CoD: A Love/Hate Story

With MW3 right around the corner, I've been doing a lot of thinking, probably more than I should, on the Call of Duty series and the love and hate it draws from so many people. As I was ranting to 3N3MY earlier this week, I decided to focus more of my thoughts on exactly why I won't be purchasing MW3, at least at launch. It is a game I am interested in picking up at a later date just to play the 5 hour story. I know it will feel like a Michael Bay/John Woo movie but will still be fun... just not worth $60 at launch for if I'm not interested in the MP.

PROS
1. CoD is a smooth shooter with great controls, on consoles and PC, that rewards you with XP, unlocks, ribbons, badges, everything. From the name customization in MW2 to the gun customization in Blops, CoD offers the players a lot and draws them in.

2. DLC - if it's a game you enjoy and you want to keep playing, there is definitely a lot of DLC. I would argue it's priced high for a couple maps but there are plenty of people who have paid for it.

3. Safe Bet - You know the next CoD will be a good shooter and a safe bet. If you liked the last one, you will enjoy the next one. They won't deviate from their formula very far.

CONS
1. As much as I love say, Diablo, Starcraft, Battlefield, Elder Scrolls, or Mass Effect, I would hate to see one released once a year for several years in a row. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. It gets old and stale. I love pizza but if I eat pizza every day for several days in a row, I really start to not enjoy pizza.

2. Same Engine - This could be a pro as the engine runs smooth and has since the first MW but isn't it time for a change?

3. Too Little, Too Late - Blops did a lot to address the complaints regarding MW2 but for me, it felt like too little, too late. Blops was fun but as I tracked the hours I put into the CoD series, they fell drastically with each series. I put 200+ hours into MW2 and only around 70 into Blops.

4. Bobby Kotick - EA has made some questionable moves of late but they still have nothing on this guy's mouth. :D

The main reason I won't purchase MW3 this fall is... I'm a hardcore Battlefield fan. I really love the teamplay and camaraderie the Battlefield series encourages. And to be honest, as much as I bash the CoD series now, I would probably be purchasing it if it wasn't for the countless hours I'll sink into Battlefield 3. Not to mention Elder Scrolls: Skryim comes out 3 days after MW3.

Here's a great commentary on the subject of MW3 vs. BF3 if anyone is interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Bhc_XaY6U

Deus Ex Impressions

It's been quite some time since I've struggled to put a game down, shut it down, and lay my head down on my pillow in order to get some decent sleep so I can function at work the next day. Deus Ex, like the stealth style I am failing miserably at playing the game through with, came out of nowhere and shattered the summer slump for me. I can't remember the last game that sucked me in like this. This is a game that I wasn't planning on purchasing and sort of pre-ordered on a whim, a little reward to myself for the crazy audit that we had at work that just ended this month.

The original definitely brought some great ideas to video games in general, allowing you to shoot your way through levels, sneak around undetected, hack through different areas, and so on. Back at the time, this was a novel idea and it might sound a little old now. Human Revolution expands on this idea and though the levels are still linear, it gives you a variety of methods to travel through the levels, similar to Crysis 2 if no one is familiar with the other Deus Ex games.

The music is great and makes me want to go watch Blade Runner. The gold and black art style is ambient, artistic, and original. What the game lacks in the latest and greatest facial and body animations it more than makes up for in voice acting, art style, atmosphere, and world detail. The story quickly draws you in with questions and plot lines. You will find it very hard not to want every augmentation as they all sound incredible to have on Adam Jensen (who sounds like he smokes 5 packs a day, which doesn't come off as cheesy in this game, but really BA actually). I now can see enemies fields of vision, have an extra energy cell for takedowns, and can cloak myself. I want to upgrade my hacking and social interactions but don't think I'll have enough upgrade points...

I passed up Batman: Arkham Asylum only to play it later and realize what an awesome game I had missed. This game is along those lines but an even greater game that you don't want to miss. If you play shooters at all, you must play this game.

Before I carry on too long and turn this into a full review, I strongly suggest everyone play this game. Please do not comment below since I am not talking about a AAA title... thank you.

QUICK UPDATE: Made it to the first boss fight last night. A little brutal, since I focused on stealth upgrades. Made it through, because after a couple tries, the boss stopped chasing me and stood in the middle of the room and just shot at me. Not sure if this was a glitch or built into the game to compensate for failing to kill him several times. Either way, I took him down pretty easily from cover when he just stood there. It didn't ruin the game and allowed me to carry on with the story... but it would have been nice to see all the choices you're givencarry over into the boss fight as well. Not a dealbreaker but wanted to mention this since this was a big negative I saw in other reviews.

My brother is in town so hopefully I'll beat the game next week. :D

"Rise from your graves!"

The song from the first board of Altered Beast has been stuck in my head for the last 2 flipping days!

I'd be upset....if I didn't love it so.

Just thought I'd share.

A Weekly Top 3?

I've been trying to think of some way to make posts more regularly and came up with this: other sites have their own Top 10 lists or Top 7 or whatever where they just list their OWN favorites, but we could make it so one person each week comes up with the topic and everyone makes their own list. We've done this before, like with the "Best of this Generation", "Most Disappointing" etc. I just thought it would be cool to do one each week.

So here's my first one and it's pretty simple. List your Top 3 Favorite Guns of all time. First-person shooter or third-person shooter, either one. Go.

Here are mine (in no particular order):

1. Flak Cannon - Unreal series - basically a shotgun made even more devastating due to the secondary fire, which is essentially an exploding cannonball. Very satisfying to hit someone with one of these and just watch them explode into giblets.

2. Ripper - Dead Space/Dead Space 2 - a spinning sawblade that somehow remains attached to the handle of the weapon, great for carving up necromorphs. Also has a secondary fire that shoots a sawblade out at high speed for long distance slice 'n' dice. It pretty much got me through the first game on the hardest difficulty.

3. M6D Pistol - Halo - does this really even need a description? Great from any distance, high-powered, no recoil. Some people call it unbalanced. I just call it awesome.

Astro A40's

First off all, huge apology for my complete lack of participation (I blame Huber) and thanks for not booting me off. But I'm back and raring to share some views.

So i've recently bought myself a pair of Astro A40's Wireless gaming headset. If you're unfamiliar with Astro Gaming stuff, definitely work checking out. Pretty much top of the line headsets used by all the 1337 MLG gamers. Reason for purchase was a combination of my girlfriend moving in and me wanting to upgrade my sound system. The cost to upgrade my "true" 5.1 system would of been extortionate to get the same definition and clarity as a decent headset so opted for a that over a complete 5.1 system overhaul.

There's pretty much 3 big players in the gaming headset market, Astro, Turtle Beach and Tritton. All the review websites raved about the Astro A40's over and above the other 2 competitor equivalent models so my decision was made for me.

Ordered on the Thursday, arrived on the Friday. Best packaging I've ever had for an electronic product. The build quality is excellent and there's some really nice design touches which really help justify it's hefty price tag.

I'm not going to go into the specific details of set up etc, but it was fairly straight forward. One unit plugs into your optical output on the 360 and the other unit (wireless) plugs into your 360 pad and the headset.

The sound quality is staggering, I didn't expect it to be as good as it is. The surround sound is spot on. I'm not quite sure how all the tech works behind it considering it only has 2 speakers but it really does re create the surround sound effect as well if not better than my true 5.1 system. The clarity and subtle sounds you hear is incredible. I've only really tested it a handful of times and mostly with Gears of War 2, I really want to give Bad Company 2 a blast with them on as in my opinion it has by far the best sound engineering in any game. You can expect me to update this once tested further.

Liked

5.1 surround is incredible for a headset

Multiplatform compatible

Comfortable

Great build quality

Dislike

Cost

It's wireless but there's still a lot of wires.

MaxConsole - Sony: Cross-Game Chat Not Possible

MaxConsole - Sony: Cross-Game Chat Not Possible

I'm sorry about reposting a link to another blog but this is just too ridiculous not to comment on. After 5 years (fact check?) they finally are admitting that it's just not physically possible. Seriously, why did it take them so long to do this? The other part about it is that supposedly the PS3 is this ultra-powerful machine with something like 82-cores (fact check?) yet it doesn't have enough RAM to support something as simple as cross-game chat. Now, I may not be the expert witness in a trial when it comes to PS3's hardware specs, but wouldn't you think they could find a way, even if it's just software related?

rant away

Deus Ex - Gaming Challenge

I have Deus Ex pre-ordered (and pre-loaded) on my PC ready to release Tuesday. I'm normally not patient enough to stealth my way through games unless the game/class/level is specifically (forcing you to) built around stealth of some kind, i.e. Assassin's Creed or the Rogue class in WoW (yes, I'm back into WoW... it's been a slow gaming summer!).

