Category Archives: PC
Star Trek Review – Beam Me The Hell Out of Here!
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Digital Extremes
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ESRB Rating: Teen
Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way. I’m not a Trekkie. I don’t dislike Star Trek. I’ve just never been a fan. I grew up in the TV show rerun era. I’ve seen most of the movies. They range from really good to laughably bad. J.J. Abrams pulled off a miracle in rebooting Star Trek while tying it into the original universe. It was fantastic. It was so successful that a sequel movie was a no-brainer. It also made sense to produce a video game based on the rebooted hit. I just wish the game was as successful as its movie inspiration.
The game opens with a rather nondescript title screen, which foreshadows things to come. But that Star Trek theme played and anticipation washed over me. You sucker. Movie licensed games suck, right? This one has to be different. It’s Star Trek. Production teams from the movies assisted with the creation of this game in order to create an authentic Star Trek experience. It’s fair to say the production values should have been much higher.
Crowdfund My Carnival: A Game For Children With Cystic Fibrosis
AccessAble Games has a crowdfund campaign going for My Carnival, a game for children with cystic fibrosis. The game’s purpose is to help childrens’ physical therapy through learning to control breathing techniques. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes mucus to be thick and sticky in the lungs and digestive system. It requires daily physiotherapy training.
That’s where My Carnival comes in. Aimed at children ages 3 to 6 years old, the goal is to give players a form of therapy that is more fun and engaging. The game is free, all that is required is a plain old PC microphone.
According to the developer:
“My Carnival” will be set in a fun fair with booths giving access to different minigames. In one minigame, for instance, players control a water stream to fill up coloured water balloons only with their breathing.
Their primary “tipping point” goal is to reach $29,000 while their ultimate goal is to raise $40,000. They have 22 days to go and have so far earned $1270. There are, of course, various levels of support based upon the dollar amount.
You can do a good thing and contribute to their crowdfund.
AccessAble Games focuses on making games and apps with specific players in mind, such as children with autism or cerebral palsy.
Aliens: Colonial Marines Review – I’m Having Chest Pains
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Gearbox Software (supposedly), Demiurge Studios, Nerve Software, TimeGate Studios
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ESRB Rating: Mature
The Aliens franchise has suffered through ups and downs in movies and video games over the years. It seems more down than ever after Aliens: Colonial Marines. Gearbox has been involved with picking up the developmental wreckage of two games in recent years. Duke Nukem Forever landed with a resounding thud, but Aliens: CM was to be the triumphant return of the Aliens franchise shepherded by Gearbox. It’s a good thing they still have Borderlands…
The whole concept seems like a no-brainer. There isn’t a better jump on point than following up on the events of Aliens (the second movie.) We can just pretend the garbage occurring after it never happened. The USCM aboard the USS Sephora receive a distress call from the USS Sulaco orbiting LV-426 seventeen weeks after the events of Aliens. The marines sent to investigate find the Sulaco infested with xenomorphs born of USMC hosts and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation at the forefront of the conspiracy. Fighting breaks out between the two sides and both the Sulaco and Sephora are destroyed with our marine heroes escaping to Hadley’s Hope on LV-426. Things sound pretty good so far, but it’s all in the execution and that kills any good faith in this project.
Like Qlockwork: Q.U.B.E. Is Getting DLC
Toxic Game’s first-person puzzler, Q.U.B.E., is receiving its first DLC pack. It’s a time trial-based package titled Against the Qlock.
Despite comparisons to Portal, which it kind of asked for, Q.U.B.E. was it’s own unique thing. In it, you navigated the sterile environment of each level by manipulating colored cubes with magic gloves, pulling out and pushing in sections of walls to create platforms and pathways. The game challenged with logic, physics, and platforming. But, until now, it was all done at one’s own pace, meaning there was no real need to dig in the spurs to get to wherever you needed to go. Against the Qlock adds ten new levels, a running clock, and possibly more colors to wave at. The new Achievements, leaderboards, and medal-ratings will add replay-value while also tapping into that ruthless need to best friends at any cost.
Just don’t get anything on those pristine, antiseptic floors.
Against the Qlock comes out May 6 for the PC. No word on pricing. Trailer below.
