Thursday, December 31, 2009

More Modnation Racers Developer Video: Thanks PS Blog!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Divinity 2: Shouldn't a demo make you WANT to purchase the full game?

 

    Last night I thought I should FINALLY play the Divinity 2: Ego Draconis that has been out on XBOX LIVE for what has probably been close to two weeks now.  I decided that no matter how in-depth or not in-depth this demo was going to be; that I should give it a shot before getting the game later next month.  And I am certainly glad I did.  Because I will no longer be getting the game next month.  The demo was, in a word, awful.

      The demo begins with a strange little cinematic of what must be a dragon slayer going after a dragon.  The guy sneaks up to it and cracks a branch and the dragon gets spooked and flies away.  I was wondering if this was some kind of new deer or small bird dragon breed that I had never seen before.  Most dragons I've seen in movies, read about in books, or fought in video games would have roared and  then set about to eat the guy or set him on fire.  But hey, the mythology of the world and all...

     Moving on, you begin as random stock guy #1 because for some reason they locked the character creator in the demo.  Maybe because they don't think it matters because you won't be spending too much time with the guy anyway.  But it would have been nice to see what options of customization you have.  Also it probably would have just been easier to skip the whole character customization thing completely, considering you have absolutely no choices any way.

      The game drops you into the world and you, all Elder Scrolls style get met by the first NPC who is your commander.  Which was fine and certainly the whole general training area of the game was fine.  It lasted a tad long, at around 15 minutes considering it was really only teaching you how to get quests and fight.  But hey, that's how they wanted you to do it.  During the little bit of the game that I played it seemed kind of like the developers had played too much Dragon Age Origins.  Because if you substituted "Grey Warden" for "Dragon Slayer" you would have had pretty much the same conversations and the people would have had the same attitude toward you.

   In the game, it tells you that you can only leave this little training island with one unique spell.  Either a Warrior, Ranger, or Mage spell.  A Warrior or Ranger spell?  Well apparently the Warrior and Ranger "spells" are abilities and they use mana.  Why? No idea, they just do...  This is all fine and good until you run into your first town which you are taken to and then told that you weren't ready to be there in the first place and you must be sure to check out this crypt where you will fight some undead therefore not go crazy.  Which is fine and all but it seemed a little pointless and the story really could have been crafted to make all the flying and screwing around at this little town unnecessary.  You could have just had the time to finish in the little training town at the start.  I guess there was some reason for this, but this too wasn't apparent.

      In doing some of the things before you reach the crypt; like talking to townspeople and completing minor quests you can level up.  Which is great, except, what the game doesn't tell you is that any spell that you level up into before you do your little crypt quest won't work until you do it.  At least that was what I gathered because no matter what I tried or how many menus I searched through there seemed to be no explanation for why I leveled up into 3 spells and could STILL only use one.  Great demo instructions guys, thanks...

   Finally, it appears you need to level up in the spell that you chose before you left the training grounds as that is the ONLY way you are going to beat the undead in the crypt and do your little ritual thing.  Which is pretty awful considering from the beginning you are told you can use ANY SPELL from ANY CLASS.  Which story wise, they try to make the point of being a super cool dragon slayer.

   The game doesn't look especially good, even in cutscenes where the large ship you and your folks fly around in looks complete 2 dimensional in the 3D world.  Some of the characters like your Commander and the Archmage look good.  But in general it looks like most of the guys use the same 5 character models with slightly different hair.  And this was just in the two towns I visited in the demo.

     The big draw to this game is supposed to be turning into a dragon.  Which I've heard takes a while to achieve.  So if the above makes you feel like you want to trudge through until you can; by all means go for it.  I would recommend saving often and in different slots.  You never know when you will discover that one of your "choices" wasn't what the game REALLY wanted you to do.  I've never played a demo that was SO insistent on trying to make you NOT want to play the full version.  Which makes me think that there are probably some things SERIOUSLY wrong with this game.

Star Wars Old Republic Bioware Developer Dispatch talks Sith!

   See I bet you thought there wasn't anything new and worth watching on the Internet today.

Modnation Racers Video Walkthrough and some Beta impressions...

     I have been in the beta for a short time and while my overall initial impressions are pretty positive.  I'm not sure how I like having so much of the interface online; but it seems to work pretty well.  Also, the load times are a little crazy; but this is a beta after all.

      The only thing that is a bit concerning is that fact that currently most of the program(the career mode is locked) runs on the PS3 hard drive but when the game comes out it will run off the disk.  The fact that now, the game has horrendous load times running off the hard drive concerns me a little.

