E3 2013: Rainbow 6: Patriots

Ubisoft has confirmed that Rainbow 6: Patriots is now a next-gen game. Despite being announced in 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, Ubisoft senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key has confirmed to IGN that Rainbow 6 will now be headed to next-gen platforms.

“We can’t — and we don’t want to — make ten giant blockbuster games at the same time,” Key told IGN. “We’re absolutely making another Rainbow 6. We’ve already said so. We just, as we enter this new generation, have to make sure we make the right game at the right time with the right feature sets.”

“And Rainbow 6 got caught in the transition of going to next-gen and essentially we’re figuring out ‘well, are we making the right game for the right hardware systems?’ And you know, on Watch Dogs, the guys have been working on that game and it’s always been a next-generation game in their minds and the way they were designing it. And at the end of the day when the specs showed up for next generation, they had guessed right. That’s not always the case.”

“Sometimes you have to take a step back and go ‘you know, I’m seeing the possibilities, but it’s gonna take more time,’” Key added. “We don’t really have anything else to announce or say about Rainbow 6, but we will say it’s a really exciting project for us and we can’t wait to say more.”

For further clarification, we directly asked Key if it’s safe to say the game will be next-gen at this point, and he simply said “yes.”

It’s worth noting that Key never specifically referred to the title as “Patriots,” and we’ve reached out to Ubisoft for additional clarification regarding whether or not the game’s title remains the same.

Key’s statements today confirm comments from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot last year, who said at the time that there was a “good chance” of Rainbow 6 making the transition between consoles.

Xbox One is brimming with cool tech, but Microsoft must put it to better use

The Xbox One is overflowing with the kind of electronic magic that can supposedly sense your heart rate from a distance, track the smallest movements of your smallest limbs, and tell your voice apart from all the other folks in the room.

But somehow, what one Microsoft exec called “space-aged technology” will only glue us that much more firmly to our couches.

Congratulations, future Xbox One gamers. At the moment, a key feature of one of the next decade’s tentpole consoles will be its ability to let you run your entire living room with your voice. Forget pressing buttons and digging around for remotes on the couch.  Aside from twitchy controller movements and the grab for the next handful of nachos and in-game bathroom breaks, you’ll barely have to move once the Xbox One is in your life.

And that’s just the slightest bit concerning.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of the technological advances that Microsoft is making. Similar features are baked into today’s Smart TVs, but they only work with mixed results. Menus in even the newest Smart TVs are laggy, voice controls inconsistent, internet browsing a rollercoaster experience.

If Microsoft can solve these issues in the Xbox One, building on the first-generation Kinect’s voice- and motion-sensing technology and delivering a snappy, speedy experience, it could easily become your go-to living room device.

But there’s irony here, too. From the original Nintendo Wii to the first run of Kinect games to the PlayStation Move, current-generation consoles made a truly valiant attempt to get gamers up and moving. This round of consoles, at least for the moment, seems to have scrapped that plan, led by the Xbox One. With this console, Microsoft’s initial presentation seemed to indicate, you’ll never have to move at all.

By nature, gaming’s a sedentary pastime, with the gamer relying on minute finger-twitches to control much broader motions on-screen. Gamers don’t necessarily want to get up and move; they want to sit back and live vicariously through on-screen characters.

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I’m the same way when I game, but I’ve never been too lazy to find any of the remotes for my home theater setup, and I’ve never had an issue pressing a button to change the channel. Did such simple actions really need that much extra simplification? Really? Granted, technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but could some things be getting too easy?

I can’t help but wonder. And I can’t help but hope that Microsoft will put all this “space-aged technology” to far better use than what it’s already shown. The tech seems wasted as a voice-enabled web surf and voice-commanded power on function. What, was it that hard for me to pick up the Xbox controller I was going to use anyway and press the big button in the center?

My hope is that Microsoft integrates all this technology into its games, creating a richer, far more immersive gaming experience. If these voice and motion controls are so potent, then they should permeate each and every title, giving new rise to more potent games.

On current-gen consoles, we’ve seen a large divide between motion-controlled games and “regular” games; there are dance games and fitness games for your Kinect, and RPGs and first-person shooters for the Xbox. But a marriage of both brands of gaming – something we’ve seen all too rarely despite all the motion tech – could create a far richer experience.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen only a handful of titles even bother to execute such things. No console had a finer Mass Effect 3 experience than the 360, in large part because you could yell to responsive teammates to use their Biotic abilities while you handled your own character. And Madden 13’s voice-controlled audibles was a good idea, although latency issues prevented this from being truly groundbreaking.

