Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tekken 6 E3 Trailer!
Now that's a trailer! Btw, I'm not using Gametrailers video anymore as it messes up my pages. Guys code your stuff better please!
No TRIAL OF THE WEEK this Week in Honor of E3!
Sorry, but considering that you guys probably won't even READ let alone play any game I suggest with all the E3 hubbub; I decided against writing the column this week. Instead, enjoy all our E3 coverage. You'll love it, it will be like being there with a very over critical friend that you love but also slightly irritates you. I actually hope it's better than that, but I'm going for realistic here.
See you at the Microsoft Press Conference....
Nier 'E3 2009 Debut' trailer
Looks interesting, kind of God of War looking. Would certainly like to see more.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Edge of Twilight Trailer! I don't know either but it looks good!
Actually it is supposed to be coming out this year for XBOX 360 and PS3. Lots more info can be found here. I'm sure there will be more coming out of E3 on this; so stay tuned,
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Infamous Trophies: Gotta get them ALL!
Gold Trophies
Hard Finish - Finish story mode on Hard, without changing the difficulty setting.
Silver Trophies
Good Finish - Beat the game as a Hero.
Evil Finish - Beat the game while Infamous.
Community Organizer - Take over all territory in the Neon District.
Civic Leader - Take over all territory in the Warren.
Urban Designer - Take over all territory in the Historic District.
Evil to the Core - Purchase every negative Karma upgrade for each power.
True Hero - Purchase every negative Karma upgrade for each power.
Goody Two Shoes - Reach full positive Karma.
Truly Infamous - Reach full negative Karma.
Stunt Master - Complete all of the stunts on the stunt list.
Bronze Trophies
Just Scratched the Surface - Collect all Dead Drops in the Neon District.
Further Down the Rabbit Hole - Collect all Dead Drops in the Warren.
You're so Sly - Collect all Dead Drops in the Historic District.
Junior Geologist - Find 25% of the Shards.
Member of the Mineral Club - Find 50% of the Shards.
Rockhound - Find 100% of the Shards.
Frequent Flyer - Travel 5 kilometers using Static Thrusters.
Hotfoot - Travel 25 kilometers while riding the rails.
Electric Hobo - Ride the train for 2 kilometers.
Casey Jones - Take down 25 enemies while riding on a moving train.
Road Kill - Take down 25 enemies while riding on the roof of a moving vehicle.
Drop Everything - Thunder Drop for a total distance of at least 500 meters.
AC/DC - Drain 750 megawatts of power from Empire City.
Get Off My Cloud - Get 100 High Fall take downs.
Red Baron - Take down 100 enemies while they are airborne.
Fish in a Barrel - Kill 50 enemies by using water.
True Potential - Purchase every upgrade for a single power.
Oh, You've Done This Before - Take down 50 enemies by sticking them with a grenade.
The Hunger - Bio Leech 100 enemies.
Doctor Cole - Heal 250 pedestrians.
Good Eats - Good guys feed the needy.
Evil Eats - Bad guys never share their food.
Good Riot - Good guys stand up and take the heat.
Evil Riot - Bad guys love starting riots.
Good Train - Good guys proactively facilitate transportation solutions.
Evil Train - Bad guys make it clear who the boss is.
Good Exposure - Good guys are heroes to others.
Evil Exposure - Bad guys love to be seen.
Good Sphere - Good guys put a stop to the madness.
Evil Sphere - Bad guys always want more power.
Good Intentions - Good guys work for the greater good.
Evil Intentions - Bad guys can't say goodbye.
Stunt Man - Complete any one stunt from the stunt list.
Stunt Coordinator - Complete 10 of the stunts on the stunt list.
Fight Night Round 4 Demo: An intelligent Boxing game? WOW!
This morning the demo for Fight Night Round 4 launched for a modest 9999 Microsoft Points. Which only proves that someone was playing the demo before they set all the critical stats for the download screen. The price has, of course returned to free.
Except for the boring trailer and unnecessary tutorial the ACTUAL boxing in this game is AWESOME! I was shocked at how differently each boxer played. You get to play two different boxers. Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao. One is a more close in puncher and works better with body punches the other seems much more proficient at head shots that are followed up by said body punches. There certainly have been minor changes to speed or finesse in previous versions of Fight Night but this game ACTUALLY makes the experience feel different from boxer to boxer.
