Unique Experience likely the center of Mass Effect 3 ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial

The following article was written by guest blogger Justin Taylor.

Just months ahead of its release, some exciting features and descriptions are starting to get out for Mass Effect 3. The Xbox, PC and PlayStation 3 release is sure to be one of the most hyped video gamereleases in the first half of 2012 and news of some game play specifics should only continue to build it up. Developers of the game recently spoke out that there would be more endings for the game than we’ve ever seen before, as well as a number of ways for gamers to formulate an individual experience.

Mass Effect 3 is said to have thousands of dialogue lines included, as well as a focus on continuing relationships and characters from previous releases. Each player will be involved with their own storyline, including relationships and quandaries taking place throughout the storyline. Characters within the game will feature innate characteristics, helping to build the game’s storyline with memories of past events during game play.

Gamers will also be offered great choices when it comes to the game play for Mass Effect 3. Bioware producer Casey Hudson recently spoke out to the media claiming that three different modes in role playing, story and action, all of which will have definitive options during game play. This means that once players begin playing in either of the three mode options, they will have the ability to make adjustments afterwards.

Most importantly for BioWare, this is expected to give ME3 an innate sense of individualism and tailoring for each player. Each gamer has their own preferences, whether it be to watch more action sequences or dabble more into the story lines involved. The new presets will allow for each player to help build their own experience, making it more enjoyable for each player in the long run.

Certainly Mass Effect has helped to build its franchise more through intrinsic storylines mixing with game play and action, quite contrasting to the formula that many have used to build a fan base. The reliance and focus will continue to be on the story line and game play with Mass Effect 3. It’s quite evident that BIoWare and the producers have big expectations for the modes, dialogue and endings that will rely on a sense of tailored game play. With the early news of game features and dialogue aspects, Mass Effect 3 looks to be a refined addition to the strong gaming franchise.

Play Mass Effect 3 and Reckoning demos, unlock in-game items for both (joystiq.com)
Mass Effect 3 Has Fat Monsters: PROOF (rockpapershotgun.com)
BioWare: Mass Effect 3 to feature story, multiplayer DLC (vg247.com)

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Gaming With No Internet ²

by Adam Blue • Editorial

This new apartment is pretty cool, especially because now I can keep tabs on my girlfriend at all times. Well, I’m not that obsessive. Besides the fact that there’s now a kids’ room, I love that we decided to make the laundry room into my computer room. My computer room. I don’t know how long this will last, since we want a washer and dryer. My Dad made the joke that I can hook up the hot and cold water – make it liquid cooled. It was so obvious and I missed it.

Sanctuary

The thing is, what is a computer without the internet? Well, you can say ‘a computer’ and you’d be right, but a generation from now, a computer is a machine that is online – but that’s for another post. I’m almost in that boat as I don’t have internet at the apartment yet, and sitting at an internet-less machine does some strange things to my brain. Apparently when getting it hooked up, Time Warner noticed that the line to my building was bad – so I have to wait. In the meantime? I’ve still been getting a lot of gaming done.

Luckily for me, my girlfriend loves Uncharted 3, so she forcibly makes me play it just to watch. I can’t complain. She’s also a fan of SNES titles, so the virtual console has been of some use. When she’s not around, I’ve been getting some Serious Sam 3 in. SS3 is amazing. It is the type of FPS that doesn’t come around too often, only because the masses seem to love hand-holding, linear, military shooters (or interactive movies). Yeah, I’m really just talking smack about Call of Duty. SS3 requires accuracy, planning, quick moving, and taking your time. And when the girlfriend is doing something like cleaning her closet and I’m lonely (hey, what can I say, I’m clingy), I’ve been getting a lot done on the 3DS in Mario Land 3D and Sonic Generations. Both incredibly difficult, but fun.

And yet, no internet required. It is possible to live this way and I’m alive to tell the story. I won’t lie, I can do some things with my HTC Radar 4G since T-Mobile has good 4G and Windows Phone has built-in internet sharing.

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BlueGamer GOTY ²

by Adam Blue • Editorial

This year was pretty mediocre in terms of gaming. But, there were still a handful of fun games that I went through. This year was the year of the PC for me; I had built a new system a dedicated the PC to be my primary platform. It paid off…most of the time.

Hard Reset – Awesome old-school PC-only FPS that fits in perfectly with the current gen. Awesome difficulty to boot. And apparently some single-player DLC is on the way.

Space Marine – Completely awesome. The campaign was over before I wanted it to be, and the multiplayer kept me playing – both console and PC. Console development is some of the best I’ve seen with an excellent PC version. Relic are simply awesome.

Jamestown – Indie Shmup with awesome, old-school visuals and great controls. The difficulty really slaps you in the face.

