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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Dead Block for Xbox live arcade and PSN

Digital Reality and Candygun Games announced their upcoming zombie game, Dead Block, which will be released on Xbox live on July 6th for 800 microsoft points and PSN on July 20th for $9.99. The game is set in the 1950's and there are 3 main charecters Mike Bacon a Boy Scout, Jack Foster a construction worker, and Foxy Jones a meter maid. From the trailer it seems to be targeted toward the older side of young kids around 12 years old or so. It is quite cartoonish but still has some gore to it. While I'm sure that some adults out there will be able to get into this game I don't think that is it's intent. For $10 it maybe worth a download but I don't know how many adults will want it or how many young kids will be allowed to get it.



Killzone 3 Review - PS3

Killzone 3 


Overall Killzone 3 is one of the most visually stunning shooter to date.When I first turned it on I was blown away by the smooth realistic graphics. The games graphics unquestionably make it one of the best looking shooters I have ever played or seen. I thought that the movie scenes were well done, everything had that smooth polished look. I read a few reviews for Killzone 3 that said that the story was a little weak, maybe that is a comparison to Killzone or Killzone 2 but for a shooter the story is pretty good. Admittedly the only reason I played the campaign as long as I did was to get used to the controls but the campaign is still good. I have just grazed the online play but I was actually pleasantly surprised, I am a Battlefield addict so I tend to think “There is no way I will enjoy this as much as Bad Company 2” before I even start to play a shooter but this is a good shooter overall and now playing it I am glad I bought it.

While none of the characters actually stood out to me aside from Rico who tends to do his own thing, disobey direct orders and just generally get into trouble. I thought that the two side were divided well enough that I didn't need to have a star character. Admittedly I am an action guy so if you are really into the back stories it may not be appealing to you but it was more than enough for me.

The campaign mode is a graphic master piece and overall just fun to play. I thought that the story pulled together the action of the campaign despite what others have said. There were a few minor downsides to me but honestly they are almost not worth mentioning. The first thing was while moving from one area to another I noticed a one second hesitation while it is loading up the upcoming action but with the graphics in the game I would think it is to be expected also it is only about a second pause and with the overall look of the game well worth it. The second thing actually was fairly frustrating to me, shooting someone in the head should kill them, right? Well don't count on it, one of three things will happen you score a head shot the enemies helmet goes flying off and they are still alive like nothing happened, two they are hit and they just look around like you were throwing rocks at them or the least likely to happen they actually die from the head shot and while I realize this may seem like a pretty petty thing it is actually fairly frustrating when you are the one shooting. Overall though I did like the campaign mode, I can't say that I would go back and play it over and over again but should I ever get a 3D TV I definitely would play it again just to see what I was missing, I'm sure it would be nothing less than mind blowing.

Well, had I decided to stop playing after the first day online I wouldn't have much good to say but I'm glad I didn't. The first day I played online my first few matches went great I was on a good team and I imagine the other team was pretty bad because with no unlocks I averaged a K/D (kill to death ratio) of 2.0 which for a shooter is pretty good and great for a first day. I ending up getting off for a few hours and coming back to a team that seemed to play together a lot, everyone had mics and I thought great another winning team at least I'll rack up some wins. Well I was in for a surprise we did win but during the second match one of them started with F this F'n guy he's blowing my F'n cover and this continued for probably about 3 minutes or so. In the beginning it was kind of funny because I have been there during Bad Company 2 matches, a medic would stand next to me and not revive me and I would yell at them with my mic. However to my surprise this guy actually said my name at the end of the 3 minute rant. It was pretty shocking to me as I was running around to different parts of the street we were fighting on and not really camping in one spot like he was complaining about I did later see him were I had put a turret but I would think reason would say first come first serve. If someone sets up a turret where you would normally snipe from just find another spot. Sure if someone is following you around blasting a machine gun while you are trying to hide and snipe complain. So that team left and came back later this time on the enemy side and it just kept going. You can talk to everyone while waiting for the next match and it just became a trash talking contest between one guy on our team and a few guys on theirs. Lots of F you, F this, some talk about I bet you have a busted old PS3, which I don't even get but okay? Some Call of Duty fanboy talk, just as a side thing here, where did “fanboy” come from I think everyone sounds really stupid just saying it? It started to make me wonder if this was going to be a frequent occurrence when I hit the Killzone 3 multiplayer. I did go on to play another day and luckily for my sanity I didn't run into anything like it again. People with mics are far and few between which is usually not a good thing but if every loosing team is going to talk trash to the winning team then yeah it's a good thing.

