So without further ado, my first impressions and basic overview.

The first thing you will notice about Medal of Honor is that it is a beautiful game. There are two maps available in the beta, Helmand Valley, and Kabul City Ruins. Helmand Valley is a sprawling mountainous region in Afghanistan that plays home to the Mission gametype. The Mission gametype is similar to Rush from Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the assaulting team is charged with destroying and capturing a series of objectives within the map. Kabul City Ruins is a close quarters urban warzone in which players go head to head in what basically amounts to team deathmatch.

While the game visually striking, the positives really end there for me, I had a friend describe it as being “Beautiful, but basically a cheap Modern Warfare knockoff” while I don’t necessarily agree with the way he put it… he’s basically right.

Before the beta came out for any of the systems, people were describing it as a combination of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2. This description is true for the most part in that the maps are larger and more varied, while the battles still retain the intensity of close to medium range combat that Call of Duty is renowned for.

Unfortunately  Medal of Honor seems to have also acquired the worst parts of both titles. Combat is brutal and unforgiving, and with the state that the beta is in you’ll often find yourself in a state of utter dismay, as the player you just fired half a mag into will simply turn around and put two rounds through your chest… killing you instantly. Most hit detection issues are likely to be gone once the full game comes out, but it makes for a bad first impression.

In typical Battlefield fashion, your character feels sluggish, boxy, and altogether unresponsive. Having a slow character model is something you can get away with in Battlefield, but in an urban environment where a quick dash between buildings means the difference between life and a respawn… it just doesn’t work. And similar to Modern Warfare, you will frequently find your character getting stuck on the tiniest of objects. That brick that you didn’t see in front of your foot? Ya, it just got you sniped.

The weapons and weapon upgrade system are also a source of frustration for me. DICE really has a thing for separate class leveling, just as they did with BF: BC2, you have to level each class individually. With every level you gain in a particular class, you receive upgrades that add and detract stats from the stock weapon.  My biggest issue in regard  to the weapon attachment system? They really don’t add enough of a bonus to affect your weapon in any real way. The M24 (the best sniper rifle available in the beta) doesn’t do enough damage to kill anyone in a single shot (besides a headshot) adding ammo that increases the damage of your weapon still doesn’t give enough power to kill in a single shot.

Killstreaks or Score Chains as they’re known in Medal of Honor are one of the only bright spots in an otherwise unspectacular beta. By getting kills and completing objectives you earn points towards these Score Chains, upon reaching the required amount of points you are provided with a choice between two different actions. At 40 points (the first score chain requirement) you can choose between intel (which basically amounts to a UAV) and a mortar strike.   So the choice is yours, depending on the situation you’re in you might choose to boost your own score, or decide to help the entire team.

Overall the beta is anything but unique. Medal of Honor takes few positives and a great many negatives from the games it emulates. Gameplay mechanics are sketchy at best, poor hit detection and intermittent lag-spikes make a poor impression despite just being a beta. Hopefully most of these issues will be addressed before the full game releases on October 12th.

- Nick Barker

Caddies and Aliens? Yes please. Check out the Trailer.

Now nine years later 2K games, specifically 2K Marin (The developers who brought us Bioshock 2) are making a play to revitalize a PC classic by bringing XCOM to the next-gens.

In 2K Marin’s latest game, you take on the role of FBI Agent William Carter and are charged with studying and defending against the alien threats that have begun to plague the US. In stark contrast to the horror of Rapture, XCOM takes place in picture perfect 1950′s America.

In an attempt to incorporate both of their previous gameplay styles XCOM will be a mix of strategy and combat. The strategic element comes into play in the form of Research. Using a camera and a similar mechanic to Bioshock 2 players will take photographs of the aliens and their technology, this in turn will reward the player with new weapons and information about the alien threat to aid in your investigations.

Take a gander at the XCOM website, it sure is swell.

Investigation plays a large role in XCOM, you’ll track down leads and eventually enter a large area in search of alien phenomena, once in the map players will scour the area for clues that will hopefully lead you to the alien menace.

