Lego: Dimensions Announced and it Looks Amazing

Warner Bros. Released a number of teasers out yesterday with pictures of various Lego silhouettes standing in front of a large blue circle with the hashtag "break the rules." These images could have teased a new Lego movie or game, and as it turns out, was indeed teasing the next Lego game by Traveller's Tale who has made every previous themed-lego game.

Lego: Dimensions is set to launch on September 27th this year for Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the Wii U. The game will operate much like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, in that it will require a gamepad, the game, and collectible figures to play.

The starter pack is available for $99.99 (US) and includes the game, a Lego Toy Pad, a Lego Dimensional Gateway, and a Lego Batmobile. As usual with toy-themed games the starter pack will include three characters: Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle (from The Lego Movie).

The purpose of the game seems to be to blend all of the Lego franchises into one game to interact and assist each other. The dimensional aspect seems to imply that the dimensional transport will allow characters to travel between different Lego worlds (presumably as long as you own the corresponding world piece).

A large number of packs for the game have already been announced. These packs include: (list taken from IGN, prices suggested by retailers)

• Back to the Future levels with a Marty McFly minifig ($29.99)
• Ninjago team pack with Kai and Cole figures ($24.99)
• Ninjago fun packs with Jay, Nya, and Zane figures ($14.99)
• DC fun packs with Wonder Woman and Cyborg ($14.99)
• Lord of the Rings fun packs with Gollum, Gimli, and Legolas ($14.99)
• The Lego Movie fun pack with Emmet, Bad Cop, Benny, and Unikitty ($14.99)
• The Wizard of Oz fun pack with Wicked Witch of the West ($14.99)

My take away: It's about time. I think a lot of people will see this as greedy marketing, but if any company had the right to follow this model for video games it was Lego. Lego has first and foremost been a creative toy company, and with the wild success of all of their licensed games it was only a matter of time until the actual Lego versions would be available for purchase.

Not only that but the game sounds like a dream come true. Just like the Lego movie (and the very real afternoons of my childhood) you'll be able to mix and match a large number of franchises in a way that is pure fun. Batman and Marty Mcfly kicking Sauron's metal butt sounds exactly like the uninhibited fun I remember from childhood. I for one cannot wait to get my hands on this game.

Xbox 360 Receiving a Hard Drive Update

Xbox Live's update preview program members will be able to utilize up to 2-2TB hard drives on their Xbox 360s in the next update.

All other Xbox Live users will have access to this update later this year according to Major Nelson's blog.

This update will allow users to connect up to 2-2TB hard drives to their consoles to store downloaded games, profiles, save files, etc. from their consoles.

Previously, users were limited to only being able to use up to 32GB of space on an external hard drive, so this update will give users access to significantly more space.

Another previous requirement of the Xbox 360's external hard drive policy was a pre-format of space on the hard drive. This would section off the desired portion of the hard drive up to 32GB to put aside for future file saves. This update will remove this requirement and will allow users to only use the amount of space they're actually using at the time.

Our Take: This update is amazing, but it's too little, too late. This update would've been amazing about two years ago. I'll still be using this to download all of the games I've purchased over the years and to get all the amazing Games with Gold, but I really needed this years ago. Hopefully Microsoft learns their lesson and updates the Xbox One with this soon, and the PS4 soon after.

Bound by Flame developer announces new game The Technomancer

"On the run from the Secret Police and confronted by the harsh realities of the Red Planet, you must undertake a quest that takes you through tribal communities, cities lost under the ice, and dystopian shanties sprawled across Mars' dusty embrace."

This is the official description of Spider's (Bound by Flames developer) upcoming RPG The Technomancer.

Technomancer takes place on Mars during an event known as the War of the Water. Players will play as the Technomancer, described as a"combat proficient warrior," who uses both cybernetic and magical abilities as he fights through the various sides of the War.

Common RPG elements like crafting and a leveling system will be an integral part of the game's mechanics. Spider claims, however, that many of the missions throughout the game will have upwards of 5 different endings. To be clear, the game doesnt have up to five endings, each mission within the game will. This, presumably, means the game will have a large diversity of endings depending on the choices made by the player.

