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Hitman: Absolution Goes Hardcore (Mode)

Justin Carter — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:00:15 +0000

Hitman: Absolution will have a mode for those who’ve played through any of the prior games. IO Interactive Producer Hakan Abrak says that the mode will reward stealth play with Achievements/Trophies.

“We will get into more details at a later point, but obviously it’s linked to the playing style. It’s more pacify your enemies, be undetected, maybe solve the challenges in a smarter way. That will probably give you a stealth assassin achievement.

Rest assured, the hardcore fans that like to have replayablity value in the game or want to have this stealth assassin — you know, I’m the ultimate stealth assassin — that playing style, those achievements, are very much in the game.”

Hardcore modes in games are notorious for making gamers yell at the TV and prepare to hurl it, the console, and the game out the nearest window. Having tried and failed to play Fallout: New Vegas on its Hardcore mode, I don’t think I’ll try Absolution‘s Hardcore mode when the game comes out.

Hitman: Absolution stealth kills onto the 360, PS3, and PC sometime next year, so you’ve got some time to contemplate if you’ll give it a try. If you do, be sure to have the ambulance on speed dial and give your neighbors some earplugs.

[Via Joystiq]

Jersey Shore: Kinect is The First Hardcore Kinect Title (Hands On)

Chris Carlson — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:30:50 +0000

Many Kinect gamers have been waiting the arrival of a hardcore Kinect title since Microsoft launched the device back in November 2010. Well, Kinect fans rejoice! Your first hardcore title will arrive this holiday exclusively for Kinect… at least that’s what we’re going to make you believe because, face it, there are no hardcore titles coming.

Last week, I took a trip to Jersey where I met up with HairGel Games to get an exclusive first look at Jersey Shore: Kinect. Many of you are probably wondering “what in the world is so hardcore about Jersey Shore?” Thankfully, a HairGel rep was there to explain:

“Jersey Shore: Kinect is a unique gaming experience that can’t be matched by any of our competitors peripherals. Our goal with Kinect is to offer a realistic representation of what one can experience at the Jersey Shore. Players can go tanning and workout throughout the day, and at night time go party and get into crazy bar fights. Of course if you wanted to sit on your lazy ass all day and start drama with your roommates, you can do that too.”

Fist Pump For The Win!!

Basically you start off in your beach house with 7 other roommates and you’re free to do as you wish. While you can interact with your roommates and freely roam around your beach house by simply holding your arm straight out in front of you pointing in the direction you want to go, you’ll need to call a cab to get anywhere else on the Shore. A few minutes after calling for a cab, I heard a horn outside and was prompted to say “cab’s here!” to proceed to my destination.

Once I arrived at the club, things got interesting. Some intense funky-fresh track came on as I was prompted to begin. As you can see above, the controls are pretty simple. You raise your hand up and constantly punch thin air for no apparent reason, aka fist pump. That’s it! You don’t get extra points for actually dancing, but the faster you pump, the more points you rack up. Awesome! Just make sure not to accidentally hit anything or anyone while playing. We all know how crazy and dangerous fist pumping is.

After I got done getting my groove on and showing those ripped orange gangsters my swagger, I decided it was time to go tanning. Yes, tanning! In Jersey Shore Kinect You can unofficially get orange without the need of baking your flesh! The great thing about tanning is that I was able to take a quick nap and rack up an insane amount of points. Mostly because how you play is just like in real life, which, as the developer explained, is “their goal”. All you need to do is simply lay flat on your back anywhere that Kinect can track you… and wait. Then wait some more… then a little bit more. Basically, until you’re tired of laying down.

You can also choose from a variety of tanning lotions, which felt very pointless since you can’t see your character. But hey, they wanted that realistic representation, and they’re going for it! After about 30 minutes of tanning, my back started to ache but I was able to get my first Jersey Shore achievement.

Speaking of achievements, while the game is still a little ways off, HairGel decided to share a few achievements that the game offers to give us a sneak peak of what’s in store for gamers this holiday.

One of my favorite achievements shown above is “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Snook ‘em’s” where you must punch Snooki in the face for a kick-ass 30 gamer points. Some of the other achievements included: “Umpa Lumpa – Tan for 60 consecutive minutes”, “Thick & Sticky – Use an entire bottle of hair gel before heading out to the club” and “Bombs Away: Dodge a grenade at the club and sound the grenade whistle”.

