Features

Peter Molyneux And Sean Vanaman: The One-On-One Interview

Ben Hanson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:26:00 GMT

Two years ago at E3 I shot a one-on-one interview between Bethesda's Todd Howard and Mojang's Notch. It was an odd pairing, but I continue to receive a lot of positive responses to the video. This year at E3 I decided to schedule more videos that have developers that are fans of each other's work discuss whatever they would like. As a co-host of the Idle Thumbs podcast and creative lead/writer for Telltale's acclaimed The Walking Dead, Sean Vanaman's list of developers that he'd like to talk to on camera was topped by Peter Molyneux. Known for games like Black & White, Fable, and the upcoming Godus from his new company 22 Cans, Peter Molyneux is a colossal fan of The Walking Dead and was gracious enough to agree to this odd interview.

Watch the video below to hear these two developers discuss the writing process, Curiosity and other experiments from 22 Cans, the best way to survive a zombie apocalypse, and even drop a couple of hints about the second season of The Walking Dead. I've added timecode notes below the video if you'd like to jump around and hear them discuss a specific topic.

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0:00 - Peter Molyneux explains why he loves The Walking Dead from Telltale Games

6:50 - Sean Vanaman talks about his personal history and how he ended up working on The Walking Dead

8:40 - The two discuss the importance of voice actors

11:40 - Molyneux analyzes the character of Clementine from The Walking Dead

13:30 - Molyneux explains his creative process and the struggle of waiting for brilliant ideas

16:35 - Vanaman offers advice on how to get in to the industry and the importance of reading

20:55 - The downside of adapting books into films and the Harry Potter series

24:23 - How reading informs good game design and the challenge of character motivations

26:50 - Experimentation in games versus a guided narrative

29:45 - Why absolute freedom in games is not as good as it sounds

32:17 - Designing the opening of The Walking Dead's second episode

34:05 - Molyneux and Vanaman discuss Heavy Rain

39:26 - Designing the beginning of a game, and the opening moments from the Fable series

45:20 - The temptation of adding a lengthy tutorial to your game

47:30 - The Walking Dead and why the team wanted to create magic for 3% of its players

51:00 - Molyneux talks about Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube and the other game design experiments that he has planned

53:52 - Molyneux talks about his quest to make "one" great game in his life, his hopes for Godus, and the changing demographics of gaming

58:20 - Lessons from playtesting Telltale's The Walking Dead

1:00:20 - Finding meaningful feedback for your game

1:05:40 - The downside of offering feedback on games from Rare and Supergiant Games

1:08:50 - Teasing the second season of The Walking Dead and balancing the trinity of the game, the show, and the graphic novel

1:13:31 - The rise of zombie/survival fiction in our culture

1:16:42 - Molyneux's old game design about the end of the world

1:18:26 - Vanaman and Molyneux explain what they would do in the event of a zombie outbreak

If you'd prefer to listen to this interview as an audio file, I've attached an MP3 of the full discussion below.

PlayStation Vita At A Crossroads

Matthew Kato — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:30:00 GMT

The PlayStation Vita has had a rough time in its year-plus in existence. Will the PlayStation 4 give the handheld a new lease on life or will it have unintended consequences for the system?

Vita gamers have been waiting for the handheld to take off in terms of must-have software as well as sales, but like the PSP before it, the handheld's success will take some time if it occurs at all. The PlayStation 4 – while by no means a guarantee – could offer the Vita a lifeline. However, it could also change the handheld's identity.

Sony's mandate that PlayStation 4 games be playable via remote play with the Vita (as long as they don't require the PlayStation camera or Move) gives the handheld a big shot in the arm. Although they won't look as good and there may be instances where the controls don't seamlessly transfer, it's undeniable that the Vita – a system that needs quality experiences – will be able to instantly benefit from the new home console's library.