So I thought I would give myself a little challenge since Deus Ex gives you so many options. If it's anything like the first two and anything like they are claiming, it will have so many options to make it through a level, I'm going to try and beat the game without killing anyone (bosses not included). There is a Pacifist achievement for this on Steam

Pacifist

Complete Deus Ex: Human Revolution without anyone dying by your hand. (Boss fights do not count.)

I LOVE to run and gun so this will be a little challenge for me. Just thought I would throw that out there. The only thing that will change this for me is if the game sucks but it already has some good word of mouth and a great review from PC gamer that came out so we'll see... I'll throw up a review once it's complete.

What's the first game you ever played?

Can you even remember? Was it at an arcade or a friends house? Was it on an ancient PC? If you can't remember the game then what was the system?

I remember playing games at a very young age so there's no way in hell I'm going to remember the first game I played, but the first gaming system I ever touched was the Atari 2600 that came out 6 years before I was born.

It was an unusual system in that it had a lot of different controllers. I had a set that looked like this one with the traditional controller and the ones with the wheel and we had another one with a number bad and yet another one that was used solely for a baseball game!

The games I played on it are nigh unplayable to me today as it was the Coleco that actually got me really into gaming.

Borderlands

I've restarted Borderlands with Silent and it's as awesome as ever.

In honor of restarting it and falling in love all over again I'm posting a hilarious video that we all love.

Unreal Engine

The Unreal Engine is pure garbage.

... that is all

Maybe his real name is Andrew Ryan?

Seriously, this can't be a good idea.

Seriously?

Matchmaker, Matchmaker...

Although I've been bad about posting with any sense of regularity, this is an issue that I've been mulling over for some time - Matchmaking.

What will you be buying before Christmas?

Lets face it. The months leading up to Christmas are taxing on any consumer, but especially so on gamers. There are a plethora of Triple A games coming out before Christmas and I want to know what you WILL be buying. Not what you're on the fence about.

The only game I'm absolutely purchasing before Christmas is Rage. I've got a huge hard on for id and this is their first proper game in seven years. People that play their games know that nobody does the execution of shooting mechanics better than id. Every game of theirs I've ever played or that Raven has ported has such an extremely specific feel for the guns that no other game maker has nailed.

All hail John Carmack!

A Tale of a Dude that Finally Prestiged.

So I've been playing a lot of Black Ops again lately and it's been wonderful to scratch that MP itch again! I love me some Bad Company 2, but the overall team aspect and terrible lobby system make playing it solo a pain at times. Especially when your team is playing TDM and not Rush.

Anyways, last night I finally got to level 51 which is when you can Prestige and start over. In the past I'd been a huge advocate of not doing this because since I'd put in all this time earning this stuff why would I want to throw it away? Since I play by myself I figured starting over wouldn't be a big deal and would, ultimately, make the game more fun because of the addicting crack that is ranking up.

I was right! I'm already drooling over getting to level 14 and unlocking my almighty Famas and then at level 20 the holiest of holies....the Galil.

Playing with the Enfield right now is pretty much balls on my chin, but I'm still holding up really well online. I've also been exclusively playing Pure TDM which uses no perks, killstreaks or gun add ons and it's actually gotten me nothing but better scores. I normally sit between 1.50 and 2.0 k/d ratios, but in Pure, without napalm and airstrike attacks every 15 seconds, I'm almost always above 2.0. My current stats are 26hrs logged online with a k/d of 1.54.

It's been strange to be in such a funk for so long in gaming and to have the dirtiest of words/games to be a breath of fresh air. Ultimately, playing CoD by myself can feel like spinning my wheels in the mud, but it's been a blast!

Battlefield 3 Alpha

This will now be the fifth time I've attempted to post this up. Blogger has a lot of problems it seems... or maybe it's just me. I was also interrupted several times over the past week or so.

So, I was invited into the Battlefield 3 Alpha (not quite sure how I pulled that off) and due to the NDA, I can't say too much. Not sure what I can reveal. Never played an alpha before. They let you fill out a survey and the build obviously has bugs... since it's an alpha build after all. One element I really seem to enjoy about Battlefield is that even when you are not having a great game, you still seem to have fun. You might have a pretty bad K/D ratio but can still have a blast. BC2 still stands out as an exceptional shooter when walls blow out around you and tank shells collapse buildings on top of you. Just amazing. Anyways, I can't say much about the alpha but prone is back in the battlefield series and it is welcomed back with open, loving arms. Also, I went out and pre-ordered Battlefield 3 from my local Gamestop along with Skyrim and Diablo 3 (now that the beta and eventual release is finally here) so take that as my alpha feedback.

Also, I saw this score for Deus Ex and thought it would be my gaming impulse purchase (ignore my recent Steam summer sale purchases *cough*). I'm definitely enjoying more of the game the more I see and the gold art style is kind of cool. Anyways, I preorded on Steam so we'll see what it's like... the first one is a classic, the second one was alright. We'll see how the third turns out.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/29/deus-ex-human-revolution-review-scores-94-and-an-editors-choice-award-in-pc-gamer/

Bastion Demo

For those with 360s at your disposal, I can't recommend trying the demo for Bastion enough.  I can't necessarily recommend buying the game, since I'm not even sure its right for me yet, but I can sincerely say that everyone who can, should play the demo.

Bastion is a blend of old school RPG, mixed with a sort of contemporary action oriented combat.  Set in a 45 degree view, grid like layout, the player will navigate the world, all while seemingly create it.  The world seems to be falling apart at the hinges, but is also reconstructing itself all the while.  I'm not a huge RPG guy, so this one would probably be a bit of a stretch for me, but the gameplay wasn't really what drew me in.

Bastion uses narration in a really interesting way, at least in what I've seen so far.  Narration seems to drive the story forward most of the time, at least in a traditional storytelling way.  If the narrator says something, it happens.  In Bastion, the narrator responds to the player, describing in real time, what he is currently doing, in the past tense... almost.  Although it's a pretty simple concept, it really does a tremendous job of drawing the player into the narration almost forcing them to actively listen.  I found myself trying to anticipate what the narrator was going to say, but was usually caught off guard by him.  He seems to know what's going to happen before it happens, and the smug delivery of the dialogue even sells this home more.

It's just such an intriguing concept to me, that the gameplay, the parts the player is solely responsible for, is what drives the story.  This is a method that active participant media can employ that traditional storytelling mediums (Film, books, etc.) just can't - without putting the power of progress into the participant's hand, the story will always be driven by the author, in the exact way that the author intended it to be.  Games grant a unique level of involvement, and as a result, a higher possibility of immersion.

  If there is a case to be made as "Games as Art", this element needs to be a part of the discussion.  Games copying styles from other mediums isn't going to be what convinces the naysayers and storytelling elitists of the world otherwise.

Anyway you would like to look at it, give the demo for Bastion a try.  I think you'll enjoy the few minutes you play, even if you know it isn't going to be for you in the long run.  And while you're there, check out "From Dust".  That one is looking good as well.

Halo: CE Anniversary deal

I came across this deal, and I'm ready to jump on it, but I can't get it to work. I just thought I'd post it up here to see if anyone else can actually get the promo code to work. It could be expired, but I'd like someone else to try it to see if it works.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/55646/newegg-halo-combat-evolved-anniversary-xbox-360-preorder

Ganon Not in Skyward Sword

Story here.

It just struck me to post this here because Amateria told me long ago that the best Zelda's have Ganon in them.

I've only ever fully played Ocarina and Wind Waker, both of which I loved, and they both had Ganon.

Thoughts?

Limbo

I've long been a critic of this game. Not so much that it's in any way a bad game, but I didn't think it deserved to be called "ART". Just because it's 2D and has a very unique look to it doesn't make it art. It makes it a sidescrolling physics based puzzle game with a unique look. Basically, I'm tired, as a gamer, as seeing any different looking game heralded as art.

Below isn't a review, but some thoughts and obvious comparisons to Braid may pop up.

Limbo finally made it's way to the PSN and I didn't hesitate to pick it up. The art direction and audio are by far the two most appealing things to me. I found myself overly in love with the 2 tone landscape. It was incredibly more compelling and interesting than the colorful backdrops of Braid. Granted, Braid is a gorgeous pornography of color, but in terms of putting me into a mindset and and mood, Limbo wins hands down.

The audio was fantastic. I went total gay on the minimalist approach to everything, but the absolute overcompensation for when there was something going on. Whether it was a spider walking, a saw blade, an elevator, a ball rolling or a fly it was all very "in your face" and I loved it.

