Rock Paper Shotgun

I’m not entirely sure why last year’s Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever is going around the demo-sites again when its been out for over a year. But in the early morning time, I found myself oddly drawn to play it. I had one eye on the reviews last year, where everyone tore it apart. First one to turn up is Gamespot UK’s, which is characteristic in its laceration and its criticism. Which is primarily that it’s some manner of desecration of the past when their actual problem is that the past wasn’t that good to start with. After all, if it were any good, they wouldn’t mind just a minor aesthetic scrub-up. Defender of the Crown, like the vast majority of Cinemaware’s games, were deeply strange products of their time, constructed around ideas which are pretty much discredited now. And playing it… well, I think maybe that’s a shame.
(...)
Read the rest of Defender of Defender of the Crown? Well, A Bit… (606 words)

Posted by KieronGillen. | 12 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Cinemaware, Defender of the Crown, demo, free
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

You know what I hate? Accidentally hitting quicksave when you meant to hit quickload, leaving yourself trapped in some ostensibly unwinnable situation and sobbing like a child about a terrible turn of events that you can blame no-one but yourself for.

You know what I love? Managing to win that unwinnable situation anyway: ultimate triumph in the face of self-made adversity.
(...)
Read the rest of Quicksave-Fail: The Agony and The Ecstacy (620 words)

Posted by ento. | 67 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: feature, Half-Life, quicksave, stalker, we be stupids
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

A multifarious bunch of videos of the Eve fanfest 2008 have emerged, and a couple of them hold interest for a more general audience, and I’m going to post them up here. The first and foremost is the Walking In Stations, or ambulation, presentation. This discusses Eve’s continuing inward journey, with ever more detail being burned into the universe - in this case the creation of full-body avatars that can move around in the internal environments of space stations. Avatars will be able to interact, play games, get cosmetic surgery, or even run businesses. There’s some footage of the proposed engine at about thirty minutes in.

The second video I’ve posted covers graphics and the future of Eve. It’s fairly hard going, and full of tech-gibber that won’t be of interest to most people, but there are some interesting moments such as running and vast resolutions (8-9 megapixels) at about eighteen minutes in, and some clever particle magicks later on.

(...)
Read the rest of Eve Fanfest 2008 Videos (4 words)

Posted by rossignol. | 7 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: ccp, eve-online
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

You know what’s quite good? That Left 4 Dead game. I quite like it. Also, you know who’s a nice guy? That Chet Faliszek - you know, the one that isn’t Erik Wolpaw (he loves it when people say that!) off of Old Man Murray. Apparently he had something to do with Left 4 Dead. I imagine he wrote a joke for it or something. There’s probably a joke in it somewhere.

Eurogamer are having a live chitchat with him today at 5pm. You’ll be able to submit questions and everything.

(...)
Read the rest of Chet-Chat On Eurogamer (67 words)

Posted by botherer. | 28 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Chet Faliszek, eurogamer, Left-4-Dead, Valve
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Papervision - Augmented Reality (extended) from dpinteractive on Vimeo

Offworld dug up this splendid piece of augmented reality footage. Awesome. I mean, it’s not like webcams ever get much use in our gaming lives, but this does open up some possibilities. This clever tech comes from Australian clever types Digital Pictures, whose website seems to have been knocked over by general web interest.

Posted by rossignol. | 17 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: digital pictures, papervision
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Relic still don’t seem to have really sold what Dawn Of War 2 is all about in their game footage and associated marketing jabber. Here’s what I wrote after I saw it in Vancouver almost a year ago: “What was great about the original game, such as its vicious melee combat and feeling of solidity, is going to provide cues for the new direction that this game moves in. DoW2 is a game that focuses on the actions of small team of personalised soldiers. Relic keep reiterating: this is a game where you are going to be focusing on the violent destruction of your enemies. It’s about “five or six squads of elite warriors” whose actions are going to define the course of galactic events in the Warhammer universe. It’s closer, and more intimate than the original game, discarding base-building and that anonymous production-line feel of the previous Dawn Of War games.” So think Diablo with squads of heavily armed space marines. Something like that.

A couple of minutes of footage beyond the cut show that. Shame it’s not something really meaty like the assault marines escaping from a collapsing bridge, or the fight with the ork warboss. Eurogamer have a more recent hands-on just here.
(...)
Read the rest of Dawn Of War 2 Footage (0 words)

Posted by rossignol. | 34 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Dawn of War 2?, Relic
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Telltale’s Strong Bad episodic adventures continue to prove themselves leagues ahead of the disappointing Sam & Max series (yeah, want to fight about it?). Episode 3 was completely stunning, some of the finest adventure gaming I’ve had in a very long while. In case you missed it, you can get the demo here. And now the demo for the next episode is out, and here’s the full title:

Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People: Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective

Is that a record?

