RipTen Videogame Blog » FPS

Modern Warfare 3 DLC Hits PS3 February 28 for Elite Members

Todd Schlickbernd — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:30:51 +0000

Activision has finally let Sony and its PS3 into the Modern Warfare 3 DLC club, or, at least the bouncer has given them an estimated seating time. The first map pack for Modern Warfare 3, which includes Piazza and Liberation, will finally be available on PS3 on February 28. That is, for Call of Duty: Elite members. So if you’re not one of those people, then you get to wait even longer! How ridiculous it is that not only does PS3 have to wait for the maps, even the people who are paying a bunch of money to get things early still have to wait. Oh man. How silly.

At the very least, Activision has put out a nice resource for people who are looking to know when maps and missions are coming out for Modern Warfare 3 in the form of their content calendar. Stare at it while you PS3-players wait another four weeks for your maps.

PlanetSide 2 Webcast Answers Community Questions

Jensen Walker — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:38 +0000

If you’ve been following the development cycle of Sony Online Entertainment’s forthcoming MMOFPS PlanetSide 2, you’re in for a treat. Today, SOE released a 30-minute long video in which Creative Director Matt Higby chats with Game Designer Kevin Moyer and Senior Art Director Tramell Isaac about Nanite Systems Vehicles, as well as answering questions submitted via Twitter.

The team also discusses vehicle customization and reveals information about the Sunderer, the Lightening, the Liberator, and the Galaxy.

The full 30-minute video can be found below for your viewing pleasure. For more information about the game, head over to the official website.

New Gotham City Impostors Simple Math Trailer and Public Beta

Drake Hess — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:00:26 +0000

Super heroes and super villains need vacations too, and Gotham City Impostors gives us all a 12 on 12 First Person Shooter style look at what happens when Gotham’s finest caped crusader and his freakishly face painted foe are replaced with Kick-Ass style fill-ins.

The public beta starts today on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, however the XBL version requires gamers to visit the official website beta page to register for a chance to receive a key, while the PSN version can be downloaded without one.

Check out the trailer below.

The over-the-top gadgets like the Bear Traps, Spring Boots, and Grappling Hook make this at the very least worth a beta download. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

US Veteran Not Happy With Modern Warfare 3 Ads

Catherine Cai — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:52:46 +0000

Veteran and former paratrooper for the U.S. Army Special Operations command D. B. Grady called out “the Vet and the Noob” Modern Warfare 3 ad for trivializing war in an article on The Atlantic, entitled “The Hideous Marketing of ‘Modern Warfare 3′”.

The advertisement trivializes combat and sanitizes war. If this were September 10, 2001, maybe it wouldn’t be quite so bad,” writes Grady. “Those who are too young to remember Vietnam might indulge in combat fantasies of resting heart rates while rocket-propelled grenades whiz by, and of flinty glares while emptying a magazine into the enemy. But after ten years of constant war, of thousands of amputees and flag-draped coffins, of hundreds of grief-stricken communities, did nobody involved in this commercial raise a hand and say, “You know, this is probably a little crass. Maybe we could just show footage from the game.”"

No, Grady isn’t speaking out against war shooters, but the fact that the ad decides to show “the Noob” running out, shooting rocket launchers and throwing grenades, all with a manner that Grady describes as, “War is great, see? It’s like a gritty Disneyland.” No, he believes that the advertisements are inappropriate:

“…as Afghanistan intensifies and we assess the mental and physical damage to veterans of Iraq, is now really the time to sell the country on how much fun the whole enterprise is?”

And Grady does have a point. As a noncombatant all my life, I can’t comment on such a topic, but I can definitely see how Grady would be offended by such trivializing of war. After all, the United States has suffered war for the past ten years and tragically, lives have been lost.

I’m definitely not trivializing Grady’s experiences or his argument, but I feel like Modern Warfare 3‘s ad isn’t meant to be taken seriously. Not once is Jonah Hill’s delivery in the advertisement dramatic. I can’t think of anything less serious than the line, “Should I use the knife?” after Hill destroyed the entire floor of a building with a rocket launcher, so dubbed “the noob tube” within the game. The advertisement is doing little more than showing a live action version of the gameplay within Modern Warfare 3 and how a CoD multiplayer newbie learns that using the “noob tube” in close quarters is probably not the best idea.

Although he claims that his issue isn’t with the war shooter genre, I think that just might be his very problem. Sure, it’s insensitive, but we have movies depicting war and FPS modern warfare (no pun intended) shooters for entertainment. Wouldn’t that very reason trivialize war already?