Overall online gameplay is good there aren't near as many unlockable weapons as Bad Company 2 but Killzone 3 the level up system is a lot slower and points can be put into any class you want. So you could max all classes just playing your favorite class if you wanted and the slow points system keeps you hooked trying to get than next unlock. The maps are a lot smaller than Battlefield games but you have far less players players on the map so it works out ok. I didn't play one map with vehicles so I assume there aren't any which makes sense with smaller maps. The bots that you can build/call are pretty cool and the stealth mode for snipers is also a nice feature. Overall the multiplayer mode somewhat pushes you to camp but you can successfully run and gun if you are good at it. There is not much team work with most players unless you are camping to defend one spot. However, the multiplayer was still exciting and fun so much so that I think I will be opting to get all the added maps.

Pros:
  • Graphics are some of the best among any shooter I've played
  • Online gameplay has things you don't get in a regular shooter(bots,cloaking,etc)
  • Level up system is a spend where you want kind of system
  • Maps are all quite different from each other
  • Limited weapons somewhat make it easier for the beginner on multiplayer

Cons:
  • Controls are not that customizable
  • Maps are fairly small online
  • No vehicle that I saw online
  • Not a lot of team work from the average online player (which is the norm really)
  • Lots of camping
  • Limited weapons could be somewhat disappointing for hardcore online players

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011


Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011 was announced back in May and will be available for PS3 and Xbox 360 on August 26th 2011. Now, I don't think that Rugby World Cup 2011 will give Madden or NCAA any competition in the US but I do personally find rugby an interesting sport. For that reason I am interested to see what publisher 505 Games and developer HB studios can put together.

There have been press releases this week announcing an official partnership with the Rugby Football Union and the French Rugby Federation. This means that they will be able to use actual players from England and France's rugby unions.

This game will allow players to pick from 20 Rugby World Cup 2011 participating countries, and attempt to lead their team to the Webb Ellis Cup. There haven't been a lot of game details or screen shots released and none of actual game play. There has also been mention of players competing against each other in online game play but no real details on that either. But the GM at HB studios has said that there is a great attention to detail in the visual quality of the game. While I am not personally impressed by the latest screen shots of the game to be honest I never really get to excited about screen shots. I always feel like they are either the best shot of a movie part of the game or just random shots from development that would be better off not shown.
Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011
Well, since I have actually received some traffic off this post here is an update of some of the latest screenshots for Rugby World Cup 2011


Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011


Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011

Just another new screenshot added
Rugby World Cup 2011

Friday, June 10, 2011

Battlefield 3 Free Giveaway Begins

So in a shameless marketing strategy I have decided to purchase and giveaway Battlefield 3 for PS3, Xbox 360 or PC (winner's choice) just for following my blog and if you choose posting on Facebook and/or Twitter about it. While there isn't much to my blog now I do hope to increase it's content steadily and hopefully increase readers as well. So go to the giveaway page and get started if you're interested.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

E3 2011 Day 2

The day started with Nintendo, the entrance video for them was all about the Legend of Zelda 25th anniversary and how they will be pushing for Zelda: Skyward Sword. They then went through some of the sounds from Zelda with a full orchestra. I do have to say that I was really impressed with the president of Nintendo, watching him talk he is either a really excellent actor or he truly loves games. While I haven't been a fan of Nintendo for quite some time simply due to graphic limitations my overall opinion of Nintendo improved just by watching how they love gaming. New to 3DS MarioKart will be released this year and seems to have added Kart customization. StarFox 3D will have the option to use your regular controls or you can turn the 3DS like a steering wheel . Kid Icarus: Uprising, will bring multiplayer to you later this year. Luigi's Mansion 2 which is basically Luigi from Mario Brothers meets ghost busters . Ace 3D, Resident Evil, Super Mario 3D, Metal Gear Solid 3D are just a few of the new games coming out for 3DS.