However, the Vita's remote play is restricted by the PS4's connection to your Wi-Fi network, so it's not like you'll be able to play your PS4 games anywhere and everywhere. Does this relegate the Vita merely to an expensive home system add-on and not a true handheld in its own right? I think that could be a danger. Despite remote play functionality, the Vita still needs software it can call its own. At E3, Jack Tretton (above) said that 85 titles will be coming to the system by the end of this year, but what kinds of games will these be?

A cursory look at some of the upcoming games shows a mix of titles from smaller teams (Counterspy), re-releases (Final Fantasy X HD and X-2 HD), and - for lack of a better term - console-sized experiences (Killzone: Mercenary). It will be interesting to see how the Vita's mix of games evolves when the PS4 comes out and if it skews the Vita's lineup going forward.

If the handheld caters more to indie games, it could be fighting a losing war against tablet/mobile gaming that already has a massive selection of indie product, and if it tries to produce more home console-quality content, will developers take on those projects for a handheld that hasn't proven it can be a home for software hits? It's an unfair chicken-and-egg question, but one that's always relevant among companies that can ill-afford to throw away money.

If this year's E3 is any indication, the Vita seems to be leaning towards indie product, and the software on display included some promising titles. Also, let's not forget the advantage the Vita's dual analog controls can have over touchscreens. And speaking of tablets, Vita's interoperability with the PS4 is unclear – another space in which it could find competition. As more and more game companies use companion apps for games, will they make use of the Vita for these functions or simply prefer to use their own tablet-based apps that can be monetized easier?

A price cut for the system could be a good first step to reinvigorating the Vita, and currently it looks like the introduction of the PS4 is making gamers think about the handheld perhaps more than ever. But remote play is by no means a cure-all for a system that finds itself at an important crossroads in its life.

The XBLA Exodus: Can Microsoft Reinvigorate Xbox Live Arcade?

Louis Garcia — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:00 GMT

Microsoft has a mixed track record with indie games on its XBLA platform. As indie developers flock to other platforms, can Microsoft reinvigorate Xbox Live Arcade?

Note: This article originally appeared in Game Informer issue 242.

Brian Provinciano knew he did not want to release his game, Retro City Rampage (above), 24 hours after New Year's Day. When doing his homework almost two years ago at PAX, the independent developer asked everyone he could about the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace, and he didn't hear good things about the release window near the celebratory date.

The developer doesn't know why it is a bad date (though one can speculate that it has to do with the influx of new retail games out for the holiday season, or people more concerned with going out to celebrate than buying a new downloadable game). Unfortunately for Provinciano, his game came out on January 2, and he didn't have a choice in the matter. Microsoft gets to choose when a game releases on XBLA, not the developer. Some games end up releasing during busy holiday seasons, or so suddenly that developers don't have time to put together their own marketing initiative.

Provinciano eventually made Retro City Rampage, his love letter to Grand Theft Auto and the Nintendo Entertainment System, available for the widest possible market. This meant jumping through all the necessary hoops to port the game to WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, PC, and the Vita. After selling 100,000 units and taking some time to reflect on the process, Provinciano says he won't spend the time and energy needed to put another game on a Microsoft platform.

"It's just so needlessly difficult to get your game out on XBLA, and at the end of the day your game is feature identical on all of the platforms," Provinciano says. "The XBLA one was over a year total of work, and I don't know how many man-months of work, but it was a lot of time and money. The Xbox sales really got hurt by Microsoft's policies, which were trying to benefit [Microsoft]."

Provinciano isn't the only developer to feel this way, and it's causing Microsoft – once a mecca for indie developers – to lose games to other platforms such as Steam, the PlayStation Network, and iOS.

THE REBIRTH OF INDIE

Downloadable games didn't hit their stride on consoles until the 2005 version of Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360. For the first time, there was a way for independent developers to widely distribute a video game for a console.

