Capcom confirmes that Resident Evil 7 will not be a reboot

June 26, 2016July 11, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

After weeks of speculation, Capcom officially confirmed in a blog that was posted on June 25 that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will not be a reboot of the series.

Following the unveiling of Resident Evil 7 at E3 and the release of the demon, many had speculated if the game will be a reboot of the series or a continuation of the current plot-line.

Game director Kōshi Nakanishi has confirmed that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will not be a reboot of the series and its plot will be part of the canonical story. He stated,

“It’s not a reboot and we’re not throwing away the series’ canonical storyline. It’s the new numbered title in the series and it’s a sequel to the existing mainline series titles. After I say that and you try the demo, you may say “Really?”, because it looks nothing like any of that, but trust me.”

Producer Masachika Kawata further added that the main character will be new to series, allowing players to have a sense of vulnerability. However it was never stated if any characters from previous games will make an appearance or play a major role in the story.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will be the tenth game in the horror series and it’s set to be released in January 2017 for all major consoles and the PC. More details about the game will be unveiled in the months to come.

Published for Examiner.com
6/26/2016

Kit Harington cast as the villain of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

June 11, 2016July 11, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

Activision and Infinity Ward have officially confirmed on June 10th that actor Kit Harington has been cast as the main villain of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

Rumors of Haringtons’ role emerged on June 9 and were officially confirmed by Taylor Kurosaki, Infinite Warfare’s narrative director, during an interview with Game Informer. Kurosaki gave some details about the role but did confirm that he is the main villain of the story. During the interview he stated,

Our story is about an epic showdown of opposing forces, and Kit immersed himself into the role and truly became the embodiment of the enemy, the Settlement Defense Front.

The official Twitter account of Call of Duty also confirmed Haringtons’ role in the game by posting a short video of him in a motion capture suit. It has also been confirmed that Guy Ritchie, director of Snatch and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., is also helping with the development of the story.

Harington joins a roster of acclaimed actors who have used their talent to bring to life memorable characters in the Call of Duty series. Other acclaimed performers include Timothy Olyphant in Modern Warfare 3, Christopher Meloni in Black Ops III, Kevin Spacey in Advanced Warfare, along with Sam Worthington, Ed Harris and Gary Oldman in Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will be the thirteenth game in the iconic shooter series and it’s set to be released on November 4 for all major consoles along with the PC. The story follows an intergalactic war between the United Nations Space Alliance against the Settlement Defense Front in the aftermath of a surprise attack on Geneva, Switzerland.

Published for Examiner.com
6/11/2016

Call of Cthulhu officially announced

June 10, 2016July 11, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive have officially announced on June 10 that Call of Cthulhu is in the works and it’s set to be released sometime in 2017 for the PC.

Call of Cthulhu is going to be a video game adaptation of the pen & paper RPG from Chaosium, which itself is based on the works of HP Lovecraft. The game will be a mystery thriller with fantasy elements while using an RPG gameplay mechanic.

The story will have players take on the role of Edward Pierce, a former veteran and private investigator in 1920s Boston. He has been hired to investigate the mysterious death of Sarah Hawkins and her family on Darkwater Island only to uncover a sinister plot that threatens humanity.

Cyanide Studio has emphasized that like the works of Lovecraft, the concept of insanity will play a major role in the gameplay. Not much has been revealed but it could be speculated that classic horror titles like Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth will have a strong influence on the experience.

In a press release made available by Evolve PR, the development team has stated,

“Insanity and the Cthulhu Mythos have long been entwined – as your investigation brings you closer to Cthulhu’s sphere of influence, madness will progressively engulf your senses, leaving you to increasingly question what is real and what is illusory.”

It’s expected that Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive will unveil more details about Call of Cthulhu at E3 2016, which is set to start on June 14. However there is no word if the game will have a console or mobile release sometime in the future.

Published for Examiner.com
6/10/2016

Only 22% of Surgeon Simulator players have saved Donald Trump

June 9, 2016July 11, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

It has been less then a week since the Inside Donald Trump-DLC was released with Surgeon Simulator and according to data only, 22% of the surgeries have been successful as of June 9.

Based on the data collected by Bossa Studios, 17,000 out of the 80,000 heart surgery’s performed in the game have been successful. Meanwhile out of those 22% successes, only 9343 (40%) of the surgeries have saved Trump using the Gold Heart while only 14093 (60%) of the surgeries have used the Stone Heart.

Inside Donald Trump-DLC was released with Surgeon Simulator Anniversary Edition and was meet with mixed results. Many have praised the game for its sense of humor and jab at the candidate while others felt that making a game that allows players to kill a public figure is in very poor taste.

Surgeon Simulator 2013 is a first-person medical simulator that was developed in a 48 hour time period during the Global Game Jam. The game was released for the PC and mobile device while a PlayStation 4 version is in the works.

Published for Examiner.com
6/9/2016

Ubisoft new trademark for ‘Beyond Good & Evil’ sparks hope for a sequel

April 3, 2016July 11, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

Ubisoft has filed a new trademark for Beyond Good & Evil with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), indicating that its highly anticipated sequel may still be in production.

It has been learned that Ubisoft filed for a Class 9, 16, 25, 28 along with 41 trademark on April 1st and it’s currently under review. The EUIPO Class 9 trademark covers game software while Class 41 relates to online component to game software and Class 16, 25, along with 28 are related to other media matters.

Ubisoft had made no announcement and it was first reported by Louis Contaldi of DualShockers. A disclaimer was also made by the online publication that this was a real news story and not an April Fools joke.

According to Contaldi; it could be speculated that Ubisoft plans to make an official unveiling sometime before or during E3 2016 as such practices is common among publishers. However as Kayla Herrera of Cinema Blend has noted that Ubisoft could only be interested in protecting its intellectual property.

Beyond Good & Evil is an adventure game that was developed and published by Ubisoft and released in 2003. The sequel was announced back in 2008 but has remained in development hell since with little news regarding its status.

Published for Examiner.com
4/3/2016

San Jose Police’s action against Phuong Ho was justified

November 24, 2009June 17, 2016 / Stan Rezaee / Leave a comment

Every time law enforcement is doing its job properly, their is always a cry of “police brutality” that follows. The latest involves San Jose Police arresting SJSU student Phuong Ho back in October.

Ho was arrested by SJPD for making a threat to his room mate. Apparently the room mate spilled some soap and Ho threated him with a knife in response. When SJPD attempted to arrest Ho (rather then cooperate), went for his glasses and provoked the incident.

One could already sense that the SJPD acted appropriately and that Ho is greatly to blame for the beating that he received.

For one, he threaten to kill some one on a school campus. Schools have a zero tolerance for such actions. Why? Because of Columbine. Remember the murders made a few death threats that were largely ignored until they came to school with an intent to kill. Second, because he over reacted to a trivial accident just shows how violent or unstable he is.

Hence, his room mate just tipped of the campus administration along with law enforcement to a possible time bomb and now they prevented a future massacre from happening.

As for the excuse about his glasses, common sense indicates when the cops are after you then you should just get on the ground and cooperate. Ho may have been going for his glasses, but the officers had to assume it was a weapon. Cops have to deal with street gangs and drug dealers who pull the same stunt only they try to pull out a knife.

So rather then for all the community groups, activists and opportunists to start crying about “police brutality”, its wise to look into the issue for a view point the involves common sense rather then primitive reaction.

Written for Examiner.com
11/24/2009
Original Article: San Jose Police’s action against Phuong Ho