Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PS4, PS Vita) This War of Mine: The Little Ones (PS4) Blazerush (PS3) The Swindle (PS3, PS4, PS Vita) Azkend 2 Titan Souls (PS Vita, PS4)
Like a true terrorist will give you their actual social media. Abeg shift. Yankee & their overzealous tendencies. Na so I was traveling with my family (since I was the only one traveling without a Nigerian passport, but of course I have to follow my family na), that's how the immigration officer asked me why didn't I bring my Nigerian passport, na so I clap back - "it's unnecessary, since I'm not traveling as a Nigerian citizen".
This song is a proper showstopper, 'cause you just have to stop and go WTF...then just allow it, while you bask in its Bowie-ness. See me trying to pause the cinema during my first watch.
This one that Marvel want to give everybody work. I can't imagine how crazy the actors' contracts (and schedules) are...unless your ass is RDJ, then you'll have leeway. See how T. Howard got bounced and replaced by D. Cheadle.
You wake up in a dark cave, covered in mysterious tattoos. A few feet away, in the gloom, you can make out the shape of a wounded giant. Part dog, part bird, the creature Trico is an extraordinary feat of animation, AI and creature design, and an astonishing companion for this 12-hour adventure. It’s a testy relationship to begin with, however. Trico snarls and snaps as you pull spears out of his hide, feed him a few tasty glowing blue barrels, and release him from his chains.
The Last Guardian is a co-operative third-person puzzle platformer. Working together, you and Trico must escape the dark and climb the vast, crumbling edifices of the city in the valley. The city’s pale towers are linked by half-shattered bridges. Haunted suits of armour guard the city’s huge torchlit atriums. The place is full of strange statues, and covered in alien iconography. The whole area is bathed in a beautiful white sunlight. As with all of Fumito Ueda’s games, The Last Guardian has the quality of an ancient fable, albeit one with a lot of switch puzzles.
Most of the puzzles rely on the size disparity between the boy and Trico. You can clamber through small gaps to pull switches, the creature can reach high areas and savagely swat any animated soldiers that might chase you. You can grab onto Trico’s feathers and crawl all over him, which is a useful way to reach high ledges. Sometimes you leave the beast behind for a short time, to jump, climb and shimmy your way to a switch that opens a gate and lets the monster through. Trico’s mournful howls will chase you through the corridors whenever you leave his sight.
The puzzles are simple, and exist largely to facilitate the relationship between boy and beast. Once you’ve demonstrated that you can find the glowing blue barrels that he enjoys as food, Trico is happy to follow you around, but soon he learns to interpret gestures you make by holding R1 and indicating directions and actions. You might point at a collapsed wall high above and press R1-triangle to mimic jumping, for example, and Trico will look up and judge for himself whether he can make the leap.
This is a collaborative process. Trico possesses a degree of autonomy and animal intelligence that allows him to act independently of your commands. He will sniff and paw at objects that might be useful, and in some areas it’s best to simply hold onto his back as he vaults magnificently between distant platforms. This is not a story of a human and his pet, it’s a symbiotic partnership that invites you to respect the monster, and to earn its respect in return.
Described plainly, in terms of switches and jumping puzzles, The Last Guardian doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a huge pleasure to spend time with Trico, who is realised with extraordinary subtlety and attention to detail. His eyes glow different colours to reflect different emotional states – yellow for hunger, purple for aggression – but his subtle changes in posture and expression tell you everything. If you’ve ever spent time with a dog you will see canine behaviour emerge in the form of sudden sneezes that seem to surprise the animal, and the attentive sitting posture of a creature keenly trying to understand what a human is telling them. If Trico can’t squeeze through an archway, he will stick his head through, which delivers you the excellent sight of an enormous dog’s face popping out of the wall, and gives you opportunity to stroke his nose with the circle button. Petting Trico calms him after fights, but it’s also worth doing just to watch him nuzzle and yawn.
Trico has impressive command of his surroundings. The Last Guardian obsessively resists canned animations in favour of detailed environmental simulation, and this helps to embody the creature and give it the appearance of life beyond any ordinary AI companion. The barrels that Trico eats are physics objects that bobble around the scenery, but Trico is able to judge distance, paw at them, and snap them up. If you throw a barrel in front of him he can snap it out of the air. Unless he’s not ready for it, of course. In that case it bounces off his face and he whimpers in surprise. After one such failed throw, the barrel rolled off into a vast pit. Trico gazed after it sadly and moaned.
The Last Guardian also does an extraordinary job of capturing Trico’s size, weight and power. It is awe-inspiring to watch him spring hundreds of feet between narrow spires, and I mean that in the true sense of the word awe: this animal evokes a powerful combination of fear, wonder and respect. I even felt a swelling sense of pride as Trico overcame horrible circumstances and pushed himself to greater feats. He is a transcendent piece of design – the value of the evolving relationship with the creature far exceeds the simplistic trappings of a puzzle platformer, and makes up for the game’s pronounced technical issues.
