Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Need for Speed Pro Street not even on store shelves and there is all ready DLC on XBLM?
There are three or four car packs. Each cost 500 points. This seems really strange considering the game doesn't even hit store shelves until the 15th. Even Gamestop shows this as the ship date. To say this is a little early is an understatement. Also it is unclear if these packs are unlocks from the game like in Need for Speed Carbon or if they are additional cars added to the game through DLC. Problem with either thing is that if they were ready to ship DLC before the game even comes out, then why isn't it in the game? Heaven forbid they are unlocks, because that would mean that just like in Need for Speed Carbon you are paying to make progress. Which isn't playing a game, it's paying to cheat.
The Answer to the Question that Phase from Harmonix begs!
This in answer to the question that couldn't the technology of Phase be implemented in a Rock Band 2. This being that the consumer can use their own music library to play the game rather than pre-made tracks. OK... But the fact that the technology exists would make an awesome game and probably destroy the downloadable business model that both Guitar Hero and Rock Band have subscribed to. The money train would come to an abrupt end. I wouldn't expect to see anything like Phase coming to a console anytime soon. At least not from Harmonix or Redoctane. Because endless DLC money is far better than making consumer VERY HAPPY!
Is there a Crysis in PC Gaming?
Minimum System Requirements
OS Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor 2.8 GHz or faster (XP); 3.2 GHz or faster (Vista)
Memory 1.0 GB RAM or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card 256 MB
Hard Drive 12 GB
Sound Card DirectX 9.0c compatible
Recommended System Requirements
OS Windows XP / VistaProcessor Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz
Memory 2.0 GB RAM
GPU NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 Recommended System Requirements
OS Windows XP / Vista
Processor Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz
Memory 2.0 GB RAM
GPU NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar
This year has been an interesting one for PC gamers. Most PC owners who love to play video games don't upgrade their systems very often. Mainly because this process is expensive and many people feel that just buying a new system is cheaper than upgrading. Especially when new video cards can cost as much as a new low grade system.
This year and part of last year have been previews of what is to come in the PC gaming industry. The fact that the consumer can spend as much as $5,000 on a new system and still not be future proofed if they make the wrong decision about what components to add to their system.
Most players have a single or dual core system. With a midrange graphics card and probably around 1 GB of RAM. This is probably the average. Some people have much more and some have much less. But in the end the percentage of high end systems is pretty small.
Gamers have been slow to upgrade in most cases. But developers like Crytek and Gas Powered Games have kind of ignored this. Supreme Commander sold well the first week but now can be found for as little as $19.99. Because few PCs can handle the game at the highest specifications and it's an RTS. Now the game is coming to the XBOX 360, where I'm sure it won't look as good but probably will sell a lot better.
Crysis has been getting good reviews. The sheer lack of people with a enough power to run the game on a level that will make it worthwhile for the average person to purchase the game will likely slow sales. Is this something that reviewers should take into account? After all, most reviewers have stated that they had a hard time finding a computer that would run the game.
With Unreal Tournament 3 coming out in less than a week with an adaptive engine that allows MANY specs of PC to run it. It will be hard to see Crysis doing very well. Certainly the competitive multiplayer market is full of people with high end PCs. But Crysis has no team deathmatch, so it appears that isn't the market they are aiming to serve. Which is strange because they are probably the best equipped to run the game.
Certainly with all the innovation in PC gaming over the past year to three years the game industry has greatly moved forward. With the advent of DX 10 technology, there have been plenty of advances and innovations in game design. But what price comes all this power?
The sales of power hog titles is all ways significantly lower than the sales of midrange spec requiring titles. For instance, Hellgate London has the capability of implementing DX10 textures and technology but it can also be run on a single core system with a midrange video card and still look good. This is the kind of game that developers need to invest in. They might not have super sexy screens and movies to show but their games will actually make money. Considering the long development process of a game like Crysis the pay off for the game needs to come close to the outlay of the title or they won't make any money and there certainly won't be a Crysis 2.
