no games, no t.v.
the sound of a ticking clock
make jack go crazy
- by Jack Jen-Shuo Chen
12.08.08 9:45pm pacific
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Star Wars: the Force Unleashed Review
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... you assume the role of Galen Marek, a young human gifted in the ways of the Force. Taken by Darth Vader during the Jedi Purge of Order 66, you are secretly trained as Vader's secret apprentice (referred to as Starkiller) in the hunt and slaughter of surviving Jedi. Massacre all who stand in your way- wookiees, the Rebel Alliance, the Empire's own cannon fodder Stormtroopers- even the Emperor's own Royal Guard. In Star Wars: the Force Unleashed, you hone your powers and pledge your allegiance to the Empire.. or the Rebel Alliance.
The Good:
- Force powers. Every Star Wars geek has dreamed of attuning with the Force and mastering it to do their bidding. In the Force Unleashed, players have the opportunity to finally throw down Force Lightning, Push, and Grip, and so on as they have witnessed in movies. Those who have dreamed of walking down a crowded hallway and throwing everyone against the wall, or reflecting blaster shots back at cannon fodder Stormtroopers, dream no longer! Furthermore, should the situation arise, you may even find yourself grabbing hold onto Tie Fighters.. or even Star Destroyers. Additionally, for those of whom aesthetics are important, this game easily wins the award for the best looking renditions of Force powers at work seen to date in a Star Wars game.
- Lightsaber combat. Lightsabers are easily up there on the list of most distinguishable weapons, in this galaxy and I reckon any other. Trained in the lightsaber, you can do a wide variety of standalone or chain-able combat maneuvers to kill enemies. Keep in mind you're not just fighting stormtroopers, but you are hunting Jedi- and you will utilize all your skills, physical and mental to stay alive.
- Customization. For most fanatics, choosing the color of your lightsaber is a huge factor. You understandably start with red, but as you collect holocrons you can unlock additional lightsaber colors, costumes, and points that add to your skills.
- Action RPG..ish. While definitely an action game, the Force Unleashed has somewhat of a "leveling-up" system. You are just an apprentice, afterall. While you won't find a need to grind for levels, you will progressively be allowed to learn new skills should you have the correct skill points to learn them.
- Play as Vader. In the first level, players assume the role of Darth Vader during the Order 66 Jedi Purge. This is a much more enjoyable experience than the one offered in Soul Calibur IV. You are not as agile as Starkiller, mind you, but you definitely get to throw down as a Sith Lord for a while. Personally, I chose to do Vader's slow villain walk and throw bitches around method, complete with the mechanical breathing.
- Quicktime events. Strange that I would put quicktime events here in the Good, but bear with me. Sometimes during battles, like say.. with a Rancor, AT-ST, or a Jedi, you'll have the opportunity to perform some neat kills via quicktime event. Which basically consists of pressing a particular button when prompted (or taking damage if you don't). While yes, it would be nicer if we could actually perform some of these complex movements on our own, it's very nice to see new, fresh ways of killing people, machines, and local.. animals? Can I call rancors animals?
- Story. Last on the Good list, but definitely not least. Officially recognized by Lucas Arts as the bridge between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the Force Unleashed offers a storyline that doesn't include the terrible acting of Hayden Christiansen. While it isn't exactly fulfilling, it is better than the first three episodes.
The Bad:
- Targeting woes. Sometimes, you just mean to grab a guy and fling them out a window into space, but the targeting system is sometimes frustrating in a way that you'll find yourself with a crate in hand (metaphysically speaking). Beyond that, stuff just doesn't go where you want it to. For example: This can be very annoying when you're stomping a group of soldiers, or when you're right under an AT-ST and need to send a bolt of lightning through it (but miss, and get stepped on instead).
- Length of play. Short length of play, and relatively little replayability. This is par for course on most action games, but when you're finally doing the Jedi/Sith thing, you kinda don't want it to end.
- Pales in comparison, sometimes. While the Force Unleashed allows for some cool shit, this really isn't a Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars Galaxies (pre-NGE) kinda game. Customization and skills pale in comparison, among other things.
Overall:
Star Wars: the Force Unleashed offers an aesthetically pleasing experience for those who are fans of the Star Wars Universe. For those who played SWG pre-NGE, and had to master ridiculous quantities of professions to unlock Jedi (for which I unlocked on #24), it was nice to jump right into the action. Storywise, it fills some gaps, and is somewhat enjoyable- but as I mentioned, is not entirely fulfilling. The Force powers available to you are nice, but I don't recall being able to choke someone to death (perhaps I didn't hold on my grip long enough, since I was busy throwing people out windows and down shafts). But overall, a fun experience for a short period of time. Collectors, feel free to buy. But I believe for most players, a rental here will suffice. Until next time, may the Force be with you.
- Jack
The Good:
- Force powers. Every Star Wars geek has dreamed of attuning with the Force and mastering it to do their bidding. In the Force Unleashed, players have the opportunity to finally throw down Force Lightning, Push, and Grip, and so on as they have witnessed in movies. Those who have dreamed of walking down a crowded hallway and throwing everyone against the wall, or reflecting blaster shots back at cannon fodder Stormtroopers, dream no longer! Furthermore, should the situation arise, you may even find yourself grabbing hold onto Tie Fighters.. or even Star Destroyers. Additionally, for those of whom aesthetics are important, this game easily wins the award for the best looking renditions of Force powers at work seen to date in a Star Wars game.
- Lightsaber combat. Lightsabers are easily up there on the list of most distinguishable weapons, in this galaxy and I reckon any other. Trained in the lightsaber, you can do a wide variety of standalone or chain-able combat maneuvers to kill enemies. Keep in mind you're not just fighting stormtroopers, but you are hunting Jedi- and you will utilize all your skills, physical and mental to stay alive.
- Customization. For most fanatics, choosing the color of your lightsaber is a huge factor. You understandably start with red, but as you collect holocrons you can unlock additional lightsaber colors, costumes, and points that add to your skills.
- Action RPG..ish. While definitely an action game, the Force Unleashed has somewhat of a "leveling-up" system. You are just an apprentice, afterall. While you won't find a need to grind for levels, you will progressively be allowed to learn new skills should you have the correct skill points to learn them.
