Well, I was up at 5am watching the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, with a look at 30 titles, 27 of which will be a part of Xbox Game Pass.

For context, that’s 90%. Nine out of every ten games showcased will be included in the subscription service. Why on Earth would anyone NOT have Game Pass?!

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase was all about them games, showing off everything from spenny AAA blockbusters to itty bitty indies. While plenty was announced, our favorites were: Our top picks are below.

Age of Empires IV

AoE is formative to my gaming life, so stoked for a good old Real Time Strategy. Might FINALLY stop me playing Age of Mythology.

Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life

I’m gonna be honest, I truly pine for the days when Pirates of the Caribbean was good. Plus it doesn’t look like Skull and Bones is showing up anytime soon, so the free expansion to Sea of Thieves is most welcome.

Starfield

Bethesda Game Studios, now freed from Zenimax Media’s neon claws, showed a teaser for their space-opera RPG. It looks, well, like a prerendered teaser. Expect more about next E3, since it’s slated for a November 2022 release.

Redfall

Aww, you though Redfall was Elder Scrolls 6? Don’t feel bad, we all did. The co-op shooter from Arkane Austin is up next year.

Hades

And, of course, one of the best games ever made, certainly the best of last year, Hades will be arriving on Xbox Series consoles in July.

Among Us

Want to play games with kids but Fortnite isn’t your jam? Good news, there’s more Among Us content coming.

Keep it here for mostly comprehensible but far from comprehensive news.

The post Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase; Match Made appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

Following rumors and speculation for the last few days, the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2020 (E3) has officially been cancelled this morning.

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

According to a statement from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), “following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation.”

COVID-19, or coronavirus, is a viral infection that can cause severe respiratory issues and, by extension, significant health impacts on those with weak or damaged lungs. And, as the coronavirus outbreak has just officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is probably a good call.

The ESA are currently exploring options with members to coordinate an online version of E3, so we’ll still get all the news with a much reduced risk of infection. Less swag, though.

Updates will be shared on E3expo.com, and we’ll keep an eye out for any news as well.

The post E3 2020 cancelled due to covid-19 virus appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

CD PROJEKT RED reveals brand new details regarding the studio’s upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077. Starting today, the title is also available for pre-order.

Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming open-world, action-adventure story from the creators of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, will release April 16th, 2020 on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The game’s Collector’s Edition is also available for pre-order and comes packed with a number of high-quality collectibles. These include a 25 cm / 10 inch statue depicting the game’s protagonist — V — in action, a steelbook case, a hardcover art book, and more. The Collector’s Edition comes in an impressive box made to look like one of the megabuildings towering over Night City.

Accompanying the release date and pre-order news is a cinematic trailer, which offers a deeper look into the game’s story. The trailer reveals one of the key characters of Cyberpunk 2077, Johnny Silverhand. The legendary rockerboy is played by Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves (The Matrix trilogy, John Wick series, Johnny Mnemonic). In addition to his appearance and voice, Reeves is also providing full-body motion capture for the character.

Watch E3 2019 Cinematic Trailer: https://youtu.be/qIcTM8WXFjk

More Cyberpunk 2077 news is set to be revealed at E3, which will be taking place from June 11th to June 13th in Los Angeles. The game’s trade show presence includes behind-closed-doors gameplay presentations for media and business representatives in West Exhibit Hall, as well as presentations for all E3 attendees held at the Cyberpunk 2077 booth in South Exhibit Hall.

For more information regarding Cyberpunk 2077 and the game’s E3 presence, make sure to follow the title’s official website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post Cyberpunk 2077 — release date, pre-orders, new trailer revealed! appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

So look, I said I’d write a Nintendo roundup, but honestly it’s mostly about Pokémon Let’s Go, because that’s really what I played while at E3.

So here we are.

Pokémon Let’s Go

Me. A Switch. A Nintendo tech guy. A Pokeball Plus. A booth at E3.

The demo took place entirely within Viridian Forest which, even for me, instilled a lot of nostalgia right off the bat. A team of Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Eevee (the best one) was waiting for me to give the order to slaughter their kin for Pokedollars and GLORY. So we did.

