Grave Gamer News & Views — fps

American Exceptionalism, religious dogma, bigotry, parallel universes, iconoclasm, fate, life, death, gigantic Steampunk bird-men…As the credits rolled on Irrational Games’ much belated, much more anticipated Bioshock Infinite, my head was spinning.  The game’s package isn’t slapped with a big, solid M just because the stylized people depicted within often meet gruesome, sky-hooking deaths.  It’s because that’s what Infinite is: mature.  Through and through. 

You’ve likely heard this old diddy, and are likely to have your ears assaulted by the same mantra in years to come, but video games have come a long way.  To put a finer point on it, storytelling in games have come a long way.  Years from now, when pricey college courses banking on the culture that’s sprung up around this booming medium reflect on the metamorphosis of its storytelling from crudely simple to deeply sophisticated, they’ll reference Bioshock Infinite as an example of the ladder.  Hell, it’ll get its own chapter.

Battlefield 4 Screens Hit the Web and They Are a Beaut

Be it land, air, or sea, Battlefield 4 wants to take the series to uncanny new heights.  I’m not a huge supporter of the franchise – yes, I’m terrible at them; thanks for asking – but I do love me those graphics, brought to you by the new Frostbite 3 engine.

While the title is dropping for the Xbox 360 and PS3, it doesn’t take more than a wild glance at these screens to figure we’re looking at either high end PC or perhaps, if I may be so bold, next-gen captures.  An official gameplay trailer drops later on today, so expect this spot to be updated with a link because I likes ya.

UPDATED: No, I don’t know why it’s dirt quality, nor could I imagine how tainted one’s soul must be to mix Rhianna and a military shooter together and still be able to convincingly smile at small children without them erupting into tears, but the point is Battlefield 4 has got itself a trailer!

If thirty seconds of footage is not enough for your eyes to munch on, you glutton, then take solace in the seventeen minute gameplay reveal on the official Battlefield site due for tomorrow.

Is Call of Duty: Ghosts Taking the Franchise Next-Gen?

Of all the places on the internet you could catch a leak, today’s big, ponderous rumor comes from Youtube by way of user Drift0r, a man that busies himself with uploading everything Call of Duty.  Stressing (over and over) his source – supposedly someone close to development at Infinity Ward –  was too legitimate not to quote, Drift0r quickly put together a video that may just out this Fall’s expected but unannounced installment of Activision’s yearly breadwinner.

Calling the game Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’s claimed this new sequel relates to the Modern Warfare universe but branches off on its own.  Though Ghosts’ setting is the future, much like Black Ops II, a major plot device makes it so players have to use archaic – or “modern” – weaponry instead of arsenals augmented with x-ray sights and other attachments twelve-year-old’s use to piss me off online.

Changes to gameplay touched on involve increased mobility including the ability to “slide and shoot” instead of simply diving to prone as well as players being able to peek around corners.  Apparently rolling while prone is also being implemented (I can only envision players rolling around on the ground like they’re being wrapped up in invisible carpets – hilarious to watch and shoot at).

Destructible environments are also being toyed with.  The feature doesn’t sound locked down yet – single-player might see more breakable geometry than multiplayer – but one example given was a killstreak chopper caving in a building after being shot out of the sky.  Loading times, oddly but awesomely enough, are said to be replaced by “mini-games” that have players breaching or repelling onto a map instead of simply watching a countdown before a match.  Modern Warfare’s Spec Ops mode is also seeing the boot, usurped by a “new mode.”

The video’s uploader posits we may see an official announcement of Ghosts on or around May 1st, going on to report that the title might be a next-gen exclusive, gracing the PC, PS4, and “NeXt-Box” and not the current slew of established consoles what with their installed user base of millions (extremely far-fetched and yet…an insidiously great ploy to get people to buy up the new consoles).  That last bit falls in line with rumoring ‘round the net that Infinity Ward was developing an unnamed title on next-gen hardware.

Until we hear otherwise, though, chase the entirety of this rumor down with a helping of salt.  Then swallow the shaker.  Grab pepper.  Repeat.

