Tag: demo

Detroit: Become Human

What To Expect From Detroit: Become Human

by Tanya Laolapha Pettersen, posted in Previews

The release date of Detroit: Become Human is just around the corner, and I have taken a little look at the demo. So, if you’re still on the fence about whether to buy the game and want some more information about it, read on…

From the creators of Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream has now created a science fiction adventure game called Detroit: Become Human. 

What Makes Us Human? 

That is the question as the player joins the story of three different androids in a society where they are mere slaves, designed to do our every bidding. What happens when they realize that they are, in fact, self-thinking individuals though? You will be challenged to answer moral questions, leading the androids onto different paths, ultimately to different end points.

Will they stray from their given paths, or will they fulfil their originally designed program?

What these three androids have in common is that they have all broken from their original programming, as the player helps them adapt to their ‘new life’.

Detroit: Become Human
The visuals are amazing!

Connor (played by Bryan Dechart from True Blood; The Remaining) is an android designed to investigate crime scenes, assisting the Detroit Police Department in tracking down so-called deviants – androids that have broken their program, leaving their owners and/or turned to crime.

Will you remain cool and calculated, or will you begin to feel sympathy for your fellow androids, and consequently begin to question the orders you are given?

Markus (played by Jesse Williams from Grey’s Anatomy; Cabin in the Woods) is one of the androids that have broken free from his programming, and he is the one that might be the cause of an android revolution. He becomes a part of a movement that wants to liberate the android population – but in doing so, will you resort to the pacifist route… or to violence?

Kara (played by Valorie Curry from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2; Blair Witch) is a deviant on the run with an innocent girl she has sworn to protect, and Kara must accept the inequalities she faces… or strive to rebel against them as she keeps the girl safe.

Detroit: Become Human
I mean, seriously. Look at these details.

Hostage Situation

In the demo, you play as Connor, who has been assigned to assist in a hostage situation. A rogue android has taken a little girl and is threatening to kill himself, taking her with him.

As Connor, you have to search around the apartment and piece together how this could have happened in the first place. By scanning and analyzing the crime scenes, there are small things in the environment Connor can interact with, challenging his abilities to be empathic.

After you’ve created a good picture of the crime scene, the time has come to confront the criminal; and save the girl.

Deducing from the mere half hour it took to play this demo; I must say it looks pretty darn good. How about visually stunning, as well as having some super smooth gameplay.

The narrative design is familiar if you’ve played Quantic Dreams’ games before, where each decision you make will shape and form the outcome of the story.

How you control the androids will have an impact on their life – if you decide that they will have one. Because there is a catch; if the path you choose leads to a character’s death (and yes, that can even be one of the protagonists), the story will move on nevertheless.

So be mindful – otherwise, a second or third playthrough might be in order.

In other words, if you categorize yourself as a science fiction enthusiast or just love a good story in video games, Detroit: Become Human is probably for you. Something different perhaps.

It’s out on PS4 this Friday.

Gamecast: Prey: The Opening Hour Demo – With Sally Mettson

by Sally Mettson, posted in Features

Sally here. I played the recently released Prey: Opening Hour Demo in celebration of the game coming out this week. You can also read what Chris thought about the demo if you prefer the written way of doing things!

I haven’t had much experience with FPS games but I gave it a go anyway. I really liked the test subject idea, it made me feel unsure of whether I was the enemy or the catalyst for the whole nightmare that unfolded. Is everything in this world a simulation? That I’m not sure of yet.

Check out the first part of my video below:

Taster: Prey – The Opening Hour Demo

by Chris Wheatley, posted in Previews

Highly anticipated, reworked and reimagined, Prey hits stores at the end of this week, but not before the combined forces of Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks has a chance to lay an hour or so’s worth of gameplay on you first.

The sci-fi/horror game has you in the grips of an alien species known as the Typhon while trapped aboard the US space station and former Typhon prison, Talos I. Creating your own path to play the game by finding new solutions to various encounters, Prey pops you with a few interesting elements and a lot of violent, sudden alien attacks coordinating with a vigorous soundtrack.

Your apartment room in the not too distant future. You awake from your bed to a phone call from a man by the name of Alex Yu, eager to get you started working and thanking you for taking the job. Free to explore the confines of your studio, there’s a few articles and clippings to read for extra story before putting on your work outfit and heading up to the rooftop where your helicopter ride awaits. Flying over the gorgeous city and near-by bay, Arkane Studios shows off its impressive graphics and scenery.

Arriving at a testing facility atop a towering skyscraper, you’re required to complete several simple tasks in various rooms while doctor’s observe you, followed by a short questionnaire, all of which determine your style of play through your campaign. Doctor’s clambering about unknowing issues, you, not entirely sure what’s going on, witness a sudden alien attack, abruptly ending your visual examination. Left unconscious, you awake back in what seems to be your apartment, on the same day as before.

Starting with a wrench, you mercilessly smash quick-moving four-legged, spider-like Typhon’s now roaming the abandoned testing facility, which in a strange turn of events turns out to be where your apartment is located. Smashing through windows making your way to hopefully some answers, eventually you stumble upon a goo gun. Helping to freeze the agile aliens in place, you then pull out the trusty wrench and smash away.

Along with standard weapons such as pistols and shotguns and unique weapons like the goo gun, there’s also the Neuromods. Re-wiring your brain to give you enhanced abilities and new medical upgrades, Neuromods are found throughout the game in random scavenging and often as rewards for various quests. Working as the game’s skill tree, Neuromods gives you a good list of abilities to improve skills later in the game.

All through the demo, you’ll find yourself up against plenty of crawling Typhons and a short glimpse of a much more threatening enemy. Unlocking the secrets of this dreaded space station and the story that unfolds before you is sure to be filled with tense moments and thrilling encounters.

The hour-long experience leaves you empty-handed with a lot of questions unanswered but with the full release right around the corner, Prey is gearing up to reveal everything you’ve been anxious to learn about the 2006 reboot.