‘pax12’ Posts
Let’s not mince words. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is in most ways the polar opposite of the Metal Gear Solid series, abandoning restraint and resourcefulness in favor of unapologetic brutality. If Metal Gear Solid was an elegant switchblade, Revengeance is a rip-roaring chainsaw.
The opening tutorial mission wastes no time in showing off the game’s much-touted Blade Mode, a surprisingly intuitive mechanic that boasts palpable precision. You press and hold L1 to slow time, then hold the right analog stick to wind up your slice. Hold the stick to the right and Raiden will draw his sword to the right; release the stick and he’ll slash from right to left, cleaving obstacles and baddies in two. It’s a devastating and deeply satisfying attack, but it’s slow and expends fuel cells so it’s best reserved for surgical strikes.
Blade Mode has been much discussed, but less has been said regarding Revengeance’s impactful combo system.
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This past weekend at PAX, I was fortunate enough to moderate a panel with some of the top minds working on God of War: Ascension. While getting inside the heads of the creators of Kratos’ next adventure was a treat, we did a lot more than just talk. The team brought early sketches Kratos and the first playable video of God of War, before the Blades of Chaos were irrevocably bound to his forearms. We also revealed Ascension’s big bads, the Furies, with a close look at Mageara, the enforcer of the group.
While we streamed the panel live, courtesy of Twitch.tv, you’re forgiven for missing it last Friday evening. But the excuses are gone now – we’ve cut down the hourlong panel into a 10-minute highlight reel. Take a look:
Your panelists, from left to right:
- Mark Simon – Lead Designer on God of War: Ascension
- Patrick Murphy – Principal Character Artist for God of War: Ascension
- Marianne Krawczyk – award-winning writer of the God of War series
- Todd Papy – Game Director on God of War: Ascension
The summer may be over, but fall is now upon us, which means we’re getting closer and closer to LittleBigPlanet Karting‘s November 6th finish line. It won’t be long before Sackboy’s fastest and most competitive adventure will hit store shelves everywhere!
Now that we’re closer to launch, one of questions that we’ve been hearing a lot lately is: Who exactly are these mysterious characters that our stitched-together hero must race against throughout LittleBigPlanet Karting’s Story Mode? Well, we’ve decided it’s time to let you in on some of the backstory.
Long after Sackboy defeated the Negativitron in LittleBigPlanet 2, visitors from far, far away arrived on Craftworld driving speedy karts, with plans to seek out and steal its most precious prizes. These swarms of otherworldly scavengers became known as The Hoard. As you might have guessed, The Hoard want all of Craftworld’s prizes for no reason other than to hoard them – they essentially embody the antithesis of Creative Sackartistry.
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Pax Prime was a blast! We were amped to publicly show off our behind-closed-doors gameplay demo of The Last of Us that only a very select few media members saw at E3. If you weren’t able to make it out to Seattle we don’t want to leave you out (or leave you watching someone’s illicit shaky-cam YouTube video) so here it is.
This demo highlights narrative exploration through interactive prompts, environmental puzzles, the balance of power AI, and some of the dynamic stealth elements you’ll be able to use to plan Joel and Ellie’s survival. How many resources are at your disposal? Do you go offensive or defensive? You’ll have to keep calm, think, and rely on your partner, Ellie, as you survive and make your way westward.
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It’s been a fun PAX weekend (technically it’s still going on), and many of us still have Monday off for Labor Day. Sid and I busied ourselves seeing new games and and participating in panels. I hosted the God of War: Ascension panel, which you can watch here, whilst Sid battles Major Nelson in Super PAXword, which is viewable here. He assures me that he won.
PAX fun aside, it’s nice to be home, where I’ll be putting the day off to use catching up on The Walking Dead series from Telltale Games (find a review below). Or just watch the Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes video over and over. Because it’s just that good.
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At PAX 2012, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima showed off 15 11 minutes of gameplay footage from his upcoming PS3 game Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The demo began with an in-engine cinematic set in a rain-drenched prison camp. The sprawling camp showed off FOX Engine’s advanced shader, lighting, and particle effects. Mud glistened and rain danced amidst the pervasive, bone-chilling gloom. As the cinema continued, we met a mysterious man with a mutilated face and wide-brimmed hat who later led troops away from the base, kicking the footage into a gameplay demo as Naked Snake (Big Boss) moved into position.
The prison camp – a huge open-world environment riddled with entry points – pointed to an evolution of MGS3 and MGS4′s sandboxes. As Snake made his way closer, Kojima pointed out nearby APCs and helicopters and confirmed that Snake could commandeer them.
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This summer from June 25th to 29th, seven of our LittleBigPlanet community super creators joined the LittleBigPlanet Karting team at SCEA’s San Diego Studio for a Game Jam to help test drive Sackboy’s fastest and most competitive adventure yet. During their stay, they Played a variety of the built-in tracks, Created using LittleBigPlanet Karting‘s revolutionary 3D Create mode, and Shared their thoughts and opinions with all of us here at the studio, so that we could utilize their feedback to help shape LBPK into the best game possible.
On the last few days of the visit, we took the opportunity to document their experiences and get their take on LBPK as a whole, so that we could turn their impressions into a video and share it with our fans. So, in honor of PAX Prime this weekend – a show designed for the fans – we’re happy to present the finished product with all of you. Enjoy!
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Important! If you attend the PAX 2012 God of War: Ascension panel in person, we will give you a way to access the upcoming God of War: Ascension multiplayer beta!
God of War fans! For the first time in the history of this epic franchise, the gods of Sony Santa Monica Studio will be throwing down the gauntlet in our first-ever God of War panel! This is a panel you do not want to miss. Unless you want Kratos to seek revenge on you for not watching, and you know how that goes down.
The panel will take place in the great halls of PAX 2012 this Friday, August 31st from 5:00pm to 6:00pm in the Unicorn Theater (located in the Convention Center). If you’re not attending PAX, you can watch the livestream on Twitch.tv!
God of War has always been about providing you the most epic “larger-than-life” moments and you can rest assured we’re going to make sure our fans remember “this hour.” So what in the name of Kratos is going down?!
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