Join me in welcoming back the return of Screenshot Saturday, our weekly weekend round-up of the latest screenshots from the video game world!
In our return edition, the first of 2014, action RPGs take the spotlight, with Dark Souls II, Bound by Flame, Lords of the Fallen, Toukiden: The Age of Demons, and The Witch and the Hundred Knight all making an appearance.
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars brings more RPG love, this time in portable turn-based form.
Daedalic’s adventure game sequel The Whispered World 2, Cubical Drift’s voxel planet building game Planets3, and Coilworks’ futuristic free-runner Cloudbuilt represent indie gaming with some glorious new stills and artwork.
Activision checks in with pics from the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts Onslaught DLC pack.
And last but not least, a gallery of 30 screens mark the return of Tecmo Koei’s Deception franchise in the newly revealed Deception IV: Blood Ties, announced for a March 25 launch on PS3 and Vita.
Check below for galleries, platforms, and website links.
Dark Souls II (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Bound by Flame (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360):
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Silence – The Whispered World 2 (PC, Mac):
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Call of Duty: Ghosts Onslaught DLC (Xbox 360, Xbox One):
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Lords of the Fallen (PC, PS4, Xbox One):
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Cloudbuilt (PC):
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The Witch and the Hundred Knight (PS3):
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Planets3 (PC):
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Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (3DS, Vita):
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Toukiden: The Age of Demons (Vita):
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Deception IV: Blood Ties (PS3, Vita):
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BradyGames pretty much has a shared monopoly on the video game strategy guide market (with Prima). This year, unless you’re gaming on a Nintendo system or need tips for the latest games from Ubisoft or EA, guides from the vast majority of the big blockbusters are brought to you by BradyGames. Call of Duty: Ghosts. The Last of Us. Grand Theft Auto V. Diablo III. Batman: Arkham Origins. Saints Row IV. Tomb Raider. Dead Rising 3. Name the game, and BradyGames likely has the guide you’re looking for.
In many instances you even have the option between standard and limited edition guides. Typically, for an extra $10 over the price of a basic Signature Series guide you can upgrade to a limited edition featuring a hardcover format similar to that of a coffee table art book (they sure look a whole lot nicer sitting next to the living room entertainment center). In fact, the limited edition offerings come packaged with some form of collectible, whether it’s a keychain or a lithograph, or maybe even a bonus art gallery chapter you won’t find in a Signature Series book. Overall, Brady’s guides are of the highest quality, whether you need the aid of a walkthrough to complete a campaign, tips for surviving multiplayer competition, or a cheat sheet reference for collectibles, Easter eggs, and Trophies/Achievements. But even if you don’t particularly care for strategy guides, owning one of Brady’s limited editions is more like adding a true collector’s item to your gaming stash. They are a great supplemental gift to buy with its matching game, or to buy for someone who already owns and is a fan of a particular game.
Through December 5th, BradyGames is running a Cyber Monday special on select strategy guides. Just enter coupon code “BRADYCYBER13” at checkout for a 60% discount. We were already preparing to feature Brady guides in our holiday coverage this season, but in light of the sale we thought it might be more helpful to dedicate an entire article to the subject. So, yeah, this is a guide about guides! Read along for a quick look at some of the guides that we got a chance to sample.
Grand Theft Auto V – MSRP: $17.49 (Signature Series) or $25.89 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
The Grand Theft Auto V limited edition contains an additional 20 pages of character illustrations, plus an exclusive lithograph of the game’s three playable antiheroes tucked inside a nice logo-stamped slip-folder. The guide itself is jam-packed with reference material to help you navigate the massive open world of Los Santos, including an impressive collection of maps showing where all the collectibles, stunt jumps, random events, weapon/armor pickups, hobbies and pastimes are located. GTA gearheads will also love the the vehicle showroom chapter which contains about 30 pages of thumbnails charting each vehicle’s price and attribute ratings in speed, braking, acceleration and traction.
BioShock Infinite – MSRP: $15.39 (Signature Series) or $25.89 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
BioShock Infinite comes with a 4″ replica of the bird/cage Freedom Key on a keyring, plus an exclusive bonus card for the Siege of Columbia board game from Plaid Hat Games (which we will be featuring in another upcoming gift guide article). The Songbird hardcover certainly catches the eye as well. Flipping open that cover will reveal a handy selection of maps clearly diagramming the locations for Vigors, Infusions, Kinectoscopes, Telescopes and Voxophones. The content of each Voxophone has also been transcribed so, in case you have trouble understanding the dialogue or other in-game voices muddle the audio, you can recap by reading the recorded diaries in text form (though I did notice that some of the transcriptions weren’t 100% complete). Another great thing about this guide is its detailed strategies for pulling off Vigor combos, combining Gear pieces to form custom class-style builds, earning some of the more involved Trophies/Achievements and combating the different enemy types. The artwork throughout the guide–particularly the images on the inside of the front and back covers–is absolutely beautiful.
