3. The Last Guardian
How to return to the front of the scene when our name has become synonymous with Arles? This is the ordeal that awaited The Last Guardian at this E3. Given the effect of its presentation at the Sony conference, the title of Fumito Ueda continues to benefit from the aura of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. But is it really justified?
This is so for all of Mr. Ueda’s work I went into the presentation of The Last Guardian room. I was finally going to see the game turn before my small eyes, with a demonstration performed by the creator himself. So yes, it’s almost the same passage that was seen during the conference, but Mr. Ueda could stop to try different things and tell us more about the idea behind his new game.
Breeder of Champions
And the idea, precisely, it is a complementary duo in history. Connection between the characters. You, a small boy prisoner of a strange complex and Trico, a majestic feathered creature with which you will have to learn to communicate. The whole idea of the title revolves around the dynamic between these two people. Your skills to make you understand Trico and your survival depends on your progress.
Where it gets complicated is that Trico does not necessarily intend to follow you mindlessly. His behavior, as explained by Fumito Ueda, was inspired by that of domestic animals such as cats and dogs, among others. Sometimes a player, sometimes moody, sometimes curious, sometimes angry, it is a whole range of emotions. As your adventure you will need to tame and control Trico.
When you want to draw the attention of Trico, you often make the feet and hands like jumping all over the place or throw barrels. Everything seems to indicate that despite its enormous size, Trico is very young in its emotional and social development. The section that was shown just before we started the demo of the conference.
We had to throw barrels at an elevated platform for Trico rises on its hind legs so we can climb to get to the other side of a grid. It is precisely in such times that all poetry takes shape. Attention of the beast, direct it to the right spot, watching his reactions, all part of the order of dressage.
Rarely a simple “animal”, which is not endowed with speech, has had as much personality in the field of gaming. It finally seems to be a recurring theme in the work of Mr. Ueda because we had already a glimpse of this kind of behavior with Agro in Shadow of the Colossus, who went about their business when you do move sometimes galloping passionately in the gigantic plains.
In the Eyes
“ The dangers are everywhere ”
Once outside, we had a clearer view of the architecture that surrounds you in The Last Guardian. We recognize other architectures work of Fumito Ueda and mysticism that surrounds you. Anecdote, Mr. Ueda told us that the gigantic towers which peaked around the two protagonists were not doodads. They are all within us. Unfortunately, too admire the structures, we might leave it there: the dangers are everywhere.
The following scene was the same as that of the trailer for the Sony conference. Trico is frightened by a mysterious construction and you must get rid of to pass, caught in extremis by the beast while the bridge over which one is collapsed. The opportunity of a new precision: When you catch the tail of Trico, it is not a cutscene. This is actually a gameplay phase. If you do not press the button at the right time, this is the fatal fall.
Obviously, the observed scene is too short for me to send you a secure and definitive opinion. But it was more than enough to highlight that Sony Japan Studios teams and Gen System designed.
A mix between the natural poetry of the relationship between Trico and the boy, and the constant feeling of danger that oppressed us. It is this force that seems to surpass far the only visible defect, the technical aspect below expectations that reminds us that the title was originally planned for PS3. Nothing that spoils the artistic tenure, obviously.
My Impressions
The Last Guardian is a poetic work that recounts the relationship between a young boy and a majestic beast. As with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, the media were mostly silent and it takes some patience to move forward in a title that seems to be moving towards the thinking game.
That said, we still do not know what will happen in the The Last Guardian and I doubt that the world of Fumito Ueda as we do not object to threatening beings at one time or another. Anyway, dressage Trico could offer us these moments of joy and emotions that are ultimately rather rare in video games. Especially in this form.
2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Undoubtedly, Deus Ex is a cult license. Born from the collaboration between the studio Ion Storm, Eidos Interactive and the creative spirit of Warren Spector, the first part of the license will be launched in 2000 on PC.
Acclaimed both by critics and players, the dystopian world of Deus Ex has experienced a suite, Invisible War, released in late 2003, less appreciated just the same as his illustrious predecessor. It was not until 2011 to see the rebirth of the franchise under the leadership of Eidos Montreal with Deus Ex: Human Revolution taking reboot tunes that kept in mind cyberpunk.
In February 2016, Adam Jensen and his hero resume the service in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. I had the opportunity to approach the first playable demo of the title on the premises of its developer.
Increased, Split!
In 2029, two years after the tragic events of Human Revolution, things went awry between pro and anti increases. Following the buggery shot rule in much of the increased humans, it reigns over Divided Mankind as a heavy apartheid climate conducive to a form of modern obscurantism that artists and developers Eidos Montreal have transcribed both in the frame of the game, but also in its artistic direction.