From what we’ve seen of combat it seams like a HUD is non-existent, but we’ve only seen a single trailer so it’s unclear whether one will be in the final product. In another parallel to Bioshock, it appears that the player will be treated to a variety of weaponry, ranging from a standard pump-action to a grenade in the form of a “Blobatov” which is used to burn the ink-like blob creatures we’ve seen so far.

Hopefully 2Khas what it takes to bring a PC classic into the future… or the past, and judging by their previous games it’s safe to say they have a good chance of pulling it off.

The first thing you’ll notice about Skate 3 is that it’s control scheme is identical to that of it’s predecessors, which is fantastic, as veterans will already know how to play and newcomers can still enjoy the natural feel of the Flickit controls.

Very frequently (especially when it comes to sequels) developers try ‘something different’ and tweak the gameplay mechanics in some way that they feel will make the game more fun, accessible, challenging, etc. and end up annoying their fan base.  I guess Blackbox subscribes to the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” because it’s plain to see that they didn’t feel like messing with the core mechanics behind the game. Sure there are improvements in almost every field, but the way the game feels as you play it remains for the most part unchanged from Skate’s previous iterations.

There really isn’t much of a storyline behind Skate 3. The game starts and Reda (The narrator from the previous two games) hands you off to Shingo so that he can go and manage your company, from which point you basically just go out and do challenges in any old random order until you sell 1,000,000 boards. The end. But seriously? It’s a skateboarding game, not Heavy Rain.

While there are a great many ways to go about selling boards, doing challenges is by far the quickest and easiest. The challenges for the most part are unique and entertaining, offering up everything from games of 1Up against the Pros to  throwing yourself off of buildings for the Hall of Meat, and Deathraces through the Quarry and downtown Port Carverton. One of the nicest things about the challenges in my opinion is the fact that you don’t need to do ALL of them in order to sell 1,000,000 boards, I’m personally not a fan of Hall of Meat, so not being forced to do them makes me pretty happy.

There are a few new additions to the series, the greatest of which is undoubtedly the Create-A-Park editor. As you progress through the game’s challenges, you are rewarded with various obstacles which you can use in Create-A-Park (CAP),  so complete an Own The Spot challenge involving a weird ledge and you might get that ledge for CAP.  If you can think it up, chances are you can build it using CAP. The Create-A-Park editor has the potential to extend the game’s replay value to the point where you might never stop playing it in the first place.

Overall:

Skate 3 is a fantastic title, easily the best of the series. With a framerate upgrade and tweaks to animations, the visuals are solid. Gameplay is as varied and interesting, with very little repetitiveness. Multiplayer and Create-a-Park just top this game off as an absolute ‘must-buy’ for anyone who even thinks that they might enjoy a skateboarding game.

9/10

Blackbox continues to give us remarkable titles, there have been rumors about Skate 3 being the last in the series, while these aren’t confirmed… do us all a favor and go buy Skate 3 so that they decide to make Skate 4.

-  Dr Strange Lulz

Anyone who considers themselves a fan of the RPFPS (Role Playing First Person Shooter) genre should have played the previous two Deus Ex games, luckily for those of you who haven’t, Deux Ex: Human Revolution is a stand alone title presented to us as a prequel. Which means that newcomers to the series can jump right in without needing to have played the previous titles.

A while ago IGN put out a call for fans to ask questions about Deux Ex: Human Revolution. While many questions were asked, Game Director Jean-Francois Dugas decided to answer only a select few… but the ones he answered were definitely the important ones.

Watch The Teaser At IGN

Here’s a brief rundown of the story as we know it, drawn from the Q&A session:

Deus Ex: Revolution takes place in the year 2027 (25 years prior to the first game in the series) in a world where augmentation of the human body through cybernetics is thought (by some) to be the next phase of human evolution. You play Adam Jensen, a security specialist tasked with overseeing the defensive needs of America’s largest biotechnology firms. After suffering a near fatal injury in a rather suspect incident, Adam has to undergo an augmentation procedure in order to save his life, leaving him with cybernetic arms (the full extent of his augmentation has yet to be revealed) and a host of other military grade augmentations.

