From Dust - Dev Diary 2: The Art Direction

From Dust is a sandbox simulation game currently in development. It puts the player in a god-like perspective, with the main goal of the game keeping the inhabitants of your land safe from the harm that nature can cause. Using the tools provided, you need to use sand, laval, water, and vegetation to help your inhabitants survive.

In the latest developers diary, they showcase the art direction of the game. The team has a done a good job researching and traveling around the world to study different environments, and tribes. The look of some the scenes are breathtaking. The games engine reminds me a lot of Just Cause 2 in some parts. This game being released as a digital download available on Xbox, PS3, and in Steam. So for not being full disc release the game looks incredible. You'd have to be blind to deny that.

Judging from what I've already seen, I'll be picking this game up. Especially with its low price on release day. What do you think? Worth it or skip it?

Mass Effect 3 Delayed

The announcement came from Biowares Facebook page.

"Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations." - Casey Hudson, Executive Producer Mass Effect series

There are quite a few big name games coming out this holiday season, so to have someone delay their game to give some breather room from competition and sales isn't uncommon. It looks as if though they are going to be using the extra time wisely though.  EA boss John Riccitiello said, "Essentially, step by step, [BioWare is] adjusting some of the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 that can put this into a genre equivalent of shooter-meets-RPG, and essentially address a far larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 did and Mass Effect 2 began to approach." This is great news. When Bioware is on, they can make abso-fucking-lutely incredible game, but Dragon Age II showed what happens when they rush development. I would  rather wait a few more months and have Mass Effect 3 be incredible.

A little bittersweet but overall better than expected news.

Brink. 5/10/11

Brink has been a game I have been excited about for a while now. This game isn't getting the attention that it deserves. I love games that enforce teamwork. Ones that make you to work together to get things done. I personally enjoy an objective based game type over a team deathmatch. At that is what Brink is trying to do. There isn't even a deathmatch option in this game. There are only team based objective matches.

Brink features a S.M.A.R.T. movement system. Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. Which means the whole environment is at you disposal to move around. So you pick your path and the movement system evaluates where you are trying to get to and makes it happen. Whether that is by vaulting, mantling, climbing, or sliding. So it imagine a mixture between Mirrors Edge, with some Assassins Creed free running mixed in, designed around a heavier old-school FPS foundation with modern graphics and engine. Brink is designed to be more of an arcade-y shooter as an alternative to the spate of realistic shooters dominating the recent FPS landscape. The exaggerated art style, extensive HUD elements, emphasis on hipfire, integrated drop-in/drop-out play, etc.

 

 This games roots comes from old school Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory style of play. This game basically takes those fundamentals that so many people already loved, and added their own modern twist. I'm hoping that  this game will get that appreciation that it deserves. The developers support the modding community and listen to what the players have to say. So I think I'm going to pick this game up on day one just to show some support. What do you guys think of the game?

The countdown for DiRT3 starts.

If you're like me then you are waiting on DiRT3 to come out also. I didn't play the first DiRT, but I did happen to pick up DiRT2 after playing a few other Codemaster's racing games, like Grid. I've been a fan of racing games for a long time. I recently picked up three 22" LED LCD's and setup an NVidia 2D Surround on my PC. I immediately wanted to try out a racing game. I knew at that point it was DiRT2, because I knew it supported 3 screens natively. I was totally impressed. The immersion that the screens give you takes the game to the next level.


So I have been playing DiRT2 for a while, waiting on DiRT3. I've been waiting to play the Gymkhana mode in the game. I loved drifting parts in Grid, and the off road rally racing of DiRT. So I can tell that DiRT3 is taking the best parts of the 2 games and bringing it into one solid made game. Bust out your steering wheels and pedals, because DiRT3 will be here May 24th.

Changed my Mind.

I changed my mind. I wanted a general gaming news blog. I was going to do just a Battlefield 3 blog, but I found out pretty quick, that it was too specific for me to stay interested. So now look forward to posts about games I'm interested in. Thanks for the understanding.

Twitter Scams are rampant.

There are tons of people out there trying to scam people on twitter with the lure of getting into the Battlefield 3 Beta. So if you think your getting into the beta without having the Medal of Honor entry, I would think again. Don't be a fool and fall for this.

High Resolution Shots from the Battlefield 3 Trailer

Listen, if you aren't excited for this game then there is something wrong with you. This is no doubt going to be the biggest game of the year. These screen shots only make me more excited. The view from the jet cockpit looks insane! In the view from the tank, the environment looks amazing. The Frostbite 2 engine looks very polished. What do you think?