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September 24th State Of Play Recap

State of Play recap

State of Play has come and gone with yet another laundry list of announcements. Not gonna lie, it’s a mixed bag, much like the others. But here’s a recap of September’s State of Play.

Humanity

September’s SOP kicked off with an announcement trailer for the bizarre game, Humanity. The game itself is still a bit behind closed doors. According to the PlayStation Blog, it is a game about how “a transcendental being would interpret “human-like” behavior”.

The game is being developed by THA, a company that it isn’t directly a game developer, but rather a group of individuals making various computer media. It will also be published by Enhance who worked on Rez.

No concrete release date here, only a 2020 time frame.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

A new cinematic trailer was released for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It shed some light on a bit more of the story. The blog post tied to the trailer referred to the story as more or less how conflicts affect everyone.

The beta is currently going on and you can expect to see it litter store shelves October 25, 2019.

Wattam

From the mind of Katamari Damacy comes Wattam. First announced back in 2014, the game fell off the Earth with some mention of it here and there, but finally, it’s coming. In the trailer, we see Katamari-esque characters roaming around, holding each other’s hands, and some are even eating each other for some reason.

The game’s Steam page indicates there is plenty of content to unlock with upwards of 100 characters waiting for the player to acquire. It also notes you can play solo or co-op.

This time around, Wattam was given a release date of sometime this December.

Arise: A Simple Story

Arise: A Simple Story is the break-in title for Piccolo Studio. The game appears to take Norse inspiration with the trailer opening as your body is burned on land, a common tradition. The player then has to traverse across Limbo and go past landscapes that vary based on the past of the protagonist.

The player has to scale dark mountains and platform across giant dandelions. Not much is known about the game aside from what the trailer shows and what the PlayStation Blog says about it. The game is about the ups and downs of life.

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files

Rockstar has finally launched its L.A. Noire VR version to PlayStation Tuesday. Putting you back in the shoes of Detective Cole Phelps. Not only can you solve mysteries, but they also took advantage of the VR. The VR version has new minigames that the player can take part in such as boxing, speed racing, and a shooting gallery.

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is out now.

Other VR Releases

In a tightly-knit 1-minute trailer, multiple games were updated for the State of Play. After The Fall, a co-op VR shooter by the same people who did Arizona Sunshine, got its release window set for next year.

The sci-fi-inspired Stardust Oddessy was announced. The entire game’s concept is to change what people think when playing sci-fi. It’s not made to be a cold futuristic design, but rather a nice and warm one. Your goal seems to be to sail across the sky.

Gorn, the overly cartoony gladiator VR title is making its way to the PSVR this winter. The game is off-the-wall and very physics-based, which means it’s ridiculously random on what will happen. Maybe while you’re pulling a guy’s head off it will just refuse to pop off for a while or they go flying in the air when hit with an axe.

MediEvil Short-Lived Demo

With October right around the corner, MediEvil has released a demo under the name MediEvil Short-Lived Demo for players to get and get their hands on Dan’s Helmet. The demo is going to require the player go through and fight enemies and in the end, if you acquire the once Japanese-exclusive item, you will be awarded a “special challenge” in the full game.

The demo is – as described – short-lived as you can only get your hands on the demo until October 6. After that, you only have to wait until October 11 when the game releases.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI coming to PS4

For so long fans have waited for this, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is coming to the PS4. This is a long-time coming as the PlayStation consoles have trudged over a decade without the turn-based strategy game on it.

Knowing how long it’s been, if you’re aren’t aware of the ins and outs or the details you need to be wary of, 2K gave a general warning.

Civilization VI is headed to the PS4 on November 22, 2019.

Death Stranding limited edition PS4 Pro

As per their usual, Sony showed off their new PS4 Pro special edition for the release of Death Stranding. Being one of the most anticipated games to be released to the console, Death Stranding is the inspiration behind their next PS4 Pro limited edition.