Though a few titles like Geometry Wars found success early on, the moment Xbox Live Arcade found wider acceptance can be traced back to the Summer of Arcade promotion in 2008. Jonathan Blow's Braid
and The Behemoth's Castle Crashers released during this promotion – two of the most successful indie games of all time, both critically and commercially. Braid turned Jonathan Blow into an overnight millionaire, and more than 2.6 million people have purchased Castle Crashers to date.

Games like these paved the way for more indie success stories such as PlayDead's Limbo and Team Meat's Super Meat Boy.

"Back then, Xbox was the only console you could make money off of realistically," says Team Meat's Edmund McMillen. "It was the only console platform."

PlayStation Network, Steam, and WiiWare were ramping up at the same time, and though World of Goo did well on the Nintendo platform, the service never found the widespread success XBLA enjoyed.

"The games that did well on the Wii sucked sales-wise compared to stuff on Xbox Live because this was back when Steam was just still building steam," McMillen says.

Game Informer's Best Of E3 2013 Awards

Matt Bertz — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:57:00 GMT

After years of waiting for the next-generation consoles to take center stage, the 2013 edition of E3 finally brought the sense of innovation and newness in games we expect to ride shotgun with such a sea change. Blockbuster games are leveraging the hardware in powerful new ways, indie games have found a nicer seat at the table, and even the handhelds had a banner year with several Vita and 3DS titles turning heads. Here are our 2013 E3 Best in Show Awards:

Best Action Game

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

With Batman: Arkham Asylum, relatively unknown developer Rocksteady kicked off the best comic-based game series of the modern generation. For the third entry, the highly successful studio has handed development duties over to Warner Bros. Games Montreal, and the franchise doesn't look to be skipping a beat. Batman: Arkham Origins is a prequel title that follows Batman in his rough and tumble years, pitting him against a younger Joker and other villains like Deathstroke and Black Mask. The visceral, responsive combat still serves as the heart of the experience, along with new detective gameplay that lets Batman rewind crime scenes to aid investigation. Arkham Origins feels great and promises to maintain the Caped Crusader's good reputation.

Best Adventure Game

THE WALKING DEAD: 400 DAYS

Telltale's The Walking Dead: 400 Days bridges the gap between seasons one and two, and it looks to keep everything we love about The Walking Dead. Tense decisions, difficult choices, and plenty of jaw-dropping moments all return in a new scenario that follows five different character stories and takes you from day one of the zombie apocalypse all the way to day 400. That means different scenarios will reflect the time in the world. In one story, a diner can look untouched, but later have boarded-up windows, acting as a safe haven. Telltale showed off newcomer Vince's story at E3, and the the dialogue was spot-on, balancing humor and moral dilemmas. By the end of the tale, one thing was clear: Telltale still knows how to shock. Not only did an alliance have to be forged, but plenty of blood was shed to get there. That's some impressive emotional torture for only one portion of this adventure.

Best MMO Game

THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

After almost two decades of single-player adventures, players finally got the chance at this year's E3 to explore the world of Tamriel with other players at their side. Elder Scrolls Online draws from many of the successful mechanics seen in recent MMOs, boasting extensive voice acting, an action-oriented combat system, and story-based questing that moves past the standard grind. While the true breadth of any MMO is hard to gauge in a short hands-on session, Zenimax Online went a long way towards proving to show goers that its new MMO has the chops to carry the legendary moniker. Moreover, the announcement that Elder Scrolls Online is coming to both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in addition to the previously announced PC version assures that the same mass audience who enjoyed Oblivion and Skyrim on consoles can give this new experiment a shot.

Best Multiplayer Game

TITANFALL

Battlefield 4's multiplayer would have stolen the show during any other E3, but this year a titan fell to Earth. Half of Respawn's development team is made up of former Infinity Ward members, so you know Titanfall is poised to deliver in terms of gameplay and customization. The team is so confident in its competitive experience that there is no true single-player campaign. Instead, Titanfall merges the blockbuster campaign feel into multiplayer, with dramatic epilogue and prologue missions, along with NPC fodder to bring war zones to life. The cat and mouse gameplay between the mechanical Titans and their lithe pilots captured the imagination of E3 showgoers, and it was easily the most talked about multiplayer game at the show.