The Last of Us – MSRP: $13.99 (Signature Series) or $24.49 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
The Last of Us includes an antique-finish keychain modeled after one of the Firefly medals found throughout the game as a collectible. Nothing fancy, but it actually is a keyring you might actually use. The cover, with its embossed logo text and silky smooth black finish, adds a simple touch of class. The Last of Us has some pretty tricky hidden collectibles, so for someone like me, after having completed the campaign twice on my own, having the guide on hand for ongoing endgame mop-up duty has proven invaluable. Maps and sidebars provide collectible locations throughout the main walkthrough pages, but if you’re after specific items and don’t want to spoil the process of playing through the game you can consult the Collectibles chapter at the back of the guide for a complete cheat sheet for all the Firefly Pendants, Artifacts, Training Manuals and Comics (with screenshots for visual aid). There’s even a section to help discover all optional conversations and Ellie’s joke-telling scenes.
Tomb Raider – MSRP: $17.49 (Signature Series) or $25.89 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
Tomb Raider doesn’t coming with a keychain, but it does have an painted replica amulet like the one Lara wears around her neck in her latest adventure. A tie-string is included as well if you want to wear it the next time you cosplay as Lara Croft. Inside the back cover you will also find redeemable codes for two multiplayer character skins (Scavenger Scout and Scavenger Executioner), if you somehow find yourself caring about the game’s completely unnecessary multiplayer mode. Tomb Raider is another one of those games that’s overflowing with collectible hunting. Part of the fun of being a true tomb raider is tracking down all the treasures and puzzle tombs by yourself, but this is the guide to get if you need a hand finding Relics, GPS caches, Treasures Maps, Documents and each hub environment’s set of optional challenges. Like The Last of Us guide, the main walkthrough maps will help you find things, or you can reference the collectibles chapter for an itemized breakdown. A section with character bios and enemy profiles is a nice addition beyond the reference material for completing the game.
Batman: Arkham Origins – MSRP: $15.39 (Signature Series) or $25.89 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
Batman: Arkham Origins’ limited edition is perhaps the most collectible of all, offering a set of four lithograph prints, one for the Joker, one for Deathstroke, and the other two for The Dark Knight himself. Unlike the other limited editions, this one also rocks a foil-stamped dust jacket over its hardcover. Inside the cover is a beginning to end walkthrough for the main storyline as well as side missions, with maps, boss strategies, and individual combat encounters listing out the number and type of enemies faced in each battle sequence. Batman fans will definitely enjoy the Personnel Files chapter for the biographical data on the Dark Knight, his friends and allies, and his greatest villains. The guide also offers tips for Dark Knight Challenges, Challenge Mode maps, and multiplayer. And as an added bonus, Brady managed to sneak in a mini-walkthrough for 3DS/Vita companion game Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. This section only takes up around 15 pages so I’m not sure how thorough the guide is (I haven’t played the portable Batman yet), but the map selection appears to be quite robust.
Diablo III – MSRP: $15.39 (Signature Series) or $25.89 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
Diablo III gets the node for the most useful bonus–a metal bookmark which looks like a sword thrusting down from the Lord of Darkness’ sculpted head. It looks cool, and it’s functional. Double score! But that’s not all. The limited edition also features an illustrated excerpt from The Book of Tyrael, as well as a bonus chapter containing roughly 20 extra pages of armor art concepts for the five playable classes. Before reaching this section of the guide, you will find a full walkthrough for surviving the campaign’s four acts of hack-and-slash hell and even accessing optional quests, including the magical land of Whimsyshire. The guide is also crammed from cover to cover with charts and tables full of crafting recipes, information for each class’ active/passive skills and runes, and gear stats, in addition to a Denizens of Hell bestiary with more than 70 pages of creature breakdowns.