- Play as Vader. In the first level, players assume the role of Darth Vader during the Order 66 Jedi Purge. This is a much more enjoyable experience than the one offered in Soul Calibur IV. You are not as agile as Starkiller, mind you, but you definitely get to throw down as a Sith Lord for a while. Personally, I chose to do Vader's slow villain walk and throw bitches around method, complete with the mechanical breathing.
- Quicktime events. Strange that I would put quicktime events here in the Good, but bear with me. Sometimes during battles, like say.. with a Rancor, AT-ST, or a Jedi, you'll have the opportunity to perform some neat kills via quicktime event. Which basically consists of pressing a particular button when prompted (or taking damage if you don't). While yes, it would be nicer if we could actually perform some of these complex movements on our own, it's very nice to see new, fresh ways of killing people, machines, and local.. animals? Can I call rancors animals?
- Story. Last on the Good list, but definitely not least. Officially recognized by Lucas Arts as the bridge between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the Force Unleashed offers a storyline that doesn't include the terrible acting of Hayden Christiansen. While it isn't exactly fulfilling, it is better than the first three episodes.
The Bad:
- Targeting woes. Sometimes, you just mean to grab a guy and fling them out a window into space, but the targeting system is sometimes frustrating in a way that you'll find yourself with a crate in hand (metaphysically speaking). Beyond that, stuff just doesn't go where you want it to. For example: This can be very annoying when you're stomping a group of soldiers, or when you're right under an AT-ST and need to send a bolt of lightning through it (but miss, and get stepped on instead).
- Length of play. Short length of play, and relatively little replayability. This is par for course on most action games, but when you're finally doing the Jedi/Sith thing, you kinda don't want it to end.
- Pales in comparison, sometimes. While the Force Unleashed allows for some cool shit, this really isn't a Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars Galaxies (pre-NGE) kinda game. Customization and skills pale in comparison, among other things.
Overall:
Star Wars: the Force Unleashed offers an aesthetically pleasing experience for those who are fans of the Star Wars Universe. For those who played SWG pre-NGE, and had to master ridiculous quantities of professions to unlock Jedi (for which I unlocked on #24), it was nice to jump right into the action. Storywise, it fills some gaps, and is somewhat enjoyable- but as I mentioned, is not entirely fulfilling. The Force powers available to you are nice, but I don't recall being able to choke someone to death (perhaps I didn't hold on my grip long enough, since I was busy throwing people out windows and down shafts). But overall, a fun experience for a short period of time. Collectors, feel free to buy. But I believe for most players, a rental here will suffice. Until next time, may the Force be with you.
- Jack
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Left 4 Dead Review
Zombie apocalypse. Sounds ridiculous....ly amazing. Play as one of the four immune survivors in Valve's new cooperative survival horror game: Left 4 Dead. There is only one objective in this game. Survive. Whether or not your fellow friends survive is up to you. I say that on so many levels. Grab a gun, some ammo, and a first aid kit. Because it's go time.
The Good:
- 4 Player Cooperative. Be it with AI or with friends, Left 4 Dead offers a 4 player cooperative experience unlike any other game out on the market right now. You MUST work together with your fellow mates to make it from safehouse to safehouse, and ultimately to extraction, should you wish to survive. There are a few reasons as to why.
- Special infected. Much of the time, you will have to work together with your mates to figure out how to best deal with special infected, or react to save each other from them. For example, Hunters can and will jump out of nowhere and pin you to the ground. You cannot get it off you. You cannot fire your weapon. You cannot try to run away once its on you (obviously). You can only scream for help, and your teammates have to help you, or you die. There isn't any other choice. Or, a smoker will grab you and drag you far away with it's tongue, and after the few two seconds you can't do shit. A teammate has to save you, or you are fucked. Again, your only option is to scream for help. Other special infected have other tactics that do not necessarily render you unable to do anything but scream- but they might instagib you. Boomers will vomit all over you, which will draw other infected to you. Tanks will smash your face, kill you and your friends relatively quickly, and take fierce quantities of bullets to down (as in, all 4 of you better be shooting).
- Special Infected: Witches. What can I say about witches. They're the kind of infected that will give you an early warning when they're around, and even though you like the early warning.. you really wish the witch was never there to begin with? Because when you hear the ominous music, and the sound of a girl crying, all that really comes audible is a quiet, solemn, "fuck." And when you say it, you will have spoken for everyone. You see, the great thing about L4D, is that when you lose your 100 health, and you go down- you get a temporary 300 health counter (which counts down at a fixed rate, expedited by additional damage) before you die. But let's say you're playing this game on expert. Well, once you startle a witch, it will jump you and kill you instantly. Health and temp health included. Playing on any other mode, such as advanced, just leads to you going down if you startle her. Don't get me wrong, if your teammates don't start firing immediately, you'll be dead within seconds. Remember, if you hear the crying: lights off, move slow, try not to shoot anything random, and if you spot her- do not look at her for more than just a glance.
- Zombies. These are not your Resident Evil 2 zombies that sit there and go "uhhhhh...." These are your 28 Days Later zombies that will rush you like women at Macy's on Black Friday. Do not underestimate them. Do not underestimate women either. Especially on Black Friday.
- Downs. As I said earlier, when you go down, you get a temporary health counter as you wait for your friends to revive you- provided they can kill the zombies surrounding you (or can cover someone long enough to pick you up). You can help them help you too, since you can fire your handgun while you're down.
- Med-kits. Each of you can only hold one med-kit. You can heal yourself or you can heal someone else in your group. You'll find other med-kits (sometimes) in the stage, but they are few and far between (and moreover should not be counted on to be available). Many of you at this point will say "fuck that, I'm using it on myself," which is fine. But when a hunter is on you and your friends are all already dead because you wouldn't use your healthpack on them, it doesn't matter how much health you have- because you are fucked. Also, one important caveat, med-kits give more hp to those who are dying than those who are in relatively good condition; so think twice before you stop and patch yourself up.
- Pain pills. These work similarly to med-kits, except they don't take as long to use, and can be given to others to use at their discretion. These pain pills only provide a temporary boost to your health though, and are overridden when a med-kit is used afterwards, so beware.