The puzzles were fun, overall, but I found them to actual hinder my enjoyment of the game. I know that sounds weird to say about a puzzle game, but I guess it sucked me out of the world even though they are such a large part of it. I guess I just wanted to hang out in the world and not be bothered. I wanted to experience it without the hindrance of puzzles. I just wanted to explore.

I was a giant fan of the larger puzzles like pulling a switch and the entire world spins. I went apeshit in one section after hitting a switch and seeing the entire backdrop shift. In such a small game with such a small scope it gave the world a huge mass in my mind. I kept thinking that this place is gigantic!

Bottom line is that I really loved the game. I really liked Braid a lot, but consider my time with Limbo to have struck me on a much more personal and memorable, even terrifying, level.

Is Limbo art? I don't know and I don't really care because it's an awesome game.

Also, the soundtrack is astounding. I found a free zip file download of it yesterday that the game maker released because there's no official release.

Trailer

Did anyone see the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man? I was a little confused.....I thought I was watching Mirror's Edge!

This blog is dead.

Juniper and I are starting our own site.

That is all.

F.E.A.R.

As a couple of you know I've been in a gaming slump for a bit. I don't like it and I wish I could get out of it.

I have many games to play and at least 4 new ones and I just don't care about any of them at the moment. I'm bored. I'm tired of the same old methods and formulas. I know the tricks and games styles and I want a shake up. I have 5 different games right now that are sitting unfinished. Not because they're bad games, but because I'm bored to death with them.

Brjahu even sent me Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and I can barely bring myself to play it. It's the EXACT same as the others. That wouldn't be so damn bad if the games had a larger space between releases, but it feels like the series isn't growing at all. It's been CoDied.

A little over two weeks ago, after the release of FEAR 3, I got a strong hankering to replay the original FEAR. In a way I was hoping that it would shake me out of my slump. I have beaten the SP on the 360 version four different times and I've always loved it. I haven't touched the game in well over 2 years now.

I'm about a quarter way through it and for a 5 year old game it still owns! I'd even go so far as to say it's easily better than any Triple A shooter that's come out this generation.

Allow me to explain myself. FEAR isn't a wide open sprawling game. It's not a shooter of epic proportions with you pitted against the world or an alien invasion. It doesn't even have a huge orchestral score. What it does have is phenomenal gun play, the best AI I've ever seen, excellent maps, amazingly paced tension, exploration and unnerving terror!

The game pits you with finding and killing a mind psychic named Paxton Fettel. Fettel has gained control of a psychic army and it's up to you to stop him. Along the way you keep running into a little girl that's always watching and haunting you. And the flashbacks....or are they visions??? "What's the first thing you remember? (cue creepy scream thing)"

My wife was taking a bath the other day when I came upon a vision/flashback. You're at the end of a long dark hallway that is tiled in dark blue. There's a hospital gurney with blood on it against the left wall. At the end of the hall is a double door, with windows you can see through, with someone's back to it. They are hunched over and working at something. You hear a woman scream and the sound of....something....human??? Lori yelled to me if my son was crying, he was asleep upstairs, to which I replied that it was just my "creepy ass game" and she said "yeah....that's messed up."

The game is truly astonishing as an entire package. What could've easily been a cliched story turns into a sordid nightmare that actually manages to be both immensely sad and revolting at the same time.

While I know the game has a large following I'm pretty sure that none of you have played it and it's a disservice to yourself if you don't. If you're tired of the same old thing all the time give this game a rental or purchase or goozex trade.

I must sadly admit that the PS3 version is not as good as the 360 with inferior graphics and longer load times, but it's still amazing on the PS3 nonetheless.

If you don't take my word for it read this amazing article by one of my favorite Gamesradar editors, David Houghton. He basically says everything I say, but with pretty screenshots and the stellar opening cinematic.

And this is why I don't play Pokemon

The demographic just isn't there.

Also, nice splurging on prizes for the champions, Nintendo! A cheap medal and a 3DS!!!!

Hollow and Empty...

This guy at gizmodo nails how I feel about controllers these days. (Also, not too bad a deal...)


EDIT: The link was dead, and I couldn't get it to direct correctly.  Here is the chunk of text I was trying to highlight, written by Chris Biedelman of Gizmodo.


"...I think the PS3 controller sucks. It's a terribly skinny girl with no curves or life to it. When I hold it, it feels hollow and empty. I feel hollow and empty.  


On the other hand, I think the Xbox 360 controller is the best controller that has ever graced the hands of man. Solid weight, perfect cushion and curves to grip on to and a delicious button layout. We came a long way! The original NES controller had corners that were borderline weapons. The SNES though? Oh, boy. Them curves? The shape? The perfect hand cuppage? It was the best controller of its era. "


Anyone else concur? I do.

Earth Defense Force

You guys ever heard of these games? I remember reading about the last one, EDF 2017, and that it was a massively underrated amazingly fun B Rated good time and this one appears to do the exact same thing, but with a stronger release in the US.

The reviewer is hilarious in breaking down that the game basically boils down shooters to all that makes them fun without all the needless pretentious bullshit like story and graphical fidelity.

Just endless waves of hundreds of bugs in a city. $40 bucks brand new so I'm game if anyone else is!!!!

Pooping on Crysis 2 Supersoldier Difficulty

So I recently sat down to fully finish Crysis 2 on the hardest setting and, after finishing, found myself questioning the game and my tactics within it. Figured I'd bounce it off you guys.

I know I did a review on the game a while back, but to sum it up, I like the game a lot. It's not a perfect game, but it's a lot of sandbox goodness and the suit works well in making you actually feel like a badass. Sorry Chief, but no dice to the Mark suits of old. The Nano Suit is the shit.

On to my observation.

The game on Supersoldier doesn't screw around. If you aren't careful with balancing suit powers and using cover you'll be mowed down incredibly fast. You also have to understand how the suit works on a deeper level like knowing how many shots you can get away with while invisible before you quickly kill the suit power. When the switch powers to optimize the life of the suit. And always watching the suit levels to monitor how much farther you can go cloaked or how much more damage you can soak up before dying.

I decided, since the game will let you play however you want, that going stealthy as much as possible would most easily lead to my success. So I set out to beat the game by killing as few enemies as I could. Since death comes so easily if you're clumsy I didn't want the frustration and, in a sense, I wanted to test the game to see just how little killing I could get away with. Turns out you can get away with a lot of "not killing."

Beating the game on Supersoldier was fun and certainly tests patience and timing more than talent in killing, but it wasn't overly hard. Sure there are several battles in the game where you fight Pingers and normal enemies at once and they are very difficult (and again test your knowledge of how the Pingers work, too), but overall the game wasn't too hard because of the suit. My management of the suit allowed ultimate success, but at the same time....I felt like I cheated.

My question to you is does it seem like cheating to use the suit as I did? Avoiding fights and killing stealthily? To take the hardest difficulty and instead of duking it out to turn it into a game of cat and mouse?

Should I commend the developers for allowing me the freedom or scold them for allowing me to take the easy way out? I think I lean towards commending them, but I guess after playing CoD SP so much on Veteran (and cutting myself nightly because of it) that it felt like I cheated.

I applaud my skill of the suit and the developers for giving me the chance to play how I want, but I guess it doesn't feel like a challenge unless I'm about ready to blow a gasket.

Uncharted 3 Beta Impressions

How does everyone else feel about this? I am enjoying the time I've spent, but still don't really feel blown away. I think I like UC2's multi because it was simple and caught me off guard with how fun it was. The powerplays are a fun and interesting addition, but they really hurt the overall balancing by making it too balanced.

The vocal quality sounds better, but so would 2 tin cans held together with string.

Game mods taken to a new level

I've never really given a second thought to all the PC game modding that is done. I'm not talking about modding In the terms of cheating, but more taking the game or game engine and tweaking it into some unique. I know that this type of modding led to games like Portal, which, if I'm not mistaken, came from a fan using Counter Strike and the Source engine. Even still, since I am not a true PC gamer I never have the ability to take advantage of these and so I usually don't care. However, today during my morning breakfast browsing I came across two mods that just blew me away. The one is a complete and massive overhaul of COD: MW. Being a bit of a Star Wars freak I have to admit that I was massively impressed. The second game is a graphical tweak of GTAIV. All I have to say about that one is a simple, WOW.

Anyway, give these a quick look and let me know what you think. Maybe this happens all the time and I just and late to the party. Regardless, call me impressed.

Galactic Warfare

GTAIV

Not my HITMAN!!!!

I've put off writing this for a couple weeks now, but I'm highly concerned for one of my favorite game series.

Hitman

I think I'm the only one on this blog that's played any of the games so I'll give you all a snippet of the game and how it plays.

