Activision says the Call of Duty series has 'never been stronger'

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Posted July 3rd, 2013 at 07:10 EDT by Mike Harradence1 Comments

The CEO of Activision Publishing has declared that the Call of Duty franchise has never been stronger as the games industry gears up for the shift to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Chatting with IGN, Eric Hirshberg observed that digital growth is particularly strong for the brand, and that anticipation is at an all-time high for the forthcoming 2013 series entry, Call of Duty: Ghosts.

“All I can tell you is that the franchise has never been stronger. At this moment in time, we have more people playing every month, more people logging on to play every day, a better digital business with people playing longer into the cycle of each product and purchasing more DLC and purchasing micro-DLC and purchasing season passes,” he said.

“Those are all the hard measures. How is the content we’re making selling? Are people enjoying it? That seems to be going well. Then you look at the softer measures, just in terms of social media engagement and video views. Anticipation is high for Ghosts. When you’re building off such a strong foundation of engaged players, that’s usually a pretty good sign.”

Speaking of Ghosts, the executive teased that developer Infinity Ward has a lot of new ideas it has brought to the table, and promises an emotionally-charged campaign. Strong sales are also expected.

“Now, at the end of the day, it all comes down to us making another great game. That’s why we set the stage for greatness with Ghosts by wiping the slate clean creatively, not doing another Modern Warfare game with Infinity Ward, allowing them to create an entirely new narrative and cast of characters,” he said.

“We’ve changed to a world where America is not the dominant force, but an underdog. That opened up new visual opportunities. It opened up new gameplay opportunities. We’re shaking things up. Multiplayer is going to have new ideas. Dynamic maps are something we’re doing. Character customization is something we’re doing.

“The story mode is going to be…I don’t know if you’ve seen what we [showed at E3], but it’s gorgeous. It’s emotional. It’s got a different kind of tonality and feeling to it. It all comes down to us making a great game every time out, and I’m confident that we are going to deliver something special with Ghosts.”

Call of Duty: Ghosts is due out in November for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Wii U.

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Thief E3 preview: Staying unseen never looked so good

You are here: Home » Previews » Electronic Entertainment Expo [E3... » Thief » Thief E3 preview: Staying u...

Posted June 23rd, 2013 at 11:48 EDT by PSU Staff0 Comments

by Jonathan Ottman

Thief--a series reboot rumored to be in the works one minute, then scrapped the next--has faced more issues coming to market than its predecessors (which is saying something). But now, stealh fans and open-world gamers can rest easy. Thanks to Eidos Montreal, the studio that brought you Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I was able to see the demo for Thief on an actual PlayStation 4. I can assure you, it was one of the best-looking games shown at E3.

The game takes place in an unnamed city where the people are on the verge of a full-blown revolution against a tyrannical Baron and his regime. You play as Garrett, the anti-hero thief who, in the demo, takes advantage of a riot to sneak into the Baron’s mansion and steal a precious heirloom, the Heart of the Lion. The demo stars off in a dark garden area outside of Northcrest Manor, which seems to resemble something like 18th century upper-class English scenery: statues, brick walls, hedges, and lamppost-illuminated areas. This type of hubris allows for many different approaches for infiltrating the mansion, from a full-out assault to playing the perfect thief. You are encouraged to play as the latter, with the idea being that you are a master thief and should avoid detection at all costs. After all, a good thief isn't noticed until it's too late.

During the demo, there seemed to be a lot of climbing atop walls and pillars to get a better view of what you will have to deal with: torches to douse, patrols to evade, etc. This will be a constant theme, so Garrett is equipped with different types of arrows to help with various situations. Water arrows can put out the aforementioned torches, rope arrows allow you to reach better viewpoints or escape detection, while another type of arrow is used to distract nearby guards.

You also have Focus mode, which, similar to the Arkham series' “Detective Mode," allows you to see interactive objects, move in slow motion (which in turn helps pickpocketing and sneaking), aim with better accuracy... Basically, improving the performance of most things that you do. Focus, however, is a finite resource so it is not to be used constantly. You are able to replenish your supply of Focus by picking poppies, but don’t expect poppies to be everywhere--it seems they will be few and far between.

