Wardens Game Talk

NCAA Football 09 (Xbox 360)

2008-07-19T00:31:00.002-05:00

God how I love college football. Nothing makes me happier than watching my Longhorns devastate teams they really have no business playing. So each year, around this time, I get all happy in the pants and pick up the newest NCAA football game from EA. Much like Madden, it has its own enjoyment and fan following. In recent years, NCAA has come into its own, no longer the little brother to the giant Madden franchise. Which is why, in its third year (really the second year) I am once again vastly unimpressed.

A few years back, 07 version I think, NCAA was reaching its highest level of awesome on the Xbox. The campus legend mode was fully fleshed out and felt like you were playing on a college football team. While the dynasty mode was not nearly as flushed out as it is now, it was still enjoyable enough for those who liked to play it. Then came the direct port to the 360 and its epic failing. It was a waste, much like most direct ports to the 360 after it came out.

I was hoping, after two years on the 360, that EA had finally figured out how to make another NCAA game such as the one before the porting over to the 360. You see, EA seems to have dropped the ball on one particular aspect of the NCAA franchise. My favorite aspect of the series, one that I think most people who have played the franchise for many years also enjoy. The campus legend mode. Last year it was lacking and it is once again this year. Sure, its pretty and the high school games are interesting and a fun way to gauge how talented your character will be in college. Yea, I suppose that the balance to keep your players schooling and football skills even. Thats about where the interesting stops. Once again, you are left with no announcing during the games, no choice over what plays are called if you are not the QB or any way to keep your D from stopping the opposing team from that scoring drive that blows the game for you. After a few games of watching your D get blown out by some crap team, your QB making retarded pass after retarded pass and your coach calling the most stupid plays, you are ready to put down the controller and say "fuck it". For me, this is the most frustrating part of the game. Campus legend was once my favorite part of NCAA, now the franchise has lost almost all of its appeal. The dull, uninspired and lack luster legend mode makes me want to return the game.

Anyway, moving on. For those who enjoy the dynasty mode, you are in for a treat. Apparently, a lot of you have been asking for the dynasty mode to be online and now it is. Which is wonderful for those of you who know enough people to play it. The single player aspect of dynasty is also well done, making it easy to track the players you seek to recruit, easy to find out what points to hit on to talk them into coming to your school. During the season, you are able to play every game and have control of every position. Its a different and interesting aspect of NCAA I have never fully explored, though I will be since I can't take any more of the silent campus legend mode.

Quick play is also enjoyable, giving you the full control and all the bells and whistles you expect from a college football game. Mascots dancing, cheerleaders, flag carriers and the whole bit. Really not much else to say about that part.

So, I suppose my only true problem is the campus legend mode. There is no reason that I can see why there is no announcing, cheerleaders or any of the little aspects of the dynasty/quick play modes. I can understand the inability for you to call plays, control the defense or change plays while not being the QB but fuck it all, I can't understand why there is no announcing and even LESS of a college atmosphere than in other modes. I can't, again, think of why EA took out the dorm room, the campus popularity or any of the aspects that were in the Xbox versions that made it feel more college like. I honestly can't fucking stand that EA took those parts out. I mean fuck. Not even the ESPNU announcers for the games? Fuck.

Now, if you don't mind the quiet and uninspired legend mode, there is a lot for any college football fan to enjoy. If you enjoy running a college team, plenty for you here and if you know others who like doing the same thing, well rock and roll for you. NCAA 09 will give you all you want and more.

Age of Conan - Updated Review

2008-05-29T18:57:00.003-05:00

First part of my review was during the newbie area. In most games, each race has its own starting area with its own quests and story. In AoC there is one area where every player goes and the story is pretty much exactly the same. There is one really interesting aspect of the newbie area that is different than anything else I have seen thus far. There is single player aspect that only occurs at night. Its instanced so no other players are involved and you find your destiny and who you were. This is a very interesting way of being able to exit the starting area, teach you the game and so forth. Every NPC you interact with is voice acted pretty well and the quests are decent. Granted, there are lots of fetch quests and you get sick of the questing areas fairly quickly. It would make more sense for the questing areas to be instanced like the single player quests since some of them are fairly small and its tough to complete the quests during prime play times. It does take some time and you will be around 20 at the end of the newbie area.

Once you exit the newbie area, you are taken to tne home city of your race and are kind of left to your own devices. There is a related quest for you to follow but you are basically left alone in a big city to do what ever you want to do. Its here where the game, which showed a lot of polish and was well done, it starts to fall apart. The NPCs loses a lot of the polish the starting area had, the voice acting is gone and replaced by grunts and noises. The run and fetch quests are still there and there does not seem to be any path for you to follow. This is different from every other game where you are guided by the hand through various areas. AoC does not follow this and I find it annoying.

There are still aspects to the game I have not seen, but its all PvP related from what I read. I honestly can't say that I am going to stick around playing the game much longer. PvP is fun and all but there is nothing stopping more powerful players from slaughtering the weaker ones. AoC is as violent and unforgiving as the novels were but you have a slew of fuckers to ruin for everyone. A lot of people will really enjoy this game, of that I have no doubt. If the game is as balanced between PvP and PvE as WoW, it should be fine.

Its just not for me. I will give it a little longer, still have two weeks before my 30 days runs out but after that, unless this game really kicks me in the face with awesome, I'm out. Which is a let down as I really enjoyed the starting area.

Spore! - Preview

2008-05-22T17:12:00.004-05:00

Oh Will Wright. How I love you. You gave us SimCity and The Sims, a way for us to play God and not feel bad about it. You were not satisfied with just a city or a house, no! You wanted to give us an entire world from the ground up, thus you have created Spore! Man am I excited about this.

Much like W.W's previous games, Spore lets you play God, only deeper and more complex. Instead of creating a city, or a family, you now have the ability to create your own creature. Anything your mind and imagine. Just for a little taste, check this out. That is a little preview of the creature creator program, which looks just bad ass. Not only does this program let you create your creature, you are able to do anything you can imagine and are willing to spend the time on. The best part? W.W. is releasing the creature creator on June 17th, only a few weeks away. That gives us gamers a few months to mess around and get our creatures just right before jumping into the game.

The preview video does state that the creatures you create in the months before release will be capable of being used in Spore. Even cooler is you can take screen shots and video of your creatures and upload them to YouTube or email pictures to your friends. I can just see the flood of various creatures, monsters and so forth that are popular being created and uploaded long before the game is released. I'm sure guides on how to make said popular creatures will be released as well.

So Spore looks awesome and I've been waiting for this game for a long time. Its just around the corner, but we do get a little oasis of goodness in the creature creator to get us through the game drought of 08.

Age of Conan: A mini-review

2008-05-22T02:12:00.002-05:00

Look at me following through so quickly. Nice new banner, not made by me, and a mini-review!

So, I think its safe to say that I have come to dislike MMOs in general. WoW was great, EQ was great but since then, all have fallen short and I can't get back into them. LotRO was nice, is nice, but I don't have the heart to grind out to max level and start again, or deal with other things.

Age of Conan is the newest MMO to come out and has a lot of hype behind it. Some say its better than WoW, or at least equal to it. So after sitting through the rather long install and a longer patch, I fired up an Assassin and went to work. Combat is different and probably takes a lot of getting used to. Instead of auto-attack, you select where you attack your enemies. Left, Right or Center. There are white arrows that show where the enemies defense is the strongest, which is helpful since you want to place your attacks where there is none. Its confusing at first but you can get used to it. Instead of special attacks, there are combos. Hit the combo button, the correct attack direction and bamo! Spiffy attack. Its interesting and may get better after more time with it but thus far, I prefer the auto attack for normal attacks and special attacks on timers.

The graphics are good on my rig, though I do not meet the "recommended" specs. Your character is a little to shiny for me, though it may get better with a better system. At the early stages, like EVERY OTHER FRIGGIN MMO OUT THERE, you look like a homeless person and not a would-be-hero. Again, this may change but I doubt it. More of a personal pet peeve of mine. Still, combat animations are smooth and the world looks good. Sounds are well done and the voice acting, which I think only EQ 2 has really done for every quest, is solid.

There are different servers, PvP, PvE and RP. You would expect that servers would be just what they claim to be but after going to the first area outside of the starting city, I was promptly ganked by someone 10 levels higher than me, while he was in combat. Fun? Not fucking really. I hate PvP when I don't expect it. If I want PvP, I go to it. Main reason I stay the fuck off PvP servers, because being ganked is fucking annoying. I don't expect to log into a RP server and get ganked by some PvP jack ass. Now, in the manual it does say that RP servers are RP/PVP but it does not say that on the server list. Fucking stupid. Which means, my un-happy ass has to start the newbie area all over again because I refuse to play with people who enjoy ganking each other.

Anyway. There you go. Some good things, some bad. If things don't get better, I can't see my self becoming attached to this game past my free 30 days. Again, though, that can change.

Coming Soon!

2008-05-21T20:54:00.003-05:00

Alright, since I kind of want to take this thing seriously, I have decided to start a "Coming Soon!" feature. In it, I will list games that I will be reviewing, previewing or retrospectively reviewing over the coming week or so. Since things are slowing down in the gaming world, I figure its a good time for me to review older games I used to play or never play. So lets get it on!

Coming Soon Reviews!

1. Age of Conan - I know I said that MMOs no longer hold any interest for me, but lets be honest. The great summer drought of 08 is upon us and I won't have much new stuff to review, much less play.

2. Condemned: Criminal Origins - I have always been interested in picking this title up and with its sequel out and grabbing my attention, I figure I should start here.

3. Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor - As I have stated before, GalCiv is a great series and this most recent expansion looks to expand the awesome even further.

Previews -

Nothing right now, since there aint jack shit coming any time soon. The top three should provide me with enough gaming goodness for some time. Though I may toss up a MSG:4 review since I am considering a PS3 just for that, and for all my old favorites from the PS2.

Retrospectives -

1. Galactic Civilizations II: Original and Dark Avatar expansion - I keep talking about it, might as well review it.

2. Master of Magic - The sexiest RTS/TBS game ever, far as I am concerned. 100% sure it won't run on my PC anymore but its worth a shot.

Cool new stuff to the site-

1. Actual art for the page. Maybe a real banner, a backround? Who knows. I expect to have one boring summer

2. Screen shots of PC games. I will try to take screen shots of any PC games I review and put them into my reviews, kind of like Gamespot. Should help give you folks an idea of what the game looks like on my modest rig. I may track down screenies for console games from the net and put them up as well.

So there ya go. Its a lot of stuff planned for a blog that only a few folks read but I hope to increase that number at some point. So tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell your coworkers! Tell your guild mates! Just know any shitty comments about how bad I am will be deleted.

The vast desert that is this time of the year

2008-05-21T18:40:00.002-05:00

Dear Lord do I hate this time of year. Well, as far as video games and television are concerned. It is like some vast desert of emptiness with only a few oasis's to get you through it, and are those oasis's few and far between. For every great game that comes out, there are ten that blow. I have spent the last few minutes looking back on Gamespot.com for new releases that may tide me over till something great comes out and woe be to me! That list is short. I have considered Condemded 2 but I never played the first. With my lack of consoles to give me variety (thanks to a poor purchase of my tv two years ago), I am left looking at the PC or my 360 and nothing has jumped out at me.

Galactic Civilizations II has its second expansion pack come out back in April, which I missed but it does hold interest for me. GalCiv is an awesome series I highly suggest every one check out. Age of Conan hit stores yesterday but I can not bring myself to get another MMO after falling off the LotRO wagon and not caring to get back on. MMOs are so dull and repetitive. Though AoC looks cool, and some sites I like to visit recommend it, MMOs just can't hold my interest any more.

Movies are another thing, which considering the sexy that has come out in the last 6 weeks and what is looming ahead of us, I can't really bitch about. Its summer blockbuster time and that makes for good movies, or at least entertaining ones. But! This is not for movies, but for video games. I have myself a new movie review blog so I don't bore you poor bastards with movie talk.

