Of course now I feel like a clown for having traded in ODST, which if you remember, allows you instant access into the Halo: Reach Beta on May 3rd.

So keep those discs handy boys and girls.

As for whats actually in the trailer, here are just a few of the things people have spotted.

• Custom Loadouts for powers. (Which the devs have already explained will be in multiplayer)
• Jetpacks (Halo going Tribal?)
• New Weapons: Needling Rifle, Covenant version of Spartan Laser, Grenade launcher, Designated Marksman Rifle.
• Modes: Invasion, Spartans vs. Elites, Headhunter and The Arena. (Halo gametypes have always bothered me, Reach might be the one to turn it around.)
• Active Rosters. (This could have something to do with Clans or simply a way to enter friends games.)
• Targeting reticule increases in size as accuracy lessens with continued fire.
• Maps in the trailer: Spillway, Yard, Rock Garden, Atrium, CIC, Smelter, Powerhouse level 2, Barren Field
• New Sweet Looking Assassinations (The animations look like they take a while, I hope this doesn’t have the same effect that the stealth kills had in AVP.)

Stay tuned for more information over the coming weeks.

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

Fallout: New Vegas is being developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks, the same folks behind Fallout 3.

While New Vegas will use both the same engine and style as Fallout 3, there will be no direct tie-ins between the two stories… Sorry guys, no picking up as your character from Vault 101.

Finally

Fallout: New Vegas will take place in and around the city of New Vegas, which we assume to be a fully functioning city (Or as fully functioning as a post-apocalyptic city can be) based on the teaser showing the Vegas skyline lit up at night. Unfortunately details are scarce right now since the teaser is basically the only source of information fans have received.

It should be noted however that a number of New Vegas’ developers have worked on previous Fallout games. I only mention this because The New California Republic has played a significant role in previous installments in the series, and the California flag which can be seen at the end of the teaser might mean that we’ll be seeing a lot of the NCR in New Vegas.

We’ll just have to wait for now… And by wait I really mean scour the internet for as much information as we can find.

- Dr Strange Lulz

In November of 2007 all of that changed.

What could have made me go back to loving single-player games and at the same time restore my faith in gaming altogether?

Mass Effect.

From the moment I closed that disc tray I was hooked, I had that controller in my hands for 36 hours straight, and when it was all over I was left feeling surprisingly complete and yet at the same time yearning for more. It was like playing video games for the first time all over again.

Now that we’ve had a trip down memory lane, lets get on with the review.

Fans of the original and newcomers alike will find themselves glued to their controllers for the unforeseeable future as the continued tale of Commander Shepard unfolds before them.

Mass Effect 2 Delivers.

Slowly loading textures? Elevator loading screens? Empty planets explored with a click of a button? All of these issues have been addressed and fixed. Nearly every complaint players had about the first game has been replaced and refined, leaving us with a streamlined product that may very well be the game of the decade.

As with the first game, the heart and soul of Mass Effect lies in the inhabitants of the universe, who through an even further refined dialogue system reveal themselves to the player and provide the intrigue and motivation for us to keep coming back time and time again. It becomes quite clear through the course of the game that the people you interact with have lives, lives that can be altered or even extinguished at the drop of a hat because of your actions. Gone are the “Fetch item X and deliver it to person Y” Generic side quests have been thrown out and fixed to the point where every ’side quest’ feels like an important mission in which your actions will affect the lives of the people you interact with.

To be honest one of the only possible problems I’ve encountered involved newcomers to the series. At points throughout the campaign various references are made to decisions made in the original Mass Effect, some of these plot twists and references won’t have the desired impact on people who haven’t played through the original Mass Effect. While this doesn’t in any way make the game unplayable by newcomers, some of the moments will lack the necessary…weight.

Combat and exploration have also received some necessary tweaks, while combat has become more streamlined (That word is perfect to describe much of ME2, you’ll probably see it used a bunch) and plays more like an action game than in the original game. Exploration has been one of the greatest improvements made between the two games. Exploration in Mass Effect was kind of a joke, in Mass Effect 2 exploration is taken much more seriously, allowing players to fully explore new areas and worlds.

A lot of people I know simply played through the original Mass Effect as a soldier, never really trying any of the other classes because they felt too tedious and impairing. . The redone character classes have been a great improvement to the overall feel that the guys over at Bioware were going for with Mass Effect 2’s combat system, making it feel more like an action game than it’s predecessor from the moment you first step into combat. I guarantee that players will go back and play as various other classes just to experience the infinite amount of ways to deal with various situations. Oh and Biotic Charge is just a bag of awesome.