Call of Duty: Ghosts – MSRP: $13.99 (Signature Series) or $24.49 (Limited Edition) – Buy From: Amazon.com
Call of Duty: Ghosts rounds things out with what I would say is the weakest of the limited editions. The cover looks pretty badass with its embossed ghost mask logo, but the pack-in embroidered faction patches don’t exactly move the needle. But hey, if you’re serious about representing your service to the Ghost Team or the Federation you’ll be able to appreciate their collector’s value more than I can. Between the covers, the guide is mostly dedicated to helping you up your multiplayer game with basic training tips as well as detailed maps for all of the multiplayer locales and graphs comparing factors like recoil, damage, rate of fire and reload times for each weapon class. Only about a third of the guide covers the single-player campaign, which makes sense since the story is so straightforward that you shouldn’t need a helping hand to beat it. However, if you are a completist the guide is nice to have around for the Trophy/Achievement tips and Rorke File locations inserted within the flow of the campaign walkthrough.
Disclosure: Review copies of the limited edition strategy guides were provided to VGBlogger.com by BradyGames.
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Revealed all official like today after recent internet leaks and rumors, Extinction Mode is the new cooperative Zombies survival mode coming to Call of Duty: Ghosts. Only it doesn’t have zombies at all–it’s got aliens!
1 to 4 players will suit up for chaotic humans vs. aliens battles consisting of “fast-paced survival action, FPS base defense, scavenging and class leveling.” From the looks of the reveal trailer one of the main objectives appears to be destroying egg sacks by using drills to plow holes for nukes into the heart of the alien hives, and then defending those drills from waves of aliens.
Looks pretty cool, I guess. Having zombies in every game has been getting old so it’ll at least be nice to switch things up with something a little more fresh. (As if aliens in a first-person shooter is a fresh idea.)
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Activision and Infinity Ward have deployed two new Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer trailers, introducing the game’s Clans feature as well as a new Squads mode.
Squads mode consists of four match types designed to allow players to put together their own team of customized AI squad-mates to play offline against bots or take online for squad battles in co-op or against the squads of other players. Whether you play offline by yourself or online with others, earned experience points will be applied to your overall multiplayer ranking progression, which should make Squads a particularly helpful mode for players who need to brush up on their Call of Duty skills before diving full on into the competitive FPS fire.
The new Clan system for Call of Duty: Ghosts has been expanded to include a number of key features, such as cross-platform Clans (players on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One will be able to join the same Clan and earn Clan XP) and a free Clan Wars game mode in the Call of Duty mobile app. Early registration is underway and will run until October 25th, if you’d like to reserve your Clan Name or transfer your Clan Name from Call of Duty Elite. (Call of Duty Elite will be no more in Ghosts.)
One of Swords has a blog up with additional information about Clans in Call of Duty: Ghosts. And more detailed explanation about the early registration process can be found in this massive FAQ.
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Multiplayer gets all the hype and attention whenever there’s a new Call of Duty coming out, but for many of us non-competitive minded gamers the single player campaign is where it’s at. Call of Duty campaign’s can often be too hand-holdy, but they never cease to entertain on the level of a good popcorn action movie with thrilling set pieces and explosions galore. From the looks of Ghosts‘ campaign in today’s new trailer reveal, we’re in for another military FPS blockbuster. Now with space warfare and Call of Duty Dog ripping a dude out of a helicopter cockpit. He’s a good boy!
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Are you concerned about all of these upcoming holiday season games launching across both current and next generation consoles and what it might mean to your wallet should you have to buy the same game again when you make the console switch? Well, Activision will be making the transition a lot easier and more affordable for Call of Duty: Ghosts players.
The Call of Duty: Ghosts PS3 and Xbox 360 launch is set for November 5th, which precedes the PS4 launch of November 15th and in all likelihood will do the same for the Xbox One launch as well. Should you buy a PS3 or 360 copy and then later buy a PS4 or Xbox One, for a limited time you will be able to pay a discounted $10 charge to upgrade your current gen copy to next gen, within the same console family of course. In-game progress and Season Pass content will also make the transfer for free!
“Today we’re announcing that anyone who buys Call of Duty: Ghosts for the PS3 will be able to upgrade to Call of Duty: Ghosts for the PS4 for a limited time at a suggested retail price of just $10, €10, or £10,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “Retail programs, announced by Amazon and GameStop allow our players to upgrade from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts for $10 as well. We have also previously announced that for a limited time our players will bring all of their Season Pass Content and all of their in-game progress with them within a console family, for no additional charge. We have the best fans in the world, and we want to make this transition as seamless and easy for them as possible. And there’s more news to come on that front. Stay tuned.”
Cool deal. Hopefully other publishers will take a look at this policy for their cross-generation games.
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Alongside today’s Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer info/media dump, comes the first details about the game’s DLC Season Pass and dual collector’s edition offerings.
