Spanish retailer XtraLife has listed Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix as a Playstation Vita title. The listing has now been removed, but while it was Live the listing had Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix listed for $49.99. The release date for the title was set for October 10th which is three weeks prior to Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag’s release date.
This is the second major leak Ubisoft has faced with the Assassin’s Creed franchise in the past two weeks.
Source: Gamespot
Apparently it’s been just over one year since I purchased Sony’s Playstation 3 console. I remember the circumstances of me becoming a Playstation 3 owner vividly. I was in a group training session getting ready to take on a new position. Some of us had already been with the company, and some were coming in fresh off the street to fill in where needed. With that, the company I was working for at the time burned through employees faster than a chain smoker burns through Marlboro’s. I hadn’t been with them for an extended period of time, but I was already able to size up the “new meat” as it were relatively easily. One person I took note of as “probably going to fizzle out in a week” turned to myself and my peers with an inquiry - “Does anyone want to buy a PS3 for $40?” Suffice to say I jumped on the opportunity. I was able to test the system out and validate it worked correctly before finalizing my purchase, so needless to say, it was what’s called a “good get”.
I’d purchased my Xbox 360 a mere 3 years earlier, and hadn’t really put much thought into a Playstation until the very moment the opportunity presented itself. That’s not to say I hadn’t heard amazing things about first party games on the Playstation, or the fact that the PSN was completely free, but it never enticed me enough for a purchase. I was simply content with Microsoft’s box of X’s, so why bother with another console? The other deterrent came in the form of a professional hacker firm dubbed “Anonymous“. The group decisively crippled the SOE and PSN for 23 days, and cost Sony a reported $171 Million. Much to the chagrin of my Playstation owning brethren “Anonymous” obtained over 45 million accounts worth of personal data. After this less than happy PR debacle I was once again secure in the fact that Microsoft, and by extension my Xbox 360 had never fallen victim to such a malicious attack.
However, time and opportunity changes all. My subsequent purchase of the Playstation 3 console created a renaissance in my gaming world. I had grown tired of Call of Duty (which dominated my Xbox 360′s tray for quite a long time) not to mention my growing distaste of waiting on friends to fire up a game. I was ready for some of Sony’s single player, first party titles. I quickly became more than friendly with the Uncharted, Killzone, God of War, and Infamous franchises.
After enjoying many of the aforementioned Playstation 3 exclusives, I found myself sticking to the PS3 even with my multi-platform purchases. One of my motivations to stick with the PS3 for multi-platform titles was the fact it supports native 3-D. I recently played through Crysis 3 in 3-D and it definitely added to the experience, as I mention in my Review. Many of the multi-platform titles I’ve bought for the PS3 have exclusive content, including Assassin’s Creed 3, which featured around an hour of extra content on the Playstation 3. Such attributes have helped me to adopt the PS3 as my primary gaming console.
Another addition that makes the Playstation 3 more appealing for most consumers is the built in Blu-Ray optical drive. which makes the PS3 a Blu-Ray DVD player as well as a gaming console. The fact that there’s no pay wall to enjoy the PSN’s online multiplayer, Netflix, and Hulu Plus also adds to it’s attractiveness. Sony’s paid subscription service PS+ also offers great value. When I first purchased my PS3 I wasn’t able to buy many games outright, so the mere $18 price tag for three months of PS+ aided me in playing more games. I enjoyed several PSN titles for free, as well as full game releases. I fondly remember my time with titles such as Shank 2, Trine 2, and a replay of Borderland’s as part of my early Playstation 3 experience.
As we head into the twilight of this console generation the support of Sony’s many first party studios like Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studios, and Quantic Dream are working hard to send the PS3 off in fantastic fashion. Even though I’ve only been a PS3 owner for just over a year, I feel like I still have a lot to look forward to. After all we still have quality first party titles like The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls to look forward to before developers start focusing heavily on the Playstation 4.
Get your Portable ID!
As you can see I’ve been busy since my humble beginnings. I’ve enjoyed my time with the Playstation 3, and I’m definitely looking forward to catching up on all the games I missed along the way before retiring my PS3 to “play on occasion” obscurity.
Saints Row 4 was announced this morning with a hefty reveal trailer. Deep Silver recently purchased the rights to publish Saints Row during the THQ auction. The reveal trailer features an enormous amount of game play, and information about what’s new in the upcoming installment. The Third Street Saints have turned their focus on the White House after subsequently conquering Steelport and Stilwater. After the leader of the Third Street Saints becomes President of the United States, Earth comes under attack by an alien force. The event results in your Saint being shoehorned into an alien simulation of Steelport. While in said simulation you’re able to harness alien technology, and use some of the super powers on display in the reveal trailer.
It looks like your new Saint will have super powers along with the standard off the wall arsenal of guitar case rocket launchers, clown cannons, and more standard fare firearms (not to mention a few weapons I can’t mention here). Super speed and flight are two of the additional powers shown in the reveal trailer.
