Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. As we mentioned three weeks ago on the blog, the Steam Autumn Sale is underway today and is running through Tuesday, December 3rd. As we’re wont to do around here, we’ll keep you updated with all the daily deals each day during the sale with links to any coverage we may have done on those games.
As always, you shouldn’t buy anything until the end of the sale unless it’s a daily deal or flash sale. And keep in mind that the daily deals appear to be 48 hours in length according to the actual store page for each game (the front page says 24 hours as of writing) and there’s no sign of community picks so far.
Given the religious undertones of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, it probably wouldn’t surprise you if the game dealt with The Rapture. However, I didn’t expect it to happen accidentally.
A glitch in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag not only causes the parting of the sea but your ship’s crew to ascend into heaven. Mind you, I’m not sure if that’s a bug or a feature of this game.
Well, it should surprise anyone that a new piece of electronic hardware is suffering some issues at launch. Like some PlayStation 4 consoles, the Xbox One is suffering from a few hardware maladies.
While some PS4s aren’t taking the discs into the console, the some Xbox One Blu-Ray drives are not reading discs while others are actually eating the discs.
We don’t often write about employment news in the games industry but this latest bit of news at 343 Industries and Naughty Dog could be massive in the battle between Microsoft and Sony.
Corrinne Yu, the principal engine architect at 343 Industries for Halo 4 and considered to be the most important member of the team in making Halo 4 look as amazing as it did, has left the Microsoft first-party studio and joined Sony’s flagship first-party studio, Naughty Dog.
Last week was a pretty good week to be a Nintendo fan. Mario had a big release last Friday on the Wii U with the launch of Super Mario 3D World. Meanwhile, on the 3DS, Link was back with a new handheld exclusive in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I’d say that the 3DS needs love too but I’m pretty sure that everyone with a 3DS (or 2DS) is still playing Pokemon X & Y.
It seems as though that Nintendo managed to reinvigorate two of their most classic and iconic franchises in one day. Critics raved about both the accessibility of the game for those new to Zelda and the depth of gameplay and story for long-time players. Not everyone felt that way as some critics felt that A Link Between Worlds didn’t try anything particularly new and goes too easy on players.
When people think up games for lists such as out 7 best games of the 7th generation (or 7 For 7 for short), they think of game of the year winners or critically acclaimed blockbusters. But how many of these lists include games that were just wildly popular and genre redefining?
Rock Band was probably never really in contention for a major game of the year award but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a big game for the current console generation. The mark of a game being among the best isn’t just what the critics think but what the gamers think. I’m hard pressed to think of anyone who didn’t love playing Rock Band.
For the last year, the Wii U has been struggling for respect as a console. People have been waiting for the console to get games or at least a must-buy killer app. It may have taken a year but it looks like Nintendo has finally come through thanks to the latest game in their iconic Super Mario franchise.
The latest game in the Super Mario series is getting massive praise from the critics and appears to be the killer app that the Wii U desperately needs. While it may not be quite as great as Super Mario 64 or Galaxy, it’s certainly much better than New Super Mario Bros. U. Maybe that one would have been a system seller if they took the original SMB trilogy and updated it to modern graphics and gameplay tricks.
Another week, another console launch and another trip aboard the hype train to look at the final of the three next-gen home consoles. This time, it’s Microsoft’s effort at a new console with the Xbox One.
Unlike Sony whose PlayStation 4 is trying to be a thoroughbred gaming machine, the Xbox One is aiming to be an all-in-one box for the living room thanks to TV integration, apps, Smart Glass, Kinect, a Blu-Ray player and the occasional ability to play a game.
Are you looking forward to playing EA’s latest Need for Speed game, Rivals, in 1080p at 30 FPS? Settle down, PS4 users. I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the folks who are picking up the game on PC. Reports suggest that not only will the console version of NFS:Rivals run at 30 FPS but the PC version will be locked to 30 FPS too.
It’s time to do our first roundup of critics reviews for next-gen games. Since the PlayStation 4 came out first, I thought that it would be a good idea to start with the PS4’s big first-party exclusive. While Xbox One fans aren’t getting an exclusive FPS at launch, PlayStation fans are getting Killzone: Shadow Fall to kick off the new generation. It’s not what I’d call a PlayStation trademark franchise but it’s what Sony are leading with.
Reviews of KSF are mixed. While some critics really enjoyed it, there are many complaints that Killzone: Shadow Fall doesn’t match its pretty next-gen visuals with next-gen gameplay. However, there aren’t any suggestions as to what next-gen gameplay is. I’m not saying that devs should be allowed to retread the same old gameplay without updating it but if you can’t quantify what improved gameplay is, can you mark a game down for it?
et geekera 