Screenshock – Darkest of Days 0

by Adam Blue • Screenshock

Darkest of Days is a new and awesome (looking) FPS from . . . 8MonkeyLabs. I haven’t heard of them either, but let’s not discount them yet. I like the idea of using an automatic rifle during the Civil War. Or, would the game be over fairly quickly? This week, a slew of screenshots have been released here. Check out the screenshot below. Because, you know, it always seems like a good idea at the time.

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In this shot I noticed a line of soldiers running into an enemy which had laid waste to all of their teammates. It reminds me of the end of a long session of CoD that I’m incredibly burnt out on, yet I’m too lazy to stop playing. I just respawn, run into the enemy, and die. Or I’m one of those douches that are really just talking on the phone and going through the motions. Don’t hate me.

Video of the Week – Battlefield 1943 Kamikaze 0

by Adam Blue • Video of the Week

Didn’t take long to figure out this explosive tactic. You would think an airplane crash would do enough damage alone. But apparently in BF1943, to get the right amount of bang, you need to strap a demo charge to your plane and detonate it once you exit. In mid-air. Land safely and kill a few more baddies for some extra prestige.

If the game really had explosive planes, would people just kamikaze all the time? I think so.

I’m curious: What’s the next creative tactic/exploit you see coming? Or has something already started as I type this?

Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition $500 0

by Adam Blue • News

…not really. But how much will this thing be? Night vision goggles are cool and all, but is there a special edition without the $400 accessory? Actually, scratch that. Night vision goggles are awesome. I’ll hide in the trees around the neighboorhood late at night, and if they ask, I’ll tell my neighbors I’m watching for commies. But they might lose sales on DLC if every one is going outside to play with their goggles. Shouldn’t special editions include ottomans or seat cushions?

Review – Battlefield 1943 0

by Adam Blue • Reviews

My first thought was, ‘would this be dumbed-down for consoles?’. I still don’t know the answer, but even if it is, does it matter? Battlefield 1943 is the next iteration of the non-single player focused, point-capping, multiplayer frag-fest from Dice and EA. I personally got in on the franchise with 1942. And while I enjoyed it, I was never really a fan of the movement of controls. It might be just a personal preference, but it didn’t stop me. After that, I bought Vietnam, 2, 2142, and Modern Combat on 360. As the games released, they got better. The one element added in that made the games addicting were unlocks. I was more excited about getting an unlock than just kicking ass, which might not have been a good thing.

EA announced 1943 as an XBLA/PSN digital download. Seemed kind of odd, especially at $15. But does it hold up? I mean, only 24 players, 3 maps, consoles first, and $15? Well, let me get into that.

I don’t think this game is dumbed-down for consoles. I think it’s dumbed-down for fun. With less players on a map, the action isn’t as frantic. There are only three classes to choose from which makes it pretty simple, and there are no unlocks to be seen. The weapons and items stay the same throughout your career. You do get promoted through the ranks, but that’s it. Although, there is a form of unlocking. If the community gets a certain number of kills (I think about 40 million) a new map is unlocked for the community. But that’s it. Is there enough here to keep this game going? Well, that’s where the actual gameplay comes in.

This is your standard FPS. If you’ve played the other battlefield games, then you’ll get it. If not, I guarantee you’ve played Call of Duty, and it is very similar. To break it down even further, there are two sides, USMC and IJN, up to 24 players, and you run around and cap points which you spawn from. You can even use tanks, jeeps, airplanes, and boats. The game also uses a unique ammo system where all ammo is unlimited. After your cache of special weapon ammo runs out, a timer appears in which notifies you when the cache has been replenished. It makes sense and allows the players to focus on combat rather than worry about ammunition. I have no complaints with this. Once the ‘death bar’ at the top runs out, that team loses. People focus on flags, but it’s the kills that matter. Depending on the teams tactic, capturing points will only help or hurt you. Pretty simple, yet fun.

I enjoy the gameplay and the controls, yet the controls aren’t as tight as Call of Duty. Flying a plane can be a pain, and I’ll bet you change the controls around. The defaults make no sense. Whether it be lag or just programming, their are a bunch of issues that have popped up. For instance, I shoot my rocket at a tank and strafe away, yet the rocket doesn’t fire until a second after. I then miss. After being on a roll with kills, missing a tank shot will only piss you off. Also dealing with rockets, I once shot a jeep full of players that was sitting at a flag. The rocket hit, the jeep exploded, but all that did was alert the enemy of my location. I died. I call BS. On the turn around, I’ll be in a close range fire-fight kicking some ass, then the douche in-front of me goes Quake 3 style and whips out his rocket, killing me. Close range. Rocket. I die. He lives. Now, this happens in all FPS’s, but in 1943, it’s common. Squads also pose a problem. Sometimes I’ll stay in my squad, and sometimes we’ll be separated. It’s pretty sad, because if my brother is on the opposing team, I know I’m screwed. But all in all, I hope they continue to tweak the code here.

And that brings me to another point: What they will continue to do. For a $15 game, the content is great. So any additional DLC they may bring us screams premium. I don’t mind that too much, but I hope it doesn’t alienate players. I do feel that way with Halo 3 and CoD5. But what would the DLC be? If it’s paid-DLC, I would hope it isn’t more powerful weapons. I’m thinking game modes, classes, etc. But maps make the most sense. And maybe after this next map is unlocked, we’ll receive another after a few more million kills. My number one concern is they’ll need something to keep people playing. And that concern comes from what it will be.

Conclusion: Buy it. At $60, I’d say no. But even with its bugs, $15 is a steal.

Playing With A Baby 0

by Adam Blue • Editorial

After bringing the little bluegamer home, I really had no idea what to expect when it came to my hobby. Yes, I’ve been gaming less, but this actually has to do with enjoying my little princess rather than her getting in my way. So far, I have her sitting in a pink chair thing in front of me sound asleep, while I game. We’ll see what time has in store.

I’ve been playing the new Indiana Jones game on the Wii. It’s really not that fun, or just not for me, but I really want to know the story. I would say I’d keep it for the Fate of Atlantis, but fortunately Lucas Arts is doing good for gaming for the first time since X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. I’m not sure if I can actually push through the rest of this game, but if I do I hope it gets better.

Battlefield 1943 is now available on XBLA. Unfortunaltey, no one can play it. Or at least, using the product is limited. I downloaded the demo to give it a shot, but I haven’t had the privilege as of yet. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a real BF game since 2142 and in all reality, 1943 doesn’t necessarily fill that void. 24 players is fine, but not as much as I would like. Frontlines: Fuel of War, is an excellent BF clone created by the team that made the Desert Combat mod. I’m not sure why, but people are just simply looking over this game; yet it’s fantastic and morphs the formula into what it should be today. Speaking of Battlefield, the idea of Heroes scares the living daylights out of me. It’s free, yet a pay-to-play at the same time. I don’t know how long I could go without buying my upgrades . . .timed upgrades . . . and I certainly do not want to.

I’ll end this by saying Red Faction won as best sandbox game between the three that were just released. Protoype, inFamous, and Red Faction. In the next podcast I’ll delve deeper into this.