Dead Space can now be added to the long list of remade video game classics.

The science-fiction horror game, originally released in 2008, was a massive success that influenced an entire generation of games within space/horror genre. Despite the success of Dead Space and its immediate sequel, following the lackluster release of Dead Space 3, it appeared that Electronic Arts had given up on the title entirely.

That is, until Thursday’s reveal trailer.

While this may seem like great news for diehard fans of the original game, the new remake may not offer exactly the same experience as the original.

In a press release published by EA on Thursday, the company revealed that “Players Will Experience an Improved Story, Characters and Gameplay Combined with Stunning Visuals and Audio.” This suggests the title may follow in the footsteps of Resident Evil 2: Remake, which greatly changed the story and gameplay experience of the original Resident Evil 2, while remaining true to the spirit and general direction of the original game.

According to the remakes developers, current-gen technology will greatly increase the level of immersion players experience while playing the updated version of the game.

IGN spoke to Roman Campos-Oriola, the remake’s creative director, and Senior Producer Phil Ducharme regarding how they plan to update the game. According to Campos-Oriola, the remake will feature all-new original assets and animations a well as improvements on horror and gameplay elements, all of which will be redone in the updated Frostbite engine to create a more immersive experience.

“Well, clearly next generations of console enable us to have ray trace reflections, volumetric effects or even fluid simulation for these effects,” Ducharme told IGN. “These are all things we’ll be able to expand on to increase, again, on the level of immersion.”

According to Ducharme, this level of immersion will ensure that the Ishimura (the space station that serves as the setting for the game) feels “alive.” “It’s dying, but it’s still alive and it has a voice and throughout your journey over the chapters of the game, you hear it progress,” Ducharme said.

Dead Space fans hoping for a sequel to the series shouldn’t hold their breath. Earlier in the year, GamesBeat reported that a sequel to the franchise had been put on hold indefinitely in favor of this new remake. However, if the Dead Space remake proves to be a smashing success, EA will likely be looking to cash in on the renewed enthusiasm with further installments to the franchise.

Fans were given a first look at the game back in January when the original “Announcement” gameplay trailer was released. Friday’s gameplay trailer built on the promises of that first trailer by further teasing out the game’s seemingly massive, yet detailed, open-world.

The 13-minutes gameplay trailer begins with two players driving through a riverbank in two different vehicles — animations involving the vehicles and their interaction with the mud and water were extremely impressive. The two players then cleared out and looted a zombie-infested gas station before moving on to loot a farmhouse in the middle of the country.

This is where things got interesting. Upon entering the house, one of the players accidentally set off an alarm and was unable to enter the correct disarm code in time. This led to the house producing a loud siren, drawing a horde of zombies to the players’ location. The subsequent shootout attracted a squad of enemy players to the farmhouse. Opting to avoid a PvP encounter, the two players snuck out the back and entered an underground bunker before the trailer cut to black.

All of this looks incredibly promising. If The Day Before is truly as dynamic as these first two gameplay trailers have shown it to be, it could be one of best games of the current gaming generation.

Massive open-world games have been done well before. So have survival MMOs. But mashing those two aspects together with a heavily detailed intricate environment would be something new entirely.

Gamers excited for the debut of this new game should exercise caution, however. The two trailers FNTASTIC has debuted thus far appear to be heavily scripted. It may turn out to be that the gameplay showcased within them is not at all representative of the game in its entirety.

What remains to be seen from these trailers is how truly intricate and detailed the world of The Day Before actually is. In other words, the open-world may be big, but does it feel lived in? Can players interact with the environment in numerous ways? Can players explore the interiors of every single building or only a select few?

There’s a history of games failing to live up to the promises of early trailers. Games such as Watch Dogs, Destiny, and No Man’s Sky come to mind. As is the case with The Day Before, gameplay trailers for these games promised revolutionary advances in gaming. None of these games lived up to those promises, with the end products ranging in quality from mediocre to subpar.

If The Day Before is as detailed as the trailer suggests, the game will be incredibly immersive to a revolutionary extent. Otherwise, if the trailers turn out to be more misleading than not, The Day Before may simply be a DayZ clone with better graphics.

Check out this brand new “2Dark” trailer from the creators of “Alone in the Dark,” Gloomy Wood. The Ulule Campaign Trailer is guided by the game’s creators, Fréderick Raynal and Thierry Platon throughout the four-minute video.

