Weekend, What are you playing?

 

First "What are you playing?" post of 2013! Actually it's been awhile now since we last did this, so I decided to bring it back. It's the first weekend of the year and I've been consumed with a strategy game that I just love. 

Quash: Civilization V is currently my game of choice. Thanks for Steam giving a 75% discount on the game's Gods & Kings expansion pack, I instantly got it. I thought at first after making the purchase that I might be just hoarding the game for the sake of getting the 75% off,  but when I ran the game with the expansion for the first time, 5 hours literally passed. It made me realize how I love strategy games. With the expansion installed, the game felt more addicting and quite unpredictable compared to the vanilla version.

It's funny that I was getting all excited that I was the first civilization to establish a religion, or that I'm a couple of turns away from building The Great Pyramid wonder because I really needed that 15% increase in wonder contructions. I got addicted fast. I was exposed to the game way back. When I was a kid, I used to watch my brother and get really curious about the game, when I got a chance to try it, I had a difficulty time progressing through the game. Thankfully when I was a bit older, I gave it another shot come Civilization IV, and I was an instant fan of the series. Civ V is just amazing, but when you compare it to the fourth, well that's for another time.

Arlie: Happy New Year everyone! The Open Beta Test of  the first English version of Ragnarok Online II The Legend of the Second launched last January 3 and I've been squishing Porings since then. It was intended only for players who are based in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam but other countries can play. Unfortunately Philippines and some other countries are IP blocked from this game but using VPN (I use Hotspot Shield) or proxies can be used as a workaround to bypass the IP block. I'm playing in Jormungand Server as a Artisan Archer, and my path is to be a Ranger.

Migoy: Went over to my cousin's place and played a buncha games with him and his 2 brothers. Those games being NBA 2k13 where the 4 of us played as teammates and got beat by the CPU so hard. Can't say that teamwork was a factor since we didn't really have any, lol. We got into the fighting games too. Did the whole Street Fighter x Tekken thing going on, both regular combat and scramble mode. Played a bit of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition with the iCore arcade sticks I bought a while back (which surprisingly still work pretty darn well). And of course we played dat Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 that we love so much.

What about you? What are you playing?

List of games coming out in Q1 2013 - Part 2

Here's PART 2. Just in case you missed it, Click here for PART 1.

Crysis 3 - February 19 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

I say this a lot whenever Crysis 3 is brought up, but this is one game that feels like an extension of the second game rather than an actual sequel. The changes are quite minimal that I can easily say it seems like Crysis 2.5. But it doesn't mean it won't be a great game though. Crysis 2 is still one of the most visually demanding titles out there and the added abilities the suit gives you makes it a fun shooter. The multiplayer from the second game proved it could work with all those nano suit abilities at the players disposal, so I'm curious on the improvements for the competitive side.

Tomb Raider - March 5 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

When I first heard that a reboot of the franchise is underway with a more serious tone, I didn't pay much attention to it. When the first screenshots and gameplay was released, they weren't kidding. This is an origins story that shows players how Lara Croft becomes the iconic badass heroine we all know. The Tomb Raider reboot is different gameplay-wise compared  to past titles, but it's a good change to push the franchise into a more modern feel we are now familiar with when it comes to action adventure.

Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm - March 12 (PC)

The long-awaited expansion for the most successful RTS game out there is finally coming out. The expansion continues were Wings of Liberty left off, and is pretty much the Zerg campaign, where you control the now human Kerrigan and her swarm of Zerg forces as she attempts to get revenge over Arcturus Mengsk. The expansion will have 20 Zerg campaign missions and new units for each race. A lot of changes will also be made for the uber popular multiplayer for balancing purposes. I've played my share of Starcraft 2, and I'm eager to see how the story plays out. Hopefully by the time we are done with Heart of the Swarm, it won't take long for Blizzard to release the third expansion that will include the Protoss campaign.

God of War: Ascension - March 13 (PS3)

You'd think after the events of God of War 3, you will never see another God of War game again. But here we are, yet another God of War. Yes, it is hard to move forward in the story, so they tapped on how it all started. God of War: Ascension is set six months after Kratos was tricked into murdering his wife and child, and 10 years before the events of the first God of War. But with how the game is being marketed, the added multiplayer mode is getting all the love since that's all were seeing really.

Gears of War: Judgement - March 19 (Xbox 360)

I'm sure you've figured that Gears of War: Judgment is a prequel. For the first time, you have Marcus Fenix out of the spotlight. Damon Baird and Augustus Cole are the protagonist and is set 30 days after Emergence Day and follows Baird and Cole who faces trial for stealing secret COG technology. In the multiplayer side, Judgement will introduce two new game modes; OverRun, and Free-for-All.

Bioshock: Infinite - March 26 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

This is THE game I can't wait to get my hands on. So far, everything I've seen about Bioshock: Infinite makes the wait a lot harder. From the amazing floating city of Columbia, the smart interaction between Booker and Elizabeth, and the gameplay that stays true to the Bioshock name. Man, I just want to play it already. This title has felt a good amount of delays. It was planned for a 2012 release, but was pushed back all the way to 2013 for the developers to polish the hell out of this game. This is a single player campaign only, so don't expect any multiplayer to go with the game.

Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel -March 26 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Equipped with the Frostbite 2 engine ( Battlefield 3), a new pair of protagonists, and an overkill feature that lets you destroy everything, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel is turning out to be a coop game that should not be missed if you're looking for a coop game. I've always liked Army of Two. I agree that 40th day was phorrible compared to the first game, but the coop features make it tolerable enough to get a few laughs.

