Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Dungeion Siege III Demo Pt. 1
This is me playing through the Dungeon Siege III demo. It will be in two parts due to YouTube limitations. Check back for the second half later tonight.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
On The Docket For May
A day late, but here it is none the less!
For the second May in a row Rockstar Games is releasing an open world sandbox title that is sure to sell like hotcakes. The game is set in L.A. in the 1940s, and places you in the role of police offer solving crimes based on real life news clippings from the time. Promising to be a more cerebral game then the likes of GTA/RDR L.A. Noire should be an exciting change of pace.
L.A. Noire releases May 17, 2011
L.A. Noire
For the second May in a row Rockstar Games is releasing an open world sandbox title that is sure to sell like hotcakes. The game is set in L.A. in the 1940s, and places you in the role of police offer solving crimes based on real life news clippings from the time. Promising to be a more cerebral game then the likes of GTA/RDR L.A. Noire should be an exciting change of pace.
L.A. Noire releases May 17, 2011
Brink
From the development team behind Enemy Territory: Quake Wars comes Brink. Brink is an FPS hoping to differentiate itself from the countless Call of Duty clones with an emphasis on team work (I've seen Team Fortress thrown around). The developers sought out seamless integration between single player and multi player modes (with multi player being the single player missions with added people). It features a class based system with objectives based upon your class, and a system that Splash Damage is calling SMART. The system allows for parkour type running along the surfaces assuming your character has the body type to allow for it.
Brink releases May 10, 2011.
Dirt 3
Once again I find myself out of my element talking about a game like Dirt (racing games not my style). I do believe the game will feature dynamic weather that will have effect on how your car handles on the track (though that may be an old feature at this point), rally racing, drifting, and they seem to have included a few multiplayer modes like capture the flag and infection to divert from the serious nature of racing at breakneck speeds on treacherous courses.
Dirt 3 releases May 24, 2011.
What I've been up to
Sorry for the disappearing act folks (those few loyal readers) so I best give a quick synopsis of what I have been up to these past three or so weeks.
Saints Row 1 & 2
After watching a friend's younger brother play around in Saints Row 2 I decided to purchase the double pack for about $20 off of Amazon. I will be honest, Saints Row 1 ran in my system for around one to two hours before I just said forget it, and moved on to Saints Row 2. In switching to the sequel I got a good shot at seeing how games change between sequels. Normally the sequels are spaced far enough apart that all the changes are not as obvious, and you still remember the original fondly. It was also a testament to changes in game design for me.
The big things that stood out were the lack of checkpoints in the first Saints Row which makes things frustrating when you've been shooting for about half an our, die, and then have to re-run all that stuff all over again. Quite frustrating, and I am very happy to see that nowadays developers have taken to a friendlier checkpoint system. The second thing of note is the silent protagonist. It is basically dead in gaming at this point. Bioware got rid of it in Dragon Age II, and Volition got rid of it for Saints Row 2. Having the protagonist (who you can also see) speak instead of shrug his shoulders in cutscenes adds a lot to the game in my opinion.
So after being a little disappointed at how dated the first Saints Row felt I found myself a little consumed by the second one. While I was at work all I could think about was getting off, and putting another couple of hours into the game to reach the finish line. The game is absurd (your first mission involves a firefight to escape from an island prison, and involves a helicopter being shot down), and I think that's why a lot of people probably claimed it was better than GTA IV, despite the polish that game has.
What amazes me I think is how compelled I was by a sandbox games. Sandbox games are something that I usually enjoy, but I don't ever look back to fondly upon the mission to mission errand boy structure that they feature. In fact I tend to cringe when people make the comment that a game needs to be sandbox.
NBA 2K11
Playoff time for basketball rolled around, I was feeling the hype, I had heard this game NBA 2K11 was pretty damn good, and I had not purchased a basketball game since Live '04. With this purchase in hand I set out to partake in the my player mode which would hopefully be better executed than EA's Road to Glory in the NCAA series (my go to sports game). I just have to say seven years is a long time to take off as the controls in basketball evolved further than those in football. I was garbage, but I have gotten better though still nothing amazing on the sticks.
While playing this game I am truly amazed by the presentation level whether it be the My Player mode or just the in game broadcast. It is an area where EA has lagged behind, but is certainly making strides to improve on. My negative on that front is how often the team specific commentary is recycled. Within a few weeks it started to grate on me (as I was playing on the Miami Heat) more than the commentary of NCAA Football 11 which I played for nine seasons of online dynasty (3x national champs!).
I can also say I am not fond of how heavily animation driven the game is. I go to try and grab an offensive rebound, and have to stop and watch as my player stops moving while the defender slides into position for a box out. It just feels like a lot of control taken out of my hands. Also, defending top players is annoyance for me. If I don't move into position to interfere with their drive to the lane they go into animation (triggered I assume by a combination of jump+dunk/lay-up) that carries them all the way to the rim. Frustrating to me, but I think this level of frustration is just inherent in sports games in general. It's a genre trying to replicate systems that are complex in real life already.
Mortal Kombat
Personally, I was hyped up for this release, but I ended up being lazy and not playing much of it. I did however get a solid Saturday in doing 2 vs 2 tag matches with a group of friends. Now personally while I grew up with it you could say, I don't have these crazy fond memories of MK II and MK III/UMK III. In this situation it doesn't matter though. You can feel the intent of getting things set right with this series reboot, and thinks work right. Features an amazing story mode (new standard for fighting games), a challenge tower with 300 missions (crucial for those PS3 purchases), and a ton of unlockables. The game is fan service, but fan service done right, and hopefully it holds well at Evo this year. Another plus is that this game is more my speed/style than a Street Fighter or Marvel vs Capcom.
Other Games
I dipped very briefly into Yakuza 3, and Resonance of Fate, but not much to offer a real opinion on either. I will say that Resonance of Fate will take me a while to master the combat system featured in that game.
Other News
I am now the proud owner of a Happauge PVR. This will allow me to capture gaming footage off of my 360, and PS3 so that I can bring forth additional content to this blog besides me jabbering the whole time.
Once again, sorry for the long time between posts, but I hope things pick up in May with some nice releases on the way.
Saints Row 1 & 2
After watching a friend's younger brother play around in Saints Row 2 I decided to purchase the double pack for about $20 off of Amazon. I will be honest, Saints Row 1 ran in my system for around one to two hours before I just said forget it, and moved on to Saints Row 2. In switching to the sequel I got a good shot at seeing how games change between sequels. Normally the sequels are spaced far enough apart that all the changes are not as obvious, and you still remember the original fondly. It was also a testament to changes in game design for me.
The big things that stood out were the lack of checkpoints in the first Saints Row which makes things frustrating when you've been shooting for about half an our, die, and then have to re-run all that stuff all over again. Quite frustrating, and I am very happy to see that nowadays developers have taken to a friendlier checkpoint system. The second thing of note is the silent protagonist. It is basically dead in gaming at this point. Bioware got rid of it in Dragon Age II, and Volition got rid of it for Saints Row 2. Having the protagonist (who you can also see) speak instead of shrug his shoulders in cutscenes adds a lot to the game in my opinion.
So after being a little disappointed at how dated the first Saints Row felt I found myself a little consumed by the second one. While I was at work all I could think about was getting off, and putting another couple of hours into the game to reach the finish line. The game is absurd (your first mission involves a firefight to escape from an island prison, and involves a helicopter being shot down), and I think that's why a lot of people probably claimed it was better than GTA IV, despite the polish that game has.
What amazes me I think is how compelled I was by a sandbox games. Sandbox games are something that I usually enjoy, but I don't ever look back to fondly upon the mission to mission errand boy structure that they feature. In fact I tend to cringe when people make the comment that a game needs to be sandbox.