Thanks to the Thief franchise’s light gem overlay in the lower left corner, you are able to notice how far the shadows extend and whether you are mostly hidden at any given time. You also have the ability perform takedowns on enemies, which usually trigger brutal third-person animations. Hiding the bodies, so as to not be discovered, is paramount.

At the end of each level, you are rewarded for things like not being spotted, amount of treasure found, and taking a non-lethal approach. You CAN take the “Rambo” approach, but you will find that most NPCs are very difficult to attack head-on; Garrett is far more talented at stealth than fisticuffs.

All in all, Thief has a variety of tools, paths, decisions, and environmental situations to keep you entertained and wanting more. With a steadfast hold to true stealth gameplay, complimented by a detailed graphical design that verges on being one of the best visual demos at E3, Thief hearkens back to the design sensibilities of hits like BioShock, Deus Ex, and Dishonored. It's definitely one to watch for on the horizon.

Thief is scheduled for release in 2014 on PlayStation 4.

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Men's Room Mayhem Review - restroom etiquette has never been this much fun

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Posted May 23rd, 2013 at 12:26 EDT by Fraser Miller1 CommentsReview Score

Men's Room Mayhem

PSU Review Score7.0Avg. user review score:0.0

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Summary

Men's Room Mayhem is a quirky concept executed surprisingly well, though it won't likely have you coming back for a seconds.

We like

Great soundtrackThe crisp, 2D stylized graphics Brilliant touchscreen controls

We dislike

Repetitive The lack of physical button controlsThe lack of replay value

Men's Room Mayhem comes from the wonderful folks over at Sawfly Studios, which was founded by some of the industry veterans who developed WipEout. As the studio's debut project, Men's Room Mayhem puts players into the role of the janitor who must sort through patrons in order for them to do their "business" within the "men's room" -- see what they did there?

The basic principle is using the PlayStation Vita's touchscreen to draw lines for the patrons to follow to do the business intended. However, it is not quite as simple as you might think. Fights can break out if patrons get to close to each other or "accidents" can happen if you're a little late getting them to the their destination before the timer runs out. The game plays solidly on the Vita's awesome OLED screen, but it has to be noted this is the only way to play the game. You can't take it for a spin with any of the buttons or the back panel, so you're stuck with the main touch screen and that's it. Sure, this might not be a bad thing, but since it's locked down to this input method, it would have been nice to add a little more functionality.

Now as I mentioned above about the OLED screen, the graphics on this quirky title certainly stand out very crisp and clear. Men's Room Mayhem is quite the colourful game, as best illustrated in the various backgrounds from the basic back room rest-room to the up-beat nightclub that also comes with its very own hazards. Those hazards, you might ask, is the game's way of swinging in some curve balls, like women coming into the night club's rest room and you must guide all the other patrons around otherwise they stop and stare and could end up in fights and causing sheer mayhem. Or the old fella that walks in and is super slow and gets you into all sorts of awkward situations.

The only thing I found about the game though is there isn't anything more past its two modes, normal mode and blitz mode. Normal mode allows you to go through the game completing objectives to gain access to the higher levels within the game. As for Blitz mode, you get a patron in the door and must instantly direct them where to go and then another follows straight after and it keeps going until the timer runs out, as you'd expect. Apart from this there isn't much else to the game, though keep in mind it's a small-priced title that works pretty effortlessly with the Vita's touchscreen and is ace for quick little plays. Though Men's Room Mayhem would be great for those that love time attack styled games, constantly working out the best way to up the ante with close calls and near misses to get extra points really has you aiming for the highest you possibly can achieve.

One thing I found myself doing was getting caught up in the music; it isn't anything spectacular but its up-beat and quirky nature matches the tone of the game. Men's Room Mayhem has an awesome little arrangement of tracks to bob along to while you whisk around frantically trying to make sure everything goes accordingly -- and it rarely does.

Men's Room Mayhem sets out to be a quirky and strange little title and it does just that. As a strange concept that has come across pretty well, with its crisp, colourful graphics that sparkle on the PS Vita's screen and pick-up-and-play appeal, Men's Room Mayhem is well worth picking up. Though there isn't much meat on the bone for the small price being placed on it, there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had here.

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