Latest news with #shooter
Geek Culture
6 days ago
- Business
- Geek Culture
‘MindsEye' From Rockstar Veteran Lands June Release With Extensive Level Creation Tool
Build a Rocket Boy, an independent game development company founded by Rockstar North and Grand Theft Auto veteran Leslie Benzies, has released a new trailer for its debut game, MindsEye , offering a detailed look at its futuristic shooter action, post-launch content and a unique in-depth level creation tool. The gameplay overview trailer showcases more of the third-person cover-shooting action players can expect from the title, set in the backdrop of a near-futuristic city called Redrock. Players will take on the role of Jacob Diaz, played by Alex Hernandez, who some might recognise as Lincoln Clay from 2016's Mafia III , a former soldier with a mysterious neural implant that enables him to control a companion drone to enhance his combat abilities. According to the game's official description, MindsEye will feature a 'tightly crafted linear story campaign' revolving around a 'conspiracy involving rogue AI, corporate greed, an unchecked military, and a threat so sinister that it endangers the very survival of humanity'. Despite its apparent open-world nature, it's worth noting that the game will not be a GTA clone, instead being more in line with the earlier Mafia games, meaning players shouldn't expect a cluttered world filled with side activities, but a focused, narrative experience complemented by a city to explore. While the game might seem like a standard shooter affair, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering today's age of open-world bloat and games chasing trends, MindsEye does offer something wholly unique in its PC-only game creation system, , an in-game platform that allows players to make use of an extensive developer creation tool to build fully fleshed-out levels using game assets, potentially boosting the longevity of the game with a stream of user-created content. The trailer also showcased the game's content roadmap, detailing what players can expect at launch and in the future. MindsEye will launch with its story campaign and something described as 'single-player free roam', alongside a few additional missions, such as a horde mode called 'Destruction Site Shootout', two combat missions titled 'Honor Amongst Thieves' and 'Friendly Fire', 12 races and three drone races. Users who pre-order the game also get access to its Premium Pass, which provides an extra horde mode mission and some cosmetics. Moving forward, MindsEye is set to receive a 'constant stream' of content monthly, with its roadmap detailing 'special collaborations', new missions and single-player modes, multiplayer and free roam updates throughout the rest of the year, with owners of the Premium Pass gaining access to extra missions and cosmetics. MindsEye will launch on 10 June 2025 on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Build a Rocket Boy Leslie Benzies MindsEye
Top Gear
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Top Gear
Doom The Dark Ages review: a shooter where shooting is the least interesting option
Doom The Dark Ages review: a shooter where shooting is the least interesting option id Software could have copy-pasted Doom Eternal into a castle, but instead they go bold with a new vision Skip 10 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 10 Imagine being id Software. You've released not one but two of the best shooters in the last decade, games that easily lived up to the revered Doom name. Where do you go next? That's right, you set your next shooter in a sci-fi medieval hybrid world, give the player a shield and introduce a Soulslike block and parry system. Obviously. Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal are impossible to top. And one suspects id Software knows that as well as anyone, which is why it's so admirable that the studio's latest release is full of so many bold design calls. It would have been easy to keep all the systems and mechanics untouched and just sketch out some more levels to enjoy them in, this time with some parapets and moats and things. Advertisement - Page continues below Instead, Doom: The Dark Ages lays out a completely different vision of a shooter, one that's in some ways more in touch with the 1993 genre progenitor than ever, and in others veers wildly into new territory. There are so many different abilities and mechanics in combat now that simply aiming a gun at something and pulling the trigger feels somehow unimaginative. You've got your shield smash, which you perform by locking onto an enemy with block engaged and then hitting attack (RMB then LMB if you're using mouse and keyboard controls on PC). You've got timed parries, quick taps of the block command that stun enemies. Melee attacks that give you more ammo when you use them to kill a demon. A throwable razor shield. A giant mech. A dragon. So many interlinked combat options, in fact, that the game spends its first three levels just onboarding you to how they all work, which enemies and situations you should consider them for, and all the different currencies and trinkets you should be looking out for. It isn't overwhelming, nor is it plodding or patronising. Then come the next 19 levels, a constant barrage of arena fights, scored by drop-tuned metal, that seem stacked hopelessly against you until you start chaining attacks and abilities to shred huge swathes of enemies at once, harvesting health and armor from them and clearing just enough space to see light at the end of the corridor. In that way, Doom: The Dark Ages isn't too far removed from its two older brothers. Advertisement - Page continues below And in plenty of others, it is. The setting is the most obvious example, and honestly we've got no idea what's going on here because our eyes glaze over whenever a cut-scene plays. Which is surprisingly often. If you thought a trip to the dark ages might be handled in that same moody, enigmatic, zero-exposition manner that Quake did when id last went there in 1996, prepare yourself for way more narrative than you bargained for. Some Star Wars characters seemed to have escaped from their pen and wandered into this game, along with villains with names that read like Haas title sponsors. Storytelling is the game's weakest element, and that's absolutely fine, because none of us came here expecting it to spin us a particularly fantastic yarn. In terms of place, though, it just about pulls off the odd futuristic Middle Ages locales. The arena fights here take place in cobbled villages, cathedrals and muddy rolling hills just as often as steely corridors and sinister facilities with floaty screens. We expected to see a lot more of the former, but the variety doesn't go amiss. Variety seems to have been a buzzword during this game's development, in fact. Because just as you're acclimating to a new gun, or a new ability upgrade, it throws in something else. A bespoke set-piece, like the early mounted turret fight against a titan, or your repeated journeys from inside a giant mech, or riding the aforementioned dragon. Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email* And this is a rare mis-step, because there's already more than enough to experiment with in your core moveset. You don't need to be pulled this way and that by gimmicky sequences and sadly, that's how the mech and dragon sections come across. You can see how and why they were included: the new idTech 8 game engine is fantastic at scale, and at destruction. It can render vast, towering beasts who'd dwarf Godzilla in real-time among numerous smaller fodder, all with distinct AI combat routines. And it can do all that while enormous chunks of the scenery are being smashed to rubble. It's incredible to watch. From the ground, that is. But once you get inside a giant mech of your own, you become the same size as the titans and all the impressive sense of scale is lost. At that point you're just two lolloping combatants punching each other. The emphasis in these sections is all about parrying attacks and building up specials by landing standard attacks of your own, which mirrors the Doomslayer sections in some ways, but changes the controls slightly. Ultimately, that feels like a distraction from the core pleasure in Doom: The Dark Ages, which is mastering the deep and broad range of tools and attacks at your disposal. Same goes for the dragon rides: they're there to show you what the engine can do and it's certainly an impressive ride, but it's a distraction from the main event. And the main event is a shooter of a quality that everyone with a passing interest in games would appreciate. The negatives here are things that diehard FPS fans would raise – are the projectile speeds just right, do the Imps look and sound authentic to the '93 sprites, are the levels labyrinthine enough – and then quickly forget about when they turn a corner and see three different ways to chain together their weapons and attacks, and turn a horde of hellspawn into benign puree.
National Post
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Sci-Fi FPS La Quimera Out Now on PC via Steam Early Access
Article content Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Article content Article content Storied Ukrainian Developer Welcomes Players to the Ravaged Megalopolis of Nuevo Caracas Featuring a World and Narrative Written and Created by Nicolas Winding Refn and E.J.A. Warren Article content KYIV, Ukraine — Game developer Reburn, today announced the Early Access launch of their first original narrative sci-fi shooter game, La Quimera on PC via Steam. Formerly known as 4A Games Ukraine, known for their work as one of the studios behind the critically acclaimed Metro game series, Reburn proudly presents La Quimera, set in a futuristic Latin American megalopolis overrun by technological collapse, sinister corporate dealings, and multiple factions fighting for their own tomorrow. Article content Set in and around the fictional Latin American mega-city of Nuevo Caracas, the game tells the story of a down-on-their-luck PMC group caught up in a vast conflict between rival factions and shadowy corporations, as mystical events increasingly blur the line between reality and illusion. Exosuits provided by one such benefactor allow players to engage in intense combat, utilizing high-tech gadgetry and superhuman strength to outwit their enemies. Article content Key Features include: Article content An original world and narrative created by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon) and E.J.A. Warren. Play the action-packed campaign in single-player or coordinate your efforts in co-op with up to two fellow players (total three player co-op support). Explore the world of Nuevo Caracas and its surrounding jungles, shimmering skyscrapers, and overgrown ruins patrolled by rogue robotic creatures. Collect and upgrade your arsenal of futuristic firearms and exosuit abilities, turning the tide of battle in your favor. Article content Early Access players will have the opportunity to experience the story early on, and provide critical feedback to Reburn as the ongoing game development continues with more features, better narrative and gameplay integration, additional levels that complete the game's major story arcs, and refined pacing and combat design. The world of La Quimera reflects an expansive and immersive experience that will unfold. Article content 'We truly appreciate the support our community has shown since we made the decision to pivot La Quimera into Early Access,' said Dmytro Lymar, CEO and co-founder of Reburn. 'Though this wasn't our original plan, as Ukrainian game developers, we're very familiar with perseverance in the face of tough choices and tougher odds. Our goal is to deliver a new experience that fans of our past work have come to expect now and through future updates. Thank you again to all of our supporters.' Article content Reburn's roster of developers includes lead gameplay designers, artists, sound engineers, programmers, and more from across the award-winning Metro series, along with other fan-favorite FPS projects including S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Metro 2033, Last Light, and Exodus gameplay and AI designer Oleksandr Kostiuk serves as project lead on La Quimera. CEO and founder Dmytro Lymar has worked in games since 2006, and previously served as director and CEO of 4A Games Ukraine, which operated as a separately owned entity distinct from other 4A Games studios. Article content La Quimera is available now on Windows PC via Steam Early Access for $29.99 USD/€29,99 EUR/£24.99 GBP. For a full description of La Quimera's Early Access details, check out the game's Steam page. For future updates, please follow Reburn on YouTube, Facebook, Bluesky, Discord, Instagram, TikTok and the official site. Article content Reburn is an independently-owned video game development studio led by CEO Dmytro Lymar. Reburn was formerly known as 4A Games Ukraine, one of multiple studios working on the Metro video game series. Reburn comprises more than 110 developers, featuring many designers, artists, animators, programmers, QA, and more from across the Metro game franchise. La Quimera is the studio's first unique IP. The studio is based primarily in Kyiv, Ukraine, but utilizes a number of people working remotely around the globe. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Geek Girl Authority
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Super Space Club Archives
Categories Select Category Games GGA Columns Movies Stuff We Like The Daily Bugle TV & Streaming Free this week in the PC and Mobile Epic Games Store is Super Space Club, an arcade-style space shooter featuring lo-fi jams.
