All Articles: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Writers Guild nominates CoD Infinite Warfare, Far Cry Primal, Uncharted 4, Mr. Robot mobile app for 2017 WGA Award in Game Writing
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing.”
Once again, Naughty Dog has collected a nomination for their work on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The prolific developer is a popular choice for the nominating committee at the WGA, previously receiving nominations (and later winning) in 2012 (Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception), 2013 (The Last of Us), and 2014 (The Last of Us: Left Behind).
Other nominees for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing” in 2017 include Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Far Cry: Primal, and Mr. Robot: 1.51exfiltratiOn, a mobile app developed by Night School Studio.
The winner of this year’s Writers Guild Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing” will be announced on Sunday, February 19. The complete list of nominated writers can be found after the break. (more…)
2017 DICE Awards nominations announced and Uncharted 4 leads the way with ten
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced their nominees for the 2017 DICE Awards.
A Naughty Dog leads this year’s pack, as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End scored ten nominations including one for “Game of the Year.” The developer’s swan song for Nathan Drake will be competing against Battlefield 1, Inside, Overwatch, and Pokemon Go for the coveted honor. We’ll hear from all of this year’s “Game of the Year” contenders throughout the ceremony as each earned multiple nominations including Inside with nine, Battlefield 1 with eight, Overwatch with six, and Pokemon Go with two.
The AIAS will hand out two new DICE Awards this year for “Immersive Reality Game of the Year” and “Immersive Reality Technical Achievement.” The nominees for both will be announced at a later date.
A total of 56 games received at least one nomination, and hosts Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot will announce the winners on Thursday, February 23, at 10:30 PM (Eastern Time). Viewers at home will be able to livestream the entire ceremony through the AIAS’s official website.
A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Warp Zoned’s 2016 Golden Pixel Awards: A Look Back at the Year in Video Games
In a very real way, the game industry wiped the slate clean in 2016.
After nearly a decade of development difficulties, Square Enix unleashed Final Fantasy XV on the world. Fumito Ueda and Sony Japan Studio overcame similar troubles to finally release The Last Guardian. Id Software shook off the past and was reborn after the launch of the fourth game in the Doom franchise. Blizzard closed the book on their failed “Titan Project” with the release of Overwatch. Naughty Dog said goodbye to Nathan Drake, but gamers said hello to altered realities that were both “augmented” and “virtual.” Nintendo found new kingdoms to conquer with Super Mario Run. And the launch of No Man’s Sky taught us that while the hype machine sometimes fails to deliver, the chance for a brighter tomorrow is always there.
But before we venture off into that great unknown, let’s look back at some of gaming’s highlights from 2016. (more…)
Sony sells 6.2 million PS4 consoles during holiday season to bring total to 53.4 million
About a month ago, Sony announced that consumers had purchased more than 50 million PS4 consoles since its launch in November 2013. It’s an incredibly impressive figure, so naturally, the consolemaker is back with a new report detailing the PS4’s sales performance over the holiday season.
From November 20 through January 1, Santa put in a lot of overtime to help Sony sell 6.2 million PS4 consoles to consumers around the world. This brings the total number of PS4 consoles sold since launch to 53.4 million.
“We are truly grateful for the tremendous support from our fans and partners, which has helped to make this holiday season one of the best in our history,” said Andrew House, the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We will aim to continue the momentum this year by broadening the PS4 title portfolio, further enriching the revolutionary gaming experiences on PlayStation VR and high quality gaming experience on PlayStation 4 Pro, while also expanding network services. We will remain steadfast in making the PS4 the best place to play.”
In addition to welcoming a huge number of new players to the PlayStation family, Sony also sold a massive amount of software during the holiday season. According to the consolemaker, 50.4 million games were purchased in retail stores and as digital downloads through the PlayStation Store.
For Sony, the most popular PS4 title of the year was Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which sold an astonishing 8.7 millions since its launch in May.
Inside leads the way with six nominations at 2017 GDC Awards
The organizers of the Game Developers Conference have announced the nominees for the 2017 Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be held on March 1 at 9:30 (Eastern Time). Playdead’s Inside tallied six nominations, including “Game of the Year,” “Best Narrative,” “Best Design,” “Best Visual Art,” “Best Audio,” and the “Innovation Award.”