First up, the special editions. As always, there will be two options: a Hardened Edition for $120 and a Prestige Edition for $200. The Hardened Edition contains the DLC Season Pass, a limited edition Collectible Steelbook case, a Paracord Strap, the Free Fall dynamic bonus map and other digital content (player patch, player card, player background, official soundtrack).
The Prestige Edition comes outfitted with all of the Hardened gear, plus a sweet 1080p HD Tactical Camera based on the actual helmet camera from the game. The camera is water resistant, shock proof, comes with three attachments so you can wear it wherever you go, and has a 170° wide angle lens. Even batteries are included, as is editing software and a 4GB memory card.
Both the Hardened and Prestige Editions are available for every platform except for the Wii U. That means you can buy it on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 or Xbox One.
As for the Season Pass, it will include immediate access to the Ghosts Team Leader Pack and some bonus multiplayer character gear on launch day as well as future access to a total of four map packs as they are released, beginning in 2014. If you don’t get one of the special editions, the Season Pass will cost $49.99/4000 MS Points on its own. The four map packs will also be sold separately for $14.99/1200 MS Points each. So yeah, if you plan to buy any DLC at all, there’s no reason to not buy at least the Hardened Edition.
Head on over to www.callofduty.com/ghosts/wheretobuy to pre-order your copy — standard, Hardened, or Prestige — of Call of Duty: Ghosts today.
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Eminem and Call of Duty trailers go together like chocolate coated in colorful candy shells, so it’s no surprise that today’s reveal of the “revamped” multiplayer experience for Call of Duty: Ghosts was christened with a new rap anthem from Marshall Mathers.
The song, “Survival”, will be on Eminem’s upcoming album and can be heard for the first time in the new Ghosts multiplayer trailer. Watch and listen. (A YouTube stream of the full song can be heard here.)
As for specifics about the game’s multiplayer features, Activision sent over a massive press release with all the details about the new character customization, squad system, dynamic map events, mobile app and more. All that good stuff is pasted in below, followed by a handful of new screenshots.
Call of Duty: Ghosts’ customization includes the all-new Create-a-Soldier system, in which players can customize their various weapon loadouts, plus, for the first time in the series, the physical appearance of their soldier, delivering over 20,000 possible combinations, including heads, body types, equipment, gender, and more.
The customization in Call of Duty: Ghosts continues as players can not only Create-a-Soldier, but also create an entire squad of up to 10 unique soldiers which can be customized down to their appearance, perks, loadouts, and style of play. In addition, each custom squad member earns XP toward Prestige and can also be modified to specialize in various combat classes and across multiple game modes, allowing more flexibility and depth for gamers than ever before.
Players of all skill levels can take their squad of soldiers into Call of Duty: Ghosts’ all-new third mode of play called Squads, where they can enlist to play solo, cooperatively up to 6-players, or competitively for one vs. one, head-on matches pitting players and their squads against others and their squads. Squads features a variety of play-types, allowing fans at any time to swap-out their custom A.I. soldiers with real friends for quick-action co-op. The competition can be fierce as squad soldiers display life-like, skilled tactics and behaviors like side-strafing, corner-camping, jump-shooting and more. Players, plus their squads, will earn XP, and if you’re offline, be prepared as your squad may get challenged for play without you.
Call of Duty: Ghosts also features the evolution of multiplayer maps through dynamic map events. Player-triggered traps and events allow gamers to strategically redirect the course of battle, including the ability to call-in a map-changing killstreak, which can completely transform or modify the map delivering new levels of strategy and gameplay.
Players can also now take Call of Duty: Ghosts anywhere, utilizing their Call of Duty account, already secured through their registration to Call of Duty® Elite, to carry their profile with them, including profile change updates between Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, or PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. Plus, this means that when players are ready to upgrade their current gen console to the next gen version, (from Xbox 360 to Xbox One, and from PlayStation 3 system to PlayStation 4 system), all their Call of Duty: Ghosts stats, unlocks, and more will seamlessly go with them and be ready and waiting. For players who don’t yet have an account, they can simply sign-up for free in-game or on the web.
The all-new Call of Duty® App gives players a second screen mobile and tablet experience designed to work hand-in-hand with both current gen and next gen versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts. Created by Beachhead Studio in collaboration with Infinity Ward, the app offers the most popular features from Call of Duty Elite and also gives a new dimension to Call of Duty: Ghosts by allowing fans to stay connected to the console experience wherever they go. With the Call of Duty App, players will have the power to edit their entire squad pre-match, and have one touch access to change loadouts for their next spawn while in match, as well as view and share after-action results with friends on Facebook and Twitter, and more. The new Call of Duty App is fully integrated with Call of Duty: Ghosts, and will launch alongside it this November on mobile and tablet devices.