- Thought out weapons. There are 10 weapons in the game; each are well thought out and serve different tactical agendas. For example, shotguns and autoshotties are great for clearing hallways of hordes and even fighting some special infected. The uzi and assault rifle, while weaker at close quarters are great for longer distances and still not bad at clearing rooms with (also good for spray and pray players). Each have their advantages and disadvantages. Choose accordingly, and to your own playstyle.
- Melee. The ability to melee and knock zombies back (domino effects apply) is an important strategic maneuver, and is not to be underestimated. You can also reload some guns while meleeing, so keep this in mind.
- the Director. The AI controller known as the Director will dynamically control the flow of zombies and special infected based on your performance in game. So if it thinks you're doing too well, it'll add infected to bog you down. If you're getting wrecked, it might make the next area easier (maybe, probably not). The Director is great in the way that it makes sure your gameplay experience is different each time. Let's say for example in the parking lot one game, you are swamped with zombies and a tank. Next time, maybe it will be quiet and have no movement whatsoever. You generally won't know what to expect, unless you are playing the Finale of a campaign.
- Music. There probably is some. But honestly I am too busy dealing with other shit when playing this game to notice.
- Friendly fire is on. Always. This can be good or bad for you. I like it because it adds complexity to the game, and you can potentially get a lot of "WHAT WAS THAT" kind of moments with friends.
- Fun with friends. Expect a lot of those hilarious coop moments when playing this game with others, especially with friends. You're all on the same team here, so you know they all mean well.. or do they?
- Ally AI. In a game like L4D, where you need the computer to fill AI spots at times, it's important for your bots to be some what intelligent. Luckily, in L4D, they're not bad. They get smokers and hunters off you relatively quickly, try to avoid witches, and do their part on tanks and boomers. They'll heal you if you get low, give you pain pills from time to time, and generally look out for you. They'll stick together for the most part as a team too. Bonus points here.
The Bad:
- Sometimes allied AI is stupid. One main specific scenario of the allied AI annoys me. They don't like to crouch. Generally speaking, if I am trying to save your ass and you are crowding the doorway with zombies outside, get the fuck down.
- Griefers in pub games. Sometimes there are people out there who enjoy making everyone else's life miserable. Team killers, carshooters, leavers (in versus- you know the ones who only want to play infected), whatever you want to call them. Griefing in general. I'm not talking about accidental downs or hitting a car. These guys just really have nothing better to do but to piss you off. This cannot be attributed to Valve, but perhaps a better penalty system should be in place. On XBL gamers can at least report players for poor conduct.
- Lack of story. I wasn't expecting one with this game, but for some people this may be an issue. For what story you can find, check the walls.
Overall:
Left 4 Dead provides an experience a great deal of gamers have been yearing for for a long time. Cooperative gaming? Check. Lots of shooting? Check. Zombies? Check. Strategy? On a finale, sure. Check. Difficulty? Check. Producing a game of this replayability is very difficult, but it appears Valve is very good at doing just that as can be seen from their other offerings (notably counterstrike). A word on difficulty though- if you are having a tough time on a difficulty, there is no shame in stepping down after a great deal of hours go into attempts and wipes. For those familiar, it might even feel like raiding and the World of Warcraft at times. Progression, anyone? Beyond that, Left 4 Dead steps up to the challenge presented by a game that fully encourages cooperative play (many times forcibly)- and does so with grace with the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. Fans of coop (and those who fantasize about their neighbors and city become infected by zombie rage), do not hesitate to buy. Even if you are not a fan of the horror genre or survival horror gaming, give it a look if you have friends playing. From what I've read, a lot of people who aren't fans of the genre are having fun with the game with their friends, so you never know.
- Jack
The Good:
- 4 Player Cooperative. Be it with AI or with friends, Left 4 Dead offers a 4 player cooperative experience unlike any other game out on the market right now. You MUST work together with your fellow mates to make it from safehouse to safehouse, and ultimately to extraction, should you wish to survive. There are a few reasons as to why.
- Special infected. Much of the time, you will have to work together with your mates to figure out how to best deal with special infected, or react to save each other from them. For example, Hunters can and will jump out of nowhere and pin you to the ground. You cannot get it off you. You cannot fire your weapon. You cannot try to run away once its on you (obviously). You can only scream for help, and your teammates have to help you, or you die. There isn't any other choice. Or, a smoker will grab you and drag you far away with it's tongue, and after the few two seconds you can't do shit. A teammate has to save you, or you are fucked. Again, your only option is to scream for help. Other special infected have other tactics that do not necessarily render you unable to do anything but scream- but they might instagib you. Boomers will vomit all over you, which will draw other infected to you. Tanks will smash your face, kill you and your friends relatively quickly, and take fierce quantities of bullets to down (as in, all 4 of you better be shooting).
- Special Infected: Witches. What can I say about witches. They're the kind of infected that will give you an early warning when they're around, and even though you like the early warning.. you really wish the witch was never there to begin with? Because when you hear the ominous music, and the sound of a girl crying, all that really comes audible is a quiet, solemn, "fuck." And when you say it, you will have spoken for everyone. You see, the great thing about L4D, is that when you lose your 100 health, and you go down- you get a temporary 300 health counter (which counts down at a fixed rate, expedited by additional damage) before you die. But let's say you're playing this game on expert. Well, once you startle a witch, it will jump you and kill you instantly. Health and temp health included. Playing on any other mode, such as advanced, just leads to you going down if you startle her. Don't get me wrong, if your teammates don't start firing immediately, you'll be dead within seconds. Remember, if you hear the crying: lights off, move slow, try not to shoot anything random, and if you spot her- do not look at her for more than just a glance.
- Zombies. These are not your Resident Evil 2 zombies that sit there and go "uhhhhh...." These are your 28 Days Later zombies that will rush you like women at Macy's on Black Friday. Do not underestimate them. Do not underestimate women either. Especially on Black Friday.
- Downs. As I said earlier, when you go down, you get a temporary health counter as you wait for your friends to revive you- provided they can kill the zombies surrounding you (or can cover someone long enough to pick you up). You can help them help you too, since you can fire your handgun while you're down.
