Tomb Raider Legend

The original Tomb Raider trilogy is one that has remained relevant through generations, and a lot of that praise could be credited to the constant innovation that the developers had done to each game back then. However, Tomb Raider Legend proudly stands above the trilogy thanks to an excellent amalgamation of brain-tickling puzzles, thrilling chases, and challenging platforming segments that never fail to keep you entertained throughout its run. If you had to experience just a globe-trotting adventure on the PS2, it definitely has to be this one.

]]> 620873 https://gamingbolt.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-wild-hearts-and-more-coming-to-ps-plus-extra-premium-in-august Wed, 14 Aug 2024 16:08:39 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=596089 It’s a big month for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers, with Sony announcing the latest additions to the service’s Game Catalog. Starting August 20th, both tiers can download The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cult of the Lamb, and Sword Art Online: Last Recollection for PS4 and PS5.

PS5 players gain access to the Standard Edition of Wild Hearts, Koei Tecmo’s ill-fated action RPG, and Ride 5. On the PS4 side, there are PS Plus re-releases like Watch Dogs 2 and Naruto to Bortuo: Shinobi Striker alongside Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, and Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization.

If that’s not enough SAO, Premium subscribers gain exclusive access to the PS3 version of Sword Art Online: Lost Song, playable on PS4. Everyone else can settle in with TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for PS4 and PS5. Finally, PS VR/VR2 users can experience Vacation Simulator. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks, especially for titles leaving the service.

Tomb Raider Legend

The original Tomb Raider trilogy is one that has remained relevant through generations, and a lot of that praise could be credited to the constant innovation that the developers had done to each game back then. However, Tomb Raider Legend proudly stands above the trilogy thanks to an excellent amalgamation of brain-tickling puzzles, thrilling chases, and challenging platforming segments that never fail to keep you entertained throughout its run time. If you had to experience just a globe-trotting adventure on the PS2, it definitely has to be this one.

Max Payne 2

Remedy Entertainment delivered a great first game with Max Payne, but the full potential of the franchise was realized with the sequel. Max Payne 2 spins an appropriately complex tale with twisted characters and never-ending conspiracies, and that paired with the metaphor-heavy writing makes for a consistently engaging time. On top of that, you have some amazing third-person gameplay characterized by slow-motion mechanics which makes for some really cool moments as you swoop through dozens of enemies before they have an opportunity to properly blink.

Black

Criterion Games is most known for its work on Need For Speed: Most Wanted, but it’s first-person shooter Black remains underappreciated. And that’s a shame since Black is an adrenaline-pumping ride through macabre factories and large open arenas complete with realistic shooting mechanics, destruction physics and graphics that were quite ahead of their time. It wasn’t a flawless experience by any means, but Black definitely had its own distinct charm that made it memorable all these years later.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto 3 is what put the series on the map, and 2002’s Vice City is what catapulted the franchise to greater heights. Set against the backdrop of a beautiful rendition of sun-soaked Miami, Vice City provides a playground of possibilities that will keep you engaged for dozens upon dozens of hours. Between an engaging story and flexible gameplay mechanics, Vice City is a really special game that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

God of War

2005’s God of War was the first stepping stone for a franchise that would morph into a massive behemoth, a game that would go on to represent the crown jewel in Sony’s roster of first-party releases. And that prestigious status can be attributed to a simple yet satisfying gameplay loop of toppling down one enemy after another, solving the occasional puzzle, and partaking in an engaging story of vengeance. Sony Santa Monica stitches all these elements in a splendid fashion, which makes this a rollercoaster of an action experience that’s characterized by brutal levels of violence.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was one of the earliest games to be released for the PS2, and it’s safe to say that it set a high benchmark at the start of the generation. Kojima spins an intricate tale about the rapid spread of misinformation with its story, and the gameplay massively improves upon the concepts of the original in new and interesting ways. Add to that memorable boss fights and a clean visual style that surprisingly holds up well to this date, and Metal Gear Solid 2 becomes an unmissable game for fans of this ilk.

