Gamin' NEWS! VGA Awards - various new trailers

So, once more Spike TV hosted their famous VGA Awards.
The Spike Video Game Awards 2011 to be precise. (but people tend to repeat Awards after VGA for some reason...)

Besides the random events due to their annoucements, silly announcers, star power hosting the show and whatnot, they also had a bunch of new trailers for many of the upcoming games.
(I mean...That's why I only check the latest game trailers instead of the whole event-thingie.)

Amongst those of interest to me, there was some news regarding my most expected titles of 2012. Like Mass Effect, Bioshock and many others!
Let's check 'em out, okay? :)
First up, right when nobody was expecting it, there's more Duke Nukem Forever coming!
(I hear you booo-ying already...)
('reminds me I should put up DNF's review up one of these days....)
It's set in Area 51 and will actually be some more offline campaign.

Once you’ve done that, you may not be interested in playing more, but, well, the option is available, as 2K Games today announced The Doctor Who Cloned Me, a single-player add-on set in Area 51.
The Doctor Who Cloned me costs $9.99, launches everywhere on December 13, and includes new enemies, bosses, weapons, achievements and additional places to interact with for an ego boost. There are also four multiplayer maps--Sky-High, Command, Drop Zone, Biohazard--to run around in.

And here's the unique pic so far:

Give me much better designed maps (my main problem with the original game...so linear, boring, lazy levels design and graphics...) and SECRETS! Loads of 'em! And perhaps I'll be able to start to forgive this mess of a game..


Next up, Agent 47 is in back in the long-awaited next chapter of the Hitman franchise, Hitman: Absolution!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Hitman: Absolution - VGA 2011: Exclusive Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

I gotta tell ya guys and gals, this is looking great so far! I can't wait enough to try this one.
The mix of CGi (from the game's intro?)  and actual in-game graphics didn't even bother me, it just showcases how nicely this is shaping up.
I missed Agent 47!
The Hitman games were so much fun, you could play them stealth killer-style or go nuts guns ablazin'!
I hope Square Enix didn't get too much of an executive control, the game would suffer from it. Let the developers have fun with this one!


To stay on the subject (kinda), here's finally the reveal trailer of Alan Wake: American Nightmare.
Which seems to be a "What if..?" kinda episode which will be available for DLC only (no original game need..so, huh, it's an Arcade title on digital story if you want).

Alan Wake's American Nightmare  finds our literary hero pitted against his doppelganger Mr. Scratch to keep the world from going to hell. 

Enjoy the ride:

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Alan Wake: American Nightmare - VGA 2011: Exclusive Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

It looks a bit more action oriented than last time.
Looking nice indeed!


Let's see something completely different on the other hand:

Get More: GameTrailers.com, The Amazing Spider-Man - VGA 2011: Exclusive Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

It's The Amazing Spider-Man, the video game adaptation of the (rebooted) movie of the same name.
Activision and Beenox are promising an open world environment this time. So I'm sure it will sell well, and people will love it...but I'm already missing the more structured level-based titles.. (Shattered Dimensions still is my current favorite Spidey game)


The recently announced new Transformers: Fall of Cybertron also gets a brand new trailer:

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron - VGA 2011: Exclusive Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Wow! Lookin quite badass for silly toy robots in CGi! (Ha!)
This one is an original title rather than a movie adaptation, it is the follow-up to War of Cybertron. A 3rd person shooter.


Speaking of, the long awaited final episode of the famous scifi RPG trilogy Mass Effect 3 gets a brand new kickass trailer!
This one is mostly composed of actual gameplay footage, which looks amazing if you ask me!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Mass Effect 3 - VGA 2011: Exclusive Gameplay Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Woah!
This is looking great!
Though it's funny how the series transitioned from the RPG genre to the 3rd Person Shooter genre through the 3 installments. Doesn't bother me since I'm not a big RPG fan to begin with. (I hate grinding system mechanics forcing you to gather points of experience TO BE ABLE to shoot an enemy rather than being able to correctly aim at an enemy directly and be rewarded for your own gameplay rather than stats...)
Anyway, cannot wait for this one! :D


On the opposite spectrum, here's something unexpected!
Remember the Tony Hawk skating games? Yeah...those used to be good or at least fun enough to have a good time once in a while. The series had so many entries and spinoff since then, I doubt anyone was able to follow all that!

