Today's episode of Shacknews Daily shows off the Amazing Spider-Man in a video displaying his new Web Rush skills. Then, Garnett examines the new Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time game coming to the Vita, featuring cross-platform saves. Finally, the possibility of a new Battlefield 3 premium service is discussed, with five new map packs available for one price.
Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.
Today's Filter features a playbook on audio for Madden NFL 13, some gameplay for NHL 13, and much more!
The true joy of being Peter Spiderman is, one imagines, skittering freely about New York City, swinging, running and leaping from building to wall to bus roof. Developer Beenox is trying to capture this feeling in its movie tie-in game The Amazing Spider-Man, a new trailer shows, with an context-sensitive system dubbed 'Web Rush.'
Activating Web Rush slows time while you select a route or course of action, then Spidey pulls an array of tricks out of his bag to automatically perform that. It all looks a bit like the context-sensitive shenanigans of, say, Assassin's Creed, but with webs and riding on cars and whatnot.
The Amazing Spider-Man is scheduled to swing onto Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and DS on June 26, published by Activision. Obviously, most editions won't be remotely this fancy:
Ever since Bethesda Softworks announced that it is working on an MMORPG set in the beloved Elder Scrolls universe, fans of the solo games have been brimming with questions about what the game will actually be like when it releases. In a recent interview with The Elder Scrolls Online's creative director Matt Firor, a number of general things about the game were discussed, ranging from learning lessons from past games in the genre, to the fact that the main story will be playable as a solo experience.
"We have a whole part of the game which is one hundred percent solo, which is the main story where the world focuses on you. You're the hero," Firor told GameInformer. "Everything you do is solo, and the world reacts to you that way."
Clearly, many MMOs already allow players to play through their main story-lines by themselves. Firor's statement could simply mean the usual, but since the Elder Scrolls games have always focused on playing a single heroic (or anti-heroic) figure, it's at least possible he means that the series of main story quests must be played alone. Given the fact that it's a massively multiplayer game we're talking about, however, I'm betting you'll be able to bring friends along.
Firor also discussed several standard MMO gameplay tropes that The Elder Scrolls Online will incorporate as well, such as party-based RAIDS, and instanced encounters.
You can check out the entire video interview here.
It has been an up and down day so far for embattled developer 38 Studios. First, they make a late $1.125 million loan payment to the state of Rhode Island, then the state's governor outs the proposed release date for the company's upcoming MMO.
To help smooth over the negative financial publicity, a new Project Copernicus video has been released, showing off Amalur in its MMO setting for the first time in a series of fly-by cuts. There is no narration, just several landscape scenes showing what appears to be several different beautiful, yet unpopulated, zones.
No other information was released, but the timing appears to be a goodwill gesture of sorts to gamers, showing that the studio has something to show for all the money invested in the as yet unveiled project. There had been no hint of a release date until, at a press conference announcing that the studio's late loan payment had cleared the bank, Gov. Lincoln Chafee let drop that the game was supposed to be released in June 2013.
As Day Z fever sweeps the Internet, this weekend you can pick up ArmA 2: Combined Operations for $15 to join in the zombie mod fun. You'll also find Torchlight for $3.75, both BioShocks for $7.49, Borderlands GotY for $7.49, Serious Sam 3 for $10, and other tidy discounts.
Then there's the stonking bundle of Just Cause 2 + Kane & Lynch 2 + Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light + Supreme Commander 2 + Tomb Raider: Underworld for $7.49.
"Hang on," you may say, "these aren't all Steamworks games." No, they're not, but Amazon is canninly selling Steam codes for many games which don't actually require Steam.
Just Cause 2 + Kane & Lynch 2 + Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light + Supreme Commander 2 + Tomb Raider: Underworld (all except Underworld are on Steam) - $7.49 (92% off)
Ubisoft announced a set of release dates for Mad Riders today, the off-road racing game from developer Techland. It will come to PlayStation Network first on May 29, followed by the PC and Xbox 360 versions on May 30. Each will cost $9.99 (800 MSP).
