News
9 CommentsMario & Luigi: Paper Jam will challenge your hand-eye coordination
Playing Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam feels, at first, a bit like patting your head, rubbing your stomach and scratching your nose with a third appendage.The cross-over game, announced this week at E3, combines the Mario & Luigi role-playing series with another well-loved franchise, Paper Mario. In practice, this means that you're given Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario to control simultaneously. And, as I recently learned during a demo of the game, it can get a little tricky.
My mission was fairly simple: I had to find enemies carrying helpless paper Toads and stomp 'em out in turn-based battles. Getting this done proved to be a little tricky. In the style of previous Mario & Luigi games, you control Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario on the field. Each character has a designated button to jump, and...
Report
0 CommentsStarbreeze's Walking Dead VR experience is a stand-alone game and will support SteamVR
Though we got hands-on time with Overkill's surprise Walking Dead virtual reality experience earlier this week, we still had a lot of questions. Chief among them: How much does this demo actually represent the previously-announced Overkill's The Walking Dead?
Now we have the answer to that question, but it's still a little complicated.
"These two things are two completely separate things," says Starbreeze global brand director Almir Listo. "You have Overkill's The Walking Dead for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam, which is one game. Then you have this demo that is made for E3 that is its own game. These are two different entities. They will, however, share the same universe and the same storyline. However, one thing you'll experience in one of them, and you might not be able to...
Cover Story
Issue
07
June 8, 2015
The race for VR
Exclusive coverage of some of the most exciting game studios working in virtual reality.
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7 CommentsYoshi's Woolly World melted my cold, dead heart
Nintendo is a company that creates new games in long-running franchises like Mario, Star Fox or Zelda almost ad nauseam. It's a seemingly never-ending rotation with each new title trying to top the last. And while new titles do often innovate, they still tend to pack one of two powerful punches: nostalgia, or an undeniable cute factor.
Yoshi's Woolly World might just be the perfect combination of both.
Like previous Yoshi games, Woolly World is a platformer that sees you hopping through levels, throwing eggs and licking just about everything. It's new big hook this time around is its yarn-y look — and, actually, it's a pretty good one. Yoshi bumps his brain against baskets to get more yarn ball eggs; he literally unravels parts of the levels to uncover secrets; and everything about...
Report
11 CommentsDICE has a third mystery game that it's not showing at E3
With the excellent-looking Mirror's Edge Catalyst and the long-awaited Star Wars Battlefront on display, DICE is one of the busiest developers at this year's E3. But that's not all the company has in the works.
In an interview with Polygon at E3, DICE general manager Patrick Bach let the news slip: "We have three projects in the works right now."
When questioned about that number, he laughed and asked, "Did I say that?"
There have been some rumors floating around about DICE's Los Angeles studio working on a secret project, possibly Battlefield: Bad Company 3. According to EA itself, the next Battlefield game will be released next year, between October and December — more or less a year after the Nov. 17, 2015 release date for Star Wars Battlefront.
The most recent Battlefield game, B...
News
10 CommentsHere's what we know about Square Enix's new Nier
When Square Enix unveiled a new Nier game at its E3 press conference it didn't have too many details to share. Here's what we knew at the time: Square Enix is collaborating with Platinum Games to create the new Nier, and a few well-known Japanese game designers, character designers and musicians are on board to develop the sequel.Here's what we know now about the mysterious action role-playing game.
The new Nier is not titled Nier 2. Square Enix was cagey about the actual name of the game, but the game's producer says there are reasons for that.
"The problem is there's a word in the subtitle that plays a vital role, and would give away some of the game's [concept]," Square Enix's Yosuke Saito said in a translated interview with Polygon at E3. Saito said they'll announce the game's...
News
6 CommentsShenmue 3's size will be dependent on the money raised
One of the biggest fan reactions during PlayStation's E3 press conference this week was news that fan-favorite Shenmue was finally getting a third title, said Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Computer Entertainment's head of world wide studios.
