Here are the games I'm most looking forward to in 2015...
Did I miss one? Shout it out below!
Here are the games I'm most looking forward to in 2015... Did I miss one? Shout it out below!
DISCLAIMER: Below are my own personal predictions for tomorrow's #XboxReveal based purely off hopes/speculation/rumor and are therefore not indicative of any inside info or prior knowledge, nor are representative of any affiliated work... they're just guesses :-) With that said, here are my predictions...
When Slightly Mad Studios were approached to revitalize the Need For Speed franchise after a period of decline one of the key pillars we knew we wanted to tackle was making the player feel the full physical exertion of what it's like sat in the driver's seat wrestling with high-performance machines. In real-life there are a number of contributing factors that transmit this sensation to your brain such as G-forces, depth perception, transfer of weight, vibration, sound but sat on a couch at home with a DualShock controller most of these cannot be felt. For Need For Speed SHIFT therefore we knew that communicating each of these physical characteristics through other methods would be key to the 'True Driver Experience' that would eventually become our core message...
The second step was to fix the restrictive confinement of the long-standing but seldom-used cockpit view. Despite being the view we're all most used to when actually driving a car it was commonly treated in games as if you were looking through widescreen borders and not conducive to getting the best experience from the game. With our focus on framing the game from the driver's perspective we knew this had to be solved therefore and by mapping direct control of the driver's head to the right-analog stick in addition to the above-mentioned head movement we found both complimented each other and provided a far more 'free' experience for the player. No longer were you looking through a letterbox format - you had complete control over your head and it moved spatially through the cockpit which allowed it to break out of those traditional widescreen borders. By also employing some stylistic techniques borrowed from first-person shooters we were further able to push the believability that you were looking through the eyes of the driver by doing such things as blurring the cockpit out when travelling at high speed to simulate your focus narrowing on the horizon up ahead. Ultimately for Shift 2 Unleashed we pushed this sensation further with the introduction of the Helmet Cam that also included further enhancements such as the driver's eyes looking towards the apex of the corners and lateral tilting of the driver's head when leaning in to corners...
The potential for this can be seen already from the hovercraft and buggy sections of Half-Life 2 where there's a greater perception of distance afforded by the stereoscopic vision and therefore a greater sensation of speed. You can also freely look around and are therefore more spatially aware. Where it fails slightly is in level design - most of the drivable areas are wide/open and therefore for a majority of time 3D elements are never whizzing close to your head which can actually exaggerate that feeling of speed whilst also providing some near-eye objects to also contribute to the feeling of depth. So for our current Project CARS game, although head-tracking has been done before (TrackIR, Kinect), Oculus Rift support is extremely tempting as it's a natural next step from the progress we've made on previous titles. Imagine seeing another driver alongside you trying to overtake and being able to glance over at him to check, being able to naturally lean your head into corners, or even to reverse by turning around and watching out of the rear window ;-) TO BE CONTINUED...
Sometimes there are things in life that 140 characters alone just can't express. Playing one of my favorite all-time games Half-Life 2 on Oculus Rift is one of them... Let's start at the beginning though... I've had the Oculus Rift for three weeks now and I was literally floored with the experience right from firing up the initial 'Tuscany' demo. And when I say 'floored' I mean SLAMMED TO THE FLOOR. Back in 1994, the psOne heralded a revolutionary graphical jump for gaming with the advent of 3D graphics. It's the same kind of visual milestone that, for me, also includes the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, Gollum in Lord Of The Rings, and most recently (and thematically linked) Avatar from the film industry. Gamers (myself included) are looking to the next-generation of consoles for that same graphical leap and this time around it's just not as clear cut as the one from SD to HD. When you consider the VR however that next step is pretty clear; Oculus Rift is the IMAX of gaming.
After an extremely simple installation (plug an Apple TV-like box into the USB/DVI of your computer then put the googles on), firing up the first Tuscany tech demo literally made me say "Holy shit" out loud. Right away, those claims of low-latency head-tracking were absolutely true - if you move your head, the view changes. It's as simple as that. Just like an Apple product, it's intuitive and natural to use. There's just a pure enjoyment of discovery from physically moving your head to explore the game world now. Glancing up at a window for example is usually just a flick of the mouse away but suddenly becomes a slower but more meaningful and deliberate action; if you want to look around you have to actively do that with a 1:1 head movement. You have to take part now, and therefore you naturally find yourself immersed in the world and experience.