Question: Can you tell more about the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution? (augmented vs. non-augmented, clash tension, state of the world, etc.)

Jean-Francois Dugas: One of the major aspects of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s story revolves around the social conflict between augmented and non-augmented people. In our story, there are people opposed to augmenting the body since they see it as unnatural and don’t think scientists should “play God”. On the other side, some people think it is the natural evolution of the human race and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be trying things like this if it can enhance the quality of life or extend it. It’s all about control of the marketplace, of valuable technologies, of society, of human evolution…of truth and lies.

Look for more news about Deus Ex: Human Revolution this summer at E3.

All credit for this one goes out to the fantastic folks over at IGN, I’ve been waiting a long time for the next Deux Ex game and they managed to get a ton of information about a game that has been kept under tight wraps.

- Dr Strange Lulz

No Tags]]> http://www.gamingmoments.net/2010/deux-ex-human-revolution-teaser/feed/ 0 http://www.gamingmoments.net/2010/peripherals-a-fad-or-the-future/ http://www.gamingmoments.net/2010/peripherals-a-fad-or-the-future/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:11:56 +0000 doclotto http://www.gamingmoments.net/?p=1494 With the success of the Wii and it’s motion based controls such as the nunchuks and balance board it seems that other companies are suddenly jumping on the peripheral bandwagon in an attempt to stake a claim in this burgeoning field. The real question is, will these peripherals become the gaming tools of the future, or will they go the way of Duke Nukem Forever?

Nintendo has been on the cutting edge of peripherals from the very start, giving us gaming greats like the NES Zapper which paved the way for every light gun you’ve ever used, and the Rumble Pack which made its debut on the N64 and is now standard in every gaming controller. Yet for every great peripheral there are five abominations that should have never seen the light of day. A gaming peripheral is designed with the idea of “Enhancing the player’s gaming experience” this doesn’t always work out as planned (Just look up the UForce)

For a while there (during the first gen consoles, Playstation, Xbox, N64) gamers were free from the peripheral onslaught, and it was in fact Sony that brought this monster back to life with its Playstation 2 Eye Toy. Since then peripherals have been making a comeback the likes of which I never could have imagined, just look at the Guitar Hero guitar for example.

Now we’re venturing into the realm of the next gen consoles and seeing exactly where they will take this new gaming battle. E3 09 had one of my funniest memories in gaming peripheral history, Microsoft had just delivered their keynote speech and debuted the Natal, which frankly blew everyone’s minds. Sony was scheduled to deliver their keynote speech the next day, and for the first time in a long time were the first company not to be on the bandwagon by not having some kind of motion based controller. When Sony delivered their speech (The same statistics and graphs based spiel they give us every year. I really don’t care how many games the PS2 is selling.) and showed us the Sony Motion Controller it was clear that they got scared by Natal’s ridiculously well executed demonstration and pulled these guys straight out of R&D to show off a product that was barely in the early stages of testing. Well, I found it funny.

Peripherals come and go but one thing always remains (relatively) the same, the standard controller. Yes we’ve added new things to it over the years, a D-Pad, Analog Sticks, Rumble Pack, but the structure and core idea behind it remain the same. While the Sony Motion Controller may have 1:1 movement tracking, twitch gaming will always be controller based.

-Dr Strange Lulz

I gave myself ample time this week in order to play through the multiplayer modes and finish the campaign, having done both of those in the first day I was left with six days and a disk tray filled with disappointment.

While playing through the three campaigns it became increasingly clear why they decided to release a multiplayer demo instead of a singleplayer one. The three campaigns are plagued with substandard texturing and and gameplay mechanics that feel like they belong in 1996. The Marine campaign is probably the best of the three but only because you don’t encounter the texture problems inside the confined corridors in which you spend most of the game, unfortunately you’re still left completing mission after mission of “Find this console, open this door” with absolutely zero incentive beyond staying alive.