I'm usually unusually positive about demos and betas but in this case considering you can play either boxer over and over for as long as you like; I think I might actually be right about this one. This game is shaping up to be the most awesome game in the series yet. Which is I'm sure what EA is hoping. And as I will only be getting this game and Madden this year from EA SPORTS; I hope they are right.
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne the Book Review!
Hey guys, it's been a while since I've done a book review here on the blog so I decided I'd do this one. Dragon Age Stolen Throne is a Prequel Novel to the upcoming game from Bioware. I believe the novel begins 50 years before the game, which basically guarantees that you won't recognize much of anything from the game to the novel.
Which means that unless your REALLY interested in getting acquainted with the world; you really have no reason to read this novel. The story centers around the son of the recently killed Rebel Queen who is the RIGHTFUL heir to the Throne of Feledren. Who's name is Maric. The game centers around him trying to regain that throne and it is a rather prolonged and convoluted journey. The story does fall apart near the end and is probably one of the most anticlimactic books I've read in a while.
There is some touching on the different races that are in the game but it does ignore a couple as well. There seems to be some magic in the world but it is very hard to tell how much there REALLY will be in the game outside of the mage class. It seems like there is magic here and there. But it really isn't explained beyond the Chantry which all mages are REQUIRED to belong to, to control them.
That is also not part of the book, really. It is touched on, but is definitely not the subject. You tirelessly follow Maric, Rowan, and Loghain on their very Dungeons and Dragons adventures. Only without Dragons and with limited monsters except near the last third of the book. So as much as I wanted to like this book, I just couldn't bare it when it ended so suddenly.
The actual writing is pretty compelling and the aforementioned poorly drawn ending is completely unexpected. It all most seems like the author was rushed to finish the book to hit a release date. But as the game isn't coming out for probably about a year, it's hard to believe that is the case. It would certainly explain the abrupt summarizing and rushing of events near the end. Unless of course he had a limited number of words then it is completely understandable. For instance, if he said the book would be around 350+ pages and the publisher or EA PR said, hey that book is getting a little long for the target audience; your going to need to wrap it up soon. So he wrapped it up. I'm not saying this is what DID happen only that it seems like SOMETHING must have happened to make the novel draw to such a sudden conclusion.
I won't ruin it for you, but unless you are desperately burning to know about the world of Dragon Age Origins, you should probably just play the game and leave the history to the historians.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Steam Night, Maybe everyone should try it!
Last night, after an all night gaming stint on Friday night I kind of got sucked into some insane time with Steam. First I played Plants versus Zombies which is an excellent game from Pop Cap. That let's the player plant, plants that will attack the invading zombies on your property. The game is one of the fastest selling that Pop Cap come out with.
The game is incredibly addictive and I usually play a couple of hours when I do play. To try to keep from playing too much. Mostly because the game can really suck you in. What is SO addictive about the game? The slow increase in difficulty. The game doesn't have that crazy 0-60 attitude that SO MANY titles seem to have. Especially, in games like this. Also, the game is incredibly funny and has some inventive game mechanics. I love it, a review is probably coming but it's a great game and it's only $9.99 on Steam.
Once I finished there, I decided to check out the new stuff on Team Fortress 2. Especially after hearing that they had a new weapon drop system rather than making you do all the achievements. Getting back into the groove of playing TF2 took a few games; but this is another incredibly addictive title and the tendency even with strangers is; one more round.
I normally play the Medic or the Heavy. But last night I mixed it up with the Pyro, Sniper, and I even played the Solider. I didn't get any new weapons but I did get a few achievements which are all ways fun. Most of the games went really well, but as the night wore on people started dropping and not coming back. So after I while I quit as well.
I then fired up Bioshock. Which I downloaded around Christmas and never got around to playing. I did finish the game on the 360, but I think it was only around $9 on sale; so I couldn't refuse. I was shocked by how absolutely incredible the game looks on the PC.
