E3 2017: Rumours, Predictions & Hopes!

Yesterday, I talked about the games that I'm looking forward to at E3. Those were the previously announced titles and most probably will be at next week's gaming event.

However, there should be some announcements in the coming days or if they manage to prevent any leaks, we can expect some surprises during the Press Conferences. These are the ones that make or break a E3 event for me. 

So, below is a list of games that I'm predicting or hoping that will be announced at E3..

Payday 2: Biker Packs DLC trailer

I don't usually update the blog with new Payday 2 content anymore because nothing ever comes to the PS4, where I play, but exceptions can always be made.

The latest update to Payday 2 (on the PC only) is the Biker Packs DLC, which was teased a while back with this teaser.

And the trailer was released for E3.. Funny how I thought the first biker had a resemblance to Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy and then.. Watch it for yourself..

Clay! Featuring Ron Pearlman! Effing awesome! Love the biker theme in this new pack and you can't get anyone better to join the Heisters!

Whether this new DLC ever comes to the consoles is another thing but I'll just have to keep hoping..

---

Payday 2 Crimewave Edition update #7 for the Consoles..

So.. another Friday comes and yet another update regarding the PayDay 2 Crimewave Edition..

This time, they have promised us that Jacket will be given to us for free, when the first DLC update is ready for the consoles.

Jacket is the main character in the game, Hotline Miami, who was also added in the PC version of the PayDay 2 game because of a collaboration between the companies. So, Jacket will be a new playable character for us on the consoles.

Unsurprisingly, there's still no scheduled date on when the first DLC will be released and all we hear is soon.. Which has been the case since late last year. Though, I just have that feeling that we are getting closer this time or maybe it's just me stubbornly not wanting to give up..

It's still very frustrating considering PS4 players are still waiting for the $10mill cash drop and the Unforsaken Mask which was first announced in Nov 20 last year.

I have been checking online to see the status of this and even asked the PayDay 2 team on Twitter but haven't received a response. No one else seems to care though.. Maybe everyone's given up already.

Oh well.. let's see how it goes.. Check out the full update #7 below.

---

Finally.. Some updates for Payday players on the Consoles

Well.. after being forgotten, we Console players finally get some updates for Payday: Crimewave Edition.

On previous-gen consoles; PS3 and Xbox 360, apart from a few early DLC packs, none of the content that came to the PC appeared on the consoles. Basically, we gave up after a while.

Then, when Payday: Crimewave Edition was announced, Overkill Software promised us that the new consoles; PS4, XBox One will get all the content for PC players. 

It was promising at the start.. Crimewave Edition packed all the DLC from the start right up to the last DLC they released.. for free! And we were promised that future content on PC will also be appearing on consoles. 

They blamed technical issues for the inability to provide new content on the older console platforms and assured us that the new consoles don't have those technical limitations.

I was convinced.. So much so that even though common sense told me that PC would still be the better option, which I did buy on the Steam Sale, I also bought Payday for my PS4. 

Once again, I was fooled. There's been quite a number of new DLC packs for PC already since then, but no sign of those coming to the consoles. Kinda lost count already but I think there's 4 or 5 packs released after Crimewave Edition's release.

We kept getting, "Don't worry, it will come" answer but nothing up to now..

However, we have something now.. (Click image to expand)

Well.. there's still no concrete or even an estimated date on when we can expect the new content.. So, I dunno? Can we expect regular updates at least, for real this time? Let's see..

---

Played a bit of PayDay 2 on Steam

After purchasing the PayDay 2 GOTY Edition at the Steam Sale a few days back, I managed to try out the game at my brother's PC on Saturday when I went over to my parents' place.

Took a while to get used to the keyboard controls but it was fun. Wow, it's been so long since I played a shooter on PC..

Me: Bro, what are the controls?
Bro: It's the standard controls..
Me: Err... what are the standard controls?
Bro: Hahahahaha!
Me: .....

Played 2 missions but the game crashed just as I was completing the 2nd mission.. Damn!

Anyway.. my brother is going to get a new PC so he's gonna pass his old one to me! There's some repairs that needs to be done but after-which, I'm going to be heisting on the PC!

And.. the Steam Sale was on again at 75% off PayDay 2's DLC so..

The rest of the PayDay 2 DLC!

Another SGD$12 or so spent.. that's PayDay 2 and all the DLCs for just under SGD$25!

Good stuff eh?

Off topic now.. After my purchases, I noticed I have this in my Steam inventory..

What are these gems and booster packs? 

---

And... I bought it.. PayDay 2 on PC!

PC or PS4, PC or PS4.. that was the question running in my head for the past few months...

Ever since PayDay 2: Crimewave Edition was announced for the PS4, it re-kindled my interest in this game. And I have been trying to find some friends who would join me on the PS4.