I’m actually going to have to force myself to stop talking about this game at this point for fear of giving away any spoilers.

From the awe-inspiring visuals to the amazing voice acting, nearly every detail of mass effect is polished to perfection. The level design and soundtrack will keep the game centered around you as a player while constantly reminding you of the importance and scope of your mission as Commander Shepard.

Go out and get this game.

- Dr Strange Lulz

It was recently announced that Bioware would be releasing two Mass Effect 2 DLC sets alongside or soon after release of the actual game. It seems Bioware is trying its hand at some sort of new distribution platform that they’re calling ‘The Cerberus Network’. Access codes to The Cerberus Network (An in-game source of games and DLC) will come with all new copies of the game.  Buying Mass Effect 2 used will mean that you’ll need to purchase an ‘exclusive’ Cerberus Network activision code.

The first DLC pack  is being released along with the game on January 26th and includes include new items, missions, and characters. Zaeed, a soldier of fortune will join Commander Shepard in one of the new missions.

A second DLC pack is being released “Soon after launch” and features the Hammerhead, a new hover tank  along with new missions and unique items, including Cerberus Assault Armor and the M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun.

- Dr Strange Lulz

Reach is set prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and puts you in the shoes of Noble 6, the newest member of Noble Team. Noble Team is a six man squad consisting primarily of Spartan III’s (The heavy weapons specialist Jorge-052 is the only Spartan II) who will be instrumental in defending Reach from the invading Covenant.

Reach will definitely bring us back to the feel of Combat Evolved, with the original selection of guns (sniper rifle, plasma pistol, sword, assault rifle, magnum, and needler) making a return, along with a few new ones like the designated marksman rifle and needle rifle, as well as a non regenerating health bar.

Bungie has beefed up the tech behind Halo: Reach to allow a number of things that weren’t possible for the earlier games. 20 to 40 dynamic lights at one time, the number of on screen AI characters has doubled from 20 to 40, as well as motion capture for all cinematic sequences (Which are going to be numerous considering that Bungie has already stated that they’re taking a more cinematic approach to Reach.) are just a few of the improvements you can look forward to when Reach drops later this year.

With the outcome of the story already known (Reach falls to the Covenant, sparking off the events in Halo: Combat Evolved) it seems as though Bungie is going to instead rely on their amazing story-telling abilities to round out the Halo saga, and with the amount of Halo fans out there, they better do a damn good job.

- 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

Its a simple question, but a rather revealing one. For the most part gamers have been staring at screens filled with blood and gore since Doom first hit the scene, yet for some reason first person shooters (despite the constant threat of death) don’t really make people afraid. When playing a FPS you generally rely on your own skills, having enough faith in them that you never doubt that you could take on an entire room filled with enemies toting automatic weapons. Ever notice how your heart rate increases when you’re out of ammo and someone is just around the corner, its at that point when you realize that short of a miracle only quick thinking and even quicker reflexes will be the only thing that saves you.

Dead Space – I hate Necromorphs.

When I was going over this in my head I kept coming back to Dead Space, which let me just say… is the scariest game ever made. I’ve played my fair share of Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, I’ve beaten Doom 3 and FEAR, I’ve been scared before, but I’ve never felt absolute dread the way I did while playing Dead Space.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, executive producer Steve Papoutsis stated “What we discovered is people were – believe it or not – too scared playing Dead Space.” and I believe he is absolutely correct.

Gamers are conditioned to be collectors. Think back to the days of Mario, do you really have any idea why you were collecting those coins? Because they were there, that’s why. And now you’re all grown up, but you still search every room, find every chest, collecting everything you can find. With this in mind there comes a point in most survival horror games where the enemies are more of a bother than an actual threat, you have a BFG and enough ammunition to handle a horde of flesh eating zombies, and enough healing items to survive dying twenty times over, so where is the fear?

Pretty sure this was my wallpaper for a while.

With a revolutionary title like Dead Space released last year and a number of potentially scary games coming out this year (Alien vs Predator, Alan Wake, Silent Hill: Shattered, Bioshock 2) will we see a change in developer’s attitudes and general approach to survival horror, or will we see more of the same?

Frankly it was about time the survival horror genre got a spark of life and I look forward to what’s to come.

- Dr Strange Lulz