CD PRojekt RED Studio confirmed today that they have been testing dev kits for the PS4 and will launch their new game “The Witcher 3” will be available on the Playstation 4.

We were thrilled when asked, several months ago, to be one of the developers who were granted early access to the PlayStation 4. It was an exciting moment to be invited to be in the company of other legendary developers like Bethesda, EA, LucasArts, Ubisoft or Activision as one of the teams working on titles shipping early in the PlayStation 4’s lifecycle. Of course, we couldn’t reveal any specifics about this to our fans, even though many journalists and forum members asked about when and how The Witcher might show up on Sony’s console. After yesterday’s PlayStation Meeting we can finally promise: The Witcher 3 is coming to the PlayStation 4. The new hardware gives us the opportunity to create something great. We are able to work with the new console from its birth and this allows our in-house REDengine 3 to push the graphical limits of what the PlayStation hardware can display. The console is fresh and has some innovative solutions that we’re looking forward to using in our game,” — Adam Badowski

Sony made it a point last night to continually reiterate their dedication to developers and content, and this is a good sign with studios that are not comparable to the big dogs are on board as well.

If you don’t know what The Witcher is this might help:

My internet connection wasn’t great and I lost some of it, possibly important stuff. But here’s what i caught, with my running commentary.

The intro music sucks.

“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.”

“We didn’t build a box.” Nice jab at MS.

Andrew House takes the stage. “A bold step forward for PlayStation.”

Connectivity between devices… has been essential.

Vision for the future is consumer-centric.

PS Vita can bring value to the gamer’s living room. More on this later this year.

Expanding PS content to smartphones via PS Mobile.

Reconceptualize how the next-gen gamer wants to play. We once changed the gamer, now the gamer is changing us.

Today is a glimpse into the future of play.

[connection glitch]

Today we are revealing the genesis of [garbled glitchery].

Whoooo. PS4 logo. He’s actually talking about it. Must have missed the sentence that actually said it was coming.

Andrew House making a prolonged introduction of Mark Cerny.

Cerny is jabbering a lot and trying to make old shit sound important.

Nothing between you and the game.

Sony’s been talking to developers since 2008 about what they want in a new console.

Willhave: Supercharged PC architecture
X86 CPU
Enhanced PC GPU
8GB unified memory
Local storage HDD – size not mentioned

Live demos on new Dualshock 4. Touchpad (not screen, similar to PS Vita rear pad), light bar, share button, headset jack. I still see start and select buttons (I think). Enhanced rumble, reduced latency.

Unreal engine 4 from Epic “running on realtime.” [Glitchy feed means little to me.]

Two teraflops of computational performance. Streamlined conversion from PC development. System memory sounded like cool initials but glitched in his sentence.

Million object physics simulation running on Havok using the GPU, not CPU. [Tech-talk, means little to me.]

Video of a title Cerny is directing. [Bad lag.] I see a castle, woman talking about war. Goofy animation maybe talking about a mech fighting goblins.

[Seriously bad feed problems.]

Able to start playing games while they’re downloading. Nice.

Able to watch live videos of what your friends playing. Keeping PSN IDs and other features of their networking.

Companion applications of Vita and/or tablets.

System is learning something about your gameplay? [Sorry, more feed problems.]

Sharing function looks cool. You can watch your friends remotely and take over their game to help.

Remote play from Vita is crazy expanded.

Games from any PS device ever may be possibe to stream direct to PS4. But it’s not backwards compatible. This seems to be a Gaikai addition.

Michael Denny of worldwide studios coming to stage.

Showing off games now.

Killzone: Shadow Fall is up first. Holy graphics! If they can make this, I can’t wait to see Coruscant. Gameplay is nothing special. FPS with futuristic weapons in futuristic envrionments. I can do that on current hardware. Now an on-rails segment (hanging from a rope on a helicopter). Still nothing new even if it is pretty.

Time for some racing, Driveclub. Again, looks cool. But I’ve seen racing games before. Supposedly they’ve concepted this for ten years. Definitely saw real company logos on cars. You’ll be in actual driving clubs and challenging other clubs around the world. Will have an app on phones and tablets to send challenges worldwide. Thousand player, week-long tournaments. First-person perspective driving (I’m out).

Talking about millions of cameras watching us all the time. Looking like WatchDogs. Could be inFamous 3, talking about superpowers. From Sucker Punch, must be inFamous. Now gameplay video. It is inFamous Second Son. This one excites me.

Now talking independent games. Providing self-publishing on PSN.

Jonathan Blow has a new game “debuting” on PS4, The Witness. A “game about epiphany.” Open world, but a compact open world. Cutting filler to make it streamlined, not longer (about 25 hours). Puzzle game. Roll clip. Phongraph in a tree stump. Mazes being solved. Like mazes on paper. Hmm? Looks pretty, but probably just as obstinately obscure as Blow is known for.

Done with game presentations, time for a glimpse of the future and challenge our notions of gaming.

David Cage talking about emotions in gaming. Now he’s talking about silent films (The Great Train Robbery). Now he’s talking about polygons in characters, apparently in regards to emotion conveyed. Beyond will have 30,000 polygons for characters. Creepy old man on screen being rendered in real time on PS4. Wow. Still in the uncanny valley, but it looks like they’re climbing up the other side.