Titanfall Smashes The Line Between Solo And Multiplayer Experiences

Jeff Cork — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:00 GMT

When it comes to shooters, people often draw lines between single- and multiplayer experiences. Some players happily cruise through the storyline soaking up every set piece without once going online and fragging strangers. Their counterparts probably couldn’t even tell you where their favorite multiplayer maps are set; as long as there’s a line of new opponents, they’re happy. That schism creates all sorts of problems for developers.

“There’s a lot of times where you’ll spend months and months and months putting together this single-player level that someone will try to run through in six minutes,” says Vince Zampella, co-founder and general manager of Respawn Entertainment. “All that effort you put into it doesn’t get seen, doesn’t get used – it’s kind of wasted.”

As a new studio, Respawn doesn’t have resources to waste. Rather than put out diluted versions of the ordinarily separate modes, the company took the unusual approach of merging the two to create one highly polished experience in Titanfall – something the studio is calling “campaign multiplayer.”

“The idea of trying to take a single-player experience and imprinting it onto a multiplayer world was not something we came to immediately,” says producer Drew McCoy. “It actually was a couple years into the process where we realized that we have people here who are really good at making addictive, fun, fast, fluid multiplayer games, and we also have people who are making believable characters, moments, and situations. There’s this huge bifurcation of those two experiences in current offerings of games.”

Single-player modes in shooters usually offer a narrative – hardly a strong suit for multiplayer – but the differences go deeper. Campaigns are normally built around players going from point A to point B, instead of dumping them in unstructured arenas. As such, designers can create bombastic moments when players reach certain spots on levels. It’s more difficult to incorporate those kinds of storytelling techniques in multiplayer matches, where a dozen players are too busy scrambling to fulfill their own in-game needs to notice a collapsing bridge in the background.

“We really wanted to try and meld the two together and get our strengths combined and just make one big, deep, awesome experience that everyone could see all of,” says producer Drew McCoy. “We wanted to reconcile the two of those things together and make one cohesive game.”

Respawn is developing the game for high-end PCs and the Xbox One, which affords them additional in-game horsepower. One noticeable implementation of that power comes in the battlefields themselves, which can be filled with dozens of AI characters. These characters act as both friend and foe, and help to make the matches feel as densely populated as traditional FPS story missions. They do more than shout “reloading” and “cover me,” too. Some are used in scripted vignettes, so you might enter a room and see several soldiers clustered around a wounded comrade as another performs CPR. Or you could surprise a group and watch them scatter in fear.

Respawn says the game’s story, which highlights a conflict between far-flung galactic settlers and their corporate counterparts, is being told with the cinematic flair that’s typically reserved for single-player campaigns. The overall story arc is told through discrete missions, with prefaces and epilogues, as well as the set-piece moments normally found in contemporary single-player campaigns. Moment-to-moment gameplay is also driven by video-comm displays, which provide direction on what needs to be done next as well as adding situational flavor.

In one section we saw, the player sneaked up on an opponent and killed him with a melee takedown. Rather than show the simple knifing animation that we expected, the action triggered a showy move where the player snapped the enemy’s neck, flipped the shotgun he was holding out of his hands, and then used the newly acquired weapon to clear the room. Players who get close enough to a wounded Titan can ride on its back, plant explosives, and then watch the fireworks. These types of interactions are relatively standard for single-player games, but it’s a rare treat to see them in multiplayer battles.

The campaign multiplayer approach plays to the team’s strengths, though it creates a new set of challenges. “From the art side, levels are a bear,” says lead artist Joel Emslie. “When you’re doing a single-player game, you’re just on a rail usually. It’ll open up and bottleneck and do that stuff, but that makes wrapping your head around building and making things look gorgeous as you can get them pretty manageable. When we stepped into this stuff, you have to go over every square inch of these environments because the player is going to be at some point, someone is going to go there, and it needs to look up to par.”