Nintendo's new console of next year, Wii U, was show cased. It was introduced with the new controller, which looks like a really expensive universal remote (the $300 to $500 kind) mixed with a portable game system. The demo video of the system emphasized the ability to switch back and forth between game play strictly viewed on the remote and your TV. It also showed the ability to use a stylus on the remote to draw, emphasizing the sensitivity and accuracy of the stylus system. As the demo went on it showed the remote working with touch screen, motion of the controller and syncing with your TV. As the remote was used to aim a pitch and the catches glove in a baseball game the remote showed a partial view of the TV screen along with an aiming reticule. The remote can also be used as an extension of the gaming environment in conjunction with the regular wii remote. The demo showed a new Wii U remote on the floor with a golf ball in the sand on it's display, the rest of the golf course remains on your TV as it normally would and you would swing your regular wii remote as if to hit the ball on the Wii U in a much more realistic manner. To be honest, I really didn't think that I would be impressed with the new Nintendo console unless they really upped their graphics and so far graphics look  pretty much the same although the Wii U will be sporting new hardware bring Wii to the high definition era. Wii U is also capable of video chat, web browsing and more. It also seems that Nintendo will have games available in the near future interact across their platforms (3DS game interacting with the same game on Wii U). With Wii U, Nintendo will be stepping up their game selection with games like Darksiders II, Ghost Recon Online, Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3 and many more.

A little more information on Far Cry 3 that will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2012. The graphics were pretty impressive and apparently with this new Far Cry you will be able to play like a first person shooter or a traditional Far Cry explorer. The game looks pretty brutal and I personal am pretty excited for it's release.

There was a little bit on the new Driver game coming out. The game is based on a "shift" concept where the gamer is able to switch cars during game play either just for fun or to future the mission process.  From what was shown the missions can/will take place in a free drive manner where you can just be driving around the city of San Francisco, be passed by a police chase and "shift" to the cops or the racers. The game also runs at 60 fps so that it plays really smoothly. This new Driver game is one to watch for in my opinion.

Need for Speed: The Run was touched on again, while the extended demo was a little more interesting they said that there once again will be very little customization to the game and it seems that NFS is betting on their auto log again, I was impressed with auto log in the last game but I wouldn't put money on it carrying another game. It was also said that the out of vehicle mode will make up less than 10% of game play which just make it seems like a loser's attempt at being different like the kids that comb their hair up for a fo-hawk. Just play it safe and boring or commit to being different and cut that shit off.

Monday, June 6, 2011

E3 2011 Day 1

To be honest, I have been less than impressed. For me the big let down was Battlefield 3, I am a huge Bad Company fan. The graphics were nothing short of amazing but the game play demo they showed was so boring I literally started to fall asleep watching it, watching someone drive a tank for 10 mins, not very exciting. They did show a clip, actually two of soldiers in the prone, I'm pretty indifferent about the prone I am not a real PC gamer so I never had it, game play is pretty fast paced and sniper camps are fairly frustrating. So it could be good it could lead to super sniper camping but I guess we'll find out in October 25th.

There was and continues to be a lot on Mass Effect 3, I never got into Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2 so I don't have any preformed opinions about the franchise, the game looked pretty good graphically and playability but I'm just looking at it as a normal Sci-Fi shooter, there seemed to be quite a few people who were done with ME but they seemed to all have been previous ME gamers. Mass Effect 3 will be out March 6th 2012 so you will be able to decide for yourself in a little less than a year.

There was a demo of the new Need for Speed: The Run, while I do appreciate them trying to mix it up as the last 100 Need for Speed titles have been for the most part copies of each other (except Shift which tried to go the Gran Turismo route at least realism wise). I don't know that they did enough though as many have already said it seemed a lot like you were watching a movie and only occasionally pushing a random button while you were out of the car. I know that NFS has a huge fan base and I was one of them long ago but it just seems that maybe it's time to let Need for Speed go.

Halo 4 was announced I came in late on it and when they came back to it they were asking a lot of questions but the guy was not really giving any details about ANYTHING. It was pretty frustrating to watch. Halo 4 will be released during the holiday season of 2012.

EA showed a bit about the new Sims: Social coming out and I can see this game on an up coming series of to catch a predator. The game seem to consist of you hooking up with people on your Facebook and being pretty whorish at least from the trailer they showed they seem to want to push the envelope on cyber sluts. So if you are into jerking off at your computer screen or with a controller in hand this could be for you.

If you missed the Xbox portion of it just say kinect 150 times in a row, turn on your Wii if you have it, if you don't turn on some cartoons and wave around a candy bar or your choice of rectangular objects while looking at your Xbox 360. Basically, Microsoft wants everyone to believe that capturing your motions will take place of graphics and putting out shitty looking kinect games will come out an even trade. Seriously, if graphics even stayed the same I would have been impressed, I still would have thrown up from the over dose of kinect usage but playability would have been cool.