Media Molecule is up next. Talking creativity. [Damn, browser crash.] Looks they’re modeling clay with a Move? Easy 3D sculpting for everyone (clearly they don’t know about my lack of hand skills). A make-your-own Rock Band featuring Move puppets? Cute. Not sure it means anything, but cute.

Let’s talk third parties. Virtually every major third party partner is supporting PS4.

Yoshinori Ono of Capcom. A brief history of Capcom on older PS platforms. New era: Panta Rhei engine; Deep Down (working title), Zaeed Massani is fighting a dragon and it looks incredible, did the player just ask for help from a PSN friend?

Square Enix’s Yoshihisha Hashimoto: More beautiful graphics, looks Like an Arab desert with a twist, possibly Brazilian favelas. Someone is summoning a beastie. Gun shots, Force lightning, something that looks like Magicite, porcupine wolves, healing potion, eclipse. Not saying the name, but this looks for sure to be Final Fantasy [MCMXLVIII]. Knowing Square Enix it will be coming on PS5. Shinji Hashimoto (Brand Director for Final Fantasy) has one thing to say, new Final Fantasy title, be excited for E3 this year.

Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot: This is Watchdogs. Next-gen games “blur the lines between real and virtual worlds.” More connected and immersive games. Some other guy whose name I didn’t catch: “Hyerconnectivity has changed us.” New live demo: Opens with Abrams’ style lens flare; crime in progress, hero jumps into action, chase scene (reminiscent of Sleeping Dogs but techier), cops are involved, hero running, tire shot, train hack; demo over.

Senior VP from Blizzard, Chris Metzen: Why is Blizzard on stage at a console event? Blizzard and Sony are partnered. Blizzard started on console and now want to come back. Announcing their game for PS4: Diablo III. Also coming to PS3. Four player, full screen, couch co-op.

Eric Hirshberg, CEO Activision Publishing: Supporting PS4 with multiple blockbuster titles from their best developers. One developer in particular for their debut PS4 game, Bungie. Talking Destiny, obviously. Jason Jones, Project Developer: co-op will be mind-blowing, rah-rah chatter, pretty visuals. More people on stage, lots of jeans and sport coats. Destiny is an online-connected experience for multiple devices. PS3 and PS4 versions will be available with exclusive content.

Sounds like wrap-up talk from Andrew House. Summary video. Coming Holiday 2013. Thank you for watching.

No price announced? Guess that’s coming at E3.

I had a running commentary going with a couple of our ‘bots during the show. Everyone seems tentatively excited, and are currently planning to reserve our systems tomorrow if retailers start taking preorders now.

In case you missed any of our full stories this week:
Aquaman was announced for Injustice: Gods Among Us.
We got more details on Star Trek: The Video Game.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is a giant turd!

In other news:

After the auction of THQ there were a few properties remaining with a questionable future. One of them that certainly would continue somewhere else was WWE. The sports entertainment franchise has long had a solid presence in the gaming world and it was clearly just a matter of time before it was assigned somewhere. Publishing duties have now been taken over by Take-Two. Development is still being handled by Yuke’s, who have developed the titles for over a decade.

With DMC: Devil May Cry coming out to generally positive reviews, it’s no surprise that they’re starting to talk downloadable content. The first add-on chapter will apparently be “Vergil’s Downfall.” In this expansion, Dante’s brother, Vergil, is sent to an alternate reality where he is stripped of some of his powers. The new dimension will have all new sets instead of reusing environments from the main game. Vergil will control similar to Dante. The expansion is set for this month with a price tag of $8.99, though it will be free for some preorder customers. Expect 3-5 hours of gameplay from this new chapter.

Bungie’s Destiny was officially revealed over the weekend but it was a little light on details. Despite expectations, Activision has confirmed that it will not be available this year. The official line is that it is not included in their “2013 outlook” and that “there should be no speculation or expectation of a different result.” So, 2014 it is then? Or 2015?

The music/rhythm genre was a hot commodity in the early days of this console generation, and you have to hand it to Harmonix for their dedication to DLC over the last five years. I’ve been impressed that they have continued to release weekly songs for the Rock Band franchise despite not having released a retail game since October 2010. With over 4,000 songs already available for download, you have to wonder if they’re running out of sales, or running out of content. The final songs will be released on April 2nd, and Harmonix will then refocus their efforts on “several new titles.” It’s been a great run and I’m a little sad to see it go, despite not having purchased any of the DLC for months, maybe longer.

Unfortunately for cash-strapped parents, you haven’t seen the last of Skylanders. Coming this Fall will be Skylanders Swap Force from Vicarious Visions (not the original developer, Toys for Bob). This version will require a new Portal of Power, but all previous Skylanders figures will cooperate. The 16 new figures will have separate tops and bottoms that can be interchanged (hence the “Swap” in “Swap Force”). That’s up to 256 different combinations (that’s in the announcement, I didn’t do the math). The various tops and bottoms will each have unique powers. Sounds like a fun, if expensive, addition to the franchise.

