Pick 5: Games that could join the PS4 reveal

The big meeting from Sony is tomorrow and everybody (including me)suspects this is will be a console reveal. For a few minutes, let's just all assume that yes, this is indeed the Playstation 4. Great specs, amazing features, but  the important question is - What games will be available in the future? This I believe is crucial for Sony since there has to be games that we can't wait to play on the new console, and with their horrible presentation with the PS3 reveal, I'm sure they have been waiting for the chance to redeem themselves. Here are possible candidates that might just join the reveal.

Killzone 4

Sony has been trying long and hard in making Killzone the go-to FPS game for PS3 owners and I don't see them stopping anytime soon. FPS is still one of the most famous genre's, so their exclusive FPS franchise should definitely make an appearance to satisfy the shooter-crazed fans. Just please Sony, no more "use the Sixaxis to turn on the valve" gimmicks, please.

Naughty Dog game reveal - Uncharted, Jak and Daxter, maybe Crash Bandicoot?

Okay, maybe Crash Bandicoot was a bit too much, but one can only hope right?

Naughty Dog; Makers of the Uncharted series, Jak and Daxter series, and currently working on their new game The Last of Us, might just make a game reveal during the meeting. They have become an important part of PlayStation's exclusive title line-up thanks to the success of the many titles in the PS3. It might be a sequel to their old franchises, maybe even another new IP is planned, but I'm positive Sony has asked Naughty Dog to start working on something big.

The Last Guardian

Ah, a game that has been in development for how many years now? The latest entry from Team Ico (Shadow of Colossus, Ico) has been in development limbo for most of the PS3 's lifespan. With a new console now entering the market, it doesn't make much sense anymore for it to hit the PS3. My guess is - They stopped any development news and updates to upgrade the game to next-gen. Let's just all hope that if it does hit the PS4, it actually gets released once and for all.

Another new game from Quantic Dream 

Yes, I know Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain) is currently working on Beyond: Two Souls, but David Cage talked to Game Industry saying that there are three more games planned after Beyond and is already in development. My bet is that one of those games will be used as a tech demo for the PS4, then later revealed as a full title exclusive to the new console. David Cage always talks about innovation, and the power of story-telling in video games, so it's a perfect opportunity to showcase something during this week's meeting.

LittleBigPlanet

Every console has their "cool" features. PS3 had the sixaxis, and later got the PlayStation Move. The next console will be no exception. LittleBigPlanet as a franchise has been a success for Sony, and with it being appealing to all ages, a new LittleBigPlanet game would be an ideal place to showcase the new features of the console, be it motion control or touch screen features. And to be honest, I think Sackboy is a perfect mascot for PlayStation.

There are still a lot of possible candidates to join the reveal like a new Gran Turismo, or a ne Infamous game, but what about you? What would you like to see get revealed alongside next PlayStation console?

The big 2013 Sony meeting is happening tomorrow at 6PM PST (6AM in the Philippines)and I'm pretty hyped for what they have planned for everybody. You can the event live here on Twitch.tv. We'll be updating our Facebook and Twitter  accounts for any updates regarding the reveal.

Monday Impressions: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a new twist in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Ever since It's official reveal even before Konami decided to pass the project over to Platinum Games, I was excited. An action game set in the Metal Gear Solid world with Raiden once again in the spotlight. I gave the public demo a try on my Xbox 360 and quickly noticed that this is will be one hell of a stress reliever.

The demo released is the same demo included in the Zone of Enders HD Collection. It's a good 20-30 minutes of your time. Once you run the demo, you see the menu screen with Raiden in great detail rotating every once in awhile showing a different angle of his pose. I don't really care much about game menus, but this one was impressive. Once I pressed start, I only had two options: Story or Options. I quickly started Story which only showed three modes: easy, normal, and hard, with hard the only option unavailable. I went with normal and I was then given the choice to try the tutorial.

With it being my first time, I tried it out. The tutorial stage has the VR mission look seen in past Metal Gear games that gave a bit of nostalgia. Object like floating cubes, barrels, and even watermelons are found in the stage to practice your cutting skills. We all know Revengeance's biggest feature is blade mode - Holding down the left trigger activates blade mode, which then allows you to slice the target in front of you in any angle you want by either using the right stick or the attack buttons. Just like the first gameplay demo showcasing the cutting feature, I went up to the watermelons all neatly placed on the tables, and started slicing them into small pieces like a pro. It was weirdly satisfying and I was actually now eager to test this blade on actual enemies.

After the tutorial ended, you are given a short cutscene. A small briefing was given as we see Raiden heading to his destination via a small bomber-like plane. The graphics look amazing and after Raiden lands on the beach, we were given control. I was still craving for more slicing, so every tree, barrel and rock I  saw on that beach was cut into pieces. Once I had nothing else to cut, I moved forward and encountered my first batch of enemies.  With the light attack and heavy attack buttons, I hacked away and just after the combo finishes, I enter Blade Mode and finish them off, seeing the human cyborgs getting sliced up in slow motion. Once you slice him enough, you are given the option to press X which let's Raiden consume the enemy cyborg's electrolytes. These cyborg juices replenishes Raiden's life.