The game controls very well and I was surprised how well the game holds up. As long ago as this game came out, the DirectX 10 support for the game seems to make it absolutely beautiful and certainly mechanically the game is still the best FPS in existence. I played on a little harder difficulty than I normally would and I did screw around a lot more than I did the first time through. I'm not entirely sure that I will be purchasing the game on the PC when Bioshock 2 hits. But this certainly makes me think it's in the realm of possibility. What impresses me most about Bioshock now, is that unlike a lot games that came out at the same time. This game looks like it could have come last month.
By the time I was getting done in the Medical Pavilion it was pretty late so that is the end of my Steam Night which probably took me around six hours. It was certainly a lot of fun and a nice break from the games I usually play for review. I know most people probably don't spend six hours a night playing games, and I don't usually either but any of the above titles I would STRONGLY recommend to ANYONE looking for a good experience.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
TRIAL OF THE WEEK! OH NO! Rabid Gophers!
This week we are getting our shooting on by playing the Rabid Gopher Trail. It's graphically simple but very funny. The whole game has an awesome feel to it, but the trial itself is very limited. The trial will allow you to play Gopher Blast! As you can see you just hit the corresponding buttons as the Gophers appear. It's like Wakka Mole.
This game is 200 Microsoft points but there really isn't too much to do except shoot and blow up Gophers. Which is cool and all but I just couldn't drop the points for this one. You try it and let me know if you can.
With the unlocked version you can also play Gopher Bomb, which loots much like Gopher Blast. But then I haven't played this part, because it is only able to be played if you spend the points.
Finally we have Gopher Sniper Which looks like the only true different mode from the other two. I've had a hard time coming up with GOOD recent Trials so this gets my vote for now.
You guys can decide if this is your thing, but it wasn't exactly mine, although the Trial was fun.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Terminator Salvation Game Review (XBOX360/PS3)
"Why won't they stop coming?" Angie or Blair from Terminator Salvation the Game!
"They never stop coming until your dead." I believe Sarah Connor from T2. I wish someone would have said this at SOME POINT! It would have been so satisfying.
Terminator Salvation the video game takes place 20 years before the story of Terminator Salvation the movie. It also does not have the voice or likeness of Christian Bale the star of aforementioned movie. This is nothing more than an annoyance but it is just one more nail into the coffin of the game.
The game has fair graphics but for a next generation title much of it looks very poorly textured. Some of textures on the models of the main characters in fact look absolutely terrible from time to time. This certainly LOOKS like the same engine that powered Wanted Weapons of Fate which was Grin's other title this year.
The story in Terminator Salvation the game is pretty simple,
'John Connor wants to rescue some guys trapped by Skynet. No one else wants to risk it so he and Blair go out and try and save them."
That's pretty much it. This is supposedly the turning point in John Connor's life. But it really doesn't seem to be a very pinnacle occurrence set to the events of the game anyway. Considering the amount of mythology and depth of the world that Grin had to work with, they seem to have taken a very easy way out with the story in this game. With this in mind other things seem to be very obvious indications that this game was horribly rushed. For instance there are literally just a handful of enemy types: the wasps, the spiders, the HKs, the Endos, and the human skinned Endos. That's it.
Again there is a certain sense of only moving forward in this game much like Wanted. But what is worse, is that they substituted in the useless in this game melee kill for the annoying to do grenade throw. Which sometimes hit the Terminators and sometimes just explode harmlessly in mid-air. Don't worry about aiming the grenades because you can't.
All of the machines, are pretty easy to dispatch as soon as the appropriate weak spot is found. But all in all, the process becomes more annoying than anything else. Which is part of the problem with Terminator, it's just not fun. There is certainly a certain amount of challenge in the game. But going through it just isn't fun. The game switches between rail shooting and cover shooting. Both are handled rather poorly. The former a little better than the latter. I would have preferred the developer simply stick to cover shooting and perfect it. Rather than finding the need the mix it up. Also, the in game cinematics are SO BAD it probably would have been better that the developer just have concept art scenes with word bubbles. It probably would have come off as artistic.