Zen Studios announced some upcoming Star Wars tables for Zen Pinball / Pinball FX2 a few weeks ago and we’ve finally learned the release date and other details. Three tables will be coming next week, though I think it’s an odd choice to star with Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. A Boba Fett and Clone Wars table are also coming with it. The three tables will be $9.99 / 800MSP when your store updates next week. Seven more tables in the franchise are planned. And yeah, they definitely had BSR! in mind when they made these.

There’s been plenty of speculation, rumor, misinformation, and whatnot regarding the PlayStation 4. We could report it all here, but the Sony Meeting is at 6PM EST today so why bother. We here at Big Shiny Robot! will be bringing as many of the facts as possible once they have been confirmed by Sony. Stay tuned tonight.

Expectations. Sometimes it’s hard to live up to them.

And in the cutthroat world of corporate business, one knows that quality is oftentimes sacrificed in the name of practicality, especially when deadlines loom.

Lost in the middle of all of this are fans, people who are expected to drop large sums of hard-earned cash for what they hope will be an excellent product. Their hopes and expectations are stoked by companies that put as much window dressing and happy-sunshine-rainbows around their product leading up to launch date in order to maximize early sales, when said item is priced at its most expensive.

Ah, capitalism.

In short, welcome to the tragedy and FUBAR mess that is Aliens: Colonial Marines – Sega’s dead-on-arrival first-person shooter that’s available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

If you’re looking for an in-depth review, well, I’ll get to that in a bit. In short, the game’s a colossal mess. And for a title that spent six years in development (a short gestation compared to the decade-long fiasco that was Duke Nukem Forever – which has ties to this particular situation, as well), how we got to this point is far more interesting than developer Gearbox’s lame game.

Fan expectations for this game were huge. The Alien franchise is beloved. And fans have suffered mightily over the years. David Fincher was a hot young director when he got hired to helm the movie Alien 3, but the shoot was plagued by corporate hacks and the lack of a script. And the fourth Alien film, which was helmed by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Delicatessen fame, didn’t fare a whole lot better.

Was it any surprise that in resurrecting the film franchise, Fox went back to Ridley Scott, who directed the first film back in the late 1970s? And was it any surprise that he decided to do a prequel that allowed him to reinvent the universe and distance himself from the steaming pile of legacy left by the two directors previous to his 2012 blockbuster?

Well, maybe the video game will get similar treatment in the future. Goodness knows the franchise has taken a body blow thanks to this mess.

For six years, this game bounced between development studios. Ultimately Gearbox, a good studio that has crafted games like the two Borderlands shooters, Half-Life and even was trusted with porting Bungie’s golden goose, Halo: Combat Evolved, to PC, was tasked with bringing this game to market for a 2013 release. However, Gearbox was also knee-deep in prepping Borderlands 2 for market.

The scuttlebutt goes that Gearbox farmed out the grunt work to another studio, which sent them back a subpar game that had few of the features it was supposed to contain. Gearbox, still smarting from being the studio that ultimately released Duke Nukem Forever (which tanked and was roundly – and deservedly – pummelled by fans and critics alike), then apparently tried to salvage what they could in the time they had left before the launch date.

There were already legal threats surrounding the game, given that the project had languished for six years. Who could blame Sega for wanting someone to finally deliver a product so they could try to salvage the money they had invested?

(There is a lot more history to this game’s development and if you’re interested in a peak behind the curtain, check out articles at gaming websites IGN.com or Kotaku.com that can delve a lot more deeply into this story.)

And this is where commerce and commercialism crash head-long into fan expectations and critical evaluation by the general public.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a frustrating mish-mash of a game. There are nuggets here and there that show just how fun and intense this game could have been. But they are slivers amidst a massive lode of fool’s gold.

The game lacks any sense of intensity. It is not scary, not one bit. The atmosphere has been completely ignored, which is sacrilege in what amounts to a game about guys with guns running around a haunted house as nightmarish creatures hunt them. Imagine a horror game without any horror … no scares, red-herrings, frightening sound effects, spooky music.

And it just gets worse from there.

The action is uneven. The graphics look like something that might have impressed during the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 era. And the story tries to reinvent the franchise, bringing back a character whose appearance is completely unexplainable in any rational sense. I know that some fans (and especially David Fincher) would like to erase Alien 3 and 4 from existence, but this game’s plot twist essentially amounts to another gut-punch to the fans.

The weapons are decent and the sound effects that accompany them are accurate. Wielding the Smart Gun (that badass get-up that Drake and Vasquez wore in the Aliens movie) is damn cool. But that’s about it. Seriously. There’s really nothing else to look forward to in Aliens: Colonial Marines.

There are some awesome Easter Eggs for fans buried in this mess. When you enter Hadley’s Hope, for instance, you’ll find one of the remote sentry turrets sitting where Ripley et al left it, complete with the four rounds that were left after repelling a xenomorph attack in James Cameron’s classic action flick. And you will have the opportunity to pick up and wield several legacy weapons that were dropped by characters from the movie. Picking up Hick’s shotgun (good for close encounters) is pretty cool. As is finding a certain flamethrower amidst the rubble later in the game.

It’s at moments like these that you realize just how badly you wanted this game to rock if you are an Alien fan.

The multiplayer is also a mess. I played the co-op campaign with my son. We were playing on a 52-inch TV and the perspectives for his character and mine were so squished that it was near impossible to play. It sucked away any of the fun that playing co-op is supposed to deliver.

