Canada may get made fun of for a lot of things, but they have given us William Shatner, SCTV and hockey. And this past weekend at their 4th Annual Video Game Awards they got something else right by naming Far Cry 3 the Game of the Year.
Good job Canada, agreeing with us always puts you on the good side again. Check out the full list of winners below.
NetherRealm Studios brought Mortal Kombat back into the mainstream in 2011 with a bloody brawler that controlled like the Kombat of old and added in a fun story and unlockables galore. They threw a lot of people off with their followup, which was not in fact Mortal Kombat 2, but a game featuring characters from the DC Universe using the fighting engine from their MK reboot. Now one could be wary of this seeing as how we have already had to suffer through Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but have no fear, this will not be anything like that.
Here are my five reasons to pick up [amazon_link id=”B0088I7L76″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Injustice: Gods Among Us[/amazon_link].
1. This is NOT Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
The fighting engine in MK vs. DC was tired and had not seen any real change in a long time. That changed with 2011’s Mortal Kombat reboot. Combos felt natural, brutal and moves were easy to pull off. If you lost on higher difficulties it was not for a cheapness factor, it was because you most likely did not strategize your moves well enough against your opponent. After playing the demo for Injustice, it feels these controls are mostly transferred over. Since the DC characters are not having to share the same fighting game as the more brutal MK ones, they do not feel like they have been neutered or made weak to mix well.
2. Downloadable Content
Injustice will come with a Season Pass that will include four new unknown characters to the roster as well as new character skins from the Flashpoint event. If you pre-ordered the game at Gamestop you will receive the Red Son pack that gives you alternate costumes for three characters as well as 20 new missions set within the Red Son alternate reality in which Superman crash landed in Russia and became an agent for that country. Best Buy pre-orders will receive a Blackest Night pack which has undead character skins and a special zombie mode for the game. Now don’t worry where you pre-order your game at because all the DLC packs will be made available at a later date to everyone.
Photo courtesy Xbox.com
3. The Roster
There will be a total of 24 playable characters when you pick up Injustice and that is not including the four extras you will be getting with the Season Pass. The part I love about the roster is that you are getting your well known names that you would expect in a game featuring DC characters: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, Lex Luthor and Bane should surprise no one. Where this game gets it right is the inclusion of heroes and villains that will not be very familiar to fans outside of the comics. Hawkgirl, Black Adam, Ares and Raven are just a few of the names that may have people scratching their heads, but you will get to know them quickly and see how good they can be in a fight. All I ask from NetherRealm is that they make Swamp Thing or Animal Man one of the future characters.
4. Super Moves
Since this is not Mortal Kombat, you won’t be getting any bloody fatalities, but I assure you that once you hit your first super move you will not miss the carnage. For example, Aquaman summons a massive tsunami that lifts his opponent up, he stabs him with his trident and feeds him (or her) up to a great white shark. The Joker will assault you with a crowbar Jason Todd-style, shoot you in the face and then blow you up with a rocket launcher. Yeah, badass right? Then there is Superman’s:
5. Batman
Photo courtesy winterdrake.com
That is all. Batman needs no explanation.
I hope these five reasons have convinced you to, at the very least, give Injustice: Gods Among Us a shot. We will have our review for it up in the future so keep your eyes open.
The May issue of Game Informer has broken HUGE news on the next Batman game.
Batman: Arkham Origins will see Batman in his early days take on eight of the world’s best assassins (including Deathstroke) as they make their way to Gotham on Christmas Eve to try and eliminate Batman.
The game is being developed by WB Montreal, not Rocksteady, so I understand if that gets some fans worried about if this will be as good as Arkham Asylum or City. I think we don’t have too much to worry about. WB Montreal handled the port of Batman: Arkham City on the Wii U which was received well and the creative director, Eric Holmes, was the lead designer on one of the most fun and addictive open world games ever, [amazon_link id=”B0007OSLAA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction[/amazon_link].
This will be the first of the Arkham series that takes Batman out into the city of Gotham. And since it will be on Christmas Eve I am hoping that we can get a Max Shrek cameo or at least a picture of Christopher Walken somewhere in the game. I think all games would do good to have one piece of Walken in them.
The game will be coming to PS3, 360, Wii U and PC. A handheld version called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate will also be releasing for the 3DS and Vita.
Batman: Arkham Origins releases on October 25th. Take a look at the reveal video below thanks to Game Informer.
Naughty Dog has released the second video diary for [amazon_link id=”B007CM0K86″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Last of Us[/amazon_link]. “Wasteland Beautiful” focuses on the creation of the environment in this world where humans are on the verge of extinction. A lot of time is spent on how important the lighting is to convey exactly how hauntingly beautiful this world is that has been reclaimed by Mother Nature.
Naughty Dog is able to draw so much power out of the PS3 it makes me excited for when they finally unveil their first PS4 title. (Uncharted…cough cough.)
