Rainbow Six Patriots, innovating controls beyond motion?

Game Informer revealed the cover of their December issue today with Rainbow Six Patriots. Along with the reveal, Ubisoft released a video of early conceptual gameplay for Rainbow Six Patriots. The video, which explicitly notes it contains no actual gameplay footage, shows a home invasion by a terrorist group who kidnaps the husband to be used as a suicide bomber on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The video is a new turn for the Rainbow Six series, which traditionally could be categorized as a squad-based tactical shooter. Instead, Patriots looks to introduce more cinematic elements as well as interactive interface. The video shows small button-prompts similar to Heavy Rain, but one in particular grabbed my attention.

In one sequence, the kidnapped husband is strapped with explosives and told to hold the detonator in his hand, or else he’ll explode. In a similar fashion, the game tells the player to hold down the R2 button to convey the same feeling of tension. That prompt got me thinking about some interesting button mechanics that could be done to create artificial difficulty. Imagine having to make your way through and clear a warehouse of terrorists while keeping a button pressed. It’d create a dynamic use of control that isn’t found in most games, and doesn’t include the use of motion control.

Ubisoft didn’t offer a release date for Rainbow Six Patriots beyond just 2013. It’s expected to be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Why the Grand Theft Auto V trailer didn't excite me

Earlier today, RockStar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. Though no release came, the trailer did confirm suspicions of a west coast setting as guessed earlier this year from a casting call for project titled Rush.

The lead-up to the release of the trailer was curious, though. Most major gaming sites posted either a countdown timer or a livestream as a pre-event to the trailer coming online. The amount of promotion almost reached levels of Modern Warfare, which made me ask myself, am I missing something?

I played Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. I started San Andreas but once it tasked me with maintaining my character through eating and exercise, I stopped. Maintenance is not a fun gameplay mechanic, and that’s what games are supposed to be, fun. I never got around to playing Grand Theft Auto IV, even with the many mods available for PC.

With Grand Theft Auto III being ported over to iOS for its 10th anniversary, we’ve come along with open-world games. And maybe that’s part of it. When GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas were released, open-world games were still a novel concept. In no other type of game sans RPGs could you explore a world as deep as you could in the GTA games. But 10 years later, that doesn’t hold the same weight. Looking at this holiday’s release schedule, we have Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and Saints Row: The Third. Last year we had Red Dead Redemption (by RockStar) and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. There are enough open-world games that there’s no reason to hold our breath until the next GTA.

That being said, Grand Theft Auto V looks great and I’m sure it will be fun, but my excitement about it has not skyrocketed based on one minutes and 30 seconds of footage.

Blizzard DOTA according to a DOTA virgin

I’ve never played WarCraft III DOTA. I’ve never played Heroes of Newerth. I’ve never played League of Legends. I’ve had friends tell me how fun and exciting the genre is, but as someone who’s never been enticed by the RTS genre, I didn’t feel compelled to jump in. So when I sat down to play Blizzard DOTA at BlizzCon 2011, it was my first foray into the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre.

Keep in mind I’ve not played League of Legends or other similar games, so if I note something here present in other games, this is why

Threequel is the new sequel

As we dive headfirst into the upcoming release schedule of games, it becomes abundantly clear: there are a lot of games ending with three. Several big franchises of the current generation are hitting the end of the fabled trilogy. Generally after three the story ends, but as evident with the announcement of Halo 4 earlier this year, some franchises are too big to stop there. Is it possible we’ll see the continuation of some of this year’s big releases or will they take on new forms and explore different avenues? Perhaps the end of a franchise marks the beginning of a new one. With fewer heavy-hitters on the calendar, it could leave the door open for the introduction of new IPs next year.

BlizzCon 2011

As of the posting of this, I will be on my way to Anaheim for BlizzCon 2011. This will be my fourth year attending and I still highly recommend it for anyone who plays a Blizzard game or enjoys the social aspect of their games.

This year’s event will mainly revolve around Diablo III, scheduled to release sometime early 2012. Will we see the announcement of an official release date? Maybe, but this year’s BlizzCon won’t solely be about Diablo III. Blizzard will also release more information about the first expansion for StarCraft II, Heart of the Swarm, as Blizzard has already teased a new unit.

It’s also expected that Blizzard will reveal their next expansion for World of Warcraft. Based on previous announcements, Blizzard tends to announce a new expansion for World of Warcraft every two years, with this year falling in line. Rumors have already begun swirling about Mists of Panderia, a trademark Blizzard filed earlier this year, as the name of the expansion.

The entire BlizzCon schedule is available on blizzcon.com and available as an app for your smartphone.

