Category: Gamespot

Final Fantasy XV has changed quite a lot since it was known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII when it was originally announced all the way back in 2006. As part of this week’s Active Time Report video broadcast, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata spoke at length about how the game has evolved in that time.

As Eurogamer sums up, basically, much of what you’ve seen and heard previously has changed.

“After we had switched from Versus to XV, the first decision we made was to make sure that XV would have a complete, coherent story in one game,” Tabata said.

“That was an important decision–one made at the company level, too,” he added. “So I started thinking about how we could get a full, coherent story in a single game. And the crux of that was which elements from Versus XIII we could carry over and which would not fit into the new structure as XV.”

As part of this effort, Tabata said he “went through everything in detail” to determine what needed to be changed. By this time, Square Enix had already shared “a fair amount of information” about Versus XIII’s story, and Tabata wanted to keep as much of this intact as possible.

“But it would have been very difficult to carry over absolutely everything as it was,” he explained. “We considered what was possible with the new-gen hardware, as well as what elements absolutely must be included in XV but might fall through if not given top priority. It was not easy to nail down what was essential for the story to be contained in one title. Everyone involved was very sensitive in dealing with this, and we patiently debated numerous times, but we still couldn’t come up with a definitive answer.”

“We considered what was possible with the new-gen hardware, as well as what elements absolutely must be included in XV but might fall through if not given top priority” — Tabata

Tabata went on to say that he worked directly with Versus XIII’s Kazushige Nojima in his effort to “be as faithful as possible” to the original story.

One of the key changes is that the character Stella, a woman who was originally pegged to be a co-lead alongside Noctis in Versus XIII, has been removed from the game. Taking her place is Luna.

“We wanted to keep her as a heroine in FF XV’s story, and pursued ways to tie her into FF XV’s design as well, but we found it increasingly difficult to make sense of Stella’s character and role within FF XV,” Tabata explained.

“So then we thought, do we want to recreate Stella with a different role and image, or do we want to start over with a new heroine?” he went on to say. “And after a lot of consideration, we decided not to include Stella in FF15. Instead, we have a new heroine named Luna, who has a different role within the story.”

For lots more on the changes from Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XV, including the removal of certain scenes and lots more, read the full story at Eurogamer.

Other stories from this week’s Active Time Report follow below:

• No Final Fantasy 15 Trailer at E3, But Big Gamescom Plans Teased
• Final Fantasy 15’s Updated Demo Xbox One and PS4 Release Date Announced
• See Final Fantasy 15 Demo’s Better Graphics and More

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Paramount has released a new trailer for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation and it does not disappoint.

Motorcycle chases? Yep. Funny one-liners from Simon Pegg? Of course. And it’s capped off by Tom Cruise hanging of the side of an airplane as the classic theme track plays. Pure action bliss.

“This may be our last mission,” Jeremy Renner’s character says during the spot. “Let’s make it count.”

The trailer also uses Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” and it all comes together to really have me excited for the movie. Rogue Nation hits theaters July 31.

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Ahead of Microsoft’s appearance at the PC Gaming Show at E3 later this month, Xbox executive Phil Spencer has pledged to gamers that the mistakes of Games for Windows Live won’t be repeated with Windows 10. Speaking with PC Gamer, which is hosting the event with Microsoft as a co-sponsor, Spencer started off by recalling the struggles of Microsoft’s PC gaming past.

“We weren’t fully committed as a company, and I’ve said that before. We made commitments to developers and consumers that I don’t feel we lived up to,” he said when asked about Games for Windows Live. “The key difference now is that the Xbox team is driving the Windows and console gaming efforts as one connected ecosystem.”

If gaming on Windows 10 falls short, it won’t be for lack of effort or resources.

“I can tell you definitively that our team has never committed more resources to making Windows better for game developers and gamers, and that means any gamer on Windows 10, regardless of storefront or device,” Spencer explained.

“Windows is the most popular platform for games in the world and we are committed to doing more,” he added. “Xbox needs to deliver meaningful, measurable improvements for games and gamers–both for existing games and services and new titles.”

Asked if Microsoft’s internal development teams, as part of the company’s overall renewed focus on PC gaming, would develop PC-exclusive games, Spencer promised support for the platform, but didn’t make any promises.

“The charter of Microsoft Studios is to develop games that showcase the best of every Windows device,” he said. “You can absolutely count on us to invest in games for the PC. While we want to break down the walls between platforms, we also know that certain games are optimized for certain devices.”

Of course a question about new Halo games coming to PC also came up in the interview. Spencer reminded fans that Halo has a history of supporting PC with games like Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox and Windows 98; Halo 2 for PC; and Halo: Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike for Windows 8.

“There’s definitely a legacy there,” Spencer said. “So no, we wouldn’t rule out more Halo coming to the PC.”

Read the full PC Gamer interview here.

The first-ever PC Gaming Show at E3 will be held Tuesday, June 16, starting at 5 PM PDT. GameSpot will have all the news from the show as it’s announced.

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Borderlands developer Gearbox Software on Thursday announced new details about its upcoming MOBA-like shooter Battleborn, which is currently in development for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

First, Battleborn will have 25 playable characters. As you’d expect, each has unique weapons and abilities, and can grow stronger by way of the game’s “Helix System.” This allows players to boost their character from level 1-10 in a single-player mission or multiplayer match.