So, how many friends have I found? A big fat 0..

Everyone seemed to have it on PC though, but they weren't too active either. So, it was a dilemma.

But with the Steam Sale today and some convincing by very own brother, who recently got back onto this game with my convicing, I bought the PayDay 2 GOTY Edition on PC for a total of SGD$12.25!

What a steal! But that's only half the DLC available on Steam. Might get the rest if I'm regularly playing this.

So now, to test if this works on my PC or else I have to go ahead with my plans on getting a new PC.. Can't wait for Pay Day!! No, not the game but my actual pay day..

The Steam Sale is still running for another few hours or so, if anyone wants to get this..

---

Payday 2 Crimewave Edition coming to PS4 and Xbox One!

Another game gets the remaster treatment! 

PayDay 2 will come to the PS4 and XBox One in June 2015! 

I'm honestly getting a little tired of the Remastered games but when you hear what the Crimewave Edition has for you, it sounds pretty convincing.

The Crimewave Edition will feature new technical updates like improved framerate, 1080P Resolution and improved texture quality.

In terms of content, it satisfies the only grief that I had with the game.. While the console versions have come out with a couple of extra content to add on to the game, it pales in comparison to the PC version where over 20 pieces of DLC have come out for the game, to date.

However, Crimewave Edition includes all of these DLC that were thus far, exclusive to the PC. (Just missing a handful, some of which released just a few days ago. Come on Overkill, release them too!). 

So yea! All free! That's hours and hours more of additional content which are absolutely free!

Definitely worth the purchase, but it's a kind of game that you would really enjoy with friends and again, I will need friends to play with, if I'm getting this game. So, I'm a little hesitant on getting this. I had the game on the PS3 but it released just before GTA V came out, and once that came out, I didn't have time for PayDay 2 anymore. Just seems like it's happening again..

Don't let that discourage you though.. the edition is packed with content.. Check out the trailer to hype you up!

For more info on the content that will be included in the Crimewave Edition & why the DLCs weren't included in consoles in the first place, check out the source link below..

Source: Overkill Software

---

More PayDay 2 Masks for E3 2014

Did I ever tell you I have a thing for Masks.. 

Here's more masks from PayDay 2..

These were given out at E3 2014 and completes the rest of the masks that you see in the game.

More pics of the masks..

Wolf

Hoxton

Chains

and of course Dallas..

Looks to be the same one from previous years so I have several of this now.

Got this from eBay and the listing also came with these..

A mask for the lower part of your face.. (what do you call this?)

A sticker and more PayDay dollar bills!

Group Photo Time..

Oh and if you didn't know..

This has been certified Coolest Swag by Marketing Instincts.. ;)

---

Payday 2 Career Criminal Collectors' Edition

Managed to get the Payday 2 Collectors' Edition finally. Had a few hiccups on the way but here it is!

No. 7512 of 20,000! 

This Collector's Edition was actually advertised as being limited to 50,000 units. I did manage to see the XBox 360 version in the store which was stated as "30,000 unit Limited Edition production" at the bottom.. So there you have your 50k units (20k PS3 + 30k XBox360).

My disc was Region 1 so it's anyone's guess if the 50k included Region 2 discs or if they had a different count. Anyone has info on this? 

Anyway just some info for those who wanted to know.. Let's get on with the contents!

The $100 bill wallet and the game

A wallet designed to look like a $100 bill!

From what I read, the wallet is made of Tyvek Material, pretty good quality but probably not going to replace my wallet for this. 

The soundtrack with 14 tracks

The box of goodies!

Opening up the box...

The mask...

The surgical gloves...

All the contents...

Overall a pretty cool Collector's Edition. Definitely worth it if you are a fan of themed merchandise or items that look like they came straight out of the game. Especially for the price, this makes a decent Collectors' Edition. All the items will go well with the other Payday Promo items I got. 

But something's fishy though.. I don't see any DLC code to redeem the Lootbag DLC that was supposed to be included. No card voucher, nothing on the manual either so I'm not sure what happened here... Anyone knows where I can find it?

Edit: Gonna send a mail to 505 Games support and see if they can help me with it. Apparently the DLC is given out by retailers only so my import copy doesn't come with one. Why advertise that all pre-orders will receive the Lootbag DLC then?

Anyway... I have always wanted to do this ever since I saw the contents of this Collectors' Edition..

Let's Rock!

Haha! The material used for the mask means you gotta adjust it properly onto your face. I have seen some horrible pics around but I think I make the mask look good!

PayDay: The Heist Promos and my Fascination with Masks

Cool promo items for PayDay 1 and 2!

Recently played this game and got hooked immediately! I even wrote a blog some time back. 

I have always have had a thing for masks so it was great to see some PayDay 2 Masks given out as promos for the sequel in the recent E3 2013.