Back on point. Where are the good games at? I mean seriously game industry. Its not like you don't know how to make good games, but you release them like meals to a starving person. We get them only when we need them, just before we die off. Only its stretches of months, not a week or two before we starve to death. GTA IV is a fine game that I am sure lots of people are still enjoying but my entertainment value from it is done. I just want something GOOD to come out about once a month. There are so many game companies out there, it shouldn't be to fucking hard. Yet it is.

Man I hate these months of waiting.

Also, for the few of you who do read this site, comments have been opened up to everyone. I didnt realize that it was limited to those with a blogger account.

10 reasons why GTA IV sucks (written by Chris Jensen)

2008-05-17T14:01:00.000-05:00

10 Things That Suck About Grand Theft Auto IV
Posted by Chris Jensen | May. 09, 2008 11:11AM PST | 65684 views | 10 comments

FILED UNDER: Features, Opinion. Games.

With game reviewers still mopping up their collective ejaculate, you'd think GTA IV was the greatest game of all time. The amount of hyperbole showered on Rockstar's game was unparalleled, with nearly every critic unleashing a string of adjectives that cast GTA IV as the second coming of video gaming Christ. Once the initial euphoria of the graphics wears off, you soon realize that GTA IV doesn't evolve its inherent gameplay beyond that which has come before, and in a lot of respects, significantly less.

With a Metacritic score of 99%, one might think it impossible to find any faults with a game that has been equated with everything from Citizen Kane to The Godfather. Wrong.

1. Money Has No Value

This is my biggest beef with GTA IV: money has little value. You go on a hundred missions to earn cash...for what? More ammo? A new pair of shoes? I have $750,000 in my bank account and I live in a shit-hole. All the clothes I can buy were purchased in the early stages of the game. So what am I supposed to do with all this money? This is the American Dream? Where did the option to purchase real-estate go? The whole game is based on making money but the designers forgot one key element: you need something to spend money on, else your money is worthless. $5 hamburgers and an optional freeway toll just don't amount to very much.

2. Multiplayer

Multiplayer in a GTA game is nothing new if you've played previous PC versions and downloaded certain mods, but this is the first time it's been officially included by Rockstar, so you'd think they'd do it right. Instead, multiplayer feels like an afterthought, sporting a level-up system that takes forever to advance in ranks, all so you can unlock a few items of clothing.

The Lobby system can take ages for a game to start, usually because all the stoners in the room forget to click Ready, or worse, bitch and moan about a specific game setting that usually leads to mutiny.

There's no shortage of multiplayer game modes, which is great in theory, but I'd gladly take two well-balanced game modes over a multitude of half-assed, poorly designed ideas that find the majority of players running around maps searching for a freaking car. It's called Grand Theft Auto, not Grand Theft Pedestrian.

A lot of the problems could easily be addressed by a Host who doesn't have his head up his ass, but most toggle settings that are detrimental to fun, usually forcing the majority of players to abandon a round in mid-stride out of sheer boredom. What GTA IV really needs are maps created specifically for multiplayer, something we'll undoubtedly be paying for in future DLC.

3. Ponderous Story

A lot of reviewers keep harping on the stellar, amazing, and unparalleled story, which makes me wonder if any of these guys actually watch movies or read books. The tale of Niko is nothing original, evidenced by hundreds of movies from the era of film noir, but what sets this apart from its cinematic cousins is the sheer ponderousness of the story. This is a plot that barely moves and keeps repeating itself over and over. As a character, Niko doesn't evolve and his actions have little impact on the game world, save for the ending, which is as empty as everything that preceded it.

The writers of GTA IV make a rookie mistake: they tell me, they don't show me. Telling me Niko is searching for his moral compass is of no use, especially when none of the elements manifest in terms of gameplay, save for a few rudimentary decisions that are no more than, "Kill Mr. X or Kill Mr. Y."

4. No Upwards Mobility

The majority of critics claim that GTA IV is about the American Dream, an ethereal concept that means something different for everyone. In the universe of GTA, the American Dream apparently entails moving from one pigsty apartment to another pigsty apartment, albeit in a slightly better part of town. There is zero sense of social advancement or self-sufficiency, and all the way till the end of the game you find yourself working as nothing more than slave-labor for those who are enjoying the American Dream.

5. A Step Back From Previous Versions

While the graphics engine is an amazing achievement and deserving of the highest praise, every other aspect of GTA IV has devolved. It's as if the designers put 95% of their effort into creating a believable environment and used the last 5% for gameplay. Instead of mini-games involving taxi fares, ice-cream trucks, pizza delivery, ambulance driving, fire-fighting, territorial control, managing a gang...you get a boring round of pool, bowling and darts.

6. Wonky Cover System

It's great that GTA IV now has a cover system. It's not so great that it makes me want to punch my Xbox in the face. God forbid you attempt the cover system near several objects as you never know where you'll get attached. I've lost track of how many times I've been in cover mode, only to have the game refuse to fire my weapon for some inexplicable reason, forcing me to uncover and recover. It's annoying, frustrating and lacks polish.

7. Dopey Mini-Games

Billiards, bowling and darts, eh? Three boring mini-games that have little to no impact on anything. You can't even bet an opponent for some cash, which I guess doesn't matter because money has no value anyway. The designers could have exercised a little creativity by developing a little pick-up basketball game at the park, or skeet shooting, or dirt-bike racing. Hell, I'll take a little Frisbee tossing or miniature golf. Something original, for Pete's sake.

8. Relationships Are Idiotic

One new aspect to GTA is the concept of relationships. Unfortunately, it's rudimentary at best, bordering on sublimely retarded. All you have to do is call someone on your phone, pick them up, and head wherever you need to go. Once there, you do nothing that has any impact. As long as you don't total your car or inadvertently shoot your date in the face, they all seem to love you. In the end, relationships in GTA stand as a concept that was never developed. The designers should have taken some notes from The Sims and offered the player tangible options based on the environment the characters find themselves in.

9. Clothing Interface

I made a terrible mistake in the early part of the game: I purchased every bit of clothing I could find. I didn't realize that the clothing interface, which hasn't changed from previous versions, would continue to be a monumental example of crappy design. There is no organization to the clothes, no quick way to select a suit or casual attire, forcing the player to view every single item one-by-one, an act that redefines tedium and borders on torture.

10. Phantom Traffic

I don't know what else to call this, so I'm sticking with Phantom Traffic. Phantom Traffic has been around ever since GTA went 3D and it continues to bug the hell out of me. What is it? It's when you look down a stretch of road and don't see any cars. You turn around, look down another stretch, and still don't see any cars. So you turn back to your original viewpoint and suddenly there's a freaking traffic-jam, cars everywhere. I was hoping the next-gen version of GTA would expand the distance cars appear, but such is not the case. Ultimately, this means it's pointless to look around and see if any cops are around before stealing a car, as the second you turn your attention to the window, you have no idea what has suddenly materialized behind you.

The man has valid points all over the place. After finishing the main story of the game, there is little point to keep playing the game.

Left 4 Dead - Preview

2008-05-15T16:36:00.001-05:00

As some of my very few readers may know, I have an epic hard on for all things zombie. Movies, books, games. Doesn't matter. I eat that shit up. My infatuation with the genre started after seeing Night of the Living Dead when I was kid and has only grown over the years. The Resident Evil series has provided a decent filler for my gaming needs, though game companies seem to avoid the zombie genre more often than not. Dead Rising is a very excellent attempt of a free-form zombie game but left me wanting more. More as in, cooperative game play. A group of survivors playing together and working together to survive against the horde of undead. A few years back, the RE series tried it with their Outbreak series on the PS2, which I never got to play but I heard was not that well done. According to the wiki page, Capcom shut down its multiplayer servers some time ago. Either way, it was the step I was hoping a zombie game would take.

About a year ago or so, I heard about Left 4 Dead and instantly added it to my gamer radar. The idea is basic enough, but it is also what I have been hoping for. The game is all about the cooperative play. You pick the role of one of four survivors, join up with the other three and together you must make it through 5 different maps to beat the scenario. According to various interviews over at Gametrailers.com these scenarios will take about an hour to finish, but no promises that all of the four players will be alive at the end. Its so damned sexy, I can't begin to describe it. Not only will you be playing with a small group, you are also able to play as the big nasty bosses. Four types of bigger, nastier and vicious zombies with special powers and their only purpose is to ruin the day of the survivors.

What makes this even hotter, though, is the GM AI the developer is putting in the game. The entire purpose is to make sure that no two games are ever played exactly the same way. This GM AI will spawn zombies at random places, at random times and in random numbers. One play through may have you facing a horde coming from inside a house and the next, the house is empty and you have to face a horde coming in. It sounds sweet and looks sweet from the gameplay videos in the above link. It is also stated that friendly fire is active and varying in the amount of damage done based on the difficulty, so watching your fire is going to be a key to surviving a rushing horde of undead. The entire idea is that at no point are you, or your fellow survivors, safe. It also keys on team work. Rushing off on your own and expecting to survive is a bad idea. There are trackers put into the game so you know who you can trust based on previous play. Someone is all about team killing? You can boot em. Find someone who heals alot but maybe shoots you to often? Tough choice. In a gamer world filled with douche bags, jack asses and fucktards, you have to wonder how often you will find players who hurt your chances of survival rather than help.

So I will keep my eye on this game over the coming months. release dates have been pushed back a few times and right now the best time is "some day in 2008", which is great but we still have a good chunk of 2008 to get through. Of course, I would rather wait longer for a polished version than play it now when its not done.

Grand Theft Auto IV

2008-05-09T20:57:00.001-05:00

Rockstar is at it again. Their big time title has a follow up that has a lot of hype to live up to. The game has been out nearly two weeks now and a lot of people have beaten it, spoilers are abound and the cheat codes are out there. You won't find any of that here.

Like the previous GTA games, the world is large and you have the freedom to go where ever and do what ever you want. This time, instead of a reformed gangbanger in the 90s or a small crook in the 80s, Rockstar brings you to the modern day, or something like it. You play as Niko Bellic, former solider, people smuggler and now illegal immigrant in New Yo...er Liberty City. You are fresh off the boat, with the American dream in the front of your mind and your cousins emails of penthouses, fast cars and faster women swimming through your head. The reality of the situation quickly reveals itself and you embark on a quest to make it big in America.

There have been some major changes since GTA: San Andreas. The driving is the most obvious. No longer can you hit the e-brake and slide around corners. Going fast is almost not worth the risk of the big wreak you will get into. Many call the driving more realistic and while I have no idea if it is, it is harder. Combat as gotten a small upgrade with the auto targeting system and with some practice, you can take on a number of baddies with the auto targeting system. You also have the benefit of cover. A lot of cover in fact. Almost everything in the game can be used as effective cover and it is helpful. I have found, though, that the auto target gets iffy when the heat rises up and things can get away from you really quickly.

The biggest change, in my mind, is the cops. The LCPD will be all over you after two stars and it gets worse and worse from there. In the previous versions of the game, part of the fun was pissing off the cops and having an extended fire fight with them till you jacked a tank and went on a rampage. I havent messed with the cops long enough to see if tanks are even an option anymore. It is very very difficult to survive in the early stages of the game against a 4 star rating due to limited weapons. Even when you have access to the full compliment of weapons, its hard. Cops will swarm you, shooting away with accuracy and no concern for the amount of ammo they pump into you. One example of their eagerness to fuck your world up is this. I snagged a 4 star rating and had cops all over me. I had armor, ammo and I was in an ally with only one way in. Cops rushed me and caught me reloading, rifle butted me to the face and three or four of them unloaded shot guns into me. They don't fuck around.

Rockstar also removed some of the "RPG" elements that were in GTA: S.A. No more working out, being forced to eat, changing hair styles and so forth. There are different clothes but beyond the need for a suit in some missions, you could stay in the same clothes you start with and be fine. Sure, if you go on dates you will get insulted but as far as I could tell, it didnt affect how the date went.

