MONDAY REVIEW Journey > Over the past few weeks, I have slowly been getting acquainted with the semi-closed beta for Path of Exile, the debut action RPG from New Zealand based developer Grinding Gear Games. I say semi-closed, because Grinding Gear has taken a rather strange approach for what is a free to play game by selling beta keys to the general public. READ MORE

TUESDAY REVIEW Fez > When I first received Fez, I have to say I wasn’t excited, mainly because 2D puzzle platformers have never quite hit the mark for me. Braid, Cave Story and Limbo didn’t excite me the way I wanted them to. Something seemed off and while others were praising their originality I simply found them annoying. So it was with some trepidation that I began my journey into the world of Fez. Was I going to once again fail to see what the fuss was about or was this the game to convince me that there is a lot of fun to be had with this format? READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS Stealthjam > A new collaborative game event is in the works for budding developers of a devious disposition. It may sound like a surprise follow up to Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, but Stealthjam will actually see participants come together to “design, prototype and explore new avenues of stealth gameplay.” READ MORE

THURSDAY INTERVIEW Frank Simon on Resistance: Burning Skies > The PlayStation Vita has arrived, and with it, the full potential of dual analogue sticks. As the first game to take advantage of the new control scheme, Resistance: Burning Skies is something of a trailblazer. We’re fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with Frank Simon, Senior Managing Producer with Sony America and all round alien enthusiast. We discuss not only the game’s “uncompromised” controls but also the human drama at the centre of Sony’s ongoing invasion saga. READ MORE

FRIDAY NEWS nanoBITES 80 > Blizzard has apologised for the rocky launch of Diablo III. Server congestion has prevented countless players from accessing the game and thanks to ‘always on’ DRM, many frustrated fans can’t even start a single player game. This is just one of the stories in the latest edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

ITEM! The team responsible for fantasy RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is in trouble. According to WPRI (via Joystiq), 38 Studios has defaulted on a $1.125m loan repayment and is also failing to meet its commitments to its employees.

ITEM! Blizzard has apologised for the rocky launch of Diablo III. Server congestion has prevented countless players from accessing the game and thanks to ‘always on’ DRM, many frustrated fans can’t even start a single player game.

ITEM! The future of Tomonobu Itagaki’s over the top action game Devil’s Third is in doubt. As reported by Gamasutra, the project has been stymied by cost overruns and struggling publisher THQ is now looking to pass the game onto another company.

ITEM! Lara Croft has been keeping a relatively low profile of late and unfortunately for her fans, this looks set to continue. Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that its Tomb Raider reboot has been bumped to the first quarter of 2013.

ITEM! The battle for control of DOTA has ended in an out of court settlement. Valve retains its trademark and publishes DOTA 2, Blizzard DOTA becomes Blizzard All-Stars and Blizzard communities continue to use the term for non-commercial pursuits.

The PlayStation Vita has arrived, and with it, the full potential of dual analogue sticks. As the first game to take advantage of the new control scheme, Resistance: Burning Skies is something of a trailblazer. We’re fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with Frank Simon, Senior Managing Producer with Sony America and all round alien enthusiast. We discuss not only the game’s “uncompromised” controls but also the human drama at the centre of Sony’s ongoing invasion saga.

The first four games in the series portrayed the conflict between humanity and the Chimera from a predominantly military perspective. Burning Skies will be the first Resistance title to feature a protagonist from a non-military background. We ask Simon to tell us about the thinking behind this decision. “We wanted to make sure that we told a fresh story,” he says. “We’ve always wanted to come back and say something from the civilian side of things and see how that would be different.”

Instead of slipping on the boots of a career solider like Nathan Hale or James Grayson, players will be taking control of emergency services worker Tom Reilly. “Firemen are natural heroes,” Simon says. “These are the guys who are nutty enough to run into burning buildings, not out of them.” When Staten Island is evacuated by the government, Reilly elects to stay behind in order to rescue his family. “He’s not just out to kill Chimera, he’s actually trying to save people.”

Burning Skies is set several years prior to the events of Resistance 3, a game that seemingly brought a measure of closure to the story. Is there a danger that the Vita game will be seen as less than essential? “You’re asking someone who has been involved in every Resistance about what’s essential and what’s not,” Simon laughs. “Every single one of them is essential!” Though our interview is being conducted by telephone, we imagine him at this point shaking his fists at the sky.