The online multiplayer is only slightly better.

In short, right from Day 1, Aliens: Colonial Marines deserved a much better fate. It deserved to be treated with some respect and reverence. It should have delivered a fright-filled, atmosphere-heavy, intense survival horror meets shooter experience that thrilled fans and critics alike.

Instead, you’ll find yourself wishing that someone had taken a flamethrower to this mess and spared all of us the heartbreak and hassle.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is rated M.

* Wayne Chamberlain has covered the gaming industry since 2002 and is a contributing columnist at Canada.com and Postmedia News. Follow him on Twitter @ChamberlainW. He is also co-host of the Star Wars Book Report podcast, available on iTunes.

The latest installment of the Devil May Cry series follows Dante as he has never looked in the franchise before.

Dante finds himself in the middle of a war between the Angels and the Demons. Consequently he is constantly being dragged into Limbo. The son of Sparda, as Dante is often referred to, strings together combos using his sword, guns and more weapons as they are unlocked in different missions. Discovered weapons and abilities cycle between demonic and angelic capacities that reside within Dante.

The latest entry in the Devil May Cry hack and slash is by far the most stylish. Combat is aggressive yet very smooth. Dante is forced to quickly string together combinations of attacks using different weapons and abilities. Both the Demon and Angel sides to Dante will play a huge part in deciding which weapons to trigger and precisely when. There are also the frustrating demons that are immune to specific angelic or demonic abilities and weapons. Replayability for Devil May Cry is very high simply because the combat is so entertaining. It is always changing and shifting, depending on the weapon Dante favors at that exact moment.

The graphics compliment Dante’s abilities and make the world feel dark and gritty. Limbo itself is full of psychotic areas where shapes from the real world are accentuated and slanted, colors are distorted and shadows from the actual world can be seen skulking around. Some levels of Limbo will literally have the ground shift underneath you as you run through the area. It feels chaotic, abstract and disorienting – it is just as you would imagine a place like Limbo to feel. Each area follows this dark theme, leaving Dante standing out with his stylish battle combinations and lavish attitude.

Kat, your psychic guide

Dante’s character is a typical partier who hits up the club every night and sleeps with tons of women. This is a different feel than the previous Dante encountered in the Devil May Cry series. This more unrestrained, outspoken Dante fits this gameplay style very well, however. He makes snide remarks towards the demons that get in his way, making his character more playful. It helps cast Dante as someone who enjoys slaying demons – something that as a player I definitely feel while controlling Dante. Slaying demons in Devil May Cry is an art – it involves using different weapons, hacking and slashing through the air and tying together combos smartly yet vigorously.

Missions are equipped with a number of items that can be found: copper, argent, gold and ivory keys – which serve to unlock their corresponding locked doors. Each of these locked doors opens up a trial mission that can be completed to earn a health cross or a trigger cross – increasing Dante’s overall health or  devil trigger meter. Lost souls are also trapped in Limbo and freeing them grants red orbs, similar to currency since they can be spent on useful items such as health elixirs or golden orbs (granting resurrection). Replaying missions to find all of the lost souls, keys and secret doors definitely adds more hours into playing this game.

Devil May Cry is overall a very short game. There are a total of 20 missions, longer missions lasting about 20 minutes and shorter missions lasting under 10. My first playthrough was just under 9 hours to complete the game; however, this was on an easy difficulty compared to some of the insanely hard difficultly levels.  After beating the game once you can unlock Son of Sparda mode: remixed enemy waves with increased health. After completing Son of Sparda mode, the rest of the game modes are unlocked, except Hell and Hell. Dante Must Die mode: the toughest enemies with insane attack waves. Heaven or Hell: remixed enemy waves but everything, including Dante, dies in one hit. Hell and Hell is unlocked when finished beating Heaven or Hell mode; it consists of remixed enemy waves but only Dante dies with one hit. This difficulty feels impossible – good luck to anyone striving to earn that achievement.

Juggling with guns

Dante is granted a combat score based solely on the stylishness of battle. [D=dirty, C=cruel, B=brutal, A=anarchic, S=savage, SS=sadistic, SSS=sensational] Using the same combination or the same weapon to fight a demon will result in fewer and fewer points being granted. Switching up the style by, say, raking a demon into the air, hacking him with Rebellion until he starts to fall, stomping him into the ground using a charged Eryx, then endlessly slicing with Osyris’ cleaver move, will result in a higher combat score. Keep in mind: whenever Dante takes a hit the score drops significantly.

Stylish combat also serves to fill up Dante’s Devil Trigger – an ability learned later game that essentially stops time and grants multipliers for attacking enemies frozen in the air. Devil Trigger is a useful ability for hordes of annoying demons.

At the end of each mission, a score is granted based on overall style, how quickly the mission was finished, and completion percentage. Using items or dying reduces your mission score considerably. Scores are saved to the leaderboards under each difficulty the mission has been completed on. The leaderboards add to the high replayability of the game.

Overall, DmC Devil May Cry is an awesome addition to the hack and slash genre. It looks great, plays smoothly and has a story that keeps players enticed until the end. Replayability of previous missions is high and extreme difficulty levels keeps hardcore gamers entertained. Anyone interested in a new hack and slash needs to pick this one up.

