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PlayStation Blog Wrote:Unforgiving PC hit adds PlayStation-exclusive features

While we were developing Risk of Rain, we never expected our game to gain a dedicated following. We were just two college students working out of our dorms in our free time, doing something we loved – making and playing games!



Three years later, Hopoo Games and Code Mystics has partnered up to send Risk of Rain to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita! While PC gamers might be familiar with Risk of Rain, we have a few new features to the game’s online system – exclusive to PS owners.

Thanks to PlayStation Network, we now have automatic matchmaking integrated into Risk of Rain! With just one press of a button you’ll be automatically placed into a lobby with up to three other players around the world – no IP address or port forwarding required, just online fun.



 
But what would Risk of Rain be without playing with friends? Now you can play on the couch, and on the internet – all at once! While we still have the four-player local co-op available in Risk of Rain, you can now play online lobbies while sharing a machine with your friend – up to two per machine. Wanna just play online instead? You can also invite your friends into your lobby through the PlayStation Network’s “Invite” feature to get all your game buddies into one lobby.

“But Duncan, what if my friend is on PS Vita and I’m on PS4?” No worries – we know that people prefer playing on their own platform, so now we also have cross-platform online support between PS Vita and PS4. That means that both a player sitting on the couch on their PS4 and a player on the bus playing on their PS Vita can both enjoy Risk of Rain chaos – together.


 
These changes are all aimed at letting Risk of Rain do what it’s best at – fun, but brutally hard time with friends. With automatic matchmaking, local-coop integration with online lobbies, and cross-platform support, we’re hoping that the online experience is the best possible for players. And for all our new Sony fans – thank you so much for your support, and prepare to die. A lot.

See you on the planet.



23 Feb 16

By: Duncan DrummondCo-founder, Hopoo Games LLC

So back in the old days Richard Bartle theorised that when playing a multiplayer game online, there are 4 forms of motivation.

These are: 
Achievement: Fulfilling the explicit requirements of game quests/trophies/goals
Exploration:   Learning more about the game/understanding it's mechanics/seeking out hidden features
Killing:           Competing with and defeating other human players in the game. Also griefing I think.
Social:           Using the game as a platform for social interactions and just having a great time with others.

This concept was drawn from observing dungeon crawlery and that sort of thing, so it isn't necessarily relevant to all types of multiplayer game.
I think most people realise what sort of gamer they are without a flawed internet quiz, but here you are:

flawed quiz

 http://4you2learn.com/bartle/

Overwatch Beta wave 2 just started. All new emotes and skins, with a crate system like Valve's except no paying for keys.

I'm hyped.

Only thing I'm concerned about is the 20 tick rate, but people have been playing and having no troubles so??

PlayStation EU Blog Wrote:Available from 27th April, including matching Dualshock 4





To commemorate Uncharted 4‘s release, we’re rolling out the red – er, blue – carpet with a special Limited Edition Uncharted 4 PlayStation 4 bundle. Unlike Nathan Drake, you don’t need to trek through Madagascar to find this treasure. Just pick one up at your local participating retailer from 27th April across Europe and 29th April in the UK, where the bundle will be available to pre-order shortly at selected retailers.

This bundle includes a Limited Edition 1TB PS4 in Gray Blue featuring a silk-screened image of Nathan Drake, as well as a matching DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller and a copy of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on Blu-ray disc.

The limited edition PS4 also features the PlayStation logo, Uncharted logo and the phrase “Sic Parvis Magna” in gold – it’s Latin for “Greatness from small beginnings” and is the same phrase engraved on Drake’s ring.

We’ll also sell the Gray Blue DUALSHOCK 4 separately in April, ahead of the release of the bundle.

The launch of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is almost upon us and honestly, we couldn’t be more excited. Let us know what you think of the limited edition PS4!

If there was ever a game that suffered from bipolar disorder, it's Halo 5: Guardians. The multiplayer serves as definitive proof that 343i were willing to listen to the criticism from fans surrounding Halo 4, but the campaign (specifically the story) is a complete disaster.

Multiplayer (tl;dr it's good)
Halo 5's multiplayer comes in two distinct forms: "Arena" and "Warzone". Both are fantastic.

Arena is a real return-to-form for the competitive Halo multiplayer experience. Gone are the loadouts from Halo Reach and Halo 4 in favour of the equal starts that everyone wanted. Sprint is still there but reworked from Halo 4 so that getting shot stops your sprint and if you're sprinting your shields won't recharge. Personally I'd prefer it not be there and base movement was increased by 5-10% across the board, but I'm totally okay with how it is now. The new Ground Pound, Spartan Charge and Thrusters are all good additions. They make Halo 5 feel like a genuine sequel rather than just a rehash. It uses a CSR ranking system similar to League of Legends. After playing 10 qualifying matches in a playlist, you get placed a division (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Onyx) at tier 1-6 depending on how many of those matches you won while taking into account the CSR of players you were versing. After that you play matches with and against players of similar ranking to you. Winning matches moves you up, losing can drop you. I can safely say that it's the best competitive Halo has ever been. EVER. Unfortunately, as of writing this, there is a serious problem with a lack of gametypes available. Currently we have: Slayer, CTF, Strongholds (Domination) and Breakout (one life per round, no shield, neutral flag). Yes you read that correctly, there is no Infection. Or Oddball. Or Assault. 343i have stated multiple times that they're working on adding gametypes in the future as part of the monthly free updates (which also include new maps, weapons, cosmetics, etc) but so far these updates have been pretty disappointing as they seem to pander to the MLG crowd more than the core Halo playerbase.