We here at Nerd Rating are in love with Bioshock Infinite. We will be doing a dual review for the game like we did for Tomb Raider last month. We are enjoying the game so much that we want one of our lucky readers to be able to get everything out of this amazing work that they possibly can.
“How can you do that!?”, I hear you screaming at your computer screen as people in Starbucks look at you like a mental patient.
It is as simple as answering five questions. Just read the five questions below and message us your answers to either our Facebook page or direct message our Twitter and be entered to win. That’s it!!
Ready? Set? Skyhook!
1. In what year does BioShock Infinite take place?
2. What is the name given to the game’s super-powerlike abilities?
3. Handymen have one weak spot; what is it?
4. Name three characters other than Booker or Elizabeth.
5. What was #4 on our “Five Reasons” to be excited about Bioshock Infinite?
Irrational has released all of the alternate covers for [amazon_link id=”B003O6E6NE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Bioshock Infinite[/amazon_link] that were up for fan vote before the game released. All of the covers can be accessed on the Bioshock Infinite website and have copies available for print for the PS3, 360 and PC versions of the game.
Our dual review for Bioshock Infinite from Trey Sterling and I will be up soon.
It hurts me to watch the Wii U flounder like it has. It is nowhere near as powerful as what will be offered by Microsoft or Sony, but I still have hope that Nintendo can carve their own niche when we finally get some damn games for the system. This E3 will be Nintendo’s biggest test and show if they are really ready to compete.
Shigeru Miyamoto was interviewed by CNN and gave his impressions on how the Wii U’s second screen will eventually become the standard for gaming and a integral part of the living room.
“There was a period when we first released the Nintendo DS that people would say there’s no way people can look at two screens at once. I almost feel like, as people get more familiar with Wii U and these touchscreen interfaces, that there is going to come a point where they feel like ‘I can’t do everything I want to do if I don’t have a second screen.”
“I feel a device like Wii U, with its ability to continue to offer new features and that network connection and the connection to the TV and the interface, really makes it feel that it’s more than just a game machine, but something that offers a lot of practical use and practical purpose in the living room. I look at it as being a very useful device that can do many different things and therefore really seems to be the device that’s ideal to have in the living room.”
“Our immediate objective over the next few months is to improve the Wii U system and make it a little more stable, a little bit more convenient to use from a system standpoint. Miiverse (a sort of social network that lets players interact) is an example of an ongoing project. We really wanted to be able to leverage Miiverse in something like ‘New Super Mario Bros. U.’ We’re obviously still early on in it and just trying things out, but so far, it does feel like the community itself is doing a very good job of being a warm and welcoming place for people.”
How can having a release date (and therefore proving this thing is real) not be the best part of this announcement? Because now Michael Biehn is confirmed to be in the game and hopefully wipe away any memory I have left of the giant shit that Gearbox took on my chest in Aliens: Colonial Marines. I am just considering this DLC, which does not require a copy of Far Cry 3 to play, as an apology for my 60 bucks that was stolen from me.
Thank you, Ubisoft. Bet you never thought you would see me type that, but the thought of Aliens does weird things to me. Check out the official synopsis below.
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is THE Kick-Ass Cyber Shooter taking place on a bizarre open-world island crawling with evil. Welcome to an 80’s VHS vision of the future. The year is 2007 and you are Sargent Rex Colt, a Mark IV Cyber Commando who’s fighting against a cyborg army gone rogue. Your mission: get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world. Experience every cliché of a VHS era vision of a nuclear future, where cyborgs, blood dragons, mutants, and Michael Biehn (Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals) collide. Playing Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon doesn’t require a copy of Far Cry 3.
I missed our “Retro Achievement” launch last week due to an awesome visit from my very kick-ass mom, but this week I’m back with a vengeance and ready to offer up two helpings of vintage gaming goodness.
In case you didn’t see it, last week Hideo Kojima unveiled a video of two men on a horse fleeing from a ghost riding a flaming unicorn. No, Kojima isn’t in charge of Brokeback Mountain 2: Flaming Boogaloo, but was revealing that the much-discussed The Phantom Pain trailer was in fact a teaser for Metal Gear Solid V.
So to honor this latest round of Hideo highjinks, my two-part retro achievement list will center on arguably the most exemplary examples of Kojima-ness from the PS2 era: Zone of the Enders and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Now before I start, I hear a few of you thinking “Wait a damn minute! Both of those games have been featured in HD collections that included actual achievements for them!” I own both of those collections, and rest assured that the “awards” listed below are drawn directly from a basement couch in Alabama circa 2001, as opposed to any recent re-exposure.
Zone of the Enders- Playstation 2
Photo courtesy residentgamers.com
Achievement Unlocked:
*Achievement #1
Ender’s Lame
After reading a sidebar in Official Playstation Magazine’s reveal article for ZoE about Orson Scott Card’s “Ender” books and how they might tie in to the game, take time to read them all before the game’s release. Realize five minutes in that there is absolutely no connection.