NBA 2K11
Playoff time for basketball rolled around, I was feeling the hype, I had heard this game NBA 2K11 was pretty damn good, and I had not purchased a basketball game since Live '04. With this purchase in hand I set out to partake in the my player mode which would hopefully be better executed than EA's Road to Glory in the NCAA series (my go to sports game). I just have to say seven years is a long time to take off as the controls in basketball evolved further than those in football. I was garbage, but I have gotten better though still nothing amazing on the sticks.
While playing this game I am truly amazed by the presentation level whether it be the My Player mode or just the in game broadcast. It is an area where EA has lagged behind, but is certainly making strides to improve on. My negative on that front is how often the team specific commentary is recycled. Within a few weeks it started to grate on me (as I was playing on the Miami Heat) more than the commentary of NCAA Football 11 which I played for nine seasons of online dynasty (3x national champs!).
I can also say I am not fond of how heavily animation driven the game is. I go to try and grab an offensive rebound, and have to stop and watch as my player stops moving while the defender slides into position for a box out. It just feels like a lot of control taken out of my hands. Also, defending top players is annoyance for me. If I don't move into position to interfere with their drive to the lane they go into animation (triggered I assume by a combination of jump+dunk/lay-up) that carries them all the way to the rim. Frustrating to me, but I think this level of frustration is just inherent in sports games in general. It's a genre trying to replicate systems that are complex in real life already.
Mortal Kombat
Personally, I was hyped up for this release, but I ended up being lazy and not playing much of it. I did however get a solid Saturday in doing 2 vs 2 tag matches with a group of friends. Now personally while I grew up with it you could say, I don't have these crazy fond memories of MK II and MK III/UMK III. In this situation it doesn't matter though. You can feel the intent of getting things set right with this series reboot, and thinks work right. Features an amazing story mode (new standard for fighting games), a challenge tower with 300 missions (crucial for those PS3 purchases), and a ton of unlockables. The game is fan service, but fan service done right, and hopefully it holds well at Evo this year. Another plus is that this game is more my speed/style than a Street Fighter or Marvel vs Capcom.
Other Games
I dipped very briefly into Yakuza 3, and Resonance of Fate, but not much to offer a real opinion on either. I will say that Resonance of Fate will take me a while to master the combat system featured in that game.
Other News
I am now the proud owner of a Happauge PVR. This will allow me to capture gaming footage off of my 360, and PS3 so that I can bring forth additional content to this blog besides me jabbering the whole time.
Once again, sorry for the long time between posts, but I hope things pick up in May with some nice releases on the way.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Casual War
I feel that this generation of console gaming has been defined by the split between casual and hardcore gaming. This split has occurred on two fronts: 360 & PS3 VS the Wii, and PC gaming VS console gaming.
Nintendo took a simple approach to console making this generation. They did not spend the big R&D bucks to push out a top of the line console like Microsoft and Sony. Instead they made a simple system upgrade that would make them a profit from the start, and introduced a motion control scheme (which has since been adapted in one form or another by competitors) that coupled along with a lower starting price point allowed it to rise to the top of the sales chart on the backs of the casual gamer. Everybody has heard stories about people's non-gaming mothers, fathers, family members, and friends who jumped on the system for fun titles that bore a lot of nostalgia, or were really fun at a party they were just at.
Personally I have no interest in a Wii as they have not produced a library of games that interest me, nor do I seem old enough to have fond memories of the Nintendo classics such as Mario, Zelda, Metroid, so on, and so forth. At the same time, I can not deny how the Wii has grown the gaming populace even if they are casual who only have Wii Sports. It still brings main stream attention to gaming that is not coming from the controversy of the next M rated game.
The Wii's impact even prompted Microsoft and Sony to come out with the Kinect and Move add-ons. for motion control. Will I ever adapt? Highly unlikely as I still enjoy sitting down on a couch with a controller full of buttons in my hand, and not having to exert myself while playing a game (though it is a fun change of pace).
 | |
| The Big O! |
The split I find the most interesting is that between console gamers and pc gamers. This is one that I feel could get very heated when dealing with the PC Elitists as I like to refer to them. At times it feels like when talking to them that feel like console gaming is an abomination, and tainting of the purity that is gaming (see FPS, Dragon Age II, and the list goes on). I sit in a very interesting place as I own a gaming PC (when it works right), as well as a PS3 and 360. Hell, I cut my teeth playing Goldeneye on the N64 so I fall heavily towards being a console gamer, but there are times where I would not care to play a game on anything but a PC (Crysis 2).
I see things from both sides I like to think. The perception for the console gamer is that PC gaming is an expensive hobby that costs a substantial enough start up fee (say $600-$800) along with upgrades every two to three years to match the new games coming out. For some that would be a headache to deal with. I have even noted a few complaining out this console generations tendency to ship a game in a buggy state, and then patch it to working order which is something trickled down from PC gaming. They prefer to pop a game disc in, and know that it works right then and there without dealing with bugs that cause a crash to desktop, or tweaking graphical settings to get a suitable frame rate.
For the PC gamers the argument can be made that consoles end up being more expensive over the long haul with their five year average life span (which has lengthened this time around) like our buddy Phobia over at Simulation Generation. A game like Crysis 2 is supposed to be a graphical feast, and it is something that I would not be able to get the most of out without PC. Of course PC users also have an edge in control over there game when it comes to first person shooters, real time strategy games, and RPGs like Dragon Age (though DAII was given a modified action scheme for consoles).
It is a tough argument to pick sides on, and it will be very interesting to see how things will play out with more PC games getting a console port treatment (such as PC games saying Press Start). Personally, if it came down to it I would rather give up a gaming PC than my consoles.
Please weigh-in with your responses here on the blog, or hit me up at curseofspin@gmail.com. Also, don't forget to the blog on twitter!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
On The Docket For April
Sorry that I'm a few days late with April's docket, but I was busy moving into my new apartment and relishing the freedom. Without further ado let us dive in.
April looks like a sparser month for big name game release which some should find as a welcome reprieve for their wallets after March.
April looks like a sparser month for big name game release which some should find as a welcome reprieve for their wallets after March.
Mortal Kombat
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| Let the blood pour! |
One of gaming's oldest franchises is back after a side trip mash-up with DC Comics that took the series into the uncharted territory of an M rating. Mortal Kombat (aka MK9) looks like a reboot, and a bit of fan service as it takes the series back to a setting around MKII, borrows stages from MKII, and returns the game to a 2s plane for fighting with 3D visuals. Series first are X-Ray attacks (think Street Fighter IV Supers), and true tag team action. Needless to say, I am excited
Mortal Kombat releases April 19, 2011.
Portal 2
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| Portal 2 features co-op. |
The first Portal was a pack-in puzzle game included in Valve's Orange Box collection. A few years later we are presented with a full-priced sequel featuring more of the great puzzles that made the first title so popular, and you have the inclusion of co-op to bring your friends along for the mind-bending ride.
Portal 2 releases April 19, 2011
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs
 |
Zipper Interactive is back on the case for the SOCOM franchise after taking a detour with MAG. The SOCOM series is a squad based third person shooter that was one of the earliest PS2 titles with online play, and developed a big fanbase. Needless to say, anticipation among the SOCOM fans is probably sky high after Confrontation.
SOCOM 4 releases April 19, 2011.
Darkspore
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| Not as cute anymore |
I will be honest, and say that I have not followed much about the Darkspore press. For the most part all I can tell it is an action rpg-esque game base off of Spore from Will Wright. How much it truly borrows from the original Spore I have no idea, but I still figured this would be a pretty big April release.
Darkspore releases April 26, 2011.
For further comments e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com or follow me on twitter (look for the giant button on the side).
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Dragon Age II - Fenris Companion Quest
This is footage of me doing the Bitter Pill for Fenris in Dragon Age II. Spoilers ahead!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thoughts on Dragon Age II
Dragon Age II has been out for roughly two weeks now, and I feel it's time for me to write down all my thoughts on the game before they become untimely. I'll state right now that I am still in Act 2 of the game since I ran into computer issues last week that have very likely accelerated my plans for a new gaming computer. No idea how long this will end up as I start to go in, but I hope you folks will enjoy.