In fact, far from defending the game’s status as a critical component of a larger whole, Simon surprises us by talking up its standalone qualities. “We don’t necessarily want to tell a story that you have to have played all four of the other Resistance games to understand,” he says. “We want you to experience Resistance from a different perspective, but if you haven’t seen Resistance before, I really believe that Burning Skies is a compelling story in and of itself.”

This will be the fifth time that series veterans have encountered the initially mysterious Chimera. We ask about the measures Nihilistic is taking to ensure the enemy doesn’t grow stale. First of all, Simon makes no apologies for mining the franchise’s back catalogue for enemies such as Steelheads and Patrol Drones, emphasising that they were “created by some of the best minds in the business”.

While players can expect to blast their way through plenty of recycled units, Simon also hints at the arrival of some sinister new variats. “We’ve got a lot of good tricks up our sleeve,” he says, cackling somewhat maniacally.  “What’s really cool about it is that if you’ve watched the Chimeran infection, you’ve actually seen it evolve over the years, which is statement in and of itself about what the Chimera are. As aggressive alien beings, they’ve learned to adapt over time.” Slightly disturbed by Simon’s barely concealed affection for these extraterrestrial horrors, we press on as quickly as we can.

While the presence of dual analogue controls is arguably the game’s biggest selling point, Burning Skies also makes extensive use of the PlayStation Vita’s touch screen. This enables players to throw grenades, paint missile targets, guide futuristic drones and pummel enemies with an axe. “The reason we put a fireman in the game is because firemen carry axes,” Simon laughs, adding that particularly stealthy players will be rewarded with a special “kill animation” when they chop down their hapless foes.

Most of the guns in the game boast secondary fire modes. Simon sees this as among the defining characteristics of the series (“it’s what separates the game from every other first person shooter out there”) and this is one area in which the touch pad may be a distinct advantage.  “One of the biggest things for us with Resistance is always trying to get you to use the secondary fire.”

Some of the early Vita titles have been criticised for employing touch and tilt when traditional inputs may have been more appropriate. Is there a danger that Burning Skies could fall into the same trap? Simon begins to tout the benefits of usability testing before suddenly launching into a much more passionate defence of a control scheme he regards as simple, intuitive and accurate. “There’s something to be said for having that pixel level of pinpoint precision. I want a grenade to go right there.”

He doesn’t want to see players unaccustomed to the tech dismiss it merely because it is new or different. “If that were the logic for humanity, we’d still be back in the cave days,” he says with a chuckle.

Another inclusion likely to raise eyebrows is the cover system. None of the PlayStation 3 instalments of the game have offered a cover mechanic, but oddly enough, both of the portable versions have. Is there something about the handheld format that makes it more suited to cover based combat? Simon begins to tell us about the “great forethought” that went into the decision before dissolving into laughter. “To be honest with you, it’s just kind of random that it’s ended up like that.”

While the addition of a second analogue stick allows the game to become a more complete first person shooter, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Nihilistic is aiming to precisely replicate the home console experience. “Burning Skies was developed from the ground up for the PlayStation Vita. What we want to do is tell a compelling story and this is the toolbox we have.” Have compromises been made in order to accommodate the sometimes intermittent nature of handheld gaming? “You’ll see more frequent checkpoints,” he says, “but that doesn’t change what the game is about.”

The original developer of Resistance, Insomniac Games, has been quoted as saying it has no further plans for the series. If the human race is to endure, new developers must be drafted into war effort. Why did Sony assign the project to Nihilistic rather than a studio better known for its work in the FPS genre? Perhaps surprisingly, he cites the team’s work on decade old RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption as a good indicator of what they are capable of today. The story telling nous demonstrated in that game, combined with an “off the charts” tech demo secured the project for the Californian studio.

We finish by asking Simon to tell us what he considers to be the core elements of Resistance, the aspects that define the experience. “It always has to be about humanity’s struggle to survive.” The Chimera are also important. “They’re not supposed to be an enemy you understand. They’re not quite human and they don’t do things for the reasons you expect and this has to come across in the story.” Finally, he appreciates the juxtaposition between the idealised, almost “Rockwellian” vision of the 1950s and the “overwhelming alien force” that arrives to decimate it. “I think that’s what makes Resistance, Resistance,” he says.