Sublimated by a new graphics engine, the Dawn Engine, largely based on the Glacier 2 IO Interactive already used for Hitman Absolution, this new album offers more detailes than its predecessor. The black and gold tones of Human Revolution are taken; black for the prediction of a dark future and for men in the shadows who shoot in secret strings, or for hope, the solar side of technology and in some ways a return to the figure of Icarus .
If we always find the atmosphere in Mankind Divided, it is offered to us in less obvious ways. Because progress is with two sides, one synonymous with evolution and hope for millions of citizens, the other darker, causing jealousy, misuse technology and rejection of difference.
It is in this context of black work of anticipation that we find Adam Jensen. His now longer part of Sarif Industries security service rather logical thing when you know where his work led at the end of the previous episode. Without any spoil, it is interesting to point out that the developers have adopted a canonical frame for this sequel.
Some choices Human Revolution – including your final decision among the four possible endings – will be partially taxed here. Instead of rolling the mechanical inches smoking fags on his couch in Detroit, Adam now works for an anti-terrorist organization fighting against the use of increases for military purposes. The universe of Mankind Divided therefore at very risk of being rife with political intrigue and conspiracies industrial backdrop of increased anti-racism.
Dubai Offers an Unusual Setting for the First Mission of the Game
Eidos Montreal wanted to bring more diversity to the scenery visited in this suite. The new work of Adam therefore embark around the world in pursuit of terrorists and other traffickers. The playable demo tested for a few hours allowed us to rub us the first mission of the game, the action is in a Dubai ravaged by conflict.
A rather unusual backdrop for the saga that demonstrates the artistic orientation multi-faceted desired by the studio. As during the first mission of Human Revolution, the choice of weapons is given to us before attacking the serious things. Discreet and nonlethal approach with a stun gun, stashed or less with a good old assault rifle.
We are free to choose our starting arsenal during the introduction sequence of shuttle transport. However, nothing ever remains frozen for a long time in Deus Ex and it is up to us to use any weapon recovered from the level at any time to change our style of approach.
This is also one of the main points of improvement in this sequel, aware of the weaknesses of Action of Human Revolution, Eidos Montreal has largely focused on improving all possible approaches to methods mission. We naturally begin by talking about the most popular of them, discretion.
Mankind Shooter
For the less fine amateur approach, Mankind Divided offers much better feel than its predecessor. The game is certainly not doomed to turn into shoot down the front, but efforts are palpable. Reworked viewing angles, more sound design licked and changes in the characteristics of the weapons on the fly in a Crysis spirit involved in this leap forward.
We can for example change the type of ammunition or modify the rate of fire of a weapon to suit the situation. Missing only better impact sensations may convince us to consider a run gun one day or the other. In short, the game intends to satisfy all player profiles.
Dubai, majestic decadence offer this first mission with a special setting for us (re) acquainted with the controls of the game. Neutralized dozens of guards, hacked a few consoles in a mini game to some details closely similar to that of previous pane and found that the new engine as Eidos has allowed to let go of physical objects, most of which can now be gripped and swung through the ingenious decorations to create diversions.
Regarding the management of life and energy, Adam always automatically regenerates his health while his energy bar gaining flexibility in reloading. To motivate us to use the entire panel at our disposal, capacity conferred by our increases now are cheaper and our batteries recharged much faster. Especially as the powers, are not few in this suite.
It Must Hurt !
The panel of authority are tied to Adam Jensen increases is quite rich in this suite. What the hell has happened to Adam during the two years separating Human Revolution and Mankind Divided? We do not know yet. What we know is that the guy has the board on the pool table to upgrade its various implants and prostheses.
More numerous, its capabilities are gaining momentum here, versatility and “badassitude”.
“ Everything is about choice ... ”
I can for example tell you about the new Nanoblade technique, this integrated carbon front blade arms of Adam that distance can now send one or more to pin enemies to the wall.
This technique alone translates the philosophy of this Divided Mankind. For you must know that this blade can also be loaded to trigger an explosion on impact. From a silent death tool, the ability will not change so frankly discreet weapon of destruction. And the same applies to many powers whose use has been designed with an imperative to spearhead in versatility.
Adam Bow Has a Gun Stashed in His Forearm
We include in this spirit titan shield, sort of nano-armor black polygons can absorb the damage for a short period of time. Thinking of the base to be used for running into the pile, it can also save the ass of a more focused character infiltration in case of unfortunate detection.
Eidos Montreal is go pick other gameplay Adam to equip new moves including a projection forward named Icarus-like Dash of a Blink of Dishonored. It allows to reach in a wink a remote location without drawing attention to itself, which is always handy. In short, you’ll understand that our hero has increased its increases to provide more opportunities for action to the player.
