Metareview: Dead Island: Riptide

Dead Island: Riptide, the pseudo sequel to paradise-gone-wrong simulatorDead Island, shares one clear trait with its predecessor. No, not zombies (but, yeah, those are in there). It's that reviews are all over the place for the game's launch. The original Dead Island entered into a similarly hostile critical climate, but went on to sell 5 million units globally. Our Riptide review will be available later this week.

• Game Informer (80/100): "Riptide's flaws are many, but they couldn't hold me back from having a blast. Few games nail the visceral feel of melee combat and co-op fun like Dead Island. At its worst, an annoying hiccup breaks the immersion of the grizzly trek through a zombie-infested paradise. At its best, Riptide hits the same high notes as the original."
• IGN (72/100): "Technically, it's done nothing to build itself into a great game. Rather than fix the graphics and the performance problems that plagued the original two years ago, Techland slightly modified the setting and delivered a new character and more content. It's a fun time, but there are no surprises or killer new features to make it an impressive package."
• Eurogamer (60/100): "What makes that so sad is that this feels like a series only a few great decisions away from being really good. A better script with a sense of humor, a bit more imagination in quest design, more coherent inventory management and character development... These things shouldn't be unattainable goals for a developer that must be flush from the unexpected success of the first game."
• VideoGamer (50/100): "On the whole however Riptide is yet another missed opportunity, and just too painfully average, wonky and padded out with filler to truly recommend."
• Gamespot (40/100): "Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn't fun in a game that's all about slaying zombies, why bother? "

Metal Gear Solid 'Legacy Collection' brings a box of Snakes to PS3 in June

The Metal Gear Solid "Legacy Collection" found on a Korean rating has now been officially announced by Konami. The PS3 collection brings together Metal Gear Solid, the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker, and the "Trophy Edition" of Metal Gear Solid 4, along with the relatively hard-to-find Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions and two digital graphic novels by Ashley Wood, in a handsome package that might make some consider buying them again. 

Metal Gear fans have an affinity for fancy cardboard boxes. The collection will be released in North and South America in June. Konami has yet to specify a price.

The Evil Within protagonist makes do without 'extraordinary powers'

The Evil Within won't empower the player beyond "appropriate" weaponry and a delicate dearth of ammunition, claims Director Shinji Mikami.

"We're not giving the player really any extraordinary powers," he told IGN, "but we don't want to go in the opposite direction and not give them any means of fighting back – that would violate the rules of survival horror. So we're looking at appropriate types of weapons with a limited amount of ammunition in order to get them through ... if they're good."

The Evil Within follows a detective named Sebastian, an unfortunate soul summoned to a distorted, labyrinthine asylum crawling with creepy things. Mikami sees the premise as a source of proper scares, and frames it in an overtly cinematic way – right down to the survival-horror game's wider aspect ratio of 2.35:1. (As with some films, this means you'll see black bars above and below the image on HDTVs, which are typically in 16:9 ratio.)

Mikami's approach is reflected, arguably to a fault, in a live-action trailer forThe Evil Within. If you have trouble stomaching the more grotesque parts, just substitute the gore for gourmet foods. The gnarled corpse becomes chicken, and the final shot is spaghetti escaping confinement in a microwave.

Bloomberg: Next Xbox has X86 AMD chip

Microsoft will match Sony's example and use an X86 series processor from AMD in its next console, according to Bloomberg's anonymous sources. The still-unannounced console is said to use a "Jaguar" CPU with integrated GPU, abandoning the IBM PowerPC tech used in the Xbox 360.

That means, like the PS4, the new Xbox will have difficulty emulating its predecessor, since it will be built on different architecture. The good news, however, is that with both of those consoles (allegedly) using similar architecture, and PCs also similarly laid out, multiplatform game development will be much easier.

Except for the Wii U, of course.

The Verge reports that Microsoft is holding some kind of event on May 21, believed to be an Xbox event.

Sony's Xperia SP pairs with DualShock 3 controller, a nice merlot

Sony's Xperia SP smartphone will be able to sync with the PlayStation 3's DualShock 3 controller, allowing you to ditch the onscreen gamepad in compatible PlayStation Mobile games. The DualShock 3 connects to the Xperia SP via Bluetooth.

The DualShock 3 should work with any games that support a USB gamepad.Finally, an excuse to bring a smartphone and a full-size DualShock 3 on the bus.

[April Fool] Microsoft Skipping Next-Gen Console War; Will Focus on Game Publishing

2013 was long thought to be the year the next generation of video game consoles becomes a reality, and after Sony’s official unveiling of the PS4, that future has finally become all the more real. Sony’s reveal was only one part of the equation though, with the other being Microsoft’s new console.

Many believed that gamers might see a next-gen unveiling from Microsoft at this year’s E3, while a more recent rumor suggested the publisher was taking a page from its competitor’s book and staging its own April event. As it turns out, though, neither are true.

In a sudden turn of events, Microsoft today confirmed they will NOT be releasing an Xbox 360 successor, but will be sticking to software development and publishing for the foreseeable future. After seeing what the PS4 was capable of, and looking at their own in-development next-gen hardware, Microsoft realized there was no way they could compete in the necessary time frame. And so, they have followed the old adage of, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Microsoft broke the news in a Press Release earlier today, which said the company was “very impressed” with what Sony had unveiled, and thought it best not to split the market for the next-gen:

“We looked at what Sony was doing, took a concerted look at our own console, and then decided it was in our best interests not to move forward with our next-gen console. Instead we plan to move into the development and publishing space, and have put into place the early phases of a partnership with Sony whereby all of our content would appear on the PS4.”

When asked what this would mean for in-development projects like the nextGears of War and Halo 5, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wouldn’t say much, but hinted that gamers should keep their eyes peeled to Sony’s E3 press conference for more news.

This means that future iterations of Microsoft’s prized franchises are all headed to PC and most surprisingly, Sony’s console, crossing a boundary that has never before been crossed. More gamers than ever will be able to experience some of this past generation’s most successful franchises.

This unexpected revelation should put gamers in a tailspin as they no longer have to save up for multiple consoles. Additionally, the “console wars” that have been fought for over a decade has lost one of its key combatants. With Nintendo losing favor among the next-gen crowd, it’s now down to the PS4 and PC in the battle for next-gen supremacy.

What do you think about Microsoft skipping the next-gen and moving into games publishing exclusively? Is this a smart move on their part?