     The only area of the game that is open is the online racing.  You can either race in ranked or non-ranked matches.  At present rankings and ranked matches seem a little unnecessary and other than one or two unlockables there isn't much difference between someone racing with a non-ranked profile and a rank 3 profile.  The matchmaking is non-existent.  The fact that someone who is ranked 3 will routinely race with people who are rank 1 or not ranked at all is a bit of a problem.  This might be hard to understand as all of the changes to your kart are cosmetic; however knowing the track in this game is probably about 60% of winning.  Also, understanding how the game works and power ups work are probably the rest of the 100% to winning.  Hopefully the game will ship with more than the current 3 tracks and I don't mean 6.  Considering ranking up unlocks things it is hard to see very many people playing the unranked player tracks until the game is out for a while.  The fact that everyone is basically racing on a level playing field it would be hard to believe that people will want to do anything but online ranked matches.  They might fool around on the user made tracks but the majority of their time will be spent on the approved ranked tracks.  Considering the biggest part of the game is SUPPOSED to be racing on user made tracks this could be an issue.

    Without the career mode most of the game's customization content is locked.  More than three quarters of it in fact.  Which makes the game difficult to discuss as far as how fun or not fun the game will be when it comes out.  Even though the karts and characters share the same editor; both seem equally easy to make even if they are just a little irregular.  Once you get the hang of the controls, you can certainly make quite a lot of things even with limited resources.  There seem to be a few conventions that cannot be broken.  For instance, your character is a certain shape with a certain type of basic skin and some basic clothing options.  Anything you might imagine beyond this is probably not going to be allowed.  Some of the editing options for other people's creations can also be a little unwieldy and you can end up changing a whole piece to a different color when only one piece of that shape was actually showing on the model.  It isn't the developers fault that it's like this; but a little more identification of pieces on the model itself would help to prevent this from occurring.  The Forza 3 editor has the designs on a grid off the car during customization because of issues like this.  But it is by no means a deal breaker.

      The game itself is a lot of fun, but the customization of tracks and karts seem to be the biggest focus for this title and after around 4-6 hours this was getting a little old.  While I certainly love the concept, the depth of Modnation Racers doesn't seem to be anywhere near that of LittleBigPlanet and this could be a serious drawback for the game.  The game is great, but I'm not entirely sure that Modnation Racers current level of depth is enough.  While being able to rank up in ranked matches is the traditional why of doing it; I'm not sure that this system is appropriate for what Modnaiton Racers seems to be trying achieve.  I don't think that hoarding experience points is the best way to play this game.  I think the idea of the game is to be creative and make cool stuff.  To do this the player will have to feel like there is some reason to do so; currently there isn't much reason to do so.  Currently Modnation Racers has more in common with a traditional kart racer than it does with LittleBigPlanet.  Perhaps that is the problem right there.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

I'm sorry, Did I fall asleep?? Maybe just for a minute...

From Kotaku...

          Of the Spike Video Game Awards it was recently said,

               "Instead we have explosions rocking the tricked out stage to screaming guitars. The crowd oohs and aahs on cue. This is how the populace sees gaming. It's for men and scantily clad women, and not much else. For teenagers."Mike Hanus...

       This was an awesome statement when I read it.  I was immediately struck like some kind of shot. The Christmas season has created in me, not a need for gaming but one of reading.  I've managed to read so much about games over the past few hours that it probably rivals all that I've read in the past month.  Going from one saved article to another I've enveloped so many analyses of Demon Souls and how sexism is handled in gaming that I was beginning to believe we had turned a corner in or intellectual cesspool(If your interested follow my twitter and click on the links, a few are posted at the top of this blog page).  But then Mike Hanus had to send all of that straight to hell.

      I hope you read the linked article from my little quote.  But even if you don't, if watched the VGAs you will get the gist from the quote above; all be it a little out of context.  As bad as the VGAs are they have basically the pulse of gaming culture as a whole pretty well nailed.  And that is, as it has all ways been; truly the worst part of them.  As one commenter on Gametrailers.com which was one of the sponsoring sites for the VGAs so eloquently put it,

          "...Its only the Spike Video Game Awards it's not going to affect game sales...."

     Which is probably why publishers and PR as a whole don't give much of a crap what happens on them.  The developers are trotted out like lambs to slaughter and hope that they aren't portrayed in too embarrassing way.  After all, to make video games is a kin to sending people to the moon in complexity and its not a like the average actor who trots up to collect their Academy Award has too much in common with someone who has a Masters Degree in multiple disciplines of Computer Science or Graphic Design.  Certainly guys like Cliff Bleszinski or David Jaffe might act like rock stars but they have more in common with your average Harvard Professor than David Lee Roth.

