Valve and Xi3 present Piston

 Details are emerging about Valve and Xi3's Steam-Powered PC, codenamed Piston.

A representative of Xi3 stated that the system will be a step up from the company's current 7 series of PCs, according to report over CNET. The 7 series includes quad core processing chips that run up to 3.2 GHz, and AMD's 383 Raedon HD 7660G graphics core. The 7 series also supports up to 8 GB of RAM. We can expect that Piston will be a fairly powerful machine if the specs are similar or better than Xi3's 7 series of PCs.

Xi3 also announced at the Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) that they will be optimizing Piston for Big Picture mode and be housed on one of X13's modular systems.

She's a beauty

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for Xi3," said Xi3 CEO Jason A. Sullivan in a press release. "This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience. As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand."

Bloody Palace mode will be included in DMC

Fans of the Devil May Cry series will be overjoyed to hear that the action-packed Bloody Palace mode will be returning in the upcoming installment to the series.

As in previous games, there will be 100 levels of hacking, slashing and shooting. The best part about the return of the game mode is that it will be free to download off XBL and PSN.

The developer of the game, Ninja Theory, tweeted, "Bloody Palace gets really hardcore towards the end. You'll have to be something special to beat it." This statement makes it sound like gamers will get hours upon hours of enjoyment and frustration from the game mode.

Screen capture of the new Bloody Palace mode

DMC will be available on Jan. 15 for Xbox 360 and Ps3. Expect a review of the game shortly after its release.

Obsidian teases gamers with "Project X"

Obsidian Entertainment has brought us great games in the past such as Fallout: New Vegas and Neverwinter Nights 2. Today they released a teaser revealing that a new project is in development, but no actual info of the game itself.

The project is simply titled "Project X," which hopefully has no connection to the terrible movie with the same title. The teaser is has a black background with the number 4 inside of an ouroboros symbol. Underneath this symbol is a quote that says, "What do the words mean?" "Nothing, the Dirge of Eir Glanfath is sound without form, a lone voice crying out in the morning because it must."

It hasn't even been 24 hours, but there has been much speculation as to what game this could be a teaser for. From the looks of it, it's probably not going to be a Fallout 4, but most likely a new Dungeon Siege game. Gameinformer.com stated that it could possibly be a teaser for a game based on the "Wheel of Time" series, which was announced a few years ago but has yet to be seen by the public.


Below is a picture of the teaser, courtesy of Obsidian's website.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a reboot worth getting excited for

In a period of gaming where old games are being rebooted just to be played in high definition, It's refreshing to see a game do more than just make itself prettier, but offer an entirely different experience as well. RTS mastermind Sid Meier is back again with his team at Firaxis Games, to bring us a remake of the 1994 title, UFO: Enemy Unknown.

It's not a traditional remake though, even the name has changed to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The game is set in the present day, an alien invasion has just hit causing a reaction from multiple nations to fend off the attack and save the world from decimation. You are given control of the XCOM project, the most elite military and scientific organization of all time. Your job is to eliminate the extraterrestrial army before they eliminate all of human kind.

Ladies and gentlemen... I present the "Geoscape"

Game-play will be similar to the other titles in the X:COM series. The real-times strategy elements will be confined to a global view called "Geoscape." In this view of the map, players will perform multiple task that include managing resources and personnel, conducting research of alien technologies, interacting with the governments of X:COM's funding nations, ordering aircraft to intercept UFOs, and dispatching troops to engage enemies in combat on the ground. There will also be a new view called "ant farm" which allows players to customize the X:COM headquarters as well as order research and engineering, equip troops, and observe various activities of X:COM personnel.

Basic RTS camera view

The actual action sequences of the game are all turn based, using a third person view. When commanding your units or planning your next actions, the camera is zoomed out giving the player a vast view of the landscape. When the player's turn is over, the camera will zoom in to show brutal kills performed by your squad and the enemy. The game provides some of the best AI I've seen to date. Each soldier in your squad is aware of what is going on on the battlefield and are emotionally expressive. If you are clearly winning a battle, your squad will be more confident and deliver some heroic sounding banter. If your squad is on a clear path to defeat, they will whimper, panic, and cry as the enemy presses on. Environments are also destructible, making this already beautiful looking game look better and feel more real.

Though the game is a reboot, it has gutted some core game-play elements and replaced them with modern-day conventions. The inventory system, grid map, and time units system have all been removed. The equipping of special weapons and items will now be controlled through a toolbar of various actions that stretches across the bottom of the screen. You will no longer have to disembark from carriers at the start of battles either, troops will already be deployed at the beginning of each mission. A new cover system has also been integrated into the game. In cover, your squad will react to enemy gunfire and lay down suppressive fire if needed. Stealth will be an element added into the game-play as well as special abilities for both humans and aliens.

