Perhaps Naughty Dog's most celebrated game is heading for a PS4 release.
PlayStation spokesperson Sercan Sulan has stated there will be an eventual PS4 release of the highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic game; The Last of Us.
The news was brought to attention through Multiplayer during a video presentation, however Sulan is Turkish - thankfully IGN managed to translate key points:
"There is no information about a new The Last of Us game but I can share this knowledge; as of this summer, The Last of Us will be on the PS4. Both on PSN and physically."
"The PS4 version will also include the DLC so you will be able to play 'Left Behind' as well."
Since its release, The Last of Us has played host to a range of nominations and awards - more recently it was awarded best action & adventure as well as best overall game at the BAFTA Games Awards 2014.
The highly acclaimed Naughty Dog title has reached an impressive sales milestone.
Community Strategist of Naughty Dog, Eric Monacelli, has revealed through the EU PlayStation blog that The Last of Us has surpassed 6 million sales, which should come as no surprise considering the amount of critical praise and rewards the title has received since launch.
More recently, the game took home five awards at the BAFTA Games Awards 2014, including winner of best action & adventure, best game, best story, among others.
The recently released story-based DLC; Left Behind, has also reached a significant accomplishment, making its way to the ranks of highest rated PS3 downloadable content of all time.
Naughty Dog has confirmed The Last of Us movie will be an adapation of the game's narrative.
After the recent announcement of an official The Last of Us movie, it has now been confirmed the narrative will be an adaptation of the story seen in the game. It was Naughty Dog's very own Neil Druckmann, who is also responsible for creating The Last of Us.
IGN spoke with Druckmann at the BAFTA Game Awards, saying:
"It's an adaptation of the story of The Last of Us."
"As far as where we go and how we make it fit into a film, how it takes into account the unique properties of film... we're not sure yet. We're only scratching the surface."
What we currently know is that Druckmann will be writing the script, whilst other talents working on the project include Naughty Dog's co-presidents Evan Wells and Christopher Balestra, game director Bruce Straley, and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi.
Despite its recent downfall, the Crash Bandicoot series started out as something truly incredible which defined an entire generation of gamers.
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released: August, 1996
Genre: Platform
History/Storyline
Before Crash Bandicoot, Naughty Dog had some games out there such as Keef the Thief and Way of the Warrior, among others - yet these didn't really put the company on the map so to speak. It wasn't until 1996 when Crash Bandicoot launched exclusively on PlayStation in which we really saw what Naughty Dog had to offer the industry - one of the most innovative and enjoyable games of all time. Sure, the company might be currently praised for The Last of Us, but let's not forget where this company's incredible story really began to take shape.
During a trip to Los Angeles, California, co-creators Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin came up with the idea for Crash Bandicoot as it was suited to their idea of creating a platforming game with a distinguishable character to match. The initial concepts were also aided through analysing which genres were being adapted to 3D the most successfully at the time, and wanted to bring the platform genre into the equation.
The story consists of the notorious Doctor Neo Cortex and his experiments up in his castle with wild animals and granting them highly powerful strength, this is where Crash himself comes in - originally planned as another subject in the Cortext Vortex machine, Crash was rejected, which enraged the Doctor, leading to a very entertaining pursue straight out of the castle and straight to the vast ocean below.
Another experiment was Tawna, the female equivalent to Crash - having become attached to her during captivity, it would become Crash's mission to work his way back to the castle and eventually rescue her, and this is where the game starts on the well-known N. Sanity Island level.
Crash himself in between the "princess" and "villain",
showcasing what he's fighting for throughout the game.
Graphics
Crash Bandicoot featured some of the best and vibrant graphics, each level had this beautifully polished sheen that brought the most out of the PlayStation's capabilities at the time, and its partly due to its visuals that the game stands as one of the most memorable games of all time.
Each character had their own unique look, for example Crash first introduced his famous blue shorts, which he would continue to wear throughout the franchise, Neo Cortex had that quesitonable hairstyle complete with a huge 'N' printed on his huge forehead, whilst Tawna sported that sexy and desirable look.