      Of course every year some boring, annoying, usually crazy fanboyish or elitist journalist complains about this sort of thing.  Because of course, who would want to speak against this institution of the video game industry; except someone crazy.  In fact, this year the fans were allowed to vote on the awards to, "shut them up."  Well, that is an interesting strategy.  I wonder if the Academy would let the American people vote on the Movie of the Year award if we complained enough.  Alas, I doubt it.

       The problem I have with the Spike Video Game Awards is the same problem Mike Hanus has with them.  They keep talking to the people who would probably just download the trailers from Gametrailers.com and look at a list of winning games online; rather than needing to see 3 second clips for each game and a musical performance probably aimed at folks who aren't watching the awards anyway.  If the Video Game Awards were more like the Academy Awards and had more of a review of the year structure and allowed everyone equal time to thank who they needed to thank and perhaps have some behind the scenes clips from game makers about historic titles.  Like God of War or Super Mario Bros.  You know something you couldn't see anywhere else.  This kind of thing isn't out of place on the Academy Awards and they last hours.  This rushed little affair could hardly make 2 hours with generous helpings of commercials.  I'm sorry but I think Spike could have postponed the CSI reruns for a few hours to give this show a little more time.

    Finally however, I'm only making suggestions here; because if you aren't going to do the awards properly it would probably be best for the industry that we don't broadcast this garbage until maybe everyone involves grows up enough to have a mature awards show rather than the analog for the Kids Choice Awards.  The video game industry has grown up significantly this year.  In fact, video game journalism has even grown up significantly this year.  But in the public's view, the people who don't write, play, or make games; we are still the 8-17 year old man children who have never grown up and are obsessed with violence and sex.  While I know things change slowly in the public's mind; things like the Spike Video Game Awards aren't doing us any favors....

-DevilsAlias(Timothy Pecoraro)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Plain Truth: I Love SOME of you more than others.(Best Games of the Year)

        There is NO denying the fact that this year was one of the best years in that video games have had seen since around 2007.  But, it has probably been the best OVERALL year for games EVER.  At no other time have SO MANY great games come out in the space of one year that it might have actually changed the way we view the quality of games as a whole.  There is also no denying the fact that I HATE lists of the best or greatest this or that, but I will do it for you now.  But in a most unconventional way.  These are NOT the greatest games of all time or the best games of the year.  These are the games I spent the most time with and had the most lasting appeal for me; even after they had been out for a while.  All of these games have been out for MORE than a month; there is just no way to evaluate a game better than that.  As I don't get games early it's also impossible for me to get a good sense of a game in less time than that.  Unless it is horrible, then I get that sense in about 20 minutes.  The numbers associated with the games are more representative of how long I spent with the games rather than how much I like them.

         There are no categories here and you might not agree with everything I write.  But hey, that is SUPPOSED to be the point of these lists, right?

      10. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom XBOX 360/PS3/PC):  While most gamers have probably even forgotten that Resident Evil 5 came out this year.  I have to say that I spent quite a long time playing both the single and multiplayer modes of this game.  As annoying as some of the control issues were initially over time it grew on me.  Even with the problems that popped up involving the story and setting; I think that with the upcoming DLC coming next year this is definitely the time to start thinking about picking this game up again.

       9. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves (Naughty Dog PS3): While I didn't play very much Among Thieves compared to the other games on this list; I have to admit that it was probably one of the most impacting games I've played this year.  I played through single player campaign 100% and managed to play quite a few hours of the multiplayer before sending back my rental copy.  Before all you GOTY folks out there start critiquing me; are all of you guys STILL playing the game.  The game did come out in October after all; the multiplayer while good isn't exactly complex.  The single player in Uncharted 2 is truly a landmark for the industry and it will surely become a classic.  Anyone who wants to call themselves a gamer will NEED to play Uncharted 2.  Otherwise, your just another person waiting to play it. 

     8. Street Fighter IV (Capcom XBOX 360/PS3/PC): The penultimate fighting game experience of the first part of the 21st century; this game certainly belongs on my list.  This game made everyone buy a new fight stick or at the very least want to buy a new one.  There is more complexity in this one title than in all of the Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur series combined.  With a killer art style and being the first game that I installed to my hard drive there is little doubt this is one for the ages.  Now when Super Street Fighter IV comes out we will see if they can ACTUALLY top themselves.