After the first batch, you move forward and the game informs you that you can go behind an enemy and kill them from above or behind by simply pressing X when told to do so. That is pretty much the stealth portion of the game which I hope doesn't force players to sometimes play in the shadows to move forward. We had too much of the stealth approach in MGS, I wanted blood, or rather, those electrolytes. Once your done assassinating, you enter this open area filled with different avenues to approach each enemy. You can tell already that they are giving the players the choice on how to engage. There's an augment mode which can be used by pressing the up on the D-pad. It highlights enemies and other points of interest in the area, a way to scout what you're getting into. Sneaking isn't a big portion of the gameplay, it looks like it's just there when you want to use it. I was able to go behind a guy and assassinate, but after that, I just went on the main road and alerted everybody in the area.

The famous alert sound from MGS with the exclamation point above the enemy's head return in Revengeance and I quickly find myself going against a couple of cyborg soldiers and two of those Gekko's that first appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot. During the fight, the game teaches me about parry, which is pretty much the only means of defense. I had no roll, and it felt like I had to just stand my ground and parry any attack coming my way. I kept going in their face, deflecting anything they throw at me, while activating Blade Mode to finish each one off.

After I had cleared the area, a report pops up showing how well I performed giving me my stats and rank for that fight. Hopefully that won't happen in every encounter, but I do enjoying seeing how well I did. Instead of moving forward, I decided to look around since I noticed how big this area was. With the right trigger, holding it down lets Raiden sprint and make him react to certain environments making him jump ledges, and climb boxes smoothly. While exploring, there were crates that have consumable items for Raiden to pick up like healing items and even grenades and rocket launchers that can be used if equipped, Metal Gear Solid style. Rockets do damage, and grenades seem to stun enemies like the Gekko's, but it's quite hard to use them effectively in a fight. It was unusual to see Raiden use these equipment, but hopefully they come out useful in the full game because I simply ignored using them.

I then enter the next room and a cutscene occurs. Raiden is welcomed with a chainsaw that barely touches his jaw. The chainsaw slices up the corridor forcing it to collapse. Now in the streets, Raiden gets acquainted with IF Prototype LQ84i, a beast-like AI machine with a chainsaw as it's tail tasked to kill him.  This is obviously a boss fight and it was fairly easy thanks to the parry system. After he takes a few hits, he jumps on a high ledge and calls for reinforcements. I slice them all up and the beast-like machine comes down for another go. Rinse and repeat.

After beating the AI, that was sadly the end of the demo. I wanted more! The fights were exhilarating. Blade mode was a lot of fun and the music played once a fight starts the mood right especially during the boss fight. I was worried they would change it up a bit to give the game its own identity, but no, It looks and feels like a Metal Gear Solid game (which I was hoping for) but with a good twist. The UI, the cutscenes, they even included the codec making Raiden call his teammates to do some small talk. Staying true to the Metal Gear Solid world, while providing a satisfying combat system, makes this a game I'll most likely get when it hits shelves this week.

You can check out Migoy's impressions in the video below.

New Nintendo Direct focuses mainly on the 3DS

Last Nintendo Direct covered tons of Wii U news, but this time the spotlight is on the 3DS. What are the big announcements? Donkey Kong Country Returns coming to the 3DS, a new Mario RPG is coming, and a release date for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, once again hosts Nintendo Direct. During the start of the presentation, Iwata marked this year as the year of Luigi. Nintendo feels Luigi needs more love, so they have a good amount of Luigi games planned for 2013. The first one? The sequel to his first ever game as the lead.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon - 3DS

Luigi's Manion Dark Moon launches March 24.

Iwata also announced a new entry in the Mario and Luigi RPG series.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - 3DS

No release date was given, but Dream Team will be launched sometime in summer in the US, which should be around July for us.

To further bombard us with Luigi news, Nintendo also announced during this Nintendo Direct that a new DLC called New Super Luigi U(image above) will be coming to New Super Mario U for the Wii U. The title pretty much explains everything really. The DLC, or rather the expansion, will include Luigi-themed levels. No date was given, but expect it this year.

Mario Golf: World Tour

The presentation debuted another new game for the 3DS - Mario Golf: World Tour. Camelot, the developers of past Mario Golf games return for the 3DS title.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

This Nintendo Direct also covered the latest entry in the Animal Crossing series. Along with a new trailer, they also announced the release date - June 9.