You may recall that kick-ass live-action Mortal Kombat web series from a few years back, Mortal Kombat: Legacy. At the time, many fans had hoped this would spawn a live-action feature-length film worthy of the Mortal Kombat name, but instead, remained a regular web series – and frankly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

2013 will see the release of the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and you can check out the trailer below!

Press Release:

The countdown to the second season of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” has officially begun. Fans can get their first look at the upcoming season, now available on Machinima. From Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, “Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” is the follow-up to “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” — one of the most-viewed web series of all time with more than 60 million views to date on Machinima. The footage showcases the non-stop action of the continuing saga as Liu Kang and Ermac join the ranks of fighters introduced in the hugely successful first season. The trailer features first glimpses into the rivalries and histories of these fierce warriors as Raiden and his recruits clash against the dark forces of Outworld in the epic battle for Earthrealm!

Kevin Tancharoen (“Mortal Kombat: Legacy”) returns to direct and co-write “Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” alongside writers Josh Baizer and Marshall Johnson (“Dead Loss”). The cast includes Harry Shum, Jr. (“Glee”) as the warlord adviser “Kuai Liang,” Casper Van Dien (“Starship Troopers”) as martial arts film actor “Johnny Cage,” Brian Tee (“The Wolverine”) as Shaolin Monk “Liu Kang,” and Mark Dacascos (“Cradle 2 the Grave “) as “Kung Lao” – a close friend of “Liu Kang.” Additionally, Ian Anthony Dale (“Hawaii Five-O”) returns as the resurrected ninja “Scorpion,” and Cary Tagawa reprises the role he made famous in the “Mortal Kombat” theatrical release as the powerful, arrogant sorcerer “Shang Tsung.” “Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” is produced by Lance Sloane (“Act of Valor”) and Kevin Tancharoen.

Sony is releasing a retrospective video series which seem to coincide with their announcement on Wednesday. Part one seen below focuses on their move into the gaming industry with the creation of SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment), and the creation of the original Playstation.

Part two then shows the launch of Playstation 2 on October 26, 2000 with record sales and an impressive game lineup. I won’t argue that the PS2 was the shining star in Sony’s line up, we can only hope the next launch is equally as impressive. The PS3 although technically advanced has yet to live up to the same success as it’s predecessor. Here is part 2

The good folks at Playstation continue their retrospective in part 3 where they show off the “successess” of the Playstation 3, the launch of move and other important peripherals.

We are now just 2 days away from the announcement of what we can only assume is the next Playstation and a price drop on the Vita. Tune in on Wednesday at 4pm Mountain time and we’ll have the info on Sony’s new future!

When the Wii U came out, I picked one up on launch day, something I had never done before with a new game system.  As I said in my original article, it was a ton of fun. It provided some of the best times I had gaming in a long time and showed true potential for what a next-gen console could accomplish via the Gamepad and second screen technology.

All of that wrapped up with the fact that it was backwards compatible with original Wii games, and it almost seemed like the perfect package.  Sure, it was missing a few features, but Nintendo promised they’d release them within a month (they did), so it seemed all was well.  I loved the damn thing and was extremely excited to see what Nintendo and other developers had in store for us.

Three months have passed.

Currently, the Wii U landscape is about as barren as the Gobi desert.  Aside from a few DLC games, the TVii update (which flopped miserably, as Citizen-Bot can attest to), and a half-assed port of the Avengers Kinect game, there has been absolutely nothing to drive anyone to pick up anything for the system let alone convince someone to plunk down their hard earned money and actually purchase the damn thing.  Sure, Nintendo has promised us our Marios, Zeldas and other high-quality first-party titles, but those are like a shimmering mirage that do nothing to quench our thirst now.

I put up with the fact that there were no really good launch titles for the simple reason that most systems don’t have a strong library of games from the get go.  Sure, there’s always those one or two games that stand out and sell the systems by themselves, but early adopters don’t expect masterpieces when they first buy the new technology (Halo and Super Mario 64 being a few of the rare exceptions).

The problem with the Wii U was there wasn’t even one stand out title that made the system worth buying.  Yes, Mario was amazing, but it was a 2D platformer that barely took advantage of the Gamepad and didn’t highlight the new features of the system.  Nintendo Land was great; showing off the potential of the Gamepad. But overall, it was just a collection of mini-games like Wii Sports on steroids.  Zombi U was innovative, but it was a horrible game, and all of the ports were solid enough by themselves, but there was no reason to pick them up if you had played them on Xbox360 or PS3.

I was extremely excited for Rayman Legends to be released, having downloaded and played the hell out of the demo.  Finally!  A game that really showed off the Wii U.

Nope, not gonna happen for awhile.

Now that the devs have seen how poorly the Wii U has done, they want to port it to the other systems and release them all at once, which makes business sense, but is horrible for all us poor Wii U owners, as an exclusive title that shows off the unique advantages of the system are just what we need now.

So what have I done with my Wii U these last 3 months?  Well, after getting done with Mario, all I do is catch up on old Wii games I hadn’t played through yet.  Oh, and it gets really dusty — that’s it.  I show it off to friends when they come over to visit.  We play Nintendo Land for an hour or so before they ask, “What else have you got?”