Not that it should need saying, but this game was very poorly designed. This is a typical movie game and should not be played by anyone. Even someone who is really into Terminator. Because I for one, am really into Terminator and found the game all most too terrible to bother finishing. The only up side to this disaster is that it's very easy Achievement points and Trophies. That's it.
Nothing to see here....
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Project Trico! Revealed by PlaystationLifestyle site!(Rumor)
There are also lots of screenshots here. Certainly interesting.... I think maybe PlaystationLifestyle might start showing up on people's radar.
Resonance of Fate Debut Trailer!
I love Tri-Ace but guys, maybe some gameplay next time. This isn't Final Fantasy after all...
Nostalgia: Please guys end it!
I know there was a time probably not too long ago that I figured that everything concerning the "golden age" of video games which incidentally was last year rather than the late 80s like everyone seems to think. Also, of course there is some evidence that the Dreamcast was truly the greatest console EVER even though it sold horribly and had around 5 good games over it's WHOLE life span. All of this I considered normal and no big deal. But there doesn't seem to be any end in sight.
I knew when I began to write this article that there were probably going to be hundreds of Nintendo fanboys waiting to get to the end of this article to flame me until I'm literally on fire. But please folks, I'm SO TIRED of Nintendo and EVERYONE else who seems to be SO LAZY that they can't come up with a new franchise so they just recycle every franchise from that era. Wanna play some nostalgic games here, play all day man.
Now, there seems to be a giddy exuberance in the professional journalism community about Punch Out which seems to be a literal recycle of the original game with few additions which includes the tacking on of the Wii controls. Wow, what fun! If they called it Wii boxing and had the main character be named, "Fred." Not only would it get NO PRESS but it would be destroyed by professional reviewers. It's a very one dimensional game and this is just the latest evidence of Nintendo going back to the catalog. Everyone seems very happy when they do this, but quite frankly I couldn't care less. Because folks, I'm old. I started playing video games back in Atari 2600 days when the console had fewer pixels available than my current $100 cellphone.
So all these games are great, but by the time I was playing them for the most part my childhood exuberance was pretty much for arcade fighters and to me most of e Nintendo faire were in fact, kids games.
Everyone seems so thrilled about old games being "updated" for the new consoles. Well, these games for the most part aren't bad and the nostalgia factor might have actually drawn some money from the publisher. But really, what the heck is point of some of this. Space Invaders Extreme bares practically no resemblance to the original.
I certainly love games like Pac-Man Championship and certainly the aforementioned Space Invaders Extreme is great but were these games completely necessary to carry the names of their predecessors to be good games. I don't really think so.
Retro games for the most part have been done to death with varying degrees of success but games like Doom, Wolfenstein, or heaven forbid Marathon 2: Durandal? Come on! Seriously? Or my even worse than the aforementioned Frogger 3D! What garbage!
This is has all been done to death and the only reason people buy these games is to, "fondly remember the good old games." And to that I say "WTF?"
Compared to say, last year! What was so good about these games? Pick up and play? Well, so is basketball but no one refers to it as a "good old game." When there are SO MANY original Community Games out there that are getting no funding and no attention it seems that there could be some cash for NEW IP rather than all these HORRIBLE reworkings of games that should have given up the ghost years ago. Worst of all, I was listening to a video game podcast the other day and one of the guys actually was saying he was waiting for the next Sonic game to come out and was upset that there hasn't been one in a while. My reaction was, "WHAT? The last good Sonic game was on the Sega Genesis! I guess your opinion of a good game is really messed up!"
Of course no one is doing good updates like: Killer Insinct, arcade perfect Samurai Showdown, Shinobi, and come on what happened to all those Panzer Dragoon games?
At least these updates would be totally original rather than those done all ready FAR TOO MANY TIMES. Like Sonic for instance. But as I stated above and I stand by this. No matter how fun you THINK the game used to be, if you ACTUALLY go back and play that game. You will NEVER have anywhere near that much fun. It's called experience guys and I don't mean the kind that is collated on a bar. Most times these games were played when you were younger and yes a little dumber than you are now. Which usually means that when you go back to play them, well, something is definitely going to be missing.
