Bethesda Announce Dishonored

Yet another game has been revealed via American video game magazine, Game Informer. The title at hand is a first person stealth action one from Bethesda called Dishonored. The game is being developed by Arkane Studios, the very same guys who brought you the flawed, yet totally awesome Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. An ode to Half-Life 2? According to Game Informer, “Dishonored is the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride. It's a game about assassination where you don't have to kill anyone. It's a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat's mansion rather than sneak in. It's a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there. It's a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.” The game will be benefited by many talented developers like Todd Howard (the driving force behind the Fallout series) and Viktor Antonov, the man who designed Half-Life 2's iconic City 17. We can’t wait to see more of this game.

Zapak Introduces Subscription Gaming Service in India

Popular gaming company in the country, Zapak has announced the launch of Zapak Plus, the brand’s way of introducing the system of subscriptions to the gaming service. The first of its kind in the country, users will be able to subscribe to a full version of a PC game, for less than a rupee. The 'Plus' plan The subscription plans currently available are the monthly, and the quarterly subscription for a limited time period. However, ‘the playtime per game’ duration for the same is unlimited. With over 120 games on board, including popular titles like Dirt 2, Ashes 2009, Flat Out, Luxor, Sherlock Holmes, Jewel Quest, Mysterious City – Cairo, among others, it is poised to get popular with the masses.

The 10 Most Annoying Trends in Video Games Today

The video game industry may have evolved by leaps and bounds, but it has in a lot of ways regressed, as well. Today, the cynic within takes a look at ten of the most annoying trends plaguing the video game industry.

Motion controlled gaming

Do you really wanna be the controller?

Oh look at me, I’m controlling this character with my body. Oh wait, no, go left. No don’t drop the weapon pick it up. Not the pistol you dumbass, pick up the freaking shotgun. In case you missed the point of that rather exaggerated example that was me trying to control my character without a controller failing miserably at everything. Be honest, when was the last time you played a game on the Kinect or the Move and felt in complete control of your character? Yeah, thought so.

Multiplayer for the heck of it

Did BioShock 2 really need MP?

I love me some multiplayer games. In fact, most of the games on my Steam list are multiplayer ones in which I’ve spent countless hours killing dudes on the battlefield. But, do I want multiplayer in every single game out there? No, I don’t. I am perfectly happy with games that offer an engaging and enthralling single player only experience, as well. Forcibly putting a multiplayer component in there just to appeal to the Halo/CoD crowd is just plain stupid.

Anal checkpoints

What!! I have to kill aaaaal of them again?

You’ve killed that annoying boss and his legions of minions, but that battle has left you on the brink of death. You wonder why Autosave didn’t kick in when you kicked his butt. You stumble around searching for health desperately but instead of medical aid, you come across a whole bunch of people baying for your blood. You try to survive but you go down faster than a Chicken McGrill (why are those burgers so freaking small?). And guess what, you have to restart the game aaaaaaall the way before the first boss fight. You scream, you break the controller, burn the game and slit your wrists. See what happens when you don’t allow players to save where they want?

Short games

Huh? Game's over? Already?

I’m down with the whole short and sweet mentality, but then there’s something called painfully short. I’m talking about games that finish in under five hours making you wonder if the developers ran out of ideas or were just plain lazy to complete the game. 

Quick Time Events

Kill that monster for me. I'll be back in 10

Back in the day, when studios were limited by the power of consoles, Quick Time Events were designed to let players experience jaw dropping moments simply by pressing a few buttons in succession. Today with all the tech at their disposal, it just seems a tad lazy when at the press of a button my character can leap into the air, dodge rockets, blast fools in the face and land on his feet with cigarette in his mouth. Why don’t I just sit back and let the game play itself for me hmm?