Graphics
Are the graphics for Dragon Age II improved over Origins? Certainly, and they work well for the game. The big thing for the new graphics is that Bioware took the time to go back, and re-tool the art style of the game as well as actually give important people in the Dragon Age universe a unique look (i.e. Flemeth) that really pays off. I really appreciate the effort made in this department as Origins was a generic game as far as the art style goes.
This new art style works well, and has factored into your companion NPCs clothing choices, but I'll touch on that in a later section. Still I will note a lot of the re-used animations from the first game while NPCs talk during a cut scene. I would not call it a negative, but the way animations roll over and over again for cut scenes for games that do not have pre-rendered video has always stood out to me.
Combat
Combat in this game is generally the same on PC as it was in Origins, but the way the combat is accomplished has been tweaked. It's obviously a mainstream appeal issue, and I can not say I have an issue with it. There are a lot of filler animations added into combat to deal with movement, and give the battles a faster feel. Rogues leap around the battlefield performing amazing acrobatic twists, and rolls across the ground while warriors seem to slide into heavy blows. Mages have also been made to look more dramatic while firing off their generic staff projectiles.
The battles have also taken a more action game approach in more then just the animations since your characters never miss an attack be it basic, spell, or some triggered talent. I am not sure how I feel about that since it just came to mind as I was writing this. There are still numbers being crunched behind the scene though with armor and defense ratings versus attack ratings, and critical chances.
The flow of battles has also changed since Bioware has taken a wave approach to how enemies show up. Personally I am not a fan of this design choice. I like to be presented with a battle, pause the game, size up everything, and then execute a plan of attack. Instead I am caught off guard by having a new enemy dropped in from out of nowhere behind my party who proceeds to tear into my archer, and mage because someone else had my attention. I deal with it, but it throws off my strategy. Also, Bioware dropped the ever so helpful colored names from enemies that allow you to size up their toughness. Instead they just have different size health bars floating over the top of their head with what appears at quick glance to only possess 3 variations much to my chagrin.
Mechanics
Just like there were sweeping changes to the battle system other game mechanics received the same treatment. Crafting of potions, traps, and poisons has been removed as a player skill. Instead you are given recipes that you can access from your home base, and use to make new items assuming you have taken the time to gather the required resources during your travels around Kirkwall. It feels to me a little bit like the Mass Effect 2 upgrade system with resources, but of course this is not upgrading your party members items and the resources are not consumed after making an item.
Speaking of Mass Effect 2, the companion armor system has been borrowed from that game as well. Look at what your companions are wearing at the start of the game. That is all they will ever wear. They have taken away the ability to equip individual pieces of armor, and have given you one armor piece that has four upgrades you either purchase, or find on a quest. Despite doing that you're still able to equip accessories, and swap out weapons and shields (side note: unequipping weapons leaves you with a generic crappy version for your class).
It means less fussing with gearing up your characters, but at the same time you allows you to forget to seek out your companions upgrades. It also has the nasty side effect of making a good portion of loot picked up useless. If I pick up a pair of unique boots that require 21 dexterity and 21 cunning I'll never wear them with my warrior who has all his points dumped into strength and constitution. Also, some of your characters are locked in to only one weapon choice. Two of the rogues acquired basically only have an archery tree, but to equip a dagger you are required to have a point in the dual wield talent tree which they lack. Bioware was very specific in what they wanted to give you in this game, and seems they did not want much change.
Skill trees received a big re-working for all the classes. They are presented to you in a web format, and each individual tree is sprinkled with a few new abilities. You essentially have two trees that represent an archetype i.e. sword and shield warrior, or two-handed warrior. Then you are given two more trees that to me seem to augment the other tree and are clearly defined. The warrior has defender which pairs with sword and shield talents for tanking, and the vanguard which help add to a two-handed warriors damage output. The mage lacks this setup, and the rogue's skill trees are a bit more varied to allow for roguish things like stealth.
Also, your companions all have a special tree unique to them. It's first ability is a passive earned depending on your friendship or rivalry level with them. Friendship talents impart a bonus to the companion, and your Hawke while rivalry is only for the companion. Digging into the tree gives the companions a bit more personality instead of them just being a generic rogue, or mage who went with elemental spells over primal. Once again I link this back with Mass Effect 2 and the abilities you unlocked through loyalty quests.
Specializations have been reduced from four to three in this game. The warrior keeps templar, reaver, and berserker, but champion talents have been re-assigned to the battlemaster talent tree. The rogue loses both bard, and ranger while gaining the shadow specialization (haven't seen it in action). Mages lose both shape shifter, and arcane warrior while gaining force mage (evidently a good nuker).
Story
Dragon Age II limits you to only playing as a human, and this allows Bioware to give a story that focuses centrally around your character. Origins is about the struggle against the Blight and the tried and true method of traveling to several places to recruit allies before facing the greater threat. While in the sequel I obviously have not made it to the end the game has simply been the story of Hawke, and his family's struggle to gain a foothold in a new city. I like the change as it delivers a more personal story. Also, the story does a lot to add on to the Chantry/Templars, and their tension with mages. The Qunari are also given a much more important role which helps build on the Dragon Age lore presented to the players.
Conclusion
I am really enjoying my time with Dragon Age II. The combat is fast, satisfying, and bloody. At the same time maybe they streamlined too much like taking away my isometric camera view for battles. I think the approach for streamlining works for the Mass Effect series since it was already trying to give you third person shooter mechanics blended with an RPG, but Dragon Age is a throwback that should not have to make apologies for what it is. Maybe this is a product of Bioware's size, EA's influence, or the simple need to reach more consumers during a time of econmoic hardship. Still, it's a great game that is moving forward with the times in gaming.
Graphics
Are the graphics for Dragon Age II improved over Origins? Certainly, and they work well for the game. The big thing for the new graphics is that Bioware took the time to go back, and re-tool the art style of the game as well as actually give important people in the Dragon Age universe a unique look (i.e. Flemeth) that really pays off. I really appreciate the effort made in this department as Origins was a generic game as far as the art style goes.
This new art style works well, and has factored into your companion NPCs clothing choices, but I'll touch on that in a later section. Still I will note a lot of the re-used animations from the first game while NPCs talk during a cut scene. I would not call it a negative, but the way animations roll over and over again for cut scenes for games that do not have pre-rendered video has always stood out to me.
Combat
Combat in this game is generally the same on PC as it was in Origins, but the way the combat is accomplished has been tweaked. It's obviously a mainstream appeal issue, and I can not say I have an issue with it. There are a lot of filler animations added into combat to deal with movement, and give the battles a faster feel. Rogues leap around the battlefield performing amazing acrobatic twists, and rolls across the ground while warriors seem to slide into heavy blows. Mages have also been made to look more dramatic while firing off their generic staff projectiles.
The battles have also taken a more action game approach in more then just the animations since your characters never miss an attack be it basic, spell, or some triggered talent. I am not sure how I feel about that since it just came to mind as I was writing this. There are still numbers being crunched behind the scene though with armor and defense ratings versus attack ratings, and critical chances.
The flow of battles has also changed since Bioware has taken a wave approach to how enemies show up. Personally I am not a fan of this design choice. I like to be presented with a battle, pause the game, size up everything, and then execute a plan of attack. Instead I am caught off guard by having a new enemy dropped in from out of nowhere behind my party who proceeds to tear into my archer, and mage because someone else had my attention. I deal with it, but it throws off my strategy. Also, Bioware dropped the ever so helpful colored names from enemies that allow you to size up their toughness. Instead they just have different size health bars floating over the top of their head with what appears at quick glance to only possess 3 variations much to my chagrin.
