Pixel Loadout Plays: Until Dawn

It's our first Live Stream!  In the spirit of the season, we're playing through Supermassive's Until Dawn, and seeing just how many teenagers can make it through to the end!

Join us on Youtube tonight at 5PM EST if you'd like to hang out in the chat!  Hope to see you there!

The Pixel Forecast: New Game Releases (week of 9/21/2015)

Interesting game releases this week are rather sparse.

PC will be getting a Final Fantasy V release via Steam. This version of the game will feature updates to the original including a new Interface that looks like it belongs on a smartphone and a devisive graphical update. That being said the content should still be intact

SOMA, for PC, is a science fiction horror game created by the devs who also brought you the Penumbra series and the original Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Look below if you'd like to see a list of other noteworthy or interesting releases for next week.


Tuesday, Sep 22
SOMA (PC)
Blood Bowl 2 (PC, PS4, XONE)
FIFA ’16 (PC, PS4, XONE, PS3, 360)
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PS4, XONE)

Wednesday, Sep 23
Extreme Exorcism (PC, PS4, XONE, WiiU, PS3, 360)

Thursday, Sep 24
Final Fantasy V (PC)

Friday, Sep 25
NBA 2k16 (PC, PS4, XONE, PS3, 360)
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)

Lengthy gameplay of new PS4 game Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan was a hit anime that spawned an obsessive fan base and game adaptations. If you aren't aware , here is the basic plot.

Several generations after an undisclosed cataclysmic, humanity found the need to wall themselves up walled cities. These cities are few and far between but they are necessary to keep out "Titans".

For the most part, Titans are rather unintelligent humanoids whose sole purpose seem to be the ingestion of humans.

So build big walls to keep out the big baddies! Well conflict arises as some exceptional Titans appear, some conflicts between humans and other curious things happen.

The protagonist is a part of an elite combat group specially trained to combat the titans with a Spider-Man-like harness that latches onto their enemies or the environment for quick and elusive movement.

VGR 410

Early for Halloween, but we're rolling out the spooky playlist this week for your enjoyment.  Trey and Guy give us their first impressions of Civilization: Beyond Earth, price drops and system updates are happening, and we can't help indulging in the deluge of info released for the new Marvel movies.  Lucky for us, Colleen knows a thing or two about the comic books, so there's lots of info to be had.

-=Download 4.10=-

Staying on topic is for whimps

Weekend hangouts continue for the Fall!  What started out talking about upcoming first person shooters progresses into talks about PC's vs. consoles, nerfing lore, and a bunch of other lines of thought tagentially connected in some form.  All and all, and entertaining watch or listen with DJ, Kevin, Ryan, Miguel and Trey, so come hangout with us for a bit!

Playstation 4 Is Getting a Portable Monitor Thanks To Hori

In last week's Pixel Loadout hangouts session, our fearless leader Kevin Harrison reminisced about an era in gaming history where each console of the generation (PS2, XBox and Gamecube) had a dedicated monitor.

Well here we are and like a blast from the past Hori has stepped up and is giving us gamers a monitor to game on!

While I am normally dismissive of such peripherals for being either low build quality or having poor performance, Hori is a well-known Arcade Stick manufacturer that is regarded as being at the top of the market. Being so engrained in the competitive fighting game scene I expect that they have performance in mind so hopefully we have something to look forward to.

Reported Specs are as follows:
Size 11 inches wide
External Measurements: 279mm x 275; 8mm x 28mm (10.9in x 10.8in; .3in x 1.1in)
Weight: 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
Full screen resolutions: 1920x3 (RGB) x 1080
Display Color: 18 bit color (262, 144 colors)
Maximum Brightness: 350cd/m2
Response Time: 25ms TYP
Video Input: HDMI x2
Audio Output: Internal Stereo Speakers, 2 headphone Jacks
Resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Power Source: Attached AC adaptor DC 12V/2A
Electricity Usage: 24W maximum
Other: 250 mm (~10 in) HDMI cable

Source: www.dualshockers.com by way of www.gamersbook.com

July PS+ Preview

July is bringing a bunch of changes to the PS+ Formula. Beginning in July each platform (PS3, PSVita and PS4) are gauranteed 2 games each at no extra charge for PlayStation+ subscribers. Another change is that all of the games will be available for acquisition on the first tuesday of the month (July 1st). Read on to see what games are available for each console!

Dead Space 3 (PlayStation 3)

 The third installment of the main Dead Space series. This game makes a transition from the more suspensful formula of the first two games and transitions into a more "Action" take. In order to appeal to more fans, the silent protagonsit was also given a voice and it also includes a new multiplayer co-op that you have to do to access some hidden content.

