Hitman: Absolution - Contracts Mode

Hitman: Absolution launches on Tuesday, and with it comes the inclusion of a brand new game mode: Contracts. Contracts is a mode that allows players to create their of contracts/missions for other players to try. 

Contracts are created in-game, where the player plays through the level, in the manner in which they want their contract completed; they select their targets, the way in which said targets should be killed, and the disguise the players must use when killing their target. Once the contract is created, other players can attempt to complete it and rank on the leaderboards based on their time, execution, and overall performance. 

Check out the video below for a walkthrough on how the Contracts mode works:

Playstation Vita - MHP3rd Jinouga Hunt

Playstation Vita - Monster Hunter Portable 3rd

Personal Development

So as my Professional Practice module comes to a close, so must my blog, and with it I need to write a reflective summary of my 'journey' thus far. This doesn't mean to say I will stop blogging, but once I submit it as coursework next week, it will probably be the same situation that I had with my website in as much that I probably wont be allowed to edit/add to it until external examination has been completed, which is May/June. So I wont be able to blog until then. Who knows, maybe I'll resume blogging once the external examination process is complete, but then again, maybe by then I might have landed my first job (nothing wrong with being optimistic, right?), only time will tell.

Anyway, that aside, let me begin my reflective summary. I found this module to be particularly useful in as much that it not only provided me with a vast amount of industry insight that I didn't previously have, but it has also helped me gear myself up better for when the time comes to begin applying for jobs. Throughout the course of this module there have been successes, and failures, but that's what it's all about.

As far as success stories go, they aren't stories about how I "got a job offer" or even an "internship offer", they are much smaller, and more of a personal success. The first of which was the completion of my website. I had been meaning to complete it for quite some time now, and having it set as a coursework just gave me that final motivational nudge that I needed to get it done. With that online, I now have a name for myself, and a means to show people who I am, and what I can do, not to mention the fact that I now have a portfolio to show potential employers, so I like to think of that as a small success.

Another positive ‘chapter’ in my on-going story, was meeting the team at Splash Damage when working at Eurogamer Expo to help them demo Brink. I talked to different members of the team throughout the course of the day, and they gave me tips/pointers on what employers would be looking for, and general encouragement. At the end of the day, we exchanged business cards, and they said if anything came up, they'd try to let us know. So that's another success, I now have a couple of contacts inside the industry that I can get in touch with.

Following on from that comes a 'failure', and that was when I actually applied to Splash Damage. For all other companies, I had just been adding them to a list that I will refer to when I am ready to start applying. Splash Damage was different however, given that I met the team, I wanted to follow that up as soon as possible so that they didn't forget me. So shortly after the Eurogamer Expo, I sent them an informal email, in an attempt to find out if there was anything available; with this I also sent my CV and a covering letter. However despite this, I haven't heard from them yet, but I don't hold it against them. They are a great team, and a great bunch of people, and I understand that when I applied, perhaps they just weren't looking for someone, so I don't feel disheartened, I just realise that the next time I apply, I'll be sure I'm ready in the event that I get a chance to show them what I can really do.

So what is my plan for the future? Well it's quite simple really, first and foremost I plan on finishing my degree, after all, with a degree to my name, I'll at least have more of a chance of making it to the interview room. Alongside this, I plan on expanding my portfolio with a mixture of both my university projects, and my projects I do outside university. I also plan on working especially hard on the level design side of my portfolio given that when it comes down to it, if I could start work as a graduate/junior level designer over a programmer, then I'd definitely do so. Once my degree is complete, my portfolio should be much more impressive, with almost twice as much content as it currently has, and with that at my disposal, I'll be ready to apply for real. In addition to that I am forever trying to network where possible, in turn building up my contacts; after all “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”.

On completing my degree I'll be sure to get in touch with the contacts I currently have first, seeing as that is an immediate advantage if I don't have to go through the normal employment channels. I will also be sure to apply to all the companies I have kept a record of even if I don’t know whether or not I am fully qualified; after all, there is only one way to certify something you are unsure of, and that is to try.

And on that note, I will draw this to a close. It has been fun blogging these past few months, and as I said, perhaps I'll resume in June, but until then, take it easy~!

Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2011

So it's finally here, 2011, and with it comes a huge line up of amazing games, so I figured I'd take the time to list my top 5 most anticipated games for this year.

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda series is my favourite game series, and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is my favourite game of all time, so it's only natural that i'd be excited for Skyward Sword. I really like the new visual style, and the new improved controls are going to make playing this on the Wii that much more enjoyable. I had a chance to briefly test the game out at Eurogamer Expo last year, and I liked what I saw, so here's hoping it can only get better. I just hope that they make this game a bit longer, and up the difficulty level a bit, because Twilight Princess was a bit too easy.