Mechanics
Just like there were sweeping changes to the battle system other game mechanics received the same treatment. Crafting of potions, traps, and poisons has been removed as a player skill. Instead you are given recipes that you can access from your home base, and use to make new items assuming you have taken the time to gather the required resources during your travels around Kirkwall. It feels to me a little bit like the Mass Effect 2 upgrade system with resources, but of course this is not upgrading your party members items and the resources are not consumed after making an item.
Speaking of Mass Effect 2, the companion armor system has been borrowed from that game as well. Look at what your companions are wearing at the start of the game. That is all they will ever wear. They have taken away the ability to equip individual pieces of armor, and have given you one armor piece that has four upgrades you either purchase, or find on a quest. Despite doing that you're still able to equip accessories, and swap out weapons and shields (side note: unequipping weapons leaves you with a generic crappy version for your class).
It means less fussing with gearing up your characters, but at the same time you allows you to forget to seek out your companions upgrades. It also has the nasty side effect of making a good portion of loot picked up useless. If I pick up a pair of unique boots that require 21 dexterity and 21 cunning I'll never wear them with my warrior who has all his points dumped into strength and constitution. Also, some of your characters are locked in to only one weapon choice. Two of the rogues acquired basically only have an archery tree, but to equip a dagger you are required to have a point in the dual wield talent tree which they lack. Bioware was very specific in what they wanted to give you in this game, and seems they did not want much change.
Skill trees received a big re-working for all the classes. They are presented to you in a web format, and each individual tree is sprinkled with a few new abilities. You essentially have two trees that represent an archetype i.e. sword and shield warrior, or two-handed warrior. Then you are given two more trees that to me seem to augment the other tree and are clearly defined. The warrior has defender which pairs with sword and shield talents for tanking, and the vanguard which help add to a two-handed warriors damage output. The mage lacks this setup, and the rogue's skill trees are a bit more varied to allow for roguish things like stealth.
Also, your companions all have a special tree unique to them. It's first ability is a passive earned depending on your friendship or rivalry level with them. Friendship talents impart a bonus to the companion, and your Hawke while rivalry is only for the companion. Digging into the tree gives the companions a bit more personality instead of them just being a generic rogue, or mage who went with elemental spells over primal. Once again I link this back with Mass Effect 2 and the abilities you unlocked through loyalty quests.
Specializations have been reduced from four to three in this game. The warrior keeps templar, reaver, and berserker, but champion talents have been re-assigned to the battlemaster talent tree. The rogue loses both bard, and ranger while gaining the shadow specialization (haven't seen it in action). Mages lose both shape shifter, and arcane warrior while gaining force mage (evidently a good nuker).
Story
Dragon Age II limits you to only playing as a human, and this allows Bioware to give a story that focuses centrally around your character. Origins is about the struggle against the Blight and the tried and true method of traveling to several places to recruit allies before facing the greater threat. While in the sequel I obviously have not made it to the end the game has simply been the story of Hawke, and his family's struggle to gain a foothold in a new city. I like the change as it delivers a more personal story. Also, the story does a lot to add on to the Chantry/Templars, and their tension with mages. The Qunari are also given a much more important role which helps build on the Dragon Age lore presented to the players.
Conclusion
I am really enjoying my time with Dragon Age II. The combat is fast, satisfying, and bloody. At the same time maybe they streamlined too much like taking away my isometric camera view for battles. I think the approach for streamlining works for the Mass Effect series since it was already trying to give you third person shooter mechanics blended with an RPG, but Dragon Age is a throwback that should not have to make apologies for what it is. Maybe this is a product of Bioware's size, EA's influence, or the simple need to reach more consumers during a time of econmoic hardship. Still, it's a great game that is moving forward with the times in gaming.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Dragon Age II Gameplay Montage
Quick video of some Dragon Age II footage I captured on the PC. Difficulty set to hard. Still working on getting a big impressions write up done, but I had PC issues this whole week much to my chagrin. Enjoy folks!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Homefront Gameplay 3-16-11
A quick video of me playing Homefront on the PC. I'm still working out how to get my video to capture, while maintaining a nice resolution. Clip was rendered in Windows Movie Maker Live (need something better), and captured with FRAPS. Enjoy fellows.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Small Update
Hey folks, I'm still around. Currently I'm plowing through Dragon Age II (PC), and I am having a blast. Game has been engrossing me, and I love the feel of combat. I am even managing to get through the game on Hard so far. I will say one thing: Give me back my isometric camera view on PC! Expect a further detailed breakdown of my play later on.
Also, I went ahead and pre-ordered Homefront off of Steam so I could get a hold of a copy of Metro 2033. Hopefully I get a chance to dive deep into those two titles as well, and provide some impressions.
Also, I went ahead and pre-ordered Homefront off of Steam so I could get a hold of a copy of Metro 2033. Hopefully I get a chance to dive deep into those two titles as well, and provide some impressions.
Monday, February 28, 2011
On The Docket For March
The month of March looks to be the first big month of the year with several sequels to top notch franchises, and a new IP trying to carve out its own place in the FPS market.
Fight Night Champion
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| First 'M' Rated Fight Night |
Fight Night Champion is the next in the Fight Night series, and features a re-designed right stick punching scheme meant to simplify things for the user while also giving better controls over the punches you want to throw. The game also features a story mode alongside the expected career mode, and has added some nice ESPN presentation. Check out the SG Sports video review here.
Fight Night Champion releases March 1, 2011.
Crysis 2
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| Is Your PC Ready? |
Crysis 2 is the sequel to the game that made many PC owners sad as it feasted upon the insides of their computer. I expect much of the same this time around, but if you're stuck on consoles Crytek has finally been nice enough to develop a game for the console owners, and has it looking great.
Crysis 2 releases March 22, 2011.
Homefront
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| Beware Korea |
Homefront is the second title from Kaos Studios, a team made up of people behind the famous Battlefield 1942 Desert Combat mod. The game takes places in 2027 where the Koreans have successfully invaded America (say what?!), and you play the role of a freedom fighter. Despite trying to give users a great single player story the big draw will of course be multiplayer which will put a lot of focus on large scale vehicle combat.
Homefront releases March 15, 2011.
Dragon Age II
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| Rise To Power |
As stated before, Dragon Age II is the sequel to Bioware's 2009 hit RPG, and one of my most anticipated games of the year. Expect faster combat, flashier moves, and more blood then the first game. For my demo impressions click here.
Dragon Age II releases March 8, 2011.
Shift 2: Unleashed
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| Awesome Helmet Cam |
Shift 2 is the next game in the Need For Speed series, and arrives only a few scant months after the release of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. Shift 2 is the simulation title in the Need For Speed lineup, and will be directly compared with the likes of Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport. All the pre-release trailers have shown off exciting in-game footage, a great helmet cam view, and touted the realism such as bringing in real life drivers.
Shift 2: Unleashed releases March 29, 2011.
MLB 11: The Show
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| Real or Fake? |
The MLB series from SCE San Diego Studio holds the crown for top baseball game, and many would contend top sports game period. MLB features some of the best graphics around, realistic game play, and outstanding presentation. Even if you are not a baseball fan (like me) it may be worth giving the game a shot for the Road To The Show mode.
MLB 11: The Show releases March 8, 2011.
Leave any questions or comments here on the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Dragon Age II Demo
With Dragon Age II roughly two weeks away, EA decided to grace us gamers with a demo of the game this past Tuesday for the usual suspects (PS3/360/PC). Even though I have yet to finish Dragon Age I decided to risk the spoilers, and jump into the demo (PS3 Version), and get a taste for how Bioware has revamped the game for the its second iteration.
The first Dragon Age released to a whole lot of critical acclaim, but one thing kept coming up as negative. It was a dated game plain and simple. I remember seeing a page posting for Dragon Age back before the 360 launched if that is any indication of how long this game was being worked. Despite the age of the engine behind Dragon Age it certainly played well in spite of low quality graphics, and in some ways it was the sequel to Baldur's Gate II the hardcore fan had been wanting. So they feasted upon Dragon Age, and those who partook of the PC version were treated to a dessert of varying mods to make the game easier, harder, or just give you stuff to do.