Hitman Blood Money

Hitman Blood Money took what worked in prior entries, and crafted a game that’s bigger and better in almost every regard. A suite of highly replayable levels, plenty of new gameplay mechanics, and improved graphics are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the improvements that Blood Money provided over prior entries. It’s safe to say that the pre-reboot series peaked with this game, and it remains a beloved entry in this long-running series even after these years.

Kingdom Hearts 2

The original Kingdom Hearts was an interesting mix of combat and several other gameplay mechanics, but Kingdom Hearts 2 was the true realization of that potential. The sequel makes great use of the expanded horsepower of the PS2 and renders beautiful worlds brimming with imagination, and combined with its unique combat makes for an unforgettable trek that’s punctuated with memorable sequences and unforgettable boss battles.

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Before Insomniac Games would become synonymous with story-driven action adventure experiences, it made a name for itself on the back of amazing action platformers – including but not limited to Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Released in 2004, Ratchet and Clank takes you on an entertaining quest to defeat Dr. Nefarious and put an end to his evil schemes. In addition to a simple yet satisfying combat loop of defeating waves of enemies, the game also offers a set of diverse levels and wacky weapons that will keep you glued to the edge of the screen at all times.

Onimusha 3

The third and second last chapter in the Onimusha saga, Onimusha 3: Demon Siege does everything to take the monster slaying experience to the next level. It tells a wonderfully eccentric story about Jacques and Samanosuke traveling through time to reach alternate dimensions to slay demons. The gameplay of slashing through waves of enemies is just as refined as one would expect. With plenty of memorable levels and solid combat loop, Onimusha 3 is a game that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Silent Hill 4

When it comes to the Silent Hill series, the majority of praise is bestowed upon the second game. And while there are plenty of reasons why that is the case, Silent Hill 4 is also deserving of love. Konami’s Silent Hill 4 was the last game in the franchise to be developed by Team Silent, and it pays homage to what came before while also being its own thing. Set against the eerie backdrop of Ashfield, players have to find a way out of this nightmare before they get caught in a demonic cult. The music and voice acting shine brightly as they elevate the tension and create a sense of loss and anguish. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but it definitely does more things right than wrong – making for a great time for horror fans.

Gran Turismo 4

Developed by Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo 4 provided a significant bump over A-Spec in almost every conceivable way. Right from the dozens of carefully curated car models and tracks to a strong simulation core and much more, Gran Turismo 4 impresses with its attention to detail. It’s a game that’s meant to be played for a long time, and the intrinsic motivation to get better at drifting across tracks in an effortless fashion will keep you grinding for days without getting bored.

Timesplitters

It’s safe to say that Timesplitters was one of the most creative shooters to be released for the PS2, and that’s largely due to its unique story of taking down time-traveling bandits in a bunch of diverse levels. The shooting mechanics were extremely enjoyable, and the writing also exudes a sense of personality which is something that not many games of the time can boast. While it has definitely aged in certain aspects, there is still quite fun to be had in revisiting this classic all these years later.

Bully

Rockstar Games’ Bully differs from its contemporaries thanks to its unique open-world setting, making it stand out all these years later. Jimmy Hopkins’ journey through the classes and dorms of Bullworth Academy is punctuated with plenty of memorable missions and fun activities – and you could easily spend hours upon hours wreaking havoc and causing mischief without getting bored. While the game has definitely aged in some aspects like the visuals, the gameplay remarkably holds up well to this date.

Freedom Fighters

IO Interactive delivered a great game with Freedom Fighters, an action-adventure game with plenty of interesting mechanics and an engaging story about leading a revolution. There’s great fun to be had in commanding your army of rebels; strategically placing them around corners and Manning a machine gun to clear out a massive herd of enemies. Between excellent level variety and unique gameplay, Freedom Fighters was a game that many more players needed to experience from start to finish.

On top of that, an alleged interview with a developer choosing to remain anonymous has also been published on the community-managed Free Radical Archive, revealing details about the cancelled project and its development. The Free Radical Archive claims that the anonymous developer verified their identity by sending a previously unseen version of a piece of character concept art that aligns with a different render of the same character that has been publicly shared, with a few different details.