Video embed not working? Try this URL: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/83bofq/2dark-ulule-campaign-trailer

Riot Games has just posted a new cinematic on their “League of Legends” YouTube channel that is absolutely beautiful. Titled “League of Legends Cinematic: A New Dawn,” the video runs 6 minutes and 30 seconds, ending with the title screen and link to an equally lengthy behind-the-scenes video. You can watch the video on YouTube in several resolutions including 480p, 720p HD and 1080p HD (we recommend at least 720p). So far, the cinematic has had over 2.5 million views in one day. The only description League of Legends includes with the video is as follows: “Day breaks over a landscape consecrated by blood and steel. A battle begins as a new dawn rises.” Check out the full cinematic above, then take a look at the behind-the-scenes video below.

Valve has released a documentary film titled “Free to Play” that focuses on the Dota 2 International Tournament. The film premiered on Weds., March 19 during the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, and was then made available for free viewing on Steampowered.com, iTunes, and YouTube.

The Valve-produced film runs approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, featuring professional gamers Dendi, hyhy, and Fear and the Dota teams they play on who compete for a one million dollar tournament prize.

There are also several shorter videos including “Behind the Scenes: The World of Dota,” “Behind the Scenes: The Finale,” and “Historical Tour of L’viv with Dendi.”

Description:

Garrett, the Master Thief, steps out of the shadows into the City. In this treacherous place, where the Baron’s Watch spreads a rising tide of fear and oppression, his skills are the only things he can trust. Even the most cautious citizens and their best- guarded possessions are not safe from his reach.

As an uprising emerges, Garrett finds himself entangled in growing layers of conflict. Lead by Orion, the voice of the people, the tyrannized citizens will do everything they can to claim back the City from the Baron’s grasp. The revolution is inevitable. If Garrett doesn’t get involved, the streets will run red with blood and the City will tear itself apart.

Sony has released a trailer for Bound by Flame, a new dark fantasy RPG for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 from Spiders Games. The game is slated for release in Q2 of this year, and promises “nuanced combat, deep customisation and massive monsters.”

At Comic-Con International San Diego 2013, Quantum Mechanix announced Firefly Online (FFO), a multi-user, social online RPG based on Joss Whedon’s almost cult status television series Firefly. FFO puts you in command of a trade ship that needs a crew and jobs to take on as you try to survive in the FFO ‘Verse.’ The initial release, slated for next summer, will support both Android and Apple iOS devices. Quantum Mechanix says the game may even be expanded to include other platforms. The trailer doesn’t reveal much about the gameplay, but you will notice a credit for FOX Digital Entertainment who appears to have given QMx license to build the game.

The Firefly Online RPG will include these types of activities:

• Assume the role of a ship captain – create a crew and customize a ship
• Aim to misbehave in space and planet-side adventures
• Cross-platform player experience across devices (pick-up and play from anywhere)
• Unique social features connecting Firefly fans
• Create a shiny ship and explore the Verse

Until the other night I was under the impression that Hotline Miami, my favorite game of last year, would  remain a singular title and wasn’t up for a sequel.

It appears that I was mistaken. Hotline Miami 2: WRONG NUMBER hasn’t gotten a release date as of yet but in a video interview with Max Scoville (of Rev3 Games) one of the developers revealed that they’re hoping for a late 2013 release.

It appears that they don’t plan on changing anything from the original but they hope to add some things and the fast-paced game play of the first game is entirely intact for WRONG NUMBER. Simply adding more weapons and some game play aspects should be the right direction and very first impression of the game seems incredibly positive.

Multiple characters have been revealed, most of which are playable, and there are some pretty wonky story reveals already in the public eye.

It seems like the Pug Butcher from the above trailer (for the first game) is a star in the second, alongside a group the developers are calling “the fans.” The Butcher plays the villain in a film (about the first game) in the vein of a teen slasher flick while the fans attempt to recreate the blood-wrenching events of the first game. In other words it appears that we’ll get a whole new story and also a faithful recreation of the first game. Watch the Rev3 interview again for clarification, if necessary.

This game is shaping up to be one of the better sequels we’ve seen in a long time, in concept and also execution. I fully expect this game to loom over all of us who loved the original until it’s finally in our hands, and our hard drives.