       8.  Tekken 6 (Namco XBOX 360/PS3):  Perhaps saying that I spent more time with Tekken 6 than Street Fighter IV will cause some folks to flip their biscuits but it is true.  The reason?  Well, Tekken 6 isn't a better fighting game; but it IS a more accessible one.  Also, it has the benefit of having SO MANY costume pieces that you can turn your angelic Lili into a little devil.  Once the online back end was patched, the online play performs as if your opponent was in the same room.  The scenario campaign mode was garbage but the rest of the game has tons of modes and good stuff.  Although there probably isn't much coming down the line for DLC, at least we have one of the biggest rosters in Tekken history to enjoy while we wait for Tekken 7.

       7. Plants Versus Zombies!(Popcap PC):  The game that cost me $9.99. That I have played this game for SO MANY HOURS is criminal.  The tower defense inspired title is about as good as a game can get.  Keep your 2 million dollar budget titles.  Give me something simple and addictive and I might never turn on my XBOX 360 again.  Every one who has played this game are the same people who tend to put Plants versus Zombies on their best of the year list.  Perhaps it might even end up on best games of ALL TIME.  It is certainly the best Popcap game ever made and that is saying something.

 

     6. Torchlight (Runic Games PC): Torchlight is an updated version of Diablo and boy does it do it's work well.  This single player budget title is SO Diablo that there is nothing like it out there. It works as well or better than Borderlands at its loot whoring.  The game allows you to only play single player but hey, with Runic having a MMORPG in the works I think we can wait for a true, full multiplayer experience.  The game takes all the problems of Diablo and fixes them.  If the game had, had even LAN play it would have probably been heralded as the second coming of Diablo and made more money than Modern Warfare 2 on opening day.  But even without the multiplayer this is the best $20 game I've ever purchased.

    5.  Dragon Age Origins (Bioware XBOX 360/PS3/PC): Dragon Age was probably the greatest RPG to ever be released.  The amount of dialogue choices and depth of story make this game so good that you can't only play it once.  I dare you, try it.  Having been my first MAJOR PC purchase of of 2009 I was shockingly pleased with how absolutely incredible and deep Dragon Age Origins is.  I have been playing this game on and off since the game was released.  At one point I was playing 5 hours a night every night for around three weeks.  The game has such a deep and seemingly endless store of content on just what comes in the box that the prospect of player created campaigns make this game one for the ages.  We will surely be talking about Dragon Age Origins when we talk about Bioware's greatest contributions to the RPG genre in the near future.

     4. Batman Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady XBOX 360/PS3/PC):  The greatest super hero game in history was the first and only game I've EVER reviewed and played on two different consoles during the same period.  The game is not only a milestone for super hero video games but for action games in general.  Everything in this game works, perfectly.  With only minor points off for repetitive boss battles.  The upcoming sequel couldn't be more anticipated.  Everything that Batman does; it does well.  While I loved the game on both consoles, this was definitely a PS3 standout and should be picked up on the black box with the Sony logo on it, for maximum enjoyment and effect.

     3. Forza Motorsport 3 (Turn 10 XBOX 360) Whether you are an old pro at driving games or this is your first time off the starting line there is no better racing game.  Everything from customization, to being able to race every car you've ever wanted to  is in this game.  You can even create your own designs and sell them for virtual cash online at storefronts or in auctions.  There is no game that does what Forza does. Even the forthcoming Gran Turismo 5 looks like more of a variation than an improvement to Forza's excellent systems.  No one wanting to go fast, could go wrong picking up a copy of Forza 3. 

       2. Demigod (Gas Powered Games PC):  Yes this game came out back in April on the PC only and I have it on #2 on my list.  Also there probably are around 1,000 people in the world still playing this game.  Believe me it's not easy to get a gaming going online these days.  This new take on Defense of the Ancients formula was probably the most mind blowing title for me this year.  I loved every aspect of the game, with perhaps the exception that hardly anyone is playing it.  As an Impulse exclusive online and a require install for the box copy; the growing digital distribution company could have done better by doing more advertising and less bragging.  However, the game is still wonderful.  I just wish the game could have done better and been seen by a bigger audience.  Perhaps a console version?

      1. Modern Warefare 2 (Infinity Ward XBOX 360/PS3/PC): Yes the greatest media event of all time was and has been the only game in my XBOX 360 for weeks.  There is no better multiplayer experience out there.  No game better shows what a shooter can be than Modern Warfare 2.  The game is incredible.  Even more than the first game, MW2 is composed of a series of stunning moments in the single player.  Come for the incredibly short single player campaign, stay for the incredibly deep multiplayer.  And play Spec Ops if you have any time left from the other two.  This is a game we will all still be playing when part 3 comes out; and really what other game except MMOs can say that?