The entire team is working on the game as a whole – without divisions between the single- and multiplayer development – and Respawn says the approach is paying off. “[W]e can take all that effort and instead put it into multiplayer, where you’ll see it multiple times, you’ll see it again and again, so now the animations are going to be richer, the world is going to be more alive and more engrossing, and you’re going to see it more,” Zampalla says. “The work that people do here is more appreciated, so it makes the team feel better. The world that the players see is going to be more enriched, so they’re going to appreciate it. So it’s a great feeling for us.”

One of the unknowns at this point is how Respawn plans to tell a story when players are essentially experiencing a set of linked multiplayer matches. How does the campaign account for the times when your side loses? Respawn won’t elaborate on how it works, though the team says you don’t have to replay missions. The developers have set a stiff challenge for themselves that could nonetheless have a hefty payoff in delivering a satisfying and at least semi-cohesive story out of these seemingly fragmented sections.

Video Interview - Suda 51 Breaks Down Killer Is Dead

Ben Hanson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:16:00 GMT

Known for his colorful and eccentric taste in game design, Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51) has become his own brand in the industry. His work on titles like Killer 7, No More Heroes, and Shadows of the Damned has turned him into a gaming rockstar for his devoted base of fans. While at E3 this year, Game Informer's Kim Wallace had the chance to speak with him about his new project called Killer is Dead.

Watch the video below to hear Kim and Suda 51 talk about assassins, love, and the origins of his fixation with death.

To learn more about the game, click here to check out Kim's written preview.

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Video Interview - Retro Returns With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Ben Hanson — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:25:00 GMT

Fans of Retro Studios have been waiting a long time to hear about the next project from the talented team in Austin, Texas. At E3 2013, Nintendo unveiled that the next title from Retro will be a sequel to 2010's excellent Donkey Kong Country Returns and it will be called Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Watch the video below to hear Nintendo's David Young explain the basic premise for the game and what Retro is adding to the Donkey Kong Country formula.

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Nintendo Can Solve All Its Wii U Problems With Metroid

Ben Reeves — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:47:00 GMT

It's no secret that Nintendo hasn't been as financially successful these last few months as it has been historically. In order to help the beloved company turn things around, let me propose a solution to its financial struggles: Metroid. Hear me out on this.

Imagine this: Ben Reeves is eight or nine, or some other impressionable age, and he goes over to his neighbor's house and sees them playing an unusual new sci-fi game called Metroid. The game's haunting atmosphere and bewitching music immediately sucks him in. The world is massive, like a tiny universe collapsed into a NES cartridge. Ben and his neighbors play the game for hours, staying up until the wee hours of the night exploring every nook and cranny of this alien world. Days stretch into weeks as Ben gets lost in this alien landscape. This digital world becomes his home.

Eventually weeks stretch into months, and new games and new interests begin to consume Ben's life, but he never forgets his time spent on planet Zebes. The events of that game stick with him for years, becoming something like a legend to him. It seems that few games will be able to live up to the greatness of Metroid. But then, something spectacular happens. Nintendo releases a new Super Nintendo console, and eventually a new Metroid game, Super Metroid. It eclipses the original game in nearly every way. A lightbulb goes off inside Ben's head. Metroid doesn't have to be a one-off experience, it can be a franchise that Nintendo revisits every few years, allowing another generation of gamers to experience the same haunting thrills that young Ben had with the original Metroid.

Unfortunately, it takes a long time for Nintendo to get around to this. The company eventually releases new Metroids for its handheld systems, and it allows a talented American studio to craft a series of steller first-person Metroid games for the GameCube and Wii...and then Metroid goes radio silent.