Catching works like GO, battling works like real Pokemon. That’s all I want to say about it really, because teh joy of rediscovery will be among the best parts of this experience. I will say that the Pokeball was WAY too small for my adult hands, and I kept accidentally moving up while using the A button (both are the ball’s button), causing more Growls than Tackles.

Overall though, the ten minutes I spent wrecking Bug Catchers was a blast, and I’m looking forward to reliving 1998 very soon.

Super Smash Bros

Oh yeah, this. I am apparently incredibly bad at Smash, losing 3 of 4 games to the AI. However, going back to good old Mewtwo was a lot of fun, and the whole roster looks diverse enough to give even the most skilled players a challenge to hit that skill ceiling. It looked and felt fun, despite my embarrassing losses, and I truly cannot wait to see how badly wrecked I’ll get by some eight-year-old Welsh kid online when it releases.

Mario Tennis Aces

I also played a good deal of Mario Tennis Aces at the E3 booth, but I got to play even more when I reveiewed it here. Probably best to read that.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Skylanders and Amiibo just aren’t for me, so I wasn’t hopeful heading into Starlink, which I played on Switch at Ubisoft’s booth. Then I played it and fell in love. Building your ship on the fly while battling giant enemy mechs felt fun and vital to the experience. While I shudder to think how much this will cost in the end (all toys to life games end up costing a fortune), and the lack of swapping while out and about on the Switch, my E3 experience was absolutely stellar.

Also, the devs said I was the only person to beat the boss without landing, and were very impressed. Just don’t tell them it’s because I didn’t know I COULD land…

Overall, I was impressed with Nintendo’s lineup. They’re really leaning into some of the more unique aspects of the Switch, and I am super stoked for the coming months.

The post E3 Roundup – Nintendo appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

Ok ok, so E3 was last month. But hey, we beat the crowds, so now if you want to hear about the best games we saw in LA a few weeks ago, you’re stuck with some Kiwis and immigrated-Kiwis telling you what’s what.

Enjoy!

Cyberpunk 2077

Get me a cyber-towel because I’m still cyber-drooling. My deep and abiding love for CD Projekt Red is in no way hidden, but I’m also super into cyberpunk as a genre, so this is right up my cyber-alley.

Cyberpunk 2077 looks fantastic, with unique RPG elements alongside the more traditional stuff we expect from the style. Beautiful visuals and a kick-ass soundtrack certainly won’t hurt either. My only concern is that the implants look too sleek and clean; not to the same level as something like Deus Ex, but my brand of cyberpunk is gritty and dark. While there are elements of that here, and I can understand not wanting to make your protagonist into a patchwork monster, it’s a minor issue for me.

Who am I kidding, I’m trying to find something to pick at here. The gameplay looks amazing, character customisation is deep with a capital D, and you know it’s going to be phenomenal. Best in Show, hands (and mechanised scythe arms) down.

Fallout 76

I don’t especially like multiplayer, always online games. They’re just not my thing, and it’s not what I play Fallout for. But damned if this doesn’t look epic.

The trailer and brief glimpses of gameplay were all I needed to get hyped. It’s rare I say a word against Bethesda anyway, as they just seem to get me, but most if not all of my worries were washed away as I watched Todd explain the depth and uniqueness of Fallout 76.

Have I already ordered the edition with a power armour helmet? Of course I have. Don’t judge me.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

I love me some old school Hellenism, and I also love Assassin’s Creed. But here’s the thing, does anyone else remember Spartan: Total Warrior, the action spin-off from Rome: Total War? No? I’m not surprised, not many people seemed to like it. I, however, loved it, and got an incredible hit of nostalgia while playing Odyssey at E3.

While this is set before even Origins, and won’t feature the iconic hidden blade, the two missions I played through were intensely enjoyable. I’m also very pleased that the Ubisoft people loved my sleeve tattoo, because if they hadn’t recognised Desmond’s tattoo when they saw it, that would have been weird.

There’s a lot going on, and we’re a long way from the days of PRESS TRIANGLE TO WIN with the intensity of combat I saw. Not only that, but with male and female protagonists coming back, as well as a decent dose of humour, and the new direction the series is heading in, I’m confident this will be among the best that AC has ever been.