[Via VG247]

Gotham City Impostors Is Not Your Average FPS (Hands On)

Chris Carlson — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:00:06 +0000

The last thing that comes to your mind when thinking of Batman and The Joker is a FPS. So, Gotham City Impostors is a very interesting game to say the least. At first sight, Gotham City Impostors may looks like just another FPS, but rest assured, it’s far more than that. In fact, I was quite surprised at just how damn fun this game really was. Best part of it all, it’s an XBLA/PSN title and it packs some serious punch.

What sets Gotham City Impostors apart from every other FPS in the over crowded market, is how much variety and customization is offered. No matter how you choose to play a FPS, there’s something here for you. So let me break down just how much customization is packed into this massive downloadable title, which is known as your “Secret Identity”.

First off is editing your loadouts. You have your standard primary weapon, back up weapon, support item and what every super hero can’t do without; a gadget. You’re primary and back up weapons include; assault rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc. You also get a mod for each one.

The Dawn Patrol assault rifle for example has a wide selection of mods such as a silencer, red dot sight, extended mags, or even a body odor sniffer that reveals the positions of nearby enemies as wavy yellow “stink clouds”. Last but not least is your camo. FPS these days can’t have an awesome arsenal and no camo, that’s just crazy talk!

The support items and gadgets are what really make Gotham City Impostors stand out. Your support items would be your grenades or flashbangs in other games. In Gotham City, shit gets real. Who needs grenades when you can use bear traps, shurikens, or even a boomerang that can target multiple enemies and stun them all within a matter of a seconds.

The gadgets on the other hand, are where the real fun comes into play. Not only are these reusable, there’s also objects within the maps that benefit some gadgets. Equip a pair of roller skates to move quicker and you can jump off ramps sending you soaring through the air. If you’re more of a flying type of guy, just equip a glider rig and you’ll be flying like Batman in no time.

This isn’t useful on the ground, but it can be if you’re in the right place at the right time. Vents will blow air up sending you into the sky if you have the glider equiped. From here, you can perform “Dive Bombs” on unsuspecting enemies. Yeah, it’s bad ass.

If you’re like me though, you’ll enjoy the grapple gun which can hook on to virtually anything pulling you straight in. Feeling lazy and don’t want to walk to the other side of the map? No problem. Pull out your grapple gun, aim, fire, and before you know it, you’re behind the enemy.

All of these mentioned above can be selected in your loadout giving you whatever experience you choose to have. There are pre-sets for starting out, but once you level up you’re free to use what ever you like, when you like. It doesn’t stop there either. Even though this is an FPS, you can even customize your character. Based on your performance in game, you’ll earn “Costume Coins”. These can be used to purchase new: hats, logos, capes, shirts, pants, shoes, etc.

There’s also clan support which is called “Gangs” in-game, and two other customization options set as “Classified”. So prepare on spending quite some time perfecting your hero. While all this is great, it’s the gameplay that really matters right? Rest assured because Gotham City Impostors is a fucking blast. The beta currently supports two maps and two game modes. Psych Warfare is where you grab a battery and plug it in to demoralize your enemies with propaganda. Unfortunately, due to the lack of participants currently in the beta, I was unable to ever find a match in this game mode.

Fumigation is the other game mode which is essentially Domination from Call of Duty, except better. There’s three control points placed on the map in which you capture and defend. However, you’re not working to a set score. You’re working towards 100%. What this means is, you could be at 99% and the other team could start dominating you bringing you down to 10%. What’s great is if you start picking up your slack, you always have a chance to come back and win without worrying about the team having a higher “score” than you.

At the same time, this can be really bad for newcomers. I’ve been in games that lasted just a few minutes because my team was unable to overpower the enemy resulting in a very quick and unpleasant match. When you have two good teams and all these different weapons and gadgets being used at once, it creates a really chaotic, yet satisfying experience.

The controls are easy to pick up and jump straight into you, if you played just about any other arcade style FPS, you’ll feel right at home. The only real problem I’ve encountered with Gotham City Impostors is lag spikes. They don’t necessarily happen every few seconds, but they do happen often enough to make it somewhat annoying. I’ve also had a few instances where the countdown would reach 1 second, but the game would never start. Thankfully, this is a beta! So hopefully these minor issues will be ironed out before release.

From the mass amount of customization and variety, to the easy pick up and play controls, Gotham City Impostors brings one hell of a great time. I’m not going to lie, when I saw the trailers for the game, I thought it was going to be really lame. However, after playing multiple hours with my friends, this is definitely a game I’m going to be picking up once it’s released in January. Oh, and did I mention this was an arcade title? Yes, yes I did. But I feel as if I should remind you seeing how this could easily pass as a full downloadable title with a similar pricing model to games such as Resident Evil 4 HD.

