I’ve got two VR headsets in my inappropriately small home, and I spend more time feeling guilty that I’m not using them than I do using them. Conceptually I love the tech, and I sporadically have a fine time with ‘experiences’ – i.e. virtual tourism to real or made-up places – when it comes to games-games I’m yet to get all that much out of it. But what about non-VR games rendered after-the-fact in VR? Could this be the full-fat virtual reality gaming I’d imagined when these headsets were first announced? … [visit site to read more]

You might have noticed all your friends’ avatars and profile pictures turning into comic book drawings or impressionistic paintings over the last few weeks. That’s because of Prisma, a photo editing app for iOS and Android that let’s you apply a couple of dozen filters to images you feed it. The app goes further than simply messing with the hue like Instagram does, using a process similar to Google Deep Dream to warp and twist photographs – without shoving fucked up dogs in every corner.

I spent last night feeding it game screenshots, to find out what No Man’s Sky, Half-Life 2, SimCity and more would look like if their artists abandoned realism.

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We already chose 13 of our favourite games in the current Summer Steam sale, but more games have been discounted since. So, based on the entirely correct hypothesis that you all have completed every single one of our first round games and are now thirsting for more, here are 18 more to throw your spare change at. Everyone on the RPS team has picked three stone-cold personal favourites, making for a grand old set of excellent PC games: here’s what we chose and why.

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I’m not clear to what extent ‘optioned’ means ‘actually making’ vs ‘we gave the folk who own the thing some cash to stop them from selling the rights to someone else’, particularly in an age where every TV firm wants its own Game Of Thrones or Walking Dead and so speculatively hoovers up rights to anything with name-recognition (I’m open to offers for Ian Football, by the by). In any case, EA’s Mirror’s Edge has been optioned by Endemol, and I can understand why. … [visit site to read more]

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst [official site] might not be out for another two weeks, but that’s not stopping EA from showcasing some cryptic cutscenes in this suave new launch trailer. It’s got the standard dramatic swell of music punctuated by all-too-serious clipped together dialogue, but I actually like the way it blends in with the serene ambiance of the first game. You should probably just watch and see for yourself.

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Ready to run? Mirror’s Edge Catalyst [official site] may have ditched the guns in favour of momentum-based melee combat but despite shedding that deadweight, it’s still not going to reach the finishing line as planned. Last night design director Erik Odeldahl announced that the first-person free-running sequel has been pushed back from its May 24th release date to early June. The 7th for North America and the 9th for Europe (and presumably the rest of the world).

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If there is one complaint I have about the original Mirror’s Edge, aside from the “combat is terrible” refrain, is that I’d have liked to see the city explored more, almost as a character of its own. The story is set in an authoritarian dystopia, but we don’t actually get to see much of it outside of the first cutscene of the game. There is a lot of promising worldbuilding hinted at throughout the levels, but it’s not nearly as developed as it could have been.

So this new page that just appeared on Mirror’s Edge Catalyst‘s website, detailing the city’s districts and factions, with wonderful pictures, is getting my hopes up. I know I shouldn’t, I know it’s against my better judgement and I’ll be sorely disappointed, so help me out here. Let’s keep the hype to a minimum and let’s all look at the negatives. Here’s a great start: the city is called “Glass.”

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Mirror’s Edge Catalyst [official site] looks prettier every time I see it. The latest trailers to emerge for the ultra-stylish parkour-a-thon series reboot cast their focus on movement and combat, and showcase the many ways in which protagonist Faith Connors will run and jump and leap and bound and punch and… maybe you’re best having a look for yourself.

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If you had Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst [official site] in the Big Game Delay Sweepstakes, step up to the podium and claim your prize. Previously set for release on February 23rd, the same day as Far Cry Primal and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the continuing adventures of Faith have been pushed back to May. DICE are still sticking to a specific release date – May 24th – and say that the delay is down to their desire to make the game “as entertaining, impressive, and memorable as it can be”.

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I wouldn’t count myself as a fan of many things, but the derision and disinterest inspired by the first Mirror’s Edge makes me want to champion it. It was a game with terrible boss fights, flawed combat and a tedious story, but also one worth celebrating for the things it got right, such as its first-person movement and its beautiful, brilliant world.

Those same things also make me nervous about the sequel. When I went to see EA’s Mirror’s Edge Catalyst [official site] presentation at Gamescom, I wasn’t sure whether it would amplify the parts I liked or disliked.

… [visit site to read more]