It's unfortunate the same couldn't be said about the various enemies, most are generic animals, which still look impressive visually, but didn't offer much in terms of imagination. With that said, each boss also featured their own distinguishable graphical characteristics - this made for an instantly memorable experience thanks to the detail put into the character modelling.
All of the levels had their own themes which were brought to life through the time and effort put into enhancing the environments textures - some levels featured jungle scenery, whilst another might include fog effects accompanied with ice and snow elements. This added a level of depth that made each new level exciting to play.
Ripper Roo, one of Cortex's first creations stands as one of the most iconic bosses in the game.
Music/Audio
Ooga-Booga!
Anyone who's played Crash Bandicoot should remember how catchy and plain entertaining the music was and still is when heard today, whether it's that all too familiar theme song played (see below) as you were heading into the game or those tunes that manage to set the atmosphere and tone for whatever level you're currently playing.
A good example of this is "Hog Wild, Whole Hog" (see below), which accompanies the hectic gameplay involving Crash riding a hog through tight narrow spaces, all whilst avoiding traps and enemies at an accelerated pace, and it's because of the song that this particular level becomes even more frenzied. It's fast-paced and exciting, perfectly reflecting the level itself.
Sound effects enhanced the game further, especially when it came to Crash's famous spin-attack - this whirlwind sound would follow as you defeated enemies or smashed through boxes, there was a strange satisfaction hearing that gust of wind. Other noticeable sounds included the countdown to a TNT box exploding, the roar of a fire as it almost burns Crash' furry backside, or that cartoon-sounding whistle that occurred when falling to your death from a high platform.
Hog Wild, Whole Hog
Theme Song
Gameplay
One of the most unique elements to Crash Bandicoot was its ability to create different gameplay experiences with the majority of levels played, some levels you either played through a perspective in which you controlled Crash as he had to progress head-on as opposed to the usual left and right movement most of us were used to back then (Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Megaman).
If you managed to get three Aku Aku mask's (see below), Crash became invincible and would be able to dash his way through enemies like they weren't even there, they also made one of the most memorable sounds in gaming history - the "Ooga-Booga!" noise upon collecting a mask.
Aku Aku became to be one of the most recognised items in gaming.
Of course, there were levels featuring left and right movement, and sometimes you didn't take control of Crash in the traditional sense - rather rode on the back of a hell-bent hog as he rampaged through the level in an on-rails type of gameplay. All of this meant practically each level offered a different way of playing the game, which a few games tried to do before but never really succeeded - Crash Bandicoot utilized this perfectly, making for an incredible experience.
You would traverse three islands in total, all whilst fighting various boss battles along the way - a total of 32 levels are playable, including ones that can only be accessed through collecting the appropriate amount of gems, which were rewarded through breaking all boxes in a level. Some influences from well-known platformers make themselves known in the game - the fact you'd have to collect 100 pieces of Wumba Fruit to gain an additional life much like you'd do in Super Mario Bros. but with coins. This is by no means a bad thing, influences from such iconic games made Crash Bandicoot one of the best games of all time.
The world map, showing off obvious influences from previous platformers such as Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World.
Tons of replayability is added, such as going back to previous levels in order to 100% the game by seeking out all of those gems, playing through those (often extremely difficult) secret levels, completing all the bonus stages, and so forth - there's a level of depth in this game that would keep you occupied for a lengthy amount of time. Crash Bandicoot is a perfect example of outstanding game-design through and through, whether it's the graphics, audio, or gameplay - Naughty Dog created an incredibly fun game, all whilst offering that level of challenge that could appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. feature1
Available in North America to watch free of charge at Amazon, viewers will be treated with an in-depth insiders perspective on the development process of creating such a highly acclaimed game.
Monacelli goes on to reassure those living outside the US - "Grounded will be coming to the PlayStation YouTube channel very soon."
In other The Last of Us news, its first story-DLC was released last week titled Left Behind, which follows Ellie and the events taken place before meeting up with Joel in the main narrative.
The Last of Us managed to sweep up most of the awards, which probably came as no surprise.