(...)
Read the rest of Looks Like You’re Going To Have To… Download! (129 words)

Posted by botherer. | 38 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: adventure, demo, strong bad, telltale, trailer
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

There sure is a lot of stuff in Fallout 3. Granted, most of it involves messily shooting things in the face or enduring woeful characterisation, but not all of it. There’s a ton of fun quests and epic scenery awaiting the casual adventurer. If, however, you’re finding it tough to stray off the beaten path or have fallen into aimless mutant-bothering, the goodly readers of Planet Fallout are busy constructing an interactive, ever-swelling Google map of Washington DC’s ravaged environs. Should help you fillet through the game’s oodles of quests’n’secrets to find the more interesting bits. Good work, those fanboys. Related stories:

• Black Isle’s Fallout 3 Demo
• Games for 2008: Fallout 3
• Eurogamer: Fallout 3 Preview

Posted by ento. | 19 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: fallout-3
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Upon the news of rally legend Colin McRae’s untimely demise, the immediate response by the internet, aside from tasteless gags, was to wonder what would happen to next instalment of the revered Codemasters racing series that had borne the dour chap’s name for so long. Now we know. DiRT 2 will remain Colinised after all. Hooray?

Though I was impressed by it, I didn’t actually like DiRT all that much, finding it a bit too austere for my tastes. But its engine was the foundation for the genuinely excellent GRID, so hopefully there’s some reflexive improvement to the sequel based on lessons learned. What they are hinting at is some element of the fantastical - “we’ll be throwing off some of the shackles and constraints that real-world rallying has to abide by.” Spooks. Full press release and Codemaster’s tip o’the hat to the late McRae below. Oh - and the shot above is a ‘target render’, so don’t gush uncontrollably just yet.
(...)
Read the rest of DiRT ReTURNS (560 words)

Posted by ento. | 20 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Codemasters, colin mcrae: dirt 2
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Ino Co’s latest strategy game, Elven Legacy, (previous was the honestly named Fantasy Wars) is a mighty purdy lookin’ turn-based affair which, as you might have been able to deduce from its name, features elves: “A rogue human has discovered the treasured secrets of the elven race and for the first time in centuries, elves are forced to enter the world of man in order to protect this sacred information.” And that means hot, turn-based action. Ino Co are keen to emphasize that the game not only features dozens of different unit types, but that there’s also a complex MMO-style character editor for the creation of unique fantasy heroes. After the excellence of King’s Bounty this year, we’d be hard pressed to dismiss this. We’ll be able to take a look at it in Q1 of next year. Trailer after the jump.
(...)
Read the rest of “Hot Hot Hex”: Elven Legacy (0 words)

Posted by rossignol. | 16 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: 1C, Elven Legacy, Ino Co
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

To celebrate Half-life being 10 years old this week, Valve have thrown a special offer. You can get the original half-life for 98 (count ‘em!) cents until November 21st. That’s literally cheap. Also, inexpensive. Also, value for money.

Er… that’s all. How can I enliven this post. Oh, I know: I’ve still never completed Half-life 1. What enormous gaping holes are in your play-histories, readers?Related stories:

• Half-Life: The Lost Chapter
• Left 4 Dead Demo 11th Nov (6th For Pre-Orders)
• Half-Life Turns Ten Today

Posted by KieronGillen. | 157 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Half-Life, Kieron is a bad PC gamer, steam
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Rockstar, in preparation for the PC release of GTA IV on 2nd December, have released some sample movies to show off the in-game video editor. And they’ve gone bonkers.

Clearly a dream for the machinima crowd, the in-built tool will let you create your own mini-movies, which will then be shared on the Rockstar Social Club site.

(...)
Read the rest of GTA IV Gets Cinematic (103 words)

Posted by botherer. | 17 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: grand theft auto 4, Machinima, rockstar
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

The SciFi Channel in the US has started a brand new television programme, billing itself as “world’s first live-action videogame.” Forgetting, oh, so many shows that contradict this (I’ll leave that to you below, but let’s just say Knightmare here to get things started), the result is something so special that all who are able should watch. Please people, be outstanding for the majesty of Cha$e.

(...)
Read the rest of Cha$e: When Videogames Come To Life (910 words)

Posted by botherer. | 45 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: cha$e, scifi channel, television
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Yeah, screenshots totally don’t work with Interactive Fiction, do they?