Now on to Dragon Age II. Coming across previews the big thing I gathered from Bioware that they wanted to focus on for the sequel (besides building lore), was improving the fluidity of the combat. I played the first on PC, and combat was simply a question of selecting an enemy and going into auto-attack while activating your character's special abilities. If you were too far away your character just kind of shuffled his way towards an enemy, and bumped around people as he tried to fit his way in. Dragon Age II has ratcheted up the action by having you mash on an attack button to continue your assault. Once you're close enough to an enemy your character engages in some kind of animation to maneuver him into position a lot faster (warriors have charge ability called "Scythe"). To go along with this theme of more action the blood and dismemberment seem to be a lot greater (though the first did not lack for blood splatter), and the special abilities seem a lot more over the top. All this leaves me with much more of an action rpg feel, but I will have to check out the PC demo to see how these changes have effected the stop and pause tactical feel the first Dragon Age had.
Of course the graphics got an overhaul both technically, but also artistically. I struggle for a word to describe how I think of the graphics, but maybe smooth works. The game isn't pushing for a photo-realistic look so the artistic flair of the redesigned Qunari, or the re-worked Flemmeth model looks really nice, and I'd say gives them more character instead of just looking like any other NPC with maybe a unique hair style.
As far as what you will get to experience in the demo is a short two sections of game play with some of the back story thrown in. The first section I surmise is the beginning of the game which involves the main character, Hawke, and his family fleeing from Lothering at the time the Blight consumes in it in the first Dragon Age. The second game play piece takes place in a new location several levels on down the line in the city of Kirkwall.
Other changes to the game include being able to only play a human. This seems to be the trade-off you have to deal with to have a main character who has voice work as the day of the silent protagonist is pretty much dead (even my parents mocked the first Dragon Age for having no voice work). Dragon Age II has also adopted a Mass Effect style conversation wheel though it should be noted that the middle option seems to represent a sarcastic comment rather than the neutral choice in Mass Effect.
So will the hardcore folks who cut their teeth on the likes of Baldur's Gate be happy with the changes to the game play? Honestly I doubt it after having peeked at the Bioware forums every once in a while. The game is making a move toward more accessible game play, and broader appeal like Bioware is doing with the Mass Effect series. I can't say that I blame them. In this economic climate you have to be able to bring in a bigger audience to stay a viable studio development costs for these games being so high.
Leave any comments here at the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
The first Dragon Age released to a whole lot of critical acclaim, but one thing kept coming up as negative. It was a dated game plain and simple. I remember seeing a page posting for Dragon Age back before the 360 launched if that is any indication of how long this game was being worked. Despite the age of the engine behind Dragon Age it certainly played well in spite of low quality graphics, and in some ways it was the sequel to Baldur's Gate II the hardcore fan had been wanting. So they feasted upon Dragon Age, and those who partook of the PC version were treated to a dessert of varying mods to make the game easier, harder, or just give you stuff to do.
Now on to Dragon Age II. Coming across previews the big thing I gathered from Bioware that they wanted to focus on for the sequel (besides building lore), was improving the fluidity of the combat. I played the first on PC, and combat was simply a question of selecting an enemy and going into auto-attack while activating your character's special abilities. If you were too far away your character just kind of shuffled his way towards an enemy, and bumped around people as he tried to fit his way in. Dragon Age II has ratcheted up the action by having you mash on an attack button to continue your assault. Once you're close enough to an enemy your character engages in some kind of animation to maneuver him into position a lot faster (warriors have charge ability called "Scythe"). To go along with this theme of more action the blood and dismemberment seem to be a lot greater (though the first did not lack for blood splatter), and the special abilities seem a lot more over the top. All this leaves me with much more of an action rpg feel, but I will have to check out the PC demo to see how these changes have effected the stop and pause tactical feel the first Dragon Age had.
Of course the graphics got an overhaul both technically, but also artistically. I struggle for a word to describe how I think of the graphics, but maybe smooth works. The game isn't pushing for a photo-realistic look so the artistic flair of the redesigned Qunari, or the re-worked Flemmeth model looks really nice, and I'd say gives them more character instead of just looking like any other NPC with maybe a unique hair style.
As far as what you will get to experience in the demo is a short two sections of game play with some of the back story thrown in. The first section I surmise is the beginning of the game which involves the main character, Hawke, and his family fleeing from Lothering at the time the Blight consumes in it in the first Dragon Age. The second game play piece takes place in a new location several levels on down the line in the city of Kirkwall.
Other changes to the game include being able to only play a human. This seems to be the trade-off you have to deal with to have a main character who has voice work as the day of the silent protagonist is pretty much dead (even my parents mocked the first Dragon Age for having no voice work). Dragon Age II has also adopted a Mass Effect style conversation wheel though it should be noted that the middle option seems to represent a sarcastic comment rather than the neutral choice in Mass Effect.
So will the hardcore folks who cut their teeth on the likes of Baldur's Gate be happy with the changes to the game play? Honestly I doubt it after having peeked at the Bioware forums every once in a while. The game is making a move toward more accessible game play, and broader appeal like Bioware is doing with the Mass Effect series. I can't say that I blame them. In this economic climate you have to be able to bring in a bigger audience to stay a viable studio development costs for these games being so high.
Leave any comments here at the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Monday, February 21, 2011
Another Game Down
My backlog quest continues as I finished my run through Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
Effectively my journey through Enslaved started late Sunday evening, and ended around brunch on a Monday. Of course time was taken in between to gather plenty of sleep. Either way, Enslaved is a short game, and I might have been a bit upset with it if I had not acquired it via a sale.
Length of adventure aside, the team at Ninja Theory built an enjoyable tale that centers heavily on the relationship between protagonists Trip and Monkey. The game starts with Monkey escaping a crashing slave ship, and waking up to find that Trip has slapped a slave headband on his head to force him to help her get home. A begrudging relationship grows into one where the characters truly begin to care for each other, and thanks to great voice acting, and very nice facial animation so does the player.
I was really amazed at Ninja Theory pulled off in regards to facial animation since this is a game running on the Unreal Engine. On top of the facial stuff the world of Enslaved was also very nice to behold with junkyard locales, to cities overgrown by vegetation, and desert wastelands. I will note that were a few times that the frame rate in the game dropped, and the texture pop-in of the Unreal Engine did surface from time to time, but certainly not enough to mar the beauty of the game.
The combat of the game is very simple, but it works. A lot of mashing on the light and hard attack buttons, with some dodge rolling or blocking involved. A counter move can be purchased, but I rarely made us of it. A few sections become shooting heavy as you use Monkey's staff to fire off stun blasts, and plasma energy to take down your foes. Very simple, but not every game needs to have some complex combat system to make it enjoyable.
For me Enslaved really shines when it gets into the platforming, and the last few chapters have some great set piece environments to traverse. I will say though that the platforming is easy mode. The next thing that Monkey has to grab is always highlighted so you just have to move your joystick in the direction of the of the next handhold, and press the jump button. Also, you don't have to worry about coming up short, or flying off to the side of a jump as Monkey automatically makes the canned animation jump. Is it easy? Yes, but it takes out some of the frustration I've had with the likes of Assassin's Creed and inFamous where sometimes your character makes this really awkward off target leap leading to your death when those games feature a heavy magnetized system as well.
My final thoughts on Enslaved are that it is worth playing through once, but maybe only on a rental due to length. I was most impressed by the voice work, and facial animations of the game which really help carry the story over. While it won't rank very high on my all time game list it should certainly be considered if you have nothing else to play.