Basically you're a clone assassin. You're raised to be totally ruthless and have zero care about anything, but the job. Agent 47 is a killer and he's the best. While this sounds extremely cliche the games pull it off very well. While 47 is totally ruthless he's very "likeable" in a Riddick antihero kind of way. His style and absolute dedication to his work make him someone that's very interesting to play and watch. I know I've told Amateria numerous times that there's nobody I'd rather have out to kill me than 47. He's scary as hell, but he's absolutely my favorite game character ever.

All of the previous 4 games have played similarly and that's why it's developed such a cult following. The game lets you play however the hell you want and rewards you for your work. I personally always went for "Silent Assassin" ratings at the end of each mission. That means no bodies were found, no alarms were sounded and you never blew your cover. You got in, did the mission and left. It's very difficult to pull off and requires total dedication to the game. You have to learn the entire level and read all the info you have on your target so you know their habits and what they look like. The game requires patience and it's attention to detail is staggering.

In one of my favorite missions ever I was tasked with killing an opera singer. I could have just hid in his closet and snuffed him out in his dressing room and left. Instead I hid in his closet and while he stepped out of his dressing room I swapped his prop gun with a real one. His costar shot and killed him on stage. Then I blew up the supports of a giant chandelier to kill the opera singer's gay lover. It was awesome. Please keep in mind that I had to put in a lot of work to get to the dressing room unnoticed. Where are you going to get an outfit that doesn't raise suspicion? Where are you going to get the real gun? How the hell do you get there?

Ever since the second Hitman game I've fallen in love with 47. Not just his particular brand and style, but also because the developers really seem to have a dedication to the kill themselves. Do it how you want and be as creative as you want.

I'm writing this post because I'm very afraid that with the newly announced "Hitman: Absolution" they are going to kill my beloved 47. Here's the announcement trailer and to be fair I think it's awesome.

47 killing dudes and if you're a fan of the series you'll see many many hints at what the game will be like. Also, if you're an astute fan you'll realize who the woman in the shower is.

While the trailer is cool it shows the exact opposite of how the games have been built. All out action and hand to hand combat. The trailer shows what looks to be "improvisation killing" (my term) like drowning people or pulling cords out of walls to strangle people. Using what you can find his has always been the case with Hitman, but THIS IS NOT MY 47! This is too actiony! This is too SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION!

The old games let you use anything you could find. Kitchen knives were actually my favorite weapon. With all the tools I had to kill I preferred finding a kitchen and using a butcher knife. I know that sounds sick, but it was my modus operandi. I got that into these games.

I saw some gameplay footage come out of E3 which is even more disturbing. It seriously looks like the new Splinter Cell being played with an Agent 47 skin overlayed onto Sam Fisher. Hell it even looks like Batman: Arkham Asylum! Seriously, here's the gameplay footage.

I've read reports that the new imposter 47 is going to have an "Instinct Mode" not at all unlike Batman's Detective Mode where he can see guards and even the paths that they walk! Unreal!

Compare the new videos I showed you with an old trailer for Hitman: Blood Money. Sure there's a little shooting, but the trailer shows tons more about who 47 is and is a much stronger trailer in my opinion.

I guess I'm just an old school gamer who likes a challenge that's worried about one of my favorite series going down the drain with Sam Fisher.

Two other sad notes. The new game WILL NOT use either my boy Jesper Kyd for music OR the original voice actor, David Bateson.

Is no series immune to this?

Music in gaming

I've always really enjoyed hearing a quality piece of music in a game. However, I often don't even realize how good a soundtrack is when I'm playing a game, though, due to all the sound effects and dialogue drowning out the music. I remember playing through Castlevania: LoS and enjoying the music but not thinking it was that great. Well, it turns out that the soundtrack for that game won "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media" from the International Film Music Critics Association for 2010. Good one. That'll teach me to listen more carefully, I guess. I've been listening to the soundtrack on YouTube and I have to say it's pretty awesome. Here is my favorite piece from the game, along with a handful of my favorite songs/themes from games from my childhood and from more recently.

Belmont's Theme - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Mega Man 2: Dr. Wily Stage 1 - kind of a "Let's go!" vibe

Contra 3: The Alien Wars final bosses - you against the world

Final Fantasy VI Magitek factory - industrial and wacky at the same time. Unique.

Super Castlevania IV trifecta of bosses before Dracula

Halo 3 intro to the Ark stage

Gears of War 2: Armored Prayer - plays during the head honcho's speech to all the Gears as they're mobilizing to attack the Locust on their own turf. Awesome.



I'd like to know of anyone else's favorite game music. It can be from old school games, or current ones. Whatever. Post it up, I want to hear some good stuff.

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a Valve fanboy, but it's hard to bash on free games!  Team Fortress 2 is not free to play through Steam.  Anyone with a Steam account should be downloading this right now if they don't already have it, and anyone without a Steam account should set one up.  I'm looking forward to this.  I even downloaded a custom driver for my Mac to run my wireless 360 controllers with, so I don't even need to give up my comfy console controller (even if it is superior to the elite PC controls that make my wrists hurt)

I am looking forward to this massively large download finishing though.  I've always wanted to play TF2 with the PC community, since the Live players don't seem to understand cooperation.  Hey 3N3MY, maybe we'll finally win a game!

Also, if you haven't seen the latest update to Valve's incredibly impressive character videos, Meet the Medic is now up.  If you haven't seen the other "Meet the Team" videos, do so.  Well worth your time. 

Best analysis of the gaming industry I've ever read.

Stumbled across this article on accident and couldn't stop reading.

This guy doesn't sugar coat it!

We're goin' mobile!

This blog is now enabled for mobile phones. Nothing has changed specifically, but viewing the site on a mobile phone works much better now.

I tried using a few different apps to make it easier to view, but this has been my favorite so far. I'm posting this through the Blogger app, but Android users who create a shortcut after bookmarking the website should get the same effect if they don't want or like the app.

The future, is now!

How's bout some more Wii U venom?

Wii U may possibly only allow 1 controller per system and they can't play DVDs or Blu-Rays.

Are they trying to lose it for themselves? I know that splitscreen isn't what it used to be, but the idea of a one controller system boggles my mind.

I can understand no Blu-Ray support, but not even DVD? The PS3 and 360 have been marketed, successfully so, as multimedia machines. They've tried to build an all-in-one machine of entertainment and it's worked really well because my PS3 does everything I want and need it to.

Does this make sense to anyone else? Does anyone even use stand alone DVD players anymore?

Starhawk

Starhawk is different from Warhawk. Warhawk is primarily a flying multiplayer game released several years ago for the PS3.

Starhawk is a 3rd person shooter with elements of Warhawk built in. To me, the game looks like a more front lines version of the old school RTS. Build buildings and bunkers and bases and destroy your enemy, but in this you are on the ground fighting.

You can run around on foot, in vehicles and even control Mechs that can, on-the-fly, turn into airplanes.

This is a video taken just over a month ago of 8 vs 8 CTF of Artists vs Designers and it looks like a TON of fun.

I don't know why, but it gives me the original HALO Blood Gultch vibe and that's never a bad thing.

Good news for PS3, bad news for WiiU

PS Vita to PS3 Connectivity Was Driven by Developers, Could Mean Wii U Style Experiences for Sony's Console - Kotaku

I know this seems like we are just all beating down Nintendo on something that we don't really know anything about, but truthfully it is just because it gives us something good to finally discuss. Something that we all have an opinion on.

Anyway, this article could spell bad news for Nintendo's new, "revolutionary," and "unique" controller. Yes, there may be a couple of specific features that it maybe cannot duplicate, but you know full well that since Nintendo has let the cat out of the bag about this controller, Sony will definitely put some resources into this connectivity. Yes, it will obviously mean you have to purchase an additional system, but Nintendo has yet (as far as I've read) stated that this new controller is even included with the system. For all we know, it might be an additional purchase.

Still, thought this was a very interesting read and I especially knew that 3N3MY would enjoy it.

Keep an eye on this one.

I read about this game, "Payday: The Heist" just a couple weeks ago and here's some footage of it.

It's a PS3 exclusive and it's basically a 4 player co-op game where you're bank robbers doing your thing. Complete with endless replayability and randomization.

Sounds very L4D and that's okay with me. When I read about it a couple weeks ago I'm pretty sure I remember it's supposed to be only $40 bucks.

Check out those videos and leave your thoughts, but it looks great to me!

Ho....ly....Crap....

13 minutes of gameplay for Skyrim with commentary by one of my heroes, Todd Howard.

My excitement has gone from 8.7 to 14.5 on a 10 point scale!

Wii U, Pii U and WTF?!

Here's a breakdown of the Nintendo conference.