While GTA: S.A. was MASSIVE in scale, GTA IV has shrunk things down. You do have the entirety of New Yor...I mean Liberty City to run around in, you are limited to the areas you can go to till they open up. This does limit the amount of places you are free to roam about for a good portion of the game but once it does open up, it can take some time to get from one side of the city to the other. Thankfully, there are a shit load of taxis you can hire to take you to where you want to go instantly, though it costs extra. The traffic in the city does make this option very attractive later in the game when money is not a concern.

While GTA IV loses all of the wide open spaces from GTA: S.A. the story telling, characters and over all plot has been improved. The characters, from the main character to bit players, are flushed out. It was said that missions would change every time you did them in some preview I read but that is not the case. Maybe the order in which you do some missions will change things but the actual mission goals do not change, only the conversations while you are driving around.

There are friendships and dating in GTA IV, some what like GTA: S.A. Each friendship you develop will have its bonus. One will get you free taxi rides, one will get you discounted weapons. I have ignored the dating side of the game but the one relationship I did build up gives me the ability to call her up and lose my wanted level, which is bad ass. Maybe once I finish the game and go into free roam, I will see what else is out there, but if you do not mind spending the time on dates and friendships, some of the bonuses are worth the time. The gun one is for sure, as is the losing your wanted level.

There is, as always, a shit load of stuff to keep you occupied in Liberty City. From dating, random missions for friends, playing mini-games (such as pool, bowling and darts), going to shows, comedy acts and even getting wasted. All of these cost you a little money and each of them is part of building your friendships or girlfriends. Some friends only want to do certain things, so try and remember who likes to do what. I am sure when you do the things they want, you earn their friendship faster. There are, still, the vigilante missions and so forth from previous games though they are abit more in depth than before.

So thats about it with out going into story details. The graphics are great, the sounds are well done. Liberty City feels like a real city and its always busy. You will not become bored while playing the game, though frustration with the driving and auto targeting may lead to nearly throwing your controller through the tv. The auto save, though, is frequent enough so you do not fall behind in the game should you turn off the console in anger.

Just don't piss off the cops.

LotRO follow up and trade skill talk

2008-04-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

Alright. So the below post was a quickie review about Lord of the Rings Online. I had been playing for a few days but had not gotten to far. Now, I have myself a couple of characters and have become deeply interested in keeping my guys up-to-level-equipped with the trade skills. I have 3 characters, all capable of making the tier 2 weapons/armor for each class. I only bring this up because of a single reason.

I never really got into trade skills before. I ignored them in EQ, MxO and there was no trade skills in CoH. I did, for one character, get into the trade skills in WoW but got burnt out before I maxed leather working on my rogue.

LotRO has a very simple, clean and effective trade skill system. While in WoW you can pick two trade skills, mostly a gathering and production skill, LotRO has a very different set of skills. You pick a profession and with in that profession, there are three trade skills. Generally, you get one "production" skill, a gathering skill and something else. But you are always lacking at least ONE major component to the crafting aspect. Only tailoring and weapon smithing does not require you to have a secondary character to provide, or produce, the needed items to craft. Armor crafting and wood working all require crafted materials from another trade skill that you are not capable of making. While its fairly simple to throw together an alt, and the classes and starting areas are different enough to make having 3 or 4 before getting bored, the economy is so limited, its hard to buy the items you need.

I have noticed, though, that on the unoffical RP server, where I play, that people are generally nice. There are your d00ds that ruin shit for everyone but they are limited.

Example. There other night I could not sleep so I jumped on my champion to get him up to 20 so he could use heavy armor, a bow and become a bad motherfucker. While I was running around farming copper and tin, some random dude in Bree offered a free purple weapon, which I could use, and I took him up on it. After a few minutes after being given the weapon, instead of buying it for 30 silver, the guy sends me a tell and offers to craft me up two fine steel long swords. Now, the "fine" series of crafting is a one shot only item. You can't learn it and keep making them and they normally require some rare item from an elite/rare mob. This guy, who was 50, made me two of them. Now, the "fine" series of stuff always sells for 100+ silver in the AH. He gave me two, saved me 300 silver and a pair of weapon that would last me 6 levels easy. That shit don't happen in WoW.

So, again. Get the trial. Enjoy the game. Its a vastly different gaming world than WoW or EQ. Its a strange mix of each with its own flavor. One that is starting to grow on me.

Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

2008-04-14T04:52:00.000-05:00

I have been playing MMOs since EQ first came out, which is not that rare considering the huge market that has emerged over the past couple years or so. Anyway, since the original EverQuest came out all those years ago, I have only really gotten into one other MMO since. Word of WarCraft. Now, this is nothing amazing considering there are tens of millions playing the game, but if you look at all the MMOs that have come out since EQ broke the market wide open, I have only really enjoyed 4. I have tried others but they all fell short of what EQ offered, what MxO could have been, what City of Heroes/Villians tried for and what WoW perfected.

Which is why I am surprised that I have enjoyed the last few days I have spent playing LotRO. I went into the free trial not expecting much at all. Only reason I even bothered with it was because I watched the movies again. So I took a crack at the game, did not do much research and just went into it to enjoy it, maybe kill some time while my friends were all occupied this past weekend with babies, wedding planning and being out of town.

So I popped in, fired up a hunter and entered J.R.R Tolkiens world. Now, I just got a beast of a new video card so the game was running full tilt graphics wise. I did not find the graphics to be as clean or as enjoyable as WoW but they are decent for what the game is. The sound is impressive, with lots of noises from the surrounding area, monsters, your character and little details that some developers miss. Still, even though the game is not as sharp as WoW in every aspect, it passes muster and doesnt distract like the graphics in EQ2.

Where LotRO really starts to shine is the story. There is no real "story" in WoW, nor was there in EQ. There was some vague back drop of a main story line but it was lacking and really was not that important. You just went along, doing quests, getting loot and leveling up. Atleast in EQ, there was roleplay to be found all over the place, which is why I loved the game. WoW, it was the game play, the graphics and the ability to log on for an hour or two, knock out some quests and log off again. LotRO manages to recreate that feeling easily. You can jump on, do a few quests and log off. Even the big event quests don't take long and, so far, I have been able to do them alone.

The classes are interesting, as are the races different bonuses and negatives. The starting stories, atleast for humans and elves, is very different and gets you into the main story line quickly. Where in most games I will take up a rogue or thief type class, I have yet to really try the bandit class yet. So I can't really delve to deep into the real differences between the various classes, though the hunter class is pretty powerful. I have not really enjoyed the Captain class much and I HATE starting over again when the starting quests are the same, so I havent tried anything else.

Overall, I suggest any one who has started to stray away from MMOs for single player games or shooters to give the free trial a shot. LotRO takes a formula that has been perfected in WoW and gives it a enough twist to not be a clone. Its original as a MMO can be now-a-days and keeps you interested. If you can get past the vastness of the world once you get out of the newbie area, find a good kinship (guild) or even a few people to group with every once and while, I can see LotRO keeping things fun for a while.

Just so long as you don't treat it like a grind and burn yourself out.

Company of Heroes

2008-03-27T19:28:00.000-05:00

Company of Heroes is a RTS based in WW2. Taking control of Able company, you are able to command squads of soliders during major battles in WW2. From D-Day on Normandy to the end of the war, this title manages to do what many RTS games have tried and failed. I view this game as a worthy re-visioning of Close Combat, one of the best WW2 themed RTS games ever made.

Graphics:

This game is fucking beautiful, if your rig can manage it. I run a GeForce 7600 with 1gig of ram and I get hic-ups in the frame rate every few minutes for about 5-10 seconds. This happens during in-game video and during game play, though it may be something else going on in my system. With all the up-dates, the slow downs have decreased in length and severity. Point is, the game kicks ass. With the newest patch in effect, the game is able to take advantage of DX 10, which I can not use but the screens look beautiful. Hands down, this is one of the best lookin RTS games on the market. Explosions, soliders, buildings, tanks and water are kick ass.

Gameplay:

The games missions give you a variety of starting conditions. From having a base of operations and the ability to expand your base, to limited amounts of soliders at your control. Despite the various starting conditions, the missions are fairly cut-and-paste. Defeat the germans, secure resource locations and dont lose all your men. While there are various secondary missions that can be done during the game, you are awarded metals for finishing these side missions but they are not core to the game, nor do they seem to unlock anything extra.

You do get a variety of troops during the missions though. Riflemen are your basic grunts, Airborn are slightly better armed and trained and Army Rangers are the cream of the crop. You also get a decent choice of tanks and other vehicles that are able to be produced and they are devestating against infantry. they are not, though, invulnerable. While the German AI does not seem to try all that hard to take out your armor, your troops are easily able to blow up enemy armor with sticky bombs, recoiless rifles, bazookas and other AT weapons.

Your troops will all start fairly basicly, but during missions you are able to secure weapons that the Germans either drop or leave laying around. A Airborn company can sacrifice three soliders to become a MG crew or mortar crew. You are also able to pick up light MGs, bazookas and Panzerwhatsits to give your troops an edge in taking down armor and buildings.

One REALLY cool aspect of the game is that everything is destructable. While your troops may be hiding behind a wall have great cover, a decent sized explosion, or a vehicle, can destroy the cover and leave your men with thier asses in the air. Cars, boxs, rubble, buildings. It can all be destroyed.

As you play out the mission, you are given command points as you gain experience, which is gained by killing enemy troops, taking resource points, building defensive structures and other things. With these command points, you are able to call in air strikes, mortar fire, artillery, ship-based bombardment, special troops, equipment and other things. These "power ups" can be very helpful, though the best ones take alot of command points and take some time to earn them.

I really cant say enough positive things about the game play. Its all REALLY fun. Your squads gain exp for killing enemy units and will become tougher, have higher morale and become more accurate as the mission progresses. You are able to build a building that will have some previous veteran squads avaiable should you want to spend the extra points to pull them up.

Storyline:

Well, its WW2. Its been done to death. I dont know what happens if you lose a mission yet, but I would imagine that you start the mission over. Its standard WW2 fair though, but it doesnt SEEM old.

Controls:

Well the game is almost all mouse based. Its fairly easy to keep track of your troops when things are not going hectic but in the bigger missions, things can become tough to keep track of. A pause feature would be MOST welcome in the game but that would also make it seem way to easy.

Replay:

I havent beaten the game yet but most games do not hold very high replay value to me. There is online play but I have not tried it yet either. I would imagine the on-line aspect of the game is solid after being out for awhile but you never know. I generally dont play any games online unless they are MMOs, so my exp is limited.

Over all:

Game is awesome. Buy it.

9.5/10

NCAA Football 2008

2008-03-22T13:31:00.000-05:00

Remember NCAA 07 on the X-Box or PS2 last year? Total control over your team in legend mode, the ability to see who was coming at you from the sides and a game speed that gave you the chance to bust out huge plays fairly easy?

All that is gone. Taking from Madden 07 last year on the 360, EA has made it so you are able to only control your player. Need to make a huge stop in the 4th quarter but you are the quarter back? To bad, its up to the AI. All you can do is what your position can do, the rest is out of your hands. Through the SuperSim mode, you can jump right back to playing your guy again but watching some un-ranked team score 42 points against Texas, you start to wonder if it is balanced at all. While this does lend itself to the feel of playing on a college football team, it gets really old really fast. The total lack of control outside of your position gets very frustrating.

Though this is the largest sticking point for me, the game is probably awesome for nearly everyone else. The controls are solid, the hits look hard, the speed is set well and with a little luck and some skill, you can make huge plays. So far I have only gotten into college mode with a running back and a quarter back but you can test the waters of what ever position you want in legend mode during the high school state play offs. 4 games to get a feel of your position, how the plays work, the supersim works and is a good training period.