Resolution-wise the Oculus Rift runs at 1280x800 so theoretically this is a bit better than HD 720p but since that resolution is divided between each eye the resolution is actually just 640x800. To put this in comparison, the iPhone4 screen is 640x960 so put that right up against your eye and you'll see the same kind of pixellation as you do through the goggles. Your brain quickly filters that out though and it's hardly noticeable when moving but it's something to be aware of if you're used to cranking your graphics card to super-high resolution. The final retail version promises to close this gap though.
Since walking movement (WASD keys), head movement (Rift goggles), and gun aiming (mouse) are all independent of each other you have even more freedom than you did previously to be totally spacialy-aware of your surroundings. With the Oculus Rift, you can run in one direction, look in another, and fire in another. In an actual level this means you can be running towards an objective and be actively darting your head left and right at an intersection to make sure enemies aren't coming at you from side corridors. Imagine in a Counter-strike game the rear-guard on your team actually being able to look over their shoulder to see who's stalking them behind! Which brings me to Half-Life 2... Half-Life 2 is a seminal game for a number of reasons, one of which is the continual feeling of immersion; the engaging narrative, the way you never jump out of your body via a cutscene or third-person camera, the way other characters talk to you directly and track you around the room. You're already seeing through Gordon Freeman's eyes and now the Oculus Rift literally puts you inside his head. Right from the opening sequence I found myself stopping in the train station and physically craning my neck up at the screen showing Dr. Breen's propaganda. It made me feel small and diminutive and conveyed a sense of servitude to that character like I'd never felt ever before. Continue on into City 17 and you'll be looking around the central square as the drone takes photos around your head and when Barney puts you on the comm with Dr. Vance I found myself watching the screen and occasionally glancing right to see Barney's reaction - just like you would in real life. Without Oculus I would have simply stared at the screen as a passive viewer rather than an active participant like you feel with VR. Right now I'm heading towards the buggy section which I obviously have a vested interest in from a racing perspective and after that the next section I'm looking forward to is that precarious passage across the Highway 17 bridge - DON'T LOOK DOWN! TO BE CONTINUED...
Our latest game from Gamagio is based on the record-breaking comic series "The Walking Dead" by Robert Kirkman! Following the comic timeline, Episode 1 "Days Gone Bye" begins at the point Rick awakes in the hospital in Issue 1 and takes you from those first isolated moments, through Atlanta, and ultimately to the horrific invasion of the camp that costs the survivors valuable allies and friends. Play as your favourite characters from the series - Rick, Glenn, Shane, Carl, and more! Aseemble your ultimate team of four, hunt for supplies, purchase new items & upgrades, and use unique special abilities to survive the undead horror! Complete Bonus Objectives and Challenges to unlock special content including artwork and wallpapers for your device, behind-the-scenes trivia, Game Center Achievements and much more! Since launch, The Walking Dead: Assault has become the #1 Strategy game in over thirteen countries including the US, UK, Canada, and Germany! Currently it stands at #2 in the US iTunes chart and a new person plays the game every 7 seconds!
Thank you to everyone that made it happen - now go and tell your friends and let's get it to #1! Well it's been a long while coming but we're finally getting round to updating our award-winning Tricorder app for iOS! Designed with the Retina display of the iPhone 5 in mind, the new update has much crisper, much more authentic graphics and new functionality... For those that haven't grabbed the Tricorder TR-580 Mk III already, download it now from the iTunes Store!
Mk IV on the way soon! This weekend I'll mostly be playing the brand-new Lollipop Chainsaw! Played through the first four stages and other than an extremely annoying save system it's a blast so far. Every 5 minutes something new and cool appears - whether that's some new costume or weapon or ability or enemy etc.. and the dialog and banter between Juliet and Nick is genuinely funny. Maybe a rental as it appears to be quite short, but definitely worth playing! I'll also be continuing on with Diablo III and checking out the new Armitage class vessel in Star Trek Online!
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