Deep Silver and Volition aren’t being coy about a release date either. It looks like August 20th is the day we’ll be privy to more third person, open world, insanity!
Source: Game Informer, Youtube, NeoGaf
The Call of Juarez franchise tends to inspire hot and cold reactions from gamer’s and the media depending on the installment. For instance, Call of Juarez: The Cartel is sitting at a stately 47/100 for it’s metacritic score, whereas the original nearly doubles that score at a 71/100, and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood sits atop the heap at 78/100. Ubisoft and Techland hope to bring the franchise back to it’s roots with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. The reveal trailer references the likes of Jesse James and Billy the Kidd saying - “They’ve all made their choices, and I’ve made mine.” in an attempt to outline the lawlessness of the American Frontier. We may be looking at a return to glory for the Call of Juarez franchise with Gunslinger. However, this is just the reveal trailer, and only time will tell.
This may be one of the last trailers Irrational Games throws at us before BioShock: Infinite’s March 26th release. So far we’ve learned more about Columbia, the floating city, Elizabeth, and now the former U.S. Cavalry Man Booker DeWitt is starting to take shape. It’s been no secret that Booker was forced into the rescue mission that will be the focus of BioShock: Infinite, but the “False Shepherd” trailer sheds more light on how Booker became indebted to his handlers.
We also see more examples of Vigor in action (Infinites Plasmid’s), as well as a detailed account of the first time Booker ingests Vigor, and has a minor melt down. The omnipresent Songbird even makes an appearance near the end of the sequence.
Even though BioShock: Infinite had such a rocky development cycle, I have no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be another solid installment in the BioShock franchise.
We’ve already covered the similarities between Tomb Raider and Uncharted. Now, let’s move on to contrasting our two titles a bit. These are, what I think, the more important franchise defining aspects:
Theme and Tone:
Uncharted Series -
Tomb Raider -
You may be thinking to yourself “But Dylan, those lists are almost identical in length?”. As I alluded to earlier it’s the more rewarding aspects that differentiate the two titles.
Tomb Raider elicits a more primal “fight or flight” response than Uncharted does. That’s due to the more realistic, grittier tone Tomb Raider employs. I never felt like I was the underdog when playing Uncharted, even when I was facing down an army of mercenaries, alone. That’s not a bad thing what so ever, it’s just that developers Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog were focused on different themes. They were both crafting a completely different story, and protagonist, it just so happens they inhabit the same genre. Also aforementioned was the difference in theme. Uncharted puts Nathan Drake on the war path to whatever artifact he’s hunting. Whether it be El Dorado, Shambala, or Ubar, and never really deviates too much from that singular goal. Tomb Raider starts out similarly with Lara searching for a lost civilization. Things quickly change when the current inhabitants of Yamatai seek to murder herself and her crew in cold blood, and intend to use her friend Sam, as the sacrificial lamb to awaken a deity.
Another glaring difference is between our protagonists. Nathan Drake rarely bats an eye at the disposal of hundreds, maybe even thousands of foes. Whereas Lara Croft becomes physically ill and weeps over her first kill. Ever since the emergence of Uncharted it’s been obvious Naughty Dog used elements of the original Tomb Raider series to craft their plot, and even more heavily their protagonist. Nathan Drake is the original Lara Croft minus one pistol, an English accent, and triangular breasts. The old Lara was brash, confident, and fool hardy in the same light as Drake. Crystal Dynamics effectively cleaned the slate with the Tomb Raider reboot and birthed a new Lara Croft to the tune of “A Survivor is Born“. Lara begins the story as a fresh faced explorer with international fame on her mind, and quickly changes her outlook when her life and those around her are threatened, and in many cases taken. The transformation from a meek, inexperienced, coddled young girl doesn’t happen in as subtle of manner as I’d like to have seen, but there’s definitely an evolution of the character.
Besides the harder to portray tone and theme differences, there’s also differences in the core game play experience. Take weaponry for instance: I infinitely enjoy Uncharted’s tight third person shooter mechanics, intuitive pugilism, and platforming aspects. It makes for an exceptionally fluid combat experience, and I also appreciate the interchangeable weapons in Uncharted. For example, when you happen upon an RPG, and ruin four mercenaries day in the blink of an eye. In contrast when beginning your Tomb Raider experience you have no weapons. Lara is forced to fend for herself in a harsh environment, with little to no experience, or tools at her disposal. The addition of a crude hunters bow is the extent of your weaponry in the opening segment of Tomb Raider. Throughout your time on Yamatai you come across three other basic firearms, and a climbing axe. All of which are a permanent arsenal. The ability to upgrade your weapons, and eventually create a better version of the base weapon was a nice feature in Tomb Raider, that wasn’t present, or maybe even necessary in Uncharted (Nathan Drake ain’t got no time for dat!)