Jersey Shore Kinect also offers 8-person online multiplayer. Gamers from across the world will be placed in a virtual beach house where they can fight, argue, drink, talk about pointless shit and then venture out into the Shore and become superstars. If you’re not excited yet, HairGel also stated they plan on releasing a demo two weeks before launch to show Kinect believers just how hardcore this game really is. Seriously bro, it doesn’t get any more hardcore than this.

As if the game isn’t already enough, you can pick up the Jersey Shore avatar items on XBL right now!!!! Are you ready to party? Check out the official box art for Jersey Shore: Kinect below!

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 – Too Casual for the Hardcore?

Matthew Sims — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:57:40 +0000

I’ve been playing Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 for about a day now, which makes me an expert on the subject (that’s just the way the internet works). In all my exhaustive coverage of the game, I’ve certainly noticed something a little strange.

First of all, the game features 2 control modes, but anyone with any cursory knowledge of how buttons are placed on the controller will want to shy away from the simple controls. Basically if you can throw a hadoken, there isn’t much you won’t be able to do. So for my little rant here, I’ll just assume you can use the regular control scheme.

At about 12 hours in I’ve noticed that everything seems to appeal to a middle of the road player. The combos are very accessible but assuming that the casual player will just pick Sentinel and spam button combinations, you don’t have much need for memorization. Hardcore players will be able to do every combo in the game in about an hour, the window for button input is so large it is practically ridiculous. Serious players will shake their head as sub par players pull off ridiculous air combos by simply spamming two buttons.

MvC3 has only been out a short time, but it is possible that we might see more top tier players than ever before. I’m not saying that the game isn’t good, just not very deep. The amount of moves seem significantly toned down from MvC2 to MvC3 and the matches tend to degrade into a 4 hit combo, a launcher, air combo, special move or hyper combo. Rinse and repeat until victory.

There is an undeniable force behind the game; it is fun. No longer do I have to practice for hours, and since all the characters are balanced (more or less) I don’t have to listen to my opponents bitch about how cheap my team is. The game is still an awesome addition to the franchise, but it does seem like many hardcore players may be dissuaded from practicing this title seriously. We all know what Justin Wong thinks already.

Also, I feel the need to make it perfectly clear that Galactus is a major asshole.

What do you think about complexity of MvC3? Let us know in the comments below or tweet to @Invadersims or @Ripten. We might even post your opinions online!

Bloober Exec – “Only bad Wii games sell badly.”

Dylan Duarte — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:58:08 +0000

You may not have heard of Bloober. You’re forgiven if you haven’t, because before now, neither had I. Looking at the smalltime developer’s website, I’m not even sure if they’ve released a game yet, but they’ve got a few promising irons in the fire. But it was the above comment that caught my eye.

Bloober Team executive Marcin Kawa spoke up recently when an exec from Capcom commented that core titles don’t do well on Nintendo’s console. Kawa responded with the above, titular comment, as well as the following.

“With such a strong install base it’s hard to believe that there’s not enough people to appreciate mature, core content”.

Kawa elaborates by focusing on the quality of the titles.

“It’s all about games and quality. I’m not surprised that another shooter on rails doesn’t sell well. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that people expect something more than that.”

Kawa cites games like No More Heroes 2, Monster Hunter 3 and Metroid: Other M as quality, hardcore games that will likely do well. It’s the following comments that made me really fall in love with the developer.

“Instead of bitching we’d rather create something that has value and doesn’t feel like a third-rate port put together to make a quick buck.”

I like, go on.

“Our logic is far simpler: if the game doesn’t sell, we did something wrong.”

There are definitely external factors when dealing with game sales, and yes, piracy is one of them. But I agree with Kawa’s logic: if your game is good, people will purchase it.

Bloober’s upcoming WiiWare title, Last Flight, is listed as coming soon on their official website.

