Beyond: Two Souls Review

I know this review is late. Okay, VERY late. But my review of David Cage's most recent game, Beyond: Two Souls, is finally done. My third video review for the site. Hope you guys enjoy the video.

Entertainment media has changed a lot over the years with the line between video games and movies as a means of telling a compelling story is growing thinner and thinner the further we go into the future. Quantic Dream wants to thin the line even more with their games. But is having a cinematic movie experience in a video game truly a way to tackle this or does it end up becoming the lesser of both worlds? Here's our review of Beyond: Two Souls.

Jodie, a girl with a spirit entity attached to her since she was a child. And Aiden, the said spirit entity.

The story is told in a non-linear fashion shown via chapters on a timeline which you see during loading screens between said chapters. While this method of story telling may sound intriguing, it felt as if it was done to make the overall story much more interesting than it actually is.

Because of this, the pacing between chapters can be a bit jarring as events can start from something as intense as a chase segment against the police on a moving train to a very slow segment such as preparing dinner.

Another issue with the story telling is the lack of character development for most of the cast. Characters who you thought were insignificant turn out to be big players in the scenes to follow but with no build up whatsoever.

Controls are simple enough with free walk movement using the left analog stick as opposed to the tank-style controls present in Quantic Dream's previous game, Heavy Rain. Though I sometimes wished that Jodie had a run button. Interaction is done with the right stick when Jodie is close enough to the prompts. The prompts are for the most part very vague in what you are interacting with and how

Controls are simple enough with the left stick for movement and the right stick for interaction. The thing is, Jodie moves at a snail's pace through out most of the game. Awkward turning animations and invisible walls have led to me getting stuck in a few places from time to time. A run button would've been nice. With Aiden being a ghostly figure, the perspective shifts to first person as you float around the environment. You can phase through objects and walls.. But not all walls. Also, the distance from which Aiden can fly away from Jodie varies depending on the stage and situation. So if the game doesn't want you to go there, not even your ghostly powers can make a difference.

Quick time events are done differently here than in most games in a sense that there are no button promts. Instead, time will slow down and you have to push the right stick in the direction that you think Jodie is moving. It's great when it works but is confusing and frustrating when it doesn't.

The game wants you to think that your choices make a difference. While some will change the outcome of a few scenes, they ultimately don't affect the main story. At least not until the last 20% of the game.

Though I did end up enjoying the story, it took way too long to get to that point and I don't see myself playing through this game again.

Beyond: Two Souls - 5/10

The Good:

• Story gets interesting past the halfway point
• Strong endings
• Top notch acting and motion capture

The Bad:

• Unclear interaction icons
• Knowing that Jodie can't die removes the tension from gameplay
• Most choices don't affect the overall story

PlayStation 4 Launch Event Philippines

The PlayStation 4 has officially launched in the Philippines! Celebrated with a 2 day launch event at Glorietta 2 on the 14th and 15th of January 2014 with a bunch of games that you can try out in their open exhibit area.

I missed out on the launch program but got there in time for the first Celebrity Showdown where they were playing Just Dance (one of the newer ones). While everyone was distracted by the dancing of celebrities that I didn't know, I went in and played about everything that was there.

On PS4, I got to try out Knack, and played with some of the AR bots in the Playroom. I also got to try out the PSVita TV. They were running God Eater, Dragon's Crown and Gundam Breaker on the exhibit floor as well as Muramasa Rebirth on the stage. The PSVita TV uses a white Dual-Shock 3 controller and emulates the front touchscreen by clicking down on the right analog stick and pressing either L1 or L2 to simulate tapping.

They also had a few PSVita 2000s on display. I got to try out Tear Away and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z. The PSVita 2000 may have downgraded their screens from OLEDs back to LCD but god damn do those LCDs look good. Everything was very crisp and clear and I did not notice any ghosting while I was playing. It feels great in the hand too. The smaller size and lighter weight is very noticeable and a welcome change compared to the original PSVita models.

I also got to experience the Personal 3D Viewer, Sony's answer to the Oculus Rift. Got to play the PS4 version of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and Killzone: Shadowfall on it. Too bad none of the games that had hooked up to it had 3D support. It was very underwhelming.

Aside from that, they also had 2 PS3s running what I think was Gran Turismo 6 and a few PS4s running NBA 2k14.

We uploaded a ton of photos of the event on our Facebook page so check it out!

Things to look forward to entering 2014

We are now on the final days of 2013. A great year for video games indeed thanks to the amazing games released as well as the debut of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We are entering a new era, but where do we go from here? To be honest, it's hard to tell how 2014 will shape up. how does the next generation lineup look like after March? Will early PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners have games to buy during the 2nd and 3rd quarter of 2014? Or will this be Nintendo's year to get things rolling for the Wii U? So many questions, but here's a couple of things to look forward to once we hit 2014.

Wii U and it's 1st party titles

Let's face it. The Wii U isn't doing so well. Sales for the unit hasn't even hit 1M and the games isn't coming in batches as we hoped for a 1-year-old console. But we can't count the Wii U just yet. I believe this is Nintendo's year to make something happen to their next generation unit. Don't forget, their big first party titles are planned for this year - Super Smash Bros. Wii U, The new Zelda game (Footage yet to be revealed but confirmed to be in development since console launch), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, and Bayonetta 2. But 1st party titles isn't enough to get the Wii U back in the spotlight, but it's definitely a good start to give it a sign of life to those looking for a new console to dabble with.