The Alien and Predator campaigns fair far worse as they take place in dense jungle or dusty terrain where the majority of the shading and texturing problems can be found. Even the character models themselves (Outside of the gruesome finishing moves) are lacking detail and feel very two-dimensional.

Multiplayer is the only shining star in this otherwise lackluster title.  The game modes are varied and enjoyable enough the keep players coming back for more despite the Multiplayer suffering from many of the same issues from campaign, plus a few of its own. The matchmaking system is honestly one of the worst I’ve ever seen, with one in five attempts actually resulting in a game.

Overall the game is decent, the positives outweigh the negatives… but only just. It’s truly sad to see a game failing to live up to it’s potential, leaving us with a mediocre game instead of the innovative and inspirational title that it could have been.

- Dr Strange Lulz

I spent most of this week splitting time between a third Mass Effect 2 runthrough, the Alien Vs Predator demo, and the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 demo, so here’s a bit of info.

AVP Is Awesome

While it’s only a multiplayer demo it still gives us great insight as to how the actual game plays. The only gametype available in the demo is Deathmatch, which is rather unfortunate since most of the time it’s an absolute free-for-all,  it’s far more interesting watching the species unite against each other. We’ve gotten a few games in which we have all members of each species refrain from attacking each other, instead focusing their efforts on the other two, and it’s just way more fun.

enemies don’t live long enough for facehuggers

Each of the three species has its own strengths, weaknesses, and strategies for victory.  A Human’s best hope is to stick with his teammates and hold down an area while keeping their back to the wall to avoid flanking. In a group humans are devastating as their combined efforts tear Xenomorphs apart as if they were tissue paper. Predators are built for ambushes, their weapons are slow to use but generally kill in one hit. A fully equipped Predator is not something you want to go up against. My one criticism in regards to the Predators is how crowded the control scheme can be at times, juggling between 4 weapons, 3 vision modes, healing, and stealth it can all be a bit overwhelming.

I’ve had the most fun playing as the Aliens, unlike the other two species the Aliens weren’t designed for sustained combat. Instead they’re at their best when running in, striking fast, and getting the hell out of the way before being blasted to pieces by a pulse rifle. The ability to run on walls and ceilings can at first be disorienting, but once you get the hang of it you unlock your potential as a the deadliest guerrilla warrior of all time.

Battlefield: Don’t compare it to COD

scope

First off, the demo is amazing. It holds true to everything the Battlefield series stands for and shows the continued dedication of the developer to create the perfect combat game. Most of the issues from BC1 have been resolved and with the improvements to the destruction and graphics engines, we’re left with a remarkably polished game. These are of course just demo impressions. We’ll see how the full game turns out on March 2nd.

I’ve gotten into a couple of discussions over the last few days with friends regarding Battlefield: BC2 and how it compares to COD, the fact is.. it doesn’t. I’ve played every Battlefield game since the release of 1942, and own every COD game ever made, and I’m telling you right now, you cannot compare these games. COD is about ground level, player vs player, intensity. Battlefield is all about scope, you have to constantly be aware of tanks, UAV’s,  APC’s, Helicopters, Boats, and every kind of vehicle you can possibly imagine, all the while remembering that you have an objective to complete… oh ya and there are guys to kill as well.

Apart from the fact that you shoot people, these games are nothing alike.

Alan Wake & Halo Reachit holds videogames? my kind of book…

Alan Wake finally got a release date and a beautiful collectors edition, so get your orders in now if you want to get one when it goes on sale May 18th.

Also, thanks to X10 we now know that the Halo: Reach Beta will kick off on May 3rd, unfortunately the beta will only be available to people who still own a copy of ODST, I am not among them.

- Dr Strange Lulz

Alien Vs Predator Multiplayer Interviews

Alien Vs Predator is being developed by British developer Rebellion, the team behind the 1999 original PC game. While Rebellion is obviously keeping up with the times in terms of both technology and recent trends in gaming (I mentioned in my last post that survival horror is making a comeback) it’s also clear that they’re remaining true to their roots by hearkening back to the intense multiplayer that made the original games so amazing.

