Microsoft kicked off the annual E3 Expo yesterday with a bang. The first announcement was a brand new Xbox Controller for elite gamers. In addition to that, the company announced that hundreds of older Xbox 360 games will now be compatible with the newer Xbox One console. But this was just a warm-up. Microsoft then introduced the Minecraft HoloLens demo.
The HoloLens, which was showcased earlier this year, is a one of a kind wearable that brings science fiction into reality. It is a mere headset which when connected with any PC running Windows 10 will merge and blur the lines between the digital and the physical. At the E3 conference, Michael Saxs Persson of Microsoft Studios came on stage with the HoloLens in hand to demonstrate an all-new version of Minecraft. The video also clarified the growing rumours about the company’s Minecraft acquisition worth $2.5 billion. With this, Microsoft has shown its hard work to twist the conventional approach of playing games.
The Minecraft HoloLens demo shows a huge holographic photo running on a plane surface in 3D mode. Users can play Minecraft right on your wall and can also transfer it to another surface. You can control the world through voice input and hand gestures. Also, you can zoom in and zoom out, using your voice. The demo also revealed that the game is aware of your eye movements.
A big plus while playing with HoloLens is that another user can play along with a surface, without the HoloLens on.
After a delay of four long years, Sony finally showcased the ‘The Last Guardian’ at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) last night. The company opened its 2-hour long keynote with the disclosure of The Last Guardian trailer, after which new gaming franchises followed.
The making of the adventure sequel commenced in 2007 and was initially planned to release in 2011. But as the game’s Director Ueda left the project, it had to be stopped in the middle. Thankfully, Sony ensured that the sequel was compiled.
Shifting our focus back to the trailer, The Last Guardian showed a strong friendship between the boy and his mammoth animal mate, Trico. The plot is set in ancient times depicting disintegrated architecture. The giant creature is obedient and helps the boy get through his journey. The detailed 7-minute long trailer showcases incredible animations that are sure to gather a huge following. It’s going to see a release sometime in 2016 for PlayStation 4.
More games are expected to arrive at the ongoing E3 2015 at Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more updates.
At the ongoing E3 2015 at Los Angeles, Microsoft has announced a ton of goodies for its fans. The company announced hundreds of older Xbox 360 games that will also be compatible with the newer Xbox One console. As a cherry on the cake, Microsoft revealed a new Xbox controller, and it is definitely a beast in its own terms.
Described as the ‘Elite Controller for Elite gamers’, the new Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller has been added with many new features. The analog sticks and directional pad can be swapped out with different grips — concave, convex, textured, or whichever accessory creators come up with.
There are spots on the bottom for paddles, mostly for hardcore racing gamers, and every button can be remapped and reset using a companion smartphone app that will be released for Xbox One and Windows 10. You can even control the sensitivity level of the triggers on the back and analog sticks. The new hair trigger locks for the analog triggers are designed for shooters. It looks like a polished variant of the original controller, with a layer of customisability added to it.
The Elite Wireless Controller comes out in October and is priced at $150 (Rs 9,623 approx.)
Today, the annual video game conference, the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) kicked off at Los Angeles where viewers were allowed to have a sneak peek of upcoming A-Class video games. Among the many trailers shown today was Beatbuddy. Game developer, THREAKS, announced that Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians will be coming to three consoles in the coming months: WiiU, Xbox One and the new NVIDIA Shield Android console, which released in the US a couple of weeks ago.
The game will take place across six diverse worlds where you control the little blob as he navigates through the colorful madness. It is like a rhythmic puzzle. The game was initially launched on Steam and iOS for Windows, Mac, iPad and iPhone and sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide. Beatbuddy combines puzzle solving and defeating the enemy by exploring different areas. The game won the Best Youth Game Awards in 2014.
The soundtrack of the game is composed by some of the big names in the music industry such as Austin Wintory, Parov Stelar, Sabre Pulse and the La Rochelle Band. The game is available only on SHEILD devices through the Google Playstore for $5.99 (Rs 361.61). But we will have to wait for the Android console to hit the Indian markets.
You can check out the trailer below. It strongly reminds us of Rayman; what do you guys think?
The E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) has revived the gaming mania, and it is going to soar manifold on its onset. The annual video game conference and show kicks off on June 16, Tuesday, at Los Angeles Convention Centre, and it will allow a sneak peek at haunting animations, mean machines and hulking characters. Many famed developers will mark their presence at the event, bringing a slew of AAA games. Some of the games to draw the spotlight this week are the sequels of the old favourites, in addition to some new titles.