Weapon limit I need moar GUNS! I play games to forget about the real world and shoot people in the face. I don’t need my shooters hyper realistic limiting me to just two or three weapons at a time. I would like to return to the days gone by where the generic space marine/earth’s savior/ultimate badass could easily carry nine weapons without breaking a sweat. Crappy rushed sequels Shame on you BioWare I’ve touched upon this topic a great deal in my opinion here and sadly this is one trend that’s taking the industry down fast. When a sequel’s done right, not only does it please fans of the series, but it allows the developer to draw in a wider audience. A rushed crappy sequel churned out to capitalize on the other hand is just appalling. Incessant whining Cry me a river Now this obviously isn’t an issue from the developers; it’s the gamers and journalists (yes us) at fault here. Even though both the Xbox360 and the PS3 released eons ago, there are still console wars igniting forum threads the world over. And then you have these “video game journalists” who instead of quelling these wars pour even more fuel on them with articles like “PS3 version of Battlefield is sub-par” or “Xbox360 version of Black Ops is sub-Hd” and so on. In fact just the other day I came across an article on N4G where the author seemed butt hurt simply because there was no animation of entering or exiting vehicles in Battlefield 3. Really now? Movie to game adaptations Why do games like this exist? Nearly a decade and countless crappy movie to game adaptations later and it’s still not dawned on people that for some unfathomable reason, this transition really doesn’t work in the real world. Yes, there have been a few exceptions to the rule but compared to the gargantuan amount of crap, it’s really surprising large studios are still spending huge amounts of the green stuff on horrible cash-ins. Downloadable Content The evil that started it all Like sequels, when done right DLC allows players to enjoy more of the same. Studios like Rockstar actually offer players a ten plus hour experience in some of their DLC packs completely justifying their price tag. But for every Episodes from Liberty City there are shameless add-ons that should have been added into the base game itself. Yeah I’m looking at you Bethesda for starting all of this by the way. So anyway, that’s pretty much it from my end. If you feel the need to rage against the industry further, don’t feel shy and pour your feelings out in the comments below.

Hands On: Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta- games

Uncharted 3 may be a while away but developer Naughty Dog have been kind enough to let us sample a taste of things to come via a Multiplayer only beta. This Beta was initially available to PlayStation Plus members as well as people who purchased inFamous 2 (which by the way is totally worth picking up) but now is open to all PSN members.

This being a MP only beta is all about competitive play and in case you missed out on the mayhem in 2009 (which is when Uncharted 2 was released), here’s the ultra quick version. Picture a more balanced Call of Duty with all its perks and Killstreak rewards enhanced by gorgeous visuals and third person action and you’ll begin to understand what multiplayer in an Uncharted game is like.

Get to the cho... err plane now?

It’s been a while since I’ve played UC2’s MP so I was extremely rusty at first. Kept meleeing people when I wanted to reload, forgot how to take cover and died – A LOT! Since this was a beta, the game didn’t bother with any sort of tutorial so I had to check out the control scheme in the main menu itself. After a few rounds of being slaughtered mercilessly, however, it did sort of come back to me but even then, I never got frustrated as the game has a new mechanic called Powerplay that actually gives the losing team a chance to catch up. This could result in double damage being dealt out or the ability to see enemy markers all over the map. It’s a very helpful mechanic that tends to balance gameplay giving the losing team a fighting chance.

In the beta you have a bunch of modes to choose from such as Team Deathmatch, Team Objective, Free For All, Hardcore, and Co-Op Arena. Unlike the Hardcore mode found in games like CoD or Battlefield, the one in this game is a bit lenient so you’ll still see your crosshair but stuff like Boosters and Kickbacks will be turned off.

Drake brings the pain

Boosters are the game’s equivalent of perks, small tweaks that can improve your game so you can sprint more, respawn faster and so on. I personally wasn’t too impressed with the Boosters available in the beta and I felt I could get by without them just fine. Instead I spent my hard earned money on Kickbacks, the game’s equivalent of a Killstreak reward but only instead of tracking your kills, it tracks the medals you earn. Some of these medals are of the simple ‘shoot three guys in a row’ variety while the others require situational kills like killing a dude scaling a wall or extracting revenge on the player that killed you. And once you rack up the required amount of medals, you can immediately activate your Kickback turning the tides of war in your favor. Think about it; you’re going up against multiple opponents and BAM!, you trigger your rocket launcher kickback that bestows upon you – you got it – a freaking rocket launcher. Or how about transforming into a swarm of spiders capable of engulfing your enemies. Gross but incredibly cool.

There are two maps present in the beta; Chateau and Airfield. While Chateau is a solid map on its own, Airfield is without a doubt the star of the show here. The map’s divided into two parts with the first bit taking place on a runway as players struggle to either board or defend a cargo plane depending on which faction they get assigned to. As the bad guys, you spawn in a bunch of speeding trucks and then must slowly make your way to the plane by leaping from truck to truck to plane. As the heroes, your aim is to make sure this does not happen. After a certain amount of time on the runway, the plane takes off and the action shifts to an air field of sorts that offers a ton of horizontal and vertical movement. The transition between these two instances takes place seamlessly through cut-scenes that make this game feel a lot different than your conventional deathmatch. And yes, this is the coolest freaking premise for TDM till date. Should have taken the train Players who’ve spent some time with UC2’s MP will immediately figure out how different UC3 feels. Characters movements feel a lot more realistic as a result of which movement is a tad slower. Weapons too have received a bit of an overhaul and everyone’s favorite weapon, the AK now features a truck load of recoil. These gameplay mechanics did feel a bit weird at first but after a while you get used to the game’s pace. While the second game was content with letting players just buy new skins, UC3 allows players to deck the crap out of their characters. Besides a plethora of skins for both the heroes and the bad dudes, you can swap out clothes, accessories and lots more to project your persona on-screen. New to the game is a Loadout system where players can choose to upgrade their guns making not only cosmetic but functional changes as well such as adding in additional scopes to zoom in or extend mags for more ammo. These obviously aren’t revolutionary changes for a multiplayer game but it’s nice to have them in UC3. The coolest TDM level ever This being an Uncharted game obviously gets top marks in the visual department. And keep in mind, this is just the beta so I’m sure Naughty Dog will add in a ton of spit and polish by the time the game hits stores this November. So far I’m pretty happy with what I’ve seen in UC3. Sure the game feels a bit slower than before and newcomers will probably get their ass handed to them but Naughty Dog have taken great pains to ensure this game feels as balanced and enjoyable as humanly possible.