Definitely keep your eyes on Gotham, my friends.

Google Pulls Map Powered FPS Created By Amsterdam Agency

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:01:24 +0000

If you just heard about the Google Maps First Person Shooter mash up created by Pool Worldwide of Amsterdam, you’re sadly too late to experience the fun first hand.

What was this masterpiece you ask? It allowed you to access Google Street View maps with a little added bonus, and by added bonus I mean a Call of Duty style assault rifle. Well, that’s all gone now … and just in time it would seem, as our own Dave Oshry was about to use it to turn my newly purchased home into a block of Swiss cheese.

If you’re desperate to see what this looked like in action, you can still access their video teaser on YouTube. Who knows how much longer that will be there though.

I mean, we simply can’t have kids running around thinking its okay to shoot stuff in a virtual environment. That would be wrong.

Follow me on Twitter @themadgamer or shoot me an email at chad@ripten.com.

In Five Minutes We Can Show You Why You Should Want Serious Sam 3

Dave Oshry — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:35 +0000

Reading is for chumps. So is playing linear first person shooters than keep you hiding behind cover the whole damn time.

That ain’t fun. Serious Sam is fun.

To prove it, we’re all done writing previews, we’ve already written three.

So instead, we’re just going to show you five minutes of gameplay:

First some kamikaze killin’

Then a little boss fightin’

And now a whole bunch more kamikazes… which I’ve made explode into candy…

Serious Sam. No Cover, All Man.

You can pick up Serious Sam 3: BFE for PC only this Tuesday, November 22nd. If you pre-order now on Steam it’s 10% off and only $35.99!!

For more on Serious Sam 3, be sure to check out our latest hands on preview and stay tuned for the RipTen Review next week.

Still want more? ok, here’s one more video…

Serious Sam 3 Is So F**king Old School It Hurts (Hands On)

Dave Oshry — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:33:36 +0000

Whoever said, “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” was right about nine times out of ten. That tenth time was reserved for Serious Sam 3.

In case for some reason you’ve been counting, yes, this our third hands on preview of Serious Sam 3. Why? Because the game still isn’t out despite PC gamer cries for an old school FPS in the wake of whatever it is you’d call the on-rails phenomenon that is Call of Duty 5-8.

But let’s not talk about that. Let’s not talk about Battlefield 3, let’s not talk about Bulletstorm and let’s certainly not talk about Duke Nukem Forever. Let’s talk old school.

This Is Not Battlefield 3

There once was a time in the FPS genre when the only thing you did more than shoot was strafe. When you pinned your pinky to the shift key, sprayed and prayed. A time when you could inexplicably carry 16 weapons at a time and tiny bits of health and armor were scattered all over the world for no apparent reason. A time when level design meant something other than going in a straight line and shooting whatever generic enemy was right in front of you. These were good times. ”Serious” Sam Stone wasn’t around back then, but somebody in Croatia obviously was. Croteam’s Serious Sam first burst onto the scene back in 2001, and old school FPS gamers the world over rejoiced while they spilled blood and bullet casings.

Fast forward 10 years and Sam is finally back in a major way. A new engine, new features, but that same old school attitude. How old school is Serious Sam? He makes Prince jokes. Yet to be fair, Prince just got big in Croatia… so it’s understandable. Serious Sam 3 is what it sounds like when doves (and Duke Nukem) cry.

This Preview Is Now Officially NSFW

So fucking old school it hurts? Yes. Both my character and my physical self. My eyes are bleeding, my fingers are numb, I have no health, no armor and I’m being chased by a pack of angry Headless Kamikaze’s through the streets of a soon to be post apocalyptic Egypt. I love this game.

Serious Sam 3 has a multitude of multiplayer modes, 16 player campaign co-op, a survival mode and more PC settings than you can shake a boomstick at… but all I got was the single player build to mess around with for a month. Luckily, it’s long, it’s strong, and it’s down to get the friction on. I was given 11 out of the game’s 12 chapters and I played them back and forth, front to back, over and over again, on every difficuly from Tourist to Serious. On tourist, even a console CoD gamer has a chance to clear the level. On Serious… you will die. Dark Souls has nothing on 500 Kleer Skeletons, Kamikazes and Gnaar all coming at you at once. Seriously.

