Sunset Overdrive: From Insomniac Games [XO]
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They had equivalents in Ratchet & Clank, achieving kills or number of kills, or types of kills, in a certain way. If was an early forerunner of achievements/trophies.
Looking forward to more vids, though. Typical Insomniac, I have more questions than answers!
There's a full-blown single player campaign with presumably the usual open world game mix of main missions/side missions/factions and questgivers to interact with/story cutscenes/etc (they showed a short snippet of a cutscene involving one of the factions in the gameplay reveal video). Basic premise being that once people started drinking the Overcharge and turning into mutants, the company that made it (and which owns the entire place, pretty much) puts the place on lockdown and quarantines the whole city to prevent it spreading/news getting out. Your goal as a survivor is to get the hell out of there.
The style system is tied to the upgrade system - you can unlock "Amps", which are basically perks for your character or weapon (a few examples that you can see in the various gameplay videos include the fireballs launched out from our feet when you bounce on an object, and one that gives every shot fired by the basic assault rifle (the AKF***YouUp) a chance to explode in a mushroom cloud. The amps have three levels, which are unlocked progressively as your style meter goes up, and your style meter drops to zero if you stop moving. So to kick maximum ass you need to be constantly grinding/bouncing/wallrunning/etc around. Nothing to do with bosses. Except that you'll probably want to max your style to unlock your amps when fighting bosses, obviously.
SedentaryJourney
Regular
I meant it wasn't received well by the purchasing public. I thought it was a good game, but as you and others have said, by that point the Insomniac cachet was essentially gone. It also didn't help that it wasn't visually competitive with Killzone 3, Gears 3, or Uncharted 3.
It's ironic that some jaded Insomniac fans who passed up Resistance 3 are put out by not being able to play Sunset Overdrive on PS4. Maybe it'll raise the profile of future Insomniac games on Sony's console, exclusive or not.
More footage on Giantbomb: http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/unfinished-sunset-overdrive-05-15-2014/2300-8889/
The developers explained what things were possible with the new generation of consoles that weren't possible before.
It reminds me of Kameo, when the game was launched and how developers said that they could add more and more units on screen without the Xbox 360 GPU even sweating yet.
http://www.gamerheadlines.com/2014/05/sunset-overdrive-next-gen-features-explained/
It reminds me of Kameo, when the game was launched and how developers said that they could add more and more units on screen without the Xbox 360 GPU even sweating yet.
http://www.gamerheadlines.com/2014/05/sunset-overdrive-next-gen-features-explained/
This post probably belongs in a different topic, but here it goes anyway:
Sadly I agree with this. If this were on the PS4 - it being an Insomniac game - would be an instant buy for me. Because I trust Insomniac to be able to deliver, as they always have in pretty much all the games I bought, played and loved from them back on the PS2/PS3.
I'm a bit confused why a dev that has enjoyed a strong tie in with Sony for what, the past 20 years, to suddenly take their new IP to the Xbox - a console and likely userbase that haven't enjoyed their games, so at this point, are an unknown [to them]. I would think their games would receive a lot more publicity staying on the PS brand where you pretty much are guaranteed to have the same audience as your previous games. Also because this looks like an evolvment of the R&C series.
Not that I don't think Xbox users deserve their games. I'm just a bit puzzled by the "exclusivity". By going exclusive on Xbox, I automatically lose interest in what would be a pretty instant buy on a PS4. Considering Xbox gamers have never played Insomniac games before (unless they also owned a PS), they can only really judge this game on the quality itself - and not past experiences.
As a fan of Insomniac games, I really hope it still works out for them. A lot of respect to them also for sticking to a "niche" genre (Ratchet & Clank) during a time when Naughty Dog abandoned it for slightly more serious themes (Uncharted / Last of Us). I envy you guys.
There was also this little game called Fuse.
Anyway, IP ownership is as good an excuse as any to jump ship.
Sad for me, good for them. I hope the game becomes successful so that we can see sequels on more platforms.
If it's successfull, being Microsoft, I would immediately secure the IP and make it exclusive and more importantly, synomynous with the Xbox brand.
It would be interesting to hear from Insomniac as for the reasons. If they wanted to do something Kinect specific, I couldn't blame them. It would even be logical. If it is because they were unhappy of Sony owning the IP to most of their franchises, well... I guess there are pros and cons. I still think their studio is universally recognised by many many PS owners. Going Xbox, means you may have less (different) competition which perhaps makes their games stand out more, but on the other hand, it means you are no losing the support of your previous followers.