Battleborn’s story mode allows gamers to play alone or together with up to four others through co-op via splitscreen and online. Gearbox stresses, however, that the entire narrative can be played fully solo. You can also replay missions to score better loot a second time around.

Switching to multiplayer, three distinct modes will be available at launch. With descriptions courtesy of Gearbox, these are:

• Incursion: Teams of heroes defend their base from waves of AI-controlled minions while working together, alongside their own minions, to destroy their opponents’ base;
• Devastation: Teams of heroes face off in a fast-paced death match and must capture and hold objectives on the map to win;
• Meltdown: Teams of heroes protect their minions as they march to their death at the center of the map. Points are scored for minions who throw themselves into the incinerator, and the team with the most points wins.

Gearbox has also announced a “Persistent Progression System” for Battleborn. Here’s how it works, courtesy of Gearbox:

• Persistent Progression System: All experience points, whether earned through playing Battleborn’s Story Mode or Competitive Multiplayer modes, contribute to leveling up individual Character Rank, as well as player profile Command Rank:
  • Character Rank: Each hero can permanently rank up from 1 to 10 outside of missions and matches, allowing players to swap out augments in their helix skill tree, as well as unlock skins.
  • Command Rank: Players can rank-up their own player profile, unlocking badges and titles to impress friends, and loot that can be used to benefit any hero the player chooses to command.

For lots more on today’s Battleborn announcements, check out the video embedded in this post. In addition to Battleborn, Gearbox is working on Borderlands 3 and maybe a new Brothers in Arms.

Battleborn is scheduled to launch during 2K Games parent company Take-Two’s fiscal 2016, meaning it should arrive before April 2016.

Gearbox previously described Battleborn as the “most ambitious” game the studio has ever made. The Texas-based developer is perhaps best known for the Borderlands series, but it also created the Brothers in Arms franchise and has worked on various entries in the Halo, Half-Life, and Duke Nukem series.

For a closer look at Battleborn, check out some images in the gallery below. What’s more, Take-Two has teased that Battleborn will be at E3 next month “in a big way.”

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Rock Band 4 will launch later this year for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. A PC edition is not in the works, and now, developer Harmonix has explained why. Project lead Daniel Sussman tells Eurogamer in a new interview that there are a couple reasons why they’re skipping a PC release, the first has to do with the series not having much of a footprint on computers to begin with.

“The library is not there on PC,” Sussman said, referring to the songs released for previous Rock Band games. “The library is there on Xbox and PlayStation. So, for players who want it on PC, really you’re looking at a new audience that hasn’t played before, and I don’t know to what degree there is an audience for new players who have never played Rock Band before on the PC. That’s one piece of it.”

Sussman went on to say that another reason Rock Band 4 isn’t coming to PC has to do with piracy concerns, which could be a major issue for a game involving music rights.

“The other piece is all the security issues, to be perfectly frank,” Sussman said. “There’s something comforting about the closed network that comes along with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. That’s important to our partners in the music industry. Not to say that’s an unsolvable problem.”

No Rock Band game has ever been released on PC, while some Guitar Hero games were available for PC. Ubisoft’s Rocksmith franchise is also available on computers.

Although Harmonix definitely has concerns about bringing Rock Band 4 to PC, the studio hasn’t entirely ruled it out. Read Eurogamer’s full interview for more on Harmonix’s take on PC gaming.

Rock Band 4 launches later this year. For more, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

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Borderlands developer Gearbox Software on Thursday announced new details about its upcoming MOBA-like shooter Battleborn, which is currently in development for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

First, Battleborn will have 25 playable characters. As you’d expect, each has unique weapons and abilities, and can grow stronger by way of the game’s “Helix System.” This allows players to boost their character from level 1-10 in a single-player mission or multiplayer match.

Battleborn’s story mode allows gamers to play alone or together through co-op via splitscreen and online. Gearbox stresses, however, that the entire narrative can be played fully solo.

Switching to multiplayer, three distinct modes will be available at launch. With descriptions courtesy of Gearbox, these are:

• Incursion: Teams of heroes defend their base from waves of AI-controlled minions while working together, alongside their own minions, to destroy their opponents’ base;
• Devastation: Teams of heroes face off in a fast-paced death match and must capture and hold objectives on the map to win;
• Meltdown: Teams of heroes protect their minions as they march to their death at the center of the map. Points are scored for minions who throw themselves into the incinerator, and the team with the most points wins.

For lots more on today’s Battleborn announcements, check out the video embedded in this post. In addition to Battleborn, Gearbox is working on Borderlands 3 and maybe a new Brothers in Arms.

Battleborn is scheduled to launch during 2K Games parent company Take-Two’s fiscal 2016, meaning it should arrive before April 2016.

Gearbox previously described Battleborn as the “most ambitious” game the studio has ever made. The Texas-based developer is perhaps best known for the Borderlands series, but it also created the Brothers in Arms franchise and has worked on various entries in the Halo, Half-Life, and Duke Nukem series.

For a closer look at Battleborn, check out some images in the gallery below. What’s more, Take-Two has teased that Battleborn will be at E3 next month “in a big way.”

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