It’s hard to explain just how insane Serious Sam 3 can get if you’re not familiar with the franchise, and even harder to explain if I told you that there was an in-game option to turn all the blood into candy. Luckily, I’ve made this short video presentation for your amusement:

Yep. that’s pretty much Serious Sam 3 in a nutshell. Now, imagine scenarios like that with up to 16 player co-op. My frame rate hurts just thinking about it.

As you may have noticed, the game also looks pretty damn good. That’s thanks to Croteam’s new and aptly named “Serious Engine 3.” What this engine does (besides pump out fantasticly detailed visuals) is allow for hundreds of enemies to be on screen at once with minimal frame rate loss. I don’t know how it does it, it just does. However, even my mammoth gaming rig slowed at bits during certain boss battles where I was literally in an acre wide open space being chased by roughly over 9000 screaming meanies. Sure, they could have scaled it down, but that ain’t what Serious Sam is about.

For those who are interested, the game takes place in some sort of destroyed semi-futuristic Egypt and is apparently a prequel to whenever the evil armies of Lord Mental took over the Earth in 20XX. However, if you play Serious Sam for the story you should probably start calling yourself Lord Mental.

Meanwhile, Egypt itself looks marvelous, and here’s some screens I took to prove it:

Lovely

Scary

Egypty

RipTen Review: Nuclear Dawn (PC)

Sam Naylor — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:13:26 +0000

Nuclear Dawn is a game with real ambition. It sets out to be the game every PC gamer has imagined – an RTS where the troops are real players, playing a FPS. Does it realise the dream, though?

Developed by InterWave Studios, Nuclear Dawn is a multiplayer shooter which allows one player per team to take the hot seat and be a real-time strategy commander. Each round is based around destroying the other team’s base of operations, capturing strategic control points throughout the map as you do it. The more control points you have the more resources your commander will have to build up defenses and armaments around the map to protect and aid the team on the ground.

The game is based on the Source engine (it was originally planned as a mod but became a full product during development) and Nuclear Dawn really benefits from it. There’s a tendency for a small game like this to have a terrible interface, but the Source server browser architecture especially means there’s no hassle involved in starting a game, and all the menus work fine. It seems a minor point but as a reviewer it’s just a nightmare when games like this fight you even in the menu screens.

The gunplay in first-person mode really works, too. It’s completely uncomplicated and genuinely fun as a result. Even triple-A titles like Call of Duty take some getting used to, but to anyone who has played Counter-Strike, TF2 or Day of Defeat, Nuclear Dawn will be familiar from the outset. Getting kills is satisfying and none of the combat feels clunky- and what more could you ask for, really?

The combat itself may be simple to get into but there is plenty of depth in the class system. There’s four distinct classes- assault, heavy, stealth and support- and within each of those there are several kits to pick between. For example, playing as the assault class, I could choose to use a standard rifle, grenade launcher or a sniper rifle. “Advanced” kits like the grenade launcher are unlocked in the process of each game by the commander’s decisions.

The game looks very minimal and, to be brutally honest, fairly ugly. It looks, well, like a Source mod. It can be off-putting looking at screenshots of the game, especially the sandy “Oasis” level, because it just doesn’t look like a modern game in any way. The thing is, though, this never bothered me once I was playing the game. I spend a fair amount of time playing Source mods (or, I did a few years ago) and I’ve come to enjoy the rather simplistic look they employ. Look at it like this – there’s a reason Counter-Strike: Source is still massive, and it’s not because it looks stunning.

That brings me to the absolute biggest problem this game has, above everything else. There are no players. I’ve never played Nuclear Dawn at a time where there are more than 30 people worldwide playing the bloody thing. Because of this obviously we all have to crowd into one server, meaning you get huge amounts of varying latency between players. I’ve been forced to play on an Australian server where I had a constant ping of over 200, for example, simply because there’s no other servers that have players.

This brings me straight on to the part of the game that Nuclear Dawn is all about. The real-time strategy element. I’ve hardly been able to play it. Because there is only ever one or two servers with players on, I’ve just never been able to get into the hot seat. I did once, but was instantly kicked out by the admin. Dave has tried as well, and when we’re not waiting around trying to find a game, we’re waiting around trying to get into the command center so we can test out the RTS elements. It’s not the game’s fault, really, but it’s certainly a problem. For the brief moments I played with the RTS controls it it seemed serviceable, and the fact that people hog it so much means it must have some appeal.

Dave had more luck than me trying out the RTS part and he says it works much as you’d expect, albeit a bit slow and with little introduction as to just “how” to play. However, he says if you’re at all familiar with RTS games, you should have no issues setting up turrets and supply lines all across the map in no time.