Frustating, though, is the lack of a college feel to the game. Gone is the dorm room from previous versions, which I felt lent some to the college experiance in 06 and 07. There are no shots of fans in the stands, no more crowd meter, no shots of the mascot cheering on the side lines and no cheer leaders. The actual "college" aspect of NCAA 08 is non-existant. It plays very similar to Madden 07 on the 360, atleast in terms of giving the feel of being a star.

Where the feel of the game is lacking, the actual game play is decent enough. As a RB, you will run into opposing players you never see coming thanks to the limited third person view. The camera does a decent job of staying with you but on plays where you go in motion, the camera gets lost and you can not see your player for a few seconds. Running the ball is well done with a host of options of getting around players, but I found, at least playing at Texas (ranked 5th in the polls for this game with a A ranked offence), your offensive line doesnt make holes very easy and your TEs and WR dont hold blocks for jack shit. I'd guess that about 35% of the time, you will be taken down in the back field before you can get going. As a QB, there is an option for calling audible at the line but the plays are limited. The coach called plays are mostly stock and dont vary much and plays will be called that dont make sense for the situation, atleast how I would call them atleast. You will see the same play called through out the game and it will fail every single time.

The graphics are good, the frame rate never suffers and the stadiums look fantastic.

All in all, though, NCAA 08 doesnt FEEL like a college football game. It feels more like a football game that is set in college but the college aspect if left alone. You dont get any thing cool during pre-game, such as seeing the impact players warming up from previous versions and the commentary is pretty much the same as it was in previous versions. EA did not add a lot of depth to the game what so ever. While I know that it is a video game and not supposed to feel like the real deal, I have felt that previous incarnations of the game did more justice to college football this this one.

EA still has a lot to learn, it seems, to putting out a solid football game on the next-gen systems. When I would rather go back and play 06 or 07 on a xbox or PS2, that is not a good sign.

Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 5/10
Feel of a college football game: 2/10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I posted this review on some forums I visit a while back. Actually, it was July of last year. Anyway, I re-read it and my review still sticks. EA sports has not been able to make a really solid football game for the 360 yet. People buy Madden because its Madden and because there is nothing else out there to choose from. I, though, have been playing NCAA Football for a long time, much like I have Madden and EAs NHL series.

What I have seen since their, failed in my opinion, attempts to bring a next gen football game to the 360 is a disturbing move away from what worked so well for the games in the past. I don't know about most people who play but I play for the "feel" of being a college or pro athlete. While some of the things in the NCAA series, such as studying and what not, seem a little over board, I enjoyed them. Having a dorm room, events to pick, crowds cheering on game day and so forth. I miss those aspects of previous versions and I wonder if they will be brought back.

I did, though, really enjoy the addition of 4 high school play off games to test your position and get a feel for the game. That was cool. Also, being able to take screen shots from your big plays and have a slide show of them at the main menu was kick ass. I hate hate hate hate the close up third person view EA has started using. Having no fucking clue who or what is on either side of you is frustrating.

Blargh! Ideas!

2008-03-18T17:22:00.001-05:00

One of the main reasons I created this blog was to get ideas for games out of damn head and onto...e-paper. Obviously, I love games. I've loved games a long long time and I don't see that changing; but I am running into problems with the games that are being released now. One of the biggest problems I see is the release date on games that are going to be huge. Such as the GTA series and so forth. Game companies release their big seller during two times of the year. Either before summer hits or right before Christmas. Now, I know they do this because they want to make money and so on but really. Having bland and boring months of no decent games being released really drives me nuts. Its also a problem with our "Next-gen" series of game consoles. The PS3 really doesn't have any games on it that make me want to pick one up. The Wii has SOME but the control scheme just pisses me off.I fucking LOVED Nintendo when I was younger. The SNES is, hands down, the best console ever. After that, well. Nintendo seems to have taken a back seat. I may get into that in another post. Probably not. The 360, seemingly, is the dominate console on the market now. The most games, the best games and its graphics can't really be out shown by the PS3 at this point. Is the PS3 better? Maybe later but not now.

Anyway. My point here is simple. I have a fuck ton of ideas for games that, for some reason, have not been made or have failed at being what they could have been. I know the technology is there to make these games happen. Like a zombie survival type game that doesn't have an ending unless you want it to and a on-line portion of the game that runs like an MMO. Zombies are fucking awesome, look at the RE series or Dead Rising just as examples. People would buy that shit, people would PAY to play that. It would RULE!

Or what about a Star Wars MMO that is like KOTOR? HOW THE FUCK HAS THIS NOT BEEN MADE YET?!?! Star Wars Galaxies? Are you fucking shitting me? Screw that non-sense! Get me a MMO like KOTOR and I'm there. Fuck, get me my third KOTOR and I am there.

It just baffles me that these big name studios either won't make these games or haven't thought to do it yet. I mean really. A KOTOR MMO? The servers would be so fucked on the first day, its not funny. What about a Shadow Run MMO? I was fucking PUMPED when I heard they were making a SR game and then to find out it was pure shit? Oh fuck man. That pissed me off.

So game studios! Listen up! I am on my way but until then, you shit fuckers better get your acts together and make games people WANT to play. Making an Oblivion clone? Fuck off. Stop it. Trying to make a GTA clone? Eat a dick. Get with the program, listen to the people that pay you for your product and make some games people want to fucking play.

Browser based gaming

2008-03-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

About 5 years ago, I signed up for this browser based game called "Adventure Quest" or is it "Dragon Quest"? I can't remember. Anyway, it was a fun little distraction to play while at work. Kind of like those flash/java based games but more in-depth and it didn't really have an ending. As with most simple games, I got bored with it and moved on and forgot all about it.

Now, I love me some web comics. PvP, CTL-ALT-DEL and so forth. Like all other web sites, they need money to operate, pay their costs and so forth. This, obviously, comes from ads. Ads for new games, other sites and so forth. One thing I have noticed over the past few years is the growing number of browser based online games. There seem to be a million of them and more coming each month. All free to play with you getting cooler shit if you pay them a minimal fee. I have zero problem with them, just that there seems to be more and more being made every month and I have to start to wonder about the market base for so many of these games. Like every business model, you have to consider the market base you are appealing to. Is there a limited demographic? Will you max out how many people you can get to pay to play? Does the cost of adding new equipment (servers etc) out weigh what you make?

I can't see how these browser based games can continue to be made and be profitable for the companies that create and run them. Its just amazing to me.

10 ways to make sure you get killed in a horror movie

2008-02-28T03:38:00.000-06:00

Yes, this is a game blog. Yes, I am talking about movies so shut up.

Currently, I am watching, probably, one of the worst horror movies ever. Called Lake Dead this film is low budget but with decent quality camera work. Acting is for shit and I am now 35 minutes into the movie before the first pair of young, nubile titties were shown. Bad job movie guys.

Moving on...

Be a whore - Nut bag, crazy killers love nothing more than chopping up hot, slutty young women. While hot, slutty young women are great, in a horror movie that pretty much makes sure your fine little ass is toast. Seducing one of the male leads with a girlfriend/wife just speeds the process up and it will probably happen during the act, ruining a badly done sex scene for the viewer. Titties are one of the main stays of bad horror movies and depriving the viewer of said titties by getting chopped up just pisses people off.
Be a cheater - This could be 1a but not really. If you are dating, or are married to, the female lead, don't cheat. If you some how manage to escape slaughter during the act of cheating, your scum bag ass is dead the moment you are alone. Getting into the shower, going for food, getting drinks. What ever. You are dead.
Going off alone - Anyone who goes off alone in a horror movie ends up toast unless you are the hero, then you just manage to escape. Stay with your friends, military, police or what ever. Going off alone makes you easy pickings. Why people in fucked up situations always go running off alone baffles me.
Ignore weapons of any kind - So the cop that was with you just got cut in half, his weapons laying at his side with the killer hunting you down. What do you do? You run like a fucking idiot and leave the gun on a corpse. Oh wait. No. Thats NOT what you do. Leaving behind knives, guns, bats or any kind of weapon is not a great way to make sure you stay alive. Generally, you get cut down shortly there after and that shot gun you left on the ground probably would have come in handy.
Not turning on all the lights - Look. I know electricity is expensive, but when you think you may be in a situation where a crazy person is after you and your friends, turn on every fucking light you can. Carry flash lights, torches or something. Killers, apparently, are sensitive to light and never slaughter young, idiot teenagers when they are in well lit areas.
Go searching for lost friends - Oh ya. Genius fucking idea bud. Your friends have gone off alone, already breaking rule 3, and your smart ass is going to go running off in search of them. Chances are, they are fucking dead. Write those idiots off as a loss and high tail it the fuck out of there. Something is up, obviously, and if they AREN'T dead, then people have cell phones for a god damn reason. Leave them to their own devices and stick your ass with the group.
Don't go to places far away from a city - Have an awesome camping trip at that abandoned camp? Inherited a cabin in the woods? Don't fucking go. Stay your ass at home. Sell that piece of shit and have your lawyers deal with it. Going off where there is little, or no, help for miles around just reeks of "I want to get my ass cut into pieces and eaten by mutant freaks". No. Stay at a fucking motel 6. Go camping at a national park with LOTS of other people around. Sure, you want a weekend of drunken debauchery but there is no need to get dead for it.
Run for the small town sheriff - Chances are, if you are in a small town, or a remote area, what ever weird and fucked up shit is going down there the cops already know about and support. They may come off as willing to help at first, but oh no. Sooner or later, those inbred fucks are going to turn on you and make sure you are dead meat.
Look back for the crazy fuck after you - Yes, I know you are curious if the psycho dude who is chasing you is getting closer. He, or it, probably is. So haul ass. Don't look back, just run. Don't stop to try and get into that abandoned car. Don't try to hide in the old shack you have come across, that crazy shit probably lives there. Just keep moving. Find a good pace, keep your arms moving and breath through your nose and out of your mouth. Soon as you see a large group of people that don't look like inbred nut jobs, stop and gasp out your story.
Think you are safe - So you just killed off the crazy fucker that has been chasing you and slaughtering your friends. Maybe there were two and they are both dead. Now you, and maybe your boy/girlfriend can breath a sigh of relief. You can stroll back to your lives and feel safe again. Fuck. No. Get in car, but check the trunk and back seat first, and haul ass till your hit a major city and head to the first police station you can find. Never assume you are safe. Thinking you are safe just means you, or your significant other, is dead next. So run and don't look back. Once you are safe, buy a couple of guns, a shit load of ammo and maybe a personal security force. That last crazy bastard, or one you thought was dead, WILL come for you. Be a boyscout and be prepared!

So thats it. There are more rules but generally those are some good ones to keep an eye out for. If any of those things are happening to you, just stop and look around. There is a chance a mutant cannibal is right around the corner.

Call of Duty 4

2008-02-28T01:48:00.001-06:00

Like most gamers, the FPS genre has been a series of ups and downs. When Halo was first released, the gaming world had a gigantic orgasm that lasted for a long time. Then people got bored with Halo/Halo2 and were left with a empty feeling in their gut. Sure, other games came out that were good but nothing amazing. Rainbow 6: Vegas, GRAW:2 and others but you know, none of these games truly rocked our collective gaming faces off. They were like snacks to be enjoyed but nothing so very tasty that we could eat them daily.

Then, like a bright ray of sunshine in the middle of a cold, rainy day, CoD4 came.

While my time spent playing this game since release has smudged my views on it some what, I will do my best to review it like I could have when it first came out.

Call of Duty 4 is exactly what the FPS gaming world needed. A serious, nasty, big kick in the face. CoD4 makes Halo 3 look weak. CoD4 bitch slaps Rainbow Six: Vegas. CoD4 beats down GRAW:2 like a red headed step child. It is, to date, the most perfect FPS game ever created. It may sound like a bunch of talk, that I am giving a verbal blow job to Infinity Ward, Activision and CoD4; which is exactly what I am doing. Everyone I know that has picked it up, started playing and kept playing despite being rocked by other players; has fallen head over heels in love with it.