What are your thoughts on the new Nintendo machine? I was really pretty excited to see what they would bring out and they showed an HD Wii that plays the games my PS3 does as well.

I was watching the Live Blog on Kotaku and when they typed it was called "Wii U" I was waiting for the punchline because that's the worst name I've ever heard. Virtual Boy is better than Wii U! Game and Watch is a better name! Wii U?!

Admittedly, it looks like it can do some neat things, but those neat things can't possibly translate into a core game that's multiplatform! Get ready for inventory screens!!!

Also, who cares that I can play the game with the screen on the controller? I'm a grown man and can use my TV when I want to.

I also can't see that controller being comfortable....at all. It took some getting used to when switching from the ergonomic 360 controller to the PS3 DS, but I love that controller now. The Wii U remote looks like the original Xbox controller and an iPad had a baby. If there's one thing the Dreamcast controller taught me it's that the sides of the controller that you hold should not be parallel. They need to be angled to avoid wrist pain.

Game journalists are already jizzing their pants and it's cool that it'll be supported by major 3rd party publishers with new games, but besides Nintendo exclusives there's still no reason to own this thing.

Reading that the next Super Smash Bros will work with 3DS and the Wii U compatibly in play goes to show that Nintendo won't push the graphics any further than they are....except they'll be in HD.

Too little, too late and still, from Nintendo's angle, too casual. The only core games you'll be getting are from 3rd party publishers.

Who's ready for more Mario Kart?

Sony NGP/PSVITA

Anyone excited? I was looking at it with interest, but wasn't slightly considering a purchase because I figured the price would be through the roof for all it offered.

As it turns out it's the same price as a 3DS and has significantly more to offer.

This could turn up on the Christmas Wish List.

I want this....don't judge.

I've been keeping my eye on the PSMove since it launched and now I want it. I know that goes against most everything a lot of us believe on this blog, but I remember back to when the Nintendo Revolution (Wii) was announced.

They promised a new way to play shooters without a controller. You could aim more like a real gun. It was going to revolutionize gaming. I was very excited.

Once the system launched and I played Call of Duty 3 on it, I realized it was a lie, but Nintendo did pave the way for a motion controller that could actually work. On a system that could power HD games that I would actually want to play.

At Sony's E3 Conference last night they brought up this. I'm excited about it and I'm preordering that bitch.

If I bought the camera, wand, nav controller, sharpshooter and the game it would be over 210 bucks. This bundle is a marketing push by Sony to get guys like me that have been on the fence to come and play.

It's working.

Mass Effect 3 With Kinect

As a sales representative of many things video games, a common question asked is when the good stuff is coming out for Kinect.  Microsoft brought it to the table this year at E3 - Star Wars finally coming out (finally arriving is the important thing, not the quality),  Kinect Fun Labs (which is essentially all the fun from Kinect Hacks in a playable format), a couple of other more intense titles (as if Dance Central wasn't intense enough...) and most importantly, Kinect implementation into Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect's primary strong hand is the immersive storytelling.  Although there are a few different perspectives to this idea, it is generally accepted that investing more into your character and choices leaves you feeling more effected, both positively and negatively, by your game.  Having the opportunity to make that immersion a little bit more like a conversation is a pretty cool step in the right direction. Have a look...

Ok, so it isn't quite as immersive than having a direct interaction with another live person, but it is a really great use of the tech.  Originally, I conceived that this technology would make the game seem more like a conversation... The kinect would use the ability to listen to you and see your face to determine any variety of things - lying, fibbing, confidence, anger, etc...  A lot of that is well beyond the grasp of maximum technical limitations, and I have a feeling that if the AI ever got that sophisticated we would probably be more worried about a Robot uprising, but it's still fun to dream.

In any case, I think Microsoft's showing at E3 this year really deserves some strong marks.  Kinect may not be the gamer's choice of platform, but that sort of immersion always needs mention.  I don't have a Kinect and really wasn't planning on ever getting one, but if titles like Mass Effect believe that the experience can be enhanced, then I'll definitely be taking it a little more seriously. 

Prey 2

I had to post this trailer.

I think I'm the only one here that played Prey and I loved it. It didn't live up to it's potential, but it was a hell of a good time!

The gameplay between Prey and Prey 2 is drastically different, but I greatly appreciate the subtle continuity in world and setting.

In the first Prey there's a section where you ride an elevator to another floor on a spaceship and you look out and there's a giant airliner crashing into the ship. Prey 2 starts on the airliner!

You're a US Marshall that basically ends up living on an alien world and you take up residence and a profession as a bounty hunter. The game is supposed to have parkour (Mirrors Edge) elements to it and is supposed to be somewhat open world.

Consider me pumped!

L.A.Noire Review

I finished up the game a couple nights ago and after dwelling on it some, here are my final thoughts. I'm going to restate some of the stuff I already wrote in my impressions just to get it all in one spot. Final play time was 18 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds. That includes all story missions and 20/40 side missions.

You play as Cole Phelps, WWII hero from the Pacific, husband and father. You start out your career with the LAPD as a Patrol Officer, then move on to Traffic, then Homicide, followed by Ad Vice and finally Arson.

THE GOOD

-Sound, sound effects, and music. They really did a great job with the sound design. Sirens wailing in tunnels, echoing sounds spot on. Voices sound different in alleys and museums. Footsteps echo cleanly on the marble floors of the Hall of Records. Gunshots are appropriately loud and accurate. Shotguns are noticeably "boomier" than handguns. BARs sound like BARs. The music is well-composed and varied, with the typical trumpet and piano solos aplenty complemented by more punchy stuff for the action scenes.

-Motion scan. The technique results in the most accurate facial "animations" in video game history. There's more detail in the faces than I've ever seen and they just look more "real."

-Interrogations. You gather all the clues you can find and then grill your witnesses to try to get some more answers. You ask them a question and then, judging from their answer, decide whether they are telling the truth, whether they're hiding something, or whether they're flat-out lying. If you do accuse them of lying, you have to have hard evidence to prove it or else they'll clam up and make the rest of your case more difficult. It's fun but it's not really a perfect system. I feel like sometimes when I chose "doubt" he would just go a little too far with his accusation/come on a little too strong. It was like he and his partner were doing "good cop/bad cop".....without the "good cop" part.

-The city of Los Angeles. It's recreated pretty darn well here. It's only a portion of the city, but it's still a pretty huge section of land to play around in. You can drive from one end to the other with no loads or anything, either. Pretty neat. Your cases will take you to wide variety of locales, too. One that comes to mind right away is the set of the famous film "Intolerance." Also, the Tar Pits, Griffith Park, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the "Hollywoodland" sign is ever-present in the background.

-Voice acting. I found it to be pretty solid throughout. There was ONE character that bothered me. I didn't think it would be too big of a deal, but he ended up playing a larger role than I thought he would. He just has one of those fake southern accents that sounds vaguely like a British accent mixed with a Cajun one. I'm pretty sure nobody ever talked like that and it's just a Hollywood creation. A really annoying one, too.


THE BAD

-The controls. Number one on the "bad" list MUST be the controls. I've harped on it enough, but here it is again: the controls in Rockstar's games SUCK. While on foot, it feels like you're trying to steer around an elephant on a skateboard. It's terrible. There is no reason why I should have to hold or tap one of the face buttons to get my character to move around faster or slower. A simple tilt of the joystick is all it should take. Move it a little bit to walk, full tilt to run. I haven't read any other reviews of the game so I don't know if this is an issue to other gamers. I would hope so.

On another note, the cover system and the shooting mechanics are also absolute garbage. For whatever reason, they decided to make L2 aim and R2 shoot. Anyone who plays a lot of PS3 will tell you this is highly unusual for a shooter on the platform. Also, R1 gets you into cover. Much like RDR, I'm STILL not even sure how to get out of cover. Do I press R1 again? Just pull the stick away from cover? Push "circle?" Aiming is very sluggish again. Combined with the already- mentioned terrible movement system, getting into firefights in this game is your worst nightmare. Try moving quickly from cover to cover and see how that works out. You'll be riddled with bullets from a Tommy gun before you can say, "The controls in this game suck golf balls through a garden hose."

-The vaseline filter. This one is pretty minor, but it bugged me nonetheless. You'll often see flashbacks of Cole and his platoon in the Pacific and it looks like they smeared vaseline all over the camera. I get that it's a flashback, but couldn't they just use a grey filter or something?

-The "Law and Order" effect. By that I simply mean that we spend a lot of time with our main character, but we know almost nothing about him. We know he was in the war and has a wife and a kid (maybe 2? See, I don't even know) and that he is very dutiful. I'm calling this the "Law and Order" effect because I feel like that TV show, much like this game, is well-written and pretty engaging for the most part, but we know very little about the detectives in the show. ALL the focus is just on the cases and one case is not related to another, just like this game. Maybe if anybody watches that show they can correct me, but I think I'm pretty accurate with this.

