for Star Wars Battlefield was finally revealed at E3 2015, and I must admit I am very impressed by what I saw.

As the gameplay rolled on the screen, we saw a glimpse of a few familiar faces, gadgets, vehicles, and scenery to the Star Wars franchise.  We are thrown in the massive snowfield Battle of Hoth.

I cannot express the horrors and fear I felt as a child looking up at the giant ATAT's and hearing their loud stumps as the crushed everything in front them without contest.  This game gave me the same feeling as I saw the camera look up into the sky and give a sense of scale and depth between the player and the ATAT's.

I quickly rallied behind the efforts of the rebel forces as they used everything they had such as magnetic harpoons and cables to fight an impossible fight against invincible machinery and modern warfare.  My saving grace for the rebel fighters is when two brave pilots named Luke Skywalker and Wes Janson attached a cable to the ATAT and dragged it down to the ground stopping the armies advance, and saving the rebel base and Princess Leia nearby.

One interesting out the ordinary scene was Dark Vader crushing a soldier near you with his Telekinetic Darkside of the force powers.  I didn't understand the purpose of Dark Vader being here, but guess what...Luke Sky Walker is here as well without any clothes to combat the zero weather of the planet.

A few aspects I wanted to point out that I feel were important.  I didn't like was the number candy you have with you kill a soldier or achieve a task.  Seeing the +25 was annoying and distraction from the combat and scenery.  As far the music, Dice provided the classic score from John Williams which I felt a bit of nostalgia as it played in the background.

Some good takeaways I enjoyed were the first person and third person point of views you got from the cockpits of the various vehicles you can control as a member of the Rebel forces or Confederation. 

As far as the multiplayer mode which why the game was made, I can imagine with all going that communications will be key to victory.  I envision various clans taking controls of sky and ground vehicles, and leading the ground army into combat in a massive field.  A lot is going on here, but I believe their is a science to this organized chaos.

Simply put it's Stars Wars people!  The game will sell millions of units just on the brand recognition alone.  The expected released date for Star Wars BattleFront in 11/17/2015.

Mass Effect Andromeda E3 2015

Bioware gave us a few teaser shots for Mass Effect Andromeda. It turns out that bioware was not finished with the mass effect franchise and wanted redemption for their failure with the Mass Effect 3.

The trailer didn't give much accept some use of familiar gadgets during cut scenes.  I will do my research and see if game analyst deducted more clues then I noticed.  

The release date for Mass Effect Andromeda is holiday 2016.  

E3 2015 Fallout 4 news!

We have an official release date for Fallout 4 which is November 10, 2015. Also, this post will reveal details about the game I know you will find interesting.

"One of the great things about fallout is the world that existed before the war and that's where our game starts".

Fallout 4 will take place in 2077 a few years before the war.  

The game has you take control of the mom and dad of the main character. You can sculpt the face to your liking by merely by click and drag a feature.  

The characters talk to each other as you change features saying things like "what do you think Hun, bread or no bread?" 

You can change the race as well which always you to control the race of their child. 

And of course you can play as the female character as well. Whoever you leave the menu as will be the character you play as.  It's a dynamic creation system that will also effect the NPC's you encounter.  

At one point a vault representative comes to you to verify your information. 

The amount of thought put into the seamless weaving of the storyline with the characteristics and perks selection is genius. 

Soon diaster strikes and you must exit to the vault with your family.  

The action takes place real time allowing you to see the game engine and play through the diaster not just viewing a cut scene.

The developers end the preview with an explosion and the cliff hanger of not knowing the fate of the family.  

None of the storyline was revealed past this event.  We learn the family survives, events transpire and you emerge 200 years from the vault as the soul survivor.  

This is an interesting world full of dynamics where you can create any player you want, go anywhere you want, and player freedom is the number one goal of the game development.  

The lighting and graphics reflect what you expect from a next generation gaming engine.

Even the dialogue is dynamic.  You can switch from first to third person during conversation, walk away while someone is talking or shoot the person in the face if you want.  The possibilities are limitless.

The interaction with pets and NPC's has changed.  You can point at objects and give pets directions to fetch items for you.

The combat utilizes an ambitious combat system with drastic improvements.  I was floored when I saw the dog attacking, switching back and forth between 1st person combat and the VATS.  The game ends there but other features of Fallout 4 were showcased. 

Weapon modifications were introduced.  No longer will items like staplers and globes serve as useless junk.  Those items will be use as one of the 700+ modifications you can make to the 50+ weapons in the game. 

The build feature allows you to scrap environments and items then rebuild structures the way you want them to look like or for feasibility.  

There is an emphasis on you being able to build, create and decorate for yourself and your friend to make this feel like a world you are making the you want it to be. 

There is an interesting dynamic that allows you to create a settlement.  At the settlement traders and people will arrive to live in your camp.  You need to provide water and farms for food.

You can build generators to light the town or build turrets to guard against raiders or monster attacks. In order to have certain machinery function you have to use wires to connect components and operations terminals. 

That's all the news I have for Fallout 4. A reminder the game will be released on 11/10/2015.  Also in the next post there will be a free downloadable game.