    Wow, I haven't even finished this and I can all ready hear the complaints.  Devils, 2 fighting games and 2 downloadable games?  What are you doing?  What about Assassins Creed 2 or Left 4 Dead 2?  What about Halo ODST?  Well, I haven't finished the first 2 and don't get me started on Halo ODST.  There is probably even some folks out there saying, "Hey where is Borderlands?"  And to them I say, when I finish the game I'll review it.  As it stands, I have a better chance of finishing Dragon Age a second time than completely Borderlands right now.  I'm all fill up on my FPS, sorry.  So perhaps this isn't the most complete list, but that wasn't the purpose of this list.  The above games are those that I've played and enjoyed the most over the past year.  All others are above #10; sorry guys maybe next year.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Splinter Cell Conviction Co-op Trailer

       I had a hard time getting into Splinter Cell on XBOX and even the early 360 game.  But I am definitely going to give Conviction a shot.  Because I think I'm old enough to love stealth killing now. Lol...

Saturday, December 12, 2009

VGA AWARD WINNERS!

"Game of the Year
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Studio of the Year
Rocksteady Studios

Best Independent Game Fueled by Dew
Flower

Best Xbox 360 Game
Left 4 Dead 2

Best PS3 Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Wii Game
New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Best PC Game
Dragon Age: Origins

Best Handheld Game
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Best Shooter
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Best Fighting Game
Street Fighter IV

Best Action Adventure Game
Assassin's Creed 2

Best RPG
Dragon Age: Origins

Best Multi-player Game
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Best Individual Sports Game
UFC 2009 Undisputed

Best Driving Game
Forza Motorsport 3

Best Music Game
The Beatles: Rock Band

Best Soundtrack
DJ Hero

Best Original Score
Halo 3: ODST

Best Graphics
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Game Based on a Movie/TV Show
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!

Best Performance by a Human Female
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes

Best Performance by a Human Male
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Best Cast
Wolverine

Best Voice
Jack Black as Eddie Riggs

Best Downloadable Game
Shadow Complex

Best DLC
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Most Anticipated Game
God of War III"Courtesy of Destructiod....Thanks...

      So most of the winners I can understand.  Not too happy with the Best Performance choices or best cast.  But hey, nothing's perfect right?  As far as reveals go, I really loved the Spec Ops trailer which I showed in the previous post.  I also enjoyed the Halo Reach trailer.  I can't wait to see some actual gameplay, but the skull helmeted Spartan seems like a step in the right direction as are the female spartans.  Both seem cool.

     What we have to look forward next year could actually be better than this year.  Which every year these consoles are out it seems like things keep getting better and the Art of video games gets more advanced.

Next Batman Game from Rocksteady? YES PLEASE!

The Best Looking and Most Interesting of the VGA Exclusive Premieres "Spec Ops: The Line"

Friday, December 11, 2009

Apparently there is NO Accounting for Taste.

 

         So according to NPD for the last, I don't even know how long.  The top 2 systems: The Nintendo DS and the Wii are the bottom 2 on the above list.  So is the same true for video games as it has been for movies?  The big budget blockbusters are never the critics darling and all ways the financial windfalls that allow the studio to make their art films?  If only this WAS the case.  According to this the cheapest, most economically made games are the ones that not ONLY critique for the worst scores but sell the worst.  Now I know what your saying, these are aggraded game scores not system scores.  But who would buy a game system with SO MANY terrible games.  Apparently the overwhelming majority of consumers.  I'm sorry, folks; if this is any indication of the popular trend to come, we are all going to be playing Peggle 2020 on our iphones in the VERY near future.  Rather than playing anything in 3D or virtual reality or anything else you might be imagining when you think of the future of video games.  So think about that the next time you spend that $1 on the next Tetris clone.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Dante's Inferno: the Demo (PS3/XBOX360)

 

Today on PSN, Dante's Inferno Demo debuted.  For ANYONE interested in the game I would recommend you go over to PSN and check it out.  As the demo is PSN only, if you have only a XBOX 360 you are out of luck.  The demo begins at; what I can only imagine is the beginning of the game.  You are Dante, a crusader in the holy land.  Here you do some nasty stuff and Death wants to take you to hell.  Dante says, "Hell NO!"  And you get served with a boss battle against Death.  And Death is HARD to beat.  At least on Zealot difficulty, which is probably either Normal or Hard in this demo.  It was hard for me to tell.  Your battle with Death is brutal until you figure him out.  Basically, you need to stay in the air and hit him as many times as you can.  You then steal his scythe and destroy him.  If you've been having trouble beating him, destroying him is especially satisfying.

