Infamous: Second Son (PlayStation 4)

It’s been seven years since the Beast came to New Marias.  Cole McGrath’s story of heroism — or tyranny, depending on your choices — has ended and his efforts have saved the world. The price for this salvation came at the expense of the Conduits; superpowered humans now pushed toward extinction status in the fallout of New Marias.  Still fearful and reeling from the destruction wrought by the Beast and Cole’s battle, our government has labeled all surviving Conduits as bioterrorists.

Second Son takes the series to the real world city of Seattle, Washington where players will don the role of Delsin Rowe, a twenty-four year old whose innate powers as a Conduit are triggered by an incident related to these so-called “bioterrorists.”  Delsin’s specialty, however, isn’t of the electrical variety but instead stem from his ability to control smoke.  For fans who felt like an unstoppable thunder god playing as Cole, harnessing smoke may seem like a few rungs below awesome on the power ladder.  But Delsin, who also wields chain-like melee weapon Belmont-style, is promised to have a more robust and intriguing arsenal than what’s been revealed, some tapping into powers beyond the manipulation of smoke.

He’ll need it since just being a Conduit is the same as having a big, bright target painted on the back of his head.  Your central antagonist, the Big Brother-like DUP (Department of United Protection), wants Delsin bad and aren’t too particular on whether that means riddled with holes or not.  Luckily, being a superpowered demigod means you’ll at least make for a hard target.

Second Son is one of the first attention robbing blockbusters the PlayStation 4 owns.  Supposedly a launch title for Sony’s latest and sleekest, developer Sucker Punch has yet to peg it down with an official date.  My hope against hopes?  This bad boy dropping on launch day.  That’d be mighty fine.  Mighty fine, indeed.

Sony Teases the “Future of PlayStation”

Suddenly and all at once Sony’s hype machine tossed up a teaser across every major social sphere on the internet.  All signs guided us to one site and a trailer fancy as it is cryptic.

The site’s address contains the phrase “meeting2013,” which apparently refers to a press junket being held in New York at the date and time up above.  “What’s all this cloak and dagger shenanigans really about?” you may be astutely wondering.  Well, “The Future of PlayStation,” but of course, and that’s as much as Sony is putting on the record for now.

Mighty big coincidink that educated guesses and above-whisper-level rumor mongering have been pointing to a PS4 reveal in the early part of 2013.  Though, me and the rest of the internet seem to recall Sony’s Prez Kaz Harai was more than happy to allow rival Microsoft to reveal their own next-gen competitor first (“Why go first when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?” said Harai, methodically folding his hands behind his head while a sinister, all-too-knowing grin spilled across his face).

Check back in when we find out what the hell all the fuss is about on Feb. 20th.

Next-Gen Rising: Latest Predictions for the New Wave of Consoles

The dark clouds are rolling in too fast, the earth rumbling too loudly.  Faint rumors have been promoted to a dull roar, and we all know what Sony and Microsoft are about to say: new consoles are on the way.

One industry analyst in particular, a Mr. Colin Sebastian of Baird Research and Insights (I’ll save you a mouse-click: it’s an organization paid money for telling other companies how to spend money), has offered up his opinion and educated guesses as to what to expect this year when it comes to the coveted next-gen.

Speaking with both industry developers and distributors, Sebastian thinks Microsoft and Sony are aiming to announce new hardware this year, right before E3 which will, in turn, make this year’s expo the biggest since 2000 when the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox went toe-to-toe.  What’s more, Sebastian believes these new systems — utilizing the same tech found in today’s higher-end PC’s; a sexy prospect for would-be developers — will launch as early as this Fall, both likely landing between the $350 to $400 price range.

Related predictions Mr. Sebastian conjured see brick n’ mortar retail threatened by the new consoles’ penchant for digital distribution, but until download speeds and pricing catches up with demand, physical sales will remain valid and strong at least several years into the next generation’s life cycle.

Also, he sees Nintendo as goddamn doomed once competition ratchets up, thanks in no small part to the Wii U’s limp launch.  Sebastian says the company needs to deliver on their trademark first-party goods (like this rumored monolithic Zelda game), lest Nintendo suffers the same sad fate as Sega, and is forced to back away from the home console market and license out those same first-party games onto competing platforms.  A grim outlook, indeed.

So, fellow gaming connoisseurs, what are your next-gen predictions and what’s it going to take for you to jump on the new console bandwagon?