I also think the supporting cast in the two titles couldn’t be more different from an onlookers perspective. Nathan Drake has a host of experienced treasure hunters and thieves at his disposal. None of which, besides Elena Fisher are out of place in a gun fight. The motivations of Drake’s motley crew are self serving and treacherous. On the flip side, Lara Croft has a group of archaeologists and scientists in her core group, with the exception of Roth, who acts as her mentor throughout her transformation into survivor. Lara’s group of companions have only survival on their mind (well everyone besides Whitman)
Lastly we have the fact that Tomb Raider offers a sandbox type world, whereas Uncharted, features a linear level design.
Well that wasn’t necessarily easy, but it does show a stark contrast between the two titles. I genuinely love both games. Both Naughty Dog and Crystal Dynamics achieved their respective goals in spectacular fashion. I hope my argument of not being able to cast Uncharted and Tomb Raider in the same light is pretty clear at this point. Now, go out into the world with a higher level of enlightenment!
Since the announcement and subsequent release of Crystal Dynamics reboot of Tomb Raider, more than a few gamer’s have been closely comparing the Tomb Raider and Uncharted franchises. I have a hard time doing so for numerous reasons. It’s not like I don’t see the merit of such a comparison, but I can’t quite make the connection in the same regard as some have.
Rest assured I’ve looked at the genre, game play mechanics, tone, visuals, and protagonists that are associated with both Tomb Raider and Uncharted. To be sure there are some easy comparisons that can be made, but I usually find it’s the specifics that are harder to define that create a great gaming experience.
Let’s do a quick break down of some things that are comparable between the two franchises:
If I missed something don’t hesitate to thrash me in the comments below. I’ve researched and played both games (that means all three Uncharted titles), but this was a definite “go with your gut” type article. It was fairly easy to outline the comparisons betwixt the two franchises, but the differences are further reaching and cut deeper than the similarities. Don’t miss Part Two where I’ll break down the things that differentiate Uncharted from Tomb Raider.
New details about Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall we’re pulled directly from the Dishonored Official Page. The rumors that hit the net yesterday have been confirmed. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall releases 4-16-2013. You’ll jump behind the mask of Daud, the deadly assassin that murders the Empress and thrusts the Dishonored story into motion.
After the Daud sets Dunwall ablaze with the assassination of the Empress, he sets out on a quest for redemption. he and his band of assassin’s the Whalers seek Delilah, a key component in the The Outsider’s plan for Daud’s atonement.
Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall will expose you to new locales, weapons, powers, gadgets, and moral dilemmas. It’s also a more inventive take on DLC as it gives you access to a much neglected and rarely experienced part of the narrative, the Antagonist.
What’s Arkane Studios up to this time? Another DLC has been outed by a combination of a vague Twitter post and a Playstation 3 trophy listing for a Dishonored DLC titled “The Other Side Of The Coin“. The above image has been making the rounds since the tweet, and if you’ve played Dishonored you’ll easily recognize one of the games opening sequences being portrayed from a different perspective.
This is a fantastic idea for DLC, and it may even spur a second play through of Dishonored. I’m always interested to learn the motivations of perceived “bad” people. Believe me, even a brief thumb through Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kompf sheds some light on the mass murdering, sociopaths motivations. An hour with A&E’s The First 48 is also a great example. I’m also a big fan of the anti-hero. Whether it’s Frank Castle, Severus Snape, or John Creasy I’m always intrigued by the killer with good intentions (whether they really are, or not is an entirely different affair).
We know the general idea behind the assassination, and attempted government take over in Dishonored, but knowing more about the people behind the crimes is interesting to say the least. I look forward to “The First 48” after the Empresses assassination with Dishonored’s “The Other Side Of The Coin” DLC.
Today’s Tuesday so you know what that means: trailers! That’s right, Trailer Tuesday is back again with the best movie trailers of the week.This week is a little special because it also kicks off a brand new giveaway here at iGR:
Hit up the comment section to talk about your favorite trailer and you’ll be entered in a drawing where two lucky commentators will walk away with a free Redbox movie rental!
The Hangover Part III - The third and (supposedly) final chapter of The Hangover sees the return of Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Ed Helms (The Office) and Zach Galifianakis (Due Date). It hits theaters on May 24, 2013.
After Earth - This is the film that Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) ended up doing instead of Django Unchained and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to forgive him. Still, this looks like it has some minor potential. It also stars Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid 2010) and Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class) and opens wide on June 7, 2013.
The Bling Ring - Following the footsteps of her Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) has also been trying to distance herself from the wizard franchise as much as possible. This film is definitely another step in that direction. The film also stars Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) and Taissa Farminga (American Horror Story) and will hit theaters on June 14, 2013.
Star Trek Into Darkness - There’s no doubt that this is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. JJ Abrams (Lost, Super 8) did a tremendous job rebooting the franchise and the sequel looks like it could be even better. The sequel features the return of Chris Pine (This Means War), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Karl Urban (Dredd 3D), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), John Cho (Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle) with newcomers Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League) and opens in theaters on May 17, 2013.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Trailer Tuesday! Don’t forget to hit the comment section up for your chance at a free Redbox movie rental and be sure to tune in next Tuesday for all the best trailers. In case you missed them, you can check out my other articles here (Film) and here (TV).
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