Had to get two of these so I can give one to my heist partner ;)

Along with these masks, they handed out fake $2 bills as well...

While hunting for these on eBay, I also came across another promo!

PayDay 1 Mask! If I remember correctly, this was from SDCC 2011. A more simpler version of the PayDay 2 Mask. Here's a comparison pic.

Masks are made of material slightly better than those you can find at children's theme parks. Not very flimsy but not very durable either. Thanks again to my friend who packed these very well.

Closer pic of the PayDay 2 Mask front and back...

A recent remark by the friend about my fascination with masks got me thinking.. I have had this weird fascination with evil clowns and masks for as long as I remember. 

With Clowns and Jesters, that idea of covering your emotions to the world while keeping on a smiling face at all times was intriguing. You don't show your weakness nor do you show your confidence. A smiling face keeps the opponent guessing.

Masks were similar in that aspect. The fascination with masks did start from Jokers in fact, but took it to another level for me. While the Smiley-Jokers were meant to mask people's emotions, masks in general were to cover their identities. 

Masks are used to cover who a person actually is, but it is this that brings out who a person really is.

Sometimes covering the identity of a person can actually bring out the true nature of a person. It's as if, a mask has some magical powers but it's just a psychological thing...

Pretty deep huh?

I'm Playing: PayDay The Heist

Looks like July-August is a time for most gamers to catch up on their backlog before the big games hit from September onwards.. 

With GTA V in September, AC IV at the end of October and Watch Dogs in November, I'm going to be busy at the end of the year. So now is a good time to catch up on some backlog too.

But... instead of starting on one of the many retail discs, I decided to get PayDay: The Heist on PSN. I have always wanted to get this but it seemed more like a game best enjoyed in co-op. Lucky for me, a few other guys on the SGamers forum decided to start on this too. (Could be due to the whole bank heist theme coming in September with GTA V.)

The game's pretty good. A true co-op shooter. 
The game focuses on masked-men performing heists for their next big PayDay. There are 6 maps with each having varying objectives. Sure, it's all about collecting the money but it's not all about Bank Heists.

The first map is a typical bank heist. Walk into a bank, put on your masks and locate the bank manager. Get the equipment which has been previously stored inside the bank itself to drill and burn your way into the vault. All these while the Law Enforcers try to stop you. They come in fast and with plenty of reinforcements, so it's no means a hush-hush job. Once you get into the vault, you have to fight your way out to a getaway car in the basement.

Next up is a escort mission. Some dude tricks the heisters and tries to get away in a car with some valuable stuff. Your team chases after him, up the streets filled with cops in a mission aptly named Heat Street. You find his crashed car a few blocks down. Of course, the fella doesn't want to come out of the car so you literally have to smoke him out. 

While waiting for him to give up, you got to defend yourselves against dozens of cops coming at you from all directions. Once he's finally out, you have to escort the limping traitor to a landing zone where you have to fight off cops while waiting for the chopper to come pick you guys up.

There are 4 other missions and even on Normal Difficulty, it's not an easy task. There are 2 higher difficulty levels as well. Lucky of us, there are upgrades you earn as your reputation level goes up. However, the upgrade system is a little weird. While most upgrade systems give you points to add to different skill trees in the menu, this game automatically upgrades you on a particular skill tree based on your pre-chosen choice. 

If you forget to change this option before you rank up, it will be too late. I haven't seen any option to re-spec either. However, I have read that if you do in fact reach the maximum rank, you would have fully upgraded all 3 skill trees.

Other than this minor flaw, it's pretty good. While there are only 6 maps, the difficulty is rather unforgiving. Trophy Hunters will have to spend many hours replaying the maps to be able to get all the good upgrades. With many of the trophies requiring you to beat a map on the highest difficulty level, you will definitely be needing the upgrades. 

Try to get a group of 4 for this game. Game's pretty tough even with 3 players and one AI. 

I'm enjoying this game, so much so, that I have pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of PayDay 2 and bought some promo items for the game. 

So, what are you guys playing? What's next on your to-buy list?

My favourite games from E3 2013!

E3 2013 has come and gone.. so what are the games that I'm looking forward to?

Unsurprisingly, the big ones like Assassin's Creed IV, Watch Dogs and Infamous: Second Son are my favourites.

The Assassin's Creed series keeps getting bigger each year and Assassin's Creed IV seems to be following the trend. With Naval Battles a much bigger focus this time, I'm definitely looking forward to it.. And who doesn't like Pirates? Ubisoft is clever enough to know that if they don't bring in new themes into the Assassin-Templar setting, the series will start to suffer. Glad that they chose a Pirate theme for this one..