The Technomancer will also be accompanied by dynamic companions who will assist his quest throughout the war.

The Technmoancer is set to be released sometime in 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Our Take: Science-Fiction RPGs seem to be getting announced fairly regularly now, and we're excited! Games like Mass Effect and Rage are usually pretty fun and innovative. Spider's take on the genre, so far, sounds pretty good. It also sounds like they have a way to go until the concept becomes a reality, so we're excited to see further news and trailers for the game. 

Dante's Inferno

 

Dante's Inferno made by EA and Visceral Games is a disturbing action adventure game that sends you on a disturbing descent down Dante's eight layers of hell. You battle through progressively harder levels and enemies all the way to the eighth layer all in the name of...love. That's right, that is what warrants this rampage through hell, love and an unhealthy need to be absolved for all the people you've killed. This game is fun and addicting as you meet new enemies and solve new sin-themed puzzles all the way to the devil himself to save your dear loving Beatrice.

__________________________________

Pros: Constant action, Highly detialed enviroments, compelling story, fun combat system, Amazing boss battles, tons of gore and intense and emotionally powerful landscapes 

___________________
Cons: main character is uninteresting and overall is depicted as a real jerk, the constant change of enemies and environments makes the learning curve spike randomly, many special attacks seem to lack any real punch and enemy glitches can make some fights seem dull or just plain aggravating.
_____________________

Dante's Inferno is a great game, if not significantly disturbed in almost every sense of the word. The depiction of hell is exciting and provides a unique videogame experience that is both fun and challenging. While many players might find it hard to slaughter a hoarde of unbaptized babies or may feel sick seeing the lust goddess constantly flail giant tongues out of her breast, once you get passed the openly demented game you'll find a pretty bad ass hack and slash game.

While many might argue that it's a lot more than a hack and slash it really isn't, you may learn new ways to hack and slash and occasionally may have to time blocks and counters just right it doesn't change the fact that every level you have to find a new way hack through your enemies and slash them to pieces.

However this never takes away from the game. In fact it actually adds to it. You play as Dante, a pissed off and heart-broken crusader whose one true love has been stolen by the devil himself to be his queen of hell. This is all because she made a deal with the devil that Dante would stay faithful during the crusades. Spoiler: he doesn't. So her soul becomes Lucifers and it's Dante's job to kill every damned soul, demon, and guardian to get the soul of his beloved wife back. Many of the figures you fight or see in the game were real historic figures who messed up enough in life to find themselves in hell. Some of these you get a chance to "absolve" or give their soul a pardons, this is strongly recommended for late game strategy.

You're constantly faced with new enemies and new puzzles. Most are incredibly hard to fight or solve without knowing the specific tactic to defeat each. But I once you learn every enemy's Achilles heel it becomes incredibly easy to just mow through enemies. If you find yourself running really low on health half way through battles try to max out your health bar and grab the last perk on the holy side. Dante's inferno is huge on collectible items, so search every square inch of the map and solve every puzzle to get every coin and item, it not only drags the play time out but it helps give you that little extra boost you may be looking for.

Overall once you get past a lot of the horrifyingly disturbing images that'll make you want to bathe every time you play Inferno is one hell of a game. Definitely worth the $15 it now cost. If nothing else it's great to crank up the difficulty and give yourself a little bit of a challenge between your other video games. Inferno takes about 20-35 hours to complete depending on your play style and need for achievements, I love achievements so it took me a little around 40. Definitely worth checking out but I'd give replay value a 6/10 it's really a one and done kind of game.

Bloodborne (PS4) review

Blood-borne is made by gaming developer From Software and is the spiritual successor to the action/adventure RPG Souls series.

Bloodborne is set in the Gothic land or Yarnhem, where Grimm fairy tales and steam punk collide in a grotesquely beautiful fashion.

Bloodborne shares a lot of its mechanics and themes with previous entries in the series, while offering up new features that make the game feel unique.