Third party support, which was widely promoted after the reveal of the Wii U, shows a big decline as it enters its first year. Ubisoft's exclusive title for the Wii U - ZombiU, didn't do well in sales but was considered a good game. But big publishers look at the numbers to consider a sequel and it looks like it won't happen anytime soon. That kind of result makes third party's hesitate in bringing their big games to the Wii U. Solution? Sell more units, build a player base. But of course it's easier said than done. Maybe a name change? The conversation during stores explaining parents the difference between the Wii and the Wii U must be a nightmare for any clerk working in a video game store. So much work needs to be done. Get to it Nintendo.

Titanfall, that is all. 

Is it that great of a game? Well, the folks that have played it have nothing but good things to say about this FPS Mech/soldier multiplayer game. This is also one of the titles trying something different. I'm not talking about the fluid switch from FPS shooter to mech shooter. I'm talking about Respawn Entertainment blending in their single player campaign with their multiplayer component. A very interesting concept and a perfect way to somewhat erase a mode most people ignore with multiplayer shooters nowadays but retain a sense of story and character progression. How will it fair from start to finish? We'll have to see when it hits shelves on March for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. You have never seen Titanfall in action? Just watch the video below will ya?

SteamOS and Steam Machines

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sure got most of the attention this year, but people should remember Valve made a big move by announcing the Steam Machines, Valve's console planned to your already crowded living room. It's just  not just one console being produced by Valve, thus it being called Steam Machines. Various hardware companies will be making different varieties of Valve's console, capable of running their Linux-based Operating System called the SteamOS. The big idea is simply bringing your huge Steam library into your living room to enjoy. With a keyboard and mouse? Well, not really. They also announced a Steam controller that is trying something...different.

A controller without joysticks. Check out the controller in action below. It's built so that games like Civilization V or other games built for keyboard and mouse won't be neglected once Steam hits your living room. It's hard to describe and explain how it would work. But the demonstration shows that the controller is capable of working well with Real-Time Strategy games and First Person Shooter games.

With how it looks, I'm not a fan of the design but you never know, it might be those products that will grow on you the more you use it...or not.

The future of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Great start for Sony and Microsoft's new consoles. In just one day, they were able to surpass the 1 million units sold mark. So what's next? To release as much games as possible in their units. Last thing you want is your new unit being turned on once a month. There are tons of games planned for 2014 like Ubisoft's Watch Dogs and CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Titanfall and Quantum Break for Xbox One, and inFamous: Second Son and The Order: 1886 for the PS4. But  how does the lineup look like during the second half of 2014? It's still unknown what Sony and Microsoft has planned but be sure to tune in E3 2014 because it's going to be an all out war. A new Uncharted was announced exclusive to the PS4 and we still need more information on the next Halo title planned for the Xbox One. If there's one thing I hope to see in 2014, it's newer franchises. 2014 will be just as exciting as 2013, and it just makes me all giddy just thinking about it.

PS3 and Xbox 360 still alive and kicking

Sure, next-gen is now upon us and technically the PS4 and Xbox One is now current generation while the PS3 and Xbox 360 is now previous generation. But don't set aside your prevous consoles just yet. There are a couple of titles to look forward to entering 2014. If you still want to give Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII series a chance, Lightning Returns is out in Japan but  the western version will be hitting stores February 11. Dark Souls 2, the sequel to the tough but amazing action RPG is for PS3 and Xbox 360 and is launching on March 11.

If you can't wait to play Titanfall but can't afford to make the upgrade on your PC or even making the jump to the Xbox One, it is also being released on the Xbox 360 on March 11. There's also Persona 5, which was recently announced by Atlus, exclusive to the PS3 and is planned for release at the end of 2014. The next in the Tales of series was also recently announced - Tales of Zesteria, which is also a PS3 exclusive, planned for a worldwide release in 2014. Oh, and of course, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V planned for release on March 18 on PS3, Xbox 360, and next-gen consoles. All of that, plus all the yearly titles like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed is enough to keep your current consoles active in 2014.

What are you most excited for entering 2014? Sound off in the comments below. And just in case we miss the chance - Happy New Year to everybody! Hope you all have a good one.

New Tales of game announced in Japan: Tales of Zestiria

Namco Bandai has lift the lid on their next Tales of title and it's called Tales of Zestiria for the PS3. No release date was announced but a lot of detail was released during the reveal as well as a trailer.

Following the announcement from Japan, Namco confirms a worldwide release for Tales of Zestiria, marking this title as the first in the series to be released simultaneously for both western and Japan markets. This game will be their 20th anniversary title for the series.

Two characters were revealed during the presentation as well. No confirmation if this serves as two main characters with different perspective similar to Tales of Xillia.

Slay

Alicia

During the reveal, Namco also mentioned the dragon shown at the end of the trailer is a very important part of the game's story, thus having a dragon as the logo. Of course they didn't go into much detail. More details of Tales of Zestiria will be shared in the upcoming issue of Famitsu.

[Source: PS Blog EU, VG247]

15 minutes of Killzone: Shadow Fall gameplay

OPM released a new gameplay video of Killzone: Shadow Fall, a PS4 exclusive showing a section of the game being approached differently. Have a look below.

I've always liked Killzone, and it's no doubt the game looks visually stunning. What's shown in the video isn't really the different ways to play the game, but more like the different paths that will be available to you, encouraging players to explore and think on how it's going to be played out.  A good addition, but nothing groundbreaking. That robot though is pretty neat.

Killzone: Shadow Fall will be available on launch day with the PS4 on November 15 for North America and November 29 for Europe. Jumping in on next-gen on the first day? Or are you going to wait it out to play it safe? Let us know in the comments below.