Keep it locked here for more reveals as more of the game is shown over the coming months.

-Kramer

“A case of crossed wires”

If you’ve read Gameverse’s review you’ll know that Gunpoint puts you in the role of Richard Conway who has two abilities: jumping long distances without harm and rewiring entire buildings. Of course these mechanics are fantastic and I’ll hand them the spotlight a little later but they’re not what makes Gunpoint truly stand out as a great indie title.

The game’s trailer is below which showcases its game play above all else. It will give you a better feel for the mood and pacing of the game’s mechanics than I could hope to do with typed words anyways. If you watch it now I can go gung-ho on it’s narrative for the rest of the article, which I’d really like to do.

The narrative choices you make in the game will be reflected in the games finale. It gives you some more choices at the end to flush out the story your character has taken a part in. The majority of it is a strong reflection of your own impact on the story, however.

“31 dead. 33 injured. 20 jobs. $13,000. The week echoed in my mind like something that happened in the last week.”

That was the result of my play through, or at least what my character thought about it. It’s a true result of what I did throughout the game’s narrative.

It’s much easier to picture my own face and self in the game when the character’s face doesn’t actually have any defining features. Some characters have mustaches and others have long hair, but generally you can imagine their look any way you want. This makes it easier to push an impression of your own onto them and embed yourself into the narrative.

Richard Conway has his own little quirks and traits, of course, but he’s also whoever you feel like being at the time. This is done similarly to games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age (both made by Bioware) that let you choose dialogue options to both further the story and reflect upon you directly. The great divide between those AAA series and Gunpoint is that the latter can afford to give you as much damn freedom as you want. It can discover itself through your eyes and those eyes alone. The game’s over-arching story won’t change much but your perception of it will always be different based on your decisions.

There’s very few moments in the game that have only one option and in those moments it’s always the result of what you’ve already chosen to say. Of course the game’s general story follows a very wide, straight line, but it does so with elegance.

The game’s characters are mostly memorable, with a few exceptions. Your banter with the Police Chief is especially memorable as half the time he’s unknowingly paying you to chase down yourself; it’s pretty damn funny.

“They don’t let me name names on this blog, but the person behind the hit I was investigating is dead now.”

By now I sure hope you realize that these italicized quotes are from the game’s conclusion and not ACTUALLY my own writing. I have never killed a person, let alone 31 of them.

You have the standard characters in this game: the shrewd business woman, the guilty until proven innocent employee, the asshole rival business man, and the stand-up police chief. They all stick to their archetypes really well no matter what dialogue choices you make, which is a testament to how simply brilliant the game’s writing is. The best feeling about the writing is that it feels so juvenile. It feels like the first book of a great American novelist who’s just coming of age. It has wit, heavy-handed drama, and some great plot turns. While it can be predictable the plot always turned the way I was hoping it would.

The only piece that I felt the game missed was some more use of the police in the game. They appear constantly and the only interaction you have with them is the police chief.

Because Gunpoint’s story is wrapped up with a simple blog post by your own character the game can fill it in piece by piece, off as many components it wants. Because the game is really only a few hours of pure game play they can afford to pull content from any or all of your decisions in the game. That single decision you make a third through the game can be reflected at the end without needing to be funneled into some larger part of the story. It’s all truly relevant.

“He played a dangerous game: insulting my hat.”

When I worked at Electronic Arts almost a year ago now, I was privy to some behind-the-scenes information about the way one of their studios formats their stories, and also their reward/scoring structure for your choices in their games. I will tell you NONE of that, because I like having a career. I can say however what’s already obvious in their story telling and how they implement your choices.

Nothing you choose REALLY matters until the end of their games. Of course some characters are going to be dead or alive but usually their games’ endings center around your character and what the end of the game spells for them, which is never really more than a couple of choices and those choices are almost always the same. The reason they need to resort to this system is because they’re narratives are so expansive and so massive. If they really let you have full freedom of choice towards the plot the development time would increase ten-fold and the amount of  necessary content would be staggering.

The most unique thing about Gunpoint is that the end of the game is seen through your character’s eyes but it really revolves around the game’s supporting cast. If you’ve pissed one of them off or, god forbid, killed one of them you’re going to have a different feeling going into the final missions. Also every dialogue option is worded well and is said exactly as it’s shown. It’s a nice alternative to the “say no” and “say yes” dialogue systems in some recent, larger games.