Just give it a rest guys, new IPs are ALL WAYS better than old. Now I WILL make one exception to all this STREET FIGHTER IV is THE BEST FIGHTING GAME EVER MADE! But that is the only exception I make to this rule. Just give it up folks. It's not novel or fun any more. I honestly think this was all 2005-2007. The thrill is gone... Please just come to grips with that fact and funnel your money to new IPs or at the very least sequels to new IPs.
CO-OP Episode 111: Drop and give me E3
UPDATE: (Warning!)
This episode of Co-op features two segments one on Plants vs. Zombies($9.99 on Steam) and Zeno Clash($19.99 on Steam) unless you are some kind of crazy, unreasonable person this episode will cost you a total of $30 on Steam. Be warned!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
TRIAL OF THE WEEK! Iris: it's not a game?
Iris is NOT a game. Which I know probably flies in the face of this column. But I didn't know it wasn't a game when I began to mess with it and I soon found myself wholly signed on to the Iris experience. Do you like music? Do you want to see it? Really, I'm not joking. There are at least 3 or 4 visualizers in this program that will allow you to SEE the MUSIC! So you think this is just another crappy visualizer program? No, it's amazing, some of the visualizers are silly and meant to be just for laughs like Tank Wars, but most are really amazing.
This program is for all of you out there who have lots of gamer pics and themes. You know who you are, don't try and tell me there are none of you out there. Well, waste your points on something TRULY cool this time. The trial version is timed, so load up some of your most awesome music and give it a spin. Then it's only 200 points to get the permenant version with lots of different UIs and unlimited playback.
Symmetry is one of the better visualizers but you pick your favorite. It won't take long to find one. If this all seems like garbage to you, just try it. If you hate, delete it right away. But especially for parties I could see this being a really fun toy.
Cause that's really all it is, a toy and that's all it's trying to be.
Devils, Evokers, Personas, and other things that Won't die!
First and foremost I want to say that there is very little in RPGs I love more than Atlus! They make ONE HELL OF A RPG. Ever since Persona 2 I've been hip deep in their titles and loving them. Not so much for their art style(although it can be very good), but for their innovation on an old platform like the PS2 or a hard design for platform like the PSP.
While their games aren't God of War size innovators they certainly do some good things in the RPG genre that really bares some looking into. However, all this said; I have to say I'm having some issues with their latest titles. And I know how loved these franchises are so I will certainly be happy to carve up a few Western RPGs while I'm at it.
First off, let's take Devil Summoner 2. I will dispense with the long subtitle as it is just Devil Summoner 2 to me. The game has an incredibly wonderful Real Time fighting system and I certainly love the little negotiations with the demons. Having two demons out at once and having them be able to debate with the demon your trying to negotiate with is brilliant. Every part of the combat system seems to be a well honed machine that a clock maker would be proud of.
The problem lies in the story mode of the game. Where you are supposed to take on cases for the detective agency and doing so thereby protecting the Capital. The cases weave themselves through the city and into what is called, "The Dark Realm." Which is a nightmare version of the real world that has demons in it. These demons are the ones you must befriend and eventually summon.
This is all wonderful. Except that the convoluted story and the way that the cases must be gone about are more tedious than they are fun. These days even on the PS2, there has to be some kind of hook. Something that will keep the person playing for hours on end rather than getting frustrated and stopping.
This was of course the case with Persona 3. Probably the best RPG on any platform of 2007. The incredibly innovative combat system which involved a traditional turn based system but allowed you to RUSH your opponents at key times or when possible throughout the battle. The game on the whole was a little grindy but considering you had the fun of a dungeon crawler, a dating sim, and a really good story on top of all that. It certainly made up for any shortcomings. Also the Persona FES edition that allowed the player to have even more fun with an extended ending and some new Personas made the original even better.
The game also had the signature Evokers, which were guns that when you shot them at your head your character would call your Persona. It was an incredibly daring thing to do. Phillip Miner has an incredible article over at Escapist about the psychological and social premises surrounding this interesting mechanic. This made the game unique in SO MANY WAYS that there hasn't been ANYTHING to top it since.
What's wrong with Persona 4? The game takes place in a small town where at just about every turn they say,
"Nothing ever really happens here."