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is a series I have been a fan of for a long time, and I started the series right from the very first Tomb Raider game and have been a fan ever since. Admittedly I have missed out a couple of them, namely the Angel of Darkness, and the most recent Tomb Raider Underworld, but I plan on playing through Underworld soon. However my main reason for being excited about this new Tomb Raider is that it is a reboot of the series, so it gives the developers a chance to build Lara Croft right up from the start, and I am really looking forward to seeing what they are going to do with the series, and what new directions they are going to take.

Metal Gear Solid Rising

I am a latecomer to the Metal Gear Solid series, given that my first MGS game was MGS4, but after playing that and realising what I have been missing out on, I will be sure to follow the series from here on out. With that in mind, I am most definitely excited about MGS Rising. When playing MGS4, although not playable, Raiden was one of my favourite characters, so the fact that I get to play as Raiden in MGS Rising is an immediate selling point.

Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception

Having followed Nathan Drake through the jungles, and the frozen mountains, I am looking forward to seeing what his next desert adventure will hold. I hope that they improve the multiplayer component in Uncharted 3, because multiplayer in number 2 was fun, but didn't hold me for very long, so it'd be nice if they added a bit more depth to it. But that would be a mere bonus, given that I play Uncharted for its epic stories, so I am looking forward to seeing the story behind the title, "Drake's Deception".

Brink

I first saw Brink back at Eurogamer 2009 when I attended their first stage demo, where they showed off early footage of the game, and gave us an insight into what they were trying to achieve. I then saw much more, and had a chance to demo the game, at Eurogamer 2010 and I was very impressed with what I saw. I am especially looking forward to playing the co-op campaign, given that it can have up to 8 players, which should make for an awesome experience.

Additional Mentions

There are a couple of things that didn't make it into the Top 5, and that is not because they don't deserve to be there, because they definitely do, but it's for a couple of other reasons.

Nintendo 3DS

Seeing as the 3DS is a console, I figured it should stand apart from my "Top 5 Most Anticipated Games", and that's why it appears as an additional mention. Also, it goes without saying that if I'm excited about the 3DS then I'm obviously going to be excited for the games it is going to have, especially the Ocarina of Time remake. Still trying to decide between the Red and Black, or the All Black version, but either way, I can't wait till March for this to come out.

The Last Guardian

And as for Last Guardian, although it has been slated for Q4 2011, it hasn't been given an official release date yet, and that's why I didn't put it in the Top 5, but I am still really looking forward to this game.

So that's it, that is my top 5 most anticipated games of 2011. Naturally there are a whole load of other games that I am looking forward to, but once again, there are only 5 spaces in a "Top 5".

My Top 5 Games of 2010

So, 2010 is drawing to a close, and what an awesome year it has been! Not only have there been loads of awesome games, but I also got to go to TGS (Tokyo Game Show) this year, so all round I'd say 2010 has been pretty good. Now the official Game of the Year was announced at the VGAs, and that was Red Dead Redemption, but I thought I'd take the time to talk a bit about my personal top 5 games of 2010 (in no particular order).

Castlevania Lord of Shadows

This game is absolutely outstanding, and if I had to choose my game of the year, it'd probably be this. Firstly, the storytelling throughout the game was brilliant, and the voice cast only enhanced this further; and the ending was really unexpected. Secondly the combat in this game felt really weighted, which is something that I think some Hack and Slashes lack, and the combos/moves you could unlock were just awesome. Finally, need I say anything else really? Awesome storytelling, great gameplay, it's a winner.

Fable III

I think the fact that I played through Fable III twice in the space of about 3 days is a pretty clear indication that I enjoyed this game. I especially enjoyed playing co-op with TwoSixNine, and seeing how differently our characters developed throughout the story (I went down the path of evil); I also liked the way that those developments were saved as statues along the "Road to Rule". Admittedly the game wasn't perfect, and we had to restart the entire game once when we glitched inside Reavers Mansion, but surprisingly these glitches didn't bother me in the slightest and didn't detract from the enjoyment of the game at all.

Halo Reach

The campaign in this game may have been a bit short, but there was so much going on, and so much variation from mission to mission that you really don't notice it. Again the addition of co-op makes the campaign that much more enjoyable (my team: TwoSixNine, Fumetsu Natsu and Saigon). The new armour abilities are a nice addition, and they really mix things up when playing multiplayer.

Heavy Rain

I decided to overlook the massive plot hole in this game, and commend it for what it really is. It was almost nostalgic playing this game, because it reminded me of the days when I used to play Broken Sword. Admittedly Heavy Rain isn't exactly a point and click game, but the detective aspects and the involvement in the narrative really brought back memories. I liked the way that you played as different characters throughout the story, because it provided some really interesting ideas when trying to work out how the story was going to play out, and I also liked the way that the game could have multiple endings.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit

I was originally going to put this in the additional mentions, and not as one of my "Top Games of 2010" but then I realised quite how much it surprised me, and how much enjoyment I got out of it. After playing GT5 till I couldn't handle boredom any longer, it was really refreshing to play an arcadey racing game that didn't take itself seriously. Multiplayer is definitely where this game shines though; when you play with a full party of 8 people (4 cops and 4 racers) and you are driving at top speed trying to avoid oncoming cars, treacherous spike strips and inconvenient road blocks whilst being chased by the cops, the adrenaline really kicks in.