“This Rayman Legends demo, which is really cool for the 3 levels you get to play through,” I sheepishly reply.

5 minutes later.

“That was a lot of fun too.  Anything else?”

“No … let’s watch TV.”

I still stand by everything I had to say in my first review; the Wii U has every bit of potential to be a big player in the next gen console wars due to its originality and second screen technology, but there’s not a chance in hell I would recommend buying one now or in the near future.

It almost seems as if Nintendo released it just in time for the holidays to make a few bucks, and then forgot about it.  It’s really nice that we’re getting a Wind Waker HD remake later this year and to know that the good stuff is ‘on its way’, but at this point, it just seems like Nintendo really doesn’t give a shit.  And you know what, at this point, neither should any of us.

Some of the other robots have some pretty strong feelings on the Wii U as well, so here they are to share their thoughts.

Shaz-Bot:

I’ll preface this by saying I’m going to sound like a Nintendo apologist, and for that I apologize. While I will admit I’m not using my Wii U as much as I did back in November/December, there are still a lot of awesome things going on with it right now.

This past week saw the amazing Google Street view app appear. When I first heard about this, I was wondering why anyone would like this at all. Now, though? What a cool way to explore parts of the world I may never see in real life! You literally use the Wii U gamepad as a window to the world, I found myself virtually exploring my old neighborhood, going to a sushi bar in Shibuya, and having a full 360-degree view of Piccadilly Square. This is the sort of thing only the Wii U can do, and we’ve barely scraped the potential!

Not only that, but Nintendo is currently celebrating 30 years in the home console business with an amazing showcase of their old titles. By practically giving away select Virtual Console games at 30 cents apiece, it’s a risk-free way to explore what the Wii U has to offer.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses, and sadly, a lot of that is Nintendo’s own fault. I work in retail, and I have lost count of how many people assume the Wii U is an add-on for the original Wii, and when they are set straight, they balk at the $300 price point. Honestly, if Nintendo used their marketing muscle to advertise the system better, or at least not call the freaking thing a Wii, they wouldn’t be in the boat they’re in now.

You know what though? The 3DS started out slowly and had a hefty price tag too. Now? It’s the highest selling console, with a metric ton of awesome games. I’m confident the Wii U will get there too, again this is because of Nintendo themselves.

I am feeling pretty burned by the Rayman delay as well, that kiosk demo made me want the system in the first place! That’s on UbiSoft though. A vote of no confidence like that really stings, but I bought a Nintendo system primarily for Nintendo games, and those I’ll have in spades. I’m optimistic for the future, despite how dire things seem now.

Citizen-Bot:

I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m disappointed in the Wii U, but remain hopeful because there is just so much untapped potential. I want an entire Zelda game that delivers what the minigame in Nintendoland teases. Ditto for the Metroid game.

The Wii U is that kid we all knew who was the smartest one in the room but refused to do their homework. The potential is so great, but without doing the work, you can’t reach that potential.

But you know what really disappoints me (and this is so weird, I’ll admit it):

Gangnam Style.

Yes, you read that right. Ubisoft’s #1 selling game right now, Just Dance 4, and they release a DLC right before the holidays to buy the Youtube dance sensation The Macarena… I mean Gangnam Style. My kids love the Just Dance. We have, I think, 4 or 5 different ones. It is one of the games we play most often on our Wii U. And while I appreciate the  fun factor they built in just for Wii U to have “Puppetmaster Mode” where the person with the gamepad chooses the dance moves for the people playing, I find it inexcusable that we can download dlc for the Wii to play Gangnam Style but not on the Wii U. It just seems… amateurish?

Of course, if they pulled the developers off Wii U dlc to finish Rayman, then more power to them. Because I want that game.

The other major disappointment for me is Aliens: Colonial Marines. Now, I know that game has its own problems relating to its development, but one of the reasons I was so keen on getting a Wii U were benchmarking reports coming out after E3 last year that tested playing Colonial Marines on a PS3, XB360, and Wii U and showed vastly superior performance for the Wii U. Plus, we were promised an Alien vs Squad of Marines game mode where up to 4 Marines could play on a split screen Goldeneye style, while the Alien used the gamepad and its touchscreen functionality to royally f@#$ them up. Then we find out we’re not getting the Wii U version the same time as the others. Then we find out the game sucks. Now I seriously doubt we’ll get the Holy Grail of squad shooters trying to kill a xenomorph.

And they still need to seriously upgrade Wii TVii. Since writing my review, I haven’t turned mine on. What’s the point? If I’m just going to watch Hulu anyway and that’s all you’re good for, then why? As a side note, I did finally get my Gamepad to work as a remote for my cablebox. Too bad it’s still a hassle to use and generally not worth it. Too bad we’re getting rid of cable again because Nintendo failed to revolutionize cable enough for me to want to continue subscribing to it.

Also, does anyone else get weird text in the upper left hand side of their Netflix when they run it through the Wii U? No such problems with my Roku box, but after the last update, we started getting white text that told us what the show is we were watching and what quality it was streaming in. It’s tiny and almost unnoticeable, but it’s there. Kids don’t seem to mind.

But none of this really changes that I basically feel all I’ve gotten is an HD upgrade to my Wii, and a big GameBoy Advance to play along with it.

