Not only was the Metroid Prime 4 announcement surprising, but so too was the confirmation that the game isn’t being developed by Retro Studios . Retro worked on the original trilogy of Metroid Prime Adventure games collectibles, and many fans were expecting the studio to return for Metroid Prime 4 , only to learn that the game is being developed by a brand new team. But if Retro Studios isn’t working on Metroid Prime 4 , what could it possibly be developing? Its last game, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze , launched three years ago, so the timing is right for Retro to showcase its next project, whether that’s at next year’s E3 or during a special Nintendo Dir
Based on the Fables comic books by Bill Willingham, The Wolf Among Us is a cool, noir detective story with a fantasy twist. When characters from fairy tales are exiled to live in the human world, the Big Bad Wolf changes his ways and becomes Sheriff Bigby Wolf, the lawkeeper of Fabletown. After discovering the horrible murder of a young woman, Bigby embarks on a desperate hunt for a serial killer and along the way finds himself digging deeper into the corruption and organized crime at the heart of the Fable community. It’s a tense story with plenty of interesting characters, and it has the potential to be a great crime thriller movie – with a talking pig as a bo
One of the main reasons the story falls so flat is your character’s infinite silence. The only way to communicate with other characters is through a series of expressions that only really serve to illicit a base reaction from any NPC that sees them without any real discourse. Sure using the right expression will curry favor with the townspeople of Albion, and the wrong one will help to make them view you are boorish and rude, but it helps to illustrate the core issue with Fable II’s system. The game becomes about the choices you make, but not necessarily about the characters that those choices may alter. Due to the one-dimensional townspeople and lack of real interaction, scenes that should have some amount of emotional resonance fall significantly short. The only real feeling you have for any character is for your faithful canine companion, and even that is tenuous.
Needless to say, spell casting becomes increasingly complex as more attack options are enabled. Fireballs must be primed by either shaking your right hand before attacking, or speaking the word “Fireball” out loud. Attacking with Shards, meanwhile, requires that the player holds his or her right hand over and behind their right shoulder, as if throwing a spear, or by saying “Magical Shard.” Generally, motions are recognized more quickly than speech. Each of these actions, on their own, are simple to perform reliably. The trouble is that in the heat of combat, players will need to perform multiple actions, often simultaneously, and Kinect gets confused by the commot
Peter Jackson’s take on The Hobbit didn’t quite live up to the standards set by the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but an adaptation of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor could be a great addition to the movie canon. The game takes place after the events of The Hobbit but before The Lord of the Rings , and focuses on a Ranger called Talion, who is killed by Sauron’s forces but is saved when a wraith merges with his body, turning Talion into an undead warrior with some very unique abilities. Enraged by the slaughter of his family, Talion proceeds to single-handedly wreak havoc on Sauron’s army of Orcs, playing an unsung role in preventing the fall of Middle-ea
With Nintendo forgoing a traditional press conference yet again, the extent of the Big N’s presence at E3 is a bit of an unknown factor. However, we do know that Nintendo plans on hosting a Nintendo Direct presentation like it did last year, and this time it will be headlined by Super Mario Odyssey , the biggest Nintendo Switch exclusive game on the horizon. What we’ve seen of Super Mario Odyssey so far has been plenty impressive, but along with more gameplay footage, here’s hoping that Nintendo also gives the highly anticipated game a release date come E3 next w
Speaking of studios that have been missing in action for awhile, Rocksteady’s next major release has likely been in development for two years, but we still don’t have an inkling as to what it could be. There have been rumors that Rocksteady’s next title will be a Superman game or something else involving DC comic heroes, but nothing official has been announced so far. Batman: Arkham Knight launched two years ago, and the small Batman: Arkham VR project released last year, so fans should be able to expect to see something from Rocksteady sooner rather than la
The star of the show is clearly the world of Albion. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, you can see how easy it is to be drawn in. Slightly cartoony visuals make the world so charming you will want to explore every area for fear of missing the smallest detail. It is easy to take the most menial task and turn it into hours of exploration and enjoyment, which also adds to the feeling that your options are limitless. Need to find an item? Why not take some time and search that forest for hidden treasure first. Need some side money? Well, Albion offers plenty of options to make it, from taking a real 9-5 job, becoming a store owner or slum lord, or even looting houses. Depending on your character type and play style, you can find something to do at any time without even delving into a single quest.