The edition will include two hand prints across a white body. The controller is a semi-transparent yellow controller complete with just enough transparency that you can see some of the inner workings.

Death Stranding is coming to store shelves and digital marketplaces on November 8, 2019.

Afterparty check-in

Oxenfree creator, Night School Studio, was the subject of a section of State of Play with a new trailer for their upcoming death-based Afterparty. Taking place in literal Hell, you control Milo and Lola on a mission to out drink the Devil in order to get back to their regular lives. But, before you can do that, you need to out-drink his relatives and deal with the generic party games and lava pits.

Afterparty is launching sometime this fall.

October PlayStation Plus lineup

Unlike most of their announcements, they announced the next games to be free on PlayStation Plus. Those games being MLB The Show 19 and The Last of Us Remastered.

If you’re a fan of baseball then you may find this a decent deal. If you’re eagerly awaiting The Last of Us Part 2 and don’t have the original on hand, then here’s your chance to snag The Last of Us.

The Last of Us Part 2

No one can deny that they didn’t see this coming, The Last of Us Part 2 closed off the September’s State of Play with a 3-minute cinematic trailer complete with a concrete release date. Unlike its precursor, The Last of Us Part 2 puts you in control of Ellie instead of her somewhat father-figure, Joel. The story follows Ellie on a personal journey for revenge. The trailer ends with Joel tagging along.

The Last of Us came to fans in 2013 and then a remaster was released a year later. Fans will get their hands on this long-awaited sequel February 21, 2020.

There we go, that was the recap of what went on during September’s State of Play.

Physical No Man’s Sky Beyond Copies Coming Next Month

No Man's Sky Beyond

No Man’s Sky Beyond is hitting store shelves next month. According to the PlayStation Blog, the physical copies will include all the extra DLC that released before Beyond. This includes the six free DLC such as The Abyss, NEXT, Pathfinder, and more.

Beyond launched last week with a slurry of new features to play with. Not only was the game made more social-friendly with multiplayer, but it also added VR compatibility.

No Man’s Sky really made a 180 from its initial release. The game had quite a controversial beginning when several features were missing from the end result of the years Hello Games poured into it.

It was made even worse as the spearhead of the project made claims that never appeared in the game. But, with the release of these free updates and DLC, they’ve been trying to make amends and bring to fruition content that never made it initially.

Physical No Man’s Sky Beyond copies will be for sale September 10 in the US and September 11 in Europe.

No Man’s Sky BEYOND Release Date Revealed

No Man's Sky BEYOND

Hello Games has officially announced the No Man’s Sky BEYOND update will be coming August 14. The announcement was made Friday on their blog accompanied with a less-than-a-minute trailer on YouTube.

No Man’s Sky BEYOND is going to add a few prominent features and act as the most ambitious chapter for the title’s improvements. The freely available update will add new social and multiplayer features as well as VR support. The support will extend to both Steam VR and PSVR, as this specific aspect was announced during the first State of Play.

They end their post by assuring fans that they will be supporting the game for the foreseeable future.

No Man’s Sky BEYOND is releasing August 14.

What do you think? Is this going to improve the experience? Do you think you will use the VR components?

Review: Killing Floor Incursion VR

Edtior’s Note: Today we welcome yet another new contributor to the review staff here at PSXE, Kurt Collins. A former Gamespot.com staffer and huge VR fan, Kurt is a veteran writer who brings a lot of value and insight to our collective process, and will likely be handling most of our upcoming VR reviews. – Reviews Editor, Ryan Hartmann

 

 

Since the 2005 release of Monolith’s, F.E.A.R: First Encounter Assault Recon, I have been on a personal mission to find an equivalently spectacular horror first-person shooter. Before you start spamming my inbox with a list of everything released in the genre since 2005, I am willing to go on record to say the following: while F.E.A.R. was not the pinnacle of the genre, it was one of the most enjoyable story-based gaming experiences of this genre in which I’ve had the pleasure of partaking. 