In the last couple of years I have taken a real shine to PC gaming. But my PC will never run Crysis and by the time I get a PC that will run it. There will be much more exciting title to play. Because for all of the hype of Crysis; it is basically FAR CRY with aliens. I don't discount the open world or the great A.I. but it is just a FPS. It also seems that the story is rather simplistic. As fun as the game is for the first few hours, it appears that there are probably only so many ways you can kill someone. Just as in real life...
I would give Crysis high marks for innovation but low marks for marketability. Since it has all ready taken 4 years to make Crysis; I think they could have waited a year or two more so that the average gamer has a PC that can play their game.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
1UP Needs to think outside their box: Rock Band Hub problem Solved!
"Check Out Rock Band's USB HubHey guys, this is a pretty simple solution. Go to any Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, or Target and pick up a 4 port USB hub. I believe they are around $20-$24. You can plug this into your XBOX 360 directly and let the XBOX 360 power it. These hubs don't have their own power supply, but you don't need it if you are going to plug it into the XBOX 360 anyway. All most all of these hubs work with the XBOX 360. because they have been tested prior in many magazines including OXM. Just because it doesn't say it is for Rock Band, it doesn't mean you can't use it for the accessories.
Prepare to plug yet another device into the wall.
By Patrick Klepek, 10/29/2007
When Rock Band ships next month, you'll quickly realize there aren't enough USB slots on Xbox 360 to accommodate the load of peripherals that need to be jacked in for the whole experience. Given the PlayStation 3 features four accommodating USB ports, this extra step won't be necessary there.1UP was recently shipped the finalized Rock Band peripherals, including the USB hub. We haven't had enough time with the hub to determine how well it holds up -- up until now, we've been using a separate hub that was delivered with an earlier version of the game, but isn't part of the bundle on Xbox 360 -- but we can't say we're happy about having yet another device that needs to plug into the wall, especially considering the hub's limited length.
The hub's made by a company called ViPowER, and while it's a little disheartening there don't seem to be many reviews of the other USB hubs they make, here's hoping we don't have to search out our own replacement hubs a few weeks after launch. We'll keep you posted."1UP
Is This the Last Guitar Hero?
As great as the new Guitar Hero is; it is far from perfect, according to critics. The upcoming Rock Band will offer a ton of features besides just instruments beyond the guitar. Activision has been having quite a run," The latest from the NPD group shows that sales of Activision's titles, led by the Guitar Hero series, has hit almost $400 million. EA has lost the top spot for the first time in over a decade with sales of $365.7 million."Destructiod
This is all pre-Rock Band and Skate came out to good sales and good critical review but it has had a very short time to build steam. Most games of this type including Tony Hawk, are usually "long game" titles that make more money as time goes on. Even more when they reach the discounted price point. When RedOctane was rocking the Guitar Hero, the price point never went down; which is probably why Activision bought them in the first place.
Guitar Hero 3 was all ready pretty far along when the deal went down between RedOctane and Activision. It is certainly understandable that there aren't too many improvements or advancements. However, with Rock Band coming out in about a month with some of the advancements that would have benefited Guitar Hero 3. There are certainly more songs on the way for Guitar Hero 3 but there are even more songs on the way for Rock Band. Even that won't help in the long term.
Guitar Hero 3 was Activision's coming out party, and it rocks. But if there aren't some big changes in the future this might be the swan song for the series. At one point if Harmonix and Redoctane were still together they would have a monopoly. Now that Harmonix is working for EA, and coming out in a month. With features that everyone was thinking about since Guitar Hero 2. It is hard to believe that Activision and Redoctane are going to be able to recover from this very easily.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Hellgate London Major Content upon Retail Release!
"Major Updates to Hellgate: London
For those of you playing the Beta version of Hellgate: London, you will be pleasantly surprised to know that the game is going to be receiving MAJOR content updates that will be made available upon the game's release this October 31st, 2007.
