PlayStation LifeStyle » VGAs

Bethesda Explains Skyrim’s Lack of Character Classes

Paulmichael Contreras — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:08:52 +0000

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was revealed back in December during the Spike VGAs. While some small details have been slowly revealed, one of the biggest changes to the game will be the lack of a traditional class system. Bethesda has explained their choice to do away with what is typically a staple in RPGs, and you can read all about it after the break.

Speaking during a special edition podcast with GameInformer, Director Todd Howard stated that the classless system implemented in Skyrim will result in a more natural way for players to experience the game:

What we found in Oblivion – you start the game, you pick your race and you play for a while. Our intent was: you played for a while, you got to figure out some skills, and then depending on how you play… one of the characters asks you ‘okay, what kind of class do you want to be? Here’s my recommendation based on how you’ve been playing…And sort of our thought process was, what if that guy never asked that? I was perfectly happy right before then, ya know, I was just playing the game and skills were going up, so we just got rid of that. You just play, and your skills go up as you play and the higher your skill, the more it affects your leveling. So it’s a really, really nice elegant system that kind of self-balances itself.

While there are still races of characters in the game, with no set class system it may provide more freedom for what kind of skillset players utilize. Certain skills can also level up to a point where you can earn perks, which are special abilities not unlike abilities that a classful character system might contain. Howard continued his explanation, stating that with the scope of their games picking a class even after playing the game for a while is not as easy as one would think:

What we found in Oblivion is people would play, and even though they played for a half hour and then they picked their class, it’s still – in the scheme of the games we make – not enough time to really understand all the skills and how they work. So people would play, and the general pattern would be they’d play for like, three hours and then ‘oh I picked the wrong skills, I’m going to start over…’ They weren’t necessarily upset about that, but to us, someone who’s making a game you’re like… ‘is there a way we can solve that? Is there a better way of doing it?’ And we think this is it.

Time will tell if this idea will work in a series such as The Elder Scrolls, but you can stay connected with PlayStation LifeStyle for more on this game as the news develops.

[Via]

Portal 2 Trailer Introduces us to New Dimensions

Matt Baker — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:41:06 +0000

During yesterday’s VGAs, various anticipated reveals were made such as a new SSX, the continuation of the Mass Effect series, an amazing Uncharted 3 trailer and many more. While everyone’s attention may have been fixed towards the actual announcements and footage of games, the VGAs primary purpose is exactly what the name says: video game awards. One such award is the coveted most anticipated game. Portal 2 managed to beat the likes of Batman: Arkham City, Gears of War 3, as well as BioShock: Infinite to pick up the accolade; and in doing so, Valve has treated fans to a new trailer for the sequel.

The new Portal 2 trailer focuses on the game’s intriguing co-op aspect. Check out the trailer below.

Video Games | Portal 2 | VGA 10: Exclusive Aperture Friends Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Another multiplayer-related mode for the title which was being considered at one point by Valve was competitive multiplayer. The developer had even started to implement the mode and test it out, however, ultimately it was canned. Originally scheduled for a late 2010 release Portal 2 was delayed in rather humorous fashion into April 18th, 2011. As stated by Gabe Newell, due to features such as Steam Cloud and automatic updates the PlayStation 3 version will be the best version on any console.

Mass Effect 3 Officially Unveiled

Anthony Severino — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:43:21 +0000

Although it was accidentally outed last night by the EA retail store, it still wasn’t confirmed to be the title that BioWare had been teasing for the Spike VGAs. Now it has. Mass Effect 3 is official.

Mass Effect 3 has now been confirmed, and this time PS3 owners won’t have to wait for a port. Geoff Keighley just updated his Twitter account saying that Mass Effect 3 will be coming Holiday 2011.

