Tomb Raider's behind-the-scenes dev video features Multiplayer

  Before 2012 ended, Crystal Dynamics revealed via OXM that the Tomb Raider reboot is getting multiplayer. In the fourth episode of the Behind-The-Scenes developer video hosted by Chuck( Zachary Levi), we get to see actual footage of the multiplayer in action. 

This is a first for the series. A full-blown multiplayer mode with matchmaking and everything. I'm still not too keen about the idea, but the fact that Crystal Dynamics passed the multiplayer onto a Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) to focus on the single player gave me some hope, hope in a sense that I won't see the single player campaign suffer because of them splitting resources. While watching the gameplay footage shown on the video, it had a strong resemblance of Uncharted's multiplayer, which I can dig if done right.

Tomb Raider is set to be released on March 5 on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Pick 5: Sleeper Hits of 2012

2012 was a great year for gaming. Triple A titles like Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Assassin's Creed 3, Black Ops 2, Borderlands 2, Halo 4, Resident Evil 6, and many more flooded last year's lineup. But there were games that literally came out of no where and made a great impression, and there were games that were considered great games, but did not get the attention it deserved. Here are five sleeper hits from 2012.

The Walking Dead

I'm going to start with The Walking Dead. People might go "what? But that's well known". true, we all know The Walking Dead from either the crazy famous TV series, or from the graphic novel were it was originated, but we never thought that Telltale's The Walking Dead Game would come out as one of the best story driven title in this generation, or even be considered best game of 2012. People were aware by the game's creation at Telltale Games, but I believe many were blown away how they knocked this out of the park. From episode 1, all the way to the finale, the game just got better and better. Telltale's masterpiece. You can check out my full review here.

The Legend of Grimrock

Old school dungeon crawling for today's gamers. A game greatly inspired by Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder, this is one type of RPG has been absent for years it seems. It was released in April of 2012 but I only gave it a try months after. When I gave it a chance and soon realize that I was missing out. A game filled with smart puzzles and gameplay that's quite unique in my eyes since I wasn't exposed to the classic dungeon crawlers released back in the late 80s or early 90s.

Spec Ops: The Line

At first glance it did look like the typical shooter. Another game that would easily get consumed by the shadows of games such such as Halo 4, Black Ops 2, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter, all planned for release at the end of he year. But it turned out to be a good game worth mentioning. The biggest praise the game got was not because of its gameplay, nor its online component, but for it's narrative, which is rare for a games like this. A story that impressed players  and urged others to give the campaign a chance. Months after its release I did caught up with all the talk about its story and tried I myself quickly noticed that its indeed under appreciated.

Slender: The Eight Pages

I just had to include this. Where did this game come from? A free PC game, that's fairly simple by design, is considered one of the most scariest game of 2012, possibly of all time. When it was released last June, it quickly grew in popularity. It soon spread like wildfire with many streamers and Youtubers making videos of them playing the game. is it really that scary? Yes! I tried it myself and while it only takes half 10 minutes to play one session, I've never felt so isolated and freaked out in a game. It became a hit that spawned games similar to Slender. It's sequel, Slender: The Arrrival that was just announced recently.

Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning

This was one game I did not expect to be really good. An action RPG that had a combo-heavy gameplay that made me think of Devil May Cry, and quick time events seen in games like God of War. This game was also massive, which gave an Elder Scrolls impression in terms of how much content there is in this game. I never heard or did research on the game, but after trying demo, I just had to get it, and I did not regret the buy one bit. Sadly, the creators of Alamur, 38 Studios went bankrupt thanks to a fraud lawsuit and was closed down. My dreams of a sequel will never happen now.

Any other sleepers worth mentioning? Hit the comments below.

Review: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Xbox 360)

XCOM. Sadly, it isn’t a commonly known name nowadays, but this franchise is considered one of the best strategy games of all time. When I heard Firaxis took the challenge of recreating the 1994 cult classic for modern-day platforms, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. When release day came, I bought it without hesitation, and after countless campaigns and finally finishing the game on classic Ironman difficulty, I can easily say this one of 2012’s best. This reboot not only retains the core concept of the original, it will also satisfy both hardcore fans of the old title as well as players new to the game. Firaxis has struck gold with this one.

Gameplay can be fun and stressful at the same time

The setting is simple. Earth gets invaded by extra-terrestrials and you are the commander of the XCOM project, a group organized to be the last form of defense against them. The game is turn-based strategy with gameplay having two parts – Base management and Squad management. Let’s focus on managing your squad first.