The content update list applies to both non-subscribers and subscribers of the game. Subscribers will be receiving many more features in addition to what everyone else gets, too. The list follows:
DX10 Update
The build of Hellgate: London which you are reviewing includes both DX9 and DX10 versions of the graphics library. The DX10 version of this build has a few known issues. They include a slow framerate compared to the same scene in DX9 and black loading screens. We’re currently working on a fix for the black loading screens. The slower framerate is due to the fill-rate intensive special features that only our DX10 engine has, including: soft shadows with proper contact hardening, depth-of-field, motion blur, interactive GPU-simulated fluid smoke, texture-array animated rain, and soft particles. The extra fill rate costs are mitigated by an initial depth-only render pass, which is now being tested and will be ready for release. When Hellgate: London hits retail, we expect the framerate of our DX10 target to be as high, if not higher than DX9, including these special features.
Multiplayer Updates – All Players
We are continuing to push both new multiplayer features and bug fixes to the Beta. Things that may or may not be in during their review time (depending on when they do it), but will be in by launch are:
Buddy Lists
Much better and easier ways to organize your friends!
Guilds
While only subscribers can start one, anyone can join a guild. Special name colors and tags on characters show their affiliation.
Buddy and Guild Chat
Special chat channels so you can keep your conversations clear.
Bigger Levels in Nightmare Mode
These increase the time players get to spend in each area, giving the game a more expansive feel at higher difficulty levels.
PVP
Players can both duel and elect to enter free-for-all PvP Mode. To duel, a player invites the person they wish to duel into a group, and heads into an adventuring area. Duelers, then right-click on the portrait of the person they wish to duel and select the Duel option from the displayed list. Dueling can only take place outside of Underground hubs.
Players can also choose to enter into PvP mode which means they can be attacked and harmed outside of Underground hubs by anyone else that has chosen to enter PvP mode. That is, those in PvP mode, must always be ready for PvP. This is a way to have wide-ranging free-for-alls, or create your own “friendly-fire” way of playing the game.
Tuned Game Progression
Level and monster progression is more thematic in nature. While this does not affect the overarching layout of the world map, it does make each act feel more defined and focused.
Gossip
We’ve added loads of additional details on the people and places in the game through various NPCs in the world. This definitely helps make the stations feel more alive and provides players with more of the back-story.
More Quest Information
Quest NPCs do a better job of getting you prepared to know what you’re fighting and why. The overall story flows much better, the named demons that are encountered are given more story weight, and players gain a much better sense of overall direction.
NPC Tweaks
The vocal responses given by NPCs have been tuned so that they tend more towards the serious and “normal”, reserving the twisted commentary for specific player characters or in rare moments for the general populace.
*Subscriber Features*
Elite Mode
This is for those players that always feel a game is too easy. The demons are tougher, deal out more damage, move faster, travel in larger groups, and have more champions at the ready. Numerous tweaks to the overall balance and progression of the game make this an extremely challenging mode.
Hardcore
Hardcore mode takes away the various resurrection options. For the gamer that wants the ultimate test, try playing an Elite Hardcore character!
Themed Events and Items
Halloween (October 31 – November 4)
*Zombot - A special pet just for All Hallows’, this amalgam of meat and metal is sure to frighten and delight those players that are willing to put in the time to find all the necessary pieces in order to construct him.
*All Hallow’s Visage - A Unique Helm that has not only very special properties, but as well a look unlike any other helm in the game. Ghost Rider would be jealous!
*All Hallow’s Treats - Delicious and devious, these different candies do everything from temporarily boosting stats to temporarily altering the appearance of the devourer.
*All Hallows’ Quests - There is a pair of special quests available, including one that is repeatable for continuous fun.
*Nemo ~ Master of Festivities - This special NPC can first be found in Covent Garden Station to greet players and send them on their way with quests specifically crafted for the season.