The game, while punishing, still welcomes new players and long time fans of the series by creating beautiful environments, intense enemies, and a dark and mysterious narrative that entices players to push forward through the gruesome gothic world.

The game utilizes the capabilities of the ps4 to present a beautifully detailed world and stunningly grotesque enemies, with flowing bandages, ripping skin, and other haunting qualities that make each enemy unique. While there are some distracting visual and auditory glitches on occasion, the overall game looks very well designed.

The mechanics of the game feel intuitive and incredibly responsive. Movement and attacks feel fluid, but the game still suffers from some hit-box problems that can be frustrating and make some combat feel unrealistic. Occasionally the dodge/ roll mechanic won't let the player properly maneuver around an enemy or piece of the environment where it clearly should, again pulling the player from the game and causing some undue frustration. Otherwise the gameplay feels amazing and natural.

This game is definitely not for the faint of heart as it reaches deep into some primal fears to create feelings of dread and despair. Playing through the game left me feeling angry, scared, and occasionally elated when I finally mastered an area that I was having particular trouble with.
The game is grueling but satisfying in the most masochistic of ways, and no matter how challenging it became I always found myself crawling back to its devastating jaws.

As with previous Souls games, Bloodborne is filled with diverse and memorable Boss fights that require planning, strategy, or sometimes, just plain dumb luck. Each boss offers unique fights, and often through many attempts feel incredibly satisfying to finally vanquish.

One of the best, and perhaps joyfully unnoticed qualities, is the seamlessness of the world. There is absolutely no load screens in between areas and it possible to travel from one end of the map to the other without a single load screen. This allows the open world to feel even more immersive, but this unfortunately leaves the post-death load screen to take even longer to process the entire world of the game. It should be noted that From Software has promised to fix the 40-second loading time in a future update for the game.

The weapons of Bloodborne are scarce but unique. In previous souls games weapons were frequent, but many lacked diversity or any truest great qualities. However, in Bloodborne this problem is solved by only giving the player access to a small number of unique weapons that all hold interesting abilities that require the player to think strategically about combat. Luckily the diversity of the weapons, and the ability to switch between two different weapons, allows players to be ready for a variety of encounters.

One aspect that did not seem to improve since Dark souls 2 was the new transportation mechanic. In the previous entry players could travel to any rest location that had been unlocked from any of the other locations. In Bloodborne, however, it is only possible to travel to the players main hub from the game world, but players can travel to any rest locations from the main hub.

Despite its various glitches and extended loading times, Bloodborne is a fantastic entry into the Souls series, and should please old fans of the series, while still feeling welcoming to those new to the punishing world created by From Software

Leaked Screenshots Show Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

New images have surfaced for the next entry in the popular game series Deus Ex. The series focuses on a not-to-distant future where human augmentation has become a reality, and is commonplace.

As the leaked title suggests, however, mankind is indeed divided over the issue, and riots and revolution ensue. 

The previous entry, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, showed the beginnings of a Civil War between the conservative anti-augmentation groups, and large pro-augmentation corporations. Without spoiling the game, there are some heavy themes regarding humanity and technology through out the game and it seems as though these themes will persist into this next entry.

The title, "Mankind Divided," definitely suggests that a civil war of sorts must be in full swings, and now potentially rogue agent is caught in the middle.

The leaked screenshots definitely confirm that Adam Jensen, the protagonist from Human Revolution, will be returning in some capacity ( I suspect as the main protagonist once again), as well as the traditional first-person shooter, third-person cover play style.

A screenshot of gun modifications suggests that the game is updating its previous weapon detail screen for something closer to Crysis. If this truly is a Crysis clone of gun-modding, then players can expect to be able to examine and modify guns on the go for quick and easy combat. 

As usual the screenshots look amazing and incredibly above par. It is, however, unusual for a final product to look as good initial screens and demos. I am still excited for the game even if it doesn't meet the graphic capacity of the screenshots. 

The game will be made by Square Enix and Eidos Montreal, however there is no confirmation for which consoles it will be released, or a potential release window.