A new Fable was showcased with kinect and now in first person. Not really my thing but I'm sure that there are quite a few people looking forward to it's release in 2012.

There was also a Modern Warfare 3 trailer, while it wasn't the most exciting or original trailer I've ever seen I did like the fact that you could switch between a red dot sight and what appeared to be a 4X scope during battle. The trailer caught a lot of negative comments for being unoriginal and nothing compared to Battlefield (which hadn't even shown it's new trailer yet). Personally, I think there is still a place for not as realistic shooters. Not everyone wants to deal with bullet drop or being killed because someone destroyed the building you were in. Not only that but how many people would hate on Modern Warfare if they all of a sudden added bullet drop and demolition, everyone even me no one like a biter just be the best in your field and you will keep fans, at least that's my thoughts.

I almost forgot that Xbox is adding YouTube and Bing along with lots of voice activated stuff like , "Xbox pause", "Xbox play", "Xbox Movies(music, games, etc)" if you have the kinect. As far as the YouTube and Bing are concerned I think that is pretty lame to just be added. The voice commands I hate to admit but some of them I rather liked. Not enough that it would solely make me want to purchase a Xbox 360 but it has potential to be a great added feature.

Activision to release first ever cross platform game


According to an Activision press release, Skylanders Spyro's Adventure will be the first ever cross platform game. This doesn't mean that it will bring players from all different systems together to play on one server against each other in one "world" but it could be the start. When Activision calls this a "cross platform" game they mean that you as a gamer with multiple systems will be able to move your character back and forth across all the supported consoles. While jumping systems your character will pick up right where you left it. The biggest advantage of this that I can see is the ability to keep the game portable, playing on your preferred system at home from PC to PS3 then you can pick up where you left off on your 3DS or other mobile device.

While I don't find it as exciting as the possibility of a shooter on a mixed server combining PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, it could be the start of many possible future platform mergers.

Florida used game market feeling the pinch

According to an article published by GamingConsoleNetwork.com, portions of Florida are forcing local used game retailers to treat every used game trade in as if the games were being sold to a pawn shop. This means that anyone wishing to trade in some games for a new one would be required to supply among other things their employer, height, weight, ID card and thumb print.

So if you were already pissed about the low prices offered when trading in your games to GameStop. Several counties in Florida have gone that extra mile to ensure that you are now nice and heated. The reasoning behind this is to help crack down on the theft of games. Now, I have never burglarized someones home but if I did I don't think that I would say to myself "You know self, you probably could pay all your bills this month if I just took all of theses games to GameStop." Now admitted, I don't live in Florida and quite honestly GameStop already does a good job of pissing me off but it sure seems like this would crush any game store's ability to make a buck in a county with these regulations.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Get any new games 50% off

Okay, so some what by accident I have found a way to get any new games for 50% off. I will post the method in a few months after I get Battlefield 3. The process is fairly simple, possibly some what unethical but not illegal to my knowledge. I would like to use it again though before posting it and being the possible cause of a store policy change.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Review - PS3

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 


When I first started playing Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit I was intrigued by the way it connects with your friends list. I found the graphics to be just okay, I would consider them pretty average, they were not terrible to the point the I was playing an older system but they definitely did not blow me away and make me feel like I was really in the game. The game play was about what I expected honestly and the reason I haven't picked up a Need For Speed title in years. After you have raced the few variations of races they all just seem to blend together. Sure you can unlock new cars which almost seems too easy as there is really not much challenge in complete in first place or the equivalent to. But most of the cars drive about the same with the exception of the the 4WD's and every race seems to be the same race over again. For me the only reason to keep racing the same race multiple times is to crush my friends records. Which it actually turns out is pretty important because if you were to complete every challenge perfect the first time you would not be able to unlock the other races as they are awarded on a points system that appears to be unattainable with all first try victories.

I think the biggest let down of NFS: Hot Pursuit was the unlock system. When I used to play racing games everyday years ago I thought the best part was unlocking new mods or upgrades for you car and building it up to an absolute beast on the street. If you are like me sorry for ya that doesn't exist. You unlock titles, cars, racing classes (sport, performance, super, etc) and "weapon system" upgrades and that is it. While I will say the spike strip upgrades to make a huge difference the other upgrades are pretty lame.