Here’s are some of the biggest games to arrive at E3 this year:
Star Wars Battlefront
Based on Star Wars films, the game is one of the long-awaited titles to release this year. Started in 2004 by developers Pandemic Studios, the franchise was taken over by Electronic Arts DICE. The teaser video released by EA shows a first-person view of the Battle of Hoth and features four planets – Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, and Sullust. Featuring first and third-person gameplay perspectives, the game is slated to launch later this year.
Fallout 4
Developed and published under Bethesda banner, Fallout 4 was introduced ahead of E3 in a press conference organised by Bethesda Softworks. Fallout 4 has a backdrop of approximately 200 years after a war that ends up in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The setting is a post-apocalyptic desert, known as Commonwealth. The player character takes shelter on Vault 111, just to mysteriously awaken 200 years later without aging a single day. The Fallout sequel is confirmed to release on November 10 with a version for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
Here’s the Fallout 4 gameplay trailer released in E3 2015:
https://youtu.be/OzV1GlDDlv8
Halo 5: Guardians
Microsoft is ready to showcase its massively popular instalment Halo 5: Guardians in Halo series. Scheduled to release on October 27 exclusively for Xbox One, we are expecting even more alluring visuals from this sequel, which 343 Industries has maintained from the past four series. The follow-up will see Master Chief being hunted by UNSC and solving a mystery that threatens the entire galaxy.
Watch the Halo 5: Guardians trailer here:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
One of the biggest jewels in Activision’s games portfolio is the Call of Duty franchise. The incredibly thrilling operations of the intense spy adventure sends chills down the spine. In the third part, you play as a member of a prototype Black Ops unit that has cybernetic enhancements with mission briefings of a missing CIA team in Singapore, set 35 years later in 2060. The forthcoming title Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a game taking leap into the future with new characters, landscapes, and weaponry, which can be customized as a player progresses. The major alteration with Black Ops 3 is the multi-player mode where players can share information about threats during the game.
Have a look at its trailer below:
https://youtu.be/58Pspqx0XGs
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
As the number symbolises, ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ is the fourth and final instalment in the Uncharted franchise. The third-person action-adventure shooter developed by Naughty Dog for PlayStation 4 and published by Sony is set to release early next year. For the first time, vehicles will be playable and the protagonist Nathan Drake will be riding a bike in the upcoming sequel.
The game is set several years post Nathan’s last adventure. He is forced back into the world of thieves. For his loved ones on stake, Drake embarks on a journey across the globe in quest of a historical conspiracy behind a pirate treasure. The gameplay demo is tantalizing, truly. Have a look at it below:
A few posts back, we mentioned that Batman: Arkham Knight is one of the most awaited games of 2015. The game first released trailers back in the last months on 2014, which included the much talked-about Batmobile. The last scene of the previous instalment, Batman: Arkham City showed Batman fending off the Scarecrow, who has united Batman’s deadliest foes, namely Poison Ivy, The Penguin, the Riddler, Harley Quinn and Firefly, to kill the Bat. Yes, it almost sounds like Batman Vs The Suicide Squad.
Scarerow may be the main antigonist in the gameplay.
Rocksteady Studios decided to rebrand the ‘first look’ of the game by roping in celebrities and showed their first reactions of the game in their YouTube video. The celebrities are Neil Patrick Harris, Wiz Khalifa, Blake Anderson, Minka Kelly, Kumail Nanjiani, Breckin Meyer, Joe Manganiello, iJustine, Troy Baker and Kevin Conroy. You can watch their reaction below.
As much as we could see in the video, the game features a distinct visual appearance and a full range of high-tech onboard gadgetry. Perhaps, the highlight of the game would be, of course, the Batmobile, the most iconic vehicle in comic history. The Batmobile is designed to be fully drivable throughout the game and is capable of transforming into different modes, from high-speed pursuit mode to military grade battle mode. This vehicle sits at the core of the game and allows players to tear down the streets at unmatched speeds while in pursuit of Gotham’s most formidable villains. This iconic vehicle also expands Batman’s abilities, from navigation and forensics to combat and puzzle solving.
The game is slated to be released on 23rd June 2015. For now, the game would be available only on PlayStation 4 on pre-order. We can’t wait to get our hands on this, can you?
Payday is a cooperative first shooter game developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 Games. This game launched its second edition, namely, Payday 2 Crimewave Edition, for PS4 and Xbox One today.
The game consists of a variety of ‘heists’ that can be carried out by the player, either by choosing AI allies or as a part of a multiplayer game. Heists include robbing banks, rigging an election or drug trafficking. This game mostly emphasises on stealth, from which you can earn bonus points and money on completion.
