Thief’s hud (heads up display) only contains a small amount of info like ammo, health and mana.  We got to see some of the special abilities like ‘Swoop‘ which allows the protagonist Garrett to move quickly through areas — sort of like Blink from Dishonored.  Garrett’s ‘Focus‘ ability shows objects and people behind walls like an x-ray feature.  Also the ‘Rope Arrow‘ is back and is a great way to get vertical quickly.

Thief had plenty of areas to explore with different options to taking down opposition either with combat or stealth.  The NPC characters in the game all felt like they were living in their own world and independent of your actions by having conversations with other NPC or moving around the environment naturally.

Something we hadn’t already seen was a shift to third-person gameplay perspective in certain areas to mix up the flow of things sort of like watching Kratos in God of War when he was scaling a wall.  There is also some puzzle solving elements and the dreaded lock-picking.  The climbing animation is very believable however some stuff we saw like opening and closing doors could be more refined.

We’re not quite sure what specific ‘next generation’ aspects Thief will bring but overall the game looks fun and something worth checking out.

Thief E3 Official Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X81WGQ9IWsE

The post Thief First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

In our private demo the developers talked about how The Division will retain group team gameplay efforts so if you are playing solo there will be match-making.  We had a chance to see more details on The Division’s tablet interface that featured a ‘drone companion’ giving help and support to the ground team — think of the drones as an ”eye in the sky’ assistant.  The action on the tablet was simultaneous with the consoles gameplay – delivering a unique experience going beyond the console and living room.

The Division E3 Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDe0nwprHAw

The post The Division First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

The developers showed us how Watch Dogs can use tech and stealth to take on an area surrounded by guards.  You can also scan NPC’s in the game to anticipate crimes about to be committed and decided if you would like to intervene or not.  Most of what we saw at E3 with Watch Dogs felt much like the Batman comic book in which Batman watches over Gotham City protecting the innocent.

The HUD is busy with tons of information like names and stats of people around you and their character traits – it’s all meant to be absorbed and digested for you to decide as the player how you’d like to make use of the information on screen.

Something new we saw was a second non-NPG player try to hack into our current game that was running independently – sort of like an in-game mini meta-game unfolded with two gamers in a mini-mission to ‘out-hack’ the other.  An interesting spin on the multiplayer experience and maybe hitting a bit close to home when you think of all the Xbox 360 and PS3 systems that were ‘hacked’ in real life!

Watch Dogs comes out later this year in 2013 from Ubisoft on all platforms.

Watch Dogs E3 Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMpLcN6NpKc

The post Watch Dogs First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

The first big change that startled me was the complete lack of 2D art. For a game series that thrived on it to change to 3D models seems like a bad idea, but it’s actually an improvement. Character emotions seem like a much more fluid transition so rather from going from satisfied to sweating, Phoenix Wright can have a gradual plunge into the depths of despair. The change in art style also affects gameplay with the new Emotion mechanic. Characters testimonies can now be entirely fabricated and you have to look at their faces in order to determine if the witness is feeling the same emotion that they say they are. Thankfully Wright’s new assistant has a computer program that can measure someone’s emotions through the tone of their voice, adding another layer to this new feature.

The Ace Attorney series has always been about good writing and lovable characters. Both seem to be in top form, and the game looks beautiful to boot. Seeing Wright get a little older but still have that awkwardness that I’ve come to love was amazing to see play out in typical fashion. While this probably won’t bring any new players into the fold, this is exactly what fans could’ve hoped for from such an endearing series.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C0chA_rVtU

The post Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

In the first five minutes with Saints Row 4 I punched a senator, stopped world hunger, and shot down U.F.Os in an all American anti air artillery gun. There were superpowers like super speed and telekinesis alongside unique guns. I particularly loved the Dubstep Gun, which made people dance themselves to death. Professor Genki is back too, which was a welcome sight to see.

Ultimate freedom seems to be the theme for this game. I felt like I could do what I wanted whenever I wanted. Saint’s Raw 4 is a sandbox dream come true.