- Med-kits. Each of you can only hold one med-kit. You can heal yourself or you can heal someone else in your group. You'll find other med-kits (sometimes) in the stage, but they are few and far between (and moreover should not be counted on to be available). Many of you at this point will say "fuck that, I'm using it on myself," which is fine. But when a hunter is on you and your friends are all already dead because you wouldn't use your healthpack on them, it doesn't matter how much health you have- because you are fucked. Also, one important caveat, med-kits give more hp to those who are dying than those who are in relatively good condition; so think twice before you stop and patch yourself up.
- Pain pills. These work similarly to med-kits, except they don't take as long to use, and can be given to others to use at their discretion. These pain pills only provide a temporary boost to your health though, and are overridden when a med-kit is used afterwards, so beware.
- Thought out weapons. There are 10 weapons in the game; each are well thought out and serve different tactical agendas. For example, shotguns and autoshotties are great for clearing hallways of hordes and even fighting some special infected. The uzi and assault rifle, while weaker at close quarters are great for longer distances and still not bad at clearing rooms with (also good for spray and pray players). Each have their advantages and disadvantages. Choose accordingly, and to your own playstyle.
- Melee. The ability to melee and knock zombies back (domino effects apply) is an important strategic maneuver, and is not to be underestimated. You can also reload some guns while meleeing, so keep this in mind.
- the Director. The AI controller known as the Director will dynamically control the flow of zombies and special infected based on your performance in game. So if it thinks you're doing too well, it'll add infected to bog you down. If you're getting wrecked, it might make the next area easier (maybe, probably not). The Director is great in the way that it makes sure your gameplay experience is different each time. Let's say for example in the parking lot one game, you are swamped with zombies and a tank. Next time, maybe it will be quiet and have no movement whatsoever. You generally won't know what to expect, unless you are playing the Finale of a campaign.
- Music. There probably is some. But honestly I am too busy dealing with other shit when playing this game to notice.
- Friendly fire is on. Always. This can be good or bad for you. I like it because it adds complexity to the game, and you can potentially get a lot of "WHAT WAS THAT" kind of moments with friends.
- Fun with friends. Expect a lot of those hilarious coop moments when playing this game with others, especially with friends. You're all on the same team here, so you know they all mean well.. or do they?
- Ally AI. In a game like L4D, where you need the computer to fill AI spots at times, it's important for your bots to be some what intelligent. Luckily, in L4D, they're not bad. They get smokers and hunters off you relatively quickly, try to avoid witches, and do their part on tanks and boomers. They'll heal you if you get low, give you pain pills from time to time, and generally look out for you. They'll stick together for the most part as a team too. Bonus points here.
The Bad:
- Sometimes allied AI is stupid. One main specific scenario of the allied AI annoys me. They don't like to crouch. Generally speaking, if I am trying to save your ass and you are crowding the doorway with zombies outside, get the fuck down.
- Griefers in pub games. Sometimes there are people out there who enjoy making everyone else's life miserable. Team killers, carshooters, leavers (in versus- you know the ones who only want to play infected), whatever you want to call them. Griefing in general. I'm not talking about accidental downs or hitting a car. These guys just really have nothing better to do but to piss you off. This cannot be attributed to Valve, but perhaps a better penalty system should be in place. On XBL gamers can at least report players for poor conduct.
- Lack of story. I wasn't expecting one with this game, but for some people this may be an issue. For what story you can find, check the walls.
Overall:
Left 4 Dead provides an experience a great deal of gamers have been yearing for for a long time. Cooperative gaming? Check. Lots of shooting? Check. Zombies? Check. Strategy? On a finale, sure. Check. Difficulty? Check. Producing a game of this replayability is very difficult, but it appears Valve is very good at doing just that as can be seen from their other offerings (notably counterstrike). A word on difficulty though- if you are having a tough time on a difficulty, there is no shame in stepping down after a great deal of hours go into attempts and wipes. For those familiar, it might even feel like raiding and the World of Warcraft at times. Progression, anyone? Beyond that, Left 4 Dead steps up to the challenge presented by a game that fully encourages cooperative play (many times forcibly)- and does so with grace with the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. Fans of coop (and those who fantasize about their neighbors and city become infected by zombie rage), do not hesitate to buy. Even if you are not a fan of the horror genre or survival horror gaming, give it a look if you have friends playing. From what I've read, a lot of people who aren't fans of the genre are having fun with the game with their friends, so you never know.
- Jack
007: Quantum of Solace Game Review
The name is Bond, James Bond. 007: Quantum of Solace follows the story of James Bond through both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace movies. The player assumes the current Bond, Daniel Craig- so grab your Walther PPK (in this game P99) and go save the world.
The Good:
- Built on the Call of Duty 4 engine. With a very similar control scheme and playability, Quantum of Solace draws on the potential of the CoD4 engine and puts it to fairly good use.
- Cover system. Great liberties were taken with the cover system implemented, which allow for the player to use to blind or target fire from. What's very enjoyable about it was the ability to point-and-go, which allowed you to run from cover to cover with ease. In some cases this cover system actually allowed an even more fluid movement from spot to spot while pushing forward than Gears of War's cover system- which says a lot.
- Close quarter combat. QoS allows players, instead of the Call of Duty 4 stick your knife in the guy's chest and move on tactic, to take them down. Which was, in my opinion, much more enjoyable (although much more time consuming in comparison) to do. These takedowns are accomplished on demand, and players usually have to press a corresponding button presented onscreen to succeed. Upon success, players will be able to see 007 perform one of a few CQC moves and take down the enemy for good. Not gory or anything, just a takedown. Granted, this is not particularly glamorous gameplay wise, but following Gears 2, having the option to perform something similar to an execution is welcome. Personally, I think more games would be more enjoyable if they had similar offerings, and to a certain extent, I expect I will see more of it (at least I hope so). Just be careful as you are doing this, because if there are other enemies shooting at you, you will still take damage. If you're like me and like to play games on hard or very difficult modes (Agent, or 007 respectively in QoS), you will die relatively quickly if exposed. While these CQC takedowns are more or less glorified quicktime events, there are some longer quicktime events where Bond must fight other enemies and press corresponding buttons during the fight much like a very simplified version of Indigo Prophecy.
- Enemy AI is somewhat decent. More scripted than AI, I suspect, but enemies in QoS attempt to flank you and flush you out as much as possible. They also take advantage of the cover fire system.