Call of Duty 4, when compared to sex, is something like this. Every woman you have ever been with pales in comparison to her. Once you have been with her, its all you can think about. You only want to lie in bed and make sweet sweet love to her. It is all consuming.

*cough* Anyway, the game is nearly perfect. The graphics are fantastic on each system, though a top end PC will blow the 360 or PS3 out of the water. The game play is fast paced, action packed and does not let up. The single player game is awesome, the story is well written and enjoyable. Multiplayer shines brighter than anything else out there. You will find yourself addicted to the game very quickly. You will talk to your friends about it. You will come nearly to the point of forcing anyone who doesn't play it to buy it and enjoy.

CoD4 isn't a rent. Its a buy. Buy it for any system you have. Buy it for the PC. Play it till your fingers go numb. Bask in the awesome that is CoD4.

Just don't come to me after 5 or 6 days play time and you start to see its flaws.

NHL 2008

2008-02-24T11:59:00.000-06:00

I have been playing EA Sports NHL series for like...15 years or something. I loved it during the 90's and into the early 2000's. I took a break after 06 because the games coming to the 360 were, well they were shit when they first came out. Back in the 90's, it was all about hockey, fighting and knocking the ever loving CRAP out of players on the ice. Hell, if you saw Swingers you know what I'm talking about.

Then, EA Sports got retarded. Not just with the NHL series, but with its golden boy, Madden. Gone, really, was the fun of the series. More and more "cool shit" was put into the game and an effort to make the games more "real" started to take the fun out of the game. Skill stick features, saucer passing, realistic checking, penalties and what not have seemingly ruined what I found fun about the NHL series for so long. What do you mean? Well, this is what I mean.

You can't check opposing players with any real effect any more. Not only do you miss because your players skate like retards, but if you DO hit someone, they just flail about for a second and move along. Some times, if you get lucky, your checking will knock a dude on his ass but it used to be that you could go flying into the boards and fuck someone up. No longer
Poke checking = Tripping. Its the only way you can get the puck back from opposing players besides hitting them or getting lucky and having them pass you the puck. 90% of the time, it seems, attempting to poke check someone makes them fall and bring down a tripping penalty on you. Its a penalty in the real NHL, I know, but you don't see players being called on it 5+ times a game when they are playing the puck. So you are forced to let the other team come screaming at your goalie and take a few shots.
Your team mates AI is fucking RETARDED! I mean seriously. Do NHL players NOT go for the puck anymore? Do they LIKE letting the other teams shooters camp the net? Do they hate passing with any form of skill? It becomes mind boggling how only YOU can clear out the front of the net. Your defense seems to enjoy wasting its time and letting your goalie deal with 40+ shots on net every game. That would get your ass FIRED in the NHL today.

Those are just the tip of the iceberg. It seems like the opposing teams goalie AI is fucking a brick wall. I throw 45+ shots, mostly one timers, at them and they stone wall me. The opposing team comes back down the ice, takes a little wrist shot and bamo! Goal. I was playing the Ducks last night, using the Dallas Stars of course, and they put in 5 goals in the first period with ease. Ya, I know the fucking Ducks are awesome but really. It was 5-1 after the first period and I nearly threw my controller through my tv. I had shot the puck 1 less time then they did but oh no. Their goalie stone walled me and Turco went fucking blind and lost any control of his body.

Or what bout when you are leading in the third? I was up 4-0, some how, in the 3rd period against the Chicago Blackhawks. The fucking Blackhawks. Anyway, up by 4, I go defensive and try to get my goalie a shut out. Oh no. Not a fucking chance. Suddenly, its 4-3 with 1 minute left my guys are falling all over the place and the Blackhawks are playing like they are all some kind of hockey super men. It was insane. I have lost two games thus far this season in the last 2 seconds of two games. I shot more, had more time on the attack, took a fuck ton of one timers and was beating the shit out of the opposing team for 60 minutes. Sure, they got goals to come back and tie it and that drove me BAT shit insane but oh well. I let it go. It happens. But to lose the game with 2 seconds left after leading for most of it is crazy. I mean, its goals that make zero sense. Little pussy flip shot from a dude at the blue line? Goes in. Slap shot through traffic, and I have 4 guys in the box to block those shots, goes through those 4 dudes, their guys trying to get to the net and my goalie flails around like he is having a god damn seizure.

Anyway. The game. Is it fun? It can be. Is it cool? Ya, when you actually score you cheer because it never fucking happens or not nearly enough. Does it feel like a NHL game? Yes it does. The announcing is spot on, doesn't get annoying quick and the announcers, though limited to what they say during the opening, actually sound like they are watching the game.

Rent this mother fucker, see if you like it. Also, if you have any tips for me, please share. Will also let me know someone is reading this

Sins of a Solar Empire - First take

2008-02-21T15:30:00.001-06:00

I hesitate to review any game that I have only played a short time. When I first heard that the guys over at Stardock were making another RTS game, I was excited. I LOVE Galactic Civilizations 2 (GalCiv 2 for short). Its almost like a remake of one of my favorite games ever, Master of Orion (MoO). MoO, and its resulting sequels, was another set of games released during the 90s by the fantastic guys and gals over at Microprose. Some of my favorite games growing up were done by them and I still mourn the loss of the company. Master of Magic may still be my favorite TBS ever made. I still hope to this day that some awesome company comes along and does an updated version of the game. That would rule.

Anyway, GalCiv 2 is a fucking amazing TBS/RTS game from Stardock. I heartily suggest you go to their website and pick up a digital copy or head to your big box game store and get the Gold Edition. Totally worth the money if you are into RTS/TBS games. The story missions are some what retarded but each time you play a custom map, its different. Just an amazing game.

So when I heard that Sins of a Solar Empire (SSE for short) was coming out, I quickly went and picked up a copy expecting more awesome from Stardock. My expectations, though, were far to high it seems. Though I have only played about 2 hours, the game looks to take fucking forever to play. There doesn't seem to be any real story that I can find and the game play is painfully slow. While there are some cool things in the game, such as being able to zoom in on a single ship or pan out to the entire galaxy, these little flashy touches don't make up for the agonizingly slow game play. As I said, 2 hours into a "small map" playing against 1 other computer player, I haven't done much. Maybe its from lack of experience playing, but damn. I have been bored out of my damn mind the entire time I have spent playing it. Its just silly how you seem to progress but really, you don't get anywhere. One thing I thought would be cool was the inclusion of a neutral 3rd party of Pirates. I was wrong. Pirates just get fucking annoying. They send large fleets of ships to attack you and if you are not keeping a bounty up on another group, they will come straight for you. My entire military, it seems, is used for the sole purpose of defending my planets against pirates. I made the choice of trying to take the pirates down and that was a mistake. With the military might the pirates have amassed at their home planet, taking them down is a mighty task, which I suppose is the purpose.

Now, there IS more tactics involved with the game than in GalCiv2. There are set transition points to and from each planet. As you expand your empire, you are able to set up defensive fronts for your territory. One space lane leading into your entire empire? No problem. Build up a defensive area and leave it that way till you expand further. Still, the highlight of every RTS is supposed to be the combat, and the combat here is boring as fuck. There are no real tactics once the fighting starts, you just sit back and let the ships blow each other up. Besides your Capital ships, none of your other ships gain exp and they are so cheap to build, and so quick to build, you don't care if you lose a bunch of them. Your fleet centers around your capital ships, the rest of it is just cannon fodder.

So, after a little play time, I am unimpressed. I will play it some more and give it more time but thus far, it wasnt worth the money I spent.

Where oh where are the RPGs?

2008-02-20T04:01:00.001-06:00

So I have a 360, just in case anyone missed that, and I have found a lack of solid RPGs that come out on any regular basis. There are some FANTASTIC RPGs out for the 360 at this point, yes. Oblivion, Mass Effect and...uh...uh. Ya. Thats my point. I am a huge fan of RPGs, have been since the NES, but there is a surprising lack of excellent RPGs, or even good RPGs. I mean fuck, Oblivion has been out since near release and Mass Effect has been out for a few months. I remember, and yes I know the PS2 had a long run, but a shit ton of fantastic RPGs for the PS2. Lets just run down a few I can think of at 4am. The Dragonquest series, the Final Fantasy series, and the Kingdom Hearts series. Just three actual series with multiple games. Then there are a number of games that I can't remember off the top of my head that were really good.

So WTF Microsoft? Why you no give us good RPGs? Its been just over 2 years since the 360s release and we only get two good, excellent really, RPGs? Throwing out crappy RPGs don't count, just like a bunch of other shitty games out of the 360 since release. So since we are in the "next" gen age, why are there not any better games out?

Blargh. Enough of this ranting. I should sleep.

How to make CoD4 even better - Part two

2008-02-14T03:56:00.000-06:00

Aaaannnd we are back. Final stage of our two parter on how to make CoD4 the best FPS game ever. Lets get this bitch rolling.

Add a character customization option

It sounds simple, and almost pointless, but after multiple days of play time online, I have found that the ability to decide what you look like as you play is really needed. While the character models are fantastic and give everyone a simple way to tell what class is what, there is on team that is badly in need of a revamp of their uniforms. The poor OpFor guys. Man do their uniforms suck! Though the sniper is the most in need of a revamp, I think IW could take it a few steps further and just allow everyone to select from an assortment of uniform options and play with them instead of the preset ones.

See, this idea came to me while listening to other players talking about the "Red Hat of Death" that the OpFor snipers have to wear. Nothing can blow your nice little hiding spot like the red hat on his head. It really gives away your position and people already enjoy shooting snipers enough, blowing off the dude with the red hat ons head is just added enjoyment. So get rid of it and all the standard uniform options all together. Provide an assortment of options from each group in the game for the head, chest, pants, boots and so forth. Then allow the player to select a part of each and use that as their uniform in matches. It would give clans the ability to have unity in their outfits, it would give players a sense of individuality and it would get rid of that damn red hat. Hell, make it a reward during one of the prestige modes. Not to far in but after two or three goes, let it become an option. Prestige is a large waste of time as it is. Speaking of prestige mode...

Make Prestige mode worth something

Thus far I have gone through prestige mode two or three times and found it to be a waste of time. Sure, you get a pretty little symbol next to your name but there isn't any reason to go through with prestige mode until you have knocked out all the challenges. There are not more weapons, more attachments, new perks or anything for starting over again 10 fucking times. I don't know what IW could do to make it worth while, maybe add new weapons for each prestige level, add the uniform idea and who knows what else. This is more a gripe than a idea that would make the game perfect but it wouldnt be hard for IW to do something with prestige.

Random ideas

Reward someone who gets a 15+ kill streak. After the helicopter, there is nothing else to be rewarded for staying alive and kicking the crap out of the enemy. Maybe throw in a gunship being called in for like 20 seconds. The player would be vulnerable but they would control a gunship for 20 seconds and rain down death on the enemy. Make it so the bigger gun options hurt your team as well.
More maps! I know they are coming out with a map pack release some time in the spring but they should have had a map update already. The maps are stale, people have figured out cheats on each map to get "out" off the map. Hustle it up IW.
Make snipers more...sniperish. As it sits, there are set areas on each map where snipers will plunk down, take a few shots and move on. You can, generally, see them easy enough and counter-snipe them from a distance, or be a dick and run up to them and knife them in the back. I know that snipers should take around 3 shots before displacing and moving some where else but damn, this a FPS game!
Add online co-op mode. Just as a fun option. Playing through the excellent single player game with a friend would kick ass.

So thats it, at least for now. I may come up with new ideas and throw them up, or just edit these posts and add them.

Quick shout out to my fellow gaming nut Eric over at Medium Entertainment. He does more a general entertainment talk with a focus on games. Great blog, check it out.

How to make CoD4 even better - Part 1

2008-02-12T19:10:00.000-06:00

OMGZ! TWO POSTS IN TWO DAYS?! Ya. I know.