Again, I’ve ordered the Medusa Edition. No judgement.

Days Gone

Another zombie game, eh? Well, kinda, but also not really. I wasn’t super up for this one, but after playing a mission I am all about it.

Days Gone isn’t just another zombie game. It’s got a story I cared about, mechanics that feel natural, a great element of human danger, and needs that seem, well, realistic; my mission was about getting to a garage for supplies, and damned if that’s not something I’d actually need to do when and if the dead started living again.

With limited but not terrifyingly low ammunition, an emphasis on melee and stealth, and some really interesting zombie designs (the little baby ones move like spiders and are PETRIFYING), it brought me right back to my first time with Resident Evil 2. It was fun. It’ll be a blast.

Pokemon Let’s Go

Me. A Switch. A Nintendo tech guy. A Pokeball Plus. A booth at E3.

I am well established as a Pokemon nerd, not only for my Eeveelution tattoo or my Trading Card Game Professorship, but also because I’ve been playing these things for decades. The demo took place entirely within Viridian Forest which, even for me, instilled a lot of nostalgia right off the bat. A team of Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Eevee (the best one) was waiting for me to give the order to slaughter their kin for Pokedollars and GLORY. So we did.

It looked and felt great, and though it was over all too quickly, the ten minutes I spent wrecking Bug Catchers was a blast. I’m looking forward to reliving 1998 very soon.

Earthfall

Haven’t heard of Earthfall? Not surprising; neither had I. Developed by Holospark, this at first appears to be Left 4 Dead meets XCom and, well, it kinda is. But it was easily the most fun I had playing anything at E3 2018, and I cannot wait for other people to get their hands on it and see what I mean.

The founder and CEO of Holospark walked me through my session, talking about their passion for games like this, and what they wanted to do differently. That man seriously cares about what he does, and the enthusiasm was infectious. Moreover, the game itself is insanely fun, even if I managed to break immersion by finding a thoroughly overpowered gun, which was killing bosses in a single shot.

Rusty, if you’re reading this, don’t patch it. I mean, you said you have to, but do you REALLY have to?

Find out if the Valkyrie has stopped being the most fun weapon in gaming history, and why I loved this game so goddam much, when Earthfall releases later this year.

Ghost of Tsushima

OK, so I’m not that bright, and I initially thought the whole thing was a cutscene. Ghost of Tsushima borrows from God of War, The Witcher, The Last of Us, and looks comfortably as good as the sum of its parts. If you’re thinking NiOh but without the demons, you’re pretty far off. The grounded history, minimal UI, thoroughly beautiful design, and passion behind the projecy blew me away, and I firmly believe this will be one about the history books, for the history books. 

Sure, the word dynamic was thrown around far too much, but I can’t blame them for being excited. It looks awesome.

So there you have it. Only a month late, this is what I thought of E3. Feel free to rage at me that I’m a fanboy, or wrong, but I am confident that all of these games will be phenomenal. Trust me. I’m a games journalist.

The post Brian’s Best in Show – E3 2018 appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

It’s hard not to focus on games at E3. I mean, at its core it’s a gaming expo, so this is entirely understandable. But the way we play games is also pretty damn important, and all too often gets left by the wayside.

So, in addition to the usual Best of E3 thing, I thought it’d be neat to do a peripheral roundup, and laud the unsung heroes of the gaming world. Hyperbole? Nah.

Astro A40 TR X

I saw and tried out a few different headsets while on the show floor, with varying degrees of excellence. But only one had me actually think “wow, this thing is glorious”, and that was the Astro A40 TR X.

So, let me tell you about falling in love with a pair of headphones.

It’s weird, because I’m not usually a fan of wired headsets, and the A40 TR X is wired only. But the comfort, and the sound quality, and the pure aesthetics of the anniversary edition got me good. As an audiophile, I put great stock into the build and sound quality of my headphones, but these were truly excellent. The customisation of the cans, the headband, the mic, everything, was exactly what I think headsets should be like.