Destiny Unveiled: Details On Bungie’s “Shared World Shooter”

Bungie has returned from their three-year video game hiatus to show us a project so utterly ambitious, its success could mean changing the console shooter as we know it from here on out.

So, what is Destiny?  Bungie likes to think of it as “mythic science fiction” in a massive, always-online world.  But we’re not allowed to call it an MMOFPS, despite how fitting it sounds.  The ingredients may all be there – gigantic open-world, instantaneous co-op, in-game currency to unlock better gear, the ability to embark on raids…But, no, MMO doesn’t fit the bill according to Bungie.  Despite the need for persistent online-access, publisher Activision promises there’s no subscription fees, and Bungie claims the amount of players you’ll encounter has a controlled cap, shirking MMO standards.  Bungie prefers to call it a “shared world shooter” (think Borderlands on a larger scale).

Players don the role of a Guardian, warriors tasked with protecting the last of human civilization.  Drawing their power from the moon-shaped “Traveler” floating above Earth’s last city, Guardians can evoke class-specific skills to thin the alien onslaught attempting to bloody humanity.  Three such classes were revealed: the Titan, a brute with a focus for guns, big ones; the Hunter, a lithe infiltrator with a knack for sneaking and a sure-shot sniper; and the Warlock, a mage imbued with the Traveler’s decidedly supernatural power.

When touching on the sheer scope of the game, Bungie revealed players will have to think big.  Not only can you traverse amongst the ruins of Earth’s once-great cities – locations like the swamp infested Old Chicago and the “European Dead Zone” – but your exploits encompass the whole of our solar system with customizable spaceships bouncing you from planet to planet (while Bungie hinted at space combat, it was mum on whether or not we’d take control of our vessels).

Each locale offers you the chance to create your own “Legend,” a set of missions that compose a story molded by your actions.  These Legends can be tackled by your lonesome or you can better your chances with Guardians you meet, randomly generated in your session seamlessly and unobtrusively (think Journey with a spot of the ol’ ultra violence).  Bungie made it a point that Destiny’s story isn’t told, but found; players having to actively seek, or even shape, the narrative and lore through discovery and completed Legends.  How that works is anyone’s guess since Bungie was far from clear on the subject.

And that same obscuring, self-perpetuated fog hides the rest of Bungie’s grand effort.  We know to expect Destiny on both current and next-gen technology (PS3, Xbox 360, and whatever’s around the corner) but Bungie is dodgy about when, though they’re sure cross-platform online play is being ruled out.  We get the general premise, and a bunch of conceptual art to boot, but the public hasn’t seen minute one of gameplay footage.  This may only be the first reveal, but it seems the meatiest of details are purposely being withheld.  Though, mission success if it was Bungie’s intention to make me crave more.

The general assumption was that we’d see Destiny release before the year’s out, but with critical information lacking and two of the four consoles it’s intended for still not public knowledge, it appears we’ll be waiting quite awhile yet before we experience this shared world shooter.  From what we’ve seen and heard today, though, it looks worth the wait.

[Check out a detailed assessment of Bungie’s reveal hereabouts.]

Bungie’s Destiny Unveiled This Sunday

The time is soon upon us, folks.  Announced on its newly created Facebook page, February 17th marks our first official reveal of Destiny, Bungie’s first major title since giving up control of the wheel behind the phenomenally successful Halo franchise.

Just an arm’s throw back, we were privy to a sizable leak of story info and concept art that Bungie begrudgingly confirmed as real.  In said lowdown, the basic premise picks up seven-hundred years from now and pits players as “Knights"  bent on protecting the near-extinct remnants of humanity and their "Last City on Earth” against bizarre creatures creeping in from the fringes of the universe.

What we don’t know is just what the hell kind of game Destiny is supposed to be.  Brace for impact: there’s going to be shooting involved.  But ever since the project hit the radar, it’s been hinted we might see Bungie take on multiplayer of the massive variety which, in and of itself, hints at an equally large open world.

MMO/FPS, open world/co-op shooter, Halo-meets-Nancy Drew…Whatever in the fuck it is, it’s an original IP from one of the industry’s best, fan-loyal developers and that’s enough of a reason to be excited.  See you Sunday, folks.