Leave any comments here at the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
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| Trip & Monkey |
Length of adventure aside, the team at Ninja Theory built an enjoyable tale that centers heavily on the relationship between protagonists Trip and Monkey. The game starts with Monkey escaping a crashing slave ship, and waking up to find that Trip has slapped a slave headband on his head to force him to help her get home. A begrudging relationship grows into one where the characters truly begin to care for each other, and thanks to great voice acting, and very nice facial animation so does the player.
I was really amazed at Ninja Theory pulled off in regards to facial animation since this is a game running on the Unreal Engine. On top of the facial stuff the world of Enslaved was also very nice to behold with junkyard locales, to cities overgrown by vegetation, and desert wastelands. I will note that were a few times that the frame rate in the game dropped, and the texture pop-in of the Unreal Engine did surface from time to time, but certainly not enough to mar the beauty of the game.
The combat of the game is very simple, but it works. A lot of mashing on the light and hard attack buttons, with some dodge rolling or blocking involved. A counter move can be purchased, but I rarely made us of it. A few sections become shooting heavy as you use Monkey's staff to fire off stun blasts, and plasma energy to take down your foes. Very simple, but not every game needs to have some complex combat system to make it enjoyable.
For me Enslaved really shines when it gets into the platforming, and the last few chapters have some great set piece environments to traverse. I will say though that the platforming is easy mode. The next thing that Monkey has to grab is always highlighted so you just have to move your joystick in the direction of the of the next handhold, and press the jump button. Also, you don't have to worry about coming up short, or flying off to the side of a jump as Monkey automatically makes the canned animation jump. Is it easy? Yes, but it takes out some of the frustration I've had with the likes of Assassin's Creed and inFamous where sometimes your character makes this really awkward off target leap leading to your death when those games feature a heavy magnetized system as well.
My final thoughts on Enslaved are that it is worth playing through once, but maybe only on a rental due to length. I was most impressed by the voice work, and facial animations of the game which really help carry the story over. While it won't rank very high on my all time game list it should certainly be considered if you have nothing else to play.
Leave any comments here at the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What I've Been Up To
Hello there my faithful blog readers. Much apologies to missing an update so long, but at least I was playing some video games during that time, right? Right!
Once again I find myself playing through a game I added to my backlog at the end of 2010 with my PS3 purchase. Mafia II probably had a lot of hype to live up to with its following from the critically acclaimed first Mafia game (PC more than console ports). I never played the first game, but I was certainly excited to delve into the life of a mobster.
What I enjoyed most about the game is the setting as it takes place partially during the 1940s, and 1950s America in the fictional Empire Bay (an analog for New York City). I had fun snatching up any old model car that looked cool so that I could cruise around to a shop, and buy a nice tailored suit. This does bring me to a negative regarding the game.
I think a lot of previews for this game would have people thinking Grand Theft Auto with an alternate setting, but honestly this is a very linear open world game. The structure of Mafia II is mission based where the main character wakes up in his current residence, answers a phone call to meet someone about a mission, goes to complete the mission, and then you're informed to return home and go to sleep to finish the chapter. Now certainly you can ignore the mission during the course of the chapter to go explore the city, but honestly there isn't much you can do in the city. It's limited to robbing store, stealing cars, customizing those stolen rides, buying some clothing, and maybe stopping in for a bite to eat.
So in those regards it does feel like the time spent crafting a big open world city were wasted, but it is what it is and the city certainly still provides great atmosphere for you to soak in. Game play is your standard on foot third person shooter controls, and features a button press cover system. I did struggle to aim, and that might be due to my low comfort level with the PS3 controller (most of my shooting is done on a 360). It did seem to me that the aim-assist was inconsistent. There were times where I'd pop up out of cover to fire a few rounds, and have the reticule line up for a perfect head shot while other times I found myself staring a few inches off to the side of even the body of person I was trying to shoot.
Mafia II is not a very difficult game as I made it through on hard mode without many struggles up until the final two chapters of the game due to some design decisions. Mafia II uses a sparse check point system which can make things frustrating if you've just spent several minutes clearing a room, and then moved outside to a cut scene where you die once the action picks back up. Maybe we've been conditioned to think a cut scene (a break in action) equals a check point for progress?
My other frustration came from interesting enemy placement in the final two chapters combined with the increase in damage that accompanies raising the difficulty level in games. I suffered cheap deaths from trying to walk down stairs with no safe approach. I suffered a death because an enemy hopped a wall to an area that I didn't think was accessible, and sat around until I had it and walked up a set of stairs. Part of this might have been eased if enemy locations showed up on your radar. It's an omission that I could have forgiven if the developers had not taken the time to make sure police cars, and on foot officers were well displayed including the direction they're facing.
Overall the game was very enjoyable for me despite frustrations, and I found the story very enjoyable even if I felt bad about the stories outcome (Hmmm, same thing happened with Heavy Rain). The next thing I have to figure out is how many trophies do I want get from it by tracking down the 50 Playboy centerfolds (only accessible in specific chapters, tracking down over 100 wanted posters (accessible at any time), and making the decision to buy the DLC centering around the main characters childhood friend.
Leave comments on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Mafia II
What I enjoyed most about the game is the setting as it takes place partially during the 1940s, and 1950s America in the fictional Empire Bay (an analog for New York City). I had fun snatching up any old model car that looked cool so that I could cruise around to a shop, and buy a nice tailored suit. This does bring me to a negative regarding the game.
I think a lot of previews for this game would have people thinking Grand Theft Auto with an alternate setting, but honestly this is a very linear open world game. The structure of Mafia II is mission based where the main character wakes up in his current residence, answers a phone call to meet someone about a mission, goes to complete the mission, and then you're informed to return home and go to sleep to finish the chapter. Now certainly you can ignore the mission during the course of the chapter to go explore the city, but honestly there isn't much you can do in the city. It's limited to robbing store, stealing cars, customizing those stolen rides, buying some clothing, and maybe stopping in for a bite to eat.
So in those regards it does feel like the time spent crafting a big open world city were wasted, but it is what it is and the city certainly still provides great atmosphere for you to soak in. Game play is your standard on foot third person shooter controls, and features a button press cover system. I did struggle to aim, and that might be due to my low comfort level with the PS3 controller (most of my shooting is done on a 360). It did seem to me that the aim-assist was inconsistent. There were times where I'd pop up out of cover to fire a few rounds, and have the reticule line up for a perfect head shot while other times I found myself staring a few inches off to the side of even the body of person I was trying to shoot.
Mafia II is not a very difficult game as I made it through on hard mode without many struggles up until the final two chapters of the game due to some design decisions. Mafia II uses a sparse check point system which can make things frustrating if you've just spent several minutes clearing a room, and then moved outside to a cut scene where you die once the action picks back up. Maybe we've been conditioned to think a cut scene (a break in action) equals a check point for progress?
My other frustration came from interesting enemy placement in the final two chapters combined with the increase in damage that accompanies raising the difficulty level in games. I suffered cheap deaths from trying to walk down stairs with no safe approach. I suffered a death because an enemy hopped a wall to an area that I didn't think was accessible, and sat around until I had it and walked up a set of stairs. Part of this might have been eased if enemy locations showed up on your radar. It's an omission that I could have forgiven if the developers had not taken the time to make sure police cars, and on foot officers were well displayed including the direction they're facing.
Overall the game was very enjoyable for me despite frustrations, and I found the story very enjoyable even if I felt bad about the stories outcome (Hmmm, same thing happened with Heavy Rain). The next thing I have to figure out is how many trophies do I want get from it by tracking down the 50 Playboy centerfolds (only accessible in specific chapters, tracking down over 100 wanted posters (accessible at any time), and making the decision to buy the DLC centering around the main characters childhood friend.
Leave comments on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
On The Docket For February
February is certainly not a heavy month for gaming, but it does feature a couple of games that should be big sellers, a sequel to a well received racing game, and another title that might see huge sales due to an attached beta.