Uncharted 3 MP Beta Now Available to All

The Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta that was previously limited to PlayStation Plus users and inFamous 2 owners has now been made public. This means anyone who has a PSN account can download this beta and play it till the 14th of July 2011. No need to hunt for an invite anymore The beta offers players a multitude of game modes such as Team Deathmatch, Free for All, Team Objective, Hardcore and Co-op Hunter. As of now players have access to just two maps – Airstrip and Chateau but a new one called Yemen will be added in by the 10th of this month. Besides this there are a bunch of goodies waiting for you in the final version if you manage to play through the beta such as: Download the UNCHARTED 3 Beta and receive the exclusive UNCHARTED 3 PSN Beta Tester Avatar! Complete 10 matches in every mode of Competitive Multiplayer and receive the Exclusive Beta Decal Pack 1! Complete 5 matches in every mode of Co-operative Multiplayer and receive the Exclusive Beta Decal Pack 2! Complete 4 Treasure Sets and receive the Treasure Hunter’s Starter Pack! Rank up to level 25 in the Beta and receive a handsome reward of in-game cash on day one!

Games of July 2011-July is probably the most mellow month for games this year

July is probably the most mellow month for games this year. Now this really isn’t a bad thing since your wallet will probably need a bit of rest till the deluge of games begins this September. Catherine (Xbox360 PS3) You wanted weird, you got it I’ve seen some weird games come out of Japan but this one takes the cake. Dubbed as an erotic, horror, action-adventure from the makers of the Persona series, Catherine is the story of a bloke called Vincent who meets a girl called Catherine. From then on his life kind of goes down the pooper as he’s haunted by nightmares of giant fork wielding she monsters who want nothing more than to skewer his body. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s near naked in these visions protected only by his pillow and if he dies in these dreams, he dies in reality. And you thought you had it rough.    Call of Juarez: The Cartel (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Can you guys keep it down, on a call here The Call of Juarez series may not be the most well known games out there but this Western themed shooter is high on action, style and entertainment. For the third iteration dubbed 'The Cartel', this series has moved into modern times and tasks players with defending America’s borders from the neighboring Mexican drug trade. As one of three law enforcement agencies, players must do whatever it takes to keep this menace out of Uncle Sam’s backyard. And unlike previous CoJ games, the campaign in The Cartel will support three player co-operative play. Ms. Splosion man (Xbox360) Ready to splode Like its predecessor, Ms. Splosion Man is an action platformer with a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving. Splosion Man’s weakness for cakes finally gets him captured so it’s up to the missus to traverse the shady underground research facility transforming fat little scientists into juicy chunks of meat. Developer Twisted Pixel have promised a plethora of new gameplay elements across fifty single player levels. In addition to this and a separate co-operative campaign, the game will also feature a unique mode where players will be able to control both Mr. and Ms. Splosion Man using one controller. Note: Ms. Splosion man will only be available as a downloadable title via Xbox Live.   El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Xbox360 PS3) Tripped out visuals Ever since UTV picked up Ignition Studios, both companies have had it rough since most of the stuff that came out of Ignition was either subpar or complete poop. Hopefully El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron can change things up a bit for both. A visually unique action game, El Shaddai will fuse fast paced combat as seen in games like Devil May Cry with some of the more conventional platforming made famous by the Prince of Persia games.

GeForce StarCraft II Online Tournament Comes To India

The GeForce StarCraft II Pro/Am online tournament is now open for gamers residing in India with registrations having begun. Indian gamers can participate by visiting GeForce.com and secure
a spot to play one of the world’s most popular PC games. Gaming enthusiasts can lunge into StarCraft II Pro/Am Tournament to win prizes worth over $22,000 which include cash and hardware.

Over $20,000 worth of prizes to be won!

