"We're trying not to fall into that trap of, 'Oh we've tried that in the past, it's not going to work'.".
As the first Watch Dogs story expansion nears release, creative director Jonathan Morin and his team are a-buzz with ideas for a sequel. Specifically, the developer would like to do more with the first game's Profiler app, which allowed you to delve into the private lives of NPCs by scanning their digital appliances.
Could the most promising Call of Duty in years prove to be the worst selling?.
We don't usually carry analyst comment on these pages, for much the same reason that my educated guesses about global CO2 emissions rarely make the national news, but I thought this might interest you: according to Cowen and Company analyst Doug Cruetz (via VentureBeat), Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare pre-orders are tracking 50% behind those of Call of Duty: Ghosts at a comparable time in its production and release cycle, and a whopping 80% behind pre-orders for 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Except it isn't. Take note, Capcom.
I'll admit to a certain amount of snobbery over Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within - a game that's like six different horror films from six different countries, clawing their way out of the same bath tub. "Unabashed shlock," I once tootled at it, adjusting an imaginary monocle, and "a greasy, half-digested hummock of horror inspirations, squirting silliness and scares in every direction."
Developer has "a really good idea" about where the franchise will go next.
Dragon Age! It's the game where you can smash a castle's face in with a meteor, then coral the defenders inside a lightning dome when they rush out to complain.
One does not simply walk into any nearby games retailer.
Shadow of Mordor, then. You're probably wondering why we haven't reviewed it yet. The answer is buried deeper than the Balrog of Moria, deeper than any dwarf has ever delved. It is to be found...
Ubisoft reductions and Deal of the Week join forces.
This week's Deal of the Week isn't very exciting, though the offerings are solid - two great if elderly skateboarding games, a pinch of DLC and the flawed but worthwhile Abyss Odyssey. Fortunately, there's a non-Gold-exclusive Ubisoft sale to bulk up the numbers. Have you somehow not bought either Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed 2 or Beyond Good and Evil HD yet? Today could be the day to splurge, then.
Putting the "unfair" in "funfair", perhaps. Or the "air" in "fair". Look, just watch the video.
"What goes up must come down," they say, but that's boring. In Frontier's Xbox One-only fairground "management" sim Screamride, what goes up might go sideways, even further upwards or in several directions at once, depending on how creative you are with the game's architectural systems and terrain deformation.
"Goddammit!" "Motherf**ker!" "Goddammit!".
Does the idea that next gen ports are distinguished solely by a resolution bump inspire a sense of ennui so intense, that the top of your head deflates like a punctured cowpat? Then you might like Volition's approach with Saints Row 4: Re-Elected.
Was ever a foe more swiftly put to flight, good nuncle? AIEEEEEE.
Good morrow, sirrah! By my beard, why dost thou look upon me with such forlorn countenance, as the daffodil doth gaze upon the lawn mower? Can it be that thou art daunted by my ill-shaped trunk and rusty armour? Peace, friend. Though I be'est stuff as Xbox 360 games are made of, yet shall I entertain thee most fulsomely in the melee.
Best not to "throw money at promises that have yet to be proven.".
Ex-Battlefield designer and current eSports coach Tim Kjell has just completed an AMA on Reddit, in which he writes at length about his work at DICE, EA's track record as the internet's favoured bogeyman, the thinking behind Battlefield 3's class changes and much more besides. There's an interesting series of thoughts on Battlefield 4's notorious bugginess at launch, and the likelihood of Battlefield: Hardline enjoying a similarly rough landing.
The Inquisitor's top agents hit the catwalk.
You'll have run into many of these Dragon Age characters before, but seldom have they been presented in such a... melodramatic fashion. Everybody gets a nickname. Dragon Age 2 veteran Cassandra is "The Believer", while Qunari associate Iron Bull is "The Muscle" and sorcerous slaphead Solas is "The Mind". Good day to you, valiant adventurers! I am known as Edwin, "The Muddle".
Glitch reveals entries on map screen.
Aspects of Destiny's forthcoming DLC packs The Dark Below and House of Wolves appear to have been discovered on the disc by an enterprising glitcher. The video in question is below, together with a summary of the details. If you're allergic to spoilers, obviously, you might want to think twice before proceeding past the second paragraph.
And a sweet disc loaded with games for your Xbox 360.
The October issue of Official Xbox Magazine is like an anti matter device, packing more than should be feasibly possible into its pages. Pick it up, if you can, because it is dense with the latest on Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the delightfully insane Sunset Overdrive and other exclusives, plus the best new releases that will take over consoles before the end of the year.
And killing, but that goes without saying.
Which of the following are you most likely to notice in a crowd? (1) A man wearing a bright purple hood, with a morning star glinting at his waist, or (2) A man who isn't wearing a bright purple hood, or armed with a morning star. Because the first chap could be Arno Dorian, gentleman hero of Assassin's Creed: Unity and, as it turns out, a rather dramatic dresser.
Friend and Foe's Vane to release "for the PC and every other platform we can get our hands on".
Exploration, a sense of child-like wonder, challenges that don't involve guns, gore or dismemberment... These are the watchwords of the budding indie game scene on next generation consoles. Well, except for titles like Roundabout, in which you twirl a limousine like a baton.
To say nothing of eye-poppingly gorgeous clothes pegs.
Is your Xbox One looking a bit flabby and under-utilised, like a pedigree lion kept chained to your TV table? This here Definitive Edition port of Sleeping Dogs should have the handsome brute standing to attention. Why, just look at the rays cascading off that cleaver - fat, juicy stripes of photons. It is the Galadriel of cleavers, ladies and gentlemen. I'm a big fan of the apron buttons, too.
Our latest issue is now on sale in the UK.
The November issue of Official Xbox Magazine is so packed with insights about brilliant-seeming games that I worry it may explode in your hands. Seriously. If you see a mushroom cloud rise over the high street later today, it's probably because our enormous Sunset Overdrive, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Tom Clancy's The Division features have reacted together, achieving critical mass.
How the game will change from today to 2015.
Destiny is built for growth, which means it's also built for growing pains. The game has been out for mere weeks, and the bug threads are already as long as a Vex Minotaur's arm. In a blog post, Bungie has outlined how it will nerf, strengthen, tinker or tamper with and otherwise overhaul the game's weapons, missions and auxiliary features over the coming weeks and months.
"It was useful for us to have more CPU juice to help with physics, navigation and AI.".
What with all the frenzy over corruption and misogyny on Twitter lately, it's a relief to get back to something nice and non-controversial, like an Xbox One exclusive's native display resolution. Which exclusive? Why, Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive, of course. According to studio boss Ted Price, the open world extravaganza runs at 30 frames a second in 900p. A fact to which nobody could possibly take offence, I'm sure. Let's all continue to sit calmly like there are more important things to worry about.
"It's a game that you always feel you can come back to.".
Forza Horizon 2 isn't tuned merely for a short, glorious burst of acceleration - developer Playground Games is in it for the long haul. Speaking to OXM this summer, creative director Ralph Fulton talked up the game's post-story-completion content and promised "incredible" DLC support after launch, hinting at creative uses for Xbox One's networking features.