So when I got the opportunity to review the virtual reality version of Tripwire Interactive’s, Killing Floor: Incursion VR, I jumped at the opportunity. I was ready with my PlayStation VR, two move controllers, and a fresh pair of underwear in case Tripwire brought their “A game”.

 

LOCK AND LOAD

The premise of the game is simple: you’re an elite soldier who is a part of the Horzin Security Forces. However, you’ve been injured and need to spend some time convalescing in a virtual world while they operate on you. How very meta. Incursion VR starts you off simply by giving you unlimited time to get ready in a training room so you can learn about movements and weapons usage. 

Movement in the game follows the now-standard PS VR gaming mechanic of pointing your controller at the location where you want to move and being teleported there. You cannot move infinite distances, however. You only have a certain amount of energy (after all, you’re still recovering) and can only teleport short distances. The longer the teleport, the more energy you expend, thus leaving you bereft of energy until it regenerates. So be careful and take short hops. In case you ever want to know how much teleportation energy you have left, you can always look at the indicator on your left hand.

In the realm of weapons, the training room gives you ample education on how to use pistols and knives. You have two shoulder holsters that allow you to easily carry pistols on your person. You also have a flashlight on your chest that serves a dual purpose: lighting your way in dark place and also revealing hidden objects via functionality similar to x-ray vision. Finally, you have two holsters on your back allowing you to carry two knives (and later in the game, shotguns, axes, and more). In order to access those weapons mounted on your back, you simply reach over your shoulder like you’re a character from Conan the Barbarian.

 

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD… AGAIN

Originality in the genre is dead. Whether you’re playing the newest Resident Evil or Tripwire’s Incursion VR, you’re likely to be killing some flavor of zombies. I wouldn’t be giving away too much of the plot by notifying you that every step you take in Incursion VR brings you one step closer to killing yet another zombie. While they’re called Zeds in Incursion VR, that’s merely a synonym for zombie. Just once I’d like a game that blends zombies, ghosts, gremlins, demons, or any other type of scary creature you can dream up. While Tripwire did give you a veritable smorgasbord of new types of zombies to dismember, they’re still pretty much all rotting flesh of some sort. Some walk upright on two shuffling feet, while others are spider-like in their appearance. Some partially disappear from sight, while others just take a lot of work to put down. Like fine wines, Tripwire certainly gives you different varietals of zombies to put down.

With all that said, virtual reality zombie stomping isn’t old enough to be played out just yet, and Incursion VR does a decent job of giving you some fun ways to kill them. My personal favorite is dual wielding axes. As long as you don’t mind getting up close and personal with your friendly neighborhood zed, there’s nothing quite like chopping a zed’s head off using dual-wielded fireman’s axes. The raw bad-assery you feel just from carrying an axe in each hand is enough to make you stand a little taller. There were moments when I was standing amidst of a mob of zeds only to catch myself screaming out in challenge to the oncoming horde. Incursion VR shines in those moments when it facilitates the replacement of reality with fantasy, and I feel like I was born to do one thing and one thing only: kill zeds. 

If you’re not a fan of getting up close and personal with the undead horde, you can always look down the scope of a sniper rifle and kill from the rooftops. In fact, the controls for the sniper rifle were quite inspired. Incursion VR gives you the capability to use it like a true two-handed weapon by allowing you to pull back on the turn-bolt just as you would in real life. The only missing element is the actual resistance you’d feel if you were really doing it. They tried to make it life-like, and mostly succeeded. As such, the controls with the sniper rifle are truly sensitive; move even a little bit, and you’ll miss your shot.

 

FRIENDS. HOW MANY OF US HAVE THEM.

Co-op mode is where this game gets truly entertaining. As enjoyable as it is to lop off a zed’s head while dual wielding axes, it’s even more fun when you have a friend along for the ride. The co-op story mode is where you get to have some fun and watch your friends do crazy things. There’s nothing like watching your friend dismember a zed, pick up the severed arm and start using it to slap around the next one. The creative and often hilarious antics that the co-op story mode allows for made it far more entertaining than the solo story mode.

