Licensed games tend to fall into one of two categories. Most tend to be rubbish, sent through a rushed development schedule to capitalize on a marketing tie-in. But a few manage to become real gems, pushing a genre forward, and expanding its reach beyond its fans.
Namco Bandai's upcoming Star Trek game is neither. It's a competent shooter that's adequate enough for hardcore Trekkies--but not really memorable enough for anyone else.
Shooting men in the face can be fun but what if it hurts people's feelings, and why can't we be friends? Thankfully, Warframe has the answer: co-op missions against AI (which is probably not advanced enough to suffer distress). The free-to-play third-person shooter from The Darkness II developer Digital Extremes launched into open beta today, so we can all enjoy nice, safe face-shooting.
The Darkness II developer Digital Extremes has found steady work on the side as a multiplayer hired gun, brought in to jazz up the online offerings of other developers' games. Now it's putting that expertise to work on a game of its own, a free-to-play co-op shooter named Warframe for PC.
As a fan of all things Kirk and Spock, I entered the E3 2012 behind-closed-doors Star Trek gameplay demo feeling cautiously optimistic. I'd previously seen the game played live at the Namco Bandai Global Gamers Day event, and very much liked what I saw. This time around, a new section of the game was on display on two screens (in 3D)--one showing Kirk's perspective and one showing Spock's--and though not a ton of new information was revealed, we did learn a few new tidbits, such as a new location and the game's primary enemy.
Paramount Pictures and Namco Bandai announced today that they will co-publish the upcoming Star Trek game from Digital Extremes. The co-op shooter is set to launch in the first quarter of 2013, to pave the way for the J.J. Abrams Star Trek sequel hitting theaters on May 17.
Having been offered up exclusively to Xbox Live Gold members last week, a ritual demonstration slice of demonic shooter The Darkness II is now available to all manners of minions and fiends on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As well as letting you see just how The Darkness 2 plays, 2K has also unleashed something showing nothing of the sort: the cinematic launch trailer.
A demo for The Darkness II will be hitting in just a couple of weeks, but even sooner if you happen to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. The trial will be available on January 24 on Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Marketplace. However, Gold members can snag it next week, on January 17.
In this day and age, every first-person shooter needs an online multiplayer mode--they don't necessarily have to be competitive, though. The Darkness II will have reason for an online pass via a newly-announced cooperative mode called "Vendettas." This four-player online adventure is described as a "dark comedy" that runs in parallel to the single player story. While you won't assume control of Jackie and The Darkness, you will be able to play as one of four cohorts--"enemies of your enemies"--created specifically for Digital Extreme's game.
"What is this? A Final Fantasy game?"
That's the surprised quip I made as I saw the skill tree you had access to in The Darkness II. While it may be an FPS, the developers at Digital Extremes have implemented an XP system to encourage playing in the most ruthless way possible.
"We didn't want players to just sit back and snipe," I was told during a hands-on demo last week. While every kill will earn you some XP, it's the up-close and personal kills that award the most points. For example, impaling a goon by throwing a spear through his chest earns much more points than an old fashioned head shot.
2K Games is following the strategy employed by many other publishers as of late. All pre-orders of the upcoming FPS The Darkness II will be upgraded to a "Limited Edition" for free. Yes, it will be "limited" and "while supplies last." In spite of the first game having sold a million copies.
Many of the bonuses added to the bundle are digital, such as an alternate darkling "Crazy Abdul" outfit and two character ability upgrades.
What is the Darkness, you ask? In case you missed out on the original game... or your memory is fuzzy from 2007, 2K Games has released a three minute video that covers all the basics. You'll learn exactly what the Darkness is, and who Jackie Estacado is. You'll see how Jackie's relationship with the mob gets a bit messy to say the least, thanks to his demon arms.
Just be warned: the video is not for the queasy. Who knew humans were so... fragile?
Put away your "Welcome Back" party-favors for Jackie Estacado, because the protagonist's latest adventure has been pushed to 2012.
Today, 2K Games revealed that the PC and all consoles versions of The Darkness 2 from developer Digital Extremes, have been delayed until February 7 in North America and February 10 in Europe. The game was originally scheduled to launch in early October.
Star Trek video games are boldly going where they've never gone before with a new co-op shooter starring Kirk and Spock, publisher Paramount Digital Entertainment announced today. The imaginatively-named Star Trek follows on from the recent semi-reboot movie.
The dynamic duo will be teaming up to "stop a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy," Paramount says. The game's script is penned by God of War series writer Marianne Krawcyzk "in collaboration with" the movie's writers Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Read more »
The Darkness 2 will arrive just in time to terrorize gamers before Halloween, 2K Games announced today. The upcoming first-person shooter based on the comic series of the same name from Top Cow Productions will launch for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 4 in North America. The game will arrive on October 7, internationally.
The Darkness 2 is currently in development at Digital Extremes, which recently developed the PC version of THQ's Homefront. Read more »
There's been talk of a sequel to supernatural shooter The Darkness for some time and now it's as official as official can be. Today, publisher 2K Games formally announced The Darkness II, slated for release this fall on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and, unlike the original, PC too.
The announcement promises "deep and twisted storytelling, "stylistic violence" and a new "hand-painted graphic noir" visual style, which you can see in the solitary screenshot above. And yes, you will still be able to hold two guns while swinging your evil tentacles, a feature which 2K calls "quad-wielding." Read more »
""Trekkies will appreciate the detail that went into rebuilding the Enterprise in the game. It ..."
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