Here’s a look at some of the news and games from GamesCom 2012 that might have been overlooked.
For a complete look at the PlayStation GamesCom 2012 Summary, click here.
GamesCom 2012 was truly something to behold, an event which can only be described as simultaneously brilliant and overloading to the senses. From fervent startups to veteran franchises, GamesCom 2012 in Cologne presented the video game community with plenty of new details to fawn over and more than enough information to whet its’ voracious appetite with.
During GamesCom 2012 Nintendo also released a statement concerning the future of DLC on their available platforms. Nintendo apparently feels that it is wrong to purposefully take advantage of consumers from a cost to content perspective, feeling as though many other organizations approach their DLC strategy in such a way as to maximize their profits and not the experiences of the gamer(s).
President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, had this to say:
“And one thing Nintendo has determined (as a company policy) that we are not going to do is create a full game and then say, ‘let’s hold this back for the DLC.’ That’s not our plan. We’re definitely not doing that. …I think there are examples of games where you get that initial purchase, the very core part of the game, and everything else around it is all DLC. However, if you do that I believe customers will have no motivation to go out and buy the retail package to begin with.”
This is a very refreshing thing to hear from such a high-level member of a large institution like Nintendo, wouldn’t you agree?
Gamers of virtually every console/platform should be familiar with the Assassin’s Creed series by now. The latest reveal from Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed 3” is that serialization will play an increased role in the upcoming future of the franchise. In other words, in the same way that Assassin’s Creed 2 was expanded into a trilogy of sorts, so too will Assassin’s Creed 3 feature multiple entries under its banner. How does the game itself look, you ask? Well, AC3 is every bit as amazing as you can imagine, perhaps even more so.
Survival horror fans should also be rejoicing as the Silent Hill franchise is actually bringing multiplayer and co-op action to the forefront. In their upcoming game Silent Hill: Book of Memories for the Vita, Konami is producing dedicated co-op and multiplayer-based approaches which also include enemies from previous titles in the series. If all of this weren’t enough, you will also be able to craft your own character.
If you’re one of the many that has been really enjoying the Transformers video game series, you should find know that the next entry into the franchise, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, is (arguably) going to be the best looking release for the series to date. During GamesCom 2012 there was also talk of enhanced multiplayer features as well…we’ll see.
The original “Borderlands” was an unexpected runaway hit that has since become something of a cult favorite among video game enthusiasts. Borderlands 2 seeks to solidify the territory that was captured in the first outing with even more features and perhaps even improvements all across the board. The problem is, we only have very limited information at this point and virtually no screens or gameplay footage to speak of. Talk about building up and creating some suspense, jeesh!
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Splinter Cell camp, luckily, there was plenty of gameplay footage on display at GamesCom featuring the upcoming title Splinter Cell: Blacklist. In a nutshell, Blacklist is an expansion of the type of gameplay featured in Splinter Cell: Conviction, only this time around; everything has been further upgraded and Sam Fisher has plenty of new moves as well. This one is going to be dropping in the spring of 2013; the suspense is almost too much to bear.
One of the more secretive and potentially exciting projects revealed at GamesCom 2012 was Crytek’s “Ryse”. Crytek has always been a developer to watch out for ever since they released the original Farcry back in 2004, which many argue was well ahead of its time. Ryse, however, is stated to be more of a “hack-and-slash” type of affair, and is rumored to be taking advantage of motion controllers and so forth.
GamesCom 2012 was quite an event, both for vendors as well as audiences. There were so many unique and thrilling developments on display that one couldn’t help but be overwhelmed. One thing is for certain, 2013 is going to be a dynamite year for gaming, and there can be absolutely no question about that.