So look, I still havent gotten my CoD4 review up but I have a slew of ideas that would make it an even better game that I need to get out of my head. The game as it stands now is amazing for all of those who just start playing it. Its fast paced, adrenalin filled, excited shooter that really doesnt rely on any tactics at all. Sure, there are more and more clans out there taking squad tactics into their games and totally raping the opposition. Its almost sad to see how badly some teams get beat when the other team works together, communicates and uses tactics. Enough of that though, this is about how to make the game even better than it is.

Add more weapons

Ya, it sounds simple and for those who have recently started playing, the weapon list is decent. For those of us who have been playing since release, the weapons are stale and used up. There are a few select weapons that every one uses, or weapons that people just prefer to use. The M16, MP5 and M4 are the most widely used weapons and they while the M4 is not a starting weapon, it says a lot that many veteran players use the M16 with the red dot sight exclusively. There really isnt a more accurate assault rifle that can put out the rate of fire the M16 can. The M4, probably the second most popular assault rifle, is not as accurate but is fully automatic and is my personal favorite. Problem is, who wants to use the same weapons all the time? Why is it that the G36c or the MP44, which I have no fucking understanding why that gun is even in the game much less the last weapon you get, are not more accurate or provide at least a alternative to the M16 or M4.

So what is happening is most people are using the same weapons through out the entire game and I would think it is due to the lack of alternatives that provide a similar or equal amount of accuracy, damage and range. Having played Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter 2 only a single time, the laundry list of available weapons is amazing. There are so many options for weapons, granted I don't think there are weapon attachments you can put on and take off, its staggering. CoD4 is showing its roots with the limited weapon selection it has. I understand that in WWII, weapon choices were few and far between; but its the modern day and there are many posts on fan sites that have huge lists of weapons, for each weapon type, that could be added. I believe, Infinity Ward (IW from here on) should jump on this and release a patch that adds a good number of new guns to each type.

Make cover useful

One of the things that has driven me nuts while playing CoD4 is the lack of cover. Sure, you can crouch behind a wall and have some cover but its fairly pointless. Unless you KNOW that you won't be seen, i.e. that you have seen people using that cover before and little to nothing of their body is showing, there is a good chance you a lot more of your body is exposed than you would expect. Rainbow Six: Las Vegas made excellent use of cover, allowing you to peak around corners and fire while limiting who much of your body is exposed to enemy fire. This is non-existent in CoD4. Now, I know taking advantage of cover hasnt been in a Call of Duty game before but really, IW wanted to knock the FPS world on its ass with CoD4 and it really did and yet they left out such a obvious addition to a "modern" warfare game.

The problem isnt that you cant get cover at any time but that you have to be very careful about the cover that you take. Crouching by a corner and trying to ambush the enemy might work once or twice but generally, you are toast after the first kill, if you even get that. Its mightily frustrating when you seem to have great cover and then you are shot instantly. It almost makes it a pointless task. Hell, with bullet penetration there really isnt a point for cover but at least players would have the option to hide behind a corner and peek out, even if they could get shot right through the wall. So I really don't understand why they didn't just add a peak option. Maybe its a lack of button thing, but pressing down the right stick doesn't have a purpose. I mean fuck, in the SP mission your allies and enemies utilize cover and you can't. Are you supposed to be Rambo or something? Hell, that doesnt even add up. Rambo used cover. Maybe your a retarded special forces solider.

Add more weapon attachments & multiple attachment perk

In the single player missions, I know that your gun has multiple weapon attachments. Four I can think of off the top of my head. You have a silencer, grenade launcher, red dot sight and a laser sight for night vision. During the sniper mission, you have a M14 with a silencer and a sniper scope. Why can you not create weapon and attachment combos that make sense? If, during the single player game, you can use weapons with multiple attachments why did IW not add a perk to have two attachments during multi player? See, they could have the perk in the tier 2 perks and remove the bonus of having say...juggernaut, stopping power or UAV jammer. That way, having a silencer and the red dot sight on your weapon wouldnt give people to much of an advantage with not being able to use UAV jammer or stopping power on.

Yet, adding the multiple attachment perk kind of...limits the combos that people could use. Thats why IW needs to add more attachments. Maybe more scopes for the sniper rifle, other sights for the assault rifles and who knows what else. I know that there has to be a SLEW of other scopes, sights and weapon mods out there. So it would not be hard for IW to add more, hell there is one sight in the SP missions that is not in the MP section of the game. Drives me nuts.

Part 2 coming soon.

Oh. Uh. Hi. Long time...sooo

2008-02-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

To say that I have slacked off on posting the past few months is an understatement. I never got my Halo 3 review up or my CoD4 review. This is, in part, mostly due to my near constant level of playing CoD4. The game is nearly perfect and I promise I will throw up another shoddy review no one reads soon.

I also started class again and I went out and got myself a job. My free time has been spent watching what little tv is left, playing CoD4 and hanging out with my friends. Posting reviews that no one reads doesnt rank to high on my list of stuff to do. Regardless, I will be posting another review for CoD4 as well as up to date review of The Matrix Online.

Mass Effect - A biased review of greatness

2007-12-07T00:39:00.000-06:00

I will start this review off with a very clear point. I fucking LOVE Bioware. I will buy any and every game they ever make. I don't care what its based on, I don't care what system its on. I will buy it. They are my favorite game company, followed close by Square/Enix. So this review is not totally unbiased.

See, many years ago in a time before HD tvs, blue ray and super graphics, Bioware made a game called Knights of the Old Republic (or KOTOR for short) for the original Xbox. It was one of the first, and greatest, RPGs on the system. I had already started my love for Bioware before that with the awesomeness that was the Baldur's Gate series. Yet, Bioware out shined the sexy of Baldur's Gate with KOTOR. It had fantastic story telling, deep characters, solid combat and character creation. Since then, I have longed for another Bioware game that rocked that hard (And anyone says that Jade Empire rivaled KOTOR is just fucking crazy).

Mass Effect is that game. It has amazing story, deep characters, in depth character creation and solid combat (once you get used to it). Mass Effect is all I have wanted from Bioware for years now. I would go so far as to say it will be the greatest RPG on the 360 during its run. So lets get to it.

As I've said, Mass Effect has a great story. I mean fucking spectacular. It is deep, meaningful and it draws you in so you care about your squad mates and what is going on, long as that is something you want to do. You see, the great thing about the story is that if you don't want to experience it, you can. If you choose to ignore all the details and the really fantastic parts of the game, you can. The largest parts of the story are told during the main missions but there is tons and tons of story from the side missions. Bioware created a total and complete universe. Not just a world, or a country. A fucking universe, complete with detailed descriptions of every planet you can visit. Granted, you can't explore every planet because not every planet in the universe is habitable but each planet you can explore has some kind of quest you can go on. Your choices have varying effects on the over all story.

Graphically, Mass Effect does not disappoint, it actually seems to ask for more than the 360 can give. There are slight moments where the graphics take to smooth out, such as when you load a game or load into a new area. While this is slightly annoying, it becomes something you get used to after a time. When things get smooth, its beautiful. Each planet seem huge, the Citadel, which is the main hub of the game, does have the feel of a giant space station. Characters are realistic looking but not so much so they look cartoonish like some games. Honestly, I can see the 360 being able to do more, or Bioware being able to use the power of the 360 with more...ability than they did. It looks and feels like a true next-gen type of game.

For those of you who have played KOTOR, you know how the combat worked. Real time but with tastes of turn based combat mixed in. Mass Effect went a different route and used a FPS type of combat. Your squad mates can not be controlled in any real way, other than picking weapon type and deciding what special abilities they use during a fight. They work off of a pretty decent AI and they don't get killed very often. You will get an ability, if you take it, that brings your squad mates back to life during combat, but once a fight is over and no enemies are near, they will get up and only need to be healed afterwards. The combat is kind of tough to get used to and can be really tough to get used to. It can throw you off early on and don't be surprised if you die a few times early on because you are not really sure what to do. Each of the guns works differently, so using one gun is different than another. If you have played FPS games on the 360, you may be have a step-up on others that haven't. Still, combat will take getting used to though your squad mates will take care of you early on while you get the hang of it.

Over all, Mass Effect a buy, no question. It took me nearly 30 hours to beat it and has replay value beyond question. Much like all Biowares games, there are moral choices to be made during the game that will make a difference to the story. You choose not to save someone, or choose to do the "right" thing, it will make a difference on the game as it goes on. Even the last major choice you make in the game makes me wonder what the opposite choice would end up like. I mean seriously, ONE choice makes me want to replay the game over again. That makes a great game.

A lot of people in the industry are starting to say that the future of video games is no longer graphics or new types of game play but in a deep, engaging story that captures the imagination. A game that draws you in, makes you CARE about the characters in the game and a game that will make you worried about the choices you have made and what will happen from the choices you make. Mass Effect does that. You will end up worrying about what you have done. If those criteria are the future of the gaming industry, then Mass Effect really is a next generation game.

Quickie reviews

2007-10-06T14:33:00.001-05:00

First, and very quickly, Juiced! 2. Racing games are one of my guilty pleasures. I don't buy them very often and I rarely rent them. When I do, though, I want it to be fun. The last racing game I was really really into was Need For Speed: Most Wanted. That game was fucking kick ass. You had your normal racing game with a street racing twist. While that has been done before, NfS:MW threw cops into the races and gave a really exciting twist to the play.

Juiced! 2 was not good. It was bad. When you create a "next gen" game, the graphics need to be rock solid in its presentation. I have always been a huge huge fan of creating your own characters in any game. I have always felt that unless you are making a game where the main character HAS to be someone, you should be able to have a nice, deep character creation system. Juiced 2 didnt have anything like that. The racing was...spotty at best and there was nothing close to an actual story. They tried to make a game with a lot of options but each of those options was not well done at all. It is a poor game with a pretty flash but terribly confusing game play.

Next up is All Pro Football: 2K8.

I have been playing Madden for a long long time. I am used to the controls, the game play and everything else. APK is the love child between Madden and Blitz! the league. The graphics are...well the graphics are pretty shitty for a next gen game. It looks like it was ported over from an early PS2 game. But I am not a graphics whore, so I looked past this. Its all about game play in every game and thats whats important in this game.

APK does a good job of creating a realistic football game. Obviously, EA has all the rights to the NFL teams and players so 2K8 was forced to do something different. They give you the ability to select a variety of old school players to head up your team , then select how you want your Offense and Defense to be generated. From what I saw, once you select your star players, 2 gold,3 silver and 6 bronze, the rest of the players are randomly sent out to other teams in the league. You could end up facing a team with all bronze players, or a mix. Its interesting and provides a different set of teams to play each season.

You do, though, only get to play a single season with your team before that season is over and you have to start again. That is really annoying. You would think that this is 2K8s first attempt to take down Madden that they would include a franchise option, a career option. Something beyond one season. Maybe next year for this.

The game play on the field is different than Madden but fun. The game does not move as fast as Madden and as the QB, passing is tough. If you take a QB that doesn't scramble, then you cant throw out of the pocket with any ability at all. It makes it challenging. The games I did play, running the ball was what most teams did. The passing game is difficult and you need to be precise with your throws. Make sure you set up your QB before throwing the ball.

The presentation is well done, though you will start to hear the same commentary over and over again. Also, there seems to be many times where your gold stars do just as well as bronze stars. You also have a really really hard time kicking and punting the ball. The game would serve to have a meter or something for kick offs, field goals and punts.

2K8s first try back into the football market is a decent attempt with a lot of need to polish their game. Better graphics, better controls and more difference between your gold stars and the rest of the players. I wouldnt buy the game but it was worth the rent.

Betatastic!

2007-09-28T15:28:00.001-05:00

Ok. I am moving today and Time Warner is not going to be able to make it to my new place to set up my precious internet or television till the 3rd. So, in light of the last little bit before I go off into the void of no internet, I give you the first installment of Betatastic! My thoughts and speculation on any betas I may have been in recently, or am currently in.