It’s a serious affliction and can surely only be the fault of the marketing, rather than the developers. The game simply costs too much money. Nobody is buying it because of that, though it could perhaps do with a bit more presence. I didn’t even know what it was until we were handed the review code. This game needs players to make it a good game, and unfortunately they’re just not seeming to be coming in.

It’s unfortunate, then, that I’m going to tell you right now that this game is worth buying. It’s a genuinely fun and enjoyable game with some really interesting features – the RTS stuff is superbly executed and the FPS stuff works really well. Nuclear Dawn is great fun. They’ve also not bogged it down with silly complications like single player or special modes, which really impressed me. Call me odd but I much prefer my games to have a proper focus on one or the other (especially as a reviewer who has to play all the shit bits as well as the good bits).

Wait for a half-price sale, perhaps, but do yourself a favour and have a go at Nuclear Dawn. (At least then we’ll have someone to play with)

Here’s The Rundown:

+ Satisfying and fun shooting
+ RTS elements that work
+ Great idea, executed well
+ No complications- multiplayer only and server browser is perfect

- Nobody is playing it
- The people who actually are playing it prevent you from playing the RTS bit
- Overpriced for what it is
- Ugly maps and models

Learn more about the RipTen scoring system and what this score means. Visit our review scoring page.Nuclear Dawn was Published and Developed by InterWave Studios for PC and Mac. The game was played for about 6 hours in multiplayer on a PC with the following specs: AMD Phenom X4, 4GB RAM, ATi Radeon HD 5850 and a 24″ Asus monitor. It was released on 26 September 2011 on PC for $24.99 and will release at some point this year on Xbox 360. You can get it on all the big download outlets here if you’re so inclined.

OH COME ON!

Hard Reset Gets Release Date, New Screens and System Reqs

Matthew Sims — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:00:05 +0000

It’s becoming exceedingly more rare for games to have PC exclusivity (or any sort of exclusiveness at all really) and even more rare that an FPS is only offered up to the folks who use a keyboard and a mouse to get headshots. Hard Reset, is a futuristic cyberpunk shooter that… really do I need to explain any more than that?

We’ve already teased the product a little bit, and I can certainly say that it is very intriguing. It seems to be an amalgamation of all the best games in the genre, and features a cybernetic eye patch. That’s right, a cybernetic. eye. patch. Take it in and try not to get hype.

The game is scheduled to release September 13th according to the official product website, and will drop on Steam for the bargain price of $29.99 (and if you preorder you can score an extra 10% off).

The system specs have also been released, and I’m happy to say that they’re attainable by even the most modest machines.

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GS / ATI Radeon HD 3870 or better
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 4 GB free hard drive space

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Quad Core 2.3 GHz / AMD Phenom II x4 2.5 GHz
RAM: 3 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT / ATI Radeon HD 4870 or better
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 4 GB free hard drive space

And if you’re brain isn’t exploding with info yet, check out the few new screens hot off the internetz:

Word has it that our editor has been messing around with a preview build so expect a write-up and some epic gameplay soon.

Teenage Mutant Sewer Hatchers: RAGE in a Half Shell for Full Price

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:04:29 +0000

I’ve often been asked to “get my mind out of the gutter”, and that’s a perfectly understandable request on most occasions. However, the fine folks at id software have decided to offer the gutter as incentive to buy their highly anticipated new IP, RAGE, brand spanking new! I’m sold already.

If you want to play in the gutter (and who doesn’t) these sexy little sewer access points will only be available to you if you buy the game brand new via the handy dandy code inside.

In an interview with Eurogamer, id software’s Creative Director, Tim Willits, explains how the bonus content works.

“If you bought the game new, [sewer hatches] would be open for you. You still have to download it, but you don’t have to pay for it. Those hatches are all over. Most people never find them. But as soon as you do, you’re like, oh. And then you start to look for it. That’s our first-time buyer incentive.”

He then goes on to comment on the logic behind this type of new purchase incentive, by summing up the hatches as “fair”, “cool”, and “outside the main path.” Something that he hopes will serve as a slight incentive for the buy-it-new-brigade, without “detracting from anything.”

In other words, if you want to walk about on the main level like everyone else, go ahead and buy the game used, but if you want to sloth around with Michelangelo and the rest of his Ninja Turtle brothers, you’re going to have to fork up and pay full price.

PC Exclusive CyberPunk FPS “Hard Reset” Gets New Screens and Trailer

Chris Carlson — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:00:58 +0000

There isn’t much known about Flying Wild Hog‘s upcoming PC exclusive first person shooter Hard Reset, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t get excited. Check out some of the first screens and debut gameplay trailer for the game. Here’s a little information for those currently unaware:

“Hard Reset is a single player game, and has no multiplayer component at all, which means that Flying Wild Hog can focus all their attention on creating a compelling, polished single player campaign.