Anyway, they just announced a brand new title...and it's an old title to be exact.
A compilation!

Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD will be a collection of the first two games!

The teased Tony Hawk game was revealed in a red carpet segment during the Spike VGA preshow. It is called Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD, and it takes from the first two THPS titles to make a soft of best-of game. Of course, they'll also get a HD upgrade. Hawk says that this will be a digital release, and it will be priced under $20.
More details will be released later in the show.

Ha!
What? I find that hilarious!


Let's have a look at yet another fighting game now.
One of my most awaited releases of 2012!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - VGA 2011: Exclusive Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Live!
Pretty nice B)

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is expected for an holiday 2012 release.
And here's some gameplay fro the VGA:

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - TGS 11: Fierce Battles Gameplay (Cam), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Looking great! :D
Always had a preference for Tekken Tag over the "normal" Tekken entries. It's just a much more random and fun variant of the series (unlike Tekken 4, which was a less fun and more bland entry of the series...in actual 3D - gameplay-wise)


Finally, let's finish this post on a great note.

Here's the prettiest, most awaited title (at least, on my part) and original looking game of the whole show!
BioShock Infinite!!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, BioShock Infinite - VGA 2011: Exclusive Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

"Step back into the flying city of Columbia and get a glimpse at all-new enemies in this trailer from the Spike TV Video Game Awards of 2011!"

This game is looking amazing!

Outstanding!

And I love the art style and colors here.

It annoys me how people complain it's not "gritty" or "realistic" enough. It's not cartoony! (and being "cartoony" shouldn't be a problem ya bunch of crybabies!!)

It has a very distinct and unique looking art direction, and I love it, the more reasons for it.

For once a games steps back from the usual Unreal-engined powered generic look.

And dares standing out!

This flying steampunk world is looking gorgeous!

Give me some of dat! >__<

AwesomeCosplay Pics of the day: Incredible BioShock cosplay

Wanna some outstanding cosplay in action?

Here's the best BioShock cosplay, bare none, I've ever seen.
The attention to the details, the portrayal...Even the photoshoot is amazing!

They perfectly captured the feel and tone of the game here, didn't they?

Man I hope we won't see the day Hollywood will ruin this franchise with one awful lackbuster film feature... Because we all know they won't be able to produce only half of the quality seen here!

From Otakon.

And again captured and courtesy from LJinto's flickr account.

Drawing - Captain Kirk & Bioshock 3's Elizabeth

Here's some new drawings I posted on my deviantArt recently :P

First up is William Shatner's Captain Kirk from Star Trek:

Time: 21 minutes + 5 minutes for the colors

One of the latest dailysketch I did.
You can also find a non-colored version here.

Put up some quick colors for fun
Something different, to experiment.

Damn', sketching a portrait's a whole lot harder on the tablet than on a regular classic paper with a pencil

~

At the opposite end of the spectrum, here's Elizabeth from the upcoming BioShock Infinite game:

Alright, ended up inking & coloring a sketch I did not long ago.
Mmmmh.. this didn't turn out that bad...

My previous Elizabeth drawing was a bit more silly.
What d'you think? Better than my last attempt?

E3 NEWS! lots MOAR trailers PartIV

E3 Trailers: part I

E3 Trailers: part II

E3 Trailers: part III 

(...)
Part 4 of these new videos/announcements/interviews/etc..!!
Now, it's time to check some of my fav news and best looking stuff.
(and by that I really mean "best looking stuff")

Ubisoft sure had a lot of new stuff to show.
Here's some gameplay from the upcoming Rayman Origins!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Gameplay Demo (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Woow! *in his best Keanu Reeves impression voice*
It's looking amazing! Well animated, colorful, fun. Like a great cartoon. Or better, like the orignal Rayman!
And it's great to listen to such passionate developers.
It's funny how a year passed, since the previous E3, where they showcased this very same game.
This should be made available on a retail disc as well just for the wait they've put us through.

And Rabbids fans, worry not.
They will also be back in their own title (yay! Rayman is finally truly separated from them!)
In this random party game for Kinect:

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Debut Walkthrough (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Looks like we can call it Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking.


Also from Ubi, here's Assassin's Creed: Revelations.



Woah! Ezio! Altair!
Looking great!
And as enigmatic as previous episodes :)
Can't believe this already coming for this November!!!


