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
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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).
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