Basically, it’s pretty and I love it.  It’ll be out soon, and I’ll be honest, it’ll be hard to wait.

Scuf Vantage

Let me tell you another story. It’s late on the first day of E3. All my meetings are done, and I’m strolling around, shell-shocked from the scale of the event, before I go for dinner. I’m checking out the back booths, away from the massive ecosystems of the big players, and wandered up to a booth by Scuf, who you may know as the guys who make cool skins for controllers.

That’s all I knew about them, until I saw this.

I’ve talked about controllers before, because they are the most important part of the gaming experience for me. All have their downsides; DualShock’s battery life, Raiju’s weird shape, Revolution’s wired-only tether. XBox Elite and Switch Pro are both great, but exclusive to their consoles (and PC), and PlayStation doesn’t have anything that’s just a straight-up improvement on the classic design.

Holding the Vantage made me want it, and I fell a little bit in love with it. Extra paddles, additional shoulder buttons, wired or wireless modes, and truly beautiful ergonomics make this a thing I want to spend significant time with when it releases later this year. It’s US exclusive atm, but will ideally come to Australia and New Zealand soon after. I hope so.

Xbox Adaptive Controller

Let’s be fair, I will probably never use this controller. But it’s not for me, is it?

The fact that this even exists is a testament to how the landscape of the gaming industry is changing. No, it won’t directly affect many of us, but opening up a new avenue of entertainment to people who previously struggled? Damn.

Give XBox the kudos they deserve with this, because honestly, they deserve them.

Pokeball Plus

If the Pokeball Plus had come out in 2000, I would have cried with joy. Now, as a 29-year-old man with two Eeveelutions tattooed on his arm, my hands are too big to fully appreciate the experience of catching Pokemon with an actual Pokeball.

That being said, it was still amazing, and vital to fully enjoying Let’s Go. I just want a bigger one. I also cannot understate the importance of the wrist strap, as I nearly lobbed this thing into the demo Switch an embarrassing number of times, and am very pleased that I didn’t accidentally smash something.

But seriously, double the size, slap a Master Ball skin on it, and I’m there.

Logitech G560 Lightsync Speakers

Ben said more about these than I can, since he’s spent more time with them, but I just wanted to throw in that, even after just a few minutes in a meeting room, these things were impressive.

Sound quality is impressive, with deep bass and a reasonable amount of treble. The lightsync feature on the speakers that react to sound in-game (or while listening to music or streaming) and shooting out wondrous shades of light from the back of the speakers is just cool as all hell. Plus, with the new Logitech G Suite, you can set lightsync up to show colour based on things happening in-game, like your health depleting, or even to activate when your mouse is on a certain part of the screen.

Ben thought that these were some of the best PC speakers available right now, and I can’t find it within myself to disagree.

Think I missed anything? You’re probably right. But I’d still be a happy boy with all of these, so let me know what else would tickle the fancy of New Zealand gamers.

The post Plugging In – The Best Peripherals of E3 appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

Much has been said about how goddamn awesome Sony were at E3, and a lot of it in better time than us. But I got my face into some pretty amazing stuff while I was in sunny LA.

And, yeah, here it is.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

So they say that this guy can do whatever a spider can, and I don’t believe it. In my ten minutes with the new Spider-Man game, I never once laod eggs, ate my young, or had anything resembling an exoskeleton.

Can he swing from a web? Yes. And it feels fun, for once, as opposed to literally every other Spider-Man game that feels like Truck Simulator to play. This one will be fun when it swings into the stores in September.

All that said, I did get distracted, as I saw Hideo Kojima out of the corner of my eye while in the queue. Our eyes met, and we awkwardly stared into each other’s eyes for what must have been only seconds, but felt like an eternity. This was embarrassing, and he gave me a questioning sort of look, although I assume he has weirdos staring at him on a regular basis. After this mortification, I found it hard to focus on Spidey.

But I digress.

Ghost of Tsushima

Oooooooh let me tell you something, I thought the whole damn thing was a cutscene. I’ll put the video down below so you can see similar gameplay to what I saw at the briefing, but the whole thing is a love letter to Kurasawa films… especially since all the dialogue was in Japanese.