Well there you have it, I think. The first three months of 2013 is pretty packed with big titles. I'm already convinced that I'll be getting DmC, Tomb Raider, and Bioshock: Infinite, but what about you? With all the games listed, what are you excited for?

Or maybe I missed something? If I miss a title worth mentioning, by all means hit the comments.

List of games coming out in Q1 2013 - Part 1

2012 was another great year for gaming. So many great titles were released that it was actually hard to keep up. We had tons of sleeper hits, great triple A titles as usual, and indie games that killed it this year. But don't think the first few months of 2013 will be your time to catch up. Thanks to some games pushed to the first quarter of 2013, we actually have a heavy lineup of anticipated games entering the new year. 

Anarchy Reigns - January 8 (PS3, Xbox 360)

Anarchy Reigns was first released on July 5, 2012 in Japan, and an English released was planned for an October release, but was moved all the way to next year January. Why the huge push? Not too sure, but it's now just a few weeks away until we get an English version of this action beat 'em up.

DmC: Devil May Cry - January 17(PS3, Xbox 360)

Either you hate it or love it, the Devil May Cry reboot is coming on the second week of January. I've tried out the demo released a few weeks back and it surprisingly felt good gameplay-wise. I'm pretty excited now to get the game. Just forget about how they changed the look of Dante, everything made Devil May Cry great is still intact.

Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch -  January 22 ( PS3)

JRPG is a rare breed nowadays. It's sad I know, but it's good to see a title creep up every now and then. Ni No Kuni is another game already released in Japan since November of 2011. With Namco Bandai taking care of the publishing instead of Level -5, a western released was planned for January of 22 2013. Ni No Kuni is about a boy named Oliver who enters a magical world with the help of his fairy doll friend drippy in search for his recently passed mother. The gameplay has a Pokemon feel to it since you send creatures to do most of your fighting. If you're looking at a JRPG to play for next year, keep an eye out on this one.

Dead Space 3 - February 5 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Dead Space, a franchise that pretty much gave life to the horror genre, is now on it's third game, but it seems to be losing it's identity as it moves forward. For Dead Space 3, they introduce a drop-in drop-out feature, which they consider as the highlight for the third game. I have my doubts with this change since it can remove the fear and isolation of the first two games. But what intrigues me is the fact that the story is slightly different if you play the game with a friend. So I'm definitely going to play the game twice to see if there are significant changes.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - February 05 ( PS3, PS Vita)

Sly Cooper: Thieves of Time is actually going to be the fourth game in the franchise. Sly Cooper isn't my strong suit since it's a combination of two genre's that I just hate; Stealth, and platform. But I'm sure you stealth and platform savy fans will fit right at home with this one. New to series are costumes, which when equipped, it provides Sly new abilities that helps you progress. Thieves of Time will also be part of Sony's "cross-buy" promotion, which gives you a free copy of the game for your PS Vita if you purchase the PS3 version.

Aliens: Colonial Marines - February 12 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

This is one title that has been in development for the longest time. First announced in 2008, Aliens: Colonial Marines have went through a rocky road thanks to all the delays, but is finally seeing the light of day. I'm a huge fan of the Aliens franchise (Minus Aliens 4) and I'm still looking for a really good Aliens game. Crossing my fingers that this will be it. The creepy atmosphere  seems to be in check and gives me the impression that Aliens: Colonial Marines will be worth the wait.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - February 19 ( PS3, Xbox 360)

Oh! A Metal Gear Solid game! Well, not really. It may have Raiden as the protagonist, Hideo Kojima supervising the project, and Metal Gear on the title, but Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is completely different with what we are used to in past Metal Gear Solid games. Rising is an action hack and slash game with a strong emphesis that you can slice up anything in the world. It was first developed over at Konami, but wasn't all that impressed with how it was progressing. So, instead of scrapping the project, they passed the game to Platinum Games (Bayonneta) and got a complete make over, all the way down to the title.

Click here for PART 2.

Slender is getting a sequel, first trailer up

Slender: The Eight Pages, the free horror PC game that's considered the scariest game of 2012, is getting a sequel. The first trailer is now out, and it shows a huge visual upgrade. Aside from the improved graphics, Slender: The Arrival seems to have another character to run away from. A guy with a hoodie? Not sure what he's all about, but of course Slender will be back to show up when you least expect it.

The freaky sounds, the feeling of being isolated and alone. Hopefully they retain everything that made the first game a surprise hit.

Slender: The Arrival is planned for an early 2013 release for the PC.

If you haven't tried the first Slender, I dare you. Or make a friend try it and enjoy how he reacts when playing it.

[Source: Kotaku]

Tomb Raider's 'Guide to Survival' video series

Crystal Dynamics is planning a series of developer diary's for Tomb Raider, and the first one, called "Smart Resourceful Lara", is now out. They explain core concepts in the game that lets Lara improve her equipment, learn new abilities, and see key components in the game in order to progress.

Everybody loves an Origins story, especially when it's about one of the most iconic female protagonist in gaming history. Everything shown so far about this game is completely out of what we'd expect from a Tomb Raider game, which is a good thing. This is a reboot after all. It's focus on how Lara Croft becomes the character we all know from past games, it's dark and harsh environment, plus the strong emphasis on survival, makes Crystal Dynamic's next take on the Tomb Raider series one of the most anticipated games for 2013. Well, for me that is.

Tomb Raider is currently planned for a March 5 release for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.