*Achievement #2
Cockpit Cock-Up
Field questions from your friends and family about why all the orbital frames appear to have giant wangs – even the obviously female one with boobs and rounded hips. Explain that the pilots sit there, but accidentally use the word “cockpit” and never hear the end of it.
*Achievement #3
Mummy Dearest
At any point in the game, get pinned against the environment by a mummy frame using the halberd, with absolutely no way to fly away or fight back. Die horribly.
*Achievement #4
Nancy Kerrigan
Discover that Jehuty “skates” along the ground when you fly low enough, leaving behind really cool glowing lines. Cease to travel any other way.
*Achievement #5
Anu-Boner
Get to the end of the game and encounter Anubis; immediately decide all other giant robots are inferior. Read online that there are unlockable frames for playing the game more thoroughly!
*Achievement #6
Anu-Blue-Balls
Spend hours beating every difficulty and getting S rankings in the hope that Anubis might be unlockable in either Story or VS mode; Anubis isn’t unlockable. Realize you can’t ever get that time back.
*Achievement #7
Much Ado About…Something
Pay super-close attention to all of the cutscenes and dialogue, as you know Kojima weaves intricate stories. Eventually determine that the entire game is a really elaborate allegory for blind dates (the date being between Leo and ADA, obviously).
*Achievement #8
A Three Hour Tour
Buy the game on launch day and invite your best friend over to play, as you’ve both been super-excited for months now. Very early in the evening, you escape from Anubis and deliver Jehuty to the resistance, ready to continue the fight on Mars. Only, the credits are rolling. Why are the credits already rolling…?
*Achievement #9
BAHRAM Strikes Back
While browsing IGN one night, you blindly stumble across the reveal trailer for ZoE: The 2nd Runner. Even more months of getting pumped up finally pay off when the sequel is everything the first game hinted at but didn’t deliver on.
*Achievement #10
Demo Disc
Eventually you relent and put in the demo disc for MGS 2, and then immediately cease to worry about the contents of ZoE as you pour untold playtime into this tiny taste of Snake’s newest epic tale. Get really, really pumped up for the full release…
Metal Gear Solid 2- Playstation 2
Photo courtesy archive.foolz.us
Achievement Unlocked:
*Achievement #1
A Solid Start
After years of waiting, spend the first hour or so in slack-jawed amazement, leading up to Metal Gear Ray’s unbelievably cool reveal.
*Achievement #2
Sandy Koufax
Watch the biggest curveball in gaming history go sailing past as the incomparable Snake is replaced by a skinny transsexual with Fabio hair for the remainder of the game.
*Achievement #3
My Heart Will Go On
Really, Hideo? Jack and Rose. Jack and mother*#&$ing Rose.
*Achievement #4
For Me To Poop On
Get splattered in the face by bird shit / slip in bird shit and fall. Realize that one of the major additions to the newest Metal Gear game is bird shit.
*Achievement #5
Chubby Checker
Endure a boss fight against a fat man on roller skates while realizing that its design mirrors the Vulcan Raven fight. You know, the one against a giant shaman toting an anti-tank Gatling gun? Except, again, now it’s against a fat man. On roller skates.
*Achievement #6
Rail Against The Machine
In the boss fight against Fortune, realize that her rail gun is the coolest thing in the entire game. Of course, you won’t get to use it until MGS 4 comes out seven years later.
*Achievement #7
Sobbing Ota-controllably
Listen to Otacon tell the story of how his family dissolved. Never feel happiness ever again.
*Achievement #8
Dr. Solidoctopus
Watch Snake break free of handcuffs, sprint and dive into freezing water after Metal Gear Ray, presumably planning on fighting it with his bare hands. Continue to play as Raiden in a final boss fight that involves using a sword to defeat an old man in Doc Ock cosplay.
*Achievement #9
Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol
Discover that this entire operation was actually the cryo-sleep dream of a Ronald Reagan clone hidden inside Mount Rushmore by Colonel Sanders and the Illuminati.
*Achievement #10
Sons of Suckery
While watching the four-hour-long final cinematic, save multiple times in order to do chores, eat dinner, etc. Come to the realization that the finale is so drawn out they inserted save points. Get very, very close to never buying another MGS ever again.
We want to hear from all of you also! What achievements would you add to Zone of the Enders or Metal Gear Solid 2? Leave us a comment below or tweet us your responses on Twitter (@nerdrating) and use the hashtag #RetroAchievement.
It seems that this slow moving Friday has now given me a reason as to why I got up this morning. The first screens for the (supposed) DLC Frar Cry 3: Blood Dragon have surfaced and I feel like this may be the culmination of everything that went right in the 80’s minus all the shitty things that happened in my childhood in the 80’s. I swear to God if there is a pair of sunglasses I have to put on to see what aliens look like, I may just lapse into what the medical community calls the “Piper/Plissken coma”.