I did like the drift system, it may have been implemented in other titles but I remember it working so well years ago. I remember when you hit the hand brake and either the game said good job perfect drift around the corner or you had to hold it through the turn and then let go and that was the extent of controlling your drift. In Hot Pursuit I was pleasantly surprised well not at first when I spun out but after I realized there was more to it then just button mashing. Chances are the instructions might explain the basics of drift control but I just never bothered to open them so I learned the hard way I guess. Regardless, your drifting is controlled by how long you hold the hand brake for me just a tap works best and then you are able to steer your drift with the thumb stick. Just as a tip on drifting if the corner has white hash marks on the outside you will complete the turn the easiest and fastest by drifting directly on them.

The cars in the game seem pretty much the same through out the given class not to say that a McLaren drives like a Charger but with in the same class most cars drive unfortunately similar. The only big exception is 4WD vs rear wheel drive. If you find it hard to control the Charger, you are over/under steering, hop in the WRX and you will be blown away. The Lancer and the WRX are pretty similar in the game but I used the WRX for the most part so far. For both racer and police it seems to be the best all around to me, especially if collisions with the other side are involved. It also seems to be a lot better at avoiding traffic and staying in control and S-turns at full speed. The other cars can do it but it takes more precise steering and accelerator technique.

Speaking of technique, free ride is a good place to practice perfecting your drifts and getting an all around feel for your car. It can also be a good way to perfect your driving of a given track with out running the race 10 or more times but that's about where it ends. My son like to drive the cars I unlock and at 4 I'm not quite ready to release him on my profile and let him race for me. With free ride though I can unleash him on the unsuspecting computer motorists. This unfortunately where it ends destruction derby, track familiarizing and practicing technique. It would have been nice to be able to run from the police or chase racers in free ride just to break up some of the monotony or repetitive driving especially if you could turn it on and off like you used to be able to do with traffic in other games. But it seems in today's gaming if they add one new great thing then they have to take away two great things. So for the most part, I feel like the free ride is a pretty weak aspect of the game not completely worthless but at the rate they are going give it two years and it will be.

I'm not completely in love with the weapon systems in the game either but they do add a bit of entertainment and a huge WTF factor.
I do like the EMP, it like all the other weapons are extremely under powered in my opinion but I do like how it locks on and hits them like a guided missile. Ironically, it does not shut the car down or even slow the car down for that matter but it does take about 20% of the cars health (yes I measured it with my imagination) but since you have a very limited number of them and a recharge factor to consider they are not as effective as I would have thought.
Spike strips fall into about the same category when you start out with level I strips they are puny and easily avoided but level II doubles in size and starts to be pretty useful. The same lack of destructiveness goes for spike strips though, now maybe you don't want to make the car inoperable after one spike strip hit to extend game play but come on, if a car runs this over it should do some massive damage but it doesn't.
The third most frustrating weapon on the police side is the road block, I have watched racers hit them flip land upside down go to pin them and not only are they not totaled but they teleport down the track so they can't be pinned. The same goes in they are pinned by the road block, you go back to pin them yourself and "bust" them and like magic poof they are gone.
Last and least useful of all is the god damn helicopter, the times I have used it only worked 1 of 3 times. The other times it is either lost and can't find the car, the car went in a tunnel and the stupid pilot doesn't know how to fly 300 ft to the other side, it sits there doing nothing over the road or it drops spikes right in the center of the road with a lane of clearance on either side and the car just casually drives around it.

So in closing the weapons are overall disappointing, free ride is terribly boring, no vehicle mods but the game does have a few pluses. The drift system is a vast improvement from years ago, you can play your own music in the game which I haven't had in a game I've owned since GTA and the biggest of all social competitiveness.
As far as competitive racing you can not only see and break your friends records but then rub it in there faces. You have a wall similar to a basic Facebook account with postings of records you've broken and should one of your friends break your record it will show up on your wall so you can go back and crush their record again. This game at least for career mode would be completely a waste of money and I had a 50% code when I got this game. However, to me the small addition of the wall prays on the competitive gamer which I think is most of us and says are you going to tell them beat you? In doing so if has hooked me in for the time being and I can say it was worth $30 so far, I think I would have been upset paying $60 as it is in stores but for $30 I think it has been okay. If you are still interested in it you can find Hot Pursuit for $36 on Amazon right now the PC download is cheaper..