Killzone 3
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| Helghast |
Killzone is one of Sony's flagship franchises, and their only first person shooter. After a lukewarm reception for the first title on PS2, developer Guerrilla Games rekindled hype for the franchise with a beautiful trailer for Killzone 2 as part of Sony's E3 announcement for the PS3.Killzone 2 arrived in February of 2009 to great review scores (91% on Metacritic). Now we are presented with Killzone 3 which should provide more of the great game play gamers fell in love with in Killzone 2, and of course the title will feature Move support. Expect a beta to release sometime early in February.
Killzone 3 releases February 22, 2011.
Killzone 3 releases February 22, 2011.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3
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| Dormammu |
Back in February 2009 Capcom released the long awaited Street Fighter IV. This resulted in what I feel was a resurgence in the popularity of fighting games. It was followed up by releases of BlazBlue (from the creator's of Guilty Gear), and new entries in old fighting game stalwarts Tekken and King of Fighters. Well this February we get to see the next chapter of another fighting game monster and that is the one and only Marvel vs. Capcom franchise. It took ten years, but the fans finally have something new to turn to.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 releases Feburary 15, 2011.
Test Drive Unlimited 2
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| More Open Miles of Driving to Come |
| The big selling point for the first Test Drive Unlimited was giving players a detailed open world recreation of one of Hawaii's islands for them to speed about while always being connected to online events and races. The second game shifts to the Mediterranean of Ibiza, and will even feature a story this time around. Other new additions include dynamic weather, day and night cycle, damage modeling, and players will also be able to return to an updated version of the island from the first game. Test Drive Unlimited 2 releases February 8, 2011. Bulletsorm  You can't talk about Bulletstorm and not mention the Epic Edition for the 360. Why you may ask? Because it includes access to the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta (a tactic we've seen used with Halo 3: ODST and Crackdown). That tactic is going to generate huge sales, but I really feel like this game is going to be a whole mess load of fun on its own. The goal of the game is to get a high score. How you do that is by picking up ridiculously overpowered weapons, and combining them with your characters other abilities to generate outlandish death sequences. The only limitation is your creativity. There is a demo up on the XBL Marketplace (unsure about the PS3) so give it a look. Bulletstorm releases February 22, 2011. Once again, leave a comment here on the blog, or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com with your thoughts, ideas, and feedback. |
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thoughts On Heavy Rain
So it has been a good minute since I last spoke to my blog followers. A number of reasons involved like me sleeping through the day (night shift worker), being busy (apartment and furniture shopping), and of course not doing playing new games (new to me). After all, how do you fuel a blog about gaming without having new games to talk about? You don't, and that was a mistake on my part.
This past week I finally jumped into my copy of Heavy Rain just about a year after its initial release. Heavy Rain was definitely one of the games that made me want to get a PS3 after Quantic Dreams put out Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit (sleeper hit) on the PS2/Xbox. I'm a bit loathe to use the term spiritual successor when referring to Heavy Rain, but maybe evolution is more apt? Heavy Rain is one of the few modern adventure games out there, and during pre and post release hype was often compared to playing out like a movie.
Did the game live up to its hype for me? I'm not quite sure. The big thing for this game as I remember were graphics in regards to character modeling, and especially facial reaction. I look at the characters faces and they are certainly detailed (the loading screen is a big close up of one of the games four protagonist), and they look just fine when characters are talking, but they seem off for me when I look at the characters faces as they're doing nothing. One of the things I liked so much about last year's hit Red Dead Redemption was how many little animations went into the characters during cut scenes to make them look real, and less like a motion captured video game model. I don't get that feel from Heavy Rain, but that's minor and no big deal as a lot of games on this generation of consoles are not able to or don't pull that off.
I am also a little bit turned off by the textures in the environment and clothing. Perhaps my A/V settings are not optimal but seeing a blurry sign hanging up in front of a building, or noticing that the rips and cuts in a characters pants are low resolution certainly puts a dimmer on what is for the most part a very nice looking game. I also was not a fan of seeing one of the characters bandaged up, and realizing that they were not able to somehow separate the layers and instead just replaced the body texture of the character (this may be a hard graphical limitation to over come). Not to be all negative, I do like seeing some of the interaction between objects such as seeing a person actually slide their arm through the strap of a backpack, or a character being able to pull a piece of paper out of an envelope.
Another big portion for a game driven so much by story is its voice acting and ability to carry the emotion of what is supposed to be such a heavy, and trying series of events for the main characters. The voice acting for me has been a mixed bag mostly because of the accents. I have to assume the game is set somewhere in the United States since of the main characters is a member of the FBI but so many characters have a French accent that it throws things off for me. I assume this is simply a by product of Quantic Dreams being a French development studio. It still throws off some of the immersion, and makes me wish they had gotten a hold of better voice actors since this was Sony exclusive IP.
As far as the story is concerned I am hooked. The scenes with the father Ethan Mars are very emotional, and certainly pull on your heart strings (even if they do seem out of Saw). The most promising part for me is the idea of a branching story that allows for the game to continue even if one of the protagonist (of which there are four) dies. It provides an incentive to be careful the first time through knowing that the game will not just kick you back to a previous check point, and gives me incentive to replay each scene.
Looking back at what I wrote I see a lot of negative. Trust me, this game no where disappoints me the way Fable 3 did. It offers something different from the gluttony of shooters that generate so many sales in the video game industry. I'm enjoying my play through, and if you are like me and failed to play this title at some point last year then at least give it a rental t enjoy the experience.
Leave your comments here on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
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| The Origami Killer |
Did the game live up to its hype for me? I'm not quite sure. The big thing for this game as I remember were graphics in regards to character modeling, and especially facial reaction. I look at the characters faces and they are certainly detailed (the loading screen is a big close up of one of the games four protagonist), and they look just fine when characters are talking, but they seem off for me when I look at the characters faces as they're doing nothing. One of the things I liked so much about last year's hit Red Dead Redemption was how many little animations went into the characters during cut scenes to make them look real, and less like a motion captured video game model. I don't get that feel from Heavy Rain, but that's minor and no big deal as a lot of games on this generation of consoles are not able to or don't pull that off.
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| Protagonist Ethan Mars |
Another big portion for a game driven so much by story is its voice acting and ability to carry the emotion of what is supposed to be such a heavy, and trying series of events for the main characters. The voice acting for me has been a mixed bag mostly because of the accents. I have to assume the game is set somewhere in the United States since of the main characters is a member of the FBI but so many characters have a French accent that it throws things off for me. I assume this is simply a by product of Quantic Dreams being a French development studio. It still throws off some of the immersion, and makes me wish they had gotten a hold of better voice actors since this was Sony exclusive IP.
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| Protagonist Norman Jayden |
As far as the story is concerned I am hooked. The scenes with the father Ethan Mars are very emotional, and certainly pull on your heart strings (even if they do seem out of Saw). The most promising part for me is the idea of a branching story that allows for the game to continue even if one of the protagonist (of which there are four) dies. It provides an incentive to be careful the first time through knowing that the game will not just kick you back to a previous check point, and gives me incentive to replay each scene.
Looking back at what I wrote I see a lot of negative. Trust me, this game no where disappoints me the way Fable 3 did. It offers something different from the gluttony of shooters that generate so many sales in the video game industry. I'm enjoying my play through, and if you are like me and failed to play this title at some point last year then at least give it a rental t enjoy the experience.
Leave your comments here on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Monday, January 17, 2011
Our Affiliates
If you've taken a chance to look over to the right side of this blog you've noticed the affiliates side bar, and a fleur-de-lis logo. That's for the one and only Phobia (or Beezy as I like to call him) who has very recently opened his own website dedicated to Sports Gaming (a passion very dear to my heart) called Simulation Generation Sports or SimGen Sports for short.
Just recently he launched his first web show for SimGen. In it you get a quick intro to everything his website is about, a suggested slider set for NCAA Football 2011, and some running tips for Backbreaker. So please everyone, give it a watch, subscribe, and click on the little side logo to visit the site.