Still, it’s these ideas that must be built upon, and it’s here that developers must utilize the Xbox One’s capabilities most. Imagine hacking in Watch Dogs taking place with a detailed touch cube on your TV. Or imagine yelling to a teammate for a pick in NBA 2K15, and pointing to the spot where you want it, then changing your mind and (literally) waving the pick off.

Of course, for these ideas to work, the motion detection must be pinpoint, the voice recognition flawless. And it’s entirely possible that, for all the hype surrounding the Xbox One’s new high-tech Kinect, the technology simply isn’t quite that accurate yet.

That’s something we’ll learn in the coming weeks and months. But for now, just get comfortable on your couches.

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If things hold form, you may be sitting there for a good long time.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH CC SABATHIA

Yankees ace CC Sabathia dominates the mound, and he dominates video games, too. Here, he answers a few of our gaming questions:

DN: So word is you and your kids are into Skylanders?

SABATHIA: Yup. Playing with the kids and stuff. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been awesome. It’s something that the whole family can play, all our kids. My youngest, Carter, is two. My oldest, CC III, is nine. He wants the stories. He wants to do whatever obstacle is next.

One of my friends had bought (Skylanders) for my son for his birthday. We’ve got all the second-generation characters. I don’t know how many we have floating around the house.

DN: What else do you play these days?

SABATHIA: I play (NBA) 2K13. I play (MLB 13) The Show. Call of Duty. I stopped playing Madden when The Show came out. I usually play Madden until the baseball game comes.

RELATED: ORDER PIZZA HUT FROM XBOX GAMING CONSOLE

DN: Do you play on the road too?

SABATHIA: I have a truck, a case where I bring a PlayStation, my TV, and all my games. I play a lot on the road. I play a lot on PlayStation.

DN: What’s your all-time favorite game? Give us your top five.

SABATHIA: Man. For me, I would have to say . . . man . . . I like the old Tecmo Bowl. R.B.I. Baseball. Madden. God of War, I like too. And Call of Duty.

DN: And we have to assume that a baseball player is the master at baseball games, right? So give us one piece of advice for pitching in MLB The Show.

SABATHIA: They’ve done a good job with guys’ motions with how their pitch action is. You have to pitch inside. You have to really have a real pitching thought process. The key is you gotta throw in a little bit. Always throw in, get them off the plate.

TURBO BOOST

Downside to the downloadable version of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Nintendo 3DS? It’ll eat up loads of space on your memory card . . . Underrated tablet to watch this summer: Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z, the slimmest 10.1-inch tab on the market . . . Warner Bros. has announced Dying Light, an upcoming first-person survival horror actioner with serious potential. It’s worth watching for on next-gen and current-gen consoles in 2014 . . . PC gamers, get ready for Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition on your machines this summer, a full MK release with all the DLC trimmings . . .

Source: NY Daily News

Resident Evil: Revelations

Resident Evil: Revelations, known as Biohazard Revelations, is a survival horror video game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was developed by Capcom, and was released on January 26, 2012 in Japan; January 27, 2012 in Europe; February 2, 2012 in Australia; and February 7, 2012 in North America.

A high definition port of the game will be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 in May 2013.

Gameplay

Resident Evil: Revelations returns to the survival horror gameplay of earlier series installments, with returning elements such as a limited supply of ammunition, and more emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving. The game’s camera keeps an over-the-shoulder view from behind the playable character. The player may move the protagonist while aiming a weapon, and has the option to switch between a first-person and third-person perspective. A new device, the Genesis, detects items hidden throughout the game’s environments.

Extra features include Raid Mode, allowing two players to cooperate in battling waves of enemies. Players are also able to send in-game supplies to friends via the StreetPass feature of the Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U version offers additional features using the Wii U GamePad, including dual screen gameplay, Off-TV Play and Miiverse functionality. The game supports the Circle Pad Pro expansion peripheral.

Plot

The game is set between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5. It depicts the events shortly after the establishment of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), a counter-terrorism group introduced in Resident Evil 5. The story revolves around BSAA co-founders Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, the protagonists of the first Resident Evil. During the game’s events, Jill and Parker Luciani are sent to search for Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawat on the SS Queen Zenobia, that serves as the game’s setting. The game’s story includes a flashback, which revolves around the “floating city” of Terragrigia (Italian for “Grey Earth”) one year prior to the game’s events, when the Federal Bioterrorism Commission (FBC) sent agents – including Parker and Jessica – to keep the situation under control after the bioterrorist organization “Il Veltro” launched an attack on the city using bio-organic weapons (BOW) in opposition to Terragrigia’s solar energy development.