 

   The combat in Dante's Inferno while reminiscent of God of War it is not a God of War clone.  Once you are given your punish and absolution powers things change quickly.  You have to decide which your going to mostly do, and do that.  Punishment is more gory and arguably cooler but hey you ARE trying to get out of hell not straight in; so Absolve seems more logical.  The reason you want to do one more than the other is that for each soul absolved or punished you get experience for that side.  Each has a tree of progression where you get increasing greater powers.  Your holy powers are basically like magic in this game.  The punishment side upgrades your combos and scythe abilities.  I was unable to really get into either of these are it looks like the most points you can get in the demo are around 800 and the next upgrade for either tree is at 1,000.  You can use holy power in concert with your scythe unleashing some really wicked looking effects.  Besides these you also unlock super abilities that while using mana you can hold L1 and a face button to execute.  There are slots for each face button, so unless you actually have to choose powers in the end; I'm guessing you can only have 4 powers total.

       The demo is nice and long and I won't spoil the end of the demo for you.  Let's just say it involves riding a demon and it is really cool.  But I did have a few minor issues with the game.  In larger areas the camera gets a little wonky and at various points it went all Ninja Gaiden on me.  But I'm not sure if  this was due to the geometry of the level or perhaps the size of the enemy.  In any case it is far from a deal breaker.  The only thing I would like to see changed are the quicktime-like platforming sequences where in order to move from one level to another on a pole you have to actually press a button that just sticks you to the pole.  Which seems completely outside the mechanics of the game.  After all there IS a jump button.  But taken in the totality of the demo, I don't think that even this is a big deal.  Perhaps when people see the footage of Dante's Inferno they see God of War.  But I have to say, this game is going farther and I think it will be one of the best game of next year.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Fall of the Lich King Trailer! Because the Blizzard Site can't handle it!

Rabbids Cartoon Series!

Tony Hawk Ride: Videos Say it all!

 

 

 

One of the above is certainly different than the others. You have noticed which one, right?

Dead Space 2 in the January Gameinformer!

  On the heels of EA's announced that there would be a Dead Space 2; Gameinformers next issue will have a cover feature for it.  I hope it is better than the original as I thought it could have been better in some places.  Specifically some of the light puzzle-solving that seemed a bit incongruent with the rest of the game.

Halo 3 ODST: Super Short Review (X360)

So I had said around the time that Halo 3 ODST was released that I wasn't going to review the game.  Well, this isn't so much a review as my opinion of the game.  This isn't a full review.  Just a quick expression of my feelings about the game.

       The beginning of Halo 3 ODST starts with you on the bridge of a command ship as your moving into the atmosphere of Earth.  Specifically over New Mombasa. Then you are dropped.  The dropping part was pathetic.  There was little to no vibration and practically none at all when the pod crashes.  This was a jarring experience for me because I was expecting some vibration.

       The story is plodding, told through the perspective of the various ODST troops in your squad.  You are the Rookie, a silent new guy.  Which is probably, again, the single most annoying thing in video games.  It doesn't make you feel like part of the story it makes you feel removed from it.  I hope that ALL game companies in the future will STOP doing this.  It just smacks of laziness not of trying to immerse the player more fully.  And in this case, Master Chief does speak.  So this wasn't exactly a precedent that needed to be adhered to.

       In general each of the ODST's stories were interesting and certainly the best part of the game.  By the time you reach the last 2 or 3 missions of the game you feel like a real bada$$.  Most of the mechanics that the ODST needs to employ are basically a stick and move style similar to that of Modern Warfare just a lot more clunky.  This is still the old Halo 3 engine and boy has it aged.  Perhaps some additional improvements to the character models could have been made.  Most of the character's faces are rendered terribly.  When the Covenant are the best looking characters in the game you KNOW you need to update things.  I felt the ODST guys should have just left their helmets on the whole time, if  Bungie wasn't going to make any more effort to render the ODST faces than they did.