Vessel (Playstation 3)

An indie game released in 2012 from developer Strange Loop Games, Vessel is a Puzzle-Platformer with a steampunk theme. The puzzles are physics based and generally require intuitive uses of water to progress.

Muramasa: Rebirth (PSVita)

Muramasa: Rebirth is the Vita port for the well received Wii game 'Muramasa'. In the game you choose between a possessed princess or a rebel ninja, each with their unique storylines, and topple gods and demons to fulfill your quest. The game features replayability in the form of Wave-based survival modes and a content grind which unlocks powerful and unique weapons. It is renowned for its beautiful hand-drawn artwork as well as the simple yet free-form combat.

TowerFall Ascension (PS4)

 TowerFall Ascension is a competitive multiplayer arena game where players fight each other on a 2D plane. The game is inspired by games such as Nintendo's Super Smash Bros series and features power ups and special abilities that players can use to destroy each other.

Strider (PS4)

 Stider is a 2014 update to the classic title of the same name. In this game you don the role of Hiryu, a cyber-ninja tasked with bringing down an evil power in the distant future. The game features a metroid-vania style of dungeon and ability progression.

Doki-Doki Universe (PSVita, PS3, PS4)

Doki-Doki Universe is a dynamic game with cartoon-visuals in which the player tries to discover and understand humanity. The game is unique in that it ivests much of the players personality in the discovery process as they discover and develop the main-character and the world around them.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Today IGN got an exclusive look at some footage from Techland's new game Dying Light. Techland is famous for game franchises such as Chrome, Call of Juarez and Dead Island. The game itself looks like an interesting mix of Mirrors Edge and survival horror. The trailer shows the main character using the environment to his advantage by leaping off of buildings, railings and telephone poles to escape the horde. Put the one aspect of this game that intrigues me the most is how radically the game changes from day to night. During the day it appears that the zombies are tame, slow and generally easy to get away from provided you don't get surrounded a la Walking Dead/ Left 4 Dead. However, come nightfall something changes and the slow shuffling zombies become the 28 Days Later/ I am Legend zombies. This presents some interesting dynamics that can take place in the game setup. People that have been itching for a survival horror game will get to experience it along with some free running action. This will also be one of the first zombie games that I can think of that will give the player free roam capabilities and to use the environment to actually escape the zombie hoard and not just for picking up gas cans and setting zombies on fire. At another point in the trailer, the character seems to be wielding some sort of shock blade. While this isn't confirmed I hope this means there will be a scavenging and crafting system present in the game. This wouldn't be surprising since this is the same company that developed Dead Island. Dying Light is expected to release in 2014 for current and next gen.

Mark Cerny and The Road to PS4

I'm always fascinated about looking at video games from a historical perspective and the kind of decisions that have lead to what we play today.  Mark Cerny is a hugely important person in the gaming world when it comes to the success of the Playstation brand.  This sort of all-inclusive history as told by him gives us some fascinating insight to a console's creation process (as well as admitting some failings of such work as well).  While this kind of presentation isn't for everyone, if you have a vested interest into various topics such as the growth of game development teams or the choice to use the Cell processer in the PS3, you might like this.

Microsoft backsteps on DRM & Always Online

Coming as a shock to some, and expected to others,  Microsoft is switching their stance on some major policies and decisions regarding their new console due out this November.  Microsoft's president of interactive entertainment Don Mattrick shared this on Xbox's news site:

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Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.

For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. 

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One. 

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

• An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games– After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
  

• Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
  

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console -- there will be no regional restrictions.

These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.

We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.

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Widely regarded as the most caustic features of the console, the loss of a 24 hour check-in window and the ability to trade-in and share disc based games is a huge boon to consumers.  This does come with some caveats though: discs will once again be required to be in the tray in order to play disc based games again.  This also cuts out some of the functionality of always having access to those games based just on gamer profiles.  Also, this functionality is going to require a day 1 patch before it can be used offline.  On another plus side however, the loss of an always online connection is said to also remove region locking for the console, which I'm sure CDProjekt Red appreciates.

There are a lot of facets to this announcement worth considering.  First off, this speaks volumes of exactly what kind of beating Sony served to Microsoft last week at E3.  Most sites have been comparing it to some kind of boxing or MMA match with Sony delivering a TKO.  Indeed, everybody involved at the blog was amazed at what a direct attack Sony sent out to their main competitor.  In some ways, it takes a lot of guts for a company to go back on what before they believed to be major selling points of their new box.  In another,  it's extremely reactionary and makes you wonder who's bright idea it was in the first place.