Saint’s Row 4 E3 Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLjGSfvl2Po

The post Saints Row 4 First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

Let’s get the controls out of the way right up front here, my biggest gripe with GRID 2 is that the controls still feel a bit too loose for my liking. Drifting corners feels great but the game seems to employ quite a bit of over-steer correction making it difficult to pull yourself out of a bad turn. This being the only main issue I had with the control scheme is a good thing overall, as it shows that the entirety of GRID 2 is resoundingly solid and a lot of fun to play. The cars all seem to handle slightly different, which in 2013 should be happening in every racing game, and the game features a Forza-style rewind feature (that has limited use) during every race. Being that I’m not the best of the best when it comes to racing, the rewind is a nice added touch to help when you’re 3 laps in and clip a rail trying to drift the final turn. The only other oddity I noticed in regards to controls were that the game teaches you how to drift early on but, true to most real-world scenarios, you’ll get passed quite quickly if you try to drift every corner. The game essentially wants you to drift, but then punishes you for doing so. That’s just a minor complaint though, GRID 2’s controls are very solid overall.

The meat of GRID 2 takes place in the single player “story” mode which essentially just consists of being invited to different races and completing them with the cars necessary. Some unlock you more cars to upgrade and use in other races and all get you more fans, which is the game’s level up system. It’s pretty straight forward for a racing game and I do wish that Codemasters would have gone away from this style of racing campaign, as a lot of their games use it and a ton of other racers do as well. It’s not bad by any means, just overused now. Alas it is a racing game though, so the whole point is to get in the car and win. Multiplayer also returns in GRID 2 and is as solid as ever. If there’s one thing you can count on with Codematsers it’s solid multiplayer.

Overall GRID 2 is a very solid game that sometimes feels like it is playing it too safe. The controls need a bit of tweaking (or a lot of getting used to) and the campaign mode is pretty stock overall but the game has a lot to offer to racing fans. If you loved GRID you will not be disappointed by GRID 2 (although you might be a bit underwhelmed). GRID 2 is a solid effort all-around and worth a look if you’re in the market for a summer racing game.

The post GRID 2 Review appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

A single episode comprised of five separate stories, 400 days centers on the commonalities of those stories. With a shared timeline and central location you can bet that these stories will also share interesting characters, excellent writing, and heart breaking decisions for the player to make.

The post The Walking Dead 400 Days DLC Preview appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

With a world twice as big as Arkham City, Origins is very focused on its open world with the freedom to pursue or ignore side missions or street crimes as they dynamically happen. In the demo shown, in an attempt to take advantage of the situation plaguing Batman, the vigilante Anarky planted bombs in order to bring his own sense of justice to Gotham. While the mission itself wasn’t particularly exciting, I did get to see (and face) a new enemy type – the martial artist. The martial artist can block, counter and generally do everything to outsmart you. Side missions like the Anarky’s can turn into entire quest lines that may eventually lead to a boss battle.

Another new feature in Origins is the building of case files. A new form of investigation, building case files has you investigate a crime scene and with the help of the Bat Computer, begin recreating the who, when, where, why and how of a situation, which can lead to further missions and story advancement. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Batman game without sweet gadgets. They didn’t really go into all the new gadgets, but they did focus on the remote claw. The remote claw allows you to target two objects or people and the remote claw brings them together. Target two enemies and the remote claw bangs them together. Or perhaps target an enemy and an explosion container. Or use it for yourself to create tightrope walk lines between perch spots in order to get the drop on your enemies.

Overall, I think fans will be pleased with the fluidity of the combat and the smooth animations. Warner Bros. really is focused on the open world aspects and the dynamic events. While playing the demo, it may not have felt like a revolutionary change, but the iterative improvements feel really good. Batman Arkham Origins is set to be released on October 25, 2013 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC.

The post Batman Arkham Origins Hands-On Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

While this seems like it could get confusing quickly, the controls are fluid once you manage to figure them out. Rather than control the entire team at once, players control a single avatar that changes depending on which power you’re currently using. I never had a problem locating the leader in the enormous horde of super human fury, though I did have a hard time keeping them from getting momentarily disabled by the enemies I faced. There are small puzzles littered in between moments of frantic action which made for a nice break. It was a good thing as the aliens continued to get larger and larger until the boss battle against a strange amoeba. Sadly the demo ended right after that, but hopefully we’ll hear more about this game soon.

The post The Wonderful 101 First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.

Mad Max offers a wasteland open world — think Rage or Borderlands with a heavy emphasis on vehicle combat and exploration.  The developers stressed the importance of vehicles in the game saying there were over 50 to pick offering many customization options through un-lockables and/or exploring the land.  From the build we saw the graphics and atmosphere looked great but nothing leaped off the screen as ‘next gen’.  In addition to car combat/fighting there is also hand-to-hand combat and plenty of guns and weapons to explore — we were treated to some bullet time action in the style of Sniper Elite V2.

Mad Max has a slated release of 2014 on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The post Mad Max First Impressions E3 Expo appeared first on COIN-OP TV.