The game runs on a new engine called Road Hog and is set in a futuristic city called Bezoar. The protagonist’s name is Major Fletcher.”

Is Crytek Working On A New Shooter IP?

Chris Carlson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:00:34 +0000

A job listing from a current Crytek staff member reveals a new shooter IP is in the works. The LinkedIn profile of Gameplay/Animation Programmer David Ramos has revealed Crytek is apparently at work on a new IP for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC for the past year.

What’s even more interesting is somewhere in between August, 2008 and now. Ramos was working on a new third person shooter IP that was later canceled. ex-Technical Artist/Character TD, Dimitry Kachkovsk’s resume also revealed a title in production between May 2007, and December 2010 by the name of “Redemption”.

The game wasn’t listed as a third person shooter, but it was in development during the same time frame when Ramos was working on a third person shooter IP. I think you can put two and two together.

Crytek is crrently working on the Kinect title Ryse, which was formerly known as Codename Kingdoms.

Stay tuned to RipTen as this story unfolds.

Dishonored Gets Its First Screen and Info

Chris Carlson — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:33:20 +0000

Just a few days ago Bethesda Softworks announced Dishonored. Today the first screenshot along with some information about the game has surfaced.

GameInformer has revealed the first information available about Dishonored, along with a fresh screenshot.

Players will take control of the Empress’ legendary bodyguard, Corvo; which has a suite of supernatural powers and has been falsely imprisoned for her murder by the corrupt Lord Regent.

The game has several major elements that combine together and create unique gameplay: mobility, powers & gadgets, environment, and AI. As an example, players can “Stop time and knock a bunch of stuff off a table in one direction then book it in another, so the guards search for you in the wrong place.”

Dishonored is an assassination game that reacts based on how violent you are and uses a “chaos” sytem to track just how much collateral damage you’ve caused. As a result, the game world will also changed based upon your actions.

Dishonered is an all-new first-person action game under development at Arkane Studios and set to release in 2012 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Bethesda Formally Announces ‘Dishonored’ – Will Release in 2012

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:45:36 +0000

Bethesda-Softworks today confirmed that it will publish Dishonored, an all-new first-person action game under development at Arkane Studios. Dishonored will be the first project for the studio since being acquired by ZeniMax in 2010.

Under the direction of co-creative directors, Raphael Colantonio, lead designer on Arx Fatalis, and Harvey Smith, lead designer on Deus Ex, Dishonored is set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, and the PC in 2012.

This information was from an official press release. We’ll provide you with more details as they come in.

Steam Summer Sale Day 7: Left 4 Dead 2, Killing Floor, Arkham Asylum

Sam Naylor — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:01:28 +0000

Welcome to day 7 of the Steam summer sale, the day where the dead rise again (to take your money).

This year the gimmick is the “prize booth”, where gamers can gain tickets (like you might at a fair) to buy DLC bits and bobs for various Steam games. You can get tickets but completing the achievements set out on this page. There’s also a competition to win the top 10 games on your wish list on the same page.

Of course, there are hundreds of games on sale which can be found by browsing Steam‘s categories, but the daily deals are where the real savings begin. Here is what’s on offer today:

Atom Zombie Smasher 70% off
Far Cry 2 (franchise) 75% off
The Sims 3 (franchise) 66% off
GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City 75% off
King’s Bounty franchise 80% off
Prototype 50% off
Left 4 Dead 2 75% off
Gothic franchise 75% off
Lost Planet 2 50% off
Jamestown 50% off
Killing Floor 75% off
Batman: Arkham Asylum 75% off

There are also deals on whole catalogues here for your delectation. Check back tomorrow for the next set of daily deals.

Make sure you pick up Left 4 Dead 2and Killing Floor if you have any friends- one is a critically acclaimed and brilliant zombie FPS, and the other is a non-critically acclaimed but just as brilliant zombie shooter.

These New and Awesome Battlefield 3 Screens Will Get You Hype

Bryce Wilson — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:30:24 +0000

Battlefield 3 looks fucking amazing. There, I said it.

The team over at DICE seems to be making one of the most visually impressive games ever to release on PC with console versions not lagging far behind.

Anyhow, a slew of new screens have been released for your viewing pleasure.