-Dangling thread. There was one MAJOR plot point left dangling and it really irks me. You do a lot of work to nail a certain criminal, but once you do, it's revealed that he is "related to somebody high up in the government," so the truth has to be kept under wraps. At the time, I thought, "Oh, this is kinda cool. Certainly it's going to tie into some massive conspiracy at a later point in the game." Nope and nope. What a disappointment.

-The story. I guess this is really the biggest fail for me. I thought they did a great job setting everything up. The first half of the game is essentially a warm up, but once you get to the Vice desk, you get cases that involve drug trafficking, real estate fraud, corruption in the government and everything is slowly revealed to be related somehow and I think it all worked really, really well. Then at the end you just end up having to go through a couple of huge firefights (terrible, of course, due to the controls). In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll just say that there's a silly "reveal" and much of the work you did in the second half of the game is rendered pretty much useless. It was such a let-down for me. I mean, I know sometimes things don't always work out exactly right, especially in the "Noir" genre. I think this is a huge difference between games and movies, though. If I had seen this as a 2 hour movie, I might have enjoyed it. But I sunk almost 19 hours into this thing and that's the ending they give me? I put a lot of work into this game rather than just "passively" watching a film. I wanted better. I feel like I deserved better. Am I wrong in thinking this?

FINAL THOUGHTS

The motion scan is obviously a cutting-edge new technology that adds more "realism" to the game and I hope it gets implemented into other games more in the future. The cast looked great and sounded great. Driving around 1947 L.A. was pretty cool. However, I find it pretty difficult to even recommend due to the immensely frustrating controls and how the story builds up so nicely only to come crashing down in a heap of ashy mortar and green lumber.

Decisions in Games: Mass Effect vs. GTA IV

I finished up L.A. Noire last night and was somewhat disappointed by the end (I will expound on this in my review - coming soon!). As I also disliked the end of last year's Red Dead Redemption, I decided I would look up a plot summary and see how GTA IV concluded (I've never played it and I'm not going to) just to see if I dislike all of Rockstar's game endings. Anyway, I came across these 2 articles concerning decision-making in Mass Effect and GTA IV.

Basically the argument is that BioWare makes too much of an effort to keep you, the player, happy, instead of taking risks to tell a surprising story that keeps you on your toes and that Rockstar improved that with their ending in GTA IV in which they kill off the character that you've shown you're more attached to. And now that I think of it, there's a similar scenario in inFamous, where you're given the choice to save a group of doctors or your girlfriend, but it turns out that whichever one you go to save is actually the one that gets axed.

I just figured I would post these up since I know we have a few Mass Effect lovers on here, as well as a few GTA lovers.

The articles are sort of lengthy, but well-written and interesting.

Mass Effect article

GTA IV article

Too funny

Watch all the way to the end so you can hear his final line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrn4JMxsN_o

Just Cause 2 Self Made Videos - Please Watch

So I've become somewhat of a champion for Just Cause 2 and over the weekend I decided to try something out.

This game knows it's insane and that it allows you to do some pretty neat stuff. I realize that they know their game is awesome because it comes with a video capture and youtube uploader in it. Why else would they include that if it weren't for showing off?

Now the videos below aren't really showing off. I made them purposefully for you guys to see a little of why this game amazes me. If you watch them I promise I'll shut up about this game.

This is the first one I made. I wanted to show you guys a little bit of the scale of a very small section of the game. This is just one of many sky scrapers around the world and it's not even the biggest one. I also wanted to show how easy it is to go where you want to mid-flight and free fall.

32 seconds in I point to the blimp that's in a later video.

1:18 during free fall I find a random car I'm going to land on.

1:50 this is using the grappling hook as a slingshot to move yourself around with your parachute open.

This one I made to try and give you an idea of how gigantic the game world is. I stole the airliner from the airport in the game. As soon as the video starts I try to pan around so you can see all the islands around the world and just how large it is. The part I'm flying over is covered in snow because of the altitude.

15 seconds there's a random base you can assault to cause chaos and get points.

43 seconds I do a "stunt jump" and from there I could attack others if need be.

1:20 I bail out of the plane and free fall to my favorite spot....the blimp.

2:13 I free fall to the ground. Sorry I spin around in circles. I couldn't decide where I wanted to land. I was debating just smashing into the ground.

This video is the FIRST time I'd ever tried this. You grappling hook your car to an airplane and ride in the car.

58 seconds in I do a stunt jump just because I wanted to and it breaks my attachment to the plane and sends me into a free fall that I can't control. Took me by surprise and made me laugh.

Lastly, this is my favorite. I got attached to the plane on too short a leash and....well....it's pretty funny.

58 seconds I chose to break off from the plane on purpose.

All in all I hope these videos give you a glimpse into the world of Just Cause 2. It's hands down the best sandbox game ever.

Different Perspective

I don't impose video games on my wife.  She is incredibly kind in how often she lets me play without making a fuss about it, and as a result, I deliberately resist the urge to get her more involved in my world.  On her own accord, however, she requested that we purchase a Wii so she could play some games every now and then.  The 360 and the PS3 were a little intimidating, and she thought the casual nature of the Wii would be perfect for her pick up and play, easy to put down, hopes of video gaming.  She was right, and it was a great buy for our needs.  It's been really cool watching her get the hang of things, but it's been a little odd to see how she relates to the games.

She doesn't "learn" the same way that most gamers do.  I think this might be true with many casual players, but it's almost like she doesn't want to make the investment into improving her playing.  If she dies too many times in a row, instead of "learning" why she died, or what caused her mistake, she'll turn off the game and try again another day.  It almost reminds me of a person watching TV.  She is a passive participant, not a deep part of the intricacies of the world.  It's a very passive way to play, and she seems to be enjoying herself, so I only help out if she asks me.  (She did call me "coach" once after I verbally walked her through a tricky part... that was kinda weird.)

Despite her passive approach to the gameplay, she seems to be getting a deeper connection out of the characters.  I might ask her how her day went, and when she tells me she played some Wii, she'll also explain how it made her feel. ("Luigi is a dope! He keeps getting lost...", "I always go talk to Mail Toad, she gives me five 1ups!", "Bowser's such a jerk!", etc.) It cracks me up, because I've never looked to deep into the stories of the simple games I enjoy, but she seems to be attached (or conversely, annoyed) to the characters in and of themselves.  A personal favorite was when I asked about a different character who gives 1ups, and she told me he was a tease because he only gives one away.

She is, however, very proud of her gameplay.  At least, to me.  She'll let me know if she gets a couple stars with the same level of excitement that she would let me know that she got a nice compliment from a co-worker.  I hope she isn't proud just to impress me, but I think it's cool that she's finding success in a game and knows that I know what it took to get that far.

I can't imagine how cool it's gonna be to have a kid learn to play games too.  3N3MY has already started to breach the far corners of that boundary, and it's probably pretty amazing. It's an entirely different perspective that I don't think any of us could ever have honestly because of our "gaming upbringing."  I don't know if any of you have had any similar experiences, but I'd be interested to hear them.

This is so true

The original caption for this stated:

"Gaming started a trend to appeal to more people. Hard core gamers wanted hard core games, not something that would build your self esteem" - source

Impact Deaths in Just Cause 2

I know I've said it on this blog before, but I'm a BIG Just Cause 2 fan.

It's sense of scale and freedom is unparalleled in gaming and it's tons of fun to play. It is the only open world game to ever encouraged experimentation on this level. If you haven't played it, you should.

Anyways, the makers of the game created a map of 11 Million impact death spots and put it in a video. It's astounding that every spot of light in the map is where someone died because they hit the object too hard. If you know the game world the video is especially awesome. I'm a big fan of the dual blimp spot.

MW3

The new trailer just launched.

What are your thoughts? It's impressive as always, but do you guys even care anymore? I was left impressed, but at the same time had a feeling of deja vu. I've been here. I've seen this. I've played this 6 times already. I had to force myself to finish the Black Ops campaign.

Undoubtedly the campaign will be over the top and the mp will be addictive, but I just can't bring myself to buy another COD game.

Amateria told me that his store already has over 100 preorders.

Honestly, will you guys buy it? I'm gonna say no, but if the rest of this blog gets it.....I'll probably swallow my pride and follow suit. How else am I going to spend my Christmas if not by yelling about killstreak hacks and people losing TDM for me with a whopping 1 kill and 16 deaths?

Dead Island Preview

I know someone has mentioned this game before and I really wasn't interested in it, thinking "it's just another zombie game". Until I saw this today...