Mankind Divided Benefit From the Hitman Absolution Graphics Engine
For it is here that lies the richness of the second Deus Ex saga, its level design offers multiple approaches, all more or less suited to a style of play. Instead of rushing headlong into battle, why not bypass quietly by the side to come face to face on a forklift capable to make us climb the roof? A roof on which we unearth an air vent allowing us to avoid direct confrontation with the sunken death machine. To achieve this, we use also the new remote hacking system based on a mini-game of reflex very easy to handle.
Once inside, before us the immense building representation room invaded by a procession of men armed to the teeth. At so we choose again the approach, discretion, stealth neutralization launched grenade into the crowd and stage shot harmless? The player has to deal with his tools and his desire to progress.
Eidos Montreal will therefore provide us with Mankind divied of branches littered mission to explore. There are no predefined path in Deus Ex, everything is about choice.
My Impressions
If Human Revolution was a successful replay of the Deus Ex saga, Divided Mankind should correct its main shortcomings. Deeper into its gameplay, more open than ever in its possibilities of approach and especially more technically advanced than its predecessor, the next game from Eidos Montreal has seduced us with its common-sense changes made to a recipe that had made fly in 2011.
It is a Deus Ex to the darker atmosphere that we were given to test for a few hours, a universe rich with promise and questions about transhumanism. Like a modern Icarus, the man seems to have burned the wings wanting to rise in his condition; this sequel intends to delve brilliantly in the fall. Therefore expected to firm foot in February 2016, when the game is released on PlayStation 4.
1. Tom Clancy’s The Division
We begin to know, the end of the world is approaching and it is time to organize to cope. Fortunately, the US government has taken the lead in organizing a network of agents supposedly capable of containing the threat in case of a major incident. Want to see them in action? No need to wait for the Apocalypse, simply take a look at The Division.
It seems that Ubisoft teams are paranoid. After the conspiracy organized by the Knights Templar Assassin’s Creed and drifts of remote monitoring in Watch Dogs, it was the turn of a strange epidemic to talk about it in The Division. The pitch stamped next game Tom Clancy is simple: a virus spread on banknotes on the occasion of Black Friday, the famous day when all good Americans should start doing his Christmas shopping.
This nasty microbe totally unbalanced our interconnected society: it is presented as a house of cards where the slightest instability can be fatal. The situation quickly escalated and created anarchy.
The state of the US response was simple: Directive 51 trigger that activates a network of sleeper agents in the country. They are supposed to restore order and protect the population. In The Division, you play as one of these agents at work in New York City three weeks after the onset of infection.
The “MMO” Dimension Still Remains to be Defined More Clearly
Until then, the presentation of the new Tom Clancy’s may seem all there from classic, but what wowed the crowd at the E3 Ubisoft conference is first its beauty, then the fact that it is a typical action MMO. It is indeed the first time that the series ventures into this kind. We will not dwell on the formal description of the demo that we got because it is available on video.
This extract especially allows it to have a first glimpse of the particularly dynamic combat system that seems to be similar to a pure GST juice. Things are actually a little more complicated when you start to dissect what happens on the screen. It is then found that all three players constituting the group use different skills.
The Realization is Really Impressive
The Division does not offer a strictly defined class system, you can freely create your builds, but that does not mean you will not find the skills rather specialized in damage, heal or in capturing the attention of enemies. Clashes keep a particularly tactical aspect that will not displease the fans of the series.
Complementarity between players, experience system to unlock skills, loot more or less rare equipment … no doubt, is facing an MMO, though appearances may seem misleading. It also promises it will be possible to freely explore the city of New York and that our actions will have an impact far beyond our simple game. Are we to understand that the entire universe of the game will be dynamic? It looks good.
Gadgets and Holograms are Important in the Conduct of the Aaction
We will not dwell on the technical aspect of the title: just look online to find that extract is really a neat job as the point of view of lighting effects the partial destruction of the scenery during the fighting. There is no denying the PS4 has the resources to view us as pretty rendered. The most surprising point of the presentation was the compatibility with the famous “Companion” Ubisoft, the system to use a tablet device directly as a game. In this case it is used to control a drone support well convenient.
The latter is able to scan an area to show the location of the enemy, provide buffs to other players or even offensive show by sending a missile directly over opponents. One who is to command the drone can be in the same room as a player, but it may as well be quietly at home, he only needs an Internet connection: it is really another way of understanding the ‘The Division universe that promises to be really like an atypical MMO.
My Impressions
Let us not mince words, Tom Clancy’s The Division was the big surprise of the conference for Ubisoft at E3 2013. This title manages to tape us both by its beauty and the originality of his approach. The bases of the traditional MMO are there, but they have had a nice facelift for the occasion and give us a result that has not finished making us dream. In short, this first glimpse of The Division has maliciously made us want to put our hands on it asap!