This is from Platinum Games the folks behind Bayonetta. But it is obviously a very different game. There was no announcement of platforms or release window. I would imagine we will see more either around E3 or GDC.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Aliens Vs Predator Developer Interview and Multiplayer Hands On!
Read the Hands-On HERE! Thank You Giant Bomb. Keep up the coverage, I STILL am not sure about picking this game up. But the Steam deal of getting 3 new skins for the game characters and getting a free copy of Universe at War is pretty sweet. Although I all ready have a copy of Universe at War. But still it's a good deal. I just wish I'd seen more from this game than awesomely put together trailers.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Incoming Message... Onscreen...(Star Trek Online Beta Impressions)
When you think of Star Trek, what do you think of? Captain Kirk? Spock? A scene from the bridge of the Enterprise perhaps? I'm probably in the same boat. But this is not exactly what you are getting in Star Trek Online, a new MMO, from Cryptic Studios. I played about 3 different characters from the time of the closed beta up until last Saturday Night which was the last time I could play the open beta. I reached the ripe old level of Lieutenant 4th Class which I am told is the same as level 5. Due to some problems with communications and some server trouble, I was unable to play the Klingon side which I was disappointed about; because that is really what I wanted to do from the beginning. So all of this will be from the Federation point of view.
I played a Vulcan, a Trill, and a Human with my three tries. But I only played with the race creator; coming to the conclusion that, that seemed a little shallow as well. The beginning story for you if you create your own race is that your home world was destroyed before the game starts. Playing a Vulcan seemed more powerful considering the history they have in the movies and television shows. The Trill are cool because you get three slots to choose your attributes. But they aren't anything special; neither are the humans. But again, I really felt the Klingons would have been the most fun to play; as they have the most history in the Star Trek Franchise.
The game is broken up into two major types of gameplay. Flying around in your ship, you are made Captain of your own vessel at about level 1.5; and going on ground missions on planets. I certainly loved the ship battles in the game. It is probably the most realized ship battles in the Star Trek style I have ever played and I would probably have bought the MMO on the second day, if that was all there was to the game. But there is the little matter of the ground missions. The idea of beaming down to a planet or over to a ship with your hand picked bridge crew is great. Except that when you get there four out five times all you are doing is fighting guys. Add this to the fact that four out five times all you do when your in your ship is fighting people; you kind of get tired of it.
The progression in the game is pretty much centered around picking up items after you kill your enemies. Those things are of a very large variety; everything from materials to weapons or shields. Once you reach about level 3 or 4 you start picking up better weapons and shields for both yourself and your ship. But most of these new pieces of equipment really don't change the way you play that much. The upgrades you make by leveling up your characters is only minor compared to those that you make with equipment. But 99% of the time you are going to find white items and really you only see major improvements with the VERY RARE green weapons and shields.
Honestly, the mechanics of Star Trek Online isn't what is keeping me from purchasing a lifetime subscription it is what those mechanics frame. There is nothing fun or exciting about any of the fighting in the game after you've done it for a few hours. Considering that, there is nothing more to Star Trek Online but fighting. It gets old rather quickly. Unlike other MMO experiences, Star Trek Online just isn't enough like Star Trek. Because the combat is really not the major component of Star Trek that makes it Star Trek. What makes Star Trek unique, is the drama and the new worlds with new life on them. The new worlds in this game really don't look any different from the known worlds; and they don't seem to have any new life on them. Usually they are colonists or lost freighters.
The slow leveling in the game and the incredible grinding type of gameplay that Star Trek Online boils down to; really makes the MMO a little too much of a second class citizen. There was a point in the game where I just wanted to turn my ship green or something; just some change. I'm not exactly critical of Star Trek Online for not being like Star Trek. I'm more critical of it, because it just isn't very fun for very long. Which is probably a bad thing for a MMO. Finally, the game doesn't really need to be an MMO because I really rarely found an occasion where I needed help at ALL. And even then, there is no real penalty for dying so, I just respawned and progressed from there. As great of a try as this game is, I won't be engaging this game again any time soon.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Cerberus Network: What's the Deal?
There seems to be a little confusion as to what is going on with the Cerberus Network. The originally announced Downloadable Content pipeline that costs $15 if you don't have the code that comes with every new copy of Mass Effect 2. The first impression of the Cerberus Network was that without it there was no way to get Downloadable Content and that this was EA/Bioware's way of keeping people from buying the game used. Or at the very least, making it not a very worthwhile proposition for quite a while.
However, Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of Mass Effect 2 development studio BioWare had an interview with Kotaku that seemed to change everything as to what we originally thought about the Cerberus Network.
"You could either join it or not join it," he said. "You could still get... DLC ... for purchase." Greg said when speaking about the need to be a part of the Network to get downloadable content.
Also Greg went on to say, "There will be some free stuff ... There will be surprises that we spring on people, [saying] 'Hey there's a new x,y, or z, go check it out.' That's one of the benefits of being part of the Cerberus Network."
This makes the Cerberus Network more like Halo Waypoint or Ubisoft's U-Play. I like this kind of thing. I think it creates a more intimate relationship between publisher and consumer. But there are many people out there who think this a bad idea and that the whole structure of systems like XBOX LIVE Marketplace and Playstation Network are made for delivering this content. And why do we need publishers or anyone layering something else on top of this. Well, something like the Cerberus Network can only happen if they do this. And this is the first step in publishers selling full games and downloadable content; offering discounts and free exclusive content. This is probably something that might happen on the next console because as things stand right now, publishers want a bigger piece of the collective profit pie.
