Added: 20.02.2014 18:00 | 4 views | 0 comments

Competitive shooters live and die by the layout of their environments. If a game's maps don't encourage exciting battles between players, all the flashy guns and sound effects in the world don't stand a chance of saving it. Therein lies the challenge for the team behind Titanfall: how do you build maps that work for wall-running pilots, towering robots, and all the asymmetrical conflicts that arise between the two? In our latest installment of The Next Big Game, Respawn Entertainment sheds some light on that design process.

"If you have a mechanic like wall-running, you need the player to psychologically feel like they can go there," says lead designer Justin Hendry. "So there's this fine balance with the way we design the surfaces and height of buildings."

"The first thing I do as a player, knowing the game the way I do now, is look at my options for wall-running, or how I'm going to ambush a titan." Hendry continues. "We worked really hard on all the textures and geometry to really encourage that kind of thinking."

Of course, Titanfall's parkour abilities are going to feel very strange to a large segment of players, but Respawn is confident that it's only a matter of time before everyone figures out how to navigate its spacious maps.

"You have to realize there's now another dimension," says studio co-founder Vince Zampella. "You can jump up and get to places you couldn't before in other games. I think it takes people a little while to snap into that. Some people get it really quick, some people take an hour or two before they're really comfortable with it and say, oh, yeah, I can jump up into that window."

But there's more to Titanfall's map design than buildings and doorways. Without a traditional single-player campaign, Respawn wanted to tell the story of its world through environmental narrative.

"What we worked towards was to make sure the levels had a real hardcore identity and fiction behind them," says Hendry. "The concept was to build a relatable environment for players since we're asking so much of them to learn these new mechanics. Give them an environment they can understand, but always feeling used and lived in--not pristine and clean."

Hit play on the video above to find out even more about the philosophies behind Titanfall's map design.

Added: 24.10.2013 14:17 | 11 views | 0 comments


GS:Bionic Dues takes place on the eve of a robot invasion, and everywhere signs suggest that the fault for their ascendency lies with us. This is a cruelly mechanical world devoid of natural comforts, from the city map that resembles a circuit board to the cold interface that envelops the entire experience. Aside from some illustrated avatars for mech pilots, it's not clear where the lines between humanity and robotica stand. Therein may lie some of the reason for Arcen's oddball title for this new roguelike, which manages to entertain and challenge despite its underwhelming presentation.

Added: 13.07.2013 14:16 | 14 views | 0 comments


Sumthing.com writes: Therein lies my folly, of course. First of all, the key to most fighting games is, of course, mastering each punch, kick, and special move and putting them together. My fanciful brain couldn't parse what I was supposed to do, though. I wanted to shoot fireballs and generate lightning and perform panty-revealing upside-down spin kicks all the livelong day. Second, I didn't actually know how to do anything. The machine didnt have full move lists printed on its panels, and other players kicked my ass while I more or less fumbled with the joystick like I was wrestling an anaconda and flogged the buttons frantically. It was only on the occasion that no one was around, and I could play the single-player mode on the easiest difficulty, that I could last for a handful of bouts.

Added: 13.06.2013 3:17 | 10 views | 0 comments


IGN: "Thereve been a handful of mornings over the past few years where Tetsuya Nomura, creator of the Kingdom Hearts series and director of Final Fantasy XV, woke up to some pretty interesting news. It turns out, these were the mornings where he awoke to hear word that Disney had purchased another in a litany of interesting companies. From Pixar and Marvel Entertainment, to Lucasfilm and 2014s possible acquisition of Studio Ghibli, Disney has been quickly evolving into an entertainment Goliath."

Added: 21.05.2013 22:18 | 12 views | 0 comments


Rami Ismail // Vlambeer writes: LUFTRAUSERS is a short game. To be precise, it takes about thirty seconds. Were not talking in terms of hours you need to complete the campaign, although you technically could beat it within two minutes. Were not even talking about how many hours youll be playing the game in total. What were talking about is the amount of time a single round of LUFTRAUSERS is going to take you. When you boot the game for the first time on your PlayStation 3 or PS Vita, youll see the logos of Vlambeer and Devolver Digital as youd expect. Therell be a short introductory cutscene, as a lone dot appears on enemy radar. A submarine rises from the water.

Added: 21.05.2013 11:11 | 7 views | 0 comments

"I just want the next Xbox to be a great gaming machine," says former Microsoft Games Studios creative director.

Games industry legend Peter Molyneux has said that Microsoft's imminent debut of its next Xbox won't be "nearly as exciting" as when the publisher unveiled the Xbox 360 back in May 2005.

Added: 25.04.2013 17:41 | 11 views | 0 comments

Theresa has decided to dress up like a warcraft bride for her wedding. She wants you to choose cute wedding dresses, for the occasion. Select bright and beautiful color dresses so that she looks beautiful.

Added: 20.04.2013 21:19 | 14 views | 0 comments


The biggest event in the club football calendar, the UEFA Champions League Final, is just over one month away and its happening in London! To mark its arrival, a free four day event, The UEFA Champions Festival, will be hosted from 23rd to 26th May at The International Quarter, close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Therell be loads of fun, interactive, family-friendly activities taking place there. And guess what. Well be there too! To celebrate our sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and our involvement in this amazing event, weve created our own space down there the PlayStation Stadium. Youll be able to play some of our best games out at the moment and also get your hands on some upcoming new titles. Test your dexterity on Sports Champions 2, experience the magical theatre of Puppeteer, thieve through time with Sly Cooper and even be among the first to enter the amazing paper world of Tearaway.

Added: 20.04.2013 20:18 | 155 views | 0 comments


The biggest event in the club football calendar, the UEFA Champions League Final, is just over one month away and its happening in London! To mark its arrival, a free four day event, The UEFA Champions Festival, will be hosted from 23rd to 26th May at The International Quarter, close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Therell be loads of fun, interactive, family-friendly activities taking place there. And guess what. Well be there too! To celebrate our sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and our involvement in this amazing event, weve created our own space down there the PlayStation Stadium. Youll be able to play some of our best games out at the moment and also get your hands on some upcoming new titles. Test your dexterity on Sports Champions 2, experience the magical theatre of Puppeteer, thieve through time with Sly Cooper and even be among the first to enter the amazing paper world of Tearaway.