     Halo 3 ODST comes with the game disc which has the Campaign and Firefight mode on it.  Firefight is similar to Horde Mode in Gears of War where endless streams of enemies attack you and you must hold out and not let them destroy you.  You will notice the similarity to this mode and the last couple missions of the campaign; subtle guys, very subtle.   The game also comes with the Halo Multiplayer Game Disc which has all the downloadable maps on it and a couple unique ones.  If you are ANY kind of Halo fan you probably have all the non-exclusive maps all ready.  Thanks for the pointless purchase guys.  Perhaps if the disc contained ALL NEW MAPS that would have been slowly rolled out for a premium price when HALO ODST was released; the package would have been a better value.  Or perhaps a cheaper game with simply the codes for all the maps on XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE.  This would have been cheaper than stamping a new disc and perhaps it would have allowed the game to be $39.99 retail instead of a full $60.

     I certainly enjoyed the little time I spent beating the Solo Campaign.  I enjoyed looking at Halo in a new way.  Especially near the end when you were playing a mission as the Rookie and not one of the other guys in your squad.  But I was kind of missing Master Chief in the end.  Wading into a bunch of Brutes and ripping them apart is so much more satisfying than running around looking for a angle on a sniper shot to kill them instead.  If I wanted tactics I'd play Modern Warfare.  One doesn't play Halo for realism, you play it to feel like a hero.  Not just one of the group.

     If Bungie had decided to give us Halo ODST main Campaign for 2000 points on XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE and maybe Firefight for another 800 points if you wanted it.  I would have been the first in line to grab the content as I have with everything Bungie has released since Halo; but this seemed  like a rip-off to me when the game launched. Now having played Halo 3 ODST, it still seems like a rip-off.  Honestly to ask your loyal fans to spend $60 of their hard earned money during a time of the year when SO MUCH other stuff is just about ready to come out; is insulting and greedy.  But it probably won't keep me from playing Halo Reach, even if I'm not in the Beta.

 

Friday, December 4, 2009

The Review Event? Is that like Must See TV?(Reviews)

      Right off the bat I have to say that I have never been to a Review Event.  I was invited to one for a Wii game, I think it was for the Conduit.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that my site doesn't review Wii games or cover Nintendo news at all.  So I just didn't RSVP.  But apparently this kind of thing is not confined to third rate Wii titles.  According to Michael McWhertor who wrote a great post on Kotaku, all the big games are doing it: Modern Warefare 2, Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, etc.. 

    The reason given in the article is that the publishers/developers are worried about the security of their game code and making sure that the media doesn't spoil the surprises in the game(somehow).  I truly believe that the reason that most press go to these events is that if they had to purchase the game at retail they would never be able to review the game to be in tandem with the sites that DO go to these events.  Which for most video game journalists these days this is a big deal.  The review can't even be a day late or there will be lower traffic or potential loss of sponsorships.

     I truly believe that SOME big sites might have an obligation to their subscribers to have this content up in a timely manner.  However, if someone told me that I had 3 hours to play Tony Hawk Ride and I had to review it for my site.  I think I would say,

        "Well, it looks like garbage to me, so I'll just go with that."

      Normally when I am pressured into reviewing something my first response is normally pretty bad.  For instance, I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2 for review since a couple of days after the game's release.  The game is a lot of fun, but it does have some problems that I won't go into here.  But the first few hours of the game aren't very fun; unless of course you played the first game and still remember how it worked.  Then you might be able to fly through the first few missions and get right to the meat of the game.  I would say that if I had only had a limited amount of time to play the game I probably would have given a pass and told my readers not to buy it.  And I would have been horribly wrong.  This of course, can go the other way as well.  The first few hours of Ninety-Nine Nights were some of the best I've had in a video game.  Only by the time I reached the middle of the game, did I realize how horribly repetitive the game is and that it would probably not be getting a very good score.  So what I'm trying to say here is that if you are only given a limited amount of time to review a game; the review will be colored by that fact.

   I also don't believe that people playing a multiplayer only title can get an adequate judging of that game until it is out in the wild.  It is certainly easy to get the gist of a game when it is being played by people who have spent hours not only building the game but playing it as well.  In contrast, playing the same game; as most people will play it.  With people who have only had the game a day or two.  Would really change the reaction most people would have to the game.

        This certainly raises a lot of questions about the voracity of reviews written during these events.  Most of which got incredibly good scores.  In fact, I'm told many of the reviewers who went to the Tony Hawk Ride Event gave the game excellent scores that by the rest of the journalistic community is just ridiculous and completely wrong. 