According to the interview, the new TimeSplitters game was originally meant to be a free-to-play battle royale shooter, with additional modes like deathmatch, team deatchmatch, capture the bag, and more. “Characters and skins were microtransactions,” the developer said. “At least that was the plan. There was debate over what would be offered as standard and what was purchasable. But for the sake of the publisher we showed everything as purchasable.”

However, the developer has claimed Free Radical Design was never fully sold on the original vision for the game. “Nobody wanted that really, not even us, but we didn’t have much of a choice for a long time,” they said.

As per the developer, co-founder Steve Ellis pitched the game as a battle royale shooter to then-publisher Deep Silver in order to get the project greenlit. They said, “I think Steve pitched the BR to them [Koch Media/Deep Silver] in order to get it greenlit. I’m not convinced it was ever his end goal.”

They added: “I personally think that Steve never intended to release a BR, he always intended to get the funding and the interest first and deviate once the investment was there. I could be wrong though. He’s a hard man to read.”

Allegedly, the game was rebooted as a remake of TimeSplitters 2 of sorts, while also incorporating elements from TimeSplitters 1 and 3. The developer described it as a “remake with a few new/slightly changed levels and an alternate timeline story”.

As per the developer, it was Ellis who pushed for the game to be rebooted as a linear, single player experience. “Yes, he basically had everyone stop and spend a couple of weeks throwing together the Dam and a ‘Campaign’ mode with some semblance of a questline to follow in order to demonstrate the power of a linear game and how quickly we could put levels together,” they said.

Speaking about the narrative premise for the game, they explained: “There wasn’t a whole lot of story while it was a battle royale, but we had things like the Ancient Astronauts and the ‘Space Bar’ which was a hub area similar to The Cycle’s lobby area where you could buy things and prep for games etc. Once we switched to the remake, it was going to be a ‘What If…’ where Corporal Hart went through instead of Cortez so we could make things slightly different.”

Given that Embracer Group still owns the TimeSplitters IP, it remains to be seen whether the company still plans on doing something with it, but as per the anonymous developer, the project that Free Radical Design was working on has been cancelled.

They said, “As of this moment in time it’s cancelled. Whether Plaion will try to have another studio in the future to give it a crack, I don’t know. But everyone at Free Radical got laid off except perhaps Steve, I’m not privy to his arrangement, but none of the people who worked on the project are still doing so.”

The art has been shared by a number of developers who were members of the Free Radical team that was working on the game, who have shared the pieces on their ArtStation profiles, which has then been compiled by the community on the fan-run Free Radical wiki.

The concept art showcases a variety of locations, weapons, characters, and assets that had been created for the game. You can view a selection of the environment art below, showcasing a Wild West town and its surrounding areas, a futuristic city, a Soviet base in an icy biome, overgrown ruins in a dense forest, and a city sporting Brutalist architecture.

Whether Embracer Group is still planning on reviving the TimeSplitters franchise following Free Radical Design’s shuttering remains to be seen, but currently, the future is looking dire for the IP.

Now, it seems that has officially happened, as indicated by the official Free Radical Design website, where no information, media, or links are available, with the main (and only) page plainly stating, “404 company not found”.

Meanwhile, developers who were employed at the studio have also confirmed its closure on social media. Senior artist Mark Normington, senior tech artist Adam Kiraly, and programmer Martynas Antipenkovas were among several former employees to confirm on Twitter that Free Radical Design had been shut down.

The studio’s closure comes amidst an internal restructuring program initiated by Embracer Group earlier in the year. The program has entailed multiple project cancellations, studio closers, and layoffs, and as of last month, had resulted in around 900 people losing their jobs.