Zombies may be dead, but the genre certainly isn't. Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead has sold over one million episodes in two weeks across all platforms. That includes PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 so far, with iOS still to come.
This makes it Telltale's fastest-selling game so far, and it probably helps that it's gotten a more positive reception from critics than last few games. Plus the $5 price point can't hurt. It hit #1 on the XBLA charts, and made a mark the PlayStation Network, and Steam charts as well. This figure is for the first episode, "A New Day." The second, titled "Starved for Help" is coming in June.
"Premiering The Walking Dead game series to record numbers across so many diverse platforms is a tremendous achievement that shows the value of bringing strong storytelling and game play together," said Telltale CEO Dan Connors, in the announcement. "The tailored narrative design puts gamers in control of their own story within the universe of The Walking Dead in a way that appeals equally to hardcore gamers and to more casual gamers who are fans of the franchise. The most exciting aspect of getting off to such a great start is that this is just the beginning of the five episode series. The Walking Dead fans are going to experience some really great moments in the months ahead that are uniquely influenced by the choices they make throughout the season."
Chibi characters, beat-matching gameplay, and the music of Final Fantasy. Theatrhythm should have everything a Square Enix fan could possibly want from a music game, absurd title and all.
Although there are RPG dressings--such as experience points, stats, and leveling up--the core gameplay invites comparisons to Elite Beat Agents. Like iNIS' original DS game, you'll have to use the stylus to tap the screen in time with the rhythm of the song. Beats are represented by various colored circles, some of which will require holding down on the screen, or swiping in a specific direction.
While it may be intimidating at first, it won't take long to understand the basics of the gameplay. This kind of gameplay was fun in Elite Beat Agents--so why isn't it as entertaining in Theatrhythm?
I felt like the musicality of the songs in the game weren't well represented. Perhaps it's Final Fantasy's orchestral heritage, but these catchy tunes simply don't translate as well to beat-matching gameplay as the more pop-flavored offerings of other music games. Whereas every note in a Rock Band game, for example, corresponds to a real note in a song, Theatrhythm feels a bit more disconnected.
It's unfortunate that the core gameplay doesn't feel right, as Square Enix has done pretty much everything else right. Presentation is spot-on. Theatrhythm's adorable chibi characters battle monsters as you play through a song, and successfully tapping the streaming notes will have you inflicting critical strikes. Conversely, missed notes will lower your party's HP. Certain songs will give you the ability to unleash a summon, and sustaining a combo will make the attack far more devastating. It's definitely a cute way of tying in the RPG heritage of the franchise into the game.
Theatrhythm takes players on a journey through every numbered Final Fantasy game, 1 through 13, and each game is represented by three songs. Going through the "story mode" is a great way of reliving the incredible accomplishments of the long-running franchise. After these songs are cleared, players can look for other unlockable songs, making it quite a packed cartridge. DLC songs will be available post-release, for fans that need to play even more. (Hilariously, the long-delayed Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be a DLC offering.)
Given its impeccable presentation and wonderful song selection, I'm still tempted by Theatrhythm. Sure, it may not be as fun as Elite Beat Agents--but that game doesn't have One Winged Angel. Theatrhythm will be available on July 3.
Watch the Shacknews E3 2012 page to follow all our coverage of this year's show. This preview is based on a hands-on demo shown at a pre-E3 event.
One iconic Batman location missing from Gotham City Impostors has been rectified, with a free update that provides the "Arkham Asylum" map. Monolith is probably aware that this isn't the first time we've visited the famous nut-house, but its take on the subject matter is a bit brighter and more whimsical.
The update is available now on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the PC version is said to be coming shortly. A brief flyover of the map in the teaser video shows a nice view of Arkham Asylum in the daytime, which looks only slightly less creepy than the night scenes of Rocksteady's game.
The map update doesn't include any new items itself, but Monolith has also released a "Steamy Punk Pack" with new costume elements, a jet pack, lightning rod, new Fun Facts and other additions. Like the Rodeo Pirate Pack, it costs $5.