Nintendo Direct is really a bag filled with new Nintendo announcements. Wii U wasn't the focus,, but was not forgotten. LEGO City Undercover was shown together with release dates for games coming to the Wii U like - Injustice: Gods Among us on March 16, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U on March 19, The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts on March 26, and last but not least, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming on March 19 for both Wii U and 3DS. If you're eager to try out the new Monster Hunter title, a demo will be available on February 21 on both platforms at the eshop.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

And to close of this Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announces Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the 3DS. The Donkey Kong Wii title is getting a 3D makeover and is planned for a summer release. No footage was reveal but just think Donkey Kong Country Returns, but in 3D.

That's about it for this Nintendo Direct, there's a lot more mentioned like new DLC for Fire Emblem: Awakening, new DLC for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor Edge, more Nintendo promotions and a lot more. To see the full Nintendo Direct presentation, check it out below.

Nintendo Direct 02.14.13

Warframe going open beta this weekend only

Warframe, the Free-To-Play third person shooter on the PC, will be hosting an open beta this weekend for everybody to try out the game. All you need to do is register and download the game.

Warframe is a 4 player co-op game that has randomly generated missions, with the usual weapon unlocks, mod unlocks, special abilities, and classes to define your character. Oh, and you get ninja sword if you want to get up close and personal. It is being work on by Digital Extremes, developers of known games like Darkness 2 and Dark Sector.

I don't know what to expect with Warframe just yet but I'm quite curious to see how it plays out. It's something new in a way that - It's Free-To-Play, looks amazing for a free product, and is mainly focused in 4-player cooperative play. It's currently on closed beta, but just for February 15-19, non-beta key holders get to have a taste of Warframe. I'll be downloading the client once I'm allowed to do so and we'll see how it goes.

If you want to join the open beta event, go ahead to the Warframe website and register. The client should be available for download on Friday at 12:00PM EST, which is 5PM GMT on a Saturday in the Philippines.

[source: Warframe official website]

Pick 5: Remembering THQ's Best

Just in case you don't know, the video game publisher THQ has gone bankrupt recently and has auctioned all their studios and franchises to the highest bidder.  It's sad to see a great publisher go out like this, but the game industry is still a business. To pay tribute to the now bankrupt publisher, here are a couple of great games that came out of the company. 

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II

There were tons of Warhammer 40k games, but the one title that really stood out from the rest was Dawn of War II. A game that I've played for hours online thanks to it's addicting gameplay. It didn't have base building, but has a squad system that makes each unit crucial for your success. It can get intense even in the campaign and I considered it one of my personal favorite RTS games. In a span of two years after it's release in 2009, it earned two expansions. The developer, Relic Entertainment, was bought by SEGA during the THQ auction.

Metro 2033

Ha! I started playing Metro 2033 last weekend and was able to finish it before writing this, and I can now say that from start to finish - It's a great game. It has a lot of interesting mechanics behind this fairly new franchise, and together with an appealing post-apocalyptic setting, I just can't wait for Metro: Last Light. Thankfully the property was purchase and is now under the Koch Media banner A.K.A Deep Silver (Dead Island). Development for the sequel is still underway, but no other details were given after the sale.

Saint's Row: The Third

I'd like to call this as THQ's Grand Theft Auto with a sense of humor. I wasn't too keen on previous Saint's Row titles, but the third was so over the top that It kept me entertained for hours. The story was so ridiculous that I was eager to start the next mission. It's even a great coop game that also scratches that sandbox itch. The developers, Volition Games, was also bought by Koch Media and they even bought the property rights to the Saint's Row franchise.

Red Faction: Armageddon 

Also developed by Volition, Red Faction: Armageddon is the fourth Red Faction game and retained the unique feature of destructible environments. They took it a bit farther in Armageddon by not only giving players the ability to destroy everything around you, but also the ability to rebuild. Still set in Mars, Armageddon is a more linear affair compared to the open world Red Faction before it. With the ability to destroy and rebuilt, packed with the addicting magnet gun, Armageddon was a great sequel to move the Red Faction series forward. Sadly, the Red Faction series was not picked up during the THQ auction sale.  Volition was saved but so far no publisher has no interest of owning this franchise.

Darksiders 1 and 2

Darksiders, developed by Vigil Games, is a rare gem. An action adventure series that tried to be different. In the first game, they added so many elements to the gameplay, bringing a lot of variety to the game. It also incorporated the hardly used lock-on system mostly used in The Legend of Zelda games. It was considered one of the best new IP's to come out of 2010, and that's saying a lot considering that this is the first ever game for the developers. Sequel came and they continue to bring something new to the table by adding a leveling system and loot system on top of everything else. During the THQ auction sale, the Darksiders property and Vigil Games did not receive a single bid, destroying any possibility of having a third Darksiders game. Hopefully, a company would see the potential in the Darksiders series (Platinum Games is considering it) but so far no dice.

R.I.P THQ. If you'd like to read more about the bankruptcy case, you can check out this Forbes article. And if you want to see the final results of the THQ auction sale, have a look at Kotaku's article.