The IF Comp 2008 awards‘ results were announced a couple of days back. It’s… well, I don’t pretend to be anything other than a casual observer of gaming’s one true art-subculture, but seeing their yearly competitions is something which always makes me happy, even if I barely touch any of the actual games. That said, I was following Emily Short’s takes on the entrants, and given her rep, I wasn’t surprised that her three stand out games ended up comprising the top three (Albeit not in her chosen order). Namely: Violet, Nightfall and Everybody Dies. I’ll try and give the two runners up a proper play in the next few days, but here’s my take on the victor. It’s really rather neat.
(...)
Read the rest of IF Comp 2008: Violet (556 words)

Posted by KieronGillen. | 30 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: free, IF Compo 2008, indie, interactive-fiction, Jeremy Freese, Violet
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

You’d have thought with RPS’ extensive Left 4 Dead coverage, we’d have written all pallid, unattractive men could stand to hammer about zombies tearing flesh. And normally you’d be right. But you forgot about the most potent power-up. Money. Lots of Money. And if there’s one thing that RPS is good at, it’s selling our God-given-lack-of talent for a few tiny coins to spend on crisps. Hence Alec and I have bent to the will of our evil corporate paymasters and reviewed it for them. Now, who reviewed it for IGN and who reviewed it for Eurogamer? Guess, before clicking…
(...)
Read the rest of Left 4 Dead RPS Review Face-Off (336 words)

Posted by KieronGillen. | 69 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: eurogamer, IGN, Left-4-Dead, Valve
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Cleverthinks research company Jon Peddie Research have put together a report on the state of the PC hardware market, and it’s looking good. Peddie says: “From Q3 2005 till Q3 2008, 196 million gaming PCs shipped, and 10 million of them were in the Mainstream Enthusiast class—and if we include mainstream desktop and High-end high-end notebook, we could add another 187 million units—now that really is a lot.”

The Techwatch article (currently on the front page of the Peddie site) seems astonished at the rude health of the PC gaming industry compared to the fledgling consoles. In fact it gets a little sarcastic about the HDTV fanfare from console types: “Thankfully HD TVs are sneaking into the living room bringing 720p and, in some cases, 1080i capability. Imagine, 720p almost as good as 1024 x 768—old XGA resolution introduced by IBM in 1988—wow.”

Peddie sums it up: “Fact is the PC Gaming Market is bigger, worth more money, growing faster, and has better technology than the console market. How come no one but us seems to know that?”

Posted by rossignol. | 92 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: jon peddie research
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Yep, Valve’s unfortgettable opening salvo officially gets a decade under its belt on this very day. This terrifies me in ways I can’t quite vocalise.

Said terror is not simply because it makes me feel so very aged, but also because it’s been so long and yet still most FPSes seem entirely ignorant of what HL did with setpieces, incidental detail, gaming-specific narrative style, pacing and world-building. The straight line to most of today’s shooters that started with Doom seems to almost bypass Half-Life. Fortunately, there is one huge, positive side-effect which does ensure HL’s legacy is unassailable: modding.
(...)
Read the rest of Half-Life Turns Ten Today (127 words)

Posted by ento. | 119 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Half-Life, Mods, Valve
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

It’s really the silly season. A week after the latest expansion to Azeroth, Lord of the Rings Online’s Mines of Moria has been released (And EQ2 too). We interviewed Jeffrey Steefel about it a couple of months back when I had a play on the closed Beta code. And while I enjoyed it, the season being so packed, I haven’t had a chance to go back and play the open Beta. And now it’s too late. Man! Anyway - here’s the new launch trailer to tease what really can be described as the Ur-dungeon.
(...)
Read the rest of LoTR Online: speak friend and enter your username (79 words)

Posted by KieronGillen. | 16 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: lord of the rings online, mines of moria
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

Casualgaming.biz noticed that PETA have crafted a piece of Thanksgiving Agitprop. It’s based around the popular DS game Cooking Mama games, and is cunningly entitled Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals. You can play online, download it or go beneath the cut and find the embeddable version - alongside a gallery of our favourite flesh-rending moments and a few thoughts. And a Turkey fact PETA didn’t mention in their game. Man!
(...)
Read the rest of Cooking Mamarrrrrrrggggghhhh! (306 words)

Posted by KieronGillen. | 79 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Agitprop, free, Not Cooking Mama, webgame
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.

We had said, amongst ourselves, that we probably had enough Left 4 Dead coverage today already. This one’s just far too epic not to report, though. Via Castle Crecente, it’s Left 4 Dead played happily in Team Fortress 2 maps:

Man! Fast work, modders. There’s safe rooms and everything. It also supports Hl2 maps, apparently - there’s a guide on how to do it yourself here. So, within less than a day, there being only four official L4D campaigns has stopped being a problem. Happy Zombieday!Related stories:

• Left 4 Dead Screenshot Galleries
• Left 4 Dead Is Alive
• Left 4 Dead Trailer And Delay

Posted by ento. | 32 comments | Donate or subscribe to RPS | Post tags: Left-4-Dead, mod, team-fortress-2
This article is from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. If you're reading it on any other website, they're stealing it from us without permission.