The 17th DICE awards took place recently - an event that highlights some of the biggest achievements in the gaming industry, including the likes of 'Game of the Year' and 'Hall of Fame'.
This year, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us took the majority of awards with a total of ten, including some of the highly sought awards available. Check below for the full list of categories and winners.
Game of the Year
The Last of Us
Hall of Fame Award
Sam House, Dan House and Leslie Benzies (Rockstar Games)
Naughty Dog's highly popular title has already become a highlight in the upcoming DICE awards.
Racking up a total of 13 nominations spreading various categories, The Last of Us even surpasses the likes of Grand Theft Auto V and Bioshock Infinite. The game was released in June 2012 exclusively to PlayStation 3, quickly gaining mass amounts of popularity.
For a full list of its nominations, see below.
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Ourstanding Character Performance x2 (Joel and Ellie)
Activison want to bring back the Crash Bandicoot series, despite of rumours they sold the IP to Sony.
Earlier in the week, rumours spread throughout the industry which lead to believe Activision would be selling the Crash Bandicoot IP back to Sony. Disproving these allegations, the company spoke with Game Informer:
"Activision owns Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series back to life."
The first Crash Bandicoot game was released in 1996 on the PlayStation, the game was then owned by Naughty Dog (The Last Of Us, Uncharted) until 1999, since then the franchise has been juggled around between numerous developers including Eurocom, Traveller's Tales, Radical Entertainment, and so on.
If a reboot was to happen, would you want it stay true to the original style of gameplay or focus on something new complete? Comment below.
Although the new video doesn't say Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog have definitely teased an Uncharted game coming to PS4.
During the PS4 launch event over at Spike TV, a new teaser trailer was shown revealing that the Uncharted franchise will be making its way to Sony's newly released PS4 console. As expected, the game will stay exclusive to PlayStation.
The short video shows a map (which looks very Uncharted-esque), along with a voice-over from a yet to be announced character saying the following: "Some chains can never be broken. I lost 15 years buried alive - erased - you left me rotting in that hell hole and never looked back. But you can't out run the past and when it catches up, when all your lies collapse around you - I'll be there sifting through the wreckage. You owe me." Various locations on the map include Cape of Good Hope, St. Mary, and the Madagascar, as well as many others, already showing the game is likely to be set in very illustrative environments, much like previous games in the series. Check out the video below - can you think who the voice is? Comment with your opinions.
Previous DLC will now be completely free-of-charge, and a new map has also been unveiled.
Since its release 2 years ago, Naughty Dog are celebrating by making all the DLC multiplayer maps available to everyone, with no cost what so ever. Alongside this announcement, a new map titled Dry Docks has been revealed - set upon a very wet and slippery dock during the night.
Community Strategist at Naughty Dog praises the Uncharted community and fanbase, saying:
"It's been two years since Uncharted 3 was released. Our community is simply amazing, and we're looking to make it stronger than ever. To that end, we combed over a multitude of comments and forum posts to see what you wanted changed in the multiplayer game. We took the most highly-sought changes mentioned and made them happen. The list of those changes is below, and it's an epic patch that rivals patch 1.13"
You might remember Dry Docks in the beta gameplay videos released prior to Uncharted 3's release, but it never made it to the final version of the game - Naughty Dog are bringing that map pack with many improvements. There were various reasons the map never made the original cut, one of those being time investment: "It made sense to prevent our art team from investing time into the multiplayer version of Dry Docks to match the level of quality we adhere to at Naughty Dog --- therefore the Dry Docks map was cut."
Heavy rain pollutes the docks, creating a hectic atmosphere.
A view of the map from a distance, displaying both the boat and dock area.
A full list of the new patch details can be seen below.
Maps
All DLC maps are now available to download for free! Go to the in-game store and download the Flashback Map Pack 1, 2, and Drake’s Deception Map Pack.
Dry Docks makes its triumphant debut and is available in all competitive playlists and custom games!
Co-op
Old Quarter map has been added to Co-op arena mode.