Resistance: Burning Skies is due for release on PlayStation Vita on Thursday 31 May 2012.

By the time you realise the logo is a diversion, it’s already too late.

A new collaborative game event is in the works for budding developers of a devious disposition. It may sound like a surprise follow up to Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, but Stealthjam will actually see participants come together to “design, prototype and explore new avenues of stealth gameplay.”

The two day program is the brainchild of Sneaky Bastards, the Australian blog devoted to the resurgent stealth genre. The Academy of Interactive Entertainment and The Independent Games Festival are also backing the show.

A range of industry figures have agreed to speak, including Mark of the Ninja developer Nels Anderson of Klei Entertainment. Further contributors, including “some of the biggest names in stealth gaming” will be announced in the coming days.

Stealthjam is due to kick off in Sydney on Friday 22 June. According to Sneaky Bastards, the concept has already spread to other parts of Australia and even overseas. Full details can be found at the official site.

When I first received Fez, I have to say I wasn’t excited, mainly because 2D puzzle platformers have never quite hit the mark for me. Braid, Cave Story and Limbo didn’t excite me the way I wanted them to. Something seemed off and while others were praising their originality I simply found them annoying. So it was with some trepidation that I began my journey into the world of Fez. Was I going to once again fail to see what the fuss was about or was this the game to convince me that there is a lot of fun to be had with this format?

I took control of Gomez a small white fellow who seemed to live in some sort tree house. As I left his home, I was greeted by a message explaining that I needed to talk to an old man at the top of the village, so I trundled, jumped, climbed and shimmied my way to the peak of the town. All standard platform mechanics so far but things were about to get interesting. The aforementioned old guy told me he had a secret to share. At this point, he handed me his Fez and the world changed forever. Soon thereafter I was introduced to the Hexahedron and the third dimension. This cubic object then proceeded to explode into 32 pieces which scattered to all corners of the land (convenient, hey?). It became clear that my task would be to gather the segments and return this gigantic artefact to its former glory.

The third dimension was an amazing mechanic and a somewhat difficult one to explain. By pressing the triggers I could rotate the world while I remained still, shifting everything in the process. Ladders lined up, jumps became makeable and ledges appeared where none had been before. This made traversing the world of Fez a joy for both my hands and my mind. It forced me to think outside of the box (pun intended) and consider the environment carefully. Deciding how to reach a piece of cube was an amazing experience and when I solved a fiendishly difficult puzzle, I felt a real sense of achievement.

These weren’t the only tests I came across. Early on I noticed strange symbols scattered in odd places, like a string of Tetris pieces connected together. I didn’t think much of this until I was further into the game and I stumbled into a room that explained what these symbols meant. I won’t spoil anything by giving away the code, but once I worked it out, a whole new world opened up, more levels became available and secrets once obscured were now clear to see. There are countless fiendish puzzles scattered throughout the game but finding and conquering them is the sole reason for playing, so I won’t ruin that for any prospective players by talking too much about them.

The world of Fez didn’t assault me with enemies to conquer. In fact, there were no enemies in the game. It also didn’t hammer me for falling to my death. Instead, it simply placed me back on the last safe surface I was standing on. This lax attitude when it came to death was essential to making the game enjoyable. If I had been punished every time I died, this would have been a controller destroying game. As it was, there were still points where I had to turn the game off and clear my head for fear of turning into a giant green monster with torn purple shorts. This made Fez a title best experienced in small doses. I gave my mind time off and in-between sessions I subconsciously worked on the difficult puzzles I had encountered.

The sound in Fez was also remarkable. Small audio clues gave me hints on how to approach certain problems and simple but charming music flowed through my speakers. The most unique feature didn’t actually make any sound at all. The controller could solve puzzles, indicate the correct direction and crack codes, all with nothing more than a simple variation in force feedback. This would have been an impressive innovation for a AAA game, let alone a small indie title such as Fez.

I reached the end of the game in about five hours, but I was far from finished. I have a lot more digging to do to unlock all the secrets the world has to offer. Whenever I thought I had seen all there was to see in this game, a wave of inspiration would hit me and I would solve another puzzle and this would open up even more to explore. Fez is without doubt a must have for any fan of brainteasers, originality or charm. To paraphrase a famous fictional doctor, “Fez is cool!”