As I mention at the beginning of this article you have some pretty awesome mechanics to use in this game. Your first is introduced immediately as your character flies from one building to another, and through a glass canopy. You can clearly jump, or fall, great distances without being harmed. Keep in mind that this is really only you* and this can be used against enemies.. Yea, it’s cool.

“The trigger man’s dead. That would have felt good if I hadn’t just taken a seven story body slam.”

You can also rewire every building in the game. Later on you’re required to hack into new groupings of systems but that doesn’t get introduced for a while. At some points you can also rewire your enemies’ guns to shoot each other, and it’s pretty morbid, but satisfying.

The most satisfying piece of the game play however is being able to punch out guards, or completely smash their faces into the ground. After you leap on someone you can knock them out with a single punch, or repeatedly punch them until red pixels begin to appear. Every punch you make is done with your left-mouse button and if you punch them enough times a small dialogue box appears saying “You err.. only have to punch them once to knock them out.”

Something that will probably go unmentioned by anyone else is how the game manages save points. It’s all based on you.

The game’s checkpoints are static but they’re presented to you in a time-based format: “1 second ago, 2 seconds ago, 20 seconds ago” as examples. When you make a move in the level the game will recognize this and it will keep the four most recent moves you’ve made constantly on record, any of which you can choose from if you die. It’s very quick and very convenient. Personally I think more games should do this so I’m not always stuck re-spawning in a room with four bandits and no ammo (I’m looking at you, Far Cry 3) and I have the option to load a few moves back.

“I don’t know.

I guess I picked the least shitty of two incredibly shitty sides.”

The game’s music isn’t anything to scoff at but it’s not more than functional. It fits well but never really surprises or stands out; it’s no Hotline Miami. It’s sound effects are great however and are truly enjoyable, sometimes outweighing the glory of the mechanics themselves.

Similar to the music, the game’s art is relatively unmentionable. While it’s in all the right places and no beats are missed by it I wouldn’t call the art inspiring. It certainly feels like the game’s creator made the art himself, fine tuned it, and never really felt like going any further. While it’s functional I don’t think I’d ever call it note-worthy.

If you’re the kind of player who can get entrenched in a game that hands you the reigns for its plot then you need to look at Gunpoint. Keep in mind that the game isn’t very long however (it’s only about three to five hours) so if you’re looking for something to really dig your teeth into for a week I’d suggest something a big more hefty.

“Maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe all that matters is that I now have the ability to kick down doors.”

Yea, you learn to kick down doors. They fly across rooms and flatten people. I can’t express how much I want you to play this game.

“Either way, I think I need 10ccs of ketamine and a Columbo marathon.”

I love Columbo. I also want to add that any game which gives you the potential to tackle people out a fourth-story window and stand up after is fun as shit, and you should experience everything it has to offer.

If you’re not comfortable throwing down $10.00 on this game right now just give it some time until Steam’s summer sale (some time in July?) and it should be anywhere from $2.50 to $7.50, for your pleasure.

– – – – – – – – – – –

I’ll save you the trouble of looking for it yourself:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/206190/.

DICE has just released a new gameplay video showing 17-minutes of Battlefield 4. With “Total Eclipse of the Heart” set as the background soundtrack, the new video shows the realistic nature of the single-player campaign. The video, titled “Fishing in Baku,” was captured entirely in-game showcasing DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine. The release date for Battlefield 4 has also been confirmed as December 31, 2013. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Source: YouTube

Technorati Claim Code: HFB98TNPZ225

The magic of the 8-bit era is about to return with authority this fall. On March 14^th, Yacht Club Games announced its Kickstarter campaign to fund its debut classic-style sidescroller, Shovel Knight, which the company describes as “a groundbreaking love letter to 8 bits!” You take control of the Shovel Knight, whose weapon for killing doubles as his weapon of everyday survival. Wielding the ShovelBlade, he uses it as both his offense and defense, able to slay colossal bad guys and deflect their attacks with equal finesse. Not to mention it digs quite well.

 All the NES love you can handle rolled up into this one screen.