    What is the honest reviewer to do?  Well, look at the event, look at the game, and decide if this is an appropriate venue to review the game.  If not, don't go and purchase the game at retail.  Then take the proper amount of time to review the game.  To the gamer, I would say don't freak out if you don't get your review on launch day.  There is probably a good reason that the review is taking longer.  And keep your ears peeled during podcasts when game journalists start talking about how they went to that review event or other and see if the trend in scores seems to be different.  Or better yet, do the general reviews from one site or another for AAA games all ways swing toward one end of the spectrum and is this contrary to your personal experience with those games?  As history has proven the game industry is driven by the informed consumer and when it is not things can go horribly wrong for the market in general.  I think that it is up to all gamers to make sure they are listening to the right people and not being fooled by people who simply want to be able to check their review off their "To Do List."

No More Heroes in MOTION in HD!(XBOX360/PS3)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Medal of Honor to get Modern Reboot

        "Operating directly under the National Command Authority, a relatively unknown entity of handpicked warriors are called on when the mission must not fail. They are the Tier 1 Operators.

Over 2 million Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines wear the uniform. Of those, approximately 50 thousand fall under the direct control of the Special Operations Command. The Tier 1 Operator functions on a plane of existence above and beyond even the most highly trained Special Operations Forces. Their exact numbers, while classified, hover in the low hundreds. They are living, breathing, precision instruments of war. They are experts in the application of violence. The new Medal of Honor is inspired by and has been developed with Tier 1 Operators from this elite community. Players will step into the boots of these warriors and apply their unique skill sets to a new enemy in the most unforgiving and hostile battlefield conditions of present day Afghanistan.

There is a new enemy. There is a new war. There is a new warrior. He is Tier 1." Medal of Honor Site.

   So I guess this could be interesting to SOMEONE, but I don't know who.  Given the success and insane money that Modern Warfare 2 is pulling down.  I don't think there is room for 2 more Modern shooters.  Those would be Battlefield Bad Company 2 and This Medal of Honor game.  Both seem to be riding the coattails of such a large behemoth that they are not even going to see the head when they are thrown violently to the curb.  Sorry guys, come up with something new.  Like multiplayer in Mirrors Edge 2 or something.

EA focusing on Casual Market, and how is that working again?

  In a recent interview with IGN John Riccitiello was reported saying,

         "Riccitiello also stated in a video interview he expects the digital games business, such as subscription-based services, micro-transactions, and Facebook gaming, to overtake the console market by next year, increasing its current forty percent market share to over fifty."IGN.com

   This is interesting considering their recent problems with the Battlefield Heroes free to play game trying to turn it into a Pay to play game.  Alone both stories are interesting but put them together and it looks like EA has no idea what the heck they are doing and what their audience ACTUALLY is.  After all, it's going to be interesting to see how they get their major free to play MMO, Free Realms.  Would it need a name change, like Low Price Realms?  Adding to this the disturbing news that Command and Conquer is going to become a free to play browser game or a MMO subscription style one only serves to further confound any lover of the remaining EA franchises. 

   Considering the problems Id has had with Quake's free to play model as a browser game.  Its amazing that ANYONE would want to leap into this area as an alternative to boxed products with ACTUAL revenue stream that isn't based on forced people to pay money for something that they were once getting for free.

   And the whole Facebook game industry is so corrupt and insane as far as a reputable business is concerned they might as well be opening store fronts on Ebay at least there would be some regulation.

   Considering the upcoming year of incredible game releases it's very hard to understand where Mr. Riccitello is coming from with his statements.  Perhaps the unfortunate investments and ridiculous lay offs have put the screws to him.  But as history has shown, enthusiastically backing a lame horse doesn't make the horse any less lame or your company any more bankrupt when it's over.

Never Thought I would see this! (Mythos/Hellgate)

    There was once a little brand called Hellgate London and they had a nice little spin off project called Mythos.  Mythos was fun and inventive, very Torchlight-like but with multiplayer.  Hellgate however, was a very hefty system for the developer to create and process and ended up dying due to a lot of bugs and a lot of online issues.  So much so, that HanbitSoft the publisher put the developer Flagship Studios out of business.  Neither game has seen anything approaching the light of day for quite a while. Now they are BOTH back?  What? Mythos as what looks like a Torchlight rip off with multiplayer.  I wonder if they will beat the Torchlight MMORPG?  Also, Hellgate Tokyo was just announced that seems like a rather poor choice considering the original brand was such a disaster and it was only a couple of years ago.  All from HanbitSoft, the company that couldn't hack the online part of either of these games to such a degree that they had to close both of the old games.  Perhaps someone should be watching the purse strings of this company considering how absolutely crazy this whole mess seems to be.

 

The Hellgate Tokyo trailer looks a little too much like the original game, hopefully this is just a pre-alpha look.