But in the short term, don't go worrying your pretty little heads. If for some reason you don't want to buy a new copy of Mass Effect 2; just spend another $15 and you will have access to everything. Which in the preliminary looks pretty nice.
Technorati Tags: MassEffect2,MassEffect,ME,ME2,XBOXLIVE,XBOX360,PSN,videogames,CerberusNetwork,DLC,PS3
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Dante's Inferno Live Stream Part 4!
If your browser isn't loading the video head over to http://www.dantesinferno.com/us/media; should be fine there. Sorry for any trouble.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Catching up with Dante's Inferno Live Stream! Part 3
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Catching up with Dante's Inferno Live Stream! Part 2
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Catching up with Dante's Inferno Live Stream! Part 1
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Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Video Game Story: Stop Complaining....
There have been quite a few cracking wise during their yearly "Game of the Year" nonsense about the stories in video games being bad. My favorite is the little chestnut,
"Well, it's great for a video game story, anyway."
All right, so what the heck are they talking about? Stories in video games are catered by the source material that they are using. Most video games are patterned after action movies. Like Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, or even Assassin's Creed 2. These are all great games but we aren't exactly talking about the stuff of Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, or even Goodfellas. No, this is more like Diehard, Star Wars, or maybe the Quick and the Dead. In television terms these games aren't West Wing they are more Saturday morning cartoons. But no one goes to Star Wars expecting to be emotional moved or having a profound life experience. Unless of course you are a big Star Wars fan.
Why can't video games evolve from this? Well, perhaps it is all a matter of role playing and sticking to that role. Drama cannot be created when the player has the choice to do whatever his/her little heart's desire. There are no dramatic moments in co-op games or multiplayer games. Drama is a serious, straight path into a place that the audience would probably rather not go. Also, most of the time a seriously dramatic action movie or just a drama alone has the benefit of showing things from more than one side. Usually it's a duality that plays into the drama. Rarely does a movie choose to show only one side or one path. Doing this in a game would pull the player out of the experience and while some games have tried it; it rarely ever really works that well. I believe Halo 2 did this best job with this but it was critiqued for it.
This is not to say video games don't have important things to say or can't make the player feel things. No, they absolutely can. But not the terms that people have laid out for them. Games are NOT MOVIES and they are NOT BOOKS. They NEVER will be. There is not going to be an instance in the near future where we know the people in a video game the way we know the people in your average book, movie, or television show. We might spend just as much time with them; but because of the limitations of the game itself. It will be very difficult to achieve this kind of storytelling. Rather video games have the irreplaceable ability to immerse the player into an experience. You are not a passive observer as you are with a movie or book. You are a participant. This is what most games try to lean on the hardest and with justification. If I wanted to watch a movie I would.
So please folks, at least until Heavy Rain comes out; can we all stop ragging on video game story. If you question how immersing a video game story can be, play Bioshock again. Really, it's just that simple.
Monday, January 4, 2010
World of Warcraft Official Magazine Issue #1 arrives!
Just want to say right off that I stopped playing World of Warcraft last September. Which made the half year subscription to the Official World of Warcraft Magazine the month before kind of bad timing for me. I will probably go back once Cataclysm hits but my top character is only level 78, so I would have some work to do anyway. The reason I left Warcraft were all the problems I kept seeing in the game and things that I felt were just crazy and I wished they would fix. Although some of these fixes have been addressed not all of them. But none of this is really what I wanted to talk about here; it only serves as a kind of back story for my World of Warcraft experience and the reason why I feel I'm not the typical fanboy who got this magazine and freaked out about how good it is.
But the magazine, even given it's $40 for 4 magazine price tag; is probably the GREATEST MAGAZINE I've EVER SEEN! There are no ads, no garbage. and best of all; HUGE LONG ARTICLES. The art in the magazine is without peer; the articles deal with relevant World of Warcraft issues and gameplay not a book of advertising. Future, who published this magazine, did an EXCELLENT JOB! The magazine isn't the hardcover I was expecting, which is fine. But it certainly is more like EDGE, a top-tier British game magazine, than anything else out there right now. I know that Future is still publishing the Official Xbox Magazine. PC GAMER, and the aforementioned Edge Magazine. But neither periodical is even close to the quality of the World of Warcraft Magazine.
My plea, is for more video game magazines to be like this one. I would gladly pay $10 and issue for every game magazine I purchased if they were all of this quality. If this is a distribution issue or a printing issue I would like to know if the web-only subscription based model that the World of Warcraft magazine has is the ONLY way this kind of thing could be done. Because honestly if that's what it takes; fine.
Considering how off the current video game magazines are from the news and reviews of the day. I would REALLY like to see a quarterly printed magazine with more articles about video game culture, walthroughs, art, and other stuff that we normally wouldn't see in game magazines now. Go crazy guys, we will pay. Drop the previews and maybe condense the reviews to the most interesting games of that 30 day period rather than just all of them. Wouldn't we ALL like to see a video game magazine with NO ADS? I know I would!
In closing if you haven't picked up your World of Warcraft Magazine subscription yet, go over and get it. It's worth the money. Oh, and unlike me; you might want to be sure that your still going to be playing World of Warcraft when you get the last issue of the magazine.
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