And another Ubi-sequel:



It's Far Cry 3! Taking place in Africa again it seems.
I would have preferred another completely different setting...like The Arctic Pole or something..
Graphics looks nice however.

Now, something gorgeous, something unique.
It's the 3rd BioShock game!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Gameplay Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Looks like more of the same..on a completely different and beautiful setting!
And I wanna say..even better than the past previous 2 games underwater (as much as I loved 'em originally).
Irrational Games is back with 2K Games on this all-new BioShock Infinite.
I'm particularly loving the art style. Simply put, splendid! (cute gal :'3)


Some gameplay from Deus Ex 3 finally!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Mechanics Walkthrough (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Eidos is developing for Square Enix this Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Looks like a richer experience closer to Deus Ex 1 compared to the more nervous action-fuelled simple Deus Ex 2.


And last but not least, Mass Effect 3!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: The Invasion Begins Trailer (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Bioware is aiming this one for the 3/6/2012.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Introduction & Gameplay Trailer (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Looking nice, shaping nicely.
Can't wait! :D


More on the E3 later on this week~

Gamin' NEWS! 4 little pictures of BioShock 3

Here's four little new screens of the upcoming BioShock Infinite.
I loved the first one.
Am actually playing through the expans... I mean BioShock 2.
And can't wait for part 3 which actually look like a real epic sequel in new settings but still pretty similar visually.
(and gameplay-wise too I guess, powers on one hand, weapons in the other...)

 

 

 

Lovely scenery~

FPS games!

Here's a little discussion/reflexion about First Person Shooters.

I've been playing FPS games for so many years...probably since I started gaming (well, as soon as Doom and Duke Nukem 3D hit the gaming market)
It's always been a guilty pleasure of mine...
They're not really my favorite genre, not anymore at least, but I can always find some fun playing through a FPS.

I had my Arena/Deathmatch/Multiplayer FPS moments.. But I only like coming back to the scripted/level based games now. Plus you won't find people online playing the older ones, only the current new-cool stuff the kids do these days (Halo 3/ODST/Reach, Left4Dead...) and I prefer the older ones or at least the original new ones over the multiplaying ones.
(...)
I've thinking about these kind of games.. And as generic they've become (*cough*GearsOfWar*cough*) I still like to play one of these every now and then.
But I'm not really into all the cliché mainstream FPS that now invade the market, since the commercial success of Halo.
You see, the FPS have become what the 2D mascot platformers were during the 90s/16 bits era. A very cheap profitable simple-to-build genre of games. Just "buy the rights to use the Unreal engine, find a theme/gimmick, a generic online (team) deathmatch mode or co-op and slap some levels together AND BAM! Profit!
Oh, and either use super-muscular badass over-the-top heroes or make it a military game and you'll double profits!

Anyway, I can see two big types of FPS I use to play.
Very distinct in my eyes, both have their positive aspects. And I seem to prefer a genre over the other.
(not talking about the online FPS or the military realistic grim shooters mentioned above, since I do not play those)

There's the type of games where you play as an offensive type of "hero".
Often a badass over-the-top character, since they're mostly based on the very granpa of the genre, the Doom guy! A soldier, a marine, a cop... Someone of "power".
The hero jumps into the situation, attacks stuff and is fully prepared to kick some ass, YEAH!
They're the type of game you can zip through, the "story" is secondary and split up in levels. Be it lots of levels or a dozen. But it's no big deal, they're fun and you can replay them a lot, mastering your skills and trying your hands on harder difficulties.
This is the kind of FPS I liked to play a lot some years ago. The story is here, but it's not the most important aspect. The atmosphere, the enemies, the fun is.
In Doom, the Doom guy was kickin' Hell's ass all over the planet Mars. Tons of cool weapons, many foes.
Quake, another iD software game using many similar concepts just with an alien/machines backdrop instead of Hell & Mars.
Unreal and it's scifi fantastic space/worlds.
The more recent Condemned (though I could say it's also a bit of the genre I'll discuss below) had a cop going against junkies and killers in the streets.
Turok going rampage on a dinosaur planet.
The Alien vs. Predator series with it's 3 gameplay-types campaigns....
Etc... They're fun, often short (oh well... at least they've a multi for the gamers that won't replay hard difficulties, even if people don't really stick to those once there's a more recent one)