Guild Creation
Buy purchasing a Guild Herald, a character can form a new guild. Characters can only be part of one guild at a time and should a Guild leader decide to abandon their post, they can pass leadership of the Guild to another subscribing guild member.
Achievements
These are long-term goals for players. The player starts with a few new goals in an Achievement Log. These can be as simple as slaying a certain amount of specific demons to something as difficult as completing quests without the benefit of armor! Players uncover new goals as they start to meet the requirements of that achievement. For example, after 50 zombies have been slain, an “Achievement Unlocked” message displays on the screen. Checking the Achievement Log shows how many zombies must be eradicated to complete the achievement. Rewards for completing achievements can be anything from reputation to tags on the player to special particle effects to items to special skills to – well, anything is possible!
Extra Character Slots
While everyone gets 3 character slots, subscribers can have a maximum of 24 characters.
Larger Stash
Each character’s storage locker is doubled in size with an extra 6x8 section, making the hoarding of all sorts of goodies that much easier. Packrats rejoice!
Founder’s Perks
Name Color
Forum Icon
More to come… (this will be an on-going area, as well)"Sol Invictus
This is the reason that people playing a beta or alpha shouldn't judge the final game solely by what they see in these builds. Can't wait for Halloween!
Hellgate London Preview
"Beta NDA LiftedThe NDA period for the general Beta test is officially over! THANK YOU all for being as good as you have been on this. Feel free to post, email, phone call, and alert your local news station about your play experiences!
How Our Beta Process Works
We wanted to take a few minutes to talk about how we run our Beta tests, the differences of and timing for getting builds out to the testers, and basically let you in on what makes our test tick.Our development path is quite different from that of the vast majority of game developers. We utilize what we call an organic process, which is basically shorthand for our way of constantly iterating, tweaking, tuning, and making changes that are difficult to set months or years ahead of time in a traditional design document. When we get into the last 6 - 9 months of development time, this process really kicks into high-gear. We are making an immense amount of changes, both large and small, and if we tried to push these out to our Beta testing community, we’d literally be giving you new code up to a dozen times a day. Obviously, this isn’t going to be of any great benefit, so we wait until we have done a lot of internal testing and can batch changes into larger, meaningful updates.
We have a core team of testers on-site dedicated to working with our programmers and designers to give immediate feedback and address bugs in a focused manner. We also have a massive amount of testers at EA that work on builds that have been promoted as release candidates. When we get a patch release candidate that we feel is solid, we then promote that to being a Published candidate, and it undergoes patch testing. When we get something here that we like, we push it to you, the Beta testers.
What this means is that we are, at a MINIMUM, 2 weeks further down the road on the game than the testers see. Commonly, this time gap can be upwards of 4 weeks. We push hot fixes as quickly as possible, but please remember that we have also been working on numerous language builds, the single-player gold master, and of course, the fixes and features for our first day online – what we call Patch 0.
We know that it can be frustrating at times to hear that things are different in our internal builds than what you have, but it is just how timing has to work in order for us to meet all of our deadlines and make sure that the testing time we get with you is as beneficial as possible. Thank you all for the hard work, the hours of testing, and your continued support and excitement for the game."Hellgate Guru.
This is great news... Hellgate London is a really great game. The gameplay systems that bear a very strong resemblance to Diablo, work very effectively in their new context.
The game starts out with the player picking his/her avatar from among different classes: Templars: Blademaster or Guardian, Cabalist: Evoker or Summoner, and Hunter(or Ranger): Engineer or Marksman. These can be boiled down into their base abilities: Templars are basically sword wielding warrior types, Cabalists are basically magic users, and Hunters or Rangers are basically centered around the FPS mechanic in the game where the player can shoot enemies from a first person perspective. Using these characters the player enters into a post apocalyptic world where demons have taken over and a few humans that remain struggle to survive against them.