I don't mind them developing for Xbox, I really don't. It's the exclusivity that is irking me. Of course, it's only logical seeing that the publisher is Microsoft... perhaps that was the only reason really. Others like EA or Ubi might not have been interested in the proposed IP. I guess we will never know...
It would be interesting to hear from Insomniac as for the reasons. If they wanted to do something Kinect specific, I couldn't blame them. It would even be logical. If it is because they were unhappy of Sony owning the IP to most of their franchises, well... I guess there are pros and cons. I still think their studio is universally recognised by many many PS owners. Going Xbox, means you may have less (different) competition which perhaps makes their games stand out more, but on the other hand, it means you are no losing the support of your previous followers.
I don't mind them developing for Xbox, I really don't. It's the exclusivity that is irking me. Of course, it's only logical seeing that the publisher is Microsoft... perhaps that was the only reason really. Others like EA or Ubi might not have been interested in the proposed IP. I guess we will never know...
1) If the game's good, people will buy it, even if they've no experience of the dev before.
2) Sony wanted control of the IPs.
3) Sony's fanbase presumably showed not enough interest in Insomniac's games last gen. They certainly weren't big name titles in the same way ND's games were, whereas on prior gens, ND and Insomniac were on pretty equal footing.
4) MS offered them a good deal.
5) No-one predicted that XB1 sales would turn a little lacklustre shortly after launch, so where the move seems odd now, back when the decision was made it was with a belief of good install base for all next-gen consoles.
6) Insomniac, previous PS only devs, now being XB only, is quite a marketing coup I expect among the fanboys. Insomniac go from being another me-too PS dev to a big-name, in the headlights XB dev.
Ultimately, it's Sony's fault that this isn't coming to PS, and every other publisher's fault it isn't cross-plat.
Prophecy2k
Veteran
Take it with a pinch of salt, but I heard whipserings that Insomniac's Ted Price had been wanting to sell his Studio to Sony and become first party for a long time, but when they realised this wasn't gonna happen they started looking at the prospect of building up their own self-owned IP, hence the partnership with EA and Fuse. As others have said, they had shopped this game around to a number of pubs (including Sony) and some wanted IP ownership whilst others weren't keen on the game's concept.
MS were at the time looking for big AAA games from established devs, and Insomniac were one of the few left in the industry not already under contract, so they made them an offer, granting them IP ownership and Insomniac jumped at the chance.
Whether true or not it still ultimately came down to the fact that Insomniac wanted to own their own IP and MS were the only pubs ready to finance the game and let them do that.
I'm personally not keen on the aesthetic, but the gameplay looks promising and I love Insomniac so wish the game ends up as a massive success on XB1, if only just to remove the taint on Insomniac's name left by Fuse in the minds of gamers.
MS were at the time looking for big AAA games from established devs, and Insomniac were one of the few left in the industry not already under contract, so they made them an offer, granting them IP ownership and Insomniac jumped at the chance.
Whether true or not it still ultimately came down to the fact that Insomniac wanted to own their own IP and MS were the only pubs ready to finance the game and let them do that.
I'm personally not keen on the aesthetic, but the gameplay looks promising and I love Insomniac so wish the game ends up as a massive success on XB1, if only just to remove the taint on Insomniac's name left by Fuse in the minds of gamers.
upnorthsox
Veteran
This, and Then Evolution and Media Molecule were purchased by Sony.....Ted must have realized if he wanted anything near his asking price Insomniac would need IP to sell with it.
This is a most peculiar statement. Why would anyone judge a game on anything other than the quality of the game itself? Would you really allow past experiences with a dev to excuse a shitty game?
Let me clarify my point:
The quality of games don't always correlate with sales. Some games receive high praise, but fail to make an impact. I think the general view is that many Insomniac games have been rather good, but not always received the sales (and recognition) they might have deserved. Perhaps this was due to their themes (R&C being put down as a kiddy themed game, Resistance, perhaps too stylized), I have no idea. Still, there are fans (like myself) outthere where every new game is pretty much an instant-buy, even before we read any review. This applies pretty much to sequels, but also new games too.
