Electronic Vanguard: Gaming News for 2013
Created | Updated Jan 27, 2013
Gaming News for 2013
2013 will bring a whole load of sequels for old computer game series and spin-offs. I had a look at some of them, did a little bit of research and you can read the result below. I picked those which seemed important or interesting to me, but there still are so many that I had to split this whole preview into two Entries. Expect the next one in next week’s issue of The Post.
Action-Adventure
Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC, Play Station 3, Xbox 360
Website: tombraider.com
Release: March 5th, 2013
Every gamer knows archeologist Lara Croft, hero of the Tomb Raider series since the first game was released in 1996. On her way to discover ancient treasures Lara - and the player - encounters numerous monsters and villains, solves puzzles and finds a variety of valuable objects. She is - if you want - a kind of female Indiana Jones.
The new Tomb Raider game takes the player back to the beginning of the story of Lara Croft and her first mission after graduating on university. She is younger, can afford more clothes and obviously doesn’t have her breast implants yet. In this game Lara is not yet the tough woman she will become and the player can experience the exciting start of her career. The main storyline tells how Lara is stranded on an island, but the player will also get many opportunities to explore.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Konami
Platform: Play Station 3, XboX 360
Website: konami.jp
Release: 19th/21st February 2013
The first Metal Gear game was published in 1987. Most of the series is set in the very near future and centered around various characters called ‘Snake’ who appear to be clones of the villain of the first game and protagonist of Metal Gear 3: Snake Eater. In every game the protagonist is faced with an advanced technology (the ‘Metal Gear’ in the first game) used by villains to threaten the world. The player uses mainly stealth to get past his enemies.
Metal Gear Rising is a spin-off of the Metal Gear series. Kojima Productions, producent of the other Metal Gear games started to develop this game but then handed it over to Platinum Games. A lot of changes were made. Protagonist of the new game is Raiden, a cyborg ninja who was introduced as a character in earlier games. His story is set after Metal Gear Solid 4 after which the world has to face numerous powerful criminal organisations who use cyborg technology. The game focuses on third-person action oriented sword combat and cutting through any imaginable objects. Metal Gear Rising seems to be very different from the other games of the series and there is the question whether this will be a good or a bad thing, especially in the eyes of long-time fans.
Simulation
Sim City
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, Mac
Website: simcity.com
Release: 5th March 2013
No, this is not yet another spawn of ‘The Sims’, although they’ll bring a new one of those again this year, too. Sim City is an ongoing series of city planning games. Build your city, keep the population happy, take care of infrastructure, have an eye on your budget... you get the idea. I remember playing Sim City on Super Nintendo when I was in elementary school and it was very exciting in those days. The new Sim City of course saw the usual changes in graphics and tweaks in game mechanics.
The whole new feature is the ‘multy-city play’, as they call it. The old Sim City games were single-player games, but now people can play with others and connect their cities to work together. The game offers different ‘regions’ to play in with 2-16 city slots and different natural resources to encourage interaction. Even the inhabitants of the cities will move to other cities for work and infrastructure will be shared. The whole focus of the game seems to have shifted completely from single-player to multy-player content. The downside is of course that you always need an Internet connection to play, but the concept really sounds interesting.
Shooter
Crysis 3
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, Playstation 3, XboX 360
Website: crysis.com
Release: 19th February 2013
Crysis is a series of first-person shooters set in the near future.In Crysis 1 a team of elite soldiers investigates the kidnapping of a scientist in North Korea. On a small island they are attacked by mysterious creatures who turn out to be aliens called Ceph. They have been dormant for a long time and now awaken on Earth again. Crysis 2 shows a massive Ceph attack on New York City and the player is hunted by the corrupt Cell Corporation. One of the main elements of the game is the Crysis nanosuit, a full body high-tech armour, which grants the soldiers incredible strength, stamina, protection and even invisibility. In addition to the single-player campaign there are multiplayer PvP battles to be played via an Internet connection.
The new Crysis 3 plays in New York again. The alien attack has been fought back and the city is protected by a huge nanodome built by the Cell Corporation. The protagonist returns to take revenge on the Cell Corporation and hunt down the remaining aliens in New York City. New technology has been added to a redesigned nanosuit and new high-tech weapons are available. As the Crysis games are always at the peak of technology the CryEngine has also been updated again for this game and enables almost photo realistic graphics - if your computer is up to it.
Dead Space 3
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PC, Playstation 3, XboX 360
Website: deadspace.com
Release: 5th/8th February 2013
The first of the Dead Space horror shooter games was released in 2008. As the name already suggests it is a science fiction game set on different planets and in space. The games’ protagonist is engineer Isaac Clarke who (along with other people) fights Necromorphs, a kind of space zombies created by an alien virus.
Dead Space 3 will add a second protagonist to the game. He can be controlled by a 2nd person and experiences the game in a different way. The co-op mode makes players see additional story content and more gameplay mechanics. The story tells about the search for the origins of the Necromorphs. This certainly won’t be a game for me, I’m too easily scared, but I’m sure many people will enjoy it.