In PayDay2, you get to pull heists and robbery at a whole new level. New contacts include The Dentist (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad) and the Butcher (voiced by Mira Furlon of Lost and Babylon 5 fame). Additional jobs and multi-stage contracts are included with an enormous variety of new weapons like shotguns, sniper rifles and grenade launchers.
The new edition is loaded with DLC packs and content updates like the Big Bank Heist, which is worth for over a year. You can also play as ‘Clover’, the first female heister. Overall, the game is promised with improved frame rate, better texture and 1080p resolution.
The new game also brings in new characters, more masks and a whole new level of customization. The game will be available on all leading retail and e-commerce stores and is priced at Rs 3,499. A perfect game for all players who are looking forward to pulling off their dream crime spree.
Over the past 30 years, video games have become an integral part of our lives and culture. Video game companies have become multi-millionaire giants. The gaming industry has grown to a gigantic extent. Today we see not only see teenagers spending a great deal of time on gaming, but also adults too are immersed in this new culture.
The first recorded game was invented in 1947. A ‘Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device’ was patented by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann on 25th January that year. This device consisted of an analog device that allowed users to control a dot on the screen to guide the missile to targets drawn to the screen. This device opened the gateway to the evolution of Video games.
Let us look at how Gaming Graphics have evolved with time, below:
Text Based Games
Guilded Youth
The earliest games were all text based and used texts instead of bitmap or vector graphics. These games were easy to program and required minimum power, unlike graphic games. These types of games were very popular during the 1970-1990 period. The most popular was Multi-User Dungeons. Here, players read the description of rooms, objects, other players and actions performed in the virtual world. Interaction meant typing commands with each other that resemble a natural language.
Vector Graphic Games
Project Morpheus
These games used points, lines and curves to represent images in computer graphics. So, instead of drawing images as pixels, vector graphic display used electronic beams to draw the images. Most of the earlier arcade games used this graphic. Many games gave very detailed static items in full-colour layouts, while moving objects were drawn using a vector beam.
Companies like Atari and Sega used this type of graphic for their games. Some of the games that are based on Vector Graphics are Space Wars, Star Trek, Space Fury, etc.
Full Motion Video Games
Jurassic Park: The Game
This type of graphics required programmers to upload pre-recorded video files to display action in the game. In today’s time, Full Motion Videos are used to present information during cut scenes. This type of graphic makes the game look ‘more movie like’. Games that are based on Full Motion Video are also known as interactive movies. Some games based on this are Jurassic Park: The Game, The Walking Dead (series), Game Of Thrones, etc.
2D Games
2D games are two dimensioned games. This graphic allows users to create a vast game world without any hassle as compared to 3D games. 2D games are broadly divided into three categories:
Top-Down Perspective
Grand Theft Auto
More commonly known as the Bird-view, this perspective uses a camera angle that shows the players and the corresponding area from above. Most of our childhood games were played in this particular viewpoint. Some of the famous games included in this list are SimCity, GTA, Pokemon, Railroad Tycoon, etc.
Side Scroll Perspective
Heroes of Rock
Here, the view is sideways where the playable character moves from left to right generally. This type of graphics uses scrolling computer display technology. Sometimes, the screen moves only towards the left or right, and in some games, the screen moves in both ways according to the position of the character. In some games, the screen continuously keeps on moving in one direction, while the character attempts to avoid obstacles and collect things along with catching up with the screen. Some examples would be Duke Nukem, Aladdin, Lion King, etc.
2.5D or ¾ Perspective or Pseudo 3D
IMO Sonic 4
As the name suggests, these terms are used to describe techniques that are used to create fake 3D graphics. These techniques are used to create an illusion of 3D without actually creating it. Some games have the character and environment rendered in 3D, but most of its levels are not as free-roaming as a real 3D platform. It means that the character only moves in two dimensions, either up and down or left and right.
3D Games
3D graphics are graphics that use three dimensions of the geometric data. After the invention of 3D accelerated graphics units (NVIDIA, etc.), video games expanded, way above the level of 2D. 3D games are divided into three categories:
Fixed 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Here, while the game characters are rendered in 3D and in real time, the foreground remains static. The background tends to stay in 2D. Many of the early 3D games were based on these type of graphics. Examples are Alone in the Dark series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, etc.
First Person Perspective
Halo
This refers to the perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. These games are avatar based, where the controlling player would see the gaming environment as through the avatar’s own eyes. This kind of graphics applies in most shooting and racing games. Some examples would be Counter-Strike, Halo (series), Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc.