In 2005, BSAA head Clive R. O’Brian sends out Jill Valentine and her new partner, Parker Luciani, to search for Chris Redfield and his new partner, Jessica Sherawat. They have reportedly gone missing and lost contact with HQ during their mission to investigate Veltro’s possible reappearance. Jill and Parker are sent to search for them at their last known location, the cruise ship SS Queen Zenobia. During their search, they encounter several B.O.W.s on the ship infected with the T-Abyss virus, a marine virus derived from the deadly T-Virus. They finally enter a room where they believe Chris is being held, realizing too late that it was all a trap. Chris and Jessica, meanwhile, find a base of operations for Veltro; the Valkoinen Mökki airstrip in the mountains. Being informed by O’Brian that Jill and Parker are missing in the Mediterranean, they are redeployed to investigate their whereabouts. Awakening in separate locked rooms aboard the Zenobia, Jill and Parker manage to escape and regroup. They later encounter FBC agent Raymond Vester, whose life Parker had saved during the Terragrigia Panic. They also witness a video transmission of a masked man claiming to be part of Veltro who threatens to infect approximately one fifth of the Earth’s oceans with the T-Abyss, which was created in retaliation to the FBC for their involvement in the destruction of Veltro’s forces on Terragrigia.

Chris requests that a team be sent to Valkoinen Mökki to find information on the ship, prompting O’Brian to order BSAA agents Quint Cetcham and Keith Lumley to investigate. Jill and Parker reach the ship’s antenna to contact HQ, requesting evacuation, but are cut short by O’Brian receiving a call from the European Security Force, informing him that the Regia Solis has been activated and is targeting the ship. Meanwhile, Quint and Keith discover that O’Brian had orchestrated Veltro’s re-emergence along with other crucial information. However, they lose contact with O’Brian when an airstrike decimates Valkoinen Mökki. Chris and Jessica arrive to the Queen Zenobia. At the same time, Jill and Parker are confronted by the Veltro operative, who poses various questions hinting at a larger conspiracy. However, before he can reveal anymore, Jessica shoots him. Parker unmasks him to discover it was Raymond. He seemingly dies after whispering something to him. Afterwards, Chris and Jill make their way to the ship’s laboratory to stop the virus from contaminating the sea, while Parker and Jessica search for a way to stop the ship from sinking. During the search, Parker turns his gun on Jessica, suspecting her of being an FBC mole, as told by Vester. At the same time, Raymond reveals himself to be alive, having worn a Kevlar vest, and working with O’Brian. Jessica wounds Parker and initiates the self-destruct sequence, confirming her to be the mole. Having found the laboratory, Chris and Jill are confronted by Lansdale, via video uplink, revealing that he worked with Veltro in the Terragrigia Panic in an effort to increase the FBC’s funding and international influence; notes left by former crew members reveal that he had dispatched a research team to create a vaccine, and then killed them off by releasing the ship’s monsters after they’d sent it to him. Despite the Queen Zenobia self-destructing, they manage to neutralize the virus. Pilot Kirk Mathison contacts Chris and Jill informing them that he is there to extract them. They then meet with an injured Parker but despite the pair’s attempt at saving him, Parker falls into the fire below a broken catwalk.

O’Brian informs Chris and Jill about the truth behind the mission: he had orchestrated the events in an effort to gather evidence of Lansdale’s involvement in Terragrigia. He then informs them of the results from Keith and Quint’s data analysis: the existence of a third sister ship known as the Queen Dido below the ruins of Terragrigia, which was destroyed by Lansdale to eliminate incriminating evidence of his involvement. However, Lansdale then proceeds to arrest O’Brian, cutting off communications. Jill and Chris search for Jack Norman, the leader of Veltro, knowing that he holds evidence against Lansdale. However, he has gone delusional, and survived a year by injecting himself with T-Abyss and resisting mutation through his own desire for vengeance; he then injects himself with an overdose of the virus, believing Chris and Jill to be FBC sent to kill him, and transforms into a new type of Tyrant known as the “Final Form Abyss”. After a long battle, he is finally killed, expressing his relief that he could finally be at peace. Chris and Jill then broadcast the video via Norman’s PDA, exposing Lansdale. O’Brian is immediately released and arrests Lansdale. The truth behind Terragrigia went public and the FBC was dissolved. Parker, who was saved by Raymond from the explosion, was found adrift off the shore of Malta and, after a month of recovery, resumed his position as a Special Operations Agent for the BSAA; while O’Brian decides to take responsibility for his actions in orchestrating the entire mission and steps down as director of the BSAA. Quint and Keith are revealed to have survived the air raid. The game then shows Chris and Jill walking up to the Spencer estate from the “Lost In Nightmares” episode of Resident Evil 5. In a post-credits scene, Raymond approaches Jessica at a cafe and gives her a sample of T-Abyss. She asks him why he saved Parker, with him replying that he “had his reasons”, whilst removing his sunglasses.