- Music. An engaging score by Christopher Lennertz, who draws heavily from the James Bond universe including the 007 theme which was remixed in new ways (along with other original music) to allow players to enjoy the "Bond" experience.
The Bad:
- Short single player gameplay. Even with the combined sequences from Casino Royale and Quantum of solace, including added gunfight sequences not included in the movies, the game is comparably shorter than most shooters out there.
- Cover system woes. Sometimes you just get "stuck." The game has a sticky cover system, which is good and bad. You can move around corners on demand while remaining in cover, but getting out when you really need to can take more time than you anticipated. Beyond that, when vaulting over objects, if not done at a right time to trigger the event, leads to you just jumping up and down. That's mostly a nuisance, because when you're doing your Bond thing and chasing some bitch down, you don't really want to feel like a retard and jump up and down in front of low barrier.
- Gadgets, what gadgets? The James Bond we know gets a lot of fun tools from MI-6, including the Aston Martin DBS V12, but we in no way get to interact with most of them. We actually don't get to see most of them for the most part. The extent of it is we get to push a button to hack surveillance terminals or using the directional pad to push corresponding arrows opening doors.
Overall:
Treyarch, among other companies were responsible for Quantum of Solace. And speaking as only someone who played it on the 360 through the single player campaign, I have to say I'm fairly satisfied with the result. There are no major faux pas committed throughout the game, I found no complaints on the voice acting, and the gameplay itself was fairly enjoyable. Overall, this is the first Bond game I've had myself having fun playing since Goldeneye. While this is not really a buy type of game for me, those who enjoy the multiplayer may want to consider it.
- Jack
The Good:
- Built on the Call of Duty 4 engine. With a very similar control scheme and playability, Quantum of Solace draws on the potential of the CoD4 engine and puts it to fairly good use.
- Cover system. Great liberties were taken with the cover system implemented, which allow for the player to use to blind or target fire from. What's very enjoyable about it was the ability to point-and-go, which allowed you to run from cover to cover with ease. In some cases this cover system actually allowed an even more fluid movement from spot to spot while pushing forward than Gears of War's cover system- which says a lot.
- Close quarter combat. QoS allows players, instead of the Call of Duty 4 stick your knife in the guy's chest and move on tactic, to take them down. Which was, in my opinion, much more enjoyable (although much more time consuming in comparison) to do. These takedowns are accomplished on demand, and players usually have to press a corresponding button presented onscreen to succeed. Upon success, players will be able to see 007 perform one of a few CQC moves and take down the enemy for good. Not gory or anything, just a takedown. Granted, this is not particularly glamorous gameplay wise, but following Gears 2, having the option to perform something similar to an execution is welcome. Personally, I think more games would be more enjoyable if they had similar offerings, and to a certain extent, I expect I will see more of it (at least I hope so). Just be careful as you are doing this, because if there are other enemies shooting at you, you will still take damage. If you're like me and like to play games on hard or very difficult modes (Agent, or 007 respectively in QoS), you will die relatively quickly if exposed. While these CQC takedowns are more or less glorified quicktime events, there are some longer quicktime events where Bond must fight other enemies and press corresponding buttons during the fight much like a very simplified version of Indigo Prophecy.
- Enemy AI is somewhat decent. More scripted than AI, I suspect, but enemies in QoS attempt to flank you and flush you out as much as possible. They also take advantage of the cover fire system.
- Music. An engaging score by Christopher Lennertz, who draws heavily from the James Bond universe including the 007 theme which was remixed in new ways (along with other original music) to allow players to enjoy the "Bond" experience.
The Bad:
- Short single player gameplay. Even with the combined sequences from Casino Royale and Quantum of solace, including added gunfight sequences not included in the movies, the game is comparably shorter than most shooters out there.
- Cover system woes. Sometimes you just get "stuck." The game has a sticky cover system, which is good and bad. You can move around corners on demand while remaining in cover, but getting out when you really need to can take more time than you anticipated. Beyond that, when vaulting over objects, if not done at a right time to trigger the event, leads to you just jumping up and down. That's mostly a nuisance, because when you're doing your Bond thing and chasing some bitch down, you don't really want to feel like a retard and jump up and down in front of low barrier.
- Gadgets, what gadgets? The James Bond we know gets a lot of fun tools from MI-6, including the Aston Martin DBS V12, but we in no way get to interact with most of them. We actually don't get to see most of them for the most part. The extent of it is we get to push a button to hack surveillance terminals or using the directional pad to push corresponding arrows opening doors.
Overall:
Treyarch, among other companies were responsible for Quantum of Solace. And speaking as only someone who played it on the 360 through the single player campaign, I have to say I'm fairly satisfied with the result. There are no major faux pas committed throughout the game, I found no complaints on the voice acting, and the gameplay itself was fairly enjoyable. Overall, this is the first Bond game I've had myself having fun playing since Goldeneye. While this is not really a buy type of game for me, those who enjoy the multiplayer may want to consider it.
- Jack
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Left 4 Dead.. really.
In light of today's release of Valve's new 4 player cooperative apocalyptic-zombie experience Left 4 Dead, and in light of all things co-op:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrn4JMxsN_o
Enjoy!
- Jack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrn4JMxsN_o
Enjoy!
- Jack
Call of Duty: World at War Review
Treyarch brings us their newest rendition of World War II, following the exploits of the Marines and the Red Army from the European front all the way to the far east. The world is in shambles, and someone has got to save it- again. Pick up that Thompson, son. We're going to war in Call of Duty: World at War.
The Good:
- Storytelling. Following the example set by Infinity Ward, Treyarch catalogues the stories of two soldiers: Private Miller, of the Marines; and Dimitri Petrenko of the Red Army. Miller is led by Corporal Roebuck (Kiefer Sutherland) through islands under Japanese control while Dimitri joins Sergeant Reznov (Gary Oldman) on the road to Berlin.
- Photo-realistic gaming. Again, with the creation of Call of Duty 4, the CoD franchise has stepped up to a new standard of visuals, and World at War does not disappoint. Some gamers and spectators may find the graphic renditions of death to be a little too much and possibly even disturbing; but for those of us who appreciate no-bullshit war, this is very enjoyable and goes down as a plus. There is even a warning to alert players with a weak stomach.