Watch Dogs looks cool, I did see this at E3 2012 and was impressed by the trailer back then but wasn't sure about the game. It sort of looks like a modern-day Assassin's Creed game (They are both from Ubisoft afterall), but it does looks fun. If the actual game lives up to the "hack-anything" hype, this could be one hell-of-a-game.

This is my first-look at Infamous: Second Son as I have been avoiding it till now. I haven't played Infamous 2 yet so didn't want to spoil it for me, but I just couldn't resist it in the end. Really impressed by the graphics and game-play from the E3 demos. The game looks more fun than the previous games but the protagonist doesn't seem that likeable at the moment. We will see about that soon enough. Need to get on Infamous 2 in the meantime..

These are the 3 games that I'm definitely getting on release day but there might be more depending..

PayDay 2 looks real fun. I haven't played the first as I can't get enough friends to play together. Would really like to play that before getting onto the 2nd game. Bank Heists, Guys in Joker Masks.. what's there not to like? I have always had a thing for Joker/Jester/Evil Clown stuff and I have even hunted down the the PayDay 1 and 2 promo items, they should be posted out from the U.S very soon. Anyone wanna play the first with me?

Thief has gone in and out of my "Interest Radar" over the past few weeks. The setting and theme of the game looks really cool but gameplay hasn't gotten me really excited. Will have to see more before I can decide...

Batman Arkham Origins continues, what is a great series of Batman games. Wish more comic-based games are up to this standard. More bad guys, more Batman, more action and of course more Joker! What else can I ask for?

The Crew is another game from one of my favourite publishers, Ubisoft, so this had me interested. It's sort of a co-op racing game and it does look cool and the concept looks real fun. Somehow, I don't seem to have the time for racing games. Got Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit last year but never got around to playing it much. Will be tracking this one for the moment. 

Another game from Ubisoft, The Division looks visually stunning. While watching the trailer for the first time, I thought.. here we go, yet another Zombie game but they surprised me with the whole disease/infection thing. This whole "disease" epidemic is so real in life that it does freak me out. Forget wars, floods, meteors, aliens... a widespread epidemic could wipe out the human population. In the Last of Us, the game shows us how infection can change the entire world. 

The trailer also talks about how infection can pass through dollar notes.. and it was a nice touch of dropping "infected" notes onto the show floor to exchange for memorabilia. The Division was probably E3 2013's best game. A really cool game and if it plays half as good as it looks, I'll be in for this.

Among all the games that were revealed at E3 itself, the game that excited me most was Killer Instinct. This fighting game might be unknown to many but this was pretty famous many years back. I have never played nor heard of this but it looks really cool. In the demo, the developers talked about how they will have training features in the game to help beginners pick up the different moves. That would really help someone like me who just suck at fighting games. Really disappointed to know that this will be a X-Box exclusive. Would have been a must-buy for me.

Of course, there was no GTA V on show at E3. Rockstar has a habit of not attending E3 so wasn't expecting to see that or else this whole post would be about GTA V!

I was also very disappointed about no news of a new Prince of Persia game. Realistically speaking, I wasn't expecting any news from this franchise, but I was secretly hoping that it would be one of the games to be revealed at E3. Sadly nothing... but..... Just 2 days ago, the official Prince of Persia Facebook page posted this.. "Get ready for some news about Prince of Persia, starting next week...". I wonder what the news is..

Anyway, this has been a very exciting E3 with all the next-gen updates and cool games. I'm definitely looking forward to many of these games mentioned above. What about you guys? What games are you most interested in from this year's E3?

PayDay 2 Collector's Edition Revealed?

Hmm.. Spotted this PayDay 2 Collector's Edition Details. Not sure if it's officially revealed yet since I haven't seen news of it on any of the major gaming sites.

There is no pic of the Collector's Edition either but I have seen on several sites that the contents of the CE will be: Latex mask of main character, Tyvek wallet that looks like roll of $100's, blue surgical gloves, Digital DLC loot bag with extra money, and DLC guns.

Edit: CollectorsEdition.org has found more info on this CE
The CE will be called PayDay 2 Career Criminal Edition and it will be be numbered and limited to 50K units (30K Xbox 360 and 20K PS3).

Edit: Found the pic!

US Retail price is at around US$60; $20 more than the standard edition which is at about US$40.

Many of the big online retailers don't seem to have it listed either but it's on Amazon and Play-Asia right now. I believe both retailers will ship this internationally, so you can pre-order yours at these sites if you like.

Play-Asia's Links
Buy Payday 2 (Collector's Edition) for PlayStation 3 (PS3)
Buy Payday 2 (Collector's Edition) for Xbox360 (360)

Amazon's Links
PayDay 2 (Collector's Edition) for PS3
PayDay 2 (Collector's Edition for Xbox 360

Here's a look at probably the coolest Bank Heist ever.

 

Edit: ~More info added~

Source: CollectorsEdition.org