Which is fine, but even after the murders begin occurring perpetrated by a mysterious figure; nothing really does happen. You again are the main character but rather than living on campus with a bunch of other students as you did in Persona 3 you live with your uncle Dojima who is a Detective on the Police force. The humor runs from silly to ridiculous and the story sometimes seems a little too insane for it's own good. There are plenty of instances where your little niece Nanako is left alone all day and she looks to be about five years old. Which is odd enough, but your probably around 16 and you come and go as you please as if you were about 18.
There certainly were big holes in the story of Persona 3, but it was more Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Persona 4 is more like Twilight or something equally unbalanced with reality. This is just a small thing but the overall story is pretty light. Who is killing all these people using the mysterious TV world. After about 15-25 hours, you don't really even care. It's more about getting this new character or that new character to join your party and getting hard to achieve social links.
All of these things were peripherally present in Persona 3 but they seem to take center stage in Persona 4; where the story just can't hold up for the long haul. Also instead of using an Evoker you just snap your fingers which also dials down the style of the game quite a bit.
There are so many good things about the Persona games in general Fusing Personas, Social Linking, the normally diverse and interesting dungeons. All of these things are certainly present in Persona 4 and even somewhat improved in small degrees from Persona 3. The problem is that there is VERY LITTLE reason why we are doing all this to begin with. The story tries to deepen in parts but seems to refuse to go all the way.
There are western RPGs that seem a little too committed to their side quests and not committed enough to the main story like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for instance. The main story is pretty much a beginning and an end but no middle. This is all fine, except that aren't we playing this game for the story, not the experience of killing things for experience points.
Then we have Fable 2, which just like Fable the first; seems to end just as it gets going. Also, never really getting to the excellent boss battle. It's more like a boss cutscene. Which is a real disappointment.
So Fable 2 isn't long enough and Elder Scrolls Oblivion is too long for the story's own good. At least if you don't just play one story mission after another in perfect succession.
Certainly on the most basic level comparing Persona and Devil Summoner to Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Fable 2 is kind of like comparing the original Doom to Halo 3 . But the thing that they ALL are supposed to have in common are the basic mechanics of a Role Playing Game Genre title. Which is why they are comparable. No matter how much power and technology you give someone if they can't tell a good story they won't be able to pull off a descent RPG. Or at least, they shouldn't be able to.
Certainly Persona 3 and Mass Effect are examples of some excellent RPGs in the fast few years and certainly the Shivering Isles which was an Elder Scrolls Oblivion expansion was probably the best story Bethesda has ever told.
Perhaps at this point your wondering what all this carrying on about RPGs is about. It's about the fact that in this day and age with the current technology being what it is; not being willing to innovate whether your on the PS2, PS3, XBOX 360, or the PSP. Is most likely a death sentence if you do it for too long and too often.
There are of course, people who like this sort of thing. But then I think they are in the game for the story and as the story in these games seems to be what is going first; I'm sure these folks that love playing PS2 games will find soon enough that these games have changed just enough to be mechanical frameworks.
I certainly have grown to love Japanese RPGs and in the short time they have been around I love Western RPGs but if they continue down their current path, they will both die due to their core audiences total apathy toward them.
I guess there is all ways...
Which may be just another Final Fantasy, but it MAY actually have a good story. Final Fantasy 12 did at least...
Friday, May 15, 2009
Free Realms hits a Million Registered Players!
So I've been trying come up with something to say about Free Realms for a while now. It's an amazing free to play MMORPG. In the game what you do is based on the clothes you wear. This allows you to do everything from card battling to Kart Racing to Combat.
For a small monthly fee of $4.99 you can get access to additional professions like Wizard and Ninja. For around $5 you can use Station Cash to buy a pet that you take care of and dress in costumes in the game. So Free Realms isn't completely free. But you can have hours of fun without spending any money.
Most people looking at Free Realms immediately think this is a kids only affair. But actually it's an incredibly fun game for ANYONE who loves awesome gameplay.
Head over to freerealms.com and get yourself an account. You will need a Sony Station account to get in. But that's free and easy to get. The game launches from your browser window so you will be playing in minutes.