Dead Island - Pleasantly surprised. While the previews looked great, the actual game was the most enthralling experience I had this year. Even with its bugs and glitches, this game, especially in co-op, was damn fun.

Crysis 2 – Now that I think about it, while it was a lot of fun, it didn’t hold up to the original Crysis. I still think the original Crysis is underrated due to 90% of the population not able to run it – so they just disregarded it. People loved this sequel, but Crysis did so much more.

Sonic Generations – Sonic did not disappoint. Awesome PC port which was a pleasant surprise. The visuals were great as was the gameplay, but it was over way too soon for me. More levels!!!!

Super Mario 3D Land – While a Mario game, it definitely is an old-school/indie gamer’s dream. Very unique platforming with some crazy difficulty. No one should miss it.

Uncharted 3 – I almost just want to give this GOTY, but I haven’t finished it. And I probably won’t until next year. The story is incredible and I’m never bored. So much better than Uncharted 2. But, the control scheme patched in was definitely needed. The default change was way too inorganic.

Duke Nukem Forever – Totally didn’t deserve the flack it got. This Duke Nukem entry was just as fun as I expected. A fun campaign that always had something to say. Never a dull moment with fun old-school blasting.

But, this was the year of disapointments. While I enjoyed playing Dead Space 2, it just wasn’t as good as the first. It was almost a bit too monotonous. Homefront’s multiplayer went from what was expected (Frontlines!!!) to what…is now expected from publishers: Call of Duty clone. Yeah, not a full-blown clone, but moreso than the unique gameplay of their previous title, Frontlines.

Bulletstorm, while fun, was also a little boring. It was too much of the same thing over and over. And, it was a horrible console port. Boo. Rage – I don’t even want to get into that. Let’s just say that it’s mediocre appearance on the PC barred me from playing simply due to principle (Ok, and maybe I had JUST met my girlfriend when this was released…) I can understand Bethesda, but shame on you id Software.

Speaking of Bethesda – Hunted and Brink? So lame. These games come out with nothing unique when a ‘unique’ game is just around the corner.

Now, I didn’t get a chance to play Skyrim or Zelda Wayward Sword. Skyrim I may not like because I’m not interested in investing so much time in those types of worlds, but I hear Wayward Sword is as good as Ocarina of Time – I need to get in on that.

But, if I had to pick one game from this year to play right now, I’d say Space Marine. I can’t see myself getting bored of that.

Honorable mentions: Battlefield 3, Hardcore: Uprising, Warhammer 40k: Kill Team, Revenge of the Titans (though, it was a Dec 2010 release), Renegade Ops, and Saints Row the Third.

The New York Times Offers Two Round-Ups, But Doesn’t Name a Game of the Year (Yet) [Other Peoples' GOTY] (kotaku.com)
Space Marine Twitter teases Dreadnought (joystiq.com)
Feature: Gaming’s biggest joys – and most bitter disappointments – of 2011 (arstechnica.com)

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Sonic Generations 3DS Impressions ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial, Impressions

Yes! Another Sonic blog post! Back when I started this blog in 2006, the header image included Sonic. I think that fit very well. But seriously…there’s just been a bunch of Sonic stuff going on, and I’m sure you can deal with it.

Sonic Generations for the 3DS is the handheld version of…Sonic Generations on the console. Pretty self-explanatory. But with this game, the modern Sonic takes cues from the DIMPS developed handheld games. Sounds like it would be awesome? Well, I feel the same way about it as I did with Sonic 4.

: What is happening here?

The game is a lot of fun, but it does things it shouldn’t. Classic Sonic eventually gains abilities from modern Sonic in the Rush series. This is a huge blow and doesn’t do much to differentiate the time-lines. I get confused when playing classic Sonic as I’m at times required to use the modern Sonic abilities, such as the homing-attack. This is fucking stupid.

But, like I did with Sonic 4, I was able to look past the fanboy hatred and accept it as it is – a fun game. That’s what Sonic 3DS is so far. Maybe a full review later.

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Finally, a Sonic CD Re-release, Uncharted 3 ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial, Impressions

Sonic CD is one heck of a Sonic game. I played the blue fuzz out of it back in the day on the Sega CD. It was released on the GameCube as part of the Sonic Gems collection, but this newer version includes enhancements for 16×9 aspect ratios without any detrimental side-effects to the visuals. The soundtrack is comprised of the Japanese version, which is awesome. And like always, the inclusion of Achievements is fun. I have to find some sort of ‘angel statue’ in Wacky Workbench. Yeah…good luck with that. There’s also supposed to be a Windows Phone version released next month that actually allows you to switch between the NA and JAP soundtracks. But this game may be a little too difficult for touch controls.