If you’re in the area, let me know and we can meet up and chat. Be sure to follow my Twitter feed for news and impressions straight from the event floor.

The on-again off-again saga of multiplayer in Mass Effect 3

First it was rumored, then speculated to be ruled out, then hinted at, and finally today it’s been confirmed. Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series, confirmed via Twitter that Mass Effect 3 would include a co-op multiplayer mode.

Reaction to this announcement has been shaky at best. Some call it another strike against BioWare’s record since the release of Dragon Age II, while others are taking the logical wait-and-see approach.

The worries of most are that by adding a multiplayer mode, the resources that went into multiplayer could have made a better and more polished singleplayer. To that, I point to both Dead Space 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Both games included a multiplayer mode that was the first for the series, and though neither were engaging gameplay modes that players kept coming back to, I’m not sure that they detracted from the main singleplayer story.

Then again, this is the internet where people will voice their opinion about a game they have not played. More information about co-op multiplayer should be coming in the next few weeks. Mass Effect 3 will hit shelves on March 6, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Uncharted 3 Multiplayer, Courtesy of Subway

Last week Naughty Dog announced a new promotion with Subway to promote Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. By purchasing drinks or sandwiches at a Subway restaurant, players can win prizes and play the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer a month before the game releases on November 1. It sounded decent, nothing out of the ordinary for a video game promotion; access to early multiplayer and some prizes. Then I saw this video that was originally posted on the PlayStation Blog.

In-game Subway items, game-enhancing boosters, exclusive weapons, and an in-game taunt to top it all off. There’s so much wrong here I almost don’t know where to start. How would you like to see your enemy wearing a McDonald’s t-shirt in the next Call of Duty game? The gaming culture has repeatedly refused in-game advertising, yet game developers and publishers continue to push the issue. Richard Lewis of Heaven Media pointed out, “When gamers see in-game advertising, they know that it is a source of revenue for the people that have already sold them a product and in general it has been received poorly by most players exposed to it.” The most recent incident of in-game advertising was with Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution. A post-release patched enabled ads during the game's loading screens.

The inclusion of game-enhancing boosters and exclusive weapons seem like the worst offenders to me. Player who participate in the promotion and acquire these boosters and weapons will have an advantage, if only for one round for the boosters, against evenly equipped and evenly matched players, created and uneven playing environment. For a mode that relies heavily on balanced gameplay, this concept is atrocious. Remember the uproar surrounding the Physical Warfare pack for Battlefield 3? Fans were upset that pre-order exclusive items were powerful enough to be deemed necessary. Based on the reaction, EA announced that the Physical Warfare pack would be free for everyone some time after release. These boosters and weapons aren’t looking to follow the same path. Ultimately, Naughty Dog and the Uncharted brand will suffer because of it.

Batman: Arkham City Mega-Preview

It is one of the greatest times to be a Batman fan. The recent DC Comics reboot allows fans to jump into the Batman comics without fear of missing previous essential story arcs. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises is finishing shooting and will arrive theaters next year, concluding the trilogy that took a fresh look at Batman. This October, however, fans will get a chance to step into the shoes of the Batman himself with the release of Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham City.

GameStop pulling OnLive coupons from new boxes of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

As a special surprise for purchasers of the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the game’s publisher Square Enix included a coupon for a free version of the game on OnLive, a cloud-based game platform that doesn’t have any hardware requirements, all you need is an internet connection.

A commenter on Joystiq warned potential customers not to buy the game from GameStop, as they instructed their employees to pull the coupon from new retail copies.

Kanye West to headline Call of Duty XP

When Activision announced Call of Duty XP last month, they said they would reveal special guests as it got closer to the event. Today they announced their headliner, Kanye West, will perform on the Saturday of the two-day event taking place September 2-3. It is the rapper’s first appearance since releasing his collaboration album “Watch The Throne,” with fellow rapper Jay-Z.

This isn’t Activision’s first time booking a top-dollar music name. At their E3 party last year, Eminem performed with guest Rihanna. At past BlizzCon shows, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Ozzy Osbourne performed for the final night’s concert.

Tickets for Call of Duty XP are $150 each, which all goes to the Call of Duty Endowment charity that helps veterans transition back into normal life after their service. Activision expects an attendance of 6,000 for the event that will take place on a 12-acre compound in Los Angeles.

Those who attend will be able to play the co-op mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as well as the multi-player mode, which will be officially unveiled at the event. The convention will also host a $1 million Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament that players can qualify for at the convention, or at regional competitions leading up to the convention. Attendees will also receive a free copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition, which goes on sale November 8 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.