Nintendo needs to get the ball rolling with some solid games and fast. The Gamepad coupled with the 4 Wiimotes sets up the perfect party game dynamic where one player has a special power or their purpose is to disrupt rather than compete. So let’s get some of Nintendo’s best party games: Mario Kart. Smash Brothers. Mario Party.

And let’s start enabling DLC for the party games you do have. I mentioned Just Dance. But our family also got Sing Party. A great platform, but we only got like 20 songs with the game. And that does not a karaoke party make.

As long as titles and features like these don’t exist, no one is going to have to own a Wii U. And as soon as the PS4 and the new XBox hit…. well, unless we’re talking about a major price drop by at least $75-$100, I don’t know how you’re going to keep going.

Swank-mo-tron:

I am probably the most active WiiU user of the bunch here. My kids and I look forward to playing it every weekend and we’re still exploring the depths that NintendoLand and the Wii U Mario Brothers game has to offer. I’m using it for my Amazon and my Netflix, I’m using it for my TV remote. I’m having an absolute blast with it and haven’t even thought about buying a new game for it yet. I have thought about taking Epic Mickey 2 back, though. That game wasn’t good.

The system is everything I need at the moment, the only notable downside is that it still doesn’t play DVDs or Blu-rays, which seems to be the only time I fire up my PS3 these days.

I’ll admit, I’m not a heavy gamer and neither are my kids, but the WiiU has provided my family with endless entertainment, most of it coming from NintendoLand.

Do I want more games? Yes. Do I want Aliens: Colonial Marines despite the bad reviews for my WiiU? Yes. Do I regret buying my WiiU? Not for a second. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. That I can play 5 player games on NintendoLand that involve the whole family is the best, and that more games will eventually come for it is enough for me. The life of these next-gen systems is quite a while and Wii U will catch up with software. Of that, I have no doubt.

Wrath.o.Tron:

I never bought a Wii.
Sure, I had a lot of fun playing a bit of Wii Sports with friends and family. Then I borrowed my friend’s Wii–which he hadn’t touched in months–played the handful of games I had any interest in, then gave it back and never thought about it again.

For me, the Wii felt like a great idea that wasn’t quite ready yet. So I guess I thought the Wii U, being the next iteration of the technology, would represent the maturation of the ideas and innovations that didn’t quite live up to their potential on the Wii.

What I got was a Wii with a new controller. A new controller I almost never use.

The time has come?
Nintendo’s E3 demos of the Wii U were sufficiently exciting that I decided to put my cash on the line and put my faith in Nintendo to make good on their promises. Okay, that’s not entirely true. The Rayman demo sold me, because it was the perfect example of how the Wii U technology can be used to create completely new, totally innovative gaming experiences. (I want my Rayman, goddamnit.)

Just like the Wii, there is so much potential here, the Rayman demo proves it, but I fear that Nintendo’s complete failure in this piss-poor launch is going to prevent any developers from investing any serious time or energy into the system. I foresee the Wii U with a bunch of second-rate, lazy ports and very little in the way of exclusive drawing power.

If that happens, I really did just pay out the nose for a Wii U when I should have just bought an original Wii used.

De ja vu, all over again.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. My family and I really enjoyed the Wii U for a few hours when we got together for the holidays. We played some Nintendoland, I even bought Wii Sports so we could relive those fond memories. Then I played some of the new Mario (which, by the way, was basically the same game I had just finished on my 3DS), and I haven’t touched the Wii U since.

Besides the lackluster launch library, there was a litany of minor irritations that came along with my Wii U.

Sorry, how many goddamn controllers do I need to buy?
If you were a Wii owner, you may be glad to know that all your original WiiMotes will work with your Wii U (provided they have MotionPlus). If however, like me, you gave the Wii a pass, the initial investment for a Wii U is pretty enormous considering how little payoff you get at this point. I don’t understand how Nintendo can expect anyone to shell out this kind of money on a system with very little to make itself desirable.

As far as controllers, the system comes with the GamePad, and nothing else. If you want to play anything multiplayer (which, let’s face it, is the whole point of a Wii) you have to buy a WiiMote Plus for everyone because in most of the multiplayer games, you cannot use the GamePad the same way you would use a WiiMote. That means, if you want to play a four player game, you have to spend around $160 ($40 each, new) for WiiMotes. Don’t forget to factor in a set of four Nunchucks at up to $20 a pop or you miss out on a lot of gaming options. Also, AA batteries for the WiiMotes because rechargables are an additional cost.

Besides all that, the so-called “Wii U Pro Controller” (~$50, new) has very limited compatibility, that is: works with very few games. (Note, it does not work with either NintendoLand or New Super Mario Bros U.)

Nintendo is really falling down on this one. Motion controls can be good fun and all, but the WiiMote makes a terrible gamepad for any non-motion gaming. If Nintendo really wants to bring back the core gaming audience like they claim, they’re doing a spectacularly terrible job of it. By the way, the Wii U Pro Controller also does not work when you go into “Wii Mode,” so if you want to use a “Wii Classic Controller” with your Wii games, guess what? You’ll have to buy a set of those as well (~$25 each, new), and have an equal number of WiiMotes too, because the Classic Controller plugs into the bottom of a WiiMote.