The drop rate for all co-op treasures has been increased.
Old Quarter has been removed from the Hunter Arena playlist.
Weapons
Hipfire accuracy has been greatly reduced on all weapons, along with the angle and distance at which the auto lock engages. But Blindfire from cover has not been changed.
Increased recoil on the M9.
Decreased recoil on FAL-SS.
Rate of Fire mod has been decreased on the M9, Arm Micro, and KAL-7.
The recoil of the last round fired in a G-MAL burst has been significantly reduced.
The burst delay and recoil have been reduced on the Raffica.
The accuracy mod on the Raffica has been slightly improved.
The recoil has been reduced on the Tau Sniper and the weapon does not automatically scope.
The rate of fire mod has increased effectiveness for the Tau Sniper.
Gameplay
Sprint maneuverability moderately reduced.
Mega Bombs and Cluster Bombs can no longer be thrown back (competitive mode only).
The Marked Man power play now occurs when a team is up 8 kills instead of 6.
The Exposed power play occurs when a team is up 10 kills instead of 8, and the range that player names appear has been reduced from 40 meters to 20.
The Double Damage power play now occurs when a team is up 15 kills instead of 10, and the damage the losing team does is only x1.5 instead of x2.
Deathmatch has been removed from Team Objective.
Increase score limit in three-team Deathmatch from 20 to 25.
Increase score limit of free-for-all from 15 to 20.
Multiple steps have been added during the matchmaking process to help find games with lower ping. Wait times to find matches during off peak hours may increase.
Medal Kickbacks
The Medal Kickback Creepy Crawler now costs 12 medals and lasts for 25 seconds.
Quick Boom now costs 12 medals and lasts for 12 seconds.
Explosives now costs 5 medals.
Boosters
Slot 1 now has Kickback Endurance, Ammo Award, Bargain, and Team Safe
Slot 2 now has Beast Mode, Regeneration, Explosive Expert, and Explosive Shell Expert.
Bargain paid booster cost increase from $100k to $250k.
PING paid booster cost increase from $100k to $250k.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy HD System: PlayStation 3
Fun Fact: The game was originally going to have a third main character
I played this game back originally on the PlayStation 2 (That seems so far way), and I instantly fell in love with it - the simple fact alone the game spawns from the offices of Naughty Dog made me instantly think that yes, this game is going to be incredibly fun and there's going to be a lot of laughs along the way.
So, thanks to PlayStation+, the original trilogy of the Jak series was released, I was ecstatic about this because it gave me a chance to play one of my favourite platformers of all time once again - this time in HD and with trophy support. I admit, I'm a sucker for trophies.
Jak II HD
System: PlayStation 3
Since I have recently finished the first in the series, it would make sense to go straight on to it's sequel; Jak II Renegade. I have had the original PlayStation 2 version in my collection for quite some time but never really got around to playing it properly.
I'm about 25% into the main storyline and to be honest, this game has nothing on The Precursor Legacy. I do enjoy the gameplay and the narrative is entertaining enough, but something is missing - maybe it's the lack of collectibles and the linear mission system.
Of course, I'll still finish the game and I may even change my mind but at this point, I see Jak II as a downgrade from The Precusor Legacy.
Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters
System: MegaDrive/Genesis
Fun Fact: Lethal Enforcers I and II were bundled together on
one disc for the PlayStation release.
Lethal Enforcers is a series I've never heard of until recently when a friend suggested playing it, I'm aware their are many versions of the game - arcade, Sega CD, and so fourth but I'm playing the MegaDrive version currently.
The game is light gun compatible, but without having an actual light gun I had to play through it using a gamepad, which was quite awkward if I'm being honest, however I did finish it and still had a ton of fun.
I'm currently in the process of re-playing the game but this time with light gun support, with the use of an emulator and I can say it's so much more fun and a whole lot easier to play, the hit system is actually really well done.
It plays like most light gun games - shoot enemies, try to not shoot the innocents, and try not to get yourself killed along the way. Really nice game set in the wild west, but in no way a contender to the likes of Time Crisis. Feature1