Check out the world premier trailer below:

You’ll Be “Surprised” By Uncharted VGA Trailer, Won’t be CGI

Sebastian Moss — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:19:54 +0000

In a shocking, and exciting move, Sony announced that Uncharted 3, was indeed real, and that it would be coming next year in full stereoscopic 3D. Other than some gorgeous pictures, and a short teaser, little was announced about the multi-million selling franchise, with Saturday’s Video Game Awards set to reveal far more. Now, GTTV host, Geoff Keighley has hinted at what we can expect from the trailer.

Keighley, the producer for the show, tweeted:

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what we show. Definitely not cg.

In response to the aptly named NaughtyGods, who asked:

I guess the trailer will be in-engine just like back in 2008?

While it is not CG, the fact that the trailer will be surprising suggests that they won’t follow the same in-engine technique as their 2008 VGA reveal. With Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception set to be playable during next week’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, it is possible that Naughty Dog could be showing actual gameplay footage at the VGAs.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

VGA To Have First Ever Resistance 3 Gameplay Footage

Sebastian Moss — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:36:09 +0000

Announced during Sony’s 2010 gamescom conference, Resistance 3 is shaping up to be one of the PlayStation 3′s hottest first person shooters, with developer Insomniac Games extending their development time on the title to make it the best in the series. However, the announcement only showed a live action trailer, that gave gamers no idea about what the game would look like. Now, Spike TV have announced that their Video Game Awards will host the first ever gameplay footage of Resistance 3 – and have released a teaser live action trailer to go with it.

Little has been revealed about the game, other than a Game Informer feature, but the December 11th VGAs will hopefully answer gamer’s questions.

Are you looking forward to the new gameplay? Let us know in the comments below.

VGAs To Feature More Gaming Industry Figures Than Ever Before

Sebastian Moss — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:52:13 +0000

While Spike TV’s Video Game Awards have been home to numerous high profile game reveals, many have criticised the celebrity-focused event for its almost embarrassing showbiz cameos, and irrelevant guest appearances. With a new director, Hamish Hamilton, taking the helm, the show is set to take a new direction, hopefully addressing viewers concerns. Now, GTTV host Geoff Keighley has hinted that the show may still be star studded – but this time with people from the gaming industry.

Talking on Twitter, user johnvanderhoef asked Keighley, who is also a VGA producer:

Can the VGAs have less hollywood and more game industry folk?

Continuing:

Folks associated with either nominated games and/or big names: Cliff B., Molyneux, Spector, etc.

Interestingly, Keighley replied:

Stay tuned! We got you covered.

Who do you think will make an appearance at the 2010 VGAs? Kevin Butler is set to not only attend, but announce something, and with Guillermo Del Toro’s game set for a VGA reveal, his appearance is highly likely.

Let us know who you’d like to see at the VGAs in the comments below.

Guillermo

“Murder Your Maker”: Activision Teases VGA Reveal

Sebastian Moss — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:05:25 +0000

To build up a bit of a buzz and hype for the Spike TV Video Game Awards, the studio released teaser trailers that hinted at what games will be revealed during the show. The first trailer had a hidden link to “Mur der“, and the second to “Your“, with a third expected next week. Now, publisher Activision have beaten their own game’s teaser to the punch and released a different teaser completing the sentence: “Murder Your Maker”.

Activision have revealed a teaser website, murderyourmaker.com, that shows the back head of a bald man as well as blurry plans on a wall, while eerie ambient music plays in the background. “Murder Your Maker” and the date of the VGAs are also shown, confirming that the game will make an appearance at the show.

What the game actually is is unknown, but due to the title being published by Activision, it is almost certainly multiplatform. While the man shown is bald, the game cannot be Hitman as the franchise owned by Square Enix. However, some people speculate that it is Prototype 2 – an IP owned by Activision where the game’s equally bald protagonist Alex Mercer sets out to find, and kill, his creators.

It could, of course, be something entirely new, perhaps even Bungie’s first multiplatform title, but it seems too early for a reveal of that game.

Do you think you know what the game is? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Via]

More VGA Teasers Hint At World Premiers

Sebastian Moss — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:24:15 +0000

Spike TV are building up as much hype as they can for their world premier packed Video Game Awards, releasing cryptic teasers in their trailers, teasing what will be shown. Now PlayStation LifeStyle has uncovered the latest set of hints from the studio.