You don’t win die hard fans by nickel-and-diming them with a million little peripherals. Nintendo needs to rectify this. They need to make the controllers more cross-compatible and they need to make it easier and less costly to acquire a full set of controllers. The MotionPlus technology is four years old, there’s got to be a way to make it financially viable to bundle up some of this stuff and make it cheaper.

So I’m left with… a Wii.
I wish I had Shaz-Bot’s confidence that this will all turn around and become worth it, I really do. But I don’t see that happening. I see a horribly mismanaged console launch that is going to scare away potential buyers and leave the system with a pathetically slim market share… which will scare off developer…, which will leave the Wii U even less relevant… and on and on. I see that feedback loop persisting until we all regret our decision and try to sell off our systems at pennies on the dollar.

I guess I’ll try to make all this worth it by catching up on a few of those Wii games I never played. I heard Xenoblade Chronicles was pretty good…

Via Bungie.Net


Bungie has finally released information pertaining to its project that has been teased online for a good while. I’m not the first to say it but I am absolutely intrigued at what they are hinting towards. The Destiny Website is hinting at at more than just your standard shooter.

The next evolution of entertainment — an incredible story set within a newly-imagined, always-connected universe filled with action and adventure.

Create your character, forge your legend by defeating powerful foes, and earn unique and customizable weapons, gear, and vehicles.

Unprecedented variety of FPS gameplay, including story, cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes combined with public and social activities.
….

The VidDoc also shows notifications coming through on a smart phone app, and the game being utilized on PC as well. Whether that is through a web portal or actual game play it was hard to confirm. My mind has been running rampant since watching the VidDoc multiple times. This looks to me to be a FPS MMO with mobile device/social integration. If it is truly a “living world that constantly changes” what can we expect on the side of user created content? When they say there are public and social activities will it tie in Ingress style gameplay and force people to actually communicate and meet up? Truthfully the possibilities at this point seem endless and we can only hope to learn more in the coming months. You can pre-order right now through Amazon, BestBuy and of course GameStop. Not sure if I’ll run out immediately but I can say for one, I am amped.

VidDoc Below:

Update:

IGN has posted an FAQ after a recent visit to Bungie, here’s a quick shake down.

• It has MMO characteristics and requires a persistent Internet connection, it does not require a monthly fee
• Xbox Gamers and Playstation Gamers will not be able to play together, it was also consistently referred to as a console shooter, PC release not looking so good.


• There will be an iOS companion app, the scope was not announced but messaging and assisting friends seemed possible.


• one group of enemies is a four-armed insect called “the fallen”


• no screenshots are available as of now, it is only concept art.

We will keep updating as we learn more, check back.

The bridge of the Enterprise is just one of many areas of the starship players can explore in the upcoming Star Trek: The Video Game.

Star Trek video game fans have a little more than two months before they’ll be able to virtually explore the U.S.S. Enterprise in more detail than ever before, according to the executive producer of the forthcoming Star Trek: The Video Game.

“One of the great joys of video games is the opportunity to take audiences to places that are only hinted at in traditional film and TV projects,” said Brian Miller, senior vice-president of Paramount Pictures and the game’s executive producer. “Giving gamers the opportunity to explore the U.S.S. Enterprise is one of the more exciting aspects of our video game and one that we can’t wait to share with Star Trek fans and gamers worldwide.”

And while being able to virtually go through the iconic areas of James T. Kirk’s starship should prove to be a cool experience, the fact is this game will sink or swim based on how much story and action is packed into its code.

According to Miller, you will play as Kirk and Spock, doing battle against the Gorn – which is a whole lot of awesome all on its own. The reptilian race is iconic in itself and is a nice bone for the fans to chew on. The Gorn were the enemy first introduced in the classic 1967 Star Trek TV episode Arena.

As you fight your way through the story, gamers will venture deep into the ship, exploring locations like the bridge, transporter room and engine room, as well as turbolift shafts, the observation lounge, engineering decks and officer’s quarters.

“The Enterprise is not just a ship – she is one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek. Our goal from day one was to make sure that the Enterprise looks, feels and even sounds as true to life as anything players have ever seen,” Miller said.

A look at the trailer (see below) shows the game is a shooter and it clearly looks as if the action is being influenced by J.J. Abrams’ overhaul of the beloved sci-fi franchise. With some run-and-gun phaser action, Abrams’ attempt to inject a little more of a Star Wars sensibility into Star Trek looks to have carried over to this game, which is being published by Namco Bandai Games.

For this bot, that’s a good thing. Star Trek games have often been too laid back and boring. My personal No. 1 Trek gaming title was Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force, a first-person shooter in which you played as a member of Capt. Janeway’s crew and did battle with the Borg. Now, I’m a shooter fan and I love nothing more than strapping on a virtual weapon and blasting baddies. But if this game can find a way to combine some great action with a deep, engaging story and immersive environments, this could be a win-win scenario for gamers and Trek fans.

Now, let’s see what’s out there …

Star Trek: The Video Game will hit store shelves April 23 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Wayne Chamberlain is the co-host of the Star Wars Book Report podcast, available on iTunes, and a contributing writer with Postmedia News and Canada.com.