Borderlands 2 Preview

Castrum - Kotaku's done a preview of some of the things that are different in Borderlands 2, probably most notably that those shitty Tediore guns are now basically grenades:

Gearbox Software showed off an early version of Borderlands 2 at Gamescom, quickly getting to one of the better weapon innovations in the gun-centric role-playing shooter. Tediore brand guns, as demonstrated by Gearbox's Steve Gibson, are as disposable as clips. Rather than reload, players will simply toss the entire gun. They'll toss it like a grenade at enemies when the clip runs out. They'll do so because those guns behave like grenades, exploding when thrown.

http://kotaku.com/5832501/the-ultra-disposable-gun-is-just-one-of-the-great-big-little-improvements-in-borderlands-2

Binary Domain Out On February 14th

Castrum - SEGA's new cover-based shooter game has a release date: February 14th, 2012.

Not sure if this one will be good or not. Seems to follow the traditional Japanese route of Mechs, zombies, and a generic storyline:

Sega confirmed with hugs and kisses at Gamescom that Binary Domain will arrive February 14 and 17 in North America and Europe, respectively. The squad-based action game for Xbox 360 and PS3, by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, allows players to command their team via controller or voice commands.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/18/binary-domain-marks-february-14-launch/

Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Out On November 20th

Castrum - Looking forward to this one, though it might conflict with Skyrim:

It would have been a blue Christmas without a new Zelda title under our Christmas Wii, but Nintendo comes through in the nick of the time, announcing a November 20 release date for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

http://kotaku.com/5831703/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-takes-flight-in-november

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Trailer

Castrum - Not sure if I'll get this. It seems like a spin-off:

Assassin's Creed: Revelations Trailer

Castrum - Already have this one on pre-order:

Infamous 2 DLC Trailer

Castrum - Never bothered with Infamous 2, though I did enjoy the first one:

Uncharted: Golden Abyss Trailer

Castrum - Lots of videos today:

Uncharted 3 Gameplay

Castrum - Not a big fan of the series, but I may finish the first game someday:

Ninja Gaiden 3 Jumping On The Motion Control Bandwagon

Castrum - I can only imagine the outcry:

Today at Gamescom in Germany, Tecmo's Team Ninja revealed that Ninja Gaiden 3 was getting physical with the PlayStation Move, finally allowing the player and Ryu to commiserate over how difficult it is to slash at enemies for hours on end.

The dumbing-down of gaming continues.

http://kotaku.com/5831346/ninja-gaiden-3-could-be-the-hardest-playstation-move-game-ever

Warhammer Online Reduced To A CTF Match

Castrum - Sad to see such a great IP brought so low by mediocre developers (Mythic) and the tyranny of WoW:

I played WAR a few years back, and the game had absolutely beautiful graphics and main cities, as well as several features Blizzard blatantly ripped-off and passed-off as their own in WoW (Tome of Knowledge/Archaeology comes to mind). I just wish it hadn't come to this.

http://kotaku.com/5831286/warhammer-online-wrath-of-heroes-is-a-new-6v6v6-game-free-to-pc-this-fall/gallery/1

Gears Of War 3 Going 3D

Castrum - Another game jumping on the bandwagon for no particular reason:

Gears of War 3 is the latest game to leverage its numerical modifier by adding 3D support (first pioneered by classic films like Jaws 3-D and SpyKids 3-D), and joins other participants like Killzone 3, Uncharted 3, and Resistance 3. "It felt like something we wanted to have. It was a feature we didn't want to be deficient in," Gears producer Rod Fergusson told Eurogamer. "When you look at Gears 1, it was what people used to demo HD at the time." 

Ironically enough, the tradeoff for 3D support in Gears 3 will be sub-HD resolutions. "Instead of 720p you're at five something," Fergusson said. "It's a little bit jaggier in certain areas." If it sounds weird to hear an Epic employee suggesting that an Epic game is anything less than a technology high-water mark, there's a reason for it: 3D support "was something that came in really late in our process," Fergusson explained. Instead of building in 3D support from the ground up, Epic instead opted for a post-processing effect that "generally works," he said. The technology is most likely TriOviz, which was accepted into Unreal Engine's Integrated Partners Program last year. 