Saints Row developer Volition was shut down earlier this year, while the likes of Chorus developer Fishlabs, Insurgency: Sandstorm developer New World Interactive, and Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics have also been hit with layoffs. Reportedly, Embracer Group is also considering selling off Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment.

https://twitter.com/KeighleyKicker/status/1734204963784429878

The last day at FRD was very different from what I imagined. I don't think it sunk in properly just yet, but handed my keys in and left the building the last time. It's Time to Split pic.twitter.com/n1UGELsoED

— Adam Kiraly (@94Kiraly) December 11, 2023

Took the picture a bit late. Many good experiences. Many good people. I bid adeu and am excited for the new chapter that's waiting me after the new year! I wish everyone the best of luck in their future endeavours!! pic.twitter.com/yUti9K5gZx

— Martynas Antipenkovas (@MartynasAnE) December 11, 2023

According to VideoGamesChronicle, Jannsen confirmed privately that the studio, as part of company-wide cuts, was going to be shut down on December 11. Plaion itself hasn’t publicly confirmed the closure of Free Radical Design as of yet, neither has parent company Embracer Group.

“As we move through the consultation process and face the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 11 December 2023, I want to express my gratitude for your commitment and the remarkable work you’ve done and still keep doing,” said Jannsen in an internal email. “This is a challenging time for all of us but especially for you, and our focus is to support you as much as we can during this transition.”

Since Plaion or Embracer Group haven’t yet confirmed the closure of the studio publicly, it is currently unknown what the fate of the TimeSplitters revival will be. Embracer has seen quite a bit of turmoil this year, with Saints Row and Red Faction developer Volition being shut down earlier in 2023.

Studios being shut down are part of Embracer Group’s restructuring efforts announced earlier this year, since the company had been facing financial troubles after failing to close a deal with Savvy Games Group. As part of the restructuring, Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has also seen layoffs.

As per a report by VGC, Embracer Group – parent company of Plaion, the label under which Free Radical Design operates – is on the verge of closing down the studio. Employees have reportedly been informed that the studio could be shuttered amidst an ongoing internal review, and though there is a possibility that that doesn’t happen, it seems like a slight one, especially with 15 Free Radical employees having confirmed their departure from the studio on LinkedIn.

If the studio does indeed get shut down, it will remain to be seen what will become of the TimeSplitters IP. Fellow Embracer-owned studio Volition was shut down earlier this year, though it was confirmed afterward that Volition properties Saints Row and Red Faction would continue under other studios.

These closures come as part of an ongoing restructuring program at Embracer Group, which was announced earlier in the year, with the company suffering financial setbacks after failing to close a deal with Savvy Group worth $2 billion earlier in 2023. That restructuring program has also entailed layoffs at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, while Embracer is reportedly also looking for buyers for Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment.

In September, the company confirmed that it would be closing “a few” more studios over the coming months.

EA Cliffhanger’s Black Panther Game

Marvel is partnering with the newly formed EA Cliffhanger Studio for an original game based on Black Panther. Details on the game are almost nonexistent, but we know that it will be a single-player experience played from a third-person perspective. Furthermore, key figures such as the likes of Kevin Stephens of Shadow of Mordor fame are helming the project – so it looks like the game could turn out to be something special. Of course, it’s still in the early stages of development – so keep your expectations in check for now.

Deep Silver, a subsidiary of Koch Media, has clarified on Twitter that fans won’t see Dead Island, Saints Row, Metro or TimeSplitters there “or at any other E3 2021 event.” It will let fans know when it has news to share on the same. Koch Media’s showcase will take place on June 11th at 12 PM PDT/9 PM CEST and Deep Silver “can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction to their news!”

Of course, there are other possible games that could make an appearance like Deep Silver Fishlabs’ Chorus, 1C Entertainment’s King’s Bounty 2, Chivalry 2 (which launches on June 8th) and much more. E3 2021 will start on June 12th and end on June 15th with companies like Square Enix, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Microsoft and Bethesda hosting presentations. Check out the full schedule here and stay tuned for more details.

Our parent company @KochMedia_HQ is making an announcement as part of #SummerGamesFest on June 11th. To give you a head’s up, you won’t see Dead Island, Saints Row, Metro or TimeSplitters there (or at any other E3 2021 event). We’ll let you know when we have news to share.

— Deep Silver (@deepsilver) June 4, 2021

To tune in to the Koch Media event head to https://t.co/CLq5syiLzd – it will start at 9pm CEST/12pm PDT. We can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction to their news!

— Deep Silver (@deepsilver) June 4, 2021