(Savvy gamers have just yelled at their monitor and muttered something about the Team Ninja-developed Other M. I have chosen to forget about this game, and I recommend that you do as well. I believe that if we all choose to believe that Other M never existed then maybe that game's very existence will disappear from reality and it will never have existed in the first place.)

Let's set aside the pretentiousness of talking about one's self in first person for a moment and talk more about how Metroid could help Nintendo right now. Many gamers don't feel like they have a reason to own a Wii U. Metroid might give them that reason, Nintendo. Some gamers feel slightly burned by the Wii's slow trickle of exciting titles? All the more reason to release a proven series for the Wii U. Maybe people are worried that the Wii U doesn't have the graphical horsepower to keep them entertained, but games like Super Meat Boy, Minecraft, and Xenoblade Chronicles have pretty well proved that you don't need bleeding edge hardware and photorealistic graphics to make an entertaining game. A Metroid game could also show gamers what the Wii U is really capable of – remember how amazing Metroid Prime looked on the GameCube?

Maybe it's time to roll Metroid back out and give another generation of gamers the chance to explore a strange new world, to seek out new powers in ancient civilizations, and to boldly go where Ben Reeves went decades ago. (Whoever wrote this is a total dork.)

Is a lack of Metroid titles really the problem here? No, as mentioned earlier, Nintendo really needs some better third party support; they can't do everything themselves. But maybe a new Metroid game would help inspire third-party developers to work on the Wii U. Am I just a fanboy speaking largely from a position of desire? Probably. But you have to admit at least one thing:

A next-gen Metroid title would be off the hook.

Video Interview - Bayonetta 2's Dual Control Schemes

Ben Hanson — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:00:00 GMT

Bayonetta 2, the Wii U exclusive from Sega and Nintendo, was playable in Nintendo's booth at E3 2013. The game picks up where the first one left off and doesn't hold back on the insanity.

You can learn more about Bayonetta 2 by reading Jeff Cork's hands-on impressions here. Watch the video below to hear Nintendo's David Young explain why Bayonetta 2 is for the hardcore gaming community, but how they are making it more accessible mode with the GamePad.

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Opinion: Save The Last Guardian And Put It On The PlayStation 4

Matthew Kato — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:38:00 GMT

Team Ico's The Last Guardian recently delivered a double dose of disappointment to gamers – first when it did not appear at E3 as rumored, and later when Sony's Jack Tretton said the game was on hiatus. There have been rumors that the oft-delayed game is being moved to the PlayStation 4, and while I don't know if this is true or not, it needs to happen.

A console switch for the game would surely mean more delays -– as it probably has already – but this could benefit the game. Beyond the fact that it could take advantage of the PlayStation 4's tech (from the controller to the graphics and more), developer Team Ico simply needs to put as much time as it needs to make the game good. If the end product is sterling, it will have been worth it in gamers' eyes. And make no mistake about it – given its history, this game needs to be an uncontested home run.

Although a game's quality is not related to its sales numbers, marketing it correctly so it sells to its maximum potential is important for all parties involved: the game itself, the developer, the publisher, the overall PlayStation brand, and the system it's on. Moving the game to the PlayStation 4 would give it a new marketing/PR life (away from the possible benefits to the game itself listed above) and change the conversation away from its delays back to one of anticipation. There would certainly be some PlayStation 3 owners who would be angry at the switch since it would necessitate them buying a PS4 perhaps before they were planning on it, but with all due respect to those who have been waiting faithfully for the game to come out for the PlayStation 3, The Last Guardian's best days are undoubtedly ahead of it and not behind.

From a sales standpoint, The Last Guardian is a niche/hardcore-focused game, and as such is more likely not to pick up many casual fans – especially on the PlayStation 3. That console will have a bigger installed base than the PS4 when the game comes out, but your average person who may not have heard of the title is more likely to notice it on the relatively new PlayStation 4 than the old horse that is the PS3. And their eyes may be more wide open to buying it for the system while it's still new and exciting.