While the enthusiastic reaction was driven almost entirely by news of Shenmue 3, the continued interest seems driven in part by questions of how game director Yu Suzuki was going to make the game with so sparse a budget.
The game's announcement came with a pretty massive caveat: Shenmue 3 was seeking funding through a Kickstarter campaign. And it only was asking for $2 million. That compared to the $47 million that Suzuki once estimated it would cost.
Yoshida says that discrepancy is due to a number of factors.
"This is not a Sega project, they...
News
148 CommentsPlayStation still not considering backward compatibility for PS4
News during Microsoft's E3 press conference this week that limited Xbox 360 backward compatibility was coming to the Xbox One was met with a roar of approval.
The surprise announcement, coming so long after the launch of the Xbox One, also caught the attention of Sony. But not enough to get the company to reconsider its take on PlayStation backward compatibility.
"The backward compatibility news was interesting," said Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment's head of world wide studios. "The technology involved must be very challenging.
"I'm interested in seeing the list of titles."
Earlier in the week, Xbox head of publishing Shannon Loftis said the Xbox One will essentially be running an Xbox 360 emulator and that the decision to create support on the Xbox One for a number of...
News
2 CommentsJoe Montana Football 16 coming to mobile devices, see the first footage
Joe Montana Football 16, the Unreal Engine 4-based football video game that Montana began teasing last year, is in development for mobile devices, developer Superstar Games announced today.
Damon Grow of San Francisco-area developer Superstar Games said in an E3 interview with Epic Games that the studio plans to launch Joe Montana Football 16 in "phases." The studio is focusing on iOS first, and will then bring the game to Android. Operation Sports reports that if the mobile versions do well, Superstar will release the game on PC.
Must Read
Joe Montana Football 16 in development in Unreal Engine 4, says Joe Montana
The video interview, which you can watch above, contains the first gameplay footage of Joe Montana Football 16. It is a full 11-on-11 football video...
Opinion
111 CommentsShenmue's 3 budget is a mystery, Yu Suzuki isn't talking, and why that's a problem
Sony gave a significant portion of its E3 press conference to the announcement that Shenmue 3 is going into production ... as long as fans were OK with providing $2 million via Kickstarter.
The campaign was funded in a number of hours, and Shenmue 3 will likely become one of, if not the, most funded games in Kickstarter's history. It's clear the fans are behind the project, and Sony is happy to bring the final product to the PlayStation 4 upon completion; the company is even contributing to the development of the game.
Which is part of my problem with this project: The fans are being asked to "fund" the game, but we have no clue what the actual budget of the game will be, nor where the funds will ultimately come from.
More questions than answers
We're being asked to jumpstart a...
Movies
9 CommentsDid you catch Jimmy Buffett's cameo in Jurassic World?
One of the more subtle jokes in Jurassic World is the quiet presence of that staple of overpriced, under-classed theme park nightlife wining and dining: a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville franchise location.
A joke that was perhaps less subtle was a single-shot gag, among a montage of tourists running screaming from a swarm of prehistoric flying beasts, of a man who had the presence of mind to pick up a margarita in each fist and gently guide them out of the restaurant before it was smashed to pieces by scaly, living projectiles.
He's been recognized as a hero by many, but perhaps best immortalized in this animation by enerJax on Tumblr:
http://enerjax.tumblr.com/post/121434947242/its-obvious-who-stole-the-show-in-jurassicworld
But moviegoers of a certain age are better able to...
Latest Reviews
E3 2015
11 CommentsKerbal Space Program is coming to PS4, highlights Sony's strength in Latin America (update)
Kerbal Space Program for PlayStation 4 was announced last night during Sony's presentation to Latin American countries, live from E3 in Los Angeles. Polygon sat down with KSP's producer Miguel Sabido via Skype from his office in Mexico City to learn more about the port and what it means for the developers at Squad.