I finally had some time in my dungeon this week, and luckily Uncharted 3 arrived. The Uncharted games have always been fun, but this 3rd entry is pretty effing epic. It is a very story-driven, game-play heavy game, which is rare. Either a game has a good story but is boring to play, or is a lot of fun to play but has the normal throw-away story. I’ve been doing a lot of brawling and platforming around while uncovering awesome story elements that keep me playing. Just from the first chapter I’d call this GOTY, but I still have a ways to go.

The recently waned Sonic Generations 3DS has also arrived, but I’ll bite into that a little later. I’m sure I’ll still have fun because it is Sonic, but some of the mentioned annoyances with the game I’m not looking forward to – 2D levels littered with modern Sonic abilities. Thumbs down.

Oh…I’ll have a whole other post on this, but Mario Land 3D is quite epic. A must-buy for sure. Don’t let the first world fool you.

Sonic CD remains fun, fast, and now includes the Japanese soundtrack (arstechnica.com)
Trailers: Sonic CD – Launch Trailer (escapistmagazine.com)
The art and design of Sonic CD explained (joystiq.com)

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BioWare is Not making the New Command & Conquer ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial

I could start this post talking about how much I love C&C and most of you know this. I could go on about how EA has let me down just so I can give you a little background into my following thoughts – but I’ll spare you.

Well, I think I just kind of did that anyway.

Rumor had it that BioWare would be making the new C&C. We already knew Victory Games was working on a new entry in the series. Then on the VGAs it was announced (and leaked a bit earlier) that BioWare would indeed be making Generals 2. BioWare Victory that is, formerly Victory Games (headed by Jon Van Caneghem) - formerly EA LA, whom made the previous C&C games and should in fact still house ex-Westwood devs.

So, to reiterate – BioWare is not making the new C&C. BioWare also is not making the Star Wars: Old Republic MMO. That’s Mythic. BioWare is simply a rebranding used as a marketing technique. No, the creators of Mass Effect aren’t making the Star Wars MMO or a new C&C.

Good news here is that Generals 2 will retain the classic C&C gameplay (wether that means Tiberium or Generals 1, either is fine with me). C&C 4 was so bad that there’s no way they’d stick with that. I don’t even know how it was made. But, needless to say, I’m excited. While not an entry in the Tiberium universe, Generals has fantastic RTS gameplay that trumps StarCraft (IMO). But, after Generals 2, I want another Tiberium title with Joe Kucan. Though, for the market they may just make another Red Alert.

Generals won’t see the light of day until 2013. Dear god. That would mean a Tiberium game wouldn’t be out until, like, a long time.

First screens of BioWare’s Command & Conquer Generals 2 look like a C&C game (gamesradar.com)
BioWare announces Command and Conquer: Generals 2 (joystiq.com)
What Does “BioWare” Even Mean Any More? It Doesn’t Mean Command & Conquer. [Command & Conquer] (kotaku.com)

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Saints Row 3 Impressions, More with Mario 3D Land ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial, Impressions

Gaming has been a bit quiet. I’ve been spending most of my time with my girlfriend at her place. Actually, we’ve been playing a bunch of Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country – I am convinced it’s not a ploy; she really enjoys the games. But other than that, she doesn’t even have internet. It has been refreshing not having to be online…well, I guess we do have our smartphones. So, the few times I have been home, I’ve been hitting up Saints Row: the Third.

Yes, this happened.

I never really got into the first two Saints Row games. I saw my brother play them, and they looked to be action-packed, but I am tired of playing an open-world sandbox game as a criminal. My favorite of the genre have been True Crime: LA, Mercenaries, and Just Cause (only the first one). But I decided to play Saints Row 3 because it was doing something different – not taking itself seriously.

From the first mission, I’m already skydiving, shooting missiles from Helicopters, being shot at by thugs in bunny suits. It’s a spectacle, and makes the unoriginal crime-theme new and fresh. The controls are spot on and so far I haven’t run into any tedious, mundane missions (escorting, just driving, etc). So far, no complaints, and it runs beautifully on the PC.

Getting further in-depth with Mario 3D Land (see what I did there?, the game does become more of a challenge. This is what I need from a Mario game, but the first world missed the opportunity to give me that impression. I can definitely say it’s worth it.

Hands On – Saints Row The Third, Part Two (rockpapershotgun.com)

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Promising Signs for Star Wars: The Old Republic Release ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial

The following article was written by guest blogger, Justin Taylor

With a massive fan following for the movie franchise already in tow, Star Wars: The Old Republic has had some buzz surrounding it for quite a while now. The December 20 MMO release from LucasArts and Bioware is expected to enter the market as a major competitor with traditional online games like World of Warcraft that currently dominate the market sector.