During missions, you prepare and send out 4-6 units to respond to alien abductions, alien crash sites, and alien craft landings. Compared to the original, how you manage your squad in the field feels more simplified. You don’t need a big tutorial to prep you for combat with this one. A simple tutorial mission covers all you need to take on the alien menace head on, but don’t take the game too lightly. Strategy is greatly required since positioning is everything in this game. The angle of cover for your unit determines how protected you are from enemy fire, and getting hit is no joke (especially early on). It mostly leads to certain death when a hit connects. Since every shot is based on a certain percentage, it can be a bit frustrating, but at the same time rewarding, especially with those 20% hit rate shots that turn the tide of the mission. This game requires patience, and really tests you on that front.

As units rack up the kills, they earn experience and eventually get promoted. Rookies that get the promotion randomly turn into one of the four classes in the game; Sniper, Support, Heavy, Assault. Each class has its own skill tree, with skills that give them an edge in battle. As they rise up in the ranks, you are allowed to pick either one of the two skills in that promotion. Each side of the tree provides a different take in class. For example – Some skills on the left of the sniper tree make the soldier more effective with a pistol. While it does look simple at first glance, you are still left thinking hard on what would benefit your squad as a whole.

When units die, they are gone for good, along with all that experience the soldier earned. It can be heartbreaking to see your assault class shottie with 30 kills die in front of you. Since death is permanent, you tend to tread carefully. You grow attached to some of the units as you go from mission to mission, and your performance when losing one experienced unit makes a big impact, especially later in the game. Units dying can sometimes also affect nearby units in a hilarious way. Units with little willpower  can panic after seeing a squadmate die, which makes him randomly do stupid stuff on his next turn like shoot another squaddie, or even walk out of cover to get taken out by an alien on overwatch.

Missions can either go really smoothly, or out of control really fast. That’s thanks to the amazing AI. Depending on the situation they are in, you see aliens fleeing from their cover if it’s dangerous to stick around, or use their abilities in key moments that make you really think about your next move. They can even flank you and wait for you to be impatient.

Before any mission, you are given the chance to sort out your unit’s loadout and appearance. Again, it’s simplified compared to the original game. You get to customize the unit’s primary weapon, secondary weapon, armour, and a utility slot, which lets the unit carry one grenade or one med kit. At first, I was bothered that I wasn't able to carry more grenades like the old game, but this change provided challenging decisions during missions. Should I throw a grenade at the Sectoid applying mind flay, or save it for when I see a group of them bunched up? It made those items so valuable in missions that you sometimes regret using them when you need it the most.

When you start a mission, all the aliens are hidden, so you need find them while simultaneously strategically positioning yourself. When you find a group, they are given free time to get into cover, which mostly eliminates the chance for an ambush. That was one of my biggest gripes on the combat. No matter what, they get a chance to get into cover. For us? We don’t get that luxury. Get ready to be flanked. Most missions task you with killing all the aliens in the map, but every once in a while you are given different objectives like escort missions, bomb defusal, and terror missions where you need to rescue civilians. The amount of tasks to keep the missions fresh is enough, but the number of maps is lacking. You will do tons of missions, and you will quickly notice maps used over and over again with the same starting point.

But the maps are well-developed. Building walls, cover, and almost anything else on the map can be damaged or completely destroyed, which opens up new opportunities for attacks and strategies. The hit chance of that alien too low? Throw a grenade and watch his cover crumble. The environment can also be affected by missed shots. I’ve experienced awkward situations such as ending up with no cover at all for one of my units, thanks to a missed shot by my sniper. The game always surprises you with moments like those, especially when you miss a rocket shot, which doesn’t make sense when it happens.

The pressure of being an XCOM commander

Now to base management. This is where everything happens when you’re not on a mission. After a successfully mission, all the damaged alien equipment, parts, and corpses are brought along with your squad as they head home. These items are required so that your research team can develop new equipment and technology. Then, with the help of the engineering bay and a few credits, you will have the new gear ready for use. Since the base is located underground, it’s presented in an antfarm-like overview which is quite nice, but hardly appreciated. There’s so much to be done when in the base. It’s quite easy to manage and understand what needs to be done, but things can go spiralling out of control if you don’t pay attention. Everything is up to you on what you consider the highest priority since only one research or construction can be done at a time. It usually takes days for upgrades and research to finish, so while waiting, you can scan with XCOM’s geoscape for alien activity, which is pretty much where you find missions to do.

Another aspect to manage is your interceptors and satellites. Satellites are used to scan for alien activity in that country and earn extra funds per month, while interceptors protect satellites and shoot down alien UFOs. During the early stages, shooting down UFOs is easy stuff, but just like everything else in the game, it gets harder later on, so upgrading your planes is another thing to consider. A small mini-game occurs when dispatching planes to take down a UFO craft, and when you successfully take it down, it’s time to send your squad.