- Cooperative play. Since Call of Duty 4, those who desired a co-op experience finally get it. Unfortunately, from what I have seen in competitive co-op, movies between levels are skipped as well as two of the levels. When you play those two levels, you will understand why that is the case- but never-the-less, we were still a bit disappointed at not having a full campaign. But at least they came close.
- Competitive co-op. It's fun to see who can get the most kills, most headshots, most revives (and most deaths), among other things with your friends. The only other shooter of recent to offer this ability is HALO 3 with it's own campaign scoring method. World at War also offers death cards, much like HALO's skulls to add difficulty and complexity to gameplay.
- Competitive Multiplayer. Many people will still enjoy the online competitive multiplayer of the traditional nature, as well as the new Zombie Nazi mode. Sounds ridiculous, but can definitely be enjoyable, or at least a time killer if you can get a few friends to cut down Nazi zombies. However, World at War will be competing with the new Gears of War 2 Horde Mode, as well as Valve's highly anticipated Left 4 Dead (at least for zombies. Locust are kinda like zombies. Except they have guns).
- Difficulty. For players who enjoy a challenge (and are generally masochists), Call of Duty on veteran, in my opinion, offers a significantly greater challenge than its predecessor. The challenge part is good, the reasoning however- not so much. More to follow in the Bad section.
The Bad:
- Infinite Spawns. There are many situations in World at War where enemies will continuously spawn, which is ridiculous for a few reasons. One could say that when you've killed X number of enemies in an area, in theory sooner or later there will be no more enemies. For example, if you go to the supermarket (this is a bad example, I'm aware; just bear with) and shoot everyone, the same people aren't going to reappear (yes, I'm aware more people are going to walk into the supermarket, but I'm talking about the same people you've already downed). On the other hand, we could easily say, in the context of World at War, it's understandable if it feels like there's no end to the Nazis, thus infinite spawn is acceptable. Either way, that's minor and was just worth a mention. What I'm truly upset about, however, is the fact that on Veteran, you die in 2-3 hits, maybe less. This is fine on any other difficulty, since you can tank some hits. But some parts of the game generate anywhere from 5-20 enemies infinitely, and it is damn near impossible to push your way past some areas due to the fact that enemies keep coming back at a rapid pace. So how do you get past them? You pray according to your religious affiliation, and you run like a motherfucker. Sure, you can throw a grenade or pop a few as you're making a break for it to up your odds a bit- but chances are extremely high that you're still getting shot at. So you're really hoping they're all firing blind so you can get to the next cover point, or better yet, checkpoint. Yes, I like a challenge and yes, this makes the game more difficult. But god fucking damnit, guys- this makes the game much more heavily based on luck than on skill; and that is something I'm not okay with. I've been gaming for a long damn time, and an elitist to boot- so I'm by no means a novice to shooters or most any other game. So when a gamer like me tells you that you fucked up Treyarch, you fucked up. In case you didn't get that subtle message, Treyarch: YOU FUCKED UP. I don't care if it's ridiculously difficult, just make it interesting and unique. Being lazy and programming infinite spawns that come out of dead-end hallways, closets, and alleyways just doesn't cut it. Now, I still beat your god damn game on Veteran, I just nearly broke my TV with my XBox controller in the process.
- Lack of a full campaign coop experience. Granted, I enjoy the fact that we now have a cooperative experience, but the missing levels makes all cooperative gamers sad. Fortunately, there is still a competitive multiplayer as well as a zombie Nazi mode available.
Overall:
Call of Duty: World at War is in itself a good game overall, and offers an enjoyable experience. But it is overshadowed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in many ways. Players of Modern Warfare who have invested countless hours killing their friends and earning perks from those hours may very well stay with Modern Warfare, or players may simply stay with Modern Warfare because that scenario is what they prefer over the World War II atmosphere. Treyarch has a lot to prove here, especially after the bomb that was Call of Duty 3. Do I think they dug themselves out of that hole? Sortof. It is fairly obvious they've taken a lot of notes from Infinity Ward and have crafted a gameplay experience and interface very similar (and in some places the same) as Modern Warfare; so I will not say it's so much as a unique experience, but rather a similar one with different skins and environments. I will say, however, that World at War does bring a fresh experience and perspective into the World War II gaming environment, and that is very difficult to do. For that, I applaud you Treyarch. But you still have much to learn, and when I get over the anger of infinite spawns, I will definitely be waiting for your next FPS title to see how you do next time.
- Jack
The Good:
- Storytelling. Following the example set by Infinity Ward, Treyarch catalogues the stories of two soldiers: Private Miller, of the Marines; and Dimitri Petrenko of the Red Army. Miller is led by Corporal Roebuck (Kiefer Sutherland) through islands under Japanese control while Dimitri joins Sergeant Reznov (Gary Oldman) on the road to Berlin.
- Photo-realistic gaming. Again, with the creation of Call of Duty 4, the CoD franchise has stepped up to a new standard of visuals, and World at War does not disappoint. Some gamers and spectators may find the graphic renditions of death to be a little too much and possibly even disturbing; but for those of us who appreciate no-bullshit war, this is very enjoyable and goes down as a plus. There is even a warning to alert players with a weak stomach.
- Cooperative play. Since Call of Duty 4, those who desired a co-op experience finally get it. Unfortunately, from what I have seen in competitive co-op, movies between levels are skipped as well as two of the levels. When you play those two levels, you will understand why that is the case- but never-the-less, we were still a bit disappointed at not having a full campaign. But at least they came close.
- Competitive co-op. It's fun to see who can get the most kills, most headshots, most revives (and most deaths), among other things with your friends. The only other shooter of recent to offer this ability is HALO 3 with it's own campaign scoring method. World at War also offers death cards, much like HALO's skulls to add difficulty and complexity to gameplay.
- Competitive Multiplayer. Many people will still enjoy the online competitive multiplayer of the traditional nature, as well as the new Zombie Nazi mode. Sounds ridiculous, but can definitely be enjoyable, or at least a time killer if you can get a few friends to cut down Nazi zombies. However, World at War will be competing with the new Gears of War 2 Horde Mode, as well as Valve's highly anticipated Left 4 Dead (at least for zombies. Locust are kinda like zombies. Except they have guns).