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/23/dead-island-trailer-shows-eleven-minutes-of-in-game-footage/

Awesome! Free-roam, sandbox style with zombies. I may be getting this game now...

Brink Review

I know this is incredibly late and I was going to pass up writing a review but some of the complaints regarding the game are unfounded. Many gamers and reviewers are discriminating against a game that wasn't made by either Activision or EA/DICE. I haven't put much time into the game as it didn't have enough draw to pull me away from my relapse into World of Warcraft. It's been a slow time for gaming and I reactivated my WoW account and joined a server to play with a Christian guild.

Anyways... at the bottom is a solid review I found from PC Gamer that does give credit to the game where credit is due (My review is also based on the PC version).

Likes

♥ Something New - It was really nice to play a shooter that wasn't a rehash of the same old, same old. Cartoony graphics + classes + leveling + parkous = new and fresh.

♥ Smooth Launch - I can't speak for console issues but the PC launch was extremely smooth. I saw a lot of complaints regarding the launch and bugs and though I encountered some, none were game-breaking. The game locked up once, fixed by a restart. The sound died once, also fixed by a restart. Compared to the Bad Company 2 PC launch and the Black Ops PC launch (both riddled with awful bugs that made them unplayble for the first week or so, Black Ops being the worst), Brink has been pretty smooth.

♥ Graphics & Art - I've definitely enjoyed the look and the feel of the artwork, the design, the characters and what not. The game is running smooth on high settings as well.

♥ Class & Leveling - The classes are a lot of fun and each have their own appealing elements. The Operative seems a little weaker compared to the others as it does not have any "boosting" skills such as healing, refilling ammo, or boosting damage like the other classes. Disguising yourself as an enemy is a heck of a lotta fun though. There are 20 levels and 5 (levels???) within those 20 that unlock different tiers of abilities. The abilities seem well-balanced and nothing is overpowered, specifically the turrets.

Dislikes

- Missing Components - The game appears to missing some elements, like a lobby or way to locate specific dedicated servers. You choose a level you want to play and then join a random group. It has worked smooth so far but the PC crowd specifically, requires some more depth to choosing where to play.

- Maps & Gametypes - The game could have definitely benefited from some more maps. Though some of the gametypes seemed fresh, I would have liked to see some old favorites such as CTF or a Domination/Control type game. I think CTF would be particularly fun in Brink with the classes and parkour elements.

- Combination - I've heard this complaint and it's a decent one. All the elements are great but they don't quite mesh together perfectly. I.E., the parkour moves are great but at times you have to be perfectly lined up with an obstacle or piece of the terrain. Headshots should be more powerful, Operative class needs some boosting abilities, etc., etc.

Result

I think the game is definitely worth purchasing. I'm not really sure about it's staying power but if I can pull myself away from WoW, this is the shooter I'll go to. I still play Bad Company 2 some but I'm over Black Ops and "new map packs" can't keep me coming back to that game. However, wait until you can get the game for $40 and it's definitely worth it. I at least picked it up for $50 on Steam.

It's a fresh, new IP that has a lot of potential. All the elements don't mesh together perfectly but with some fine tuning, a decent size patch, and some DLC, it could easily turn into a AAA title. Splash Damage is a company to keep an eye on in the future.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/20/brink-review/

Idea

So I was finally moving all my original XBOX games, on goozex, from my stash to my queue for trading. This is something that I've been deliberately not doing for some time.

When I think about the sheer amount of hours I put into some of those game like HALO, Project Gotham Racing 2, Rainbow Six 3 and Morrowind it makes me sad to think about getting rid of them. I feel a sentimental attachment to them all. They are my games and I love them all.

While moving them I realized I can still easily play these games on PC! It sounds stupid to have such an obvious revelation, but to a near lifer console player it's still a novel idea.

Anyways, I started digging around and looked up the original HALO on PC and realized that match making exists online for it! Match making and the astoundingly good coop for Rainbow Six 3 works as well!

Since neither of these games are at all playable online in any fashion on consoles I'm going to get them both on PC.

I'll be posting reviews and impressions as they come along, but was just excited to give these games another run and see if they are up to snuff on PC.

Rainbow Six is already confirmed for trade on goozex. Let me know if anyone wants to play!

L.A. Noire First Impressions

I broke down and ordered the game yesterday. I was going to wait a little while, but figured I might as well get an Amazon credit toward my next game purchase, whatever that might be. I went with the PS3 version, as I'm told that the game was originally a PS3 exclusive for quite a while and the game is so massive that it's 3 discs on the 360. Just simpler this way. Anyway, the game keeps an exact count of your play time, so after 2 hours, 42 minutes and 14 seconds, here are some thoughts:

-The controls, much like the GTA games and RDR, are way less than awesome. While in those games you had to hold or tap A/X to run, in this game you have to hold R2 to run. It still BOGGLES MY MIND how Rockstar does not just implement an analog movement system into their games. Not only do you have to hold R2 to run, but it's just a little sluggish moving into and out of the run cycle. The walk itself is a little slow and clunky for my liking also. Getting around doorframes, etc can be a chore just like in RDR. This could ALL be fixed with analog movement.

-The sound design is top-notch so far. The very first case you take on leads you to an alley. When you arrive and the officer is explaining what's happened, it actually "sounds" like you're standing in an alley talking. Eerily accurate. Same with the echo of the siren on my car as I drove through a tunnel. Awesome.

-Questioning people in relation to cases is quite fun. They'll tell you something and then you have to judge whether they're telling the truth, "doubt" them to try to get more info, or accuse them of lying. If you do accuse them of lying, you must have proof (from gathering evidence) or else they'll call you on it and clam up. I've done 2 cases so far with very different results. In the first one I did almost everything exactly right, but in the second one I messed up both of my big interrogations with a cafe owner and a widow. I think this means I just have to end up doing a little more work, because there will always be a way to solve the case. I'm not sure exactly how "bad" you're allowed to do yet. It's early still.

-After a case, you get rated on number of clues found, questions you got correct during interrogation, how much damage you did to your car or property or people. Also, it gives you a tip on what you could have done better. Cool.

-I had to find a phone and call dispatch to get an address. It just struck me as funny to see that. It's such a contrast to how things go now.

-When you're driving to different locations around L.A., you can have your partner drive, which skips immediately to the destination. Big thumbs up for having that option. If you do this, though, you miss out on Street Crime cases.

-Street crime cases are emergency calls you'll get over the radio when you're randomly driving around during your main cases, much like the side quests in RDR. You can choose to do them or just skip them. One thing that's kind of annoying about these so far is that I've just had to shoot everybody. Some guys had stolen a trolley operator's shoes (of all things) and I came across them in an alley. One guy ran and got into a car and drove off while the other just stood in cover trying to shoot me. I tried to tackle the remaining guy so I could arrest him, but it didn't work and he killed me. Then I let them both get into the car and tried to shoot the tires out. That didn't work either and they got away. It makes me wonder if I'm going to have to simply shoot everyone or maybe use a little strategy once in a while. If it's the former, I'm going to rack up quite a body count by the end of the game.

-You have a log that looks kind of like a movie script that you can check any time. It contains every word that's been spoken so far during that particular case. This could prove to be useful. It would be cool if they did use it that way.

-Finally, I have a specific hope for the game. I want there to be one huge, overarching case that I figure out slowly as I go along. It could (and should) sporadically intersect with the smaller cases throughout the game and the game eventually ends with you solving the big case. I think that would be most excellent.

In closing, it's a good time so far, except for the less-than-perfect controls. I didn't mention it earlier because it's obvious, but the game looks amazing. The facial animations and the mouth movement/lip synch is spot on. Voice acting is good so far and the writing is quality. Going through each case is really like watching an episode of CSI or something. Er, playing an episode? I don't know.

Walking for Games

No, this isn't a charity post, but more of a funny moment in my life yesterday.

My son will be 1 year old in a week and he's been walking really well for over a month now while holding on to stuff like our couch or entertainment center.

Within the last week he's stated lettting go of his "crutch" and stands without any help until gravity teeters him too far one way or the other.

Since then you can tell he "wants" to walk. His body language and movement tell me his mind knows what he wants to do, but his body isn't able to yet. My wife and I got really excited when he took 2 unaided steps and then fell to crawling on Friday.

The funny thing happened yesterday morning. My son isn't allowed to touch my game stuff and he's aware of this. His inability to play with my controllers or systems seems only to spur on his extreme desire to touch, slam and throw my prized collections.

Well yesterday when I pulled my DualShock away from his reach he let go of my entertainment center and walked over to me to get it!

My sons first big steps in his life were for something game related! It was hilarious to me and eye-rolling to my wife, but it was very entertaining none-the-less.