Third Person Perspective
Lost: Via Domus
This refers to a type of graphical perspective that is rendered a distance away from the playable character. This allows the player to see the full body of the character and is the most common type of graphic used in action and adventure games. One of the few difficulties related to the graphic is the awkward jerking of the camera when the character stands against a wall. The three types of camera view in this graphic are:
Fixed Camera System
Resident Evil
The camera positions are fixed during the creation of the game.
Tracking Camera System
Max Payne
The camera only follows the character.
Interactive Camera System
Resident Evil
The cameras are under the command of the user, that is; it can be adjusted according to the need of the controlling player.
Some famous examples of Third Person Perspective games would be Batman (series), Max Payne (series), Assassin’s Creed (series), etc.
2014 is now a faded memory. But as we drive down the road, there is plenty to look forward to in 2015. Here are five reasons why 2015 could be the greatest year in gaming history.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight is possibly one of the most awaited games of 2015. It is slated to be released on 23rd June 2015. Here, the Scarecrow returns along with a roster of super villains, including Penguin, TwoFace and Harley Quinn to destroy the Batman. The highlight of the whole game is that you can finally access the Batmobile to tear through the streets of Gotham.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
A few days back, Microsoft released a cinematic trailer of its highly anticipated game, Rise of the Tomb Raider. This game is listed to be released on June 15th at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. The trailer shows Lara Croft traveling through a blizzard while narrating the willingness to risk your life to discover greatness. You can check out the whole trailer below.
Halo 5: Guardian
This is an upcoming Halo game announced during Microsoft’s E3 presentation in 2013. Halo 3 follows the story of John-117 and the is the sequel to Halo 4. It is all scheduled to be released on 27th October this year.
Tom Clancy’s the Division
Ubisoft announced they would be releasing Tom Clancy’s The Division at E3 2015. The game focuses a lot on how vulnerable the US have become in a futuristic era as the society has become more complex. A disease causes the US to collapse in five days, leading to the non-availability of primary amenities, in turn leading to chaos. Check out the trailer below.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The amnesiac Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is on a hunt to recover his forgotten memories driving him to seek out the Wild Hunt, a spectral procession of ghosts. As a witcher, you have skills, not unlike a medieval Jedi Knight. You can force push attackers to the ground, mind trick villagers to gain knowledge about a quest, and swing a sword like a pro sword master. It is all set to be released on 19th May this year.
Know any games we missed out on? Leave a comment below and let us know.
We all have played a fair deal of classic games like Solitaire, Minesweeper and Hearts since the existence of Windows. As for Windows 10, these games will automatically be installed in the system. In addition to these, Microsoft is also tagging partners along to bring in their contribution of games to the new OS. The latest to join the Microsoft wagon is King’s widely popular sugar-filled game, Candy Crush.
According to Windows Blog, Candy Crush Saga will come automatically for customers that download or upgrade to Windows 10 during the launch. This version includes cross-play with iOS and Android devices.
It will quite be an unique experience playing Candy Crush on Windows 10’s smooth OS. King Digital Entertainment turned quite some heels when the game was first released for Facebook in 2012 and made its way to iOS, Android and Windows devices in the same year.
Back in March, Microsoft announced the release of the highly-anticipated Windows 10. The company said that the latest OS would come this summer in over 190 countries and 111 languages. As stated by TechCrunch, Windows 10 will release at the end of July. It is a free upgrade as long as customers claim this offer in the first year of the OS in the market.
For information on the unique features of Windows 10, click here.
Nintendo, as we all know, is the world’s largest video game company that has produced several famous titles. Super Mario World, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda were a part of everyone’s childhood if they were born in the 90s. The good news is that the company is back, and will soon be releasing five smartphone games by March 2017.
On March, Nintendo joined hands with DeNA, a Japanese company that makes free games for mobile phones. The two companies intend to make new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which will be developed specifically for smartphones. Nintendo and DeNA also agreed to develop cross-platform service that will run on smartphones, tablets, PCs and Nintendo’s own devices. Satoru Iwata said that a new line of games would be developed for the smartphones instead of porting existing titles.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Satoru Iwata” author_title=”CEO of Nintendo Co., Ltd”]
Regarding the number of the titles, you may want to know that we will release approximately five titles by the end of the next fiscal year, which is the end of March 2017. You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases thoroughly, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.
[/quote]
Nintendo will continue to make new games in future, and is working on a new console with codename ‘NX’. Iwata stated that the company is eyeing on smartphone gaming to generate a good amount of revenue. Seems like Nintendo will bring down the rain with these five new releases.