The Playstation 4 can barely handle The Last Guardian in some sections. Outdoors the framerate frequently dips, and in some sections absolutely tanks trying to render vast amounts of crumbling architecture. The controls – already weighty and imprecise – feel terribly sluggish in these sections. The boy you control is an unwieldy avatar, bumbling in a charming sort of way, but irritating in perilous jumping sections. The Last Guardian’s sedate pace mitigates a lot of these problems, however. If the game wanted me to make sudden reactive movements or engage in combat the controls and framerate dips would be a functional problem rather than, as it is, an aesthetic one.
This is a vital distinction. While it is a deep shame that after all this time The Last Guardian should suffer performance issues, I am thoroughly glad to have played it, and would recommend the game to anyone. I’ve deliberately shied away from mentioning mechanical and narrative specifics – these things are better kept secret – but know that there is a complete story here with some great surprises. The Last Guardian is a fulfilling and emotional adventure, and while framerate problems must deny it the full five stars, but there is nothing else like Trico in games. I wish I could wake up in that cave again to experience the journey fresh. Treasure those first moments, they are the start of a beautiful friendship.*gamersfact*
The Game Awards has a peculiar reputation in the industry. Unlike other award shows, its primary attraction is showcasing new announcements. Of course, we are also referring to its predecessor – Spike Video Game Awards. In the past, developers have used this occasion to reveal some of the biggest games of our times. This list includes Batman Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Quantum Break.
As expected, the 2016 edition also had some major reveals. And to make things easier for those with fear of missing out, we have compiled every single announcement made during the event. A few occurrences have been left out, mainly due to their lack of impact. So, without further ado, here is your recap for The Game Awards.
Death Stranding
This announcement alone could carry the whole event on its back. After last year’s controversial absence, Hideo Kojima took to stage this time as the recipient of ‘Industry Icon’ award. And he utilized the opportunity to perfection. The second trailer for PS4-exclusive Death Stranding was released, leaving the audience in awe. The trailer raised more questions than it gave answers. Fans were ecstatic to see Mads Mikkelsen in the game, who will join Norman Reedus. Guillermo Del Toro also featured prominently; an homage to P.T. and the cancelled Silent Hill title. Sadly, no release date was mentioned.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
When N7 day concluded, fans tore Bioware a new one for lack of gameplay footage of Andromeda. Apparently, the studio was taking notice. Last night, we finally saw proper gameplay of Mass Effect: Andromeda. The trailer revealed combat, environments and characters. A welcome new feature was planet fauna, which means players will fight different creatures native to certain planets. The Frostbite engine was in full swing; everything from the grassy plains to deserted regions looked stunning. The game is set for a March 2017 release.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo fans were also serviced. A new trailer for the upcoming Zelda was released, further detailing the game. Of course, it didn’t have the impact of the previous two announcements, simply because we’re already seen the game in action. The game is set to be the marquee title for Nintendo’s Switch.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
While Telltale haven’t confirmed a third season for The Walking Dead, fans will still get their fill. Previously announced ‘A New Frontier’ got a comprehensive first showcase. Fan-favorite Clementine, who’s appeared in every single entry in the series, will make a cameo appearance. The first two episodes are set to drop on December 20.
Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Keeping with Telltale, the studio’s partnership with Marvel was kicked off last night. Guardians of the Galaxy will get the Telltale treatment come next year, and here is the trailer to prove it. Fans might be angry with Telltale though, as the studio hasn’t announced a follow-up to ‘The Wolf Among Us.’ Let’s hope the dev can balance established franchises with new additions. PreyWhen Prey was first revealed at E3, fans were shocked. In a good way. The franchise was in the doldrums, much in need of a revival. The trailer assured fans that the necessary steps had been taken, with a strong focus on traditional horror. Last night, we saw another detailed look at Prey. The game is set for an early 2017 release.
Halo Wars 2
One of the few remaining RTS games on consoles, Halo Wars 2 got a brand-new trailer. Microsoft also announced Halo Wars: The Definitive Edition coming to both Xbox One and PC.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
At least one remaster was to be expected at TGA. Bulletstorm, released on last gen consoles first, will be filling that gap. The ‘Full Clip Edition’ includes updated textures and geometry, as well as all previously released DLCs. It also features Duke Nukem, which might entice some old-school players.*gamersfact*
Elparaiso: How was it? Tried watching but slept off.
Omo, na so almost 25 minutes pass, I hadn't really paid attention to it, I ended up switching to my tried & true Brooklyn Nine Nine (I've watched those 2 seasons so many times). Spectral has almost 5 stars on Netflix, so I might give it another go tonight after work.
Gaming › Re: Free Playstation Plus Games by cao(mod): 12:18pm On Dec 31, 2016