The player begins with basic armor and weapons. Most of the time the player can pick up a descent sword or gun between the 1st-3rd encounter. The real power of the game comes from augmenting the weapons and armor found using raw materials gleaned from destroying weapons and armor that the player's class cannot use. Most of the time this, coupled with the straight augmentation that must be paid for, will give the player much more powerful weapons and armor than anything randomly picked up in a dungeon. From time to time as the player moves higher in levels they find some good armor or weapons. This results in the player rarely really needing to buy any weapons or armor from vendors. This isn't immediately understandable by the beginning player due to slow flow of armor and weapons in the beginning. This was the case in the beta build I played, this could change in later builds or in the final game.
All of the classes in the game are well balanced and have interesting traits and skills. The weaknesses as far as exciting skills lie most with the Guardian who has defensive and offensive auras which allow the player to regenerate health or do more damage in combat. The higher levels of the Guardian have some interesting skills but the lower levels are not quite as fun to play as the Blademaster. This too could be changed by the time the game reaches the final build.
This game has had so many changes over the builds that I've seen, it is conceivable that the final retail build of the game will be different from the builds in the Alpha or Beta to the point of them being unrecognizable. The enemies in the game are many and most act like those in popular MMOs like World of Warcraft. They respond to Aggro and can be debuffed into destruction. The beta could have benefited from more varied enemies but the idea that the enemies live in these locations and that is why they are so plentiful is a good reason. For the player however, beating the same zombies or variants on those zombies over and over again can get a little annoying. However, this is a very small point.
Being a Blademaster normally makes the player feel the most powerful because even with enemies all around the player just tapping a couple of skills and attacking with double blades can take down all most anything. The other very satisfying class is the Summoner who can summon elementals by the handful and bigger demons that act like battle pets. These battle pet demons can be very helpful and it is certainly worth dropping lots of skill points into them to yield a really powerful ally.
The story in the game is pretty good. But it should be taken with a grain of salt that everyone in the game has been seriously mentally affected by the invasion of the demons and are teetering on the edge of madness. Many times people will be so jovial about horrible occurrences partly because this is an MMO and people don't like to read dramatic overly dark stuff and because everyone is all most insane. Bearing this in mind makes the game more understandable and even funny. Hopefully some of the quests could be a little more serious; considering EA's own fiction about the game is very serious and dramatic. It would be like having Ken Burns Civil War and then making a game where all the soldiers are wise cracking as their compatriots are dying all around them. While a little battle fatigue and shell shock is understandable but sometimes this is taken too far and makes the story less impactful. Hopefully this will be juiced up for the final retail.
I loved the time I spent with Hellgate London Beta(about 20 hours, maybe a little more). But I am REALLY looking forward to the final build, because the resolution of all issues will make the game a hot property this year. See you online on Halloween!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Rock Band's Solo delayed to 2008!
Listen, I love the idea of Rock Band. Problem is that most of the appeal is to play one instrument; not all of them. Also, with a price tag of $170 for the whole package it doesn't necessarily scream casual gamer. The single instrument packages are being billed at $80 but no mention of whether they include the game or not. These single instrument bundles are also being billed to come out in February. This whole thing is pretty crazy considering that Guitar Hero 3 is gaining popularity and with only having to either buy a single $80 package or simply have the guitar from Guitar Hero 2.
The clash between the two franchises are hardly rivals if one ostensibly comes out in February and the other comes out in a week. Rock Band will probably win the long game here, but the fact that it will probably die a horrible death in it's first few weeks shouldn't be a signal for the developers and publisher to give up on it.
The developers have all ready insisted that this bundle is due to manufacturing concerns over coming out with separate bundles for separate instruments and the costs associated with them. They are worried about manufacturer shortfalls. Well, they won't have any shortfalls if they sell only a small portion of what they would have normally if they would have split these bundles into separate instrument bundles. I, for one, am waiting until they come out with the separate bundles, I guess I'll have to wait til then to get the band together... Good Night Cleveland!!!