While it's not necessarily The Last Guardian's job to carry water for Sony or the PlayStation 4, a move to the system, a strategic release where it has a chance to succeed, and hopefully strong sales elevates the PlayStation brand, which can reinforce the title later on via a positive synonymous association with the console. For instance, a title like Journey is helped by an association with the PS3 and vice versa. Besides, as unseemly as it may sound to talk about sales numbers, they are what ultimately decide whether a series continues.

The Last Guardian deserves to rise or fall on its own merits as a game first and foremost. But given its turbulent history, it also deserves a chance to be judged fairly, free of the baggage of its past. A fresh start on the PlayStation 4 is the best way to make this happen.

Replay – Shadow Hearts

Kimberley Wallace — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:00:00 GMT

In December of 2001, a new RPG series hit the scene for PlayStation 2, entitled Shadow Hearts. With its Lovecraftian horror and distorted take on historical events and characters, the franchise was a unique, dark, and unpredictable. In this episode of Replay, we take a look the first Shadow Hearts, the entry that brought us protagonist Yuri Hyuga and his quest to protect exorcist Alice Elliot.

Since the franchise is very near and dear to my heart, I've been waiting to show it off to my fellow staffers. Unfortunately, it doesn't go completely as planned. Watch below as Andrew Reiner, Joe Juba, Dan Ryckert, and I react to how Yuri's love for Alice began. Also stick around to see an awesome roulette pick by our very own video producer Jason Oestreicher. Get ready to see some crazy things. After all, we have Joe Juba and Dan Ryckert in the same room, and they make an announcement.

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Video Interview - Super Mario 3D World's Innovations And Homages

Ben Hanson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:04:00 GMT

During E3 2013, the Nintendo booth was filled with groups of four laughing and yelling their way through Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U. The brand new game coming this winter is from the development team that brought you Super Mario 3D Land, and it adds to the 3DS game's formula by including four-player multiplayer and new suits and abilities. You can learn more about the game by reading Matt Helgeson's hands-on preview from the E3 demo, or by watching the video interview with assistant manager of PR for Nintendo David Young below.

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Guilty Pleasure: Harvest Moon – Why I Keep Tilling Lands

Kimberley Wallace — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:00:00 GMT

I've never envied the life of a farmer. Early mornings alongside tending crops and raising unpredictable animals doesn't exactly scream "fun." I still can't remember what drew me to rent the first Harvest Moon game. Perhaps it was boredom or the cute anime art style, but little did I know that would be the day an unexpected addiction was born.

That summer of '97 I beat the game four times – all in the name of seeing what various marriage candidates were like. The thrill came from being thrust directly into the American dream: Leave home, make something out of nothing, have a family, and continue to grow (literally) your success. I remember how magnetic the world was when I stepped in, just knowing I could hang out at the bar with the locals, spend my night fishing, or head to the forest and relax in the hot tub. Shaping my story and performing simple tasks, like buying my first cow and that opening up new possibilities for meals (hello, yogurt!), make the game what it is. Each individual piece of the Harvest Moon puzzle is so miniscule, but building around each of those provides something dazzling.

The satisfaction of nailing down strategies to woo marriage candidates, maximize my farm profits, and mating my cows for different breeds is what keeps me coming back. In addition to the townspeople, who always have their own quirks; I never miss an opportunity to chat them up. Their back stories are intriguing - like a daughter watching over her alcoholic father at the tavern or seeing the subtle flirting between the junk shop and flower shop owner.

I often get sucked into the world and daily routine, and can't get enough of seeing my little farm grow from a few crops to full fields and animals galore. Adding in the all the upgrades gives me something to look forward to and watching the house expand with a significant other and child is confirmation that I've made a life. The Harvest Moon games are all about routine, something tiresome in real life, but here it hooks you with the gradual progression.