You stand in the middle of an endless ocean of sand. Your identity is unknown and your purpose is unclear. This is where your journey begins.

Some of the screenshots give the impression that Journey offers nothing more than a huge, static and dead expanse of yellow sand. These images can’t embody one of the essential truths about the gane, namely, that it feels alive. Gently shifting sands, robes dancing in the breeze and the subtle shift in colour as you leave one area of the desert and arrive in another combine to form a peaceful, almost melancholy sense of place.

With its bold colours, strong line work and deft use of light and shadow, Journey’s wasteland recalls the ethereal realm of The Wind Waker. Neither is realistic in its presentation, at least not in the traditional sense, and yet these titles feel so compelling, so authentic, in a way that games striving for photorealism do not.

The most important aspect of Journey is its cooperative multiplayer. At various points throughout your quest, you’re joined by randomly selected companions, never more than one at a time. You can’t see their PSN identities and you can’t reach them via headset or chat pad. The only way to communicate is via body language and what sounds like a high pitched bird call. Somehow, though, you slowly begin to understand each other.

You combine to solve simple puzzles, huddle together for warmth and come together to restore each other’s mana. Before long, you develop a surprisingly strong bond. It feels like the full potential of cooperative gaming has been distilled into these moments, these opportunities to perform small acts of kindness. This is a transformative experience. As soon as the credits being to roll, your companions’ identities are revealed, so if you simply must tell them to “die in a fire”, you’re not denied that right.

Gameplay involves only a handful of mechanics. You walk, you explore and you glide across the sand, sometimes at breakneck speed. Every so often you find a small segment of cloth and append it to your scarf. This ever growing garment enables you to glide high over the dunes, to reach previously inaccessible outcroppings and to more thoroughly examine the remnants of an ancient civilisation.

As stunning as this creation is, there are times when you perceive the limitations of thatgamecompany’s illusion. While the desert appears to extend as far as the eye can see, you don’t have to wander far before you encounter a fearsome wind that prevents you from exploring too far afield. It’s at these times that you become aware of the world as a construct, as a machine designed to deliver an experience. While this phenomenon may actually exemplify some of the themes of the game, it does feel a mite restrictive from time to time.

The tilt sensitive camera is also somewhat problematic. Imagine leaning over to pick up a drink only to return to a world spinning out of control. Unless you’re actively using the Sixaxis feature, you have to take great care to hold the controller perfectly still. Fortunately, the right thumb stick can also be used to guide the camera.

As you make your through the ruins, you being to ponder not only your own purpose, but the overall message underpinning the game. The title is surely a reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that “Life is a journey, not a destination”. This game offers you the chance to immerse yourself in this concept in a way that other media cannot. It places you bodily in this dreamlike world and allows you to interact not only with the environment, but also with other lost souls as you pursue a distant goal, one which ultimately isn’t as important as the connections you form along the way.

Journey is a sandbox game, not only in structural terms, but also in a sociological sense. It is a beautiful, absorbing and innovative game. You should play it.

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion * Max Payne 3

NINTENDO Wii Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL 3DS Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion

SONY PS3 Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion * Max Payne 3 PSV Nothing

VARIOUS PC Diablo III * Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Ultimate Collection

 
New Media: Downloadable Digest is your handy reminder of the downloadable titles released during the past week.

MICROSOFT XBLA Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Games on Demand Driver: San Francisco * Nickelodeon Dance

NINTENDO WiiWare Nothing Wii VC Monster World IV (MD) * Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Arc) 3DS eShop Nothing 3DS VC Sonic Labyrinth (GG)

SONY PSN Datura Full PS3 Games Binary Domain * Dead Space Super Bundle PS1 Classics Arc Arena Monster Tournament PS2 Classics Just Cause PSV Titles Nothing Minis Nothing

VALVE Steam Avernum 4 * Avernum 5 * Avernum 6 * Bontanicula * The Dream Machine Chapter 1 and 2 * Dynamite Jack * Offspring Fling * Street Fighter X Tekken * Warlock: Master of the Arcane

SUNDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Call of Duty: Black Ops II It’s that time of year again, folks. Activision has unveiled its latest Call of Duty offering. The announcement of Call of Duty: Black Ops II was accompanied by a surprisingly revelatory trailer. The apocalyptic scenes presented in the two minute clip take place in 2025, more than five decades after the events depicted in the first Black Ops title and eight years beyond those seen in last year’s Modern Warfare III. READ MORE

MONDAY PREVIEW Path of Exile > Over the past few weeks, I have slowly been getting acquainted with the semi-closed beta for Path of Exile, the debut action RPG from New Zealand based developer Grinding Gear Games. I say semi-closed, because Grinding Gear has taken a rather strange approach for what is a free to play game by selling beta keys to the general public. READ MORE

TUESDAY JUST ANNOUNCED The Unfinished Swan > Indie studio Giant Sparrow is teaming with Sony to create a Move compatible PSN exclusive. Already four years into development, The Unfinished Swan is a first person adventure in which you reveal your surrounds by flooding them with paint. While the game appears to consist predominantly of blacks, whites and greys, you’ll also come across the occasional splash of colour, such as the multihued hot air balloon at the announcement trailer’s denouement. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY PREVIEW Dragon’s Dogma > If I took one thing away from my time with Dragon’s Dogma, it was that it was designed to deliver wall to wall combat. I couldn’t wander more than 100 metres from a waypoint without being assailed by all manner of monstrosities. My stroll along a mountain path ended abruptly when a lumbering Cyclops tumbled over the edge with me still clinging to its leg. Any notion of enjoying a picnic in the woods was dashed when a vicious three headed chimera invited itself to the party. READ MORE

THURSDAY NEWS nanoBITES 79 > EA has confirmed that new instalments of its Dead Space and Need For Speed franchises are in production. As reported by Joystiq, these titles are scheduled to land on shelves before April 2013. This is just one of the stories in the latest edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

FRIDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Company of Heroes 2 > Even as the gaming community began to tire of the endless precession of World War II titles, one release was welcomed with open arms. Storming the battlefield back in 2006, Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes featured smaller armies than other strategy games of the era. This encouraged players to focus on (and become more attached to) individual units. Despite the popularity of the original game, a full scale sequel wasn’t forthcoming, until now, that is. READ MORE

“That barn looks like a nice place to stay for the ni… never mind.”

Even as the gaming community began to tire of the endless precession of World War II titles, one release was welcomed with open arms. Storming the battlefield back in 2006, Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes featured smaller armies than other strategy games of the era. This encouraged players to focus on (and become more attached to) individual units. Despite the popularity of the original game, a full scale sequel wasn’t forthcoming, until now, that is.

Publisher THQ this week revealed that Relic has finally commenced work on Company of Heroes 2. While the first game had players flying the flag for the good old US of A, the sequel will see them commanding Russian forces on the Eastern Front. According to the brief announcement, players will be forced to “repel Nazi invaders from the very gates of Moscow”. Why the Nazis are so keen on said gates is yet to be made clear.

Players will finally get their hands on this long awaited follow up early next year.

ITEM! Say it ain’t so! 2K and Irrational have bumped BioShock Infinite from its October 2012 release date. The alternate history FPS is now due to arrive on 360, PS3 and PC in February 2013.

ITEM! EA has confirmed that new instalments of its Dead Space and Need For Speed franchises are in production. As reported by Joystiq, these titles are scheduled to land on shelves before April 2013.

ITEM! If the addition of multiplayer to Mass Effect 3 ruffled your feathers, prepare to be outraged all over again. Sony has revealed that the recently announced God of War: Ascension will feature a blood drenched PvP component.

ITEM! Kickstarter has proven to be a big success for the creators of Grim Dawn. With eight days remaining, more than $300,000 has been pledged, which means that development of this bleak action RPG has been fully funded.

ITEM! Product placement is back in the headlines. As noted by AdAge (via Game Informer) players of Zynga published guessing game Draw Something will soon be asked to illustrate branded products and corporate logos.

ITEM! Working on the proviso that you just can’t have too much of a good thing, Nintendo has unveiled New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS. Due to ship in August, the game will be a 2D platformer like its predecessor.

ITEM! A follow up to Kinect Joy Ride is in the works. This time around players won’t have to contend with gesture based controls or indeed a physical box for the game. Microsoft is prepping Joy Ride Turbo for release on XBLA.