Check them out below:

RipTen Review: Duke Nukem Forever (PS3)

Aaron Alexander — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:00:33 +0000

I don’t even know what the fuck is going on right now. I’ve just come off a 10 or so hour binge with what seemingly is Duke Nukem Forever… you know, the game that has been in development for over a decade? Though it’s hard not to dwell on that fact, I can’t help but feel the last few days have been some kind of weird fever-dream. To be quite honest, the 14 year wait has done no favors for Duke (aside from sales derived from it’s legend). You can tell this is a game stuck in the mindset of the 90′s – from the one-liners, to the classic feel of online Duke-match, Duke Nukem Forever is an old ass game. Will Duke deliver on his 14 year promise? Or will he toss us to the side like a fat chick who won’t put out? read on to find out.

Unfortunately for people excited about Duke’s latest adventure, it’s the latter. Don’t get me wrong, Duke Nukem Forever can still be an enjoyable experience, but from the get-go it’s very apparent that this isn’t the return to glory that Duke fans were hoping for. Both gameplay and visuals are very middling by today’s standards, and while some will argue not to compare it to other modern video-games, it still costs $60. Duke Nukem Forever at it’s core, is simply a basic first person shooter with loads of interactivity in the environments. While some interaction is mundane, like squeezing soap out of a dispenser or drinking out of a water fountain, other actions can improve Duke’s “Ego”, which is a fancy way of saying “life meter”

Guess what I sketched on his book. Starts with a P

By doing “Duke-Like” things within the Environments, you will receive an additional chunk to your Life meter, ultimately allowing Duke to soak up more damage before dying. “Duke-Like” things include looking at Porn, shooting hoops or doing weights to name a few. The Ego system is arguably the only thing Duke Nukem Forever truly does right, and should Gearbox choose to continue the Duke Franchise, it should definitely become a core principle. The real meat of Duke Nukem Forever obviously is it’s shooting, and when I say 13 years has done no favors for the game’s development, the combat makes it very apparent. Like in the previous games, you’ll be fighting an array of invading Aliens, from the infamous Pig Cop, to the absolute gargantuan Cycloid’s. Of course, to kill these bad boys, Duke will need a varied Arsenal, right? Not exactly. I earned the trophy for finishing the game with Duke’s handgun, and let me say, that it was no challenge. The only time you’ll need the heavier weaponry is during boss fights, as they can only be damaged with explosives. However, for the grunts of the Alien forces, I found myself sticking to the Pistol/Shotgun combination. You’re given chances to diversify with weapons like the Freeze ray or the Ripper, but they rarely feel more useful then the aforementioned combo, and more like small gimmicky distractions. Also, unlike Duke 3D, you can only carry two weapons at a time now, who the fuck came up with that idea? Some pussy in green power armor?

The problem with the combat doesn’t just come with the lack of interesting weapons however, it just doesn’t feel satisfying, or fun. Pig cops will enrage after a certain amount of damage taken, dropping their currently held weapon, and charging at you like a wild bull. The animations make it a damn chore to even keep your aiming reticule over the pig, as the movement is choppy, unclear, and lacks a sense of dynamic movement. Holding down L1 (or left trigger on the Xbox version) will zoom your aim, however not in a way you’ve come to expect from modern day shooters. The zoom function chops half your weapon model off, and pulls in your field of view toward the enemy. It actually doesn’t help the combat, and while I’m not suggesting that Duke should adopt the typical “aim down the sight” trend, it sure as hell would have worked much better what’s presented here.

"Morningwood" Get it?

As I said, though Duke Nukem Forever lacks modern features in some departments, it certainly chooses to adopt the “Two Weapon Max” trend popularized by Halo. If you’re used to Duke3D, this change will feel quite weird when starting out with Forever. Though as you keep playing, it feels natural in relation to the map design. If you come across a Railgun, you know instantaneously that a long range shooting scenario is about to occur. Aside from the two weapons Duke can carry at any given time, he also has access to four different items which all have various effects on gameplay. The classic Pipe-bomb returns, gibbing any unlucky Alien who comes close to it’s detonation. Duke can also drink Beer, or pop some Steroids. Beer will increase Duke’s resistance to damage for a short amount of time, making boss battles less of a grind-like chore, whilst Steroids will shrink Duke’s ego (among other things), in exchange for the ability to run around like a maniac punching anything he comes across into pink mist.