Then there's the more "story-ysh" kind of first person shooters.
The ones that get you involved in the plot not by throwing you against it, but in the middle of it.
These are the more defensive type of FPS games.
The ones that grew up on me, my favorite current type of FPS.
They're often the longer ones to play through. The story takes cente place here, often by scripted events.
It often starts with a normal, simple "tutorial" level where you discover your surroundings.
Then all hell breaks loses.
It's the type of game where the players is thrown into an hostile environment, lost in it and tries to understand things by himself.
They also commonly often use a big gimmick, be it gameplay-wise or just in the engine or physics of the game.
Half-Life started like a normal day for Gordon Freeman, scientist in undercover experimental laboratories in the Grand Canyon. Then during an experiment, a portal was opened... everything went from bad to worse..
These games thrown surnatural, magical, alien or scifi-ysh events at you. You are in a story. You're thrown into a journey in the unknown, discover little bits of info here and there and most of the time end up in a very distant place at the end....
Half-Life 2 did simply "spawn" Freeman in a complete different world, with new rules, new enemies, new cast of characters.. A different story altogether.
TimeShift, a sadly underrated early "next gen" game, threw another scientist, into a time warp, a different era in a war and a world that wasn't the protagonist's. And while Freeman could play with a gravity gun in platforming sequences, TimeShift allowed the player to freeze, revert or speed time around.
Then, the most impressive result of this type of game this generation really was Bioshock for me. It uses everything I like about this genre, a normal beginning that puts the player in the hostile environment quickly, a whole universe to discover, original gimmicks (the "drugs"/powers of this game, the Big Daddy...) and an ambiguous turn of events..
It's a type of game I really started to appreciate lately...

Anyway, that's my own take, my views on the whole FPS genre. Sure, I might not have as much FPS as fighting games, or have most recent ones like parkour platformers, nor played as much of those as 2D platformers... But it's a guilty pleasure of mine~

About BioShock 3?
Early impressions: Oh, I really loved the trailer, the concept, everything really!
I sure will appreciate it more than the few I know about BioShock 2 (still plan on playin' through it soon, as soon as I can get my hands on a cheap copy).
My problem about BioShock 2 is that it takes out exactly everything I love about Part 1. Meaning the strange unknown universe, it's mostly a BioShock 1 bis. All the surprises are out from the go, same mecanics, same concept, same weapons, etc.. It's more like revisiting BioShock 1, again! Cause everybody loved it you know!
It's more like additional levels, something that works better with the offensive type of games I've talked about above.
While BioShock 3 will actually be about a new story, new settings, surprises again!
An uncharted Mystery Box is about to be opened!
So, yeah, quite anticipating this game!

Gamin' NEWS! BioOdyssey

Hi guys!
I'm back!

And what do I find out as soon as I hit the keyboard?

Tons of stuff have changed in only one week... dA has some little minor different details, youtube changed yet again, etc..etc...

Oh, and a sequel to BioShock has been announced?!



Say what..?!? Already?!

BioShock Infinite will be the 3rd BioShock game.
Not a direct sequel to the previous two games, but instead offer a proper brand new story/content/settings.
Probably a good move 2K Games' part after the fans backslash reaction to BioShock 2. People called that 2nd game a pale copy of the original, mostly rehashing the same ol' stuff and losing the originality and unique discovery of a strange world you could only get the first time visiting Rapture City.

 
This time, it will take places in the air, in a Bespin world-inspired city.

The trailer did look nice and it seems like this new setting might offer some nice twists and elements.
Probably something to check out later on, even if you missed the original games. (I only played Bioshock 1)


And here's a trailer for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West:



An action-platformer-brawler. Kinda similar to Ubisoft's Prince of Persia games.

It's a game by Ninja Theory, published by Namco Bandai.
You'll have to explore a pretty amazing world visually, great graphics by the way and quite colorful, and fight your way on your journey...inspired by, some may already found this out, Journey to the West.
Journey to the West is a classic chinese tale, the very one which inspired the early Dragon Ball stories by Akira Toriyama. There's been zillions of mangas, movies and even some games based on that tale.

Anyway, the game has a very unique fantasy-steampunk-Prince of Perisa-esque take on the tale.
It will be out around October 8, 2010 it seems.
At least it will offer a similar experience to the 2008 Prince of Persia game, the closest thing we'll have to a sequel for that one, even if not by Ubisoft themselves!