Some estimates have pointed towards Early indications have been generally positive for the upcoming release. As the month of November grows to a close, it looks like there will be a strong interest and gamers will pre order Star Wars the Old Republic ahead of its Christmas-time release. Right now, the game sits atop the pre-order charts. Much of the hype this week could be due to an extensive testing weekend which is now in the books.

During this past weekend’s beta testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic, there were over one million hours of testing logged. Hundreds of thousands of people were said to take advantage of the initial testing release as beta codes were spread throughout the internet last weekend. Bioware is expected to be running a few more testing sessions ahead of December 20, as well as some that could be larger than the one million hours logged this past weekend. Reviews from the even have been relatively positive, even for gamers who aren’t huge fans of Star Wars.

A number of great reviews have cited features such as great video game play, user interface and story development as major positives for the upcoming release. This isn’t the first Star Wars MMO, but the new release is expected to be a definite upgrade over the “Galaxies” platform that will be halted upon the new release.

With the story development, the new Star Wars release has a very strong repertoire of cut scenes throughout. Many gamers skip through these cut scenes, but with this release, they should stick around and play through. Users will be given the option of using their own dialogue during these scenes, allowing for better personality and overall feel during game play, almost like a movie.

The story itself has been a major talking point of early discussion about the game. Star Wars: The Old Republic will likely be one of the few MMO releases that has a truly well thought out storyline. The voice acting within the storyline is supposed to be solid, as well as the already mentioned dialogue features that will be impressive.

Certainly the other planned testing sessions will continue to drive the hype before the December 20 release of Star Wars: The Old Republic. With over a million hours completed and numerous users taking part in the first testing session, expect the anticipation to grow as the month of November comes to an end. With positive reviews coming in from the early testing sessions, expect this Star Wars release to do well this December.

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Review – Sonic Generations ¹

by Adam Blue • Reviews

This year is Sonic’s 20th birthday, and Sega celebrates that with a game that features the best of Sonic’s history. I’m a huge Sonic fan, so it’s pretty easy for me to like a Sonic game. I thought Unleashed was great where others had issues with it. I will admit that Sonic 2006 was…a buggy clusterfuck. Generations, though, is AWESOME.

First of all, I bought this beast on the PC. I never thought I’d play the latest Sonic title on the PC, but it is the best version of the game. Period. The graphics are 50% better than on the consoles, mainly due to resolution, but also with its 60 frames per second. The 360 gamepad works flawlessly, and like a few other titles recently (Renegade Ops), I believe it is a necessity. So, that goes without saying that the graphics here are great. Not only does it run and look well, but Sega put some nice touches to make each pixel of a level matter. 60 fps and $30 on Steam makes this a no-brainer.

The game plays just like you’d expect (or maybe not given Sega’s track record) – Classic and Modern gameplay blended together. Each of the nine stages includes two acts: One based on classic Sonic physics, the other on Modern. I love both styles of gameplay, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. It does get difficult though, but that is Sonic. I would have preferred it to be done a little differently too, with 2-3 acts for classic Sonic, like back in the day, and classic boss battles. Instead, between these acts you have challenge levels which are pretty fun, but not staple Sonic fun. The few bosses that are in the game are really nothing too difficult, and I found the finale to be rather abrupt.

Yes, this actually happened in the game.

That being said, when I finished it – I wasn’t done. I wanted more levels, more bosses, and more music. But, most likely DLC will be available for purchase adding these additional levels. I’m pretty sure I’ll scoop them up. As a Sonic fan, I say this game is worth a buy. Especially on the PC for only $30 and technically being the best version.

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Impressions – Super Mario 3D Land ⁰

by Adam Blue • Impressions

I picked up Mario 3D Land on launch day without a pre-order. I actually meant to pre-order it for the little key chain bonus, but luckily I was able to smooth talk one into my hands. Wait…that sounds bad. Anyway, I sat down just to play for a second – and finished an entire world.

So far, SM3DL is pretty simple. It’s not anything amazing like previous Mario games have been. And if you say that’s just nostalgia talking, I’m even taking in account New Super Mario Bros. DS and Wii (still not as amazing as my nostalgia, but still good). It has been easy. I’m not sure how many secrets a world is supposed to have, but the first flew by with nothing obvious. Even the boss was so easy I had a hard time with it – I was thinking too much about it when the solution requires no thinking at all.

It plays a lot like Mario 64, but inside more compact, shorter, linear stages with little to do. The 3D effect is nice here which really helped save my ass in situations where I wouldn’t have been able to get a grasp on the depth.

I will obviously be putting more time into this, but so far I can’t exactly recommend it. I would love my final review to be nothing but nice things to say about the game. We’ll see.

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