The story sees the title character setting out on a quest to vanquish his mortal nemesis, The Enchantress, who employs a robust rogue’s gallery of enemy boss characters called The Order of No Quarter to seize control of the sprawling kingdom. Of particular danger to the Shovel Knight his is archenemy the Polar Knight, a hulking brute of a warrior who carries a large snow pusher across his back ready to take a swing at his old foe’s head. Yacht Club Games describes the character as “Sabertooth to Shovel Knight’s Wolverine.”

 If the map screens of Castlevania III and Mega Man married and had the perfect child.

Shovel Knight is a nostalgic mash-up of different 2d action tropes thrown into what appears to be a perfectly blended schema with a few new tricks up its sleeve. Taking cues from beloved classics such as Castlevania, DuckTales, and Mega Man, you deflect, bounce, slash, and dig your way through a number of beautiful levels that feature elements that require those techniques to overcome. The bouncing mechanic is wonderfully reminiscent of Uncle Scrooge’s ability to use his cane as a weapon and pogo stick in DuckTales. Digging with the shovel allows you to break apart walls, shift objects into place, and dig up helpful items ala Castlevania, though no word yet on whether we will be finding any roast chicken waiting in a dirt pile (please may it be so). The level design and rich color palette, coupled with a fat bag of obstacles and diverse layouts give us a hearty hello from the eighties courtesy of Mega Man’s time-tested gameplay features.

 Purchase item upgrades to give your Knight the edge. Yeah, I really just said that…

Continuing to mash the nostalgia button for us full force, one of the backer rewards offered by Yacht Club is an authentically styled instruction booklet straight from the days of the NES. With all the legacy goodness wrapped up in such a wonderful childhood package, it would appear that Yacht Club’s love of the 8-bit dream is their goal for a new generation of gamers. Other rewards offered in their Kickstarter campaign are the standard free copy for $15, a copy of the instruction booklet and PDF coffee table book for $50, the opportunity to sit in on design meetings in Google Hangouts for $75, and if you’re a true believer in the Shovel Knight, for $5,000 you can have a real Yacht Party with the Yacht Party Games crew plus all previous rewards.

 Admit it. This was your favorite part of the ride home.

Looking to dig its way into our hearts this September on the PC, 3DS, and Wii, Shovel Knight will undoubtedly be etched into the hearts of gamers old and new alike. Stay tuned to Gameverse for more coverage as it develops. Until that time, as the Shovel Knight would say, Slash Mercilessly and Dig Tirelessly!

Supergiant Games have finally released footage of their latest project, Transistor, the long-awaited sci-fi RPG follow up to their smash indie hit Bastion. Players will take on the role of Red, who has stolen a weapon of great power in the midst of political upheaval. Transistor puts you in the role of Red, who comes into possession of a power weapon after nearly being killed by a group of unnamed villains. Now on the run, she fights through the city of Cloudbank to escape her relentless pursuers who will stop at nothing to recover their prized weapon. The story teased in the trailer also promises plenty of political intrigue, embroiling Red in a two-fold battle to survie.

“We’re designing our next game to seamlessly integrate thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience,” says creative director Greg Kasavin, “complete with our studio’s signature melding of responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling.” The article goes on to mention that the game has been in development since Bastion launched in 2011, and have also expanded their team to accommodate the scale of the project.

Expecting an early 2014 release date, there is yet to be an official statement on what platforms the game will be available for, though it is safe to assume that we will see PC and Xbox releases as well as the major mobile devices. Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook as well as the team’s official website for a FAQ addressing a number of points about the new title.

Supergiant will be at PAX East this week debuting their playable alpha build of the game in booth #892. More coverage as it becomes available.

EA has released a trailer for Fuse in Single Player mode. The 2-minute trailer suggests pre-ordering the game for  PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to get exclusive team extras. Bonus exclusives include uniform upgrades, customizing weapons and increased damage. Fuse is slated to release in Mar. 2013, playable in single, cooperative, multiplayer modes. Trailer by Machinima.

http://www.spike.com/netstorage/events/video-game-awards/live/

I wish I could deep link that. Or embed it. But alas, I cannot. Or, if I can, I have no idea how.

The trailer looks very South Park. I’m optimistic, but not optimistic enough to pre-order.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a “gameplay” trailer so much as it is just a trailer. At least it’s in-engine, I guess.