Leave comments here on the blog, or shoot me an e-mail at curseofspin@gmail.com
Just recently he launched his first web show for SimGen. In it you get a quick intro to everything his website is about, a suggested slider set for NCAA Football 2011, and some running tips for Backbreaker. So please everyone, give it a watch, subscribe, and click on the little side logo to visit the site.
Leave comments here on the blog, or shoot me an e-mail at curseofspin@gmail.com
Saturday, January 15, 2011
On The Docket For January
Coming off the holiday rush January is usually a slow month for gaming, but in 2011 we can expect some pretty big releases to start the new year off right.
Dead Space 2
The sequel to the 2008 hit horror shooter from EA has already been garnering great early reviews. I enjoy playing games that provide a nice scare or tense atmosphere, but I haven't found much outside of the titles developed by Monolith. As it were, I would be excited to add this game to my collection, but the first Dead Space still remains on my back log for completion. In due time I shall return to this great series.
Dead Space 2 is releasing January 25, 2011.
Little Big Planet 2
In a year that will see almost all of Sony's first party exclusive titles hit Little Big Planet 2 is being pushed out the door first. I haven't followed much about this game since I did not have a PS3 at the time of the original game's release, but the few times I come across I get the vibe of bigger and better. I'm all for that with a game that is so community driven as Little Big Planet. I always enjoy seeing what gamers can bring to life when given the same creation tools as developers.
Little Big Planet 2 is releasing January 18, 2011.
DC Universe Online
One of the earliest things I remember about the 360 when it was being released were announcements of bring MMO games to the console in a big way (previously only had FFXI on PS2). We were supposed to see a port of FFXI, Huxley, Age of Conan, and Marvel Universe. Huxley and Age of Conan never made it, and Microsoft pulled the plug on Marvel Universe which Cryptic re-purposed into Champions Online which also never made a debut on 360.
The news of Marvel Universe had folks excited about the thought of playing along side some of their favorite comic book heroes (and not just the well done creations of City of Heroes/Villains). It's cancellation was certainly a sad event, but gamers had hope with the Sony exclusive DC Universe Online. DC Universe Online is a very twitched based game designed with console gamer in mind, and has actually released. Comic book lovers rejoice!
DC Universe Online released January 11, 2011.
Mass Effect 2
It was only a matter of time before the 360 lost its exclusivity with the Mass Effect series after EA purchased Rpg giant Bioware. PS3 users rejoice as they get a port of Mass Effect 2 running on the engine for Mass Effect 3, and they also get the bonus of several Mass Effect 2 DLC being included on disc for free. Enjoy.
Mass Effect 2 (PS3) releases January 18, 2011.
And for me? I have no game purchases to make after spending like crazy thanks to Black Friday (PS3 & games), and the Steam Massive Christmas Sale. Instead I have turned my focus to finishing off Dragon Age: Origins and the Awakening sequel.
This is the game I truly feel bad about not finishing. I was super excited for this game. I had just built a new PC a few months early, and went out and bought this day one. Then I was crushed under the weight of the difficulty (though folks like this consider it any easy game), or better phrased as my lack of understanding how to take advantage of everything the combat system provides.
Over a year later I'm back, and with the release of Dragon Age II on the horizon I will learn. I will persevere. I will conquer Origins, and await the arrival of Dragon Age II from a mountain high as I descend upon it like the Dwarven Berserkers of Orzimmar.
Leave a comment with the post or send me an e-mail at curseofspin@gmail.com
Dead Space 2
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| Dead Space 2 |
Dead Space 2 is releasing January 25, 2011.
Little Big Planet 2
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| Little Big Planet 2 |
Little Big Planet 2 is releasing January 18, 2011.
DC Universe Online
 | |
| WarBlade of Xbox_Roughneck @ Operation Sports |
The news of Marvel Universe had folks excited about the thought of playing along side some of their favorite comic book heroes (and not just the well done creations of City of Heroes/Villains). It's cancellation was certainly a sad event, but gamers had hope with the Sony exclusive DC Universe Online. DC Universe Online is a very twitched based game designed with console gamer in mind, and has actually released. Comic book lovers rejoice!
DC Universe Online released January 11, 2011.
Mass Effect 2
 |
| Grunt |
Mass Effect 2 (PS3) releases January 18, 2011.
And for me? I have no game purchases to make after spending like crazy thanks to Black Friday (PS3 & games), and the Steam Massive Christmas Sale. Instead I have turned my focus to finishing off Dragon Age: Origins and the Awakening sequel.
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| Dragon Age: Origins |
Over a year later I'm back, and with the release of Dragon Age II on the horizon I will learn. I will persevere. I will conquer Origins, and await the arrival of Dragon Age II from a mountain high as I descend upon it like the Dwarven Berserkers of Orzimmar.
Leave a comment with the post or send me an e-mail at curseofspin@gmail.com
Sunday, January 9, 2011
2011 Most Anticipated
2011 is a year poised for greatness in the world of gaming. Industry heavy hitters such as the Elder Scrolls franchise poised for new releases this year. Barring a rash of delays at the back end of the year we should all be very happy. With such a great year ahead of us, here are my most anticipated games of 2011 and a small blurb about why.
Dragon Age II
If you were to look across a list of my top games a common thread would begin to develop: Bioware. I am unashamed of my love for all games made by the Canadian developer. I trust fully in what they make, and pray they never betray that trust. Even so it would probably still only end up like this.
Mass Effect 3
The Mass Effect series is firmly perched atop my list of top 360 games (and maybe overall), and looks down upon everything else. As the conclusion of the Mass Effect Trilogy and my earlier profession of love for Bioware it would be safe to say that this is THE most anticipated game of 2011 for me. Also, Mass Effect for the Star Wars of my generation!
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Yes, another Bioware developed game. My love of Bioware actually started with a game that made by another developer. That game is Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
It’s not so much that I care about Lord of the Rings, but more so that I want to see if Snowblind Studios still has the magic that made the Champions of Norrath series so addicting for my friends and me in high school. Many a sleepless night was spent on co-op as we grinded through levels for better loot. It has been a long time since their last release of Justice League: Heroes back in 2006.
Rage
This represents the graphic whore in me. The id Tech 5 engine has this game looking beautiful, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
The Last Guardian
Team ICO makes games with great art style, and amazing emotional appeal for me. I have only played Shadow of the Colossus which was an epic adventure that tugged at the heart strings. With the release of the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus collection this year I will get to enjoy these two amazing games in HD before the Last Guardian arrives.
Honorable Mention
Homefront, Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Kings of Amular: Reckoning, Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Leaves comments on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Leaves comments on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Welcome to the Curse Of Spin!
I would like to welcome everybody to the inaugural post for the Curse Of Spin blog! It has been a long time coming (aka I was lazy). This blog has a two-fold purpose for me. The first reason why this blog is so important is that it allows me to espouse my love for video gaming by a combination of posting blog updates here, linking to news articles via the Curse Of Spin twitter account, and networking with my fellow online gaming associates who have struck out and made their own websites.
The second reason behind this blog is the real reason this is even up: Practice. Back in May of 2010 I graduated from college with a degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations. Since then I have failed to find employment in the field that I spent four years of schooling on. So it dawns on me that I need to be a bit of a self-starter, and do something on my own before my skills erode completely. I chose this combination of blog and twitter for a few reasons.
- The biggest thing is that it is free for the time being. I am employed, but I need something that doesn't require a huge capital investment. This may change if future plans come to fruition (i.e. new PC + HD capture equipment to provide video content).
- The most obvious is that it allows me to practice my writing skills. I only spent a semester writing for the school paper, and I know I have a ways to go in mastering AP Style and editing.
- Social media is a big part of society nowadays, and it would be of invaluable experience to be able to show an employer a firm grasp of social networking skills.
So bear with me as I grow into a public relations/social media professional. Leave feedback here on the blog or e-mail me at curseofspin@gmail.com.
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