 Elements of God of War, Witcher, Last of Us, and yeah, InFamous all play their parts, but it looks to blend well together, and show a surprisingly grounded look into feudal times.

Sure, the word dynamic was thrown around far too much, but I can’t blame them for being excited.

At one point, the director simply said “it just looks awesome”, and I have to agree. Give it me.

And this is Sucker Punch making this; yeah, the InFamous people. Bit of a departure, but I dig it.

Days Gone

Another zombie game, eh? Well, kinda, but also not really. I wasn’t super stoked about this one, but after playing a mission I am all about it. With limited but not terrifyingly low ammunition, an emphasis on melee and silence (at least in the part I played), and some really interesting zombie designs (the little ones are TERRIFYING), it brought me right back to my first time with Resident Evil 2 (more on that next week).

I’m very excited to get some more time with this next year.

The Last of Us 2

Ah now, this was always going to be there wasn’t it? The Last of Us, despite my never finishing it, is fairly widely accepted as one of the best games of the past decade, and despite my crippling inability to finish the damn thing I love it too. The trailer for the sequel was beautiful, merging the human story of a growing Ellie with harsh, tense combat in the manner to which we are accustomed with this series.

This one is gonna be the hit of 2019.

Déraciné

No one expected this. Déraciné is a VR From Software game where you play as a time-stealing fairy, and there’s not a Blood-Starved Beast in sight.

And it’s goddam cool. I’m not a massive fan of VR, but if I’m being totally honest this one made me want to pick up a PSVR headset. Hopefully it’s out this year, so everyone can see I’m not just crazy and that From have made a charming little adventure game that won’t make you rage-quit eight times in your first day.

That’s it for the PlayStation roundup. These were the best ones. We’ll be throwing up more PS hands-on from other publishers through the next week, so if you’re here for snide comments and weird metaphors that don’t make sense (and you know you are), keep it here on CultureJam.

The post Sony E3 Roundup; or That Time I Made Awkward Eye Contact With Hideo Kojima appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

I’m a guy who knows what he likes. I’m demanding, unrealistic, and not as funny as I think I am. Frankly, if I weren’t so devastatingly handsome, there’d be no reason to pay attention to me.

That being said: games people, please pay attention to me and give me what I want.

I’ll be at E3 in a couple of weeks, and if I see even half of what’s in this list, I will be a very happy boy.

Cyberpunk 2077

Let’s skip by this one fast; of course I want to see more Cyberpunk 2077. Everyone does. I adore cyberpunk games, as my recent Detroit: Become Human review probably made clear, and I am also deeply in love with CD Projekt Red as developers (yes, I’m going to bang on about The Witcher 3 forever, get over it).

It’s not unlikely we’ll see something of the new project, but that only adds to my anticipation. Show us the cyborgs, CDPR.

TimeSplitters Remastered

TimeSplitters is the greatest FPS series of all time. Yeah, I said it. Fight me. It remains a tragedy that the series basically died after TimeSplitters 3: Future Perfect, because that was an excellent, criminally underrated game that I spend an embarrassing amount of time playing in my youth.

Bring it back. Go on. Do it for Cortez. Do it for Carly-Beth. But most of all, do it for Grandpa, and a joke no one but me remembers…

The Last of Us 2

Guilty admission, I’ve still not completed The Last of Us. In fact, I own three copies of it, and haven’t finished it. That doesn’t mean I’m not excited for the next installment; on the contrary, maybe that;ll give me the final push to jump back into that futuristic funguscape.

See that? Wordplay, that is.

Plus TLOU2 looks dark as all hell, and I sometimes like games to push the envelope and challenge my sensibilities and the boundaries of good taste.

Of course, on the other hand, sometimes you just want something like:

Pokemon Switch

Alright, full disclosure, I had a whole thing written about wanting to see more Switch stuff, and Pokemon being my main hope. Then Nintendo, being Nintendo, eschewed good taste and dropped this news two weeks before the main event.

Gotta say, as a PR professional myself (when I’m not writing rambling nonsense here), I can’t help but admire their style.