There are two levels of participation in this tournament which are Pro and Amateur. In the Pro Open; the top StarCraft II players in the world will be competing in the pro line-up with no limit to the number of players. In the Amateur Open, registration is open and free to all ages of 16 and over with no limit to the number of total entries per Protoss, Terran, or Zerg. All tournaments are one versus one (1 Vs 1) battles. There will be at least 5 weeks of guaranteed group play, with the top players from each group moving on to the double-elimination championship brackets.

Speaking about the tournament, Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director of NVIDIA, South Asia said that gaming runs in NVIDIA nerves. As a GPU inventor and leader, they have always believed in advanced graphics abilities that touch new level of accomplishments each day. This global tournament allows a hardcore gaming aficionado to put their best efforts and emerge as a winner across boundaries. To encourage and enthuse gamers, NVIDIA has initiated this tournament which wants to gather the support of users around the world.

A user must be 16 years or older to participate in this online gaming battleground. The tournament encounter will be carried out in a Group Play Format with the participation of 250 groups. Post to registrations up till 16th June, 2011, users can fight it out at the online tournament beginning 23rd June, 2011. To register for this tournament, one can visit the official website here

Hanging With Friends, Now on Zynga

Popular social network game developer, Zynga has announced today the launch of yet another title in its With Friends series, Hanging with Friends. The game has been modeled on the likes of the  popular Hangman. Just like in the game Hangman, players are required to guess words. The winner would obviously be the one who manages to stick around, oops hang around for the longest. Hang in there.. But, it doesn’t stop there. Zynga adds interaction to its latest game. Users can select from a range of avatars made available, which Zynga claims to be a bunch of colorful characters. As mentioned earlier, the winner is the one who manages to stay around for the longest, and helping him are a bunch of strategically placed hints that come to him in the form of lifelines. Players can watch instant replays using which they can catch a glimpse of their opponent’s moves. The game is currently available in Canada via the Apple App Store. The game is anticipated for a release soon elsewhere either as a free or premium download from the App Store on iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone, or even at the iTunes App Store.

Games of June 2011

Normally June’s a pretty mellow month for video game releases what with E3 looming on the horizon. Still this month, there’s quite a bit of stuff coming out to satiate the bloodlust within. Enter the Games of June 2011. 

inFamous 2 (PS3)

Tower offense

Cole McGrath, the electric courier from inFamous returns with even more super-powers in this charged up sequel from Sucker Punch. The action this time round has moved to New Marais, a fictional city based in New Orleans where Cole must face his toughest adversary yet. Gameplay stays the same as the prequel with the addition of user created missions that allow users to create and share missions online. Like LittleBigPlanet, only less cute.

Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox360 PS3)

Yup, she's angry all right

Forget about what you’ve read or seen in the movies; this right here is a highly twisted take on Lewis Carroll novels with content that’s not really meant for children. Alice: Madness Returns is essentially a third person action game with focus on melee combat that’ll oscillate between all out combat, puzzle solving and platforming. The game takes place nearly 11 years after American McGee’s Alice and will delve into Alice’s twisted past as she strives to liberate herself from it.

Shadows of the Damned (Xbox360 PS3)

Yeah, that's gonna hurt real bad

A demented love child between designers Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami, Shadow of the Damned is an action horror game with a ton of crazy sprinkled in there thanks to Suda. In it you’ll play as demon hunter Garcia Hotspur who quite literally travels to hell and back in a bid to save his love. Be warned though; this game probably will contain a lot, and I mean a LOT of penis jokes, as was evident in the last trailer.

Duke Nukem Forever (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

His own worst enemy

The King’s back and he’s about to kick some butt cos he’s all outta gum. After nearly a decade, Duke Nukem emerges from the dead, courtesy Borderlands and Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox Software. Even though the game’s being released this month, gameplay is still reminiscent of the nineties with a focus on big guns, big enemies, toilet humor and tons of bodacious babes. 

Red Faction Armageddon (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Bring it

Red Faction Guerilla was perhaps the most open-ended, destructive game ever made allowing players to annihilate structures down to their very last brick. With Armageddon, developer Volition are planning on upping the ante with a lot more destruction and devastation, only this time they’ll have monsters as well. Wait, what! Yeah apparently, a few years after the events of RFG, humanity had to head underground due to unlivable conditions above the surface. In doing so they managed to awaken a race of Martian creatures who obviously are really cranky and not to mention hungry.

F.E.A.R 3 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Ketchup accident

F.E.A.R. was one of the most cathartic shooters in its time. It was scary, violent and shooting someone in the face with a shotgun while slowing time down was immensely satisfying. After a bunch of lackluster expansions and a rather average sequel, the F.E.A.R. franchise is about to kick start with F.E.A.R. 3. You’ll still have your creepy gameplay complimented by fast-paced kinetic action but now you can embark upon this journey with a friend as F.E.A.R. 3 will ship with co-operative play.