Dynamic camera view during action sequence

Mission structure is deeper than just neutralizing enemy forces and rescuing civilians. Now each mission will come with sub-objectives that will need to be completed in order to progress through the story. The game runs on the Unreal 3 engine, so there will be some beautiful cut-scenes to look forward to during the campaign. Multiplayer will be featured in the game, but the only game mode will be a one-on-one tactical battle. Players can choose between humans, aliens, or have a mixture of both on their team. Each player will also be given a budget at the beginning of the match in which they will spend towards assembling the best squad possible.




This game will feature a unique experience for both hardcore and casual RTS players. To make this game a little more awesome, Fireaxis games will be releasing it on consoles as well. That's not the awesome part though. Unlike Civilization: Revolution, the console version of X:COM will not be stripped down and will be the same as the PC version, minus a mouse driven user interface and the ability to mod. The game is scheduled to be released on PC, Ps3, and Xbox 360 on Oct. 9, 2012, and will be available digitally, and in stores.

Check out a game-play video provided by Giant Bomb here.

Possibility for Valve-developed hardware in the near future

An article released today from the great staff at IGN unveiled that powerhouse game developer, Valve, is looking for industrial designers. The job listing states.

“Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in.”

That isn't all that Valve posted. They continue to talk about how there hasn't been any real innovation in the PC gaming marketplace in the past few years and that they aim to change that. The post also specifies that they want people who have experience in product design and manufacturing, surfacing, ergonomics, usability, and aesthetics. They also want someone with over 6 years of shipping "world-class, high-tech hardware products, and a "thorough understanding of product design principles."

There have been rumors circulating over the past several months that Valve would be throwing their hat into the console war by making their own console called the SteamBox. Valve has since denied any such ideas that they are working on a console. Now it seems that all of the evidence is pointing to the SteamBox being real and not just some industry myth. There have also been listings posted by Valve, looking for an electronics engineer to work on "platform hardware." From all of the clues Valve has left us, I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of Valve-developed hardware is released sometime within the next few years.

Check out the listing below, courtesy of IGN.

MGS: Ground Zeros will blow your freaking mind

A few days ago, there was confirmation on a new Metal Gear Solid game for the current generation of consoles. The game was revealed by Konami at their celebration of the series 25th anniversary. At the event, a 14 minute demo was shown that featured a few minutes of actual game-play at the end of it.

From the information that I have gathered, it is almost certain that the protagonist in this game will be Big Boss. He is wearing a badge that says Militaires Sans Frontieres which was Big Boss's PMC in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The protagonist also has an eye patch covering his right eye which is the defining characteristic of Big Boss, thus proving that Big Boss will be the protagonist in this game.

As for the time period that the game will take place in, it must be post Peace Walker because the gun Big Boss is equipped with in the demo is a FN FNC, a Belgian assault rifle created in 1979. If you haven't played Peace Walker, it takes place in 1974 so this new game would have to take place afterward in order to be historically correct. The setting is unknown as of now, there is a common speculation that it will take place in Africa.

I wonder who this will be...

As stated earlier, the demo consists of around 9 minutes of cut-scene and around 6 minutes of game-play. Just from the cuts-scene itself, you really get a look at what this new engine is capable of. Individual rain drops can be seen splashing the ground and the soldiers uniforms and bodies glisten in the rain. Facial animations are extremely life-like, so much so that it feels like you are watching a movie. Never in my life have a seen a game that has looked this incredible, I was especially wowed when the helicopter was taking off and you could see the waves of rainwater being pushed from the force of the propeller blades.

The trailer starts off with a man in uniform talking to a young boy in a cage. They are obviously on some sort of military base. The soldier gives the boy some sort of music playing device and then walks away. The man then gets in a car with another soldier and they drive to the helipad for extraction. Later you see the face of the man and find out that he is horribly disfigured, most likely from burns. The man talks throughout the demo until he says the line "from FOX two phantoms were born." This line could be a reference to the clones Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. It could also be referring to members of FOX unit like Big Boss, Gray Fox, and Major Zero. The camera then pans down to the side of a cliff where a figure, who we soon find out to be Big Boss, is climbing.