The game is certainly worth a try and who can argue with free? Obviously not the 1 Million people who have all ready registered. Also there is supposedly going to be a PS3 version of this game coming out later. I don't know how everything will work with that, but considering games like Kart Racing and Demolition Derby could only get better with a controller. If it's free, I'm all over it.
Kojima Productions "Next" site goes Live!
This is a screen grab off my browser, it animates and it's pretty but what's going on? More to come I'm sure, point your browser to http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/next/
Certainly is beautiful I will give them that, awesome clouds guys.
Splinter Cell Conviction Teaser Exclusive from Gametrailers!
Wow I hope it isn't like the last Bourne movie. Or maybe that would be good... Discuss..
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wanted: Weapons of Fate Review
Wanted Weapons of Fate is kind of a movie game. The game takes place after the events of the movie: Wanted. You know the one with Angelina Jolie. The game picks up after Wesley has had his life totally messed up for the second time and is looking for traces of his father's legacy when the folks from the Paris Fraternity comes along and snatches it. You also play through flashback sequences where you play as Wesley's father.
I won't say anything more about the story, I've probably said too much all ready. There is SO LITTLE there that I don't want to totally ruin the game and the end of the movie for anyone.
So if you haven't read the Wanted Comics series or the seen the Wanted movie, stop reading this right now. You WILL HATE THIS GAME AND NOT UNDERSTAND IT.
OK, for everyone else.... The game is pretty good giving you the chance to curve bullets, use super slow down, and a few other features from the movie. However, it is all implemented in a pretty sloppy way.
The perception that Grin, the developer, gives the player is that there is NO REASON for you to do anything but move forward and that you should be curving bullets, using bullet storm, and going into the assassin time at every possible opportunity. Assassin time which I think is the term they used in the early days of previewing is where you go into cover, you blind fire until you see the edges of the screen blur, then you saddle around behind the enemy and then either shoot them or stab them. There are a few instances where this is forced but in general it's optional. This would be fine except there are various instances where perhaps you need to turn around and shoot or stab someone. Well, that is kind of moving in molasses on a hot day. The controls are very clunky in general but when you turn around it stands out even more so. Every area of the game that is stylized is on rails or due to a Quick Time Event.
What IS forced are the insane Quick Time Events that MAKE YOU do certain parts OVER AND OVER until you get it right. In the first act there is an instance of this that worked wonderfully and is probably one of my favorite parts of the game where Wesley is thrown from one area to the next and you shoot bullets and people to get through, but everything is done slowly and fluidly. But what isn't cool is that the game does have other sequences where it seems like they just didn't know how else to do the sequence and couldn't live without it. Also the insane berserkers that run at the player from time to time. Keyed by a particular music track and was obviously triggered by something you do in the game. Throughout the majority of the game it's just a matter of ramming on the B button on the XBOX 360 controller. But near the end of the game; they want you to make a directional move as well. Which doesn't really seem to work. So I ended up just shooting him to death. They were completely unnecessary and certainly not making the game more challenging, just annoying.
The game really could also use a graphical overhaul. The game has moments of interesting graphics but only moments. Most of the game is dark, dreary, badly rendered, and borders on XBOX quality graphics rather than XBOX 360 quality. On a side note, there isn't one good looking woman in this WHOLE GAME, what happened there?
There are unlockable modes and other ways of playing through the game with other modes and such; but considering the basic controls and mechanics of the game are so broken it is incredibly hard to recommend this game to anyone. There really are too many OLD third person action shooters that do a better job than this, for me to suggest this linear snooze-fest.
I won't belabor this anymore. No matter how you feel about the movie Wanted and possibly even no matter how you feel about the comic series. This game will basically be a waste of your time. If you REALLY need a third person action shooter, try Gears of War or even Tom Clancy Ghost Recon 2. Either game is MUCH better than this and they are both rather old now(meaning they are cheap). That's it guys, just stay away...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning Land of the Dead Trailer!
I was truly impressed with most of the footage of Warhammer's new stuff. I'm just hoping that a more beefy expansion is coming this year that will TRULY make me want to activate my account again. I love you guys at Mythic but that level 40 stuff makes me never want to touch this game again.