Additional Mentions

As I said at the start of this post, there have been loads of amazing games this year, and naturally not all of them can fit into a "Top 5", but I just thought I would list a few other games that I really enjoyed this year.

Assassins Creed Brotherhood

Admittedly I would much rather have had AC3 with another new character from Desmond's ancestry, however this game was still really enjoyable. It started off a bit slowly, and the repetitive missions made a slight return, however when you get about 4 chapters into the game, it really starts to pick up. The addition of the brotherhood was a nice feature, especially when you have a full team of assassins that all jump in to help you out. Multiplayer was also a nice addition that actually works really well, when you can actually get into a game; I would probably have played it a bit longer had the matchmaking been a bit better.

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd

I played Monster Hunter Tri this year, but out of the two, I felt Portable 3rd was the one to mention. Given that Tri took out a fair few weapons, it was nice to see them return in Portable 3rd. I think this game is definitely a lot easier than Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, given that I haven't had any real trouble fighting any of the monsters yet, which is a shame in some respects given that I liked the challenge, but perhaps it will get harder nearer the end, especially when I come to fight Black Tigrex.

Crackdown 2

This game may not be for everyone, but I had endless amounts of fun playing this. I think it makes all the difference when you have an awesome group of people to play co-op with (TwoSixNine, Dr McMystery and Agent T) and when you combine that with a game that is so crazy in its own respect, you have the formula for a hilarious co-op experience. The game is most enjoyable when your armour skills are maxed out, and you're all running around throwing cars and trucks at each other while jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

This is definitely one of the best games on the PSP to date, and the inclusion of a Monster Hunter cameo was a nice bonus. My only gripe with this game was how it was so broken up. I completely understand that the game was designed as a hand-held game, so the way that missions were broken up was to lend itself to portable play, but I did find that it detached you from the story a bit. Despite that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and the art style cut-scenes were awesome.

3D Dot Game Heroes

I haven't actually got round to completing this game yet, but I felt it deserved a mention not just because it's an awesome game so far, but because it was also a big influence in one of the group projects I did last term (we made an RTS with a 3D Dot Game Heroes visual style).

So that's it, that's my top 5 games for 2010, and a few additional mentions. Tune in tomorrow when I talk about my most anticipated games for 2011.

Self Promotion 03

This is going to be my last "self promotion" related post, so I figure I may as well summarise everything I haven't mentioned up to this point.

As I stated a while back, I have been holding off on actually sending any applications given that up until recently, I didn't have a portfolio to show any potential employers, and as a result, I have just been compiling a long list of company's that offer jobs that may well be relevant to someone in my situation. Now I know that might not be the best way to go about things, given that some people may think "what if you add a job to your list, and then when you get round to applying, it isn't available any more?", and this is very true, but at least I am building up a 'map' of relevant places that I can apply to; either way, it's how I'm doing things, and that's that.

One of the most recent jobs I added to the list was that of a graduate programmer at Black Rock Studios. Their requirements are someone with "strong C++ skills", "a 2:1 or above in a Computer Science related subject" and of course, "enthusiasm in the games industry". Well I can definitely tick off the last one, that's for sure! As for the other two, well the second one I will obviously have to wait until I graduate, but that suits me fine. As for the first requirement, well that's a maybe; the thing I hate about looking at job applications that say "strong C++ skills" is that I don't have anything to go by when 'rating' my skills. What exactly does "strong C++ skills" really mean? I mean I have a good grasp of the language, and can program to what I believe to be a competent level, but is that enough? I guess the only way to find out is to try, which is what I will do, when the time is right. I guess it doesn't help that my natural instinct is to always assume I don't know "enough". But I will remain determined and I will believe in myself and my abilities!

Aside from that, the other thing I have recently completed was some research for one of my tutors who works in the games industry. He emailed the class over the Christmas holiday with the opportunity to do a "days work" for him in the form of market research. So naturally I jumped at the opportunity, and it seems only a couple of other people did as well, so god knows what the rest of the class was doing! But that is irrelevant, because I chose to do it, and as a result that is something else I can now put on my CV!

Finally the other thing I did to ensure I am up to date on any jobs that might be relevant to me, is sign up to the job-related news letter on GamesIndustry.biz, so I receive updates that detail job opportunities that get posted on their site. And seeing as I receive emails on my phone, I can get job updates no matter where I am!