Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Sony PlayStation in Europe. OK, OK, so it may have reached this milestone a couple of weeks ago in the US, and is rapidly approaching its sixteenth birthday in Japan, but as I’m in the UK and have a particular admiration for the good old grey slab of love, we at Tap are going to celebrate it’s 15 years! So, what do you remember most about the PlayStation? What did it …
I think it’s fair to say that the mainstream gaming community isn’t exactly sold on Microsoft’s Kinect just yet. Button-free gaming certainly has it’s sceptics and the specialist press have been quick to criticise Microsoft for the lack of focus on core gameplay experiences with the system. Retailing at £130, the price point also continues to be a sticking point for many consumers, who still harbour concerns over what is essentially still untried and untested …
One of the most respected and gifted games journalists in the business is leaving us, and we will miss him. Kieron Gillen, an overlord of beloved gaming site Rock, Paper, Shotgun and the founder of the New Games Journalism movement, has moved full-time into comics writing for Marvel and decided that in order to pay fair attention to the new career, he has to leave the old one behind. Though he promises to reappear when he …
The Escapist reports that sometime in the Land of 2011, a high-definition remake of cult classic Beyond Good & Evil will be coming to PSN and XBLA. New textures, higher-poly models, remastered soundtrack. Nothing else about the game (including the vexing controls) are set to be changed, but this game is worth your time if you’ve missed it. Which I did. Despite trying several times to get into it. And owning it on two platforms. …
Guess what! Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro loves videogames. Always has. And while he’s been emitting noises about maybe making one for a while, not much has been confirmed except that he’s been talking with publisher THQ, until a recent interview for MTV. Now we know that the game will be a Lovecraftian action-RPG, but not for about three years.
My first moments in F1-2010 were terrifying. Not the terror of being pursued by brainless zombies in the depths of the Agroprom, no, something much worse. The camera’s field of view swept over the group of assembled reporters with professional soft focus blur and a well dressed reporter stood to ask me a question. I was seated behind a microphone, and I was certain she was going to say, “Tell us about yourself, and why you think you can succeed in Formula-1?”
Not long after dismissing the value of literally every independent developer in the world except for Bungie (note that most outlets are saying “indie.” That word has a different connotation), Bobby Kotick of Activision/Blizzard has unleashed this little chestnut, courtesy of EDGE Magazine: You know what? What we like about a developer is that they have a culture, they have an independent vision and that’s what makes them so successful. We don’t have an Activision …
One of the many things that make me happy about Tap is that we have no assholes here (except me). Every now and then some no-name will wander by and leave an obnoxious comment, but they never seem to stay for long. Ours is a grown-up site where people treat each other politely, and when they disagree, they discuss and debate. And one of the things I fear is that continued growth may inevitably lead …
Not long ago the staff had a Serious Discussion (which lasted 3 minutes and consisted of “why not?”) about whether our First Impressions section should include demos… that is, whether we can state first impressions based on one. It didn’t occur to us to set up some kind of rule about how long the demo should be. After all, size doesn’t matter. What matters is enthusiasm.
Irrational Games has kindly sent TAP the first in-game footage of Bioshock: Infinite previously shown at Gamescom. Instead of compressing a 10gb video however, I thought it might be easier to send you in the direction of GameTrailers.com who have the footage all ready and waiting (it’s what they do best after all). I managed to watch 30 seconds before shouting to myself “DON’T SPOIL IT!!“. Enjoy! Email the author of this post at lewisb@tap-repeatedly.com
Hype is a dangerous commodity within online communities. It is sought, and disliked in equal measure. Like an addict, there are the highs before the lows. The slow, steady realisation that the rolling stone of excitement may, more often than not, find itself brought to a halt by an immovable object, known as reality. To ride the wave of hype is a publisher and developer dream. A free underbelly of excitement that ripples through forums …
Review by Jason Dobry Amnesia: The Dark Descent Developer Frictional Games Publisher Frictional Games Released September 8, 2010 Available for PC (version played), Mac, Linux Time Played Finished in about 10 hours Verdict: 4/5 Thumbs Up “Amnesia differs from any horror game I’ve ever played. This isn’t just horror. This is dread, the stuff of nightmares.”
The weekly sales chart is in, and it’s no surprise to find Halo: Reach dominating. Storming straight into poll position after selling twenty five billion copies in one evening, and generating enough profit to setup Master Chief for life (he’ll be grateful for the retirement and so will we). What did surprise me however (and you’ll all love this) is that Just Dance is still in the top 20 after 947 weeks*. Hang on while I smash something. …
To follow on from where Gregg left off with with his fantastic review, Team 17 have finally announced a launch date for Alien Breed 2: Assault, which is set to launch on Steam and XBLA on Wednesday 22nd September. The second chapter in the Alien Breed series finds the player taking control of Conrad, Chief Engineer aboard the dying ship Leopold, and continuing his fight for survival across the fatally damaged space vessel. In addition …
In a shameless attempt to drum up extra business at the expense of APB, now that the plug has been officially pulled, Hi-Rez Studios, the creators of Global Agenda, have sent out an open letter to all Shooter/MMO fans.