Warzone is a much more 'casual' experience, but in the best way possible. It's Big Team Battle on steroids. If you've played Titanfall then it should feel familiar, but better in every way. 12v12, each team has a Home Base and there's three bases that players fight to control. After clearing out the AI Covenant/Prometheans from a base and capturing it, AI Marines for your team with spawn in to help defend it from the enemy. There's also a variety of "Boss" AI enemies that spawn in throughout the match, offering a large 'VP' reward to the team that manages to get the last shot on them. In order to win the match, a team must either accumulate 1,000 VP or control all three neutral bases, exposing the opposing team's Home Base Core and destroy it. The twist here is instead of power weapons/vehicles spawning around the map for players to use, they must 'earn' them. Each player has an individual level, increased by killing enemy Spartans, AI, or capturing bases, which allows them access to call in "REQs" (A Shotgun can be spawned at level 3, a Sniper Rifle at 6, a Phaeton Gunship at 8, etc.) But "energy", which is generated over time, acts as the currency used to 'buy' these REQs. The amount of energy each REQ costs is equal to the level required to have access to them, and your maximum energy is capped at whatever level you are at any given time. The system is spectacular and it really makes the "Warzone" feel like it's constantly escalating. Everyone starts with an Assault Rifle and a Magnum but towards the end of the match there's tanks, rockets and all other kinds of mayhem happening.

One common criticism I hear about the REQ system is how instead of every player having access to every weapon/vehicle all the time, you can only call in REQs from your pool of them. Basically how this system works is on top of earning XP from completed matches you also earn RP, which is used to purchase REQ packs from an in game store. What you get from these packs is completely randomised and if you run out of Sniper Rifle REQ cards, you have to buy more packs and hope you get some more. You can also use real money to buy REQ packs. The complaint I often hear is how it's essentially microtransactions, but this complaint is totally based on ignorance because the rate RP is earned is very generous (one Warzone match will earn you more than enough RP to buy a Bronze pack).

Campaign (tl;dr it's shit)
God fucking damn I fell for it. Halo 4 warned me that the Halo saga would be shit from here on out but I fell for the marketing. The Hunt the Truth audio series? The identical but opposite pair of trailers that aired during The Walking Dead's 5th season finale? The box art? All lies. This game isn't about the Master Chief being framed for crimes against humanity. It's a prologue to Halo 6. Granted, the level design is still top-tier, the new co-operative squad mechanics are awesome and Legendary difficulty is a decent challenge but fuck me the story is complete garbage. Of the 15 missions, you only play 3 (THREE!) as the Master Chief and Blue Team. At least these missions are the longest ones but Halo 2 had a much healthier balance of Chief/Arbiter missions. The rest you play as Spartan Locke, following Master Chief through his journey to find Cortana. Locke is a terrible character, somehow he has even less personality than Chief. The rest of 'Fireteam Osiris' (except Buck from Halo 3: ODST who honestly feels like he doesn't want to be there and would rather side with the Chief) are all just as one dimensional as Locke is. Vale's only memorable contribution is how impressed she is that The Arbiter has female Sangheili fighting with the males (although you never actually see female Elites fighting, there's only one who provides intel to you via comms) and Tanaka is as generic a black female character can be.

Spoiler

The "Big Showdown" between Chief and Locke happens halfway through the game and serves absolutely no purpose other than leaving Chief with a crack on his visor. The fistfight also looks like two people practicing hand to hand combat rather than actually trying to beat each other up. It's cringeworthy as fuck. The game ends on a Halo 2-tier cliffhanger. Holy shit I'm so mad I can't even continue writing about this shit without having a stroke.

Post your bold predictions for the year in this thread! Here's mine

• PlaystationVR - Will be priced at $400 for just the HMD, or $500 bundled with the move controllers. There will also be a bundle which includes all of this and a PS4 for $750.
  
  
• HTC Vive - Will cost $750 at launch (with motion controllers etc.)
  
  
• Oculus Rift - Oculus will announce a Facebook like social application for the Oculus Rift by the end of the year
  
  
• VR in General - Will slowly start to pick up steam as headsets start to ship, this won't be the "year of VR" though. Maybe by xmas we will see several price drops or bundles with games but I expect that 2016 will be the year that VR starts to find it's way into the marketplace. It won't be a huge deal until a lot more people have them in 2017 and beyond.
  
  
• No Man's Sky - Will be VR compatible
  
  
• Nintendo NX - Will be announced at E3, some sort of Wii U where the gamepad can play games separate from the console itself.
  
  
• We will see several games come out or announced with various versions of the Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor
  
• Several Star Wars games are announced including (but not limited to) a single player campaign focused game and a Tie Fighter/X Wing style game (possibly with VR support)
  

Pocket Mortys has just been released for iPhone and Android.