- Difficulty. For players who enjoy a challenge (and are generally masochists), Call of Duty on veteran, in my opinion, offers a significantly greater challenge than its predecessor. The challenge part is good, the reasoning however- not so much. More to follow in the Bad section.
The Bad:
- Infinite Spawns. There are many situations in World at War where enemies will continuously spawn, which is ridiculous for a few reasons. One could say that when you've killed X number of enemies in an area, in theory sooner or later there will be no more enemies. For example, if you go to the supermarket (this is a bad example, I'm aware; just bear with) and shoot everyone, the same people aren't going to reappear (yes, I'm aware more people are going to walk into the supermarket, but I'm talking about the same people you've already downed). On the other hand, we could easily say, in the context of World at War, it's understandable if it feels like there's no end to the Nazis, thus infinite spawn is acceptable. Either way, that's minor and was just worth a mention. What I'm truly upset about, however, is the fact that on Veteran, you die in 2-3 hits, maybe less. This is fine on any other difficulty, since you can tank some hits. But some parts of the game generate anywhere from 5-20 enemies infinitely, and it is damn near impossible to push your way past some areas due to the fact that enemies keep coming back at a rapid pace. So how do you get past them? You pray according to your religious affiliation, and you run like a motherfucker. Sure, you can throw a grenade or pop a few as you're making a break for it to up your odds a bit- but chances are extremely high that you're still getting shot at. So you're really hoping they're all firing blind so you can get to the next cover point, or better yet, checkpoint. Yes, I like a challenge and yes, this makes the game more difficult. But god fucking damnit, guys- this makes the game much more heavily based on luck than on skill; and that is something I'm not okay with. I've been gaming for a long damn time, and an elitist to boot- so I'm by no means a novice to shooters or most any other game. So when a gamer like me tells you that you fucked up Treyarch, you fucked up. In case you didn't get that subtle message, Treyarch: YOU FUCKED UP. I don't care if it's ridiculously difficult, just make it interesting and unique. Being lazy and programming infinite spawns that come out of dead-end hallways, closets, and alleyways just doesn't cut it. Now, I still beat your god damn game on Veteran, I just nearly broke my TV with my XBox controller in the process.
- Lack of a full campaign coop experience. Granted, I enjoy the fact that we now have a cooperative experience, but the missing levels makes all cooperative gamers sad. Fortunately, there is still a competitive multiplayer as well as a zombie Nazi mode available.
Overall:
Call of Duty: World at War is in itself a good game overall, and offers an enjoyable experience. But it is overshadowed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in many ways. Players of Modern Warfare who have invested countless hours killing their friends and earning perks from those hours may very well stay with Modern Warfare, or players may simply stay with Modern Warfare because that scenario is what they prefer over the World War II atmosphere. Treyarch has a lot to prove here, especially after the bomb that was Call of Duty 3. Do I think they dug themselves out of that hole? Sortof. It is fairly obvious they've taken a lot of notes from Infinity Ward and have crafted a gameplay experience and interface very similar (and in some places the same) as Modern Warfare; so I will not say it's so much as a unique experience, but rather a similar one with different skins and environments. I will say, however, that World at War does bring a fresh experience and perspective into the World War II gaming environment, and that is very difficult to do. For that, I applaud you Treyarch. But you still have much to learn, and when I get over the anger of infinite spawns, I will definitely be waiting for your next FPS title to see how you do next time.
- Jack
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Fable 2 Review
Who will you be? You choose to be the savior or the scourge of mankind in Fable 2. You begin your adventure as a young street urchin, dreaming of one day living in Fairfax Castle; then one day, a traveling merchant offers to sell a magical music box that grants one wish for five gold. This is where your story begins. Five gold coins to grant one wish. In a life where food, shelter, and safety are unreliable- can five gold coins really change your life?
The Good:
- Dog. A loyal, faithful companion that will follow you wherever you go. It will fight alongside you, it will guard your house, it will be your best friend. Where nobody else dare go, he will go. Care for him, teach him tricks, console him when he's scared. If you love dogs, this guy will wreck any neo-pet you've ever overfed.
- Real estate. You can buy just about every building in the game with enough money, including shops and stalls. You can live in these houses, or rent them out for income, as will you gain income from the stores you own (as well as a discount when purchasing). You generate income even when the game isn't on, and automatically updates your gold when you log back in the next time around.
- Polygamy. Definitely new in gaming. You can have multiple husbands and wives. You can have multiple husbands and wives of different sexual orientation. You can even have orgies with them. Condoms are for sale at most general store vendors. You can also dabble in necrophilia. Sortof. I must say Fable 2 definitely pushes the envelope when it comes to adult considerations, more-so than any other mainstream game out there, at least.
- Earning money is easy. There's a lot of sales and shortages going on in Albion, and an entrepreneurial player such as yourself can purchase in time of large sales to resell during times of major shortages for huge sums of profit. That's always good. You can also pick up jobs like blacksmithing, bartending, or woodcutting to make money. Obviously the more you do it, the more money you make. Plus it doesn't really require any thought, except for the whole timing thing.
- Experience potions. For hefty sums, you can actually buy potions that will grant you experience points. Neat for those skills that you never use and never plan on but think are fun to have simply because you have nothing else to get.
The Bad:
- Main storyline. Short and terrible. If you are looking for a story with depth, go play something else. If you are looking for a story that will last you a while, go play something else. If you are looking for a story, you really might as well go play something else. With a main questline that will last you less than full day of play, and even less fulfillment, I have no choice but to lay the storyline of Fable 2 in the section of the Bad.
- Action RPG. While the genre of "action RPG" has definitely been expanded thanks to Lionhead Studios, there is still a major lack of variety here in terms of "action." In a game where a player repeats the same action repeatedly (such as attacking), Fable 2 does not deliver an enjoyable experience for the amount of fighting expected in an action RPG. In terms of equipment, theres a variety of 5 melee and 5 ranged weapons to choose from, with even fewer classes of weapon rankings. In terms of skills, "new" skills you gain through leveling for melee are... blocking, stronger swings, and finally- counterattack. Ranged weapons, also known as "dexterous styles," have even less to offer. The first rank allows you to roll (dodge), second rank allows you to aim generically at a target rather than just firing from the hip, third rank gets you zoom, and finally at the fourth rank you finally can sub target a body part or weapon you want to hit. All these things you can do from the get-go in MOST games, or in cases where you don't, do not require ridiculous quantities of levelling to be done to be able to do. Magic gives you a little bit more variety, but you soon find yourself using the same 2 or 3 skills at most over and over. That's a great RPG.