Most multiplayer first person shooters simply have you going up against other guys with guns (with exceptions like Left 4 Dead) but having three separate races, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and play style is what makes this series so good.

When dealing with a series with a serious fan-base like Aliens you have to tread a fine line between appealing to both the masses and your hardcore fans, though no matter what you do somebody is always going to be upset by something either put in or left out. Lance Henriksen being in the game is not only welcome, it’s pretty much expected at this point and serves as a small but very cool wave to the fans.

Either way, this is probably on my top 5 list for most anticipated game of 2010.

Recently saw a clip from the game where the player (as a Predator) uses his wrist blades to uppercut a marine, taking his head off and the spine along with it…

Words cannot describe the awesome.

- Dr Strange Lulz

Making a sequel to any game is difficult, making a sequel to one of the best games of the last 3 years is a bit more of a challenge. A sequel should always transition well between the original game and it’s follow up, everybody hates picking up a sequel only to find that you have no idea whats going on. A sequel should tie up loose ends and plot holes, because once the developers’ work is over gamers have an eternity to dissect and dismantle their creation. Lastly, a sequel should improve on the original, leaving the player eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series rather than wishing that the developer had stopped with the original. Assassin’s Creed being as successful and complicated as it was left a lot of room for failure on the part of the sequel.

Fortunately, Assassin’s Creed II exceeded all expectations.

You start the game as Desmond, fans of the original will recognize Desmond as the modern day (/near future) character held prisoner by our good friends over ad Abstergo industries.  The game starts off on a high note, putting you right into combat as Desmond escapes from Abstergo, and after escaping we head almost directly into the Animus and jumping into conrol of Ezio.

The original Assassin’s Creed put you in the shoes of a master assassin, giving you all the tools you need to assassinate your targets right off the bat. The goal of Assassin’s Creed to is instead to turn you INTO a master assassin.

Ezio’s journey to becoming a master assassin has to begin somewhere, and what better place to start than at his birth. Yeah, that’s right… you actually get to play through Ezio’s birth and yes… it’s weird. The game gets you accustomed to the control scheme using a series of minor tutorials throughout Ezio’s life, the most basic of which are learned as a baby.

I originally had reservations about how the game would translate into into a more modern setting, however from the very beginning it was blatantly obvious that Renaissance Italy was an ideal place for free running, the mechanics of which are far beyond that of the first game. While the free running mechanics have been greatly improved, there were definitely moments where the game’s camera reacted badly to certain situations, placing it in an awkward position for further maneuvering.

The sights,  sounds, and feel of Renaissance Italy have been brought to life in this massive game, and when I say massive I really mean it. While not on the scale of GTA, Venice (One of 4 cities within the game) is just mind boggling. I spent a number of hours merely wandering the streets, drawing in everything that the cities have to offer.

Combat was actually a bit of a let down for me, that might be due in part to the fact that I hyped myself up about it long before it came out. The ability to disarm opponents is easily one of the most useful elements of the game, I’ve spoken to friends who refuse to use anything but unarmed for the entire game. But while the disarming is entertaining at first, the animations become rather repetitive fairly quickly. Though the animations are different for each of YOUR weapons most enemies carry the same 3 swords, 3 maces, 2 pole-arms, and 3 great-weapons. Also for your primary sword, the counter attack animations are identical to the original Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed II puts you in the shoes of Ezio Auditore, avenging the death of your family and eliminating the members of a Templar conspiracy. The number of targets is nearly double that of the original game, and the missions leading up to the actual assassinations are diverse and varied. The plot of the game is far more “out there” than it’s predecessor, sometimes leaving you wondering “What the hell just happened?” Desmond actually sums it up pretty well towards the very end of the game, so pay attention for one of the funniest gaming comments I’ve ever had the privilege of hearing.