Notice the eye patch and MSF badge

After that, Big Boss crawls around on the ground for a bit until he says "kept you waiting, huh?" after peeling off his goggles. He then stands up and crouch-walks closer to the military base while two helicopters soar over him. The game switches into game-play mode shortly after and Big Boss slowly makes his way closer to the base, dodging spotlights that are being manned by guards. The most amazing part about this engine is that there is hardly a difference between the visuals in the cut-scene from the visuals in the actual game-play. While Big Boss is creeping up to the base, you can hear a Konami representative explain the the game will be open world so you can approach your objective any way you would like.




He then mentions that you will be able to steal and pilot vehicles in the game, a game-play element that has not been incorporated in MGS games in the past. Once he successfully reaches the perimeter of the base, Big Boss pops a round off with a silenced gun, leaving a cloud of blood spraying from a guards head. He then shows off the driving mechanics of the game by having Big Boss hop in a vehicle and drive it around for a moment. After that, Big Boss uses a flare to call in a helicopter. Apparently this helicopter can be used for covering fire or extraction, similar to the game Mercenaries. The demo ends with Big Boss being extracted from the base, looking over it while the helicopter carries him away.

From what has been shown so far, there is no doubt that this game will be one of the best upcoming games for the current generation. The game looks so good that I originally thought it wasn't going to be released until the next generation. Konami will be using the new FOX engine for the next generation and if it looks this good on the current gen, I can only imagine how good it will look on the next gen. There is no information on a release date yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted once more information is released.

Dishonored preview

With the success of games that combine multiple game-play styles such as the Deus Ex and Bioshock, it's surprising that more developers haven't taken notes and applied them to their own titles. The crew at Arkane Studios has been taking notes and are releasing a game that encourages gamers to be more creative in the way they assassinate targets.

Dishonored is being labeled as a first person action game, but it is a hard game to categorize seeing that it contains a mixture of different gameplay elements. It is essentially up to the player to decide how they want to play the game. The player can choose if they want to be silent and kill their enemies with stealth, be loud and kill their enemies with a bang, or show off their sorcery skills by blasting their foes with different magical abilities.

Gamers will be put in control of Corvo. Corvo is a magically gifted assassin that has been framed for murdering the Empress that he was once in charge of protecting. Corvo is visited in prison by an individual called the Outsider. The Outsider imprints Corvo with its mark, allowing Corvo to obtain and use magical abilities. Corvo then escapes prison and proceeds to take on assassination missions.

Guards on mechanical stilts show elements of fantasy in a somewhat realistic environment

From there on out you proceed to execute these missions in a city called Dunwall. Dunwall is a fictional city that is based on research done by teams placed in England and Scotland. The goal of art directer Sebastian Mitton and Zenimax visual design director Viktor Antonov (worked with Valve to create City 17 in Half Life 2) is to merge a stylized city similar to London. They have even imported real faces of club bouncers and construction workers to serve as the faces of some NPCs.

The city of Dunwall has both elements of realism and fantasy. On the realistic side, there is much political tension in the city of Dunwall as well as a plague that is infecting many its inhabitants. It is a fishing town that is powered on oil and players will be able to see boats drifting across the water as they capture large sea creatures.

The supernatural elements of the game create a juxtaposition between realism and fantasy. You see this when Corvo uses his magical abilities to teleport from the streets to rooftops, take possession of wild animals, or sick a gang of plague ridden rats on one of his foes. An interesting ability called blink will aid you in stealth as its purpose is to make Corvo quickly teleport from one shadow to another, unseen by any enemies.

Sound will be an important element in stealth gameplay. Noise can be made by walking too fast, shutting doors, dropping from high distances, and even rustling with doorknobs. Make too much sound and your enemies will come rushing to the position where they heard the sound come from. Of course this can be an advantage to some players that want to set a trap for guards by making noise and the poucing on them once they have them where they want them.

Execution animations are astonishingly realistic

There will be a wide variety of weapons to choose from in Dishonored. Corvo will have weapons such as a short-sword, a one-armed crossbow, various traps, and the magical abilities you posses as I mentioned earlier. There will be times where you will be able to mix some of these weapons and powers together, allowing you to be creative with the way you execute your enemies. While setting these creative traps, time is slowed down, giving you time to plot the twisted ways you want to end your victims. Once you are done, you can switch back to real time and watch the damage you inflict with your twisted mind.

Arkane isn't paying too much attention to story or cut-scenes. They say that it feels like they are taking control away from the gamer by adding too many cut-scenes, so they have decided to put environmental story clues that you can read as you progress through the game.

Dishonored has reached the top of my radar for upcoming games being released in the next few months and I am excited for the day when I get a chance to get my hands on it. It is scheduled to be released on October 9, 2012 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.