- Saving sucks. You get an individual save slot for each character you make, but everytime you progress with that character you must override your old save- and autosave is automatically on. So you can't go back and retry different choices, generally. Which really blows.
- Co-op, and lack thereof. You can join a friend or vice versa in Fable 2, as a henchman. You get equivalent skill points and gear as the Hero, but really- you're still just a henchman. I think everyone was expecting to you know, have two heroes join forces. But no, you're really just a henchman. You still keep all the experience and loot you pick up (assuming your friend will share), but still, you are a henchman. I'm sure some people would pay to be the sidekick, but for the rest of us, we'll stick to our heroes.
- Customization. A limited number of ways to customize the way your character looks, as well as their build. Since there is no armor available in the game, and clothes do nothing mechanically speaking, the only saving grace here is that there are a fair amount of clothes to go around (and you can dye them a variety of colors).
- A lacking soundtrack. Roleplaying games usually having a good variety of music, but surprisingly Danny Elfman and Russell Shaw did not deliver here. Not their best work, and not the most fitting for the game. Others may think otherwise, but this is my review, and that is my assessment.
Overall:
Peter Molyneux has tried to push the boundaries of the RPG genre, and indeed in some places he has done so with Fable 2. Fans of the first may very well enjoy the sequel simply because the offerings are very similar, but for the rest of us, the finished product simply failed to impress. For those interested, keep in mind that Fable 2 is an action RPG, not a traditional one. If you haven't played the first Fable or are simply not familiar, I suggest renting before buying here just so you know what you're getting into.
- Jack
The Good:
- Dog. A loyal, faithful companion that will follow you wherever you go. It will fight alongside you, it will guard your house, it will be your best friend. Where nobody else dare go, he will go. Care for him, teach him tricks, console him when he's scared. If you love dogs, this guy will wreck any neo-pet you've ever overfed.
- Real estate. You can buy just about every building in the game with enough money, including shops and stalls. You can live in these houses, or rent them out for income, as will you gain income from the stores you own (as well as a discount when purchasing). You generate income even when the game isn't on, and automatically updates your gold when you log back in the next time around.
- Polygamy. Definitely new in gaming. You can have multiple husbands and wives. You can have multiple husbands and wives of different sexual orientation. You can even have orgies with them. Condoms are for sale at most general store vendors. You can also dabble in necrophilia. Sortof. I must say Fable 2 definitely pushes the envelope when it comes to adult considerations, more-so than any other mainstream game out there, at least.
- Earning money is easy. There's a lot of sales and shortages going on in Albion, and an entrepreneurial player such as yourself can purchase in time of large sales to resell during times of major shortages for huge sums of profit. That's always good. You can also pick up jobs like blacksmithing, bartending, or woodcutting to make money. Obviously the more you do it, the more money you make. Plus it doesn't really require any thought, except for the whole timing thing.
- Experience potions. For hefty sums, you can actually buy potions that will grant you experience points. Neat for those skills that you never use and never plan on but think are fun to have simply because you have nothing else to get.
The Bad:
- Main storyline. Short and terrible. If you are looking for a story with depth, go play something else. If you are looking for a story that will last you a while, go play something else. If you are looking for a story, you really might as well go play something else. With a main questline that will last you less than full day of play, and even less fulfillment, I have no choice but to lay the storyline of Fable 2 in the section of the Bad.
- Action RPG. While the genre of "action RPG" has definitely been expanded thanks to Lionhead Studios, there is still a major lack of variety here in terms of "action." In a game where a player repeats the same action repeatedly (such as attacking), Fable 2 does not deliver an enjoyable experience for the amount of fighting expected in an action RPG. In terms of equipment, theres a variety of 5 melee and 5 ranged weapons to choose from, with even fewer classes of weapon rankings. In terms of skills, "new" skills you gain through leveling for melee are... blocking, stronger swings, and finally- counterattack. Ranged weapons, also known as "dexterous styles," have even less to offer. The first rank allows you to roll (dodge), second rank allows you to aim generically at a target rather than just firing from the hip, third rank gets you zoom, and finally at the fourth rank you finally can sub target a body part or weapon you want to hit. All these things you can do from the get-go in MOST games, or in cases where you don't, do not require ridiculous quantities of levelling to be done to be able to do. Magic gives you a little bit more variety, but you soon find yourself using the same 2 or 3 skills at most over and over. That's a great RPG.
- Saving sucks. You get an individual save slot for each character you make, but everytime you progress with that character you must override your old save- and autosave is automatically on. So you can't go back and retry different choices, generally. Which really blows.
- Co-op, and lack thereof. You can join a friend or vice versa in Fable 2, as a henchman. You get equivalent skill points and gear as the Hero, but really- you're still just a henchman. I think everyone was expecting to you know, have two heroes join forces. But no, you're really just a henchman. You still keep all the experience and loot you pick up (assuming your friend will share), but still, you are a henchman. I'm sure some people would pay to be the sidekick, but for the rest of us, we'll stick to our heroes.
- Customization. A limited number of ways to customize the way your character looks, as well as their build. Since there is no armor available in the game, and clothes do nothing mechanically speaking, the only saving grace here is that there are a fair amount of clothes to go around (and you can dye them a variety of colors).
- A lacking soundtrack. Roleplaying games usually having a good variety of music, but surprisingly Danny Elfman and Russell Shaw did not deliver here. Not their best work, and not the most fitting for the game. Others may think otherwise, but this is my review, and that is my assessment.
Overall:
Peter Molyneux has tried to push the boundaries of the RPG genre, and indeed in some places he has done so with Fable 2. Fans of the first may very well enjoy the sequel simply because the offerings are very similar, but for the rest of us, the finished product simply failed to impress. For those interested, keep in mind that Fable 2 is an action RPG, not a traditional one. If you haven't played the first Fable or are simply not familiar, I suggest renting before buying here just so you know what you're getting into.
- Jack
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