I've played other simulation games like Theme Park and Animal Crossing, but none of them had the heart, soul, and personality of Harvest Moon. Rather than managing a business or town, Harvest Moon makes me feel like I'm living a life unlike many of its competitors. Part of why it works so well is it's not a single gimmick. Harvest Moon has the business challenges, but at the same time, also offers a warm atmosphere where a calmness envelops me as I strive for new personal in-game goals.

It should be no surprise that since the first iteration, I've gone on to play almost every entry; from the SNES all the way to the 3DS, this series has been with me. The fact that I haven't tired of games that stick so close to the same premise says something. Harvest Moon, though, is that franchise I play, but rarely talk about – a guilty pleasure, indeed. It doesn't make any huge leaps, but remains enjoyable to sit down, relax, and unwind with. I don't want to let go of something that's been like comfort food for the past 16 years, and why should I if I'm still having fun?

Here's where the guilt festers: I'm nearing two decades with Harvest Moon, and yet I still feel embarrassed to admit my obsession. As if I'm not cool if I admit a farming sim can dictate my life. So today, I've finally mustered the courage to let the world know. Yes, I adore these games, and I'm fine simply imagining my life as a farmer. Because I don't like the smell of manure, but I sure do like maximizing profits and winning over virtual denizens in a vibrant landscape.

The Gameplay And World Of Respawn's Titanfall

Ben Hanson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:51:00 GMT

Gracing our magazine's cover this month is Titanfall, the first game from Respawn Entertainment. As a studio founded by the creators of Call of Duty, the brand new game is a fast-paced first-person shooter that allows players to command giant robots to unleash chaos. The game has shown very well at E3 2013, and the company released a trailer that shows off the unique gameplay. We visited Respawn Entertainment and spoke with general manager Vince Zampella and game director Steve Fukuda about how the game plays and how they are taking storytelling cues from Valve, watch the video below to learn more.

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The Xbox One Controller Impresses

Matt Helgeson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:13:00 GMT

It's been a fairly rough E3 for Microsoft, but the time I've been able to spend with the Xbox One controller has left a good impression. It's a worthy successor to the excellent Xbox 360 controller.

While I think both the new Dual Shock and the new Xbox One controller are excellent, the Xbox One unit is definitely less of a change from last generation -- and for good reason. The Xbox 360 had, in my opinion, the best video game controller in history. So, the design team at Microsoft, while making some improvements, definitely took the approach of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

So, if you're an Xbox gamer already, you're going to feel right at home when you pick up the Xbox One controller. While the changes are more subtle, there are definitely some great improvements over the last-gen unit. The most notable is the rumble functionality. Microsoft has placed some micro-motors in the triggers, which allow for really small gradations of rumble. It's a far cry from the "on/off" feel of the rumble on the 360. If you start a car, you can feel the kick of the engine starting, then the light vibrations of the idle, then the massive rumble when you press the trigger down for a full revving of the engine. It's definitely the best, most advanced rumble I've ever felt.

The basic controller layout is essentially identical to the 360 controller. You've got dual, offset analog sticks, four face button, two triggers, two shoulders, start, select, and a d-pad. The d-pad represents the biggest improvement in the basic control functions. For one, it's actually a cross-shaped d-pad, not the unwieldy discs they've had in past controllers. For me, it fixes my only real complaint about the 360 controller.

The analog sticks are rubberized and concave, but also feature a slight micro-texture along the rim of the top of the stick. It's nice, and provides a little better feel if you are pushing the stick forward instead of putting your finger in the concavity.

The controller itself has slightly different contours than the 360 controller, most notably in the fact that the engineers were able to reposition the batteries to do away with the "battery lump" and make the back a flush surface. It feels just a bit smaller in your hands, imagine a size somewhere in between the 360 controller and the Controller S for the original 360.

Overall, it's another great controller from Microsoft. Along with the much improved Dual Shock 4 (you can read my impressions here), this new generation of consoles will certain be a good one for controllers.