First, we start of with Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. I have yet to get my review for Company of Heroes up simply due to the severe amount of gaming I've been doing, but the short of it is this. CoH is a great RTS that twists a few of the classic aspects of RTS games and makes it interesting. While it is not as straight forward as WiC, CoH provides an excellent single player game with a solid multi player aspect that I never got a chance to really play thanks to some fucked up thing with Relic Online.

Anyway. CoH:OP takes CoH and expands the game with two new, and very different, armies. You can play as the British 2nd Army or the Panzer Elite. Since this Beta was only for multi player, I didnt get a chance to see how the single player aspect works. Which is sad because the learning curve for the British 2nd and the Panzer Elite is a tough one. Though it was beta, and with it came a host of connection problems, ghost games and the unspeakably annoying "unable to connect all players" problem, the MP aspect of the game is well done. If you have been able to play CoH multi player, then you are going to get a dose of pretty much the same game. Granted, its a well done, interesting and challenging game but its pretty much more of the same with a new twist. I did find, though, that the PE (panzer elite) has the ability to totally spam you quick. If you play as I did, with a defensive mind set, you will be over run quickly. Most PE players quickly learned to spam out as many units as they could and just over run you. Thankfully, there is SOME deterrence to this since your standard infantry is able to deal decent damage to the half-tracks that seem to make up the majority of the PE forces. The Brits, though, seem to take a long time to get running full throttle and are a totally defensive minded army. With the ability to dig in to trenches, set up bunkers for your MGs, mortars, AT and artillery, the Brits can be a tough nut to crack.

I found that the game was slightly off balance, as you could get crushed by either army quickly if you were not careful and the games would drag on for a long time if you matched the unit spamming. I don't know if I will go out and get CoH:OP when it goes gold, which it may already have done, but I did enjoy the single player aspects of CoH, so I may give it a shot.

Next! The Awesomeness that is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the xbox 360.

I have been a fan of the CoD series for awhile, though I have gotten it confused with the Metal of Honor series in the past. I was able to snag a key to get into this beta about a week or so ago and I havent been able to stop playing. CoD is making a real step forward by bringing their series into the modern day. The beta was capped for levels, weapons, perks and equipment for beta but it did give you a real taste of what is to come in the game. Granted, as of this posting, the beta is not over till sunday but I will not be able to play it anymore this weekend, so I think its best to get this done while its fresh. (They also upped the level cap in beta to 25ish or so, giving you a few new guns to play around with for the weekend)

Simply put, this game is the awesomeness. Ya, Halo 3 came out this week and sucked a lot of players away from the beta but there was still a couple thousand playing when I got on earlier. Speaking of Halo 3, I have to slap my review up for that as well. Oh what I will do for 5 day with no internet or tv.

CoD 4 is a really well done FPS for the 360. The MP is smooth, the connection is normally solid and the weapons have a very different feel to them. The additions to each weapon that are earned via challenges in the barracks section really make the guns better. There is a variety of perks to choose from and once you reach level 5 or so, you are able to create your own class with any perks, guns, additions and side arms you want. While these were limited in beta, I am hoping the developers add more attachments as well as giving you the chance to add multiple attachments to various weapons. If I was able, I would have been running around with my M4 carbine with a red dot sight and a silencer. As it stands now, its only one attachment per weapon.

They also made being a sniper a tough job. The maps are a decent enough size to accommodate a sniper, but staying in one place for to long just gets you dead. The shots have to be taken quickly since your ability to steady your shot is only a few seconds long. Hitting a moving target is no simple task either. They also make it so you need 100 kills before being able to upgrade the scope on the sniper rifles. This may all change at gold but I tend to like it. Keeps everyone from playing a sniper and moves the game a long at a quick pace.

I really think CoD 4 will take Rainbow 6:Vegas, Halo 3 and GRAW 2 down for the count on the 360 as far as multi player goes. R6:Vegas is a really well done game, but CoD 4 is just so awesome, its hard not to play it over R6:Vegas. While I didnt play R6:Vegas online much, thanks to my spotty connection to XBL, a lot of the players I spoke with each felt CoD is a better MP game. We will have to wait for gold to see what they do with the SP missions.

All in all, my two recent beta experiences were fun. I enjoyed CoH:OP for a short while before it got old and I was lucky enough to play CoD 4 for only a short while so I did not burn out. As I said, I may pick up CoH:OP but CoD 4 is a must have for me when it goes gold in November.

CoH:OP - 3.5 out of 5
CoD 4: M.W. - 4.5 out of 5

Now I go to move! Yall have a great weekend and enjoy your internets. Ya lucky bastards.

World in Conflict

2007-09-23T17:36:00.000-05:00

Remember Command & Conquer? I mean the first one, not the resulting sequels that have come out over the years. I remember the very first mission in C&C for the GDA, or what ever the "good" guys were called. A shit ton of troops storming a beach and jacking up the bad guys. It was AWESOME. I was 15 when that game came out and loved the series ever since.

World in Conflict (here on called WiC) gave me the same kind of feeling as when I played C&C for the first time. WiC is set in a alternative world where the Russians invaded America instead of going broke and falling apart. Russia also invaded Europe a few months before that, which set the stage for the invasion of the US. You play as a promising young officer with the duty of saving America from the big, bad Red Army.

WiC takes a different approach to unit management than the standard RTS. Instead of gathering resources, creating a huge force and then crushing the enemy, WiC gives you a set amount of command points to purchase new units with. By doing various tasks during the missions, you will be given access to better units, more resources and tactical aids. This lends some to the idea that Americas military is mobilized in Europe, leaving only a small force in the U.S. Its inventive, actually adds to the feeling of being short on resources and saves you the trouble of having to build bases. Which you don't really do in the game. Generally, its all about holding strategic points until you have to move on to capture another one. At these points, you can leave units inside the circle and defensive positions will be built. These defensive positions, at a max of three, will slowly build over time and not cost you anything. They are standard on every map and will normally build three kinds of defense. One for soldiers, one for tanks and one for anti-air. More on those later.

The game is really fucking impressive to look at. That, of course, demands some higher end hardware if you want to run the game at peak quality. My rig falls into "medium" status and the game is amazing to look at. All the little details are done well and big battles are really something to behold. The cut-scenes in the game are also well done, with no stone being unturned. The really neat part about WiC is beyond its amazing visuals. The games story is solid, giving you characters that you begin to either really like, or really hate. Its a more personal story than others. You also have Alec Baldwin narrating the story while your missions load. I found that to be a nice touch since he doesn't cheese it up to much and manages to convey the feelings of a solider who did a lot and say a lot in the defense of his country. It's an interesting premise, considering no single country has invaded the United States in the modern era. It really hit home for me, thanks to the short but well done cut scenes with soldier's calling home and the President. You begin to care for the characters in the story, which is more than I can say for the "Best Story Ever - Bioshock".

The game play is fairly easy to learn as it keeps lose to its C&C roots. All point and click, the control over your units is easy to manage. You have the standard mini-map to keep track of any large scale battle you may be fighting, along with the ability to assign unit numbers to groups of units. It does prove useful in keeping tanks, helicopters and ground troops separate and using this ability will help keep accidental slaughter to a minimum. As stated above, you will be given access to a limited amount of command points that you can spend to purchase reinforcements. These units will be air dropped into a specific location that you pick on the map. You will also be given access to tactical points, which you can spend to call in air strikes, tank busters, artillery, airborne troops and other stuff which can save your butt. As I said before, the main idea of the missions is to take and hold various strategic points on the map and hold them for a period of time. There is no base building and the only way you gain access to more powerful units is by completing secondary objectives with in the main mission. This cuts down on the confusion that some times can appear in many RTS games.

The game, on normal mode, was some what challenging. Thanks to the limited amount of command points you have to spend, each unit matters. Losing two or three heavy tanks at the wrong time can be a very bad thing. Getting reinforcements takes about 20 seconds and you have to wait another 20 seconds after that before ordering more, which you normally wouldnt be able to do since command points are earned rather slowly. Again, though, command points are capped for each mission and you will stop earning them once you reach the cap. So keeping your units alive is a priority. I did find, though, that it seemed that the Russians had an unlimited supply of troops to throw at me. An invading army, I would imagine, would have a harder time reinforcing their troops than the defending army, but apparently the Russians built a couple million tanks, helicopters and other stuff and brought it all over to the US.

While the single player mission is able to be completed in around 12 hours, where WiC really shines is in multiplayer. The game types are rather similar , everyone starts with the same amount of command points and its more of an attrition battle while you save up tactical points for a nuke. Tactical points are earned for destroying your enemies units and that can be harder than it sounds. In the games I have played in, a lot of people will take armor, support and air trees at the start and most will ignore ground troops. Which makes sense because ground troops get their asses handed to them by just about everything. Even with a balanced group of soldiers, you will find that ground troops will die from helicopters, tanks and artillery rather quickly. They are needed though, which sucks for anyone who gets stuck playing that role. While the game play tends to be repetitive in both single and multiplayer, its the tactics that make MP so much fun. If you have a group of players that work together, cover each others flanks, provide air support and anti-air support, that group becomes hard to beat. Each player, though, needs to know their role or you will find yourself losing more often than winning. Being the lone wolf type will not fly in MP. You also need a variety of air, ground and support. A group of players with all tanks will get decimated by helicopters. Same goes for helicopters against someone playing support with lots of anti-air. Another part that makes it interesting is that you can not stay put for very long. If you are a type of player who turtles up and believes a strong defense is the best offensive, than a couple of precision artillery strikes will cure you of that mind set real fast.

Over all, WiC is a strong entry into the RTS market. With a good story, amazing visuals and solid game play, I could see it making a run for RTS of the year. If you don't play online or just are an antisocial person who hates multiplayer, the single player mission is almost worth the price tag. While its good, the problem is that its short and I got drawn into the story so I beat the game in one day. I would keep that in mind before picking it up.

Blitz-o-reviews!

2007-09-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Well I have been playing some games since my last review and boy do I have some reviewing to do! I've got World in Conflict, Madden 08 for the 360, Company of Heroes and Betatastic! (which is my word for talking about the betas I am either in or played)

Lets do this!

Bioshock! GREATEST STORY EVAR!!

2007-09-12T18:07:00.000-05:00

(First, I gave Bioshock 5/5 because it deserved it. The game is awesome. This is more of a rant about people claiming its the greatest story in the history of video games.)

Everyone needs to remove Bioshock's dick from their mouth. I have been reading a shit ton of web comics and everyone that doesn't have a running premise has a Bioshock comic up. While the game was well done all the way around, most everyone spews how wonderful the story is in the game.

"It's all a matter of perspective: are we judging it against only PS3 games? If so, things are shaping up! If you own more than one console - or a personal computer - your standards for grand storytelling were recently adjusted upward." - Penny Arcade!

That little link at the end of the most recent Penny Arcade stripe takes you to the Bioshock website. Which is saying that your perspective on great story in a video should start with Bioshock, at least for the "next-gen" systems. I mean really. Lets take a look at a classic fantasy story.

Random person is going about his/her business with no aspirations at changing anyone else's life but their own.
Terrible event occurs and our random person is thrown into an extraordinary situation for which they should no be prepared to handle.
Random person is then helped by strange figure at the start of their journey and learns the ropes.
Random person then goes on long quest against impossible odds to save world/family/love ones.
Random person faces various physical and emotional trials on said long quest, showing who they really are. Strange and unforeseen plot twists shock said random person.
Random person kicks hordes of enemy ass, taking down various sub-bosses before finding real boss and kicking his/her/its ass.

Bamo. There you go. Its standard fare for fantasy stories. So if that is your standard set up for a fantasy game, how can a story be epic if it follows the standard? Well, the telling of the story could be great, with rich characters that you begin to care about and good pacing for the story. Does Bioshock have this? Some of it, yes but not enough to make the story near epic.