Call of Duty: Ghosts Teaser Trailer Reveals Nothing
There is a Call of Duty: Ghosts teaser trailer out and it shows nothing. In a move that should surprise no one, Call of Duty: Ghosts is confirmed by Activision Blizzard for a Nov. 5 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. It has also been confirmed to be released on next-gen platforms, though the Wii U is conspicuously absent from the list of platforms. Activision Blizzard will also apparently offer a first look at the actual game being developed by Infinity Ward at Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal event on May 21.
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. stated in a press release:
“Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation, and they’re going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts.”
“Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new characters, an all-new Call of Duty world, all powered by a next generation Call of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise. Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world’s greatest fans.”
Here Are the Latest Trailers for Grand Theft Auto V
Update: Rockstar were kind enough to combine all three trailers into one.
As was promised, Rockstar released new trailers for Grand Theft Auto V today. There are three trailers to offer glimpses of the game’s three protagonist, Michael, Franklin and Trevor (above).
Michael, a wealthy middle-age man with a family, is putting the electric paddles to his current hum-drum life by diving headfirst back into a life of crime. Franklin is a gang-banger and the usual “stooped in a life of depravity and violence and I want better for myself” type of character. And Trevor… well, Trevor is a drug-dealer, and I’m not quite sure what to make of him.
Grand Theft Auto V arrives on September 17 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No word on a PC release, although as is customary for Rockstar, it’ll probably release months after the console versions.
Watch Dogs Has Been Given a Release Date, Trailer
Ubisoft’s impressive-looking open-world third-person action game, Watch Dogs, has now been given a release date, and a trailer.
Watch Dogs was one of the better showings at last year’s E3, and the first game that actually looked to be next-gen. With open-world gameplay, the player (that’s you) will be able to manipulate a technologically driven city through powerful computers, which let you tinker with everything from traffic lights to cell phones. We of course haven’t seen too much of it in action, but it looks impressive. Sadly the trailer below is rather short.
Watch Dogs will launch on November 19 (needlessly, Nov 22 for the UK). The game will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC, as well as the PlayStation 4 at launch, and “other next generation consoles,” according to Ubisoft.
7 Games You Didn’t Play In 2012
2012 was a tour de force for all things gaming: indie titles ran amok in the end of the year awards and AAA titles stepped up their game to deliver some of the freshest experiences in years. However, at Addicted Gamers we feel that some games undeservedly slipped under the radar somewhat. Find out about the 7 games you (yes, you) didn’t pick up and play from 2012.
Tea, Tweedbots, Top Hats: Sir, You Are Being Hunted Gameplay Video
I’ve taken a massive shine to the latest game by Big Robot Games, a small development studio, headed up by games journalist and RPS co-founder Jim Rossingnal. I posted about Sir, You Are Being Hunted back before addicted-gamer’s silent period (sure, that’s what we’ll call it), even then impressed with what little there was to show for it. Why? Because it’s a first-person survival game set in a procedurally generated open-world in which the player is being hunted by robots in tweed suits with top hats. Aside from just shooting, there’s stealth, looting, and ‘Pubs!’ (The emphasis for that last one is Big Robot’s.) It’s pretty much my ideal game.
The team took to Kickstarter for additional funding in November and surpassed its goal of $40,000 with 4,906 backers collectively shelling out $92,551. Meanwhile, in addition to the Sir, You Are Being Hunted website, the Kickstarter page continues as a hub of continued developer updates: comments, accompanied by screenshots and video. It’s fascinating to see how the game has grown and evolved from when it was first announced as just a great concept. The latest video is a straight up gameplay video narrated by Jim himself. Well, here, take a look:
Bethesda: Moving to Next Project, No More Skyrim DLC
Bethesda is officially over you, Skyrim. No wee-hour phone calls. No late night hookups. It’ll continue to offer support if needed, but that doesn’t mean you should come crying every time a dragon clips through a roof or a mammoth falls out of the sky; you’ve got to give Bethesda space.
In a blog post today, Bethesda wrote that the portion of the team working on all things Skyrim since its release will finally be moving on to the next adventure: “For the last year and a half we’ve been working on new content for Skyrim; from the game updates, Creation Kit, Steam Workshop, Kinect support, to DLCs. Parts of our team have also been in pre-production on our next major project, and that game is at the point where it requires the studio’s full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet.”
With three DLC expansions released – Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn – the studio won’t be delivering any more Downloadable Content. Though the studio says it is moving on, there will still be ‘minor updates’ delivered as needed.
The note closes, “We look forward to sharing our next adventure with you,” which I’m fine with, but it better be a new Fallout.