Anyway, the fusion of Yellow reboot surgically grafted to Pokemon Go is intensely interesting, and if the tattoo on my right forearm doesn’t illustrate how much I want an Eevee buddy to follow me around, well then I don’t know what will. I want to see more.

The post Brian’s Totally Realistic Hopes for E3 2018 appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

It was arguably the star of Sony’s 2015 E3 presentation and has come along way since then. The Last Guardian is one of Sony’s highly anticipated PS4 exclusives and like a high school girl attending her first ball I was super excited to get my first hands on experience with The Last Guardian at E3 2016.

The demo that was available to play was the opening to the game where our young hero wakes up in a cave, startled by the presence of an injured and chained giant feathery bird like creature who we know as Trico. For the next half hour I was taken into the world and set about building trust with Trico, freeing him and trying to escape from the mysterious environment that I awoke in. The game is voiced in Japanese with english subtitles and gives very little away.

Right from the outset there is little in the way of tutorials. The Last Guardian is very much a game that requires the player to interpret what they are seeing and relies more on the player figuring out what to do rather than overly coaching them through the sequences. As you go up to Trico or objects around the environment, the game will prompt you with the button presses required to interact but other than that it’s up to the player to look around and figure out what to do. If you’re not used to this style of gameplay it will take a bit of getting used to but once you’ve adapted to it it is very rewarding to advance based on your ability to problem solve rather than the game doing it for you. Overall the control scheme is pretty solid, relying on only a couple of buttons during the demo. It could expand as the game progresses but the simplicity fit the beautiful style of the game and lending itself to creating a more immersive experience. With minimal buttons to think about it leads to the gameplay and story taking centre stage which is exactly what we want from The Last Guardian.

The Last Guardian is a highly emotional experience and the start of the game if very much about building trust with your feathered companion. Trico is injured and chained, we don’t know how this came to be and Trico is understandably wary of our young character. It’s immediately evident that Trico will need to have spears removed from him but startling him and approaching too fast will result in him getting distressed and rebuffing you. After finding some food for our soon to be giant friend he is much more receptive to being approached and will allow you to help him. Once free it’s time to get out of there but finding your way out is not as straight forward as it seems. Going forward often involves back tracking in order to continue building that trust with Trico so that he can help you get free. A couple of times I must admit I needed the assistance of the PR guy to help me, most notably when I missed an opportunity to climb up on Trico before he jumped up to an out of reach ledge but after coaxing him back down I was on my way again. Before I knew it I’d been playing for half an hour, had escaped the confines of the cave and the demo closed as it teased the start of the adventure that lay ahead of the unlikely companions.

Such is the emotional roller coaster and immersive nature of The Last Guardian, you’ll find that time goes by very quickly. Come release day I can easily see hours going by in the blink of an eye. The visual presentation is well put together, it wasn’t without a few stutters but this is an early build and is common in early hands on demos so I don’t take those hiccups too seriously. For the most part The Last Guardian was smooth. What struck me most was how quickly I became emotionally invested in the game. Even in those early scenes with the injured Trico, I quickly became invested in helping him and in the moments where I wandered away from him I found myself wanting to get back to him. As that trust continues to be built the emotional quality to the gameplay only gets deeper and it’s clear that a strong bond between boy and creature is going to be developed as the game progresses.

Unfortunately we were unable to capture footage or take photos of the demo but it is shaping up as one of the strongest emotion driven stories to come to the PS4. The wonderful visuals, mixed with simple control scheme and sheer immersion factor has The Last Guardian shaping up as a must play title on the PS4.

The post Hands on with The Last Guardian appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

If you’re like like me then the moment you realised that the opening announcement at PlayStation’s press conference was God of War you started to lose the plot. While at E3 and upon my return the most common question I get is what were you most excited about. The answer to that question is a resounding, God of War! I’m glad that during the press conference it was the first announcement because if it was the last one I couldn’t have stood up straight afterwards.

One of the appointments I had on Day 1 was a behind closed doors with a PlayStation Unannounced title so you can imagine how excited I was when I realised that the appointment was to see more God of War. I got half an hour behind closed doors with the devs who took the group through more detail on the game. It was a strictly hands off preview that went through what we saw during the press conference but it also allowed us to find out a bit more about the latest installment of one of Sony’s biggest first party franchises.

