Not a film per se, but with the way games have evolved, it's easy to rate it as one.
Great storytelling and performances on display here with one of the best tales I've experienced in the medium. Bioshock Infinite sucks you in with gorgeous visuals and an intriguing premise and holds you throughout its length.
Ken Levine is one of gaming's true auteurs with his ability to display his own personal vision on the screen and still allow it to be heavily interactive. Rarely does a game ask me to question myself and my beliefs but Infinite did so on numerous occasions.
Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper steal the show here with two of the best performances I've ever witnessed in a game. Their chemistry is top-notch and highly believable.
It's rare for a first person shooter to come along and be this good with its story and gameplay. Highly recommended for fans of the genre, Ken Levine's storytelling or just good stories in general.
The popular "top-down, SNES-style brutality simulator" Hotline Miami is finally coming to home consoles according to publisher Devolver and developer Deannaton.
Available this spring for the Playstation 3 & PSVITA as a Cross-Buy title, this should ensure that even more gamers can revel in the strangeness of this truly unique release. Cross-Buy is great for this type of game, since you'll be able to get both versions for the price of one.
Hotline Miami was one of my favorite games of 2012, and it should be fun to have some mayhem at home and on the go.
The Last Of Us, the Spring 2013 release from Sony's first-party game studio Naughty Dog, has officially been delayed. Originally scheduled for a May 7th release, the title has been pushed back about a month to a Friday, June 14th release.
This might not seem like such a big deal to the average person, but to anyone who follows the industry, it might come as a bit of a shock. Naughty Dog have never delayed a game before, they've always had "set-in-stone" release dates that were met. This time however ND decided that in order to deliver everything they have in mind for The Last Of Us, this extra time is needed.
As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games – gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further – for ourselves, and most importantly, our fans.
As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards.
It's sort of a bummer that I'll have to wait an extra month to play my most anticipated release of 2013, then again ND has a fantastic track record with their games. If this extra time allows them to release a game on a whole new level than what we normally get from them, I say hell yes, take your time and I'll happily wait until June 14th.
Are you upset that The Last Of Us has been delayed? What's your most anticipated release of 2013? Let me know in the comments below or contact me on Twitter @TheRealMattC.
It's that awesome time of the year, when dreams can be fulfilled and dashed in an instant and the major software developers awkwardly tease their latest wares! E3 is always a pretty entertaining event with a ton of new games announced every year, and every once in a while we even get a new console.
In this article I'll be going over a few of the games that I'm really excited for as well as talking about Nintendo's new home system, Wii U.
SONY
Sony's Playstation 3 is currently my go to system when I want to play all the latest games. It truly is an amazing console that, like Sony says, Only Does Everything. On the other hand you have their recent Vita handheld, which hasn't been doing too great. To be honest I was super excited when this released but it just hasn't gotten much support.
Sony has already announced a bunch of huge upcoming games prior to E3, which can only mean one thing, they're going to drop some huge surprises at their press conference tomorrow night. One of which I hope is that PSOne Classics will finally be playable on the Vita.
The next game from Sony's powerhouse first party studio, Naughty Dog, will probably be my highlight of the show. The story of a post-apocalyptic, plague ridden North America, this looks to be a sufficiently brutal and gripping tale of survival. Naughty Dog has clearly taken inspiration from various films and literature and the game seems to be a true emotional epic because of it. This is a game from a studio you can trust, they did make the Uncharted trilogy after all.
Five years ago when everyone saw the trailer for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, everyone's response was "Oh hey, Tomb Raider with a guy." Now in 2012 we'll get our first look at this gritty, "Uncharted with a lady" reboot of the classic Tomb Raider series. Judging from the trailer this looks to be a really good time with graphics and a storyline to match. Now we just have to wait and see if they've finally fixed those "classic" Tomb Raider controls.
Not much is known about this game so far, but if it's half as terrifying as the last two entries in the series, we're in for a real treat. The only concrete details that have been announced are that it'll have a co-op mechanic and that it takes place on some sort of Hoth-like planet. Look for more details very soon.
Sure at first glance it's pretty much Sony Smash Bros., but apparently it plays a lot different Nintendo's fantastic brawler series. This should be a fun game just for the fact that you'll be able to have a four-way deathmatch consisting of Nathan Drake, Fat Princess, a Big Daddy and Cole MacGrath. Expect fun times with your friends either sitting on the couch or online.
From the makers of the insanely fun Tales From Space series comes this cool sidescroller featuring a crazy Luchador. The last Tales From Space game that was released for Vita is probably that platform's best game and it only cost $8, so look for a sweet, cheap time with this one.
This appears to be another in a long line of crazy Japanese games that we rarely get stateside, but I'm glad we'll be receiving it. Soul Sacrifice looks very much like a portable Dark Souls with a cool, you guessed it, sacrifice mechanic mixed it. Developed by Sony's Japan Studio and being directed by the legendary Keiji Inafune (Mega Man, Onimusha, Dead Rising) expect some interesting gameplay on the go.
Sega & Gearbox Software's Aliens FPS has been a long time coming and it actually looks to be worth the wait. Set right after the events of James Cameron's excellent sequel you take control of a squad of Colonial Marines and the poop hits the fan once you board the Sulaco. Sega's recent Aliens: Infestation on the DS was the first good game in this franchise in quite some time, so hopefully this release can keep the momentum going.
One of my favorite series of all time is finally coming to the Playstation 3! This game scared the crap out of me back in the day and I can't wait to go back to Mars and fight the hordes of Hell once again. Bethesda is even including the original Doom & Doom II, so if for some reason you've never played those classics, here's your chance.
Assassin's Creed. The American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin makes your gadgets. 'Nuff Said.
NINTENDO
Nintendo had a pretty rocky E3 last year. The Wii U was mentioned almost in passing and they just didn't make much of a splash. This year looks to be The Big N's time to shine however, their 3D handheld is trouncing Sony's Vita in sales and they're about to launch their 7th home console. My panties are certainly in a bunch for the Wii U after seeing today's reveal and I couldn't be more excited for it. Expectations are naturally very high this year and the team of Iwata, Reggie, and Miyamoto will hopefully leave a lasting impression on fans.
I'm a fan of the New Super Mario Bros. games that have been released for the DS and Wii so this will be a welcome addition to the series. The ability to play as your Mii seems a bit silly, but as long as it doesn't effect the classic Mario gameplay we've come to love, then I'm fine with it. Oh and Mario in HD? Yes, please.
Look for the return of Captain Olimar and his Pikmin horde to make an appearance at E3 this Tuesday. This long awaited sequel to the GameCube strategy series will utilize the Wii U Gamepad's touchscreen in some way and be displayed in glorious HD. Pikmin has always been one of my favorite Miyamoto franchises, it just has this outright weirdness that you don't get from a Mario or Zelda game.
Mario's taller brother rarely gets to be in the spotlight and when the original Luigi's Mansion released with the GameCube I was quite pleased with his Ghostbusters-eque game. The sequel looks to be like more of the same, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
There you have it, my personal E3 preview with what I'm most looking forward to. Just remember, these are only the announced games and there's always some awesome surprises that pop up at the Expo.
So What are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below, or Tweet me @TheRealMattC. This is going to be one hell of a week, folks.