In the end, this is straight benefit to the consumer.  Old-school capitalism.  Making the Xbone more competitive to the PS4 means we should be seeing better deals vying for the public eye this holiday season.  The PS4 still holds a lot of cards with it's $100 cheaper price point and it's seemingly total devotion to indie developers.  Still, the gulf isn't nearly as wide as last week.

All of this while 4.45 firmware for the PS3 seems to be bricking consoles.  Good week for Microsoft it seems.

It is your Destiny

Bungie finally showed game play for their open world action title Destiny during Sony's E3 press conference yesterday. The video above is the entire game play demo for the conference. Overall I enjoyed what they showed. There was definitely a heavy Borderlands vibe coming from the game play and teamwork playing off the different classes. Unlike Borderlands however, at least during that point in the game or for demo purposes, it appears that the player will only be able to use 2 weapons along with having infinite ammo in reserve. Again this could possibly be a build specifically for the conference. Another interesting thing to note was that loot drops would come in the form of an all in one package. This could be used for allowing players to sort loot among themselves in a more organized fashion or that each player receives their own unique loot drop based on level and class. Guns will also appear to be a bit more unique in this universe as they can all individually be leveled up. We saw that  the Thunderlord has it's own set of skills, the final one being the ability to, "burn through enemies with thunderous rounds that will penetrate and detonate." Finally we also got to see a public event in action as a couple of squads take down a boss called the "Devil walker." I thought this was a great demonstration to show how alive this world can be and what you and your friends could do to fight back against the alien forces was awesome. It has yet to be shown how often or where events like this will take place in Destiny but the game has me excited none the less.

Destiny is set to release on the 360, Xbone, PS4, PS3 and PC sometime next year.

Xbox One: presentation afterthoughts

It’s been roughly two days since the unveiling of the Xbox One, just enough time to let the announcement be processed and consumed by most around the net.  Interpretations by most have not been favorable to say the least.  While some may claim it to be a typical case of the gaming media being in an echo chamber of negativity, it all keeps coming back around to a very simple truth of the press conference itself:

The announcement was not for gamers.

In some ways this isn’t surprising.  We’ve seen the Xbox 360 shift its intended usage from blade-swapping game machine to blocky ad-delivery Netflix box.  The Xbox One continues Microsoft’s grand plan to dominate and control every facet of media in the living room, hoping that one day all consumers will have open floor space for their cameras whilst you integrate your surface to whatever smartglass app happens to coincide with the program on the screen.  It’s an ambitious goal for sure.  But for hardcore gamers and even mild gamer aficionados alike, this isn’t what we want to hear.

Hard to think I’d quote John Riccitiello, but his recent article at Kotaku says it best:

“The first and most obvious of these pitfalls is if Sony or Microsoft forgets who brought them to the dance in the first place. Gamers.”

At this time, the only attractive features gamers have seen about this console is the console specs, which end up being largely in line with Sony’s PS4 and dwarfing the WiiU, all standard stuff like an 8 core cpu with a 64-bit architecture, 8 gigs of ram, an AMD gpu, 500 gigs of onboard storage, etc.  This and an actual look at the box and controller all are positives in the books for gamers, but thats about it when it comes to the presentation.  Everything else being shown off if you go back and look at the conference are exclusive deals for TV content and Kinect functionality.  

What’s been worse has been almost all the info being presented after the conference that Microsoft of course would not present up front.  Always Online isn’t as bad as was speculated, like kicking you out of a game if the connection drops, but the Xbox One does need to check in online, what’s being speculated at least once every 24 hours.  Used games are somewhere between a small licensing fee and having to rebuy the entire game every time.  Live accounts still have a premium feature, which does share over the One and 360, but will no doubt be required for online gaming and probably other online services like Netflix.  Kinect is bundled with every system and is required to use the console, and will always be on, even if the console isn’t in use.

All of these “features” just serve to fragment the consumer base for a new console.  Gamers would rather see software.  Software is what sells a system, and Forza, Call of Duty and Quantum Break aren’t nearly enough to sell this monolith on its own.  The onus is now on Microsoft to make a phenomenal presentation at E3 in terms.  Comparatively,  Sony is still riding a wave of goodwill of presenting first, as well as advertise the ease of publishing for third-party devs and indie publishers.  Rest assured,  E3 this year will be very interesting, as we haven’t seen a true presentation for a new console generation for years now.

If I had to make a choice now though, Sony is looking far more attractive than Microsoft.