Competing with Inside for “Game of the Year” honors this year is Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Blizzard’s Overwatch, Arkane’s Dishonored 2, and Campo Santo’s Firewatch.
Double Fine’s Tim Schafer will host the GDC Awards this year for the sixth time. He previously hosted the ceremony in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
The full list of nominees, and a huge number of Honorable Mentions, can be found after the break. (more…)
Overwatch wins Game of the Year at 2016 Game Awards
The 2016 Game Awards were filled with surprises, but I’m sure no one was shocked when Blizzard’s Overwatch walked away with the most statuettes last night, including the coveted “Game of the Year” prize. The popular online shooter also won the “Best Multiplayer” award, as well as the fan-voted “Best eSports Game” award. And Blizzard was honored for their development work on Overwatch with the “Best Game Direction” award.
Naughty Dog and id Software also had a good night with two wins apiece. The familial tale at the center of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End won “Best Narrative” and Nolan North won “Best Performance” for his final turn as Nathan Drake. Meanwhile, Doom blasted its way into the spotlight with wins in the “Best Music/Sound Design” and the “Best Action Game” categories.
Playdead’s Inside (“Best Art Direction” and “Best Independent Game”) and Pokemon Go (“Best Mobile/Handheld Game” and “Best Family Game”) also earned multiple awards last night at the Game Awards.
Congratulations to all the nominees, and the full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will get a Survival Mode this December
Nathan Drake may have rode off into the sunset at the end of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, but that doesn’t mean that Naughty Dog is done with their swashbuckling action game. Announced today on the PlayStation Blog, Uncharted 4 will receive a downloadable Survival Mode expansion in mid-December.
The wave-based Survival Mode will offer a co-op experience for up to three players as they defend their base against Shoreline mercenaries and Pirate Warlords:
Across 50 waves and 10 maps, you’ll face off against Shoreline mercenaries, heavily armored Brutes, Snipers, Hunters, and more that will only get more precise, more aggressive, and better equipped as time goes on. Every 10 waves culminates in an intense boss battle, including our all-new Pirate Warlords. Inspired by the story of Uncharted 4, some of the Founders of Libertalia have arrived to hunt you down with powerful Mystical attacks. Don’t miss Henry Avery himself as the Djinn-wielding Warlord boss in the video above.
But Survival requires more than just dispatching enemies. To reach wave 50, you’ll need to work your way through objective modes where victory depends on defending a particular area, collecting treasures within a time limit, or taking out marked enemies. We might even throw a curveball at you from time to time, like when an active modifier makes it so only pistols, headshots, or melee attacks do damage to enemies. As you take out enemies and complete objectives, you’ll earn in-game cash, which can be used to unlock and equip weapons and gear via arsenal crates around the map. You can buy everything from Heavy Weapons, long guns, Mysticals, and more.
Sony hasn’t announced a price for Uncharted 4’s Survival Mode yet, but if you’re planning to attend this year’s PlayStation Experience in Anaheim, you’ll be able to test out the downloadable expansion at Naughty Dog’s Booth.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End leads the way at 2016 Game Awards with eight nominations
We’re rapidly approaching the end of the year, and that means the 2016 Game Awards are right around the corner. The Game Awards will once again be produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, who will honor this year’s best games and look to the future with a number of huge World Premieres, including the first gameplay footage from BioWare’s Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Before we blast off to a far away galaxy, let’s stop and recognize Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which received eight nominations this year from the Game Awards Advisory Board. In addition to “Game of the Year,” Nathan Drake’s final adventure is also up for “Best Game Direction,” “Best Art Direction,” “Best Narrative,” and “Best Action/Adventure Game,” along with a “Best Performance” nomination for all three of the game’s main performers.
Uncharted 4 will compete with some of 2016’s biggest titles for “Game of the Year” at the 2016 Game Awards including Doom, Inside, Overwatch, and Titanfall 2.
“The Game Awards is all about celebrating the state of video game art,” said Keighley. “In just a few short weeks we will recognize the most outstanding games of 2016 in unexpected ways, and preview the most anticipated games of 2017 and beyond with the longest, most in-depth world premieres we’ve ever attempted… including surprises and new game announcements.”
The Game Awards will be held on December 1 at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time), and fans can watch the show through their favorite video streaming service or at TheGameAwards.com. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)