Gone Home review - connecting the dots

If you have any interest in playing Gone Home, don’t read past this paragraph. Just go buy it and play it. It’s best played blind, without any pretense knowledge, and gives you an experience that can’t be replicated in movies, books, or other mediums.

It is 1:15 AM on June 7, 1995. You are Katie Greenbriar, just coming home on a dark rainy night from a year traveling through Europe. You arrive at the house, but no one is home. There is a mysterious and ominous sounding note on the door. Where is everyone?

Gamescom Batman: Arkham Origns trailer introduces Firefly

Warner Bros. Montreal showed off a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins at Gamescom, introducing one of the newest of the eight assassins to threaten Gotham on Christmas Eve. Firefly joins the list, which already includes Deathstroke, Deadshot, Bane, and Copperhead. However, those aren’t the only villains who appear, with the Joker playing a significant part, and if you’re careful, you can see the Penguin appearing briefing in the trailer. Batman: Arkham Origins releases for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 25, with its handheld counterpart, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, coming to the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita on the same day.

The Division coming to PC afterall

After Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment unveiled The Division at E3 this year, PC players wanted to take part. A petition asking for a PC version amassed over 140,000 signatures, and this week at Gamescom Ubisoft announced The Division will indeed come to the PC. “I’m very pleased to announce that the game will be available on PC,” executive producer Fredrik Rundqvist said, “Massive Entertainment has its roots in PC development with titles like Ground Control and World in Conflict. You can be certain that we will provide you with a first-rate PC experience.” It's unknown if the delay in announcement will reflect onto release with the PC version coming later after the console versions, similar to the Assassin's Creed series, but PC players should be happy knowing their collective voices were heard. The Division is slated to release late 2014 on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Prepare for new Titanfall gameplay demo from Gamescom

Respawn unveiled a new Titanfall video showcasing multiplayer gameplay during EA's Gamescom press conference. The video plays out like a singleplayer campaign mission, tasking the player with defending a pilot named Barker from capture. We follow a single soldier from ground, to titan, to air on a map called Angel City in an attrition mode gametype. The video also shows the epilogue of the match as the pilot escapes to the evac ship after defeat. It will be intriguing to see how this match might play from the opposing team, showing what a victory entails. Titanfall is coming exclusively to the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC sometime in spring 2014.

PlayStation 4 to release on November 15 in US

Sony announced today at their Gamescom press conference the PlayStation 4 will be available starting November 15 in the North America and November 29 for Europe. President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House said, “The response that we have received has been nothing short of incredible. You’ve made it clear that you’re excited about this platform with more than one million preorders already worldwide.”

In addition, Sony detailed the 32 countries the PlayStation 4 will launch on November 29 along with the UK, including Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Latin America.

The PlayStation 4 will launch at $399 in North America, and €399 and £349 in Europe.

Papers, Please review – a lesson in bureaucracy

Every day I do the same thing. I wake up and walk to work at the edge of Arstotzka, where the border has finally re-opened after six years of war with neighboring nation Kolechia. I should feel lucky. Thanks to the labor lottery, my family and I have a place to live, and I have a job to support them. It’s not a luxurious position, but I can help keep the borders safe by detaining criminals, denying foreigners with forged papers, or identifying terrorists. Glory to Arstotzka!

2013 Fall release schedule

Games are releasing again. The summer drought of games started near the beginning of June and starting next week, games will figuratively start hitting shelves again. The fall schedule always seems to start fast and furious, but unlike 2012 where there was a constant stream of new games almost every week, 2013 appears staggered. This makes sense, though, as Microsoft and Sony have yet to confirm dates for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, leaving these gaps in releases for console releases and launch line-up games leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. This list covers the majority of games I’m looking forward to with a few exceptions, like games that are console exclusives, such as Grand Theft Auto V, and games that don’t have a release date yet, such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for the PC.

August 20
Saints Row IV
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

August 28
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

September 3
Rayman Legends

September 10
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

October 25
Batman: Arkham Origins

October 29
Battlefield 4

November 5
Call of Duty: Ghosts

November 12
XCOM: Enemy Within Injustice: Gods Among Us

November 19
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Need for Speed: Rivals