Quote:Join Ricks throughout the multiverse as they get swept up in the latest craze: Morty training! There are over 70 bizarre Mortys to recruit and train out there, including Mustache Morty, Wizard Morty, Cronenberg Morty and more. Assemble a dream team, then challenge rival Ricks by forcing your grandsons to battle each other. Command, combine and level up your Mortys to prove that you're the greatest Morty trainer of all space and time!

• Discover dozens and dozens of bizarre Mortys across the multiverse of Rick and Morty
  
• Train and combine your Mortys to level them up and watch them grow
  
• Battle rival Ricks from across the multiverse
  
• Encounter your favorite characters like Bird Person, Mr. Meeseeks and more
  
• Craft items and engage in tedious side quests
  
• Win prizes at the space arcade Blips and Chitz
  

I got Ground Zeroes pretty late into 2014 for a reasonable price, it was my first Metal Gear game and I was curious what all the fuss was about. I loved it so much that in anticipation for The Phantom Pain I went through and played all the previous MGS games. I wish that I hadn’t done so prior to playing The Phantom Pain because all it did was set me up for massive disappointment.

Don’t get me wrong I still really liked TPP but it was far from the experience I was conditioned by the previous games into expecting. Even Peace Walker, which shared the “Tactical Espionage Operations” tag instead of the “Tactical Espionage Action” of the older games, couldn’t clue me in because it still told a coherent and linear story albeit heavily and arbitrarily segmented.

Where it all went wrong for me was shortly after first arriving in Africa. By Episode 12 it really felt like the story was finally starting to pick up but after the admittedly spectacular Episode 13 I was back to doing “Main Ops” that seemed like they had as much relevance to the plot as the side ops did. There’s a great but short Metal Gear game hidden among a plethora of relatively irrelevant fluff. I totally get that a large part of the story is accepting any and all jobs unit to build up Diamond Dogs but I’m betting that if the game was given as much time/budget as it needed to be truly ‘finished’ then nearly half of the “Main Ops” would have ended up as those yellow ‘important’ Side Ops.

A lot of people are complaining about the recycled missions in Chapter 2. The problem I had with these was that there isn’t an Extreme, Subsistence and Total Stealth version of every mission. Why the fuck not? Ground Zeroes had Normal and Hard mode for every mission and the previous games had different difficulty settings, so why doesn’t this one?

Despite all these glaring shortcomings the core gameplay of TPP is the best MGS has ever seen. There is an almost unlimited number of ways to infiltrate every base and outpost. However despite all this openness I still have far less of a desire to replay TPP as I do the first 3 MGS games because the Mother Base metagame makes it all seem like such a chore and it’s not viable to completely ignore building up Diamond Dogs.

Spoiler

There isn’t much to say regarding the story because for the most part it’s great. I liked Skullface as a villain and it was cool how he ended up being effectively a sideplot to a much larger crisis. The Medic twist was underwhelming though, because it was too obvious. When The Boss AI Core said “It’s not you” I knew I wasn’t really Big Boss and then there were even more clues thrown in. Liquid not matching Venom’s DNA, Venom noticing the smell of the quarantine zone (Big Boss doesn’t have a sense of smell), etc. I was really hoping that all these were red herrings given how obvious the “twist” was made to the player before it happened.

I really, REALLY liked Venom as a character though. Most people will say things like “why doesn’t he speak more? Why get Kiefer Sutherland as the new VA if you’re not even going to take advantage of him?” and what I have to say to those people is this: Play the game again, but pay attention this time. Venom as a character is much more reserved than Big Boss. He’s been tricked into acting as Big Boss but he clearly isn’t sure what to make of it all. Kiefer Sutherland did a spectacular job as the VA but even better as the motion capture actor. During cutscenes Venom’s expression is often contemplative, he’s thinking to himself “What is Big Boss supposed to do here?” he ‘knows’ he’s Big Boss but he doesn’t think he’s Big Boss if that makes sense. As a result he ends up being a far more complex character than even Raiden was in MGS2.

Unfortunately none of the other characters were as complex. Kaz was great and I enjoyed every time he was on screen, but all too often he seemed as if he couldn’t decide whether he was a revenge obsessed warmonger or a business minded CEO. Quiet, despite being the only person to have a real character development arc throughout the game, felt extremely forced. I didn’t mind her costume (in fact I’m all for a Sniper to wear as little as possible to avoid overheating in the Afghan sun. I mean if she’s meant to be as skilled a sniper as everyone says she is then wearing more armour would be more hindrance than help) but the “justification” for it was fucking retarded and can you maybe get your ass out of my face for just 5 seconds? The biggest offense was Cortana Revolver Ocelot. Over the course of the series he became my favourite character because it was hard to tell what he was really up to most of the time. But in TPP he was fucking boring. I have a lot of respect for Troy Baker as a voice actor but he dropped the ball incredibly hard as Ocelot. Literally every other VA outperformed Baker which was probably the most unexpected twist all game.

I want to see how the HTC Vive does to compare in price, but this seems like bad news for Facebookulus.