Just so you all know. I did let him celebrate by playing with my DualShock and then he threw it across the room.

Being a dad pwns.

Brink First Impressions

Got to play the game for a couple hours yesterday, maybe about 4 or so. So far, I've pretty much enjoyed. Played a lot of the single player and the bots are very comparable to the bots in Left 4 Dead. They are smart buuuuut not that smart. Played a couple rounds of the multiplayer too and it was a lot of fun. One round the security forces had to escort this guy by using medics to refill his health and keep him walking. Our team, the rebels or whatever they are called, have to shoot the escort guy to make him stop and kneel until a security guy heals him.

The security team escorted him all the way to the very end of the level, just mere feet away from the boat they had to get him on and we stopped him there and held the position. As an engineer, I set a turret up at the main entrance and then set up a mine right at the feet of the escort guy. Needless to say, we crushed the other team partially due to their failure to use a door up on the second floor that led out to the dock area. They kept trying to rush the main door and me, my teammates, and my turret mowed them all down.

Anyways, my first impressions are pretty good. Good graphics and art style, solid gun sounds, great teamwork, and the SMART system is definitely a nice touch. Seems like a solid shooter that relies heavily on teamwork. Not sure where all the bad reviews are coming from but it's probably from people who are hardcore Halo/CoD fans. I'll post up a full review once I've played it some more.

I'm tempted.  It's like a souvenir from a really bad vacation, in T-Shirt form!

Penny Arcade Store

Xbox 720

Not sure if anyone had seen the volley of rumors and speculation that EA has a development kit for the next Xbox, but this is a great read giving good reason to think that another Xbox could be much sooner than we all thought.

If the article is correct and the next Xbox drops next year close to the new Nintendo would you buy one?

All Xbox hatred aside I don't think I'll be so quick to early adopt for the next generation, whenever that may be. I was one of the lucky ones that had my launch day 360 last a considerably long time, but don't hold out hope for a reliable product from MS on day one.

The Nintendo console will more than likely be super reliable because that is Nintendo's strength and the tech that they'll be using is already a proven structure for gaming with PS3 and 360.

I wonder what's going on over at Sony, other than trying to fix PSN.

Hardcore Nintendo

CAUTION: Wild speculation occurs below.

Stumbled across this article and it made me want to punch all game journalists in the face.

It's painfully obvious that Nintendo is trying to make a core system again. I know that the Wii has been anything but a failure with it's gigantic install base, but I was always right in saying that they're boned come the next XBOX and PS. They're proving me right by making this system.

It's a power grab to try and reclaim some market share for the next year or so because nobody that bought a Wii is going to line up to buy a Wii 2. They don't see the benefit of Wii Fit HD.

I'm sure that 3rd party developers from the US will start porting stuff to the new system, but I'm still banking on Nintendo blowing a goat when it comes to online functionality. They'll do the traditional Japanese thing and it will exist, but only to the gimped standards that Nintendo deems necessary. Friend codes are still around aren't they?

I guess I've just grown very tired of Nintendo love and nostalgia. So what if they make a "core" system. You'll still be able to get the best core games from the 360 and PS3 with great online functionality and a better controller. The only thing that this console means to the fanboys is Zelda and Mario and Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros in HD. That's all. Same old gameplay with the same old tried and true Nintendo methods.

The best thing the console seems to have is 25gb discs. It's something that the PS3 got right and is currently limiting the 360

No hard drive is another huge problem. This is also what leads me to believe they're online will be garbage. So far they're saying it has 8gb flash drive.....wow. My Droid X has a 16gb micro sd card.

The controller has a 6 inch touchscreen on it. Who the hell cares? It's another gimmick that only Nintendo will be able to effectively use in Zelda or Mario for inventory management. The Dreamcast did a very similar thing with their badass removable memory cards with a built in screen. The only game to use it well was Resident Evil: Code Veronica. It displayed your current health at all times which was nice because normally you had to check your inventory to see your health.

I'm just sick of Nintendo always getting a pass because they're Nintendo. They dropped the ball and left the consumers that got them to where they are years ago.

Even if this machine owns you can still only expect a new Mario or Zelda every 3 years. You're looking at probably one of each before the new competition rolls out.

I think that this will go the way of the Dreamcast. A (debatably) great system that tried it's best to make up for a poor previous system. It attempts to grab up market well before the competition and then gets left in the dust. Left to make the worst Sonic games ever for the rest of it's terrible existence.

Mario on 360 and Zelda on PS3. I'm just saying.

PSN Still Down

I don't know what annoys me the most:

The insane amount of people, organizations and countries trying to sue Sony.

Congress saying that they don't want the PSN back online till they're satisfied with Sony's response to the problem.

Or that it's still down.

I guess I just hate bullshit opportunist used car salesmen, but I'm really just starting to get pissed that the PSN is still down.

Anything plugged into the internet CAN be hacked. Nothing is unhackable. It was just Sony that was targeted.

Yeah it's free, but this is getting to the point where even I've had it. Fix the fucking thing.

Ditching the 360. An honest retrospective by a dual 360 hater and PS3 fanboy.

On this blog it's a known and widely disliked thing I did by getting rid of my 360 and going full PS3.

After getting to spend just a short amount of time with the 360 again this weekend (Lead Salad visited me) I'd like to take a look back, get nostalgic and honestly ask myself, did I make the right choice?

Since the reasons for me ditching the 360 have been wildly spewed from my mouth and keyboard I'll keep that to a minimum, but will sum it up as being mainly a feeling of betrayal as a consumer by Microsoft. Betrayed by nickeled and dimed costs as well as the utter failure of them to fix a broken console spurred on by the consumers continuation to buy the damn thing.

For work Salad will sometimes bring his 360 with him when he travels. Since he stopped by my place a couple days before work began he had it with him. After a 3 hour Portal 2 coop marathon he said he wanted to show me the Gears 3 beta.

As soon as he turned on the 360 I instantly became somewhat nostalgic. Not sad, but more akin to the feeling you get when you see an old game you love booting up or when I hear the menu music from Morrowind. A feeling of hey there guy, remember me? Remember how much fun we had? You love me.

I realized how much I missed just how visual the 360 menus are. A little too visual as far as advertisements go, but visual none-the-less.

Seeing Amateria and Sporadic Spider online as the old avatars was refreshing. Watching Salad pop into a chat with them seamlessly and talk without lag or having to say, "can you hear me?" a thousand times was awesome.

I sat and watched as Salad joined a party and played the Gears 3 beta with them and was impressed with what I saw. It was still Gears at it's core, but seemed much smoother and lag free. I started to feel like maybe this was a great game. I started to think maybe I shouldn't have ditched my 360 so I could play this with the guys. Then I saw Salad get blown to bits over and over with the sawed off shotgun and instantly put those crazy notions out of my mind!

Why the hell would I subject myself to that crazy ass broken MP again? I came away from watching the beta with the strong impression that it's somewhat fixed, but still broken. Any game with that much of a douche strategy IS broken. Sure it's totally playable, but fundamentally flawed. You just have to decide what your personal threshold of douche tolerance is and either play it or don't.

I finally asked if Salad had brought a second controller. I wanted to play as a group with the guys again and everyone had Halo Reach (a game series I've struggled between hating and loving since Halo 2). We popped it in and got to playing and I realized after 1 minute that I didn't miss that game at all. It still feels like water guns with 50% gravity and caters to weapon, vehicle and power up control. Bottom line is any feeling of wanting to play that series is pure emotional nostalgia. It was good to be away from it for so long and come back and still hate it. In my mind it reaffirmed what I feel to be true. Halo sucks.

Even though my time with the 360 was short I feel that I don't miss the console as much as I thought and even feared I would. I either played or watched the 360's two biggest exclusives and I don't miss either of them. Bad Company 2 is better than Halo and Uncharted 2 is better than Gears of War 2 and I'm gonna call it, 3 (does that even make sense?!).

The conclusion I came to is that I still feel I made the right choice about getting rid of the 360. If I still had mine it wouldn't get near the amount of play that my PS3 does and I still wouldn't be up for paying for another year of Gold Membership as well as the looming cost of replacing the thing when it breaks because it will. Towards to end of my career with the 360 I only enjoyed L4D and Gears of War 2 Horde. Not worth the 60 bucks.

I guess I realized what I actually missed when I initially put on Salad's headset. Playing with my friends. This should be remedied now that Amateria realized how good Uncharted MP is.

Feel free to comment and ultimately rip me to shreds.

Finally.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

I'm almost surprised this didn't happen sooner, what with white being Apple's primary color scheme. We all give the iphone a hard time, but how long now do you think it will be until we start seeing white be a more "regular" color on other smartphones?