"We've been eyeing consoles for a while," Sabido told Polygon. "The current ones are capable of running a game like KSP really well, if not fantastically depending on our optimization. But whenever we tried to put it into a plan it would just get in the way of development."
Thanks to a dearth of PC gaming in Latin America, KSP is relatively unknown there. Sabido hopes that coming to the PS4 will give them added sales momentum.
KSP only recently emerged from...
News
8 CommentsHalo holograms make for an interesting Warzone pre-briefing
The Halo HoloLens experience in Microsoft's mammoth E3 booth feels more like something you'd find in a theme park than a trade show.
Microsoft invited press onto the show floor a couple of hours before it opened. We were escorted through a backdoor and into a line outside what looked to be a futuristic base. After a short wait, the faux steel-plated doors slid open and we walked along steel grates into a room decked out to look like something pulled from the Halo universe. Seats lined the walls and scientists in white jackets bustled about the room's center column which included two seats and an array of scientific equipment.
"Alright Spartans listen up, welcome to Halo Warzone," one of the scientists said. "This is an exclusive event using Microsoft HoloLens for a personal immersive...
News
17 CommentsSony celebrates E3 with some great deals on wonderful games
Nintendo has put a few of its biggest games on sale to celebrate E3 2015, and Sony has its own sale with some great games. Here are our picks, in case you're curious.
Destiny Digital Guardian Edition for $49.49 (down from $89.99)
Grand Theft Auto 5 bundle for $32 (down from $79.99)
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition for $23.19 (down from $39.99)
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for $15 (down from $29.99)
Batman Arkham Asylum or Arkham City for $8 (down from $19.99)
You can check out the entire list, searchable by genre or device, and there's some great deals to be found in here. The sale ends Monday, June 22. Let us know what you pick up!
News
4 CommentsA hands-on with Oculus Rift reveals only the beginning of a long journey
Having Insomniac make a game for the Oculus Rift wasn't a good idea. It was a great idea.The virtual reality headset has been around for a couple of years in a couple of different forms. At GDC 2015, I strapped on the real deal and played real games. They call it the CV1. Revealed last week, it's the version that Oculus believes is finally ready for consumers' hands, heads and, at the risk of being dramatic, hearts.
Here's the thing: I'm inclined to agree.
But the thing that makes VR so mesmerizing is also the thing that makes it such a difficult sell. Writing about using virtual reality, I am acutely aware, is entirely different from experiencing virtual reality — and it is an experience. If you wind up one day a true believer, it'll probably only happen after you've strapped in,...
Opinion
100 CommentsFive ways to improve E3's (kinda awful) PC Gaming Show
PC Gamer and a small army of sponsors put on E3's first ever PC Gaming Show last night. It was a long-needed addition to an already packed E3 conference schedule; a place for the PC platform to take center stage rather than being a second thought in the midst of hype for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's console efforts.
It was also kind of a disaster.
Maybe that's to be expected for the first try at a new show, but consensus among a lot of viewers seemed to be that the passion of PC gaming deserved to be better represented on the stage at E3. I agree, and I've got some ideas for how they can properly pull it off next time.
1. For the love of god, make it shorter
Sony has held the top honors for having a yearly press conference that often runs quite a bit longer than necessary. Until...
Photo Essay
33 CommentsCompare Gears of War: Ultimate Edition's facelift to the original game
It's easy to let nostalgia distort what the games we played almost a decade ago looked like. The most recent example of a possible victim of this tendency would be The Coalition's upcoming Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
While Ultimate Edition isn't a fully new game, it's not just a cleaner, sharper version of the original. The Coalition and their partners at Splash Damage have gone to a lot of trouble to bring Gears of War into the modern era in a way that doesn't look jarringly different, while also making concessions to the expectations of modern audiences.
Below, you can see for yourself, using our slider tool to see the original Gears of War, in 720p on Xbox 360, and in 1080p on Xbox One after the Ultimate Edition treatment.
...
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