A question that came up about God of War, was where does this new game fit in in the greater context of the franchise. Is this a reboot or is it a continuation? Let me start by saying that the new God of War is a new chapter in the story of Kratos. Kratos has moved on from Greek mythology and equipped with a killer beard and a son in tow, he is ready to start exploring the wonders of Norse mythology and have a decent crack at fatherhood too. I can’t imagine it could be too easy for Kratos’ son, we don’t know too much about him but imagine having a Dad like Kratos? After everything that beast of a man has been through how could you possibly live up to the massive weight of expectation that comes with being the son of a legend? Even Kratos seems to be struggling with figuring out how to be a Dad and teach his son the art of being a mighty Warrior.

One of the things that excites me so much about God of War is that this adventure is shaping up as being the most emotional game in the franchise to date. Kratos must tackle Norse mythology all the while trying to wrestle with being a father. One of the moments that has stuck with me is that intimate moment between Father and Son where his son looks at him no doubt feeling disappointed that his first kill wasn’t as easy as his Dad would have liked, followed by Kratos considering comforting his son before rethinking it and not providing that loving reassurance of a fatherly embrace. The developers told us that we can expect many more intimate moments between Father and Son throughout the adventure and part of that intimacy is captured via something we haven’t seen before in God of War, a free roaming camera.

God of War has always been big on fixed camera positions to guide the player through the adventure and set up for those massive cinematic battles. This time around the player is in complete control of the experience by being able to move the camera freely as they explore the environment. Being in control of the camera also makes this God of War installment more open than previous titles. Don’t expect a complete open world adventure but expect to have the ability to explore the world a bit more. Exploration will be rewarded as there will be plenty of loot and rewards to be found by players who are keen to explore their surroundings. With that free roaming camera and exploration at it’s heart we will see God of War move from linear storytelling to more ambient environmental storytelling. Something that was easy to miss unless you look closely is that for the first time, God of War goes seamlessly from the cinematics into gameplay and vice versa so you’ll never feel like you’ve been taken out of the moment this time round.

Another important point to note is that Kratos’ formidable blades have been replaced by one seriously impressive axe. The blades have been with Kratos right from his first adventure so changing up his weaponry takes some serious guts. The change certainly fits well with Norse mythology but moreover it allows Kratos to try his hand at a new style of combat and provides the player with more options to slay the mighty foes that will feature in game. The battle with the Draga is a prime example of this. THe combat system plays of the trigger buttons, primarily the R1 and R2 buttons and allows Kratos to utilise short, medium and long range attacks. Up close Kratos is devastating with axe in hand but he is also able to throw the wepon and call it back which makes him more deadly when there is distance between himself and his enemy. He can also unleash a devastating ground attack which is very handy in the medium range. Using R3 Kratos will also be able to lock on to targets which is going to come in handy with the new free roaming camera to ensure he doesn’t lose sight and focus on targets.

Oh and you know that moment in the trailer where his son starts attacking the Draga? That is an action the player can call up throughout the game through a dedicated “Son” button. The “Son” button will add an extra element of stategy to battles with Kratos able to use his son to provide archery attacks in support of the main offense. No doubt as we progress the Son will become a much more accomplished warriors which will make his talents very handy in some of the larger battles. The rage meter will come into play as well but with a twist. Since the Father/Son aspect is a core part of the experience, Kratos’ interactions with his Son also has the potential to change his rage level and from everything we’ve seen so far I’m expecting Kratos to develop plenty of rage as he figures out how to be a Father!

So there you have it. God of War is back and is going to be bigger than ever. Intimacy and emotion are not something we have seen before in God of War so this adventure promises to deliver a new experience for the franchise. Changes to the camera and a brand new weapon of choice will give gamers the chance to experience the new Kratos. And as for the graphics well they look pretty damn impressive. The studio set up a motion capture studio to help bring out all the subtle details in the characters. If you aren’t sure about them then take a look at the beard, notice how it is blowing in the wind?!

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