I would think there are quite a few Insomniac fans outthere, just as there are many Halo fans for example, who would instantly buy any of the new games with little thought. Personally, the same applies to Naughty Dog games as well - where I i.e. bought the Last of Us with little knowlege of what awaited me (I wrongly assumed it would be more serious themed Uncharted). Insomniac (as other developers) have over the past 2 generation created an image where their studio stands for quality and I pretty much trust most games by them to be above average. Any new game, even this one, automatically receives quite a bit of interest. As I said, were this on PS4, it would pretty much be an instant-sale +1, just like the next Gran Turismo, next Naughty Dog game will be for anyone who has enjoyed all of their past games.
I don't think this applies to Xbox gamers in this case. How could it? They haven't played any of their games, so it's treated as much as an unknown as Bungie's new game that's exclusive on PS4 will be (to me anyway).
This new game seems to be a bit like an evolution of the Ratchet & Clank series. Platforming, shooting - all in very stylized visuals. I think it's a bit of a niche type of game - just as R&C has been to a degree - in a world where shooters and more serious themed games receive the majority of attention. My point was more that perhaps their new game would be more appreciated by PS gamers given their history with Insomniac games than a relative unknown Xbox market. That's really just speculation though.
As I said, I envy this being on the Xbox. I hope for Insomniac that they have a lot of success. IMO, there aren't enough developers that cater to this specific market with these kind of games. This is coming from a gamer who loved Naughty Dog platformers (Jak & Daxter) before they pretty much abandoned that for more serious themed games.
The quality of games don't always correlate with sales. Some games receive high praise, but fail to make an impact. I think the general view is that many Insomniac games have been rather good, but not always received the sales (and recognition) they might have deserved. Perhaps this was due to their themes (R&C being put down as a kiddy themed game, Resistance, perhaps too stylized), I have no idea. Still, there are fans (like myself) outthere where every new game is pretty much an instant-buy, even before we read any review. This applies pretty much to sequels, but also new games too.
I would think there are quite a few Insomniac fans outthere, just as there are many Halo fans for example, who would instantly buy any of the new games with little thought. Personally, the same applies to Naughty Dog games as well - where I i.e. bought the Last of Us with little knowlege of what awaited me (I wrongly assumed it would be more serious themed Uncharted). Insomniac (as other developers) have over the past 2 generation created an image where their studio stands for quality and I pretty much trust most games by them to be above average. Any new game, even this one, automatically receives quite a bit of interest. As I said, were this on PS4, it would pretty much be an instant-sale +1, just like the next Gran Turismo, next Naughty Dog game will be for anyone who has enjoyed all of their past games.
I don't think this applies to Xbox gamers in this case. How could it? They haven't played any of their games, so it's treated as much as an unknown as Bungie's new game that's exclusive on PS4 will be (to me anyway).
This new game seems to be a bit like an evolution of the Ratchet & Clank series. Platforming, shooting - all in very stylized visuals. I think it's a bit of a niche type of game - just as R&C has been to a degree - in a world where shooters and more serious themed games receive the majority of attention. My point was more that perhaps their new game would be more appreciated by PS gamers given their history with Insomniac games than a relative unknown Xbox market. That's really just speculation though.
As I said, I envy this being on the Xbox. I hope for Insomniac that they have a lot of success. IMO, there aren't enough developers that cater to this specific market with these kind of games. This is coming from a gamer who loved Naughty Dog platformers (Jak & Daxter) before they pretty much abandoned that for more serious themed games.
Prophecy2k
Veteran
It isn't really peculiar at all when you reflect on the wider industry at large. Only in a perfect world would gamers and critics alike judge a game purely on the quality and merits of the game itself. We have countless examples in the real world where this is not the case.
Generally any game from a popular developer will always get a free pass on certain gameplay and design flaws, especially games which are sequels in popular game franchises. Whereas lesser known developers will always have a harder time trying to "prove themselves" and their games to the masses, particularly if their game is a new IP, and/or if they have developed a game in the past which recieved particularly negative review scores.
RenegadeRocks
Legend
Thats weird to hear as Ted always said that Insomniac will always be an independent studio, no matter what. Even when they opened their new studio in Burbank, he said its very difficult to stay indie, but thats the number one philosophy all the time: To stay independent.While, it was always us the gamers, suggesting that Sony should acquire Insomniac.
So, I find it difficult to digest that he wanted to sell it off to Sony. but things can change...
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