When I first saw this, I honestly thought it was a joke. Sadly, it is indeed true, and yes, you can thank all the tech nerds and gimmick junkies out there for your lower-resolution Gears 3.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/15/gears-of-war-3-adds-3d-support-we-await-gears-of-war-3-d-re-tit/

Lollipop Chainsaw Trailer

Castrum - I suspect many of you (and MjolnirX as well) will enjoy this:

Gears Of War 3 Gameplay

Castrum - Another nice trailer for you guys today:

Fallout: New Vegas' Next DLC Delayed

Castrum - To the surprise of no one who knows Bethesda:

The Lonesome Road add on won't be hitting this month as originally planned, Bethesda says on their blog. We don't know why exactly it's being delayed, but we do know that they hope to get it out as quickly as possible.

$10 says it still ships with a legion of bugs.

http://kotaku.com/5829535/fallout-new-vegas-lonesome-road-delayed

Inversion = Psi-Ops Reborn?

Castrum - So the Co-Op trailer for this has me seeing comparisons to a little-known game called Psi-Ops that I played back in the day on my Xbox. Hopefully, Inversion can emulate its gameplay enough to warrant a purchase:

http://kotaku.com/5829500/inversions-co+op-trailer-shows-that-if-you-plan-to-screw-with-gravity-youd-better-bring-a-friend

Trade Hats For Games (And Other Hats) In TF2

Castrum - Looks like the microtransaction gravy-train rumbles onwards:

Does your Team Fortress 2 backpack runneth over? With the newly launched Steam Trading Beta, you can turn your excess in-game TF2 items into other in-game items or, more importantly, a gifted copy of Left 4 Dead.

How does it work? Well, first, Steam users must first opt-in to the Steam Trading Beta. Then, should they have a Team Fortress 2hat, weapon, badge, footwear item or can of Crit-a-Cola that another user may covet, they can trade said virtual item for, say, a gifted copy of some other Steam game. Just look for other players who have opted into the beta via Group Chat or your Steam Friends List to get your trade on.

I will say, however, that this is refreshingly non-corporate-focused in nature. I'm glad to see that Valve is doing something with its customers in mind, rather than its bottom line.

http://kotaku.com/5829334/now-you-can-trade-team-fortress-2-hats-for-actual-video-games

The Game Of The Year, Previewed

Castrum - Kotaku's done another preview of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which I'm virtually assured will be my GOTY. Everything I hear and see about this game makes it all the more epic, which makes me wonder if I'll somehow manage to beat my previous record of 200+ hours in two weeks that I attained with Oblivion:

http://kotaku.com/5828687/an-hour-with-skyrim-its-amazing

Dark Souls Delayed

Castrum - Looks like Dark Souls has been delayed a week from its prior release date, to September 22nd.

Personally, I enjoyed what little I played of my Hong Kong International version of Demon's Souls, but I never got around to playing any more of it. Not sure if I'm picking this one up.

http://kotaku.com/5828588/this-years-hardest-game-has-been-delayed-briefly

It Would Appear The Age Of WoW Is Over

Castrum - WoW is down from their peak of 12 million to just 11.1 million players. Trends show it will just keep falling. Perhaps we have seen the end of the behemoth known as World of Warcraft?

http://kotaku.com/5827577/world-of-warcraft-still-losing-players

Too Human's Third Anniversary

Castrum - Just thought I'd give a shout-out to the guys over at SiliconKnights.net. They're holding a big contest/event for Too Human's third anniversary, with co-op and developer chat for all. Head on over to SK.net to see the details:

http://www.siliconknights.net/

Personally, I loved Too Human, especially its premise and combat, but the game did have some big flaws. Word is a sequel's on the way, so hopefully those issues will be resolved by then.