If you don’t want to go through the story again, you can always just battle it out in Holdout. Holdout is an arcade-style mode where you and your friends defend your position to the last person standing. You’ll have to use every trick in your arsenal to stay alive as the constant wave of zeds just keeps getting ever more difficult to eliminate. If nothing else, it’s a great cardio workout as you physically duck, strike, thrash, and shoot while trying (in vain) to stay alive. As is customary, there are leaderboards that allow you to rank yourself against others based upon how long you are able to stay alive. You better get in shape because this part of the game requires true stamina.

 

THE BUGS (NOT THE IN-GAME SPIDERS)

Unfortunately, there were a few idiosyncrasies in this release of the game which I’m hoping get fixed via patch updates. There were some issues with controller calibration which were specific to Incursion and were not occurring in any of my other shooters. While I’ve had controller calibration issues before, they are particularly bothersome when they happen in shooters. 

The most annoying issue, though, is something I’ve noticed in other virtual reality games: horrible (or non-existent) collision detection. My weapons go right through each other. While I understand the difficulty involved in making my two virtual axes collide with each other, it definitely breaks the illusion. With that said, I’ll give Tripwire the benefit of the doubt that this was a deliberate development choice they made in the product, and I’ll live with it… for now.

Along the lines of collision detection, though, what bothered me more is the number of times I saw a zed’s limb poking through a door. And to make things worse, in almost every case, I was able to use whatever bladed weapon I had in my possession to kill the zed behind the door without even opening said door. All I had to do was chop through the door! As I said: I know this stuff is incredibly difficult. However, it gives the game an unpolished feel.

 

iZOMBIE, uZOMBIE, EVERYBODY ZOMBIE!

Despite the minor bugs here and there, I do enjoy Killing Floor: Incursion. It has already entered my regular rotation of games, and I have no doubt I will be playing it regularly for the next several months. Killing zeds is a fun way to get in my daily exercise requirements but, more than that, the co-op mode can truly be a blast. If you’re looking for something you don’t have to commit to in order to enjoy yourself for a few minutes, Incursion will do the trick.

Publisher:
Tripewire Interactive
Developer:
Tripewire Interactive
Genre:
VR FPS
Release Date:
May 1, 2018
Final Rating:
7.0


 

Evasion is Coming to PSVR

Evasion

“Experience the future of VR combat. Play solo or team up to save an embattled human colony from swarms of invading Optera.”

That is a part of the description of the upcoming VR title Evasion which will be coming to the PSVR. The developers had one thing in mind when creating the title and that was to make it as fast and frantic as they could, taking inspiration from games like Borderlands and DOOM. The game also has custom support for the Aim Controller.

Evasion

Play as four classes, the Warden, Engineer, Striker, and Surgeon. All of them hold special abilities that can help you and your team turn the tides of battle in your favor.

No release date has been announced as of right now, though we know it is likely Fall of this year.

Playstation VR is Coming in October for $399

So it's finally been announced, Playstation VR is coming to PS4 in October. Sony released the news during GDC this week that the VR will be coming albiet slightly later than planned. It's price is $399 which I consider to be pretty decent. It's about where I was expecting for what is pretty much like another system.

It seems like it really is the year of VR. I'm pretty excited for it although I'm probably not going to be an early adopter. I think this kind of technolog has some pretty neat potential and I hope developers come up with some neat ideas for games. Over at the Playstation they said it will have more than 50 games at launch. Which is actually quite a bit.

Playstation also showed what is going to be coming in the consumer set of the headset pictured below:

I kind of wonder what all that stuff is. Obviously some of those cords are for connecting to the PS4 in some manner but I'm curious how it all works. We'll have to see in October when it's finally released. My interest is definitely peaked, how about yours? Look for some news on VR games coming soon.