In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the XCOM project is being funded by leading countries around the world. If you have 7 countries that cut their funding, it’s game over. Yes, you can lose the fight against the aliens if you don’t get enough support. So you become a babysitter to these countries. But missions like the abductions happen in multiple countries all at once, so it’s not an easy task to keep them all happy. Not assist a country enough and you will see them cut their funding in the next XCOM monthly report. You will lose countries, but you are left in a position to decide what’s best as you move forward. The base management is as strategic as ever, which shows that Firaxis was definitely the perfect choice for a game like this. Sadly, the reboot only has one base to manage, whereas in the original you were allowed to make multiple bases.

Playing the game will lead to different outcomes every time. Each campaign turns out different thanks to the many decisions that shape your game, which gives a strong replay value. If you want the perfect XCOM experience, Firaxis included Ironman mode, which disables your ability to save the game. The game pretty much saves the game for you in one file, and you are forced to live with whatever has happened in your campaign. No more loading to save a squad member. To really appreciate the game, turning on Ironman mode is the way to go, but not everybody would be keen about the idea, so it’s good to see it as just an option.

It isn’t the smoothest game though. Playing it on the Xbox 360, I’ve experienced many bugs. Most of the bugs I’ve encountered are during missions. One example is after taking a shot, the game locks up and doesn’t go to the next unit, forcing me to exit the game or reset (happened three times).

The character models and animations are nothing to brag about, but the tone of the environment and soundtrack is spot on. The feeling as if something, or someone is out there is greatly captured on each map in the game. Aliens hidden can still be heard when moving around the map, and the sounds they make are quite distinctive for each alien type.

I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the Xbox 360. It’s clear that the PC version is the ideal platform, but I chose a console version since this is the first time XCOM will be hitting consoles. I needed to see the difference in controls. To my surprise, playing XCOM with a controller is as easy as playing it with a keyboard and mouse. It’s quite user-friendly and I had no problems with it at all when playing it. Firaxis did a good job at making this strategy game very friendly to console controllers. Everything is smooth and easy to access, even when you are maintaining your base. If you are planning to get the game on a console, the controls won’t be an issue.

 Multiplayer mode, who needs it?

XCOM: Enemy Unknown actually comes with multiplayer, but don’t get all excited. It’s quite simple really. You fight against another player, and the first guy to lose all their units loses. There’s no base building or anything. It’s just a mission against another player. You are given a point budget, where you can spend in order to create your squad for the match. Each unit costs a certain amount depending on how strong they are. The multiplayer is quite disappointing really if you compare it against what the single player brings. The only good thing about playing multiplayer is that you get to control the alien units as well and make interesting strategies with human squad soldiers and aliens to win. But the online is quite laggy and very unbalanced. You might get a kick out of it after a few matches, but it will grow old pretty fast.

Firaxis has done it. A game that has stayed true to its roots, and at the same time revived a franchise that’s still loved by many players around the world. Fans of the old game might not appreciate some of the changes to the game, but most of what made the game so appealing is still intact. At the same time, the game is simple enough that any player unfamiliar with the series can pick it up with ease. XCOM: Enemy Unknown lets you make hard choices that have painful consequences at times, but the feeling when you succeed after all of that makes it even more satisfying. A successful reboot that I find myself coming back to every now and then, just like I did with the original.

Score: 90/100

Pros:

-        A great reboot of the 1994 XCOM classic

-        Addicting gameplay

-        The difficulty of the game is welcomed

-        Ironman mode

Cons:

-        Can be quite buggy during missions

-        Not enough maps in the game, maps get reused a lot

-        Story is easily forgettable

Tomb Raider reboot will have multiplayer after all

To end 2012, another franchise that doesn't need multiplayer gets one anyway. Official Xbox Magazine confirms that the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot will have multiplayer.

Official Xbox Magazine revealed their February 2013 cover and confirms that Tomb Raider will come with multiplayer when it ships on March 5. Shocked? Not really.

I'm not fond with games dumping multiplayer just to add more appeal. Some titles that are not fit to have multiplayer, makes one anyway, and the final product turns out to be content that can be forgotten in one sitting. Such games like Bioshock 2, and Dead Space 2, tried adding a new twist of competitive multiplayer, but fell flat in the end. This is what I think is going to happen to Tomb Raider's multiplayer. But some games that tried have proved me wrong.

Assassin's Creed, one franchise that added multiplayer in Brotherhood, ended up with a unique mode that turned out to be a lot of fun. Another one is Uncharted, who added their own multiplayer on the second game, provided a great third person competitive shooter that made good use of Uncharted's simple climbing mechanic to make it stand out from the rest.

My first reaction towards Tomb Raider now having multiplayer is not a happy one, but I'll give it a chance because you never know, they might have something good. Not much info has been given too, so when they say multiplayer, it could mean coop, or both. In a Tomb Raider blog, they mention that the multiplayer was inspired by Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light coop. So who knows, We'll just have to see what Crystal Dynamics has to show in the coming days.

[Source: OXM, Joystiq]

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.