Jason Voorhees is one of the scariest characters that have been created. Though fictional, the chief antagonist of Friday the 13th has undoubtedly raised eyebrows with his mass murder spree series of films. Now, imagine playing with him against a group of equally proficient fighters. That’s right, Mortal Kombat X now has Jason Voorhees as a playable character, with his set of combat moves and fatalities. The character unveiled before Jason is the Predator, a well known fictional character from the Alien Vs Predator franchise.
Jason was inducted as a character on May 5th if you have purchased the Kombat pack for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. Most of Jason’s moves include a standard line of attacks and if executed correctly, a clothesline. One important skill of this character is that it can become unstoppable, which means nothing would be able to escape his special moves.
In addition to Jason, the pack also includes characters like Vampiress Mileena, Kraken Reptile, and Pharaoh Ermac horror-themed skins. For players who have not purchased the package, Jason Voorhees will be available from May 12th for $7.99. Today is also the official release of the game on Android devices.
Each month, Sony releases a bunch of free goodies for its Playstation Plus users. This month is no exception. Sony will be releasing five new games for the month of May, four games for PlayStation Vita and three for PlayStation 3.
Some of the games that were up for free download in April were Aaru’s Awakening (PS 4, PS3, PS Vita), Towers Of Guns (PS 4, PS3), Never Alone (PS4), Dishonoured (PS 3), Killzone Mercenary and Monsterbag (both PS Vita).
For this month’s edition, there is Ether One (PS4), Guacamelee Super Championship Turbo Edition (PS4), Race the Sun (PS4, PS3, PS Vita), Hohokum (PS4, PS3, PS Vita), The Unfinished Swan (PS 4, PS3, PS Vita) and Murasaki Baby (PS Vita).
The game details are as follows:
Ether One:
It is a first person puzzle thriller where you have to solve complex puzzles in order to restore the minds of mentally ill patients and to put back the fragments of the person’s deranged lives.
The Unfinished Swan:
With an astounding art style and thought-provoking gameplay, the game is filled with unexpected twists and turns. It is about a boy named Monroe who has to chase a swan that has escaped through a painting. This game includes various tricking landscapes.
Race The Sun:
It is a minimalist racing game where the setting sun is your timer. Race before the sun dwells down the horizon. It is a race against time!
Hohokum:
It is a game where you play a kite-like creature and explore your surroundings. Basically, a game like the GTA franchise, except that it’s more colourful and gives a happier vibe.
Murasaki Baby:
A negatively created puzzle game where players have to guide a baby through the nightmarish landscape in search of a home.
Who would have thought that Twitter, one of the world’s largest social networking site, would now allow its users to play old MS-DOS games within its app? Now, thanks to the feature that allows you to embed various forms of media into tweets, it is possible to share old DOS-format games.
Well, we can now embed playable Internet Archive games into tweets, so: https://t.co/sMZwcB5nAN
For now, the Internet Archive’s library is offering a good amount of games such as Metal Gear, Prince of Persia, Wolfenstein 3D; that can be shared and played within tweets. All you need to do is click on the game, copy the link, paste it in the tweet compose field and press send.
The games can also be embedded within the Wordpress platform. Try playing Aladdin below:
Most of these games can be played otherwise, but you may face problems while playing these because programs like DOSBox are not compatible with modern machines. If you wish you spend hours on these nostalgic games, make sure to play it on full screen mode. This helps in dealing with the pixel problem. Happy gaming!
After showing off the teaser a few weeks ago, Activision has now revealed few more crucial details of one of the biggest first-person shooting franchises of all times, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. The company announced the official trailer of Black Ops 3 which shows the game taking a leap into the future. The third installment seems to dig deep into the military science-fiction. Check out the trailer below:
The new game aims to hold its franchise fans spellbound. The creators of the game have developed new characters, landscapes, and weaponry, which can be customized as players progress. The modes introduced in the latest game are – Zombie, Campaign, and MP.
Another big alteration coming with Black Ops 3 is the multi-player mode. Developers have raised the stakes in the single-player campaign, turning it to an optional one-player to four-player co-op game. In this mode, players can share information about threats during gaming. As the game has been designed keeping four players in mind, playing in single-player mode may prove difficult.
While the first Black Ops was set in 1960 and the second part in 2025, this edition is set 35 years later in 2060. In the third part, you play as a member of a prototype Black Ops unit that has cybernetic enhancements with mission briefings of a missing CIA team in Singapore.
Treyarch’s popular military shooter saga is due to release on November 6 this year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Its release date in India isn’t specified yet.