Call of Duty: Ghosts also features a deep level of Clan support and in-game integration. With their Call of Duty account, players can join, create, and manage a Clan all from in-game or from the Call of Duty App. From the game, players can enjoy in-game Clan rewards, as well as Clan vs. Clan playlists, which are all available on both current and next gen. Additional Clan features in the app include Clan Chat, Rally-Up, and a Clan Emblem Editor.
The Call of Duty App also includes for Call of Duty: Ghosts players Clan Wars, an all-encompassing, 24/7, experience on the app that is tied directly to Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer, connecting the game and second screen for a truly deep two-way interaction. This brand new experience enlists players into a larger conflict, where any Clan member, no matter what skill level, can contribute to the Clan War mission and compete against other Clans for additional XP and exclusive in-game content.
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Activision’s been playing coy about its plans for Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U, leading many to believe that the blockbuster FPS, like countless other core third-party games coming out on those other consoles this fall, will not be appearing on Nintendo’s home gaming system. Well, we can finally put all the speculating to rest: Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for Wii U, on November 5th, the same launch date as all the other platforms.
Ghosts leads a squad of five other Activision games due for Wii U release beginning this summer and continuing into the holiday season. However, the other games are about what you’d expect from a third-party publisher on a Nintendo platform: casual-gaming fluff that will no doubt range from good (Skylanders SWAP Force) to budget bin shovelware (Wipeout Create & Crash).
Activision’s upcoming Wii U roster goes a little something like this:
]]>Call of Duty: Ghosts – Featuring an all-new world, story, characters and experiences, all powered by a new engine, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a stunning leap forward for the blockbuster franchise. For the first time in Call of Duty, gamers play as the underdog, fighting as part of a single squad against an enemy that has superior numbers and firepower. Call of Duty: Ghosts’ genre-defining multiplayer delivers gameplay innovations throughout, including dynamic map events, character customization and other features yet-to-be-announced. The title includes Wii Remote and second-screen Wii U
GamePad support and more. Call of Duty: Ghosts is scheduled for release on November 5, on Wii U and is not yet rated by the ESRB.
Skylanders SWAP Force – Activision’s Skylanders SWAP Force continues to build upon the success of the award-winning franchise’s signature gameplay and collectible toy experience with the introduction of an innovative feature – dynamic swapability. Kids and gamers will have unprecedented levels of choice in how they explore Skylands and battle KAOS by swapping the top and bottom halves of the toys to transform 16 SWAP Force characters into more than 250 unique combinations. Set in a richly detailed world of next generation visual fidelity, Skylanders SWAP Force takes kids on an all-new adventure with 32 never-before-seen heroic characters that each offer unique powers and personalities. The game also features new abilities – such as flying, climbing, and teleporting – which can be used in special areas of Skylands. Additionally, fans can play with their entire collection of 100+, forward-compatible toys from both Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure® and Skylanders Giants
Angry Birds
Angry Birds
SpongeBob SquarePants
Wipeout
Your bonus downloadable content prize for pre-ordering Call of Duty: Ghosts on any platform, current or next-gen, will be the “Free Fall” multiplayer map.
The Free Fall map will be a showpiece for the new dynamic map event mechanic. One of the game’s main selling-point multiplayer features, dynamic map events will alter the battlefield in real-time as a match progresses. In Free Fall, which will take place in a crumbling skyscraper, that means players will be shooting it out in a building that’s constantly shifting and collapsing. From Activision’s press release:
As an example of just one of Call of Duty: Ghosts’ new dynamic map events, Free Fall drops players into a shattered skyscraper on the brink of collapse. Sideways staircases climb into the night sky, elevator shafts run along the ground, and what were once windows now form a terrifying glass floor, hundreds of feet above the city streets. Free Fall’s close-quarters combat and frenetic action are then thrown into overdrive as the ruined skyscraper continues to fall throughout the match. With every drop, the accompanying shockwaves cause further destruction, disrupting sightlines and constantly evolving paths and chokepoints as the map changes in real-time.
Be among the first to experience Free Fall’s dynamic map events by pre-ordering Call of Duty: Ghosts, available November 5th on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, followed by versions for PS4 and Xbox One later in the year. Find participating pre-order retailers at www.callofduty.com/ghosts/wheretobuy.
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