Nintendo World Report

Assassins Creed II Mosh: Ezio Really Loved Raw Power in the 80s (Video)

Gavin Bard — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:28:08 +0000

Now, as you could probably tell by the fact my hair stereotypically covers a large quadrant of my face, I’m a fan of that whole hardcore thing. I am not, however, a fan of the flailing your arms aimlessly in the middle of a crowd to show your enjoyment of the band thing. I find that it is without equal in the looking ri-god-damn-diculous department. This video, which involves Ezio from Assassins Creed II watching the people of Italy windmill until they pass out like it is a Dillinger Escape Plan show, is such a 100% accurate recreation of the silliness.

You laugh, you lose.

The Watercooler – 09 November 2008

Dan Landis — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 11:04:53 +0000

Warning: The Watercooler is the best thing you will see on the Internet today, mainly because it is the best thing I saw on the Internet yesterday. Be advised that The Watercooler is not necessarily videogame related (it usually won’t be), and is often silly, controversial, and/or not safe for work (NSFW). If this type of content frequently offends you, please be aware that I just warned you — if you still click through and get offended, it will be your own stupid fault. Otherwise, please continue…

Today’s Watercooler features the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Remember when they had a live show and played hardcore death metal? Me neither, but it totally happened and I have proof. This is 100% real, and if you don’t believe it, well, then I guess you need to look up the definition of real.

Oh em jee. If the Ninja Turtles ever did go on tour with a soundtrack like this, I would totally paint my face and go see them. Or maybe I’d wear a mask… and bring eight of my friends… and have a ninja fight because they’re stealing our music. Yeah, that sounds right.

I also want to give a special shout out to Leonardo’s one-string guitar. Nothing rocks as hard as a single string.

You’re welcome.

Think you have something that could be Watercooler material? Send it to dlandis@ripten.com. If your submission gets featured, you will win a prize package full of pride and accomplishment.

Call of Duty 4: Double XP Weekend and New Playlists Inbound

Rangebar Merani — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:55:21 +0000

Robert Bowling, Community Manager for Infinity Ward, has revealed that the team has been hard at work on a playlist update for their hit shooter Call of Duty 4.

Along with the playlist update, which hasn’t been given a date yet, there is an Xbox Live and Playstation Network double-experience points promotion in the works for the weekend of September 13-14.

Here is a peek of some of the game types we should be seeing in the new update. Bowling has stated that the list is nowhere near complete yet, but it’s a teaser of what we might see soon.

Hardcore Headquarters – Testing is completed for Hardcore HQ. This playlist has standard HQ rules with Hardcore Settings. Limited HUD, Increased Bullet Damage, and Friendly Fire Enabled
Hardcore Ricochet Playlist – This is the “No Teamkilling” playlist. Any damage a teamkiller attempts to do to their teammates is reflected onto themselves only. Therefore, if they attempt to shoot an RPG into the ground at the beginning of the match, the only person who will die is the teamkiller. This eliminates the fear of being shot in the back by some asshole, but still encourages players to play tactically and not throw random ‘nades, because if you accidentally hit a teammate, you’re only going to end up killing yourself and they’ll go unharmed. No Teamkilling, No Random ‘Nades. This playlist will include the variant for Hardcore Team Deathmatch, Hardcore Search and Destroy, and Hardcore HQ.
Sudden Death Sabotage – Sabotage with no respawns. Fast-paced and intense Sabotage. No more hiding with the bomb until time runs out for sudden death. Increased XP per kills to encourage Team Deathmatch mentality. Defend your objective while attempting to secure the bomb and plant on theirs. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. No second chances.
Second Chance Search and Destroy – Search and Destroy with one respawn each. This completely revamps your Search and Destroy tactics. No longer will a lucky frag or well-placed claymore end your chance of victory. Each player has one respawn, creating longer, more thought-out attack/defend strategies. Eliminate enemy players and cut off their reinforcements while you defuse.
Bare-Bones Team Deathmatch – Team Deathmatch with no perks and no air support.
Hardcore Free for All - Free For All with Hardcore Settings.
Team Elimination (Last Man Standing) – 3 round Team Deathmatch with no respawns. Switch sides each round.
Multi-Bomb Search and Destroy – Search and Destroy but all attackers spawn with a bomb.

When the Variety Map Pack was released back in April, a double-experience points weekend came along with it, so I’m expecting the new playlists and promotion weekend will coincide this time around as well.

Source: Hexus