The monetary system introduced in Assassin’s Creed II is at first rather annoying, and having to go to a doctor to get healed never gets any less irritating. The game rewards you with money for nearly everything you do and if you take your time upgrading your city then obtaining the newest weapons and armor will become far more of a task than if you start upgrading it immediately. If you upgrade your city to full in the very beginning of the game then you’ll have so much money you won’t rightly know what to do with it all. By the end of my firstly playthrough I had every painting, weapon, armor piece, and nearly 500,000 floreans left over with nothing to spend them on.

The only real complaints I have towards the game stem from how overwhelming it was at the very beginning. The game map was one of the worst I’ve ever encountered, and attempting to navigate the city with all of the map markers on is more of a chore than anything else.  Very early on in the game I learned to turn off all but the most necessary markers.

Overall this is a fantastic game that exceeded nearly every expectation. The plot is deep and will definitely keep you coming back for more. The free running mechanics are a vast improvement over the last game and allow for some truly amazing experiences, more than once my jaw was left hanging open from some unbelievable aerobatic maneuver (Jump off a 3 story building and simultaneously kill two people with hidden blades at the same time… you’ll see what I mean) While the plot and combat were both fantastic, the cities were honestly my favorite of the game, and after hours of exploration I still haven’t gotten tired of just walking around.

4.5/5

Pick up Assassin’s Creed II, you won’t be disappointed.

- Dr Strange Lulz

Since I couldn’t get there closer to 12:01 am, I had to spend 10 hours lurking around the mall while waiting for the midnight release. So after hanging out at Gamestop for a while and shooting the shit with the employees I headed over to the bookstore and picked myself up a new Warhammer 40k book. So while sitting on a bench reading my book a lovely girl wanders up and starts a conversation with me, 2 hours later I had her number and a job offer. The reason I mention this is that I later found out that it was actually an invite to a Multi Level Financial Organization, more frequently known as a Pyramid Scheme. So 7 hours, 8 beers, 3 shots, 2 energy drinks, and 15 new friends later I had myself a copy of Modern Warfare 2.

So lets get this show on the road.

Part I: Campaign

Popping the disc in for the first time I was struck by the the obvious menu change, instead of giving six or seven different options on the main menu there are only three, Campaign, Spec Ops, and Multiplayer. This new menu makes it extremely clear that IW is staying well clear of the current trend of blending various modes together, the most common example being the ever-so-popular coop campaign.

For the most part the campaign is very similar to the original Modern Warfare and veterans of the original will feel right at home the very first time they pick up the control. Regarding the difficulty levels I will say this, the game is hard. Regular difficulty was closer to Hardcore from the original Modern Warfare, there were times where I could run unharmed through 20 enemies blocking a road, and times where I was dying within a second of loading my last checkpoint. I actually started my first playthrough on veteran, and after 15 of staring at quotes by people like JFK I decided I’d just run through it on regular for now and go back for veteran later.

The graphics are simply amazing, and the streaming technology behind it all will probably become standard issue in games from now on. Whatever environment you happen to be in there are constantly items that can be interacted with (shot, blown up, etc.) and the constant visual stimulation is one of the driving forces behind the game’s amazing level of intensity.

The.Story.Is.Epic.

Sorry but that’s the only way to put it and do the game justice. The storyline picks up 5 years after the original and for the most part puts you in the shoes of two new characters ‘Roach’ and ‘Ramirez’ but while the developers phrased it in a way that made it seem like you’d be playing almost elusively as Roach you spend a large portion of the game playing as various other characters, including everyone’s favorite FNG, Soap.

If Modern Warfare 2 is your first venture into the COD series then the storyline of MW2 might be a tad confusing, I believe that playing the first one is really the only way to both understand and truly enjoy the complexity of the story in Modern Warfare 2.

So if you haven’t done it yet, pick yourself up a copy of the original Modern Warfare.

And you should already have Modern Warfare 2, there’s no excuse for you not to have it.

Go, buy it.

Now.

5/5