In their latest trailer, entitled “Be The First”, they have built upon the previous, zombie and murder hints from before.

First, there is the second in a set of 3 pictures (see 1 here) on a zombie game:

The second picture that flashes up is a barcode (see here) that links to this picture:

“Your” most likely follows on from “Murder” to build up to “Murder Your ___”.

Don’t worry if the teasers aren’t giving you enough information, GTTV’s host Geoff Keighley tweeted:

Tons of news next week.

Have you spotted anything else? Let us know in the comments below.

Kevin Butler To Be At VGAs

Sebastian Moss — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:35:27 +0000

This year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards looks like it will outshine previous year’s shows with more world premiers and game reveals than ever before, including a possible PlayStation 3 exclusive reveal. To ensure success Spike is looking to take a leaf out of Sony’s book and try and make their show as awesome as the 2010 PlayStation E3 event. But what made E3 so spectacular? Was it the games, the hardware or Jack Tretton’s charms? No, it was everyone’s favourite VP – Kevin Butler. Now, it seems KB will be making an appearance at the VGAs and will be announcing something special.

Geoff Keighley, host of GameTrailers TV has posted the following on his Twitter account:

Over at PSHQ with @thekevinbutler hearing his VGA world premiere pitches. We’re on for 12/11!

Along with an attached image:

Has Kevin Butler already guaranteed Sony’s domination of the VGAs? And what will he be revealing? Let us know in the comments below.

To remind you of KB’s amazing E3 presentation, watch his full E3 speech right here:

VGAs May Very Well Reveal Uncharted 3

Matt Baker — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:04:22 +0000

Although the existence of Uncharted 3 hasn’t been officially confirmed, we all know development of a third game in the hugely successful PlayStation franchise has been on going via many, many hints including Nathan Drake’s voice actor saying Uncharted 3 is common sense. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2 made its début at the 2008 Video Game Awards show and was then released in October, 2009. Now, according to a source the next iteration in the critically acclaimed series will make its début during this year’s VGAs.

According to Kotaku‘s sources PlayStation 3 owners will be happy to know that an Uncharted 3 video will be revealed at Spike’s Video Game Awards, which takes place on December 11th. Kotaku also believes Sony’s recent tease of an “exclusive PlayStation 3 reveal” event a day after December 12th will seemingly provide press with an extended look at the title.

As Uncharted 2 made its début during the show two years ago, Sony could mirror that and reveal the sequel next month, with the franchise certainly being large enough to warrant its own press event.

Murder And Zombies To Be Revealed At Video Game Awards

Sebastian Moss — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 22:50:35 +0000

While some gamers may dislike Spike TV’s Video Gaming Awards for focusing on celebrity culture rather than gaming, that doesn’t mean the show won’t be filled with a bunch of game reveals and world premiers. The program is already set to host the first reveal of Batman: Arkham City, as well as Bioware’s next game, but now Spike has teased what else will be shown at the event.

In a video from Spike, a poster saying “Infected? Report It!” flashes up, with two zombies clearly visible. At the top left, one can see “For The” six or seven, and at the bottom right it says “1 of 3″ hinting at more posters before the reveal at the VGAs.

What the zombie game could be is unknown, possibly a new Left 4 Dead or Dead Rising, or even a new entry into the zombie universe. While the Left 4 Dead franchise is currently only on the Xbox 360 and the PC, Valve has shown their interest in the PlayStation 3, announcing that Portal 2 on the PS3 would be “the best version on any console”.

The trailer also flashed a barcode (viewable here), which directs you to a link, that says “Look Closer”, and, even more cryptically: “Murder”.The “murder” teaser may be related to the zombie game, or could be an entirely new game – perhaps even Hellboy and Pan Labyrinth Director Guillermo Del Toro’s title.

What do you think the new game(s) could be? Or have you uncovered anything else about the titles? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via]