The plot in Bioshock requires you to shut off your brain for the next 10-12 hours. Which is great, because as a Sci-Fi fan, its something I do when ever I watch some of my favorite movies. The story its self, though, is trying a bit to hard and they are able to drop various clues a long the way to give you an idea of what is really going on. Not only that, but you have various factions in Bioshock fighting over a substance that is only worth a shit in the city of Rapture. If any one of those crazy mother fuckers came to the surface, they would be thrown into the crazy house and never heard from again. The twist in the story isnt one that surprised me in any way and is a standard sci-fi twist that lacks any real imagination.

So stop. Bioshock was a well done game that deserves all the acclaim its been getting. Comparing other games story lines to Bioshock and saying that we, as a gaming community, need to do the same is fucking stupid. The story was fine, but it was there solely to move you through various stages, show of the kick ass graphics and give you a reason to keep going. It is not a fucking master piece of story telling.

Bioshock: Xbox 360

2007-09-02T14:26:00.000-05:00

Bioshock for the Xbox 360.

So I have been reading about Bioshock for the past few months, eagerly awaiting a new title to buy for my under used Xbox 360. Poor thing hasn't gotten much use since I stopped playing Oblivion awhile back and NCAA 08 had to be returned. Bioshock was claimed to be a unique experience for every player, that no two people would play the game the exact same way, thanks to its RPG type elements. Needless to say, a FPS with RPG elements made me excited.

After picking it up last week, I rushed into playing the game with out reading anything else about it. I devoted a few hours every day to playing the game and taking it all in. I was hooked and really enjoyed it. Only problem is, while the claims of being different for every player could be true, the game basically makes you keep a few select powers slotted at all times. While you don't HAVE to have those select powers always at the ready, the game would be vastly tougher if you didn't.

You play as a survivor of a crashed airplane, who manages to make his way down into a underwater city called Rapture. As you arrive from the surface, you are greeted with how unforgiving the city of Rapture is. Through out the game, you will discover what happened to the city, where things went wrong and how power drove the entire city to madness. Genetic alteration is the driving force in Rapture, those who have the Adam will rule the city. You will be tested in various ways during the course of the game, both in puzzles (hacking), combat and morally. Will the good in your prevail over the offer of unlimited power?

Onto the review!

Graphics & Sound

The graphics are top notch, taking great advantage of the 360's power. The characters are well done, the physics are fantastic, the entire game feels like you are thousands of feet underwater the entire time. 2kgames did an awesome job on the level design, each section of the city feeling different from the last and making you feel like you are back at the end of the 50's. The game is just plain beautiful to look at while you play through.

The sound is also fantastically done. You are able to hear the voices of enemies around the corner, the heavy steps of Big Daddies walking around and the light foot steps of Little Sisters going about their twisted business. Weapons sound spot on and the cries of enemies as you light them on fire are realistic. Granted, I don't know what someone really sounds like when you light them on fire, but my imagination agrees with what 2kgames went with.

There are zero faults with the graphics or sounds. The game plays perfectly, never having a single hiccup while playing through. Even is heavily populated battles, with explosions, gun fire and multiple nasties, the game is smooth as silk.

Game play

Developer 2kgames stated that no two gamers would play Bioshock the same way. While this is some what true, the game would become very difficult with out a few select powers always in your arsenal. Same can be said with not having enough ammo of certain weapons. Trying to take on a Big Daddy with a pistol is just stupid and trying to not use electroshock, incinerate, telekinesis and frost shock during the entire game also just jacks up the difficulty to stupid proportions. While there are a varied selection of plasmid powers to choose from, you will probably find yourself keep the same ones on hand through out the game.

Besides the failing of 2kgames promise of the game being different for each player, at least making the game easier with said powers, the game is a top notch FPS. You are presented with a variety of powers to pick and choose from, giving you the ability to customize your play. You can carry around powers that turn your enemies against each other,the cities defenses against the enemies, light nasties of fire, freeze them, electrocute them, light oil slicks on fire and turn a group of enemies into bonfires or pick up anything with your mind and turn it into a weapon. There is a plethora of options on how to kill those who come against you.

You will be able to choose a variety of plasmids to use as "magic" attacks, as well as tonics that will aid you in combat, physical and engineering. There are over 70 types of tonics and plasmids in the game, so the number of combinations are huge. Through out the game, you will be able to go to gene-stations and change what tonics and plasmids you are using, giving you the ability to change tactics when ever the mood strikes.

Through out the game, you are able to increase various powers by finding them laying about, researching them through U-invent stations, taking photos of various enemies or buying them at gatherers gardens using Adam taken from Little Sisters. Of course, the Little Sisters are each protected by a Big Daddy, hands down the hardest to kill enemy in the game. Big hulking brutes, the two types of Big Daddys present different strategies to take them down. Until you kill the Big Daddy, that Little Sister can not be gotten to. The story of the game revolves around these Little Sisters and how you deal with them will affect the games story.

As a first person shooter, though, Bioshock is standard fare with out the plasmids. You will find yourself using the same weapons through out and certain weapons only being needed for certain enemies. Your grenade launcher packs the most punch, while the pistol is a last resort fire arm. You are able to upgrade weapons during the game by finding power to the people stations. You will be able to upgrade one weapon for free at each station, though you will be able to upgrade all five upgradeable weapons if you find each station. The combat can get hectic and dangerous if you are not paying attention. Before taking on a Big Daddy, it would be wise to check for turrets, security cameras and slicers in the area. I got into some real nasty fights when I was eager to take out the Big Daddy and not paying attention.

Story

The story is solid and well written. There are, from my understanding, two different endings to the game, which I won't spoil for you here on how to affect the ending. As stated above, you play as a plane crash survivor who makes his way down to the utopia-gone-wrong under water city of Rapture. As you play through the game, you will be guided by a mystery man named Atlas. He will guide you through out the game, leading you to where you need to go so you can return to the surface. As you move along the story, a few main characters will speak to you over the radio, giving you missions, plot points and also telling you off. The bulk of the story is told by diaries you find scattered through out Rapture. Each diary you find will reveal just a little about what happened to turn the futuristic city into such a nightmare.

I did find a few areas I could not figure out how to get to and missed a few diaries through out my game. These few diaries I missed probably contain important points to the story, so I would suggest taking your time to find a way to get to them. There is no real pressure for you to keep moving forward, and it seems that enemies will re-appear after clearing out an area; so things will not get boring if you try to find a way to get to a few diaries that are tough to reach.

The voice acting is top notch through out the game. From the main characters you encounter over the radio, to the various enemies you fight, the voice acting is spot on and fits in well with the story.

Problems

Really, there were not any. I did not encounter any crash bugs, game hiccups or other problems. The only real issue I had was finding a way to get to some diaries and the some what obvious need for certain plasmids to be equipped at all times.

Overall

The game is fantastic. Some online play would be awesome, but it does not exist as of yet. The story is well done, the game is beautiful, voice acting is top notch, and the feel of the game is well done to make you feel like you are in an under water city. I have to say that this title is one of the best for the 360 since Oblivion came out. A must buy for anyone, though the length of the game can be done in a long weekend, so renting would be a must if you cant afford the price tag.

X-Com: Terror from the Deep

2007-08-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Ya, this game is 12 years old and I'm sure that thousands have played it. Its warm up.

So X-Com: Terror from the deep is a classic example of turn based strategy . Developed by the awesome, yet long gone, Microprose, X-Com: TFtD is set in the year 2040 and is a direct sequel to X-Com: UFO Defense. The is pretty much a re-skinning of the game with a different setting, but the graphics were updated and a few things changed around. One of the great things about this game is that every time you play, the game is different. Even on the easiest setting, this game provides a serious challenge to the player, with no promises the required aliens will appear and give you the tech you need to progress. In fact, there are a few bugs that make it impossible for you to actually beat the game is you are not careful, something I learned just recently as I started playing it again. Anyway, lets get to the classic type of review.

Graphics & Sound

Considering this game is 12 years old, the graphics are dated. Installing it on todays "standard" gaming machine will lead to various problems trying to get the game to run. Fans of the series have released work arounds and patches that can be used to get it to work on systems that were not even dreamed of back in '95. There are limited character models for your units, as well as the aliens. There is no real way to just look at the screen and know what alien is a tech, commander or who your soldiers are just by looking at them.

Still, while the graphics are nothing compared to what we have today, they do not look awful unless you are one of those gamers that prefer look over function. If that is the case, I would imagine you are a shallow, vapid idiot who has zero taste in games and probably hates WoW simply because the graphics are kind of cartoonish.

The sound is dated. Aliens have one death sound, same with your soldiers and civilians. Weapons generally make the same noises, a do explosives. The music is well done but recycled from the first game but it does lend to a creepy atmosphere that the game is shooting for. Its not top of the line and you have more complicated ring tones on your cell phone than what is used for this game, but again it is 12 years old.

Game Play

This is where TFtD manages to shine after so many years. The game play is very solid, a trade mark of Microprose games. Your units follow direction to the letter, even managing do a few things on their own if you save the movement points for the action. The world map encompasses the globe, giving you the ability to place X-Com bases any where in the world. Have a shit-ton of aliens moving around in the Atlantic but your base is half way across the world? Long as you have the cash to fund a new base, supply it and build it up, go ahead and build it. As the "leader" of the X-Com forces, it is up to you to defend the world from the growing alien threat. This is done by shooting down alien subs with your Barracuda attack subs, sending Triton subs to alien invasion locations, downed alien subs and basically fucking the aliens up.

As said fucking up is done, you are able to research various alien tech that you manage to recover. The tech tree is flawed, bad. If you manage to not research the right things in the proper order, the game is fucked and you will have to start all over again. This site has a good break down of what tech to research and in what order, but it does contain some spoilers. It does not take to long to run through the tech tree and make sure your soldiers are on-par with the aliens are far as weapons go.

One of the best thing about this game, and something you should consider for a game that is 12 years old, is that the buildings are able to be torn down by explosives. Have a alien that is locked in a closet and wont come out? Toss a frag in there and blow his ass away. Need a back door to a building the aliens have locked down? No problem, heavy explosives will make a hole for you. This adds a dimension of tactics that some developers still don't use today, which is just retarded. Your soldiers, though, are weak till you manage to research the heavy armors. It is standard for you to be running through soldiers fairly quickly in the early stages if you do not save a lot. I've found having a save game for each type of mission helps a lot in terms of keeping your guys alive, and finding out if you are over your head and need to bug out.

The game play is solid, provides a real challenge and can keep you interested for a few hours with ease. Even on the beginner level, you will find yourself being tested by the aliens. I still haven't managed to beat the game on beginner and I've been playing it off and on for years. Most of that was due to the tech tree bug though.

Problems

As stated before, this game is not with out its problems. The tech tree is flawed and if you screw up by researching something before you have the item you need for the next part of the tech tree, your game is fucked. The link I provided above can help you solve that issue easy enough.

On my machine, the game will play for a solid while but your saved games can get bugged for no real reason and cause the game to crash randomly. You will find your self having to avoid missions because they are bugged. Key here is to save often so you don't find yourself have to go back a long way and maybe have to re-do some key research.

Overall

The game is dated but is still a solid turn based strat. If you are able to look past the aged graphics and sound, you will find yourself deeply sucked into the game. From keeping track of what your soldiers stats are, what tech you need to go to next and trying to keep the invasion under control, TFtD provides it all. While it may be old, its still awesome. If you can find the game some where, I'd highly suggest giving it a try and seeing how well you do.

Welcome!

2007-08-28T11:44:00.001-05:00

Howdy. So this is blog is going to be devoted to video games in general. Random ideas, thoughts, news, reviews and what ever else I can think of that relates to video games. I will be posting reviews of video games as I play them, review games that I have played and what games are making me drool that are coming up. Not a new idea by any means but it lets me get this stuff out of my head.