Aside from being armed with Weapons, Duke’s also armed with his ingenious insults and witty remarks, or at least that’s what Duke thinks. Most of the remarks left me frowning with disbelief, or literally face-palming. Duke often throws out insults to other video-games, which feel especially weak considering the referenced games are indeed better then Forever. When offered Master Chiefs armor, Duke replies with “Power Armor is for pussies”, or when solving puzzles that involve pipes, Duke remarks “I hate Valve puzzles”. Though it’s definitely not insidious or disrespectful, given the state of DNF, it feels out of place and desperate. It’s not only the bad and outdated jokes that induced face-palming, the load-times are long enough for a complete power-nap. Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but when you’re forced to sit for 40 seconds reading stale tips like “Avoid bullets” or “Don’t fall off cliffs”, it makes it a little more tedious than it should be. If you have a capable PC, definitely get Duke on that platform, just to avoid turning 80 before the game loads.

Gearbox and Sega Set to Deploy Aliens: Colonial Marines (Screens / Trailer)

Matthew Sims — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Earlier today, Sega and Gearbox announced that the next installment in the Aliens video game franchise will hit store shelves in Spring 2012. The game is set to be a first person shooter that puts you in the boots of a highly trained marine as you lead a squad against the Xenomorphs. Sega and Gearbox are apparently very excited for this partnership.

“To Gearbox Software and its peers throughout the industry, ALIENS is one of the most influential science fiction properties of all time,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Aliens: Colonial Marines, designed as an interactive successor to the landmark films from Twentieth Century Fox, is a dream project about which our studio is deeply committed and passionate.”

“Aliens: Colonial Marines will be THE definitive ALIENS gaming experience,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA Europe and SEGA of America. “Gearbox Software are doing a brilliant job translating the thrill and horror that ALIENS stands for into an action-packed shooter experience with co-operative gameplay at its core.”

Gary Rosenfeld, Senior Vice President of New Media for Fox Consumer Products added, “It’s no easy task to take on one of the most influential films of all-time, but SEGA and Gearbox are not going to disappoint. This game will be a must-have for fans of the ALIENS franchise and gamers around the globe.”

The title will take place on board an abandoned spaceship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, and try to discover what transpired aboard the derelict vessel. You must lead your squad of elite marines as you slowly uncover the truth that all of humanity is in peril.

Enjoy this fresh batch of screens and the trailer, and we’ll deliver more information when Ripten is in L.A. for E3 2011 next week.

Having Performance Issues With The Witcher 2? This May Help

Dave Oshry — Sun, 22 May 2011 21:04:52 +0000

While many people have been able to enjoy CDProjekt‘s latest RPG carefree at whatever settings they choose, many of the most hardcore PC gamers have been having serious performance issues with the game.

This is especially true for those of us with high end GPUs such as the Nvidia GTX 590 and ATI Radeon 6990.

First of all, be sure you have the latest drivers for your graphics cards, even if that means installing beta drivers.

ATI Users:

1. Install the latest drivers
2. Try running the game in windowed mode. (Sorry, but it helps)
3. For dual cards linked into crossfire, turn off one of the cards or use the Dirt 2 profile. <– This actually works.

Sorry, that’s all I got for ya. Luckily, you seem to have it better than the Nvidia users…

AMD/ATI also plans to release hotfix drivers dedicated to The Witcher 2.

Nvidia Users:

1. Install the latest drivers (beta)

2. Uninstall 3DVision. That’s right. Uninstalling everything related to Nvidia 3DVision from your add/remove control panel will likely fix all of your serious FPS issues. In fact, this is what worked for me. I don’t know why, but it just does, so do it. Do it nao!!

3. Ok, now this is a bit more complicated, so stick with me. If you have an SLI setup you may be noticing serious FPS drop even if you have a godly system. This should help:

Download Nvidia Inspector:

http://downloads.guru3d.com/NVIDIA-I…load-2612.html

Install.

Run as Administrator.

Midway down the window that will open you will see ” Driver Version – Your driver- and then a little button with a screwdriver/wrench cross logo.

Click the button.

At the top you will see a dropdown menu with Global Driver Profile as the default. Either type “The Witcher 2″ or scroll down to it and select it to open its profile.

Once open, find “Multichip Rendering Mode”

In the middle column delete the current value (some numbers and the words The Witcher 2) and insert 0x02C04205

Top Right- click apply changes.

Enjoy the witcher 2 utilizing full sli gpu power!

THERE IS A BUG- where interior lights bleed through walls occasionally. This is the same bug that SLI caused in the original Witcher…totally worth the huge boost in FPS IMO

Hopefully Nvidia releases a working SLI profile soon!!!

Also, turn off UberSampling… you’re not that cool.

CDProjekt says that a patch is coming next week to fix this and other issues, so say tuned for more.

If you know of any other quick fixes, or want some advice on upgrading of buildig a gaming PC, let me know at Dave@RipTen.com

In a related story, Geralt himself doesn’t have any “performance” issues. heh heh…